It's only a flesh wound!

@bella

Ezekiel’s night wasn’t supposed to have ended this way, after getting himself into a fight with the boyfriend of a girl (who had started flirting with him first) he’d come out a little worse for where, his pride was making him refuse to admit it was a clean fight. One minute he’d been offering to buy the blonde a drink and the next he had been knocked off a chair, if the guy hadn’t attacked him from behind, Zeke knew he would have won, he was training to be an auror after all and one of the crucial parts for the job was stamina and strength which he had plenty of if the girls he took home counted as some solid proof.

It was lucky that Zeke hadn’t had too much to drink before his night had been rudely cut shot, it meant he had a clear enough mind that he could apparate himself to St Mungos, he hadn’t felt like it was necessary but as he had been quick to remind himself, his sister and Hazel might still be back at school, but both witches just seemed to know when things had become messy for him and he would have received a flurry of letters scolding him, at least if he went now he could owl Ruby when he was home and let her know what had happened, he would have owled Hazel too, but now they weren’t dating he felt it wasn’t his place any more so he just had to assume Ruby would update her on what was happening.

The hospital seemed relatively quiet for a night but he had to remind himself, it was the middle of the week so not many drunken escapades would be likely to have happened, even he had considered staying in for the night but he’d had an itch to scratch and he wanted to go out and enjoy himself, as it was that hadn’t really worked out in his favour, but on the plus side he’d had a few drinks and got a couple of snogs so it wasn’t a complete waste of time at least. He scanned the foyer and saw a young witch stood alone and he approached her with a smile. She was dressed smart enough that he assumed she worked somewhere in the hospital and he felt a little sorry for her, it was late enough that he felt he could safely guess that she was working the night shift and most people could agree that night shifts were the worst, they were always so slow and boring, he’d much rather have day shifts then he could go out and enjoy the night, as it was whenever he worked a night shift he lost the night and the day and it made for a pretty dull routine.

Zeke made his way to the reception and gave all the necessary details he could before going to take a seat near the witch he’d seen whilst he waited, his gaze wandered curiously and he slouched back in his chair, another thing he hated about hospital visits at night. There was always hours to wait, even when it was relatively empty. He sighed and kicked his feet up onto a small table in front of him and rubbed his throbbing head, he could only imagine he looked a state as he glanced down at his white shirt that was now stained red from a cut that he still wasn’t quite sure where it was on his body, he’d just have to wait and see really.

One of the chairs nearby shifted a little and he glanced sideways to see who had joined him before smiling lightly at the witch he’d noticed when he’d first arrived, she looked familiar and it was bugging him where from.

It had been one hell of a night for Bella. Well, a hell of a day. She had woken with a hangover from the night before, over slept and had no potions and no time to go get a hangover cure. She had felt like crap all day becuase of it and hadn’t even been able to escape on her break. Thankfully, one of the nurses was nice enough to give her one just before she left. Bella had run home and took a shower before heading out for her next shift. Her life had changed so much in the last two years. She went from almost dying and being married, to being divorced and doing nothing but working and having a good time. She hadn’t had much of a life before this.

She had been young and vivacious, full of hope and love, but then things had changed. She had been told of the illness, of her Endomitriosis, and things had changed. She had been told that it was the reason for her pain, all of it. That they could make her better, and they had for a few days. Then she had gotten terribly ill and they couldn’t find out why. She almost died before they figured it out. She was in and out of the hospital and lost so much weight. She had barely looked like herself. It had taken forever for her to really see what was going on in front of her and by the time she had, her ex told her the truth. She went back in for another surgery and when she came out things were over. She couldn’t keep living with him knowing what he had done. That was not the life that she had wanted.

Thankfully she was still young and things were only going to get better, or so she hoped. Work was not as glamorous as she would have liked, but it came with the territory of being a shot girl. A brawl had started up and she had helped break it up, but ended up getting cut in the process. So she had been sent to the ER. Now she sat with bandages on her arm and wishing that the night would just end so she could get some sleepy.

She had been sitting with her head against the wall, her eyes closed when someone sat down beside her. Blinking slowly she lifted her head and looked at the man beside her. ”Um, can I help you?” Yes, she worked there, but she wasn’t a healer, and no she couldn’t rush things along either. She really hoped that this man wasn’t about to ask one of those two questions. She had seen him at the bar a few times, but that was about it when it came to that. ”I must look a fright.” she said before adjusting her hair.

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words:489
Outfit

There was a sharp stinging on Zeke’s temple and he tried to ignore it but found himself rubbing it to try and soothe it, only to have his fingers come away with dried blood, he assumed it looked and felt worse than it was because otherwise he would have been sent in immediately, he knew that head injuries could be severe but he was confident he had no concussion, he hadn’t shown any of the symptoms anyway, but one could never tell. He was relieved that the waiting room was relatively quiet and empty, no screaming children to make his head worse, no drunks arguing, he just wished that he wouldn’t have to wait long, but he knew it would take a while especially if more severe cases came in. He scanned the waiting area and counted five other patients before him, not including any emergency cases that might come in.

He glanced sideways at the witch who had joined him and he smiled at her faintly, rubbing his face, ”I just wondered how long you’d been waiting here. I get so bored in waiting rooms with nothing to do.” He admitted with a smirk. Zeke sat back in his chair and looked the witch over again as she continued speaking and he chuckled, shaking his head. ”You look fine.” He told her earnestly, sure she may look a little rough but who didn’t after a long day? Despite the slightly rough look, she was, admittedly rather attractive and he watched curiously as she pushed her hair behind her ear, he always thought of red heads to be a rarity, they also stood out in the crowd for all the right reasons and the girl beside him didn’t seem to be an exception, he could kind of see why Ruby hindered so much attention of the male counterpart, there was just something about redheads that drew you to them and it seemed he was no exception, it was lucky for her (and kind of unlucky for him) that he wasn’t looking for a companion for the night anymore or he definitely wouldn’t have passed up on an opportunity with the nameless girl.

Zeke looked thoughtful and he made a mental note to call Teuila when he got home if it wasn’t too late, maybe she could come over and they could… tend to each others needs. ”I’m Ezekiel by the way, Ezekiel Fehu.” He smiled, offering his hand to the witch, if he was going to be here a while he may as well make some small talk and to be honest, he could have much worse company.

Bellas ex-husband wasn’t known when they were in school for his wiles or his manners. He wasn’t a gentleman or anything that she looked for now, which she found to be quite funny. He was nothing that she wanted now, and she never should have looked for. Paul had hurt her, broken her heart in a way but she was better now, she was over it. Bella had lived that life and now she was moving on in the best way that she knew how, which meant that she was doing whatever the fuck she felt like, it was oddly freeing. It all worked out for the most part, but there were times like this when she kind of missed being little miss straight laced goody two shoes.

The hospital was the place she saw almost as much as she saw her home, the club she only saw on the odd night but it paid the bills. Passing out shots to people, walking around in skimpy outfits. It was easy, it didn’t take a lot of work, and she didn’t have to do anything other than be a hype man. She got the crowd going, she could dance and enjoy the atmosphere. She couldn’t help but smile at the man and she shrugged. ”Kind of nodded off there, so who knows, but probably not long. I’m just knackered.” She said honestly, before shrugging and laughing a little and held up her arm with a wince. ’After the week, and the day, that I have been having, looking fine is an achievement.” She joke and bounced her brows for a moment.

Holding out her uninjured hand she smled at him and nodded to him. ”it’s a pleasure Ezekiel. I’m Bella Hauser. “ She hadn’t returned to her maiden name, mainly because she was too damned lazy, and partially she liked the name better than Patterson. She reached her fingertips to his temple, frowning a little. ”Wanna swap war stories?”

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”Well if you’ve been here long enough to nod off, you’ve clearly been here a while.” He said teasingly, shooting her a crooked grin. Zeke stretched again and watched the witch carefully when she winced, and he furrowed his brows in concern, ”You look lovely… is that better?” He continued, half serious half playful. ”Rough week?” He asked, shifting to face her head on and giving her another once over, she did look rather exhausted, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing though.

Zeke shook her hand gently, ”The pleasure is all mine Bella.” He said flirtatiously, giving her another (what he hoped) was a smouldering smile. He leaned into her touch automatically, something he used to do with Hazel and inhaled sharply at the sting. ”Sure, although mine will probably make me seem like an asshole. I was just in a club and there was a girl who started hitting on me so I brought her a drink, turns out her boyfriend wasn’t too keen on the idea of someone flirting with his girlfriend. Even though I had no clue because she hadn’t told me!” He huffed, closing his eyes and groaning. ”I think there was a third person who got accidentally involved but I don’t know, I just hope that if they did they’re okay and I didn’t hurt them.” He admitted, looking briefly worried.

He moved away from her touch and looked at the arm she’d been cradling before and tapped her injured arm gently, hoping he didn’t come across rude or invading her space, but he felt it was safe considering she’d done the same to his injury, ”What happened to a pretty woman like you to get you here then?” He asked.

Bella had had a hard day and she didn’t sleep much anymore not since surgery, but coming back from death did that kind of thing. She knew the taste of ash in her mouth, and the sound of the river styx, the smell of the waters as they rocked the boat, but she had been pulled back, dragged from the depths by mighty Poseidon himself and given the breath of life. She still remembered the moment that her eyes found their focus again, and the feeling as the blood began to return to her extremities. She had looked about the room and known that Paul wasn’t there, that she was alone, she had been breathing on her own and off machines by the time that he had returned and she had been drifting, hearing the soft sounds of water against a wooden hull, a reminder that the boat was waiting when she was ready to go.

The smell of the water still haunted her, striking her on a bad day through the wind, teasing her with the memory. That wasn’t why she slept though, it was the feeling of not being oneself. She couldn’t control where her dreams went, or the things that happened. Reminders of wishes she could no longer have, goals that would never be achieved, things that she would never have, no matter how much she wanted them. ”I don’t sleep much. I haven’t for a long while. “ Potions were the only thing that helped her now, the only thing that calmed her mind long enough for her to relax and get some rest. She didn’t overuse like some people do, she was careful to use it once a month if that. ”More like rough five years. She said bitterly and rolled her eyes.

She laughed as he explained something and shook her head. ”That sounds like a usual night at Opium. I was serving and some guy grabbed my arse, and someone else stood up for me. They fought and the offender pulled out a knife. I broke it up but got cut in the process. They’re both barred.” She said with a shrug and a smile. She had been there for worse, so this felt like nothing.

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Ezekiel was looking forward to heading home after here, he was supposed to be up early for work tomorrow and whilst he didn’t mind his job (or parts of it) he wasn’t thrilled with his constant early nights, for years Zeke had been a night owl and with his training, that was all out of whack. He rubbed his face tiredly, he could see the night ending only one of two ways, he gets out of Mungos quickly and could head straight home or he’d be out later and have either a couple of hours or no sleep at all, normally he didn’t mind that if it was with a girl that he was up all night but that was definitely off the cards, unless Zeke decided to be particularly trying and flirted with a girl whilst he was here, like the one beside him for example, as it was, he was far too much of a gentleman to flirt with people who probably were more concerned with their injuries than getting laid and he reminded himself again that he could always just call Teuila, the witch hadn’t complained all the previous times he’d invited her over to his.

Zeke tilted his head as he listened to Bella and nodded to show he was paying attention before furrowing his brows. ”That sucks… I love to sleep but my sister struggles sometimes, she has night terrors.” He explained, he was all too familiar with his sister being up at all hours, it had got particularly worse when all the muggleborn problems started to happen and he and Hazel had had to try to keep Ruby distracted enough that by the time she went to bed, she’d be too tired to stay up, it worked sometimes but not always. ”Rough five years huh? Damn that sounds like a living nightmare.” He said with a sympathetic look, sitting back in his chair.

”Funnily enough, that’s where I was.” He laughed, looking thoughtful, he’d seen the interaction that she was talking about and he’d been about to step in and help, (he loathed violence or inappropriate actions towards women, without at least knowing they were interested first) but by the time he’d got to his feet someone had stepped in and separated them, come to think of it that was probably why Zeke and recognised Bella when he’d first walked in. ”Well at least they’re barred or else they’d be getting a punch.” He said, surprisingly calmly.

Dying was one of the hardest things in the world to come back from. It changed her, it changed the person that she was, and it made the smallest things seem like mountains at times. She had been trying to live her life, make herself happy and it worked for the most part.  That was all she really wanted, to be happy. Was it silly, probably, but that was really all she had. It kept her going, helped her sleep and night and reminded her that life would go on. After all, didn’t life live on hope? If not for hope what would they have? She hoped for a better tomorrow, a brighter future, a love that she could one day call her own.  Simple things that any girl her age could have wanted.

Life was all about rolling with the punches. About making decisions for yourself about yourself, and it was something that she was getting pretty good at trying to see the bright side of things. She had been forced to learn how to do it when she was in the hospital and not getting any better. It had been hard and she had been doing it alone but that was just what it was. It was in the past and she was better, but getting hurt like this meant she had no choice but to go back. Something in her blood still wasn’t right, something in the way that her body fought off things. She hadn’t been changed for ill or for the better by her sickness, but she had been changed, and that was something not even the healers could deny.

”I’ve heard tell that Liquid Sunshine helps with night terrors and sleep problems. Perhaps you should look into that for her?” She asked with a small smile and a tilt of her head. It was known for being slightly addicting but in moderate use for sleeping a sip a few times a week wouldn’t hurt the girl.

”Were you?!” She asked with a smirk. She hadn’t see him but he wasn’t in her area, so she probably didn’t even give him a second look. Which was a right pity. ”Really? Whatever for, I think I handled them pretty well myself. Though if you meant for my honor, you have my thanks.”

”Liquid Sunshine?” Zeke repeated looking thoughtful and tilting his head to the side, he’d heard of it but he hadn’t tried it for Ruby yet; maybe he could talk her into going to the doctors and getting it checked. Her night terrors were bad and from what he’d heard through letters with Hazel, even though she was doing better, it was still far from perfect. It worried Zeke knowing his sister was so vulnerable and that he couldn’t be there to help her, but he also knew that even if she could, he wasn’t the one she needed. That was a certain blond wizard who was on the run. He hated having to see how hard it was for Ruby not knowing where he was, but he had to just bite his tongue and hope things would slowly get better for her… for everyone really.

He glanced at the girl and offered her a smile, ”Thank you for that, I’ll have to try it. Maybe I can come and find you in the club one day and let you know how it goes if I get it for her.” He chuckled, a slightly flirtatious tone trickling into his words. When the girl expressed his surprise at him being in the club he grinned at her, ”I was. I was the most handsome man there.” Zeke laughed, shifting in his chair to face her more directly. ”I hate men acting inappropriately towards women.” He explained with a nonchalant shrug. ”I could see you handled yourself properly but you still got hurt.” He pointed out with a playful grin, running his hand over her noticeably injured one. ”People who treat women with disrespect deserve a slap. Sure, I’m a guy and I flirt with women but if a woman says no or doesn’t show interest, I get the hint I don’t keep trying.” He told her with a warm smile.

----- 'Tis only a scratch! -----

tag: @ezekiel // words: 311 // notes: ---

----- Bella had tried her fair share of potions to treat her depression, she had even tried holistic medicine, and in the end she (and her therapist) had determined that it was something that they would have to work on in coordination. Therapy, meds, and time. That was what it took for a lot of people, but hers had a lot more to do with what she had been through than what was wrong with her head. Everyone faced things differently, and everyone healed differently. Right now, she was trying to forget and act as if it had never happened on good days. Bad days were spent with telly and take away while laying on her living room floor.

She gave him a small smile and a nod before squeezing his arm softly. She knew that most healer only offered some potions as a last resort and they really helped more than people thought, it was the addictive quality that many people feared that was the problem. ”Small amounts in my tea are what I usually go with. Waters it down a little and keeps me from doing my head in.” She looked at the man and beamed when he said he could come and let her know how it goes.

”Or we could always meet for tea, or coffee or lunch.” She wasn’t always at the club. She split her weeks with her jobs so she wasn’t working too hard. Her alimony really paid for most things that she could need or want.

”A flirtatious gentleman is much better than a rake any day in most women’s books. There are those that like the jerks, but that’s their malfunction.” She said with a tilt of her head. ”Your date must have been glad if you were fighting for her honor? It’s a shame she’s not here with you.”
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