Monkeying Around

[Elias Grimstone]

Elias certainly had not been expecting a special invitation to any event outside the world of relatives or of broommaking, but here he was, a prominent member of the community! Somehow he'd managed that by not leaving the workshop all that often, which he supposed was rather convenient of him. And whilst most events saw him heaving a sigh of reluctance, there had been little of that this time: it was a worthy cause, and wouldn't cost him a thing to show up and support it.

It was shaping up to be a rather nice occasion, too, entirely laidback and rather cheerful. The free food didn't hurt, either. He'd been sat down along one of the long tables, indulging in idle chat and any food that came floating along his way, and he'd just eaten a mouthful of potato when he felt something on his leg. He glanced down, presuming he must have dropped something off the fork or that it was merely the tablecloth brushing him, but hOLY SHIT WHAT -

Elias launched himself clean out of his seat with a taken-aback yelp, trying to be free of the creature's fingers that had been clutching at him, his face a picture of shock horror, the stool clattering over noisily behind him. The monkey-thing (a marmoset, but I get the feeling Elias doesn't really know his animal species) was, admittedly, a little smaller than it'd looked when it had sprung out of nowhere onto his leg. It had reached the top of the table much more coolly than Elias had reached his feet, and there it was still, just sitting there and preening itself for all to see. "I have no idea where that came from," he said to the general vicinity, clearing his throat in a mixture of embarrassment and relief, and feeling especially grateful that he hadn't had a heart attack.

@Elsie Beauregard
@Eavan MacKay

  

[Eavan MacKay]

Ever since her move from America, Eavan had attended more events than she ever thought possible! This place was just full of things to do! Her most recent move to London with Erin was working out well, even if the catalyst behind the move was incredibly sad. Eva knew what it was like to lose a parent and how having people to depend on made all the difference. Plus Erin had been so good to her when she'd first moved to the area that it was impossible for her not to be there for her friend now.

And of course Erin's friends had organized this whole street party, which Mr. Podmore had then gotten involved and Eva was doubly excited! Not to mention she supported the cause wholeheartedly. A celebration of equality was something everybody could enjoy! Or, everybody worth interacting with anyway. It was, at least, pleasantly devoid of elitist jerks.

It was also full of lemurs.

Why Zak had thought that bringing a handful of lemurs was a good idea, Eavan would never know. She had left her diris at the zoo, their trick of turning invisible would make keeping an eye on them impossible, especially Bastien. Eva had been trying to keep an eye on the little buggers, but they were quick! She had one sitting quite contentedly on her shoulder but the other one that had been by her skirts had skittered off. A shriek from the nearby tables told her she might have a direction to look though.

"Edgar! There you are!" She squeaked as she made her way forward to the poor gentleman who looked like he had the fright of his life. "I'm so sorry, they keep getting away!" She added with a wide grin, patting the poor guy on the shoulder as she moved forward to get her hands on the little creep on the table.

  

[Elias Grimstone]

"Edgar?" He spluttered, glancing around at first wondering why on earth he was apparently being addressed by a name that was not his own, until it clicked into place that that was the creature. Edgar; he repeated the name, silently deadpan in his head. The thing had a name. Edgar.

The newcomer to the scene, an auburn-haired young woman who looked terribly at ease even in her speedy approach, reached up and managed to pat him on the shoulder. He presumed that was supposed to be sympathetic, but in his post-recoiling, it took a lot of willpower to refrain from flinching. It occurred to Elias that he was making a fair fool of himself, especially as he hadn't yet quite managed to loosen his shoulders or relax the stunned look on his face. Perhaps laughing it off would help; he tried to do so as he exhaled, but it may still have come out sounding rather nervous. (The creature had appeared on him from under the table, after all. Surely it'd be enough to give anyone a fright, even if they liked monkeys or... whatever this was.)

Elias finally registered what it was the woman was saying, as she now reached forward towards the monkey thing. "Oh. They're yours?" He inquired, absolutely befuddled, and not sure what was scarier: that the young woman was familiar with them, or the fact that there was a them at all. Aah! There was another one on her shoulder. Merlin. How she could be grinning like that, he had no idea.

  

[Eavan MacKay]

"Edgar." Eavan nodded, the grin on her face positively amused. The poor gentleman surely thought the lemurs a bit too exotic. "And this is Bonnie." She motioned to the calmer lemur sitting on her shoulder. "They're lemurs and no they're not mine. They're from the Zoological Gardens in Irvingly. I'm one of the magizoologists there." Not with these little buggers directly, but she didn't mind babysitting for the day.

"I do apologize, he's really very cheeky." If there was one thing that Eva had learned in her day with the lemurs, it was that Edgar had an uncanny ability to be a complete and utter little prat when he was in the mood.

Like now- as she reached out to coerce him onto her other shoulder, but the little jerk just edged down the table a little bit. "Don't test me, Edgar." She warned, one eyebrow arching dangerously  high as she eyed him. Hopefully the little snot wouldn't see it as a challenge. 

  

[Elias Grimstone]

"Ah." Edgar and Bonnie. Lemurs from Irvingly. If Elias had been expecting to meet anyone at this event, suffice it to say that they had not made the list in even the limits of his imagination. Hopefully that incident would have been as up close and personal as he would have to get with the menaces.

Not that he should say so, aloud, particularly not if the stranger who'd rescued him - or the lemur, whichever - worked there. She did apologise on that impish Edgar's behalf, though, so Elias supposed he ought to be mollified, somewhat. "Oh, that's alright," he offered, brushing off the apology with a shrug (and an expression that betrayed his faux-blasé tone). "Just... took me by surprise." He added sheepishly.

Elias had managed to edge close enough to set the stool upright by the table again, though didn't dare sit whilst the creature was still on the table. "I suppose there aren't such a thing as lemur leashes, then?" Elias joked, warily watching her battle it for control much as one might go up against a misbehaving toddler. He supposed animals that could climb things would not be so easy a sort to walk as dogs. "Though I supposed being tethered to one might be an ordeal of its own," he murmured, musing quietly on the matter, though not wanting to distract the magizoologist from her task! Could lemurs be tempted by snacks, or were they just the devil's pets?

  

[Eavan MacKay]

With her attention diverted between the cheeky lemur and the flustered gentleman, Eavan listened to him with a chuckle as she tried to coax the lemur off the table. Edgar was not cooperating however. "A leash, is an excellent idea." Eavan turned to waggle her eyebrows at the stranger before she slipped her wand out of her sleeve and cast a quick charm to do just that.

Naturally Edgar protested, but there was little he could do about it now. Bonnie seemed amused by the whole thing, sitting contentedly right were she was. "Thanks for the suggestion, I'm Eavan by the way. Eavan MacKay." She smiled brightly before giving both Bonnie and Edgar a treat from her pocket. Edgar would be surly for a little while, but he knew when he was bested. "Oh stop pouting," She said to the lemur. "We can't have you wandering around scaring people, that's not nice."

Reluctantly, Edgar came her way for the treat and she scratched between his ears before scooping him up. "He's not so bad, just a little stubborn." Eavan turned her blue eyes back toward the gentleman, flowing between conversations with the animals and the people rather easily.

  

[Elias Grimstone]

He laughed in surprise at her response, giving an actual grin at taking his suggestion seriously. The grin widened a little at the sight of the offending lemur - Edgar, that one was - newly caught in the leash. (If he were any less mature, he'd have stuck his tongue out at the lemur in retribution. As it was, he let it off with just a smug eyebrow raise.)

Elias looked back at the young magizoologist, trying to look more at ease now that he was safely distanced from the creature. "Elias Grimstone," he returned. She had some kind of accent, though he couldn't place it. Not entirely English, at any rate. "Thanks for showing up when you did," he added, chuckling but also genuinely relieved. He paused as she spoke to the lemur, eyeing it as it eventually showed a weakness for the treat. "I'll take your word for it," he joked, at the mention of it just being stubborn and not so bad; "if you'd stepped in any later, it might've gotten ugly."

No, he probably would have given up his place at the table to the monkey-thing and found a new spot. But it was fine if there was someone to keep the misbehaving lemurs in line. "I suppose it was a nice thought to bring some creatures, anyway," Elias remarked, trying to make up for his less-than-enthusiastic reaction. He didn't quite know why the Zoological Gardens had done so, but - other than frightening him out of his wits - he didn't imagine it could hurt. Equality essentially lent itself to open invitations, in any case.

  

[Eavan MacKay]

It was Eva's turn to chuckle when Mr. Grimstone admitted it could have gotten ugly. "I don't doubt that, he's rather... inventive when he wants to be. I don't work with them personally, but I hear stories from my coworkers." They had such a wide variety of animals at the zoo that there was naturally always a story or two circulating among the exhibits.

"And it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Grimstone." She smiled brightly, passing Bonnie a treat for sitting nicely, trying to entice Edgar to come closer, though he was still resolutely pouting on the table. "Oh yes, Mr. Podmore thought they would add a little flare to the event. Though he may have chosen some more well-behaved creatures." Eva eyed Edgar with a bemused smirk. "Not that I can talk, some of my little friends are downright devious. Her own diri, Bastien, was the most creative of the bunch. "I work with the birds, specifically the diricawls, which I safely left at the zoo." She was a little out of her depth with the mammals, but she didn't mind helping out where needed.

"I take it you don't have a lot of experience with creatures, then?" Eva guessed, just judging by his reaction to the lemurs. Some people were just not animal people. Personally she couldn't quite figure those people out, but she certainly didn't hold it against them!

  

[Elias Grimstone]

He raised his eyebrows, thinking he probably didn't dare to ask what kind of trouble the lemurs could get themselves into. Edgar looked very much like he just did anything he wanted; Elias would try to refrain from crossing him again. Miss MacKay seemed more inclined to try, though; his amusement was slowly growing, watching her offer the better-behaved creature a treat as a possible imitation-inducing trick.

She seemed quite a sunny personality, something Elias supposed was well suited of someone who worked with animals as she did. Some relaxedness and patience, enough confidence to remain the one in control, even when they were as mischievous as that lemur. (Animals were probably all a bit like horses apparently were, Elias imagined, with that uncanny ability to sense fear in humans.) He quirked an eyebrow at mention of her friends as devious, and had she not elaborated, Elias would have been swift to ask. Birds. He nodded attentively, quietly berating his lack of even a Care of Magical Creatures OWL to see him in any position to comment on diricawls (he would perhaps not have even known them to be birds, had there not been that convenient link to make!) but he grinned broadly anyway. "I see," he said, with another chuckle.

He offered Miss MacKay a helpless shrug at her next question, as if to say how did you know. No, he was entirely transparent. "Not especially, no," Elias admitted, just a touch ruefully. "Owls and I have an understanding," - and they were birds, she could appreciate that - although by understanding he merely meant they got along decently, managed that ordinary wizarding relationship of sending post when they were needed, just ducking whenever one was too close to his head, and trying to avoid getting pecked, "but rarely anything so exotic!" He presumed it was probably exciting, quite the adventure to get to work with interesting animals, if one properly appreciated animals to begin with.

"I only work with brooms, which aren't nearly so lively!" Elias explained, as part of his reasoning that nothing had ever led him into much contact with creatures. (Brooms were not nearly so sentient, if having a magical tinge of life to them, and even when they didn't to go plan, their movements were never so unexpected. They were cleaner to take care of, too, no matter how the state of his workshop might contradict this.) Bringing up brooms saw Elias flash back to a silly conversation he'd had with a friend, ages back, but there was a pertinent point to it that saw him grin unexpectedly again. "I do have a question, though;" he added, and she specialised in birds, was far too qualified for the simple query but too conveniently situated at present to allow him to forgo it; quite seriously, Elias asked, "do fwoopers live in herds - er, flocks?"

  

[Eavan MacKay]

"Oh owls," Eavan sighed happily. "They will always be some of my favorites, such personalities on them!" But no, they were definitely not exotic. They were, as far as magical birds went, pretty run of the mill, but still incredible. Their intuition was second to none and they were incredibly intelligent.

Eavan's head cocked to the side a little bit, an intrigued smile on her features. "Brooms? Really?" Now that was something fascinating! She knew so very little about them. It was utterly fascinating though her experience with them was rather limited. "Oh no, solitary birds." She answered quickly and easily when asked about fwoopers. "Sometimes you find a mating pair together, but not often. They weren't very social, raising their young until they were old enough to be on their own before moving on.*

"I haven't been on a broom in... oh goodness over a decade. I uh," She flushed a little, smiling sheepishly. "Fell off during my first lesson and I never managed to try it again." A horrendously twisted ankle would do that for a girl. "Do you make them? Or do you play quidditch?" Eva tended to forget professional quidditch was so popular over here as at home it was quodpot all the way. But she had never met a broommaker before either!

* aka shit Bee makes up as she goes

  

[Elias Grimstone]

Such personalities on owls... Elias nodded good-humouredly; well, that sounded about right. Too much personality, one might say. There had been one, a few years ago when he'd had an owl subscription to the Daily Prophet, that had arrived at his workshop window - at the usual hour, Elias had presumed afterwards - and, upon finding him slumped over the worktop, head on his hands (woodshavings pressed into his cheek, no doubt), and his snoring drowning out any sound of its window-tapping, the owl had someone found an open window on the building somewhere (or forced one open itself; Elias could not overexaggerate its determination) and swooped around the house until it had made it into the workshop and had been batting his head ferociously with the rolled up newspaper until he came to. (He'd given it a whole sickle, in the hopes that next time it might just leave him be.)

She sounded intrigued by his mention of brooms, but humoured his fwooper question. And she clearly knew what she was talking about! So no such thing as fwooper flocks, thus, no chance of fwooper herding. Not that Elias had imagined even an ounce of seriousness in Le's joke, of course not, and while he wouldn't have cared at all that fact made a dent in their jokes, he presumed his friend's actual knowledge of birds lay as thin as his did, and he figured it would be an amusing shock to Le if he were to suddenly spout a bout of bird knowledge, as though he'd actually looked into the matter of his own accord. "Ah! Thank you," he offered appreciatively, hastily filing away that fact in his brain for future usage.

Miss MacKay had offered up something else on the subject of brooms, though, which made Elias grin more broadly. That she seemed as little an expert in the field did not dampen his spirits, particularly, merely served to make him feel less foolish about himself; her admissions were no worse than he had already proved himself to be with creatures.

He chuckled sympathetically at her explanation for not having tried. "Never too late to try again," he remarked brightly, despite his apologetic wince at the less-than-confident start she'd made; a fair reason not to have been enthused. And it wasn't as though he knew her well enough to actually teasingly chide her on the matter, as he might to people he knew who had somehow never taken to flying. One could say that it wasn't for everyone - and they'd probably be right - but Elias hadn't yet come to understand it, how the idea of flying (the sort of thing people dreamed of being able to do!) wasn't universally adored. "Oh, just make them," Elias answered cheerfully, "nothing so glamorous as that."

"I'm surprised you don't, actually," he added conversationally, eyeing her jokingly, "working with birds, and all that." If that wasn't a perfect opportunity to tether them to the sort of leash the lemur had just had and go for companionable flights with her creatures, he didn't know what was. (He also wasn't sure that air-walking animals was a thing, but.)

  

[Eavan MacKay]

"I've always meant to." Eavan mused aloud. She had always meant to give it another go, but she wasn't terribly coordinated so had never had high hopes for it. By now in the conversation, Bonnie was practically curled around her neck, half asleep and even Edgar had come to his senses and come over to be picked up. Lemurs were, if nothing else, lazy social creatures. He'd pulled on Eavan's arm long enough for her to pick him up and cradle him like a baby while he enjoyed another treat. She was not however, letting him off the hook.

On a soft sigh, Eavan nodded along with Mr. Grimstone's connection between flying on brooms and her chosen line of work. "I've often thought about that myself, perhaps I should give it another try." She chuckled. "I do happen to work with a lot of flightless birds, however." Diricawls could run like the dickens when they wanted, but they couldn't fly to save their little lives. "Certainly something to think about, however! I'd have to get my hands on a broom too, I suppose." Eva added with another laugh. Then again, she was pretty sure that perhaps one of Erin's friends had one she could borrow. "And a lesson, I don't think I really remember the mechanics of it." Yes, a little guidance would be warranted, certainly.

  

[Elias Grimstone]

Always meant to; wasn't that just the habit? There were plenty of things Elias always meant to do (namely, get some hobbies) and although he always enjoyed trying something new, it was often something that required a conscious effort. And there were plenty of other things one was meant to be doing, too. Always more work to be done. It was just the way, wasn't it?

But like he had said, it wasn't too late! Particularly not for something as incomparably amazing as flying. Though if her birds were flightless, perhaps it was not as necessary as it otherwise might have seemed. Still. "Aw, the things they've been missing out on," Elias interjected, quite genuinely upset by the birds' natural loss. It was worse than muggles being oblivious to the other uses of brooms; he presumed these birds still had wings. Really it made him want to cry. What a pity. (The lemurs looked to be causing less trouble now, but Elias still felt rather less kindly towards them.)

Of course, there was an easier remedy for Miss MacKay's flight problem than the birds' flight problem, so he grinned. "Please! I have plenty of brooms lying back at the workshop; you'd be very welcome to borrow one." Particularly for the sake of flying lessons! And it wouldn't matter too much if it got beaten up, if she was really as uncomfortable on a broom as she remembered. "If you've ever in Hogsmeade, that is, you ought to stop by," he offered brightly. He could probably offer a pointer or two, if she needed it. "I'm not sure I'd be much of a teacher," he added with a chuckle, "but I am fairly well-versed in the mechanics!" Alright, better than fairly, for obvious reasons.

  

[Eavan MacKay]

"Oh!" Well of course he would have brooms laying around- he made them after all! Eavan hadn't even thought of that, though it was obvious of course. "That would be rather splendid, and very kind of you." Eva beamed at the thought of trying flying again; really how hadn't she thought of trying it again after all this time?

"I doubt I'll be much of a student, but if I don't fall off we can consider it a success." It would be nice to learn! Certainly helpful in the aviary when the birds were being stubborn and refusing to come down. Not that she'd ever be good enough to catch the snidgets, but it would be amusing to fly around with them!

What a lucky streak Eva was having; everybody she had met since moving to Scotland had been so friendly! Not everybody would be so kind after getting attacked by a diricawl or startled by a lemur. She seemed to luck out, even when the circumstances should dictate otherwise. Of course her little furry friends had other ideas, rather Edgar did, despite his lead, decided he was growing board, climbing up Eva, over Bonnie to try and perch on her head. "Perhaps I should get these two back to their cages." She laughed as the lemur almost successfully made his way to his new seat, effectively ruining her hair. "Perhaps I'll take you up on the flying lessons sometime soon, Mr. Grimstone!"

  

[Elias Grimstone]

"It'd be no trouble," Elias assured her, and it wasn't the sort of thing he was inclined to saying if it wasn't at least partly true. Even if it did take some effort to coax her into flying or, indeed, to appreciating what an excellent activity it was, he imagined the entire thing could be amusing, and that was enough for him.

"Aiming high already, I see," he put in, chuckling at her response. Perhaps a 'lesson' would only be seeing her up to scratch on the basics, but really that was all one needed! And Elias was sure they could manage that much without incident. Probably.

"I look forward to it," he returned easily. "I'll leave you to the lemurs, though!" He waved her off a little awkwardly as the lemurs started growing restless again. Nice as Miss MacKay had been, Elias could say quite equivocally that he had not warmed to those terrible creatures, and it'd probably be a relief to see the back of them.