The Night Spoke the Tongue of Flames [Rhys & Max]

[dahlia jade leloup]

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December 23rd, 2028

Every part of Dahlia's body throbbed. A healer really needed to check her out again because she'd taken a solid punch to the side of the face, her jaw swollen and hard. Thankfully she didn't have a headache or take any blows above her face, so she was certain there were no concerns about sustaining another concussion. The healer that had been provided to she and Rhys had said as much, but Dahlia really didn't trust them. The examination had been unbelievably brief after all. Other than the puffy face, her knuckles were purple with bruises, cracked in a few places from where they'd connected with some poor soul's teeth. Thinking back on it made her chuckle.

The two of them were sitting in the lobby of the local detainment center. Laughing hurt a bit, but it was worth it. She then remembered the chair that had come crashing down over the head of one of the punks that dared challenge the two of them. They were met with the fierceness of Fenrir, but spared by the fact that a Hit-Wizard happened to come by. Despite asking, the front desk secretary wasn't giving them back their wands until someone arrived. Which meant Max, since apparently Sage wasn't going to. Dahlia had a myriad of words she wanted to use for her, but refrained from saying any of them aloud. She knew Amelia's mother didn't trust her at all. Something about how 'there were always issues when she was around Rhys'.

"There's no one else you can call?" she turned to ask Rhys, a shooting pain going up her neck. That was from sleeping on the cell bench all night. Personally, she had no one else but him and Max. Maybe Archer, but he was gone for the holidays already. It was sort of humiliating sitting where they were, banged up and bruised, waiting for their little sister to escort them home. Apparently whomever was in charge deemed them not dangerous enough once they sobered up, and allowed them to sit out here instead of with the actual criminals that had been brought in overnight. "Oww..." Dahlia muttered as she tried to flex her right hand. She was starting to think it might be broken...

rhys alexander greyback & maxima ruqayyah greyback ● 375 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

December 23, 2028

One double shift at St. Mungo's and multiple conversations later, and Max had put together the many pieces of what she had missed. Rhys had gotten arrested twice in the span of three days, and the second time had involved Dahlia, too. Upon discovering what all had gone on, Max was initially furious, but she was also deeply concerned. Somehow, in all her half-siblings' drunken moments, they hadn't done anything that had brought them to that point before.

Sage, Amelia's mother, had relayed to her that Rhys wasn't to see his daughter, and Max had no doubt that Rhys was devastated by that. Dahlia would have been the lesser concern of the two of them, but she was still recovering from having been concussed. It was a mess, and Max hated that both Dahlia and Rhys had gotten caught up in a situation that probably could have been avoided.

Going to fetch the two of them from the custody of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol was on Max's list of things that she didn't want to repeat, but she wasn't sure who else would be able to if not her. She was already expecting Dahlia and Rhys to be groggy from having been locked up for the night, but she wasn't sure beyond that.

Once she arrived, she opened the door to see that her half-siblings were already waiting there for her. It went without saying that they looked terrible, and Dahlia appeared battered and bruised enough that someone really should have taken her to see a Healer, Max thought. As a whole, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had bigger fish to fry than two Curse-Breaker werewolves who had gotten into a brawl. Max, wondering why Dahlia and Rhys couldn't have used a little more sense, stepped up to the counter to speak with whomever was working.

"Yeah, er, I'm here for them?" Her "getting people out of jail" skills were lacking, apart from catching bits of Muggle cop shows on television, but she glanced over her shoulder at her half-siblings.

rhys alexander greyback
dahlia jade leloup

[rhys alexander greyback]

'cause i belong to the hurricane

it's gonna blow this all away

December 23, 2028
dahlia jade leloup
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Rhys’s eyes felt irritated from the lack of sleep and the black eye he’d earned himself. What a night. The worst part about these things was the forced process of sobering up. It gave Rhys too much time to think and dwell on the lower aspects of his life. Amelia popped into the forefront, followed by the usual sinking feeling of failure in his gut. Rhys winced as he turned to look at Dahlia. His eye hurt to move. A split lip, sore nose, beat-up hands, and probably something fractured elsewhere kept Rhys from moving much. “No.” He kept his answer short and brief. There were others to call, such as Nell or perhaps Sienna or Rob, but Rhys didn’t think it was worth the lecture nor the risk of them hanging up.

The headache forming behind his good eye told Rhys that the fighting, drinking, and other mayhem were catching up to him. The growing resentment toward the mother of his child also lingered. Hearing a door open, Rhys didn’t initially look since moving came at a cost. But he faintly heard his youngest sister’s voice. “Thank Merlin…” Rhys just wanted to go home, drink the potions he carried for such things, and sleep. “Max is here.” He carefully sat up straight in his chair, groaning at the aches and pains. The Patrolman robotically handed Max a clipboard with various sheets. No doubt there was some fine involved as well. Rhys would await that letter in the post in the upcoming week.

“Max!” Rhys called out hoarsely. A dry throat immediately caused him to cough, but inhaling deeply hurt. Since he faintly recalled the sound of wood breaking, Rhys figured his body had somehow gotten in the way of a flying chair or barstool. This part, the final paperwork, always took time, but it seemed easy enough, and suddenly, a Patrolman kicked Rhys’ foot. ’They’ll have your wands upfront.’ and Rhys thought he heard a barely audible mumbled comment about wolves but Rhys was far too exhausted to grow angry. Their little sister waited for them near the front, two extra wands in her hands. ”Thanks for getting us.” Rhys mumbled.

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[dahlia jade leloup]

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Dahlia had laid her head back against the wall, the cold brick helping ease some of the tension that had built up in her neck. With her eyes closed, she tried to focus and see if there were any lingering pains close to where her concussion headaches typically were. Nothing. She let out a long exhale through her nose upon the realization, but kept her eyes closed. If she could catch a few minutes of disjointed sleep, it would be better than what she had got the night before...

With Rhys's voice cracking through her half-asleep brain, her eyes snapped open and immediately locked in on where Max had suddenly appeared. Leaning forward in her chair hurt, the simultaneous creak of her body and the plastic chair were eerily the same. She was only a little broken. She'd had worse in the past year. Much worse. Her hand could easily be fixed up with a spell or two as well. Following Rhys's lead as they were let go, she shot a glare at anyone that dared look their way. There was no need for either of them to be here over a silly bar brawl. And where had the other guys gone? Just because they lost didn't mean they hadn't caused extensive damage to the bar too. After all, that chair wouldn't have broken if the one guy's head hadn't been in the way.

"Thanks," Dahlia said in tandem, her mouth hurting as she spoke. That tended to happen when the whole side of her face was swollen. "We won," she added, trying to smile, but only half of her face moved up with it. She was rather proud of the fight, despite the outcome. Obviously Rhys's situation was slightly more complicated now, but that had happened before this. It couldn't get any worse, right?

maxima ruqayyah greyback & rhys alexander greyback ● 306 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

December 23, 2028

After she had sorted everything out with the authorities that she needed to on her part, both Dahlia and Rhys got their wands back, theoretically. Max made the executive decision that it would be better for her to hold on to those for the time being. Whether Dahlia and Rhys needed to be using their wands or not was a different question than their being legally allowed them, particularly as she heard Dahlia remark that she and Rhys had "won".

At that, Max wondered if Dahlia really had hit her head again, with how messed up her face was. She was more concerned about telling her that they had "won" than about being arrested. That wasn't exactly winning, though Rhys seemed more embarrassed as he thanked her. As much as she wanted to slap them both for having been so stupid, Max refrained. She wasn't going to do that in front of a bunch of magical law enforcement personnel, for one, and she didn't want to worsen their existing injuries. Having to suffer through those for a whole night whilst jailed was punishment enough.

The easiest place for them to go from there would be to the house in Devon in which Max still lived with her mother, Muggle stepfather, and two younger maternal half-siblings. With its being two days before Christmas, though, everyone would be home. That wasn't ideal, but Max couldn't see herself dragging them back to either of their places instead. Between using her Healing Touch to handle the physical damage with which Dahlia and Rhys had ended up from their little escapade and the various healing supplies and potions she had at home, she would be able to patch them up reasonably well from her bedroom.

"So, I'll be keeping these for now," Max told them pointedly in reference to the two wands in her hands that didn't belong to her. Swapping them out for her own wand, she put them inside the bag she was carrying so that nothing would happen to them. Max then looked back to Dahlia and Rhys. "When we step outside, I'm going to Side-Along Apparate you to my house," she informed them, punctuating her sentence with a slight jab of her wand. "And Mike's home, so don't do anything stupid." She didn't trust either of them to Apparate there on their own, even though they had been there before. There was too great a risk of Splinching—or Merlin forbid, doing something to mess with magical secrecy.

rhys alexander greyback
dahlia jade leloup

[rhys alexander greyback]

'cause i belong to the hurricane

it's gonna blow this all away

December 23, 2028
dahlia jade leloup
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Max didn’t seem to be hurrying to return their wands, but Rhys felt tempted to grab it. But by this point, between the last bits of lingering intoxication, exhaustion, and pain, he didn’t want to risk another injury. Nor the possible fight with his sister. And Dahlia’s declaration of victory made Rhys physically cringe. Sure, they had won, but now was not the time to celebrate. Rhys’ head hurt too much to care. The look Max delivered to the pair was enough for Rhys to keep quiet. Besides, he needed Max to help him feel physically better.

”But my flat isn’t far from here.” Rhys began to argue, following the girls outside. The sun hitting his face brought an incredible amount of physical pain, and he was left blinking rapidly, waiting for his eyes to adjust. ”Bloody hell—“ He groaned, waiting for the slight wave of nausea to pass. ”Fine. Whatever.” Rhys didn’t care where they went, just put him out of his misery. Max’s dad, Mike, was nice, but Max’s entire family had always been kind to Rhys. The least he could do was cause minimal trouble there. And since he wasn’t full of whiskey, that shouldn’t have been a problem.

With some of his vision returned, Rhys shuffled up to Max and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. There wasn’t anything quite like apparating while hungover. So, Rhys mentally prepared himself. Though it was difficult with all that was on his mind, not to mention the knowledge of how he’d bungled it all again and so quickly. But Sage was to blame. Keeping Rhys from his daughter, who in their right mind would ever think that would help him?

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[dahlia jade leloup]

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Dahlia was itching to get her wand back. She had never realized how much of an extension it was of her body until it was actively taken away from her by the law enforcement that took her in. Which was sort of funny the more she thought about it. How did they know she wasn't capable of wandless magic? Obviously the cell the two of them had been tossed in had ways to prevent magic and they weren't stupid enough to try and break out, but still. Giving wandless a try definitely sounded fun, and a way to circumnavigate the usual procedures like this.

Max didn't look pleased with either of them, especially after Dahlia's comment about winning the fight, and had decided that she was going to hold onto both of their wands and that they were going to be traveling with her to her home. Rhys's protest made sense: why would they go all the way there when his flat was nearby? Even her own was closer. She had no qualms about Max's stepfather, as he was the only actual father figure any of them had. Giving him shit would be stupid. He seemed to take everything in stride as well, despite being non-magique.

"I do not see why we cannot have them now..." Dahlia grumbled as she shot one last look at the desk worker that had been holding their wands all night. Her eyes lingered on the bag where both had been put, and she momentarily wondered if she could grab it and bolt before Max managed to stop her. There was definitely a bit of alcohol still working its way through her, making every thought a fun one. Alas, Dahlia joined Rhys by taking hold of Max, waiting for the tell-take yank of side-along apparation. Hopefully she didn't get sick immediately after landing.

maxima ruqayyah greyback & rhys alexander greyback ● 311 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

December 23, 2028

Dahlia gave her grief over her confiscating their wands from them temporarily, and Rhys protested that they could always go to his flat instead. Fortunately, both of them were compliant enough to hold on to her, and off they went. Max Disapparated with Dahlia and Rhys in tow and materialized again inside her bedroom. Was it proper Apparition etiquette to bypass the front door? Not exactly, but she wasn't worried about that. It was easier to go straight into her room. It would keep their menagerie of pets from going nuts over the presence of their guests, and it would keep them from being noticed on their Muggle street.

With how little time she spent there between Hogwarts and then working as a nurse, Max had never bothered to update her bedroom much. The light pink paint on the walls; the plain, cream-colored carpet; the furniture—all of it felt like a step back in time. For years, she swore she'd change it up eventually. With as old as she was, though, she didn't see the point in putting in that effort. She didn't plan on living at home forever, and it had character, even if that was increasingly outdated.

Apart from the vestiges of her childhood, Max kept all sorts of healing equipment around if it was necessary. (Between that and her stepfather's veterinary supplies, they probably could have opened a magical/Muggle/human/animal apothecary.) It wasn't anything extravagant, just a few more items than would have been in the average magical first aid kit, with an added focus on the treatments she used in Creature-Induced Injuries.

As soon as she got her bearings, Max shut the door to her bedroom. "I've got Dahlia and Rhys with me," she called out, hoping that the rest of the family was downstairs. She could explain the whole situation later, after Dahlia and Rhys weren't in such a sorry state.

rhys alexander greyback
dahlia jade leloup

[rhys alexander greyback]

'cause i belong to the hurricane

it's gonna blow this all away

December 23, 2028
dahlia jade leloup
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Rhys kept his eyes closed for a minute or two after arriving. Luckily, an empty wall was behind him as he lost his balance a bit—nothing like apparating while hungover. Once the dizziness faded, Rhys opened his eyes and saw they were in Max’s room. And he knew his sister well enough to know that was on purpose. Normally, there was the customary greeting of whoever was home—manners and all that. But Rhys would rather his face not look as it did when greeting them. It was hard enough to find a connection with the nuclear family that was not his and learn to behave in that new environment at eighteen, much like when he spent Christmas with Juniper’s family for the first time.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Rhys would’ve given his left foot for a glass of water to help clear the sand in his throat. Any attempt to clear it was futile. ”Can I get my wand back now, or are you going to tell us why we’re here?” Even Rhys knew that was a stupid question, but he was in pain, exhausted, and felt sick. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep. Obviously, he knew what he’d done was wrong. Getting arrested was wrong. He was tired of everybody telling him how every move he made was bloody wrong. ”I appreciate you getting us out, Max, but I just want to go home.” Rhys added, growing grumpier but the second.

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[dahlia jade leloup]

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Dahlia always forgot that Max's room was still the same as it always had been. She'd only been once, but the whiplash from the side-along made her wish it was only the once still. The last bit of alcohol swirling around in her stomach in combination with the motion sickness of the disapparation almost made her throw up. Focusing on the soft pink walls helped slow everything down, but her head was still spinning. Stabilizing herself by pacing a hand on the wall, Dahlia took several deep breaths. In and out it went, slowly putting her back into an even state. She was going to feel gross for a while but it was better than being locked up.

Rhys once again requested their wands back, but she didn't have any energy to protest with him. Everything had been sapped from her in that split second of magical teleportation. Dahlia wobbled over towards the bed and instead of sitting on it, slid down onto the ground. Her head fell back onto the side of the mattress. Finally, a soft surface. "I do not think I can apparate again for a while," she said as Rhys mentioned wanting to go home now. She didn't know how long it would be until then, but unless he wanted vomit all over the front entrance of his apartment, she was going to have to go in her own or he'd have to wait. "Max? Could I get some water please?"

maxima ruqayyah greyback & rhys alexander greyback ● 246 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

December 23, 2028

Did Rhys honestly think that she had taken them prisoner again, this time in a pink bedroom? There he was, asking about getting his wand back and why he was there when he just wanted to go home. Who did he think she was? If he wanted to risk further issues just to go back to his own bed without having any of his injuries dealt with, then that was on him. But he could forget about having her come to his rescue anymore.

Though she knew that he still wasn't thinking logically, Max let out a huff, adjusting the bag on her shoulder that held his and Dahlia's wands. "For f**k's sake," she sighed, "I'm going to heal you." Hopefully, with her spelling that out for him, he would get the idea. If not, he knew where the door was, and he could get the Knight Bus.

Dahlia, meanwhile, had sunken down to the floor. After saying that she didn't think she could Apparate again, she requested some water. Max nodded. Grabbing an empty water glass by her beside, she filled it with water from the tip of her wand and handed it carefully to Dahlia.

Healing both of them was going to take a little while longer than just curing them of their hangovers. It wasn't enough to bother going to the hospital, only for them to have to wait there till someone could see them, so turning her room into a hospital wing of sorts was the better option. That way, they could both go home and rest.

"All non-magical injuries, right?" she checked with them. They looked like it, from what she could tell, but someone could have done a number on them magically, too.

rhys alexander greyback
dahlia jade leloup

[rhys alexander greyback]

'cause i belong to the hurricane

it's gonna blow this all away

December 23, 2028
dahlia jade leloup
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Rhys remained quiet, taking a seat carefully on the floor next to Dahlia—groaning at all the movements that brought him pain. He was afraid to ask for water at this point. Merlin knew his real talent was speaking only to allow his foot into his mouth. For now, he shared Dahlia’s sentiment on apparition. It would be far less painful to walk back to London than to experience that all over again. ”Yes…” Rhys muttered. Wands were definitely the last weapons considered the night before. It had all been fists and whatever was at hand.

He looked down at his hands, his knuckles raw and bruised. Again, he was reminded of the cut in his lip, wincing as he spoke. Rhys didn’t even want to imagine what his face looked like. Or what other bruises were appearing on his body as he sat there. ”I’m sorry, Max…” The shift from petulant to mopey was swift, and Rhys felt it. The words ‘it won’t happen again’ sat on the tip of his tongue, but even Rhys knew that was a lie. What was the stupid fight about anyway? He was just so damn frustrated.

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[dahlia jade leloup]

▲

Dahlia tried to stifle the snort that came out of her nose when Max swore at Rhys. She knew that she was probably included in everything her younger sister was saying, but felt that since her condition was deteriorating, a little more leniency would be sent her way. Of course, she couldn't contain it and let out the noise anyways, the side of her face stinging instantly. Watching Rhys capitulate to Max was also hilarious, but she kept all of her comments to herself. Anything more than a small laugh would make her hurt even more.

"Thank you," she said to Max as she was handed a cup of water. It almost felt harsh as she drank it, forgetting momentarily what it was like to have something to drink. That made it sound like they'd been forcefully dehydrated in their cell, but it was more that she was just now entering the starting stages of a very nasty hangover. As she drank, Rhys joined her on the floor. It probably looked like they were about to be punished.

At Max's question about injuries, Dahlia nodded her head. "My face, here," she poked her jaw a tad too hard and winced at the sharp pain. "And then my hand," Dahlia raised it limply. It still throbbed, and she was unsure if it was bruised, sprained, or broken. The teeth gouged on her knuckles weren't the prettiest in the world either. They would probably be joining the menagerie of scars that littered her hands, each one earned from a near-death escape in a tomb or from knocking some prissy Beauxbatons girl's lights out in school. That was the funny part about fighting magical folk. They never expected to get punched. Always with the wands and proper dueling etiquette. Bar fights were drastically different circumstances altogether, and there really was never any rage on her part. They were just fun. But back in school, those girls deserved it. "There might be something broken?" she guessed, inspecting the hand further.

maxima ruqayyah greyback & rhys alexander greyback ● 337 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

December 23, 2028

Rhys seemed to recognize that he was being unreasonable and seated himself on the floor beside Dahlia. He provided verbal confirmation that their injuries were non-magical and even apologized. His apology sounded like that of a child who had been scolded, but it would have to do.

Dahlia, too, nodded, and she indicated where she had been injured. There was her jaw, which she poked in the process, and then her hand, where she speculated that there was something broken.

"Alright." Max nodded her own head and set the bag on her arm as far from Dahlia and Rhys as she could while keeping it within arm's reach. "Stay still," she instructed her. She got down on her knees and sat back on her legs in front of Dahlia, resting her wand on the floor at her side. "I'm going to touch your jaw first and see how that goes." Using her Healing Touch would be more efficient than examining the entirety of her face, and it was the most significant of the problems she had to heal, it seemed.

"I'll be gentle, I promise, but it might hurt a bit. Ready?" Max held out her hands towards where Dahlia had already poked herself. Fixing her jaw would make it easier to deal with everything else, including Rhys's injuries.

rhys alexander greyback
dahlia jade leloup

[rhys alexander greyback]

'cause i belong to the hurricane

it's gonna blow this all away

December 23, 2028
dahlia jade leloup
maxima ruqayyah greyback

Rhys noted Dahlia’s amusement during this interaction but kept his mouth shut. So far, opening it only put him in more trouble. But lately, it felt like any action or step he took just kept digging this hole, and Rhys didn’t have a clue how to make it stop or at least go the other way. The damage was done, that was for sure—as reminded by his aching body and visibly seeing his sister’s face. While Max focused on Dahlia’s injuries, Rhys carefully leaned his elbows on his knees and crossed his arms. This way, he could lean his forehead and be in the dark for a little while.

This helped his headache from the light and helped him block everything out for a moment. Merlin knew he needed it. His anxiety was heavier than usual, and his head was barely above water. It was a pretty awful feeling realizing that he couldn’t talk to anyone, at least not without some eye-roll or lecture. Naturally, Juni came to mind, but Rhys didn’t want to give her a reason to run in the other direction. Sage already ran that way. Losing more would make it all worse. After some time, Rhys lifted his head, squinting at the light (as much as he could with a black eye) while he waited for Max to finish up with Dahlia. Seeing her pain again made him feel worse for involving her in his issues. He cleared his scratchy throat. ”Have you spoken to Sage?” He asked Max calmly. He was sure Sage probably reached out, but he couldn’t help but ask.

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