Awake and Alive

[Leah Winters]

It had been several months since Leah Winters had murdered the foul and destructible William Winters, and she was now feeling an urge to visit the place where everything started. Leeds, England was where it all began, from William's abusive nature leading to him leaving forever with Leah and her mother Harlow alone, inside of a run down house with hardly a sickle to spare for anything but a few groceries to survive off of. Her hatred grew stronger with every passing year, until she decided to do something about it, and now he was dead...deservingly destroyed. Leah regretted nothing, but she still wanted to remind herself that what she did was right for everyone, especially the ones that William broke down and mentally murdered from feeling anything but heart ache and pain.

The housewas still hideous since she last visited. Of course last time, Ioan Finch went with her which made the house much more bearable but today the young witch was alone, somewhat wishing that she did have the company of the handsome Ioan. Leah crossed her arms and stood at the feeble looking gate, studying the horrid paint job...wondering if anyone else still lived her. Last time an older woman resided in this house, but it looked completely deserted.

 

[Sola Vitaz]

Sola rounded the corner of the apartment building she'd been staying in and finished zipping up her backpack after stuffing in her wand. It was full of the few possessions that she never felt comfortable leaving in Anna's house as she went on her evening walks. They were only co-workers after all and in a few days, Sola knew she'd either be told to leave or she'd choose to leave herself. It never failed that people would be willing to open up their homes to her because they took pity on her, but inevitably, Sola would feel that she'd overstayed her welcome. She simply needed a place to rest her head between shifts at the dreadful muggle coffee shop she was working in. Meeting Anna at that place had been one of the few lucky points over the past few weeks though if it wasn't that Sola had realized Anna was a witch as well, she never would have spoken to her. The two girls had nothing in common, something that Sola had quickly discovered. Anna actually liked her job at the chain coffee shop. Sola knew, on the other hand, that the time to move on was coming soon because if another dreadful woman came in to ask for a venti chai whatever, she was going to pull out her wand and hex the person and that would surely result in endless questioning.

The neighborhood she'd turned into was even more quiet than the one that Anna lived on. These streets were full of houses, none of them were mansions or anything, but they reminded her of the places she'd lived in back when she'd been with her mother, which was probably why she'd taken to walking through this neighborhood every night at about this time. Sola noticed someone towards the end of the block staring at a house and as she glanced at the house, she wondered why. The house didn't look like anything that was worth a second look. It was rather ugly to be honest with its bright green color and that horrid gate that didn't seem capable of holding back a cat let alone a person who wanted to enter. The girl who was standing looking at the house didn't look like she belonged in this neighborhood at all. "I don't think you'll find who you're looking for there" she said, a rather bored expression on her face as she ambled towards the girl. She'd seen some of the neighborhood kids peeking through the mailbox door to look inside just the other night.

 

[Leah Winters]

The sun shone brightly in the corner of Leah's eye, only shrouded by the approaching figure of a voluptuous dark haired young woman. She looked to be Leah's age, and nearly the same height, although Leah towered a few inches above her. "Not anymore." She agreed, her voice sounding just as mellow as the other girls. William had fled this home quite a few years ago, she found out, and an old woman resided in the home. For a moment she briefly wondered what exactly happened to the woman since the house was seemingly empty. Leah turned to look at the girl. Prior to this she had simply been studying the newcomer from the corner of her peripherals, and now that she faced her she could get a better look. Something about the girl made her want to ask a few questions about why she decided to approach a random stranger staring intently at a disgusting green house, but instead of opening her mouth to speak, Leah slowly stepped closer to the gates and rested her pale and slender fingers upon the cool texture of the thin metal.

Now she would speak, having a closer look at one of the two things that perked her interests at this moment. "Why would you say that, anyway? How much do you know about this house?" The young woman decided to stay vague, the reason that the house was of interest to her would not be spoke into the open. To say such a thing would arise questions from the other party..... certain questions that she wished to avoid from the likes of a stranger.

 

[Sola Vitaz]

Sola continued to wonder why the girl was simply standing in front of the place, especially since she seemed to know she wouldn't find anyone inside. As the dark haired girl moved closer to the frail gate, Sola shifted restlessly, wondering if she should leave the girl be or whether she should stick around and satisfy her own curiousity. At the question, Sola shrugged her shoulders. What did she know about the house? Nothing really. It was ugly, in need of a new paint job and probably a ton of repairs inside. It didn't look like it'd been kept up nicely.

Sola's blue eyes slowly moved from the house back to the dark haired girl. She seemed really into the house. "Nothing except that if you really want to get inside, you could probably shimmy that window open" she spoke, nodding towards one of the windows in the front that she'd seen some of the neighborhood kids playing near. She could easily open any of the doors or windows with her wand but there was no way she was going to pull out her wand and use it in the middle of the street or in front of this girl. It was obvious that no one lived inside though because no one had come to the door or window to stop those kids the other day and no one seemed to be looking out at them now. The kids were simply being kids, enjoying some silly game to see who was braver. "I saw a for sale sign up the other day, but the neighborhood kids probably ran off with it" she added, wondering if the girl was interested in actually purchasing the hideous property. Somehow, she didn't think that was the case.

 

[Leah Winters]

The house was in complete shambles, hardly able to stand upon it's own supporting blocks, and the window did look incredibly weak... Perhaps it was weak as the woman said, and it could be possible to open it without doing magic and enter the threshold. But what would she do then? Was it worth the look around? Worth it to relive many of her harsh and bitter memories that had forced her to take the ultimate action against an unstable enemy? "Have you tried it before then?" Leah turned once again to the other person and her eyes swept over the girls figure. She seemed like the type to break into a random home...perhaps to steal valuables and other favored assortments.

"I highly doubt this house will be sold." It was a shoddy neighborhood, the comment of random children thieving the sign only proved her point. "It used to be blue." She offered meekly. Leah suddenly cleared her throat, hating the sudden weakness seeping into her voice. To distract her mind from thinking about less from wonderful memories, Leah pushed open the creaking gate and walked up the steps. One of the last memories Leah had of William was at this very stoop. He left, his head not turning back to look at the little girl, and when she did catch a glimpse of him, regret was not apart of his calm face. Silently, Leah cursed. Coming here did nothing but force her mind to spin with past thoughts.

 

[Sola Vitaz]

"What? No I have not!" she replied indignantly, rolling her eyes and looking completely offended. Crossing her arms under her chest, Sola looked away. Even though she'd broken into homes before, she only did so when she absolutely needed to. And it wasn't as if this house looked like it would have much of value inside anyway. "Yea, who are you telling..." Sola mumbled her agreement, thinking that the only way this house would sell was if someone wanted to demolish the home. She was startled out of her thoughts as the taller girl reminisced about the house being blue. Now, it made sense to her. The girl had lived in the home, long ago it seemed. A faint smile crossed Sola's face. Her favorite house had been blue too.

She watched the girl from behind as she stepped through the gate and moved forward, apparently lost in thought. Sola gripped the gate, her dark blue eyes recognizing the haunted look that appeared in the other girl's eyes all too well. It was the same one she often had in her own eyes. Stepping forward, Sola walked past the girl and headed straight for the window that she had a feeling was loose. She peeked inside and saw some covered furniture and a layer of dust covering everything. She gave the window a tug, but it didn't move much. Putting some more force into it and with a little wiggling, Sola managed to get it open enough that even she would be able to squeeze inside if she took her backpack off. "Do you want to see the inside?" she asked after a moment. She had been listening for alarms but hadn't heard one, so she figured it was safe to step inside.

 

[Leah Winters]

Leah followed the other woman over to the window and watched silently as she shimmied it up. A wand with a large dose of Alohomora would have been the ideal choice for Leah, but the stranger might actually be a muggle. She wished she could ask, only to find out if she was consorting with a filthy non magical, but instead she stayed silent, and stuck her head in the window.

"Seems deserted. I shall go first." Leah grabbed the edges of the window and pulled herself through the open space. She stood up and quickly brushed the small amounts of dust off of her clothing and then looked at the presumed to be muggle. "Looks perfectly fine to me. I don't know why you would want to follow a perfect stranger into an abandoned home.. But regardless, you may enter."

Leah's voice was calm but not exactly welcoming. For some reason, she didn't actually mind if this girl tagged along. Perhaps it would make everything much easier, or maybe it was just fate for them to stumble upon one another.

"So, you live in this neighborhood?."

 

[Sola Vitaz]

Sola stepped back watching as she quickly pulled herself inside. When she spoke, Sola's eyebrow rose especially when she was given permission to enter. Under most circumstances, that would have been Sola's cue to leave. She didn't do well with being told what to do. Her curiousity was getting the better of her though because there was just something about the whole situation and this girl that intrigued her. Sola gave the girl a blank stare but didn't comment. She simply took off her backpack and placed it inside before pulling herself up and in easily as if she'd done it a ton of times.

Picking up her backpack, she placed it back on, not bothering to wipe the dust off her jeans. "No. I'm just passing through, staying with a friend" she replied quickly, giving the girl just enough information that she hopefully wouldn't ask more without giving her anything personal or substantial to go on. Sola peeked under a blanket to see a hideous green sofa. What was with the previous owner and green? She let the blanket drop, which led to a bit of a coughing fit as dust swirled. When the coughing had subsided, Sola spoke again. "Looking for anything in particular?" she asked, a small frown on her face as she wondered what the girl could be looking for.

 

[Leah Winters]

Leah was intrigued by the nameless woman. Nameless. "What is your name?" They had yet to be introduced and she found it odd to converse with someone without putting a name to the face. It was usual in many run down and darkened places on Bleak Street to refuse to give out a name or even hide your face, but this girl didn't act as if she were trying to hide her identity, and frankly Leah cared not who saw her today. She watched the woman look under a blanket, and cringed at the atrocious decorating skills the last tenants possessed. "No, I'm really just looking. Visiting an old home, and wondering about a few things that have happened..."

Leah could understand the girls questioning. She probably came off as a little insane, and standing around with a blank stare and murmuring things could make many question her sanity. Leah suddenly smiled a little. "Thank you for opening the window for me." It would be possible to be polite to her welcome guest. She, at this point might be the only thing keeping her from pulling out her wand and hexing every item that William had touched. "This used to be my old home, and now I see it had been ruined beyond repair." Certainly not beyond repair, but the state of the place did annoy Leah greatly.

 

[Sola Vitaz]

Sola's hand slid along one of the window sills, picking up the dust, as the girl asked her name. She turned then to look her in the eye. "Sola" she said, another ghost of a smile crossing her face, gone as quickly as the first one had been. She didn't bother with her last name as it was not relevant especially since she was more interested in hearing about this girl than she was about sharing anything about herself.

Sola's face showed that she wasn't used to receiving thanks for her actions, but she recovered fast. "Umm...you're welcome" she responded, looking down to the ground. She only looked back up when the girl began speaking again about the house and her purpose for being there. "It seems to just need a good cleaning and a decorator. The person who owned it must have been a mug...musty old woman" she recovered quickly, the only sign of her near mistake still apparent in her cheeks. "What's your name anyway?" she questioned, her blue gaze level on the girl as she attempted to change the subject.

 

[Leah Winters]

I'm Leah. She also did not offer her last name to the young woman, Sola. If Sola was not who she believed her to be, then her last name could be used to find out many things about her. The name, itself was strange, almost fitting for the woman who possessed it.

Mug? Do you mean muggle? Leah smirked. "I think she was exactly that. Oh well, I do not want this home. It brings up too many repressed memories that aren't too wonderful to go through." Leah crossed over the threshold and stopped by the window that they had jumped through. "I shall depart...Sola." She was fascinated by Sola, and if her hunch was correct, the girl was probably a witch. Leah climbed back through the window and rounded the corner to the back of the house to where she was out of sight, and disapparated with a loud crack.

 

[Sola Vitaz]

With a bit of a smirk, Sola realized that Leah also didn't bother mentioning her last name. She repeated the name to herself several times, liking it. She was only a bit surprised to hear that Leah didn't want the house. She couldn't blame her with the condition it was in. Even more than that, if the house held the memories Leah said it did, she wouldn't want the place either. Sola knew that if it was her, she would never have ventured back to a place that held bad memories. It was why she was always on the move. If she didn't stick around a place long enough, she wouldn't have the chance to develop any bad memories. She couldn't develop any good one either, but Sola hadn't considered that.

As abruptly as the girls had met up, Leah declared that she was leaving and Sola watched partially fascinated as she left without even another glance back. Sola tossed her backpack out and scrambled after her, why she didn't know, but by the time she rounded the corner, Leah was nowhere in sight. "Well, I'll be damned" she said, staring into empty space. With a hollow laugh, she returned to her pack, wondering if Leah had run off or if she was a witch. She thought she might have heard something as she rounded the corner, but she couldn't be quite sure. Sola sort of hoped Leah was a witch though it wouldn't matter either way. She'd never see Leah again anyway.