Playing Tricks

[Lita Hollows R6]

“Dearie, what makes you think that you have the choice?” Lita smiled sharply, the expression almost vicious as she turned cool brown eyes to her target. She was not always the sweet, helpful girl she had pretended to be for Meredith Garwin’s sake, for Rister’s sake. For the preservation of one’s sanity, it was always best to never forget that Lita had been raised by a man who had once been cut-throat and ruthless in his business dealings as well as a woman who, through her lowered eyes and soft voice, held the potential to manipulate her husband perfectly though she didn’t often use it. Not to mention that she had spent nearly seven years mingling with Gaenor, Kris and Cleo and their children. She would never be a political dancer simply because that interested her little. Life was much simpler without politics leaking into the home and, at heart, she could be a simple and wholesome girl sometimes. All the same, Lita knew what she wanted and she always knew how far she would go to get it. Her indulgent childhood had spoilt her as much as her adolescence had hardened her so it was always a short leap between acknowledging what she wanted and obtaining whatever it was. Her parents (her father, to be more precise, since he held all the power in the household even now) had never believed in depriving their only little girl of whatever she batted her artful brown eyes for.

“I’ve done a lot to help you, Meredith,” Lita told her Hufflepuff counterpart seriously. Possibly for the first time since she had learnt who Meredith Garwin was and what she had done, Lita’s eyes held no form of deceit in them when their two sets of brown eyes locked. “I’ve tried my hardest, I really have. Not for you, Merlin no! You’re sweet and all, I’m sure, but I would never have noticed you had you not helped Rister. But, you see,” Lita continued softly, “you don’t help yourself with the way you react. You can’t run away like a frightened little child. It’s not impressive. You’re not Rosalind’s age. There’s no excuse for that behaviour.” The Hufflepuff showed some discomfort there, Lita noted with some gratification. She was evidently drilling her way through to Meredith’s brain somehow. At least it could be done.

With deliberate slowness, Lita raised her hand to her head, curled one solitary strand of brown hair around her finger and carefully snapped it from her scalp. That strand was then carelessly deposited into a cauldron of simmering potion before she turned her attention back to her companions. “So I’m calling in the favours you owe me,” she informed Meredith cheerfully, ladling a dose of the potion into a goblet that she then pushed into Meredith’s grasp. “I need to be out of the castle for a while, so you’ll be me. No questions are asked that way. And we’ll call it a blank slate. No lingering debts.” Meredith’s natural intelligence was shining through, Lita noticed appreciatively when the other brunette asked what would be required of her. “It’s Saturday so there aren’t any classes today, so no worries there. Just stick around the Ravenclaw common room and you’ll be safe enough. Leandra will leave you alone for the most part, especially if Gabriel takes her to Slytherin. Ashlyn here will help you out with being me.” This, Lita swore, was the last time. Never again would she look at Meredith Garwin with anything less than contempt if she managed to mess this up. Never again would she hurt her best friend in the hopes of helping him. Never again would she tear herself between too many different types of loyalty to the same family.

[Ashlyn Swallow G5]

Ashlyn’s lips thinned instantly, showing her displeasure more clearly than any words ever could. “Why should I?” Ashlyn demanded heatedly. “She’s nothing to me and she’s even less to Layla. I know for a fact that Damon isn’t-” Ashlyn cut herself off abruptly, well aware that she had come too close to mentioning the bond. Garwin didn’t deserve to retain that knowledge, which was another flaw in Lita’s plan. It wasn’t likely but still, what if someone made a quip about the bond between Damon and Ashlyn? Gabriel was always trying to tease them. Agitated, she bit at her upper lip before nodding reluctantly. Family loyalty was important and, as Ashlyn was slowly coming to acknowledge, the Graas’s were family therefore Lita was too. For that reason only, she would do as Lita asked. “I’m spending the day with Layla though,” she stated brusquely. “I managed to get her to agree to prise herself away from Jared’s guitar lessons in about half an hour so I’ll be waiting for her in the common room. There’s no reason why ‘Lita Hollows’ shouldn’t be there too, I suppose.”

It was odd to see Meredith Garwin, a few inches taller than Lita though eerily similar in her brown hair and eyes, shrink those few crucial inches after draining the potion Lita had given to her. Polyjuice Potion, Ashlyn guessed idly. Unsurprising really. Lita wasn’t their expert in Potions for no reason. It was odder still to see the second version of Lita duck behind a privacy screen that Ashlyn obligingly transfigured when asked by Lita and then re-emerge in Lita’s clothes, trying hard to fix a smirk on her face. The real Lita grimaced, sent a desperately pleading look at Ashlyn and then slipped through the door. Perhaps it was just her imagination but Ashlyn was fairly sure she could hear Lita’s mocking cackle trailing back to them from down the hall.

“You’re hopeless,” Ashlyn informed Meredith-Lita curtly. “Stop trying to smirk; you look like an idiot. No! Don’t smile. There’s no reason to smile. I haven’t said anything amusing and there’s nothing to mock. Just...try a poker face. Less strained. Better.” Feeling so very much like she was wasting her time, Ashlyn turned on her heel and strode out of the empty room without a backward glance, collecting the filled vials of potion that Lita had left for them and vanishing the cauldron on her way out. She was already nearly late for Layla and her cousin would never forgive her for making her shorten a guitar lesson if Ashlyn wasn’t already there waiting for her. Remembering who was supposed to be walking with her, Ashlyn pointedly slowed her pace as they approached the Gryffindor common room and waited for Meredith-Lita to catch up. “Use a longer stride,” Ashlyn hissed impatiently. “You’re a busy Ravenclaw, not an empty-headed Hufflepuff.”

The Gryffindor common room wasn’t a special place for her but neither did she want Meredith Garwin thinking that she could tumble in whenever she wanted so Ashlyn murmured the password discreetly, peeking in to check whether Layla was there and then gesturing for them to wait outside when there was no small blonde head waiting in their usual seats. They would usually sit upstairs in the dorm, but there were enough bad memories in that room without adding Meredith Garwin’s presence into the mix. The three of them could find somewhere else to sit for a while. Layla wouldn’t mind, Ashlyn couldn’t really care less where they placed themselves and, well, to be truthful, neither of them would care if Garwin were comfortable or not. Not that Layla would be told that Lita wasn’t Lita. Her little cousin didn’t need to know everything straight away, especially when she still hated Meredith so much for hurting Morgana and Rister. Layla held an amusing attachment to them, having firmly adopted them as family with the calm justification that Ashlyn and Damon were irrevocably tied together anyway so they were practically family in name already.

With a sly smile, Ashlyn mentally reached out to brush against the thin thread that she envisioned her bond with Damon as. She didn’t know for sure how far it had progressed but that little touch against it should probably get his attention. She had told Lita that she would keep an eye on Meredith, yes, but she had made no promises about making it easy for Meredith to keep up the pretence. As long as neither Jared, when delivering Layla, nor Damon brought Rister along then Meredith should be fine. And if they did then Meredith would simply have to deal with it. Suddenly hit by something quick and small, Ashlyn glanced down, knowing already that she would find two shining blue eyes glancing up at her. If she examined her cousin a little closer then she would also see the thin protective gloves that Jared made her wear still encasing small, pale hands to hide the still reddened fingers from Ashlyn’s investigative gaze. Layla had still not fully understood that Ashlyn had been a music student since she had first experienced contentment; she knew all about music-related injuries and she would never criticise Jared or Layla for that sort of harm done to her cousin. Keeping one firm hand on Layla’s shoulder to keep her from hugging the girl she thought was Lita as she would normally do, Ashlyn glanced at Jared with a slight smile. “Ready to give up on her as a student yet?”

[Damon Graas R5]

Morgana was looking for Lita and as someone had seen Lita with Ashlyn so his youngest sister had figured that the easiest way to track down Lita was to come and have Damon track down Ashlyn. Well, at least it had made sense when Morgana had presented the logic to him to convince Damon to put aside his book and come find Ashlyn. Although admittedly Damon hadn’t needed much convincing. So when he felt the brush of Ashlyn’s consciousness against his Damon wasn’t far away. The brush made him smile though as it was still rare for Ashlyn to seek him out like this. Except in the mornings, for Ashlyn had taken to shaking Damon awake through the bond and stealing some of his coffee-rush. But that was alright too. It just meant that Damon could use it as an excuse when the rest started harping at him over his coffee consumption and drink more coffee than ever before. Coffee, especially when it was dark, richly flavoured and bitter, truly was the nectar of the gods in Damon’s eyes.

They rounded the corner just in time to hear Ashley’s question. “Never! The day shall come when I shall steal her away and secret her in my room for all eternity!” came the dramatically enacted cry from Jared, who shifted his guitar to hang down his back and made to peel Layla away from Ashlyn. “I know Romeo and Juliet is supposed to be the most romantic play of all times, but I doubt Ashlyn’s willing to have a tower added to her house so that you could renact the balcony scene,” Morgana laughingly cut into Jared’s lament. “Not even a musical version?” Jared questioned, glancing between Layla and Ashlyn as he seemed to be thinking it over, “We could skip the poison and dagger in the end, for surely Ashlyn would cry bitter-bitter tears over me as I AM her favourite brother-in-law after all.” Damon grinned as Jared wisely danced to hide behind him even as he managed to insert yet another claim for the title of the favourite brother-in-law. Lately calling Ashlyn darling sister-in-law and demanding she pick her favourite brother-in-law from amongst them seemed to be the favourite past-time of his brothers. Not that Damon minded awfully much as such claims did bring the most charming shade of red to Ashlyn’s cheeks occasionally. It was a wonder she hadn’t grown immune to them yet though.

“Scram you fool,” Damon told Jared quite fondly even as he reached over to smack his brother lightly, “It’d be a fool to think at least part of Ashlyn’s summon wasn’t sparked by the wish for me to get rid of you.” Jared laughed and waved farewell to everyone before heading down the hallway, already tapping a rhythm of some sort onto the wood of his guitar. Damon sent a decidedly wicked smirk to Ashlyn as he stepped forth to lightly touch her shoulder. The bond, while it felt odd to personify it, seemed to oddly delight in even the briefest of touches after one of them reached for the other after it. Almost as if the touch offered assurance that everything was alright and they were together. “Lita, I was looking for you. My godmother is in town and promised to take me to the theatre. I’m wearing my blue top with the sapphire butterfly on the left shoulder, black pants and golden accessories - as well as the golden shoes you gave me - but I’m not entirely sure what to do with my hair. I was thinking of maybe pulling half of it up into a rose and braid the sapphire strands Gabriel gave me for my birthday into my hair,” Morgana inserted as she bounded to Lita, raising the three gold strands with sapphires before her eyes and thoughtfully swinging them back and forth as she wiped her still dripping wet hair behind her ear, “What do you think? Oh, and as McGonagall hauled him to somewhere while muttering about sheep, Rister told me to tell you that he’ll pick you up fifteen minutes later than he promised.”

[Merry Garwin H6]

What would Lita do? What would she do? Feeling trapped and panicked, Merry watched the world through brown eyes that weren’t hers, clenched long, pale fingers that held equal calluses to her own even if there were placed differently. A nail scratched against a raised scar on the palm on her – Lita’s – right hand. Merry spared a swift downward glance for it, silently wondering about its origins before snapping her head back up, alert to the sound of approaching footsteps even without the elbow to her ribcage that she was sure Ashlyn would have been only too pleased to provide. She didn’t have the same upbringing as Lita; Merry would never even know half of the luxuries she was sure Lita had been surrounded with from the moment of her birth. She certainly didn’t have the familiarity with the Graas family that Lita clearly did. How was she supposed to deal with them? Why wasn’t Ashlyn cursing and ushering the two of them into the Gryffindor common room before anyone came? Merry didn’t know how to act like Lita!

“I’d like a musical version of Romeo and Juliet,” Layla protested mildly, apparently succeeding in halting Ashlyn’s retort since she shut her mouth without actually saying anything. So the Gryffindor was exceedingly fond of her cousin, Merry noted curiously. It was cute, really, the way Ashlyn silenced herself just because Layla professed to thinking that she might like something. It also signalled that they weren’t entirely comfortable together, but she couldn’t very well remark on that, could she? Lita would obviously know how comfortable the two blondes were when they were together. “Damon can be Romeo, Ashlyn can be Juliet and Rister can be the prince that tries to sort everything out. Would you like to be Lady Capulet, Morgana?” Seeing the bright, adoring smile that Layla turned to the slightly older girl, Merry abruptly understood just why Layla hated her so much. Unknowingly or otherwise, Merry had hurt Morgana and Layla loved Morgana like she was family. That wasn’t something that was easy to forgive, especially not for a young girl.

“Damon and I are not married!” Ashlyn snapped, her tone holding less bite than it had when she was addressing Merry. Her cheeks had also flushed a most brilliant pink, Merry noticed with a quiet giggle. She hadn’t known that Ashlyn was the type of girl to blush over a simple bit of teasing. Then again, she hadn’t known that Ashlyn and Damon were dating either. All she really knew was that, as Ashlyn had already confirmed, the blonde Gryffindor pretty much hated her. “It’s a waste of time for you to try hitting him,” Merry drawled with a smirk that felt much more comfortable on Lita’s face then it could ever feel on her own. “He’s prepared for it now, see. Wait until later and I’ll sneak you into the common room. You can get your revenge on him then.” Judging by Ashlyn’s expression of grudging acceptance, Merry was doing an excellent job of acting like Lita for the moment. Certainly better than either she or Ashlyn had expected her to do, she was sure.

The mention of Ashlyn summoning Damon made Merry raise an eyebrow slightly, casting a curious sideways glance to the girl Lita had assigned as her helper. She hadn’t seen Ashlyn do anything that might catch Damon’s attention. Perhaps she had sent off a quick message or something when she had slipped inside the common room for the few seconds she had been gone. Catching Ashlyn’s subtle shake of her head, Merry kept her mouth shut. This wasn’t something that Lita would ask questions about, she guessed. So there was presumably a quick way for the Graas’, Lita and Ashlyn to contact each other. Or maybe just Ashlyn and Damon? It wasn’t any of her business, of course, but Merry always had been more curious than was advisable.

“Um.” Merry exhaled shakily, summoning up a tentative smile for Morgana. She could never even think that she could be forgiven for what Rister and Lita told her that she had accidentally done but, as far as she knew, Lita and Morgana were on excellent terms so Merry had to convey that. The only problem was trying to guess how good Lita was at fashion. She was always dressed impeccably, but was that her own input or someone else’s? Well, Morgana had asked her for advice so Lita couldn’t be completely clueless, Merry surmised rationally. “It would look exquisite,” Merry agreed sincerely, tilting her head to eye Morgana and the sapphire strands thoughtfully. She had dressed Kali and Rosalind for years so she was more than passable with fashion advice. “What colour rose? Blue would blend in very well but red or white would be a lovely contrast against your hair and the other colours of your clothing.” Trying her hardest to emulate Lita’s exasperated tone whenever Rister got himself into trouble, Merry rolled her eyes and arched her eyebrow sharply. “Sheep? What’s your brother done this time? I should probably just be grateful that he didn’t drag me into it though.”

[Morgana Graas S2]

Morgana returned Layla’s smile fondly. It was so incredibly easy to take a liking to the young blonde, especially as Layla had so easily accepted her with no reservations at all. “And what a charming lady I’ll be. Might I suggest a chastity belt to Ashlyn? I shall not have that young lady doing wicked things to a strange boy like Damon,” Morgana decreed with a regal little nod before breaking into mirthful giggles. “Perhaps we might not try the musical still though. Damon can only hit about every third note while singing and Rister and Gabriel are even worse. I’m no good either, although Leandra is decent. Not singer material but she’ll be able to soothe her kids with a lullaby one day rather than scar them for life. Not sure Rister would really want a crown either.”

The blush on Ashlyn’s face and Damon’s quiet smile as he observed it brought a quiet smile to Morgana’s face as well: “Stop arguing, everyone knows you’re going to marrying Damon sooner or later anyway. The only things we placed bets on were to exactly when. Even mom and dad betted,” Morgana admonished lightly at Ashlyn’s blush, even if her eyes held the slightest hint of sadness in her eyes as she watched Ashlyn and Damon gaze at each other, obviously locked into some sort of a conversation through the bond they shared. A touch brought Morgana out of her thoughts and it was instinctive defensive reflex that made her wipe the sadness out of her eyes before she glanced at Lita. “I know, I know, I’ve argued with both you and Rister over it, but how exactly could I ever expect the love and care of a lover and husband ir Garwin’s reaction clearly showed what people think of my furry little problem,” Morgana breathed in return to Lita’s glance, her countenance not showing a shred of the anguish she actually felt even though for the moment Ashlyn and Damon were tied up in themselves and Layla seemed content to observe them. It was a sad world where a child that young had to so often hide her true feelings from the manipulative world.

Morgana laughed at Lita’s joke, for what else could it be? “Why would I mix a rose and sapphires? Both are lovely but they would clash in a hair-do. I meant the rose hair-do Gabriel described the other day at breakfast when he was telling us about the last shoot mishaps. Where the hair was picked into flat strands that curved into petals and looked around themselves. I was thinking of using Gabriel’s gift instead of pearls to keep the strands in place and the sapphires might glint quite nicely from amongst the hair while not being overdone. Or do you think I should go for something a bit different, considering that godmother is quite oldfashioned. I’d ask Gabriel but he already took off for work. Leandra went with her, not that I’d let Leandra anywhere near my hair.”

“Let’s go find somewhere to sit down so that Lita could help me with my hair,” Morgana told Ashlyn and Damon, “At least the rest of us can sit down then while you two play your tug-a-war. For all your protesting in some ways you two act like an old married couple already. The cliché movie-like married couple. I’d give the best brother-in-law title to Rister by the way. It’s always useful to have something to hold over his head as he has the best chances against Damon, but it’s disgustingly hard to get something like that over him. It’s unfair really.” Morgana stuck her tongue out at the couple before glancing somewhat distractedly at Lita. “Sheep? What? Ah, right. No idea really. Someone’s sloppy transfiguration or maybe someone brought a sheep to school. But McGonagall likes him so I doubt he’s in much trouble anyway. Remember the whole frog-kissing fiasco?” Morgana laughed at the memory as she started heading down the hallway with all the inborn grace and confidence she did have, even if she wasn’t entirely surely where she was heading to right now.

[Ashlyn Swallow G5]

She had looked slightly downcast to be told to abandon the idea of the musical but Layla’s eyes brightened immediately as she touched Morgana’s arm gently. “Can I place a bet?” The younger girl pleaded sweetly, blue eyes flicking around before she spoke as if to ensure that there was no one around. There was no reservation in the touch, Merry noted, no acknowledgement that Morgana was something different. For the first time, Merry truly realised just how much Morgana was surrounded by oddly accepting people. From the look of things, both Ashlyn and Layla had accepted Morgana’s condition with barely a bat of an eyelid. Merry’s own reaction, while not inappropriate for a surprised girl who bristled at the idea that Gabriel had been mocking her by inviting her into their close-knit group (because it surely couldn’t have been truthful when Merry didn’t fit in with them at all), had clearly been very much different to the reactions Morgana had previously received. Even if it had not been Morgana’s status as a werewolf but the family as a whole that Merry had ran away from, that hadn’t been what Morgana had seen the action as.

“Meredith isn’t always the smartest,” Merry answered easily, unashamed at admitting her own shortcomings. She knew that she sounded very similar to Lita right now, because the Ravenclaw had shouted that at her so many times. “You know that I’ve been trying to figure her out though, yes?” Merry eyed Morgana, trying to make it seem like she was thinking of what would be best to share with the young girl while really scrambling to make her speech patterns sound like Lita’s when she next opened her mouth. “Gabriel made her an offer that unnerved her, apparently. She tells me that she’s adjusted to what she learnt about you, which I do believe because I highly doubt that she has the wit to lie when she’s put on the spot. Your brothers, however, scare her to death. Especially Rister.” The smile on her face came naturally, feeling rueful even though she knew it would look light-hearted to a casual observer. “So you have as much right as anyone else to expect the love and devotion of a lover. It’s your brothers that might cause problems for you, not your condition.”

“At breakfast?” Ashlyn chimed in smoothly, drawing away from her argument with Damon to step in and neatly save Meredith from her blunder. “Why would Lita be at breakfast? She never is, and I remember that she wasn’t there that day anyway, because Rister swore that he’d drag her down the next day, which he did.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. Lita had joined them late that morning and only picked at her food, disregarding Rister’s pointed orders to actually eat something. Morgana had seemed involved enough in what Gabriel was telling her to not have really noticed, except that she was a werewolf and so had those pesky enhanced senses, Ashlyn remembered with a discreet grimace. Maybe she would just think that one of them had gotten the days confused and let it slide.

Grateful to Ashlyn for her help but very well aware that the sentiment would not be appreciated, Merry shrugged and smiled at Morgana helplessly. It wouldn’t necessarily clash, you know, depending on where you placed the strands. If you had the rose twined through the back of her hair and the strands at the side then it would be quite suitable. Not my style,” Merry admitted flippantly, feeling safe in her assumption that Lita wasn’t one to wear flowers in her hair unless Leandra and Morgana braided them in for her, “but it would look lovely on you.” What the hell was a rose hair-do? Merry caught the edge of her lip between her teeth unsurely. Morgana had explained it, yes, but she couldn’t picture it perfectly in her head so how was she supposed to actually get it right when it came to helping Morgana create it in her hair? There clearly wasn’t going to be any help from Ashlyn, distracted by Damon as she was, and she wasn’t sure if Layla knew what effect Morgana was trying to achieve either.

“I shall only have a best brother-in-law if I marry into a nice family. Your brothers are all horrible to me,” Ashlyn told Morgana with a quick grin, obligingly following Morgana and Meredith with a small, gleeful smirk curving her mouth as her hand settled on Layla’s shoulder to guide her along with them. She had barely managed to prise her own cousin away from Jared and his guitar lessons; Ashlyn knew very well that the moment Layla felt bored and was given permission, she would hunt Jared down once more and stare at him with those wide blue eyes until he brought out his guitar for her. Jared was startlingly proficient at correctly interpreting Layla’s silence. It very nearly made Ashlyn envious.

[Morgana Graas S2]

“Certainly. I thought everyone already had!” Morgana exclaimed as her own hand settled on Layla’s shoulder, “Rister holds the tabs as he was overvoted by mom and dad who decided they want to bet on the matter rather than be the referees this time.” Morgana paused thoughtfully as she tilted her head and considered what she had just said. She remembered the time-period she had chosen but reserving the time was all there was to it. “Now that I think of it everyone just reserved the dates. Wonder what the award’ll be? Do you know Lita?” Morgana mused thoughtfully, “Although Rister might just decide on what to buy after he knows who wins. It would be silly to gift dad with, eh, sapphire earrings for example. Although I truly hope dad doesn’t win. Not that I don’t want to see you two married – “ Morgana gave a light grin at Damon – “But because I don’t want dad to win.”

Morgana had hoped to evade an arguement about her future life for today but Lita still seemed set on arguing with her about it. Lita’s words about Gabriel made Morgana blink confusedly at her though. „But Gabriel likes people easiest and he’s far too lazy to lie. So what exactly would there be to be nervous about?“ Morgana questioned with utter puzzlement evident on her face. Her eyes lit up with righteous fire, not unlike what might have been shining in the eyes of whole-heartedly devoted crusaders, a few moments later as she scowled fiercly at Lita. „You’re right. She’s an idiot. For all the kindness and niceness that’s supposed to be so characteristic of Hufflepuffs, they’re a bunch of snobby hypocrits. My brothers are the best. Beyond mere self-protection and an attempt to wheedle out the people who don’t approach them because they’re rich and handsome and talented and popular – when exactly have they even as much as bullied anyone?“ Morgana nearly hissed out, her adoration for her brothers evident. Of course she argued and bickered with her brothers as well and more often than not was exasperated by their protective nature. But they were family. Her brothers would always have her unwavering support just like all four of them would alwyas be there to support her.

„Ah,“ Morgana shrugged absently. She didn’t keep tabs on everyone’s every step so it was utterly likely that Lita hadn’t been there. Of course it meant that Lita wouldn’t be able to recreate the hairdo Gabriel had described but that wasn’t the end of the world yet either. „Flowers are more Leandra’s style, however much you can give Leandra a style,“ Morgana disagreed absently. Morgana was already a pretty girl and all signs pointed to the fact that she’d grow up to be a beautiful woman which gave her the benefit of not having to use clothing to hide her mistake but merely to create a pleasing background to what she looked like naturally. As a result Morgana’s taste was quite classical with a clear preference to clear tones and straight lines. As Lita caught her lip between her teeth almost hesitantly a laugh was startled out of Morgana as she eyed her older-sister-in-every-sense-but-blood. „You look almost cowed,“ Morgana snickered as she eyed Lita with some amusement, „Damon, look! You all can be witnesses to the fact that Lita can actually look scared and doubtful. Rister would have loved a picture of this.“

Morgana yelped as a strong hand grasped her hair and glanced back only to see Damon already opening a door to some room. His brother stepped back to let all four girls step in first. „True. My siblings are an unavoidable evil and in small amounts there’s hard to find a more annoying family. Just think, without them there’d be no one banging on your window in the middle of the night, telling you crude jokes at breakfast table, tackling you in the middle of hallways, or redesigning your outfits during dinner. Your life would be so quiet and there’s no way you’d want that, is there?“ Damon drawled out with some amusement as he closed his eyes for a long moment and stilled. A clear sign that he was manipulating the bond. Sending a fleeting brush of a kiss or a caress to Ashlyn through the bond? „Stop sending Ashlyn kisses,“ Morgana ventured a guess as she tossed a comb over her shoulders towards Lita, „Help me fix my hair into something.“

[Layla Ellison]

“I’ll place my bet when Ashlyn and Damon aren’t here then,” Layla decided quietly. “Ashlyn will just try even harder to make me lose if she knows the time I’ve chosen and Damon never seems capable of keeping secrets from her.” They must have placed the bets when she hadn’t been speaking to Rister then, but Layla said nothing about that. For one thing, it wasn’t something that she enjoyed dwelling on, especially because it involved Meredith Garwin, and it was over and done with now anyway so there was no point in raking up the past. Ashlyn hadn’t asked and Layla wouldn’t tell what had been said to make her reconcile with Rister. “He’ll probably buy it when someone actually wins,” Merry agreed neutrally, “but he wouldn’t tell me anyway because I’ve already placed my bet. Can’t remember when for though,” she added, hoping to avoid questions that she really couldn’t answer and reminding herself to tell Lita that she now had to place a bet if she hadn’t already done so. This impersonation stuff was hard when she didn’t know Lita as well as she should do to convincingly act like her. At least Jared – whom Ashlyn had curtly informed her was one of the most observant – and Rister – who knew Lita best and made Merry recoil the most because of everything he stirred up in her – weren’t there. That would just be disastrous.

Ashlyn sighed, resenting that she would have to step in yet again to save Meredith. “Gabriel can be intimidating at times, I suppose,” she told Morgana firmly. Playing at peacemaker wasn’t her favourite role; it didn’t suit her. She didn’t have the patience. “He’s impatient and he doesn’t always explain things properly. Garwin doesn’t seem like she has quick wits at the best of times so him confronting her immediately after she witnessed what she did probably didn’t help her understanding. Maybe she thought it was all a trap. After all, she doesn’t know them any better than I did when we first met, right?” Walking next to her, Layla scowled mildly. The expression didn’t suit her soft features but Ashlyn made no comment, allowing her cousin to have her say. Layla would always be quick to leap to Morgana’s defence, particularly against Meredith Garwin. The idea of Rister dating Garwin had resulted in Layla not speaking to him for a full three weeks. Gabriel and Jared had been the ones to coax her into talking to their brother again because nothing Rister said could move her; Layla had just turned her head away or stared at him blankly. If nothing else, Layla was even more stubborn than Ashlyn herself, which probably wasn’t a good thing.

“That’s definitely not like Lita,” Ashlyn agreed stiffly, blue eyes flashing with muted anger as she sent a swift glare at Meredith. Stupid girl. Hadn’t she yet spent enough time with Lita to know that the Ravenclaw was always outwardly composed and collected unless she was with Rister or Gaenor? The one expression Lita would never make in public was one of uncertainty unless there were extremely extenuating circumstances. Or whenever Rister pulled rank over her. That never failed to successfully quash Lita’s natural vibrancy. Merry almost winced before laughing it off. She didn’t bother trying to explain herself. As far as she had seen, Lita never explained herself to anyone. At least, she had never taken the time to explain anything to Merry. Was she different with other people?

“I miss my quiet life,” Ashlyn shot back, aware that both she and Damon knew without doubt that she was lying. Life wouldn’t be the same with Rister pestering her all the time, Jared stealing her cousin away, Gabriel tugging at her clothes to rearrange them, Leandra creating wild fantasies and Morgana chipping in with the elegant snark she did so well. She could barely remember life before Damon had whirled into it now even though it had not yet been even a full year. Nearly, but not quite. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Meredith tackling Morgana’s hair with sole-minded determination, sculpting something that actually looked better than what Ashlyn had seen Lita create for the youngest Graas. So the girl was good for something after all, even if only something as frivolous as dressing hair. Morgana’s comment about the bond had reminded her to solidify the thin walls she always had up to keep Damon from rooting around in her end of the bond though. Ashlyn grimaced, unable to believe that she had forgotten to do that as soon as Lita had shared her plan. She didn’t even want to think about how Damon had interpreted the apprehension, wicked glee and simmering hatred that had been swirling around within her.

[Damon Graas R5]

„Not my fault keeping secrets is kind of hard. Although I’m sure buying gifts is going to be a whole lot harder once we progress further from only sensing emotions and direction,“ Damon quipped in response to Layla, even as he waggled his eye-brows at the young blonde, „And really, you should b ehaving a serious talk with Ashlyn on when she’s going to make a honest man out of me. I’d certainly say yes to a proposal.“ Damon allowed the rest of the conversation largely pass him by, more occupied by the appearance of his owl behind the window. Tossing the window open Damon leaned out to take the letter from his owl, the window a bit too narrow for his eagle-owl to be able to comfortably fly in. „Don’t have any treats with me,“ Damon told the owl who hooted almost disappointedly before taking off again. Pulling the window closed again, Damon glanced at the seal on the letter before breaking it open are quickly skimming the contents. „One of my business partner’s getting married,“ he commented absently as he offered the letter to Ashlyn as well, not needing to pose the question out loud. The two of them had been bonded for nearly a year already and Damon had taken to incorporating Ashlyn into his life although Ashlyn didn’t always choose to accompany him to such events. „I’m going to need to drop by anyway. We’ve been working together for a bit too much for me not to,“ he told Ashlyn. He’d need to make an appearance at the wedding but without Ashlyn it’d probably be a short one.

„Since when have you been defending Gabriel?“ Damon questioned warily as Morgana stared at Ashlyn with an utterly disbelieving look. „For you to word it so mildly it almost counts as praise even.“ Damon’s mind brushed lightly against the bond even as he teased Ashlyn though. It didn’t take long ofr irritation to flare up though. „Garwin doesn’t have any brains,“ Damon sneered. The Graas siblings might wear their confident masks extremely well, but behind them they had feelings too. And Meredith Garwin had managed to hurt two of them. „You didn’t run,“ Damon reminded Ashlyn absently, forcefully shoving his irritation with Garwin to the back of his conscious, „If I remember correctly you even won two games that night, didn’t you?“ Ashlyn’s regular retort about missing her life the way it had been before had Damon chuckling quietly. They had grown closer during the year they had spent together and now and then Ashlyn shared a tiny tidbit. „I’ve always told you that we could do without my two younger brothers. We could easily off them. We’ll keep the girls but we’ll need to expand on your cellar first to comfortably lock them there. Rister would be a tad bothersome. If we offed him, I’d end up the heir and that’s a whole lot more work than I care to do. Of course that would also give us the ultimatum to get married by my 23rd birthday. But on the other hand that might actually come in handy in convincing you,“ Damon suggested thoughtfully he settled in comfortably on the window sill, his back leaning against the window.

Damon’s head snapped in alert mode as he felt Ashlyn suddenly reinforcing the bond. „Hey, you should be glad over the idea of offing my brothers not block me out,“ Damon huffed, his eyes thoughtfully narrowed on Ashlyn now carefully going over the differnet flares of emotion he had sensed from her earlier during the day. There had been some irritation and some humour, but then again she had been spending time with Lita so none of that was very shocking. So what exactly had made her reinforce her walls against hte bond right now? „By the way Ashlyn, are you participating in the duelling competition Minno and Hawthorn are organising? I know Damon is and I think I’ll do it myself too. It’s good practice against some other opponents than my brothers and you two,“ Morgana piped in from where her hair was being pulled and prodded by Lita, „Lita you’re participating too, right? I know Rister’s in a huff because he can’t, but…“ Morgana grimaced and didn’t finish the sentence. Rister was the oldest sibling and the most protective of them all – he was always there when any of his siblings had a problem – but that also meant that the rest hated it the most when anything was dampening Rister’s mood.