Recruitment Quotas

There was nothing more that Ariadne Grey hated more than looking ridiculous, yet somehow she still managed to find herself sitting at the bar of The Hog's Head looking like an absolute clown, in her opinion. She was all dressed up in a tight, black leather minidress with matching thigh high boots, a good bra, and far too much makeup -- as bait, in other words. Then a man leered at her while stumbling past, and she scowled, thinking of yet another thing she hated.

Being human bait was hardly any fun, but since Corvus needed new recruits, it was up to Ariadne to do her part. She'd tried reminding him how they'd met, and telling that this little scheme would probably backfire horribly, but he'd just smiled that little irresistable smile of his and gotten his way, as always. As it was, it seemed that the only people brave enough to say anything to her were drunk past usefulness, and anyone else was intimidated by her unusual appearance. In a bar like this where most people looked rather ragged and rundown, she stuck out like a prostitute in church. Which is exactly how she felt like.

She couldn't help thinking this was all some sick game of Corvus' and that he'd dressed her up like this out of sheer boredom. Clearly all she was accomplishing at the moment was creating fodder for his amusement as she struggled to hang onto her temper and not lash out at the men making lewd comments. No one could say she wasn't an obedient follower, but oh, Corvus was going to pay dearly for this one.

Cygnus was not a usual at the Hog's Head. In fact, the first and last time he had been there was when he was at Hogwarts and his mates wanted to go see what it was like. Dodgy, was the word for it, and they never returned, opting for the more popular Three Broomsticks option. He had been hopping in and out of bars with his buddy Nicolas, who had just gone through a terrible break-up when Nicolas up and left with the sultry looking red-head in the last bar. The Hog's Head was last on the list of pubs they were gonna visit, and despite his lack of companionship (or perhaps it was because of), he headed there anyway.

He figured it was a bust. It was dodgy-er than he remembered, and he was just about to leave when suddenly, his eye caught a vision.

It couldn't be. He neared her. He squinted his eyes. No way. It was her! The girl of his dreams. Recently, he had been getting reoccurring dreams of a beautiful black-haired woman. He wasn't sure why, but it was clear he was meant to go here tonight.

He needed to meet her that was for sure. She who had been torturing him night after night. But he stopped himself before speaking to her. What was he going to say? 'Hey you're the girl of my dreams! Can I buy you a drink?' That was pants, even for him. Besides, it sure looked like she wasn't the type to appreciate the line. She'll likely hex him to oblivion.

He mentally slapped himself. So what? When has that ever stopped Cygnus Darrow? He need to meet her.

Being as unthreatening and un-scumbaggy as he could, he approached her. "Hi," He flashed her his most charming smile. Well the one that made the opposite sex respond to most often. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Perhaps due to the fact that she pretty much had her eyes glued to the door, Ariadne had spotted Cygnus the moment he'd stepped into the bar. At first, she simply sighed and rolled her eyes slightly assuming that Corvus had come to watch her for his own amusement. The expression on his face was odd, though -- first surprised, then confused, and finally oddly contemplative. For one wild moment, she thought he'd been Imperiused somehow, but as he came closer, she noticed there was something a little off about his appearance. Some other enchantment, then? He certainly wasn't acting like himself at all -- his smile seemed perfectly genuine and not at all smirk-y and devious like it usually was. She cocked her head to the side and arched an eyebrow.

"Of course you can. If you've come to gloat, it's the least you can do...what's happened to your eyes, though?" she asked, realising what was different as she looked up at him: his eyes were as blue as her own, rather than the rare shade of grey she had always seen. The lighting may have been dim, but there was no mistaking it.

Cygnus was take aback. He was almost positive he was going to get rejected. In fact he was bracing himself for an insult, ready to cast an protego if he was hex, but he was unprepared for what actually happened. Truth is stranger than fiction. A voice in his head quoted. He forgot where it was from but it sure applied here. She greeted him like she knew him. Was this another one of his dreams? He slyly pinched himself. Nope, didn't seem like it was.

His brows furrowed in confusion. He didn't understand what she meant though. Gloat about what? Cygnus didn't feel he did anything that night that was particularly gloat worthy. Maybe his hair? Nah, it seemed to be in relation to her.

And what about his eyes? His confusion grew. Was there something wrong with his eyes? He looked around the pub for any sort of reflective surface. Of course, there was none. The pub really needed to hire someone who did some cleaning.

"I'm sorry, do we know each other?"

Ariadne's eyebrows shot up even further, and she sat up straight in her chair, eyeing the wizard before her. It only took her a few moments to realise her mistake; Corvus had a twin, didn't he? He hadn't been in Slytherin with them, though, so she hadn't really even gotten a good look at him. She hadn't realised they were identical -- well, nearly so anyway. The eyes were a dead giveaway to anyone who paid close attention. Now, what was his name, again? Another C-name, she remembered.

"Oh! Erm....Cyrenius, was it?" she guessed, straining to remember. Corvus never spoke about his brother, at least not in front of her.

Cygnus grinned at the way she tried to pronounce his name. "Close." He said extending his hand. "It's Cygnus."

"So we do know each other?" Cygnus asked. Makes sense he supposed. He read somewhere you only dream of people you've met before. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to refresh my memory."

"Not really, clearly. I was two years below yours at Hogwarts. Your brother was in my House, I confused you for him. I swear you too didn't look nearly so similar back then, you're nearly identical, now. Except the eyes." Ariadne shook his hand and observed him more carefully. She didn't really know a thing about him beyond what she'd just said -- could barely remember his name much less what House he'd been at school.

"So, erm...about that drink?" she asked with a shrug, readjusting her skirt as it slid up her thigh. Stupid getup, she'd really kill Corvus for this. She wondered if his brother would be at all interested in joining them....probably not, or he'd already have done. Having a drink hardly qualified as looking for recruits, then, but it was a shallow pool they were searching in, and anyway she was very curious to know more about this mysterious brother she'd barely even remembered that Corvus had.

"Ah," Cygnus replied. "You know my brother." He was disappointed and his voice let it show. He wasn't very good at masking his emotions. Nah, that was Corvus' arena. Corvus and Cygnus weren't very close. Heck, Cain and Abel weren't every close. Corvus and Cygnus were a step below that.

If he knew anything about his brother, he knew anyone he kept in his company was lightly to be as crazy as he was or even more so. Corvus choose his friends carefully. Cygnus couldn't deal with the things Corvus was getting himself into. It was just wrong. Corvus felt the same way about Cygnus. So, they mutually decided to ignore each other's existence and live separate lives. Red flags were waving around Cygnus' head. He should just politely excuse himself. Corvus was dangerous and so were his friends. But this girl, there was something about her.

"What are you having?" Cygnus asked her.

That Cygnus didn't even bother to hide his disappointment was rather a surprise -- and the plot thickens, Ariadne thought to herself. It wasn't something Corvus would have done. She decided she probably wasn't going to get an explanation by asking directly, and so she sidestepped the subject altogether and answered his question instead.

"Honestly? I've just been having butterbeer. I'll have whatever you're going to get, though. Which would be?..."

"Ah Butterbeer." Cygnus said with a wistful smile. "That really brings me back. I think I'll have it too."

He gestured to the bartender and a second later there was two bottles in front of them. "Do you want to take a seat?" He gestured at one of the booths.

Ariadne smiled faintly, accepting her bottle. Her eyes followed where Cygnus was gesturing -- one of the booths. She bit her lip, wondering if that was a good idea....she should at least attempt to find some people, right? But her current tactic clearly was not working, so she shrugged and took a step in that direction. The front door was still visible from there, anyway.

"Sure, thank you." She had the paranoid feeling that everyone was staring at them, taking in every detail of their interaction, and a little privacy would be nice. It would help her feel more comfortable, anyway.

Cygnus was wondering why she seemed hesitant to sit with him. But pushed the thought away when she did. Once they were seated, Cygnus spoke. "So, Slytherin huh?" He grinned and took a sip of the drink. Boy, did it take him back. He hadn't had any of the stuff since Hogwarts.

"Don't you miss it?" Life seemed much simpler as a student. "You know I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name."

"Mhmm," Ariadne murmured, sipping her drink. She hoped he wasn't going to get all weird about Houses now, some people never seemed to be able to let it go. Granted, most former Gryffindors she ran into nowadays were completely intolerable, but as far as she was concerned that was all kid stuff. Blood status and beliefs were far more important, anyway.

"The name's Ariadne Grey, by the way. So what brings you here?" she asked. She would have had to be blind not to notice that he stuck out like a sore thumb -- they were similar, in that regard.

"My mate and I were meant to come here, but he decided he liked the company of a red-head better than me and left with her." He said honestly. "And I figured 'why not?' and came here anyway."

He took another sip. "So tell me Ariadne." And yet another. "How do you know my brother?"

He hoped against hope, the answer wasn't 'intimately'. That would just complete his night, wouldn't it? Ditched by his mate, found a pretty girl but found out she's with someone already - oh and not just anyone, his twin brother no less. But as he looked at her, he liked his chances less and less. She was stunning, Corvus would have been a fool if he hadn't. Knowing what he knew about his brother, and the opposite sex's reaction to him, he wondered if he was a fool to even hope. But he threw caution to the wind, and figured if there was even a small chance...

He anticipated the answer, wondering why he didn't get a stronger drink.

Ariadne smirked at his line of reasoning. "Well now that wasn't very nice, was it? Some mate." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear, disliking his line of questioning, and where it might be headed. The nature of her relationship with Corvus was....complicated, and one she didn't much feel like explaining, much less to his brother. Besides, she wasn't sure how much she could say without getting Corvus angry, so she decided to lie by telling the truth.

"He works for Gringotts, and I'm in investments," she shrugged, looking as thoroughly disinterested in the topic as possible without seeming rude. He was the one who should be answering questions, not her.

"So what is it that you do, hm?"

"Yeah well, Nick's a good bloke, he was just having a real rough night. I thought I'd give him one. Besides, if he hadn't I wouldn't have had the pleasure of meeting you, officially anyway."

Cygnus released a breath of relief he didn't even know he was holding when Ariadne said that Corvus and her were merely in business together. He couldn't believe his luck! But he just needed to clarify a bit further. She seemed awfully eager to change the topic. The topic changer wasn't very appealing anyway. He was an Unspeakable, something he didn't actually like to advertise. Actually, he couldn't, that would have been unethical.

"Ministry." He said. "Boring old desk job."

"So you lot aren't or weren't... intimate?" He pressed, pushing his luck. He just had to be sure.

Ariadne was rather taken aback by his blunt question, but managed to limit her reaction to arching one eyebrow.

"I like to keep my business life and my professional life separate. So in a word -- no," she lied smoothly, taking another sip of her drink. It was tempting to ask what business was it of his, but if she wanted to get him talking, that would probably be a bad move. He was being just as evasive as she was, apparently -- so why did he bother coming up to her in the first place? Since he was being so direct, she decided she could, too.

"Are you always so concerned about who your brother sleeps with? I realise my attire might be a little unorthodox but I assure you, I'm not a bad influence," she smirked, inclining her bottle of butterbeer towards him.

"All bark, no bite. I lost a bet," she continued, gesturing to the tiny leather dress she sported. "I've got about an hour left until I can slink home to change and vow never to try my luck at sports betting again. I got off easy this time."

Cygnus had the decency to look sheepish when Ariadne told him off. "I'm sorry, I just thought I'd make sure." He said honestly.

"My brother and I tend to stay out of each others lives as best we can." He told her. "We disagree on a lot of things. Everything actually."

"I just can't get behind a bloke who doesn't believe in nargles." He joked, lightly testing the water.

"But seriously, all joking aside, I didn't mean to be nosy. I just know how my brother can get. Especially with someone as attractive as yourself."

Ariadne shrugged, taking another sip from her bottle. "I suppose it would be awkward to sleep with someone after your brother did. I was just a bit surprised at you being so...erm, forward about it. You must really not get along. Times like these I'm glad I don't have any siblings," she smirked, shifting her weight in her seat.

"Nargles or not. Would it be too nosy of me to ask why? I always assumed twins would probably be closer than usual siblings...having none of my own, though, what do I know? It's just a fascination of mine, I suppose. And thank you for the compliment," she added, fluttering her eyelashes a bit and looking as demure as she could manage in her ridiculous getup. It rather ruined the effect, she was sure.

Little did Ariadne know, it actually had the opposite effect on Cygnus and, he couldn't stop staring at her eyes.

When he realised it was his turn to speak, he snapped himself out of it. He shrugged. "We just never got along. I don't really know why. He was just interested in different things. Then when we got to Hogwarts, we were sorted in Gryffindor and Slytherin, and there goes brotherly bonding." He looked at his right side, then his left. And neared her as if he was going to tell her a secret. "But if you ask me, I think he's just jealous of my eyes. They're prettier you see."

Ariadne laughed genuinely in surprise at his little joke, which in turn surprised her even more. The Gryffindor bit did make her slightly wary, but as so far he hadn't seemed to be one of those annoying people who spend their life reliving their school years, she just shrugged it off. She took it as code for Cygnus' disapproval of Corvus' interest in the Dark Arts; hardly surprising, but she did wonder just how much he knew or suspected about his brother's activities.

"Well I suppose I'm biased," she pointed out, gesturing towards her own bright blue eyes. "But as far as your brother is concerned, it's been a long time since school, and you both work in the Ministry. I apologise for prying, but it just seemed, with that question you asked me, if perhaps there was an incident before...a girl, or something...which drove you two apart. It'd be understandable, anyway -- twins, one could easily confuse you for each other, as I just did. Though I'm sure the personalities are quite different...I wouldn't know," she lied, smiling sheepishly as she finished off her soda.

Ariadne's laugh was like music to his ears. He felt his heart beat a little faster. Cygnus wasn't sure why, but he seemed so taken with her. Odd since he just met her. He supposed it was something to do with the way that she looked, but no. There was something else. Something he couldn't quite place.

"Oh it's easy to tell us apart." He assured her. "I'm better looking, I've a sense of humour and I actually smile once in awhile."

"Hey, do you want to get out of here?"

He'd dodged the question, making Ariadne think perhaps she'd hit a little too close to home. Well, that was interesting, then. Since Cygnus was the one who seemed touchy about the subject, she had to assume it had been him who'd gotten burned. She wondered how Corvus would feel about her leaving the bar with him...perhaps a little worried his brother might retaliate in a similar fashion? He certainly seemed interested enough in her.

"I must admit, the smile's nice," she smirked, flirting back just a little bit. It couldn't hurt, right? Corvus slept with any woman he liked...she could have just the tiniest bit of fun every now and then, and so far things seemed to be going well. Much better than the night she'd been expecting, anyway.

"Where did you have in mind?"

"I just wondered if you'd be interested in getting something to eat." Cygnus said with a slight blush realising what he had said might have sounded like an offer for something else. Now he wouldn't exactly object if the night went there, he figured he shouldn't be that forward. "I don't know about you but our fellow pub-goers here don't seem very friendly." He said in an undertone.

And louder. "I'm famished. I know a little bistro not far from here. Though I have to admit, it's be awhile since I've been around here. It could be something else entirely. Though, at the rate this country is going, with hundred year old buildings and what-not, that's probably unlikely."

Ariadne nodded her head in acquiescence.

"Sure, that sounds fine to me. I have no idea what place you're talking about but if the food's good, then I don't have a problem with that. I'll erm....need a minute to change into something more...normal...." She nearly blushed this time, glancing down at her attire. Corvus...

She hopped out of the booth, careful to preserve as much of her dignity as was still impossible. "I'll be right back..." and a few moments later, she was, having popped into the loo and thrown on her usual tight black robes that were nonetheless much less revealing.

"Ok, so shall we go, then?"