Outfit


Liadan had been hesitant to agree to the blind date that her aunt had set up. Her relatives were always trying to interfere with her love life, and a tiny part of her felt guilty. It was one thing to be involved with Christian and going on regular dates with Gregori. It was another thing all together to be involved with Christian, going on regular dates with Gregori, and now accepting dates from other men. Still, her aunt had insisted and Liadan had decided that it wouldn't hurt to go on one date. She could let the man down easily, and not have to worry about it in the future. Eventually, if she rejected enough men, her aunt would give up.

The venue that had been selected was a very nice place in Diagon. It was wizarding fine dining at its best, and there was a small dance floor which was enchanted to change colors. The atmosphere was refined, and the patrons were only the most elite of the wizarding world. She had been there a few times before, but never on a real date. The venue likely meant that the man definitely was trying to make up for some sort of fatal flaw. He was probably going to be fat. Or old. Or fat and old. That would definitely make the evening wrap up rather quickly.

Liadan allowed someone to take her coat, and quickly arranged her dress and hair accordingly. She had been given no clue as to who her date was- but her aunt had assured her that the man would recognize her right away. She was frustrated with the situation. She would rather be sitting and having a glass of wine and waiting on him at the table. Not waiting on him to locate her.

What if he didn't show up? If that happened, Liadan would be furious. She would demand to know who he was from her aunt, and have a few cross words with him. Nobody had ever stood her up. She too beautiful for that, and too rich and powerful and perfect in basically every way. Men would kill to be with her. And she would let the man know just that if he decided to be a no-show.

She fidgeted awkwardly- a completely uncharacteristic thing for her to do. Confidence was one of her most prized traits, but Liadan did not like not knowing what was going on. She was accustomed to knowing everything, so this situation was far out of her comfort zone. Liadan muttered, chastising herself for being coaxed into this. Not only did she have to deal with this completely new sensation of guilt, but she felt awkward, nervous, and out of place. No more blind dates for her aunt, she decided. No more letting her family meddle in her love li-

Hello! Liadan beamed brightly as a very attractive man approached, immediately paying more attention to her posture. She recognized him- Liadan was sure that she knew him. Perhaps from Hogwarts? Probably so. But she had no doubt that this man who was approaching was not her date. Her aunt could not possibly manage to set her up with a pureblooded man who was her age, handsome, and could afford such a dinner. Where was that fatal flaw? She was determined to find it.

Azize Mulogo had just finished washing and drying his hands, and was checking himself in the bathroom mirror, making sure he presented himself perfectly to his blind date. It was a nice break from work to spend time with a woman, and since he had been too busy with some trade problems in Africa to actually chase women, he sought one out. In the process, one his acquaintances set him up with a blind date, and was only given the indentifying marker of someone who was working and just as deserving of a break as Azize was. That’s all he needed.

Azize smoothed his tie and waltzed out of bathroom, and surveying the room until he spotted the most overworked woman in the room, and it didn’t even take his encyclopedic knowledge of women and their common expressions to recognize one of the most busiest people in London: Liadan O Morain.

She had been such a small doll when he had attended Hogwarts, and so never approached her as gallantly as he had of other women his age, but now that she had filled out and was older, he could shower her with his charm and whisk her away to wherever she pleased.

“Miss Liadan!” he beemed his white smile at her and wound his voice around her name with his Swahili accent. He then made a fist, laid his forearm across the chest, and made a small bow towards the petite woman, “My date, I presume?” He returned to his full towering height before continuing, “I am Azize from Hogwarts, if you remember,” and then added very playfully, “or took notice of me.”

He gestured towards one of the fine tables, still bathed in white and pure before it might suffer something from the color-dying effects the dance might have on it. “Let us sit,” he said skipping through his vowels, “I am sure you have been very busy and tired, let me treat you, and we chase off your worries for the night!”

Liadan smiled, relieved, when he greeted her. His bow was quite enchanting, as was his accent in general. "It would seem that I am," she told him, taking in his appearance. Yes, he had certainly grown up and filled out even more since Hogwarts. She blushed lightly when he teased about her taking notice. Liadan was unsure whether or not he had known in Hogwarts that she had indeed noticed him. But Liadan had not been the only girl her age to think that he was handsome. For the most part, she kept her thoughts to herself then. At the age of thirteen, a girl was not supposed to have feelings for boys and she had still been expecting her parents to arrange a marriage for her. (Or at least for her mother to.)

"I do remember you, Mr. Mulogo. If I recall you were the same year as my brother." Liadan was unsure what their relationship had been, so she kept any further comments to herself. Besides, if they had been friends, she did not want to discuss him. Liadan had not spoken to her brother since Hogwarts. Even after he was disowned she did all that she could to not interact with him. For her own safety, naturally. Liadan did not want to find herself in the same boat as her brother. "Though I am surprised you would remember me. You were many years ahead of me, I would have assumed you were far too busy with your wizarding tests to have paid any attention to a young girl like me."

Liadan followed him to one of the tables, smiling as he pulled out her chair. "Busy yes, but tired- never." The last thing Liadan wanted was for her date to think she was a tired old woman. "I'm a bit young to allow business to get the better of me yet," she commented. Though she would not argue against him treating her. Her dates with Gregori were never quite so nice. The formality had dropped off, and mostly he wanted to try and weasel her into bed with him. It seemed he could not take the hint- but she had needed dates to events. And her relationship with Christian- whatever it was being defined as these days- was hardly one she take public. Liadan enjoyed fine dining and a formal atmosphere. She felt at home in a place where the manners she had been bred to have helped her to fit in as opposed to standing out.

"It is you who must certainly be very busy. I heard about the things you were doing in Africa with the Nundu. Quite impressive. Of all the dangerous creatures I come in contact with on a regular basis, I would never even dream of purposefully chasing Nundu. And now you are working for the ministry! How very impressive, especially to hold such an important title at such a young age. You must be very proud of yourself, Mr. Mulogo. I would have never expected you to go that route from what little I knew of you in Hogwarts."

Ah a blush, Azize was overly satisfied in his first impression eliciting a blush from someone who had been rumored to be rather stiff. Obviously she had a heart that enjoyed Azize’s playfulness. “I ‘ave never too busy to busy to refuse to acknowledge a lady,” his voice wound around his smile, “no one is ever too young to earn respect and attention.” And with that he began to guide Miss O Morain over to their table. He also took not of her calling him Mr. Mulogo, a formality that he hoped he might break her of, but as subtlety as possible. But he was sure that Miss O Morain was not one to break manners of any kind, but he considered it an extra endeavor he would undertake, as challenging and difficult as it may be—but that was the joy of winning the affections of a woman. It required work.

He pulled out the chair for Liadan, satisfied in seeing the formal intensity that plagued her when he first laid eyes on her to wither away and relax. He intended to make this all as comfortable and enjoyable as possible, from the conversation, to the food, and then to the dancing; although, he may save that until he was sure he could convince Miss Liadan to dance. He had not yet learned her boundaries, her musical preference, or what kind of dances she knew, but he was determined in finding out.

He raised his expression in pleasant surprise at Liadan’s comment about his occupational choices coming out of Hogwarts, and danced around the subject as best he could with an amused expression, “Ah, I had always wanted to be an auror, personally,” and then he squished his features together and made a distasteful look, “but it did not feel like the place for me.” A softer wave of comptemplative thought settled his features, “My people were in more need than those of Britain. There needed to be control with the nundu, balance, and a stop to the death and disease.” He nodded as he spoke this, as if satisfied with his handling of the subject. A smile began to peck across his face as he continued, “Once that was done my soul could be at ease,” and then he gave her his big white smile.

He thought of throwing the subject of success back at her, but he knew of her gloomy history, and tried his best to bring out the brighter side of things, “And I’m sure you made your family proud.” His voice took a wide birth of his vowels before a punctual pause, “after you took over the family business.” He clarified. “I am sure you have the envy of any businessman in the UK who’d wish for such a position, disease or no disease.”

He said what he did mostly for encouragement, but he truly and honestly thought it was true. There was a certain feeling you get from women, the kind who will get what they want no matter what stood in their way, and he was sure Miss O Morain was one of those women, and he thought that no one should tell her otherwise.

Azize then realized that the thought of dining had escaped him and he looked down at the menu, and perused the curvy blocks of text (that only wizards were capable of) that described food and their prices. The African man would like to say he could just guess what Liadan would want to eat, and impress her, but he was not that intuitive, and he would not fool himself with trying, “What would you like to start out with?”

Liadan's own features twisted when he mentioned wanting tobe an auror. "Certainly not the place for you," she agreed. "You're hardly so self righteous and uptight." There were worse things she could- and wanted- to say about aurors, but it wasn't appropriate for conversation on an outing such as this one. Besides, a lady didn't always voice all of her opinions. It was definitely not wise, and it could often end up ruining your reputation if you weren't careful.

"Well it was certainly very noble of you." Philanthropic motives always made a persons decisions and actions more noteworthy. Her own cousin, Lothario, was known as a philanthropist. He managed to get away with all kinds of nefarious activities because of his cover job. "It is good that you were able to do that for your people."

Liadan lifted the menu, listening as he commented on the farm. "It is a shame my mother and father never got a chance to see the good that I was able to do with it. And I have great hopes that the disease will be under control soon. It is just a shame how much was ruined." Liadan sighed quietly. "I'm sure that things will get rebuilt, it will just take a while. I was hoping that business would continue basically running itself so that I could focus on other aspects of my life." Particularly the hopes for cultivating some sort of romantic arrangement. She didn't expect this blind date to lead to anything serious- but it was important for her to find some serious prospects soon. Liadan wasn't getting any younger, and she wanted to start having a family soon. And Gregori wasn't fit for that, and as much as she liked Christian, she wasn't positive that he was either.

She let her attention shift back to the menu when he asked what she wanted to start with. "Something light," she commented. "A lady has to watch her figure." It was true in her case. Things were getting better though. Liadan had found a potion to aid in her shedding the weight she had gained, one that should help it go slowly as opposed to dropping it all at once. Liadan didn't want her friends or the public to be aware she had turned to magical aid to lose the weight she had gained. As soon as she was back to her previous weight, she was going to have an intense shopping spree. Perhaps she would drag Christian along and model a few things for him...

No, thinking of him on this blind date was certainly not what she needed to be doing. "So tell me, Mr. Mulogo, how do you know my aunt? The way she spoke it seemed she was very familiar with you. Though knowing her propensity to meddle in my affairs, it could have been a complete exaggeration."

Once Liadán had made the comment on focusing on “other aspects of her life,” that usually meant only one thing for a pureblooded woman—marriage. Azize wasn’t sure if he would go after Liadán with the gusto of marriage, she certainly wasn’t out of the question, but he wasn’t sure they were a good match for that sort of thing. While arranged marriages were convenient, those purebloods who were able to choose an appropriate spouse for a well-laid out marriage and business life, were particularly lucky.

“You still have plenty of time, for that Miss Liadán,” He churned out with a big smile.

Once she returned her attention to the menu and wanted ‘something light’ Azize wasn’t disappointed, however he was a bit saddened, indulging the palette usually required less-than-healthy foods, but Azize wasn’t going to argue the point with the young Ó Móráin. He had tasted nearly everything on the menu and was sure he could find a ‘light’ yet delicious alternative, so he skimmed the menu as his mind fiddled with her question.

“Ah,” he acknowledged, “I was visiting your aunt’s husband on business, and he thought it necessary to bring his wife along,” he paused and furrowed his brow and then pouted his lips, considering what Liadán had said about her aunt, “or she found out I was young and single, and decided to come along,” and then he made a slight shrug, “but she seemed rather intent to pull the answer out from me, personally, and now—“ he gestured to nowhere in particular, “here we are.”

“What of the honey roasted salmon, glazed in dragon-hexed sauce and served over spinach and rice?” he said delicately around his accent. There were a few other things on the menu, but he did not want to have Miss Liadán to resort to a salad to watch her figure in sacrifice for a good meal, it wouldn’t do. “And then a short dance for dessert,” he smiled wryly to see how quickly she would catch that.

Liadan nodded. "Yes, that does sound like my aunt. I do hope she wasn't too pushy on the matter. She has a tendency to try and force others to bend to her will. A strong woman, no doubt, but has yet to learn her place on society." And her place was in society was to be subservient to her husband. Liadan understood that was what was expected of a pureblood wife. "And has yet to learn that she is not my mother." In fact, her aunt had little interest in her life until her mother died. Then she had tried to take over, doing all the things she felt Liadan's mother ought to have done. It was frustrating, to be sure, but Liadan pretended to be gracious to avoid causing a familial rift.

"I suppose, though, that you got lucky Mr. Mulogo. Imagine all the women of London society that my aunt could have set you up with!" She gave him a coy smile as she sipped the glass of water. It was a vain moment, to be sure, but what was Liadan if not vain and materialistic? Liadan was a fine date for any man, even one as handsome and cultured as Azize Mulogo. And now that she was an adult, he could appreciate her fully- unlike the few years they shared together in Slytherin house as children.

The suggestion that he made from the menu was an excellent one, and not terribly unhealthy she supposed. "That sounds quite delicious, I think that is what I will have..." Liadan scanned the menu for that particular dish, causing her to take a couple of moments to fully comprehend his dessert suggestion.

Dancing was not something she was opposed to. For the most part she only danced at fancy parties. The occasional formal dance, but mostly just mingling with her friends and drinking champagne. Liadan was, for the most, not a very skilled dancer. She had taken dancing lessons when she was younger, but her small stature made dancing with men awkward for her. Especially when she opted out of wearing high heels (as she had tonight, in favor of kittened heels). And Azize was so very tall. She stood maybe five-one in her current shoes- making her partner easily a foot taller than she was. Liadan knew that quite a few men preferred small, dainty women- but there would always be disadvantages when you were so short. Without shoes she wasnt even five feet tall. Shortness was a curse of the O Morain family. Her own brother wasn't even five and a half feet tall.

"I might be persuaded to dance," she responded. "Assuming that the music is right and my partner is light on his feet. Having two people who lack grace partnered for a dance would be disappointing for all." Hopefully Azize would not be offended. Liadan was uncertain if she would dance with him. It depended mostly on how the evening went. If they did not seem compatible, she would likely develop a mysterious headache and excuse herself early. But if he remained charming and engaging, then she would spare him a few dances and allow herself to enjoy it.

When the waiter returned, Liadan allowed Azize to order first and choose the wine before she ordered her own. When he left, Liadan sipped her water and wondered what to talk about. "So tell me, Mr. Mulogo, what kind of business have you been doing lately with the ministry? Your job must be fascinating. I have always wanted to visit Africa and meet with the tribes and such. But I haven't had the chance." She was entranced by tribal magics, and had lots of books about African tribes and rituals. Particularly vodun. But Azize did not need to know that part.

At Liadan’s suggesting him possibly being paired with any woman in the London society, Azize did think, and then he reverberated a hearty chuckle, from his chest. She was right though, Liadan was a rather lucky pairing out of many, many kind of women, and even though Azize strived to treat all women like royalty, he sometimes found some trying on his patience or off-putting. But they were undoubtedly the fairer gender, and needed to be treated as such, whereas men led the way for them. And this was how Azize intended to dance with his date.

“I ensure you, Miss Liadan,” He said after taking in her reaction and concern, “I will lead you across the dance floor without the any of the bumbling grace  of someone with two left feet.” Azize was tall, for sure, and Liadan was definitely a bit short for a professional dance partner, but he was aware of his surroundings, and would take extra care when dancing with Liadan. And he pinned himself for a rather snazzy dancer, if he’d say so himself.

He waved the waiter over to the table and made sure to order something nice and filling, with a salad on the side, and picked out a fine bottle of red wine for the both of the, folding the menu delicately and handing it back to the waiter. It was only a moment, as Azize made sure the waiter headed straight for the kitchen before he addressed Liadan’s question, “Ah, mostly we have been watching the trade of artifacts between each country closely, and trying to build strong ties with them.” Then he made a rather critical face, “There was a rather nasty incident though, with some Egyptian mummies—I’m sure you’ve read about it.” He sipped his water and then continued to speak in a rich tone, “Apparently something brought them back to, although we’re still looking into it. It’s possible it’s an artifact, or an old spell someone thought was funny to shoot off. I’ve mostly been busy with helping conducting that investigation, recently.” He finished off.

"Perhaps I will allow you a dance, just to find out whether or not you're telling the truth," Liadan teased, growing quiet as the waiter returned and her date ordered the wine and took the menus. The wine that he chose was perfect, and Liadan's faith in his breeding was increased when he waited for the waiter to leave before resuming conversation. Some people (like Gregori) did not understand that the help was beneath you, and should not partake in conversation. On the contrary, her Russian friend enjoyed engaging them as though they were equals. How horrid.

Liadan took close note of his comments on watching the trade of artifacts. The woman enjoyed picking up dark items now and again, and if they were watching the trade from Africa, then her intrigue on tribal relics should be put to rest for the time being. "Is that so?" she asked. "I've a few Egyptian items myself, though I do not think any are cursed. The magic of the anicent Egyptians is quite fascinating, and when I was studying some of it I came into possession of a few interesting pieces. Either purchased in shops or given to me by friends who were aware of my interest."

She had, indeed, read about the incident with the mummies. Liadan would have liked to see such a thing in person. "I bet that was a traumatizing incident for those involved," the witch commented. It seemed the proper response. Showing interest in seeing mummies would likely be a little off putting for a man in his position. "I've never tinkered with practicing the magic, I can't imagine anyone who would," she said. "Toying with tribal magics or old magics you cannot begin to fathom is not a safe thing to do. There is no way to know what many of the spells and rituals actually do, and if you do the wrong one or take wrong step, the consequences can be quite dangerous." Liadan knew that from experience. Some strange things had happened with her own forays into voodoo and vodun.

"Is there no way to detect that specific kind of magic?" Liadan asked. "If so, you might be able to track whatever item it is. Old magic has a certain..." she grasped at the word, but couldn't find it. "A certain something, I cannot think of the word for it, that makes it different. Have you thought of involving the department of mysteries? They might have some further insight."

Azize returned a smiling pout as Liadan retorted with a tease, and then chuckled to himself. “Oh?” Azize said concerning her interest in artifacts. “I could always give you a good list of places that sell legitimate items,” he said stomping on all his consonants. “Nothing active, of course,” he added quickly, noting that Liadan did not need any more magical mishaps, and certainly nothing of the ancient Egyptian variety, added to her farm.

“They did seem rather… jumpy,” Azize finally put his smile away for a more furrowed look. Sometimes it was easy to talk about business without getting specific, of course he didn’t know too many specifics about the whole thing anyway, “I heard they seemed a bit distraught over the whole thing, but one short Irish man from the Prophet seemed to enjoy himself.” Then the dark-colored man nodded with an obvious manner, “Otherwise that lovely up and close photo of a mummy wouldn’t have had hogged the front page of the Prophet.”

Once the wine had arrived and was poured into glasses, Azize paused, waited for a moment for the waiter to leave the wine on the table and then trot off, before he took a moment to taste his wine, and nodded in approval. He dabbed his lips and set the drink down again, “It’s hard to tell,” he said, really only starting to quote other wizards who were more specialized in that, “Inferi would be an easy culprit to peg, but I don’t think it’s that, but yes, the Department of Mysteries have been digging their claws into the case.” His face took on a more lighthearted air and rolled over his words and accent as he continued, “My work is mostly damage control, running this over with the Egyptian Ministry—they aren’t very happy about this, but were quick to step in too.”

He parted his lips to show a wry white smile, “Everyone seems to want a hand on this mess, but no one wants to work together.” And then shrugged his palms outward—eh that’s how his job went.

"Oh, I am not too worried. I can find things if I need them, and we have many items in storage at the estate. It's amazing what a person can find when they dig through boxes which have been stowed away and forgotten about." Besides, legal vendors were not likely to have many things that would interest her. Liadan enjoyed rare items, ones that may or may not have a questionable origin or legal nature. Lothario was particularly apt at locating such things.

Short Irish man from the Prophet? Liadan smiled knowingly. I must be her cousin Torquil, but she did not comment on that specific fact. "Well, so long as nobody seemed to have been seriously injured, then things should be easier to smooth over." She understood damage control to an extent. She did that herself a lot these days it seemed. But she supposed having to do damage control for an entire wizarding nation would be a far more complex and difficult job than publicity issues with a company.

"Perhaps you should put some sense into them and make them work together?" Liadan offered. "There certainly has to be a charm of some sort to make people cooperate- or at least make them more inclined to do so. I would not be above using such magical means to reach a suitable conclusion." Then again, Liadan was not above using magic to achieve any outcome she desired or to get her way. Liadan loathed being wrong, and genuinely hated situations where she was not incontrol and things were not going as she had expected.

"I can't imagine having to work back and forth between the countries though. From my experiences our ministry is quite uncompromising and pompous. Vanity is not always an abhorrent trait- unfortunately most people or organizations who presume that they are better than everyone else have no truth in the basis of that conclusion." Unlike herself. Liadan was better than everything and everyone else. She was pretty, wealthy, pure, and successful. What wasn't there to like about a woman like Liadan O Morain?

Liadan lifted her wine glass, swirling it before taking a sip. "Excellent choice," she told him. "You would be surprised the people in this world who have little knowledge of wine. They assume it is all the same. And often times the house's suggested choices are not the best..." She trailed off for a moment, considering what to do or say next. She was not skilled at this type of conversation. No doubt Azize grew tired of discussing business on a regular basis, but there was little else to talk of that was not blatant small talk. Dates like this, though, were built on small talk and body language.

"I bet the weather in Africa is so much more appealing than weather here though. I really must visit Egypt. I would love to see the pyramids and the great sphynx. The creatures in Africa are also so much more exciting than those native to Britain. Aren't there dragon reservations in Africa?" Liadan asked. "I could love to visit one and see a dragon first hand."

Azize raised a slight inquiry in his brows as Lia seemed to smile at something he said, which was odd, since he didn’t think he made any sort of interesting joke, but he was quite proud of the fact that he did.

He let his wine sit as he considered Liadan’s suggestion, “Of course,” he admitted with a deep tone, “no one wants to admit error or humility—much less would an entire Ministry.” He said punctuating all of his “I”’s with his ee sounds “It is one thing to take responsibility for one’s own country, but ignorance in the face of the unknown.”

“I have half a mind,” he said with a crooked smile, “to lock the Egyptians and the British in a press room and let them sort it out themselves. Although it is not a very smart move, on my part, but it would settle many issues,” he hummed, as he picked up his glass and studied the wine again, twirling it in its glass and then examined the color, and absent-minded habit. “I have managed to make them content with my delivering and retrieving information to and from the Egyptians, and they are luckily, not sore enough to hold it against the Ministry.” He finished with a mumbled hum, as he considered the topic of his work. Was it that interesting to her? Although he was making it sound much more interesting than all the paperwork he had to go through. Sometimes he’d prefer it to the hours of discussion and arguing it took to settle a deal or a press conference.

He finished off discussion about his work, “Until we make another bumble the Ministry will refuse deny any productive help.”

He took a sip of his wine, “The weather?” He said recovering his voice from a gulp while returning his glass to the table, “It’s quite wild, depending on where you go. Egypt is rather simple, only two seasons, with a difference of wind. It’s hot in day and cold in night.” The weather, however, held hardly any interest compared to the country, “Rather simple in Egypt really, makes it easy to hide things in plain site, I think, if you think about,” he scrunched his dark eyebrows in contemplation, “like mysteries, magic, and mummies.” He ended with a quirky warning.

“Dragons,” he satisfactorily beamed at Liadan, “they are up to no good in Africa!” he growled in a hush, “There is so much space, not many large cities. There are reserves but many are hidden in other places and don’t make themselves known until they go on a rampage.” He wasn’t sure why he found it so amusing, but, in comparison to nundus, dragons were more amusing, “They have their own set of dragonologists and mercenaries just for the rogue ones.”

Azize then realized his tone may have been a little too amused, especially with someone who dealt with creatures all the time, “I am sorry for my lighthearted tone,” he said quelling his amusement, “but I suppose when you are around dangerous creatures for so long you start to see amusement in otherwise frightening behavior.”

The big black man then reflected upon the thought, considering Liadan’s father and his interest in dragons. While Azize may not have completely approved of Miss Liadan’s father’s methods, he was sure he was a respectable father, “You are a fan of dragons?” he asked with a smile, “Perhaps I can supply you with a few photographs of wild and reserved ones, so you can see the hybrids and sub-species that roam all over Africa?” Then he added, “Or a short vacation one day?”

Liadan wondered if Azize was as nervous as she was. The tone of his voice kept undulating between amused and serious, and he kept going back and forth. Though why he would be nervous, Liadan did not know. He was a handsome man, and likely went on dates with his fair share of women- this game was not new to him. (It was new to her, either, but she was the one who had been a victim of the blind date. It was her family making a fool of her, not the other way around.

She let him speak, though, nodding thoughtfully and interjecting quiet comments at the appropriate time. It seemed to be going well enough until Liadan realized he had just offered to take her on a mini-holiday to visit dragons in Africa. She flushed scarlet. How perfectly scandalous to suggest such a thing! Not that she did not enjoy the attention- it was flattery, and any form of flattery was a form that she enjoyed.

"I am quite flattered at such an offer," she told him coyly, hiding her grin behind the rim of her glass. "I shall have to see if my schedule permits, but I would love to see some dragons, Mr. Mulogo. But of course, people would talk," she reminded him.

They would talk because she would tell every single one of her friends if she did go on a trip with him to Africa to spend the day looking at dragons. And every single one of her friends she told would tell one of theirs- and it would filter out. And Liadan would love dodging questions and insisting the two were just friends- and that she had just wanted to see the dragons in Africa. He was handsome, yes, but they were not romantically involved. Liadan would revel in such attention.

But their food arrived shortly after she insisted that she could check her schedule, and she inhaled the aroma with a smile. "This smells lovely," she said to Azize. "It seems you might just have exquisite tastes."

Azize made a wide smile when he saw Liadan blush, it was usually a sign you were doing something right, or penetrating the amazing complex net and wall that women so often put up without a second thought of effort. However, she put up another wall, hiding any other expression she made behind her glass.

The African wished he could crane to see what it was, but was convinced that it was a smile, or some other amused twitch of the lips, because she continued onto an attempt to dissuade him—with an excuse even. A caution and an invitation? “Then we should make it out to be something about business, yes?” he rebutted in his deep tone, “—if you have time of course,” he added in a quick recovery as the food was swiftly placed on the table and the waiter refilled his and Miss Liadan’s glass.

“I have confidence in the salmon, had it once before,” he said proudly fanning out his napkin, “This however,”he observed his steak with long grilled asparagus lined by its side and rosemary potato cubes cooked to a crisp in sherry wine littering the rest of the plate, “Is something new to me and a result of a random whim and a guess.” Azize thumbed up his dinner fork and took a stab at one of the cubes, “But let’s see if it is as good as it smells,” then he ate it, and then began to cut up his steak, which he checked the coloring of and then also took a bite of. He nodded with approval and then began to cut away the rest of his steak, breaking the silence once he finally swallowed, “Fantastic.”

He took a moment to survey the dance floor which people were slowly starting to dance onto, however the multicolored shifting had yet to take place and so he returned his attention to his companion, “How is yours Miss Liadan?” Then he gave a mischievous grin, “If you like it then perhaps we should come back enough times to try the whole menu? Of course without the dancing all the time—that could get tiring.” He then took another bite of steak and patted his mouth down, waiting for Miss O Morain’s reaction.