May 3rd, 1895 - Dempsey Estate

Being off for the next day or so left Nathalie in the position of having to entertain herself. She had spent the day with Annabeth and Beddy, doing her best to be as involved with her sister and her family as she could, but sometimes it left her feeling a little melancholic and when she was in such a mood, there was only one place to go for it to be entertained. She knew Phyri would not quite understand her desire for a family of her own, but when she was feeling pessimistic, it was at least a solid place to land.

The Dempsey estate was as much home as her own townhouse and she felt little concern about flooing right into the parlor and heading up to her best friend's bedroom. The path was one she could do in her sleep, and she was hardly paying attention as she moved through the hallways. It had been like this for longer than it hadn't, so she smiled at the few people she ran into before pushing into Phyri's room and unceremoniously flopping onto her friend's bed like this was their dorm at Hogwarts.

"I think I should just move in here, having my own place is lonely." She mused, touching on the subject, but not outwardly ready to dive into the reasons behind her mood. "Your mother wouldn't mind one more permanent resident, right?" Nat had never been turned away, and she had always been conscious of not overstaying her welcome (though she wasn't entirely sure that was a thing) and she was mostly kidding, but the thought was nice.

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Porphyria Dempsey

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   Porphyria Dempsey

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Porphyria, admittedly, had never considered something so middle class as having her own place – the Dempsey estate was sprawling enough that she could avoid other humans as she pleased, when she felt the urge to, and if she couldn’t find any peace, she could always disappear into the wilderness, as it were, around the place for a few days at a time.

Besides, she didn’t like to think what would become of the place if their parents ever died and Ozy took it up entirely for himself – now that he had started meddling in politics (and as such, with Society), she didn’t quite trust his style or his ambitions. Better that she and her sisters haunted it, both when living and when dead, to have their two sickles’ worth.

But Nat, who had appeared and thrown herself onto her bed like a sad, wide-eyed puppy, was obviously suffering from something else. “I almost doubt that she would notice,” she mused without blinking, “although she might want to re-christen you, if you did.” (To a more poetic name, if she were going to be part of the family.) “And you would have to pick your own room, because I shan’t share.”

She shot Nathalie a grin – but for now, the bed was all hers. Phyri was quite content reading on the window seat. Although if there was some misery underneath the words, she might have to pause in her reading to do some probing.

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a sublime set by Lady! <3

It was amusing to think, that Mrs. Dempsey probably would rename her to some poetic namesake and Nat would adjust eventually. It would be a little price to pay. "I should think Ophelia or Sylvia would be perfectly lovely." Nat joked lightly. This whole setup was amusingly childish, like they were teenagers again, but Nat was feeling wistful and it was helping improve her mood.

"I do like that little green guest room I used to stay in during the summers." She teased lightly, thinking back to the times she had partially moved in between Hogwarts terms. It felt like a long time ago now, but she was thankful nothing much had changed in their friendship with everything else that had gone on in Nathalie's cursed adult life. It would be a little sad though, to lose her independence. It was one of few perks to being a spinster, she supposed. With her own income and a little stipend from the family for the townhouse, she really shouldn't complain.

Eyeing her friend from her perch on the bed, Nat tried to peek at the cover of Phyri's book. "What's got you so engrossed now?" She asked, knowing she probably would have no idea what it actually was, but still interested nevertheless.

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She laughed with satisfaction at the potential names, and warned jokingly: “Both better than Oenone or Aurora Leigh,”; and smiled distantly at the memories of a younger Nat in that sage green room. Where the time had dissipated to, Porphyria didn’t know.

For all Nathalie was comfortable here, Phyri didn’t think even someone as patient as Nathalie could actually bear living here. So did the loneliness of her independent life always get to Nat, or was it just today? “Oh, another excellent tragedy a giant spider recommended to me,” Phyri said, flashing the cover at her, but snapping it closed to make a point and adjusting her position to better eye Nathalie. “But come on, dearest Sylvia,” she teased. “What’s wrong? Is living alone so tragic?”

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a sublime set by Lady! <3

Only the statement "Oh, another excellent tragedy a giant spider recommended to me," could come from Porphyria Dempsey and make complete sense. Nat knew her friend had been spending some time at the zoo lately, but she supposed she hadn't suspected a giant spider was the strict cause; she was not surprised in the slightest. "Oh, well then." Was all she could muster with a chuckle. Surely there were stranger places to get book recommendations.

Sighing dramatically at the question, Nat rolled onto her back, feeling more like a petulant teenager than a woman in her mid-thirties, she stared at the ceiling before rolling back to look at Phyri. "I spent the morning with Annabeth and Beddy and though it was lovely, of course it was, I like being an aunt," Nat paused, struggling to find exactly what she wanted to say. "But sometimes it reminds me of what I wanted and what I'm missing." It was a small, quiet sort of admission, something she tried very hard not to let get her down, but sometimes it was hard.

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To her credit, Phyri did try, for a beat, to put herself in Nathalie’s shoes. She tried to imagine feeling the same way – and when she still couldn’t bring herself to relate, she cared enough about her friend to at least offer up a sympathetic look, a plaintive frown at her plight.

Perhaps if she looked at it as a problem to be solved, it wouldn’t seem so pitiful? “What is it you are missing?” The company, obviously, but – “The marriage, or children?” One could have one without the other, as her own brothers had made themselves adept at proving, but she suspected Nathalie had a hankering for convention in this, and that the malady was far worse. “...Or both?”

She did not see why Nathalie hadn’t obtained such things in all these years, but then – well, Phyri had not given the ways of society much credit before.

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   Nathalie Jennings

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a sublime set by Lady! <3

Nat watched her friend at least attempt to puzzle out the situation, which was more endearing than anything else. "I should think someone to share a life with would be enough." Her tone was quiet, almost wistful. Going home by herself every day was lonely, even if she was used to it. Having someone there to greet her, or to ask about her day would be nice. The companionship of it all would solve a lot of her problems. "I think at this point I am well-past having children." Though she wouldn't mind if they did come along, it would have to be secondary to finding someone. "I think I would even take a marriage of comfort at this point, as long as he's kind." She didn't need the full love story, that ship had sailed and it was fine. In fact she'd tried too many times and each time it had backfired, it clearly wasn't meant to be.

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Oh no – that tone was wistful, which was somehow worse than glum. There was a certain whisper of yearning in it, some lowercase romantic whiff to it that said she was dreaming still, hadn’t quite given into life’s disappointments.

But she was – trying to tamp down her expectations, clearly; she was prepared to settle. Porphyria almost thought she preferred the unfounded, blissfully unrealistic optimism and whimsy her sisters still (somehow) had; Lycoris and Shalott with their heads in the clouds and their dreams on the moon. Nathalie was older, certainly, but also far less eccentric and more driven than the Dempseys – why couldn’t she have all that she wanted?

(If she was going to give into marriage, as depressing an institution as it was, Porphyria would rather she did better than settle for a comfortable companion. No, if anyone could do better than that, Nathalie could. Kind, psht.)

Phyri tsked before she could stop herself, but then she bit her tongue, trying honestly to restrain her first thought, and her second. “Alright,” she said, unusually measured and unusually determined, her eyes narrowed intently. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you would like, besides kind?”

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a sublime set by Lady! <3