Closed Stick Season

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt had not been in Brightstone in what was probably 5 years but it felt like a lifetime ago. After graduating Ilvermorny he had spent some time in California with his parents, he had visited with his (now) ex a few times but mostly he had stayed in a less than ideal apartment outside of Boston between shifts at a local wizarding hospital training to be a healer. When he had been at home he just laid in his bed and did not do much else. Of course it was his fault for not trying more and even more so for not taking his potions but somehow his brain had decided it wasn’t important, even after he had lost Marisol his dumb brain told him that he was fine and didn’t need to change his habits even though he had not been that low in many years.

​

Now in his thirties, Wyatt was back to taking his potion, going to therapy, and had moved back to New Zealand even though it left him a little out of sorts. He had not gotten a job yet at St Mungo’s as he wasn’t even sure his grades from Ilvermorny, or his experience at the Boston hospital would be acceptable experience out of country as he knew America wasn’t receptive for these things most of the times, at least in the muggle world. He could only assume it’d be the same in the wizarding world and that he would be in a strange limbo so for now he was living off his savings. Living off his savings and being oddly unemployed allowed Wyatt to take his two Golden Retriever’s for as many walks as their sweet hearts desired so now he held a leash in each hand although he barely needed to and they walked on opposite sides of him. Wyatt gave them directions every ten or so yards so they had an idea of where they were walking although he wasn’t quite sure himself. The man was fine to be a bit lost for a moment though as at least he had his two best friends with him but he did want to find the park for his dogs so they could play a little bit off leash on the field a little further from any play structures for children. The two dogs couldn't care less about the presence of children so he was not worried. For the most part the dogs treated them as cats - to be respected from a distance.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Life had been.. busy. She had always imagined running a shop would be busy, but she had been prepared for that. Prepared for working, for managing, for making sure everything was running smoothly. She had made plans, had wanted to make sure she could actually do that. What she hadn't been prepared for was getting pregnant such a short after she had gotten the shop. She loved her kids and loved Asaiah for everything he had sacrificed to take care of them and yet running a shop and having twin toddlers at home that needed running after was starting to feel a little overwhelming. On the one hand she knew they were being taken care of and doing well, on the other she felt like she wasn't there enough. If she spend more time at home she felt bad for not spending enough time at the shop and vice versa. Honestly, it was tiring.

Feeling in desperate need of some fresh air Freya had decided to get out of the shop on her lunch break, take a stroll around the village as she tried to go over things in her head. Catch her breath. She had been wandering towards the park, keen to enjoy the little bit of sunshine they were having, and just barely managed to keep herself from walking straight into a dog when she rounded a corner. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." She apologized to the man walking the dog. Or dogs, as she noticed the second one. It wasn't like she had actually bumped into the dog but she had gotten close enough that she felt the need to apologize. Freya smiled at the dogs for a moment, trying her best to refrain from petting them without permission, before looking up at the man again. She observed him as she waited for him to respond, wondering why the teeniest tiniest voice in the back of her mind was telling her that he looked familiar.

 

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt had been a little startled when a woman nearly bumped into the man and his dogs but was not worried about it. In fact, Cosmo was practically vibrating in excitement at the prospect of meeting someone his tail was wagging pretty hard into Wyatt's other retriever, Flora, who was not bothered in the slightest by the person who had apologized. She would only be interested if there was a ball to play with so he got his dogs to sit quickly and said, "No worries, bro." How he was a 30 year old man who was saying bro still shocked him truthfully but here he was calling a stranger bro. Sometimes he still felt like an idiot kid who had made so much trouble for everyone around him instead of a fully fledged adult with a career and a life. Almost embarrassed at him calling her bro, he chuckled nervously, and said awkwardly, "If you want you can pet them." He didn't really know what else to say to her so other than ask for directions to the park that was all he really had to say. He was not aware of who was in front of him, of course, because he had lost touch with Asaiah some years ago, along with pretty much everyone else. ​

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya watched as one of the dogs seemed fully excited about her being there, finding it funny how the other didn't so much respond to her presence. Still, she didn't want to touch the dog without permission. She chuckled when the man said it was alright by calling her bro and quickly raised her hand to her mouth in an attempt to suppress it. "I would very much, yeah." She responded with a grin when he gave her the green light, happily petting the dog that had been wagging his tail since the very first second. It almost made her want a puppy herself, although she didn't think their house could use any more chaotic energy than it already had at the moment. Perhaps when the girls were older. "They're adorable." Freya told the man, carefully extending her arm to give the second dog a loving pet and watching carefully if it was being appreciated. "So are you heading for the park then?" She asked in a friendly tone, guessing that was the perfect place for the dogs to roam free for a bit.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah could usually be found at home these days, watching over the twins and taking care of things around the apartment. Not today, however. With his older brother fulfilling his uncle duties, Asaiah was free to do as he wished for about an hour or two. His first thought was that now would be the perfect time to take a nap but he needed to get out of the apartment for a while and walk around to clear his head, as raising twins was rather tiring at times. It wasn't the life he expected he'd have but he honestly enjoyed having the twins and their chaotic energy around. It made him forget about the fact that he missed Quidditch and that he missed being involved in that world. Raising Liv and Sigrid almost felt like he was playing a Quidditch match half of the time, what with the toys they often threw at him. But he loved it.

After deliberating on what to do, he decided to drop by his girlfriend and see how she was doing in the shop. He'd happily lend her a hand with customers if she would let him, it'd be a good distraction from life at home. Though when he entered the sweets shop, he was told that Freya had gone and taken her lunch break outside. So he walked through the village in the hope to catch up with her and keep her company if she wanted some. He spotted her not long after he left Honeydukes, talking to a rather familiar-looking man, about their age, with two dogs in tow.

He stared at the man as he moved closer towards Freya and felt a mixture of emotions wash over him as he realised who she was talking to. It was odd to see him of all people here and Asaiah didn't really know whether to be happy or angry with the man. It didn't feel right for him to be in Brightstone. Did he want to hug him or punch him in the face for abandoning their friendship as if it was nothing? The only thing he could think of after a second or two was that Wyatt hadn't changed much since the two of them had last seen each other, it looked like he had only gotten older. ''Hi Freya,'' he said as he stood still next to his girlfriend, obviously still staring at Wyatt.

 

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt smiled at the woman awkwardly as she pet Cosmo who practically would've fallen in her lap if given the chance now that the woman was petting the goofy dog. He nodded as she said they were adorable, that he knew. Honestly they were the only things that gave him joy outside of helping his patients. While Wyatt responded, "They know it too," Flora sniffed at the woman's hand but didn't react positively or negatively. Wyatt knew she just wanted to play with the ball and didn't much care to have that interrupted. "Yeah, I am actually but I haven't been to the park in a long time so I can't remember how to get there." He was hoping she would give him pointers on where to go, she clearly sounded like a local so he was hopeful she would know where he might need to turn.

It wasn't long after he had said this had someone else joined them. It took Wyatt a moment to realize it was someone familiar because his first thought was 'Oh no, here comes the husband thinking i'm hitting on her' which he definitely wasn't. Blondes weren't really his type although she seemed nice he had a penchant for loud women who were maybe a little bit of a bully but in a cute way. After he had gone through that thought and actually took a moment to see the man in front of him he said, "Look what the crup dragged in." He didn't know if a hug would be welcomed so instead he gave a big smile to Asaiah and said, "Dude how've you been?" Knowing Wyatt had made some less than ideal choices as a friend to Asaiah and even worse decisions as a partner, to Marisol, he didn't expect an overly friendly response but these days he was actually doing better and taking care of himself. Frankly it was due to the dogs - he'd gotten them after realizing how royally he'd screwed everything up and just how alone he was and it really helped from that standpoint. He'd made friends back in Boston even if they were muggles who were also dog owners they were still lovely people who he did like. ​

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya had to admit the difference in personality between the two dogs was a funny thing to behold. The first one seemed completely pleased by getting pets from a stranger while the other one didn't particularly seem to care. At least both were friendly. She chuckled when the man mentioned his dogs knew they were heading for the park as well. "Oh well it's just-" She started, ready to explain the way to the park to him when she got interrupted by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend. "Hi." Freya smiled at him, not too surprised to see him. Asaiah dropping by the shop wasn't uncommon, nor was it him doing so exactly when she was out on her lunch break. She was about to turn back to the man in front of them when she noticed Asaiah staring at him with an expression she couldn't seem to place. Something that only became more confusing when the other man spoke up again, indicating that they clearly knew each other. And yet her boyfriend didn't look like he was particularly happy to see him. "You two.. know each other?" Freya asked carefully, glancing at both of them. Whatever their relationship, she was ready to just grab Asaiah's hand and turn away if he didn't want to be here. Although she might just quikly blurt out directions towards the park before she did. She wasn't going to rob those sweet dogs of their day at the park.