As much as Theo didn’t like to admit it, she was having a hard time adjusting to Atlantis. Of course there were moments where Theo felt excited about the mysteries that surrounded her but there were times she found it difficult to relax. Accepting what you can’t control had always been a little difficult for Theo but overall she’s managed, until arriving here. Without realizing it, she felt herself closed off and convinced herself it was because her family and friends had their own lives here. They were all well adjusted and she, well, wasn’t. One of the reasons why she decided to do the wine tasting at Cava was because she knew that if she didn’t start building a life for herself here and step out, she’d become miserable.
That also included getting to know others and making friends, which is why she agreed to let Cappie show her around. Thankfully Erin was going to be here as well, it helped to have someone who knew her. Cappie wasn’t someone she knew well, but her sister seemed to like him, but she didn’t really know much else beyond the rare interactions. He didn’t seem all that bad and she did promise herself to branch out and meet new people. Her roommates were kind but she didn’t quite think they were to the level where they’d consider each other friends. Currently she sat at a table, Erin having excused herself for a moment, and turned to Cappie.
“How often have you done this?”
“This?” Cappie asked, swirling the teeny, tiny measure of wine around the bulbous glass before downing it in one go. “Never. But I’m thinking I should do it more often.” Although the samples were small, if you didn’t spit them out like you were supposed to, they really added up. He was beginning to feel pleasantly merry already and they hadn’t been there all that long. Placing the empty glass back on the tray, he grabbed the next one and put it down on the table in front of him before turning to face Theo more fully.
He had, as he’d promised, dressed up for the occasion and he was looking rather smart, if he did say so himself, in his white shirt, jeans and dove grey blazer.
“So,” he said, smiling at her over the wine glasses, enjoying the moment of privacy. “Tell me more about Theo Montgomery. What makes her tick?”
“It is nice.” Theo commented. A wine tasting was always something she wanted to do but just never found the opportunity. Work kept her busy and while there were plenty of functions to go too, wine tasting was never on the list of events. Theo decided to follow the others this time around and actually spit out the wine, though she found that part to be uncomfortable, even if she understood the reason.
At Cappie’s question, all Theo could do was shrug. “What makes me tick?” She repeated. “Can’t say I know right off the top of my head, isn’t that something usually other people figure out?” Theo smiled. “Still, I’ve been living in Tokyo before arriving in Atlantis. You know how in your muggle world you have ambassadors? We have ones in our government as well.” She paused. “That’s who I was working for, an English Ambassador and we were stationed in Japan.”
The corners of Cappie’s lips twitched slightly as his brain wandered into the realms of how he could discover what made her tick. He had never been one to back down from a challenge and he mentally accepted this one.
“Do you speak Japanese?” Cappie asked, raising his eyebrows in interest. He wasn’t surprised by the fact that the wizarding world had ambassadors (he’d become rather au fait with it all through a combination of his relationship with Em and all the wizards and witches he’d known in Atlantis) he was far more interested in Theo as a person and, ever since his trip to Breckentale, he’d found linguistics and languages particularly fascinating. Besides, the idea of her speaking in Japanese was hella sexy.
Theo nodded. “Watashi ga yarimasu.” Then paused for a moment knowing that Cappie wouldn’t likely know what she had said. “I do.” She took the next cup in her hands but decided to wait before taking a sip. “My mother is Japanese. I also speak French fluently and German, but slower. I’ve been wanting to study another language but I haven’t decide if I want to learn Spanish or Italian next.”
It made Theo wonder if there was someone in Atlantis that could teach her. There were so many people from different worlds, surely finding a language teacher wouldn’t be too difficult. She made a mental note to ask over the network sometime. “What about you? Do you speak anything other than English?”
Cappie’s smile grew into a grin. He’d been right. She sounded incredibly hot, speaking Japanese, and he had no reason to think she would sound any less so in French or German.
“Je suis très impressionné,” he replied, his own French filtered through a very American accent which he made no attempt to disguise. He was by no means fluent but he’d taken a couple of French classes in his sophomore year at Cyprus Rhodes, somewhere around the time he’d toyed with the idea of becoming a Latin major, and the version of him that had lived in Breckentale had studied a few different languages before settling on Linguistics. He thought he probably knew enough that he could carry a conversation, as long as the other person spoke kind of slowly. He knew all the important phrases, at least. For example, he knew enough to call out to the waiter, who was walking past their table at that moment, “Plus de vin s'il vous plaît. C'est impoli de faire attendre une femme.” The poor man gave him a confused look but seemed to get the gist when Cappie motioned to the empty glasses on their tasting tray.
“I think you should learn Italian,” he said, returning his attention to Theo. “If French is the language of love, Italian’s the language of passion. Speak them both...” He drew in a breath through his teeth. “Che abbinamento!”
Theo smiled and nodded, impressed. “It often feels like learning a new language is lost on people. They think their language is the only one that matters, and I can see why that would be to a certain point.” She shrugged. “Still, I feel like life is much richer when you can expand your world.”
She laughed again impressed that he knew Italian. “That is impressive.” She wasn’t sure what he said but she could at least guess through context. “I think you’re right. I think Italian would be a good fit.” Theo looked around at the others that joined in on tonight's festivities. “As much as I miss home, this is nice too. Not often you find yourself in a strange new world. Can’t say I ever thought I would go to a wine tasting in the lost city of Atlantis.” She turned to Cappie. “Are you happy here?”
Cappie smiled smugly, although he knew that his grasp of either language would stand up to much scrutiny. When she started questioning him, however, his smile became noticeably more forced. He was glad to see the waiter coming back with another tray of wine tasters and busied himself clearing some room on the table. Reaching out, he took another glass and sipped the light and almost floral-tasting white wine inside, buying himself a few moments before he had to answer.
“Yes,” he said finally, although his face didn’t look convinced. “There have been ups and downs but…” He shrugged. “Well, I’m still here.” He knew where the metaphorical door was and he couldn’t deny that he’d thought about leaving numerous times but something kept him here in Atlantis. He didn’t feel like the same Cappie he’d left behind at home. He’d changed a lot in the last two years.
The wine was good, Theo was enjoying herself and made sure to save the dates for future wine tastings. Theo was still more of a white wine fan, but she had to admit that there were a few reds that may change her tune.
Theo didn’t quite grasp the ups and downs that Cappie was talking about as she hadn’t been here for very long. Still, she was smart and could guess. The day she arrived, was a very trying time and she understood that was putting it gently. She couldn’t fathom what other horrors Atlantis had faced. “For those that remain, I think it takes a lot of strength to continue to stay. I wouldn’t blame anyone here if they decide they have had enough.”
Cappie took a deep breath and gave a half-hearted smile. He was one of those people that had stuck around but he wasn’t sure it had been because of some deep inner strength. It had more to do with the fact that he didn’t feel like he belonged anywhere else now. Atlantis had changed him. He wasn’t necessarily sure it had been for the better but he was different. There was no denying it and the idea of going back to who he used to be felt like taking a step backwards. No one would ever say that he’d been particularly useful in the war against COS but he also didn’t feel like he could just walk away from Atlantis and all the people he’d come to know here.
“What about you?” he asked, taking the opportunity to deflect. “Do you think you can be happy here?”
Theo remained silent, as she took her sip of wine. She wanted to give his question some real consideration because the truth was that she asked herself this question often. After a moment she set her glass down. “I think so. It’s taking a lot for me to get used to this place, and the job isn’t exactly what I thought it would be. It’s not bad, just different from what I’m used to back home. I hope in time it’s something I can work my way up to and prove myself, plus it gives me an opportunity to build a better relationship with Charlie.” She shifted, unsure if she should have said anything at all. “We come from a big family, I’m sure she’s mentioned.”
Cappie finished off his wine taster as he listened, placing the empty glass back on the tray and helping himself to another - a red this time, which looked almost black in Cava’s mood lighting.
“You’ll get there,” he said told her with a nod, sounding thoroughly confident. Atlantis was a massive change for most people; she wasn’t alone in needing some time to adjust. She was obviously smart, conscientious and determined - she wouldn’t have been able to learn so many languages to the level that she had without those qualities - and that meant she was already halfway there. Besides, she wanted to prove herself. That counted for a lot. He wished he had that kind of motivation.
“She mentioned something,” Cappie said, trying not to show that his interest had been piqued. The truth was that he spent so much time shamelessly flirting with Charlie that they hadn’t had much time to discuss serious things like home and family. “So, are you guys not that close?”
“I appreciate it.” Theo replied and she did mean it. Cappie did seem very genuine, which did surprise her a little, given the interactions she’d had but then again she didn’t know him all that well and people can be surprising.
“We’ve been getting closer since I’ve arrived.” Theo decided to answer. It wasn’t quite the answer to his question, but it was the one that she was going with. “Our father isn’t exactly,” she paused. “Good at being fatherly.” She could only shrug. She didn’t exactly what to speak ill of Charlie’s father, but he was Theo’s father too and well they didn’t have the best relationship. “It’s fine.” She quickly added. “I’m really close to my mother but I do love my siblings, and this place seems to be really good at bringing people together.”
Cappie swirled his wine around his glass as he listened. He didn’t miss the fact that Theo hadn’t exactly answered his question. Still, he could read between the lines.
“It doesn’t give you much choice, does it?” he chuckled, shaking his head. Atlantis had a way of throwing you together with other people and demanding that you make the most of it. Cappie couldn’t even count the number of times he’d woken up somewhere weird, like in a giant bowl of skittles or something equally bizarre, and had to work with a group of other, bewildered islanders to try to get back home. Then there had been the nightmare world that he and Loki had been stuck in. He’d never even really spoken to Loki before that and yet now the dude (sometimes dudette) knew his deepest, darkest fear. Only in Atlantis.
“So, does that mean I’m going to see you hanging out at our place a lot?” Cappie asked, raising his eyebrows hopefully.
“It doesn’t.” Theo agreed with a laugh. He was right, Atlantis always had a way of bringing people, even complete strangers, together.
Theo shrugged. “It’s possible,” she answered. “There are days where I’ll be over at your flat or sometimes we meet at mine or a restaurant. You two are close, then?” She asked him. Charlie had been here for quite some time so it wouldn’t surprise her if her sister had made some close friendships.
Cappie allowed himself a little smile.
“I’m an amazing roommate, if that’s what you mean,” Cappie replied, running his tongue over his lower lip. “I make good coffees.”
The truth was that Charlie liked to tease him and Cappie loved to be teased. Still, despite all the flirting, he thought he could count Charlie among his friends here in Atlantis. He liked feeling surrounded by friends. It was what made Atlantis feel like home.
“Well, you know you’re welcome at ours whenever you like, whether Charlie’s there or not,” he said, giving Theo a grin.
Theo smiled. “I appreciate the welcome.” Theo did like him well enough but she didn’t want to hurt the man’s feelings already by saying she wasn’t going to fall for any of his flirtatious charm. Theo imagined it was more out of good humour and fun than anything serious. Cappie didn’t seem the type to do serious, and some days it felt as if that was all Theo knew.
“I’m sure I’ll find myself stopping by at one point or another.”