[When Severus finishes for the day at Asclepius, he makes his way from Baldr district to Odin district, Steven stalking along behind him. Suffice it to say, they both get some rather strange looks from people: a tall man dressed in all in black, complete with a long black robe, being followed around by a six-foot tall emu is, after all, quite a strange sight to behold.
He finds his way to the address Miss Carnahan had supplied him with and he knocks on the door. While he waits for the door to be answered, he stands with his hands behind his back. Steven loiters behind him, rubbing the side of its face against Severus' shoulder, to which Severus tries very hard to ignore. The blasted bird has been attempting to endear itself to him all day.]
[Evy opens the door to Professor Snape and, thankfully, manages to keep a straight face when she spies the bird behind him. Aside from the raised eyebrows, that is.]
You weren't joking about the emu...[That bit's muttered, and the rest is pitched at normal volume.] Come in, Professor Snape, it's lovely to see you.
[She's set up a table in her bedroom, on which is a teapot and associated tableware, as well as a plate of scones and clotted cream.]
[Quiet though her mutter is, he hears it.] I'm not a person who tells jokes, Miss Carnahan.
[At her invitation, he unclasps his hands from behind his back and steps over the threshold into the room. The emu plods in after him and immediately takes to pecking curiously at the light switch. The light turns off and on a couple of times as a result.]
Steven. Enough. [The emu stops and looks at him, and Severus points to a clear spot of floor large enough for the bird to sit down.] Sit down. Behave yourself.
[The emu lowers its head as if apologising and begins to plod off to where he was told to sit. But not before he approaches Miss Carnahan, inquisitively eyeing her.]
[No, Snape doesn't come off as an especially jokey person. But Evy still wasn't certain she really ought to expect an emu. Much less an emu called Steven.
When it approaches her, she gingerly reaches for its head to give it a pet. It's a funny, gangly thing, but it does seem tolerably well-behaved.]
If Steven's settled, perhaps we should take our tea. How do you prefer yours?
[The emu nuzzles into the touch. He's a strangely affectionate emu.]
Black. No sugar. A twist of lemon if you have it.
[Meanwhile, the emu notices Miss Carnahan's earrings. They look potentially tasty. Hovering in closer, the emu looks about ready to peck at her right earring.]
[Evy nods and pours him a cup, as well as one for herself (splash of milk, one lump sugar). She doesn't notice the emu's approach until she feels it brush against her skin--at which point she jumps, nearly dropping the teapot, and wrenches her head out of the way.]
Oh, you're as bad as a camel!
[But there's laughter in her voice as she says it.]
Steven. Enough. [Severus says this an awful lot to Steven. The bird is already starting to get a little sick of it.
But it looks over at Severus all the same, a little sheepishly, and when he points for the bird to head to the middle of the floor and sit down, it relents and does as it's told.]
My apologies for his behaviour. [Though she's making the tea, he's still rather formally standing in the room; he's not one for simply making himself comfortable in another's home. But he does make attempt at conversation.]
It's all right. He doesn't realize he's a bit of a nuisance. [It's said with some fondness--that silly overgrown ball of feathers, et cetera. She glances over at Snape, surprised to find him still standing where she left him, as though he might make a break for it at any moment.] Why don't you, er, take a seat?
[At the question, she brightens considerably.] I did! It's as much home for me as England is. Have you ever been?
[Well, being she invited him to take a seat… He eyes the table and chairs and steps across to it. Pulling a chair out, he takes a seat, back straight, hands clasped together on his lap.]
Regrettably, no. The opportunity never arose. [He slightly, absently twiddles his thumbs together.] Whereabouts in England are you from?
Ah. [He's quite familiar with Oxford - the wizarding realm of Oxford, mostly, which is as much Oxford to him as muggle Oxford would be to a muggle.
Unclasping his hands, he picks up a spoon, dips it into the tea and gives it a brief stir.] I… Well, I highly doubt you'd be familiar with the Britain that I grew up and lived in. But prior to attending what I suppose you'd call a boarding school, I was raised in Lancashire. A small town just north of Blackburn, to be specific.
[She's curious at that, assuming it's a matter of his being from the future. That's usually the problem for her here, though she doesn't think it's so insurmountable as others seem to.]
I'm afraid I haven't been to Lancashire specifically, but I'm sure it's lovely.
[His tone is clipped with a faint hint of dryness. No, Lancashire isn't lovely - at least, not the part where he's from. It's bleak, miserable, dreary, horribly working class.]
But yes, unless you're born into a wizarding family or are a witch - and, forgive me saying so, but you don't strike me as a witch - the chances of you knowing about the Britain I'm familiar with are slim to none. We share the same world as Muggles - that is, non-magic folk - but we keep ours hidden. Egypt is much the same, as is every other country in the world.
[If Asgard has taught him anything, it's to expect that people will have all kinds of wild stories about their lives back at home. Witches that travel through space and time. Civilisations that are wiped out because of a rage-inducing parasitic fungus. And, apparently, raising people from the dead.]
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Dear Professor Snape,
I'll look forward to seeing you then. The emu is welcome provided it's house-trained and generally behaved.
Very sincerely,
Evelyn Carnahan
[permaction??]
He finds his way to the address Miss Carnahan had supplied him with and he knocks on the door. While he waits for the door to be answered, he stands with his hands behind his back. Steven loiters behind him, rubbing the side of its face against Severus' shoulder, to which Severus tries very hard to ignore. The blasted bird has been attempting to endear itself to him all day.]
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You weren't joking about the emu...[That bit's muttered, and the rest is pitched at normal volume.] Come in, Professor Snape, it's lovely to see you.
[She's set up a table in her bedroom, on which is a teapot and associated tableware, as well as a plate of scones and clotted cream.]
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[At her invitation, he unclasps his hands from behind his back and steps over the threshold into the room. The emu plods in after him and immediately takes to pecking curiously at the light switch. The light turns off and on a couple of times as a result.]
Steven. Enough. [The emu stops and looks at him, and Severus points to a clear spot of floor large enough for the bird to sit down.] Sit down. Behave yourself.
[The emu lowers its head as if apologising and begins to plod off to where he was told to sit. But not before he approaches Miss Carnahan, inquisitively eyeing her.]
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When it approaches her, she gingerly reaches for its head to give it a pet. It's a funny, gangly thing, but it does seem tolerably well-behaved.]
If Steven's settled, perhaps we should take our tea. How do you prefer yours?
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Black. No sugar. A twist of lemon if you have it.
[Meanwhile, the emu notices Miss Carnahan's earrings. They look potentially tasty. Hovering in closer, the emu looks about ready to peck at her right earring.]
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Oh, you're as bad as a camel!
[But there's laughter in her voice as she says it.]
SORRY FOR SO LATE i suck
But it looks over at Severus all the same, a little sheepishly, and when he points for the bird to head to the middle of the floor and sit down, it relents and does as it's told.]
My apologies for his behaviour. [Though she's making the tea, he's still rather formally standing in the room; he's not one for simply making himself comfortable in another's home. But he does make attempt at conversation.]
So, you lived in Egypt, then?
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[At the question, she brightens considerably.] I did! It's as much home for me as England is. Have you ever been?
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Regrettably, no. The opportunity never arose. [He slightly, absently twiddles his thumbs together.] Whereabouts in England are you from?
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Outside of Oxford. And yourself?
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Unclasping his hands, he picks up a spoon, dips it into the tea and gives it a brief stir.] I… Well, I highly doubt you'd be familiar with the Britain that I grew up and lived in. But prior to attending what I suppose you'd call a boarding school, I was raised in Lancashire. A small town just north of Blackburn, to be specific.
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[She's curious at that, assuming it's a matter of his being from the future. That's usually the problem for her here, though she doesn't think it's so insurmountable as others seem to.]
I'm afraid I haven't been to Lancashire specifically, but I'm sure it's lovely.
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[His tone is clipped with a faint hint of dryness. No, Lancashire isn't lovely - at least, not the part where he's from. It's bleak, miserable, dreary, horribly working class.]
But yes, unless you're born into a wizarding family or are a witch - and, forgive me saying so, but you don't strike me as a witch - the chances of you knowing about the Britain I'm familiar with are slim to none. We share the same world as Muggles - that is, non-magic folk - but we keep ours hidden. Egypt is much the same, as is every other country in the world.
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[And as horrifying as it was, she's starting to be able to laugh about it a little. Here, at least, her smile is a tentative one.]
I don't know of any secret enclaves, though, so if I am, it's likely not your sort of witch.
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And how exactly did you go about achieving that?
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[She grins, taking another sip of her tea.]