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[attr="class","lyric1mungo"]just breathe

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[attr="class","lyric2mungo"]But I did not fall, I hope
Something good is coming up
Free like a bird, but also bound

[attr="class","textbodmungo"]August's life had taken an extreme nosedive, in all honesty. The epidemic had hit so close to home on so many fronts, he didn't know what to do to keep everything and everyone around him together. His dad was stuck in Ireland, unable to head back to France to coach his team--which meant that his assistant coach was taking over, leaving August's dad at risk of losing the position. Because while the British & Irish Quidditch League might have suspended, and the whole nation in crisis, this was far from the case for the European Quidditch League. Not to mention the fact that his father had also lost his magic, something that would certainly play into the team owner's decision to keep him on as a coach. As for August's mum, she still had her magic... but with the borders closed, her Curse-Breaking work was reaching a standstill. It limited her travel options, and there was only so much to hunt in one tiny island nation--especially when every other Curse-Breaker was in the same predicament. The cherry on top, though, had been Sylvie getting sick. That... that had been the worst of it. She was the tiny Seeker whizzing about on her broom, the one that he had protected as a Beater and again as a Mediwizard, so watching her lose her magic had been... tough.

There were some things going all right, and August was trying to revel in those moments, few as they were. At least he could still work--even if St. Mungo's was working him to the bone because he was one of the very few Healers that still had his magic. And as frightening as that was for a very new Healer like August, he was still enjoying the opportunities to learn. Because he did truly love his job, so if he couldn't do the Mediwizard part for now, he would dive headfirst into Trauma Healing. And despite everything that Sylvie had been through, things had shifted between them... in a way that August wouldn't have predicted. But a way he had always secretly hoped for. After a decade of being friends, August had thought that anything going on in his head was just wishful thinking--but now, here they were, giving it all a go. Which was... well, August would admit there was some awkwardness. Because they had been best friends for so long--but another part of him still couldn't quite believe it was happening.

Taking some time to clear his head was much needed, though, so August had gone on a hike for the day and set up camp by a stump with a half-decent view of the Galway coast through the thick greenery of the woods. He had even brought his sketchpad--something August hadn't done in a while, consider the epidemic had literally consumed his entire life--and started putting together the skeleton for a landscape drawing.

@ open | 481 words | outfit (minus hat)

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF GS + WW

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[googlefont="Wire One"]

Just Breathe

No one ever told me how hard it's gonna be
My way is full of branches like the roots of a tree
Where should I go from here?

Lily hadn't gone home since her little impromptu trip to Wales. Yes, she'd warned her sisters and kept her phone on her at all times. Since she didn't have a death - or death death? post death? undead death? - wish, she always made sure to be indoors until the sun set and fed herself regularly. Lily just- needed some time to breathe. Metaphorically because she was a vampire and her kind didn't need air or anything. Going to Rhiannon had made everything better and worse at the same time and she hated being confused. It made her irritable and teary - sort of - and soured her normally sunny mood. It also made her feel a lot more like Electra than she'd felt in a long, long time. Electra was terrible and full of pain, Lily hated being her!

However, she couldn't have helped it, not really. The whole thing with Julian - or, rather, the whole thing that wasn't happening with Julian - made her sad and withdrawn and upset. In turn, it made her think of whether she'd made the right choice or not in accepting eternal life. Was it not, in the end, another prison? Her body had been her first one, fragile in the beginning and shattering later on. Electra would never be anything, would never achieve anything because she'd die before she could get there. It was a fact. And she'd taken Rowan's offer because of that, because she thought herself too young to die. Electra hadn't achieved anything, hadn't had the chance to be anyone yet and she'd wanted it. All of it.

Except- it wasn't exactly like that. This body was just another prison, now. For all that she'd live forever, that she had all the time in the world that Electra never did, Lily was just as stuck as she was. Just as restricted by something she couldn't help and it wouldn't change. The same way Electra would never grow up, never experience love or achieve things in her life, neither would Lily. Eternity stretched in front of her and it felt bleak and unchanging - and so, so very lonely.

Since she didn't want her sisters to know the dark thoughts that had been plaguing her mind, Lily...drifted. More like the predator she truly was than like the child she looked - and, fair, acted - like. In the dark of night and the edgy, almost dangerous seconds after dusk fell. Watching, stalking...wandering. Almost like a ghost, flitting through shadows.

She'd smelt the man - wizard, he had that ozone tang of magic all over him - before she even heard him, much less seen him. And, normally, that would make Lily leave. Go...elsewhere. But she approached. Slowly, though not exactly quietly. The sun had barely set, the sky still light even though there was no actual sunlight. A dangerous time to be out and about, for a vampire.

Stopping by the cover of the trees, in his line of sight but not quite, Lily tilted her head and watched.

@brantley ⁂ outfit ⁂ 499 ⁂ notes