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Post by Dylan Cooper on Nov 4, 2007 20:11:38 GMT -5
Seeing her smile and, due to their tight-knit connection, knowing instantly what it was about, Dylan simply stood by and waited for her to gather her things. The events of the next minute or so largely flying over his head and leaving no trace behind, he indicated that he was ready to go. Extracting a few small, rounded coins from within his pocket, he left them on the table, each one coming to rest somewhere close to his practically empty cup; only the dregs full of compacted coffee remained, the ones that collected like a stew at the bottom of the cup, waiting to cast their nasty surprise onto the unsuspecting victim who chose to sample them. Dylan hated the dregs, and every cup of coffee or hot chocolate, anything that left such things behind, was never finished by the fifth year Ravenclaw.
Without a word, he turned and left the small cache on one of the many minorly noteable sideroads of Hogsmeade. The sky, currently, was bearing a blue haze with rainclouds hovering every which way, threatning to release their held moisture and dampen everything it reached. A breeze, slighter than before but still considerable, tugged at his senses, bring forth a range of scents from all over the only all-wizarding community in Britain.
Meandering up the main street of Hogsmeade, he discovered the scents of candy, many owls cramped into a small space, and Butterbeet all in a row, passing the according shops. Finally making his way up the sloping lawns of Hogwarts, he treaded on the soft grass without a second thought, though such a thing usually helped to revitalise him. As he realised this fact, he considered whether or not Susan felt the same when she was so surrounded by nature. In amongst the hustle and bustle of Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley, Dylan felt that something was always missing, and so was never truly at ease. The instant he stepped onto earth or some component of it, the moment his fingers brushed the trunk of a tree or his feet felt soft earth beneath him, his demeanor changed into something lighter, more positive, no matter the mood that had pervaded him previously.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Nov 4, 2007 20:49:57 GMT -5
Susan followed Dylan's example and fished a few coins out of her change purse and left them out on the table. Together they left Madam Puddifoot's and proceeded in the general direction of the castle. Susan did her best to avoid the clumsy gene in her. Now wasn't the ideal time to be falling or dropping things. Susan kept up behind Dylan as they passed the various and very popular shops in Hogsmeade.
Soon they were walking up the grassy slopes, approaching the castle. It didn't take long to make it up the way to the front entrance of the school. Susan wasted no time in finding her way to the stairs. Up five flights of stairs and Susan managed not to drop a single one of her packages. At the sixth floor, Susan made the way to the place of the appearing door, the Room of Requirement.
The hall was clear, and all was safe to find the way to secret room. She only had to think on it for a moment, before the door had revealed itself. It probably helped that Dylan was presumably thinking on the same need. Susan entered the room, leaving the door open for Dylan and headed straight for the Earth room. Once in the Earth Room, Susan took a deep breath before dumping her things in a pile by the door. She would collect them again when leaving.
Now in the room of her element, Susan felt instantly revitalized. She had felt better when walking up the grassy path to the castle, but here in the room, all things were magnified. She looked for Dylan, hoping that being the room would help his aching heart.
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Post by Dylan Cooper on Nov 5, 2007 1:48:30 GMT -5
They returned to the confines of man-made, or in this case perhaps man-conjured, walls. Dylan's brief raising of temperament quickly evaporated due to the surrounding marble and mortar on all sides. While just about everything in this castle had come originally from the earth, it seemed to affect him differently according to its form. Restructured earthly materials, such as those most discovered within buildings, tended to pale in comparative effectiveness to the same materials discovered or encountered naturally. Standing on the cliff above Hogsmeade, for example, would do far more for him than being in a room of rock.
Finding that, throughout the realisation of these facts, they had finally reached the sixth floor, Dylan's attention reverted back to the present. Quickly focusing on what they required, the now-familiar door of the fabled Room of Requirement awaited someone to enter it. Seeing Susan oblige, he followed soon after, his anticipation growing. He had not visited the room since his return to Hogwarts. Had not, in fact, even considered it. Being so caught up in everything, he hadn't spared much thought at all to training and the like, and so had temporarily forgotten about the other positive uses for the room.
Entering the one room in the world that could revitalise him the most, Dylan kicked off his shoes, removed his socks, and stepped further inside. Basking in the absolute presence of the element surrounding him, he moved forwards and traced every part of him possible over the flora encompassing the life-like room. Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and stood still for a moment, taking everything in.
In the few moments it had taken for him to enter the room, a complete change had come over him. While his grief was by no means gone, Dylan found himself momentarily distracted from the pain. Instead of it consuming him, he observed it much like an outsider would. The overall effect was to dull his senses where emotions were concerned, while at the same time his senses were heightened to their extremes, taking in everything possible that the room provided.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Nov 5, 2007 19:33:27 GMT -5
Susan carefully watched Dylan as he entered the room. She was relieved to see that he felt more comfortable with himself while inside the room. While the sadness was by no means gone, Susan could tell that it had been placed on the back burner. She stretched for a moment before shrugging off her coat. It was considerably warmer inside the simulated oasis. It was designed to mimic the most desirable out doors environment. Susan gently place her coat on the grass next to the pile of miniature packages. Copying Dylan, Susan too slipped off her socks and shoes, placing them in a orderly fashion, next to her coat.
Easing into training mode, Susan wiggled her brightly painted toe nails, getting a feel for the soft grass beneath them. Thankful for her chosen wardrobe of the day, Susan began to stretch. Her fitted sweats and plain long-sleeve tee would be easy to move in. She pulled an arm over her head, grabbing the elbow with the opposite hand.
"Feels good doesn't it?" Susan asked referring to the numbness provided by the room. The room acted as medication of sorts, meant only to cause the user, or in this case the occupant, feel better psychologically. A true placebo, Susan thought, enjoying the feeling herself.
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Post by Dylan Cooper on Nov 7, 2007 20:08:58 GMT -5
Taking in her movements, the thoughts that had remained hidden during his brief re-instigation into the room now resurfaced, almost greater than before. Placing his head in his hands, he closed his eyes as an attempt to create a physical barrier through which the thoughts could not pass. Sighing audibly, he released his head and allowed his eyes to flick back up to Susan.
"Perhaps another time would be better..." he remarked quietly. He had not felt entirely enthusiastic about it to begin with; only hoped that he would find solace in a room of such beauty. But then again, he supposed that was the problem. Everything wonderful in this world were things his foster father would never again experience; see, smell, hear or touch.
A wave of sadness passed over his eyes and the emotion involved threatened to overcome him. "I'm sorry... I really don't think I'm up to this at the moment," he added, his voice barely audible though through no obvious intention of his own. The two being as close as he knew them to be, he hoped sincerely that she would simply accept that he needed some time to become accustomed to life once more and leave him be. Moving back towards the door, he didn't even bother to collect his footwear before departing the room.
Emerging in the corridor beyond, he ceased his hurried movements after a few steps or two and leant against the wall, closing his eyes once more and refusing to let the tears that were threatning expulsion escape from beneath his eyelids.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Nov 9, 2007 22:31:51 GMT -5
A look of concern fell over her face as Susan saw Dylan threatening to fall apart. She watched helplessly as he dismissed himself and strode out of the room. Susan didn’t call out his name to stop him as she might have done at another time. This isn’t the way things are supposed to happen, she thought. All of the strong people in Susan’s life had never fallen like this before. They’d always remained constant before now. It was strange to Susan to have the sudden turn of tables. The fully stretched arm fell to its place at her side. She could hear the second door to the hallway close as Dylan left the Room of Requirement.
Out of habit, Susan jerked her head toward the direction from which the sound came. Her eyes landed on Dylan’s shoes. Maybe he hadn’t intended on actually leaving, Susan eyed the shoes thoughtfully. He can’t have gone far with out them. Without rehearsing her thoughts or even thinking really, Susan scooped up Dylan’s shoes, leaving her own and the rest of her things safe in the room. Carefully closing each door behind her, Susan entered the sixth floor corridor. Dylan indeed, hadn’t traveled far. Susan spotted him a little ways off, leaning against the wall.
She strode up to him. Glancing down the hall, she was glad to see that they were alone. Not that anyone would see the room of requirement, as it merged back into an indiscernible stone. She realized how strange the two of them must have looked: a boy, on the verge of tears, and a strong girl there to comfort him, both of them shoeless.
Susan took a deep breath, and began her spiel, “Dylan, will you just listen to me before you say anything?” She didn’t wait for answer, but had a feeling that he wouldn’t object.
“Okay, here it goes. I'm not saying I want to to come with me back into the Room of Requirement and I'm not saying I want you to get over this right now.
"I can’t say I know how you feel, I can’t say that I’ve been there, and I can’t say that things will get better,” she paused as she tried to get her feelings in order.
“What I can say, though, is that I know for a fact that your foster father loved you,” Susan recalled the way Dylan had spoken of him that day at dinner, “and I’m pretty sure, he knew you loved him too.
“Dylan, I don’t know what you believe or don’t believe in, but I do know that your foster father is in a better place and that he’s moved on. The way I see it, I think he would want you to be happy.” Susan smiled in sympathy,
“Dylan, you’ve not been too happy lately.” As always, trying to lighten things up, Susan poked one of his own shoes into his chest, “As for your ‘brother’, he’s a total jerk. And if I ever meet him, I’ll let you know that I will personally kick his tush with you.”
Realizing how long she’d been speaking, and wondering if this was even was Dylan wanted to hear, she stopped. She held his shoes in her arms. She kept them like hostages, waiting for Dylan to say something, or do something. Anything to prove that everything Susan had just poured her heart into meant at least something.
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Post by Dylan Cooper on Nov 10, 2007 17:55:22 GMT -5
Noticing Susan approaching him, Dylan closed his eyes once more, not wishing her to see anything even remotely resembling tears. Recognising the signs of one about to speak their mind, he resigned himself to the fact that this would happen. Not bothering to answer her initial question, he figured it wouldn’t matter much anyway. And indeed, she ploughed on, regardless of any response or lack thereof which he provided. Ensuring that his eyes remained closed, he listened to what she had to see with a vague sort of uncaring demeanor about him. Inwardly shaking it off, he remembered that Susan was one of the best and only true friends he actually had, not to mention the fact that she was his Shadow Warrior. He needed to do all he could to maintain their close relationship, and if that happened to include listening to things he really didn’t want to hear right now, then so be it.
This in mind, he held back the angry retorts on the tip of his tongue. She knew nothing of Aiden, nothing of the relationship they had held. Yet here she was, before him, exclaiming that she knew of their love in a factual sense. Easing up a bit, he realised that he would not normally be this angry about such an assumption; anyone who had heard him speak of his foster father could easily assume that the two were closer than brothers. He’d often heard that his own father would have wanted him to be happy, to move on with life. But Dylan never had; could not have possibly let the memory of his father go. And now, faced with the loss of the man who’d grown as close to him as his own father had, he wasn’t sure that he was quite strong enough to endure the pain of losing a father all over again. The one person who’d been there for him completely during the aftermath of Darius’ death had been his foster father. Despite his doubts and anxieties about the notion of ‘replacing’ his paternal father, the man had made his pain less, had made his heart more whole. Losing such a thing all over again was a prospect that was almost unbearable to Dylan.
Feeling the light impact of something upon his chest, his eyes re-opened, glossed over with pain and a kind of fear; fear that he would have to go on without the presence of his beloved foster father. Allowing her comments of John to slide right over him, he didn’t wish to think upon that incident either, he attempted to keep his eyes averted from hers. He was quite unsuccessful, however; now that they were open, they appeared to be drawn to hers as if seeking out a comfort that perhaps no other could give him. In an act quite rare for Dylan, he stepped forward and hugged her. He no longer wished to endure things alone as he had done for the past seven years; no longer wished to push everyone away and keep them out. Upon the death of Darius, he had very nearly succumbed to eternal grief as he’d fought his demons alone, his mother obviously too distraught herself to aid him. Now, if he even remotely attempted to overcome this recent loss alone, he knew he would falter. He knew that he needed help this time.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Nov 11, 2007 12:36:59 GMT -5
The pounding of her own heart was the only sound to Susan as she stood in silence. She kept her grip on Dylan's shoes as if her life depended on them. For a moment she was only looking with out seeing. Then with a single blink, she found that all along she'd been looking into Dylan's eyes. Susan had never really noticed before how much feeling actually came from the eyes. Looking into his eyes now, she felt the pounding in her head subside a little. The pretense of something monumental seemed to be on the verge occurring at any moment.
Staring into Dylan's watery eyes, Susan was pained to see sadness, despair, pain, and regret. In the last moment she had to look, she saw herself reflected in Dylan's eyes and she knew that Dylan could see himself in hers. It was Dylan's next moment that caught Susan by surprise. She had blinked again and when she opened her eyes, she found that Dylan's arms were wrapped around her in an embrace. Susan closed her eyes, wiggled her arms out, dropped the shoes on the floor softly, and wrapped her own arms around Dylan.
Her throat caught as she realized how much Dylan meant to her. She couldn't think of what she would do without him, and found it impossible to remember how she had managed before meeting him. A bond like theirs could not be replicated or mimicked in any way. Susan didn't say anything as her arms tightened around Dylan. To tell the truth, she wasn't exactly sure what to say anymore. There was also the feeling that maybe she didn't need to say anything, at least not yet.
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Post by Dylan Cooper on Nov 11, 2007 23:39:27 GMT -5
Feeling his embrace reciprocated, he clung to her all that much tighter and felt her do much the same. As much as he actually detested admitting it, and as bad as it felt, he knew theirs was a connection that even him and D’rorah would never share. While he loved the elder Ravenclaw beyond all reason and more than anyone else in this world or the next, there was simply no way to replicate the bond between an Elemental Master and their Shadow Warrior. He assumed Dee herself would know such a thing, and he himself had even grudgingly accepted the fact that she and Mordred shared a relationship which Dylan could not compare to. He was not a jealous person, purely by nature, yet he couldn’t help but feel slightly resentful toward that fact. Briefly, he wondered if this thought, too, had occurred to the woman he loved; which, he surmised, it undoubtedly had. Hoping she would understand that the bond he had with Susan implied only a strong friendship, he continued to hug his friend in the middle of the sixth floor corridor.
Simply reveling in the fact that he had a friend like Susan, he closed his eyes and sighed, his head coming to rest on her shoulder. “Thankyou,” he muttered quietly, his voice sounding as though he had only just managed to produce words. Pulling back slightly, he produced a half-hearted smile and saw that, during their brief spell inside the Room of Requirement, the sun had set. The last rays having obviously just vanished, Dylan sighed lightly once more. “It’s been a long week…” he commented, a statement which could very well be up for nominations of ‘Understatement of the Year’. “I might head back to Ravenclaw tower and try to get some sleep. Classes haven’t been too good for me, today.” With that, he crouched down and retrieved his things before righting himself once more and making to depart.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Nov 13, 2007 19:35:16 GMT -5
As they stood together in their embrace in the middle of the sixth floor, Susan thought that she could stay there forever. It was so comfortable, the both of them in each other's arms. When Dylan spoke, it was almost too quiet to hear properly. For a moment, she stopped to breathing to listen.
“Thankyou,” he muttered quietly, his voice sounding as though he had only just managed to produce words.
As Dylan initiated the end of the hug, Susan didn't object. She breathed again and watched as Dylan collected his shoes from the floor. Susan wanted to say something, maybe as a synopsis for the feeling they had just shared. Then again, she didn't want to mess anything thing up. In response, she just nodded.
"Good bye, Dylan," Susan said as she watched Dylan leave for the Ravenclaw Common Room. Susan was suddenly aware of the fact that she was standing barefoot, alone in the sixth floor corridor. With a quick thought, she summoned the up the Room of Requirement once more and stepped inside. She entered the Earth Room with the intention of getting in some practice before her next encounter with D'rorah. Things finally seemed to be coming back together again.
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