On the Shores of Loss and Longing Violence

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XX𝕿here are different kinds of things you experience in your life. Some experiences are good. They give you something to think about, to ponder over, to enjoy. These experiences are usually good because of two reasons: situation and people. The situation could mean that maybe you were going out and the weather was nice. Or if you wanted ice cream, and a shop happened to be nearby. This is never the main reason, though. It's always the people that make an experience worthy of being remembered. Core memories, as they are called, are usually always about interactions with people. The bitter truth of life, however, is that those people mostly never stay in your life.

Then, there are bad experiences. Experiences which make you shudder. Experiences which make you cry or scream with anger. These experiences give you something to learn from, something to take note of so that you avoid such things in the future. These experiences are also influenced by the same two factors: situation and people. The situation is again, not the main factor, but if you are already sad or angry, the situation will definitely make you twice as irritated. The people involved in bad experiences however, could either be helpful, trying to save you from the situation, or they could be the ones causing the pain. For Violence, the Fall Ball was that. A bad situation. And Dennis had been the person to save her from the situation.

What happens, however, when the person from your core memories, the one that made your mundane experiences turn into something wondrous, becomes the reason your situations turn bad? How do you cope when that person crosses paths with you? Azzure Solace had haunted Violence Bloodthorn in the most torturous way for many, many months before Violence had finally, somewhat, tried to move on. She knew that completely moving on from Azzure would probably take years. But it was safe to say that she could now attend a ball without breaking down in the middle of the dance floor, and for Violence, that was a win. She could spend time with another person, kiss another person and not completely shatter. Violence had been at ease with Dennis and she had enjoyed that.

Right before Azzure actually showed up. Maybe it was because Dennis had gone off to… where had Dennis gone? But Azzure had come up to Violence as soon as Dennis had left her. And what had followed, Violence could not shake off. She had gone over the interaction at least a million times now, and still she could not make head or tail of it. They had met. Azzure had spoken to her, and then the power had gone out. Azzure had panicked. Was it because of her family? Had something happened again? Violence did not know. She had not asked and Azzure hadn’t bothered to tell her when they had been together because of course, clearly the more important and groundbreaking thing was ‘Oh another man kissed you. How did you let that happen?’

Both of them had decided that they would meet later, but Violence couldn’t shake the heavy feeling as she walked back from the Small Hall to the lake. She had turned her back on Azzure first. She had left the hall first. She could not handle what had happened. She needed time to process her feelings and emotions. And she couldn’t do that with blames being thrown her way. Especially from the person she loved. As she neared the shore of the lake, she saw a small glow, like from the end of a cigarette, coming from just some distance away. She walked closer to inspect the scene and found Dennis sitting on the rock. ‘How do you do this, Universe? Just how? The one person that had to be here, smoking that too, had to be Dennis?’ She sighed but decided to talk to him. Maybe he could, once more, play saviour and save her from herself. From the thoughts and emotions that Violence did not know what to do with.

Holding her gown in her hands, she made her way through the ground, careful not to lose her footing as she made her way in front of Dennis. “Hey, mind if I join?” She accepted his hand as she climbed on to the boulder, settling beside him. “I didn’t know you smoked. Why the need for it right now?” She looked at him before turning ahead and observing what was happening on the dance floor. She frowned as she saw the lights going off again. What in the world was happening? Hogwarts was considered to be the best school for witch-craft and wizardry and the staff couldn’t handle the lights? They had access to magic, for gods’ sake! A second later, however, her frown deepened as she saw the dance floor jerking. Something had rammed into it from beneath the surface of the water.

Her body gave a slight jerk and her arm instinctively reached out to grab Dennis’ bicep. It hadn’t been intentional but now that Violence had caught onto it, she found herself not wanting to let go. She had to, though, right? It would be awkward if she kept holding on. But would it really? They had, after all, come to the ball together. Her hand loosened and slipped down the ginger’s arm before resting on his thigh, fingers loosely wrapped around his elbow. “I wonder what’s happening there, it seems pretty scary. It’s good that we got out at the right time, no?” Her mind instantly thought that it was good because if Azzure would have been here, she would have freaked out. She closed her eyes, forcing the thoughts of Azzure to go away.

But she had met the girl after ages, and she couldn’t help but think about her. However, the thoughts of their interaction had finally left Violence alone. Now all she could think about was how pretty Azzure looked. How she had missed her voice. That raspy voice that had first encaptivated her in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Her eyes, the same snowy eyes that she’d drowned in, that day at the lake. Her touch, the same touch that had her heartbeat racing every time it graced Violence’s skin. Violence hadn’t realised when a drop of tear fell down her face. She knew she was with Dennis and crying out of thin air would make Violence look weird but her emotions had gotten to her.

She spoke through the blurry eyes and groggy voice, “Sorry, I’m just… not feeling okay right now. If you want me to go, I can. I don’t wanna ruin your night.” She however, hoped that Dennis would offer to do something. Merlin knew she needed to escape the thoughts of Azzure Solace.

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Dennis was about to get off his perch and return to his date. He really wasn’t sure why he left her alone, but something seemed to be pushing him away. Maybe it would have been better to stay and confront whatever it was driving him away but he also didn’t want to cause a scene with whoever it was that seemed to be wishing him harm for being around Violence. It was really a miraculous set of circumstances that had brought them together - both aching for chance, both taking a chance on a stranger. He gave a puff of his cigarette and as the smoke cleared there stood, to his surprise, his date Violence Bloodthorn.

He smiled warmly at her and welcomed her up to his rock. A pang of guilt and foreboding shook his heart like it was trying to slap some sense into him - this was deja vu and it didn’t work out last time either. “Hey, there’s my beautiful date. Welcome to my little castaway island,” he said before taking another drag of the cig and blowing the smoke in the opposite direction of Violence. “I would love for you to join me. I was just thinking about you,” he said, his voice rasped with the burn of the smoke, giving his tone a huskier sound.

She sat next to him and his heart screamed at him to run. This rock was obviously a cursed artifact of broken relationships…not that whatever Violence and Dennis was was broken (yet) but there was a sinking feeling in his gut that this would not end well. That all went away when she grabbed his arm and leaned against him. He instinctively placed his hand on hers and leaned his head against hers as they watched the waves for a long moment. At least now, though, it seemed right not matter what might happen, it was a moment he needed.

He offered her a cigarette absently without addressing the fact he was smoking. He figured it was better to just welcome her into his space. As they sat there, she seemed to hesitate though but then found a place of rest as they watched the chaos unfold on the floating platform.

“Scary?” He asked and broke the contact they shared to look at her. Her eyes clouded with her own troubles. He thought for a moment. “I am sure they will be fine.” She mentioned it being serendipitous that they weren’t there right now but the only reason they weren’t was because he had stepped out to smoke and be mopey for a bit. He gave her a shrug and returned to resting against her. “If we were there we would protect each other. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I am sure you’d have my back too,” he said softly, though he would say this to any girl that was his date, he somehow meant it extra for real life then.

He was about to ask if she’d like one more dance even if it was along the shoreline when he felt her heave against her. His first instinct was perhaps the cigarette smoke made her nauseous and that she might throw up but then he looked over and saw she was…crying. The situation wasn’t that scary was it? Now she was apologizing for ruining his night? He moved his arm out of her hold and wrapped it around her waist pulling her in tighter. “The only way you could ruin my night is leaving me now.”

He repositioned himself to face her and wiped her tears away and smiled sympathetically, “There is no need to apologize. I come here to forget my past all the time, maybe it’s what you need too. I am here now for you."

@Violence Bloodthorn

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XX𝕿his was exactly why she enjoyed spending time with Dennis, he was flirty but in a genuine way, funny but not insulting. A blush crept up her cheeks as she held Dennis’ hand to settle on the rock, his voice sending tingles down the young witch’s back. She raised her eyebrow at her partner’s words, “Oh? And what were you thinking, exactly?” She adjusted her gown to make sure it wouldn’t catch the falling ashes of the cigarette, before resting on Dennis’ arm. A warmth spread through her entire body when Dennis leaned his head against her as well. She subtly shifted towards him, smiling.

The wizard swung his arm in front of the witch, cigarette between his fingers and Violence was taken aback, “Oh, uh, I’ve never actually smoked.” She let out a nervous chuckle, but then decided that after what had just happened in the Small Hall, it would be a welcome high. “Know what, I’ll have it.” Placing the cigarette between her lips, she took a puff and immediately started coughing as clouds of smoke escaped her mouth. Vi let out a laugh, “That was my first time trying, you cannot blame me for being absolutely terrible at it. Fuck, that burns. Okay, okay, let me try again.”

She managed to not choke on the smoke this time and decided she could now take another swig at it. So she proceeded to take a few more puffs before handing the cigarette back to Dennis. It was almost at its end, but Dennis could have a puff or three before the cigarette went out completely. Violence could already feel the high getting to her head as she closed her eyes for a second.The slight buzzing made every sound around her a little less noisy, but far too loud at the same time. She was not opposed to it, however. As she expressed her concern about the people in the Ball, she was met with an extremely charming response. “If we were there we would protect each other. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I am sure you’d have my back too.” Her eyes sparkled, joy spreading across her face. “You’re too sweet. But yes, I would protect you as well, although I doubt I’d be of much physical help. The only comfort I could provide would be by just staying by your side.” She could imagine her and Dennis on the dance floor- the brunette, with a look of worry on her face as she clung to her partner’s jacket. Both holding onto each other for support, though it would provide a sense of comfort as well.

But before she could relish the feeling, her thoughts became poisoned, as tears lined her eyes. She felt Dennis shifting beside her, probably to face away, but she suddenly felt a hand snake its way through her waist, and was jerked towards the boy. Violence looked up at him and her breath hitched. Their faces were inches away and Violence could only focus on how Dennis’ lips moved, his words escaping her ears completely. Her torso leaned forward ever so slightly until their faces were millimetres apart from each other. She waited for a moment, a moment that seemed to stretch forever, the silence around them loud, until her lips crashed against his.

Dennis was probably taken aback by the sudden act of affection, but Violence moved her lips. Her movements were erratic, quite unlike the kiss they shared on the dance floor. Still under the influence of the nicotine, she didn’t think about what she was doing as she tilted her face. Her body melted into Dennis’ arms, still around her waist, and she found herself wishing this moment would never end.

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Two souls that need someone and find each other. A constant theme that seemed to draw the pair together clinging to each other on a rock as if lost at sea. The muted haze of the lit cigarette, the only thing separating them. In a hallway, a boat, the shore, no matter where one was the other appeared in their moment of need. Was it attraction? Perhaps. Was it affection? Quite possibly not. But was it magnetic? As they snuggled close together against the sights on the platform in the lake, it certainly felt like it.

Deep in the crevices of his broken heart, whoever it was that was continually driving Violence into his arms, Dennis knew he’d have to thank eventually. He gave her a squeeze as she choked on her first take. “It does burn, yeah? I actually never had a cigarette before the summer and…well…I tried to eat it. So you are already one step ahead of me that’s for sure,” Dennis smirked in his he-can’t-really-be-serious sort of way, perhaps he was just trying to find a way to distract her from the pain with a silly story…or perhaps he really did try to eat his first cigarette. Flip a coin.

As many times as they held each other over the past few weeks, this definitely felt the closest that Dennis had ever been to her. It was reminiscent of someone he worked hard to banish from his thoughts. Violence’s warm drew him and he found himself responding to her need for connection and protection. He wanted more than anything, on instinct more than any genuine feelings, to give her what she sought. Here, in his arms, was a moment, a light, a-

- Now, fair readers, let’s remember now that before this moment, the only kissing our fearless red head experienced was either intimate or for kicks and giggles. What happened next was something he was not likely to have for quite a long time. Now, what follows is the internalization of the moment -

Dennis’ heart quickened and his eyes widened at the sudden gesture that knocked him off balance. However, Violence had hold of him and it was impossible for him to pull away without bringing her down with him. At first he was prepared for a kiss and his hand had found the back of her neck to encourage her, however, what followed as not a kiss. At least not what he ever would have called a kiss. It was more like this Ravenclaw was trying her level best to both suck out his soul and absorb his body so forceful was she. While he certainly couldn’t say he didn’t like it, the shock of the gesture left him literally tumbling off the boulder, holding Violence all the way down as they rolled onto the sandy beach.

@Violence Bloodthorn