Here and Back Again

[Indiana Night]

Indiana Night pushed her long blonde hair out of her face as she walked past the shops towards the Beach. It was summer in New Zealand now, approaching Christmas too. That fact was still weird for the young woman, she hadn't been in New Zealand since the end of her seventh year and now she was almost 21, the legal drinking age in the United States her home country. Her friendships from her time in New Zealand had disappeared long ago and while she hoped to learn about some of them while she was here, she'd almost prefer not seeing any of her friends during her visit. Not Preston at least. What she had known about Preston, was the dancing and flirting with another girl at the Halloween dance while they had been together. She hadn't gone to the dance, hadn't even made plans with Preston to go together. Apparently he decided to be a bad boy kind of guy and told the girl he wasn't seeing someone because Indi wasn't there. At least, that's the gossip she heard in the classrooms after the feast. She hadn't even bothered to find out if it was true, that was the year for the OWLs and even though she stopped really believing in magic after the summer with her muggle father she still focused on her school work till she finished school. Indiana was glad that she hadn't needed to go back and see him again after that. She hardly spoke to him only saw him in classes, the girl had her heart broken but she wasn't devastated like her sister had been when her heart was broken. They were over a long time ago, even if it hadn't been discussed.

There wasn't any use in dwelling on the past now for Indiana Night. She had moved on since, dated a few guys, nothing serious or lasting. And once out of school she hadn't stuck around the wizardry world, staying close her father, the last of his children. She felt bad for the man, while she enjoyed magic, she loved her dad and the magic world took a back seat for the past two years. But now Georgiana was a coach for professional team in Australia and asked Indiana to come and see her team and visit. She couldn't say no to her sister, even if it meant having to take off work. Her job was meaningless to her, just working for the paycheck right now. Though she had flown into Australia, Georgiana wanted to meet Indiana in New Zealand, the magic realm was seemingly more exciting here than in Woolongong. Indi, knew her sister wished she would be more involved with magic world since it was in her blood, her mother's blood. She was constantly getting post from her sister about the happenings in the magic world, and Indiana would just reply with how the muggle world was doing.

The twenty year old paused in the bright warm sunshine as she looked over the beach. It was still early in the day, Indiana wasn't meant to meet with Georgiana till mid afternoon. She had taken up accommodation in one of the hotel buildings here in Obsidian Harbour. She had glanced through the little map that was in the room's guide to the town the previous night and decided after breakfast to go down to the beach and spend some time near the waves. Still in her cover dress Indiana went right into the water. It was warm but it still sent goose bumps up her legs and to the rest of her body. Taking a deep breathe she got good smell of the salty air. She missed the beach, that was one place she always longed to go to in her life. It was a place where all her cares just melted away for a little while. The woman walked along the water's edge down the beach for a while. She hardly noticed the people walking and jogging by her, they weren't faces she knew. Stopping about halfway down the beach she decided to head up the sand and put her bag down, it just had a towel and some sunscreen, water bottle and other various things she might need while down at the beach. Spreading the towel out Indiana sat down and looked over the water for a while, then reaching into her bag she pulled out the book she had been reading during the flight over from the United States. Indiana felt content sitting and reading her novel on the beach and planned on doing it for the rest of the morning before lunch.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt Archer had not been to the beach in a while, but when he'd finished up with his last shift in the Emergency room which was where he was currently, or the magical equvilant and had finally managed to wash his hands for the final time, and the sun had been slowly rising over the early morning, Ty instead of heading home for some sleep before his next shift that night had decided he need to go to the beach, it was a strange compulsion, with his eye sight, the sun shine wasn't the best thing, it didn't let him really enjoy it, but he felt he needed the warmth of the sunshine, and it wasn't like his closest friends would still be out, his work, much like theirs kept them up at all times, but they'd never still be out drinking at this time of the morning, though a drink was exactly what he really wanted. However, since he had work later that day, the man knew better than to do that. He didn't get much time to himself, but with the holidays approaching he knew he'd be splitting the time between work and with his family, but he didn't really want to be with his family, he wanted to spend the time with his friends, drinking until he was numb. Being a healer was definitely no picnic, he'd worked hard in school, but he'd never worked so hard in his life, but he knew he was approaching the end of his training another year and a half and he would be a fully trained Healer, and he could finally pick where he wanted to work. As much as he liked all the places he'd been at so far, the emergency stuff was definitely in a whole other world of fun, it was fast paced and hard, but he loved every moment of it.

Tybalt switched out of his work clothes and into something far more casual, and then instantly once he walked out the hospital he apparated to the first beach he could think of, and enjoyed the feeling of warmth on his skin the moment he arrived, he pulled off the faux leather jacket, his socks and shoes before rolling up the bottom of his jeans, slowly stepping down the steps and on to the sand, letting the soft feel of the sand on his feel just encompass him for a moment, he felt both so tired and yet so awake, he had so many sleepless night while working, and then sleepless days, but he wouldn't exchange it for anything. The man just walked to the water's edge and let the small waves lap at his feet, Ty put the sunglasses on and began to just walk the length of the beach, his feet remaining in the water, he found himself enjoying the combination of feelings and sounds, the way it all blended together to give the morning such a lovely feeling, after the chaos of work, it was definitely a welcome change, something that so deeply contrasted where he had been not a half hour ago. Ty stifled a yawn just as he glanced out in front of him, and a girl, or well woman he recognised or was sure he recognised crossed his vision. Tybalt had a moment where he truly thought he had begun hallucinating things, but it couldn't be her, could it. A lot of his friends from first year had dropped off along the way, he didn't have many left, but the one that always stuck in his mind had been her, Indiana Night.

The man approached her, walking towards the now laying figure in the sand with the book held up to her face, "Indiana?" he called, a tentativeness in his tone, after all, given his eyesight he could have it all wrong, the man pulled off his sun glasses and lightly stroked the stubble of his beard in nervousness, his pale blue eyes not leaving this woman in front of him. He'd grown, become as tall as his cousin, thinned out slightly from the slight baby fat, his voice deeper far far less accented, and she too if it was her had changed, but he would always remember her, "That you?"
​

 

[Indiana Night]

After awhile of sitting on the beach Indiana could feel the skin exposed to the sun starting to tingle. She put the book down, much to her dismay, and lathered up with sunscreen. It was a muggle invention sure, but in all honesty Indiana decided to be a muggle more than a witch the past few years anyways. Once she got the exposed skin on her legs, arms, and face she laid down again on her back. Picking up the book she glanced around, hardly a soul on the beach, to her that was perfect. Her book was starting to get more compelling as it reached the climax of the story and she hardly wanted to put it down. She wasn't an avid reader, but she knew flying in an airplane from New York to Australia she'd rather have a book to read than watch the movies they have on the plane. Movies and TV were something she never really caught on to as a child, and that was carried over to her adulthood. She typically worked herself all day long, went out with work friends to bars and got guys to buy her drinks, though she was underage. Then she'd sleep a few hours and return to work in the morning. Work was work, she was an underpaid/overworked employee of a restaurant chain called McDonald's. It wasn't her dream job, but it was something and kept her close to home, to her father who was getting older each year. She had a uniform and an awful hat she wore to every shift. Being one of the few older than twenty who worked there and didn't go to college, she often worked the early morning to early evening shifts. That worked great for her, she had time to go home and have dinner with her father and then go out with the local college kids and other deadbeats similar to herself. She hated working there. But what choice did she have?

Indiana felt her stomach clench as she heard her named being called in a manly voice. That was not her sister's voice, nor her brother's. She felt like saying no and dipping her head farther into the book without looking up to see who was calling her. But the voice continued and while the man sounded unsure of himself, she knew he was right. It was her, here in New Zealand far from where she felt like she belonged. She didn't belong to this world anymore. She didn't feel that same excitement she felt when she first arrived to New Zealand with her older sister by her side. Oh, how she hoped it wasn't Preston standing before her right then. She wished she hadn't just left her wand in the hotel room now, she had forgotten this morning, the dangers of being without it. Closing her eyes and breathing in and out for half a second the woman glanced up from her book. The sun was higher now and breeze from the water blew her hair in and out of her vision. But her heart stopped short when she saw the man's face.

Tybalt Archer, the friend she had avoided in the common room and classes during her last three years at school. The only one of her friends who would have convinced her that magic wasn't all bad like her father believed. The one, who would have made it his job to see her enjoy Hogwarts and learning about magic despite how busy he had been those last few years. She cringed, Indiana felt her inside's curling up, she knew it was him. While he was older and had that scruffy beard she knew it was her old friend Tybalt. Where would they be if he had done all those things? If he hadn't been busy and had sought her out and stopped her from running. Would they have stayed in touch after school? Would she have stayed here in New Zealand and found her calling in the wizardry world? She had down pretty well in Potions and Ancient Runes, would she had done something wither either of those? Her mind was racing with all these What If's that she had forgotten to answer him for a few moments. "Yes," Indiana finally answered unsure if she should acknowledge that she had a pretty good idea as to who he was or not. Her blue eyes looked up again and found Tybalt's matching blue eyes. Her mind flashed an image that to him her eye's weren't blue, they'd be some sort of gray. "Tybalt Archer?" She had forgotten all about the book in her hands now.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt thought for a moment he'd had it all wrong, that it was just his tired mind playing tricks on him, that this wasn't in fact Indiana but just some poor woman who looked just like her, he would feel embarrassed yes but also a certain amount of relief, he had no idea what had happened to his friend, he had no idea what had become of her. He hadn't seen her about the school, and either she'd just become really good at hiding or she'd left, but he'd risen upwards, prefect, quidditch captain, head boy, and it would've been nice to really share those things with his first friend. Tybalt was on the verge of apologising and turning away when she spoke, a simple little yes, and the sound of her voice rang in his mind, he had missed her, she had always been one of his closest friends while at school, though they'd grown apart, he had in a way missed her. Of course it had been so long since he'd thought of her that he no longer thought of her, just on the few occasions he thought he'd seen her, but until this very moment it had never been her. Instead it had always just been almost a figment of his imagination. The man felt eleven again, as he nodded in answer to the question, he was indeed Tybalt Archer, her old friend, there was a part of him that felt like she probably didn't want to see him, or spend any time with him however brief he wanted it to be, but there was almost a need for him to spend time with her, and in a definitive move he sat down on the sand beside her, placing the few items he had down next to him, letting his eyes glance at her.

Tybalt didn't often think of how things might've been in school, in his mind he did pretty well, he'd come out with his NEWTs, he was training to be a healer, he was looking forward to helping others fully for the rest of his working life, he didn't have plans to settle down just yet, much more enjoying the sights and sounds of the world and all it's offerings. If it was another life and they'd just met randomly now, he would've definitely tried to sleep with her, but he couldn't even think of such a thing now, she was much more the eleven year old he remembered in his head that this young woman in front of him. He grabbed a fist full of sand and let it seep through his fingers, "I actually can't believe it's you, after so long," he said a little quietly, "What happened to you?" he was never usually this subdued, but it was something in the way things had gone which made him so, "One minute we were friends and then you were just like gone," he told her meeting her gaze and having a inquisitive expression sit on his face. He knew that bombarding her with questions of the past were hardly going to be a helping hand in this, or a good thing for her, especially if she didn't want to talk about it, "Are you living in New Zealand again?" he added, a safe question, he thought it would be a better thing to ask than the hundred of other unhelpful questions he had in his head, he had moved into his own place in New Zealand, he loved the solitude of the apartment he had, and had since living in the country well over ten years, really lost the accent he'd once had. A lot of things had changed since school, much like how he assumed the same was true for her.
​

 

[Indiana Night]

A nod. That was all Indiana got, and she let out the breath she had been holding. Her nerves were rising up and she wished instantly she hadn't come to New Zealand, that she had talked her sister out of the 'trip to the past'. Because seeing this man Tybalt had become, this was not the fun trip into the near past she had wanted of this little vacation. But she couldn't run, not now and not from Tybalt. It would haunt her for the rest of her life, knowing she could of had her friend back. The possibility of having him back was enough to keep her running. She was looking out over the ocean as he sat down, finally breaking her eyes away from his form. It was a brilliant day the sun shining and such. But she wondered how well Tybalt was handling the sun, she glanced and saw the sunglasses on the sand next to him. The Head boy, the Prefect, the Quidditch Captain. Tears almost came to her eyes but she pushed her thought away, those were all things she had inspired to be when she first went to Hogwarts, well Head Girl. She closed the book she had been holding onto still, folding a corner down to mark her spot. Her eyes followed her movements as she put it on her towel beside her.

Indiana sat up, feeling uncomfortable just lounging as Tybalt sat there questioning her. Sighing she ran her hand threw her long blonde hair pushing it back from her face. Images of her last years at Hogwarts flashed in her mind as she waited for the questions to take a pause long enough to be answered. Indiana knew she had been there, all the triumphs of his school years she hadn't just left him. It may be creepy to view it in that way, but one would have to remember that anyone at school with them during those years also watched Tybalt's life unfold as it did. A lot of people are flies on the wall for other people, for Tybalt Indiana just became another one. She didn't blame him, it had been her own choice. She felt the pain of missing out on his life's adventures as he stated how she had just disappeared from his life suddenly. "I," Indiana started to go into an explanation but just shook her head to clear her thoughts. Her eyes watched his blue ones as he spoke, they seemed brighter than a moment ago when he had been standing above her. She wasn't ready to just jump into a friendship she had worked so hard to run from. "No," she said finally, "I'm not living here, I'm visiting Georgiana. She's the new coach of the Wollongong Warriors. It's been a few years since I've seen her and she thought it would be fun to meet here instead of Australia." She felt safe answering his last question first. It gave her the chance to calm her nerves and steady her voice. She looked at him as she spoke, but she avoided his gaze.

Indiana sat up straighter and folded her legs in front of her and placed her hands upon her lap. She felt compelled to explain to him. But, at the same time a spark of anger was boiling up inside. He let her disappear from his life. His girlfriend took over his life and then school and all the responsibilities that were given to him. But surely he would of had time to seek her out, send another girl up to the dorms to get her when she was hiding there. Or force her to talk after classes in the halls? Closing her eyes with her head facing downwards she cleared those thoughts from her mind. She wasn't an angry person. She wasn't the one there who had the right to be angry anyways. Indiana was lucky, Tybalt didn't seem angry. "I'm sorry about school," she started her American accent holding her voice strong. Looking up Indiana met Tybalt's eyes, a sad look present on her face. 'I, I stopped believing in the power of magic, Preston became a jerk, and I didn't want you to see me cry,' were the thoughts on her mind. "Things were starting to go so well for you, I would have just held you back from all you were able to do at school," were the words that came out of her mouth.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt could hardly believe who was in front of him really, honestly, could barely believe it, and he felt like he had just jumped into the past. After all, she had been in his life and then she hadn't, or it felt like that, he'd stopped seeing her in classes, stopped seeing her at the games, just every part of his life he had been in she'd disappeared from, and why she hadn't so much as spoken to him about any of it, in his mind they were friends, she should've come to him to talk if she wanted to, he would've always tried to help her, to just be there as a friend, but he had never even gotten the chance to, she had just disappeared. Tybalt had focused on his work, the few other friends he'd had, focused on quidditch, focused on everything else. A part of Tybalt realised with a sobering thought that if she hadn't wanted to speak to him then nothing he might've done would've helped there would've been no words for him to say that would've helped, nothing he could've done that would have helped the situation. Tybalt felt a little at a loss, feeling like he'd really just been a bad friend to her, that he could've probably done more to help, but he just hadn't done anything. There was nothing he could say that would excuse him from that, but Tybalt knew it meant nothing to linger on those days, to think about might have been had he done just one thing differently, that was silly, time had passed since then, and well, there was no way that he could ever change what had happened. Tybalt just let his gaze sit on hers with a small smile on his face, he was happy to see her again, happy to see that she was well.

The man easily listened to what she was saying, as she chose to answer his easier question, what she was doing in the country, it hardly surprised him that she wasn't living in New Zealand, but that she was visiting family, he hardly expected her to still be living here, and he had assumed she'd moved back long before they'd graduated. The healer in training smiled at her words, he did miss playing quidditch, and it was interesting to hear her talk about her sister and what team she was the coach of. It wasn't something he'd ever been that aware of, and he wondered what Indiana was doing with herself these days, if she had done something like that, become a quidditch player. Tybalt let the silence sit heavily in the air, unable to really finding himself being able to say anything, until he gave a heavy sigh, "How long are you here for?" which was a safer topic than asking her what she was doing with herself these days though he wanted to ask her. As she replied his earlier questions he just shook his head at her, "That's bullsh1t Indiana," he said to her rather more bluntly than he would've really wanted to be, but he had to assume that Videl was rubbing off on him, "We were friends, and our friendship would never have held me back," he told her, "I was busy yeah and I tried to see you, but you were just never there," his tone felt like he was accusing her of deserting him, but it was just more he was annoyed at how she hadn't even tried, "Did you leave the school or something? I don't even remember seeing you at graduation," Tybalt stopped himself from saying much more, instead he just shook his head at her, this was pointless. He couldn't understand where his anger was coming from, perhaps from his own tiredness, and because of all that happened, but while his initial shock had worn off, he just felt anger towards her, the excuses she might give would mean nothing now, almost three years after graduation, "I'm not even sure I care any more,"
​

 

[Indiana Night]

Indiana knew her explanation why she was here would pass with flying colors. It was the truth after all and she had always been much better speaking the truth than lies. Even speaking half the truth might not be enough to convince anyway, her face was always so easy to read, especially for Tybalt. Counting the days till when she was leaving was something Indiana started doing the moment her foot touched ground. "Five days. I took a week off of work to accommodate the flights, but I'll be here five days including today," she answered his question much quicker than Tybalt had come up with it. The days seemed to be growing longer the more she sat in front of her old friend. If she kept bumping into him, she feared she wouldn't want to go back at all. But she'd been running from her past life as a witch since the day she was let out of school. Scrunching up her nose as she looked back at the ocean Indiana wondered how it would have been different if Nana B hadn't become sick and her father's hatred of magic hadn't been spoken so fluently during the summer between fifth and sixth year. Though even during fifth year she had been distant from Tybalt. She was in pain then, upset over Preston and not in the mood to have friends hanging around that could hurt her too. "What are you doing now?" She asked, curious and wanting the spot light off of herself for a moment.

There is was, the anger Indiana first feared when she had heard his voice calling her out. She looked down at her hands as he spoke to her. She wasn't sure what she was feeling now. The nerves and butterflies went away and she had already pressed her anger down. She had been there, in the background but he hadn't ever noticed her. But wasn't that what she had wanted? She fought to keep her eyes from rolling. Because she had hidden herself away from him, he just hadn't been able to find her hiding spots during those last few years. Sighing the young woman stood up brushing herself even though there wasn't anything sticking to her. She hadn't been swimming yet and for most of the morning had been undisturbed on her towel. Stepping a few feet forward the woman put her hands on her hips decidedly. Indiana knew she was awful at lying, but his words hurt her heart. But in her heart she knew he didn't have a reason to care anymore.

Turning around, Indiana let her hands fall to her side. She gave up. "I was there. Every crowning moment you had, I was there Tybalt. Sure, I didn't talk to you. I sat in the back of classes. I never left, I ran though. There wasn't anything you could have done to stop me. So sh!t man, I'm sorry, you deserved better than that. I should have told you what was going on. I should have done a lot of things. But I would have been a burden on you, and don't even try to say I wouldn't of been. You don't know. And no, I wasn't at graduation. It's not like a requirement for the magical degree bestowed upon us at the end of seventh year. I went home," the young woman wasn't angry as she said these things to him, no Indiana was defeated. All these thoughts had worn on her heart for years now. "Nana, she . . . she got injured by magic. Before then I hadn't ever seen magic as bad. But when someone you love is hurt by something that's supposed to be good, it changes you," Indiana continued as she knelt down in the sand a few paces away from her old friend. "Hmmph. I never thought I'd have to face you. I . . .," with that Indiana was lost for words. She hadn't said everything, she didn't fill him in on her heartbreak of her first boyfriend. But she felt as though she was finished explaining for the moment.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that she hadn't even intended to be in New Zealand that long, although he knew that pretty much anything she did would annoy him to an extent he wanted to move away from this all, to walk away from her, he'd thought that seeing her would make him feel better about everything that had happened between, or really just the lack of anything happening between them, but it didn't seem to do that at all, Ty found himself more annoyed at her, he found himself getting frustrated about things he would never have been annoyed at ever before. The man had moved beyond school, closed that chapter of his life, and yet seeing her he couldn't help but bring that back, things he'd long since stopped thinking about. He couldn't help but be curious about why she was flying, "Why not apparate?" he asked unable to stop himself from saying that, he was mostly just curious about it, he always remembered that her family were a little less magically inclined but turning of apparating age meant she was an adult and able to make her own decisions about things, and he didn't understand the people who still seemed to be so committed to their family they wouldn't use the magic the natural world gave to them. However at the question being returned to him, he found himself wondering if he should even tell her, what good would it do really, she wasn't here for long enough that she likely wouldn't care about it, but he picked up a fist full of sand and let the grains slowly fall to the ground through his fingers, "I'm training to be a healer, I just finished work like an hour ago, night shift, what do you do back in America?" he told her with a small smile, trying his best to be friendly with her, but he was failing at it.

Tybalt didn't want to return the question thinking it more than a little silly to do so, and he didn't want to continue these questions any more, and he didn't know if he even wanted the answers to what he was saying, what he was asking. He had once liked Indiana, but no more, she was someone from his past who had all but deserted him without so much as a word about it, much like the girl he'd been seeing at the time, he remembered the conversation with Preston at that Halloween where they'd both decided to call it quits with girls who weren't there, and his had been with the girl he was sat in front of. Tybalt listened carefully, "Every crowning moment I had?" he muttered to himself repeating what she'd said in a quiet tone of disbelief, not meeting her gaze as she spoke, not even realising the woman had moved away, only noting the sound of her voice and the shift in it. He only felt anger bubbling inside of him, it almost felt like she was trying to say that it was in part his fault for what had happened, and then what followed was the reality that someone she had known had gotten hurt by magic and that obviously meant to completely avoid it, and Tybalt just shook his head at her, he was perhaps acting mostly on the tiredness he felt, the strain of a tricky shift and just his annoyance at her medicore excuses at what had happened, he finally looked up at her, "So you abandon magic because someone you love got hurt?" he said in disbelief, "That's a sh1t excuse, my magical cousin spent most of his childhood being beaten to a pulp by his muggle father, a man he loved, and yet he harbours absolutely no hate for non-magical people," the man returned a tone of bitterness in his voice over what she said, he didn't have to be sympathetic towards her, hating something because someone could get hurt was silly,

"We were supposed to be friends, you were my best or really pretty much my only friend and you just f##ked off. I would have put everything off to help you, because we were suppose to be friends, so f##k you and your crowning moments. You were more a burden when you just stopped hanging out with me or talking to me, because I was worried something had happened to my best friend," Tybalt stopped himself from saying anything else, he sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes with his hand and shaking his head, muttering about the fact he was spending too much time with Videl. Tybalt sighed again and just adjusted how he sat in front of her, knowing that following what he'd said it was probably better that he just leave.
​

 

[Indiana Night]

Indiana saw the question coming from Tybalt's lips it was a question she was sure she'd get from plenty of wizards and witches. Pursing her lips she wondered if he even cared enough to hear her answer. She let the answer go, instead she watched her old friend as he told her about his life. She nodded, noticing the faltering smile on Tybalt's lip. He answered because he was a kind person, she knew that. While, Indiana always feared this time would come when she had to be confronted by Tybalt, she wished she had been more prepared for it. "I got splinched. I failed the stupid test and I just haven't had the time to take it again," she said about his first question. What she really meant was that she didn't have the courage to take it again. Indiana wondered if she hadn't been so determined to be a Gryffindor like her sister if she would've been put in Hufflepuff instead, she never felt truly brave these days. "Oh, that's really cool. Tough I bet but rewarding all the same . . . I work at uhm, a restaurant, I take orders, give people food," she had an embarrassed smile on her face as her cheeks turned red. She figured Tybalt would just shoot her down for working in the Muggle world, so she hoped he wouldn't question her on it more. She was really impressed with Tybalt's line of work. While she had always seen herself going for Quidditch after school when she was younger, she hadn't been sure what Tybalt would do.

Indiana took all the loud words Tybalt was saying to her knowing she deserved every bit of anger that he had for her. She was an awful friend, she knew that. That's why even now she hardly got close to people. "I know. I don't hate magic," she said with a tone of just utter helplessness. He hadn't been there that summer for all the screaming matches and arguments. For all the hate spewed about magic that summer, she hadn't ever come to hate magic herself. It had been easier to side with her father, she loved him and didn't want him to turn his back on her, like he did for her siblings. It was easier to abandon magic than it would have been to abandon her only parent. She hadn't even told him that she would be seeing Georgiana. The poor man thought his youngest child was visiting a friend in Florida for the week. She disliked the lying but she missed her sister dearly. But it was clear Tybalt didn't care anymore. He wasn't going to jump back into a friendship she had abandoned long ago just because she was suddenly in front of him again. His words from a moment ago, 'I'm not even sure I care any more,' rang through her head. Looking up at Tybalt, Indiana wondered what he was still even doing there. He still sat in front of her, sighing, it gave her a tiny bit of hope that the man didn't truly hate her.

Indiana moved forward, she wasn't sure how close to Tybalt she could get. He wouldn't hit her, even if she deserved a god punch. Tybalt hadn't seemed in the past moments like he would be aggressive against her in a physical form. She stopped about a few inches from his feet that was out in front of him, still on her knees. Looking at the man in the sunlight the young woman felt her stomach clench up. She feared him, most his hatred of her. At that moment she couldn't believe she had fell for her dad's tricks. She spent two years from her own siblings because she had pity for her father. She gave up magic and people she cared about, for what? A dinner every night with a man so lost in his own bitterness he didn't care his underage daughter went out and got drunk most nights? "Tybalt," she spoke placing a hand lightly on his foot in front of her. Looking up to his face she wondered if the man in front of her would even look back and meet her eyes. "I miss you, I have missed you. How I ran from everything, that was terrible. I put my trust in my father, a muggle, who knows nothing of this world. I should've come to you the second we came back for fifth year, I didn't. I wish I had been a better friend, at least someone worth looking at to you. I was immature and didn't think. I don't blame you for anything. It was all my own doing to myself. You were the greatest friend I've ever had and I gave that up without explanation. I didn't come to New Zealand to seek you out, and I don't expect us to be friends again. Truly, I wish things had been different. I was foolish but you don't have to forgive me, I don't want any pity. But one day, I hope you won't remember me with hate." Sometime during her talking she had taken her hand back from his leg. Indiana sat back on her heels tempted now more than ever to get up and fling herself into the water. Cover her face beneath the waves and hide away there till he was gone. She was embarrassed about her actions as a child. This Tybalt was not the same as he'd been in school, when they were friends. He was older now and she wondered if he'd ever have room in his life for her again. She turned her face from him, looking down the beach instead. She could see him from the corner of her eye, but she was focusing on not letting any tears fall. She didn't want to look pathetic, not now.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

It wasn't like Tybalt expected such an explanation although it did make sense given that the only reason he could think of was because of failing the exam. Tybalt had worked hard at it, and been extremely pleased to have passed when he did and it was one of the most useful bits of magic he could do, of course what with him training to be a healer he knew a lot of useful magic, he could do a lot of good in the magical world to help others which really was all he had ever wanted to do. The man listened to what she was saying and then to what she did for a living, ignoring her comments about what he did, not caring for her opinion on what he did, she seemed almost embarrassed by what she did and he didn't really know how to react, he knew that his career path made him stand out slightly, but his two closest friends, Videl and Kieran were hardly the type of people in employment anything like his and neither of them felt any shame about what they did. He didn't know what else to tell her about it, in the years where they had grown so apart he'd scarcely if at all seen her, he had no idea what she might've done, their early friendship had never really included discussions about post school decisions. Now they were post-school and he very likely thought that the job she did wasn't one she really had ever wanted to do, he on the other hand did love what he did, sure he was sitting currently on the sand exhausted after a night shift dealing with a conversation that should not likely be had on so little sleep but normally of the sort like this ever happened.

Tybalt didn't care what had happened, or how she had felt about everything to do with magic while it had happened, in his mind it was just a waste of time, none of that mattered any more, it really didn't. Ty didn't think that he cared anymore about what explanations she might give to him about what had happened, her excuses for abandoning the friendship they'd had. The healer in training met her gaze as she placed her hand on his foot, and he did nothing to pull away from the touch. He looked at her, and his gaze was not filled with hatred, he looked at her with indifference, with tired indifference, not hating but not caring either. The look of indifference he usually adopted when dealing with patients he didn't particularly like or who weren't particularly kind, Tybalt always tried to be kind to people, always tried his hardest to be the nicest he could to people, but there were just times when he couldn't be and as much as she had been important to him worse this was no longer true and she could hardly be surprised. He was at least glad that she didn't expect to be forgiven for what she'd done, which was a huge relief to him, since he didn't think he cared for apologies which were so past the point of being necessary or warranted. The man shook his head at Indiana, "I don't hate you, I just don't care," he told her bluntly, absolutely meaning the words that he had said to her, it wasn't particularly kind but he didn't think she cared about him at all, so he was returning the service. It didn't matter what she said, or how she phrased it, in the end to him, she'd just left him, or just stopped being his friend all of a sudden and without any indication that something was wrong that he might've at least been able to endure with her. He just looked at her, letting his gaze meet hers and for a moment let his mind wonder what might've happened had they remained friends, it was pointless, but he couldn't help it, Tybalt enjoyed how life had turned out, how things had turned out for him, he was in a good place, and this conversation with her was draining to him, "I'm too tired for this," the man muttered rubbing his eyes with his arm, half because of the intensity of the light and because of the exhaustion.

Tybalt glanced at the sand in front of him, and then up at her letting out a long breath, "What's done is done, it's over. I guess at a certain point I did want these answers, and that part of me asked for them now, but I don't care about whatever excuses you have over what happened, the short of it was you just disappeared from my life without one word so much as to explain it and now I don't care for your explanations as to why or the apologies that are coming far too late, it's done, we can't change what happened," Tybalt kept his gaze on hers as he said that, not letting hers leave his, only when he finished, "It's in the past, and at least now I know what the f##k happened and that it wasn't because of something I did," Tybalt shook his head slightly, "God I need a drink," he muttered quietly placing his head in his hands and rubbing his eyes with his thumbs, maybe it wasn't too early in the day to call Videl for a drink, since he was working later that day more than one would be inadvisable but Tybalt felt like he needed the one.
​

 

[Indiana Night]

He keeps saying he doesn't care, was the thought on Indiana's mind. She knew that was one of the better things he could be feeling, or rather not feeling at the moment; but Indiana was a little disappointed. It wasn't the same as third year when she came back from her disappearance then. That wasn't meant to happen, this time she made herself absent from his life. She had the feeling that this whole encounter might have been easier if he'd been mad. He'd already be gone out of her life again and she could have moved on again with her life. Gone back to her normal routine, but being here was already far from her normal routine. It was already past mid morning and the sun was high in the sky. She noticed Tybalt was constantly rubbing his eyes. He looked tired and worn, he had said he'd gotten off work awhile ago. The woman felt bad then, that after working the night shift he had come down here to be put face to face with her. The longer they sat there the more awake she felt but she hadn't been up working all night like Tybalt had. As she heard his comment about drinking, she knew it wasn't an invite but she couldn't help but let out a snort as she leaned back. The rest of his words melted away into the air, he wasn't the same Tybalt and she wasn't the same Indiana. "You're not the only one," she muttered as she looked over the guy in front of her. She hardly cared what the drinking age in New Zealand might be, not that wizards and witches ever really followed muggle laws anyways.


Indiana glanced down and in her reach were his sun glasses. She paused as she looked at them and then decided that an act of kindness would be taken with indifference but she didn't want Tybalt to have any issues with his eyesight later in the day and blame her. She reached down and picked up the glasses, her fingers moving over the temples, careful not to touch the lenses. "Pretty bright today, huh?" Indiana passed off the sunglasses to their owner and then wasn't sure what to do. She had been reduced to talking about the weather with the guy that she had been able to sit for hours talking too. Life was pretty twisted around and she couldn't help but let out a little laugh. A little hah of this is just crazy enough to seem a bit funny now. She wiped her hand over her forehead her smiling gracing her face for what seemed to be the first time that day, maybe even week. The whole situation was hardly funny, but the fact that she went to the beach and he did the same. Fate, brought them back together not even caring about the fact she had spent so much time running away from this guy in front of her. "Do you think the Leaky Cauldron would sell firewhiskey before noon?" She spoke with a light laugh, it wasn't a completely open laugh she was still on the fence with Tybalt. "Oh who am I kidding, of course they would." Indiana didn't move however, she knew once he left she would go her own way. She'd go get a drink, or just go back to her hotel room. She hardly thought she'd see him again after this. And that was the reason why she hadn't gotten up herself and left this entire conversation. Seeing Tybalt again, it brought back days when she had been happy with life.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt had said his piece to her, he had come to terms with it and realised what had always been in the back of his mind, Indiana wasn't going to be sticking around and once it had all been said, the mutter of a drink was all he wanted, where he had still felt pretty awake prior to coming to the beach and seeing her straight after work, he could no longer claim this to be true, now, he was feeling exhausted and it was all catching up to him it seemed. Ty looked at her as she agreed with him about drinking and he nodded, that was certain something that he wanted currently but it wasn't something he was going to get. He felt that it would be funny to get a drink with Indianna after all that had happened between them and all the words he had thrown at her, but he was beginning to think that it might actually be a good idea for them to do. It would do nothing to repair what had happened, but he was thinking that perhaps if she wasn't in New Zealand long, perhaps it could go towards fixing their relationship, or at the very least letting it begin again.

Tybalt was a little surprised when she took his sunglasses and placed them in his hand and he was able to just easily slip them on. Glad for the relief to the bright sunshine on his eyes and he just looked at her through them, a small smile of thanks on his lips as he looked at her, "Thanks," he muttered quietly and then brushed his hands on his shirt and wiped away the sand. He found himself laughing slightly at her statement, "I know they do," he said in agreement, since he definitely knew they did, it wasn't his first night shift and it wasn't the first time he'd needed a drink after work. He knew that they served alcohol early, knew they would be more than willing to served them alcohol, he decided that he would go get one, and then got to his feet brushing his hands and t-shirt down, grabbing his things and then looking to Indiana, "You want to come with me?" he asked her with a small smile, "I can only get one, I have another night shift tonight, so I can't have more than one, but you know, start this friendship afresh," he said to her, rubbing the back of his head and feeling a little awkward about it all, but smiling at her, a tentative rebuilding of their friendship after all that had happened and so many years.
​

 

[Indiana Night]

Indiana was relieved when Tybalt took the sunglasses with a smile, "Sure". Her smile was tentative to begin with but it slowly reached her eyes. She had to admit, it was nice talking with Tybalt and seeing him. She had seen him in passing briefly before leaving school at the end of seventh year. He had looked similar to how he does now. But, truthfully, the past almost three years only improved on how he looked. She had to roll her eyes at herself internally. She hardly came here to find a boyfriend, especially one who spent the last twenty minutes basically yelling at her. Looking back to their school years, Indiana laughed at how she hadn't ever pictured marrying Tybalt or anything, but she had felt from the very start that they'd be together for a lifetime. But now, she wasn't as sure about that lifetime, it had seemed more like the lifetime of a fence lizard, four years. Tybalt was up on his feet quicker than lightening it seemed to Indiana. She hadn't every pictured them being ones that fancied drinking, but she had been eleven when they were first friends, she just wanted butter beer at that age. She was grateful that he seemed to be laughing with her rather than at her for the time being.

"Do you work most nights? Must be hard on any romances you have," she asked but her end statement was kind of mumbled to the ground as she got up and gathered her things back into her bag. She waved her towel in the air to loosen any sand stuck on it, before putting it in her tote bag as well. Glancing over at Tybalt she realized she'd have to put her shoes back on, but they were just sandals she'd put on once they were off the sand. Without fully thinking about it, Indiana had been curious to know if Tybalt grew up liking girls or guys. She hard;y heard anything about the guy while at school dating. There was a rumor that he'd been with a Ravenclaw, and she figured Bituin, but never confronted the girl to really know about it. "Sure then. Let's drink the morning away and come up with something to laugh about," Indiana said smiling as she stood in front of the young man. She'd enjoy the one drink, but knowing Georgiana the girl would have to stay sober enough to hang with her sister later in the evening. One would be enough for her as well.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

The healer wasn't sure if Indiana would agree to it, but he was pleasantly surprised when she did, it wasn't like he hated her, and he'd said his piece to her, there was no need to add anything more and he was glad that she was agreeing to one drink, a tentative beginning of a new chapter in their friendship, perhaps the beginning of their friendship anew and though she wasn't going to be in New Zealand that long, he felt like it would be good to at least try to fix it, so that the residual feelings he had towards her were an annoyance over what had happened between them. The man smiled at the question but shook his head, "Just right now," he replied, "It's essentially my turn," he said to her to explain it, most of the time he was working during the day but occasionally he worked at night, it was just part of his job really, and Ty loved his job and wouldn't exchange it for anything. He had worked insanely hard to achieve it and didn't mind that he didn't really have much time for other things, "I don't really do romance," he replied, with a small shrug, he didn't really, ever since leaving school, Tybalt had never once been tied down to one person, he didn't have much time to really date or any interest in it either.

"I don't really date," he told her, which felt like a pointless addition to what she had said, but it was enough to just say, and he just walked along side her as they left the beach, and he felt a little more relieved at the company now, and at the thought of at least one drink that they could have, "What about you?" he was curious to know if she was seeing anyone, the last he'd known about her was the thing with Preston which he and Preston had talked about that halloween, he'd been in the same situation, but that was a long time ago now, and he just found his smile returning as he looked at his old friend. It was strange a little to be walking with her as adults on the beach, school life seemed so far away and yet he couldn't help but feel if the situations had been different they would've done this more often, "I might also get a coffee," he said as an after thought, a drink and a coffee to help him in trying to push into the night shift, if got sleep that would help but Tybalt found it more difficult to sleep during the day, something he'd grow more used to he hoped.
​

I totally did not forget about this..

 

[Indiana Night]

There was an edge in the air for a moment but it was gone for Indiana as she started walking with Tybalt. He was smiling at her and she felt as though he could float up to the sky. But for the young woman she was sure it was because her old friend seemed to want to be friends again, and also partly because a really good looking man just smiled at her. This was a moment she'd be happy spending the rest of her life in, having a good friend and getting a drink and just chatting about the random questions they ask each other. It made her wish, as her mind spun in different thoughts, that she was in the area for good instead of a week. She didn't question him what he meant by his turn. She knew full well what that meant, on the rotation schedule her turn seemed to be always at work. She'd get two days off straight every pay period but the rest of the time she had that awful early morning shift into the afternoon. Indiana was glad the business wasn't one that was open all night. She'd miss being able to go out to the local frat parties around the colleges nearby and drinking any troubles away. "No?" She responded when he answered her about being in a relationship. Indiana found it slightly intriguing that he wasn't into being with any body. He had always been sneaking about during third and forth year for awhile she was sure that he hooked up with Bituin.

Indiana laughed as Tybalt continued to inform her on his romantic life. He sounded like a complete idiot, she was sure there were plenty of woman who followed his moves waiting for his glance to land on them. But then again, all the nurses at the hospital could be old and not his type at all. He seemed to spend most of his waking hours at work. "Oh, I've dated a few guys, muggles mostly. Hard to explain the dishes cleaning themselves, however," she said with a light laugh. Her life running from magic Indiana hadn't forgotten the cleaning spells and practiced those most days. She was the typical lazy American after all. "Nothing lasting, therefore. I haven't been on a date in a few months, actually," Indiana admitted to her old friend. She shook her head, she didn't spend much time dwelling on love. It seemed a cruel emotion to feel, like hate. Both ends of a spectrum and she'd rather stay towards the middle of indifference. She looked up at his face as he talked about coffee. She was still pretty energized, slightly hungry but a drink would fix that feeling for an hour more or so. "You should probably get some beauty sleep too, got to keep up the handsome appearance," she said teasing the man next to her. She moved her elbow out from her body and used it to tap Tybalt's arm. Talking of sleep made the girl wonder about where Tybalt was living here in this wizard town, what type of place did he have? Did he have roommates? And more similar questions, she would probably ask if she got a chance during their little drink date they were headed too.

How could you forget this completely unplanned plot?

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt nodded his head, he really hadn't been much in the way of a relationship to him it was a pointless thing, he didn't need it, he didn't particularly want it, he liked going out with his friends, and having fun. He liked just being able to forget about commitment and just have fun. To him there was nothing more fun that just being able to relax with a different girl every time he wanted it. There wasn't much stopping him from settling down, he knew if he wanted a relationship he just had to look a little bit, but in the end he was happy to not have anything, he didn't need it and where he'd always imagined he would married by now, he was happier not. It wouldn't matter to him what others did, if they decided they wanted to be in relationships it was no skin off his back and he didn't mind what others did at all as long as they were happy. He was however a little curious about her and her love life, he wasn't all that surprised when she said she wasn't with anyone or that the few had been muggles, it wasn't that he'd expected it but that it seemed to him to be nothing too new. Few people he met were in relationships, given that his job generally meant that they were like him, mostly unable to balance real life and then also a real relationship, it was tricky to find someone who wasn't also in the same profession or who also didn't have the same sort of crazy schedule.

Tybalt was surprised that she hadn't been one a date in a few months, she wasn't exactly bad looking, he couldn't see why she wouldn't have been able to get a date, it seemed a little odd that she hadn't, unless she just hadn't been looking for one, much in the same that he wasn't. He smiled as they walked at the statement and just nodded his head, "My handsome appearance?" he questioned with a joking smile at her, not sure what she really meant by that but taking it lightly, "I'll sleep tomorrow," he inwardly groaned at this prospect, not particularly enjoying the thought of having to be up longer, "I live pretty close so I don't need to worry about travelling far for work, it'll be fine," he told her, although he doubted she cared much about what he was doing, "Are you staying with your sister while you're here?" he asked curious about her current situation.
​

 

[Indiana Night]

Indiana hardly understood how Tybalt was going to go over 24 hours with very little sleep. Sleep was her paradise, she loved taking naps in the sun. She always napped after her shift got out, that way she'd have enough stamina to last the night of going out. She was super glad she had taken this trip for the amount of sleep she'd get compared to usual. "You know the scruffy face, the tall build, the bright blue eyes framed by your darker hair. Handsome, most women would agree. But, I meant it more in the way you need your beauty rest," she said offhanded. She smiled back, she was in a good mood again. The sun was warming up her bones that were used to the New York winter they were having back home. She was tempted to ask him if he wanted to just have a rain check on the drink so he could get a nap in. But the guy seemed rather set on the drink and not sleep. She felt bad for him but then again if he had always been one of the smartest in classes it always seemed. If he didn't love this job it wouldn't be hard for him to find another. She was surprised that he hadn't been dating or into dating, but each to their own she supposed as they continued walking towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"I'd say let's get you drunk enough that you just pass out. But that wouldn't go over too well with going to work tonight," Indiana shook her head slightly laughing at the image of a drunk Tybalt trying to help a patient. She got one of the questions in her head answered without having to ask, he lived nearby. Which meant she wasn't very far from her friend's home even right now. That was weird to think about, Tybalt all grown up having a place of his own. "Oh no, she's living in the Premier state over the sea and so I'm just at the sh*t motel this town has for the week. It's not bad, I can see the water from there, but they need a new maid that's for sure," she told Tybalt more or less annoyed at the temporary housing. Especially since her sister would just literally be popping in and out to see her whenever she could during Indi's visit. Indiana herself wasn't too sure about why her sister had insisted about New Zealand being the place to stay. She half wondered if the older woman had kept tabs on her old friend here and did this so they'd be forced to see each other again. But she shook her head at the thought, Georgiana didn't know anything about her relationship with Tybalt past being friends still in third year.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt grinned at her, as he listened to her explain to him how he was handsome, it was almost an unfunny joke, just a little bit of enjoyment from him which put her on the spot and forced her to figure out something good about him, just enjoying the imposition this put her in. Ty just laughed lightly at her, rubbing his hand on his scruffy face and just grinning at her, it wasn't kind of him to do so, but in part it also felt like they were somewhat returning to normal, to what they had been. Tybalt smiled tiredly at her and then just laughed at her words, "Oh no, I don't think my supervisor would much enjoy me turning up to work drunk," he joked with her, "I'd end up breaking more bones than healing," Tybalt couldn't help the little smile which graced his lips as he spoke thinking of how ridiculous and wrong it would be for him to do that, there was the option of calling in sick, but Tybalt had never been good at letting people down, a trait he'd gotten from his school days and easily carried.

As Indianan described where she was staying he just shook his head at her, "No, that's unacceptable, that place is atrocious," Tybalt said with a shake of his head, he knew they hadn't been friends again long but he couldn't have her wasted her money on some motel that he knew was horrible when he had the space for someone to crash, admittedly it was a one bed room place and he would likely have to sleep on the couch but he was more than ready to make such a sacrifice, "You should stay with me," he told her with a definitive nod of his head the tone indicating he wouldn't take no for an answer, "And before you say no, come on, it'll be cheaper, I have the room, and it's not like I'll be in much at all," Tybalt added, unsure of if his pitch was actually helping him in encouraging her to stay with him rather than just some random place. The former gryffindor knew that they had a long way to go before being friends again but he definitely felt like he should be the one to give this his best effort, not just discard her and throw it all away, it had been what she'd done, and he didn't want to be like that, "I even have a copy of my graduation speech, I'll let you read it since you missed out on hearing me say it," Tybalt glanced at her as he said this, the smile reaching his tired face as he lead her off the sand and towards the concrete towards where they could share a drink.
​

 

[Indiana Night]

Indiana smiled at Tybalt's grin, it felt like he was teasing her back for her word choice. But to her she didn't mind the sort of flirty fun attitude they were having. Though she doubted she'd ever purposefully flirt with the guy unless she was past the point of being drunk. He was good looking but while she was on the market, Tybalt always was like a brother to her. Georgiana and Kayden had each other, the older twins; when she got to school she had always cared for Tybalt almost as if he was her twin. Tall, dark, and handsome were more her type. Tybalt was the opposite of that, which made him a good friend. She rolled her eyes at his response, she didn't think he'd be that bad wasted but she hadn't seen him drunk before to know. "Well, I'll be sure to stay away from the hospital tonight either way." She wondered if she could get him his drink, if she'd be able to convince him to nap over drinking the coffee. Indiana was tempted to offer to bring coffee by his place before his shift if he took the nap, mostly just to see what his place looked like.

"Well, it seems most tourists don't make this a stop on their list of places to visit," Indiana replied to his comment about the motel. It really wasn't a place she'd ever want to visit it again, but she wasn't there to complain. She was still enjoying her trip planning on being out in town most of the time anyways. His next comment, however, almost stopped her in her tracks. She always knew Tybalt to be wonderful generous person, but she never thought he'd just offer her of all people a place to stay for the week. She had already been opening her mouth to object when he continued on, stopping her from saying anything. "Tybalt," Indiana started saying, but she was flabbergasted and had to take another moment to compose her words. It just happened at that moment they were crossing from sand to concrete and she paused to put her shoes back on and he was already moving on to another comment. She didn't catch it as her mind was reeling still in his offer. "Are you missing the roommate aspect of school, Ty?" She asked jokingly, though she was feeling slightly awkward at the prospect of staying at his place. She'd been curious about it, but this offer was out of the blue and kind of changed up what she had pictured this little trip to be.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

Tybalt couldn't quite believe that he was actually walking with Indianna, it seemed so surreal to him, and given how tired he was it almost felt like he was imagining it, that his tired mind has conjured up this image of her but that when he went to sleep and woke up again he would realise it had all been in his head, which likely was not a good sign for his mental health. But it seemed real, she seemed real, the jokes they were making seemed real, and really Tybalt was kind of really hoping it was real. The healer in training like that they were able to joke, the initial feelings pushed aside, and that they could joke about being drunk at work, "I definitely would," Of course Tybalt had no intention of having so many drinks he couldn't sober up in time for work, he had worked too hard to get to the position to let such a thing happen. But of course the friendly joking made it easier for him to do, and it was never going to be true. It enabled them to just talk about things, or share a little bit of easy conversation in a time where they might've just had silence, he had no idea what to really talk about with her, since it had been so long since they'd been together in any capacity and his interests since then had definitely changed.

Tybalt laughed at her comment on the motel, he didn't think it was a stop to visit or that anyone should have to remain in such a place so he felt like it was almost his duty as a friend to offer her somewhere better to live, he had the space so it wasn't exactly going to be much skin off his back and rather just mean that he'd have a little more dish washing to do, and thankfully he could do that by magic. So of course, he had offered it to her, he felt like it was the best option, while they were just new to being friends again it was the friendly and nice option something good to do for someone else. Tybalt looked at her as she seemed to appear to object and he was already coming up with responses to it, why it would be good if she did, what benefits she would see from it. That kind of thing he had ready to say, as he put on his shoes just as she responded, "Maybe a little bit, after you spend seven years sharing a house with countless others and dorm with like 4 other guys it is a little strange to live alone," Tybalt replied with a small shrug at her, "You should just stay at mine, if anything it's likely cleaner," he knew that if she turned it down he wouldn't force her, but as her friend he felt that it was right for him to offer.
​

 

[Indiana Night]

Indiana had spent the past couple of years trying to forget Tybalt, Preston, and the other friends she had at Hogwarts. It had worked well for her up until this trip to New Zealand. She was pretty sure she was going to be fuming with her older sister once she saw her. "Alright fine, but I'm making you food before each shift while I'm staying with you," the young woman replied to Tybalt. She knew she couldn't hold back forever, she was sure saying no would be more awkward then saying yes. While she knew how to use a food fryer she was also talented in a normal kitchen. She enjoyed cooking, something in the stirring and cutting food was a nice meditation way to get away from the world. She wondered how well the man ate, working such odd times she wondered if he ever had the energy to make his own food or if he ate out at the pub while he drank. It would be easy to tell Georgiana later about the change in venue, so her sister would be able to pick her up there instead of having to trek over to the motel every time her sister was in for a visit.

"And hey, if things work out well maybe I could continue living with you and be a live in maid/cook for you," Indiana said with a giggle as they continued onto pavement. She was disappointed for a moment realizing she was leaving the beach behind, the one thing she had truly been excited about for the trip. But, she put her sadness behind. Reconnecting with Tybalt seemed more important than the sun and beach. Plus, she had been serious about that drink, she really did need it. She wasn't surprised when the conversation lagged, it had been a long time since they had proper conversation and it wasn't like Indiana was there to comfort a bullied Tybalt any longer. She wanted to back out of the entire thing, she knew that hanging with Tybalt and encountering magic was the exact opposite that she had been aiming for the past two years. But now she was starting to feel that more and more this was where she had meant to be the entire time, living and breathing magic.

 

[Tybalt Archer]

The healer's face erupted into a grin as she agreed to stay with him, and though he was sure that he was playing with fire in that, and wasn't exactly probably doing the right thing if she just up and left without saying anything like before with zero contact after the fact he was going to feel a little hurt, but this was zero commitment to anything, not to their friendship or to anything they might've been. The man was just happier thinking that this was just the nice thing to do for her, and that she deserved to not have to stay in a crummy motel when he had a perfectly good place for her to stay that was really within the area. The healer in training shook his head, "Oh you definitely don't need to," he told her with a nod, knowing that she really didn't need to, but he would of course appreciate it if she did. Tybalt had gotten better at cooking recently, it was easier to get better when he had no choice, although given that he often had a full on time table meant that most of what he ate was largely easy to make with zero effort and no time.

The brunette listened as she continued laughing lightly at her statement, "Oh that would be something, my mum might actually come visit me," he joked, since his apartment while not untidy was also not tidy and by her standards just not good. The man tried his best, but when he was working a lot of the time and barely home the rest of it, he didn't have all the time in the world to just dedicate to cleaning. He was happily walking along with her and though it was a little odd and didn't flow as well as things between them once had he was still feeling pretty satisfied by it all, he felt exhausted and knew that he would pay for all this excitement tomorrow when he was finished with his shift in work but it would be fine, and he would be fine, "Here," he took out his keys and then wrote down his address on a spare bit of paper from his pockets and then gave it to her, "I don't need the keys, I just apparate in and out," he told her, "And this is incase I forget," he was indicating to the written address. He knew they wouldn't be too far from the drink and was just happier knowing that he'd given it to her before he crashed or before he forgot. The Healer just smiled easily at her, feeling so much more at ease, but still immensely tired than a moment before, though still knowing there was little he could do about it, "Come on, the leaky cauldron is just over there, let's get that drink,"
​

 

[Indiana Night]

It was nice to smile Tybalt grinning again, Indiana had missed her friend a lot. She wondered how things would have been if she hadn't stopped caring for magic and friends. Now she was a party girl, but would she had continued to date Preston? Or would they've broken up and she dated Tybalt? It was hard to say for sure. She had been sure they'd be friends for life, but that never meant they'd be romantic together. Even now, she wasn't sure what the outcome of this new friendship with Tybalt would mean. Right now it meant a place to stay that was nicer than a motel. And that was fine with her, she hardly wanted anything to happen that would mean the end of this new friendship. Probably shouldn't date any of his guy friends, she thought to herself knowing any relationship like that had the potential to cause a rift in their friendship. Be it through the dating or a break up. Indiana laughed with her friend, really meaning the laughter too. It was nice for her to not have to force anything. She was back to the girl she had been and she had the easy going nature of Tybalt to thank for that.

Indiana rolled her eyes at the comment about his mom, "Oh I see why it might be messy now, keeping her away I see," she teased her friend. She was surprised that he pulled out keys and handed them to her. But as he explained it made sense. She couldn't pop in and out his place like him and having the address written down was handy. It'd be easy to send this over to Georgiana once their early afternoon drinking fun died down. She'd also have to go collect her things from the motel as well. But she figured it was better to get the promised drink now and get Tybalt back to his place for hopefully a nap before his shift. She'd rather know where his place was before trying to find it carrying the things she had brought for the week. "Well, thanks Ty. So, then. Let's get that drink in you before you pass out on me."