August 26, 1888 - Padmore Park at the Carnival

Sloane Bixby @"Fortuna Lockhart"

Since quidditch had started up it had been a grueling two weeks of games and had constant practices. Rufus didn’t mind, it was good to be back at work. He’d been restless while the season had been off, especially after the fog had lifted and they still hadn’t started back up. Then it had with a vengeance. As much as he loved the pace and getting back into the groove, he had to admit part of him missed the quiet of the summer. He had had so little time for the ladies in his life in the past two weeks. It was something he felt quite terrible about as both of them had had birthdays this past week. So he was going to try and make it up to them by having them meet. Indeed, Rufus thought he’d planned it out quite well. He was taking Sloane to the carnival where Fortuna would ‘accidently’ meet them and join them for the rest of the outing, giving him ample time to try and spoil the both of them the way he hadn’t been able to for their birthdays. He would have taken Sloane on her actual birthday, but for the match with Wigtown. He supposed by now Sloane was quite use to this between her brother and her father’s careers.

“Well, here we are. What shall we do first? See the winged horses?” Rufus asked his sister as they came upon the park. He was excited to finally have a chance to see her after all summer away for work, which ended up being away for little reason after all. At least Fortuna had been there too or his summer in London would have been unbearable.

  

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BEE-utiful set!

Twelve, she was twelve now. It felt so much more impressive than eleven. She'd even grown this summer! Now Fussy was taking her to the carnival and she was thrilled. She'd missed him this summer. It hadn't been the same without him around. Of course he was busy with quidditch always, but at last he was home sometimes rather than not at all! It had been a long summer simply annoying Alvin to take her places, he was far less likely to indulge her.

When she'd come with Sisse they hadn't seen as much as she would have liked and now she had a chance to! "Yes, the horses!" She agreed enthusiastically, grabbing his hand to drag him in that direction. "Then we can get a treat, right?" Sloane eyed her brother hopefully, eyebrows raised expectantly. It was her birthday outing after all.

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Fortuna had been quite excited when she'd gotten a letter from Rufus asking her to meet him at the carnival. He'd expressed wanting to make up for not actually seeing her on her birthday and had planned for a day at the carnival. She'd made sure to dress well and in plenty of time so that she was there waiting for him near the winged horses as had been decided upon. Her maid, the same one that had been with her in London, was with her though she didn't look at all pleased to be by the horses. It was clear the other woman was not a fan of horses.

They waited in companionable silence for Rufus to come into view. When he did, Tuni was all smiles as usual. Waving to him, big brown eyes took note that he wasn't alone. A young girl was with him and her smile only seemed to widen at the sight of her. It was clearly his little sister, Sloane. She remembered having helped him pick out a pair of flying gloves for her last year. It had been the first time they'd spoken. She had never thought their paths would have continued the way they had after that initial meeting but she was quite happy with the outcome of things.

Still smiling, she waited for them draw closer so proper introductions could be made.

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

Sloane grabbed his hand and all but dragged him forward at the mention of horse. Rufus couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. Despite her having attended the carnival already it seemed that her spirits at the novelty of it hadn’t dampened in the least. “To the horse it is.” He agreed, grateful that Sloane had been so eager. He’d mentioned to Fortuna that they would meet by the horses.

“Of course you can have a treat! It’s your birthday after all.” Rufus agreed, feeling his sister’s enthusiasm wear off on him. It reminded him of when he had been her age. It also reminded him of the fact that he had hardly seen her in the last year, this summer included. He had hoped it would turn out differently, but she was growing up, her certainly couldn’t stop that from happening.

The moment the winged horse pen came into sight a grin spread over his lips. Tuni stood with her maid a smile on her face as she caught sight of them. It felt like such a long time since he’d seen her, granted it had hardly been a few weeks.

Unbeknownst to Sloane she led them right up to the pen where Tuni was standing. Rufus could have bought his sister a hundred treats just for that small favor. “Miss Lockhart!” He greeted her as they came up to her, fondest clear on his face. “It’s so good to see you. Have you met my little sister, Miss Sloane Bixby?” He began, giving Sloane no time to object and knowing very well what the answer was. “Sloane, this is my friend Miss Fortuna Lockhart. Her brother plays quidditch too.”

  

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BEE-utiful set!

As soon as the horses came into sight, Sloane let go of Fussy's hand and shot forward, swooping past the woman standing there with little ado, to climb up on the fence beside the pen to get a better look at the abraxans on the other side. She was too focused on trying to lure one over so that it was close enough to pet to pay much attention to anyone around her.  

Apparently Rufus knew the woman though. Sloane cast a curious glance over her shoulder toward her brother's overly-enthusiastic greeting. With one eyebrow quirked as he continued, Sloane had absolutely no idea what he was carrying on about, but Sloane had very little interest in Miss Lockhart at the moment. She'd heard the name at home- overheard her mother talking about her when Rufus was stuck in London and her mum hadn't been overly happy at the time either, so naturally neither was Sloane.

"Yeah, yeah, Magnus Lockhart, beater for the Cannons, I know." She waved off the information (honestly, as if she didn't know?), both literally and figuratively as she turned her attention back to the creatures on the other side of the fence. If only she had an apple or something!

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Tuni couldn't help the wry sort of smile that graced her features as her introduction to Rufus's little sister went wholly ignored. Clearly the young girl's attentions were focused elsewhere and she was the least of Sloane's concerns in that moment. She supposed she couldn't really blame her, though. The winged horses were quite fascinating, after all.

Having been near the winged horses for a bit while waiting for them to arrive, she'd purchased a handful of treats the tamers had said they used for the horses. With a wink to Rufus, she stepped up next to where Sloane was on the fence and pulled some of the treats from a pocket and offered them to her.

"The gentlemen that work with these horses gave me a few of these," she said calmly as she waited to see if the young girl would take them, "You can give a few to them if you'd like."

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

Sloane was quickly losing interest in the horses- or rather forcing herself to, as this woman clearly had plans to intrude on her day and the petite Gryffindor was having none of that. "That's alright," Sloane declined as politely as she could, trying to keep the mild disdain from her features.

Leaping gracefully from her perch on the fence, she landed spectacularly and with a bit of a flourish. Sloane eyed Rufus, one eyebrow raised carefully. This was her birthday afternoon and she wasn't about to spend it chitchatting with an acquaintance of Fussy's that Sloane had little to no interest in. "I think I'd like to go find a snack now." She grinned, hoping Fussy would just roll with it and move on.

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Wasn't sure if we were doing an order, but #safetysave

  

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Rufus gave Tuni an apologetic smile as Sloane brushed her off, twice. Sometimes Sloane could be a bit... stubborn. "Thank you." He offered to the idea of treats when Sloane again ignored Tuni.

"Sure. A treat sounds like a wonderful idea." Rufus agreed, pausing a moment to make it seem as if he were thinking about it, "Say, Miss Lockharr, why dont you join us? Unless that is you dont already have plans."

  

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BEE-utiful set!

It was becoming increasingly obvious that her presence wasn't exactly all that wanted by Rufus's little sister. She could understand that, at least a little bit. And though she very much wanted to spend the time with Rufus, she wasn't about to cause a problem with him and his little sister.

She simply shrugged at his smile. "As a matter of fact," she started, looking to the young girl with a bit of caution before looking back to Rufus, "I think it may be best if I head back home. My father needed me to pick up something for him."

She smiled to them both in turn before adding, "It was a pleasure meeting you Miss Bixby." She then looked to Rufus and gave him a slight nod with her smile, "Until next time, Mr. Bixby." Because, well, there was always a next time. And with that, she turned and went on her way with her maid. Hopefully the siblings would proceed to have a good time without her presence hindering them.

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Another Glorious MJ Set!