27 Jun 2024, 17:12
The Double Life
July 12th 2024
Reducio
Emily's Speech: #cfa120
Nora/Auntie's Speech: #fe0613
Nora/Auntie's Speech: #fe0613
Tucked away just off the main road was Malone Park, a street encased with large iron gates at either side lined with giant watchful trees. In amongst the cosy street was the Shephard household. A magnificent Victorian house that stretched as high as the trees, almost threatening to tower over the next street over.
A thin house though incredibly spacious within, along the clear corridor and up the beige carpeted stairs, accompanied by the walk-along shrine to the Shephard daughter herself led to the royal bedroom dedicated to the vanishing parents. Adjacent was the crystal blue bathroom, rubber ducks and stick-on butterflies carefully aligned along and above the tub for those immersive times. Opposite was "Auntie's" room, smaller but definitely the most comfortable in the entire house.
A little further up another short flight of stairs was Emily's room. A large sunset orange room peppered with flowers over the walls. A rustic bed by the arched window while an archive of books rested snugly along juniper shelves by the door. On the argyle patterned bed sat Emily, surrounded by twenty books. At least. Leaking from the edge of the bed to the floor, all open at various different pages.
With her curious mind engrossed in the pages, Emily failed to notice the incoming sound of soft heels approach her door. A gentle knock hit the door before the most treasured presence entered the room, with her long flowing brown hair swaying behind her as she came in. The elegance of her posture leaned over Emily. Her gentle grey eyes fell on her ward and the oceans of books around her. She gave an unsurprised sigh but a small eye roll accompanied it.
"Oh Emily... Look at all this. You knew they'd be coming today and look at the state of this room," she said softly. A hand went to her hip as she leaned over to see what she was reading. Emily responded with a sheepish laugh as she flicked through more pages.
"Sorry Auntie, but this is all so interesting. Look here!" She held the book up for "Auntie" to take as her eyes fell on the large tome of writing. As she was reading the small printed text she could feel Emily giddily smiling outside her periphery. "Auntie" could feel her excitement and acknowledged it with a sly smile as she scanned the page in front of her.
"Reading about plants again, eh?" she asked, to which Emily eagerly responded.
"Mm-Hm! See that page? There's this green and red plant called Alihotsy. Did you know that it's also called the Hyena Tree? Because it induces hysterical laughter when ingested...!"
The fact triggered a giggling fit shared between Emily and "Auntie." The maid put the book down with all the rest that were still splayed out across her ward's bed. She shifted one so she could perch on the edge and looked at the girl fondly.
"You know something, kiddo? You've really come back as a changed individual. And not in a bad way, no not at all. This is the happiest I've ever seen you and I couldn't be any happier for you because of that."
Emily laughed shyly. "Come on, Auntie..." The maid shut her down with a shoulder nudge.
"I mean it, Em. With how empty this house is and switching between here and London so often in the past, I'm so glad you finally had somewhere where you were safe and secure. And look at you now... Your grades have been brilliant, you're so much more energetic, by the sounds of it you've had a smashing time! Even without all your letters your face says it all. And soon enough you'll be back to see your friends for summer camp!"
Emily looked down, smiling shyly but proudly. She wasn't going to deny it for a single moment. The classes. The magic. The castle. The friends she made. Even the Forbidden Forest. Though it was just for summer camp she was still eager to go back. Her wildlife buddies were waiting for her, no doubt excited to get more free snacks from her. Though that wasn't the only thing she had yet to see. She still had to figure out what was watching her in the forest on her last day.
The doorbell downstairs suddenly rang, prompting "Auntie" to check her watch. Her eyes widened and she slipped off the bed.
"My word they're back. And this place is still a tip..."
Emily looked up. "They are?". She scooped up her books and brushed them all at the foot of her bed before joining "Auntie" as she went to the door.
"Ready?"
Emily sighed, somewhat unsure of herself. "As ready as I'll ever be..."
Word Count: 814
Stats: Stamina: 6|Evasion: 5|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 7|Arcane Power: 5|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast
Last edited by Emily Shephard on 14 Oct 2024, 17:28, edited 1 time in total.
Trust Yourself - Love Yourself - Be Yourself
iNPC = Casey Stone
6 Aug 2024, 13:55
The Double Life
July 12th 2024
Emily's Speech: #cfa120
Nora/Auntie's Speech: #fe0613
Patricia's Speech: #d12eb3
Arthur's Speech: #253265
Mr. Berhow's Speech: #cc7d24
"Auntie" and Emily descended the staircase where they saw the door swing inwards. Emily blinked to to fully register that it truly was her mother and father walking in through the door, folding in their umbrellas as they shook off the rain from their shoulders upon entering the home. Her mother's poise matched her flowing peacock-patterned dress as she entered into the main corridor, discarding her leather coat on the rack. Her oceanic eyes met her daughter's who looked back at her with conflicted warmth.
"Emily..." She smiled her arms slowly opening up to her. "It's felt like forever since I've last seen you."
Emily sauntered over and returned her hug, leaning into it hesitantly but slowly melting into it the longer she was held. She had been waiting for this moment for so long. "Mum... Welcome home." The pair let go of each other and Patricia quickly moved into the living room. Next to follow was Emily's father, who was deep in a conversation with another man. "Auntie" had told her that they'd be bringing a guest back with them. She presumed this was him.
"Hi dad...!" Emily approached her father, hoping to get the same reaction out of him as she did her mother. Her father, Arthur, held a hand out intending to pat her on the head but missed as he walked past her, still glued to his conversation with the guest. She was lucky to get a quick "hello," out of him, though the greeting somehow made sound like it was mixed into the conversation rather than acknowledging Emily as a separate person. "Auntie" came over with a reassuring hand to Emily's shoulder before the pair of them joined the rest of the party in the living room.
With the workaholics now in a saturated conversation with each other and "Auntie" prepping brunch for everyone in the kitchen, Emily sat feeling a little left out, sitting on her legs in the spare seat on the other side of the room. No burning questions about school? No stories to tell of her time at her "new school"? Of course it would be all difficult to try and explain with a Muggle in the room, as Emily had to be all too careful with now that she was home.
Although, in all honesty, a part of her was telling her she shouldn't be feeling so withdrawn. It was more-or-less the same routine when her father came home, only usually he would retreat to his study the second he would walk into the room as if he couldn't stand the rest of the house. Her mother was somehow worse, for every weekly visit - if that - she would have a whole team of models and brand experts with her in planning for her next trip abroad, infesting the house like flies. In retrospect, Emily was an invisible spot blocked out by her father on one side and lost in the masses of chaos with her mother on the other.
The bouncing thoughts and memories of past visits made Emily cringe and shrivel in her seat. It was all so pretentious, to have these high class parents who have never been there for no more than a day at a time. It made Emily much more grateful for her humble upbringing brought on by "Auntie." It was ironic at the end of the day that despite this overarching lineage hanging over her, it felt much more natural to Emily to be raised as a young girl sheltered from the needless discord of servants, schedules and money. Even without "Auntie's" teachings, Emily wanted to earn her achievements rather than have them on a silver platter.
That seemed to be the only thing she confidently inherited from her parents; her parents worked for their spots in society instead of buying their way to success. Emily could at least give them props for that.
"Arthur, this book... I've never seen it before. You have this in your shelves?"
Emily perked up and glanced at their conversation. Their guest handed Emily's father a book she was too familiar with and her heart skipped a beat. Her father looked at the book curiously, his face instantly giving away his answer. "Certainly not. I'd never deal with the likes of magic. There's no such thing! Berhow, honestly... You know I'm a realist."
And of course Emily's father would have clean forgot his daughter had magical talent. Typical.
"It's actually mine...! She quickly hopped off her legs and came over to retrieve her book, which was being inspected coldly by the two men, her mother merely glancing at it curiously. Mr. Berhow looked at the Hufflepuff-in-Disguise quizzically. "Yours? You have an interest in unscientific mumbo jumbo?"
As a student who has managed to cast fire and levitate her hair ribbons, that kind of stung. "Well... Uh... It's... It's actually just a children's book. Magic and sorcery... It's a lovely thought but so incredibly far-fetched."
Mr. Berhow had clearly disengaged halfway through Emily's explanation, disregarding the book carelessly with a drop to the space on the chair behind him. "Auntie" came into the room minutes later.
"The table is set, Mr. Shephard." Man, it was hard to see "Auntie" as a maid on this occasion, to see her quiet and so... obedient. Emily had grown far too used to seeing her as the lovely guardian she truly is, a woman who taught the world with kindness and freedom, denying ridiculous conformity.
Yet at her instruction, the grown-ups followed behind her, Emily in tow. But not before Emily safely tucked her copy of "Magical Theory" inside the cabinet drawer before joining the others. Keeping a secret like this was hard.
Word Count: 990
Stats: Stamina: 7|Evasion: 6|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 8|Arcane Power: 7|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace
Trust Yourself - Love Yourself - Be Yourself
iNPC = Casey Stone
14 Oct 2024, 17:28
The Double Life
July 12th 2024
Emily's Speech: #cfa120
Nora/Auntie's Speech: #fe0613
Patricia's Speech: #d12eb3
Arthur's Speech: #253265
Mr. Berhow's Speech: #cc7d24
Mentioning: @Scout Fu-Hai - @Emmanuel Bourne - @AngelFyre McCubbin - @Colin McCoire
Afternoon tea has and always was far too pretentious for Emily's liking. She was lucky to get out of it 99% of the time when her mother was home with her circus of flying monkeys before she started attending Hogwarts. Yet the 1% of the time - this time - she was starting to remember what a blessing it was to never be a part of it back in those days. A bunch of stiffs with money and authority so far up their rears that they forget what being human is.
At least that's what Emily could only assume with how her father and Berhow were talking like pre-determined robots with calculators for brains as they discussed money, money and more money. Even Emily's mother seemed put to sleep by the conversation as she went to look down on her phone. Emily sat there at the dining room table, trying to completely detach herself from all reality. She glanced at the cloudy weather outside. As dreary as it was, it was leagues brighter than what was going on here. Her sandwich looked bland despite all the colourful goodness that was in them. "Auntie" stood by the dining room door, looking too creepily like a servant than what she was used to. It wasn't even by her parents request that she act so on-guard and attentive. It simply came by instinct after seeing the types of crowds Emily's folks surrounded themselves with all day. Too much time had passed now to change that and bring it back to a more humble and casual level, if not something close to the relaxed and informal comfort that someone at Emily's age would be better off engaged in.
The men drawled on and Emily's patience was starting to wear thin. At the same time when Emily let out a tired sigh, her mother looked up from her phone screen and met eyes with her daughter. They just sat and stared at each other, saying nothing. A prime consequence when a mother and daughter aren't together enough to even initiate small talk, let alone have meaningful conversations. Emily got sick and tired of the usual silent treatment from her parents. Did they really run out of steam that quickly when making contact with their only daughter? They could chat for hours, or even weeks on end with modelling interns and money makers, but not their kid? Twelve years on and it still amazed Emily.
She stuck out her tongue absentmindedly out of spite, for a split second forgetting she was still looking at her mother face to face. She was just about to take it back when Patricia stuck her tongue back at her. Emily couldn't believe it.
The first proper attention she's received from her mother in so long.
Emily made haste to return her expressions with more funny faces. Without either of them realising it, Emily and her mother were locked in a visual tennis, sticking their tongues out, turning their eyes inwards and making each other giggle silently.
The game met a swift end when Patricia's phone rang. Though a tinge of guilt could be seen in her eyes - if anyone cared to dig deep enough - Patricia quickly left the table, phone in hand and left the room. Emily sat back in her chair, all the joy replaced by the dull demeanour that possessed her mere moments ago. Even "Auntie" seemed disappointed when her mother left abruptly. She flashed her ward a hopeful smile and Emily smiled weakly in return. She knew her surrogate parent figure would have her back any day of the week.
"My word, Arthur. Fantastic! We can use blah blah... When we blah blah blah...
Ughhh.... Stop. Talking.
These fancy businessmen must be doing this deliberately, trying to drain the youthful life out of Emily as she's made to sit at the table and endure this torture. Only they would do this if they had zero interest at all to ask Emily "How was Hogwarts?" Or "What did you do?" Or "How were the classes?" Was this really how her parents were going to treat her after being absent for who knows how long? "Afternoon tea" with a bunch of money monkeys who know nothing else other than economics???
She managed to get into Hogwarts after a meltdown with shattering the windows in her old school's bathroom. She'd risk expulsion to do it again in front of these men just to prove something. Anything. Then again... Maybe not.
Curse the diabolical laws of magic outside school!
"Arthur... That stick there. It's very... Unusual."
"Hmm?"
"Hmm?"
All eyes in the room converged onto the "stick" sitting on the counter, away from the kitchen stuff laid neatly on the side. While Arthur and Berhow looked on suspiciously and curiously respectively, "Auntie" had a look of concern while Emily fell into pure dread.
Her wand. She forgot to leave it upstairs.
Berhow went to grab it, examining it closely. Emily chewed the inside of her mouth as he went to raise it up into the light.
"Some kind of writing pen perhaps?"
Emily sunk into a combination of embarrassment and fear as Berhow tried to write with it. She cowered further when it looked like he was about to wave it, prompting "Auntie" to come to the rescue.
"It's actually a special souvenir from a trip I was on," she said swiftly, elegantly retrieving the wand and holding it in a firm but otherwise careful grip. "It's meant to symbolise strength and wisdom. It's quite delicate when moved around so much so it's better off in the hands of the person it's meant for."
She walked over and handed the wand back to Emily, a small smile playing at her lips. "A perfect memento for your daughter, Mr. Shephard. Don't you think?"
Emily's face dusted pink as she met "Auntie's" unwavering gaze that held so much affection for the Huffie. Her father may have been complacent - maybe borderline unconvinced - but it never failed Emily to feel humbled at "Auntie's" everlasting support for her. Berhow, miraculously swayed by "Auntie's" quick thinking surrendered and dropped the topic.
"Spiritually detached from reality. Nothing seemed to have change since I was last here, Miss Russell," Berhow commented. Emily arched a brow, trying to gauge what that was supposed to mean. His tone was neither malicious nor meaningful.
"These cards. How ghastly they are."
All eyes centred on some stray tarot cards. Emily's cards. She had them sitting in the sun after her recent divination to recharge their energy. Now Berhow had his stinking rich hands groping all over them as he discarded each card, one by one, with utter disregard.
"These witchcraft cards yours as well, Nora?"
Witchcraft was something he hadn't even seen yet. But boy's he asking for it...!
"They're mine."
Emily was met with a disappointed look. "Of course they are..." Berhow wasn't even trying to hide his contempt anymore. Emily was well aware that her father was a realist, who surrounded himself with realists that relished in realism. Berhow had no chance of hurting her feelings when she knew the two of them would never get along.
"And you think the future should be told from the point of view of vampires, banshees and selkons?"
"Selkies," Emily corrected curtly. "And these cards don't predict the future. They draw upon guidance from the darker sides of the universe. Of ourselves. Darkness and light aren't inherently--"
"I didn't ask for an explanation. You're wasting time with these cards too. None of these monsters exist."
"Emily has always been fond of fairytales and gothic stories. But she's also very aware that she lives in the real world, not her books."
I know I do. And I also happen to be best friends with a dhampir!
Having Scout bite Berhow's tongue off with those fangs of hers barely scratched the surface of what he deserved at this point. And her father was okay with Berhow deconstructing Emily's safe haven of comfort like this? Right in front of him? The two of them were no better than the people that keep trying to convince Emily that magical beings were the bane of existence!
Emily was really struggling to keep a cool head. She could see "Auntie" casting cautious glances at her off the corner of her eye. Patricia came back in when Berhow yet again nit-picked at something else that caught his attention at the other end of the room.
"Patricia, is this yours by any chance? Or is this another one of your daughter's ridiculous fantasy trinkets?"
Emily went pale. No. Anything but that.
The camo cloak. Her portal to the abyss back at Hogwarts.
She and "Auntie" were ready to take it off him, but Berhow was wickedly clever enough to snatch it out of their reach. Patricia was eyeing the cloak unsurely.
"I don't know what you're talking about..."
Emily made frantic gestures at her mother behind Berhow's back, pleading with her eyes for her to say something. Her father was absolutely useless so she needed her. Further urgency from "Auntie" sealed the sentiment.
"... O-Of course it is! I'm experimenting with a new style." She quickly came over to Berhow's side, her black hair trailing behind her like a lioness's mane. "I've been too chic the last season. I want something more empowering. Fierce! Something that screams, 'out of the ashes, into the fire!' when women walk out on the streets!"
"With this...?" Berhow was holding the cloak like someone had sneezed on it or something. More panicked glances pushed Patricia to politely take it away from him.
"Yes with this! It's not done yet obviously, Berhow, you silly impatient man. But in the coming months it'll be pitch perfect!"
"I see..." Berhow gave a half amused chuckle. "Only you could mildly insult me and get away with it, Patricia. Must be a combination of your charm and your father's unyielding friendship and loyalty! I'll be looking forward to the end result of your... Empowering venture. No doubt my wife will want a set for herself."
Patricia plastered the bravest smile she had on her face as she pushed Emily out of the dining room, the cloak bundled in her arms as "Auntie" followed them and out into the corridor. When the door was shut behind them, Patricia dropped all acts and stared down at her daughter warningly.
"Any other magical objects or nonsense littered about the place, ensure that they're put away before Berhow or myself have a stroke...!"
"Yes, mum..."
"Now because of this and Berhow's expectations, I have to completely rearrange my schedule as I have to now try and work on two different lines at once! I have a magazine coming out soon and now it'll need pushed back to accommodate this!"
"Sorry, mum..."
Next time, think of a better excuse.
"Help her tidy this nonsense up."
"Auntie" nodded. "Of course, Mrs Shephard."
Patricia pinched the bridge of her nose and faced away from them. "Your father and I are stressed out with work. The last thing we need is to deal with you and your ridiculous magical folly."
"Auntie" saw the disbelief in Emily's face. "Folly? Patricia, are you forgetting that Emily is enrolled in a school for magic? She has magical talent, remember?"
"And that's the problem..."
What was that supposed to mean...?!
Emily didn't have the chance to ask before her mother returned to the dining room. Sensing the tension, "Auntie" rubbed a hand along her ward's shoulder. Though Emily knew she meant well, she was too frustrated with today's events and marched upstairs, wand, cards and cloak in her grip. She heard "Auntie's" gentle voice call to her from downstairs.
"Emily--"
The door slammed weakly behind Emily as she tossed her belongings onto her bed bitterly. Twelve days. Twelve days of being home and already she was fed up, with a mother who doesn't try harder and a father that hardly tries at all.
"Auntie." Emmanuel. Scout. AngelFyre. Even Colin for all of a split second encounter. They seemed to care in the space of a few weeks, some of them a few days compared to a lifetime with her own folks.
She looked back at the cloak behind her when she sat defeatedly at the edge of her bed.
For all the talk of "monsters" and darkness in Hogwarts, she felt a better connection to the creatures of the abyss than she did with her parents.
And she was damn proud to feel that way.
Word Count: 2147 (New Record!)
Stats: Stamina: 7|Evasion: 6|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 8|Arcane Power: 7|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace
Trust Yourself - Love Yourself - Be Yourself
iNPC = Casey Stone