Midnight Alarms

[Zander Ellison]

Following what had been a disastrous meeting of his neighbour some weeks before, Zander had just reapplied himself to work hard and focusing on his daughter and his general life. He was making sure that no matter what he wouldn't lose her, or lose anything else. He wanted that strange woman to just never be within his home again, or so he had believed. Zander had been struggling for years, he'd been keeping it quiet for years, he didn't understand why he had gotten annoyed at her, why he had reacted in such a way, but he had and the man felt this would be better, he was better when he held his neighbours at a distance. He was at home, he was alone and he was just pushing through each day without much of a care, focusing on giving his daughter the best chance. Although really the constant fear and the overwhelming sadness were increasing ten fold every time Zander spent time with his daughter. He was sad, he was beyond just sad, there was a world crushing weariness which brought the man little rest and reprieve, the ever encroaching darkness. Since the two youngest of his siblings had more or less gone like the rest of them, the man had just found his life slowly diminishing, the only happiness he had was her, it was his little girl, and even she right now could not always get his smile to be as real as it once was, he was losing his grip on the world. Though it was close to midnight, and his daughter had been asleep for hours, Zander lay on his bed staring blankly up at his ceiling. He was just trying to remember the last time he had been happy, well and truly happy, none of this strangeness and sorrow, a happiness where his face had hurt from smiling, when he didn't feel like he was slowly drowning in a pool of ever rising water. He was barely keeping himself afloat and the pressure was mounting, it was ever mounting. He stared at his daughter taking every moment to just take in every feature of her, the way she smiled, the way she laughed, just fearing that he would lose her too, and what then? What was he left with when she too left him? If she followed the pattern of the others of her aunts and uncles, what would come of him when she too decided to leave him like everyone else had, Zander couldn't even bare the thought it brought him such despair. The last fourteen or so years of Zander's life had been a non stop parade of crap, it had been a nonstop roller-coaster where he just seemed to keep falling, plummeting, there was little reprieve and the man was just so overwhelmed with it all. He was just so incredibly tired.

Zander had eventually managed to fall asleep, he had broken down in silent tears and eventually tired himself out. He would've slept soundly till morning had a shriek alarm not gone off, he groaned, at first thinking it was his alarm but after hitting his alarm clock a few times and it not stopping the man sat up on his bed, realising that it wasn't his alarm clock because it was just after one in the morning, but it was coming from next door. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and stumbled to the bathroom, picking up some clothes as he went to change, the clothes he slipped into with ease, discarding his pyjamas to the side for later collection. The man washed his face quickly and stole a glance at his own reflection almost surprised, his eyes were red, he had dark bags underneath them, a slight stumble graced his face, Zander looked like he'd been crying, furiously he tried to make it look better to look more like he was just tired, the alarm from next door was still sounding and it was as the man had put on his shoes, a jumper, and was pocketing his wand that he heard distress from his daughter. She was crying, saying his name, forgetting about whatever danger was outside, the man just rushed to her room, wrapping her in his arms and then wrapped a blanket around her to keep her warm in his arms. He treated her like an equal most of the time avoided talking down to her, but on occasions when she was this upset he just allowed her to curl up in his arms and bury her head on his chest, he did miss the time when this had been all she'd wanted to do. She was smaller than most seven year olds, and Zander was not particularly small so it made her look even smaller and he could hold her with practiced ease as if this wasn't his first time raising a child, he and his daughter differed in many ways. Zander was naturally pale, and she was lightly tanned, they had different coloured eyes and she had, despite the baby fat, slightly sharper features than he did, her expression always held joy and Zander's barely touched upon such things. It was easy to see they were related but most would not assume that this little girl was Zander's daughter. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and then with her adjusted on his hold on her, just as there was a firm ring of his doorbell, he noticed at this point that the alarm had thankfully stopped. He didn't leave his daughter upstairs he had his wand on him incase this was bad, but went to open the door, feeling that he would be fine no matter who it was, thankful for the magic. His daughter was still crying a growing patch of dampness in his shirt from where she'd buried her face, her small body was shaking in his arms, he was annoyed he could do nothing more to help calm her. There was just too much else happening, he couldn't give her all his attention, if someone was at his door at this time, it had to do with that awful alarm and could not be good.

The man opened the door slowly, just being careful incase it was someone bad, but instead of that he was greeted with the sight of the one person he didn't expect to see again, not in a long while that was, "Sanctauri?" he asked his tone rough and quiet, it was almost as if since last speaking to her, he had barely spoken, "Are you alright?" he was still trying to calm his daughter as he looked to see if she was also alright, while they hadn't gotten off to the best start he didn't want her to get hurt, he also didn't want to let any more cold in since it was winter, so he just motioned for her to come in as he walked to the main living area. Zander kissed his daughter on the forehead again and just began muttering little soothing phrases. He looked up apologetically at the woman, "I'm sorry, the alarm, it freaked her out," Zander just turned his attention back to his daughter who was tightly gripping his shirt and seemed to be calming now, her tears reduced to slight sobs and hiccups, "Can I help you with anything?"
​

 

[Sanctuari Ellison]

Another dream, that was all it was. Sanctuari's groggy mind heard an alarm in her dream, the shrill sound inturrupting her already unpleasant experience while asleep. Slowly she stirred, hearing the movement of some glass in the bottom floor of her house. For a moment, and though she had been living in the house for almost a month now, she rolled over, assuming her mother was up early doing dishes. The tanned woman shut her eyes tighter, trying to ignore the alarm clock, which was only vaguely sounding through the pillow she'd wrapped over her head. It wasn't until her heavy lids open and she saw the time on the digital clock, that Sanctuari remembered she was not at home. That glass was not dishes. And that beeping, was not an alarm clock. The brunette bolted up right, curls clinging to her face slightly. She'd fallen asleep after a little cry, and the moisture stuck her brown locks over random places. She cleared the annoyances away from her face and looked around the room in shock. Someone was breaking in. She needed to hide any evidences of magic. She began scouring her room to hide what she could, grabbing her wand and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, covering her shorts and tank top. At that moment Sanctuari was unaware that a truck speeding down the road had thrown a rock through her window. So as she gathered her wand into the side of her shorts, and hurried around hiding what she could, she left the alarm blaring, hoping to deter anyone who might be in the house.

Without a moments thought, after finally feeling ready to get out of harm's way, Sanctuari turned the alarm off and left through the back steps, which lead from the second floor to the back yard. She took those stairs in lieu of a garden, wanting the security of an easy escape if needed. She stumbled down with bare feet, the fleece blanket with a cartoon character popular for children on it, wrapped snuggly around her shoulder. She made her way across the lawn, ignoring gravel and sounds of the night to reach her neighbors house. Once at the door, Sanctuari realized how she looked, and could only hope he wouldn't assume she was crazy. True they were on bad feet already, but she was sure once she explained her predicament, she would be fine. With her wand wrapped tightly in her blanket, she knocked. Ri didn't need to wait long when Zander appeared partly in the doorway, looking worse than she remembered. She looked at his eyes, red with bags and wondered if he was alright. Had he been awoken suddenly by her alarm, or did her knock wake him? She heard a child crying in the house, guilt filling her as she shivered in his doorway. "Someone broke into my house." She said, her voice quivering ever so slightly, as she chocked back tears of being woken up so suddenly.

She was lucky to have such a kind neighbor, for even after their fight he allowed her entrance into his house, and she was thankful. As she stepped in she offered a almost inaudible apology for the dirt she tracked in on her bare feet. Her body shook slightly, and she couldn't tell if it was the sudden wake or the cold. Regardless she found a wall and leaned against it, not wanting to invite herself to sit down. "I need to use a phone. I don't have one at my house yet." She responded to his question, a small crack in her voice alerting herself to how truly upset she was, and how she needed to calm down. Her pink orbs traveled to the little girl beside him, and she gave her a small smile. She then looked apologetically at Zander. "I'm so sorry for this. i didn't know where else to go."

 

[Zander Ellison]

Zander had been paying attention when he'd opened the door to whoever it was currently standing at his door step, but his concentration had been focused more on the little girl in his arms. He was just trying to keep everything together, while calming down his daughter, the man was just thankful that the awful screeching of his neighbour's alarm had stopped and he was no longer having to think over the sound of that, that at least it was bringing no further distress to her. Despite how terribly their first meeting had gone, opening the door and spotting Sanctuari standing there wrapped in a blanket with no shoes on and a quiver in his voice he know he couldn't and wouldn't turn her away. Instead he just let her in his house, because who was he to not let her in, who was he to turn her away, after all no matter his feelings towards her or their previous meeting it wouldn't be right for him to just slam the door in her face, not when she clearly just needed someone to be a friend. He tried to teach his siblings and his daughter manners he couldn't do that if he himself didn't do such things, if he slammed the door in her face he was just being petty and ridiculous, she was a person and in a small time of need he would help her. That was why with no other second thoughts about it, he had allowed her into his home, that and he didn't want to keep standing their while his child cried in his arms, he wanted to deal with his daughter and he let this woman in, doing it straight away only seemed right. Zander held his daughter close to his chest, keeping her as safe as he could with all the movement that would allow him to defend himself if whatever had caused Sanctuari's alarm to go off caused his alarm to go off. His house was however protected by magic, he had charms in place to stop people from attempting to break in, protections on the windows. If she was magical he would've offered the spells as a suggestion to stop this from happening again, but this was a muggle neighbourhood, as far as he knew he was the only wizard. As he watched her lean against a wall, he realised that the woman was shaking, he didn't know if it was because it was cold, and she was tired or that if it was because she was scared, but he wanted to make it stop. He didn't question the cartoon blanket she had, how could he when his daughter was covered with a princess blanket. She was maybe a lot younger but he still didn't think he had the upper hand to say anything to her. Instead he just tried to think of what to offer her that would make her feel better. Thinking about what he could possibly offer her that would be of help, clothes, food, a phone?

It was why Zander had asked, what he could do for her, knowing that at this time she probably didn't need a hundred questions and Zander hovering over her. He was also glad when she replied that she needed the phone and not something more complicated like him going over to her house to ensure whatever it was was gone, Zander only owned a telephone for the odd occasions that he was calling or receiving a call from the school that his daughter attended. Upon hearing the request, Zander nodded firmly and then sighed upon remembering that he had left it upstairs. When he had been about to say as much the woman apologised for all that was happening, at which point Zander just shook his head and offered as much of a real smile as he could muster which really wasn't much, she shouldn't be apologising for this he knew that, this was something likely beyond her control who was he to act annoyed about it. He was stressed yes, because his daughter had only just stopped crying and was still wrapped in his arms, but annoyed, no. He shifted his hold on his daughter so that she was resting on his hip where it was easier for him to hold her, and where his daughter could see a little more of what was going on. She was still gripping his t-shirt and tiredly sobbing and hiccuping, getting more snot that he wanted on his shirt, "Let me go grab my phone, sit down, make yourself comfortable, please," Zander would've left his daughter with the woman, but he didn't want to, he felt too afraid to, like this alarm was going to have something to do with him losing her too, he didn't know this woman, he didn't trust her with his daughter. He was almost very glad that she was tightly gripping his t-shirt and getting snot all over said t-shirt. He was glad of the weight and the warmth of her body against his, in this night of strange events. He was treasuring the moments when she was still small enough to do this. It took a little searching and after also grabbing one of his daughter's favourite stuffed toys Zander made his way back down to where he had left Sanctuari, handing her the phone unlocked of course, "Here, make as many calls as you need, we'll just be in the kitchen, I'll make some tea," Zander told her as she took the phone from him and he left the room, he was english, of course in this moment tea was what he'd do. His phone was pretty bare, he had little going on with it since he didn't need it that much. His background screen was an old picture he'd gotten someone else to take about four years ago, it was an old picture of Zander with Peyton his ex-girlfriend, and three young children, one was being held between Zander and the woman, clearly Zander's daughter though she was no older than three in the picture, and the two other children, a boy about nine standing beside the older woman and a girl about eleven standing proudly in front of Zander, a hand firmly grasped on his, the girl was dressed in her Hogwarts uniform, the unsorted one, though to most it would just look like a generic school uniform. It had been taken when Zander and Peyton had driven the girl to the train station so that she could go to Hogwarts for her very first year, they were all smiling and despite the fact that Zander rarely showed his phone or that picture to anyone he had completely forgotten about it when handing his phone to Sanctuari, there had been more pressing matters. There were two clear differences between that picture on his phone and the Zander who now stood in this home, one being that he was older, he'd been about twenty-six at the time of the picture, and the other that he was no longer able to make himself be as happy as he had been in that picture.

Zander forgetting about his phone's background wandered into the kitchen, leaving Sanctuari with the phone to do what she needed and began to make some tea, he wasn't sure what else he could do, but make some tea and hope that she would want some, hope that just even the warmth would help. Zander then thought that perhaps the woman might want something stronger than just tea. But, unwilling to go disturb her to ask, Zander just stayed in the kitchen making the tea he'd said he'd make. He asked his daughter if she wanted anything, and the reply of a cup of hot chocolate which usually would've been met with a stern no was responded to with a shrug and then a yes. He wiped her nose of the snot as he began preparing the different things, having gotten much better in the kitchen over the last few years. He was sure that Sanctuari would just come into this room when she was ready to. In the meantime Zander was just content to be making tea and hot chocolate. His daughter seemed much better much calmer, so he placed her down, and while still holding her favourite stuff toy and the blanket she began to help Zander make the hot chocolate. Using her little stool so that she could see the counter, even at this late time, when she was red eyed from crying and tired as anything, Zander could see her little smile and the fact that despite it all, she seemed happy. It was also true that despite the crushing sadness which had been mounting on Zander, and the fact he too had recently cried, he found himself smiling at her too, she really was the only joy left in his life, she brought a real smile to the man's tired face, "Careful now Abby, it's hot,"
​

I know I say this a lot, but like sorry about the length. I dunno what happened.

 

[Sanctuari Ellison]

Sanctuari's body trembled. She wasn't sure why it was that she couldn't seem to calm her racing heart. She supposed it didn't help that she had magical items in her house. of course she'd put them away as fast as she could. She took few trinkets with her, her wand being the most dangerous one. That was with her though, cuddled up in her blanket close to her heart. She supposed it was more dangerous taking it with her to this house, with a small child, then it was to leave it in a drawer at her place. She didn't think that if a muggle saw a stick they would think magic wand. Most likely they would think she was crazy for having a stick in her drawers. Regardless she brought it with her, and it was shaking in her hands under the blanket. She looked around for a moment, eyes darting before she caught site of her dirty feet. She felt a bit of guilt, tracking some grass and dirt into the house. She should have grabbed shoes from her closet, but she really only kept her dress shoes in there. It would look a bit ridiculous had she ran over in the same attire plus a pair of black heels. He might of thought she was crazy rather than in need of help.

Sanctuari took the phone from Zander and again thanked him. It was obvious in her pink eyes that she was grateful for his help, the veins rising to the surface showing signs of her holding back her tears. she clutched the phone at first, taking a few staggering breaths before opening it. Before she had a chance to dial she noticed a picture of a blonde woman with him. She thought for a moment it must have been his late-wife, still under the impression that his wife had passed. However the young girl with him looked nothing like her, and nothing like him really. She didn't bother with that for more than a few seconds before she was dialing the police and explaining her situation. The window breaking, and that she was at a neighbors house safe from harm as far as she knew. She wasn't in any harm in the first place though, so really she'd been safe the entire time. They asked her too many questions, for all she knew the intruder could have left by this time. They could always dust for fingerprints or something. She wasn't entirely sure how the muggle legal system worked, especially not in a country that wasn't her homeland. She hung up finally, and walked to where Zander and his daughter were, knees still shaking under her fleece blanket. "The police are on there way." She commented, handing the phone over. "Thank you again, Zander. And this must be the little one I heared about." Sanctuari knew the best way to calm herself down was to distract from the situation. "Hi, Abby," She recalled hearing the father say her name just moments before. "I'm Sanctuari." She held out her hand, leaning over slightly to say hello and shake her hand. Inadverantly dopping her wand on the ground.

The brunette croutched over the wand and quickly picked up up. "Sorry, uhm, I thought if I had a stick I could fend for myself." She said with a sideways glance at the door. Maybe she would be better waiting by her house.

 

[Zander Ellison]

Zander had of course seen the gratitude in Sanctuari's pink eyes, which she had shown him upon him giving her his phone. It was easy to know that was how she would feel about it, after all he knew he would feel the same if the roles were reversed. But, leaving her in the living room, the man and his daughter had set about making them something to drinking, allowing his daughter to help him out in making the hot chocolate, of course he was careful in watching her, and advising her, but this wasn't the first time that Abby had helped him, and it likely wouldn't be the last either. After all it was just the two of them most of the time, and Zander who feared that she too would one day leave him felt it necessary to ensure that if she did she would be able to fend for herself, she would always remain his daughter after all. Which was the entire idea behind making sure that she got to help him. It was also a way of keeping her occupied in this situation. It wasn't fun in the slightest really having to be up at this time, and Zander's mood wasn't pretty low, just from exhaustion of all kinds and his smile was only there because his daughter managed to no matter the time of day drag it out of him. As Sanctuari walked back into the room, and handed him back his phone, he smiled his thanks and then pocketed the phone in the back pocket of his jeans with a small smile as she began interacting with his daughter who seemed to grow a little shy at this woman's words. He couldn't help but smile as she moved closer to Zander, distracting him slightly from making the tea and the hot chocolate, "It's alright Abby, Sanctuari's a friend," he encouraged as the woman introduced herself and leaned forward to shake his daughter's hand. Sanctuari and Zander were not perhaps friends but it was too difficult and complicated to explain to her what they were and Zander didn't particularly want to get into it either.

The sound of a wand hitting the ground surprised Zander slightly, he cocked his head slightly in slight confusion as he looked between the woman and the wand. As she then began explaining some reason for having it, he started laughing. Zander shook his head slightly but laughed in a hearty manner at what had happened, it was genuine laugh more true than anything he'd ever laughed at in a while. It actually brought a smile to his face, a real smile from something other than his daughter and his laughing caused Abby to laugh too. Zander just shook his head at the woman again, "You might want to be more careful with your wand, we live among muggles," he told her with a smile, a real smile, just as his daughter seemed to launch into talking about how excited she was to be attending Hogwarts in a couple of years, how she wanted to be in Gryffindor like Zander had been. Zander could do nothing to shush this girl about the information she was giving away. Instead he just finished off making the tea and then served the cups to the respective people, "Take a seat," he motioned to the kitchen table, Zander took a seat at the table and placed both his tea and his daughter's hot chocolate in front of him. Abby as soon as Zander sat down, got on Zander's lap and made herself comfortable. There was a lingering smile on his face, but it was less for Sanctuari's benefit and more for Abby's, "Do you want some clothes to change into? I might still have some of my sister's old stuff they would probably fit you, if you wanted?" Zander offered realising that the woman might want to change out of what she was wearing, into something a little less bare. At the very least he knew he could offer her a jumper so that she didn't have to so tightly hold the blanket around herself. In his lap Abby asked Zander if he was talking about Jamie, to which Zander shook his heard and told her it was Mara. Zander raised the tea to his lips and took a small sip, "So, what exactly happened?" he ventured wondering what had happened that had lead to this woman being in his house at this hour.
​

 

[Sanctuari Ellison]

Sanctuari wasn't upset that the young girl seemed hesitant. It was late, and a crying woman had just rushed into their home. She was upset, the daughter was upset, and Zander was caught in the cross fire. To be honest, Ri felt bad for putting them in this predicament. Had she been in the little girl's position, she would have kicked her skin and hid behind her foster father. However, Sanctuari was not the most well behaved young woman at that age. In fact she ran away too many times to count, always to be brought back by another town member who knew the parents she had at the time. She was troubled, and looking back on it she couldn't apologize enough to her family. The thought of it was almost enough to bring the edge off. What really took all of her edge off though, was Zander's laughter. In fact, it changed her fear into shock as the man laughed about her "defense stick". She wondered if her explanation was really that ridiculous. For a mug - wait did he just say wand? Sanctuari's jaw dropped just slightly and she looked at him in silence for a moment, before she herself laughed much the same way he did. She hung her head in embarrassment, still chuckling lightly. "Well it's kind of a huge relief you didn't think I was crazy for thinking I could beat an intruder away with a 10 inch stick." She commented, taking a seat at the kitchen table, the blanket wrapped a little more snuggly around her.

"Seriously though, you have no idea how much better I feel knowing you're a wizard - or know about magic at least. I had to take the wand though, it was the last thing I needed someone to find." She let him offer her clothing but shook her head. "I couldn't take that from you. You're already doing so much for me, really." She didn't want to sound ungrateful, but she'd always been told to never ask for a lot. When someone offers to help you, you aren't supposed to step over your boundaries. Though Sanctuari wasn't sure if that counted when it came to being offered things. Happy to change the subject, Ri explained to him what was going on. "I was sleeping in the upstairs bedroom when i heard a crash through my window downstairs. i don't have a phone yet in the house - my mom keeps nagging me to get it figured out - so I came to my nearest neighbor. Hopefully the cops wil be here soon so you can go back to bed." She said with a slight tone of apology. She did, after all, feel it was her fault for waking them.

 

[Zander Ellison]

Zander laughed lightly at her joke, had this been the case, where he was a muggle seeing a girl with a relatively small stick and using that as protection, he would've probably thought her crazy, and then provided her with something better. He shook his head slightly, "You should be careful," he told this woman with a small smile, about as real as his smiles came considering all things. He didn't know how much damage a small stick could cause, but he knew that she didn't exactly want to be outed to the rest of the community. He didn't want any attention on him, and much less on his daughter who had begun showing signs of magic. A relief to him, but he didn't need someone accidentally outing themselves as magic to people and for his family to be threatened by it. He nodded at her, and her words, he had always believed muggles to be pretty ingenious in their inventions, "The last thing we both want is someone to find out. I can't have people poking around with Abby here," he replied with a shrug, "She's started showing signs of magic," Zander explained further, a mixture of pride and sorrow in his voice, though the sorrow seemed out of place against the pride. Not that Zander seemed to notice much as he was speaking, instead focusing on the fact that Sanctuari was turning down his offer of clothes, which he very much understood, "It's not a problem, she's..uh," Zander stopped, wondering how best to phrase this, especially with Abby sitting on his lap, "She went travelling and most of the clothes she left here with me are things she'll never need again, or even remember she had," Zander lied with practiced ease.

He didn't often talk about his sister, the eldest of the girls in his family, though Zander was the oldest of the lot of them. Which was why he'd been the one left with the responsibility of the family after their parents had died. Zander hadn't heard from her in over two years, he didn't know where she was, or what she was doing, the number he had said that it was no longer in service. He had no idea where to even start looking, not that Zander wanted to really. He didn't need her in his life, and nor did Abby really. So focused on this line of thought, Zander almost missed Sanctuari's story about what happened to her, and in beginning to listen he raised the cup to his lips, as she finished, Abby would probably go back to sleep easily, especially after the hot chocolate. He could already feel her leaning more heavily against him in tiredness, Zander on the other hand, knew that he probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. It wasn't so much that Zander was a bad sleeper, but more that his mind was whizzing about all of the things happening that he was sure he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. He therefore shook his head at her, "It's alright, I don't sleep much anyway. You are more than welcome to stay here with us if you want," Zander didn't know why he was being so nice to her considering last time they'd talked, he just felt like he should be. He was always taking care of those around him, what difference was one extra person for a little bit, taking care of those around him, made him feel better, needed, wanted. Zander gave the woman as warm a smile as he could manage, "I have the space, and the spare rooms, it's the least I can do to help,"
​

This could've been better, I'm in such a slump.

 

[Sanctuari Ellison]

Sanctuari's small smile, which while white did not reflect light like a movie star's, faded when he told her she needed to be careful. A slight somber expression overtook her and she nodded. It was serious business to be caught by muggles using magic, and the brunette was very aware of that. In fact it was the whole reason she'd brought the damned stick with her in the first place. She looked at it for a moment before cuddling it closer to her in her blanket, the warmth adding to the feeling of safety she felt at the moment. "I would never want that. After all, Abby's experiences with magic should be wonderful." Sanctuari looked at the petite girl, wondering what house she would be sorted into. Sanctuari fondly remember when she submitted her transfer application to finis out her last two years in a school that could properly educate her in her favorite topic - herbology. She thought it almost stereotypical to be a Herbology lover and a Hufflepuff, but she wore the badger on her shoulder proudly nonetheless. After all, she was a proud 'puff, and would never be able to say otherwise.

For a moment Sanctuari's head was filled with a mixture of emotions. She felt like asking to much would cause trouble in her future, ever the humble helper and never a taking soul. The poor woman had been taught that asking for more than what was offered was rude - but taking what was offered couldn't be so bad, right? After all, she didn't as for more clothing, she was only told he had some she could borrow. After a moment's deliberation, she finally nodded. "I suppose when you've put it that was it would be hard for me to refuse." She commented. A small part of her wondered where the police were - though frankly she wasn't sure how long she had been there, or how long ago she'd called. It couldn't be more than a few minutes ago. As she was standing, under the assumption that he would show her where the clothing was, she nearly had to take another seat in shock. She looked down at Zander, who was sat with the petite, almost asleep girl in his lap. "Z-Zander, you don't have to offer that much to me. You've already done so much." Sanctuari didn't know what it was about the offer - perhaps it was the night all together - but a sparkle in her pink orbs signified she was near to tears. Of course if she accepted she'd only stay until her window was fixed and they were sure there was no one in the house. "I would not decline if insisted, but really I wouldn't be a burden. I could clean and look after Abby if needed. I have a job waitressing too and can pitch in rent." As before with the clothing she assumed he would insist, and therefore attacked it first, not wanting to seem like an ungrateful person.

 

[Zander Ellison]

Zander missed the way her smile fell when he told her to be careful, his attention was focused on his daughter, it was for her that he was saying that, after all, if she accidentally did magic in front of the neighbours the ministry wouldn't be happy but they might look at what Abby was doing occasionally, her little outbursts of magic which would become a link to Sanctuari and Zander couldn't let that happen, he couldn't let anything happen to Abby, he had told his sister he would look after and protect her, and he wouldn't be doing that if something happened to her. His sister might not know where they were and he might not know what had happened to her but he wouldn't break that promise to her. What kind of thing would that be for him to do? She had entrusted him with this task, and Zander wasn't about to throw it away. He just nodded at Sanctuari when she spoke, "They will be," he affirmed, knowing that he would help her and make sure she achieved the best that she could. He didn't know what would happen in the years to come, if she too would end up living him like the others all essentially had, but if she did, he wanted to be sure that she had the best start in life. The best possible education and the most amount of chances so that no matter what she would be okay, even if it was without him. Though Zander was really begging the high heavens, all of the gods that this would never happen. He wasn't ready to lose what little he had, what little remained, he was almost desperately clinging on to the idea that he wouldn't be left by anyone else.

His offer of clothes to Sanctuari was more so that she might feel comfortable, might be able to relax, might be able to just rest. He knew that as Abby leaned more heavily against his chest that she was certainly falling asleep. It was late after all, and she did have a long day in the morning, Zander on the other hand felt more awake than ever, he felt like it would take him hours to get back to sleep, if he ever did get back to sleep that night. Zander gave a little smile as she spoke, he wanted to help her, he knew they hadn't gotten off to a good start but that didn't stop him being nice and kind to her now. The last time, had just been his own emotions pushing through and he had wrongly in a way expressed them to someone who didn't need him to react as he had to her. His smile faded, as he thought of the clothes he was offering to her, they were the old clothes of his siblings, all of the ones he hadn't had the heart to give up just on the off chance that any of them came back. None of them had, nor did he expect them to, but it didn't hurt to keep them. Abby obviously had lots of questions about them, but Zander had just in simple terms explained that much like her mother not being around, they were not around. He realised upon offering Sanctuari a bed that she would just need to be left up in that spare room, "It's no problem, if you want to stay you can, I work mostly from home, so it can get a little lonely," he told her, which wasn't even the half of it, Zander was beyond just lonely, he was so alone and he felt so alone that Abby was the only thing keeping him here, she was the only thing in his life that he really truly smiled about. If it wasn't for her, Zander didn't know where he would be now, "Come on, I need to take Abby to bed, I can show you the room, the clothes I would've offered you are in there too," Zander tightened his grip on Abby and then lead Sanctuari upstairs.

The upstairs of this house was far more lived in the bottom half, it had more moving pictures and things like that, though they weren't altogether noticeable, "I own the house, so no need for rent. Don't worry about anything, really, it's the least I can do," he told her, "You need a little help, and I'm happy to help," he then motioned down the hallway to the bedroom at the end, the second floor of this house had five bedrooms, though three lay vacant, the room that Zander had motioned for Sanctuari to go into was the tidiest of them, and the largest. He quickly put Abby to bed and then headed back to where Sanctuari was, he owned the cupboard, "Feel free to have a rummage around, find something you want, no one is using any of those clothes any more," The clothes themselves were a mixture of all of Zander's siblings old clothes, barring the youngest two, Tyler and Jamie whose clothes remained in their own rooms.
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Out of Character:

This is just all over the place

 

[Sanctuari Ellison]

Sanctuari was completely blown away by the man's open heart. It was as if his ribcage had never sealed around it, and there it was beating in front of her, as tangible as the young child he held in his arms. She looked around the house, her eyes searching for anything to land on but the man in front of her. Her heritage, raised as a respectful Honduran, told her not to look at him in that moment. Her pink orbs instead searched for pictures in the halls of he and his late wife - as the poor brunette was still unaware of the misunderstanding between them when they'd first met. She followed the man whom had offered to take her into the room where cloths would be. It wasn't until her bare feet touched down the the cold, wood floor, that she realized just how chilled she was in her less-than-decent outfit. The petite frame was rumbled by a small shiver, and she pulled the blanket closer to her, the cocoon not just giving her warmth but making her feel a bit more safe. She wondered how much longer until the police arrived, and what the robber might have stolen. It wasn't as if Sanctuari's house was filled with ancient artifacts that could pique anyone's interest - but her jewelry and money were there, having not picked a bank yet. She felt so dumb for that now, knowing she was probably broke. However her lips remained sealed until Zander had finished offering her a place and clothing to rummage through. "Thank you so much, Zander. I don't think I'll ever be able to pay you back." She was sure he would tell her she didn't have to, but after speaking to the police and going back to his place for the night in a pair of comfortable sweats, she made the decision that making it up to him started tomorrow.

***

Sanctuari had awoken bright and early and walked the distance between the two houses in a pair of flats she'd intelligently snagged the previous night. It didn't take much tome of rummaging through her own cupboards before she was able to head back to Zander's quietly, and get started on her surprise. The kitchen was new to her, and it took some time for her to figure out where pans, plates, and anything else was. She hoped that he was not an early riser, nor a light sleeper as more than once she nearly yelped while dropping something she then had to wash. However, once she was cooking it was easy enough to make the pancakes, just the way she was taught with a little vanilla and cinnamon. She then made bacon with light maple syrup coating it to give it a sweet coating. She only hoped that they understood it was the least she could do. Until the window was fixed and she got the police report back she was sure he wouldn't kick her out. If she could make him breakfast she would. Se set three places at the table. She pulled some orange juice from the bag she'd stuck in the fridge, and poured three glasses, as well as putting it back in the fridge without the bag for them while she was staying. Once the pancakes were arranged with smiling faces made from bacon, she set the plates down and decided that if they weren't going to coem out, she may just need to knock.

 

[Zander Ellison]

Once Sanctuari had appeared to be settled, Zander had left her be, and then went back to his own room. He sighed heavily as he took a seat on his bed, just staring blankly at the wall on the other side of the room. He wondered if he would get back to sleep now, Zander didn't sleep much, and interrupted sleep was havoc for him, the man was very uncertain about if he would find sleep again. However the hours wore on and Zander slept on and off for that time, never longer than a couple of minutes every hour or so, between that he lay on his bed, with a book, going through the pages, though his mind took barely any of it in. Eventually, morning seemed to arrive, light began to stream in the window and he heard the woman, Sanctuari appear to wake up and start moving around, he glanced at the time, rubbing the tiredness hopefully away and finding that soon he would have to get Abby up and ready for school. He stretched on the bed, before getting up, he had to get ready, he had to get her fed, and he had to begin his day, and with someone else in the house, he assumed he wouldn't just be able to lie on the couch and nap several times, and he knew he would need to be a little more sociable with her, more than he was with anyone normally. Zander stood in front of his mirror as the scent of breakfast appeared to waft upstairs, he was practicing his smile, trying to see if he could make it look less forced, if this woman spent some time here, he'd have to at least pretend that everything was fine and dandy. Stealing a glance at the time, Zander left his room, and headed into Abby's room.

After waking her up and telling her to get ready for school, and helping her find her clothes for the day, Zander gave her a small kiss on the cheek before heading downstairs. Zander had never been a particularly good cook, he tried his best, that was for sure, but it didn't really make him a good cook, he was better than he had been, but even that wasn't really a compliment. Zander wandered into the kitchen and was greeted with quite a sight, his stomach rumbled loudly as he noticed the food, he looked at Sanctuari just gratitude clear on his face, his tired bony weary expression making it almost seem like Zander would just break down in tears he was so grateful. But, instead he just shook his head slightly and attempted to steel himself, "You didn't need to go to all this bother," he told her, though it was very obvious that he was glad that she had. However instead of going straight to eat, he walked to the coffee pot and let it make coffee as he then began to prepare Abby's lunch, placing a freshly made sandwich, some fruit and a snack into a kid's lunch box. Just as he'd finished he took the cup of coffee he'd made and took a long sip, sitting down at the table as Abby bounced into the room, though clearly excited, she was quiet an obvious tiredness. Zander looked at the food again, feeling his stomach grumble loudly again, unsure where even to begin, though clearly Abby was having no issue with it, Zander tentatively cut a bit of pancake and ate it, "Thank you," he told Sanctuari as he finished one bite and launched straight into the second, "I'll need to take Abby to school in like a half hour, but I work from home, so I'll be back straight after, do you have a job?"
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[Sanctuari Ellison]

I've rewritten this five times now. I can do it this time though

Sanctuari was sure that she'd made a better third impression this morning that her first and second were. The kitchen smelled of bacon and pancakes, a sweet and fried together made the morning that much better. She rolled her eyes a bit at his comment, a smile never leaving her paled lips. She was visibly tired, last night's events having drained her of most of the sunshine energy she generally held. Sanctuari was sure not to sit down until Abbey and Zander had both had a chance to look and pick what they wanted. She made sure she was last to serve herself, though her helping of fruits was scarce to make sure if anyone wanted seconds they could easily have them. Ri smiled at him, listening to him talking about taking Abby to school, and asking about her job.

"I waitress. I have to pay back my parents slowly but i promise as I pick up more shifts I will be able to pay for things around the house. And i can always walk Abby to school if it's not to far. The cops say my window can be fixed after they've completed cleaning up from the investigation. Which shouldn't be long. So I promise that as soon as they've fixed it I will be out of your hair!" Her sentence was rushed, and quickly after she finished it she finally dug into a pancake which was caked in peanut butter. Her glass of milk was perfect to wash it down with, and she couldn't help but think she'd outdone herself.

 

[Zander Ellison]

Zander had asked Sanctuari about a job because he'd been worried about this woman being around constantly as Zander attempted to go about his day, he didn't need someone getting involved in his private life when his private life usually just consisted of himself sitting on his sofa staring blankly into space as the hours rolled by. Occasionally doing the work he needed to, though that got mostly done during the hours of the night when he couldn't sleep. Zander was tired of it all really, he wanted to be better and have his days be structure like everyone else, but he wasn't willing to suddenly shock himself back into it. Knowing that this girl had a job, even if it was just a waitressing job really helped ease his mind, it visibly helped ease his mind, and rather than responding the man just ate his breakfast in silence and watch Abby as she ate her breakfast, taking small sips of his hot coffee and smiling lightly. He was tired, he hadn't really slept since then, and he was definitely feeling it now, he was waiting for the coffee to kick in and for his mind to ease from the troubles of the day. With someone else here he had to try harder, smile more and be more normal, but his heart fought hard to be felt. He glanced at the time, and then nudged his daughter lightly, "Come on Abby, you need to get ready for school, can't have you be late," his tone was light, encouraging her to go get ready, something she could now do on her own without much help from Zander, which also meant that now she didn't always want Zander's help. It made him feel good that she was growing up so well, but it was so quick, it seemed only yesterday that she had been a tiny baby in his arms.

He watched with an amused expression as his daughter finished her breakfast and then raced out the room as if the devil were on her tail. He looked back at Sanctuari and the amused expression fell from his face, it wasn't that he didn't want to be like that in front of her, just that it reminded him that this was something he would have to deal with, and it wasn't like the man really wanted to. It didn't bother him her staying, but he was trying to figure out how he could be himself, his usual self which was a person who barely smiled and was the furthest thing from social, "Don't worry about paying for anything, and I'm happy to walk Abby to school," he told her firmly, more firmness in his voice lay with the walking his daughter to school, which was one of his favourite times in the day. He worked from home, it was no trouble for him to do that, it was the easiest thing to do and he really enjoyed it. There was just something about walking his daughter to school that made him feel like things would all be okay, and he really didn't want to lose such a feeling. Zander forced himself to smile at her, "Just focus on yourself, don't worry about things around here," he told her as he stood up to clear up his and his daughter's plates unsure as to if Sanctuari had finished, but was focusing on his little family, his guest seemed more than willing to do the stuff herself, "Make yourself comfortable, it'll only take me about a half hour to go to the school and back, just settle yourself in, if you need to leave, just leave a note," He said to her, "Listen, Sanctuari, the only real rule I have is don't come into my bedroom, so do whatever else you like just don't go in there," He told her with a small smile, he had trailed off for a few seconds after saying Sanctuari, clearly what he'd said hadn't been what he'd wanted to say, but it was worth mentioning anyway.
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