city of delusion | sienna

[rhys alexander greyback]

can i believe when i don't trust?

all your theories turn to dust

September 18, 2028
Sienna Aurélie Linslee

Rhys took his time tidying up around his flat. Amelia’s toys were strewn about, as always. It would have taken him minutes to do all this with a wave of his wand, but it gave him something to do. Plus, he wanted to ensure none of his daughter’s toys went missing, or the tantrum would prove unpredictable. Suffice to say, it didn’t hurt to clean the old-fashioned way. Merlin forbid an errant shirt or undergarment that was not his end up between a couch cushion or somewhere inconspicuous. The only items left untouched were the few books and notes strewn across the coffee table beside whiskey and his glass.

He had to admit that teaching during the spring wasn’t as painful as he would’ve thought. And the familiar faces were the added benefit. By the end, Rhys, Vector, and the others felt confident in this new bunch. They would do well in the field and perhaps survive far longer than many of the instructor’s long-gone friends. And it all felt serendipitous as well. With teaching complete, Rhys left for one job early in the summer before opting to spend some time at home. Amelia’s birthday was at the end of July, and, for once, he could ignore the urge to leave. And since Dahlia was spending more time in London as she healed from her run-in with the troll, Sage had opted for a larger party for Amelia’s second birthday.

Rhys and Sage’s friends and family attended, all very excitedly. And he’d even invited Juniper, who he’d found himself talking to more often these days. It was strange to see her next to Amelia. Once upon a time, Rhys had wondered if children were in the cards for the pair. But life had other plans. Sage hadn’t been shy about her opinions, the usual. And since Rhys didn’t talk about his past often, many of his friends hadn’t met her—not that he advertised that this girl was his ex-girlfriend.

Satisfied with the state of his flat, Rhys sat down and picked up his glass while pushing away some notes to the side. There was nothing new in these notes, yet he stuck to his routine of reviewing where he was going, what he was supposed to retrieve, and tackling obstacles in his path. What curses were the norm for the time? And all those things. But, he swore that every time he picked up one of these books, it made him weary. It was then his phone buzzed on the table. Lazily, Rhys picked it up and spotted a message from Sienna asking if he was home. He paused, wondering if she would believe him if he said ‘no’. Instead, he responded with a ‘why?’

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[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

18 September 2028

Considering the state of the men in her life, Sienna had gotten somewhat used to simply showing up at their doors and letting herself in. That might not be a sign of a usual friendship, but then again – there was nothing usual about her life. Rob, she reasoned to herself while watering the singing daisies, tended to withdraw into himself and stop answering texts. It was a surefire sign that something was happening, even if she wasn’t privy to it. And Rhys – well, he was just cagey. Shooting off non-answers and avoiding his emotions like he was allergic to them. She’d learned a long time ago to be insistent and simply show up as needed. Being considerate was for emotionally healthy people.

Her phone buzzed, and Si glanced at the simple ‘why’ she’d gotten back from Rhys. It was so typical that she didn’t bother to roll her eyes (it wasn’t worth the effort), but simply tossed her wand and phone into her purse and made her way to the door. There could be any number of things happening right now. Most likely – Rhys was fine, Amelia was fine, and there was nothing to worry about. But things did happen, and Rhys’s break-up had come as something of a shock. Maybe not a surprise, but certainly shocking enough that it could send waves into a carefully ordered life. And for a relationship that had lasted that long, it took longer than a few months to get to a space where you could be ‘alright.’ All in all, she’d feel better if she could see him with her own eyes and assess the situation for herself.

Having settled very happily into being a willing and able babysitter, Apparating into nothingness and reappearing in front of Rhys’s door had become a familiar routine. She studied the faded paint for a moment before knocking – because he was still a cursebreaker and that came with a level of paranoia about intruders. She wasn’t looking forward to being accidentally cursed. The minute the door opened, Si strode in without a pause and looked over the apartment – looking for something that seemed different. She couldn’t immediately identify anything, so she turned back to look at Rhys. “Are you alive? Is the baby alive? Why do you send such mysterious and vague texts?”

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

can i believe when i don't trust?

all your theories turn to dust

September 18, 2028
Sienna Aurélie Linslee

Rhys responded to a few more messages before putting his phone back down. However, there was a knock at the door about ninety seconds later. Sighing heavily, Rhys strode to the door and answered. Of course, he expected nothing less. It wasn’t worth getting upset over the intrusion of his personal time. Eventually, Si would ensure they got to whatever point she was trying to make. Closing the door, he waited until Sienna stopped and finally turned to look at him. ”Yes, yes and you never answered my question.” Rhys reminded Sienna. Walking back down the short corridor, he turned into the living room and back to the couch with his drink and notes.

”Amelia is with Sage if you were looking for her.” Rhys never felt invisible in his life, but he also knew he was hardly a presence on their radar. The moment his daughter was born. However, he truly became invisible. It might have bothered some, but seeing his daughter surrounded by his friends and family always made him sentimental. Not that he’d ever admit it. Rhys was only grateful for Sienna’s timing as Juniper had left that morning. Part of cleaning his flat was also to tidy up any mess they might have made.

But, he was due to leave in a few days for his next job and for another few weeks or so. Rhys hadn’t shared that development in his life with anyone, at least not purposefully. Nell and Dahlia knew, but his sister wouldn’t share that with anyone. And Nell? Well, Rhys and Juni were well aware of a certain secret man in her life who happened to be Rhys’ longtime Cursebreaking partner, so he doubted she would say anything. And the last thing he felt like was a lecture from any of his friends. ”But since you’re here, what can I help you with?” The sarcasm was hard to miss, but he didn’t feel like leaving his own flat.

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[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

All in all, it seemed somewhat unfair for Rhys of all people to complain that she hadn't answered his question – so Sienna ignored his pointed remarks as she glanced around the apartment again. It was messy, but not in a particularly unusual way for Rhys. There were signs of a baby everywhere, even if Sienna felt a little pang of disappointment that she was apparently with her mom today. And there were signs that Rhys was working (if not overworking), but that was still preferable to what Si had been worried about finding. She’d known Rhys for years at this point, though, and he’d gotten a lot more subtle than simply leaving whisky bottles out for her to find.

That didn’t mean that everything was okay, though. Usually, the status quo was that everything was not okay, and it had become an automatic assumption for her to assume that something troublesome was lurking under the surface. Even if he hated to admit it to himself, much less to anyone else. In fact, Si was certain there were things he wasn’t telling her and his extended silence was a worrisome sign. Because problems that were acknowledged could, some way or another, be solved. Even if it took a long time, even if it became an extremely painful process. But what was she supposed to do with a vague suspicion and no concrete evidence? Rhys had never responded well to accusations or any kind of direct questions. She didn't even have news from Rob to fall back on. He'd been moody for the last few weeks in having apparently lost his drinking buddy's attention (maybe just because of something innocent? But knowing Rhys, probably not).

Having finished her inspection, Si turned back to Rhys. He’d sunk back into his couch with what looked like cursebreaking notes, so Sienna crossed the room to join him and perch on the edge of her seat. She shrugged a little at his question. It had never bothered Si to annoy Rhys a little, without pushing too hard on any of his red lines. It was important not to openly accuse him, but coddling him didn’t help either. Hence randomly showing up at his front door if he seemed on the verge of starting another spiral into the dark parts of his mind. “We haven’t spoken properly in ages,” Si pointed out, “And one word texts don’t count.” So he really had himself to blame. Rhys had arranged himself so he looked like he was on the verge of returning to his notes, and it gave Si a little satisfaction to keep the conversation going anyway. “When is Sage dropping Amelia off? We can all go for a stroll in Diagon later, get some fresh air.”

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

can i believe when i don't trust?

all your theories turn to dust

September 18, 2028
Sienna Aurélie Linslee

Rhys couldn’t blame the full moon on his mood. He wasn’t sure what to blame, but he didn’t want to explain himself either. There was this feeling that resonated from his fingertips to his core. Like he couldn’t sit still but he didn’t know where to go either. Twitchy. That’s what some of the guys used to call him during his brief stint working at Merlin’s Museum after Saffron died. Twitchy because Rhys would startle so easily and because he was constantly on edge. It wasn’t something that was easy to disguise, no matter how hard he tried.

He looked at Sienna with a side-eye. Looking ahead and blinking a few times. Putting down his notebook, Rhys leaned back into the couch, she obviously was not going to leave. ”We’ve both been busy.” He remarked. Sienna with her work and the apothecary, and Rhys with his stint at Hogwarts in the spring and summer. Surely, she had things going on with Rob as well, not that they had ever discussed it. Rob had admitted much to Rhys the year before, but it wasn’t his place to bring it up before Si wanted to tell him. Plus, Rhys sleeping with his ex-girlfriend was not something he wanted to bring up either.

”You know I was here for most of the year?” The sarcasm underlined that statement as well. Somehow, he felt he saw certain people less with that kind of schedule. Logically, it didn’t make sense, but it wasn’t for him to figure out. He paused at the mention of Amelia, realizing he missed her and it was too quiet in his flat. ”Probably not till around dinner time.” It seemed to work out better this way, that way Amelia could get to sleep without too much disruption because of one or the other picking her up and all that. ”And then I have her until Friday morning.” Rhys normally would keep her until Friday night or Saturday morning, but he was due to travel, and portkey times were difficult to change once set.

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[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

Rhys had always been rough around the edges, but they’d been friends for a long time and that meant she’d seen him in all kinds of moods. Yeah, there was always a certain level of grumpiness if you tried to get Rhys to do something he was vehemently against – like getting him to put on a Christmas sweater – but she’d seen him relaxed before, even happy (for a moment or two). He didn’t look calm or relaxed now, even when he was reclining on his couch and in between assignments. There was an edge to his tone and it gave a different meaning to some of his otherwise innocent-sounding sentences. It might’ve been easy enough to blame the mood on a lack of sleep (which was likely to happen when you lived with a baby), but it also seemed like more than that. Like whatever was causing him to be so on-edge was constantly with him, some uneasy impulse that was constantly itching at him from the back of his mind.

Still, Si accepted the observation with a nod that they’d both been busy. “We’ve been trying to sort out some of Aware Wolf’s side effects,” Si volunteered, “And see where else we might take it. I’ve wanted to try adding it to drinks for ages, but of course that seems to neutralize the potion’s effects. Not sure what causes it yet.” She could realistically talk about brewing potions for hours, but that wasn’t the purpose of the visit and Rhys would probably get bored with the technical talk. Rob at least enjoyed the debate. But she still wanted to get back the normalcy of holding a conversation with Rhys. After a while of being out of contact, the conversation had a slightly stilted feel to it.

“So?” Si shot back immediately as he pointed out that he’d been locally based for most of last year, “If you don’t answer texts, then it doesn’t really matter whether you’re in London or the Maldives, does it?” She probably could’ve been more proactive, though. That was a thought she pushed away a little guiltily. Her priorities had begun to shift a bit while she’d explored her new relationship with Rob and all the exciting implications of it. And of course, Sienna had always put priority on the development of Aware Wolf, especially once it’d gone public. She only really kept steady contact with Terry because they lived together, and maybe she had been neglecting her friends a bit…but it still didn’t contradict the fact that Rhys pulled into himself when something was happening and he only shared when forced to. “It must be nice to see Amelia more often, if you’ve been travelling less. I’m sure she loves having her dad around.”

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

can i believe when i don't trust?

all your theories turn to dust

September 18, 2028
Sienna Aurélie Linslee

Sienna had the advantage of finding her way around Rhys’ defenses early on in their friendship, but mainly due to Aware Wolf. Who knew what their friendship would look like without that catalyst? Still, Rhys was grateful for her friendship and her support, even if he was terrible at showing or saying that fact. And on a day like that, he wasn’t likely to say it as such, either. For whatever reason, he’d just woken up in this mood. It wasn’t new. Nobody who knew him would be surprised. Even Juniper, in those early days, had learned to navigate around Rhys on such days—though usually he was working.

He supposed stuff like this was more obvious even to him with this much time home. Rhys nodded as if the potions things interested him. It wasn’t that it didn’t, but it wasn’t his forte like it was for Si, Rob, or Archer. He looked up at the ceiling when she responded, finally putting his papers down and giving up on pretending to read his notes. ”Fine—I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.” Busy teaching, spending time with his two year old daughter, and the rest of his free time had really been spent with other friends or Juniper mainly. Not that he’d admit that out loud. It wasn’t the point.

He sat back on the couch, relaxing a bit more as one might do when talking to a friend. ”I’d like to think so.” Rhys lightly shrugged. He certainly enjoyed the time, but what would a two-year-old notice? ”Sage is always eager to get her back.” When Rhys looked at Sage, he saw Sage, but it never stopped Saffron from entering his mind. Rhys might never have interacted with Sage if not for her sister, but here they were, co-parenting when they were barely friends in the first place. It was a careful balance they kept, but Rhys was determined to give Amelia what he never had. ”I’ll be traveling quite a bit again. The teaching was temporary.”

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[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

It looked like a toy hurricane had hit the room, and Sienna absentmindedly picked up a stuffed animal that had been abandoned on the couch while Rhys shuffled around his cursebreaking papers. There was a loose thread on one of its paws and Si played with it while the two split hairs about who’d been busy and when and where. Really, they both could’ve been more proactive but it was generally accepted that Sienna reached out more often whenever Rhys was in one of his moods. She hadn’t seem him in this state for a long time, although it was hard to say whether he’d been doing better while dating Vas or whether he’d just been working abroad more regularly. Now that he’d been staying local, these kinds of behaviors tended to stand out more.

“She’s probably just getting used to sharing her,” Si said with a little shrug at Rhys’s observation. It didn’t sound particularly surprising to her. “It’s an adjustment when one parent travels a lot and then is suddenly here all the time.” It took a certain kind of person to seek out careers like curse-breaking, but it certainly suited Rhys. He’d always been a restless sort, so it was unusual to see anything anchor him to one place. He loved his daughter, no one would deny that, but Si wondered how much that clashed with his natural desire to be mobile and throw himself into danger. Sienna had spent time with Rhys’s siblings, usually in the context of babysitting, but she’d had minimal contact with Sage. Still, she could sympathize.

Sienna couldn’t help but laugh again at the thought of Rhys teaching. He’d mentioned it several times before, but she just couldn’t imagine it. He was a full-fledged independent adult, there was no doubt about that. But he was still immature in a lot of ways and he must have seen some of those behaviors reflected in the cursebreaker students. “Did the bank call you, or was that your choice?” It seemed a more diplomatic way of asking ‘did the kids finally drive you insane’. Si found the thought of teaching intriguing, even if she herself would never be able to find the time in her packed schedule (Aware Wolf was like two jobs and a hobby all at the same time). But it was hard to imagine Rhys with students, especially if they were tactless or chatterboxes. He tended to pick fights if he thought he had to defend something.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

can i believe when i don't trust?

all your theories turn to dust

September 18, 2028
Sienna Aurélie Linslee

Remaining home for an extended time was not a natural state for Rhys, and often, it led to some kind of trouble. Idle hands and all that. Not that Rhys sought it out, but it was as if something underneath was simply waiting, and the longer he went from traveling from place to place, the more likely it sought freedom. While he had never pictured himself as the traveling time during his years at school, all he’d wanted in those days was to get out of the orphanage. Hogwarts had been his main escape, and despite all the moments he hated walking through those halls as a prime target for bullies, it was better than the alternatives. At least there were good memories to go with the bad.

Rhys nodded idly. That was certainly part of it. Sage was a good mother, and Rhys would never say otherwise, but it was hard to say the pair were even friends at times. How could they? Rhys had been best friends with her late twin sister, and Sage was certainly not Saffron in any way except appearance. ”That’s probably it.” And certainly not judgment on how Rhys lived his life. But he didn’t see an issue; when Amelia was with him, that was his focus and nothing else, not even whiskey. And when she was with her mother, Rhys kept himself busy—usually with whiskey or spending time with his friends or Juniper.

Speaking of, Sienna asked how Rhys had gotten himself into this teaching gig. For whatever reason, the thought of Rhys teaching was amusing, but he even shook his head. Why would anyone ask him? Aside from the years under his belt, what else did he bring to the table? Certainly not a warm and welcoming personality, not that Cursebreakers survived long with personalities like that. ”My choice.” He clarified. ”A Professor reached out, Vector, to help with the 2nd year trainees. I didn’t want to do it initially, but here we are.” Only a gentle nudge from one’s ex-girlfriend did the trick. ”Most left at the beginning of summer. I stuck around since Amelia’s birthday was coming up. I think Archer stuck around so he wouldn’t have to work with the newer Cursebreakers with me still here.” At least that was the excuse Rhys was given. After that evening at The Three Broomsticks for his birthday, however, Rhys had settled on a possible real culprit.

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[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

It was hard to compare herself to Rhys at all, because really they were nothing alike, but there were some parallels between their lives that meant Sienna could really understand him sometimes. Talking about their mothers had been one of their first real bonding experiences, since their interactions before that had been extremely clinical when it came to the testing process for Aware Wolf. But Si also understood the travel bug that bit sometimes. Hadn’t she gone on her big world tour a few years ago, when her own life seemed to be unraveling and she’d desperately needed space from Rob and her unresolved feelings about him? Si could pretend it had been all about the potions, but that’d just been the excuse. The travel had been an escape mechanism, since moving from place to place meant nobody around her really knew her and therefore couldn’t judge or criticize the choices she’d made.

The anonymity had helped, not to mention staying busy to chase away the blues. But it hadn’t been as rewarding as her life in London, so Si had come back. Gotten her shit together, confronted the stuff she’d been avoiding. Still, she couldn’t blame Rhys for the impulse to run. When push came to shove, she hadn’t managed to ignore it either. So she sympathized with him, but it wasn’t hard to acknowledge that Sage must be feeling some kind of way about it too. That was why she couldn’t really compare herself to Rhys. They might’ve gone through a couple similar things, but they were different people and had made different choices.

Si kept fiddling with the stuffed lion and wondered if she really wanted to keep asking questions. There was clearly a lot Rhys wasn’t telling her. He and Rob tended to edit their stories and leave out details until she pushed, and it’d clearly become more of an instinct than a choice for them at this point. “Maybe helping them now will lead to fewer annoying mistakes later,” Si pointed out, although she was joking more than anything else. She smiled, just to extra prove her point, but she figured Rhys’s stories about annoying trainees would never run out of juice. “I’d love to see what Hogwarts looks like,” she continued, trying to imagine the castle in her head (although she really only had stories from her British friends as a reference). “I had a hard time adjusting to magic, but I liked school a lot. I think Potions class was where it all started to make sense to me. The Potions Master always said there might be some magic involved, but it was just chemistry and logic.” It was just one way that professors could really impact their students’ lives. Si was duly impressed by anyone who survived teaching.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

can i believe when i don't trust?

all your theories turn to dust

September 18, 2028
Sienna Aurélie Linslee

Rhys knew Si was trying, and he wasn’t making it particularly easy. But something about his mood that day didn’t let him care enough to change. Occasionally, he would take a deep breath and kick himself to cooperate, but that day, he would not. But that’s what his friends were accustomed to by now, at least those who knew him well enough. The timing was not great, considering his work schedule. This led to many fights in the past with Vasilia and Juniper during those respective relationships. But that had just been one thing on their list of grievances. A list Rhys didn’t always agree with. And one that Sage was happy to wave in his face when given the chance.

While he had thoroughly enjoyed spending much more time with Amelia, Rhys had to admit this tension between him and Sage had grown drastically. ”One would hope.” While the extra training brought more confidence from this recent class, he still wondered if holding them back from the field would make them too eager and arrogant, but only time would tell. It only took one incident to remove that gleam of invincibility and perhaps live to see another day. Rhys knew that feeling well as he was humbled quite quickly, not that it helped with the sting of losing Saffron.

”I’m surprised the High Council hasn’t gotten you to teach at LIFE.” Rhys wondered aloud idly. Really, he wondered if it was worth the lecture to grab a drink now or wait until Si left. ”With your Order of Merlin and everything.” Certainly, that was good publicity for the school. Not that he thought of that much. They’d brought in a Greyback to teach, so maybe the staff wasn’t all that worried about that.

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[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

They weren’t going to break the small talk barrier today, Sienna finally decided. It was hard to see whatever was happening under the surface with Rhys, which in turn made it difficult to decide whether to push or let it be. He wasn’t transparent, and if Si had known him for less time – well, then she would try harder to respect his boundaries. But the fact of the matter was that they’d known each other for a good chunk of time, and there was precedent for Si being a little too nosy until they finally came to the heart of the matter. At some point, she might need to push a little bit harder (but she was reluctant to admit that, because then it would also mean admitting that something was wrong). Still, that wouldn’t be today. He wasn’t in the right mood for it, and honestly neither was she.

So they kept discussing Hogwarts, and Sienna let herself consider whether she’d ever try and teach a class there. She knew all sorts went to teach, not just professors or researchers – there were even Ministry officials and industry professionals from abroad that came to offer their expertise and a different perspective. But she doubted it. Sienna shrugged a little at Rhys’s point about the Order of Merlin but didn’t say anything in response. She and Rob had told themselves that they didn’t want to let it change things too much, but obviously it had. “I just want things to be normal,” she said, although it sounded kinda naïve to her and she flushed a little in embarrassment. “Aware Wolf keeps me busy, anyway. A lot of werewolves still don’t take it, but registration’s gone up. Now that it’s become so public, it’s a make-or-break moment. If it fails, nobody will forget it.”

She’d been dwelling on that last point for a while – because sure, the potion worked now but there were all sorts of things that could still go wrong. And if things went badly, or it failed…she wasn’t sure how easily she’d be able to pick herself up again. Just move on from the experience like it wouldn’t define the rest of her life. Communication between her and Rob had improved a lot over the last year, but she hadn’t admitted that fear to him. So while it did feel strange saying it to Rhys first, well…maybe he'd have an inkling of what she was talking about? Sienna shrugged again, trying to stay casual and not show how much the thought had been weighing on her lately. Because everything had been going right lately, but that just made it seem like there was a disaster on the horizon, hiding but waiting for the right moment to strike.

rhys alexander greyback