| Details for Apologies in the Labyrinth |
| Summary: | Myrus runs across Genevieve in the Labyrinthine hallway and clears something up. |
| Date: | 1938-12-01 |
| Location: | Labyrinthine Hallway, Hogwarts |
| Related: | Previous: Loweborn |
| Characters |
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Myrus had just spent the last ten or fifteen minutes navigating the shifting hallway and Labyrinthine hallway to get back from walking Esther all the way home tonight. Curfew to be back on the grounds was already over, and he met up with a few less than friendly Slytherin along the way, at least giving them a greeting if they were the sort that he seemed to be searching for people to befriend in this grand scheme of things.
The Labyrinthine was easy enough to get through, and currently Myrus was walking down it. Though curiosity had him looking down a corridor that was curving off in a bend almost immediately after shooting off from the main corridor. It was a bit eerie down here when one was by themself. Just a bit.
Eerie, indeed and then? There's the sharp click of short heels in steps measured to perfect time, a soft sound at first, that click clack click clack click clack, but growing. Ever growing by the moment in volume until it seems…oh. The silhouette has a shape, defined more by the second as it drifts into view and the shape has dark tousled hair and dark eyes. Windswept cheeks. Trousers.
It too, thought it was alone, if the somewhat severe expression on its face was any indication. Devoid of humor, of pleasure, of any zest at all that so typically found itself within the bounds of her animation. Set to an expression that looks as if it judges, often and harshly, until it, she realizes that she's not alone. Lips soften. The corners of her eyes crinkle. Humanity has returned.
Myrus squints, looking down the hallway in the dim light, further absorbed by the blackstained walls of the hallway. Until she's in sight, he doesn't know who it is. "Who's there?" He asks simply, the echo carrying further than he expected, but at least it hit it's mark of the stranger coming up the hall toward him.
Myrus turns to face her once he recognizes her, and tilts his head to her in greeting. "Jen. I'm sorry about tonight. It was.. a little stressed, to say the least."
"It's fine, Lowe," Jenny replies, flashing him her usual smile, "Why should I have taken offense from any of it?" There's a not of genuine curiosity in her voice, those dark eyes making a quizzical search of his own; a hard trick, given the poor lighting of their current meeting, but one attempted all the same.
"Esther's been safely returned, I assume?" Why else would he be down here?
He nods when she says it's fine. Her smile pulls one from him in return. "Because.. um… I don't know. I remember you saying something about no drama the other evening. So that might have been the reason I felt a need to say it. And, both of us were a little.. offput for some reason or another." And he inclines his head in a nod. "She is." He doesn't notice her searching his eyes, because of the dim lighting. It looks to him like she's just good at eye contact while talking with someone. "But I'm not," looking at the hallway that was most often inhabited by traversing Slytherin at this time of night. "Took me so long to get out of that shifting maze hallway." A glance over his shoulder to look, cursing it in his head before he looks back to Jenny again.
Well that was…unexpected. Genevieve blinks, head drawing back just a little as her chin drops, an expression that conveys she really is studying him, rather than simply making good eye contact. "…why…do you care what I think?" That's what surprised her, the girl's bottom lip tucking in between her teeth, before she followed his direction back towards the hallway and then, back over her own shoulder towards the hallway that'd eventually take them away to freedom. At least for Myrus, anyway. "Do…do you need help getting back out, Lowe?" Surely not!
Myrus shrugs. "I don't know why I care what some people think and want, and not about what some others do." He hrms and scrunches his lips to the side, "I don't know why, really. Just, I guess it's because you guys were nice to me. So it stuck." He gives her a smile, seeing her chindrop and headlean totherear motion, and he looks down at himself, still in his semi-finery. "Um, did I spill some of my drink on me?" He looks, feeling along his jacket for possible wet spots there may be. While looking, he declines, "No, I'm fine, this part is easier than the other portion," throwing a thumb over his shoulder gesturing to the shifting hallway that had him all but trapped for quite a little walk it seemed for him before he got to this part of the labyrinth of the dungeons area.
Myrus has, with a few simple words managed to become a thing that Jenny no longer understands. At all. It was like he'd started speaking greek or Monkey or who knew what, because…she didn't. She can't quite figure out why he's talking about spilling a drink either. Her eyes never went down until he started feeling about against his jacket to draw her attention there. "Why wouldn't I be nice to you?" He cared what she thought. He cared, what she, Miss talks too much, too loud, too mudbloods, to pure-bloods, to everyone. Miss easily dismissed, as those in her house and certain circles were prone to do as 'oh it's just Jenny', when how did that statement make sense? Until two years ago, she'd been a quiet bookworm introvert until suddenly, almost overnight, it'd changed. And now somebody's saying what she thinks matters. Maybe she is drunk, except she's not. That would be too easy. And now, the hallway's become small and awkward and ugg.
Myrus doesn't see anything on himself, so he looks back to her again. Her question now confuses him. "Um.." ding, lightbulb! "Slytherin stigma, I guess. I thought Esther was the /one/ exception. Maybe there's more." Like he could be the exception in Ravenclaw.. or as he so hopes that little urge he gets—
"I mean, a few people have been nice to me. I was mostly stuck to myself and Esther for a long time. And family.." a little wince, "Yeah, I'm just unused to people being genuinely nice for a change." Or so he seemed to feel she was. Genuinely nice.
With a politeness that was full of tact, Jenny had the courtsey not to point out that, Esther was in fact family. So he'd repeated himself. But, whatever works. "Well. I'm…glad to be an exception? I don't, I just..I'm me." It came with a shrug, while the girl shoved her hands back into the pockets of her slacks.
"So…" She can't talk about having fun around the guy, he's already made it apparent what he considers when she does. Relaxing. Cutting loose, other variables of such a thing would likely draw the same result. "About that thing earlier," maybe now would be a good time to clear that up. "I didn't mean..you know, I get the two of you. I was talking about like, cards and laughing and dancing and in general, not acting like a wound up top and not…what you were clearly suggesting the three of us get up to. Just…for the record." There. It was out.
He nods. "I'm glad you are, too. Gives me someone else I can talk to." A smile, and another purt nod.
About the stuff earlier. "Yeah?" He waits for her to speak, but he nearly goes pale when she talks about knowing about the two of them, eyes going a little wide. He then looks up and down the hallway, reaching out to usher her by the upper arm to that little offshoot hall that leads to unknown parts and he says in a low voice, if she were to follow him (if not he would just edge towards her closing the gap so he could whisper), "You.. 'know' about us? What do you know?" A beat, and he's already speaking like there was some monster over his shoulder already with just the mention of such a relationship. "If that word starts getting out, it could get back to our parents.. and they aren't the most… carefree of parents." Controlling. Demanding, enslaving maybe? Myrus seemed oh-so serious about this, but he was trying his best not to flip out. "I just ask whatever you believe you know, don't tell anyone about it until you speak with Esther about what you've learned?" Nearly pleading, more asking kindly due to the gravity of the situation.
Blink blink. Woah. Talk about manhandling. Though her steps stagger more than just a touch or two at behind hauled sideways towards that even darker and smaller offshoot of a hall, nevermind how it'd look if someone were to catch them in it like that, this late… "Would you stop hauling me around like I'm a…I don't know. But stop it. It's pushy!" She hissed, in a near whisper, matching his quiet tone with a huffy look.
"And you're being weird. Anything I might have believed, you've just confirmed with your panicked rant so I don't think I need Esther to confirm anything. Her warning me off you, which is something jealous women do, her ducking in against you for comfort, the both of you being slightly off when I suggested snogging and you getting so very very red because she was right there, and just, really? I was standing right above you too. But!" Breeeathe. Because that was quite a lot of explaining, "I'm not quite ah, just…I mean, just, no. You're decidedly cute and she's very pretty but, no. I don't want to be a therapy doll for your family issues."
Ria has submitted a new event: Tree Decorating Contest
No manhandling was ever meant. Do drunk people exxaggerate? Myrus doesn't know.
When she gets to the end of her speech, he stands straight up from the ever so slight hunch, and leans back against the wall behind him a little relieved. "You mean.. you think I want to tell you all of our problems and you tell us it's going to be ok?" He actually laughs, lifting a hand up to the side of his head. "Nah. I just would like to have a few more friends to hang out with, honestly. She and I.. yeah, we are pretty much that close. But all we need is each other for support and company. Just, some other people to spend some time with would.. be nice." He shrugs, a straight face with a very slight smirk in the way of saying he's just telling her how it is.
"You're…making a leap of assumption again that's kind of wrong. But we'll roll with it. However, I wasn't suggesting that you tell me all of your problems. I mean, some of them I probably really won't care about, no offense. I don't know why you care what I think anyway." Like it was something that actually bothered her, after a fashion. It sort of did. "However, I mean, sure. A friend would be nice." It wasn't like a teammate, not exactly. But, kinda, right? Why was he smirking, anyway?
He nods, and reaches up to rub his forehead for a second. "Ok. Sorry. I have a tendency to do that." He apologized again. This makes him put his palm on his forehead, "Ugh. Anyway, past me being completely socially inept," he pulls his hand down, looking at her again. "Would you mind, please, keeping what you've figured out about me and Esther to yourself for the time being? Unless you speak with her about it in private." He was asking. No longer frantic or flailing about it verbally or anything. He's just standing there, leaning against that wall. Until he pushes off of it right now, and steps out into the still (thankfully) empty hallway. "All in all, other than when things got.. muddled up, it was fun hanging out." He smiles, putting his hands in his coat pockets, looking at her.
"S'okay." Again with the understanding. With the reassurance. With the smile that comes easy and just a little lopsided. "I'm not going to say anything, Myrus. There's no point to it. What's it going to do? Create drama. Problems and, what's that going to accomplish? So…sure." They're being so formal about things, aren't they? Though she steps back into the main hall with him. "Talk to me about whatever you feel like you need too. Because, that's what friends are for, or something," she offered him a grin. "And we'll do the hanging out thing again. Maybe next time you'll actually have more fun." Wink.
She had his attention the whole time. He was nodding along with her, agreement, and positive response of a smile when she said she would keep it to herself. "Thanks." And, talking to her, he nods at that with the smile continuing. "Sure, I-" the wink makes his head reel backward a little, looking behind him up the hallway, then back to her when there was noone there behind him. "-I'm sure we can all spend some time together sometime." Ok, the wink made him awkward again. Good job Jenny. "I'll see you around." And towards the entry hall of the castle he would start walking after offering her a wave before sticking his hand back into his pocket.
Myrus doesn't have a very joking playful family, does he? No one winks in his house. WINKS MEAN SNOGGING! HIDE YOUR CHILDREN. Because Jenny doesn't seem to understand why he went back to being all..looking around and confused. "Definately! Have a good evening, Myrus."