I want crazy

I don't want easy

Are you with me baby? Let's be crazy

Kali had said that her family was a mess, and Philip hadn’t really known what to think at first. Because everyone’s family was a mess. And then her mum had died, and he was pretty sure that it had only gotten worse. And he didn’t really know what to do about it. They weren’t exactly old enough for him to do anything, but he did have his father’s name, and position, and that made him an equal to her brother. That made him everything that Michael was supposed to have been, and seemingly was failing to be. Because there were standards that were meant to be upheld. Standards that seemed to be falling by the day when it came to the Parkinson family.

If he didn’t know better, he would have written it off as grief, but for the way that they had handled everything lately, he wasn’t sure that that was it either. He wasn’t honestly sure of much of anything when it came to all of them, but he was looking past it. Because Kali was his friend, and she had just lost her mum. She hadn’t had time to properly grieve before they had asked her to be the Lady of her brother’s household. Because she had a sister, but Philip didn’t think that she could really be relied on for a whole lot.

There were people that he thought just knew how to be, and how to act in these situations, and there were people that didn’t. And the Mountbatten-Wentzells had gotten very good at grief and moving on over the last couple of years. Yes, occasionally there were breakdowns, and a house burned down. Yes, it meant that there was an arranged marriage that no one had really seen coming. But Matka had her control back. And Ella had been happy, before. Then the world had changed on all of them, and they were dealing with all of this. Taking it all in stride. And really no one was handling it as well as they were pretending to. But he thought that it was better than nothing at all.

He had been in London for most of the day, and he knew that Kali’s apartment wasn’t too far from Matka’s office. So, he had flooed from the Ministry to HOME and then after a quick peck to his matka’s cheek, and a mention of what he was planning on doing, he had headed over here. Whether or not she would accept would be up to her, but he thought that spending Christmas in Mountbatten Hall might be better than the Parkinson Estate, and certainly more festive than spending it alone in her apartment.

Pulling open the door to her building he checked the directory and made his way up to 4B. Philip had no idea if she was even home, but he thought that if she wasn’t, he would leave a note or something. Hanging out was rather stalkerish but leaving a note to say that he had missed her was good enough. And who knew, it was late enough that her finals would have been over, if she was still taking any, and on a Monday night he hoped that she wasn’t planning on going out partying. But there was always the chance that she was at her brother’s and wouldn’t be coming home tonight at all. Worth a shot though, he supposed, and without waiting he reached up and knocked as soon as he came up to her door.

Kallisto Ophelia Parkinson • 586 • philip's outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

I want Crazy
_{I want you}

It was quite literally always something with the Parkinsons. Kallisto was utterly exhausted by it. She did not want to hate her kin...but they made it so incredibly difficult. Van was--as he had always been--a vulgar embarrassment to their name. She resented Myles for writing that blasted letter to his eldest son. Everyone was much better off when Van was disowned. Michael was, at least, still the Lord of the line. Not that he was particularly adept at leading the family--he certainly wasn't. He was too weak. That was why she had little choice in marrying him. If Kallisto ever wished to redeem the Parkinson line, she was going to have to step up and be the true leader. She had done her best to do that since Tara had fallen sick (and ultimately passed).

But was it even worth it?

She wasn't even really a Parkinson. She should have been a Goyle. Not even of the Sacred Twenty Eight...

The truth of her heritage had been a well kept secret for twenty years. But now, the circle of those who knew who her mother and father really were had grown considerably. Donna had told Greg--and Merlin knew who else had been told by either of the pair. Kallisto had shared the truth with Michael. It was terribly dangerous to have this information slipping out little by little. She needed to control the flow of information...and she could not just very well go and kill them all.

Well, she could...But she wasn't really considering that as a viable path forward. It was a possibility that had not been completely taken off the table--but despite her effectiveness and efficiency at ending a life, Kallisto was not truly some homicidal maniac. She was not keen to just go off on a murder spree.

So, what to do?

She wasn't sure...and she could not discuss the problem with others without letting them know her secret. She had considered sharing the truth with a few of those she considered her friends--perhaps Philip or Amalthea. But taking on that vulnerability--acting on genuine trust... That conversation was something Kallisto was trying to figure out how to approach. She wasn't there yet, but maybe soon.

That was what held her mind's focus instead the runic translation she was supposed to be working on. Ultramarine eyes were staring blindly at the ancient symbols. She knew the language well--and was working towards its mastery... but she just could not manage to focus on the task at hand today. Kallisto was happy to be drawn out of her daze by a knock on her door.

She was not expecting a guest--but only faces she would be happy to see for the most part were aware of the address of her flat. So, it was with some eagerness that she slipped from study to foyer to open the door. A bright smile came over her face when she pulled back the heavy mahogany gateway. "Philip! What a lovely surprise. Come in," she gestured inside, letting the door close behind him when the wizard had entered. A brush of her lips against his cheek was an affectionate greeting for the handsome Mountbatten.

@philip | outfit

530

I WANT CRAZY

I DON'T WANT EASY

ARE YOU WITH ME BABY? LET'S BE CRAZY

Philip didn’t know how to fix a lot of things. He had learned that since his otec had died. He hadn’t known how to fix Matka. He didn’t really know how to take care of his sestry. But he was trying. He was learning. And he had chosen to learn from Matka, and Malcolm. And he wouldn’t learn from Ares. He would learn from the Notts. He would learn from his stepfather. And he would learn from his new uncle. And he would learn what it meant to be the Head of a family here in England. Because from what he could see, his otec hadn’t really been all that good at it either.

He knew that he didn’t have to worry about the Wentzell line. That was Matka’s problem, and ultimately Ella’s inheritance. Everyone knew that Sylvestr would bail before they ever had a chance to make him king. And Philip thought that even Strýc knew that. That Josef was well aware that his son didn’t have what it took to be Kral. Of coruse, Philip personally didn’t think that his strýc had any right to be kral either, but that wasn’t his choice. And Matka wasn’t about to go challenge him to back down.

No, they had their share of problems, but he thought that they were minimal right now. He thought that everyone else had bigger problems. And it wasn’t like they could leave right now anyway. Philip thought that there were far better things to worry about. The epidemic htat had washed over all of them, for one thing. And he knew that he was worried about Kali too. She was his friend, and more than that, he was worried that everything with her family was going to be too much come Christmas.

The holiday season always seemed to make everything harder, and he knew what it had felt like losing one parent, and even then, it had been one that he hadn’t liked all that much. Let alone losing her mother and father in a year, and then having to step up and lead for her brother. He felt like he just wanted to do something. Something to take her mind off of all of it. Something to remind her that she didn’t have to do any of that if she didn’t want to. She wasn’t Michael’s wife. She didn’t have to step up and take care of anything. She could enjoy her holiday.

That was the whole point of this visit. To offer her something else. To offer her a chance to just be herself. And he didn’t know if she would take it. He didn’t know if she would be willing to come with him. But Philip wanted to take her away from all of this. Even if this was her apartment, and not Parkinson Estate, he didn’t want her to worry about any of it over the holidays. He just wanted her to relax and spend time with them. They were fun, and no one was going to care if she was around. Maybe she’d even have a good time.

His smile mirrored her own when she opened the door, and he was glad that she was pleased to see him. He knew that not everyone knew where she lived, but he considered himself to be one of the lucky few that did. Kissing her cheek in return he let his hand find her hip for a second as he slipped past her so that she could close the door behind him. “Hey, Kal.” There was a smirk on his lips as he straightened up and took a quick look around her space, “Not interrupting anything, am I?”

@ proposition for you • 616 • philip's outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

this is me

here i am

There's no where else on earth I'd rather be

Kallisto had no idea what would bring Philip Mountbatten to her door this evening. She expected to see him in a few days time at the Doholov celebration, but that debauchery was still quite some time away. He did make for a most pleasant and welcome surprise though. That handsome jawline could distract her from the debacle that was being a Parkinson (sort of) anytime.

His eyes swept over her flat and she felt a bit of self-consciousness over what she perceived as a mess across the table in the sitting area. The so-called mess was a few scattered pieces of parchment and an assortment of runic tombs that she was using for her spell invention research. The rest of the flat was spotless. Between the muggleborn maid and the house elves, her home was always spotless. Even if she had not had the help, she would have kept the place tidy. She still had her magic, after all. Kallisto was not going to scrub a floor the manual way, but she could cast a cleaning charm easily enough.

The flat had been remodeled since she acquired it. A brilliant magical architect had done brilliant things with the space--and Kallisto was quite proud of the expansive room that welcomed guests into her home. Extension charms really were brilliant magic.

The witch shook her head in response to Philip's question. "Not at all, I had planned on some revision tonight, but have been staring at the same page for the last thirty minutes. So, I'm happy to set it aside." Even if she had been making progress, Kallisto would have had a difficult time resisting the handsome distraction that had showed up at her door.

"What brings you by? Can I get you a drink or anything?" She probably did not have actual food in the house. Maybe there was? The elves usually brought her a plate from whatever had been prepared for Michael, but more often that not, she just took a potion instead of having a full meal. Kali did not have time for the full dining experience multiple times a day every day. She was working on two degrees, sat on the board of her cousin's philanthropic organization, engaged regularly in duels at the club, and was the top of her class in the Unspeakable Training program. She was a very busy woman. Food just didn't often rank as something important enough to get her time and attention.

surprise guest • 410 • outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

I WANT CRAZY

I DON'T WANT EASY

ARE YOU WITH ME BABY? LET'S BE CRAZY

Their world was one that he didn’t think that he had all of the answers to. He didn’t really think that any of them did. But he had ideas about how they were going to fix it. He knew that they needed to do better. He knew that they needed to make a different impression. And he was well aware that there were plenty of them that were going to have to try and get out of trouble if they weren’t careful. Philip didn’t want trouble. He wanted to do something else. He wanted to be something else. And he thought that he could do it. He thought that he could make Mountbatten a neutral enough name.

He thought that he could make them tolerant. He had halfblood cousins, after all. They Wentzell line was the royal line, and they had halfbloods. They were going to be fine. They were going to make sure that they survived this, unscathed. Matka and Malcolm were going to be fine. Matka’s crime of murdering Durant had been pardoned long ago. And since then they hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, they had the maid, but Philip was pretty sure that the maid’s brain was so messed up at this point, if they let her go, she wouldn’t be able to pick a Mountbatten out of a line-up.

Those were only the domestic problems. They had international problems too, but he thought that they could use the fact that they were muggle royalty in their favor as well. Even Matka, who couldn’t stand the British muggles, would let those without magic in Prague take pictures with her. He knew that she would play the Lidská Princezna. She would embrace that role, and that meant that he could use that here. That they got along with muggles. That they weren’t going to persecute the muggleborns anymore. He could vote neutral. He could turn their name neutral.

Even Ella had helped, by marrying Elliot. The MacGuffin name was far from a dark one. And Philip would take all of the help that he could to make sure that their family was not going to go down for any of this. He would keep them all safe. Because there wasn’t much that he knew how to do, but he knew how to protect people, and partially that had been what had driven him here. Kali didn’t need him to protect her, but he had been feeling particularly protective about the Christmas holidays, and after everything that her family had been through, he had thought to offer her an alternative.

“Always studying…” He shook his head and took in the great room that he had stepped into. It was beautiful, no matter how many times you saw it. “Well that doesn’t sound particularly productive.” He had been working on his own research project for the last couple of days, and he could understand the feeling. “You just hit a point where nothing more will go in until you take a break. I’ve been there.”

She was doing far more than he was, but he thought that he could relate, at least a little bit. He had finished one degree already and was working on the second. Bangor, mercifully, hadn’t thought that it was necessary to throw out all of the students that had lost their magic. “Whatever you’re having is fine.” He didn’t care if it was wine, or water, or what. Mountbattens tended to prefer scotch, but he wasn’t all that picky, “I came to ask you something, actually.” He didn’t really know how to ease into a question like this. “About your Christmas plans.”

@ blue eyes • 607 • philip's outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

this is me

here i am

There's no where else on earth I'd rather be

Kallisto could not keep from smiling seeing Philip at her door. This was not the first time that he had shown up unannounced or uninvited (though the wizard had a standing invitation to come any time). But no matter how many times it happened, the sight of him and the knowledge that he had thought of her put this smile on her face unlike anything else. She could not suppress it. She could not hide it. She just had to smile. 

She laughed at his reaction to what she had been doing. "Guilty-" she conceded. It was true. She did spend a lot of time studying, but there was so much to know and learn. She couldn't help herself. Especially since she tended to get a touch obsessive with things. It was part of who she was. She could disappear down a rabbit hole for hours--days--weeks even. But she always emerged with some greater understanding. It helped her quiet the voice in her head, too, to be intently focused on a task. 

Her head bobbed in a nod of agreement as she spoke about hitting one's limit with revision. "Yeah, my mind just kept wandering. Have a lot going on up there that has been distracting me." She turned a little face at that, wrinkling up her nose. Her mother...grandmother dying had been really difficult for the whole family.  She felt a lot of responsibility for the Parkinson clan now. She always had, but she really felt it now, even if she wasn't truly a Parkinson. 

She flicked her wand and magic flowed through her gathering up all her papers and books. Each set upon the other in a neat and orderly stack. With Philip here, she definitely was not going to work any more. She had not been into before he arrived and now that he was, she definitely wanted to spend the time with him. "That would be scotch then." She drank wine frequently, but like Donna, she had picked up scotch drinking from Myles--though in a different way, not from the actual experience of sharing drinks frequently with the man. Kali had only ever had tiny sips from his glass before he died...and now she drank it for the aroma. It reminded her of the man. "It seemed like not the most practical idea to open a bottle of wine for just me." She wasn't sure why she felt the need to explain what she was drinking--or why she had not opened a bottle of wine. She just said things sometimes when Philip was around. Maybe it was nerves? Did she like him so much he made her nervous? That thought only served to make her feel a bit more self conscious and she pushed it away to deal with the practical task at hand. "Do you want an ice cube?" She summoned a second glass down as she uncorked the bottle of Laphroaig that was five years older than her.

Philip did not seem too fussed by her random over-explanation. He presented the reason for his visit--and she was both simultaneously pleased and disappointed that he hadn't come over to hook up. She had something of a problem--every time she saw the Mountbatten, she wanted to shag him. Blame it on the jaw line.

"Oh?" she arched up a brow at Philip when he said he came to ask her something. The expression only grew more curious when he continued. "What about them? My ski trip to the Alps is obviously canceled." She was sour about that, but she understood the need for the quarantine, even if it was annoying. Her face grew a touch pensieve as she continued: "And with Mum gone--I don't think..." Her words trailed off and she turned a face, pushing the emotion away. She didn't want to get teary. 

you are too handsome • 638 • outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

I want crazy

I DON'T WANT EASY

ARE YOU WITH ME BABY? LET'S BE CRAZY

Figuring out who they were supposed to be in this new world was not the same as figuring it out in the old one. Any of the old ones. He knew that he hadn’t had it as bad as the kids of a lot of Death Eaters. He was a prince, and that had bought them some security. They weren’t going to force Matka, who hadn’t played a part in the war, or the kids, to ruin. They couldn’t. Dědeček wouldn’t have allowed it. They would have all packed up and moved to the Czech Republic if that was the case. Ústí nad Labem, if he had to guess. He knew that that palace was Matka’s favorite.

They would have simply left. But they hadn’t had to. And even when Durant had taken over, they hadn’t lost everything. They couldn’t touch Matka, and they knew it. Otec they had been able to take. He was English, and he was only a prince in name. He was only royal because he had married Matka. They couldn’t touch the rest of them, but they could touch him. And Babička hadn’t even stepped in to try and stop it. But they had taken Ares too, and he knew that that was a more complicated situation.

He wasn’t a prince, he was just a Duke, and he didn’t have the same connections that Matka did. Dědeček wasn’t’ about to come to Ares’s aid any time soon. But he would come to Matka’s, as messed up as that seemed now. That he had protected her the way that he had, that he had protected them all, when he was really just holding the ax over their necks himself. He wanted control of them, and he had had it. No one else had that power, it was his, and his alone.

Chuckling a little bit, he shook his head at Kali when she admitted that she was always studying. It wasn’t his family that he had come here because of, it was hers. He had come to offer her a chance to get away from them for the holidays. “I understand that. There never seems to be a break in the madness.” He had a family to run, at least here in England. The moment that they left English soil, he was the bottom rung of the elder group. Matka was in charge, and everyone knew that Matka was still very much in charge of the Mountbattens as well.

Lady Nott though she was, she was still the one that was running the family part of the Mountbatten family. Philip was the Wizengamot seat. He made the political decisions in England, because she couldn’t. She had no right to, and he didn’t think that she wanted to, but when it came to the family, and when it came to his sestry, he would always defer to Matka. At her explanation of scotch over wine he shook his head at her offer of an ice cube. “Neat’s fine. Scotch is always the answer. Maybe it’s a family thing, but I think everyone, but Ella prefers scotch.”

His eldest sestra had never cared for it, but the rest of them did. They had grown up on it practically. Matka didn’t have the qualms about her children drinking at a younger age than the rest of England seemed to, and Philip just chalked it up to another reason that they weren’t really English at all anymore. Without Otec around, they were very Czech.

When she spoke of her own mother, Philip was quiet for a moment. Allowing her that moment of solace about her mother before he smirked at her. “I was thinking you might like to join us on Christmas? It’s not just the family. You won’t be the only one not related there. And Matka cooks enough to feed an army. You don’t have to, of course.” He added as an afterthought, “Just if you didn’t want to spend it alone, or with your siblings, an alternative.”

@ blue eyes • 670 • philip's outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

this is me

here i am

There's no where else on earth I'd rather be

The Lord Mountbatten was undeniably easy on the eyes. The gods had been unreasonably kind when they carved his high cheekbones and strong jawline from the smooth marble. Kali had always had such a weakness for a strong jaw...that and broad shoulders. The witch favored distinctly masculine traits for her male lovers and softer ones for the women she brought to her bed. Amy was not as delicate as most of the witches Kali found desirable, but Amalthea had other traits that drew the witch in. Her mind and her wickedness was two of the most delectable enticements the Carrow had to her advantage. Kallisto had some idea that Philip might share a similar dark streak, but she did not know with certainty how deep that darkness pervaded.

Perhaps she would find out at the Dolohov Solstice celebration. Kallisto was looking forward to the gathering. She fully intended to flaunt the fact that she--unlike many of their friends--still had her magic. She would be wearing a gown of her own design, one that was magically constructed. A conjuration of black smoke would curl around her body, hugging her and blocking direct contact with her skin unless she permitted it. The spell had earned her perfect marks in her class at Lufkin. She was miles ahead of most of the other students in the school. But she wouldn't give this spell away. She refused to even teach it to her professor. That vexed the man, but he could sod off.

Kallisto would give Lufkin one more spell--she had already sacrificed too many to that blasted institution. She didn't want to even give them one more, but it was a requirement of graduation. During a spell invention student's final year of study, the student enrolled in a practical course spanning the full duration that had no lectures, labs, or regular class hours. She would have a sponsor for the course that could advise her, but the point was to create a new spell, master it, document its incantation and wand movements, and to present it at the end of the term to a board of professors. The spell was judged on its usefulness, practicality, and the ease with which it could be taught to the masses. She would, of course, do a transfiguration, or perhaps a charm. The two disciplines overlapped often enough.

Or perhaps she could leave Lufkin and go to Locksley. She did not know the requirements for graduation there. It was so new. Were classes even being offered there at her level of study? She wasn't sure. Lufkin might not have had the reputation of Bangor, but Locksley had no reputation at all. It was a quandary that she was struggling with. But she could put school worries from her mind. Philip was here--they had a fine Scotch to share. It was too pleasant a moment to tarnish with thoughts about Lufkin.

She gave an approving nod and smile when he said he would take the liquor neat. Kallisto had opinions about men--or women--who watered down something as delightful as a Laphroaig 25. She topped off her own glass and poured two fingers into a matching Glencairn whisky glass for Philip. Holding the umber liquid out to him, she let her eyes sweep over his face, languishing up that jaw until her gaze met his. Ultramarine reflected azure and the spark between them thickened the air. "My father would have agreed with you on that point," she told him, in reference to his words about how Scotch was always suitable. She still thought of Myles as her father. She knew he wasn't. She knew he was her grandfather, but when she spoke of him, or thought of him, he was still the one she saw in that role. He had mentored her in the Dark Arts. He had stoked her hatred for the muggles and those who would persecute the purebloods. He was the one she had imagined would give her away on her wedding day...and he had been taken from her. But she could still speak of him fondly, and enjoy the things  that reminded her of him. It lessened the blow of his absence. "He passed on the preference to all of us...well, I can't speak for Van, of course. But all of us who matter anyway." She did not disguise her distaste for her wrockstar uncle. He was a bane that she wished could just be forgotten. 

The conversation continued towards thoughts of family that were painful to dwell on. She had not ended her mourning of Miles despite the years since his death...and now to be without Tara, too. It was hard and it was confusing. She had a plan for the family--a plan that would have her become The Lady Parkinson. But Michael did not truly want that. He had agreed. But he did not really want Kali to sacrifice for the family in such a dramatic way. He had fanciful hopes for her. He would surely want her to take this chance to be with a full and happy family on Christmas. Philip offering her something so thoughtful and intimate surprised Kali.

They were not an exclusive item, but to come to Christmas with his family. That felt very meaningful. She smiled at him, the expression softer than the ones she usually offered. "Are you quite sure? I would not want to be any imposition." She wanted to give him a chance to reconsider. Perhaps that was silly, he had come all this way just to invite her, clearly he had thought it through. But it was still polite to not just immediately answer yes. Decorum set rules of engagement for invitations and acceptances of those invitations. She might have been raised poor, but her mother had still taught her what was expected of a lady and how to be one. She held to those lessons when they suited her--and ignored them when they didn't. It was new time--there was a balance for the new generation of pure lady between obedience and independence. 

you are too handsome • 1010 • outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

I want crazy

I DON'T WANT EASY

ARE YOU WITH ME BABY? LET'S BE CRAZY

He had come here with every intention of inviting her to Christmas. Were they dating? No, not really. They were shagging. And they were having a good time. But he knew that he was not the only person in her bed, and she was not counting on being the only person in his. Did that mean that he couldn’t give her an option to come and spend the holidays with them if she wished? Of course not. He knew that she wouldn’t be the only one that wasn’t family that was there. Ella nearly always invited Delilah, and Sabine showed up reliably with gin. Ireland wasn’t really family, and he was sure that Nick would tug her along.

It didn’t matter what they were or weren’t. What mattered was that he wanted to invite her, and so he had come over here to do just that. He had come over here to ask her if she wanted to just relax, and have a good time, and maybe get to do something normal. Or as normal as Christmas in the Wentzell household could be.

Wentzell, Mountbatten, Nott… He didn’t think that it really mattered in the least what it was that their name was. They were family. And that meant that they spent the holiday together. Presents, food, alcohol. It was simple enough. Complicated, in some ways, but easier in others. And he thought that this Christmas might be the easiest yet. There had never really been a time when he hadn’t thought that he was going to have to dodge some glares, and some whispers over the dinner table. But that had… Relatively stopped.

Of course, Matka hadn’t invited Ares and Issadora. And Philip didn’t really blame her for that. But he knew that it was bound to be a little tense when Nick and LJ showed up, and their father was nowhere to be found. The Mountbatten-Wentzells didn’t come without their fair share of family drama. He knew that she would have to be okay with that if she wanted to come. But he thought that it might have been nice. Something other than having to worry about the fact that she had lost her parents so close together.

Something to take her mind off of the Parkinson clan, and hopefully just have a little fun.

They could use fun. All of them. He knew that Kali still had her magic. So did Matka, and Constance. Tempe still had her air powers, though he wasn’t sure how controlled they were when she didn’t have a real grasp on them. He knew that there were going to be challenges, moving forwards. That people had lost things that they couldn’t get back. He could still be a politician. He could still do the things that he wanted to do, without his magic. It wasn’t going to hurt him. Honestly, it didn’t hurt a lot of their family. Inconvenient maybe, and he knew that Ella had been using it for her healing, but they were politicians. And writers. And musicians. They were photographers, and ballerinas, and editors.

Magic was not essential to their day to day lives. It was a hinderance, not having it, but it wasn’t the end of the world. They were muggle royalty too, after all. They had to have careers that people could understand. They had to do things that made sense. And all of those things made sense. Even if they hadn’t chosen them with that conscious thought in mind. Or maybe they had… He didn’t really know. Philip never quite knew what he did or didn’t do because he was a prince. He was just him. He was the way that he was, because that was how he was raised to be.

And there were plenty of times when he knew that that was harder than it should have been. Choices that had to be made, things that they had to do, and be, and say. Things that he didn’t like any more than anything else. He didn’t know that he liked that Constance had gone to live with Liam. And he didn’t know that he liked that Ella had married for political neutrality. He didn’t think that he liked that Matka and Ares couldn’t be in the same room together without something catching on fire. There were things that he was sure that he didn’t like. But there were things that made them honest. Things that made them, well, them.

A soft smile crossed the young lord’s features as he took the glass she offered, and as Kali made reference to her late father. Philip didn’t truly know what to say. He always thought that saying he understood was the wrong thing. Saying he was sorry, or bringing up how much someone must be missed… It all felt wrong. It all felt like a lie. Something that you said, that didn’t really help, that you didn’t really mean. He understood the loss of a parent. He understood what losing his own father had meant. But he was sure that it wasn’t the same. Her father hadn’t been hiding something so terrible.

“You really don’t like him…” There was a bit of a laugh in his voice when she spoke of her brother. Philip couldn’t honestly say that he cared much for the man either. His music was… Annoying, if he had to be honest. Thea’s obsession with it was enough to make him hate the man to start with. But there was something about a first-born son abandoning his birthright that would never sit well with the young man.

Philip had lifted the glass that she had handed him to his lips, and he sipped the amber liquid as she spoke again. Lowering it with a nod he smiled, “I am, very sure.” He thought that she would have a good time, and that was really what the holiday spirit was supposed to be about. Something much more joyous and worth celebrating. “You would be nothing of the sort. The more the merrier. The holidays are a time for food, and chaos, and all of the people we can fill our halls with.” He shrugged, “At least all of the people we want to fill our halls with.”

@ come, you'll love it • 1043 • philip's outfit

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