Near Miss [Imogen]

[twyla diamante]

The blind woman felt her way down the street with her cane outstretched. Diagon Alley was a terrifying place to be blind loud, boisterous and full of magic, Aparations and disaparations made navigating difficult and noise pressed on all sides. Twy was exhausted just trying to figure it out. It almost made her want to give up and find a prosthetic. She wouldn't be the first ex-auror to have one, Mad-Eye Moody managed just fine, but Twyla was proud. She would rather not mar her appearance with something as obvious as Moody's eye. At least not yet. Besides... Would it even work for her. Extensive curse damage to her eyes and optic nerves made her sceptical. Then again she wasn't a healer. Though it didn't sound promising. 

She hadn't been casting her cane particularly widely as this thought distracted her and now it smack against someone's ankle. Twyla stopped awkwardly short. God she'd almost crashed into whoever this was. She was almost every stereotypical chance meeting and every incompetent depiction of a blind woman. Blushing, she offered an apologetic, sightless look to where she thought the other's face likely was. "I'm sorry, I haven't needed the cane long and I'm still getting used to it." She said with a blush. She ran a hand embarrassed through her hair. She was just about ready to cry in frustration just now. It seemed like a small thing, but it was the latest in a long series of embarrassing moments. Ever since Twy had lost her sight, she was struggling with this. 

Twy, of course had been in news papers recently, an auror blinded duelling with a dangerous criminal, who had chosen to decline the same prosthesis that Mad-eye moody was offered, and offered a scathing detraction of the ministress of magic. She had never been a fan of Delores Umbridge, and the fact that toad had bested Hermione Granger in the election was shocking and disgusting.  She'd made that well known.

[Deleted]

Imogen was in a strange stage. If it hadn't been for her job which kept her going, she would've been unsure where to go from here. Her husband had a terrible accident with magic which landed him in the Janus Thickey Ward. Their marriage hadn't been out of love but still it felt strange that he was gone. Especially after they recently managed to get her successfully pregnant. Imogen wasn't even sure if she still wanted the baby but her in laws would have her hanged if she aborted the child. And besides it was not an easy decision for her either. Because she did want to become a mother someday.

Despite that the pregnancy was still in early stages, she did want to prepare a little room to bring life back into the house. She decided on the colour soft yellow as it was a neutral colour. The sex of the child was still unknown after all. Today she found adorable little socks and a tiny hat it brought her a little courage about having the baby. After looking at the little socks, she put them back in the paper bag. Something hit her ankle, making her blink. It was probably nothing. Then a voice apologized and she did turn around. She found a woman who had her face turned into her direction but not precisely. "It's quite alright," he said with a gentle voice. She noticed the frustration on the woman's face more than she noticed the cane she was holding. Her healer instinct kicked in. "Are you okay? Your face is all red!" She brought her hand to the lady's forehead to feel her temperature. "Come with me, I'll treat you on a cold glass of juice. Let's find a quiet place," she suggested but already had her hand linked with the woman's.

twyla diamante

[twyla diamante]

Did this woman actually just feel her forehead? She had a sweet, kind voice to her, and Twy felt herself instantly drawn - even before she'd lost her sight one of the things she always adored was the sound of a woman's gentle voice. She found it calming, pleasant. Even if she disliked being coddled, she took a step back hoping not to somehow crash into yet someone else. "I'm fine, really. Just embarassed." She said gently as she took in the other woman. Twy would have preferred firewhiskey, or mead, but if juice was what was going - she still wouldn't turn down a treat. She offered the other a smile, hoping that she wasn't showing too much weakness in that moment.

"I wouldn't say no to a drink. Thanks." And then it happened, she felt soft fingers grasp at her own. What was this? Twy didn't quite get why this woman was taking her hand. Was it pity? She didn't sound piteous? Twy pushed aside the idea that it might be anything romantic, no. This was just a gentle, kind woman feeling bad for nearly crashing into a blind lady, and Twyla hated it but she needed company. She had been reeling lonely, living alone. She was told muggles trained dogs to help the blind but she didn't even know if Wizards had even clued into that possibility yet, at least not on a wide scale.

There was an awkward moment before she felt her fingers, almost unbidden, tighten. "I'm Twyla Diamante." She said hesitantly, to break the silence.

[Deleted]

Immie blinked and tilted her head. She saw no reason for the other woman to be embarrassed. "Embarrassed? For what? For bumping into me? Oh, sweetie, I bump into people all the time. At some point I just accepted my clumsiness," he chuckled softly. "And usually I hit a lot harder than you did." Perhaps she should pay more attention to her surroundings. But the frizzy haired woman often got focused on one thing and forgot about everything else. Which was why she was always great at concentrating on her healing jobs.

"Lovely! I was just in need for a small break myself. Thank you for keeping me company." Imogen walked with the woman's hand in her own, she walked slowly through the crowd. It was so crowded today, was there sale somewhere? She probably missed it. What a shame... "Ah! Sorry about the hand. Sometimes I forget strangers shouldn't just do this," she suddenly noticed and would've pulled her hand back if the other woman hadn't tightened her grip. So she was alright with it? Immie's face softened. "I was afraid I'd lose you in the crowd if I didn't take you. It's quite crowded today," she said softly. She smiled brightly when the woman introduced herself. Now they were no longer strangers and could hold hands like this. "I'm Imogen but just call me Immie," she said in return.

They reached a small place, it was pretty modern compared to the rest of Diagon Alley. "They've got really good juices here. Oh! And pies if you like that. I'm thinking of having an applecrumble pie," she mused as she found them a nice spot.

twyla diamante

[twyla diamante]

Twyla was always a very serious woman. She'd always tried hard, and been very proud, but of course, opposites attract and so as she was listening to a sweet, caring woman musing about juice, and pie, she was fascinated. She wanted to get to know this Immie for herself, which was less unusual for her than she wanted to admit. She loved these more caring, gentle and relaxed souls, even if she never had the heart to be one herself. Still her curiosity was enough to convince her to fall into line and follow Imogen.

It was only when Immie mentioned her hand and how it was awkward that Twy's hand fell to her side abruptly, and she found herself blushing, silent not knowing what to say. She simply muttered a nervous "It's okay." to this stranger before following along still. She was amazed at how soft, and gentle the other's grip was how smooth her skin was. her sense of touch was singing about Immie, she wanted to keep that feeling. She wondered what her eyes were failing to give her. What did Immie look like? Twy hadn't found herself caring about looks since she was struck blind, at least until now. Twy's hand reached out again, and she searched her mind for some lame excuse. "I don't want to lose you in the crowd, and well, my eyes." That was unlike her. She momentarily resented herself for using her condition as an excuse. She was better than that, wasn't she?

Finally they arrived. "What sort of options do they have?" She asked gently, not being able to read the menu was distressing to her she hadn't encountered this situation yet. was she really about to be read to like a child? She was already dying of embarrassment.