londoncallingrpg

He liked spring. There was still a chill to the air most days at the moment, but you could see nature slowly waking from its slumber, even here in the heart of the city. It brought the wolf inside him nothing but joy, and left him with an itch to be outside in the sunlight, roaming and exploring. He'd have to plan a trip to the country soon, somewhere he could really roam wild...

For now, however, a jog through the park would have to do.

Dressed in running shorts and a t-shirt, Valentine alternated between jogging and sprinting. Moving slower where there were crowds, then taking off at top speed along empty stretches of the path, the man didn't stop until his heart was pounding hard and he knew he needed a break. Slowing to a stop, he stretched out and caught his breath, before drinking from the water bottle that he had strapped to his hip.

"Sorry, didn't mean to stop in the centre of the path," he said, stepping out the way when he realised someone was attempting to get past him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

hollow_moon

"That would be brilliant," Val grinned. "I'll meet you there soon."

From:

harrowgate

Attractive, confident, forward. What an unexpected treat for Felix's afternoon. "You certainly will. Don't keep me waiting long," he advised with a secretive half-smile, before turning to stroll his way to the cafe Valentine had indicated.

He acquired a table for two in the quieter back of the restaurant, and a decent bottle of red wine, informing the staff his companion would be joining him shortly. While he waited, Felix poured himself a glass, and was quickly distracted by the scholarly he'd been carrying with him in his briefcase. So much that he quite lost track of the time, absorbed in a new article analyzing recent linguistic developments.

From:

hollow_moon

Val hadn't loitered too long in the showers, and so it wasn't long until he was slinking into the cafe and making his way over to the table.

"Hope I didn't keep you long," he said, offering that bright and toothy smile again.

He'd changed into something much less sporty, and didn't hesitate to pick up a menu and start flicking through it. "I'm famished," he confessed- Though he was always hungry really. Val wasn't one to ever turn down a meal.

From:

harrowgate

Glancing up from his publication, Felix mentally added fashionable to his mental list of complimentary adjectives for the man. His reading quite forgotten, Felix took in an appreciative eyeful, and not just of the leather trousers.

He took up the bottle of wine, and poured into the glass set at Valentine's place at the table. "I confess, I half wondered if you would appear after all, and weren't only employing a remarkably effective technique to discourage someone from bothering you," said Felix lightly, implying he would have been rather amused if that were the case. "I believe this is the first time I've arranged a date before introductions."

From:

hollow_moon

"That just makes it more exciting though," Val smirked. "And who doesn't like a tiny thrill on a quiet day, hmm?"

He knew what he wanted to order, and he closed the menu so he could offer Felix his full attention. His gaze raked over the other man with the hunger of his inner wolf, and he wet his lips with a flick of his tongue before speaking again.

"What is it you want to know about me? We could ask one another about our favourite colours, or where we like to spend our summers... Or we could quietly speculate on which of us is louder in bed, while we enjoy some of London's finest imported meats and cheeses. I'll dazzle you with my wit, and you'll continue to entrance me with those pretty eyes and soft looking lips, and maybe when were done I'll convince you to come back to mine... Though I'm getting a bit ahead of myself there," he grinned.

From:

harrowgate

Even more forward than Felix had imagined. His delicate brows lifted as he brought his glass to his lips for a drink, but he was far too intrigued to be offended. Each vague notion of dalliance he had already painted in his mind sharpened into sudden reality, and his pulse quickened. At times, an imagination as vibrant as Felix's could be more curse than blessing.

"You may have the gift of prophecy," Felix noted, lilting, as he lowered his glass again. Though he had barely glanced at the menu, his order hardly mattered. Food was much less interesting than his luncheon companion -- and utterly pale in comparison to the promises of later. "So impressive. The only thing you're unclear on so far is the soft and pretty bit."

When he smiled, there was a sharpness at the edge of his mouth, a secretiveness in his unusual eyes. Before he could say any more, a server stopped by, far too chipper, to take their orders.

From:

hollow_moon

Val was grinning, his eyes locked on Felix right up until the moment he had to order.

"I'll have the bison steak and parsnip mash- As well as the soup, whatever you recommend," he said, before nodding to Felix. "And what will you have, lamb?" he asked his companion.

From:

harrowgate

"No, not today," Felix replied, as though that had been a menu suggestion and not a pet name. Valentine would learn all too soon that 'lamb' was the absolute last thing that would ever describe Felix. "The shrimp and risotto," he told the server, and watched her with his unnerving eyes until she vacated their vicinity. Then he turned his smile back on Valentine.

"There is a language where the word 'lamb' refers to anyone without agency, or without power. Not unlike how we use 'sheep', but even less charitable."

From:

hollow_moon

"I wasn't trying to be rude, petal," Val assured him, growing serious for a moment, then cocking his head slightly as he studied the man.

"You're not keen on me describing you in soft terms, like lamb, or beautiful- But I don't mean to sound as if I'm calling you weak, lovely. That's not want I mean at all. You're enchanting, and my vocabulary isn't nearly clever or full enough to provide me with more appropriate praise. ...So let's talk. Maybe if I know more about who you are, my lips will stumble on better words, hmm?"

From:

harrowgate

Felix would be content for him to keep trying all afternoon, playing a game of compliments, the prize being whatever pleasure Valentine could imagine Felix might be willing to surrender. He kept his wine glass curled in his elegant fingers, though his other hand darted and illustrated expressively whenever he spoke.

"You've been unfailingly polite, darling, I assure you. And as long as I don't have to talk about work, I can talk until you find an effective method of encouraging me to stop." Those last few words were curled around a little purr of promise. "Wherever to begin. I'm twenty-five, I live in the city though not near here, and I don't know the first thing about sport or fitness, I'm afraid. Academia is more aligned with my talents."

From:

hollow_moon

"Oh? Which schools did you attend?" Val asked curiously. He wasn't much for traditional academics himself, tending to prefer doing his own research on various topics that appealed to him. However, he had been well educated. All Collingwoods were, even the misfits.

From:

harrowgate

"Private tutors," Felix answered, neither bragging nor feigning humility. Just telling the truth -- or rather, the shaded truth that protected reality from the harsh light of day. "It's the tradition, in my field, to directly tutor the next generation. Masters and apprentices," he added, with a glittering little smile.

Without giving Valentine the space to respond, Felix turned the question around, "And you? Did you attend university?"

From:

hollow_moon

"Mmm," Val nodded. "I followed the typical Collingwood formula. Eton, then Oxford. ...What is it you do for a living? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

From:

harrowgate

Once, Felix had longed for the chance to attend university like a normal young adult. He tried not to let it show on his face, but there remained a certain wistfulness in the lift of his brows. "It's dreadfully dull to explain. I analyze certain aspects of society and culture, and use that analysis to make predictions about how societies will respond to changes. Sociological metaphysics, if you want to be whimsical about it."

His smile flashed, again. "But if you don't make me talk about my job, darling, I won't make you talk about yours. Whatever it is."

From:

hollow_moon

"That doesn't sound dull at all- Though perhaps a bit over my head, if I'm honest. ...As for my Job, I don't mind talking about it at all," Val grinned, sipping his drink. "I own a museum of oddities."

From:

harrowgate

Despite his insistence that he didn't want to talk about work, Felix's ears practically pricked up at the word museum. "You own a... what in the world?" His laugh was musical and perfect, and entirely sincere. "What manner of 'oddities'?"

From:

hollow_moon

"Oh, all sorts! Victorian medical devices, vintage tarot decks and other 'occult' pieces..."

Things he had found while learning all about the wolf he carried within. Things that he'd soon fallen in love with and surrounded himself with.

From:

harrowgate

'Occult'? Felix bit back several pointed questions as to the authenticity of such items. Why ask when he could witness? "I simply must see this," he declared, leaning forward on his forearms on the table, toying with a drink of his wine while his eyes danced over the rim of the glass.

Felix allowed his accent to soften slightly, let his voice sound as though the wine were warming him up. "Whatever do your Oxford friends think of your... medical devices and magical artifacts?"

From:

hollow_moon

"My true friends aren't surprised in the least," Val shrugged. "The rest only care that I carry my family name and haven't yet become a total disgrace,"

He smiled then, genuine and chipper. "I'd be glad to give you a private tour one day."

From:

harrowgate

"A second date," Felix all but purred, catching Valentine's gaze. He seemed about to say something more, but their ordered dishes arrived before he could, and Felix sat back again, re-filling his glass whilst lunch was served.

Once the wait staff had withdrawn and Felix was curiously toying at his risotto with his fork, he noted, "Somehow we don't seem to have gotten as far as family names. Did you prefer it that way?"

From:

hollow_moon

"Hmm?" Val replied, taking a bit bite of his steak, then chewing and swallowing.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you'd caught mine already, though maybe I never gave it. I suppose I don't bother usually, there's not many Valentine's in London after all... It's Collingwood, Valentine Collingwood."

And while Valentine himself stayed out of the press these days, his family was well known none the less. All that wealth meant a family full of headline makers, 'it' girls and guys, well publicized charity work, and plenty of a-list friends.

From:

harrowgate

"I must have been distracted." Lunching with the most well-known names in London was part of Felix's everyday life; indeed, it was a bit of a relief to know where he stood, socially speaking. The Collingwoods weren't the sort of family that appeared on the Mirador's client list, but Felix nonetheless knew of them.

"Valentine Collingwood," he rolled the name on his tongue, tasted it along side the wine. His lips curved thoughtfully, pleased. "Certainly a delectable mouthful. Do you prefer it gasped, whispered... screamed?"

From:

hollow_moon

"Why not all of the above?" Val grinned, laughing softly as his eyes lit up with warmth. "Go on then, what's your full name, darling?"

From:

harrowgate

"Felix Harrowgate," he responded. It wasn't a well-known name; Felix was practically anonymous in the city at large, unless one spent an unhealthy amount of time on the society pages and blogs. There, his name appeared frequently beside Shannon Teverius, as the tempestuous couple who at times provided social embarrassment for Stephen Teverius, the Home Secretary.

Otherwise, he was no one -- to anyone who wasn't a wizard.

"And I prefer begged."