Who: Njall Strand-Weissman & Ronan Hale, with guest appearance by Felix Strand-Weissman What: Getting to know you. Getting to know all about you When: Sunday, 8 September 2019 | Afternoon Where: Randolph Park, Snowcap. Warnings: some sibling feels
It had been two weeks since she'd last been at the park, and this time around was at least expected to go better—or at least she really hoped so. Ronan had all but literally jumped at the chance when Njall had messaged her to apologise, and said he was wanting to get to know her. It was exactly what she'd been wanting ever since she learnt about her brother more so when she learnt she'd somehow ended up in the same place as him. And what she'd wanted the last time they were at the park but that had gone kind of spectacularly wrong; with the only benefit being that Njall had confirmed that her dad and his were definitely one and the same.
Ronan stopped suddenly having realised that telling Njall all about herself would mean telling him why it was she was in Snowcap of all places. She kind of wasn't wanting to let him know what a big failure she was. But she couldn't chicken out now that he seemed receptive to wanting to know her, and so she took a deep breath and continued onwards. Soon she spotted Njall, and walked over after taking a couple more calming breaths. "Hey," she greeted cheerfully. "I'm not late at all, am I?"
Leaning up from the complicated convertible stroller contraption that currently housed the baby carrier in which his infant daughter was currently strapped, Njall offered the young woman who was suddenly his half-sister a smile in return. It was vaguely unsettling to see her again, but he was able to recognize that this was all on him. Several rather in-depth talks had lead him to examine their first disastrous meeting and to take personal responsibility for the shit storm it had become. "No, not at all. We were just out early to try to enjoy the last of the mild days."
In the carrier, his daughter let out a little burbling noise, and he laughed. "Yes, yes, you're quite right. It's incredibly rude of me not to introduce you." Njall beckoned her closer. "Zarya, this is your Aunt Ronan. Aunt Ronan, this is the best baby in all the world, Zarya."
Her eye was immediately drawn to the carrier where her new, and only, niece was currently ensconced. "Yeah, I imagine there can’t be too many of them left what with it being Fall now."
Ronan couldn’t keep the smile off her face at the way Njall conversed with his daughter. It was pretty adorable. Stepping closer she finally got a better look at Zarya. While she might only be a month old she was pretty cute like most babies were. Though her brother’s introduction brought her up short, and she stared at him a moment. It was another beat before she made herself finally speak. "Hey there, Zarya," she murmured, reaching out to gently brush her fingers against her niece’s tiny ones. "I think your dad is maybe a little biased but I think we can let that slide, huh?"
"Guess I ought to offer my congratulations however belated they are—so congratulations," she said, smiling up at him, after moments of staring down at her baby niece. "And, y’know, thank you for letting me meet her. Kind of funny really, since I haven’t even met my own cousin’s baby yet, and he was born a few months ago, but then they live on the East Coast and I’ve been... um here. Um, anyway... I’m sure you must have questions? So, uh, go ahead."
Njall scoffed, but his eyes danced with open amusement. "Biased? I'll have you know that this is cold hard fact. The best baby. And then she'll be the best toddler, followed by the best kid, and then the best pre-teen, and, y'know what, I'm just gonna stop now before I make myself sad." He laughed and began undoing the straps that would free her to be easily picked up. "Sometimes I think about all the years ahead of her, and it seems so endless. But it's been a month, and I can hardly believe that it wasn't just yesterday."
Ronan chuckled. "Of course it is. How could it possibly be anything else?" It was on the tip of her tongue to just casually throw it out there that her dad had apparently been the same way—or at least according to her aunts and uncles he had been. Though knowing how painful it would probably be to hear that, she'd managed to stop herself before she'd even made so much as a stammer. It definitely wasn't going to be easy not mentioning someone who'd been, and still was, such a big part of her life but she had to at least try. She really wanted this second chance to go well. "Think that in eighteen years it'll be the reverse and you're wondering where all the time went instead?"
"Oh, of that I have no doubt. But I want her to enjoy every second. And me too. It's the peril of being a parent. You don't want the time to pass too fast, but you want your child to get experience all the ups and downs that come with a life well lived." Njall shrugged, and his smile was fond as he looked down at Zarya again. "But I'm also really new to this, so there's a better than good chance that I'm just making it up as I go."
"Well, you seem to be doing a pretty alright job of it," she commented, reaching out and playing with Zarya's tiny little fingers again. "Even if you're making it up as you go."
Rather than lifting Zarya out just yet, he put his hand on her stomach to secure her while she wiggled, kicking and waving her little fists at the air. He looked up at Ronan, noting her nervous energy, and felt bad all over again for being the one that put it there between them. There was at least a part of her family that wasn't a potential emotional mine field, and he jumped back on it. "Your cousin? On your mom's side, I'm guessing. How many do you have? Do you have a big family?" The questions kind of tumbled out of him, and he tried do hard to ignore the ache in his chest as he thought about growing up with just his mother and the scattered people that flowed in and out of his life as they moved around. Like she'd been running from something. "Have you always lived in California? I was up in Washington for the last part of school, and started my career there. Kind of popped back and forth between coasts, after that, but I did a few years in California before I came here."
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, on my mum's side," she responded distractedly, and looked up from watching Zarya. "Well, I guess it's kind of big? I've only got eight cousins. There's Uncle James, Mum's older brother, and Aunt Maria's three girls—their youngest is the one who gave birth a few months ago, then Uncle Nick and Aunt Eva who have two boys and a girl, and their younger sister, my Aunt Olivia, has a boy and a girl—although we usually only see them when everyone goes to the yearly family get together. Though considering how Mum and Aunt Olivia get along most of the time that's probably a good thing really—because they do not get along at all." Chattering on about her family as she did she nearly automatically responded to the question about California before wondering how it was Njall knew... and she could've slapped herself when she remembered she'd posted a photo of Big Sur on Wizgram just the other day so of course he'd know about California. "Yeah. I mean, aside from school it's pretty much been the only place I've ever lived up until now actually. And speaking of Washington, it's where I went to school too before I moved back to Monterey."
When Njall laughed, it wasn't unkind. "I'm really hoping there's not gonna be a quiz later on your family tree. Maybe if you give me a couple of hours and a chart, I could do all right, but I didn't really come prepared to take notes." He waved his free hand, dismissive to his own silliness. "Don't worry, I won't retaliate with tales of my distant relations in Ólafsfjörður—that's in Iceland, but you, ah, probably already know that. I really only sort of connected with them when Mom died late this past year, so I wouldn't say we've ever been close enough for me to recount their comings and goings and the number of kids they had." Zarya chose that moment to make a little fuss, so Njall paused to scoop her out and deposited her neatly into his arms. Cradling her in the crook of his elbow, he angled himself so she could clearly see Ronan and the rest of the park. "And what did Auntie Ronan do after school?"
"There are definitely no pop quizzes in your future, but if there were I'd maybe think about letting you take notes first," she reassured him, giving a small wink. "Ok, I do know but, to be honest, I'm still no better at pronouncing it now then I was when I first heard about it. Still whether distant relations feature or not, I'd still kind of like to hear about it from you though. If you wanted to talk about it that is. Because you don't have to if you don't want to."
Given that he'd done his own homework on his brand new half-sister, Njall couldn't bring himself to be remotely upset that she had done the same. He, however, was a little less than inclined at the moment to engage in storytime on his own, not the least of which that it heavily featured he-who-would-not-be-discussed-for-the-moment. "It's a long story. Maybe one for another time."
Only in Ronan's case it hadn't so much been that she'd done her own homework as it had been hearing about it from their dad. Only she couldn't very well mention that knowing how Njall felt. "Fair enough."
Ronan couldn't help smiling fondly as she watched her brother and niece. They really were adorable together. Looking at Zarya, if she really looked, kind of reminded her of when she was at the beach as a kid during Summer on a bright sunny day watching as the waves played and splashed at the shore. It was easy enough to see how little Zarya's was an extension of her daddy's—even if looking at her brother was like going a little further out to where the water was still making waves just a whole lot calmer but it was the sliver of darkness running deep that made her sad as she got a sense of what was there. Instinctively she reached up to hold the pendant hanging around her neck, her thumb rubbing over the tiny carved piece, bringing herself back to the present (even if it had barely been a moment). "You mean you didn't go looking me up to find out all about me after our last trip to the park?" she jokingly asked.
"Oh, no. I googled the crap out of you, but I did you the courtesy of not going past the first page." He laughed and shifted Zarya a little in his arms. Her dark eyes tracked Ronan's face, just like her dad, although his was more because he'd felt her reach out with that sense that they shared. There were similarities there, but he drew back from a deeper examination. It felt intrusive somehow or, worse, like he'd feel him in there. He smiled again, knowingly. She was being evasive, which was curious. "Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage."
"I suppose I can't blame you for that. I'd have done the same if I'd been in your shoes," she said, smiling laughingly. "I'd like to think I'd show the same restraint but I've always been a curious thing — even if it's usually had more of a medical bent to it." Like discovering how she could use what abilities she had as a half-Selkie to help when it came to healing people, and even now when she wasn't actually practicing she still tried to keep herself apprised of any new methods. Ronan blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
Njall had glanced down at Zarya, but heard the confusion in her voice, which sparked his own. He blinked at her for a moment. "The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, are of imagination all compact." This made him frown, as he listened to the words coming out of his mouth. "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." That… was not at all what he'd been thinking. He opened his mouth, then closed it before he tried again slowly. "O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!"
He'd had a Shakespeare kick growing up, and had read nearly everything in the Folio. But he was absolutely not meaning to regurgitate a few random quotes while he tried to get to know his surprise family. Njall stared around him; he felt fine and was thinking clearly. Except he could only use the Bard to communicate, which did no good when everything he said was completely, well, random. His jaw worked as he shut his eyes and bit out, "Where every something, being blent together turns to a wild of nothing."
Her own familiarity with Shakespeare was limited at best. It was easy enough to recognise the words as coming from something that Shakespeare had written. Though her ability to interpret what Njall was actually meaning to say was certainly lacking. At the moment the only bright side she even saw to it all was that at least neither of them were arguing or yelling at the other like the last time. "Okay, I'm definitely not at all understanding what you're trying to say but I'm kind of hoping that you're saying nothing bad," she said after a long moment of having tried to decipher what her brother was trying to say.
Ronan was wracking her brain trying to figure out how to help. "If this were a heart issue or some other physical malady I might be able to do something but not... whatever this is," she muttered, more to herself as she thought aloud. "Uh, hey, so just nod or shake your head, cause I'm not nearly as familiar with Shakespeare as you appear to be that I'll understand even half of what you're meaning, but are you like otherwise physically okay?"
It was really only the presence of his daughter nestled in his arms that was keeping Njall from full blown panic. He took a deep, shaking breath, nearly gulping in the air, but still managed a nod. His phone was in his pocket, but he was afraid to move. Leaning in, he tried to put as much urgency as he could into telling her to call his husband or Zarya's mother. "They have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps."
Though she hadn't understood his intention at all Ronan still could've slapped herself when she thought of calling Felix. While he might not necessarily be able to do anything it would be a calming and more familiar presence than her own. Getting out her phone she quickly dialled the number for the Reserve as she didn't actually have Felix's number. "Yes yes, afternoon. Could you put me through to Felix Strand-Weissman please?" Ronan reached out to put a comforting hand on Njall's arm. They might still be getting to know each other, and such a gesture might not be as comforting as she thought but she was worried. "Pardon? No... I mean, yes I understand he's obviously very busy being the deputy head," she said, pinching at the bridge of her nose and trying not to metaphorically bite the head off of the voice at the other end.
"Look I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important! Fine. Just get a message to him saying Ronan Hale called, and that it's a family emergency, and could he come to Randolph Park immediately, please?" she barked frustratedly. "Thank you. You have a nice day too."
Ronan sighed. "Well, I'm pretty sure if I ever set foot on the Reserve I've already got one less potential friend after that phone call. But Felix should be on the way soon if she actually passes on the message." At least he was sitting somewhat comfortably, which made her just a tiny bit less worried about Zarya's safety if her brother did suddenly go into a full-on panic. "If not then I'll just have to apparate there myself and track him down."
Pulling Zarya a little closer to him, Njall could do little more than simply nod shallowly. "On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures."
Irony abounded there, but it hadn't been the simple words of thanks that he'd meant. Ever astute and decidedly influenced by both her parents' and uncle's moods, his daughter scrunched up her face, building herself up to quite the displeased fuss. Guilt dropped heavily in his stomach, and he looked from Ronan to the carrier and then back again before bouncing Zarya in his arms, trying to say what words frustratingly refused to. "I never see thy face but I think upon hell-fire."
Ronan tried to mask the tiny little snort of amusement that escaped though not particularly successful. Still while she had no idea what was causing Njall to only speak lines from Shakespeare's works she did at least understand, or thought she did, what it was he'd been trying to say there and gave him a warm smile in return.
If it hadn't been for his not at all subtle looks she might've felt the teensiest bit affronted at what her brother had just said. "Okay, you either want me to get the carrier for you orrr..." Well, that didn't make a whole lot of sense since it was kind of right there more or less in front of him, and he could easily just put Zarya down himself. Unless... Ohhh. "Okay. Guess it's time for Auntie Ronan to have a quick cuddle with little Zarya before putting her down," she murmured. Not that she was actually worried but, well, it had been a while since she'd actually last held a baby.
Ronan held her arms out appropriately, and a moment later she was holding her tiny niece. She gave her brother a reassuring smile before looking down into Zarya's eyes. "Well, now, I think I can see why your daddy sings such high praise about you."
Felix didn't usually go into the offices on weekends if he could help it, especially since Zarya's arrival, but he'd made an exception today simply because he wanted to get ahead on a few things. It had been a busy week, with a bunch of staff meetings taking up the time he would have usually devoted to the department. He hoped it wouldn't become a regular thing and had specifically told his assistant that he didn't want anyone outside of his family disturbing him. So when she brought him a message from Ronan Hale, he might have been tempted to rip it up—except that he knew Njall was meeting with her today.
Paperwork could wait. He'd barely remembered to grab his bag before he'd rushed out of the building and apparated to Randolph Park. He wasn't terribly familiar with the place, but it was small enough that he found them without much difficulty. "What's wrong?" he asked, brow burrowed as he looked between them, checking for some sign of something. Zarya looked like she was in one of those mood midpoints where it could go either way, Njall was seated and frowning, and Ronan was standing and smiling...but none of them looked like they were in any particular trouble. "My assistant said it was an emergency."
While having Zarya out of his hands while he tried to figure out whatever the fuck was wrong with him was exactly what he'd wanted Ronan to do, having her away just opened up a new kind of ache inside him through which he finally let some of the panic he'd been holding at bay. With magic going insane all over the place, there was no telling what was happening now or how much worse it could possibly get. Fortunately, Felix arrived almost as soon as Zarya was secure in her carrier again, but something compelled Njall to stay right where he was. He put out his hand to his husband, the gesture a desperate one. "As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport."
"What the fuck?" Felix didn't try to hold back the exclamation or his confused expression. Njall was not the sort who would speak in riddles, and especially in a situation like this where his daughter was present. He moved closer, reaching for the man's hand, but three steps away he froze in place, his eyes going wide.
Something pulled at him. It had been too subtle for him to feel at first, to even realize it was happening, but this close he couldn't miss it. He knew that sucking feeling, that sense that his magic was weighing down his body, making it difficult to move. His eyes flicked downward. He might have doubted his eyes and the shadowplay under the bench where Njall was seated if he hadn't known exactly what he was looking for. "Get her back," he said over his shoulder, voice sharp and harsh. "Watch the ground. Do not go anywhere near black spots like that one." He pointed to the spot under Njall.
"Relax, love." He tried to breathe evenly, despite that nearly overwhelming heaviness rolling over him. "Don't fight me, all right?" Another deep breath and he rushed forward, grabbing Njall's hand with both of his and pulling as hard as he could without jerking the man's shoulder out of socket. He leaned back as he did it, then let his feet follow the momentum, getting them both several steps away from the spot before he relented.
Njall had given Felix the answer before she could even form the words to explain—not that she'd had the faintest idea of what was going on. And when Felix practically ordered her to get Zarya further back—which she quickly complied with—she became increasingly worried but even as he explained to stay away from the black spots she still didn't feel any less out of the dark than before. "Is he going to be alright? And care to explain to the totally clueless one here what's going on, and what the heck the black spots are?" she asked, her voice tinged with worry. "Why'd it only affect Njall, and not me too?"
There was a moment where he nearly wasn't tugged free. It had felt like something had grabbed hold of his heel and refused to let it go. The sudden fear that stabbed through him was enough to rob him of the air needed to even cry out, and he staggered straight into Felix's arms. And now that he was away from the black soil's influence, Njall started to feel, well, normal. Ish. His head began to swim at once, and he sagged against his husband. "Takk fyrir. Þetta var virkilega helvíti. Ertu—" Njall broke off, blinking. He went on slowly, carefully. "Ég tala ekki ensku. Fjandinn."
At first she didn't think anything of hearing him speak Icelandic, she just thought Njall was trying to talk privately with his husband, and so she contented herself to looking at Zarya since she couldn't actually give them much privacy without actually leaving them all. However, her head shot up when she recognised the words for English and the cursing. The language was probably one of the very few things her dad hadn't really felt like teaching her; maybe too much of a reminder of the past or something. "Shouldn't he be okay now? Why's he stuck speaking Icelandic?" she asked, and then realised how it sounded. "I mean, I know he can but I'm getting the impression he's not meaning to."
Felix wrapped his arms around Njall and continued to inch backwards toward Zarya and away from the ugly black patch. His face was still screwed up in confusion, but at least now he was getting some actual communication rather than the riddle of verse. His Icelandic still wasn't great, but it was enough to figure out the bits he didn't quite catch. "But you can still understand me?" he asked, leaning back just enough to get a look at Njall's face, in case the physical response was more telling. "I want to get you home and see if this fades with distance."
He hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave the spot exposed for anyone else to stumble across. Zarya started to fuss, though, and that decided him. Without letting go of his husband entirely, Felix pulled his wand and tossed a shield charm in the direction of spot. He'd need to get a team out here to quarantine it properly, but right now his family was his priority. "We're leaving," he said to Ronan, once again only acknowledging her passively. Maybe later he'd feel bad about it, but he was too worried to pay her much attention. "I recommend you do the same."
After a quick kiss to Njall's brow, he stepped over to the baby and scooped her out of the carrier, cuddling her against his shoulder. "You're all right, love," he said, voice matter-of-fact as he gently patted her back. "And Dad's all right. We're going home now."
Ronan got that Felix was worried, and rightly so, about and for Njall and all, but being practically dismissed in such a summarily manner still kind of hurt; and then there was the fact no one was really giving her any answers (even though njall couldn't very well do that, obviously), she wasn;t being asked to help—even if she didn't have the slightest idea of how to do that—or to even tag along with them... "I... um... Sure, I can do that," she mumbled.
Looking over at Ronan, Njall gave her a genuinely contrite smile that wobbled a bit around the edges while his amazing husband secured Zarya. "Fyrirgefðu," he muttered, and then shoved shaking fingers through his hair as he gave a wry laugh. "Það virðist eins og örlög haldi öðrum áætlunum fyrir okkur."
Ronan managed to give a small smile in return. While her understanding of Icelandic was poor at best she could at least infer that Njall was trying to apologise — unless she was completely misreading his tone.
With his hands finally free, he pulled out his phone and dashed off a quick, if ridiculous DM to Ronan's Wizgram account. Fortunately, this one went through in the perfect English of his thoughts. Let's try this again when the world stops conspiring against us. And stay out of this park. If you find anymore of these black patches of soil around town, let me or Felix or Reserve security know immediately. Please watch out for yourself, and thank you for helping me with Zarya.
Naturally she wondered what he could possibly be wanting to type out, and got the answer moments later after her phone trilled and she checked her notifications. "Hey, at least this time we didn't start yelling at each other — that's a plus, right?" she joked, not feeling nearly so despondent about the situation now. "No problem, I'm just glad you're letting me get to know both her and yourself. And don't worry, I'll be careful, promise. Next time let's try the diner or somewhere else, okay? Anyway, I should let you all get home, and I hope you're better soon."
The thumbs up that Njall gave her in return felt awkward and all wrong. Rather than that be the last thing they parted with, he darted in and gave her a brief, but heartfelt hug before joining Felix again and sagging gratefully into his side. He was barely keeping himself upright at this point, but it was important to him that she knew that he was genuine in his desire to connect with her. Now, however, he just wanted to get the hell gone and figure out what the fuck was happening with the speech centers in his head. To Felix, he quietly said, "Förum heim, elskan."