Bodies in the Bodhi tree
Bodies making chemistry
Bodies oF my family
Bodies in the way of me
Bodies in the cemetery
And That's The Way
It's Gonna Be

@xiomara
It's his favourite idk

There was nothing quite like coffee on a friggin' freezing day, sitting outside a Casino because he was at a loose end. The dog- the dalmatian he'd bought Hestia- was passed out under the table since he'd been working it as hard as his Quidditch team so he didn't even have canine company for the moment. What could he say? The pup was hyperactive at best and had been in serious danger of getting on his nerves. Hestia was in an office all day. Someone had to look after the animal. Besides... Gerald quite liked dogs as a general rule. When they weren't peeing everywhere and falling over themselves with glee whenever someone paid them attention. He'd always imagined one day that he'd get one, but he didn't think he'd be getting it for someone else, and nor had he planned on it being a dalmatian.

Why had he chosen a dalmatian? A temporary leave of his senses, clearly. Or perhaps he'd been thinking too clearly. While he personally would have preferred a husky or an akita as they were big working dogs, Hestia didn't have the time nor the resources for one. She needed a decent sized hound that wouldn't demand too much but would be a great companion, would compliment her as a person. So here he was. Sitting with said dug. While it snored under the table and he did his best to ignore it in favour of savouring the coffee in front of him. As soon as the dog woke up, he'd walk it back to her place regardless of how long it took, then he'd jet off for team practice in the evening. So far, he had his day fairly well planned out. If things worked out he might even see the bonny witch before the night was through.

It was fairly busy, so he was banking on someone coming to snatch the empty chair across from him sometime soon. Maybe then he'd actually get some stimulating conversation to show for the energy he'd spent today. It had been a while since Gerald had taken charge of an animal, and he'd almost forgotten how taxing they could be. It didn't matter though. He would soon end up back in the swing of things if the thing between him and Hestia was fit to last. If not... well, then he would just have to find another dog.

Free time, oh sweet merciful Merlin, she had not had it in months. Between the maid being there to help constantly, and Peter’s hovering before she had the babies, it was insanity. She needed time to herself that did not include work, so she gave the babies to Margaret and Peter for the night and then was off for a night on the town. She didn’t have many gal friends that she could have fun with , so she was out alone and had put her self out for a night at the casino. Of course, it had been a long time since she had even thought about going out alone and from the moment that her foot was out of the house she felt the guilt welling up inside her.

She loved her children more than she loved anything in the entire world. The cute little bundles of joy were her entire world, and she felt so lonely without them. She was dressed the part at least, to look like a proper pureblood lady and not like some lady of the cloth like she had taken to doing when she was at home. She id her hair and pinned it up and put on the jewelry she had been given upon having the babies, her fingers were still too swollen to wear her wedding ring though.

She was walking towards the entrance of th place when she saw a man sitting just outside with the cutest dog with him. She stopped because she couldn’t help herself. ”Aw, the poor baby is so tired and so cute.” She said with a laugh before looking up at the man. ”Dogs are the cutest, are they not?” She wanted one, but Peter said no, to wait until their babies were a little older, but she really wanted one anyway. She would end up with one before the summer, she knew it well. It was always that way. She got her way in the end, one way or another.

Outfit

As a kid he'd wanted a pet for years up until he actually spent some time around his older brother... and then decided it was better for all parties involved if he just shelved the thought instead of voicing it. In school he had had an owl but he kept her outside of the house when he went home for the holidays so she would still be alive when the next term arrived, all the way up till Raymond moved away. But she had been out of need not want. The school letters allowed one of three types of animals and the owl had been the most practical and useful of the lot. As well as the least likely to come up against Raymond. When she finally died of old age he didn't bother in replacing her as he was in a job that supplied a vast array of the birds and there had been little point in having one around just so he could call it his own. Plus he travelled a lot and it wouldn't have been fair to consistently ditch it, in theory. Sure they were very independent creatures but they still required a certain level of human interaction otherwise he wouldn't have been able to approach it with a letter or parcel again.

He had done a lot with his life up until this point... in fact, there was very little he hadn't tried at least once. Just because he could. Because he had a thirst for knowledge that he could only learn firsthand. And also because he stood to grow bored very, very easily. The one that had nearly snagged him for life was being an Unspeakable... but the fling with Roichele had driven him off of enjoying entering the Department after a while when he drew it to a close. Mungo's had been brilliant and he'd learned a lot and helped a lot. And there was no guarantee that he might not change career tracks and go back even yet, but for now he was content with being the Arrows Coach. Proud, even. Quidditch had always been one of his ultimates... and one day he would own a team, not just coach it. It wasn't a day that was close, though nonetheless he made sure to keep an eye on things. Just in case. It was better to have a lifeboat on standby than to wait until the ship was already going down to look for one.

"They can be, depending on the breed." He replied lightly, an amused twist to his mouth as he took in the woman standing in front of him. A Crabbe, if he wasn't mistaken, and by marriage. But the Crabbe's didn't interest him so he let it go without piecing together which one she was married to. "She'll probably sleep for another forty five minutes or so. Do you own one, yourself?"

As a child she had been allowed pets, cats and birds and things that she and Malissa had grown attached to. She had clung to them when Malissa had been taken away but when she came home from school for the Christmas holidays they were taken. What happened to the she would never know but she had been told that it was to keep her from being weak, that she had to be strong, that she needed a straight head on her shoulders and that being attached to anything, that feeling love, was a weakness and it would only end with her getting hurt. So she had let her cat go, she had let the owls and that puppy go. She never changed who she was a person, much to her mother’s chagrin, but Xiomara could never change who she wanted to be.

She had thought about asking Peter if they could get a dog or a cat or something. They had elves and the maid to help clean up after it and though she had the babies they were just still needy. They were too young now to be anything but what they were, infants. They couldn’t give her love and Peter was still not completely adjusted to having the three babies around. She knew that he was overwhelmed but it made her feel so shitty. She didn’t know what to do any more to make him happy and it was hard enough to be a mother alone, even with Maggie helping her she was still pretty much alone.

”I used to have a Corgi, her name was Bess. I thought I was funny as a child. My sister called him Sir Rump-shaker. “ She joked and toyed with her bracelet. Xiomara knew better than to touch anyone else’s pets without their permission and that animals were likely to bite if they did not know the person so she kept her distance easily and wished that she had one. ”I’ve always loved animals though.” She decided to introduce herself and stepped forward, holding out her hand with a smile. ”I believe I saw you at Lady Parkinson’s wedding. I’m Xiomara Crabbe.”

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