demetrius mulciber is coming apart at the seams (scrubbedraw) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2009-05-16 12:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! [1980-05] may, anastasia mulciber (née aesalon), demetrius mulciber |
Who: Demetrius and Anastasia Mulciber
When: Early Saturday afternoon
Where: Mulciber Manor
What: Demetrius visits with his Mommy
Rating: PG
Status: Incomplete
Demetrius entered Mulciber Manor without so much as a second thought. Why would he knock, anyway? Though his good spirits had eventually been dampened by certain things. Work, Aubrey, Severus getting Inner Circle status at twenty even though he's just a halfblood, work, Aubrey, Umbridge, kitten memos.... Aubrey. But he put on a smile when he entered the sitting room, taking a seat in his favourite chair and snapping his fingers for the house-elf to come over. "Get me a cup of tea," he demanded coolly, waiting for his mother to come into the sitting room and undeniably fuss over him. He hadn't actually had a moment to talk to her since Tuesday. Anastasia Mulciber had been reading in her study (if it could be called that) when the elf interrupted her with word that her son was at home. Somewhat surprised by the news, she was momentarily torn between wanting to finish this chapter of The Flame and the Flower (Bellona was about to be captured by pirates, she was sure) and wanting to go immediately. With only slight reluctance, she slid a silver bookmark into her novel and stood. After a trip down the stairs, she entered the sitting room with a curious expression on her face. "What brings you here today, Demetrius?" she asked, sitting down gracefully in one of the chairs and crossing her legs. Looking up when his mother entered, Demetrius smiled slightly. "Just visiting," he said, looking down as the elf returned with his tea. She did have reason to be curious, Demetrius was hardly someone who visited every week, especially not more than once in a week. It was strange, but he had every right to visit his parents. "How have you been?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. Demetrius had always been awful at small talk, especially with "adults" (not that he wasn't an adult himself). He didn't know what to talk about, even with his own mother, so he was perfectly willing to let her lead the conversation. Anastasia nodded as the house elf brought a pot of tea and two cups, and then poured each of them one, to their liking. With a bland expression, she shooed it away (not that she expected it would overhear anything particularly personal, but she did not like nosy elves). "I have been most well," she told her son, taking a sip of tea. "You wouldn't believe the number of owls I've received already today." She paused, thinking of the letters of congratulations that were sitting on her desk, mostly unread. She would get to them eventually, of course, but she knew that they would all provide benign congratulations. "Your engagement seems to be causing quite the stir." Laughing slightly, Demetrius shifted in his seat and tried to find a sitting position that was actually comfortable for him. It proved itself difficult, and he finally just gave up on the task, leaning back and relaxing into the chair. "The quantity may be impressive but somehow I feel like the content is not engrossing, yes?" 'Your engagement'. It felt so odd to him to think of it so possessively. He was engaged. Admittedly, his half-blooded best friend had been engaged (and scheduled to marry) before him, and there were plenty of people who had gotten engaged before, but the sensation felt totally foreign to him. It felt almost as if he had invented the concept just for himself. How absurd. "A stir? Already? I can't say I'm very surprised, I suppose. Given whom I'm engaged to," Demetrius replied, smirking. He did have a certain level of pride in regards to that particular matter, it was hard to even downplay it. With a cocked eyebrow, Anastasia considered for a moment telling Demetrius not to squirm, but thought it was a lost cause and relatively pointless within the privacy of their home. She had mixed feelings about the engagement herself. Not doubts about the match, of course, but the idea of having a married son made her feel very... well, old. Good Merlin, she may soon be a grandmother. She was not old enough to be a grandmother. And Corbina Lestrange's nephew had only been married for six months and already they had a baby on the way. This time next year she could be picking out bassinets and bibs. It was not an idea she enjoyed. She would have to talk to Corbina about that. "I've never had my son announce his engagement before," she replied lightly, "So I'm not certain if this amount of mail is customary, but everyone does seem to be quite excited. It's only understandable, I suppose, as the Lestranges are involved, and I'm certain there are quite a few young men cursing their poor luck right now." Anastasia gave her son a proud smile. "I'm not sure if it is either, I've never been engaged before," he quipped. "If they aren't cursing their poor luck, they're obviously deficient in the head," he agreed, taking another sip of tea and trying to shift again. Whoever had decided to roast him would pay for this, certainly. The excess of scar tissue was ridiculous. But he couldn't let on to his mother or anyone that it was the least bit painful. Demetrius pondered for a minute, before deciding a change of subject was in order. "I've promised your niece-" he started, gesturing towards the stairs. "A shopping excursion if she actually makes an attempt to be sociable. I think I may buy her a journal, it would be easier than thrusting her into the heart of society, don't you think?" Eyes narrowed slightly, Anastasia observed Demetrius's squirming with some concern, wondering if something was wrong or if he was, for some reason, feeling uncomfortable about the engagement. This was, after all, what he had wanted, wasn't it? She didn't feel as though she or Iago had pressured him particularly towards marriage, such that he would propose to anyone, even a Lestrange, without truly wanting to. "I think she would enjoy a journal, yes. It may ease her in, allow her to make acquaintances without having to go out. And the weather is warming up, that should be a help, too." She cocked her head slightly. "Are you feeling alright, dear?" she asked, aware she might not receive an entirely truthful answer. "Warmer weather will help, though summer here is not summer in Greece. It will take some adjustment for her. She's just a bit inflexible at times," he said, rolling his eyes a little at the thought of his cousin. "I'll see to it that she has one then. And that she actually writes in it." Drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair, he looked around the room for a moment. "I suppose you've...ah, taught her about the differences between British and Greek society? I wouldn't want her going out in public entirely blind to the subtleties that she must adhere to. And I'm sure we would all prefer she was not the subject of unnecessary gossip." Forcing a smile at his mother, he shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly. "I'm quite fine, Mother. Just a bit restless," he answered, half-truthful. He was restless, but he wasn't quite fine either. Anastasia gave Demetrius a sharp look, but chose not to pursue the topic of his restlessness any further. At least, not for the moment. She took another sip of her tea, which was still a bit too hot, no thanks to the elf who obviously had been in a hurry. Instead, she turned her attentions to the subject of her niece. After Demetrius had moved out, having Danaë around was certainly a comfort, but she quite agreed that it was time for the girl to get out of the manor. "Your cousin is an intelligent girl, she'll figure things out. I see no reason why society girls wouldn't like her." Besides, of course, the fact that she was foreign, but Anastasia was not about to say that. "If she's polite, she'll get on fine." "I hope she learns fast. I'm told that the women of our society are quick to criticize," Demetrius said, scoffing slightly. Intelligence was nothing when it came to social niceties, even the most intelligent of people were prone to behaving badly, so to speak. But his cousin had never really had a shortage of friends in Greece or at school, so it could be said that she had a knack for international friendships. Anastasia frowned and leaned over to push a cup of tea into her son's hands. "You don't look well. Have some tea," she demanded, then leaned back into her high-backed chair. "Women are much the same everywhere. They will tear apart perceived enemies in England, France, or Greece. The best way to avoid it is to remain well-mannered. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, after all." There was a slight pause. "Of course, if she were to have a friendship with someone like Corbina, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt..." "Really, I'm fine," he said, setting the cup down and raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I do not concern myself with women much. They are rather more vicious than men," he continued, attempting to distract her from her worries about his own well-being. "Corbina would be a beneficial friend, but I wouldn't want to force either of them to befriend the other. It would be more sensible to let her find friends on her own. But I'm a bit hesitant to...how to put it, 'throw her to the sharks'. In a manner of speaking." It took a great deal of effort for Anastasia not to raise an eyebrow at Demetrius's comments, but she resisted the impulse. She wondered if Demetrius thought that Danaë and Corbina would not make good friends. From what she knew of her future daughter-in-law, she was a great deal more serious than her niece, but sometimes, at least, opposites attracted. "If Danaë is going to stay here past the wedding, the two of them will have to get along. They will be family. It would be good for her to have a in the beginning, and if you don't want to escort her everywhere..." She gave her son a pointed look, "It would be best if she start making friends." "Of course they'll have to get along, but I am not going to insist they be the best of friends if they don't actually want to be. That would likely just cause them to resent me for forcing them together," he said reasonably. "As long as they are civil with one another, I'm not pressing the issue." This was, of course, a truthful claim. Though of course the idea of forcing Corbina into anything scared him, and Danaë wasn't exactly a walk in the park for Demetrius either. "Danaë will be fine, I'm just going to give her a push out the door and she can easily make friends on her own. Hopefully. I won't tell her who she should associate with, whoever she gets along with is good enough." Waving a hang dismissively, he smiled a bit. Admittedly this entire situation with Danaë was frustrating to him, but he wasn't going to be cruel to his own cousin just because she was a frustrating, emotional little girl. [not completed, add moar later] |