Oh, Merlin, this was fun. Really. The only reason Lily had come over was to make sure Perry wasn't going to have a heart attack or throw another helpless suitcase. She could practically see Cox dying inside, so she reassured him the only way she could - by totally ignoring him.
"Brilliant, actually," she grinned at Sarah. That Lily hadn't a clue where she stood with the girl and was actually wishing she had either just let Perry duke it out with his ex-wife and Sarah on his own or gotten an entire bottle of Firewhisky didn't factor into it. Sarah was the safest focus of conversation, so that's where Lily turned. Maybe Sarah could help her change the topic off of...oh, bloody hell. Demons? Fuck. "I've been studying healing magic as of late. Do you know Madame Nutter? She runs the Hospital Wing. Lovely lady." Normally that would have been accompanied by a wink at Cox, but instead she simply shrugged. "She turned me on to it, and she's been kind enough to let me bother her with questions. Fascinating stuff, healing magic. I think you'd quite like it."
Normally, Cox would have protested the term 'lovely lady' being applied to Agnes Nutter with all of his might, but he was still feeling a little bowled over. Instead, he simply shot Lily a dirty look, and turned to Jordan. "Jordan, the~ only reason that Agnes Nutter is any better than that behorned devil I so lovingly call Beelzebob is that there's pretty much no money in this place and therefore so much less incentive to screw everyone over. Trust me, it's still pretty bad. Of course, my being unhappy right now has absolutely nothing to do with Agnes and... pretty much everything to do with YOU being here, but I'm sure you know that already." He grinned, taking a drink. The scotch was definitely starting to get to him... He blinked and rubbed the bridge of his nose, wincing slightly.
Awkward and strange. Yes, that pretty much summed up this encounter for Sarah because while Lily was her friend, she felt on alert - not a feeling she was used to or liked. With Stephen she was with ease and safe, with Ryuujui now she felt at ease and safe but with Lily... it was not that she feared Lily unsafe, just that she feared letting go of the nice defensive emotional wall she had built to protect from getting close and having Lily's problems put them at risk. It was not that she did not miss Lily - far from that. But she had made a decision. Hand not on her glass went to her neckline to touch over the talisman under her shirt, a now familiar action when she was not at ease or just distracted, and she leaned in to Stephen slightly.
"Yes, I know her, she and I talked a few times when JD was in the hospital wing," she said with a smile and then a pointed look at Cox. "She's very nice. And maybe I'll have to look into it, JD and I talked a bit about healing magic when he was recovering, his knowledge more with spells and my interest more with Potions. I think letting me heal someone with a wand without a huge amount of practice would be a huge mistake." A brief grin of genuine humor that settles into a guarded smile. "And I'm glad to see you found something to study that will end up helping people, and someone good to work with at the school."
Stephen felt Sarah lean into him, and automatically put an arm around her, reassuring. They had developed a sort of rapport over their time away from Hogwarts, better able now to read the signs each gave without having to rely on other-memory to interpret. With concern he noted her hand moving toward the talisman. Did she feel threatened? Since he did not know of Lily's falling-out with the demon Crowley, he wondered whether the talisman's power might have registered something amiss, some danger.
"Mistress Nutter knows much that 'modern' medicine might scorn, and you do well to learn from her," he said to Lily. He refrained from saying that if Sarah wanted to learn healing magic, she need not go to the hospital wing or apprentice to Agnes Nutter.
Lily smiled back at Sarah, catching her little poke at the Crowley situation. She didn't want to get into it here, but she did want to give Sarah some hint as to the fact that she and the demon were no longer on speaking terms. "Yes, I quite enjoy Madame Nutter." Oh, she was going to pay later for all the nice things she was saying about Agnes. "And healing magic is certainly the most intensive and interesting thing I've studied since I've been back. I'm glad I have the energy to devote to it. Not like I've any other professional obligations to take up my time." She gave Sarah a look and willed her to understand the meaning behind that.
Turning then to Stephen, she inclined her head in agreement. "Quite so, Professor. I'm extremely honored that she'd be willing to teach me. By and large, excluding yourself and Remus, I've found the staff here to be...perhaps a bit difficult to work with on an individual basis. One professor in particular I've found it wisest to avoid completely." There, she couldn't get it any plainer for Sarah. Hopefully her friend would understand.
She spared a quick, concerned, sideways glance at Cox before laughing a little at Sarah's comment. "Merlin, I don't think I should be allowed near a patient for a while yet. I'd probably make them worse than when they started. And are you mates with JD?" Damn it! Apparently this conversation was 'bring up people that make Perry angry' focused. "He and I had a cuppa the other day. He's rather a rather nice bloke, yeah? His Jack is sweet as well."
Yes, Sarah clearly got each look and reference of Lily was making to the fact she had decided to steer clear of Crowley... and Sarah was uncertain what to do about it. Look slanted to Stephen for a moment, wonderign if he had picked up on what Lily had seemed to be saying, and then returned to her friend. Without direct questions to get details, she could not know if Crowely was a threat still, or if other threats would come. That was the heart of the matter - with Crowely possibly gone, could Sarah afford to be so often around Lily when there might be new dangers? It was a leap of faith she was unwilling to make right now, because it was not only herself on the line, but Stephen too - someone she refused to endanger in any way whatsoever. There was already too much possibly danger for Sarah's comfort level in Jareth - hence, the talisman.
Still attentive, she smiled at the mention of JD. "JD and I are," - Mates? Was this going to be one of those words she could never hear in the right context again like syrup? - "friends, yes, when he was in his coma," she said as her smile slipped for a moment at remembrance of that, "I came and read magic books to him everyday, sat with Jack while he told JD about space ships, was there to meet him," another pointed look at Cox, who she was still not pleased with over being mocked, "when he was in the hospital wing while JD was recovering. JD and Jack are really very nice, the perfect couple, it's really sweet." Now her smile was back, because watching Jack when JD was in his coma had shown her how much Jack loved JD and it had been a sight to witness. Of course, she well knew that feeling now and turned her head to smile at Stephen for a moment, love in her expression obvious as her hand left her neckline. The talisman might be her protection, but so was he.
Of course, now that topic was pretty much over, she found herself at a bit of a loss. "How are Mr. Quackers? And Phillip?" she asked as she turned back, thinking that safe enough a topic.
All the cutesy-boo between Sarah and the doctor, the discussion of JD and Jack, and the weird vibe between Lily and Perry was enough to make Jordan want to vomit. But, she chose to focus on her favorite target, Perry.
"Now, honey, that's not true. You were looking plenty uncomfortable before I even got here." She smirked. "Then again, he never did handle it well when being yelled at by a woman, did you Perry? I personally think it's because he can't hit them."
Stephen's arm around Sarah tightened almost imperceptibly. Her eyes held a question he was unsure how to answer. Safe? And he could not know how to gauge it, one way or the other.
He had fallen into the habit with River of thinking at his companion, and he did so now as she spoke to Lily, before he remembered it would avail nothing. What he thought was: I trust your judgment. It was only half-true anyhow.
Then she turned again to smile at him, and that eased somewhat the sting of being reminded of what he had lost. Only somewhat. He moved his hand to the back of her neck, tugging lightly on the knotted cord of the talisman. What he meant was: Regardless of what she does or is being used by, you are safe. And he hoped that was fully true.
Lily blinked. The play between Sarah and Stephen hadn't been lost on her, nor had Sarah's slightly...cold attitude towards her. And now Sarah was...asking about her animals. Her jaw set slightly and she pushed all of that into a corner of her mind. "Phillip is wonderful," she smiled. "Taught him a trick. He can balance a teacup on his head. And I'm training Mr. Quackers to deliver my mail." She didn't mention that the idea had come to her so that she'd never have to use an owl with Sarah again.
At Jordan's comment, Lily's ears turned bright red. If someone knew her well, they would know that it was a warning sign that Lily was not exactly thrilled. Biting back every urge she had to glare or shout or otherwise engage Jordan in a way that would imply she was more emotionally involved with Perry than just mates, she nonetheless darted him another quick look. Merlin, this was...easily the most spectacularly odd situation she'd been in. And she'd come back from the dead. She unconsciously folded her arms, her wand twirling in her fingers.
Cox winced again, not at the increasingly muddled feeling in his head this time but at Jordan's little jibe. He let out a laugh, or what was theoretically a laugh, although it sounded more like an animal in pain. "Oh, Jor, now we both know that's just no~t true, don't you remember what happened with your mother the first time we met?" He pulled his lips back against his teeth, almost baring them in challenge, and grinned nastily. "Of course, I~ did think she was a man at the time..." It was so on, Jordan Sullivan.
At the tug to the cord, Sarah leaned a bit more into Stephen, giving him a quick look of understanding. Knowing what he meant by that was a comfort and a source of pride, that after all this time they were now able to understand such looks, touches and signs without memory-self help. It still did not completely solve her dilemma with interacting with Lily, but she had Stephen and the talisman and they were in public, so perhaps she could relax a bit.
Distracted for a moment from her own conversation, Sarah went wide-eyed at Cox's insult to Jordan's mother. Seriously, even if she thought the woman was a bitch, 'your mother' insults were really a stupid move in her opinion. He must really like to be hated on - maybe angry was the way Cox liked people to be around him? Very strange indeed.
"He should be glad she can't really melt his face off," she muttered under her breath, but distinct enough that Stephen could hear it and possibly Lily as well, then turned her focus to Lily, her smile genuine and a bit less stiff.
"Seems fitting he can balance a teacup when he used to be a teapot," she said with a laugh, amused. "And I'm sure Mr. Quackers will make a fantastic mail carrier." Concern flashed in her expression for a moment, noting the signs that her friends temper was coming up and that she was out of sorts. With that wand going, how could she miss it? She looked from Lily to Cox and then back to Lily again, a clear question in her eyes even as she continued. Animals were still a safe topic.
"Cleo has decided that the bed curtains and anything else she used to like to stick her little claws in are now too boring to play with, thank God, so she is sticking to the charmed toys I make her from the spells you taught me," she informed Lily, tone still light thought she was trying to find a way to figure out what was going on with the looks to Cox and the wand twirling. "And I'm still lacking any pets make from inanimate objects," she continued, laughing a bit.
She could tell that the comment had the intended effect on Perry, judging by his attack on her mother. It was true, he had indeed punched her mother shortly upon meeting her, but it seemed he was glossing over the rest.
"You did at that, Perry...but I bet you weren't expecting her to kick you in the balls." She smirked, befort turning her attention to the doctor and Sarah. "It was priceless. He almost fell over." If Lily seemed displeased by Jordan's attack on Perry, Jordan still hadn't made the connection yet. She was amused to see that Sarah seemed a little taken aback by his boorish behavior.
Stephen, now intensely amused, grinned at Jordan and Perry both. "Why, Perry, perhaps you should demand a rematch from your former mother-in-law. I should even offer to pay for her leather trousers, and I am sure Sirius Black would serve as your second again."
At Cox's attack on Jordan's Mum, of all people, Lily had to physically restrain herself from facepalming. What the hell was he doing? Now, normally at this point, Lily would just sit back and let someone hang themselves. But Perry had, in her thoughts, enough shite on his plate at the moment. So her impulse was to try and minimize the carnage. Not that he was co-operating, of course. She chanced a direct look at him, carefully keeping her expression neutrally interested. When she met his eyes, though, her eyebrow arched slightly in question. "Merlin, Perry, for the love of everything, stop baiting your ex-wife with half-drunk insults," she thought, sighing quietly. Lily was about one remark away from stepping into the hate-fest, and it was working all her self-control to simply watch Perry bury himself.
Her gaze sliding to Sarah, she caught her friend's questioning look. There was no way to convey this silently, so she shrugged slightly. "I thought a teacup was appropriately ironic," she agreed with a smile. "Though the idea was born less out of a need for irony and more out of a lack of table space to set down my cuppa," she laughed softly. Her stance didn't relax in the slightest, though. "And Mr. Quackers is doing well as a mail duck, though he's horribly distracted by cake. Comes back with frosting all over his beak. Do you know how hard it is to read a frosting-covered bit of parchment?" Her tone was light and friendly and she was grinning; but, she was also incredibly aware of the nearly palpable challenge Perry was radiating at Jordan and that made her jaw tighten slightly.
"Oh, I was in Hogsmeade the other day, and the pet shop had half-Kneazles," she said to Sarah, smiling. "You'd have loved them, they were adorable." She was about to continue, hoping that something would distract Perry, when Jordan made her comment. And then Stephen started talking about leather trousers...
Shite.
Well, short of her actually hexing someone or snogging Perry to shut him up, this was going to get ugly. She looked quickly at Sarah and winced slightly. Her grip on her wand tightened imperceptibly and she absently moved an inch closer to Cox, going into a defensive stance. Her eyes, though, were on Jordan and she smiled - perhaps just a bit too sweetly. "Sounds it," she laughed a little. Only someone who knew her well would catch the edge in it. "You and your mum must be quite a pair. Though, quick question - does the mustache run in your family?" Lily gestured to Jordan's upper lip, her head cocked in innocent confusion. "Or just the enormous arse?" Lily was giving the woman an out by attacking her herself. Jordan could snipe back at Lily and leave Cox the hell alone. And, hopefully, it was indirect enough that Jordan wasn't going to put two and two together and get dating. Hopefully.
Lily's instincts probably weren't all that off. Momentarily caught off-balance by Jordan's frank account of what had happened, and then by Stephen's amused little sidenote--when the hell had he decided to pop back in with the joking?--Cox had nonetheless quickly recovered and, drawing himself up to his full height, had been about to deliver a rant to the pair of them that would surely have gotten him some serious emotional and/or physical abuse, and maybe even another duel, when Lily stepped in.
"You know--" he cut off and turned his head sharply to stare at Lily, eyes going very wide. Oh, this was not good. The laugh came out before he could stop it, but he swallowed it quickly, eyes darting back to Jordan. Crap. Cox knew that, ultimately, he could take whatever Jordan could dish at him, but Lily? She'd be ripped to shreds! Turning back to Lily, he hissed, "Oh, no, no, no, abort, Red, abort!"
That was really the only response Sarah had to all of this. Now no longer talking, she was watching as one might a tennis match, gaze going back and forth. Stephen's comment about more mud wrestling and leather trousers got a raised eyebrow from her and Lily's remarks on the Kneazle's got an interested nod. And then came the mustache remark. Now, while Lily had thought to physically restrain herself earlier from facepalming, Sarah decided the effort required was really not worth it with the level of alcohol in her system and promptly one-handed facepalmed for a moment - at this point, in complete agreement with Cox. What the hell was Lily up to?!
'Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.'
Clearly, the level of insanity was only increasing in this section of the bar and she hoped to God it was not contagious. At this point, as she knew any snark she could summon would be far below this interaction's standard, the only thing left was to watch somewhere between baffled and amused... and possibly clean up the hex burns when it was over. Perhaps even take bets? She slanted Stephen another look, this one perhaps a bit amused, and nearly asked him who he would bet on.
"Brilliant, actually," she grinned at Sarah. That Lily hadn't a clue where she stood with the girl and was actually wishing she had either just let Perry duke it out with his ex-wife and Sarah on his own or gotten an entire bottle of Firewhisky didn't factor into it. Sarah was the safest focus of conversation, so that's where Lily turned. Maybe Sarah could help her change the topic off of...oh, bloody hell. Demons? Fuck. "I've been studying healing magic as of late. Do you know Madame Nutter? She runs the Hospital Wing. Lovely lady." Normally that would have been accompanied by a wink at Cox, but instead she simply shrugged. "She turned me on to it, and she's been kind enough to let me bother her with questions. Fascinating stuff, healing magic. I think you'd quite like it."
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"Yes, I know her, she and I talked a few times when JD was in the hospital wing," she said with a smile and then a pointed look at Cox. "She's very nice. And maybe I'll have to look into it, JD and I talked a bit about healing magic when he was recovering, his knowledge more with spells and my interest more with Potions. I think letting me heal someone with a wand without a huge amount of practice would be a huge mistake." A brief grin of genuine humor that settles into a guarded smile. "And I'm glad to see you found something to study that will end up helping people, and someone good to work with at the school."
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"Mistress Nutter knows much that 'modern' medicine might scorn, and you do well to learn from her," he said to Lily. He refrained from saying that if Sarah wanted to learn healing magic, she need not go to the hospital wing or apprentice to Agnes Nutter.
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Turning then to Stephen, she inclined her head in agreement. "Quite so, Professor. I'm extremely honored that she'd be willing to teach me. By and large, excluding yourself and Remus, I've found the staff here to be...perhaps a bit difficult to work with on an individual basis. One professor in particular I've found it wisest to avoid completely." There, she couldn't get it any plainer for Sarah. Hopefully her friend would understand.
She spared a quick, concerned, sideways glance at Cox before laughing a little at Sarah's comment. "Merlin, I don't think I should be allowed near a patient for a while yet. I'd probably make them worse than when they started. And are you mates with JD?" Damn it! Apparently this conversation was 'bring up people that make Perry angry' focused. "He and I had a cuppa the other day. He's rather a rather nice bloke, yeah? His Jack is sweet as well."
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Still attentive, she smiled at the mention of JD. "JD and I are," - Mates? Was this going to be one of those words she could never hear in the right context again like syrup? - "friends, yes, when he was in his coma," she said as her smile slipped for a moment at remembrance of that, "I came and read magic books to him everyday, sat with Jack while he told JD about space ships, was there to meet him," another pointed look at Cox, who she was still not pleased with over being mocked, "when he was in the hospital wing while JD was recovering. JD and Jack are really very nice, the perfect couple, it's really sweet." Now her smile was back, because watching Jack when JD was in his coma had shown her how much Jack loved JD and it had been a sight to witness. Of course, she well knew that feeling now and turned her head to smile at Stephen for a moment, love in her expression obvious as her hand left her neckline. The talisman might be her protection, but so was he.
Of course, now that topic was pretty much over, she found herself at a bit of a loss. "How are Mr. Quackers? And Phillip?" she asked as she turned back, thinking that safe enough a topic.
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"Now, honey, that's not true. You were looking plenty uncomfortable before I even got here." She smirked. "Then again, he never did handle it well when being yelled at by a woman, did you Perry? I personally think it's because he can't hit them."
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He had fallen into the habit with River of thinking at his companion, and he did so now as she spoke to Lily, before he remembered it would avail nothing. What he thought was: I trust your judgment. It was only half-true anyhow.
Then she turned again to smile at him, and that eased somewhat the sting of being reminded of what he had lost. Only somewhat. He moved his hand to the back of her neck, tugging lightly on the knotted cord of the talisman. What he meant was: Regardless of what she does or is being used by, you are safe. And he hoped that was fully true.
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At Jordan's comment, Lily's ears turned bright red. If someone knew her well, they would know that it was a warning sign that Lily was not exactly thrilled. Biting back every urge she had to glare or shout or otherwise engage Jordan in a way that would imply she was more emotionally involved with Perry than just mates, she nonetheless darted him another quick look. Merlin, this was...easily the most spectacularly odd situation she'd been in. And she'd come back from the dead. She unconsciously folded her arms, her wand twirling in her fingers.
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Distracted for a moment from her own conversation, Sarah went wide-eyed at Cox's insult to Jordan's mother. Seriously, even if she thought the woman was a bitch, 'your mother' insults were really a stupid move in her opinion. He must really like to be hated on - maybe angry was the way Cox liked people to be around him? Very strange indeed.
"He should be glad she can't really melt his face off," she muttered under her breath, but distinct enough that Stephen could hear it and possibly Lily as well, then turned her focus to Lily, her smile genuine and a bit less stiff.
"Seems fitting he can balance a teacup when he used to be a teapot," she said with a laugh, amused. "And I'm sure Mr. Quackers will make a fantastic mail carrier." Concern flashed in her expression for a moment, noting the signs that her friends temper was coming up and that she was out of sorts. With that wand going, how could she miss it? She looked from Lily to Cox and then back to Lily again, a clear question in her eyes even as she continued. Animals were still a safe topic.
"Cleo has decided that the bed curtains and anything else she used to like to stick her little claws in are now too boring to play with, thank God, so she is sticking to the charmed toys I make her from the spells you taught me," she informed Lily, tone still light thought she was trying to find a way to figure out what was going on with the looks to Cox and the wand twirling. "And I'm still lacking any pets make from inanimate objects," she continued, laughing a bit.
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"You did at that, Perry...but I bet you weren't expecting her to kick you in the balls." She smirked, befort turning her attention to the doctor and Sarah. "It was priceless. He almost fell over." If Lily seemed displeased by Jordan's attack on Perry, Jordan still hadn't made the connection yet. She was amused to see that Sarah seemed a little taken aback by his boorish behavior.
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Her gaze sliding to Sarah, she caught her friend's questioning look. There was no way to convey this silently, so she shrugged slightly. "I thought a teacup was appropriately ironic," she agreed with a smile. "Though the idea was born less out of a need for irony and more out of a lack of table space to set down my cuppa," she laughed softly. Her stance didn't relax in the slightest, though. "And Mr. Quackers is doing well as a mail duck, though he's horribly distracted by cake. Comes back with frosting all over his beak. Do you know how hard it is to read a frosting-covered bit of parchment?" Her tone was light and friendly and she was grinning; but, she was also incredibly aware of the nearly palpable challenge Perry was radiating at Jordan and that made her jaw tighten slightly.
"Oh, I was in Hogsmeade the other day, and the pet shop had half-Kneazles," she said to Sarah, smiling. "You'd have loved them, they were adorable." She was about to continue, hoping that something would distract Perry, when Jordan made her comment. And then Stephen started talking about leather trousers...
Shite.
Well, short of her actually hexing someone or snogging Perry to shut him up, this was going to get ugly. She looked quickly at Sarah and winced slightly. Her grip on her wand tightened imperceptibly and she absently moved an inch closer to Cox, going into a defensive stance. Her eyes, though, were on Jordan and she smiled - perhaps just a bit too sweetly. "Sounds it," she laughed a little. Only someone who knew her well would catch the edge in it. "You and your mum must be quite a pair. Though, quick question - does the mustache run in your family?" Lily gestured to Jordan's upper lip, her head cocked in innocent confusion. "Or just the enormous arse?" Lily was giving the woman an out by attacking her herself. Jordan could snipe back at Lily and leave Cox the hell alone. And, hopefully, it was indirect enough that Jordan wasn't going to put two and two together and get dating. Hopefully.
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"You know--" he cut off and turned his head sharply to stare at Lily, eyes going very wide. Oh, this was not good. The laugh came out before he could stop it, but he swallowed it quickly, eyes darting back to Jordan. Crap. Cox knew that, ultimately, he could take whatever Jordan could dish at him, but Lily? She'd be ripped to shreds! Turning back to Lily, he hissed, "Oh, no, no, no, abort, Red, abort!"
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That was really the only response Sarah had to all of this. Now no longer talking, she was watching as one might a tennis match, gaze going back and forth. Stephen's comment about more mud wrestling and leather trousers got a raised eyebrow from her and Lily's remarks on the Kneazle's got an interested nod. And then came the mustache remark. Now, while Lily had thought to physically restrain herself earlier from facepalming, Sarah decided the effort required was really not worth it with the level of alcohol in her system and promptly one-handed facepalmed for a moment - at this point, in complete agreement with Cox. What the hell was Lily up to?!
'Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.'
Clearly, the level of insanity was only increasing in this section of the bar and she hoped to God it was not contagious. At this point, as she knew any snark she could summon would be far below this interaction's standard, the only thing left was to watch somewhere between baffled and amused... and possibly clean up the hex burns when it was over. Perhaps even take bets? She slanted Stephen another look, this one perhaps a bit amused, and nearly asked him who he would bet on.
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