October 12th, 1894 - Banks of the Thames

Bee: somebody give me an open thread premise
Olive: a seagull just stole your character's food

Had Tobias been around this time last year, he might have had more reservations about walking along the side of the Thames at midday with a bag of popcorn in his hands. As it was though, he had convinced Rita to stay with Miss Reid today; a whole tub of grapes to keep her occupied for a little while as he took a stroll down to the docks to meet a supplier for some materials. He hadn't been back in this part of the world for a while, but he had a wide network of contacts with whom he still did business with and it was helping him find his footing in this more settled situation he was finding himself in.

After apparating to a suitable spot, Tobias had bought his snack from a vendor along his route to the docks where he would meet his pickup. He was going to have to pick up a paper from last year and read up on the dragon incident. There hadn't been much in the way of news over in the part of the States where he was. All he'd known was that there had been some sort of statute kerfuffle and the Americans were aghast. Their strictness over mixing magical and muggle cultures was worse than it was back home.

At least it was a pleasant autumn day, though Tobias was missing the colors of the foliage in the northeastern States right about now. He'd get used to this again eventually. Maybe. Probably. It might just take a little while. At least he had some uncommon wand cores to look forward to tinkering with to keep his mind busy. He refocused on that, looking out over the water of the river with a sense of nostalgia in that he wished he could hop on a ship and sail somewhere else, but with a grounding sense of responsibility that keep him rooted here. He neared the docks, fishing some popcorn from his bag when he was surprised by a seagull diving in for his snack. "Oy!" He barked immediately pulling back from the bird that had ahold of the bag.

---

  

---

Aleksei had been enjoying lunch with some new friends they had made who actually knew one of their deepest secrets. So they had joined them in elegant womens wear, beauty potions making their facial features a little more feminine and softer than they typically were. Nothing drastic but enough to blur the lines of androgyny. They had also grown out their hair so it had been easy to put up in the typical updo debutantes did. This was the appearance they were most comfortable in, especially when paired with the comfortable ambience of Victory Kings establishment.

Their daydress swished as they popped through one of the many magical twists and turns entwined in London. They found themself near the Thames which wasn't an ideal place to be. They were about to go through another of the magical alleys when they were stopped short by an oy. Their heart leapt into their chest, panic feeling like bile in their throat. Had they been discovered somehow?

"Me?" They still checked, cautious now like a skittish deer.

  

---

aleksei is non-binary. in ooc narrative, aleksei goes by they/them, IC people would percive them as he/him

It took more self-awareness than Tobias usually possessed not to whip out his wand and blast the bird away with a spell, but that was clearly not allowed here and so he swatted at it with one hand.

Unfortunately all that did was cause it to pull more and the next thing he knew he heard the paper bag ripping and the popcorn spilled onto the ground and partially into the river. He had lost the battle before it had truly begun and his snack was the casualty. Along with a little bit of his pride. Tobias watched the seagull scamper off with the remnants of the bag and popcorn with a scowl.

It was the meek little voice nearby that had him turning away from the annoying sight. "I apologize, no, I was hollering at the seagull that just made away with my snack." He rearranged his features into something more neutral. "I didn't meant to startle you Miss." He blushed a little, sheepish.

---

  

---