Post by Thayne Aynsworth on Dec 3, 2011 5:11:50 GMT -4
The soft padding of leather dress shoes against cobblestone could be heard coming around the corner that joined Diagon and Knockturn alleys. The shoes were expensive, this made obvious to everyone by the huge contrast between them and the clanky feet of average business men walking by, wearing mere knock-offs with cheap wooden and rubber soles. Eyes curiously glanced in the man's direction, wanting to get a peek at the rare rich shopper, but their curiosity was quickly met with an uncomfortable fear.
The man, dressed head-to-toe in a suit that looked like it had been carved from pure silver, ignored every single person around him like they were bugs not even worthy of being stepped on. Instead, he stared forward, his feet only stopping when his ears registered that something was missing behind him. "Graisyn! Shopping is to be done on your time, not mine." He called out, gaze not moving from the dark entrance of Knockturn Alley. Footsteps began to rush away, those words confirming the man's identity, and a few seconds later a slow, lazy-like clicking of studded black leather heels started in his direction.
"I was just window shopping, Thayne." Graisyn growled, glaring at the back of his head when he disappeared down the stone steps, not even waiting for her to catch up. "Always have to have a stick up your ass about everything."
She carefully maneuvered her way down the slick stairs, adjusting her outfit as she went, her look totally contradicting the statement Thayne's suit was making. White shorts and tank top, worn leather jacket, and those heels that looked more like a weapon than actual foot attire... Women looked her up and down as they passed by, disgusted and envious at the same time, while men stared in awe. Either way, attention was attention.
Thayne stopped in front of a rundown section of the alley, looking over the abandoned shop standing tall before him. The stone exterior of the place was eroded and covered with mold, ivy pouring out of the cracks and joining together in twisted messes all over the wall. It had even begun to creep into the boarded-up windows and thick iron door that had fallen off one of it's hinges and was now barely held to its frame by a rusted bolt.
Graisyn choked on some invisible entity that could be none other than shock, the building definitely not what she expected when Thayne had said 'it's full of promise'. "Father bought this dump for you? Has he even seen it?" She asked in pure disbelief as she stepped forward to touch the grimy stone, only to have a vine of ivy come alive and snap at her fingers. She returned it's low hiss after the initial yelp of surprise, pulled out of the ivy's reach by Thayne as more of it tried to attack her.
He pulled out his wand, pointing at the root of the snapping ivy. "-insert spell here that I'm too lazy to look up-." His voice seemed unamused and his expression matched as he watched the vine petrify and collapse against the ones below it. He replaced his wand back in it's fitted pocket found on the inner lining of his jacket; a pocket every single one of his suit jackets had. "The Aynsworth Empire is now mine." He stated, answering her question from before as if the ivy situation didn't even happen.
"Father just...gave you the whole damn Empire?" She questioned, switching from glaring at the crazy ivy to glaring at Thayne who had kept such a big secret from her. He didn't reply to this, but instead gave her one of his looks that said this wasn't the time or place to be talking about such things. She understood instantly, her stomach twisting in knots as she thought about what must have happened. But she held herself together, turning the conversation topic back to this seemingly poor investment. "What the fuck are you going to do with this dump, anyway? Homeless shelter? One sickle whore shop?"
A smirk finally broke Thayne's cold facade as he listened to her. "Think bigger." He replied, stepping forward to touch the building himself, Graisyn questioning his sanity and trying to pull him back until she saw the ivy rub against his hand like a kitten would, a soft hum vibrating through the stone.
She watched him, an eyebrow perking at the sight. It took her a few seconds to collect her thoughts, but her sarcastic comment was effortless. "Bigger? Like a whore house?" She snickered as one of the vines hissed at her again. "Does Ivie know you're cheating on her with another ivy?" She joked, grinning as Thayne's face didn't even try to hide his disgust. His soon-to-be wife wasn't exactly his first choice...or his second. But they had been betrothed since the age of thirteen, thanks to former Head Bastard In Charge, Carlysle Aynsworth; their father and the soul reason The Aynsworth Empire existed.
"I'm turning this place into a bar." He started, turning the attention away from Ivie as quickly as possible. "The upstairs will be an inn."
Graisyn was obviously puzzled by the mention of an upstairs, already having noted that there was only one set of windows and they were right near the front door. "I think this mold must be getting to your head. Maybe we should go..." She went to grab his sleeve, only for the ivy to reach out and whip her hand. "If you touch me one more time, I'll set you all on fucking fire. We clear?" She screamed as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the ivy, which seemed to retreat into their cracks slightly.
"Non ti preoccupare." Thayne whispered as he leaned into the ivy. "Innocuo." He stopped to listen to the soft murmur coming from the wall and then nodded. "Prometto." A genuine smile flickered across his lips as the vines relaxed and began humming again. He patted the wall gently a few times, a sign of affection, and slowly pulled his hand free. "Try not to threaten our security anymore, Graisyn Jane. They need to trust you." He looked back at his younger sister, a warning look now apparent on his features. "And don't ever question my intelligence again." He paused to pull something out of his pocket, Graisyn's eyes widening as she saw it was a sewing needle.
"What are you doing with that?" She took a step back as he took one towards her.
"Initiation. Everyone has to do it to get into the building." He pointed over his shoulder with the pin. "Unless you'd like the ivy to rip you to shreds and suck you into the building walls, never to be seen again." He grinned as he thought about how many victims this plant would take in the future. The vision of it tearing the Minister of Magic limb from limb made him simply giddy. "Give me your hand, Grai. They won't try to hurt you after this." After much hesitation, she swallowed at the lump forming in her throat and reached out her hand to him. In a flash, he poked the needle into her pointer finger, drawing quite a bit of blood for a simple finger prick.
He placed the needle back into his pocket and his hand met the vines of ivy once again. "No one's allowed initial entrance into this building without me here. And a little blood is needed for their records of customers. You'll be their first." He waved the speechless Graisyn forward, taking her hand with the bleeding finger in his free one and pressing it against the wall.
The blood disappeared into the cracks as ivy wrapped around their hands, Graisyn struggling at first, but relaxing when she heard the voice of her fiancee coming from deep inside the stone. It clearly wasn't him, because this voice spoke Italian when he was 100% German, but it was soothing and angelic. She unconsciously pressed her ear against the moldy wall, listening closely and trying to decode what words she did know. Matrimonia doccia, costretto, incinta. She jumped at the last part, eyes darting over to see if Thayne had heard, but the ivy seemed to have the ability to speak to her alone.
"It speaks Italian. And knows everything. Crispin, his voice was-" She was cut off as Thayne chuckled at her befuddled state.
"They travelled here from Italy and had quite the adventure, no doubt. A little of your blood is enough to give them your whole life story. And, as you've just experienced, they manipulate your memories of a certain voice and use them to gain your trust, meaning the voice you just heard is the person you trust the most. Consciously or unconsciously, it knows." As he finished, he gently pulled their hands away from the wall, motioning to the door. "Shall I show you around?"
She nodded, though her eyes were still trained on the ivy, completely wonderstruck. He grabbed her arm and tugged her towards the door, until she reluctantly went with him. "Grazie! Ciao bello." She called to the plant as she disappeared into the door, smiling as she heard it echo back her words in Crispin's voice. "Hey Thayne, who's voice do you hear when it talks to- HOLY SHIT." She screamed as the dark room came into focus and she saw how vast the area was. She clapped a hand over her mouth as her outburst echoed through the emptiness. When it went silent again, she let out a whisper through her fingers. "It's so much bigger on the inside..." She looked over at Thayne who was purely amused by her reaction. A silence fell over the room as she began walking around, seeing that he had already been cleaning up.
After much walking, her eyes caught the blueprints on a rotted wooden table with a cracked leg. She moved to them quickly, her eyes scanning the layout he had made for the place. One floor. She flipped to the next blueprint. Two floors. The next blueprint. Three floors. Her eyes widened and she hesitated before flipping to the next one. Four floors. She was about to stop when she saw the corner of one last blueprint sticking out from under the one she was currently looking at. She pulled it out, noticing that this one was more detailed than the rest. An underground lair.
She spun around, holding this final blueprint up to her brother who stood near the middle of the room, arms folded and watching her. "This is crazy, Thayne. Impossible, even. Did you put something in my morning tea? I think I'm starting to feel a little faint." She fanned herself with the giant paper and collapsed back into a wooden chair, fitted with a cushion covered in mildew.
To be continued...
The man, dressed head-to-toe in a suit that looked like it had been carved from pure silver, ignored every single person around him like they were bugs not even worthy of being stepped on. Instead, he stared forward, his feet only stopping when his ears registered that something was missing behind him. "Graisyn! Shopping is to be done on your time, not mine." He called out, gaze not moving from the dark entrance of Knockturn Alley. Footsteps began to rush away, those words confirming the man's identity, and a few seconds later a slow, lazy-like clicking of studded black leather heels started in his direction.
"I was just window shopping, Thayne." Graisyn growled, glaring at the back of his head when he disappeared down the stone steps, not even waiting for her to catch up. "Always have to have a stick up your ass about everything."
She carefully maneuvered her way down the slick stairs, adjusting her outfit as she went, her look totally contradicting the statement Thayne's suit was making. White shorts and tank top, worn leather jacket, and those heels that looked more like a weapon than actual foot attire... Women looked her up and down as they passed by, disgusted and envious at the same time, while men stared in awe. Either way, attention was attention.
Thayne stopped in front of a rundown section of the alley, looking over the abandoned shop standing tall before him. The stone exterior of the place was eroded and covered with mold, ivy pouring out of the cracks and joining together in twisted messes all over the wall. It had even begun to creep into the boarded-up windows and thick iron door that had fallen off one of it's hinges and was now barely held to its frame by a rusted bolt.
Graisyn choked on some invisible entity that could be none other than shock, the building definitely not what she expected when Thayne had said 'it's full of promise'. "Father bought this dump for you? Has he even seen it?" She asked in pure disbelief as she stepped forward to touch the grimy stone, only to have a vine of ivy come alive and snap at her fingers. She returned it's low hiss after the initial yelp of surprise, pulled out of the ivy's reach by Thayne as more of it tried to attack her.
He pulled out his wand, pointing at the root of the snapping ivy. "-insert spell here that I'm too lazy to look up-." His voice seemed unamused and his expression matched as he watched the vine petrify and collapse against the ones below it. He replaced his wand back in it's fitted pocket found on the inner lining of his jacket; a pocket every single one of his suit jackets had. "The Aynsworth Empire is now mine." He stated, answering her question from before as if the ivy situation didn't even happen.
"Father just...gave you the whole damn Empire?" She questioned, switching from glaring at the crazy ivy to glaring at Thayne who had kept such a big secret from her. He didn't reply to this, but instead gave her one of his looks that said this wasn't the time or place to be talking about such things. She understood instantly, her stomach twisting in knots as she thought about what must have happened. But she held herself together, turning the conversation topic back to this seemingly poor investment. "What the fuck are you going to do with this dump, anyway? Homeless shelter? One sickle whore shop?"
A smirk finally broke Thayne's cold facade as he listened to her. "Think bigger." He replied, stepping forward to touch the building himself, Graisyn questioning his sanity and trying to pull him back until she saw the ivy rub against his hand like a kitten would, a soft hum vibrating through the stone.
She watched him, an eyebrow perking at the sight. It took her a few seconds to collect her thoughts, but her sarcastic comment was effortless. "Bigger? Like a whore house?" She snickered as one of the vines hissed at her again. "Does Ivie know you're cheating on her with another ivy?" She joked, grinning as Thayne's face didn't even try to hide his disgust. His soon-to-be wife wasn't exactly his first choice...or his second. But they had been betrothed since the age of thirteen, thanks to former Head Bastard In Charge, Carlysle Aynsworth; their father and the soul reason The Aynsworth Empire existed.
"I'm turning this place into a bar." He started, turning the attention away from Ivie as quickly as possible. "The upstairs will be an inn."
Graisyn was obviously puzzled by the mention of an upstairs, already having noted that there was only one set of windows and they were right near the front door. "I think this mold must be getting to your head. Maybe we should go..." She went to grab his sleeve, only for the ivy to reach out and whip her hand. "If you touch me one more time, I'll set you all on fucking fire. We clear?" She screamed as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the ivy, which seemed to retreat into their cracks slightly.
"Non ti preoccupare." Thayne whispered as he leaned into the ivy. "Innocuo." He stopped to listen to the soft murmur coming from the wall and then nodded. "Prometto." A genuine smile flickered across his lips as the vines relaxed and began humming again. He patted the wall gently a few times, a sign of affection, and slowly pulled his hand free. "Try not to threaten our security anymore, Graisyn Jane. They need to trust you." He looked back at his younger sister, a warning look now apparent on his features. "And don't ever question my intelligence again." He paused to pull something out of his pocket, Graisyn's eyes widening as she saw it was a sewing needle.
"What are you doing with that?" She took a step back as he took one towards her.
"Initiation. Everyone has to do it to get into the building." He pointed over his shoulder with the pin. "Unless you'd like the ivy to rip you to shreds and suck you into the building walls, never to be seen again." He grinned as he thought about how many victims this plant would take in the future. The vision of it tearing the Minister of Magic limb from limb made him simply giddy. "Give me your hand, Grai. They won't try to hurt you after this." After much hesitation, she swallowed at the lump forming in her throat and reached out her hand to him. In a flash, he poked the needle into her pointer finger, drawing quite a bit of blood for a simple finger prick.
He placed the needle back into his pocket and his hand met the vines of ivy once again. "No one's allowed initial entrance into this building without me here. And a little blood is needed for their records of customers. You'll be their first." He waved the speechless Graisyn forward, taking her hand with the bleeding finger in his free one and pressing it against the wall.
The blood disappeared into the cracks as ivy wrapped around their hands, Graisyn struggling at first, but relaxing when she heard the voice of her fiancee coming from deep inside the stone. It clearly wasn't him, because this voice spoke Italian when he was 100% German, but it was soothing and angelic. She unconsciously pressed her ear against the moldy wall, listening closely and trying to decode what words she did know. Matrimonia doccia, costretto, incinta. She jumped at the last part, eyes darting over to see if Thayne had heard, but the ivy seemed to have the ability to speak to her alone.
"It speaks Italian. And knows everything. Crispin, his voice was-" She was cut off as Thayne chuckled at her befuddled state.
"They travelled here from Italy and had quite the adventure, no doubt. A little of your blood is enough to give them your whole life story. And, as you've just experienced, they manipulate your memories of a certain voice and use them to gain your trust, meaning the voice you just heard is the person you trust the most. Consciously or unconsciously, it knows." As he finished, he gently pulled their hands away from the wall, motioning to the door. "Shall I show you around?"
She nodded, though her eyes were still trained on the ivy, completely wonderstruck. He grabbed her arm and tugged her towards the door, until she reluctantly went with him. "Grazie! Ciao bello." She called to the plant as she disappeared into the door, smiling as she heard it echo back her words in Crispin's voice. "Hey Thayne, who's voice do you hear when it talks to- HOLY SHIT." She screamed as the dark room came into focus and she saw how vast the area was. She clapped a hand over her mouth as her outburst echoed through the emptiness. When it went silent again, she let out a whisper through her fingers. "It's so much bigger on the inside..." She looked over at Thayne who was purely amused by her reaction. A silence fell over the room as she began walking around, seeing that he had already been cleaning up.
After much walking, her eyes caught the blueprints on a rotted wooden table with a cracked leg. She moved to them quickly, her eyes scanning the layout he had made for the place. One floor. She flipped to the next blueprint. Two floors. The next blueprint. Three floors. Her eyes widened and she hesitated before flipping to the next one. Four floors. She was about to stop when she saw the corner of one last blueprint sticking out from under the one she was currently looking at. She pulled it out, noticing that this one was more detailed than the rest. An underground lair.
She spun around, holding this final blueprint up to her brother who stood near the middle of the room, arms folded and watching her. "This is crazy, Thayne. Impossible, even. Did you put something in my morning tea? I think I'm starting to feel a little faint." She fanned herself with the giant paper and collapsed back into a wooden chair, fitted with a cushion covered in mildew.
To be continued...
