Head up stay strong; fake a smile and move on ¦ Hanna

[Lyra Horváth]

December 2027

The two transformations since leaving Rob had left her addled. Still heartbroken, she had carried herself through the worst of it and even though she still physically pained on an almost daily basis; the numbness had subsided. For the most part, she had been going through the motions and just carrying through life; not really living it. At Hanna's request, she had indeed decided to leave the hotel room she'd taken up residence in and come for a business meeting at her business. She had a feeling it wasn't what anna wanted to discuss, but the promise of a cocktail at three o clock in the afternoon had been enough to lure her to 96th at the shard.

Careful about her clothes, she'd dressed smartly enough but still put very little effort in. Black skinny jeans and a chiffon blouse. Ever-reliable combat boots in situ, she stepped out of lift from the entry lobby and glanced around looking for Hanna. It wasn't difficult to find her, the place wasn't exactly busy. The lunch crowd had left, and the dinner crowd hadn't come in yet. There were a couple of stragglers, hanging out enjoying afternoon drinks, but not all that much.

Sliding into the seat across from her cousin and best friend, she gave her a small smile. She'd gotten rather good at faking smiles again. Between that and the makeup she'd carefully applied to make her skin look glowing and healthier, to cover up the bags from not sleeping, she almost looked normal again. "Hey, what did you want to talk to me about"

hanna horváth

[hanna horváth]

Hanna couldn’t remember a time in her life that she felt better about where she was at. Her career was booming and she had countless people who cared for and adored her. Things with Felix had been better than ever but she knew things could be even better if they had the time. She couldn’t wait to attend the New Years Eve gala with him.

A couple of weeks prior, she got devastating news from her sister-cousin Lyra that she and Rob had broken up again. Truthfully, Hanna was tired of hearing about stupid Rob. Mates, soul mates, or not… he wasn’t good for her. As much as she wanted to serve Lyra tough love, Hanna couldn’t, not when Lyra had always been so strong and understanding for her during her last breakup with the stupid DJ.

Lyra slipped into the table with barely a greeting, which threw Hanna off. Her head tilted to the side, lips tugged into a deep frown, ”Helloo? Hi."Hanna greeted, dumbfounded. "Wow, straight to business are we..” she stated bluntly with a quirked brow, giving her cousin a look over. It didn’t look like Lyra was sleeping much, the fashionista in her could tell by the excess makeup caked under her eyelids. ”You look like you’re going through it, Ly.” Hanna stated, not really caring if it would upset Lyra. They were family, they could get away with that. But then her expression softened, ”Talk to me. Whats up? How are you feeling?” She asked her before taking a sip of her espresso martini, hoping those comments wouldn’t stir up a frenzy inside Lyra.

Lyra Horváth

[Lyra Horváth]

Raising an eyebrow, she shrugged to Hanna. "I mean I dunno I don't have anything else to say, or talk about. Unless you have actual good news about your life to say. I've got nothing Hanz." The best thing happening in Lyra's life at the minute was that she had managed to actually get on top of the almost daily nausea that had gripped her since parting ways with her mate. At first, the throwing up had left her wan and ragged. But now she had pretty much perfected the mix of potions she needed to take to not suffer it so badly. Now all she was afflicted with was a slight tummy upset when she awoke each morning that was remedied enough for her to keep down her bland meals by the many mixes of potions she took first thing in the morning. Lined up like soldiers on her bedside table, staring at her to start the battle that was each day. That, paired with a top nutritional coach Hanna could throw money at, had just about got her back to the weight she had been before it all, back in the summer. She was nowhere as healthy looking as she once had been when she was at Rob's side and had blossomed, but she didn't look as sickly as she had at the start of December at the very least. The only thing that still got to her on a daily basis was the cramps in her limbs that seemed to come and go with next to no pattern, with much annoyance.

Shrugging slightly she gave Hanna a weak smile "I'm alright. Much the same really. Going through it still yeah I guess, but getting better bit by bit" It wasn't a true lie, not really. As awful as she was and as much of a struggle each day was, it was getting slightly easier to live with Rob each day. Shutting off her mental focus had helped, and throwing herself into other projects. Distraction was a good friend, always. "I'm fine. Or else I will be eventually I suppose"

Sipping from the long cocktail glass, she eyed her sister in life, trying to smile again to put her at ease. "What news have you? Business? Personal? Anything..." Anything she could cling to.

hanna horváth

[hanna horváth]

Hanna watched Lyra with a soft gaze, truly observing her as every word dropped from her mouth. She could feel her pain from across the table, so Hanna scooted herself out from the opposite side of the table and forced her way to Lyra’s side. Hanna pulled Lyra into her arms into a borderline forceful hug and squeezed her lovingly. ”First off, I love you, Lyra. I love you so so sooo much. Forever and always. Eternally. So. Frickin. Hard. Okay?” she reminded her dramatically but it was all truthful as she spoke from the heart. Hanna kissed the top of Lyra's head comically, always willing to make an ass of herself to lighten the mood. Even if it would possibly annoy Lyra, she just wanted to always remind her sister how loved she was. ”If you need somewhere to stay, a change of scenery, or just need a hug or cuddle, or to throw a handful of darts at a picture of His stupid face. Anything. I always got you.” she clarified solemnly, bobbing her head passionately. "We're overdue for a sleepover!" Hanna pitched excitedly, waggling her eyebrows.

Taking a sip of her espresso martini, she gave a small smile. "I've been great." the blonde shared, unsure if it was wise to share that she was crazy over this older bloke...Felix. His face came to mind and she smiled again.

Hanna sank into the booth, feeling boost of chattiness from the alcohol and caffeine, "A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to make a gown for a member of the royal family. Truthfully I don't give a hoot about them but the exposure was great." she did a chefs kiss before continuing. "There's many Holiday galas coming up so I've never been busier, my hands kind of hurt.." Hanna laughed nervously, but she wanted to share because she was really happy and excited about everything. "And there's this guy...Felix. He's nothing like any other guy I've dated. He's so smart and charming.." she gushed dreamily, hoping it wasn't a mistake talking about her love life that had been nearly nonexistent almost a year.

Lyra Horváth

[Lyra Horváth]

With a somewhat exhausted smile, she regarded her sister. Hanna was forever the optimist to her pessimist personality. "I love you too Hanz.." was all she could muster up for the moment. She knew it came from a place of love, but it was hard for Lyra to feel anything but despair at the moment. Her mate had gone away. The ache in her chest was only getting worse, no matter how much she tried to dull it with Alcohol and other things. It was hard to stay hopeful for anything but a difficult forever right now. Deep down she knew she had to let Rob go, and yet it was one of the most difficult things she had ever had to do. The after-effects had been unbearable and although it didn't hurt as much to just exist, it was still strenuous to carry on with life and pretend it was ok. She tried her best of course, mostly just for Hanna's extent. "I'm okay Hanna, or I will be. I've taken a room at the Waverly in Diagon Alley and I'm living on Room Service at the minute, but I might take you up on a sleepover eventually". What she didn't tell Hanna as she was still vomiting up most of what she ate, her body forcibly rejecting it, and until that settled she couldn't spend any extended periods around her cousin.

Her tired smile didn't waver though, as she listened to her cousin's good news. She was truly happy for her and it gave Lyra something good to cling to. An anchor in the shit storm that was her own life at the moment. Nodding along with her words, she sipped at her drink slowly, praying it would digest at least a little and she might be able to enjoy some of the drunkenness before her body rejected it. "That's great-" she began until Hanna decided to share the news of a man in her life. Perking up, she set her glass down and let her eyes widen. "A guy?"

"Tell me all Hanna. I can't believe you didn't tell me about him beforre now. Rude!" feeling slightly like her old self, she grinned and watched the blonde for any further tells.

hanna horváth

[hanna horváth]

"A man.." she drawled, taking a sip of her drink as she excitedly bounced in her seat. "A manly man with a grown up job, who doesn't make me wait by the phone and cry for attention. His name is Felix. Like the cat." Hanna shared with a starry eyed smile. The smile quickly wiped from her face, her expression softening for Lyra. "I promise I didn't hide him from you on purpose. We've been talking for a while as friends, I didn't expect anything to come out of it, but I like him a lot. Honestly, when he dated my gal pal a long time ago I thought he was uptight and snooty but I dunno...I guess things change.."  she told her honestly, her mouth moving a hundred miles a minute.

Hanna finished off her espresso martini and ordered another. She grabbed her cousins arm, searching for reassurance in her boozed up mood. "-Do you think it's messed up dating a friends ex if I asked permission? Like I didn't want to date anyone in secret or any animosity." she explained, her expression falling. It was something she thought about a lot. Hanna's train of thought was going so fast, her train of thought felt like it would derail at any moment.

Her head tilted to the side, reaching for her sister cousins hands as her voice got more serious. "Anyways, Ly...I've been thinking. How do you feel about a 'tour' of sorts? Dominating America? Mexico? Anywhere. I think it's something we should think about logistically for the future." she pitched, watching her face carefully. Hanna was curious if it was something she would be truly interested in. Maybe it would be better to add more distance between her and Rob so she could focus more..


Lyra Horváth