Post by Cindra Rourke on Jul 16, 2009 17:25:12 GMT -5
Cindra tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear while her left arm bore her recent purchases. Only a few days had past since the event in the staff room that had changed the nature of her association with a student, with Pantera, forever. And since then she had been anticipating contact from their mutual ‘friend’ as well the coming Tuesday when she could finally seek out the information she needed to help Pantera. Waiting as long as she had plagued her since she last saw the student, blood dripping from the opened wounds of his father’s summons, but it was unavoidable. There was still one person she wouldn’t cross openly, so wait she must.
This trip to Diagon Alley had been planned before the event and changing her plans wouldn’t have prevented a visit from Portia, only perhaps prolonging it. If anything, she needed the mental distraction as she hadn’t seen Pantera in the castle since and had a feeling he was off healing far from curious eyes. It felt she was living a maddening countdown, awaiting Portia’s visit and Tuesday night. Still, as her day of shopping and window gazing went on, the day a bit gloomy out but not enough to prevent the crowds, Cindra’s thoughts of the black-market mastermind slipped away until she had forgotten about him entirely.
She had paused outside of Madam Malkin’s, a rather interesting set of blue-gray robes having caught her attention when a wizard bumped into her, the thin bag holding her new quill brushed out of her arm by his as he passed, the early autumn breeze blowing it down the alley to her left. Cursing under her breath, she reached up her left sleeve to retrieve her wand and summon it back to her. Following it with her eyes as she took a few steps towards it, it blowing away even faster with a second, more powerful gust. As she went to take aim the moment it paused against a step to Gringotts, it suddenly flew to the left, into the hands of a repulsive old wizard standing just inside the bend into Knockturn Alley.
He smiled at her when she met his gaze, three yellowed teeth all he flashed while grime clung to his twisted features and a few wisps of long gray hair stuck out at odd angles from under his tatty hat. “Did the pretty drop a trinket?” he asked with a raspy voice that broke at the end, an airy chuckle immediately following.
Clearly, she had no intention of taking the nasty man’s bait and was about to turn around, forgo the quill as it was easily replaced when, half turned, she paused and eyed the wizard. His smile curled into a grin before he tilted his head towards the Alley beyond so minutely she might have missed it before he disappeared into the shadows that always painted the dodgy area.
With a roll of her eyes, Cindra looked around to see if anyone she knew seemed to be taking notice of her before taking a deep breath and crossing the alley, flipped the hood of her cloak up and stepped into Knockturn. It felt as if the temperature dropped as the shadows engulfed her and she continued walking forward until she finally saw the old wizard pause just outside the door to Borgin & Burkes, looked over his shoulder at her with that same smug grin, then entered.
Steeling herself, for she never did like coming down here, especially so close to dusk, Cindra wrapped her cloak around her more tightly and picked up her pace until she too had enter the shop, noted the absence of the owner who frequently kept to the backroom until he sensed an impeding purchse, and quickly weaved her way to a stand next to the man back in a darkened corner of the otherwise empty shop.
“You would lead me here,” she said, her annoyance clear.
He chuckled. “Do you expect less of me?”
“No.” Her eyes hadn’t met his and she was now running her finger along the spines of the books in front of her, determined to avoid giving him the decency of her gaze just yet. “You want my opinion.” It wasn’t a question and he would know of what she spoke.
A gnarled hand reached out to hers and she quickly ripped it back before he could make contact. Unfortunately, she found herself looking into familiar ice blue eyes against her will. He rarely bothered to reply when she could read his eyes so well.
“More skilled than I could have imagined. Young, but not too young. Bold, brash, confident… much like someone else I know.” A hint of humor leaked out, and her lips curled into a half grin with the thought of Pantera.
His eyes were amused. “You like him.” Again, not a question.
“He amuses me,” she clarified. A silence fell as she looked away. He had amused and surprised… Pantera managed to leave her in an uncomfortable position as the terms of their ‘arrangement’ had yet to be dictated and she was suddenly finding herself plotting to help the young wizard counter a dark charm with more eagerness than she thought herself possible of possessing. She felt Portia’s eyes on her for several moments before he next spoke.
“Astute.”
She nodded at the statement that had no little amount of humor in it. Portia knew he must have gotten to her in some way; it would be hard to hide her annoyance when he caused her the same discomfort on occasion. Whether he would recognize the shock still lingering from her intiating her delving into the dark arts without provocation, she didn't know. Portia even hadn't accomplished that.
Having picked up a book, examining it vaguely, Cindra could soon no longer stand his eyes boring into her and mentally groaned as she capitulated and looked over, blue-gray eyes meeting ice blue.
“Very good,” he remarked when her eyes locked on his, “Not just anyone could rattle you.” In the distance, the shop door opened and closed, the only other sound to have broken the silence of the shop since they arrived. Their time was running short.
He began to chuckle softly until she glared daggers at him. With a smug smile he stopped and took a hold of her hand while she was distracted, lifting it and pressing his dry cracked lips to the back of it, his breath warm as it flowed up over her wrist. If he noted the new addition of a silver band on her middle finger, he never revealed it. His dry lips lingered there longer than was proper, but his grip was like iron and his eyes refused to release her just as strongly. The masterful glamour was only skin deep, but she didn’t like the possessiveness any more than when he was in true form. Cindra learned long ago to not fight him on this and waited for him to get his fill. Her mind needing to focus on not letting her thoughts find their way to the band. The last thing Pantera needed was a glimpse into her interactions with his new master.
Cindra returned his gaze, her hand becoming uncomfortably warm in his hand, the look in his eye doing nothing to hide the thoughts she knew to be dancing behind them. She gave a small shudder, which earned her a grin as his lips lifted from her skin. When he did release her a moment later, she didn’t miss the weight pressed into her palm and closed her fingers around the invisible object as he pulled away, his gaze telling her all she needed to know before he spun around, disappearing behind the numerous rows of shelves, the sound of the door announcing he was gone.
With a sigh, she slid the coin down between just her thumb and forefingers before lifting it up and slipping it down the front of her shirt to hide it with her own. As the warmth of the metal seeped into her, she reached up and adjusted the hood of her cloak, ensuring it was still obscuring her from view well enough and heard the shuffle of a footstep on the dusty floor. Snapping her head to the left, her hands dropping to her sides, she found someone standing just a ways across from her, their eyes meeting hers.
Calmly she swallowed, hard, as she wondered how much they had seen, for nothing had past neither her nor Portia’s lips since the door last admitted someone, and took a tentative step to leave hoping that they had as great a desire to hold their tongue as she did.
This trip to Diagon Alley had been planned before the event and changing her plans wouldn’t have prevented a visit from Portia, only perhaps prolonging it. If anything, she needed the mental distraction as she hadn’t seen Pantera in the castle since and had a feeling he was off healing far from curious eyes. It felt she was living a maddening countdown, awaiting Portia’s visit and Tuesday night. Still, as her day of shopping and window gazing went on, the day a bit gloomy out but not enough to prevent the crowds, Cindra’s thoughts of the black-market mastermind slipped away until she had forgotten about him entirely.
She had paused outside of Madam Malkin’s, a rather interesting set of blue-gray robes having caught her attention when a wizard bumped into her, the thin bag holding her new quill brushed out of her arm by his as he passed, the early autumn breeze blowing it down the alley to her left. Cursing under her breath, she reached up her left sleeve to retrieve her wand and summon it back to her. Following it with her eyes as she took a few steps towards it, it blowing away even faster with a second, more powerful gust. As she went to take aim the moment it paused against a step to Gringotts, it suddenly flew to the left, into the hands of a repulsive old wizard standing just inside the bend into Knockturn Alley.
He smiled at her when she met his gaze, three yellowed teeth all he flashed while grime clung to his twisted features and a few wisps of long gray hair stuck out at odd angles from under his tatty hat. “Did the pretty drop a trinket?” he asked with a raspy voice that broke at the end, an airy chuckle immediately following.
Clearly, she had no intention of taking the nasty man’s bait and was about to turn around, forgo the quill as it was easily replaced when, half turned, she paused and eyed the wizard. His smile curled into a grin before he tilted his head towards the Alley beyond so minutely she might have missed it before he disappeared into the shadows that always painted the dodgy area.
With a roll of her eyes, Cindra looked around to see if anyone she knew seemed to be taking notice of her before taking a deep breath and crossing the alley, flipped the hood of her cloak up and stepped into Knockturn. It felt as if the temperature dropped as the shadows engulfed her and she continued walking forward until she finally saw the old wizard pause just outside the door to Borgin & Burkes, looked over his shoulder at her with that same smug grin, then entered.
Steeling herself, for she never did like coming down here, especially so close to dusk, Cindra wrapped her cloak around her more tightly and picked up her pace until she too had enter the shop, noted the absence of the owner who frequently kept to the backroom until he sensed an impeding purchse, and quickly weaved her way to a stand next to the man back in a darkened corner of the otherwise empty shop.
“You would lead me here,” she said, her annoyance clear.
He chuckled. “Do you expect less of me?”
“No.” Her eyes hadn’t met his and she was now running her finger along the spines of the books in front of her, determined to avoid giving him the decency of her gaze just yet. “You want my opinion.” It wasn’t a question and he would know of what she spoke.
A gnarled hand reached out to hers and she quickly ripped it back before he could make contact. Unfortunately, she found herself looking into familiar ice blue eyes against her will. He rarely bothered to reply when she could read his eyes so well.
“More skilled than I could have imagined. Young, but not too young. Bold, brash, confident… much like someone else I know.” A hint of humor leaked out, and her lips curled into a half grin with the thought of Pantera.
His eyes were amused. “You like him.” Again, not a question.
“He amuses me,” she clarified. A silence fell as she looked away. He had amused and surprised… Pantera managed to leave her in an uncomfortable position as the terms of their ‘arrangement’ had yet to be dictated and she was suddenly finding herself plotting to help the young wizard counter a dark charm with more eagerness than she thought herself possible of possessing. She felt Portia’s eyes on her for several moments before he next spoke.
“Astute.”
She nodded at the statement that had no little amount of humor in it. Portia knew he must have gotten to her in some way; it would be hard to hide her annoyance when he caused her the same discomfort on occasion. Whether he would recognize the shock still lingering from her intiating her delving into the dark arts without provocation, she didn't know. Portia even hadn't accomplished that.
Having picked up a book, examining it vaguely, Cindra could soon no longer stand his eyes boring into her and mentally groaned as she capitulated and looked over, blue-gray eyes meeting ice blue.
“Very good,” he remarked when her eyes locked on his, “Not just anyone could rattle you.” In the distance, the shop door opened and closed, the only other sound to have broken the silence of the shop since they arrived. Their time was running short.
He began to chuckle softly until she glared daggers at him. With a smug smile he stopped and took a hold of her hand while she was distracted, lifting it and pressing his dry cracked lips to the back of it, his breath warm as it flowed up over her wrist. If he noted the new addition of a silver band on her middle finger, he never revealed it. His dry lips lingered there longer than was proper, but his grip was like iron and his eyes refused to release her just as strongly. The masterful glamour was only skin deep, but she didn’t like the possessiveness any more than when he was in true form. Cindra learned long ago to not fight him on this and waited for him to get his fill. Her mind needing to focus on not letting her thoughts find their way to the band. The last thing Pantera needed was a glimpse into her interactions with his new master.
Cindra returned his gaze, her hand becoming uncomfortably warm in his hand, the look in his eye doing nothing to hide the thoughts she knew to be dancing behind them. She gave a small shudder, which earned her a grin as his lips lifted from her skin. When he did release her a moment later, she didn’t miss the weight pressed into her palm and closed her fingers around the invisible object as he pulled away, his gaze telling her all she needed to know before he spun around, disappearing behind the numerous rows of shelves, the sound of the door announcing he was gone.
With a sigh, she slid the coin down between just her thumb and forefingers before lifting it up and slipping it down the front of her shirt to hide it with her own. As the warmth of the metal seeped into her, she reached up and adjusted the hood of her cloak, ensuring it was still obscuring her from view well enough and heard the shuffle of a footstep on the dusty floor. Snapping her head to the left, her hands dropping to her sides, she found someone standing just a ways across from her, their eyes meeting hers.
Calmly she swallowed, hard, as she wondered how much they had seen, for nothing had past neither her nor Portia’s lips since the door last admitted someone, and took a tentative step to leave hoping that they had as great a desire to hold their tongue as she did.
