Lexus walked into the bar and smiled. There was just something about the atmosphere of the bar that calmed Lexus to her core. She had no idea whether it was because she was back in a bar or if the dark underlying feeling of the Black Chimaera just spoke to the animal inside her. She was dressed to impress as she dragged Jonas into the bar to celebrate her birthday. Lexus was turning twenty four and it was the first birthday in almost five years that she was actually celebrating.

Thanks to some extra shots of her own healing potion she was feeling up and chipper. With the full moon behind her for another month Lexus was feeling good and ready to get piss drunk. She knew it was probably a bad idea to get sloshed in front of her employer but Jonas really was the only person in London she knew well enough to celebrate her birthday with.

She pulled him over to the bar perched herself on one of the tall stools and looked over at Mannie and Cinaed, wondering if she could get the great blonde behemoth to serve her. She looked to Jonas with a smile, "Thanks for coming out. It really means a lot to me. It's been so long since I've done anything for my birthday." She waved for one of the bartenders to come take their order hoping that Cinaed would be the one to serve them.

Jonas considered it unfortunate that he had somehow missed the usual going-out-and-partying phase of his youth.  For most of his time at Hogwarts, he'd been too young for anything besides butterbeer.  By the time his seventeenth birthday had finally come around and he'd come of age, he'd been too busy frantically preparing for his NEWTs to really enjoy it.  Testing and graduation had quickly been followed by Auror training, at which point he certainly could have spent late nights out drinking though he would have severely regretted it in the morning, which had then been followed by years of work in Magical Law Enforcement and nearly a decade of paranoia. 

It made him feel as though he had missed out on part of his childhood.

He hadn't been entirely sure what to expect when his new assistant had asked him to go out with her for her birthday.  Jonas had been half expecting that they would just plop down at the bar, which was what he usually did at pubs, and then sample a half-dozen or so brews while making small talk about anything unimportant.  Lexus, though, had clearly not garbed herself for such a mundane occasion, and in his usual brown overcoat, Jonas was starting to feel slightly underdressed.

"Yeah, it's a pleasure," he replied politely, hands tucked into his pockets as he carefully glanced over the bar.  Jonas had been hoping that the cranky Manfred would be on bartending duty tonight; he had decided that his good deed for the month would be befriending the prickly parolee.  "I don't get out too often anyhow.  Nice change to being locked in the office."

He glanced at the bar, then back at Lexus, flashing the woman a friendly smile.  "What do you want to drink?" he asked, starting for the counter.  "Find a place to sit and I'll round it up, yeah?  The stout was alright last time I tried it."

"I'll definitely have to get you out more often then," She offered him with a playful smile, "'Course that all depends on wrecked I get tonight. You might not wanna go out with me anymore after seeing me completely trashed." Which was what she fully intended for the night. It was her twenty fourth birthday and by Merlin she was going to damn well enjoy it. She had dressed to the nines and was planning on getting absolutely hammered and if she was lucky she wouldn't be going home alone, if she was really lucky she'd be sharing her bed with a certain blonde haired bartender.

She blushed ever so slightly, a colour change that wasn't exactly noticeable in the dim lighting of the pub. She nodded and looked around for a place to sit. She had been intending to just sit at the bar and wondered if that was still an option. Thankfully she found a table that was close enough to the bar they'd be noticed and still with enough distance to have a bit of privacy if need be. Lexus sat down and called up to Jonas, "Surprise me." If she was going to get drunk she honestly didn't care how she got there.

She was hoping she could use the comfortable and relaxed setting (at least for her) to get Jonas to open up a bit more about himself. Their first dinner together had been almost too casual, they had talked without actually saying anything. Then again at that point he had been thinking she was nothing more than a pretty faced muggle baiting criminal. Hopefully they had gotten past all that.

(((OOC: I’m assuming you two are sitting together, if that isn’t right tell me and I’ll edit it)))

James was, for once, rather contemplative at this bar.  Usually he would just come to the Black Chimaera, eat a shepherd’s pie, hit on a few of the ladies and leave.  This change of action was because James had just got his arse handed to him by a werewolf not too long ago.  That had hurt, and also served as a mortality check for the young quidditch player.    He was contemplating that maybe, just maybe he should try to slow down a little and enjoy life.  While he certainly was not in a hurry to make an heir & a spare, he was thinking about taking fewer risks in life.

Because of the nature of the attack, James was also thinking about investing in a silver spear or halberd.  While he had no doubt that it would cost him a pretty penny, the rash of werewolf strikes lately was making him seriously contemplate such armaments.  This train of thought was interrupted by noticing the redhead and his rather pleasant companion walk into the bar, he wondered if he should actually start a deep and meaningful conversation with her…and then promptly dismissed it.  The girl had obviously dressed to show off her cleavage, and she seemed to have that classic hourglass shape to her figure.  James was wondering what to say to her beyond a clichéd pick up line. 

James was also wondering what he should say to that guy with her.  While the red-haired gentleman did not look like her father, James assumed that he was her friend.  James hoped that he did not provide any other benefits to the young lady, but it was not like he knew either of them.  Wondering if that was an approach he could work with, he approached the two of them and said,

“I do not think I have seen either of you here before.  What brings you two out tonight?” James asked, wondering if he could glean some more information about the cute witch.  James hoped it was not too obvious that he really could care less if the guy decided to take a walk…or something.

Jonas had given the young woman a dry look as she made her intention for the night's celebration very clear.  Going on the lash in Knockturn Alley did not strike him as the brightest way to spend an evening, but he supposed that now that he had agreed to come along, he couldn't very well start to criticize.  He'd just be careful to keep his head about him, and if anything got tetchy, Jonas had no doubt he could get the Canadian witch out.

He had been nodding to Lexus, his attention already fixed on the menu over the bar, when another younger man approached, tearing the private investigator's attention away from the list of ales on tap.  Jonas glanced over at the new arrival, quickly evaluating him, and then flashed him a friendly smile. 

"Yeah, you might not've," he agreed cheerfully.  "It's the lady's birthday.  Thought we'd head out for a drink." 

Despite the young man's relatively friendly tone, Jonas had a slight suspicion that he wasn't the reason that the bloke had developed a sudden interest in the new arrivals.  Somewhat resigned to the fact that he was evidently being relegated to the role of chaperone, he slanted Lexus a bemused look, slipping his hands into his pockets to pull out the pouch where he kept his wizarding money. 

"You want to buy her a pint, you'll have to queue up then," he informed the man dryly, heading for the bar with the coins in hand.  "Don't give her anything with too much heft, though.  She's Canadian."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." She said playfully to Jonas before giving the older man a wink, "At least I'm not American. Our water has more alcohol in it than that swill they call beer."

She looked at James with a flash in her eyes. She hadn't missed the way he had looked at her when he made his way over and the animal inside her was reacting accordingly. She found this soon after a transformation it was harder to quell those animalistic instincts and reactions. She was curious as to why he had bothered to come all the way over here. She wasn't exactly put off by it, the more the merrier, she was going to enjoy her birthday no matter who fancied talking her up. She just found it a little strange that he had come over despite her being with Jonas. Was their age difference that noticeable? Or was it just so hard to believe that a witch like her might be involved with a wizard like him? Of course there was no involvement with Jonas aside from being his assistant but she still found it interesting that he wasn't deterred by the situation.

She offered James a smile, "I turned twenty four today and I figured this would be the best place to have a few cold ones to celebrate. Nothing fancy, or crazy." She didn't need to admit to this total stranger that she planned on getting completely drunk. She didn't need him getting any dumb ideas about getting her so sloshed she wouldn't mind going home with him. It wasn't that she wasn't attracted to him she had just been hoping to get the attention of someone else tonight.

"Name's Lexus, that's Jonas." She nodded towards her boss, "You are?"

 ‘A Canadian, a Brit, and an American.  Why do I feel like a joke will happen when we all walk up to the bar,’ James thought in response to the red haired gentleman’s comment.  After the young lady introduced herself and her companion, James had a perplexed look upon his face.  ‘Who the !%$@ travels across an ocean just to sit in a bar?’ James continued his internal monologue.

“You two travel all the way across the Atlantic, and you are going to pass up on the crazy stuff?  Look...I can understand being weary of some foreign drinks – I have been bitten by those before as well,” James started, remembering some god-awful lager that he had on an away game.  “But since both of you made the effort into making this trip – at least do something exciting beyond the regular tourist traps.  Especially since it is your birthday,” James smiled to the young witch.  Then, making sure he was looking at both of them, James suggested that they should

“Go swim up the River Dee or shoot the rapids of the Thames.  Spend a couple of hours on a broom to get a birds-eye view of the land.  Or spend some time in Hogwart’s legendary Forbidden Forest and try to talk to a centaur.  There are entirely too many things to do here, especially if you are new to these parts.  You did stumble into one of the better bars - even though it is in a rough part of town,” Taking a breath, James then remembered that the young lady had asked him a question. 

“Oh – I almost forgot – the name is James and flying is my game,” James introduced himself as an afterthought.  James’s inner tour guide had decided that these two needed to see more of the land.  And give a far more personal tour to Lexus after that. 

Lexus looked up to Jonas with a slight expression as if to say, 'can you believe this guy?' It was obvious, at least to Lexus that he was only being polite to Jonas because he was there and if the two had come across each other on any other occasion they wouldn't have said one word to each other. No, the man's real reason for talking was Lexus and she was deciding it wasn't that bad of a pursuit. He wasn't drunk, he wasn't rude and he wasn't trying to feel her up with some lame ass pick up line. All in all she deemed him worthy enough to stay and have a few drinks with them, who knows perhaps she'd actually enjoy his company.

Her eyes flashed again and she let out an almost bark like laugh, "I didn't travel here just for my birthday." She gave the man a smile that twinkled her eyes, "I've been living here for just over a year and Jonas has been here for close to a century." She added playfully poking fun at the man's age. He was only about ten to eleven years older than her but it was still fun to bug him about it.

She gave an involuntary shudder when he mentioned Hogwart's Forbidden Forrest. She was well acquainted with the area. She had spent the full moon before last there and judging by the arrows stuck in her leg when she turned back into a human she had done more than just try to talk to the centaurs. She had no desire to return to the area, as a human or as a wolf. It was a dangerous place and after the attack that happened that night she couldn't risk being anywhere near the place.

She sighed heartily and looked back to James with interest, "Perhaps you can give me a tour of the sights some other time, for now, we drink!" She chuckled and looked to Jonas wondering how long it would take for the two men to get her completely hammered.

The tall, long-haired ex-Azzie was huddled around one of the tables in the darkest corner of the pub.  There was only one other at his table; a middle-aged, curly-haired witch who was giving a much longer-winded explanation of her observations than was really necessary.  Cinaed waited as patiently as he could for the woman to find the point she was trying to make though with each passing segue. 

His attention had already been mostly diverted by the pair that had come into the pub together.  Jonas Trevelyan and Lexus Dale.  Not a combination he would have guessed at on his own but he'd seen stranger pairings.  The nature of the pairing wasn't, exactly, what had sparked his interest.  Nor was it Forrester's joining them though, to Cinaed, that was rather amusing.  It seemed the food and the women that frequented the pub were strong draws for the Quidditch player.  By now, Forrester was enough of a regular for Cinaed to have become well aware of his tactics.  And, it even extended to women who came in obviously on the arm of other men.  Cheeky git.  Cinaed chuckled before turning back to the woman at his table. 

"Yeah yeah - no.  I'm not paying that."   Obviously put out, the witch shook her head and pushed herself to her feet.  After some vague threat of Cinaed never being able to find a better price, she slipped through the pub doors out into the street.  With her finally out of his hair he made his way over to the bar.

"Crazy hag," he offered with a jovial grin, the previous conversation already behind him.  "Anyway, what can I get for you?"  He gave the bar a quick wipe before pulling out a few clean glasses.  Casting a casual glance towards Trevelyan, he added, "And, if at some point you can spare a moment, I've got a business proposition for you.  Shouldn't take more than a moment - I won't keep you from your company for too long." 

Jonas had only been half listening to the conversation as he headed to the bar, his attention just sufficient to make sure that nothing indecent was being proposed but not quite enough to distract from more important decisions, such as what he was ordering. 

That decision was made much easier by the fact that for once he didn't need to worry about bankrupting himself if he spent a night on the town.  He couldn't say that the abundance of coins in his pocket were burning a hole necessarily, but the private investigator couldn't help but self-consciously notice the weight of the recently added Galleons.  However odd the encounter and resulting assignment on Friday night might have been, if every meeting with his new employer ended in a similar pay off, Jonas imagined that he might be willing to tolerate quite a good deal of eccentricity in the near future.

Giving half a mind to the conversation behind him - just enough to spare Lexus a dry look over his shoulder for the comment about his centenarian status - he turned his attention to the menu behind the bar, considering it thoughtfully as he decided what he might like to start on for the evening.  Tawse's arrival might have startled him if the bartender hadn't announced himself with a cheerful gripe as he made his way behind the bar.

Jonas glanced up, flashing the big Scotsman a lopsided smile in greeting.  "I'll try the dark this time, yeah?" he returned cheerfully.  "And I reckon a white ale will be alright for the lady." 

Tawse was good-natured enough that Jonas still couldn't help but like the other man, despite knowing that at one point he'd been sent to Azkaban.  He'd been on the verge of opening his mouth to give his condolences on the hag and offer to put in for a drink for the bartender, and maybe Ashford aside if the older man was about, when the bar owner casually dropped a hint.

The private investigator raised his eyebrows, glancing back nonchalantly over his shoulder in Lexus's direction.  His assistant was still in conversation with the self-proclaimed flyboy, and since Jonas was apparently over a century old anyhow, he could afford to take a few moments longer retrieving the drinks.

"Yeah?" he asked amiably, leaning an arm on the counter.  "I can always spare a moment where business is concerned.  Where'd you want to talk?"

Noting that Lexus and Jonas were sending a large number of dry looks across the table, James wished he had been less obvious in his intentions regarding the cute witch.  Still, the guy seemed to be ignoring him and Lexus seemed to be warming up to him.  James thought that was a good thing, even though he did not want to alienate the witch’s friends as quickly as he met them.  James thought about it for a moment, and realized that he was not trying to become the girl’s best friend, he was just trying to do a round of the horizontal tango then move on to his next dance partner.  His musings on the subject where interrupted by Jonas going to get drinks.  Though he had some firewhiskey, he would probably need to order another.  He would worry about that after Jonas came back.  Trying to keep the small talk alive, he asked Lexus if,

“Is Jonas really over a hundred?  I assumed he was older than you – I did not realize it was by that much though,” James completed his thought.

Trying to read her body language while keeping the small talk going, James thought he was doing well but could not get a definitive excuse to be bolder.  Though James had gone through this routine many times before, he always had trouble escalating things.  Making note of the conversation between Cinaed and Jonas, James silently thanked the bartender for distracting the other gentleman for a moment or two.  He now had an excuse to speak to the girl alone.  Trying to glean something he could show her (or them, but preferably her), James decided to get a little more information from the witch.

“So if you’ve been in Britain for a year – what have you seen and what do you want see?” James asked genuinely interested.  After all, James had learned that it was far easier to seduce someone if they were already having a good time with you.   

Lexus chuckled and shook her head, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in her chair, "No, no, he's really only about thirty five but I like to bug him about it. He talks like he's a lot older though, I guess an extra ten years will make anyone seem like they're ancient." She gave James a wink. She enjoyed teasing Jonas, mostly because the older man was so much fun to rile up. She doubted that any of her teasings actually bothered Jonas.

She glanced to her employer noticing that he was now getting into a conversation with Cinaed Tawse, the attractive owner of the Black Chimaera. Lexus couldn't help but think of what Daz had said the week before, 'He's a no strings attached kind of guy,' which meant that Lexus could probably seduce him without having to worry about him falling for her. James on the other hand. She took a moment to study him. He looked as if he had done this sort of thing before, considering how easier he had joined her and Jonas which probably meant he wasn't the kind of guy that wanted to settle down any time soon. That suited Lexus just fine. She didn't think she'd ever be able to settle down now that she was a monster, the saddest part of it all being that she had once heard that werewolves, at least females, were barren. It tore her up inside more than she'd like to admit knowing that she'd never be able to have children of her own.

She kept the smile on her face as she answered James' question, "I've mostly only seen the countryside. Been staying at my cousins cottage by the sea since I got here. I only recently got a flat on Charing Cross Road, and a job with Jonas," She inclined her head to indicate her employer, "So basically I haven't got around to seeing anything, I wouldn't mind seeing it all. As long as there are no dark forrests involved." I've had more than my share of those.

"You got it," Cinaed said, cheerfully.  From the shelf over the bar, Cinaed pulled down two pint glasses and began filling both of them.  "I'd be curious what you think about the dark," he added, jovially as he set the two glasses on the counter top.  Leaning his side against the bar, he wiped a few piles of spilled foam from the worn wood with a rag.  "The place is starting to actually do well so I'm trying a few styles shipped down from Scotland.  Be curious to see if they're worth it." 

Cinaed, no doubt, held a strong sense of pride in his business.  He'd managed to take the little hole in the wall place and create a thriving mainstay in Knockturn.  One which drew those beyond the typical Knockturn crowd.  It was actually beginning to look like the little pub could be considered a source of competition for Leaky.  He now had an actual, paid, full time bartender who drew business to the place herself.  If he started being able to offer as good of drinks as he could find, he could really have a place to be proud of. 

Succeeding despite the Ministry's attempts to hold him down.  It was a sweet revenge.

"You sure I'm not pulling you away from your company?" Cinaed asked with a smirk, nodding in Lexus' direction.  "Forrester can snatch a witch out from under you faster than catching a snitch.  I'd hate to be the cause of you loosing track of your evening's entertainment."  The thought had yet to occur to Cinaed that he might be misjudging the nature of the pair's relationship.

However, the man had yet to hesitate and the issue at hand had, indeed, become a priority.  "Well, if you're sure.  The kitchen in back seems the best place; the inn tenants are still out."  Cinaed moved out from behind the counter to lead the way to the back.  "Just to be on the same road - your services ... they're primarily information gathering?  Ever get into information tampering?  How comfortable are you with jobs that are slightly questionable in nature?" 

Jonas had always been a firm believer that no good beer should ever be let to waste.  He wasted no time in raising the glass to take a sip, even as he carefully filed the flyboy's last name away with his first.  At least if Lexus went missing and didn't show up to work the next morning, he'd know whose flat to go tromping the door down.

"Well, you ever want a second opinion on a brew, mate, just let me know and I'll stop in," he replied good-naturedly.  "And yeah, I reckon I can recover.  Losing something isn't so bad when you make a living at tracking them down again, innit?"

He couldn't help raising his eyebrows at the bartender's next questions.  Jonas pressed his lips together thoughtfully, taking another sip of the beer as he considered.  "Depends on what you mean by tampering," he replied.  "And depends who's around when I'm being asked.  As to the rest of it, if you want to tell me what you have in mind, I'll let you know if I think I can manage it, yeah?" he offered as he turned back towards the main part of the tavern, picking up both glasses.  "Wouldn't want to waste your time or money if I can't.  Give me a minute and I'll be right back."

He must be getting soft in his apparent old age, Jonas thought dryly, as he stopped back by the table where he'd left Lexus and Flyboy.  "Cheers," he said generously, passing her the lighter of the two beers and setting the dark one down in front of James.  "Barkeep said he just got something new in, so we're going to go crack the keg.  Just be a minute.  If you're gone when I get back, I'm docking the hours for tonight out of  your pay," he warned Lexus dryly, giving the witch a look as he tucked his hands into his pockets and went to follow Cináed into the back.

James listened to Lexus comment about Dark Forests, and made a mental note not to take her anywhere with a large amount of trees.  Wondering if he should offer them a tour of London or not, James decided against it.

“If you’ve been in England for over a year, you probably have seen every part of London you want to see.  But have you ever taken a look at Glasgow at night?  The muggles have found some way to literally light up the night, and it does provide a nice view,” James said, moving in slightly closer to the witch and getting a better view himself.  James would have judged her reaction had he not heard Cinaed’s comment.  James knew he could catch a snitch far faster than pick up a witch, but lost his focus when Cinaed said the magic word.  He would have to correct Cinaed’s perception of him and quidditch at later date.  Catching a snitch was easy – it was finding the little gold ball that seemed to be overdosed on pepper up potion which was hard.

He was then offered a glass of ale.  James immediately added three points to the “I like this guy column” in his head, and made a mental note to buy them a round of Black Chimaeras.  “Thank you,” James said to the red-haired gentleman. 

Wondering how well a round of Black Chimaeras would be well received, James thought he should get something else for the lady.  He had no idea how she liked her liquor, but did not want to ask her what she wanted to drink.  Wondering if he should ask Jonas for his opinion – that plan was apparently thwarted.  ' Well – good for Cinaed ' James thought to himself.  The bartender could always use more customers and more ales.  While he was going to say something else to Jonas, the man and the bartender headed towards the kitchen before James could get a word in.  That suited James fine, and he focused his attention on Lexus.

Trying to come up with some small talk, he asked the lady, “So what brought you to this side of the Atlantic?” James asked, slightly curious.