Reconnecting (Ryder, Elliot)

[Elliot Lyons]

Hearing Ryder use his old nickname, Elliot's eyes moved up from the table. He glanced at his brother and then gave a shrug. "I'm not sure what I'm into," he answered honestly. "I haven't found it yet." Elliot wasn't sure what he was good at, other than studying and doing what he 'should' be doing.

He yearned to have the relationship with Ryder than they used to have, but it seemed that things just fell apart. "I know I like quidditch, but I don't think I could play very well." Elliot gave an almost sheepish look.

[Savannah Lyons]

Savannah, meanwhile, saw the exact moment when Ryder's interest in her faded. He turned to Elliot, and once again, she was dismissed. It stung, but not nearly as much as it should have. She was all too used to it. Not necessarily from Ryder, but mostly from their father, who had always rudely cut her off as a child when she tried to tell him about something she had done or learned that day. Girls were not supposed to call attention to themselves and were only supposed to speak when spoken to.

She sighed to herself and took a sip from her tea. She was almost tempted to do something wicked or shameful, just so Ryder or someone would sit up and take notice of her. But she didn't have the courage. So she sat, silent, picking at her food.

[Ryder Lyons]

"Quidditch," Ryder repeated. He wasn't nessecarily good at that, flying wasn't a something you did if you needed to get around easily, in Ryder's mind. But the fact that Elliot liked it was something off from the path that their father wanted. It was sports, and Elliot could get hurt. That made Ryder want to encourage it. "That's a good sport. You have a broom to practice on? Do you need one?"

Ryder looked back toward Savannah softly. "What about you, Savannah? You probably deserve something nice. Anything that you've had your eye on?"

Buying things never fixed anything. But it was something that Ryder could do without having to interact with his siblings. The owl that Marcello would let him use delivered whatever cards or money he sent to them. At least he knew that Savannah liked piano, that was one gift idea. Maybe Ryder could get Elliot some sort of strategy book, anything. He didn't want to favor one or the other, but at some times it was hard not to chose Elliot over Savannah. Savannah was just so much like their mother, and Elliot was a bit more like him in the looks department. It was easier to see his brother, for his own sake.

[Elliot Lyons]

Seeing that Ryder seemed a little interested in what he liked made Elliot wonder. Maybe the more they did that was off the beaten path that their parents wanted them to follow, the more interest and attention that wasn't out of pity (or at least in Elliot's mind that was the kind of attention Ryder gave them).

Elliot that maybe if he did pick up quidditch then Ryder would want to come to a game or something. That would make him feel proud. Of course, Elliot would have to really be taught how to play. He knew one person he could go to and ask for some kind of assistance, and that would be Cameron.

"I don't have a broom," he said almost shyly. "I suppose I could use a school broom though." Hearing Ryder's offer made Elliot want to attempt the sport even more. Of course this year there wouldn't be any quidditch because of the tournament going on at the school, but that just gave him more time to prepare to play and get ready for try outs next year.

He glanced over to his sister as Ryder addressed her. Elliot wanted her to just open up more than anything. He saw the way she just shyed away whenever Ryder had turned to him. Elliot just didn't know what to do to convince her that she should.

[Savannah Lyons]

Savannah was somewhat startled when Ryder addressed her again. She was rather expecting that she would be dismissed and forgotten about. That was what usually happened. Elliot got the attention and Savannah sat in the background, forgotten.

Merlin, how she wanted to change that.

As sad as it was, Ryder's offer to buy her something made her perk up a little. It was not because she wanted things, but rather, if Ryder would buy things for her, it would be at least an indication that she meant something to him. The only trouble was, she didn't actually want anything.

"Oh, that is kind of you to offer," she said. "But I don't really need anything."

She could have said anything--sheet music, a new quill, even a box of chocolates. But instead, she poked at her salad and said nothing.

[Ryder Lyons]

"A school broom?" Ryder gave Elliot a genuine smile. "Even I'm aware how unreliable those things are. I'll poke around a bit and see what I come up with. If you're really interested, I don't see why you shouldn't get something decent."

That newly found fact about Elliot made Ryder want to continue smiling. His brother might be someone Ryder could get to know after all. Finding Elliot a broom was suddenly on the top of things that Ryder was going to do. This was something he could do directly after lunch before going to Marcello's to hear today's report. Money shouldn't be an issue, and Elliot would get the fastest broom he could find.

But Ryder's joy was shortlived as Savannah stayed humble. Ryder's smile faded into his usual stern expression. It didn't surprise him, and yet, he found himself a lot more disappointed than he should have been. He sighed out loud before trying one more time, "oh come on, Savannah. I'm sure that there's something that you want. Please, I just want to give you something nice."

Ryder never said please, ever. But favoritism was unacceptable, and it had beat out his 'please' rule.

[Savannah Lyons]

Somehow it seemed wrong to Savannah to actually ask Ryder to buy her something. It seemed greedy and selfish. And yet, the idea that he wanted to get her something did give her a spark of hope. If only he would just surprise her with something. But did he even know her well enough to know what she would like?

She would have replied primly that she didn’t need anything, until he said that last sentence. She had never heard him say “please” and it puzzled her. Why did he want to get her something so badly? She didn’t quite understand that he was trying to reach out to her and to treat her as being Elliot’s equal. But something about it made her reconsider, and she bit down on her bottom lip before she replied, “I could maybe use a new journal book. My old one is almost filled.”

It wasn’t exactly true; she probably had enough space in it to last her a month. But he wanted to get her something “nice,” so she knew that a new quill or something like that would not really be sufficient. This was something somewhat personal, and she wondered if he even knew she kept a journal. Even Elliot probably didn’t know she kept one. What would probably have shocked both of them was what was inside the journal. All the things she couldn’t say, all the thoughts she kept locked up inside, they went into that journal. If anyone were to read it, they would see an entirely different person than the one she showed to the world.

[Ryder Lyons]

"A new journal?" Ryder was a little surprised while still maintaining a sense of being defeated. This would be an excellant opportunity to get Savannah something that could make her feel a little better about herself, rather than some tool that their mother had forced her to be. And all she could think of was a journal?

Of course he would purchase one, if that's what she wanted. Ryder felt a pang of guilt before he brushed it away.

But the fact that she wrote, that was something. What kind of things did she write, he wondered. What does someone who is seemingly perfectly content write in a journal? About her day? Did she write something she hoped to happen?

"Alright, that seems doable, of course," Ryder mumbled as a tray of food was set down. He waited for his siblings to take a bite before he touched his own food. "I heard that there's a Yule Ball or something. What's that about?"

[Savannah Lyons]

If he understood how much the journal meant to her, and how she poured her every thought, feeling, wish, or regret into it, perhaps he would have been more impressed with it. Of course, Savannah had no idea that Ryder would even care about the things she wrote in her journal. After all, he didn’t seem very interested in the idea of giving that as a gift. What had he expected her to ask for? Jewelry? Or clothes? Jewelry just seemed frivolous and silly, and clothes were nice but she wore robes and her school uniform most of the time.

But for her, a journal was the closest thing she could get to freedom. It might have seemed like a small thing, but to her it was anything but.

“Thank you, Ryder,” she said politely, bowing her head. She was prepared to keep silent the rest of the time, unless spoken to directly, but then he mentioned the Yule Ball, and she remembered that she needed to ask Ryder’s permission to attend.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I’ve been meaning to mention that to you. I’ve been asked to go to the ball by a boy in my year and house, Liam Ferrera. May I accept? I assure you, he’s a perfect gentleman.”