In Her Eyes PV Siobhan McCarty

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Stats: sta 6 ⊹ eva 8 ⊹ str 7 ⊹ wis 7 ⊹ arc 7 ⊹ acc 7 | Time: A Gloomy Day| CC:#2E8B57
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Siobhan hadn't meant to wander into the boathouse but Toaster had run off ahead of her chasing... something. Likely a waterbug as he was very excited by them lately. It was an inconvenience to her however because without someone else's help, she wasn't confident that she could find her way back to an entrance to the castle. Toaster would be of no help as he would simly be protesting that she had taken him away from the prey he had been chasing.

She loved her cat but the gods above knew that the ball of chaos incarnate insisted on putting anything and everything into his mouth. She really needed to put him on a diet.

And so, Siobhan found herself making gentle clicking sounds with her tongue to draw out the fickle feline. Placing her bag down to lose the weight and sound of it, Siobhan found herself using her hands to guide her across the walkway and against the walls of the boathouse. If she had been able to spot the person already occupying the space of the boathouse, she wouldn't have fumbled around like a blind rat looking for her pet.

Siobhan was not above crawling to look for her cat. Toaster was trained to come back to her voice and jump in her arms, but he apparently had decided that his own adventure was far more interesting than coming back to her safely. The only thing she hoped was that Prat was not anywhere around. Toaster had been swayed by the Slytherin boy's treats more often than not when she and he found themselves in each other's company.

But the voice that belonged to the entity, most likely person, spooked her. Siobhan whipped around with a enough momentum to send her spinning off the edge of the walkway and into the water with a shrill shriek and a whopping splash. The frigid water shocked her as she splashed about frantically feeling about for the ledge to pull herself out of the wet depths. Her school robes were heavy and dragging her farther down the longer she struggled in the water.

Safety dictated that she remove the cloak around her neck and just forego rescuing it. But these uniforms were far too expensive to write her family and ask for another so it was imperative that she not lose it.

However the heaviness was hard to withstand as she continued to frantically splash about in the water of the Great Lake.
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Odilon Wilde|
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

. . .

❦ ❦ ❦

. . .

For a brief moment, the gloom of the boathouse swelled like the maw of a great beast. Then, a high pitched shriek pierced through the darkness and Odi’s breath caught in his throat as he saw a girl of about his age stagger backwards towards the edge. 
“Look out!-“ He tried to warn, but even as the words left his mouth her pale hands had slipped from the edge. She tumbled back into the lake, a wave of chestnut locks sprawled out on the surface of the water. Odi leapt to his feet. “What are you-!” He started, but the question caught in his throat. There would be time for questions (Of which he had a great many) later, and it was time to spring into action. “Hold on!” 


Odi gripped the fabric of his robes and cast them off himself in one swift movement. The frigid air whipped against his bare chest as he swan dove a few feet away from her and resurfaced as close as he could while trying not to get hit by her flailing arms. As he expected, the lake was freezing cold. Odi felt his muscles tense up in response, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through. “Okay. Okay hold on, I’ve got- OW!” He let out a yelp as her fingertip poked him in the eye. He blinked away the discomfort. “Ow, my word- Thank heavens your nails are short.”

He shifted his body behind her. “Okay, I’m moving behind you alright? I’m just getting your head above water first.” He announced, thinking it better to verbalise his actions lest she think he had some untoward intention. His broad shoulder came under her neck, acting as a perch. It was difficult to manoeuvre her round in the choppy waters, and Odi silently wondered why she didn’t seem able to navigate herself back to the bank.

As he swam backwards and led her flapping form, he brought his hand to meet hers and drew it to the stone steps. “Here, did you get water in your eyes? The steps are here.” He breathed a sigh of relief as it appeared the worst was over. He would wait until she was out of the water before he hoisted himself out. Chivalry first and all that.

@Siobhan McCarty

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Stats: sta 6 ⊹ eva 8 ⊹ str 7 ⊹ wis 7 ⊹ arc 7 ⊹ acc 7 | Time: A Gloomy Day| CC:#2E8B57
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She didn't hear his voice, but she could feel it as her head broached the water's surface and she was able to breathe once again. Siobhan felt the weight of an arm/shoulder helping her to stay above the murky depths. She coughed pitifully as the stranger helped guide her to the dock. As she coughed, she felt the warmth of someone elses hand taking hers and pressing it against the stone steps. Her weak and vulnerable form found the steps and dragged herself out of the water.

She collapsed against the deck, pushing her long oaky hair out of her face as her eyes closed for a moment. The act of nearly drowning was exhausting and she just wanted to curl up and take a nap. A swift chill swooped through her, causing her to sit up and curl into herself. A case of the sniffles seemed to already be on it's way as she sneezed quietly into her arm.

The sound of the voice spoke out again, asking if she had gotten water in her eyes.

Siobhan's eyes opened and looked towards the sound. It was calming, polite and worried? A strange way that she was being talked to. Normally, the voices talking to her with this pattern of speech were just the few girls that she had met and befriended. Such as Astra and Kaitlyn. Both of them were often worried or greatly concerned for her safety, specifically Astra. She was always chiding Siobhan for being reckless and trying to be independent.

Siobhan nodded slowly and then spoke. "I'm fine... Sorry- and thank you. I was looking for my cat and I got startled." she muttered feeling embarrassed that the whole ordeal had happened in general.

She shivered as she sat on the chilly dock. A familiar meow came from behind her and she turned in it's direction.

"Toaster!" Siobhan gasped as the fat furry feline hopped in her lap and nuzzled his head against her chin. She gave the cat a pet as she huffed.

"You made me fall in the water you silly kitty. She murmured as Toaster hopped off her lap and started pulling at her robe.

Guilt flooded her conscious and a bright flaming redness marred her face as she covered her cheeks with her hands. This poor stranger- whoever he was, had just jumped in and saved her from a frosty, wet death, and here she was; completely focused on her cat and not apologizing for the fact that she had absolutely ruined the tranquility they had likely been experiencing. Her words were jumbled and sounded as though they were tripping over themselves as she looked around blindly -no pun intended- for the direction of the voice of her guardian angel.

"I am so sorry- Truly. I'm- I'm blind and when I heard your voice... it spooked me, sending me into the water... I can swim just- I can't see- I'm so sorry!" Siobhan whimpered pathetically as she wiped her eyes again, fruitlessly trying to clear them to potentially see whomever it was that had pulled her from the lake.

Hopefully whoever it was, wasn't too inconvienenced or worse of, wasn't a prefect who would send her to detention for being reckless and endangering herself.

She loved swimming under the right circumstances- in fact she spent most of the summer learning to swim incompacitated. Her father and mother had been incredibly reluctant to allow her to return to Hogwarts after her accident but it wasn't something she had backed down about. Of course, her parents were protective- her brothers and older sister even more so, but she was confident that as a budding witch, there had to be a way to figure out how to see again.

She'd all but begged her family to trust her magic even if that was how she was cursed with her blindness in the first place.

However it seemed that nothing she did would stop the inconvienence of her own mishaps to others.
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Odilon Wilde|
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

. . .

❦ ❦ ❦

. . .

After a concerted effort to haul the girl’s uncooperative form onto dry land, Odi gripped the edge and hoisted himself out of the water as the girl coughed the last of the lake's water out of her lungs. He watched as she slid a hand through her hair and pushed it out of her face. She was really quite pretty. Naturally it wasn’t really among his priorities while he was focused on her safety, but there was a beautiful delicacy to her features that made Odi pause for a moment as he stared at her- Until the chill of the open air hit his bare skin.

Odi grit his teeth to fight the shiver that fell over him. It seemed the cold had got to his rescue as well, as she had curled over herself to fight the cold.
"I'm fine... Sorry- and thank you. I was looking for my cat and I got startled."
“Cat?”
“Toaster!”
Odi nearly jumped out of his skin as a chunky black cat seemed to hop into her lap out of nowhere.
The girl ran her hand through the smug feline’s fur. “You made me fall in the water, you silly kitty.”
The absurdity of the situation finally hit, combined with the adrenaline of nigh-hypothermia. Odi felt himself start to laugh. It was a suppressed chuckle that grew into a raucous belly-laugh that felt like it would never end. “How did- what was-?” It was impossible to make out what he was even trying to ask between his fits of uncontrollable laughter. At last he finally managed to get a hold of himself, but all manner of questions seemed to have deserted him. Instead, he simply chose to reach out and offer his hand to the cat helplessly.

He looked up as the girl had started sobbing apologies. “I am so sorry-” She blurted. “Truly. I'm- I'm blind and when I heard your voice... it spooked me, sending me into the water... I can swim just- I can't see- I'm so sorry!"
“Woah, woah. Calm down.” Odi held his hands up, still chuckling gently at the irony of it all.“Merlin’s beard, you’re shivering.” He tugged his robes closer and plunged his hand into the pocket, pulling out his wand. “Sorry kitty, Aer Calidus!” He pointed the wand at her quivering form as a stream of warm air blasted out of the thin piece of wood.

All at once her words fully struck him. Did she just say she was blind? He looked at her eyes, which looked like they had indeed healed some terrible affliction that had befallen then. “I’m sorry, did you just say you’re blind?” He tentatively raised a hand and waved it, his eyes narrowing with suspicion that she might be able to see him do it. “As in… You can’t see?” He silently wondered how difficult the nature of her disability must make it to navigate a labyrinth like Hogwarts, but it probably would’ve been tactless to ask before they had even made introductions. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. Here, let me introduce myself. My name’s Odi. What’s yours?”

Odi casts Aer Calidus (Hot Air charm)
@Siobhan McCarty

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Stats: sta 6 ⊹ eva 8 ⊹ str 7 ⊹ wis 7 ⊹ arc 7 ⊹ acc 7 | Time: A Gloomy Day| CC:#2E8B57
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Siobhan felt her face start to redden as the boy -Odi- spoke to her in a kindhearted and curious voice. Her eyes closed as she held Toaster close to her chest, the fat cat yowling as the gust of air swooped over them to dry her off from her unplanned dip in the lake.

The Hot Air Charm was so comforting and fully dried the wet heavy robes that had been cradling her body. Her hair had a mild dampness to it, but no longer hung from her head like a heavy towel wrap. Toaster felt as though his fur had been blown up like a balloon. Siobhan let out a sweet giggle as she gently combed Toaster's fur back into place. Looking towards where the charm had come from she smiled up at it.

"Thank you for helping me from the water- It's not your fault I was frightened... Just the darned eyes of mine- I have no real sense of perception, making it hard to discern my surroundings. My name is Siobhan. And this is Toaster, my cat." She said holding one of her hands out to shake his. It was only polite to introduce herself properly to the boy who had rescued her.

She couldn't believe that she had been so clumsy and unable to pay attention to her surroundings. The nurses and doctors at St. Mungos had been working so hard to help her assimilate back into the safety of walking around, she knew they would be incredibly disappointed to hear about how she had just allowed herself to fall in danger.

But someone had saved her, risked their own life to let her continue living hers. Siobhan felt her cheeks flush moreso than their natrual rosiness as Odi fusssed over her. It was sweet, and gentle but she wasn't sure if it was only because he had felt bad that she had succumbed to the chill of the lake.

"I really appreciate you helping me." Siobhan said as she threaded her fingers through her hair as Toaster huffed off somewhere again. She knew he had wandered off in a sulking motion because she hadn't been paying him enough attention. Siobhan's faced dropped as she felt the weight of her cat hop off her lap.

"Toaster stop wandering off-" She fussed as she stood up from where she had been sitting. Siobhan could feel the strain of her eyes as she tried to follow the path her cat had taken, with her arms stretching out to ascertain where exactly the wall was.

Walls were her solace. Her guide and her safety. There had been some talk between her parents and the liason betweeen mugglborns and their families, and the wizarding doctors about equipping her with a wand that was specially designed to use a form of echolocation, by sending her a signal whenever she got too close to a wall, or whenever she began to walk down stairs. However the product itself was expensive, and the bills from St. Mungo's were enough of an added expense and she didn't want to burden her family any more than she already had.

It wasn't in the cards for her at the moment. So for now, learning to walk with a vague understanding of the Castle's layout was what she had settled with. Though the boathouse, where she was pretty sure she was, wasn't very familiar to her. Of all the places her darned cat could have wandered off to...

Siobhan's foot stumbled against something as she moved where she thought her cat had and yipped softly as her hands came across something... not a wall. She fumbled around before realizing it was most definitely another individual- Probably Odi.

"Oh- Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry!" Siobhan squeaked pulling her hands away from Odi's arm and shoulder as though it had burned her. She didn't mean to grab him and having done so, it was embarrassing. She didn't know anything about him aside from his name.


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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Odilon Wilde|
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

. . .

❦ ❦ ❦

. . .

The name sounded so sweet on her tongue that he couldn’t help but repeat it. “Siobhan.” He echoed dreamily, as though he were already picturing carving it into a tree alongside his own. He took her hand gently, in case she was still fragile from her dip in the water.

He almost couldn’t believe it. She really had barely a notion of what he looked like- Wouldn’t be seduced by honeyed smirks or half sentimental winks- Wouldn’t swoon at his beck and call. In fact, by the time her eyes healed she might even be past such adolescent fawning. Yes, in her eyes, he was just like everyone else.

The tubby cat, who had made his refuge in his owners lap, hopped off his perch to mill about of his own accord. Odi let out a soft chuckle as he watched the plump little critter totter off and prompt his owner to stumble about after him. He took the opportunity to dress himself and tugged his robes closer to himself. As he stood to reclothe, Siobbhan had returned to her habit of using the walls as a guide. From the trajectory she was headed it was likely she’d crash into him at this rate. He shook his head, still chuckling as he pulled his robes back over himself.

"Oh- Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry!" She squeeked as her hands made contact and sprang back off him again right after.
“That’s alright.” Odi made to catch one of them with a bemused look on his face. “Here, let me be your guide for the way back.” He held out his arm in a gentlemanly sort of way, pocketing his wand with his free hand. “It must be hard, making your way round a maze of a school like this.”

The weather outside the boathouse was fair enough, but a few grey clouds littered the horizon enough to give the benefit of the doubt that it might rain soon. Odi stepped out into the fresh air, keeping his arm firmly in place for Siobbhan to hold onto. “Say…” He started, clearing his throat nervously. “I don’t know if you were planning on going to the ball that they’re planning at school…”
He paused. Was this what it felt like for that girl who had asked him to the ball? He silently made a note to give potential suitors a little more grace from now on. “But well… The event’s looming rather close now and I find myself without a date.”

Odi shut his eyes and prayed she wouldn’t hear how fast his heart was beating. He couldn’t quite remember the last time he had been this nervous. “Would you like to go with me?” The words came out before he had a chance to overthink them. A fact he was glad of.

What left him less glad was the waiting that followed for an answer.

@Siobhan McCarty

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Stats: sta 6 ⊹ eva 8 ⊹ str 7 ⊹ wis 7 ⊹ arc 7 ⊹ acc 7 | Time: A Gloomy Day| CC:#2E8B57
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Siobhan felt the gentle grasp of Odi's hands as he guided her away from the wall and into a safer embrace to walk. It was shockingly kind but not unwelcome at all. She was used to the pity that people offered her whenever she wandered across the halls of the castle, but the way that Odi held her hands, in an encouraging way as if he wanted to only remain close to her just to safeguard but not to coddle.

It warmed her heart. It was a nice change of pace from worry and pity that most of her friends expressed towards her.

"It's difficult to say the least... But I seem to find my way eventually. Thank you for your help with helping me out of the water and drying me off. Most people think I'm a nuisance to be around now." Siobhan explained as she focused on walking with the help of another. Odi's smooth transition from the boathouse to just outside of it helped her greatly as the sunlight illuminated a little more of her surroundings which helped her to move around with more confidence even if they were still fuzzy.

Everything was fuzzy to her. With how often she needed to ask for help from those around her, she found herself being pushed farther out of social circles and away from those in their common room. She'd been gravitating farther away from students in the Gryffindor House and closer to her friends in Slytherin. Matthew, Astra, Kaitlyn, and even Prat had been accepting her more so than any other Gryffindor student. Alphonse was the exception but he was far more focused on his girlfriend than he was with her.

She thought her house was supposed to made up of loyal members of their pride. But it seemed this wasn't the case. Which is why itwas further shocking to hear the next couple words that came from Odi's voice.

"The event's looming rather close now and I find myself without a date. Would you like to go with me?"

Siobhan looked over at him with a curious expression on her face. Odi wanted to go with her? To a ball? A crimson flush appeared on her cheeks and across her nose. The roseacea across her face was far more pronounced as she processed the offer and the kindness that Odi was offering.

She hoped he meant it sincerely- this would be her first official date if he truly meant it. She had been at balls with people, and Prat had been the one she spent the most time with at the last ball but they hadn't really been at the ball until the very end. Siobhan's face broke out in a timid smile as she tried to discern it with an answer from Odi about whether he was serious.

"You want to go with me? I might only be an inconvenience to you. Most everyone thinks so." Siobhan mumbled as her upper teeth bit her lower lip. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin somone's night because they needed to keep an eye on her and be barred from enjoying the fun of the evening. The premise and theme of the ball seemed so mystical to her and yet so dangerous. A floating dance floor on the lake did not bode well for someone who could barely see the fingers in front of her face.

But a date. A real date- She'd never been on one before and truthfully, who would take a blind girl? But Odi's offer seemed to kind to pass up and she nodded with a bright smile and a flushed face.

"I'd love to go with you Odi. I think it will be wonderful."
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Odilon Wilde|
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

. . .

❦ ❦ ❦

. . .

There was a small, disapproving frown on Odi’s face as he heard Siobbhan speak so negatively about herself. Wizarding society had a very overarching emphasis on utility, but it was sad to hear someone so lovely relegate herself to what she could offer in skill.

“I don’t think you’re a liability at all.” He said firmly. “But you’re welcome.”

Waiting for her reply felt like it had gone on for a lifetime. There was a curious look on Siobbhan’s face as she finally spoke. “You want to go with me? I might only be an inconvenience to you. Most everyone thinks so."
He took her hand in his gently, and looked down at her with a certain intensity in his gaze - Though really, it was unlikely she could make such an expression out -
“I don’t think so. I want to go with you more than anyone else I’ve met at this school so far. And… I’ve had a few offers incidentally.” He chuckled half to himself at his last comment, then shook it off. Shouldn’t give her too much of an excuse to ask questions about his popularity.

At last the question hung in the air. A curious expression lingered on Siobbhans face for a long moment as she seemed to consider his question. Finally a faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she said "I'd love to go with you Odi. I think it will be wonderful."


Odi’s heart surged with such an intensity he felt quite sure he might be having a heart attack. He took a sharp breath in through his nose to try to quell the arrhythmia. “That’s- Fantastic.” His voice sounded strange as he did his best to calm the tempest of emotion that was raging in him.

A thought occurred to him that instantly brought him back down to reality. “Oh… My erm, my mother will want to see what your dress robes look like.” He said, somewhat embarrassed at having to acknowledge this. “Or if you’d prefer, she’d probably jump at the opportunity to make you some. She’s a designer you see. She makes all my robes.” He rolled his eyes. “But I suppose we can sort all of that out later. Which house are you? I’ll escort you back to your common room.”

@Siobhan McCarty

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Stats: sta 6 ⊹ eva 8 ⊹ str 7 ⊹ wis 7 ⊹ arc 7 ⊹ acc 7 | Time: A Gloomy Day| CC:#2E8B57
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Odi had taken her hand in his and held it so gently, she almost forgot that it was her hand. It was so very comfortable to hold. She felt her heart thump lightly as the boy in front of her mentioned that he had been asked out already but had turned them down, just to ask her out. What did she have that other people didn't? He sounded as though he was popular with their classmates. He probably had others fawning over him all the time. That sounded awful to be completely honest. She told him as such.

"I'm sorry to hear you seem to have more than a singular shadow. It's not comfortable to be followed by those who only see you for superficiality." She lilted, giving his hand a gentle pat of understanding.

When Odi mentioned wanting to know what her dress robes looked like, she blushed again but not out of flustering but rather out of sheer embarrassment. Her family wasn't poor- but their means were far lower than they needed to live by. This meant that more often than not, she was given hand-me-downs from her cousins and older sister. It was upcyling as fashion tended to be too fast and it was horrible for the earth. She had exactly two pairs of jeans and whenever she wore them she was extremely conscious of her usage in water and energy as those two pairs required a great amount of both to produce.

How would Odi react if she told him that because she was so poor, her family had given her hand-me-downs for her to wear to the ball? The hand-me-downs and home-made outfits and clothing had never bothered her. But would it bother him? He'd just said his mother was a designer.

Siobhan looked at her shoes as they walked away from the Boathouse. Her outfit for the ball consisted of a hand me down red skirt with gold and cream colored embroidery. The skirt had been passed down to her from her grandmother. She loved that skirt and she was finally tall enough to wear it without the darned thing dragging across the ground. It would look fantastic while spinning and dancing in the way that she loved to.

"Thats very kind of you to offer... but most of my dress is handed down to me from my grandmother. I think I'd like to keep my dress instead of accepting something new. Though I do appreciate the offer. Is that okay?" Siobhan asked timidly, hoping that her words didn't come out as rude. A brand new gown sounded lovely. But it felt more meaningful to keep what had been in her family's possession.

"If your mother would like to design something, I can describe it! My family has slavic and roots in Romani culture. I'm just wearing a simple white blouse but my skirt is woven by hand with deep red and black fabrics and some gold thread. I think my mother told me it was woven at least four generations ago." Siobhan gushed excitedly. It was always so fun to dress up and to explore her beauty.

Especially now, since beauty was difficult to accept. When she looked in the mirror, aside from the fact that she couldn't physically see anything- she wasn't mentally making the connection between what she had looked like in her own mind and that opinion of others. How could she assume that even now she was still beautiful? Even pretty?

Siobhan rationally couldn't avoid the idea that she was. Plenty of people enjoyed being around her. Odi had just invited her to the ball with the hopes to match outfits. That had to mean something right? It would be far too presumptuous to ask Odi to tell her if he thought she was beautiful right now. They had only just met.

But the butterflies in her stomach when he spoke to her felt reassuring. Siobhan couldn't fight the smile on her face as she stood in his company.

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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Odilon Wilde|
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅