Valerian managed a smile when Greengrass squeezed his arm, but his gaze was fixated on the spot where the boggart wisp was swirling around on the floor, his mind still processing the image he'd just banished. In three days his fate would be decided - he'd either he dead, a murderer, or by some miracle he'd walk out uninjured and Macmillan with only a mild wound, but it was just as likely an option as the other two, which as decidedly not good odds. Finally he wrenched his gaze from the boggart and met the other man's eyes, looking as though he'd just seen a ghost and a glimmer of pain in his eyes.
The boggart was not done, and he wasn't sure why that surprised him, but the sudden image it took - that of another man, foaming from the mouth - startled Valerian, but he didn't know who it was or what it meant to Greengrass, but at such a close distance he could see how his shoulders tensed and his body stiffened. Was it his brother? The longer Valerian looked the longer the similarity in features became apparent, and it made sense except Valerian had never gotten the sense that Greengrass really liked his family, let alone feared one of their deaths so much that the boggart latched onto it.
Valerian reached up and put a hand on Greengrass' shoulder, gently squeezing just as Greengrass had done for him on his arm moments ago. Greengrass had been been eager to tackle his demons initially, but he seemed to be growing increasingly irritable and Valerian did not want him to fall victim to something that Valerian wouldn't be able to handle if left on his own. Even when Greengrass bested the boggart for the third time it did not relent; the image of the man began to laugh at him, and he swore he could see the elbow of Greengrass' wand arm beginning to shake. He opened his mouth - maybe to interject, maybe to say something to supportive. He would never know, because Greengrass said the incantation and then moved a jewelry box and Valerian didn't process the entirety of what was happened, but he knew the boggart was gone, and Greengrass had moved away to grab the jewelry box.
Good.
"Mmm," he hummed in response, because he couldn't quite muster an enthusiastic response - or really any good response. He'd always been pale, but he looked absolutely ghastly now, all the color drained from his face in the same way all the energy had been drained from his mind.
Three, five, ten seconds of silence passed, and Valerian tried to think of what to say. Handling boggarts together was definitely more of an intimate experience than he'd imagined, and he almost wished he'd left the room, except doing so would have left Greengrass to handle that all on his own, and despite his insistence that he was good at banishing boggarts Valerian doubted he would have fared well if left alone in the dusty attic.
He opened his mouth to thank Greengrass, because that seemed like he logical thing, all things considered, but his bottom lip began to tremble and he let out a shallow breath, and all of the emotions he'd struggled to process threatened to escape - so he clamped his lips shut and turned his head slightly to the side, focusing his attention elsewhere in the room.
The boggart was not done, and he wasn't sure why that surprised him, but the sudden image it took - that of another man, foaming from the mouth - startled Valerian, but he didn't know who it was or what it meant to Greengrass, but at such a close distance he could see how his shoulders tensed and his body stiffened. Was it his brother? The longer Valerian looked the longer the similarity in features became apparent, and it made sense except Valerian had never gotten the sense that Greengrass really liked his family, let alone feared one of their deaths so much that the boggart latched onto it.
Valerian reached up and put a hand on Greengrass' shoulder, gently squeezing just as Greengrass had done for him on his arm moments ago. Greengrass had been been eager to tackle his demons initially, but he seemed to be growing increasingly irritable and Valerian did not want him to fall victim to something that Valerian wouldn't be able to handle if left on his own. Even when Greengrass bested the boggart for the third time it did not relent; the image of the man began to laugh at him, and he swore he could see the elbow of Greengrass' wand arm beginning to shake. He opened his mouth - maybe to interject, maybe to say something to supportive. He would never know, because Greengrass said the incantation and then moved a jewelry box and Valerian didn't process the entirety of what was happened, but he knew the boggart was gone, and Greengrass had moved away to grab the jewelry box.
Good.
"Mmm," he hummed in response, because he couldn't quite muster an enthusiastic response - or really any good response. He'd always been pale, but he looked absolutely ghastly now, all the color drained from his face in the same way all the energy had been drained from his mind.
Three, five, ten seconds of silence passed, and Valerian tried to think of what to say. Handling boggarts together was definitely more of an intimate experience than he'd imagined, and he almost wished he'd left the room, except doing so would have left Greengrass to handle that all on his own, and despite his insistence that he was good at banishing boggarts Valerian doubted he would have fared well if left alone in the dusty attic.
He opened his mouth to thank Greengrass, because that seemed like he logical thing, all things considered, but his bottom lip began to tremble and he let out a shallow breath, and all of the emotions he'd struggled to process threatened to escape - so he clamped his lips shut and turned his head slightly to the side, focusing his attention elsewhere in the room.
