The Gorgon Room: His Return

[gorgonfondness]

Mia was sitting on the bed, Alhena snuggled up next to her while she idly scritched the pup. She looks a bit distant and a bit concerned, anger all but completely gone.

Alhena whined every now and then, sad that Papa has been away.

She knows that she should go talk to him, but she's not sure if he wants to talk to her.

Comments

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He had his key and his wand, and he wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to him. But he could just say he stopped by to check on Alhena, and leave quickly if she didn't.

So the door opened, and he paused in the doorway. "Mia?" Tentative tone, especially after his convo with Moon.

[gorgonfondness]

At that, Alhena immediately hopped up and bounded to the door, tail wagging happily at him and eagerly babbling.

"She missed you," Mia says with a little smile, "and it would be a lie if I said I didn't miss you too. I'm still a bit mad, and still a bit worried about Miniver, but I'm willing to hear you out."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco crouched down. Papa!PAPA!Missedyouloveyou!younohere!

He winced, "Not so loud, Alhena." He petted her, and tried not to grimace at her fervent licking of his face in greeting.

He glanced up, "I missed you too. Wasn't sure if you'd want to speak to me before I had to go back at this rate." He carefully picked up the wriggling wolf cub, and went to sit on the bed. Gently placing her down on the soft surface again.

"It just went pear shape, really."

[gorgonfondness]

She blinks at him a little.

"Pear shape?"

She cuddles the pup between them.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"A phrase overheard around here once. I got the impression it's whenever something very bad happened, or went wrong."

He added, "I knew the way he was acting meant I would be hit one way or another."

[gorgonfondness]

She puts one hand on his arm.

"And it's not right for him to hit you, but you've done a lot to him. He, well, he needed some sort of release. I don't think he really knew what to do with everything, all the hurt he was feeling. What can a person do with it all?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco sighed, "He wanted it. He said he wanted to know what was wrong. And got offended when I warned him off. So I showed him the memories. I thought he'd just see a little. I didn't expect him to see all of those from the war."

He added, "What I do, bury it, try not to think about it."

[gorgonfondness]

"Miniver's never seen anything like a war, much less been in one like you or me. I'm not sure he had any idea what one was like. But then, no one really does until they are in the thick of it. I know he asked to see it, but that doesn't mean he was ready to handle it. I intend to talk to him about that, though. I'm not sure what he expected to see."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco nodded, and continued to pat Alhena who was clearly getting sleepy with the big yawns she was making.

"You don't really know much about it in my world either, and I'm nervous to show you after what he saw."

[gorgonfondness]

"But I have seen how awful war can be. People forced into slavery, tortured physically and mentally, maimed, mutilated, killed. I may not know exactly what you've been through, but my experience may have me more prepared for it than Miniver was."

She strokes up and down on his arm a little.

"I want to help you. I know what you're going through is hard. I'm still working through the same sort of thing myself. But Draco, part of being a couple is helping each other out through times like this. And you have helped me, more than you may know. I want to do the same for you, even if I may not like everything you show or tell me."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco sighed, and got his Rememberizer. Opened it. "I'll try to have things go more slowly this time." Brief scenes of being forced to carry the Dark Lord's actions, or one of the Death Eater's. The punishments given, often the Cruciatus curse, but not always if he balked or froze. No scenes of him committing murder since there weren't any.

[gorgonfondness]

Her eyes are wide, but not terribly shocked. Mostly just saddened.

"Such pain," she murmurs, carefully putting her fingers on the edge of the rememberizer, like she was afraid touching it would hurt the people in the memories.

"Not terribly different from being a member of the Vile Tribe, or one of Ghaleon's followers."

After a moment, she gets out her own rememberizer and shows him some scenes from her war, but mostly ones that took place in Ruid. The creatures of Ruid look almost like house elves, but the size of humans, and colored dark shades of green and purple.

"These are the members of the Vile Tribe, a people enslaved by Ghaleon."

Brief scenes flash by with them working in the mines of the Frontier, the one part of Lunar that actually looks like the Moon. Some are whipping the others, forcing them to continue, but more of them are worked to exhaustion, cursing Ghaleon's name, and eventually begging for death.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"More like the latter probably."

Draco flinched still at some of it, but on the last scenes, "He's done that with some of our house elves. Worked, and berated them even more than my family or I ever did."

[gorgonfondness]

She closes her rememberizer and takes his hand, lacing her fingers with his.

"We'll find a way to cope with it all. And I think we owe it to Miniver to help him cope with it, too. I'll talk to him the next time I see him. He might be more willing to listen to me right now."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco glanced down at their linked fingers.

"All right, he still should have listened to my warning. But all right."

[gorgonfondness]

"You're right, he should have, but he didn't, and now he must face the consequences of that."

She pulls his hand up for a kiss.

"It sounds to me like it was all a rather epic misunderstanding. It will take some working through, but it isn't impossible."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"And he didn't have to suggest such horrible things about my mum. He even implied I was involved with her! After accusing her of being the Dark Lord's!" Uh oh, he's getting upset again, and kisses on the hand were doing little to calm him.

[gorgonfondness]

Mia keeps his hand near her lips, silent for a while until she says, "Draco, do you remember our first kiss? And how after I said we were only friends, you called me a bitch? Did you really mean that, or, much like I think is the case with Miniver, did you only seek to hurt me?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco was silent for a while.

"It did hurt, even worse, even he's better with insults and hurting people than me. Failure even there."

[gorgonfondness]

"No, I don't think that's the case. I hate to admit it, but you're very good at hurting people. Think about it. You made Miniver feel worthless and then tortured his mind with everything you've been through at home. Not much is more insulting or more mentally harmful."

She leans against his shoulder.

"There's no shame in being a failure in harming others."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He almost brightened at that, "People just leave themselves open, I can see where they're vulnerable. And know what to say."

But then frowned again, "He was cursing me out when he first spoke to me though. I suppose I can understand why. I was always hurting him, ruining him. Why I was afraid I'd do the same with you."

[gorgonfondness]

"If Miniver was vulnerable to you, then it's because he loved you once. When we love each other, we trust each other with things we might not tell other people, and we also trust that we're not going to hurt each other with what we learn. Perhaps you always saw people vulnerable because you were lucky enough to meet people who wanted to be open to you. Or perhaps you're just quite perceptive, clever. Either way, you're not required to use that to hurt people."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Some people were open, but no, I could always see it." So he preened at being called perceptive and clever, rather like the white peacocks that strutted around the Manor.

"Not required, but I used to like to do it." Used to, Draco? You're not THAT changed, git.

[gorgonfondness]

Another kiss to his hand.

"You know I trust you not to hurt me, just as you trust me not to hurt you."

She nuzzles against his shoulder.

"I love you."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He relaxed marginally at that, "Love you too. I think you're one of the only ones I feel like I can trust."

Possibly Goyle, too. Crabbe was already indicating that he was not to be trusted at all.

[gorgonfondness]

"And I intend to do everything I can to live up to that trust you put in me."

A short, sweet kiss.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He didn't mind. Even short kisses are good.

He then heard an odd noise, almost like muffled barks and growls.

He broke the kiss, and glanced down on the bed where Alhena was twitching in her sleep.

"Oh Merlin... I guess she's dreaming?"

[gorgonfondness]

She looks down at Alhena with a smile.

"She's probably going hunting to bring back a present for her Papa."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Think so? I hope she doesn't do that for real. I'd hate to wake up in bed with a bloodied animal corpse on the duvet, wouldn't you?"

[gorgonfondness]

"Not the best thing to wake up to, but she probably will bring her trophies back. But at least it would be harder to hunt in a city like Vane. We should take her out to places where she can hunt, though, and she can leave her trophies there."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco was still going on about it so he missed some of her remarks, "Or try to bury it under the covers somehow, what? Oh, you mean like bringing her along for the trip? I'm sure she'd like it."

[gorgonfondness]

"We have to watch her anyway. Besides, she doesn't know anyone in Vane yet, so we can't leave her there, and she'd miss you terribly. I suppose if we wanted to go on our own, we could leave her with Moon again, but she should get used to Vane sooner or later if all three of us are going to live there together."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He nodded, "Yes, well, I suppose the sooner she gets used to Vane, the better."

[gorgonfondness]

Mia puts her free hand over their clasped ones and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

She already knows that he's going to come back, even though she knows she shouldn't tell him, but to hear him speak about it like that strengthens the feeling that comes with it.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

It was easier to think that he would here, with her like this. The hopeless fear and despair really only set in at home, especially at the Manor now.

He moved his head toward her to give a more proper kiss.

[gorgonfondness]

She's certainly not complaining about this turn of events. She brings their joined hands up, holding them against her heart.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Another kiss before he went to lay out on the bed, gently tugging Mia with him. More for cuddling and closeness than anything more for now. He was still recovering from lost sleep.

Meanwhile, shifting around caused the wolf pup to wake enough to resettle on the food of the bed, and curled up again to sleep.

[gorgonfondness]

Closeness is fine with her for now. It's just reassuring to know that he's all right, that he's here with her now.

It's not long before she's comfortably settled in his arms, falling asleep almost instantly.