A meeting to remember

E

Elspeth Brookes

Well-Known Member
Messages
486
OOC First Name
Ceara (Melissa)
Wand
Willow wand, 14" with Unicorn hair
Elspeth sat quietly in the dark corner of a small, out of the way cafe in Brightstone. She had arranged to meet Lapis Lazuli here, and though usually she didn't like hanging out with her friends from before all her recent 'troubles' happened, she had convinced herself that the young girl wouldn't grate on her nerves as much as some of her older classmates. Tapping her fingernails impatiently on the wooden tabletop, she watched the street outside for the familiar girl. Just when she had been about to leave, sure she wasn't going to show up, the bell above the door tinkled gently, and the third year stepped inside. Elspeth coughed, drawing Lapis' attention, and waved at the seat opposite her own.

OOCOut of Character:
She lurks! :shifty:
 
Lapis walked down the streets of Brightstone, as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself. She was late, she knew it, and it made her extremely embarrassed. Lapis didn't pause to admire the sky, blue as her namesake despite the telltale scudding clouds. She didn't even bother to remove the strands of hair that the laughing wind blew into her face. Lapis had been distracted in the common room, mourning once again the destruction of her flute, and she hadn't noticed the time. And now she was late for her meeting with Elspeth.

Lapis rushed into the small cafe, her hectic entry completely at odds with the gentle tinkling of the bell. She walked nonchalantly over to Elspeth's table, smiling a little apologetically, but not actually mentioning the fact she was late. Knowing Elspeth, she would only tease about it anyway. Lapis hadn't seen her fellow Ravenclaw for ages, and it was admittedly with slight apprehension she approached. Lapis was one of few people who had some vague idea of what Elspeth had really been through, nd even she couldn't properly comprehend the trauma of losing all of one's family members.
"Hey," she said casually, "how've you been?"

OOCOut of Character:
Ooh, she does! Esmerelda will totally lurk too. Note the suble reference to how mean you've been to Elspeth.
 
Elspeth smirked as Lapis spoke. She used to find it hurtful and humiliating that no one knew what to say to her, but now it was merely amusing watching them flail for a suitable topic of conversation. "How do you think I've been?" She had to refrain from breaking out into a cruel smile at the hurt look she imagined was now decorating the younger girl's face. She felt cranky and pubescent today, and was taking it out on people she used to like. As Lapis was closest, she would bear the brunt of Elspeth's anger.

She knew that if she didn't apologise, Lapis would leave and fun would have to be found elsewhere. Elspeth ducked her head, a perfect image of someone about to make an awkward apology. "Sorry Lapis. I just get a bit sick of that question, you know?" She smiled tentatively, silently thanking her younger self for learning how to lie so well to Justine. Her mother could spot a falsehood a mile away, and Elspeth had gotten very good at keeping all hints of dishonesty from her face. She waited impatiently for Lapis' answer, smiling apologetically on the outside and rolling her eyes on the inside.

OOCOut of Character:
Yes, I saw. It was very subtle :tut: I put a potter puppet pals reference in there, only edited slightly. Hehe. I am easily amused.
 
Lapis blushed and glanced at the table, feigning indifference at the polished wood. It wasn't like Elspeth . . . She revised that. It wasn't like the Elspeth she had known to behave in this way. But Lapis' fellow Ravenclaw had changed so much recently, it was impossible to be sure of anything. Lapis tried hard not to take offense. She'd been really excited about seeing Elspeth, for the first time in so long, despite the fact that they shared a common room.

She was actually far more surprised by the other girl's apology. That had never been like Elspeth.
"Yeah, I'm sorry too. Guess I shouldn't have asked."
There was an awkward pause in the conversation, as both girls tried desperately to think of something appropriate to say. Lapis was first to break the silence, to sever the inpenetrable distance that seemed to have grown between them. "What have you been up to lately?"
Too late, she realised that that statement implied that Elspeth was up to something. Never mind. She probably was.
 
Elspeth leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand, staring at Lapis. This conversation was useless. Obviously there was no way her and Lapis would still be friends, and this meeting had been a waste of time. Then again, she wondered, how long would it take for her to make the other girl leave? She was obviously certain that Elspeth would change back to her excitable, happy-go-lucky old self, but Elspeth wasn't certain she even could. There had been too much abandonment, grief, and betrayal in her life.

Elspeth laughed humourlessly at Lapis' next words. "What have I been up to?" She repeated, raising her eyebrow. "Let me think. After my mother died, I went crazy, but you already knew that, didn't you. Of course you did, the whole school did!" She didn't wait for an answer before plunging on. "Then I found my long-lost aunt, and her abusive boyfriend kills her and tries to kill me. Then I get adopted into a family I don't know at all, and am expected to live happily ever after! Oh, and my kitten died. So not much, really." She glared angrily at Lapis, daring her to respond.
 
"Elspeth!" Lapis usually considered things calmly. Normally she would forgive her friend even for such callous behaviour. But today, she had had enough. She'd been constantly bullied for weeks, and taking such rudeness from someone she stil considered a friend was just too much for her. This meeting had been a waste of time.
"I've tried to be nice to you, to be sympathetic, and, I don't know, maybe even friendly. But you're always pushing people away. It's no wonder you don't have any friends! Well, I give up!"

Lapis stood abruptly, somewhat ruining the effect by knocking her chair over as she did so. She stormed out of the restaurant without looking back. Lapis had never pulled off a proper storm-out before, and she would have felt proud if not for the circumstances. She managed to make it around the corner and out of Elspeth's sight before the tears came.
 
Esmerelda had been wandering (or lurking, as the case may be) around Brightstone, when she spotted her daughter in a cafe with another Hogwarts student around her own age. Esmerelda stopped walking, curious. They seemed to be arguing. As she watched, Lapis ran out of the building, without noticing her mother. Esmerelda thought about following her, but decided against it. She had learned by now that Lapis didn't want her help with school-related things, and generally had begun disregarding her advice since learning of her desicion to become a Death Eater. The other girl, however . . . Esmerelda had a feeling about her which she decided to investigate.

She strode into the cafe, picked up Lapis' fallen chair, and sat on it. For a while there was silence as girl and woman studied each other. The Ravenclaw had just caused a friend to leave her with quite some anger, but she didn't look upset. On the contrary, she smiled, sly and amused. This looked more like the sort of person Esmerelda would be interested in than her daughter. In fact, she looked quite promising.
Esmerelda smiled. "Hello," she said.
 
Elspeth watched with amusement as Lapis lost patience with the farce of the conversation. She sat in calm silence as Lapis raged, not even blinking when the chair hit the floor with a clatter. I give that 30 seconds, the Ravenclaw thought, smirking slightly. There was a moment or two of silence, where she considered whether or not to return to the confines of the castle, but before she reached a decision the seat opposite her was righted, and an older woman sat down. She didn't speak, but instead looked at Elspeth, as if sizing her up.

The young witch raised an eyebrow, waiting for the woman opposite her to speak. When she didn't, Elspeth's smile widened. Even though not a word had been said, Elspeth knew the woman had seen the exchange earlier, and to have approached her anyway would make her either a like soul or a fool, either way, Elspeth would have fun with. "Hello. Did you want something?" Her tone was sugary sweet, but the Cheshire cat grin on her face was malicious, and she waited eagerly for the reply. This conversation was going to be fun.
 
Esmerelda shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to reveal too much yet. "No," she replied, almost innocently. "I just saw you arguing with my daughter and got curious. What happened?" She was fairly sure that Lapis would have told this kind of 'friend' about her mother's dark tendencies, and wanted to see if the girl would take the initiative to enquire, or something. Esmerelda had always liked people who took charge of their own curiosity; it was why she had first been interested in Lorenzo.
 
"Lapis is your daughter?" Now that she looked closer, she could see some resemblance. "She left." The girl waved her hand airily as if that was all that needed to be said. She knew that the woman wanted more detail than that, but Elspeth was not giving away a scrap more information than she had to. After all, to tell her of the conversation was to tell her of Elspeth's unfortunate history, and Elspeth wasn't spilling her heart out to a stranger she knew nothing about.
 
Esmerelda almost rolled her eyes, but stopped herself just in time. This young woman was intriguing her more and more, yet the Death Eater couldn't keep a sardonic note from her voice.
"I noticed that. Why?" Esmerelda wasn't prepared to give up yet. She was a persistent woman, and one of the few things she shared with Lapis was an avid curiosity.
 
Elspeth smirked inwardly at the impatience in the older woman's tone. "Because I'm not being as friendly as she'd like." She imbued the word 'friendly' with a degree of disgust. "What's your name?" The question was posed with a casual air that had often tricked Justine into giving important information away, believing her daughter was not listening. The woman sitting opposite Elspeth intrigued her, and she wanted to find out what made her angry, and she wanted to do it the fun way. Tact was all very well, but it was bluntness that made conversations interesting.
 
"Esmerelda Lazuli. What's yours?" Esmerelda didn't have time for games, although this particular one she thought might be fun to play. She wasn't fooled by Elspeth's disinterested act: the Death Eater could see that behind her shell this girl was as fiercely curious as she. Lapis had feighned disinterest far too many times for her mother not to recognise this trick. As a fellow Ravenclaw, it was even more obvious that Elspeth would be naturally curious. Especially since Esmerelda had essentially gatecrashed her meeting . . . Esmerelda smiled. This she could enjoy.
 
"Elspeth." The young Ravenclaw paused, deciding whether or not to test Esmerelda's patience by forcing her to speak next, but dismissed the idea quickly, not in the mood for that mental showdown. Her finger traced a pattern on the table in front of her as she said "So why did you really join me, instead of running off to console your poor little baby girl?" A mocking laugh escaped her, emphasising the contempt displayed in the caustic remarks that had begun to infest all of Elspeth's conversations.
 
Surprisingly, Esmerelda laughed along with Elspeth. "My poor little baby girl, as you put it, is perfectly capable of taking care of herself." She paused, wondering how much to reveal. "We don't exactly see eye to eye these days- she would probably take it as an intrusion. Besides, I was curious. There aren't many people who can make Lapis upset." Other than me, Esmerelda added mentally. She didn't say any more, wanting to see how far this Ravenclaw would go for information.
 
Elspeth was sceptical of Esmerelda's remark, as what she had seen of Lapis did not encourage belief in the girl's abilities. She could tell Esmerelda was leaving out information, but it was her last comment that interested Elspeth more. "Aww, family troubles?" Elspeth cooed, watching the older woman for a reaction. If someone said that to her, Elspeth would probably curse them, but Esmerelda seemed to have more self-control. "Can't get her upset?" Disbelief and amusement were evident in her voice. "She's one of the most easily riled up people I know. Just a little sarcasm and she bursts into tears." The Ravenclaw smirked at the slight exaggeration, and waited for a protective 'mother bear' reaction from the other woman, who seemed to care about her daughter far more than she let on.
 
OOCOut of Character:
Wow, Elspeth has Esmerelda's mind sorted!


There was a long pause. Esmerelda tried to hold back her single vulnerability: family. "Bigger troubles than you can imagine," she finally replied, quiet and derisive. The statement was closing off the topic: Esmerelda didn't want to talk about that. Not to her own daughter, and certainly not to this haughty child, who was defititely better suited to Slytherin than Ravenclaw. Interesting. "Really? I thought she was tougher at school." Esmerelda kept cool, acknowledging with a nod that she didn't really know what went on with Lapis at school. She hadn't even written any letters yet, this year.
 
Elspeth noted Esmerelda's delay in answering, filing it away for later use. The Ravenclaw paused for a moment, considering whether or not to continue with the pointless sparring. "What are you doing here?" Elspeth asked bluntly. Fun as it was to dance around the topic, Elspeth was losing patience with Esmerelda. The waitress chose that moment to wend her way through the tables towards where the two were sitting, bearing aloft the drinks Elspeth had ordered. She took the closest, but didn't sip, instead motioning for Esmerelda to take the drink that she had originally ordered for her daughter.
 
Esmerelda nodded politely to the waitress as she took her drink, then waited for her to move away before replying. Esmerelda leaned a little closer so as not to be overheard. "I think you have . . . potential. If Lapis never trusted you enough to tell you the truth, then I'll have to." The next four words she whispered, low enough that even Elspeth had to struggle to hear them. But by her reaction, she did hear, perfectly. "I'm a Death Eater."

There was a short pause while Esmerelda waited for the Ravenclaw to get over her surprise. Clearly, of all the things she'd imagined, it wasn't this. When Esmerelda spoke again, she sounded quite casual and relaxed, as if the secret she'd just told was no more consequential than a preference to tea over coffee. "The 'organisation' is old and pathetic, Elspeth. We need new blood."
 
Elspeth raised her eyebrows incredulously as Esmerelda spoke. It did explain a lot, including why Lapis had never spoken of her mother. But that she could be so open - almost blasé - about something so illegal, made Elspeth nervous. Was she now in danger because she knew Esmerelda's secret? How was she to react to this shocking news? Justine had always taught her that Death Eaters were evil killers who were going to rot in hell for their crimes, but that had been years ago, Elspeth had changed, and Justine was dead. Maybe it was time she rethought her opinions.

"Are...are you saying you want me to join?" Her voice was incredulous, and immediately after speaking, she realised she had spoken too loudly. Lowering her voice, she continued. "Excuse me, but you've known me for about five minutes, and all you've seen of my personality is that I can be sarcastic and cynical, and that I annoy your daughter! And yet you tell me something that could land you in Azkaban! Why?" The Ravenclaw was bewildered and worried as to why she would say something so incriminating in such a public place.
 
In truth, Esmerelda was still relatively new to being a Death Eater, and didn't know quite how to behave in such a situation. She had simply grown tired of tiptoeing around the point of their conversation. When in doubt, be mysterious. "Join? No, of course not, you're still at Hogwarts. Lets just say that I know more about you than you think. I was merely proposing that I could teach you things you won't learn in school." Esmerelda had heard Lapis talking about Elspeth frequently, so she did indeed know more about the girl's character than might be expected. And, in fact, it was partially because of Lapis that she wanted to help Elspeth. Perhaps this young Ravenclaw could be used to twist Esmerelda's daughter towards her own point of view. They were friends, after all.

OOCOut of Character:
"Don't ruin my story with your logic!" You've forced me to give Esmerelda ulterior motives now!
 
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