The York Gallery, Sunday afternoon

[magdaofslovenia]

The Gallery wasn't re-opened for business yet, though the door was open. Sophie was rather delighted with her purchase, but she needed to go over the books first before she decided if any changes needed to be made-- aside from the name, of course. Charlotte wasn't even Charlotte York any more, but Charlotte Cooper; so the gallery would need a

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[furious_maximus]

Max hadn't had any plans to stop by the gallery. Charlotte had seemed nice enough, but not really interested in him, and he could take a hint.

But then he thought he spotted a familiar flash of dark hair and his feet were carrying him that way before he really took notice. Considering he didn't have anything else going on, that was okay with him.

[magdaofslovenia]

Sophie was considering exhibitions when she heard someone walk in, then smiled. "Max! Hello. And welcome to my latest acquisition."

[furious_maximus]

"Acquisition?" Max asked. Too bad he didn't know about her other career. Then he could ask if it had been a legal one.

"No longer satisfied with the exciting world of education?"

And if he looked pleased to find someone he rather liked in the gallery. Well... that's because Max was pleased and rarely bothered trying to hide his emotions.

[magdaofslovenia]

"The last owner just got married and is moving to New York. I'd like to stay on the island, but... Well." She shrugged, looking not at all resigned. "I've enjoyed teaching, and another course teaching drama would be lovely, but I don't know that I'm up to the rigors of fourteen weeks." Short-term commitments were much better. "And this is what I enjoy." She smiled at him, and toasted him with her iced-tea glass. "Care for some?"

[furious_maximus]

"Sure, thanks." Max wasn't actually thirsty, but she was offering him an excuse to stick around. Like he was going to pass that up.

"I suppose I hadn't realized you were so into art."

[magdaofslovenia]

"Ahh, didn't I tell you? My course now is Art Appreciation and Protection." She poured him a glass, then asked, "Lemon slice? And I adore good art. The kind that conveys something. Originality. Spirit." She handed him the glass, leaning back against her desk with her ankles crossed. "And I need something new after last week. Something to ground me, I think."

[furious_maximus]

"You got sucked into that thing too, huh?" Max asked, eyes darkening slightly. He took a sip of the tea to cover that. He still wasn't happy with what he'd learned from Raven.

[magdaofslovenia]

"Mmm. Yes. Not as badly as some. I was only actually there for a day and a half, not three days." Sophie looked thoughtful, still disturbed by it, and remembering how shaken Maron was. "And my dreams were not as all-consuming the week before. But it was still-- ugly. I detest ugliness." Massive understatement, ahoy.

[furious_maximus]

"I feel rather fortunate to have remained here. Though apparently there was a man I might have been there." He shrugged, turning deliberately away from any dark thoughts.

They'd be a waste when he was so close to such a charming woman, after all.

[magdaofslovenia]

"I didn't run into you while I was there. I think I'm rather glad." She would have hated to add Max onto her list of vampires killed, like Geoffrey and Rick. "I was a vampire. And a rather ruthless one at that. But I'm handling it better than some of the students. It's making them question things they never had to think about before."

[furious_maximus]

"Who they are? How far they'd go? That sort of thing?" What? He wasn't thinking of Raven and what some version of him might have done to her. That would be silly.

[magdaofslovenia]

"Yes. How could they make such a mistake, that they ended up a vampire? Is there a God, if he allowed it to happen? Variations on the theme." Sophie looked briefly sad, then shook her head. She looked around the gallery, then got to her feet, looking at a photograph of trees in winter. "I wish I could help them more." She tilted her head to study Max. "You've encountered it too?"

[furious_maximus]

"Apparently the me over there was a real bastard." Max sighed. "He used furycrafting to really mess some of the students up."

"I met one of them the other day. She nearly had a panic attack right then and there." Max thought he was doing a pretty good job with his whole sounding casual thing.

[magdaofslovenia]

"How terrible for both of you. I'm so sorry," Sophie said gently. Not as good a job as he thought, really. She tilted her head. "Would you like to go to dinner? Somewhere on the mainland? Just to get away." Dwelling never helped, did it.

[furious_maximus]

Max would love to go to dinner.

He grinned. "I'd hate to think I was tearing you away from all the work you must have to do," he teased. Because he so wouldn't hate to think that at all.

[magdaofslovenia]

"I think the gallery will survive quite well if I close up early. It's Sunday, after all." Sophie grinned slowly back at him. "And I haven't seen you in some time, if you didn't even know what course I was teaching. Long past time, don't you think?"