July 20th, 1888 — Magical London
For the scenario stamp challenge "get hurt and/or sick"! Open to anyone nearby!

Her previous misadventure had conveniently fortunately not seen her confined to her bedroom for the rest of the summer after she'd explained that she'd been chased out of sight by a man trying to assault her. That, combined with the bruises on her wrist, had provided enough evidence to the validity of her story (never mind that the bruises were caused by the dunce who thought he might try to save the day rather than the criminal himself).

Magical London was bustling today, and Aria had been waiting near the storefront while her chaperon—one of the family's only remaining maids—had run indoors to grab something she'd ordered for the household. The sight of something sparkling on the ground nearby caught her gaze, causing Aria to wander towards it with a curious gleam in her eye. Part of her was hoping it was money, while part of her was hoping it was some mystery-laced treasure that would give her something to do; unfortunately she would never find out.

She found the sleeve of her dress seized by a passerby in what she assumed was an accident, as the next moment she found on the ground nearest the building without the passerby in sight. Like any self-respecting young lady, she immediately tried to rise to her feet, but was met with resistance from her oh-so-sore ankle.

Gasping, she fell flat on her arse once more, and, after a moment of anxiously pondering on whether to ask the unfamiliar street people for help, scooted herself back against the wall with the hopes that her maid would find her soon. (Hopefully the woman would have knowledge of apparition; she could hardly stand, let alone walk!)

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☙ Post Log ❧

Deciding to not mention the dreadful incident to his family, yesterday had given him more to think about on the topic of Avril. From past experience, how the young woman from yesterday had acted was the same way that Avril might act in such a situation. It was no way to act in any situation. True, Ace's language could have been better, but they were in a life threatening situation for goodness sakes! Some might have simply ran and left the girl without even telling her that the dangerous man was approaching. And with that ladies attitude, she might have simply stood their to die simply out of spite!

Comparing his sister to the other young woman wasn't hard to do. At least the other girl was younger, though not by much. The fact that Avril was technically an adult as far as the wizarding world was concerned and was still behaving like as she was completely frustrated Ace to no end. It wasn't as if he was letting her act like this. What could he possibly do to help his sister? Currently, he was at a loss on handling what seemed to be his only option.

Going to work once more, he only hoped that his co-workers would not be making a joke out of him from yesterday. Even if he had been in danger, that didn't mean that men didn't laugh at other men's bewilderment of any situation. The look he had on his face after everything was said and done was surly one that his closer co-workers laughed about. Ugh, and getting sassed by a girl seemed to give them more cause to laugh. At least he wasn't an auror. Though if he had been, he probably would have handled the crime in progress with the authority that would have been given to him by his job.

Hearing a gasp, he looked over and did his best to not scoff. Miss 'Damsel-In-Distress' was at it again, getting herself into a situation that will likely cause her to snap at anyone who even tries to help. Well, he wouldn't be late if he stopped for a moment to assess the situation. Keeping his distance, not wanting to get bitten, he stood against the same wall. "You seem to always be in trouble." He commented. It was like talking to Avril before... well... before all of the loss. In a way, it felt good to get some form of what he would call 'normalcy'.

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Set by Me

Of course, having anyone show up to offer her assistance was more ideal than sitting here awkwardly like a street rat begging for food, but this man? Again? As if he hadn't caused her enough trouble already!

"And you seem to show up when you're least wanted," she retorted with a quirk of her brow. "I suppose you're one of those men—you know, the sort who shows up when he catches whiff of trouble."

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☙ Post Log ❧

If history proved anything, it was that she would rather bite someone than receive help from them. And this was a much less serious situation than yesterday. Not really wanting to get bitten again, he kept his distance.

Shaking his head, he ignored her rude tone towards him. "No, yesterday I had accidently bumped into you, and then found that we where both in danger simply from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Today, both of us just have some rotten timing. Have you ever considered leaving your house between now and lunch so I don't have to see you during my walk to work and my lunch break? It seems we would both benefit from that difference in schedule." He replied calmly.

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Set by Me

His wit momentarily brought a subtle smile to her face, but then she digested his words and the smile faded.

"You act as if I've fallen simply to attract your attention; I can't imagine being so self-centered," she countered, wishing she could stand in front of him. She would still be shorter than him, but it was far less demeaning than being stuck on her behind—and he hadn't even offered to help her up!

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☙ Post Log ❧

At that, Ace barely contained his laughter. "What was self-centered was for you to think that me trying not to let someone possibly die was me actually trying to be some hero for its own sake. If you truly wished to know what was really going through my head... well, from how you were talking, it felt as if what happened yesterday would be a similar situation that my sister was in. And I would have been quite grateful if anyone dragged that stubborn girl to safety... even if she did bite them." He said, his statement going very soft and genuine as it went on.

The troubled look that he had grown accustomed to had returned. Damn it, is this all that Avril was doing to him now? He couldn't very much cope with this and raising children as well. It was so overwhelming.

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Set by Me

Aria did not care what his family situation was like; his tailored robes and clean-cut look told her that he was far wealthier than she was, and by her logic that meant he was better off no matter what drama filled his life! She doubted being rich could buy happiness, but it provided comforts that could distract one from their sorrows.

"You obviously lack sense if you can't see why I would make a fuss of such a thing," she replied coolly, eyeing him with a scowl across her features. "Not all men have noble intentions, even if they were well-dressed and well-meaning. You could have been working with him for all I know."

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☙ Post Log ❧

Perhaps if she had opinion out loud... she didn't seem to care that things weren't even near good in his life at the moment. Why would she? Just as stubborn as his sister, she was.

Her response threw him off a bit. "I'm fairly certain that one can't be that good of an actor. I suppose you might not have noticed my own terror towards the situation." He responded. Thinking for a moment, he added, "Besides, if I had been working with him, it would have been much easier to just hex you. Then I wouldn't have had to deal with the yelling, or being bitten." Though this was added with a hint of humor in his tone.

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Set by Me

Aria rolled her eyes. It certainly was possible to be that good of an actor—it was how dark wizards continued to evade the law despite committing crimes, and how people continued to pretend they were happy with their lives.

(Not her, though. She was good at being and looking miserable.)

"Hex me? In public? You can't be serious; that would be the perfect way to be seen, recognized, and caught by the eve's end. Don't tell me you don't know that much."

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☙ Post Log ❧

Ace scrunched up his nose in distaste. "I am not a criminal mastermind. And gladly so. Nor do I work in a field that would require me to think as a criminal would. So no, it didn't occur to me since I don't fully consider hurting people at all." He responded. That was quite reasonable, in his opinion. Why was it considered intelligence to be able to look into the mind of a criminal? Though helpful to an auror and... well... a criminal, it was not helpful for one that had no business around any such lifestyle.

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Set by Me

"Well," she said, taking in a sharp breath. "I'm not sure how you could have expected me to know such things. We're strangers, you and I. I don't know you, nor do I care to with that attitude."

Not to mention her ankle was really beginning to pain her!

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☙ Post Log ❧

"I don't know how you could have expected me to know your thought process. Especially in such a tense and urgent situation. I do not read minds. My main goal was making sure no one else got hurt. I'm sure us surviving helped the auror's to identify and apprehend the criminal." He countered.

The pained look on her face was getting all too obvious. Oh he knew he was going to regret this. "Do you need help?" He offered warily. It was clear that he did not trust her. Last time he tried to assist her, she treated him like the criminal.

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Set by Me

"My thought process was that of any woman with common sense. As a gentleman, you should be aware of such sensitivities," she scolded, but it was apparent that she was now bickering for bickering sake. It's not as if she were a gentlewoman; her family, while by no means poor, was tainted with scandal.

"You may help me up—but only if you're not afraid," she challenged, reaching up to offer her hand.

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☙ Post Log ❧

"I was thinking more about survival rather than feelings." He said simply. From how he stated it, it was clear that he preferred to leave it at that. They were going in a loop now, and he wanted to cut the loop before he got dizzy.

Scoffing, he finally approached her and pulled her up. "Of you? No. More afraid of being turned into a werewolf than anything else." He muttered. No, he didn't know who she was. What came to mind was his own father. Part of him always wondered if he'd accidently be turned by the man whom he had looked up to his whole life.

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Set by Me

Werewolves were the last topic she was expecting to come up in casual, civil conversation, and much to his misfortune it was also a topic that was very sensitive for her. For someone who claimed to be a stranger, it was very fishy—at least in her mind—for him to bring up werewolves to a young woman who's father was publicly known to be a werewolf! Perhaps calling him a gentleman had been one of her many failings while dealing with him.

Now on her feet, Aria cast him a cold glance and angled her gaze away from his.

"Fortunately for you, having a werewolf in the family does not mean that one also suffers the affliction," she commented as if he already knew who she was. Everyone did—at least at school.

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☙ Post Log ❧

Taken aback by her statement, he gave her a look of confusion. Did she... how could she possibly know? Mother and father had hidden it so well. Brief panic filled his eyes. Then it clicked, she meant her family. "You have a werewolf in your family?" He asked, genuinely curious. Though, he was now walking on a sensitive topic. What if she somehow did know about is father, and was looking for confirmation now.

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Set by Me