sick feeling | mina

[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

april 2028, same night as WMNA...

CONVINCED THAT THEY HAD WON for the night, all Rue Weiss anticipated for the next few hours was mindless fun with a friend she had some…attraction to. Malcolm was quite convincing with his words and even his kisses…but he was especially convincing through his methods that he knew would send chills down the potioneer’s spine. Believing she would be waking up at his side, ready to escape near the crack of dawn, Rue willingly left Club Indigo with him, clinging to his side laughing at absolutely nothing.

The potions had gotten to her then, pushing her into the phase where quite literally anything was hilarious. Despite mindlessly opening up to Mal about what she had done and specifically what she had taken. Although it didn’t really matter, considering Rue couldn’t even remember most of the conversation anyway. Nor did they remember how Mal’s brows furrowed, the same way they usually would when he was frustrated or disappointed. Not questioning where they were walking to, Rue eventually found themselves humming, trying to hold herself up as their walking came to a stop. Where they were - the Weiss truly had no clue, but if they paid more attention..Rue would’ve realised that Mal’s persuasive words had resulted in the Weiss turning up at Mina’s front door.

It wasn’t until Rue heard barking that their body decided to push them back into focus and reality once more. Rue didn’t own a dog, nor did they remember seeing a dog at Mal’s place...But then the pin of realisation finally dropped. “Oh shit.”

| mina pandora oliveira |

thank u dez for the ruexmina idea xx

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

There were times where Mina hated having a phone. Usually it was because her parents knew that she was glued to it and would pester her with texts or phone calls until she answered. Occasionally it was because there were certain texts she didn't like getting in the middle of the night. Nothing good ever came through her phone at that point. The soft ding that woke her up off the couch notified her of a text from Malcom. One that took her a few times to read as her dog had awoken too and tried to lick her face awake. In short, Rue was in a bad place and Mal was bringing them by. That jolted her awake immediately. She had expected something like this was going to happen eventually. Rue always pushed the boundaries when it came to potion and drug consumption. At least Mina had figured herself out a little bit over the last few years. No more weeknight clubbing (unless planned ahead of time) and dropping the majority of her muggle friends saved her loads of money. But Rue was Rue and this was bound to happen. She just wished it wasn't in the middle of the night and with Callisto already at St. Mungo's. Having a sister that was a mediwitch came in handy until she was actually at work doing her job. Mina had somewhat of an idea of how to deal with Rue, mainly from personal experience, but her friend was going to be in for a rude awakening depending on the condition they came in with.

A knock on the door and several loud barks from Titania, which Mina immediately shushed her for because it was late (forgetting she was home alone and the apartment was magically soundproofed), she opened it to find Rue in a state that she'd never seen before. "I'll take over," she stated brusquely to Malcom, grabbing her friend's arm before dragging Rue inside and locking everything up again. Her dog was hopping around excitedly, small clouds of white, clumpy fur flying off her and going everywhere. Callisto hated the shedding, but there were more important issues at hand right now.

"What're you on Rue?" she asked as she guided her friend to the couch and sat both of them down. A flick of her wand later and two glasses of water started to float over from the kitchen. "Drink." It was a command, not a request. She was tired, angry, and scared all at once, because normally Rue didn't look completely zonked out like this. This was...different.

prudence oria weiss ● 430 ● Song by Artist

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

REALISING THE SITUATION A LITTLE too late, as Rue's arm was tugged, the potioneer's eyes widened more as she figured out where Malcolm was dropping her off. "You fucking lied to me!" She called out, seeing the tall figure walk away before the door was closed, locked behind them just as quick as it opened. In the Weiss' usual state, she would've loved Titania's welcome, but instead Rue gave the fluffy Samoyed a meek smile.

"Your mom's mad at me.." Rue mumbled to the dog, smiling a little as Titania's head cocked to the side. Being guided to the couch and sitting down, Rue felt the incoming wave of the effects of the potions she had mixed. Long gone was the laughing stage, instead being replaced with the state she was feeling from the start of the night. Slow but numb.

"Nothinggg." Rue dragged, leaning back on the couch while her head lolled to the side. "The usual potions..I'm fine.." Mina commanded to drink the water she had conjured up for them also but the Weiss whined instead, turning away from it. "Don't need it.." Rue tried to sit up then, feeling dizziness take over her as they did so. "Can I just go home?"

| mina pandora oliveira |

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

Of course she was mad. Upset and extremely concerned was a more apt description though, and Mina could only watch silently as Rue pet the dog. Titania had been good for everything Mina had dealt with over the last few years, and while a stubborn asshole sometimes, finally started to mellow out with age. Not that she missed the puppy years, but it was nice to finally have a dog that listened and wasn't a maniac. Ironic, considering that was probably exactly how her family had viewed her until recently as well...

And now it was Rue's turn. They both had to learn to grow up and learn their limits. Mina managed to do it a few years prior, albeit slowly, and her friend was about to go through the same thing. There was no telling if this was going to be a fight or easy. She just knew that she had to try and give it to Rue straight. An intervention, which maybe that was what this was, had to happen.

Speaking of, the way Rue had sunk into the couch, it looked like the sandman had come calling. She had always disliked the potions that did that, as they inhibited drowsiness even when other stimulants were being taken. "Yes you do. Drink." Mina grabbed the glass of water and held it up to her friend's mouth. "No, you can't. We're worried about you Rue. This is beyond what you normally do. Once again, what did you take? I want to know everything you're on right now." If anything happened, she needed to know if Mungo's had to be contacted. With certain Rue potions, Mina knew the ingredients and would be able to at least relay that to a healer. Callisto would murder her if they rolled up into the hospital, but she'd take those chances if it came to it.

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

RUE DIDN'T KNOW HOW FAR she was pushing the boundaries, nor could she say she cared either. All that mattered was the two seconds of nothingness in her brain. The life she gave her body with every quick or deep exhale and the ability to take it away every breath she took. The potions were helping her. Or so they told themselves. Feeling like they were becoming one with the couch even after adjusting themselves so they were sitting up, Rue groaned as Mina pushed the cup of water towards her lips. Regardless, the Weiss drank, knowing that if she refused once more - Mina would've either a). forced it within her anyway or b). yelled. Rue couldn't be bothered for both.

Looking up at her friend with dopey eyes as she drank slowly, there was an awkward silence in the air as the Weiss took their time to answer. "Who's we?" She finally asked, finding the simple question amusing as the corners of their lips twitched upwards. "Oliveiraaaa..I swear, I've taken the exact same thing I usually take." While her other hand slowly started to feel numb, the potioneer lifted it anyway, placing it slightly over their heart.

"Scouts honour! Or whatever those Muggles say.." Snorting quietly as if the best joke in the world was spoken, Rue's eyes began to roll back once more, and soon enough the potioneer became one with the couch - sinking into it. "Pepper-Up! A little bit of sniff-sniff here..Something there..Tell her Titania!.."

| mina pandora oliveira |

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

Mina knew that Rue was too far gone to process the look of disappointment on her face. There was a time for everything, and mixing drugs and potions was not one of them. She thought there had been an agreed upon edict that the harder stuff wouldn't be used at the same time. It was bad enough when the muggles went mixing, adding in powerful, mind-altering potions was worse. Knowing Rue, it had to be multiple potions too. That was the only way she would get to this point. "I know what the usual looks like," Mina responded, exasperated. This wasn't the 'usual'. At least she finally drank the water. Progress.

She watched her friend clearly going through it, communicating through a series of slow giggles and half-awake speech. Merlin, was this how the two of them always looked when they were out together? Mina had never had the pleasure of looking in a mirror before, but sort of understood now why Callisto hated whenever she came home at three in the morning high. And the. Rue finally spilled. The Pepper-Up potion (which was the usual and Mina probably could have guessed) in addition with some other, vaguer intoxicants. Great. With one out of the way, it sounded like they were back to the guessing game again, which Mina could only begin to imagine. She glanced over at her dog, whom Rue was trying to talk to, which only elicited a big stretch from the Samoyed. Titania looked like she wanted to go back to sleep, the excitement of Rue's arrival wearing off.

Having purposely ignored Rue's question about who 'we' was earlier, it felt like now was the best time to discuss it. "I'm worried that you're going too far lately...I think Malcom agrees with me. Probably Benny too. Merlin, even Nova mentioned it to me the other day when I saw her. You've been really off Rue, and I'm scared you'll keep pushing it until you can't anymore..." The fact that the baker had something to say about one of her number one customers was really what made Mina concerned the most. If people that didn't frequently see Rue could tell, then it was a problem that had to be addressed. She was unsure of what the proper procedure was to get a magical being unhooked from excessive potion use, though a trip to St. Mungo's wasn't out of the question. As much as she disliked relying on Callisto for help, her sister would be the best person to turn to. The question though, was when?

prudence oria weiss ● 428 ● Song by Artist

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

TO A HIGH RUE, HER words were convincing the entire world. But to reality? Her words would barely convince Mina's dog. Rue knew they were fucked from the moment they figured out Mal had dropped them at Mina's door, and while they didn't want to particularly be baby-sitted..here they were, getting the baby treatment. "This is the usual!" They objected, lifting a finger to point at Mina..except Mina wasn't even in the direction the Weiss was pointing to. Noticing that even Titania was growing tired of her, Rue gave the Samoyed a pout, patting her head before attempting to sit up - to look presentable. Although, they looked far from fine.

Snorting as their friend spoke, Rue's eyes rolled then, their body returning to slumping and becoming whole with the couch. So much for trying to look presentable huh. "How could I go too far?" The Weiss challenged, knowing damn well the lack of Galleons in Gringott's and the stack of potions and other..things in their warehouse would be evidence enough. "Nova?..I don't even talk to her." Aside from when Rue has a brownie order here and there..which has been..more frequent than most months as of late.

"You're literally..worried for no reason." Rue retorted, another snort leaving their mouth as they found that sentence remotely funny. Fishing in their pockets for their potion, the potioneer's brows furrowed. Did they leave it at home? at the club? Were they robbed? It was a stupid idea to ask Mina about it, but stupid was in Rue's middle name."Have you seen my bottle?..maybe..yey-big?.." They asked, measuring out the size of the potion with their fingers. Sweat already rose to Rue's brow, and usually that was an indicator for the Weiss to re-up on their potion ingestion, but given all the things they had mixed with that night..re-upping was the worst choice to make.

| mina pandora oliveira |

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

Rue was honesty starting to piss her off. She knew getting angry and upset over the situation would only cause her friend to retreat back into whatever drug-induced shell they were currently in. Maybe it was funny once upon a time, where they were both trying to figure life out and doing this sort of thing made it all go away. But Rue knew better than to mix and match to this extent. This absolutely was not the 'usual' and they both knew that. Mina could only stare at her friend with a disapproving look that would ultimately go unnoticed. Rue wasn't in the right state to process any of this.

"You talk to her enough that I'm hearing about it," she shot back, her voice rising slightly. The dog jumped up at that, immediately getting her nose gently redirected because now was not the time for playing. "Don't tell me how to feel," Mina added. Her dog once again tried to climb up onto the couch, the mixed signals between the two friends clearly throwing her off. "Titania, stop. Not right now."

While momentarily distracted by the dog, Rue started going on about a missing bottle. Obviously that meant the potions bottle they had been drinking, whatever this was, out of. "No I haven't." She inched closer on the couch to try and close the gap between them (and to prevent the dog from dominating the situation). Placing a hand on Rue's shoulder, she continued, "You need to slow down, Rue. Please. It isn't healthy anymore. Whatever is going on and making you do this, I'll help you with it. But you need to stop now or you're going to die." Mina knew she sucked at being serious, and that Rue absolutely wouldn't take this as anything more than a joke. But she really was trying to be. She just didn't know what the right combination of words were to get her friend to stop.

prudence oria weiss ● 327 ● Song by Artist

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

BROW RAISING, RUE BEGAN TO question whether or not everyone they simply walked by knew their business or not. Nova was the kind of 'friend' the Weiss saw bi-weekly, or more so rarely. So to all of a sudden have their business somewhat investigated just from meeting more frequently should have raised alarms in the potioneer's mind.

"So? What does it matter if I see Nova more often or not? It's just brownies!" Even in the state they were, they knew that statement was a lie. Rue had opened up to Nova once about experimenting with the brownies, using potions to see if there would be a better effect, so it was safe to assume Mina was going down that lane. As Mina told Titania off, Rue tried to shoot the dog a sympathetic smile, but instead weakly patted her head.

Feeling an hand on her shoulder, drowsy eyes trailed from the hand up to Mina's eyes. She looked sad..frightened even. But as the Weiss listened to Mina's attempt of being serious, it took everything for the potioneer to take her friend seriously. "I'm going to die?" She finally asked, her lips cracking into a smile. "I've been like this..for years..I'm unfortunately still here."

Within Rue, they knew it wasn't the response Mina was looking for, nor would she like, but it felt stupid to come out with the truth, that this spike of emotions and the need to numb them all came from a small altercation from within her family. "There's..nothing going on. And I don't know what you're talking about..about needing to slow down..I'm literally fine Mina."

| mina pandora oliveira |

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

”It matters because I know how much you’re taking on top of that. You’re buying extra batches from her, and whatever we get together, and then Merlin knows what you’re putting into your potions these days because its definitely stronger.” And that was before throwing the drinking into the mix as well. Mina knew this was the pot calling the kettle black. She had her own demons too and had dealt with them in unhealthy ways before as well. But she also knew when to slow down. Rue seemingly didn’t.

Watching her dog finally move away from the couch and crawl over to lay down in her bed, Mina turned her attention back to her friend. She could feel herself holding her breath as Rue commented on how it was too bad that they were still here. Now that wasn’t fair at all. That made her feel sick, with an unhealthy dose of anger mixed into it. It made her want to slap Rue silly until they understood the gravity of this, because clearly this little heart to heart intervention wasn’t working. But she couldn’t do that. Pushing her friend towards isolation was the last thing she wanted to do. Mina knew what that would lead to.

Unable to find the right words, she pulled back from Rue and looked away. She didn’t know why she felt like she needed to hide the fact that she had started to cry – Rue was too high to even know or care. That was the part that hurt the most. That they didn’t understand how this affected more than just them. Mina knew that she was a selfish individual. That she only ever did things that benefited her and her friends because that was what made life fun. But she would trade it all away right now if it meant Rue would sober up. Letting in a long sniffle as she dabbed at her eyes, she could hear Rue repeat that everything was fine. ”No…no it isn’t. It really isn’t. And I’m not sure how I can make you see that.”

prudence oria weiss ● 348 ● Song by Artist

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

HAD RUE TOLD MINA ABOUT the extra batches? Words that left Mina's mouth entered and left the Weiss' ears and mind in a slur like state, with it taking longer than usual for the potioneer to realise exactly what she was saying. Huffing as a quiet response, Rue sat up once more (as they of course didn't realise they had become one with the couch again). "You don't know anything.." They eventually muttered.

It was such a stupid thing to be ridiculously upset and a wreck over, but given the timing as well as the anniversary of their father's death, everything felt like it had happened for a reason. With Mina moving back, it took Rue a moment to realise and even as they rolled in the Oliveira's direction, the Weiss' brow rose. "Are you crying?"

Somewhere within Rue, they knew the severity of the situation. They knew this wasn't healthy, nor was it appealing or making their friends happy. After all, if they kept going..who knew what would've happened. But somewhere within the Weiss also...they simply didn't care. That was the point of these potions, to rid themselves of feelings and emotions, rendering them numb and useless. The same feeling they had experienced when he died.

"I'm sorry but I don't..know what you want from me..." They began, speaking in a slower pace as their words slurred also. "I can't..give you a therapy session into everything that's going on..It's not fair to you..But I really am fine Mina.."

| mina pandora oliveira |

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

’Are you crying?’ Rue’s words stung in a way that Mina knew they weren’t meant to. A simple observation that came from her best friend who was high out of their mind. Who was deflecting every attempt at an intervention possible. Of course she was fucking crying. It would be terrible of her not to be, because the way Mina saw it, this was it. If she didn’t breakthrough to Rue now, there wasn’t going to be a next time. Because next time, she was going to be called by an Auror to identify a body. This, in her mind, was a now or never situation and Rue was getting that at all. ”M-Maybe I-I don’t know anything,” Mina sputtered after a few seconds of silence as she processed what her friend was saying to her. Trying to halt the tears wasn’t going to happen any time soon, and her nose had begun to run as well. A large sniffle followed. ”B-But I do know that you’re really fucking yourself up Rue. Its effecting everyone around you.” She was sure she had already said something like this, though phrased differently. Mina already knew that it wouldn’t get through to Rue despite that.

”A therapy-“ she cut herself off before she could really get into it. Going from one extreme emotion to the next was really messing with her ability to proceed through this situation the right way. ”I don’t care if its not fair for me,” Mina started, her voice rising as she did from off of the couch. Her dog had jumped up again from her bed and was back next to her leg, reading the room entirely wrong and trying to hop at her. A gentle push down on her head made Titania understand, and off she went, back towards Rue. If she wasn’t so pissed off right now, she’d probably find the fishing for attention funny. Cute, even. But she wasn’t in the mood for that. ”What I care about is you not overdosing on one of your potions and dying. I get it, okay? Life sucks. It’s shitty and unfair and we’ve both had bad luck with it. But I’ve always liked to think that we have each other’s backs because no one else does. So this is me telling you that you’ve got to stop. Because I can’t do this without you Rue. I really can’t.”

prudence oria weiss ● 401 ● Song by Artist

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

IF RUE WAS SOBER, IF they were simply aware of the pain they were bringing their friends and even to their family..they would stop taking anything and everything. It wouldn't be a guarantee, a number one ensured deal that they wouldn't ever touch another potion, but it would be a step in the right direction. "I'm sorry.." Rue muttered. It was all they could say, especially in the state they were in.

Anyone in their right mind, sober or high knew that the spiral the Weiss was in was far from healthy. Merlin, maybe Rue needed to be spoken to like a child. To be convinced by someone they were attracted to, to eventually result in a 'therapy-like-session' from their best friend. As Mina's voice raised, it rang slightly in Rue's ears - a signal that the potioneer needed to pay attention.

Trying to keep her eyes from rolling back, Rue looked at Mina as best as they could. The vivid colours still popped in the Weiss' mind, and while her mind was tripping, fueling all sorts of false images, she knew she needed to pay attention. It was the only way to salvage whatever fuck up they had gotten themselves into. Titania had jumped up also, maybe because she assumed Mina was messing around, but like Rue, Titania read the room.

Listening to Mina, Rue's mind slowed, paying attention to the words she was saying. Mina..actually cared for her. So did Benny, and heck maybe even Nova. Rue had all this support around her, the support her family could never provide considering they distanced themselves from them all...But yet, selfishly, Rue knew it would never be enough.

"I just..hate burdening you..with things like that.." It was one of the reasons why Rue had turned to potions and the mess of drugs in the first place. The Weiss simply hated pushing or talking about their problems, even if it helped at times.

Clearing her throat and sitting up completely, Rue leaned forward, cupping her friend's face and brushing the tears away. "I'm sorry..I'll..I'll slow down. I..promise I'll stop. I won't leave you here on your own Mina.." It was a promise, and Rue typically never broke them. Especially when it was one with Mina.

Rue loved Mina in ways they couldn't even describe, a soulmate type of friendship with the Oliveira. Considering the two had been through enough anyway, what was a little slowing down going to do?

| mina pandora oliveira |

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

”You’re only a burden when you’re like this.” Mina didn’t mean to say it, but it had to come out eventually because it was the truth. This wasn’t the time to be soft and easy with Rue. They needed to hear it. Because Mina honestly didn’t know if she could believe what Rue was saying to her. A promise in this state meant absolutely nothing to her. Sober action did. There had to be constant proof that things were being done about it.

She didn’t move as Rue took her face and started to wipe away the tears. Mina already knew this wouldn’t be the last of them. They were only getting started here, and that was what frustrated her the most. What was Rue going to be like once everything wore off the next morning? Assuming this wasn’t one of those multi-day bender kinds of potions. Those were the ones that scared her the most. A wet sniffle came as she stared into her friend’s vacant eyes. Trying to discern between whether Rue meant what they were saying or if this was merely a reaction was impossible.

”You better not,” she said after a moment of thinking about it. Her forehead fell forward to touch Rue’s. She didn’t think she could look at her friend right now. ”I’ll make sure you get the help you need, okay?” Hopefully those weren’t useless words. Only time would tell at this point.

[The End]

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