a charming smile | tia

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possibility .

Edrik had intended to spend the Winter holidays amongst his family, having a quiet time amongst them while he regretted his choices of not telling Tia about his return. Before graduation, the two were at an unsteady place that only crumbled when the Krum revealed he would be leaving for Bulgaria for at least two-three years. But with the recent events startling how he felt, he knew he needed to come home urgently. Though, even he had a simple Christmas in mind, relishing in his appearance in Witch Weekly for his Charming Smile, it was simply crushed by Iliana’s idea for the Krums to all attend the festival together.

One thing the eldest Krum wasn’t expecting was the dragon’s warm welcome, ruining the festivities for everyone as a whole and causing chaos. Fighting and protecting others with his sister Irina by his side and eventually his parents, they fought alongside brave wizards to attempt to take down the dragon. By the end of it all, the dragon had been restrained and Edrik declared he wanted to go see if he could help out other wizards bring in the injured to the healers around.

Though as he walked, it was if the God’s decided today was the day to play with the Krum as from where he stood, the male saw a bundle of familiar brunette curls, tending towards a wounded wizard. But Edrik was sure Tia Finch was most likely not paying to the surroundings around her to even notice him, instead putting her full attention to others — something he knew she usually did when she was taking her job seriously. So as he approached her slowly, his hand extended hesitantly, resting on her shoulder before he spoke. ”Hey there Stranger…”

@tia & this is set roughly at 5 pm! also changed the gif at the last minute

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

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i am my own.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE, IS WHAT TIA WAS trying to convince herself. The dragon attack had been vicious, and unprovoked, but she had seen worse. The bombings sprung to mind and she shivered, but the wounded were a stark reminder of the damage that could be done. She'd been working tirelessly in the wake of the destruction, and while few of the injuries were terribly serious, the ones that weren't required a good seeing to on sight. Tia had stayed behind to tend to them in Hogsmeade. 

Tia was stooped down to tend to a woman's leg. They'd taken up shop in the Three Broomsticks for the time being, which wasn't as clean as Tia would have hoped, but it beat the crumbling grounds of the courtyard. "It's a second degree burn, is all." Tia explained, trying to make her voice calm as she slathered a layer of burn paste over the wound before wrapping it gently. "I think the paste should do just fine," She assured her as she stood up, screwing the lid on her jar as she smiled thinly, a sheen of sweat on her brow. "When you remove the bandage come morning, if there's still some trace blistering, come see me at the infirmary, but I doubt it.."

It was another victim tended to, but Tia still felt incredibly tense with a need to keep moving. Like there wasn't enough that she could do to help. Though, she was froze when a hand landed on her shoulder, breath catching as she spun around expecting to find another injured person. It wasn't simply a local though, and Tia wrenched backwards at the sight of the very familiar face, her mouth falling open slightly as she gasped.

"Edrik!" She squawked, her jar of burn paste clutched to her chest like a ladies handkerchief. "I- um-" Tia hadn't seen Edrik since graduation. Apart from the few pieces she'd inadvertently caught in the newspaper, his picture a glaring reminder of his absence. She'd only found out he was back in the U.K through a puff piece in the Witch Weekly, which had stung more than she'd thought it would. They'd left things on uncertain terms, and while Tia liked to say she was completely 'over it', it wasn't quite true. "Wh-what are you doing here?" She asked accusingly, as if he were up to no good. Though that quickly faded as she looked him over hastily, concern creasing her brow. "Are you hurt?"

@edrik

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possibility .

The day amongst his family had a pure idea. For each of the Krums old and young to feel like children in a candy store again. For Edrik, it meant eating as much as he could stomach and even ending his day in the annual snow ball fight. But with the dragon’s appearance and the uproars of people’s screams, his plans came crashing down like the falling debris around him. He remembered, trying to find his siblings before Irina came by his side, followed by his father and eventually everyone came together. They fought against the dragon and did their best until the professionals made their arrival. It had been a rough day for them all.

When he found Tia however, tending to a person’s wound and moving onto the next — Edrik concluded there and then it was fate’s way of giving him a second chance. A moment to improve his relationship with her and potentially have hope in continuing what they once had. Even if it was rough and complicated to begin with. When his hand landed on her shoulder and the words left his lips he hadn’t been expecting for the Finch girl to jump away from him, startled and surprised, leading to his hands returning by his side. ”I-I’m sorry!” He found himself apologising, having no intention to frighten the poor girl. He hadn’t seen her since graduation but she looked exactly the same. Warm brown eyes and her lips filled with uncertainty. That was Tia for sure.

The Krum couldn’t help but crack a smile at her concern. It was expected of her, being a trainee mediwitch. Surely enough, he had a few small burns over his hands and arms and a small gash across his face that was surely not too noticeable. Coach Jonny would’ve killed him for sure. ”No.” He admitted, eyes scanning her features out of habit. He had missed seeing her face. ”I was…Here with my family. We split apart and then ended up fighting together and now we’re just…Looking to help others. Like you I guess.” He smiled. Edrik’s healing skills weren’t exactly the best for a Quidditch player, but if he could bring help to where it was needed, he wanted to do the best he could. ”But then I saw you. And I just couldn’t help but say…Hi?” Nice one Edrik.

@tia

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

i am my own.

EDRIK HAD ALWAYS HAD A HABIT OF SAYING sorry for nothing. It was one of her biggest pet peeves and she immediately frowned upon hearing it. He hadn't given her a fright, he was just the last person she ever expected to see. It threw her for a second and she felt stupid once it had left. It was only Edrik, she told herself. Like she hadn't stopped writing to him. Like he hadn't disappeared to the middle of Europe to play Quidditch. She crossed her arms, a scowl on her face, though she was already cataloguing the little cuts and burns all over him.

"Hi?" She said, as if it was ridiculous, like an insult to her very character. But that attitude probably had something to do with her mild resentment. She'd seen that he'd signed with a London based team, and yet he hadn't gotten in touch. Right enough, she had been the first one to stop replying to his owl's, but somehow that wasn't the point. "Hi then!" She snapped with sarcastic cheer, before turning her back, but her resolution didn't last long and she whipped back around again.

"You are hurt," She told him, her jaw squaring as she turned and grabbed her small travel bag of equipment. "You have a cut on your face," She pointed at it angrily. "And don't think I don't see those burns on your hands." She gestured to a small chair that she'd been using to prop patients up while she tended to them. "Sit." She ordered him, already unscrewing her little jar of cleansing oil. "You can't ride a broom if you're hands are infected."

@edrik

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possibility .

It had always been a thing for Edrik to frown in response when he saw her frown. He hated seeing Tia frown, only because she never deserved to. From what Edrik recalled, both of the Finch girls had a terrible history with one another and always fuelled with something to ruin their lives a little bit further. Though, Tia was different considering the Krum’s past with her and even the time when he told her he was moving to Bulgaria to pursue Quidditch. That was a day in his mind he had only grown to hate. ”Honestly, I didn’t mean to…Scare you.” He said. Strangely, he felt unsure of how to speak to the Finch, as if she were some stranger when really he knew a lot about her. Like her undying love for mint and how she absolutely hated the dark.

”Hi.” He repeated after her sarcasm, his own lips forming a smile to prevent himself from laughing. He watched as she turned from him and slowly raised a brow — his smile forming into a grin once she turned back. By now, Edrik knew what she was like. There were times she could hold a grudge for so long and moments when it was very little. He had done his best to talk with her while away, even going far as sending owls every night. He saw a few responses here and there but by the end of it, she had given up. He continued nevertheless, until the dates were finalised for his early return back to London and his transfer to Appleby Arrows. Maybe space was what they needed.

A hand reached for the cut upon his face, wincing as he touched it and ultimately regretting it. ”Alright, alrighttt.” He sighed, looking down at the chair she gestured, plopping into it while her hands worked open a jar. ”The burns aren’t even that bad. I’m sure I’ll ride a broom just fine.” He told her, rolling his eyes as she pretty much sounded like her mother. He smiled as he looked up at her, analysing her features the same way he did when they were younger. Her hair was a little longer now and though she hadn’t smiled yet, Edrik bet it was still cute as ever. ”When did you become so demanding? Perhaps being a Mediwitch changes someone.” He teased, shoulders drawing into a shrug.

@tia

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i am my own.

TIA BELIEVED HE HADN'T MEANT TO SCARE HER but that didn't ease her annoyance. It didn't matter that he hadn't meant it, what mattered was that she had let herself be shocked in the first place. Ever since she'd found out about his transfer and subsequent return, Tia had decided not to allow Edrik to blindside her again. She didn't care, or so she told herself. But, he'd gone and ruined that by creeping up on her. Now, she looked like the same lovesick fool he'd left at graduation. Or, so she assumed.

"I don't tell you how to do your job, do I?" Tia said, disregarding his attempt to dismiss his injuries. He was probably right, the burns wouldn't stop him from riding a broom. But, that didn't mean that it was the correct thing to do. "The dragons are gone," She quipped, finally unscrewing her jar of burn paste as she scowled at him. "You don't need to keep being the hero." She crouched beside him, setting the open jar on the ground and scooping some of it out on to her fingers. She used her other hand to grab his, so very large inside hers as she turned it face up and smeared the paste on to his burned hands with little regard for gentleness.

Intent on focusing on her job, Tia struggled with her desire to look up as she massaged the paste in to his hands. She'd held those hands before. She knew the little marks and calluses from riding his broom. The minute scars, though there were a few that were new. She felt his eyes burning in to the top of her head and her eyes flickered up unintentionally. She sighed through her nose and felt warmth flood her cheeks. Dropping his treated hands she stood up so quickly that for a second her head spun.

"I've always been demanding," Tia muttered stiffly, clearing her throat as she blinked black spots from her eyes. "I'm exactly as I was when you left." This was as much a dagger as it was a fact. "Are you?" Clearing the residual paste from her hands, Tia turned her back as she gathered the few supplies she'd need to treat the cut on his face. That way, he could be on his way and she would't feel that stifling shadow looming over her. The kind of presence that made her heart beat wildly and her palms sweat. She couldn't let him affect her that way any more, it was too dangerous. 

@edrik

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possibility .

THEIR HISTORY WITH one another was a difficult one to express. Edrik had fallen for the wrong twin but ultimately realised his choice was right. Tamara was a great person to talk to and one to compete against but Tia gave him challenges, something to work for that he enjoyed. Their first date proved it, their time spent drinking fire whiskey and filled with nervousness. Even then, he even read multiple books he had no clue of for her. Edrik’s heart was momentarily broken when he discovered the truth, feeling rather awkward with many other moments he saw the Finch in. But after spending time away and even standing before her now…He knew that he would always be attracted to her.

”Surely you have at least once or twice.” He retorted jokingly, a brow raised as he grinned down at her. Definitely not from his current job as Appleby Arrow’s Keeper but the Krum was sure Tia made some kind of comments from his prior but similar job as the Gryffindor’s Captain and Keeper. Watching as she crouched down by him, he let her pull and tug at his body, this time around his hands. The paste stung just a little, resulting with the Krum letting a quiet wince escape his lips before he chewed down on his bottom lip. ”I’m…Not trying to be the hero.” He mumbled, dark eyes focusing down on his burned hands. ”The only hero is you…And all the other Medics and such around.” He added, trying to smooth past the compliment he gave her.

When their eyes locked for a few brief seconds, Edrik couldn’t help but let a smile creep up on his lips before they thinned, his mind wondering if the looks he was giving her being seen as a little bit creepy. But with her hands in his, it reminded him of their prior memories, how Tia hated holding his hands but did so anyway, just so Edrik was happy. He felt the need to respond with a witty comment but didn’t once she mentioned the day he left. It was a tough time, for Edrik, his family and even then, his dying love life, but he tried his hardest to keep in contact with the Finch, it was her who gave up. ”Maybe.” He said, casually shrugging. ”Same but minus the extra bumps, scars…Which I blame Quidditch for…But the main change…” He paused, lifting his paste-covered hand to his beard. ”Full grown beard.” His prized possession.

Dark eyes watched as she turned, gathering more items as she played Nurse with him, not that he minded, he was injured after all. Though, the thought of Tia changing dwelled in his mind, to him, with her in front of him…She hadn’t changed entirely. Just her appearance. She was still mean to him, fiery and hitting him back with the comments he expected. ”Go on a date with me.” He suggested, smug smile on his lips as he waited for her to turn.

@tia

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

i am my own.

THE COMFORT EDRIK STILL POSSESSED TO TEASE Tia deeply unnerved her. She didn't like how easy it would be to slip back in to old times. Because, for Tia, those days were long gone. She very much preferred to keep the past where it belonged, along with all of those times she had visibly yearned for Edrik while he was gone. The fact that she had cried in his absence. His handsome, smiling face was a reminder of that. Even worse when he opened his mouth.

"If I had," She began, rather snootily. "I would have been right." Because he had made a good point, Tia often had something to say about everything. Though, for the most part, she knew how to mind her own business. Edrik had never been quite as skilled at such a thing. All she had to do was treat his wounds and he'd be on his way, she told herself. She could field his jovial personality and avoid any pressing questions in that space of time, surely. She had been present at the attack of King's Crossing. She could do this.

"Oh, really?" Tia replied, looking at his burned hands and the cut on his face. They spoke for themselves, a reminder that Edrik had never been the safest person to love. Tia had never understood a persons desire to fight a battle they couldn't win. 'Glory' had never really been her favourite trend. She preferred to survive. To heal. "We're not hero's," Tia grumbled, mostly because she felt a heat in her face. She poked his healing hand slightly, just enough to get his attention. "We're just doing our jobs."

Alas, Edrik just kept smiling at her. She wanted to cover his mouth with her hand. To stop him from using it on her like a weapon. Tia had to admit, the newspaper had been right. He did have an infuriatingly charming smile. "Yeah," She muttered, pressing her lips together to stop herself from sighing. "The beard is definitely new." Though she didn't add that she thought it suited him. Made him look older and more refined than he had been as a messy haired teen. It also proved to separate the two even further. She didn't remember this version of him. With the calluses on his hands and the scars on his knuckles. "Beats the old peach fuzz."

Tia took her time gathering the rest of her supplies, rebuilding her facade with every step she took. She was becoming too comfortable with him again, and it was making her all the more tense. Which, in turn, made her more likely to lash out. Which wouldn't be good for either of them. Though, nothing could have prepared her for what came out of his mouth next.

The utensils she was holding clattered on to the tray below as she dropped them in shock. Her body going cold as she whipped her head around to glare at him. "Are you-" She began, though her speak was stuttered. "Are you trying to put me off?!" She exclaimed, grabbing the cotton pad, gripped by a pair of tongs, and dipping it angrily in a small bottle of a healing elixir that promoted new skin growth. "You have a lot of nerve, you know." She began, her mouth scowling and her heart racing. She grabbed his chin with one hand, keeping him firmly in place as she gently dabbed the stinging ointment on to his skin using the pad. "Coming here and- and acting like everything is like it used to be."

Tia could see his cut healing before her very eyes. The small cut turning red and slowly pink with fresh skin. She wouldn't normally use it on such a small wound, but he had distracted her and made her a little loopy. She let go of his chin when she was done, knowing that she was being a little rough with him, but unable to stop herself as resentment sizzled. "What're you trying to achieve, Edrik?" She asked him softly, having the height advantage as she was sitting and she was standing, much too close for comfort. "I don't know what you want from me..." Her brows wrinkled with suspicion, lips pulled down at the corners. But, perhaps most notably, she hadn't said no. 

@edrik

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possibility .

OLD TIMES WAS the one thing Edrik hoped the two could fall into. Minus the time he confused her for her twin sister, left for Bulgaria and ultimately broke things off with the Finch girl. He felt his heart break back then, not hearing her snide comments or seeing the cute faces she pulled whenever she smiled or drank around the Krum. Or the warmth in her eyes…”Your advice was needed back when I started. Gripped my broom too tight and gained little bruises all over my fingers more so than around my body.” The state of his hands proved it now, scattered callouses roughing the skin, worsening each time he played the sport. Unlike his younger times, Quidditch was more intense now, the only place Edrik channelled his anger into. And boy did it get the best of him when Appleby Arrows were losing.

Edrik nodded, lips wide, like a child with a shit-eating grin. ”Really.” He retorted, brows quirking up. He truly meant it though, his own instincts kicked in to protect his family. The civilians around just happened to be a bonus. And with the other brave wizards that helped out the Krum’s were a great help too. They were the heroes. Those who helped in support, took control of the situation and helped others flee. It wasn’t the Krum’s fault he loved a little danger. It was also seen in his younger days, when he would be meters above the ground, flying until the ball was harsh enough, hitting a sensitive spot to have him falling…And falling…Leaving himself with a few broken bones that could be easily repaired. ”Jobs…Etc.” He shrugged, smiling at her grumbles. A soft wince left his lips as she poked at his hand, leading to the smile he had being replaced with a small, playful pout. ”You’re still heroes in my eyes. Even you.” He paused, looking up at her as she had the slight height advantage — given he was sitting. ”You could’ve redirected me to another healer. But you’re still…Here.” He said, one of the fingers from his healing hand curling over the finger that poked him.

”Definitely new?” He parroted, quite offended. ”You saw it at its prime don’t even lie. When it was just a wee…goatie.” He added, chuckling as he did so. For a nineteen-almost-twenty-year-old, Edrik thought his beard was rather impressive and definitely had no intentions to trim it yet. Maybe in a few weeks or so. ”The peach fuzz? I’ve never had that. Surely you’re not referring to Irina.” He teased, watching as she gathered her other supplies. As she dropped them following his next request, it was then he knew…He truly had her. The stutters even proved it. She still had some kind of feeling for him. Or so the Krum would like to think. He yelped at her next action, in which she pulled him by his chin, wincing at the tug he felt the stings of the ointment against his freshly cut skin. As well as her tugs on his beard. That was painful.

”I-I’m not doing that!” He stuttered, continuing to wince at the stinging pain. The pain didn’t last long, nor did her hold against his chin. What had she done? Calloused hands reached up to his face where the cut had once been but smooth skin was met in return. ”I’ve got nerve. Sure. But don’t you think I deserve an explanation?” He asked, the tension filling the air between the two of them. ”I sent…Owls…Texts from my team mates magical bloody phones. I heard nothing from you for months. You know what that does to a guy? Filled with heartbreak? It screws with everything!” And out came the rush of emotions. ”All I’ve ever wanted was you. Your undying attention. To see your smile again, hear your voice and even your criticisms about everything I do.” Edrik soon raised from his seat, ridding Tia’s advantage of their height and instead overpowering it. ”Just. One date. On my birthday. If you want nothing to do with me by the end of it…I’ll understand.”

@tia & AAAA?

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i am my own.

THE CALLBACK TO A TIME THAT HAD ULTIMATELY separated the two was no a fond one for Tia. She felt her mood sour as she thought of those early years. Though she'd always been proud of Edrik, it was hard not to remember how his job had pulled them apart. How their combined and voracious ambition had cost them every delicate, vulnerable tether between them. "I suppose they are a bit of a lost cause." She said primly, done with the subject before it had even begun. His hands were rougher, sure, but they were still his hands.

Tia didn't like talking about herself. She knew how good she was, had worked her butt off to get there. But, hearing it from Edrik felt like a line. Something to soften her, which was an attack, as far as she was concerned. She focused intently on his wound, trying to ignore him, but he was as persistent as she remembered. Maybe even more so. She didn't know how to deal with this grown man and his award winning smile. Her head whipped up, a snide look on her face as she scoffed. "I'm not a coward," She spat, thinking that he thought very highly of himself if he thought he was worth avoiding. "And I... you take me for someone who cares far more than I do." This, of course, was a lie.

Though, Tia couldn't help the slight snort she emitted as he poked fun at his prepubescent beard. She remembered him back them, weedy and overly confident. She'd liked that about him. The unearned brass balls he walked around with, but the peeking vulnerability she was privileged to see in their more private moments. Even before he really knew who she was. He didn't ever hesitate and Tia felt like that's all she ever did. Living her life with her breath held.

"I'll tell Irina you said that," Tia warned him, pointing her medical tongs at him as she turned to discard a fluffy piece of gauze. "And then we'll see who's laughing." Did Edrik know that she lived with his sister now? She wondered if Irina had ever thought to tell him and then immediately cringed. She would not be the one to bring it up. But it couldn't all be fun and games either and Tia felt her nostrils flare as she stared at him, feeling like the blood in her hands had drawn up to her brain and made her awfully dizzy.

And he just kept... on... talking. Her hand flew up over his mouth, pressing it down as the slew of compliments hit her like shrapnel. "Stop it." She told him firmly, her face and eyes hot. "You know why I didn't." Tia had agonised over her choices for months, but she'd always felt like it was the correct one. Even when it hurt so badly she could barely speak of it. "You left..." She muttered, her mouth slack and eyes hard. "I wasn't going to have a relationship with the backside of a bloody owl!" And then she wrenched her hands off of him and turned her back, stacking her things back in to her medical satchel with unnecessary force.

Once she was done, his invitation still hung heavy in the air. She did not turn back to him again. "You're done." She said stiffly, crossing her arms and watching another healer pore over a large burn on a young woman's leg. She thought of all the ways she would approach it differently - better. And then when she ran out of ways to improve their technique she turned her face slightly to catch Edrik moving in her peripheral vision. He was almost gone, leaving the date rejected. And it was better that way, Tia reckoned. But, she had to go and open her big fat mouth.

"You can pick me up at 7." She knew the date, it was his birthday after all. "Don't be late." She told him briskly, grabbing her back and storming past him, but not before she stopped to give him a harsh look from his toes to his eyes. "And it's not a date." And then she turned, nose in the air, and exited the little pub with her things and - hopefully - her dignity intact. 

@edrik

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

possibility.

HUFFING OUT A QUIET LAUGH, Tia was somewhat right as a whole. He had missed hearing the advise she would yell at him when the two were just years younger but in a form, Quidditch had been the thing to pull them apart. The end of Seventh year was a painful memory, one that Edrik somewhat regretted, but was glad the decisions were made. He was less of an angry person, finally having someone to coach him, to shove his anger during Appleby’s games…and to take down that cursed Seeker. Curse that Hutton. ”I suppose.” He found himself parroting. Dark eyes watched how the Finch seemed to fight through his compliments, especially on her hard work and the Krum smiled, noting how she didn’t change. She hated being the centre of attention, or the subject of things, the same way she had been years back. ”It’s okay.” He shrugged. ”I know you care deep down.”

Edrik grinned at her warning, but he knew Irina would clearly see it as a joke…Or so he hoped. ”I would be.” He retorted. The two eldest Krum’s had finally buried their stupid childish antics, especially now Irina was a changed woman and even dating his best friend. It was odd to watch at first, but Edrik warmed up to the idea easier than he thought he would. He knew that Tia lived with Irina the moment the eldest Krum had stepped back into his family home, welcomed by his younger sisters and parents. With her hand flying over his mouth in the midst of his emotional spill, Edrik’s eyes widened while he took in a heavy breath. It was unexpected and the Krum was tempted to lick upon her palm in order for freedom, but instead…He allowed the Finch to speak. The last part of her rant — as she moved her hand — had hit Edrik hard though, as it was true. She was here, and he was in Bulgaria, they were separated by miles. He opened his mouth to retort that they would’ve found ways to make it work, that the Krum would’ve returned often to see her but instead he went mute, thinning his lips.

He looked down at his hands, even reaching up to where the scratches on his face had formed, but felt nothing but his usual calloused hands and smooth skin. He forced a small smile, wanting to thank her but she beat him to the opportunity to speak first. He felt his eyes light up and smile grow wider at her acceptance, looking down at her as she stopped in front of him, bag prepared and ready to go. Edrik knew he wouldn’t be late, but more so, an hour early. It was just the nerves in him that would spiral out of control when the topic, subject or event at hand involved Tia. ”It’s definitely a date!” He called out, watching as she disappeared, off to help the next person requiring help. Edrik turned the other way, grabbing his wand to potentially do the same, guiding the healers to those in need.

- END

@tia & <3

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