2 July 1892 — The Black Lake; a secluded area

If steam could have come out of Mabel's ears by the time she returned to the hospital from the alley with Dory, it would have; however that result would have warranted more pepperup potion than she had on her person (where in God's name did she put that?). She'd left the young boy from the wand shop to one of her colleagues, but it was still her job to finish what she'd started. And with that, she set about completing her day, doing her best to act as if nothing significant had just happened between her and Dory.

Try as she might, she simply couldn't get rid of the anger and frustration that he saw her as some fragile glass made of the finest crystal. If anything, she'd been forged under conditions much harsher than what was used to make crystal; and yet as close as she had been to disclosing that fact to Dory, the possibility of seeing the look of ultimate pity on his face when he found out...was not something Mabel wanted to see. It had never been something she liked seeing on anyone's face, but she didn't like the idea of seeing it on Dory the most.

She was still running their conversation — well, her outburst — when she left after her shift. It had been a late one, but an uneventful one, which she would normally be quite alright with; however this only gave her time to ruminate further on her (over) reaction. It was just after midnight when she could see Hogsmeade Train station in the distance and she shifted into her wolf form to avoid being seen. From there it seemed to be a quarter of an hour for how long she was walking. The castle in the distance lit up the lake in quite a peaceful way. It wasn't a particular place she was looking for, however she certainly wanted a secluded place where she wouldn't be found.

Soon enough, she nudged her way past a grove of trees and brushed past a few bushes only to find the perfect place; covered by the shadows of the trees, but just enough so she could see the water lapping peacefully over the rocks on the shore. "Perfect," she murmured as she transformed back into her human form and began untying her cloak. Tonight she'd brought one of her heavier ones; once out of the lake, she would need something heavy to keep her warm.

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While the rational part of his brain recognized that attempting to find Maple in all of Wizarding England was a nearly impossible task, he'd been unable to ignore the growing impulse to seek her out. Their argument that afternoon had desolved into such chaos that by the time she had mentioned her parents Dory was both incredibly furious and confused. Leaving things so unsettled was simply not something he could live with.

He thought about sending a letter, but letters were so easily missed or ignored that he knew it to be the wrong choice. From there, he tried her flat to no avail and the hospital said she'd only gotten off an hour or so ago. But, where had she gone if not home? Maple wasn't exsctly the sort to frequent the Hog's Head (though he did briefly check there as well as The Three Broomsticks). There weren't many local places he could check that would make rational sense.

He'd apparated home and grabbed his broom, deciding for a quick flight through town to see if she was perhaps out for a walk. If he couldn't find her he'd track her down at work tomorrow, of that he was certain.

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Under her cloak she had on a simple dress and an older corset she found easier to untie herself. A tap of her wand on her carpet bag saw it snap open as she put her clothes in until she stood in her chemise; her cloak and boots, she merely set on the shore a ways away from the lapping waves as she walked forward. The dark expanse of the lake was intimidating, stretching in a vast abyss before her. In a way it was comforting. This side of the lake was the furthest she could get from Hogsmeade, and the still, glassy water almost curved out in front of her, bowing before the castle in the distance.

With a deep breath, Mabel took a step forward. Then another. And another until the cold water bit at her toes. Goose flesh ripples along her arms and she rubbed her palms against her skin as the cold slowly crept up her bare legs. Once the hem of her chemise caught the edge of the water, she took another breath as the chill washed over her even further. Another glance around her told her that no one was present for miles.

In the distance, Mabel could see the spot where she'd almost drowned the night before. She felt a stab of fear course through her as she remembered the feeling of going under, her lungs screaming as she watched a mask of horror cross Dory's face. But Dory wasn't here to save her; so she would figure out how to do it herself. She was now waist deep in the inky water. No time for fear.

Taking a deep breath, Mabel plunged below the surface. Immediately, her skin burst into pins and needles from the shock. She felt herself gasp involuntarily and then her lungs convulsed as water rushed down her throat. Surging back up, she broke through the surface, coughing up water as she backed away. Tears burnt her eyes and she blinked rapidly to rid them of the lake water. So much for boldly diving in.

A small stab of fear prickled at her - what God’s name did she think she was doing? And at this time of night? Drowning wasn’t the worst thing that could happen out here, even if she had her animagus form as protection. Overcome with uncontrollable shivering, Mabel stumbled back to shore, rocks stubbing her toes as she wrapped her arms around herself. The night air had suddenly become like small daggers buffeting against her skin; she breathed into her closed palms as she contemplated transforming while she waited to dry.

But then when she was about to do so, there was something in the way the water rippled that called her back. Perhaps it was the lull of the low branches of the trees only just dipping into the water enough to make the water dance. Or the glow of moonlight as a backdrop that seemed to shine even in the darkest of crevices of the lake.

Before she knew what she was doing, Mabel took her wand from her carpetbag, pointing it at the water and whisperinf a spell. She watched as the water solidified to form a small dock beginning at the water's edge. And then she dropped her wand her bag and ran - if she walked there would be time to talk herself out of this - she ran, ignoring the pain of the rocks beneath her feet, ignoring the way the ice crackled beneath her heels; and she slid onto the makeshift ice-dock with a small shriek. Wind whipped through her hair, as she slid on the ice and welcomed the numbing feeling in her toes. And once she reached the edge, Mabel jumped, throwing herself in once more with an even louder shriek of delight.

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From his vantage point, Dory could see how deserted Hogsmeade appeared. Few carriages moved through the streets, every shop on High Street had long since shuttered its doors for the evening. He drifted towards Pennyworth and the slums, frowning as he realized those streets were equally as empty. Surely, Maple hadn't ventured into Irvingly at such a late hour? Perhaps she had chosen to stay with a friend instead?

Deciding to take one last turn towards Padmore Park (which Maple would have to be an absolute fool to visit at this time of night) Dory began to fly over the lake, casually scanning the surface for any signs of the monsters that lurked below. Only, rather than a monster gaining his attention, a bright white one towards his left did. Was that ... ice? Merlin, it was mid-July! Who would be foolish enough to attempt freezing the lake with such warm air to contend with?!

He turned towards the ice, his brows furrowing further in confusion as the sound of excitement hit his ears. Was that ... laughter? Had someone escaped an insane asylum? Briefly, Dory paused his descent to hover above the ice whilst still being (hopefully) out of sight. Perhaps he ought to summon some kind of law enforcement? If it was someone lost to hysteria, Dory could hardly think to contend against them on his own. Merlin.

He continued to stare down towards the surface, waiting to see what sort of person or creature emerged.

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beautiful set by lady

Below the surface, she didn't dare open her eyes - the lake water stung as she waved her arms to propel herself towards the surface once more. The frigidity of the lake squeezed at her sides like a corset, but the fear that so clung to her like a vice last night had greatly lessened. And this was rather fun, now that she was no longer struggling for her life. The cold was still turning her limbs to ice, however, and as she broke through the surface, she let out another yelp, pumping her arms through the water as she struggled to find purchase on the bottom of the lake to make it to shore.

That was quite enough for the day; perhaps Mabel had quashed the growing sense of dread she felt whenever she thought about the lake. Time would only tell, however. She may have had succeeded in not dying again tonight, but she knew there was still an uneasiness about the inkiness of the deeper parts of the lake. That would come with time, she thought, as her foot finally found a few rocks to grip onto.

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There was no way to tell who had emerged without moving closer, which meant any plans of alerting the authority would have to wait. Cautiously, Dory drifted closer until he was only a few feet off the surface. "Do you need any hel-" He started to ask, his voice laced with genuine concern.

Then, his eyes widened with shock and confusion. "Mabel?! What the bloody hell are you doing?" Not only was she entirely alone, but she was in such an unfrequented part of the lake that it was quite possible her body would never be found if she drowned. (Or worse, if the squid got to her.) Bloody hell! Why was she so foolish?!

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The sound of someone's voice cracked through the air like a whip, spurring her to shoot forwards as fast as she could to make it to the shore. Her heart burst in her chest as she shrieked in response. What in God's name was anyone doing out here?! The water was leveled at her thighs when fear finally beat her and she felt herself impulsively take on her animagus form. A snarl tore through her throat, threatening and spitting as her hackles raised and she whipped around to face —

Dory?!

Any sort of trepidation that had taken hold of her immediately disappeared as she took in the appearance of Dory hovering over the water, a mingled expression of outrage and confusion as he looked at her from his broomstick. What was she, a beacon of some sort? How had he been able to find her here?

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Had he blinked at the wrong second Dory would have missed her transformation. However, even despite witnessing her change he still couldn't stop the flinch of fear as she snarled, nor could he prevent himself from instinctively flying back a few feet. How had she never told him about this? How long had she been an animagus for?!

"Holy hell, Maple!" Dory shouted, still struggling to process what just happened.

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"What are you doing here, Dory?" She snapped, moving through the water as she rounded on him. In truth it pleased her to see such a look of shock across his face when just earlier today he had been worried about her fetching a book from a dilapidated wand shop. His flinch at seeing her nearly made her rage worth it. But it had been building for quite some time. Perhaps she felt horrible about snapping at him the last they spoke this morning, but she had been at least hoping to and she found herself snarling again, completely forgetting she was not in any sort of human form he'd be able to understand: "For the last time, I am not in need of saving from you or anyone else —"

It was halfway through this diatribe that she did realize she was still in her wolf form, as she had been walking towards him and the water hit her chest much quicker than she thought it would. With a frustrated shake, she transformed back, spraying water everywhere as she stalked towards him. "I'm not in trouble, I am not a damsel in distress, and I am not in need of saving!" Mabel almost hit the water in frustration. "Just leave me alone, Dory, I came here of my own volition, and this is none of your bloody business!"

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The wolf kept barking and stalking towards him, forcing Dory to retreat further over the water. Had he injured himself somehow throughout the flight? Was it actually him who needed attention from the asylum? Dory blinked repeatedly at the wolf, frantically trying to make sense of what was happening. Was he meant to understand the wolf? Did all people hear a dog bark and inherently know what they were saying?!

(It was worth noting that despite his confusion, Dory was easily able to understand the barking as rage coming from Maple. He wasn't so lost to the confusion that he missed the continued snarl or fury blazing behind the wolf's eyes.)

He thought about suggesting she not stand there and bark at him, but no sooner did he have the thought did she morph back into herself. Her very nude self.

Holy hell.

Every thought in his brain short circuited as he took in everything the soaked chemise revealed. Oh, Merlin. That he hadn't had a release since the torture of last night made the situation all the worse as his body now instantly ached from the frustration. "I er - I - I didn't-" Dory couldn't focus on a single sentence nor fly straight — a fact proven by how he wobbled on his broom.

Fuck. He had to land. It would make too big of a scene if he went splashing into the water. (Even if its frigid temperatures would likely solve at least one of his problems.)

Landing on the shore and a respectable distance from her, Dory allowed the broom to fall and tried to keep his gaze off her. "I tried your flat. I didn't want to leave it as we did, I'm sorry."

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   Mabel Brighton

Advancing on him, Mabel should have been self conscious about the state of undress she'd been found in, but watching his face bathed in the moonlight, taking her appearance in, she felt a thrilling shiver run down her spine — entirely different from any sort of chill the water provided. Her gaze stayed pinned on him as he went from hovering over the water to standing on the shore, and she followed, having no difficulty this time at finding any sort of grip on the lake's bed below. Water sloshed around her as she found her footing out of the lake, and rocks bit at her heels as she shoved her hair out of her face to see him properly.

He was trying to make amends, to set things right. If he wanted to do just that, why hadn't he found her directly after she'd left for the hospital? Then there would have been no need to track her down as if she were some runaway from a mental institution (regardless of how she might appear now in only a wet chemise clinging to her), and endangering her own life.

Now that she was on dry land, it was much more difficult to keep her chin up. She'd become hyper aware of just how chilly it was, even on a summer's night. Or perhaps it was the water still on her skin that caused her to shiver. Swaying to one side, she tilted her head and reached up to wring her hair of water, staring at him wordlessly, eyebrows raised. "You're sorry about what?" She finally prompted as water dripped off her arms to the rocks beneath her.

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Maple might as well have been completely nude for all the coverage her chemise gave her. She looked ethereal in the moonlight, like a goddess risen from the water or an angel sent from above. Despite his every intention otherwise, Dory couldn't stop his gaze from slowly floating back towards her. It was almost as though he were a moth and she was a flame — their meeting inevitable.

He forced his eyes away from her as she twisted the water from her hair. Somehow, the image of water dripping down her body (or more than there already presently was) made her magnetism all the worse. Already, he'd unknowingly taken two small steps towards her. Another few steps and he could easily gather her in his arms where he already knew her to seamlessly fit.

She was talking then — what were they even discussing anymore? He blinked towards the sky, futiley trying to gain some sense of sanity again. He'd apologized, hadn't he? "The whole incident at the shop." That was what he was apologizing for, wasn't it? Not how obviously he was staring at her nude form? "It uh - it got too far out of hand."

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She uncharacteristically felt the need to make him apologize more (or was it that she just wanted something more from him?) but she wasn't so blinded by her rage to see that the events that afternoon were partially her fault too. She knew his wounds were surface level at best, knew that it had been stupid of her to insist that she walk into a still wrecked wand shop to retrieve something as inconsequential as a book. It hadn't even been her book!

When she looked back up, he had drawn closer to her and she blinked slightly, her cheeks warming and reminding her of the state of undress she was standing in front of him in. Forcing her conscious down, she swallowed and bit her lip. "I shouldn't have coddled you so," She replied with her own apology, genuine as she felt her heart slow after having been scared into her animagus form. "I should have stayed in the alley while you made sure the shop was secure."

Her hands dropped by her sides as she looked at him, watching the sky as if looking for someone else about to fly overhead. There was a brief flutter in her chest - annoyance again, though at what she had yet to figure out. "Dory?" She stepped forwards, moving her hands up to see how he was acting so peculiar. But the first step forward that she'd taken sent a hot pain up her leg and she felt her knees buckle. In the pooling light of the moon she could see the rocks beneath her stained with little smears of blood. "Oh..."

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Even as she apologized, Dory kept his gaze trained towards the sky and traced what few constellations he could remember. Anything was better than disrespecting her by staring at her so. She hadn't known what an erection was, he shakily reminded himself, not in the romantic sense of the word anyhow. He refused to further her knowledge of it without her explicit permission, even if to do so meant torturing himself continuously. (For how was he ever going to get this image out of his head?!)

He might've come up with some lame excuse to return home now that the apologies were made. He might've been able to turn his back on her and fly home if it meant she kept whatever boundaries she desired in place. However, his name on her lips broke through his resolve and when it was immediately followed by a pained oh Dory could keep his distance no longer.

The distance between them was closed in two short steps and he quickly lifted her into his arms. "What is it, Maple?" Dory asked, concern etched as deeply as his lust had been only seconds prior across his features. Catching sight of the blood on the rocks, he frowned. Bloody hell, where was that coming from?! "Do you have your bags with you? That salve you used on me is for cuts, right?"

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"Dory, there's no need I'm — oh!" She had been about to raise her hand once more to proclaim she was — yet again — fine, but the world suddenly spun, and Mabel felt a swooshing sensation in her stomach as she found herself cradled in Dory's arms. She immediately clung to him, seizing his lapels for balance as she shut her eyes against the spinning landscape. Perhaps the chill and the excitement for the night had finally worn her down.

Despite this, she still felt the prick of annoyance at having been swept in his arms (no she would not dwell on how wonderful he smelled, or how blissful it felt to be this close to him). "Dory!" She exclaimed, her feet fluttering as she tried to wriggle out of his arms. "Really, Dory I'll be alright, they'e just a few scratches, you can let me down!" Good God, what was happening to her? She felt cheeks grow hot being so close to him, and there was that most peculiar chill shooting down her spine.

Even as she was still shivering from the cold, there was a warm feeling pooling somewhere in her abdomen; a sensation she had an inkling was all to do with the man in whose arms she was captured.

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"You're bloody bleeding." Dory irritatedly grumbled as he carried her from the rocks towards the grass. He would leave her there if she truly insisted (well, wouldn't leave entirely, but would give her whatever required space while she healed herself) but they would never get there at all if she kept squirming in his grasp. The rocks bordering the river were slippery even with his shoes on, causing Dory to nearly stumble thrice.

"I'll put you down on the grass, alright? You can do whatever you need to and I'll leave you be." He huffed. That Maple was still essentially naked and now touching him wasn't something he was willing to process at present. "Just stop bloody fighting me or we're both going to fall."

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