Cael Gray (winsome_wizard) wrote in valesco,
@ 2011-08-13 01:16:00

Entry tags:

Cecilia + Adamina (Eventually)
Things between Cael Gray and Cecilia Hooke had been a little…well, rocky to say the least. They went from being ‘friends with benefits’ without ever really classifying themselves as friends, to not knowing what to think about the other, all because of things neither one of them could change, even if they wanted to – his bloodline, and her past relationships. He didn’t know what word existed, if any, to classify what it was they used to be, so it was even harder now to find a way to describe what they were now. All he knew was that despite himself, he thought about her constantly – enough that he had decided to offer an invitation to some job function that he had told his boss he would attend, since it was one he actually wanted to go to.

Not once did he ever use the word ‘date’ to describe the outing, but he had managed to talk her into going with him after explaining how no one from her social circle would be there, and how she could either keep herself holed away, or at least get out of her flat for a day --- even if it was hanging around a group of people she didn’t want anything to do with.

From what he could tell, there weren’t many people left in Cecilia’s life who she could be around who weren’t going to scold her, or talk down to her all because of some friendship/indescribable relationship she had with him. He figured having a conversation with someone who wasn’t going to turn their nose up at her might be a nice change of pace.

It was ironic, how quickly the tables had turned for someone who had done a great deal of turning up her nose in the past.

They had arrived maybe 5 minutes ago, and would walk side by side, along a pathway in the grass, Cael dressed much more casually than he ever had been while at an event with her in the past, when he had usually been in his best dress robes. Instead, tonight, he wore a pair of lived in jeans, and a powder blue t-shirt that made his eyes seem like cuts of diamonds. There were a few tents set up, as well as some picnic tables – kids and adults alike running around on the grass, since there was so much wide open space. This was much more Cael’s environment – relaxed, fun, and friendly.

“Was I wrong to assume you wouldn’t know many people here?”

The question was directed down at her with a barely there smirk - he wouldn't deny that this was definitely a bit strange, actually being around her again, but he figured if they didn't meet in an open, neutral area, than it was just going to be more awkward as they tried to figure out where it was they stood.

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cecilias
2011-08-13 05:25 am UTC (link)

She was going to go to hell.

That was the only thing Cecilia could think about as her eyes swept across the locale of this... get-together, or whatever mudbloods called it when they held humble gatherings in large open spaces and allowed their children to chase each other around screaming like banshees. That she was out of her element in this sort of situation went without saying, and it didn't help that the moment she had met Cael at the door she had realized that she had overestimated the dress code. While he sported a casual attire, she donned a flowy top and skirt with her signature heels--not exactly the best for walking around on grass or chasing children, as it would so seem. Never, in all her days of fretting over her decision upon seeing him again, had she felt that it was more of a terrible idea than at this very moment.

This was not her world. This was so not her world.

Physically unable to look like anything other than hopelessly lost, she turned back to the man beside her, the only thing she knew about this environment. Even then, the comfort in his demeanor reminded her now of just how enormous of of a predicament she was in. He was so relaxed here, he was one of these people, and Cecilia suddenly thought that she might have never felt so alone.

"I'm---I---" she struggled for a second, nervously adjusting her hair and looking away quickly. "No, ah... decidedly not."

It was strange, how she had had such a terrible desire to see him again until she actually had. Now, she felt nothing but guilt and fear for what she was doing. True, there was no one present who would ever know, but---no, had not been a well-thought idea.

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winsome_wizard
2011-08-13 05:47 am UTC (link)

Cael could tell just by looking at her that she felt extremely uncomfortable. He figured the least he could do was make things a little easier for her – pulling out his wand from his pocket, he aimed it towards the grass that was in front of her, speaking a spell that would make the ground beneath her feet much firmer, and solid as she walked, rather than her walking funny because her heels kept digging into the dirt.

“Come with me.” He said as he slipped the wand back into the pocket he had pulled it from, instinctively taking hold of her hand in order to guide her, rather than just have her follow him. “And try to relax.” He offered the next words as more of a strong suggestion than an actual demand – he could imagine what this was like for her, what with how she had been raised. People were always supposed to be well behaved, and proper, and not roll around in the dirt like children had a tendency to do. This was such ‘low class’ behavior to her – he could only hope that she would learn to appreciate the things and people of this world, his world, in time.

He would lead her beneath the tents, so that they could sit in the shade as he sat them down at a table in the far, distant corner of the tent, where no one else seemed to be seated. Before he sat down though, he’d hear someone call his name, causing him to turn towards them.

“Cael Gray, is that you?”

Cael suddenly had déjà-vu from the last time he had been out with Cecilia, only the tables were turned – that and he wasn’t at all dreading the man who was approaching he and his guest.

“Good to see you boy, good to see you!”

The older man beamed at Cael, reaching his hand out for the younger man to shake. “You as well, Mr.Tippery.” Their hands dropped, and Tippery looked to the woman at his side. “And who might his lovely young woman be?” “A friend of mine – Cecilia.” “Cecilia; a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” Cael looked to her as Tippery reached out to take her hand in his, placing his other hand over hers in a delicate handshake. “Couldn’t agree more.” His eyes stayed on Cecilia’s for a moment, his words completely sincere. He’d turn away from her again in order to address Tippery.

“Would you mind if I came to find you later, sir?” Tippery looked between the two of them, and then gave Cael a smile before nodding. “Of course, of course. Carry on.” He gave Cecilia a smile before walking away, leaving the two of them alone again. Before he did anything else, he pulled the chair out for Cecilia to sit down before taking a seat beside her, directing the folding chair so he was faced towards her.

“…well, on the up side, now there’s at least one more person you know, yeah?”

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cecilias
2011-08-13 08:11 am UTC (link)

Try to relax. It took all she had to not snort at the idea that she could ever possibly relax when she was surrounded on all sides by people of questionable bloodlines, who were also probably dirty, many of whom also hadn't the foggiest idea when it came to behaving oneself in public, who also were all strangers. Relaxing at a time like this was like asking a Gryffindor to attend a Minister's gala without making some sort of raucous and impolite spectacle of themselves: simply an impossibility.

At the very least, Cecilia was more than pleased with Cael's choice of seating, which was decidedly removed from all of the---action, for lack of a better term. She had just moved to sit and take a breath of momentary relief when the low voice of an older gentleman rang through the air, causing her attention to be drawn to her companion and his apparent acquaintance.

She felt herself nearly squirm in discomfort when the topic of conversation was very abruptly and unexpectedly drawn to her, and Cecilia did her best to not flinch when the man took her hand. She was successful, of course--she wasn't rude, she'd had plenty of years worth of practice with a menagerie of strange and creepy suitors whom all seemed to be painfully touchy--, but just barely. Cecilia forced a smile and simply nodded in gratitude at the compliment, her mind swimming all the while with the question of if this man was a pureblood or not.

It wasn't true, what they always said... that you could tell by the smell of someone. Circe, if she'd have been able to do that, she wouldn't have been in any such predicament in the first place, would she?

The only thing that drew her attention away from the million galleon question was a couple of words from Cael's mouth and a direct look, which sent a rush of warmth to her cheeks. Finding it in her to smile just a tiny bit more freely, the man finally let go of her hand, which she used to tame a loose lock of hair once again. Before she knew it, their intruder was gone, and she lowered herself into the offered seat delicately, stomach still swimming mindlessly from the compliment.

It had been small, but considering he thought she was as good as a murderer, she would take anything a step or more above 'You're a terrible person and deserve to die.'

"I suppose so," Cecilia answered, only able to admit to having heard half the question through the din of her own vociferous introspection. "It's not that I'm upset to not know people, it's just that--" --I have never been around so many mudbloods at once in my life-- "--I'm consumed... with thoughts of what my parents would do to me, if they discovered I was in such a place."

Well, that was also true.

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winsome_wizard
2011-08-13 04:20 pm UTC (link)

He knew that her big fear when it came to being there had nothing to do with not knowing people, but he was just trying to once again add a little optimistic perspective on the whole thing. He would let out a sigh when she admitted (at least partially) what was on her mind.

“If that’s such a concern for you, you do have the option of leaving. No one is keeping you here against your will. I didn’t invite you here to throw you head first into…this.” He gestured around him, at all the happy people who were smiling and laughing with one another. He was immediately brought back to previous events he had attended with Cecilia, thinking about all those fake smiles people had given him, even when they were under the impression that he was ‘one of their own’ – he wasn’t even sure if he had heard one person laugh in all that time, unless it was at someone else’s expense.

His eyes were back on hers, and he leaned forward a little in his chair, his elbows resting on his thighs.

“The beauty of you being in a ‘such a place’ is that no one here cares. No one is going to go running to tell the first pureblood witch or wizard they know that Cecilia Hooke was sighted in a park.”

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cecilias
2011-08-14 12:35 am UTC (link)

It didn't take long for her to realize that she'd said the wrong thing. She had been honest, and it hadn't been as bad as the other reason why she was so uncomfortable, but Cecilia knew that this sinking feeling of guilt that came with his words couldn't be right. Frowning, slender fingers played in nervous habit with the silver necklace--an old Valentine's gift from Evan, although she would never tell Cael that--hanging at her collar as she looked out at over the rest of the gathering.

It wasn't like he had done anything wrong to bring her here. Although he had certainly tried his best to get her to come, it had been her decision, and she didn't want to make him feel like she didn't want to be there. She did, but she didn't at the same time. It seemed like that's how everything in her life was at the moment: one big, confusing tangle of emotions that she couldn't sort her way out of for the life of her. Cecilia had admittedly been many places in her life that she would not have wanted her parents to catch her, but usually she was both very intoxicated and not a second away from being burned off the family tapestry. Now that she was, doing what she wasn't told was no less than terrifying.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, tilting her head back towards her companion. "I understand I'm being difficult. I've just never---" she sighed. "I've done millions of things to upset my parents in the past 21 years. I've drunk myself senseless, partied until I passed out in the arms of unfamiliar men, gotten a tattoo, been a royal pain in the arse, turned my nose up at tens of suitors just to frustrate them... but I have never knowingly gone out anywhere with a halfblood they've forbidden me to see."

As much of a minuscule transgression as that may have seemed to him, it was the biggest one she had made to date. "I'll get over it, I just need some time."

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winsome_wizard
2011-08-22 04:42 am UTC (link)

He had a feeling that his take on what she was saying was much different than what she intended, though he did always seem to be more the type to see the silver outline of things. The fact that apologized at all for her behavior, and straight out admitted to understanding that she was being ‘difficult’ seemed like a step forward, to Cael. Even as she rattled off all the things she had done to make her parents upset, he sat there without saying a word. Even when she was finished speaking, he was quiet, though he would eventually give a gentle tilt of his head.

“The fact that you’re willing to put in any time at all to try is more than enough right now…”

He searched her eyes for a moment, and then eventually allowed a soft smirk to grace his features.

“And on a different note, I've always been rather fond of that tattoo.”

It wasn’t any magnificent piece of art or anything, but it was a part of her, and something he knew very few people got to see, given its location. It made him appreciate the design all the more.

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cecilias
2011-08-25 06:27 am UTC (link)

The heat on her cheeks was undeniable at his last comment, although she hoped it was not particularly visible. What would a man be allowed to do to her, if they knew they had made Cecilia Hooke blush? It was unthinkable that she could possess such a schoolgirlish reaction response to such talk---at least not with a man whom she felt she knew so little still. That was one wall that would stay up for the time being.

Did she want it to fall down? That was something that even Cecilia herself didn't know, nor wanted to think about at the moment.

That said, responding to such words was something she was never known to go without doing. In the interest of mild propriety (despite the notable lack of class of their current location), Cecilia turned fully towards him before allowing him to see the tiniest of grins, a tad sultry in nature, that had managed to touch the edge of her lips. There was only a split second, however, before that same grin rested against his cheek.

The idea of what she was doing--showing such affection in public towards someone whom she ought not have been showing affection--sent her stomach through a couple flips. They were in safe territory, of course... no one would see them here who would care, but... Still, there was an undeniable rush of danger at the idea that she didn't entirely dislike. Maybe it was her rebellious side coming out to play for a split second, but she knew that if that was so, it was not quite the same as it had always been.

"You're the first who would have approved," she said quietly, her face still close. "And the first who has seen it." That was true---now that she thought about it, she never had allowed her past paramours to see that little marking. Charms had always done the trick to hide the less-than-appealing feature... She wondered why it was that she hadn't done that with him.

Ah, right. Because she wasn't supposed to care. How well that had worked out.

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