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Post by Julian Faust on Oct 9, 2016 2:52:24 GMT -5
He reached for her hand, "I meant so soon. Here. Like this." he said to clarify, though he understood her panic, because it was the same panic he had the other night.
"Why don't we get out of here?" he asked. He thought bringing her to a nice place might have been better somehow, but he saw clearly that there were too many people around and too much between them. They needed privacy and they needed to clear the air, if they could.
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Oct 9, 2016 3:01:18 GMT -5
Her heart raced. Even after he clarified she still trembled slightly. The mere thought of not seeing him produced a very strong sense of anxiety. Her breath quickened. She clutched his hand and squeezed it tightly.
"I..." don't trust myself, she thought. "I would like that," she said instead.
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Post by Julian Faust on Oct 9, 2016 18:23:54 GMT -5
Julian didn't trust himself alone with her either, but this was not the place to set things to rights between them. He left a few galleons on the table to tip the waitress then stood and offered Lyra his arm out of habit.
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Oct 9, 2016 22:36:15 GMT -5
Hesitantly, Lyra accepted his arm as she stood from her chair. She smoothed her dress and fidgeted with her hair to keep from looking too long at his perfect face. She purposefully kept a small space between their bodies as they walked.
This was harder than she had imagined, and she was beginning to regret accepting his invitation. Could they really be just friends after what they did? More importantly, could they be friends after what was said? Julian was forthright with his admission of love for Lyra, but he was also very frank about being unable to "fully love her". As they walked, Lyra wondered if you could be friends after revelations like these. She prayed the awkwardness would fade soon, as she couldn't imagine a life without Julian in it without her chest tightening.
"Where are we going?" she asked, looking for a reason to distract her from her thoughts.
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Post by Julian Faust on Oct 10, 2016 1:32:23 GMT -5
Julian was thinking many of the same things, worrying about their friendship or whatever they had.
When she took his arm he felt a jolt go through his entire body. He'd have to rethink his physical contact with her. He was aware now how wonderful things could be between them, and it haunted him. That he could feel what he felt before, that he could lose it all over again somehow. He also suffered thinking that he was betraying Belle somehow in loving Lyra. It was all very confusing. So he walked. He thought. And he was startled when Lyra asked where they were going.
"I'm not really quite sure..." he laughed suddenly, "I don't actually know where we are right now either."
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Oct 10, 2016 2:07:54 GMT -5
Lyra laughed as she looked around. They had both been so deep in thought that neither had paid any attention to where they were going. But looking around now she was almost certain where they had gone. "Oh, I think I know where we are. There's a church just around the corner, I think. Lovely stained glass windows. My nanny used to bring me here as a kid when mum and dad started fighting too loudly. I would try to stand in the rainbows the glass made on the floor."
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Post by Julian Faust on Oct 10, 2016 2:20:00 GMT -5
"Well then," he said smiling fondly at her, "lead the way, and we'll see if you can't catch a rainbow." he teased her.
It was easier, but almost dangerous falling back into his teasing. He delighted in Lyra's childishness at time, it would be a mistake to call her innocent, but she had an impish, playfulness that was really quite beautiful. Julian was drawn to it like a lode stone.
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Oct 10, 2016 2:33:08 GMT -5
She smiled, forgetting about the awkwardness for the moment, and pulled him around the street corner. Sure enough, they were soon met by a large gothic church with tall spires. It resembled a small Hogwarts, except for the windows. There were several giant stained glass panes, each with a mosaic saint standing in the middle.
"I used to think it was strange how they didn't move and wouldn't talk to me. I thought they were being rude," she quietly as they entered through the large, welcoming doors and stepped into the nave. "My nanny laughed at me when I tattled on them. She let me go on about it for weeks before she explained muggle art didn't move."
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Post by Julian Faust on Oct 10, 2016 14:12:20 GMT -5
He laughed at her, with her. She was charming, of course he would love her. The more time he spent with her all the arguments for staying away from her disappeared, but the pain he had experienced in the past jolted him to reality. He'd never survive going through that again.
"Some muggle art does." he said watching her.
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Oct 10, 2016 14:54:40 GMT -5
Lyra stood next to one of the many wooden pews, bathing in the sunlight that poured through the window. Soft patches of red and blue light set upon her face, and she twisted her hips to catch a collection of green, yellow, and red beams that changed as they moved from the backdrop of her pale cream skin to the purple of her dress. Her arms were extended before her, mimicking the posture of the mosaic saint in the window she stood beneath. The colors danced wildly across her skin as she turned quickly toward Julian.
"Really?" she asked excitedly. Her eyes light up beneath the colorful rays of the sun.
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Post by Julian Faust on Oct 10, 2016 15:05:08 GMT -5
He was mesmerized. Whether or not she moved consciously her actions were bewitching. She was the most enchanting creature he had ever been tormented by. He had the briefest thought that if she were leading him into hell he'd happily follow after her. It was only the thought that he'd end up hurting her too that stopped him.
It took him a moment to clear his head and answer her, "Yes. I'll take you sometime."
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Oct 10, 2016 15:21:55 GMT -5
She had so many questions. How could their art move without magic? Where did they keep it? She wanted to see it, to answer her questions and marvel at the inventions the muggles had created. This new bit of information was counterintuitive to what she had learned about muggles from her parents. Although she was not pureblood (a few grandparents somewhere down the line had been muggleborns or halfbloods) her parents generally kept to the idea that muggles were brainless and only took up space. They treated them in much the same way one might look at a beggar; giving them scraps so that they would go away.
Lyra stepped quickly towards Julian, setting her hands on his chest and smiling up at his face. She had meant to ask if he would take her to see it now, but as her body came into contact with his she froze and then slowly stepped back. She couldn't touch him as she once had. It was cruel to them both.
"I'd like that," she replied honestly, though with some slight hesitation. But there was also hope in her voice. They had effectively spent 10 minutes in awkward-free company, and that reassured Lyra that they could find some semblance of normality to their friendship. She would just need to be cautious.
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Post by Julian Faust on Oct 10, 2016 15:31:55 GMT -5
Julian swallowed down the bolt of lust that shot through him when Lyra pressed herself against him. It hadn't been so difficult to swallow before, but now knowing exactly what pleasures could be found with the vixen in front of him, tortured him like nothing else.
She stepped back and so did he as if they had burned one another, and in some ways they had.
"It would be my pleasure." he assured her.
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Oct 10, 2016 15:51:52 GMT -5
She had stepped back into the rainbow, her skin coated with subtle colors that moved as she moved. "Thank you," she said sweetly. "For asking me to see you. I...I feel better about...everything." It will get easier, she promised him silently.
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Post by Julian Faust on Oct 10, 2016 16:06:02 GMT -5
He wished he could say the same. While he didn't feel worse about what happened, it was hard to feel any worse than he had, this meeting showed him how futile a friendship with her really seemed.
Still he admired her confidence, he admired everything about her.
"Come here." he said gently holding his hand out to her.
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Post by Lyra Newbury on Oct 10, 2016 16:25:12 GMT -5
His hand extended into the rainbow. She quickly glanced at the floor and noticed the black void in the colors caused by his shadow. He had sucked up the rainbow.
She took his hand, their contact more purposeful and planned this time. Cautious.
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Post by Julian Faust on Oct 10, 2016 16:31:11 GMT -5
He was in the shadows while she danced in the light. If Julian was feeling poetic he could see how this moment perfectly foreshadowed their relationship. He pulled her slightly to him where the shadows were and held her. It was planned, it didn't make it any less dangerous. Still he needed to feel connected to her.
"We're going to be fine love."
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