|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Oct 23, 2016 16:05:55 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2016 16:05:55 GMT -7
Royal didn't know how he'd gotten roped into this. What had started as an innocent project to help the orphanage with its staffing issues had become one of the biggest drains on his time, and now the Prophet was having a printing issue and he was having to fix it. Royal was exhausted. He really should have expected this - it seemed like whenever Royal worked on a project he allowed himself to be sucked in until he was over his head. The newspaper's headquarters had long since closed, but Royal was busy revising his advertisement of the orphanage to fix the printing issue. He was working in the front of the store in a valiant effort to use the last of the moonlight to work by, but eventually, Royal had to admit that he needed a candle. He found one quickly enough, and lit it with the tip of his wand, squinting a little bit. Even if the candle wasn't all that bright, it was definitely brighter than the meager moonlight, which had been mostly hidden by the clouds. Royal lifted the candle, intending to take it back to his desk, when he noticed someone moving in the alley outside. It was late, and Royal was curious to see who was on the other side of the window. He stepped closer to the window, squinting into the darkness, but still wasn't able to make out the figure. Strange.
@victoire
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Nov 11, 2016 8:42:29 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2016 8:42:29 GMT -7
Victoire knew that Royal was overworking himself. Why? Because she was the exact same way and she knew how her best friends mind worked. He wanted it all done right, so he'd do it himself' He'd want to be efficient and time conscious, so he wouldn't get sleep. That is, if they were as alike as Victoire had always assumed they were. It took her a moment to track him down, but eventually she found out that he had gone to help the Prophet with a printing problem. Even magical printing presses had their issues. So, she sought him out. Whether to help him with the issue or give him a loving lecture, she wasn't sure.
She was crossing in the alley when she noticed the Prophet was dark. That was odd, had they run out of light sources? She smiled, shaking her head. No doubt Royal had just been so involved with his work he hadn't thought about a light orb or lit any candles. Granted... there was the tiniest light in the window. She crossed to the door and knocked before opening it slowly. "Royal? It's me," she called.
@royal (BFFS FOR LYFE)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Nov 14, 2016 10:14:33 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2016 10:14:33 GMT -7
The knock on the door came as a shock to Royal; he had thought he had seen movement all the way across the alley, not right next to him. He fumbled with his wand, and held the candle aloft as he pointed the wand towards the entrance. The door creaked open slowly, and Royal relaxed slightly when he heard Victoire’s voice. Royal moved closer to her, and the door, until he could see her face by the dim light of the candle. “You’re out late.” He said conversationally. Obviously, Royal wasn’t in a position to talk, but he had thought that Victoire had left the office a while ago. She ought to have been home by now. “Was anyone with you?” Royal asked, wanting to ensure that Vic wasn’t doing silly things like walking around unguarded. Realizing he was still gripping onto his wand, Royal slid it into his pocket, smiling sheepishly at Victoire. Paranoia was a strange thing, but Royal couldn’t fault himself for being a little more careful than usual when he was alone in the middle of the night. Everyone got that way.
@victoire
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Nov 15, 2016 9:10:09 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2016 9:10:09 GMT -7
Victoire tried to help Royal out by stepping into the light as well when he got closer. At his words, she shrugged, "I came to find you. And yeah," she bit her lip apologetically, "someone was with me but I dismissed them once I got closer. I don't need them when I have you, right?" she smiled. She knew, however, that he probably wouldn't be super thrilled about that response. She chuckled as he pocketed his wand and smiled sheepishly at her. "You're smart," she said, her own wand was in her hand as well. She didn't expect him to not be startled by her surprising him like this. It was a smart thing to do, to be prepared for anything, and she knew that Royal was smart and she was proud of that. She stepped further into the room, "there's only one candle? That's a bit odd, isn't it?" she asked him, trying to look around the room but not being able to see much.
@royal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Nov 15, 2016 10:07:17 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2016 10:07:17 GMT -7
Royal nodded when Vic said that she had had someone with her, until she had found him. He wasn’t sure he would be as good of a protector as an Auror, but he would certainly try his damnedest. “Wouldn’t call me that.” Royal said when Vic called him smart, brushing the compliment off. Paranoia and intelligence were two vastly different things, and it wasn’t because of logic that Royal had drawn his wand, but fear. And with the way everything in his life was going lately, he couldn’t profess to making smart choices. Royal was more of an emotionally impulsive person than he cared to admit. “There’s probably another somewhere.” Royal said, lifting the shoulder of the arm that wasn’t holding the candle in a shrug. “I just didn’t need more than one. I have excellent night vision, you know.” That wasn’t the truth, but it wasn’t like anything he was doing required being able to see immensely well. Royal blew out the candle in a quick puff of breath, setting the candle and its holder on the floor. “If I was really smart, I would have just cast a spell.” Royal said. “Lumos.” The light from his wand was whiter than the candlelight, and didn’t flicker nearly as much. The effect was partially ruined, but they could see better, if that was what Victoire had wanted.
@victoire
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Nov 24, 2016 8:16:10 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2016 8:16:10 GMT -7
Vic scrunched her nose at him and chuckled under her breath when he told her not to call him smart. He claimed he didn't need more than one candle and she raised an eyebrow at him, "excellent night vision? Impressive," she half teased as he blew out the candle and cast a spell instead. She shrugged, "either way, really. Whatever is easier to work with," she said, stepping forward again. "So, what are you working on? And why?" she meant to sound just like a curious best friend but a little bit of that 'authority' tone slipped into the question.
@royal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Nov 26, 2016 12:12:52 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2016 12:12:52 GMT -7
Royal smirked when Victoire repeated his comment about excellent night vision. “Can’t snakes see in the dark?” He asked. If that logic held true, then Vic would also have to have excellent night vision, but Royal was willing to ignore that. Vic asked him what he was working on, and Royal winced. “Well, first the presses weren’t working right, so I had to figure out why.” He sighed a little. “And I found out the reason why is that one of the apprentices tried to fit too much onto one page, so the presses were trying to figure out how to print everything onto one page when there was no possible way to do it without any text overlapping.” Which would be, to say it lightly, a problem. “And my ad for the orphanage volunteers was one of the things on said page, and I found out that if I shortened it by three hundred characters everything would be able to fit.” Everything would be a bit squeezed, but at least the presses would start working again. “So I’ve spent the past thirty minutes trying to cut down the ad while still keeping all the necessary information.” And he was almost finished, thank goodness.
@victoire
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Nov 29, 2016 13:00:43 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2016 13:00:43 GMT -7
Vic's smile grew mischievous, as if they were sharing an inside joke. "You know, I think they can," she answered. Royal explained what he was working on, and he didn't seem all that thrilled about it. She frowned a little but stayed silent as he continued. When he got to the part about his Orphanage ad being involved she sighed. Of course it was. That Orphanage couldn't catch a break. She nodded when he finished explaining, "well, can I help? I could read what you have and see what needs to be cut, how close are you?" she moved closer to to him, glancing at the papers around them. "The wand light kind of ruins the effect, doesn't it?" she joked. But really, newspaper material looked more... aesthetically pleasing in yellow light rather than white.
@royal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Dec 11, 2016 11:02:46 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 11:02:46 GMT -7
Royal smirked when Victoire smiled at him, agreeing that snakes could see in the dark. “Wouldn’t that be cool? If you got a super power related to which Hogwarts house you were in?” Royal asked. Maybe he was getting a little delirious with lack of sleep, but Royal began to imagine a world with Slytherins who could see in the dark and telekinetic Ravenclaws and super-strong Gryffindors. And Hufflepuffs who could…magically make food appear out of the air? Royal didn’t know if there was a superpower that had something to do with loyalty or patience. “I think it’s almost done.” Royal said, handing the piece of paper with his revised draft over to Victoire despite his protests that he thought he had it finished. When Victoire said that the wand light ruined the effect, Royal scoffed. “Unless you can actually see in the dark, I think you’d better stick with the wandlight, Vic.” He understood where she was coming from, about the newspaper looking better under yellow light, but when it came to function, the wand was far superior.
@victoire
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Dec 15, 2016 9:34:06 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2016 9:34:06 GMT -7
"That would be awesome," Vic agreed about their 'house superpowers'. She started to laugh, "what would the Hufflepuffs do? Make everyone around them suddenly act super high?" she suggested between laughing.
Vic accepted his paper and he handed it to her and looked it over. There was his scoff at her words and she chuckled, of course she couldn't see in the dark. Sadly, the superpowers weren't real. "Maybe I should wear night goggles when I'm out and about at this time," she chuckled before quieting and finishing reading it over. "I think you hit the nail on the head here, Roy. You've always been a better writer than me," she admitted, looking up at him again.
@royal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Dec 22, 2016 8:39:06 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2016 8:39:06 GMT -7
When Victoire asked about the Hufflepuff superpower, Royal shook his head, chuckling. “I have no idea – that’s what I was just thinking about, actually.” Then Royal let out another laugh. “Look at us. Both in relationships with Hufflepuffs and neither of us can come up with a good superpower for them.” Royal paused. He hadn’t actually gotten around to telling Vic – or anyone other than his sisters, really – about Jonah, but that was a good of a way as any, he supposed, if Victoire actually caught his slipup.
“People would think you were awfully strange if you did that.” Royal said. He paused, then smirked at her. “I think you’re awfully strange anyways, but I don’t know if you want everyone else in on the secret.” When Victoire complimented his writing, Royal just shook his head. “I’ve practiced it a little more than you.” Being the junior editor of a newspaper did tend to make you a better writer than most.
@victoire
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2016 8:11:41 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2016 8:11:41 GMT -7
Vic was mid laugh when he dropped that bomb, and she stopped immediately. "Excuse me?" she said, her voice low, almost sounding offended. But she wasn't. She was just so shocked that her brain was short circuiting. He was dating someone!? Who the hell was it? Why didn't she know? How long had it been going on? There were hundreds of questions, but mostly excitement bubbling up in her stomach.
"Pssh, night goggles are very practical," she chuckled, "and of course you do. You know me best," she said with another chuckle. She laughed, "I write a lot of 'official' documents and I did auror reports back in the day but... yeah, you're right," her laughed died out.
@royal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Jan 5, 2017 10:58:49 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 10:58:49 GMT -7
Expecting Victoire not to catch his slipup had been naïve, Royal realized in hindsight, but it was okay, because he did need to start telling people about his relationship with Jo. He needed practice before telling Jacob, that much was certain. “Uh, you know Jake’s little brother? Jonah?” Royal asked. He assumed Vic would remember him, both for being Jacob’s little brother and for always hanging around Royal. “We’ve been dating since the end of July.” Royal wanted to say more, but it felt better just to let that bomb rest for a little longer.
“Practical, yes, but a fashion statement, no.” Royal said of night vision goggles. “Don’t you have to write memos? Or is that one of the jobs that’s delegated?” Royal asked. Within the Minister’s office, he mostly paid attention to what tasks were assigned to him, so he didn’t stress out about other people who were or weren’t doing their jobs.
@victoire
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Jan 9, 2017 9:04:25 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2017 9:04:25 GMT -7
Jakes' little brother... Jonah. Jonah. Victoire pictured his face. Of course she knew him. Since the end of July? Her jaw was tight, her mouth closed in a firm line. She was having trouble deciding how she felt about finding out this way. Through a slip of the tongue. But, really, she had no right to be mad. Royal was her best friend and this wasn't worth being upset over. She focused on the positives. "That's... he's nice," she shook her head, opening and closing her mouth to stretch out her jaw. "I'm just a little surprised," because Royal was dating a male? Maybe, but mostly because he'd kept it secret for so long and she wasn't sure why.
"I write my own memos, sure," she answered, "but most meeting notes are taken by someone else." She was the Minister, after all, people where hired to do that sort of thing. Heck, she'd done that sort of thing for years.
@royal (I was not expecting her to respond like this but 0.0 guess that's what's up)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online May 5, 2024 18:55:06 GMT -7
|
|
|
Jan 9, 2017 13:08:00 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2017 13:08:00 GMT -7
“He’s nice?” Royal repeated, an edge to his voice. Victoire was supposed to be his best friend, and the best that she could manage was that Jonah was nice? The way that she was reacting made him think that maybe she wasn’t as happy as she was trying to seem. Sure, she was surprised, but there was a difference between surprised and whatever the hell Vic was. She was tense, and it didn’t take a genius to tell that. Royal’s hand tightened into a fist at his side. “If you have something to say, Victoire, you can just say it.” Was she upset that he was dating a boy? Sure, he hadn’t really told her that he was bi, but that wasn’t something that was easy to slip into everyday conversation! Royal looked away from his friend, back at the paper that he was proofing.
Victoire said that she wrote her own memos, just not the meeting notes, and Royal nodded. “I should put this in the printer.” Royal said, making a movement towards the back room so he could get away from this conversation.
@victoire
|
|
|
|