Catching Up
july 9th, 2025 wc: 950 interacting with: @Scout Fu-Hai
what I wanted to do, at the least / is to stay by your side.
Casey is a vivacious individual, Zyair had concluded. He did not quit, not even a little bit. So, knowing this, Zyair wasn't all-too surprised with his request. Something about his brother and the mountains in the U.S.A., honestly the details were lost even on him. But still, he asks and planned with his mother, he sent letters to Eba, and so now... here he was, the day before he was going to floo to another continent, sitting in his older sister's apartment.
Zyair thought he had a pretty good amount of energy; at Uagadou, he had no trouble keeping up with his friends or younger students, and at home, he always had the twins and his sisters to keep him moving. But damn, he was sitting on her worn, leather couch, wondering if he was going to be able to even get up the next day. He had floo'd from home, to his sisters office in the Ministry, and then walked the short trip back to her apartment with her. On top of that, Miriam and Chichi had kept him busy in the morning and all the night before. Asking him to bring home souvenirs (he tried to explain that it wasn't that kind of trip, but it fell on deaf ears), asking him to cook, asking him to play...
And then, on top of the exhaustion, he had made plans with a certain red-haired girl. Which would be happening in ten or so minutes. He checks his watch, he checks the clock, he even peeks at Eba's phone- but the time can only go by so fast. (Zyair had asked for a muggle phone a few times, although it was vehemently denied by his mother every time the question came up. He never had plans to use it for nefarious purposes (that just wasn't in his character), but rather for emergencies. But phones are expensive, and he wouldn't be able to bring it to Uagadou- which then lead to the risk of the twins getting their hands on it. Weirdly, he found himself feeling left out whenever his muggle or muggle-born friends mentioned having and using theirs. Whatever.)
Eba has worked as a Muggle Relations Employee since she graduated from Uagadou, but only moved to London once Zyair started school. It was jarring, not having her in the house all the time. It wasn't quiet, nothing of the sort, but it felt lonely. If Zyair was tired, Eba would handle the twins and cook dinner, but with her being gone, there was nothing. His mother was... unfortunately not of much help. She would work, and if she wasn't working, she was sleeping or chatting. He felt too much responsibility to let the twins raise themselves, and so he became the de facto parent for them.
Maybe parent wasn't the right word, but he didn't know what else to substitute it with besides babysitter. Of course, he didn't hate his mother, and he certainly didn't hate the baby twins, but man... sometimes it was tiring always being the one relied on- no, he didn't hate the relying- but he hated how it was expected. He had interacted with his fair share of cruel and uncaring individuals, so maybe he wanted to be praised just a bit for these acts of his.
There's a quiet knock at the door, and Eba opens it before Zyair can register the sound. Deep breath in, deep breath out-
"Zyair!"
A pair of hands wrap around his neck, and he knows it's Scout long before he can see her red hair. There's a distinct smell of copper and vanilla that always emanates from her, and while they're on opposite ends of the scent spectrum, he thinks they go nice together. Maybe he just thinks she's nice, but does that really matter?
Somehow, he feels the tiredness leave his body, and he's on his feet before he realizes what he's doing. In his mind, he had thought Scout was going to be just a little more apprehensive at this meeting, hell, at his presence... but- she was all smiles and joy. Of course, that only begged the question of, how much was this actually her personality and how much of a front was she putting up?
She was easy to read, sure, but if Zyair were being honest with himself, he was starting to feel like she was burying herself deeper and deeper in her head. But, he didn't have any grounds for that thought- hell, he had only seen her a handful of times in the past six months, and they hadn't really shared letters with one another. The latter was partially his fault, any time he'd want to write something, to tell her something, he'd find his eyes darting over her past letter, and all will would leave his body. Damn, when did he turn into such a coward?
He can't even think to himself, because he realizes that Eba, and the man that had accompanied Scout, were talking... were they talking to him? Had he been staring into oblivion? What was happening to him, this was just too unlike him.
Goodbye 'space cadet' Zyair, hello 'cognizant and thoughtful' Zyair.
When there's a quick break in the conversation, he finds himself stealing a quick glance at Scout, and she returns it just as fast. He hears her snort and giggle, but then Eba asks him something and he finds himself falling back into his everyday facade.
i'll come to your side right away, so you just stay there and wait, as you are.
zyair ona'je & scout fu-hai
Catching Up
july 8th, 2025 wc: 1200 interacting with: @Zyair Ona'je
the melancholy of losing my way and interminglingScout never had to beg her parents when it came to spending time with friends- in any capacity. Sure, the reason was partially because she never had any friends in the first place, but it was mostly because both of her parents never wanted her to miss out. Her dad would talk about how he had to miss outings with his friends because of his family, and her mother would say it was because of work.
So when she mentioned that she wanted to go hiking with Emily and some other friends, there was never a 'no' in place. Baishu rung Emily's Auntie once, making sure she was okay with Emily going, and then Nina talked to Casey's parents and help put the plans into place. Scout didn't feel anxious or nervous when she asked, dropping it in a casual conversation over dinner. Maybe there was one benefit to her childhood, and that was; now, her parents would rather die than not let her interact with friends. So maybe endearing five years of bullying had some good effect!
Scout had only mentioned Zyair's name one time, and had referred to him prior as 'this friend of mine'. She wasn't even sure where the embarrassment came from, like she's never cared about naming Casey or Colin... but the second she has to name male friend- no, the second she has to name Zyair? Nope, can't even imagine doing it.
She sits, reading his letter over, and over again. I will meet you there, and I can only hope that then, we'll be able to have a talk about everything that's happened. Well, there had been a slight change in plans- because apparently the "present" Zyair mentioned needed her to be in person to see it. So, she sat in the back of her dad's old muggle car, listening to something in the CD player, trying not to vomit from anxiety. First off- what could that present even be referring to? Like an actual gift-wrapped thing? But if that was the case, why couldn't he have passed it to her when they met up with everyone else?
The second thing (and more scary one), he wanted to talk. As much as Scout loved to chat and yap... she knew Zyair wasn't stupid, wasn't easily pushed around. If he wanted to talk about her (which she knew was the case), it'd be impossible to get him off her tail. But she just couldn't part with her secret, she couldn't get the truth off her chest. No, it was going to stay perfectly locked in her brain until time itself ended, even if that meant not being honest with him... or anyone, for that matter.
She likes the apartment that Zyair's sister lives in. The outside is nice and normal, but once you go inside, the paintings move and talk to each other, there are cats that run in between Scout's legs, and she spots a ghost flying in and out of a room.
"Are you excited to see your friend, Scout?" Her dad's voice breaks over the bubble of excitement and anxiety that's formed over her. "I've never been on this side of town, it's surprising to find a magical apartment in such a muggle-surrounded area. What did your friend say his sister did? She works for the Ministry, isn't that right?" Scout trails her hand on the stairway railing as they walk, listening to him prattle on about how important the work Zyair's sister was doing was.
The door has a wreath on it, and Scout reads the '304' on it once, and then twice. Even though she knows that this is the apartment, she can't help but feel a twinge of wonder of who will open the door. Maybe it'll be Zyair, or his sister, maybe it'll be some totally random person- and Baishu will have to apologize for getting the address wrong.
It opens, and a very pretty woman smiles at the two of them.
"Salut, come in." Her voice isn't deep like Zyair's, but it's completely even. It's so calm and soothing. "It's so nice to meet the two of you, I hope you didn't have much trouble finding my apartment, I had to move a few months ago because of work."
"It's so nice to meet you too, Miss Eba, this little sucker right here," her dad squeezes Scout's arms, pushing her just a bit, "is Scout, and I'm Baishu. I'm sorry my wife couldn't make it, they have you folks at the Ministry working so hard!"
Scout zones out her father, spotting Zyair sitting on the couch, seeming a little lost in thought. She can't really fight back the want to give him a quick hug, so she does. She rubs her head against his, squeezing him as much as she can physically manage, what with the couch blocking most of her physical strength. Being in his presence does, for some reason, calm her down enough that she finds herself not too worried about anything anymore.
"Zyair, you're being impolite," she can hear Eba's voice over her own quiet giggles, "avoir du respect. Are you almost ready? Va lui montrer ce que tu as, before you leave." Have some respect / Go show her what you're getting.
"Yes, sorry."
Zyair spins on his heel, and Scout doesn't get the time to process what he was doing before she finds herself getting (gently) pulled along, they disappear past Baishu, through the apartment building, up stairs, down stairs, and then through more open rooms. She tries to blabber out a 'hey, what are we doing?', but Zyair doesn't give her the chance. He just continues to lead her on whatever journey they're taking. Until...
They finally end up in a quiet room, that smells distinctly like... dogs? "Look." He says, pointing to a small corner in the room where a bunch of small puppies are playing together. Scout completely sputters, because, how did she not see them before? Also... puppies? In this building? Aren't apartments supposed to ban dogs? But they're so small and so cute... wait a second, do those dogs have two tails?
"They are not dogs," Zyair offers, seemingly reading Scout's mind, "they're half-Crups. One of my neighbors accidentally got a few more than he needed, so he said that Eba and I could have one, if we wanted. Do you see that one? She's a lot more gold than the rest... that one is mine, and her name is Sandy."
"You got a puppy and you named it after my stuffed dog? The one that you let me have when we met? Do you know how sweet that is?"
Zyair hums. "It only felt natural. The two don't look identical, but I thought the resemblance was enough." She watches him watch her, and feels her face heat up. Why does he always look so intensely at everything? Everyone?! "I have a feeling I won't get another opportunity to ask you this, not with the whole... ahem, whatever it is Casey has planned. So let me seize the chance now. Are you alright? I won't beg for details, but you've looked and sounded so very melancholy since the last time we spoke."
Oh boy, she doesn't know what she's gonna start with first when she tells Emily this story.
don't look at me; you can't understand, right? i'm just like a monstrous flower that bloomed too soon
scout fu-hai & zyair ona'je
Catching Up
july 8th, 2025 wc: 750 interacting with: @Scout Fu-Hai
what I wanted to do, at the least / is to stay by your side.
Zyair wishes he were a genius. If he were, he'd be able to read Scout's expression with more ease, pinpoint why exactly her face had become so crestfallen. He watches her lips purse, and her eyes avoid his own. Her eyebrows furrow, her fingers clench into small fists- and faintly, he thinks he must've made a mistake, being so direct with his wording. He had thought Scout would appreciate being straightforward, but maybe he had caught her off-guard with it.
She huffs, and looks away from him. Somehow, that makes Zyair feel even worse. He had prefaced her that this was where their conversation, their meet-up, was going to lead. But maybe that still wasn't enough for her. Maybe he should've said it in plain words, fifteen times, in his letter. Hell, she hadn't even responded to his first letter, only one he sent hastily, with his sister's address and a time.
If it were anyone else, he would've cut his losses.
He's not sure why Scout stays in his mind so much, why he wants to keep reaching out to her, why he wants her to rely on him. Zyair tries to convince himself it's part of his persona, that he's just so used to being the reliable one, that when someone doesn't initially trust him, it makes him want to push harder. But even he has a breaking point, even he knows when to quit, and nothing about his relationship with Scout makes him want to quit.
His eyes wander to Sandy, watching her waddle over to him and Scout. All his life, he assumed he was more of a cat person, but ever since he's started taking on some of the tasks for taking care of Sandy, he's found himself falling into a rhythm with the half-Crup. There's something soothing about the schedule with it all. Even if Sandy isn't technically his yet (Eba and his mother told him he wasn't going to get the dog until the school year started, and he was fine with that waiting period), it still felt weird to tell people that he was going to have a dog.
Scout kneels down, petting Sandy absentmindedly, but it seems like even her presence is able to get Scout out of her shell, just a little bit. She just shrugs, voice quiet. "I dunno... it's just... I've felt weird since that whole thing happened, at the ball. Just... like, a lot went wrong, you know? And... I- I dunno, I guess I'm just freaked out that more things are gonna go wrong. Even though I know it's not your fault, 'cause you're really nice, and I know that- well, while some of it was your fault, it wasn't all your fault."
That was the answer he was expecting the most, and the one he dreaded to hear. Because... shit, what was he supposed to do to fix that? He could talk and reassure her all he wanted, but it wouldn't do anything to change the facts of the situation. Of course, he knows he can't be mad at Sabrina, but he's really starting to want to. It'd be so much easier to just blame this on her, to push off any responsibility away from him-
But Zyair is not that kind of person.
He kneels down next to Scout, gently reaching out to pat her head, threading his fingers through her short, red hair. "It's fine if things go wrong, mon ange, because we can still get through them. I wish there was more I could do, truly, to help you realize that. I'll spend the rest of the time we have together trying my best, I hope that that might be enough for you."
It's just a little entertaining, watching her face flush. She smacks him away, huffing under her breath. "Can you not say it like that? It sounds almost- ugh, I don't know- romantic! You sound like Colin when he's talking to Emily, do you know how gross he is?" Ouch? "Oh, don't make that face, I'm not calling you Colin, I'm just... ugh, stop looking at me like that!"
"And here I thought I was being polite." Zyair says pointedly. "Would you prefer for me to be brash like Casey? I'd hope that just one of him is enough for you."
i'll come to your side right away, so you just stay there and wait, as you are.
zyair ona'je & scout fu-hai