Event Horizon of Death and Morn

Calixta blushed at the compliment, and gave Bas a light peck on the cheek in return before stepping out of the flat. Hearing an unusual amount of noise, she turned and looked down the hall, where a witch was also exiting her flat, one down on the opposite side. The woman had two children in tow, one of about two who she carried on one hip, the other about four, sitting at her feet -- both boys and both making an awful lot of noise.

"Sorry, Cali, didn't wake you, did they?" the woman asked, turning her back to them as she locked her door hastily.

"Not at all, Allison, not to worry." Glancing back at Bastian with a quick smile, Calixta dashed over to her neighbour quickly, scooping up the four-year-old, who immediately ceased his screeches.

"There there, Liam, auntie's got you," Calixta said soothingly, bouncing him slightly on her hip. "He's getting big," she remarked to Allison, brushing his pale blond hair out of his face.

"I know, I can't carry 'em both anymore, but then he gets to crying and James starts too. David's at work already so it's up to me to drop em off at my mum's, and it's getting to be a bit of a routine, unfortunately."

"Well you know I'm never around, but since I'm here today and we're both leaving, I'll walk him down with you, if that helps any. We're heading to The Leaky Cauldron," she said, gesturing back towards Bastian.

"Who's that?" Allison asked with a rather gossipy grin at the tall and handsome stranger emerging from Calixta's apartment. "He's gorgeous, that one is," she added in a whisper, earning herself a laugh from Calixta.

"That's my boyfriend. We've been together -- somewhere near two months, I think it is, now? I don't remember the exact date so I guess he gets to avoid ever forgetting our anniversary," Calixta joked, walking towards him with Liam while Allison and James followed close behind.

"Bastian, this is my neighbour, Allison; Ally, this is Bastian, my boyfriend."

"Was it you two, then, making all that racket with the stairs last night?" Calixta's guilty expression said it all.

"Ahh...mighta been," she said evasively, linking her arm in Bastian.

"I remember when Dave and I used to get up to all that fun stuff...now we've got these little troublemakers hogging up all the fun," she joked, kissing the top of James' head, making the little boy gurgle happily.

Bastian smiled and blushed as Calixta and her naighbor talked for a moment about him.. and nodded to the woman in greeting "Pleasure ta meet ya Allison, my apologies if you distured ya last night, were having an issue" he said slightly sheepishly.

He looked at Calixta with the 4 hour year old boy who he gathered name was Liam, he chuckled "Ya have good looking lads Allison" he said, his way of saying they were cute,

Allison laughed, shaking her head as she started down the stairs first. "Nice ta meet you too, and don't worry, it's no bother. Just invite me next time you two decide to get sloshes during a hurricane," she joked, smirking at Calixta.

"And yeah, they do tend to be a lot cuter when I can wrangle them into some clean clothes and they stop screaming for a minute," she said, rolling her eyes. Despite Bastian's age, she guessed he probably didn't have any kids, and got an idea.

"Here, hold James, see how he likes you," she said when they reached the first landing, holding her squirming son out. The tow-headed little boy eyed Bastian curiously, but made no move to start crying again, mercifully. Calixta smiled to herself at this, having seen Bastian with his niece and wondering how good he was with little boys, who tended to be a little more challenging at the younger ages.

Bastian took the offered child almost automatically, suporting the todder on one arm and his other hand to keep him balanced. He was good with holding little kids, the part he found difficult was knowing what to do next.. what to say.. what to do.. older children he could talk to and get to know.. Little kids were more of a mystery to navigate... to him anyway.

But he forced some words out of his mouth, and hoped for a positive response.. or at least not more sobs.

"Hello Lad, Pleasure ta meet ya" he greeted giving the two year olds hand a shake.

Little James's face crinkled up into a smile and just about the cutest giggle Calixta had ever heard. She hadn't been prepared for how adorable the sight of Bastian holding a child would be, and exchanged a look with Allison that expressed as much. Allison just shrugged and raised her eyebrows, giving Calixta a knowing look as she made her way down the stairs.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Liam asked, squirming to get a better look at Bastian from within Calixta's arms.

"Yup!" she replied simply, giving Liam a little squeeze and a kiss on the forehead.

"Could I be your boyfriend, too?" he asked with a shy smile. Calixta grinned and turned to Allison, shaking her head.

"Quite the little charmer! You'll have your hands full with this one." She looked back at Bastian, shrugging. "What do you think, hm?"

Bastian laughed relieved the little one in his arms was happy and the one in Calixta was tike indeed. He decided he had missed having little ones around, he wasn't about to mention it to present company yet of course..

"Oh I think he has good taste anyway aye?" he said with a chuckle getting a kick out of the kid.

He bounced James on his arm as the walked, absently wanting to keep him entertained until they arrived. "How about you Lieb?" he asked James calling him the german word for 'Little one' weather on purpose or accident was anyones guess.

James looked up at Bastian with big blue eyes, too shy for a response. Liam, on the other hand, was pleased as punch with his new friend.

"Can they come with us to Nana's house?" he asked his mother, who shook her head.

"Maybe some other time, sweetheart, I'm sure they've got to go to work just like Mummy and Daddy."

"Okay," he said sadly, batting his eyelashes at Calixta, who giggled.

"We'll walk you there though, okay?"

"Okay! I want Nana to meet my new girlfriend." Allison just laughed at that, opening the door and bathing them all in soft sunshine. Calixta stepped out behind her, squinting in the light.

"Where did you say your mum's house was?"

"Just down the road, right along the way to the pub," Allison replied, pointing.

Bastian chuckled as he walked out with the two women and toddlers, somethings that kids said were just priceless.

As they walked out into the sun he sommoned his pair of sunglasses on to his face almost by habit.

He nodded to Allison "That works perfectly we were on your way there anyway" he said feeling should say something.

"Thank you so much for helping me out, you lot. I'd have just about gone crazy if you hadn't shown up." Calixta smiled at Allison, and then bounced Liam a little, getting a giggle put of him.

"No problem, I always love seeing you and my big beautiful boys!" She kissed Liam again on both cheeks, making the little boy blush.

"You're always my favourite baby sitter," he told her with a smile.

"Well don't tell Nana!" she laughed, looking up again. The walk to the pub was much quicker during the day while one was sober, despite the added weight of a child too old to be carried the way Calixta was. Luckily he job kept her very much fit and in shape, so Liam didn't slow her down any.

"We're here!" Allison announced, stopping outside of a plain brick building with a lovely little whitewashed porch. Calixta set Liam down -- he didn't cry this time -- and Allison motioned to Bastian for James.

"Thank you both again -- and nice meeting you, Bastian. I hope we'll see you two around more often?"

"Maybe," Calixta replied, a smile on her face as the treasured her new memory of Bastian rocking a pair of shades and a baby on the hip. She may not have wanted kids right away but darn it if that image didn't make her eager for some more practice!

Bastian handed little James over to Allisom, "Pleasure meeting ya Lass, and your boys to" he said ruffleing James hair lightly.

"Be good aye?" he said with a wink as he took Calixta's hand.

Seeing how Calixta was with children was a pleasure to see, he had to admit. Perhaps later on in there relationship they would talk about it.. much later anyway. But he wouldn't object to the idea....

"Your a natrual with children Lass" he commented to her.

It seem the new day was looking up, now if only the talk in leaky cauldron would go as well.

Calixta smiled up at Bastian, squeezing his hand. "Thanks! I could say the same for you, ya know. Although you did look a tad worried when Allison just thrusted James into your arms like that," she joked, nudging him in the ribs.

"You did great, though. You'd make a great father," she said, without thinking, and then clapped her hands over her mouth in horror, groaning. "I'm sorry, it just popped out of my mouth without me even thinking," she apologised, wincing at her slip up. The biggest concern she had with talking about having kids and all of that was that she was worried it might be a sensitive subject, not necessarily that she was opposed to having them, some day -- and here she'd gone and trampled through it clumsily.

Bastain blinked at her comment, and a shadow crossed over his eyes for a moment, well he had had priore experience.. he been a father before...but what was it his Ex wife had said at Annika's funeral again.. Their daughter had died under his care, his responsiblity... Making him a automatic failure as a father..

Then he shook his head, forced himself to steer away from that thought, for he would only show the lingering guilt of his daughters death..

"No worries lass" he returned as he kissed her hand.

"But if you don't mind me saying you'd be a good mother as well" he said since she said it first and he truely did believe it.. No matter who the father was.. she would be a good mother.

Calixta smiled sadly at Bastian, feeling guilty nonetheless. She had to be a lot more careful about what she said than that -- she couldn't bear that sad look in his eyes, or the way pushed it aside and tried to hide it.

"Bas, you're so sweet to me. I adore you completely, you know that, right?" Leaning up, she gave him a proper kiss on the lips for being so understanding and forgiving of her little slip-up.

"I hope I will be, one day," she said hesitantly, not wanting to push the issue any further. It would probably alleviate some of her worries to get that conversation out of the way, but there really was no rush as Bastian didn't seem to be in a hurry, either.

Bastain moved his shades up and rested them on his head so he could see Calixta more clearly. His hand moved from her hand to around her waist, he undertood why she said it, it was a normal statment after what just happened and there walk with two adorable children. It seemed to bring out the parental issues in each of them..

He did smile at her admitence she wanted children one day, if he were a lucky enough man.. he hoped in the future...

He wasn't sure words were needed really as he kissed her forehead, upon arrivng at their destination. The Leaky Cauldron..

"Well here we are Lass" he said still wondering on how this would go. The boy would be in for a world of hurt and trouble if said the wrong things.. especilly for the moment after the almost talk of children, Bastain had the protective feeling goign through his heart.

Calixta turned and looked at the building with a small sigh. There was no telling just how this would go, but the odds were that it'd be a whole lot less pleasant than the rest or their morning had been going. She stepped into the dim light, blinking as her eyes adjusted and she had a look about. Sure enough, Billy was there, filling the drink orders from patrons' breakfasts.

"Oy! I'd like a word with you!" she told him as he filled up a pitcher with ice water. Billy looked up, caught Calixta's eye, and grinned, clearly not catching the gist of her salutation. Then he spotted Bastian behind her and his smile faded slightly,

"You liked your drink last night, eh? Nice, right?" Calixta couldn't believe it. She grabbed a newspaper that was lying on the counter and smacked him over the head with it.

"No I bloody well did not like it, what on earth did you give me?!"

"Ow!" Billy complained, ducking. "What're you doing that for, that was top shelf absinthe! One hundred galleons a litre, and I gave it to you for free! Do you know how much trouble I'll be in for opening that when my mum finds out?"

"Oh trust me, you're already in a lot of trouble," Calixta assured him, scowling.

Bastain stared in shock at the boy.. did ha have any idea how much Alcohol was in Absinthe? No wonder Calixta had such a hard time.. drink that much so fast, it would have anyone stumbleing around.

He walked up to Billy as well looking none to happy with his answer to Calixtas question. "Answer this next question carefully Lad, or your mum yelling at you for opening a bottle for free will be the least of your worries" he said is voice calm, but thick with warning and perhaps even threat.

"Now either you are ignorent of how much Alcohol, is in Absinthe or you were to thick to warn her exactly what you were giving her other then her usual order. What were you thinking give anyone that without telling them first?" he asked almost refusing to believe the boy gave it to her just for the money value of it.

Billy flushed, clenching his jaw. He didn't like where Bastian's mind seemed to be headed, as it struck a little too close to home. It wasn't like he'd been hoping to take advantage, but the thought had crossed his mind that perhaps if she was a bit drunk, he could talk her out of hanging around her stupid boyfriend a little easier.

"Listen, okay, she's in here all the time. Don't patronise her, the woman can hold her liquor," he argued, trying to flip it back onto Bastian.

"Billy, I'm warning you, do not start that right now, it will not work in your favour," she told him, closing her eyes and shaking her head. The boy seemed intent on pushing his luck.

"If that's how you're gonna be about it, then pay me back for it. Anyone could see I was just trying to do you a favour. I figure you'd have to be piss drunk to go home with this bloke."

Bastians wand was out well before the insults came his way, the idiot had no idea what he had just about what he had done. He wanted to get her drunk enough to get her away from him. Now who was patronizing..

"Idiot!" he said in German, reverting back to his mother language when angry. The boy had done this on purpose, nearly got Calixta caught out in a storm at night time and had no way of getting home. And it was all because he didn't like him?!

Bastain looked a sliver away from either cursing the boy or strangling him, of all the childish stupid things to do... "I should curse you right here" he warned with a snap cracking through in his voice. "That is how you would treat her? Someone you supposidly like and try and get her imparied?" he said knowing how the wording sounded but how else could he put it? The boy didn't get it..

Bastian wouldn't tell what happened the night before, it should be obvious with how they were in there right then wanting a explaintion. And needless to say Bastain was not liking what he was hearing..

"You can't threaten me, are you mad? You'll get banned for life!" Billy scoffed, to Calixta'sutter disbelief.

"Billy, what on earth is your problem? Can't you see you're being a real prick right now, and I have to say I'm losing my patience."

"He's gettin' in my face with a wand, Lix!" That was it; Calixta drew her wand as well, much to Billy's chagrin. He looked at her with wide, shocked eyes as she closed hers a moment and tried to breathe and calm herself. It didn't work.

"Don't you dare call me that, that is a low blow and just for that, I will personally tell your mother what you did and we'll see who gets a lifetime ban around here!" Fire was practically coming out of her nostrils at this point, Billy could see that it was not an empty threat. He put his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry, geez, what do you want me to do? It's not like I can take it back!" he pointed out, looking like he heartily wished he could and save himself the tongue-lashing he would receive from his mum.

Bastian got the feeling the boy didn't sound terribly sorry... at this point he didn't care about a life time ban.. the kid was making the thought of coming back to the bar unpleasant. Though he didn't understand the insult behind the name "Lix", he could see it upset Calixta and that was only makeing the situation for the young bartender worse

"Ya don't sound very sorry boy. Where is your mother? We need to speck to her" he said, as this time he did flick his wand, which was a simple spell which did the equivilant of him grabing the front of his shirt.

One of the other bar tanders looked at the scene wided eyes and ran to the office calling for Mrs. Longbottom.

After what he heard so far Bastain wanted to kid fired.. or not able to sell any kind of Alcohol at all..

Calixta had to admit, seeing Bastian get all angry on her behalf was strangely appealing. It's not like she couldn't take care of herself, but it was nice knowing she had someone to back her up. She bit back a smile, feeling like this probably wasn't the time or place.

Billy, on the other hand, looked horrified. He barely had the time to say, "No, please, don't get her!" before his mother came out of the office, scowling at the commotion.

"What's going on, here? You -- off of my son, now!" Billy looked only mildly relieved. Mrs. Longbottom caught sight of Calixta and frowned from behind her glasses.

"Hannah, I really didn't want to cause a scene, I'm sorry, but Billy..." She sighed. She hadn't wanted to rat him out, she really didn't, but he hadn't given her much choice. Billy looked at her with a desperate, pleading look on his face; Calixta averted her eyes.

Bastain let Billy go the moment his mother said so, He held his hand out to the woman, "Bastain Kaiser Ma'ma" he introduced.

"We had a inccident last night with your son, we could either talk about it some where in private or not it is up to you." he reasoned. He then placed a hand on Calixta's shoulder, seeing her hesitation at not wanting the boy to get into trouble.. This for some reason made him angrier at Billy, yet more of a admiration Calixta, she was quite loyal to her firends that much he was certain... and Billy was taking complete advantage of that.

"It is either this, or drag him outside and punch him lass.. he is not at all sorry for what happened, only sorry he is getting in trouble for it." he muttered to her in german. Really this might have been the best Silution.. punching him would only bring in further legal matters.

"I know, but he's just a kid, he's never been the brightest," Calixta murmured back, sneaking an arm around Bastian's waist for comfort. She absolutely hated the position Billy had put her in, which was why she was so mad at him. There was nothing pleasant about being put between a rock and a hard place.

Hannah took Bastian's hand and shook it firmly, looking him straight in the eye. The woman was a tough old thing, in her mid-sixties, with a no-nonsense though not unkind air about her, likely the result of owning and running a pub for a solid forth years.

"Hannah Longbottom. What's my fool of a son gotten up to, now?" she asked shrewdly, giving Billy a suspicious look. The boy gulped and looked very guilty, and much younger than his nearly-22 years, making Calixta feel even more horrible.

"Step into my office, please," she told them, gesturing to the door through which she'd just come through. Nervously, Calixta obeyed her command, feeling quite like a little kid getting in trouble, even though she knew she hadn't done anything wrong.

Bastian sighed, she was so forgiving... part of him wanted to ask if she still wanted to go through with this. But it was a little late, for that as they walked in the bar owners office. "I know darlin, But the boy will be fine, we only got his mother involved, no legal threat or bloody harm. Just want to make sure this doesn't happen again" he said planting a quick kiss on her forehead before they antered the office.

Bastian thought for a moment on what he was going to say.. where to start? he wouldn't bother with his treatment the other night he could care less.. But what he did to Calixta wasn't right.. he had to understand that, and at least give her a real appoligy for what had happened.

"Your son gave my girlfirend Absinthe without telling her what it was. It put her in a rather difficult situation" Bastain started hoping his explination was good starting point. He still cringed to think what might have happened that night had thing gone differently could have been better.. yet it could have been so much worse.

Billy groaned at this bluntest of all explanations, while his mother looked surprised and angry.

"You did what?" she asked in disbelief, a sneaking suspicion growing. "Trying to impress her, no doubt! And let me guess which bottle you took it from..." she scowled, her features darkening. Billy cringed, covering his face with his hands.

"I said sorry!"

"He did..." Calixta chimed in lamely, but Hannah was not interested in them anymore, as she was busy turning an unsightly shade of red.

"You can go now," she told them with a dismissive wave of her hand, "I've got it from here." There was no doubting that, and Calixta didn't have to be told twice; she quickly backed out of the office, dragging Bastian with her without so much as a goodbye. There was just something about tattling to a parent that she'd always hated from her own experience with her siblings and cousins as a child that pervaded to this day.

"That literally could not have gone any worse," she groaned miserably. "Awful!"