Gellertbows his head, closer to hers ( conspiratorially so! ), and his grin isradiant ( summer warmth caresses his cheek with a slow hand, then ascends to tangleeasy fingers into both of their hair, painting them golden. cherub is what his mother used to call him, in her native tongue.perhaps that’s what they’d look like, if they were siblings. golden-headed youths in an endless summer day. Gellert never had a sister. Gellert neverhad any siblings, at all. nor did he desire them, never once. he’d always been his parents’ darling, and they had always been his disappointment. but the idea certainly holds a degree of intrigue, like possibility always does. )
he winks,playfully. rests his elbows on his thighs and shakes his head, curls bouncing.
( he had offeredher chicory and daisies ——frugality andinnocence —— and was immensely pleased by her easy acceptance, small daintyfingers brushing against his and retracting. a ghost of touch. a ghost of agirl. blue and white. he thinks theoffering to be fitting. wildflowers are aseasily overlooked as the simplest pleasures of life. he wonders how much ofAriana is erased and overlooked, much like them. by no fault of her own, livingas a prisoner. ashes, ashes, we all fall —— death. daisies & death. doesgod sprinkle daisies upon the ground of dead infants, or do only chrysanthemumsbloom upon graves? )
“ I won’t tell if you won’t, ” he promises,and it’s half-a-jest and an entire truth. he doesn’t believe for a second thatanything about this could bedangerous, or that there was any possibility of his being unable to turn any of Albus’s displeasure ( with him, with anything ) around intoits opposite. plus, curiosity hasalways been his foremost sin, the one he has always chased with a rabid sort ofdetermination. tirelessly, endlessly. and Ariana? oh, Ariana, this wounded, caged little fluttering bird with broken wings——— made him curious to the extreme.
“ what do you think? do you want to see something neat ? ”
SINCE THE ACCIDENT THERE HAD NOT BEEN one person around her that was not frightened by her mere presence. No matter how much mother used to try to conceal it, or Abe pushed through it, Ariana could not only see the fear in their eyes but also feel it in their magic. With Gellert, though, Ariana saw no fear ━ his magic was free, swirling around them inhibited; gold and red mingling together and creating an unique hue. Around him everything was radiant, curious and conspirational as it approached her and it made her feel jittery, giddy like a rush of adrenaline that wasn't quite her own but no less exciting. No one in her family had magic like that; like a playful fire, warm and brilliant, magic that ran wild and toed the lines of mischief and chaos.
He grins and winks at her, gloden hair shining under the sun and Ariana cannot help but to blush, a faint rosy hue dusting her cheeks as she averted her eyes. Looking instead at the flowers he had given her. She had always liked daisies for it was rare to find a single one alone. The small wildflowers always seemed to grow in multitudes, covering the prairies like snow. And Ariana thought it would be nice not to feel alone, to be a daisy surrounded by others like her, never lonely. As a lone daisy in the vast world, she had lost all hope of ever finding someone who would understand her; someone who wouldn't fear her.
Pearly white teeth worried the rosy flesh of her lips at his next words. Ariana had never lied to her brothers before, after mother she...had been trying to be good ━ to stay clear of Albus and do what Abe told her to, but now, faced with the opportunity to do something, anything other than to just sit through the day in a hazy stuppor, the young girl couldn't say no. Dainty hands clutched the small bouquet closer to her chest, hazy eyes clearing up and, unknown to her, obtaining a glint to them that was very similar to that of her eldest brother. An urge for an adventure, for something new. ❛ Al won't like this.... ❜ she muttered, but stood up, breathing in the summer air into her small lungs. ❛ B-but if we don't tell, maybe it'll be...okay. ❜
Despite her situation, Ariana was a Dumbledore, and their hearts beat to the sound of adventures, of freedom ━ they were birds, rattling in their cages for something more, and maybe Gellert had the keys to her cage. Maybe he would set her, and Albus free. ❛ What is it that you want to show me? ❜