The blond man slowly peeked inside a little before almost jumping inside quickly and closing the door behind him being extra careful not to drop the papers under his arm as he moved. Good thing no one seemed to be around which meant a lot of things to him right now and it was confirmed when he saw the empty, boring and annoyingly ordered with no details room of his flatmate.

He was probably somewhere near his girlfriend intensely thinking of how great of a future they can set together.*shiver* And...whatever. Throwing his travelling cloak and hat somewhere at random in the living room, he made his way to his own room and dropped the papers carefully on a table which was already full of many other similar papers and parchments, then right after grabbing what looked like an old letter from the other side of the table, he walked to the other side of the room. On the way, of course, he grabbed the half-empty bottle of firewhisky before sitting on the floor next to a coffee table and a pile of large books.

There was a lot to think over, a lot to plot, a lot to deal, a lot to find out and a lot of every other thing which meant he had only a few seconds of a free mind, if you could call this a free mind, before he started to examine the letter.

Coming home to the apartment building he had only recently started sharing with his former nemesis of sorts, Gavin looked up before entering the building. The lights coming faintly through the curtains on the front windows alerting him that he certainly wasn't the first one home.

Stepping inside he moved up the seventeen treads of the staircase (the landlady having made the point of making sure they both knew that bit of useless information) and turned on the landing to approach their apartment. He opened the door with a twist after finding it unlocked, and entered the living room fo their flat, an eyebrow curiously raised at the scene in front of him.

"I'm begining to think its never good to come home to find you thinking," Gavin replied making his presense known seeing as Ryan had his back to the door. Closing said door behind him, he turned and hung up his own cloak in contrary behavior to his flatmate. "And drinking too...that cant be good," he added spotting the almost empty bottle beside is companion.

Ryan did a lazy move when he heard the door opening which meant no other thing but that his not-so-happy-lately friend came back from work or perhaps from his girlfriend's cottage, however he did not bother to move his gaze from the old parchment until the man's voice, full of irony, rose behind him.

He glanced at Gavin who was wasting time with hanging up his cloak, Definitely from work, before taking another sip of his firewhiskey and giving his attention on the next paper. By outer look he seemed to be ignoring all the words his flatmate remarked but on the contrary the former one seemed to make sense to him in a split second. '...that can't be good' ''I do agree Gawain'' he responded taking the letter back into consideration. ''Cannot be good for whomever wrote this letter''

Gavin watched the older man carefully to see if he was even paying any attention, not having caught Ryan's glance as he had hung up his cloak since his back was turned. The truth was answered however as he echoed his words causing him to listen himself.

"Oh?" he questioned moving to sit on the couch off to one side of his companion. "and just who or what is that letter about," he asked never certain whether or not Ryan kept to his own belongings. Waiting patiectly for an answer, Gavin reached a hand to his throat, loosening up the collar of his shirt to relax a bit, having come home straight from a busy day at work.

''She was not at work again, was she?'' he asked as he watched Gavin sat down on the couch as if, for a moment, they were talking about the other man's work day. Unfortunately he was feeling lazy to take all the way up to the third level only to check if the woman was there. Anyway, he needed not to check it since he could read from this man's face at the end of every working day.

Back to the old-looking letter; he moved slowly, he was still feeling lazy, towards the couch with the aim of handing the parchment, which was fairly damaged with little holes, to his friend. ''Here, read it. Read it and tell me what do you think.''

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Old Letter

Dear Table and Chair;

I still am unable to gather a clue about where i am. The walls are high and the room is dark with only one very little window which is far from my reach. Please, i know you still want to want to help me. So, please! I beg you to care and save me! PLEASE SAVE ME FROM THIS HELL''

"No...SHE was not at work again," Gavin replied with a sigh as he was reminded of the reason he had been returning to his own quarters for the past few days without stopping at someplace other then the ministry or Diagon Alley. He leaned forward slightly resting his elbow on his knee before letting a hand run through his hair in tension.

Sensing Ryan's presense move closer, he looked up once more in time to accept the letter from the other man's hand. His gaze sweeping over the parchement's contents to read the seemingly nonsense-filled words. "Well I would probably have to say its author has way too much time on his or her hands," he answered handing it back.

''Obviously'' Ryan murmured slyly in order to not to suffer from the flood of anger that his words over this sensitive topic might cause on his companion all over again. Not that he cared or was scared about having an anger flow aiming at him, actually he was quite used to that, he just cared to avois it since it might ruin his current concentration on what he was doing.

''Very well, Gawain'' he, then, uttered taking the parchment back ''But this leaves two options; either the author has been kidnapped and being kept in a dungeon as the person who left this to me claimed or the author is only faking and this letter has totally different points to look for'' he pused for a moment to smell the old looking parchment deeply and licked it a little ''See, i believe the latter. It smells and tastes tea which means that the author has poured black tea on the parcment than dried it to make it look ancient before she wrote anything on it. And ah yes, i say she because it is apparent from every inch of that piece that it had been into female hands if you happen to disregard the faint smell of perfume.'' He stopped again to drink the rest of the firewhiskey and when he did so, he pushed the bottle somewhere at random away from him. ''There are even more details that i can draw every time i look at it, my friend, i can even think that i know who wrote this paper with an interesting goal to success. I assume...'' yawning some he fell silent abruptly and just gazed at the ceiling.

Fiddling with the bags of grocery's in her hands, Winter hummed the catchy tune she had heard previously in the day. Humming always helped her take her mind off of things, especially when it had to deal with the state of the apartment. Sometimes she was frightened.

By the light shining from under the doorway, she could tell that if not one, but both men were in there. Heaving a great sigh, Winter slowly opened the door to the apartment and peeked her head inside, just in time to see Ryan licking some sort of parchment. He would kill himself one day, she was sure of it.

Slowly and quietly, Winter shut the door behind her, as to not disrupt the conversation going on between the two men. Still humming softly, she made her way to the kitchen to drop off the bags, but first picking up the travelling cloak and hat, that undoubtedly belonged to Ryan, and neatly hung it on the cloak holder.

How hard was it to hang up his things?

Gavin wasn't really in the mood to discuss Calla at the moment and was glad Ryan seemed to drop the topic to return to his own endeavor. Listening to the man's outspoken thoughts and reasonings, he worked to understand what he was being told even though it had no real meaning to him. Just another one of Ryan's puzzles he thought absently to himself.

He turned his head as he heard the door close despite the woman's attempts to slip in quietly and seeing her struggle with the bags she was carrying as she dealt with Ryan's cloak got up to assist. "Here...let me help you with those," he said taking hold of a bag to bring to the kitchen.

He had been unsure of the need for the younger woman but learned within 24 hours of moving in with Ryan that he would have been quite bothered without help to keep the flat clean with the older man's quirks. Now he was a little thankful for her presence but wasn't above assisting her in return.

''...i assume...'' He repeated when he heard the door open again which made him smirk a little as he was still directly staring at the ceiling ''...the person who prepared this fake letter to distort us from the right path of events is...'' finally, when he sensed the woman's presence in home and smelled her perfume in the air, he moved his gaze away from the ceiling and fixed his blue eyes on the woman as she hang his things up.

It was that very moment when the blond man pointed at her with a half smile on his face ''...Ms Winter Sherwood. The cunning, and dangerous woman. You prepared this trap for me did not you sneaky thing.'' he looked at Gavin ''You saw the way she was sneaking inside'' then went on with the woman as he was still pointing at her while she made her way to the kitchen ''You hoped i would think that some poor girl was kept in a castle dungeon and the you let more and more obvious signs for me to figure out the place, which is a castle in Wales, so you could get rid of me when i arrive there and face whatever you put there to wait for me''

He smirked again and looked back at Gavin to request his comments on this but *blinkblink* he was not there. So, he completely ignored what he had been trying to explain. Where he was? ''You prefer to help the enemy instead of me''

Winter would have dropped her bags when Ryan pointed at her and accused her of being sneaky, if Gavin hadn't already grabbed some from her. "Thank you." she whispered to the clearly, nicer man of the two as she only half listened to Ryan go on.

After placing the rest of the bags of groceries on the table in the kitchen, Winter returned to the room where Ryan was still accusing her of things she had nothing to do with. Playing along with what he was saying, she put on a smile to match his, "And if I did send that parchment it would be for your own good." she replied with a nod of her head. "Maybe then I would be able to take care of that mess you consider your bedroom."

How anyone could find something in that room of his was a miracle.

"You're welcome," Gavin answered quietly back as they moved to the other room, biting back a laugh as Ryan continued on and on almost with his observsations as if he thought he was still in the room. He followed the young woman back to the living room, leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed letting her deal with him seeing as she was who he was accusing.

"Only you would call someone who cleans...I mean messes up your room your enemy," he remarked with a soft smirk and a shake of his head. The man remembering when they had first moved in and Ryan yelling as Winter had tried to help unpack.

As he usually did while arguing or just simply 'having fun with words' like he was doing now, Ryan listened to the woman with utmost attention, his eyes widening more at every single word pronounced by the female voice. ''Did you hear that, Gawain?!'' the exclamation came the very moment he got his turn to speak. ''This is an open threat...''

His finger was pointed at his friend this time, when the man remarked those words, which immediately fell back on the floor near the empty firewhiskey bottle as if it had not belonged to an alive person once he heard the other man's utterance. So, feeling silent he gazed at them both with a blank expression for a moment or so before speaking again. ''My room has its proper order and i have not any intent of living in a room with no details to look at.'' An empty room like his friend's would definitely drive him crazy.

''Whatever.'' he finally got on his feet and made his way to the kitchen passing by Gavin and Winter, aiming to check the bags to see if there was anything that'd interest him ''Did you care to but some firewhiskey Ms. Fake-Letter?''

"Proper order!?" Winter laughed. If that room was in order then she was a toad. "I don't know how you find anything in that 'room' of yours." Actually, she didn't know how he even walked into that room. It looked like a herd of hippogriffs lived in there.

She picked up the empty bottle of firewhisky that was lying next to where Ryan was seated. If her count was correct, he went through six bottles just this week. She didn't want to guess how many bottles were hidden in his room. Winter followed him into the kitchen to make sure he didn't drop or break anything. "Yes, I bought your firewhisky." Rushing over to the bag, before Ryan had a chance to mess anything up, Winter removed his beloved firewhisky and handed it to him.

She knew what Ryan was like while drinking firewhisky, she didn't want to know what he was like when he wasn't drinking it.

Gavin rolled his eyes as Ryan exclaimed with a finger pointed at him. Not at all willing to really get inbetween the two unless he needed to, he watched them both slip past him back to the kitchen before moving in the opposite direction towards his room. Their words still fully hearable as he crossed the living room.

He couldn't help sighing as he entered the bedroom that belonged to him, giving a tentative sniff and relaxed. Good...no surprises, he thought to himself having found a lost item of Ryan's just yesterday.

Ryan's narrowed eyes was still fixed on the woman as she laughed with an air of amusement. The man was motionless as he looked at the woman and he did nothing when some of the papers in his hand slowly fell on the floor. He really needed to watch and study that woman, keep an eye on her. Maybe she was not the author of the ancient looking fake letter but the man was sure that she was shifty with a seriously huge crime to be committed: messing with his room.

''I know the exact place of every single thing in my room.'' he said coldly ''I can even tell the coordination of the dead bug on the carpet so everything has its order and rightful place. Do not dare to touch anything, evil woman'' Otherwise...he did not want to imagine what would be otherwise.

Totally ignoring the papers on the floor that he had been examining as 'evidences' for whatever he was working on, he grabbed the bottle ''Thank you, sweet thing'' and walked out the kitchen to inform Gavin(or more to talk his head off) about the case of the mysterious letter to the pair 'Table and Chair' ''The girl is between the ages of 17-20, an animagus who takes the shape of a bird which is probably a seagull and...'' he halted right there when he saw that the living room was empty. Gawain was nowhere to listen to what he got from the letter ''...and never mind.'' his voice was heard to complete the sentence with a sad tone. So, he was working alone again how dissappointing.

Giving the woman a sad look, he gently placed the bottle on the couch and walked into his room with what remained in his hands as evidence.

Winter watched, from the kitchen, as Gavin headed into his room. Why he would even want to share a flat with Ryan was beyond her. They were too completely different people, but it is known that opposites attract.

She turned back to Ryan as he continued to go on about his bedroom. It was a no enter zone, and if she ever got the chance to clean that room, she would surely need a gas mask. Grimacing at the thought of a dead bug on the floor in his room, Winter turned her attention back to her groceries. She smiled a bit at the evil woman comment, but would not say anything about it. He liked confrontation and she had to put the groceries anyway. No time to argue with him.

"You're welcome." she replied with a nod of her head as he took the bottle of firewhisky from her hands. He needed to make up his mind on what he thought about her though. One minute she is evil, the next she is sweet.

Winter waited until Ryan stepped back into the living room before she started to put the groceries away. He would only tell her she was doing it wrong and how she was being too organized for him, and well, she didn't feel like pushing him out of her way. Glancing up, Winter caught the sad look on the man's face, and she simply shrugged.

As Ryan walked out of view, Winter, once again, started to hum the same catchy tune she had heard earlier.

------------
END SCENE.

She entered the building and a shiver covered her body. Calla readjusted the bag on her shoulder and the covered dish she carried. She looked at the stairs and sighed slightly.

Making it to the top she found the flat and knocked on the door. Calla checked her watch. Gavin should be home by now.

She hoped Ryan was out for the evening, her chances of that were slim to none. Calla only agreed to come to the flat for Gavin. He wanted her to see the place. One thing was for certain as she looked around she had no intentions of staying the night here. There was no way she’d trust Ryan and his antics to leave her alone.

Another shiver, ugg Ryan.

The smell of the chicken and rice she carried was starting to make her very hungry, and wished someone would open the door.

Intensely focused on the phials before him, Ryan's senses and mind were all close to everything but the experiment he was working on the floor of his room. Potions here and there, he was carefully blending them with the aim of developing new powerful ones. Mentioning closed senses, he was not even bothered by the horrid smell spreading in the flat from one of the phials which contained a dirty yellow substance inside.

Taking another sip of his usual firewhiskey-soda mix (who knew what he called 'soda') he checked on his notes about the mixes and did not even hear the knock on the door till Red the Dog barked loudly enough to distract him from his work.

*Groan*. Where was Ms. Evil Sherwood when he needed her and why on earth Gawain was not using his own keys or else? So, looking annoyed by the distraction he jumped on his feet, made his way out his room and walked to the door where Red was sitting in a guarding air. ''I heard it you arrogant thing'' he scolded the dog then opened the door only to see...

...Calla whose sight helped him to replace the annoyed expression to a grinning, sly one. ''How can i help you, dear lady?''

Calla heard the dog bark and some kind of commotion. She rolled her eyes and sighed. Gavin isn't home. She just knew she'd be face with Ryan. She honestly rather wait in the cold stairwell for Gavin than deal with Ryan.

Before she could make a move he was opening the door. When the door swung open the horrid smell hit her in the face like a frying pan. Her eyes blinked, her lips curled downward and her stomach churned. Any smell she was enjoying from the chicken and rice was gone. She wouldn't be surprised if the meal was spoiled just due to the smell of whatever was going on in there.

Grasping on to a shred of hope, "Has Gavin made it home?" Was all she said before using her coat to cover her nose.

She looked past him and into the apartment and saw a dog. A dog of that size in an apartment!?!?

The coat filter over her nose wasn’t helping to ease odor’s intensity. She began to cough and gag.

Gavin had stopped at Diagon Alley to pick up a few things he had realised he needed the night before so it took him a while after he left the ministry to return home to the flat he shared with Ryan. A part of him was in no real rush to return in hopes of delaying the other man's influence on his evening. He did know he couldn't be too late seeing as Calla had mentioned she might stop by.

Getting to the apartment, he made his way upstairs to their flat and reached the floor in question just after Ryan had opened the door for the guest he himself had expected for a half hour or so. "Not until now," he replied, answering his girlfriend's question for himself as he walked to meet her at the door and making a face as the potion's smell met his own nose.

"What did I say about your....experiments?" he asked reminding the other man of an earlier conversation on just that topic. Coughing himself at the smell and trying not to glare at his flatmate.

At that moment Red did an instant attempt on running out the door but immediately caught by her master. ''No, no, no. No way. Go back to your business'' so, on the firm words of master Ryan she walked back in the living room and got out of eyesight.

Once the dog was safely gone, the man eyed Calla back ''No, he has not but...'' he began to respond her question but it was cut by Sir Gawain's voice who arrived in almost no time leaving Ryan no time to enjoy himself with the girl. Whatever he had an experiment to continue to wrok on, after all.

And why they always had to complain about anything he did? And why was he asking that if he had never ever tried to explain before? But it was another topic to debate if they would like to listen to his explanations which made him turn back to the very beginning : ignoring. ''I will be needing this one in a couple of days''

Calla jumped as the dog started toward the door, unfortunately taking in a huge breath of the horrible smell. Exhaling once the dog backed off she coughed again.

As Ryan started to speak Gavin arrived. Thank goodness!

She looked back to Ryan as Gavin finished up his question. Yes, what has he told you? Calla scolded Ryan quietly to herself. She couldn't imagine what he'd need something so horrible smelling for.

Calla adjusted the bag on her shoulder; it seemed it was getting heavier and heavier. "I need to put this dish and bag down. Can we go in?" She decided it'd be better for her to enter the apartment, put the things down and then once inside figure out how to get rid of the smell.

Yes she would be getting rid of that smell... if she were going to stay for any length of time anyways.

Meeting Calla's gaze as she noticed him, Gavin could almost see how releived he was there and she wasn't to be alone with Ryan. He rolled his eyes at the answer he got from his flatmate concerning whatever it was that was causing the stench and making a mental note that if it wasn't handled, he was certainly going to see about staying with Calla till it was.

"I'm not sure I even want to know why you need it in a couple of days," he mused with a shake of his head. He was about to comment further when Calla made her request and he was reminded they were still out in the hallway.

"Certainly," he said with a nodd. "Here let me take that," he offered freeing her fromthe burden of the covered dish and letting Ryan step back from the door first, opened it further leading her inside and trying not to gag himself.

"Why couldn't you find somewhere else to make that?"