[Falmouth / bar] We're surfing in the air (Quinn)

A new team, a new start. While Sami was quite content with his new team, he still felt like a stranger. He barely knew his new team members, having only met them in a few practices and played a first - and amazingly successful - game. To be honest, he even had a hard time remembering all the names of his team members. Of course, things were bound to get easier. He'd stop feeling like an alien among his mates. Sooner or later he'd be a proper and valued part of the team. He did not have any doubts about that but this definitely was his biggest challenge after first getting to Koldovstoretz. He had learned English and was able to communicate in this language but he was not yet very comfortable using it. He found himself speaking slowly, his tongue lazily forming the English words.

Today's practice had been rather enjoyable. After their victory in the last match and because of excellent weather the team had been high spirited. Sami was almost sad when the practice ended. He took a shower and then made his way to a pub close to the Quidditch pitch. Maybe he'd run into one or more of his team mates and could finally get to know them better? It felt odd that he hadn't yet socialised with them. However, he was only in Britain for a short while and he still had to sort things out, find a regular place to live - currently he spent his nights at a bed and breakfast which was nice because he never left the house hungrily but it was no long time solution.

He was unsure where he wanted to live. Most locations were just an easy apparition away - well, now it was easy. Sami did not like to be reminded of his first apparition test when he had badly splinched himself. With the experience he had now, apparition was no big deal anymore. Therefore, he was not bound to reside in Falmouth even if his team was located here. He was thinking bigger. Coming from the German capital Berlin but not wanting to live there now that he was working in Great Britain, London quite appealed to him.

After he stepped over the threshold of the pub, Sami hesitated briefly to take a look at the location. It was a narrow room with old furniture looking cosy but maybe a bit too cramped. There was nobody visible as he stepped in, not even the barkeeper and the German Turk wondered if it was maybe not open yet. Then again the door had been unlocked so maybe he was just unfortunate enough to be the first person to step in. However, this gave him a chance to look around properly. The young man smiled when he saw the pictures on the walls. Apparently there were decades of Falmouth Falcons' history presented in this pub. He wondered how long it would take until a photo of him would be hanging next to older team legends. Maybe a photographer had taken a nice shot of him during his first match for the Falmouth Falcons and soon enough people could admire him among the other stars of the team.

Sami spun around when he heard steps from behind. The barkeeper had just emerged, seemingly out of nowhere. "Hi," Sami greeted, smiling at the other man. "I'm new to the Falcons and thought I'd check out the pub. I quite like the looks of it by the way. Very nice photos you have here." Having explained this much, the young man walked over to the bar and and took a seat. As it was still early in the day he didn't want to order beer as he would usually do. He asked for the menu which he was given by a seemingly confused barkeeper. Apparently people didn't often ask for the menu in here. It didn't bother Sami though. He had no idea what kind of things he could get at a pub like this.

While he was just skimming the pages, wondering if he'd only take a coffee or something simple as that or order a snack as well, the door swung open. With the back light it was impossible to tell who was entering at first, but Sami offered a welcoming smile anyway. When the door closed behind the other guest, the Quidditch player could finally see that a team member was joining him. He grinned and made a gesture, inviting the girl to sit next to him. "Hello, good to see you," he let his gaze wander through the empty pub and smirked, making clear he was not comfortable, sitting in a pub alone. "What would you like? A drink? A meal?" To Sami it was clear that he'd buy her a drink and if she chose to eat something, he'd also pay for that.

Practice had gone well enough, but it had definitely fulfilled Quinn Regan’s quota for seeing people today. She showered quickly and left even quicker, heading home to relax some more. She wanted to stretch, to drink tea, to not deal with anything. But as soon as she got home, Quinn felt claustrophobic, wanting nothing more than to leave again. But all of her regular options for getting out of the house involved people. Her brother was at work, Oliver was still in the hospital and not super fun to be around, and she had already dealt with enough quidditch players today.

There was a very small, muggle art gallery in a town between Falmouth and London that quite honestly had some atrocious art. But terrible art meant a very small number of people, which is exactly what she wanted. Quinn nodded to herself as she decided that was her plan for the afternoon as she started looking around her house to see how much muggle money she had left. She only had to look for a few minutes before coming up with her answer: she had none. Even she wasn’t famous at this muggle art gallery and would be required to pay to get in. But she really didn’t want to go to Gringotts. That didn’t fit well with the theme of her afternoon: avoid people.

Thankfully, the pub near the pitch was pretty good about being able to make change from galleons to sterling. And it was still early, which would help her in her quest to not be around too many people. Quinn stepped into her back garden, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. With a quick turn, she apparated to the pub, wand in hand, her bag slung over her shoulder. She pushed through the door, expecting to find the space quite empty; she had to refrain from rolling her eyes upon seeing not only a person, but someone she knew, who would inevitably want to talk to her.

Sami Sadik. She had, so far, avoided most social interactions with him outside of quidditch. She was still a little bitter that management had traded their last keeper. Sure, maybe he had only let in the quaffle twice during their match this past weekend, but one spectacular game wasn’t going to win her over. He’d have to try a lot harder than that. And she had become quite biased lately where keepers were concerned. He had already seen her before she could decide on the best course of action for escape and she had no other choice but return his wave and take a resigned step towards him.

She slid onto a seat at the bar, leaving an empty stool between them, and gave him a smile as he asked his question. “I’m just here to get some sterling,” she replied with a shrug, before looking to the bartender to get his attention. “Billy?” She reached into her bag and drew out a small coin purse, pulling out five galleons and sliding them on the bar towards him. “Small notes if you have them.” Quinn smiled again as Billy took her money and shuffled away, watching him disappear into a back room before turning her attentions back to the keeper.

“You know we have a team nutritionist who isn’t the biggest fan of drinking this early in the day, right?” She smirked, propping her elbow up on the bar and leaning into her hand.

Quinn Regan was a team member and as such considered as someone close to a friend by Sami. His team mate, however, had not been overly welcoming yet. Admittedly Sami hadn't yet tried to get in touch much. He was new here and still getting used to everything. His tongue lazily formed English words and conversations didn't come as easy as in his native language. That, however, didn't mean that he didn't want to get to know his team mate. On the contrary.

He raised his eyebrows, feeling a little confused by the fact that Quinn did not take the seat next to him but left an empty stool between them. It was a clear sign that she didn't want to get better acquainted. Her words underlined this even more. She was not here to socialise but to change money. Well, plans could change. He was not desperate enough to try and make her stay at all costs though.

"You want to visit the muggle world then?" Sami observed and nodded thoughtfully. "Always a nice way to get away from Quidditch fans or unwelcome team members, eh?" His background was not thoroughly magical but Sami knew that some witches and wizards were judgemental when it came to bloodstatus. He was not going to confide in Quinn that he was not a pureblood wizard himself and that he knew his way around in the muggle world. In fact, Sami would have liked to explore the English muggle world, wondering if it was different from the German.

Her comment about drinking early in the day left him rather unimpressed. The young man shrugged and offered a one sided grin. "What if I was about to order a cup of tea? Would the team nutritionist dislike that too? In fact though I was contemplating to order a snack though. Practice left me hungry. If you can give me a recommendation as to what I could order, you'd be my guest to order whatever you would like. What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

"That was the idea," Quinn replied with a smile and a shrug, not bothering to specify which group of people she was trying to avoid the most. However, now that she was hearing herself talk, the idea of staying for a few extra minutes didn't seem too terrible. It would be the least she could do for him to talk to him for five minutes, after all. "Just to an art museum," she added with another shrug, not wanting it to sound too exciting lest he want to invite himself along on her outing.

Quinn rolled her eyes before looking back at her teammate. He may have been new to the country but he clearly knew enough English to know that she wasn’t condoning him for drinking tea. But he was already moving on, telling her much too much about his life than the woman really cared to know. "No deal, I'm afraid," Quinn started, checking to see that Billy was still preoccupied with her money in the back. "People don't usually eat here, and the team definitely doesn't during the season as it's almost exclusively fried food," she laughed before leaning in to whisper, "And it's almost exclusively terrible food, too."

She straightened up and offered Sadik a small smile and a shrug, "But tea sounds good." She only took her eyes off of him once Billy reappeared and handed over her change, shuffling around after she put in her tea order. "So," Quinn started again, taking another look over the Keeper, "Are you settling in?" All she knew about him was his quidditch record and even then there wasn't much to find out: one team for a handful of years before his move to the Falcons. Why he was traded at all was still a mystery to her and the rest of the team.

Still, she knew that it had been a German team. She just needed to ask Elias if he knew any other details about him, but every time she had the intention of asking him anything, she would get distracted by his roommate. Maybe now that said roommate was out for a little bit, she could do some actual investigation into finding out any information, quidditch or not, that might not have been made public, about this man sitting next to her.

Sami nodded thoughtfully. Quinn wanted to get away from people she knew and who knew her. He could understand this feelings to some degree but would have preferred had she chosen another time for this. However, he could still change her mind. She was still here, after all.

"What kind of art?" he enquired but knew that he most likely be unable to work with the response she'd give to his question. Sami knew little about art. He sometimes liked to look at nice paintings though. Besides muggle art meant about as much or little to him as did magical art.

"Ah," he made when she spoke of fried food. He knew that he was supposed to stick to a diet but really, how should he perform well if he only ate healthy food? He was still hungry or at least quickly hungry again when he ate healthy food. Besides he really liked fried food. Fried food tasted well and that was probably also why it was more popular than healthy food... The fact that this fried food was supposed to be terrible though kept the young man from ordering anything. He'd have to grab some food elsewhere then.

"Tea it is," he said happily and voiced their order loud enough for Billy to hear it.

"I'm settling in alright, thanks," he said, glad that she seemed finally willing to have a proper conversation. "I quite like Britain and the Quidditch League is really strong. I'm glad that I've got the chance to play for the Falcons."

He looked at her curiously, trying to figure out if she was just being polite or sincerely interested in talking to him. "How long do you already play for the Falcons?" he asked, hoping that the young witch would share something about herself.

“Modern art,” Quinn said quickly. “Absolutely ghastly.” It really was rubbish, but again, that just helped keep the number of visitors in the gallery down. And hopefully her disinterest would help convince Sadik to not invite himself, quite possibly even drop the discussion altogether. But at least he was taking her food and drink suggestions to heart. She offered a smile as he followed suit with his own tea order, happy she could influence him even the smallest bit.

Quinn quirked a brow as she listened, doing her best impression of being interested in what he had to say. “It’s not Ireland,” she said with a sigh, though she agreed with everything else he was saying. “The League is one of the best, let’s be honest.” She didn’t need to elaborate that it had taken her a few years of professional playing before she was asked to join it. Those were the minor details that no one really needed to know.

“Oh, this is my third season,” she replied enthusiastically, happy to be finally talking about herself. She did her best to not be too offended that he wasn’t already aware of the details of her entire career. “And my fifth with Ireland,” she added superfluously. “And before the Falcons I was with the Braga Broomfleet for three.” She shrugged casually, though she was still overly impressed with all that she had accomplished despite her young age. He had finally been able to catch her attention with questions about how amazing she was and if she wasn’t careful, she might get carried away.

There still had to be some semblance of interest in her new teammate. “Where were you before this? You’re a bit older so I’m sure you have nothing but advice to give.” She smirked, though her jab was cut short at the arrival of their tea. The woman thanked the barkeep and watched him shuffle away before picking up her cup, cradling it between her hands, and taking a tentative sip.

"Modern art? You mean that kind of art that nobody really understands but people still pretend to know exactly what the artist thought when the picture was created?" He grinned. "I know little about modern art but I find it quite entertaining to listen to what people say in such exhibitions and join a conversation." He was not saying that he'd like to join her but if she suggested it, he'd happily accept. However, he knew better than inviting himself bluntly.

"Yeah, definitely," Sami agreed when she spoke of the quality of the league. "It's an honour to play for a team in this league." It really was. He thought that the Falcons were a great team and being a regular team member meant that he was a good player.

"Wow," the young man said. He was impressed. Maybe not quite as impressed as he wanted her to think but still, Sami knew that he was talking to a successful Quidditch player, a young woman who had had even a little more success than he had. It was great to join a team with such great players.

"I've played for the Berlin Erlkings before," he told her. "I've been part of the team for almost four years and I liked the team and everything but it was time to move on." He ignored her comment about him having advice to give as he really didn't know what to make of this.

"It must be amazing to be part of the national team," Sami changed the topic back to her. "I suppose it feels different than playing for a team of the league, doesn't it?!"

The seeker smiled, happy that he used the word ‘honor’ when talking about her league. And she just continued smiling, bordering on smirking, as he looked thoroughly impressed with her career thus far. That almost made up for not knowing the details of her professional life beforehand. Almost.

She nodded along as he listed out his own resume, though it was considerably more sparse than her own. Everyone had to start somewhere, she supposed. But, she was intrigued all the same. “What did you do after school if you didn’t get right into playing?” There was a gap of at least a few years, had to be, and she wanted to know why.

“Oh absolutely,” Quinn said with an enthusiastic nod, setting her tea down, thrilled he kept bringing the subject back to her and how amazing she was. Maybe he wasn’t a total waste, after all. “There’s a lot more pride with those wins, I think. And it’s nice, because the BIL has what, thirteen teams and thirteen seekers? But Ireland just has the one.” She shrugged ever so casually, not bothering to mention that she had only been on the main roster for less than a year at this point. He could figure that out for himself if it was really that vital a piece of information.

She smiled before continuing, now determined to learn as much about him as she possibly could while still being as professional as possible. “Have you tried for the German team?” She was only somewhat certain he was German, the team and the accent going for him, but the name and the lack of knowledge about where he went to school going against. “They’re a bit rubbish, so I suppose you would only serve to improve them.” She had plenty of practice making insults and compliments in the same sentence, and now was no different.

Taking another sip of tea, Quinn glanced over at the clock behind the bar. She wasn’t really sure what time the gallery was closed, but she was certain it would be open tomorrow as well when she had yet another day of wanting to avoid people.

"I did this and that," Sami started evasively, uncertain if he should tell the truth or make something up. The beginning of his life as an adult had not been all that great. He had struggled to find his place in the adult world and he was not sure he could tell that to Quinn or anyone for that matter. He did not like to be a petty loser. However, there was no way to deny that he had failed to make a quick career after his graduation.

"Sold flying carpets..." he muttered as he lifted his tea cup to his lips. When he put it back down again, the young man grinned. "You know my family is in the carpet business." This was no lie... the only problem was that his family's carpets did not fly... "It didn't go too well. The market for flying carpets is not quite as good as I had expected it to be." Not a lie either... He was actually rather pleased with his way of answering Quinn's question.

"I'd love to play for the national team at some point." Sami agreed smiling softly. Oh, this was really one of his dreams. He wanted to be celebrated as the German keeper and not be one of many keepers in a league. "I bet there is. It's definitely more emotional and also a greater success if you play on the national team."

Her comment about him playing would improve the team quality made him grin. "Thanks for the compliment," the keeper said, not even registering the insult. "I hope to get a chance to try out for the team in the future but we'll see how it goes. It'll probably help if we have a good season with the Falcons."

She raised an eyebrow as Sadik started answering her question, though what he was offering couldn’t really be called an answer. Still, she nodded like she had known his family had been in the flying carpet business all along, although this was the first time she was hearing this. “That’s too bad,” she offered, not fully understanding how it must feel to have a family that was unsuccessful, though she could imagine that it wasn’t the best feeling.

Quinn shrugged off his thanks, not wanting to draw too much attention to how much she appreciated him recognizing that she was being nice. “Well good news for you, I think we’re all planning on winning the league,” she reassured him, referring to the rest of their team. They might not have had the best season so far, but none of that would matter as long as they fared well through the playoffs.

But there weren’t hardly enough compliments coming her way anymore. She took another glance at the clock and decided she ought to still attempt to pay a visit to the gallery. The Seeker finished her tea, replacing her cup on the bar as she offered her teammate a smile. “Thanks for the tea.” She slipped off her stool and picked up her bag. “See you at practice,” she added rather unnecessarily.

"Yeah..." Sami said regretfully. "The flying carpet business goes well in Turkey though. My family does a lot of im- and export with Turkey and has a shop there. However, flying carpets, while a nice way of transportation, seem to be too exotic and oriental for the central European customers." He shrugged and took another sip of his tea. He could expand on the matter if needed but he didn't think that Quinn was interested in any in depth information on the flying carpet business.

"I very much hope so," Sami said, grinning. "I think I switched teams at the perfect time, really. In Berlin I felt like it was all the same old stuff. Practices were more of a shore than anything. Here I am always looking forward to practices but even more to matches. It's really nice to be part of a strong team." He would not say much more though. He had complimented her enough. After all, Sami was hardly Quinn's fanboy. He wanted to compete with her for the attention of the Falcons' fans.

Apparently the team's seeker also felt like their conversation was leading nowhere anymore. He offered a smile and a nod when she thanked for the tea and watched her leave. "Yeah, see you," he said as she walked off. It did not seem like this was the perfect place and time for him now either. There weren't enough interesting people and given that food wasn't recommended here, Sami decided he should pay for the two cups of tea and leave. Maybe he'd find a nice restaurant somewhere where he could try and socialise a little.

[end]