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**Juliet Raphael** · #1 (**permalink**) 03-02-2012, 11:15 PM

Put on your concert togs and head out to meet your date at the Bott Concert Pavilion just outside of London. This brand new concert venue only recently opened, and the world famous band Disorder of the Phoenix is doing a huge, loud show tonight to help introduce the facility to the Wizarding world.

Dapper men in uniforms stand at each entrance and hand out little gift bags containing a variety of free products for the first 100 fans, including Bott's beans, Ellsberry cosmetics, and a signed Disorder wristband that glows in the dark. Once inside, the place is subtly lit until the loud music comes up and the lights go down, at which time the screaming fans will surge toward the stage to watch Gilbert Vickers singing lead and Zap on drums. Dance the night away to catchy hits like "There's a hole in my Cauldron (and also my heart)."

You might want to grab a bite at a nearby diner once the concert lets out, as most restaurants will already be closed.

momentai · 03-03-2012, 03:52 AM

Ryuu stood relatively close to the entrance, his head constantly turning as he searched for his date. Merlin, he hoped she wasn't crazy. The last time he had hung out with a female, she had flipped on him because he had asked a simple question about whether she wanted more ice cream.

Ryuu just hoped that this lady would be able to find him in this crowd.

Cassirin · 03-03-2012, 04:05 AM

A rock concert. A ROCK CONCERT? Sigh. Ashlyn Gray tugged her jacket more tightly around her figure as she hurried toward the concert pavilion. Ms. Raphael was a certifiable nut job if she thought that attending a loud, sweaty concert was a good way to get to know someone.

Especially if one wasn't a particular fan of the very loud band playing that evening.

She ought to try to be a good sport about this, though, and Ashlyn paused at the doors to fuss with her hair before she glanced around. Now... where was her... ah. There.

"Mr. Andrei, I presume," she announced briskly, extending a hand toward the gentleman.

momentai · 03-03-2012, 04:28 AM

Ryuu turned his head in the direction of a "Mr. Andrei". Even though he was surprised by the formalities and the fact that their date was starting with a 'Mister' and a handshake, he obliged and shook her hand. "You must be Ashlyn Gray," he smiled. "I'm glad we could do this." Though, he would have preferred a place that was a little more quieter. Half the night would now be spent YELLING to her. "You look great, by the way." Compliments on dates were always good.

"So...a rock concert. I've heard that the band is fantastic, but I've never really heard their stuff. Have you?" And small talk. Small talk was a good start, too.

Cassirin · 03-03-2012, 04:36 AM

He had very nice teeth. It was the first thing Ashlyn noticed, and she unconsciously gave a little nod of approval over those teeth. Good dental care was important, even for the average wizard. A sloppy appearance let her know a man didn't care, and if he didn't care even about himself, he CERTAINLY couldn't care about her satisfactorily.

"Thank you." She did look great. She'd checked before she left the house. "I've heard they're big here, but I'm afraid I'm not much on modern music." Plus, as her American accent gave away, she wasn't exactly local. "I brought extra ear plugs in case we're situated right in front of a speaker. You can hear just fine, but it protects from ear damage."

momentai · 03-03-2012, 04:54 AM

Ryuu nodded his head. He totally understood where she was coming from. "I don't mind modern music, I am just not big on the whole rock scene. I will keep my mind open for this, though," he grinned and then pulled the tickets out of his pocket. She brought ear plugs? "That was very considerate of you. I definitely would like to keep my hearing," he chuckled.

He offered her his arm. "Shall we start heading in? Concert's about to start soon."

Cassirin · 03-03-2012, 05:26 AM

Oh, look. The man had MANNERS. Most men in this day and age had completely gone off the tracks when it came to knowing how to treat a lady. Ashlyn insisted that everyone drop that silly chivalry nonsense when she was leading her team in the field, but on a date...? She didn't mind at all.

Within reason.

Ashlyn took his arm. "How do you suppose we're supposed to get all those nosy personal questions asked and answered during a concert?" From inside her coat pocket, she removed the ear plugs and offered them to Ryuu. "Like I want to know how you pronounce your first name and where it came from? It's very unusual."

momentai · 03-03-2012, 04:23 PM

As they walked towards the gate, Ryuu accepted the earplugs from her and pondered her question. She had a valid point - how would they be able to do that? "Well, perhaps, after the concert, we can go get something to eat. Plenty of time to ask questions." But since they had a little bit of time before the noise began...

"Mm, I get that a lot," he grinned. "Even though I am from Romania, my parents went on a trip to Japan. They said they heard the name and it kind of stuck with them. However, I still maintain that they stuck their hand into a bag of Scrabble letters and pulled out an R, a Y, and two U's. It's pronounced 'rie-you'.

"What about you? You don't sound like you're from around here. I guess...North American of some sort?" They had finally reached the gate now and Ryuu handed over their tickets. In return, he was given two little gift bags, one of which he passed to Ashlyn.

Cassirin · 03-04-2012, 02:09 AM

Or perhaps DURING the concert they could up and leave, depending on how much they were enjoying it. Ashlyn wasn't one to stand on formality just because they had these great seats in a new concert venue. She checked out the contents of the bag, immediately relegating the wristband to something to give away. The cosmetics were a nice touch, though. Strange from a concert hall, but nice.

"Rie-you." She repeated the name, giving the man a half smile for his efforts. "The world is increasingly multicultural. It isn't a bad thing to my mind." She slid through the turnstile and waited for Ryuu on the other side. "I'm American. Texas, originally, although I've spent the past few years in Brazil."

momentai · 03-04-2012, 03:07 AM

He peeked into the bag as he passed through the turnstile. Beans, cool. Wristband, cool. Cosmetics? It was a good idea, sure, but not his thing. Perhaps he would ask her later if she wanted them.

"Oh, Brazil? You're lucky, I've always wanted to go," he replied, looking towards her once again. Ryuu held his arm out again for her to take so that they could head inside. "You must have a fascinating job if it's keeping you in Brazil. What do you do?"

Cassirin · 03-04-2012, 04:14 AM

"Rio is swell in small doses, I suppose, but I spent the bulk of my time wandering in the wilderness in search of a particular kind of bird." Ashlyn did accept his arm, if only to avoid getting separated from Ryuu in the sudden press and crush of people. Merlin, it was crowded. Why weren't people already in their seats??

"I'm a cryptozoologist." One of the best, if she did say so herself. Which she did, obviously. "What do you do? Are you local?"

momentai · 03-04-2012, 09:15 PM

A cryptzoologist? That was quite a word and it sure did sound fancy and cool. "I'm guessing that that...has something to do with studying animals? I love animals, myself. Wolves, in particular. That's why I chose to own two wolf dogs." They sure were awesome.

Judging by the way the crowd was moving, he still had time to answer her question. "I originally lived in Bucharest, Romania. I had these nomadic tendencies," he chuckled. "Moved around a bit, never really spending a lot of time in one place. I finally decided to settle down here in London and now I am a personal assistant to the Minister for Magic."

Cassirin · 03-05-2012, 04:08 AM

"Studying magical animals," Ashlyn clarified, her half grin growing to a full one. "Magical ornithology, specifically, but my degree was broader." Blah blah blah. Did he care?

"Wolves are fascinating creatures, although I'm more interested in werewolves. The magical equivalent. I spent some time studying the effects of a werewolf on my birds when one crashed my research site in Brazil a few years ago. As a point of interest... they didn't like him, although he was extremely polite and well spoken." Birds weren't very discriminating when it came to disruptions to their habitat.

"Personal assistant to Greingoth? And how do you like that? I imagine he's quite demanding." And a bit of a prat if his pictures were telling at all.

momentai · 03-06-2012, 02:18 AM

"Magical animals," he mused, his mind wandering to thinking about what it would be like to be able to interact with some of the world's most interesting creatures. "The things you see and learn must be simply...amazing."

!!

Ryuu almost did a double take as Ashlyn mentioned her particular interest in werewolves. "You don't say," was all he could say the moment she had finished her story about birds vs. a werewolf. This had to mean that she didn't have a problem with werewolves, yes? So, he could say something and it wouldn't hurt this date? What to do... "Birds do have to protect themselves, right? I guess you really can't blame them," he chuckled. "What have you learned about werewolves?"

As they walked and talked, Ryuu kept his eye open for their seats. Moving through the crowd was starting to become a lot easier, so they were able to move quickly. A few more rows... And what was this? Greingoth? OH, his boss. Right. "Oh, well...you know what they say. A cup of delicious, freshly brewed coffee a day keeps the boss' away." Ryuu chuckled and added, "Seriously, though, not really. He's an alright man, knows how to get the job done." Ah, their seats! He came to a stop and waved a hand at the seats with a polite "after you" statement.

Cassirin · 03-06-2012, 04:35 AM

Ashlyn slid past him into her seat, enjoying the plushy new cushions and the adjustable arm rests. Say what you will, the music hall was very luxurious. Odd sort of place to watch Disorder of the Phoenix blast their way through a show.

"Mostly, it's all about watching and writing and waiting, actually. I can have six months of writing down 'Didn't see a single bird all day', but I wouldn't have it any differently." And she'd had plenty of those days. As for his questions about werewolves... Well. "You'll have to read my articles if you want to read my conclusions. I don't give that sort of thing away for less than tenure at a major university."

The young person next to Ashlyn jostled her a few times with her elbow, and Ashlyn gave the child a long look until she settled down. "What sort of qualifications are necessary for that sort of job? I imagine you're incredibly organized, but did he make you brew a cup of coffee before agreeing to hire you?"

momentai · 03-09-2012, 02:33 AM

He had to admit, it sounded like she had an excellent job. If only he had taken the effort to go that extra mile in school, then he probably wouldn't be stuck being a personal assistant. Such a shame, but he was going to make the most of it all. "Well then, I suppose I'm definitely going to have to read them. I have a bit of an interest in werewolves myself."

Ryuu got all settled into his seat, very impressed with how plush the seats were. Actually, the fact that they were at a rock concert, sitting in plush seats seemed strange.

"I'm actually not quite sure of the qualifications, to be honest. I didn't want to want to be a Ministry Advisor any longer, so I asked to take one of the open assistant positions. I am very organized, though. All my socks are organized by type and colour." He paused for a second and carefully considered what he'd just said. "Is that TOO organized?"

Cassirin · 03-11-2012, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by momentai

He had to admit, it sounded like she had an excellent job. If only he had taken the effort to go that extra mile in school, then he probably wouldn't be stuck being a personal assistant. Such a shame, but he was going to make the most of it all. "Well then, I suppose I'm definitely going to have to read them. I have a bit of an interest in werewolves myself."

Ryuu got all settled into his seat, very impressed with how plush the seats were. Actually, the fact that they were at a rock concert, sitting in plush seats seemed strange.

"I'm actually not quite sure of the qualifications, to be honest. I didn't want to want to be a Ministry Advisor any longer, so I asked to take one of the open assistant positions. I am very organized, though. All my socks are organized by type and colour." He paused for a second and carefully considered what he'd just said. "Is that TOO organized?"

"Not one of those weird, gothic interests, I hope," Ashlyn said, rather sharply. She didn't approve of people liking something because it was fashionable without really understanding it. That happened often with some celebrity cause, and while it was admirable for whatever they supported, it was awfully ignorant on the part of the person that supported it.

"There's no such thing as too organized, I say. If you had them ordered by when you bought them or the wearing patterns on the sole, that might be too much, but even then, it's logical." And she DID approve of logic. "I bet you can always get dressed in the dark without grabbing the wrong color of sock."

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