13 June 1894 - The Bone Menagerie, Padmore Park

She felt a stealing sense of fatigue as she walked; the sparkle had died out of her, and the taste of life was stale on her lips. She hardly knew what she had been seeking, or why the failure to find it had so blotted the light from her sky: she was only aware of a vague sense of failure, of an inner isolation deeper than the loneliness about her. Maybe it was because she’d spent much of her time inside rather than out, only because the rumors that spread about her and Rhys’s marriage cut her to the bone. A harlot, a whore, and everything in between, the words hurt because they had no idea what had happened – it wasn’t like she wanted to get pregnant without being married first. Maybe it would have been easier to disappear for a bit, but what was done, was done. She couldn’t change that now.

She had decided that it would be good to get out of the house even if for a few hours, and going with her little cousin who asked a lot less questions, or had a lot less opinions, depending on which sister was talking, seemed like the safest choice. She met Millie’s mother at Padmore (and couldn’t look her in the eyes, even though the exchange was pleasant enough) to collect her, and off the pair went to The Bone Menagerie exhibit. It sounded interesting enough, and hopefully it was low key that there wouldn’t be too many people around. It didn’t stop Zinnia from quickly ushering Millie inside and tossing a quick look over her shoulder like she expected women to be pointing and whispering about her. There weren’t any, of course.

“What pen do you want to see first?” She asked quietly, drawing them toward a corner so they’d be out of the way of the path, leaving it easier for people to walk by. Zin turned her gaze toward Millie and attempted a smile.

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Set by the lovely Lady<3

"Might we try the Africa pen? I heard the giraffe is rather peculiar." Millie suggested, feeling more curious than decisive at the moment. Her cousin's interests seemed more depressed lately, she hardly ever saw Zin drawing or painting much anymore. It might be difficult, she supposed, to work at a canvas now with such a large belly. That was hard enough to miss these days, though her pregnancy had been hardly more than a suggestion at Eastertime.

The young witch was surprised at how quickly it had come to pass. She had never known Zinnia to be so reclusive and withdrawn until the rumors began floating in, first as chatter among students, and then in print in a Witch Weekly issue. Awash in a school full of whispers and gossip, even Millie took the suggestions of impropriety by her cousin as hurtful. Others didn't know Zin like she did, they didn't see the thoughtful soul behind the sometimes-clumsy and inelegant mannerisms. Her cousin might make mistakes but that didn't make Millie love her any less, or shirk from any thought of companionship.

Today's was slower paced than Millie was accustomed to, two weeks after leaving the bustle of life at Hogwarts. It might be even slower than that, at times she found herself pausing her step to let Zin catch up or letting her go first through narrower passages lest she fall. Thinking of her cousin as some delicate creature was new for her, only feeling inklings of it during the winter holidays before. The young witch wondered if there were worries on Zin's mind, or if this was just the way of pregnant women.

"But I don't want to miss your wishes, either," she put in belatedly. With Zin looking quite ready to burst, Millie could hardly be surprised if this was her last outing for a while. She was happy to help make it count, a summertime of idleness and drudgery would have to be the worst way to greet motherhood. "We can always come back to Africa later."

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Zin hummed quietly. She couldn’t recall ever seeing a giraffe in person, and seeing something tall and majestic sounded wonderful… even if it was just the bones. She wished she knew more about animals to be able to point out certain things to Millie, but she didn’t so instead they were just going to have to enjoy the day. It was nice to be out of the house, even if they were still inside. The walls didn’t feel like they were closing in on her, leaving Zin to feel like she could finally breathe.

Maybe once the baby was here, they could all go to the zoo together - Millie could meet her second cousin and they could all see real giraffes. If they were lucky, maybe they could feed them, too. She’d ask Rhys along although Zinnia had a feeling he probably wouldn’t come, only because he’d probably be at work. A sigh escaped her because once more. She was already tired of that thought and it was still only hypothetical.

Blue eyes turned toward Millie and she offered her a small. “The African pen sounds great.” Zinnia tipped her head toward the corridor before she started to make her way through it, her hand absentmindedly rubbing her growing belly. Their footsteps echoed until they came into the exhibit, where the charmed animals cast long, bony shadows in their pins. Despite the oddity of the place, it was as beautiful as it was haunting.

Zinnia glanced at her cousin from the corner of her eye as she tried to gauge how the young witch was feeling before she was gently nudging Millie’s shoulder with her own. “Let’s go see it up close. I’ll even help you climb on, if you want.” She stepped forward without looking toward the exhibit, which was a mistake. In that instance the boney lion appeared, nearly startling Zinnia out of her skin.

She screamed.

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   Millie Potts

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Set by the lovely Lady<3

Her cousin's smile was a delight to see today, peeking out from behind those dark clouds that circled her eyes. Feeling her own face light up at its appearance, Millie felt more relief than sheer happiness. She caught up to Zin, lacing her arm inside her cousin's to walk together, and catch the rotund woman if she should fall. That wouldn't be very good for the baby at all.

By the time they reached the pens, it seemed like Zinnia was back to her old self again. Millie found herself glad at last, willing to tear herself away to stare at the various creatures in the pen. She had to think for several moments, piecing together the shape of creatures from their skeletons, before she started to recognize their different forms. Most of the animals, after all, were just illustrations on book pages to her until now.

"Don't be silly, Zin," Millie said, but she couldn't help a soft giggle from escaping her lips. She had to crane her head far up to see the giraffe's, it was certainly taller than anything she had ever seen before. Perhaps not as tall as a giant, or a Hebridean dragon at its full height, but luckily none of those would be present at the exhibit today. Even the elephant, its bulky form just as evidenced by its skeleton, seemed like a dwarf by comparison. "Where would I sit? On its back or its he—"

Zinnia's scream drowned out her question, and all thoughts of animals flew out of Millie's head. She turned quickly to her cousin, her mouth gaping wide in mirrored shock. Hazel eyes darted to the swollen belly beneath Zin's dress, then back up to those blue eyes looking dreadfully wild. Movement in her eyes made Millie spin around to see the skeleton of a lion where she hadn't seen it before, its skull turned their way as it stalked across the pen.

The young witch let out a breath, the first since she'd heard the scream, and it came out as a whimpering laugh. Once started, she couldn't stop, clasping one hand around Zinnia's arm with the other around her necklace, leaning to catch some air as her panicked laughter gripped her lungs fast. After a minute which felt like an hour, Millie stood in that pose, wheezing for breathe and glancing between the lion and her cousin with a face contorted with the effort. "Don't scare me like that, Zin-Zin. Please. I thought it might be, well, your time."

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Millie did have a point, where would she sit? The giraffe was really tall and really bony, and her cousin was so petite that she would probably just fall right off. She didn’t have much time to contemplate the question because the lion came up to scare her, and after she screamed loud enough that a few people meandering around looked at her. Her chest was rising and following like she’d just run from the lion with everything she had, and it took her a moment to catch her breath. The lion stared at them without eyes as it stalked across the pen. (Which begged the question how it knew they were there to begin with.)

It wasn’t until she heard Millie make a small noise did Zinnia finally tear her gaze away from the lion, and she watched as her cousin laughed. She didn’t move as a hand latched onto her arm, although he wondered if she should – had Millie caught the Laughing Plague? Fear seized her heart as she turned to ask Millie if she was okay, if she needed a doctor, but Millie was standing up and essentially asking her an almost identical question, which made Zinnia huff a laugh.

Her hand touched the swell of her stomach beneath her dress. “Sorry.” She at least had the decency to toss her a sheepish look. “But let's hope not. She’s not due for almost a month.” Zinnia had a feeling it was a girl, but then again when was the last time someone in the Potts family produced a male? She poked her cousin in the nose. “You gave me quite the fright because I thought you’d caught the laughing plague down here.” At least there was a cure for that now. “Perhaps I ought to hit you with the tickling charm for scaring me half to death.” Her lips curled into a soft smile; it was just a tease, for now.

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   Millie Potts

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Set by the lovely Lady<3

Millie hid the rest of her giggles behind a relieved grin, tickled with glee that her cousin had thought her the one in distress. For someone so heedless of her own well-being, Zinnia made for an odd person for her to admire. In anyone else, she might have been concerned for their well-being, but the young witch found an odd comfort in Zin's fecklessness. It made her own, careful, steps feel less like she was trying too hard. Rather, Millie could argue she was simply the balancing factor for her cousin, and a friend or two.

"I don't know what came over me," she claimed and rubbed her nose, it was the truth as much as she understood it. Millie couldn't explain why she sometimes found herself laughing in an otherwise chaotic situation. She would rather cry, or freeze up as she might normally. Anne might have geared up for a fight, while Zin, she knew well, would charge headlong into whatever dark storm loomed on the horizon. Both of them would have thought her silly for it, so the young witch kept it to herself. "But it was definitely not the Laughing Plague."

No, she could be certain that whatever affectation she acquired during those laughing frights, it wasn't any real sickness. Millie didn't feel ill at all, not even lightheaded —though that could have been excused by the heat of the pen. The animals, if they could be called such, hadn't paused their daily adventures for the fits of two women, and now the bony lion was stalking back and forth past the cage fencing.

"That one looks like he's eager to put more meat on his bones," Millie said, nodding to the lion who had given Zin such a scare. A few of the leftover giggles still plagued her, bubbling up to the surface in a giddy remark. "Maybe we should move on, he seems to know you're...in a family way."

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Zinnia’s lips curled into a bemused smile as her hand rested on her stomach, wondering if she and the baby were in any trouble if Rhys would be able to sense it. (And more importantly, would he come running to save them?) “Well, let’s hope he doesn’t still know fresh meat when he sees it,” she cast a sideways glance at the bony lion, watching it prowl, “Plus he looks like he could use a good meal.” She turned toward her cousin and winked at her, hoping that the joke wouldn’t fall completely flat; she was funny, sometimes. Millie would at least give her a pity laugh, or hoped she would, so Zin didn’t feel too terrible at cracking such a terrible joke.

She stood tall then, her shoulders rolling back as if she hadn’t nearly bolted in the opposite direction at the sight of the creature earlier. Her pulse was steadying now that the moment of panic passed. The lion opened its mouth and Zinnia laughed awkwardly before she gave Millie a small nudge toward another direction. “But let’s not tempt him any further, okay? Onward, before he decides you’re the better snack.” Though she wouldn’t let anything happen to Millie, ever.

A little further down were a few more animals. “Oh, there are some zebras!” Zinnia pointed out, although she paused before she frowned. “Well, I think they’re zebras. It’s hard to tell without their stripes.” She cocked her head to the side, clearly in deep concentration as she tried to determine if it was a zebra or maybe a gazelle. Okapi maybe? Well, it didn’t matter, because she was so deep in thought that she missed the giraffe and the way it leaned its long neck down toward them.

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   Millie Potts

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Set by the lovely Lady<3

Millie could have never thought of her cousin like that. Fresh meat. The lion stared at Zinnia like her cat eyed the toys he played with, and for a moment Millie thought of chiding the big cat just the same. It wouldn't be her fingers and toes that would satisfy the hungry urges of the skeletal predator, and she nodded in agreement, ready to move on.

The young witch put her hand on Zin's arm, happy to follow her cousin through the pen. Animals seemed best to her this way, perhaps with a bit more skin and organs, but tamed. Caged, to be seen safely. Deep down, she knew no harm could come to them, the exhibit couldn't possibly allow such a thing to occur. Here she could relax alongside her cousin, seeing the animals but not worrying so much about their wild behaviors.

"No matter what they are, I like them far better than the lion," she said, and her smile was born of a genuine relief. Millie could relax a little better, even laugh at her cousin's poor attempt at humor —which was always funnier than her jokes. Her eyes jumped up when she saw the long-necked animal, having followed them she supposed, craning its head down toward Zin. Now this one, she knew. "Look at the giraffe, I think he's coming to say hi."

Suddenly, the young witch wished she had some food for the animal, thought she couldn't fathom what it might eat. If it still ate anything, the magic that kept its bones together could just as well keep it nourished and healthy. "After this, I want to go look outside again. I thought I saw a sign that explained the magic of it all, seeing them up close has made me incredibly curious how these creatures all stay together."

Never one to miss a chance to learn something, Millie shifted impatiently until her cousin had finished with the giraffe, who had taken to putting its head near Zin's belly. It might have been good luck, perhaps, if the giraffe had been real. Or perhaps it was actually, and the skeletons were simply an elaborate transfiguration. Now the young witch was dying to know, the desire burning in her stomach.

It was just as warm as her love for Zinnia, and her unborn child. Millie would spend an eternity waiting for them if need be. All she really wanted today was to spend time with her closest family. Something even an animal might understand.

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