| Details for What Is Lowve? |
| Summary: | Esther and Myrus decode the meanings of Love and Loving actions. Thankfully, the blind leading the blind scenario ends when Julian makes an appearance. |
| Date: | 1938-11-15 |
| Location: | A disused classroom. |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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One of the spare classrooms Myrus got into to study some. Somehow he sent a note to Esther. Maybe earlier that day he slipped it to her. That would probably be the safest bet.
In there, he has rearranged the tables to have one out by itself, and the rest were kinda jumbled on the side. He was practicing some spells on that one desk. It looked a little beat up, but it wasn't any worse for wear than some other desks.
He had his charms book open on a desk he has pulled near where he was standing. He was reading at it for the moment. His brace was off and on the floor. Like he had thrown it.
The note would give location and relative time to meet him in this classroom.
"Accio Brace." Esther's voice is the first thing Myrus would hear, as she strolls through the door with her wand out. Her behaviour lately has been more and more concerning, as her condition grew worse and worse. Acting out, some would call it. She turns, catching the door with the nose of her shoe, and drawing it closed. The brace that she'd summoned is placed lightly on Myrus' desk, once she's closer - And she places a delicate hand atop of his good one. "You need to be more patient, Myrus. Perhaps you should see Madame Spleen about it, if you're not progressing the way you should."
"Baubillius!" He shouts, and sparks fly from the end of his wand, holding it by his hurt hand. "I don't care about being patient. You and Elizabeth… so slow and steady. It's irking!" He looks at the last of the sparks fading around the legs of the desk. He looks very mad at something.
He raises his wand again, pointing it at the desk. Esther would be able to see that his hand was shaking as he held his wand even loosely. His teeth grit and his jaw clenched, bottom lip quivvering against the pain.
Esther's patience is worn a little by Myrus' attitude. "That's how we are, Myrus. Slowly and steadily. Applying excess wear or force to something that is mending, or still fresh from creation generally causes more harm than good." She slides her backside onto the table that holds his books, and adds, holding out her brace. "Put it back on. It's bad enough to have hurt you without watching you destroy yourself further." She's one to talk about self-destruction, it seems.
Myrus seems like he isn't listening currently to Esther. "Bombarda!" He says this time, aiming at one of the legs of the desk that cracks with a loud snapping sound. The desk kinda skids a little bit, and the leg bends leaving the desk in some sort of worse repair than it was before. Myrus puts his wand back, and looks at her, then the brace. He takes it with his good hand and starts putting it on without any words to her.
Somewhere in there while he's putting on his brace he murmers. "I kissed Elizabeth.." and he turns away from her more, facing directly away from her.
Esther watches the spellwork. It's passable, but far from good. Her eyes flick back to her cousin, the smokey gray smoldering. His injured wrist, if anything, frustrates her more than him. It's a constant reminder. Of course, his news is hardly enough to bouy her, based on how he says it. "… I see." She manages, sliding her wand back within her robe. "… I'm guessing it didn't go as well as you'd hoped." She slides off the desk, walking a little closer to Myrus. The cousin does something unusual - But it's what she'd feel like, should she ever have her first kiss and it not turn out. That is to say she hugs him, gently, and very briefly.
Her hug makes him stop what he was doing. Signs of affection had basically been kept from between them. Myrus never knew why, just that they pretty much didn't show it like that. He finishes the last two straps and turns around to face her. He was a good four inches taller than her, even though they were the same age just about.. ok maybe she was a little older than him. But he moves to her and gives her a hug around the neck, with his forearms behind her head, he would pull her close to him and put his cheek against the side of her head. That is, if she didn't fight against it or move away.
The lack of affection was Esther's fault. Physicality had always been an awkward point for her. One of many reasons she remained single, having never kissed… Well, anyone. Still the hug manages to last a few seconds, before she pulls away gently. "…I'm sorry for that." She murmurs, quiet. "I'd hoped you'd have more luck with her'n that. What happened, Myrus?"
By the time they pull away, Myrus was reaching up a forearm to wipe at his eyes. Then put his good hand on his hip, and the braced one rested down by his side. A sigh. "Nah, she just.. I dunno.. I guess we aren't meant for each other." He tries to move past Esther to grab his book. "You wanna go get something to eat?" Trying to obviously and quickly change the subject.
"You pressed it, didn't you?" Esther muses, and then seems to find the shoe fits. "Myrus, tell me you didn't /make/ the moment happen." She looks very concerned. For both of the, no less - Especially considering that she's tried to push them together, in her own weird way. For Myrus to have ruined it - Like his recovery - Would be intesely disappointing. "We can eat in a moment. Just promise me that you didn't try to make it work like this." She gestures at the desk. She does care!
"Maybe a little…" he starts, pulling his hands up and his good hand running his thumb along a piece of shiny metal on the brace. Nervous tic. Make it work like the desk. "Well… it never feels right at any specific time, but I think back on all the times and I can't help but feel really warm inside." He puts his good hand on his stomach. "Like… I got butterflies when I did it.." he's not staring above Esther's head, and looking off into space.
And he's starting to turn red, too
"HER, you silly boy." Esther considers thwapping dear cousin up the back of the head. "It /does/ feel right. Trust me. It's more than warmth, it's more than the butterflies. It's about both of you - It's the moment when you're both not just wanting it, but you know it's going to happen with or without you." She realises what she's saying. What she's potentially revealing, with flushed cheeks. She takes a slow, fortifying breath, and then places a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Every girl wants her first kiss to be magic. Something special, a memory that can never be taken away. They want to fall in love, not to be shoved."
Myrus looks at her. Then the ground in between them. He starts again with rubbing that spot on the brace. "I guess.. I was just worried it would happen without me. Or that she'd just rationalize things from there, and move on.. again." His eyes close, and he starts counting back from a number by certain intervals. He wasn't the greatest at math, so the time it takes for him to finish that is enough for him to calm down. As much as she knows, Myrus is really insecure, especially given the amount of strength he can muster for doing things like this. Maybe that's why he doesn't hesitate to do things most of the time that others would hesitate. He wants people to like him. Or at least certain ones.
"That's the gamble, Myrus. If it happens without you, you try again later. But Elizabeth isn't the sort of woman you'd woo through being forward;" Esther shakes her head. "She needs someone supportive. Understanding. Who she knows cares. But most importantly, every girl needs time." There's a long, slow pause, before she admits. "And sometimes… sometimes it doesn't work, at least as you plan." Her voice shrinks some, growing quiet. "I… I kissed Julian, over a week ago. Well… We kissed. And since then, we haven't seen, or talked…" Her hands worry at eachother, over and over. "And maybe… Maybe it was just me… But I had to leave Douglas the other day, because I felt like the same thing was gonna happen." And she's so glad she did.
Myrus moves to the stack of chairs, grabbing one, pulling it out for himself then grabbing another, pulling it out for Esther. He never planned to be here this long. But, now he wants to sit and talk with Esther.
He sits down, leaning his elbow on the desk that holds his book. "So.. other than the fact that I was complete rubbish in that situation, there's still hope -if- she realizes -in time- that she -thinks- she wants to be with someone, then if someone else hasn't already let her know they care, and I'm still around she -might- choose to spend time with me that -might- grow into something more…" By the end of that he sounds glum, and dark, and morose. His head flops onto his arm that's on the desk.
Esther takes the seat, and smiles to Myrus hopefully. "You fucked up." The F word. Ooh. "But she knows you want her. It's not the same as knowing that you care. So if she decides that she wants to be with someone, and you've shown that you care, and she decides that person is you." She folds her arms over her chest, and looks down her nose at him. "Do you know why I think Julian and I haven't spoken since? I asked… For time. I meant that I wanted to be Julian and Em, while I thought about what it meant to be Julian /and/ Em." She doesn't often use her nickname in third person. Or around Myrus. "… If you sacrifice your friendship, or hurt her, Myrus, I hope you'll never forget it. Because the worst case scenario, if she never wants to be with you? Then she'll miss you as a friend." The pair are sitting in a disused classroom. The desks have all been pushed against the walls.
While Esther talks, Myrus shifts his chair, laying his braced hand on the desk they have between them-ish but kinda off to the side, and he puts his good arm over the brace and lays his forehead on his arm, sighing down at the table. "I fucked up," he mirrors her words. Now he just feels really really bad about it. He leaves his head there. "So… what do I do now? Because she never told me she wanted time… or space.." confusion!!
The morning had been filled with Transfiguration. Having dropped off the majority of his things upstairs, Julian had made his way back downstairs, with at least two different books under his arm… His intention? Finding a quiet reading area. The library? Probably too crowded. The Common Room had too many people piling in and out from morning classes, getting ready for lunch. So, it'd make sense to use one of the classrooms that's disused, right?
Well, that's what he thought. As he pushes the door open to his most-often used one, he pauses when he first sees one figure - then wild hair. He purses his lips, and clears his throat. "Didn't know this room was bein' used," he suddenly states, clearing his throat a little bit. "Ah… Em. Wotcher, Lowe," he remarks… glancing toward the boy's arm. "Healin' up okay?"
Esther seems exasperated. "Be her friend, you collossal idiot. Show her that you actually care about her. If you pull away now, the last thing that you let her think is that you only wanted her for one thing." She's about to go on, when the door opens, and Julian leans in… And he receives a smile from the wild-haired girl, and a long, level stare. "Julian." She speaks softly, "I… We're just in here before lunch. Don't go." She speaks the last two words a little hurriedly, before he has a chance to speak. There are rumours to combat, after all - And she slowly gets to her feet.
Myrus lifts his head, mumbling something, then answering Julian, "Yeah, it's getting there.. gotta be -patient-, don't I?" Someone stung by his cousin? Just grumpy about something, probably.
At first, when Julian stands there in the door with his books in his arms, he shifts them a bit, the level stare getting one in return as he stares back at her. However, he's the first to 'blink,' so to speak - and his lips sag slightly as he's told to not go yet. "Y'sure? I didn't want t'intrude on the Lowe clan meet and greet," he remarks softly, furrowing his eyebrows a little bit. He glances toward Myrus, and his nose crinkles.
"Surprised that Spleen didn't use SkeleGro to force them to mend quicker," he explains to Myrus lightly, seeming to wince as he remembers a memory or two. "Had t'take some of that stuff my Fifth year, after t'Slytherin-Ravenclaw game. I'd broke my arm."
A pause, and he looks back to Esther, quirking an eyebrow slightly… As if to ask what she wants to talk about.
"… Patience isn't the same as absence." Esther speaks while she walks. It seems ominously relavent, "We were just talking about life, and love." A pause, and she stops, about a step and a half from Julian. "… Y'know." Her cheeks flush, just a little, as she continues to stare at the older boy. A halfbreed, perhaps, but he's clearly stolen her gaze. "Myrus was having… Complications. I'm just… Not certain if I'm in any position to offer advice." She couldn't make this easy, could she?
Myrus stands up, collecting himself and looking between the two. "Yeah, it's the tendons and other stuff that's the hurt stuff." He taps the brace. "hence this." And when the two of them seem to be bewildered, he just moves to behind Esther, acting like he was collecting up his book.
—Really?
"Well, you were kind of showin' your ass t'other night in the common room, mate," Julian comments off-handedly toward Myrus, reaching up and running a hand through his hair. He furrows his eyebrows, and shrugs. "From the outside lookin' in." He shrugs his shoulders, then, and glances back toward Esther.
He tilts his head again, and furrows his eyebrows. "If Myrus doesn't mind, maybe you and I could walk to lunch?" he asks her lightly. "At least, 'til we get to a certain point of reachin' the Entry Hall."
Sting.
The almost aggressive position that Esther was taking with her cousin seems to be melting the more time she spends with Julian. "… Are things going to be clearer by the time we get there?" It's not even remotely cryptic, but her cousin is the closest thing to family she has. She glances over her shoulder to Myrus, "I'll.. Can we talk about this later? Julian and I need to…" She blushes faintly, teething on her lower lip while Julian can't see her. Of course, the pair know eachother well enough to know that it's exactly what she's doing. "I guess that's it. Julian and I." If that doesn't make it obvious, nothing will.
Myrus slaps one side of his book onto the other to close it roughly when he was told by Julian the situation. "Yeah?"
Esther wants some alone time with Julian. "Oh, that's fine. It'll just be too many people if I come. Don't worry," he picks up his book, and turns towards the door, "You two enjoy your time together. I'm sure you've waited so long for this chance.. to not even walk into public together," a glare at Julian. Stop being a coward, kind of look.
Glance to Esther, "Or, you could go eat lunch without him and make him wait some more." More venomous medicine he thinks he knows now that noone knows what they want other than himself. And if they do, they aren't brave enough to take it, and people see that as too forthright in Myrus, apparently… and guess that's a bad thing.
He walks towards the door to dissappear down the corridor if neither of them stopped him after those backhanded compliments.
Really?
As Julian stares, virtually lost for words at his housemate, he just… watches him go. No, he's not gonna stop him. The look on the boy's face was enough for Julian to understand, too. He furrows his eyebrows and just shakes his head. He doesn't understand.
Once Myrus is out the door, though, Julian lets the silence hang for a moment or two, before looking toward Esther.
"… Shall we go?" he asks her quietly.
Esther watches her cousin go. Part of her wants to follow him, try to comfort him. Or stop him from making it worse. But… She looks up at Julian, biting her lower lip nervously. "It's… It's private here. Come in, please. We need to talk." She reaches out, taking one of his hands in both of hers. She has a soul to spill and feelings to share.
"Okay, sure."
Julian blinks when he is reached out for, and he blinks… he lets her take his hand, and he follows her on into the room. Moving toward one of the desks along the wall, he puts his books down, and moves to sit down, tilting his head and watching her.
"Let's talk."