Time is the Longest Distance (Open)

Lacetta had made her to Gloucestershire, a place that she hadn't known very well before. However, it was here the she found a very beautiful town and a very quiet place that she very much enjoyed.

Using her savings, Lacetta had rented one of the cute houses from Mrs. Parcell, which was where she now resided. Mrs. Parcell was a very nice woman, and Lacetta loved to visit her and do what she could, although Lacetta wasn't well versed in cooking recipes, she did what she could.

Lacetta's new home wasn't full with very much, only with what the house had come with. A small kitchen with a few pots and pans, a dinner table with a chair that sat in front of a staircase, and on the other side of the staircase, nearly behind it was a window that allowed for light to enter the sitting room. Only one couch sat in the sitting room, facing the wall that had a small TV on it, though Lacetta wasn't very big on TVs.

Up the stairs was a bedroom and bathroom, both small and angular due to the ceiling, but cosy. A nightstand was left next to her bed, with a small lamp and candle.

Just now, however, Lacetta was making her way from the inn, where she was helping Mrs. Parcell, and back toward her rented home. It wasn't too much of a distance, but Lacetta was enjoying the cool fall breeze that hit her skin.

(Mind if I join in? ^_^ Just asking cause it seems like I jump on any topic you make open lol xD)

(Oh no, I dont mind at all!! Theres no need for you to ask!)

(Oh no, don't worry about it at all, though that certainly seems a bit odd!)

As Lacetta left the Inn, she was surprised to see a face so close to hers. She had come to know those in the near area quite well, even if she hadn't remembered all of their names. Though the man in front of her, she hadn't recognized, even though there was something telling her that she did.

She pushed her thoughts aside, rather quickly, though. Perhaps she had overlooked a face, and clearly she hadn't known the face, so there wasn't a way for her to have known the man! It was as simple as that, so it had to be that way.

The man, when Lacetta had first spotted him, appeared to be looking at the sky. Lacetta followed his gaze, though there wasn't anything up there. How funny, perhaps he thought that he saw something? Or more likely, Lacetta was surely missing something, either something that was there and is now gone, or she's overlooking something that's quite obvious.

Most of that moment Lacetta spent looking at the sky, trying to see what she couldn't quite see. Had she missed it, or had it been there all along? Her mind was now spinning with questions, though they were getting a good bit tangled, and she was too afraid to ask them as she thought of them. Was it the clouds, perhaps? Lacetta looked more closely at the clouds, and couldn't resist a small smile. Probably not, though she could see a little sail boat shaped out of clouds!

Going back, she had looked between the man and the sky once more, though she still remained a bit confused. She mustered up what courage she had to ask him one, quick, simple question. She could only hope that she wasn't a bother.

"Is there something up there? In the sky?" She paused, but quickly jumped in again as she looked at the man, "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you! You don't have to answer the question. I can be on my way!"

As Lacetta looked back up at the sky, one last time, she let out a breath of air with a soft "Oh." Perhaps there was more to it than just the air, though she wouldn't dare to ask him, for she'd be accusing him of lying, and that would be rather rude of her.

There could be creatures up there, invisible to her eyes. Maybe invisible to his, too, or maybe not, and that was why he said that he was staring at the air. Yet again, Lacetta didn't dare ask. She hadn't doubted the man in telling her the truth, and she hadn't wanted to come off that way.

"I'm sorry for bothering you again, I hadn't thought too much on if I was disturbing you, so I apologize for that."

She felt like she was missing something, though. She was said that she was sorry for bothering him, which was good, but there was something else. She looked hard at nothing, not quite looking at the man anymore, but just passed him in thought. Did she leave something behind? Her purse? Did she even bring her purse with her? Lacetta couldn't quite remember that, either.

Though one thing had hit her rather fast, and she remember what she was supposed to say, "Oh, and my name's Lacetta, I had forgotten to say so earlier!"

Clovis? That quite confirmed it, then, for Lacetta was certain that she hadn't known anyone by the name Clovis. And surely her face showed it, as Lacetta was quite easily read, though she didn't mind too mind. Well, she wouldn't have minded too much if she had known that she was easily read.

His questioning of her soon arose. Anxiously, Lacetta had shaken her head. Her eyes were a tad wide, as they tended to get when she was questioned for surprised, "No, no, I'm sorry for bothering you! I'll leave you to your business."

She wasn't sure what else to say to the man, but she was sure that she was becoming an annoyance. He hadn't been waiting to speak with her, and she had interrupted him and whatever business he may have had. She could have interrupted him from important thoughts, or perhaps he was waiting or looking for someone, and she was distracting him. Whichever it was, Lacetta felt rather guilty for having bothered him, and wasn't sure if her apologies were good enough.

"It was a pleasure meeting you!" She said, trying to be cheery though she was clearly a bit distressed, it was up to Clovis though to read further into that. Lacetta looked past Clovis and down the small road, seeing her rented home only a few paces away. It would take only two minutes for the average person to get there, though seeing that Lacetta was often distracted, it usually took her five, sometimes ten minutes to get there. Clovis had certainly contributed to that, though she didn't mind and saw no difference.

Having made her way to her house and upon opening the door, a bit of a realization had hit Lacetta. She had left her purse there, after all! How silly of her to have forgotten, and she had even questioned herself on the matter, too!

It wasn't normal for Lacetta to have carried around a purse, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Many woman, mostly muggle woman, carried purses with them everywhere, and whenever Lacetta purchased anything, like food, the people always looked at her funny when she pulled money out of her pocket. She hadn't normally cared much for what other people thought was odd, though in this case Lacetta thought it was connected to the separation between muggle woman and witches, and she had to blend in as she could, for she hadn't wanted to cause any trouble at all!

Lacetta had grown up in the muggle world, though she hadn't grown as an adult in it, and had missed quite the few things. She hadn't known very well why she needed a credit card, or hair appointments at a salon or many other things. It was a new part of the world that she hadn't yet experienced, and it was off to her.

Turning around, and having forgotten to lock her door, Lacetta made her way back to where she had come from. Surely Mrs. Parcell had her purse, and Lacetta was almost certain that Mrs. Parcell had well known it was Lacetta and she'd be back for it in minutes. She was quite the nice woman, and Lacetta had enjoyed her company, so she paid no mind to having had to turn around and go back to where she had once came, and it wasn't as though it was far away, either!

Once he'd finished off his second smoke, he put it out and headed inside. Checking, just to be sure he saw that head of blonde walking the opposite direction from the Inn. She was safely out of his hair it seemed, so he sat down at the bar and scanned around for the proper description: a man in his thirties, likely to be accompanied by a 'friend' who looked more than capable with a wand. One was tall and burly, the other was only a little shorter, but much more scrawny.

They both had a drink, and were speaking quietly amongst themselves, too quiet for Clovis to listen. So, he ordered himself a glass of water, and headed over to their table, "Afternoon, gentleman," he greeted as he sat down, uninvited. Now the game of chance began.

Both of the men looked up at Dein, glaring harshly at him. It only took one minute for the bigger of the two men, the brute whose arms were so large that he looked like he had a hard time walking to stand up, ready to pound Dein's head in. They weren't expecting any company, and they weren't about to take any, either. Especially a little man like this, who had the nerve to sit down, disrespectfully. The two men saw it as mockery, and they were prepared to get rid of him.

The scrawnier of the two was still seated, still glaring at Dein. The bigger one looked ready to punch the lights out of him, but he stood firm and was silent. He didn't seem like one to speak very much. The littler man, however, spoke.

"What's your business here?"

On her way back down the road, Lacetta had noticed that the man she had only previously ran into had left, though she thought nothing of it other than noticing. The wooden door to the inn stood in front of her, and opened with ease.

Lacetta had entered quietly, shutting the door as silently as she could. As she turned to face the counter, she saw Mrs. Parcell, and happily walked over to the woman who seemed not at all surprised that Lacetta was back.

The bigger man who was standing looked down at the man, still sitting, who stayed still for a while. He was staring Clovis down, giving him the eye, before he smirked at hearing double. At that moment he looked up at the standing brute, and gave him a nod of his head, where in return the strong man took his seat again.

When Clovis had looked away a second time, the thinner man followed his gaze, now noticing that he had been staring at the same girl. Unless it was the inn keeper, but she was an old woman, and that just couldn't be. The girl was a sight, but too nice looking for men like them. They liked their girls to look a little more...wild.

It was when Clovis turned around that the man had watched him, staring him down in the eyes. The smirk was still slapped onto his pudgy face.

"Whaddya want?"

"Double, you say? How much ya got on you?"

The man looked him up and down, as if he was judging his pocket by his appearance. The boy had to have money, and if he wanted something, he had to be ready to pay him. Now. There were now IOU's in this business. It was upfront, now or never.

"So?"

He jumped on Clovis before he even got much of a chance to answer.

"Let me see the money."

And it was then that the Brute pushed his chair back, ready to stand up again and make his way over to the other side of the table. Tattoos could  be found on his body, too. Creepy ones. Gory ones that no man with any sort of sense in him would permanently stick on his body. Pudgy cheeks just appeared to have one tattoo, on his neck, of a skull with black angel wings.

They clearly weren't going to move until they saw the money. If it was there, then it was there, and the deal would be done. But these guys were also smarter than that. Or perhaps they actually weren't that smart. They were just following the orders from those above them, and they had a system. A system of exchanges around here. But what did Clovis know about them?

(Lacetta: we just posted a few times so that you'd have something worth replying too XD sorry about that!)

(Oh no, there's no need to be sorry in the slightest, it's perfectly all right!)

Sharing some laughs with Mrs. Parcell, she had pulled out Lacetta's purse for her and handed it to her. Lacetta had thanked her very kindly for holding onto it and being sure to place it somewhere safely, as she was nearly certain that she had just laid it out on the counter.

Though it wouldn't have mattered very much, because there wasn't anything in it. At least nothing that was special to Lacetta. There were a few euors and spare change, but nothing that couldn't be easily replaced. There was no cellphone or car keys, so really the purse was for show.

As she continued to laugh with Mrs. Parcell, she broke awake just for a moment as she heard voices, though not what they were talking about. She had left the Inn with it being silent, and as she looked over, she could see Clovis sitting and talking to some of the stranger men that would drop buy.

She thought it odd, but none of her business, so she continued to talk to Mrs. Parcell for a bit, turning her attention back to her with a cheery laugh.

The man looked around the inn before picking up the envelope and looking at the money. The Brute who stood over him never had his eyes leave Clovis, just in case he tried something sketchy. From over the table, he tried to see if Dein had any weapons on him, a gun, a taser, anything at all, but it didn't look like it. He was looking out for the weapons, while the other man, looking at the money, already had a thought in mind when he saw the tiny amount of money (for his services, at least) that was in the envelope.

The cops.

The Brute in seconds pulled out his gun and started shooting at Clovis, while the other man just sat, a smug smile on his face. This would be over in just a few seconds, and they'd be golden.

Only moments ago the Inn had been silent, and Lacetta could only hear her own laugh. Now, something loud was going off, and it felt like it would make her ears bleed as it shot through them.

Her first reaction was to close her eyes and throw her hands over her ears. She had no idea what was going on, but it all was happening so fast. She was fairly confused, and for some reason her heart was racing, and she couldn't make it stop.

Flashes paced through her mind, and all that she could see were the dark dungeons in the Death Eater hideout. She could see the crazed faces of quite the few people, and Earl beside her, dying. Lacetta felt terrified, her hands now shaking on her ears.

Slowly opening her eyes, she could see the men who were at the table, one now with a gun in hand and shooting at the man she had just met, Clovis it was. What did he do? He had been rather kind to Lacetta earlier, and why were these men so violently shooting at him? She panicked, taking a huge breath and squealing as the next gunshot went off.

Where was her wand? She was too frozen to think it through, too frozen to even think to move or duck. Was there any way for her to make it all stop? She hadn't known.

The Brute went down with a hard thud, but that didn't stop his trigger finger. He kept firing as he fell, his bullets traveling everywhere in the room, through the ceiling, through the thrown table, and even through the lungs and throat of poor old Mrs. Parcell...

He noticed the thing going up his leg that was never in this room before, acting on it's own.

"What the f-"

The man who was sitting down was pissed, his face turning sour as he reached into his belt, pulling out a gun of his own. His Brute was on the ground, the dumbass. Bronze and no brain. A girl sqealed, and he hardly even turned his head before he shot, hitting Lacetta in the arm. He didn't need any witnesses willing to testify. And the boy...

He kicked the table out of the way, pointing his gun in the direction he supposed that Clovis would be, ready to shoot.

(I'm so terribly sorry! I've been running around my house all day it seems!)

It seemed like the chaos would never end. The Inn only got louder, and the men appeared to have gone wild. Tables were flipping, shots were flying everywhere and ruining the entire building, and Lacetta saw something that at first was very odd.

It too only a bit of time because she had realized that Clovis had a wand in hand. A real wand, one that was rather capable and had already been used to cast a spell. Though, wasn't this very much more of a muggle area? Isn't that a dangerous thing to have done so openly?

The bigger man stood up, looking very heavy. He looked very, very angry. And suddenly, he had a gun in his hand, too, and even sooner, Lacetta could feel her body bend pushed to the ground, and a vibrating sting filled her arm.

She hit the ground, her arm bleeding and very well knowing that she was shot as her eyes began to water, however it had been something else that made her cry. Mrs. Parcell was next to her, beyond her life any longer. She was dead, and even if Lacetta's wand were readily at hand, she could do nothing. Not a single, little thing.