He'd almost managed to forget about what happened to him until he found the flyer in his coat pocket where he'd left it, slightly crumpled. He'd stared at the constantly snaking, gilded knotted border flowing subtly, and the scribbled address.

A meow and a thump from upstairs brought him back to his senses. Was Elixa done with whatever she was doing? Rustle was watching him nearby, tail twitching as the kneazle surveyed his owner. How long had he been standing at the coat hooks? He turned away and headed for the windows, still partially lost in a numbness; he'd intended to sit down on the couch, but ended up inches away from a window and the fireplace to view the flyer with more clarity.

It was no trick of the eyes, that was for sure. He was in two minds now, and he couldn't tell what those two minds were.

"Elixa," he said, following the series of footsteps on the stairs, half unaware that he wasn't even sure if she was heading down the stairs, "I have a little bit of a problem. I'm supposed to go out tonight, but it's..." He trailed off, unable to bring himself to just even mention the matter plaguing him since four nights ago. "You know." A weak gesture to the windows, the gloom outside.

Elixa was halfway down the stairs before she thought she should have used her wand to carry the pile of text books and papers rather than her arms. Being shorter than average, there was only so much she could carry before she couldn’t see where she was going, and tonight was one of those nights.

Months back, she’d have been tottering down the very same stairs in the flat she shared with Arc wearing fancy shoes in anticipation of going out for the night. Arc would have been curled up in his favourite armchair, glued to a book with Rustle while she had to make puns about bringing hippogriffs home to check he was paying attention to what she was saying.

Tonight she sported a pair of pyjama trousers beneath her oversized jumper and wore thick socks on her feet which had been gifted to her at Christmas. Her long black curls were tied in a messy ponytail and her face was devoid of any makeup at all. The last was only a recent thing since she and Arcturus had become more comfortable around each other and she’d started training.

As she appeared at the bottom of the stairs and shuffled into the living room, heading for the kitchen table, she caught sight of Arcturus in the far corner of the room, and called to her. Her progression across the room faltered a moment, but as her arms were full, she carried on to set things down on the table as he spoke. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to be much help encumbered.

“Going out?” She echoed, in mild query not startled alarm. As much as she had thrown her arms around him and hugged the stuffing out of him when he’d come home after Tuesday night’s incident, she knew he wanted to put it behind him. They’d not mentioned the d-word unless absolutely necessary (they were rather good at that sort of thing - the J-word had also been off limits in previous months). In any sense - Arcturus going out and socialising was a terrific thing, even more because she wasn’t involved. Any ordinary day it would take a lot of work to prise him out of the flat to tolerate other people, but he’d been making effort of late. But Tuesday had potentially set him back.

“Where you off to?” She asked, spreading out her work a bit on the kitchen table as the pile was teetering anyhow. She meandered across the living room towards him. “I was going to study for Monday, that’s all - I know - look at us - you going out and me home with the books, talk about role reversal.” Deciding not to necessarily get too close - never quite sure of Arc’s mood at a moment like this, she knelt on the cushion of the other armchair which was nearest to him and rested her elbows on the top of the back, peering over it at him, hands loosely clasped. “… Did you want some company?"

"Rover's Fancy." Where was it, again? After the 12th he'd put it behind him so hard that he'd now forgotten most of the tiny details. "I... company? No, it's okay, I have company over there. Well, when I get there. Thank you for the offer."

It was a minute before he spoke again. Too much shouting in his head about the night. "I just, I don't remember much of the place, I might not pull off an apparation too well. So that means walking. In the night? I'm not sure if I can do that too well on my own."

There was another meow from Rustle, as if he was reminding the two-legged humans that he was still there. Arc eyed him. "I'm not sure you'd be a good deterrent for them, my friend."

He sighed and turned around to face Elixa proper, with an apologetic smile. "You don't have to, I mean... you don't have to trouble yourself or anything, you have work to be done. I'll try deal with this. Somehow."

”… I have company over there. Well, when I get there. Thank you for the offer.” Elixa tried not to appear surprised, but momentarily failed. Their friendship groups overlapped at work, so if he was meeting someone from work like Flynn or Cassidy it had got past her. Perhaps it was other friends… other friends? Erm. Who? Owch. She apologised to Arcturus in her head for the thought and tried to be positive about it - though she was very worried for him.

“I am going to revise for Monday’s assessment, mm.” She glanced a little over her shoulder in consideration, “But I can throw on something and walk you down, if that’s not too… erm… I don’t mean it like you’re a dog or something. Just company! I won’t crash your party like, and I really should get this down pat while you’re out. Much as you’re a fantastic help with this, I’ve got to do this for myself.” As she spoke, the shorter healer-in-training bobbed up and down on her bent knees and gestured with her hands. “Or erm, you could apparate to just outside the Leaky, it’s not far from there?” She was very much attempting to keep and upbeat tone to her voice.

“Nobody going your way that you’re seeing there?” She asked, “From work or something?”

Company was sounding a better option, but he was still seesawing over having her lose some of her precious time to accompany him to wherever Rover's Fancy was. He caught her expression about his statement on 'company', but it was a fairly predictable reaction. Since Tuesday he hadn't mixed with company proper at all, bar work-related matters.

“Or erm, you could apparate to just outside the Leaky, it’s not far from there?” He made a face - something that he'd only done with her recently. "I don't like walking past the Leaky Cauldron in its current state. I don't quite remember the way there past the Cauldron, even. I...I suppose there's really no way out otherwise."

“Nobody going your way that you’re seeing there? From work or something?” Arc looked at her dark eyes full of poorly-hidden concern and felt, somewhat guilty that he was making her worry, but at the same time he felt safer for it. "An old...acquaintance. He was senior to me in school by a few years, but we met through a few certain circumstances and now he's invited me to go out? Is that an adequate explanation? I trust him. I suppose. More than most people I meet on the first time."

An old acquaintance? Curious. Arcturus thought she didn't know them, if he didn't mention them by name, or didn't want her to know who. Still, the meeting was of enough importance to Arcturus to ensure he wanted to keep it, instead of hiding at home. Getting him out of the house to see anyone was a feat by usual standards. Getting him out of the house after a dementor encounter had seemed a complete impossibility. Her gaze checked for any telltale signs that Arcturus was up to the eyeballs in calming potions.

"'An adequate explanation?.'" Lix quoted Arcturus back at himself with the suggestion that he didn't need to put it like that to her. "I'm glad you're going out, Arc. Not only because it'll be extra quiet here." She leaned over and gently lay her palm against his cheek in an affectionate manner, "That was a joke, by the way. You're never a bother when I'm studying, quite the opposite."

Elixa smiled gently, maintaining eye contact and grazed her thumb across his cheek before she lifted her hand back and hopped down from the armchair, striding towards the coats.

"So, would you prefer to walk or apparate?" She asked as she went, glancing to the clock. "What time are you meeting him?"

"I, uh," he checked the time, "I've got to be there in ten. I'd rather not apparate, thank you, I haven't been in the right frame of mind for that." He hadn't at all since Tuesday, not even side-along. His head was messed up and he didn't want anything to mess it up further, not even for a short while.

He reached up to his cheek where she had touched. Such a tiny gesture made him feel a lot more comfortable. "This means a lot to me. I'll be glad to get out of your hair for a few hours, even if you don't find me a bother. Thanks, Elixa." Arc joined her at the coats and gave her a small kiss on the top of her head. "I just need to, to change my shirt, is that fine with you?"

“Alright, we’ll walk.” Lix replied as if it was nothing at all. Which, well, it wasn’t. She smiled happily at the little kiss. “You can get all hot and messy in my hair anytime Arcturus Hollingbury.” She teased and poked her tongue out at him. “Change it? Oh, right, yeah. I mean you could get away with that in Rover’s but…

“Wear the dark green one? Brings out your eyes, or - oh! You’ve a nice blue one too. I like that one, good cut.” She gestured with her hands around his ribs gently without touching him. “You taking a coat - only it’s raining a bit, or was when I last looked.” She chivvied him up the stairs gently, gesturing with both hands. “Oh and give yourself a squirt of that aftershave I like.” She called after him, and muttered just audibly, looking in the mirror, she added “love how it smells on you later… wow Elixa that sounds proper stalker-like.”

Despite wearing pyjama bottoms herself, Lix had pulled on a pair of her long boots and a cloak to hide her state of dress by the time Arc reappeared. Thankfully, unlike her, he didn’t take very long to change and come back down. She gave him a double thumbs up at his outfit and sniffed tentatively as he drew close.
“Ready then?”

Though he'd questioned blending into the night a bit too much, he'd chosen, partially due to Elixa's suggestion and partially because he'd set his mind to it, dark blue. His hair stood out too much in the night to miss him, anyway - he tried to not think back to Tuesday, where it probably played a major role in him getting noticed. He had to focus on the now.

A little rain probably wouldn't hurt. Arc pulled his hair into its usual bun; he didn't feel like obscuring his field of vision. After checking his visage in the mirror, too self-conscious to give himself a close look, he went downstairs where Elixa was dressed fairly suitably for the trip. 'Fairly' was an apt descriptor, he felt.

"Just the coat. And scarf." He checked his pockets. "I think I've got everything. Shall we?"

The little banter he had with Elixa had made him feel better, but out in the night that sensation started to crumble at the edges. He bit his lip and tried to focus on walking with Elixa, but the quiet surroundings were unsettling him. This is stupid, he told himself, but that wasn't how this sort of thing worked.

"Once we walk the path I'll remember the route," he said, solely to stave off his paranoia, "it feels like the speed date was a long time ago, you know? Even if it's just been a week or so. Is it? I don't really remember." His nervous chuckle at the end of that was probably more telling than it should've been. "That off-day threw me off..."

"...It feels like the speed date was a long time ago, you know? Even if it's just been a week or so. Is it? I don't really remember.” Arc’s rambling revealed his anxiety, as did the way he held himself. She decided it wasn’t worth commenting on as might only make him more uptight and worried. She only noticed because they spent a lot of their waking hours around each other.

“A lot’s happened since then,” Lix agreed, linking her arm with Arc’s as they briskly walked along. “And I think I near dragged you down the Alley that night anyhow, so it’s no wonder you can’t recall.” She had been a bit giddy with excitement at him joining in, if she recalled correctly. “You remember that it’s owned by Rufus Delacroix? And when it’s not filled with pink paper hearts its an Irish themed pub. It’s a good sort of crowd, no trouble. Rufus keeps it well… fantastic Irish breakfast. Not that you’ll be sampling it…” She realised she was rambling now to try and make conversation, internally worried for him. What a pair.

“You be alright getting back? I’ll wait up for you if you like?”

"I realised it was Irish themed. This event is very much Irish." The flyer was nestled in his pocket, next to his cigarettes - and his hand. "It's good to hear it's not seedy. I like Irish themes." He was glad Elixa was talking. It took his mind off things, and he liked listening to her.

"No, it's okay. Don't wait up. You'll need good rest for Monday." The healer in him couldn't help stepping in. "I'll find some help getting back. Hopefully. I hope. I'll let my acquaintance know about my, er, situation. I don't know how he'll take it, but, but, I'll take that leap of faith." He took a deep breath, both to calm himself and to stop rambling at her. He didn't want her to worry about him so much.

”... I don't know how he'll take it, but, but, I'll take that leap of faith.”

“Anyone worth their salt will be happy to help. He must be alright, you wouldn’t be traipsing out on a night to be social, otherwise, would you?” Lix peered up at Arcturus with a knowing look. “Worst comes to the worst, ask Rufus if you can borrow his floo - tell him I said you could.” She figured Arc would be too shy to say such a thing, but when cornered he was capable of finding his voice, otherwise how would he manage to order around some of his most irritating patients.

They passed by a group peering in the window of the broom shop discussing the upcoming quidditch league matches and their predictions. The atmosphere in the Alley was rather friendly, but it was early in the evening, and the odd shopper was still leaving the green-grocers up ahead of them, clutching paper bags. She made a mental note to make sure the chocolate was to hand on Arc’s return later, though she really hoped he’d have a good night and forget the unfortunate incident of the week.

“So this acquaintance,” Lix began in a curious tone, an air of suggestion that Arcturus would undoubtedly recognise. “Was he a Ravenclaw too?” She raised an eyebrow, “and does he have a name, or are you afraid I’ll know him?” The trainee healer stuck her tongue out at her housemate and hugged his arm in a good natured way.

Despite his nervousness Arc could recognise Elixa's angling when he heard it. "Yes, he's a fellow Ravenclaw. Senior to me, but Hogwarts...well, you meet everyone of all levels eventually." His hand in his pocket had moved to gripping his cigarettes, though his grasp was tentative to not crush the box by accident. "Under odd circumstances. Wasn't really friends, not like I am with you, but enough to remember him after some digging around."

He looked down at her, shoes against the wet cobblestones. "I'm just, just worried about if you knew his name...you'd give me some things that I don't want to hear about, about him. You know? I don't, well, I'm looking forward enough to this event that I want it to just not be marred by my constant worrying someone's going to get at me. Again." Arc's chuckle came out weak, even if he didn't want it to. "But, if you insist, I suppose it wouldn't, well, hurt."

They continued to walk in quiet for a minute. Arc mused over the decision. "Cepheus Gamp," he said at last. "Is that enough for you, Elixa? Don't tell me you know him, or-- or anything else. Just, let me have this without needing to worry or get too curious. This isn't-- it's not really the time."

“Aw,” Lix expressed quietly as he mentioned meeting everyone eventually. She kept her face schooled just in case the name he told her did ring a bell. He paused for a while, as if considering and she snaked her head a little, not sure if he was reconsidering or keeping her in suspense on purpose. When he finally said the name she raised both eyebrows and gave a knowing smile.

“I... alright I do. Not very well, in passing,” She shrugged, “and you’ve obviously not mentioned him if the two of you weren’t close.” She paused, biting her bottom lip mischievously. “He's nice looking...” She ducked and giggled, “I’m joking, I’m joking. I’m just happy for you. I hope you and Cepheus have a good night.” They had passed the grocer’s now and were not too far from Rover’s, the shell of the Leaky Cauldron beyond in the dark where they were working on it.

“There you go, sign up ahead - green doors.” She pointed it out but didn’t let go of his arm quite yet. “Don’t want your pyjama-clad housemate walking you the last fifty yards do you?” Elixa asked, more bashful over the state of her face than her dress. She didn’t ordinarily go out without make-up! “Might think you’re turning up with a Knockturn tramp.” She paused and turned towards him.

“Go on, have a wonderful night. Try a little smile. Ask if he knows whatever happened to people at school, or whether he’s learned some cool charms lately. Or I dunno,” she lowered her voice and leaned a little towards Arcturus, “where he bought his outfit and if he wants to come in for coffee.” She giggled again and rocked back on her heels, looking back seriously a moment, “No, really, if he does, just say very loudly on the stairs ’I don’t think my housemate is home’ and I swear on my life I will hide in the pantry until the coast is clear.”

At Arc’s expression at this extraordinarily unlikely situation Lix burst out into full giggles and launched her arms around him in a tight hug. One had to plan for all eventualities!

“I’ll see you later for hot chocolate,” she left a kiss on his cheek, “wonderful man.”

Elixa had a point about not mentioning Gamp. He'd mentioned the other two to her before. It hadn't occurred to him, or rather he hadn't remembered til now. He didn't respond to her about her comments on his companion possibly waiting in the pub; in the dim light he hoped she wasn't noticing the sudden rush of blood to his face.

"You're not that bad," he assured Elixa. "And n-- no." He turned back to the door and took a deep breath, little worries pulling and niggling on the edges of his mind like nibbling fish. For a moment he wanted to turn back, tell Elixa they were going home, the big scary pub wasn't worth all the stress and anxiety...but he didn't want to leave Gamp hanging, or being a no-show. Besides...Wild Aethonans.

"See you later, Elixa." He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze, more to reassure himself than anything else. "Thank you for walking me out here. Have a safe trip home."