withdrawn (open)

[malfoy]

Isaac had not left the house except to hunt in weeks, working fervently on rennovations in the vain thoughts that it would distract him from the painful memories. He still refused to tell Gabriella what had happened to him, thinking himself to be too much a gentleman to share such dark things with her. Today Isaac had been working in the upstairs parlour, his main focus being the floor he had accidentally put his foot through before his captivity.

Screams echoed within the confines of his memories, making Isaac involuntarily shudder as he continued to lay new floor boards. He had been keeping to himself these days, very few words passed his lips, Isaac didn't even care for sharing a room with someone else anymore. Not surprisingly, Isaac ignored the smell of someone from the hall as they moved closer to the parlour.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella set her bag down near the door, discarding her cloak as well. She could smell Isaac in the parlor and slowly began her way over, her footsteps getting slower and slower as she approached. Gabriella had finally confirmed that she was indeed pregnant, but she didn't quite know how to tell her husband about it. Isaac had been so withdrawn since his rescue from Death Eater captivity. Plus, they had agreed that they weren't going to try to have kids, so Gabriella didn't think he would take the news too well.

Lost in her thoughts, Gabriella found herself soon in the doorway of the room Isaac was working on. The house was certainly looking better, but progress had stopped while Isaac was gone, except for one day in March Gabriella had been forced to take off. She had spent the day repairing the house, not knowing what else to do if she couldn't be searching for Isaac. "Hey," Gabriella said, hoping he would look up at her.

[malfoy]

Isaac blinked slowly a few times, not really wanting to get drawn into conversation, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid it forever. After securing the plank of wood he had been working on, he turned his gaze up at his wife who was standing in the doorway. Isaac nodded once, to show Gabriella that he acknowledged her presence, and then kept working. He would listen if she wanted to talk, Isaac just hoped that she wasn't going to expect him to say too much.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella accepted Isaac's nod, as much as it hurt her to do so. Isaac was shutting her out, despite Gabriella's best efforts to engage him in conversation. She had given up trying. "I'm going to go hunting after I change," Gabriella commented, figuring now was not the moment to tell Isaac she was pregnant. Honestly, she was scared to do it, knowing that she didn't have the words to say what she wanted to tell him. "Want to come?" Gabriella added, biting her lip gently as she waited for a response.

[malfoy]

Isaac took a long time to respond, he was quiet as Gabriella spoke, except of course for the noises that came along with hammering new floor boards into place. He kept his gaze and hands focused mainly on his work, although he was hearing every word of what his wife said. He allowed a long, somewhat awkward pause to wash over them as his brain sluggishly figured out a reply. "Sure," Isaac finally responded, his voice empty-sounding, void of any emotion.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella tapped her finger slightly on her leg before Isaac responded. While she was used to Isaac's slow responses, his voice never failed to shock her. Completely devoid of emotion as it was, Gabriella felt like she didn't even recognize her husband as he was sitting in front of her. After too long of a pause, Gabriella spoke again. "Alright, I'll be down in a few minutes," she said. Without waiting for what she figure would be a slow response, Gabriella hurried out of the doorway and to the stairs. She took the stairs slowly, not wanting her strength and speed to leave her as they had been doing off and on for the past few weeks.

Gabriella headed into the bedroom and opened up the closet, pulling out some of the few things she had stored there: black sweatpants and a black t-shirt. Figuring she wouldn't need a sweatshirt, she quickly changed and then headed downstairs, more quickly than before, hoping Isaac was ready.

[malfoy]

Isaac only nodded, but Gabriella had already gone. In her absence he managed to finish up most of the room, only the back left corner needing to be finished. He stood slowly for vampire standards, although it might have been normal for their human counterparts, and then walked to join his wife. Isaac had no problem hunting in the baggy sweatpants and t-shirt he had worn all day, he didn't even care that he was barefoot. He had found that he lost a lot of weight during his imprisonment, he hadn't thought it possible, but all his clothes hung loosely on his frame, and his ribs and spine were clearly visible through his skin.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella didn't bother to ask Isaac if he was ready, as she would have once done, but instead led the way out the door. There had been a spell put on the house to prevent Apparation inside, but they could go wherever they wanted from the doorstep. But this time, Gabriella figured they could just hunt in the nearby woods. Isaac still seemed weakened by his recent imprisonment.

[malfoy]

Isaac followed his wife, his visage not portraying any emotion, spare for the look of pain in his burgundy eyes. He no longer saw the joy in hunting, nor anything else for that matter, and had long been living off of their stash of blood in the fridge- using charms to refill the bags so he would not exhaust their supply. But he was ready to find something less sterile, the bagged blood always seemed so medical-tasting, Isaac liked the taste of non-filtered, fresh, warm blood. He looked to Gabriella, silently asking her to take the lead, as if he had forgotten the way they used to live.

[igloogirl]

Seeing the look on Isaac's face, Gabriella took a few steps forward so that she was leading the way to the forest. Once the trees surrounded them, Gabriella spread her senses out, searching for prey. She could smell a deer close by, and deciding that was good enough, she sped up, pushing herself into a run.

[malfoy]

Isaac followed Gabriella into the wood, allowing his sense of smell to guide him as he kept behind his wife. He had always been slower than Gabriella, but now the difference in their speed was even more noticeable as he struggled to keep up. After a moment Isaac spotted their prey, a young buck that looked half asleep- it would be an easy catch.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella's eyes narrowed as she spotted the buck. Giving Isaac a small nod, she ran toward the deer. She had nearly reached the unsuspecting animal when she slipped on a patch of mud. Unusually clumsy, Gabriella stumbled and then fell to the ground. Alarmed, the buck looked wildly around and then began to take off. Gabriella made a noise of frustration and hit the ground, but did not make nearly the impact she had expected. She frowned.

[malfoy]

Isaac stopped as Gabriella slipped, but his reflexes had been too slow to catch her. Beneath the numbness he felt a ripple of confusion, it seemed so unlike his wife to be clumsy, she usually seemed so graceful. Come to think of it, Isaac could not recall Gabriella ever acting like that. With his usual slow response, he offered a hand to help her up. His mind was jumping to all sorts of conclusions, Isaac had to mentally tell himself there probably wasn't anything terribly wrong, but things weren't completely right either.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella swore under her breath, but accepted Isaac's hand in getting up. She had noticed recently that her vampire speed and strength would come and go in bursts. It infuriated Gabriella, but she knew she couldn't do anything about it. She supposed it was a pregnancy symptom for vampires, though she had never known a pregnant vampire, so she couldn't be entirely sure. "Sorry," Gabriella muttered to Isaac, dusting herself off.

[malfoy]

Isaac did not respond at all, he didn't even nod this time. Instead he looked at his wife, frowning slightly. He didn't understand what was going on, vampires didn't just suddenly slip like she had. And there had been that odd time during his rescue when her speed had failed her... And then he noticed an odd smell, it was only for a split second, but it was different. His frown deepened as he raised his eyebrows. Isaac was silently asking his wife to explain.