first of all, rita shrugged gently. “ anytime, ” she uttered as she placed the lid back on top of the container, a faint ‘ tk ’ reaching her ears when it turned a little. the decorated can was then tossed into her bag in a way that made it seem as if the woman had no worries at all. her grin widened for a moment, before she motioned at the spot next to the redhead. “ mind if i sit here ? my legs are killing me. ”
unlike the gryffindor alumnus, rita took her time. answer or no answer, she sat down either way. her sharp eyes caught sight of a drink near them – a hot brew, it seemed – and she indicated to the server that she wished to get one as well. “ your hair is lovely, by the way. i don’t want to trouble you but hopefully you don’t mind me staying for a bit – i was asked to cover some stories around the area but, admittedly, i got a bit … well, scared. i don’t feel safe going out to the streets anymore, let alone someplace like this – ” delicate features fell into somewhat of a concerned expression, and she motioned lightly – “ full of strangers. trusting is hard these days. you were the only one who struck me as kind. ” a lightly supressed sigh left every now and then, the woman trying her very best to appear tense. the conflict around her could go on and she wouldn’t lose a night’s sleep.
“ terrible what’s happenin’ as of late, innit ? ” her gaze sunk, now fixed in the smoke emanating from the recently-placed cup before her.
delicate hands cupped the mug on the table, allowing her palms to soak up the heat. she watched cautiously as the woman took the seat opposite her, not saying a thing. lily had a feeling any protests would fall on deaf ears. for the time being it might be better to go along with whatever rita was up to, while being careful not to give anything away. not that lily really knew anything. she spent most of her days locked up in st. mungo’s, staring at the same four walls and tending to the same elderly patients. and though she loved her job, and her patients, dearly it had started to become somewhat of a bore recently. she longed for something more exciting.
“ i think you’ll be alright in here. ” lily was a regular at the coffee shop, it was her haunt of choice on lunch breaks. it was safe to say the canteen at st. mungo’s didn’t have the most exciting choice of food. at least one thing was constant across both the worlds she lived in, the hospital food left something to be desired. “ i don’t think old mrs blake, ” she nodded towards an elderly witch sat a stones throw away from them reading a issue of witch weekly, “ is likely to go hexing anyone anytime soon. ”
she took a sip of her tea, thankfully now cooler, eyeing the woman over the rim of her cup. this was where she had to be careful, she could end up quoted in the newspaper before she knew it. “ yeah, it’s awful. ” she placed the cup back down on the wooden table with a dull thud. “ but i’m sure the ministry has it all in hand. ” lies.
