#persephone 002

The fractures in their family made things like this rather difficult. When Persephone had disappeared without a word, Pandora had been worried but she hadn’t just been worried her younger sibling was in danger. She was also worried that it was just their parents being their usual ridiculous selves and she hadn’t wanted to go and ask them because that would break a long standing rule she had of avoiding them at all costs. It had been part of her reason for approaching her mother at the Halloween masquerade but the comments on her dress and drunkenness had been a distraction from the topic at hand and had been enough to convince her that yes, her parents had something to do with it. They weren’t frantically asking if she had seen Effie.

She hadn’t wanted to talk to Percy about it, because she knew his relationship with Effie was poor at best and she was almost afraid to hear what he would say about her claiming Effie had gone missing. So, instead, she found herself waiting nervously for Effie to reappear and thankfully it wasn’t too long before she did.

It was never too early to think about his friends’ birthday presents and February was always a busy month for Dirk. His own birthday was quickly followed by Bertram’s and both his dad and Barty would be celebrating a week or two later next month. He hadn’t made any decisions yet but now that the chaos of the holidays had settled and sales tat had gone to make way for new season products Dirk was taking some time to wander around the shops seeking inspiration. “Sorry,” he mumbled after a near-collision with another customer, around some kitchen utensils that he knew he shouldn’t be tempted by for Bertram, given they would end up being more a present for himself. Had he been a more confrontational person, he might have thrown up an accusation of them not paying attention but as it was he simply glanced over as he stepped out the way.