Cheshire (OPEN)

[yara leila el fayed]

May 20, 2028

The end of her undergraduate degree felt as though it had snuck up on Yara. It seemed as though she had started her degree course only a few days prior, yet there she was, finishing her studies and preparing to be able to stick a "BEng" after her name. The experience had been a difficult one at times, though she had expected that from the beginning. It was going to feel even stranger to move on, even though she had already accepted a place on a postgraduate course to study for a Master's of Science in Advanced Computing, still from Imperial.

Was pursuing a master's Yara's way of postponing her entry into the working world? Maybe a little bit, but it meant that she would be staying in London with Yasmin for at least another year, as opposed to returning to Egypt. On top of that, it wasn't as though adding to her education was a bad thing. It would make her more qualified for jobs, though she was fortunate enough not to have to worry about money because of their family's wealth.

Before she could think about getting a master's degree, though, she needed to ensure that she would be able to achieve the needed degree classification. What would help, at least partly, was caffeine, and Yara had bought just about every variety of premade coffee drink that she could find at the nearest supermarket. With her purchases in a tote bag that was hanging off of her arm, she began to make her way back to the flat she shared with her older sister.

OOC: OPEN!

[dahlia jade greyback]

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It was hard not to have everything in her life consumed by the concussion she had sustained almost three months prior. The side effects were still there, healers at St. Mungo’s indicating that due to the strength and angle of how she had been whacked in the head, this was going to take a while before she felt like her normal self again. With work not allowed still, Dahlia had been doing nothing but sitting in her flat and trying her best to complete tasks without feeling like she was constantly having an out of body experience. The brain fog she had almost constantly made focusing on tasks (and even remembering them to begin with) nigh impossible at times. Her phone had become her lifeline. Notifications for when to take medication, eat, go to doctor’s appointments, and do other small tasks were all set in place. Otherwise, she was struggling through the day. Of course, that brought in a multitude of other problems, like how trying to do anything that required focus ended up taking double the amount of time. And then there was the full moon again in a couple of weeks. The last one had not gone over well, and Dahlia felt worse off the morning after than she ever had before.

Today, she had ventured out into London to complete some menial tasks. Apparently, she needed to exercise her brain a bit more. All that had accomplished so far was giving her a headache, caused by street noises. As much as she wanted to put headphones on and drown it all out, for the last week doing that had been giving her just as much pain as not. Staring down at her phone while trying to figure out how to get back to her flat from her current location, Dahlia was not paying attention at all. The little arrow on her phone’s map app was spinning wildly in circles, only confusing her further in her unfocused state. She hadn’t realized she was walking straight at another person, only coming too when she made contact and dropped her phone onto the ground in front her. A sickening crunch followed, but all she could do was blankly look at it. This had to be a joke right?

”Je suis désolé,” Dahlia apologized to the girl in French, forgetting in her fogginess that she was in London and not home. That had been happening a lot lately. ”I mean, sorry…” she said slowly without making eye contact. Bending down, she picked her phone up. It had landed screen down. The glass had a large crack in the middle, spidering out across its surface. The screen protector wasn’t stopping that kind of damage. Now she was going to have to take it to the Ministry and have them cast a repair charm, since apparently they weren’t supposed to do that with the magic phones.

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[yara leila el fayed]

May 20, 2028

With as many pedestrians as there were in London, collisions with other people occasionally happened. Yara tried to keep that from happening on her part, but it wasn't always possible to avoid bumping into someone else. She was still walking down the pavement, minding her own business, and shifting the weight of the bag she was carrying when she could to keep it from digging into her arm.

Meanwhile, another young woman, who was focused on whatever was on her phone screen, was coming in the opposite direction. Yara didn't have a chance to caution her to look up before the young woman with the phone collided with her. The force of it wasn't enough to knock either of them over, but the other young woman's mobile phone fell in the process.

The resulting noise was one that Yara dreaded, and she was sure that she physically cringed. As lucky as she was that it wasn't her phone that had fallen to the ground and cracked, she felt bad for the other girl whose phone it was. It wasn't the worst thing that could happen, but it was more than a minor inconvenience for most people.

At first, the young woman apologized to her in French, switching to English immediately thereafter. Yara knew far more English than French, but she understood a little bit of French, too, because it was used some in Egypt. The young woman picked her phone up to assess how bad the damage was, and Yara could tell from where she stood that it was as bad as it had sounded.

What caught Yara's attention more as the stranger retrieved her phone was that it sort of looked like one of the magical mobile phones. Even her own phone and laptop were set up so that she could communicate with Yasmin, though she didn't have the ability to view the magical websites or social networks. Then again, there were a lot of different mobile phones available all over the world, including from companies she'd never heard of before.

"Are you okay?" Yara checked. Obviously, the phone wasn't okay, but she hoped the other young woman wasn't hurt in the process.

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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Maybe she could just repair it on her own. If it was only the screen, then there really wasn’t anything stopping her from casting a simple little repair charm and no one ever being the wiser. Glaring at her cracked screen, Dahlia tapped on it to try and get the lock screen appear. It didn’t light up. Had she not been in public, she probably would have thrown it again at that point. A few more aggressive taps to no luck, and she finally pushed in the power button. The backlight bled through the splinters, but at least it was turned on now. Then came the next problem: unlocking the phone. The screen-side camera seemed to be intact still, so even with the screen buggered up, it still unlocked by facial recognition. Thank Merlin for muggle technology.

”Err…yeah,” Dahlia responded to the girl. Considering everything else she had gone through in recent months, this was nothing. Did it suck having her phone smashed? Absolutely. But she could also be worse off right now. ”Just my phone is, well…” she showed it. ”And you?” Dahlia wasn’t the most physically imposing person in the world but despite that, she knew that wasn’t the softest bump either. If the loss of her phone was it for this encounter, then so be it. It wasn’t like it was completely gone for good either, with plenty of possible fixes. At the end of the day, it was just a headache that was going to make her actually have one.

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[yara leila el fayed]

May 20, 2028

The stranger replied that she was okay. She still seemed slightly dazed by what had happened, but it was nothing that Yara saw as immediately concerning. She probably would have been in a bit of a fog if her phone were damaged so suddenly, too. Although she kept backups of her devices and could afford to have any of them replaced at a moment's notice, she knew that wasn't the norm. "Just my phone is, well…" The other young woman didn't need to finish her sentence for Yara to understand what she meant. "And you?"

Yara shook her head. "I'm fine. Alhamdulillah." It was good that neither of them were physically harmed. If she were Yasmin, she thought, she could probably just pick up the phone and fix it right then and there. Alas, she wasn't a witch, and she wouldn't have been able to do magic in front of a non-magical person, anyway.

"Do you need to call someone to tell them your phone is broken?" Yara asked. "You can use mine." Phone boxes still existed, but making a stranger go around to look for a working payphone seemed rude when she had a perfectly good mobile phone.

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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Did she need to call someone? Dahlia was sort of confused by the question because she didn’t really think she needed to. Her brain exercise was scuttled now that her phone was broken, but all that really want was that she would have to head to an area where magic was allowed to fix it. That was assuming there wasn’t something broken inside, and it was only the screen that had smashed. Not to mention, she didn’t have any phone numbers memorized. It seemed stupid of her, but it was never really required. If anything ever went wrong on a job, the bank knew to contact Rhys or Max. That was what her fancy little sheet of paper said anyways. ‘In case of injury or death…’. It had finally gotten some use too, despite her injury not being abroad.

She stared intently at the woman as she spoke and offered her assistance, trying to formulate a response that didn’t make her sound too weird. Brain damage aside, there were still times where she felt like her English wasn’t good enough for some conversations. Even after mainly using it for over four years, it was times like these where she tended to freeze up and her accent felt thicker. Speaking of, she almost forgot where she was for a moment, as the woman in front of her was clearly Egyptian as well. Having spent so much time there for work before the accident, it sometimes felt more like home than London or Marseille did now. ”It’s okay…you are from Egypt, yes?” In her head (even when she wasn’t concussed), it was perfectly fine to bluntly ask someone in this manner. It was to the point, which worked perfectly for her. Not to mention that it was a good way to brush off the newly broken phone.

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[yara leila el fayed]

May 20, 2028

The other young woman sounded a little confused, like she couldn't quite tell in which language she needed to be speaking. Yara herself was confused by the stranger's confusion, until she realized that the stranger was asking her if she was Egyptian. While it was a specific question, it came with a likely answer: The stranger was Egyptian, too. It was possible that she was a tourist; Yara wasn't sure. Whatever the case, dealing with another Egyptian woman would make the situation easier to handle.

With ease, Yara switched to speaking in her native Egyptian Arabic rather than in English. That would get rid of what seemed to be a language barrier between them, hopefully, and help put the stranger at ease with what had happened to her phone. "Yes, I'm Egyptian, " she said politely, providing confirmation of what the other young woman had guessed. "I'm from Cairo, but I'm a student here in London. Are you sure you're okay? You seem a bit lost."

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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With her concussion muddying all sorts of things in her head, thankfully her ability to speak different languages wasn’t affected too much. Aside from the horrible habit of code switching without realizing who she was talking to, things weren’t too bad. She could still communicate whatever she needed in one of her three languages, so that was a bonus.

The young woman switched to Egyptian Arabic, and while Dahlia hadn’t actively spoken it in well over three months, it was never far away out of her mind. In the years following her mother’s death at the hands of Fenrir, she had stopped, having decided then that she was going to be coming to London and English was more important. But it never went away, and even after long spans of time and supposedly brain altering injuries, she still remembered it like she was taught all those years ago. If anything, her French was starting to slip away. Funny how that worked.

”I’m okay. I hit my head at work a few months ago, so sometimes things are fuzzy still,” Dahlia responded in turn. She really needed her phone, because that was what saved her skin whenever things got like this. ”The noise doesn’t help,” she added as several cars on the street started to blare their horns at one another. It was infuriatingly loud, and she had to close her eyes to try and maintain her sense of balance. While these intrusive sounds hadn’t made her physically sick at all, the spinning that came with it sometimes was dangerous. She did not want to lose her footing in the middle of the street.

Getting back in the direction of Diagon Alley would probably her best bet, because at least then she could hobble towards the bank and get help if she needed it. ”Do you know which way Charing Cross Road is from here?” Dahlia asked. As long as she could get to the Leaky Cauldron, she would be fine. She was fairly sure she wasn’t far, but wandering around with her head in a haze could have led her almost anywhere.

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[yara leila el fayed]

May 20, 2028

In reply, the young woman also switched to speaking in Arabic. She said that she was okay but explained that she had previously hit her head, which had created ongoing issues for her. Yara felt bad for her, especially when she added that the noise of the city made her symptoms worse, but there wasn't much that she could do. She could provide her with assistance to some extent, but she couldn't do anything medically significant.

"Do you know which way Charing Cross Road is from here?" the young woman asked.

Yara did, in fact. It was a significant street that ran through the heart of Central London, and many different tourist attractions were a stone's throw away. More than that, it was also where witches and wizards could go to enter the Leaky Cauldron and then Diagon Alley, their primary shopping street in London. Yara had been there because of Yas when she'd had to buy supplies for Hogwarts, but she wasn't extremely familiar with it.

Having seen the young woman's phone, Yara still had her suspicions that she was possibly a member of the magical community. There was also a larger chance that she wasn't and that it was nothing more than a coincidence. She could definitely get her to Charing Cross Road from where they were, Yara thought. The coffee drinks in her tote bag would be fine. If they weren't, then she could always get more to replace them.

"Of course," Yara answered. That said, it would be a bit of a walk to Charing Cross Road from where they were in Chelsea, and Yara didn't know if the stranger could manage that. It would be faster to get there by public transportation, and it would be even faster by car. Yara wasn't against paying for a taxicab or rideshare vehicle if that would be the easiest way of getting the stranger there safely. "Do you know where you're going on Charing Cross Road? I could call a car for us…?"

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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Having a small bout of bad luck followed by generosity like this had been happening a lot lately. Dahlia knew that she looked spaced out and confused. Every time she stared at herself in the mirror, it felt like she was looking at herself from outside of her body. The disconnection was starting to get better, but there were still incidents similar to today's. The overwhelming crowd and noise made her want to retreat, but she did have to get to Diagon. Being back in her tiny flat where it was near silent would help her immensely. Today was just too soon to be out and about.

The woman was offering help though, and Dahlia was appreciative of it. As for an exact address to give on Charing Cross Road, she hesitated. That was sort of difficult, because the last thing she wanted to do was to say anything close to where the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron was. Even if muggles were dissuaded from going in, it never hurt to be careful. "Sorry, I don't know it," Dahlia partially lied. There were definitely markers that could help her get close, but even that she was afraid of spilling. If not for her persistent concussion, she would have disapparated from around the corner. "If I get to the Leicester Square station, I should be okay from there." That would work, right? That also meant having to either take a cab or the train, and both seemed like a literal headache waiting to happen. It was ultimately worth it to get home so that she could take more of her medicine and chill out for the rest of the day.

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[yara leila el fayed]

May 20, 2028

The other young woman apologized to her then, saying that she didn't know the address that she needed on Charing Cross Road. As long as she had a general idea of where she needed to be, then Yara felt relatively confident in her ability to get her there safely. It was a populated area, so it wouldn't be as risky as if they had to walk around somewhere with fewer people around. "If I get to the Leicester Square station, I should be okay from there," she added.

"Okay." That was doable, Yara thought. "Let's take a cab to the Leicester Square Tube station," she suggested, pulling up the relevant application on her phone. As she tapped her screen, she continued to speak. "It shouldn't be more than a few minutes, God willing," she reassured the other young woman. "I'm Yara, by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself already."

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

▲

It was funny. Well, maybe not funny in the ha-ha sort of way, but more in the ironic sort of hilarious, how now that she had some kind of assistance in getting back to where she needed to be, her headache was starting to wane. Stress and anxiety over random situations since the accident definitely exacerbated the headaches. There was no way to combat that except by getting her brain reacquainted with normal, uncomfortable situations again. Fighting against the urge to hide away in her cave of an apartment was difficult. But doctors’ orders. Supposedly things would go back to the way they were meant to eventually.

The girl, her name was Yara, seemed to have no problem with the request that Dahlia was making. She wasn’t used to random kindness like this. Or rather, the more it happened in her life now, the more she realized how messed up her life had been prior to moving to London. Beauxbatons and France had not treated her well at all. A pity, really, because she loved almost all of it. Especially Marseilles. With time, Dahlia was sure she could come to like it again, but it was going to be a while still. Everything she needed was here now, which was a strange thought that popped up every now and again. It took a life-or-death kind of injury to make her aware of it though.

”Dahlia,” she gave her own name. ”Thank you. I guess I am not as well as I thought I was.” She glanced at the woman’s phone to see if a car had been selected yet. It wasn’t often that she took a car, but in moments like this, it was almost necessary. Walking back was going to be impossible, and she really didn’t want to shove herself into a cramped train car.

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[yara leila el fayed]

May 20, 2028

"Dahlia," the young woman answered her. "Thank you. I guess I am not as well as I thought I was."

Yara looked at Dahlia, her brow furrowing. She knew that Dahlia had already mentioned having hit her head at work and still being affected by it, but she wanted to ensure that the other young woman was going to be alright. Maybe she should have gone into medicine instead, she thought. Her knowledge of computers wasn't much help in relation to head injuries. There were public hospitals nearby if necessary, however, and they could always reroute to one of them.

In the meantime, Yara was prepared to be as supportive as she could be. "Please let me know if you start to feel worse," she instructed Dahlia. She looked back down at her phone and continued, "There is a driver five minutes away. I'll be here with you, Dahlia."

dahlia jade greyback

[dahlia jade greyback]

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Five minutes was an eternity when everything around her felt like it was moving in a blurry slow motion. Tuning it all out wasn’t exactly something she could do once it started up and trying to force her brain to do anything only led to more headaches and confusion. Staying still, Dahlia closed her eyes to at least take one of her senses away for the time being. That would help some. What she really wanted to do was crawl into her bed and pretend nothing existed until it went away again.

---

The car ride to Charing Cross Road was anticlimactic, though a bit smelly if she were to be completely honest. The dangling air fresheners that hung from the rear-view mirror seemed to all be expired and their aromas mixed together. The real problem was that she didn’t dare put her window down for fresh air because the noise from passing cars and horns would radiate through her skull. Choosing her battles now was all she could really do to get back home. Aside from that, the drive was quick, and she started to feel the headache recede just in time to get out and deal with street noise again.

The next part was the difficult one. Thanking Yara for her assistance came first, because the woman didn’t have to help her at all, and then disappearing towards the Leaky Cauldron so that she could sneak back into Diagon Alley. The last thing she needed to be doing was accidentally breaking the Statute of Secrecy whilst suffering from a concussion. She didn’t want to be the one to ruin everything and finally clue the non-magique in on the magical world.

”Thank you again,” Dahlia must have said for the dozenth time since the collision. She had even said it in all three languages she knew, mostly because of her own confusion from her head pain. ”I uhh…I can go from here I think.” She had to, otherwise she was in trouble.

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[yara leila el fayed]

May 20, 2028

Getting in a rideshare vehicle to go somewhere wasn't anything unusual for Yara. She had the means (and she was a Muggle), though in hindsight, she probably should have booked a nicer vehicle than what they ended up in. There were cheap air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror, and the "aromas" clashed significantly.

Besides that, the journey over to the Tube station at Leicester Square wasn't bad. On the ride over, Yara was able to borrow a pen from the driver and then write her name and phone number on the back of her shopping receipt, which she retained for Dahlia. Speaking of, she did better in the car than Yara anticipated.

When they got down out of the car, Dahlia thanked her and mentioned that she could go from there. "You're welcome. Here are my name and mobile number if you need anything," she added, handing over her receipt. She wouldn't need it, really, and Dahlia couldn't exactly put her number into her phone.

dahlia jade greyback