just live your life a little for me [annelie]

He just needed some fresh air since there was absolutely nothing like it. If Jonas had the choice, he would be outside daily for work; but no, instead of choosing the curse breaking path like he had supposed to, he was stuck in an office all day -- translating pointless materials which he was quite sure they could use a spell for but instead made him do. Yawning, Jonas snuck out of his London apartment and onto the streets. Perhaps he would pick up lunch, since the only thing he loved more than the sun and the outdoors was food, oh and his beloved pet dragon. However, he decided to let Juju stay with Cian today.

It was such a sunny nice day outside, he was glad it was the weekend. No work until Monday. He didn't even want to think about it. There was the Ministry ball coming up so everyone was going crazy in every department getting every last detail together. Was it really that important though? It was just a dance for some snotty rich people. He was sure his parents would make sure he went, which he did have every intention of going already since he had a date and she was quite pretty too and sweet; unlike most girls these days.

As Jonas head further down the walk, he wondered how many people would be at the beach today, swimming. He could only imagine what the cool water would feel like on his poor aching body. He wanted to feel weightless, and free. He hadn't felt free in a long time. No, now he felt more like a prisoner. This wasn't the life he had anticipated. He expected his parents to fork over a fortune and for him to live like a king like his father did. School had never prepared him for working in an office, and he was drastically considering switching careers soon.

While in this deep thought, Jonas had accidentally not realized where he was going and ended up gently brushing up against a woman's behind. Oh shit, great. He was sure he was going to get slapped for that; after all this was London. But looking at her face she was all too familiar. The girl had been a year behind him in school and in the opposing house, Klyk Vampira. Her name was like Annie or something. "Pardon my stupidity, but I think I know you..you went to Durmstrang, right?" he said, greeting her in Russian.

Holy hell, her head hurt.

Annelie had spent the previous night drinking in some seedy pub with some Swedish tourists (muggles, even), that she'd run into during a museum tour. In her days of unemployed wandering in London, the blonde felt she had come close to thoroughly exhausting all that Diagon Alley had to offer (at least for the broke and foreign) and had taken to exploring the touristy muggle districts of the city. Running into fellow Swedes had been a brilliant stroke of luck as it meant she'd been able to spend the day and night conversing without having to muddle her way through with her limited vocabulary. As an added bonus, her muggle companions were far more fluent in English (having attended schools where English, rather than Russian was mandatory) than she was and able to order drink after drink after drink after drink...

She'd abandoned her new friends at the end of the evening- she had a dingy rented flat near Diagon Alley to get to- with tentative plans to meet up at Big Ben the next day. When the morning had come, her head throbbing from all the alcohol she'd eagerly consumed the night before, she abandoned those plans because the allure of a giant ticking clock seemed... lacking. Prompted by her waxing poetic about how much she dearly missed the ocean, one of her companions had mentioned that they'd found a beach in a cove along the river that was vaguely worth going to. Nothing like the Swedish beaches she was used to, of course, but decidedly more water than the bathtub in her flat and therefore worth investigating. Dragging herself out of bed the young woman had set out with her fuzzy directions of how to find the place, and her hangover in tow.

As she wandered through the streets, hoping that she was headed in the right direction since her internal compass was still feeling the effects of a few too many vodkas, Nelie could feel the weight of her hangover gradually being lifted off her shoulders. All was as it should be, or getting there. This was how weekends should feel (nevermind that currently every day was a weekend for the Durmstrang dropout)... The sun on her face, the slight breeze in her hair, someone brushing up against her backside... Wait. That last bit wasn't quite right. With a blink, the blonde was jolted out of her revery.

Her head snapping to the side to see who'd gotten a little too friendly (at least for this early in the day, and this obviously in public..), she was surprised to find herself looking at a face she recognized. And he was speaking a language she could understand. Slight violation of her personal space aside, she was ecstatic. She couldn't imagine her luck. Of all the thousands of people in the city to bump against her, it happened to be one who was attractive, speaking in Russian, and not a muggle. Oh, she could kiss him.

"Yes, I did- it's, uhm, Jonas? Right?" She knew she was right, but it couldn't hurt to double check. At least for the sake of manners. The girl was good with names and despite him being ahead of her in school and in the opposite house, Nelie had heard whispers of things from girls who'd known him a little closer during their Durmstrang years. "It's Nelie, but I must ask... is that how you greet everyone you think you know? I didn't know we were that good of friends." Not that she really minded. He had been a looker in school and not much had changed. She attempted to smile coyly, and failed, her lips edging into a sly grin instead.

"How's life been after Durmstrang?" She asked after a moment, realizing that her statement may have been embarrassing and that it would be bad form to alienate the one potential ally she'd happened upon. Especially so soon. "Are you vacationing here?" Not that she could imagine why anyone would want to. London was quite drab as far as she was concerned. "I'm attempting to make my way towards a beach I heard about from some tourists, but I've got a feeling I may be completely turned around. This city and I are not quite friends..."

Jonas Jaracas was not one to be easily embarrassed but after hearing what she said, he could even feel the rosiness appear to his cheeks. He of course didn't want to make an impression that he touched females behinds for fun; not that he wouldn't put it past him when he was drunk or with friends -- but even then that would be on the rarest occasion. He gave her a weak smile as he responded. "Yes, it's Jonas." The young man then almost wished he had his dragon there so something could distract her from what he had done. "N - o. I was just being careless..was wandering.." he trailed off.

He then did something he rarely did. He pulled a small carton of cigarettes out of his pocket, and a lighter and lit himself one. He only did this when he was nervous. Taking a puff, he made sure he didn't blow the smoke in her face; perhaps she smoked, but perhaps she didn't and he knew how much it nauseated non-smokers. It made him even more nervous when she asked what he was up to after Durmstrang. Honestly, he didn't want to talk about that school ever again. He didn't like it when he was there, and he didn't like it anymore now. Sure, he had friends from there but he had gotten into far too much trouble with far too many punishments to think of it fondly.

"Life has been decent -- not living much though, just working." he said, sounding a little tired. "I work for the Daily Prophet as a sports reporter - and I also work for the British Ministry, being their bitch -- I mean, I'm a translator and work for the international relations office." he said. "I do live in London though..it's not exactly my ideal climate but it's alright..and it's cheap..." he said with a smirk. "What about you? What are you in London for? Just visiting?" he asked. She was a nice girl if he recalled, and he thought it would definitely help to have someone to hang out with when Zofia was away.

"You know...I think if we keep walking down the lane we'll make it there..c'mon..I'll show ya." he said, taking another puff of his cigarette. "I'm glad I ran into you by the way..and not some other woman..or I might be sporting a bloody nose..."