RP: Where the Whiskey Runs Who: Hyperion and Pandora When: Monday, November 20, 2009, evening Where: DraΓochta Pub, Ireland What: The siblings meet up for a drink and some conversation. Warnings: Discussion of past abuses, dark humor
She'd almost called to cancel their after work drinks. In part because she'd realized some time in the middle of her almost sleepless night that he might see too much. In part because she was simply tired. Too fucking tired. But it came with being a parent, she mused, even if all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep.
If she could sleep. Fucking insomnia.
Dora did rather wish they could be home for their little visit, but he had ZJ and she had Ewan and the twins. So out it was, for just a little bit, if they wanted to be alone. She'd reluctantly left both the babies with her husband -- not because he couldn't do it, but because she knew how much anxiety it caused him, especially McKay, who lately was all about Mummy and also sensed his anxiety more than Ainsley did. She'd be back in an hour, two at the most.
At least it was Fitz's. She knew it was a safe place, with plenty of privacy. And whisky. Plenty of whisky.
Her brother had told her the password earlier, so she got in with no problems, and embraced her brother's other best friend with a smile before going to find the booth. She had on a light glamour, since she knew anything too heavy would draw Hyperion's attention too much, but a light one would likely pass as normal. As always, she was exactly on time.
π₯
Hyperion was running slightly behind schedule, a paperwork mix up brought to his attention close to the end of the day that he hadn't been able to leave for morning--he really couldn't wait for Lavender to be back on the job, which reminded him that he needed to pester her about bringing Hunter in to show the bairn off soon--but he wasn't so far behind that Dora would worry, he hoped. And so he apparated to the point nearest Fitz's pub in Ireland and slipped around the corner and down the steps to the hidden entrance. A discreet whisper of the password, and he was in.
Glancing around, he spotted Dora rather easily in one of the booths, some of the privacy charms not yet activated on it. One of the beauties of Fitz's pub were those privacy booths, where people could meet and discuss things in public without the risks of doing so in public. And he didn't think anyone would blink twice at him and his sister having a private discussion in one of those booths tonight. Somehow, he didn't think anyone who had been at the dinner party last night particularly wanted that failed marriage proposal to become public knowledge.
He clasped Fitz on the shoulder, greeting him with a smile, and his friend assured him the whiskey was already at the booth. Thanking him, he joined Dora there, holding out a hand so he could tug her up and greet her with a hug. Oh, he knew she wasn't the most touchy-feely sort, but he worried about her, and he wanted a hug, so she would just have to deal. "Sorry I'm a bit behind, love," he greeted her. "If I'd known there was so much paperwork involved, I'd never have agreed to take over Lavender's job while she was on maternity leave," he griped, though he was grinning anyway, as he went to the other side of the booth and sat.
π₯
Dora wouldn't worry immediately. She was used to others being late. She had tended since childhood to be very punctual though and though sometimes the twins challenged that, she still mostly retained the trait.
She spent some of the time poking idly at the privacy charms, feeling them out with her magic and mentally making a list of improvements that Fitz could make. She sipped appreciatively on the first glass of whisky too, savoring it as she'd not had it in too long.
She hugged him happily enough, her body leaning into his for an additional moment, head on his shoulder for just an extra moment. Her smile was genuine but weary, her eyes a bit tight in the corners.
"Aye, it's fine," she said with a faint shrug. "Paperwork is always a bitch."
π₯
As he sat, he turned a shrewd eye on her, noticing those subtle signs of her tiredness, though he was kind enough to not comment on it. Instead, he asked simply, "How are you?" He hoped that they'd come far enough along in their rekindled sibling relationship to get a genuine response, even if he didn't expect her to pour everything out. She was a Slytherin, after all, and they did typically play their cards close to their chest, much as Coop often seemed an exception to that generalization.
π₯
"Tired," she admitted readily enough. No use in hiding it, after all. She hadn't worn more than a regular level glamour. Her wand tapped gently and woke up most of the privacy charms, her fingers poking them curiously once she had them up.
Besides, with twins people would probably be shocked and appalled if she were well rested.
"My mind has been racing too much to get much rest," which shouldn't be too surprising. She nudged another drink, untouched, towards him. She'd poured both while she waited. "What about you, love? Temporary job kicking ye arse?"
π₯
He could definitely believe she was tired, expected it even, but he'd been hoping for a little more on how she was doing after the upset last night. He'd noticed her ducking out during Phillip's poorly-planned proposal, but he supposed that even with the strides they'd made this year since he'd come back in her life, he probably shouldn't expect her to be comfortable spilling her soul to him.
"Anything you want to talk about?" he asked gently, not pushing her but quietly making it known he'd be an ear if she needed it. Since she nudged the glass toward him, he lifted it and took a sip. "Aye, it is. I can't wait to be back in the field. And don't get me wrong, I love mum, but this is working with her a little too closely for my liking." Though he had made sure to be a good son and have her over for dinner a few more times since the night he introduced her to Zahara. It felt good to do so much with his family, and he was hopeful that in time he would be able to get them all together again.
π₯
She didn't do anything so obvious as pull her hair or overtly fidget. But he'd known her her entire life, and the very faint way her nose wrinkled and her shift in weight were probably enough. It annoyed her, just slighty, to know that she probably had taught him the basics of how to read the subtler people, though she'd developed to it from a child to a skilled adult. He had the in of knowing how they'd started out.
"Unless you really want to hear about how much I want to strangle our little brother..." she said, and then sighed gustily and knocked half her glass back in one go rather than sipping it slowly as she'd started out. It still stressed her out; her shoulders, underneath her dress, had been painfully tense ever since Phillip had told them, and had only gotten worse at the party. She hoped that Hype hadn't noticed her idiotic little panic attack at the party.
She snorted softly. "Yes, well, best learn now, eh? I hear she tries to be scrupulously fair."
π₯
"I'm not sure you're alone in that sentiment," he commented quietly with a sigh under his breath as he looked down at the golden liquid in his cup. He swirled it once, twice, and then followed suite, though he downed the rest of the glass in one go. It wasn't so much that he wanted to strangle Phillip as he wanted to shake some sense into him, and the irony wasn't lost on him. "Do ye think he'd have done it if she wasn't pregnant?" No, he didn't think Phillip had proposed because Addi was pregnant, but he did suspect that their predicament had emboldened him to make that move this quickly.
Hype quirked a brow at that, wondering just what Dora meant by 'best learn now.' Was she implying that a Head/Deputy Head position was in his future? He nearly shuddered at the thought. No, he loved his job, but he had no desire for an Administrative position within the DMLE, even one as prestigious as Head of the department. "Oh, aye she is. It's why any rumors about nepotism have no merit. Mum didn't choose me to fill in for Lavender, I came highly recommended," he quipped, preening a bit as if it were some impressive feat.
π₯
She was more of his thoughts that he perhaps knew, but she had always expressed herself a bit more... violently than some, and that had only increased in the intervening years. "I... I want to say no," she said. "But honestly, I don't feel like I know him at all lately." Her eyes studied the table, and then she emptied her glass completely herself. She might be a bit out of practice still, but not that much. "I've been more out of touch than I like the last six months." For which she felt the heavy ache of guilt pull at her. Of course, it wasn't her fault entirely; she'd been, legitimately, distracted by her difficult pregnancy and then the twins. "I don't think quite so soon," she said after a pensive stare at her empty glass. "And... he was so stupid! He shouldn't have done it then!" The outburst caught her by surprise, though she didn't actually raise her voice.
Well, if she'd been him, that would have been her goal. Though if that had been her destiny, she would have also missed field work. But his antics succeeded in earning a faint smile and snort from her, though more lowkey than it might some days. "Of course you did, love," she said indulgently, a bit of teasing in her tone.
π₯
Hype couldn't say he blamed her for feeling a bit more disconnected with their little brother lately. They'd all had a lot going on, and even with Phillip dating his girlfriend's best friend, it had felt like they'd talked far less than before they'd seen each other so often. Her mini-outburst caught up a bit by surprise, too, and he quirked a brow toward her. "No, he shouldn't have," he agreed lightly. "And, if I'm being honest, I'm not sure he should have done it at all. At least not anytime soon." He sighed, shaking his head. He remembered when the birdie had first revealed that Phillip was dating a muggle, how he and Dora had spoke briefly about their concerns with that relationship. He still had his concerns, and with everything he knew Addi had been through, plus the secret he was sure she still didn't remember, he thought his brother would have done better to hold off and give Addi time to adjust to how wildly different her life was going than just a short time ago.
"Hey now, you'd best mean that," he griped good-naturedly. The teasing was nice, a reminder of lighter times, times before the war had torn their family apart.
"I've been meaning to ask, as it's been a while now... The house, have ye and Ewan made a decision?" He wasn't trying to rush them, but it irked him a bit to have an asset just sitting like that. He wanted to make use of it or sell it, but he'd also wanted to give Dora and Ewan time to settle into being parents before poking them about deciding.
π₯
That distance actually... hurt her a good deal. She didn't let on, or tried not to. But Phillip had been the sibling she'd been closest to for so long. She should have known better than to trust the promise to keep her apprised, though. It was grossly apparent now that she'd heard more from Addi int heir weekly visits for charms work than she had from him lately, and some days... she just didn't have the energy to reach out to everyone. She spent so much of her days tied up with the twins, exhausted. Overwhelmed. Doing her damnedest to just hold everything together.
She let out a short, sharp, bitter laugh. "You think? It's been what, less than six months? Gods above and below, I worry about you and Zee enough but I actually sort of understand you all. I never would have thought he'd fucking rush into anything, Peri. I mean, fuck! He's always been slow steady tortoise." More than just anger leaked out, though, for her anger more often than not hid concern and pain. It was something she'd done since she was small.
She reached over and poked him, smirking very faintly. "What do you think," she continued to tease, though she hoped he knew how proud she was of him, truly.
Dora sighed and reached for more whiskey. "Aye. We will take it. Pay you monthly. I just... haven't wanted to move yet," she admitted.
π₯
"Aye, not quite five months yet," he confirmed softly. That wasn't necessarily his biggest concern with everything though, not that he'd say what was to her; no, the only person he could speak freely to about it all was Coop, and it wasn't that he didn't trust Dora or didn't want to confide in her, but that he could lose his job at least or go to prison at worst for what he and Coop had done. But they'd done it to protect Addi, who was the true victim that night, and he'd do it again if he had to. "At least you've learned that you needn't worry so much about Zahara and I, but you're right. Things with him and Addi moved far faster than I would have expected." If only because Phillip was inexperienced in such things, though he wasn't entirely surprised considering Addi's history.
He gave her that shrewd look again before breaking out in a wide grin. "I think you're proud of your big brother," he said smugly.
"I won't accept a knut more than you're paying for the flat," he reminding her in a warning tone. He'd charge them less if he thought they'd agree to it, but even he knew when to not push his luck. "But hmm, I wonder why that is," he mused, giving her a knowing look. "It's probably because you enjoy having your big brother so close, if only so you can easily pawn the twins off so you can catch a nap," he teased lightly.
π₯
He was probably underestimating Dora. If anything, she was the most underhanded member of the family. Most prone to violence and to the deep and vast sea of greys. There were times or people she would kill for her family and not feel a moment of regret for it -- and even strangers. If it had been she who had come across Addi and all of that, she would have done the same thing as her brother. And no one would eer hear it from her. "I didn't have a clue that it was that serious. I just don't know." And she'd really talked to Adelaide, too. "Between her being his first -- not that I can speak, I suppose, with Ewan and all -- and everyone dropping hints that something happened to her, honestly it sounds like the recipe to a disaster."
And she hoped he wouldn't judge her badly for saying it, but it was one of the heaviest worries in her gut on that.
"Me? Proud of a Gryffindor?" she said, all large bright eyes and a surprised air ruined only by the faint tilt of her head and the way she let one lip curl up faintly.
She drank another half shot, knowing she was taking it fast but honestly not caring right now. Liquid courage to say things... it was an old habit. "I honestly can't afford more than that right now," she said, obviously hating to admit that. "Or you would be getting more for it. I'm just finally getting into a routine in the shop, but I'm still not there every day of the week yet." Or in the workshop enough. She was busting her arse to get there, but she could only be in so many places at once. Ewan's income was steadier than hers, but she had the ability to earn huge commissions... that took time and hard work.
"You've got me," she said dryly. "I'd lose my free babysitters." It wasn't really about the twins, though. Oh, she really liked that. It was a huge help when she had to do something. But she really liked being near him. Getting to visit with him and Zee, sometimes on a whim.
π₯
Even before Zahara had filled him in on Addi's pregnancy, he'd known that the relationship was serious. With his brother being involved, how could it be anything but serious? But it hadn't made him any less concerned, though he'd tried to take Coop's advice and think positive thoughts about it all. He hesitated briefly at that last comment though, sighing under his breath before lifting his refilled glass to his lips again. "Do you want to know what happened to her? The gist of it, at least?" It wasn't normally his m.o. to tell the secrets of other people's traumas, but this was a unique situation.
"Well, we are quite worthy of it," he pointed out as if it were an indisputable fact.
Well at least she was being honest with him, even though he could tell it pained her to admit as much. Hell, he would take less if he thought she'd let him. He still thought he might tuck part of it away into an account for the twins, give it to them as a graduation gift when they finish Hogwarts. "You'll get there, love," he said encouragingly. It would, understandably, take time for her to get back to her previous work schedule, if she was ever able to get there again. Having a baby would understandably change your life, but twins? Even more so, he assumed.
"You'll never lose your free babysitters, it will just be slightly less convenient to pawn the twins off on them," he pointed out with a grin. No, even when she did move to the house, he'd still happily watch McKay and Ainsley whenever she needed. "But if you'd feel better waiting until the spring when my and Zahara's house is finished being built and we move, I'd understand. It will give you time to customize the place to your liking." It needed some work, particularly in the baby-proofing area, and by springtime the twins ought to be more mobile. It could time out well, anyway.
π₯
There was serious, which Phillip always was, and there was serious in which things were ready to go to the next step. She knew the first, but the second had surprisingly caught the normally observant woman offguard. Dora took a moment to sip her drink and roll the offer over in her mind, giving it the serious consideration it warranted. "Yes. Yes, I'd like to know. Maybe I'll be able to help or something." She had a feeling that most of her family often forgot or simply had no clue what she'd done or gone through during the war and she wasn't one to remind them most of the time, since she also wanted to forget. Persy... unfortunately had more information because she had her full medical file; she'd had to make Alicia promise to go through it with the other woman first, because it was very, very thick. Just as her DMLE file was.
"I know. It's just... frustrating, sometimes. Like I have too many balls in the air and sometimes forget how to juggle." Another tough admission. It wasn't like she didn't have help. Help she actually took, at that. But sometimes it was simply overwhelming, especially for someone with chronic anxiety.
"Ha, yeah," she said softly. It wasn't about the babysitters, though. Not in that capacity. She would love staying at home if she had to some days. It was.. the interactions she got out of it. The way she was getting to mend her relationship with Hyperion, which had always been so deep, for better or worse, growing up.
"That's not a bad idea. I can try to carve some time out on the weekends or something to do that." And it would... make the move easier, she supposed. She knew she shouldn't be so dependent on them, but sometimes it was simply that she liked seeing one face happy to see her who didn't have to be happy because she'd given birth to or married them.
π₯
Although a part of him knew he was violating some sort of confidentiality, even if only the social rules though possibly legal ones as well, this was Dora, and considering the woman in question was pregnant with their nibling, well, he wanted her to know. "She'd been dating this guy in Paris for well over a year and, from what I understand, he was a Dom to her sub. She'd been feeling restless and was planning to move here for a fresh start, and she and Phillip had been flirting around something more for weeks. Apparently Roberto found out she was planning to leave him, and he decided to do something to stop that happening."
Hype paused, gritting his teeth for a moment as he remembered the next part of the story. He'd seen that hotel room, and it was a sight that would never leave him. He still felt sick at the thought of it. "He tracked her to a club where she'd been out with her new coworkers and convinced her to come back to a hotel with him for a good bye tryst." He knocked back his drink, then forced himself to continue. "Once he had her there, he systematically tortured her, head to toe. He alternated between carving her with a magical knife and healing the wounds, and he beat her with his fists. She wouldn't say what he said to her during it all, but her wounds spoke volumes. Never did find out if he planned to kill her or if he had something else in mind, and we'll never know. He turned up dead from an overdose in August." And the look he gave her then likely spoke volumes that there was so much more to that story but that he wouldn't get into it, at least not here.
"Well you've added two tiny humans to the mix; it takes time to learn to juggle them with the previous load." He wished she would cut herself some slack there. No one could honestly expect her to be completely back to everything this soon.
He grinned when she seemed to take to his suggestion. "Well, that's that, then." At least now they had a tentative plan, and he would try to do a few things at the house to help get it ready for them in addition to the things he was doing to help build his and Zahara's new house. For all the crap he gave Zahara for her work schedule, he knew he was almost just as bad.
π₯
If he knew her at all, he knew she wouldn't blab about this to anyone. She listened intently, her grey-green eyes sharp and, after a moment, cold in a way that anyone who had gone up against the Lestranges in the war would be creepily familiar with. She didn't interrupt and she didn't ask questions, and her eyes rested on his lips more than anything despite the privacy spell, something she fell back on when concentrating at times, lip reading, which she'd had to learn from a young age.
A finger tapped her own lips at his look, a subtle signal that her own were sealed, so to speak, even if he spoke more. "Has she actually talked to anyone about any of this?" she asked, her accent thicker than usual. "I know it's not for everyone, but if she's been depending just on Phillip after all this..." The way she pursed her lips spoke volumes. She gnawed unconsciously on her thumb nail as she looked at her big brother, obviously thinking very hard.
Finding this out just showed Dora that she and Addi had a lot more in common than either had known. "I obviously can't bring it up easily, Peri, given my confidential source." She looked at him tellingly. "But if someone," him or ZJ, "were to tell her that I'm a friendly ear who would know about what she went through..." She spoke around it a bit, just because she wasn't actually sure he knew about a lot of her experiences. But she'd been beaten. She'd been under the knife -- their Aunt Bellatrix's in fact. She bore the scars today and would until the day she died. She'd suffered torture and rape. She'd been under the imperius. She smirked with absolutely no humor, eyes still a bit cold. "She would find no judgment here."
Dora had trouble cutting herself any kind of slack. She held everyone to high standards but no one higher than herself. She tried to do and be everything. "Well, juggling is hard, but I hear you're not supposed to drop babies, you know." This time her humor was genuine, if of her dark and twisted variety.
"How is the new place coming, anyway?" she asked.
π₯
Even if she wouldn't tell, he had no intention of ever saying the words out loud of what he and Coop had found in that hotel room. No one could ever know that they'd found Roberto there, that they'd hidden and preserved his body, and that Hyperion had staged the overdose scene in a muggle hotel for the muggle authorities to find. He'd made sure the evidence was irrefutable, and there hadn't been any backlash so far. It was a secret he intended to take to his grave. He shook his head at her question though. "No, I don't think she has. She'd passed out in front of the muggle entrance to the Leaky, ye know? Roberto had taken her charms, so she couldn't get in. And Phillip found her there. He took care of her, got her to St. Mungo's. And then after that, I guess he became a safe place for her to heal." He knew how it sounded, but he'd worked with enough victims over the years and studied enough psychology in conjunction with his job that he was far more perceptive than people gave him credit for.
"I might put a bug in Zahara's ear about it, or I might mention something to Addi myself." He sighed, shaking his head. It was a shitty situation all around, and he definitely had concerns. Especially if Addi did ever fully remember what had happened that night. But he had a feeling Dora might be someone who could help her through that, too. Still, he thought it was best if Addi didn't remember. "I know, love," he said softly, not doubting she wouldn't judge Addi for what had happened.
Hype snorted a short laugh at that. "Aye, please don't drop the babies."
"It's coming along well. It's massive, I'll warn you now. You'll find it ostentatious," he accused with a smirk. But it would be gorgeous and open with plenty of room for the children they would have and for having company over. Not to mention the pool. "The foundation's been laid, along with the piping. And the framework for the walls should be going up in the next couple of weeks." He was excited to see the progress every time he went to the site, and he was ever-thrilled whenever they let him do something to help with the build. Construction might not be his forte, but he wasn't terrible, and he liked that he would be able to say he'd helped build their house.
π₯
Her lips pressed even thinner for a moment before she blew a sharp breath out of her nose. "I'd send her to an official if I actually liked any of them I'd met." Aside from Alec of course, but she didn't go to him in an official capacity. She trusted no one in that kind of capacity. Still... "Mungo's should have sent her to someone." Honestly she didn't see how that relationship was very healthy, but it wasn't hers to judge.
Dora found herself rubbing pensively at her left shoulder as she listened and talked. Under the couple layers of cloth lay some of the knife scars. "Whatever works. Sometimes a knowing shoulder is better than a simply sympathetic one." She felt a little... buzzy. It wasn't visible, but it would be something unconscious that, if she were in the muggle world, would make someone look twice as magic ... for lack of a better word, fizzed invisibly in her skin.
"Well, there's two of them, I have spare parts," she said, winking at him before taking another drink. It sounded dark and twisted but it was a fun coping mechanism she'd started developing young.
"Pfffft. I find you ostentatious, so I'm not surprised," she teased dryly. "I do look forward to.. seeing it." There was a faint, barely perceptible pause coupled with a very faint wince as one of her homemade hearing aids fizzed and popped with the residual magic from earlier and went out entirely, leaving her feeling unbalanced.
π₯
Hype blew out a breath at that and scrubbed a hand through his hair. While he didn't necessarily disagree with Dora on that point, he knew that St. Mungo's couldn't force Addi to see a professional. It was entirely possibly they'd recommended it and even referred her but she'd not followed through. Or maybe she did and just hadn't said anything to any of them. While he did know more than he probably should, he was sure there was plenty he wasn't privy to. "Hopefully I'm wrong and she has been seeing someone about it," he offered with a small shrug.
"I think she made it pretty clear from the start of it all that she didn't want the sympathy or to be treated different, so you're probably right that she'd appreciate talking to someone who understands rather than someone who would pity her for it." And try as they might, he would be surprised if any of her closest friends didn't pity her even if they'd not label it that way. He pitied her, not that he'd ever tell her that.
There was no holding back the sharp snort of laughter at Dora's dark humor. "By the gods, Pandora, you're lucky I wasn't taking a drink just then!" Spare parts, indeed.
He chuckled at her teasing, not bothered by it in the least. The next moment, though, his expression shifted to something concerned. While most of the time he forgot (in the sense that it wasn't readily at the front of his memory) that she had hearing problems and hadn't noticed her lip reading earlier, he did notice that faint wince and the fizzle in the air that signaled failing magic. "Dora?" he began, shifting his head down and to the side a bit so she might be able to see his face better. "You all right?"
π₯
"It might help. I'm being a hypocrite, I know, but... well, I hope she is talking to someone." Or if Addi talked to her. She wasn't a therapist, but she could offer what most of them couldn't, and without the long history of friendship making things more difficult. "Not being treated differently is for the best, but at the same time.. something did happen. Something big. Ignoring it doesn't always help in the long term."
She smirked more deeply. "Damn. My timing is off. I really need to work on that."
It wasn't surprising that he didn't readily remember it. Of course, she'd been this way his entire life, and the way she read lips was automatic even when her spells worked. She frowned and made a disgruntled noise, downed the rest of that glass, and then pried the one fried hearing aid, that she'd designed all by herself, out of her left ear. While it was in, it was invisible. Once out, it looked remarkably like a muggle one, for someone who had never seen a muggle one. "Fizzled out," she said sourly.
π₯
"No, it doesn't," he agreed simply, as he knew it was true. The only comfort he took in it all was that he knew for a fact Roberto was dead and wouldn't be able to hurt Addi again. It couldn't possibly make all of her issues go away, but it had to have gone some ways to making her feel relatively safe. Though he wondered if she had used being with Phillip as an excuse to avoid going out like she had before. He didn't think she'd needed one, but still, he wondered. As he'd told Dora and Coop early on, he had his concerns.
"Please don't," he retorted dryly. If she worked on her timing, she might kill him with a poorly timed joke.
When she pulled her hearing aid out, realization dawned on his face, and he felt like a bit of an idiot for not making the connection right away. He knew her hearing had been a sore point when they were growing up, so he hesitated on commenting on it now. "Ye gonna be all right?" He didn't think her incapable of taking care of herself, but he wasn't sure where her hearing stood now or what sorts of other things she might have charmed the hearing aid to assist her with. The ears were such an underappreciated part of the body, and he knew problems with them could cause all sorts of other issues.
π₯
"Ahh, but I'd like to see you do a spit take," she continued ragging on him. She couldn't help it. It was her job as his bratty younger sister. She liked how it made them connect to that old time, but with their newer selves.
She didn't think he needed to feel like an idiot. No one really knew unless they'd read her medical file. She wasn't even sure if Ewan realized how bad it was sometimes. She almost constantly wore them anymore, except when she knew someone else had the twins or she was at the shop in the work room. She was terrified of not hearing the babies when they might need her.
"I'm just off balance," she grumbled, glaring at it, lips pressed together. "I... go through them at an astounding rate lately," she said with visible reluctance after a long moment. She rubbed a hand over her ear and realized it was sore. "I worry about not hearing the twins if they needed me."
π₯
Hyperion narrowed his eyes at his sister's ragging. "I'm sure you would," he accused darkly, though it didn't hold any real heat to it.
He hoped that was all she had to deal with, a bit of off balance. "That so?" he asked casually, though it was a false sort as his mind darted around the implications there. Why was she going through them so fast and was there anything she could do to get a bit more longevity out of them? "Have you thought about charming something to flash at you when the twins cry?" he asked curiously. He had to imagine there were plenty of deaf parents who had children, and he assumed they'd found ways to cope with not being able to hear their babies cry; he saw no reason she shouldn't be able to as well.
π₯
She just smirked at him. He'd do the same to her if roles were reversed, and they both knew it.
"I'm not sure if it would work if I'm asleep," she admitted. "I have a set up like that in my workshop at the store, because if I wear them while doing the big spells, I just wear them out faster, and sometimes other spells can interfere." If she was doing the really big spellwork, anyway. She shrugged. "I don't really want to wake up to flashing lights, though." Those words were even softer.
"Sometimes I can sleep with them out, if I'm right there with them. But I don't if they're in another room." She had partial hearing that was worth something in one ear, but she honestly just didn't trust herself to wake up if she was too far away, especially if she was really tired.
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As she explained, Hype listened, taking a sip of his drink as he pondered her options with all of that. "Of course ye've already got a setup like that," he commented with a bit of a crooked grin. He never should have thought she wouldn't have thought up something like that already--she was one of the best in her field, after all. "And I can't say I blame ye. I wouldn't want to wake up to flashing lights, either." He just wished there were a way to strengthen them so they wouldn't burn out so quickly on her.
"That makes sense. Though as they get bigger, ye shouldn't have to worry as much, right?" Granted, it would probably be a few years, but there had to be a light at the end of the tunnel, right?
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She didn't want to explain that it was a great way to give her flashbacks or to make her very confused and panicked when she awoke. He didn't need to know those things. She did her best to manage them, and if she was doing a little better... it was mostly because she had to spend so much time up with the twins.
"I'm hoping not, but right now, I dinnae know," she said with a shrug. "I know I worry too much. But they're still so small." They would always be a little behind the curve for their months, she knew, at least until they got a bit older, but that was simply because they'd not actually been ready to pop out when they had. "Once they're a bit bigger, I don't think I'll worry nearly so much." But wasn't a few years when she should be thinking about giving them siblings?
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"You're allowed to worry," he pointed out dryly. "I've heard it's part of the job." And he wouldn't deny he was looking forward to that sort of thing. He had no idea how long it would take Zahara to get pregnant, but taking this step with her was something he had no doubts about whatsoever.
He downed his glass and then poured them both another little bit. Whatever was going on with their siblings, and there seemed to be quite a bit of albeit different sorts of madness for both of them, at least they had each other again.