westfallcorndog | Annarchy and Ageswaps (For Viatorus)

The familiar cheer and excitement begins to register, a smile spreading slowly across the mage's face. Reuniting with his friend brings with it a wash of relief, even if they are changed. It's not like it's the first time.

Viatorus' gladness starts to fade, however, as the Harrowheart and the young girl bicker back and forth. It takes him longer than it really should for him to register that this is his sister... and that she knows he's going to die. A pang of sympathetic hurt stabs at him, making him wince. He can't even imagine what Isidor would be like if he were to die.

The young girl's outburst drags him from his thoughts. "He's not a coward," Viatorus says without thinking, and then holds out a hand to prevent any further shoving. "He's the bravest man I know."

Harrow tries at a smile for Viatorus that looks more like a wince. His sister stops what she was saying when she's reminded of Viatorus' and Lyall's presences. Her lips draw into a thin line as she thinks about what's being said and about the situation she's in now.

"Sounds like we know a very different person," she says curtly, arms crossed and eyes averted.

Harrow forces a humorless laugh. "Sisters, right?" It's a halfhearted question that sparks a scary realization. Suddenly he looks around in a panic. "S-speaking of, yours isn't here, right? She's not coming, is she?"

"I hope not," Viatorus says without thinking. He too looks around, distracted from cringing at the young girl's reply as he worriedly scans his surroundings.

"Not here yet, sir," Lyall growls, a small, wry smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Viatorus tries to compose himself again, running a palm flat across his shirt to straighten his clothes out. "Mm. Well. Good." His eyes flicker back to young Harrowheart and his sister. He smiles at the girl and holds out a hand. "We haven't actually been introduced. My name is Viatorus Atlas Durant. Nice to meet you."

The subtleties of Lyall's comments are lost on Harrow, who has larger things on his mind as he watches Anna with some worry while she listens to Viatorus' official introduction. He mumbles something about "Should have introduced you," but he otherwise keeps back and stays quiet.

Anna looks Viatorus over well for the first time, not just as a man who was going to do a service for her but as someone who's allegedly a friend of her brother, and one close enough to judge his character. It's with some hesitance – perhaps out of shame or perhaps out of suspicion – that she offers her small hand for him to shake.

"Anna Weatherhill," she offers quietly. "I'm–" She starts to make a sound like a P, or possibly a B, but she hears the way her brother sucks in a fast breath through his nostrils and turns to see him staring with wide and desperate eyes. Her own expression softens for just a moment and she looks guilty, even remorseful.

She turns to Viatorus once again and says, "I'm his sister."

She doesn't see the way Harrowheart turns his wide-eyed stare toward the ground and rubs at his forehead with the fingertips of one hand. This has been the longest day of his life.

"Usually I'm older," she goes on to explain to Viatorus. "A mage named Doctor Hill made us look like this. My brother says he's a 'therapist,' which means he does something strange to your body and you learn a lesson from it." She glances at her brother still rubbing at his head and starts to nod. "I think he's learning something?" she says uncertainly.

Edited 2016-08-22 01:07 (UTC)

Though his face is more wrinkled and his chin now hidden, he still has those characteristically bright green eyes and the occasional fidget that make him familiar. The mage gives her hand a small shake, smiling through the awkwardness that passes between the three of them. "It's nice to meet you, miss Weatherhill."

It's clear that he's missing something, that they want to keep something from him, but it's impossible to guess what. So when he's sure they're not about to explain the meaningful looks, he continues on with what they have told him.

He doesn't quite manage to stop before he asks, "Have you?" Then he catches himself and shakes his head. "Excuse me." Energy injects itself into his expression then as he looks between the two children. "How about we all get some hot chocolate and talk for a bit?"

Harrow shifts his mouth to the side and shrugs his shoulders noncommittally when asked if he's learned anything. His hands go into his pockets and his eyes stay on the ground. "It's not just about me," he mutters under his breath.

"Hot chocolate sounds really good!" Anna says brightly. "I haven't had anything to eat since I've been here. But... You don't mind paying, Mr. Durant? Unless you're going to conjure it yourself?" Oh, she sounds so excited at that! "The only mage food I've ever had is ice, and that doesn't count! I'd love to try a mage's hot chocolate!"

Harrow puts a hand on his stomach and frowns at Viatorus, then at Lyall. He's hungry, but he's not sure he's ready to admit that.

Edited 2016-08-22 19:24 (UTC)

Oh he spots Harrowheart's quiet unhappiness, but he doesn't get a chance to say anything before Anna is babbling away excitedly. It takes him by surprise. Not two minutes ago she was suspicious of him, annoyed at him, even. Noises trip off of his tongue while he reassembles his thoughts.

"Oh, no," he half laughs. "You really wouldn't want to... Not from me. I-I'm not any good with food." He motions to the table he'd been sitting at before. "I can pay, though."

Here he looks to Harrowheart, suggesting, "Hot chocolate and some cake, maybe?"

A mage who isn't good with food? This Nexus really is a very different place from home. When Viatorus motions to the table, though, she amenably and quietly takes a seat. She's not unwilling to enjoy a little hot chocolate as she goes on a smear campaign against her brother's character.

Harrow smiles faintly at the mention of cake. "Cake sounds nice. Maybe chocolate with a pickled cherry," he whispers, and having said it a little more joy and relief comes back to his features. He follows his sister's example and takes a seat, then tries to position a chair so that Viatorus will be closer to him than to his sister. It doesn't exactly work; there's no way to be far from someone else at a café table, really.

Anna asks Viatorus, "So how do you know my brother? Are you a warmage or something?"

Edited 2016-08-22 21:18 (UTC)

Lyall slinks back to his previous seat at another table, happy to be back in his preferred role. No sooner has he settled then he's pulling out his phone to answer a call. Viatorus, meanwhile, smiles gently at Harrowheart, glad to see his friend perk up, even a little. It doesn't seem right to see him distant or disheartened.

At Anna's question he laughs before he can help himself. He shakes his head and catches a waiter's attention. "Three hot chocolates and three slices of black forest gateau please." The multi-limbed creature makes a noise (apparently in the affirmative) and wobbles off again. It's only then that he returns to the question asked of him. "I'm a scholar, not a warmage. We met here, actually." His words are accompanied by a light, nostalgic hum and then he tips his head to Anna. "He's always a terribly good friend to me."

"A scholar?" she asks, the surprise at his answer heavy in her tone. She looks between this older man and her brother with a touch of amusement, which (along with more mentions of cake) brings a small and hopeful smile to Harrowheart's face. Perhaps things are finally calming down?

"Good!" she says, laughing lightly. "You need more friends with a little knowledge. Maybe some of it'll rub off on you!"

Harrow playfully nudges her shoulder and laughs quietly. "Hey! Rude!" He's still smiling, though. "Normally it's the other way around, you know? I'm the older one who gets to rub off on him."

Anna's eyebrows rise at that news and realization. Her lips part slightly and she looks to Viatorus in a new light. She begins to smile, starts to ask a question with a little light in her eyes, but her brother, who hadn't noticed, slams his palms on the table and steals her thunder.

"Old V!" he shouts too loudly and too eagerly. "Are you just Regular V who's old, or do you know the future? You gotta tell us stuff!"

Anna lets out a hushed gasp. It wasn't the question she was going to ask, but it's an intriguing one nonetheless. She folds her hands manneredly on her lap and watches Viatorus expectantly. "Do things get better, Mister Durant?" she asks quietly, which leaves her brother nodding, his hair bobbing with the motions of his head.

"Tell us everything!" he asks with a sparkle of hope in his dark brown eyes.

Edited 2016-08-24 01:40 (UTC)

Playful jabs and laughter brings a wide smile to Viatorus' face. It strikes a chord with him, a brother and sister getting along, which shouldn't be surprising. Their energy is surprisingly difficult to keep up with, which... he supposes is due to his age. Probably.

When they do finally pause it's in anticipation of an answer that... he's not sure will be welcome. He hesitates, gaping and then humming as he chooses his answer.

"Yes, Viatorus, tell us everything," repeats a familiar, far sterner voice. How Isidor managed to sneak up on him is a mystery, but the mage feels his face go bright red as he turns around to spot his sister. Seeing him now, her head jerks back and her features spread out in surprise.

Viatorus, wincing at the initial reaction, shuffles around to face her without twisting. "Um. Hello Isidor."

A shadow looms. Isidor. Harrowheart recognizes that voice immediately and his first reaction is to hide. His shoulders rise and he pops up his collar like a turtle protected by its shell. He slides down into his chair as his face goes pallid. Anna, of course, notices this. He's afraid? Of?...

Anna scoots closer to her brother. Her instinct is to put a hand on his leg and mimic his poor attempts at hiding by sliding down her chair with him.

"Who is this?" she whispers to him.

He doesn't answer. Instead his cheeks flush darkly. He tries to stammer something out but his mouth is full of his own dry tongue. And then in an instant he's making a massive noise as he tries to clamor out of his seat.

"I- I- I go-uuaugh-g-gotta go, BYE!" He doesn't get far before Anna reaches out and grabs him by the back of his shirt.

"Don't leave me!" Anna shouts. "You coward, Harrow!"

The unexpected sight of her much aged brother distracts Isidor entirely from whatever else is around her, and whoever else. That spell is broken the moment Harrowheart makes a sudden move, however. Her gaze instantly snaps to him, subconsciously taking up a more steady stance. Children? Harrow? As in...? And an old Viatorus. Give her a minute to process this.

"What's going on here?" She asks seriously, rounding on Viatorus again.

"Doctor Hill." It's a simple explanation and one that has Isidor narrowing her eyes and tipping up her chin. He can guess what she's going to say, and decides to jump to the defensive. "He works differently to us, Isidor. It's... not really fair to hold him to our standards. We don't-"

She shuts her eyes and holds up a hand that silences him instantly. "I know. You've told me a thousand times before. That doesn't make it any less dangerous, or make me like it any more." Viatorus sags at that, but Isidor is already moving on. Her eyes flick to the two children, stopping to eye them both, but especially the boy. "New friends or old?"

Anna wastes no time in speaking. "Doctor Hill is good!" She insists in the same fervent way in which she insults her brother. "He listened to me. He's been nicer to me than most people."

She watches as Harrow sits down and proceeds to stare a hole into the table. Since it seems like her brother hasn't got anything to say she'll continue bearing the burden alone.

"He's putting us through something called therapy, me and my brother. It's to help him see things my way." She extends her hand to this very serious woman, smiles, and introduces herself. "I'm a new friend, Anna Weatherhill. My brother is an old friend. You know Harrowheart? He tells people his name is Harrowheart, anyway, because the name Mom gave him isn't good enough anymore."

His eyebrows knit together, his fingers clench, but he stays silent.

Edited (Tidied up last paragraph) 2016-08-24 21:45 (UTC)

Her eyes light up, wide and then narrow in intrigued amusement when Harrowheart is pointed out. Then the introductions are worked through with no shred of condescension. It's an echo of her own childhood that she remains entirely formal while she takes Anna's hand and gives it a firm shake. "My name is Isidor Durant. It's nice to meet you, miss Weatherhill." When she takes her hand back, she folds both of hers behind her back, restraining the smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. "I know Harrowheart. But I suppose he would be mister Weatherhill."

"Isidor." The low voice is gentle but commanding, and even though the reproachful look Viatorus gives his sister is familiar, it's more serious. More tired. She returns his expression with her own one, confusion and a half-turn of her head. Instead of explaining, or asking what she's puzzled over, he gestures to the table. "Would you like to join us, then? We're having hot chocolate and cake."

The second before she actually accepts his offer is more a statement of her displeasure than any hesitation. She sits next to her brother and folds her arms. "Are you babysitting them?"

Anna sees that look in Isidor's eye. She can work with this, yes. Yes she can. After Isidor takes her seat she folds her hands atop the table and sits up very straight.

Harrow winces when Isidor calls him 'Mister Weatherhill.' His cheeks are still hot, and when he speaks his voice is a raw-throated whisper. "Please call me Harrowheart," he asks as humbly as he can.

"We aren't being babysat," Anna says quickly after. Let's all move past what Mr. Weatherhill has to say. "Normally we're thirty. My brother says Mr.Durant is normally younger. That makes you the proper age, right?" Her accent isn't as pronounced as her brother's, whose own seems to be lightened by the change in his age.

"Are you a scholar too? A mage, like your brother? You look like how I imagine a Dalaran enchantress would look. Like a high elf, without the ears. Maybe it's the eyebrows."

"She doesn't know what an elf looks like," Harrow barely whispers.

This seems to surprise Anna, who looks to Isidor to see her reaction. How could a person not know what an elf looks like?

"I can make an educated guess," Isidor is quick to respond, perhaps a touch hotly. "I am a mage, but I'm not a scholar." Her eyes swivel to Viatorus and then off him just as quickly, folding her hands on lap. "I'm Viatorus' patron." A smile tugs at her lips. "A bit like his babysitter."

"I'm not that difficult," Viatorus protests. The sudden challenging expression and deep breath as Isidor prepares to launch into a spiel gets him to hastily recant. "Well, not overly so."

He's saved by the waiter who arrives with three of the most elegant hot chocolates ever seen, carefully spread cream and chocolate shavings on top, and three generous slices of gateaux.

Anna takes her hot chocolate gladly. She looks at it, considers how well designed it is, and then takes her first sip. And she smiles! "This is really good!" she says before her second sip. She turns her smile to her brother, but he's staring at his food like he doesn't know what to do with it. Her smile falters for a second, replaced by an unfortunate and uncomfortable wince.

"My brother used to be what you are, then, Ms. Durant," she says, then matter-of-factly takes another sip of her drink. "Until he decided he didn't want to be part of our family anymore."

Harrow's lips purse and his eyebrows lower. He slowly turns his head toward his sister. Through his teeth, still quiet, his voice wavering, he hisses, "Don't lie to my friends. I never said I didn't wanna be part of the family."

Anna raises her eyebrows and eyes her brother up and down. "Oh? Well, you left us, didn't you? You left me. Why would someone leave their family unless they didn't want to be part of it anymore?"

Harrow blinks hard and fast. The edges of his eyes are turning red and suddenly catching the light. He opens his mouth, tries to speak, but his voice cracks and he turns away.

Satisfied, Anna returns her attention to Viatorus and Isidor. His silence speaks for itself, doesn't it? She takes another sip of her drink.

Anna's approval gets a beam from Viatorus, one with a touch of pride in it. Until he follows her gaze to Harrowheart sitting so glumly. He's just about to say something, to try and cheer him up when Anna speaks up. As the siblings back and forth between each other, both Durants look surprised, even a little concerned.

Of the two, Isidor is the quickest to compose herself again, smoothing out her features before she speaks. "That must have been hard," she says softly, her eyes lingering on Harrowheart and then they turn to Anna. "What would make you leave your family?"

The sympathy is taken with a humble aversion of her eyes, but then that question... Anna does a quick doubletake like she legitimately doesn't understand. Harrow does, though. He looks up again, hesitant and yet hopeful. Is he being stood up for?

Anna looks down at her cup in thought. She turns it in a small circle and slowly knits her eyebrows.

"I think it would be easy for me to leave my family," she says lowly. "They don't love me very much."

Harrow tries, "They do..."

"They don't understand me," she continues. "They make me stay at home. They don't trust me. They call me names when they think I'm not listening. I think they'd all be happier if I were gone, but they won't let me go."

Harrow tries to make eye contact with either of the Durants and shakes his head. He doesn't see it that way, clearly, but Anna certainly does.

Edited 2016-08-26 02:46 (UTC)

Viatorus smiles under his beard and ducks his head. The soft breath that accompanies this small gesture catches Isidor's attention and she looks to him. Realising he's been caught out, the scholar takes a breath that hitches, and then he looks to Anna to answer.

"I have cousins who call me names," he tells her. "The rest of my family..." His eyes roam to linger over Isidor and then settle on the two children again. "They don't think well of me. They never have."

Isidor sits up. "Viatorus!"

This time he does meet her gaze and holds it. "What?" She falters. "They never have. I've always known I was a disappointment, really." Fidgeting fingers betray his nerves, but he keeps his expression steady apart from the flickering of his smile as he turns from his stunned sister to Anna again. "Family is a special bond. An irreplaceable one. My family doesn't really understand me, or trust me, but... they care about me. I wouldn't disappoint them so much if they didn't care. And I'm certain that I would miss them very much if I had to leave them."

Harrow winces sympathetically at what Viatorus has to say. Suddenly his cake has become very interesting. He pokes at it with his fork, but it doesn't feel right to take a bite at a time like this.

Anna, though, she watches closely. What Isidor does and the way she reacts is of special interest to her. She watches the way Isidor tries to deflect, then falls quiet. Then she listens to what Viatorus has to say. His words are well-spoken and wise. They soften Anna's tenseness, a stiffness of the shoulders that she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Viatorus is right." It's Harrow, whispering just for Anna but still loud enough to be heard across the table. "We do love you. We want good things for you. We want..."

Anna focuses hard on her drink now. Harrow continues to wince. He glances to Isidor and Viatorus, apologetic and anxious, and then it's back to his sister. He puts a hand on her shoulder and tries to swallow, but his mouth is so dry.

"Anna... We want you to get better. I want you to have what I have now. I want you to have this place, and my friends. That's why I brought you here. That's why I introduced you to them."

Now that catches Anna's attention. She looks up from her drink and into her brother's familiar and yet foreign eyes. "You want... You want me to be here with you?..."

Harrow smiles sadly at her. "I do. I want you to be a part of my life. I wanna be a part of your life again."

Anna's face trembles. She holds her mug in both hands. "I thought... I thought you wanted to show this place off and then leave me again! I thought you wanted to rub it all in! Your secret life that you lived without me! I... I!..."

Now she turns to look at Isidor and Viatorus, her face twisted up in shame and bordering on tears. Suddenly she wails, "I've been a bitch all day for no reason!"

Harrow immediately leans over and wraps his arms around her shoulders to calm her down. She doesn't hug him back but watches the other two at the table as she fights back her tears.

"I am Crazy Anna," she croaks sadly.

Harrow shakes his head fervently. "You're not," he insists.

"I am," she repeats. But something has changed in her voice this time. Less self-pity, less sadness. She's quiet, resigned, and yet determined. "I am Crazy Anna... And I need to get better. And now all your friends hate me..."

Harrow laughs, then quickly sits back and covers his mouth. Anna watches him with a look of betrayal until he explains, "I made Viatorus and Isidor hate me when they first met me. Now they're some of my best friends." Laughing again he nods toward Isidor and adds, "Actually, I think Isidor still hates me. But that's not the point. The point is that people can change, right? And other people can accept that?"

Both of them look to Isidor and Viatorus, Harrow with wide eyes that urge them to agree, Anna with wary curiosity.

Edited (Changed last paragraphs) 2016-08-27 22:05 (UTC)

Viatorus can't help but feel guilty about his own words, but he gives his sister time, keeping his eyes on his friends while Isidor wrestles her feelings down. They'll probably be having a talk later, when they're on their own. For now, though, they are silently agreed on putting poise and composure first.

All it takes is to shift one thought to release a torrent. The dreamwalker certainly didn't expect the escalating outpouring that follows his words. Isidor flinches slightly to hear a child curse. The two exchange a brief glance, confirming the other's discomfort. Not only at the exceedingly private matter before them, but at their inability to help at all. So when Harrowheart presents them with an opportunity to do just that, they seize it.

Isidor shifts in her seat, lifting a shoulder and turning her head, jokingly nonchalant. "You've become bearable."

"I was terrified of Harrowheart when we met," Viatorus agrees, nodding enthusiastically. "But now he's my best friend. People change. It's the way of things. And it can be so wonderful."

It's a very small consolation to Anna that the two of them agreed with her brother's point, but at the same time it was well-needed. She forces a gracious smile, but it's easier to focus on her cake after the fact.

Harrow puffs up proudly at Isidor's gracious compliments. "Bearable! Heheh, hey, I'll take that!" Oh, Isidor, you've gone and encouraged him. He enthusiastically takes his first bite of cake.

"AH, oh!" He puts his hand to his mouth like he's been burned, but then he starts to laugh. Anna stares worriedly at him as he dramatically throws his head back. Her eyes shift toward the Durants, then back to her strange and embarrassing sibling. Neither of these two should be in public... But as long as Harrow is the one embarrassing himself, at least the attention is off of her?

Harrow goes for another bite but before he takes it there's time for one more laugh. "I already forgot how good things taste when I can taste them all the way! I mean it's not as good as that dinner you guys gave me when I came for that visit, but..." But he's definitely taking another bite.

Anna wince-smiles in confusion. She whispers to the Durants, "I guess you're right about people changing. He... He was never like this back home. Even when he was alive. He never had friends like you. He never laughed with people. He's so loud?" And thank the Light for it, because while he dramatically enjoys his cake he's ignorant to this little conversation. "He tells jokes? And plays pranks? He... He was never like this. Is he always this way here?..."

Smiles and laughter relax Viatorus and he beams, sitting back to appreciate Harrowheart's enjoyment. "I'm very glad you got to have some. It really is lovely."

The loud, distracting display keeps Viatorus' attention divided, even as Anna speaks. The more she does, however, the more sober he becomes, looking over at his friend and trying not to look sympathetic. To think the boy that sits there eating cake worried about wars and demons through his youth.

Anna's confusion is mirrored by Isidor. She crooks an eyebrow and tips her head to one side. She barely notices the hint of suspicion that lines her querying, "Never?"

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Lyall, the gods are watching you be a catty b-word!

It's ok, gods don't pay the rent

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