Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Lia Villace. Sixth Year. Gryffindor. Beater. Troublemaker.

[hannily]

[grace-raleigh-archive]

shitshow study group || graquilia

[grace-raleigh-archive]

“Lia, focus. Unless that’s somehow relevant,” and she had her doubts, “you can badger him another time.” She let her second question lie where it was though—possibly more information about the arrest, or whatever had happened, would have something. Anything, really. She felt like she was seated in the centre of a web, trying to find where each tiny vibration had started, and not quite able to see to the edges. It was that thought, that all the answers were out of reach—she raised her cup of wine, and downed nearly half of it.

The wine was pretty sour for her tastes, and she promptly took another cookie, trying unsuccessfully not to pull a face. She stopped her hand millimetres away from the automatic motion of dunking the cookie in the mug, as she would with coffee or milk, and sat back quickly hoping no one had noticed that. Continuing on…

…Elliot’s father, that’s right. “I wonder if maybe Elliot will be of some use eventually, for us to somehow contact someone outside the school if we find something? A reliable connection who’s over eighteen years old would be… reassuring.”

[quinn-garcia-wwcblog]

“It’s fine,” he offered over, aiming to defuse Lia early,” Her and I aren’t friends. I kissed her once, and it’s complicated or whatever. The point we’re trying to make here is that we’ve already got leads. We don’t need Bennet right now.”

Her following question was met only with a shrug. Of course, Helen was going to go through with it. It was family, and that wasn’t the worst thing he could think of doing for family—but, it was still pretty stupid. “I don’t know what the charges were. It could’ve been something on the small scale, or something big like the St. Mungo’s Bombing. There’s not a lot of publicity narrowed on the trial. Nothing in the news, either.“ Which was frustrating, to say the least.

Quinn reached behind him, to grab his own teacup. He didn’t need it—he was feeling calmer now finally discussing it—but he took a quiet… almost social sip. “Depends if he wants to help.” Bailing Helen out wasn’t any indication that he wanted anything to do with going against the Puri. Only that he looked out for his friends. “But I agree. A reliable connection would be valuable. Concrete information from outside these walls, even more so. It’d be good to know if Elliot is on side.”

[liavillace-archives]

Grace admonished her question and she resented it a bit. They were good and valid questions. It was important to know the source and what kind of relation Quinn and Helen had because for all any of them knew, Helen could have been lying. She didn’t seem the type, but Lia wouldn’t put it past anybody. Luckily, Lia didn’t have to argue her point as Quinn answered her anyways. “You kissed her?” Lia exclaimed, “And you’re not even friends? Jesus, Quinn, what if she got mad at you and she’s lying about it? Did you consider that?”

Everyone was taking a drink and, by watching, Lia wanted one too. The firewhiskey wouldn’t make the bitterness in her throat go away. “No news? Why isn’t there any news? You’d think something like this would be front page worthy.” She commented offhandedly. 

They continued talking about Cam and Lia said nothing, just taking sips of her drink. She knew he was a good guy, but not the extent of his goodness and frankly, she didn’t want to get him involved. “I don’t trust him. There are a lot of people with the same qualifications as him-- Ministry parent and over age. That’s nothing. There’s your boyfriend, Erichson, for instance.” Lia mentioned to throw them off Cam. “Ministry parent and over age. Who’s to say he’s trustworthy? Neither of them.”

[samuel-wise-archive]

we’re in a Giant Hole || sam & lia

[samuel-wise-archive]

“Clearly not that clever, since I just gave away why I wanted to see it,” he pointed out. “I don’t think this is what anyone thinks training is supposed to be like, Villace.” He shook his head, and picked up a handful of dirt, letting it sift through his fingers. He brushed his hands together a minute later.

“Uhh… I don’t have many secrets, actually.” He knew some of other people’s but he’d never share any of those. He considered for a minute, and then perked up. “I once copied Ned Moseley’s homework, back in like third year. And I didn’t get caught,” he said with no small amount of pride. “Although, he didn’t do great on that assignment anyway, so it might’ve been more trouble than it was worth. Haven’t bothered doing it again since.”

[liavillace-archives]

“That’s true,” Lia agreed without any hesitation before laughing. “One day, this hole of mine will be a standard in elite training programs-- Just you watch, Wise.”

Lia waited patiently for him to come up with his secret, and when he did, she let out a loud groan. “That might possibly be the worst secret in secret’s history. You need something better.” She paused, trying to come up with her own secret for an example-- He’d probably ask her hers in a moment and she was just trying to save time.

As Lia thought, a flurry of all the Puri things she, Grace, and Quinn discussed came to mind, along with things Lux had said to her and random things like that. But the problem with those secrets were they weren’t all necessarily hers. So she thought hard about a secret about her life. She couldn’t think of anything that seems secret worthy. Until she thought about her father. And then she felt something uncomfortable in the pit of her stomach as she realized her secret. It’d been something she hid, even from herself. Until this point.

“Like for example,” Lia casually was staring at her nails, “I wonder a lot about what my dad’s doing. And where he is. And why he didn’t stay. And why he’s never tried to contact me at all. Ever in my life.” The curiosity was always there but it had grown since Eloise and Lionel had sent her the letter bringing light to her mother’s side of the family. It made her wonder about her blank slate of her father’s side. “He left when I was a few months old.” And it was her fault. It hadn’t been phrased that way. But when she’d asked her mother why her father left, she’d told her that he hated magic. And there was an understanding, at the time, that Lia was the only one between them that could do magic. Something her mother could have clarified wasn’t true, but she’d wanted that message sent.

“Come up with a better secret, Wise.”

[samuel-wise-archive]

we’re in a Giant Hole || sam & lia

[samuel-wise-archive]

He gave her an incredulous look. “’Course I want to see that—if you do it again, I want to be in on this,” he said emphatically. “I try not to be a target more than I have to be, if you’re sneaking around looking like a guy, least you can do for dropping me down here is give me a heads up.”

That question sounded laced with traps. “Sure, I’m having a great time,” he said, giving her at least a little bit of sincerity before he gestured around. “What’s not to love. Dirt…” He pointed to the floor, and then the wall. “More dirt… horizontal dirt…” He lifted up his hands. “Hand dirt. I feel manlier already. Or more like a mole. It’s one of those two.”

[liavillace-archives]

Lia laughed loudly. “I hadn’t realized!” She put her hand to her face, shoulders shaking before she calmed enough. “I can’t show you anymore-- That’d be revealing my disguise! You’d just have to wait and find out when it hits you, mate. Thanks for the heads up-- You’d almost caught me.” She wagged a finger at him, playfully narrowing her eyes at him. “You’re a clever one, Sam Wise. Clever.”

She huffed slightly at his clear observation. “Well,” Lia crossed her arms, sitting indignantly now. “I reckon that this isn’t what you thought training was suppose to be like.” Lia pretended to think for a moment before casually asking, “So what’s your biggest secret?”

[grace-raleigh-archive]

shitshow study group || graquilia

[grace-raleigh-archive]

Grace shot a questioning glance at Quinn as he handed over her mug, and she took it without looking. Why was he moving closer, in an already spelled and silent room? That, plus the strange expression he had—was he acting scared? She dropped her eyes, unsure how to process that, if that’s what it was.

Helen… When they’d gone to get their tattoos, she’d asked what her family could really do, what their displeasure would bring, and she’d known there was a dark answer even then. Now she knew a little better what sort of people they were—and rather wished she didn’t—and that, compounded with the Boggart incident… What kind of hell must that girl have gone through? Was still going through?

Lia’s reaction was understandable, and Grace remembered her own insistence to know more, back in the broken spa. That felt like so long ago. And her opinion had changed, she realized with some surprise. That didn’t happen often.

She finally spoke, when Lia looked to her to confirm. “No,” she said quietly. “I know I pushed you before, but that’s not the way to do this. We have to remember Bennet’s one of the ones we’re trying to help, and protect. We can’t treat her like an enemy we caught, she’s one of us.” Grace directed herself to Quinn. “She did give you this information freely?” She couldn’t imagine the answer was anything but yes.

At his promise, she laced her fingers together in her lap, wishing she could believe it. Her conversation with Lux, how it left her considering how insidious this must be, interwoven in everything, stuck in her mind. The promise also sounded strangely childlike, to her. Optimistic and simple, maybe even a bit naive. But then again, perhaps Quinn wasn’t saying it to reassure her and Lia. It could be he needed to believe it, himself. “No, they’re not,” she agreed firmly. After a moment, she asked Lia, “What was that about Elliot?”

[quinn-garcia-wwcblog]

He could recognise the same tone, even how desperate Lia might’ve sounded, because he was that too. Sometimes he thought about how he would press Helen for information again. It was in the common room again, fireplace burning to flush out the cold condensation on the glass. He was even, controlled, understanding—he’d be quiet, and then she’d tell him everything. Wishful thinking. And soon, quashed it.

It sounded so perfect when Grace said it, that he was a little taken by surprise. For someone who he hadn’t even wanted to be around, he was prepared to go up against them both and didn’t exactly knew why until now. Then Grace asked for assurance, and he was quickly brought back. Quinn squinted. “Yes.” He skipped over how offended he would’ve been at the question. Instead, he focused his attention back onto Lia. “You know she’s right.” He spoke firmer this time. “I already made that mistake. I’m not doing it again.”

From the way Grace clasped her hands closed, he could tell that she didn’t believe him. None of them needed to. He hadn’t proven anything yet, only that he would. “Yeah, he was at Helen’s trial.” Quinn looked to Lia, putting forward the little he knew to lead her off. “I think her family expected her to take the fall, and he cleared her name. He must’ve heard about it through his dad.” 

[liavillace-archives]

Maybe it made sense to them to not push for more, but Lia only felt limited by it. She sat back and bit her cheek, before remembering she had a cup of firewhiskey she was gripping tightly in her hand. She took a mouthful of it, silently resenting neither of them saw it her way. Perhaps there was a possibility she could change their minds. “What mistake did you make?” Lia inquired, not bothering to hide her curiosity. “I didn’t even know you two were friends-- Why would she be telling you these things anyways?”

It wasn’t like she wanted to strangle Bennet for answers. She just thought maybe she’d open up with a little pressing-- Lia would have backed off if she told her too. They didn’t even want to try.

Lia was about to answer Grace’s question about Cam, by saying he was Helen’s closest friend or whatever so he should have known something, but Quinn covered the base for her and so she continued to stew quietly. Until she thought about what Quinn had said. “That’s shitty-- And she was going to go through with it?”

[liavillace-archives]

grapevines | lia and grace

[grace-raleigh-archive]

Biting her lip and not quite laughing, she shook her head at this reveal. It sounded about right, though she preferred the assassin one to the youth-sucking witch. Her eyes narrowed in consternation at the ‘both half right’ comment.

She watched Lia retreat from the room, kind of relieved that’s all it took. “See you,” she called after her, before the dorm fell back into silence. That wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d imagined it would be, telling someone about Simon. She supposed it made sense that she’d have more complicated feelings about it, and be nervous, but in the end she felt a little better. A little less like she was hiding, and sturdier somehow. 

She pulled out the photo again, just to see. And it did feel better, to look at it now. She guessed that’s what people meant when they said talking would help, something she hadn’t quite agreed with before.

[grace-raleigh-archive]

shitshow study group || graquilia

[grace-raleigh-archive]

Once he’d set the firewhiskey back on the table, Grace knew the real meeting had begun. And they could cover it in jokes, use teasing to deflect some of it so they didn’t have to think about what they discussed all at once, sure. But this was the stuff that would come back for them when they tried to sleep that night.

Quinn spoke, and Grace listened, in the same quiet attentiveness that Lia was giving. She watched the expression on her roommate’s face fall, and it matched Grace’s own feelings perfectly. But she kept the real impact of the information from reaching her, somehow, and focused on the mental image of her notes that she had. Someone close to you. Torture. Not hate crimes. A test. It was a goddamn fucking test to them. No. Focus. The list, the notes, the names. How things slide gradually into place, like a complicated piece of spellwork that’s finally beginning to make sense.

Lia’s voice, sharp and raw, made her look over. Grace had been so caught up in processing and staying calm she’d sort of forgotten there would be more to the conversation. Glancing over a Quinn, she had to admit Lia’s question made sense. 

There wasn’t anything else she could add until she’d had a minute to let it sink in, but instead she reached for the wine bottle Lia had brought, removed the cork with a quick wave of her wand, and stood to find a glass in one of the cabinets. It turned out there were only coffee mugs and tea cups, but that was probably her own rather tame mind’s fault, not the Room’s. She brought back three, and set one in front of each of them, filling her own nearly to the brim with wine, and the other two with firewhiskey from the bottle she took from Lia’s hands without asking. Then she sat again, and waited, still in somewhat uncharacteristic silence, to hear the explanation.

[quinn-garcia-wwcblog]

It was quiet when Lia took a swing, when she asked him the question, and when Grace stood. Quinn paused—trying to look for an opening, to pretend like he hadn’t noticed and should keep moving on. But he looked much too human then to lie, with his eyes slightly thawed and his creases smoothed out. 

As if recognising this, he resigned, and got up. He placed each mug and teacup into each of their hands, and sat down on the coffee table in front of them. The table was low, but he towered high enough over to level with them both.

“Helen Bennet.” Tactfully, Quinn didn’t quite admit a reaction to his answer. He understood to be trusted by them with this, he needed to be honest from the beginning—however he wasn’t so easily ready to share the details that clouded it. “Her family is in the Puri. They’re in Azkaban now… But, they’re not involved. I don’t want her or her brother anywhere near this.” It was a promise he had made to her without even knowing it. Her name would be safe with them.

Quinn edged closer after a beat, near enough to reach out. “They can’t hide anymore. I promise you, they’re not gonna get away with this. ”

[liavillace-archives]

Lia paid no mind to Grace when she took the bottle from her. Her eyes were on Quinn, following him as he moved. He seemed hesitant to say, but Lia was ready to squeeze it out of him if he didn’t. Lucky for him and his thumbs, that he admitted it. But Lia wasn’t entirely prepared for the answer.

“Bennet?” Lia repeated in disbelief. She had had her suspsciouns about other people in the castle, but she hadn’t imagined the Slytherin girl she spoke to once about boy troubles with Cameron Elliot. She’d seemed nice, if not sad. But as Quinn offered more information on her, Lia was beginning to think that her conversation with Helen hadn’t been about her feelings for Elliot at all. 

“She has to know more, Quinn,” Lia pleaded, sitting forward, not even caring that the manneQuinn fell over to the side. “They both have to-- They’re our biggest leads. Or even, Elliot!” Lia paused, suddenly remembering Cam’s confession to being a Ministry Spy. And then how Helen didn’t want to speak with him. He had to have some involvement with where her family was now. But she supposed that only made him a certified Good Guy. Not one they could trust, but nonetheless.

“We can’t give up our lead.” Lia argued, hand tightening around the mug as she looked between Grace and Quinn.

[samuel-wise-archive]

we’re in a Giant Hole || sam & lia

[samuel-wise-archive]

“He turned you into a bloke? Why?” Lia was one of the prettier girls in the school, he couldn’t imagine looking like that and then deciding to trade it in for poor skin and body hair in inexplicable patches. But no doubt it had had some purpose for her.

He definitely was not up to the challenge, which made it all the more tempting. “I’m in, I’m up for it,” he agreed rapidly, before pushing himself to his feet again. “If we ever get out of here,” he added, in a hopeless sort of way.

[liavillace-archives]

Lia laughed loudly at both the memory and the expression on Sam’s face. “I could easily be the poster child for troublemaker-- Everyone in this castle and their mothers know my face. So,” Lia lifted her shoulders, smiling innocently, “I thought changing it up a bit would be quite effective in messing around. And I’ll admit, I was rather fit as a bloke. Do you wanna see?” She asked before reaching to her side. “Oh, wait, shit, the photos in my bag.” Lia looked up the hole, head thumping against the wall.

She nodded. “Well, I’m glad you’re on board. When we’re out, we’ll work on that. But anyways, I’m not rushed about getting out anyhow. We’re having a nice time, Wise. Bonding, I think. Aren’t you having a nice time?”

[liavillace-archives]

grapevines | lia and grace

[grace-raleigh-archive]

“Those are the classic signs of madness, you’re right,” she said, dryly, but a smile teased at her mouth. Lia’d managed her way back onto Grace’s bed, but it wasn’t an unwelcome move to her at this point, having her friend beside her for a little bit. 

Grace listened carefully to Lia’s words, the serious tone drawing her in, until she realized that Lia was going to completely abuse what she’d said, and use it as licence to say whatever she wanted regarding Simon. Which had been Grace’s point, and it’d be contradicting herself to go back on it. Still she thought it was hilarious that she’d managed to team both of them up together, to evaluate her, even when only one of them was actually there. “Yes, I still stand by that… but thanks. For saying it. He really was a menace, so…” she said with a soft grin. Letting out a bit of a sigh, she stretched. “I didn’t anticipate that this afternoon would lead here,” she confessed sidelong. “Is it rude if I say I’d like to be left alone for a bit? To nap, mainly,” she clarified. “Not because I’m uncomfortable, I’m just worn out.”

[liavillace-archives]

“I didn’t think the afternoon would lead to finding out Grace’s deepest darkest kept secret either-- And you know, Flo and I had a bet going on. Flo thought you were actually a hundred and twelve year old witch who wanted to suck out all our youth. I thought you were a Ministry assassin with a tragic past.” She shrugged. “I suppose we were both half right.” Lia joked before giving a solid pat on Grace’s arm as she stood up.

“I reckon I can tell when I’m not wanted.” Lia waved as she head out the door. “See you at classes.” It was an easy way to let her know she wouldn’t be coming back their dorm later tonight.

[grace-raleigh-archive]

shitshow study group || graquilia

[grace-raleigh-archive]

The look. On Quinn’s face.

Sometimes, she admitted to herself, Lia had flashes of brilliance, and this was one of them. She wanted to freeze that moment in time, possibly frame it. But lacking a camera, she just ducked her head away and pretended to fix her hair to hide the fact she was almost laughing. Clearing her throat and pressing the smile back from her face, Grace kept from looking at the dummy seated between her and Lia on the couch, since if she did she’d completely lose her composure. 

“Actually, the floor is Quinn’s,” Grace said, then clairfied: “Well, that’s why all of us are here, you have something? …but for the sake of being on the same page…” She took a breath. “We know the Puri exists. And they have some sort of presence in the castle. We suspect they are somehow responsible for the deaths, and the attacks earlier in this year. We don’t have concrete proof, or specific people we suspect, yet, but we all have our reasons for believing this is the case.” That seemed to be the basics. 

She looked up and over at Quinn expectantly, trying not to appear too grim. “So… we’ve decided to come together to cope with it using baked goods, alcohol, and a truly horrifying plastic-imitation Garcia—which I think we should put in the corner, and bludgeon with spells when we get frustrated.”

[quinn-garcia-wwcblog]

Quinn had no intention of wearing her party hat. He drew a line across his throat, and pointed at Lia.

After a brief gesture of acknowledgement, he listened on to Grace. It’d all been side-steps and hushed tones, so to hear it summarised out loud—it was like getting to the point of one of Quimby’s long-winded observation. He could now finally get on with his day. He immediately followed her with a sprightly smirk and a nod as he glanced from Grace to the mannequin. “All right.”

Setting the bottle of firewhiskey on the table, he turned to properly face them. The days after Helen told him, he chewed on it in the moments he was alone. He wondered if he could do it to them, if he really wanted to and who they would pick. His mother. His family. Serena. Lia. His roommates. Victor had the kind of mouth you wanted to punch, and Kizzie was growing on him like a red capped fungus. He guessed Grace was on the list too since now apparently they do a thing called ‘talking’. And, Helen. He was so frustrated with her. She drove him so crazy, he couldn’t stand to be in the same room as her but he thought about it and he couldn’t—… God. When the hell did I get people in my life?

“Okay,” Quinn started evenly,” So as far as I know, the Puri have these tests they use on people who want to join. One of them is called, ‘Infliction’. It’s measures loyalty. They pick someone close to you, and they make you torture them. Like, for instance—” He made an indicating gesture to finish off the thought. “I don’t know how long this has been going on here, or who’s involved. But, it’s more than something.”

[liavillace-archives]

Lia was actually quite surprised that Quinn had more information. She had thought she and Grace were the ones on top of it all and he was just here to be angry about everything. She put her unfinished cookie down, wanting to pay attention for once. 

When he finished speaking, a lot of things starting to make sense in hindsight. All the victims...They were there because someone in the Puri was close to them. If they found out, they’d be victims again. Lia thought of Rowan and a rage swelled in her chest as she thought about the fact that Rowan got hurt because of someone close to her. 

She was going to explode with anger, but it wasn’t the time for that, so instead, Lia grabbed the bottle of firewhiskey and took a large swig. As usual, it tasted awful, but the burn was better felt in her throat than in her chest. “How do you know that, Quinn?”

[rowangoodearchived-blog]

“Oh, no, no,” Rowan answered, shaking her head so vehemently that her braid whipped around. “I am going to eat none pies. No. I already carbo-loaded for the game. This is your time to shine.” She patted her fellow Beater on the back.

[liavillace-archives]

“You tiny angel-- I’m going to win this one for you, Goode.” Lia stated, holding her hand. “You can count my pies to me. Motivate me.” She stated before taking an open seat at the pie table. “Remember, count!” Lia called to Rowan before the contest began. And then she was off-- One pie after another. Heaven.

[liavillace-archives]

grapevines | lia and grace

[grace-raleigh-archive]

Grace smiled a little, and resisted the urge to clean tears off Lia’s face. “I mean, you’re generally such a terror, it’s amazing I’m not losing my mind just being in the same dorm as you for six years,” she said, not hiding her grin. It would’ve really scared her if Lia hadn’t gone back to their norm right away—the last thing she wanted was to be pitied or looked at differently.

Thinking of the answer to Lia’s question, Grace realized it was a lot simpler than she originally considered. “Mostly just that… I’ve thought that, like… being more like Simon would help—going wild, sort of. Or that being exactly the opposite would—and being super careful. And right now, because we’re… not sure what’s going on… I’m kind of realizing I can be my own thing. Or something.” She shrugged. “I miss him, but I always used to think he would handle everything better than me. But… I’m actually way older than him, now. I’m sort of… I’m the big one. I can make the decisions.” She glanced at the photo again, before tucking it away. “Don’t know if that makes any sense, really.”

[liavillace-archives]

“Who says you haven’t?” Lia argued, before leaning back on Grace’s bed. Somewhere along learning Grace’s secret, Lia had made her way from the floor back to the bed again. Hopefully, this time ‘round, Grace wouldn’t kick her out again. “I think you’re pretty barmy. I mean, you’ve gotten yourself in a fake relationship, you go to bed too early, your favorite color’s white, and you hate mushrooms.” Lia complied the list, ticking them off.

As Grace answered her question, it seemed like a lot of what Lia knew of her was making sense in hindsight. But she was glad that Grace was finally coming to some realization-- It seemed good. Or at least it did to Lia. She shook her head. “No, no, it makes a lot of sense.” She pursed her mouth into a smile before speaking softly, “And if it’s inappropriate to speak on your brother’s behalf-- And you’d said that he’d approve of nearly anything I’d said that was inappropriate! Well, from what he sounds like, I don’t think your brother was exactly the best at handling things. I think you handle them excellently and he’d have to agree.” Lia dipped her head. “You said he would. If he does agree with inappropriate things I say.”

[adrianraja]

there you are | noahlia

[adrianraja]

Noah nodded agreeably at Lia as she listed her conditions. “Sounds fair. I’ll start counting us down for any and all contact after I carry you past the roses.” They seemed to be bursting from the greenhouse, tangling over the glass as if they had been growing for ages. Their scent seemed to float through the chilly air. “You’re not cold, are you?” Noah asked, suddenly concerned.

[liavillace-archives]

Apparently her rules had made no difference to Noah. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting-- this was completely within his character. Perhaps he didn’t think she was serious and that’s why he wasn’t even bothered in the slightest. He’d realize she was in time. “Brilliant then, I’m glad we’re agreed.” She stated coolly, but eyed the roses. They were coming up close.

Considering how much Lia wanted to be taken seriously, she didn’t see much reason in lying or joking to his question. “I am.” She stated without much more.

[rowangoodearchived-blog]

“I care. I care immensely,” Rowan clarified. But she relented. “Fine, we’ll eat your pie. But you best not puke on me or I’ll end your life.”

[liavillace-archives]

“Use a cleaning spell,” Lia waved her hand, carelessly. “But brilliant, I’m glad you agree.” Lia pulled Rowan with her towards the pie area, her eyes locked on the place she’d been gravitating to since the day began. “Say, how many pies can you fit in you anyways?”

[liavillace-archives]

grapevines | lia and grace

[grace-raleigh-archive]

She’d never seen Lia like this—hearing ‘that was incredibly inappropriate’ had almost made Grace smile, to hear it from her lips struck her as hilarious—but she sounded so lost. Grace hadn’t expected that. She’d thought anger, maybe… but this was genuine sadness, for her. 

Then Lia hugged her, and after a moment, Grace whispered a quiet shush into her hair. “You don’t need to—you never did anything wrong. If you had, you think I’d be telling you about him? You don’t need to be nicer. That’d just be creepy.” She laughed softly, and before pulling back, said, “Thank you, though. I think… improbably, you’re my best friend, too.” She didn’t know when that’d happened, but it had. “And for the record, I’m ninety-nine percent sure that Simon would approve of any inappropriate comments you feel like making. He died being a reckless show-off. Rough for the rest of us, yah… but I’ve always wondered if wherever he is now, he’s not just a little bit proud of it.”

She shuffled back slightly, picking up the photo from where Lia had placed it, and looking at it once more. “I’ve been thinking about him a lot more, I think, with everything that’s been happening.”

[liavillace-archives]

Lia pushed herself off, wiping the snot and tears from her face. “’Improbably’-- What do you mean ‘improbably’?” She asked trying to sound aggressive, but it was hard to as she sniffed. “Simon sounds like my kind of guy.” Lia joked, trying not to be so serious about it as Grace didn’t seem to be.

She frowned slightly. watching as Grace stared at the photo. “Well,” She began quietly, “What are you thinking?”

[grace-raleigh-archive]

shitshow study group || graquilia

[grace-raleigh-archive]

Grace gave Quinn a level look. “I can’t say I know what you’re talking about.” She watched with curiosity as he paced around like a caged cat. The Room was lined with a few bookshelves and cabinets with various study materials, and contained a long table pushed against one wall, leaving the main area with the sofa, a low coffee table, and a bunch of cushions which were as much for comfort as aesthetic. All in all, it was cosy and practical, with cute lamps on the walls and wide lace-curtained windows that showed the fading evening sun, and it even smelled slightly like baked goods from the plate of snickerdoodles on the coffee table. And Quinn’s tense manner was utterly ruining all of that. “I ran through every useful protection Charm I could think of, as well as what the Room may have appeared with,” she told him briefly, hoping that might set him more at ease.

When he eventually sat down, though, she remembered suddenly and stood up from the rather rustic seat she’d been lounging on, gesturing at it. “Oh, right. Here. As per your request, chair.” She was about to relocate to the far more comfortable sofa, saying as she crossed to stand by it, “And before she gets here, there’s something I should probably warn you—”

At that moment Lia entered, shutting the door with a bang that made Grace wince. Before Grace could say anything to her in greeting, she’d pulled out a wine bottle and threw it at her, with no warning whatsoever. Grace let out an alarmed squeak, and barely caught it with both hands. Once she did, her body tense with shock, her grip on it tightened and she glared at Lia. “Why?” she demanded, rhetorically.

Lia had already moved on, and Grace shot an apologetic look to Quinn, even before the Atrocity emerged from the wardrobe. By way of partial explanation, she said, “You asked for chair, she asked for—well, it got complicated, it started with just what she’d want as a target for practicing and… and I eventually gave up,” she said with a shrug. But as Lia pulled the replica Quinn dummy over to sit beside her, Grace frowned, looking briefly back and forth between it and the real Quinn. “I thought you were taller…” she muttered, annoyed by her mental inaccuracy.

She finally sat on the couch beside the manneQuinn, cringing at it as Lia fixed the paper cone on its head. In obvious refusal of Lia’s offering, she set her own hat on the coffee table, along with the wine bottle. “I don’t know why you thought I’d want this,” she grumbled to Lia, reaching for a snickerdoodle and taking a bite. “Wine hardly affects me.”

[quinn-garcia-wwcblog]

Of course. Protection charms, lamps, cushions… right down to the plate of cookies, and it was a little irritating. Grace thought of everything. He’d been too busy to attend dinner, and swept the top off the pile when he transferred seats. “Brilliant.” Quinn smoothed his hand over his ‘luxury’ item. It was a chair. It was wood. It was just what he always wanted. He leaned back in his chair, and propped his feet up on the other. He knitted his brows together when she spoke up again. Warning him about Lia could not be a good sign…

Speak of the devil, she was soon cut her off. They might as well have dimmed the lights, and turned on the smoke machine, because the entire room seemed to open up from two people in small conversation. He watched Lia’s entrance with mild amusement. She was what he would imagined would happen if a Kayne West concert suddenly got up and walked out of Madison Square Garden. Quinn saluted her after he caught the firewhisky bottle out of the air. “Great. Now I don’t have to break something to make this place feel more like home.” He happily nestled into his chair.

Quinn had been unscrewing the cap off the bottle, when Grace had a funny look on her face. He narrowed his eyes, and looked over where Lia had peeled out the wardrobe. He was making nor heads or tails of what she was talking about until the Atrocity was dragged out. The legs that were outstretched on another chair, recoiled back in a flash. He jolted up straight in his chair, with a deeply disturbed expression in his eyes, like something underneath was about to shoot out and fuck him in the ass. He’d seen some weird shit from her in his time, but this was—this was visceral.

“What the fuck…” He finally uttered. It was dangerously soft, as he examined over the abomination. It was creepy, it had a stupid smirk on its face, and a bizarre band shirt. Who the hell were ’Avril’? He switched to Grace, and then to Lia who threw him a party hat. It bounced off him. “I hate you both.” For a moment, he decided he would just rip its head off and throw it across the room. He’d definitely have a nice time. “I’ll be… polite,” he said, calmly,” But if that thing starts to move this room is a tinderbox.” It took him a moment before his bones eased. He propped his feet up on the chair again, and he motioned his hand dismissively. “Can we move on now?”

[liavillace-archives]

Lia was very much content with the serious atmosphere harassed by her refusal for it. And the manneQuinn worked perfectly. She could tell it irritated Quinn, which was wonderful, but it also threw him off from being the hard and cold guy he tried to be when he was dealing with darker things. Lia had just wanted to remind the both of them, and even herself, that despite the reason for their meeting, there was still some good and humor to be found anyways. 

“If you don’t want the wine, give it back.” Lia replied in a snippy tone before plucking a snickerdoodle of her own and taking a large bite of it. She narrowed her eyes at Quinn. “Being polite would include wearing my party hat, you absolute walnut.” She stated, using something she’d heard him say before.

Turning to Grace, Lia rolled her hand for her to speak. “But proceed, Raleigh, the floor is yours.”

[liavillace-archives]

grapevines | lia and grace

[grace-raleigh-archive]

Wow. She really wasn’t going to make this any easier, was she? At least Grace had a bit of reassurance that Lia wasn’t mad at her for not telling her, but the further she spoke, the further Grace retreated into herself. Lia had no idea, how much actually she wished they could have met, despite all the chaos and destruction that’d likely have followed. They’d have gotten on like a house on fire—probably in an actual house, on actual fire.

Grace found herself caught between trying to smile or be exasperated at Lia’s totally inappropriate and rather gross flirtatious comments—as she would if they arose about any other topic—and trying to be serious. But she supposed the seriousness would get across no matter what she did, so she just said simply, “He, um. He died, in a magic accident? When I was ten. So,” she attempted a smile, but it broke part way through. “Recent photos are a no-go.”

[liavillace-archives]

What next left Grace’s mouth had Lia’s smile and expression faltering into a deep feeling of dread. She looked down at the picture again, before slowly placing it on the bed. She didn’t want to look at it anymore. Her mouth felt dry and she bit her chapped lips. Lia wasn’t sure how she was suppose to take this sort of news. 

“I’m-- I’m sorry, that was incredibly inappropriate. I thought it was just that he didn’t have magic or something and you never had a reason to talk about him and you were only nervous or something or whatever because you’d thought I’d get mad at you for not telling me earlier because I mean, that’s not too far off, I do have a tendency to think irrationally-- Noah think I need at least 1/10th of his brain to think things through a bit more, but, right, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say and I’m probably being annoying and I’m just.”

 Lia felt some tears well in her eyes. “I’m just really sorry this happened to you and I wasn’t nicer or more. More sympathetic or something.” She wiped her eyes. “I know there wasn’t anything I could do, but...I’m just.” Lia threw her arms around Grace. “I’m really sorry, Grace. You’re my best friend and I love you and I’m sorry.”