| Details for Under Warps |
| Summary: | Gabby and Lucian have another typical argument, but the end result is both of them admitting to things they hadn't intended to. |
| Date: | Jun 10, 1938 |
| Location: | Club Room |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
  |
This large room has a variety of uses, and can be setup differently for each club that uses it. Large storage doors around the room each hold a different club's equipment, to be setup with the wave of a wand. When the Athletics Club is here, for example, the room is full of gymnastics, weight, and other sports equipment. When the Domestics Club is here, however, stoves and cauldrons and workstations are more likely to be found here.
Exams. The most stressful time of the school year. Well, they're over for most students. But having been part of the Triwizard entourage, Lucian's exams were pushed back a week. Adding even more to his anxiety is that he's at N.E.W.T. level exams. So he's blowing off steam the best way he knows how — by beating the crap out of something. Dressed in Slytherin-colored sweatclothes, hands wrapped up, he's pummeling an enchanted punching bag that is throwing taunts his way. "Is that the best you've got? My mother hits harder, and she's a shopping bag!" Lucian lands a solid blow, but the bag merely chuckles, "Try again, Twinkletoes! I can do this all day!"
Gabrielle 's not looking to blow off steam, but has been trying to dodge people all day. Mostly the gossip mongers. Rumor has expanded from she blew up some potion over the weekend hurting her hands to she blew an examiner for her OWLs potions. Either way, both her hands have been wrapped and she's not been around anyone. Although now that the older girls have decided to target her, Gabby's starting to wonder if the potions lie was the best cover she should have used. She'll quickly open the door and step in, only freezing when she realizes she's not alone in the room. She looks tired, and her hair's down, using it as partial cover for her face." Oh! Lucian…I didn't realize…"She'll tilt her head and frown at the punching bag,"That's an interesting…charm."
The punching bag hollers, "You gonna let a girl see you punch like one? Give it some muscle!"
Lucian doesn't tend to show off his muscle, as he always keeps covered, but a life as a stable boy has led to a rather strong body. With an irritated grunt, he slams his fists into the bag for a one-two punch, causing the bag to actually "ooof!" Panting, he steps back from the bag and glances over at Gabrielle. "Hey." He frowns at her hands. "What happened?"
Gabrielle 's not above noticing when someone has a nice body, but she's so frazzled and distraught right now, it just kinda goes over her head. She'll nervously glance at her hands, like maybe they'll suddenly be better, if she just gives than another look, "Oh..I was just stupid. They'll be better after a while." She'll shrug,keeping her voice quiet,"I'm done with exams, so it's ok." she'll glance up again at the punching bag as it swings, a flash of almost envy goes across her face. How she wishes she could just do that right now. "How are you exams going?" look!change of topic!
You give Lucian a cookie.
Lucian moves to sit in a chair and starts unwrapping his hands. He's not about to let her change the subject that easily. "Come on, don't pull that evasive crap with me. What /happened/, Evans?" There's a hint of concern through the annoyance in his voice.
Gabrielle 's jaw tightens, although it's hard to tell at what exactly. She'll keep her eyes on the bag, and her voice low, "I got upset and went at the bag. I didn't have my hands wrapped." She'll shrug, "It was stupid."She'll drop her eyes to her hands and the sketchbook she's now clutching. If he looks, it does seem like it's more her knuckles that are wrapped than the fingers. Her finger tips are actual visible.
Lucian eyes her skeptically. "Seriously? You hurt your hands on the punching bag?" He rises and approaches to examine her hands more closely. "Let me guess. You haven't got to Madam Spleen."
Gabrielle 's eyebrows draw together, in a touch of annoyance. "Yes." She'll glance up, eyes flashing just a tad, "It's why you wrap your hands…so you don't tear your knuckles." She'll tense up when he starts moving closer, but doesn't step away. Not like he'd find out anything he doesn't know. "No. While Mopsus and Merrythought know, I don't know who else on staff knows about my…arm. And I'd rather not have Spleen have a heart attack." The bandages on her hands have clearly been put on my someone else.
"Really? Is that why I wrap my hands?" Lucian's voice drips with sarcasm. "You know, I'm pretty sure Madam Spleen has seen far worse than your arm. Don't pretend it's concern for her heart. You should try trusting her. She knows about mine, and she hasn't told a soul." He gestures to his own forearm, hidden under the long sleeve of his sweatshirt. "Besides, walking around in bandages is even /more/ suspicious. All your effort to deflect attention away from yourself always does the opposite."
Gabrielle actually finches at Lucian's tone. Which is unusual, she can usually deal with him, at least more than that. But between what she learned about her parents,The Family, Ripley not talking to her, her own personal guilt over the Tiwizard , OWLs and everything else, she just kinda breaks. There's a tremble of her lower lip, which is really the only forewarning before tears start spilling down her cheeks. Her sketchbook comes up, almost like a shield and she'll turn towards the door, intend on finding somewhere else to hide/cry out the rest of the day.
Lucian is not in a very forgiving mood. Tensions around the school are high for everyone. "Wow. Hey, sorry for giving a damn." He rolls his eyes, going to grab a towel to pat down the sweat on his brow.
Tears still falling, but Gabby pauses, if she was in a clearer state of mind, she'd just keep walking, take his dismissal as a gift horse. She'll tilt her head, her hair finally falling away from her eyes enough to show that she really hasn't been sleeping, "That was you giving a damn? Most people that gave a damn would want to know why I was so upset that I went at the bag. You giving a damn? Apparently means you belittling me." Her whole body is trembling slightly, "I can't just go to Madame Spleen and hope she's not upset that I've been hurt for the part 4 years and didn't go to her. I'm glad that she's kept your secret, but it's different for me."
Lucian rubs the towel through his sweat-dampened hair, leaving it rather disheveled. "Yeah, you can, actually. It's easy. You walk in to the hospital wing, say, 'Hey, Madam Spleen? I have this problem, and I think you can help me.' But no. Not Gabrielle Evans. Because that would mean the end of her world. Again. Then you might have to trust someone else, and it's just so inconvenient to have to act like they've stabbed you in the back when they so much as disagree with you."
Gabrielle pales slightly, but she'll wrinkle her nose in anger, "Have you ever considered that I'm that way because it's what happens?! I trust and then awful things happen? Merlin, I have faith in things, and it just…explodes." Her wrinkled nose turns into a sneer, "I get word from someone that they can tell me about my mother. I trust, I have faith, and what happens? I find out that the reason of their deaths, the murd-" She'll pull up, tears still falling, but she looks surprised that she said what she did. Her face goes slightly panicky and she'll turn to leave again, not even bothering to say anything.
Lucian leans up against a cabinet, his pace impassive, even cold. "So you've got problems. Welcome to life. Life is shit. You get stronger by it, or you get flattened. So scurry off if you want to. But don't ever expect me to sugar coat my words to make you feel better. I've been here for you, and I've never been soft with you before. Don't know why you expect it now."
Something clicks in Gabby's mind, after the fact that he didn't jump all over her almost slip, Thank Merlin. If this is how he behaves with someone he likes/worries about, how must he talk to Ria? No wonder he's always alone besides Ria. Her tears have slowed, but not stopped and she'll stop to look at him. He'd have no way of knowing what she's going through, she tries to remind herself. He reminds her so much of Jackson, not that she could say that to him. Her voice is a bit timid, like she's not sure how he'll respond to this, "I don't want you to sugar coat anything or be soft. But I would prefer you not be cruel. There's nothing to be gained from that." She still has that sketchbook up though, like protection.
Lucian frowns, shaking his head. "It isn't cruel to tell you that Madam Spleen would understand and help you. It isn't cruel to inform you that you're making more of a spectacle of yourself by trying to hide things. I'm trying to help you."
Gabrielle takes a shaky breath, "It's not what you say…it's how you say it. You always make it sound like I'm stupid, or that you're better than me." She'll glance down at her sketchbook…or maybe it's her hands. When she does, her curls fall back down in front of her eyes, "I'm beginning to think it's unintentional…which almost makes it worse."
Lucian sighs. "Evans, you always act like everyone is out to get you. Have you ever considered that it's not how I say it, but how you hear it? Not sugar-coating means that, yeah, I probably sound like an arse to most people. But that's because most people don't like hearing the truth when it makes them uncomfortable."
"And have you ever considered you're doing more harm than good by your not-sugar coated words?" She'll shudder slightly, but it may be the coming down from crying. "You don't like hearing harsh truths any more than anyone else. If you actually want to help, then speak to people how you want to be spoke to…" she'll take a deep breath and push on before he can interrupt, "And before you say you do, I don't think you want the harsh truths about how you act when it comes to your family or how you are with the house Griffindor." She'll swallow again and look up, steeling herself for hurricane Lucian.
Lucian narrows his eyes. "Actually, this is how I want to be spoken to. Go ahead. Tell me how I am with Gryffindor and my family, and I'll gladly tell you all about them. I don't hide from the ugly truth. I face it, head on, no matter how bloody it gets."
Gabrielle will nod then, "Alright. I've seen your family, at least here, reach out. And you won't let go of actions. You have a chance, to fix…anything. And you're letting your pride stop you. I've had a bit of a wake up call about families. If you can fix it, you should try. Your father sounds like a right ass, but I'm not talking about him. I'm talking about those that are tying now." She'll take a shaky breath, "I…the man who says he knew my mother…he says he's related to me. Wants me to be part of his family. I have some decisions i need to make. And I know it's going to be messy, either way." She'll look down at her hands, "I also know that not all Griffindors are awful, like you knee jerk react. Cillian isn't. And Donovan defended a few of us against his own house, when Deven was harassing us." she sounds like she's lost some of her steam, and she'll reach up and wipe her cheeks some.
Steam? Lucian has plenty. "So, I'm supposed to just hug and kiss Victor because he's occasionally not an arse to me? Of course then there's Lionel, who I did go to see. Oh yes, he was an arse to me. You think I have pride issues? My family is sick with pride. It's right in the family name. And don't tell me I won't give a Gryffindor a chance. Do you even know Josie Davies? Not to mention the dozens of Gryffs I coach in Dueling Club. I do everything I can to save them from turning into the arrogant little shits their house wants them to be."
Gabrielle raises an eyebrow as Lucian points out the second trait his family all has in common. Being asses. She'll sigh softly, "Yes, I know Josie. And outside of tutoring or Dueling Club?" she'll shake her head, "Every house is a stereo type. It's up to us to look beyond that." Her eyes dart to the table that Kaiden told her she was the only Ravenclaw with talons, and then back to Lucian, "Unless you want everyone to judge you as the stereotype of a Slythern?" she'll shake her head, "And so what? your family has pride issues? Well, yeah. Every family has something." Try dark wizards! She'll reposition her sketchbook, still holding it to her chest, "Look…I'm sorry that I started crying and upset you." even as she says it, she's frowning slightly, knowing that doesn't sound right.
Lucian huffs, shaking his head. "I don't much care how most anyone judges me. Least of all my family." His voice drops, turning a little sullen. "The only people whose opinion matters to me are Ria, Camilla, Josie…" he sighs, and quietly mutters," …and you."
Gabrielle 's slight frown stays, as she tries to make sure she heard that right. Some how she thinks she maybe needs to tread carefully,give him more instead of changing topic. She'll worry about Ripley's reaction later, that is, if he reacts. "I've been so distracted with everything. I'm tying to fix too many things, and I'm messing everything up. I'm sorry." Her eyes go back to the bag, "That man said awful things…I was just so upset…. I couldn't go to Madame Spleen. When Conall found me, I was in hysterics, there was blood everywhere." She'll take a deep breath, "I was lucky that Gabriel was in the common room and patched up my hands."
Lucian crosses his arms, taking a few deep breaths to finally calm down a little. He's still a bit worked up, but his admission has taken some of the wind out of his sails. "So, what man? What started all of this?"
Gabrielle keeps her eyes on the bag and chews on her lower lip, he knows a lot already, just not pieced together…"A few days after Durmstrang, I found a photo of my mother on my pillow. On the back were instructions to go into Hogsmeade's if I wanted to know more…so I did." She'll glance up and nervously shrug, "What else could I have done? If it was someone connected to the attack for my mother's wand, they could have easily poisoned the paper, if their intent was to kill me."
"How did they get the picture into Hogwarts?" Lucian shakes his head, frowning, but continues before he gets an answer. "So…this person knew something?" He stands upright, hands going to his hips in a proud, protective pose.
Gabrielle starts to answer, but Lucian keeps talking. She's calmed down enough to appreciate the heroic pose and she'll nod gently, "He …did. It's rather complicated. But the very short version is, I'm a distance cousin, related through my mother." She'll pause, trying to decide if that's enough. she doesn't really want to have to worry about Lucian too. she has enough people she's dragged into this that she worries about. "He must have had someone smuggled it in…so much for the Auror saying Hogwart's would be safe." See? She's not completely unjustified in her paranoia!
Lucian furrows his brow, plainly seeing that there's more to all of this. "That doesn't explain why it led you to come bloody up your knuckles. Did he threaten you in some way?" It's true, Lucian has more in common with Jackson than he'd ever admit, including an overdeveloped desire to mete punishment on those that upset people he cares about.
Gabrielle doesn't need another hot headed boy running into the line of fire. She'll shake her head, although it's a bit hesitant. She's really not wanting to lie. "He told me some things about my mother….and how they died. She….The Family isn't….good. She went against them. " Her eyes flicker to the door a moment, then back to Lucian. "She went against them …so they….They cursed her wand." She'll take a deep breath, which does nothing to calm herself at this point, "Which started the fire."
"Merlin," he breathes, stunned. Lucian steps closer to her, lowers his arms. "Hey, I'm the first person to say blood ties don't mean a damn thing. You just stick to the people you know you can trust." His mouth quirks into a smug grin. "That includes me, whether you like it or not."
Gabrielle furrows her brows, "I know…and I am, but…The Aurors are no where near catching them, and they're going to hurt so many people! I can't just not do anything! I can't hide like it means nothing! The Family wants me to research , and he thinks I'll come to the same conclusions that the Family has, and join them…help them. My parents died to derail this once before, I can't let it happen now." She'll raise a hand and run in over her head,giving him almost a pleading look, "The vision? That everyone saw in the mirror? That's just the beginning…" She'll shake her head, "This isn't something that can be handled by catching one person. The whole Family has to be taken down, or it's just going to happen again."
Lucian crosses his arms, going silent for what feels like minutes. He takes in a deep breath, and finally nods. "I wouldn't know where to start. But…if you're ever in trouble, promise me you'll come to me. I can protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you. Promise."
Gabrielle 's fairly certain her heart is just going to give out. If Lucian flips and goes and tells, it's all over. When he finally nods, her shoulders relax a hair, "I will. If I can, I promise I will." Her voice is sincere, although she's not certain how much protection he'd be from Callus. "I don't think there's any immediate danger. They want me to come to the same conclusions as them, to want to join them." she'll shrug and give a small bit of more snarky Gabby smile, "And I'm not the best researcher, it may take me some time to figure this all out."
Lucian nods again, trying to take it all in. He doesn't pry further, though. She promised, and that seems to satisfy him. "Meanwhile…will you please let me take you to Madam Spleen? I swear, she'll take care of you."
Gabrielle frowns, why did he have to say please? She'll sigh softly, closing her eyes. Every step could bring this whole thing down, why can't any of these boys understand that? Her shoulders slump, she's already won most of this, she needs to give him something, "ok." She'll open her eyes and give him a this better not blow up in my face look….which is lacking any real bite.
Lucian chuckles. "Stop worrying so much. Trust me, Madam Spleen just wants to help. I'll vouch for you as a Prefect if you're really worried that she'll go blabbing to someone. Or if you're really that worried, have one of the other professors that knows about your arm vouch for you."
Gabrielle chews on her tongue, it would be nice to be able to cast again without wincing. She's gotten spoiled with the new wand. Quirking an eyebrow, "I worry too much?" There's a hint of amusement in her voice, and she wonders if she should have come right out and said the words dark wizards and genocide. She'll nod again and finally lowers her sketchbook to a non defensive position. "I said ok.I trust you. Lead the way." She'll give him a small smile.
Lucian chuckles, nodding. "Yeah. You definitely worry too much," he says as he heads toward the door. "When's the last time worrying solved a problem for you?" He flashes her a teasing grin before slipping out into the hall.
Gabrielle gives him a look, "I think the better question would be when's the last time I had a problem solved?" she'll shake her head and follow him out.