(1939-11-15) Brunch at the Caravan
Details for Brunch at the Caravan
Summary: Lara and Colton having their first date at the caravan.
Date: 15 November, 1939
Location: Higgin's Shelta Wagon
Related: Higgin's Honour and Moaning Daffodils
Halloween: A Dance for Two
Characters
LaraColton

It is Hogsmeade week-end, and a perfect autumn morning. Lara is humming cheerfully as she follows the path down to the caravan. It is relatively warm for the season, but Lara is still glad for her fine woolen cloak as a gust of wind ruffles through her chestnut hair, carrying a few dry leaves. Over one shoulder she has her usual leather bag, on the other arm she carries a small basket, covered with a linen cloth. Her anticipation and curiosity grow as she approaches the colorful wagon, wondering what she may find inside, her eyes searching for a sign of its inhabitant.

Colton tosses a few things into drawers in the last minute. So the wagon does rock a little as the young man within hurries to tidy up. The door is open and some sleighbells ring when she gets within a few feet of the 'porch' of the wagon. Out his head pops and he gives her a big goofy smile and offers his hand down to take the basket and then offered again to help her up into the wagon. "The lady of the hour. Hey. Welcome to my place."

Lara waves as she spots Colton's head in the doorframe, flashing him a warm smile. "You actually remembered! A wonderful good morning to you and… thank you!" Gratefully, she hands him the basket, which smells of fresh pastries. Then she grasps his hand, awkwardly climbing up the ladder. She hesitates briefly at the top, then removes her boots, placing them neatly next to the door, and lightly steps inside. There, she gasps in amazement. "Colton, this is… " She turns on the spot, taking in the cramped, but cosy interior of the wagon, a huge grin showing on her face. "Did you build this by yourself?"

Colton sets the basket down on the small little table across from the cooking area. "My father and I built it together, aye. It's what's done when a boy becomes a man. Get their own wagon. Glad you like it. That smells really good." He gives a gesture about, "No real grand tour to be had…" He flicks his hand this way and that with a cheeky smile. "Kitchen, Bedroom, Reception and Dining. Ta-Da!" With a chuckle he pulls down two plates from the shelf above the table and puts them down. Then comes a couple of glasses. "Pumpkin juice, milk or water?" Is asked of her as he opens up the small ice box that's built in next to the stove.

Lara drops a mock courtsey, still grinning. "Thank you for the tour. I was wondering whether the wagon was enhanced in size like some of those wizard tents and bags. But I like it better this way. It feels more… honest." She nods appreciatively, tracing some of the decorative carvings with her fingers. "Pumpkin juice would be nice." She nods gratefully, then takes her cloak off and settles on the edge of the bench, now looking tense as she is acutely aware of being cramped in this little wagon alone with… him. Quickly she puts her cloak on the seat next to her, then smoothes her dress. Yes, she is not in Hogwarts uniform today, but wearing a simple grey dress with a quiet floral design.

Colton can easily lift ou the pitcher of pumpkin juice and place it on the table in one fluid lift and set since everything is so close together. "Aye, well it's just me, so… the wagon I grew up in was like that, had to be, there's tons of us. But I like having it small and all for me. It's easy enough to expand whenever that comes time for." Having a family himself, though by his tone there is zero rush for that to start happening. He is out of uniform as well, but he looks like he has made more of an effort than any day he's in uniform. Casual slacks, a blue button down shirt that's unbuttoned enough that the collar of his white undershirt can be seen. It's not exactly fancy, the materials are sturdy and made for a working man. The done up part of the ensamble today for her is his hair. It's been combed and swept back with a bit of gel as is the fashion for young men.

After pouring them both some pumpkin juice he leans over to return the pitcher to the ice box. A big wide smile is offered across to her. "You look very nice."

Lara looks doubtful. "You actually grew up in… a wagon like this? I mean, a whole family, in one wagon?" She shakes her head, trying to picture herself living in here with… Quickly, she drops this line of thought, silently scolding herself, cheeks flushing. "I… oh. You.. think so?" His compliment takes her by surprise, again. After an akward moment, she manages a weak "You… combed your hair." in return, cringing inside. Before he can say anything, she jumps to her feet, almost bumping into him. "I brought some scones, I hope you like scones, I just baked them this morning and… they are a bit burned but…"

Colton laughs and instinctively rakes his fingers through his hair, "Yeah." That act of course cracks the gel enough that a curl of his springs out of place. He looks a bit confused when she gets jumpy and blushing so much. "Is it to warm in here? I can poke down the fire. I just didn't want you to freeze." When she almost bumps into him he chuckles and reaches out to take her by the arms just under her shoulders and gives them a little rub. "You alright? I didn't say or do something stupid already have I?" He looks to the basket and nods, "Scones would be good, yeah."

Lara falls silent and stiffens slightly at his touch, but does not protest, watching Colton intently and tucking away a strand of hair behind her ear. "No, it is… just perfect. Just right. The temperature… and everything. Thank you." she reassures him, giving him a happy smile at last. Then she takes a small step back from him and turns to remove the cover from the basket. It reveals a bag with a dozen or so scones. The bag apparently had been charmed, as the scones inside are still warm to the touch. They look a bit misshapen and the undersides appear to be rather dark, almost burned, but overall they look… edible. Inside, they ought to be soft and savory. At least this was true for the one Lara tried before leaving the castle. Next to the bag is a small jar with "Himbeermarmelade" hand-written on the label, and some fresh butter she got from the kitchens this morning. Quickly, Lara puts everything on the little table and the basket down, then steps to the side, gesturing to Colton. "I forgot to bring a knife, you don't happen to have one here?"

Colton plops back down at the table and takes in a deep breath to get the scent of the scone over the basket. "Smells good." It's a genuine compliment, he's not a picky eater and the dark undersides don't seem to phase him. The jar of raspberry jam is taken up for a smell. "I love this stuff, it's my favorite. I could dump the whole thing on a couple of scones and be a pig in mud." He reaches to slide the drawer that's built into the open side of the table open to reveal all sorts of silverware. It's not really organized, but there's all sorts of utensils. Some strange looking and from exotic lands, even several intricate sets of chopsticks. "Ladies choice. Better hurry, I'm minding myself to not just scoop my finger in this." Another cheeky grin spreads his face as he playfully threatens to do just that, squirming his finger around the air above the opened jar.

SPOON.jpg

Relieved at his positive reaction, Lara protests with a laugh. "Don't you dare! You can eat the scones with your fingers, but if you scoop up the jam like that, I will hex you. Or worse." Pointing a warning finger at him as if it were a wand, she turns her attention to contents of the drawer, looking curiously at some of the more exotic utensils. "You have a habit of collecting things, don't you?" Picking a serrated knife with an unremarkable but worn wooden hilt and a small silver spoon, she closes the drawer. Placing the knife on the table she holds up the spoon, examining a small engraving, barely visible on the stained silver. "Where did you get this from? It looks centuries old."

Colton's answer to her chiding is an even wider and cheekier of grins. Waggling his eyebrows he pretends to nearly press his finger into the jam but slides away from it at the last moment. He's a good boy and he puts the jar down on table. The cheeky grin goes more prideful when she mentions his things. He reaches back and nabs one of the things off of the display shelf and comes up with the bit of obsidian he gives it a little fiddling with and puts it back, "I do. A lot, it's why I'm still at Hogwarts, getting paid by the goblins to collect things just sounds too much like a good time to me to pass up the chance at." He spares a moment to examine the spoon and place where he got it. "That I got in Italy, it's an old roman spoon, it's rumored to have been Zaccaria Innocenti is. But that spoon is from an era after Pompeii - 4th century - and doesn't show any signs of surviving that disaster. But I liked the design so I got it anyways."

Intrigued and rather impressed by Colton's surprising knowledge about ancient Pompeii, Lara turns the spoon carefully between her fingers, examining it from all sides. Clearly, she has switched into Ravenclaw mode now, all else forgotten. "You really think it is that old? Given that your sources and assumptions hold true, how did you… acquire such a precious item? It must be worth a fortune… even without the Zaccaria Innocenti part of the story. If I remember correctly, there exist a number of uncertainties concerning his biography, as is natural for such an old record of course." She carefully places the spoon on a small empty spot on a cluttered shelf next to her, giving Colton a sligtly scandalized look. "And you keep it in here?" She points at the drawer. "You know, a collection is not just about acquiring objects, it is also about giving them due care." Under her breath, a scornful "Boys!" can be heard, but her expression shows amusement rather than anger.

Colton ducks below one of his quidditch figurines as it zips from one shelf to another across the wagon as he comes up with a big goofy devilish grin. "I'm not one for putting something beautiful and still useful up on a shelf to gather dust or grow stale behind glass." He reaches past her to pick up the spoon from where she put it. "Just because something has history, doesn't mean it shouldn't have a future. A spoon isn't a spoon if it's left up on a shelf to be looked at. The silversmith that made this spoon made it well and made it last so that I could use it and someday long time from now someone can lift at it and boast that it's got this mysterious Innocenti history, and the greatest Curse-Breaker to ever live also used it to spread Raspberry Jam on his sweetheart's scones." A very light 'booping' of the back of the spoon is aimed for the tip of her nose before he turns to head back to the few steps to the table.

"Hey!" Lara holds up her hand in defense as she backs away, laughing. "Stop that!" She can feel the colour return to her cheeks. Did he just say 'sweetheart'? She bites down a retort and returns to her seat, making herself comfortable. Her initial tension has lifted somewhat and hands folded in her lap, she is content to watch Colton setting to work, humming quietly to herself. When he turns towards her, her eyes accidentially fall on his partially unbuttoned shirt and she quickly drops her gaze, as if caught.

Colton actually nods a little bit at her expression when he calls her sweetheart, yeeep he did just call her that. That goofy devilish grin is back when he catches her oogling his undershirt. "So Miss Stuart, tell me more about you. I know you're beautiful and I know you're brilliant and you can dance, and have wonderful test in men… but beyond that…" He asks, still grinning while he cracks open some scones and lathers them in butter and heaps them with jam. She of course is passed the first prepared scone and then he makes one for himself.

Lara looks a bit taken aback and embarassed at his comment. "What? Uh… no…" She searches for a clever reply, but again finds that her mind has gone blank. "Don't say that." From her expression, she has taken his question seriously, rather than a light-hearted conversation starter. "I told you I have a brother. In the Royal Navy. I have an older sister, too. Belle. She is a witch but chose to study at a Muggle university. I really admire her. My father is a muggle professor, that's where she got it in the first place, I suppose. And my mother, well, long story. She's from a German pureblood family, but ended up marrying a British muggle. You can imagine what my grandparents had to say about that." She shrugs, offering him a weak smile. "As for me… well, what do you want to know? There is not much really." She accepts the first scone offered to her and almost drops it, catching it with her other hand. "Whoops… sorry!" Cursing her own clumsiness she pulls out a napkin, scooping the remainder of the scone unceremoniously into her mouth and wiping her jam-sticky fingers.

Colton bites on his lower lip in concern when she seems to take it so seriously. "It's not a quiz sweetheart. Just hoping to get to know you a bit better, that's all. Sounds like you come from a real solid and good family. I take it your Mum wasn't a Grindelwald fan?" Now there is a serious question. "But nevermind that actually." He does want to keep things lighter. "Favorite thing to wear… besides scones and jam?" He teases affectionately and reaches across the table to offer her another napkin. "Now I am afraid you do look good enough to eat."

Lara sighs, resting her head against the wagon wall and closing her eyes. "If you haven't noticed, you are sharing your wagon with a Ravenclaw. How is a question supposed not to be a quiz?" It's her best shot at humour at this moment, probably. She shakes her head, looking troubled, his mention of Grindelwald nagging at her. For a moment it looks as if she was going to argue, but then she simply accepts the extra napkin with a grateful nod. "No politics on the first date, my sister used to say. And I fear I am not really into fancy clothes. But you probably figured that out already." She crumbles the napkin to a little ball and playfully throws it back at Colton, feeling more daring by the minute. His presence definitely has a bad influence on her manners.

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