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Welcome to Charming, the year is now 1895. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.

Where will you fall?

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Did you know? Jewelry of jet was the haute jewelry of the Victorian era. — Fallin
What she got was the opposite of what she wanted, also known as the subtitle to her marriage.
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Jumped the Gun
#17
Ida was smart, and Cliff only nodded at her; they would be wandering around for ages if he was the one up to getting them out, although he wasn’t sure he’d go through the front door in his rush out. There was a spell he was dying to try (and he probably might die because it dealt with explosions), although now wasn’t the time or place to bring that up. She’d probably just cock her eyebrow at him and make him practice swishing his wand correctly and then make him mouth the words before Ida would let him try it; what was the fun in that?  Cliff just wanted to see what would happen and not care if he did it correctly or not.

When her hand slipped from his, Cliff couldn’t help the frown that tugged at his lips, but it didn’t stop him from wiping his hands against the side of his pants because ew, holding hands with anyone was out of his realm. Her hand had been warm against his and he could still feel the warmth lingering against his skin. “This place is awesome.” He tossed over his shoulder before he wiped his hand again and turned to follow her down another hall. Then he turned his vision toward the mirror, laughing quietly under his breath at his ridiculous reflection; Cliff highly doubted that he’d live long enough to see grey hairs and if he did he was going to be plucking things from his ears.

His feet paused and his breath hitched with excitement as he heard a couple girls squealing down the hall. Girls were always easier to scare than men were, perhaps because they’d been accustomed to being watched by someone who would sweep in and save them. Today though, anyone who would dare save them would suffer the same fate that they did – the side effects of some very fancy poison made by someone who made it for a living. Ida was eager, maybe even too eager, to light the candle around those girls but he wasn’t able to question her sudden motives.

Still, Cliff couldn’t help but chuckle at her. He loathed the upper class because they always looked down on him for simply existing. In turn he tried to make their lives as difficult as possible just so they could face some hardships in life instead of floating by on money they hadn’t even earned themselves – it disgusted him how much they looked down on someone trying to make an honest living. (Well, most of the time.)

Ida tugged at his sleeve but Cliff reached up to gently tug her back to his side. “One second.” He hummed as he produced his own wand, his eyes flickering to meet Ida’s gaze. Then his lips curled into a smile. “Do you trust me?” Not that it mattered, because a moment later he was reaching forward to tap his wand against the top of her head, muttering to cast a quick bubble head charm; the tip of his wand burst with a bubble and it grew until her entire head was encompassed in one. It made Ida’s head look oddly stretched and wide, and he couldn’t help but laugh at his ridiculous she looked as he moved his wand to his own head to cast it on himself.

“I dunno if it’ll be good enough to keep poison out, but it's worth a shot.” Cliff shrugged. “Try not to touch it or you’ll pop it, and the water goes everywhere.” His nose wrinkled as if he’d had personal experience with it before he tugged at her sleeve to pull her forward.

Ahead of them the girls were still squealing at how the mirrors were making them look despite being the same exact mirrors they’d just been looking at. “What do ya think will happen if the candle explodes?” Cliff asked out of the blue as pressed his back against one of the mirrors to peer around toward; luckily, the girls hadn’t noticed them. Yet.




[Please feel free to hit Cliff at your leisure; he probably deserves it.]
[Image: UcvylhE.png]
#18
Ida figured that Cliff wasn’t holding out for any special kind of target, so it pleased her that this opportunity presented itself so easily. These girls were the type to wrinkle their nose at Ida and take her presence as a threat, and like Cliff, it infuriated her to no end that they always had life so easy but still acted like entitled snooty bitches rather than be kind. The former Ravenclaw figured his chuckle was an affirmation of the plan anyway.

Only – do you trust me? Ida’s brown eyes turned up to meet Cliff’s, and she blinked at his smile. Something about the question tickled something in her chest, and Ida barely managed to eek out a response like a question, “Yes?” when he tapped her head with his wand. Oh, when it came to anything magic she absolutely did not trust him – but with her flinch a perfectly good bubble head charm materialized, and  Ida’s lips cracked into a smile that she was sure looked all sorts of distorted. Their distorted reflections in the mirror already looked plenty silly– this just added a cherry on top. Since she couldn’t actually bring her hand to her mouth now with the charm, Ida had to bite her lower lip to stifle the bout of giggles at what they were doing. This was the most ridiculous use of her afternoon she would have never imagined. …And she found she rather appreciated it.

“Worth a shot,” she agreed, and carefully set the candle down in a surreptitious corner. Now or never – the girls were getting closer and easily within breathing range. With a glance over to Cliff in final confirmation, she lit the candle with a flame from her wand. The yellow light immediately turned jet black the moment it touched on the candle, and Ida started up and back to watch it burn. Soon, the candle turned to a regular yellow flame again, and the wax at the very top started to melt. It cast a disorienting bouncing glow across all the reflections. Ida backed away, bumping gently into Cliff as she did so.

“Wait – what?” she didn’t process his question when it was first asked, gaze rather riveted on the candle – but she heard him loud and clear. She twisted her head to glance up at him with a pronounced frown. “Are you mad? Why would you blow it up!” Though of course, her mind was already turning over the possibilities. “It could possibly scatter the curse with each of its pieces. Each of those pieces might have less potency? Anyway it’s too valuable, let’s at least see what it does…?”

Caught up in her absent reasoning with the madman, Ida nearly missed the girls making their way into their mirrored corridor. In alarm, Ida grabbed Cliff and pulled them both around the mirrored corner, where they could hide and peek out at their behavior. It was a dead-end mirrored corner, so they didn’t have a whole lot of room to squeeze in – but at least it afforded them some time to spy the effects before they were caught.

“Whoa,” one of the girls had stopped right were they stood a few moments ago, frowning at her old-self in the reflection and touching her face. The giggles were gone, replaced with a look of general confusion. “When — when did this happen? Mia…. I don’t like this room, it’s weird…” The other girl had come in as well, and kept rounding in the same spot, touching all the solid mirrors that weren’t exits. Clearly, they hadn’t been keeping track (although Ida’s heart froze in that moment, realizing – she didn’t account for if the maze changed at all?). Just then, a shriek issued from the one named Bonnie. “Look at my hands!”



[Image: 5jMCu3I.png]
stefanie made this beautiful set <3
#19
The bubble head charm was one of the few spells Cliff knew relatively well, although it wasn’t as if he knew any spell well enough to be confident when using it; it was always his go to to cast it before sticking his head into the water to see what kind of fish he was dealing with, and if he was feeling really adventurous, sometimes he’d dive into the water for fun. So far he hadn’t drowned, so he must be doing something right. He liked to fish – he liked the thrill of having to reel one in and the self-fulfillment when he realized it was going to feed them for days. Hopefully he’d get the same fulfillment from keeping them from being poisoned today.

His eyes narrowed before he grinned at her and nodded, watching with interest as she lit the candle; he jumped as the flame turned jet black just as Ida backed into him, and Cliff couldn’t help but chuckle as his fingers brushed against her waist to keep her from… what? Falling? He frowned then and rubbed his fingers against his pants before his grin widened. It was accompanied by a shrug. “Why wouldn’t you blow it up is the question. But fine. This is your fun just as much as it is mine.” There were always other things he could blow up at the farm, and unlike Ida who always seemed the slightest bit concerned for his safety, Meena would just egg him on and raise the stakes. He really ought to introduce the pair.

Cliff followed Ida without hesitation when she pulled him, although instantly was peering around the corner toward the girls. They were standing in the middle of the maze staring at their reflections, the one named Bonnie staring at her hands that appeared to have all the flesh melted from it, leaving just bone. His own nose wrinkled because that looked terrible, but as his eyes were drawn to the empty floor, Cliff came to the conclusion that her flesh hadn’t actually melted, and it must be the candle doing its job. Bonnie’s eyes flicked up toward her friend and she shrieked. Her friend’s head resembled that of a shrunken head complete with decrepit wrinkled skin. “Oh my god. Where’s the exit to the next room?” One of the girls panicked as she continued to press her hands against the glass, banging on one of them as if it’ll help.

The candle flickered, unnoticed by the two shrieking girls, and Cliff turned back toward Ida as he breathed out “holy shit, are you seeing this Ida?” Because now Bonnie was screeching about the fur that was popping up all over her skin to replace the flesh that had all but disappeared. “What the hell kind of animal is that?” He asked, narrowing his eyes as he amusingly watched the fur spread across parts of her face. The girl next to her, unfortunately, was getting the same treatment with scales.

The candle puffed a ring of black smoke followed by a ring of yellow, and Cliff held his breath despite having his (hopefully) protective bubble around his head. He didn’t want to turn into some kind of animal-monster. (What if they were turning into beastie committing all the murders?!)




[Please feel free to hit Cliff at your leisure; he probably deserves it.]
[Image: UcvylhE.png]
#20
Ida didn’t clock the fingers at her waist as more than Cliff being irritatingly in-the-way like always. Instead she elbowed him when she felt him shrug against her shoulder, and scoffed at his sentiment about blowing it up. Cliff was a very abnormal human, she decided. Maybe not even fully human? She wouldn’t be surprised. Normal people back away from a smoking dangerous cursed object. (Ida didn’t apply to this, obviously - her interest here was purely academic, nothing to do with fun like he said.)

She already ducked a bit lower to give Cliff room to peer overhead, though, and for a second she spared a look up at him. He was grinning like a lunatic, actually, which made Ida grin a bit too. Then she frowned as soon as she caught herself. Because honestly. What was she doing here with him? This was interesting, for sure. But Hogsmeade wasn’t safe, and she had work to do, dinner to make, not to mention the risks of being seen by someone she knew, people that mattered more than these mean girls, and finding a way to explain… this man, and his existence, and why she tolerated it, and why they had matching bubblehead charms on, without sounding just as mental as he was…

One of the girl’s electrifying shrieks shocked Ida out of her endless thought. It sounded – so much like Queenie, that night. Enough to make Ida’s heart stop, and she couldn’t muster an answer to his question. Of course she was seeing it – her eyes were riveted on what she saw. It was not nearly as… bloody, but horrific still, flashing images in her mind of the young man slicing off his own skin—

Ida couldn’t speak, couldn’t move actually, was shaking like a leaf as she utterly lost her nerve. The mean girl that turned to an animal looked much better than the former scene, but Ida couldn’t look anymore. So she glanced off to the side, where she could see their own reflection. And eyes widened a bit when she did, noticing their scene was quite different. She didn’t notice what was happening to Cliff – but her reflection made her look pale, white, and waterlogged. Drowned.

“Cliff,”
she finally managed to hiss out, and she recoiled from her reflection. “Cliff, this is bad. This makes terrors seem real. We don’t feel like it’s actually happening to us right now because we can’t breathe it -- it's only a visual hallucination.” Let’s go, she left unsaid, but maybe the edge in her voice and pallor in her face said it anyway.


The following 1 user Likes Ida Chang's post:
   Clifford Hillicker

[Image: 5jMCu3I.png]
stefanie made this beautiful set <3
#21
Regret was something that Clifford never (read as: rarely) felt, but there were times when a similar feeling crept up on him and settled in his gut. Now was one of those times as he turned toward Ida to see why she hadn’t responded to him yet about how cool this was. She looked… frightened? Her face paled and she was trembling so hard that she reminded him of a sleeping volcano coming to life. A frown settled across his face as she finally did manage to speak, although her words confused him.

Terror coming to life? The brunette finally turned his eyes toward his own reflection and his own breath hitched in his throat as he brought his hand to his face, flipping it from his palm to the back of his hand, the skin blackened and bloody from being burnt. It hadn’t happened, not yet, but if he had to pick his greatest fear, fire would be it – he’d lose everything if the farm burnt to the ground. He curled his fingers into his palm before he straightened them, unable to tear his eyes away from his own reflection until she repeated his name.

Cliff stepped forward and placed a finger against her chin to push her gaze up to him; his other hand curled around her shoulder. “What’s got you so scared all of a sudden? I promise the murderer won’t get you while you’re with me.” He shot her a lopsided grin because it was true, he'd trust to protect her from an unknown force. Then, without much warning let go of her completely in favor of bending down to push one arm under her legs and scooped Ida up bridal style; she was lighter than some of the wood he carried at times, which was nice. His other hand nestled against her back.

He was all sorts of turned around but at least he remembered it was a dead end maze, so he spun around to come retrace their earlier steps. Bonnie and her friend had managed to stumble into another part of the maze, although the candle was still burning. Cliff kicked it with his foot; the flame flickered, but it wasn’t his problem. He was more focused on making sure that his loose friend wasn’t going to die of shock when their afternoon was meant to be filled with fun. What he really needed was his guide to get them out here, although blasting his way through the maze was just as good of an option. If Ida didn’t come back to him soon, that was what he was going to have to do.

“Tell me about your favorite memory.” He said, as if they weren’t standing in a maze where some of their greatest horrors were coming to life around them. He pressed his hands briefly against the mirror, moving down one when his hand had gone through it, revealing a passage. “For me, it was teaching my kids how to fish. Meena, my sister, caught a catfish bigger than she was, and she just grinned at me like I’d given her the whole damn world. And Heath, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile so much in his life.” Maybe if they talked about something happy, the fears trapping her in her mind would let her break free.



The following 1 user Likes Clifford Hillicker's post:
   Ida Chang

[Please feel free to hit Cliff at your leisure; he probably deserves it.]
[Image: UcvylhE.png]
#22
At some point, the terror felt so paralyzing that Ida wasn’t sure she could even breathe. Her lungs were burning, her throat felt tight and blocked, she could hear the blood pounding in her ears. It was a miracle that she’d even been able to say as much as she did– but it was almost like a dying wish, for Cliff to know what was happening to them, for him to somehow get out. Ida hadn’t realized her hands had gone up to her face to cover her mouth in fear, a motion that popped the bubble charm and sent water everywhere. It shook her as an experience aligned to the reflection she saw, a reflection that looked eerily worse and worse as the waterlogged version of herself wasted into something that looked more and more like a skeleton with piercing dark eyes.

Ida felt a finger hooked under her chin, a feeling that willed her to tear her gaze away from her reflection. She was hyperventilating now, taking tiny, rapid bursts of breath that hardly did anything to fill her aching lungs which surely were filling with water. But her eyes found Cliff’s, and he looked so— untroubled, as fire looked like it licked his face. Perhaps a bit earnest, as he promised things would be okay while she’s with him. The young woman couldn’t bring herself to respond, could only look at him to avoid looking at anything else.

Can’t breathe. This feels real. It felt cold. Unbearably cold, her limbs felt heavy. Like leadweight. It was shocking that Cliff was able to lift her up so effortlessly. Distantly she clocked the candle roll off into the corner– it was still lit, though burning sideways. It explained the shrieking they heard later, anyway– whether those same girls or another group that came across that horrible part of the maze, Ida had no idea.

Instead she turned her head directly into Cliff, burying her face in his scratchy jacket. This isn’t happening. It only feels that way, her mind keened. Breathe Ida. Breathe. Cliff was talking about his baby sister. Meena, catching a catfish. Ida had never seen a catfish in real life, but she could imagine something like a miniature version of Cliff, a giggling girl with that same serene smile, waving a wagging fish around, trying to hold the slimy slick thing with her bare hands. Ida managed to draw a shuddering breath.

The first air she’s felt, bringing warmth to her fingers and toes.

Ida didn’t dare turn her head away from Cliff’s chest as she was carried. “My baby brother…” she attempted, mind reaching for anything in the blankness of her terror. Her fingers found a death vice around Cliff’s lapels, cloth that most certainly looked like it had burned off earlier. The day he got his pet rat, she thought, but couldn’t say. For when she tried to open her mouth, her throat felt flooded with water. Swallowing down the sensation – just a sensation-- “So… excited… happy, over a stupid…” Fine, it was a cute rat, her mind supplied. And his face when he squeezed the rat in a hug made it entirely worth it. Even if they have so many mice on their farm, and it made no sense at all.

But the memory trickled through her brain like a slow-falling leaf. The more she thought about it, the warmer and lighter she felt. (It made sense – a similar principle applied to casting a Patronus. Perhaps it was more dumb luck than cleverness from Cliff – but it was good intuition he acted on, nonetheless.)

“Left,” Ida eeked out against Cliff’s chest. She didn’t dare look, but she refused to be helpless– no matter how she felt, her chest aching from breathlessness again. “Keep… all lefts.” Because once there’s nowhere left to go, they’ll get to a wall. Just a single wall of mirrors that separates them from outside. “Til you can’t.” Then blow it up, she couldn't say, but maybe he’d decide for himself. Because in that moment, Ida lost consciousness.



[Image: 5jMCu3I.png]
stefanie made this beautiful set <3
#23
In hindsight, maybe choosing to burn a poisonous candle without knowing how it would impact them had been a terrible idea, but Cliff wasn’t one to live with regrets. He might have felt a pang of guilt as Ida was gasping for air like a fish out of water in his arms, as if the water from the mirror had actually managed to get into her lungs somehow to drown her. All he knew was he had to get her out of the maze. In the distance he heard the shrieks of other people who had stumbled upon the candle room, but it was too late to turn around – people were just going to have to witness their greatest nightmare until they found their way out of the maze/

His own chest was still tight from seeing his own reflection burnt nearly to a crisp, but right now Clifford was more worried about the girl in his arms; Ida hadn’t seemed like the person who would willingly bury her head into his jacket yet here she was nearly incoherent, mumbling out words that. Whatever thoughts were attached to her looking like a waterlogged body had definitely gotten inside her head, although part of him wondered if she was impacted more because she’d gone and popped her head bubble.

“Hey, that’s my girl.” Cliff murmured as he glanced down at Ida still in his arms; her face was pale and she was still trembling – at least the resemblance to someone drowned had melted away from her face – so he tightened his grip on her, tugging her closer against his body. Another pang of regret bubbled in the pit of his stomach. Her words didn’t make much sense to him, just a few strung together. “Yeah, yeah. I almost met him.” He encouraged her quietly to keep talking. She had to remember the ridiculous nature of her brother coming out to see what was happening, and Cliff had had every intention of tackling him to the ground and stealing his wand before she’d shooed him back inside.

At least it gave her some form of life as she managed to tell him to keep going left. Ah, so Ida had been watching where they were going the entire time. He turned sharply on his heel as he turned left a few more times, brown eyes drawn toward the mirror in front of them; it was a dead end, but he guessed the mirror maze must shift. He opened his mouth to tell Ida as such but she had passed out in his arms.

“Alright then.” He murmured more to himself than Ida as he held her tightly while fishing his wand out from his pocket.Bombarda.” Excitement bubbled out of his mouth as he cast the spell, a bright red light bursting from his wand toward the mirror; it exploded into thousands of shards and he quickly turned his back toward the mirror, not wanting the shards of glass to cut into her.

It was deafening too, and Cliff’s ears were ringing as he finally turned back around, coughing a bit as the room filled with smoke; he held his breath, cheeks puffing out like a fish as tucked Ida’s face closer to his chest before he stepped into the smoke cloud. Glass crunched underneath his feet. He wasn’t sure it had even worked – maybe the mirrors were indestructible – but finally, finally his lungs pulled in a sharp breath of (almost fresh) air from outside. The side of the tent had ripped too, from the spell. Maybe later he'd feel a sense of pride.

He kept walking straight until the smoke only lingered on their clothing and didn’t surround them. Then he moved to gently lay the girl on the ground, already finding curious eyes upon them, before he sat beside her. His fingers twitched before gently twirling around a piece of hair that had fallen in her face. Cliff tucked it behind her ear. “I’m sorry for making you go through that.” He murmured. Apologies hurt and he loathed giving them, but it felt… right.



The following 1 user Likes Clifford Hillicker's post:
   Ida Chang

[Please feel free to hit Cliff at your leisure; he probably deserves it.]
[Image: UcvylhE.png]
#24
Thinking about her brother had been a good thing. The unconscious state she slipped into was less darkness, more vivid dream– a meadow of flowers in the middle of that forest in Irvingly, her brother still a baby, cackling with his stupid rat as he rolled on the floor, Poppy was there braiding her hair and humming, then there was Cliff in a… suit? Carrying in a picnic to them, without a care in the world.

It was easily one of the strangest and real-feeling dreams she’d ever had.

Though it managed to obscure an entire explosion from her consciousness, at any rate. The woman finally came to when she felt a featherlight touch against his ear. That was unmistakably Cliff’s voice, in the distance. Though he was apologizing, which could only mean something was really wrong. Ida’s stomach lurched, mind flying to the people she loved she’d just been thinking of, which caused her to jolt up to a seat. Winced when she did, because she felt terrible. Her chest ached, as though all the muscles there had done the most strenuous exercise. One hand flew to her chest, while the other dropped to the grass beside her, fingers absently grazing Cliff’s knee he was sitting so close.

“What…” Happened, she would have asked, but then her eyes adjusted and she saw. The tent was torn, and people were shrieking as they spilled out from its depths. The candle must have wreaked some serious hell, and she heard someone run off to find a healer. But for what? Everyone’s grotesque bodies seemed to melt and morph back into their regular selves once they escaped, and in the end, it was a terrifyingly spooky experience that even made some people laugh to themselves (albeit sheepishly). They all thought this was what was supposed to happen.

Shock snapped her head back to Cliff beside her, wide eyes trying to process what just occurred. He had talked about explosions, which was more or less what she’d been thinking. Maybe he was less-dumb than she thought (still not smart)? “...Cliff!” she finally blurted, utterly aghast. There was a little cut on his face, bleeding profusely from the bridge of his nose. “You got hurt,” she mumbled after a moment, a deep crease between her eyebrows. Unthinkingly she pulled her handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it to staunch his wound.



[Image: 5jMCu3I.png]
stefanie made this beautiful set <3
#25
Cliff let out a small laugh as Ida seemed to finally come to; he was pleased he wasn’t going to have to drop her body off in Irvingly without being caught (not that he’d actually expected her to die of fright, but Ida was always full of surprises like that). He’d already formed half a plan — apparate in and lay her (drop her?) in the barn near the hay, and maybe her demon horse coven leader would take pity on her and bring her back to life. Or the demon horse might decide he did this and come after Clifford in revenge. Either seemed like a viable option.

Well, at least he didn’t have to deal with that anymore. He grinned at her as he scooted forward to place his hand against the small of her to ensure she wouldn’t fall back onto the grass, ignoring her hands against his knee, although he may have subconsciously moved it away from her. “I ran out of lefts to take and had to make my own.” Cliff supplied as he shrugged at her, tossing a careless look over his shoulder at the chaos that was surrounding them; there hadn’t been anyone around them, at least not from what he’d seen, but the poisonous candle probably caused some things they hadn’t seen. No one had died so Cliff counted that as a win in his book. “I like that spell.” He grunted.

Then he brought his hand up to gently grab hers, pulling the handkerchief away from his face; his nose wrinkled as he saw it stained with his own blood. His nose stung a bit now that he realized Ida had been correct, and took a moment to run a finger down his nose; the cartilage didn’t seem to be broken and there weren't any small shards of glass he could feel embedded in his skin, leaving him to believe he must have gotten hit with a piece when he’d shattered the glass. It was a shame that the water bubble wasn’t immune from being popped by sharp objects. “Don’t worry ‘bout me. It’s just a scratch.” Cliff swatted Ida’s hand away as he frowned at her; he’d had worse and would probably top it at some point in his life.

“Think you can stand? It’s probably time to get out of here before the damn constable come sniffin’ around.” Gallagher had been a real pain in his ass lately and Cliff really didn’t want to explain why he was here, especially with an unchaperoned girl. He was a fast talker but he could never seem to make Gallagher’s head spin enough to leave him alone.




[Please feel free to hit Cliff at your leisure; he probably deserves it.]
[Image: UcvylhE.png]
#26
Ida let out a short huff of a laugh, and though she knew better than to act impressed, she smiled at him. “You did exactly as I asked. Er, or tried to. Take enough lefts to lead you to the outer wall so you can…” The witch gestured vaguely to the chaos as he remarked on how much he liked blowing things up. Pfft, of course he did. Anyhow, no need to go on claiming responsibility for any of this out loud.

Though the jovial moment subsided immediately into a scowl as Cliff swatted her hands away. Correspondingly she shoved his arm away from where his hand flitted to the small of her back, she was no damsel, thank you. (Although, it was very much a damsel-like thing to do, faint like that.) “Gross, I don’t want the bloody handkerchief,” she admonished, pushing the cloth right back into his hands. “I’m not worried about you,” she clarified with a sniff as she returned his frown. “You’re just bleeding all over the place. Press it there.”

Feeling perhaps a bit defensive then – and certainly embarrassed, to have made a scene and not be able to hold her own – Ida glowered at him. “Of course I can stand,” she mumbled, more to herself than him. Gingerly testing her feet, she clambered up, brushing dry grass and dirt off her skirts as she did. An initial wave of dizziness gave her room for pause, but soon it cleared, and Ida cleared her throat as Cliff stood up too. Something about this situation – out here, in the open, surrounded by people who wanted to know what the ruckus was all about… It all made Ida acutely aware, then, of who she was with, and what it could look like. Not only that, it made her embarrassed about how he had to bail her out all over again. This little detour took things much farther than she should have ever agreed to.

…But it was sort of fun, even in the mess it ended with.

“Yes, we should go,” she agreed, trying to ignore how shy and nervous she suddenly felt. “I… I’m going to Floo from school. I can probably apparate there from here. You’re fine, yeah?” What a dumb question to ask, of course he’s fine, he’s a grown man. Before he could really answer her, she found herself stepping away. “Okay, I’ll see you, Cliff…” In her moment of anxiousness and haste, Ida completely missed how she didn’t exactly tell him goodbye.



[Image: 5jMCu3I.png]
stefanie made this beautiful set <3

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