A Clash // Lissianna & Alexander

[alexander]

s t a y and see the smoke and who's still standing when it c l e a r s.

His first instinct was to shoot a smirk at Gideon, but Alexander knew better than to spark something like that. He wasn’t winning if Lissianna was upset, he knew. It was enough to subdue his fury at the other man, just for a moment. The woman was practically stumbling over her words as she tried to speak, and his brow creased with concern. She was trying to blame herself. It wasn’t her fault. He wanted to tell her that, but he couldn’t form his words properly. Every time he wanted to try and make things better for her, his thoughts were intruded with anger. She was conflicted. She didn’t know what to think. He wasn’t surprised. She didn’t know anything about the situation they were in, all she had was his information. She hadn’t witnessed any of it. “No, don’t listen to him if you don’t want to,” he murmured, barely audible. He wanted to pull her close, but some part of him told him that wasn’t the best idea. “Shh, I know, it’s not your fault.”

It could never be her fault.

He remained silent as she turned to hide herself against him. It was almost like the first time they had met, though he knew the circumstances surrounding this action were completely different. He was not helping this time, he was making it worse. This would have been easier if it had just been the two of them, he knew. He could have explained things to her in a different way, in a different context. His vision swept over to the other man as he stated why he had come back. What the hell kind of excuse was that? His eyes narrowed as he found himself glaring. His attention shifted back to Liss as she wove her hands around his jacket. A frown tugged at his lips, his gaze softening as he looked down at her. He had just moved his other arm around her when things began to pick up, and he found his mind reeling. He looked back at Gideon, his eyes wide and nearly frantic.

Someone could have been screaming at him, and it probably wouldn’t have been able to get through the roaring in his ears. For a moment, the alley seemed much larger than it was, stretching on for an eternity. Gideon’s words reached him, and instantly any sorts of those feelings vanished. He became acutely aware of how small the space was. He knew how empty it was. If it was disorienting when he lost himself for a moment, the dreadful realization of how things really were was even more so. His mind was staggering at the voice of the other man sunk into his skin. Alexander was being threatened. Unarmed, he knew he didn’t stand a chance in hell. Even if he had been, he had no idea how long it had been since he had been able to perform magic, and he had never been particularly gifted. Decent, at best. In no way would it have been a fair match.

So what could he do?

As much as he wanted to stay put, trying to keep Lissianna safe, he knew that wouldn’t work. He couldn’t do that. There was no doubt in his mind that the threat was not hollow. If Alexander didn’t oblige, who knew what would happen to him. If slavery had been the price for hiding the blood identity of his half-sister and protesting, there was no way of knowing how severe punishment the second round around would have been. Slavery, if he was lucky. He could nearly feel the bite in his back and shoulders, a sick memory. Nothing could be nearly as painful as those first months of conditioning after the arrest. His entire being had felt like it was on fire, every movement stung. Askaban didn’t seem entirely out of the question, he figured. Slavery had been the price the first time; it seemed unlikely that would be the resort this time. If being the property of someone else had made him feel numb, he knew the latter option would be worse. There would be no hope of getting out. No hope of finding his family, no hope of – he couldn’t let this keep going, he had to do as he was told. He wasn’t really free to do anything, even if he had been released.

There was a moment of hesitation, just long enough for Gideon to start his count. Slowly, the younger man’s eyes slid shut. He held his breath as he retracted his arms from the woman’s upper body, only moving his fingers to remove her hands from his jacket. Every fiber of his being wanted to fight. Alexander believed himself a fighter, but he knew when he was losing. Right now, the command and promise of living hell were enough to convince him to back off. His arms fell to his sides as he cast his gaze to the ground, somewhere a few feet to the side. He almost seemed to shrink in his posture, refusing to meet the eyes of any of the others. “Yes, sir.” He hadn’t even meant for it to slip, it simply had. At soon as the two words left his lips, he found his eyes widening. It had barely been over a whisper. He was certain the last time he had reverted to behavior like this had been long before he had found the Three Broomsticks. Still, he couldn’t help but two more haunting words, even if his mind was yelling at him to stop.

“My apologies…”

tag: gideon and lissianna! | lyrics: over my head by the fray. | notes: i don’t even. how did this happen?

[Lissianna Delacruz]

Whatcha say? That you only meant well?

Gideon had ignored her. Why did he ignore her? She didn't understand at all what was going on. Why did Gideon hate Denver so much? Enough to ignore her pleas apparently. But why? What sort of history did those two have? Then Gideon threatened Denver with calling the ministry on him. Did that mean that what Denver told her was correct?

Her body and mind froze in shock. Wait. What did Gideon call him? Alexander McCarthy? That - that wasn't his name. His name was Denver Macintosh. Wasn't it? But judging by his reaction, it was true. That couldn't be right. Liss's heart started to break. He lied to her. Why? Didn't he trust her? He told her he did. There had to be a good reason. Her mind knew that, but her heart didn't. At least now, his name matched his face. She was still in shock when Den -no, Alexander- removed himself from her. Her hands itched to bring him back to her. His body language was all but screaming submission and she wanted to make him feel better. Half of her did, anyway. The other half was still shocked and breaking.

Then she heard those four words leave his mouth, so softly, so much pain. And Liss found herself filling with pain and anger. No. This was going to stop now. She finally turned to face Gideon, flinching a little at the sight of him pointing a wand at... Alexander. Goodness, that'd be a thing to get used to. Her hands balled into fists and she boldly stepped into the path of the wand. "No. You don't get to hurt him. You don't get to turn him in," she ground out, fury lacing her words, tears stinging her eyes. "You do not get to do anything until I get some answers. Is that clear?"

It didn't bother her in the slightest that some of her facade started leaking into her. She needed all the walls she could get at this point. If she wanted answers and not break down into a frozen, crying mess, she'd have to rely on what little bit of practice she'd had with this face.

Liss faced Alexander now. A few tears had slipped down her face, a portrait of furious despair. She couldn't even bring herself to soften her gaze. It hurt so much. To know the man she was falling in love with had lied to her. What else did he lie about? But then there was the way he was acting. This attitude. This was what the house elves at the houses her father visited acted like. The only logical reason was that he was a slave. And by what Gideon had said and the fact that his name was different, an escaped one at that.

"Mr. Mac-" She cut herself off. No. That wasn't his name. "Mr. McCarthy, you'd best snap out of whatever daze you're in." Merlin, why couldn't she keep her voice from sounding so angry? "You - The both of you are going to answer something for me." With a bit of out of character forcefulness, she yanked Alexander in front of her so she could see both men at the same time. Liss knelt down, still keeping her eyes on them, and pulled out her wand she had strapped to her leg hours before. She stared at it for a moment before raising it to Gideon, eyes filled with pain and determination.

"Now, what the bloody hell have the two of you been up to?"

That it's all for the best? You decided this.

Lyrics from "Imogen Heap" - "Hide and Seek"

[Note: ANGST. That's all I have to say. Well, no. Angst and Fury.]

[Gideon Conleth]

For a moment Gideon thought McCarthy was going to be stupid enough to ignore the man with a wand pointed straight at his mass. Surely he wasn't that stupid?
But then, than God, he moved. Honestly? Gideon didn't want to turn the man in, but if it was a choice between him and Lissiana? Well there was no choice. Lissiana didn't know what she was getting herself into, and wouldn't know until it was to late to do a U turn.

What Gideon hadn't expected though was for Lissiana to step in and block his shot. What the hell? Didn't she understand what he was going?
Well clearly not.
"Lissiana!" Ooooh Teacher voice was out in full swing.
"Get out of the way - you do not understand what you're doing."

As her wand was pulled out and pointed straight at him, Gideon could actually barely believe it.

Oh hell this was getting them nowhere!

"Ask him, Lissiana. Go on! Ask him about every single lie he's told you since you met!" He looked up , switching his gaze back up to the larger man.
"I would have left you alone! I bloody would have, but you had to ruin it! I'm not letting you take advantage of people like Liss - how long have you been lying to her you Bastard?"

[/size]

[alexander]

s t a y and see the smoke and who's still standing when it c l e a r s.

To say this was a mess would be an understatement.

To say that he had no idea what to do would also be one.

He half-expected to wind up with a curse flying his direction, anyways. It wouldn’t have surprised him. Had the roles been reversed, perhaps he would have done so and then a second just for good measure. Still, it didn’t come. That was hardly reassuring to Alexander. Perhaps Gideon was just waiting for the right moment, the instant when – wait, what was Lissianna doing? His gaze had finally moved back to the others, and his brow creased. Had she really just stepped in the middle of them? That was why the hex had never come. As twisted as it was, as long as she was standing in the middle, he wasn’t going to get destroyed by someone he posed no match for. He didn’t want her there, though. It may have kept them from being at each other’s throats, but it put her in harm. This was just getting worse and worse, and he had no idea how to fix things anymore.

There was something about the tone of her voice that proved to him that this was getting out of control. What had he been expecting? He had been a slave, and even released, but that didn’t somehow make him exempt. He had to be treading his lightest here. So why had he thought that he would be able to get a chance to make personal connections to others? Alexander had been so interested in the prospect, so amazed that he could actually show interest, that somehow the key details slipped his mind. He was a fugitive. He couldn’t use his real identity. He couldn’t just pop in to the store and purchase a new wand. In no way did he logically think that it would be perfectly acceptable for him to get close to people, but somehow, he hadn’t thought that mattered. Now he was stuck in a situation like this. He was going to hurt her, and there was nothing that he could do about it.

Before he knew it, Liss had dragged him until he was closer to Gideon. There was no fight in him, not right now. Merlin, he wanted the ground to swallow him. He couldn’t look up, not like this. He didn’t want to see the looks on their faces, and he knew he had lost. A part of him wanted to be able to look up, defiant and strong. This wasn’t easy for any of them, he knew. He couldn’t, though. Alexander knew that as independently as he had been acting, months of obedience and inferiority were hard to unwind. He winced slightly when she snapped; trying to figure out what was going on. He didn’t blame her. How could he explain this? He knew he couldn’t just apologize it away. He had lied to her. It was going to hurt her no matter how he phrased it. His face was still facing the ground as Gideon spoke, and he stared at the other man out of the corner of his eye.

Even the flash of anger wasn’t enough to bounce back.

“I’m not…” He trailed off, his eyes falling back down. He had virtually lied about everything, hadn’t he? He deserved whatever rude words Gideon spoke, and he knew it. Even if Alexander wanted to keep Lissianna away from Gideon, he knew that what he done was much worse to her. He also knew how the situation probably appeared to the other man. “I… I wasn’t trying to take advantage of her, I swear.” There was truth to his words, though he doubted it would come across as such. It took him a moment to compose himself before he finally looked back up at Gideon, determined not to look at Liss. That would only make it worse. “Were you not the one who told me to save my own skin?” The words had much more bite than intended, and he instantly shut his mouth. His shoulders slouched once more as his gaze fixed somewhere near his toes, his eyes sliding shut for a moment. This wasn’t going to fix anything. He couldn’t do this.

Finally, he took a deep breath before looking at Lissianna and instantly regretting it. Was she crying? No, he couldn’t do this. He had done this. He had made her cry. She had trusted him, and he turned around and latched on because she made him feel normal and human and like he was better than property. “Lissianna, I…” He trailed off. Alexander had lost the personal connection. She had resorted to his last name. His eyes widened slightly with that realization. “I messed up. I shouldn’t have done that to you. I swear, I didn’t lie about everything. I never meant for this to happen, things just got out of control. I didn’t want to put you in danger and I was too afraid to tell you the truth.” He paused to shift his gaze back to Gideon, frowning. “There, is that what you want? Are you happy now? I’d assume you want me to leave, too? To never come back? Or perhaps this time you really will turn me in?” He shook his head, his voice dropping.

“This is all wrong.”

tag: gideon and lissianna! | lyrics: over my head by the fray. | notes: what am i doing anymore?

[Lissianna Delacruz]

Whatcha say? That you only meant well?

Liss bristled. How dare he? How dare he use that voice against her. All she wanted were answers. How was that wrong? "You are correct, Professor. I do not understand. So you should enlighten me." The longer she was denied what she wanted, the farther she slipped into becoming that Lissianna, the one who was necessary for survival but scared her. In all honesty, she didn't want them to know her like this. She didn't want them to have a warped view of her based on her defensive tactics. It was just a way for her to protect herself. Namely against one person. How did it extend to this?

Gideon snapped at her again and she flinched. It was good that she was able to retain her core self in all this. Completely becoming her was definitely not an option. Gideon wanted her to ask, no, demand answers but she didn't. She didn't need to. Alexander started talking all on his own. Liss wasn't even going to argue the fact that she was easily taken advantage of and while Alexander did say that he hadn't, she didn't trust herself to read him anymore. Thought it did occur to her, while he was addressing Gideon, that Alexander was nervous most of the time he was with her as Denver. Was that guilt?

Wait, what was that he said? How was that any better than outright lying? "Not - not everything?" Fury gave way to hysteria and an uncontrollable fit of giggles erupted from her throat. A few tears continued to roll down her cheeks and she used her free hand to brush them aside. "Then what did you tell me that was the truth?" Words split from her mouth. Lissianna was way past the point of rationalism. Even if she did get answers, she wouldn't be able to process it until later. Her mind could absorb, but her thoughts were incapable of understanding. "Was what I felt from you a lie as well? I fancied myself in love with you. Is that a lie?" Mortification could come later, would come later.

Oh, why did she keep talking to Alexander? There were two people here. How did she forget that? Liss turned to face Gideon, speaking to him after Alexander did. "What about you, Professor? Why are you so angry with him? Why do you care?" She wasn't worth caring about. She was only worth being used, as it seemed to be. Yes. Only worth being... her wand slipped from her fingers and she shook her head in an attempt to clear herself enough to listen. No, not now. Push it away. You have to listen. "Focus, you have to... listen," she whispered, or at least, she thought she did. Her eyes blinked, slowly it seemed, and she desperately tried to focus on the men.

That it's all for the best? You decided this.

Lyrics from "Imogen Heap" - "Hide and Seek"

[Note: It's just going downhill. Hope nothing breaks.]

[Gideon Conleth]

Oh this was a mess, a heaving huge pile of... Mess... Gideon didn't even understand why he cared so much about this situation, mostly because McCarthy was putting her in a situation which took away her choice.
Oh sure she had some level of say in this matter, but could she really give informed consent to have any sort of relationship with this man while he was lying to her? Gideon could remember back in his obvliviator days, someone had brought one of the muggle newspapers in and was laughing at an policeman who had slept with women while undercover who were now charging him with rape. They claimed since they didn't know the man's true identity they couldn't give consent.
Gideon had laughed along, thinking it was a rediculas concept... He wasn't laughing now.
Was this much different? Gideon for one didn't think so.

The man took half a step forward as Lissiana pulled McCarthy forward, his wand never wavering from the man's chest.
I fancied myself in love with you
Gideon flinched inside. Oh Lissiana what had you gotten yourself into.
"You love a man who doesn't exist Lissiana." Perhaps she wouldn't want to hear this, but that didn't make it any less true.

But aparently McCarthy wasn't the only one who was too recieve her watery wrath. As she turned to Gideon his jaw set, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
"I am angry with him Miss Dalacruz because he is taking advantage of you. He may play innocent, but really? Everything he has ever told you is a lie - how could you make a fair judgement to love him based on that. How can you give your consent to a relationship when the man is not who he says?!" Gideon's eyes flicked to the other man before landing back on Lissana, his tone leaving no room for misinterpenetration.
"You may be angry with me, but I am the one helping you. Name one lie I have ever told you? you wont find any. Name one truth he's told you? You also wont find any. I'm trying to stop you from making a mistake by letting him drag you down right next to him. I refuse to just stand by and let him."

[/size]

[alexander]

s t a y and see the smoke and who's still standing when it c l e a r s.

The most stressful thing was that Gideon was correct.

He was right about all of it. Why did the other man have to always be correct? Alexander hadn’t lied about some of the personal things. He hadn’t lied about his house at Hogwarts, or how he was as a teenager. Those things held more merit, didn’t they? It wasn’t enough to justify his actions, but surely lying about his name was better than things he could have done. That had been the only thing he had really thought he had explicitly lied about. Slavery didn’t come up in conversation, and he had a feeling he hadn’t been too subtle when certain topics had come up in conversation. That didn’t make it right, but he wasn’t going to point any of those out. Instead, he settled on one, trying to scoot further away from both of them. He cleared his throat before speaking, his words soft. “I didn’t lie when I told her you erased my mum’s memory.” At this rate, he had a feeling that he was going to have dug his own grave in no time flat.

His eyes had moved to Liss when she had become frantic. She had every right to be angry at him, but there was some sort of strange feeling that she was so worked up about it. He knew that it was a big deal, but he hadn’t thought it would be quite so to her. She was crying. He didn’t know how to react now that the dynamic between them had shifted. “I...” What had he been going to say? He had no idea how to remedy this, he had already destroyed it beyond recognition. Had she just said what he thought she did? Somewhere in his chest there was another pang of pain, a mixture of guilt and something else that came from the realization that he had sabotaged everything that had happened between the two of them. Why had this happened this way? Surely, there could have been something that didn’t damage everything but, no, that was impossible. He had lied to her.

He swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat. His voice was soft, and he had a sinking feeling that perhaps it was better to say nothing. “Denver thought he had fallen for you.” He paused, hesitant. He had probably already said too much, but Alexander didn’t know how else to fix the problem. She had to know what he wasn’t lying about. As much as he knew that Gideon’s assessment of the truth was rather accurate, he knew there had been a morsel of truth in what he had done and told her before. His face was tilted down, avoiding eye contact as he spoke. His voice was wavering, and he had to force himself to keep talking. “But I can’t tell you how I feel. Denver may be free, but I’m not. I mean, I am free to an extent, but it’s not like a normal person. He’s right – I’m not Denver Macintosh. I have papers that say I am, but Denver was a persona I needed to use as soon as…” He trailed off. He couldn’t say all of this, not right now.

His brow creased as his hands found his pockets. He nearly seemed to shrink at the realization that he probably sounded like he had told her that Gideon was right, that Denver had been an entire ruse. “I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you everything, but I… I couldn’t. I can’t.” He wasn’t helping his case. Alexander knew he wasn’t making anything better. He sighed, finally looking up. Merlin, he was in no way fixing things. Had it been any other situation, he would have been trying to comfort Lissianna, but he knew better. If he was the one causing the mess, then she would not be too pleased with those sorts of actions. His brow creased. She looked so upset. He couldn’t blame her. He wanted to make it all go away, perhaps if he closed his eyes – no, this was reality. Wishing something would change wouldn’t actually produce the desired effect. He was searching for the proper words. “I swear, I didn’t want to take advantage of you. I didn’t want to… drag you down. I would never want to do that, no matter how poorly you think of me now.”

Nothing that he said would make this any better.

“The truth is: I care for you.”

He shouldn’t have said that. As soon as the words left his lips, he found his eyes widening. If words were a physical entity, he would’ve been trying to snatch them out of the air. The thought had been quiet enough in his mind, but somehow that was the one that came out. He winced after a moment, shaking his head. Oh, this was a mistake. If Gideon was angry now, there was no doubt that Alexander was not soothing the encounter. His eyes slowly shut as he mentally prepared himself for all manner of hexes. If the other man weren’t already upset enough that Alexander had been around Lissianna and lied to her, saying something like that was not going to produce a calming effect. Slowly, he drew his jacket closer to his body. All of his posture proclaimed defeat; he was done fighting at this point. He sighed before opening his eyes, looking directly at the other man. “Go ahead.” He paused. “Turn me in, do whatever you want. I deserve it at this point. If you don’t, then I’m just going to get myself killed.”

tag: gideon and lissianna! | lyrics: over my head by the fray. | notes: -cough-

[Lissianna Delacruz]

Whatcha say? That you only meant well?

Liss listened, silently. Just... trying to pay attention, trying to absorb as much as she could. Occasionally a tear would slip down her cheek, especially when Gideon proclaimed that she loved a non-existent man. Gideon was... right. It wasn't that she was disappointed that he was, it was more like it was so difficult to wrap her head around all the sudden information. "Yes, I am... quite sorry for... yelling at you, Gideon. I am just... overwhelmed." Soft, breaking voice. Pale face. She looked horribly worse for wear. Shifting emotions on her face. Hurt, panic, pain, confusion. Fury was gone. All drained out from her.

Hope did stir a bit, before being squashed down, when Alexander proclaimed he didn't lie about Gideon erasing his... mum's memory? Half lie. Half lie. Horrible little half lies. A friendship based on half lies. She listened to him when he talked though, still wanting to hear what he had to say, see if he had any way to fix anything. If he could fix anything. Highly unlikely at this point. So many words. Which were true? They sounded true, but she would need time to analyze. At least, Denver had fallen for her. It proved she was still likable at least, even by a false identity. Little happiness in this time of great confusion.

“The truth is: I care for you.”

No. It couldn't be true. Couldn't be. If he cared for her, he would have tried. Wouldn't he? Even if he said he couldn't, he could have tried something. Tried to show his conflict. Was that all those nervous times? Internal conflict due to lying to her? She didn't know what to think anymore. She just wanted to go home. To think another day. So cruel. He was so cruel. To cause her so much internal conflict. She wasn't enough, was she? To be told the truth? No, what was she? She was... she was... about to faint. That's what.

Still, despite all the emotions she felt towards... Alexander at this moment, her heart leapt into her throat when he said he would get himself killed. Blood drained from her face and her head felt faint. What did he mean by that? He couldn't possibly... No. Please. Even if he wasn't... who he said he was, lied about things, it wasn't right for him... it would make her so desperately unhappy. "N - no. Please. Do not. I - I mean..." She swayed on her feet before falling to her knees, suddenly exhausted. "I would still be.. be terribly unhappy if it were to come to that." She couldn't even turn to Gideon to apologize, so tired she was. "I am sorry, Gideon. It is... a little true."

That it's all for the best? You decided this.

Lyrics from "Imogen Heap" - "Hide and Seek"

[Note: Not the best post in the world. Apologies.]

[Gideon Conleth]

So this was McCarthy's version of a confession? Well it definitely wasn't the best and had room for improvement.
Better then nothing Gideon supposed, at least he still wasn't still lying to Lissiana.
But... one thing he did bring up wasn't a lie, or even one of those half lies. What had he done in his former job? He'd erased Erica McCarthy's memory. Alright. That was true. Gideon's eyes narrowed, homing in on the younger man.
"I am trying to make amends for my old life. Though I do not need to explain myself to you."
If Lissiana asked? Sure he would tell her, though she'd be the first in this new life to know of the chequered past. Even Dresden didn't know about... items from his CV.
He wouldn't lie - not when he had been chewing McCarthy out for that very thing.

But this was a mess (had he said that already?), well it didn't make it any less true.

The apology from Liss caught Gideon of guard - the act completely unexpected, though it was welcomed.
Though the girl didn't look angry anymore, only drained and... sad... and...
Oh Merlin! One moment she was on her feet, pale and unsteady but on her feet, and the next..?
"Holy, Lissiana, shit!"'
He bent, taking her arm carefully in case she was about to fall the rest of the way before she regained control.
His eyes snapped back to Alexander, his eyes back to their thunderous grey.
"Leave, McCarthy. Now. You're hurting her. Leave, don't look back, and I let you go without the ministry ever knowing I saw you. Your choice. Make it."

[/size]

[alexander]

s t a y and see the smoke and who's still standing when it c l e a r s.

All he could think was that he was making the situation worse. Everything he said from here on out would only cause more destruction. His actions would have no consequences besides destruction. The realization was clawing at his mind. If only he could start from the beginning, redo everything to make sure this didn’t happen. There had to be something he could do at this point. He was far too invested in the situation to just turn and leave, wasn’t he? That wouldn’t solve anything. It would have only served to ensure that Lissianna didn’t have to deal with being around a fugitive. He spat the word angrily in his mind, wincing. Even staying away from Gideon was a fantastic idea. It meant that none of them could make things even worse, not unless – no, he didn’t want to think about that right now. He was going to forbid that thought from crossing his mind. Alexander needed a solution, and he needed it now, before things had a chance to get any worse.

But how could they possibly get worse than this? There was a pain in his chest as he watched Liss. He knew something was wrong and he was fairly certain he knew what it was. After all, he had singlehanded caused this problem. He had gotten things this convoluted and complex. It had nothing to do with the professor, even if Alexander claimed that was where it stemmed. The problem hadn’t been the other man, he knew that. He just wished he knew how to make things better. His fingers had curled, digging into the flesh of his palms until his knuckles turned white. “I can’t…” What was he even beginning to say? He couldn’t what? Do anything? Tell the truth? There was no possible way for him to just talk his way out of this, to make everything fine and dandy. His eyes remained in place, though he had barely noticed they had blurred over until Lissianna spoke.

She was apologizing to Gideon.

Finally, he managed to tear his eyes to the ground near his feet. He was struggling to find something to do, something to say. It was only when his gaze lifted that he realized she had collapsed. “Lissianna!” Despite the urgency of his tone, the single name was still soft. One of his hands rose in her direction, but he knew better than to step forward or make any drastic movements towards her. He would probably find himself out cold, waking up in a fate far worse than slavery if that were the case. Now was not the time to be taking threats lightly. If only there was a way to go back and fix things before it came to this, he would’ve taken it without a second thought. He remained fixed in place as the other man spoke, his visible eye large. The words were trying to sink beneath the fog of his mind, and he could hear each one, tinny as it broke through. He was being told to leave. It was as he had already suspected.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Alexander had taken a step forward. “Please.” Suddenly, his throat felt dry and it was becoming difficult to form words. He had sunk to one knee, his vision fixed on the ground. He couldn’t look up, not now; it would’ve made it impossible to act. “Please, please.” He paused to try and find any other words, something that would help mend what was happening. “I… no…” It was a mistake, he knew. There was no doubt in his mind that Gideon would hold up his end of the bargain, and the younger man had pressed his luck the first time they had encountered each other. He was wringing his hands together in front of him, nearly pleading. “Please don’t make me go. I know I can’t fix anything right now and I deserve nothing, but I can’t…” Had his voice just cracked slightly? He was trying to urge himself to continue. “I can’t leave her.” Hell, this was coming out terribly. “Please just give me a chance to set things right, just one, and then I’ll leave and you’ll never even hear so much as a whisper of Denver Macintosh or Alexander McCarthy.”

tag: gideon and lissianna! | lyrics: over my head by the fray. | notes: he is a stubborn one, is he not?

[Lissianna Delacruz]

Whatcha say? That you only meant well?

Darkness started to creep at the edges of her vision. She blinked rapidly, trying to dispel them. The signs were starting. Her heartbeat grew louder in her ears. She felt a hand on her arm and turned to see it was Gideon. Right. She sat down on her legs fully to regain some balance. Words penetrated the increasingly thick blanket that wrapped around her ears. What was Gideon saying? Sending him away? If he did that and she passed out... She felt infinitely more comfortable recovering at home than recovering at Hogsmeade or even Hogwarts. She just didn't know how she'd react to waking up in a strange environment.

There wasn't a way for her to get home without Alexander. She hadn't told Gideon the name of her manor. Liss licked her lips and slowly turned tired eyes to the professor. "Gid... Gideon. Please." Don't send him away. Don't. Her mind remembered warmth and strength when Alexander held her the first time they met. She wanted that. Despite all this... horrid truth and anger, she wanted that feeling again. She hoped even through the exhaustion, Gideon would see that. Foolish thoughts at foolish times. She put herself in that position. No one else to blame but her.

"Gideon," she tried again. Liss didn't even know if he answered her. The heartbeats were louder. Was that a buzz in her ears? It was drowning out what Alexander seemed to be saying. The words were just barely making it into her head. Her arm slipped out of Gideon's hand and her hands folded themselves in her lap unconsciously. How much time had passed? "Alex... Alexander." The darkness was almost completely covering her vision. She was sure she was swaying as well.

Last chance.

"Gid...Lexi? Please. Someone." Oh dear. She couldn't even hear the words out of her mouth. Was she speaking loudly? Or softly? Liss didn't care who anymore. Just someone... "Take me home." With that, darkness claimed her and she passed out, falling over to the side.

That it's all for the best? You decided this.

Lyrics from "Imogen Heap" - "Hide and Seek"

[Note: Er... hope you two don't mind that Gideon and Lexi have to post alone now.]

[Gideon Conleth]

The young teacher couldn't help but tense as the fugitive knelt down to his and Lissianna's level, but didn't try to pull away from the man. Lissianna seemed so... weak. How could he try too move her? Instead he settled for glaring at the man, a protective arm sliding round the woman as if McCarthy would try to snap him up.

He was begging for a chance, and Gideon could see why, to a certain extent. In his mind he was ruining the relationship between McCarthy and Lissianna, but he was being selfish. Or at least in Gideon's mind it was.
McCarthy wanted this girl, for whatever reason, but he didn't think about what he could be doing to her.
"Do you have any idea what you could do to Lissianna's life? Really? So I let you both go of into the sunset. You get caught, she knows now. That makes her an accessory. She'll get arrested, wand broken, she could end up a fucking slave because she didn't turn you in."

As Liss fainted in his arms he broke off, making sure she didn't slip from his arms onto the ground before looking back up to Alexander.
"I don't trust you, it's no secret. And right now she needs to be taken home." It was freezing, and Lissianna shouldn't be out at night in a state like this.
Carefully Gideon made a move to pick the young woman up, an arm under her knees and one cradling her back.

" Macintosh or McCarthy, I don't care. Get out of my way and let me take her home." With Lissianna like this, she couldn't choose, so in Gideon's mind he was choosing for her. McCarthy would get her killed, and he'd be damned if he was about to let that happen.

[/size]

[alexander]

s t a y and see the smoke and who's still standing when it c l e a r s.

Something was very wrong, something besides the entire situation. His eyes never left her face as she began to teeter. His eyes widened as she spoke. What was going on? She could barely even form the words. Before he even realized it, he was looking back and forth between both of them, his panic obvious. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to say anything before she requested someone take her home. Somewhere in the haze, he managed to notice one thing: she had used his first name. His real first name. She had even shortened his name, a form that only select few ever had the privilege to use. His stomach dropped, twisting in such a way that caused wrinkles to form across his forehead. This was only going to make him feel worse. He didn’t deserve to have a name, yet alone her to know it. His hand twitched slightly in her direction as she fell, instinctively straightening up. “Liss!” He was amazed that he could even say anything. The next words he heard caused him to freeze, processing surprisingly quickly.

“You think I have no idea.”

It was a statement – not a question. There was no doubt in his mind that it was the truth. After all, the other man was trying to explain to him what the problem was, as if he hadn’t personally witnessed what could happen. His fingers curled into fists and for one painful moment, he found his arms shaking as he restrained himself. He knew that this had all been a mistake. Everything about getting to know Liss had been a terrible idea, and he had known it at the time. Alexander did not need someone pointing it out, much less one of the few people who actually had some sort of idea what happened to him. “So you think I am completely fine with tossing her to the dogs or something.” His words were cool, but somehow his voice came out barely over a whisper. His hands were still shaking as he fought to control himself. “Like I don’t know what the punishment for something like this is, like I don’t know that she is innocent. Like I don’t know what happens to people at that point, what goes on in those households.”

He bristled at the other man’s words, the tension stretching throughout his body. His jaw set as he carefully selected his next words. Taking her home? Conleth was actually going to take Lissianna home? Oh, that was rich. How would he even know where to take her? Alexander wasn’t entirely sure how well they knew each other, but he had a feeling that the professor didn’t just pop in for visits. “You… can’t.” He refused to make eye contact. Keep calm, he kept telling himself, don’t yell or raise your voice. He really wanted to voice his dislike for the other man, but he had a feeling that he did a poor job of hiding it. If Gideon didn’t trust him, did the other man honestly think that the feeling wasn’t mutual? Besides, if he was going to have any other chances to set things right, he had to stop looking at it from the emotional side. He needed to present his case in a logical fashion. He remained still, his lips pressed together in a tight line.

He had moved to the side, as requested. He doubted standing in the way would really get him very far. After a moment, his eyebrows rose. Alexander cleared his throat, almost looking unimpressed as his hands found his pockets. Inside, he was furious, but he was determined to try and swallow that thought. “Have you ever actually been to the manor? If you have, by all means, carry on. I won’t stop you.” He paused. He winced slightly at his own words. What was he doing? Trying to be menacing? Now was hardly the place or time for that. Liss had said the two of them were not involved; Conleth shouldn’t have had a reason to ever be at her house. “If you haven’t, though, you won’t be able to. The barrier won’t allow it. You will not get close enough without me.” As much as he knew it had to be said, he personally wanted to see the other man try to get through. The painful jolt when Lissianna had allowed him in still rang in his memory.

tag: gideon and lissianna! | lyrics: over my head by the fray. | notes: well, someone is a little touchy.

[Gideon Conleth]

Gideon couldn't decide which was worse; the man being so naive that he hadn't even realized the danger he was putting Lissianna in, or him knowing full to well and continued regardless.
In fact, he did know. It would be far better for the man to be oblivious to the hurt he could bring. Since he did it seemed so much more.... Sinister... To Gideon. If he knew and didn't stop then what did that say about the man before him?
"Then why do you continue. If you know the ricks then why are you still here?!"

Perhaps Gideon was being an ass hole... Actually on some level he he was. But Lissianna didn't deserve to be pulled into such a dangerous life.
Gideon wasn't sure what had lead Alexander McCarthy to his fugitive state, but it had to be something... right? More than Lissianna would ever have done.
Did he really not care? Or rather care more about the comfort and content he got from her? Either way, neither made Gideon warm to the man any more.

As Gideon stretched up to full height, the girl still cradled in his arms, he couldn't help but frown at the man.
What did he mean he couldn't.
Gideon was forced to pause, this man knew something he didn't and that eirked him no end.
"I can counter the curse... It would be that difficult."But Gideon's voice didn't sound so sure. If what McCarthy said was fact, then there was problem, and Gideon honestly was torn.
Why couldn't this be simple?

[/size]

[alexander]

s t a y and see the smoke and who's still standing when it c l e a r s.

His posture was rigid as he tried to come up with a legitimate answer. The truth was that there was no good way to justify his actions. He didn’t possibly believe the other man would understand anything he could’ve said. Emotions shouldn’t have been able to overrule better judgment, and he knew it could be twisted around to continue to make him look like the villain. His eyes remained on the ground as he set his jaw. “The first time we met, I saved her. These blokes were trying to pick her and her friend up, and they obviously weren’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.” He finally raised his eyes, frowning slightly. “I couldn’t see that happen, even if I’d never met these girls before.” He reached up with one hand to rub at the back of his neck, shoulders slouched slightly. His voice dropped, almost an afterthought, something he would have preferred to keep to himself. “If it had been my sister, I would’ve wanted someone to save her.”

As much as he despised Gideon, Alexander deserved this kind of treatment.

“She had no idea,” he said after a moment, his voice shaky as he tried to raise it. If he was trying to sound strong and confident, he was failing miserably. “I know that the government could easily overlook that, but at first, I thought that if she didn’t know that it wasn’t going to hurt her.” Stupid, he mentally noted. His entire argument was completely ridiculous. If only he could stop talking, or step back in time. He remained silent for quite some time. Alexander knew what was going through his head, but he also knew there was no way for him to actually say it in a way that showed he never meant harm. Interacting with anybody at this point could be harmful, he knew. Just because he was out and about didn’t mean that he suddenly had to stop watching his back. “I couldn’t tell her who I really was. It wasn’t – isn’t – safe.”

The entire situation left a foul taste in his mouth and a twisting pain in his stomach. A part of him wondered why he was even trying still. Obviously, he wasn’t going to be able to just talk himself out of this. If anything, he could only keep digging. His fingers curled around the bottom of his shirt. If Alexander had slowly been shrinking and slouching, the other man had only been stretching taller. He flinched at the words, not even trying to mask it now. “I mean, maybe you can, but you’re not very convincing. I don’t know the specifics. I just know that she has to personally let you in.” He nodded in Lissianna’s direction, resisting the urge to cringe. He didn’t want Gideon to be the one holding her. Even all of this was Alexander’s fault, that didn’t suddenly mean his perspective of the other man had changed. His eyebrows rose as he fought to keep his voice even. “Like I said, there’s a boundary. The way you talk about it. I know you’ve never actually been there.”

He gulped, hesitant. This was not going to go over well. “I can get her in. The last thing that needs to happen is for you to get hit and drop her.” He bit his lip, mentally praying that this wasn’t going to result in a fist in his face, or perhaps a handful of hexes. His eyes drifted downwards for a moment, just to realize that somewhere along the lines her wand must have slipped from her hands. He crouched down and began to reach for it, only to freeze. “No,” he whispered, eyes widening. It didn’t belong to him. He didn’t trust himself enough to pick it up, and he doubted that would help ease the tension. He glanced up to Gideon. “It’s hers’. I would really prefer not to lose my fingers, or my life.” Alexander nearly spat the last word, scowling.

“Ludicrous,” he murmured to himself before slowly straightening up, sizing up the other man. There were more pressing matters right now. He reached up to fold his arms across his torso, his eyes hard. “You can loathe me all you want and you can find it an awful notion, but right now, she needs both of us.” He didn’t bother to hide the disgust from his face, almost looking pained. In actuality, he was pretty sure Liss just needed him, but Alexander knew that Gideon wasn’t going to just leave him alone with her.

tag: gideon and lissianna! | lyrics: over my head by the fray. | notes: nothing like trying to force cooperation.