Follow me into the horizon

Wendy could not figure out when she had decided she was going to drop in on Christian Zabini at his place of work, or why. She and Alisha had plans to travel soon, but Ali had claimed she had some investigative work that absolutely had to be attended to first. Well, that was a bit frustrating, as Wendy had already asked for a few days off for work so she could travel. She had pouted for a grand ten minutes before deciding that she could still salvage her free time.

A beach bag was pulled onto her shoulder, full of her fun stuff, like a sun hat, flip flops, sunglasses, a good book, a stack of magazines, and a bottle of dessert wine that was more juice than alcohol. On her back was a knapsack stuffed full of the necessities - a change of clothes, a small tent, matches, a small first aid kit, her portkeys, a canteen, and some snacks. Wendy had learned how to pack well for these little excursions.

The point of where she was going, when, and with whom was still not determined. So she scampered off to Hogsmeade, laden down with high hopes and heavy supplies.

Actually, it was probably spotting Christian's store that got her thinking. Minutes after she had passed the storefront, she was thinking pleasantly of the Hufflepuff graduate who was probably attending to the shop with a bored expression and a restless spirit. An offer to travel across the country was probably exactly what he wanted, and obviously something that he needed.

So she turned on her heel, adjusting her bags as she hurried towards the store. She slipped inside, the bell happily chiming her entrance. She looked about and spotted Christian at the counter. She strolled over and dropped her elbows onto the counter, plopping her chin into her hands. "How's graduated life?"

Tired though he was from all of the excitement of the match Italy had won the night before, Christian was the one assigned to take care of the store that morning, as it was clear that his brother had absolutely no intention of doing so. Between the two of them, nobody could really be surprised when they said that Apollo was the partier between them. So while the elder brother tried to recover from his hangover, Christian made his way downstairs and into the store.

Opening was easier than closing when it came to their shop, if only because they lived just above the storefront and could lazily clean and prepare for the next day after their doors had been locked and the customers had left. So Christian checked the safe, making a mental note to take down some of their profit to Gringotts and add it to their savings. At least when they ran the store as a team they could easily split what they earned. Of course, there were a few people who were always welcome to pick up a shift, due to their history with the store. The boys hadn't heard from Baldric lately, but if anyone was welcome to pick up extra cash, it was him.

A good chunk of time passed while Christian dealt with customers and tried to stay awake, but it wasn't until a flash of blonde hair appeared in front of him that he properly paid attention to his surroundings. Wendy. He still felt pretty bad about the way she had been blown off while he and Matilda were talking, but he didn't exactly have a good handle on who she was or how to best deal with her personality. Where Christian was cautious and attentive, Wendy always seemed bubbly and outgoing. He didn't think those were bad qualities by any means, but he had never gotten to the point where he fully understood her.

But now he had a chance to make up for his behavior before, and he was just glad she wasn't angry with him for it. "You may be surprised, considering I rarely did anything crazy during school, but I was out far too late last night at the World Cup, so, currently? Graduated life is tiring.

"And you-... you just finished fifth year, right?" Christian asked, glancing at the things she had brought with her. His brow furrowed in question before he continued. "Are you headed somewhere?"

Wendy grinned as he spoke of his late night at the World Cup. "Isn't it grand? Loads of people swarming over a little patch of land just to cheer on people aggressively throwing things about hundreds of feet in the air?" One of the bags was slipping from her shoulder, so she caught it and hoisted it back on. "I went with my siblings. Mum and Dad had to work so we had to Portkey there and back. Didn't get to camp, which is a bummer. Camping's my favorite."

It registered that she had just spouted out a lot of information without actually responding to him. Whoops. "Tiring. Tiring." Where was the positive spin? There always was one. "You know, I've never met someone who was tired who was boring. Tired people are busy people, so they're doing things, so they're interesting." Her bright eyes were inspecting the ceiling, as though reading these thoughts there, rather than pulling them out of her brain as they occurred to her. She looked back at him, smiling. "So, tired must be a good thing. Though, a break from tired would probably be welcome to."

He asked after her grade and she nodded her head. "Yep! I just turned sixteen two weeks ago - couldn't be sweeter." She rolled her eyes, finding even she could not commit to being that corny and obnoxious.

He pointed out her bags and she glanced at them like she had forgotten all about her nefarious plans. "Oh! Right." She plopped the beach bag on the counter. "That was actually what I came in here for. I am a bit of a voyager. A secular pilgrim, if you will. I was planning on going on a trip, not sure where, I'm loaded down with portkeys and was gonna grab one at random, but my partner in crime had some actual crime to attend to, from the sounds of it. Not really sure, hoping it's just errands for gran or something. Anyway! The smart traveller never roams alone, so how would you like a vacation?"

She smiled widely, looking the picture of the cheesy salesman. The pitch was a but long, but she would work on it.

[ooc: I'm suddenly highly confused as to where this falls in the timeline. Is this after Lily is back and staying with them? If not, I'll edit this post]

Christian wasn't sure if he was supposed to take the comment about being interesting as a compliment for him specifically or not, but he offered a bemused smile nonetheless. Confusion swept across his features a moment later, not quite understanding what was so funny about her age being sweet. But then, he hadn't exactly known many muggleborns or halfbloods who celebrated that way. Then again, he had stuck pretty close to the people he knew best. So that was likely his own fault.

"I-" he attempted when she finished her explanation and question. "Well..."

Christian glanced up at the ceiling, thinking to who was located in the flat above them. Lily had been coming and going more or less, and the younger brother hardly needed to watch as Apollo kept an eye on her or as he sat up to ensure their roommate was actually sleeping well. It was kind, and surprising for him to do such things. But Christian didn't want Apollo to do it. He hardly had any say in it, though, when the only person who even appeared to take an interest in Christian was Molly, who confused him a great deal. At least she was interesting, though. Even Christian could admit that. but it didn't properly wipe away the disgruntled feeling he was aware of when around the pair of them.

"It's entirely possible that I'll regret saying this... but that actually sounds pretty alright."

It was a long shot, and it was a lofty fantasy. Wendy was aware of that. She had long admired the elder Hufflepuff's gentle nature and observant ways, and she had walked past the Quidditch shop on many an occasion with very little excuse to actually go inside, and yet her mind would try to conjure a reason, no matter how weak. She wouldn't call it anything more than curiosity, but she would admit that where the curiosity was satisfied, affection grew. To be fair to herself, she tended to prefer affection to negative feelings. But still, it was certain that a preference for the badger Zabini had grown in her.

So, as casually as she tried to invite him, she could not help but think the small awkward flustered feeling inside of her must have somehow translated. And, there was a great part of her, despite her dreamer spirit, that knew it was far too long a shot for her to leave the shop with a travel partner.

He was thinking it over, and she heaved a shrug. "I mean, you know..." She didn't know, so she shrugged again, to uncertain to commit one way or the other to eagerness or an air of nonchalance. But then, he answered. And her eyes widened and her mouth tipped open a bit. "Really?" She then remembered the confidence she had suggested their travels with, and she though better of her surprised response. She clamped her mouth shut, but found a smile spilled across her face. "Alright! I mean... Could you go... soon? I mean, portkeys will be ready soon. We could go, well, we could go now. Or we could wait."