We hide our emotions Under the surface
and try to pretend
But it feels likE
there's oceans Between you and me

@jay - outfit
Will's Hotel, Norway

It had taken a while for O to pluck up the courage to ask Kirk to bring him to Norway. Not because he though Kirk would say no, but because it meant leaving their perfect, private world. There was no sign of the place he'd run from, there. O lived on a pirate ship, as the captain's lover. Content, reading his own books, painting, getting beautiful trinkets every other day. They traveled to exotic places, they saw new things, had strange food. O was so far removed from what had once been his life. From his job at Hogwarts, from the art gallery, from the caves in Calais, from the dangerous world that had once been his home. Yes, he missed some people, but at the same time, he didn't miss being there. He didn't miss the depression, he didn't miss the cheating relationships. He didn't miss the constant struggle to keep himself presentable and alive. He missed Jay, he missed Laelia and Carys, he missed D and his father. He didn't miss anything else. This was another world and often he felt like he was another person altogether. Like that had happened to someone else, like it was just a bad dream with pockets of light in the form of people. 

But he couldn't stay away. Not really. He missed D but he couldn't risk sending letters to England, he couldn't risk going on land. D said he would find his brother for him and there'd been no word about it. He couldn't go back there, he'd be killed or worse. He could see none of the people he cared so much about, except Jay. He remembered the boy speaking of his family's home in Norway, of his best friend's hotel. He missed Jay, he really did, so he'd plucked up the courage to go into the real world again. To leave the warm fantasy that clouded his days and left him languid and warm. It wasn't a bad thing, it was worth it, and he wasn't in any danger. Death Eaters weren't active outside the UK and Kirk never left him anywhere unprotected. Even when they made port and he left the ship without him, he knew he was tailed by some sailor or another. It was sort of a good thing, he guessed, because he tended to get lost easily and got very distracted in new places. Better to not get robbed, it seemed to him. Kirk was just very protective, with the state he had found O in and the awareness of his blood status and his personal history with lovers and relationships. O understood it, he didn't mind.

Still, this was something he needed to do alone. He remembered mention of the hotel, he told Kirk where he would be and that he would be back soon. That didn't rule out the possibility of Kirk sending someone anyway, just to keep an eye on things, but at least it wouldn't be obvious. He had money for food and a room if it got too late. He had a gift for Jay, a graduation present. A very old book about rare dragon species and some money to help him pay for some time of his stay in Romania. He arrived and looked around the room, some living room type of area, hoping to spot the boy. Jay wasn't there. He should ask about where he was because he hadn't thought to write ahead. Going to his family's house was probably less than ideal and having missed him completely before going to Romania would be awful. And problematic. They'd have to sail all the way over there.

Instead, he went to the bartender and cleared his throat politely. "Hi, I'm looking for Ja- Jyraeve Taar? Is he around?" He wondered if Jay would be glad to see him. He definitely looked better than he had in years. Suntanned, hair long and tied back, relaxed. He hadn't smoked in many months, even.

When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station
Running scared

Oslo.

Jay had been in the Norway's capital city a few times in his life, though usually it had been on trips with his father. This was where he had been born before he was brought home to Hovedøya in the Oslofjord. It was a beautiful place that surrounded him with memories... and times long lost that he couldn't reclaim. It was as painful as if he were sitting outside his family home thought they were miles away, and no one knew he was even here, back in the country that he'd fought to get back to his entire life. But he wasn't staying. They weren't staying. He'd stayed the first few days at Bertha's just to get the last of his things, but he had left soon after, and with nowhere to go he'd phoned Will and then found himself boarding a different train as well as a ferry to get... to get home. It had given him a long time to think, the journey, and he had to turn off his phone once Bertha found his note and started phoning him nonstop as well as leaving a ton of voicemails. But he already knew she wouldn't be coming after him for more than the fact that she didn't know where he was going. He'd told Yzera his plan, and his farfar had swore to keep her home.

The hardest part had been saying a temporary goodbye to Summer. Since getting into a relationship for her- the second relationship in his entire life- his life had changed again, but it was different than last time. This time he was confident that there wasn't any ulterior motives going on behind the scenes, that he wasn't just being kept around until she grew bored. They had the same fears of each other but they had voiced them, and now came the growing part. The part he was most afraid of. Letting people in just... it just wasn't who he had come to be anymore, but he was going to have to learn to put past grudges behind if he wanted to keep Summer. And be there to see her, and take her on 'dates'. But he couldn't just flick a switch and be the romantic guy she had always wanted either. They both had a faen load of baggage to sort through, but Summer had mentioned doing that together.

But he was still going to Romania. That hadn't changed. He'd used Yzera's contacts to secure a Dragonology Apprenticeship on the reserve there alongside Will and they were leaving at the end of the month once the travel arrangements had all been sorted. Seeing his best friend again had been so weird yet so great, and knowing that he wasn't going to have to leave him again made it easier to breathe. Because at least now he had someone to have his back. It meant that when he had to go out at night- he only went at night in case his father was in town and buying new things for the shop- that he had someone there beside him in case something happened, but it also made him a little more confident. They had always been like twins separated at birth, even though there was a couple of days between them. And there was something right about walking around beside one another, linked by their shared feelings and wants out of life, both currently self-made orphans because they were giving up their families to experience life without their oppressive hands.

Currently they were hanging out in Will's room- the latter of which was currently flat out on his back and snoring after stuffing his face with berlinerkransers that they'd picked up from the late-night bakery just across the street from the hotel. Jay was sitting in the armchair facing the window, his eyes focused on the not so distant horizon as he thought over what they'd done and what they were going on to do. Cutting ties... had hurt more than he'd thought it would. He was still reeling. His phone had been turned off for 4 days now because his Mor had started phoning him too, and his Far had picked up his own phone and managed to figure out how to send him a text. And it hurt that suddenly, because he was leaving, they all suddenly wanted him around. Why couldn't they have wanted him around before he had made these plans? Why hadn't he been good enough all these past few years? The only one of them that was actually being supportive was Yzera, and now that he owed the older Veela, he was more inclined to think on him as family.

What he needed... what he wanted was for someone to tell him that he wasn't a fuck up and that what he was doing with Will wasn't terrible. That what he was doing wasn't the worst thing he could ever have done. To say that he did mean something. And he wanted it to come from someone who wasn't Will, and who wasn't Summer, because neither of them had any life experience just like Jay. But most of all what he wanted right now was a fag and a drink of karsk before he took a nap too. It was hard trying to train his body not to wake up with the sun, but going out during the day could lead to someone recognising him... and he couldn't chance that. So after grabbing his leather jacket, he scrawled a note to Will saying he'd be in the bar and quickly left, letting the door swing shut softly behind him.

Emerging into the foyer however, he quickly flattened his back against the nearest wall so he was hidden from reception when he heard his name, and cursed under his breath. Who could it be? Surely Aleksej couldn't have tracked him down this fast... and it wasn't the deep rumble of Yzera. Raking his blonde hair back from his face, he ducked forward once to check who it was then slid back. Then stepped forward again this time upright with a look like he'd just been slapped.

This was... no it couldn't be. This was too dangerous. He shouldn't be here. Why was he here? Was he okay? "... Oriel?"

His life was very simple now, really. All he had to do was what made him feel good, Kirk made sure of that. He could do anything he wanted, he could paint or draw, he could read or experiment. He could sleep all day on a beach or swim or stare out into the sea. It had been this simple way of taking life one day at a time and not having any expectations that helped him so much, he thought. Half of what made him spiral, usually, was his urgent feeling of needing to not spiral. Feeling like a burden and trying to change but failing left him even worse than he'd been beforehand. No, he lived in a way that kept him calm, that didn't stress him out, and he didn't think about what would happen afterwards. As long as the Death Eaters were in power, there was no point in thinking of it. The only rule he had was that he wasn't allowed to go back to the UK. It was very dangerous, Kirk wouldn't risk it. O wasn't bothered by it, yet. As far as he knew, there was no urgent reason for him to return. He didn't even think that he wanted to go back in the first place. Why would he? Kirk said he could stay with him forever. He might not always be captain of a pirate ship, he might need to retire at some point, but O could stay with him anyhow. It wasn't the sort of relationship he had once wished for, but it was a good and safe one anyway. It wasn't roses and romantic I love yous and getting a house together, but it was adventure and new things and safety and warmth. Who needed I love yous? O didn't. He wasn't sure that he even could say it anymore. Why would he? Kirk couldn't say it, not after the incident with his wife, it wasn't his fault. If he could have, he would have. Kirk said so and O believed him, because he didn't think he would mind anyway. Saying it and never hearing it back. After all, Kirk never did anything that would detract from this relationship anyway. Always kind, always making an effort, always understanding and not pushing. He wouldn't trade that for an eternity of I love yous.

O understood, though, that just because his life stood still in that haze of sun didn't mean that the whole world did. Life continued in the UK, life continued in the sanctuary, life continued for every person he loved. He had seen D once, since he left their home, and he had seemed sad and put out. O couldn't see him now and he thought that sending a letter was a wonderful way to get himself and D hunted down. He had seen Kit once, in his efforts to recover from his depression and not be such a burden. He'd taken the boy's death hard and for a second there he'd thought he'd been hallucinating, but no, they spent some time in Paris together before they both had to go back. That had been nice, he'd felt a bit better at that point. It had been before the last spiral took him under. He hadn't seen or heard from Anton since their break up, but he didn't blame the other man. He was kind and hard working, it wasn't his fault that it hadn't worked out. Maybe it would have if there had been only his depression or only the registry, but both at once had been too much to ask of him. Too much pressure for someone so busy with keeping so many people safe. O didn't blame him, he'd left him to make his burden lighter. That was why he didn't miss him, because that would mean wishing his old state back on Anton as well and that wasn't right. It felt like he had only been this light with Kirk because it wasn't his usual brand of healthy. It was somehow lighter, healthier. Like one who is constantly on holiday. Wasn't that a blessing? Being on holiday with someone that cared about him, in exotic places, for as long as he could think into the future? He thought it was.

Jay, though... years ago, he'd decided to be the support that boy needed. He wasn't a sweet ball of fluff like most kids, but O didn't like most kids anyway. Even Olive, who was better now but still a duty he could have done without. He remembered Jay's plans to go to Romania, he remembered all the ways his family here in Norway upset him. He remembered Jay had graduated now and he remembered where to go. O had to go, he just had to see him. There was no choice and he had told Kirk. So here he was and... well, the sight on Jay's face was worth the effort of remembering only and not sending a letter ahead to ask. He'd wanted to surprise him and he smiled widely at the surprised appearance. There he was, taller than he remembered and looking less bitter than usual, but that was his Jay. "Hey, kid. All packed already?" Coming closer, he draw Jay into a hug. Tight, tight, showing that he was less skinny than before. He had always been slender, but his depression made him stop eating, made him skinny with all his bones jutting out. Now he ate properly, now he brushed his hair multiple times a day until it was smooth and pliant and shaved daily to make himself truly look like the twenty seven years he had. He smiled widely, pulling back a bit to look Jay in the eyes. "I've missed you. Figured I'd come to see you off. When's your trip?" They would stay every day of those. Hell, if Jay wasn't expected on a certain date, he could probably convince Kirk to take them to Romania by ship. Drop Jay off themselves on some coast town. Wouldn't that be nice?

His life was a mess. In shambles. It didn't make sense anymore and that was why he had to do what he was doing. Perhaps he'd have backed out if he were doing it alone, but he would never know since Will had been with him since day one. They were finally taking their lives into their own hands for their family's had had a hold of them for too long. Will's parents were different from his own... they were always slightly less lax and more hands on with his friend, even with Jay when he'd been around. Yet they had still kept the pair apart as much as his own. To others outside of their Island, that probably didn't seem all that big a deal; they were just friends, right? No. They were closer... like brothers. Two minds and one heart, separated, for they were so in sync their parents had used to joke they were twins. Jay couldn't have cared less if Will had been part alien, let alone a muggleborn, but he knew that there was one place that had never felt like home for him and it was a place he would never inflict upon his best friend. Romania was the way forward for it was the one place he knew no one else he knew was, and it was the beginning of the next chapter of their lives. Dragons. Open skies. And they were going to be utterly alone. The child in Jay was dying more with every passing day and he was glad for it, for the kid in him had always kept him hanging on. Hurting himself unnecessarily. Now his family would be free of him just like they had always wanted, free to get on with their own lives, to bring up his baby sister without having to worry about him trying to force his way in.

One day he would return for good, he thought. When EVa was grown and able to understand who he was... so that... so that when he was around she would know him. And she would be old enough for him to visit her without needing his parents around. Maybe she would be in Durmstrang by then, who knew. Jay wasn't entirely sure how long he would be gone for, only that he was in no rush to return exluding his visits to see Summer. She was the only thing still tying him to this place and he wasn't willing to let one of the only good parts of his life go. Octi... He didn't know whether to tell Octi that he was leaving or not. He didn't want to hurt the younger Wizard anymore than he already had but at he same time... that was all he really did, right? Wherever he went, whether intentionally or not, he hurt people. In truth he believed it stemmed from being hurt so many times himself in the past from others who he had given his trust to though he knew it didn't really excuse him. They were moving onto somewhere new now and he wanted to hope that he could change. That he could become a better person... more dependable. So that if he did return no one would be able to damage him any further as he'd be stronger... and maybe then people would want him around. Things were going to be rough for the next year or so however as this was Summer's last year of school coming up in September, and if things went well and they were still together he would have to speak to her about their situation. Would she come stay with him in Romania? Would he have to move back into Northern Europe? He didn't know. But he did know that wherever he went, he would bring Will. His friend wouldn't be left behind for anything.

Before, his ties had been to O. His former Professor who had turned into a guardian and then a father figure. He'd allowed Jay to stay at his place with Damion- his other former Professor- and Kit, when the other Slytherin had still been staying there. It had been a very strange string of days for him. Waking up to people who wanted him around and had no hidden agendas, to breakfast with said people and then them spending time with him. It had been like he was home again, without the impending heartache that came with knowing he'd have to leave and no one would fight for him. O had kept in contact, and then left for a safe place. And then he had kind of lost track of him, exlcuding the time he had given a letter to Damion to bring to his... Dad, telling him where he would be when the time came that he had left school. That had been so long ago and he didn't even know that O had gotten his letter. At least... not until now. Jay's throat dried and he swallowed thickly, his eyes wide as Oriel stepped towards him. He looked so... different. Healthy. Happy. He wasn't sure still what his relationship with Damion had been, but apparently he was doing better now away from him. He wasn't sickly thin anymore, and when he was pulled in for a hug he could feel a new strength in the older Wizard's arms. A few words of Norwegian left him in pure disbelief, then his arms wrapped around him and he was hugging him back with everything he had, nodding against him. Yes he was packed. He'd been packed for months.

Blue eyes flicking between both of his Dad's, his hands unbunched from the man's shirt and dropped slowly as if he though Oriel was a hallucination brought on by exhaustion and stress. "I... me too. But you... O, is this safe? How are you here?" His words were softer than usual, spoken almost to himself. But there was no missing those eyes. The caring behind them. Someone had actually cared enough to come and see him off. "The... the 30th of June. Will's booked a muggle flight- whatever that means- so we can be there to settle in before our apprenticeships begin in August..." What was this feeling rising in his chest? The burning in his throat and behind his eyes? He looked away, down at his boots and hunched forwards slightly. There was just something really... profound about this. And he couldn't put his finger on it. Lifting his head up a little, he tried to laugh but it came out a bit gravelly. "You got my letter?"

I wish I was worth

But I know what you deserve

Tag: this kid

    Working at Hogwarts had never really been his cup of tea. Sure, he had enjoyed it from time to time, but if he was being truthful... being a teacher had never suited him. In fact, he was quite certain that he'd come close to hating the entire thing. Kids weren't his forte, he didn't like explaining or listening to sob stories or having to be patient. He didn't like their lack of logic, the way they always had to have their own way, or the manner in which everything was always about them. No, he hated it, but that didn't mean that his work at the castle had been a waste of time. He had managed to get quite some research done while he was at it. Teaching gave him the financial stability to have free time and pay attention to his art skills. There was his friendship with Damion, which had grown out of being two of the youngest teachers in the place and turned into something Oriel truly valued. There was also Jay, who O had met when he was but a moody fifth year with difficulties in speaking English. The kid had just needed somewhere quiet to sit, and if O didn't take any of his cheek and just talked to him like a normal person... well, it had helped. Jay had just needed some company, it seemed to him, some support and someone to care. O didn't know why that had been him, it had certainly never surged naturally with anyone else, but it had. So really, he thought it had been good for both of them.
    He'd really had to argue with himself on coming here. Of course he ought to, and he definitely wanted to, it was just hard sometimes. It was hard because Jay had been there to watch the beginning of his spiral, and Jay represented the real world. As if that weren't where O existed at all. Maybe he didn't live in the real world, maybe it had all just vanished when he hadn't jumped from those cliffs and he had been living in a fairy world ever since. One where pirate captains saved sorrowful artists and they explored coasts and islands and slept on the beach under the stars. It didn't feel like it was real at all, it didn't even feel magical like Hogwarts did. It just felt to be a little piece of heaven, just for him, and coming back to Jay felt like leaving it. Like dumping himself in a bucket of cold water and reminding himself of the reality he had fled. Yet here he was, because nobody was forcing him to go back to England and he was in no danger, and Jay deserved to have someone that cared about him come see him off. That was why he was here, and if he'd had several moments of anxiety the second he got off the ship then nobody needed to know.
    "Hey, it's perfectly safe. They can't get me if I'm out of the country. Besides, even if you can't see them, I'm sure there's a few people watching my back." Laughing lightly, Oriel shook his head. Kirk was like that. Protective and paranoid, and O couldn't blame him. He was grateful, actually, that Kirk cared so much as to send people with him. They would've been beside him like every other time they made port if O hadn't asked for some privacy with Jay. He wasn't in any danger and he trusted that fact blindly. "In five days... that's- I have an alternative idea. It'll definitely be more fun than a boring old plane, you can take my word for it." Well, he would have to ask Kirk about dropping the boys off themselves, but Kirk never said no to anything he asked. He'd brought them all the way to Norway without having a job anywhere nearby, hadn't he? Just because O asked. For Romania, they'd have to go south all over again and into the Mediterranean Sea, then through some very narrow canals and into the Dead Sea. O knew for a fact, however, that Kirk would never deny him anything. "Course I did. D got it to me for Christmas. I'm sorry I didn't write back, it's just... well, it was pretty risky. Also, since several months now I haven't exactly stayed put, which made correspondence pretty hard. I'm glad I caught you, though."
    Chuckling, he reached out again, rubbing a hand over the boy's golden hair. Hell, boy. Jay was taller than him now, though O had never really been a tall person and Jay had Norse blood. With a smile, he clapped the boy's cheek gently and pulled him back for a second hug.  

Outfit

✿ EDEL ✿

I Sat Ashore And Watched

As One Hopeless Wave

Crashed Upon Another

It was strange... finally knowing himself. Or at least, the 'self' that he had fought to keep hidden for almost 9 years, that he'd been told was wrong. Jay wasn't that moody a person really when you took away all the dritte he'd put up with and the way Britain had made him become so he could swim instead of drown. If anything, Will and he were like twins with how they actually were outside of their responsibilities, their expectations. They lived for the moment, anything was fair game, and they smiled and laughed for more than they frowned or even glared. They were sociable; pretty much everyone on their home island knew them and they knew nearly everyone, from the babies to the elderly. They got drunk, they got reckless, had spent a few nights in a prison cell on a couple of occasions for a few misdemeanors because they were too busy having fun to think about the consequences. Did anyone at Hogwarts know the length of Jay's rap sheet? Summer knew a few of the items on the list, but not the full file. No one knew of Will's. They'd calmed down a lot since going away to their secondary schools but that was mainly down to the fact that they hardly ever got to see each other. It was hard to be your best self when half of you was missing, leaving you feeling naked, vulnerable. How could you trust anyone when the ones you trusted most were the ones that took everything from you, leaving you a shell of your former self? If there was one thing Jay was sure of, it was that wherever Will went, he would follow. And vice versa. Platonic soulmates, twins separated in the womb, he'd heard the terminologies for it all and none of them fit. They were extensions of each other. Without his best mate, Jay wasn't Jay. He just was.

There was only one person who was allowed to call him by his full name, and that was his mor. Bertha didn't get to. His far could surname him, but not first. It hurt too much to be hit with his name, the name that had basically been black marked the day he was shipped out of Norway and on his way to St Helens in England. He was far from being a saint, bad behaviour was like second nature to him. Bertha had struggled with him for the first four years to get him to calm down, so there were less nights that he was taken him in a squad car, yelling profanities at the officers who had taken him. Yet it seemed that just as he'd become who she wanted him to be, when their relationship was the best it could get, that was when he had lost it all over again. Yzera, his farfar had turned up at the door one night and pulled the air out of his lungs with one smile; the smile he recognised in his mum. He'd heard the shattering of glass behind him not long after he'd yanked open the door to reveal the veela standing there like he'd been invited over for dinner, heard a stuttering scream die in his mormor's throat as she dropped the glasses of norwegian gin she'd gotten for them to share over a film. To find that the tall, dark stranger was his farfar and not some randomer who'd turned up at the wrong door, to find that Bertha hadn't in actual fact killed him. She had sworn, promised profusely that they would never meet him for he'd never find them even if he lived, yet there he was. And instead of throwing him out on his ass, Bertha had welcomed him in with open arms... and had apparently forgotten Jay every day since.

She stopped trying to spend time with him because she was too busy fawning over the father of her child, talking animatedly away to him about what had happened since they'd last seen each other, assured him of how much the rest of them were dying to meet him. Jay basically got to do whatever he wanted, which was the last thing he had wanted from her. He wanted the nagging, the pushing, the caring that she had made him see, the maternal protectiveness that he'd missed. Maybe that was why he'd went downhill so much in his final year, daring fate at any and every turn and trying to be who they all wanted him to be off his own back to prove a point. He could do it. But he'd been too late, as they had all stopped watching. So here he was, acting on what he had left, before they broke his spirit too. His name was Jyraeve, but he went by Jay because it was easier for others to say, and the nickname was easy enough that no one forgot it. Jay was leaving Britain behind to see Norway for the last time, for the next few years at least. He was going into the other family business of studying and working with dragons which was something no one in his family besides his farfar knew that he was even interested in as they had never asked. They were never going to look in Romania for him, it just wasn't going to occur to them. And maybe one day he would come back, with Will, but it would be on his terms. No one else's. Romania was going to be his new home, and he was going to learn what it meant to smile again. To be happy. To be himself.

His brow arched as his shoulders automatically hunched, and he leaned back a bit with his hands in his pockets- holding onto his wand- to see if he could see whoever these onlookers were. He didn't like being watched, spied on... but if they were there to protect O, he wasn't about to kick off. "I... see. As long as you're sure?" he queried, straightening up again and turning back to his dad. This was real. Very real. O was here, not in France, he was right here in front of him. And someone was looking after him, someone he didn't know, and he didn't know whether to trust it or not. His gut said no, but he wasn't listening to it at the moment. It had also told him to answer the phone earlier to his mum, and he hadn't done that either. His other brow arched, both rising at the insinuation behind O's words and he took a half step back so he could look at him properly. "I have never been on a plane, Will told me that it can be exciting when it takes off..."  Jay said thoughtfully, trailing off as he thought about it, "So you see my flight, and you want to raise it to... what, exactly?" His heartbeat picked up again from where it had finally slowed, and once more he looked around him for signs of someone else. Was this O? Was it someone using polyjuice potion? But he didn't feel like he was in danger, so it had to be O. Looking at him as if he was holding the secret to something huge. His stomach did a flip as he mentioned Damion had gotten it to him, something he had given up hope on almost the same minute that the owl had left his line of sight. But he had gotten it. He was here. "Hard? Where have you been that would be difficult for you to receive an owl? They go everywhere."

His eyes burned at the affectionate ruffle, the smile, the second squeezing hug. This time he hugged back immediately, with all he had, gritting his jaw so he couldn't and wouldn't cry. Jay never cried. Ever. It just wasn't a thing. So he wasn't going to do so now, even as his hands clenched in the mans shirt again like a drowning man, instead of a quick embrace in the middle of a hotel foyer. Suddenly he felt safe, again. Like he'd been falling, and like a net, O had appeared to catch him before he hit the floor.

TAG: His Dad| WORDS: 1378 |

MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY

I wish I was worth

But I know what you deserve

@ TheBrat | Words: 726

    The life he was living now was probably something out of a fairy tale book, and he was okay with that. There were endless days of peace and sometimes it felt like the entire world had begun with them at sea since forever. How could anything else exist in that sort of situation? How could he ever have been anywhere else? At some point, it was easy to forget he had a father out there somewhere, that he'd once had a mother. That he'd worked at a school, that he'd worked for a fashion magazine. That he'd been adopted and had a biological family out there somewhere. When he was out at sea, he was Kirk's and he was at peace, and that was all there was. It seemed that the healthier he became and the clearer he could think, the more he understood that he could not come back from this. If he ever did, it could not be permanent. On firm land, he was hurt and had to struggle with his own mind alone. Perhaps if Kirk went with him, he would have felt better, but he could never ask that of him. Kirk belonged at sea, with his ship and his crew and his adventures. Even if O asked, he doubted the man would ever agree. Rightfully so.
    "I am. Everything's wonderful, don't worry about me." He knew that Jay had difficulties trusting anyone at all, it was a miracle that he trusted O at all. Right now, with how difficult the situation was for muggleborns, he understood Jay's wariness. It was reasonable, it made sense, and he wouldn't let himself mind it. Especially because he knew that Kirk would probably approve of Jay being so protective, the captain was very wary of strangers too. Perhaps, if they ever stopped being suspicious of each other, they may actually get along. Maybe, some day. He didn't know if they would ever even meet, but it seemed like the logical next step. After all, Jay was like a son to him, Oriel was together with Kirk. Eventually, their paths would cross. Preferably sooner rather than later. "I see your flight and I raise you a voyage by pirate ship." He laughed brightly, guiding Jay so they could sit down. Maybe have a few drinks. Relax for a while, since he wasn't going anywhere. He wiggled his fingers at Jay, and then looked over his shoulder around the room. Probably, anyone that was following him was staying out of sight. Spotting them would go directly against his request of privacy, after all. Madam of the Ship, or whatever they liked to call him.
    He knew that Jay must be nervous, whether he admitted it or not. Moving to another country, starting another phase of his life. Sure, Jay had always been very independent and he was taking his best friend with him, but there had to be something strange about it all. Still, he seemed to be holding out just fine, though O would never take that as an excuse to not show up. Of course he would show up. He would always show up. This whole... being out of reach thing would make things a bit complicated, but O wanted to make sure that it would work out. Somehow. Pulau Bunga was such a long way away, it would take ages for all letters to end up there, and after that it would take O going back to the island to get the letters at all. Of course, they had portkeys directly from the Stargazer to the island, but it was still not as if he went there every day. "They do indeed, but- well, see, I met someone. His name is Kirk and he's a pirate. I'm living on the ship with him. It's a bit complicated to get letters, an owl would have to be chasing the ship around constantly, you know?"
    O waved a hand slightly, dismissively, and then motioned for an employee to approach. He ordered two beers and then turned back to Jay, still grinning. "There's a house on an island he owns, we go there often, but it's far away and communication would be a bit stunted." He winks, though, and pokes at Jay's cheek. "Don't worry, though. I'll figure it out. Not about to leave you alone, kid."

Outfit

✿ EDEL ✿