End of Summer Party

Nodding absently, Elijah retreated back a ways before turning on his heel and walking forcefully towards the bar. His mind was reeling and the alcohol would do him some good. His hand went to the packet of cigarette’s he’d put back in his pocket and he retrieved one from inside. He placed it between his lips and flicked the lid of the lighter back, the flame instantly igniting. He lit the cigarette and put the lighter away as he slipped onto the barstool. The bartender looked at him expectantly as Elijah inhaled. He took the cigarette away and blew the smoke out of the side of his mouth as he tried to figure out what he wanted himself. “Two Firewhisky’s.” He said finally. “And for myself...” A sly grin pulled at his lips. “...surprise me.” The bartender smirked, nodded and turned away, getting the drinks ready.

There was something about letting someone else make your drink for you. They always threw in something unique to them, it wasn’t reproduced like Firewhisky. Elijah had a feeling it would be a cocktail from the smell and he wasn’t complaining at all. Fruity and delicious with a hint of something else... When the bartender finished the drinks he set the Ogden’s on the bar and put the glass of hot pink cocktail next to them. Elijah inspected it with interest before flipping the man a Galleon and sliding off of the stool. He picked up the cocktail and put the Ogden’s glasses together. He pinched the sides and picked them up as he’d seen the waitresses in the Leaky Cauldron do hundreds of times before. Then he made his way back over to Brienne and Daniel, sniffing the strange cocktail as he did so.

“This is strange,” He said once he’d returned. “But it smells good.” Elijah shrugged and held out the Ogden’s for them to take as he continued to look at the pink liquid. The ass had probably spiked it with something but Elijah was alright wit that. The quicker he got drunk the quicker he’d find himself slumped against Julia in a park in the middle of London. “Alcohol does odd things.” He said thoughtfully. Elijah put the glass to his lips and felt for the base of it. He tipped it back and let it wash down his throat. Once the glass was empty, Elijah held it back as he normally would and he shuddered a little. It was strong stuff whatever it was but it tasted extremely good.

Daniel and Brienne took the Odgen's that was ordered for them. Brienne downed half of hers, it was a bit strong for Firewhiskey. It tasted stronger than all the Firewhiskey she'd tasted. Daniel, on the other hand, sipped at first, then took more in. He then practiced something he thought might add to his appeal, seductive drinking. He looked over at Eli and started drinking the Firewhiskey in a seductive manner, flicking at the rim of the glass with his tongue, and sipping in between naughty grins and other facial expressions.

Brienne gripped her glass and felt kinda funny watching Daniel do his facial expressions and seductive drinking. Her ears drooped a little, so she looked more like a tame dog then a wolf.

There was an art to drinking but it was an art that Elijah had never mastered. He had had no care for it when the opportunity arose to learn it. He knew, of course he did, but he did not practice. He taught the girls but by the point that he even broached the subject he’d already instilled in them what he had learned. Why tease with drink when you can tease with food? Well that and why bother with everything else when you could touch them? Humming to himself, Elijah held his glass up to the light given by the fireflies. He dropped it back down to his height and licked one side of it, taking from it what was left of the fruity cocktail. He hummed again and his eyes momentarily went back to Daniel. Elijah froze and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. So he had an incredibly willing pupil on his hands but the question was, what was he to do with him?

Elijah’s eyes went back to Brienne and he smiled slightly. Elijah stepped over to her and curled his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. He nudged one of her ears with his nose and whispered. “Smile,”

Brienne smiled softly at Eli, and stared into his eyes. She teased him a little by moving away a tiny bit, then smirking. Then, she'd wrap her arms around him when she thought that it was right.

Daniel finished up his drink, as did Brienne when she moved a bit away again, using that as an opportunity to do so. Then she moved back over to Eli and sorta...flaunted her curvy body with a few shakes of her bottom and bosom. Her tail was wagging and over her back, sort of mimicking the "let's play" gesture of the wolf's domesticated cousin. She had a sort of tomboyish, playful charm to her that she thought could never be matched by any other female.

“Down girl,” Elijah chuckled. He was not a dog person by any stretch of the imagination. Even as a human he had an aversion to the things and they seemed to like chasing him as if they knew something the humans didn’t. He might have had an aversion to dogs but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t sleep with one. Of course that was figuratively, he didn’t handle wolfiness and dogginess well. Even Rob freaked him out at times. The Animagus was as in tune with his form as Elijah was with his and the two would often clash if they caught each other in their alternate forms. The cat didn’t like the dog and the dog didn’t like the cat. It was usually a fight Jen would have to break up at the end of it then she’d hex Rob and pander to Eli.

The Slytherin looked at his glass again and frowned a little. He could have thought of something witty to say but his thoughts were elsewhere. He was trying to think of something, something he could teach while they were there. Something subtle. But all he kept getting was visions of Ann Marie and her bloody fluffy underwear. Lingerie lessons would be a complete waste of time unless he was a cross-dresser as well. At that thought, Elijah frowned once more. He wasn’t sure what else he could say. His thoughts were completely dried up, now replaced with memories he didn’t want to see. The woman had no shame. If he remembered rightly one time he’d come back from town to the studio to find her butt naked with heels on her feet and a feather boa around her shoulders. “How about dinner?” He suggested on a whim. “I’m starving.” Of course, Elijah didn’t want to eat at the party. That was wrong. There was, however, a little Italian place in London that had been calling his name for the past month. He just hadn’t the time to dine there.

Dinner? Her? No boy had ever asked Brienne out. Her doggish nature settled down, she started becoming more and more human in behavior as she became level headed despite the alcohol.

"Of course! My tummy's grumbling. But...what about Daniel?"

Daniel turned his head at the mention of his name, he liked people talking about him. Even if it was negative. Any attention was good to him, it was sad, really. He was also this way with Stanley, which made him suspicious that maybe the boy he loved wasn't faithful to him.

"What about me what?" He asked. He wished he was an Animagus or something. It'd make him impressive to some men he'd had crushes on.

Dinner was what Elijah needed; that and an expensive bottle of red wine. That was a habit he’d picked up from Jen. He drank a lot of wine before he aligned himself with the Dent siblings but Jen drank red wine like water so after a while the Slytherin picked up on his surrogate mother’s habits. His real mother preferred white wine for some inane reason. Elijah had no clue why but his alcohol habits had changed along with his eating habits. Gone were the days when he’d eat anything on a plate that was presented to him. Jen had refined him as a well-bred pureblood as she and her brother were. Elijah had accepted it though. With her he hadn’t fought.

A lazy smile made its way onto Elijah’s face and he looked at Daniel. The other man had completely spaced out. “I’m taking the pup to dinner.” He explained, looking sideways at Brienne. “You were included as well of course.” He assured.

Elijah’s mind then went to Amelia. Surely he couldn’t abandon his date. Well, had it been any other woman then he would have been out of their like his tail was on fire but he couldn’t in this instance. He wasn’t that cruel. He wouldn’t just abandon her and disappear. The Bulgarian cleared his throat and searched the area for her. He spotted her at the same table she’d been at before and he tried to catch her eye to no avail. He sighed and glanced hopefully at his companions. “Does anyone have any paper?”

Daniel took a pad of paper from his pocket. It was small, as well as the pen he got.

"Here you go" .

He handed the items over to Eli.

"Whatever you're writing, if it's to a specific person, better make sure that you put it where you can see it. Otherwise they'll think something's wrong. Or if it's your date, that you stood them up" Brienne said. Never had the phrase "give a dog a bone" been ever truer at that moment for her. Of course, she didn't want to look like some needy woman who couldn't handle being alone once in a while. That wouldn't look too good for her, since she definitely knew most men wouldn't go for a desperate clinger.

Elijah smiled in thanks and took the pen from the spiral binder at the top. He flipped the pad and he put the pen to the paper. He moved it, his lazy calligraphy appearing on the page. He glanced at Brienne and raised an eyebrow, not quite grasping what she was trying to say. He’d spoken English for as long as he’d spoken his own language but there parts he still didn’t quite understand. It was usually the phrasing that stumped the Bulgarian, though. Elijah tore the piece of paper out of the note book and put the pen between his teeth. He put the pad between his legs so he didn’t have to put it down and quickly folded the page into a paper aeroplane. He took his wand from his pocket and charmed the paper so it could fly on its own and he sent it over to where Amelia was with the words: Going to dinner – want to come too? – Eli.

“I might be cruel and unusual but I know when and when not to walk away from my dates.” He said quietly. Eli tucked his wand back into his pocket and took the pad from between his legs. He put the pen back into the binder and held it out for Daniel to take. “Thanks.” He murmured.

Brienne felt a ping of jealousy, she'd have to share the man she was going to dinner with. Whatever, at least she was being taken to dinner, that's all that mattered now.

Daniel took the pen and paper from Eli.

"You're welcome!"

Daniel put the pad and pen away in his tux pocket.

Brienne's simple black dress ruffled with a slight breeze. She visually traced each ruffle, each fold was unique in some way from the rest, but ended up looking the same in the end. Especially since the ruffles weren't meant to be there in the first place, but was just gravity , and could be folded out if she kept her hand stretching out the dress. That was minor stuff she thought of while she stood there.