Episkey

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AcornTree

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London was busy. Much too busy. Kain occasionally enjoyed the busy, but right then he was more interested in taking it back a notch. Besides, being around muggles was annoying. He couldn't use any spells at all, and while he had lived the first several years of his life unaware of magic he could hardly stand not using it now.

Pushing through the throngs of people, his eyes finally landed on The Leaky Cauldron. Thankful he had not been far, and with two plastic bags clasped in his fist, he casually slid into the cooler, much quieter pub. The air was hanging with smoke, and off in the corner he spotted a little smoke dragon attacking a little smoke knight which was being controlled by two older men. He smiled a little at the show but kept going. The bright light from the outside world and lessened his sight in the darker pub, but he was rapidly gaining that back to see the finer details of the many portraits hanging across the walls and the people sitting in various chairs throughout the pub. Kain inhaled deeply, and was suddenly very hungry.

Pushing aside his messy brown hair, the tips of which were currently yellow, he made his way over to the bar. "Whats the specials today?" He asked the red head behind the counter. He sat himself onto one of the stools, putting his forearms down onto the counter and letting his plastic muggle bags levitate under the bar beneath his knees.

"I'll take a butter beer." he added on, still wanting to know the specials. He ran a hand across his neatly kept goatee and then put it down in front of him again. There was a man a few stools over from him who kept trying to hide what was obviously mini ferrets into his pockets. A weird, shady fellow that Kain simply ignored for the time being.
 
It was a quiet day, The Leaky Cauldron wasn't very crowded and Calliope didn't have much to do. She didn't really mind. The last few days had been very busy and she was rather tired today. Besides, everyone minding their own business was nice for a change. Standing behind the wooden bar, she closely watched the little smoke fight a few tables away. The two older men had sat there nearly all day, still enjoying the battle.

The darkness in the pub went unnoticed by Calliope. Having spend her whole day there, she was used to it by now. Every time a new visitor came in, a ray of bright sunlight shone through the door, lightening up the pub. Which was exavtly what happened now. Calliope didn't pay much attention to him, if he wanted something he'd ask. She pulled a strand of bright red hair behind her ear as her eyes still followed the smoke dragon.
She only looked up when the visitor sat down in front of her. "The steak and kidney pie," she answered, offering a friendly smile. "One butter beer for you then." She turned around to get the beer, pretending not to have seen some of the shady things the customers did.

Calliope turned around with the beer in one hand, and was unsuccessfully trying to hide a yawn with the other. "I'm sorry, long day," she quickly mumbled. "Here ya go. The specials then? Or would you rather have something else?"
 
Kain thought about this a moment. Steak and kidney pie. He nodded a little to himself. That sounded good. He waited for her to get his beer. He smiled a little at her as she apologized to him. "The special is good." He responded. "And I understand about the long day." She needn't apologize. Kain studied Calliope quickly, attempting not to be creepy about it since he didn't have any creepy intentions. She seemed familiar, but he assumed it was just because she worked here. Kain did not come here very often, and when he did it was usually with mates rather than by himself. So if he had seen her here before he probably wouldn't remember it much. He wrote it off then and glanced around again.

It was quiet in here, and Kain felt like even though the pretty red head had expressed how tired she was, talking didn't use up much energy. Hopefully. "How long have you been working here?" Kain wasn't necessarily a talker, but he did like to be friendly and apart from the shady ferret guy, there wasn't really anyone else to talk with even if he wanted to. So Calliope was his focus as he waited on his late lunch. Or early dinner. He wasn't sure which one yet.
 
Calliope put down the beer and nodded. "Good choice. It will be ready in a few minutes."
She had definitely seen the guy around few times, as she hardly ever forgot the faces of her customers. Besides, even if she did, he wouldn't be that easy to forget. She smiled at his question, leaning against the bar. Her eyes quickly scanned the room before focussing on the man with the nice goatee again. Although she was tired, she was in for a chitchat. It was a thing she liked about being a bartender; the little conversations she had with customers. She knew a lot stuff about a lot of people, which she very wisely kept her mouth shut about. Her job was selling food and drinks, not the latest gossip.
With a soft nod she answered: "About three years now. I applied as soon as I finished at Hogwarts. It started as a quick job to earn some money... Wanted to travel, you know?" He got another friendly nod from her. "Yet, here I am. Still standing behind the bar, enjoying the job. How about you? What do you do for a living?"

Asking customers about their personal lives wasn't always smart. However, she figured she could give it a go with this guy. He didn't seem to be shady or hiding anything, and he looked very interesting. "Calliope, by the way." She held out a hand.
 
"Oh. I do know that feeling." Kain smiled. He had itchy feet, and wanted to travel constantly. But like her, his income didn't quite allow that. But he had been to quite a few places anyway just by roughing it. "Well. I used to have a job at Flourish and Blotts selling things, but I grew bored and that didn't last long." he admitted. "So I set up my body mod business instead. Tattoos, piercings, tails, whatever you want, really." He smiled a bit. "Its in a bit of a dodgy place but..." He shrugged. "Can't help but to admit most of my customers are a bit dodgy too." It worked, where it was. It was a good location for it. Kain didn't bother denying it, despite being pretty clean cut himself. He'd never broken the law or done anything inherently bad.

He took her hand then with a smile. "Kain." he responded with his name. "Nice to meet you, Calliope."
 
Calliope grinned. "The pleasure's mine, Kain. And well, can't avoid dodgy people right? Got a few here as well." She shrugged. "They can turn out to be nice though." Calliope didn't believe in people being evil. She only believed in people being taught to behave like that. Which, in the end, didn't make them less dodgy, it just made her less careful.
A moment later, Calliope got a sign from the kitchen and left Kain alone for a second, only to come back with his steak and kidney pie. She put it in front of him with a large gesture. "There ya go," she said smiling. "Enjoy your meal!" Though she actually had to check for empty glasses or thirsty customers, Calliope decided to hang around Kain a little longer. "That business you have huh, how much does a nice nose piercing cost?" Calliope had always wanted to get a piercing or tattoo, but somehow she always backed out in the end. With a small smile to herself, she figured now might as well be the time.
 
Kain chuckled softly, glancing around the pub and then back at the bartender. "Well, thats very true." And not all dodgy people were bad. Some were just... creepy without being able to help it. He drank his butter beer, sipping at the edge some as Calliope left. He put it down when she came back, thanking her. He was most certain that he would enjoy his meal, and promptly tucked into it as Calliope started talking again. He thought about her question as he chewed on a bite of pie. He smiled at her and then swallowed, leaning across the table towards her. "Well, that depends." He admitted. "Have you ever been to Dragonkeep?" He asked, referring to a wizarding town in Germany.
 
"Dragonkeep?" Calliope shook her head, excited to hear about it. "It's been on my list since forever! What's it like?"
For as long as she could remember, Calliope had wanted to travel. At the age of eight, she decided to make a list of all the places she wanted to visit one day. And though she had gone on holidays with her parents in the past, it was never really travelling. Not the kind Calliope fancied.
"I wish I had the guts to just leave. You know, no matter the money." She smiled. "That'd be cool. Have you been to a lot of places?" she asked, ignoring a group of witches coming in, for the time being.
 
Kain smiled at her, showing off the dimples in his cheeks. At least she knew of it. And she wanted to go. Her choice was a good one, and he raised his eyebrows at her. He just left a lot. He had the guts to do that sort of thing all the time. "I have been to a lot of places." He answered with a nod. "But here. I'll pierce your nose, but you have to promise to go to Dragonkeep as the price. And not just in a year from now, but soon. Within the month at least." He made her a deal. "Its worth it to go. Its amazing." He encouraged. "And theres nothing really to be scared about." He rapped his knuckles on the counter of the bar. "If you're scared about losing your job here, then I guess its not such a great job, if it keeps you from doing what you want?"
 
A big grin covered Calliope's face. She let out a chuckle and nodded. "You're very convincing, d'you know that?" He really was. What was stopping her from her dream? Was her job worth it? She thought for a moment, her eyes scanning the place. "Okay! I'll take your deal. I do want some tips though, on what to do and what not to." The smile hadn't left her face, if she was really going to do this, she'd better do it right. And immediately. She held a hand up at Kain. "One second." Then she hurried towards the back, disappearing through a dark, wooden door.

When she came back, Calliope held a paper in her hand. "This," she started, putting the paper down in front of Kain. "Is my resignation letter. To close the deal." She tapped on the paper and sighed shortly. "Otherwise I'm going to back out again."
It wasn't a real resignation letter, more of a request for leave of absence. It was enough. She could stay away for three months at least. Maybe see more than just Dragonkeep. Travel. Her heart jumped at the thought.
 
Kain laughed a little when Calliope told him he was convincing. He had to be. He convinced himself of things all the time, and how else was he to get good business in the door without being convincing? He grinned back at her. "I can give you all the tips you need." He responded. When Calliope bustled off, Kain took the opportunity to down most of his meal. Talking required his mouth, which meant that he couldn't eat as much as he wanted. So this was a good time to shovel in some food. He washed it down with the butter beer just as Calliope returned. He was surprised to see what she had in her hand, and the grin came back onto his face.

Looking over the piece of paper, his eyes glanced up at her again just afterwards. He didn't even have to say anything verbally. His whole face was telling her to sign it. He pushed the paper towards her slightly. "Do it." He encouraged her once more. "Its worth it. And I'll pierce your nose whenever you get off." He wasn't sure if she had to stay the rest of the day or not after signing that letter, but whenever was fine with him. He had today off anyway.
 
The encouraging look Kain gave Calliope would've been enough, his words only making her more sure of her decision. "Here we go," she mumbled, taking the quill next to the cash register. With a graceful sweep she signed the letter. She put down the quill, glancing up at Kain with a mischievous smile.
"Alathea?" she then called out, turning around. The kitchen door swung open and the face of a short, round witch with bright red stripes in her hair appeared. "Yes?" she answered. Calliope smiled and held out the letter. "Could you give this to Tom when he gets back? I'll be gone after I finish today." Alatheas eyes grew big, but she nodded and took the letter, mumbling to herself a little.
"Well, that's settled," Calliope remarked. She was excited that she finally did what she should've done some time ago. "I'll have to finish my shift for today. I'm off in about two hours. Want another drink? It's on me."
 
Kain grinned further as he watched Calliope go about resigning, so to speak. He finished off his meal while she did so, nodding afterwards. "Well, who am I to say no to a free drink?" he asked with a mischievous smile. "Thank you." He was happy for Calliope. For someone who had been too afraid to go out traveling but longed to, this was likely the start of a long life of travel, just like him. And he was a little honored to watch this start. It was wonderful. "You're going to love this, you know." He promised. "It'll be great."
 
"Yes. Different," she answered. "But the good kind of different." She sent him a sweet smile before getting him another beer. She was excited, nervous, happy. A mix of feelings. It was weird knowing this would be her last shift for a long time. She put the beer down in front of Kain and got herself a bar stool. The other customers seemed to be satified, and otherwise they'd come to ask. "You know," she said. "The only thing I think I'll miss is the habit." She got a package of cigarettes out of her bag behind the bar and lit one up. It was during worktime, but most of the time her boss didn't mind anyway. He wasn't so hard on her.
 
Kain nodded. It was a good different. He pushed his glasses up his face as Calliope got him another beer. He nodded his thanks this time rather than agreement. "The habit of what?" He asked, watching almost hawk-like as she took out the cigarettes and lit up. Was she talking about smoking? Because she could probably still do that while she traveled. He looked away from the cigarette after he realized he was staring rather rudely, dipping into his beer instead. He took a long drink from it and then sit it down, putting his forearms on the counter in front of him.
 
"You want one?" Calliope asked, before answering Kains question. She had noticed his look, not that she minded. It had been a bit rude of her not to offer him one first. "The habit of... I don't know... Life." She shrugged. "Getting up every morning, having breakfast, going to work. I don't fancy it, but it's still a routine I've gotten used to. Will take some time to realise I don't have to hold on to that anymore." She leaned her head on her free hand, smiling as she glanced over at Kain. "How did you get into traveling anyway?" she asked, curious about the nice guy. "Not to be nosy or anything," she added, blowing out a circle of smoke. She understood when customers didn't want to talk about their personal life too much. She was used to it. She hoped Kain did want to share something, though. None of her customers had been so interesting.
 
Kain licked his lips just a little when Calliope asked if he wanted one. Yes, he did. "Nah, only allowing myself one a day. Already had one." He looked a little upset by that fact, but shrugged one shoulder. He listened to her explanation though, nodding a bit. "Ah." He responded. As a business owner he had to have a bit of a routine also, but he was careful not to let it be too boring or predictable. Predictability was never something Kain liked. He took a sip of his beer, putting it down when she asked him a question. "Not nosy. And. Well. I've always had itchy feet." He answered. "Ever since I was a teenager. The only thing that kept me from traveling back then was that I really liked Hogwarts too. As soon as I was out, I started traveling. You know, its pretty easy to work odd jobs when you travel. Lots of people are willing to let you do the dishes for a meal or sweep the shop for a smoke." He grinned at her. "I have money to pay for this though." He promised. "The body mods are just cuz I like 'em, and its nice to make a little extra so I don't have to rough it so hard next time I go somewhere." Kain explained. "I dunno. I guess I just never liked it much at home."
 
"That's a good habit." Calliope smiled, looking at her cigarette. She smoked too much for her liking, but on the other hand: who cared anyway? She nodded while she let Kain continue. She understood. Hogwarts was nice, she'd always liked it there. It was the only place she didn't mind being for a majority of the time. Seven years were long though, even for a place like that. She smirked as he continued. "Seems like you have it pretty much sorted out for yourself," she remarked rather impressed. Kain couldn't be much older than she was, and having people her age living lives worth dreaming of always made her wonder why she never took that one necessary step. "And well," she shrugged a little. "In the end, home is where the heart is. Could be here, could be at the other side of the world, could be everywhere and nowhere."
 
Kain grinned and then pointed at her. "Exactly." He responded, wrapping his hand around the frosty mug again afterwards and taking another drink. Everywhere and nowhere. That was exactly where his home was. Sometimes, that could get lonely. But apart from the lonesomeness he would have it no other way. He finished up his meal and then pulled out some cash, putting it onto the counter to pay for it. "If you want, I can stick around until your done with your shift and then show you over to my place for that nose of yours?" he suggested. And if that was too creepy for her and she feared getting stolen, he would leave then and wait for her at his shop. It didn't really matter to him.
 
Calliope nodded and smiled. "Sounds perfect," she answered, not even thinking about how that might be a little creepy. "I'll be done soon. If you want anything, just give me a sign, okay?" She put Kains money in the cash register and took her wand. With a lazy swing of it the plate on the counter started floating. With the floating plate behind her she made her way past all the tables, collecting other plates and glasses on the way. It was a quick way of working which didn't cost much energy. Very effective for long days. She nodded friendly at the other customers, asking whether or not they'd like something else.

Time went by rather quickly. Before Calliope knew, her shift was over. Her last shift for some time now. No matter how much she liked the job, she felt relieved. She pulled off her apron and said goodbye to her colleagues, before making her way back to the bar and Kain.
"I'm finished," she smiled, yawning again. "Lead the way, my friend."
 
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