Re: cottage; ren & adrian
Letting go of his hatred for Sue had taken a long time. That short time when Sue and Newt had still been seeing each other, but Adrian had not, that hadn't helped. But the mutual animosity had gotten better over time, and they did at least communicate, now. The barrier between them had gotten considerably thinner after they spent so much time as a unified person. They might not be fond of each other, but they could get along, mad as it felt to think and talk about.
It might be the same with the Obscurus, and he tried to frame it that way in his mind. "I was always afraid to get too friendly with it," he said. Letting down his guard had been a quick way to get someone hurt or killed, back then. "Maybe that only made it worse."
Then he was holding the rock in the air - he, or it, or the something, but it must be him, mustn't it? He didn't let himself feel it too much until Ren asked him what it was like, so kindly. It was a question he wouldn't have considered, and good as it was, the rock wobbled a little, then stabilized as he became aware of what he was doing.
"It feels like..." powerstablepowercareful "Steadiness. A flow. Not a gush." spurtsprayflood The rock wobbled, then lifted a few feet on a darkening ripple of power. He lifted a hand, reflexively, and the rock caught like the knot in his throat, frozen in place. The little eddies of power disappeared, and it was just hovering there, arrested from gravity, energy, or time.
He dropped it, gently, with a subtle motion of his fingers. It came to rest in its little nook again. "Hey," he said, leaning against Ren. His voice had roughened, and it wasn't entirely clear who he was - but his face had gone utterly pale. "Can I like...have a hug?" He sagged a little, speaking quickly. "I remembered something. I was little and I was lifting blocks and she caught me, Maria, she was my nany when I was little, and she got a knife from somewhere, but I think she always carried one." He paused, wavering on the edge of saying more. "Do you want to go inside?" He looked up at Ren. There was, for a moment, a glint of fire behind the pall of white. It faded almost instantly, and he seemed a little more tired when it was gone. "Let's go inside, okay?"