Ministry of Magic
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25 years old
Durmstrang Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Alexandra 'Alex' Jäger on Aug 9, 2016 5:57:45 GMT
Another day of work was over, thank Merlin. The DMLE had been in overdrive after the recent Death Eater attacks. One might think that would mean lots of excitement with large-scale raids and actively targeting the Dark Lord’s former followers. But one would be wrong. So far all it had amounted to, at least on Alex’s end, was a sharp increase in briefings, paperwork, and sweeps. The German hit witch was itching for some action. But the full moon was coming up in a few days, so maybe there would be a dangerous werewolf to track down. For now, though, she wanted to hit up a pub and have a little bit of fun. The Hog’s Head was among her usual venues of choice, mostly because the staff didn’t mind Krieger tagging along. The German Shepherd was right beside Alex as she headed inside. It was probably a combination of his fierce gaze and Alex’s confident air that kept most of the patrons from trying anything stupid. Well, that and she had nearly put a knife through the hand of the last drunk to have a go at her. Word got around. Now the other regulars just tended to stick to conversation where she was concerned. She was halfway to the bar when she saw a familiar figure already sitting there - Ezra Wilder, one of the aurors she actually liked. Mostly because he could put up with her without making a fuss. Some of her colleagues seemed to think she had an issue with authority. And following orders. But Ezra just seemed to roll with the punches. “And what would a nice boy like you be doing in a place like this?” Alex teased as she dropped into the seat beside Ezra. Krieger, having apparently decided there were no immediate threats to his mistress in the vicinity, calmly sat down beside her seat. Alex turned away from Ezra long enough to order herself a drink before leaning back comfortably against the back of the bar stool as her eyes roamed the dim establishment. “You know what this place needs? A pool table. Great game. And people always seem to bet against the lady, which just means more money for me.” Alex was nothing if not competitive. She would take up just about any challenge thrown her way. Plus she had a feeling Ezra would be a fun person to play against. The animated ones always were. |
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Ministry of Magic
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27 years old
Gryffindor Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Ezra Wilder on Aug 23, 2016 18:56:10 GMT
Ezra wasn't a huge drinker, and while he was having trouble unwinding and separating himself from his work as of late, he had other ways of doing so. Yoga, mainly. Maybe a little bit of meditation. The past few weeks were interfering with him heavily, though. It was hard to clear your mind when there was so much to think about. He wanted to show his worth as a newly-badged Auror, and above all else he wanted to make this world a safe one to live in. That was going to require a lot of work, on his part and that of others, and he was having a really hard time leaving that all behind at the office at the end of the day. Give him a few weeks and he was sure he could center his mind again, but for now - the Hog's Head.
His mission was twofold. Relax, because the long days were killing him and he needed to blow off steam somehow if yoga wasn't going to cut it right now; and observe, because the Hog's Head was known for its creepy crawlies. It was a less obvious place than somewhere like Knockturn, a place you didn't necessarily expect to have to watch your back, but it was heavily advised all the same. Ezra wasn't here to work, to be sure. Just have a couple of drinks until his mind unwound itself enough to have any chance of sleeping. But if he happened to overhear, or see something that was supposed to be hidden...well, as a man who kept his Auror badge on him at all times, even off the clock, he would just have to do something about that, wouldn't he?
For now, though - cocktails. Ezra was sipping on a margarita when someone fell into the chair beside him, and spoke. He turned his head and smiled at his new bar companion - Alex. She was an intense woman, a Hit Witch in every sense of the term, and Ezra liked it. He liked most everyone, especially when they were passionate about something; it didn't really matter what of, as long as it wasn't like...Dark magic, for instance. "Now Alex, when have I ever been a nice boy?" His almost-giggle at the end of his sentence was beyond enough evidence to the contrary of what he just said. Ezra was nice. Probably the nicest. He could be fierce and intimidating when duty called, but any other old time he was just a big old happy, excitable dude.
Speaking of excitable...Ezra's eyes lit up at Alex's suggestion. Yes. A pool table would be awesome. That was another reason Ezra didn't find himself drinking often; it was all well and good when he was younger, because back then his friends had house parties and parties meant activities. Drinking in a bar just wasn't the same; it was bloody boring, actually. "Absolutely. You hear that, mate? Pool table. You'll pull customers left and right." Ezra nodded excitedly at the bartender, who did not share his enthusiasm and turned away to make Alex's drink. Ezra shrugged and turned back to laugh at Alex's financial observation. "We could probably make one, Transfigure some of the crap in here. Or would the lady partake in a different challenge?" He raised an eyebrow at Alex, grinning. He knew the woman was competitive; gods, it probably ran in her blood, the way she acted. He knew for sure Alex wouldn't let him get bored.
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Ministry of Magic
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25 years old
Durmstrang Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Alexandra 'Alex' Jäger on Aug 25, 2016 0:37:09 GMT
Alex snorted. Right. Ezra was practically the definition of a nice boy. Honestly, the man was a teddy bear. Which normally tended to rub Alex the wrong way. But he was also a fun teddy bear who didn’t get all huffy and offended whenever she spoke her mind. Or broke from the play book. Which pretty much made him the closest thing she had to an actual friend. Although she would never admit it. “How about always,” she said drily. She looked pointedly at his margarita. “Bad boys don’t drink margaritas.” Not unless they were trying to woo a girl whose taste drifted that direction. She shrugged before adding teasingly, “Don’t worry. Girls like nice boys.” Which would sound really awkward if Ezra wasn’t into girls. Alex thought he was, but it had never actually come up before. Whatever. Not that she cared. She wasn’t looking for any sort of hook-up. Just a drinking buddy. Preferably one with some life in them. And Ezra fit that bill quite nicely.
He immediately latched onto her pool table idea. Alex glanced around at the establishment’s current clientele as he suggested transfiguring one. “This crowd probably won’t have much in the way of pocket change. But if you’re up for a little hustle at the Leaky Cauldron some weekend, I’ve been known to play a pretty mean game.” The bartender chose that moment to present her drink – a nice strong scotch – and Alex took a drink while grinning mischievously at Ezra over the rim of the glass. There was a certain magical pub back in Berlin that the magical law enforcement had often frequented after work. Alex had established quite a reputation as a pool player. The game was certainly fun enough in its own right, but the chance to make a little extra on the side was just too much to resist.
Apparently Ezra was in a mischievous mood himself. Alex raised an answering eyebrow. “Why? Think you can beat me at something?” She was always down for a good competition. Although if he opted for a drinking game, Alex was pretty sure she could drink him under the table. A strong German background with a dash of Russian made for a strong stomach with a high tolerance for alcohol. She took another sip of her scotch. “What sort of challenge do you have in mind?”
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Ministry of Magic
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27 years old
Gryffindor Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Ezra Wilder on Aug 31, 2016 17:02:30 GMT
Ezra's joke hit right on the money, making Alex snort - what he would just imagine to be a laugh from the Hit-Witch - and he grinned widely. "Hey, I can be bad." Ezra screwed his face up, trying to look tough and menacing, but lost it after only a few moments before the giggles bubbled their way back up. Probably because of the darn margarita, Alex was totally right about that. The bright green beverage with its little slice of lime on the rim in his hand rather ruined the effect of any menacing he was going to do. "I'll have you know, there's an extra shot of tequila in this." That much was true, but that was mostly because Ezra was a big guy than saying anything about his ability to hold his liquor. His body could just take the abuse a bit more. Ezra laughed when Alex wrapped up the subject of him being such a nice boy reassuringly. He wiped his free hand across his brow and released a dramatic blow of air. "Oh, thank goodness. And here I was wondering how on Earth else I was going to impress you." He rolled his eyes at Alex and grinned. As an unwritten rule, he tried not to mix his relationships with his work. That didn't stop the friendliness and the harmless flirting, though. He felt safe enough with Alex, anyway. He doubted she fancied squishy human teddy bears very much.
Pool wasn't going to be the name of the game tonight, but Ezra smiled at Alex's offer all the same. "I'm there. I just want to see if you think you can beat me, no hustle involved." Ezra was alright at the game. Not hustling-people-in-bars good, but he could shoot a decent a game. As he very much thought she would, Alex stood up to his offer of a challenge of a different sort. "I think I can, ma'am," he said with a wide grin. It was fun for him to see Alex lively like this. Over a long sip of margarita, he considered what sort of game they should play. Most of the things he thought of they didn't have the materials for, much like their pool conundrum. After a moment, Ezra put his drink down and looked at Alex, folding his arms on the bar. "I'll even give you home field advantage. Name your favorite game."
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Ministry of Magic
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25 years old
Durmstrang Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Alexandra 'Alex' Jäger on Sept 7, 2016 5:08:38 GMT
Alex gave Ezra a disbelieving look. “Please. You wouldn’t know bad if it cracked you over the head with a board.” Krieger seemed to agree because he made a light noise from his spot on the floor. Alex shrugged. “See? Even Krieger agrees.” Ezra seemed to agree too because he started giggling. It could be Alex’s imagination, but the margarita might be going to his head a bit. Merlin’s pants, was he really that much of a lightweight? The extra tequila made it a little more respectable, but Alex was still grinning teasingly as she surveyed him. “Look at you, living on the edge. Careful. You might fall off.” Honestly, it was ridiculous how little alcohol some of her coworkers could handle. Back on the German force, being able to hold one’s own at the bar had been just as important as holding their own in a fight. Failure to do either was a surefire way to lose respect in the department. The British just seemed to do things differently though. Ezra threw out some flirting, and had he been drunk enough for Alex to take him seriously, he would’ve been in serious trouble. But it was pretty clear he was just messing around. “Well, it won’t be with your drinking game, I can tell you that.” She took a drink of her scotch as if to prove the point.
She sighed as if in disappointment. “But it’s so much more fun with a little hustle.” Alex could be pretty damn good at playing the damsel when it suited her. Which, granted, wasn’t often. She was far more likely to put a fist through a man’s face. Or a knife through his hand. But when there was a prize involved, she was up for a little acting. It was really the only realm she was any good in. Franz was the true master of controlling his emotions. Alex tended to wear her heart on her sleeve more or less. If she was put out, people knew it. Right now, however, she was the exact opposite of put out. Her eyes sparkled as Ezra offered her the chance to pick the game. Rookie mistake. Anyone who truly knew Alex would know there were only two ways this could end – with drinking or cards. Both of which Alex was fairly likely to win. She swirled her scotch in her glass as she thought it over. “Okay. Here’s the game. One of us makes a statement about the other person. If we’re right, they drink. If we’re wrong, we drink. First one to get too drunk to take their turn loses.” The drinking side wouldn’t be a problem. Alex had an iron stomach when it came to alcohol. It practically took a river to get her solidly drunk. But the concept of the game was entertaining. While her current emotional state might be pretty obvious most of the time, her past and personal life (what she had of one) were kept close to the vest. It was always fun to see exactly what people thought of her though. And just how far off they were.
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Ministry of Magic
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27 years old
Gryffindor Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Ezra Wilder on Sept 17, 2016 16:30:36 GMT
"Isn't that kind of my job?" Ezra laughed. He would certainly hope he would know bad if it reached the point where it was cracking him over the noggin with any boards - though to be fair, there hadn't been training on that exact subject in Auror school. More importantly, though - it was brought to Ezra's attention that there was a dog in the vicinity that he'd somehow missed coming in with Alex. Ezra and dogs got on swimmingly, most of the time. They probably considered him one of their own, what with how friendly and excitable he was. "Krieger!" He exclaimed, leaning down to greet the dog. "My man. Give me paw!" He held his hand out for Krieger to shake, not even bothering to wonder if the dog knew that trick. Such worries were below him right now. He also wasn't worried that Krieger seemed to hold the opinion of his master. That was okay - Alex (and Krieger) and the others were the hard hitters in their field. Ezra rather thought his friendly demeanor gave him his own special advantage as an Auror. He leaned back up to grin at Alex's warning. "Bad boy and a wild one, I know." He laughed when she responded in kind to his oh so terrible worry of how to impress her. "I'll just have to be a good boy, then. Right, Krieger?" He winked at the dog over another sip of margarita.
Alex was certainly proud of her hustle game, which made Ezra grin. He fidgeted on his barstool, spinning side to side. "I kind of feel like I'm supposed to investigate you for saying things like that," he teased. Nothing illegal about a little hustle, he supposed. Certainly nothing Dark. Such behaviors often exhibited themselves in people that were inclined toward the murkier side of life, but Ezra knew Alex was a good bean. Intense, but good. Her game caught his interest, and he grinned again. Alex was going to let him get to know her, an exciting prospect for someone like Ezra - or maybe she was just trying to get him piss drunk. "Sounds fun. You go first, expert, show me how it goes."
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Ministry of Magic
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25 years old
Durmstrang Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Alexandra 'Alex' Jäger on Sept 22, 2016 23:35:48 GMT
Most of the time when it came to people, Krieger looked to Alex first for permission. But he seemed to have picked up on the fact that Alex deemed this particular human safe because he put his paw up in Ezra’s hand. (Yes, Alex might have taught him a few tricks. It had been a way of testing how intelligent he was before deciding he was indeed smart enough to handle commands like ‘chase’ or ‘attack.’) Alex rolled her eyes. Traitor. Whatever. Ezra was one of the few willing to put up with Alex outside of work, so she could put up with her dog selling out. Although Krieger did give her a look when Ezra winked at him. Sometimes that dog seemed more intelligent than most people. Alex just shrugged and tapped her hand against her throat in a signal that Ezra was getting a little tipsy.
He made a joke about trying to catch her hustling, and Alex just smiled innocently as she took a sip of scotch. “You’re welcome to try. You won’t find anything you can prove.” If there was one thing Alex’s father and grandfather had taught her, it was how to cover her tracks. People only knew what she was up to if she wanted them to know.
Ezra told her to take the first crack at the game. “Okay.” Alex narrowed her eyes as she swirled her scotch glass some more as she surveyed her colleague. Best to start with something simple. What did she know about Ezra? He was laid back. Relaxed. Liked to have a good time. Someone who hadn’t grown up having to worry about things. “You… grew up in a family that was financially well off. Got everything you needed, most of what you wanted.” That sounded about right. She shot Ezra a cocky grin. “Now if I were wrong, you would tell me to drink. But I’m pretty sure I’m right, so go ahead. Drink up.” She extended her pointer finger away from her scotch glass to point at Ezra’s margarita. “Your turn, hot shot. Fire away.”
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Ministry of Magic
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27 years old
Gryffindor Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Ezra Wilder on Nov 28, 2016 17:37:03 GMT
Proudest moment of his (tipsy) life - Krieger the dog shook Ezra's hand. Ezra made a surprised laugh and refrained very hard from covering Krieger in pets and kisses, because he didn't really seem like the type of dog that liked that sort of thing. Instead Ezra went with a, "Oh, good boy!" and an amused glance over another sip of margarita as Alex and dog seemingly communicated with one another. Alex would be one of those people to teach her dog to 'talk' to her...which was kind of impressive, actually, if you thought about it. Took patience.
"That just sounds like another challenge. You're really trying me tonight, aren't you?" Ezra grinned at his colleague. An innocent-looking smile on Alex in no way fooled him, but Ezra wasn't going to investigate her all the same. You didn't poke into coworker's personal lives unless something really bad was happening, Ezra considered that one of many unspoken rules around the Ministry. It was for better and for worse, sure, but it usually worked out pretty well for all of them.
No poking around, unless it was part of a game, of course. If Alex was actually willing to open up, Ezra was going to take his chance. He let her go first, watching her with an amused grin as she made her guess about him. That amused grin turned into a slightly impressed smile as she guessed correctly; and she knew she did, too. It wasn't really that hard to tell Ezra came from money, he supposed. "Right on the money," he grinned, taking a sip. When he put his drink back down, he made an exaggerated show of examining Alex for truths, narrowing his eyes and running his hand across his beard. "You...love that dog more than you love most people." He would start easy, too. Ezra raised an eyebrow and waited for the verdict.
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Ministry of Magic
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25 years old
Durmstrang Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Alexandra 'Alex' Jäger on Dec 14, 2016 2:51:44 GMT
Alex was right, just like she had known. Ezra actually seemed rather impressed as he took a sip of his drink. Judging from his slightly tipsy movements, this game might not last very long. Might as well enjoy it while it did. His first guess was right. Although it probably wasn’t that hard to figure that out. Alex shrugged. “All people, actually, but I’ll give it to you.” She grinned over the top of her glass as she took a drink. Krieger had been a better companion than any human Alex had met. Except maybe her mother, but Karolina had been in the ground for years. So was Alex’s father, although she didn’t miss him. She did miss her brother occasionally. But Franz had grown up to be their father’s sadistic creature. That just left Krieger. Alex leaned down and gave the dog a small scratch behind the ears. Her faithful companion was more than enough for her anyway.
Now it was Alex’s turn. She gave Ezra a weighing look, twirling her glass lightly on the bar as she did so. “You’re the hero type. Always out to save everyone or cheer them up.” He certainly seemed the sort. Usually that kind of person made Alex queasy. They were always trying to save her poor broken soul. But Ezra seemed more subtle, preferring to make jokes instead of asking Alex to spill her darkest secrets. At least his hero complex was entertaining. She could live with that.
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Ministry of Magic
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27 years old
Gryffindor Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Ezra Wilder on Jan 5, 2017 2:40:29 GMT
Ezra laughed at Alex's confirmation. Aha. All people - that's what he should have said. Alex loved her dog more than all people. Ezra watched with a thoughtful grin as the woman took a sip of her drink. She really wasn't so bad, once you got to know her. Yes, Ezra was drunk and he liked pretty much everyone...but Alex was good people. He knew that as a truth, confirmed by the sweet way she treated her furry companion. Mean people didn't pet their dogs nearly as much - maybe that's what was wrong with them. More dog pets! Ezra could change the world with that idea.
Or by being a hero, apparently. Or hero 'type', whatever that meant. Ezra laughed again, rubbing his chin in consideration. Was he always out to save people, like some sort of superhero? "I dunno. I don't really do it on purpose. It just happens." That wasn't a brag. Ezra really didn't start his day out thinking about who he was going to save or who he was going to make laugh. He just saw opportunities to do so, and he took them as they came. He grinned at Alex again. "But since you gave me one, I'll give you one." Anything for another delicious sip of margarita, which he took with the sudden realization he was near the bottom of his fancy glass. He stared into it for a moment before looking back at Alex and staring at her for another moment. "It's really hard to figure you out, did you know that? I think you shut people out...but I can't figure out why." Ezra slurred a little bit, but he was still grinning. He wasn't even sure he was playing the game anymore, excited as he was that Alex was actually speaking words to him.
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