Christmas is All Around (OPEN)

[sarah jane oliveira]

December 16, 2027

The Ministry's Christmas party was far from being Sarah's idea of a good time, but she had been roped into attending by one of the other members of Magical Interpol. As much as she had tried to come up with an excuse—any excuse at all—as to why she wouldn't be able to attend, she had come up with nothing. Not even the full moon worked as an excuse, since it had been days prior. And so there she was, in dress robes that she was sure that she hadn't worn since before she had gotten pregnant with Sebastian (and had had to alter as a result), trying to make it seem as though she was enjoying herself.

If nothing else, the party gave her an opportunity to people-watch, which Sarah did suppose was interesting enough. She didn't really care what most of the people at the Ministry did in their personal lives, and she didn't have Elaine Dupree to report back to on any of it anymore. Now, it was just her own curiosity that was motivating her, and she grabbed a free seat at a table to get a better vantage point.

OOC: OPEN!

[Deleted]

sarah jane oliveira

smiling and playing nice was not something that sutton was much good at. it was lucky they didn't keep her around the ministry for her personality but more her skills with wiping the minds of the people who crossed the ministry or the poor unsuspecting muggles unfortunate enough to get a glimpse into a world that wasn't really theirs. she sighed to herself as she fluffed up her hair slightly, sipping the last of her glass of wine before setting it down on an empty table before she left the ever boring conversation with someone who had been in her department since before her father had been in hogwarts. she was polite enough as she found an excuse to excuse herself as she walked into the gaggle of ministry workers, who like her, were compelled to be there for at least a few hours.

it was then she spotted someone sitting at a table just across from where she was standing and she couldn't help but let a smirk cross onto her face. maybe it was a reflex at this point but the woman was the mother of her boyfriends son after all, the half brother of her daughter. it was deliciously complicated. she took a glass of wine from a passing waiter and she sipped it before she slipped into an empty seat across from the other woman. "sarah."

[sarah jane oliveira]

December 16, 2027

"Sarah."

"Sutton." There was no enthusiasm in Sarah's voice, nor could she muster up anything resembling it to feign the feeling. Sutton, the woman who had addressed her, was the mother of Ares's other child, Sebastian's half-sister. They could have been on excellent terms with one another, except the only positive thing that Sarah had to say about Sutton was that she wasn't Ares.

Ares and her parents shared custody of Sebastian, and that was bad enough. Sarah didn't want to think about what it would be like to have to deal with Sutton more often, too.

Since she couldn't exactly say what was on her mind at a Ministry party, Sarah opted to go with something more polite. "Fancy seeing you here," she remarked, as though a good portion of the wizarding community in Britain and Ireland didn't work for the Ministry in some capacity.

@sutton

[Deleted]

sarah jane oliveira

she liked the fact they weren't going to do pleasantries. usually they weren't the type but considering this was a work function, she wasn't sure what she expected to come out of the other womans mouth when she sat down. did she have a reason for coming over to sit down where she had, not really. call it morbid curiosity of what could happen or sheer boredom over the fact she'd had the same conversation about twelve times with elderly ministry members that she had no desire to talk to. but she'd done her job, she'd smiled through the conversation, participated like she'd always been taught to because nothing would break that image it had been beaten into her to portray, but there was only so much she could take. so she'd come to sit with sarah, because while she could keep up her image, she knew the conversation wouldn't be the same thing she'd been saying all night. "it's a bit of an odd spot isn't it." she said as she leaned back against the seat and she crossed one leg over the other and cast her gaze on sarah once more. "are you tired of the small talk too?"

[sarah jane oliveira]

December 16, 2027

Was Sutton being… reasonable? Sarah was almost sure that she was making polite conversation with her for a change. Nothing was veiled with the sort of bitterness that she would have expected from talking with Ares, where the words that were coming out of their mouths were civil in theory but tinged with resentment that they had to deal with each other.

The likelihood that she had entered some alternate reality was slim, but Sarah decided that it certainly wasn't worth questioning it. At a Ministry Christmas party, in particular, appearances mattered. If she let her guard down, she would end up paying for it.

Entertainingly, Sutton actually asked her if she had gotten tired of the small talk. There was no harm in being honest about that, Sarah thought, provided that she watched her mouth. "Do people actually attend these parties because they like them?" she asked with a smile. It was either an opportunity to schmooze one's way to a promotion or a chance to see who made decisions that they wouldn't have without the bonus of free alcohol. "I'm assuming you haven't brought Ares along?"

@sutton