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rhys alexander greyback
HOGWARTS ALUM WEREWOLF CURSEBREAKER ECHO
1,172 posts
played by vanessa
the air around me still feels like a cage
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last online May 2, 2024 2:55:32 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Nov 14, 2020 2:05:27 GMT -7
Post by rhys alexander greyback on Nov 14, 2020 2:05:27 GMT -7
TW/CW -- they're fighting again you keep me from crashing down
November 3, 2025 @maria
Them in the kitchen was not anything new to them, they were already familiar with this counter space and other areas of the kitchen, dining room, living room, etc. It was part of their routine and just the way their energy connected. Rhys knew Maria was the type of woman who always wanted to get her way and was used to getting it as well, a dominant person in relationships typically as he’d even been on the receiving end of that treatment at the club in the beginning of Summer. At times he had fought that, and it had been more like a physical argument more than anything. Today he didn’t ask, he demanded control and dominance and he was going to get it even if she fought him every step of the way. It was a battle of their wills, but he was fueled by a combination of his internal anger and withdrawal it seemed. There had been a slight pause when he had made his demands of her and truthfully if she had defied him in the slightest he would have used the advantage he had physical to throw her over his shoulder, go to the room and rip off her clothes himself. Instead he watched as he was surprised but he also watched with an excited curiosity—she didn’t fight him. If he didn’t feel emboldened before he certainly did now, this was what he wanted. [use your imagination >.>] The floor wasn’t comfortable, but his body was so physically tired he hadn’t cared as long as he could just lay down somewhere. His muscles hurt, all the pent-up emotions he had been bottling up for at least the past week had driven him along with her submission. It wasn’t as if it was the first time, he’d had the upper hand with Maria, it had been rare but still. He supposed he’d never had to deal with that much avoidance with her as long as they had known one another. Rhys knew he would be feeling this for a while, the soreness from the physical exertion itself and from whatever they had bumped into, knocked over and broken. Not that broken items were ever uncommon, they were the epitome of the heat of the moment which either resulted from a small argument or disagreement, a dare or Rhys just appearing because he was feeling broody. He’d spent just over a week sulking, drinking heavily and barely sleeping so for the first time he could truly rest though the exhaustion also took care of that. It was dark still, but some light was starting to appear over the horizon. Rhys shifted slightly, he wanted to move and try and get more comfortable, but he didn’t want to wake Maria plus he was comfortable in the sense of how close she felt to him physical and otherwise. The fight had gotten mentioned in the beginning but after that he’d been so focused on his goal that it had been shoved to the side. Rhys could admit to himself that he had missed her—but as far as he knew only in the sense of, he had grown accustomed to her in his life. However, his shoulder was starting to hurt and he was trying to determine whether it was from sleeping on the floor or something to do with furniture. He reluctantly and slowly moved his arm from her waist and slowly rolled onto his back, she was still on his arm which didn’t bother him. He could feel sensitive spots where he surmised a bruise might form and where the air hit is scratched skin. That had become sort of a trademark for Maria, her own form of dominance in the form of marking her territory, so to speak though Rhys tended to do the same. He looked around at the dark room wondering what time it was, he was still tired, but he felt more relaxed than he had felt in a while. Still, since she was on his arm, he felt her shift next to him as well.
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last online May 2, 2024 8:57:57 GMT -7
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Nov 14, 2020 12:27:11 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2020 12:27:11 GMT -7
Maria's plans last night had clearly not included Rhys, or any form of sex. She'd been content to just drink and watch some trashy reality show. And yet they'd ended up here, like this, as if that fight had never happened. Though, there was still a part of her that was hurt and bitter about what he'd said. Maybe that's why last night had gone the way it had. Usually when they got that rough they were both at least a little drunk. When what little inhibitions they had were lowered. No, it was almost like they'd taken out all that rage, anger, and pain out on each other.
She stirred in her sleep from the sudden chill of his arm moving. She shifted, still laying on her side but bringing her arms and legs in to curl up into a ball. The movement was what finished rousing her, her body screaming at her for moving. Maria let out a breath, and her eyes fluttered open. It took a minute to adjust to the dark room. It had to be early morning sometime. The darkness had a strange gray hue to it that only happened when dawn was nearing. Now at least somewhat conscious she could feel everything. Every throbbing ache, and sore muscle. Every growing bruise or scratch. God, when had she become such a masochist for pain? She'd been with many people that liked pain, obviously. It was why they'd like Maria, because she could physically burn them. But the roles being reversed had been a very rare occurrence before Rhys. It had become an addictive high. Though the downward spiral after was always rough. Dealing with the aches and pain. But she liked it. It reminded her of what had happened.
Maria forced herself to relax. Even in the dark she could see the damage they'd done. Clothes thrown about carelessly, broken glass and picture frames. They'd even knocked over the chairs belonging to the kitchen table. She let out a slow breath and raised her head a little, glancing down to see that it had been Rhys' arm under her head. If this had been a few months ago, she would have immediately rolled away, disgusted by the gesture. But at some point they'd just stopped pulling away. As if resigning to this fate. She sat up just a touch, propping herself up on one elbow and running her other hand through her still damp hair. "You awake?"
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rhys alexander greyback
HOGWARTS ALUM WEREWOLF CURSEBREAKER ECHO
1,172 posts
played by vanessa
the air around me still feels like a cage
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last online May 2, 2024 2:55:32 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Nov 14, 2020 16:09:16 GMT -7
Post by rhys alexander greyback on Nov 14, 2020 16:09:16 GMT -7
you keep me from crashing down
November 3, 2025 @maria
Rhys felt Maria shift next to him, he hoped he hadn’t woken her partly because it was so early but also because he wasn’t sure if he was ready for a conversation yet. He was exhausted but he knew that everything he had felt and taken out on Maria had been mostly the tip of the iceberg. While he felt calmer than he had the previous night he still felt moody, though that was expected with now a day closer to the full moon. It had all been so different and he ignored the part of himself that felt a little sick at how he’d just let himself go and give in to everything he was and feeling, like some kind of animal. She brought that out in him, and she had been his target. There was a change of pressure on his arm and he looked over to see Maria lift her head slightly, whenever one of them moved it became cold and he resisted the urge to ignore his shoulder pain and curl back up with her. It was a totally different urge, not one like what he’d had last night but one more for comfort.
She propped herself up a bit and he turned his head to answer her, ”Yea.” He muttered, with his free hand he rubbed his face and eyes and finished by dragging his hand through his hair. It had curled significantly more than it was normally due to all the activity. ”What time is it?” He asked, it would be hard to fall back asleep now that he was more or less awake though tired. ”I uh…guess we never got to talk, did we?” Rhys had spent what little time awake they had wondering what was next now, it all seemed up in the air. He’d already broken a promise to never see her again and had lasted just over a week on that. Did they just stop now, agree to never see one another again or just….keep going as they were? Either way he had to decide, for his own sanity and because now they were in November which meant he’d be starting work again soon and more or less resume his busy schedule. Rhys thought about the letter he’d tossed on his desk back home and the non-urgent request he had been given over week ago and how he had to leave for that soon.
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last online May 2, 2024 8:57:57 GMT -7
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Nov 14, 2020 18:03:25 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2020 18:03:25 GMT -7
So he was awake. Maria wasn't surprised. While he'd gotten a lot better, he was still a light sleeper. So was she, to be honest. Though, there had been some mornings when one of them had woken alone, the other leaving before the other stirred. With another deep breath, as if working up the will, she sat up fully, holding back a flinch as her body protested. She glanced around, trying to figure out where her clothes had gone, only to catch the slightest glimpse from the kitchen. It almost seemed too far to bother with, so she took one of the blankets they'd used and wrapped it around her torso. While she wasn't shy, it was cold. The cold British winter beginning to set in.
He asked her the time as she slowly stumbled to her feet. "Early," she answered, though couldn't specify more then that. She'd just reached the couch side table and pulled the drawer open when he mentioned "talking". She went still for a moment, then reached into the drawer and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "I didn't think you came here to talk." She pulled a cigarette out and tossed the pack back in the drawer. If he'd actually come here to talk he wouldn't have come on so strong. No, it had just been an excuse to get in the door. An excuse she was fine with. She hated digging up the past. In her mind, it was already said and done. You couldn't take the past back. They'd both been assholes and nothing would change that.
Maria lit the cigarette with a few sparks from her hand, one of the most mundane but useful ways of using her fire creating power. She took a long drag on the cigarette, the exhaled, the smoke billowing up towards the ceiling. She moved back to the floor, sitting down next to him, with her back against the couch. "I don't see much of a purpose in 'talking'. We're both assholes. What else needs to be said?"
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rhys alexander greyback
HOGWARTS ALUM WEREWOLF CURSEBREAKER ECHO
1,172 posts
played by vanessa
the air around me still feels like a cage
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last online May 2, 2024 2:55:32 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Nov 14, 2020 20:15:41 GMT -7
Post by rhys alexander greyback on Nov 14, 2020 20:15:41 GMT -7
you keep me from crashing down
November 3, 2025 @maria
Rhys watched as she stood up, taking one of the blankets with her. Even in the dark he could still somewhat see her, perhaps his night vision was a bit better considering he was a werewolf after all though it wasn’t the as after the full moon with the potion his sister gave him. While the floor had been uncomfortable and he’d felt that he didn’t much feel like laying there with Maria gone, he felt cold, but it was also nearing winter now. She wasn’t wrong, he had said he wanted to talk but really, he’d had one goal in mind. The goal hadn’t necessarily been sex but it had been just a search for an outlet for the tumultuous feelings he’d been trying to bottle up and numb with whiskey and in a way punish Maria for taking so much control away from that night. He’d been helpless standing there while she spoke what was ultimately the truth to someone, he’d been trying to hide it front and he hadn’t been able to stop it. So, what better revenge than stripping control from someone who always had it? The smoke she created hovered above her and dispersed, the smell didn’t bother Rhys and though he didn’t smoke often himself he’d grown accustomed to this habit she had.
She came back with her cigarette and sat down next to him but so she was leaning on the couch. Rhys placed his hands on the floor and pushed his upper body up so he was also sitting and leaning on the piece of furniture, his shoulder still hurt—as it usually did this time of the month as did various parts of his body. So far, her tone told him she didn’t particularly want to talk, and though it was unspoken they both knew what about. Still, she wasn’t wrong. They both had gone to places that equated to be stabbed and then twisting the knife. Rhys remembered and he remembered where he felt he had crossed several lines. He’d been so angry. Rhys didn’t answer right away and pulled more of the blanket up to cover his lower half. Again his pride was telling him to drop it, she seemed ready to drop it but another part of him was pulling for him to say something. The internal struggle left a weird feeling in his chest, though that could also just be soreness—he wasn’t sure.
”I just—“. Rhys was not someone that liked to apologize, even when he knew he was wrong his body seemed determine to stop him from speaking. ”We both said things.” That was very true, and he didn’t want to get into the details of it. ”I’m sorry for bringing up…..Elias.” He said, his tone had dropped a bit. It was a sore spot for both, just saying the name because every time he seemed to, she reacted a different way and never positively. Rhys paused, since they were on that topic, he did have one question, though he knew he was risking her putting out that freshly lit cigarette somewhere on his person for asking he supposed. He braced himself, it was probably the only topic that made him nervous around her and her temper. ”I wanted to ask you something.” He muttered, opting to look down rather than at her. ”You don’t have to answer. But what did you mean when you said you were there and felt him….die?” Rhys almost couldn’t get the last word out. He swallowed as a lump began to for min his throat, he cleared it and tried not to focus on it. They didn’t have to talk about it, it was his brother and he had to ask.
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last online May 2, 2024 8:57:57 GMT -7
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Nov 14, 2020 21:31:51 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2020 21:31:51 GMT -7
It seemed Rhys actually did want to talk. Or at least, a part of him did. That was surprising. Maria glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as he stumbled to speak. She took a drag on the cigarette, just silently listening. Then, the name. Elias. Just the name stirred something in Maria's very soul. The apology was.... nice she supposed. Unexpected, but nice. She swallowed the lump in her throat the formed at hearing her dead cousin's name and she distracted herself by blowing the smoke out of the corner of her mouth, away from Rhys. ".... I'm sorry too." she didn't specify what exactly, as she'd said quite a few apology worthy things. Though... if she was honest she was sorry for letting out her resentment for the Greybacks. That was something she'd tried to hide from Rhys. She'd never talked much about why she disliked his sisters, and most likely his sisters had never told him her actual reasons and instead just spun a tale of Elias having a crazy fire wielding cousin.
Maria had felt threatened by the Greybacks. By their ability to just.... function, despite how dysfunctional all of them were. That despite having a horrible man for a father, they found solace and comfort in each other. That they found true family. From the moment she found out Elias had siblings she'd felt threatened, afraid she'd lose him to them. That fear had only intensified when she met them. They were disgustingly happy. It made her want to set them ablaze. Because they'd be able to give Elias something she never could. While the Greybacks were never normal, they'd be more normal then her. Maria had been terrified that.... He'd someday have to choose. Her or them. And to be honest? Maria knew the choice would be an easy one. Despite their bond. Despite their years of struggling, and staying by each other's sides. The Greybacks were just... better. Better then Maria. Better then the chaos and destruction she brought with her. He'd already been growing sick of her insane actions. One day he'd just decide enough was enough.
And so, she'd resented them. Resented all of them. Because they'd symbolized a better life for Elias. A life that didn't involve her. And when he'd died, as horrible as it sounded, she'd almost found comfort in the fact that she'd be rid of them. She'd never have to deal with the Greybacks again. Then, they made that fucking foundation. Naming it after her cousin. To honor his memory. But all it did was remind her every single day that he was dead and she wasn't. That he was gone. Just like her parents. Just like everyone that had mattered in her life.
Maybe it was Maria's fault. Maybe she just ruined everything she touched. Because why else did everything good in her life leave?
Maria let out an almost shaky breath, bringing the cigarette back up to her lips and inhaling. She hid the emotional turmoil well. Maria had gotten very good at hiding the pain. Though... Rhys didn't stop there. He spoke again and his initial words made her stop mid drag to look at him.
She coughed as he spoke, asking that question. What had she meant by feeling him die. Of course that was the one thing he remembered that she'd said. Couldn't he have remembered something else and forgotten that bit? She hadn't meant to say it. Hadn't meant to utter those words aloud to anyone, ever. Because that was her coldest, most bitter memory. Even now, the bracelet she never took off was a constant reminder of that day. But she couldn't bring herself to take it off. Maria turned her head away, to stare at the ice cold bracelet on her wrist. Dare she tell him? How did you even tell someone something like that? Maria spoke many languages but she couldn't find the words in any to convey what she should say. But....
She trusted him. Not just because of everything they'd done. But also because he was Elias' brother. At the very least he.... deserved to know. Deserve to know what Elias' final moments were like. The news had covered the explosion, but no news article could capture what really happened. No words could ever express that day. Because they hadn't been there.
Maria closed her eyes and took a very long drag on the cigarette. She exhaled, and then stamped the cigarette out on the floor next to her. She'd fix the burn on the hardwood later. "Wait here," she muttered. She pushed herself back to her feet and left the living room. She flicked on a light as she walked towards the coat closet by the front door. Despite her eyes being adjusted to the dark, her night vision wasn't good enough to try and find what she wanted in the dark. The closet was quite a mess. It had become Maria's catch all space. Old school supplies she'd never gotten rid of. Boxes from moving that she'd never unpacked. She scoured, searching... searching... Ah, there it was. She pulled a box out. It was flat and a little larger then a large saucer. She kicked the door shut with her foot as she carried the box to the kitchen table and flipped it open.
It was a compact penseive. Her aunt had given it to her for her last birthday. So that she could "remember the good things" in her life. She carefully lifted the pensieve out of the box, and pushed the box off the table, setting the pensive back down. it was quite small, compared to normal pensieves, but no apartment really had room for those. No, it was maybe a foot overall, just like a large serving dish.
Maria stopped then, staring down at the reflective surface. Did she really want to do this? Perhaps she could just try to find the words to tell him. Instead of letting him into her head like this... But still, no words came to mind. So, she let out a heavy breath and turned to find her wand. It was on the kitchen counter. She leaned over the pensieve, and brought the tip of her wand to her temple. She closed her eyes, and focused. Trying to find the memories.... Focusing on them...
"Hiding from your adoring fans?" That was Maria speaking. The memory came rushing back to her. The Hogwarts greenhouse forming in her mind. She sounded so... happy. When had she last sounded like that? Before everything fell apart around her. And there he was. Those familiar dark locks and eyes, eyes that had matched her own. He looked so alive, and happy. Laughing at her words. "For my one and only favorite cousin..." God, how could she remember his voice as if it were yesterday? Then, a gift exchange. She'd given him a journal, to record his memories of the tournament. He'd given her a bracelet, the one currently adorning her wrist. "I put a charm on it. That way, if I'm ever in trouble or hurt, this stone will burn hot to let you know."
She pulled the memory out there, not wishing to relive the rest of that night. She just needed enough so that Rhys would understand what the next memory would mean. She pulled her wand away from her temple, the silvery strand of a memory attached to the end of the end, then dropping into the pensieve.
Maria stared down at it, swallowing hard. She'd thought that she was over it. That she'd gotten past his death, at least a little. But she clearly hadn't. While Rhys had pictures of Elias in his apartment, hers was bare. Seeing Elias just invoked all the hard memories she couldn't face.
Shaking her head, as if to shake herself from the melancholy, she brought the wand back up to her temple and close her eyes once more. The second memory was easier to recall.
Maria was below deck, hiding from Viola. Oh, now those were memories she didn't want to go down either. The ship shook, violently. Something slammed into Maria, throwing her back and the world went black momentarily. When the world returned there was fire and smoke. Another body near her, not moving. The horrible feeling of blood as she lay there, knowing it was her own. She tried to understand, to figure out what was happening. Getting to her hands and knees. People were hurt, their screams mixed in with the crackling fire and explosions.
Then, a horrible, searing pain. Her wrist felt like it was on fire, being scorched by a hot iron rod. The bracelet. Even in the hazy of her injuries she knew that it meant Elias was in trouble. Was he hurt? Where was he? She had to find Elias. Had to help him. Had to protect him. Maria struggled to her feet. She shouldn't be moving. She knew that. But Elias was more important. The bracelet had burned from time to time, like during the tasks, but nothing like this. She took a few shaky steps.
The bracelet went ice cold. So cold that it almost burned as well.
No.... NO. Why? Why was it cold? Had he been saved? No, it wouldn't have stopped that suddenly. Maria knew what it meant. Knew that it could only be one thing. That Elias was-
Maria yanked the memory out and dropped it into the pensieve. She couldn't stand it anymore. She set her wand down on the table next to the pensieve and stepped away. She didn't say anything to Rhys, just motioned at him, then the pensieve. She wanted him to watch the memories. Though she would not watch them with him. She'd already had to relive them when she found them. She didn't need to relive them again. She moved to the couch, sitting down on it this time and reached into the drawer for another cigarette.
Maria didn't smoke all the time, but after reliving those memories? She just needed another. She lit it and took a long, slow drag on it. As if trying to steady herself before Rhys returned from the memories....
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rhys alexander greyback
HOGWARTS ALUM WEREWOLF CURSEBREAKER ECHO
1,172 posts
played by vanessa
the air around me still feels like a cage
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last online May 2, 2024 2:55:32 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Nov 14, 2020 23:18:34 GMT -7
Post by rhys alexander greyback on Nov 14, 2020 23:18:34 GMT -7
you keep me from crashing down
November 3, 2025 @maria
The invocation of Elias’ name was not something that brought any happy results. His brother was dead, he was killed. Rhys had only known him a short time, but he’d been elated at meeting another sibling—his family had grown. He remembered the Owl from Jamie and how’d he had managed to get back to the UK as fast he could from where had been at the time across the world. He remembered the emotion he had and the lump in his throat when Elias had been named a Champion. He had been so proud. It didn’t matter he was a werewolf, and it hadn’t mattered that he was also a son of Fenrir Greyback. It hurt to think about, but he’d only known him a short time and had spent the least amount of time with him so he wasn’t naïve to think that he had suffered the most when he had died. Jamie and Max had spent a lot of time with him at the school while he assumed Maria had spent the most. Elias was also similar to his other siblings in that he also had a family, his mother and Maria. Still, when Rhys had learned he had been killed he had just seen him not a week before to say goodbye as he was going back to Durmstrang and Rhys was summoned back to work.
It was clear memory in his mind, he was in Egypt preparing with another Curse Breaker when an Owl rushed through their open Window and knocked over a stack of books, he’d had on his desk there. The little guy fluttered around hurriedly looking for Rhys until he walked into the room and grabbed the envelope. It had a stamp of urgency on it, he’d only seen it a few times through his work, so he had assumed that’s what it was. When Rhys had read the contents, he caught himself holding his breathe, only letting it go once he’d read it again, and again. Had he read it right? And then it had hit him. Imagine that. Finding out your brother was dead in a letter.
There was a pause after he had spoken, but eventually Maria spoke and offered her own apology. Rhys hadn’t expected that, not after the things he had said to her and he didn’t challenge it nor ask for further explanation. Aside from being at Zombie Island prior to the fight it was the calmest they had been with one another in some time. Their expressiveness toward one another had always been subtle minus when it hadn’t, he’d always find himself with an arm around her as he slept, or she stayed nearby him. They had never talked about Elias, or any of his siblings or even what happened that year at Hogwarts. He knew what Max and Jamie had told him, which had been brief and had been locked away in his mind until this past May. Then he asked his next question, he’d been wondering if it was worth asking in the sense of would she actually tell him or would she brush him off. If that had been the case, he wouldn’t have pushed it, what were they to one another that she owed him such an intimate answer? They weren’t anything, there wasn’t a label and yet Rhys felt more comfortable around Maria as he had anyone in his life. She’d seen him for who he was, what he was, and she didn’t run away—she wasn’t scared of him.
She looked at him and Rhys went from looking down to looking at his side and at her, and then she looked away but stayed silent and Rhys waited. He waited for an angry response, snappy words spoke from a defensive standpoint, maybe she would slap him for having the audacity, just something. He hadn’t expected such a pause from her, such silence. When she finally spoke she told him to wait there and she stood up and walked to where she flicked a light switch on, he squinted his eyes and blinked until they adjusted to the sudden rush of light into his pupils but he started to adjust quickly. He heard noise coming from a small close she had entered and he wondered what she was doing and how it related to his question, but in the meantime he stood and glancing around the room he saw where various articles of clothing of his were thrown. All of Maria’s were in the kitchen where he’d demanded her undress. He found his boxers hanging off the corner of the coffee table they had shoved to the side and he put them on, though it didn’t help much with the cold. Maria walked over to the kitchen table with a large box and he was still waiting for some direction from her, but he got a sense of what was happening when she lifted a large pensieve out of it and then Rhys began to understand.
He swallowed hard, the lump in his throat hadn’t quite left but now he felt his heart speed up a little bit. She wasn’t going to tell him, she was going to show him and he watched as Maria paused but then began the process of extracting a memory. Rhys had only been around a pensieve once in his life and that had been as a boy when his nightmares started, and it was suggested that extracting them and facing them head-on would help him with his trauma. It hadn’t but it only seared in his brain what had happened and had twisted normal childhood nightmares into terrors he still couldn’t shake almost twenty years later. When Maria was finished, she backed away from the table motioned for him to step forward, her demeanor and expression concerned him only in the sense that he’d never seen her like this before. But in her usual manner she grabbed another cigarette and waited for him on the couch. He approached the Kitchen table, nervous at what he was going to see—this wasn’t at all what he expected when he’d asked Maria for a clarification but now here, they were. The liquid in the bowl swirled slowly and emitted a silvery hue, exactly what he remembered from before.
Rhys leaned over the bowl and the closer he got to the surface the contents swirled a bit faster until it wasn’t silver anymore and he viewed a scene that looked a bit familiar to him but from a different time. He knew he had to continue if he was going to get any answers at this point, so he did and then he found himself standing on the familiar grounds of Hogwarts though as he looked at his surroundings it took him a minute to recognize the greenhouse. He stopped looking around when he heard a familiar voice, Maria’s voice and it startled him a bit. Her tone, the inflection—it was so much different than it was now, and an equally happy voice replied to her and then he understood why she seemed…happy. Rhys approached, it was still strange feeling since this was a memory and not real life and also because he wasn’t very clothed but he was transfixed on the boy who had spoken—Elias. His heart lurched and he wanted to call out, to reach for him but he knew this wasn’t real. Rhys took a shaky breath and gathered himself, he seemed alive and well so it must be something relevant then. Rhys watched them interact. It was so natural and happy. They were exchanging gifts and Rhys moved closer so he could see what they were unwrapping.
Elias unwrapped his gift and it was a leather-bound journal, and then Maria went to unwrap hers and pulled out a bracelet with a red stone. Rhys looked curiously, he recognized it—she always had that bracelet on. And then he couldn’t help but look away from the bracelet and to Maria, she was smiling—but not a smile he’d ever seen from him, a true smile full of elation. Was this one of the last times she had smiled like that, he wondered. Then Elias explained how the bracelet was charmed, it reminded him of a modified type of Protean Charm as his mind went into Curse Breaker mode but then he was pulled out of those thoughts by Elias’ next words. ’If I’m ever in trouble or hurt, this stone will burn hot and let you know.’. Rhys’ heart sank into his stomach, this is what he was meant to hear from this memory. Maria responded but Rhys knew it was the end of the memory when everything seemed to swirl and suddenly, he was somewhere else. He didn’t recognize this place and he looked around to try and figure out what Maria was trying to show him, what memory had she extracted. He saw her though, sitting by herself and the way the room they were in moved and sounds he heard he thought it could be a ship? He’d never been on a ship such as this so he could only go with his assumptions.
Rhys moved a few steps forward and saw she seemed deeply lost in thought, though she didn’t look as joyful and happy as she had in the last memory. This Maria resembled more of who he was used to seeing now. Before he could think on it too much long, he heard a loud noise and instinctively put up his arms and hands to shield himself, but this was a memory it couldn’t hurt him—not physically anyway. He put his arms down and saw only chaos in front of him, including an injured Maria. His instinct was to rush forward and help her, she was bleeding and barely conscious but while his he felt his heart race, he had to remind himself—just a memory. He barely seemed to note the screams around him, the sound of true pain and true fear. It was horrible to hear but he focused on what was In front of him, Maria was still in a daze and covered in blood and she lifted her wrist—the one with the bracelet he remembered from the previous memory and the one she still wore. It seemed to glow as if it was on fire, he could see her skin blister where it made contact and then it just…..stopped. Rhys felt that heavy feeling in his chest again, based on what she had shown him he could only surmise what it meant. And just like that everything swirled around him for the last time and he was back in the dining room of Maria’s apartment.
His ears rang for a second as they adjusted to the quiet having been flooded with the screams of injured students not moments before. Rhys stood there, not even feeling the cold anymore as he took a few steps back until he was leaning against the wall. She had been right to show him instead of trying and explain all of that, it made more sense now at least a lot of it did. He almost felt a little silly he was grieving a brother he barely knew, when he died, he did lose a brother, but she had lost something more. Rhys had trouble getting the image of an injured Maria out of his head from the explosion, but he still fixated on the bracelet, how brightly it had burned like molten metal but then—nothing. Rhys took a shuddering breath as he steadied himself. But then he looked over at the couch where Maria was sitting, a fresh cigarette in her hand. He felt sad, he thought about having watched his mother in front of him and how that even affected him, but this was different. A mechanism that was supposed to provide comfort and reassurance had instead recorded in her mind the exact date and time when her heart had broken. There wasn’t a word for that, not that he could think of.
Rhys walked back to the couch and sat down next to Maria, slightly facing her. He wasn’t sure what to say, his brain was still processing everything had just seen and he was processing his own turbulent emotions. Instead he reached out slowly and gently grabbed her wrist, the one with the bracelet he had seen in the memory—the one that she continued to wear despite what it signified. She had scars there, likely from the burns he himself had watched form and he gently ran his fingers over them. Still looking down at her wrist he finally was able to speak, even if his voice didn’t quite feel that strong but he felt he had to if only to remind himself he wasn’t in the memory anymore. ”I’m…sorry.” He managed to speak, clearing his throat to try and get rid of the lump he had in it now. ”I had no idea.” Rhys had never doubted whether if her grieving over Elias had been sincere or not, he knew it was but he knew more now though it hurt to understand it now.
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last online May 2, 2024 8:57:57 GMT -7
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Nov 15, 2020 0:19:01 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2020 0:19:01 GMT -7
Maria didn't share her memories like that. With anyone. Rhys had been the first one she'd ever let watch a memory in the pensieve. But it had been for a reason. Because he deserved to know when Elias died. Unfortunately, Maria didn't have the words to explain it. She felt like if she tried, she might break. Those thick walls that she kept up around her heart would shatter and crumble. Somethings just couldn't be said. Couldn't be expressed. Elias' death was one of those things for it. That was why whenever he came up her reactions were.... intense. Why you never knew if you'd get anger or depression from invoking his name. Because no matter how hard she tried to move on, and to get over it, she couldn't. His death had left a permanent scar on her heart and her wrist.
Rhys didn't say anything as he moved to the pensieve to view the memories she'd deemed to share. She should have warned him, but her mouth didn't open. Her mind almost felt numb from those memories she'd relived. Even when he had viewed them she wasn't sure if she'd be able to speak. Maria wondered what he might think. Seeing something like that. What he might think of her. Would he think she was weak? That she was even more broken then he'd thought? That Elias' death had damaged her beyond the point she felt she might ever heal? Because god, that's how she felt. The only thing worth doing after his death had been throwing herself at whatever high might distract her. Because when she was in the arms of a stranger she wasn't left alone with her own dark thoughts and memories. You couldn't miss someone if you never gave yourself the time to.
Maria took a shaky drag on the cigarette, trying to calm her pounding heart. She closed her eyes. Just... calm down. Shut down the emotions like she always did. She felt so exposed right now. More exposed then she'd ever felt. She'd told people about her past traumas before. But this was different. Thankfully, she had time. While he watched the memories. Time to get her walls back up. So that when he returned, she could just shrug it off like she always did. Because that's how she faced things. By not facing them at all. She ran from her pain. And she'd keep running from it.
Her eyes were still closed when he moved. He must have finished the memories. She slowly opened her eyes and watched him move to the couch. He didn't say anything, but she hated the look in his eyes. Immediately she looked away, trying to focus on the cigarette but the hand holding it shook a little. She tossed the cigarette into the ashtray on the table and brought the hand in close, to hide. She wouldn't speak first, instead waiting to see what he might say. Please, god. Say something snarky or sarcastic. Give her something non-Elias related to focus on.
But he didn't. Instead he grabbed her wrist, the one with the bracelet, and lightly traced the scares. The ones she'd refused to let the healers heal. The ones that were a daily reminder of her failure. She had failed him. Maybe.. If she'd been with him he would have survived. She could have protected him somehow. Maria pursed her lips tightly and finally looked at him. As much as she tried to hide it, there was a broken look in her eyes. He was still focused on her scars though.
He spoke and she swallowed hard. Trying, desperately, to swallow the emotions it stirred. Her eyes stung and heart squeeze uncomfortably in her chest. Immediately she looked away, her head turned completely away. "It's-" Maria clamped her mouth shut. She could hear the emotion in her voice. The quiver. No, he couldn't see her like this. She squeezed her eyes shut, desperate to contain what was coming. What she could feel coming but couldn't stop. She hadn't cried when she found out he was dead, officially. Scream, definitely. But no tears. She hadn't cried since either. No, she'd always faced her depression with anger and fire. She brought her knees up to her chest, not caring about how the blanket exposed her in the position. No, she just needed a place to hide, somehow.
Rhys still had a hold of her wrist as she buried her face in her knees, her one free hand wrapping around her knees tightly. She didn't say anything... But after a moment she did make a sound. A shaky breath and then... quiet sobbing.
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rhys alexander greyback
HOGWARTS ALUM WEREWOLF CURSEBREAKER ECHO
1,172 posts
played by vanessa
the air around me still feels like a cage
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last online May 2, 2024 2:55:32 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Nov 15, 2020 0:59:45 GMT -7
Post by rhys alexander greyback on Nov 15, 2020 0:59:45 GMT -7
you keep me from crashing down
November 3, 2025 @maria
She didn’t say anything when she sat down and only looked at him, all he could feel was the pit in his stomach and the pressure growing in his chest. He hurt. He hurt for his brother who had died too young and before Rhys could get a chance to really know him. He hurt for Maria who had the physical scars as a constant reminder that she had felt when the most beloved person in her life last few seconds on this world with her. While he had her wrist in her hands she didn’t speak, and he didn’t know if she was looking at him or avoiding his gaze as he probably would have done in this situation. She had shown him a side or her he had never imagined, nor was it ever intended. As time went on, they only seemed to continue to show each other how broken they were, pulling out one broken piece at a time and handing it to the other and hoping they didn’t shatter it further. That was trust. Such an implicit trust and Rhys hadn’t realized how far they had come until she’d shared memories with him, the gesture was one of pure faith. Even after they had hurt each other, there was still faith.
He heard Maria start to speak but then suddenly stop and he looked up, she looked away from him but he’d heard the tone of her voice even if had only been a single word and then he felt her begin to shake a little and then he realized why. Her knees came up as she tried to curl up into a kind of a ball as if to shut him out, Rhys paused and for a moment he was in a small state of shock. He’d expected anger and rage and some kind of lashing out at Elias’ death and Rhys touching her in away even more intimate that what had already occurred. But that didn’t happen, instead he felt her shake and then realized she was….crying. Rhys felt anguish in his chest, between what he’d seen in the first memory—the smiles and laughs and genuine love between the two cousins and the burning bracelet in the second memory he not only felt sad for his brother but for however that must have felt for her. Rhys still had her wrist, but he scooted forward so he could wrap his arms around her curled up frame and brought her to his chest. He fought the feeling in his chest and the tears that had begun to well up in his eyes and instead focused on bringing her close to him.
With her head on his chest he wrapped one arm around her lower back and the other higher so his hand could gently lay on the back of her head. There was never a time limit on grieving, it was a purely personal process, and everybody handled it different. He didn’t know how Maria had tried to process what she had been feeling about his death but Rhys knew how he had run away from his, diving headfirst into work and excessively dangerous assignments and endless bottles of whiskey until his sister and a good friend had intervened. From what he knew had gathered from the memories and previous conversations, Maria didn’t really have….anyone. Rhys swallowed hard again, trying to control his own breathing as she cried into his chest. ”It’s alright, I’m here.” He whispered, what did one do in these circumstances. He could only think to provide reassurance. They had begun this affair over the anniversary of his death, they could also grieve it. He pushed out of his mind his other promises, that he wouldn’t see her again and he’d let it all go. He just couldn’t now. ”I’m not going anywhere…”
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last online May 2, 2024 8:57:57 GMT -7
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Nov 15, 2020 1:38:41 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2020 1:38:41 GMT -7
Why did that explosion have to take him? Why Elias? Why had it taken someone so good, and not someone like her? He'd had so much more to look forward too. He would have been fine in her place. He'd have learned to move on. He'd have his mother, and his half siblings. He'd have people he could lean on and rely on. But no, this cruel, cruel, world had taken him. Maybe that was a good thing. Because he was spared from more pain. But goddamnit, why?! Why did fate have to take everyone from her?
A year and a half. That's how long Elias had been gone. How long she'd tried to runaway from this pain. To not face it. To pretend it didn't happen, or pretend she was fine. A year and a half of pretending that Elias' death hadn't broken her in a way that she didn't think she could ever heal. A year and a half until someone finally cracked through the armor she used to protect herself and see that broken girl. Who would have thought that it would be Elias' own half brother that would finally see her?
Maria hated crying. Hated the way it made her feel, and look. The way that people looked at her when she cried. Hated the sympathy. But the tears didn't stop. Once that first sob escaped the dam came crashing down, and nothing she did would get it back up. No, all those emotions and feeling she'd desperately ran from rushed towards her, swallowing her and she felt like she was drowning. She should have fought him when he pulled her close. Should have pulled away and told him she was fine.
But she wasn't fine.
Maria turned into his chest and wrapped her arms around his torso as the tears just kept coming. They offered her no relief. The only relief was the feeling of his arms wrapped around her. To know that she wasn't the only one that missed him. Rhys missed him too. They'd both lost someone dear that day. They'd both lost a piece of themselves. And maybe, maybe together they'd finally find some relief from the pain.
-time lapsing a bit, cause she probably cried for quite a while.-
Maria's eyes had long since dried, as if she'd finally run out of tears to shed. She still hurt. Not just her body from last night, but deep in her soul. There was a gaping wound that had been ripped open. She still clung to Rhys with a desperation that scared her, though he'd held her too. Neither had spoken for a long time. So long, in fact, that the sun had finally started to rise.
Maria swallowed hard, turning her head just a little against his chest and finally taking a shaky but deep breath. As if testing to see if more tears might come. Thankfully, they didn't. "Please don't tell them. How he-" She didn't finish the sentence but he would know. His sisters. While they knew how the explosion happened, they hadn't seen it like Rhys. They hadn't seen, at least from her eyes, when Elias had died. It wasn't necessarily because she hated them that she didn't want them to know. It was because they'd already betrayed his memory, in her mind, once. She didn't trust them with such a raw memory.
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rhys alexander greyback
HOGWARTS ALUM WEREWOLF CURSEBREAKER ECHO
1,172 posts
played by vanessa
the air around me still feels like a cage
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last online May 2, 2024 2:55:32 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Nov 15, 2020 2:09:16 GMT -7
Post by rhys alexander greyback on Nov 15, 2020 2:09:16 GMT -7
we're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year
November 3, 2025 @maria
As soon as Rhys had grabbed her, she transitioned from crying to sobbing and Rhys had expected it, the hard you fought the tears the harder they tended to come. Emotions, they came with that flaw where the hard you pushed the harder, they pushed until one side won out. Rhys held her tight against him, all the emotion she was radiating was hitting him and hitting hard. Her arms went around his body and clung to him, he felt her shaking and her tears on his chest but he just held her and he moved his face to gently lay on top of his head—if he could have held her closer he would have. The amount of pain she was in was evident and he felt his own pain as well, his eyes welled up and he clenched his jaw in his own futile attempt to hold them back and but very slowly a few tears stream down his own face, but didn’t focus on that. Rhys didn’t cry, he was known for his stoic existence and the occasional joke and a smile. He didn’t show when he was sad, in fact if he was showing anything it might have been anger but at this moment, he just felt sad. Rhys was used to being dealt opposing hands, one day he would seem to have everything and even if he didn’t smile there was a content expression in his eyes and something to look forward to for only the next day to deal a blow as savage as how happy he might have felt the day before. That’s what Elias had been for him, a wonderful discovery of another brother only to have him savagely yanked away. Had Elias died and Rhys never met him he wouldn’t have been left with a void of knowing he had existed. But, he had known. And he had died, and he’d never be whole. Rhys didn’t say anything more than he had and focused on the broken girl in front of him. Even with him right next to her she had instinctively tried to hide from him, physically push him out and he hadn’t let her. [time lapse – feels feels feels ] The sun had come up though Rhys didn’t really focus on it, it was hard to gauge how much time had passed and he just felt the exhaustion. Maria still clung to him, but he wouldn’t have let her go regardless. He was physically tired but emotionally he felt drained. It was an empty feeling and one he hadn’t let himself feel in a long time. There was some relief that came with it, to let it out and he tried to convince himself that it was for the better. He didn’t know when he had started but after some time his finger had lightly begun to move, stroking her hair as some kind of soothing gesture. He didn’t know why he did it, but it had felt right for that moment. His attention came back when she shifted slightly, not to move away but to speak to him. ”I won’t.” He responded quickly, and a little piece of him wanted to argue. Perhaps the bad blood could have been cleared if they knew what he did. Experienced what he had experienced, and they could see for their very eyes why Maria clung so much to Elias’ memory and his loss. But Maria didn’t trust them not like she trusted him. Before this Rhys had known as much as his family had known in terms of what authorities had told them as relatives and what the Prophet had reported, it still stung that there hadn’t quite been a resolution on that entire incident, Elias had not been the only student killed that day. Rhys cleared his throat, it felt dry. ”Thank you. For showing me.” He muttered simply, it wasn’t often someone shared their memory with someone.
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last online May 2, 2024 8:57:57 GMT -7
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Nov 16, 2020 12:43:21 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2020 12:43:21 GMT -7
Maria knew she should, eventually, get over her bitterness towards the Greyback girls. But sometimes bridges just couldn't be mended. There hadn't even been one to begin with. When they'd met the river had been turned into an ocean and no bridge could ever span that length. Nothing, in her mind, would ever repair the non-existent relationship that had been destroyed. While Maria knew a part of it was entirely her fault, and she was simply too stubborn to try and be better, part was on them as well. Jamie had been the one to tell Elias to pick them or her. Jamie had solidified Maria's fear that the Greybacks were just out to claim Elias as their own, and leave her in the dust. Then the fact that Maxima just kept pulling her wand out around Maria, as if waiting for any chance to try and hex her. Maria had fucking gone to Durmstrang. Someone having their wand out only around you tended to tell you that they wouldn't hesitate to try and hurt you. If they wanted to keep treating Maria like the bad guy then she'd be the godddamn bad guy. Maria didn't need to befriend people that made her feel like she had to watch her back.
So, was it petty? Yes. Wanting to deny them information about Elias. They didn't deserve it. Didn't deserve to see him growing up. To experience his happiest, and saddest moments. They didn't deserve it. But Rhys? Well... In this moment she might actually be willing to show him, if he asked. Because while this whole relationship had been purely physical she'd grown to trust him. He was an asshole, but so was she. And that didn't bother her. Maybe it was because she couldn't ruin him. Not like Elias. Rhys had his own ghosts that haunted him. They were both horribly broken people, so what sort of damage could they do to each other? It was hard to break something that was already broken.
Thankfully, he promised he wouldn't. Despite probably wanting to refuse the request. While they were both stubborn there were times when they knew not to fight the other on something. That some things just weren't worth it. Several moments of silence followed. Normally Maria would hate it. Because silences like this weren't normal. But Maria had learned to trust these sort of silences between them. Where neither needed to say or do anything. Just a silent understanding. Neither did she pull away, but nor didn't she feel he'd let her if she tried. His arms still held her close to his chest, his tight embrace reassuring and comforting. Then, a quiet thanks. Maria pursed her lips tightly together, to swallow the emotion the thanks stirred, then nodded against his chest. "I'm sorry you didn't get to know him..." Not like she had, at least. Not the way brothers should know each other. The tournament had taken up so much Elias' time. His time with his siblings had been short for those still in school. No doubt Rhys had had even less time to get to know Elias.
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rhys alexander greyback
HOGWARTS ALUM WEREWOLF CURSEBREAKER ECHO
1,172 posts
played by vanessa
the air around me still feels like a cage
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last online May 2, 2024 2:55:32 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Nov 16, 2020 18:49:14 GMT -7
Post by rhys alexander greyback on Nov 16, 2020 18:49:14 GMT -7
we're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year
November 3, 2025 @maria
Rhys felt conflicted but it easy to push down in his current mood and the current situation. It was all extra at the moment as far as he was concerned, and he wasn’t thinking too hard about what consequences would come of his actions today. It was a problem for tomorrow or later. Still, if he continued being unable to essentially control himself then there would be another incident such as Zombie Island but when? Christmas? Would Jamie be there to provide back up to her sister this time as Rhys tried to referee? It was convoluted and he didn’t want to waste whatever energy he had right now on it since couldn’t think of a clear solution and it seemed by far the hardest puzzle he would have to solve. It had been so difficult for all of them to grieve for Elias and as far as he knew it hadn’t quite been a topic of conversation, it still hurt and the new information Rhys had learned today made the wound worse but he understood a lot more. That had been the tradeoff, more pain for more knowledge though it made him sad he would never see him again.
It still pained him a little to have agreed to withhold such information from his siblings, especially when it had to do with their brother no less. But as serious and headstrong as he could be, he wasn’t heartless. That was something that would have hurt Maria in a way he couldn’t take back and he knew he wouldn’t do that. Was it because he cared? He didn’t know, they weren’t anything to one another but a physical outlet. All the times they’d found comfort in their presence near one another or even talking had been incidental, they found comfort in sex. They took out their worst feelings on one another and that’s where the physical roughness came in and it worked because they could take it. She was the first one to see Rhys for who he really was in terms of how turbulent he really was in inside. He hid his broken self from the world for fear of further cracks appearing because he didn’t protect himself enough. ’I’m sorry you didn’t get to know him…’ She responded softly, and he swallowed hard again, he was sorry too. But for that second, he didn’t quite trust himself to speak yet.
He merely nodded his head slightly, not that she could really see him. His age gap to his siblings had always kept him at a slightly more distance than he would have otherwise liked but it wasn’t intention and most likely in his own head. Rhys closed his eyes. They were tired and they stung a bit with exhaustion, but he didn’t want to move. Even if he had grabbed Maria close to him for her comfort it was helping him too. He pulled back a bit, not much but so he could look down at her and he muttered ”I—uh—you must be exhausted. We should get some sleep.” Rhys wasn’t going anywhere, but he stayed because he wanted to, and it probably wasn’t the greatest idea for either to be alone at this point. He moved and went to stand up, but he gently grabbed Maria’s hand so they could go to her room. It would be more comfortable than the couch and especially the floor. He looked at her, his eyes blue as ever and he almost felt a bit exposed as the second he had come out of those memories his walls had been torn down. But he was okay, it didn’t make him nervous. Not with her.
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last online May 2, 2024 8:57:57 GMT -7
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Nov 17, 2020 11:41:10 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2020 11:41:10 GMT -7
Many people would be confused by.... whatever the hell this was between them. Despite how much time they'd spent together since April they knew surprisingly little about each other. Bits and pieces here and there, but not what you'd expect. No, they knew some of the worst parts about each other. Maria knew about what happened to his mother, Rhys knew what happened (vaguely) to her parents. Now Rhys knew what had happened the day Elias died. But aside from those few things? A few other minor and insignificant things, like both of them being borderline alcoholics. But no, not what would be considered normal for the time they'd spent together. The times they'd opened up to each other were few, but intense. Would there ever be a point where they just opened up and... stayed open? Willingly letting the other learn and not shutting them out the moment the conversation got uncomfortable?
And yet, despite how little they knew, they understood. In a way only a fellow broken soul could. They didn't need to know everything to know just how messed up the other person was. And they sought comfort in the other's brokenness. They didn't get those pretty but empty apologies and sympathies that courtesy dictated. No, when they said something they meant it. Hell, they didn't even half to say anything most the time. Because sometimes, when you were this broken no words could ever make it better. And god, Maria had been broken so many times over... Maybe she was just a masochist for pain.
Rhys mentioned getting sleep, and her being exhausted. For a moment, all her defenses went flying back up. Ready to just shut him out after those intense and heart wrenching moments. To go back to before. Shutting him out the moment the moment was over so that he didn't get to see any other parts of her. "I'm f-" she stopped herself. She could still hear the raw emotion in her voice. Plus, her red tinged eyes would be a dead give away. She shouldn't fight it, not with him. Not when he'd already seen her at her lowest point. Hiding would do her no good. She met his gaze as he took her hand. Maria pursed her lips, her expression almost borerline refusing, but then the look relaxed and she nodded just a little, getting up from the couch and letting him lead the way into her room. The bed and room were cold, but she hardly noticed once they laid down and turned into each other's arms.
(END?! -nods- yes. End. Now go be an asshole and run away, Rhys.)
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