She’d not mentioned it since he’d removed his shirt. When the moment was ruined, there was little one could do to grasp it back. So the witch had stayed silent about what she’d noticed, deciding to ask later. He wouldn’t go into detail, Mihai shared little with Eva and she was normally quite grateful for it as it meant he asked for little from her in return. They knew the basics about each other but very little past that. It wasn’t necessary.

It wasn’t until the couple were downstairs in Mihai’s kitchen, wine glasses in hand did the witch finally decide to ask about the scar across his shoulder. She’d seen little of him recently, perhaps a couple of weeks since she’d heard from him.

Dressed in one of his oversized shirts, the witch leaned back against the table and took a steady sip of wine. Her long hair was falling over her shoulders in messy waves, feet bare on the cold floor. It was getting late on in the evening.

“You’ve been in a battle mon chou.” she ventured, watching the wizard carefully. “You forget you’re the memory man and not the auror?” Pale lips twisted into a teasing smile. From what she knew of the obviator, he very likely hadn’t been to St Mungo’s to get it seen.

He'd been busy as of late, dealing with his brother's death and the circumstances surrounding it. His sister in law and nephew were currently staying with him, and had been for some time. He very rarely saw them, and the largeness of his house had allowed for privacy and space for all of them. He wasn't sure how long the two were staying, but Alia was a skilled alchemist. Together they were working on an alchemical poison. The target? Kazimir Almasy.

Ira had taken Zamperia blood, and she had to deal with the retribution. Blood for blood. It was only right.

He took a sip of his wine, a dry  tempranillo blend with a rich, deep purple undertone.

Mihai knew very well what Eva was talking about. The scar on his shoulder.

"I splinched myself." He explained, "I apparated hastily." The fact that Mihai had left flesh behind concerned him. But Ira had left blood on him as well. Blood that he was currently using against her. She'd fed him his brother. The bitch deserved it. He didn't want her to die by any means, he just wanted her to suffer. Mihai didn't think about what that implied about his character, nor did he particularly care.

“Hm.” Eva murmured, watching the wizard in front of her carefully. A career in defence law meant that Eva was well accustomed to telling if someone was lying or withholding truths. The lying had rarely mattered; the law didn’t care if someone was innocent or guilty. It was the impression of being either that mattered.

The impression Mihai gave was that he wasn’t interested in discussing his injury any further. Unfortunately for him, the witch currently stood in his kitchen was an inquisitive soul.
“Silly mistake to make for a wizard of your experience.” Her tone had changed somewhat. It was less affectionate, more calm and considerate as she watched him with the gaze of a non-believer.
“Teenagers are regular frequenters of St Mungo’s through splinching accidents. Young criminals tend to get off the worst.”

“I defended a young boy once, 19 years old. He’d just broken into a house, much like this ridiculous one,” Mihai’s house was too grand, too lavish. Nothing about it sat well with Eva. “He’d failed to realise a couple of curse breakers lived there. Obviously, that didn’t work in his favour when they woke.” He gave a small shrug, no need to explain. “He was in such a rush and panic to get out he left behind a finger.” A tiny smile graced the witch’s lips. “He still pleaded guilty to the plethora of robberies. Even asked for his finger back.”

Bright blue eyes zeroed in on the wizard. “He’s the sort of person I’d expect to have a splinching accident, Mihai.”

Although Eva was a satisfactory bedcompanion and sometimes a good conversationalist, today she was particularly inquistiive. And not in a good way. And of course, she had to tell a story before getting on with her implication-- that Mihai was far too old and experienced to simply splinch himself. She indicated that he was somehow guilty of something becuase of it. That didn't sit well with Mihai. Not at all.

It was probably because of this kind of behavior that she got a divorce. He couldn't imagine Rosier handling this type of interrogation well.

"I was in a hurry." He managed a morbid grin. Thinking back on it, the reason he got splinched was funny. "Balfour and I were drinking." True, they had been drinking wine, "He kindly pushed me out a window. I apparated in a panic." Also true. "We may be old, but alcohol makes us as idiotic as our fifteen year old selves." There's a reason most responsible adults have a designated apparator during a night of hitting pubs.

Years of working in law had given Evangeline a good inclination of when someone was lying. Back during her days on Level 2 she’d been quite certain of whether a suspect was lying or genuinely innocent. In reality, she didn’t care all too much about how Mihai managed to get injured. The reason she’d pushed was his lack of answer. She’d always been an inquisitive person; it was what had brought her into law in her teens. Mihai’s deflection showed his lack of appreciation.

His story was at least something she could pretend to believe. So eyebrows rose in mild surprise as she took a sip of the wine and leaned back against the counter.

“No window diving tonight, though eh mon chou?” There was no point pushing. It would ruin an otherwise pleasant evening. Eva didn’t meet Mihai to share feelings and stories. Neither were interested in anything more than hiding those beneath the bedcovers.

After a moment, Eva placed her wine glass on the side next to her and lifted her body up to sit on the counter. She reached forward and took the wizard’s hand, pulling him closer.

She wasn't pressing. That was good. Mihai frankly didn't care if she believed him or not as long as she didn't annoy him (or anybody else) about it. Even if she did, it was easy enough to confirm that Balfour had in fact, pushed him out a window after a drink. Level four was known as much for camaraderie as they were for ridiculous antics.

"No, no window diving tonight." He confirmed, taking another sip of his wine. Bold. Smooth. He could feel the strong tannins lingering on either side of his mouth. As Eva pulled Mihai closer, his lips curled into a restrained smile. He opened his mouth to speak when--

"Tio?" A small voice called from the doorway of the kitchen.

What the hell was his nephew doing here? Alia had said that she was taking him out for a few days. Mihai couldn't contain his irritation. Yes, he loved the kid-- it was his brother's son after all. And he had witnessed Emilian's death. Levi had been a somber child since, which was preferable to the hyperactive mess he had been when his dad was alive. Apparently grief hadn't stopped his nephew from making an appearance when it was most inconvenient.

"Onde está sua Mamãe?" Mihai asked, wondering where the hell Alia was. Levi gave him a noncommital shrug and gestured vaguely towards nothing in particular. How helpful.

Mihai offered Eva a look that was half apologetic, half irritated. "This is my nephew, Levi."

Levi waved at Eva lazily and made his way to the fridge. God, he was ugly.

The child’s voice caused Eva’s head to shoot around to see a small boy entering the kitchen uninvited. It took seconds to put the foreign language and appearance together before her bright-eyed gaze flicked to Mihai, decidedly unimpressed at the intrusion. Since when had a child resided here?

Regardless of the wizard seeming irritated, he’d known of the child’s presence. Had it been in the house while they’d been busy upstairs? Eva was suddenly extremely conscious of her barely dressed state. It didn’t take a Portuguese speaker to realise what Mamãe meant and she certainly didn’t fancy the kid’s mother showing up!

“Scheisse…” The mutter was barely audible as she crossed her arms and frowned from boy to uncle. “And how long has your nephew Levi been dwelling here?”