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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 13, 2010 13:05:02 GMT -5
Kayleigh was becoming slightly braver when it came to going out. She still hadn't figured out how to get to Gringotts. She couldn't very well just ask someone because she was in the muggle world after all. Her parents would tell her stories of the wizarding world and she wanted to go there one day. Everything seemed magical when they told the stories, but that was all she had to hold on to.
The weather was warm as she stepped outside. She didn't bother to make eye contact with anyone. That was still something she really needed to work on outside of work. At work it was necessary for her to make eye contact with a few people. Kayleigh tugged on the bottom of her shirt as she passed by a few people. Luckily, she hadn't had any bad panic attacks recently but she carried the card she was given just in case.
Passing by people, she made her way to the garden that was several blocks from the motel. Hopefully she was going to finally find an apartment soon since she was saving her money. As she made it to the garden, Kayleigh took a seat on one of the benches. A few memories passed through her mind, including the one of her parents realizing that she wasn't magic like them.
She cleared her mind and attempted to relax on the bench. There was something extremely relaxing about being in that garden. There was no danger there, everything was peaceful. Kayleigh felt something there that she hadn't felt in awhile and that was safety.
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 13, 2010 21:11:09 GMT -5
(Yay, an excuse to break out this character!)
Flynn was excited about his new teaching job at Hogwarts. He would be starting next week, but until then, he was trying to get settled in his new apartment in Hogsmeade. He needed a lot of supplies, having just moved out of a furnished flat in Ireland.
This was why he was in muggle London that day, mostly shopping for small things that he couldn't really get in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. But it was such a nice day that when he spotted the pretty little garden in the middle of the city, he couldn't help but stop for a little break.
He didn't see the girl right away, although there were only a few other people in the garden. Instead, he was distracted by the bright colors and fresh scents of the flowers that were just starting to bloom. He stopped to smell a rose and nearly fell backwards when a bee flew out of it and buzzed past his face. He burst out laughing and swatted in front of his face. "Typical," he said aloud in his thick Irish accent. "I stop to smell the roses and a bee nearly flies up my nose."
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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 14, 2010 8:07:05 GMT -5
She was relaxed on the bench and she wasn't paying attention to what was around her for once. Of course that ended when she heard laughter. It startled her, so she nearly jumped out of her skin. Being jumpy was something else she was trying hard to not be. Her breathing quickened but it didn't turn into an attack. The rational part of her brain told her it was just laughter and when she heard the man speak, it reminded her of home. Kayleigh turned her head to look in his direction.
His comment, once she registered what he said, made her smile. She could be friendly and nothing bad would happen, right? "Bad timing," she said trying to make her voice confident.
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 14, 2010 12:10:21 GMT -5
Since he had not noticed the girl sitting so close by, he was slightly startled by the sound of her voice as well. He turned to look at her with a sheepish smile on his face. "Story of my life," he commented, shrugging. "And now, not only that, but I've been caught talking to myself. Not exactly the best first impression, huh?"
He straightened up and walked over to her, holding his hand out to her. "How are you doing?" he greeted her. "The name's Flynn Kennedy."
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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 14, 2010 12:27:53 GMT -5
"As long as you don't respond to yourself, I think you're okay." Everything was harmless, at least that's what she kept telling herself. She could be sociable. Kayleigh observed him and there wasn't any thing different about him, nothing that sent of warning signals in her head.
Once he reached out his hand, she eyed it for a moment before reaching out with her own. "I'm, I'm okay." Saying that outloud made her feel a little more confident in herself. She wasn't freaking out over anything. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kayleigh Doyle." Had he met her about a year ago, he probably wouldn't have gotten a name from her. The crazy thoughts she used have had luckly calmed down and she was starting to become more functional.
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 14, 2010 12:59:37 GMT -5
He thought it a bit odd that she would randomly say that she was OK when he hadn't suggested that she wasn't, but he managed not to react to her comment. She did seem like the nervous sort, and he immediately sympathized with her. Sometimes the world could be a big, scary place and it was hard to know who to trust. He hoped he could set her mind at ease.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss... Doyle, is it?" he repeated with a grin. "So you're from Ireland, too, then, are you?"
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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 14, 2010 13:10:57 GMT -5
It felt nice to be able to have a normal conversation with someone new without anything clouding her thoughts.
"I am," she responded. "I was born there and lived there for awhile then I moved to America into one of those Irish neighborhoods for a bit only to come back to this side of the pond." On this side of the world, she felt more at home. Eventually she wanted to take a trip back to Ireland and maybe she would but it wasn't the time to take that trip, not yet anyway.
"What part are you from?"
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 14, 2010 13:31:10 GMT -5
He was still standing in front of her, and although he eyed the empty space next to her, he didn't ask to sit down just yet. If she was nervous, he wanted to let her ease into the conversation a little more.
"Way up north, in County Donegal. A tiny little town near the coast... I'm sure you've never heard of it. But it's beautiful up there... I still miss the green hills and rocky beaches. Where are you from?"
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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 14, 2010 13:41:53 GMT -5
"Don't think I have heard of it but I didn't go too many places in Ireland since I was fairly young when I left." She gave a faint smile. "I used to live outside Dublin. My parents used to live somewhere in Northern Ireland but then they both went off to school and then moved to London when they graduated." Kayleigh left out the details of the school and everything on purpose. "But when me mum found out she was pregnant with me, they moved back to Ireland."
As it rarely happened, she felt fairly comfortable talking to a stranger. She did noticed that he eyed the empty space beside her and she slid over just a little more. "If you like, you can, you can sit."
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 14, 2010 13:57:29 GMT -5
Flynn smiled at her. "Thank you. Don't mind if I do," he replied, moving over to take the seat next to her. He was careful not to get too close or seem like he was being pushy at all.
"Ah, yes, I've been to Dublin, of course. I always loved when we'd go to the city as a child. It seemed like we were at the edge of the earth up in Donegal... like anything could happen, but somehow nothing ever did. Dublin... that was where the action was. Or so I thought back then. I left to go to school, too, and never went back to Donegal. My family's still back there... but I don't really see them anymore."
His expression darkened just a little bit as he mentioned his family. Actually, it was just his parents that were back home... his younger brother was still in London. But his parents had all but shut him out ever since Gavin's death, and he still didn't know why,
"After school, I moved to a town outside Dublin for a while... until now. I just got a job in the area, so it looks like I'll be stayin' a while."
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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 14, 2010 14:09:19 GMT -5
She knew what it felt like to not see family anymore, but then again their situations were different. "Sorry 'bout your family," she said noticing his facial expression changing.
"That's good though, about your job. I recently got one too, but mine job is in a diner. I think I might stick around for a little while longer. London is not as scary as I thought it was going to be." That was true too. At first, Kayleigh was terrified of coming to London but she knew she needed to come. She had to start over somewhere, so why not start over in the place that her parents claimed held all sorts of magic? Maybe, just maybe things would play out in a good way.
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 14, 2010 14:25:29 GMT -5
He smiled slightly. "Thanks," he replied. "It was just... things kind of... fell apart after my older brother died. My parents... I don't know. Sometimes I think they wish it had been me instead of him."
Gavin had been the favored one, the firstborn, the future of the family. Flynn had only just recently come to realize that he'd always been the forgotten one, overlooked and overshadowed all his life. It hurt, but he was making his peace with it. That didn't mean that he'd given up on his little brother, of course... but he wasn't going to try to knock himself out and become someone that he was not, just so he could please his parents.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," he said, brightening. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Are you a waitress or a cook?"
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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 14, 2010 14:33:23 GMT -5
"You're not that bad, at least from what I can tell." Her judgement could be a little off about different people, but Flynn seemed like a nice enough person. "And don't let anyone tell you any different."
Kayleigh started to smile again. "A cook moreso than a waitress. The lady that owns the diner sometimes makes me do both if we're not really busy. It's a nice small place." That was one of the reasons she liked working there. It was small and they did have times when they were busy but other times, she was able to experiement in the kitchen. There were already two new dishes on the menu. The kitchen was the place she was most comfortable.
"What is your job?"
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 14, 2010 15:16:07 GMT -5
Flynn let out a laugh. "Thanks," he said. "Unfortunately, I think that's the problem."
He didn't elaborate, and he rather hoped that she wouldn't ask him to. As far as he knew, after all, she was a muggle, with no knowledge whatsoever of the wizarding world. And even if she wasn't, he wasn't exactly proud of his family's political leanings.
"It's all right, really. It used to bother me more than it does now. If they don't want anything to do with me, then that's their loss."
He shrugged again, putting the topic behind him. Instead, he smiled when she mentioned the restaurant where she worked. She genuinely seemed to like what she did, and that was a good thing. "You'll have to tell me where it is," he said. "I could come by and see you sometime. I'm a teacher... history teacher, to be exact. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I find history fascinating."
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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 14, 2010 15:36:03 GMT -5
"It's Georgiana's," she replied, "about 4 blocks from here, in that direction." Kayleigh pointed in the opposite direction they were facing. That was one thing she liked about the diner, it was within walking distance of where she was staying.
"A history teacher? That's pretty amazing." History was fascinating at some points, and then there were sometimes when it wasn't as fascinating as the other parts. That went for history in general.
"What sort of history do you teach? Anything specific, or is it just in general?"
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 14, 2010 15:54:26 GMT -5
"Ah," he said, nodding. "I'll have to check it out sometime."
It was a good thing that Flynn was used to talking to muggles, so that her question didn't faze him. Obviously he couldn't tell her that he taught magical history. He was now pretty certain that she was not a witch in disguise, because the restaurant she had mentioned was a muggle restaurant. It was very uncommon for a witch to choose to work some place where she would have to hide her magic.
"Oh, just general history. Medieval, Renaissance... those are my favorite time periods."
That much, at least, was true. He loved the tales of knights and kings... it just happened that he also taught about the wizards and witches that helped shape the times.
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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 14, 2010 17:24:58 GMT -5
"Me mum used to tell me bedtime stories of King Arthur and Merlin." Kayleigh allowed a smile to appear on her face. "Merlin was always my favorite. We would always laugh about how me da was going to look like him when he got old." Of course, she never got to see her parents grow older, and they never got to see her grow older but it was still good to imagine it.
"Everytime me mum would tell me the stories, she always said that they were true. 'Course I believed every word she ever said. She even gave me a book she said that she had gotten somewhere in London about Merlin. Don't remember where the specific place was though." Kayleigh looked back to Flynn.
"Do your students find it all as fascinating as you do?"
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 14, 2010 18:19:19 GMT -5
Still he didn't think anything of it. It wasn't as if the wizarding world held the sole claim to the stories of Merlin. The legend was well known everywhere; it was just that in the wizarding world, they knew that it was not just a legend.
"Ah, yes. That's a good story," he agreed. "One of me favorites, too, actually. Who doesn't love tales of knights and kings and wizards, right? I used to read those same stories when I was a kid, and pretend that I was Arthur, pulling the sword from the stone. I hope I can make it all interesting to my students. I don't think a lot of them really care for history, but I'm going to try and make it about more than just dates that they have to memorize. I want to bring it alive for them, you know?"
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Post by Kayleigh Doyle on Jun 14, 2010 18:43:16 GMT -5
"Me da thought it was important that I start learning about our heritage when I old enough to start talking. I remember the stories told," she said choosing words wisely, "and I remember the magic tricks me da would do to keep my interest. I never could figure out how he did it. 'Course I never did learn all about our heritage. I learned about some, but not all." Her parents were gone before she could ever learn about it all.
"Maybe there's a way that you can sort of bring it alive to them. If I knew how me da would do it, I would tell you, but I don't know. Sometimes if you connect things to what happened then, to things that the students know, it could help them relate and understand."
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Post by Flynn Kennedy on Jun 16, 2010 12:54:48 GMT -5
Well, that caught his attention. He frowned lightly, wondering what she meant by it. Did she mean real magic, or just parlor tricks?
"Your Da' taught you magic tricks?" he said. "What, like... a coin behind your ear?"
It probably was just something innocent like that, but still, he couldn't help but be curious. What if she was a witch and was just testing him to see how he'd react?
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