Take My Pain Away (Maxima)

[Deleted]

Second Week In September

Kinsey wasn't actually hurting. Not physically, at least, but she felt like all she was doing was drifting through the last week or so. Riley breaking up with her broke her far more than she cared to admit, but beyond that she still loved him. She wanted to be with him and show him that she could be good enough for him, but there was no point. He already made his decision and, while it was taking time for her to come to that realization, Kinsey also began to accept the fact that his fact would never accept her. They never would have, which meant that the relationship between the two was doomed from the start. 

Still, while she was starting to come back to reality and leave the numbness behind, there were moments where the emotional pain slammed into her. Seeing him with his fiance caused that to happen, more often than not, so Kinsey was trying to avoid social spaces where there was the possibility of running into them. This morning she hadn't expected it, to see the young girl hanging on his arm, giggling and grinning up at him. Kinsey couldn't bear to look at his face to see his reaction. She just left instead, going somewhere no one was likely to be. Moaning Myrtles bathroom.

She walked in the doors and moved to a corner of the room, sitting down and wrapping her arms around her knees as she stared sightlessly across the room. She couldn't do this. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice someone join her inside. Even if she did notice, she wouldn't have responded.

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

Before becoming a prefect, Max had never realized just how much work went into ensuring that the rules at Hogwarts were followed. Maybe it was because it was just the second week of the term and everyone was used to being free of Hogwarts for the summer, but she felt as though she had spent all of her free time keeping her fellow students from causing chaos.

Compared to the actual chaos that had happened at Hogwarts in recent years, a few joke items hardly seemed like much, but cleaning up after someone’s failed Dungbomb was still disgusting. It didn’t help matters that the nearest bathroom was Moaning Myrtle’s, though Max hoped that the ghost would be in a relatively good mood. Rarely was Myrtle ever happy, but Max took it as a good sign when she entered that the bathroom hadn’t flooded.

Going over to the nearest sink, she washed off the remaining Dungbomb residue. More concerned with making sure that her hands weren’t filthy, it was only when Max turned to leave that she noticed the presence of another person—a mortal, not a ghost—in the corner of the bathroom.

The girl’s vacant look was what was more concerning, and though Max’s initial reaction would have been to leave her alone, she realized that it wouldn’t set a good example of her as a prefect. The girl was one of the Bainbridges, wasn’t she? Max knew that she wasn’t one of the triplets in her own year. No, she looked to be their sister in the year above theirs.

Max walked up to the older girl and knelt down next to where she was sitting. “Are you alright?” she asked her softly, albeit more shakily than she intended. She knew what it was like to be alone with her own head, and, if the Bainbridge girl was physically hurt, Max knew that she could possibly help with that, too… not that either situation wouldn’t take some awkward explanation on her part.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey wasn't paying attention when someone walked in the room. She was too lost in her thoughts to really pay attention to much of anything or anyone right now. Riley. She was pulled out of her thoughts when someone knelt in front of her and started talking. Her intentions were positive, which was a good thing since Kinsey really didn't want to deal with someone with bad intentions right now. 

She blinked and looked up at the girl, who she didn't really recognize. "I'm fine," she lied, taking a shaky breath. Kinsey frowned a little, sure that the girl wouldn't believe her now. "I just ... needed some space and time to think." It was a terrible explanation, but it was better than telling the truth. Kinsey didn't want to admit to anyone the hard time she was having with Riley's new relationship. She didn't want to admit her struggles to anyone.

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

“I’m fine,” answered the Bainbridge girl when she looked up at her, though her voice sounded anything but. “I just… needed some space and time to think.”

Max was surprised that Myrtle hadn’t shown up, though she supposed that no one would be able to hear themselves think with the sound of the ghost’s hollow wailing. The one plus side was that nobody would question it if they heard crying coming from Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, and Max frowned slightly when she guessed that the older girl had already worked that much out.

“I don’t mind listening,” Max told her,”if you need to talk to someone.” She gave her as much of a reassuring smile as she could. Even though her thoughts had become less dark, she’d been left with a lot to think about over the summer, not the least of which was about how she could memorialize the half-brother from Durmstrang whom she had hardly known. “I don’t think anyone really wants to be sat on the floor of the girls’ toilet, alone.”

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey wasn't good at this. Opening up to people was hard for her and in moments like this, she didn't want to. She didn't really know this girl at all, but having someone find her in a bathroom during a meltdown did not mean she was going to talk about it. She didn't even know if she was going to tell anyone close to her. Okay, maybe Dan ... probably Dan, and maybe one of her sisters. Other than them, though, Kinsey's problems were her own. 

Kinsey knew that she wasn't going to seem very polite, but at the moment she really couldn't have cared less. "I don't need to talk to anyone," she answered bluntly. She wasn't trying to be mean, but she wasn't going to sugarcoat it. If you tried to be nice in situations like this, people generally took it as an invitation to pry and she was not going to talk to a stranger about her relationship problems. "I just needed a breather, somewhere people wouldn't think to come and look for me." She wasn't sure if she and Riley were still trying to be friends or if they were avoiding one another right now, but when he was walking around with a girl on his arm Kinsey had no intention of talking with him. "Sorry you stopped for nothing," she added, forcing a small smile at the other girl. There. That was about all Kinsey could do right now.

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

“I don’t need to talk to anyone,” the girl responded. “I just needed a breather, somewhere people wouldn't think to come and look for me.” She didn’t seem entirely rude about it—not in the way Max knew she could get when she got annoyed, herself—but it was clear that the Bainbridge girl wanted to be left alone as she added, “Sorry you stopped for nothing.”

Max sighed lightly. Pulling the “Prefect” card was probably only going to make her sound pompous, but it was worth a shot. There was benefit to it, too, if the other girl was going to do something harmful; knowing that someone in a position of some authority knew where she was would probably act as something of a deterrent, aside from the assurance that it would hopefully bring the Bainbridge girl if she was being entirely truthful.

“It’s not a problem,” Max told her honestly. She was already in the bathroom anyway; a few minutes more to make sure that the Bainbridge girl was okay hadn’t hurt anything. “And I’m a prefect, so…” It really wasn’t a problem, and it beat dealing with another Dungbomb.

Just as she moved to stand up again and leave, Max realized that she must have misstepped after she felt a twinge of pain at her ankle. She cursed under her breath, both from the pain and because she didn’t want to have to limp out of the bathroom. “Ugh,” she muttered under her breath; whatever she had managed to do to herself was more painful than she’d expected it to be.

Using the wall for balance, Max looked down at her feet. She had never tried to heal herself before, at least not with the touch of her hands that she knew could heal the injuries of others. Trying that in front of someone else she barely knew seemed like a stupid idea, yet doing something that looked absolutely crazy also sounded better than wasting time in the Hospital Wing for it.

Why couldn’t she just think her ankle better? Hobbling on one foot and looking like a flamingo wasn’t something that she could sustain for very long.

Max managed to get a little ways away from the Bainbridge girl before she had to lean herself against the wall again, although she was able to slide her back down it and bring herself to a sitting position on the floor. “I’m fine,” she said aloud, even though she could hear her heart beating in her chest.

She bent over at the waist and brought her hands to her injured ankle, clasping them around it. “Please work…” she breathed.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

The girl's intentions were positive and Kinsey felt certain that she only wanted to help out if she could, but she still didn't want to tell her about her problems. The less that people knew about what happened with Riley, the less people she would feel embarrassed in front of. She nodded when she said it wasn't a problem, but then she mentioned being a prefect. Kinsey's eyebrows furrowed a little. Why was she bringing that up? Did she think Kinsey would tell her secrets to someone just because she was a prefect? That didn't make much sense, but it also seemed weird to her. What was going on in this girl's head? She shrugged, not knowing what to say to that. 

She watched the prefect stand and then swear. Kinsey watched curiously as the girl leaned against the wall and stared at her feet. "Are you okay?" Kinsey asked after a second. She wasn't sure what the girl was doing, but figured she might as well ask. The girl hobbled away a bit and then sat on the floor. Kinsey watched, even as the girl said she was fine and then grabbed her ankle. Slowly, Kinsey stood up and moved closer to her. "Do you need me to conjure a splint or something?" she asked softly. Kinsey didn't want to bother her, but if the girl was hurt ... she couldn't just sit there and do nothing. That would be rude.

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

Max hadn’t intended to become a distraction, but there she was, trying to nurse whatever she had done to herself with her misstep.

“Yeah,” Max nodded, when the Bainbridge girl asked if she was okay, giving a halfhearted thumbs-up for added confirmation of her being alright.

It was after she had managed to move to a sitting position, though, that the other girl’s concern for her seemed to grow, wondering if she needed to conjure a splint for her.

“No,” Max answered the girl, shaking her head. She didn’t need a splint; at least, she didn’t think so—not when she had her hands, which would surely work… “I’ve got it.”

It became apparent to her, however, that her touch wasn’t doing anything to help her own injury. She was practically clenching her hands around her ankle, even though she knew that her doing so was probably only making it that much worse for herself.

Tears were welling up in her eyes, more because of the lack of any progress on her part than from the pain. It wasn’t too bad when she wasn’t putting weight on it.

Max pulled her hands away and leaned back against the wall, questioning if she needed to just admit defeat. It had always worked before… Then again, she hadn’t had to heal herself of anything. She stared at her feet, wondering if she had lost her ability—or even her mind—somewhere along the way. “I-I promise I’m not mad,” she spoke, hoping that the older girl wasn’t watching her but knowing better to assume that she was ignoring her now.

”I-I’ve done this before,” she said, trying to cover for her peculiarity. ”I’ve done it… before, like this…” Disregarding the fact that she had only just begun her sixth year, and wandless and nonverbal magic was still reasonably advanced for someone of her age, it was still believable, she hoped.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey could tell that the girl was lying about being okay. It didn't take her abilities to tell her that, though they did confirm her suspicions. She watched as the girl insisted on holding her ankle, like that would help it somehow. What in the world was she doing? If she didn't want Kinsey's help, then fine, but she should do something to help herself. She was practically crying, for goodness sake.

Eventually she let go of her ankle and leaned against the wall. Kinsey didn't say a word, quirking her eyebrow at the girl as if to say "are you done now? How much did that help you?" but she kept the words to herself. After a bit the girl said that she wasn't mad and that she'd done this before. What was she talking about? Kinsey finally spoke, wishing she wasn't as curious as she was. "Done what before? All you did was hold your ankle." She wasn't meaning to be rude, but she wouldn't be surprised if the girl took it that way.

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

“Done what before? All you did was hold your ankle,” the Bainbridge girl commented in response.

“No,” Max shook her head, looking at her. There wasn’t much point in trying to cover it up when she probably wasn’t going to be believed, anyway. She wasn’t going mad. Those times before hadn’t been flukes. No, Max thought, she couldn’t allow them to be. “I—” If she seemed absolutely ridiculous, well…

Max took in a breath and fought the urge to become defensive. “I can heal people,” she stated, “with my hands.” Just to avoid the shock of that, she added, “I know I’m not normal.” She never had been.

“I’ve healed other people before, but I had never tried it on myself, and… It didn’t work.”

@kinsey

[Deleted]

The girl said no, that she wasn't just holding her ankle and Kinsey lifted an eyebrow at her. That sure seemed like all the girl was doing. Then she was stammering, not really seeming like she knew what she meant to say. Kinsey kind of just wanted to leave, but she also didn't want to seem rude. 

Then the girl said she could heal people with her hands. She tilted her head to the side a bit. "So that's what you were doing just now," she stated. "Seeing if it would work on yourself?" That made sense, though it was a little different. Kinsey never heard of someone that could heal people with their hands. Then again, her own ability was quite unique so she couldn't really judge.

She paused a moment before asking, "Since it didn't work, do you want me to help you to the hospital wing?" She could at least try to be polite and helpful, even if she didn't want to be.

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

The Bainbridge girl’s curiosity appeared to have been piqued by the explanation that Max had had to give her to clarify her seemingly bizarre behavior. Max noticed that she had tilted her head. “So that’s what you were doing just now,” she said, seemingly trying to figure it out. “Seeing if it would work on yourself?”

”Yeah,” Max confirmed with a nod, assuming that the girl had understood her thought process well enough in that regard.

After that, though, what the Bainbridge girl asked was a little surprising. Instead of wanting to know what it was that she could do, exactly, she simply asked if she could help her. “Since it didn't work, do you want me to help you to the hospital wing?” she wondered.

To that, too, Max nodded. “If you don’t mind,” she answered. It would be a lot better than being left to sit on the bathroom floor while she tried the few healing spells she knew. “I don’t think anything’s broken,” she assured her, which was probably the only good thing to have come from the situation. She was the one who was supposed to be helping the Ravenclaw—not the other way around!

“Thanks, er…” There were so many Bainbridges, and Max could not put her finger on the name of the Ravenclaw in the lavatory with her. Embarrassment aside, though, she was grateful.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey gave a soft smile as she made her way closer to the other girl. Her intentions were still positive, so Kinsey braced herself to feel them more when she touched the other girl. She needed to help her and wouldn't leave her here to figure things out on her own. Kinsey wasn't one for physical contact, but she definitely wasn't going to do that to someone. She nodded, "I'm glad nothings broken," she said softly, more to break the impending silence than for any specific reason.

She leaned down to wrap her arm around the girl's waist and help her to her feet when she heard the girl thanking her. "Kinsey," she said, realizing that this entire conversation was between strangers. "What's your name?" she asked, more to be polite than anything else, but it was a good thing to make friends. That's what Kinsey was telling herself. 

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

Max considered herself fortunate that the older girl wasn’t making a big deal about what had happened. Neither her explanation of her healing ability nor the likelihood that she would need assistance in walking to the Hospital Wing had scared her off, when things could have gone very differently. The Bainbridge girl even mentioned that she was glad that nothing was broken, which Max appreciated. She knew that she had probably just twisted something with her misstep, but she knew that it needed to be checked out, regardless.

The Bainbridge girl had already bent down to help her to her feet when she answered her with her name. “Kinsey.”

Ah, Max thought, that was it. She had heard the name occasionally but hadn’t placed it to her. It probably would have been difficult for anyone to imagine that she was actually related to her younger sisters, though Max thought that she looked more like one of her older sisters, Diana, who had already left Hogwarts.

“What's your name?”

“Max,” Max then responded in turn, trying to make it as easy on Kinsey as she could; she didn’t think that she was heavy, exactly, but she didn’t want to force Kinsey to bear all of her weight as she made her way up off of the floor. She smiled slightly, which she knew would turn into a grimace as soon as she shifted her position enough to have to put weight back onto her injured foot.

“Er, Maxima. Greyback. There’s a girl from Ilvermorny in my House and year who’s called Max, too.” She typically went by her nickname at school, but she felt the need to clarify in case there was any confusion there.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey nodded when the girl said her name was Max. Maxima. Great. At least the girl wasn’t making her do all the work and helped Kinsey help her up. She nodded, “Nice to meet you,” she said. Kinsey could have said more, but she really didn’t know what to say. What were you supposed to say to a complete stranger when you were helping them to the hospital wing?

“Okay, are you ready for us to go?” Kinsey didn’t want to move before Max was ready, so she figured she should ask first. Besides that, it was the polite thing to do, right?

maxima ruqayyah greyback