• queen without a throne nicola bonaccord • (prims) wrote in valesco, @ 2017-10-20 20:59:00 |
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Entry tags: | louis bonaccord, nicola bonaccord |
WHO: LOUIS AND NICOLA
WHAT: they are so gross get a room already
WHERE: diagon alley!
WHEN: today!
A lot of things were happening lately, and even despite all that, Nicola could happily say she and Louis were still able to make time for some normalcy. Was running errands in Diagon terribly exciting? Well, no, but anything that provided Louis a reprieve from thinking about Adian was much welcomed. Nicola too had a few things on her mind, one including the strange air in the Witch Weekly offices as of late. Something wasn’t right, Regan was behaving… not abnormally, but not normal either? She couldn’t be sure, she didn’t---
No, no, now was not the time to be thinking about that. Now was for fixing her face and her hair before heading back out with Louis for more shopping. She had caught her reflection in the window on her way out of the teashop, and never one to miss an opportunity to check her appearance…
Well, she had become so enwrapped with the process that she hadn’t even realized Louis had come in from the street until he was standing right, immediately, beside her.
Nicola turned in surprise, noticing right away that his cheeks and ears were red; she hadn’t been in here that long, had she? How cold could it have turned for him to endure stepping into a tea shop that was (his words) too unsettlingly potent? When she kissed Louis’ cheek in small greeting and he felt rather stiff, her brow furrowed.
“Are you alright, love?” Nicola asked, her gloved hand reaching to brush the side of Louis’ face. “You look like a ghost just walked through you.”
A ghost would have been more welcome. Louis’ eyes stayed sharp on the street outside the tea shop until he lost sight of Delphina Mopsus as she ducked between the coats of the passersby. He had been waiting for Nicola on a nearby bench, lost in his journal (daily, private notes for Adian when, if, he’d be ready for them), when the sudden appearance of the woman sitting beside him nearly startled the ink off the page.
He blinked, having barely felt Nicola’s kiss but finally turning at the feel of her glove. Louis felt far away, transported back to that tower and the tarot card reading that had sent him and Kera reeling for days, weeks, months, and----
“An old wench was harassing people in the street,” he said quickly, smoothly, feeling the familiar pinch of guilt for lying (though it wasn’t much of a stretch). His hand went to her elbow, “and I wanted to make sure that you were alright.”
That part, about checking on Nicola, was far from a lie. Delphina had made mention of her, advising Louis to be cautious about the choices he made and how they could affect those he cared about. ‘You seem to be a magnet for trouble, hm? It’s in the stars, my boy, it’s no good for that hit-wizard of yours, or your lovely lady…’
Louis knew his face was still red and he was not sure he’d be able to rid himself of the feeling. He cleared his throat and looked at Nicola, trying to seem focused on her and only her.
“Did you find what you needed?”
Nicola clucked her tongue (at the thought of the hag) and cooed (at Louis’ concern). Her arm in Louis’ elbow fell to rest atop his, and she moved to lay her other against his chest. It was a sentiment she appreciated, even if she had been perfectly fine all the while.
“You’re sweet,” she chirped, and leaned in once more for a quick kiss. When she pulled away, Nicola was ready to say they could go wherever he liked, no more tea needed to be bought today. But in his concern, she had nearly missed---
Her shopping bags swung as her hand twisted to grip Louis’ forearm tight once more.
“She didn’t harass you, did she?” Nicola asked suddenly, focused and serious. For the first time, she turned to look out the window front. Upon seeing no hag after a few moments, she redirected her gaze back toward Louis. Her eyes were stern.
She hoped not, that would be… well, that would be incredibly not helpful in light of their normal and carefree errand run.
Louis couldn’t stop the smile that formed at her nearly ferocious concern. It helped mask the fact that Delphina had harassed him, though whether the woman just took great delight in spreading divinations of the most perilous kind, he wasn’t sure. He had a feeling that it was an old and greatly enjoyed habit of hers.
He took Nicola’s chin in his hand as he continued to smile; Louis liked and believed the notion that she could take care of business when necessary.
“Just for some coins,” he said, kissing her swiftly.
Delphina had seemed very glad to have run into him, but did Seers ever just ‘run into’ someone? Did fate, destiny, whatever controlled the universe, allow these sort of interactions to be accidental? The thoughts lingered in Louis’ head, thinking that her concern about what she had seen in her crystal ball had caused her to examine his divination chart (or whatever it might be…) a bit further. The Seer’s concern was disconcerting, for sure, and her questions about whether or not he’d been dealing with anything mysterious had caused his throat to close up.
She couldn’t possibly know about his encounter with Wells Dippet, right? Seers Saw things, but...not everything...? And then there was Rhoda Mercer, who was still holed up in Mungo’s...
Glad he’d had Nicola to anchor him from what could have quite easily been a spiral, Louis tugged her arm close to his side.
“Did you take Divination in school?” he asked, moving to lead them out the tea shop (the smell was now becoming overwhelming). “I saw a flyer for a reading; do you believe in all of that?”
Her lips were still puckered as Louis ushered her out the teashop. The outdoor air hit Nicola all of the sudden, enough that it had her shaking her head and wrapping her arm closer around Louis’ as they emerged onto the street. While happy to be close, she did keep a keen eye out for suspicious unwanted lurking persons. When it seemed there was none nearby, she turned her full attention back to her boyfriend.
“Oh, yes,” Nicola nodded, her face pulling serious once more. She had gotten an O.W.L. in Divination; She hadn’t gone on for a N.E.W.T., but that was a different story. Nevertheless, Nicola felt she was well-knowledged enough in the magic to know it was very real.
“Completely,” she said, her free hand waving at her wrist. Her hand stopped moving to indicate an important point (with one extended finger).
“But only some witches and wizards have the eye. Some absolutely fake it, so you have to be careful who you trust.” Nicola nodded. Anyone could read tea leaves, look into a crystal ball for hours, flip tarot cards. But only a gifted witch or wizard could truly discern what they meant, figure out enough to make something make sense. She turned more toward Louis as they walked, her chin high.
“Are you thinking about getting a reading?” she asked, deadly curious. To her, Louis didn’t seem the type to put stock in such thing. Perhaps that explained the hint of playfulness in her voice. She pushed closer to him.
“Have you been thinking a lot about the future?” she asked. Her lips pressed together into a prim, sly smile.
“Yes,” he said, just as slyly, with a crinkling of his nose, leaning close to her in a tease before pulling back. That was the truth, Louis was certain.
Delphina spoke of grave occurrences, choices and damages that can be done because of them, and while that was true, there was plenty of good to look forward to for the future as well. Being in love brought on hopes and dreams that Louis had accepted as things that may not come his way; Nicola made him want them more than ever.
Adian was getting the help he needed and though Louis did not understand all that was ailing his friend, his best friend, he would be there for him in whatever capacity, for however long. Adian Rosenberg was a constant in Louis’ thoughts of the future, knowing that there would never be a reason to think otherwise.
Louis knew that his future would be clearer, better, because he had become accepting of the past he could not change and had the desire to work on the present. With Nicola, with Adian, with his sister and his new nephew, with work, with his friends…
“Like about what we’re going to have for lunch today,” Louis said, his teasing smile still evident, his eyes alight with mischief. Do not think he was unaware of where Nicola’s thoughts were heading…
Nicola hummed a few noncommittal notes, her eyes bouncing above their heads as she smiled back. Oh, perhaps Louis had evaded her tease, but one day… one day she would catch him. She would get him to a reading too, but--- today was not that day.
Letting out a content sigh, she swung up Louis’ hand intertwined within her own. She did not wait to press her lips to his knuckles, but she did pause before responding.
“I think… I am in the mood for…” Nicola trailed, taking her time. What was something he would not like? Something with grease? Oh no, she couldn’t have that. Tea and sandwiches? Oh, he’d scream. She pressed her lips together in semi-pensive thought.
“Salads,” she finally let out, unable to think of nothing else more boring. Nicola was able to hold a serious face for a few moments, but eventually, she broke into a quiet laughter.
“No, no, love. Wherever you want to go is fine by me, I promise…”