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Cassirin · 02-16-2014, 04:49 AM

Belby Gobstones Park

A small magical oasis in the middle of Muggle London, the Belby Gobstones Park is a great place for Gobstones players to work on their game or challenge a friend to a match. Grassy hills and a short topiary maze surrounds six Gobstones rings at the center of the park.

Each ring is the same size. Four of them are exterior rings, made out of concentric circles of grass and packed dirt, while the other two are located under a charmed patio in case of inclement weather. Low benches surround each ring to allow an audience... but don't talk when the game is in play. It's common courtesy!

Bazinga · 03-05-2014, 05:34 AM

Victoria had left work for a little 'break' and decided to take a walk towards the Quidditch Practice Pitch. She was looking into it for a mascot training she had been in talks with a few of the teams about. After last seasons Falcon Costume mishap she thought maybe a little mascot training could help the teams out. Plus why not have some PR around it too. Show that the department was working hard even though they were stuck in a hanger. Her work being her sole focus so that her personal life and emotions didn't leave her isolated and hidden again.

As she walked she came across the Gobstone Park and her eyes darted towards it. Her first passion wasn't quidditch, she knew that, but her job was quidditch. Her first passion had always been Gobstones. So she took a moment to go in and check it out. Seeing it gave her a mix of emotions. Happy that there was an actual park for the sport since she felt it was one that was looked passed easily because let's face it her own son thought it was for losers that couldn't play quidditch. She knew it wasn't the case, but still it was nice to see. Then her emotions for the person that leads the Gobstone's office jumped into her head.

Alone in the park she shed a few tears, wiping them away. She had to get it together if she was going to actually finish out work for the day.

Hera · 03-05-2014, 06:14 AM

Emily wore an expression of discomfort and disinterest, Zeke on the other hand was beaming with a barely contained excitement. Apparently there were only so many days in the week that she could ignore him at lunch times, and this one wasn't one of them. "Go, look, play... you have twenty minutes," she advised as he relinquished her hand.

"... that's not long enough," he stated deliberately, so that she would know. Couldn't they stay longer than that? Or better yet, he could stay, and she could go. The icky stuff in the gobstones or jack stone or whatever wasn't going to kill him, so she didn't need to stand and watch. "... please?" he added, trying for a tiny push of his luck today.

Emily raised a brow at him, no. Just, no. "I have to go back to work, and you have to go back to day care." The day he started going to school couldn't come sooner. At least she'd finally decided on a school, and the extra curricular activities that would keep him busy during after hours.

Day care... that place. Ugh. Zeke nodded, he understood, there would be no pushing Emily today. Deciding to make the most of it, he pulled his shiny new gobstones set from his bag before leaving it in Emily's care and darting off to one of the rings.

...

.....

She was relegated to bag watcher. Brilliant. With a small sigh, Emily slung it over her shoulder and peered around the park for a place to sit and observe him. It was only then that she realised they weren't alone. How very unperceptive of her. Tsk tsk tsk. Furthermore, she recognised their company.

"Vic?" she questioned, approaching the blonde. "You alright?"

She wasn't the most sociable person, but she could tell when things were... not right... and something was definitely not right. Emily took a seat by her friend, her hazel eyes shifting to Zeke briefly before returning to Vic.

Bazinga · 03-05-2014, 03:57 PM

SPOILER!!: Emily and Son

She had wiped her eyes and tried to calm herself and Victoria under the circumstances lately felt she had done a pretty good job alone at the moment, but then she heard her name and realized she wasn't alone. Glancing around the first thing she saw was a child running off, but she did not recognize the boy. No it couldn't have been him that said the name.

She turned as she saw someone approach. Her eyes met Emily. Oh, she hadn't seen her friend in forever or well she saw her at the training, but they really didn't get a chance to talk. The blonde usually hugged and greeted with a smile just shook her head, "No.. no I'm fine." No need to bring everyone else down with her problems.

She looked around and gave the child a questioning look. "Is he with you or should I be concerned that a child has come into the park without parental supervision." Putting an emphasis on the word child meaning a muggle child, but she assumed Emily would get that. Had she missed something though if this child was with Emily. If memory served her correctly, Emily was single with no children.

Speaking of single, "So I was talking to Gavin the other day and realized I really haven't talked to either of you in way to long. Many things have changed." In other words spill the beans on details dear Em.

Hera · 03-06-2014, 01:40 AM

Fine.

Why was it that whenever someone used to term fine, she didn't believe them. Was it possible that she was the only person in the world to use it correctly? "I don't believe you," she ousted her friend. "Your face tells me otherwise..." and she was apt with observation. Either way, she was here to listen, if it was what she needed. Emily was rotten when it came to discussing things, particularly emotional things, so she wouldn't be of much use where consoling was concerned, but she had ears, and didn't need to interrupt.

It was only then that it occurred to her, Vic didn't know about Zeke. Emily turned back to the boy, her eyes trained on him even as she spoke. "No, he's with me ...." she started, "actually... he's mine." She still wasn't used to the fact that she had a child, a son, or however else you wanted to put it. Either way, this was all new territory for her and the fact that there was no long and tedious pregnancy to make the addition to her life obvious, it was what it was.

Vic changing the topic didn't raise any eyebrows, she was correct in her assessment. Time had passed, things had changed, and there was little anyone could do to stop it. "It's been too long," she agreed with a solitary nod. "Zeke has taken some getting used to, and it's still an on-going process of adjustment," she noted, tilting her head in the boys direction. It was safe to say that her life had changed dramatically since she last saw the blonde, it was virtually upside down and inside out.

Bazinga · 03-07-2014, 05:45 AM

SPOILER!!: Emily

Of course she didn't believe her, why would anyone believe her. Victoria knew she wasn't doing a great job hiding her issues. She was thin, crying all the time, and not really being social. That wasn't exactly hiding and she knew that. "Oh it's really nothing. Just have some things going on at home is all." Er well her old home at least. "You don't want to hear about all that." Her face? She reached up and wiped at her now dry eyes. She assumed her makeup probably was a little smeared from that melt down.

Her eyebrow raised a bit and she looked back at the child. "He's yours? I wish you would have told me sooner. I could have helped you adjust. Kids are not the easiest to live with." but who was she kidding she wasn't even living with her own children at the moment. Her guilt started to rise and she moved a bit to try and get it out of her head. There were reasons she wasn't and she would be at least with the girls again soon. "Zeke, I like the name." She gave a small smile, "So how old is he and how did you come to make him yours?" She wanted all the details.

She thought for a few moments, "So is he Gavin's as well? I ran into Gavin the other day, he told me about you two." She gave a small smile, "So our conversation we had months ago. I guess things had changed between you two with the friendship." Vic chuckled and it felt good for her to really chuckle. It wasn't often she got to. "We should get together more often. This avoiding a girls night is silly." Merlin knew she could use some friend time more than ever.

Hera · 03-07-2014, 01:00 PM

Emily wasn't at all convinced by Vic's claims of it being nothing. With looks like that, and sitting in parks by yourself, it was never nothing. Not from Vic at least, the woman was annoyingly social, how she managed to get through the start to the year without having catch ups was beyond her. It was actually rather, unsettling. "I'm here if you want to talk... I give shoddy advice, if any, but I make for an excellent listener." Not to say the woman needed advice to begin with, but things of this nature usually meant there was some form of problem solving involved. Emily shrugged. Offer was there.

Vic's surprise was to be expected, Circe, each morning that she woke was a surprise to her. A little less so now, but the fact that he's lived under her roof a couple of months without injuring himself or dying was a miracle in itself. He needed to learn to not try jumping stairs. Patience little grasshopper. "He is... we've been adjusting alright. But by all means, any tips you've got, send them my way." She spared the boy another look, a small smile on her lips.

Gobstones, was a weird sport. It was like lawn bowls, or marbles, only neither of them, because it was soooooooooooo different! And he sucked at it. Zeke took up another of the gobstones and carefully rolled it toward the jackstone, managing to bump away one of the other stones. He did something riiighhtt! Did Emily see? Did she? She was watching him right? Zeke's head snapped up to see where she was, noticing she was chatting with another lady person. He waved, and bounced a little on his heels. Did she seee him?!

Emily could appreciate gobstones about as much as she could appreciate a flobberworm farm. It was interesting, but after a second of looking she was bored. Of course, Zeke needed eyes on him, lest he go wandering, so she did see him waving and doing things. Her widening smile and dip of the head would tell him she saw. She was paying attention to him, and his time was slowly running out - so he ought to make the most of it. "He's nine, and I saved him from the muggles..." she answered her friends questions, the last was more said in jest, but it wasn't wrong. "He's orphaned... I just happened to be there to pick up the pieces when his mum passed." Lucky him, right?

And huh? Say what? ....

"Gavin's?... no... but he's good with him." The question had taken her slightly by surprise, but she recovered quickly. And it amused her that Gavin had mentioned them, or was it more of a case of Vic being nosy? Either way, it didn't matter. It wasn't something she was hiding, per se, but it wasn't something she went around advertising. Though her memory was quite sharp, she couldn't recall what they had discussed those months ago, it must have been long ago, too long for sure. "I guess they have... I still don't know how we got to this stage," she mused, even after all this time it amused her how they started out. Who knew antagonising handsome strangers in lifts would get you a boyfriend?

And then there was that. Catching up she didn't mind, girls nights... not so much. She preferred guys nights. "Absolutely, I'm all for catching up," she acknowledged, deliberately choosing her words.

Bazinga · 03-10-2014, 05:34 PM

SPOILER!!: Emily

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

Emily wasn't at all convinced by Vic's claims of it being nothing. With looks like that, and sitting in parks by yourself, it was never nothing. Not from Vic at least, the woman was annoyingly social, how she managed to get through the start to the year without having catch ups was beyond her. It was actually rather, unsettling. "I'm here if you want to talk... I give shoddy advice, if any, but I make for an excellent listener." Not to say the woman needed advice to begin with, but things of this nature usually meant there was some form of problem solving involved. Emily shrugged. Offer was there.

Vic's surprise was to be expected, Circe, each morning that she woke was a surprise to her. A little less so now, but the fact that he's lived under her roof a couple of months without injuring himself or dying was a miracle in itself. He needed to learn to not try jumping stairs. Patience little grasshopper. "He is... we've been adjusting alright. But by all means, any tips you've got, send them my way." She spared the boy another look, a small smile on her lips.

Gobstones, was a weird sport. It was like lawn bowls, or marbles, only neither of them, because it was soooooooooooo different! And he sucked at it. Zeke took up another of the gobstones and carefully rolled it toward the jackstone, managing to bump away one of the other stones. He did something riiighhtt! Did Emily see? Did she? She was watching him right? Zeke's head snapped up to see where she was, noticing she was chatting with another lady person. He waved, and bounced a little on his heels. Did she seee him?!

Emily could appreciate gobstones about as much as she could appreciate a flobberworm farm. It was interesting, but after a second of looking she was bored. Of course, Zeke needed eyes on him, lest he go wandering, so she did see him waving and doing things. Her widening smile and dip of the head would tell him she saw. She was paying attention to him, and his time was slowly running out - so he ought to make the most of it. "He's nine, and I saved him from the muggles..." she answered her friends questions, the last was more said in jest, but it wasn't wrong. "He's orphaned... I just happened to be there to pick up the pieces when his mum passed." Lucky him, right?

And huh? Say what? ....

"Gavin's?... no... but he's good with him." The question had taken her slightly by surprise, but she recovered quickly. And it amused her that Gavin had mentioned them, or was it more of a case of Vic being nosy? Either way, it didn't matter. It wasn't something she was hiding, per se, but it wasn't something she went around advertising. Though her memory was quite sharp, she couldn't recall what they had discussed those months ago, it must have been long ago, too long for sure. "I guess they have... I still don't know how we got to this stage," she mused, even after all this time it amused her how they started out. Who knew antagonising handsome strangers in lifts would get you a boyfriend?

And then there was that. Catching up she didn't mind, girls nights... not so much. She preferred guys nights. "Absolutely, I'm all for catching up," she acknowledged, deliberately choosing her words.

Glancing out at the park she watched the boy play a bit more not wanting to make eye contact with Emily for the moment with her words. “I don’t need any advice, I have a healer doing that, but thanks for the offer. “ She gave a small smile, “I’ve had some issues that caused me to seek a healer. I’m getting better, but some days are just harder than others and unfortunately you caught me on one of those days.” She glanced to Emily, “I’m fine, really just working out the issues is all. I.. “ hesitating why was it so hard just to say it. “I left Charely though. I mean I actually left him and the girls, but the girls are just temporary.” So now she knew. She had stopped and talked with Charely a week after she left, but not much was resolved so honestly not much else to speak about really.

She chuckled a bit, “Well I’m not sure if tips can help, but he’s a boy so probably plenty of outside time, patience for their active levels, and if he’s anything like Bart plenty of frogs.” She watched the boy play a bit, “I think you are doing great so far, especially getting him involved in Gobstones it’s such a unappreciated sport.” Her love for the game was showing. She clapped a bit seeing the boy bump the stones, “Brilliant job” She called see him look if they were watching. “Encouragement is always the best thing for them.” She turned to her friend again. “You know to just owl if you ever need anything when it comes to him. I’ve been through plenty with my own.”

A frown fell on her face though, Orphaned how awful. “You are doing an amazing thing taking him in. He will be so loved and taken care of I just know it.” Encouragement was always a good idea for friends and new parents as well. “Nine what a fun age, they are more independent and you can actually go out and do things.” It was an important age.

Eyes lifted and a chuckle at the Gavin response, “Well I just wondered since you two seem to be an item now. I could see Gavin being good with children whether he would believe that or not.” Him and his dislike of contact and socializing, thought he was very good at the socializing even if he didn’t think so. “No one ever realizes where their paths will lead, but I’m glad you two are together. It’s nice to know that my two friends are happy together.” Added bonus when friends dated.

Vic didn’t even notice the wording all she heard was a yes in the catching up which would me a yes on going out. “Good we should plan something soon.” because they really should.

Hera · 03-11-2014, 01:22 PM

Internally, Emily was breathing a sigh of relief... she was no good at this sort of thing. In the end she just nodded, her eyes staring out after Zeke. The boy had patience to be playing gobstones by himself, she'd give him that, though why he couldn't exercise as much patience with other things was beyond her. Upon hearing about her split from Charley, Emily's head turned. Errrr................... wow? She was stumped, this was definitely not her area of expertise. Not the leaving thing, though she was good at the being left thing.
"I'm so sorry to hear that," she offered after the brief silence in which she processed things. "If you need anything..." and that was left unsaid. It's what friends did, right?

Pfffft... now that was uplifting. Not sure if tips will help... Circe, what had she gotten herself into? Outside time was fine, they did that, patience, surprisingly she had that, but frogs? ... No frogs. Emily smiled uncertainly, "I'm doing alright," she corrected, because she was far from great. Emily Browne, was not mother material, people needed to accept that. "He's muggleborn, so he's getting his hands on everything and anything at the moment," she supplied, explaining to gobstones phenomenon. It wasn't her doing, not really, all she'd done was mentioned it to him. As for it being underappreciated, too right it was, Quidditch was far more exciting.

And those words right there, caught her off guard. Loved, cared for...

....

"He's a good kid," she said in reply, figuring that was reason enough why he had grown on her, and why she was able to tolerate him, even like him. Love though, love was a strong word, one she used exceptionally sparingly, and not with him yet, or even Gavin for that matter. And speaking of Mr. Senior Undersecretary, she couldn't help but smile a bit wider at his mention. "We are," she confirmed, "but it's too early for me to be lumping a son on him. I signed up to take responsibility for Zeke, not Gavin... but his being around has been amazing." He's proved himself to be useful where children were concerned, and was especially useful when Zeke had one of his wizards questions, because being a witch she was inept in answering them. What she did find curious was Vic's genuine pleasure about them being together, but she didn't question it. She knew better than to ask. What amused her most about their union was the stark contrast of the then and now. Once upon a time he asked her to stop invading his space and give him more room in that blasted lift... and now, he was willingly invading her space, and proximity was far from being an issue. She was set to respond on the matter when it appeared she'd given Vic too much food for thought.

Plan something? Soon? "Sure..." she replied, wondering what she was getting herself into. Then again, they'd had this discussion before and nothing had come of it, so a part of her had hope that they could continue meeting for coffee and things instead of... anything else. Social was not her scene.

He had heard the nice lady praise him, and he knew that Emily was watching, of couuurrsseee she was watching, that whole CONSTANT VIGILANCE! thing going on. With his new found confidence and enthusiasm for the game, Zeke took his last gobstone and rolled it toward the jack, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he concentrated.

There wasn't much wrong with playing by himself. He'd gotten used to that over the years, and he could still find activities amusing without having anyone to share them with. But there was also a great disadvantage in it too. One which he particularly disliked when it came to gobstones. Playing by himself, he had two roles. The first of the winner, which he liked and the second, of the loser... and here in lay the problem. His last gobstone landing furthest away from the jack, but closest to him, resulted in him being SOAKED with icky smelly liquid stuff.

.... Emily wouldn't be happy.

Collecting his gobstones set and placing it back into the drawstring bag, Zeke trotted over to the benches, a polite smile to the nice lady, and a guilty look for Emily. "Eeerr....... whooops?" he questioned, shrugging his shoulders dramatically. Did this mean he could go home instead of to daycare? Because he was fine with that. Or better yet, he could go with her and sit in a cell.. that'd be cool too.

Bazinga · 03-11-2014, 02:40 PM

SPOILER!!: Emily and Zeke

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

Internally, Emily was breathing a sigh of relief... she was no good at this sort of thing. In the end she just nodded, her eyes staring out after Zeke. The boy had patience to be playing gobstones by himself, she'd give him that, though why he couldn't exercise as much patience with other things was beyond her. Upon hearing about her split from Charley, Emily's head turned. Errrr................... wow? She was stumped, this was definitely not her area of expertise. Not the leaving thing, though she was good at the being left thing.
"I'm so sorry to hear that," she offered after the brief silence in which she processed things. "If you need anything..." and that was left unsaid. It's what friends did, right?

Pfffft... now that was uplifting. Not sure if tips will help... Circe, what had she gotten herself into? Outside time was fine, they did that, patience, surprisingly she had that, but frogs? ... No frogs. Emily smiled uncertainly, "I'm doing alright," she corrected, because she was far from great. Emily Browne, was not mother material, people needed to accept that. "He's muggleborn, so he's getting his hands on everything and anything at the moment," she supplied, explaining to gobstones phenomenon. It wasn't her doing, not really, all she'd done was mentioned it to him. As for it being underappreciated, too right it was, Quidditch was far more exciting.

And those words right there, caught her off guard. Loved, cared for...

....

"He's a good kid," she said in reply, figuring that was reason enough why he had grown on her, and why she was able to tolerate him, even like him. Love though, love was a strong word, one she used exceptionally sparingly, and not with him yet, or even Gavin for that matter. And speaking of Mr. Senior Undersecretary, she couldn't help but smile a bit wider at his mention. "We are," she confirmed, "but it's too early for me to be lumping a son on him. I signed up to take responsibility for Zeke, not Gavin... but his being around has been amazing." He's proved himself to be useful where children were concerned, and was especially useful when Zeke had one of his wizards questions, because being a witch she was inept in answering them. What she did find curious was Vic's genuine pleasure about them being together, but she didn't question it. She knew better than to ask. What amused her most about their union was the stark contrast of the then and now. Once upon a time he asked her to stop invading his space and give him more room in that blasted lift... and now, he was willingly invading her space, and proximity was far from being an issue. She was set to respond on the matter when it appeared she'd given Vic too much food for thought.

Plan something? Soon? "Sure..." she replied, wondering what she was getting herself into. Then again, they'd had this discussion before and nothing had come of it, so a part of her had hope that they could continue meeting for coffee and things instead of... anything else. Social was not her scene.

He had heard the nice lady praise him, and he knew that Emily was watching, of couuurrsseee she was watching, that whole CONSTANT VIGILANCE! thing going on. With his new found confidence and enthusiasm for the game, Zeke took his last gobstone and rolled it toward the jack, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he concentrated.

There wasn't much wrong with playing by himself. He'd gotten used to that over the years, and he could still find activities amusing without having anyone to share them with. But there was also a great disadvantage in it too. One which he particularly disliked when it came to gobstones. Playing by himself, he had two roles. The first of the winner, which he liked and the second, of the loser... and here in lay the problem. His last gobstone landing furthest away from the jack, but closest to him, resulted in him being SOAKED with icky smelly liquid stuff.

.... Emily wouldn't be happy.

Collecting his gobstones set and placing it back into the drawstring bag, Zeke trotted over to the benches, a polite smile to the nice lady, and a guilty look for Emily. "Eeerr....... whooops?" he questioned, shrugging his shoulders dramatically. Did this mean he could go home instead of to daycare? Because he was fine with that. Or better yet, he could go with her and sit in a cell.. that'd be cool too.

Victoria wasn’t expecting much from a reaction and she really didn’t want one. She had her issues that she knew she was getting through and it wasn’t the first break up she had ever had that kids were involved. Thought her self guilt from the situation didn’t help her much, nor the fact that two failed kid involved relationships had her really feeling a bit bad about her commitment capabilities. Did she have something wrong with her? It wasn’t important though, she was done with relationships. She needed better for her children and that was her focus. “I’ll be alright. Splits are always hard, at least the girls will never remember us being together. That was the harder part with Bart.” She remembered his struggles, some he still had at times. “Thank you Emily, I’ll remember that.” She knew Emily or at least hoped Emily knew the same went for her if she ever needed anything.

Victoria’s eyes went back towards the boy and she chuckled, “Emily, he’s clothed, loved, fed, and seems very well behaved. In parent standards you are doing great. Children have no guides, lessons, classes on how to raise them. It’s all trial and error. So what I see if a great job on your part.” Her friend really needed to give herself more credit. “Oh muggleborn, that’s interesting.” Not that there was anything wrong with that, Vic really hadn’t known much about muggles until Charely and she had nothing against them. “I could see why he thinks it’s so interesting than.” She watched the boy a little longer.

Thinking about Gavin as a father was sort of a chuckle to her, not that she didn’t think he’d be a bad father, no actually she thought he’d be great. She saw how he was with his nieces, the first time ever meeting him was when he was buying a camera for the one. So she knew he’d be good, it was the relationship part to be a father that had her chuckling. “Well life throws us all curve balls, so it’s good Zeke has a male role model as good as Gavin. I’ve seen him with his nieces, I bet he doesn’t mind at all. Plus if he cares for you and wants in the relationship he knows that Zeke is an important part of that now.” Single mothers had it a little rough in Victoria’s eyes, guys weren’t really wanting to commit to someone with a child, she knew this first hand with her own experiences, but some didn’t mind and were great at the step parent role. Her mind went to Charely and how good he was with Bart, not the place she needed to think of.

Thankfully Zeke’s little gobstone squirting caught her attention and let her mind leave it’s own torture for the time being. She chuckled, “Nothing a little spell won’t clean up.” Smiling she looked at the boy, “You know how many times I’ve had that happen to me? Even the really great Gobstone players have that happen.” She tried to encourage him more. If she could push the younger ones to appreciate the sport as much as she did, then she was doing her job.

Hera · 03-12-2014, 11:53 AM

And there was a sad fact of life, the girls wouldn't know any different... it hardly seemed fair. But she couldn't judge. There were aspects of her life that she could have done with not remembering, some people too. Still, she wasn't about to go meddling in the woman's life, she was a grown up, and could handle her own problems. She didn't belief in fate or luck or any of that rubbish, but she did believe that the universe didn't throw at you anything you couldn't handle. True to her form, the topic of conversation was difficult for her to carry, so she let it die. What was she supposed to say, really? Emily was simply far too awkward for these things and she doubted the frail woman needed an in your face pep-talk on getting over it.

Her eyes only widened as Vic continued with her assessment of her as a parent. Clothed, yes... and cleaned too, the L word again - she was unsure about this one, and the rest give or take a little, it was on the money. So she wasn't doing bad, she knew she wasn't doing bad. But she still couldn't fathom herself being great. Emily shrugged, "He won't die in my care, I suppose that is something..." a small victory if nothing else. Her smile was probably what deceived her in this instance, the boy, regardless of his challenges was a welcome addition to her life. "Mmm, interesting is one way of putting it... but watching him is entertaining in itself." It was taking some getting used to, but he was at least excited and appreciative of magic, however simple the charm or potion.

Curve balls, she wasn't wrong there. And they had a tendency to come in two's or three's. Or at least, it had for her. First with Gavin, then with Zeke.. between the two of them, she hardly recognised her life anymore. "He's an amazing role model... but I do wonder how Zeke's adjusting to everything, he gets a little clingy sometimes." It wasn't something she was overly concerned about, but she was keeping tabs on it. Gavin with his nieces was most definitely a sight to see, she'd had he fair share of observation time at breakfasts and at his place too. She always wondered how he got to work looking as good as he did with two girls to help get ready in the mornings. Of course, his looks were naturally godly, he didn't need to try at it. Effortless. "Actually, he was the one that suggested I adopt him... otherwise I was only going to foster him until he found a proper home." And well, that didn't happen. It took some convincing, but with Zeke being adamant on it, and with Gavin's support, she could hardly say no. At any rate, she wasn't at all concerned about Gavin questioning the relationship and whether that was a product of trust or arrogance, she didn't know - but ultimately it didn't matter. They'd had the discussion, and neither of them were going anywhere.

The conversation conveniently lulled at Zeke's approach, and she couldn't help but shake her head lightly at him before slipping her wand from her wrist holster. "Errr whooooops?" she repeated the boys words, a brow raised as she worked on removing the liquid. Boys were dirty, and Zeke was no exception to this apparently unspoken rule.

Shooooooooooot. She was cleaning it, that meant no going home to change and shower and prolong returning to daycare. Uggghhh. He turned his head away from his jumper and looked to the lady. It had happened to her before? "Sucks you lost too," he pointed out with a shrug, and of course professionals would get squirted as well. Someone always had to lose, but he felt cheated, because he had technically won too!

He turned back to Emily, he could probably use this to his advantage. "You know... if you played with me, I wouldn't have to lose, and get icky." Just saying, he didn't mind playing by himself, but it'd be better with her. Bonding time and all that stuff.

She could already see where he was going with this, and the answer was no. But instead of bursting his bubble just yet, she opted for the more subtle approach. "And who's to say I won't wipe the ring with you?" She may have adopted him, but she wasn't about to go soft on him. Emily didn't make a habit of letting people win, not unless it benefited her. But of course, where were her manners? ...

"Zeke, this is my friend Victoria... and this, this is Zeke." She looked between the two. There. They were acquainted, she'd done her social duty.

Wipe the ring with him, them were fighting words. If she didn't want to play now, then at least he knew he could make her play later. And if he was lucky enough to win, then she might even want a rematch!!! .. but he'd need to practice.

....

And here was his golden opportunity. Victoria played before, and she was nice looking. "You wanna play with me, Victoria? I can let you win so you don't get your nice clothes dirty," he offered, smiling brightly.

Bazinga · 03-12-2014, 08:16 PM

SPOILER!!: Emily and Zeke

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

And there was a sad fact of life, the girls wouldn't know any different... it hardly seemed fair. But she couldn't judge. There were aspects of her life that she could have done with not remembering, some people too. Still, she wasn't about to go meddling in the woman's life, she was a grown up, and could handle her own problems. She didn't belief in fate or luck or any of that rubbish, but she did believe that the universe didn't throw at you anything you couldn't handle. True to her form, the topic of conversation was difficult for her to carry, so she let it die. What was she supposed to say, really? Emily was simply far too awkward for these things and she doubted the frail woman needed an in your face pep-talk on getting over it.

Her eyes only widened as Vic continued with her assessment of her as a parent. Clothed, yes... and cleaned too, the L word again - she was unsure about this one, and the rest give or take a little, it was on the money. So she wasn't doing bad, she knew she wasn't doing bad. But she still couldn't fathom herself being great. Emily shrugged, "He won't die in my care, I suppose that is something..." a small victory if nothing else. Her smile was probably what deceived her in this instance, the boy, regardless of his challenges was a welcome addition to her life. "Mmm, interesting is one way of putting it... but watching him is entertaining in itself." It was taking some getting used to, but he was at least excited and appreciative of magic, however simple the charm or potion.

Curve balls, she wasn't wrong there. And they had a tendency to come in two's or three's. Or at least, it had for her. First with Gavin, then with Zeke.. between the two of them, she hardly recognised her life anymore. "He's an amazing role model... but I do wonder how Zeke's adjusting to everything, he gets a little clingy sometimes." It wasn't something she was overly concerned about, but she was keeping tabs on it. Gavin with his nieces was most definitely a sight to see, she'd had he fair share of observation time at breakfasts and at his place too. She always wondered how he got to work looking as good as he did with two girls to help get ready in the mornings. Of course, his looks were naturally godly, he didn't need to try at it. Effortless. "Actually, he was the one that suggested I adopt him... otherwise I was only going to foster him until he found a proper home." And well, that didn't happen. It took some convincing, but with Zeke being adamant on it, and with Gavin's support, she could hardly say no. At any rate, she wasn't at all concerned about Gavin questioning the relationship and whether that was a product of trust or arrogance, she didn't know - but ultimately it didn't matter. They'd had the discussion, and neither of them were going anywhere.

The conversation conveniently lulled at Zeke's approach, and she couldn't help but shake her head lightly at him before slipping her wand from her wrist holster. "Errr whooooops?" she repeated the boys words, a brow raised as she worked on removing the liquid. Boys were dirty, and Zeke was no exception to this apparently unspoken rule.

Shooooooooooot. She was cleaning it, that meant no going home to change and shower and prolong returning to daycare. Uggghhh. He turned his head away from his jumper and looked to the lady. It had happened to her before? "Sucks you lost too," he pointed out with a shrug, and of course professionals would get squirted as well. Someone always had to lose, but he felt cheated, because he had technically won too!

He turned back to Emily, he could probably use this to his advantage. "You know... if you played with me, I wouldn't have to lose, and get icky." Just saying, he didn't mind playing by himself, but it'd be better with her. Bonding time and all that stuff.

She could already see where he was going with this, and the answer was no. But instead of bursting his bubble just yet, she opted for the more subtle approach. "And who's to say I won't wipe the ring with you?" She may have adopted him, but she wasn't about to go soft on him. Emily didn't make a habit of letting people win, not unless it benefited her. But of course, where were her manners? ...

"Zeke, this is my friend Victoria... and this, this is Zeke." She looked between the two. There. They were acquainted, she'd done her social duty.

Wipe the ring with him, them were fighting words. If she didn't want to play now, then at least he knew he could make her play later. And if he was lucky enough to win, then she might even want a rematch!!! .. but he'd need to practice.

....

And here was his golden opportunity. Victoria played before, and she was nice looking. "You wanna play with me, Victoria? I can let you win so you don't get your nice clothes dirty," he offered, smiling brightly.

Glad they were moving away from the Charely talk Victoria breathed a little easier. She struggled talking about him without her emotions going crazy. She loved him, but love just wasn’t enough at the moment. She had to fix herself and slow everything else down. She’d get there and be fine, but her relationship just wasn’t happening at the moment. She felt horrible that she hurt him, but again she couldn’t think about that.

“Not dying well that’s a good place to start there Emily.” She chuckled a bit not able to keep a straight face with her comment. She knew Emily wasn’t giving herself enough credit, but she knew Emily’s personality as well being friends for some time. Figuring it was a hard adjustment for her, but super proud of her friend for taking the step. She was really bettering this boys life and that was amazing. “Watching them is always fun. Bart can be great entertainment.” She remembered how fun it was when he was younger just watching him play for hours. Though never gobstones unfortunately.

“All children are clingy at times. He seems to be doing alright. Plus with you two I don’t see how he couldn’t be.” She had a ton of faith in both her friends. She couldn’t help but take interest in Emily’s words about Gavin, “He suggested it?” That was really interesting. She half wondered if someone would have suggested something like that to him what he would have said or done, but he had a great eye for things and this was a great choice. “Well he seems to know exactly what he was talking about, because I think you made the right move. Fostering you would have just gotten attached and then it would have been hard to let go.” Fully his parent was better for her.

She couldn’t help but keep her smile as the boy got his clothes cleaned and didn’t seem very thrilled. Assuming he probably preferred being dirty. At least Bart would. “Everyone has to lose at times it’s how you learn. If you didn’t lose you couldn’t figure out what you were doing wrong to get better.” She had lost many times, heck losing in relationships seemed to be a trend for her. Chuckling as Zeke tried to get Emily to play. He was such a sweet boy.

“It’s very nice to meet you Zeke.” She watched as the boy turned to her. Play? This had taken her by surprise, “Well” She looked at her watch, “I think I could play for a bit and don’t you dare let me win. I’m fine with a little dirt on my clothes. I have a boy a few years older than you. I’m use to dirt.” She smiled at him and stood from her seat.

Hera · 03-13-2014, 02:27 AM

If anything it was good to get a chuckle out of Vic, the woman looked like she could do with a laugh. Emily bobbed her head, a smile still in place as she considered the facts, living... living was a good thing. "I can imagine... didn't you say something about him being expelled for blowing up a toilet?" or was she thinking of somebody else? ... Either way, from what she'd heard, Bart was a handful and would no doubt be a great source of entertainment.

"Mmm.. it's not just clingy though, it's borderline possessive clingy... or at least attention seeking." It wasn't a problem for now, but she didn't quite know what to do about it, if anything. Meh. A bridge they'd cross if it got to it. And that, right there, was how she felt. "Yeah... I didn't see that coming," she added with a shrug. Go figure she expected to have to come close to begging to get a character reference out of him, let along him giving it willingly and making such absurd suggestions. Suggestions which, have taken on and were working out. The whole attachment thing though, she couldn't comprehend that. Emily Browne did not get attached to people. It was not a done thing .... .... nope. So she was content with letting this conversation die, especially too since Zeke had made himself present, and she was not going to be one of those mothers that spoke about their children's faults and flaws in front of them. Unless it was to their face for character building purposes.

And speaking of character building, Emily finished siphoning his jumper dry of all icky liquid and watched his expression with curiosity.

Zeke stood patiently, hands in his pocket as he waited for Emily to finish and listened to the Victoria lady. She was nice, maybe even too nice... like Avery, she was too nice too. "Uh huuuuhhh?" he mused, his brows knit in contemplation. He could appreciate where she was going with this, but there was a flaw in her logic. "But if you didn’t lose, then you wouldn't need to figure out what you were doing wrong because you would have done it right to begin with..." see? Losing wasn't necessary, but learning after losing was.

Emily had been set to flick Zeke behind the ear, or poke him, because he knew she didn't have time to be running around a park and playing games, or waiting for him to be done. So when he asked Victoria to play, she gave him a look to communicate her displeasure in his stalling.

He saw the look, out of the corner of his eyes, and he was ready to look away... and distance himself a bit in case she decided dragging him off would be a good idea. "Awweeesomee," he replied to Victoria, big beams her way. Emily had some good friends, which got him thinking, did sheeee work at the Ministry place too? It seemed everyone worked there, or most people at least. "Are you an MLEer?" he asked, being rather familiar with that term.

Bazinga · 03-14-2014, 03:19 AM

SPOILER!!: Emily and Zeke

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

If anything it was good to get a chuckle out of Vic, the woman looked like she could do with a laugh. Emily bobbed her head, a smile still in place as she considered the facts, living... living was a good thing. "I can imagine... didn't you say something about him being expelled for blowing up a toilet?" or was she thinking of somebody else? ... Either way, from what she'd heard, Bart was a handful and would no doubt be a great source of entertainment.

"Mmm.. it's not just clingy though, it's borderline possessive clingy... or at least attention seeking." It wasn't a problem for now, but she didn't quite know what to do about it, if anything. Meh. A bridge they'd cross if it got to it. And that, right there, was how she felt. "Yeah... I didn't see that coming," she added with a shrug. Go figure she expected to have to come close to begging to get a character reference out of him, let along him giving it willingly and making such absurd suggestions. Suggestions which, have taken on and were working out. The whole attachment thing though, she couldn't comprehend that. Emily Browne did not get attached to people. It was not a done thing .... .... nope. So she was content with letting this conversation die, especially too since Zeke had made himself present, and she was not going to be one of those mothers that spoke about their children's faults and flaws in front of them. Unless it was to their face for character building purposes.

And speaking of character building, Emily finished siphoning his jumper dry of all icky liquid and watched his expression with curiosity.

Zeke stood patiently, hands in his pocket as he waited for Emily to finish and listened to the Victoria lady. She was nice, maybe even too nice... like Avery, she was too nice too. "Uh huuuuhhh?" he mused, his brows knit in contemplation. He could appreciate where she was going with this, but there was a flaw in her logic. "But if you didn’t lose, then you wouldn't need to figure out what you were doing wrong because you would have done it right to begin with..." see? Losing wasn't necessary, but learning after losing was.

Emily had been set to flick Zeke behind the ear, or poke him, because he knew she didn't have time to be running around a park and playing games, or waiting for him to be done. So when he asked Victoria to play, she gave him a look to communicate her displeasure in his stalling.

He saw the look, out of the corner of his eyes, and he was ready to look away... and distance himself a bit in case she decided dragging him off would be a good idea. "Awweeesomee," he replied to Victoria, big beams her way. Emily had some good friends, which got him thinking, did sheeee work at the Ministry place too? It seemed everyone worked there, or most people at least. "Are you an MLEer?" he asked, being rather familiar with that term.

Victoria’s light chuckle turned into a laugh, “No not a toilet though I could see him doing that. He blew up the potions lab or well not fully I don’t think, but I’m not really sure. All I know is it was enough to get him expelled.” She thought for a moment on this though, “I think it was the best thing he could have done really. He seems so much happier at Hogwarts. He’s found a few professors that seem to get him, he loves the potions professor, he talks about some weird lion in his dorm room, I don’t know some of his Owls don’t make any sense, but as long as he’s happy and learning I don’t mind them.” She was just happy he seemed to have adjusted.

“I’m not a child expert by all means, but I remember someone suggesting a healer for Bart with the divorce, and Merlin knows what all this boy has been through in a muggle orphanage and his mother dying. If it gets to the point you are concerned it might not hurt to have him speak to one. They’ve helped me recently.” She wasn’t ashamed to say she was seeing one, she didn’t like that she had to, but it meant getting better.

Smiling at Zeke he was good with words, “Yes, but if you win all the time without being beaten your head will swell and you get lazy. That’s when you start messing up, so it’s better to play someone that can beat you so you can learn and stay sharp than be big headed and forget how to play smart.” She had seen that happen many times, so she was alright with losing and getting better.

Vic started walking towards the playing area. “No.. no I could never be cut out to be MLE. I actually work for sports and games. I do event planning and help design the trading cards for all the quidditch teams.” She figured he might like, “Our department also runs the Gobstone things as well.” Bart always thought her job was cool, because of the quidditch stuff. So she figured he might as well.

Hera · 03-14-2014, 11:52 AM

Toilet? Potions Lab? At the end of the day, how different were they, really? If either of them when BOOM, then the result would still be the same. BOOM, followed by displeasure in the BOOMing. Emily found herself chuckling at the thought though, and while she didn't want Zeke to be the trouble making type, she wanted him to have at least a small affinity with destruction. Like mother, like son? "Oh that's wonderful, glad he's settling in." She didn't even attempt to understand the lion in the dorm room thing, last she checked that was against school policy - student safety and all, but the schools standards were slipping ... which still left her wondering if Durmstrang might be a better fit for Zeke.

Emily nod her head to communicate she was listening, even if she wasn't really much for talking right now. She was a woman of few words regardless, so she knew Vic would understand and not take her silence to heart. But, if Vic didn't consider herself an expert, than what hope did she have? At any rate, seeing a Healer didn't sound like the kind of thing Zeke was really in need of. He had his issues... but they weren't that dire. It was likely just a matter of setting boundaries and identifying explicitly her expectations of him where sharing her time was concerned. "I'll keep that in mind," was her final thought on the matter, her eyes on Zeke as she said it.

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh, yes, that was a point he could agree with. "Self improvement," he nodded, "but that's different to losing." So his earlier point was still valid. At least she was an easy and willing adult to teach. Some of the others, like Gavin, simply didn't understand that his logic won out in the end. "Sooooo......... best two out of three?" he asked hopefully, because he really didn't want to go back to daycare, and so long as Victoria was with him, Emily couldn't tell him off for wasting time. Cue grin. She should say yes.

Zeke busied himself with unpacking his gobstones set again, handing her half of them before going to place the jack stone. He found it curious that she didn't work for Emily, but he supposed that was why they were friends. Emily didn't hang out with those other people much, like Bennett, and he really wanted to talk to Bennett. It'd be cooool. What she said next though, now that was even cooooooler!!!! QUIDDITCH! "Ooooohhh ooohhh! Emily said she'd take me to a League match one day, to see the Montrose Magpies or something, do you get free stuff? Like free cards?" Could he have some? He'd never collected anything before, and he was doing alright with chocolate frog cards at the moment, it was a modest collection that was slowly but surely, growing. Quidditch cards sounded more interesting though, especially because while history and stuff was cool, Quidditch was just better. The Gobstones bit, that was cool too... but his attention was on the Quidditch side of her job.

"Ladies first," he prompted, smiling, allowing himself a single bounce on the balls of his feet.

While she was waiting, Emily took the opportunity to check in with the Security mob, using their communications notebook to see what progress had been made, or if there was an excuse for her to drag Zeke back to the daycare by his collar so that she could go back to work. No such luck.

Bazinga · 03-14-2014, 02:33 PM

Victoria couldn’t help but just laugh, “Self-improvement can only really happen if you know you need to improve though. So if you are always winning you might not realize you have room to improve. So in my eyes they are one in the same.” She wasn’t going to argue with a child, but her opinion was just how she felt about things. She knew many who needed to self- improve, but since they always felt they were on top and were the best never bothered to try. Pity if they could only see themselves in a mirror, they’d possibly change their minds.

Knowing her job would probably get his interest Vic glanced at Emily, “Oh she did? Well maybe I can see if I can help out with that.” She thought for a moment, “I bet I could get you some good tickets.” She gave the boy a wink. She knew the teams pretty well and she had been doing all that mascot work. So she might possibly be able to pull some tickets off. Since she never really used them for herself, why not help a friend out. “You know I might actually have some older cards in my bag back at the hanger where our office is right now. If Emily doesn’t mind you taking a little walk with me, maybe we could go get them and then I could take you back to her later.” She wondered if Mariel would be upset if she brought a child into the hanger, but at the same time they wouldn’t stay too long so it shouldn’t be an issue.

She watched him place the Jack Stone down. She liked playing Jack Stone, it had been so long since she played that she figured she’d be a little rusty. “Well aren’t you a little gentleman.” Letting ladies go first she hoped he kept that part of him as he got older. Bart would have never said that, too excited to get started he would have just jumped in. She turned to the game and tried to concentrate on where she would send her ball. Taking aim she sent the ball towards the Jack stone, but it stopped pretty short.

She did know she would be rusty, “Looks like you’re up.”

Hera · 03-14-2014, 03:08 PM

Blah blah blah... he didn't here that. In his mind, he was right, had proven so, and she was just being silly now. You couldn't really improve on perfect, and if you never lost you were just that, or too close to it to bother with any real effort. He may have murmured something in response, but the words weren't properly formed to be heard.

"She did," he acknowledged with an enthusiastic nod, "and she said we can go to more Hogwarts matches too, and and... the World Cup!" It went without saying that he was excited about this all. The whole magic thing was a huge learning curve, but he'd gotten the hang of the sport fairly quickly, not playing it, simply watching and understanding it. He was a fan. Zeke's eyes may have bulged a bit at the mention of getting them good tickets, he knew she was a nice lady, and she was proving to be a useful one too. Playing with him, tickets... he'd insist Emily stay friends with this one. "Yeaaaahh? That'd be awesome!" But she knew she couldn't go with them, right? It'd just be him and Emily. Nobody else. Nobody. If he even had a choice in the matter.

And it seemed Victoria was fast gaining ground on his most useful people list. She had cards, that he could have? TODAY? And she would take him NOT to the daycare? There was so much win in this. "I can come with you?" he echoed, eyes bright with excitement. The hanger bit though, he didn't understand, but from what he could deduce it meant they weren't underground like Emily. "That'd be aweeesomeee, and I promise to be quiet and good and I won't touch anything or run away.." now all Emily had to do was say yes?

Gentleman, yep, that's what he was. For selfish reasons. There was very little in the way of advantages for going first, so he was all for letting other people do that. He'd be happy coming in second, or last, bringing up the rear. Her shot hadn't been very good. He couldn't tell if that was strategic or not, so he cocked his head to the side as if he was thinking through things, which he wasn't... and then he stepped forward to take his shot. Hhhhmmmm. Rolling his stone a little past hers, but not by too much, he was still getting the hang of it. Zeke shrugged, turning to her, "Your turn."

Notebook back in the deep pocket of her coat, Emily continued to watch the pair as they started their game. Whatever Vic had said to the boy had gotten him in his excited state, she was all too familiar with it... she only hoped it wouldn't be something she would have to deal with.

Bazinga · 03-16-2014, 07:06 PM

More Hogwart matches, Victoria smiled, “Well those are always fun. My son plays for the Gryffindor team.” She was very proud of that fact. It might not be her Hufflepuffs, but he was enjoying her old school all the same. “The world cup is always exciting. I’ve taking Bart once.” Only once though this custody issue always screwed with her plans. Now she was going to have to deal with it all over again, her smile faded when her thoughts went to her sweet little girls. She chuckled softly at his excitement, “I’ll see what I can do and get them to Emily as soon as I can.” The boy was cute, he really was. Emily got lucky.

“Sure you can as long as Emily doesn’t mind.” She could use the company in the hanger anyway. Plus he seemed eager to stay away from where ever they were to be going. She wondered if Emily had him at the daycare. If so she could understand why a boy his age would want to not be there. “Oh you don’t have to be quiet, our building is in an old hangar so plenty of room to run around a bit.” She figured he might like to see an airplane hangar as well.

Her eyes went back to the game as Zeke sent his ball towards hers and the Jack Stone. “That wasn’t too bad.” She grinned at him and tried to focus on the jack stone. She rolled her stone bumping Zeke’s out of the way, but sending her own off track and going past the jack stone. A little better, but she was surely rusty and needed to get back into the game more.

Looking over to Emily Vic smiled a bit, “If you have work to do I could always bring him to you later.” She felt bad having Emily just sitting there.

Hera · 03-17-2014, 08:54 AM

..........................

Zeke had no words. That was cool. Beyond cool even. "I saw him then!" He realised, noting the Gryffindor bit. Cause he was there, he saw her, at the match, he was there. "What position does he play?" he asked, only too happy to keep up the topic of conversation. Bart. Her sons name was Bart.. he'd remember that. And already he was jealous, Bart got to play and he'd been to the World Cup. "Emily's not been to one either, so we're doing a thing with it, and Gavin will be there too... and Avery and Ashley and Ari." Did she know who they were? He didn't care. It wasn't her thing, it was their thing. Still he was super excited about the tickets she'd look into, he doubted anyone could wipe the smile from his face.

And there were those words. If Emily didn't mind. He spared her a glance, waving at her... his attempt at earning brownie points before asking. "I don't think she'd let me," he replied honestly, not getting his hopes up. "And I've pushed her enough today, my lucks run out." Pfffttttt... and there she went teasing him, saying he didn't have to be quiet and well behaved and stuff and he could look around and have an adventure. SEEEE EMILLYYYY. Why couldn't she let him do that in the Underground? It wasn't like he'd get hit by a train, it was abandoned! -- or at least part of it was.

"Eeeehhh," he shrugged, rolling his next around his palm, waiting for her to take her shot and blitz him. Which she almost did... almost. "Good shot," he returned the compliment, which was deserved considering she'd hit his away. Squatting to the ground, his face screwed in concentration, an eye closed for the sake of accuracy, Zeke rolled his gobstone forward. Only... it didn't roll.... much... at all..... "I was too soft," he conceded, lips smooshed into a critical pout.

OOOoooohhhhhhh! Whaat? Really? She'd stay with him and let Emily go?

...

Zeke turned on his heal to see her response. Eyeing her expectantly. Pleasse?

Uncrossing her leg and shifting in her seat on the bench, Emily watched them play, smiling and offering a palm-up in response to Zeke's wave. It amazed her how needy and how not-so-needy he could be. Reading children was a chore, perhaps because they didn't comprehend their thought process themselves, thus confusing her.

Her ears perked up at Vic's offer, and she shifted her gaze slightly to her friend. She could bring him to her later? ..........................

This was new territory. Leaving Zeke with someone other than herself, the Isaacs' or the childcare centre. Could she do that? Leave him? Let Vic fend for herself? "Eeeerrrr........" Why did it feel so wrong? She trusted Vic to ensure he survived the experience, just it didn't sit right with her? But then... that look, on his face. That face. Sparing her watch another look, she pulled herself from the bench and joined the two in the ring. "You sure? I'd hate for him to inconvenience you." Cue hand on his shoulder.

Bazinga · 03-21-2014, 02:05 AM

Victoria smiled as he said about seeing him, “Yes you probably did he plays chaser.” She had always been so proud of his dedication with the sport, though she wished he took that passion into his school work. Maybe that would come now that he was at Hogwarts. He seemed to be enjoying it and actually liking some of the professors. “Emily hasn’t been to a world cup?” She didn’t mean to be surprised by that, but she had been to a few in her lifetime, but it did help her father was a ministry worker with connections growing up. She smiled as he named everyone going, “Well sounds like you will have a great time.” Vic knew he would they all would.

Looking at Zeke she couldn’t help but smile, he was like her son in a way. Always thinking the worst of adults. “She might and she knows I’m a mother of three so you wouldn’t be bothering me at all.” It always helped when you were a mom, people trusted you with their kids more. “I bet you haven’t pushed her that much. It’s a mom rule kids get extra pushes.” She gave him a big smile as she turned to watch him make his move.

“Thank you” She was glad he liked her shot, she would have rather it hit the jack and not went off course hitting his, but she was getting better as they wet. “Oh don’t worry about that. Soft isn’t a bad thing at times, but you should try to roll it out of your hand like this. It will help bring it a better spin.” She showed him how she was holding her stone. She looked to the jack stone and lined up. Rolling it she grinned as it headed straight for its destination, but stopping right before hitting the jack stone. Oh so close.

As Emily came over she smiled, “Don’t worry he will be fine. We will have fun.” glancing down at Zeke and giving him a wink. “You are not inconveniencing me at all. I would love to keep playing a bit. It’s a nice distraction.” Her own brain was dangerous with thoughts so this was nice.

Hera · 03-21-2014, 09:42 AM

Chaser. Chaser, chaser, chaser... CHASER! "You know, I think I did... I'll have to watch more closely next time." Which wouldn't be a difficult thing, now that he had those fancy pants binocular things. He simply shook his head at her follow up question. It's what he said, she hadn't been, which was fine, because it was all the more reason for her to take him. She would be as entertained as him and all would be well, and then, she'd want to do it again and he wouldn't complain. It was the perfect plan. "Mmmhhhmmm, we will," he agreed.

Zeke's brows knit in curiosity at her confidence. Did she know Emily? Because it didn't sound that way at all. Maybe they weren't really friends after all? "Uh huh..." he enunciated, his expression full of thought. Then that whole rule thing about the pushing, he shook his head. "She's not my mum... she's my Emily, there's a difference. So I don't get to push much, and even if she was my mum, have you lived with her?" ... there was only so much she would take before pushing back, and he'd had enough of goblin revolutions to last him a lifetime. History, was boring, except for when they were reenacting stuff, that wasn't so bad.

His eyes were glued to her as she demonstrated the technique of rolling. Uh huuuuhhhh. Right. "I can do that." Sure, cause if he couldn't do that then he might as well give up on the sport. He positioned his next stone in his hand, blowing on it quickly for good luck before doing his best to mirror her roll. He watched in anticipation as it rolled... and rolled and rolled and rolled..... too far, completely bypassing hers and the jack. "I almost did it."

Zeke's eyes brightened and his smile widened on Emily's approach, he sidestepped up to her, taking her hand in his and squeezing tightly. This was supposed to tell her how much he wanted to stay. Mmhhmmmm. He even added a nod for good measure as Victoria said he wasn't an inconvenience. Seeeeeeee, it'd be cool.

She wasn't comfortable with leaving him, that much was clear, but she trusted Vic to keep him breathing, and trusted him not to wander off in her company -- or if he did, that he would at least keep hold of his compass. Emily grunted lightly before finally nodding, "Okay... alright.. don't hesitate to drop him off the minute he starts getting on your nerves, if I'm unavailable then one of my staff will tend to him." She squeezed Zeke's hand back, her way of letting him know she wasn't thrilled about the arrangement he'd somehow forced on her. Because this was mostly his doing, naturally.

"Thanks Emily!" he beamed, removing his hand from hers to give her a hug instead. He may have been bouncing on the balls of his feet a little as well. HE WAS FREEEEEEE.

"Mmmm... but, you'll be on your best behaviour, and no sneaking off.. got it?" she asked, prying herself from him and lifting his chin with a free hand. Her eyes locked on his.

"Promisseeee," he replied, extending his pinky to make it legit.

Emily shook on his pinky before squatting slightly to his level and pulling him into a hug. She could feel his compass in his breast pocket, so all was well.
"Alright then, I'll see you both later, thanks Vic," she sighed, giving her friend a pat on the arm whilst she still had a Zeke wrapped around her middle. After he had his fill of squeezing the life out of her, she removed herself from his grip and gave an awkward wave goodbye, stepping away until she reached the path again and headed back to work.... without him. Was that guilt she felt?

Bazinga · 03-24-2014, 01:11 AM

Victoria watched him think and she chuckled, “You might have seen him, but there are so many flying around. It can easily get confusing.” Oh next time, they were planning on going again. “Well if it’s the next Gryffindor game maybe I’ll see you. I’ll be there watching Bart again.” She wasn’t going to miss her son’s games. She loved going to them.

She glanced at the boy, not his mum, right. “Okay I understand. Not your mum, but she is your parental figure now. So kind of like a mum.” laughing she shook her head, “no I have never lived with her, but I’ve been friends with her for a while. I think I can understand a few things.” She winked at the boy. Her brown eyes turned as she watched his next roll. It was really good and she was hoping it would hit the stone, but it went past it. “Oh so close” He was going to be really great if he kept on this track practicing. Hogwarts might even find their next great champion at the sport.

Glancing towards Emily as she made her decision and grinned towards Zeke when she said yes, “See I told you she would be alright with it.” Turning back to Emily, “Oh he will be no trouble at all. Remember who my son is.” If she could handle Bart she could handle any child. Plus Zeke was such a sweet heart there was no way he could be trouble. “See you in later.” Giving Emily a wave as she left, Vic turned back to Zeke, “Shall we finish our game or should we head to the airport hangar for those trading cards?”

Hera · 03-24-2014, 12:27 PM

Zeke shrugged, meeehhhh... he couldn't pick him from all the flying going on, but his eyes had landed on him at least once in the match, so that counted for something. The thought of seeing Victoria there was a nice one, so he smiled politely at her comment, though he wouldn't want anyone interfering with his Emily time, that time was limited to weekends and after she finished work. Was it any wonder he didn't want to share? "She wants to take me to a Ravenclaw match, cause she was a Ravenclaw in school," he nodded, again toying with the idea of being a Ravenclaw himself. He could do blue.

He was beginning to get the impression that she didn't know what he meant. He knew how adoption worked, he knew that she was his mum in... well... in the conventional sense of the term. But she was his Emily, which was different, and special in its own way. "I know, I know... don't worrryyyy..." it made sense in his head the way he had put it, he didn't need to waste his breath educating Victoria of his perspective. But hahahahahahahahahah!!!! ..... She thought she understood things. "Uh huuhhhhh," he snickered, cheeks tight from trying to keep his face from slipping wide open with laughter. "She's too weird to understand, I don't even think she understands herself." True story.

If he was being perfectly honest, gobstones was boring him. She was better than he was, and he wasn't much in the mood for getting better right now, his patience was wearing thin and his mind was beginning to wander. It was amazing that he'd even heard Victoria's reasoning. She was giving him options? He liked options. "Ooooooohhhh, the hanger? Can we? I'd much prefer that, gobstones is fine, but you're way better than me and I'm not much in a mood for getting dirty again."

Jojogali · 04-22-2016, 11:45 AM

Gallowglass had been meaning to come here for a while now. Work, Meredith, the Tournament, Elsa and his own job kept him very occupied but he finally managed some time off to take a stroll. A small magical oasis in the center of London, that how this place was described. And it fit the description well.

He sat on one of the benches, crossing his legs at the ankle and just enjoying the calmness around him, tapping his fingers to another muggle song he heard on the radio that morning.

Erindipity · 04-22-2016, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jojogali

Gallowglass had been meaning to come here for a while now. Work, Meredith, the Tournament, Elsa and his own job kept him very occupied but he finally managed some time off to take a stroll. A small magical oasis in the center of London, that how this place was described. And it fit the description well.

He sat on one of the benches, crossing his legs at the ankle and just enjoying the calmness around him, tapping his fingers to another muggle song he heard on the radio that morning.

GoooobSTONNNNES! Yasss!

Eva was excited! Not having been in London long... and still a bit disoriented from the culture shock, she was glad to have stumbled across the Gobstones Park. Yasss!! Glancing about a few times, she noticed an empty seat... next to a MAN. Yowza!

Making her way over she sat primly on the bench next to the man. And immediately she regretted it when she noticed that tick... that tapping of the fingers... That was terrible and annoying. "Excuse me, sir. Do you mind if I sit?" Belted manners were still manners, yes?

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