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Tweak says, "I am the greatest!"

Zacharias Smith (puffheir) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-08-22 09:50:00

Entry tags:

!2003: 08, !complete, theodore nott, zacharias smith

Who: Zacharias Smith and Theodore Nott.
When: August 22nd. Afternoon.
Where: St. Mungo's.
What: A visit with an old friend.
Rating: PG for swears?
Status: Complete/Closed.

To see - read - Theodore acting so bizarrely was a bit discomfiting. It was true that Theodore had always been a little bit straight. Just a tiny bit. Quiet and mousy and rather unlike many of their peers. But perhaps that was why Zacharias had always liked his company. He was clever, bookish, things that Zacharias liked.

He hadn't seen Theodore... oh, in such a long time. Zacharias had thrown himself into his Quidditch career after school and had been quite tied up with that ever since. But he had decided he needed to keep up with those people he actually considered friends - because it was only a small collection of people, after all.

St. Mungo's was there Theodore was, he discovered. And so that was where he went. Sunday afternoon. He held a small package, and breezed into the medical center, stepping with confidence up to the receptionist desk. And thus he was directed to where Theodore was being housed.

Reaching the room, he glanced at the number next to the door as the nurse unlocked the door to lert him in. Zacharias gave a brief, polite nod of thanks to her, and then stepped through himself.

"Theodore?" he asked as he entered, his eyes moving around the room until they landed on the slim, slight male.

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puffheir
2010-08-23 08:41 pm UTC (link)

"Yes you did. You saved him. Your thestral," Zacharias said, his voice gently edged, and rather soft. Like Theodore was a deer and any loud noises might send him skittering away, off like a short.

"Come here," he said and he guided the smaller boy over to the bed in the room and helped him sit down. "Theodore," he said, trying to distract him from his ramblings, to get the broken record back on track. "Look at me, okay?"

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booksmart_devil
2010-08-23 09:25 pm UTC (link)

Theo silenced when Zach spoke, but it wasn't clear that he was really taking in what Zach was saying. He let himself be guided to the bed and sat on it, his eyes meeting Zach's with a wariness borne from situations he hadn't spoken about to anyone, not even Greg (although his boyfriend likely had more ideas about the things that haunted him than anyone), but he didn't say anything. Just sat and watched and listened in that Theo way he had that was more active - especially now - than anytime he was actually moving or being active; it was one of the more unnerving things about him, and always had been.

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puffheir
2010-08-23 09:31 pm UTC (link)

Zacharias looked at him again, their eyes meeting. His mouth curled into a smile then. "Good, that's good," he said approvingly. He nodded his head a little bit, to show his satisfaction.

He reached out and petted the thestral again. "Do they let you have books in here?" he asked, changing the subject completely. To what he hoped would be a safe subject, although it was becoming clear that he couldn't tell what a safe subject would be!

"Do you still like to read? You used to read all the time. Always with a book."

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booksmart_devil
2010-08-23 09:58 pm UTC (link)

Theo liked seeing the smile, liked the nod a little less, but still liked the approval. He flinched again when Zach reached out, but didn't move too much, it was mostly self contained.

He tilted his head to think about the question, something fluttering at the edge of his brain when books were mentioned. "They were brought to me by... the one. The... he brought it.." he rubbed at his eyes with on hand as though he was tired. "He's dead a long time ago." he said, shaking his head.

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puffheir
2010-08-23 09:59 pm UTC (link)

The one? Well that could be... anyone. "Who's 'the one'?" he asked him with quiet curiosity. "That was nice of him. To bring you a book." The one who brought him the book was dead? Or someone else? Had theodore jumped subjects again? It was so hard to tell.

"I can bring you a book next time, if you like?" Maybe a picture book would be most appropriate. But a book was a book, yes?

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booksmart_devil
2010-08-23 10:29 pm UTC (link)

Theo smiled thinking about it, something that relaxed him entirely, almost made him look like a different person, almost made him look sane. "Mmmm, one, he..." he held his hand out, fingers spread. "Big hands. Big smile." He lay back onto the bed like a cat, stretched in much the same manner and if he could have, he probably would have purred. "Big, big, he breaks me, breaks me then puts me back together, comes in down from the sky, through the windows to take us away away away..." he sighed and then grinned back at Zach. "We can just go to the library." he suggested, back in school again.

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puffheir
2010-08-23 10:34 pm UTC (link)

Well then! Zacharias still had no idea who Theodore was refering to, but it was now going to guess that it was a lover of some sort. Given the way he was sliding against the bed, which was very nearly obscene. Was it a real lover, or a fake one? That was the question. "Does he have a name?" he queried, curious.

Another smile. He could only smile, because it was either that or stalk out to try and track down who had put Theodore in such a state - if that was possible! "We can go to the library, sometime," he agreed - easier to agree than not. He'd bring a book next time.

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booksmart_devil
2010-08-23 10:58 pm UTC (link)

Theo gradually went still, the smile leaking down off his face as well until he was lying motionless and expressionless on the covers, watching the ceiling. His grip on the toy was loose, everything about him seeemed loose. "He. does. not." he murmured, the spaces between his words too long, the sentence a splinter from a fractured mind, and maybe if he'd written it down it might have sounded differently, might have revealed more than anything Theo actually said.

He didn't move to answer, didn't really say anything but his fingers were cold and shaking again.

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puffheir
2010-08-23 11:01 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, well, that's alright," Zacharias murmured. That left it a mystery, one he was curious about, quite a bit. However there was nothing he could do to shed light on that particular mystery. Questioning theodore wouldn't accomplish much - except to potentially upset the other.

He reached out and took a shaking hand in his own, instead. Squeezed it lightly. Cold! His skin was so cold. Zacharias's was quite warm in comparison. "I'll come and visit you again, alright Theodore?"

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	booksmart_devil 2010-08-23 11:13 pm UTC (link)
	Theo's cold little fingers barely curled around Zach's until his friend sounded like he was about to leave, at which point Theo's fingers tightened on Zach's and he turned, knees drawn up towards his chest, Zach's hand gripped close to his chest. "No!" he exclaimed, a whimper in his voice. "They come, when he's alone, they come when he's alone!" he said, upset. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

puffheir
2010-08-23 11:22 pm UTC (link)

"I'm not going anywhere, not right now," Zacharias said. He had been thinking of it, because Theodore had seemed like she was getting tired, but he didn't want to further upset him.

He let Theodore cling to his hand, fingers staying snuggly around his. "It's alright, Theodore. I'm right here, see? I'm sitting, I'm staying." He gave another light squeeze. "Why don't you rest a little bit?"

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booksmart_devil
2010-08-23 11:40 pm UTC (link)

Zach managed to calm Theo considerably, although he didn't let the boy's fingers go. He relaxed a little bit and sighed heavily. "They come then, through shadows, to the bed with-" he stopped himself there and closed his eyes, apparently taking Zach's advice. He even cuddled his toy thestral to him. "Run away if they come." he murmured, a warning or a plea. It was the last thing he said before he slipped into restless, terrifying dreams.

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puffheir
2010-08-23 11:42 pm UTC (link)

Zacharias smiled and it was a pleased smile as Theodore began to relax. Laying there, holding the thestral, eyes closed, he looked like a child. A sweet and innocent wisp of a thing. He smiled. And sat there, holding onto his hand until the young man's breathing evened out.

Theodore was shifting in his dreams, but at least he was asleep. Zacharias very lightly, very gently, set his hand down and rose from the edge of the bed. "Goodnight Theodore," he said, the words nothing more than a whisper before he saw himself out.

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