MultiMuse

Beatrice's pulse was still racing after the encounter, faint sparks of magic still lingering in the air from the intensity of her wand and the aggressive spells flying. He had a point. It seemed like every time they tried to walk somewhere or do something normal, dangerous company found them. It was worth it, though - she and Sebastian were both highly competent, quick to act and made a formidable team in combat. And she couldn't leave that poor, frightened Kneazle behind in a cage.

"Perhaps we ought to give the gardens on the castle grounds a chance next time." She smiled faintly. "I suspect the roses are rather less inclined to ambush us than poachers." She laughed softly at his joke, the sound fading almost as quickly as it had come - almost nowhere felt completely safe lately with the loyalist attacks, poachers, Ashwinders almost everywhere. But now, her attention was on Sebastian. She found herself far less concerned with the ruined afternoon than with the blood running down Sebastian's forehead.

Before he could brush it off as nothing, she had already slipped her satchel from her shoulder, withdrawing a neatly folded linen handkerchief - embroidered with her initials, B.R. in a deep magenta thread, before uncapping a small silver flask she always carried on outings. A little water darkened the white linen as she dampened one corner. Stepping closer and bringing the handkerchief toward the blood, her eyes lifted to his.

"She won't be alone. You know Ominis wouldn't let that happen." Anne wasn't the one at the most risk of being left alone here. "I'm going to fix it." The words came softly, almost a whisper. Thing with the Keepers, with Ranrok, she would handle that as quickly as she could, and then she would fix it. Whatever happened, that was the important part. Stop Ranrok, heal Anne. She could do that. She would do that. Failing either task wasn't an option she planned to let herself entertain.

That furrow of her brows deepened as he thanked her. "I haven't done anything worth being thanked for yet." Maybe she had, she wasn't letting anyone turn him in, but that felt so... small. Nimue hadn't done enough yet. She never did enough. It always felt like running to do damage control, never making progress. If things could just stop for a moment... maybe she could catch up?

A little face was made as Sebastian cut himself off. "You don't have to talk to me about anything... but, I'm here if you want to. Whatever it is." More important things? No. More pressing? Perhaps. Teeth worried harshly at her bottom lip, ignoring the prick of fang through flesh and the slight taste of iron. The thought of leaving Sebastian alone filled her with a kind of dread.

"I... I do need to go to Hogsmeade. To see Mr. Ollivander." The wand needed to be made, the path to the final repository needed to be opened and secured before Ranrok could reach it. "It's... not more important, but, well, maybe my priorities are a bit skewed." Gaze dropped, lingering more on the collar of Sebastian's shirt than anywhere of real focus.

Maybe  she  was  right.  Maybe  in  the  very  end,  talking  was  going  to  help.  But  he  couldn’t  -  for  really,  what  was  there  to  talk  about ?  he  didn’t  know  how  he felt,  didn’t  know  what  he  was  supposed  to  feel.  It  wasn’t  guilt,  though.  That  much  he  was  aware  of.  He  didn’t  feel  bad  for  his  uncle’s  death  -  no ,  Solomon  had  hated  him,  he’d  tried  to  keep  him  away  from  Anne.  But  there  was  still  this  tiny  whisper  in  the  back  of  his  head  asking,  what  if  he’d  been  right  keeping  him  away ? 

At  her  next  words,  he  nodded.  It  was  unfair  to  keep  her  from  everything  she  was  supposed  to  do. He  knew  she  was  worried,  and  he  knew  that  staying  alone  would  probably  get  him  to  the  darkest  of  places.  But  he   couldn’t bring  himself  to  leave  the  Undercroft -  not  while everything  still  felt  raw, while  the  silence  of  it  pressed  in  around  him  like  a  punishment he  deserved   However,  forcing  her  into  being  his  caretaker  was  not  an  option  either.  He’d  survived  a  lot  more  in  the  past ;  he  could  survive his  own    thoughts  too.  ❝ I can  handle  it,  I  promise.  ❞  He  reassured  her,  a  small  smile  making  it  onto  his  face.  ❝ Did  you  get  hurt ? ❞ He  asked,  realising  just  now  that  she’d  been  in  this  fight  just  as  much  as  he’d  done.  ❝ Look,  I  know  you  want  to  help  me,  but… I  did  this…   ❞ 

She would have known it was a lie, or at the least assumed it, had Sebastian said he thought he could have stopped now. But... well, as awful as it was, sometimes people needed to hit the bottom. They needed to go too far to understand that they had. That was what Nimue was hoping for in this case. He'd done something he couldn't take back, something with real consequences.

The question that left his lips was one that had plagued Nimue--- though, perhaps less than it should have. This was the third Unforgivable he'd used. The first, the Cruciatus on her, that had been understood. It had been necessary, she'd told him to do it. The Imperius on that Goblin, less understood. A thousand spells could have come to him before the idea of making a being slit their own throat. It had been avoidable. Now this. He was never going to free himself of that taste, but it didn't mean he couldn't come back.

Pushing off from the column she'd leaned against in the Undercroft, Nimue stepped closer to him. There was still a gap, still distance. "No, I won't tell them. Sending you to Azkaban doesn't help anything or anyone. It doesn't bring Solomon back, it doesn't repair things with Anne, and it means you'll never have a chance." It was... a little difficult to push past that invisible wall between them, but her hand raised to touch Sebastian's freckled cheek, just a small thing, like a reassurance that she wasn't going anywhere.

 He  didn’t  know  what’d  happen  once  summer  arrived.  He  didn’t  even  know  where  he’d  stay.  But  it  didn’t  matter.  Maybe  in  the  very  end,  it’d  be  better  if  he  stayed  far  away  from  everyone.  

 ❝ Thank  you.  For  everything . ❞  Was  all  to  escape  him,  her  touch  bringing  more  reassurance  than  she  probably  knew.  He  was  terrified.  Terrified  of  the  life  he’d  forced  himself  into.   Terrified  of  walking  outside  the  Undercroft,  of  having  to  talk  to  people  as  if  he  hadn’t  just  murdered  his  sister’s  only  support.  Things  were  going  to  be  broken.  He  knew  it  well .  The  idea  of  facing  Ominis  bringing  a  nausea  to  his  stomach  he  couldn’t  quite  tolerate.

@thenightmareofyourdrems || inbox meme reply || temp. off! - belphegor

you gotta have the marshmallows, that's what makes it fun.

"in the middle of all this bullshit.. did you just offer me marshmallows? we gonna make some s'mores?" a parade of confusion comes marching across the hunter's mien. might as well just popped up sprouting two heads and a tail for all the difference in his expression. "are you high?" gesturing between the two of them with a back and forth swing of his hand, dean gives a sharp shake of his head. "no! i don't want marshmallows. we need to focus. soon as we get the hell out of this town? the better."

turning down sweets of any form? hell! dean winchester means business! that and the face the demon's wearing still freaks him the fuck out. let's not have campfire stories, okay?!

@thenightmareofyourdrems asked:

❛  you won't say it, but i know you blame me.  ❜ ~ seb (did i choose angsty post "in the shadow of the relic" stuff? yes i did)

Nimue wasn't really certain what she was supposed to do now. She'd never liked Sebastian's use of the Dark Arts. She'd tried, like Ominis, to stop him from going down that path. She'd been too slow, she should have done more. This was her fault. Her jaw had firmly set as she stared at nothing in particular. The Keepers had told her that curing Anne through ancient magic was possible, that it wouldn't hurt Anne, but they'd been very clear about the fact that she would need a container for the curse once it was out. It needed to go somewhere. It was a container, or taking it on herself. Despite asking Professor Fig to look for a container of goblin silver, one hadn't been found yet.

She should have just bitten the bullet, taken the curse. Better her than Anne. Better her than Sebastian.

Did she blame Sebastian? Her dark brown gaze flicked towards him. "I don't blame you for trying to save Anne." He cared. People did terrible things for those they loved. That was a fact Nimue knew well. Morals would bend, lives could be taken, you'd give your very soul. "Solomon did try to kill us. Killing him was self-defense, but it... It shouldn't have gotten to that point, no." She should have taken the curse herself.

 ❝ I  can  -  I … ❞  The  words  broke  before  they  could  become  a  lie. It  was  too  late,  wasn’t  it ?  He  could  deny  it. He  could  swear  he  had  only  meant  to  help  Anne, that  every  choice  had  been  for  her, that  none  of  this  was  what  he  wanted. But  somewhere  deep  down,  in  the part  of  himself  he  hated  most, he  knew  the  truth:  the  relic  had  made  him  feel  powerful. In control. Unstoppable.  And  for  one  brief, terrible  moment, he’d  craved  even  more.

It  was  over,  wasn’t  it ?  Anne  would  die.  She  would  die,  and  everything  he’d  given  her  was  more  pain,  another  reason  to  ache.  It  was  not  fair,  he’d  been  close,  so  close.  And  it’d  been  taken  away  from  him  in  the  blink  of  an  eye.  

Blood. 

'got a letter from anne this morning, i have yet to read it. -- no.

❝ i want to get out of the castle, preferably for the whole damn weekend. ❞ a pale finger draws idle circles upon the timeworn couch's torn leather. there is a silent question in the tone of his the heir's words. ❝ COME WITH ME? ❞ let's brave the forbidden forest, let's climb on dragonback and let nagini carry us onto the shores. anything was better than these stuffed halls.

❛  i can carry that for you.  ❜ ❛  i can come over, if you don't want to be alone.  ❜ ❛  i can go with you, so you don't have to do this by yourself.  ❜ ❛  i can keep you warm.  ❜ ❛  i can listen for as long as you need me to.  ❜ ❛  i can make breakfast while you stay in bed.  ❜ ❛  i can make you laugh. just give me a minute.  ❜ ❛  i can remember enough for both of us.  ❜ ❛  i can share mine with you.  ❜ ❛  i can stay with you a little longer.  ❜ ❛  i can take care of you for once.  ❜ ❛  i can wait for you here.  ❜ ❛  can i keep this? it reminds me of you.  ❜ ❛  can i keep you company?  ❜ ❛  can i kiss you?  ❜ ❛  can i lay my head in your lap?  ❜ ❛  can i see you smile again?  ❜ ❛  can i take care of you tonight?  ❜ ❛  can i tell you how pretty you look?  ❜ ❛  can i tell you something silly?  ❜ ❛  can we just do nothing today?  ❜ ❛  can we stay like this a little longer?  ❜ ❛  can you come a little closer?  ❜ ❛  can you hold me for just a second?  ❜ ❛  can you promise you'll text when you get home?  ❜ ❛  you can always come home to me.  ❜ ❛  you can be as clingy as you want. i don't mind.  ❜ ❛  you can be soft here.  ❜ ❛  you can come over whenever you miss me.  ❜ ❛  you can have the last bite.  ❜ ❛  you can have this; it was supposed to be yours anyway.  ❜ ❛  you can hide here for a while.  ❜ ❛  you can keep looking at me like that.  ❜ ❛  you can keep my heart. i wasn't using it anyway.  ❜ ❛  you can kiss me again, if you want.  ❜ ❛  you can lean on me.  ❜ ❛  you can pick the music.  ❜ ❛  you can stay as long as you want.  ❜ ❛  you can stay close to me, i like that.  ❜ ❛  you can take my hand.  ❜

The annoyance in his voice caused her to somewhat pull back. She was pushing it, wasn't she? Not every conversation needed to be a lecture, she supposed. Nimue couldn't just not worry, however. Sebastian's safety and well-being did keep her fairly worried. She'd seen things go badly far too many times. Or, perhaps, many of those people always would have turned out badly to begin with. Perhaps it truly was best to just let Sebastian be, to trust he could pull himself back. She trusted him with plenty else, why not this?

"you said you were hungry, so i brought you something." from @thenightmareofyourdrems / jack

helping him out wasn't a good choice.  maeve was clever enough to know when her empathy was a failing rather than a gift - and yet it didn't stop her determination to do the right thing,  regardless of the complications to undercover work.  bar was much calmer after hours: without endless eyes, endless sounds,  all the things that kept her too busy to doubt herself.  (she could pretend - at least to herself - she was trying to avoid his ruining her cover.  but somehow she doubted he'd actually intentionally get her killed, it was hardly magician's style.)

[ 001 ] “I should kill you.” [ 002 ] “You talk too much.” [ 003 ] “I’ve imagined this moment. You begging.” [ 004 ] “Touch me again and see what happens.” [ 005 ] “Why do you keep showing up?” [ 006 ] “Don’t flatter yourself. I just needed a warm body.” [ 007 ] “Hate looks good on you.” [ 008 ] “Is that jealousy?” [ 009 ] “You’re lucky I need you.” [ 010 ] “You always taste like lies.” [ 011 ] “One day I’ll stop saving you.” [ 012 ] “Take your hands off me.” [ 013 ] “You’re bleeding.” [ 014 ] “I don’t care. I’m still coming with you.” [ 015 ] “That was a warning shot.” [ 016 ] “Say that again and I swear—” [ 017 ] “You want me to say it? Fine. I wanted you.” [ 018 ] “You should’ve stayed away.” [ 019 ] “Is this your plan? Seduce me into forgetting?” [ 020 ] “We both know you won’t pull the trigger.” [ 021 ] “Next time, aim for the heart.” [ 022 ] “I should let you die.” [ 023 ] “Try not to get yourself killed. I’m the only one allowed to do that.” [ 024 ] “I liked you better when you were silent.” [ 025 ] “Are you always this reckless or just around me?” [ 026 ] “Stop staring.” [ 027 ] “I didn’t ask for your help.” [ 028 ] “You were supposed to be the enemy.” [ 029 ] “Admit it. You missed me.” [ 030 ] “You’re hurt. Let me see.” [ 031 ] “You don’t get to touch me like that.” [ 032 ] “I said I hate you. I didn’t say I’d stop thinking about you.” [ 033 ] “You’re the last person I wanted to see.” [ 034 ] “You can’t keep running.” [ 035 ] “Funny how often I end up saving your life.” [ 036 ] “Shut up. You’re making this harder.” [ 037 ] “Keep your voice down. Do you want to die?” [ 038 ] “Did it mean nothing to you?” [ 039 ] “You think I don’t notice when you look at me like that?” [ 040 ] “You’re not what I expected. Worse, actually.”

"Well, mauled by spiders is a step above 'new student threw you off a dueling stage', so..." Nimue had come to learn quite quickly that, while she was good at dueling, it was entirely in the ferocity and strength of her attacks. She wasn't good for much else. Hit first, hit hard. Truthfully, she'd likely just had a bit of surprise on her side in their first class together.

At the smile and his words, she shifted some to bump her forehead against his leg. It was just a brief, comfortable motion, like a cat showing affection. "We'll figure it all out. Anne, Ranrok, Rookwood. All of it." Nimue would make sure of that. Whatever it took. "I know I'm not in this alone and I want to make sure that you know you aren't either."

At  her  next  words,  a  nod  was  all  that  he  offered.  He  still  wasn’t  sure  why  she  was  so  determined  to  help  him.  Maybe  the  world  had  been  unfair  to  him,  but  he  knew  he  was  acting  no  much  better  to  the  people  that  cared  either.  It  was  almost  as  if  his  whole  body was  constantly  on  fight  mode,  as  even  kind words were enough to set him on edge.

@thenightmareofyourdrems asked: ❝are you spying on me now?❞ tyler&wednesday

It was why she'd come to rely on wideye. There just weren't enough hours in the day to do everything she felt was necessary and expected of her. Especially not when she was expected to attend classes on top of it all. Merlin, if Professor Weasley knew what all she'd been up to, the poor woman might have had a heart attack. Nimue's head lolled to the side, having turned more Sebastian's way. Despite it all, there was a little smile.

"We were talking about you getting mauled by a spider, you know." She wasn't exactly keen on the subject shifting her way, but it was all out now. "You do help, Sebastian. Quite a bit, truthfully. Natty and Poppy have both caught little bits, given me heads up on things, but usually only when it aligned with what they were doing." Shifting a bit, she moved to look up at Sebastian properly. "You've actually helped me. More than once and right from the start. You're... also the only one who knows everything. The only one I haven't kept anything from..." He'd been the one to help her get the Keepers' book, after all. "I wouldn't say no to some help with magical theory, though." The last part came with a hint of a tease to her words. A lightheartedness.

❝ I really  don’t  think  there’s  much  to  talk  when it  comes  to  spiders  and  my  very  humiliating  duel  skills.  ❞  The  irony  was  not  lost  on  him. Sebastian Sallow,  supposedly one of  the  better duelists at Hogwarts, brought  low  by  a  swarm  of  oversized  spiders  and  one thoroughly  humiliating evening.   Still,  wounded  pride was  hardly  the  most  pressing  matter. For  Nimue’s self-destructive  tendencies  were  much  more  concerning. Still, a  small  smile  made  it  onto  his  lips  when  she  said  he  had  helped.  He  didn't  feel like  he  had  -  honestly  he  felt  like  he’d  become  the worst  friend  to  both  Nimue  and  Ominis,  yet  he  couldn’t  quite  change  it.  He  had  to  save  his  sister,  after  all -  did  he  really  have  the   time  to  care  for  a  single  other  thing?  ❝ This  really  means  a  lot  to  me.  ❞  And  he  meant  it.