Late Hours [Oberon]

[aurelia edith flint]

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August 27th, 2028

Acquiring a new Venomous Tentacula was...difficult. Outright purchasing an adult plant had its own set of issues, much to her dismay, so that only left Aurelia with the option of growing a new one. Which was also difficult to do. There was no 'Plants 'R' Us' where she could go and buy seeds to start growing her own. Such a thing simply didn't exist, and if it did, there was no way they'd ever carry this plant. She had her own connections of course, and after asking around her herbology circle, she eventually found someone that knew a person that knew a person that happened to once hear about how a guy that sold what she was looking for. That ended up being a bust, until she had discussed the event with Diana Bainbridge and was given the location of a second individual in Knockturn Alley. Totally not sketchy at all. But Aurelia wanted another Venemous Tentacula and it wasn't like she was buying one to harm people with.

A slow drizzle had picked up as she exited Knockturn and turned back onto the main street of Diagon Alley. The exchange had gone...well, it went. The wizard who had sold her the seeds refused to show his face and only stayed in the shadows. She had purchased magical plants in this manner before from other supposed black market dealers, but this guy easily gave her the creeps more than any of the others had before. Not to mention that Knockturn was terrifying at night. Aurelia was positive that she had never ventured in there after sunset before, and any time she walked by at night she tried to walk on the opposite side of the street. The gaping maw of the alleyway could only be compared to the Hidebehind under the bed growing up. Terrifying.

Thus, she had steeled her nerves, brought what she figured was an ample amount of coinage for a package of seeds, and then quickly made her way out. The rain was the icing on top, but it was better to be wet than sucked into whatever nefarious seeds were going on in Knockturn. The prospect of being seen leaving the shady alley with an unmarked paper bag didn't even cross her mind until she was almost a block away. No one was usually out at this hour anyways, and especially not in the rain...

oberon anteros blishwick ● 399 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[oberon anteros blishwick]

And the flowers never bend

With the rainfall

August 27, 2028
aurelia edith flint

Oberon frowned at the “be back later” sign on the shop door. It was rare to leave work at such a good time, and Obie always took the time to run errands. Well, he would try to run errands and hope he didn’t get too distracted along the way. Already, he could see Bianca’s eyes roll just short of falling out of her head. Oberon liked to take his time and enjoy the journey of whatever he was doing. That meant tangents into other errands or perhaps a conversation with someone in a shop, regardless of whether he knew the person.

Glancing at his watch, Oberon wondered if the shop hours had changed or had always closed this early, and he’d simply forgotten. With a sigh, he began to walk down Horizont, trying to remember what other errand he had over here. The search for Orchids would have to wait another day. His mother had requested he look for some should he be in the area. Quickly, however, he felt the soft drizzle of rain on his hair. Obie grumbled. His hair always got a little too frizzy for his liking with the rain. But he was likely just heading home, so it wasn’t a big deal. However, as the few who remained scattered into the cover or open shops, Obie spotted a figure hurriedly walking in his direction with a large bag in her hands.

Oh, wasn’t this lucky! Just the person he was looking for. ”Aurelia?” It had been some time since he’d stopped by. Plants and gardening was a small hobby for Oberon, something that wasn’t research and got him fresh air when not working. The community felt small in that regard. ”Do you want some help? Best to get out of the rain.”

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[aurelia edith flint]

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Aurelia could feel her entire body tense up as she heard her name called. She had completely zoned out while walking, her goal of getting the seeds back to her shop so she could get everything going tonight was all-consuming. The questioning manner in which her name floated to her ears almost made her feel like she had done something wrong – like she wasn’t supposed to be out after dark. Skulking around Diagon Alley like some sort of criminal, right? Merlin, if only her parents could see her now. Pansy would probably claim that she was taking after her, or something. Minus a couple bottles of wine, her mother would have been right.

Refocusing her eyes from the wet pavers up to the person that had called her, it took a moment to figure out who it was. The glare of the streetlamps against the falling rain made it hard to tell, until she was closer and realized it was Oberon Blishwick. Somehow it was always a Blishwick that she ran into, though she supposed it was because their numbers were plenty. Thankfully it wasn’t Jimbo. He absolutely would try to rope her in on some new business proposal. Catching her off guard and under slight duress, and suddenly she was providing four hundred wreathes to be given out as part of a Christmas promotion for the matchmaking business. At least he paid well…

”Oh…hey,” she held her free hand up above her eyes to shield them from both the rain and glare. Oberon was asking her if she needed help, and she instantly wondered if she had some sort of expression on her face. She wouldn’t have doubted it after the encounter she’d just had in Knockturn. ”I’m uhh, I’m alright. Just heading home,” she kept it vague. A non-descript paper bag could be anything. Carry-out, a new book, potion ingredients, drugs…or just new seeds for a highly venomous plant that she bought on the black market. Drugs would probably be better, if she were to be completely honest.

”And you? Been well?” she asked as she walked closer, eyes starting to focus better. It was probably only going to be a brief conversation, but she’d never disliked talking to Oberon. The two of them had held plenty of great conversations and traded tips on plants. Plus, he was pretty easy on the eyes. Aurelia liked bragging about that to her sister.

oberon anteros blishwick ● 403 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[oberon anteros blishwick]

And the flowers never bend

With the rainfall

August 27, 2028
aurelia edith flint

Aurelia seemed surprised, but Oberon knew that was probably his fault. Something about his energy made it hard to find those smooth conversation transitions. This was usually met with some kind of glare or look from Bianca (who he likely startled out of deep thought) or his cousin Jimmie, who equally focused as fiercely. She declined his help, but Obie figured he would walk alongside her the short distance to her shop. It was no trouble to see she arrived safely. Such things were ingrained into his mind long ago by his father, who fully believed in chivalry.

”Yes, I have. And you? Business is good, I hope.” He responded cheerily. The only downside of his work at the Ministry was he often didn’t need to interact with others as much. He had to speak to many people on other days, and he didn’t mind that. Perhaps it was why the appointment to his liaison position had been easy to accept despite the pressure and scrutiny it came with. His connections within the Ministry grew. ”I was telling my mum about that iridescent impatiens plant you have. She thought of maybe introducing her students to some very simple basic herbology.” Oberon realized he should add some context. ”She’s a teacher at MYSTIC, year one.”

Obie couldn’t help but beam with pride, but he always did with his family. And he was sure he’d mentioned how his father worked at Witch TV. They truly were everywhere, weren’t they? ”But today, she sent me searching for orchids. I did want your thoughts on the other thing as well if you have the time.” Oberon knew he tended to speak very fast and a lot at once so he offered Aurelia an out, and he could come back another time. While he was always the same hopeful boy, Obie had learned over the years to back off a bit. Or so he tried.

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[aurelia edith flint]

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”It’s definitely been moving along better than I’d hoped,” she answered. There were points where it definitely got overwhelming though. She often laid awake in bed wondering what she had gotten herself into. Being a research Herbologist wouldn’t have had as much volatility as running a shop, and while appreciated all of the patronage her peers gave her, there were parts where she definitely had not been cut out for it. Especially at the beginning. Luckily, the other shopkeepers in Horizont and Diagon had lent a bit of help here and there, especially Jimbo when it came to the events he held. What she had first assumed was constant pestering had actually been a genuine concern for her well-being and success. Apparently, his father had been the one to arrange her parents’ betrothal, so he must have felt some sort of responsibility over that. As if her mother cheating and then the two of them dying was entirely the fault of the Blishwick family. It did feel nice to have someone looking out for her though…

Oberon continued, explaining that he had told his mother about one of her plants. Her eyebrows raised at the possibility of selling them for help in MAGIC. ”I could definitely bring some by. They’re extremely easy to take care of and kids tend to like looking at them whenever they’re in the shop.” Hell, she liked to stare at them all day. That’s why they were placed directly across from register counter. The way the colors alternated…there were definitely times where she got lost in them. Without any customers to break up her trance, Aurelia had lost hours staring at them.

It turned out that Oberon was looking to buy orchids as well, and she nodded her head as they approached Horizont Alley. ”I’ve got plenty of those,” she said. The rain was starting to pick up more now, but she was already beyond soaked. Knockturn apparently didn’t believe in gutters of any kind, and when it first kicked off it was like being under a waterfall.

”Let’s see here…” she mumbled as they approached her shop door and she took her key out, quickly jumping in to escape the rain. The iridescent impatiens were front and center. Aurelia carefully made her way further in, placing the bag of seeds behind the counter. ”So, orchids first?” she asked. Her wand was already out and blasting her with a drying spell.

oberon anteros blishwick ● 406

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