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Tweak says, "I voted for Adam Lambert!"

Caradoc Dearborn (caradoc_) wrote in scotopia,
@ 2008-06-06 20:26:00

Who: Caradoc and Dorcas
Where: A pub
When: June 6, evening
What: Drinking the Night Away
Warnings: Well...drinking, and probably free use of language.

"Meadowes!" Caradoc called as he knocked on his friend's door. Despite what some people thought, Caradoc enjoyed a fun night out--even if to him, a fun night out was filled with alcohol and sarcasm. He hadn't gotten truly drunk since his attack; he'd been to cautious to let himself get out of control. He wasn't sure about that night, though. Nothing had really happened in the last month and a half, and nothing that could be traced back to knowledge he may or may not have given out.

So maybe tonight was the night. "Standing in front of your door isn't much bloody fun, you know."

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dorcas_
2008-06-07 04:28 am UTC (link)

"Oi!" came a shout from below. "I told you to try my other door, didn't I?" Dorcas shook her head as she pulled her shop's door firmly shut behind her, locked it, and hexed it for good measure. True, she'd told him she probably wouldn't be getting any work done, but she'd grown bored and fidgety waiting for him, and had headed down to her shop to make sure she had all her equipment ready for yet another wedding shoot early the next morning. It was a good idea to be prepared, anyway; she didn't anticipate getting back at a decent hour, and would probably be groggy and hungover in the morning. She really shouldn't be going out at all, but she didn't care-- she hadn't talked to Caradoc, really talked to him, since he'd been released from St Mungo's, over a month ago now. And while her good judgment told her to continue avoiding the subject, as it was probably a memory he didn't care to relive, she couldn't help but keep returning to it in her thoughts, like picking at a half-healed scab. Something about the Prophet coverage just didn't add up, and why Caradoc, and what, exactly...?

Well, tonight was supposed to be fun, and she'd try to keep her mouth shut about it. But she also planned to get him good and drunk, and if that meant he would finally want to talk about it, well, she was more than willing to listen.

But when Caradoc joined her at the foot of the rickety stairs that led up to her flat, her warm smile and jaunty tone hid any sign of her troubled thoughts as she asked, "Alright, where we headed then?"

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caradoc_
2008-06-07 07:43 am UTC (link)

"'Bout time," Caradoc teased as he came carefully down the stairs. They wouldn't be fun to conquer drunk; Caradoc's sensible side thought she ought to talk to the landlord, or charm them reinforced or something. He quickly ignored his sensible side. "Anyway, two choices: one, a dive Muggle pub in Covent Garden, walking distance from the nearest floo, or Hogshead, always a classic." He didn't have a preference; the dive Muggle pub had a few others nearby, so their options weren't limited if it ended up being a bad idea, and he hadn't been to the Hogshead in months. "Just no place big and too busy, yeah?"

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dorcas_
2008-06-07 04:52 pm UTC (link)

Dorcas thought it over a moment-- she always enjoyed the Hog's Head, but a change of scenery was nice-- and checking that she did indeed have some Muggle money in her pocket decided it for her. "You know I just can't resist a good dive," she said with a smile. "Muggle pub it is." And, she couldn't help but think, Caradoc might be more comfortable opening up about what had happened to him if there weren't curious wizards around. Now, why was she stuck on that again? He looked happy, and they were going out to have fun, not drown his sorrows. Or indulge her curiosity.

"But remember," she added, "it's going to be your job to confiscate my wand if I start getting dangerously sloshed." Caradoc had been around for an unfortunate incident the year before, when a Muggle had pawed at Dorcas and had his left buttock hexed off for his troubles. Dorcas had found out the hard way that the Ministry didn't accept "pissed off your arse" and "Oi, he deserved it!" as an excuse for breaking the Statute of Secrecy, and she didn't fancy paying another hefty fine.

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caradoc_
2008-06-09 04:07 am UTC (link)

"Isn't it always?" Caradoc asked, only half joking. "That incident at the Strand notwithstanding. So, dive pub it is. I assume you haven't started early and can still apparate there safely. Eh, not important, you don't know the way anyway. Just side-along with me. Ready?" He didn't really wait for a response before putting his arm around her waist and performing the spell.

The alleyway behind the pub was empty, save a few rubbish bins and a very startled cat. "It's up this way," he said, pointing and leading her around the corner. "Now that I think on it a bit, I'm glad you picked here. No chance of running into someone we don't like." There was also no chance of being found there, drunk and irresponsible, by people who wished them harm. Of course, he didn't want to say it like that to Dorcas.

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dorcas_
2008-06-09 04:43 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, I have excellent taste," Dorcas said brightly, then made a face as some gunk from the door handle came off on her hand. She wiped it off on her trousers as she lead the way inside, then scanned the dimly lit pub. It was reasonably full, but not packed, and the patrons looked just the right degree of unsavory; she approved. "Bar for easy drink access, or dark corner booth for... privacy?" she asked, raising a brow and letting her voice go husky on the last word.

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caradoc_
2008-06-09 04:58 am UTC (link)

Caradoc rolled his eyes good-naturedly at her request for privacy. "Bar to start, I'd say. We can always move to a dark corner booth later, yeah?" He headed up to the bar and ordered a drink, then turned on the barstool to face Dorcas. "So. Weddings. Big season coming up for you, then." It wasn't much, but then, they hadn't really had a chance to talk in weeks. It had to start somewhere.

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	dorcas_ 2008-06-09 05:08 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, another one tomorrow morning in fact, but I won't let it stop me. I could probably shoot a wedding with my eyes shut. And, anyway, I didn't want to put this off again or I thought we'd never see each other." She accepted the pint she'd ordered, and took a long sip before turning back to Caradoc. "Alright, your turn, how's life at the paper?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

caradoc_
2008-06-09 03:42 pm UTC (link)

Caradoc swirled his glass a bit, clanking the ice against the side. He scowled a bit before answering. "Honestly? Dull. I haven't had a decent assignment since it happened; they keep giving me all this 'safe' shite. We're not even meant to follow our own leads and sources anymore without reporting in first who we're seeing and where we're going. Half the people ignore the new rules anyway, but I'd bet I'd come under more scrutiny if I did it."

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	dorcas_ 2008-06-09 06:51 pm UTC (link)
	"Oh." Well, he'd brought that up fast. If only obliquely. Dorcas took another sip as she tried to figure out what to say next. "Well, the reporting in bit probably isn't a bad idea," she said carefully, "but it doesn't seem fair that you're getting the worst of it. I mean, what are the odds of something like that happening twice?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

caradoc_
2008-06-09 08:53 pm UTC (link)

Caradoc shrugged and took a drink. "I don't know. Seems like if it were to happen again it wouldn't be the same ploy." With that, he was rather done with the subject. He wasn't intending to talk about it, really, but he wasn't going to pretend nothing had happened, either. "Oh, and now there's the jarvey. You've met it, haven't you? I think Deedee named it. She keeps trying to get it to quit swearing."

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dorcas_
2008-06-09 10:45 pm UTC (link)

"And it wouldn't be you again, either," Dorcas persisted, ignoring the change of subject. She couldn't see what reason there'd been for kidnapping a random Prophet reporter to begin with, much less why Caradoc would be worth torturing twice. Unless he was in something over his head, investigating something best left alone, hadn't learned a lesson the first time... "Right?" Dorcas added, needing to hear the confirmation from Caradoc himself.

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caradoc_
2008-06-10 04:36 pm UTC (link)

"Jarvis, I think she named it," Caradoc mentioned, looking into the bar and ignoring her question. "Silly name, if you ask me. It sounds like a children's book hero. Jarvis the Jarvey." He sighed, and turned to face Dorcas again. The subject would've come up sooner or later, like it always did with anyone who talked with him at legnth. May as well get it out of the way. "I don't know. If it's going to happen to me again; I don't know. I just can't imagine why they'd go through the trouble of the memory charms instead of just killing me if they didn't want something else with me."

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dorcas_
2008-06-10 05:40 pm UTC (link)

"But what did they want with you in the first place?" Dorcas blurted, before she could stop herself. She instantly felt bad for continuing to pry, and almost gamely returned to the subject of the damned jarvey, but no, she'd said it, and she might as well let it lie. If he deflected again, fine, but at least she'd tried. She just had to know how much she should be worrying about him.

	dorcas_ 2008-06-13 07:15 am UTC (link)
	Dorcas nodded, knowing that Caradoc was familiar with many of the Aurors, having covered his share of crime scenes. "Calling it 'innuendo' is being a bit generous, I think," she remarked dryly. "Outright inflammatory, I thought. But what do I know, I just take the pretty pictures." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)