First Warmth
With a frown on her face and lips pressing into a worried line, Mysty looked at the closed bathroom door, wondering whether she should check on him or not. She was concerned and if it had been any one of her friends they couldn't keep her out if they tried, but this wasn't one of her friends, the only thing she knew about him was his name, "Credence?" She questioned after giving three soft knocks, standing awkwardly and waiting for any form of reply, "Are you alright?" She then asked timidly, a hopeful look coming to her face as the water finally shut off but the door still didn't open.
With a hopeless look, she turned her warm eyes to peer down the hall towards the stairs, wondering if she should go get her mother or not, but then again what would she be able to do?
She then thought if she was in a house with two strangers, she wasn't sure she'd come out the bathroom eagerly after washing the blood of an almost animal murder from her hands. "You're not escaping out the window-" She gave a slightly cringe, "-are you?" it was something that worried her sometimes, people thought her small family was odd, her mother had few friends purely because she was a single mother, "You probably think we're pretty strange, huh?" she sighed, unsure if she was talking to herself or not, "We're a little loud, sometimes," She gave a shrug, "Pretty excitable," She tilted her head, "We should really be used to the cat bringing in birds by now but for some reason we always react the same way," she frowned and shook her head, seeming like she was now just musing to herself, "We're really no good as soon as panic sets in," she summed, giving a small huff at the fact, "Ugh, the amount of times I've flopped because I panic," She pressed both hands to her face as she groaned before she remembered she was supposed to be trying to get the poor guy to come out of the bathroom rather than going off on a rant to herself. With a deep sigh she hung her head, "It's alright you know, if you think we're freaks," She peered up at the door before looking back down as she uttered, "You won't be the only one to think that," With a soft click the door opened and she snapped her gaze up as she took a step back, peering up and meeting his dark eyes, watching as he broke eye contact and settled for looking at his feet.
"I-I don't think you're freaks," He shook his head and she felt some of her worry settle.
"We are odd though," She passed him a small smile, giving a slight tilt of her head and waiting till he looked to her before waving for him to follow her.
"I- didn't realise you were a w-witc-," With a frown he stopped himself, looking away part embarrassed and ashamed, his slow walk stopping when she spun to look at him, her brows knotted in confusion before a look of realisation came to face.
"Witch?" She finished for him, her brows raising and mouth forming a slight gawk as he peeked at her, "but, you?" She pointed towards him with a frown, confusion muddling her brain, "You have magic in you to?" She both questioned and told, watching as he straightened out and shook his head, his lips parting as he tried to reply but nothing came to him, "You must have?" Myst shook her head in confusion, "You wouldn't have been able to pass our boundaries undetected if you weren't!" The pair stood in the hall way, staring at each other in confused wonder, both wanting to speak but coming up with nothing to say. "D-do you know about witches and wizards?" She settled on asking carefully, visibly relaxing when he nodded. "You don't hate us, do you?" She gave a sheepish look and readied wince.
"I can't say," He looked away a moment, "I haven't met many," He gave a light shrug as he shook his head for no, he couldn't very well tell her a mob of them tried to kill him and part of him wanted to hate them after it, but Mysty and her mother Sonny seemed nice- still he was hesitant, he was drawn in by nice before .
"Oh," She nodded, getting the subtle indecision and dropping back into silence when they then heard foot steps thumping up the stairs and they turned as Sonny came into view.
"What are you doing?" She questioned with a frown, suspicious eyes flicking between the pair but Myst was quick to point off toward her room.
"We healed the bird and it escaped," She stated quickly.
"Oh for goodness sake!" Sonny hung her head with a huff, "Why did you bring it up here?" She then shot her daughter a frown as she stomped towards the pair and stopped by the door frame, peering into her room and spotting the bird do a quick lap of the room before landing again.
"Well you was fussing the cat for her almost murder and my wand was in my room!?" She held her arms out and gave a shrug, getting a bit defensive over the matter, she was oddly jittery after learning a little more about the stranger in their house.
"Well, catch it before it shits everywhere," Her mother huffed, speaking in a hushed tone at her as if it meant their guest couldn't hear her, while Myst gave her an unimpressed look, uttering 'classy' under her breath and giving an eye roll when the woman looked away from her and to the dark haired stranger, "Credence, I'll run a bath for you, darling," She smiled placing a gentle hand to his arm, "I'll leave a change of clothes in there for you too," she then added, giving his arm a pat and moving around him and towards the bathroom, while he turned to watch her go before turning back to Myst.
"I don't know what those other witches and wizards were like to you, but you have nothing to worry about here," she gave him a smile before looking after where her mother had vanished, the sounds of the bath taps being turned on full blast soon reaching them.
"You're not going to tell her I have no magic?" He looked to her with a frown.
"You have magic Credence," She nodded, "I just don't think you were giving the opportunity to learn it," She lifted her shoulders in a limp shrug, watching as his nervous eyes shifted from her and to different spots around the hall, "I'm going to try catch this bird," She pointed into her room, watching with an odd fascination at how he seemed to struggle with eye contact, "You enjoy your bath," She gave a small smile as parting before stepping into her room, peering over her shoulder and at the door way, but he was stood out of view and didn't move to follow her, instead she heard his foot steps shuffle away. 'Odd boy,' She thought with a soft frown, 'What happened to you?' She wanted so desperately to ask but she knew it wasn't right for her to do so, yet perhaps they would get to a point of comfort where she would be able to ask, or he would tell her in his own time she hoped- what ever came first, his trust or her impatience.
He could hear little while he bathed, it was as if the mother and daughter had instantly forgotten he was there, locked away in the bathroom and sat in a full tub of hot soapy water. With curious eyes he looked about the bathroom, he hadn't taken in any of it's details when he'd been furiously scrubbing his hands mere moments before. It was a small but bright room with white wood wash floors and matching walls, the odd smattering of colour being added in by decorative items and accessories- the purple matt, the lilac sheer curtains draped either side of the small window, a violet glass bowl filled with dried lavender and other petals he couldn't name, a matching cup holding two tooth brushes, wicker baskets homing toiletries on a light purple painted rack, and the frame of the mirror painted a matching purple. It was feminine and homely, something he'd never really known, his home had been anything but homely, it wasn't a place he'd felt warm, comfortable, or safe, but it was the only place he'd known as a home and so the differences he saw, as minor as they were to some people, to him it was like another world.
With a shaky sigh he let himself relax some, sinking further into the water and watching as the steam rose in soft wisps, the heat of the water had already caused the mirror and small window to fog up, the room filling with a light humidity that caused a gloss to his face- he'd never felt warmth like it, and he'd never thought he'd ever enjoy a bath before this one. It was a real bath- not some steel tub, and it had been filled just for him, this time he wasn't left with cold, murky, used water, but with fresh, clean, hot water, it was a luxury he never knew would come.
It'd barely been a day and the pleasantries he'd experienced in this house stirred an envy in him that made him want more, he knew he couldn't stay and he wasn't sure he wanted to stay but he couldn't deny how refreshingly different this house and it's occupant were.
With his brows coming together in a worried frown he took a breath and let himself sink fully under the water, only coming back up once his shortly cropped hair was fully soaked, he then grabbed the bar of soap and created a thick lather with it to work through his dark locks. What if he did stay? He thought on it, what might come of him staying in this house and he allowed himself the fantasy of the home life he wished he had, that dream he longed for, Sonny seemed so welcoming and Mysty so accepting, but they didn't know anything about him, what he'd done, what he was capable of- would they still be as welcoming and accepting once they knew?
Sucking in a deep breath Credence submerged himself back beneath the water, scrunching his eyes shut and furiously scrubbing his hands through his hair till if was free of the soap, his hands slowing to grip his head as he remained under- They seemed nice, but he couldn't let himself trust that, his chest clenched with fear at the thought of opening up himself to trust another only to be crushed by them. Logically he wanted to argue what reason they possibly had to ever betray or use him, they didn't know him, they saw nothing other than a person in need and they helped him- nothing more- yet there was a whisper, a darkness uttering to him not to believe it.
With a wince on his face as his chest grew tight, he fought the urge to break out of the water, wondering what would be worse, facing the harsh realities of the world alone or staying warm in this pleasant bath, he swayed between the options before something made his mind up for him.
It was a muffled shout that echoed through the water and caused him to sit bolt up right, his lips parting as he spluttered for breath, eyes wide and alert as water sloshed about from the violent movement, 'What was that?' He thought with confusion and fright, looking to the closed door as he then heard the rushed foot steps pounding up the stairs.
"What happened?!" Sonny's worried voice filtered through the walls, but although muffled he could still hear the breathlessness in her speech.
"I think I broke my toe!" Came Mysty's voice stretched out in a whine and laced with pain.
"Oh!" The elder woman scoffed and he guessed her face had instantly turned from worry, "Don't do that!" She scolded, "I thought you'd really hurt yourself!"
"I have!" Mysty's whimper followed meekly, while retreating foot steps clomped off, less than impressed.
Credence waited in silence, eyes on the door and ear on the listen as he could barely make out the younger woman's muttering as she spoke to herself, "-that really hurt," He caught her whine, before a louder more determined tone sounded from her, "Will you just let me help you so I can set you free!" She demanded rather than asked and he sat stunned- who was she speaking to? It wasn't to him, he knew it wasn't and yet part of him felt maybe it was.
Ten minutes of running around trying to catch a bird with her hands, one horrendous toe stub, and a further twenty minutes of trying to throw a blanket over the creature she'd eventually given up, she looked more tuckered out than the bird as she lay sprawled across her bed in a top to toe, diagonal manner, her feet by her pillows and head lolling of the side of the bed next to the foot posts, "You may have won this battle!" She huffed, giving the bird a lazy point while it tilted it's head to observe her, watching as her arm flopped back down over her head and hung limply off the edge of the bed.
She knew she should really move and try again, her mother would only give her more grief if she caught her lounging about instead of actively trying to catch the bird.
With a sigh she closed her eyes a moment, she was a little tired, she'd had a late night and early morning, and as someone who greatly liked their sleep it was hard on her, even now with her eyes being closed for barely a minute she could feel the dizzy haze of sleep coming to her- or was that the blood rushing to her head?
The long groan of the creaking floor boards caused her eyes to fly open and look to her doorway, she was ready to get herself up in a pounce but it wasn't her mother's eyes she locked with like she'd expected to, "Hi," She chirped as she looked at the freshly scrubbed and suited Credence.
He didn't reply, a bit stunned as he looked at her, casually sprawled over her bed, her face a little red from where her head was hanging off the bed and her long hair tumbling down towards the floor, "Did you have a nice bath?" She then questioned as she rolled herself over and sat herself up, giving a slight wobble as she received a head rush, her arms reaching out to help balance herself while her eyes fixed onto a focus point.
She waited a moment before giving a nod to show she felt alright before looking back to him, an expectant look on her face for his answer, "Yes," He nodded, his eyes moving down and away from her, "Thank you," He then uttered.
"How do you feel?" She then smiled, continuing on when he looked back to her, his brows raising lightly, "I always feel warm and relaxed after a bath," she grinned, hopping up from her bed and walking over to him, gripping her door frame and swinging herself out her room, "You want a drink?" She then offered, throwing a waiting look over her shoulder at him, while he gave a stunned blink, his lips parting to answer but words lost on his tongue, "Come on," She grinned at him, nodding her head for him to follow her while a little chirp sounded off in her room, "I haven't forgotten about you either!" She called back to the tiny twittering before less than gracefully clodding down the stairs, striding into the kitchen where her mother instantly lowered her paper with a swat, tilting her head down to peer over her reading glasses as Mysty strode in.
"Have you got the bird out?" She instantly asked her daughter, ignoring how her shoulders dropped as she gave a deep huff, her warm eyes looking towards the ceiling.
"Not, yet!" Myst stated begrudgingly.
"Well you better get back up them stairs then," Sonny nodded for her daughter to turn around before she then spotted the dark haired male lurking at the back, "Oh, they fit you nicely, Credence!" She smiled, noticing him clean and dressed in his newly borrowed attire- the boy scrubbed up well Sonny thought, but it was hard not to considering how beat up and tattered he'd been when they found him. "Take a seat lovely, I'll get you a drink," Sonny stood and motioned of him to take her seat while she pottered about, "I'll check that arm for you too," She nodded to him and Myst looked over to him, watching as he consciously gripped his arm, his hand cupping over the healing cut- to him it had looked fine when he'd taken the bandage off and got in the bath.
"She won't bite," Myst smiled, reaching out for him and pulling him forwards till he passed her, she then gave him an little nudge forwards, nodding him towards the seat when he turned to look at her over his shoulder.
"You!" Sonny turned with a point to her daughter, "Go get that bird!" She then pointed her back towards the stairs and with a sigh Myst snatched some left over crust from their breakfast and trod off back up stairs, peering back as she went and wondering was she'd be missing while she was gone.
