When We Wake Up - Printable Version
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When We Wake Up - Lupus Jameshill - March 4, 2018
September 2nd, 1887 — Charles Jameshill's Study
He wasn't bleeding any more. He also wasn't half naked anymore, though he wasn't sure whose clothes he was wearing. Honestly, he probably could have fit into either his father's or Theo's things, but it seemed strange to think about that; even though Theo was an adult now, Lou still wasn't really used to thinking of him as such.
It was Lou who was being treated like a child now, though. He'd been collected from that island and escorted back here, with someone not more than an arm's distance away the entire time. It was a wonder that they'd left him alone long enough to dress himself, with how he was being treated, but he supposed without a wand there wasn't much danger of his escaping from the room that didn't have a floo. He wasn't planning on climbing out the second-story window and running off through London.
It could have been worse. They could have been dead. He wasn't sure how this plan had managed to go so poorly, but it was a miracle that his brother and father had escaped unharmed, and that he had (presumably) not hurt anyone else last night.
Sullen as a convict marching in to face his sentencing judge, Lou returned to his father's study and cleared his throat. He may not have been bleeding, but it still hurt to try and speak.
RE: When We Wake Up - Charles Jameshill - March 9, 2018
Charles had had little to say to his firstborn when he had gone off to retrieve him, beyond expressing a quiet relief that his wounds had improved. The healer had left Lupus alone long enough to collect himself, tidy himself, dress himself, but as he held his son’s wand in his hand, Charles knew that father and son could not avoid one another forever. The very fact that he did hold the wand, that he did not trust Lupus with the power it possessed, was proof positive of that point.
They had a lot to discuss.
“Lupus, sit down,” he offered softly, but not gently, as his son’s presence was made known. “I imagine you must still be sore from your…ordeal.”
Whether he was talking about the previous night’s transformation or the splinching just before, Charles could not say. Regardless, though, the werewolf was undoubtedly uncomfortable today.
They had a lot to discuss.
“Lupus, sit down,” he offered softly, but not gently, as his son’s presence was made known. “I imagine you must still be sore from your…ordeal.”
Whether he was talking about the previous night’s transformation or the splinching just before, Charles could not say. Regardless, though, the werewolf was undoubtedly uncomfortable today.
RE: When We Wake Up - Lupus Jameshill - March 11, 2018
Sore really didn't cover it. Lou was sore after a normal full moon, when he'd been sitting relatively demurely in one spot in a basement with Gabriel beside him to keep him from hurting himself or becoming too rambunctious. Never before in his life had he experienced what it meant to be loose on a full moon, and free to wreak havoc on himself and his surroundings. Even without the splinching injuries, he would have ended up a little more than sore. He could hardly say as much, though, because he didn't want to sound as though he was complaining. Getting him to a location where he couldn't hurt anyone--and most importantly, where he couldn't hurt his family--took precedence over his own comfort or even his own safety, and he didn't want to seem as though he was unappreciative of the steps his father had taken to get him there the night before.
He took the offered chair and swallowed again, trying to think what to say.
"You read my letter?" he asked, eyes focusing briefly as he glanced up at his father. Almost immediately he looked down at the floor between them again. Of course Charles Jameshill would have read the letter--and everyone else would have read their letters, too, which meant that his cover was blown wide open. His life was over, and though he'd known that and prepared for that, he hadn't prepared for his father's interference. He was supposed to be in a Ministry cell by now, not in the Jameshill's study.
RE: When We Wake Up - Charles Jameshill - March 11, 2018
Charles frowned.
“Letter?” he asked, studying Lupus’ face. If his son had sent any mail, it had not yet reached Charles’ hands—understandable, given his hasty departure from the hospital the day before, his hectic evening, and his night of solitude, sleeping fitfully in his office chair as he thought of everything that could potentially go wrong.
“Letter?” he asked, studying Lupus’ face. If his son had sent any mail, it had not yet reached Charles’ hands—understandable, given his hasty departure from the hospital the day before, his hectic evening, and his night of solitude, sleeping fitfully in his office chair as he thought of everything that could potentially go wrong.
RE: When We Wake Up - Lupus Jameshill - March 11, 2018
Lou's heart skipped a beat. His father hadn't gotten a letter? Did that mean that he simply hadn't opened it, or that there had been some trouble at the post office and they wouldn't have gone out yesterday at all? If the later, then maybe things were salvageable--he wouldn't have given Lukeson and Mrs. S any cause for undo alarm, the day before a full moon, and Xena wouldn't have gotten his goodbye. She might still be worried, since she'd known what his plan was and then wouldn't have heard anything about him from the Ministry, but at least he could talk to her and explain what had happened.
Better still, that meant he didn't have to share the fact that he'd been in touch with Xena with his father. He'd told him everything in the letter, but in the letter he hadn't been expecting to be sitting here, having to answer for all the choices he'd made. He certainly didn't want to have to explain what he'd been thinking when he went to see Xena Fisk, the girl who (in Charles' view, anyway) had single-handedly ruined his old life.
"I... tried to explain," he said, having to work past the consistent pain in his throat in order to use his voice at all. When the words did come out they were raw and hoarse, as though he hadn't spoken in a long time and wasn't used to it. "Why I went to the Ministry. I wasn't--going to get you all involved."
RE: When We Wake Up - Charles Jameshill - March 11, 2018
“An explanation is precisely what I was hoping for,” Charles replied after a beat, his words and tone measured though his mind was racing. If Lupus had sent him a letter, who else had been recipients? What sort of damage control was going to be needed? Had Barnabas’ actions been too little, too late?
Putting Lupus’ wand aside and drawing out his own, Charles used it to fill an empty cup which was then placed in front of his son. It would not help with the pain, but would help with the dryness, at the very least—and Charles suspected that this would not be a brief story.
Putting Lupus’ wand aside and drawing out his own, Charles used it to fill an empty cup which was then placed in front of his son. It would not help with the pain, but would help with the dryness, at the very least—and Charles suspected that this would not be a brief story.
RE: When We Wake Up - Lupus Jameshill - March 11, 2018
Lou took the cup and drank, not because he felt as though he needed water (though he supposed he probably did), but rather because he was grateful for the time to try and compose his thoughts.
"The Minister's daughter," he said after a long pause, his eyes still on the floor and a little unfocused. "She was attacked by someone like me. Someone who tried to control this on their own and failed. I--I didn't want to involve any of you, but I couldn't--" his throat caught and he coughed, took another sip of water, and then resumed. "I don't think I can keep living with the risk that I might... I might do that, someday."
He hesitated, wondering whether his father would understand that. He and his father had had differing priorities on certain issues even at the best of times, though, and after six years of living apart from the man he wasn't sure he really understood the older man like he would have liked to. He wasn't at all confident that Charles Jameshill would see his point of view. After a pensive silence, he added quietly, "The chains in the basement broke last month. I didn't tell anyone--I handled it, and nothing happened--but it would only take one mistake, like that."
RE: When We Wake Up - Charles Jameshill - March 11, 2018
It took great effort to keep his face an expressionless mask as his son spoke. Of course that damned Urquart girl had set it off—her misfortunes had set off just about everything in the weeks since, after all. But Lou had assured him—and confirmed again now—that he had played no part in that. That accidents might happen was a terrifying reality that Charles was all too aware of, but still, those could be dealt with. Charles had not put years of his life into trying to preserve what semblance of a life he could for his oldest child to see it thrown away over ifs and maybes!
“If you had told me,” he responded after a moment’s consideration, “we could have come up with a more secure solution. And what would you have told them at the Ministry? You ‘died’ years ago!”
“If you had told me,” he responded after a moment’s consideration, “we could have come up with a more secure solution. And what would you have told them at the Ministry? You ‘died’ years ago!”
RE: When We Wake Up - Lupus Jameshill - March 11, 2018
Lou looked up at that, startled to think his father had so little confidence in him. Of course, that was only the logical follow-on question from the conversation they'd had so far, but did the elder Jameshill really think that Lou would have gone in to the Ministry without giving the matter of what to tell them any thought? He'd already said more than once that he was trying to keep the entire family out of the affair.
"That I was attacked in '81," he supplied. "And that I left. I wasn't going to tell anyone that you knew anything about it."
RE: When We Wake Up - Charles Jameshill - March 11, 2018
“And when they pressed for details of how you stayed hidden, what you’d been doing all this time? Merlin’s Beard, Lupus—if they asked your brother anything, well, I’m sure he’ll be a fine auror,” Charles returned, “but he has never been a good liar.”
RE: When We Wake Up - Lupus Jameshill - March 11, 2018
Lou opened his mouth to respond, but then shut it again at the mention of Theo. He looked back down at the floor and took a sip of his water. That was, admittedly, a rather large hole in his plan. He wasn't planning on volunteering any details of how he'd been surviving for the past six years and where he'd been, but they certainly would have asked, to try and shore up holes in the way they searched out rogue werewolves. Would it have been possible to keep them from finding the cabin? If they did find it, would there be anything there that they could tie directly back to his family? He'd left Daniel a note and told him to leave, but even if the place was abandoned that might not be enough to exempt the Jameshills from suspicion. For all Lou knew, there might even be a deed somewhere in the Ministry for the piece of land it was situated on, purchased and paid for in Charles Jameshill's name.
And then, of course, there was the problem of Theo. Lou had anticipated that, but there wasn't anything he could do about it except send a letter and hope Theo read it before he did too much damage. He couldn't very well say that to his father, though.
He shifted his eyes to the side of the room and said nothing.
RE: When We Wake Up - Charles Jameshill - March 11, 2018
“There is too much, Lupus, that is entirely up to chance—however well-thought out your plan might have been,” Charles continued, noting that his son had quite wisely held tongue. “Good intentions do not always make the best decisions, a fact I wish I had been more successful in instilling in you. Regardless, there has been no irreparable harm done.”
The fact that Lou had been very much on the cusp of death when the healer had found him suggested a great deal of harm had been done, but, mercifully, his son was very much still among the living, and Barnabas had spared them any legal concerns.
“What we must look at now is how to move forward. If you had not already,” he remarked dryly, “I imagine you have surmised by now that I cannot and will not support your turning yourself in.”
Years had been spent trying to evade his discovery—years and a great deal of personal cost to their relationship. Charles Jameshilll would not have that be for naught.
The fact that Lou had been very much on the cusp of death when the healer had found him suggested a great deal of harm had been done, but, mercifully, his son was very much still among the living, and Barnabas had spared them any legal concerns.
“What we must look at now is how to move forward. If you had not already,” he remarked dryly, “I imagine you have surmised by now that I cannot and will not support your turning yourself in.”
Years had been spent trying to evade his discovery—years and a great deal of personal cost to their relationship. Charles Jameshilll would not have that be for naught.
RE: When We Wake Up - Lupus Jameshill - March 11, 2018
Lou didn't look up from the corner of the floor he'd been staring at. "Yes," he said, trying to keep his tone neutral but unable to help the tinge of bitterness underlying the words. "I've surmised."
Truth be told, he didn't need the past forty-eight hours to gather that Charles Jameshill was against him turning himself in. He'd known that from the start, and that had been why he hadn't told him about his plan earlier. Lou knew there were a lot of variables, and it would have been safer, much safer, to have discussed them with everyone who knew his secret so that--for example--Theo wasn't caught unawares and saying things he ought not to say in a fit of emotion. That being said, he had known that bringing this plan up to his father would have resulted in his being prevented from following through with it--much like he had been.
There was no way to go through with it now, he realized. His father still had his wand, and with it, every bit of mobility that Lou realistically had. He was entirely at his father's mercy at the moment, so it was useless to try and argue for what he knew would be impossible. He wasn't getting to the Ministry, at least not any time soon--the only thing left to do was try and play along enough that he wouldn't end up a convict all the same, with his father and brother as jailers instead of the guards at Azkaban.
RE: When We Wake Up - Charles Jameshill - March 11, 2018
And how could they move forward? Lupus was already ‘dead’, had already expressed a…displeasure at being confined to the cabin. What did that leave them with for options? Charles was tempted to offer America, not for the first time, as a workable solution—but did not trust his son to reach those shores alone, and neither Charles nor Barnabas could spare the time to take the journey.
“I—I am entertaining suggestions,” he said at last, for the first time willing to admit, even slightly, that the situation was not within his control.
“I—I am entertaining suggestions,” he said at last, for the first time willing to admit, even slightly, that the situation was not within his control.
RE: When We Wake Up - Lupus Jameshill - March 12, 2018
For the long moment of silence, Lou was waiting for the other foot to drop. His father had always been the man who could fix things, and he would have a "solution" for this, Lou was sure, even if he didn't like it. Charles Jameshill hadn't balked in the face of the news that Lou had been attacked, all those years ago, nor had he lost his cool resolve when his secret had been ousted to Xena. Comparatively speaking, this was a very minor road bump--which was why it surprised him so when his father finally admitted that he didn't have a plan.
Lou looked up, shocked and honestly almost suspicious. Was this some sort of trap, or a test? Was his father trying to determine whether his resolve to turn himself in had been reversed or only delayed? No matter what his father said and what his tone implied, Lou couldn't shake the feeling that there was a right answer to this open-ended question.
After hesitating a moment, Lou said, "Well. I'd like to have my wand back." He wasn't sure whether they'd reached that point of negotiations (or whether these were, in fact, negotiations at all), but that seemed a logical first step in testing out the waters.
RE: When We Wake Up - Charles Jameshill - March 14, 2018
Of course he would, and Charles did wish he could give it to him—but a wand brought power, the power to make absolutely awful life choices, and until father and son reached some sort of accord, perhaps even a binding one, the healer could not risk relinquishing the one thing that kept Lupus’ wings clipped.
“You will,” he returned stiffly, tone giving no invitation to ask when or under what circumstances. “In time. I think, though, that we are getting ahead of ourselves.”
“You will,” he returned stiffly, tone giving no invitation to ask when or under what circumstances. “In time. I think, though, that we are getting ahead of ourselves.”