Two Wolves and a Bear {Marcus and Tobias}

[Amina Krane]

The girl's dorm room was quiet, despite there being two bodies inside. Everyone else had already gone down to the Great Hall for Saturday brunch. Victoria was going about her morning routine while Amina, well, she wasn't even moving. There was a lump under the covers of her four-poster bed. The lump slowly moved up and down at a steady rhythm, a breathing rhythm. Amina had been curled up in the spot most of the night. The only exception as the one time she had accidentally fallen completely asleep and fallen prey to another one of her nightmares. She had rolled back and forth in her bed for a good minute before she woke up in a cold sweat, her mouth open in a silent scream as she tried to keep the wolf from killing her friends all over again. The nightmare had been recurring since the incident that had left Amina even more damaged than she already was. Honestly, if someone looked into her psyche, Amina wondered if there would even be a whole piece left. Ever since that summer, her whole life had been one mishap after another. Each one felt more and more like hitting a brick wall. This last mishap, to put it lightly, had to be the worst yet. The after effects of it wouldn't have been so bad if the nightmares weren't there, consistently reminding herself of what happened that night. After she had regained consciousness, Amina had sworn she had killed Gavin. His body had been so lifeless, so cold, even after she had healed his wounds and used a spell to at least replenish some of the blood in his system. He had just looked… dead. Then there was the fact that she had broken a promise to herself. She swore she would never hurt anyone after she had been hurt so badly by the werewolf. It had been her promise to herself in order to get over the fact that she had become a monster. Then she had to go and attack Kariana. Not only attack her, but turn her. She had turned someone, cursed them just as had been done unto herself. Amina would never forgive herself for that.

She knew Victoria was worried, but for the life of her, Amina couldn’t bring herself to care. About anything. During the day, it was all she could do not to dwell on the fact that she had turned Kariana, nearly killed Gavin then continued to break his heart when he proposed, and then sucked Marcus and Tobias right into her drama-filled life. They had been the one's stuck taking care of Kariana while Gavin had tried to take care of her and nearly died in the process. Then he had done something unthinkable and pulled out the rings. He had silently proposed and Amina had turned him down, the hardest thing she had done in her life. And all she could do afterwards? Just cry. Every day she struggled not to repeat the events in her head over and over again. Sometimes she won, sometimes she could get out of her head and not think about it. Most of the time she lost and found herself sobbing silently in her bed. Then at night came the nightmares. They had sucked everything out of her. For the last week and a half since the attack, Amina had hardly slept more than thirty minutes at a time, often waking up in fear that she was about to slip into another one of the nightmares. So far she had five, and they were all the same. It started off with her sitting around and laughing with Marcus and Tobias, then Gavin and Kariana joined in. Everything was good, everyone was happy. And then a mist came rolling in off of the hill where Gavin and Kariana had come from. The mist rolled down the hill slowly, looking completely unassuming at first. But then it started to darken, going from white, to off-white, then grey, until finally it plunged into a pitch black and began to charge at them. None of the others seemed to notice, their laughing continuing as they sat there, but Amina noticed. She jumped up and began to try to pull them up off the ground but not a single one of them would move. Not Gavin, not Tobias, not Kariana, and not even Marcus who had the same heightened senses as her and had to have seen what was coming for them. Despite how much she begged and pleaded for them to run, they remained seated, laughing at some untold joke. Then the darkness engulfed them one by one. Amina watched it swallow each of them up and turned heel to run. She made it less than five feet before the darkness grabbed her.

Then she was trapped inside the cage in her mind, screams echoing all around her. The werewolf had control again and through its eyes, Amina could see it tearing at Kariana's body, leaving strips of skin missing, bones exposed to air, and claw marks that made her skin resemble party ribbons. Once the wolf was satisfied that it had cause enough destruction, it would back off of Kariana who would then stand up and, in an instant, shift into a werewolf. She would turn and attack Tobias, continuing the same destructive pattern. Marcus would then transform, attacking Kariana to save Tobias, but that left Gavin facing Amina's werewolf. It was vengeful, disgusted that it had lost to a boy when it was clearly the more powerful creature. The wolf wanted to get back at Gavin for ruining the fun it was having, so it lunged forward, Kariana's blood dripping from its fangs as it growled. Gavin tried to stop the wolf, to grab its jaws before it latched down on him, but he was unsuccessful. Each time she had this nightmare, the result was the same. The wolf clamped down on his arm, ripping the skin right off of his arm as it knocked him down to the ground, pinning him under its weight. The first thing she would see as it attacked was his ring on his finger. The wolf had to make sure Amina could see that it was her saying yes that had caused this to happen. If she had said no, he could have lived, but she had been selfish and had wanted him for herself. Marcus! Tobias! Help him! dream Amina shouted, forgetting that they were busy fighting off Kariana. It didn't matter anyways, her shout was only inside her head. No one could hear her. Its claws dug in deeper and deeper to Gavin's skin, drawing blood everywhere it touched. A gleam came from one of the claws, Amina's ring oddly placed among the black fur. As Amina screamed in fear, begging the wolf to let him go and to take her instead, to forgive her selfishness and not punish him for her mistake, Gavin screamed in pain as the wolf came down and took another patch of skin off of his shoulder, revealing the muscle and bone hidden underneath. Time and time again, the wolf would go in for more until Gavin's body stopped reacting at the bites. Until his heart stopped, his lungs fell still, and his eyes stared up at her. Amina knew his eyes were trying to convey the words he couldn't get out past his screams. Why won't you stop it? Why are you killing me? I thought you loved me?

She always woke up before the werewolf had a chance to figure out how the other three were doing. The first time, Amina had thought it was because maybe Marcus had come up from behind and caught her werewolf by surprise, killing her without her noticing, but the second nightmare she knew that wasn't the case. She had determined after the second nightmare incident that the reason she never got to see the other three was because Gavin had knocked her unconscious before she had been able to check up on the other three. And when she had woken up, Gavin had taken them to the Slytherin boys shower. Amina never did go back to find out how they all were doing. But Amina wasn't necessarily concerned about them. If Marcus was missing or hurt, Amina probably would have heard about it from Victoria. And if Tobias was hurt, she would have been informed about it since she was the house prefect. It was a wonder they hadn't taken her badge yet considering she hardly ever seemed to be doing prefect duty as of late, but they had allowed her to keep her badge. Maybe they were aware that she was in a rough place and that she really did not belong among the students. Either that or they just didn't feel like giving her more bad news in case it would set her off. Honestly, she wasn't sure if it would actually be bad news. It would be one responsibility off her chest. But she wouldn't willingly give it up, because that required an explanation, one she was not ready to give.

Fortunately, the other girls in the dorm room had respected Amina's privacy enough not to push her to talk. They had, of course, asked what had happened and if she was ok, but she hadn't been able to say much more than "I'm fine." It hadn't convinced any of them, but they knew well enough that Amina was having a bad year. No one knew why, but they were kind enough to not badger her. So she had remained in her bed, day in and day out. For two days she hadn't even eaten but the third day, she had found Victoria had brought her food up from breakfast and set it at the side of her table. Amina had no appetite, but she knew well enough that if she didn't eat, then she was just going to whittle away into nothing. Her body was already becoming too thin, her bones becoming increasingly prominent beneath her skin. Being a werewolf meant she had to eat more to sustain her body, so without eating at all, she was bound to wear away quicker than any human. So she had grabbed a bread roll off of the plate and ate a few bites, following it up with a banana and a glass of milk. But she had left the strawberries and apple aside. Even just the sight of the red fruits nearly made her puke as she thought of Kariana's blood that had been in her mouth, in her stomach. Ever since that morning, Victoria had regularly brought food up to the dorm room, figuring out that it was best to avoid anything with red since every plate was left only with that color. Day four Amina had finally decided her smell was getting to be too much. She didn't really smell that bad, but considering her body heat was higher than others and she had been hiding under a blanket the whole time, she had begun to sweat. And sweat led to stench and stench with heightened senses wasn't pleasant. So when everyone had left for class, Amina had grabbed her towel and made her way to the showers, happy to avoid contact with any other students. She had only intended on taking a short shower, but she had remained there until she was a living, breathing prune. Her reaction to stepping into the shower room had been less than pleasing as she recalled when she had woken up to Gavin, half-dead in the boys shower. It became increasingly obvious that no matter what she did, there was something that triggered her emotions related to that night.

Though she still wasn't able to sleep, Amina had gotten a little better. She could now stomach a larger amount of food but it still wasn't enough to prevent her body from becoming skinnier. It wasn't enough for her to sustain her increased metabolism, but she had gotten past the color problem and at least that was something. She had also reduced the time it took her to take a shower from two hours down to about a half an hour. She still shuddered the next two times she had walked into the shower room, and couldn't hold back a breakdown, but she had gotten better at recovering from it quicker and getting the job done so she could get out of there. Maybe one day she could walk into a shower without seeing Gavin's bloody body slumped against the wall, or his blood covering the entire shower floor, or him waiting expectantly for her to accept his hand in marriage. The only major problem that was still lingering was the sleeping problem. The circles under her eyes were getting darker by the day and her body was becoming extremely sluggish with the lack of sleep, but Amina didn't know any other way to get around it. She didn't want to dream, and to avoid dreaming, she had to avoid deep sleep. A few times a night she would manage a few minutes of sleep but her adrenaline would kick up the moment she got close to REM sleep and would help her wake up before she could fall into the dream state. It made it impossible for her to get any sort of rest, but she preferred not having the nightmares, no matter if that meant she never sleep again. It had been four days since she had a nightmare but another one had crept by last night. Why she hadn't woken up sooner, Amina wasn't sure but once she had woken up from the nightmare, thanking her lucky stars that she hadn't woken up any of the girls, Amina had stayed up. She pinched herself the moment she even began to get drowsy.

She had made it through the entire morning without falling asleep again and bided her time until Victoria finally gave up on Amina inviting herself along to the Great Hall and made her way out of the room to join the others downstairs. Amina wanted more than anything to tell Victoria what had happened, to explain why she was so closed off, but she couldn't bring her voice to fruition. She couldn't even remember the last time she had used her vocal chords. So Victoria remained in the dark. Maybe Marcus or Tobias would explain what had happened, inform her as to why her roommate had suddenly reverted back to the same state she had been in at the start of the school year, if not worse. But somehow she doubted it. The circumstances of Kariana's turning would probably be the best kept secret among them all, only because no one, especially Amina, wanted to imagine what would happen if they found out what had happened. What did Osiris think of all of it? Had Marcus told him? Had he taken Kariana there to heal? Had Marcus or Tobias even tried to stop by to see her or were they disgusted? Did they want nothing to do with her after what she had done? Amina couldn't blame them if it was true, because the thought would have crossed her mind if the roles were reversed. However, Amina had always been the forgiving type when it was out of someone's control. But did they realize she didn't have a choice? That she hadn't been in control? So many questions; no answers.

Waiting five minutes to make sure everyone was gone, Amina rolled out of bed, realizing her body was stiff with not moving for eight hours. She grabbed her towel and opened the door to the dorm room, checking the hall before heading up to the shower again. Her hand rested on the door for a moment as she steadied herself, knowing she was going to get bombarded with images from that night again, but she smelled. It wasn't pleasant when you had such a strong nose. So she took in a deep breath and opened the door, slipping inside and locking it behind her. Of course, what good really was the lock? Everyone in the school could use magic so they would be able to unlock it if they wanted to, but at least it gave her warning if someone was about to come in. Though, every time she took a shower during the brunch time period since she had come to this school, she managed to be alone. And alone was what she needed right now. Turning around from the door, Amina took a deep breath and walked in further into the shower room. It was a large white room, trimmed in red and gold patterns to symbolize the house. Fortunately, they were kind enough to think of the privacy women liked to have, so shower stalls lined the entire room, a cluster of them also in the center of the room. Each stall was like having your own personal bathroom. There was an area to change just inside, with a curtain for privacy, and then inside of that was the shower, large enough to accommodate even the biggest of women. Amina had always admired the grandeur of it all, how elegant they constructed the room and how well kept it was, but today she didn't care about any of that. Her feet carried her quickly to the other side of the room, stepping in freezing cold puddles of water from students who had taken showers that morning. Since the last year, she had kind of claimed one of the stalls lining the back of the room as her own. There was no particular reason for it, just that it had been the first one she had gone to and she had used it ever since out of habit. Not to mention, most people tended to go for the closest showers so it was usually open.

As her feet crossed the cold stone floor, the temperature feeling good against her warm skin, Amina kept an ear out for anyone who might be in the bathroom but there was no one. Good, she needed to be alone. She had needed to be alone for a while. Fortunately, now she had the opportunity. She had expected to at least make it to the shower before the onslaught of images came, but she didn't make it that far before the red and gold shower room shifted to green. The floor was suddenly stained red, and images of Gavin, bloody and beaten, nearly dead popped in her head. Amina nearly stumbled into the shower. She slid the curtain shut and put her towel on the hook, ignoring the images as best as possible. She stripped off her pajamas and left them in a heap on the floor as she stepped into the shower and turned on the water to the lowest setting possible. She had never been one for cold showers unless it was after training, but these days, cold didn't exist. It was either hot or hotter with her body temperature. As the cold water began pelting her skin, more images. The same bathroom, the same man, but this time partially healed, able to move without his blood spilling onto the floor. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to push the memories of that night out of the way. But the more she pushed, the more unpleasant the memories became. Her looming over Kariana's body, taking piece after piece of her side. Claws scratching at arms wrapped around her throat, arms trying to save her. The same arms that had presented her with a ring, the ring she now wore on her finger at all times despite how painful it was to see. Why couldn't she have been stronger? Why couldn't she have seen the wolf manipulating her and pushing her to let go? To give it space? If she had just done that, if she had been able to be the strong person she always claimed herself to be, Kariana would still be human and… there might still be a chance that Gavin could propose to her. A frustrated scream left her lips as she fell back against the wall, her fists slamming into the tiles lining the wall. Where they connected, the tiles fractured, small pieces falling to the ground as she slid right down with them, folding into herself under the steady stream of water, tears mixing in as the water rushed past her body. Today was going to be one of those bad days.

Words | 3,438
Tag | Marcus, Tobias
Outfit | Just a towel

[Tobias Leberecht]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

The whole of Tobias' life had been spent in a fairly constant tone. Always the same, same people, same things, same life. Tobias liked to think that his life was interesting, after all, how many people could say that their best friend was a werewolf. Even better, one that let you do experiments on them with no good reason. Other than the fact that sometimes, it was very amusing. Now, Tobias was surrounded by wolves. All of which he felt he was getting fairly close with. It was exciting, he couldn't wait until after school was finished whenever he didn't have to worry about Professors walking in on his potions and what not. The only thing that Tobias knew for certain was that he would be residing with Marcus after graduation. He didn't really have any jobs lined up, or a way of making any money. He really didn't have a plan, but in his experience, things tended to work out better that way anyway. Granted, at the rate he was going, he might not make it to graduation. He felt like he had a permanent bruise on the back of his skull from having been backhanded by Marcus one too many times. The boy had tried to explain to him that this was a very precarious situation that they were in. That Tobias couldn't just go up to Amina and ask her questions yet, everything was still too fresh, too raw. People tended to rebound slower than Tobias did. Even more important, was that Tobias had to stop just walking up to Kariana in the hallways and asking her questions. She had almost punched him the last time. He couldn't help himself, he was just so curious. He knew it was bad, yes, he knew it was terrible. For a man who didn't wish to be a wolf, the very thing he was so obsessed with, he tended to take the curse with a grain of salt. He couldn't help himself for wanting to make the best out of a bad situation. His potion had helped Kariana, even if only in a small way. He wasn't really certain since she didn't even seem to want to be near him. Some thanks. He just wanted to know what it had done, how it had felt, he wanted – needed to know! He would try a lot harder to control himself if he did know.

In fact, the only person that he hadn't been able to pester about things was Amina. From what he could figure out, she was just a lump in her bed. With finals coming up, there was only so much wallowing that he could allow. He had come to care for her over the months that he knew her. She was his friend, and he couldn't take her exams for her. Potions maybe, but that was the only subject that he was any good at. The only reason he hadn't gone traipsing into her room was from Victoria's insistence. Even then, if she hadn't gone and tattled on him to Marcus for attempting to push his way uninvited to the girl's side of the dorms at all hours of the night, he might have managed to talk her out of that bed sooner than now. Marcus had warned him to leave her alone, that she would come out whenever she wanted to, but this was getting silly. Victoria was taking her food, and collecting her assignments. No doubt she was attempting to cover for her girl. Something that he hadn't ever seen Victoria do for another person in all the seven years that they had shared a house. Marcus was coddling her. He would only mumble things about how he knew what she was going through, and that he thought this was what she needed. Tobias, just couldn't understand. He knew it was because he wasn't able to be in Amina's head. Out of the group, he knew the least about her, he didn't 'girl talk' and he couldn't share a 'pack mind' with her. So, perhaps that was the only one intent on pushing her a little bit. And well, he missed her. Even if he wouldn't verbalize it, he knew that it was obvious. They had gotten to be as close as Tobias knew how to be since she was turned, and he had so very many questions about that night. Why had the Slytherin's been down there in the first place, nobody would tell him anything. Marcus had tried taking the blame, but Tobias knew him too well, he knew whenever he was being lied to. He just felt like if he could help, then he wanted to help. If Amina needed to forget, he had potions for that too.

Perhaps that was why Marcus had finally given in, the two had been hiding out behind one of the larger sofa's in the corner of the Gryffindor common room until everybody else had left for classes. Nobody to stop him now. “Should be empty, I think...” he whispered to his friend, pointing in the direction of the girl's dorm. Boys weren't permitted, but that never stopped him from getting where he wanted. The steps infamously turned to a slide whenever a boy set foot on them, but he had a way around that. Crawling over to the staircase he stood at the base of the stairs. He was known for his climbing abilities, this would be no different. The trick was to make it to at least the first spiraled corner, then at least there were dorm room landings to rest on if needed. “how high is she?” he asked over his shoulder. They could get into a heap of trouble for this. More for Marcus than Tobias, given that he was a prefect and not a member of this house, but he didn't care. It would be worth it. Waiting for his friend to sniff her out he nodded. ”Showers, aye 'tink” Accepting his words, Tobias put his hands on either side of the narrow stairwell and carefully, lifted his shoe clad feet up onto the walls, it was painful, and it was horribly slow...but he didn't have to touch the floor. One appendage at a time he moved along the walls, his arms and legs straining to keep enough pressure where needed to swing himself forward. Where his feet braced, his arms moved forward, until he needed to use his arms to bring his legs forward. So on and so on they went, pausing on the landing until Marcus grunted behind him that this was the bathrooms. The ledge by the door was far too small for his feet, and hardly wide enough to squeeze shoulder to shoulder with Marcus. He didn't much care for this, he didn't want to walk into the bathrooms where Amina might be in any state. Hauling her out of bed was one thing, this was something else entirely. Balancing precariously on his tip toes he knocked on the door. “Moon child?” he called softly, just in case anybody else might be playing hookie from their classes on this mid morning.

Marcus was already jiggliing the handle violently before Amina had a chance to answer, calling out to Amina. Tobias' calves were burning too, he very much wanted to sit and fix it, but the door was locked. He wasn't willing to knock the thing down, at least the slide down would be easy enough. “I don't have my wand...” he interjected after Marcus' very loud threat to huff and puff and charm the door down, which, in any other circumstances would have been hilarious. No way was he going to finagle his way up the walls with a long piece of wood stabbing his leg the whole time, and no way was he going over to his room to get it either. From the widened eyes of is friend, it would appear that he didn't have his either. “You've got to be joking.” Rolling his eyes he tried the handle himself. “I'm not going back down.” Marcus clearly wasn't either. Bumping Marcus roughly with his shoulder in an attempt to make Marcus to have to go back down and get the wand for him, he was bumped back. This was going to end badly. “Why don't you just break it down, your wolfliness!” he breathed, his fingertips attempting to glue themselves to the door frame to keep from falling as he was shoved again by the far stronger boy. ”Ah, forgot abou' that...” Of course he did. A few seconds later, and with a large crack, the door handle had come off in Marcus' hands to the laughter of Tobias. The second that Tobias was able to stand on level ground again, he ducked behind Marcus' body. He had no intentions of spying on their friend, he just wanted to make sure she was alright. “Is she here?” he asked softly, and then “MOON CHILD!” he shouted, his eyes clamped shut, reaching out in front of him for Marcus' figure. He couldn't see after all, he didn't know where he was going. He could hear the shower water, and Marcus' rapidly moving foot steps. Not, fair. Grabbing onto his friend' shirt, his hands slid up the boy's back until he grabbed hold of Marcus' shoulder, jumping up easily onto the boys back. “Don't leave me!” he pleaded, refusing to open his eyes even an fraction as he clung to Marcus who was desperately attempting to shake him off. ”Yer damn knees are bony!” Ignoring him he cupped his hand over his mouth, holding onto Marcus with his thighs “MOOOOOOOON CCCHIIILLLDDD”


TAGGED ! amina , marcus
WORDS ! 1,614
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
NOTES ! -I'd like to play 'go fish'. any takers?

[Marcus O'Conner]

Kariana Travers was probably going to become the bane of his existence. He’d accepted this fact the minute the sorrow for all that had happened wore off and quickly merged into the realization that her becoming like him- her sharing the same curse that had turned all their worlds upside down did nothing to make her feel any more a part of it than before. She’d shown every intention to go on about life like nothing had changed. Only now she was more volatile than he’d even imagined at his worst. She’d demanded absolute secrecy, not that he’d been inclined to report anything considering where it would land Amina, but to have her demand it as she had was more than a little unsettling. There was no way she could keep it quiet from everyone forever, not with the physical changes she’d already suffered. Not with the way her eyes were now a nearly incandescently translucent golden hue. Her eyes freaked him out, and not just because of the way they screamed wolf at him in a way that Amina’s never had… but their color was off to him, wrong. Hers were nearly white-gold, unmistakably marking her as his kind but… different than what he’d expected. It felt off to him. Dangerous. Added to the fact that she’d denied even the most basic overtures of help at every turn she could… True, when it was absolutely necessary she accepted it, not easily- but still an acceptance. But getting her to understand that she needed to rework the very frame of what she had been before didn’t seem to register with her. He’d tried approaching her in the courtyard one day, attempted to try and work out some sort of agreement on how to pass on the information he had, on how to help educate her… and he’d been met with a solid punch to his gut, one that sent him spiraling backwards as she growled out her insistence that she didn’t associate with blood traitors. After the initial shock wore off there had been those slytherin’s that jeered, trying to work her up into a temper she was more than known for. And he’d expected her to succumb, watched the flash of her eyes as she took a step nearer. But the way she seemed to be with her wolf was unnatural, was something he couldn’t fathom. He could feel it, always on the surface, always present. He’d yet to so much as scent her and not note its presence, be within the same vicinity and not feel it in her. It was dangerous, her giving it so much free room. She seemed to not know how to cage it, or not care. But then it did little to explain how she’d walked away from him then, turned with her trademark sneer and subtle crunch of her heel into his hand without tearing into him. She’d had the chance; she’d had the motive apparently. But she’d walked away. He’d never been more pressed to talk to Osiris in his life. It was all he could do to keep from running out into the woods at night and seeking his counsel on it. He had to stay for his Prefect duties though, that and to keep the eye out that seemed to be needed now that they had an unmarked werewolf prowling the castle. He’d stayed up expecting her to make some sort of move against Amina. He’d anticipated it, waiting outside the Gryffindor Common Room entrance on far too many a patrol, not that he had anyone to really question the reasoning behind it. It was in his job description to patrol the castle after all.

When the person you were trying to stay a step ahead of seemed hell bent on defying expectations though… He wasn’t made for this sort of thing. This drama that seemed to dog his every waking minute- things he had a lot of seeing that he was forgoing sleep in favor of patrolling most nights. He didn’t like confrontation, not really- not the part of him that was wholly man. He didn’t like dealing with anything outside of the sphere he’d created himself at Hogwarts, because things outside of that sphere tended to stray into this kind of territory. It was too complicated, too much work. Work he did voluntarily to Amina, there was no getting around that it wasn’t like she had asked him to- no he hadn’t seen her since the night everything decided to turn on its axis and shift. Not that he hadn’t wanted to. As much as he’d kept Tobias from breaking into the girls’ dorms, he’d been more then tempted to himself. He’d asked Victoria every day, sometimes several times a day- okay, most times several times a day how she was doing. Which at first Victoria had willingly indulged, her own concern making what he was sure would normally have been succinct answers a narrative, strange gestures included. After the first few days though… whether because she felt like he knew something and wasn’t telling her, or maybe she just thought it was weird how persistent he was being, no matter the reason the end result came out to strange looks and less verbose answers. Frantic? No, not yet. He couldn’t imagine how she had to feel turning someone, someone she had once almost been friends with- or had been friends with. Amina’s memory on that particular subject were nowhere near as clear as others he’d seen within her head. And when added to the rest of the emotional upheaval of the night? She needed time, he could respect time. Even if he didn’t want to. Forcing himself into her private space where she was attempting to deal with all of this on her own seemed wrong to him. He was doing too much that didn’t seem right, he couldn’t invade her privacy when he could help it- not when every time they shifted she had no choice. Keeping Tobias at bay throughout all of it with his own misgivings had proven the hard part. Given that he was already outside of the Gryffindor area more often than not it wasn’t hard to respond to an emergency call from Victoria should he try another of his breakout attempts. Though what he was trying to break her out from when she was in there willingly… well, that was just the way his friend’s brain worked. Being that he still hadn’t heard the full story he couldn’t say he really blamed him. He’d been out there with them and had to watch the whole scene unfurl without any background knowledge, and he knew Tobias well enough to know that he didn’t like not knowing something. Something that concerned Amina? He was willing to bet that it was doubly so. After all, even if he still hadn’t identified the way he felt about her, Marcus had.

He’d hemmed and hawed his way out of assisting Tobias up until it got to be too much. She wasn’t coming out at all and his worry only seemed to increase with his agitation with the only other wolf in the castle. The further Kariana, he reminded himself to call her by her first name- she needed help, help he could give- drove him up the wall the more he found himself wanting to find Amina and … well he really hadn’t thought that far into it. Apologize? Definitely that. He couldn’t say he had a game plan though. Which is probably why he ended up crouching way to uncomfortably for a man of his size behind the sofa in the Gryffindor Common Room, glaring daggers through the upholstery at the group of girls who seemed intent on staying as long as possible before class chatting away. It was, if he were being honest, the only time he could think of that Victoria wouldn’t be guarding her from Tobias. She rarely missed class if one of them weren’t talking her out of it, which meant…“Should be empty, I think...” He nodded absently as he hurriedly stood, stretching out the muscles that had been laying dormant for too long for his liking, a somewhat amused smile crossing his lips as Tobias crawled. If it was empty… The smile fled into a grin as he crossed over to the staircase, on two feet, where Tobias was now standing. Of course they couldn’t just walk up the staircases, Hogwarts as a whole apparently frowned against the fraternization of the opposite sex in dormitories… Not that it stopped anyone from actually finding ways around it. Of course, Marcus himself had never had a reason to find his way around it before… so they were going with Tobias’s plan of crawling up the walls. Fantastic… so long as he tried to make it like one of the games they played in the rafters of the school. They were just going to do a brief jaunt along the walls. Nothing too risky, although explaining it should they be caught could prove to be so. “how high is she?” Marcus scrunched his nose at the question, feeling almost like a blood hound as he let his nostrils flair, head going up as if to follow the scent he’d become fairly acquainted with. ”Showers, aye 'tink.” Unless the Gryffindor girls had some other source of water that ran up there… Maybe they had a pool, the prefects did. Although he was under the impression that it was a special privilege of sorts. Not that he’d gotten much around to using it. The idea of another prefect finding their way in there while he was proved a bit daunting. Not because of the nudity, he mused as Tobias began his ascent up the wall, but more from the idea of it. He could shed his clothes in front of anyone and sprout fur without feeling too entirely self conscious, but the idea of having a bath interrupted just seemed odd to him. After the initial oddity of movement Marcus caught on, mirroring the boy in front of him unless one of his moves was more custom to his build. Most of them could be adapted easily enough though, something he found himself doing as they continued their ascent. There had to be some spell that made the stairs more reliant… because he couldn’t imagine all the males in the school going to this length just to stay the night with a girl. “Here.” He didn’t see any further need to elaborate as they came to a halt, blood pooling as Tobias seemed to consider something. “Moon Child?”

He snorted, throwing a backwards glance at his friend as he pushed his way past, trying the handle to see if it were locked. Never mind that he had just been musing how strange it would be for someone to interrupt his bath. HE wasn’t just someone, and neither was Amina. “Birdie?” Of course she’d lock it. Why wouldn’t she? “C’mon ‘Mina… open ta door!” Another twisting of the handle as if it would magically unlock itself. Which it would.... or could. Or rather he could magically unlock it… if he’d thought to put his want somewhere on him before this mission. But he was in basketball shorts and a t-shirt. He was even barefoot. Nevermind how he’d gotten through the castle without anyone commenting. He’d wanted to wear something with free movement all things considered. He knew from experience when he coupled jeans with climbing he was like as not to lose a pair of them. Not that Tobias ever seemed to have that problem. “Swear Bird if ye don’ open ta door on ta count o’ t’ree I’m goin’ ta huff…” He paused, letting the nursery rhymes rendition take over his voice slightly. “And puff…” Another exhalation of air as if to prove his point. “And charm the door down!” He’d been aiming to amuse her. Maybe to amuse her enough to at least let them know she was really behind the door. A giggle would have done. After a moment of silence he turned to Tobias expectantly, waving at the door. “I don't have my wand...” Of course not. The one day Tobias had left all of his books and wand would be the one day they needed it. He turned to glare at the offending door, his eyebrows pulling down as he did so. Too bad doors didn’t work like people. Marcus could be intimidating. He could probably intimidate the door down. Maybe, if it could see him. Or hear him. Or something. “You've got to be joking. I'm not going back down.” “Well feck. Why not?” He turned the glare he’d been trying to intimidate the door with on Tobias, bumping his shoulder back into his in an attempt to hassle out of him what he hadn’t out of the door. What was the point in being a werewolf if you couldn’t intimidate anyone? “Why don't you just break it down, your wolfliness!” … Oh right, that. ”Ah, forgot abou' that...” He had to say in his defense he’d had a lot on his mind lately. With another glare at the door, this time for proving to be such a challenge, he wrapped his fingers around the knob again, twisting until a satisfying crack rang through the corridor… “See? Useful.” Even though the other boy had said nothing to the contrary he broke out in a grin at his proclamation, pushing the door open and stepping through.

Amina was, thankfully, the only person he could scent in the shower room- much like the ones that they had in their own House. Although why he’d been thinking they’d be so much different he didn’t know. He turned slightly to see Tobias duck behind him before setting his own eyes to scanning the room once more, sniffing as he located her. “Is she here?” “MOON CHILD!” Some day he was going to have a talk with Tobias about super sensitive hearing, although apparently at least one wolf didn’t have that issue. With a small shake of his head he walked forward, ignoring the hand on his back until suddenly the weight became that of Tobias. He was on his back… with his eyes closed. “Don’t leave me!” “Wha… Did ye expect me ta leave ya standing by tha door?” He snorted lightly as he moved through until the water came closer, muttering under his breath as Tobias’s knees dug sharply into his sides. “Yer damn knees are bony!” Something he seemed to only respond to with clamping them tighter around him. “MOOOOOOOON CCCHIIILLLDDD” With a huff he turned, finally sighting the girl standing beneath the spray with a critical eye. She’d lost weight already, a lot of it. And even though Victoria had said she’d been in her bed this whole time she looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks. Without thinking his actions through he strode up until he had both he and Tobias, still on his back, beneath the spray of the water, pulling the girl to him and wrapping his arms around her, lifting her off the ground with the force of his hug. “Birdie, we’ve been callin and callin ya. This is a rescue mission!” He repeated Tobias’s words easily, his voice losing some of its accent at his impression as he let one arm go to push the wet hair from her face with a large grin. And it was. It was a rescue mission from herself this time.

[Amina Krane]

The more Amina tried to push away the images in her head, the stronger they came, the more vivid. She could practically smell the fear on Kariana as the wolf tore into her flesh, smell the blood coming out of her side. She could smell the sick, sweet smell of Gavin's blood as it mixed with soap residue in the shower, hear his slowing heart rate as it dropped down to near silence. Her nails drug down her forearms as she tried to bring out pain in herself to get rid of their pain. It only drew blood, but didn't dull the images. What had always been such a blessing to have a vivid memory, had turned into a complete curse over the last year. She spent what seemed like forever, but only two minutes had really passed, curled underneath the stream of the water when Amina heard a knock at the door. Her entire body went still, her breath catching in her throat as she tried to understand how she hadn't recognized someone making their way so high up in the tower. She was a werewolf, she was sensitive to noises and smells, yet she had completely missed someone's ascent. Her mind went to blaming the shower at first. The smells of all of the soaps would easily overpower her so she couldn't smell farther than the room itself, and the noise from the water pouring down over her body would be enough to drown out footsteps, but Amina knew that wasn't the case. The whole time she had been in her own mind, being forced to recall the horrific incident of a week and a half ago, her senses had been overwhelmed and unable to keep an eye out for unexpected visitors. Had she really been focusing, been trying to keep ahead of anyone who may be coming her way, she would have easily heard their footsteps on the stairs, or smelled them, but it had gotten to the point where she was trapped in the shower with nowhere to go. Her hope was it was another student, someone who maybe had slept in today and was taking a late shower. But the moment she let go of the breath she was holding and took another breath in, she caught a whiff of the person- no, persons- outside and her hear nearly stopped.

"Moon child?" While Tobias' voice should have been comforting, the way it always had been before, Amina couldn't help but feel dread wash over her in the form of the shower water. What was he doing here? The door handle began rattling and no doubt it was Marcus who was trying to get in. Tobias had never seemed that brash. Why was he being so impatient? Why were they here in the first place? Her mind, instead of going to the obvious answer that they were worried about her, went to the worst one first. They were coming to tell her something bad, that was the only explanation in her head. Had Kariana turned her in? Was the Ministry on their way here now to haul her off and throw her into Azkaban? She had been warned about the Ministry watching her moves now that she was a registered werewolf. But surely they would not have allowed Kariana to turn her in? Surely they would have found a way to hold her off. Or maybe they were coming for a completely different form of news. Had she actually killed her? Had they been unable to save her from the injuries that had been dealt? Once again, her whole body shut down, breathing, heartbeat, everything. Had she really killed her? “Birdie? C’mon ‘Mina… open ta door!” Even though they couldn't see it, Amina shook her head in response. She would have spoken, told them to go away and that she didn't want to talk to them, that she couldn't stand any bad news at the moment, but her voice was nothing. Another jiggle of the door handle. Thankfully she had locked it, but would that really keep them out?

“Swear Bird if ye don’ open ta door on ta count o’ t’ree I’m goin’ ta huff… And puff… And charm the door down!” Had she not been so close to a mental breakdown, Amina might have found the amusement in his words. He was obviously trying to cheer her up, but the concern of them coming in here and finding her in this state, them telling her something horrific, washed away any sort of amusement in his words. But then again, if he was coming to tell her bad news, why would he be so light hearted? Wouldn't he be upset himself? Maybe it wasn't all bad… She pursed her lips, internally debating if she should just let them in and get it over with. Even if it was bad news, they could deal it to her quick and she could kick them out and do whatever needed to be done to get over it. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy, unless she went the cowards way out. There were plenty of razors in the room considering it was a girls bathroom, but was she really so weak that she would end her own life? Was it really that bad? The prospect of Azkaban most certainly was, but even so, how would she even do it? Werewolves were notorious for healing quickly and a simple razorblade would not to do what was necessary to kill her. Maybe if she took one of the tiles she had broken, sharp edge first and… Shaking her head quickly, Amina put the palms of her hands to her temples. Stupid, stupid girl. Suicide was never the answer. Had she really sunk this far down that she would turn to ending her own life to solve a problem? No, she wasn't that bad off. Even if she had killed Kariana, even if they were going to throw her into Azkaban, it wasn't worth taking her own life. She had to face the consequences of her actions and that would just be the way to do it and she would take it in stride, but somehow, as she listened to them argue back and forth about how neither had brought a wand and how they couldn't live up to Marcus' threat, Amina knew they weren't here for bad news. They were here for her. And despite how badly she didn't want them here, Amina knew she needed them. She needed to let someone in and if she let anyone in, these two would be her best choices. But it didn't stop herself from trying to talk her way out of it.

Taking in a deep breath and wiping a mix of tears and shower water from her eyes, Amina put her hands against the tiles behind her, avoiding the broken ones in order to not cut herself, as she hoisted herself back up. Her body was so fragile, so weak from the lack of sleep and sustenance, that it took more effort than what it should have to lift herself up into a standing position, but she did, and once she was there, she leaned against the wall for a little bit of support while she gained her composure. The boys had provided a decent distraction so she had been able to put the images out of her mind, but they slowly began seeping their way in, now that she had gotten over the fact that they may be here to tell her bad news. Putting the butt of her palm to her forehead, she closed her eyes and tried to will away the images. No, she wasn't in the condition to have them here. They needed to leave. They would take one look at her and realize just how weak, how broken she was. They would never want to stay around her after that. She was about to try and tell them to leave when she heard Tobias speak up again. “Why don't you just break it down, your wolfliness!” Oh man, were they really…? ”Ah, forgot abou' that...” They were. Amina closed her eyes. They were actually going to break in. Why were they so insistent on seeing her? Didn't they realize just how much of a mess she was? How being around here was just going to bring their moods down? They just seemed so eager to see her, so happy that they were within shouting distance. She didn't want to ruin their moods, but she didn't know how she couldn't with images of a dying Gavin and a broken Kariana in her head.

As she drew in a shaky breath, trying to calm herself, Amina heard the snap of the handle. She imagined it didn't take Marcus much to break the handle, but he seemed to be rather pleased with himself, nonetheless. “See? Useful.” Amina could imagine the grin on his face as he needlessly proved to Tobias that being a werewolf wasn't a bad thing. The two of them knew it. Amina had begun to get on board with them. Until that night. As the door swung open, Amina realized just how bad she didn't want to be seen by anyone. She had been hiding under the covers so no one really had the opportunity to see how bad she was getting. Hell, she hadn't even looked at herself in the mirror, but she could just feel that her body was getting too thin, her bones and muscles showing under taught skin. She couldn't even imagine the black circles under her eyes from sleep deprivation. Just the thought caused her to wrap her arms around her naked frame. She was still under the steady stream of cold water and she couldn't bring herself to move, to grab the towel and wrap herself up. Of course, she didn't care about the being naked part. Hell, she didn't even care of Tobias saw her, mostly because Amina was pretty sure he would never indulge in the image. He was not that kind of guy. But how many times had she and Marcus seen each other in the nude? Too many to count at this point. They were subject to it every night during the full moon cycle. Sure, at first they had been secretive about it, but after a while it became too much of a burden. They both got over each other's appearance quickly. Neither had anything to be ashamed of. But now? Amina had plenty to be ashamed of. The bags under her eyes; the lack of fat on her frame that caused her to look anorexic, which she could be considered at the time. She was just lucky her body healed fast enough to get rid of the constant scratches her nails left on her arms, the holes they left in her palms, when she went through another cycle of images. Her crossed arms had faded pink lines from the scratches she had caused moments ago, small traces of blood still left where the water hadn't washed it away in time and it had begun to dry. She uncrossed her arms and scrubbed them with the palm of her hand, trying to rid herself of the blood. They didn't need one more reason to think she was breaking down. They already had too many.

“Is she here?” “MOON CHILD!” The sudden loudness of Tobias' voice caused her ears to ring, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. When she had first turned, he would have given her a migraine for a week. The ringing subsided quickly and she could hear footsteps following. Her arms crossed of her body again as she tucked herself into the corner of the shower. Maybe if she hid under the water, Marcus wouldn't be able to sniff her out, but somehow, she didn't think there was any hiding from him now. Why, oh why, did she have to have such persistent friends? “Don’t leave me!” “Wha… Did ye expect me ta leave ya standing by tha door?” “Yer damn knees are bony!” Confusion washed over Amina as she stood there, listening to them. What the hell was going on? For a moment, the utter confusion over their conversation caught her enough by surprise that her lip turned upwards in a small smile. They were two of the craziest people she had ever met. It was no wonder they were here. “MOOOOOOOON CCCHIIILLLDDD” The smile disappeared as quickly as it came as she realized they were right around the corner. Her breath hitched in her throat as Marcus finally came into view. More than anything, she had the sudden urge to run and keep going until she found herself at the edge of a cliff where she could throw herself off. They shouldn't be seeing her like this. They shouldn't be seeing her at all. Her arms wrapped even tighter around herself as she realized he was seeing just the things she didn't want him to see. He had to have noticed just how ruined she was, it was physically visible.

Her eyes closed as he began to approach her. There were numerous ways this scenario could play out. He could yell at her, get angry for what she had done. Scold her about how she had been weak and allowed herself to get taken over. But that didn't sound much like Marcus. It sounded more like her parents. Then there was the option of him yelling at her for letting herself get into such bad shape. That sounded more like Marcus. But that wasn't what happened. Her eyes opened as she realized he had moved to right in front of her. Before she had a chance to react, Marcus pulled her in from where she was standing in the corner and brought her into a tight hug, one tight enough to bring her feet off the ground. She cringed slightly at the pressure he applied to her. With her body being so worn down, his strength became more obvious. Before, his strength hadn't much bothered her since she could rival it better than most in the school, but now, it felt like he was using a machine to crush her. She didn't mention it though, allowing him to have the moment he apparently had been wanting. She didn't have a right to disrupt that, not after everything she had done. “Birdie, we’ve been callin and callin ya. This is a rescue mission!” Her eyes widened slightly against his chest. When he moved some of the hair from her face, she looked up at him, then at Tobias who was latched onto his back, eyes closed tight. That was what they had been bickering about. No doubt Tobias had closed his eyes out of fear of seeing Amina without clothes. Such a gentleman. Looking back to Marcus, Amina shook her head slowly, closing her eyes to get the sight of his happiness out of her head. "No," she tried to say, but she was only able to mouth it. Her voice had been out of commission for so long that she had practically forgotten how to use her vocal chords.

Clearing her throat, Amina tried again. "After everything… Why?" she asked, her words broken but at least they had come out. Her voice sounded off though, no doubt from the strain of all of her crying in the last week and a half. Yet another reason why she was too weak for them to care for her. For the life of her, she couldn't imagine why they would come to rescue her. She had destroyed someone's life, gone crazy and on a rampage. It could have very easily been the two of them that could have gotten hurt, and it could happen again, yet here they were, standing in front of her. She wished she could convey her confusion to them, tell them just how crazy they were coming to see her and how they should just leave her alone, that she wasn't worth their time or their caring. More than anything, she wanted to pull away from Marcus, to throw on her towel and run as far away as she could to a place where they couldn't find her, but she didn't have the strength to even shift in his grip, let alone pull away from him. Part of her began to wonder if she had the strength to even continue standing for much longer. This was probably the longest she had been on her feet at one time in the last week. Obviously running wouldn't be much of an option if she couldn't stand. So she decided she had to tell them to leave her, tell them to get out of there and save themselves before she ruined them, made them just as broken as she was because no matter who she came in contact with, she seemed to damage them. But she couldn't get the words out. She only managed, "Don't deserve rescuing."

Words | 2,848
Tag | Marcus, Tobias
Notes | Got any two's? ^-^
Outfit | Nothing right now… Should probably consider putting on that towel…

[Tobias Leberecht]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

It was strange, just how many variations of bathrooms that there could be. This just wasn't fair in the slightest. He wanted a private kingdom of showers hidden away in his dorm. All they got was year specific. The boy showers were drowning in red, all fixtures were golden. Dripping in gold. It was really disgusting how over the top it was. Tobias was very proud of his house, despite how little he fit into it sometimes, but the over use of the two colors was a bit more than he could handle. At least the bedrooms were more tasteful, just incorporating the red and gold among everything else. Like this room, it was almost pretty. Various shades of red apart from just the deep, gaudy crimson. White gold was in contrast to the other fixtures. Perhaps he would come over here and shower in private from time to time. Not that he was too abashed about his figure, but he didn't feel the need to be around other naked men if he could help it. This would be a nice change. Not to mention the selection of towels. He could make quite the cape with this towels he was certain. All he had gotten to see was a few second glance before he had clamped his eyes shut. His sense of smell and hearing were already attempting to make up for the lack of vision. He could just imagine the rest of the room, what it was that he might have been seeing if he wasn't so very afraid of catching Amina off guard. He could hear water growing closer to where Marcus was taking them, Tobias' limbs jutting out at strange angles he was certain. Given that Marcus only only a fraction of an inch taller than Tobias was himself. They were just built totally different, where Tobias seemed lanky, Marcus had a good heft. Where Tobias was lightly toned, Marcus had definition. They looked very different in height from just a glance, when in fact they were almost matched. Adjusting his grip on the boy's shoulders as they moved he attempted to listen as well as he could, cursing his normal person's ears. He knew Marcus could hear her, knew just where to guide them. It didn't feel like they were back tracking as he could tell at least the water was growing closer to their person with every step.

The way Marcus moved was amusing, he knew for a fact that his weight didn't bother the boy. Tobias was mostly bones anyway, but from the way Marcus was attempting to buck him off, you would have thought that Tobias was a five hundred pound man. It wasn't until Marcus knew exactly where Amina was that he stopped messing around and resumed a normal gait, like he wasn't bogged down in the slightest by the addition of a whole other body to his person. He had been expecting the presence of Amina, that was the whole point of coming into here in the first place, but what he hadn't been expecting, was the sudden stream of tepid water rushing over his person. His front was going to be dry and sides and back soaked in no time, the opposite of how Marcus was likely to be soaked. The problem? Marcus' body heat would allow him to dry off in a matter of moments. Like damned steam. Tobias? Was going to be wet a lot longer. The fact that he had a whole wardrobe of options to remedy that fact didn't occur to him until much too late. A deep frown came over his face as he hung on, in his silent misery. He could feel Marcus' hugging Amina but couldn't help or else he would fall. “Birdie, we’ve been callin and callin ya. This is a rescue mission!” the words echoed a second time in his head. He couldn't help but to think that it was in poor taste, that Marcus could have chosen any string of words and yet, he was mimicking Tobias' from the other night. There was no telling if Amina would take the words in a negative light, maybe they would help her remember the positive part of that night. At least she wasn't crying. He didn't know if he would know how to handle her crying. He knew she was bound to be a mess, she was entitled to some wallowing, but they were here to pull her out of her funk.

”After everything… Why?" Her words confused him, as he could feel the muscles in Marcus' back relax, he must have been letting her do. He could hear the wet rustle of clothing. Did she really think that they would have just let her waste away in her room all by herself? Did she really think so very little of them that they would just leave her? No. They had given her space, and now they were done. They wouldn't just leave her to her own devices, or alone in her own mind. As good as Victoria's intentions were, she didn't know the truth of the matter. They had both been there, they knew without having to make her talk about it, without making her relive it. "Don't deserve rescuing." “That's not really up to you.” he said softly, she might not think that she deserved it right about now, but seeing as she wasn't in any position to be the one doing the saving, she didn't get a say. They did. Carefully, Tobias attempted to shift his figure on Marcus' back but with the water, he slipped, falling roughly onto the floor of the shower. All of the effort he put into keep his eyes closed kept him from breaking his fall easily, hitting the ground hard enough to make the air force out of his lungs temporarily. Sputtering under the full spray of the water now he chuckled at himself. He was stuck here. Pushing himself against Marcus' figure so he didn't risk grabbing something on Amina he would be mortified to grab he pulled on the boys clothing until he was standing on his own two feet again, if somewhat unevenly. Strange how not being able to see really messed with his center of gravity. Rubbing at his sore backside for a moment he angled himself toward what he hoped was Amina, but might have been a wall and folded his arms across his chest.

TAGGED ! amina , marcus
WORDS ! 1,140
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
NOTES ! Go fish. Any Queens?

[Marcus O'Conner]

He knew going into this whole plan today that Amina was going to be in bad shape, had been told often enough just how bad of shape she was in to have comprehended that the girl they were going they were going to get had all of her defenses torn apart. He knew it- he did. But seeing the evidence before him was something else. Where Tobias couldn’t see the damage wrought on room or girl, he could. And it broke his heart. This is what he had been letting her live with alone these past few days; this was what he had thought she needed. Obviously he wasn’t going to be receiving any awards for perception, despite his heightened ‘wolfy’ senses. The areas where her skin stretched too taunt over bone were more numerous than he would have liked to believe, highlighting her already naturally thin frame in a light he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to erase from his mind. And her eyes. He almost didn’t want to meet them, the emotions lingering within enough to make him want to turn away, as if they were too personal for him to witness. He had no right. But he kept his gaze steady, eyes forward as he approached her, smiling at the mere fact that she was, in fact, alive. Not well, she was so obviously far from well. But she was alive and that was the part that mattered most right now. They could fix ills; mend the gaps that needed their attention. They could do that for her, help her overcome the newest obstacle that had thrown itself in her path. He wasn’t under any illusions that it was going to be easy, or that he knew what to do, but he had absolute faith in he and Tobias as a pair helping her to shoulder the pain that seemed to cling to her like a scent, invading his nostrils and befouling the air around them. His calloused fingers worked hard at brushing as gently as possible the strands of hair that clung wetly to her skin, watching the play of emotions across her face as she looked between he and his friend still wrapped around his back. His smile fell as he watched the grief fill the shadows of her face in, her head shaking as she mouthed something at him. Something that looked very suspiciously like a no. She couldn’t refuse a rescue, not really. She didn’t really want to. He knew it, counted on it. He answered his headshake with one of his own, eyebrows drawing down into a v as he pulled back even further so he could better look at her face, try and piece together why it was she was against them coming here.

Before he could answer her any more verbally though she was speaking herself. “After everything… Why?” And whatever answer he had been preparing on giving before deserted him. After everything? That’s why they were here. She needed their support, needed their help. Why wouldn’t they have come? Shock showed plain on his features, not even having to glance behind him to know that the other boy was feeling the same. “Don’t deserve rescuing.” The breath he’d been holding since she questioned why they were here left him in a violent exhalation, surprise coloring his features. What made her think she didn’t’ deserve rescuing? How could she have come to that conclusion after everything they’d been through together? The emotions that were brought forth by her declaration were varying, though he recognized the hurt encompassed within it. It hurt him to think that she didn’t see how important she was to them, how essential she’d become in their makeup. “That isn’t really up to you.” He felt himself nodding empathetically as Tobias broke the silence that had fallen after the misguided sentence. “Na, birdie. We tink ya are, sos we decide.” His voice was gentle with the reproof, his body stepping back from her finally as he let his large hands slide onto her shoulders, bending his neck so she could see his eyes. “We wouldn’ be here if ya weren’ worth it.” Because they wouldn’t. This wasn’t about doing the right thing, wasn’t about fulfilling an obligation that they hadn’t signed themselves up for. She was their friend. They wanted to be there for her, wanted to make sure she knew she wasn’t alone despite the fucked up events that had surrounded them. He grunted as Tobias’s knees dug more sharply into his sides, body sliding against his own as he shifted about. Before he could voice complaint he felt the weight disappear from his back entirely, heard the air rushing around the falling figure before the boy connected with the shower floor. The guffaw was past his lips before he could help it, hands falling from Amina as he turned to survey the boy now lying directly beneath the shower spray. “Some rescue ye are.” The words were lighthearted, his toe nudging the body gently as he moved from the amusing display, pulling himself up using Marcus’s clothing. Something he was glad he’d seen coming before he started it, as it gave Marcus enough time to grasp at the loose fabric of his shorts just in time to keep Tobias from pulling them off and falling back down again. Not that it wouldn’t have proven amusing to see Tobias back under the water and gaping, but he wasn’t in a hurry to loose the basketball shorts barely hanging off of his hips.

He huffed as the other boy finally righted himself, twitching his clothing back in place and starting to grow more serious in order to return his attention to Amina before he realized that Tobias had turned himself towards the opposite shower wall from Amina, crossing his arms and looking just as serious as if he hadn’t fallen off of his unusual perch on his friends back. He didn’t bother covering another laugh, reaching out and placing his hands firmly over the boys shoulders and turning him until he was facing Amina, shoulder to shoulder with Marcus himself. He didn’t see why Tobias was so set on keeping his eyes shut, couldn’t fathom what it was that had him so averse to Amina naked. But then he was used to it, had grown accustomed to talking as easily with her naked as clothed. Because his wolf acknowledged it as normal, natural. The grin still tugged at his lips as he looked back to the girl, raising one brow with an amused smile, trying to ignore how frail she still looked. “Well then,” he clapped his hands together loudly, bumping Tobias lightly with his shoulder. “Don’ ye move. Don’ wan’ ya fallin’ on yer arse again.” The only warning he had before he moved away from him, walking briskly over to where the nearest towels were located, grabbing at a handful of them and turning back without thought, throwing the excess over his shoulders as he unfolded one in its entirety, marveling at how large they were. For girls? He could probably wrap Amina twice over in the one he was brandishing now. He shook his head slightly as he reapproached her, throwing the towel about her shoulders and letting her fix it about her as he unfolded another, handing it over to Tobias diligently. He’d thought to tie the thing around the other’s shoulders, but they were on borrowed time here. He didn’t want to think what would happen if someone entered to the scene they presented now. “Alright, we need a game plan ya?” He’d walked up behind Amina as she wrapped herself completely, pulling her hair idly in his two hands as he looked down at it. He’d seen other girls do what he had in mind in the courtyard, seen the outcome often enough to know that it looked similar to the process of braiding the strings he and Tobias had done once for bracelets. He’d braided leather before, was good at it. It shouldn’t be that hard. His tongue came to the corner of his mouth as he separated the mass of ebony hair into parts, being as careful as possible not to pull too hard or in the wrong direction.

Jaysus that was hard in itself. Alright. Over, under, between… right, yes. Okay. Under, over… Wait that wasn’t right. With a huff he undid the mess he’d created, glaring at the strands passing too easily through his fingers. Hair was a lot more fickle than leather. It didn’t seem to want to stay. “Yer hair doesn’t like me,” his mumbled disgruntlement as he started to try again, finally seeming to get the right grip on it without pulling too hard. Okay. Again. Over, under, between… a light pull to secure what he’d already done. Okay. Over, under… he concentrated more fully, releasing a satisfied grunt as he neared the very end of her hair, pinching the ends together as he surveyed the slightly messy but recognizable braid. He looked around, casting about for one of those things girls secured their hair with before realizing once more that they were in a shower… His eyes narrowed slightly on the braided bracelet on his wrist, fingers slipping it easily off and securing it around the ends before he stepped back. “There!”

[Amina Krane]

Bringing herself to look at Marcus was becoming increasingly harder. Amina tried to look at him in the eyes, to convey to him how badly she needed him to leave her there, to go and be happy without her. And to take Tobias with him. She needed them not to worry about her because it wouldn't do any good. She was far beyond saving. Something told her she had passed that point when Gavin had found out what she had become. That everything up to this point had been a feeble attempt at putting her life back together, something that had failed miserably. She wanted to convey all of that with her eyes, but for some reason, the more she looked at him, the more his face seemed to be etched with concern. Thankfully Tobias kept his eyes closed so she couldn't see he concern in his too, otherwise she might have just burst into tears again at how easily they cared for someone who was such a disaster. Her eyes averted from Marcus to the floor. Her eyes were betraying her, weren't they? Showing the truth behind her words. She wanted-needed- them to stay and help her, but she couldn't fathom dragging them down with her to the cold, hard cave she had found shelter in the last week and a half. It was only big enough for her, she didn't want company. Yet they both seemed more than willing to join her if she didn't come out. Biting the inside of her lip, Amina decided to keep her focus off of them. Maybe if she didn't look at them, they would just go away. Like some sort of hallucination. But they weren't a hallucination, nor were they going anywhere. She had chosen them for friends for a good reason, and they were displaying that reason right here and now. Amina just only wished she could appreciate it more. Want it more. But for the life of her, she couldn't want anything else except the darkness of under her sheets.

“That isn’t really up to you.” “Na, birdie. We tink ya are, sos we decide." Looking up at them, Amina stared in disbelief. She was worth rescuing? After all that she had done, all of the damage and chaos she had started, they still thought that she was worth rescuing? A few stray tears found their way from her eyes and ran down her cheeks, mixing in with the water stream. Marcus moved back from her a bit, and she could finally acknowledge just how far she had fallen. She knew she had gotten skinny, but only then did she realize that his arms that normally fit around her once, could nearly embrace her two times over. She suddenly felt sick, that she could go this far down, but was it really any surprise? “We wouldn’ be here if ya weren’ worth it.” Pursing her lips, Amina did the best she could to keep from going into another crying fit, but she couldn't avoid the few tears that did fall. "I don't deserve you guys," she said weakly, her arms still hugging her own self as she look closed her eyes and ducked her head a bit. How had she gotten so lucky, so fortunate, to find two people who would help her despite her being a monster? When she looked back up, Amina could see that Tobias was finally dismounting Marcus, but much to his discomfort, he fell smack onto the tile. Amina cringed at the landing, knowing that could not have felt that good. But he didn't let it show. He let out a chuckle and Amina let out a soft sigh. “Some rescue ye are.” A small, miniscule smile made its way to Amina's lips at Marcus' comment, but also Tobias' efforts to get back onto his feet without opening his eyes. They were two of a kind, a miracle that they had even gotten her to crack a smile, but as she watched Tobias nearly strip Marcus of his shorts in his attempt to get up, she felt a laugh trying to bubble its way to the surface. It had a long way to go, just like she did, but they helped. They always seemed to help.

Once Tobias was on his feet, he happened to turn a little too far and now began to glare at a wall. Lifting an eyebrow, Amina watched Marcus fix him, unable to contain a laugh of his own in the process. She wished she could laugh with him, to laugh and feel like a weight had just been lifted, but it still dwelled too deep within her. She could feel it there, wanting to come out, wanting to join in with the two of them and all of the laughter fits they tended to have, but it wasn't happening. Not yet at least. “Well then. Don’ ye move. Don’ wan’ ya fallin’ on yer arse again.” Tilting her head slightly to the side, Amina watched as Marcus turned off the cold water stream, shutting off the only other source of noise in the room, and made his way over to the towel rack. Apparently not afraid to make a mess of the place, he grabbed a load of towels and kept two of them, throwing the others backwards onto the floor. This caused her smile to grow a little. So brazen. He walked over and placed one around her too-small shoulders. Sighing, she went about fastening it around her body, finding herself having to wrap it a little more than normal. What did she look like to Marcus? Did she look as hideous as she now felt? She couldn't imagine even looking in a mirror. More than likely she would be disgusted with her own body. But that was what happened when you had a supercharged metabolism and absolutely no appetite. The only reason she had eaten at all was because she had lost all energy to keep herself awake and away from the nightmares. If it hadn't been for that reason, she probably would be even skinnier right now. The thought made her shiver slightly. Once she had the towel fastened in place, satisfied that it covered enough of her body to satisfy Tobias' aversion to nudity, Amina crossed her arms again and said, "You can open your eyes now," her small smile fading as she realized she didn't want him to see her in this fashion. His opinion matter to her a little more than Marcus', and now he was about to see her a wreck.

Stealing her eyes from Tobias as to avoid seeing his reaction to her present state, Amina focused on Marcus. “Alright, we need a game plan ya?” Quirking her eyebrows, she turned her head over her shoulder as he walked behind her, his hands going to her soaked hair. She hadn't even actually gotten to take a shower, only had the water run over her. Granted, it was enough to get her relatively clean since she hadn't done much, but she still didn't feel as clean as she would have liked. Then again, how clean could she feel when she felt like every inch of her body was flooded with the filth of her actions? Grimacing, she tried to focus on the boys. They were here to help, and she had to let them. His hands began working at her hair in motions that Amina hadn't felt in a while. The last person who had braided her hair had been her mother back in Florida. Of course, it had been a more elaborate French braid to go with her dress for the Spring Fling, but it had been a braid nonetheless. She allowed the nostalgia to flow over her, feeling a bit more relief as the bad thoughts were blocked out for a moment. “Yer hair doesn’t like me.” Her smile made a return as she felt him fumble again and again with the pattern until finally, he found his rhythm. “There!” Unfolding her arms, Amina reached one hand back and felt down the length of her hair. When had it gotten so long? Her braids never reached to her mid-back. Her straight hair did, but a braid resulted in numerous kinks that had always brought it up to her shoulder blades. If her braid was down to her mid-back, that indicated her hair was far too long right now. "Not half bad," she remarked as her fingers lightly grazed the pattern going down her hair before pulling back once she was satisfied. "So is this your rescue plan, come in here, throw me a towel and do my hair? Must say, it's so well thought out," she said, her smile widening a bit as she crossed her arms again. She felt so insecure right now with the way she had let her body go, but otherwise, they were slowly beginning to chip away at the barrier she had put up. Finally she was starting to feel like maybe the world wasn't ending. Maybe.

Words | 1,513
Tag | Marcus, Tobias
Notes | Damn. Got two of those for you. Your move, good sir.
Outfit | And the towel is on!

[Tobias Leberecht]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

Given that Tobias wasn't much of a social creature, he hadn't been afforded the normal upbringing, learning by doing. He didn't know the right things to say and the easiest way to go about making new friends. Keeping them tended to be difficult for him as well, depending on the people and their tolerance or the strange. He just had to hope that he had the ability to say the things the he, himself, would like to hear if the situation was reversed. Amina's shoes were very difficult for him to step into, not just because they would be far too small for his feet, but because she wasn't the same genome or species as he was. He couldn't pretend to know how their emotions felt to them, so he just had to guess, and hope that he was correct. He also didn't have any prior knowledge as to what she was truly like before the change had happened, given that they had properly met after the fact. So, he could only hope that his words had the effect intended and didn't offend her in some strange way. “Na, birdie. We tink ya are, sos we decide.” At least Marcus, who did know better how she might feel, was on the same page. He had come to rely on his friends input over the years, depend on the ability to judge how far off base he was from what was socially acceptable by Marcus' lead. “We wouldn’ be here if ya weren’ worth it.” Tobias found him nodding along enthusiastically, despite the fact that with his eyes closed, it made him slightly dizzy. “Some rescue ye are.” “Come off it...” he muttered, upset that he had actually lost his balance more than anything. He was normally very good at that sort of thing. As Marcus' grabbed his shoulders roughly, he allowed himself to be spun around, what other choice did he really have? Falling over? Not again. Certainly not back into the water. It was too cold for his liking. He could feel the jostling, and it didn't sit right with him, wasn't fair. Marcus was taking advantage. Even if Tobias wanted to retaliate, he couldn't unless he opened his eyes. That, or he could attempt to feel out where Marcus was, but that was a very dangerous option as well. With a 'harumph' he resigned to being nudged about. Keeping a running total in his mind of just how many there were, for later. At least it had almost made her laugh, a small, broken inhale, but a close to a laugh all the same. He hadn't liked the inflection in her words, and if his falling on his rump would help her feel better, he would do so a dozen times over.

"You can open your eyes now," He shook his head a little too hard at her words, sending his body teetering just off balance. No way was he going to fall for that one. He had no desire to see her until she ahd a desire to be seen. Which meant clothing of her choice in a setting of her preference. Yes, he had barged in here uninvited, but it had been needed. It was more than the fact that he didn't want to see her naked, in this light anyway, but he wasn't going to see her less than her best. She was upset, he could understand and respect that, but that didn't mean he had to force himself on her, he wasn't about to tempt himself to judge her. If he opened his eyes, he might not like what he saw, he liked the way he saw her in his mind. All versions of her. There was something fuzzy on his arm. Not damp, dry and fluffy. Towel, the texture told him. Dropping one of his arms to accept it, he felt along the wall until he was safely out of the spray of the shower and unfolded the towel, draping it clear over his head and allowing his eyes to open for just a moment, engulfed in the soft red that blotted out the rest of the room, but didn't leave him as dizzy as having his eyes shut. At least this way, he could see where his feet were going. “Alright, we need a game plan ya?” bringing his hands up to rest on top of his towel clad head, he interlaced his fingers. Just in case Marcus attempted to be cruel and yank the towel away unsuspecting. “Yer hair doesn’t like me.” He could hear things, muted as they were now by the towel that he was pressing into his own wet hair, but he had no idea what she was doing. What Marcus might be up to.

“There!” There? There what? Were they talking silently, that just wasn't nice. "Not half bad, So is this your rescue plan, come in here, throw me a towel and do my hair? Must say, it's so well thought out," Sardonic. It make him smirk. That was a much better tone to hear in her voice. He wished he could see her hair, though he wasn't certain why he did. Hair never held much of an interest to him before. His hand lowered from his head, reaching out in front of him carefully, making sure that there was no skin he came in contact with. Snapping a few times for attention until Marcus seemingly saw his hand and put the wet braid up for inspection at his fingers. It might have been Amina, but it was unlikely to him. Inspecting the braid by touch he shrugged. He didn't actually know anything about braids, but he felt, envious, and he didn't know why. Sighing deeply he brought his hands in front of his face, putting the two pads of his index fingers together in front of approximately where his mouth was under the towel. “Smile!” he urged, bringing his fingers out to mimic the expression, in case she had forgotten what it looked like. “Marcus!” he commanded as if addressing a royal court “take me to a perch!” if he couldn't see, at least he wanted to sit and not fall all over himself.

TAGGED ! amina , marcus
WORDS ! 1,040
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
NOTES ! i'm pretty fantastic, actually. Annnyyy sevens?

[Marcus O'Conner]

Choosing to ignore her tears was something that didn’t sit right with him, even if they were mixing in with the water still clinging to her skin- somehow it only made it seem worse to him, off somehow. Something told him that saying something about her tears wouldn’t result in anything but even more of them. So he wisely kept his mouth shut, moving on to things that he could actually do. Surprising seeing how much he’d failed at here recently. Something that may have driven him to question further his next actions- were it not for the fact that they’d already seemed to start to help dislodge her from whatever nightmare she was reliving in her self induced solitude- although something told him just what nightmare she’d been replaying… it had run through his head a few times as well. They’d never really actively worked at making her laugh; somehow by just interacting with each other they always just seemed to succeed at doing so. So that was the game plan. As well thought out as it didn’t sound, it was the best he could come up with. He hadn’t missed the noise she’d made when Tobias had been trying so hard to right himself, nearly knocking Marcus over in the process. And she’d told Tobias it was fine to open his eyes as well, meaning that she had finally accepted that they weren’t going anywhere. Or at least he hoped that’s what it signified. He wasn’t really too interested in trying to decipher what else she possibly could have meant with that particular phrasing of words. He said what he meant and meant what he said, usually without intentionally rhyming… And he expected the people who surrounded him to do the same. Amina hadn’t ever really, that he knew of, been one to use word play as a weapon- not on he and Tobias at any rate, and he could only hope that everything that had happened had suddenly changed that about her. He could see her going off in her own head again, disappearing on them in a way that one could only do when their own thoughts were too much to process while still carrying on in conversation. So he moved, forcing himself to push past all of his own doubts and concern- acting without questioning himself too fully on the whys or what ifs. He’d never been much of one for analyzing every detail when interacting with someone anyways. It helped to bolster his confidence that they could actually help, that their continued presence here wouldn’t turn out instead detrimental to her frame of mind. His lips turned up slightly in a more solid grin as the hair between his fingers stopped sliding around so much. Jaysus, she had a lot of it though. I mean, he knew she had long hair, he wasn’t blind or anything. But the keeping it separated into the four parts that he’d finally managed to gather was proving much harder than he’d originally anticipated. Leather didn’t bend on its own, or try to escape between his fingers with the very real possibility of tangling with the other strands being held there. At least he’d only had to undo his first try, if he’d had to redo the thing on more than one occasion he was unsure of whether she would have let him continue. After the first debacle he seemed to get more a hang of it though, pinching and twisting the hair in certain places to keep it from making more escape attempts.

And he had to admit that while the finished product wouldn’t have people glaring with envy at the girl… it was at least recognizable. And neat. Which was what counted right? At least her damp hair wouldn’t be falling into her face at ever possible moment. She was mostly covered, had her hair taken care of… now they just had to get her dressed. If only so Tobias would remove the towel he’d now thrown over his head. A snort of laughter made its way out of him as he looked over to the boy in question, lips twitching in humor at the picture he provided. “Not half bad. So this is your rescue plan, come in here, throw me a towel and do my hair? Must say, it’s so well thought out.” The fact that she was using sarcasm to deflect made him suspect that it was working, which made it worth it. He grinned widely at her and shrugged slightly. “Aye, now I did no’ say tha we had a plan or anythin’. Just tha it was a rescue mission!” Besides, as far as plans went it was better than Victoria’s idea to let her wallow in her own misery until she decided to come out on her own. If it had been left up to her in the end he didn’t doubt that she never would have made a reappearance… He could feel his friend’s attention, following their words and could almost picture the perplexed frown he wore under the cloth covering his face. He was almost tempted to play on it, drawing it out and making it seem like there was some situation outside of his hiding place that he desperately needed to see himself… But he wasn’t that cruel, and he knew that Tobias would be stubborn enough to ignore it anyways. When he put his hand out Marcus looked over at Amina, rolling his eyes over dramatically and miming that she should sidestep outside of his reach, mischievous smile working its way onto her lips. But she seemed inclined to stay where she was, although he could see amusement- begrudging though it might have been- playing on her features. So it was worth it. “Ye don’ trust me handy work?” He asked instead of his now snapping friend, bringing the braid he’d just completed finally and dropping it into the outstretched palm. He wasn’t aware Tobias was an expert on such things, and was tempted to say so- but then, he was at a disadvantage to the two that could still look at what all was surrounding them. Even if it was his choice to keep his eyes covered, hadn’t Amina given him permission to look now? He’d thought it was just because she was nude before, but even covered he wasn’t allowing himself his sight back.

There were some things he’d never understand though, and those things he liked to dismiss from his mind- much as he was doing now. His braid seemed to meet whatever inspection it had been given as Tobias shrugged and dropped it. “Hmph,” he grumbled. “No appreciation I tell ye.” From either end. It had been a hard feat to get the tendrils of her hair to comply with his wishes, especially when wet! But he wasn’t going to pout about it. Nope. He rolled his eyes upwards, knowing that the only person who would be on the receiving end of such dramatics would be Amina- and somewhat the happier for it. Tobias would be more likely to call him on things than she would- and finding himself tumbling about on the still wet tile to try and settle whatever score one of them got in their head at some point didn’t seem in any way appealing. Not that they’d be fighting or anything. But he had the feeling it would end on the floor. He cast a distasteful look to said surface, eying it apprehensively before Tobias was moving again. “Smile!” His own lips stretched at the demonstration, turning his grin to Amina as well. He wanted to take a picture of that moment, the grinning towel and damp girl. For some reason it seemed important to him, some milestone that had maybe been reached without anyone’s knowledge. “Marcus! Take me to a perch!” And here he’d earlier implied that Marcus was the one who was part of some court. “Yessur yer b--,” his voice slipped slightly over the word bearness, cutting off just after the first inflection on the word itself, “boniness.” Nearly flawless, he could find some relief in that, even if he had almost just slipped up quite considerably. What perch was he supposed to find here? His eyes slid to the mirrors on the other side of the room, counters beneath providing as much of a seat as he supposed he could expect. Without preamble he turned to him, bending at the knees and wrapping his arms around his midsection as he hoisted- standing once more with Tobias flung over his shoulder still clutching at the towel about his face. “Ye think ye can walk Birdie?” He gestured to the area with his free hand, securing Tobias with one arm and flashing her a flex of his free arm. “If no’ I’ve got room fer two.” He punctuated it with a wolfish grin and waggled eyebrows, enjoying the way the mood seemed to be shifting towards the more positive environment.
>

[Amina Krane]

“Aye, now I did no’ say tha we had a plan or anythin’. Just tha it was a rescue mission!” Well that wasn't entirely surprising. Sounded just like them. Never would Amina be able to understand the pull these boys had on her. Ever since she had first met Tobias, she had been sure they would be friends. It was inevitable. Though it had been odd the way they had first met, that had been the trigger. It had piqued Amina's interest and after that first meeting, she had awaited the next time they would meet. He hadn't disappointed. Then there had been the first time she had met Marcus. It hadn't been the greatest of times, being the full moon cycle and all, but they had made the best of a surprising situation. Especially since it had been the first time Amina had realized werewolves could speak to each other through their minds. That had been a shock, especially since Marcus had pretty much gained full out access to everything. But he had been graceful about it, not holding anything he saw against her, or even questioning some of the things Amina had never wanted him to see. Fortunately, she had begun to control what he saw, but by now, it really didn't matter. They had become closer than Amina could ever have imagined. And when she had finally gotten to be with the both of them together? Gotten to see how they interacted with one another? She knew she had found somewhere that she could be happy. Two people that she could be herself around, all of herself, and not have to worry about being judged. It was no doubt that the perfect two to show up today would be them, but that didn't change that she felt in her gut that they shouldn't be there. Though she knew she needed to get out of her bed, to get away from her head, she couldn't resist wanting them to keep from seeing this side of her. The weak side, the side that was so easily affected by a boy. But this time it wasn't all boy problems. It was more than that, but didn't it all stem right back down to him? Just the thought of him made her grimace. She wanted to crawl back into herself, but she was distracted before she could.

Tobias had been given permission to open his eyes, to be able to see where he was going without Marcus to lead him around, yet they remained closed. Raising an eyebrow, she watched as Tobias put the towel over his head. Was he really not going to open them? Why? What was wrong? She was covered up, there was no risk of him seeing something he shouldn't see. Hell, half the time she wore things more revealing than this. Her runs consisted usually of a sports bra and running shorts for Merlin's sake! And he had seen her on at least one of those runs, she knew he had because she had seen him on more than one occasion. So what was wrong? Was it not a fear of seeing her naked, but maybe seeing her in the shape she was in? But how would he know unless he had caught a glimpse. Or maybe he was afraid of her in general? Afraid of looking at her and instead of seeing her human form, seeing the beast inside? She didn’t want to believe it was true, that he would come here despite being afraid of her, but her mind wasn't in its right state. The worst option she could think of had to obviously be the right one, and so it was the one she clung to and suddenly felt herself taking a step back into herself. What was that saying about one step forward, two steps back? Biting the inside of her lip, Amina tried not to focus on it, but the thought remained in the back of her head as Tobias demanded to inspect the braid himself. “Ye don’ trust me handy work?” Was anyone wrong not to? He was a male after all. How many men did one come across that knew how to braid hair? But Tobias seemed to just accept the braid from what it was. “No appreciation I tell ye.” She would have responded, told him that she did appreciate having her hair out of her face, but she couldn't get over the fact that Tobias refused to look at her. Hadn't she wanted him not to look at her earlier? Not to see the shape her body was in? Now she was upset that he wasn't looking? Why did nothing make sense in her head anymore?

“Smile!” The sudden interjection of Tobias' voice in the quiet shower room made her look up at him quickly with wide eyes. The sight of him, just the sight alone, was something so odd, so different, much like Tobias himself, that she couldn't help but crack a smile. The doubt of why he held the towel over his head began to ebb away into the recesses of her mind, but it was still there. Taunting her to find her way back and cling to it, using it to lead her back into a depressed state. It was right there. She could use it to collapse back into herself. If she did, she could stay there for as long as she wanted. Focus on that one thought and use it to stay in her hole. But she didn't necessarily want to choose that option. She liked smiling. So she did. Her small smile widened just a bit more as she looked over to Marcus who was grinning wildly. Two of a kind, they were. “Marcus! Take me to a perch!” Her eyes went back to the towel clad Tobias, acting all regal. If he would just take the towel off, maybe he wouldn't need a perch. And then there she was, right back to that thought and unable to think of anything else, her eyes drifting right back down to the ground. “Yessur yer b--,” "boniness." Her focus had been on Tobias' towel, enough that she didn't even notice the slight pause in Marcus' speech. The only thing that mattered was Tobias wouldn't even take the towel off and look at her. He wouldn't take a moment to look her in the eyes. Why? “Ye think ye can walk Birdie?” Looking back up at Marcus, she rolled her eyes, able to produce a small smile. “If no’ I’ve got room fer two.” "I had to walk up here, didn't I? Or are you just looking for an excuse to pick me up?" she remarked, trying to slide some inflections into her tone but she wasn't sure how well it worked. The double meaning of her last few words probably wouldn't come across without it, but did she really care? She was still regaining full range of her voice, but the depression that loomed in the distance made it hard to use what of her voice she did have. Just talking was like a struggle. It hurt. It shouldn't be hurting to talk. There was just something so wrong about that.

Pursing her lips, Amina unfolded her arms and waved one hand at Marcus. "I'll be right over," she added, intending on taking a moment to compose herself. If they were going to insist on staying, she needed to do whatever she could to get the depression to go away. She did not want it to rub off on them, and the longer she held onto those thoughts, the longer it would stick around. The more likely they were to catch her infection. Moving back into the shower stall, Amina looked at the broken tiles where her hands had hit when she first walked in. Damn. She made a mental note to grab her wand and fix those before someone could notice, but would she remember that? Sighing softly, her eyes moved down to the floor where her pajamas were. It was better than staying in a wet towel. Her body had already dried off, the high temperature of her body causing it to turn into steam and evaporate almost as soon as the shower had been shut off. Her hair was wet, but Marcus had handled that. But rather than stay in the towel and wait for her body to dry that, she might as well get back into her pajamas. At least they were already dry. Putting her hand against the tile wall, Amina used it to stabilize her as she bent down and picked up the pajamas set. Again, she found all of this taking far too much effort than it should have. But she managed to take off the towel and slip on the shorts and tank top. They were both far too baggy, her shorts hardly staying on her too-small hips, but they worked. She couldn't imagine what putting on daytime clothes would be like once she finally got up the energy to put some on. Would she be able to find any that fit?

Sighing, Amina ran her fingers along the tiles as she slowly made her way back to the edge of the shower stall. Every step was getting increasingly difficult, her muscles screaming of exhaustion and lack of nutrition. But she pushed because she could. Because she never accepted help. Not if she could help it. Osiris had been an instance where she couldn't help it. Amina refused to allow this to be another time, but wasn't that what they were here for already? To help her not waste away in her bed forever? As she was about to step away from the wall, her muscles finally gave way, her knees buckling. Amina found herself suddenly falling towards the ground, knees first. Even with her hand holding the tile wall, she couldn't find the strength to catch herself. Maybe she did need help.

Words | 1,670
Tag | Marcus, Tobias
Notes | Go fish. Let's go for sevens?
Outfit |Ah, and now the pj's

[Tobias Leberecht]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

The bottoms of Tobias' shoes had little to no traction left, that was going to make things interesting. The same rubber soles that had been so beneficial in helping him scale the walls to get here, had been rendered useless by the soapy water at the bottom of the shower he had fallen into. Until he could clean the soap off properly, he was going to be a sticky, slipper mess. At least he only had to slide down...just had to be careful that he didn't wind up at the bottom of the slide before he actually wanted to be down there...he wasn't certain that he would be able to get himself back up without much more difficulty. Something using ladders and a rope pulley system he was certain. He had the determination...but it was just frustrating since he was already here and all. “Yessur yer b--,” Underneath the shelter of the towel his eyebrows raised in surprise as the almost slight. “boniness.” Almost flawless, he wouldn't have been surprised if he was the only one who would have caught it. He didn't even know why it was a 'secret' really, since he knew what Amina could turn into, and it would only make sense if she knew, she might not be so afraid for his general well being if she knew. At least, he assumed that she worried about his well being. Perhaps she didn't care whether or not he was eaten by wolves, but it would only benefit all of them for her to know what he could do. What he had spent just as much of his time dedicated to as his journals. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to voice the words. He wasn't sure whether it was due to some unspoken need for a grand entrance, or if she would demand a show? He couldn't pinpoint any single reason that she didn't know yet, she just didn't. He didn't know why he didn't want her to know yet, he just didn't. That, was good enough for him.

Before he knew what was happening, his mundane hearing capabilities failed him and Tobias' body was being hoisted into the air with a speed that left him clutching for the towel falling from his head rapidly. His arms flinging to clamp the article back down over his head as he was sashayed back and forth on the back of Marcus' body. “Ye think ye can walk Birdie?” Tobias' head swiveled in the direction that he assumed Amina was standing in. “If no’ I’ve got room fer two.” She was being awfully silent. If she weren't, then this would have been a totally normal situation for him, but her silence was unsettling. He knew that she was still putting herself back together, and Merlin only knew how long that sort of thing would take. He certainly didn't care to venture a guess. "I had to walk up here, didn't I? Or are you just looking for an excuse to pick me up?" Something about the ending of her sentence didn't sit right with him, he didn't know why it bothered him, it just did. Under the towel, his face flushed, confused. Holding up one finger to where he heard the voice coming from he waggled his finger. “You could have crawled, slithered, scooted, skipped, hopped, jaunted...” His words were punctuated by each movement from his steed. "I'll be right over," his tone took up an almost jingle quality, slightly musical but it was evident he was smiling at his own sarcasm. His tone fading away from Amina's body as they moved toward the mirrors “flown, that's a good one, apparated, bustled, glided, rolled, pirouetted, schlepped, sauntered,...” He was forced to stop by the force of his body being dumped on the hard counter top. His voice hiccuping at the sudden impact. His head spun quickly to where he knew Marcus was, sticking his tongue out at him despite the fact that it wasn't visible. “Walked is fine, I suppose...” only, there were no more footsteps. Placing both hands on top of his head, waiting. He should look, he couldn't help if he didn't look, but that would defeat the whole purpose.

“Marcus?” his voice soft, the room was so quiet without the filler noise of the shower running. He couldn't even hear Marcus' heavy breathing beside him any longer, couldn't feel the unnatural heat against his figure. He was used to it in most times, it was the absence of it that he noticed. "Now yer jus' tryin' ta get me ta pick ya up Birdie." Tobias' chest hurt, a sudden pang in his stomach. He was uncomfortable with the events transpiring. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been uncomfortable with anything, at all. Something felt strange inside of him. The heat was back now, beside him, but it was hotter than Marcus, must have been Amina. His spine straightened without thinking, his hands lowering from the top of his head to come to rest in his lap. "I'll be righ' back with yer stuff, ta two o' ye are grounded ta tha counter." He could feel the scolding, if he weren't practically hip to hip with Amina he might have laughed, or made some joke about Marcus acting like Tobias' father. Only, that would make the two on the counter siblings, and that didn't sit right either. Why was he so uncomfortable around her? Must have been the situation, since he had been so intrusive, coming in on her in the shower and all. Certainly not an event that was likely to have happened to her very often in her life. He hoped. Exhaling slowly, he steadied himself, wiling his face to no longer match the color of the towel draped over his face. His arms crossed in front of his body, tapping his index finger against his own skin, tempted to whistle. He didn't know what to say, he couldn't judge her mood. Then again, even with his eyes he wasn't that great at judging emotions of other people. Perhaps most wouldn't think that he was so strange if he had a better idea of what was and was not acceptable.

The body next to him was shuffling, he felt like he should match her, but he didn't move. "Why won't you look at me? Are you... I just..." She exhaled. Slowly, in a strange realization his eyebrows moved to the center of his face. She was upset with him. He certainly hadn't ever wanted that. Scratching nervously at his opposite arm, his voice found itself. “You,” he swallowed “You want me to look at you?” the tinge in his voice was small and nervous, hopeful. Perhaps the closest thing to flirty that he had ever been before. Letting the idea settle in his brain and the dopey smile to wash clean from his face he rolled his shoulders back. Making too big of a show of the stretch as his arms and torso, certainly with more bravado than he felt. Pulling the towel from his face in one steady, rapid motion he revealed his face, eyes shut, freshly mussed hair and all. Peeking an eye open with a small smile of admiration at her face. Opening his eyes he pushed a spare bit of hair that fell from her ratty braid away from her face. The dampness of the strand allowing it to stick back to where it was supposed to be. Dropping his hands, palms up he turned his torso toward her, bringing his legs up to fold under his body like she had done. He must have missed the step where she had found clothing and put them on. “Don't see what all the fuss was about,” his voice was never this soft whenever speaking to Marcus, though, that wasn't fair, he was his best friend. It certainly didn't sound like this whenever he spoke to Victoria, didn't feel like this either. He didn't see her skin that was too tight, he didn't see the black circles of worry under her eyes or that even sitting here, the bounce was gone from her. He only saw her. Eyebrow lifting he chuckled softly “You look just, great to me.”

TAGGED ! amina , marcus
WORDS ! 1,379
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
NOTES ! one seven. For you.

[Marcus O'Conner]

He wasn’t oblivious to the seemingly millions of threads in the undercurrent of the room, fueling their emotions and infecting the atmosphere. He could practically see them. It was his job to keep them on the right course though, to make sure that no one succumbed to whatever negative ones were still floating about. The thread they were trying to operate on was tenuous at best, moving beneath their feet with every step as if to throw them off. But it was important, this normalcy they managed to achieve in the eye of the hurricane, with all the craziness existing both inside and outside these bathroom walls. This would be something they could hold onto later, something they could build off when needed. Built in the same way that Tobias and Marcus did off of eachother. It was natural, like breathing, the ability to fall into routine. So it would be with providing this. It was something Marcus just knew and he knew things like that so rarely to understand to trust his instinct. Sure, he knew his classes and the answers to be scribbled down come test time. He could practically recite certain passages from text book when called upon. Social situations, as he’d already demonstrated a million times over, were something else entirely. He had no practice outside of what was required. Something only highlighted as the tension over whatever existed between the two seemed to heighten, Amina nearly missing his words as he uttered them. So he focused instead on the positive inflection, focused on the smile still warming his own features, even if his was now the only one out there. Babies smiled when smiled at. Not that he was comparing Amina to a baby. Obviously she was a female of justifiable age. A female of his own age. She wasn’t an infant. But when he himself saw someone grinning without any malicious intent or underlying negativity it made him want to grin as well. Mirth, happiness, contentedness was contagious. It was why Amina needed to stick close to them. They could help eachother all stay within the safety net that they had made for themselves. “I had to walk up here, didn’t I? Or are you just looking for an excuse to pick me up?” Again the impossible widening of his jaw, short bark of laughter ringing around them only made more exuberant by the smirk that fought its way across her lips, it didn’t matter that there were still undertones. He was doing such a good job of ignoring them as they were. “Aye don’ need an excuse now do I?” His brows rose comically as he looked around the floor, seemingly for the excuse she spoke of. “Don’ pretend ya would no’ want me to, no girl out there would” The mock arrogance was nearly misplaced in his voice, laughter beneath his words giving way to the sheer falsehood he let come out of his mouth in jest. He wasn’t misguided enough to think they would. He didn’t really

[/i] want to pick her up anyways. Not in any manner beyond carrying her, he almost liked carrying people. It made him feel useful in its own way… except when bones were digging into the more fleshy areas of his body. He adjusted the boy still hanging off of his shoulder slightly. Now he, he may want to pick up the birdie in more than purely the physical sense. Marcus couldn’t very well say so though- not even in jest.

“You could have crawled, slithered, scooted, skipped, hopped, jaunted…” Victorious laughter rung out from Marcus’s lips at the unexpected support in that department, throwing Amina a jubilant glance as he rose both brows as if to punctuate the unspoken ‘I told you so’ hanging in the air around them. He won. He fought the urge to do a victory dance, accepting her next words with a nod of his head. “I’ll be right over.” Not that it stopped the spewing of alternative options from his other friend. “O’course.” He didn’t bother trying to get Tobias to stop, instead listening with an intent expression as he turned on his heel, waiting for Tobias to forget one so he could interject it. “flown, that’s a good one,” Marcus nodded his assent, ambling slowly over to the counter he’d earlier indicated. “apparated,” He cut in there, shaking his head back and forth. “Nah, she could no have done tha in tha castle.” Not without some seriously advanced magic or artifact that somehow got around the schools protective spells. Tobias, however, seemed completely unphased by the interruption, continuing over it as if it were of no consequence. “bustled, glided, rolled, pirouetted, schlepped, sauntered…” The problem with the excess of words being used to describe it all was that he could picture her doing each one as he uttered them. And while some seemed plausible the majority were just humorous, stretching the grin on his lips. Of course he could hear Amina moving just beyond sight, the faint rustle of fabric and the drop of her towel giving him a fair idea of what was actually going on. Not that he was intentionally listening. You really couldn’t help what all you heard when your hearing seemed to be on its own special blend of uppers. Something that was beyond intrusive on everyone who was involved. There were some things about your dorm mates that you never wanted to know, some liaisons that happened within the castle walls that you would be better off not even suspecting. There were times that the improved abilities had their uses though, like earlier when he’d managed to get them in here without having to go and find one of their wands. The increased physical strength was nothing to be scoffed at. And the running was always nice, running had always been something he enjoyed… He’d reached the counter finally, his figure pausing as he considered the best way to set the boy still flung over his shoulder down. He was aware that he had jostled Tobias even more than usual today, without any reprimand either- that wasn’t to say that the other boy wasn’t keeping track though. It was very possible that he had a running tally going on in his head; it wouldn’t be the first time. And while it could be considered a challenge… he didn’t feel like pushing the limit just that much further. He’d only paused a moment when he was suddenly jerked out of such thought process by the sudden intake of breath, staccato beating of her heart alerting him to the air that he may not have taken notice of as the sound of a body beginning descent carried to his ears. Without a second thought he dropped Tobias onto the counter, not pausing at the way his voice seemed to jump at the contact and turned abruptly on his heel, sprinting to the cause of his worry.

Another good thing the increased sense and reflexes could provide, the thought was lightning quick as his arms went around the body of the girl tumbling forward towards the tiling- breath coming out in a huff as he hauled her back up to him. “Marcus?” He heard the inquiry from the other room and wished not for the first time that Tobias shared in pack mind- that pack mind could be employed when not in wolf form. The girl in his arms was still so frightfully delicate, not in the way he expected her to be, so instead he found himself trying to assure her, plastering the grin once more on his face as his hands went to her hips, hoisting her up until she rested at eye level. "Now yer jus' tryin' ta get me ta pick ya up Birdie." The words were made in jest as he slung her over his shoulder in much the same fashion as he had Tobias, only more careful not to jostle her too much- as if too much disruption to her physical being could somehow disrupt the small level of balance she’d found mentally. He made the way back to where he’d deposited Tobias quickly, his hands going to her sides and pulling her back right over his shoulder before seating her slowly onto the counter next to the still towel-clad form of Tobias. An interesting picture that. Made all the more so by the change in body language the former adopted, the corners of Marcus’s lips twitching in response. "I'll be righ' back with yer stuff, ta two o' ye are grounded ta tha counter." His words punctuated by the finger he’d brought up to wave sternly at them, eyes lighting up as he returned, a good deal more slowly, to where she’d dropped what little she’d had on her. He had barely even made it far enough away before his spine was straightening, Amina’s voice pushing through the levity he’d found. “Why won’t you look at me? Are you… I just…” It had been a question he’d been wondering himself, but then Tobias was known for his odd behavior and reasoning behind it so it hadn’t bothered him in the same fashion it seemed it had her. He pulled a face as he bent over, collecting the things as slowly as possible in order to give them time to finish their conversation in some semblance of privacy. Just because he could hear them didn’t mean he had to eavesdrop… necessarily. But then maybe eavesdropping in this situation, all things considered, was not only okay but necessary. ”You… You want me to look at you.”. Everything he’d gathered seemed to drop from his hands at once, his own feet slipping on the still wet floor as he fought the urge to hit his palm to his forehead. Finally.

Progress on a front that seemed somehow monumental to the very core of their relationships, both separate and grouped. “Don’t see what all the fuss was about. You look just great to me.” The single object he’d managed to wrangle back seemed to want to fall again, fingers catching around it as he grinned excitedly to himself at his friends words. Yes. Good. He couldn’t help the celebratory jig he managed to commit to even while loading his arms back up, bent over at the waist. Tobias’s voice was so markedly different, so open he didn’t see how it could be taken for anything short of what it was. Magical, even with all the shit that had come with Amina when she sought refuge with them from her life couldn’t take away from all that she brought with her. He couldn’t very well stay back here much longer though, something he wasn’t sure how to deal with without effectively cutting into their conversation. But then if he didn’t they would know he’d been listening to every word. How had Victoria described that thing where people put characters of fiction together in their minds? Shnipping? Sh—Shipping, yes. He shipped the two sitting on the counter back there pretty hard core. They were the OTPs of all OTPs. He’d have to remember to tell Victoria his correct usage of the terminology later. As for now he was now within sight again. And rather than agree with Tobias, taking away from the essence of what had been said he only smiled brightly, depositing Amina’s belongings beside her before stepping back. “Aye’ve go’ta be paired with ta two clumsiest people in all tha castle! Really, Birdie, I think yer just goin’ta have ta move with us so that aye don’ run meself ragged tryin ta keep ye both alive!”

> [/div][/font][/font][/font]

[Amina Krane]

It felt strange, not quite being in control of one's legs, one's joints. Amina couldn't say she hadn't felt the same sensation before, but all of the other times it had happened had been different. Normally it had been during gymnastics when she had done a terrible dismount that left her flailing, unable to recover and wound up with her flat on her face. Those moments, even though she felt out of control, she knew she it was momentary. The wolf had been another instant, one she didn't quite want to think about. But nothing compared to losing control of her body because of fatigue and just pure lack of care. Never had Amina ever allowed herself to get into such form because it just wasn't healthy. She had always been healthy, from her physical, all the way to her mental state. Now, nothing about her was healthy. Nothing physical, and nothing mental. Had she been even slightly capable of being her normal self, she might have noted to Tobias how impeccable his vocabulary was in regards to the multitude of ways she could have arrived at the showers. No doubt, he could have kept going all night if he wanted to, but Amina couldn't focus on him. Her focus was, instead, on the ground that was suddenly coming at her way too fast. Her fingers clawed at the tiles feebly in an attempt to stop it from happening, but she didn't have the strength in her hands, either. There was nothing. Her eyes closed in anticipation of the cold tile smacking against her knees. It was going to hurt, she knew it would, because there wasn't anything there but bone. Fortunately, even if it was possibly slower than normal given how weak her body was, she still should be a fast healer. The pain wouldn't last too long, she hoped. It would be more of the embarrassment that she had said she could handle herself, that she could walk, and here she was, falling because she was too weak to deal with her own demons. Too weak. Always too weak.

As strong arms wrapped around her, strong yet gentle, Amina was reminded that even though she was too weak, that didn't mean everyone else around her would allow her to continue that way. Her eyes opened as Marcus lifted her back to her feet. Of course it would be him. The only other person she knew with the ability to move fast enough, or to even sense something was wrong. One of the only people who could possibly help her become stronger. “Marcus?” Her eyes conveyed the gratitude that could not quite make it out of her lips. She wanted to thank him, just couldn't quite think of the proper words to do it with. A simple thank you was too easy, but to go and say she was thankful for him saving her from falling to the tile? Too specific. She had far more to thank him for. Far too much to thank Tobias for. Victoria. She would never be able to find the words to thank any of them for not letting her fall into the deep dark depression that she wanted to. One day she would find a way. "Now yer jus' tryin' ta get me ta pick ya up Birdie." She tried to match his grin with one of hers, but it was feeble at best as she tried to not feel so ashamed at her moment of weakness. He wouldn't hold it against her, he probably would never think of it again, but Amina couldn't help but feel the blush creeping into her pale cheeks. Fortunately, before he had a chance to see it, he slung her over his shoulder in the same fashion he had done Tobias, but she couldn't help but feel how gingerly he was treating her. She wasn't exactly fond of feeling like a porcelain doll.

He moved her to the same spot where he had placed Tobias, and set her down in a much gentler fashion, right next to him. The person who wouldn't look at her, who refused to see her for what she was with no real explanation as to why. "I'll be righ' back with yer stuff, ta two o' ye are grounded ta tha counter." Amina smiled slightly, but couldn't take her mind off of Tobias. Why was he so adverse to looking at her? She had told him that he could look, that she was decent, and yet he had still refused. Biting the inside of her lip, Amina tucked her legs underneath her body, making herself smaller as she peeled her eyes from his towel-clad face. She wanted to believe it was just his modesty, that he had thought she was trying to trick him for some reason. But Amina knew it was more than that. “Why won’t you look at me? Are you…" Afraid? The word was in her head, but wouldn't come out of her lips. It was stuck there, hanging in the air. She didn't like it. "I just…" Again, she couldn't herself to say what she really wanted, to ask him why he wouldn't look at her. To ask him if really he was afraid of her, or if he just couldn't stand the sight of her. But if either was the case, why would he have come here in the first place? If he felt that way, he would have never come up here to see her at all. He probably would have been happy to know she was wasting away into nothing. But that wasn't Tobias. Not him. Maybe that was why he wasn't looking, was because he was afraid to see what had become of her in the aftermath. If that was the case, she hoped he wouldn't. That he would keep hiding his eyes. She didn't want him to see her in such a poor light. ”You… You want me to look at you?” A second ago, yes. Now? Why didn't she want him to? Pursing her lips, she put a hand on her opposite shoulder and rested her chin against her wrist, looking down at the floor.

As she heard him move, Amina looked over at him, watching as the towel was moved away, revealing tossled locks and still closed eyes. But then they opened, one at a time, and she suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. She swallowed, ready for the judgment to appear in his eyes. Why had she pressed the matter? So stupid. At least with the towel on, he wouldn’t see how horrible she looked. But as he tucked a piece of hair back into place, she realized that there wasn't judgment. He wasn't looking at her the way she thought he would. A tingle crawled up her spine, uncontrollable but not unpleasant. It was a feeling she had only shared with a few other guys in the past. “Don’t see what all the fuss was about. You look just great to me.” A smile slowly spread across her lips as she tucked her chin against her wrist again, feeling the blush grow stronger. Why was she blushing? The thought occurred to her that she could be growing close to him, a different way than the other male in the room. But she couldn't imagine how. That spot was reserved for Gavin. Despite everything that had happened, he was the one she loved. He was the one her heart belonged to. Was it possible for her to care for two people in that way? Was it possible that she could actually have feelings for Tobias too? Biting her lip lightly, she was about to respond, to try and play down the blushing in some fashion, when Marcus spoke up. Always saving her in some manner. “Aye’ve go’ta be paired with ta two clumsiest people in all tha castle! Really, Birdie, I think yer just goin’ta have ta move with us so that aye don’ run meself ragged tryin ta keep ye both alive!”Looking up, Amina chuckled softly and dropped her hand from her shoulder down to her leg.

"Maybe I want to keep you on your toes. Can't do that if I make it too easy on you," she responded, sticking her tongue out for a moment before smiling at him. Somehow, just the simple act of Tobias acknowledging her by opening his eyes, had been enough for her to push past the biggest of her negative emotions for the moment. Marcus was just the icing to the cake. Her stomach grumbled softly at the thought of food, but Amina still didn't quite have an appetite, despite how much her stomach protested. She hadn't had an appetite for a while; the last time she had even eaten was the morning before. Her stomach might have grumbled in between her sparse meals, but her head protested. It was still doing that as she sat here, no matter how her mood was beginning to improve. Because in the end, it was going to take more than a small conversation to get over what she had done. To get over the fact that she had ruine dsomeone's life. Hadn't she? Looking down at her hands, Amina folded them into one another, noticing how easily her knuckles stuck out from her skin. Not normal. Nothing was normal. Was Kariana? "She is o-" Okay? No. That's certainly not the right word. Okay implied much more than what Amina knew was possible, more than she could ever associate with Kariana again. "Alive, right?" she amended, deciding that was the better question. If Kariana was alive, Amina was already aware that she wouldn't be okay. That would imply Amina hadn't sunk her fangs into her skin, that she hadn't ingested the woman's blood and flesh to later puke it up in the boys showers. That she hadn't seen the blood come out of her mouth and go into the drain. No, those events happened. Just like the ones that had later transpired.

Her fingers unconsciously moved to the ring where she began to spin it around her finger, twisting it back and forth the same way she had done multiple times a day since he had put it there. She hadn't taken it off, unable to get up the gumption to do it. It was a reminder that she had to be stronger, that she had to find a way to be better for him. How had she not done that yet? She had instead allowed herself to grow weaker. "Too weak," she muttered to herself, spinning the ring one more time as she took in a deep breath. Not anymore. She had to be strong if she was going to get him back. If she was going to keep the friends she had left. Something had to change. Looking back up at the two of them, she straightened out her spine a bit and pulled her braid to the side and began to play with the very end of it. She needed a haircut. Too long. Too odd to have her hair this long. "So I suppose that all ends phase one of your rescue mission. What's the plan for phase two? A tea party? Oh, or maybe playing house?"

Words | 1,882
Tag | Marcus, Tobias
Notes | Woot! Any threes?
Outfit |Ah, and now the pj's

[Tobias Leberecht]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

He honestly hoped that she could hear how sincere he was being, he could of course see the changes in her physical make up. He wasn't blind. He knew that it was only temporary, after she got over this, whenever she chose to move on, she would be back to normal. Back to the face that he was used to seeing, filled out, with a smile over her features. He knew that Marcus was listening, he knew that they weren't alone. Which, he was oddly grateful for. At least now Marcus could tell him what the hell that look on Amina's face meant, help him to understand the things that he didn't really want to. He knew this moment was important, it felt heavy, but he wasn't exactly sure why it felt that way. Tobias felt his eyes avert again, hoping that it wouldn't offend her this time. His hands gripped the towel he had just pulled from his head, wiping aimlessly at his pants. It wouldn't help, he knew that, but it was something to do, made him feel just a bit better. At least he had made her smile, and her smile, made him smile. So there they sat, in a comfortable silence, grinning at the floor. His feet started to swing of their own accord, dangling from the counter while he waited on Marcus. He didn't feel the need to say anything else, at least, if they couldn't get her to come down from this tower, he would have succeeded in making her smile.

Before the comfortable faded, Marcus was back, depositing the rest of Amina's things back onto the counter. He assumed that meant that they were no longer grounded then? Not that it was the worst punishment in the world, his mind interjected. “Aye’ve go’ta be paired with ta two clumsiest people in all tha castle! Really, Birdie, I think yer just goin’ta have ta move with us so that aye don’ run meself ragged tryin ta keep ye both alive!”/i] Tobias' head snapped up at the words, his eyes connecting with Marcus' own, a thousand questions asked all at once. Was he serious? Then, what if he wasn't serious? The idea excited him, which was strange, because living arrangements were never something that he had ever cared about before. His mouth floundered, opening and closing again just as quickly. It really wasn't the worst idea that they had ever had, they would be able to keep an eye on her if nothing else. "Maybe I want to keep you on your toes. Can't do that if I make it too easy on you," He knew she was joking, but he wanted to tel her it wasn't funny. Her tone was light again, and if he said something, it was just going to send her back into the sad space she had been speaking from earlier. So he remained silent, slowly pulling his eyes away from the gold set of Marcus, to the ones seated next to him. Yes, the more that he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed to be to him. Rent split three ways was certainly better than two, and he had technically been living in the same space as her for over a year now, so far he had no complaints.

"She is o-" Sad space, but he couldn't focus again. Yes, Kariana was fine, he would even feel comfortable using the word okay as it implied a physical state of being rather than a mental one. Not that either of the boys had any room to speak on her mental well being given how she was freezing them out so much. Though, if anybody could, it would be Marcus. "Alive, right?" Tobias grinned despite the serious nature of her question. “I would say so,” he beamed at Marcus, “Dead women cannot punch that hard” his mind replayed the instance of her pummling Marcus again. Not that it was funny, but it wasn't not funny. If only he had been there to see it first hand. "So I suppose that all ends phase one of your rescue mission. What's the plan for phase two? A tea party? Oh, or maybe playing house?" A tea party was all well and good, easily enough arranged, at least then they could ply her with cake to get some of her shape back. Tobias couldn't overlook the comment about playing house, not after what Marcus had just said. It all just made too much sense. “Who said we would have to play?” he glanced over at Marcus again, silently confirming that it was indeed, a good idea, he was the sane one after all. Tobias' shoulders rose and fell in a shrug, hopping off the counter and putting his arms over his head like a roof. “We have a house, but it's not for play.”

TAGGED ! amina , marcus
WORDS ! 812
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
NOTES ! damn. three threes.

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