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Post by Luffy on Jan 3, 2007 3:10:41 GMT -5
*Adrian sighed heavily, leaning against the door; morose wasn't even the word. Iris walked out from her room upon hearing the noise.* "Adrian! Where have you been!?" *Adrian groaned, sliding down to the floor.* "Iris, please... let me go to sleep. I'll talk to you in the morning."
*Iris put her hands on her hips, walking towards Adrian.* "You'll talk to me now. Where have you been?"
"I was at the Leaky Cauldron." *Adrian was starting not to feel well, his eyes flickering shut.*
"You're always there. What's wrong with you?"
*Adrian put his head down, staring at his shoes.* "My dad died today. Please... just let me talk to you in the morning." *Adrian lifted himself off the floor with much difficulty, kissing Iris on the head, before walking into his room and locking the door. "And yes, I am drunk." *Adrian shouted, which took up a little too much energy apparently, because he fell to the floor in exhaustion.*
*Iris stood in the middle of the living room; flabbergasted. "Uncle Trenton..." *she mumbled* Her eyes welled up, and tears started to fall as she walked into her room, and cried herself to sleep.*
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Post by Kait on Jan 3, 2007 3:16:22 GMT -5
*Orpheus apparated home in a rather foul mood, not at all happy with himself. He mentally cursed his inability to handle social situations, knowing that he should have done more to comfort Adrian when he was practically begging him for help. Still, another part of him was shocked that he cared so much, never having been one to get involved with other people's problems. He paced for a long while in his living room before going to bed, deciding to do something about the situation in the morning.*
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Post by Luffy on Jan 3, 2007 3:24:52 GMT -5
*Adrian slept rather unpleasantly until morning, tossing and turning on the floor. When the sun rose, he groggily lifted himself up off of the floor, his head throbbing dully. He jumped in the shower, seeing a note hanging on the shower head from Iris, stating that she had gone to work early. Frowning he turned on the shower, feeling guilty for being so cold towards her last night. He quickly got out of the shower, dressing lazily, and heading off to the shop, a deeper depression than usual setting in as he apparated in front of his father's forge, which was now his.*
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Post by Kait on Jan 3, 2007 10:03:59 GMT -5
*Orpheus found himself unable to sleep very soundly, waking with the dawn rather reluctantly. He showered and dressed and was on his way out of the door when he stopped, feeling far too guilty about the night before to simply go to work without doing anything. He went to his desk and pulled out one of his spare business cards, flipping it over to the blank side and writing quickly, yet elegantly, with his quill: "My condolences to you and your family, Adrian." He then conjured up a boquet of flowers, a rather beautiful yet unusual arrangement of white dwarf amaryllis (his favorite flower), blue forget-me-nots, and white asphodels. Satisfied with it, he placed the card inside and wrapped it up carefully in brown packing paper before bringing it to his owl. Knowing that the owl would bring it safely to Adrian, he set out to work with a clearer conscience, apparating to the Ministry.*
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Post by Luffy on Jan 3, 2007 16:48:47 GMT -5
*Adrian worked slower than he usually would, his mind drawing blanks as he would melt the steel longer than necessary. His ability to focus had vanished. Adrian let out a morose sigh, walking over to the counter and picking up order slips that had been dropped off. He was about to make a sword, when an owl flew through the window. It flew steadily, but had such eloquence as it did so. The owl stopped directly in front of Adrian, dropping a brown, oddly-shaped... thing... into his hands.*
"What is this?" *Adrian raised an eyebrow curiously, as the owl pulled at the paper with his beak, revealing a lovely bouquet. "
"These are lovely... but from whom am I so honored?" *Adrian nuzzled the owl lovingly, having a 'thing' for animals, and gazed after it as it flew out his window. Adrian glanced down at the flowers, realizing that they weren't the usual bouquet of flowers, and took out the card lying on top.*
* Adrian rubbed the back of his neck, feeling odd about receiving them from Orpheus. None the less, he attempted to shrug it off, having a rather dazzling vase he had made a few days ago levitate towards the counter. He smiled, knowing that they looked nice, and that it was a nice gesture, and yet- he didn't understand why Orpheus did that in the first place.*
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Post by Kait on Jan 3, 2007 17:02:29 GMT -5
*Orpheus went to work the same as always, walking into the office and taking a seat at his desk. He wasn't there long before Callie insisted that they leave to investigate the rest of the people on their long list of suspects. While they were on their way to the ministry lobby, Callie shifted rather uncomfortably before talking.*
"What were you doing with Mr. Pickett last night? The conversation didn't look very much like... business. You didn't even leave with us."
*Orpheus frowned a little, noting the bitterness in her voice.* "Mr. Pickett was having a rough day and requested my company for a few minutes so he could tell me some things. Perfectly relevent to our investigation, I assure you."
"Oh really? How so?"
*Orpheus sighed softly, lowering his gaze a little.* "It would seem that the elder Mr. Pickett, previous craftsman of the Pickett forge, passed away yesterday."
*Callie looked slightly surprised but quickly frowned.* "And what exactly does that have to do with us? Sounds rather personal if you ask me."
"Of course not, Miss Robles. Mr. Trenton Pickett knew all of these contacts and was just as involved with the cauldrons as his son. It was a loss of a good resource in our investigation. Now, if you don't mind, could we move along and forget about the fruitless events of yesterday?"
*Callie looked rather sour, quickly apparating off to their desired location and leaving Orpheus to follow.*
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Post by Luffy on Jan 3, 2007 17:11:59 GMT -5
*Adrian walked over to the door, locking it and buttoning up his shirt languidly. He simply couldn't work. Sighing, he apparated to his house, knowing Iris was still at work, and passed out on the couch.*
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Post by Kait on Jan 3, 2007 17:16:41 GMT -5
*Orpheus spent a long time with Callie going from business to business and house to house, though at the end of the workday they were once again empty handed. When they reached their office at the ministry, they found two more cauldrons to unjinx, each of which once again had the Pickett brand. Orpheus felt rather glum as he fixed both of the cauldrons and returned them to their owners, one belonging to the Borgin family and the other to the chef at the Leaky Cauldron. After he returned the last cauldron, he sat down at the bar for a drink of water and some dinner, not feeling up to cooking for himself.*
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Post by Luffy on Jan 3, 2007 17:21:35 GMT -5
*Iris walked into her house, immediately realizing that Adrian was passed out cold on the couch. Shaking her head, she grabbed a blanket from the closet down the hall, and threw it over him, a sad smile playing at her lips.*
"Good night, Adrian." *Iris whispered, locking herself in her room to do some paperwork.*
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Post by Kait on Jan 3, 2007 17:24:30 GMT -5
*Orpheus ate quickly before apparating home, setting his house to cleaning itself again. He spotted his barn owl sitting on the window sill in the kitchen, glad to see that he had returned quickly from his journey. He stroked his cheek and fed him a quick treat before going to his bedroom, undressing, and getting into bed.*
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Post by Luffy on Jan 3, 2007 17:30:24 GMT -5
*Adrian slept soundly, exhaustion getting the best of him. He shifted in his sleep, rolling over, and onto the floor. With a loud thump, Adrian groaned, mumbling profanities.* "Wh- How- Where am I?" *Adrian glanced around, realizing he was in his living room, and stumbled into the shower, remembering that he agreed to tutor a student today at the forge. Moving far slower than he usually would, he put on his clothes, knowing that his father's funeral was tomorrow. Grim, and sullen, Adrian apparated to the forge, a few minutes early.*
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Post by Kait on Jan 3, 2007 17:37:54 GMT -5
*Orpheus slept a little more restlessly than usual, waking rather groggily in the morning before showering, drying, and dressing. He was on his way out the door when he heard a fluttering of wings, turning to see that an owl had brought him a rolled up piece of parchment. He frowned slightly when he unrolled the note, reading that another cauldron had turned up and that he was to collect it at the provided address before returning to work. Sighing, he read the address carefully before pocketing it and apparating off to the home to investigate...*
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Post by Luffy on Jan 3, 2007 18:08:29 GMT -5
*Having some spare time, Adrian grabbed parchment paper and a quill off of the counter, and wrote a thank you note to Orpheus, figuring his owl would find him without an issue. Though the "thank you"s were easy to put on paper, he bit his lip as he wrote "Would you mind meeting me at the Leaky Cauldron tonight? I promise I'll be sober."
*Adrian's nerves were getting the best of him, though he wasn't sure as to why. He was just some man who worked at the ministry. An attractive man, but just a man none the less. He rolled the parchment, tied the scroll to his owl's ankle, and gave him a treat. "This goes to the ministry, but make sure it gets to Mr. Quinn, okay?" *Adrian smiled as his owl flew out the window.*
*Adrian glanced up at the door, seeing his former student knocking on the other side. He readjusted his glasses, leisurely strolling towards the door.*
"Mr. Withers, a pleasure to see you." *Adrian smiled, Syllen Withers was one of his favorite students. He was bright, he was attractive... he was legal. Adrian shook his head, flushing slightly. He had a thing for black hair, and blue eyes.*
"Yeah... Mr. Pickett, we've all missed you." *Adrian remembered when he first met Syllen, he was on his way to his History of Magic class with a group of friends, and he had pointed at Adrian, not realizing he was a teacher. "That's the hottest guy on campus." His cheeks were stained red when one of his friends told him he was the new Potions teacher. More so when he took out his schedule, and noted that he had Potions after Defense Against the Dark Arts.*
"Have you all? That's good." *Adrian marveled at the fact that Syllen was so sure of himself, he was openly gay. He was so openly gay, that after him and Adrian had started to talk more often, sometimes on personal manners, rather than professional ones, he told Adrian that he liked him. Of course, that was inappropriate, and Adrian declined, but Adrian couldn't help if he found him attractive.*
"Here, let's get you set up." *Adrian led Syllen over to the counter, grabbing two chairs, and taking some notes out of his bag.* "Conjuration is often left out of the equation in potions, but in an advanced Potion class, it's necessary." *Adrian was about to go over the notes with Syllen when Syllen grabbed Adrian's arm.* "I need to talk to you about something other than potions."
*Adrian glanced up at Syllen, furrowing his eyebrows.* "Very well- what is it, Mr. Withers?"
"That's what it is. 'Mr. Withers.' I like you, Adrian, and you're not my professor any longer." *Syllen bit his lip nervously, looking deep into Adrian's eyes. "You don't have an excuse anymore, so if you turn me down, I'll know it's me..."
*Adrian sighed, rubbing his temples.* "Syllen, you're my former student. You're eighteen... I'm attracted to you, but..." *Syllen smiled at the last statement, leaning over the counter, and kissing Adrian softly.* "I'm attracted to you, too."
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Post by Kait on Jan 3, 2007 19:59:42 GMT -5
*After Orpheus had picked up the jinxed cauldron, he went into the ministry, bringing it to his office. He gave it to Callie to unjinx before returning to his cubicle, only to find an owl waiting for him there. He looked at it rather curiously, untying the parchment from its leg. He was rather surprised when he read the note, not having expected that kind of an invitation. He hesitated a moment, glancing over at Callie's cubicle rather warily before grabbing a spare bit of parchment and writing, "As you wish, Mr. Pickett. I will come after work." and tying it back onto the owl's leg, watching a little nervously if it flew off and out of the open window.*
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Post by Luffy on Jan 3, 2007 20:14:54 GMT -5
*Adrian let out a light sigh, content, yet shocked. "No, Syllen, I like you, but..." *He bit his lip, glancing down at the floor.* "I'm not ready for a relationship, and I would feel uncomfortable pursuing any feelings that I have for you, you know? Not now... just... I can't even handle myself."
*Syllen nodded his head, standing from his chair glumly.* "Right. Well... I should probably be getting home."
*Adrian frowned, putting his hand on Syllen's shoulder.* "Don't you need help with your potions class?"
*Syllen smiled sadly, looking into Adrian's eyes.* "You know I don't... I'll see you later, Adrian." *Syllen stepped back; gone in an instant.*
*Adrian's frown deepened as he felt more guilty than he had in a long while, knowing why he really declined Syllen. Adrian sighed, watching as the owl from earlier came in with a piece of parchment tied to its leg. "Well, hello again!" *Adrian smiled, reading the note, and mentally smacking himself. He had completely forgotten about Orpheus; sort of. He didn't want to be unstable every time he saw the man, but he knew it was too late, and though he wasn't thrilled due to his mood, he was still happy about getting to see him.*
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