life's a climb, but the view is worth it [callisto]

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Blishwick Matchmaking was a bad choice, Aras had decided. He wasn't in a position in his life where he was really seeking a long-term relationship, but he had been hoping for... companionship of some sort. If not a girlfriend (or boyfriend, or partner, or whatever), then a friend, full stop. He had only realized the evening before that going on a blind date with someone with the intentions of ending it as friends probably wasn't looked highly upon by most people, especially the people who were sacrificing their time for a date in hopes of it becoming something more. So, Aras had gone through the emotional turmoil of deciding whether to call the date off last minute or just act like he was interested in romantic (and sexual) prospects. He had gone with the latter choice, if only because the date had been planned for a large rock-climbing studio (arena?) in Muggle London, and it had been forever since Aras had gone climbing. He loved exercising, but with his need to stay close to home most of the time, exercising mostly meant taking walks or runs around Diagon Alley with his dogs. This would be a welcome change of pace, even if he did have to pretend that he was attracted to someone. Aras was milling outside the entrance to the rock-climbing place, waiting for his date to show before going inside.

@callisto

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How in the hell had she ended up in this? She was sure that it was somehow Mina's fault. Like she felt like she had to prove something to her sister by agreeing to be set up on a blind date. She was relieved, though, when she heard what the activity was. It wasn't that intimate, which made her feel a whole lot better about this whole ordeal.

Callisto had arrived very, very early to scope the place out, as was her way. Then she left and came back, so that this person wouldn't think she was entirely insane... She still planned to be there first, but it seemed the person - the male, she noticed - in question had beat her there this second time around. She crossed over to him, "hi. I'm Callisto," she introduced, "I guess we're supposed to be on a date," she said flatly, almost mockingly.

You are so bad at this.

@aras

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When the woman appeared, Aras had to stop himself from sighing. There was a tiny, tiny bit of him that had hoped his date would be a no-show, so that he could leave without any guilt, but she had shown up. She was pretty, Aras supposed, but he didn’t really care for beauty. He cared for intellect and compassion and ability to see past his many, many flaws. Pretty was good, but pretty was not going to be enough to carry him through the date. “I’m Aras.” He responded smoothly to her introduction. She said that she guessed they were supposed to be on a date, and Aras laughed. “Did you get roped into this, too? My little sister wanted me to try getting onto the dating scene.” Merlin knew why Magda thought that him dating was a good idea, but that was beside the point. “You ever been rock climbing before?” He asked, curious as to what skill level he'd be working with.

@callisto

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He introduced himself and she nodded, then a small smile broke onto her lips when he mentioned his little sister roping him into it. "My little sister had a bit to do with it on my end too," she admitted, even though Mina hadn't flat out told her that she should be doing this. She was relieved when he spoke, because the guy seemed to be pretty outright, which she appreciated.

He asked if she had done rock climbing before and she shook her head, looking into the building. "It seems pretty simple. It will be good for my biceps, if nothing else," she chuckled a little. She didn't actually focus that much on working out aside from what she knew as a healer was healthy. "Shall we then, Aras?" she gestured inside, starting to move forward.


@aras

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Aras smiled when Callisto said that her little sister had something to do with her presence too. It made it a little easier knowing that he wasn’t the only one there somewhat against his will. “Why do we let them control our lives like this?” He asked with a chuckle. Magdalena’s re-entrance into his life hadn’t been difficult for Aras to adjust to, in the long run. She had had him wrapped around her little finger since the day she was born, and her coming back was just a reminder of that.

“You think it’s simple until you try it.” Aras commented. It didn’t look hard to hold onto the pieces of brightly colored plastic that were masquerading as rocks, but it was all too easy to go up the wrong path and end up getting stuck. Aras had it easier than most since he had long limbs and could reach further than average, but he was curious as to how Callisto would fare. He held the door for the gym open for her, smiling. “After you.”

@callisto

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Aras wondered at how they let their siblings control their lives and Callisto chuckled too, shaking her head. "I think that they feel it would serve them if we were out of the way, maybe. Distracted so they could do whatever they wanted without us looking over their shoulders?" she knew that was true for Mina. Her sister was incredibly happy when Callisto was distracted by a guitar playing eighteen year old.

He said that the rock climbing was easy until you tried it and she nodded, "noted," she said. Then she stepped into the building first, going up to the desk and getting settled with gear and whatnot. Soon they were at the wall side by side and she was looking up, her head tilted slightly to the side. "I guess it does look taller from down here," she observed.

@aras

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Aras snorted when Callisto suggested that his sister wanted him out of the way so she could do whatever she wanted. “I think my sister’s done just about everything there is to do without me looking.” He said, smirking to himself. Magdalena had gotten pregnant while he was gone, for goodness sake! The only other thing she could possibly do under his nose was run off and get married, and after the way her ex-beau had burned her, Aras didn’t see marriage happening for Magda any time soon.

Callisto noted his comment about rock climbing looking easier than it was, and when they got to the base of the wall, remarked that it did look taller from down there. “Want me to boost you up?” Aras said with a laugh. Sitting on his shoulders Callisto could get a decent head start on the wall… but she also definitely didn’t seem to be the shoulder-sitting type. “I can also go first, if you want.” Ideally they’d go side-by-side but sometimes it was nice to have someone else figure out the best path up so you didn’t have to.

@callisto

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Callisto rolled her eyes at his comment about his sister, thinking of Mina. "Mine's still got some room. Thankfully... and sadly, because I'm always expecting chaos," she chuckled a little. It was kind of nice to talk to someone about Mina who didn't directly know her. That way she would really be honest about her worrying about her sister and not worry about people getting too up in arms about defending her. Sometimes she just wanted someone to understand, or at least pretend to understand, how Callisto felt about it without siding with Min or knowing the whole story. She at least had Im at times, who understood how she felt.

Aras asked if she wanted a boost and she actually considered it, clicking her tongue at the side of her mouth while still looking up. Then he offered to go first and she shook her head, "no, no. Let's just go side by side, stay close so you can give me advice if I'm failing?" she suggested, stepping up to the wall and reaching her hand up to the first rock.

@aras

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Aras snorted when Callisto said that she was expecting chaos from her little sister. “Do you have more than one sibling?” He asked her, figuring that siblings were a safe thing to talk about. Their conversation about their younger sisters had already made things markedly less awkward, and even though Aras only had Magda to speak of, he knew that there were plenty of people with more siblings than him.

Callisto surveyed the rocks, and Aras took the opportunity to do the same. The course looked easy enough, but Aras’s definition of easy was probably different than Callisto’s, since he kind of knew what he was doing. Callisto refused to go first, and Aras cracked a smile. He liked it when people didn’t take the easy way out of things, and Callisto seemed determined not to let him baby her through the process. When his date stepped forward, Aras did the same, grabbing for a bright green rock and hoisting himself up in one fluid movement. He winced a little at the pull in his muscles – he definitely needed to start doing more than just running. He wasn’t as young as he used to be. “Need help?” Aras asked teasingly, hoping that Callisto wasn’t stuck already.

@callisto

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He asked if she had more than one sibling and she nodded, "four," she explained. "But I live with just the one," she added. Roommate Mina. So many people had problems with their roommates and she was no different, but sadly hers was her sister so she couldn't necessarily get out of it easily. Not that she really wanted to. She was happy living with Mina, despite all the chaos.

They started to climb and he asked if she needed help right away. She rolled her eyes, smirking, "I think I've got it," she answered. She kept climbing and really wasn't that bad at it. She kept it at a slow pace, though, just to make sure she had sure footing and handholds. She was meticulous, as she was with everything she did.

@aras

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Aras let out a low whistle when Callisto said that she had four siblings. “Damn.” He said, as if his shock hadn’t already been evident by the whistle. “My sister just moved back in with me.” Aras said at the comment about one of Callisto’s four living with her. “We never really grew up together, though. I was already out of school when she was born.” He said, staring straight ahead at the wall instead of looking over at his date. For some reason, talking about his sister, which had just started as polite small talk, suddenly felt extremely personal. Maybe it was just he had decided to mention, Aras thought. There was a lot of hurt hiding in between the lines of his story with Magi, and he was worried that Callisto was somehow going to be able to read the subtext and get to thinking that he was just… a wreck. Well, more of a wreck than he really was.

Aras continued his way up the wall, slowing down his pace so that he was even with Callisto or a half a step ahead of her. “You’re doing better than most beginners.” Aras complimented. “Most people don’t understand that you have to plan ahead.” Callisto, on the other hand, was taking her time, and seemed to be thinking everything through, as if this was a game of chess and not a physical activity. Aras liked it.

@callisto

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He was surprised about her number of siblings, and she shrugged a little. It really didn't seem like that many to her, but to someone with only one she could see why. He said his sister moved back in with him, but that they didn't grow up together because of an age gap. "Oh, I see. The top three of us are really close, but the youngest is quite a bit younger," she explained, "I pretty much raised her, though," she shrugged. Adena may not agree, but she felt like she did.

He said she was doing better than most beginners and she smiled, nodding, "thank you. Planning ahead is kind of my specialty," she explained, still climbing. "Planning ahead and being ready for surprises. That's what healers -- erh -- doctors do," muggle territory, after all.

@aras
(okay actually this one still has some muse left haha!)

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Callisto explained that her first three siblings were close together in age, but their youngest sister was quite a bit younger. Aras nodded when Callisto said that she pretty much raised her sister – he knew the feeling well. “My parents did a lot for Magdalena, but I think in some ways, I raised her, too.” They had been too old to keep up with their toddler daughter, which was understandable, given their age when Magda was born, but it still confounded Aras’s relationship with his sister quite a bit.

Aras cocked his head when Callisto said that planning ahead was her specialty, curious as to where she was going with that, since he didn’t know what her profession was. Upon hearing she was a healer, Aras nodded. It made sense that she would be thinking ahead when peoples’ lives were in her hands. “Well, my last name’s Ollivander, if that gives you any clue what I do.” He said with a laugh. Callisto’s correction from healer to doctor made him remember they were in a Muggle area, so mentioning wands probably wouldn’t be looked upon well – but anyone who had grown up in Britain would know the name Ollivander. Aras paused his conversation slightly so that he could lift himself up one more time, finishing the climb by sitting on the top ledge of the climbing wall.

@callisto

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He said that in some ways he raised his sister too. Older siblings always had a way of doing that, she thought, if they cared to. She knew those relationships weren't always good. She had Sarah, after all... she realized she hadn't sad anything for a few moments and nodded again. "Yeah, I think that it shows a lot about a person by how they treat their siblings... especially how you treat the younger ones," she suggested. "I'm sure she looks up to you," she added. Not that any of her siblings really looked up to her aside from Adena, sometimes.

He said what his last name was, suggesting that this meant she could guess what he did. She chuckled a little, "oh, do you follow the family business then? Your sister too?" she knew of the family, of course, but didn't really care to think about what they were doing with their lives. She didn't really think about anyone other than her own family, until vert recently.

@aras

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Callisto said that a lot could be shown about a person by how they treated their siblings, and Aras nodded in agreement. He saw a lot of siblings who came into their shop, and he always thought it was horrible when they wouldn’t sit still, or worse, ridiculed their sibling while they were trying to get their wand. That was why he especially agreed with Callisto’s comment about the younger siblings. Older siblings had already been through a lot of what was happening to their younger siblings, so failing to treat them with kindness and empathy blew Aras’s mind. He wasn’t a particularly emotional person, but he got angry when that sort of thing happened.

When asked if he followed the family business, Aras nodded. “I do, but my sister is just getting back into it.” He answered. “My mother’s dead and my father’s in… jail. So I didn’t have much of a choice.” He explained. Aras had wanted to be a wandmaker long before he had gotten his entire family into trouble, but even if that hadn’t been what he wanted, he would have returned to Ollivander’s. He didn’t want to destroy centuries of work and reputation with one choice. Aras looked out over the gym they were at. The view from the top of the wall was a good one, he supposed, and Aras looked over at Callisto. “What do you think?” He asked, keeping the question purposefully vague so that she could answer it however she wanted.

@callisto