hologram | max

[rhys alexander greyback]

shadowed in time

another road redefined

August 18, 2026
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Naturally, he had done it again. Or he had tried, the exhaustion that had taken over him he easily attributed to the lingering effects of being hit in the head with an old and heavy stone tablet. He had waited a few days and was able to repeat the experience but for longer. The experience had left him drained physically and emotionally as he found himself sobbing on the floor as he was still able to smell the field, feel the breeze, and whatever that scent was that his mother wore. Was it a perfume, a lotion? Something, but it was like a kick to the chest. Unfortunately, he’d had to work after that and push compartmentalize all of it while he focused.

He hadn’t told anyone either. He’d vaguely asked the healers about lingering curse effects and done his own extensive research into that temple and its mythology. And then, a month later, he’d tried it again but with a different photograph. This one was an old one—from his seventh year with his friends. Ilija, Hannah, Renfri, Nell, and everybody else he’d grown close to since his first year. The experience had been…different. And it was strange seeing pieces of Hogwarts and his friends at seventeen, and he could even hear them, but that was it. Again it had drained him, though he’d dragged himself to work the following day. Rhys was stubborn. However, he needed to understand what was happening to him. What was different now.

It had occurred to him to speak to his sister Max, as she had a unique…ability of sorts. It was far different than his own. Hers was far more useful in his mind and probably better understood. She was due to drop by while Maria was out for the day with errands, and Rhys was watching their daughter. The timing worked out well. He didn’t need Max and Maria glaring at one another while Rhys prepared to stop a duel from destroying his flat. Charlotte was asleep, but he knew she would be up soon as he’d learned very quickly that he was not allowed to have any peace or rest with a newborn. Nothing could have prepared him for this experience, but he forgot how tired and bad he felt the second he looked down into that crib.

Rhys ran his hands along his face, at least ‘tired’ was a normal look for him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the photograph on the end table. A picture of himself and some of his siblings with Elias in the middle. It had been after one of the Triwizard Tasks. Dahlia, Jean, and Ava were missing, but that was because Rhys had not known them then. That had been another picture he had tried, and that had left him about as drained as the picture of his mother. However, anytime he chose something such as a random picture of him on the job or less sentimental, it was a less intense experience, though he was just as physically exhausted after. For the moment, he hadn’t had the energy to try again since Charlotte was born. In fact, just apparating to St. Mungo’s in time had almost caused him to become one with one of those tall stands that held postcards in the gift shop. His focus had been off since that accident.

The door opened, and Rhys glanced at the door and saw Max. He wondered if he should bring it up now while Charlotte was asleep, or maybe he’d wait. ”Hi Max.” Rhys’ tone was low, if only so he didn’t make too much noise for now.

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[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 18, 2026

The months since the destruction of Hogwarts had been a whirlwind of activity: NEWTs, her eighteenth birthday, the start of her training as a nurse at St. Mungo's, and Rhys's becoming a father had come all at once, but it felt strange to Max, too, that she wasn't preparing to go back to Hogwarts in September, as she had done for years. Then again, nobody else was preparing to go back to Hogwarts that year, either. That was maybe the strangest of all of it. Everything that had happened felt surreal to her, like she might break if she were to try to process it. The amount of times she'd nearly died while at Hogwarts—or even just trying to go about her life—was to the point where she had to wonder how much Elaine Dupree's death would change anything at all.

Yet she was also an aunt to her half-brother's daughter, thanks to a father who deserved a place right up there with Elaine and Lord Voldemort and Grindelwald and no shortage of others whose names lingered in infamy. She tried to put it behind her that her niece's mother was her other half-brother's maternal cousin and that she had nearly died as Elias had done and that none of the future that had become her present would have been possible without a convoluted chain of events that had gone from one thing to another. Max had never really had any desire to have children of her own, but she loved Charlotte. She did, even if she didn't entirely agree with the circumstances that had led to her conception. It was better, certainly, when she and Maria didn't have to be in the same room. It was still too weird for both of them, as much as Max tried to be civil for the sake of the infant who hadn't asked for the family dynamics that she'd gotten.

When Rhys had invited her over to talk, Max's first thought was that it was something to do with Maria. She didn't hesitate to come, especially not when her training schedule lined up in such a way that it wasn't an issue that day. He looked tired, Max noticed as he answered the door and greeted her, but it was less the "hungover" sort of tired and more the fact that he was a new father. Adorable though Charlotte was, she still required a lot of care and attention at that stage.

"Hi," Max greeted Rhys, keeping her voice low under the assumption that Charlotte was sleeping. "You alright?" she checked, her nurse training and the pile of trauma she'd endured making her more attentive to that than in the past.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

shadowed in time

another road redefined

August 18, 2026
maxima ruqayyah greyback

It was rare for Rhys to have a moment to himself anymore, which only added to his agitation at times. It was surprisingly nice to have his friends drop by to see his daughter and pay a visit, but he merely felt irritable by the end of some days and weeks. Even now, he would have liked to rest, but he needed to talk to someone about this as it was just another weight he carried. Plus, Rhys felt better when Max visited. After that last attack on his former school, he felt the anxiety of almost losing another sibling in some tragic accident.

Max asked if he was alright, and Rhys nodded. ”Just tired.” Part of him was still terrified that any day now, he’d do something wrong or mess up so badly that his daughter would end up as messed up as he felt most days. So far, she seemed content as long as she was fed. They were all aware of his minor accident that June and the knock he’d taken to the head, which had spawned many jokes at his expense. ”Charlotte’s asleep, she won’t be up for another hour or two.” He added, it was easy to know her schedule by now.

”How’s training?” Rhys asked. He kept asking how school was like his sister was still a first-year, but she was an adult now. ”I—erm—I wanted to ask you about your ability.” Rhys paused to gather his thoughts into something cohesive. ”How did you know? How did you know it was there?” Had Max had some incident that gave her this ability? It wasn’t the type of magic they learned in school, nothing in NEWT level courses or even his own training around the world. And as far as Rhys knew, Max had not been dealing with cursed objects in some ancient tomb.

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[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 18, 2026

"Just tired," Rhys answered her about how he was doing. Charlotte, though, was asleep, he said, so that was positive. If not for the fact that Rhys had asked her over to his flat, Max would have been tempted to tell him that he could just go and take a nap while he had the chance. She didn't mind remaining on the alert in the event that Charlotte happened to wake up.

Rhys asked her how her training was, and Max smiled a little. "It's good," she replied with a shrug. It was more interesting than Healer training would have been, in her opinion, and probably far less stressful.

"I—erm—I wanted to ask you about your ability." Max blinked as Rhys spoke. "How did you know? How did you know it was there?"

"What?" Max had to question why Rhys was suddenly asking her about it and why he had asked her there just to bring it up. Her first thought was that there was something wrong with Charlotte, though she was certain that Rhys would have sounded more panicked if that were the case. "I didn't. Er, I mean, it was…" She hadn't known until she had used it for the first time, completely unknowingly. It was only after the fact that she had realized that she was seemingly capable of doing something that no one else was. "Here," she said after an awkward pause in which she wasn't entirely sure if Rhys wanted the full story then and there. "Why don't you go sit down, and we'll talk?" It would be more comfortable for them both, figured Max, which was why she had suggested it.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

shadowed in time

another road redefined

August 18, 2026
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Rhys had always felt thankful for his family and the siblings he’d connected with over the years. It helped him feel less alone though he did struggle at times seeing them with their own proper families. It had made him feel anxious in the beginning, and he’d been astonished that they’d even wanted to meet him. It was still a struggle, and even wondering what he’d done to deserve the perfect child he’d been gifted and scared he would fail her somehow. Max had been happy to babysit when needed alongside help from Vasilia. Dahlia wasn’t as keen, but it was her niece after all, and Jean had been ecstatic at the thought of being an uncle.

Max didn’t say much about her training. Maybe it was still early and without much activity. But he’d jumped to his question—at least before he changed his mind about asking. It was a bit of a random question, even he had to admit, and he nodded at her suggestion. ”Right.” Rhys walked into the dining room, where Charlotte was less likely to wake because they were noisy. ”I realized you never really told me how you figured you had it…but if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.” Rhys realized it might have been a prying question afterward. Clearing his throat slightly, he took a breath and paused, wondering how he could explain why he was asking.

”I uh—I ask because, well…” He frowned slightly, looking down. ”After that incident in Greece, I saw…experienced something.” It had been like ice water hitting him in the face that day. It was all still vividly in his mind. ”The Healers say I’m fine, but then it happened again.” Maybe it was a lingering curse? Or some permanent Hex? Sometime along the lines of what happened to Jasper, though with entirely different after-effects. The fact that he could focus on it at times made him think of Max and her healing. Rhys was still trying to find the words to explain it without sounding like he’d lost his mind when that tablet hit his head.

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[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 18, 2026

By Max's standards, it wasn't atypical for Rhys to be a little bit "off", but his demeanor was more concerning to her because it was atypical for him. He wasn't just hungover or overtired because of the baby, as became clearer to her as the two of them went to go sit down. It was the explanation that Rhys gave her regarding why he'd asked her about her ability in the first place that really did it, though. He seemed even more hesitant than he had when he'd admitted that he'd gotten Maria pregnant, and that awkwardness was hard to top.

Rhys seemed truly concerned, and Max's eyes followed him as he looked down. He had seen—or "experienced", as he corrected himself—something after what had happened to him in Greece. "The Healers say I'm fine, but then it happened again."

Worriedly, Max frowned, too. She knew that it probably wasn't Rhys's intention to remain so vague about what had happened, but she felt that she needed to know more. What had happened? "Rhys…" Max kept an eye on him, wanting to make sure that he was okay. "Can you tell me what's happened?" she asked him, realizing that she was slipping back into her "nurse" tone of voice—a little higher in pitch, a little less abrasive. She wanted to make sure to get a good look at his pupils, for one thing. "Can you tell me what you're seeing?"

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

shadowed in time

another road redefined

August 18, 2026
maxima ruqayyah greyback

A lot had changed for Rhys over the past year, but a lot had remained much the same. His struggle to discuss what was on his mind or bother him was never easy, and all that bottled-up energy only ever caused problems for him. The usual targets ended up being his family, friends, or Vasilia. At least this wasn’t pure anger but anxiety instead. It made him jittery to think about. The memory of that first experience still gave him goosebumps and even made him a little emotional. Max looked concerned, and Rhys glanced at her but looked away. It was easier to explain when he stared at the floor.

Rhys didn’t answer immediately. Would Max have him sent to St. Mungo’s, fearing he had gone insane after he’d explained? He clenched his jaw before releasing and speaking again, finally. ”I saw my mother.” Rhys began—immediately, a bubble of emotion welled up in his chest, and he paused again. ”I hadn’t been home long, and I found a photograph of her from when I was very little and right before she..." It hadn’t been that long before she’d been killed. But Rhys almost forgot that only Dahlia and Elias ever knew the gruesome details. ”And then it was like I was in a Pensieve…but it was different.” Rhys had experienced Pensieve memories when he was small, which is why those nightmares were permanently seared into his mind and when Maria had shared her memories of Elias with him. This had definitely been different.

”I could feel it…I could feel the wind and smell her perfume. A Pensieve memory isn’t like that.” It had been rather alarming when it all happened. ”I don’t understand it…I managed to do it again and then I again with a different moment…but it wasn’t really a memory.” He had watched himself walk away in that moment, so it couldn’t have been a memory, right? Rhys leaned forward to place his elbows on his knees and rub his face. He’d been reading nonstop, trying to find clues and understand without sounding like he’d lost his mind. Were these hallucinations? Had he been cursed or poisoned in a way the Healers couldn’t track? Was it safe for him to be around Charlotte? It scared him—but he didn’t want to admit it. ”I just—how does something like this just happen or appear?” Just like how did Max’s ability just appear one day? Rhys didn’t know where to start with all this.

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[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 18, 2026

When Rhys said at first that he had seen his mother, Max was confused. Her first thought was that there was something going on that had caused him to hallucinate, though he seemed to have been alright in the short time since she'd arrived. He sounded more emotional than she was used to hearing, though, like he was about to cry. "I hadn't been home long, and I found a photograph of her from when I was very little and right before she…" He didn't finish the thought, but Max understood. "And then it was like I was in a Pensieve… but it was different."

Max, realizing that what Rhys was describing to her wasn't just some hallucination, sat down, pulling out a chair so that she was seated facing Rhys but without the table in between them.

Rhys told her how he'd been able to smell his mother's perfume and how it made it different from just dropping into a memory in a Pensieve. It was, from what Max could tell, more like he had been reliving that moment in time. "I don’t understand it…" he continued, explaining that this was something that he had managed to do more than once. He buried his head in his hands, resting his elbows against his knees.

"I just—" Max had to wonder if he had hidden his face to keep himself from ending up in tears. "How does something like this just happen or appear?"

She wasn't really used to comforting Rhys. He probably would have gone for firewhisky if not for Charlotte's being there, Max imagined, and she had to commend him for not having gone that route. She wished that she had an answer for him, but she didn't. She didn't know why she had developed the ability that she had and why she seemed to be the only person who could heal people like she could.

Looking down slightly, Max reached for Rhys's wrist. He could look up. It was okay. "I don't know," she admitted to him, "but I know you're not going mad." She had wondered about that when she had realized what she could do. The most logical explanations were always thrown straight out the window, though. It wasn't easy to have people claim that it was just some fluke or that she didn't know what she had seen with her own eyes. "Are you having any other… symptoms?" It felt so weird to use the word "symptoms" in that context, but she didn't know what else to call them. "Once you've had these, erm… episodes?" She didn't know what to call what Rhys was experiencing, either. They certainly weren't regular memories, though. "Any pain or fatigue? Confusion? Anything like that?"

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

shadowed in time

another road redefined

August 18, 2026
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Rhys wondered if he sounded mad. Was this the beginning of a descent into some kind of mania or insanity? While non-violent now—Rhys always had a temper. A very small part of him had always wondered what drove Fenrir to be the monster he was, maybe some kind of madness in the beginning. Things were different when there was a reason to live—Rhys wanted to understand what was happening to him to fulfill the promises he had made to himself. But it was difficult to explain, and Rhys hesitated to tell his younger sister.

For a while, Max had been the youngest until they’d all met Ava, and now she was taking on the world. But sometimes, Rhys still felt like she was that young girl his other siblings were introducing him to as another family member. He heard a chair move, and glancing up, he saw Max in front of him with a chair she had moved. When Rhys had experienced the second experience…moment, it had hit him harder than the first time. The first time had been more shocking, while the second time, he’d felt the full force of that emotional train hit him squarely. A reopened old would be difficult to talk about.

Feeling a hand on his wrist, he looked up, confusion and fear in his eyes where there was usually something somber or stormy. ”I feel like I’ve been thrown against a wall.” Rhys answered. Which had happened before—a consequence of his career. ”Erm—but not in the…hungover…sort of way.” He quickly clarified. This was exhaustion he didn’t feel outside of the full moon or perhaps the early days of Aware Wolf testing. And then another thing came to mind, which he hadn’t thought about before. ”I don’t even dream.” Rhys looked away, his brow furrowed in realization. Pausing, he wondered if he was that drained after—but it was unusual considering relied on his whiskey to sleep.

Looking back at Max, he clarified again. ”I—um—always dream. I have nightmares…usually.” Rhys had never admitted this to anyone but Elias. Even Dahlia didn’t know, though she knew more of the gruesome details the others didn’t. ”I did it again with a different photo. One from when I was in school…it was similar but…less intense.” It was confusing, to say the least. But he felt a bit reassured that Max didn’t think he’d completely lost his mind.

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[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 18, 2026

"I feel like I've been thrown against a wall."

It wasn't like Rhys to look or sound like that. Even around the full moon or after he'd been drinking, he wasn't that… frightened. Rhys mentioned it, too—not his fear, anyway, but the fact that it didn't feel the same as a hangover did. Max tried to get a better idea of what Rhys was saying. He was saying that he didn't dream, which seemed normal enough until he clarified that he usually did… No, he usually had nightmares, he revealed to her.

Not having nightmares if he normally experienced them must have been a positive change, Max thought, but everything else that Rhys had described to her… She understood, at least in principle, why it must have been incredibly unnerving for him.

"I did it again with a different photo," Rhys elaborated. "One from when I was in school… it was similar but… less intense."

It was unlike anything that Max had heard, but the same was true of her own ability to heal people. There was no clear answer, even from experienced Healers. She had had to learn to live with it, though she also wasn't plagued by exhaustion. "If you think you need to go to hospital, then I'll take you," she offered Rhys, trying to remain calm. She could take Charlotte and use Side-Along Apparition if she had to. "But it might be best just to treat the symptoms for now." They could figure out a solution for the exhaustion, and hopefully it would abate some once Charlotte could get into more of a routine as she got a little older. "Er… Does that sound alright? I can watch Charlotte if you want to lie down."

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

shadowed in time

another road redefined

August 18, 2026
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Rhys had decided quickly upon meeting his first sibling that he wanted them to know that he was there and he wasn’t going anywhere. A show of strength in how he saw older siblings behave while at school or even the siblings he saw at the orphanage. A show of strength and authority—at least that was how he thought it was supposed to be. Talking to his younger sister like this was new, and to be frank, he avoided these types of conversations with Max because she was still so young in his mind.

When Rhys had met Elias, and he shared with Rhys details that were similar to his own…it made him feel more comfortable sharing those details he usually left out. And then, when first talking to Dahlia just a few years prior—it was the same thing. But maybe it was just the passing of time that softened Rhys, especially now that he was a father. He shook his head quickly. He didn’t want to go back. It was abundantly clear that they couldn’t help him. It was some strange magical happenstance, much like when he’d first gone to the island and gained that terrible but short-lived affliction. Would this one go away too?

”No…I’ll be alright.” Rhys couldn’t have gone to sleep even if he tried at that point. His mind was racing, and really the more exhausted he was when he purposefully went to sleep, the less he needed whiskey. And when his daughter was with him, Rhys hesitated to drink despite the cravings. Often he wondered if it was what Maria felt when she couldn’t drink because she was pregnant. ”I hadn’t told anyone. I just needed to know I wasn’t losing it.” It was not something he could deal with alone like he often defaulted to.

Rhys let out a sigh. It was a relief that someone believed him. But it made him think of something suddenly. ”I’ve never shown you a picture, have I?” Rhys looked at Max before reaching for the wallet he’d left on the table and taking out a photograph—the same one that had triggered that vision or whatever it was. His mother was happy and smiling, her curly hair just past her shoulders and Rhys at about age three or four. His past was not something he brought up. His half-siblings knew he had been raised in an orphanage, their father had killed his mother when he was young, and then he’d been bitten, and that was about the extent of it. Rhys couldn’t recall ever sharing even the happy parts with them, but he handed the picture to Max.

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[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 18, 2026

Rhys declined even needing to lie down, saying that he would be alright. "I hadn't told anyone. I just needed to know I wasn’t losing it," he shared.

Max shook her head. She had been through more than enough herself to know that Rhys wasn't losing his mind when it came to whatever was causing what had been happening to him. Were there other things that had caused her to think that he was losing his mind a bit in the past? Without a doubt, but he wasn't really losing his mind. His having been so candid reinforced that.

"I've never shown you a picture, have I?"

Assuming that Rhys meant a picture of his mother, Max again shook her head. She had never seen what she had looked like, though she knew that Charlotte had been named after her. It took him no time at all to pull out a photograph for her to see, and Max wondered if that was what had led to the first episode that he'd had. There was a woman who must have been his mother—Charlotte's namesake—with a little boy. Even though he must have been no older than about four years old, Max recognized that it was a much younger Rhys.

"…That's her?" Max asked him in quiet awe, studying the appearance of the beaming woman who was looking down proudly at her son. She could see that she looked similar to Rhys. "Your mum?"

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

shadowed in time

another road redefined

August 18, 2026
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Rhys merely nodded to answer Max’s question. He wasn’t that shy and timid boy entering Hogwarts alone at eleven, nor was he the serious and angry trainee meeting his sister for the first time. And he’d meant what he said when he first told Dahlia and Max that he was expecting a child that summer—it was important to him that Charlotte knew her family, and they knew her. That kind of loneliness was no way for a child to grow up. Rhys didn’t want his daughter to only know her loved ones through photographs and memories.

His face hadn’t changed all that much from when he was a child. It was easy to recognize him. Though the boundless optimism found in a child’s eyes was long gone. And thankfully, he resembled his mother more than his father. Though who knew what Fenrir really looked like behind that monstrous mask he’d created for himself. ”She was always smiling.” Rhys reminisced, though it was ironic since Rhys had her smile but rarely smiled himself. That’s what he always saw in the pieces of memories he had retained that weren’t nightmare-related. Being able to….see these moments had been overwhelming.

Fatherhood had forced Rhys to walk down a path with obstacles and challenges that he’d never thought about—things he never wanted to think about. And it saddened him to think that he didn’t really have any other photographs of her to see if he could trigger another episode. Just other random photographs of his school days, though he’d been curious about the photograph he had of all of them with Elias during the Triwizard Tournament. He cleared his throat. ”Max…I haven’t told anyone about this…” Rhys tried to think of the right word. ”…thing I have. I will—but maybe when I understand it better.” The idea of any of his siblings looking at him with that pity in their eyes was a bit of a horrifying thought for him. Though he knew he still had to tell Vasilia and Maria eventually, at least.

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[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 18, 2026

"She was always smiling," Rhys told her about his mother, and Max could understand more clearly why he had wanted to name his daughter after her. She doubted that he had many clear memories left of her at that age. Most of the "memories" that she had of being that young were because of photos or having been told that she had done or said something in particular. Maybe there would be a detail here or there, like the way that something looked or a particular texture. Having that little piece of his mother—being able to smell her perfume, he'd said—must have been something that Rhys wanted to keep with him.

"Max…" Rhys spoke up again before Max had time to comment about how beautiful the elder Charlotte looked in the photograph. "I haven’t told anyone about this… thing I have." The way he said it, it was clear that she needed to keep it a secret. "I will—but maybe when I understand it better."

"I won't tell anyone, not without your permission," Max promised, focusing fully on Rhys and not his photograph. If he wanted her to do some digging around St. Mungo's to see what she could find about a possible explanation for what he was experiencing, then of course she would do that… but that was entirely up to him. "I know you're not mad," she reiterated, but her voice was more gentle in a way that she had never really had to be with Rhys. "I know you're not." Max didn't think that any of their other half-siblings would think that he had lost his mind. He was stressed, definitely, but that could be managed. "And I know it's really sort of… scary," she acknowledged, "but no one is going to judge you for this." She didn't even think that Maria would. "I'll get you some potions or something, and we'll make sure you're sorted. Whatever it takes, I mean. I'm here for you, alright? Even if no one knows what this is, we'll find a way to treat it. Have you tried anything already? Any potions?" The sooner they could rule out what hadn't worked, the better off Rhys would be.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

shadowed in time

another road redefined

August 18, 2026
maxima ruqayyah greyback

More information sat in a lump in Rhys’ throat. Rhys wanted to tell Max about his nightmares, the details that only Elias, Dahlia, and Maria knew. It wasn’t even something he’d managed to tell Vasilia yet or many of his friends. Not even Deva after all those years. Why share his private hell with anyone else? Though this recent experience was truly a new circle of hell for him, even if it didn’t involve blood and violence, it only showed him what he wanted most in the world, and it was a blunt reminder that it would never be. The pain of that was far crueler than any savage nightmare.

Rhys nodded. Max promised not to say anything. Even after all these years, he still felt uncomfortable with people worried about him. It was still a bit foreign. Rhys’ eyes left the floor as he watched his sister speak—well, comfort him, rather. It was different. He was supposed to be the big brother and Max his younger sister, yet he’d sought her help and advice. ”A handful—Rob doesn’t ask many questions.” Thankfully. Sienna would have seen something was wrong immediately and refused to help him until he spilled his secret. ”There are a lot of curses out there we know nothing about…” Rhys began, pausing to gather his thoughts. ”If that’s what this is…” Well, he’d heard of worse ones. Rhys had survived more nearly fatal ones. If it wasn’t a physical ailment, some kind of disease, then a curse was the next logical thing in his line of work.

Talking about this out loud had helped more than he had expected it to. Not confining the words about his experience in his head made him feel a little saner. The curious side of him that wasn’t panicking wanted to know more about his condition. What else was it capable of? Was it triggered somehow? Was it temporary? Rhys only held onto a handful of photographs in his life, but as he’d met his growing family, he’d acquired many more, but he’d been afraid to hold them. ”I want to study it more when I have some time, and Charlotte isn’t with me.” Rhys admitted, his hands fidgeting a bit. But for now, he just wanted to rest. He was so tired. And right on cue, he heard a small cry from the room. His daughter had woken up. ”I got her.” Rhys stood up and walked to the room.

[ end rhys ]

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