Ah, fuck.

The man was looking for him, and there were spectators and a woman and the implication that the man wanted to kill him. Noble didn't believe this, because he generally didn't do things that were going to make people want to kill him. Punched, maybe. He could handle punched. It was all just very public for fighting, and Noble generally preferred when his neighbors didn't have any reason to realize he existed.

"Yes," he said, standing still, "But maybe we shouldn't talk here?"

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set by Bee

Ben felt a fresh wave of anger ripple through him at the confirmation, and he scrambled to his feet. This was the guy who was responsible for this disaster, and that was what Ben was latching onto — not that he was young and looked relatively unassuming, not that there were people around to see, not that Angie was standing between him and Greengrass. No, he focused on the fact that Greengrass was responsible for whatever was wrong with Melody — because if it wasn't Greengrass, it would have to be him. He'd given her the potion, it had been his suggestion — and yesterday some bitch going by Meredith Watchword had implied he would have preferred if his wife was dead, and he — he couldn’t handle this. She couldn't be dying, and if she was it couldn’t — it couldn't be his fault.

"The fuck did you put in that potion?" Ben hissed, taking a step closer to Greengrass. He wouldn't have been capable of going anywhere else in his current state of mind, so ignored the suggestion — ignored everything, including Macmillan behind him and Angie at his side and everything except the anger and hurt and desperation building up in him.

The following 2 users Like Reuben Crouch's post:2 users Like Reuben Crouch's post
   Melody Crouch, Noble Greengrass

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MJ made this <3

Things seemed to be de-escalating, though the whole thing seemed really rather weird. Just off. All Angie could discern was that Ben and the smaller bloke had been fighting, and there was two spectators, one of whom Ben was looking for.

Probably not a good sign.

Angie looked between the men once again, gaze settling on Ben, before glancing at the man Ben apparently wanted to kill. She didn't know how best to intervene here, because she and Ben were nothing more than long-ago co-workers and even then, nobody here would know that. She was not however about to let him commit murder in the middle of the street.

Standing firmly between Ben and his intended target, capable of taking him down if necessary (any of them really, though they didn't know that, obviously), Angie waited a moment before interrupting. "I think Mr. Greengrass has the right idea, don't you Mr. Crouch? Elsewhere." She empathized both the word and her look at him with raised eyebrows.

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The following 2 users Like Angie Swan's post:2 users Like Angie Swan's post
   Melody Crouch, Reuben Crouch

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Thank god he'd intervened when he had - a veritable crowd was descending like a flock of vultures! Fortunately they all seemed more interested in Crouch and whatever bee was in his bonnet (less bee and more hornet really) so he could easily see to his idiot whelp of a brother.

He moved in on Elmer but didn't demean himself by crouching down to his level. "I know you must feel at home down there in the dirt but will you stand the hell up!" He sounded irritable and in a manner of speaking he felt irritable, just look at his sad excuse for a brother who wouldn't lose patience with that? He thought he'd rather have a hot head like Reuben Crouch. It would only be more pathetic if Elmer was crying. However he was enjoying himself at the same time, particularly the prospect of delivering back home. Mama would hear of this.

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The following 6 users Like Charles Macmillan's post:6 users Like Charles Macmillan's post
   Aldous Crouch, Angie Swan, Elladora Black, Melody Crouch, Reuben Crouch, Zenobia Zabini

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Noble took a step back; less because he was afraid of the man (although maybe he should have been) than because of the implication. Was there something wrong with the potion? That was - well, he'd never gotten hit over a potion before, and things had to be had if the man had come here. The only recent client he didn't know well was Ben Crouch, which meant that this was Ben Crouch, which meant it was about the draught of peace.

"We can talk in - my yard?" Noble said, looking between Crouch and the woman who maybe knew him.

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The following 1 user Likes Noble Greengrass's post:1 user Likes Noble Greengrass's post
   Melody Crouch

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set by Bee

"I don't want to talk," Ben responded hotly. He wasn't thinking straight, of course, because what Angie and Greengrass were suggesting was clearly the more reasonable answer. It wasn't doing Melody any good to cause a scene in the middle of the street, and it was clearly a scene at this point — Macmillan had someone tending to him but they weren't gone yet, and even if they were, this was too public a place for them not to have attracted some other attention already.

"I want to know what you did to my wife," he said, pushing past Angie and giving the potioneer a hearty shove towards the hedge behind him.

The following 2 users Like Reuben Crouch's post:2 users Like Reuben Crouch's post
   Angie Swan, Melody Crouch

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Angie anticipated Ben's forward motion, seeing the anger on his face and had already started reaching for her wand when he pushed past to get in Greengrass's face.

Why, why did men have to be like that?

She turned quickly and shot a fairly harmless jinx at him, just a little leg-locker, moving to put herself in between Ben and Greengrass again, also so are could steady him before he fell over. Angie didn't have any trouble keeping him upright, he wasn't that much taller and she was incredibly fit these days.

"Enough," She said in a tone that was anything but negotiable. Angie furrowed her brows, blue eyes intent on his. "We go in the back yard to talk to Mr. Greengrass, or you take me to see what's wrong with Mrs. Crouch, you pick." Angie highly doubted he wanted the latter, so hopefully he could finally see some reason.

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Noble exhaled at the shove, took another step back. He didn't know what to do to avoid this escalating - if he could - and was still stuck on something being wrong with the potion. He drew his wand, careful not to aim it at anyone involved, and used it to unlatch the gate on the Greengrass fence - causing the gate to swing open.

An invitation.

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set by Bee

"Shi— fuck," Ben swore as he felt his legs stiffen beneath him and realized what had happened. If Angie had pulled a wand on him, it didn't seem like he had much choice in the matter, but he was hardly thrilled about it.

"Get this off of me," he hissed irritability at Angie. "Unless you're planning to carry me into the damn yard."

  

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