the calm before [kyran]

[JULIETTE AISLING SINCLAIR]

The cool autumn wind swept ungraciously through the girl's long brown hair, the tendrils lashing over her face and into her eyes. The Great Lake was raging today, a storm was brewing behind the shoreline. Juliette could see it clearly with her hazel eyes, something was terribly, terribly wrong.

The girl tried unsuccessful to push her hair behind her ear, only to have it fall once more. Either she was tired of trying or she resumed his action of not noticing. It wasn't a moment for one of those picturesque beauties of the world whom called the wind to their grace and became more beautiful as it swept up their hair as they stood in the breeze.

She was standing barefoot on the docks, rocking back and forth on her heels with a simple bathrobe to warm her chilled form. If one knew her, they would know that she often came to the Great Lake to swim along the shore. It was dangerous too far from the docks, however, and one must always have their wand at the ready for any dangerous sea creatures- though Juliette was content in the knowledge the Great Squid was not a vicious monster and certainly more kind than the Grindylows.

She finally sat down at the edge of the docks and stuck her feet into the cold water. It had to be just above freezing, but she didn't pay it any mind. People should think that she'd have an unnatural fear of water, considering how she was almost drowned as a child, but it wasn't the water's fault- and rather than fear it she wanted to embrace it so that she would never fall victim to it again. People underestimated her inner strength at times- most of the time. Her brother was the one with no faults, after all, having been sorted into the correct house and having the correct friends.

Perhaps she should hate him for it, she thought, but then she would be no better than the family she had pitied. There was no greater loss than to never feel love. Even if a heart was broken, shattered, and stepped on, at least the person had a heart to begin with. Her own beat loudly in her ears, and she began to hum to drown out the sound. If someone approached her, she wouldn't hear them unless they spoke. She was lost in her own little world where everything was kinder, gentler, and brighter than the dull grey colors of the British skies.

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TAG - Kyran
WORDS - 510
SONG - None.
MUSE - So far so good!
NOTES - I rambled, I know. Hope it's okay, though!
CREDIT made by flyy~

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[KYRAN ALDRIC SINCLAIR]

The talk about Juliette Sinclair spread throughout Hogwarts, and in the end it always came back to Kyran. No one had approached him on the topic of his sister, but they would pass by him in the hallways and talk loudly on his behalf. Everyone wanted to be heard. It was just a way for the contending houses to get under a Slytherin's skin. However, Kyran never flinched or turned his head when someone called out his sister's name. Eventually people got tired of trying to rile up Kyran's attention – some students were convinced that Kyran had disowned his sister, due to the fact that she had been sorted into Hufflepuff. If he were to be seen with her frequently, he would also go through the motions of judgment. Whatever Kyran decided to do or not do, it didn't matter, someone was always going to make up a story for him. The only thing he could do was ignore it.

Until one evening he heard a student talking about how Juliette was at the Great Lake and that it seemed peculiar, considering the oncoming storm and the chill of the season. Kyran knew that she had went there often, but there was a loneliness in the image of his sister drowning in cold water. He was going to go straight for the dorms and start on some of his essays, but he found himself taking a sharp turn toward the corridor that would lead him outside and down to the lake.

There was his sister at the edge of the dock, sitting. The wind whipped around him, and pulled at his robes. It was a frightening place to be with the ambiance of the waves crashing to and fro. Kyran glanced upward and saw black, dark clouds rolling together – moving in their direction. There was only the soft timbre of thunder, warning people that it could rain any second. He moved quickly down the dock, hearing his footfalls hit the dock with each creaky step. The view of his sister's back got closer and now he was an arm's length from her. He stopped, feeling suddenly awkward and a little skittish. He hated this uncertainty.

Kyran had been confident in his academics, his wand work and forcing the upper hand in a debate. But when it came to being a sibling, he didn't know where to start or end. He wanted to preserve some of his sister's well being, knowing that she had suffered a great deal during her childhood. There should have been a mutual understanding between the two – to finally sit down and talk about how bad their parents were and comfort each other. But there was a barrier between the two and he felt if he approached any segment of those bad memories, that the Juliette that was moving throughout this world would blow away in the chaos of the lake's wind.

What was he suppose to say: 'You're not making it easier on me by sitting out here be a crazy twit with your water fetish.' or was he to say 'hello my beloved sister, I accept you for all your vices.' Kyran was critical on what he should do. He had gotten used to their parents dealing with her, that he found his own voice in their sibling relationship lost. The only thing that he could do was sit down next to his sister.

He had his legs resting on the dock, supporting himself slightly with it. Kyran wasn't fond of being wet or cold at the same time. Reaching his left hand out, he placed it lightly on Juliette's shoulder. The touch departed quickly as it came, and he put his hand awkwardly onto the dock. It was like he didn't know what to do with his limbs. “This is going to be plainly obvious, but you're going to wind up very ill this way.”

[JULIETTE AISLING SINCLAIR]

Most girls would be happy and thrilled to see their older brother. Most girls would gingerly loop their arms around the other, pull them into a hug, and say 'I'm so glad to see you!' Most girls were not Juliette, who glanced over at her brother with a puzzled expression and unseeing eyes. It was as if she was staring past him, through what remained of his soul to the wooden beams behind him. Her stare was unnerving, and she did not tear away her gaze or blink her eyes. But slowly, her expression began to change to one of familiarity.

This was Kyran, Kyran her older brother, Kyran who was the perfect child his parents asked for- why they had continued to reproduce was beyond her, for with each successive child they'd had a failure. Juliette didn't see herself as much of a failure, though. Rather, she knew that she had her drawbacks and was not the daughter that her family had hoped for, but that did not make her stupid or incompetent, despite that fact she was sure everyone, included Kyran, thought she was.

She was a bit mad, but she wasn't useless. "Am I?" Juliette kicked her feet in the water a bit, enjoying how the liquid moved over her skin and flowed around her. Finally, she removed her gaze to look back over the horizon, contemplating her current situation. It was strange to be so foreign with someone you for whom you were supposed to care deeply. But they didn't have that luxury, did they? Though perhaps deep down they recognized their blood's bond.

"It is a nice day for a swim..." she began again, speaking once more, though perhaps not to Kyran. She made no effort to glance in his direction or seek his approval. Though her words seemed to contradict the raging skies above them. Even now the wind had started to pick up its pace and whips violently around them. She leaned her head back and allowed it to blow the hair from her face. Even the dark, foreboding rumbles didn't seem to bother her.

A smile spread across her face and she laughed, a soft melodic laugh- it was far too pretty to be that of a mad woman, and her expression was relaxed- the opposite from maniac and insane. Yet her words and logic seemed to be impaired. Who would consider it a good idea to swim with such a storm closing in? But Juliette didn't see it that way. She saw the beauty of the rolling waters and the music in the storm's rumbles, and that, she supposed, set her apart from so many others, even if they considered her insane.

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TAG - Kyran
WORDS - 539
SONG - None.
MUSE - Good!
NOTES - Sorry this is late. She's ... crazy, so her muse is hard to connect to all the time!
CREDIT made by flyy~

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[KYRAN ALDRIC SINCLAIR]

Kyran watched his sister's movements from the corner of his eyes and noticed the glass doll look she gave him. He often got that look from her, and he wondered if she had already been ill somewhere inside. This notion got him to wonder what Juliette thought of him. Had he done anything peculiar around her? He tried not to think about himself; to not think about the things he said, what he did or how he looked. But no matter how hard he tried not to, he always wound up wondering. It was some kind of disgusting fascination. Not a narcissistic type, but a person who went apathetic to how they were judged and then caring about it later.

They were never hugged, kissed or properly elevated as children. Kyran was broken when it came to trying to cheer Juliette up, and he wasn't really sure if she needed it. To him, she seemed happy going in and out of the motions of her brain – with the waves and birds and clouds. He thought there might be a string that frayed somewhere around her body, and he wanted to grasp it and pull it down like it was a kite fighting for freedom. Kyran wanted to keep her around, not out of care either, but he wasn't sure what to call it.

The idea of swimming in this type of weather wasn't logical to Kyran at all. He had been feeling slightly ill just being near to such a large body of water begin with. But he didn't want to let it show. If the lake had been calm, and a feeling of warmth came with it, he could have handled it better. But he watched the waves grow bigger and wide with the shift of the wind. The thunder that was in the distance started to grow louder and he watched the grass across from the dock shift and bend violently. As Kyran was trying to find a peaceful spot in his mind to cope with the weather, he heard his sister laugh.

It reminded him of their mother's laughter. She'd coo at them as if she were a twelve year old and she would sound so sweet and gentle as Juliette did. But the horrendous things she did while laughing is what caused Kyran to move suddenly and clasp his right hand over his sister's mouth. He was holding it shut while his left hand grasped onto her shoulder to keep his hand steady. It was the type of hold someone would do when they were wanting to snap someone's neck, but it was gentle and restrained. His palm felt on fire when he touched her, and it was from the fact that her flesh was made of ice.

Why hadn't she been shivering? The hand on her mouth slowly shifted downward, unsure of himself and unsure of his sister. She felt like death. “Why do you laugh, Juliette?” he asked, letting his fingers move a few paces away from her mouth to let her speak.

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[JULIETTE AISLING SINCLAIR]

Juliette's eyes widened with the sudden motion of Kyran shoving his hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. Not much was able to break her choice to consider the violent world she had grown up in peaceful. She liked to distance herself from those horrid thoughts and memories now that she was able to do so, but that didn't mean that they didn't haunt her every waking moment, and that was why she squirmed and shook as soon as he laid his hand on her.

Memories of her father grabbing her around the neck and forcing her down into the tub, trying to smother the life from her, restraining her from fighting back. She looked at Kyran with terrified eyes, his question remaining unanswered as she started to scramble from her position on the docks, tripping over the wet wood and falling on her hands and knees, but panic had overtaken her and she started to make a run for the castle.

Her blind terror did not subside, even as the rain began to pour down. Thunder rolled loudly in the skies, and lightening flashed violently across the dark clouds. As she entered the overhang of the corridor leading to the courtyard's entrance, she started to calm. Whatever threat there had been vanished. Juliette hugged herself, rocking back and forth like a mad woman as she sobbed. It had been a long time since she had felt so scared for her own safety.

Deep within her mind, she knew it had been Kyran and not their father, Kyran who protected her and loved her in his own strange way. But it was hard to tell his affection apart when she had experienced so little of it. And those eyes... they were just like the man's they both had feared. Just as she bore some resemblance to their mother, he did to their father, and thus lay in their troubles whether she realized it or not. Neither one of them was able to move on, and neither would talk about their fears.

No one was around now, so she pressed her back against the cold stone of the wall and slid down, curling into a ball in an effort to make herself seem smaller. The weather was so poor to everyone else that she hoped no one would notice her there. She was already known as a freak, there was no reason to go back to the Hufflepuff dormitories in such a pitiful state and confirm their suspicions. If she could calm down first, at least she could reaffirm their conceptions about her on her own terms.

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TAG - Kyran
WORDS - 539
SONG - None.
MUSE - Good!
NOTES - Well, that was unexpected... wasn't sure how she was going to act until I wrote the reply, and this was what came out. So... I'm sorry? D:
CREDIT made by flyy~

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[KYRAN ALDRIC SINCLAIR]

Everything had gotten out of hand. Whatever reservation that Kyran had was thwarted when his sister had reacted in such a frightened, violent manner. She didn't need to struggle or run away, he had retracted himself from his sister almost immediately by pulling himself away. Though it didn't take his sister long for Juliette to try and gain traction with her feet, only to fall and get right back up against and run down the dock. With her fear, it seemed as though she set off the weather. The rain started to pour, and it wasn't a light one-- it seemed to consist of all of the torture and distress that laid deep within Juliette's soul. And Kyran sat there for a moment, letting the rain fall onto him. His robes started to get drenched. There was a sense of openness with the environment.

Kyran started to feel exposed and a little distraught from the rain hitting him. He was surrounded by a large body of water, with its treacherous waves frothing. Though despite the gnawing anxiety within his chest, he moved quickly to his feet to watch his sister run off toward the castle. It was agitating to be left behind like this, but he had realized he had done wrong in his actions. Kyran should have known better to not get physical with Juliette. But it was hard not to, because he had watched his father deal with her like that for most of his life. He knew not to inflict pain, but he failed to realize a gesture like that could cause a wound to reopen.

Usually he would use magic to get out of this situation, but he hadn't yet gotten the license to apparate wherever he pleased. Yes, he could do it. But because Hogwarts grounds were protected from outsiders, he wouldn't be able to get to her quickly. Kyran followed Juliette's path, going into a slight run. He felt the rain hit his eyes and his cheeks. When he finally did come close enough to the court yard's entrance, he stopped to see his sister crumpled up, rocking back and forth. There was no way that she wasn't going to end up sick. Though there was a comfort that, when being a wizard, the road to recovery was faster. She wouldn't have to suffer like muggles did.

Yet, he didn't go into the entryway. Instead, he stood out there. Approaching too fast was only going to frighten her anymore. “Juliette!” he called out to her over the rumbling thunder and the drumming of rain. “I am sorry, I shouldn't have touched you. Please forgive me.”

He went quiet for a moment before resuming, “Juliette? Can I come to you?”

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[JULIETTE AISLING SINCLAIR]

As her brother approached, she did not register him. She mumbled comforting words to herself that wouldn't make sense in any other context. Words like butterflies and pools, gardens and lambs, soft rolls and warm towels. Anything that brought about a comforting, pleasant image forth in her head. It was a coping mechanism she'd learned to calm herself down when she became so upset which had not happened in a very long time. But now that someone was nearby, she began to stir. She blinked the water out of her eyes and looked up as she heard a familiar voice.

"Kyran..." her voice was small and distant, like a child that needed to be protected. She pleaded with him, her eyes showing just how scared and alone she felt. If she didn't have her brother at the school- in her life- who did she have? He was the closest thing she'd had to normalcy, and even that as shown in this situation, wasn't what most would consider anywhere close to normal. His next words, the permission to get close to her made her gasp suddenly, though she didn't move from the spot. She seemed frozen in place until she moved her head in a broken nod.

Tears came back to her eyes as she broke down into tears. "Please... please..." she was begging him to come near, to stay away, to hold her, to ignore her- all at the same time. She didn't know what she wanted, but she wanted- no, she needed him. Her arms outstretched like a child wanting to be picked up by their parent, but she didn't desire so much as that. She just had to have some form of human contact that was real and pure, not motivated by fear and hate.

Their parents were to blame for their current states of mind- Kyran with his perfection and Juliette with her oddities. And that was putting it far too kindly. They were both mad from their own circumstances, and it couldn't be blamed entirely on genetics, either. "I'm scared..." she said, her eyes staring at him emptily. "I'm so scared...He'll find me... He'll find me here... I have to go somewhere safe... I have to..." Kyran wouldn't recall, but those words were from their brother, the one who had ran when it was discovered he'd had no magic in his blood.

Juliette had been closest to him before her eldest brother. But now he was gone. He was gone, and she was on the verge of losing the only other person who could help her. "I can hear the whispers...I can. He's coming..." Now she was no longer quoting from a memory long forgotten, it was her own fear. "Kyran... please... please," she sounded more desperate. "Help me." she begged of him, clutching her knees to her chest as a sob was wrenched from deep in her lungs. She couldn't breathe.

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TAG - Kyran
WORDS - 625
SONG - None.
MUSE - Good!
NOTES - They need some serious therapy. Omg.
CREDIT made by flyy~

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[KYRAN ALDRIC SINCLAIR]

He heard his name on his sister's lips. There was acknowledgment that he was near, but it didn't seem like it was a calling for a conversation. All he could do was stand out in the rain. Each drop brought a chill that seemed to weight into his very skeleton, but it cut into him when his sister started to plead. Though he made no movement, afraid that if he stepped forward she would run off like a wild, scared animal. He didn't want that behavior from her, not anymore. She was supposed to become apart of the living now, to dwell with humanity and slowly lick away all of her wounds. But her gestures alone signaled to Kyran that Juliette was not strong enough to tend to her own wounds; she was not like himself.

There was a voice somewhere in his mind that said: disgusting, the way she's acting. She shouldn't even have a tinge of fear left, not with the old bastard dead. Least she could do is be strong for our family. Though at the last word he seemed to freeze at his own gesture, and a sinking feeling was now in the pit of his stomach. It was repulsion and it wasn't at Juliette, but at himself. He didn't know what it meant to be family and he knew it. The thought that even crossed him now was the spitting sound of his father, and he hated it. He saw the nod of affirmation, and then the arms spread wide. Juliette and Kyran may have lived somewhat sheltered lives, but they were not blind to what affection could be-- they had saw it with families dropping their kids off at the train, couples at Hogwarts, and the families they would pass by on trips.

And with her arms like that, he wondered if she desired some stability. A home to go to, a safe one, the warmth of a pillow and a smile to finally rest with, because of something stupid her sibling had said. Kyran walked slowly under the overhang now. Using one hand he slowly pushed back the dark strands of hair that had melted into his face, along with the heavy water droplets that clung to his cheek. He felt a shudder, but he fought hard to conceal it. He didn't need Juliette seeing him weak, when she was the one who needed saving.

It was fear driving Juliette to this behavior, and she had curled up into a ball, trying to use her limbs as protection or for comfort. But Kyran stopped now near her side and slowly knelt down so that he was next to his sister. He seemed uncertain on how to calm her fears, he only knew that to get what he wanted, it was usually out of violence. But instead, he lifted one hand and placed it on top of Juliette's wet head. Then he started to brush his palm over her as if she was a dog, it was a gentle motion at the least. His free hand moved to place it upon one of her shoulders.

“He's gone now, Juliette. No one will hurt you. You're safe. I can promise you that much,” he said to her quietly, making his voice as soft as he could. He heard the rain around them, along with the thunder, and it brought some peace to his mind. But he wasn't sure if the ambiance was helping Juliette. He moved out from under his knee to now sit down completely, continuing his movements in a ritualistic way. “I can... hug you if you want?”

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