Savannah Lyons
 
Seventh Year[M:10]
Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.
Posts: 326
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Post by Savannah Lyons on May 5, 2010 21:48:23 GMT -5
She put the piece of gum in her mouth and began to chew. Immediately, she tasted fruit... strawberries, she thought. It was good, and she smiled. "I like it," she said. "Thank you, Cameron."
She already felt like she owed him so much. He had helped her when she was upset about Elliot, he was taking her on this adventure, he'd bought her candy and gum. It was a lucky thing that she was not at all cynical, or she might have wondered why he was doing all this for her. But she just assumed that it was because he was her friend, and nothing else.
"Tell me about your aunt," she said, trying to make conversation as they walked.
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Post by Cameron Wilder on May 5, 2010 21:53:24 GMT -5
Cameron was still trying to figure out how he was going to take her home. Apparation was out of the question, really. He didn't know that he could do it with her, and he wasn't keen on the idea of splicing her.
And he really actually hated the Knight Bus. So for now, until she said something, he was walking towards the Leaky Couldron to sneak into muggle London, and then he'd just get a taxi from there. She had probably never been in a car before, so hey, maybe it would be another experience she could scratch off her list. It sounded like a decent idea, anyway.
"Nina's a lot like me, I think. She travels a lot, and she's pretty unconventional. She can be loud and she usually likes to be the center of attention. She's really not at all what you think of when you picture an aunt. But she's a total sweetheart. She's musical, like me and my mom, but she's more of a dancer than a musician. Here we are, come on," he said, taking her hand again and taking her inside the Leaky Couldron.
(I figure if you can get TO Diagon Alley, you have to be able to get out, right? ha ha)
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Savannah Lyons
Seventh Year[M:10]
Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.
Posts: 326
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Post by Savannah Lyons on May 5, 2010 22:49:35 GMT -5
She was willing to let him take the lead. After all, she had been raised to be submissive, and that was one thing that was going to be difficult to break her out of. Besides, she didn't know where they were going, so it was easier to let him lead her the way he wanted to go.
"A dancer?" she repeated with interest. "You mean she's a ballet dancer? Or some other kind of dance? That sounds really interesting. I can't wait to meet her. And you said your mum plays an instrument, too? What kind of instrument does she play?"
Suddenly, she realized what she must sound like, and she blushed. "I'm sorry. I'm asking too many questions."
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Post by Cameron Wilder on May 6, 2010 11:21:10 GMT -5
Cameron found her interest a little relieving, to be honest. He was so worked up now that he realized he didn't know what he was doing (though he wouldn't let her see it- he was supposed to be at ease with everything, after all) that her questions were easy for him to answer and deal with.
"Don't apologize, it's fine. Just realize if you ask Nina about her dancing, she may just talk your ear off. It might be better that you're getting it from me." He paused to think, unsure of what kind of dancing his aunt really did. "She was trained in ballet, I think, but she's done .... others?" He looked at Savannah and laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He clearly knew very little about that world. "She's done a few plays and things like that, too. My mom's a celloist, but she plays the violin, piano... I think she plays a little bit of guitar. You know, my mom would probably get a kick out of hearing you play the piano."
They crossed through the pub quickly enough and were very soon in Muggle London. Cameron set his eyes on Savannah, actually unsure if she'd ever been here before. She had to have been, right?
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Savannah Lyons
Seventh Year[M:10]
Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.
Posts: 326
|
Post by Savannah Lyons on May 6, 2010 22:19:17 GMT -5
She had been in muggle London on a few occasions, usually just en route to King's Cross Station or St. Mungo's. But she'd never had a chance to really look around. And even now, they were really in too much of a hurry to look around very much, but she still kept her eyes moving, trying to take in what she could.
As she looked around, she listened to him talk about his mother and his aunt. She loved the fact that the whole family was apparently musical. It made her wonder how different things might have been if her mother had been strong enough to break free of her father. Maybe she would be better at the piano than she was now. Maybe she could have learned other instruments, too, or developed her singing voice. She'd never know now.
"Oh, no... No, I'm sure she's much better than I am," Savannah said modestly.
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Post by Cameron Wilder on May 7, 2010 14:10:28 GMT -5
"Well, my mom's probably better than I am, too," Cameron replied, though maybe she wasn't. Janet was celloist at heart. She played the piano. Cameron, on the other hand, was a pianist, though he played other instruments. He often felt like, if he were to personify them, he'd be married to the piano, and the guitar would be his slutty lover. He didn't voice this to Savannah, of course, because he didn't think she would entirely understand it. And that was okay. "She would still like to hear you play. If you felt up to it, that is. You don't have to. Here we go."
Cameron grinned and took Savannah's hand, ducking into a little corner store and heading to the counter where he picked up two packs of Pop Rocks. He didn't explain what they were to her yet, but paid for them (after sifting through his wizard money for the couple of muggle coins he had), and just as quickly, he was ushering her back outside. He and Nina often shared that 'whirlwind' mentality.
"Okay, spit out the gum. These things are my favorite."
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Post by Nina Wilder on May 7, 2010 14:22:22 GMT -5
"Well, Cam's like a pig... they eat anything and it never affects them." Nina stopped and scrunched her nose before she laughed slightly. "Not that I'm calling Cameron a pig. That's harsh." Nina wouldn't say it out loud, mostly because she thought Janet might get angry if she did, but she also wondered if Cameron hadn't gotten some girl knocked up. He'd be the type of guy who would probably marry her, and definitely wouldn't run away... or so she hoped. But she wouldn't have been terribly surprised if the girl he was bringing home did have a bun in the oven. She tore her thoughts away from that, though, and laughed. "Yeah... I guess she could have. Oh, but the wedding was beautiful. I might drag you to Hong Kong for mine... if that day ever happens. You know me... there's not going to be a single thing traditional about my wedding. She pulled her legs up under her body, sitting in the crook of the couch between the arm and the back. "So.... you seeing anyone?" Janet laughed. "He's a boy. That's pretty much synonymous with 'pig,' isn't it?" Now that the thought had occurred to her, Janet was getting pretty anxious for Cameron and the girl to show up. She needed to know that her worries were unfounded and that her little boy hadn't done anything that would change his life forever. Although Janet wouldn't change a single thing about her past, she certainly didn't want Cameron to follow the same path she had taken. "I would love you go to Hong Kong with you. In fact, I'd really love to go just about anywhere. This London weather is so gloomy... it makes New Jersey seem like paradise. I thought when I first started playing the cello that I would get into a world-class orchestra and tour the world... But that didn't exactly pan out. And no.... I'm not seeing anyone. Well, I did have a couple of dates with the French Horn player in the orchestra, but he dumped me for the harpist." Nina made an exaggerated face (probably from her brief stint on stage, usually as a back up dancer in Broadway, though she did get a couple lead rolls in smaller plays). "You musicians are so funny. Anyway, the horn player doesn't know what he's missing. Hello? A harpist?" She sighed. She wished Janet would find a good guy. Nina was fine with her take on relationships. She got bored and guys got clingy. But Janet wasn't like her, and she deserved someone who would treat her well. And Cam's father did not fall in that category as far as she was concerned. "Well, tell you what, when I get married in Hong Kong, I'll bring you out the week before, all right?" |
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Post by Janet Wilder on May 7, 2010 23:55:14 GMT -5
Janet shrugged. "I hear harpists are good with their hands," she cracked, winking at her sister. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. It's not like he was going to be the love of my life. We went out a few times, and it was nice, but I wouldn't say he broke my heart or anything like that."
The truth was, Janet never really had very high expectations for her relationships. She'd been in love once, with Cameron's father, and she'd wound up getting burned. She didn't think she could ever go through that again. So she went out on dates, but never really let herself get emotionally involved. She started with low expectations, and that way she was never disappointed when things didn't work out.
"You keep talking about getting married," Janet pointed out. "Is there something--or should I say someone-- I should know about?"
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Post by Nina Wilder on May 10, 2010 14:16:46 GMT -5
Nina laughed. "No. Guys suck, and I never will get married. But you know, if it ever did happen, I'd want something completely untraditional. Somewhere exotic, too."
Nina, again quite unlike Janet, was the heartbreaker in relationships, never the heartbroken. It wasn't that she liked to play the field or anything like that. Deep down, she did want a loving relationship. She was just meant to wander, and too many guys wanted her to settle down, and she had a deep, intense fear of losing her freedom. She just chalked her short relationships up to getting bored. So how did she explain her last one, the traveler she met in China? He'd been good for her, and even she knew it.
She had a sneaking suspician that Cameron might be much the same way, but she had yet to voice this to her sister.
"Nope. I am single and free as a bird, and loving it, thank you. I want to focus on getting you settled down first."
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Post by Janet Wilder on May 11, 2010 22:29:59 GMT -5
Janet waved her hand in front of her dismissively. "Please, don't worry about me. Like you said, men suck. Who needs 'em? But you... you're young, and you should be out there breaking as many hearts as possible. Make them suffer... they deserve it."
She winked at this. "Oh, for heaven's sake. When is he going to get here already? I'm dying to meet this girl. I hope he hasn't forgotten, or let himself get distracted."
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Post by Nina Wilder on May 12, 2010 11:57:29 GMT -5
"Trust me, I love em and leave em," Nina said, choosing not to go into too much detail.
Like Janet, she was getting anxious for Cameron to show up with this girl of his, and she laughed at her sister's words. "Oh, come on. It's Cameron. He probably got distracted three or four times by now. Really, he should be thankful this girl can handle that."
She once again shifted her position on the couch, ever restless, and checked the clock. "Hey, Janet... whatever he tells us today about her... you know that it's okay. He's okay and he'll figure it out." She was still thinking this girl could be pregnant.
((Cam posted...))
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Savannah Lyons
Seventh Year[M:10]
Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.
Posts: 326
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Post by Savannah Lyons on May 12, 2010 14:16:57 GMT -5
"Well, my mom's probably better than I am, too," Cameron replied, though maybe she wasn't. Janet was celloist at heart. She played the piano. Cameron, on the other hand, was a pianist, though he played other instruments. He often felt like, if he were to personify them, he'd be married to the piano, and the guitar would be his slutty lover. He didn't voice this to Savannah, of course, because he didn't think she would entirely understand it. And that was okay. "She would still like to hear you play. If you felt up to it, that is. You don't have to. Here we go." Cameron grinned and took Savannah's hand, ducking into a little corner store and heading to the counter where he picked up two packs of Pop Rocks. He didn't explain what they were to her yet, but paid for them (after sifting through his wizard money for the couple of muggle coins he had), and just as quickly, he was ushering her back outside. He and Nina often shared that 'whirlwind' mentality. "Okay, spit out the gum. These things are my favorite." It was probably a good thing that he had not made that comparison aloud, because it would have shocked her. It also probably would have inspired her to wonder if that meant she was his piano, and Brenda was his guitar. Not that she was married to him, of course... But he had not voiced the thought, and so her mind was preoccupied with the idea of playing piano in front of his mother and aunt. She had never played for an audience before; only her mother and Cameron had ever heard her play at all. She wasn't even sure Elliot had heard her play. "If she asks me to, I will," Savannah said demurely. "But I would be just as happy to hear her play, or you." She was silent as they went into the muggle store and she looked around while he made his purchases. Not having been exposed to much in the way of muggle life, she found magic in the most ordinary of things, and was particularly fascinated by a display of lighters near the counter. Wizards could conjure fire with the use of magic, but muggles used these small devices, so that they could carry fire with them where ever they went. Simply fascinating! But she didn't get a chance to examine how they worked, because Cameron was pulling her back out of the shop just as quickly. She looked at him curiously and when he told her to spit out her gum, she reached into her pocket to pull out the wrapper, so that she could wrap her gum into it. "OK," she said, eager to try this new candy. |
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Post by Janet Wilder on May 14, 2010 23:22:47 GMT -5
"Trust me, I love em and leave em," Nina said, choosing not to go into too much detail. Like Janet, she was getting anxious for Cameron to show up with this girl of his, and she laughed at her sister's words. "Oh, come on. It's Cameron. He probably got distracted three or four times by now. Really, he should be thankful this girl can handle that." She once again shifted her position on the couch, ever restless, and checked the clock. "Hey, Janet... whatever he tells us today about her... you know that it's okay. He's okay and he'll figure it out." She was still thinking this girl could be pregnant. ((Cam posted...)) Janet laughed. "Well, good for you. I'll consider all the hearts you've broken to be adequate revenge." She rarely ever talked about Cameron's father, but they all knew that she was still in love with him. He hadn't been the marrying type, and last Janet had heard of him, he was dating one skinny blonde after another. Janet hadn't fit the mold, and she had convinced herself that was the reason he would stay with her. Deep down, she had known better from the very beginning, but a teenager in love has the ability to only see what she wants to see, and hear what she wants to hear. When Nina's demeanor changed, the smile slipped from Janet's face. Yes, she was just as worried about Cameron and this mystery girl as Nina was. And of course the pregnancy possibility had occurred to her. She rather hoped she had taught Cameron better than to treat women the way his father had, though, and if this girl was pregnant, Cameron had better be planning to marry her, or at least play an active role in the child's life. She sighed softly. "I know. He's a good boy. It'll be OK." |
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Post by Cameron Wilder on May 21, 2010 12:44:21 GMT -5
Cameron just shrugged again. "You've already heard me play. I don't really get any better or anything," he told her with a small laugh. But she did... she would get better, only because Cameron could recognize talent in a person, and he had a feeling that once she was more confident, she would play very well. Maybe even better than him... who knew? Cameron knew that he could play, but he never took lessons or anything.
When she took her gum out, he took her hand and dumped a good half a packet of pop rocks into her palm.
"Don't swallow them right away, okay? You gotta kind of... let 'em sit for a minute." He had a feeling, being as used to magic as she was, that she might not really find these all that amazing, but man, when he was a kid, they were pure... well, magic.
He dumped the other half into his mouth, straight from the packet, his mind a million miles away from where he was supposed to have been about twenty minutes ago.
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Savannah Lyons
Seventh Year[M:10]
Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.
Posts: 326
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Post by Savannah Lyons on May 23, 2010 0:11:32 GMT -5
"I like the way you play," she told him.
She didn't elaborate, but what she really remembered about watching him play wasn't even about the way the music sounded. She had been more fascinated with the way his fingers moved over the keys. It was like his fingers were conveying things that he couldn't say with words.
As he poured the candy into her hand, she looked down at it with interest. It looked... well, not much like candy at all. More like the tiny broken pieces of candy that you might find at the bottom of a package. It was very strange. Curiously, she watched him as he dumped the rest of the package into his mouth, and sort of kept it there, not chewing or swallowing.
She smiled nervously, feeling as if there was an odd sort of build-up to her trying this candy. Then, bravely, she brought her hand to her mouth and emptied the candy into her mouth. For a moment, all she noticed was the sugary flavor of cherry... and then something seemed to explode in her mouth. And then it happened again.... and again. Her eyes lit up, and she broke into a smile, trying not to laugh. It was a most curious sensation, but she rather liked it.
When the fizzing had died down, she swallowed the candy, and began to laugh. "That was amazing!" she said.
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Post by Cameron Wilder on May 24, 2010 15:06:39 GMT -5
Cameron got a weird sort of kick out of watching her react to the candy, and when she finally commented on it, he shrugged. "See? Muggles are pretty inventive." He handed her the second, unopened packet of pop rocks. He probably had sixty at home, anyway.
"I've always loved those things." And that was that. Not like there was much else to say on the matter, anyway.
"Come on... I don't know what time it is, but I'm pretty sure I'm running late. Not like my mom isn't used to it, but still."
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Savannah Lyons
Seventh Year[M:10]
Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.
Posts: 326
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Post by Savannah Lyons on May 24, 2010 15:23:52 GMT -5
"Thank you," Savannah said, smiling as he handed her the pack. She looked down at it, trying to figure out hat it was that made the candy seem to sizzle and pop without the use of magic.
But when he mentioned being late, she looked up at him uncertainly. Of course, Savannah was not accustomed to lateness at all. Her father had insisted that lateness was rude and disrespectful. It felt a little wrong to her to be late, and she frowned at how easily she had lost track of time.
"Your mother won't mind, will she?" she said worriedly. "I would hate to inconvenience her in anyway, when I'm to be a guest in her home."
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Post by Cameron Wilder on May 24, 2010 15:30:51 GMT -5
Cameron, of course, forgot this about Savannah, and had no idea that the idea of them being late would actually bother her. When she voiced her concerns, he frowned.
"Hey... relax," he told her. "My mom won't care. Nina'll probably give me a hard time about it, but like I said... they're both used to this from me. You're fine."
He wished he could set her at ease, and while part of him thought that she would relax a little when they got to his mother's, the other part wondered if she just wouldn't be more nervous. Like she was trying to impress them and be on her best behavior and all of that. God, his mom probably was not expecting to meet a girl like Savannah at all. He sighed. This was going to go fine, and he was doing this all for her, anyway. For Savannah, Because somewhere in that easily distractible mind of his, Cameron thought she'd want to see this. That maybe his mother could play a roll in her life that she didn't have from anyone else.
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Savannah Lyons
Seventh Year[M:10]
Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.
Posts: 326
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Post by Savannah Lyons on May 24, 2010 16:17:39 GMT -5
It would take her a while to get used to being a little more casual about things. In her mind, she knew she wanted to ease up a little, to be more relaxed, like Cameron was. But it was a process of letting go for her; she needed to let go of the strict rules imposed on her.
"If you're sure it's all right," she said, biting her lip.
Quietly, she slipped the packet of candy in her purse and walked along side him. Her mind was already wandering ahead to the moment she met Cameron's family. He was right; she was already getting nervous and hoping that her manners would be acceptable to them. In fact, she was actually wondering if she should curtsy when she first greeted them. It just seemed so important that Cameron's mother, especially, should like her.
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Post by Cameron Wilder on May 24, 2010 18:28:21 GMT -5
"I wouldn't lie to you, Sav. I'm not setting you up to fail, here."
He wondered, if only briefly, if that's what had happened to her for most of her life, if her father had such high expectations of her that he often made her feel like she couldn't do anything right. Maybe he was reading too much into this. He hated when he started to read to much into situations, and sighed, flagging down a taxicab when one came by.
"I've got everything handled though, okay? Just trust me."
With that, he opened the back door of the cab for her, gesturing her inside and following after, giving his mother's address when the door was closed.
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