Learning the Ropes (Skylar/Lani)

The bookstore in Hogsmeade hadn't had what he'd needed, and the girl behind the counter had pointed him here. This store was a hell of a lot bigger, busier, and he didn't get the instant can-I-help you that he got a lot of places. Of course, the clientele here was a lot more varied than in the area around Hogwarts.

Fifteen minutes later he was beginning to get frustrated. Yeah, it was nice not being followed by a store cop, but he had no idea where to find that book and had, in fact, lost sight of the entrance. He knew its general direction, but wasn't giving up. He stood at the end of an aisle, looking up at the signs. He didn't need Advanced Divination, though on second thought, maybe it would help him find the right section.

Lani turned the corner of a bookshelf, dirty blonde curls shifting around her neck and an airy skirt flowing at her ankles. After nearly a year living in the town, she barely even noticed the alternative man at one end of the shelves. She lived with two of the most alternative, strange people she had ever met; this man was barely a blip on her radar at this point. One arm crooked around a small stack of books she was excited to buy(they were for classes) and rested on her hip, while the other held a book she needed to reshelve. It was only polite to put a book back in its place when one decided it wasn't needed or wanted.

The book slid easily into place, and she seemed entirely confident and comfortable as she replaced it. Her eyes darted along the shelf to see if any of the book's shelf companions might be the one she wanted.

Finally, someone who looked like she knew what she was doing. A lot of people were travelling in packs, stopping to talk prices and book-sharing with each other, but this one was putting things away. As much as Skylar would have preferred to find the book on his own, he had a house, a daughter, and a dead governess to get back to.

"Where's your books on etiquette?" he asked. It didn't even occur to him to ask if she worked here first. People who put things away in public were servants. "Pureblood politics, contemporary," he specified.

Lani blinked, momentarily caught off-guard when she realized the man was speaking to her. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure. I don't actually work here, I'm just here often. I think..." She stepped back to peer around the area, trying to remember where she might have seen such books. "I believe they may be this way..." A couple of tentative steps turned into a few more confident ones as she aimed herself toward a likely spot.

In the moment the girl had looked at him, Skylar had felt a ficker of recognition. Maybe he should have apologized for his mistake, but she didn't seem offended and at this point he'd take whatever help he could get.

"Do I know you?" he asked. "It's not a line, you look familiar." Or maybe he didn't know her. Maybe he knew her family. He reevaluated his first impression, looking past the armful of books to the shape of her jaw, the tilt of her head and her gliding walk. He'd guess she was elite if she wasn't buying what appeared to be textbooks. Of course, guesses were worthless in the end.

Lani came to a stop in front of a set of shelves and took another look at the man. "I don't believe so. Many people know my brother, Mano, the man who owns the cafe, though," she said. She hadn't spoken to her brother yet, but she and her parents were at least on writing terms. It was likely she would have to stop avoiding Mano at some point, though. "I am Lani."

"Ah, that's it," Skylar said. "I know Mano, spent half the summer with him and some friends. You're supposed to be missing." It was said with a bit of a tease, as though she'd been caught doing something naughty. His lips quirked. "Pretty smart sticking this close, he's got no clue you're here." And attending university, no less. He'd have expected far worse rebellion than going to school from any relative of Mano Berwyn, but Lani looked untouched. Almost one of Society's little porcelain dolls. She wasn't fluttering and swooning though, which in his view was a benefit.

"I'm Skylar, you won't know my family." He extended a hand for hers.

"A pleasure," Lani said, offering her empty hand to him. The resulting brief kiss on the hand surprised her, though she didn't let it show. Cat had done the same when she'd first met him. "My parents know where I am, that is enough. I suppose you could say that I'm still punishing my brother by hiding right under his nose." She wondered if he knew, but he must, if he'd spent a holiday with her brother. A small smile that mirrored Skylar's spread over her mouth.

"Some discipline would do him good," Skylar said. "He's way too çocky." Skylar wondered briefly about Lani's smile. Was it for the passive revenge she was drawing out? Considering what he knew of her family, he'd be more surprised if it wasn't. He tried to catch her eyes as they walked, hopefully in the right direction. Of course, the immediacy of getting home had faded a bit in his interest. Things could wait another hour if it came to that.

"So what about you?" he asked. "Are you out for good? A year's a long time for a girl like you to be off the map."

"I'm unsure," Lani said, her eyebrows coming together for no more than a moment. "I've enjoyed the time away, but I also know what I am expected to do. Especially with Mano being..." she glanced aside and her eyes caught on Skylar's for a heartbeat, then decided not to assume he knew. "Well, Mano, I'm certain my parents expect more of me than they normally would. At least for the next few years I suppose I will be enjoying my freedom, as I was offered a scholarship for the university."

Skylar had given that hint about Mano a brief, barely there nod. Especially with Mano being... Queer? Married to someone who'll never bear children? Unlikely to ever want children, or to be able to keep one alive long enough to hire help? Possibly all of the above. Still, there weren't many families willing to leave property or a name to a daughter. Things typically reverted to the nearest male relative, even if that was a third-cousin.

"I'm on the edge of Society myself," Skylar noted. He bypassed the typical joke about not getting why. It was obvious and she seemed too serious to get a laugh out of. "It's not a bad place to be." He wondered what made her tick. Or maybe he was horny as hell from going without the regular sex he and Storm had been sharing.

"An increasing number of my social circle is on the edge of Society," Lani said. "Those I'm living with now are nominally connected, but nowhere near the status my family typically has." Her eyes briefly widened and she lowered her head slightly. "Apologies, I shouldn't say things that sound so..." Despite the demure expression on her face and the subdued action of lowering her head, she grinned, unable to stop it from spreading over her face. "Cocky."

Skylar's lips quirked, and while she wasn't looking at him, he took a better look at her. Small, very slender and delicate, innocent, and grinning like a minx. "A little cocky can be a good time," he teased, knowing it would probably go over her head. He was asking her out. There was a restaurant in that little Muggle town, wasn't there? He could handle an hour without using magic and if there was any truth to stories about Muggle-contracted diseases he'd have gotten one from Rhys by now.

"What are you doing Friday night?" he asked. "I want to see you again, take you out to dinner if you're interested." He gave as innocently open a look as he could manage.

Lani raised one eyebrow at Skylar. A date, with a man her family would certainly reject without half a thought. Running off to have dinner with him made little sense, but she couldn't quite think of a reason to say no. "My evening is free," she said. "I suppose that if I can run away from home I can go out to dinner with you."

Skylar's lips curved. She'd given him little more than a whatever, but considering her status and the fact that he was wearing his typical dark jeans and leather, it was a victory. He'd see if he could handle playing the gentleman, give her a good time, and let her go the way he'd found her. Or at least, that was his intention.

"I won't ruin your reputation," he promised, though his brilliant blue eyes glittered. "As long as no one recognizes us." This last was said with a hint of self-mocking and a teasing turn of his lips.