Fathers (Brígh)

[Deleted]

To say family was complicated was quite the understatement. Family was a downright mess. She hadn't spoken to her dad in years until he'd returned to London and he'd been intruding on her life since. Perhaps it wasn't all that bad, since she'd only seen him twice, but it was a mess. The first time had been after she was arrested and the second time she'd gotten stabbed. At least that had blown over.

She had just gotten back from a long and perfectly exhausting camping trip and she felt like a vampire. Emrys was a total night owl and as soon as the sun was out he slept like a brick. While Xantha was hardly a morning person and quite the night owl herself she had never had a full weekend at that speed. She hadn't really seen the sun in days and while the starlit skies were a far better view she was forced to function during daylight hours as well.

Even now she sat at a table with a large glass of water, having decided to catch up with a childhood friend. Their fathers had been friends when they were young and while neither of them seemed to have noticed Xantha now keenly understood that her friend hadn't grown up with quite the same luxuries as she had. While she was worse off now than Brígh had been when she was younger it still left her with a strange feeling. As if Brígh would understand things that most might not. At the very least she'd understand the mess with fathers. So when Xantha spotted Brígh she smiled and skipped over, giving her old friend a quick hug. "Brígh! How have you been?" She asked with a big smile. Time to enjoy.

BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

[BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH]

Still sore over the fact that her father was a meddlesome prick, Brígh had eagerly agreed when Xantha had reached out to meet up for tea. She'd been a friend for ages, and held a similarly distasteful view for fathers who interfered too much in their children's lives. It had been somewhat difficult to keep up with her, especially considering Xantha was a muggle. Despite the fact that her sister - or half sister? Brígh couldn't keep up - was a witch and a Hogwarts student, Xantha knew nothing of the wizarding world. And according to the international statute of secrecy, it would probably have to stay that way.

Unfortunately for the international statute of secrecy, Brígh was not known for a) keeping secrets or b) following rules. But she had kept quiet throughout the years, meeting up with her childhood friend whenever she could. All Xantha knew was that Brígh spent most of the year at boarding school in the Highlands.

Brígh pushed open the door to the cafe, spotting Xantha's bright blonde head immediately. She made a beeline for the girl, swooping down to envelop her in a tight hug. "Hello, X," she said brightly. "I'm good, exhausted from heaps of schoolwork. AND!" she started, slumping into the chair across from Xantha. "I met someone," she said, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "And you?"

@xantha

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Brigh was like a little dancing light. She always seemed to have a lot of energy about her and both girls could have quite the troublesome temper when provoked. Add several other things they had in common and the short version of a long story was that the girls were good friends. Xantha had always downplayed her supposed bad luck and her actual situation to everybody, Brigh included. She didn't want people to feel sorry for her or worry about her. Though she had recently found reasons to consider it wasn't always the best possilbe approach. She wasn't a super sharing person to begin with, which helped her situation in keeping secrets from as many people as she could manage.

Brigh instantly got to the good stuff. She was exhausted from school and she'd met somebody. As Brigh asked about her she chuckled and shrugged. "I dropped out of school, remember? I managed to land a job a while back so that's been going well. Unlike you, I don't keep to just meeting one person. I've met many and forgot at least half of them within twenty four hours. I don't do dating." She reminded her friend carelessly. "Though I do need you to dish the dirt and tell me everything about the somebody you met." She said with a big smile as she sipped from her cup of tea. Healthy habits only for Xantha, as she wanted to keep her body in the best possible shape for her job.

BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

[BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH]

Xantha didn't seem keen to get into detail on schoolwork, which made sense as she reminded Brígh she had dropped out. "I forgot," said Brígh flushing scarlet. Xantha was a muggle, and had no idea about the wizarding world. Though it wasn't Brígh's place to tell her, she did often toe the line drawn by the international statute of secrecy. After all, she wasn't one to follow rules laid out by old, dead men. "Right, dancing? I'm sorry I haven't been able to make it to any shows, honestly been so mental lately. When is your next round of performances?" asked Brígh quickly, mentally making a note to herself to definitely turn up at least once.

With a squeal of excitement, Brígh clapped her hands together. Xantha had always been just as wild, if not more so than her. "Oi, remember the Connors? That was three at once, thank you very much. But rather meaningless, I'll admit," said Brígh, resigned. Thankfully, Xantha twisted the conversation to return to Brígh, and her eyes lit up. "Oh, he's wonderful and kind and sweet. Not brooding like that other boy I fancied. He takes care of animals and he's a dr- er, he's from this tiny island out in the Irish sea! And he's got red hair, just like me. But the main thing is that like... he just makes me feel good. Not like I have to fix him or that I add to him. More that we complement each other..." she trailed off, reminiscing to the time she spent with Aidan. Something in her chest swelled, and she returned her attention to her friend. "Maybe just one person is the right choice after all," she said softly.

@xantha

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Xantha had gotten through school. She still wasn't fully sure how but she had. She'd planned on art school but well, finances had gotten tight and with no place to live school had been the first thing to drop, even more so since she didn't need it for her desired career path either way. She shrugged as Brígh said she forgot. "You had other things on your mind, with your dad gtetting sick and all. Did they ever find out what was wrong with him in the end?" Xantha asked, her voice very gentle as she mentioned the subject. The two girls both knew a little too well how it was to have a parent get sick. Her own mother likely had less than a year left. (Not that she realised it was by now weeks at best).

Brígh asked about her next showed and Xantha smiled a big smile. "Oh this week I have four and then some again next week. I'm pretty much good until halfway in May. At that point it's auditions again." She said with an eye roll. At least her CV was a little bigger now so people would know she was aware of how to behave in a production. It had to help a little, right? The show had also been received well enough that it definitively spoke in her favour.

Brígh mentioned the Conners and Xantha couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. "That was completely insane, although I've had and done crazier than that by now." She said with a giggle and and a wicked little smile on her face. "I prefer it meaningless though. Before you know it they get all sticky and up in your business and you never have a moment of peace again." Xantha said with a delicate little shiver of disgust. No, she was perfectly fine being her own independant woman. Even with that being said, she was actually going on a date... which was a crazy idea for her.

Seeing Bríghs eyes light up as she talked about the guy she had a crush on made Xantha happy though. She'd seen that expression before and she didn't want to ruin things for her friend by reminding her that hearts usually get broken, especially at their still relatively young ages. Her father had made that perfectly clear after he left their family to be with his misstress after all. She caught the little slip but didn't care what Brígh had planned to call him. Some adorably dorky description most likely. She couldn't help but feel that slight hint of longing as she watched her friend speak with such fervour. "He sounds like a nice guy." She said with a smile. "But to each their own. I don't think I trust any guy enough to stick to just one of them. I might consider it if I find the right lady. Either way, I'm super happy for you." She said and gave her friend a quick hug. "So what's his name and where did you meet? Dish out as many details as possible and I might consider telling you about the date that I have coming up." She said with a wink.

BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

[BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH]

Brígh fixed Xan with a stare, chewing on the inside of her cheek. They had not found out what exactly had been wrong with her da, but it was almost certainly magical in nature. She thought about how to veil this in muggle terms, for Xan knew nothing of the magical world. Not even that her younger sister was a witch at Hogwarts. "Er... well, it's not cancer but they're still not certain. Reckon they've stopped trying though, now that he's better," said Brígh evasively. The healers had thought perhaps it had been connected to her fathers lycanthropy, but no further tests had been done.

"What are you performing in? And with what company?" asked Brígh curiously. She knew that Xantha was a very talented dancer, and had made guest appearances with the English National Ballet and other companies across the country. "Do you reckon you'll do a global tour at any point?" Xantha was still young, and had much ahead of her. Unless she broke a bone - Brígh had heard that was a career ending injury. She revealed her secret about the Conners, and Xantha reminded her that she had done worse. Brígh nodded, remembering a few particular situations in which Xantha had gotten into much more 'trouble' than she.

"He is a nice guy. Just makes me feel so light and giddy. So much better than Albus, though I do feel a bit bad about that falling apart so completely," said Brígh thoughtfully. "His name is Aidan. He is an apprentice... veterinarian. I met him when I was looking for my friend Eli - you remember him, we rescued Bean together - and we got to chatting and it just felt so natural," said Brígh, heaving a dreamy sigh. "Never thought I'd be the sort to really settle down either. But here I am, totally smitten," said Brígh finally, taking a long sip of her drink. "Now, spill. What's this date," she said, leaning forward to hear about Xantha's new adventures.

@xantha

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Xantha nodded understandingly as Brígh mentioned it wasn't cancer but they'd likely stopped trying now that he was getting better. She certainly wouldn't be too interested in being poked and prodded with needles and devices for tests if she no longer felt sick to begin with. She knew her mother wouldn't have wanted that either. Although her mother was terminal, so at that point all she cared about was extending her life. Not that it was going to last much longer. "Well I'm glad he's doing better at least." Xantha said supportively. She could imagine that her friend didn't want to lose her dad, even if they were fighting. Xantha was a little more... indifferent to the fate of her own father. She hadn't seen him in years before he'd casually strolled back into her life.

"It's just a small production. I'm just lucky to earn enough to be off the streets by now." She said, shaking her head slightly. "No world tours any time soon I fear. Not sure if that'd be for me anyway. I'm quite content staying closer to home, although I most certainly wouldn't say no if I were offered the possibility." She answered honestly.

Then Brígh went on to tell her about the guy she met. She sounded so in love that it almost made Xantha want to puke. Love, how utterly disgusting. Yet she was happy for her friend, even if the life itself didn't really appeal to her. Brígh seemed to really like the idea and Xantha most certainly had no plans to rain on her parade, even less so after all the romantic gushing she did about this boy. She chuckled slightly as her friend said she'd never thought she'd be the one to settle down and Xantha shrugged. "Guess girls like us never expect it, until it's too late and we realise we stumbled and fell somewhere along the way." She said with an amused sort of grin. She'd have to be careful how she walked it seemed. No falling for her. "I'm really happy for you though, he sounds super sweet. If they're good with animals you know they have a kind heart in there. Plus if he'd get along with Spot you know he's a good one." She said with a smile. Spot was, after all, a grumpy cat that hated almost everybody and certainly all the people that had cheated on her.

Then came the inevitable request to spill on her date. She shrugged. "He's a teacher, we met in a pub. He offered to take me out for my birthday so... that seems to be the plan. Nothing too fancy, probably just grab a drink. He's crazy attractive so with a bit of luck I'll be able to crawl into his bed at the end of the night. If not, well at least I can get people off my back for the next few months about having tried the dating thing." Not that one date really counted as trying, but for her it was more than she usually did so she certainly counted it herself.

BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH