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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Sept 28, 2020 20:51:54 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2020 20:51:54 GMT -7
October 2025 Blair watched as Maria let out a breath. "Publicity stunt," she explained. "They think they know and own someone they didn't."
Maria had mentioned that she had gone to Durmstrang, so the question that ran through Blair's mind was obvious. She must have known him somehow. She had to have, the way she spoke about someone else knowing him and "owning" him. That sort of possessiveness wouldn't have come up if he were a stranger or even an acquaintance. "You knew him?" Blair asked softly, not wanting to upset her. Blair hated it that people were being blown up, and it had to have been even worse for Maria.
@maria
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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Sept 28, 2020 21:14:31 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2020 21:14:31 GMT -7
October 2025 @blair
Maria didn't want to admit that Elias was her cousin. Not because she was ashamed of him. But because he was dead and she really hated people using him for personal gain. He'd been her cousin, not a status symbol. At Durmstrang, and Hogwarts, she'd practically flaunted the family tie. It was that tie that had partially started the feud with the other Greybacks, because she'd felt they were trying to replace her.
But, Maria didn't want to deny she knew him. Or how she knew him. He was still her cousin. Her beloved, and very dead, cousin. Up until now though, Maria had kept most everything about herself secret from Blair. "He was my cousin," she said slowly. The only family she'd cared about. "His mother's side. Not Greyback." Why she felt the need to say that... Well, that was a bit more complicated and something she figured Blair did not need to know. Most people wouldn't understand that particular relationship...
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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Sept 28, 2020 21:25:48 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2020 21:25:48 GMT -7
October 2025 "He was my cousin. His mother's side. Not Greyback."
Slowly, Blair nodded, taking in what Maria had just told her. He wasn't just a schoolmate or a friend; he was her family. She was the one who breathed out then, not taking her eyes off of Maria. It was difficult to find words at first, because that was just how Maria was. Whatever it was that she did to her. The other part of it was that Blair knew that she wasn't always the best at providing sympathy when it was necessary.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she reassured her, swallowing. "It's fine."
@maria
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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Oct 6, 2020 19:08:39 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2020 19:08:39 GMT -7
October 2025 @blair
Maria narrowed her eyes as their gaze met. Blair seemed a bit... hesitant of how to respond. Was that pity? Sympathy? Empathy? Any of those reactions would piss her off, to be honest. "Why wouldn't I want to talk about him?" She didn't mean to sound so... snippy, but there was definitely a bite to her words. She wasn't afraid to talk about Elias. Not when challenged (though she hadn't exactly been challenged, she'd just taken it that way). "What do you want to know about him?" It was almost like she had to prove herself now. Prove that she could talk about Elias.
Thankfully, it was then that the cashier stepped away from the register and brought them their empanadas. So fresh from the oven they were still steaming. Maria seemed to perk up, smelling them before they were set on the table, two in front of each of them.
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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Oct 6, 2020 20:59:49 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2020 20:59:49 GMT -7
October 2025 "Why wouldn't I want to talk about him?" Maria questioned her, almost sounding offended that she had given her an "out" of the subject of conversation.
People didn't usually like talking about people close to them who had died, Blair thought. It was just sort of a… courtesy thing, she supposed, that she had given Maria the option to avoid talking about Elias if she didn't want to. She didn't want her to be uncomfortable, but it seemed that it had backfired. Maria seemed more uncomfortable at the thought of ending the conversation about Elias.
"What do you want to know about him?" she asked.
Blair wasn't completely sure, but she didn't have time to answer before the employee working there came over with their empanadas. Steam still rose off of them, and Blair watched as Maria smiled again. Knowing that she would have to wait before trying an empanada, lest she burn the inside of her mouth on it, she paused. "What was Elias like?" she asked. She had only really heard his name and the odd recap of news coverage; she didn't know what he had actually been like as a person.
@maria
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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Nov 3, 2020 20:13:59 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2020 20:13:59 GMT -7
October 2025 @blair
Maria shouldn't turn this into a challenge. Turn it into something about herself, but she did somehow. She had to prove to herself that she could talk about Elias without setting someone fire. Because she didn't want to appear weak. "Kind," was the first thing Maria said, the first thing that came to mind. Unlike her, Elias had had a good heart. He'd been a gentle soul, and someone that tried to always be nice to others. Of course, it had made him a target for bullies, but Maria was there to keep those idiots away. "He cared more about others then himself." Of course, maybe that had been his downfall. Absentmindedly Maria touched the cold bracelet around her wrist. "And he always saw the best in others, even if they couldn't see it themselves." Like Maria. He'd put up with her nonsense more than anyone. He'd always been there, no matter what she did or how much she hurt him.
Then, to distract herself from memory lane and going down a path that would lead her to a very, very dark place, Maria picked up one of her empanadas and took a tentative bite. Oh, it was hot. But she didn't care. The burning was better then the cold of Elias' death.
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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Nov 4, 2020 0:12:42 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2020 0:12:42 GMT -7
October 2025 "Kind," was what Maria said about Elias. That was positive, of course, that that was the first word that she thought to associate with her late cousin. There was little doubt in her mind that he must have been a good person. Maria didn't seem to be a person who chose her words lightly, from Blair's limited experience. She was unfailingly deliberate in the way in which she spoke. In other words, she wouldn't have said that he was kind if she hadn't meant it completely. Maria said, too, that he had been a person who cared more about others than about himself. He'd been selfless. "And he always saw the best in others," she added, "even if they couldn't see it themselves."
Blair nodded her head softly in response to Maria's contemplation. Elias sounded as though he must have been special. There really weren't many people like that in the world. Even Blair honestly couldn't say that she was one to put others before herself all of the time, and it was hard to see the best in some people when all they had done was screw up. She wasn't quite so optimistic, but she also wasn't so jaded as to believe that there weren't shreds of good in the world. Maybe they weren't flowers and rainbows and things like that—because she wasn't mushy in that way—but the world was a difficult place, and the few things that made it suck a little less were good.
There were people like Maria, and there were spontaneous things to do, like going to some random random empanada shop that she wouldn't have thought twice about if she were walking along past it on her own. Maria took a bite of one of the empanadas, and Blair waited for a moment before she went ahead and tried one of them for herself. It looked like it was still too hot to consume without risking burning the inside of her mouth.
"Too hot still?" she questioned, hovering a hand over the empanadas. There was still heat coming from them, though she didn't want to wait until they got cold, either.
@maria
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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Nov 12, 2020 17:55:16 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2020 17:55:16 GMT -7
October 2025 @blair
Maria tried to focus on the burning. She was used to heat. Her hands were the only part of her that was "fireproof", which meant that she's burned herself on a number of occasions. Usually by accident, of course. But then she'd had some sexual partners that actually liked to be mildly burned, so there were a few... intentional burns that had happened. Initially out of curiosity of why people liked it, then because she'd liked it too. It wasn't necessarily the heat. IT was the power and control. Fire and heat had always symbolized power to her. Something she had that other people didn't. Again though, she'd also rather be burning then cold. She hated the cold. So, when Blair asked if it was still hot she nodded, not even attempting to speak because... yeah, it was hot. Trying to speak might just give away how much so. She chewed and swallowed, the burning sinking down her throat and into her chest. She could still feel it but at least it wasn't scalding her tongue.
"Very," she finally answered. Then, as if she hadn't learned her lesson from the first time, she took another bite. It was just as hot and uncomfortable, but she didn't care. "Plans later?" Was her next question after painfully swallowing the reckless second bite. Her encounter with the foundation had left a bitter taste in her mouth and she really needed a good distraction. While spending time with someone was... nice she supposed. It didn't exactly distract her. She didn't say exactly what she was thinking, but if you knew Maria you knew that if she asked that question there were very few possibilities of what might be on her mind.
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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Nov 13, 2020 0:28:29 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2020 0:28:29 GMT -7
October 2025 Maria nodded to her but said nothing as she continued to chew—and eventually swallow—the bite of empanada that was in her mouth. "Very," she answered her. It was one word that nearly spoke for itself, and Blair thought that she would be wise not to repeat the error that Maria had made so soon after she'd watched her make it. "Plans later?"
Apart from her apprenticeship, Blair couldn't honestly say that she kept very many plans. Her responsibilities over at Mystery Ink Arts took up a decent chunk of her time. Whatever she wasn't doing there was typically drawing—which was almost work but not quite—or longboarding, not that it was very easy to longboard around much of London. Anything else, she played it by ear. If she'd had any substantial plans, she wouldn't have been running around town with Maria. (Actually, she might still have done it… She hadn't been in the position to have to make that kind of a decision of choosing her hook-up over someone else, mostly because the person who had been most important in her life was her ex. And moving on was good, wasn't it?)
"No," Blair answered her. "Not really." She softened it a little because she didn't want to sound desperate, and she also didn't want to sound as though she didn't do much with her life. She just… wasn't really busy, other than with Maria. "I had just left work to go get coffee when I ran into you," she explained, "so if you want to do something…?"
@maria
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last online Apr 29, 2024 11:34:56 GMT -7
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Jan 14, 2021 15:08:47 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2021 15:08:47 GMT -7
October 2025 @blair
Maria set the steaming empanada down and eyed Blair. Blair really was a good person. Probably not the sort that should get mixed up with Maria. Though, to be fair most people should get mixed up with Maria. She ruined people. Made them her playthings and broke them. It wasn't fair to people, but Maria didn't care. Especially when they were willing. Maria didn't promise them anything except a good time. No commitment, no feelings. If they wanted those, that was on them, not her. She never even promised to stay for long. But hey, at least it was fun until Maria was done with them.
As Blair answered with a no, Maria grinned. Good. It meant she didn't have to worry about giving Blair up today. She could use Blair a a very much needed distraction. "Definitely." She answered after Blair mentioned wanting to do something. "I have a few ideas of what w can do too." Of course she did. But first, they'd finish their empanadas. Then maybe walk and chat. Then, when Maria got frustrated enough she'd take Blair back to her own place for more... fun.
(Gunna call it fin cause no idea where to take this anymore haha)
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