The next two nights Cliodhna woke Charlie up in the middle of the night either sobbing or screaming in her sleep. It tore at his heart to see her in pain. She never spoke about the nightmares, but it wasn't hard to imagine what could be causing them. He'd wake her up gently, hold her tightly, and let her fall back asleep in his arms. She didn't seem to have nightmares when he was holding her.
He showed her around the Sanctuary those next two days, having her stand back while he did (some) of his daily duties with his assigned dragons, watching as her face lit up when she met "his" girls and as they flew on their brooms over the Sanctuary. He didn't have to explain to her what his dragons meant to him, he knew she understood, just as she didn't have to explain to him what flying meant to her.
He wanted so desperately to tell her what she meant to him, how much he cared for her, but he didn't want to force that on her, not now, not when she was waking up every night terrified of things she had seen, things she had done.
Jack was there every night for dinner, treating his sister as though there was no war beyond the Sanctuary and she was there for a normal visit. Charlie could tell Cliodhna appreciated it.
On the third day, Charlie was called for an emergency from where he and Cliodhna were watching Philadelphia and Branwen, two Common Welsh Greens, play after their monthly diagnostics. Cliodhna didn't hear the message Charlie received but his face was grave. "I can't leave you here alone," he ran a hand through his hair and looked at the two dragons playing nearby; as playful and relaxed as they looked, they were still dragons. "And you can't fly back on your own when Zoltan is," he trailed off.
"I'll come with you and stay out of the way, I promise," Cliodhna tilted her head and said calmly. "I can protect myself if anything -"
"You'll have a shield around yourself the whole bloody time," he muttered gruffly and reached for her hand to pull her to their brooms. "Do exactly what I or any of the other Keepers say, yea?"
"Of course -"
"Don't try to help," he continued. "No matter what happens."
"Okay," Cliodhna said calmly, wanting to roll her eyes, but knew Charlie was overly tense.
They were barely in the air when they saw flames shooting up into the sky and Charlie called out, "We've got to land now." She followed him back towards the ground, around the trees, and landed hard, dropping the broom and running after Charlie, the roars of dragons echoing around them. "Put up your shield now," Charlie turned his head to call out to her. "Stay close to me until I tell you."
Cliodhna grabbed her wand out of her pocket, unsure how much magic she could do wandlessly yet and put a shield around herself. She waved her wand at Charlie's back as they ran, putting a shield around him too, just in case. There was another, louder roar this time and Cliodhna looked out past Charlie to see a huge, black dragon rearing back and breathing fire into the air. "Stay here," Charlie yelled at her as he continued to run towards the dragon, his wand out and already sending hexes.
That was a Hungarian Horntail, Cliodhna knew, the breed of dragon that Harry had been up against, a volatile, aggressive dragon that could breath fire 50 feet away. Zoltan, Charlie had said. She watched as Zoltan's yellow eyes turned towards Charlie, easily avoiding the ropes that catapulted out of his wand, and roared again, sending his fire towards Charlie who darted away, the fires nearly licking at his clothes. Cliodhna's hands trembled as she watched, absolutely helpless, leaning against a tree. She didn't know what she could have done even if Charlie had let her, she'd never been so close to an irritable dragon before.
There was another, sudden roar from her left and Cliodhna's entire body trembled as she turned her head to see another Hungarian Horntail, this one slightly smaller than Zoltan, crashing through the trees twenty feet away from her. She froze in panic for a moment before pulling away from the tree she had been leaning against to run in the opposite direction.
"Hadur incoming!" Someone yelled and Cliodhna looked up to see Claude pointing at the dragon.
Cliodhna had barely moved from the tree when Hadur's black tail, full of bronze spikes, lashed out, narrowly missing the top of the tree she was under. The treetops groaned as they fell and Cliodhna's hands darted out to keep the trees from falling; they levitated around her for a moment before they fell slowly to the ground away from any Keepers and Hadur.
"Klee!" Charlie yelled and Cliodhna looked up to see Hadur approaching her now, instead of Zoltan - had her stopping the trees from falling and hurting someone drawn his attention and anger? She kept her wand in her right hand but let her electricity crackle around her left hand as she stood her ground, aware that she couldn't outrun a full-grown dragon. Hadur's yellow, cat-like eyes saw her electricity and let out a roar, pulling his head back and emitting a stream of fire up towards the sky. Cliodhna's teeth grinded together as Zoltan did the same in response.
Before she could put the electricity away or try to Disillusion herself, the ground behind her shook so much she fell to her knees; she turned her head to see Balaur beside her. The green dragon was smaller than Hadur and Zoltan, but he roared directly in Hadur's face, challenging him. Cliodhna looked up at the Romanian Longhorn, her electricity still crackling, and took several slow steps back.
She turned her head to see Charlie and Claude finally subduing Zoltan as the dragon seemed to be distracted by Hadur and Balaur roaring at each other, and took several more steps back when Hadur suddenly snapped his tail towards Balaur. She opened her mouth to scream, but Balaur was fast and lifted off up into the air to avoid the spiked tail. Hadur roared in frustration but before he could try to get Balaur again, ropes from several wands wrapped around him and he was hit with several Stunning spells.
Balaur swiveled his head on his long neck to look back at Cliodhna and blinked slowly before he took off up into the air and flew away. Cliodhna collapsed onto her knees again and let her hands fall to the ground, her electricity disappearing with a snap as she took deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
"You're okay, you're okay," Charlie was suddenly there, whispering into her ear and wrapping his arms around her tightly. "You're okay." Cliodhna sat there, her arms by her side, her wand gripped tightly in her hand, and let Charlie comfort her, her eyes wide.
After a few moments Cliodhna finally said, "I'm okay," and she felt Charlie's body relax against her before he pulled his head away to stare into her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, I -"
"Charlie, I'm fine," Cliodhna blinked, surprised at the tears she saw in Charlie's eyes. "Not even a scratch."
"We've got this covered," Claude put a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "I'll let you know when we figure out what happened -"
"I want a full report," Charlie's voice was firm and Cliodhna was surprised at the anger that seemed to seep out of him.
"Go," Claude nodded at him and ran back towards the now dozing dragons.
Charlie met Cliodhna's eyes briefly before he loosened his arms from around her and started to stand up, offering her a hand as he did. "Are you okay with Side-Along?" Cliodhna would have preferred to fly, but she could tell from Charlie's demeanor that that wouldn't be an option. She nodded and let Charlie wrap his arms around her again before he Apparated them both to his cabin.
He didn't let her go when their feet touched the hardwood floor and after a moment Cliodhna wrapped her arms around his waist, letting herself be comforted. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, her muscles finally loose.
Cliodhna wanted to say something to Charlie, wanted to tell him that he had done nothing wrong, he hadn't put her in any danger, that it wasn't his fault, that she bloody loved him - she could feel all of those emotions bubbling up, wanting to escape - nearly being trampled to death by dragons would do that, she suspected, but she was still so bloody scared of how he'd react, of how she could hurt him. She reminded herself she didn't deserve him now.
She felt Charlie run his hand over her head before he took a deep breath and said in a shaky voice, "I thought you were -"
"I'm okay," she whispered into his shirt. "I'm here."
Charlie somehow hugged her tighter.
"We'll have to talk to Major eventually about what happened," Charlie said a few moments later, his voice not as shaky now. "About Balaur -"
"And my electricity," Cliodhna finished for him.
"I know you don't want to," he said tightly.
"It's okay," Cliodhna chuckled. "It's not as if it's a secret. And somehow Balaur can sense it." Balaur had protected her. Or, at least, it certainly seemed like he had.
"Cliodhna, I," Charlie began, his words soft next to her ear, but he didn't finish because the front door burst open and Jack ran in.
"Merlin, are you okay?"
Charlie released her so quickly that Cliodhna nearly stumbled but Jack was there, hugging her tightly. "I'm fine," Cliodhna said to Jack, craning her head to catch a glimpse of Charlie, but she couldn't see him as Jack hugged her tighter. "I promise I'm fine," she said and patted Jack's back.
Whatever Charlie was going to say, whatever emotions threatened to erupt from Cliodhna, would have to wait.
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Cliodhna felt Charlie's gaze on her all night. He watched her as they ate dinner, Jack doing most of the talking to keep everyone from worrying about the dragons that had nearly killed her. He watched her as they sat around the fireplace slowly drinking whiskey, although none of them actually drank very much, mainly holding the glasses as they stared into the fire as Jack continued to talk.
Caz stopped by right after dinner under the auspice of having a drink, but Cliodhna knew he was there to make sure she was okay.
She missed the meaningful looks that passed between Charlie and Caz, however, and the sad way Caz watched Charlie for several minutes before he drained his glass of whisky and left.
Claude came by not long after Caz left, but barely made it into the sitting room before Charlie stood up from the couch and talked to him quietly in the kitchen for a few tense moments. Jack and Cliodhna exchanged a glance before Charlie, his brows furrowed and his face twisted into a small grimace, poured Claude two fingers of whisky. Cliodhna wanted to know what Claude had discovered about the incident with Zoltan and Hadur but knew better than to ask.
Jack, however, had no qualms about asking. "Well?" His voice was gruff.
"Szelanya," Charlie ground out and sat back down on the couch next to Cliodhna in what was seemingly becoming 'their' spots, but he still kept some space between them as though he didn't want to touch her.
"I knew we should have either let Zoltan loose or gotten another female," Claude nearly threw himself down into the other chair. "Or let him mate with, I don't know, Mara or Astrid -"
"We can't allow inter-species if we can help it," Jack's eyebrows raised in horror.
"Maybe we should have just let it happen," Claude ran a hand down his face. "I don't know how we're going to control him around Szelanya if he keeps breaking loose."
"How did he break loose?" Jack asked and Cliodhna chanced a glance at Charlie; his jaw was tense but his gaze was stuck on the crackling logs in the fire.
Claude's gaze slid to Charlie quickly before he said tightly, "I'm not at liberty to say."
Jack pressed his lips together to keep from lashing out, Cliodhna knew, and she felt Charlie somehow tense even more from beside her as though he was radiating both rage and irritation. She wanted to make them both feel at ease, but knew she also had to address what Claude had seen her do. And what Balaur had seemingly done for her.
She cleared her throat and said, "About what you saw -"
"I didn't see any -"
"Claude," Charlie said tightly. "Let her speak."
"I mean," Claude sighed. "I didn't have to see anything."
"Major will have to be informed anyway," Cliodhna shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "This isn't exactly a well-kept secret anymore."
"You don't have to explain yourself," Claude tilted his tumbler of whiskey towards her. "I knew you were a powerful witch. I think the bigger surprise was Balaur."
"A surprise for all of us," Charlie agreed. He finally pulled his eyes away from the fire and towards Cliodhna for a brief moment. "And one I don't think we have an explanation for."
"He's a nasty bugger -"
"Misunderstood, I think," Cliodhna cut in gently.
Claude watched her for a moment before nodding, "I think you're right, Cliodhna. I think he's simply misunderstood." He drained his glass and stood up, "I'm glad you're okay, and I am sorry you were put in danger."
"It's not your fault," Cliodhna gave him a small smile, "but thank you all the same." Her eyes flickered to Charlie, "And I'm okay now."
"I'll see you later," he said to all of them and showed himself out of the cabin.
A few quiet minutes later Jack finished his glass of whisky and stood up, "I should head to bed. I'm up early," he looked at Cliodhna. "Unless you need -"
"I'm fine, I promise," she sent Jack a smile and stood to give him a firm, tight hug. "Thank you for checking up on me. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Course," he smiled and nodded at Charlie before he let himself out of the cabin.
Cliodhna watched Charlie for a long moment, his jaw still tense as he stared into the fire. She inched closer to him on the couch so their legs were touching and she wished for a moment that he would reach out and put a comforting hand on her leg like he was always doing lately. "I'm okay," she whispered softly, wanting him to look at her, to see that she wasn't lying. "We're both okay."
"You," Charlie ground out but stopped himself short and shut his eyes tightly. Cliodhna put a hand on his arm and sat up on her knees so she was closer to his height. "I'm fine. I didn't even have enough time to be scared -"
"I couldn't keep you safe," Charlie snapped his head towards hers, his blue eyes blazing and Cliodhna realized he was angry at himself. "I should have -"
"I don't need you to keep me safe, Charlie, I," she tilted her head slightly and licked her lips, unsure how to explain to him that she didn't expect anyone to keep her safe but herself. She was supposed to keep everyone else safe.
"I know," Charlie's shoulders slumped slightly and he sighed. "You're Cliodhna bloody Quick." Cliodhna's lips twitched slightly and she moved a hand to his cheek as his gaze fell away from her eyes and towards the floor. "But I wanted to keep you safe," his voice was soft and gruff and it felt like Cliodhna's heart began to thump wildly. His bright blue eyes flicked back up to her clear, hazel gaze. "I want to be the one to help you," he continued, his voice low. "I want you to relax around me. I want you to feel safe with me. You make the rest of us feel safe and protected and I want the same for you."
"I do feel safe with you," Cliodhna said quietly but full of conviction. "There wasn't a moment out there today that I was afraid. Because you were there, Charlie." His eyes flickered between hers and Cliodhna knew he wanted to argue. "Balaur only sped up the process of keeping me safe," she moved her thumb gently over his cheek. His gaze was hot on her and her heart continued to beat wildly. "But you aren't safe with me," her voice was sad and she started to pull her hand away from his cheek.
Charlie put his hand on top of hers and didn't let her pull away, his eyes never leaving her face. "I've never felt more protected or safe or seen than when I'm around you, Cliodhna." The way he said her name felt like a balm on her skin. "I'm not afraid of you -"
"I know," Cliodhna swallowed. "But you should -"
"No," he shook his head ever so slightly before leaning even closer towards her.
"I've done terrible -"
"It's a war," Charlie's voice didn't leave room for an argument. "I've wanted to tell you how I felt about you for such a long time," he swallowed. "But I didn't want to put you in a position where," he licked his lips as he trailed off. "Today made me realize -"
"I wanted to tell you at the wedding, right before everything," Cliodhna was leaning towards him too. "But the things I've done since -"
"That excuse isn't going to work with me," Charlie's voice was so low that Cliodhna practically felt it reverberate through her body. "If you're saying this because you want to protect my feelings because you don't feel the same -"
Cliodhna cut him off by pressing her lips gently to his.
She could feel his entire body relax as he gently returned the kiss, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other skimming up her leg to her lower back. Her skin tingled with his touch. She pressed her lips harder to his, one hand still on his cheek, the other clutching a bicep. She wanted to be pressed up against him and wrapped up in his arms.
Charlie pulled away slightly, his hands still on her body, and stared into her eyes. His lips curled into such an endearing smile that Cliodhna couldn't help but return it, her eyes bright. "I feel the same," she whispered and he let out a small laugh before pulling her in for another kiss.
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Cliodhna could have kissed Charlie for hours - and Merlin did she want to spend the entire night snogging him (and more…) - but she was exhausted from the day's events, and so was Charlie. They broke apart several times, staring into each other's eyes, one of them saying softly, 'We should go to bed' before the other would pull them back into another slow or searing kiss. Eventually, Cliodhna put her hands on Charlie's chest - Merlin, his chest, Ben was right to mention how fit Charlie was all those summers ago at the pond - and said softly, "As much as I want to keep doing this I'm afraid I'll fall asleep mid-snog."
Charlie chuckled and tucked some of her bright white hair behind her ear and leaned in to kiss her check, "Come on then, love."
Cliodhna nearly melted into a puddle at the pet name and the way it made her heart flutter. Charlie stood and pulled her up with him.
"Any chance I can persuade you to join me in bed?" Cliodhna's voice was soft. Charlie's bright blue eyes roamed over her face for a long moment but he didn't move to answer until Cliodhna added, "You holding me seems to help with the nightmares."
Charlie let out a breath and pulled her towards him for a tight hug that Cliodhna gladly returned. "Will help my inevitable nightmare too," Charlie whispered into her hair.
Charlie let Cliodhna use the bathroom first and sat on the bed waiting for her, running his hands through his hair and trying not to grin like an absolute idiot. She felt the same about him. They hadn't explicitly said 'I love you' but he knew that what he felt for her went beyond those three little words. Now wasn't the time. He'd only just finally finally finally finally kissed her. He wanted to hold her through the entire night, he wanted to show her every single thing he loved about the Sanctuary, he wanted to -
"Your turn," Cliodhna grinned at him as she emerged from the bathroom in a pair of his boxers and t-shirt that was so long it nearly covered the boxers. He returned the grin and stood to kiss her, feeling impossibly happy and light. He knew she'd have second thoughts, he knew she'd inevitably try to push him away to protect him, but right now, at this moment, none of that mattered because she was here with him in Romania, in his cabin, in his pajamas, and she was smiling.
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Cliodhna slept through the entire night for the first time in what felt like years. She nestled further into Charlie's chest with a small smile on her face, not wanting to open her eyes yet, despite sensing that the bedroom was full of early morning sun. She was comfortable - physically and emotionally - and didn't want to leave this safe place quite yet.
Charlie's arms tightened around her and she felt him press a soft kiss to the top of her head, but he didn't seem eager to wake up fully yet either.
Without overthinking, Cliodhna moved her head slightly and pressed her lips to Charlie's neck. She felt his body tighten around her and she couldn't help another small smile as she pressed her lips against another spot on his neck.
"Cliodhna," his voice was rough with sleep and arousal as he tried to pull his neck away from her, but Cliodhna finally opened her eyes and tilted her head back on the pillow so she could stare at his face. His eyes were shut and his jaw was tight.
"Charlie," she whispered back, teasing, dragging her fingers lightly down his (unfortunately) covered chest.
His eyes snapped open, his pupils wide, and Cliodhna couldn't help her smirk as he tried to glare at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but there was a loud knock on the front door of the cabin and Cliodhna sighed in defeat.
Charlie let out a long breath, "We overslept -"
"I think we earned the right to," Cliodhna arched an eyebrow at him, but let her hands fall away from his chest, and started to roll her body away from him so he could get up.
Charlie didn't allow her to move, however, and instead tilted his head down to kiss her. "Good morning," he whispered against the corner of her mouth, his voice soft.
"Good morning," Cliodhna smiled back up at him.
"I'll see who's at the door if you want to put on a sweatshirt and make some coffee," Charlie whispered.
His smile was so wide that Cliodhna couldn't help how her heart soared at the real joy she could see reflected back at her. "Will you do your best to kick them out?"
Charlie chuckled and kissed the top of her head again before he gently unwrapped himself and sat up in the bed, "My very best," he agreed and ran a hand through his hair before reaching for the pair of pants he wore yesterday. "Just a minute," he called out to whoever was knocking on the door of the cabin.
Cliodhna rolled onto her back and let out a deep, contented sigh. She knew better than to wish she and Charlie could spend the whole day together alone (ideally in bed or in front of the fire), but was it so awful that that was exactly how she wanted to spend her day? With another sigh she swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up to rummage through Charlie's drawers and pulled out a sweatshirt and a pair of pajama pants - it wouldn't do to have whoever was visiting to see Cliodhna in Charlie's boxers, no matter how much she wished to lounge around in a pair of his boxers and massive sweatshirt. She ran a hand through her hair and with a grimace at the small knots she could feel, she waved her hand for her hair to braid itself like Syd had showed her all those years ago.
She tried not to frown when she emerged from the bedroom and saw that no one was in the cabin, clearly Charlie was talking to someone outside on the porch, likely about what happened yesterday. "There goes the mood," she muttered to herself and barely bothered to wave her hand to start the coffee as she sat down at the kitchen table. Seconds later a mug landed in front of her and she blew over the rim before she took a small sip, pulling her feet up to sit cross-legged at the kitchen table.
When it was obvious Charlie was going to be outside for a while, Cliodhna caught a book in her hand - she Summoned whatever was closest - flipped open to the bookmarked page, and began to read about the history of Romanian Longhorns.
Cliodhna had two cups of coffee before Charlie came back inside and hung up his coat next to the door. She arched an eyebrow at him as he approached the table where she sat. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "Major wants you and Jack to spend some time with Balaur."
"What?" Cliodhna couldn't help the look of surprise on her face as Charlie went to pour himself a cup of coffee that Cliodhna had kept warm for him on the stove.
"He doesn't want to know what you can or can't do, he wants to know why Balaur is acting this way and if he'll act the same with Jack -"
"Or if it's electricity-based," Cliodhna finished. "And he doesn't want to know at all what I can do?"
"He wants the two of you to check the wards too," Charlie sat down next to her. "Whenever you're feeling up to it -"
"When will Jack have time for all of this if he's training?"
Charlie put his hand on her knee and smiled at her over his coffee cup just as there was a quick knock on the front door and Jack burst in the front door. "Guess who's got special dispensation to hang out with the pair of you the next few days," he stopped short at the table, his amber eyes zeroing in on Charlie's hand on his sister's lap. "Merlin. Bloody finally," he rolled his eyes and squeezed Cliodhna's shoulder before he sat down in another chair at the table.
Cliodhna rolled her eyes at Jack, "Don't be a prat."
Jack sat back in his chair with a smug look on his face and smirked at his sister, "The look on Ben's face when he finds out I knew first," he nodded to his sister. "Got some coffee for me?"
She arched an eyebrow at him in defiance, "You can't get it yourself?"
"So you're in better spirits I see," Jack leaned forward in his chair as a mug of coffee landed on the table in front of him. "Feeling up to spending some time with Balaur and checking the wards?"
"I am," Cliodhna agreed. She could tell from the look on his face that Charlie wanted to ask her if she was absolutely sure, but he refrained from voicing the question. "Very up to it," she added and pushed away from the table. "I'll be ready in a few minutes." She turned to walk away before adding to Jack, "And don't you dare think about giving Charles a hard time, Jackie."
She didn't wait to hear his response but knew he wouldn't say anything to Charlie. For one, Charlie was Jack's superior at the Sanctuary, and Jack knew that Cliodhna could handle her own.
"I hope this puts you in a better mood," Jack said to Charlie over the rim of his mug. Charlie ignored him.
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"Maybe he just really likes you," Jack said breathlessly from beside his sister. "He's bloody ignored me completely."
"That's not true," Cliodhna responded, equally breathless. They'd been spending time with Balaur and checking the wards the last two hours, but Balaur only seemed to acknowledge Cliodhna's existence. He always had at least one eye on her.
"He hasn't even looked at me," Jack rolled his eyes.
"Maybe he was struck by lightning," Charlie called out from where he was standing watching them all.
"What?" Cliodhna and Jack frowned at him.
"Maybe that's why he's so aware of your presence," Charlie continued.
"But Cliodhna wasn't struck by lightning," Jack scratched his chin. "Were you?"
"No," Cliodhna slapped his arm. "I wasn't struck by lightning, thank you very much."
Charlie approached them, "No, but maybe," he frowned, glancing at Cliodhna. "You can feel it in your veins sometimes, right? Like it's always there, waiting to be used."
"I don't really notice it," she tilted her head slightly, her eyes on Charlie's face. "But I assume it's always there now since I don't have to be angry to access it anymore."
"Right," Charlie nodded. "So we can assume there's always just some, um," he frowned again.
"Electricity," Cliodhna shrugged. "Not sure what else to call it."
"Right, we can assume it's always there. Even when you're tired or feel depleted, there must be some still there, and Balaur can sense that. Maybe Balaur was struck by lightning once and that's why he can sense it," Charlie stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's a hypothesis at least."
"And since I don't have any," Jack sighed, "he doesn't care about me at all. Only the lightning -"
"Don't," Cliodhna cut him off. "Don't you dare give me a nickname." She turned around to look at Balaur again. "That would explain why he isn't afraid of it either, not like," she trailed off, not wanting to bring up the incident. She turned her head over her shoulder, "Stand back so I can show him a little electricity, yea?"
"Be careful please," Charlie said gently but made no move to step back until Jack grabbed his arm.
Cliodhna took a tentative step towards Balaur and said gently, "Balaur. I'm just going to show you my lightning, all right? I'm not going to hurt you, just going to call it up," she let a few sparks dance around her fingers. Balaur lifted his head from where he had laid it on the ground and peered at her, swinging his head towards her slowly. "That's it," Cliodhna continued gently. "It doesn't frighten you, does it?"
Balaur brought his head closer to her and Jack had to grab Charlie's arm to keep him from approaching Cliodhna and the dragon. "Klee," Charlie called out gently.
"It's okay," Cliodhna called back and lifted her other hand out towards the dragon. Balaur huffed and nuzzled his snout into the hand without electricity. Cliodhna let out a disbelieving laugh and stroked the scales around Balaur's nose, the electricity disappearing from her other hand.
"Blimey," Jack breathed. "I don't know the last time anyone's touched Balaur when he was fully awake, do you?"
Charlie let out a breath, "Not for a very long time."
Cliodhna let out another laugh when Balaur huffed again and pushed the side of his head against her body, "He's like a bloody cat!"
"He's a dragon," Charlie called out carefully. "Don't forget that -"
"As if I could," Cliodhna tutted and continued to pet Balaur's scales before Balaur pulled back and lifted himself off the ground and flew away.
Cliodhna turned around to face Charlie and Jack, "Well!"
Jack and Charlie glanced at each other, "Well, indeed."
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"You're saying you can make the ground move," Cliodhna asked Jack, her mouth hanging open as they sat on some rocks and ate the snacks Charlie had packed for them.
"Yea," Jack nodded, biting into his roll.
"How?"
"The same way you're somehow harnessing lightning," Jack shrugged. "Although it happened more gradually and it didn't start when I got angry."
"You were a little angry," Charlie said nonchalantly as he leaned against his rock. Cliodhna's eyes flew to him and she bit back her grin when Charlie winked at her.
"Fine, I was a little angry," Jack rolled his eyes. "Ok, I was pretty angry about a lot of different things," he sighed.
"The general build up of things?" Cliodhna asked and Jack hummed in agreement. "And now?"
Jack sat up a little straighter, pressed his left palm to the ground, and closed his eyes. Cliodhna watched him closely for a moment before she felt the rock shaking beneath her. She slid down the rock and crouched on the ground next to Jack and placed her hands in the dirt; she could feel, far beneath her, the earth shaking. Her eyes wide, she turned to Charlie who was watching her closely.
After a moment, the ground stopped shaking and Jack opened his eyes to look at his sister, "Just a taste, really."
"How far could someone feel that?" She asked, her mouth suddenly dry.
They all looked up to the sky to see a dragon flying above them and Jack pointed to it, "About as far as where Mara was," he shrugged.
"A mile," Charlie said before Cliodhna could ask.
"A mile," she repeated, still staring at her brother.
"That was shallow," he shrugged, taking a sip of his water. "I could do serious damage."
Cliodhna gaped at him and Jack let out a harsh laugh, "Is it so astonishing when you can do what you do?"
"You're moving the earth," Cliodhna said in disbelief. "An earthquake."
"And you shoot lightning out of your hands," Jack rolled his eyes. "You could probably summon a storm if you wanted," he scoffed, wiping his hand on his jeans. When she didn't respond, he glanced up at her, "What?" Cliodhna tilted her head and stared at him, her clear hazel eyes darting between his amber ones. Jack frowned at her, "You never thought of that, did you?"
"Summon a storm," Cliodhna whispered and leaned against her rock. "Summon a storm," she repeated.
Charlie glanced between the two of them and clapped his hands and stood up, "I think that's enough for today, don't you?"
Cliodhna's head snapped up to meet his gaze. "Yea," she agreed. "Enough for today." She took Charlie's hand when he offered it and allowed him to help her to stand.
"We have plenty of time to practice," Charlie whispered to her as he picked up their brooms. "We'll fly out a bit further tomorrow, see what you both can do."
Cliodhna's smile was soft when she looked up at him, her heart tightening because Charlie knew exactly what she needed to hear. "Thanks," she said softly to him and put a hand on his arm.
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The flight back to Charlie's cabin was rejuvenating for Cliodhna; she hadn't realized how exhausted she truly was until she got on her broom. But flying through the crisp air, watching the landscape below them, seeing some of the dragons slumbering beneath them, made her feel alive. And it was nice to feel alive again.
Being in the same place for more than a few days, being outside and not constantly looking over her shoulder or being so on edge, made Cliodhna feel lighter and happier than she'd been in months. Longer, maybe. She hadn't realized how deep into darkness she'd fallen - she knew she had done some terrible things, things that Charlie assured her didn't matter when they were at war - but she hadn't really given much thought to the fact that she had lost hope, had lost faith in herself, had lost the ability to see good and beauty in the world.
Being in Romania changed that. Being able to stop moving changed that. She looked up at the clouds above them and hoped that Ron, Harry, and Hermione had been able to stop moving for a few days too. They deserved rest. They deserved to see the beauty in the world again too.
She blinked rapidly and followed Jack and Charlie to land on the ground outside his cabin, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve and laughing, "Need to start wearing Muggle sunglasses to keep the wind out of my eyes." She felt Charlie's gaze on her but she ignored it and turned to Jack, "You staying for dinner?"
"Nah," Jack shrugged. "Ought to see the others," he winked at her. "I'll see you tomorrow, do all this again, eh?"
"Sure," Cliodhna agreed and turned to head into the cabin, missing the even bigger wink Jack sent to Charlie before he turned and walked away.
Charlie set his broom down inside the door and hung up his jacket, grabbing Cliodhna's hand before she could walk further into the cabin. "Hey," he said softly and tugged her into his arms, holding her tightly. "You okay?"
"Yea," she mumbled against his flannel-covered chest.
"Cliodhna," he said in a low voice, his chest reverberating slightly.
"I like being here," she whispered and tightened her arms around his back. "I'm very glad to be here, that's all."
Charlie pressed a kiss to the top of her head; he knew she was holding back about something, but he didn't push her. "I like having you here too," he whispered.
She tilted her head back to look up at him and the shy smile she gave him could have stopped his heart. Before she could tease him or ask if he was serious, he leaned down and kissed her slowly, a hand moving to tilt her head back even further so he could deepen the kiss.
After a long moment he pulled away slightly, his mouth pulled into a smile before he kissed the corner of her mouth, "You hungry?"
"Not yet," she dropped her arms from his back to stick them into the back pockets of his jeans, and gave him a crooked smile. "I'd rather sit by the fire with you for a little while," she leaned up and kissed his chin, the fire roaring to life without her even moving a finger. "What do you say, dragon tamer?"
Charlie's pupils widened slightly when she gripped his bum and he quickly moved to lift her up off her feet. Cliodhna let out a surprised laugh and smacked Charlie on the shoulders, "Put me down!"
"Take your shoes off before you dirty up my couch," Charlie laughed softly into her ear, setting her down in front of the couch. He sat down in the middle of the couch, patting his lap, and shooting Cliodhna a hungry look.
Cliodhna watched him closely as she took off her shoes and knocked his knees apart slightly; there was no way she could straddle both of his thick thighs while wearing her pair of worn denims. When she made to straddle his left thigh, Charlie visibly swallowed and Cliodhna felt a surge of excitement zip up her spine. She settled on his thigh and put her hands on his shoulder to support herself, leaning forward, her lips mere centimeters from his, "Hi," she whispered, suddenly shy.
"Hi," he whispered back and nudged his nose with hers before gently pressing his lips to hers. She leaned further into him, their kiss delicate and light, his body warm beneath hers. Within moments the kiss turned heated and Cliodhna's fingers traced up Charlie's neck to cradle his face; his hands moved further down her body, over the curve of her arse to squeeze her thighs tightly. "Cliodhna," he whispered when they broke apart quickly for air.
"Charlie," she returned breathlessly, moving her lips along his jaw and dragging her body closer to his, causing him to let out a soft groan. Her lips broke into a wide smile and she dragged her body along his thigh again, gauging his reaction.
"Dinner," he managed to get out.
"Not hungry yet," she brought her lips back to his, catching his lower lip between hers.
His hands moved from her thighs to her waist and he pulled his head back slightly, his blue eyes open but hooded, his pupils wide. "Not yet," he whispered, meeting her gaze. "Not quite yet," he amended.
Cliodhna searched his eyes for a long moment, saw that he was holding back from confessing something to her, but she nodded. "When you're ready," she agreed, trying not to be disappointed that Charlie didn't want to take things beyond snogging yet.
He kept his hands on her and leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "It's not that I don't want to," he whispered. "Godric, do I want to," he trailed off and opened his eyes to watch her and Cliodhna saw the adoration and concern that he held for her written across his face.
"Okay," she whispered and kissed the corner of his mouth.
"Let me cook you dinner, hmm?" He asked and squeezed her waist again before easily lifting her off his leg to set her beside him on the couch.
"You'll have to, if you want to eat," she said cheekily and smiled when Charlie chuckled as he stood up and offered her a hand to pull her up.
"Put on something more comfortable and pour us some drinks, yea?" Charlie asked gently, watching her face.
Cliodhna nodded and walked into the bedroom to borrow some of Charlie's clothes, trying to calm her mind. She didn't need to spend her time and energy worrying about why Charlie didn't want to take things further when they both clearly cared so deeply about each other. There were more important things to worry about, things she felt guilty for putting by the wayside the past few days she was here in Romania with her brother and Charlie.
Helping Harry, for one.
Summoning a storm, for another.
Charlie noticed Cliodhna's far off look when she emerged from his bedroom wearing a pair of flannel pajamas and a sweatshirt (both the legs and the sleeves rolled up, which made Charlie's heart clench slightly), but didn't say anything while she poured them both a finger of whisky. He continued to add things into a pot to stir the simple goulash he was making for dinner, grinning when a tumbler landed on the counter next to him and Cliodhna's arms snaked around his waist, her cheek pressed against his back.
"What are you making?" Her voice was soft from where she now pressed her lips to his back.
"Goulash," he replied, squeezing one of her hands on his stomach. "Not exactly Romanian, but we eat it a lot here."
"And you're adding your own flair to it?" He felt her smile against his back.
"Of course," he agreed and reached for his tumbler to take a small sip before he turned around in her arms to lean against the counter, his arms wrapping around her and kissed her forehead. He pulled his head back and watched her for a moment.
"Do you really think I could summon a storm?" She asked, peering up at him.
Charlie couldn't help his small smile; so that was where her head was at earlier. "I don't see why not," he shrugged and pulled her closer to him.
"A storm," she reiterated, and leaned towards him, placing her head on his chest. "Seems a bit of a stretch," her voice sounded faraway.
"So does having lightning at your fingertips," Charlie chuckled and kissed the top of her head before adding, "I need to stir."
"I can do it," Cliodhna chuckled and leaned her chin against Charlie's chest to look up at him. "Fast or slow?"
Charlie raised a dark red eyebrow, "Slow," he said before leaning down to kiss Cliodhna before pulling away again slowly. "I like you in my clothes," he admitted rather shyly.
Cliodhna kissed him again, her hands still wrapped around his waist, unable to stop smiling until he finally pulled away. "Get the table ready," he kissed her jaw. "Unless you'd rather sit by the fire?"
"The fire," Cliodhna agreed and without moving her hands or fingers, the tumblers of whisky landed on the coffee table near the fireplace, napkins and utensils following them. Her hands slipped away from Charlie's waist, the sleeves falling back over her hands; Charlie saw and without saying anything, grabbed her left hand and rolled the sleeve up again. Cliodhna looked up, watching his face as he rolled up the right sleeve. "Thank you," she whispered, and before he could react, she slipped her hands around his neck and pulled his head down so she could kiss him again. Her heart clenched and the urge to tell him she loved him nearly burst out of her, but he pulled away and reached behind him to turn the stove off.
Cliodhna smiled up at him and let her arms fall away from Charlie so he could finish cooking. "Go. Sit," Charlie said with a grin and watched her go and sit on the couch in front of the fire.
"Do you think I can practice?" Cliodhna asked from the couch as Charlie dished out the goulash. "Summoning a storm, I mean?"
"Of course," Charlie agreed. "We can fly out somewhere far, outside of the reserve, and you and Jack can practice whatever you like."
"And you should practice too," Cliodhna looked up at him, her hazel eyes clear and wide as he sat down next to her, his leg firm against hers. "Offensive and defensive spells, in case -"
"Of course," Charlie agreed, able to tell that she was nervous for his safety. "I'll have the best teacher, won't I?"
Cliodhna couldn't help her blush.
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Cliodhna woke up well-rested for the second day in a row with Charlie pressed up against her back, his arms wrapped tightly around her. She pressed her face into her pillow and smiled, wanting to fall back asleep in his arms, but excited to spend the day with him and Jack. She moved slightly against him, accidentally, but grinned when Charlie's arms locked tighter around her, his lips moving against her neck. "Good morning," his voice was rough and Cliodhna pressed her legs together tightly.
"Morning," she whispered back, arching her neck so he could continue to delicately kiss her.
"Sleep well?" He asked, knowing the answer. She hadn't woken up once from nightmares, had barely even twitched in her sleep – that he noticed at least, because he had slept well too.
"Exceptionally," Cliodhna's laugh was light as she squirmed to turn around in his arms, meeting his gaze. She smiled up at him for a long moment before she moved to kiss him, slowly and languorously, as though they had all the time in the world.
The knock on the front door of the cabin proved otherwise.
Charlie dropped his head to her shoulder and groaned. "You're too important here for your own good," Cliodhna laughed, hiding her disappointment. "They can't get on without you."
"They can," Charlie sighed before kissing her quickly. "I should go on a round before we head out. I'll send Jack to have breakfast with you. Unless you want to sleep in?"
"No," Cliodhna let Charlie get up from the bed. "Breakfast with Jack sounds lovely." There was much they should discuss that would probably only worry Charlie. Cliodhna stretched as Charlie went into the bathroom to change and get ready for the day.
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"So," Jack arched an eyebrow at her over his mug of coffee. "Finally, hm?"
"Don't be smug," Cliodhna rolled her eyes at her brother. "It's not like it was obvious -"
"Course it was," Jack chuckled. "So bloody obvious, the pair of you. For ages. Not being afraid of you, all that."
Cliodhna sighed, "Please, continue, won't you?"
Jack laughed, "How are things with the two of you? Should I give you more alone time?"
Cliodhna tried to keep her face still, from betraying too many emotions, but she knew she couldn't hide anything from Jack, "We're moving slowly," she admitted.
"Much to your dismay, it sounds," Jack watched her closely.
"Very much to my dismay," Cliodhna agreed and took a small sip of her coffee. "There's a war on, you know, and I'd like to," she trailed off, hazel eyes on her mug.
"Feel alive?"
Cliodhna glanced up and met Jack's amber eyes. "Exactly."
"Maybe he's worried that's why you're doing it," Jack said gently. "He's a gentle soul, our Charles."
Cliodhna bit her lip and tapped her fingers on the table, "I did admit I wanted to say something at the wedding, but," she met Jack's eyes again. "I guess I could," she cleared her throat.
"I think you both ought to be honest," Jack shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt, ya know?"
Cliodhna took another sip of her coffee before she cleared her throat, "I want to try to summon a storm today."
Jack arched an eyebrow, "Strong conversation change, but I'll allow it." Cliodhna bit her lip to keep from grinning but didn't say anything as Jack continued. "And what will you do with said storm?"
"Use it to hurt Death Eaters and Him, I hope," Cliodhna said rather nonchalantly.
"Hmm," Jack hummed in agreement but Cliodhna saw how his eyes widened slightly. "Rain?"
"No rain," Cliodhna shook her head. "That seems unnecessary, don't you think?"
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They flew out further than Cliodhna had been since she arrived at the Reserve once Charlie returned from 'checking on his girls'. Charlie led them to a spot far away from any dragons and people so Cliodhna could attempt to summon a storm and Jack could make the earth move. Cliodhna stood very still and looked out over the ledge of where they landed, the forest below them, when she felt Charlie behind her. "I'm not sure what to do," she admitted softly. "I'm not sure I can do it."
"All you can do is try," Charlie said gently, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder. "And when you need a break," he shrugged and she turned her head to look up at him. "You can help me brush up on my skills."
"The skills you need as a Dragon Keeper, you mean?" Cliodhna laughed.
"Dragons require different spells," Charlie returned her smile. "Now, come on, let's see what you can do."
Cliodhna felt like she spent hours attempting to 'summon a storm' to the point where she felt like screaming up into the sky before asking Jack, "What even is a storm?"
Jack shrugged and reached for her hand, "Come here, I want to try something," and pulled her down to the ground to kneel next to him.
"What -"
"Quiet and close your eyes," Jack nearly snapped at her; they'd been out here too long without a break. But Cliodhna did what he demanded and after a moment, she felt her magic moving towards Jack. Not leaving her per se, but reaching out to Jack.
And then the ground shook.
Cliodhna's eyes flew open and landed on where Charlie was now crouching on the ground, trying to stabilize his body, as the ground continued to shake. "Jack," she whispered, her voice betraying her confusion and fear.
"Just as I thought," Jack said when the ground stopped moving and Jack opened his eyes, now nearly yellow before he blinked and they turned back to their normal amber. "You made Ben's ward stronger, and you made me stronger here," his lips twitched as he watched his sister carefully. "And I'm starting to think that Ben is going to have an elemental power too once he gets outside of his safehouse."
Cliodhna blinked at her brother, not sure what to say. But she wondered, for a brief moment, if she, Jack, and Ben stood a chance of making a bigger dent in His army than she originally thought.
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A/N: Please review! :)