Ninth House | Official RP Thread

[viiel.x]

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Outside the Party - with Lenore

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Something about his demeanor had raised Lenore’s suspicion. Whether it was the tension in his shoulders, the way his eyes darted impatiently from side to side — well, he was doing a rather poor job at hiding his intentions.

Dominic cleared his throat. “Yes, I’m alright. I… Just needed some air.”

He looked down at her hand, extended in invitation. His brows furrowed, wondering just what her plan was. His gaze moved down to her palm, then back at her expecting eyes, over and over. But while she expected an answer from him, the hand at his side refused to move, frozen in hesitation.

Except as she stepped towards him, he took a step back.

“What is this ‘thing’?” He looked back behind her, at the hallway stretching ahead. If he hadn’t been stopped, he’d already be at the end of it, into the dorm which held the door to his escape.

And yet, he couldn’t move away from her. Words such as goodbye, or I must go, remained at the back of his throat, but he lacked the strength to speak them to her face.

Five minutes.

He listened to her explain her costume, an obvious answer that somehow felt out of reach in his foggy brain. Had the stress been worse on him than he assumed? “Aha… I suspected as much.” He looked down at her shoes, avoiding her eyes. “It was obvious, I just needed a confirmation.”

It appeared he’d come off as judgemental when he asked. But instead of correcting her, he only continued with, “I didn’t want to waste my time on a costume I’d wear for a day.” An honest answer, yet unknowingly harsher than his previous one. This question was one of the few he’d thought through beforehand, knowing fully well how much attention he’d gather lacking a costume. He figured as much during the ball. This time, she couldn’t suspect him.

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@Caticorn ⋅𖥔⋅ Lenore Ferrell

Sorry this post is kinda bad and I haven’t replied since last year but I’M FINALLY DONE

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[astxrism]

{ after the hunt / with Thalia }

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Hayes exhaled slowly, watching the smoke curl and twist before dissipating into the air between them. He didn’t believe her… not for a second but what reason does he have to call her out on it? He let the silence stretch, his gaze dragging over her like he was searching for the truth beneath the lie she just offered him. Thalia was many things, most good things he could recognize in a person, but she didn’t seem like a good liar. Not to him, at least.

”Celestial science?“ Hayes repeated, this time with less skepticism… more casual interest. There was a soft smile on his lips and suddenly he was playing along. ” Yeah, makes sense. I mean, who doesn’t want to return a book in the middle of a party? Real considerate of you.“

He leaned against the pillar, tilting his head slightly as if the idea was growing on him.
”Actually… That’s funny, because-“ A soft chuckle as his cigarette burned out. Taking a few slow steps to the closest bin, he let that last word hang in the air…becauuuuse… Throwing that cigarettes bud, he simply glanced back at Thalia. ”I’m here for the same reason.“ His voice had shifted - lighter, almost friendly, like this was just some normal coincidence between two normal people. Like he actually believed her. ”I was supposed to meet someone too. Big celestial science fan, you know how it is.“ He waved his hand like this was all completely natural. ”Crazy timing, huh?“

Then, as if the thought had just occurred to him, his gaze flicked to her bag. ”So you got the book on you? Can I see it?“ A friendly smile still on his lips he walked over to Thalia, just one more step in between them. His words were smooth, effortless. A simple request. A harmless question. He watched her closely, waiting for the tell - that hesitation or flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. ”Just curious,“ he added, voice still light, easy. ”Gotta make sure we’re not waiting on the same guy, right?“

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@Kristi

[astxrism]

{ November 1 }

At this school excellence isn’t just rewarded - it’s tested.

Every school year there comes a week when certain students disappear. Not randomly. Not by accident. The school takes them.

Only those who show exceptional talent, intelligence, or potential are chosen, or that’s what they like to think. Are they ones most likely to reach the top or quite the opposite? But before they do - before they are allowed to truly belong to the school’s hidden elite they must prove they are worthy.

This is what happens when they disappear - some return stronger, some return broken and some never return at all. The test is not for their success. It is for their survival.

{ The chosen one }
Leading up to the event students who went missing start feeling watched. Books go missing from their shelves, replaced with strange notes or pages. Some start having dreams - not their own, but visions of an endless hallway, unknown languages or a door they cannot open.

In the middle of an otherwise normal day, the chosen students vanish. One moment, they are there; the next their seat is empty, their name is ignored as if they were never in attendance. The staff refuses to acknowledge their absence, claiming they are simply out sick or attending private lessons. Some classmates begin searching, others assume it’s just another mystery best left alone.

{ For everyone }
There’s an empty seat where your friend used to be. You know they were there just a moment ago - you spoke to them, they laughed at your joke, they wrote something in their notebook.
The teacher doesn’t acknowledge their absence. When you ask about them, you’re met with confused looks.

Their books are missing from their desk. Their name is not on today’s attendance.
Something is wrong.

Do you search for them?
Do you pretend not to notice?
Do you ask the wrong questions?

---

{ Who went missing? }

What each of them remember from that day they went missing? You’ll find out soon. But first -

The day seems normal… “normal” for everyone else. You wake up, you go to classes but your friend is still not there? What do you?

While you ponder on that the chosen students all wake up in the same room.

Welcome back Lenore, Amani, Innesa, Agastya, Arya, Dominic and Vincenzo.

You wake up to the sound of slow, deliberate footsteps.
The air is thick with dust, old candle wax, and something metallic - blood or rust, you can’t tell.
Your last memory? A voice. A question. A feeling of falling.

Miles North stands before you. His gaze lingers on each of you, his expression unreadable.
“You’re awake.” He exhales, almost relieved… almost. Then he leans back against the wall, arms crossed.

@NinthHouse

[astxrism]

{ day the students come back }

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The room is silent except for the slow, rhythmic drip of water from somewhere above. Miles watches them - seven students, sprawled across the cold stone floor, their breaths uneven, their fingers twitching like marionettes cut loose from their strings. The candlelight flickers against their skin, casting their shadows unnaturally long.
Miles has seen this before. He’s lived this before.

The first one stirs… then another… another. Their eyes flutter open, wide and unfocused, pupils too wide. Their minds are still trying to bridge the gap between where they were and where they are now. Miles waits. One of them sits up too fast, gasps. Another flinches as if expecting pain. They don’t remember yet. Not all of it. Not until the school decides what to let them keep.

The last one wakes. Now it begins. “You’re awake.” He exhales, almost relieved… almost. Then he leans back against the wall, arms crossed. “Welcome back.” His voice cuts through the quiet like a knife through paper. All of them seem to be staring at him. He doesn’t look at them with pity. There’s no point to it, really. Instead, he folds his arms across his chest, standing near the only door in the room. “Don’t look so confused… You must’ve known this was coming.” He tilts his head.

---

Each of them remembers something different.

Some remember a cold, dark room lined with mirrors. But the reflections weren’t theirs. They were older. Younger. Twisted.
Some remember the voice behind the door, whispering riddles they could almost understand. Some remember an endless hallway of locked doors. Each with a name carved into it. One of those doors had their own name on it… But was it really a door?
Some remember a teacher’s voice. Not Miles. Someone they know. Someone who let this happen.
Some remember nothing at all. And that should terrify them more than anything.

---

One of them speaks first. *“What is this?” Their voice was raw from disuse but a hint of anger could be heard. Miles exhales sharply, gaze flickering to the walls. “That depends on you.” He steps closer, lowering his voice. “You were chosen. Taken. Tested… And you passed.” Something that resembled a smile crossed his features. “You don’t have to understand it. Not now… Maybe not ever. I’m not sure I do.” Those last words he added almost as a whisper. Thinking aloud, for a second his mind drifting. “But listen to me - forget what you think you know about this school… This isn’t about classes, grades, or who can recite the most theories.” His voice was low now and as he paused the candlelight flickered - almost as a warning for him not to speak. So Mile’s simply gestures to the door. “It’s open now. You can go back.” For a short second no one moves.

“What, were you expecting answers?” He smirks, but there’s no humor in it. “The school gave you what it wanted you to have… Take my advice - walk out that door, go back to your dorm and pretend you never woke up here.” A pause. “If you get too curious the school might decide it made a mistake letting you go.” That he added as a whisper once again. A thought he knew he shouldn’t let slip out. And instead of bringing his gaze back to them and give them some real answers he kept looking at the door waiting for them to leave.

---

Students leave the mysterious room.
They are in a hallway unknown to them.
There are no doors except the one at the very end. A door that will lead them outside.
Back to the courtyard.
From under the oldest tree.
Underground.
For students did not know they were in the chamber of whispers and they wouldn’t be able to open that hidden door again.
Unless they figure out how to.

---

The door clicks shut.

The air in the chamber shifts - lighter now, like it exhaled with relief. But Miles feels the weight settle back onto his shoulders. He shouldn’t have said that last part. His fingers tighten around his sleeves as he slowly exhales, letting his head thud against the cold stone wall behind him. The candlelight is lower now, the room itself feels smaller. Like it’s watching him.

There’s a whisper…aint. Almost like it’s coming from the walls but Miles doesn’t turn around. He’s learned not to. Instead, Miles runs a hand down his face and steps toward the door. But before he can leave - “That was quite the performance.”

The voice is smooth, familiar in a way that makes his stomach twist. Miles freezes. For a second, he hopes he’s imagining it. That the room is playing tricks on him like it always does. But when he turns, he sees Adrian Dear, standing in the doorway with that same unreadable expression, always looking so amused.

Miles forces himself to straighten. “I was just following protocol,” he says, keeping his voice even. Adrian steps into the room and the door closes behind him, but Miles swears he doesn’t touch it. “Oh, of course. I’m sure you didn’t say anything… extra.” All Miles could do is swallow hard and keep his cool. “You spoke too much.” Adrian’s words are gentle… too gentle. Like he’s not mad. Like he’s just… noticing. For a moment, neither of them speak. The air in the room hums with something unsaid… Then Adrian smiles.
It’s slight, barely there, but something about it makes Miles’ skin crawl. “Well,” Adrian finally sighs, rolling his shoulders back as if losing interest, “I suppose we’ll see what they remember, won’t we?”

He steps past Miles, reaching for the door. But before he leaves, he pauses - just long enough to glance at Miles over his shoulder. “The day is waiting for us, North.”

---

@NinthHouse

[Kristi]

] [[౨ৎmusique ౨ৎ )]

Amani has always wondered—how did it feel to die? When the air in your lungs gave out, when your ribs caved inward like an abandoned house, when the weight of existence finally slipped from your shoulders like an over-worn coat. Was it quiet, like slipping beneath the surface of a still lake? Or violent, like a door torn from its hinges in a storm?

She has heard people say it feels like floating, like a dream pulling you under. But she remembers drowning in a way that never quite let go, the slow crawl of suffocation, the sharp edges of fear gnawing at the back of her throat.

Dying wasn’t the part that scared her. It was coming back. And yet, in a way Amani had died and come back. The feeling of falling lingered in her bones, like she had been dropped from somewhere high, her body still catching up with her soul. Her fingers curled against the cold stone floor, muscles slow to obey. Her breath hitched, sharp and uneven, like she had forgotten how to inhale.

Amani opened her eyes to flickering candlelight and shadows stretched too long, too wrong. The scent of wax and rust thick in the air. Footsteps—measured, deliberate. A voice.

“You’re awake.”

Her mind fought through the fog, piecing itself back together. She remembered the hollow weight in her chest before she disappeared. The way the world had blurred at the edges, how she had reached for something—someone—before everything turned inside out. She remembered something else, some sort of glowing light, masked faces, eyes staring straight at her skull. She was awake, but how come it didn’t feel like she was. She blinked, as her eyes finally registered the people in the room, Miles North in the room, he was alive, when everyone had assumed him dead and she was alive too. Perhaps, if her long nails had not dug into her skin, she would have thought she was dead, but she knew, she was not. Though, she remembered something completely different. Her eyes flickered to the rest of the students in the room, waiting for them to say something, but no one said a word, until finally someone had taken the lead–she didn’t remember who, her mind stuck in a state of fog, confusion and her headache large. See, the thing is, Amani has always been a sickly child, she had once been so sick that she wasn’t allowed to see anyone but the family until she turned 10 and she was given her pet creature in order to keep her stable and also drugs she took occasionally. Nevertheless, this feeling, this foggy feeling, is not something Amani has experienced in a while since she turned 20 and she did not really think she did anything to trigger a feeling of sickness, so she wondered, what exactly happened before they landed themselves in here? Then finally, she felt a sharp pain in her arm, and blood flowed through her and she coughed as Miles left the room. That made her feel better. “Great,” Amani said, trying to regain her voice admits this chaos. “Not only were we basically kidnapped, I had to be kidnapped with you guys,” She scoffed, believing the whole ‘they had passed a test thing’ Miles had said to be bullshxt, what exactly was happening? She turned to Lenore, anxiety still clouding her mind but she hid it, as she often did and said, “Well at least you’re here too,”

---

@Caticorn

[astxrism]

{ the day before }
{ and I find it kinda funny }

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The first thing Hayes noticed was the sky - still dark but shifting, the night’s deep navy slowly fading to the earliest hints of morning. The world outside his window as serene as ever, a quiet before the day began. A moment that spoke to him the most, a moment where everything was still and for just a few breaths he could pretend nothing was waiting for him when the sun rose. Hayes ran a hand through his hair, eyes flicking toward the flipped ashtray besides his notebooks on the floor, that smell of smoke, a scent that clung to his clothes, his sheets, his skin promising never to leave the room. It will definitely be a hard adjustment to the person who gets his room next year… If that ever happens.

Like always, Hayes dressed in the silence, everything around him still. He could see no movements in the hallways nor the garden from his window. He had nowhere to be just yet, but the stillness of the morning was something he didn’t want to waste. By the time he stepped outside, the air was crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth. He walked his usual path through the gardens, past the hedges and the towering, ancient trees that had stood long before him and would stand long after. This was his favorite part of the day. Before the noise, before the people… Just him, the cold morning and the illusion that he was the only one awake in the entire school.

The path beneath his feet was worn, familiar and he could barely registered the way his boots left faint imprints in the earth, too lost in the rhythm of his own steps. His hands found his pockets, shoulders rolling forward slightly as he took in the silence, the emptiness of the school grounds before the world changed. His tree was waiting for him - a gnarled thing, its bark worn smooth in certain spots where his hands had gripped it too many times to count. Hayes placed a foot against the lowest branch and hoisted himself up, his body moving out of muscle memory rather than thought. He settled on a thick branch, back against the trunk, one leg bent, the other dangling lazily over the edge. Sometimes it’s funny to him how not a single time… except Miles, has anyone seen him here… But no one cared to be awake this early in the morning. No one cared about the feeling Hayes loved the most - the morning air clinging to his skin, the cold never bothering him. As always, he pulled a cig from his pocket, letting it rest between his fingers as he reached for his sketchbook, the cover worn and edges curling from use. He inhaled deeply, the smoke curling around him, blending into the fog that still clung to the earth below. His pen hovered over the blank page before moving, lines forming with each flick of his wrist… Dead leaves. He had no real reason to sketch them, but something about the way they clung to the branches, fragile and barely holding on, caught his attention. The notebook balanced on his lap as he worked. For a while he let himself exist in that space, his mind for once still.

---

By the time Hayes climbed down from the tree, the sky had completely shifted. The world was waking up, but for once he wasn’t in a rush to move with it. He made his way inside, the halls still hushed but no longer empty. A few early risers drifted about, their movements sluggish, voices still low with sleep… Another day, another stretch of hours to endure.
Hayes entered the classroom, slipping into his usual seat near the back. His notebook hit the desk with a dull thud, fingers absently tapping against the cover. He barely glanced up as the room filled, as the professor arrived, as the lesson began… then he noticed.

The empty seats. Not just one. Several.

He felt as if something crawled up his spine… it took him a moment to put together exactly who was missing. Not just anyone - Lenore. Inessa. Others too… but those two names were the ones that mattered, the ones that made his fingers tighten around his pen. His first instinct was denial. Maybe they were late. Maybe they had a different schedule today. Maybe… No.

The silence was unnatural. Hayes leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly through his nose. He knew how this went - last year it had been Miles. One day he was there, the next he wasn’t. No answers, no explanations. And then, when he finally returned, something in him had changed. Not just changed… fractured? The thought made Hayes’ jaw clench. They would come back. They had to… That’s how this worked, right? People disappeared. Then they returned.

But the waiting… that was the worst part. He should do something. But what? Go searching? It wasn’t like he had some hidden knowledge of the school’s secrets. The ones who went missing never left a trace. Still, the thought of sitting here, listening to the professor while Lenore and Inessa… Lenore and Inessa were somewhere unknown? His knee bounced beneath the desk, restless energy crackling beneath his skin.

Fine. Hayes wasn’t the type to sit and hope. Hope was useless. So instead, he’d do what he always did. He’d watch. Listen. Look for the cracks in the facade, for the moment when the school inevitably revealed its hand… But moment like that never came.

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”THE DAY THEY RETURN - TBC“

[astxrism]

{ they are back / with Inessa }

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One thing Hayes never does is look at his phone the moment he wakes up, but today was different. He could barely sleep last night, hoping that things would be different when the new day comes, hoping his friends, sister will be back. The faint glow of his phone screen illuminating the darkened room. His eyes, tired, adjusted to the harsh light as he blinked at the last thing he had done before trying to fall asleep.

The text was still there. Still unread. Still unanswered.

He exhaled sharply through his nose, running a hand down his face as he let the phone slip from his grip onto the bed. He wasn’t even sure what he expected… what answer he thought might suddenly appear overnight. He had sent it with the vague hope that maybe, just maybe, there would be something. A sign. A response. Anything. But Lenore did not answer, Inessa did not answer.

The silence stretched on, just as it had the day before. His fingers curled around the sheets as he stared up at the ceiling, trying to push back the nagging, uneasy feeling that had settled in his chest since yesterday. He had spent the day watching, listening, waiting for something to shift, for someone to acknowledge what was going on. But as expected, no one had given him a straight answer… They never did. A part of him wanted to skip class. Wanted to ignore the whole thing and pretend none of it mattered. But he knew better than that. He knew how this school worked. So, with a deep breath Hayes pushed himself up.

By the time he got dressed and stepped into the hallway, the world had begun to blur into the usual dull routine… The same corridors, the same distant murmurs of students already awake but suddenly something felt different. Everything went quiet as if everyone was shocked by something that happened and he could see why that was… Hayes slowed his pace, his gaze sharpening as he turned a corner and stopped. There, standing in the hallway, as if she had never been gone was Inessa. For a moment, Hayes just stood there, his breath catching in his throat… They are back. But something wasn’t right. Her posture, the way she held herself - dazed, like someone who had just woken up from a dream they weren’t quite ready to leave. His fingers twitched at his sides, unsure for the first time in a long while of what to do. There was a familiar pull, an urge to close the space between them, to reach out and touch her, just to confirm she was real.

So he moved. His hand shot out before he even registered what he was doing, fingers wrapping around her wrist in a firm, almost desperate grip. ”Ness,“ his voice came out sharp, low and he didn’t loosen his hold. She barely had time to react before he was pulling her, dragging her away from the murmuring students, from the curious glances. He walked quickly, not letting go of her wrist. Maybe it was too rough, but right now, he didn’t care. Only when they slipped inside an empty classroom, the door slamming shut behind them, did he finally let go. And then… before he could stop himself, before he could think, before logic could kick in he hugged her. It wasn’t careful. It wasn’t slow. It wasn’t even something he planned. One second he was standing there, breathing too fast, staring at her like she might vanish again and the next his arms were around her, pulling her close.

He felt the tension but he didn’t let go. He didn’t trust his voice yet… Didn’t trust what might come out if he spoke too soon. He just breathed her in. And then, just as quickly as it happened, he pulled away. Not far, but enough. Enough to see her face, enough to feel the absence of warmth in the space between them. Hayes cleared his throat, forcing himself to focus, to pull himself together. ”What the hell happened?“ His voice wasn’t as steady as he wanted it to be. It came out rough, edged with something he refused to name.

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@Madilfill

[astxrism]

{ they are back / with Lenore }

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Siblings fight. That’s just how it is.
They bicker, they push, they test each other’s limits… They pretend not to care, roll their eyes, act like the other is just an inconvenient person in their lives. Sometimes that is… But beneath all of it, beneath the teasing, the arguing, the long stretches of silence when words go unsaid there’s something unshakable.

A home that no amount of distance could truly take away.

Hayes had always been a little distant. Even when they were younger, he was the quiet one, the one who thought too much, who spent too much time in his own head. And Lenore, well, she had always been the one to pull him out of it. The one who would throw herself into his space, never letting him sink too far. Never letting him be alone. When he came back to this school at the start of the year, he had avoided her. Avoided everyone, really, but it had stung the most with her. He could tell she noticed. Could tell she knew. Lenore had always been sharp like that, picking up on things most people missed. She didn’t call him out on it, not outright, but he felt it. The way she had stopped seeking him out as much. The way she didn’t push when he clearly didn’t want to be found and maybe that’s what hurt the most. Maybe that’s why, the moment he left Inessa standing in the hallway, his heart was already pounding in his chest. He needed to find his sister next.

He walked fast, but not in a way that seemed frantic, just… focused. The hallways were starting to fill again, students moving like nothing had happened, like this was normal… And maybe, in a way, it was. His watch bounced against his wrist with every step. A stupid thing, really if it weren’t for little charms Lenore had made for him years ago. The charms clinked softly against each other as he moved through the halls, turning corners, eyes flicking through every face he passed. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to say when he found her but he had to. Had to see for himself that she was okay.

And then, finally he spotted her. She was standing just outside one of the classrooms, looking as if she hadn’t just disappeared for an entire day. Like she hadn’t been one of them. The relief was instant, but it didn’t come alone… becaue there was also anger. The kind that wasn’t really anger at all.. more fear.

The first thing out of his mouth when he approached her was, ”You never listen.“ His voice was sharp. Too sharp. But it had been building, sitting in his throat. He didn’t stop walking until he was right in front of her, standing too close, jaw tight. ”I told you not to come here,“ the words left him before he could think better of them, but his face showed no anger, at least he tried not to let it show. That’s just not who Hayes was… He knew it wasn’t fair. She had every right to be here, just as much as anyone else, just as much as he did. But that didn’t stop the words.

”I told you..“ He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. He ran a hand over his face, through his hair, dragging the tension with him. He wasn’t yelling… His voice wasn’t loud, but it was heavy. Like he didn’t even know what to do with all the things he wanted to say but couldn’t. ”You think I do this for fun? You think I just—“ There was a different look on his face now. Desperation? Realization he went to far when nothing was her fault? With that he just stopped, not another word leaving his lips, he was only looking at her as if to say sorry.

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@Caticorn

[astxrism]

{ the night before the disappearance }
litttttle freak by harry
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The night had a charming hush to it. The full moon spilled silver across the rooftops and Aurora, bathed in its glow, was lost in the reverie of preparation. Her dorm room was already half transformed into something ethereal with candles, tall and short, lining the shelves and windowsills. Each one was chosen for its scent, its energy - sandalwood and jasmine to invoke clarity, bergamot and vanilla for warmth, a deep, spiced rose that she always kept for gatherings like this. All those aromas were mingling with the steam from the porcelain teapot at the center of her small table. A privilege Aurora had was basically having her own bigger room, twice as big as any other room because this was her life. This was where she lived her whole life.

Tonight was special. Tonight, she had invited her friends for a tea gathering… no, more than that. A tea dinner, a communion of laughter and candlelight, of whispered fortunes and the kind of magic that only existed in moments like these. Aurora moved through the space like an artist tending to her masterpiece… And this did feel like a masterpiece, her own tea party with her closest friends. If you were in a room with her right now you could only hear a delicate clink of china as she arranged mismatched cups, each one chosen for the person who would drink from it. Fine silver spoons rested atop embroidered napkins. A small plate of sugared lavender biscuits sat beside a bowl of ripe berries. She had spent the afternoon crafting new herbal infusions, combining petals and roots in hopes of her quests enjoying some new creations.

This was her magic - not spells you learn in class but this. The careful ritual of warmth, of setting a space, of welcoming people into an atmosphere spun of light and scent and taste. A knock at the door. Then another. Aurora smoothed the fabric of her soft knit sweater, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before she opened the door, revealing the familiar faces of her friends. They filed in, drawn toward the glow, toward the warmth. They drank, they spoke of classes, of strange occurrences in the Ninth House, of dreams, of love affairs and crushes. And then, as the evening deepened, Aurora reached for the tea cup of her friend, “Now, let’s see what the leaves have to say”

“Let’s see your first-” Aurora looked up from her teacup, her fingers still wrapped around the porcelain. Her gaze flickered to the girl across from her, a sly smile playing at her lips.“It’s not as fun that way.” Aurora protested lightly, cradling the cup closer to her. “No, no, pass it over.” Fingers reached for the cup before she could object again. A few others at the table leaned in, eager to hear what the leaves would reveal. Aurora sighed, something about it made her uneasy. She had no trouble reading for others but when it came to herself… well, it always felt more personal. And lately, personal had been dangerous.

The cup tilted in careful hands, and for a moment, no one spoke. “Hmm…” Her friend dragged the sound out, eyes narrowing. “Oh.” “Oh?” Aurora repeated, trying to sound amused rather than on edge. “There’s something here… someone, actually.” The girl turned the cup slightly, analyzing the dark remnants. “Someone unexpected. Someone stepping into your life soon… or maybe they already have.”
“A new suitor,” another voice teased, and a few giggles rippled through the circle. Aurora forced a smile, willing herself to relax. “Do go on,” she said, feigning nonchalance, though she already felt the prickle of a thought she had been trying to push away for days. She hadn’t spoken about it. Hadn’t let herself dwell too long on this feeling. “The leaves say that… it’s complicated?” Her friend continued, pulling another chuckle from the group. “Oh, Aurora always has a complicated love life,” someone mused. “It is true,” Aurora lifted her chin, playing along. “I can see-” “Oh give me that, you suck at this,” Aurora chucked grabbing her cup back, causing the group to laugh at her obvious nerves. Aurora said nothing else, letting the others take the conversation elsewhere, letting their voices fade into the candlelit space. But her mind stayed on that one thought, the one she hadn’t dared to name yet.

‧˚₊•┈┈┈ ⋅ ∙ ∘ ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

[raviola]

Vinnie !!

Vincenzo opened his eyes to see brown. A brown ceiling that he did not recognize, and he noticed his body rested on a floor he did not know. The wood felt sandy, like it had been collecting dust, and he tried to remember getting drunk or something of the nature the prior night, yet nothing came up. He had been taken.

Unsure of how to evade the situation, Vincenzo listened for a sound nearby. With his pupils, he looked to both sides of his body and saw many of his peers, but they were still asleep. Would they wake up soon? Was Enzo given a different poison that allowed him to live? He thought of the students who had gone missing at school. Was this how they died?

Vincenzo felt himself growing increasingly anxious, praying that no one would come near him because they heard the pumps of his heartbeat. And then suddenly, he hears one of his nearby peers stir, from the other side, then another one, Until he heard a voice, and then his world was swept out from underneath him and placed across the room.

“You’re awake.”

At last, Vincenzo sat up to see Miles North. Standing in front of them after months of being gone. Foolishly, Vincenzo imagined that if he ever came back, he may have returned in pieces; a corpse, or somebody who wished to be one. Yet he appeared clean, with his dark curls in perfect form, and a fresh scent on him that none of the students laid on the ground possessed. But if he was not missing, then where had he been, and why was he making claims about trying their knowledge? It would have made more sense for them to have been seized of their belongings, tied up, interrogated, and yet they laid on the ground unharmed. He tried to understand it, but before accomodating to the thoughts already in his mind, he was visited by memories as Miles spoke. Visions.

Inessa… statues with silhouettes just like his classmates… a rippling sky.

Startled, the man checked his hands for maiming, and then let Miles North finish. He determined that for the time being, he was not in danger.

“The hell is this?” Vincenzo asked upfront. And is that really you?

On one side of the room, he noticed Inessa, who he remembered from his vision. For the most part, she was his best friend’s sister, but aside from that, she was also a former girlfriend of Ross Paytas; one of the former top four. One of the figures that stood with Miles… and he knew that she also had some sort of romantic involved with Hayes, Miles’ best friend. These were once reasons he assumed her to be on the side of the resistance, but then he was no longer sure. Was she in on this? Were they all?

After the whole situation, Vincenzo found himself being approached by the very girl, asking him about their shared choice. For much of this time, he intended to evaluate her reaching out as a farce.

Apart from him suspecting Inessa, however, he knew someone likely facing similar backlash; the supposedly perfect principals daughter. Did she or Adrian really not know about the presence of Miles wherever he had been living in the school? There were a lot of questions he had to ask about that, but he assumed that he would wait until they saw each other later that night.

After some hours, he walked from his dorm, to the desk where she sat in the library, as she had recently asked him to study with her. Study what.. she had not specified, but what he noticed was that she had been inviting him over since he cured her. It made him wonder… had she been… charmed?

A part of him was endeared, because he had been for years, trying to fit in with her and her father as a family, but a part of him was still uneasy. The thought of her wanting his attention made him smile, but that was mainly because it seemed so amusingly unrealistic. He thought about it as he approached her; red hair falling perfectly, taking notes with her bag in the chair beside her.

“Hey,” he spoke calmly. “I wasn’t sure if you would still show up after everything that we saw this morning. How have you been since then?” He asked, a honey-like smoothness in his voice. He decided that easing her would be his current tactic, as he wanted answers, and that seemed to work well before. Maybe it would open new doors?

@astxrism @Madilfill can yall reply to ur corresponding parts sorry I just got lazy to clone in advance

[Caticorn]

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: ✦. ☽ .✦ :☆ﾟ. ･ ───

Lenore felt hazy, like something was off but she couldn’t quite place what. There was a ticking sound in the back of her mind but she couldn’t remember what it came from and a faint smell of pressed flowers. She decided it would be better if she just went about her day as if everything was fine.

“You never listen…I told you not to come here.”

Hayes had never been overly warm or affectionate. That was just the way he was. Lenore would always push his boundaries and invade his space, because that was the way that she was, mostly when it came to her brother. But something had changed at the start of the school year. He was colder and more distant in a way that discouraged her from her usual methods and so, despite her better judgement, she left him to his own devices. They had survived the worst together, and his words just now, they stung. He didn’t sound angry, but he was tense and his words were pointed. They hurt.

“What…What did you want me to do?” Her first ‘what’ was breathy and confused. The question that followed was firm as she retaliated against her brother’s harsh questioning. “Where else should I have gone? Home? You are my home, Hayes. You and Enzo. Why shouldn’t I be where you are? Where my home is?” She challenged, staring him down. He was her brother, she wanted to be close to him. She didn’t understand why he didn’t want the same.

Her frustration only mounted as Hayes continued speaking. “No, I don’t know what you think because you have barely spoken to me since the year started! You haven’t even told me why you’re still here and I…” Her voice faded out as she realized that his expression had changed. “I need you, Hayes, and I need you to be honest with me. I hate not knowing what’s going on with you.” She spoke softer this time and she felt like a little kid again, begging her brother to spend time with her. Yes, she was an adult now and could take care of herself but she didn’t want her brother to feel like a stranger. She wanted to be able to tell him things that she wouldn’t tell other people but right now, it didn’t feel like she could.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: ✦. ☽ .✦ :☆ﾟ. ･ ───

@astxrism - Hayes

Mentioned:
@raviola - Vinnie

[Kristi]

---

When one person vanishes, it is merely an inconvenience. When two vanish, one may call it unfortunate happenstance. But when seven students disappear into the ether and not a soul utters their names thereafter—what, pray, does one call that? Thalia, for her part, called it a most impolite mystery.

Her lips, sculpted into a line of disdain, remained so as time galloped on and no one dared speak of the missing. It reminded her, rather dreadfully, of Miles—an altogether peculiar boy whose absence was treated not with sorrow, but with a sort of institutional indifference, as if people were chessmen to be swept off the board when the game proved tedious. Thalia, much to her own inconvenience, found herself deeply opposed to such a philosophy.

And so, nerves aflame and dignity intact, she did what polite society abhors: she asked questions.

“Oh, have you heard about the students who disappeared?” she inquired, voice laced with curiosity so thinly veiled it might as well have been a scream. “Curious, isn’t it, that Inessa hasn’t turned up in class? She never misses lessons. Have you heard of—?”

Glares. Mutters. The kind of chilly silence usually reserved for faux pas at dinner parties. Professors blinked as if she had recited a heresy. But alas, their frosty disdain did not douse the fire in her mind. If anything, it added kindling.

She began to research—furtively, feverishly. The links were too neat, too terribly elegant to be anything but intentional. And all roads, it seemed, led back to Miles.

And yet… one thread frayed the tapestry. Hayes. The ever-present Hayes.

Why had he remained?

After all, he was practically Miles’s shadow—wherever Miles had cast his light, Hayes had been not far behind, absorbing it. Surely, then, he too should have been plucked from the fold? Thalia had thought so. In fact, she had made a pilgrimage of sorts to confirm his continued existence some days after the seven had disappeared. To her mild astonishment and sharp displeasure, he was very much alive.

Of course, she had been keeping her distance—Hayes had, after all, caught her in the deeply unflattering act of ‘researching’ him—but still, she watched. Quietly. Obsessively. As one might regard a serpent coiled on a warm stone: beautiful, and best left undisturbed.

He never acknowledged her gaze. If he noticed, he offered no indication. If he knew something, he said nothing. And that, naturally, meant he knew everything.

Thus, Thalia began a log. A little book of elegant paranoia. Names. Dates. Seating arrangements. Who sat beside whom. Who loved whom. Who had blood that shimmered when spilled. Magical proclivities. Ancestry. Handwriting. Charms performed with hesitation or too much ease. All carefully catalogued with the kind of devotion normally reserved for poetry or revenge.

There was a pattern beneath it all. She could feel it—see it—some thread, thin and glittering, winding through them all, tugging them toward whatever dark place had devoured the seven. If she could follow it, just a little further, perhaps she could reach Miles.

Moreover, she wondered how Inessa was. Thalia knew how important academics were too Inessa and she was missing a lot, if she was not already…you know, she was probably panicking, Oh my God was she okay? Was Renlin? That’s his sister after all, perhaps she should check on him after, they hadn’t had that much time to talk, and she did promise to stop avoiding him.

Thalia notes about Hayes ig

---

FREE

mentioned:

@astxrism -hayes

@raviola - Vinnnie kinda

@CerealKiller - Arya kida

@eunoia - Agastaya kinda

@viiel.x Dom kinda

@Madilfill - Inessa and ren

@Caticorn - Len

[Madilfill]

It was only a day, right? No. no, it felt like more. Three, maybe. Time had folded in on itself, all blurry at the edges like a dream slipping through her fingers.

Inessa couldn’t remember much from when she’d been gone. Been taken? There were stars, lots of stars, but not the ones she and Renlin knew by heart. Not the constellations they had mapped with fingertips and whispered names, lying on blankets under skies on the island. Those were etched into her bones. These stars? They felt foreign. Wrong.
He would’ve known the difference. He always did.
She wished he had been there. He wasn’t.

She pulled a sweater around her arms, the fabric catching on her skin like it didn’t belong. Everything felt a little off, her hair, her heartbeat, her breath. Like she’d stepped into someone else’s body. Like maybe something had stepped into hers. There had been others there, tto. she couldn’t place faces to names. Or maybe she didn’t want to.But Vinnie was there. She remembered that clearly.

She needed to hear his voice. To ask him if he felt it t oo. If he knew something she didn’t. If he remembered what she couldn’t.

She had to see him.
Had to know what he knew.

---

-vinnie on the library-

Inessa left the note on Vinnies door in the early hours, her handwriting a little messier than usual, but still unmistakably hers. Just five words:

Library. Urgent. Please come alone.

Then she was gone.

She’d hurried across campus with the weight of sleep still clinging to her, sweater sleeves pulled down over her hands, boots silent on the stone floors. Her outfit darker than the usual vibrant colors. The library lights buzzed faintly overhead as she slipped inside, the scent of old pages and dust grounding her just enough to keep moving.

She didn’t wait to sit. She didn’t even go to the usual study nooks. She made a beeline for the rows on the second floor, tucked into the less visited corners of the archive shelves.

Time.

That’s what she was looking for.

Books with faded spines and symbols she half recognized. Titles that made her stomach twist, that pulsed with familiarity though she swore she’d never seen them before. She pulled one after another from the shelves books on magical abnormalities, distortions, theory, and even folklore.

She needed to make sense. She needed to understand what had happened when she was gone. what was still happening now.

She began to read, every now and then glancing toward the door.Waiting for him. He had to come.

---

-Hayes in room-

She stood in the hallway, uncertain why her feet had brought her here. The corridor stretched endlessly in both directions, dim and quiet, and Nessa felt like she was floating somewhere between sleep and memory. Her fingers idly picked at the tiny dots on her black tights while her mind buzzed with static.

Her hair was pulled up into a tight knot, too tight maybe, but she needed it off her neck, away from her skin. She needed space. Clarity. Something.

Was this real? Was she here? Or still there,wherever there had been?

A hand closed around her wrist. She jolted. Her whole body snapped to attention, tensing like a wire pulled taut. A small sound escaped her throat, sharp, startled, before she could stop it. No. No fear. Don’t show fear.
She spun, guard up, heart hammering.

It was Hayes.

As soon as she saw his face, her shoulders dropped. Her chest gave out a quiet breath, and she let herself collapse forward into him. His arms wrapped around her without a word, pulling her into the nearest room. The door shut behind them, dulling the outside world.

She clung to him, head tucked against his chest, the scent of cedar and warmth grounding her in place. Her fingers gripped the fabric of his shirt. She didn’t realize how badly she’d needed to feel safe until now.

“What the hell happened?” he asked, his voice low and strained. She tried to speak, but the words came jagged and slow. “ I… I don’t know. We were in this room. Big. I could see the sky. night sky but not. It wasn’t right.”

She looked up at him then, her voice trembling just beneath the surface. “ I’m so glad you’re here.”

There was more. Flashes. Faces. Voices. Some familiar, others distorted like reflections in water. “ There were others,I remember that.”

She paused. “ Are they back?Are they here too? Or… was it just me?”

The question hung there between them, raw and wide-open. Her mind was spinning, but her eyes were sharp now, clear with something fierce.

@astxrism
@raviola

[astxrism]

{ the longest goodbye / with Nessa }
a kiss, a touch, a song that made me cry and all the drugs I’ve done, they never got me higher than the first time we met

‧˚₊┈┈ ⋅ ∙ ∘ ⋆˖⁺˖⋆ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ┈┈┈·₊˚⊹

Hayes didn’t say anything at first.
He just held Inessa. Let her speak, let her fall apart and gather herself back again, all while his fingers flexed slightly against the small of her back like he wasn’t sure if he was holding on tight enough. He didn’t breathe, not really. His chest just lifted and fell out of instinct, while he just… listened. Tried to find another piece of the puzzle in her words and finally understand what the hell was happening at this place.

Because that’s what he was here for. Or at least… that’s the lie he let himself believe. That he was someone who cared enough to notice. Someone who remembered. Who understood that things weren’t right, that they hadn’t been right in a long time… and that pretending otherwise was just feeding the machine. He told himself that was reason enough. But it wasn’t. Not really. Not when his best friend had vanished last year without a trace, gone the moment he walked across the graduation stage, diploma still warm in his hand. One day he was there, the next he wasn’t. No note. No explanation. Just gone. Hayes had raised hell trying to find out what happened. And when Adrian Dear offered him a seat back in the halls of this godforsaken place, Hayes had stared him down, waiting for the catch. Waiting for the punishment. The silence… The exile. But none came. Dear had just looked at him with that blank, unreadable expression, the one that made it impossible to tell if you were being given a second chance or walking into your own execution.

So yeah… Hayes knew damn well he wasn’t supposed to be here… Not really. He wasn’t wanted here anymore, not after the things he’d said., the things he’d seen. Not after the doors he’d tried to pry open. And yet… he was back and that scared him more than being turned away would’ve. Because if Dear wanted him here, if the man who ran this place like a spider sitting dead centre of its web had decided to let him crawl back in then that meant something, and it sure as hell wasn’t mercy. So no, Hayes wouldn’t waste time now, not with the corridors shifting again, not with faces returning that were supposed to be gone. He had work to do. And if this was a test? Fine… he’d pass it. And if it was a trap? Then let the jaws close. At least this time, he’d see it coming. Because there was something rotten in this place and Hayes was done pretending he didn’t smell it. Maybe… just maaaybe…Dear wanted him to figure it out. Maybe that was the point. But if not? Whatever it was… he’d be damned if he let himself get played twice.

However, in this very moment, Hayes pushed all of his worries away. Just for a short second he could allow himself to do it and simply listen to Nessa. Listen to her breath stuttering out in fragments. To the crack in her voice. To the way her body trembled slightly when she said the words “I’m so glad you’re here.” God… The weight of those words… He’d never heard her say something like that before, not to him, at least he doesn’t remember it. Not like this. And it undid something. Something he didn’t know he’d been holding together. But for now Hayes only shifted slightly, a faint smile on his lips as an encouragement for her to continue but the worry was still visible.

She was shaking, barely, but he felt it and her voice stitched from broken thoughts saying things that didn’t make sense but had to mean something. Big room. Sky that wasn’t the sky. People that didn’t belong. He eyes closed for a second and there it was again, the feeling he hated more than anything: helplessness. He didn’t know what she saw. Didn’t know where she’d been… Hayes shifted again, just enough to look down at her, his hand moving up to cradle the side of her face. His thumb brushed lightly beneath her eye like he could erase the shadows there if he tried hard enough. Maybe he felt helpless now but what mattered was that she was real, she was here.

”They’re here,“ he murmured back, confirming what he wasn’t even entirely sure of. ”Some of them, at least… But you’re here too,“ you’re with me. And maybe he was saying it more for himself than for her… He knew he would be lying if he told her she was safe now. But something in him wouldn’t settle. Not now. Not yet. Because as much as he wanted to freeze this moment, to stay in it, drown in the gravity of her and the safety they built in seconds… he couldn’t.
He couldn’t ignore the way the pieces were sliding into place behind her words. There was something he’d seen earlier, just a flicker, just a thread, but he hadn’t been able to let it go. A sequence scratched into a library desk. A book returned that no one remembered checking out. A faint shimmer in the wall behind the old portrait in the East Wing. The feeling of being watched, again and again, by eyes that didn’t belong to any student. He needed to check it out. He had to. But gods, he didn’t want to leave her. He didn’t want this moment, this impossible moment of softness to vanish just yet.

Hayes pulled back, just slightly, just enough to really look at her. Her eyes were still too wide, too raw. Her hair was pulled too tight. His own reflection flickered in her irises. She had this way of ripping the walls down without trying, like they weren’t even there. And now, in this suffocating silence he could only confirm that he didn’t want to leave her. Not like this…But he had to, something inside him was screaming.
Now. Go now.
He stepped back fully, jaw tense, eyes flicking to the door and then back to her like he was fighting himself in real time. There was panic rising in his chest now. Urgency. Like the answers were slipping through his fingers with every second he stayed. ”I-“ Hayes started, but the words collapsed halfway through. His hand lifted instinctively, brushing along her jaw. His eyes locked with hers, darker than usual, full of things he didn’t say. And then he kissed her. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t rushed. It was slow, like he needed to be sure she was real. Like he needed to leave a piece of himself behind. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t practiced. He didn’t mean for it to say goodbye, but how could he know that possibly that was it?

Slightly he pulled back but leaned forward again, fast this time, like he couldn’t stop himself if he tried. His hand moved to her waist, pulling her just close enough. Not carelessly but also not gently. It was the kind of kiss that didn’t ask permission. The one where you’re just waiting for the other person to push you away because you crossed the line but… what if the line was never there? What if the line was always only in your mind and things that were going through his mind were going through hers too?
When he pulled back for real, he didn’t move away. Just hovered there, inches from her, forehead nearly touching hers.
”Maybe… no, I’m…sorry.“ Sorry for kissing her. Sorry for not kissing her sooner. Sorry for everything that came next. ”I need to go check something. I just..“ He reached for the doorknob with a hand that shook more than he let on. The door creaked open and the light spilled in but Hayes did not move… not yet, his hand simply stayed on the doorknob. The corridor beyond looked colder somehow, dimmer, like even the world outside this room was holding its breath, waiting to see what he’d do. His body leaned slightly toward the hallway, but everything else - his chest, his thoughts still faced her. He hadn’t expected to feel this torn. He thought the choice would be clear, that the mission, the thread, the proof he’d been chasing for months would outweigh everything else.

But then there was her and there was no script for this. No guide. No logic that made it make sense. And that was what terrified him most. Because for once, he didn’t want to follow the pattern. He didn’t want to leave and regret it. Didn’t want to be right about everything and still lose the only thing that made any of it matter.

˚₊‧┈┈ ⋅ ∙ ∘ ⋆˖⁺˖⋆ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ┈┈┈·₊˚

@Madilfill

[astxrism]

{ the longest goodbye / with Lenore }
and if you were drowned at sea I’d give you my lungs so you could breathe

‧˚₊┈┈ ⋅ ∙ ∘ ⋆˖⁺˖⋆ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ┈┈┈·₊˚⊹

Before the halls, before the secrets, before the weight of this place dug its claws into their bones there was just the village hidden somewhere in Italy. Just two kids with windblown hair and dirt streaked cheeks, racing through fields under a sky that always seemed too big to touch. There was the smell of bread cooling in the windowsill, their mother’s voice humming old songs while their father scribbled runes in the margins of ancient books. Magic had always lived in their home, yes but the real kind, the good kind, came from the way Lenore laughed when Hayes showed her something new. From the way her tiny fingers clung to his whenever she was scared. From the promise he made to himself the first night their parents didn’t come home: I’ll keep her safe. Always.

She was the reason he didn’t fall apart when the world cracked open. And maybe that was the worst part nowl standing here, hearing her speak like this, because all he’d done since coming back was push her away. Hayes could never guess he’d be hearing the words he heard now. And for them to hit so much.
Coming here, finding Lenore after she’d been gone, he wasn’t expecting to have this kind of conversation. He wasn’t expecting to have any kind of conversation, in all honesty. He just wanted to share his… Frustration? But not with her, no. With this place, with everything that’s been happening. So the moment she answered back to him, all Hayes could do was to stay silent for that moment, to watch her like he was seeing a memory instead of the person in front of him. His jaw was tight. Hands clenched. And for a second, he didn’t look like the brother she remembered at all, he was sure of that.

”I didn’t mean to hurt you,“ he finally said, voice quiet but clipped. ”But I told you not to come here for a reason, Len. And it wasn’t just to keep you out of my business.“ He took a breath. Shallow. Forced. ”It was to keep you alive.“ His voice didn’t rise. He didn’t snap. But the words hit sharp anyway. He said that while glancing around them, making sure no one was close enough to overhear them. Hayes stepped forward then and paused, eyes flicking up to meet hers.
”You say I haven’t talked to you? That I shut you out?“ He let out a low, humorless laugh. ”You’re right. I have. I had to…“ He ran a hand down his face, exhaling like it cost him something. Then came… the truth? A part of the truth. A part of something Hayes believed in, at least.

”Last year, my best friend walked across that graduation stage and vanished. No goodbye, just… gone. And no one talked about it it was like- Like he never existed. Like he was just another part of the school that got erased when it stopped being convenient. I screamed about it. Searched every corner. Tried to blow the doors open. Done…many… other things. I thought they’d throw me out for it.“ He paused. His voice dropped lower, rawer. ”But Adrian Dear? He let me back in. Offered me a seat like nothing ever happened. That’s when I knew… I wasn’t being forgiven. I was being watched. Maybe even used.“ He looked back at Lenore then. Really looked at her. The walls cracked.

”So yeah, I know I’m not supposed to be here. Not really. Not after the things I said, the things I saw. But I am and that scares the hell out of me. Because if he wants me here, there’s a reason. And it’s not mercy.“ He shook his head slowly. ”I didn’t push you away because I stopped caring. I pushed you away because I do care. Because I’ve been trying to keep the worst parts of this place off your skin.” His voice dropped again, suddenly unsteady. “But what if something happened? What if one day you were just… gone too?“ He reached out then, fingertips barely grazing her wrist like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to hold on. ”I only have you. Do you understand we only have each other, Lenore?“

There was no hiding the pain in his voice now. No fixing the months he spent silent, the nights he came back with blood on his knuckles, eyes heavy with months of sleepless nights and questions without answers. A long pause hung between them. He took a step back, running his hand down his face, tired from… Everything. Tired from what he’d been doing and trying to do, tired from this day and tired from the things he was yet to face. ”I know I’ve failed you,“ he murmured. ”But I’m trying to fix this. Whatever this is. I just need you to trust me a little longer. Can you do that?“ Another pause. His eyes flicked sideways, just briefly, scanning the shadows. ”Because I think I’m close… I.. Clo- Closer than I’ve ever been. There’s something they missed! Som- Something they left behind. I can feel it… And if I find it…if I put the right pieces together-“ He stopped himself short, jaw clenching again. ”Just… promise me you won’t disappear too. Not before I figure this out.“ And there it was… not the defiance, not the fury he was so good at throwing like knives. Just the quiet desperation of a brother who had lost too much and was afraid to lose the only thing he had left.

---

@Caticorn

[astxrism]

{ the longest goodbye / uncovering secrets }

‧˚₊┈┈ ⋅ ∙ ∘ ⋆˖⁺˖⋆ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ┈┈┈‧₊˚⊹

There was something about Aurora that never sat right with Hayes. Not just now, not just in the days since everything went wrong but always. She smiled too easily, blinked too slow, like the world was just a play and she’d long since memorized her lines. But today? Today her mask slipped. He saw her in the hall, all warmth and charm, her voice sweet as sugar as she laughed with a girl she barely spoke to last month. She greeted others like nothing in the world was wrong like she hadn’t vanished during the chaos, like he hadn’t woken up with too many questions. Aurora Dear. The perfect daughter. The picture of grace. But Hayes knew performance when he saw it. And something in the way she kept glancing over her shoulder told him the show was wearing thin.

So he waited. Followed. She turned a corner alone. Wrong move. And when she did that he didn’t waste a second.”Aurora,“ She barely had time to turn her head before his hand closed around her wrist, firm, but not cruel. Just enough to make sure she followed. "Hayes, what the hell are you-“ But he didn’t stop. He moved fast and quiet, dragging her past the alcove, through the silent library, toward the fireplace everyone else had long stopped noticing. She stumbled after him, confused but too stunned to fight it. Not when he pressed his hand to the fire screen. Not when he whispered something in Latin.
Not when the flames twisted and the wall behind them opened. Hayes stepped through first, the shadows licking around his boots like they recognized him. This place, Shadow Hall, was a scar. Left behind by the kind of magic that shouldn’t have existed. The kind that never really left. They said this wing had been sealed after the Eclipsium experiments went too far. But nothing that powerful ever stayed silent.
Aurora’s breath caught. ”…You shouldn’t know how to do that.” He didn’t respond. Just pulled her in with him. Aurora was also the one who didn’t speak, couldn’t, maybe. Her shock did enough. The moment Aurora stepped in after him, the shadows surged, hungry, hissing against the sudden presence of light and warmth. One of them coiled near her ankle. She gasped, stumbling back into Hayes instinctively but Hayes didn’t flinch. His fingers flicked through familiar motions, quick bursts of light magic, subtle but sharp, enough to keep the dark at bay without drawing attention. Concentrated. Controlled. It wasn’t flashy, it was practiced. ”You have to feed them just enough light to keep them back. Too much and they lash out. Too little and they take you.“ His voice was steady, focused on solving this small problem. ”I spent nights in here, when no one noticed I was gone. Learning. Watching how they move.“ Aurora turned to him fully now, the shock clear in her voice. ”That’s insane, Hayes. You could’ve- why would you even come down here?” He didn’t answer. Not really. Just kept moving deeper into the hall. Only then did Hayes stop and turned to face her. There were chambers hidden deeper in this wing. Whispers said one of them could reveal the truth if you made it there alive and Hayes could just never open it.But now, maybe, with her…

”Open the door,“ he said. Her mouth parted, confusion painted in soft pink lips. ”What door?“ His eyes flicked to it. The one carved into the wall like an afterthought, locked for years it seemed. ”Don’t play dumb with me. You know exactly what I’m talking about.“ Aurora laughed, high, fake, too loud for the silence around them.
”I really don’t,” she said almost cheerfully, like this was all some kind of joke. ”You’ve been acting so weird lately. Maybe you should talk to someone. Or, I don’t know, take a nap-”
”You were gone, Aurora.” He cut her off, Voice low. Not angry, not loud just… dangerous? ”You, my sister, Inessa… Just like that. No explanation. You didn’t come back until it was over. And now you’re walking around like it’s all fine? Like nothing happened?“ Her smile didn’t break. But her fingers twitched. ”I was visiting a friend. You can ask anyone.”

”A friend? Do you really have friends, Aurora?“ A cruel comment, anyone could agree with that. And anyone who knows Hayes would say that’s not something he would ever say to anyone. He was the one with not that many friends, after all. This was merely something so he could get a reaction out of her, anything but her fake smiles and fake personality. He took a step closer. Watched her eyes. Watched her mask. ”I saw your face when you came back. You were pale. Shaking. You looked like you’d seen a ghost.“ She looked past him, just for a second. Like she expected someone to be there. Like she was afraid someone was. For a second, just a second, he saw it - her mask cracked. Wide eyes. Breath caught. Real fear. But then… that blinding smile again. ”I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she chirped, too light, too quick. ”You sound a little paranoid. And don’t… Don’t stand that close to me someone might get the wrong idea-”
”Cut the act.“
Then she whispered, barely loud enough to reach him. ”Shut up. Don’t do anything. Don’t touch the door. Don’t look for answers. If I were you… I’d keep to my business.” He froze. Not because of the words but because of the fear behind them. ”You know something… of course you do. You… know everything, don’t you? You have to-“ he said. Quiet now. The weight in his voice heavier than stone. ”You’ve always known.“ Aurora’s eyes met his then. For one raw, unscripted second, she looked like a girl who wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep pretending. ”They can hear everything you’re saying,” she whispered. And then like someone flipped a switch she lit up again. Her smile returned, like sunlight through stained glass. ”I really don’t know what you mean,” she said, bright and chirpy, turning her head toward the empty wall. ”Everything is fine, Hayes! You should probably get back to class. Or the library. Or wherever it is you brood these days.” But her voice wavered at the end. He took a step back. His chest felt like it was splitting open. Not because she lied…he expected that, but because of why she lied. The terror she couldn’t quite hide. The way her hands shook at her sides…She knew. And whatever it was, whatever truth she’d been told or threatened into silence over… it was big enough to make even her afraid.

Hayes stared at the sealed door behind her like it might blink open if he stared long enough. Like it held everything he’s been trying to claw his way toward since the day he came back. And for the first time in weeks, he didn’t feel angry. He felt certain.There was something behind that door and he was going to open it. Even if it killed him. ”Hayes,” Aurora said sharply. He didn’t look at her. ”I… don’t… Like you… But we have to go. Someone’ll notice I’m gone- he’ll notice I’m gone.” Her voice dropped as she said it, not quite a whisper but weighted. ”And if he knows I came here…” That caught his attention, he turned to look at her, brows furrowing. ”You really want to try again? Come back at night. Alone. I can’t… I can’t help you.”

---

They slipped back through the hidden passage, and by the time they stepped out into the warmth of the library, Aurora’s mask was already back in place, her cool composure, the practiced nonchalance of someone who had absolutely not just been dragging a boy through a cursed wing of the castle. They walked fast but didn’t run, couldn’t risk looking suspicious. Aurora tucked her hair behind one ear, they rounded the last corner-
-and nearly collided with a robed figure standing in the hall.
The whisperer.
The man didn’t even blink. His gaze slid to Aurora and stayed there. “Your father wants to speak with you.” Aurora didn’t flinch. But Hayes saw it. The smallest hitch in her breath. She gave a polite nod. ”Of course,” Hayes said nothing. Just watched her walk away.

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[astxrism]

{ one of the students }

‧˚₊•┈┈┈ ⋅ ∙ ∘ ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

Cold, damp floor - that was the first thing Aurora felt when she woke with a gasp.

For a moment, she wasn’t sure if she was still dreaming, if this was some twisted extension of the nightmare she had been having, but then the cold reality of the floor beneath her palms told her otherwise. Maybe those nightmares weren’t really nightmares. Her heart pounded as she sat up too fast, her breath catching in her throat but she wasn’t alone… Miles was there. Others, too… All of them scattered across the room in various states of consciousness, confusion written on their faces. Aurora’s legs trembled as she pushed herself to stand, her muscles stiff and weak from the cold floor. Around her, the others rose slowly, their faces ghostly pale and eyes wide with the same haunted confusion.

The trial had felt endless, a brutal test designed to tear them down, break their wills and rebuild them as something else. She remembered the darkness pressing in, suffocating, as whispers of ancient power clawed at her mind. Shadows that didn’t just lurk in corners but lived inside her thoughts, demanding obedience, feeding on fear. They called it a “trial,” but it was more like a crucible, burning away any doubt or softness. Every step forward felt like walking on shards of glass. But why her? Why had she been chosen? Deep down, Aurora knew the answer. Her father had tested her to see if she was strong enough, worthy enough to carry the weight he expected of her. To see if she could survive what he had survived. But she didn’t want to be strong. Not like this. Not like him. She didn’t want to continue the legacy but.. What else did Aurora have going on for her? She had friends but she liked to think she wasn’t dumb enough to see no one truly liked her. No one was truly there because of her, because of Aurora. After the trial, the wounds she could see were only half the story. There were scars beneath the surface, fear that tightened her chest, memories that clawed at her sleep, the constant pressure to pretend she was fine, perfect even. She hated the mask she wore every day, the flawless daughter who said nothing and did everything right. Who really.. just had no one.

She wondered if Miles ever felt like that. Or if he ever pretended he liked her. If everything that happened with him was just a pretend.. Miles.. Miles who had seen this before. Who had lived this before. As the last student got up Aurora simply blinked, letting the darkness recede, trying to piece together the fragments of her shattered memory. “You’re awake,” Miles exhaled, almost relieved… almost. Then he leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. “Welcome back.” All of them stared at him. Aurora’s eyes locked onto his, searching for answers that weren’t there. He didn’t look at them with pity. There was no point. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest, standing near the only door in the room. “Don’t look so confused… You must’ve known this was coming.” He tilted his head.
Aurora’s throat tightened. She remembered the trial, the cold darkness, the mirrors that didn’t reflect her, the whispers that had followed her like shadows. She remembered every shiver, every flicker of fear, every moment she’d wanted to break.
Each of them remembered something different.

As soon as they were free to go, Aurora didn’t hesitate. She burst through the doorway, the echo of her footsteps swallowed by the silence behind her. The corridor stretched out and she ran, like she never did before. As fast as her legs could carry her. Her chest heaved wildly, breaths shallow and ragged. The walls blurred as panic twisted inside her like a living thing. Somewhere deep in her mind, a warning screamed but she ignored it, desperate only to be out. The moment she reached the exit, fresh air hit her like a fist. She stumbled outside into the cold night, the chill biting through her soaked clothes. Her knees hit the gravel hard and she dropped, sinking down, hands trembling against the rough ground. She couldn’t stop the shaking.

She curled inward, forehead pressed against her knees, the world spinning around her. The nightmares, the experiments, the cold stone, they weren’t just memories anymore. They were real. And she was still trapped. Not by walls or magic, but by fear. Tears blurred the night as she whispered to herself, voice cracked and raw. ”I can’t do this. I can’t…“ But even as she said it, a small ember of defiance flickered inside her chest. Because deep down, despite everything, she had to. She had no choice.

‧˚₊•┈┈┈ ⋅ ∙ ∘ ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

She didn’t knock. The doors to his office burst open with a violent clang, so hard the paintings trembled on the walls. He didn’t even look up. Just continued writing, calmly, as if he hadn’t orchestrated the worst days of her life. ”You put me there,“ Her voice cracked. “You left me in that place. Like some… experiment.” She took a shaky step forward, her shoes slipping slightly against the polished floor. He placed the quill down. “Keep your voice down.” ”No!” She snapped, throat tightening. “You don’t get to tell me to be quiet. Not after what you did. You knew exactly what would happen, what it would do to us. And you still let it happen.” His eyes met hers. They were not angry, they were cold. Flat. That terrified her more than shouting ever could. “I told them you were strong,” he said slowly. “That you could handle it. I was right, wasn’t I?” She shook her head. “You’re- you’re not supposed to test your daughter like that. I’m not one of your… little soldiers or pawns or…” Aurora’s voice had cracked mid sentence, tears now streaking down her cheeks. ”How could you do that?“ Adrian Dear hadn’t even moved, just continued starign at her as if she were a storm to wait out. ”How could you do that to me? I-I can’t do this anymore!“ She’d said, chest heaving. ”I’ll tell them. I’ll tell them all. I swear to the gods, I’ll tell them everything. You think they won’t believe me? They will. And then you won’t-“ “You’ll do no such thing.” He spoke so quietly, she barely heard it. But the stillness that followed made her go cold. Slowly, he got up. ”Do you understand? Do you understand what you’re being so dramatic over?” He stepped around the desk. “You want to throw away everything I’ve built?” he asked. “Fine. But remember this, Aurora. Without me, without this, you are nothing. Not chosen. Not exceptional. Just… another frightened girl who couldn’t cut it.” She flinched and he stepped closer. “You think you’re the only one who suffered?” he murmured. “You want the world to know? Fine. Tell them. But don’t expect anyone to protect you from the fallout. I thought you could handle this, Aurora.” His hand reached her cheek. A mockery of affection. Thumb brushing a tear she hadn’t realized was still falling. “How could you prove me so wrong and how could you turn on me? If you even think of turning on me again, I’ll make sure next time it doesn’t end like this” Aurora slimply stared at him, wide-eyed. Her lip trembled, parted for a second before she spoke up again, ”I’m going to tell them-“

“Have you ever wondered what everyone here thinks about the things we do? Would you like to know?” Adrian did not let her answer that, instead he stepped back from her and rounded his desk again to grab a glass and pour himself something dark and aged, his back to her. “They worship me, Aurora. They wouldn’t have all this if it weren’t for me. You wouldn’t have this. Do you think they’d risk losing their powers just to… Prove me wrong? No. No, they wouldn’t. They would do anything to keep things as they are. So tell me…” He pause to take a sip of his drink. “What exactly are you going to tell everyone?” Aurora’s lips parted but nothing came out. The words were there, trapped somewhere behind her teeth, burning the back of her throat. What was she going to tell everyone? Well… everything. But… she couldn’t, could she? Her jaw clenched, and she glanced away, not out of submission, but calculation. She wasn’t ready to answer. Not yet. Maybe not here. Not with him watching her so closely, with that look in his eyes like he already knew what she was thinking. Adrian turned slowly, glass in hand and caught the movement. His smirk was subtle, but it sliced deeper than any sneer. “That’s what I thought.” He took another drink, voice smooth, almost bored now. “You can go now.” For a second, she didn’t move. The silence stretched. Then she nodded, just once, and turned to leave, her heartbeat pounding in her ears louder than her footsteps.

[astxrism]

{ aftermath }

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Aurora followed The Whisperer in silence, every step echoing down the corridor like it was made of glass, brittle and sharp and full of cracks no one could see. She kept her head high, but inside, her stomach twisted in knots. She didn’t ask why her father wanted to see her. She already knew. She’d given him reason enough. The door to her father’s private quarters was already open… an invitation or a trap, she wasn’t sure. The moment she stepped inside, The Whisperer gave a quiet bow and pulled the door closed behind her with a soft click.

The room was quiet.
Adrian Dear stood at the window, fingers laced neatly behind his back, still as a statue. The sunlight spilled across the garden outside and he stood as if he had conjured it, as if it rose and bloomed at his command. “Where were you?” he asked without turning. The calmness of his tone was more chilling than any yell. Aurora didn’t answer right away. Her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. He knew where she’d been. That was never the question. The real one was beneath it: Why?
“I suppose you think you’re clever,” Adrian added after a moment of silence, glancing over his shoulder at his… Not his daughter. A liability.

Aurora’s gaze dropped briefly before she lifted her chin again. ”I wasn’t trying to be,“ she replied, her voice quiet but steady. “No?” He turned, finally and his eyes were unreadable. “ Because sneaking into a sealed wing with Hayes of all people… after everything I’ve done to keep you safe, that sounds like either stupidity or defiance. And I know you’re not stupid?” Aurora swallowed, but said nothing. “You are not untouchable, Aurora.” ”I never thought I was,“ she answered and she didn’t move. Not an inch. “ Then start acting like it. Because the next time you cross that line, you won’t have the luxury of my office. You’ll be on a train.” Her heart stopped. You wouldn’t, she wanted to say with conviction. But something in his tone made her question everything. ”You wouldn’t,“ she finally said it. But her voice shook. “I would.” There was no hesitation. No bluff. Just that unwavering, iron certainty. And that’s when he stepped forward, closer, into her space. She could smell the cologne he always wore, clean, cold, expensive. The scent of power.

“And don’t think for a second your mother would stop me. She warned me about your softness.” Her jaw clenched. Softness. Like it was something to be ashamed of. Like empathy was a flaw. Her nails dug into her palms. ”Is that what you think this is? Softness?“ “ I think you’ve become entangled with people who are going to drag you down with them. And I think if I don’t act now, you’ll end up like them.” Her hands shook, but she tucked them behind her back where he couldn’t see. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. ”You’ve made your point,“ she said, her voice level now, almost calm but it wasn’t calmness. It was fire hidden beneath snow. ”What do you want me to do? Pretend I don’t care?“

[color=#6c6860]“You’re my daughter, Aurora. I built this place for you to thrive in. But that means knowing your place in it..”[/color ]His voice softened but not with affection. With authority. With the assurance of someone who believed the world owed him obedience. She looked him directly in the eye. Her father. The man who shaped so much of this world with his words and his will. But right now, she didn’t see power. ”Maybe I don’t want the place you’ve chosen for me.“ For the first time, something flickered in his expression. Not surprise. Not anger. Something else. Recognition. Like he’d known this day would come and had hoped to delay it longer. “Then you’d better be prepared to lose it,” he said.

Aurora didn’t flinch. She didn’t cry. She didn’t scream. She turned and walked out, spine straight, hands still trembling at her sides. Her skin burned with anger but her face didn’t show it. That was his game… tight smiles, locked jaws, frozen hearts. She walked down the corridor, past the Whisperer who stood like a ghost at the threshold and she didn’t look back. She didn’t know what she was going to do next but she knew one thing now with crystalline clarity: he was afraid. Not of Hayes. Not of rebellion. He was afraid of her… Of what she might do and say.

[astxrism]

{ the longest goodbye / leaving Aurora and a tb or two }

‧˚₊┈┈ ⋅ ∙ ∘ ⋆˖⁺˖⋆ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ┈┈┈·₊˚⊹

Aurora didn’t look back as she turned toward her father’s office, her footsteps fading softly. Hayes stood still for a moment longer, the air around him thick with everything they’d just been through. The Forbidden Wing wasn’t simply a shadowy corner of the school, it was alive… breathing with ancient breath, watching with unseen eyes, waiting for something or someone. And in the quiet where Aurora’s voice had been, her words remained. Not just the sounds, but the weight of them. They clung to him like fog. They hear everything you say. Quiet, urgent. Her warnings… Hayes knew now: no one got away with anything here. Not really. Not because they were careful. But because something allowed it. For now. The school was full of eyes, but only some of them belonged to people. And those that didn’t… those were the ones he feared. Because they saw too much. And remembered everything.

And Hayes, with all his questions, with his fingers clawing for the truth in places no one was meant to touch, was starting to feel like a piece of meat dangling just out of reach. Hayes rubbed the back of his neck, the rough wool of his jacket scratching his skin. I have to go back tonight. The idea settled in his chest like a stone. He’d known it before Aurora had said it. He’d known it even before he’d gone the first time. That place had called him long before the door ever opened. But this time… maybe it wouldn’t let him leave. That was the thing about doors. They swung both ways… until they didn’t.

Still, he turned down the corridor. He walked toward the east wing, toward the old bathroom with the cracked tile floor and the window that never shut properly. He told himself he needed to think, but his thoughts wouldn’t stay still. They scattered like birds. Nessa. The kiss. Aurora. The door. Renlin. The ghosts. The silence. Always the silence. And then, from the corner of his eye, in the deep stretch of the library, near where the candlelight dimmed and the shelves stood like gravestones he saw her. A girl, seated alone at a far table. Her back was to him, but something in the curve of her shoulders, the way she leaned over the page, elbow resting in her palm like a flower too tired to bloom… it was familiar. Too familiar. The way she tilted her head like she was listening to the paper whisper back. Inessa. His breath caught.. just for a moment. Hope rose and struck before he could think better of it. But when the girl turned, it wasn’t her.
It wasn’t her.
And yet, in that cruel second where the world played pretend, his mind broke like glass and let a memory bleed through.

{ tb / the day he met her }

It was raining that day, not loud, but constant. The kind of rain that didn’t ask for attention. The kind that settled into your bones and made everything quieter than it should be. Hayes was tucked into the furthest corner of the library, bent over a book about lunar cycles and their magical distortions. He read like he breathed… quietly, completely. Hayes wasn’t shy… not really. People always mistook him for that. He was quiet, there was a difference. He didn’t mind conversation, he could be cutting, clever, even cruel with the right sentence when needed but he liked the corners of things. The edges. The spaces where no one looked too closely. Maybe it was about control, maybe it was just easier to see things from far away.

Even in his second year he hadn’t collected people the way others did. He had a few he tolerated, fewer he liked. Renlin was one of them, a calm presence in a world full of noise. But even then, Hayes preferred solitude. Preferred the way the light hit a desk in the late afternoon. Preferred pages over faces, pencil lines over conversation. He drew because it quieted his mind. He read because it reminded him the world was larger than what was immediately in front of him. And he sat alone because, mostly, he liked it.

So when he heard the footsteps, not rushed, not timid, but unsure, he didn’t look up right away. People came and went in this part of the library sometimes, though rarely. This far back, the shelves were mostly ignored. They held the older texts, the misfiled volumes. It was a graveyard of forgotten knowledge. And Hayes loved it that way. But the steps didn’t pass… They hovered, paused. And then came the sound of fingers brushing over spines slow, like a ritual. Like someone was asking the books for permission to disturb them. That’s when Hayes glanced up.

She wasn’t looking at him. Her focus was on the books. She moved like someone who knew how to disappear when she wanted to, but didn’t feel the need to do it right now. Her hair was still wet from the rain, clinging to her jaw and neck. She looked… misplaced. But not in the way most new students did. Not in the way of someone trying to belong. She looked like she already did… just not here. Not yet. She picked up a book Beginner’s Herbalism for Spring Gardeners and Hayes couldn’t help himself. The urge to keep quiet warred with the compulsion to correct.

”You’re not going to find what you’re looking for in that one,“ he said without lifting his head too far, voice even and matter-of-fact. She turned slightly, a little startled, and for the first time he saw her face. Her eyes were sharper than he expected, not wide-eyed, not naive. Curious. Dark. “And what do you think I’m looking for?” she asked, her tone neither defensive nor dismissive. Just… interested. Hayes closed his book. He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stood, stepped toward the shelf beside her, and pulled out a smaller volume, older, its cover cracked, spine flaking. Volatile Flora & Their Uses: A Study on Botanical Magic & Poisoncraft.
”This one doesn’t lie.“ He held it out for her. She took it without hesitation, her fingers brushing against his. Cold from the rain. Steady. She looked down at the book, then back up at him. “Inessa,” she said, introducing herself like it wasn’t a question whether he’d remember. ”Hayes.“ he replied. He didn’t smile. Neither did she. But something unspoken passed between them, like two people realizing they’d stumbled into the same strange room from opposite doors. She sat down at the same table without asking. Opened the book. He returned to his seat. Neither said much for the next ten minutes.
But that was how it started.
Not with a bang. Not with sparks.
Just a shared silence that felt, somehow, different from the rest.

---

@Madilfill

[eunoia]

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

◇◆ Dorm ◆◇

August fell out of bed. Heavy, once again. Clawing from forehead through to his hair he squeezed his eyes shut, giving himself a mental five before pulling himself up to sit flat against his bedside on the floor.

He’d been somewhere.
Somewhere.
Somewhere, he craved to be back too.

He needed his thoughts to fall back into place— to align themselves, to give him clarity. Everything was ringing—had been ringing. To the point he’d almost missed it. In the room of five—no, six? Perfect strangers, perfect beings, he’d been whole. He didn’t understand it, and he almost never left—although seconds were really his eternity as he’d gotten up and walked. Walked with two legs. Of course August wanted his leg back, but regardless of magic, his brain could never comprehend a way to have it back. To take it back. He couldn’t do that to his parents—who he thought didn’t know about this life, to his extent.

He needed a witness. The only real reason he knew he hadn’t hallucinated off something someone gave him was when he had gotten back to his dorm, there it was. Neatly, almost polished, was his leg sitting on his desk. Untouched, charged. He hadn’t participated in the scavenger hunt with his crutches or wheelchair…. Had he? He needed a witness.

From then on, August had always gotten out of bed as if his two feet would catch him. An anomaly he’d broken years ago. His body might’ve been present in classes, he couldn’t quite remember, but his mind always felt everywhere and nowhere. There has been a trade-off, hadn’t there been? For his leg? His grade was as good as ever. His efforts were multiplied hundred fold—yet he put nothing in, he felt.

---

◇◆ Outside Dorms ◆◇

August stood against the bridge to the dorms, watching the ducks drift lazily across the water. The ripples they left behind shimmered in the muted light, like faint scars on a quiet surface. He didn’t bother to write anything down today. Words seemed too fragile, too fleeting—more fragile than the thin veneer of calm he was trying to cling to.

He was just watching, really. No thoughts demanded to be caught, no memories clawed their way to the surface. Like he’d been trying to force up. Just the soft quack of a duck, the gentle lapping of water, the weight of silence pressing in. It was strange—how peaceful this was, how still. Like the world had paused, just for a moment, to let him breathe.

His gaze drifted over the pond, over the ducks. Small, unbothered, floating without care. Sometimes he wondered if they knew something he didn’t, if their simple existence carried a lesson he’d long forgotten. Or maybe they were just ducks, living ducks, and that was enough.

He pulled his journal out on the ledge, but didn’t open it. Instead, he left it to go press his fingers against the cool glass of the pond, feeling the tiny tremors of the ripples. His thoughts felt like the ducks—drifting, unstructured, aimless. Sometimes he thought he should write, clear his head, make sense of things. But today, it felt like the words had dissolved, like they were waiting somewhere just out of reach.

August exhaled slowly, watching the ducks paddle away into the distance, small shadows against the dappled water. He wondered if silence was enough, if just sitting here, watching, was enough. Maybe it was. Maybe, for now, that was all he needed….

newest journal entry

the ducks don’t ask questions
just drift, like I wish I could
water’s too still, or maybe I am
the ripples fade so quick,
like the words I don’t say,
like the thoughts I hide beneath
this quiet surface
I’m here, but not really
not for real, not all the way
my brain’s somewhere else—
somewhere I can’t quite find again
or maybe I just don’t want to ?
the water moves,
but I stay still
waiting for something—
a sign, a reason,
but maybe there’s no point in waiting
just watching,
the ducks and the sky,
trying to hold on to this moment
before it slips away like everything else

Approachable

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