#thread. human behavior

                                                                                                      —with @crluke

sydney jung is made of softer things. 

surely you must have heard. that what sets on her crown is a delicate circlet of baby’s breath and sweet pea. that wonderment fills her mind to the very brim. that it spoils at the slightest hint of cruel reality. that she has a mouthful of birds and naivety sewn into her skin. that she is frail, made of things that cows at the first sign of conflict.

that she is not made for crueler things. darker things. things that threaten to eat her whole.

this, in the face of the panic and paranoia that spreads throughout the castle like a bad case of dragon pox, ensures that sydney jung is sure to break. to fail. to rot. to shrivel up and die.

that is, being soft. being trusting. the very principles of her being.

fear, as it was—as it will continue to be—brings out the worst in people. 

paranoia, the real devil, the onslaught of what-ifs that floods her minds, gnaws at her insides and yanks at her hair—is what drives her out of the ravenclaw common room and into the vacant halls of hogwarts. is what fills her with regret, distrust, anxiety. 

sydney isn’t used to being distrusting. to be doubting of her peers, her very roommates. to walk the halls of hogwarts in trepidation, heart pounding in her ears.

home isn’t what it used to be, apparently.

the silence gets to her easily. every clatter or creak of a door has her muscles tense, breath caught in her throat. it is uncalled for to be this on edge, but what is she to do when she knows—nothing?

no, she knows something. she knows not to trust anyone. (wrong. who are you if you have no one to trust?) she knows to remain alert. (but does it matter? when you are weak? alone? defenseless?)

sydney jung without a single offensive bone in your body—what will you do?

her steps quicken. (it doesn’t matter where as long as it’s not here.)

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

her heart pounds. (will she die? why does it feel like she is already?)

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

her breath hitches. (why is it so hard to breathe? why does her head spin?)

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

she stops doe eyed at the foot of the staircase. (what is there to do now? should she run?)

“luke.” she speaks. breathless, guarded.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

will you run? will you die?

“what are you doing here?”