new h o m e |Raychel|

[broadway]

Raychel nodded hesitantly. "I'm not going to try and break the bond just yet. I know how hazardous it is, but it's just too soon. If I keep the bond but weaken it little by little, then I'll be able to back stab her and save the Minister once she tries to go after him." she replied slowly. She was going to be emotionally scared from all of this, but what was another three months? She could hold out until then, then finish her when the time was right, when she least expected it. Raychel had to push the grim thought out of her mind, otherwise it would sit and rot there.

[igloogirl]

"It might work," Gabriella replied after a moment. "In my experience, though, the bond got stronger over time, not weaker. But if you feel that you can weaken the bond by sticking close to Isabelle and doing her bidding, then it's worth a try. Let's ask Angie about it, though, she's bound to have a good perspective." Gabriella ran a hand through her hair, knowing they were playing with fire on this one.

[broadway]

Raychel nodded. "I'm sure there has to be some way to weaken it with out fully breaking it. I just know that if I try this early she'll turn to torturing those close to me. And that's the last thing I want, and the last thing you, or Angie, or Levi, or any one else, needs." she replied softly. "I don't need to hurt anyone else." she muttered, a bit softer than the first time. Isabelle had already killed her parent's and stolen her youth, but there was still plenty she could do still. Especially now that they were linked...

[igloogirl]

Gabriella nodded slowly. "Alright," she said. "But if we're the only reason you're holding onto this bond, then it's not okay Raychel. We're all big kids now, we can handle ourselves. And Isabelle probably wouldn't torture Angel or me purely because of you. It would just be an added bonus." Gabriella sighed slightly. It was a wonder that Isabelle hadn't come after Angel more times, actually. But the older vampire was probably staging her attack.

[broadway]

"It isn't just for you. It's for the Minister, for the sake of the Wizarding world. And for Isabelle's downfall." Raychel replied, her voice lowering. She wasn't angry, or depressed, but by the way the shadows had begun to dance, you would think so. Anger seemed to be easily mistaken for determination. "I'm sorry for bringing up that depressing subject." she replied softly, looking up at Gabby. "You didn't need to hear all that, it isn't your burden to bear. I just have a lot going on. And Claire... she had a family, and I was forced to take it from her." Raychel replied, her voice wavering.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella wrapped her best friend in a hug, allowing Raychel to feel bad for a moment. "It's hard, I know," Gabriella murmured. "But I think we just have to have the hope that things will get better." In Gabriella's opinion, without hope, everything was already lost.

[broadway]

Raychel hugged Gabby back, breathing in heavily. Once she released her friend, she hugged her knees to her chest. "Hope." she muttered, adding a slightly strangled laugh. "I do prefer your method of hope to Isabelle's method of chaos." she replied softly. The whole concept of chaos had been swirling around in her brain as of late. It was completely aggrivating, and hopeless. And Raychel was not one to sit and idle by when something was aggrivating or hopeless.

[igloogirl]

"Well, I would think so," Gabriella replied, sitting down next to her friend, now that Raychel was hugging her knees to her chest. They seemed to be having a lot of these conversations lately, particularly while hunting. Not that Gabriella minded, it was good that they were so open with each other. It made it much easier to be friends with Raychel. "I killed a Death Eater the other day," Gabriella said absently, staring out into the trees.

[broadway]

Raychel felt her eyebrows raise. She looked curiously at Gabby, peering up at her friend. "What?" she asked curiously. Her mind wandered to her second mission that she had yet to tell Gabby. No doubt that had to be important, to Isaac's bride especially. Raychel kept a level-headed gaze as she patiently awaited Gabby's explanation.

[igloogirl]

"Yes," Gabriella said. She ran a hand through her hair, then continued staring at the trees, not knowing if she could say the words while she saw Raychel's face. "We went on a raid of some hideout. There were half a dozen Death Eaters there, discussing something. There were only three of us, so we weren't going to fight. But they found us, so we had to. In the end, three of them died, and the other two Aurors that I was with died in the fight." Gabriella shuddered slightly, thinking of it. She had killed the man with her bare hands after her colleagues had died. The other three had fled.

[broadway]

"Don't feel bad Gabs. You did it for a good cause. I've killed for the opposite." Rayche replied softly. She was silent for a while before sighing gently. "After the Claire Mitchell assignment, Isabelle asked me to go another mission with her. I replied, but I regret it. We went to Azkaban and..." she took a deep, staggering breath. "Draco's out. We released him." she finished, her voice incredibly low. "I'm so sorry." she whispered hoarsely.

[igloogirl]

"But you just watched them kill her, you didn't actually do it," Gabriella replied, her voice starting to betray emotion now. "Plus you were forced. I wasn't. And I killed him with my bare hands." Gabriella glimpsed down at her hands as Raychel spoke once more, wondering how such small things could kill such powerful creatures: wolves, hippogriffs, and even humans. Gabriella's head snapped around at the word "Draco", her eyes wide. "Draco's out?" she asked in disbelief. "Aw, fuck."

[broadway]

Raychel nodded slowly. "Yes. He's out. I'm so sorry Gabs, I should have run when I had the chance. I should have just...." she trailed off. There were so many things that she wished she could do over in her life. Raychel looked up at Gabby fearfully. "I have no idea where I am supposed to go from here. At first I thought it would be easy, that my path would just... make itself appear. It's childish, I know.... but something about all of this made me believe that one thing would change everything for the better. So far, every single little thing has made everything worse." she finished quietly.

[igloogirl]

"Stop!" Gabriella exclaimed, temper flaring at Raychel's continued whining. She had risen to her feet and was now at a state near panic, brain working double-time. Gabriella began to pace, trying to make her thoughts rational ones, but all she could think was that she wanted to rip someone apart and drink their blood. She hadn't had those thoughts in a long time and it rather scared her, driving her closer to panic yet. Finally- a few seconds later- she turned back toward Raychel. "I know it's hard for you, but you have to stay strong. We all do, because we have to figure all this out," Gabriella said, her tone calm once more. "I'll meet you back in the apartment a bit later, alright?"

[broadway]

Raychel had gotten to her feet as well, hands on her hips. As Gabby's temper continued to rise, so did her own. She was already a pathetic whiner, who failed at life. Having her best friend pissed wasn't helping either. As soon as Gabby told her she wouldn't be home until late, Raychel's eyes narrowed. She watched Gabby in silence until shaking her head. "If you're going to do something stupid, I'm coming with you." she retorted finally, her tone calm and compassionate.