Tweak

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Tweak says, "In time passion dies."

Dominic Chambers (knowhow) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-10-19 12:57:00

Entry tags:

character: dominic chambers, character: marietta edgecombe

Balloon ride
Who: Dominic and Marietta
What: Balloon ride, picnic, wine tasting
Where: Over London
When: Sunday
Rating: SFW?

Dominic didn't particularly know the woman who'd won him, but that didn't particularly bother him. He'd known when he signed up for the raffle that he might end up spending a day with a relative stranger. He'd actually prefer that to someone he already knew - who he could meet up with whenever he wanted. He only hoped Marietta wasn't afraid of heights, because he didn't particularly want to spend the entire ride comforting and making sure she was okay.

Dressed comfortably, Dominic apparated to the agreed meeting point in a field just outside of London. He wasn't sure what the temperature was likely to be in a hot air balloon - cool because they were at altitude? Warm because of the fires? Either way, he could take his jacket off if he was too hot but he'd probably need it for the picnic after.

He was glad to see the weather was good and he wandered closer to the not-yet-inflated balloon to chat with their 'pilot' until Marietta arrived.

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marrededge
2014-10-22 11:01 am UTC (link)

Marietta only bid because she wanted to support her friends. She hadn't really cared who her company was slated to be as long as the chosen experience was something decent. When the hot air balloon ride was drawn she gave a simple nod. She didn't care to fly but knew she could be open to the experience. The sides of the basket would closed which diminished the risk of actually falling. She'd seen way too many falls from a broom for her liking. In her opinion floo and portkey were definitely the magical ways to travel.

Dressed in layers she made her way to the appointed meeting location where it was impossible to miss her companion and ride. "Hello," she greeted both individuals. "Let the tour begin." She didn't wish to waste too much time. Once they were in the air there would be opportunity to discuss the experience and lunch would allow for small talk.

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knowhow
2014-10-22 04:09 pm UTC (link)

Dominic glanced over at the sound of a Marietta's voice, pleased to see that she'd dressed sensibly. "Hi," he replied, tucking his hands into his pockets to keep them warm. Their pilot greeted Marietta, then set about filling the balloon while Dominic and Marietta stood out of the way. "Excited?" he asked. "I can't say I've ever done this before." He was pleased they'd won this, rather than one of the more traditional dinner or movie dates. Not that he would have complained about those, but he preferred this, something a little more active.

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marrededge
2014-10-24 01:50 am UTC (link)

Marietta couldn't help but find herself drawn to the process by which their tour guide began inflating the balloon. The flaming apparatus was amazing and she wondered how much power it would take to fuel a spell that would be able to replicate the heat being created.

"I'm not a fan of flying, but this promises to be a different sort of experience." She noted the hand motion directing them to step back a little and did so as the basket started the process of up righting itself based on the volume of air within the balloon.

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knowhow
2014-10-28 09:13 am UTC (link)

Dominic split his attention evenly between Marietta and the balloon, watching as it slowly drew itself upright and their pilot opened the basket and gestured them inside. "I'm not sure London would be where I'd ideally choose to do this," he admitted, "but I'm not complaining. This is better than some of the other dates that were raffled off." The spa prizes, in particular, and the opera - Dominic had been glad not to pick those.

He let Marietta precede him into the balloon, then stepped in himself. "So, Marietta, what do you do when you're not taking balloon rides around the capital and buying charity raffle tickets?"

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marrededge
2014-11-01 03:42 am UTC (link)

Marietta was enthralled by the process that unfolded before them. When it was time to enter the basket she could feel the anticipation almost prickling on her skin. "I don't fly often enough to feel like it will be a wasted view." She knew others that flew everywhere and wondered if he was one who typically traveled by broom.

It seemed to take forever for the pilot to lock the door and begin the process of lowering the weight bags that needed to be dropped so she was glad for the small talk. "I work at Flourish and Blotts behind the counter. Nothing too exciting. How about you?" She knew she'd seen him at Finnigan's but that didn't really tell her what it was he did.

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knowhow
2014-11-04 05:07 pm UTC (link)

Finally, the balloon started to rise - the feeling entirely unlike the quick, directed surge of kicking off the ground on a broom. This was more like... floating. It wasn't quite as action packed, but Dominic had to admit it was pretty cool. "I'm a handyman," he offered. "For Finnigan's, and for one-off projects." He moved to the edge of the basket, resting his hands on the lip after a quick look at the pilot to make sure it was alright. He didn't want to unbalance them, or anything.

"So what do you do for excitement?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at Marietta. She might not share his ideas of what was exciting - but there was bound to be something in her life she did find interesting or exciting, something she was passionate about, and Dominic was curious to find out what it was.

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marrededge
2014-11-06 05:50 pm UTC (link)

Marietta could deal with this as it was much smoother a more controlled than her perception of a broom. As the balloon went higher she took the time to enjoy the sight. Something she didn't feel was possible when on a broom because you had to be more focused on your direction then the view around you.

"I don't really look for excitement," she stated as honestly as Marietta could. "I prefer my simple day in day out. Nothing too over the top and everything just as it's supposed to be." It was a lame answer but it made her feel solid. The other part of her, the part that was Rachel, the part that held her excitement, was something she didn't openly share. Not even her closest friends knew that part. Only those who were in the business with her.

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knowhow
2014-11-06 09:12 pm UTC (link)

"There must be something," Dominic pressed. Sometimes he forgot that some people were more private than he was and didn't like to be asked such direct questions. "Even if it's not conventionally exciting. Something you look forward to when you get home from work?" He tried to remember if he'd seen Marietta at any of the clubs at Finnigan's but he didn't think so. "Gobstones?" he suggested. "Music? You never miss an episode of The Time Turner's Tales?" There was no mockery in his tone. He didn't find any of the things he'd suggested exciting personally, but he knew from past experience that if someone was passionate they could make almost any topic interesting.

"Looks like we're almost over London," he added, looking down. He was comfortable with the height, but he glanced at Marietta to make sure she was okay. He knew looking down wasn't advised if you were scared of heights.

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marrededge
2014-11-09 10:31 pm UTC (link)

Marietta shrugged. "I like to relax with a good Sudoku." It wasn't at all exciting but he asked what she looked forward to when she got home from work. "Quite boring really. I work all day with books just to go home and do puzzles in a book." Though she did enjoy cooking something once every three days or so. She'd make enough for a few days before having to make something else.

At his urging she looked out over the landscape. "I bet it's even more spectacular at night," she said. Even though she rarely went out she did enjoy the contrast of lights against the dark of night.

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knowhow
2014-11-12 05:43 pm UTC (link)

"It's not boring if that's what you enjoy," Dominic said. He did feel that conversation wasn't flowing as well as it usually did with him - but that only meant he hadn't struck on the right topic yet. He wasn't giving up that easily. "Sometimes I spend hours at the weekend driving around - not most people's idea of fun. I don't even go fast." Though, saying that, he wouldn't mind a trip to a race track one of these days... He reached into the pocket of his jacket to make a note - then stopped. This was, nominally at least, a date and he should act accordingly. Which meant no getting distracted jotting down personal reminders.

Since Marietta didn't seem afraid, he turned his attention back to the view. "I should have brought my camera. I imagine a lot of people do." Generally, Dominic preferred to take pictures of more dynamic things - why bother with a magical photograph of a static scene, after all? - but this was still a unique perspective, and he'd never tried taking his camera up on a broom with him. "This would be a pretty cool way to see 'the sights' of London," he mused, thinking of the crowds of tourists who paid for open-top buses or boat trips. "Have you travelled much?"

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marrededge
2014-11-13 03:21 pm UTC (link)

Marietta had never really thought of herself as anything more than a simple run of the mill girl. There wasn't anything that made her stand out in a crowd nor did she have any talents that were noteworthy. Melinda was an amazing pastry chef, Roger played quidditch, and those were just a few of the talents those in her group held.

When Dominic turned the conversation to himself she breathed a sigh of relief. As he told her about his driving habit she simply nodded her head. She wasn't much for Muggle ways and avoided them as much as she could. "Pictures would be nice to share but sometimes I think the focus of a camera distracts from simply enjoying the experience." She then turned and waited his response to her thought purposefully ignoring the question that brought the focus back to her.

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knowhow
2014-11-17 04:45 pm UTC (link)

Dominic didn't miss that she'd ignored his question — and he had to hide a brief flicker of annoyance. Why had she bothered to buy a date if she didn't actually want to interact with anyone? He took a breath. Maybe it was just him, but if so he wasn't going to try to change for her when he didn't even know her. "I guess so," he agreed with a shrug. "When booking a job relies on a portfolio of pictures from other jobs, you develop an eye for what looks good." That was how his photography hobby had started, and now he employed it for Finnigan's as much as for himself. "I don't find it gets in the way too much."

His fingers were itching to reach for a cigarette as he continued to look out over the landscape. He didn't smoke often, but it was usually his excuse to escape from awkward social situations — of course, it wouldn't logically help much here, and he was pretty sure hot air balloons and open flame didn't exactly mix. "Looking forward to the picnic lunch? The weather seems to be holding." He wanted to roll his eyes at his own lame conversational gambit.

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marrededge
2014-11-24 12:05 am UTC (link)

The truth was that Marietta hadn't really traveled much. In fact most of her life was rather mundane and boring. Not much to really talk about. The most excitement she'd ever experienced as herself was when she'd been hiding the young family her father had directed her to protect. People didn't want to hear about those things so she never brought them up. Besides, she wasn't a hero or anything, she simply had amends to make and that was the way she could fulfill them.

"I don't doubt you have a good eye. I love looking at photographs that are well done. Maybe I'm just a horrible photographer." It was true that when she tried something Marietta often worked so hard toward perfection that she could completely miss that having fun should be the priority.

She stood quietly for a few moments and took in the scenery. "I suppose, though I would love to stay up here a bit longer," she gave a sigh as she noted that they seemed to be looping back around to where they had launched from. "This view is amazing and I hate that it's going to end." Her stomach though had other thoughts as it growled just loud enough to be heard.

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knowhow
2014-11-26 12:48 pm UTC (link)

"I haven't done a lot of outdoor photography," Dominic admitted freely. "It started with work, so I guess that's what I got into the habit of looking for - moments that make a room look vibrant and alive." Though his portfolio did feature shots of empty rooms for clarity, he tended to prefer to take photographs of people actually using the space. As far as he was concerned, that was the most important thing. "Probably why I didn't think of bringing a camera today. No buildings." He added, because he felt he had to, "I'm sure you're not horrible, though. And if you are, you can get better."

If nothing else, at least Marietta was enjoying the view. Perhaps as far as she was concerned, that was enough to make the 'date' worthwhile. For all he knew, she'd bought one ticket and happened to get lucky. "Well, you know it's here now. You can always come do this again. It's not a bad idea for a date, and I'm sure it would be just as nice alone."

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marrededge
2014-11-27 03:41 pm UTC (link)

"I suppose I just need a better eye," Marietta conceded. Maybe it wasn't that she was horrible, perhaps her timing just needed to be improved. Afterall, most of her photos came out clearly they just didn't have any artistic quality to them. Maybe she ought to invest some time into some photography lessons. It would give her something else to do other her jobs.

For the first time since she started the journey she actually took her eyes off the view, primarily because they'd already seen the things they were above now, and turned to face Dominic. "What do you hope they've prepared for lunch?" She wasn't a picky eater and would make do with whatever they presented to them.

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knowhow
2014-11-28 01:23 pm UTC (link)

As Marietta turned to face him, Dominic smiled, taking it as a good sign that she was still interested in giving him at least a little of her attention. Maybe he wasn't flailing around conversationally quite as much as he'd feared. "It said there was wine, didn't it?" he asked, vaguely recalling the details as they'd been presented. "So I suppose bread and cheese would be the obvious foods to serve at a picnic." Of course, with magic it was much easier to keep things warm outside than it would be with muggle methods, so perhaps they'd be presented with a hot meal.

"Do you like to cook?" he asked, eternally optimistic that they might yet find something it was easy to talk about. "I've started getting into making my own soup, lately, but I don't really make the effort to try anything fancier." It wasn't that he thought he couldn't, and he liked nice food as much as anyone when he was out, it was just a practical matter of the amount of time something took to make versus how much time it took to eat.

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marrededge
2014-11-28 04:11 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't that Dominic was horrible at conversation, Marietta simply didn't warm up to people easily. As it was she only had about four people she really dealt with regularly. Even then she was only really at ease when she was with them one on one. The last time she'd tried to be a part of a group it had put her in such a precarious position that she did the best she could to guard herself from ever winding up in a bind again. As a result she likely missed out on what most people considered regular interactions, but it was easier in her mind to protect herself and be alone than open up to pain again. "It did," she nodded in agreement. "So a basic bread and cheese basket will definitely go well with that." Why hadn't she thought about the obvious answer?

Though she knew she could answer the next question. Cooking was a safe subject, one that didn't require sharing too much of one's self. "Yes, I cook fairly regularly. It's just me so I cook about once every three days." She wasn't afraid to let people know she was a solo deal. It was the core of who she was. Though she did end up with enough meals from her other job.

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knowhow
2014-11-28 04:52 pm UTC (link)

"I should do that," Dominic said as the balloon started its descent. "I do mess around in the kitchen, sometimes, but I'm not that organised about it. If I have enough left over to make another meal I'll put some charms on it to keep it, if I don't then I don't." It wasn't, he knew, the best - or most frugal - way to go about cooking, but then he didn't really have to worry too much about money and he didn't do it that often. "Other times I'm lazy and I grab something at work."

He ran a hand through his hair, briefly thinking of how to continue the conversation, now that they seemed to have found a mututally agreeable topic. "What kind of food do you like to make? Romeo's been introducing me to all sorts of Mexican things, which has been fun."

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marrededge
2014-11-28 07:21 pm UTC (link)

She listened carefully as Dominic spoke forcing herself to watch him instead of glancing back out over the lay of the land. It was something she had to consciously do as every part of her wanted to shy away from the conversation. "It must be nice to have the opportunity to eat at work," she said focused on her day job. "I usually eat lunch out which is why I tend to have dinner at home."

When he asked what sort of food she usually made she gave a small sigh. He was learning to cook foreign recipes and all she had to talk about were her traditional meals. "Nothing too exciting, just your typical English fare. My favorite thing to whip up is a set of puddings whenever I find I have extra broth."

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knowhow
2014-11-28 08:21 pm UTC (link)

Dominic shrugged slightly. "It depends where I'm working. I try not to eat if I'm working in someone's house or place of business - unless it serves food, obviously. Finnigan's gives me a bit of a schedule, but apart from that I'm free to fit work in whenever works for me and my clients." He liked it that way, not having to do the same thing week after week - and he was always on the lookout for jobs that would challenge him. Finnigan's was good for steady money, but he'd probably go mad if that was all he did.

"That sounds good," Dominic said - unaware that she'd misunderstood his earlier statement. Romeo was introducing him to knew things to eat, but Dominic left the cooking to the professionals. "I pretty much stick to pasta and various sauces. Not English, I suppose, but definitely easy enough to make."

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marrededge
2014-11-29 12:23 am UTC (link)

"Must be nice to set your own schedule," Marietta gave a wistful sigh. Honestly, if she could get away with quitting her day job she would in an instant. The problem with that though was then she'd have to let other's know where she got her money. As it was now her check from Flourish and Blotts was her spending money and everything she made from clientele went into her private account at Gringotts. "Though I can't complain too much since I do have most of my weekends free."

"Pasta is great for feeding one. You only have to boil the amount your mood the for." It was probably the most simple of meals. One could make the sauce and use it for several meals while having fresh pasta with each rendition. The sauces also held longer than most of the foods so she could eat other things in between.

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knowhow
2014-12-03 01:27 pm UTC (link)

Dominic nodded. "It is," he agreed. "I know I'm lucky - living almost exactly the life I wanted to when I was a kid, with a little extra magic..." He'd imagined he would grow up to be an electrician or a plumber and had modified that only as much as absolutely necessary when he'd discovered the wizarding world. "I don't really have a set day off, there's stuff going on at Finnigan's every day. I like it, though."

The balloon finally landed and Dominic got out first, offering his hand to Marietta to help her out more as an afterthought than any kind of habit on his part. "Shall we go find out what we've got for lunch, then?"

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