If it is real. Private Closed

@Caradoc Browne

Scroll to bottom to see translation.

Tanya stepped into the pub, feeling as though the whole thing was some complicated hoax. Was she even allowed in bars? Glancing at Anja, who looked tremendously confused, she led the way through the crowd. She walked past the various customers and sat down at the bar, trying to avoid eye contact any way possible. Lord, what was she going to do if it turned out to be fake? It would be tremendously cruel for that to be the truth. "Anja, können wir etwas zu trinken?"

"Nein, Ich mag die tassen nicht. Sie sind schmutzig." Anja said, looking over the cups, which were smudged. "Anton werde bald hier sein. Tanya, wie gehts?"

Tanya looked at her soon-to-be adoptive mother, resigned. Did she have to? Yes, she supposed she did have to. After all, it isn't often she finds people she gets along with. "Ich bin okay, so so."

Anja looked her over for a few seconds, and Tanya could tell that she was concerned. She could presume that Anja had seen the bags under her eyes, the way she'd passed out on their way here. She could tell that Tanya hadn't slept that night. Which was partly due to that person, Caradoc Browne, if that was even his real name. Every time she'd started to fall asleep, she'd found herself turning the lights back on and pulling out that letter. She must have read it fifty times the night before.

But after a few seconds, Anja nodded and turned away. Tanya jumped from surprise when she felt Anja's hand on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly before letting go and returning to the bar.

Grumbling, she waved away the barkeep and rested her chin in her hand, waiting. Glancing at her watch, she realized that she was early, and cursed herself in her head. Naturally she'd get all excited and leave early, then get annoyed and worried when she got here and that man wasn't there. She tried to ignore the glances that Anja was shooting her. She pulled her beanie down over her ears again, annoyed once more that it keeps riding up her head. Well, today she was just filled with annoyance. Perhaps it was because of how tired she was.

Getting up, she hefted her bag up and walked to the bathroom, where she splashed surprisingly icy water onto her face in an effort to snap out of it. No matter what, she didn't want the professor to decide not to bring her to the school he told her about. If it was real. She still wasn't sure about him. To be honest, she wasn't sure if she should even be here, what if he was totally insane and just here to lure her out of the group home so he could go and murder her? She hadn't even left a note behind explaining where she was. They might never find her again because she was actually just dumped in a field somewhere.

Well, that was why she had Anja here, she told herself. And while she didn't like the idea of someone hovering over her all the time, she had to admit that she was useful in this situation. She didn't really know if she'd be able to do this by herself. First she'd have to get to London, which was an hour long bus ride at the minimum. Then she'd have to somehow have to deal with all of this. School shopping. It felt ridiculous. Magic school.

Despite her growing anxiety about the whole situation, she forced herself out of the bathroom and walked back to the bar, clutching her bag closer to her in an effort to comfort herself. The door swung open and Anton walked in, the giant man smiling at the two of them. His blond hair was ruffled up, as if he'd been running his fingers through it. The beret that he hated was hanging from his belt, and his uniform was as clean and precise as always. He sat down next to Tanya and wrapped his gigantic arm over her shoulders. At 6'2'', he towered over her. She felt like his hand was bigger than her face.

She grumbled, shifting about in her seat. Anton and Anja were talking over her head. She had only really realized when they got to London how tall the pair was. Anja was 5'7'', and Anton was 6'2''. They were both giants. She barely reached Anja's shoulders at 4'7''. Anton pulled her in for a hug. He was the kind of guy that was always smiling, and always finding ways to try to help. It was disgusting. It drained her energy just thinking about being so energetic all the time. However, she had to admit that he was funny. She tolerated him.

Detaching herself from his hug, she glared up at him. Gigantic blue eyes stared back at her steadily. She gave up and turned her attention back to the bar. Tanya could almost feel the two of them exchanging glances and talking to each other silently. It was almost time for that man to come, and she wasn't sure if she was prepared for whatever was going to happen when he did arrive.