playing with this bow and arrow [Donnie]

Lorin couldn’t imagine what real unspeakable training would be like. Her own training took six weeks, but she was finally in the office and briefed on the tasks that her boss would need to oversee. She was not the only secretary in the office, neither the oldest or most experienced person, but as the boss’ personal secretary she had an elite sort of status there. She was the main secretary, and she loved being the boss of a few people. She had always expected to have people below her at some point or another, and she reveled in giving them menial tasks to do while she focused on the trickier tasks, ones that would give the most credit. She liked Winston, for the most part. He was a little… interesting, but he was charming to some degree and he was nice enough to her. She was used to working for a crazy man, and though Winston and Donnie were crazy in very different ways, this wasn’t a new job for her. The most important thing to consider was his ego, of course. To be a good secretary, she must do everything for him and then make him feel like he was the one accomplishing things. She had done that for Donnie, and it was easy enough to do it for Winston.
 
Lorin was juggling quite a busy schedule, between her 9-5 job at the Ministry and her personal assistance-ship for Professor Walker. She liked both jobs, though, and Walker expected quite little work for what he paid her, and there were bonuses as well—including the new dress she was wearing to work that very day. He liked to make sure his assistants were dressed sharply, and Lorin could take a hint when it was delivered in satin. The pumps, on the other hand, had been an extravagant purchase with her new income. They were muggle shoes with red soles, very classy to look at—but the muggles went crazy over them. She had spent nearly 40 galleons on the shoes alone, but they did make her look sophisticated, long, and leaner.
 
She had been dieting since she got her job, and had only lost a meager 5 pounds, but she was fairly miserable about it. That day, she had a salad with lemon pepper tuna, carrots, and cherry tomatoes. She sighed as she dressed it in a light vinaigrette and shook the salad inside her tupperware to coat every bit of lettuce in the dressing. Then, Lorin sighed. She picked at the salad without eating it for a few moments. She didn’t want tuna and salad again. It tasted fine, of course, but she was hungry. She took a bite and felt like she might gag, from how much she didn’t want to eat it again. She changed her mind there, and decided to dump it. She could get something nicer from the cafeteria. Who did she have to impress with the rabbit food, anyway? Certainly not Seth…
 
She repackaged the salad and stood from her desk to go to the cafeteria. She had to swing past several rooms on the way to the exit, and her voice caught as she saw a familiar face walking down the hallway opposite her. She knew Donnie had a job at the ministry, but he never really knew what he did. He didn’t speak of it, and now she understood why. Of course, it felt weird to see him so suddenly and in an unexpected place. They hadn’t seen each other since she moved out of his home, and she was quite comfortable with that. She didn’t want to see him. He’d hurt her feelings.
 
She wasn’t able to ignore him, however, without it being obvious that she was doing so. Instead, she flushed crimson, and cleared her throat. “Kearney.” She nodded. “Fancy seeing you in a place like this. You look tired.” Her words were sharp and thick with poison.

@Donncha Kearney

The months since Lorin left had been rough on Donnie. Sure he could do his own laundry, employ a few simple cleaning spells, and make sure he didn't smell weird or drop dead from starvation. He was a fully-functioning human, after all. But what he hadn't counted on was the empty echoing of his flat. He'd come home after work and it was dead silent: no spund of bubbling pots, soft music playing, knife impacting cutting board in preparation for a meal. He spent very little time in his flat. The ghost of Lorin's voice and the way that her perfume no longer caught him off guard chased him from his home until he stumbled in to crash into bed.

He wasn't as destructive as he had been in the first few weeks but he wasn't back to a very good place either. He lived off of take-away and his breakfast and lunches were usually drunk out of a coffee cup. Donnie didn't let his appearance slip too far. His clothes were still pressed and clean, although his hair was styled more like that of a pirate; slicked back and pulled into a low ponytail. The perpetual five o'clock shadow was not helping, either. He found the ladies he passed in the halls more inclined to let their eyes linger on him, but he paid no attention to it. He was hardly the picture of a good Ministry employee even when he had his own personal groomer.

Donnie walked casually, sipping his liquid lunch. He happened to glance up and see the one person he wasn't sure he'd ever see again. Of course she worked in his department now. The universe was a great ball of merry misery, wasn't it? Donnie was prepared for her to completely ignore his existence, but she surprised him with her words. Not the venom behind them, though. It wasn't a surprise that she held some bad blood against him. From her perspective, she had been doing a good job and he'd just let her go out of the blue. She didn't know that he'd had to let her go or drive himself mad with the wanting of something that wasn't for him to have.

"Odell," he drawled in that tone he knew made her want to throw things at him. "Good ta see ya landed on yer feet." He grinned cheekily. "Not an easy thing ta do, in heels like that." Donnie shrugged. He slept little, and usually it was fitful. It wasn't a surprise to him that he looked less than rested. "Lookin' pert yerself," he replied. "Didn't imagine ya working in this particular dump. Woulda thought ya'd be head of tha department two days in."

Lorin hated that tone of voice and Donnie knew it. He was taunting her. How dare he! After everything she had done for him, all the long-hours playing housewife, making his apartment into a home, taking care of him and pressing his clothes and getting him to sleep, he just pulled this on her? How dare he act like he hadn’t wronged her fully. How dare he use that tone of voice. If he wanted to get under her skin, it was working and she hated that truth. She liked Donnie. She had grown to truly care for him during their time together, in a way she never thought possible. They had always butt heads when she was younger, always fitting together like a circle into a square peg. After her short tenure, the two had become something more akin to friends... if they could call it that. There had certainly been something more budding between them, though Lorin had a feeling it might be one-sided. What would a successful established wizard want with a girl fresh out of grade school?

“Of course I did, no thanks to you.” She retorted, her voice thick with venom still. This was more aggressive than she usually let herself be, but he had truly wronged her. “I suppose it was time enough I quit pretending to be your wife and got a respectable career.” She said, tilting her head a little bit away from him. “I’m secretary to Winston.” She grinned. “You know, the department head?” In some ways it really was like she was running the department. She wrote out everything and he simply signed things most of the time. She had to babysit him. She liked the power that went with that, though. She didn’t mind that he sometimes made her jump through hoops.

“I’m relatively new. Training was  interesting.” She admitted. “Didn’t expect to see you here, though. I knew you worked at the ministry, but it’s no wonder you never elaborated about what you do. You’re a proper unspeakable.” She said, voice softening a little bit. "I'm on my way to the cafeteria, actually. Would you like to take a break? You look like you haven't eaten properly. Probably doing take out every night, I bet. Of course, if you're too busy for me... I certainly understand. A proper unspeakable must have plenty of work to do." She flipped her long dark curls over her shoulder and stood up straighter.

"Since ya managed to keep me alive, making sure Winston stays in line will be no problem fer ya," Donnie drawled, grinning. He knew Lorin was still angry, and he didn't blame her so he didn't rise to the sound of the scorn in her voice like he might have before. They had gotten to a kind of peaceable understanding while she worked for him. He had hoped that maybe something else would come of that, but he'd been forced to give up the ghost. She was young and smart. There was no way she'd want to tie herself to an old man and a washed-up auror.

Donnie chuckled. "Sounds about right, as far as training goes. I imagine it's a bit different if yer not working in a room but I bet it's rigorous wherever ya go." Donnie remembered his training quite well: exercises to keep your mind from breaking under torture, impossible-seeming puzzles and riddles, sensory deprivation to see what happens to your brain when denied stimulus, and a host of other draining and potentially damaging trials. "Well, they don't call us Unspeakables fer nothing," he replied, shrugging. "Ya don't last if ya can't keep yer mouth shut about tha job. Either the Ministry gets wind of it and ya get Obliviated and moved ta a desk job. And that's the best outcome." Donnie had known a few people in the department who had loose lips and had simply vanished.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Now Lorin, I'm surprised at ye. When have I ever given tha impression I was a 'proper' anything?" Donnie teased lightly. "I can always find time fer ya." He raised his half-empty coffee cup and shook it. "This was gonna be ma lunch but I guess I could be convinced ta sit fer a proper meal with the right company." He offered her his arm. "Shall we?"