| Details for Och, Piss in Your Tea |
| Summary: | After his stalemate with his archnemesis, Bannon recuperates at the Fawley Farm. With Josie at Hogwarts and Demetrius off at training for Quidditch, Bannon and Camilla get some quiet time to talk. |
| Date: | September 11th, 1937 |
| Location: | Fawley Family Farm House, Hogsmeade |
| Related: | The Astounding Apparition of Bannon Bates |
| Characters |
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Fawley Family Farm House, Hogsmeade
Inside of the farmhouse it looks bigger inside than it did from the outside. The entirety of the house is hardwood flooring that's lacquered thickly for ease in clean up. Where there aren't cages, kennels and other more mundane furniture the molding around the ceiling and flood and around the chair line dividing the walls in two is the same wood as the floor. Depending on the room each wall is papered and painted differently. Above the chair rail is the more decorative patterned wall paper with the background color used in a thick hardy (easily cleaned) layer of paint below the chair rail.
A stairwell leads upstairs and also down to a cellar right in front of the Front Door. The stairs also act like a wall between the two sides of the house, on one side of the stairs is a very large living room. Mounted in one wall in the living room from floor to ceiling is an aquarium that is void of water and fish, it is a place for reptiles. Warm lamps shine down from above and it's filled with many smooth logs and nooks and crannies for anything cold blooded to rest and hide.
Within the cellar is locations for the more nocturnal and light sensitive animals to stay. Not to mention it acts like a storage area and wine and root cellar. Also in the cellar is a thick wall and door of reinforced glass that is the anti chamber into a medical facility. The lab is the only sign of modern times as the rest of the house with it's 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and 2 offices and studies are all decorated in a very medieval whimsical fantastical design.
This late in the evening, one would find most everyone going about the nightly tasks of getting ready for bed. Surely the Grey Farm is no difference, save for the fact that those tasks also include putting up animals. After giving his fair share of help (up to the extent his fatigue allows), Bannon settles into one of the chairs in the main farm house. He sighs after he reaches the seated position, his head lulling back against the backrest.
It has surely been a interesting last few days for the Auror. After the case he was working on turned up clues of Adelwald Kriegsbruder's presence in Great Brittain, Bannon gave chase immediately. Meeting outside of London, the two dueled to a stalemate, both barely escaping with their lives. After healing from the crack team of Healers from St. Mungos, who to Bannon's luck, were disembarking in Hogsmeade Station when he apparated in healed him, they brought him hear to the Farm. After owling the Ministry, Bannon slept for over 20 hours, completely exhausted from the duel. He woke up just in time for dinner and to help out a bit, at which time he landed in the aforementioned chair.
Camilla comes up behind aforementioned chair and while one hand strokes through his hair in a petting that she would give one of her creatures to sooth it with the other she passes him a cup of tea, exactly how he likes it. "It was nice having family around again. The Big House has been so quiet since Josie went to school and Demetrius started up training again. Wish it would have been different circumstances. But I'm happy you're here. Thank you for helping out today."
Bannon reaches up to pass his own hand over Camilla's, a moment's tenderness shared between the two before he takes the tea, "Thank you, Camilla." He takes a sip of his tea, then nods his head, "Agreed. My impression of this place always includes a few people. It was nice to see it actually do so today, as well." He takes a deep breath, his eyes growing distant for a moment before he adds, "Not at all. Thank you for taking me in last night and giving me the work to do this evening. I know from experience that staying ambulatory will put me back on my feet faster. Which, I need to be if to find what Kriegsbruder is doing here in England." He frowns for a moment, his eyes narrowing, before he simply shakes his head and continues, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't discuss work at a time like this. I am sorry."
Camilla doesn't even realize how familiar she's being with Bannon until his hand touches hers and suddenly she's rather shy and quickly moves to plop down in Her Chair by the fire, "Fire?" She asks pulling out her wand and giving the fireplace an indicative pointing to. "Don't apologize. I think we've well established that you can discuss anything with me. It will perhaps turn into a spirited debate. But we've survived this long as friends through said debates, so…" She takes a sip of her own tea and then curls up in the chair. "Now is this Kreegusburger one of those Vampires you used to hunt?"
Bannon glances towards the fireplace and nods, "Please." He listens for a moment and then smiles, "Well, I suppose you're right." He clears his throat, "Adelwald Kriegsbruder is…" He trails off, his eyes going distant again as he seems to be contemplating the existance of his nemesis, "…a dark wizard in the truest sense of the word. He's too controlled to be a vampire, disdainful of all lusts with the exception of one: Control. I first met Adelwald Kriegsbruder as he was placing the Imperius curse upon the wife of my dead colleague. I had just finished my Initiate training. He found out I was a Muggle-Born and he hasn't let me forget it since. We dueled. We nearly killed each other. We've done it a few other times. I'm going to kill that limey kraut one day. I'm afraid that is all that is worth sharing, my dear." He then comments, "The tea is wonderful. Twinning's?"
Camilla flicks a tiny fireball out of her wand that 'explodes' in the fire for a nice roaring fire. She gets even more cozy while she listens. A frown starts to curl her lips when she is told in greater detail about who this man is and she gets up so that she can instead sit next to him and lay a hand on his forearm. She's got that look, he knows it well by now. It's her 'I've got a strong opinion on the matter so brace yourself.' look. "You know how I feel about you going at everything on your own. Well this is a good indication of why you shouldn't. Sounds to me like you need someone by your side to be the weight to tip the scales in your favor when it comes to battling these types."
Bannon takes another sip of the tea, studying Camilla from over the rim of the cup. As he lowers it, it tilts his head, a teasing smile playing across his face, "Don't dodge the question." He raises the tea cup again, "This is Twinnings' isn't it? I think you're being so ellusive because I guessed the tea house so quickly." He then continues after yet another sip, "It is actually my preferred pleace to purchase my tea. I discovered the quaint little store on the Strand about, oh, four months before Miss Davies was born. I took her mother there a number of times before I re-entered the Wizarding world."
Camilla grumbles, as she makes to snatch the tea cup right out of his hand and set it over on the side table. "Och, piss in your tea Bannon. Don't do that." She's trying not to grin though at his playfulness, she's again trying to be cross with him and failing miserably, which is just making her more cross! "But yes, it is Twinnings." She answers him finally so he can't continue to go on about it. Then when he brings up that it's memories of Ms Davies she softens up even more. "Did you love her?" The hand returning to his forearm and this time there's even a bit of a rubbing to it. They've never actually had the chance to talk in depth about much of anything for fear that Josie will overhear.
Bannon's eyes widen as the cup of tea is snatched from his hand. He leans forward to look forlornly at the side table its sits on, his lips pursing, "I was rather enjoying that particular cup of tea. It had just reached the perfect temperature, and the amount of honey and lemon was just right." He glances towards Camilla for a moment and then soberly settles back into his chair. He sits there for a moment, looking towards Camilla before he lets his head lull back on the backrest of the chair. He takes a breath, exhaling from his nose and beginning, "Mi belleza…" He continues, "I met the elder Miss Davies during my time in London as a junior Auror. I had a position handling magical law enforcement in Muggle London, which due to my heritage was quite easy for me. I was already ingratiated into society, and merely had to hide what I did carefully. She was an acrobat in an Italian circus. When she met me, she stayed." He pauses for a long time, but then carries on, "She saw through me. When I was with her, I didn't have to me a Gentleman of the highest order. I simply needed to be a gentle and good man. Yes, I loved her. I had all intentions to conclude my business in Eastern Europe and return to her, but that was not to be the case."
Camilla gives a soft little smirk, "Saw through you huh? Sounds slightly familiar. Not that I'm comparing myself to her…" She back pedals quickly. "I would never dream of doing that…" In a bit of a panic that she's just put her foot in it she quickly reaches over to take up his tea cup again and swing it into his hand. "Drink your tea." She commands rather sheepishly. Nevermind the idiot sitting next to him.
Bannon smiles graciously to Camilla, shaking his head, "It's really alright. You both see through me in your own ways, not to say that my manner of conduct is in any way a pretense. Simply, you both see that there exists more to me than simply that." He accepts the cup of tea back with a smirk and a sip of the tea, "Thank you." He pauses for a moment, lowering the teacup as he tilts his head, "Did you just 'och' me?"
Camilla lofts up one eyebrow and gives him a stare of DOOM, "Yes, I did. You deserved it. I am Scottish you know, not born, but certainly raised with it in my blood. You should have met my gran-dad. Every other sound from him was an 'och'. Oh for goodness sakes. I'm turning into him." She says with mock terror of someone that's actually quite proud to be turning into their hero.
Bannon hmms, shaking his head, "I'm not entirely sure I did deserve that." He considers it for a moment and then mentions, "Perhaps I would have liked meeting your grandfather. If he is anything like you, I know I would have." He takes another sip of the tea, finishing it off and setting it down on the side table nearest to him. He glances briefly out the window, "The rain stopped. Would you like to take a walk?"
Camilla looks as if he might need that cup to scoop her up into for all that she melts when he complements her so very highly. She stares at him with a little lump in her throat silently until his face is swinging back towards her as he offers up the suggestion at the walk. In that moment she rather boldly gives her answer to what she's like to do by leaning in with aim to give his lips a grateful kiss. If it lands and however long it does last if it does land left up to him. Because if it does land, she's not of the mind to be the first to pull away.
And like that, Bannon is subsequently kissed. He closes his eyes and leaves it lingering there for a fair amount of time, breaking away only when he needs to take a breath of air. With no further preamble then a smile, Bannon stands from the couch and offers a hand to Camilla, "Shall we then?"
Camilla is blushing furiously when the kiss is broken. She's obviously suffering from the 'what did I just do!?' bit of shock. Blinking up at him she swallows hard and then nods and hops up herself after taking his hand. "Yeah, walk in the rain sounds very nice." She could use a cold shower right now, that's for sure.
Bannon laughs, taking her hand and reaching for his ever near black bowler hat with the scarlet band. He settles in on his head, then reaches to take up his walking stick, "Well, as it happens, while you were giving me quite the stiff upbraiding about my professional conduct, the rain stopped…" He grins and shrugs his shoulders, "Fancy that." With that, he leads them towards the front door of the house for a walk beneath the night sky.