Jupiter [Eli]

[cordelia regan smith]

▲

February 5th, 2027

The one thing about being a proper adult that she enjoyed the most was having the chance to explore and participate in the various magical festivals that took place in Diagon and Horizont Alley. During her time at Hogwarts, Cordelia had managed to wander around a few different events that had been hosted in Hogsmeade, but they were nowhere close to what the shopping districts could put together. The Lunar New Year was no joke this year either, and she’d even managed to get the entire weekend off from work to attend. Living in Horizont Alley certainly helped with travel time too, taking less than a minute to walk out of her home and down onto the street where all of the festivities were taking place. Watching all of the decorations going up earlier in the morning had been fascinating. Picture worthy, actually, with witches and wizards from all over floating objects left and right. Not to mention all of the storefronts getting in on it. A few looked agitated that their pristine front viewing windows were suddenly sporting festival insignia or other Lunar New Year designs, which Cordelia found quite funny.

By late morning though, it was clear that taking photographs of the workers meant that she was getting in their way more often than not, and she retreated back to 67 Horizont Alley. Hoping to drop off the rolls of film she’d taken and grab more, she planned to head back out into the street after lunch when the festivities were supposed to officially start up. Four days of crowds and noise should have concerned her, and normally it did. Having home so close where she could run away to if things got overwhelming made it a lot easier. Plus Horizont was pretty cozy even on the busiest of days. The shopkeepers were locals as well and Cordelia believed that she had a decent enough rapport with them now that she had lived in the area for over a year.

Carefully setting her camera near the front door, Cordelia sprinted down the hallway and to her room, dropping the three rolls of film she’d already shot this morning onto her desk and swiping up the other half-dozen she’d prepared for the rest of the day. Based on everything she’d seen so far, she was going to need more. A week of developing Lunar Festival photos up in the attic sounded like a great time, and if she was really quick with it, could maybe turn some around to the Daily Prophet by the end of the weekend. The Quibbler didn’t have a non-compete clause thankfully, which meant she could still deal with other publications if she wanted to freelance. It worked very nicely at times. Sliding back down the hall to set her new rolls of film next to her camera, she then rerouted to the kitchen, made a sandwich, and then returned to her room again. Everything was working perfectly time-wise, and once she was finished with lunch it was back to the street to get the rest of her pictures in.

That was how it was supposed to be, until she decided that it wouldn’t hurt to lean back into her bed after eating to rest for a moment. It only felt like she had blinked, but her bedroom was suddenly dark, a yellow-orange glow of lights dancing across the wall opposite her window that looked down onto Horizont Alley. Wiggling to the edge of her bed and prying her phone out from underneath her, it read 8:30PM. Merlin that was a hell of a blink to skip eight hours just like that! Still somewhat groggy and definitely confused on what had happened, Cordelia walked back out into the living area of the flat, hoping to find one of her roommates to ask them what was going on.

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 642 ● Bedroom Ghost by Flower Face

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[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

ELI WAS IN HIS SMARTEST BLAZER. This, of course, meant it was not particularly smart it all in the grand scheme of things. It was striped, second-hand, and had certainly been a womens trench coat in a past life. He'd found it in a bin bag one evening, taken it home and performed surgery to remove the flared bottom so it fit frayed at his hips. One of the other Puff's in the house had taken out the shoulder pads and sewn it to fit him neatly, and the smartest blazer Eli Fleming owned was born. He only wore it when he felt the need to look smart, which was not particularly often.

There was a festival erected in Horizont Alley, and it swept the streets in garlands and lanterns that lit up the night and hid the typical smog from view the way that joy could only do. Eli had been fascinated as he'd observed, trailing home from work a full half hour late every evening as he'd been transfixed by the bustle of it all. Horizont Alley was not known for its welcoming festivals, and yet the stands and displays seemed perfectly at home on the cobbles. By the time it was fully up and running, Eli was on his last day of work before he had a day off, and he'd seen quite enough in passing.

Taking the stairs up to his flat, he'd skidded down the hallway and into the shower without even a hello-how-are-you. A free shower in Puff Palace was not an every day occurrence. That was how he'd ended up in his smart blazer, with damp curls and a flush to his cheeks. He crashed into the living room with his laces still undone.

"Ah!" He snapped his fingers, blowing hair out of his face and leaning across the back of the three-seater to pull on Cordie's sleeve. "Just the Cordie I'm looking for, we're going out!" He declared, still holding on to her sleeve as he rounded the sofa and swept her up into his side. "Didn't I tell you?" He went on with a silly grin, pulling a couple of tickets he'd snagged from a stall on his way by and fanning them out in front of them as he manoeuvred them through the living room and down the hallway towards the front door. "We've some constellations to see." As they passed Cordie's room, Eli paused in his kidnapping and gave her shoulders a gentle nudge towards her cracked doorway. "I'm not a monster, you can grab your camera first." He said diplomatically, straightening the hem of his blazer as he let her go. 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

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Ignoring the sounds of the crowd on the alley below was impossible now that she had entered the main hub of the flat, and the lights were so much brighter as they glinted through the street-facing windows. One side of her head was completely entangled, much more than she could undo with the brute strength of her fingers. They were better at finer things, like gently removing rolls of film from cameras or expertly cleaning her lens collection. Magic absolutely made all of that easier, but could she call herself a photographer if she didn’t do everything the mundane, muggle way? No. Regardless, her hair was knotted like usual, and she almost turned around to go back to her room to try and fix it. The sudden rising of a shadowy figure from the other side of the couch caught her attention as she simultaneously tugged at her hair and yawned, an unflattering gasp coming out at the end of her sleepiness.

While the figure was merely Eli, doing Merlin-knows-what in the dark on the couch, the dancing of the lights from outside and his reaching motion towards her sleeve left her momentarily confused about what was going on. More than she already had been, considering her sudden eight hour jump into the future. “W-W-What?” she sputtered as her brain had trouble keeping up with the pace at which Eli was speaking. Going out where? Outside? She shook her head side to side as he produced what looked to be tickets from somewhere inside his jacket and then started dragging her towards the front entrance of the flat. Apparently they were going to see constellations and she could bring her camera with her? None of her equipment was set for nighttime photography, and doing such a thing as long exposures to capture the stars was not only difficult under the conditions of city light pollution, but also not the most thrilling experience in the world. If she had known about this earlier in the day, maybe then she could have gotten the film ready. “N-No it’s fine…w-where are w-we going?”

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 350 ● SECULAR HAZE by Ghost

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[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

THOUGH CORDIE APPEARED APPREHENSIVE ELI would not be deterred. He hadn't realised she was asleep, so still was she in consciousness. But, she could rub the sleep from her eyes. It was good she was rested! All the better to stay sharp for the sights. Eli felt jittery with excitement, the anticipation making him hop from foot to foot as he patted her rhythmically on the shoulders, ushering her from the living room to the hall.

"I have the whole night planned," He told her cheerily, though Eli's idea of planning and Cordie's idea of planning were two vastly different entities. "So don't you worry your little... head... about it!" He patted said head in time with his words, one side oddly smooth in comparison to the tangled puff on the opposite side. He liked it, he liked just about everything about Cordie.

Asking after her camera, Eli paused when she didn't seem keen. That camera was like a third arm for Cordie. An essential limb she couldn't do without. He was surprised she gave it up so easily, stuttering his restless swaying to blink at her momentarily. How deeply had she been sleeping, he wondered. Eli rebounded as quickly as he paused, shrugging his shoulders easily. "Ah! I see, we're going analogue tonight." He tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially. "Old fashioned... I like it." And then he put a guiding hand on Cordie's shoulder and led them both to the front door.

Holding the door open, Eli let Cordie pass him as they headed down the stairs and out into the bustling street market. It was practically right on their doorstep. The stalls swathed in floating lanterns, bathed in the pickled blue light of twilight. "There's a festival, remember?" He answered Cordie's question much too late. "Stalls, food, the delights of a grand celebration!" Eli motioned heavily with his hands, for dramatic effect. "I wanted to go, and I wanted you to go with me." He grinned at her without a hint of insecurity, hands lowering to tuck into his blazers pockets, a skip in his step. "But first..." He told her, swinging around to walk backwards in front of her, hunched like he was about to sell her something. "First... we feast..." 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

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Her brain was having difficulty catching up with what was going on. Of course she knew that the festival was still going on – it was literally impossible to ignore it when it was right out their window - and she could assume that something for that coincided with the tickets Eli had been flashing about. The question though was why they had to jump up and hurry. Not one to normally care what she looked like outside, having bedhead certainly wasn’t a look that she enjoyed having. Her hair tended in the tangled direction normally, and it felt like it was all matted currently. Having Eli tap her head as he talked only made her that much more self-conscious of it. He probably didn’t care, but she did.

Forgoing the camera made sense because it wasn’t prepared for the night. Still, she instinctively started to move towards where she had set it down earlier in the day, only to find that Eli had unknowingly started to guide her away from it. That was for the best. No rolls of film were going to be wasted tonight! To make up for the lack of camera, she quickly blasted the side of her head with a charm that usually worked well on loosening up her mess of hair, looking up to see that Eli had door open for her already. “S-Sorry…” she responded sheepishly, sticking her wand back into her pocket as she passed by him.

The show he was trying to put on for her elicited a cracked smile, though that was quickly followed up by a yawn. The sudden assault of food smells and people everywhere was really doing a number on her senses, as well as trying to catch up to Eli’s enthusiasm. “Anywhere in p-p-particular?” she stuttered out as she tried to raise her voice to go above the crowd noise. That had been a problem she’d encountered the entire time the festival had been going on. After the first day, she had a nasty case of laryngitis, swiftly cured by a concoction her mum recommended to her. Following Eli’s lead was the only other thing she could do currently, and did so, slightly amazed he hadn’t bumped into anyone yet as he walked backwards…

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 377 ● song by artist

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[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

THE CHILLY, METALLIC BLAST OF AIR TINGLED Eli's tongue as he caught the back lash of Cordie's smoothing spell. Her hair going from 'bedhead' to 'curly' with just a flick of her wrist. Eli laughed almost gleefully, waving off her apology and side-stepping to let her out onto the stoop. Cordie had a way with charms that had always baffled and enthused Eli, ever since they had first met. He often wondered aloud why she'd never done something more with it, but knew that her camera simply called her name. Backing out onto the street, Eli waved his hand in a dramatic sweep.

The walkway was adorned with floating lanterns, glowing gently in the fading daylight, with shimmering, metallic streamers sending fractures of light. Eli thought it all looked fairly magical, the bustle leading off into a myriad of smells and sounds and cheerful laughter. He turned just as he knocked shoulders with a couple passing by, lifting a sheepish hand and grinning apologetically. He returned to Cordie's side and looped an arm around her shoulders instead. "I say, we try one of everything." He declared with a nod of his head, he knew what none of it was. Just the spicy smell of cooked meats and simmering broths. He'd seen a display selling fresh dumplings and skewers on his way to pick Cordie up and found himself gravitating back towards it. "I could eat a Norwegian Horntail right now," He said, patting his middle and grinning down at Cordie.

Eventually, he managed to lead them towards the stall with the very dumplings he craved, lifting his brows in a childish excitement. "One of everything, right?" He asked her, but he was already turning back around and ordering just that. Pulling his ragged pouch of coins out of his blazer pocket and tossing it from hand to hand before he paid. They were served a paper plate of steaming dumplings and glazed meat skewers, Eli handing one off to Cordie and already pulling the skewer from his own. He had it halfway in his mouth before they'd walked off. "What-" He stopped to chew quickly, moaning at the taste with a delirious shake of his head. "Do you even know what this festival is about?" He said after swallowing, licking the glaze from the corner of his mouth. "I don't." He confessed with a half laugh. 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

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Despite having been out in the alley quite a bit over the last week, mostly to photograph and commute to and from work, Cordelia hadn’t taken too many opportunities to just experience the festival. Sure, she had snagged a few different snacks here and there, as well as wandered up and down the street while the various parades and shows were going on. But she hadn’t had anyone else to go with her. Leaving herself to her own devices always ended up with her reverting back into her comfort zone the second she felt things getting too overwhelming. There was obviously nothing wrong with that at all. She had been working on breaking the introverted curse for years now and managed to make astounding progress since school. Eli always pushed her far beyond that every single time they did something together. Which was a good thing, and she had to remind herself frequently that she wanted this.

Completely missing that Eli had bumped into someone as they entered the fray, she was caught staring up at the floating lanterns above them. She’d spent all week looking at them, albeit through the viewfinder on her camera. It was like seeing it for the first time again without her camera stuffed in front of her face. As she continued to look at them and shuffle her feet to keep up with the crowd, she felt Eli throw an arm around her shoulder. “W-Wouldn’t that be spicy?” she questioned about eating a dragon. She could make jokes too. Dragons breathed fire, so they had to be spicy tasting, right? Someone out there had to have tried it before.

Off in the direction of the food stalls, which wasn’t really an actual destination as they lined both sides of Horizont Alley from the front to the back. Strangely, none were too close to the apartment, which meant all week that if she wanted to try new food it meant having to fight the wave of bodies. For her, that was difficult. Having Eli here with her made it easy though, and they managed to quickly get to a spot that had more food vendors than anywhere else she’d seen so far. “Err yeah…or we could share…” Even though she’d been asleep most of the day, she didn’t want to shove everything into her stomach at the same time. It didn’t look like Eli heard her though, getting doubles of ‘everything’ (dumplings and meat skewers), and she took hers happily.

“The L-Lunar New Year?” she questioned, sort of amazed that he’d already swallowed half of the skewer he had literally just paid for. “It celebrates the new year in the l-lunar calendar…I think that’s it?” Now that she thought about it, she really didn’t know either. Which was sort of silly considering they both lived above the festival that had been going on all week.

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 480 ● song by artist

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[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

THE EVENING AIR NIPPED ELI'S CHEEKS IN A pleasant kind of way. His arm snug around Cordie's shoulders so that her hair curved out in a curly bulb above where his arm lay. He fought the urge to fix it for her and grinned as his stomach rumbled. Her voice caught him off guard so early into their adventure, and he turned his head sharply to look at her as he processed her reply with wide eyes. His face split in a slow grin that stretched his cheeks, and he let out a hearty bark of laughter a moment later than he should have, head thrown back. It wasn't the first time Cordie had taken him off guard, but he always felt fizzy with joy when she did.

"Good one," He complimented her honestly, shaking his head gleefully as he pulled his arm away and pulled them over to his favoured food stall. "But I've never been afraid of a little spice." He shrugged, turning back to order them a plate of delicious food each, missing her suggestion in the fray of sizzling pans and raised voices. He had a glazed skewer in his mouth in no time, his eyes rolling back with euphoria as he chewed heartily, finishing the entire thing before Cordie could even get a good bite of her own.

He was onto a vegetable dumpling when she answered him. Her voice questioning, as if she wasn't sure she was correct, but Eli believed her wholeheartedly. He always did. "Right..." He laughed at himself, licking the glaze from his lips and shaking his head. "That makes a lot of sense." He snickered, his eyes roaming across the stalls as he thought about what they could do next. He popped the rest of his dumpling into his mouth and hummed happily. "What should we do next?" He asked her after swallowing, his plate held close to his chest. "Anything you've seen that you haven't had the chance to check out yet?" He prodded enthusiastically, wide eyed and searching. 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

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Maybe Eli didn't mind spice, but she did. Ethical reasons of consuming a dragon aside, if one did have the chance to eat it and it just so happened to be spicy, she was pretty sure that she wouldn't. A little burn was fine, but anything that went nuclear level hot was not how she enjoyed her food. Her taste buds didn't need to be burned off with liquid lava. Now if there was food cooked by a dragon's flame? Absolutely she would try it. As long as the animal was being treated correctly. Eli seemed to enjoy her joke though and that was all that mattered to her.

She nibbled on the corner of her own dumpling, still trying to decide if she was actually hungry or not. One would think that falling asleep in the middle of the day and only just waking up would lead to a grumbling stomach. Not for her today, it seemed. There was enough food around (and in their possession now) that once she actually was ready, she had an abundance of choices. The vegetable dumpling tasted amazing though. Throughout the week, she had barely had enough time between work and taking photographs on her own to try the food stalls. The ones closest to their apartment had been tested, of course, but it the ones further down the alleyway.

"I-I haven't had the chance to look at any of the stalls," she spoke clearly and closely to Eli's ear as the volume around them started to rise. It seemed like another parade was going to begin soon. Staying close to him was going to be important, so that she didn't get swept away in the crowd. Not that she was bad at muscling her way through. On the contrary, actually. The past week of fighting with her elbows to snap pictures had helped immensely. Making her presence known without using words was something she'd never imagined doing. "This way," she pointed with her free hand towards an opening on the side of the street as most people around them started to line up to see the show. It was hard for to tell if Eli's own hands were full with food or not, so she looped her arm through his to sort of direct him the way she wanted. She was positive there were more stands she'd yet to see in this direction.

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 401 ● song by artist

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[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

CHEWING THOUGHTFULLY, ELI ALTERNATED FROM looking at Cordelia to scanning the festival stalls around them. Lanterns were strung all about the street, there wasn't a pocket of darkness to hide in. He licked sweet glaze from his lips and wondered which Cordelia would choose first, leaning into her side as she sidled up to him. The hairs at the back of his neck standing on end as she stood on tip toes to whisper carefully in his ear to avoid the din. Her voice was crisp there, tickling the shell of his ear so that a shiver ran up his spine. He almost choked on his dumpling but swallowed quickly so that she might not lean away too quickly.

Eli turned just in time, his nose brushing her tangled hair as she looked away, but didn't pull away. He blinked and thought about how much he enjoyed that. How he'd like to twine an arm around her waist and keep her there, right beside him. But he didn't, afraid that it might scare her off if he did. Instead, he smiled softly, fondly and bumped his chin on her shoulder in encouragement. "Good," He muttered, his appetite forgotten as she looped her careful arm into his and began to lead them away from the food stalls. "Means we can see it together," He told her, happy by that fact as they moved to discover the great wonders of the festival as a duo.

"Where are we going?" He asked her excitedly, taking the last bite of his dumpling and pausing briefly to discard of their plates in the closest trash can. He wiped his hands on the thigh of his pants and pulled her arm more snugly where she'd looped it into his. Their shoulders brushing as he leaned in close, steps synchronised. "I heard there's a couple fortune tellers," He rambled, red cheeked and grinning happily. Eli thought quite plainly that he'd be happy staring at lanterns and paper plates all night if it was Cordelia, but this was nothing new. In fact, Eli had been quite infatuated with the girl for years. As was quite obvious to everybody but the girl in question. 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

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Where were they going...that was a great question. Cordelia was known to aimlessly wander when she had her camera stuck to her face, only ever experiencing the world through her viewfinder. Today was like experiencing the festival on a completely different level. Like she'd been wearing extremely dark sunglasses the entire time. There was less worry too, mostly because she'd spent a decent chunk of time walking around already in heavy crowds, but also because she had Eli with her. Leading him off into the crowd without an idea on where to go was certainly a choice. In her defense, she'd been asleep up until ten minutes ago. Replacing foggy sleep brain with a full on sensory assault from a street festival was quite the exchange. Still, she hadn't short-circuited quite yet. Tightening her hold onto Eli, she slowed down so that she could hear him, as only one ear could catch his words amongst the crowd noise.

"I-I don't know..." she admitted, trying to steer the two of them towards a small gap in the crowd. A brief reprieve from the cluttered cloaks and capes that most wore for events like this. Eli was saying something about visiting a couple's fortune teller, and she was confused momentarily. Sure, they were two people - a couple - but they weren't a couple. Not that she would have minded, since it was Eli. And it wasn't like she hadn't thought about it before either. The two of them did spend a lot of time together after all...

She stared down at her feet as he asked this, wondering if maybe she had misheard him. Eli could be direct but she also had a feeling her wouldn't have been that forthcoming with such a thing. Especially in public and with a seemingly unilateral decision. In his defense, that would be the only way to get her on board because she'd be too scared to ever attempt asking. She knew that. But going to a fortune teller wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. They tended to run the gambit in her understanding, some with actual powers, others just trying to make an extra sickle or two. "Th-Thats fine..." she mustered out. "I-I don't know where they are though...

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 379 ● song by artist

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[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

AS ELI IDLED THOUGHTFULLY, HIS BRAIN considering all the places they might venture, he allowed himself to be tugged along by Cordie. His arm hooked around hers, feet scuffing across the cobbled side streets as she used her keen eye to maneuver them smoothly through the gap between patrons. He did not acknowledge or understand Cordie's momentary falter, too busy thinking of palm reading and love lines.

"I think I heard someone say there was a good one near the gelato stall..." He muttered, distracted by a cruppie yapping noisily where it was being walked along a food stall. Doubled tail a happy blur and tongue lolling as it was tossed a scrap of dried meat. "Hey, Cordie- Cordie, look!" He laughed, idling to reach down and give the creature a happy little pat once he got the perfunctory nod from a bemused owner. Learning its name was Georgie as he hung from Cordie's side and spoke quietly to the fluffy ball.

When he felt sufficiently petted out, Eli and Cordie rejoined the fray and wandered past a few trinket stalls. Silver and beaded jewellery illuminated by the lanterns hanging over them. "Do you wear jewellery?" Eli wondered aloud, tugging Cordie closer instinctively with a soft smile. They had slowed their steps, Eli's attention shifting from each stall to Cordie's face, gauging her reaction to every miniscule change in their environment. As ewually fascinated by the festival as he was with his insistent desire that Cordie enjoy herself. 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

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If all else failed with the couple’s fortune teller - which it would because she didn’t believe in herself - at least there would be gelato right next door to drown herself in after the fact. Eli was too good for her, and the little negative voice of the brain goblin constantly told her that despite everything being so obviously not that way. She was snapped out of her brief depression bubble by him pointing at a crup that was being walked, immediately getting the approval of the owner to pet it. Cordelia followed him into a squat to give the magical dog a few scratches as well, despite being somewhat apprehensive about it. Dogs, and dog-like creatures, were all well and fine for her, she just preferred cats more to them. Which never made any sense because with the way she was, a dog would probably be way better for her than a cat. Especially her maniac of an orange tabby.

From there, they continued walking. She had relented control back to Eli as she wasn’t nearly aggressive enough to push through the heavier crowds that had formed around them since they stopped. The ebbing of bodies never ended, it seemed, and she could feel it starting to choke away at her social anxiety a bit. Eventually they broke free enough to see more stands, most of the tabletops covered in various kinds of jewelry that she had never seen before. Eli asked if she wore anything, as if he wouldn’t know by this point, and she just lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “N-Not really…” she said quietly as she looked at one of the closer stands. If they were supposed to be necklaces, they looked like they were closer to a pendant someone would use to curse a mortal enemy. Not gaudy by any means, but nothing she’d ever be caught slipping over her neck. Just in case, of course.

“Is the g-gelato near?” she asked as they slowly walked from stall to stall. Trying to pretend like she forgot about the fortune teller was the best thing she could do right now. Eli tended to have a one-track mind. If she kept him on a different path for a separate goal, maybe they could forgo that completely. Maybe. She also sort of wanted to know what the fortune teller had to say…

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 396 ● song by artist

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[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

MINUTELY DISTRACTED BY THE SHINY DISPLAYS of very homemade jewellery, Eli found himself slowing. He'd wondered in his curiosity if it was something Cordie had liked, the act of wearing something decorative, but her tentative reply seemed to yank him back to reality. He blinked his romantic notions out of his eyes and snorted a laugh as he caught sight of Cordie's face. Wide eyed, her grip on Eli's arm a little tight. "Probably for the best," He muttered, leaning in close to whisper close to her cheek as if sharing a secret. "They're sort of ugly, right?"

As they meandered through the crowd, Eli enjoyed the entire charade of it. The way the air smelled of cooked meats and sugared treats. How close Cordie walked by him, their hips knocking occasionally as she kept close to his side. It was nice, he thought, hypnotised by the whole performance. Like they were on some kind of date. He tried not to let himself get carried away, turning to catch Cordie's eye just as she seemed to look at him, her freckled nose wrinkled. He looked away, heat warming his ears as he cleared his throat. She'd asked about the gelato, but he hadn't the foggiest. In an effort to keep her keen, he nodded his head. "I think it's over this way." He told her, craning his head over the crowds. "Sure I see a couple of sticky first year types with waffle cones." He reported back, tugging on her arm suddenly to pick up their pace.

The gelato stand wasn't far in the end, an array of rolled ice cream varities and cones advertised behind a condensed magical glass display. Eli wasn't terribly interested, instead his eye caught the swathes of shimmering fabric and hanging crystal balls at the stall tucked just by its side. There was no queue there, but a winding one right by the gelato stand. Eli cleared his throat, risking a look at Cordie once more as he mustered up his courage. "Should we... get our fortune first?" He asked her with a shrug. "Gelato lines a bit intense." He thought about love lines and the way he'd like his own future to go. There was a restlessness to his jostling leg. 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

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Calling the way they walked ‘weaving’ through the crowd was sort of an incorrect description of it. She felt more like a duckling being pulled along, dodging and dipping between wizened warlocks and elder witches from all over, each with a more extravagant dress than the last they slipped by. That was one of the details she had noticed while looking out their front windows that morning. How the locals clearly stuck out amongst the visitors. It was easily the most colorful Cordelia had seen Horizont Alley since moving in, second only to when she had attended the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament a few years prior. Her lack of world travel really shown itself as she tried to catch glimpses of different magical garb and gadgets – there were plenty more staves than she was used to seeing, and those that looked like they had enough magic in their left pinky toe that she ever would her entire lifetime. The only time she was brought back to earth while walking through this surging wave of people was when Eli tugged her in closer so that the two of them could squeeze by one group or another. They were headed for gelato after all, not to sightsee the tourists.

After only a minute or so of walking, she could start to see the growing numbers of children with ice cream, probably the ones Eli had spotted with their waffle cones just a bit earlier. The line, of course, was lengthy. She already knew what he was going to ask before he actually did, because she could see the twinkling glint of the fortune teller’s crystal balls just on the other side of the ice cream stand. ”…s-suppose that’s alright,” she responded, looking between the two stands and then back up at Eli. They could get gelato at any point in time really, it didn’t have to be right now or even today. The fortune teller was definitely a bit more unique. ”Do you think it’s like with the m-muggles?” she asked as they headed towards the place in question.

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 348 ● song by artist

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