questions are never indiscreet; answers sometimes are

[amourpropre]

Who: Lucius Malfoy (Sr) and Severus Snape β
What: The older generation have some catching up to do.
Where: Aspic.
When: Misdi late afternoon.

He hadn't been kidding about the mulled wine, because to joke about alcohol is a sorry state of affairs. The scent of it, rich and spiced, permeates the air and almost lends it warmth in contrast to the chill of the outdoors. Presumably, the comfortable tavern offers other things, but everyone has a niche.

Already there before Severus can arrive, Lucius does not put on the appearance of a man preparing to spring a trap. He would probably not be visible if this were the case. He sits in one of the low wooden chairs not far from the hearth, a leg folded over the other and observing the flames and cracking splinter of firewood within them rather than the clientele. He is, perhaps, not as Severus last left him, while also being exactly that; aged a little beyond his years, wearing the resulting weariness and injury of the final wizarding war as something visible if difficult to name. Despite his recline, he is not comfortable.

He is also dressed in Muggle sensibilities, with only the compromise of being a little dark in his colours and overly formal for his surroundings. The tavern boasts a somewhat low ceiling and a bare trickling of clientele; Lucius' occupation of the hearth-side is remarkably quiet, and no one has approached him save to make sure he didn't want anything more to drink.

Cane rests, black and silver, against his leg, with his hand on the hilt as his only but very significant sign of vigilance.

Comments

[subtlescience]

Severus wastes no time in Apparating directly outside the tavern; he is in something of a hurry, not because he has anywhere in particular to be, but because there is one intervening hour before Martha sends in the cavalry. No - fifty-eight minutes.

That isn't to say he doesn't trust Lucius; however, Severus has been snatched from his home, placed in a world he doesn't recognize, exposed to the 'old crowd', and his Mark has been burning. Things are not what they appear, and while Lucius was once his friend, time and tide may have changed him.

He comes dressed in Muggle attire of his own, and by the time he ascertains it's safe to enter the tavern, his wand is out of sight. Sight only - it's well within reach, and if Lucius still has that ridiculous cane, Severus will have no trouble drawing on the drawer, so to speak. So, too, is his wedding band hidden; it has been removed and placed on a chain around his neck. On the Barge, there would have been no sense hiding his marriage, but Baedal is far more dangerous.

Seeing the other man gives him pause; it has been two years, after all, and if circumstances were not nearly so dire, he would feel almost nostalgic. However, Severus isn't the nostalgic sort, this is not a social visit, and he's not entirely certain of Lucius' age. Then, too, there is the question of Lucius' rather odd response to his communication. Mistaken identity - what rubbish. Something is going on here, and he doesn't have a good feeling about it at all.

This is an enormous risk, but one which has become eminently necessary.

"Lucius," he offers by way of a greeting.