moon river

🐶 our muses come across a wild/stray animal  // @charleshclstein​

Marie had a feeling she’d never let down the sound that exited her mouth as she heard a rustle in the bush next to her, she all but jumped onto the other, gripping his arm tight before pushing him in front of her. “Please tell me you heard that too-…” She whispered. “What do you think it is, a bear? Skunk? Werewolf?” She knew she wasn’t being logical, but with the night sky casting little light on their path everything seemed a lot more sinister.

“Bear?” he blinked, trying really hard not to seem terrified but failing miserable. “Werewolf? Those aren’t real are they?” Charles added, wanting nothing more than to turn invisible right now. Technically if he focused hard enough he could turn them both invisible with a touch. “Should I put up a force field?” he suggested. That was another alternative. “Who knows what’s out here, you know?” Charles tried to keep his tone level. “Could be a bear like you said or... maybe a small bunny? Let’s hope for small bunny, shall we?”

“Pac-man?” Charles exclaimed in a mix of excitement and surprise when he spotted the arcade game standing amongst the others. “I didn’t think arcades had this anymore,” he admitted. “Shall we play?”

“I don’t remember the forecast saying it was going to rain today,” Charles admitting raising the jacket above his and Lily’s heads as best as he could. “Got any clue where we can wait this out?”

“Well, considering that you are my brother, I would call for help after roasting that duck,” Bea shrugged.

“I won’t lie, I’m relieved you’re still willing to fight a duck after getting your amusement out of it attacking me first,” Charles chuckled. “What would I do without a sister like you?”

“Just cause you’ve known me the longest out of everyone, probably, so it means a lot.” She spoke, trying to backtrack over her confession in order to make it not weird between them. Though she was pretty sure she had already went and put her foot in her mouth. “Me too, I normally had Theo to go and talk all my problems at but well-… he’s not exactly talking to me anymore.” She told the other, biting at the inside of her cheek trying to hide how much that fact hurt. “Exactly!” Marie exclaimed, “See, I knew I kept you around for a reason.”

“Probably,” he replied with a light chuckle. When she spoke about Theo he looked to her sympathetically, “I’m so sorry, Marie. It’s never easy when you go through a rough patch with somebody you care about. I’m sure you two will get to talking again like you used to eventually. It’s just going to take a little time,” Charles replied gently. “I knew it was the only reason I still made the cut,” he teased back.

“Dude, you are literally the kid who dies first in a horror movie,” Alexa says. “When you hear a loud noise, you go away from it, not toward it.”

“I mean you might be onto something but... what if someone’s hurt? How would you feel if you found out we could’ve done something to help?”

Lily paused stiffly in place before her head slowly turned to face Charles, “What do you mean?What did you hear?” She asked quickly; Lily had never done any hero training at the academy and as such she never really got the skill of listening closely like Charles. “We?” Lily repeated. If she was honest, her answer would be no. Lily was petrified of the idea, she wasn’t sure if she could be of any help to him. “Uhm, yeah… let’s go check it out.” 

   “You’re a little jumpy, aren’t you?” Lavinia frowned towards the other before shaking her head. “Sorry to break it to you, kid, but I didn’t hear anything.” She didn’t give it a second thought until a few seconds passed and she registered that the young male was nervous. “This may make me a bad person to come to for advice but I say we just walk the other way. Anything happens, I’ll protect you.” If the other knew the truth, she very much doubt that the other would feel safer but luckily for her, he didn’t seem like the type to be able to read minds. “I’m sure it was a cat or something.”

Ruby had heard the loud crash aswell, causing her to jump a little in place until she heard the voice close to her speaking. “Oh yeah, I heard that, that didn’t sound good at all.” She replied as she looked over at him. “I think that we should but make sure that we keep a safe distance just in case.” 

“I heard it but to me it didn’t sound as scary as you apparently thought it was. It was probably someone just throwing stuff into their trash.” Because glass into a bin could make the biggest amount of noise ever. “But if it’s something you wanna check out to make sure, we can do.”

“Yeah... maybe you’re right,” Charles tried to dial himself back. Perhaps he could get a little too paranoid at times. “Checking out might be pointless so... maybe we should just leave it yeah. You’re probably right.”

“Maybe. Though I’m not sure it would have quite the impact if it wasn’t coming from you.” She admitted quietly, looking down shyly and fidgeting with a non-existent loose thread on her dress to avoid eye contact with the other in that moment. “You know you can come to me too, right? I’m always going to be here for you as well.” She wanted him to know that, that this was a two way street and far from one sided. “That’s what I keep telling people but they complain and say that it’s too long, Muggles.”

“Oh?” Unsure of what to reply to that, Charles just felt himself go red. “I know. And I appreciate it– so much. I guess it’s just been a while so I’m getting used to having you around to talk to whenever,” he admitted. “Well sure it’s long but... it’s a time commitment I’m willing to make to rewatch them. They’re classics after all. And not to mention your favorites.” 

“Technically spiders are arachnids, but I totally get your point.” Marie commented, trying not to correct the other but not being able to help herself. “Exactly, you know how high pitched and loud my screaming can be, you’re picking the safest option really.” Marie commented with a pat on his shoulder, “I knew I’d get your attention with that. I may or may not be working on some gadgets that would come in handy for you when out in the field.”

“Po-ta-to, po-tah-to– they’re terrifying and that’s all that matters,” Charles replied, his eyes slightly wide at the mere thought of spiders. “I guess I am. I quite like being able to hear,” he added with a lightly strained chuckle. “That sounds awesome! Is there any chance I can get you to elaborate?”

Marie couldn’t help the smile that came onto her face, soft and sweet and a small hint of a blush colored her cheeks, “I don’t know if anyone has told me I’m worth the effort before.” She commented softly and it meant a lot, especially as a child who had been passed around from home to home. “Yeah, I mean- if I’m stressed or something isn’t going right and I just need to switch off, I know I have you to come to, someone I can talk to or just eat pizza with, or watch Harry Potter.” She chuckled. “It’s nostalgic but in the very best way.” 

“Well that’s a shame,” he replied without hesitation, his heart sinking slightly at the thought that Marie could ever think she wasn’t worth a the effort and time in the world. Charles couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot when she admitted that she knew she could always come to him. “Always. I’m always going to be here no matter what you need, Marie. And I’m glad you know it too. Besides, it’s never not a good time for a Harry Potter marathon,” he chuckled softly.

“You’ll do great,” she assured him. “Animals love you. Even if they’re vicious.”

“Thanks Bea– that comforts me immensely,” he replied with sarcasm riding his tone. “Are you just gonna film my suffering or it something actually happened would you call an ambulance?”