RP: Storytime
Who: Lancelot and Quin (with a small appearance of ZJ) What: Story Time When: December 14, 2008 (backdated) Where: Library/Rainforest Café Warnings: language
[OOC note: The story she tells is stolen directly from the movie Jack the Giant Slayer, but repurposed for Quin and her family and maybe tweaked just a little.]
She had the children in the library today while she pulled a few tomes from the stacks, which might not be the best idea except she'd fed Felix immediately before coming, and he was napping quietly in his little carry thing which thankfully had a weightless charm on it, and Auri was content to curl up in the children's section with a couple of books that were advanced for her -- well, considering she could read, which was apparently more than some of her peers could do.
So Quintella herself sat at the table nearest the children's section, Felix just off to the side where she could rock him gently with a foot if he started to fuss in his sleep.
But it wasn't Fee or Auri who distracted her. In fact, her daughter was trying to quietly hush the handful of children that had come in just a short while ago, but they were getting progressively louder. While Quin could tune them out to an extent, several of the other patrons were getting considerably more upset with each passing moment. She truly didn't want them to be yelled at, especially in front of her. Quin hated raised voices, had awful memories of being railed at and demeaned.
So she stood and left her books, took Fee over to the children's area and set him down in his carrier. "Children! We must hush," she said in that quiet voice of hers. "This is a library."
There was general scoffing, led by one of the slightly older boys. But Quin was pretty good with children, at least up to a certain age, and so she smiled at them sunnily. "How about a story? Libraries are all about stories, right?"
There was general agreement, and Auri set down her book with an excited glint in her eyes. "Oh, mummy, tell us the one about Jack!"
"Jack, huh? Who wants to hear about Jack the Giantslayer?" she asked the boys and girls, and when there was more agreement, Quin clapped her hands quietly and did a neat little twirl, flaring out her skir, and then kneeling down to have it flare out around her in a lovely little circle, which mesmerized the children as they settled around her.
"Fee fi fo fum," she started in that lyrical voice of hers, eyes bright.
The boy immediately scoffed. "I smell the blood of an Englishman." His tone was derisive.
"No, no, listen," Auri scolded for her. "Please, mummy, tell the story!"
"Fee fi fo fum," she began again. "Ask not whence the thunder comes. In the time of King Erik Three-Hundred-and-ten, in ancient England, Called Albion then, the Monks of old looked to the sky, to ask of their God who, what, how and why, alas, they found no reply. The frustrated Monks turned to magic forbidden, incantations of the Dark-Arts they’d hidden. With seeds they pulled from a magical pod, the Monks grew a path-way to seek out their God. But when they came to what they thought was Heaven’s gate, they met with a terrible, grisly fate. For between Heaven and Earth is a perilous place, Gantua, home to a fierce giant race.
"With the bridge now before them to the world of men, a plague of giants descends. Taking a cue from the richest of kings, the acquired a taste for acquiring things. But one taste that caused them to lose control was a taste for the mankind blood, bones and all. The Monks that remained were brought to the throne, for this nightmare was caused by their actions alone.
"King Erik bade the Monks to return to Dark-Arts, to find him some way to rule giant hearts. So they melted one down, and crafted a crown, unlike any before, built with iron and hatred, magic and more. As soon as the King took crown in hand, the giants were slave to his every command." Quin's hands gestured as she recited the poem, giving the words life of their own. Even the children who were more unfamiliar with the way of speaking, who didn't have grandparents or great-grandparents living who still sometimes spoke this way, could make out what she was saying.
"Erik severed the link between giants and men, and peace returned to his Kingdom again. The mystical relics were all that remained, safe with Erik all the years that he reigned. And at last when the time came for King Erik to sleep, he took crown and seed with him for permanent keep. And as the King’s bones crumbled away, truth became legend, or so people say.
"But jealous eyes are looking down on peaceful fields in Albion. An enemy vows there’ll come a day, when giants return and giants stay. To avenge a thousand-year-old sin, and eat the last of Erik’s kin… Fee Fi Fo Fum. Ask not whence the thunder comes. Ask not where the herds have gone. Nor why the birds have ceased their song. When coming home, don't take too long. For monsters roam in Albion. For between heaven and earth is a perilous place. Home to a fearsome giant race. Who hunger to conquer the mortals below. Waiting for the seeds of revenge to grow."
And then Quin launched into the tale of the poor boy, Jack, and the Princess Isabelle, and the evil Roderick, who coveted the throne for his own. She told the somewhat familiar tale, told to these children as her own grandmother had told it to her when she was but a tiny girl, and whose grandmother had told it to her when she was a girl, and so on and so forth, back to the one who claimed to be the daughter of the Princess Isabelle, so very, very long ago. She spoke of the fearsome giants, and the heroic deeds, and of magic and bravery and sacrifice.
She told the story quietly but passionately, not afraid to speak in front of the children like she always was in front of adults. She didn't end it with the usual bit she tacked on for Auri and Fee, about how this was their many many many times great greats. She simply told it like she'd tell any of the old, old stories her grandmother had passed on before she'd passed -- even after she'd known Quin was a squib. Sometimes Quintella suspected that she had done so because she was the only one old enough to remember who actually cared about the stories, as well as being the only girl.
Lancelot had not, unfortunately, noticed when Quin had initially come into the library. He had been in the middle of a very important, possibly pain in the ass, meeting with someone that wanted to pay to send him back out into the field on a wild goose chase. The money was so good but he couldn’t bring himself to say yes, he knew that it’d turn up nothing and he’d just end up coming home empty handed. He was almost certain he’d get half, if any, of the money that was being promised when he came back without anything. It was for that reason that he’d been relieved to hear his secretary pop her head in that there seemed to be a commotion in the children’s area. There were a few kids that were getting a bit out of hand and the poor woman that was on the floor was ancient. She had been with the library, he joked, since it had opened hundreds of years ago. He wouldn’t make her deal with the children, and while he typically would have sent his secretary, he wanted out of the meeting he was in. “I must go, I’m so sorry but I’m going to have to pass on this.” He gave the old wizard with the beard across from him a wide smile, that picture perfect, toothy, smile he gave everyone. He could have been in politics with that smile. “Thanks though.” He even gave the old wizard a wink before he was leaving his office. He’d have to hug the kids for saving the day like that.
Though it seemed that by the time he was getting near to the children’s area, there was no longer a fuss. He gave a glance to the front desk and he was right, Agatha was still sitting on her rear behind the counter and checking out someone. Who had taken care of the kids? Maybe their parents? He had no idea but he knew he had to at least make sure that no one was dead in the kid’s area, there was always the chance that Agatha had killed them for being too young in the library. He was sure she thought there was an age limit to the place.
As he rounded the corner to the children’s area his genuine smile graced his lips because there she was. Not only was she there, she seemed to be entertaining all of the children that were in the children’s area, as well as a group of adults that had stopped to listen to her. He knew he didn’t have to wait around to hear the end of the story, he knew that he should have walked back to his office, he knew he should have done a lot of things other than what he did in that moment. In that moment, he slipped a hand into his pocket to be sure that he still had the toy he had picked up from WWW (in all honesty he had gotten it for himself to play a prank on Agatha, but this was more important) and once the children had started to walk away from her, he walked up to her. “You’re stealing my job.” He told her, and that was when she got his genuine toothy grin. He would have been a liar if he had said he hadn’t been looking forward to seeing her again and being able to interact with her again. It was obvious, at least to him, which little girl was her’s. The hair and doll like features gave her away to him, but he was polite enough to know better than to address her until Quin had introduced him. “Thank you for handling those children, let me take you to dinner to thank you properly?” It was bold, it was bold to ask in front of her daughter, but it was dinner. It was harmless or at least sounded harmless.
She didn't realize she had a larger audience until she was done, because she'd been so focussed on the children, engaging directly with them. She loved to tell stories to kids, they were so easy compared to adults. And while they could be cruel, it was a child's cruelty and generally not the calculated sort of adults.
She turned red when she realized, when the first parent came up to her and thanked her, and she murmured something demurely. Another told her that she faintly remembered her grandmother telling that story. And then she turned and Lancelot was there, with that large grin that seemed so genuine.
She was still bright pink, hardly meeting his or anyone eyes after the initial peek at him with her ocean changing eyes. "It wasn't a problem," she said. "They were just needing some direction, that's all."
Her eyes momentarily darted to his and then back again, shy as a bird. "Oh you don't have to do that," she protested. "I wouldn't want to put you out. It really wasn't anything to help."
The pink colorings to her cheeks were absolutely adorable. He wanted to make a comment on it but anything he could think of wasn’t exactly appropriate. He just gave her a bright smile, nodding his head. “But not many would have stepped up to do so in such a kind fashion.” And it was the best, in his opinion. The children had already run off to find books about the story she had told and were chattering away with their parents about ogres and the like. She had inspired children, not many people cared to do that anymore. It was a beautiful thing.
He waved away her protest about how he didn’t have to do that. “I know that I don’t, but I’d like to. You did something that not a single other person in this library would have done, not even the old witch.” He pointed behind him then to Agatha, who had been blissfully unaware of anything going on in the other area. She had purposely ignored it, he was sure of that. She never liked to do a thing but sit behind her big desk when she was there. He was used to dealing with her by this point and there was no point in arguing with her either.
Auri had drifted so she was practically hiding behind Quin's skirt. Small face pressed to her hip and Tony hands fishing into the fabric. While not quite as shy as Quin herself had been as a child, she was shy. They also looked just alike, the tiny elfin features, the blue-green-grey ocean changing fey eyes, all that combined to make them appear a bit surreal at times. Unconsciously Quin's hand smoothed gently over the little girl's white blonde hair, silently reassuring as the child peeked at him around her mum.
"I didn't want to get them into trouble," she found herself explaining quietly. "They're just children."
She hit her lip softly, making herself glance at him because being scared of people was really ridiculous. She should be better, for her daughter at least. But Auri actually spoke first. "My mummy tells good stories. No one else tells them like her." The voice was shy and soft but mostly loud enough to be heard - just.
Lancelot hoped that Quin understood that he was actually happy she had done this. That was why, or at least part of why, he wanted to take her to dinner. She seemed to be continuing to apologize and he didn’t understand just why. Instead of teasing her or making more jokes, he just gave her a smile. There was someone else that was peeking at him and he wanted to pay attention to her as well. He could tell she was just as shy as her mother, if only because he was barely able to hear her voice.
“Your mother is very good at telling stories. I’m sure that the children would love if she would bring you back to tell them a few more stories.” It was then that his hand slid into his pocket, and out he pulled the toy that he had bought at the WWW to annoy Agatha with. He gave her a playful smile, holding out what looked to be a little bluebird in his hand. “Would you like to play with my bird?” He was fairly good with slight of hand, it wasn’t real magic usually. Usually it was just muggle magic tricks, he’d picked them up while traveling. It was rare when he’d use real magic to make something disappear. He moved his hands in front of the bird, causing the little blue bird to disappear. Just a muggle magic trick and he gave a laugh, “I think he flew away, where would he have gone?”
It wasn’t a toy that was meant as a prank really, this one was from the girl’s collection. He bought it because it made musical little chirping noises that annoyed Agatha in the most pleasant way. Lancelot did another hand gesture and back in the palm of his hand was the bird, that gave a little musical chrip. It couldn’t fly at all, it could just hop around. They looked a bit like the little chirping chicks you could get at Easter in the muggle world, though this one looked a bit more real.
Quin ducked her head, cheeks maintaining an embarrassed, pretty pink color. But there was no golden hair to hide behind because she'd pulled it up and back so she could do some work, and had failed to take it down again when she went to tell the story. It was disconcerting because normally the curtain of neatly styled gold was always there to hide behind.
As Lancelot engaged with her daughter, Auri slid a little more around Quin, eyes large in her face like her mother's as well. But her eyes were full of bright curiosity. She gave a soft, surprised squeak when the little bird disappeared before she could let go of her mother to reach out for it. Quin's skirt was pulled partly across her little face, but her large eyes remained on him. Certainly she was used to magic, her uncle used it all the time, but she was only almost five, it was still a very novel thing to see stuff like that.
"Where'd it go?" she asked, a little louder than before, a little more brave now that she was intrigued. Quin's lips curved up in a soft, pleased smile. She was always proud when her daughter was brave. It was so terribly hard for her, after all.
She laughed with soft delight, one hand letting go of her mother's skirt as she eased forward slightly upon the return of the bird and its soft chirping. She tentatively reached out her hand, eyes flitting shyly up to the librarian to ask for permission to touch it. "Mummy, it chirps! Merlin would love the birdie." Merlin was her stuffie, her little stuffed dragon, which had recently gained new life with the charms Timmy had had put on it so now it flew and climbed and even occasionally blew fire at people Auri didn't like -- not family, though. Thus the reason Merlin couldn't come to the library.
"He probably would," she agreed softly. "Auri, this is the librarian, Mister Lancelot... oh dear, I don't recall your surname," she said, a little distressed. "Sir, this is my daughter, Aurelia Sewell. And that is Felix." She tilted her head to indicate the carrier where Felix was still blessedly asleep, most likely lulled by his mother's soft voice. His hair, pale at birth, was still fine and baby soft, but coming in darker, and she suspected he might end up with his father's darker locks, but his eyes had already started to focus into the vibrant fey colors of his mother and sister.
The musical laughter of the child made his heart warm. He loved watching the wonder in children’s eyes as they watched a muggle magic trick. He grinned when she said that Merlin would like the bird, “Well you’re in luck. I think this little guy wants to come with you. What’s his name?” He gave her a reassuring smile to take the bird that he was holding out in his hand for her. It wasn’t a big loss, he had a couple more in his office as back up to annoy Agatha. He could always stop to pick up more as well, he wasn’t worried about one bird. Besides, it seemed to make the little girl happy and whoever Merlin was, they’d love the bird too! That meant it had to go home with her.
He looked up when Quin was saying she didn’t know his surname, he just gave her a big smile. It didn’t matter, his surname didn’t matter one bit to him. He moved to stand up then, though he didn’t technically stay standing long. “You may call me Sir Lancelot, Princess Aurelia.” He told the little blonde, before giving the very formal bow that would have matched the one Quin had given when they’d first met. It was something he’d learned from his best friend, he thought Aurelia would get a kick out of it.
He straightened up then, and gave a very manly nod, full of serious eyebrows, to the littlest Sewell. “Pleasure, I’m sure.” He said in a gruff voice, before that smile was back on his face and he was meeting Quin’s eyes, or at least attempting to if she was looking at him. “They look just like you.” Though the boy’s hair seemed darker, he could tell who they were related to. He wondered if he should broach the subject of dinner again, would she shoot him down? He wondered if he could get them all to agree to dinner, he’d take the kids along. It might make it less like a date but he figured it’d mean more to her if the kids came.
His attention slid back to Auri, he’d ask her to dinner then if Mom wanted to tell him no. “What do you say, Princess? Would you like to go to dinner?”
Auri regarded the little bird for a moment. "Oisillon," she said firmly after a moment. "It means little bird," she informed him precociously. She looked u pat her mother for a moment, eyes wide. "You don't think Merlin will eat him, do you?" she asked in a softly little voice, her hands curling protectively around the little toy bird that looked very real.
"No, darling. But you might want to keep him away from the cats." The child nodded solemnly.
It flustered Quin a little that she still didn't know his name. Not that she'd treat him dfferent if he was a muggleborn, she of all people didn't care about that. It was simply that manners dictated she act a certain way and she was at a loss with ony his given name. But then her daughter was handing her the little bird, and Auri was stepping away from her slightly to give Lancelot a full curtsey in her little lavender dress, just as perfect as his bow. For some reason the whole exchange was making her smile. "Sir Lancelot," the little girl said primly, giggling under her breath, her shyness starting to thaw more quickly than her mother's was.
Quin peeked back up at him, a hand playing nervously wth a lock of her hair. "All my family has the misfortune to look alike," she murmured. If you met one Lucis, you would recognize others. She and Timmy looked eerily alike, for instance, or so some people said. She and her twin, as well. "My brothers and their children almost all look a lot alike, and my children as well." She considered them all pretty, but it would be terribly vain to say so.
Auri's arms had slid back around her mother's waist, but not with the same quality of hiding as earlier. "I like dinner. Can we go, Mummy?"
Quin was torn but she was terrible at sayng no to almost anyone in most circumstances. With both Lancelot and her daughter asking, it was almost inevitable. She bit her lower lip and peeked at him again. "I don't know, sweetheart. That's an awful lot to ask of Mister Lancelot, with all of us."
It wasn't a no. It wasn't a yes, either, but it was a lot closer than a no. "Sir Lancelot, Mummy," the child chided.
Just because he could, he gave the little one a bright smile before he answered in French, “Quel joli nom.” He had to know a lot of different languages and sometimes using a spell would scare some of the smaller, dirtier, less well off, tribes that inhabited some of the areas that he had to travel to. There weren’t many in France, no, but he had been to a few places deep into Canada where they had spoken only French and he had to not scare locals. He had to not give himself away. He was fairly proud he could use it with Auri, even if he had not hinted to Quin he could speak French when they’d first met. He wasn’t nearly as good as Quin and her children, it was rough for sure, but he at least knew enough to get by.
He smiled when she said his name like that, it was adorable. He couldn’t help but chuckle though when she corrected her mother. He couldn’t help it, he’d definitely used the kid to work against her. He would have made a comment about how it wasn’t a bad thing that their family looked alike but he wondered if it’d just help her to probe more questions about his own lineage. He’d only been able to avoid talk of it by ignoring the question completely and giving Auri the Sir Lancelot name. He knew he’d have to get around to telling her that he was a half-blood. He never much cared about any of the blood status.
“It’s no bother, but you really should get my name right.” He told Quin with that genuine, cocky, cheeky, grin. He liked seeing her flustered, it was a beautiful trait. He didn’t know many women that were as shy as she was, there was such a beautiful innocence about it. “I will even let you lot choose where we go for dinner, anywhere at all.” Since he traveled often and had to interact with all sorts of people, he had all sorts of cash back in his office. He even had some muggle money if they were feeling adventurous. “I would love to take two beautiful women such as yourselves out to dinner.”
Her eyes brightened when he spoke French, and she proceeded to chatter at him in the language that was as native to her as English for a minute in pleasure, her shyness completely forgotten for a moment, at least. Quin's French was much more precise and practiced, almost flawless, but also obviously not her native language though she spoke it smoothly enough.
Quin, if she saw an area of discomfort in someone, tended almost automatically to avoid prying about it, so he didn't need to fear, really. Though she was curious, because his manners told her that he was from an old family like she was.
Quin couldn't seem to stop blushing for one thing or another, it felt like. It was quite disconcerting and something she wasn't used to though she was painfully shy at times. She didn't know why he succeeded in keeping her in a state of flusterment but he was, somehow.
"Auri, sweetheart, go check on Fee?" she said, and Auri obediently trotted over to her little brother and knelt next to him. Hands pressed to her cheeks for a moment before smoothing up to her hair to hide the movement. "You really shouldn't," she told him quietly, eyes once again on her feet. "Going out with children can be quite... chaotic." She was trying to give him an out. She loved her children, they were really very good, but going out with them to eat could still be quite chaotic and stressful, especially alone. She didn't want to subject him to that since it wasn't, in her experience, something most men wanted to deal with.
When Quin sent Auri away to check on the baby, he had expected her to chastise him. He had expected her to give him a lecture about women with children not being anything to play with, which he wasn’t playing with them he was honestly interested in her. He was expecting anything but what she did, it was why he was quiet a few moments too long. His eyes were wide with shock and he looked confused and curious, it hadn’t been what he was expecting at all. And then, slowly, a grin spread across his features and he gave a soft chuckle. “You’re not going to lecture me about using your child to get you to go on a date with me?” He asked in a fairly surprised tone. If her biggest concern was that the children would be there, well he had other things to worry about that were actual problems for him. Her children were not a problem, he loved kids and they seemed fairly well behaved. They’d just have two extra diners, only one would be eating with them today.
“I know what it is like to take children out to eat. I take my nieces and nephews out at least once a week.” The younger ones at least, the older ones could care less about weird Uncle Lancelot. He was a bit eccentric sometimes and so it caused the teenagers to avoid him like he was plagued sometimes. That was, until they discovered some of the cool things he had done, then he was suddenly neato. “I would really enjoying taking the three of you out to dinner. Anywhere you want, muggle London is not off limits either.” He would drive them, mostly because he did not trust apparating with children. The car had been bought for the same reason. He had never cared enough to look up the laws on apparating and children, he’d just decided against doing it.
The level of pink brightened, and a hand pressed over her mouth as she looked at him wide-eyed. "A date?" Her voice would have squeaked if it weren't a voice that didn't really squeak. It just went up almost an octave in her surprise. She had never been asked out on a real date, to her knowledge. Well, there'd been a couple things before her marriage but those hadn't... well. Those had beent o make fun or try to use her. She wondered if that was what he was doing now.
When she was surprised enough, she did stare a bit. Her eyes were wide and surprised, looking very large in her elfin face. It was, unknowingly, both a fey expression but an oddly attractive one as well.
She seemed stuck on the fact that he wanted to take her on a date. And include her children. A fact that surprised her. Men, in her experience, would rather the children be decidedly absent. Oh, her husband had loved the children, but she'd seen a few other men dating women with children in her years, and they rarely wanted to include the children. "A date?"
Her reaction had caused his eyes to grow wider and he gave a happy little chuckle. “Will it make you feel better if I tell you what my surname is?” He wondered if that was what was bothering her, he’d tell her. He didn’t see why it mattered, she didn’t seem the type to care about blood status. He wondered if maybe her family cared about such things?
“I am Lancelot Cadwallader.” He figured he would give her his full name, just in case it was what was bothering her. He hoped it didn’t matter. “And if you’d let me, I’d like to take you out on a date. Children included.”
"I just... it's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Cadwallader," she murmured, dipping another deep curtsey that did nothing to hide the fact that she was still flustered. She of course recognized the name. Her brother had gone to school with a Cadwallader. Part of her mind wondered if they were siblings or the nieces he spoke of. It was possible both ways, in the wizarding world.
Then she repeated again, feeling a little like a broken record, "A date? .... Me?"
Of course it didn't really occur to her that it was odd that a woman, a widow, would find being asked on a date particularly odd, but it had been arranged after just one meeting. She'd never been romanced or dated. Not truly. "I mean... I... I guess so?"
Her curtsey made him chuckle again, it was too much. He didn’t understand why she was so proper but he really enjoyed it. She surprised him and did things that he wasn’t expecting. He was used to the other women he’d dated over the years. The ones that would have never thought to ever curtsey, no matter what. They shook hands, they were more like men than women. It wasn’t something he totally hated, no but it was refreshing to meet a woman that wasn’t trying to compete in a man’s world. She was just herself, not caring whose world it was. She was brilliant, smart, and a single mother of two. Yet she seemed so put together. “Please, please. I’m not Mister anything. I’m Lancelot, always just Lancelot.” He didn’t like to use his last name often.
When she asked again, he perked eyebrows and just smiled. “Thank you, I promise that you’ll enjoy yourself. If you don’t? I’ll not pressure you for a second one.” He would let her dip out if it wasn’t her scene. “I have a car that I can take all of us in? Do you know where you’d like to go?” He wondered if the kids would choose a place, or rather Auri. He was looking forward to seeing where she’d choose.
Quintella had been taught old manners. It didn't mean to her that either sex was better, simply that this was how you greeted. She only shook hands when someone else offered first, to be polite.
"Lancelot," she demurred obediently. She would try to remember and catch herself when she went with her training.
She didn't love cars as transportation, though she was used to them from the vehicle her husband had had through the ICW. She tended to Floo or port key or someone would apparate her somewhere. She was, despite everything, largely unfamiliar with the muggle world.
"You choose?" She suggested softly. "Somewhere simple, because of the children?" She'd have to excuse herself and Felix after a bit so she could feed him, though she knew he'd eat some semi solid food as well. But he was a Lusty Eater and always wanted something from mum too. If she felt more comfortable she might just nurse at the table, but she didn't know him well or his views of that and besides it was a date and she was pretty sure showing her breasts in any capacity was a nono.
He nodded when she said his name, he’d feel more comfortable if she just used his first name. He didn’t see the big fuss about last names and really hoped that she would remember that. It’d make life easier.
Lancelot knew there were kid friendly restaurants in muggle London, he just had to find the right one. He wondered if the Rainforest Café would be too much, too loud, but he was sure the little animal lover would love it. “Let me go grab my keys and wallet, I’ll meet you three by the door? It’ll be a surprise, where we go. Are you alright with that?” He was making sure to double check that she would be comfortable, he didn’t know exactly what all went into having dinner with a child as small as Felix. He had not taken the nieces and nephews when they were that small, so he wasn’t sure.
Quin did give it a moment of thought, then she bit her lip slightly. "A surprise is fine. But..." she eyeballed her daughter briefly. "Can we stop by the house and get her stuffie, please?" she said in a little bit of a rush. "It has a Muggle mode. But she's going to start on about getting Merlin soon, since I made her leave him at home, and then it's all you're going to hear about for the next hour or however long it is."
Merlin was her daughter's stuffed dragon, given to her by Timmy when she was born. He'd recently had it charmed to the gills and it acted pretty much alive anymore, though she did have a muggle mode on it that would revert it back to inert for a span of time. Felix had one too, not charmed yet, and it was in her bag.
Once that was sorted, Quin took a few minutes to put her stuff away at the table, and she messaged ZJ very quickly. She thought Tim might freak out a bit if she mentioned a date just over message, but she didn't want anyone to not know where she was. Zee, that nice librarian is taking me out on a date with the kids? What do I do? Are dates with kids even real? Love you, Q
Then Fee was awake, and she tucked his carrier into the bag -- yay magic -- and bounced him in her arms, making fun faces at him to make him laugh as they waited. Auri went and checked out several books under her watchful eye, but she did it herself, een though she couldn't reach the counter properly.
A soft surprised little chuckle left him, “I can do that. I don’t mind, you’ll just have to give me the address.” He had gotten a car that a cousin had altered for him. It would drive itself to any location with just a tap of the wand. It was very safe, he trusted the car completely. He typically used it in muggle mode, unless he didn’t know where he was headed. “I’m glad that he has a muggle mode. Will she want him in muggle mode?” He was curious if the little could turn the little thing into wizard mode without mommy’s help.
ZJ sent back a quick, Go on the date! They are as real as you let them be! I don’t have kids so I’ve never had to think about it. You’re sure he’s nice? <3
While she was texting, he had slipped back to his office to grab his things. He tucked his wand into one of his extended pockets, the car keys in the other. He had even grabbed his jacket, though it was tossed over one arm. He didn’t think it was cold enough that he might not need it but he was hoping she might feel chilly and need to use it. It was a small gesture but one that he really liked to do, it made him feel a little like he was saving the day.
As he came back out to her, he smiled. “I have everything I need.” He glanced towards where she was watching the little one checking out. Agatha was at least helpful and not rude like she tended to be to the children that were terrible and loud. She even seemed a bit taken with the little blonde girl, smiling at her. “I didn’t know she had an idea how!” He sounded genuinely stunned as he watched the interaction, he probably deserved a slap on the shoulder for that one.
She hesitated briefly but nodded. She could just floo there and back, bur... well, she had wards, it would be all right, right? She just knew she had to get Merlin back though. Her nose wrinkled just slightly as she sighed. "Not really but my commands supersede hers. She'll be happy to have him there."
He's been nice so far? I don't know. I see him when I'm at the library most days.
She bounced Fee lightly as she watched. "Didn't know how what?" She asked with quiet curiosity. She watched Auri politely thank the librarian and start heading back over looking very pleased with herself.
It made him feel a little better knowing that her commands superseded the littles, he didn’t think the muggles would like it much if the place caught fire because of a stuffed animal. They might get rather upset with them and kick them out. There’d be a lot of mind erasing going on.
Well, that is where he works. Just text me with a random letter if you need an out. I’ll ring you with an emergency so you can politely leave.
“I didn’t know that Agatha knew how to smile. I don’t think she’s ever smiled at a child before. There’s something special about all of you. Are you part Veela?” He asked curiously, then he realized how rude that might sound. “If that’s rude, I apologize. I don’t want to accuse you of anything.” He held his hands up now, to show innocence. He didn’t want to imply she was using powers or anything on him. He was just curious if they might be part
She breathed a little sigh of relief knowing her cousin would give her an out if she got too scared. It was cowardly, she knew, but sometimes her anxiety got the best of her, especially since Ambrose died and Felix was born.
Thanks! <3
She flushed and ducked her head against Felix's, hair down now and able to hide part of her face. "Oh no. My family is as pureblood as they come," she murmured. Her parents would be vastly insulted by the insinuation. Even the jokes of Elvish or faerie blood irritated them. "If there is any such thing in our family tree, I do not know of it."
Always!! I love you<3. Try to have fun!
Her reaction made Lancelot think that he had offended her. He wondered how he could make up for it. He knew the old families hated those questions, yet he’d stupidly asked anyway. “Can I make it up to you?” He asked curiously, “I’m sorry to have offended you.”
He then turned his attention to the small girl, giving a smile to Auri. “Would you like me to carry your books for you, Princess? We’re to go to dinner. Is there any place you’d like to go?” If Auri had a preference, he’d take them there. Otherwise he was going to try the Rainforest Café. He wondered if Auri would get a kick out of it.
Her head flew up, her large eyes wide. "Oh! Oh, no, you've not offended me," she assured him. "My parents might be offended, should someone say so, but I don't care about such things." No, because how could she care about that when she was a magicless pureblood? She was less even than the so-called halfbreeds.
Auri grinned shyly at him and offered up the couple of children's books. They both feature animals, but both were a little more advanced than he might expect. "I don't know," she said. "But I'm hungry. Mummy, can we get Merlin to go eat?"
Quin's eyes flitted to Lance's and her mouth turned up in faint, I told you so amusement. "Yes, sweetheart, Mis--Sir Lancelot has said we can go pick up Merlin. But if we go to Muggle London, he has to go on Muggle mode."
“You’re sure?” Lancelot asked, he wanted to be sure that she didn’t care at all about it. He was glad to hear though that he had not offended her. It at least sounded like she was being honest, that she wasn’t offended. It made him feel significantly better to hear her reassurance.
The animal books that she put into his arms just screamed that the Rainforest Café would be perfect. He was betting Auri would love it. He shared that moment with Quin, his smile only growing. Quin had been right, Merlin had to come! “We were already planning to pick him up, we cannot leave a member of the family behind.” He straightened himself up then, the books she gave him in his arms.
He was sure that he didn’t know Quin or Auri enough to offer his hand to the little girl to escort her to the car. Instead he walked with the family to the door, pushing it open and holding it open for them to pass through first. His car was already pulling around on it’s own to meet them at the curb. He loved his little car, it was from the 1950’s but it had been fixed up magical style and worked just fine. “The red one at the curb is mine,” He said as he led the way to the car. He opened the passenger side door for them, he was going to help her load in the kids if she needed the help.
"I'm sure," she said. She didn't want him to think that she was offended, since she wasn't. She'd been called far worse names than part-veela. In France, she'd been asked the question a couple of times as well, since there were several communities of Veela there. Her husband had laughed and said she didn't need Veela blood to be alluring. He'd been very proud of his pretty little wife.
"Oh, it's pretty!" Auri exclaimed, her mother's opinion falling off her young lips. In fact, the style of car matched the style of dress she wore, since she unknowingly tended towards the 50s style dresses.
"It's lovely," she said softly, and when he opened the door, she helped Auri into the back. "Can you... oh, can you hold him for a moment, please?" she said. She didn't have enough hands for all these tasks. If he agreed, she'd hand him Felix so she could latch Auri in. She'd have Fee up on her lap in the front. She wasn't up on all the muggle safety stuff, and even if she was, she might not care. She was a witch without magic; she trusted magic over muggle every time.