* fall / APART.

she hopes only the delicate wrinkle of her nose gives away her discomfort. a downtown wizarding bar is just about the last place she wants to spend an evening. everything, from the glasses smashing like clockwork to the almost rhythmic grunts that ebb and flow around them, has her hair standing on end. it wasn’t safe, especially for beings like her. the blonde represses the urge to flinch. choosing to hold the man’s gaze rather than betray the nerves beginning to take hold.

“it must be something horrible to be keeping you here.” she notes with a tutt, the soft drawl of her accent doing very little to dull the judgement. her crystal hues still flash curiously, mind already racing to answer the question of then why, but she quashes it in favour of keeping things civil. “you seem quite comfortable amongst the rabble.” something that ought to unnerve her, and yet.

she blinks away, lashes fluttering as her features draw together in thought. how to describe little theo. “he’s… probably very well dressed, perhaps a pretty neck scarf? lovely eyes. taller than me but shorter than you. maybe a little lost.” delphine nods to herself, happy with her charming assessment as she glances back with a grin. 

“should be easy to pick out, no?”

despite himself, he scoffs. comfortable, eh. sure, you got comfortable in the rabble after dealing with the speak-easies of new york, in whose alleys wands were held like muggers’ knives. this was nothing, even if it could devolve into a fight in moments. at the corner of the bar behind her, there’s a shout from a group of men, some slogan he can’t understand, but it reverberates through the room, through his bones. 

“ well-dressed? the poor wretch is going to lose his scarf. ” isa didn’t intend to be so blunt, but the fact of the matter was that this was no park for leisurely strolling. any little sign of wealth would get you robbed of anything and everything. “ at least he’d stick out in the crowd, ” he muses, making the effort to glance around. 

a shape rather unlike the rest of the bar’s crowd catches his eye soon enough, dressed in a light blue rather telling of the finer society of the city. that must’ve been their man, even if isaias only caught his shoulder before he dipped out of the bar and onto the street. “ madame, ” he blurts. with a tilt of his head, he gestures to the doorway — anything else would draw some attention. 

he’s nearly halfway to the door before he realises there’s no reason for him to accompany her — ah. “ best not to travel alone in this district. ” 

the corners of his lips twitch briefly at the grasping of hands, ducking his head to hide any amusement for her sake. something told him that his latest acquaintance wouldn’t take kindly to teasing of any kind. no matter how well meaning. emilio drops his hand instead, busies himself with looking around the room. gets the whole grand tour in forty-nine seconds. a bed, a wonky dresser missing a drawer and a leaky ceiling. nice.

“uh, that obvious?” he lets out an awkward chuckle, hand coming up to tug on his curls as his gaze flickers to hers. “could say i’m an american in paris.” another muggle reference. great! there goes his blend in promise to his father not ten minutes in. 

his lanky form drops onto the bed then, letting out a cough as the disturbed dust tackles his nose, casting a quick scourgify under his breath. “well back home there’s actually a lotta heroes that look a lot like you. one of my favourites, she’s called sue, well actually she’s called the invisible woman but anyway–” he presses his lips together, the apples of his cheeks beginning to warm. “you don’t sound all that french either dunya.”

he pats the bed, shoots a friendly grin. “us outsiders gotta stick together.”

“ a little, ” she says, with more relief than irritation. still not enough to go by on the front of magic, but he certainly was not from paris, and to meet a fellow foreigner in the overwhelming city was better than nothing. her silent question is answered immediately. american — of course, she’d never met one. barely knew anything about the country other than the fact that nothing was said of it in the magicless newspapers, probably for good reason. 

then he muttered under his breath, and it caught her attention. a wave of calm washed over her as she noticed the white of the bedsheets brightening, and the clearing of dust in little gray fluffballs at the corners of the room. certainly a cleaning charm, though she didn’t recognise the incantation. then, she’s suddenly distracted by a hero that looks like her. 

“ this sue — she’s a character, no ? ” she said simply, allowing herself a polite smile at the sudden commonality she felt with him. “ i’m from russia. from — ” hell, worth the shot. “ from an academy called koldovstoretz. ”

ALTERNATE TIMELINE ; the timeline in which they live the life they currently see the most likely for them.

it takes a lot to bring a man of his posture to utter and complete stillness. his muscles are still taut with frustration when the words land, light as petals on a cold marble floor. his brows cannot bring themselves to unfurrow but he looks away from her, for the brief respite of not having to respond. 

what the fuck do you say to that ?

she pulls his attention to herself, as she’s done countless times, in trains, bars, on ferry decks and in haunted mansions. like the moon, she is a constant fixture and source of illumination along his path. like the moon, she keeps nightmares away. like the moon, he feels sick when she disappears. 

is that what you fucking say to that ? he thinks, wasting his precious seconds.

“you’re adorable, you know that?”

a melodic laugh leaves the woman’s painted lips as she angles herself toward the other, “a host cannot abandon their guests, think of what people would say. you’ll learn eventually, i’m sure. it’s still all new for you i’ve heard?” it’s easy for her to feign curiosity by now, when in truth she knew the backstory to every single person in this room. serafina was well aware of her company’s new found wealth, and quick rise to her certain social circles. it was something that had piqued her interest, something rare with one who knew everything with the flex of her mind.

the legilimens didn’t need to make any conscious attempts to sift through the other’s brain to know she was jumpy. sera was sure that if she made even a weak attempt to invade her thoughts she would find them scattered, floating around like frayed threads. for now, she had all she needed from the other.

but agendas could change.

“we are honored to host you, ms nakano.” the brunette offers a sincere smile. well sincere enough. “you know how the ministry is…” narrowed eyes survey the room. “they enjoy making a fuss out of things. no matter which country they reside.”

            a little burst of clarity enters her mind just at the compliment — or perhaps it was simply emotion. sera’s laugh makes even a compliment as condescending as that one seem genuine, and gwen can only roll her eyes discreetly. to be reminded that it was all new to her is bitterly insulting, only because it’s true. the one thing that nobody told her about being nouveau riche was that suddenly people saw you — really noticed every little thing you did. “ something that you learned when you were young, i am learning when aged. that’s all there is. ”

            then the fog in her mind clears. something flits past her, an image of sera with her wand raised for combat, expression cool, but clearly ready for something. gone faster than a camera flash. she tenses her grip on her glass and smiles at her host’s greeting. 

             “ and i am delighted to be here, miss lestrange, ” she replies, tone wry. she holds back the common impulse to let out a short whew at the mention of the ministry. her sight had told her which ones to bribe to get her passport processed faster, but she couldn’t imagine going through it the ordinary way. “ i’m glad for this party, regardless, ” she murmurs. “ nothing at the convention particularly interests me otherwise. well, as of now. ”

“oh cool i didn’t know you could moonlight as a healer and still have time to be an auror.” the sarcasm only serves to make her accent all the thicker as she folds her arms stubbornly across her chest. nah, this one wasn’t about to get her to do anything. no reason why, she’d just decided this was the hill she would  die on. 

effie’s nose wrinkles in return, her mouth settling into a wilful frown. “i’m not bein’ funny but you just said a bunch of sounds mate.” bourguignon. sounded made up to her. “ain’t ya got any real food goin’? i might be persuaded into gettin’ on my way if you could muster up some spagbol…”

effie smiles then. bold and purposefully irritating as always.

           “ it’s called common sense, actually. ” being referred to as an auror did give him enough of a boost to tolerate the sarcasm. nobody was around to be pedantic and say auror trainee. at least, that what he thought she said. it was definitely either auror or — oorah, which didn’t make sense in that context. he was already quite tired of speaking english. 

            his eyes roll without much subtlety. evidently not a woman of culture. “  it’s fine dining, conjured by our best chefs — though sure, we can get you some cheap pasta from the non-magique parts of town. ” wasn’t sure what they were called across the channel.