Beat It With A Stick {Open!}

[NPC]

Circus Master Fluméir strode down the street, oozing confidence and acting like the overly confident and arrogant prick that he knew he was, the cart following behind him as it was supposed to. On the back of it a Dragon was tied looking like the evil scum he wanted it to look like. It was harmless, of course. The damned thing didn't even know how to breath fire anymore, but that didn't change the fact that it looked vicious and dangerous. What people didn't need to know, was that those angry roars they heard were actually pain, from the constant curse that kept the beast at bay. It was all for entertainment, and it had to look the part. What person didn't like the idea of taming and beating a wild and dangerous beast?

Fluméir slashed his whip through the air, two assistants beside him twirling theirs as if they were batons. "Step right up! Two knuts a lashing! Tame the beast! Two knuts!" It was popular, but he knew some people, or rather, some cultures, saw it differently. Not everyone was going to agree with it.

[Deleted]

Rose nursed the cup of tea between her hands, taking slow sips, mind not particularly focused on anything. The Lawson family owned a tiny little flat in London – all they could afford – and it always looked like a whole house’s things had been crammed into it. There wasn’t really a dining room, more like a little round table with four chairs between the kitchen and the telly room, where Rose found herself sitting on a lazy afternoon. She could hear her mother working in the kitchen, and her father and brother were out somewhere, and Rose felt an overwhelming sense of entrapment. Their cramped little flat honestly wasn’t going to do – it was the summer holidays! Rose was supposed to be out doing fun things, not drowning herself in a cup of tea.

Her eyes looked around the room, placing down her now finished cup of tea, as if something new and exciting would have sprung up in their TV room while her mind wandered. She had no such luck.

“There’s no point moping, sweetheart,” she heard her mother say as she entered the room, nightgown fastened over her sweatpants and t-shirt, blonde hair in a ponytail on the top of her head. Rose didn’t reply to her mother’s typical chatter, but did make the effort to look at her. “You know, there’s a job open at Derick’s if you’re so bored.”

Rose couldn’t help but groan softly and mumble, “Oh, that’s great, the Butcher’s.”

“Well, it might do you good!” Jackie urged, sitting down on the couch directly across from the television. ‘Then why don’t you do it, then?’ Rose thought but before she could reply, she heard the post drop through the slot in the door and onto the welcome mat.

Thanking God, she stood up. “I’ll go get it.”

Two white envelopes adorned the matt, scattered over a monthly TV guide and a magazine. Rose picked them all up and wavered in the small hallway, eyes on the magazine cover. “South America, an amazing escape!” There was a beautiful picture of a green forest, Rio de Janeiro’s lights behind it. Rose bit her lip. That’s exactly what she needed, wasn’t it? An amazing escape...

“Mum,” she started, having made up her mind as she walked back to her mother. “I’m going to pop to Shareen’s for a bit.” Rose put down the post on the little table and shrugged on her hoodie as she put her cup in the basin.

“If you go ‘round the shops, we need milk.”

Rose nodded and quickly kissed her mum’s cheek before making out of the flat. The view of London’s tall buildings outside was a bit of a relief, but hardly what was waiting for her. Heck, she hadn’t talked to her late childhood friend, Shareen, for probably a year, but it was a useable enough of an excuse. Her wand was stuffed into her jean pocket (Extension Charm required) as she made her way to the staircases. No one was around. Rose took out her wand and concentrated. This was her first summer holiday where she was allowed to use magic, and now she intended to do that exactly. Even more exactly, Apparating to South America. She visualised the picture on the magazine cover and concentrated.

With a pop, Rose Lawson seemed to disappear from staircase B of the Powell Estate, and reappeared in a street alley in Rio de Janeiro. She couldn’t help but laugh softly in relief. She’d never Apparated further than Croyden before.

Rose looked up as she heard a noise she hadn't expected. A whip? Why would anyone have a whip? Some sort of street performer? Rose followed the source of the sound and peered out from behind a small building. "Step right up! Two knuts a lashing! Tame the beast! Two knuts!"

Her hand instintively reached for her mouth as she saw what was in the cart behind him - what he offered two knuts a lashing for. Rose's favourite subject at Hogwarts had always been Care of Mgical Creatures, and she'd been born with a very good sense of right and wrong, so her gut twisted at the sight before her. There was already a small crowd around the madman and the locked dragon. "This is wrong... this is so, so wrong..." She voiced softly to herself. She couldn't just stand there and do nothing!

A rather burly looking wizard stepped forward with a grin that made Rose want to slap him with all of her might. While her mind to her it was futile, the sight of him with a whip in his hand, the other passing over two bronze nuts to the sadistic Circus Master, made her need to do something. She stepped forward, no plan or idea in mind, but her morals pushing her forward, but something held her back. Or, more like, someone.

~outfit~

[Raphael Dane]

Africa had been... Decent. Okay, he had to admit the place wasn't bad at all, even if it was just a little resort. And Elizabeth had been there, which certainly made the whole thing more bearable to deal with. He'd still been pretty pissed that they didn't go to Australia this summer, but he parents seemed pretty set that they were doing things differently. Well, if he didn't get his month in aus, five days in Africa certainly didn't make up for it. He couldn't deal with being around his parents stuck at home any longer, so hedged decided to be spontaneous and take a random and unplanned trip to south America. 

Thered been something going on which was a damn good thing, because he was so freakin' bored and fed up of home that he needed some new entertainment. He found himself standing on a street where some sort of festival or parade seemed to be going on. It was a start. And it was sort of amusing. He stood there with a bottle of... Something. He didn't understand the label but at least it was alcoholic. Ahead he could see a guy offering lashing of a dragon, and people, mostly locals from the looks of things,seemed to be diving at the opportunity. 

"This is wrong... this is so, so wrong..." 

He looked to his right to see a familiar blond standing there, looking horrified at what was going on in front of her. Well who'd have though, it was was Rose Lawson. What was she doing in a place like this? He knew her well enough from quidditch to know that she was planning to act, and he held out a hand in front of her. He didnt really put much effort into the gesture, and didn't even move away from the wall he'd been leaning against.  "Slow your bludgers, darling'. There's nothing you can do about it.

[Deleted]

It wasn't that it was a particularly forceful gesture that kept her back from marching up to the Circus Master, but more who was behind it, that stopped her in her tracks. "Slow your bludgers, darling'. There's nothing you can do about it."

Raphal Dane, Hufflepuff Chaser in her team and in South America? Since when?

"Yeah, that doesn't really make me feel any better," she replied, taking a step back and looking away with an instinctive wince as the whip lashed against the dragon's scales. "There has to be something, I can't just stand around and let them torture that poor creature for their own entertainment..." she'd said softly, contemplatively. Hands balled into fists in her arms, she tried not to let it get to her too much as she addressed Raphael.

"What are you doing here? Did you drink England dry?" Rose asked, unable to supress that wit of hers. Of course, it wasn't that she didn't like Raphael (that's why she couldn't help but poke fun at him) since he was an excellent chaser, when he was actually listening to her. She'd never had a problem with Raphael, but she did have a problem with being kept back. Another lash was heard and a roar of pain from the dragon and Rose gave him a look that clearly said 'God help me, I'm going to kill that man'.

[Raphael Dane]

"Yeah, that doesn't really make me feel any better,"

Of course not, but that didn't change the fact that there really wasn't a lot she could do. I mean, what... did she think she could just walk up to the guy and tell him to stop it? She wouldn't even have the backing of the crowd because they were clearly enjoying giving it a go and joining in. They'd all just think she was crazy and trying to spoil their fun or something.

"There has to be something, I can't just stand around and let them torture that poor creature for their own entertainment..." 

"They'll have be doing it for ages. Months... years... It's not like the dragon has never been through it before now." He knew he sounded cold and heartless saying that, but if there was one thing he'd learnt by now, it was that sh*t happened and sometimes you just had to let it. There was nothing that could be done about this. To most people around here, it was just an animal, so what did it matter. Even the authorities probably wouldn't give a damn about it.

"What are you doing here? Did you drink England dry?" 

"There's only so much of my parents I can bare. And one week in Africa does not match the usual freedom of three or four weeks in Australia. They're driving me insane." He missed Australia... Why he didn't just go there, he didn't know. Probably because there was no option to get to Australia and this seemed the next best alternative. It was this or some stupid concert in France, and no thank you to that. He didn't fancy sitting in some stuffy opera house or something listening to someone squeak and squawk in another language. "But now you mention it, I wouldn't mind another drink. And I think you could use one yourself."

[Deleted]

"They'll have be doing it for ages. Months... years... It's not like the dragon has never been through it before now."

Rose crossed her arms, trying her best to ignore the sound of the whip hitting the defenseless reptile's scales. "Yeah, that really doesn't make me feel any better, thanks. Oh, so torture's not new toit? That's just great. I can't do anything about it? Even better." She took a breath. God, she wasn't acting like herself... Well, maybe 'herself' if she saw animal cruelty every day. "Sorry," she added quickly and softer, trying to unclench her fists. Raphael knew her good enough to know that this wasn't the normal cheery Rose, but she just hated feeling so useless. Another lash was heard and she couldn't help a small wince. She turned her attention to Red.

"There's only so much of my parents I can bare. And one week in Africa does not match the usual freedom of three or four weeks in Australia. They're driving me insane."
 
A smile tucked at her full lips. "I can understand that," she said. Hell, she had come here to get away from it all, because she was bored. Now she was... Well, maybe bored hadn't been so bad. Then again, ignorance wasn't always bliss. "But now you mention it, I wouldn't mind another drink. And I think you could use one yourself."

Rose gave him a look that clearly said 'alchohol isn't the solution to everthing' but, depite that,  reached out and took a swig from his bottle before pushing it against his chest for him to take back. She chuckled. "Of all the people I could have run into a bloody ocean away, it was going to be you, wasn't it? Like I don't see you enough."

Another lash, a hard one, and Rose let out a groan, glancing behind her to the scene before looking back at him with that spark of anger in her eyes again. "I am going to kill that man." Not that she'd ever be capable of murder, but dear God, she would throw him into Azkaban herself and never look back. For a compassionate girl like her, that was saying something.

[Raphael Dane]

"Yeah, that really doesn't make me feel any better, thanks. Oh, so torture's not new toit? That's just great. I can't do anything about it? Even better. Sorry,"

He could kinda understand where her frustrations were coming from, but he knew that there really wasn't anything that could be done about this situation. "People are paying for it. It's just life - culture, here. If you said anything they'd probably all think you were crazy." They wouldn't take all too kindly to some blond teen getting gobby with them and having a go at their way of having fun.

"I can understand that."

Parents had a way of getting on everyone's last nerve, it seemed. Just because there was only a few weeks in a year spent at home didn't give them a reason to go all crazy and start mollycoddling and stuff. They just had to wait until you'd finished school completely then you'd be around for them to pester about as much as they wanted to. His, especially, needed to stop acting like he was some innocent, naive thing and realize he was about as far from that as he could be. The memory of his father offering to buy him his 'first legal drink' still lingered in his mind.

Rose took the bottle from his and necked a load, before shoving the bottle back to him. Raphael just laughed. Typical bloody Rose, that was.

"Of all the people I could have run into a bloody ocean away, it was going to be you, wasn't it? Like I don't see you enough."

"Now is that any way to talk to you best friend, eh? You love me. What would you do without me?" He only really knew Rose through being on the quidditch team together for a few years, but that didn't mean they hadn't gotten to know each other fairly well over that time. They were the same year and everything, so it figured that they'd become familiar around each other. 

"I am going to kill that man."

"Ooookay," He grabbed her arm and started to steer her in the opposite direction. Anywhere was better than standing near the dragon lashings, since it seemed like Rose was about to explode with anger if she heard any more of it. "I'm taking me up on that drink offer to you whether you like it or not." There was what appeared to be a little pub not far away and, with a sigh of relief, he steered them in that direction.

[Deleted]

"People are paying for it. It's just life - culture, here. If you said anything they'd probably all think you were crazy."

Rose hated knowing that he was probably right. Cultures had different ways of doing things, and what would be unspeakable in the one would be traditional in the other. Dragon lashing seemed to be one of those things. Despite reason, though, despite every logical thing he's said, she still hated the thought of doing nothing. But it was just one of those things where the smart thing, and the brave thing, was to walk away. The blonde took a breath in and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, you're right." And with that, she pulled her hot pink jacket's sleeves and crossed her arms, deciding there and then that she wouldn't turn around again. Not even once. And she would definitely try her best to not think about it again.

Raphael laughed as she shoved the bottle back to him and Rose couldn't help but try a smile. "Now is that any way to talk to you best friend, eh? You love me. What would you do without me?" Attack that man over there? No, dammit, Rose, stop thinking about it.

"Definitely not win all those Quidditch matches, you big old lump," she replied, pushing her curtain of blonde hair behind her ear as she smiled. Damn him. She was upset, she wasn't supposed to be smiling.That was one thing about Raphael; he always had this way of making a person laugh. Even from being just so ridiculous, or actually being quite funny. Now, Rose was kind of glad for it.

After her death thread, he took her arm and steered her. She groaned, only a little bit playfully but went with him nonetheless. "I'm taking me up on that drink offer to you whether you like it or not." Now, drinking wasn't something Rose did really often, but wasn't all that bad at it. She could handle her alcohol but still have a good time. Spotting a bar, she figured that was where they were headed and twisted her arm out of his grip. "No need to go all hostage about it, I'm comin'," she laughed. "First round's on you. Promised my mother I would get milk, now look a' me, wingin' it in Rio."
 

[Raphael Dane]

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right."

Raphael grinned. "There's something I don't hear very often." Which was true. Very few people were willing to admit that he was right about something, even when they'd realized for themselves that he was. 

"Definitely not win all those Quidditch matches, you big old lump,"

He grinned, again. "I'm the reason for all those successes, eh? Sounds like more of the team should forget about learning and focus on having fun and playing the game." Why people cared so much about getting grades he really didn't know, but it seemed to be a... thing. Eh, some people just clearly had bigger aspirations in life than what he had.

Rose slipped out of his grasp as they headed away from the thickest part of the crowd and towards the pub.

"No need to go all hostage about it, I'm comin'. First round's on you. Promised my mother I would get milk, now look a' me, wingin' it in Rio."

Raphael looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "How did getting milk lead you here? I'm sure the milk tastes the same no matter where in the world you get it from." They reached the door of the pub and he pushed it open, heading inside. It was quite and mostly empty, but there was a small muggle telev... tellie.... well, one of those screen thingies they had. There was one of those on, showing what he thought looked like football, and the few patrons there were seemed to be gathered the screen. "Lively place..." Well, it was better than nothing.

[Deleted]

"There's something I don't hear very often."

Rose couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, don't get used to it, seaweed brain," she said, because what was a friendship if not completely consisting of quips and well-meant insults?

"I'm the reason for all those successes, eh? Sounds like more of the team should forget about learning and focus on having fun and playing the game."

"Not a strategy I'll propose at the next practice," she said, giving him a look. "Honestly, how do you pass your subjects? Aren't you allergic to books or something? Or afraid they might bite you?" Rose liked to have good grades. It made her parents happy and made her future brighter, as simply being great at Quidditch could only get you so far. And, since there was a war going on, the smart thing to do was gather as much knowledge about as many things as you can. Rose wasn't intending to just stand back and let the war unfold. 

"How did getting milk lead you here? I'm sure the milk tastes the same no matter where in the world you get it from."

Rose rolled her eyes. "It was an excuse to get out of the house. I was being suffocated with boredom. Guess you understand that." And with that, they pushed open the doors and entered the quiet pub. "Lively place..." She chuckled and walked in nonetheless. 

"Guess we'll have to change that," she said before facing him. "Hang on... right, how are you expecting we pay for anything? All I have are Galleons and some quid, and I don't think that's the South American currency." She raised an eyebrow.