new beginnings (dominique)

[haden]

Hayden stepped into the pub, his boots making noise against the old wood floor, and immediately a middle aged wizard dashed out of his way. His was an intimidating presence, perhaps it was heavy boots, leater jacket, and chains he had draped from his torn jeans. Or maybe it was the dreadlocks and thick rings at his fingers. At any rate, it didn't bother Hayden that people didn't exactly deem him approachable. He still got the jobs, and today he was going to be picking up the down payment for what was bound to be a difficult task. He walked straight up to a man who had draped himself heavily in his cloak in the back corner.

"I was beginning to think that you wouldn't show," he said mildly, shifting to further conceal himself in shadow. Hayden cracked his neck a few times, his dark brown eyes surveying his newest employer. "I keep my promises," Hayden said simply, "if you keep yours." The man chuckled, putting a large red velvet sack on the table. Hayden picked it up and loosened the strings, pushing around the coins inside. "I trust it's all there?" said Hayden, pulling the strings closed so he could tuck the bag into his boot.

"Of course. The rest will come when you deliver." said the man, standing up and vacating the pub. Deciding that he wanted to stick around in the pub a while longer, Hayden took up the man's now empty seat, it gave him a good vantage point to observe everyone else. He leaned back into the shadows of the corner, watching as the door to the pub opened. In walked a very pretty young woman, he smiled lightly to himself, wondering what the evening would bring, and if the woman would be alone...

[dominiqueweasley]

Dominique walked into The Hogs Head not really sure what she was doing here. Of all the places, bars, she could have gone, she was here. Really she blamed it on her work colleagues, they'd asked her to meet them here to begin their night out but she'd just recieved word via an Owl, that two of them couldn't make it due to overtime in work. So instead of going straight home she chose to come in and enjoy one drink before heading back to her apartment.

Thankfully though the Hogs Head had been cleaned up in recent years and was more of a sophisticated establishment. Smiling politely at a middle aged man, she walked to the bar with a small hop in her step, her heals clicking against the hard wood. Laying her purse onto the bar she slid up onto the bar stool, and shot a smile at the bar man, "A butterbeer please..." she said, scooping the needed coins out of her purse.

As she handed over the money and her bottle was placed in front of her, Domi smiled and winked at the bar tender. As she looked around she brushed her hair from her face, her eyes catching on the dark robed Wizard eyeing her at the other end of the bar. Seeing her look at him he smiled wickedly at her, his eyes roaming over her before they returned to her face. Supressing a shiver, Domi turned back around, looking anywhere on the bar but the man.

[haden]

Typical, the blonde that had walked in hadn't even noticed him. Her magnificent eyes glossing over his form as if the corner held only an empty chair. Though of course, Hayden had elected to sit concealed mostly in shadow so he could watch the going-ons of the pub without being disturbed. He reached down to further push the bulging bag of coins into his boot, the hunt would begin tomorrow, as for now it was late, and he was much too distracted by the blonde who had seated herself at the bar. She seemed somehow prettier than other women, fair skin, shiny blonde hair, blue eyes.

Some veela heritage seemed the only logical explanation to Hayden. He tore his eyes away from her to look at the rest of the pub. The night was quiet, especially for a Friday, but that was the way that he liked it. People who wouldn't judge as he got onto the higher rounds of drinks although he was quite alone, or when he smoked like a chimney. Hayden knew it wasn't exactly the best habit, but he liked his cigarettes- the way the smoke tasted, the way they made him feel after he had lit one up.

It wasn't long until Hayden's gaze traveled back onto the pretty young woman, though this time he could tell things were different, she looked uneasy. It wasn't hard to see why, there was some sort of pervert on the other side looking at her quite intently. Hayden narrowed his eyes, the man was seemingly groping her just with a single look. It was disgusting, and already stirring up his protective instincts although he had never said a single word to the woman. Hayden leaned forward a bit in his chair, now watching the wand, his fingers instinctively twitching to grab his wand.

[dominiqueweasley]

Dominique shifted in her seat and sighed, she was no stranger to male attention but this mans leering stares were making even this girl uncomfortable. On the surface though she made sure she kept a uncaring attitude and let her gaze drift around the pub once more, her eyes once more landing on someone in particular. A large muscular, intimidating sort of man was sat in the corner, leaning forwards on his table his eyes trained on something behind her. Domi felt her pulse quicken, then with a small smile she managed to drag her eyes away from him and to her drink.

Taking a small sip of her butterbeer she saw the creepy man at the end of the bar stand and start to make his way over to her and Domi stifled a groan. Placing her bottle down, she smelt the man before he stopped at her side and she struggled not to pull a face. "Well whats a sexy little thing like you doing in here drinking alone?" he asked, his voice sending chills down her spine. "How about I keep you company."

Domi smiled politely and shook her head, "I'm leaving in a short while so thanks but no thanks." she said, shifting ever so slightly in her seat when he continued to invade her personal space. The man though refused to take the obvious hint and instead lifted his hand taking a lock of Domi's hair, and letting his fingers run through it. "Come on, I could show you a time like you've never experienced." he breathed into her ear, seemingly not noticing the barely noticable faint glow that appeared around her, the aura signifying her growing frustration.

Domi smacked his hand away and shot a look of disgust at the man, "I said no now back off." she growled, gathering her hair over her other shoulder as she slipped from the stool and made a move to leave the bar. The man though chuckled and blocked her way, his arms either side of her body, resting against the bar, practically trapping her. Getting to her wand was impossible due to it being in her bag which now rested on the floor. "Now why you being like that sweetheart?" he whispered, moving his hands so that they now gripped her hips tightly. Domi shoved against his chest, having long since given up on anyone helping her...

[haden]

Hayden gave forth a small half-smile when the pretty blonde looked his way, though it vanished quickly as he was watching the man too intently. He didn't like him, and had always had a keen sense on what people's intentions were before they had even acted on them. Hayden narrowed his eyes, continuing to get that uneasy feeling about that man. But he would wait, Hayden couldn't afford being arrested again on unprovoked attack. A feeling alone wasn't evidence enough to justify his actions, he would have to wait until the man actually did something. Hayden racked his neck again, watching the scene unfold.

The man obviously wasn't the kind that took kindly to being told "no," especially when the blonde obviously was not interested in him in the slightest. But she looked like she could handle him on her own- having a bit of fight in her. Hayden smirked a little to himself, he liked that in a woman. However, things seemed to not be going the right way when the man became even more forceful- trapping her against the bar with his own mass. Hayden scowled, now he had really gone too far. He pushed out his hair and walked over to the man, fury in his eyes.

"I suggest you leave her alone," Hayden growled, cracking his knuckles in a menacing way. The man threatening the woman was close to his size, though Hayden was an inch or two taller a quite a bit more muscular than him. Though when it came to wizards size didn't really matter in a fight if magic got involved. Hayden, however, was hoping that he could win this battle by intimidation alone. The man cornering the pretty woman took a step back, now focusing on Hayden.

"Back off, mate, I saw her first," said the man, though he sounded more confident than he looked, his breathing was quick, his eyes far too active, and Hayden could see the vein in his neck pulsating faster than was normal. He narrowed his gaze as he stepped between the man in the woman, using his slightly larger size to his advantage as a barrier. "She's not interested, now go before I get angry," Hayden said menacingly, pushing up the sleeves of his jacket to show off the massive scars from the werewolf bite he had sustained when he was seventeen.

[dominiqueweasley]

"I am not going to warn you again move out of my way." Dominique growled, remembering what her Mother had taught her she held back on punching the guy in the nose like he disturbed. Instead she pushed away one of his hands and made to move only to have him slam his hand back in place. Growling in frustration she looked up at him her eyes burning dangerously, though before she could say another thing a shadow fell over them both.

Thats when she heard him, looking to her left she saw the man who'd previously been sat in the corner, just over a few inches taller than the man who had her cornered. His voice sent a pleasent shiver down her spine and she fought the urge to smile in amusement when the other man backed off her and tried to square up to the other man. "Saw me first...I'm not a piece of meat..." she said, in offence, shooting a look of disgust at the revolting man.

Though her gaze was quickly blocked when the other stranger moved to stand in front of her, blocking her from the creep who'd tried it on with her. Moving to the side just a little she stifled a gasp catching sight of his arms and the scars there, werewolf bites, she knew that much, she'd seen enough of them. Biting her lip she looked up at the man, fighting back a small smile when she thought that he'd gotten up to help her.

[haden]

The woman seemed to have been holding out on her own fairly well, though Hayden was still glad that he had intervened when he did, the man seemed like the kind of person to resort to whatever he needed to get his way. And he could already smell the liquor on his breath, if he was already intoxicated there was no telling what he would do. Hayden narrowed his gaze until his eyes became like slits, drawing himself up to his full height, using the extra two inches to loom over the man, who was, according to plan, beginning to back away slowly.

Hayden felt two sets of eyes on his scars, undoubtedly the woman had been curious as to what was making the relentless man back off. He wasn't shy about what he was, hence why he hadn't spoken to his family in over a decade and why he didn't have a proper job. And probably also why he was alone at his age. He heard vaguely what the woman said, though did not reply, he was much too busy working on scaring off the disgusting man to use many words. He could feel his anger slowly ebbing away, he could sense that he had already won.

"Just wanted some fun," the man mumbled, shooting Hayden a look of utmost loathing, though fleeing the pub like a frightened animal. He exhaled, and then turned to face the woman as he pulled down the sleeves of his jacket again. He quickly looked her up and down, she didn't appear hurt, but was seemingly twice as pretty as he had initially thought. "Are you all right?" asked Hayden, taking half a step back to give the woman her space.

[dominiqueweasley]

Dominique had to admit that even she felt intimidated in this mans prescence, especially when he pulled himself up to his full height, it may have only been a couple inches but the other man was now on the berge of cowering away, so much so it made her chuckle silently to herself, the last thing she wanted was to be the cause of any type of violence, and she hoped it wouldn't escalate but she wouldn't feel bad, she'd warned this man off.

As the creep mumbled something and scurried off out of the bar, Domi smiled and inclined her head up to look at her savious as he turned around. Domi felt her pulse quicken almost instantly, when their eyes met, he was truly a work of art. He tugged his sleeves down covering his large scars, and she couldn't help but what others he had.

"I am, thanks to you..." she said softly, giving him a look of thanks. When he took a step back she felt a tinge of disappointment, unsure of why she did she waved her hand to the bar, shooting the man another smile, "Let me buy you a drink, thank you properly."

[haden]

That laugh, though it had been only a meager chuckle at best, was a good sound to Hayden's ears. He was glad that his tactic had worked, and hadn't required anything beyond a few menacing words and simply looking intimidating. Had the man not backed off, however, Hayden wouldn't have had a problem with resorting to his fists or his wand to get his point across. He supposed that he really did need to work on his temper, and how easily provoked he was to violence, though the unfavourable traits had saved his life on a number of occasions. He needed them for his lifestyle.

And now came that moment where Hayden wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. Under normal circumstances he would have left, going back to his rather cramped and messy flat to perhaps have some scotch or whiskey, whichever he had on hand, and settle down for the night. He had a difficult sounding hunt ahead of him, one that seemed highly illegal, at least more so than the others. But Hayden had been to Azkaban before, and while he didn't want to be imprisoned, he wasn't afraid of going back.

Though before he could excuse himself the blonde insisted that she buy him a drink, to properly thank him for scaring off the creepy man. Never one to refuse a round, he decided that he could be swayed into sticking around for a little while. The woman, after all, was very pretty. Though he would assume she wouldn't want anything to do with him, she was just being polite was all. "If you insist," said Hayden, half-smiling as he seated himself on a bar stool, mentally telling himself not to get his hopes up. Likely nothing would come of it.

[dominiqueweasley]

Domi's smile widened as the stranger accepted the offer of a drink and sat himself down onto a stool at the bar. He give her a half smile, and even that was enough to send her heart racing again, releasing a small breath she turned back to the bar. "Same for me said and whatever this gentleman wants." she said, with a smile and a wink to the bartender who chuckled at the young girl and shook his head once more at her.

As she went to sit herself on the stool however she remembered her purse and quickly crouched down to pick it up from the floor, laying it safely on the bar she finally sat down. As she looked to her right she tucked her hair behind her ear, turning on the stool so her body was facing him. "My names Dominique by the way." she said shooting him a smile.

She pushed a few galleons across the bar for Sid when he was ready to take payment, and she waited for the other man to introduce himself. "Thanks again for stepping in...I have no problem holding my own against men like him, he just surprised me..." she said, feeling slightly embarresed that she'd needed to be rescued, but in a way she was happy because at least she'd met this man, she doubted though highly he'd be the type to go for a girl like her, Domi refused to get her hopes up, and did what she could to control her heart rate.

[haden]

The woman's smile in and of itself was dazzling to Hayden, her flawlessly white, straight teeth, and the genuine nature of it seemed to more than double the effect. The woman ordered herself another round of what looked like butterbeer, and he found his already suppressed hopes fall just a little bit more. She seemed more like the innocent type, not even opting for the strong stuff. "Firewhiskey," Hayden said to the barkeep, who nodded and then set down a heavy, generous glass of the stuff. He found it a bit unusual, bartenders never filled glasses that full, perhaps the man was eager to not spend more time interacting with him than was necessary.

Dominique, a name well suited to her pretty face, at least in his mind. It wasn't a common name, but not so rare that he had never heard of it before, it sounded like a good balance to him. It would be easy to remember, difficult to forget. "Hayden," said he with a nod. If Dominique hadn't figured it out by now, he was typically a man of few words, unless he had something in particular he felt that he needed to say he wouldn't waste his breath on unnecessary words. It was part of who he was, never going for the eloquent or frivolous.

Hayden nodded as Dominique again thanked him for his help with the man, it really hadn't been a problem. For whatever reason he had felt the need to protect her, there was something about this woman that he liked and wanted to shelter from creeps like that man. He had been correct in his thinking that she probably could hold out on her own, but he had gotten that undeniable feeling about the man, that he had been up to no good. Hayden kept quiet, unsure if there was anything for him to say.

[dominiqueweasley]

Dominique smiled again when he gave her his name, it wasn't hard to figure out he wasn't much of a talker, and she didn't mind. Her Father often said she spoke enough for everyone, which she figured was right, once she got started it was hard for her to shut up. "Well then Hayden, I like it..." she said, the last part more to herself than to Hayden, his name really did suit him. As she tucked her hair over her shoulder again she looked at him.

Taking a small sip of her butterbeer she chuckled and shook her head, "I can't drink, chances are I can get summouned to St Mungo's at anytime...plus alcohol goes straight to my head, literally, I'm a lightweight." she told him with a small laugh. It was true, last drink she'd had she'd ended up completely out of her mind. "Butterbeers strong enough for me when I'm out..." she said.

Her friends often found her highly amusing and often tried to force drink on her, just for a repeat of that dreadful night. Biting down on her lip she looked at Hayden again, unable to fully take him in, not being able to help it she had to ask, "That scar on your arm, you were bit by a werewolf?" she asked quietly, what he was really didn't matter to her she hoped that showed on her face, as she continued to look at him.

[haden]

Hayden gave forth a small smile when Dominique said that she liked his name, though he was trying at that particular moment to figure her out. He had always been good at reading people, though women were generally a bit more difficult to place than men were. But it was always helpful to at least have a rough idea of what someone's next move was going to be before they had done it. Reading people was an invaluable tool in his trade, something he felt made him more of an effective bounty hunter than the others offering their services in the alleys.

Hayden nodded as Dominique explained that she was a healer, and needed to stay sober in case she was summoned, and that she was a lightweight when it came to drinks. He wasn't exactly surprised by this, though of course he could drink several people under the table any day. Hayden wasn't sure if it was his sheer size or that he might have built up a tolerance, but alcohol didn't effect him too strongly unless he took multiple trips up to the bar. He had never been a drunk per se, though Hayden found he was a bit heavier on the drink than most people.

He sipped his firewhiskey, not even mildly flinching at the way it burned as it ran down his throat. He was more than accustomed to the sensastion, and had even grown to like it. He turned to fully look at Dominique as she asked if it had been a werewolf that had bitten him. "Yeah," said Hayden, he wasn't ashamed of it, but rather what else had happened that night fourteen years ago.