A/N: It has been longer than I wish but I also lost my computer with all my writings on it. Its taken a bit to restart some of them on my new computer, since I had to learn a new OS. Anyway, do not own. This is very Alexis heavy , in fact I think the entire chapter is OCs, but this is a AU fic that has a lot of those. Italics are thoughts or a flashback. Italics in quotes are mind-to-mind conversations. Regular print in quotes during flashbacks are mind to mind conversations. I actually wanted this chapter to show parts of Alexis past, so there is a flashback section. X's are scene breaks. - is for flashbacks. As always, use your words.
-x-
Alexis looked up from the work she was tending to, turning her eyes to the child slowly stirring. It was early Monday morning. Emma had slept for nearly two days without stirring. They had worried, at first, that the child had fallen into a coma. That was, until the child's magic started lashing out. A twelve-year old child with a fully developed and matured magical core was a terrifying thought, as children that age did not possess the control necessary to keep from harming themselves or someone else. That was one of the reasons Emma was in a private, warded room. She stood stiffly, moving to get the child a glass of water for when she was completely awake.
Emma groaned, her body was so sore and she didn't quite know why. Because she was also laying on something soft and comfortable, which wouldn't be the case if she was at home. It had taken her a moment to realize where she was, that she was at Hogwarts, before she relaxed enough to open her eyes. She closed them again with a soft whimper. It was way too bright. She also had this feeling that she was in the hospital wing. Ugh.
She waved her hand, lowering the lights, before moving beside the child's bed. "It's alright Emma. May I help you sit up?" She questioned softly, waiting for blue eyes to open once more.
Emma cautiously opened her eyes, blinking rapidly for a moment. At least the light didn't hurt now. She glanced at the headmistress, biting her lip for a moment before nodding. She wasn't sure if sitting up would be better or worse at the moment.
Alexis set the glass down before lifting the bed up slowly. Once it was in the right position, she placed her hand behind the child's back, moving her gently so that she was sitting more comfortably. "Alright?" She inquired, offering the glass of water to the child. She fought to keep her face completely neutral when the child sniffed the glass before hesitantly taking a sip. It took a moment before the girl took the glass with both hands and started to drink eagerly. No child should be afraid to drink. It made her angry but she knew better than to let that anger show, at least in front of the skittish child. A child she needed to have a serious conversation with.
Emma drained the glass, handing in back to the headmistress. She had been thirsty for some reason. She also wasn't quite sure why she was in the hospital wing. "What happened?" She asked slowly, coughing slightly. Her throat was scratchy, like it was after a lot of screaming or crying. But she was at Hogwarts, she was safe.
Alexis moved slowly and deliberately to the water pitcher to refill the child's glass before returning to her side and handing it to her again. "Drink slowly this time. It will help." She remarked summoning her chair and sitting slowly on it. She was keeping her movements as deliberate and visible as possible, as eyes the color of water were tracking her every move. "I was hoping you could tell me that. Do you remember anything at all, Emma?" She questioned quietly, resting her hands on her knees, where the child could see them.
She hesitated, biting her lip again. " I don't know. I remember being in the hallway and then Nikolaas was there. He caught me." She responded finally. Her memory was fuzzy but she did remember Nikolaas being there. The older boy was always so kind to her.
"He caught you? Did you fall?" Alexis inquired. Nikolaas did remember what happened. The teen's account involved the young girl standing on one of the window seats. He said he had called out to her, she startled and fell off the seat and he had attempted to catch her. She wasn't quite sure what exactly had caused the girl's core to mature, unless it had been that close to the edge that the fall had been the final push it needed.
"I...think so? I remember staring out over the grounds, thinking. But I don't remember much after that." She shrugged finally. "Did I get hurt?"
"Not quite. Emma, do you know what your magical core is?"
She frowned, thinking for a moment. Wasn't her core the place where her magic was stored? "Yeah, that's where my magic is."
She nodded, meeting unsure eyes until the child looked away. "That's right. Your magic is stored in your core and as you get older your core stabilizes, so that it has a constant stream of magic in it and matures, so that it reaches its full state. While there is magic in everything, you primarily use the magic in your core." Alexis paused for a moment to make sure the child understood that part first.
Emma nodded, running that through her mind for a moment. So her core would become stronger as she got older then?
"While most cores stabilizes at thirteen or fourteen, cores do not usually mature until seventeen or eighteen. Your core, however, felt the need to stabilize and mature late Saturday night. That means that you know have full access to your magic. Because of your age, Emma, that magic might overpower you for a while, so Eric, Tim, and I are going to teach you how to control that magic once your body has fully recovered. Do you understand what I'm telling you?" She explained calmly, watching the child's emotions flint across her face.
So her magic was what it would be as an adult now. Did that mean she'd lose magic as she got older? And why was it fully formed now? She had control of her magic, didn't she? "Yes Alexis." She responded finally. She didn't quite understand but she would research it. She wasn't a Ravenclaw for nothing, after all.
She didn't think that the child really did. But that was alright. She would explain it again to the child later, when they started to teach her control. For now, Emma just needed food and rest, so that her body could fully heal and adapt to the mature magic within her.
-x-
"Rose stop! We were talking!" Ariana snapped, trying to slide between her friend and Derek. She had been talked to Derek. They had both been leaning against the wall, talking quietly about things she'd rather not tell her friend about. She knew Rose wouldn't understand why she was talking to the younger bully. There was absolutely no reason for her friend to suddenly attack the other teen, as Rose had just entered this hallway and suddenly was hitting and kicking Derek, who was trying very hard to not hurt the girl. "Rose!"
Derek grimaced as fingernails dug into his skin and a spell washed over him. He groaned as the first flashes of pain filled his body. The smaller girl was still hitting him and that did not help with the pain at all. He tried moving his arms to protect his body but the jolt of pain stopped him. Something was wrong, he couldn't stop the pain and he wasn't sure if Rose was causing it or not. It felt like his magic was boiling.
"Ariana?" Isaac questioned, glancing between Rose, who was hitting Derek, and Ariana, who was trying to pull the younger girl away.
"Help me Isaac! She won't stop!" She flinched, ignoring the pain from being elbowed in the face for a moment.
He frowned, quickly moving to try and pull Rose off of Derek. The longer he watched, the more he could tell that it wasn't exactly a fight. Derek was trying to protect his face but he was not fighting back. No, the younger boy seemed to be struggling to even stand at this point. Isaac wrapped his arms around Rose's waist, pulling her away from the other teen for a moment before her foot connected with his still healing leg and he let go, swearing softly. He tried to grab her again, catching Derek's eyes. The words he was going to say to the boy, to suggest that he move as soon as he had hold of her, died on his lips. The blond's mouth was open and his eyes showed terror. Something was terribly wrong. He tried to cast a shield around him, to try and add some protection, but the shield would not stay. "Ariana, get help!" He ordered, trying to move his body physically between the two. Rose almost seemed possessed.
"Hurts." Derek moaned, fighting to keep his arm between his body and Rose. Isaac was helping the pain, by pulled her back over and over again, but his body felt weak and battered. It wasn't a good feeling.
Eric paused, staring at the scene in front of him for a long moment. There was magic surrounding Derek that shouldn't be there, a spell that none of these teens should know. But there was also magic in Rose that he hadn't noticed before. Magic that wasn't her own. When Ariana had found him, on his way to hospital wing to check on Emma, the words she had babbled hadn't really made sense. But now he could understand exactly what she couldn't say. He strode toward the three teens, moving to lift Rose off of Derek. Whatever magic surrounded Derek easily accepted him and he pulled her away, his arm around her waist and holding her so her feet weren't touching the ground. Experience had taught him that if a child was set down after a fight, they would either jump back into the fight or run. He had no plans to chase down a fifteen year old girl today. He freed his wand, canceling the spell on Derek. The boy relaxed the moment the spell ended. He ignored the feet kicking him for a moment, surveying each of the other three teenagers for a moment, trying to see which ones were injured. "Ariana, will you support Isaac please?" He inquired, frowning at the girl he was holding.
Ariana nodded, slinging one of Isaac's arms over her shoulder. She could easily tell that his leg was injured, again. He grunted as she shifted him, moving more of his weight onto herself. She needed to help Derek too, though. He didn't seem like he could stand for much longer.
"If I put you down, do you promise to follow me and not to start fighting again?" He asked briskly, brown eyes glancing at her before going to the blond boy. The girl had finally stopped fighting him, her head leaning against his chest.
Rose hesitated for a moment before nodding. She wouldn't fight him. She wasn't sure why but she wanted to obey Eric, her magic relaxed when he had picked her up. It was weird. She had been feeling off since Sunday evening and she was just so full of emotions that didn't make sense to her. She stumbled for a moment when he set her down, before quickly regaining her balance. She moved pass Derek, to the other side of Isaac. She didn't look at the boy, moving his arm over her shoulder so that she could help Ariana. She had a feeling that Eric, and Derek, would not want her near Derek.
He murmured a feather-light spell before stashing his wand and resting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm going to pick you up, Derek. That will make it easier on your body." He explained calmly, waiting for the boy's nod before lifting him up and into his arms. While the boy was heavier than many of the other teens, he could still easily carry him over his arms like he would any sick child. He made sure that Derek was situated before heading off, knowing that the three teens would follow behind them. The closest place to take the four of them would be his and Tim's quarters. Better so that he also knew Tim was in their quarters at the moment, working on a plan for a certain headmistress' health.
-x-
Tim frowned, looking up from his notebook, as the door to his and Eric's quarters swung open and Eric strode into the room, carrying a teenager. "What happened?" He inquired, moving quickly to get whichever med kit was closest.
"That's what I'd like to know." He responded, nodding when his partner opened the door to one of the spare bedrooms that they had set up as a medical room. He gently laid the child down, reaching to take the med kit from Tim. "If you can tend to the injuries on Ariana and Isaac, I will heal Derek and get him to sleep. Do not let Rose leave."
He could feel the anger in the older man's tone, which was surprising because Eric had such iron control that he rarely felt the other man's emotions, unless they were directed at him. "Did she..." Tim trailed off, rising an eyebrow when Eric nodded. "Alright. I'll go check Isaac's leg and look over Ariana then."
"Tim? Look at Rose's magic." He suggested silently, resting a hand on Derek's chest and the other on the boy's shoulder, before letting his magic sink into the child.
Tim blinked, staring at his partner for a moment before returning to the sitting room where the three teens were. Ariana had managed to get Isaac into a chair and Rose was standing off by herself, leaning against the wall. He cast a silent locking spell to the door, to keep all of the teenagers there until they figured out what had happened before turning sharp eyes to Rose. He let his eyes shift for a moment, observing the magic in the room before focusing on the magic within the teenage girl. This was a draining way of using his own magic, if he did it for too long, but just for a few seconds would do no harm to him. He froze, watching the magic that was wrapped around her. Parts of that magic was not hers. She was carrying other magic within her. He shook his head, letting his eyes adjust back to the way he normally saw magic, turning his attention to Isaac. It didn't take an exam for him to tell that the boy's broken leg, which had been healing nicely and was almost complete, had been re-broken. He moved over to the boy, summoning a footstool. "Isaac? I want to check you for injuries, okay? I also want to look at that leg of yours." He stated softly, catching the child's eyes for a moment.
Isaac grimaced but nodded, fighting down a flinch when the man waved his wand over him. He had a feeling that his leg was broken. Other than a few scrapes and bruises, that was the worst of it though.
Tim rested a hand on the child's shoulder, sending bits of his magic through the boy. He shifted so that he was sitting on the footstool and gently moved the child's leg onto his lap. He traced the bone with his wand, realigning it, before stashing his wand and letting the magic go through his finger tips. Touch-healing was one of the best ways to repair damage, after all. It was also more personal and soothing than a wand. He sighed softly, watching new bone form around the break before gently removing his magic and summoning a wrap. He wrapped the teen's leg, tapping the wrap to harden it into a cast before charming it to stay dry and clean. He then summoned a jar of bruise balm. Tim slowly started applying it to the teen's arms. He raised an eyebrow at Isaac, stilling his hands. At the child's nod, he carefully rubbed the balm into his cheek and neck. While he wasn't sure what had happened to cause these injuries on his child, he did know one thing. Isaac was becoming more comfortable with them.
Ariana grunted, letting the older man examine her for a moment. She still flinched when he rubbed bruise balm into her face. Unlike Isaac, Rose had done little damage to her. She wasn't sure what had caused her friend to act like this, especially unprovoked. It wasn't like Rose. "Is Derek going to be okay?"She asked finally, breaking the silence.
"He should be. Eric is taking care of him, he is in good hands." Tim responded, moving to sit down in his leather armchair. He wave a hand toward the other chairs, glancing at the two girls.
"What happened Ari?" Isaac caught the blond girl's eyes, tilting his head toward Rose.
She grimaced, shaking her own head. "Derek and I were just talking." She shrugged, turning her eyes to Rose as the younger girl snorted.
"Yeah, right. You shouldn't talk to him." Rose growled, folding her arms over her chest.
"I would like to know what caused this, Rose." Eric stepped fully into the room, shutting the door to where Derek was sleeping. "While you might not like Derek, that is not a reason to harm anyone."
Tim tilted his head, watching how the girl's whole demeanor seemed to change the moment Eric came into the room. He had a feeling he knew exactly what was going on with Rose, he just hoped he was wrong. It would complicate a few things, although it might make a few other easier. Since Eric was going to become the girl's Master, they would become her guardians.
"I didn't mean to hurt him. I just...couldn't." Rose shrugged, not meeting the dark-skinned healer's eyes.
"It was like you were possessed." Isaac offered quietly. The look in Rose's eyes had bothered him but it had not frightened him as much as Derek's eyes had.
"What couldn't you do, Rose?" Tim inquired, frowning when the child glared at him.
She shrugged, looking away from the other healer. She didn't have to answer him. He wouldn't understand anyway. None of them would. She wasn't even sure if she could explain it. She had just been angry. Not at Derek, just in general. And when she saw the bully talking to her friend, she couldn't control that anger. She hadn't been able to stop, she hadn't wanted to. She wasn't even sure what the spell she cast had done to Derek, wasn't quite sure where it had come from.
"What spell did you cast?" Eric questioned firmly, meeting hazel eyes for a brief moment before the girl looked away again with a shrug. "You don't know? Or you don't care?"
She bit her lip, glancing at her two friends and then toward the door to where Derek was. "I don't know what the spell was. It kind of just happened." She whispered finally.
"Fuck."
Eric glanced toward his partner, raising an eyebrow at him in question. "I know."
"Whose magic is she channeling though? She has bits of yours and Alexis, as well as a tint I can't connect to a person." Tim forced down a sigh, meeting his eyes.
"Alexis said she was a little leech. I didn't think she meant literally. The three of us are now connected. That complicates things."
"Particularly if she is casting spells she doesn't remember learning, spells that have been cast by anothers magic. Magic does learn and store those spells inside a person."
"The real question is, Tim, what the hell has Alexis been casting and how will it effect a fifteen year old who doesn't know better than to react? If Rose is feeling emotions that she cannot understand, that would explain why she lost control of herself, and possibly her magic. It would also explain why I have felt a little distracted since that night. I wonder if Alexis has realized what happened yet." Eric responded silently, sighing softly. If Rose had bits of his and Alexis' magic, and the castle's, within her, then it was likely that he had bits of her and Alexis' magic as well. It would explain why he had been feeling irritable and off lately. Being connected to another by magic wasn't exactly unusual, but usually those connections were forged with blood-bonds or through familial magic. The ritual they had done had caused magic to pass from one of them to another. That mean they were going to have to teach Rose to control her emotions, since her magic would now be shaped both by herself and by their magic. It was only slightly different than the bond between a master and apprentice.
Isaac watched the two men, furrowing his brow in thought. The way the two of them were staring at each other, it was almost as if they were having a conversation. And maybe they were, to be fair. He had read about mind to mind communication, but usually that was because of a one-way spell. Perhaps this was something different that he could research.
"Then you are going to have to learn control, Rose. Spells like that cannot be allowed to just happen. You could have killed Derek." Eric remarked finally.
She paled, staring at the older man for a long moment. "But I wasn't trying to. I just wanted... I don't even know! I was just angry and he was there!" Rose snapped, ignoring her two friends for the moment. She knew both of them were looking at her like she lost her mind. And perhaps she had. She couldn't quite identify the emotions she was feeling or where they were coming from. She even felt a bit helpless and she just didn't know why. It was aggravating and confusing, like her mind had a mind of its own.
"Rose." Eric responded softly, catching the girl's eyes for a long moment. He could almost feel her calm down. He could understand her frustration of course. She was a teenage girl, she barely had control of her own emotions on a good day. But with her magic now containing bits of both his and Alexis' magic, her emotions and thoughts were bound to be out of control until she learned to control it. He would have it easier than both of the younger women, partly because of his age but also because he was blood-bonded to Tim. He had learned how to control his own emotions and what he felt from his partner years ago. Alexis would have to be informed of this change in the three of theirs magic. As should Rose. "When we completed that ritual Saturday, part of our magic changed. You gained bits of Alexis' and my magic, just as we both gained bits of yours. So what you are feeling, no matter how irrational it is to you, is understandable. Magic carries with it the imprint of its caster. After I speak with Alexis, the two of us will teach you how to control it. It is not that much different than the bond between a master and apprentice, it just manifests itself differently." He explained, focusing solely on the young woman. He could hear Tim speaking quietly to Isaac and Ariana but his attention was for the fifteen year old leech, the girl who carried not just his and Alexis' magic, but probably Hogwarts magic as well. He could see in her eyes that she did understand, to an extent. But he wasn't so sure she wouldn't try to experiment with this new mix of magic. He would have to speak to Alexis and soon, perhaps before Tim, Filius, and he sat her down for a talk about her health. She'd be less likely to hex him then, at least.
-x-
"Well that explains why you now have Hogwarts magic within you. " Alexis frowned in thought, eyes focused on the grounds outside and the groups of teenagers she could see from here. She had noticed that her own magic felt off, that something had changed, but she had just assumed she was still carrying extra magic from the castle, which she was, not magic from two other people. Which meant a teenage girl was carrying Hogwarts' magic. That could be dangerous, for the school and the girl. "I take it this means we need to teach her control and quickly." She added, smiling slightly at the two boys she could see.
"Something caught your eye?"
"Mhm. I believe I just witness my son's first kiss. About time. He's been driving his brothers and I crazy with the letter writing." She turned away from the window, meeting brown eyes for a moment. "Rose wasn't the only reason you came here." She stated, looking away from him.
Eric sighed softly, watching as she turned away from him once more. "She's not, no." He knew that even if he could see her expression that it would be a blank mask. The only emotion would be in those steel colored eyes. "Filius and Tim will be joining us momentarily." He added quietly, releasing his pendent. The other two men had agreed to him speaking to her first, before she started fighting them.
"No Henry?" She asked silkily, not bothering to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. Her eyes darted toward the nearest exit and she forced her body language to remain empty, to be blank. If she could only get to her quarters...
"Of course not. This is a family affair." He responded, ignoring her tone for a moment. He didn't mention that he had spoke to Henry, to see what the ever-watchful man had noticed. He narrowed his eyes, ignoring the floo that sounded behind him. The headmistress' body had gone tense, as if she was about to try running. After all these years, she was still going to run. Not that she would get far.
She had moved as soon as the floo sounded, having expected Eric to turn toward the floo. She was halfway toward the door when a stinging spell made contact with her bottom and a locking spell flew past her to her door. She groaned, turning to face the three men who were watching her with raised eyebrows.
"You should know better than to run by now, Alexis. You wouldn't like it if one of your students or younger staff members tried to run when you wanted to have a conversation with them. You don't run from us." Tim remarked dryly, frowning at the young woman. Even with her glamours up, she looked exhausted.
Filius waved his hand toward the couches and armchairs in her office, beckoning her to follow him. He wished, briefly, that one of them had arranged this conversation right after she became Headmistress. At least they had caught it before it was too late. But that didn't mean his daughter wouldn't fight them on this. Headmistress she may be, but they were the oldest members of her family and two of them were Heads of the family. It was past time for her to start taking her health seriously. He knew just how stubborn she could be though, this wasn't going to be an easy conversation.
She grimace, sitting carefully on her usual armchair. "Was that necessary?" She muttered, avoiding the eyes of the three fatherly figures in her life. She blinked, frowning at the urge to sulk. While she was stubborn and tended to do what she wanted to, consequences be damned, Alexis did not sulk. Not since she was a teenager, anyway. Because that was a teenage emotion, the feeling that the world was against you and that sulking was the only acceptable way to show that. She remembered the feeling from when she was a teenager, as it wasn't that long ago. "I see what you mean about the emotions." She remarked offhandedly, glancing toward Eric. She could only imagine how Rose felt, as Rose was at the age where her emotions were all jumbled and to now have some adult emotions flowing through her magic? That would have to feel chaotic.
Eric sighed softly. "While our new connection to Rose is important, there are more pressing matters that the four of us need to discuss. Such as your use of wide-awake potions that you spike your coffee with or the nutritional potions you down, at Minzi's insistent, so that you can skip meals."
"Damn elf." She growled, glaring at the floor. There was a small hole in the rug, probably from a preteen, but she had not noticed it before. Interesting.
"That 'damn' elf is trying to keep you alive. I know you don't quite grasp the importance of that but since you are now headmistress of a school full of children and young adults who look to you for guidance, you have to start caring about your health Alexis. Because those children are going to model your behaviour. I know you don't care about yourself, but you do care for every person in this castle. So you are going to have to change the way you treat yourself, otherwise you won't be around long enough to help these children." Filius stated softly, eyes focused intently on his daughter. When grey eyes flicked to him, he knew she was listening. But it was time she did more than just listen. "Eric, Tim, and I have decided that you are not capable of tending to your own health." He added. The fear in her eyes was almost heart-breaking and the way her mouth had dropped was so child-like that he had to fight to keep his will. He hated having put that look on her face but he knew this was necessary.
Eric steeled his heart against her terrified eyes, meeting them firmly. "We know that this will not be an easy journey, but it is something that needs to be handled before school starts back. We want you to be healthy, Alexis. I know that you feel neglecting your health will benefit your students, but it will not. Some things are going to have to change."
She was perfectly capable of tending to her own health. She was an adult! Even if she knew that within wizarding culture, she was considered barely old enough to sign her own contracts. Almost all of her counselors had a co-signer on their contracts with the school, because they could not legally sign for themselves. Hell, Filius was considered to be middle-aged and he was over seventy. Wizards lived longer than mundanes, so their youth lasted longer. She knew that, she just didn't particularly like it. She especially didn't like it when they treated her like she was still young. She knew she was young. But she also knew that she was responsible for over six hundred children come September, and all the staff that it took to run an efficient school. Maybe that was more responsibility than people her age usually had but she was perfectly capable of doing her job. So shouldn't they treat her like she was? Instead of the girl that they had all, at one point or another, taken care of? "Look, I'm an adult and while I appreciate your concern, I can handle it." She responded finally, trying to keep her voice and face as neutral as possible. She was capable of taking care of herself, she just tended not to do so.
Tim snorted, shaking his head for a moment before turning to catch Eric's eye. "Remember when she said that when she was about twenty-one?"
He chuckled warm brown eyes meeting gray before turning to Filius. "She said, and I quote 'I'm an adult, I work with dragon riders for Merlin's sake'. Although there was a bit of shouting and tantrum-throwing involved as well." He explained, smirking at the smaller man. "Remind me to show you that memory later."
Alexis scowled, glaring at the two healers for a moment. "That's not the point."
"No it's not. It doesn't matter if you are an adult. You are neglecting your health. As the Heads of your family and your healer, we can intervene and we will. I know you don't particularly like change Alexis and it has been a summer of change, but this is necessary. I know you want to see your children grow up, just as I want to watch mine continue to grow. Tim has drawn up a plan for your health that Eric and I agree with. You will eat and sleep on a regular schedule. We know that the sleeping part might be difficult, with your duties, but it is something that we can work on. Unless there is a student or staff member who needs you, or the castle requires your attention, I want you in bed by midnight. Paperwork can wait until the morning. We would also like you to delegate more of that work. You have members of the teaching staff in residence, use them. They won't mind handling a bit of paperwork." Filius stopped when she snorted, raising an eyebrow. "Something funny, Alexis?"
"Just the part about it being 'a bit' of paperwork." She chuckled, before returning her full attention to the three men. She didn't particularly like what he was saying, but that didn't mean he wasn't right.
" As Filius was saying, we will help you figure out a schedule that works for dealing with all the work running a school requires. Tim will keep up with your physical health, including all of the potions you take. You know better than to mix a wide-awake potion with caffeine. If you become so tired that you need to do so, then you need to delegate whatever task needs to be done to Severus and sleep for a few hours. You will not be doing something as dangerous as mixing potions like that again or you will answer to me. We taught you better than that. We would also like you to speak with a mind-healer but that is something for you to decide. I did find one that I trust and believe would work well with you. You are under a lot of stress, Alexis. Having someone to talk to can help handle that stress before it makes you destructive. You are always welcome to talk to any of us, however we also understand that there are some things you'd rather not say to us. And that's alright, as long as you are talking to someone." Eric finished, tapping his fingers on his knees for a moment. That was all they really needed to say. That they were going to help her sort out this responsibility while still taking care of herself and that they were there for her, no matter what.
She bit her lip, thinking it over. Honestly, it could have been worse and she knew that. Alexis remembered quite well the last time Eric and Tim had felt the need to step in. That had been a hard, and sometimes painful, six weeks. But she knew that this time would be different. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she needed the help. She had her students and staff to worry about. And she knew her body need food and sleep, she could just never find the time. Because there was always some piece of work that needed to be finished or a child needing to be soothed, or a counselor needing advice... There was always some bit of work she had to do. She loved her job, she would love it even more without all the unnecessary paperwork, but she did know when she was a bit overwhelmed. There was just so much to do and not enough time. "Okay." She replied softly, meeting the dark skinned healer's eyes before looking at her adoptive father. "Okay. I will think about seeing the mind-healer and I will allow you to help me. I need it." She added, biting her lip for a second before looking down. She hated admitting that she needed help. Hated it. She shifted slightly in her seat, glancing at the two healers again. " I am, however, still better than I was when I first found the two of you."
Tim smirked, catching her eye. "Found us? We found you child. " He smiled slightly, tilting his head toward Filius. "Has she told you that story yet, Filius?" He inquired, raising a brow when Alexis groaned. Probably not then.
"Only that her previous master could not handle her and passed her on to you." Filius reply, glancing at the younger woman. He would love to know more of her past, even if he already accepted her as his daughter. He was curious as to her past, the true complete version, not the bits she shared when she had a little too much fire-whiskey and her brother was taunting her.
Eric shook his head, meeting warm silver eyes for a moment. "Alexis?"
"Go ahead." She shrugged. She knew quite well that neither of the men who had raised her as a teenager would tell her story without her permission. Sure, they might tell some of the interesting bits, like her first word or first fight, her first job even. But the darker parts of her, where she came from, they wouldn't share without her permission. But Filius was planning to adopt her and it was a story she had told her brother, after all. Pieces anyway.
"We found her on the streets of Austria..."
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There were two men not far down the road, foreigners. She could always tell which ones were the foreigners. These two though, they didn't seem as unused to the area as most foreigners were. Perhaps they had came here once or twice before, but that didn't matter to her. She was cold, dirty, and hungry. And they were easy targets. Because unlike all of the other foreigners in town that week, there must be a meeting of them or something, they didn't travel in a crowd and they kept wandering away from each other. If she could get close enough, she could sneak their purses and they would never know it.
"We're being followed." He caught a glimpse of the girl in a shop window, not bothering to look at his partner. The best thing about being able to speak mind to mind was that the girl wouldn't know that they had noticed her.
Eric drifted to look at a fruit-sellers good, watching her move out of the corner of his eye. "She can't be older than twelve or thirteen. You see that magic on her? She was someone's apprentice, so.."
"Either she ran away because she had a bad master or she's been abandoned. She looks too young to be an apprentice. The locals ignore her though, so she's been on these streets for a while."
She slipped, unnoticed, into a crowd of locals, until she was close enough to the dark-skinned man to take his pouch but he moved before she could. She sighed softly,watching the man move back to the light-skinned man and hand him a piece of fruit. She turned to the fruit seller with her saddest eyes, poking her lip out. The old woman huffed and tossed her a bruised apple. Frau Konner always kept the bruised food for the street kids, she had found that out her first few days in this area. But unlike the other street kids in this town, she traveled alone. She wasn't trying to draw any more attention to herself than necessary. She kept her eyes on the couple, taking a bite out of her apple as they stopped at a store front.
He narrowed his eyes, watching her in the reflection of the window. She was a smart one, always moving almost out of view so that most travelers wouldn't know they were being followed. They were here for a major, international healing conference. Not to pick up a young street kid whose magic showed clear. It almost seemed like.. "Does it look like her core has matured to you?" Tim questioned silently, leaning into his partner for a moment. Clearly the street vendors knew her, if the apple she had was any indication. Perhaps they would know who she belonged to.
"Now that you mentioned it, yes it does. So she can't be twelve. But she looks way too young to be seventeen or eighteen." Eric raised an eyebrow, watching a small group of what was clearly street children give the girl a wide berth, as if they were afraid to get too close to her. As if the girl was dangerous or violent. "I switched my purses, let her snatch the false one and we will track her this evening after the panel." He could feel how intrigued his husband was, he had a feeling that if they couldn't find the girl's master, that they might just be taking her with them. He had not seen magic that clear in a young person since they adopted their son.
Tim nodded, turning to move on ahead of the older man. He kept walking for a minute before turning into one of the little shops, watching his partner out of the corner of his eye. Eric had moved toward a man selling books, his back to the street child. The child who was moving swiftly toward his husband. He watched as a small hand slipped into the outside pocket on Eric's robe and then the girl was moving fast, slipping down an alley and out of sight. She had taken the bait, then. Good.
Eric gave off a soft sigh as they took another turn. For a small town, there was a labyrinth of alleys and side streets. They had been following the tracker for nearly an hour. It seemed like the child was on the move. But as dark as it was getting, she should be settling down somewhere soon.
She scowled, climbing the drainage pipe behind one of the larger shops. Her usual sleep-spot had been taken over by a group of young runaways. As she knew how safe that spot was, she couldn't force them out, not knowing where they came from. So she had shared the bread she bought with them before moving onward and up. There were very few safe spots on the ground, even further away from the marketplace. But she knew which store owners wouldn't care if she slept on their roof, as long as she did something for them in return. So she could easily use this roof to access the other ones, by jumping.
So far they had come across two different groups of children and a few older adults. But that girl was no where to be seen. And now they were at a brick wall, literally. The trail ended here but there was no girl. Tim shook his head, he wasn't going to give up. They couldn't save all of the street children, even if Eric had left a few well placed coins for them to find, but this one..There was just something about this one that called to them. As if their magic was seeking her.
Eric narrowed his eyes, frowning at the pipe running up the side of the building. There was what looked like a foot print, halfway up the wall. The spell he had placed on the purse was still tugging at him. It was tugging up though, until it suddenly started moving again. "I think she might be up high." He murmured softly, nudging his partner. "Let's keep following it from the ground."
She moved swiftly from rooftop to rooftop before settling down onto of one of the non-magical shops. It didn't have wards that would zap her if she stayed still for too long. She was on top of a tailor's shop now and he was a good enough person. He would often trade a sleeping spot in his workroom for chores to whichever street child was willing to work. Sometimes she ran errands for him in exchange for a hot meal and use of his shower. She only hoped she could stick around until Saint Nicholas day this year, as he always left a box of oranges, chocolate, and clothing behind the shop for the street children. That's how she had gotten the clothes she was wearing, after all. Her other outfit was too identifying so that she could rarely wear it outside or people would ask questions. Questions she'd rather not answer. She settled down in a corner of the roof, her back against the low outer wall.
"She's up there. But how do we get up there? Or do we just wait until tomorrow?" Tim inquired silently, eyes examining the roof. It had a low wall surrounding it but they had seen movement for a brief moment. No child should feel that they had to sleep on a roof to be safe.
"We'll come back in the morning. We don't want to startle her into running, not if we want to talk to her." Eric decided. If she was settling down on this roof, it meant she would stay put for the night. They didn't have any meetings or panels first thing tomorrow morning, so they could easily come back. With the tracer still on the pouch they would be able to find her, as long as she carried it. He turned, catching his partner's hand and gently tugging the younger man with him. It was time to go back to the hotel but they would be back.
She ignored the thwack of wood against her skin, moving faster than the shop keeper. It was almost like a game they played, where one older street kid would dart around him, letting the little ones grab what they could. She might not travel in the groups and she might not beg, but she loved irritating the old man and the little ones could always use the extra food. That and if he didn't want to feed them, he wouldn't put the older pastries on lower racks, right where little hands could grab. He wouldn't wrap a loaf of fresh bread in cloth and slip it to the smallest child. He would hit harder with his broom and he wouldn't smile like he was. The only time she had seen him angry was when there was a fight over the bread, when someone didn't want to share it with the little ones. He had whacked both of them with his wooden spoon. The boy for being selfish and her for stabbing him. While the baker had whacked the boy once and sent him on to a healer, not that she had cut him that badly, he had waited until she had given the bread out and the little ones had taken off, before whacking her bottom with his spoon several times and lecturing her. But he never brought it up again and she had to wonder if that was what having parents felt like. Having someone hold her accountable and then still care about her was something she had not experienced often. She stopped her little dance with him, watching the little one dart out with the bread. "Danke schön." She whispered, taking the pastry he had placed just for her before slipping out the door. She walked past the alley where the little one was passing out chucks of bread, nodding to them as she went, before taking a bite of the pastry. She grinned as the warmth filled her. It was still hot!
Tim sighed in frustration, glaring at Eric when the older man wasn't looking. His partner had asked around last night and they found a healer missing an apprentice, one he claim ran away and that he would be happy to give them. The man claimed that the girl had ran away in Hamburg, Germany. While that wasn't terribly far, it would be for a child on foot. Why he never reported the girl missing was a story he wasn't drunk enough to share. He was aggravated that Eric had taken longer than he felt necessary to leave the hotel. And that this search was leading from one dead end to another. The girl was already on the move, it seemed.
Eric frowned, stopping at a bakery. The trail seemed to dart in and out of the place several times. While it did continue on, he was curious if the store owner would know anything about the young woman. "Come Tim." He ordered silently, glancing at his partner. He knew the other man was agitated, he could feel it, but he wasn't going to let his partner hex another healer, even if the man was in the wrong. This girl might not even be his apprentice. But he doubted that. He glanced around the shop, spotting the baker who was whistling as he set out freshly baked bread.
"What can I get for you gentlemen?" He inquired, setting the still warm bread in its spot. "I have fresh fruit pastries. Best in the country." He tilted his head, watching how the younger one's eyes kept darting about. Mages then, probably noticed the fire charm a certain young girl had placed.
"It smells delicious. We'll take two." Eric responded with a smile, barely glancing at the pastries.
"Your German is flawless, but that accent is French, no?"
Tim raised an eyebrow, glancing as his partner for a moment. Not many people noticed that Eric had a very faint accent and no one had ever pinpointed it down like that. "Yes, we live in France, usually."
"I was wondering if you could tell us anything about a street child, a girl." Eric inquired, accepting the wrapped pastries and passing over the euros for them.
"There are many street children, lots are girls. Why do you ask?" If he had to guess, he knew exactly which child they were asking about. They were not the first mages to notice her but most usually forgot quickly about her.
"She's around sixteen or seventeen, small, and she has hair that I think is black. Grey eyes." Tim had noticed, when he caught sight of her following them in the window, that she had grey eyes. While he couldn't be certain if her hair was actually black or just dirty, there was no hiding those eyes.
Eric frowned, watching the baker for a moment. The other man had gone from friendly to unwelcoming in seconds. Perhaps that man cared about the street children, it would explain why they saw several happily munching on pastries. "We mean her no harm. We can both see magic and hers is strong, and untrained. We are both healers and while we think she was an apprentice at one point, we just want to talk to her. Magic as clear and strong as hers needs training before it accidentally lashes out." He replied quietly. There was magic all over this shop, little spells and charms meant to prevent fires and protect against bugs and theft. Charms that had a magical signature that matched the girl's magic.
"Not the magic you have to worry about. She has a temper, once stabbed another child right in front of me!" The baker huffed, trying to look shocked. Not that he had been shocked when it happened. But that story was the one that caused most folks to forget about her.
Tim blinked, meeting Eric's eyes for a moment. Was the man trying to intimate them? Because that wasn't going to happen. They were healers for children and teenagers. He was a mind healer for gods sake. A simple incident like that wasn't enough to push they off track. "I bet she didn't just stab him randomly. My partner is a pediatric healer and I am a adolescent and young adult mindhealer. We are both touch healers. We mean her no harm. But a stabbing? That's nothing in our world."
He chuckled then, losing the urge to dissuade them. He liked these two men, it helped that they were healers but he also liked the personality he could sense from each of them.. He'd even bet that while the brown-haired man acted tough and strict, the dark skinned man was the one you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of. Hell, if they could talk Lexi into leaving the street life, if they could give her a home, then he would let them try. She was stubborn though. "She is younger than you think but she doesn't know how old she is. You have a test for that, yes? Her hair is black, Hans lets her use his shower for errands. Sometimes, on very cold nights, she sleeps in front of the ovens here or in Hans workroom. She's a very private child, rarely talks about her self but she'll fight for the little ones. Hans told me she slept on his roof last night, so she must have given them her usual place. She showed up about six months ago, right as winter started. Other than that, I don't know that much about her. " He responded finally, moving to place the rest of the pastries on their racks. He always fed the children before he opened so that they wouldn't scare away any foreigners looking for breakfast. The locals were used to the children, a mix of magical and regular street kids, but the foreigners were afraid of them. Without the constant movement of tourists through their little mixed town, they wouldn't have as many street kids. Some of the kids were brought along by foreigners and then were either abandoned or ran away. Or the children made their way here on their own, heading toward Vienna. He knew that was where Lexi had been planning on going before she decided to hang around for a bit.
"Do you know where she tends to frequent?" Eric questioned, storing the bits of knowledge for later. If the child didn't know how old she was that meant she had been on the streets a lot longer than they had thought or that she was on the streets before becoming an apprentice. Neither option set well with him.
"Those kids are all over the market. Lexi tends to go shop to shop, helping out, through out the day. I would try the smithery and then the butcher. It's stew day, so she will be at the butchers about an hour before lunch. All of them will be."The baker responded, going to remove a tray of bread from the nearby oven. What he wouldn't tell them was that he had noticed when Lexi helped out, she also tended to leave with a foreigners purse in her pocket. She wouldn't steal from the townsfolk but she did tend to rob the foreigners blind. When he had spoken to her about it, she had told him that she was trying to teach the foreigners to pay attention to their surroundings.
"Thank you." Tim replied,taking a bite of his pastry as he made his way back outside. Businesses were starting to open, so if they wanted to find the child before the crowds came in, they would need to hurry.
Alexis frowned in concentration, waving her hand a bit erratically at the coals. She was suppose to be heating them to temperature but Fonzell had told her to not use the bellows. He wanted her to raise the temperature with her magic, she just wasn't sure that she could.
"Lexi, no. You will burn my workshop down. Control your magic and direct it child." The large muscular man instructed. He usually did it manually, as well, but when forging magical items, instead of mundane forging, using a magical fire was often better. Besides, if the towns people didn't teach the street children how to control and use their magic, no one would. That's why the kids hung around for so long, instead of just moving on. He sighed, setting down his hammer at the tingle on the bell. Someone was entering his shop. He shook his head at the girl, when she went to move toward the storefront. "I got it, Lexi. Keep working on it. Remember you control your magic, it doesn't control you." He added, heading up front.
She grumbled under her breath, even though she knew he couldn't hear, and tried again. This time she tried pointing instead of just waving about. Her face split into a grin when the numbers on the thermometer started rising slowly. She was doing it! She kept at it for several minutes, not bothering to turn away from the fire when Fonzell came back. "No good customer?"
"Not exactly. Good job Lexi! That's good control but I need you to turn around please. These gentlemen would like to speak to you and I want you to try to listen." Fonzell ordered softly. It had taken several minutes for the men to convince him of their intentions toward this child. He didn't detect deceit which was why he had brought them back here to speak with her.
She turned to meet his eyes, glancing at the men he mentioned and froze. Those were the men she robbed yesterday. Well, it wasn't really a robbery. It was more of a lightening of their pockets without their knowledge. "I didn't do it." Why would Fonzell do this to her? He had protected her from angry tourists before, not that the two men looked angry. She wasn't quite sure what they were feeling, to be honest. Both had neutral masks up.
He chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm sure you didn't, Kind. I'll be up front." Fonzell remarked, addressing the last to the two gentlemen. There was only one way out of his work room and that was through the front, so he would know if Lexi decided to run.
Eric nodded in understanding, brown eyes never leaving the young woman. She looked like she could flee at any moment. "Hello Lexi, is it? We don't want to hurt you, we just want to talk."
"Got nothing to say." She shrugged, eyes darting between them.
" That's okay. You don't have to say anything but we just ask that you listen. We are healers Lexi, touch healers. We both also see magic and yours is clear and strong. But untrained. I noticed that Herr Fonzell has you working on control and while that is great, you need further training." Tim responded slowly, keeping his body language open and his movements minimal. They didn't want to scare her away, after all.
"Don't need no training." She wasn't about to become the servant of yet another wizard, not after what her past 'master' had done to her.
"Really? You never have accidents, where something happens and you harm someone by mistake or your magic lashes out? You've never felt out of control? Don't you want to be able to control your magic Lexi, so that it doesn't hurt someone innocent? Don't you want to do more with it?"
"You spin pretty lies but I no being sold again." She hissed, eyes flashing. Hadn't she heard the same before? Hadn't she been promised control once before? The best training she had was when the hedge-witch taught her for a few months, and that was simple charms of protection and spells.
Eric blinked, forcing his face to remain neutral and trying to keep his inner thoughts and emotions calm. He could feel his husband's struggle to not give in to anger. "Easy. We don't know what she means by sold." He send silently, keeping his tone as calming as possibly. Tim was quicker to anger but they didn't need that now. Not with a scared girl in front of them. "Sold? No one is buying or selling anyone. We can see your magic, Lexi. We know you were an apprentice before. Whatever happened there is not happening here. We don't want to buy you, we want to help you. To teach you how to use your magic so it doesn't consume you, so that you don't accidentally burn down someone's stall again. So that you can sleep at night without fearing what might happen if you have a nightmare We've been there child. We both had dealt with our own magic being out of control, with having to learn to harness it differently, because our magic works differently. So does yours. No matter how you try, I bet it's hard to channel it through a typical wand. I would even be willing to bet that you have shattered your fair share of wands. Let us help you. We can protect you from whatever you are running from. We can teach you control." Eric stated quietly, watching the emotion in those young eyes. The baker was right, now that they were face to face with her, she couldn't be more than fifteen years old.
"Why should I believe you?"
"You have no reason to believe us, whatsoever. But, I hope you do. We want to offer you safety and protection. We want to give you a place to live, a home, and to train you how to use your magic. You don't have to believe us, but I hope you do." Tim added calmly, meeting eyes that almost looked silver in this light. They would protect this child, if she would let them.
"Needless to say, she believed us eventually. The first few weeks were rough but worth it." Eric finished, eyes resting on the young headmistress before glancing at the half-goblin who had adopted their child.
"That's quite a tale. Lexi, though?" Filius remarked, arching a brow at his soon to be daughter.
"She never did explain that. She was Lexi for a while before she told us her birth name and she went by Alex at the university." Tim shrugged, relaxing against his husband. He remembered the day they found her clearly and it still made him angry, the things that had happened to her at the hand of her first master. But that was in the past and Eric had taken care of that man. He was just happy that they had stories of Alexis to tell, that she had finally agreed to give them a chance. After they went to stew day, she had refused to leave with them before that.
She sighed softly but it had been years now, so there was no reason not to tell them. "It was so that Jakob could find me. Alex and Alexis were common enough names, but Lexi was not. We had a system. Any time I ran, I used that name and I always left a mark on an alley wall for him to find. It was our agreement." She didn't bother looking at the two men who had taken her in and practically raised her, she knew she would see disappointment in their eyes, that she hadn't told them this sooner.
"Why didn't you tell us this, Alexis?" Eric inquired softly, covering his partner's hand with his own. He knew how the other man felt about Jakob Rettan, even if Alexis still admired the man that she believed had saved her from hell. The man might had saved her from her birth parents but he sold her back into hell, over and over again. And yet she stilled looked up to him. But there was no need to curse a dead man.
"At first, because it was suppose to be a secret. And then the longer I was with you guys, the more I knew you wouldn't be happy about it. The older I got, the less important it seemed and once I turned eighteen, I knew Jakob wouldn't be able to take me from you. That's why I started going by my given name, because I was afraid he would take me away from the two of you, that he would sell me to someone else. I was tired of being sold." She answered, equally soft, not bothering to keep the bit of sadness out of her voice. She missed Jakob but she didn't miss being treated like property, even if he treated her like she was diamonds. He also sold her like diamonds, to the highest bidder at the highest cost. But that was the past and it didn't matter anymore. She had work to do. She stood stiffly, stretching out her back for a moment before glancing at the men and turning to move toward her desk. "If we're done, I have work to finish."
Tim shook his head, meeting the eyes of the older two men. This was exactly why she needed a mindhealer. She shut every emotion down, locked it in, until her emotions were so bottled up that she exploded. Usually at him and Eric, because they pushed her. "I'll go check on Isaac, Derek, and Rose." He murmured, moving toward the floo. They had left the teens in their quarters, after Derek had gone back to sleep, with instructions to not wake Derek and not to harm each other. Eric had actually sent Rose to the room that would become hers, in hopes that her magic and emotions wouldn't lash out at Isaac or target Derek. Eric and Filius could more than handle Alexis and he wasn't good at hiding his anger whenever Retten or his business was mentioned. Eric tended to get unhappy with him whenever he destroyed a room or exploded because of it, so he'd just rather go check on the teenagers.
She bit back a sigh, not glancing up when she heard the floo go off. She knew that the two older men were still there but she ignored them, shuffling through the latest batch of paperwork. She knew that eventually they would either join her, and help with the paperwork, or leave. She didn't care either way. There was work to do, there was always work to do
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