something new (macmillan)

Bijou wasn't sure that this was all a good idea. Amaryllis was a sweetheart but she wasn't sure if meeting for this blind date with her brother would turn out well. Of course, she understood what the older woman was trying to do. She hadn't really made any friends since she had been here. It was kind of difficult to make friends when you were constantly having to watch your back. She had been here for a year or so now though and no one had come looking for her so maybe they had let her go? She kind of doubted that she could be that lucky but then again, maybe she was? Either way, she had reluctantly agreed to meet with this Hyacinth that Amy spoke so highly of. She just hoped that they could have a good time and at the very least maybe she could leave with an actual friend.

She was told by Amy that she didn't have to dress up for the date, that Hyacinth liked to keep things casual and Bijou liked that even more. She didn't want to have to try to hide her weapons in some slinky little dress or something. It was much easier to do in a jumper and her jeans, even if they weren't exactly baggy either. She was just very adept at hiding them since she never went anywhere without them. Life growing up as a hunter since birth had taught her that she could never be too careful. She did make sure she did look at least somewhat nice though, didn't want to send him running because she looked like a mess.

When she made it to the boardwalk she looked around for someone that would match Amy's description. She wished there was some other way for them to find each other. It would be really embarrassing if she were to walk up to the wrong person. Though, she knew that was a chance she would have to take as she spotted someone matching his description sitting at a table alone. She approached, an apprehensive smile on her lips. "Are you Hyacinth?" She asked, her accent ringing out clearly as she hoped that she hadn't approached some random person.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

This was the first time Macmillan was on a blind date or any type of date really; he's had flings, but none of them were ever anything close to an actual relationship. Those were all for fun and with the distinction that it was to pass time. So, he didn't know too much on what to do. Wait. He did attend the formal with Meredith Riddle, but he didn't view it as a date. To him, it was just so they both weren't attending alone.

And here he was sitting by himself in Dear Neptune's waiting for the girl his sister was telling him about to show up. He was dressed slightly more modestly than usual: he was wearing an actual shirt that wasn't a rashguard or a generic white shirt he'd always wear when he wasn't shirtless. He also had on an actual pair of shorts than one of the many pairs of swim trunks he possessed. Very classy.

He had already ordered them fizzy lemonade when a blonde dropped by the table. "Yeah, but you can call me Macmillan," he answered as Macmillan got a good look at the blonde who had approached her. His sister knew him well: blonde who could keep up with him. Rad! "Are you Bijou?"

Her accent didn't sound British, but he wanted to make sure he got the name right.

@Bijou Dubois

Bijou had never had time to date when she had been growing up, her training and hunting that her parents forced upon her had always been the top priority and they wouldn't have taken well to anything that could draw her away from helping them complete their ultimate goal. It didn't matter that she didn't share their views and by the time she was old enough to make a fuss she already had enough blood on her hands that she felt a hypocrite for speaking out against them. She hated every moment of it but her hate for what they made her do was outweighed by her fear for them. Until about a year ago when she had made a break for it.

Now she was experiencing a whole different type of nervousness as she waited for this man to confirm or deny if he was who she was supposed to be meeting. A relieved sigh left her lips and she slid into a chair across from him when he spoke. "Oh, thank goodness. That would have been incredibly awkward if you weren't you." She said with a bit of a laugh, she was just glad he was who she had thought he was. His sister had given a good description, obviously. "That's me." She confirmed when he asked her name. She knew it wasn't a common name so she was actually pleasantly surprised that he had gotten it right the first time.

She smiled across the table at him, unsure what else to say. "This is all new to me, so you'll have to excuse me." She said with a little bit of a laugh. How did blind dates usually work? She didn't even know how unblind dates worked!

@Hyacinth Macmillan

"Yeah, luckily there's only one me," he replied with a nervous chuckle. How were dudes supposed to behave on dates other than the normal gentleman type stuff? Obviously Macmillan wasn't going to pick his nose or loudly belch or anything like that. Then again, neither of them were dressed very formally and on the scale of restaurant formality in wziarding Britain, Dear Neptune's wasn't as high as other places.

Dammit, he should've asked Atticus for some advice before this blind date. Macmillan didn't expect it to have been arranged so quickly that he didn't even think of doing that until Bijou was sitting across from him. Macmillan clasped his hands together on the table as he wasn't sure of what he should do with them. 'You can just call me Macmillan."

Veryyyy casual.

'How long have you been in Britain?"

@Bijou Dubois

Bijou smiled, he seemed nice enough but she had already been told that he was a good guy. Then again, it was his older sister who had told her as much so she hadn't really known if it was just her trying to make him sound good. And he seemed to be feeling just as awkward as she felt. "Macmillan, got it." She said with a smile since he had said as much twice now. It made her feel a little better to know that he wasn't completely comfortable in this situation where she was completely out of her element.

Then the small talk began and she thought that she could handle that! It would be nice to get to know him a little better over what his sister had told her. "About a year ago." She said, not wanting to really delve into her past or anything since it was kind of a sore subject. "It's beautiful here. I can understand why you would move here from the mainland." She said with a smile, she really could. She hadn't gotten to look around here much since she had come straight to the restaurant but from what she had seen it looked like a paradise. "Your sister said you surf competitively?" She asked curiously.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

"About a year ago?" he repeated, his eyes widening slightly.

Damn, that's a long time to be in a new place without making any friends. Maybe she was really shy and was more introverted, sort of like how Lien was. Then again, his bro seemed to prefer solitude.

Swirling the straw in his cup, Macmillan took a sip of his fizzy lemonade. "Yeah, the beaches, people, and everything here are rad! It's always warm at Blackrock, and we get a lot more sunlight than the mainland. It's an awesome place to live!" He glanced towards the nearby window and grinned widely at the beachfront view. Perks of being on the boardwalk.

His sister thinks he was already in the competitions?

He felt a warmth in his stomach, touched that his sister was already so supportive of his goals.

"Not yet. I only moved here right after I finished Hogwarts, but I will be in the contests before you know it! What's your department at the Ministry?"

@Bijou Dubois

Bijou nodded. She knew it was probably odd to him that she hadn’t really done anything with her life since she had been there but to her defense, she had been in hiding…. Not that she could really tell him as much. Maybe he would just think she was shy or something? She could hope he wouldn’t just think she was weird. ”Yeah, it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long.” and really, it didn’t to her.

”I definitely want to come back and see the beaches sometime.” she said with a smile. She hadn’t really had time to sightsee or anything today but she knew that she would be back. ”Thats still amazing, she said it’s always been your dream.” and Bijou thought maybe that was the type of people she wanted to be around, those who followed their dreams instead of conforming. ”Ive been in just about every department, really. Most recently I’ve been doing secretarial work for the Department for Control of Magical Creatures.” maybe it was still a little close to home with what she had grown up doing but it was what she knew best.

”Surfing sounds like fun. Much more fun than taking complaints and filling out reports.” maybe she would have to try it sometime? She did like trying new things…

@Hyacinth Macmillan

Macmillan nodded and said with a chuckle, "I've had some people who doubted me, but they'll be proven wrong once I win the Surfing Mambo Cup!"

In wizarding Britain, the world of pro surf was somewhat lacking. To him, it was good as it meant he would get to become one of the first big names in the sport, and twat would be eating his words.

Sipping more of the lemonade, he opened up the menu and started to browse the appetizers for something light to start with.

"You're working through the Ministry like it's uni?" Macmillan wondered, tapping the edge f the table as he glanced down at the menu. "Have you considered uni to figure out what you want to do? My bro, Lien, goes there and so do a few of my other friends."

She didn't know many people, at least he and his friends could help her out.

@Bijou Dubois

”Theres always going to be people who will doubt you but you just have to prove them wrong.” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. Wasn’t that what she was doing in a way? Her parents had told her that hunting was her destiny, it was what she was meant to do with her life but here she was, doing something completely different and loving her life more than she ever had.

She sipped a bit of her lemonade as well, it was refreshing. ”I guess you could say that. I’m more or less an extra right now, I help wherever paperwork needs filed or Crystal calls need answered.” she was sure it was because she was so young that she hadn’t gotten a permanent position yet. She tugged her lower lip between her teeth, thinking about his question as she looked at her own menu. ”I’m not sure. I was homeschooled so I don’t know how it would work getting into higher education?” luckily, her parents hadn’t neglected her other studies so that was one plus at least. And she had graduated, just not from a wizarding school. ”I have thought about it though, even if just to get out and meet new people. Most people I meet at work are either way older than me or they are just too busy to hang out on a Saturday night or whatever. Amy is one of the few people who have taken the time to try to make me feel welcome at work.” she said with a sigh. She knew it was no one’s job to try to make her feel welcome but she had still hoped to make at least a few friends from work she could hang out with, maybe meet more friends through.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

"Did you ever have to deal with that memory department or whatever it's called? The one that erases memories from muggles? My brother works in it, and he's a bit of an arse at times."

As he was on a blind date, Macmillan was being generous towards his older brother. He didn't want to come off a certain way when he and Bijou barely knew each other outside of names. He didn't know what to do on a date, but he was certain that throwing a sibling under the Knight Bus wasn't one of them.

A waiter finally approached their table and asked, [[]"Are you two ready to order?"[/i]

Smiling at the waiter, Macmillan looked over at Bijou to see if she wanted to order.

@Bijou Dubois

Bijou shook her head. "No, I haven't been in that department yet." She had to laugh a bit at how he described his brother. "I'm surprised, your sister has been so kind. But I guess that doesn't necessarily mean all your siblings have to be. Do you have other siblings or just your brother and Amy?" She asked curiously. She had grown up an only child so she had often wondered what it would be like to have siblings. She hadn't had playmates as a child because of her training and being homeschooled so she hadn't had much interaction with other children. As such, she enjoyed hearing people's stories of their childhoods and sibling relationships almost as if she could live vicariously through them. It was sad, really.

Then the waiter approached and Macmillan looked to her, letting her order first. "I'll have the coconut shrimp, please." They had sounded delicious when she had seen them on the menu and she just had to try them. She smiled to the waited then and looked back to Macmillan so he could order.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

"Amy's a twin. I have another brother, but he lives in America as a quidditch player."

He, of course, made exceptions for his bros and housemates when it came to the topic of quidditch, but Macmillan couldn't hide his disdain for the sport. That brother was so haughty whenever he dropped by to visit and talk about his ever-growing career.

"Yeah, I'll have some coconut shrimp too."

Macmillan was more acquainted with the selections at the shack, but he knew there was an inevitable amount of overlap due to how dominant seafood and tropical dishes were on the island.

Turning back to Bijou, he smiled at her as the waiter walked away with the first of their orders. "Do you have any siblings?"

@Bijou Dubois

Bijou had to smile at the way he said quidditch with so much disdain. Obviously, Amy and Macmillan must be the exceptions in the family instead of the norms if he used such a tone when talking about his other siblings. It was sad in a way, but maybe she just thought so because she didn't know what it was really like to have siblings. Maybe she would use the same tone to describe hers if she had any. Especially if they were like the rest of her family...

She sipped her lemonade as he ordered the same and the waiter took his leave to put in their order. She returned Macmillan's smile as she shook her head at his question. "No, I'm an only child." She answered. It was probably better off that way. Her parents already terrified her and she would have hated to have to worry about siblings coming after her as well. "My parents always said that one child was enough, they could just focus on me." She rolled her eyes. In a better situation it might have been a good thing but when their focus went into trying to make her into a killing machine, which they had almost succeeded in doing, then she didn't think it was all that positive.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

An only child?

He never encountered many only children, not even when he attended Hogwarts. Every one of his bros/dormmates had at least one sibling. Most of his schoolmates in general had siblings. Only children just weren't that common in this corner of the wizarding world since the end of the war.

"Does it get lonely being an only child?" Macmillan wondered thoughtfully as he drank more of his lemonade. "I'm the youngest of five, so it's always been crazy, and almost everyone I know has siblings."

Of course, he had no idea of her upbringing. Macmillan merely assumed that her parents wanted to have children but not multiple for benign reasons.

@Bijou Dubois

Bijou wasn't sure whether it was common practice back home to have only one child, she hadn't had much contact with other families unless they were fellow hunters that worked with her parents. And it wasn't like any of them were normal by any means. A small frown tugged down the corners of her mouth when he asked about being lonely. She had spent most of her childhood being lonely, wishing that she could have someone to talk to when she needed someone but she hadn't had that. "It did get pretty lonely a lot of the time. I used to always wish I had a sibling." Of course, she had wished she had a sibling that was more like her than like her parents but now she knew that it probably wouldn't have happened...

"Wow, five?!? I can't even imagine having four siblings. Sure, I might have always hoped for one but I don't know what I would do with four!" She said, knowing that it was probably different for him since as far as she knew, his family weren't killers like hers. It still had to be pretty crazy.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

"When you're the youngest, four siblings is what you've always known," he said, chuckling as the waiter brought over two servings of coconut shrimp before going to attend another table. Grabbing one of the shrimps, Macmillan dipped it into the sauce before chucking it right into his own mouth.

He never figured out how to eat as elegantly as other purebloods. It was fortunate that his family was nowhere near as strict about etiquette; they just expected that they knew how to use their manners and to clean after themselves.

"Being the youngest did suck. I always felt left out, and I knew from a young age that I wasn't supposed to be born although my parents showed me a lot of love. I wasn't planned."

Definitely a cool, casual anecdote to bring up on a blind date.

@Bijou Dubois

"I guess it's just how it is." She said, knowing that you couldn't change your family. No matter how many times she had begged her parents for a sibling, they had refused and she had been left with no one to play with. They probably had a reason for it, to keep her apart from anyone who might change her views. It had backfired on them obviously. She smiled at the waiter and thanked him as the coconut shrimp was placed in front of each of them. She took one and ate it much more daintily than Macmillan had but she didn't mind the fact that he had just tossed his back at all. She smiled at him.

"Sometimes the best things are unplanned." It was the truth, wasn't it? Sometimes you didn't even know what you really wanted or needed until it was right in front of you. She sipped her lemonade before brushing her hair back behind her ear. "I mean, I'm sure your parents love all of your siblings as well but maybe you were just the surprise they didn't even know they needed at the time." She said with a smile, hating the fact that he seemed a bit more somber as he had spoken last. It just didn't seem right to her when she was already getting the impression that he was full of life.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

If she saw just how blonde both his parents and the rest of his siblings were, maybe she'd feel differently.

Macmillan was a Macmillan, that's why he went by Macmillan.

Sometimes he didn't believe himself. Fake it until you make it, they say.

"I inherited all of the recessive genes, that's why Amy and I look so different."

It was a comforting lie.

He needed to take this conversation a different direction.

"What was Beauxbatons like? I heard it's snooty."

@Bijou Dubois

"I never gave much thought to you two looking different. I guess it just happens sometimes." She said with a shrug. People couldn't always look like their parents, right? Maybe he looked like some distant ancestor or something, who knows? She didn't really think much of it. Surely her thoughts didn't go anywhere near that maybe he wasn't actually Amy's brother or anything like that. She laughed a bit at his question. "I can neither confirm nor deny that since I was homeschooled." She said. "My parents said that going to school there with all of the other kids would just distract me from my studies." She rolled her eyes. "What was Hogwarts like?"

@Hyacinth Macmillan

"You were homeschooled?"

Most kids in Britain just attend Hogwarts, so Macmillan had forgotten that there was likely a decent amount of wizards out there who didn't attend an actual school. Eating more of the shrimp, Macmillan responded, "Hogwarts was rad, but it was crazy. Last term was wiiild and two of my bros were all caught up in it. We're all glad to be out of there, the new Head Boy is a piece of work."

@Bijou Dubois

"Yeah, I don't think a lot of kids back home are but my parents never were conventional." She said, the understatement of the century. They were far from normal on any level. She munched on the shrimp in front of her as she listened to him talk about his time at Hogwarts. "The head boy?" She questioned. Of course, she would have no idea what that was but she was curious. "It sounds like at least it was an interesting time there. I think it might have been something I would have liked to have experienced, going to Hogwarts that is. Not being wrapped up in drama." She said with a smile.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

"The Head Boy is Melanthius Burke. He's the bigger one, and his family's full of twats. They're poshy, very purist and wealthy. I heard that their mother is actually a half-blood, but I don't know how true that is since they consider themselves pureblooded. Sacred 28 twats."

As if his own family wasn't considered part of said-Sacred 28. It was different for his family anyway as they were considered blood traitors; in a way, it's miraculous that they allowed Amy to breathe in the same room as them.

"Yeah, Hogwarts is rad if you don't get involved in drama, but there's always drama going on. It's usually unavoidable for a few weeks, but it's chill if you're not involved," he added as he munched on one of the coconut shrimps. He definitely knew how to behave on a date.

@Bijou Dubois

"Oh, they do not sound like a very fun group to be around. I have heard of this Sacred-28 but only a couple of times. Probably from my grandparents or something. My family was pretty set on remaining pure as well." She rolled her eyes. She didn't care if someone was pureblood, halfblood, muggleborn, vampire, werewolf, it didn't matter. She now knew that there were good people and bad people in all of the different groups. She had hunted those bad in the latter two groups... At least she hoped that they were all as bad as her parents told her but she was questioning that at this point.

"I think anywhere that many people are gathered will have plenty of drama! I know there's even drama at the ministry, even though everyone tries to keep it under wraps." She said with a shrug. "Amy has told me some stories about her time at Hogwarts, a lot of them include some guy she mentions often." She said with a smile, Amy always seemed so fond of these memories and Bijou loved hearing her stories.

@Hyacinth Macmillan

"With my family, it just wound up staying pure."

That truly was the case; they had no issue getting along with half-bloods, muggleborns, squibs, or those considered tainted as long as they showed basic kindness and were accepting of others.

Macmillan raised an eyebrow. Amy always mentioned a certain bloke? "Was his name Memphis or did she not give you a name?" What other guy could his sister frequently mention anyway?

@Bijou Dubois

"At least there were no expectations placed on any of you in that regard. That's always nice." She knew eventually if she had stayed at home that her parents would have expected her to eventually marry someone with the same views as them and Bijou never wanted that.

"Yes! That was it! Sorry, I am not the best with names. She mentions him often though when she talks about her time at Hogwarts." Bijou said, unsure why she couldn't manage to remember that name when she had thought it was such an odd name when she had first heard it! She took another sip from her lemonade. "She always speaks of fond memories where he is involved but I always thought it would be rude to ask why they broke up even though I have found myself curious."

@Hyacinth Macmillan