NATURE HAS A WAY OF
REALLY TOUCHING YOU INSIDE
IT'S A LESSON EVERYONE MUST LEARN

IT AIN'T NO USE
TO TRY TO RUN AWAY
OR TRY TO HIDE
EVERYONE MUST FINALLY TAKE A TURN

| @alaric

Truth be told, Ayelet wasn’t sure who did more here. Who was supposedly in charge, other than it was a Brit who came to visit sometimes. It did at times irritate her, that they hadn’t set up some system in here, and the person who came and went wasn’t merely a liaison, but she guessed that that one reason why it happened. People liked to be in charge, liked to feel as if they could get something out of what they’d done. She assumed, at least. She’d thought Lachlan led them at first.

It used to be a woman or maybe it still was the woman, and now it was a man who walked around in expensive suits all the time. Why that was needed in caves, she didn’t quite understand, but fine. Seemingly he was someone higher up, someone who was so-called ‘pureblood’. The concept itself was ridiculous to her. She hadn’t learned about it in her school because there was no one who would hide they had regilot ancestry. They were shniyot, that was what mattered. There wasn’t a girl in her school who hadn’t had a regilot-raised sheni like her among at least their great-grandparents, if not much closer. She could understand tracing the ancestry a bit more, because some did do that, but frankly, Ayelet didn’t even know the names of her great-great grandparents. Well-- she knew the names of a few on her mother’s side, and could probably guess maybe a few more because of naming-after-people, but she also was not quite sure exactly which side they were on.

But apparently that-- calling people 'pureblood'-- was also a thing in Spain that Ayelet just wasn’t aware of because of the bubble she’d been educated in for eight years. While she’d met people from other schools, they’d been from schools similar to hers in broad terms, where they learned a lot of certain things, and little about others. Gematria, for example-- various forms of Arithmency was something that had been all eight years just to begin to comprehend the way Gematria sometimes worked-- it was something all girls had had to walk out knowing for their higher-level spells. There were students whose written Spanish was roughly that of a six-year-old’s, though those had been few and rare. Broad magical history was not something they’d really learned about in school, much less even Spain’s history. A little, but not much. There had been other, more specific histories they’d learned, ones that while useful in school and with others from similar schools. . .didn’t much do much with anyone else. Most of Ayelet’s knowledge of general Spanish history was from before she was ten, and from her siblings making sure she wouldn’t embarrass them in front of their friends. At at Daughters of Endor, they’d barely even learned of the other European magic schools, and that was from more word-of-mouth, or half-mentions that mages had gone there, that someone had cousins or friends-of-friends attending.

But there was one thing she did know, one thing she could offer. For help, which. . . she knew some were being moved out, but she wanted to be the last one out. So while some were still here-- it was late, because she’d been practicing, been wracking her memory and practicing her carving, her shaping, her potions and spellwork. Her actual spell work, not directing her magic into some disconnected dead thing. She maybe should share that she wasn’t so limited but then people would ask to learn, and Ayelet— she hadn’t even known wanded magic existed until it was offered as an elective. How she’d learned magic was grounded in what she guessed to be different theories. It would require teaching to unlearn, and Ayelet knew, from her times tutoring younger girls, that she was not a very good teacher.

So she wasn’t sure she could teach this either, or even technically that she should. Even if she died, then— but it technically was a secret, even if their worst-kept one that it existed. The making of it, that was the hidden part. General existence was maybe known— Ayelet was biased in her knowledge; she didn’t actually know how much people knew of them. People from Prague, maybe? That was the most famous one. A few places in Germany, also maybe. She really didn’t know how well they were known, because well, she’d always known about them, even before magic. Folktales and folklore, and they weren’t all real. Ayelet had been so disappointed when she’d found out the ziz either did not exist at this time, or never had. The debates that day had overwhelmed the spells laid in place to dampen noise.

It was safer, maybe if she didn’t tell people how to make it because they could be tortured to find out. But to make one would not be exposure. She only had to ask, and Frères could help— if she could get into contact with her, but she could also do it alone.

"Excuse me," she said, making her way to who she hoped was technically in charge, once it seemed as if there was no one else around. "Would you like any more help protecting the caves? I can make a golem."

---

Regilim, regilot: slang term for Muggle, Hebrew for "usual" or "regular", positive connotations
sheni/shniya/shniyim/shniyot: slang term for magical, Hebrew for "other" or "secondary", neutral connotations

The caves were apparently the idea of Portia's late husband. Personally, Alaric didn't think that he would have set the sanctuary in a series of caves off the coast of France, but here they were. He would rather have bought some land, hidden somewhere in a forest, and set up a sanctuary there. Of course the building would've taken some time and funds, but with his contacts and his family's money that wouldn't exactly have been hard. However, he gave credit where it was due and the caves were pleasant enough. For a while. He couldn't imagine living here, of course, but he had been told that his personal standards were no measure for most people's reality. If nothing else, people could have their own space, the bathing caves were warm, and the security measures in place were sufficient. They hadn't actually been put to the test, but that was a good thing. In theory, everything should be perfect. The protection charms for detecting the caves and gaining entry worked fine, after all. He would have to ask Portia for more details, though he was not exactly a specialist in charms or runes or magical theory. It would be hard to have anyone check on it and since Portia was an Unspeakable he supposed he could just take her word for it.

He had, lately, been making more and more time to show up at the sanctuary, though he really shouldn't. Corwin and Ilana handled more of these business, not that he had ever met the woman, Cor only mentioned that she was the one smuggling the people over. He was, however, mostly busy with managing everything else for the sanctuary. Having been in the business of managing things for a long time -his brother, his studies, the company, the family name- he knew that close proximity was the best way to keep everything in hand. However, since he had such a busy schedule, and now also a fiancé, it was hard to make time to be here constantly. He usually made time when he had to come over to France for business, because he didn't have to worry about sneaking into the country or making up some excuse to cross the border. If his trips had actual iron clad reasons, nobody could question it. Instead if he came over for fake reasons and anyone found out, or if he was constantly doing 'shopping trips' he could easily be stopped and questioned. Nobody really liked the Slughorns anymore, there was no pureblood, intra-family politics protecting him. They would fix that with marriage, if they didn't know that Corwin would blow it and didn't want to put Oralie at risk.

In any case, he made time to be here at least twice a year. That was something. He came, he oversaw the security, how people were dealing, the cleanliness and the supply levels. He made sure there was enough space, he made sure there were medical supplies, and he was open to any requests or suggestions. Implemented whatever changes they would need and then hurried back so as to not be missed. This being a sanctuary, it couldn't be run as he would a business or firm. Even if his family did deal with health insurance, it was unfortunate to admit that it was still an enterprise in search of profit. Though they tried to not cause any damage, some people would still consider it a less than humane sort of business. Still, he did his best because no matter what his family did, he didn't particularly want to profit off human lives. Besides, there was no sort of 'profit' in the sanctuary, other than people's wellbeing. Making things more efficient wouldn't actually help anyone, and creating an internal hierarchy would probably only make things worse. Still-

"Yes?" Alaric swivelled around, having been lost in thought, and blinked at the young woman before him. Ah, what she was saying... a golem? "I believe madam Portia has supplied quite a bit of protection for the caves, and beyond that the event of attack from Death Eaters of foreign soil is questionable. I would of course hear your proposition but... what exactly is a golem?" Admittedly, he had gone to business school after Hogwarts and not really paid much attention in defence classes.

"Eh. . ." okay, yes, definitely unaware. It was worth it to try. . "like a robot? It does tasks that it is made to do. Cooking, cleaning, fetching things, defense. Not all at once, usually, there are different ways one would be made depending on what the task is. . "

Except commands did have to be very specific, stops and stars. The wife who had forgotten to tell the golem to stop bringing water or sweeping, the rabbi who had to stop the most famous one as it was attracting too much notice. Golems easily able to do many tasks, that was far beyond what Ayelet somewhat knew how to made. One of her older teachers, she thought would know how.

"I-- I do not mean to say that the caves are unprotected or that Madam Darby did not do well enough." She really didn't have that much experiance with men-- had a few younger friends, a younger brother, and some cousins, but she'd usually preferred being with other women. Still, she couldn't simply act if the man in front of her was Ran, because that was almost stupider than trying to treat him like one of the boys she'd met when the schools mixed. "I-- I felt like I should be. . doing something, contributing something more than what I do."

Guilt? Maybe. She's got a way out, and that's not fair, but life never is. She wants to help, wants to fight, but she can't quite do that yet. "It's. . unorthodox, and perhaps another layer of sort might be helpful. Wh-- if we're found." The we, she thinks, is. . . her included, yes, but she supposes it's also dangerous for him to do so. She guesses, using what she's familiar with on history, and what she remembers of the Ministry during her pre-Wentzell days, and her days spent hiding.

So close to Britain. Too close, really, nerve-wrackingly close, but she imagines their skin crawls more than hers. "It's unfamiliar," she's more confident in her words, because she knows her Yehi 'ors work differently than their Lumoses, and their Nox don't have the same impact as Yehi chosek, because they're similar spells, not the exact same. Potions, too-- she used different ingredients and different spells. While similar goals might be achieved, they worked differently, left themselves open to different spells and ignores others. It catches edges, tugs at them. "That might give more time for escape during the adjustment."

There he will be paralyzed Until the night has passed @ ayelet  OUTFIT - regular suit

The girl before him could really be no older that Cora, perhaps one year more or less, and she was not the youngest here in the caves either. There were so many people whose lives had been interrupted or permanently changed that Alaric would've liked nothing better than to ignore it all and go back to his peaceful, financially profitable neutrality. Of course he couldn't and he wouldn't, not now that he had indeed gotten involved and set up a whole system to bring more people in and met various of the muggleborns they were hiding. Not now that they weren't unnamed people but rather acquaintances, however distant or passing they may be. Yes, it would be far more honourable of him to want to help just for the sake of it, and he had at first. There was so much wrong in the world and he knew that his uncle would've been turning in his grave to see Alaric turn a blind eye to it all, by obligation or not. It had been about the right thing and his great granduncle's memory at first, not about bravery or anything like that. Then he came to his senses and he realised he had brought his little brother into something that would put him in danger, and by doing anything in the first place he had put all his family and his family's legacy at risk as well. Still being someone who wanted to, you know, live and maintain his position, he had really considered backing out and forcing Corwin to do the same. However, he hadn't because he wasn't completely heartless no matter what his family's business might try to insinuate.      So he tried his best, even if his instincts often told him to cut his losses and back out. He wouldn't and that was final. He was many things but he was no oath breaker and he had promised himself and his brother that they would do their best to help people. Therefore, he now had to deal with everything that came with it, wether he wanted to or not.  Like this young lady talking to him about robots. Well, Cora had told him it was some sort of muggle technology but he did not remember what it was. He had been raised in the Slughorn Estate surrounded by other purebloods, one could not expect him to be familiar with this muggle terminology. Thankfully, the woman explained further.     "Ah, a sort of artificial guardian, you mean? That is... something to consider..." He waved away her words about Portia, knowing that there was nothing wrong with wanting to contribute. Especially since she was living here, it was only natural to feel anxious and want to be useful in some way. He didn't think this was the best option, however. "You need not worry, miss. The Death Eaters cannot cross the Channel. The French magical parliament has made it quite clear that they will not tolerate any unauthorised Death Eater  movements on their soil. Any infringement on their authority over their territory would be taken directly to the ICW."     Offering a polite smile, however, he nodded. "It is, however, a generous offer and if it is within your power to create one without any outside intervention, then I shall discuss it with Portia when I next see her and get back to you about it."

credit to alisha of adoxography.