* MERCY / less.

   the world was HIS. lucius felt like he was ruling it, with his name gracing the prophet, not because of his involvement in the seige of st mungo’s, but because he was helping them. the malfoys had been financial supporters of the hospital since its early days, had a painting hanging on some wall with a blonde male on it that shared lucius’ eyes. it seemed only right to continue the tradition and aid the hospital in these dire, dire times. and so lucius had done what he did best: he’d owled a caterer, a pianist and a string quartet, as well as his favourite tailor. organising events like fundraisers came natural to lucius, and it helped keep his name clean. “such terrible times,” he mused, while moving through diagon alley, eyes falling on a person near him. “it’s a good thing people are giving back — have you thought about donating to st. mungo’s?”

    it wasn’t right, to lash out to the bystanders, mary knew that, somewhere. she felt icky as she watched the woman hurry away, her eyes following her for a moment. on another hand, she felt relieved: at least that was over. she felt useless, standing there, repeating the same cordial lines over again and again, not really doing anything but wait until there was something to do. it was maddening. she hoped to get a slight moment of peace, a few minutes without civilians approaching her, but she didn’t get one, of course. she should’ve picked another career path, if she wanted a peaceful life. “don’t even get me started,” she said, glad that there wasn’t another question that she couldn’t answer ( even if she sometimes wanted to ). “i mean, i get that people are concerned and scared to death, but it’s … it’s frustrating, to say the least, when they can’t understand that this is how things work. not much i can do.” there were plenty things she could do, might do, but that she kept to herself.

“ fear sometimes makes people forget how to act like people, “ mercy said. simply stated --- with a shrug, faraway concern in her eyes --- it seemed like the sort of platitude people needed to hear when things were in such a state. never mind that she wasn’t quite certain she agreed with it; if she was asked, and in the habit of honesty, she might amend that fear made people forget that they had to act like people. she knew, from the viper’s nest she’d been raised in, that humanity was something slipped on: a cloak, a mask. most people would jump at the chance for wickedness, and that’s what this situation proved; it wasn’t the fear that made them lash out at helpless aurors and it wasn’t concern that made them toss out mutilated bodies. it was opportunity. but mercy was not an honest person, so she slipped an apologetic smile onto her face and tossed it, megawatt, in mary’s direction. “ it’s not your fault, and if they were in their right minds they’d remember. look --- I’m fine, but I can pretend to need your consoling if it’ll give you a free minute? “ a free minute in exchange for trust, maybe, that mercy could use for wayward information. 

the man sighed, as if the question was what exhausted him. who would think of attacking a hospital ? he wished to have whatever type of shock she was experiencing ( even if he felt that deep down, such a thing probably didn’t shock her - but little did he know about the rest ) but his world had become a place of sharp edges that could cut anyone deep. he’d seen enough, CHASED enough to know just the kind of people that would think of attacking a hospital. “ they don’t want a massacre. did you see the patients getting out ? they’re looking for propaganda - that’s why they’d attack the hospital. “ sturgis at last turned to look at her, a face he now saw so little of even though it was well known and ( dare he think ) somewhat dear to him. at least once before. “ why are you here ? “

“ if i didn’t know you any better, i’d think you were being sarcastic, “ he noted lightly, trying to ignore the way her fingers tightened on him. it was a ploy. it was a game. it was all a game. that’s all their relationship had ever been. neither of them knew how to stop playing. if he were being honest, liam couldn’t even remember where it all started, where they’d begun it. though he didn’t exactly enjoy thinking of the consequences of it if he lost it.

the biggest consequence was still at the forefront of his mind- his sister, that hospital, the monsters running around it. but throughout the day he’d fallen into multitasking, extinguishing the fires outside as they popped up only to have the smoke of one start to smolder and burst into flame somewhere else. it was easy to pretend you weren’t thinking of what you really were that way. a silver lining in all of this, he guessed. his mind, his thoughts kept running. he always had something he had to be doing, some crisis that needed to be resolved. it was the only thing keeping him going at this point.

he took a step away from her as she spoke, making the gap between them a little wider. “ no offense, but i’d rather have a professional take a look at it. already fucked it up enough on my own as it is. ”

“ well, in a time like this, “ mercy shrugged her shoulders. did he really know her all that much better? because mercy herself wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic; after all, the situation was a ticking time bomb of stress. the sides were blurring with each appearance made by edgar bones; each bare bone hint of what was going on behind those doors. she hated waiting, bit she’d hate getting involved even more. and if she let that kind of thing show, mercy knew she’d willing to bite the head off the next person she had to bat her eyelashes at to complete the unassuming act. 

she shook her head --- tore herself away from the thoughts grossly nearing self-pity --- and tossed a grim smile at liam. sides were blurred here, too, in this conversation. but then wasn’t that just par for the course every time the two of them met up? “ at a time like this, maybe sarcasm as a means of coping sneaks up on you. shit’s tense; you’ll have to forgive me if my speech isn’t at its best. “ it was at its best. it always was. the implication that her tongue might be getting the best of her made her skin crawl ... but it was just another from of batting those eyelashes. 

she dragged her gaze over his person, lingering in the space between them, and settled it over his shoulder. “ suit yourself, “ she said, giving another shrug. “ what’s the point in letting me help you, anyway? this hostage situation really does seem like it’ll blow over any minute, with those dead bodies all over the hospital just a trick of the light. “

   mary outran her emotions quickly, but they always seemed to catch up with her. that day there were many of them – anger and fear were most prominent, but there was also sheer panic sitting in mary’s chest, pushing down on her lungs – and suddenly she couldn’t fight them any more. she was done. edgar bones had come out twice now, both times bringing news that shook something mary, that triggered a rage that she was tired of keeping down. and then there were the questions, that kept coming, and did not grant her a moment of fucking peace. “i don’t know what we’re going to do, yeah?,” she told the woman in front of her, well aware that her tone was not official enough — but FUCK that. she was done with that. “and if i did, i would not go around telling everyone and their mother what was going to happen. who knows, you could be a mole, after all, and i’m not bloody stupid.”

        mercy knew that what she’d been doing was technically classified as hovering --- not even artfully, but then she wasn’t trying to hide. it was hard to stay away from the possibility of information. when the woman posed her question to mary, with mercy milling her way around a little ways away, she’d made sure to drift closer and closer to the conversation until she was sure her face, painted in shades of worry and concern, was in mary’s field of vision just over the woman’s shoulder. she was older. and so self-righteous; she huffed at mary’s insinuation --- glancing around with slight indignation simmering, likely hoping to garner some sympathy from anyone who’d heard the conversation. mercy offered her none; instead she waited until the woman hurried away from the auror, leaving space for mercy to make her way closer. “ I’m sure people like that are the last thing you need in a time like this. “

was everyone and their mother at the hospital today? it was incredible just how many faces he’d bumped into in the chaos of the crisis at hand. so it shouldn’t have been any surprise to him to see mercy coming towards him, breaking through a throng of people and making a beeline to him. he wasn’t surprised. he was…inconvenienced. he merely only glanced at her as she stopped, frowning lightly as she leaned into him. 

“well, besides the shoulder that i was going to get checked,” he started, rolling it a little uncomfortably to sell the story, to get her off him, “i’m fine. could do without my apparently lucky timing but we can’t have it all, can we?”

he said nothing about the sister he was constantly checking in on, even now as he spoke. he said nothing about the low level panic that was making his heart beat just a little too fast. he was fine. if he said it, he could play the part. he could make other people believe him. to a degree. he had to wait and see how far she dug.

mercy tightened her fingers’ hold on his shoulder for half a second, allowing a fleeting look of concern to pass over her face as she did. the movement of it underneath her hand told her he wasn’t the most comfortable with the touch --- so, of course, all the more reason to let it linger before she pulled her hand away. “ my, “ she began with eyes widening even further. “ that’s so horrible. to be in pain physically and have all this emotional stress so closely follow it. “ 

she tucked sharp canines into the inside of her cheek to keep her tone in check, casting a worried gaze at the hospital’s facade. in truth, she supposed she could care more. she had four siblings who she hadn’t spoken to in some time, any of which could be kept hostage; but if they were, she knew there’d be no chance they were in any danger. no one could hurt a borgin without retribution, mercy herself would make sure of that. families could hurt and torture, be cruel and callous --- but outsiders were not allowed both that luxury and the right to keep their heads. 

the more mercy wandered around, talking to the crowd and making herself as useful as possible in the hopes she could stave having to actually go into the hospital, the more she got tired of wasting her time spinning the same dozen worriments into the same dozen concerned tones. it wasn’t really so simple; each person she spoke to needed to see her concern in a different way. when she found herself bumped into liam mackenna, she found a unique challenge --- she was half sure he wouldn’t believe a saccharine word out of her mouth. so of course she leaned into him, comfort-seeking hand pressing itself into his shoulder before she raised troubled brows. “ oh, goodness --- isn’t it awful? I’m worried out of my head, and I don’t believe any of my loved ones are even held inside. how are you holding up, liam? “

mercy has a full bio here, as well as a stats page, a pinterest board, and a playlist!! her intro was meant to be slightly shorter and easier than all of those, but alas, i can’t shut up. if you want to plot with her feel free to hmu!!