Closed The Anchor You Need

[Maya DeNiro]

In the past recent months, Maya DeNiro has been sending notes of concern to a dear old school friend via owl, sometimes the use of a Patronus Charm. To no avail, she wouldn’t get a response from her messages. Even when she would send them nonstop for an entire day, she would be left disappointed that not a vowel or syllable came back her way. This, in turn, made her increasingly frustrated and more worried about the said friend. She feared the worst about her friend and Maya couldn’t just let another day go by not hearing from him. She didn’t bother checking in his department, one of his co-workers has informed her of his absence from work. Maya, spontaneously took the rest of the day off went to the Leaky to purchase the soup for the day. From the Leaks, she apparated to his house to find his front door was left cracked open. That alarmed the auror right away, she had her wand out at the ready with her fingers holding tight to the bag where the bowl of soup was packed in. “Carter!” Maya shouted throughout his dwelling, there was no response. Maya tread cautiously to what looked like a mess of clothing and opened bottles all scattered through the floor. Maya grimace, twitching her nose up. The smell here wasn’t all too pleasant. Sh!t, she thought as she moved onward, “Carter, Carter! Where are you, I’m going to kick you where it hurts if you don’t answer me!”

 

[Carter Kaster]

Carter could honestly say, he had one of the worst headaches in the world. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling in the world. After his talk with Claudia, he’d vowed to keep himself in check, and then promptly gotten drunk and forgotten again. That was one of the worst problems at the moment, memory. But he’d get a handle on it, there were no problems here. He rolled over in his bed when he heard someone’s voice. How had they gotten in, hadn’t he shut the door? He didn’t want to open his eyes, opening his eyes just hurt. He wasn’t sure what day it was though, but he probably needed a shower or something, yes good idea. Half dressed, bleary eyes and extremely disheveled, Carter half limped and half shuffled out of the bedroom only to come face to face with none other than Maya DeNiro. “F**k, hell you here for?” He groaned, walking past her to the counter with a half drunk glass of whisky on it. Still good. “Didn’t get a clue when I ignored your pathetic notes, huh?” He asked, head pounding. Merlin, why couldn’t people just leave him the f**k alone anymore? He didn’t need nor want their help and they were just making him mean, if he’d wanted them, he’d have asked for them. They didn’t seem to get that though.​

 

[Maya DeNiro]

Maya fell suddenly quiet by the unkempt appearance of Cater Kaster. She wanted to say she was shocked, but she wasn’t all that surprised to see him that way. It’s worst than she previously thought, he stumbled out like a crazy drunk from the streets. “Shut the f*ck up, Carter and give me that damn bottle,” she snatched it away from him without waiting for him to do so. She glared at him, unwavering to his disgusting behavior. “My notes are pathetic? Are you really in the right state of mind to be tossing that word around,” Maya shot back, trying to keep her temper leveled. She was supposed to check up on him, not bully him into being responsible. What a terrible start to a reunion. Good grief, he was a total mess. “Sit down and get something in your stomach before you get done in for alcohol poisoning. If you ask me, that’s a pathetic way to go.”

 

[Carter Kaster]

Carter moved to keep the bottle out of Maya’s grip, but his sluggish reflexes were clearly not a match for the accomplished auror and he was left staring at the bottle in her hands rolling his eyes at her. Quite frankly she had no business just walking into his house, Kiera’s house, and bossing him around like she was his damn wife. Who the f**k did she actually think she was. “Ugh, shove off, Maya, I didn’t ask you to break into my house.” He said, pointedly staring at the open door. He disliked visitors at the best of times but he especially disliked unwanted and unknown visitors. Maya has been a decent friend over the years, and she had earned slightly more leeway than others for that, but that didn’t give her the right to just dictate to him in the manner she currently was. He had enough sh!t to deal with, without her contribution thanks very much. He pushed himself away from the cabinet with much effort then as she continued to speak, because clearly she just liked being continuously insulted since that was all she was going to be getting from him whilst she was standing there berating him. It’s not like he was doing anything anyway, he was entitled to having bad days, he just seemed to be having them a little more than usual was all, but it was fine, no problems here. He walked around her and purposely turned his back to her, not really all that willing to continue the nature of this conversation. Maya wasn’t dumb, she could take a hint, though she was about as stubborn as a damn fright train. What in the hell was it with him and the women in his life? It was like they were determined to help him to an early grave. “I’m fine, I’m not drunk.” He grumbled, which was mostly the truth, his headache went a long way to tell him that. He only hurt when he stopped, so, generally, the trick was to not stop. ​

 

[Maya DeNiro]

Maya moves from being rooted to the ground to drain all the content that was in the bottle. She has been drinking herself, but she didn’t make it a damn habit. Maya lost her friend in the past and recently her father, that didn’t mean to run to the bottle when one can’t deal with the unruly, unpredictable reality that they live in. It’s a poor, f*cking excuse! “First of all, you ungrateful drunk, your door was left cracked open. Your whole security defense was down. Someone, something could’ve got in and killed you, Carter,” she continues to stare daggers at him, though she was doing so while she started to pick the place up with helpful use of her wand. It wasn’t so bad, he could still maneuver around in his drunken stupor. Maya sighs, and purposely started banging the cabinet doors shut. “You’re not drunk, well. You sure smell like it,” she banged and banged the cabinets in whichever way she moved her wand, and then it stopped. “I’m not going anywhere, Carter. You should’ve answered my messages, now you’re stuck with me. So, deal with it. Sit down, and eat the damn soup,” she demanded, remaining unphased. “I’ll shove it into your mouth if I have to.”

 

[Carter Kaster]

Carter wasn't even looking at her and he could feel her eyes on him. She had that personality, the one that said f**k with me at your own risk. Well, it seemed that Carter was determined to test that, because he couldn't help himself from turning around and say, "well, it's a good thing you're here then, isn't it Maya, they can get you instead." He didn't mean it, he knew he didn't, but he was so sick of people just barging into his house and doing as they pleased, he was so done with everyone else trying to come to his aid now. None of them were here when he needed them, so what was even the point. Maybe if they had been there, he'd still have his kids, he'd still have a life, neither of which were currently true and he despised it. "I don't need to do anything you say, you're not my mother, this isn't your house," he said, moving to sit on the couch, "and I'm a goddamn adult who can do whatever the f**k he pleases." He rubbed his temples, the force of the headache almost blinding him. So he'd drank a little too much, it happened, nothing else was going on, it wasn't like he'd brought a stranger home to sleep with or put his kids in jeopardy, considering they weren't even here. He'd lost Lyra years ago, wasn't far off losing Jemma and he wasn't sure what Link was doing at all. Wasn't much point to the rest of it really. He realised too late that he'd basically just done exactly what Maya had told him too and he rolled his eyes and groaned. "I want it well documented that I did not sit down because you asked me to." He told her, still refusing to look at her.​

 

[Maya DeNiro]

Maya rolled her eyes, not giving him the satisfaction to react to his pure, drunken stupidity. His behavior resembles of a rebellious teenager and a step-parent. The words, “You’re not my mom, so you can’t tell me what to do!”, fits the scene just right. Why does she even bother caring? There was so much she could be doing right now, and instead, she has to be here to check on someone who obviously doesn’t have a care in the world. Why does she care? Maya, stood firmly, with her arms cross to her chest, and her wand still in her grip. When he sat down to nurse his head, Maya sent the bag of soup flying to the table near him. “It’s there if you want it, if you don’t eat it that’s fine with me. But, I suggest you eat it before stomach acid burns your esophagus,” Maya warns him. She nudges to get past him and sits on a chair near him. Maya fell silent, ready to maybe bind him with a spell and shove the bowl down his mouth.

 

[Carter Kaster]

Carter huffed, he knew he was being childish, but his alcohol-addled mind was unable to shake him out of the stupor. He moved over slightly as she sat beside him and he eyed the soup as it landed on the coffee table in front of him and shrugged, moving to look inside it. He sniffed it a little and gave a side look to Maya, he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing him do all the things she'd been telling him to do for the last twenty minutes. He sat back and left the soup where it was, sighing. He didn't actually know why Maya was here, but he supposed he should find out, since she didn't seem to be leaving right now. "Why are you here, Maya?" He asked, finally looking over at her, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was still half naked and was half glad no one was expected today, since he wasn't sure he wanted to explain any of this situation.​

 

[Maya DeNiro]

Guess she can’t force him to eat the soup, no matter how much she wanted to shove it down his throat. That’s the total opposite it from being helpful, and she cared. “Why do you ask such stupid questions, Carter? You know why I’m here, I think I’ve made myself perfectly clear. If you had just answered my messages I wouldn’t have come,” she tries to say with a straight face without looking at him. The last part may be a lie, she would’ve come once she got word of his absence from work. She would’ve come if the Minister was concerned about his well being and his performance at work. Either way, she would’ve come to see what was up. As a concerned friend, she would’ve come, and that’s exactly what she did. “You’re stuck with me until I feel that you’re better and we can maintain a normal friendship. So, get used to seeing this mug around. You’ll get sick of it, trust me.”