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[i]A collab with [@Hero][/i][/center][hr][hr]
It was the beginning of the second week of April. Demetria Graves was wiping the ashes off her clothing at Mitsuwa, the one store at the MT Line Terminal whose only purpose was to allow students entrance to the station via Floo Network. Coming from a low-middle class family meant that flights to Tokyo were out of the question. On the other hand, having a Muggle father, an Auror brother and another brother attending his last year also meant that apparition was another means of transportation she couldn’t use. That is why the young woman had resorted to saying goodbye to her father, standing in the middle of her house’s fireplace before dropping the Floo powder that would ultimately take her to her destination.

Once she deemed herself presentable, Demi grabbed her luggage and owl cage (where a content Calliope was quietly looking around at her surroundings) and made her way out of the shop. She quickly looked around for any signs of her boyfriend, going as far as going up and down the ample terminal twice. However, she let out a tired sigh at failing to find him. Deciding it was time to rest, the brunette took a seat in the nearest bench, placing her luggage beside her. The fact that Kalder had yet to arrive at their appointed meeting spot meant that she’d won the bet of who would be getting to the train station first. This made her smile like an idiot. Still smiling, Demi decided to pull out her phone to kill time while her boyfriend decided to make an entrance.

Dragging his luggage along, Kalder Sigourney was still wiping his face free of his older sister’s tears. He was rather used to her dramatizing things, though this time she had gone above and beyond. It was strange, this was the second year, yet she treated it like it was the first. Luckily for him, her twin had managed to rescue him from her grip, and after bidding the two farewell, he made his way through the station. He managed to steal a glance at one of the station’s clocks, silently swearing as he realized he wasn’t as early as he wanted to be.

His owl, Ottilie, shook her feathers, rustling the cage slightly. He was genuinely surprised she hadn’t tried to get out just yet, but her movement meant she had probably seen Demi. After taking a look around while still pulling along his luggage and his owl, he saw her a good distance away. He thought he could maybe try to sneak up on her, having been relatively close without her noticing. 

Of course, his plan would not come to fruition, as once he was within a few feet of her, Ottilie immediately let out a hoot, making as much noise as possible in an effort to communicate with Demi. Kalder couldn’t help but scowl at his owl; he swore she liked Demi better than she liked him. Still, the jig was up, and once he approached the bench, he let out a breath of exasperation.

“[color=green]Good morning, Miss Graves,[/color]” He greeted her rather cordially, trying to ignore Ottilie’s numerous hoots.  

Demi, who had been deeply immersed in reading an article about her favorite band, failed to hear the excited hoots of the owl who’d frequented her Rhode Island home over the last few months. It wasn’t until a familiar voice greeted her that her attention had been caught, causing her to give a little jump at being taken by surprise. Cursing under her breath, she looked up to see who was at fault for giving her a small heart attack… And found herself staring at the face of the one person she’d missed so badly over what felt like forever.

The young woman couldn’t hold back the beaming smile that spread across her face. [color=darkred]“Good morning to you as well, Mr. Sigourney,”[/color] Demi greeted in the same manner, although the playful twinkle in her blue eyes and wiggling eyebrows suggested she was simply playing along.

“[color=green]I sincerely apologize for the noise,[/color]” He joked, Ottilie’s cries relentless at this point. He took her cage and placed it next to Demi, and it immediately silenced the owl. “[color=green]She seems to be rather fond of you. Not that I blame her, I’d very much like to be at the side of a beautiful girl such as yourself.[/color]”

[color=darkred]“Oh my God, that’s freaking adorable!”[/color] Demi cried out, looking down at the owl with adoring eyes. She stuck her finger through the bars of the cage to pet Ottilie’s, head, and was overcome by cuteness when the owl closed her eyes at her touch as if enjoying it. At Kalder’s compliment, she raised a joking eyebrow. [color=darkred]“Well I certainly appreciate the compliment, especially when it comes to someone of your position, Your Highness.”[/color] she said teasingly, getting up and standing in front of him to do a mock-courtesy. 

There was a part of him that wanted to continue the game, but in all honesty, he couldn’t keep it up. Taking advantage of the fact that Demi now stood before him, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. The scent of her perfume was both nostalgic and comforting, a sweet smell nothing else in the world could even come close to replicating.

“[color=green]I’ve missed you,[/color]” He murmured, nuzzling his face on her hair. 

Once again taken by surprise, it took Demi a second to register what was happening, but when she did, her arms were immediately wrapped tightly around Kalder’s athletic figure. It felt great to finally be reunited after the time spent apart, even if it had been just a few short months. There were so many things to be said and done that bi-weekly letters couldn’t even come close to transmitting. Even though she’d enjoyed the time spent with her father and brother, Kalder had been in her mind at every second. She was excited to tell him all about her vacation.

She looked up at him, a soft smile in her face. [color=darkred]“I’ve missed you too, KalBear.”[/color] the girl responded, using the pet name she’d given him a short while ago -a play on the pronunciation of his first name. Demi giggled as she noticed he couldn’t quite stop his stupid looking grin, though it was easy to tell he was slightly embarrassed.

Taking advantage of his silence, Demi quickly added cheerfully: [color=darkred]“I want my prize now, by the way, seeing as I clearly won our bet today.”[/color]

Drawing up a rather proper air once more, he nodded, fishing for something in his pocket. “[color=green]Ask, and ye shall receive,[/color]” Kalder announced, though he hesitated. “[color=green]You’re going to have to turn around for this.[/color]”

The brunette looked up at him with a confused expression, making no motion to do as she was told. [color=darkred]“Why would I need to turn around for you to pay for some snacks?”[/color] she asked, trying to remember if they had decided on anything else other than that as the winner’s prize. She was fairly certain the snacks were the only thing.

Kalder agreed, as that [i]was[/i] the original prize, but seeing as how he knew his family would sabotage him from the start, he knew he was going to lose. As his fingers finally clasped the prize, he put it in his fist. Reaching his arm around her, he opened his palm, a [url=https://slimages.macysassets.com/is/image/MCY/products/3/optimized/973844_fpx.tif?op_sharpen=1&hei=434&$filterlrg$]small, white gold key on a silver chain[/url] quietly dangling itself in front of her. 

“[color=green]Because the vending machine was all out,[/color]” He said.

When her eyes fell to the beautiful, delicate piece of jewelry in Kalder’s hand, Demi was stunned. Not only was it beautiful, but it certainly didn’t look like something out of a vending machine. The way it shone was the tell-tale sign that this was no cheap gift.

[color=darkred]“Shit, Kal,”[/color] was the only thing she blurted out, taking the pendant in her hand to take a closer look. Her eyes widened at the sparking stones that decorated the hearts in the key. [color=darkred]“Are these diamonds?!”[/color]

“[color=green]Well, of course,[/color]” He was a little confused at her question. Were they considered bad in Muggle culture? She seemed more surprised than upset, so he figured maybe she just wasn’t expecting it. “[color=green]Mother always said it wouldn’t be jewelry without jewels. I know it’s a little on the smaller side, but I hope you like it.[/color]”

Demi’s mouth was now gaping open as she tried to digest what Kalder had just said. [color=darkred]“[i]’On the small side’[/i]?”[/color] she repeated in disbelief, still struggling to believe what was going on. He seemed so genuinely surprised at her response that it earned him a laugh. [color=darkred]“Kalder, the only diamonds I’ve ever seen in my life are on my mother’s wedding ring. This is just…”[/color] she trailed off, unable to contain her tears of gratefulness and disbelief and happiness and all the warm feelings bubbling up inside her. [color=darkred]“It’s too much, Kal. I can’t accept it.”[/color]

Klader blinked a few times, now completely confused. It was nothing compared to the jewels his mother had, and had been too ‘simple’ for one of his older sister’s tastes, but he had genuinely believed that she would like it. Maybe it wasn’t nice enough? “[color=green]I can get you something better,[/color]” He offered, frowning. Maybe the garnet choker would have been the better option, damn, he should have gone with his gut.

[color=darkred]“N-no, it’s not that I don’t like it!”[/color] Demi stammered, trying to make sense of this whole confusing situation while somehow trying to find a point of understanding. [color=darkred]“What I meant to say is that I’m not used to seeing lavish gifts like this -much less receiving them. I… I love it, I really do. I just feel really bad accepting it knowing I can never get you something half as good as this.”[/color] she said earnestly, sadly looking down at her feet.

Her reasoning made very little sense to him. It’s not like he was expecting anything in return, so her mentioning getting him anything was boggling. He stared at her expression, trying to comprehend her hesitance, trying to empathize, but nothing came to mind. Of course, he wasn’t going to just leave things as is, either. 

“[color=green]Well...take it for now,[/color]” He insisted. “[color=green]It’s yours.[/color]”

Demi raised her tear-stained face up to him, a sweet smile on her features. [color=darkred]“Thank you, Kalder. It’s beautiful.”[/color] she told him, wrapping him up in a tight hug. [color=darkred]“I love it.”[/color]

Crisis averted! Kalder mentally gave himself a pat on the back as Demi hugged him, trying not to think too hard on her reaction. Maybe it was just not what she was used to? Well, he would just have to help her adjust, that’s all. He almost feared an argument was on the horizon, but luckily for him, it wouldn’t quite come to that.

“[color=green]Let’s get going,[/color]” He told her, smiling.

[color=darkred]“Please. I’m freaking [i]starving[/i]!”[/color] she replied with a laugh, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before letting go of him to pick up her belongings.

With luggage and his owl back in hand, Kalder decided to lead the way, figuring they had just enough time to grab something quick before boarding the train to Mahoutokoro.