Bring on the fireworks

[mammas_goot_to_hyu]

WHO: Everyone who can make it to Mechanisburg
TONE: Fun! 
RATING: PG upwards depending on how drunk some people get (hey, kissing at the Midnight mark can get raunchy!)
WHEN: 31st December
WHERE: The brew hall in Mechanisburg, Germany
WHAT: Mamma's invited the staff and students of Hogwarts to join in with the New Year's eve party at her old brew hall! Families are welcome, the waitresses adore children!

Festivities were in full swing at Gkika's brew hall - the dancing girls on stage being cheered on by the bar patrons, the beer wenches mingling in the crowd and deliberately thickening their accents for tourists. The music was lively as to be expected, there were drinks and food aplenty. What more could you want?

Gkika herself was donning her 'Mamma' clothes as she circulated the crowd, making sure people were behaving themselves and not hesitating to bodily throw out those who didn't, all with a big grin on her face.

(ooc: Feel free to tag amongst each other, it's party!)

Comments

[higherthaneverybody]

[Rhys, for once, has not showed up to a social event looking amused, or even particularly pleased to be there. He'd told Gkika he would come, before things had gone sour for him over the holidays, and he didn't see any particular reason not to show up. But he's ensconced himself in a dark corner, and is mostly just drinking and watching the crowd with a brooding expression.]

[wavesofjade]

[Rhys, you should know that if you have a heartbeat then you can't hide from a vampire. She locates him almost instantly but leaves him be for a little while before she approaches and slides into a seat beside him.]

My dear... you are going to frighten the girls if you keep such a dark look.

[It's a gentle teasing as she touches his arm, looking at him with faint concern.]

[higherthaneverybody]

[He's not hiding ... exactly. He just doesn't want to be bothered, and he's sure there are several colleagues present who would like nothing more than to take advantage of his dark mood. Dolores, of course, not being one of them.]

I have no interest in the company of girls, so that suits me fine.

[He doesn't smile for her the way he normally would, though he doesn't tell her to go away, either. Truthfully, he's not sure how he feels about her being here. She is one of his only friends, and yet he's not certain how much he can or wants to tell her about Kurloz.]

[wavesofjade]

[The only thing she wants to have to do with his dark mood is to lift him out of it, and she notices that change in his smile, leaving her fingers resting lightly against his arm.]

I can leave you be, if that is what you would prefer.

[higherthaneverybody]

You're not a girl. [He means she's a woman, but it comes out kind of awkwardly - again, not typical for him, at least not for the 63 year old him. He sighs, and shakes his head.] I'm afraid I'm not very good company tonight.

[wavesofjade]

[Her fingers shift down his wrist to gently - timidly - curl around his hand. She smiles at him and tilts her head to try and catch his gaze.]

You must name a time when that has stopped me before. Rhys.. whatever is the matter?

[higherthaneverybody]

[He's fairly certain she's never seen him like this, but he doesn't point that out, simply remains silent for a few moments, then says quietly] It's complicated.

[wavesofjade]

[She hasn't, and that's all the more cause for worry. Her thumb strokes in a gentle circle over the soft part of his hand and she looks at him intently.]

I have time. Talk to me.

[higherthaneverybody]

[He says nothing at first, just looking down at her hand and finding the movement peculiarly soothing. Of course, it's meant to be, but it's not something he's experienced much of in his life - his mother was never particularly physically affectionate, and he seldom shows weakness in front of lovers.]

I discovered, shortly before the holidays, that I have a son. [He doesn't have to say who it is, does he? That might make it easier.] His mother never told me she was pregnant when we were together, and we went our separate ways before it became obvious.

[wavesofjade]

A son..?

[But she doesn't move to congratulate him on that fact, feeling somehow that it would be inappropriate. Instead, she squeezes his hand and listens, a small frown creeping onto her face.]

Did it not go well?

[higherthaneverybody]

She told me to stay away from him. [There's something more than anger in his voice, there's raw, primal rage simmering there, barely controlled. Some of the darkness he so easily and habitually hides from others, and it's threatening to spill out now.] That she was glad she had hidden him from me, and if I tried to contact him, she would take him away, to some place where I could never find him.

[wavesofjade]

[Most people would politely excuse themselves at this point.

That would be the sensible thing to do.

It's exactly what Dolores doesn't do.

She continues gently stroking over his hand and speaks softly, looking up at his face.]

What will you do?

[higherthaneverybody]

[The tension in his muscles thrums through his hands, where she can feel it under her fingers.] She CAN'T take him. [mutters, and really, it's not much of a plan at all, because he doesn't know what he's going to do, only that he won't allow Kurloz to slip through his fingers. If he thought he could get away with killing her, he'd honestly do it right now with no regrets, but it might do harm to the boy, especially if he found out.]

we have so many threads going but I need role reversal in my life

[wwistful]

[Murdoc has had a good many drinks before he finds himself gravitating closer to Rhys. He isn't nearby him by any means, he has no reason to approach him, but the fact that he looks so sour is fascinating to a very tipsy Murdoc.

He has his head propped up in his hands as he sits at his own table and doesn't seem to realise he's staring pointedly at Rhys from his nearby location.]

RIGHT?

[higherthaneverybody]

[It shows just how distracted Rhys is that he doesn't even notice Murdoc's presence, or that he's staring, for sometime. Even though the other man isn't exactly sitting at his table, normally the Potions professor would have been quicker to see him, make some comment.

Tonight, though, he just gives him a cold look and raises his voice just slightly.] Something I can help you with, Donoghue?

it'll be beautiful

[wwistful]

[That is only more fascinating to Murdoc. Though he still hasn't quite realised how intense his stare is. He knows he's looking, but he'd expected Rhys to approach much sooner. Strange.

He raises an eyebrow as Rhys speaks and there is something in his words that tickle Murdoc for no apparent reason. He smiles a little as he's addressed, but it eventually spreads into a ridiculous grin at Rhys.]

Evenin'.

[higherthaneverybody]

Are you drunk? [It's a pity he can't appreciate that goofy grin, but he's not in the mood for the petty bickering and bantering he and Murdoc often engage in. It just seems so ridiculous and superficial right now.]

[wwistful]

I don't know, am I? [He seems genuinely surprised at the question. How could he possibly be drunk? He's only been here a few hours! What a notion indeed.]

[higherthaneverybody]

You don't usually smile like that unless you're drunk. [dryly]

[wwistful]

I never said I was smilin'. [He gives Rhys an incredulous look.] You're awfully sour tonight.

[higherthaneverybody]

You have to announce your facial expressions now? [Rhys asks, then shakes his head, face losing animation as he takes a swallow of the beer in front of him, looking away from Murdoc again.]

[wwistful]

You may be misinterpreting them! [He says as if he isn't grinning right now. When Rhys shakes his head, Murdoc slinks out from behind his table and moves closer to Rhys, giving him a curious look.] You didn't answer my question.

[higherthaneverybody]

[Rhys looks up at him impassively as he moves closer.] You didn't ask one.

[wwistful]

I didn't? [He raises an eyebrow, trying to remember back before waving him off.] I'll ask it again, then. Why're you so sour?

[higherthaneverybody]

What, of anything you've ever witnessed me do, makes you believe I'd confide anything about my personal life to you? [flatly, though ... there's a certain age there that's not usually present, a warning]