Closed Stayed Behind

[Aciano Fields]

The holidays were upon them, and that meant students and professors alike get to go home for a break to spend time with their family. Ideally, everyone should be home now, wherever home was to them. Not Aciano, he was one of the few that stayed behind and decided to spend the holidays at school. In his mind, there was no point in going home. Visiting his mother and sisters would be pointless. Aciano knows if he went home for the holidays it would not end well by the time he returns to school. He was essentially dodging a bullet by not going back home. This did not mean he did not care for the women in his family if they could only learn to forgive the past he wouldn’t have to feel so hostile towards them. Maddiie must’ve already guessed Aciano wasn’t going home. This morning he woke up to a pack of butterbeer tied neatly with a bow with another gift and a note from his mother. He went straight for a bottle, popping a fresh one open. The delightful drink put him in a great mood and sent Aciano drifting around the castle like the ghosts that haunt this place. His wandering came to an end when he spotted his roommate sitting alone in the eerie quiet student lounge. “Stair, I didn't know you were here. How come you're not home?"

@Alistair Lancaster

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

The quiet of the castle over the holiday break was a welcome change for Alistair, who preferred the silence and empty corridors over the bustling student life. The lycanthrope could enjoy the time to himself without the worry or hassle of everyone else, particularly now that the Hogwarts Monthly had written its indirect-but-totally-direct article about him. He could practically feel the stares of his housemates boring into the back of his skull wherever he went. It had only been a matter of time before someone caught on, and if he was honest with himself, he was surprised it had taken so long. He only had a semester left until he was free. He'd been so close to getting out unscathed.​

Sitting cross-legged on a couch in the student lounge, Alistair made use of all the newly available space. Typically he brought most of his schoolwork to the Prefects common room simply to avoid the crowds, but with an entire castle practically to himself, he was happy to give himself a change of scenery. With the duelling tournament coming up after the break, the seventh year opted to spend his time planning it out, among other things for the SDA, assuming any of its members wanted to remain in his club since the article. His quiet scratching of quill to parchment was interrupted by a voice he was more than familiar with, and he ceased his writing to greet his dormmate. "This is home." He responded softly. For a long time, he never would have referred to Hogwarts in such a manner, but things at "home" had changed drastically ever since Ellington was murdered. Somehow, Hogwarts had become his new sanctuary. He paused to rub at his tired eyes, wrecked from stress and his general condition, and blinked back at Aciano. "What are you still doing here?"​

 

[Aciano Fields]

If Aciano was someone else, he would find it sad that someone thought Hogwarts as ‘home.’ It was an old castle for Merlin’s sake. How can this old castle be home, especially to dungeon dwellers like themselves? Alas, he wasn’t someone else and by default, this was home too. Home away from home. “Avoiding trouble,” Aciano responded, drifting closer to the boy. Aciano sat at the end of the couch, slouching getting comfortable. The butterbeer relaxed him, putting his mind at ease and most of his troubles vanished from his thoughts. “Avoiding trouble by not going home,” the teen murmured. Then he remembers Alistair’s trouble and that whole business with the newspaper. It prompts him to sit up straight, rolling his brown eyes over to Alistair. “Hey, you’re not still worried about the garbage they wrote in the paper? Are you,” Aciano didn’t even have to ask, he could see the stress in his roommate the days that followed. The teen was on the edge and Aciano tried to comfort Alistair, though, he failed to do so.

“I don’t know why you’re worried, you can always eat your haters up for a snack,” tease Aciano, a dumb grin appeared on his face. He was joking, of course, he was taking the risk of the teen snapping at him. It didn’t stop Aciano, “Come on man, don’t let them get to you,” Aciano held out the bottle, offering Alistair a sip of his butterbeer. “You look like you could use a drink, and what are you doing working?” Aciano pesters the teen. “It’s the holidays, take it easy,” Aciano encourages, he would like some company. He was bored and he would like some company. Alistair was the only one he came across, so it only made sense to bug Alistair until he gave in.

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

A small smile touched Alistair's lips when Aciano mentioned avoiding trouble. For someone kicked out of another wizarding school, he was sure that his dormmate found plenty of trouble. But that smile didn't last long. A sadness washed over the lycanthropes features when the other boy mentioned the dreaded article. Stair had been doing his best to not think about it, but it was virtually impossible to do when he felt like it was all anyone thought of when they saw him. He'd never made much of an impression otherwise, even as a prefect and the SDA's leader. His condition and the article felt like it would be the only thing that people would know him by. He hadn't wanted a reputation for himself, especially after Esme had cemented herself one before he'd arrived. Perhaps he should have been more like her, aggressive and callous. Maybe it would have been everything easier.

The look Alistair shot Aciano when he mentioned eating his haters was almost offended, but his expression soon softened. The humour helped. He hadn't thought he could see the situation with any sort of light, but Ace's comment was appreciated. Not everyone thought of him as a monster, or reacted the way Leda had. Even Phoebe had surprised him. "I don't know, my haters don't look very tasty. I might have to start carrying around spices and sauce." He responded, chuckling slightly at how ridiculous it sounded. "Thanks." He continued, taking the offered bottle gratefully. He took a sip of the butterbeer and passed it back. "I have to keep myself busy. It helps me take my mind off of everything." He admitted, looking over the papers strewn about him. "Besides, I have a lot to catch up on. I've been falling behind." He'd had trouble keeping up with all of his schoolwork in general, and dealing with the stress after the article had only made it more difficult to focus. At this rate he was seriously considering the benefits of dropping out early and leaving Hogwarts behind him. "It's hard not to think about it. Everything is different now. I can't hide." He sighed and dropped his quill, deciding there was no point in continuing his work for the moment. He wasn't going to be able to make much progress, and Aciano's company was probably what he needed right about now. He pressed his fingers to his temples and closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath in the process. "I just wish I could go back to the way it was."​

 

[Aciano Fields]

Aciano noted the emotional shift his roommate displayed whenever Aciano spoke. Either he was saying the right thing or something wrong. It was difficult to distinguish what reflected on him negatively. It's much difficult when he was drinking away his troubles which he supposes makes a good excuse to say inadequate things without a second thought or a care in the world. He smirks, "Go with the hot sauce, your tastebuds will be kicking," Aciano let go of the bottle. He encourages Alistair to take more, saying something along the line that it will help him relax. Aciano retrieves the butterbeer, clutching the long neck of the bottle to his side. "It's the holidays you have plenty of time to do that stuff later. Take it easy, don't let it get to you," Aciano further encouraged him, not sounding sincere but he wanted company. Aciano was saying anything at this point to distract the other teen from his work.

Aciano set the bottle down by his feet, he comfortably kicked off his black boots furthering getting comfortable on the cushion. "Man, wish there was some way to sneak out of the castle and head to the village. Get something a little stronger, get me?" Aciano desired a firewhisky or something strong to get the blood rushing. "Have you ever snuck out? Do you know any secret passageway to get out here? It will do you some good to get out for a bit. To clear your head, y'know. It's no good staying inside when you're all antsy like that," Aciano pointed out. That may have been the wrong thing to say, though he wasn't wrong in saying it. Aciano go to was usually lifting weights, yet lately, he's been slacking and he reminded it's the holidays. "What do you do when you want to blow off some steam?"

 

[Alistair Lancaster]

It was easy to tell someone to relax, but difficult for Alistair to actually follow that advice. He tried, noticing how Aciano had kicked off his shoes and made himself a lot more at home in the student lounge. Stair leaned back into the comfort of the couch, sinking as far until the material as he thought he could go, in case he could somehow just smother his anxieties. The lycanthrope released a long held breath and allowed his shoulders to drop. There really was no point in being stressed out, at least for the time being. He needed to enjoy the reprieve that he had while he still could.

When Ace mentioned sneaking out, Alistair quirked an eyebrow at him, but smiled all the same. He liked the fact the boy was open to talking about breaking the rules with him, despite the fact he was a prefect. It wasn't as if he was the best person to enforce rules in the first place. "I get you." He said. Something stronger sounded like a great idea at that moment. "I've only snuck into the forest at night. I'm sure if we wanted to get out, it would lead us to somewhere in Brightstone if you went far enough. I haven't found any passageways." He thought about it, and as much as he'd spent a lot of time looking for places to be on his own, none of the castles secrets had taken him out of the school. Even the Howling Cavern was something of a dead end. "Alternatively, we could just ask the Headmistress for permission to go into the village. Its the holidays, most people are already gone. There's no reason to say no." He followed up. It seemed easier to try a more direct approach, and it wasn't the first time his aunt had given him special accommodation. "To blow off steam? I don't know. I bottle everything up." Stair admitted. That had always been the easiest thing for him to do. "Otherwise duelling helps me. Spells are one way to release emotion. Why, what do you do?" He asked. He really didn't know a lot about his dormmate, as much as he wanted to.​