Chasing The Unknown

[Karen Hayes]

[adminapproval=11156573]Karen Hayes had been way too excited about leaving the house again. It was no lie that she absolutely loved living under the same roof as her husband and the tremendous amount of "alone time" they get had been something that she clearly appreciated. However, it had also been no secret that being coped up within the house for long periods of time were very boring for the slightly outgoing woman. She was a bit of an indoor person yes, with her previous profession of being a painter and a teacher. However, because of her artistic side, she was also adventurous in searching for inspiration for her artwork. And besides, she taught in a kindergarten, not a highschool, so being outdoors often was not much of a surprise. And so, whenever Anthoney will allow her to go out with him to the magical world, she always had been on the very excited side of things. And of course that included now, especially since she was partially allowed to wander alone.

In reality though, partially allowed had been a very, very, very far-fetched term. Truthfully, her husband had only left her for a small while to buy ice cream for the both of them, and she was warned to be careful like she always had been. And she did intend to stay put, if not wander a few feet to look at items from the windows of several shops. What she didn't expect happening though was the appearance of an animal she had only seen once in the menagerie they went to once. And that was like ages ago! She had been awfully curious about the said animal that was surprisingly wandering the streets, and of course, she followed it, or more like chased it. Karen knew not how long she had been chasing the animal, but by the time it had escaped her gaze and she had grown too tired, she knew that she had wandered too far. She was usually good with places really. And that's why she was mostly able to avoid being exposed as a muggle one too many times in the magical world, she could easily find her way around. But this time, she knew that she had just lucked out for this part of the town was somewhere that she had not ventured, or even dared to. It was shady and spooky and that was the only words she could provide at the moment. And besides, it was like a maze with all the curves! She didn't even know whether to go left or right or straight ahead anymore! Hopefully, she would get back with the path she had chosen. She turned left and went down a couple of stairs.
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[Zane Preston]

Zane Preston had not been in New Zealand for a number of years. Most of his contacts had lived in and around London for quite a while now and since being with Declan he'd tried to contain most of the hauling to outsourced people. Still, there were just some things that he had to do himself. Making new contacts and deciding who was trust worthy was something he couldn't leave with someone else. He trusted no one more than himself to make sure that everything was kosher. The fact that he also used it as an excuse to get away from a grieving Declan helped too. In all the six years of their relationship, Zane had never expected things to go down like this. He didn't know much about Declan's family and he knew that they didn't particularly like him all that much anyway, but he'd always expected that Danika would be there to kick his ass for the rest of eternity. He was honestly quite surprised when he found out, he hadn't expected it to affect him as much as it had and whilst his grief was nothing to that of his lover's, it was still more substantial than any grief he'd felt for anyone else. He believed it was more to do with how it had affected Declan, than any particular attachment to the woman on his own part.

Lighting a cigarette and walking through Bleak street, Zane stopped to look in the shop windows. Maybe he could find a little something to cheer Declan up. Declan had slowly grown more accepting of the Darker aspect of his nature the more time he'd spent with Zane and these days he didn't bat an eye at the cursed objects Zane often kept in his office. Zane smiled to himself as he thought about his fondest item, a necklace that played a haunting song. It was harmless now, but when he'd first seen it, it'd nearly killed him. Some curses were fun, whilst others were more dangerous, though admittedly, Zane had handed a couple out himself. Bleak street was well known for its dark objects, but not everything sold here was dark. Zane was about to enter a rather exquisite jewellery shop when his eyes caught someone in the shadows. Most of Bleak street was pretty shadowy anyway, so this woman caught his eyes for many reasons. Mainly it was her rather conspicuous clothing. A yellow dress was not something Zane would associate with the dark part of Bleak Street. Smiling to himself, Zane turned around and pulled his hood up, stalking closer to her. He stopped when he was only a few feet from her and brought his cigarette to his mouth again. "I believe you are in the wrong place, darling." He drawled, blowing the smoke from his cigarette in her direction. "People like you really should invest in chaperones."
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[Karen Hayes]

Karen would really, really, really love some kind of help right about now. She had been wandering the dark streets for a some time now and she was yet to find her way back from the regular streets where she and Tony would walk through. She was also yet find any sort of life form or human and that worried her to no bounds. How would she be able to get home then? Would she even be able to get out of this alley was the real question though. She knew not for how long she had been walking around in the dark and cold place but she knew that it was long enough to send her husband in a panic frenzy. Well, maybe not that bad of a panic frenzy but she in itself was already starting to get into one. After all, time was running and she may have been brave enough to wander around, but she was also brave enough to admit that she does not do it late into the afternoon or night. Even more so in this kind of place. Muggles were dangerous, so she really did not want to think how dangerous magical folk were in this kind of place. With a sigh of frustration, mostly directed to herself, she decided that it would be a good idea to just stop.

Coming to this decision had been hard for the former teacher. After all, Karen really wasn't one that favored being a damsel in distress despite her obvious love for fairy tales and literature, more often than not involving such. However, it was her stupidity that had led her into this situation in the first place. And she was quite sure that she was getting nowhere in her attempts to get out of the said alley. Besides, what if Tony had started looking for her within the place, then surely it would be easier for both of them if she just stayed put. Just as she should have in the first place. No use crying over spilled milk though. And so, she waited. She did not, in anyway though, expect someone to actually approach her. Nope. That was a big no-no. It would be bad if this man figured out that she was a defenseless muggle, after all, she doubted screaming would help much in her current setting. "Why would you say that I'm in the wrong place? I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing," she managed to say gracefully as she tried to put up a bold front, though she wondered how that was working out. She could say though that this man was positively creeping her out, with his hood and the cigarette. She hated inhaling smoke. They were so not good for her health or his health. They could both die from cancer and she didn't want that. Though she could barely decide whether he was reminding her of the Grim Reaper or some other villain from a movie she watched. Realizing her thoughts were getting way too out of hand, she forced a smile at the man as she tried to keep herself absolutely calm. "I don't need a chaperone to know my way around. I'm just... meeting with someone... Yes, that's right," Karen said with finality as she crossed her fingers behind her back. Hopefully her husband was coming real soon.
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[Zane Preston]

Of all the people and all the ways he could have met someone in Bleak street, this meeting was certainly the lowest on the list. If it wasn't clearly obvious that the woman was lost, her constant looking around was sure to tip anyone off. Zane smirked, though his face was obscured to her through the shadows of his hood. He brought the cigarette to him mouth again, sucking the smoky contents into him mouth only to blow it back towards her. Clearly she didn't like it, which only heightened his enjoyment. "Honey, my dog is more intelligent than you and he runs into the door frame constantly." Either she was lost, or she wanted to hire someone for some not so nice dealings. Zane could get into that, but he had a feeling she was for the former problem and not the latter. It was always best to check though. He could get a job out of this. "So, what? Your hubby cursed your favourite piece of jewellery? Got an ex to dice?" These were the kinds of things that went on in a place like this. Though Zane dealt mostly with potions and things like that, he was no stranger to other more fatal forms of problems. At least for others.

Truth be told, this was exactly the kind of woman that Declan would like. Right down to the yellow dress and blonde hair. If Zane hadn't found Declan six years ago, this would have been him. He took another step closer, his wand always only a wrist tap away and sniffed the air. Was that her perfume he could smell. Was this woman insane? "You are either extremely stupid, or a lot more dangerous than I am giving you credit for." He walked around her, sucking on his cigarette and checking her out. Clearly this woman was not from around these parts. Or his judgement was failing him for the first time in all his life. "Tell me, which is it?" He asked, coming to a stop in front of her again. He flicked his hood off of his head and smiled. "Are you a lost little bunny, or are you going to curse me if I look at you the wrong way. Forgive me, but you hardly seem the type to burn a fly."
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[Karen Hayes]

To say that Karen was not liking the man in front of her was an understatement. In all honesty, she really didn’t like him and she was finding his company more and more unwelcome by the second. She just wanted to get away from him and from this place as soon as possible though she could hardly decide if she should just bolt out of there, play her exit coolly, or just wait and somehow hope that Anthoney finds her before she ends up getting herself killed in this place. And so, she decided that perhaps bolting was the least effective plan she had, and so she tried for putting up an act and finding an opportunity to just leave. She couldn’t act like a kindergarten teacher right now, she had to act more… dangerous? She had no idea what she was doing and had just decided that she would just wing it and hope for the best. "And just because someone looks dumb doesn’t mean that you’re smarter than them. And you do might want to get your dog checked for brain damage or head trauma lest you want him to be dumber than how he is now," the woman smiled though half her mind really was serious about getting his dog checked. And although she was somehow insulted that he was calling her stupid, she knew herself better than that, and that left most of her thoughts to his dog who could have killed because his owner knew not how to care for a pet properly. "Pity," she mumbled as she lost her train of thought once again. "Dice my ex?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, though her heart was racing as she realized just how dark the place she had gotten herself into was. Nevertheless, she tried to keep herself looking calm as she sorted through her thoughts. "Not into that stuff, poisoning would probably work best though so I’d have to buy some… ingredients," she said and hopefully that could give her an opening to leaving the man and going to a – hopefully – safer place.

Karen just smiled sweetly at the man as she tried to process his words. She was not at all sure if his words are a good thing or a bad thing. It was like he was deciding whether she was a prey or a predator and she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be long before it was discovered that she was the former. And a very vulnerable one at that. "Two extreme bounds and yet I’m sure that you would find the answer most entertaining, though that would be for another conversation," she said as she tried to open a chance for her to walk away as she watched the man come near her, observing her, and then finally taking off the ridiculous hood of his. She merely continued to smile though as she turned her back on him, and yet her head turned so she could look at him while she spoke. "I can assure you that I am far from being a lost little bunny, and yes, I am not the type to burn a fly," she said with a small chuckle that was hopefully helping her with her little act that was going on, though all her head was mostly rounding on was where the heck was she or where the heck was Tony. "After all, that is such a pointless thing to do," the woman said before facing front and started to walk away. Hopefully, she could get away from this man that screamed danger.
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[Zane Preston]

Zane burst into a laugh the moment the woman began speaking. He didn't know whether it was the product of holding in all of his anxiety about this woman, only to have it burst, or if it was simply because he was worrying over nothing and this woman was clearly no threat to him. He had to hold his hand up to silence her for a moment as he got back his bearings. This was utterly ridiculous, who let this puppy off of her chain anyway? A big yellow puppy with more bark than bite. Soon Zane straightened himself up and flicked his cigarette away, getting even closer to the woman. Clearly she had no business being here and he had to wonder who would ever think it was a good idea to let such a person loose on the world. Even Declan had more common sense than this woman and he'd found him in much the same predicament. "My, my, if my partner was here, he'd likely be laughing at you. You know I found him in much the same predicament that you are in, however unlike you, Declan knew how to handle me." He winked at her before stepping around behind her and moving to play with her hair. "You really should've just cursed me. Would have saved you a world of trouble you know. Now I know you won't use dark magic, this should be very interesting indeed." He grinned at her before wondering where she might have stashed her wand. She was in a dress, so there were no pockets it could be in. "Leave your lifeline at home did we?" he asked, moving to step back in front of her. Burning flies was clearly not her forte, what luck for Zane to run into a lost little lamb. He jumped at her. "You gonna run, Little Lamb? Let the lion chase you."
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[Anthoney Hayes]

Tony had just been talking to Karen. All he had done was turn his back for a moment to finish buying something, before his beautiful wife was off without giving him a word of warning. If she had, he had not heard her. He had not worried at first, and assumed that she had wandered off to the Magical Menagerie. However, he search all through there and found nothing. Their normal picnicking area was also Karen-less, and that was when the pureblood began to worry. He looked around the area a second, and then third time, and was confident that she was not there. She couldn't have left the magical area by herself though - he was sure she wouldn't, anyway. There was only one place he had yet to check - Bleak Street. He had never been in the place before, though he knew he had family that probably frequented such areas on various occasions. He was not confident about approaching the area by himself, and so called upon his older brother to attend with him. It only took him a moment to apparate to his brother's home, and after some squabbling, convince him to help him find Karen.

Coupled with his older brother, Austiin, Anthoney entered Bleak Street, and his worst fear was realised - she was with some man that looked anything but friendly. He looked at Austiin desperately, before approaching his wife. "Karen!" he reached out for her, eyes wide. "Thank Merlin we found you!" He had been so worried, it felt like ten years had been taken from his life.​

 

[Austiin Hayes]

Austiin hated intruders, especially the familial kind. However, upon having his home violated by his younger brother, all the man wanted to do was appease him and get him out of his home. Returning Sawyer to his cot and hushing Clara for what seemed like the ninth time that evening, Austiin left his children in the hands of his wife, Celeste, and left the premises with his younger brother, all the while berating him. Austiin didn't know the exact terms or situation of Anthoney and Karen's relationship, he merely assumed that she was a muggle that was already acquainted with the magical world and so did not look too far into it. Why Tony insisted on being with her, however, Austiin had no idea. She was somewhat of a fool, and her actions today proved that. The tall man in dark robes walked beside his younger brother, contemplating whether it would be acceptable to just leave them both in Bleak Street and have Merlin knew what happen to them - might actually teach them a lesson. Might actually keep them out of his hair for a while. Might leave him with one less relative to worry about during Christmas and other such holidays.

He was not smiling when they finally located Karen, and he rolled his eyes. Merlin indeed. He half expected to find her dead, and would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little disappointed that he hadn't. His eyes narrowed slightly, however, when he recognised the man currently terrorizing his pseudo-sister-in-law. "Hello Zane!" he greeted, grinning at his old friend. He then approached Karen, and tugged her away. "I apologise if my sister-in-law here, Karen, has been bothering you." The last thing he needed was having it known that his idiot of a sister-in-law was also a muggle. It would make his life impossible. He gave Karen a stern look, and gestured for her to go to Tony. He had had it with both of them. "I'm glad to see you look well, we should catch up some other time." He added, smiling slightly at Zane.
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[Zane Preston]

Zane was yet to finish having his fun when he suddenly noticed a rather worried looking man rushing towards them. Two men, actually. One of whom he recognised. He waved happily at the woman as she was ushered away. "Bye! Thanks for playing with me!" So she needed her husband to look after her huh? He looked back at Austiin however as he heard that she was his sister in law. "You poor thing. I'd have killed her by now if she was related to me. How do you deal with it?" He asked in sympathy, patting Austiin on the arm in a show of solidarity. He smiled then when it was mentioned that they should catch up. "Oh, I agree. Next time I'm here, or maybe if you drop by England for another meeting or something we can hang out. I'm sure Declan would love to meet you." He was lying of course, he never allowed Declan to meet anyone who was in a similar business to himself. It was inadvisable. "I have to run, but it was nice chatting with you. Owl me when you're next in London!" he turned from the family then and headed off, however he stopped and turned back. "You're wife is very cute by the way. Should probably keep her on a leash. Woof, Woof." He laughed as he continued walking. He loved being an ******* sometimes.

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Fin!​

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