Homes, Houses and Places To Stay

[kumainpink]

Maxwell jumped at the sudden noise and sloshed a little bit of the firewhiskey on himself. He looked to his left, and there was Alice, standing there with a ripped robe. "Hello." he mumbled, before going back to his bottle. He really wasn't in the mood to talk right now.

[G. Novella]

"Ah, s-sorry for intruding Maxwell," said Alice, hovering at the door. Uneasily she entered the kitchen, moving towards the sink for a glass of fresh water. Not wanting to bother Maxwell, she conjured her own glass and stuck it under the tap. She wished there was a spell to make fresh water appear, but since Aguamenti only caused salt water to appear, she had no choice but to have come down here.

As she drank her water, she looked curiously at Maxwell. He seemed miserable, yet he was drinking. Without realising, the childish question slipped out of her mouth. "Does the whiskey help?"

[kumainpink]

Maxwell chuckled bitterly, after polishing off two-thirds of his bottle. "For a while." he mumbled, staring intently at the bottle. "That's all I need."

[G. Novella]

"Is it? I still don't know how to get over my parents deaths, and they died for doing something terrible. I should hate them, but I really miss them. Do you think the whiskey helps make pain go away?" she asked, moving to the table.

[kumainpink]

Maxwell chuckled bitterly again. It wasn't that he wanted to laugh at her or anything, but he found a dark sort of humor in her words. "For most people, only time does it." he said, voice slightly off - was it becoming a little harder to talk? "Time makes things better...if you're ordinary." he took another sip of his drink.

[G. Novella]

By now, Alice was righr beside Maxwell. His bitter laugh and dark humor made her heart break. The poor man didn't deserve this treatment. He should have been able to be happy. Alice took a seat beside Maxwell uncertainly, as she eyes his profile. His face looked hard and tired, and his eyes cold. The whiskey sloshed around in it's bottle.

"Time doesn't help," she said softly, "It only makes it worse. You find yourself obsessing over them, over yourself, over why you weren't there. No, time really doesn't help. Friends, family, love, they help. When you start meeting people, letting them into your life, it helps. When you move to achieve happiness, to fix the mistakes you made. But it's slow, and it doesn't work as quickly as you want. Maybe whiskey does, I wouldn't know since I've never tried it."

[kumainpink]

"My mistakes can't be fixed." he said, pushing the bottle away, suddenly no longer in the mood for it. "You wouldn't know this, but I'm not the 'grand hero' you probably think I am. I'm no better than those parents of yours. I fucked up."

[G. Novella]

"You saved my life last night," said Alice, "In my eyes that was heroic. Nobody can be a hero everyday though, and I don't blame you for it."

Hesitantly she continued, "How are you no better than them? They left me with no information, got themselves killed, and then handed off their debt to me. In comparison, you're the better parent."

[kumainpink]

Maxwell shook his head. "I molded him, trained him. Made him into the man he is - was. I knew it was dangerous, but I let him become part of this whole mess." His voice wavered, as the firewhiskey started to lose it's numbing effect. "He wanted to be just like me - can you imagine? A real 'chip off the old block'." He looked away from Alice, unable to meet her gaze.

He no longer felt worthy of her compassion. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just been a long night. I didn't mean to bother you with all this." he sloshed the bottle. "Blame this stuff."

[G. Novella]

"I never told anyone about my parents, I still haven't said so much. You were the first to know anything about them, about how I felt. Feel free to unload on me," she said, taking Maxwell's hand in hers. Her confidence had grown seeing his heart break. She was desperate to be there for him.

"Blame whatever you will, but if I had been Brayden tonight, I'd want you to know that I was fighting for you, and you can't give up on things, you can't blame yourself! I did that," she added softly, "All it makes you do is harm your self. Giving up and closing off makes you end up alone in a dirty apartment unsure of your own future."

[kumainpink]

"It started in self-defense." he said, still not meeting her gaze. "Before his first year, I taught him a few basic spells, and warned him of the dangers the forest holds. And in his third year, I forbade him from taking Care of Magical Creatures class. Instead, I taught him to see the creatures as a threat. I felt it was my duty as a parent." He sighed tiredly. "But as he got older, he became interested in my work. Against my better judgement, I let him join my cause before his fifth year."

[G. Novella]

"It was never your fault, you were trying to protect him. You weren't placing him in harm's way. He's safe now, wherever he is, and I bet he still supports you. He strived to support you then, he'll support you now," said Alice, squeezing Maxwell's hand.

[kumainpink]

Maxwell sighed. Though his mind wasn't at it's best, the conversation was starting to sober him up. He finally met Alice's eyes, as bright and honest as ever. Here he was, bothering her with his own problems, when she had her own troubles to deal with. He needed to shape up and stop moping about. "Thank you," he whispered, managing to smile at her.

[G. Novella]

"Don't thank me," she whispered as she met his eyes. "I'm only paying back a small bit of what you've done for me. I'll let you get some rest."

At this, Alice slowly moved her hand and started to get up.

[kumainpink]

On impulse, he reached for her hand as she started to get up. "Wait, I..." There were so many things he wanted to say to her. He wanted her to know that he was the one who owed her, that he would try to be strong for her; that he'd make himself worthy to be around her, but the words wouldn't come out. "Sleep well." he said instead. "I'll be headed to bed soon."

[G. Novella]

When Maxwell caught Alice's hand, she had turned in surprise. She saw the longing in his eyes, the pain. He seemed to struggle for a few minutes, before telling her to sleep well. Alice looked at him in worry, but nodded. She desperately wanted to do something to help him, but she wasn't sure what. She chose to simply hold his hand, her own thin fingers caressing his larger hand.

"If you need me, I'm in the room to the left of the stairs, just knock, I'm a light sleeper," she said softly, "Good night Maxwell."

[kumainpink]

Maxwell smiled at her. "Good night, Alice."

[G. Novella]

Dawn broke for Kampfa. He was up early, doing his regular routines. His battle-axe swung around him as he flexed it. His own frustrations were driving him wild. He needed to fight. He needed to pay humanity back for their sins. He wanted to wash them from the face of this planet. He placed his axe down as the early morning newspaper came in. It was time to see what new lies the Ministry of Magic was using.

His jaw dropped when he flipped open the newspaper to the front page. An entire article was written detailing what was called the first success of wars. The humans had attacked the magical creatures in the forest, decimating trees and evoking a barrier to keep them away from the school. Only the strongest creatures like phoenixes would pass through, and the school teachers were well-equipped to deal with them.

Kampfa roared in anger as he slammed the paper down. Only twenty pathetic Aurors had died! Twenty! What kind of number was that? What were those creatures doing? This was war! Death was unavoidable, annhilation could be plotted! His anger consumed him as he stared down at the humans, peacefully sleeping in their village. They were the source of pain, of war, of suffering. They had to be punished.

Immediately Kampfa grabbed his bag. He'd been packed for months now to make a getaway when the time came. All his weapons were stored in the bag, except his axe which he now threw in. His anger consumed him as he left the hut. He stared at the house a human family stayed in. It was similar to his own house, the house the humans had violated so long ago. Now they violated all creatures.

When the idea struck him, he felt his smile grow wide. Without even a second thought, he approached the house. Pulling out his silver dagger, he stepped into the house slowly, a sinister grin on his face. The humans hadn't any alarms. Their arogance, thinking they were wizards and could be safe.

He slowly crept into each room, and took the dagger to their throats. The wife had been the last he killed, she'd woken at her husband's struggle. The minute he'd told her the children were dead too, she'd dropped her wand, and he'd jumped on her. Within seconds, the entire family was dead.

He dragged their bodies outside the house, and then dropping a large white sheet from the balcony, he had left his message. The white sheet on the balcony had red letters spelling out a sentence. He left the house, his pleasure evident on his face.

"War has been announced."

[kumainpink]

Lucinda felt the force of the vow drag her along, until she found herself inside another cave. The glow of her fire lit it much better. It was a dank cave, which smelled of many things - none of them good. There was a sense of dread and darkness about the cave. Shuddering, Lucinda looked to the source of her visit. "Hello, sir." she said politely.

[G. Novella]

Kampfa jumped when a phoenix appeared in his new strong hold. He had been hiding here to avoid the wrath of humans. They would surely find the bodies, he had to stay away.

"Why are you here?" he demanded of the phoenix, keeping his beady black eyes focused on her in case she proved dangerous.

[kumainpink]

"I'm here because the vow I made has decided that I need to be." she answered truthfully. "My name is Lucinda." she bowed her head in politeness, as phoenix tradition mandated.

[G. Novella]

"A vow, you say?" he asked, "And what does this vow require of me? What is it that you want?"

[kumainpink]

"I made a vow in the Forbidden Forest a few days ago, a vow to protect magical creatures and help as many as possible survive the war." she told him, doing her best to ignore the strange vibe this cave gave off. "I will not ask you to do anything in particular, but would you mind if we talked for a moment?"

[G. Novella]

"We are talking, lady," he said politely, "So it was your failed wards that caused the forest to be destroyed? What is it you want with me now?"

[kumainpink]

Lucinda felt her heart sink at his response. Yes, it had been true...her barrier had failed. If only she could have held on a bit longer... she pushed the thought out of her mind. "I don't want anything with you, sir. I was wondering if you needed my assistance, because that was part of my vow."

[Nahara46]

Eleazar stared at the house much like Marigold was, "Oh hell, Indeed." he replied as he raised his wand as he began to approach the house.

[kumainpink]

Marigold shivered. Right away, the feeling of death and suffering seemed to exude from the house itself. "I think we should split up. We'll cover more ground that way."

[Nahara46]

He nodded, "I'll take the top floor, you take the main floor." He then reached the house, and opened the door, peering around it cautiously before stepping through, a lit wand held tightly in front of him.

[kumainpink]

Marigold was too wary to argue - even though she would have rather examined the top floor. She nodded, and they entered the house. Right away, there was an overwhelming stench of death. Not a good sign.

[G. Novella]

Jul 26, 2012 11:09:53 GMT -5 kumainpink said:

Lucinda felt her heart sink at his response. Yes, it had been true...her barrier had failed. If only she could have held on a bit longer... she pushed the thought out of her mind. "I don't want anything with you, sir. I was wondering if you needed my assistance, because that was part of my vow."

"I have need to reach this forest, lady," said Kampfa, "It is my firmest desire to help aid the fight with humans, we must retaliate before they decimate us all!"