Bad News [Heinrich and Ness] on Cascade Hall

Evelyn Stones

June 12, 2020 5:10 PM

Bad News [Heinrich and Ness] by Evelyn Stones

CW: panic, PTSD, mention of child abuse, gaslighting, etc

It is the finding of this court that the defendant is guilty of assault in the fourth degree, a Class A Misdemeanor in the state of Oregon. Due to time already served and the defendant’s plea of no contest, as well as the nature of this case wherein the victim was nearly of the age of majority and is considered culpable for provocation of the crime committed against her, and wherein other minors who lived in the same residence were not proven to be both present and awake, the defendant will be sentenced to six months jail time and a fine of four hundred fifty galleons. In consideration of time already served, the defendant shall be released no later than February 23rd, and may be released sooner in case of sufficiently good behavior and if his place of employment finds that his continued absence causes the company an undue burden or hardship. Upon his release, the defendant will be on probation for an additional six months. Upon his release, the defendant will regain custody of the two children taken from him upon his arrest.

Evelyn’s hands shook. It was early morning still, and she had crammed herself into the nook between her bedframe and her nightstand, her back pressed against the wall. She couldn’t press against it hard enough to remind herself that she was here, not in Oregon. That she was going to be okay. That everything would be okay. Because it wasn’t going to be okay. Professor Wright had said she’d be safe as long as she was at Sonora, but she wasn’t going to be at Sonora now, was she? She wasn’t going to be safe.

A second piece of paper was behind the first, and Evelyn recognised Ms. Heidi’s handwriting. The letter was full of platitudes and things that just didn’t matter that much to Evelyn right now. There was the name of a therapist, which was probably helpful but felt like a bit much just then. Evelyn tossed that paper aside. Then, there was a third piece of paper. Unfolding it, Evelyn almost wished her old bursts of burning letters to ash would come back; she recognised her father’s handwriting immediately, although she checked the signature line to confirm the impossible.

Good news, Lyn, I get to come home. I /really/ appreciate all that you’ve done to make things more difficult than they need to be.

She could almost hear him muttering to himself, see the way he would have adjusted his grip. Feel him sigh as he considered his next words.

You’ve made it abundantly clear that you are not interested in working on our relationship any further. I tried, I was even excited for you to come visit this past summer, but you are too focused on embarrassing me and I can see that you don’t want to have a relationship anymore. Fine. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t want to be a father, and here I am with two of you. If I know you at all, if I know what you think of me, I know you don’t want Charles James at home either. So I’ll make you a deal.

When I get home, Charles comes home. When you’re done with school for the summer, before your seventeenth birthday, you come home. You both stay with me full time until you’re graduated. At that point, I’ll sign him over to you. You can keep this letter as proof, we’ll make a document with Heidi Wright, I don’t care. I just want a little more time with my kids and since you can’t take him earlier than that, then that should be just fine. Hell, Lyn, I don’t care if you want to figure out a way to take him when you turn seventeen instead of graduation. You figure it out. Just one more summer with my kids, and then we’re done. But if you don’t come back home this summer, you’ll never see him again.

Write me back before February and let me know what you decide. Merry Christmas, Lyn,
Dad

Evelyn’s knees were curled against her chest, and she couldn’t get them close enough to feel safe. She pressed her mouth into the crook of one arm to stifle whatever sound – a groan, a scream, a sob – was trying to escape, and blinked to clear her vision. It didn’t work. For the first time, she wished she had a roommate. Someone to help her up, take the letter, and tell her what to do. She had that someone, just not in Pecari. Someones. And they were in the same House.

She forced herself to scoot forward. A guttural groan came free as she forced her terrified muscles to work with her, forced her hands to stop shaking as they pulled her shoes out and tied them onto her feet. She was glad she’d gotten dressed already, because even the simple sweater and jeans she had on would have been too much to attempt right now.

One shoe, and then the other. Put the letters on the bed. Stand up. Book bag. Letters in the book bag. Notes Evelyn had taken on the charity Heinrich was tabling for peeked out of her bag at her as she stuffed the letters inside, and she read it over one more time, flattening the page as she did so. At first, she hadn’t been sure whether she would be up for it. Whether it would be too much. Now, everything else was too much; she would absolutely sign up.

It was easier to move now, and she slung her book bag strap over her shoulders and darted from her room, moving much more jerkily than she meant to. She was generally graceful, and strong. Why was her father, the person who would hate her most for acting this way, also the only one who could bring it out in her?

She avoided eye contact with everyone she passed. It was early still and most groggy faces were making their way to breakfast. It wouldn’t be unusual for Evelyn to head to the Aladren table. It wouldn’t be unusual for her to pull her friend and her boyfriend together so she could sit with them both. It wouldn’t be unusual for them to sit together quietly, or leave, or whatever. It would be unusual for Evelyn to scream, or to fall, so she kept her jaw clenched firmly shut and denied her knees the right to buckle underneath her.

Cascade Hall wasn’t full yet, and Heinrich and Ness were easy to spot when it was. She approached them at nearly a run. She didn’t pull on either of them, although she didn’t notice whether they were already sitting close together or whether one of them moved towards the other when they saw her face. She’d not bothered to wipe off her tears and she hadn’t actually noticed she’d been crying until she got here. In front of everyone. She hoped Professor Wright wasn’t watching her from the staff table, although it would be easier to explain it to him if that were the case. He would already know.

Evelyn sat between Heinrich and Ness. They looked worried, which made a lot of sense, and she retrieved the two letters that mattered, leaving the one from Ms. Heidi in her bag. She opened them in front of her on the table where they could both read them. Where they could see what was happening. Why she was like this.

“I have to go back to Oregon,” she whispered, not able to get anything louder than that out before dissolving into tears and pressing her face into whoever’s shoulder was more accessible in the moment, clutching at them with one hand and pressing the other into her stomach, willing herself not to throw up.

OOC - This verdict and sentencing are based on real cases in Oregon and are actually reflective of a harsher punishment than most folks get here.

22 Evelyn Stones Bad News [Heinrich and Ness] 1422 Evelyn Stones 1 5

Ness McLeod

June 22, 2020 7:51 AM

Ignore it by Ness McLeod

Was it a crime to mix chocolate and strawberry sauce on the same pancakes? Were you ever too old to use the sauces and fruits to make your pancake into a smiley face? Was it cannibalism to do so? What was Lyssa wearing today? These were the kind of dilemmas that were occupying Ness during breakfast that morning.

Ness was leaning towards not having a breakfast that could look back, because that was always low key creepy. And was hoping that Lyssa’s clothing, as it so often did, showed off that particular attribute that made her so deeply appealing… A funky personality. So, on went the chocolate sauce, much in the style of that dude who just threw paint at things and then got super praised for it, probably helped by the fact he was a white male, with heapings of strawberries and blueberries, all from a good angle for keeping watch on the Teppenpaw table.

It wasn’t the droid Ness was looking for that entered the hall though, but a different blonde. Ness threw a cheerful wave to Evelyn, not even immediately alerted to anything being wrong. Evelyn heading for the Aladren table was a pretty normal thing, and she might have been coming for either Ness or Heinrich - who Ness noted now was coincidentally nearby. So much so that Ness couldn’t tell which of them Ev was headed for, though if it was Ness, then the fifth year was more than happy to debate the best artistic styles to visit through the mediums of different breakfast stuffs, and perhaps get Evelyn’s input into which of Lyssa’s hoodies should be third and which fourth in the Top Five Awesome Hoodies Lyssa Owns list that Ness had been compiling.

Except they weren’t going to get to do that. Evleyn was crying. And dropping letters on the table, and talking. Ness read over them. Anger bubbled. That feeling was familiar when directed at Matthias Stones, and plenty of it was caused by the letters on the table. Maybe that was the sole place where all the anger came from. But it certainly didn’t diminish any at Evelyn’s response. Go back to Oregon?!

“Like heck you do,” Ness stated bluntly, frowning fiercely. As far as Ness was concerned, that was good news, or the closest thing that passed for it in this horrible mess of a situation. Evelyn did not have to go scraping and crawling to this scumbag. “You don’t have to do what he says. You shouldn’t do what he says. He’s manipulative and a creep and he hurts you, and you’re not going back there! And don’t say ‘what about CJ’?” Ness pre-empted the stupid response, the reason she was sure Evelyn was even talking about bending to her father’s will. “What about you? CJ’s not in danger. Not like you are.”

13 Ness McLeod Ignore it 1419 0 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

June 22, 2020 7:30 PM

This is wrong. by Heinrich Hexenmeister

Heinrich had arrived at breakfast contemplating the story of Hansel and Gretel and whether or not it would make a good D&D one-shot mini-adventure. He'd had a patrol with Gary last night and the older prefect had thought Heinrich ought to give DMing a try. If he didn't like it, he'd know he didn't like it and that would be that. He'd been promised that his English was perfectly serviceable at this point and he wouldn't be badly misunderstood if he tried to narrate story bits. Heinrich still wasn't convinced he would do well, and he already knew his creative ability was mediocre at best. He'd only picked the story of Hansel and Gretel because it was family legend that the witch in that story was their great-great-great-aunt (plus an indeterminate number of more greats). He had no idea if this was actually true or not, as it had been mentioned only one time when his brother Hansel had asked for the tale for a bedtime story and no specific genealogy had ever been supplied to back it up, or if the story was even based in anything like truth in the first place, or whether Americans knew the remotely same version of the story he did.

So he was doubting his ability and the feasibility of his chosen story-line, and he sat down not far from Ness in case he worked up the courage to ask whether it was something he ought to pursue and how much did Ness know of the story anyway? He knew Americans knew of it, because Gary had recognized it when he mentioned it - though Gary had though putting it in Space might be fun, which Heinrich vehemently disagreed with. This would also let him gauge how much and in what ways the story offended Ness, so he could work around those pitfalls.

If he actually decided to do this, which he definitely had not at this point. If anything, he was still leaning against the idea. But he was vaguely entertaining the notion, if only to more soundly crush Gary's encouragement next time they patrolled together once he had worked out all the reasons why this would never work.

The direction of his breakfast contemplations was abruptly diverted as he saw Evelyn arrive, looking decidedly upset. She sat down between him and Ness and laid out two papers, her explanation of their purpose raising more questions than resolving any. Heinrich bent closer to read them. As he did so, Evelyn leaned in, too, dropping her face against his shoulder.

English being a second language to him, and being mildly distracted by the unexpected physical contact, he was slower at reading the letters than Ness was, so the younger Aladren got the first comment out.

Which was good, because Heinrich was divided. No answer was the right one because all of the options were based on a Wrong Situation.

"I do not understand," he ventured, as much in confusion as anger, though he was clearly upset. "He was found guilty. Why is the term so short? How is he getting custody back? He was guilty of child abuse. Who gives a child abuser custody of children?" Forgetting in his distress that Ness was unaware of his own family's relationship with prison, he continued, "How does he get to have his children back when mine do not? My parents are much better parents. This is wrong in every way."

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister This is wrong. 1414 Heinrich Hexenmeister 0 5

Evelyn Stones

June 22, 2020 7:55 PM

I have given up asking questions. by Evelyn Stones

When Ness started talking, Evelyn sat back to look at her friend, fixating on mouth movements, tone of voice, and all the other little things that could give her information. Something to think about other than everything she was thinking about. Ness was . . . angry. It seemed likely that the anger was directed at Evelyn's father, but there seemed to be some of it that was also directed at Evelyn. She wasn't trying to be stupid or awful or make a bad decision, but Ness was right in thinking that Evelyn was worried about CJ. She also sat back because she realised that she had broken a rule.

After talking with Heinrich in the library, they had come to the conclusion that touch was a thing that Evelyn liked and that Heinrich didn't mind. Sort of. He was generally uncomfortable with the idea maybe? But wasn't against things like hugs, either. Since hugs and hand holding were much less nice - both in terms of being nice to someone and in terms of enjoying a nice thing - when the person didn't want them, Evelyn had assured him that consent was important. That she'd wait for him to initiate such things. And then she'd gone and flopped onto his arm.

"Sorry," she murmured, wiping his sleeve as she moved away to make sure she didn't leave any snot or makeup on him.

It felt so good to be told she didn't have to go back to her father's house, but Evelyn wasn't really sure it worked that way. "If I don't agree to go, he might force me to come back anyway and then it would be worse than if I just agreed to it," she said quietly, looking down at the breakfast table without really seeing it. "And CJ may be in danger long term if he's stuck there until he's seventeen. That's . . . what like thirteen more years there? Twelve? That's so many . . ." Breathing became more difficult then. She felt like she had in Professor Wright's office when the world started melting and burning around her and the room was spinning. She forced herself to focus and when she did, found that she had both hands on the table and was breathing hard.

Heinrich's questions were harder and easier all at once. On the one hand, Evelyn had no answers. On the other hand, she couldn't have been expected to. "That's a harsh sentence in Oregon," she said, nodding at the letter before looking up at him. "I was reading up on it over the summer. That's longer than a lot of people get." She was surprised when he mentioned his own parents and only barely managed not to glance at Ness to see what reaction was forming there. "Your parents did different stuff," she frowned sadly. She was beginning to think that Heinrich's parents really were generally decent people except the one glaring error on their record, truth be told. She scanned the letter again until she found the line about her having provoked the incident. "Plus they said it was my fault, too."

She took a breath and blinked as her eyes stung again World suddenly seemed to be very real, as if it had formed solidly around her between the time she'd sat down and this moment. She looked up, first at Ness, and then at Heinrich, where her eyes lingered before looking back down at the letters on the table. Tears came free and she did her best to ignore them.

"I'm so sorry," she said, doing her best not to sound like she was whimpering. She wanted to. She wanted to bawl. She wanted to scream and curse and curse the world. She doubted her wand would do anything for her right now though. "You're both so good . . . and I . . . and you . . . I put you through so much . . . you're so good to me and I . . ." She sniffled, rapidly losing the battle with stoicism. "I love you both so much and I keep putting you through this stuff and it's not fair, it's not fair." She put her face in her hands. "It's not fair."

OOC - Conversation and conclusion with Heinrich approved by his author.

22 Evelyn Stones I have given up asking questions. 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Ness McLeod

June 26, 2020 2:05 PM

Okay.... by Ness McLeod

So far, so normal. For the given value of normal that things occupied in this messed up dimension wherever the forces that governed Evelyn's life resided. Someone up there really needed to change their dice because they were getting failure after failure, and Ness wasn't sure how many times they could heal up those hit points and expect things to go back to stable and steady. Real life healing didn't work quite so neatly as it did in the game. Or rather, it did for similar types of issues - Healer Willow could probably fix up a broken bone just as neatly and quickly as Kathra could. In the game, there were just small issues like being clubbed upside the head or having a gaping flesh wound. No one in DnD seemed to get psychologically damaged. That was part of what made it fun. It was just pretend and you could bend the rules on what would hurt or traumatise in order to just keep having fun. But this was real life.

So, it was following the somewhat familiar pattern of sucky thing happening, Evelyn feeling all broken, and Ness being ready with the words 'We can tell my mom.' Except Ness wasn't the only one dealing with it this time. There was Heinrich. And he needed a moment to be sad and outraged and- wait what?? Ness' attention flicked abruptly up from Evelyn for a moment to rest on Heinrich looking both shocked and confused. But now was not the moment. They all needed to sort Evelyn's stuff out.

"It isn't," Ness agreed when Evelyn stated it was not fair. That was the only point that got agreement though. "You never have to apologise for what he is doing," Ness stated firmly. And that was familiar. And they could just follow the familiar path and fix it all...

"Let's think about this rationally," the Aladren stated, forcing slow and steady breaths. Those words sounded good. Reassuring. "Even if you went back, there's no guarantee it would help with the CJ situation. Sure, he says he'll hand him over but I don't exactly think a promise from him is worth any more than a rusty bottomed cauldron. Probably less. And you... you always come to my house. You can..." Ness trailed off uncertainly. Ness had never considered that Evelyn was there with her dad's permission because he didn't seem to care where she was. But if he suddenly did... Could he refuse to let her visit them, and make her go back to him instead? "He says it's your choice..." Ness pointed out weakly, aware of just having said that anything Matthias Stones had said wasn't worth a damn.

13 Ness McLeod Okay.... 1419 0 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

June 26, 2020 4:22 PM

No, not okay. Nothing here is okay. by Heinrich Hexenmeister

Heinrich gave Evelyn a reassuring smile as she pulled away. "It was not a problem," he promised. "You may lean on me," he offered, holding an arm out in case she wanted to return, and meaning the words in both the literal and figurative senses.

He nodded in agreement that CJ should not be exposed to that kind of example until he was seventeen. He did not want Evelyn anywhere near the man, but CJ did need to be protected as well. He was perhaps not in any kind of physical danger, but the unspoken lessons he was being taught about how to treat women were just as crippling.

Heinrich realized his own mistake when Ness turned to stare at him for a moment in shock. This was compounded by Evelyn remarking that his parents 'did different stuff', which was admirably vague, and absolutely true, but between both of their comments, Ness definitely had enough information to extrapolate that his parents had done time, and no longer had any kind of claim of custody over him, if not necessarily that they were still doing time, and would continue serving time for the foreseeable future.

Fortunately, Ness let it drop, at least for the present, and he'd have time to figure out how much he wanted to explain when Evelyn's life wasn't crashing and burning right in front of them.

He startled slightly again at the bald words 'I love you both' because it wasn't something he heard much, and while Evelyn had told him this once before, she had previously used more oblique words for it. Even Hilda, the most effusive of the Hexenmeisters, usually expressed her affection for him with the phrase, *You're such a dork.*

He was still trying to figure out how he was supposed to answer Evelyn's completely unnecessary apologies and that declaration when Ness beat him to it. He nodded emphatically to the first two points. It was not fair, most especially to Evelyn herself, and she did not have to apologize to them.

Ness continued, and this diverted from what Heinrich had been planning to say, though Ness was not necessarily wrong that Mr. Stones could pull a Darth Vader and change the terms of the deal without warning or mercy, even if she did follow his plan.

However, like in Lando's situation, Evelyn didn't really have a lot of leverage to make things go her way if she didn't at least try to go along with it. "If you do decide you need to go back to Oregon," he began slowly, carefully, worried that Ness might hit him for even entertaining the possibility, "You do not need to go alone. I will stay with you the whole summer until we turn seventeen if I have to. Send him the counter offer that if he wants you to be there, you will have a witness present. For your safety. Then it is on him again. You gave him an option that met his criteria of seeing his children."

Then, because he couldn't just leave it, he added, "Also, it was not your fault. It was his, and the judge only heard his side of it. It wasn't a fair verdict."

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister No, not okay. Nothing here is okay. 1414 0 5

Evelyn Stones

June 26, 2020 9:21 PM

I really really want it to be though. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn managed a small smile back at Heinrich. She hated that their first semblance of a proper snuggle was because she was a sobbing mess and her dad was being terrible. Although, she did enjoy how much her dad would hate it. And she wasn't about to let him make her arbitrarily skip out on things. And Heinrich was being nice and kind and she really really needed it. She scooted closer to him again, accepting his opening, and put an arm around his back. It felt odd for a moment, and then it didn't. Really, he smelled nice and he was warm and safe and Evelyn felt both relieved and . . . well there were a number of thoughts that crossed her mind that she thought really shouldn't be, especially given the circumstances.

It struck her just how kind and patient Heinrich and Ness both were. Ness, especially, had been dealing with this for a long time, and had never made Evelyn feel bad for it. It had to be exhausting. Evelyn was exhausted herself; she couldn't imagine helping someone else through anything like this. "Thank you," she murmured to Ness, when the younger student - a hilariously perfect title since Heinrich and Evelyn shared a birthday, even if Ness might've been the most adult of them somehow - told her not to apologise. Heinrich agreed and Evelyn took a breath, knowing he could feel how much she relaxed as she did so.

She smiled weakly, sadly, and sympathetically as she watched Ness try for logic and it failed. Horribly. "Either I can't take him at his word and shouldn't go, in which case I can't take him at his word so he'll make me come back anyway," Evelyn said, thinking out loud. "Or I can, in which case I should be able to go anyway. It isn't really a choice at all," she acknowledged. "Whatever happens, I end up back there. At least if . . . if I agree . . ." She took another breath. "If I agree to it, then I have some amount of power over it."

Heinrich spoke up and it was sort of a beautiful display of the multifaceted nature of Aladren minds, and Evelyn could appreciate that even in her state. There was the logic that said any problem could be solved, given enough effort to try, and there was the logic to said any problem could be survived, given enough effort to try. Given Ness' and Heinrich's backgrounds, Evelyn wasn't surprised that they favored each of those respectively.

She looked up at him, shock and horror mingling with an argument in her throat when he offered to come back with her. To stay with her. To keep her safe. Perhaps it wasn't just shock and horror, but also gratitude, surprise, and something that felt a lot like being cared about. She knew he cared about her because otherwise it was very odd that he was holding on to her, but it was . . . it meant a lot to be reminded this way.

Her mind reeled as she considered. She knew that Ness would want to argue and come instead. It would be great if Evelyn could go back but the risk was too high in that case. She was pretty sure her father wouldn't kill her if she did go back so that was helpful at least, but she couldn't be sure he wouldn't do it by accident. How many people had to think about that?

"I don't want him to hurt you or try to fight you," she said quietly, horrified. The thought made her feel murderous herself and she was sure that she could've managed any number of hexes in that moment had she chosen to do so. "But . . ." She glanced at Ness, feeling cold in her stomach. For all that Ness was . . . well, was Ness . . . Evelyn was sure her father wouldn't remember to leave the "she" out, and they were all well aware of the dangers therein. That was not a situation Evelyn would ever bring a friend into with that particular set of dangers. Heinrich had the advantage of being stronger and less in danger in that way, particularly since her father seemed to be more interested in power than just outright hurting people, but it seemed like too high a risk. At the same time, what was she risking without a witness? It seemed like the best plan they had so far. They could set up the age line on her bedroom door again - Heinrich would have to stay in there, she wasn't about to let him out of her sight with her father around - and maybe it would work. It would be good for CJ. Even if the McLeods kept him while Evelyn finished Sonora and a little bit of life right after, and even if Heinrich didn't have to take him on right away and could get through his own first steps into adulthood first, the idea at this point was to eventually have CJ with Evelyn. And Heinrich. Those stinkin' thoughts, again. In any case, CJ would really benefit a lot from being able to be around Heinrich more before then.

She had a moment of imagining the entire DnD gang coming over once a week, eyeing her father - some of them not knowing why but knowing they should - just to make sure she was okay, and the thought almost made her smile. But there was something else. "You would really do that for me?" she asked, amazed. This guy was a keeper. The absolute best. His reassurances meant a lot and she wasn't really sure what to say. He hadn't known the whole story that long and here he was, putting his own health and safety on the line, just to keep her safe. She squeezed him a little tighter without really meaning to.

Looking back at Ness, who was also the best but much less tempting in ways Evelyn wasn't sure she was supposed to be thinking about, Evelyn grimaced. "Do you have any better ideas?" she asked, reaching out to take her friend's hand and squeeze it for a moment.

22 Evelyn Stones I really really want it to be though. 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Ness McLeod

June 27, 2020 6:00 PM

Then don't do this by Ness McLeod

Evelyn was leaning into Heinrich. And Heinrich was making all these ridiculous promises about literally guarding her through the summer. And Evelyn seemed to think that was a great idea. It wasn't. She just needed to stay with Ness, like she always did.

And then Evelyn, of all people, was pulling apart Ness' arguments, and saying that going back was better than being dragged back. Because it was in her control. And all the lessons they had given Evelyn on chosing for herself and having power... How could she use those to turn around and justify something none of the McLeod-Lange-Solenses would ever approve of? That wasn't fair. And Evelyn was trying to bring Ness.in, reaching for a hand to hold. A nice back up hand seeing as she had a big, strong Heinrich to snuggle. Ness pulled it back, fiddling with hair that didn't need fiddling with so that there was some excuse for its withdrawal.

"We should write to my mom," Ness stated, and it sounded small and pathetic. "She might know whether presenting this kind of thing could help you like... get a restraining order or something. Or make him sign something more legally binding about CJ," Ness suggested. Because this wasn't just running to the grown ups for help. Marijke was a qualified lawyer, and knew custody issues inside out. If anyone could make the adult world behave, she could. But again, that was someone else. Not Ness. Evelyn could write to Marijke of her own accord. Ness would definitely be doing so, both because telling An Adult was a rule, but also in Marijke's capacity as mom, and dealer with of hurting feelings.

Maybe mom would fix it. Or stop her going. Not that Marijke ever would. Not with force. Not if it was what Evelyn wanted. Because all of them were good enough to not do that. And their reward for that was likely to be a summer of stewing over whether Evelyn was really safe. Whereas Mathias Stones could say 'jump' and Eveyln would say 'how high?' and pretend that doing so willingly made it any better. Didn't she care about how much stress and worry this was going to cause everyone? She had spent more time with Ness and the McLeods than with CJ. But apparently, he still mattered more.

"I still don't think you should go," Ness protested crossly, blinking back tears that were both sad and angry.

13 Ness McLeod Then don't do this 1419 Ness McLeod 0 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

June 28, 2020 6:29 PM

Both of us are trying to help you be as okay as possible by Heinrich Hexenmeister

"He can't hurt me," Heinrich stated factually, which was perhaps oversimplying the situation, but he had protections Evelyn didn't. He didn't have the same pitfalls and survival mechanisms she did, that while they might help her survive, they did not prevent her from getting hurt. Heinrich had an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and had no intention of leaving his wand anywhere he couldn't reach for it at a moment's notice. Even if he did get disarmed, Heinrich was physically larger than Evelyn, and much closer to the same height as Mr. Stones. By next summer, Heinrich might even be taller if he kept growing as quickly as he had been lately. Mr. Stones was built heavier than Heinrich was, so he didn't really want to get into a physical fight if he could avoid it, but not being (a) a full foot shorter, and (b) the daughter the guy clearly had no respect for, would probably mean Mr. Stones wouldn't go to strike him as quickly as he did Evelyn.

He made no promises that he wouldn't fight though. If Mr. Stones went after either of them, either magically or physically, Heinrich was prepared to defend them by whatever means was necessary. And being a white guy, a judge might even believe him when he said it was not a justifiable assault, and self-defense and defense of others was clearly warranted.

Well, that was true as long as the judge in question was unaware that Heinrich was the firstborn son to certain other Hexenmeisters. That might make things a bit trickier if it did go to court in a he-said-she-said sort of way. Though truthfully, he still didn't understand why veritaserum hadn't settled the issue of Evelyn not being any way at fault. Did America have some stupid rule about that not being permissible in court? What exactly did 'provoked' mean, anyway, legally? If Mr. Stones attacked them, how much could Heinrich do legally before he was hit with a counter assault case? He'd have to look that up before next summer, because he was both younger and less experienced at both magic and physical attack, so he'd be at a disadvantage if it did come down to a fight. He'd have to take out Mr. Stones quickly and decisively so he, and Evelyn, and CJ could all make an escape together, and CJ was too big to carry quickly and too small to keep up. A strong and relatively surprise attack would be most effective. If he threw a sippy cup at Evelyn, would that justify a swift retaliation with 'stupify' or was that too fast of an escalation?

"And I would gladly do that," he added. The alternative was going back to the snake ranch, butchering dead snakes into their component potion ingredients and sending out invoices and worrying himself to death, none of which sounded remotely appealing even when not compared to directly keeping his girlfriend from getting abused, so it really was no contest.

Heinrich nodded in agreement to Ness' suggestion. Getting a lawyer to weigh in on this sounded like a great idea. And not wanting Evelyn to go into this situation at all was, of course, the ideal, if not entirely practical in this instance, given the declarations made regarding CJ. "I do not think you should be in the same state as that monster, either," he supported Ness' opinion, pretending not to notice the tears in repayment for Ness pretending not to hear what had been said about his parents, "but if that's not what you think is right for you and your wolves, I want you to have every protection possible if you do go back."

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister Both of us are trying to help you be as okay as possible 1414 0 5

Evelyn Stones

June 29, 2020 1:04 AM

I am not the important part of this equation. by Evelyn Stones

Ness was upset and Evelyn was shocked to find that she was angry. Really really angry. "Signing something more legally binding sounds like a good plan," she agreed, glad for some logic there. Because that's what this was about. Logic. And Ness wasn't being logical.

What did Evelyn have to do to apologise for the fact that she was a kicked puppy on the McLeod doorstep? To prove that she was trying to think of everyone else and sor-ry if she was grasping at straws trying to think of herself a little too. Ness didn't think Evelyn should go back? Oh okay, well, then everything was fine and Evelyn would just not go and she would just stop worrying that she'd be legally kidnapped back home, that she'd get hurt worse, that something would happen to CJ, and that was best case scenario. She definitely wouldn't worry about the much more pressing dilemma of what to do for CJ. For the little boy who still had a chance not to have to grow up like Evelyn had. Ness started this conversation from a place of being angry and started out directing some of that at Evelyn and it wasn't frigging fair because Evelyn was doing her best. She was trying to protect everyone she could think of and if that meant putting herself at risk for a couple months, then she'd do it. Of course she would do it. Because isn't that what Ness would do? Utilitarianism: the most good for the most amount of people. If all the bad could just be concentrated into one person, was that so wrong? The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas was playing out in real life and Evelyn was the subject of despair. Again.

Except this wasn't a philosophy thought machine. This was real life. And Ness was hurting and Ness was never supposed to be the one hurting. And Heinrich was putting himself in harm's way and talking about how much or little harm he might have for it. And everyone was doing everything for Evelyn and Evelyn was expected to just sit back and take it because, well, Ness didn't want her to go back to Oregon. God forbid. By the time Ness and Heinrich had both said their piece, Evelyn was practically shaking with repressed emotions. She was angry and sad and so so scared. The hand that she'd reached out to Ness and subsequently had rejected - because that was that gesture had been, hadn't it? - was balled into a fist in her lap and she was surprised to find the sensation of sparks there. Because accidental magic was just what she needed.

"I don't want to go," she said, as if that needed saying. Did that seriously need saying? "Do you think I want to go?" she demanded, sharper than she meant to when she looked at Ness. "Do you think I'm trying to take some easy out option because it's better than fighting? I am doing everything I can to fight for CJ so he never has to rely on people like your family any more than he's already had to. So he can have a better shot. I'm trying to be for him what you've been for me, and take care of him. Do you need me to say out loud that I don't want to go? Because no, I don't want to go. I don't want to be in danger. But CJ is four years old and my dad is absolutely capable of making sure I don't see him again. Then who will he be? I'm not batting a hundred here, Ness." She glanced at Heinrich, realising that an English, and Muggle English at that, idiom probably wouldn't mean a lot to him. "I'm not having good luck or doing well. I've got to do something and I don't have a lot of options. I'm not saying Heinrich coming with me is a good choice, but I'm trying to think of everything."

The thought made her turn to Heinrich more fully, frowning up at him with a face full of affection. She had the sudden urge to wrap him up tight and hold on to him until the world stopped being dangerous for either of them. If something happened to him . . . "And he could hurt you. There's so many things he could do." The thought crossed her mind that hurting her might be the safest way for her father to hurt Heinrich, and vice versa, and she didn't want to put either of them in that situation. "It means so much to me that you would come stay with me, but I don't think I can let you in good conscience. What would I do if something happened to you?" Looking back at Ness, Evelyn's eyes were full of tears and her voice was desperate and angry. It shook. "To either of you? I am trying." Pausing to draw in a shaky breath, she forced herself to relax and closed her eyes.

A dangerous thought wormed her way in its head then. It was a small thought, just a few words long. Four words, actually, and one was her name. Sort of.

"Lyn, you're so selfish," her father said, picking up her toy out of the yard before mowing. And then he said it when she was older and scuffed her knee, getting blood on a new pair of shorts. And then when he wanted a promotion. And then when CJ was born. "Lyn, you're so selfish."

Was that what it was? She was selfish? Ness was upset because Evelyn was being thoughtless. Ness was upset because Evelyn wasn't think of Ness, or of Heinrich for that matter. She was thinking thoughts that were not appropriate for the situation and she was thinking about her own family and not the impact her life had on others. That's what this was, right? The problem wasn't that her dad was wrong, it was that he went about being right the wrong way. Was that it?

But no, that couldn't be it. That couldn't be it because Ness said it wasn't it. Or . . . Ness had said that. At one point. But Heinrich wouldn't be here if he thought Evelyn was selfish. And Heinrich was good wolf through and through. That was one thing she couldn't doubt. Which meant . . . what? What was Evelyn? What was she doing wrong?

"I'm not trying to be selfish," she told Ness with pleading eyes. Desperate eyes. Then she looked up at Heinrich again, leaning away as if burned. "I'm not trying to make you do things just for me. To hold on to me just because that's what I want." She felt small and sick. Was she just like her dad? And everyone was just trying to fix her? "I'm trying," she said again, uncertain now.

22 Evelyn Stones I am not the important part of this equation. 1422 0 5

Ness McLeod

July 02, 2020 6:49 AM

Stop saying that by Ness McLeod

Urgh, Evelyn was not making sense. It wasn't like Ness demanded that completely and rigorously, especially when Evelyn was upset, but it made this way harder to deal with. Also Evelyn seemed mad, not just at the situation but also at Ness. That wasn't how this usually went. Was that because Ness usually had mom to go running to to deal with it instead, or was it because this time around Evelyn had Heinrich? Either way, why was what Ness was saying suddenly not only not good enough but making Evelyn mad?

"I didn't say that. And I wouldn't say that," Ness stated shakily but accompanied the words with a firm head shake nonetheless. "How is this taking the easy option?" the Aladren asked, totally baffled. Especially as Evelyn pointed out straight afterwards that she was fighting a fight she shouldn’t have had to, again and again.

Ness wanted to fall apart when Evelyn talked about seeming selfish, cos she was going all sad and broken, like Ness had said the wrong thing and it had made her think one of the really bad things she thought, and Ness wanted to soothe her but also to shake her until she stopped thinking like that. And that was horrible. It was a horrible thing to think about anyone but especially anyone who had been through what Evelyn had, and Ness was supposed to be strong and to always say the right things and to support-

“No, I don’t think you want to go,” Ness tried, but instead of reassuring it came hot and just as sharp as Evelyn’s words had. “But you’re talking about going anyway! For CJ. CJ is a four year old who your dad never lays a finger on, and who I have never even met - you’re my best friend,” Ness all but yelled. “And now you’re letting someone manipulate and hurt you for someone who isn’t even in danger. I don’t think you’re being selfish,” And maybe Ness had been thinking that - thinking that Evelyn wasn’t being fair on the rest of them. But Ness hadn’t said it, although the guilt that it might have been in the subtext wasn’t helping the Aladren calm down any. Ness knew there were things you weren’t meant to say, but even without yelling (yelling was bad, Ness should stop doing it) that Evelyn was going to hurt all of them there was also one other thing that Evelyn wasn’t considering important that she really, really needed to, “I think you’re being self-sacrificing, and I don’t want you to act like you don’t matter BECAUSE THAT IS NOT LOGICAL. Be more selfish. Stop and consider that what happens to you actually matters!

“I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want you to- to get worse than hurt, not even if he was in danger. But if he was, I could understand it, but he’s not, and you are and you matter.”
They were meant to look after Evelyn. They were meant to not cry and get upset or say things like this or make choices for her. It wasn’t fair that Ness was crying too now. It wasn’t fair on Evelyn, that was.

But that had been what they’d all said about the situation in the first place - it wasn’t fair. None of it and nothing about it, including the fact that Ness just had to sit back and constantly be able to take all of this like it wasn’t a big, life altering deal. It wasn’t fair on Ness that it wasn’t fair and that Evelyn was the only one who was allowed to cry about it.

Good job Evelyn had Heinrich now then, wasn’t it? Seeing as he was now doing so much better than Ness at this.

13 Ness McLeod Stop saying that 1419 0 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

July 02, 2020 12:30 PM

On the contrary, you are the most important part by Heinrich Hexenmeister

Heinrich looked back and forth between Ness and Evelyn. His English was pretty good now, but maybe he was not understanding? They were both getting upset - which he understood, because this was a very upsetting situation, except they seemed to be getting upset at each other? He was glad nobody seemed mad at him but he didn't like them being upset at anyone but Mr. Stones. They were probably mad at Mr. Stones, of course, and that might be the main thing, they just weren't expressing that clearly and it was building between them instead.

Heinrich would be the first person to admit his grasp of emotions was shaky at best, but they seemed a little easier to follow when they weren't his own. Fortunately, his own seemed neatly packed off in the corner where he'd told them to go to join the other things he didn't like thinking about, where they could be ignored indefinitely, but for Ness and Evelyn, their feelings seemed to be escaping their corners. If they even had corners. Hilda seemed to think people shouldn't have corners. Heinrich didn't know what people did with feelings if they didn't have corners to shove them aside into.

Maybe they yelled at each other and used idioms he had never heard before. He'd take having his corner of Not Dealing, thank you.

Had they been standing, he might have taken a cautious step back, to add some physical distance to his emotional distance, because angry people might start drawing wands, but they were at the breakfast table, and he had Evelyn leaning on him, and there was nowhere to go. So he stayed where he was, and told himself that a duel breaking out was unlikely, and it was better to try to calm things down rather than to referee one of those anyway.

How did he do that? How had Mom done that? He kind of recalled getting into arguments with Hilda when he'd still lived in Germany like a normal person, and Mom had de-escalated the situation, somehow.

Mom was maybe not the best person in the world to turn to as a role model, but he didn't have any others, so . . .

"You should both take a sip of water," he suggested calmly, passing Evelyn his cup because she hadn't started collecting any breakfast items yet. Ness had been eating pancakes before Evelyn arrived, so even if she didn't have water she at least had a cup, and could improvise. "We need to save our anger for Mr. Stones, not use it on each other," he recommended, though he was pretty sure that had not been in his Mom's playbook. Good. That meant it probably wasn't Evil. Except, she hadn't been Evil around them, she had hid that so well, so maybe it not being in her playbook meant it was Evil?

He'd think about that . . . well, probably never. He pushed that into the corner, too.

"This is what he wants; he wants to cut off Evelyn's support. Do not let him win. Ness, CJ is in danger. Not physical danger, as Evelyn is, but when I visited for a week, Mr. Stones tried to push sexist and disrespectful behaviors on me. I have had better examples, but CJ does not. He needs better role models than that piece of refuse or the damage will continue to the next generation. I will commit kidnapping before I leave him with that poor example of humanity." And given how much trouble they both knew he had with breaking laws in a completely fictional world when he was playing a genderless robot space pirate, that was saying something.

" . . . Is that on the table as one of our options? It is not a good option, but it is no worse than sending Evelyn back there or leaving CJ with Mr. Stones forever."

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister On the contrary, you are the most important part 1414 Heinrich Hexenmeister 0 5

Evelyn Stones

July 02, 2020 1:10 PM

You two are much much more important. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn's cheeks blazed and her mouth shut with a snap. At least she wasn't selfish, but now she was stupid? And Ness was practically shouting and Evelyn was just trying not to flinch away because she really hated when people shouted but this wasn't fair. It wasn't fair of her to get to play the victim card and act all scared - even if she was - and get away from the conversation because she didn't like it. So she kept as stoic an expression as she could manage and she didn't flinch, except when Ness told her to be more logical. She really hated this. She didn't want to cry in front of her friends or in front of anyone and she couldn't help it now.

When she responded, it wasn't angry anymore. It was just sad. "CJ isn't even the only point, Ness," she cried. "What if CJ gets stuck with him and then he grows up and he has a little girl? I've got a niece and she goes through all this too? What if my dad gets worse and bored and CJ does end up being the target then? I was five and CJ's almost there. What then?"

Her voice rose in pitch, if not volume, and her breathing became more rapid as she tried not to hyperventilate. Chess was fun, but playing people like pawns was not and she hated being on this board. She didn't know how to get it through to Ness that she was thinking about this because of the things Ness had taught her. To be brave for other people. To be kind for other people. To be loving and considerate of other people. To take care of them when they couldn't take care of themselves and to never make them feel worse about that than they probably already did.

"You're my best friend," Evelyn sobbed, her voice breaking. "I'm trying to 'be logical'." An unintended note of bitterness crept into her voice. "Just like you. I want to be like you and your family." How could she explain that she was maybe the only one in the world who could do this? Because she was the one her dad wanted home and if she went, if she just dealt with it for a few months, then it would be okay. And no one else should have to deal with that, but Evelyn already had and it couldn't be that bad now. She knew how bad it could get. The last thing she wanted to do was be like her dad and the thought made her whole chest tremble. "Please don't give up on me," she added to Ness, tears making her voice thick and sticky.

When Heinrich intervened, Evelyn started. She was torn between irritation - an unexpected emotion as it wasn't one she'd ever had directed at Heinrich - for being told to knock it off and play nice, like she was a kid, and just general surprise. She'd never actually had anyone do that before. Her parents wouldn't have even if she'd had anyone to argue with, and she was pretty sure she'd never really argued with Ness before. The McLeods had definitely never intervened in anything. So again, she was in the position of not being sure whether that meant that her father was right and she was just becoming more of a nightmare everyday, or whether Heinrich was right and this was a reaction to a crappy human being crappy. She preferred that interpretation and clung to it, taking the glass Heinrich passed her and taking a sip. Her rolling stomach threatened to not accept it but she got it down.

"I'm not angry with Ness," Evelyn said in a whisper, wanting to be clear that that wasn't what was happening. She wanted to reach out and grab Ness' hand again. Wrap her arms around her friend. But last time, Ness pulled away, so she didn't. Maybe Ness really was angry with her, whatever Evelyn was feeling.

But Heinrich went on and things were sort of worse again. Because she couldn't let Heinrich commit kidnapping and the only way to make sure that didn't happen was to go back to her father's. Which she didn't want to do, whatever Ness seemed to think. Heinrich was also acknowledging that she had precisely two choices: risk her own life and limb or risk CJ's. There was no guarantee that those were mutually exclusive options, but she had to hope.

"That's it then," she said, making it a question without really meaning to. "Those are my options." The confirmation felt like the final ax blow. She sighed, sniffed hard, and wipe her face with the sleeve of her sweater. She wasn't going to let Heinrich come stay with her when it meant risking his life, whatever Ness was saying about other people worrying. Evelyn was worried, too. She wasn't about to do this with other people as collateral damage. "I'll decide later. I'll write to him later," she said softly, her voice more empty than her heavy heart. "We can write to your mom first," she added to Ness. She wasn't sure whether she would be able to eat, but she knew she didn't want to keep having this conversation. "Can we . . . Just have breakfast? Can I stay here for breakfast?"

22 Evelyn Stones You two are much much more important. 1422 0 5