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Tweak says, "Badger badger badger badger"

Leena Silton // Lyra Silvertongue (thelittleliar) wrote in expresslogs,
@ 2012-08-19 15:44:00

Entry tags:

!plot, {james potter, {lyra silvertongue

Who: Lyra and James Potter
What: maybe borrowing a baby, meeting the roommate.
Where: infirmary, then Lyra and James' room.
When: Sunday afternoon
Rating: low
Status: closed and complete!

Her curiosity had finally won over her, and she trooped to the infirmary to see if she recognised any of the babies that were left there. Maybe there would be a little Will! Or a little Lee! Her excitement built to a plateau as she pushed open the door to the infirmary, cautiously peeking about. There was one baby, and Lyra wrinkled her nose as she approached.

"Cleopatra," Lyra read, frowning. "Pan, why is that familiar?"

Pan, who had been by her feet, jumped up next to the baby to look her over. It wasn't coming to him either. She was about to turn away when it hit her, "That awful girl who is going to rot in the land of the dead forever, this was hers."

Well, Lyra wasn't going to let that stand. Whatever influence Quinn had on her needed to be undone, and fast. "We'll teach her all about the Republic of Heaven, Pan," Lyra said, making up her mind. She carefully picked up the infant, cooing at her. Never mind that she didn't have a room to stay in - she might go back and kick that James Potter out of it. Or drive him out. Either way, she was going to make sure that Cleopatra turned out right.

She turned to leave, grabbing a blanket as she did. The lack of a daemon bothered her far more than she would ever admit, but she would still be alright, right? She looked to Pan for assurance, who nodded. She was nearly out the door, when she realised writing a note, and probably snagging a bottle would be a good thing. She scrawled off a hastily written note, leaving her room number and explaining she had the baby, then grabbed several bottles of formula and set off.

Getting back to the room was a bit more difficult, as Cleo started to cry, and Lyra tried her hardest to shush her, nearly crying herself. It wasn't fair - this tiny helpless infant didn't have a daemon to comfort her! She must be so sad and scared and lonely. She didn't even have to ask Pan; he jumped to her shoulder, then carefully nuzzled the baby, keeping her quiet. Lyra's insides twisted, her stomach tingling. It was shocking to feel Pan interact with someone else, even if was an infant. But it was for the good of the baby, and Lyra soldiered on, fumbling with her door handle, and finally, after a good few weeks of kipping in one of the parlour cars, returning to her room.

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thelittleliar
2012-08-22 11:37 pm UTC (link)

Lyra watched, fascinated as he used his wandstickiethingie and cleaned the room. Not even the witches she knew could do that. It was highly peculiar how he could manipulate reality.

"Have you ever found another world with ... that?" she asked, curiousity getting the better of her.

"And this infant was found by a horrible girl who shouldn't have had her in the first place, which is why the train sent her away. Or killed her and she's stuck in the land of the dead forever because she's -"

The baby stirred, and let out a cry, and Lyra stopped her rant on Quinn to sit down on the sofa (she wasn't going near the bed) and put Cleo gently down next to her. She rolled over, sighed contentedly, and went back to sleep. Pan stayed on her shoulders, never taking his eyes off James while Lyra fussed over the baby.

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mapmaker
2012-08-23 12:12 am UTC (link)

"Another world?" James considered, trying to determine what she might mean by that when she went on to describe, fairly graphically, how she'd come to acquire the baby she had.

There really wasn't much like the train in his experience. Magic was one thing; the world of the Orient was completely random which was an entirely different thing. James had never been a stickler for the rules, but he was beginning to appreciate them a bit more now that they all seem to have flown right out the proverbial window on him.

He watched the girl tend to the infant as if she really cared whether the baby were sad or hurt or crying. It was oddly fascinating to him as he really hadn't been around many babies in his life. James found infants terrifying on the whole and was quite glad to stay on his side of the room far, far away from her and the tiny girl. They'd told him that he had a son on board the train; that had him wondering if he got over that fear and how that came about or if maybe Lily simply charmed the whole house to make it infant-proof.

As it stood, James couldn't imagine a world in which he was actually a father.

"No, I've never discovered another world. I wound up here without any discovering necessary. You seem quite fine with her. I suppose it's a good thing the train, err, sent away the one who found her originally, as you're doing a bang-up job as far as I can tell. I can't understand them myself. They're too small. I'm always worried they'll get hurt or something because I'm not the most careful of fellows. You really don't mind having her?"

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thelittleliar
2012-08-24 05:07 pm UTC (link)

She supposed not. So the wands were limited. Still. Curious that they held so much potential. Even Pan was concerned, digging his claws into her shoulder tightly.

Once she was sure the baby was really sleeping, she stood and brushed off her hands. "Right, I don't mind at all. If you're not going to be careful, don't go near her. At all." Her tone was sharp and she glared at him.

Why did Rory have to show up and take Amy from her? She wasn't even this resentful of boys normally, the train just had her missing Will - and it was nobody but Will, ever.

"You don't have any other wand people to stay with?"

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mapmaker
2012-08-25 07:30 pm UTC (link)

There was no intention in James at all to go near that infant. He thought it was likely she'd come to harm if he even got too close because that felt like the sort of luck he'd had of late. It seemed a safer bet to stay on his own side of the room from her.

Holding his hands up, James agreed instantly, "Oh no worries there. I'm quite happy over here. Far from her. I've had tremendously poor luck of late. I don't want to spread that around to helpless infants."

Did he have other wand people to stay with? That was a loaded question if he'd ever heard one. The girl he'd thought to be with for possibly ever was aboard, yet with another wizard. His best mate was aboard yet he was in a room with some bird neither of them had ever heard of before. The other "wand people" were from different time periods or other types of worlds and he simply had no clue as to where that left him with them.

"No," he decided, "I don't think that I'd say I have other people from my world to stay with though I suppose I could find a place to be if it'd make you more comfortable. I'm not above trying my hand at making a place for myself aboard."

There were cars that simply held seats to travel in and areas that people could do nothing more than sit quietly. James didn't imagine people would mind if he made himself a place to be in one of those areas. He could always transfigure a chair a bench into a divan.

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thelittleliar
2012-08-27 05:13 am UTC (link)

"Good," Lyra said, pleased for the first time during the conversation. She liked that James Potter was so readily accepting of her asserting dominance over her room.

She nodded, "I've been living in one of the parlour cars, it's certainly manageable. Since you seem to have poor luck, I wouldn't want that extending to Cleo here."

Though it did make her wonder - "Why are you having such bad luck?" Which was quite possibly the kindest thing she'd said to James Potter so far.

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mapmaker
2012-08-27 08:07 am UTC (link)

Why was he having poor luck?

James turned the question around in his head a few times, testing it out, feeling the way it rolled over all the thoughts in his head to coat them in bitterness and regret and hateful feelings that churned in his stomach. He rolled off the bed suddenly, his feet nearly itching to get out of the door, away from that baby the girl had brought in and the questions he didn't even want to think about the answers to much less get asked.

There was nothing good to come of staying.

He looked at her and bluntly stated, "I'm not certain why my luck's gone all wrong myself. I'd like to know why and, as it appears this train has no respect for time, I'm thinking I might manage to do something about it if someone would enlighten me as to what I did or will do to wind up here, now, and in this mess."

Sirius had to be around somewhere. The only thing James really needed to pull out of the room was Peter's wand, but he did a quick look around to see if he'd left anything out from before. It all looked well enough, he supposed.

"If you find out what supposed sin I'm atoning for? Be a dear and share that information with me. I hope you and---and Cleo there sleep well. I'm off to find a place out of the way to do some of that myself. Lovely to meet you," James offered before giving her a nod in farewell as he ventured out the door in search of a bench that looked as if it could use a good transfiguration.

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thelittleliar
2012-08-28 10:03 pm UTC (link)

Lyra blinked as the man quickly left. She had been trying to be nice with the question.

She stared at the door as he left, then back at the sleeping Cleo.

"Well, Pan," she murmured. "We've got our room back. When do you reckon he'll be back?"

The little pine parten hopped off her shoulder in response, sniffing at the bed, the door, the sofa where Cleo slept. He had no answer for Lyra.

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