like they know about me and you (poe)

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Railynn always felt weird coming to the Ministry. It wasn't often, of course, but when she did she felt like all eyes were on her. Some would recognize her, of course, knowing her name. 'Jones' wasn't the most popular of the 'pure' blood, but it was known enough. She always felt sick around other 'pure' blood families. Were any of them there for her when she was orphaned? No. None of them. The orphanage staff was, and thank goodness for them. But where any of the people that claimed pure blood was soooo worth saving? Worth protecting? Worth preserving? No.

She walked through the main hall of the Ministry, stopping for a moment to survey the fountain. She was there to see Poe Dmello, her recruiter into the Order. Over the past year since he arrested her and offered her a deal, they had grown closer. Railynn had a way of getting attached to people once she trusted them, and for a year now Poe hadn't done anything to lose that trust, so she cared for him deeply. Intensely, even. That was a good word to describe Railynn in general. 'Intense'.

She looked away from the fountain, glancing toward the elevators. She didn't tell him she was coming... would they allow her to go up to the auror office? It was later in the day, hopefully he could be leaving or taking dinner break soon...

@poet

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Poe had been trying for a while to be better about the hours he spent at the office. There was a difference between devoted to his work and being obsessed with it, and after beginning his relationship with Karen and Kara, he had realized that, since his return, he had been erring towards the latter. It was difficult, knowing that so much bad had happened and he hadn’t been able to prevent any of it, but in the end Poe had to remind himself that he wasn’t the only Auror in the Ministry, and he would end up hurting all of them if he let himself forget why he was working at the Ministry in the first place – to make the world a better place for the people that he cared about. Poe had checked the time two minutes previous and realized that he had already stayed longer than he had intended, and had spent those two minutes packing up his things. Most of his work had to stay at the Ministry, and even the stuff that didn’t have to stay, Poe wanted to leave behind, for the sake of separating his work and personal life. All that he ended up taking with him down the elevator was his wand (obviously), and an umbrella that he had brought since there had been rain showers earlier that morning.

He took the elevator down, and was surprise when he stepped out to see one Railynn Jones waiting by the main fountain. Poe wasn’t sure if she was there to see him – she hadn’t mentioned coming – but even if she wasn’t, he wanted to say hello. Poe approached Rai with a smile on his face. “Hey, stranger.” He said. “What brings you to this neck of the woods?” He had been under the impression that Rai wasn’t a fan of being in the Ministry, thanks to her less-than-legal track record, so it was weird to Poe that she was here anyways.

@railynn

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The voice, a smile, a warm feeling, Poe. "Why, you do!" she exclaimed, stepping forward but not giving the hug she wanted to. She didn't want any of his coworkers thinking she was here to ambush him or something. Plus, she felt uncomfortable doing something so personal in a place that had always been so impersonal to her. She clasped her hands together in front of her, resting her elbows by keeping them straight. "I was hoping I could steal you away for a little while," she said, a small sign of mischief glittering in her eyes. As cautious as Rai was in this place, she couldn't resist making a little joke when it came to Poe.

@poet

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Rai said that he was the reason she was at the Ministry, and Poe cracked a smile at her when she stepped towards him. She didn’t greet him with anything but her words, but Poe clapped her on the shoulder, hoping to make her feel a little more at ease with the situation. She said that she hoped she could steal him away, and Poe suppressed a chuckle. “You can steal anything of me you want to, darling.” He teased. She had already stolen his heart for a spell, so what was the harm in letting her have the rest of him for a while? The heart thing was obviously not an issue anymore, since Poe had Karen and Kara, but he was still curious if there was a reason she decided to visit, or if she just wanted to catch up.

@railynn

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He said she could steal anything from him that she wanted to and she grinned, raising an eyebrow slowly. "That's a dangerous thing to grant permission to a girl like me," she said slowly. She took another step closer, her voice not as teasing anymore. "I wanted to catch up and... talk to you about something," she said, "nothing that serious, just wanted to get your opinion on some rumors churning around. Is there somewhere we can talk?" he already said she could steal him away, but he would have to show her the most logical place to do their chatting. She didn't know this place very well and she didn't plan to ever know it... well, she had fantasized a little about becoming an actual Auror or something, something other than a criminal... but for now she was useful where she was, and it was the life she knew. Plus, she'd made a new 'friend' in that world, and she wasn't quite ready to stop pursuing that yet.

@poet

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Rai said that it was dangerous to grant permission to her to steal anything of his, and Poe gave her a wolfish smile. “I guess it’s a good thing that I prefer a little danger in my life, then.” He responded. It was true – people didn’t stay Aurors for as long as he had because they liked the safe, simple life. Rai stepped closer to him, saying that she wanted to catch up and talk to him about something. Poe raised his eyebrow, intrigued by the phrasing of her statement. The fact that Rai clarified that she wanted another opinion on some rumors that she had heard did nothing to assuage his curiosity. She asked about someplace they could talk, and Poe nodded. “If you don’t mind staying here, we can go back to my office.” He offered. “If not, I’m sure we can make someplace in the alley suitable for our purposes.” Poe was sure his office was the more secure of the locations, but he wasn’t sure he could take watching Rai fidget for the whole conversation if she was as uncomfortable with the Ministry as he remembered her being.

@railynn

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Poe said he liked a little danger in his life and Rai grinned, resisting the urge to giggle. She always hated feeling like she was younger than people, and she worried her giggling sometimes made her look that way. So, she stayed silent for a moment, trying to give a look of mischievous flirtation rather than silly schoolgirl vibes. Not that she had been a schoolgirl anytime recently... not that recent, at least.

He said they could meet in his office and she tensed a little. She felt strange being near so many law officials... even with Poe at her side. Still, even when he mentioned the alley, her curiosity about the office was peaked... she had never actually been in the office. "The office is fine," she squeaked, not realizing her voice was so tight from the nerves.

@poet

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Poe wished that Rai didn’t have to be so nervous at the Ministry, but he understood her apprehension. He was beginning to think that the alley would have been the better of the two choices, but he didn’t want to dictate what Rai was and wasn’t capable of handling. If she wanted to stay in the Ministry and have the conversation in his office, then so be it. Poe offered his hand to Rai, hoping to be of some comfort to her since she seemed to be on the verge of freaking out. He hadn’t ever heard her voice go that high before – he was pretty sure she was even calmer when she was almost being arrested! “Most everyone is already home for the day.” Poe commented, hoping that would be comforting to her, and maybe help her relax. Poe began to move them both towards the elevator, hopeful that they wouldn’t be stopped even though Rai wasn’t a Ministry employee. If he moved with enough authority, Poe found that people rarely stopped him.

@railynn

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Poet assured her that most everyone was gone and she nodded, but she still moved closer to him as they walked, as if that meant that there was some kind of shield around her. Her arm was pressed up against his, shoulder to shoulder, as they reached the elevator. They stepped inside, but no one else got in their with them. She let out a breath of relief. "I swear, one of these days someone is going to recognize me and then they're going to bug you about why you hang out with the riff raff," she said, giving a nervous chuckle, trying to lighten up a little bit. It wasn't easy being a criminal in a Ministry building! Really, Railynn didn't do so great with authority anywhere, but this was the worst of the worst when it came to people who didn't like her. She was good at her job, though, and there wasn't any evidence against her. Still, she was terrified.

@poet

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Rai was standing as close to him as she could without standing on top of him, and Poe once again wished that he was better about calming her, even if her tension was justified. When they stepped into the elevator, she said that someday that someone was going to see them together and bug him about riff raff. Poe made a scoffing noise. “You’re not riff raff. You’re my friend.” He said easily. Sure, people wouldn’t expect an Auror to be in kahoots with a thief, but Poe thought that people were far more than just their jobs, and saying that Rai was just a thief felt wrong. She had a good heart, and she was using her talents for good. Sometimes Poe wished that he could do what Rai did, and just ignore the laws. Then things could get done so much more quickly! But he couldn’t do that, sadly. The elevator stopped on their floor, and Poe stepped off, leading Rai back into the predictably empty Auror office so they could talk.

@railynn

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He scoffed, saying that she was his friend, not riff raff. She smiled, but shrugged her shoulders all the way up to her ears and rolled them back in an attempt to release the tension. "Yeah... friend raff," she chuckled, looking over at him to smile genuinely. The doors opened and she followed, relaxing a little as the Auror offices were mostly empty it seemed. "It's kind of exciting being here at the same time," she often wondered what it would be like to be an auror, rather than a thief. But this is what she did and, in all reality, she kind of liked doing it. She felt like it took a lot of intricate skill. Who knows, maybe Auror work did too. They made it to an office and Rai stepped inside, instantly relaxing and finding a chair to lean back in. "I could get used to this," she sighed.

@poet