| Details for Salvaging the Situation |
| Summary: | Magnus and Valencia go hunting for treasures at a thrift store. |
| Date: | September 29, 1937 |
| Location: | Whatchamacallit Junk Shop |
| Related: | Cider and Broomsticks |
| Characters |
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It would be a wonder if even the owners of this establishment know all the is contained within these four walls. There are no aisles to be found anywhere, merely trails that meander among the mountains piled impossibly high, reaching to the ceiling and leaning back over the heads of customers. Looming overhead, the wares could possibly to slide down in an avalanche of wires and gizmos and gadgets if disturbed by even a loud noise. Almost any item, object, or mystical artifact one is looking for can be found by those brave enough to go spelunking among the paths, but will it work? That is a question that can only be answered by the treasure hunters that venture within.
Typically, if Magnus decided to go shopping, he'd wander into a clothing store or perhaps around an open-air market. He enjoys the fashionable and well-made or exotic, so thrift stores certainly aren't on his list of usual destinations. But today he's feeling… adventurous, and he's never been into this place before. The tall, thin man is venturing past a huge and precarious-looking stack of random objects, being very careful not to touch anything, his expression both mildly disgusted and curious. After standing in front of the huge pile, he reaches out and picks up a single object; a small crystal orb with a cracked silver base. It looks as if it is (or once was) magical. Come to think of it, this whole place is probably a huge stockpile of possibly-dangerous objects… he shudders and sets it back down.
And it's definitely that kind of adventurous excitement that draws Valencia regularly to the thrift store. She enters, the door giving a soft 'ting' as she does, and before she goes any further gives the store owner a knowing wink. They had an agreement and though while she didn't frequent the store often when she did she was left alone and she promised to buy something. She unties her long khaki trench coat, exposing the deep red dress below, and removes her gloves casually soon after. Val' runs her fingers through her blonde locks, giving them a loose shake as she begins to root around the shelves enthusiastically. It doesn't take long, the store isn't that large, before she rounds a corner and lays hazel-green eyes on Magnus. The Quidditch player blinks before pointing a finger curiously, "…Magnus?" She hopes she gets his name right.
Magnus navigates a bit further around the pile, and picks up something else: a small mirror. He looks at it briefly before setting it back down. Whatever he did, though, the pile suddenly begins to visibly wobble. The diplomat looks up, alarmed, but luckily the mountain of junk slowly steadies itself and ceases its threatening movements. He decides perhaps he'd better vacate the premises, and turns, which is when he hears his name and sees Valencia, simultaneously. "Miss Huntl—- I mean, Valencia." He smiles at her, reaching up to adjust the clasp of his cape, and tilts his head over to indicate the large mound of objects to his right. "I was just, erm… browsing. First time here."
Eyes rise to the pile as it threatens to tummble and she eyes it for a few moments. When it calms itself she lets her gaze fall back to Magnus and she offers him a bright smile. "Yep." At his uncomfortable expression and explination the blonde woman laughs cheerfully, "It's ok. I won't tell anyone ye were here," she winks. Valencia breaths deep and exhales as she gestures around her, "This is one of my favorite stores. Not only do I get time away from fans but there are actually a lot of very interesting things in here," she drawls, Irish accent thick. Valencia wanders down one row of shelves, plopping a rather gaudey neon green feathered hat on her head and turning dramatically back towards Magnus. "Is it me?" she jests, a light chuckle following before she sets it back.
After stepping away from the pile so - both because he wants to be as far away from it as possible, and because Valencia has begun wandering down the shelves - Magnus chuckles at her, giving an exaggerated bow of appreciation. "Thank you, madamoiselle. Although I fully give you my permission to tell them all about it, as long as you told them I came here hoping to run into a beautiful Quidditch player to ask out for a bite to eat. But only on that condition." He returns her wink, then peers at the hat speculatively as she sets it atop her head. Several seconds later, he shakes his head sadly and puts a hand to his breast. "I hate to tell you this, Valencia, but lovely as you are, it would be difficult to live up to the unparalleled eloquence of that hat."
She pats the hat sadly and nods her head, "Ye know, yer absolutely right Magnus." Valencia snickers as she wanders around the shelf, picking at a few things here and there. Eyes lift to Magnus curiously as she goes, "Oh?" Val' purses her lips thoughtfully at this as she wanders along the shelfing unit. "I suppose I could do that. I'll let everyone know ye went shopping in a thrift store, and ye c'n take me out for a bite. Just as Valencia Huntley though. I don't have to be this 'beautiful Quidditch' player you speak of," she chuckles, waving a hand dismissively.
Magnus smirks and paces forward over to where she's set the hat down. He picks it up, examines it, then puts it on, glancing at Valencia with a serious expression. "I think I may be able to pull it off, though, you know," he states. Then, carefully, he places it back on the shelf to collect dust. His cheeks flush slightly, pleased, at her reply to his flirting, and he turns to look at a huge, oddly malformed statue of a monkey as she makes her way away from him down the shelves. "Oh, I suppose I can live with that. You're getting the better end of the deal, though, you know." He tosses a mischievous look at her, and grins. "Thank you again for your advice about the broom. It handles beautifully."
The woman laughs, "You definitely pull it off better then I!" She fiddles with some old toys, mostly stuffed animals stitched together with odd-colored thread. Val' blinks, peering back in his direction to prop a hand on one hip, "I know. That'd what makes it such a good deal!" The irish woman smirks as she goes back to rummaging in a sale bin off past the shelf she was just looking at. "I'm glad! EVeryone deserves a decent broom, especially one that won't send ye reeling head over feet through the air," she calls over her shoulder honestly.
"I have to admit that I have no desire whatsoever to go reeling through the air," Magnus replies pleasantly, poking around at a few more odd items and then walking slowly towards the Quidditch player. "Looking for something in particular, Valencia, or just hoping to find a diamond in the rough?" He peeks into the sale bin from where he's standing, then up at the shelves in front of him, and laughs. "Though I'm starting to get the impression that it would be difficult to come into a store such as this with /any/ hopes of finding something in particular."
Valencia chuckles along with him as she shakes her head, "No no, I'm simply looking. We have an agreement he and I," she points to the store owner as she dusts, which Val' suddenly wonders if the dusting actually works, before explaining, "He keeps fans off my back, I buy something." She winks before continueing her rooting, "I never come in expecting to find what I need, but I normally find something that has enough story behind it to take home… or bring with me to the school to give to a student or other," she muses, tucking blonde strands of hair behind her ears as her brows furrow in concentration.
"Oh? I suppose that would be a convenient agreement, for someone in your position," Magnus says thoughtfully, straightening up and turning to look around at the rest of the store; it's all very cluttered, of course, so he can probably only see a quarter of its contents, but… his eyes land on the huge pile once again, and a small pendant sitting on the near side. "You know, Miss Huntley," he starts, slipping back into using the title by habit. "I think there may be something to that, after all." With a sly grin, he walks over to the pile and plucks the pendant off. It's a small red apple on the end of a silver chain, with a silver arrow cleaving it in two. "In fact, I—" He doesn't manage to finish that. Taking the tiny trinket off of the pile seems to have created just the little bit of counterbalance necessary to do the unthinkable; the staggering mountain of junk tilts, wobbles, and… comes down straight on top of him, with an avalanche of miscellaneous objects rolling towards Valencia.
Valencia stands up and peers curiously after him as he wanders back to the teetering pile of odds and ends. The blonde Quidditch player leans forwards, squinting to try and see what exactly Magnus had plucked off the pile of junk. When it starts to teeter Valencia barely has time to call out before the junk has toppled and crashed down upon the tall thin man. She screetches, just as the store owner whirls around shelf and throws in his yell of concern. Valencia rushes to Magnus, kicking away and hand-moving certain objects in her way. When she reaches Magnus she covers her mouth with both hands, however it turns out its to stifle a small giggle. "Oh dear! Are ye ok Magnus??" She offers him an impish smile as she picks small strands, strings, and feathers off of his cape and head, the store owner arriving to seemingly check the man over head to toe all jitters and apologies.
"Mmm phhhn," Magnus replies, reaching up to pull a lavender-and-orange scarf from his face. He sets his hands on the ground and pushes torso up, a cascade of junk falling off of him as he does. He's also covered in a good deal of dust. He turns to Valencia when he finds her and smiles, clearing his throat. "Just fine, I believe. Here - for you." He extends the small pendant to her. "It seemed like it might be a good luck charm, although - now, I'm not so certain." Chuckling, he attempts to get to his feet, only to slip on something or other in the remains of the pile once or twice before he finally gains his legs. When the shop owner comes over he waves his arms in embarrassment. "No need to apologize, my good man. I'm sorry to have made a mess of your store." Well, more of a mess than it was already, anyway.
Valencia keeps having small fits of laughter once she sees he's ok before she accepts the pendant and "Ooohs" gently. "Oh its lovely, thankye Magnus," she says honestly as he studies the pendant in the palm of her hand curiously. The store owner sets to cleaning up the mess, occasionally throwing in more apologies and no worries here and there. Valencia picks up a few items and sets them gently on the shelf before following after Magnus, occasionally throwing out a hand as he slips and slides through the scattered objects on the floor. "Are you certain your not hurt?" she questions, "There were some big objects in there!"
"No, not hurt - other than my pride," Magnus says with a wry grin, stepping free of the edges of the pile. Well, he may have a few bumps and bruises here and there, but nothing serious. He takes the Quidditch star's hand when it's offered, and withdraws several galleons from his pocket to hand to the store's proprietor. "Here you are - for the pendant, and the trouble of cleaning up." He pauses, looking down at the pile, and adds: "You may want to get some more shelves." Gingerly stepping around what appears to be a large fishbowl filled with pinned insects, the diplomat motions towards the door. "As much as I enjoy a good adventure, might I convince you to enjoy dinner in a somewhat calmer setting, Valencia?"
The woman admires the pendant cheerfully before she looks up at Magnus and smiles greatfully. She watches the store owner glow with appreciation and continue to mutter about 'More Shelves' as he begins to clean up the toppled tower. Val' flicks her attention back to Magnus and nods once, "That sounds lovely, and much less stressful then standing under leaning towers of odds and ends," she chuckles.
"We are in agreement on that point. Shall we, then?" Still holding Valencia's hand, he makes for the doorway, opening for her to let the two of them outside into the Alley, where they'll have a much better chance of finding something tasty to eat than in the Whatchamacallit Junk Shop.