Two Foreigners Walk Into A Bar... [ashley]

Time in England had been well-spent. She'd taken a ride through the countryside, had seen many places like Big Ben and the palace. Valda saw the London eye but was just fine not getting on that contraption of death. Valda enjoyed her time at the Lake District National Park. Now she found herself in Bath. She had plans to tour the city and take in the sites, but she'd arrived too late to enjoy it in the daytime. There was enough time for her to check into her hotel for the next couple of nights and then go somewhere local for a quick bite.

Here she was, in an old pub that smelled of old beer and stale cigarettes. The atmosphere was eccentric. The lighting around her dim. with few bright lights where the lights hung down from the ceiling. Over the past few months, she'd gotten in the habit of carrying her notes with her when she went out for dinner to start piecing her articles together. Only one of them had been read and published by others.

She didn't write these articles to get attention, but rather to get experience. She'd started to learn more of what she loved. She'd found beauty in so many other worlds amongst so many strangers. There was so much more out there for her to explore and she couldn't wait!

For now, she was content with her notes, quill and parchment, and her warm plate of bangers and mash and vegetables. This was her first meal inside of an English pub and she found she quite enjoyed it. It was nothing like fast food or restaurant meals she's gotten from other places. Up to this point, this was the closest thing to a home-cooked meal. From her comfy spot tucked away to the side, she noticed a group of men sitting at the main bar encircling a device that had a muffled voice. It was a magical radio of sorts. All with beers in their hands with an air of excitement about them. Her English was still rough and choppy, but she'd managed to pick up on a few words from the group. She heard "quidditch" multiple times and could only assume they were listening to a quidditch match.

Time seemed to pass slowly as she made progress on her article. Her plate was halfway finished when the men at the bar cheered loudly and made her jump in her seat. She hadn't expected the huge commotion but didn't mind it. Valda mumbled under her breath in Russian about how men should know better than to scare a writing woman. Naturally, her gaze wandered over the rambunctious group, curious as to what they were cheering about.

For a moment, she craned her neck to try to hear better when she heard 'Russia' come from the muffled announcer's voice. She smiled to herself at the familiar word and was quickly reminded of Lev. Had the announcer talked of him?  Her thought was interrupted when her gaze caught the eye of a handsome young man among the group. He was definitely looking at her. There was no doubt about it.

Not wanting to get into a confusing conversation-confusing because she didn't know much English, she quickly put her attention back on her article after helping herself to another bite. Her long fingers combed through her copper red hair with a sigh before the rested on the nape of her neck. She grew aware of keeping her attention off of the quidditch match so she could avoid making eye contact with the man again.

Ashley had gotten used to the smell of stale beer and cigarettes over the years. It smelled like a bar, and it smelled like home. Wherever he went, he found a little dive bar he could have some cheap bar food and a few pints or a whiskey. This was a staple of his journey—a cheap, cramped motel room. A dive bar. Fried food, and way too much alcohol. He really needed Indy to balance him out when he was being like this. He needed his brother to tell him to eat a salad instead of a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings. Unfortunately for them both, his brother was off being a know-it-all in magizoology school and not around to babysit Ashley. As such, the dive bar was exactly where Ashley wanted to spend his time.

He wasn’t really looking for anything particular that night. He had been chasing a few leads near Bath and had been working hard. His feet hurt, his back hurt, and he was hungry. He slid into the bar and smiled at the pretty waitress as she leaned over the counter extra deep, giving him a good look. He ordered a burger with onion rings, as cheap and messy as it could be, and a double whiskey. He remembered the old adage, “beer before liquor, never been sicker.” He always drank the harder drink first.

He took a sip of his drink and his eyes slid across the room. As mentioned before, he wasn’t really looking for anyone tonight. He had plenty of girls give him attention lately and wasn’t feeling particularly lonely. That didn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t have a nibble if offered, but he wasn’t hungry for attention or sex. He was satisfied.

He started listening to a quidditch broadcast with some other guys at the bar, chatting happily and chowing down. He switched to beer once the whiskey was done. He cheered with them when they started cheering, not really knowing who was playing or who they wanted to win.

His eyes caught with a pretty girl across the bar and he smiled at her, but she looked away quickly. He felt strange about this, but considered that maybe she needed a little warming up? She was there alone, after-all. He leaned in, asking the bartender what she was drinking, and sent another over to her. He watched as it was delivered,  giving her a grin, before welcoming himself over.

“Hey, hope you were wanting another. Didn’t know another way to get your attention.” He teased. “You wanna come listen to the match with us?”

""Рев водопадов и широкое открытое небо..." Valda muttered aloud to herself as she wrote the words. She had to hear how they sounded as her quill scratched them into the parchment. Her attention was quickly pulled away again when the server brought her a second drink. Her nose scrunched a little in confusion as her eyebrows knit together. It was the same as her first, which was near-empty at this point. Valda thought she didn't get refills on this, though. It was a strawberry lemonade with half a shot of vodka. For the kick. She glanced up at the server to say didn't need it but he was already gone. In his place was the man she'd caught eyes with just moments ago.

She was far more confused when he began to speak. "Little, little English," was her reply. Her accent thick through her words. A slender index finger was raised towards him as she reached into her bag and pulled out her wand. She spoke in her native language as she waved the wand near her throat. A green glow happened underneath her skin for a moment as it sprung to her ears and throat before disappearing again.

"Translating charm," she now spoke in English but her accent was heavy. "I am sorry, I missed what you said. Can you repeat, please?" She offered him kind smile as she tucked the wand back away. She pushed some hair back from her face before resting it in her lap. "I do not use the charm when I write."

so sorry to any fluent Russian speakers if the above is incorrect x.x
I'm waiting for Kaisa to get back so I can properly translate it

He hadn’t realized she wasn’t English, to be honest. He blushed a little when he realized that she hadn’t understood a word he said.  He helped himself to sliding into her booth, though, smiling at her. “Thought you looked lonely and might want a drink.” He offered again. “A group of us are listening to the quidditch match, if you want to join.” He offered again, peeking at her notes. “What’re you writing?” He could tell it was in Russian, but his Russian was very bad. “Are you from Durmstrang?” He asked, a little excited. “It’s been a while since I’ve met someone from there—all Hogs people around here. I was from Ilvermorny, myself.” He offered.

She was very pretty, but he wasn’t trying to hit on her as much as he was trying to be nice. It was fun when the whole pub had a party, like they were doing now, but it was only fun if everyone was involved—not if the poor foreign girl was left out.

“By all means, tell me to step off if I’m bothering you, I just didn’t want you to be left out of the fun.”

Her big brown eyes followed him as he slipped into her booth across from her. Why, he was very forward! He was handsome, she'd admit it. The short beard he had growing carved his face. He definitely wasn't just out of school. This man had some experience to himself. Valda straightened her back allowing her to sit at her full height, just a little above average for most women. She opened her mouth to politely decline him about joining him at the bar for quidditch but instead, she smiled and glanced down at the notes in front of her. "Durmstrang! Yes! I went to school there." Her entire persona lit up with excitement. Not many people had mentioned her old school. Either they didn't know its name or they didn't care. He did, however. "Ilvermony.... That's in America? Yes?"

"I appreciate the gesture!" She realized she was sounding dismissive of his invitation but she had yet to say no. He was thoughtful too. There were some admirable traits about him she was quickly finding. "You don't think I'm having fun?" Valda teased with a raised eyebrow. Before he could answer, she pushed a few of her notes towards him, though she was certain he couldn't read a thing. "I am working right now. I travel all around the world to write about different cultures and the people I meet. I just came from Canada. Have you heard of Niagara Falls? These are simply my observations while I was there. I make notes and take pictures then I write them into articles for a travel magazine. I'm hoping one day I can make it into The Daily Prophet. You wouldn't happen to work there, would you?"

The other notes around her were gathered up neatly as he inspected her writings. "The quidditch match that is on. Who is playing? I've a friend who plays but I haven't been able to listen to many of his games."