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Tweak says, "Hello Tai"

Belle (loves_abeast) wrote in expresslogs,
@ 2012-08-12 08:46:00

Entry tags:

!open, !plot, {belle, {luna lovegood

Who: Belle (with tiny Vlad the Impaler) and Open (!dice if wanted)
What: Finding food for Vlad
Where: Back kitchen
When: Sunday morning
Ratings/warnings: Extremely doubtful? Will update if necessary
Status: Open/ongoing

After the initial shock had worn off, Belle had taken to caring for Vlad much quicker than even she would have expected. But then again, it had been necessary. There were certainly going to be enough people dropping their unexpected charges off in the infirmary that adding to the load seemed downright ridiculous if there was any alternative. And even if he was the more knowledgeable of the two of them (and if her heartstrings twisted at the sight of the child, Belle was loathe to ask how his were holding up), it just wasn't fair to expect Rum to take on much what with his cane. Or at least that was what Belle had told herself yesterday as she'd pulled herself together in short order and took Vlad into her own arms.

She was trying not to think about how right that weight felt, or the way her heart kept jumping when he'd babble or pull at the front of her dress or some other incredibly mundane thing. And she was most definitely trying not to think about the possibility that woman, Glinda, had raised--that these children might stay.

No, right now she was trying only to think about getting breakfast for Vlad and possibly herself. He had a couple of teeth well in and (as the multiple bite marks she already sported proved) was fairly proficient in using them, so she didn't have to go asking for the formula people had been finding. Which actually left her fumbling a bit more, given that the babies she'd watched before had been so much younger and, she thought, a great deal simpler to manage. At the very least, they didn't weigh quite so much and weren't nearly as difficult to hold with one arm while the other went through the pantry.

Still, in spite of the awkwardness, Belle was smiling as she held Vlad against her hip, talking to him cheerfully as she turned over boxes. "How do you feel about oatmeal, Vlad?"

In response, Vlad grabbed a lock of her hair and stuck it in his mouth. Belle giggled, gently prying his fingers away, "No, I'm not very fond of it either, but I don't think my hair's much better," she said, letting herself gaze at his face for a long moment before she went back to the task at hand. It was quite difficult, right then, to imagine the bright-eyed child in her arms would grow up to be a man many considered a monster.

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loves_abeast
2012-08-12 08:02 pm UTC (link)

Belle turned over her shoulder, smiling at the stranger.

"Oh, would you? I'd appreciate it very much. I'm afraid I'm not used to handling babies who are so big," the last word was said more to Vlad than the woman, a little higher and teasing. She couldn't resist tapping his nose with one finger, her own face crinkling when he gave a toothless grin. Then she looked back to the woman, shifting her hold on Vlad to better hand him off.

"He's Vlad. And I'm Belle. It's a pleasure to meet you--?" she paused, one brow raised as she held Vlad out.

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boxofcrayolas
2012-08-12 08:58 pm UTC (link)

"I'm Luna," Luna said dreamily, taking the little infant in her arms. "They do get big so fast," she said fondly, nuzzling noses with Vlad.

Her heart ached for her two babies, and she wondered why they weren't allowed on the train. Why so many other families she knew got to be together. Harry had his whole family again, it seemed, and Tonks was here, and Remus was here, she wondered if Teddy would be coming along shortly.

Even Rolf would be a relief right now, but she tried not to let that sadness haunt her as she focused on the baby she did have with her. "Ohh, Vlad. What a good strong name for a good strong boy. Great ruler, yes, you will be, won't you, little one, won't you?"

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loves_abeast
2012-08-13 05:17 am UTC (link)

Belle grinned. "Delighted to meet you, Luna." Once her arms were free, she reached up (having to stand on her toes to do so) and got the box down.

"I'd read a little about him, before he arrived," she said conversationally as she started cooking. "We hadn't anyone by that name where I'm from, though. Actually, from the sounds of it, none of the children are from my realm," she shrugged, then paused as she thought about the way Luna held and spoke to Vlad.

"You've children, don't you? Back home?" Belle felt a bit of worry the second the words were out of her mouth. She hoped she wasn't rubbing salt in any wounds like Rum's, that they were just separated by the train and not something else.

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boxofcrayolas
2012-08-13 05:31 am UTC (link)

If Luna had her wand, she could have snagged the box. But she didn't have her wand. Her wand was at home, on the night-table, next to Rolf's, just down the hall from the boys' room. "I know the name, but I don't know anyone with it," Luna admitted. "He could be from my realm, he might not be. I had heard Godric Gryffindor was on board, he's from my realm."

At the question, Luna broke into a proud smile, "Lorcan and Lysander. They've just turned five. I remember when they were just this tiny, so tiny." Luna nuzzled with Vlad again, smiling when he grabbed her hair. "I do miss them, but I know Rolf is looking after them. We are gone a lot already, I just am glad I got to see their birthday before coming here."

Luna was, as always, ever the optimist.

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loves_abeast
2012-08-13 08:20 am UTC (link)

"Oh, those are lovely names," Belle said, grinning briefly as she set a pot with water on the stove,

"I imagine it must be very difficult for you, to be separated from them without being able to prepare for it first. But at least they won't know you've been gone when you return, if what people say is true."

She frowned a little, "I hope it's the same for these children, since their arrival seems different from our own. I hope their parents won't find them lost and be worried about them. I'd feel awfully terrible about enjoying this if that were the case."

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goddamn notifs

boxofcrayolas
2012-08-19 01:51 am UTC (link)

"Thank you, Rolf and I wanted to give them names that matter," Luna said, with a serene smile. "Like little Vlad here. Good name that matters."

She pondered what Belle had said. "To have them think I'd never left and share an adventure of my travels seems cruel. They shouldn't think I'm making it all up." She smiled, "I think you should enjoy it. I think were my kids disappeared, I'd be comforting knowing they were well-cared for and having an enjoyable time. I would, of course, be worried about them, and sad I couldn't share their joy with them. But that is better than thinking of the opposite."

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Re: goddamn notifs

loves_abeast
2012-08-20 03:04 am UTC (link)

Belle smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I suppose that's true. I hope I'm doing a job his mother would approve of. My--beloved knows far more about children than I do, so I hope together we won't blunder too badly,"

She sighed while she started to stir. "I just feel--strange about it. This is probably the only time I'll properly watch a child this old, and unless the train's brought them all on like it has us, which I sincerely doubt..." she bit her lip for a moment, shrugging.

"I'm just worried I'll get attached and end up hurting myself, I suppose. But then it wouldn't do to not talk to him or coddle him a bit while he's here far away from everyone he knows."

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	boxofcrayolas 2012-08-22 09:06 pm UTC (link)
	Luna smiled wistfully. "I think they'll remember, no matter where they are. The mind remembers amazing things." She crinkled her nose curiously, "Oh, are you a caregiver - how nice. What happens to the babies that you only keep them for such a short time? How cruel to sever those bonds." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

loves_abeast
2012-08-22 10:03 pm UTC (link)

Belle thought of how Rum had held onto her cup, all those years, even though he'd not remembered her and smiled a little herself. "That it does."

She paused, grateful that the cooking was a reasonable distraction, because she knew how this often went. But this woman didn't know she was, apparently--or, more accurately, who she was connected to. She cleared her throat, shoving back a bit of her hair. "In my home, for a time I was the housekeeper of someone who rehomed children who were not wanted by their parents, for various reasons. I only watched them until he could find them sound homes," she pressed her lips together, trying not to think of how hard that really had been. "It wasn't easy to let them go, but I knew they'd be going to parents who would love and cherish them, so it was worth whatever--distress it might have caused me."

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boxofcrayolas
2012-08-24 10:32 pm UTC (link)

"I could never!" Luna exclaimed, eyes growing wide. "Oh, to give up a little babe that I'd loved? You're a very brave woman."

It was really fascinating, the different sorts of people who had arrived on the train. Luna only wished that Rolf could be among them, to share in her delight. It was not to be so, however, at least not for the moment, so Luna tried to stay focused in the present.

"I do hope the little ones stay on. I think they bring such light to the train."

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loves_abeast
2012-08-25 03:52 am UTC (link)

Belle couldn't help grinning at the word 'brave'. "It was...all part of a deal I'd made, to help the people I cared for. Any hurt I felt was worth it."

She froze for just a moment, in reaching for a bowl, when she thought of Vlad staying with them. Of raising him, as it were, with Rum. She pressed her lips together, nodding slowly. "Yes, that would be nice. Maybe that's why the train brought them all here. So we could...have some greater impact on the people they'll be, later." She turned around then, smiling at Vlad. "After all, I think I've done a fairly good job without having all the time to prepare one normally does for a child, haven't I Vlad?" she touched her tongue to her teeth, something she'd found quite quickly made him giggle, then turned back to the stove before he or Luna could notice her eyes were a little damp.

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boxofcrayolas
2012-08-27 05:16 am UTC (link)

That's wonderful," Luna murmured. She stroked Vlad's cheek lovingly, "You have such a good train mommy," she told the infant. "She's going to take great care of you, little wonderful warrior Vlad.

She smiled when Vlad laughed, though she was perceptive enough to notice that her companion was saddened by this. She left Belle to her thoughts, not one to intrude at all. She'd wait for Belle to want to speak again. In the meantime, she had a little one to play with.

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loves_abeast
2012-09-01 02:43 am UTC (link)

Belle bit her lip to keep back a wince at being called 'mommy'. She wasn't his mother, not in anyway, no more than she'd been a mother to the children she'd tended in the Dark Castle. She knew she didn't love him as Rum loved his son, that much was certain. She'd never know that love, even if she did love, and she knew she couldn't give Vlad what his own mother would have in that regard.

But she knew she loved him, because her heart wouldn't let her do otherwise. She loved easily, which she knew was a blessing and curse. It meant she could forgive Rum his sins, even the darkest--but it also meant that when he failed again, as he would, she hurt that much deeper. It also meant that when the train forced them apart--as it would take Vlad--it might just tear her apart.

She was smiling when she turned back to Luna though with the bowl in her hand, truly touched by the praise. "Thank you. Coming from someone who is really a mother, your confidence is very touching."

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