Nathaniel Mordue
May 07, 2020 1:16 PM
Supervision and Secrets. by Nathaniel Mordue
Last year, Nathaniel had been outraged with the school for making him a prefect but overlooking Sylvia. Even now, he still thought it was wrong. She would have made a far better prefect than he ever could have, even before he'd fallen into this strange Other World on the other side of his fourth year, where he sometimes had to try extremely hard just to function on a basic level, never mind take care of anyone else. It had gotten better - easier, anyway - over the course of last year, but he could not even really remember what it had felt like, living in the same world as everyone else, much less think of entirely returning to it. Since Sylvia could not even imagine being where he was, and his position was an extremely isolated one in general, logic dictated that she would do a better job of helping most people than he could. If only one of them had a badge, it should have been her.There were, however, benefits to his appointment. One of them was that he had an ironclad excuse to separate from her when he needed to. He suspected she would have wanted to go to her room to catch up with her roommates or do her hair for the Feast or something like that, but it was nevertheless reassuring to have a very clear-cut reason to say goodbye to her and Jeremy as they got off the wagon and to go to Teppenpaw, where he could be reasonably sure he would not be caught doing something he was emphatically not allowed to do.
He wanted to stay in his room - it was even safer there, plus he could take a nap - but a sense of guilt and obligation propelled him back to the common room after he combed his hair, put on a dust-free uniform, and pinned his prefect badge to the front of it. He was doing his duty, he reasoned: he was supervising the common room while the school was otherwise occupied with settling in. Perhaps he had found a corner seat, so nobody could sneak up behind him, and perhaps his eyes were fastened firmly on the piece of parchment he was writing on except for furtive glances around the room, but he was a prefect, and he was in the room. How many people at all would blatantly break the rules in front of a prefect, much less people in Teppenpaw?
Dearest Mama, he wrote, allowing himself to slip into more affectionate language after two months.
We are back at school. I am supervising the common room while I write this. I did well on all my exams, and am going to take five classes - Charms, Defense, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, the usual suspects. It will be a lot of work, but I am sure I can manage it.
How are You? How was your summer? I am so sorry I could not write you before, but I suspect they watch me - they know I almost left, so they might keep an eye on my mail when I am there. I don't think Sylvia would betray me, and I like to hope Jeremy would not, but they're not the ones likely to interfere with my owls, are they? Hopefully I'll pass my Apparition test before this summer; I may be able to come see you, and see for myself that you are all right.
I still don't forgive you, of course. If you really are not bewitched or out of your mind - one of which I still think you must be - then what you did was revolting. You would have said so yourself, a few years ago. Grandfather must be spinning in his grave, if he knows, wherever dead people go. But family is family. You were selfish and stupid, if you really did know what you were doing - but I believe you when you said that you never intended to leave me and Jeremy behind, or insist we lose either you or our cousins. It's never going to be that I agree with you. You're just less wrong than Uncle.
It was not as bad as last summer, there. I've been trying new ideas with Jeremy; I think I might be winning him over a little. I have still not talked to him about you at all; I have to be really sure of his trust first, and hopefully see more improvements in him, though he is a little better I think. Try not to worry about him too much.
All my love,
Nathaniel
It was not, he thought, precisely a dishonest letter, no more than any of the letters he'd written in the past year to her had been. He had not told her about his nervous condition, or about Dr. Greene - that would only worry her. He had not told her about Jeremy getting into that fight last year, either - because what could she do about it, besides worry more? But he hadn't explicitly told her that he was entirely of sound mind and that Jeremy's social life was going swimmingly, either. It was just...an omission of what wasn't important, at least in this context. Or so he told himself as he tapped it with his wand, causing it to fold itself up neatly and seal itself by magic. For the form of the thing, he took out a box containing a stubby candle and a stick of sealing wax, lighting the former with his wand and holding the latter to the flame until it was soft enough to allow a few drops to fall onto the place where the folds of the letter met. He was just extinguishing the candle as someone walked near his chair and he looked up to smile politely, guilelessly, at the passerby. The letter was done and sealed; it was of no possible danger to him unless someone wrestled it out of his hand before he could get down to the owlery, and tackling people to seize their mail was another thing Teppenpaws generally just didn't do. His secret life was on course to proceed exactly as it had for the past year.
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Nathaniel Mordue
Supervision and Secrets.
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
May 07, 2020 5:56 PM
Home and Hesitation. by Alexander Pierce-Beales
Between the rush of the year end and the uncertainty of Mab's offer at the Ball, Alexander hadn't yet told Nathaniel about the new life he might be gaining soon. He was surprised to find that he was also a bit nervous to do so. Alexander had found an amazing thing and was very lucky; what if Nathaniel wasn't happy for him or thought it was bad? He didn't want to hear the negativity about something that he thought was amazing. Plus if Nathaniel was the sort to do that, then he was probably wrong about a lot of stuff because this was undoubtedly and inarguably a good thing.Of course, there were also bad things. Both Claire Mason and Mathias Stones had accepted his request to communicate - before Evelyn's warning - and he had since received letters back. They were not encouraging, although they weren't heartbreaking either. It was weird trying to connect with people he no longer cared so much about, and also discovering that, with the letters in his hands, he did still care more than he'd realized before. It was going to take a lot of thinking to decide where to go from here, and there was almost no doubt now that Alexander would need to tell Evelyn. If he didn't, her father probably would first.
When the end of summer was upon them and Mab and Alexander packed their things - because Alexander had things now! - and prepared to return to Sonora, Alexander had begun thinking about what he would say to Nathaniel. He was also thinking about what it would be like to be back now. He thought that it sort of felt like a second first time more than anything. He had a sister of sorts now, he had a home, he had information about his family that he hadn't had before, and he was happy. He even smiled sometimes. He felt like a new guy, and he felt like it was going to be weird not seeing Mab as much as he had over the summer. Of course, they were in the same year, so their classes would still be together, and they could have meals together if they wanted, but they were in different Houses. No more staying up late and watching movies or anything like that. Definitely no rollerblading. This was a new experience in a familiar setting, and Alexander was excited to share that with Nathaniel.
He went straight back to his room when they arrived. It was weird not going to Orientation, as he hadn't thought about the fact that only first years would need to do that. So he took advantage of the little bit of extra time he had and headed straight for Teppenpaw. He put his things down, left Barnabas on the bed for a nap, and put some of his clothes in the closet - it was so weird seeing it more filled out - before heading back to the Common Room to see if he could find Nathaniel. He was lucky; the prefect was in the middle of writing a letter nearby. Alexander didn't want to interrupt, and busied himself by checking out the bulletin board until Nathaniel had finished. Sure that he wasn't interrupting, Alexander approached with almost a smile.
"Hey," he said. "It's good to see you again. Did you have a good summer?"
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
Home and Hesitation.
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Nathaniel Mordue
May 07, 2020 9:10 PM
We both like living dangerously, I suppose. by Nathaniel Mordue
Nathaniel's polite smile relaxed slightly in recognition when he saw it was Alexander, and that the firs - no, second year was approaching him deliberately. He had hoped to see the younger Teppenpaw soon; he had worried about him a bit over the summer, not knowing what was going on with the parents and Evelyn Stones and the apparently very poor-quality situation Alexander had been living in until age eleven. As bad as his situation was, he did at least get to go through it in reasonable comfort, and he had Sylvia. The idea of literally not owning anything or having anyone was appalling."Ah, Alexander," he said. "Good to see you as well. Please, sit," he invited, gesturing to a nearby seat. "My summer was - not too bad." Now, why had he said that? He shouldn't have said that. He really should have just given a polite offhand answer. "How was yours? Any luck with...sorting out anything?" he asked, his brow creasing slightly in concerned interest.
It was deep, deep habit not to speak openly, so much that it never even occurred to him to ask the question directly. In his head, it would be rude to do so - to risk someone overhearing what was said. In his family, secrets had always been the order of the day. He often thought of his father's betrayal as the moment everything had started falling apart, but the truth was that there had always been things they weren't supposed to talk about even before then - especially feelings, or any sharp words he overheard between his parents, or....
Well. He had noticed, vaguely, that Alexander was slightly more open than it occurred to Nathaniel to be, but he put that down to the boy not having parents. Parents were the ones who taught you how to lie, after all.
"I thought of your situation often," he added. "Sorry last year ended with it all - unresolved."
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Nathaniel Mordue
We both like living dangerously, I suppose.
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
May 08, 2020 12:18 PM
I think Pride and Prejudice was next. by Alexander Pierce-Beales
Nathaniel thought it was good to see him? Alexander's chest swelled a little with pride, although it was tempered by the fact that he was still the much less cool of the two of them and there was no one else around to be proud of himself for. He took the seat Nathaniel suggested. 'Not too bad' was a euphemism as far as he knew, but whether it was a euphemism for 'great but I don't wanna brag' or 'terrible but I don't wanna bore' was hard to parse out, especially with someone like Nathaniel."That's kind of you," Alexander said, almost smiling, surprised that Nathaniel had been thinking of him. "I wanted to tell you actually, that things really turned around for me. Mab - the girl I went to the Ball with - has a foster mom and when Mab told her about me, she was willing to take me in too. Or when Mab asked maybe. But so I... have a home now." He did smile then. It was a real smile, if a surprised one, and he was so much more at ease than he'd been even a few months ago. "It was really nice. I have a bedroom of my own, and a closet with clothes that are mine, and I got to pick out rollerblades . . . it was a really good summer. It's so good to have a family, even if it means something a little different than I thought it would."
He looked down at his hands. There was more, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tell Nathaniel. At the same time, he knew he ought to. "When you told me what Evelyn said about reaching out to Mathias Stones, I had already written to him and Claire Mason," he began, sounding guilty. "They both wrote back recently. So that's . . . weird."
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
I think Pride and Prejudice was next.
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Nathaniel Mordue
May 08, 2020 10:37 PM
I could do with some sense and sensibility. by Nathaniel Mordue
Nathaniel's expression registered just surprise, but then he, too, smiled as Alexander described his new situation, ending it with the word home. That was a good word. Nathaniel, who no longer felt he had one, understood the significance of that word on a deep level. Home was one of the most precious things there was - not as much as family, or duty, but still on the same list."That's wonderful," he said. "I'm so glad." And then, slightly embarrassed by having elaborated, he added, "I don't know what a rollerblade is - " in fact, he thought it sounded frankly dangerous; a rolling blade sounded like a weapon, though he didn't know exactly how it would work or what the purpose of it would be - "but I'm glad you have one, if it's a good thing to have." It was a lighter point, but still true.
Over the summer, his uncle had made noises which sounded like interest in what Nathaniel planned to do with his life after this year. The arts would have been acceptable enough had he been who he had been before his fourth year, but his situation had, after all, changed, and being a portrait photographer was a touch below his station. Nathaniel had his own ideas when it came to what he might do with the skills he had acquired through his hobby, but he had not seen fit to mention any of this to his uncle. Instead, he had made noises about law, as this was also something of an area of interest, if not in the way his uncle might have thought...It was wrong, the things that had happened to him, and even worse were the things which had happened to Alexander. It needed fixing, if he could pull himself together enough to hold the course long enough to achieve such a goal....
For now, though, he was a sixth year not yet entirely possessed of his health, and he had a fir - second year to attend to. Alexander was looking at his hands, now, less openly enthusiastic, and so Nathaniel was not surprised when the topic turned to the boy's biological parents. He nodded slowly.
"I see," he said. "A weird situation, certainly." He was not sure what to say beyond this - it was none of his business what the letters had said unless Alexander chose to divulge that information, after all. "Are you...all right with it? And did you ever make contact with Evelyn?"
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Nathaniel Mordue
I could do with some sense and sensibility.
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
May 08, 2020 10:53 PM
And . . . Emma? by Alexander Pierce-Beales
It felt so good to have Nathaniel approve of his life changes. Alexander wasn't sure why. They were, as he'd thought before, inarguably good things. But still, it was a lot and he did care what Nathaniel thought of him. He'd like very much if Nathaniel thought good things about him. Really, he'd like very much if he could be a bit like Nathaniel someday. He'd be cool and grown up and kind and it would be great.Except he'd know about Muggle stuff. It was hard to wrap his head around not knowing some of this stuff because it was hard to imagine a world in which those literally didn't exist. Like, he hadn't ever had consistent access to a TV until moving in with Mab and Bel, but he'd always known what a TV was.
"Rollerblades are skates. They're . . . uh. They're shoes with wheels on the bottom so that you can roll around instead of walking. Like skateboards for your feet. It's for fun and for exercise." He scratched his head.
Nathaniel's validation made him feel better about feeling weird about everything and ugh. It was nice but it was also horrible. "I'm not sure," he said honestly. He looked up at Nathaniel a little guiltily. "I told Mab, but I didn't tell Bel. Cl-- my mom said that she would like to meet me and that she was sorry. So that was sort of nice. But she also said that she has other kids . . . like four of them. I guess she was married at the time and that's why she couldn't keep me." It hurt to say out loud but it was easier to say it like it didn't matter. And maybe it didn't. Alexander had a home now. It was sort of easy-ish to even call her his mom. But Mathias had warning labels and disclaimers attached and he couldn't quite call him his dad. "Mathias also has other kids. I guess Evelyn has another little brother. I was in between . . . he didn't say as much but ages and stuff work out. He didn't want me to tell Evelyn but I think I want to. I just don't know how to. Do you have any ideas?"
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
And . . . Emma?
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Nathaniel Mordue
May 09, 2020 9:15 AM
Is she the one who lives at Northanger Abbey? by Nathaniel Mordue
Nathaniel thought about the description of the 'rollerblades'. It sounded...almost logical, but he was still confused about how blades could roll...."That sounds like ice skates, except ice skates can't roll," he said with a nod. "They're sharp on the bottoms." For a moment, he felt a flicker of curiosity about something outside of his experience. He was quite sure that if it was a really excellent thing, it existed in the magical world, but there seemed to be a fair number of devices that did not exist here which did exist in the Muggle world, and vice versa. "Do you know what ice skates are?" he asked. "They're a lot of fun in the wintertime." Winters in Oregon were cold, so care had to be taken, but Nathaniel liked winter just the same: the stark beauty of the leafless trees against whitish skies, the glitter of ice in the sun, Christmas decorations - these were all subjects he liked trying to capture in photographs. He also loved a lot of the experiences of winter - sledding and bonfires, hot chocolate, snowball fights and skate races with his brother and cousins, and, long ago, sometimes his parents....
Goodness, it had been a long time since he had thought of those things. Last year, whenever he had thought about winter, all he had been able to think of had been the memories of what had happened the year before...of the last year with his father...of the impending stress of trying to behave himself while trapped in his uncle's house, trying to act like a member of the family when he was either half-sick to his stomach worrying about Jeremy and his mother or else reminding himself that it would be a bad idea to try to strangle Uncle Alexander with his bare hands. He assumed that even Uncle Alexander and Aunt Avery had Christmas decorations, and that there had been some beautiful views at their house, but he couldn't recall anything about them now - he had been unable to even notice such things on any real level. That was a shame, he thought dimly. He missed beautiful things.
His expression became more drawn as Alexander, of his own accord, began talking about the letters. As far as Ms. Mason's excuses went, he deemed them inadequate - there were certain facts about human reproduction which would have made it very unlikely that Ms. Mason's husband could have overlooked an illegitimate pregnancy, so discarding her son had not helped her situation there, if he understood it properly. It occurred to him a moment later that it might just mean her husband had rejected her, though, in which case she might not have been able to support them - in which case, Mathias Stones had another hideous black mark against him, because if one had to indulge in...certain behaviors, one had to take responsibility for any circumstances, support the girl and the child. That was the only slight way to make up for being like that, it was the proper thing to do....
"I think - if it were me, I would set up a meeting," he said carefully when asked for advice about Evelyn. "She told me she wants to know who you are, but I don't think...she seemed frightened just hearing Mathias' name. I don't know how she would take it if you just walked up to her and told her that you're her brother. It would be a bit of a shock, might get things off on the wrong foot. You might write her an invitation to introduce yourself and ask her to lunch, or I suppose I could speak to her again if you prefer." Illogical to offer, of course, when it would be far better for him to become less involved in these people's screwed-up lives, but he had been involved this long. so there was no point in not being helpful now. Besides, it was nice, thinking he might have some hand in making things fractionally less miserable for someone else, righting at least a bit of the wrong in the world.
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Nathaniel Mordue
Is she the one who lives at Northanger Abbey?
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
May 09, 2020 9:56 AM
No, Mansfield Park. You're thinking of Lady Susan. by Alexander Pierce-Beales
"Yeah," Alexander said, his eyes sparkling. "There's ice skating too. It's really similar, but you can rollerskate on concrete and roads and stuff." It was very amusing to Alexander that he knew more about something than Nathaniel.Nathaniel made a good point. As much as Alexander was thinking of himself and his own weird role in this space between families, he wasn't the only one. Evelyn, it sounded like, had already had a rough go of it. Who was to say what it would feel like if Alexander added to that somehow? What good would it do Evelyn to know him? Knowing about him was one thing, but actually knowing him was something else. But then Nathaniel offered to help again. Alexander wasn't sure whether it was right to take him up on that again when he had already done so much, but it was such an attractive option.
He tried to weigh the options. Evelyn had her own life and she needed information, but she didn't necessarily need a brother. Another brother. But if they decided not to tell Evelyn, then there was also information that Alexander was missing out on about his biological family and that wasn't helpful. He needed to know. Evelyn needed to know. But he wasn't sure whether he wanted Nathaniel to talk to her for her sake or for his own.
"You really would talk to her for me?" Alexander decided finally, searching Nathaniel's face. "It would give her the opportunity to actually talk to someone without having to feel like I was confronting her or she had to be nice to me if she didn't want to be. You wouldn't mind talking to her?"
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
No, Mansfield Park. You're thinking of Lady Susan.
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Nathaniel Mordue
May 11, 2020 8:48 PM
Ah yes - I've met her. How is Frederica doing these days? by Nathaniel Mordue
Concrete, roads, and stuff. Nathaniel had seen Muggle roads at a distance before, going into the city for shopping and whatnot, and remembered vividly the noise and speed of all the cars going about like so many brightly-colored metal insects Engorged to the point of parody and strapped to top-of-the-line broomsticks. Ice skates which could somehow navigate through that? He wondered for a fleeting moment if he should perhaps give Muggles some credit simply for ingenuity. They had, after all, somehow found a way to make transportation objects work without magic or a lot of obvious beasts of burden....Well, it hardly mattered. They were Muggles, he was a wizard. Good for them if they could manage, but they could never manage a life as good as that of wizards, that was tautological. If Nathaniel were mad enough to wish to zoom on rock, he could no doubt enchant his shoes to make that happen.
"Fascinating," he said instead. "I'll say this for Muggles, they can be quite creative, can't they?"
He felt a flash of impatience at Alexander's questioning of his offer, but it passed as quickly as it began. Who, after all, knew better than he how hard it was to trust anyone, with anything? The only person he could think of - with a familiar stab of guilt; he had bungled the situation horribly, and it would have been cause for shame and guilt even had it not made the situation ever so much more difficult to fix - who might know more than he did about that subject would be Jeremy. He was, fortunately for Alexander, the one Alexander was talking to, though, and he knew more than enough to understand why it was hard to take someone else at his word.
"Of course not," he said. "Obviously it's all, er, no more my business than you two wish, but it does seem like it might be less awkward for everyone with a third party to make introductions, and...well, I don't know Evelyn particularly well, but we've been in classes together for two years. It was no problem speaking with her last year, so I can't see why this year would be any different."
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Nathaniel Mordue
Ah yes - I've met her. How is Frederica doing these days?
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