saturday {tain}

[grace]

Grace, in all honesty, was surprised that they still had Hogsmeade weekends after the murder of the Slytherin girl in December. Though oddly enough, unlike most everyone else, Grace was not concerned about what had happened. She believed Hogwarts remained just as safe as always, it would be very stupid of the bad guys to try and come inside the castle. Though how they had gotten on the grounds still evaded her, the only explanation she could think of was that they had trekked through the Forbidden Forest. Grace shoved those thoughts out of her head, it didn't do her well to dwell on things like that. At any rate, she had something she wanted to accomplish.

That being seeing Tain. Her elder adoptive brother seemed stressed lately, Grace wanted to help somehow, though she doubted there was much she would be able to do for him. All the same, she would feel better if she at least tried. Kevin and Martin had agreed to stay with Maya, leaving Grace free to focus on the oldest of the Forest children. She walked lightly down the cobblestone streets, they were oddly empty, though she supposed everyone was paranoid about being out and about- strange things had been happening. But that wouldn't keep Grace cooped up in the common room.

It was a sunny day, a rarity for January, but still freezing. Grace was just glad it gave her an excuse to wear long sleeves, she wasn't comfortable showing off her scars. Her cloak fluttered about her ankles as she pushed open the door to Tain's shop, knowing he would be there. But at the moment, it was empty, her brother must be in the back. Grace shamelessly walked behind the counter and entered the storage room, peering around the shelves. "Tain?" Grace called, it was unlike him to not be manning the store.

[tain]

*let's give Tain a break down shall we *

Tain was sitting in the back of his small to the side of the storage room, he had a bit if paper in each hand and red eyes. One hand held a picture of his eldest sister, she had her hair down and was in a dress but smiling too. Tain had tried to be nice as The picture had come with another person beside her but he hadn't managed that well and so there was a ripped side on the floor in front of his desk with a boy he didn't know with his hand around his sister. the other bit of paper was a letter, it's message was short but to the point and so it was a small bit of paper that only just fit in to his hand

Dear Tain
The baby is due febuary. I've had a scan but didn't ask to know the gender but I allowed the nurse to write it down on the back of this paper so you could know.
It should never have happened I know. But it did. And so I'm going to make the best of it even if you won't

Nix

The word male was indeed written on the back of the paper in a hand that Tain hadn't know, that word stung him too as he had been expecting and wishing for a little girl but he knew nix would have wanted a boy so maybe it was best. A voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he dropped The papers in shock before jumping up and rubbing his eyes ,"who's there?" he called out to try and seem friendly

[grace]

Grace unfastened her cloak as she wandered the back room, pausing only to hang it by its hood on a brass hook on the wall. When she heard Tain's voice reply she followed the sound, peering around the last shelf to see her brother in quite the peculiar state. There were a few papers on the floor, one of them looking suspiciously like half a photograph. Though Grace was not brazen enough to pick them up to find out what was going on, she was still too timid, even around family. Tain would tell her about it if he wanted to, she wasn't going to force anything from him, that wasn't the type of person she was.

"Just me," said Grace, looking up at her older brother. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes asking him what was wrong, though she found her mouth wasn't quite willing to cooperate. Grace tipped her head to the side, more worried now than when she had been walking to the shop.

[tain]

Tain gave a sigh as his middle sister walked in to the room and he leaned backwards only to fall against the desk behind him, she looked him over with worried eyes and he sighed again. the twins had already been in and told him that he was being mean and unfair and nix needed someone by her and they had even warned him that she would find someone else if he didn't try to make it up to her. They had been right of course, they always were about stuff like this and always had been.

"hey gracie, how are you?" he asked with an attempted smile on his face before he spotted the papers on the floor and quickly bent over to pick them up, he slid them all in to the pocket of his jeans and then leaned back against his desk again, it would seem odd for him to have dropped things on the floor and he hoped that grace wasn't back to tell him he was being down right cruel again but he wouldn't put it past her. She was right the first time she had said in anger and she would be right to say it again

[grace]

"I'm fine," said Grace, tossing her head lightly to flick her blonde tresses behind her shoulders. Tain seemed even more unsettled than usual, and she had a feeling it had something to do with the papers on the floor. If she were a more assertive type she might have snatched them up herself to figure out what was going on, though she left them be. Grace would let Tain do the explaining when he felt like it. But now she felt even more unsure of what to do, though she hadn't really know what she could do in the first place to help her brother relax. But one thing was for sure, it wasn't good for him to be stressed all the time.

Sure, Grace had been fairly angry at how he had reacted to Nix's pregnancy, it wasn't the most mature thing he could have done to her. She needed their support, not for him to ignore her completely. But it was their problem they needed to work out, it wasn't her place. "Is everything all right?" asked Grace, unable to ignore it any longer. Though now she wanted an honest answer from Tain, though she knew he didn't like to make his problems known, at least not to her, Maya, Kevin or Martin.

[tain]

Tain looked his sister over as she replied before smiling for real for a small moment, "that's good to hear". The recent killing had put him on eye for days and he had been worried about his siblings so he had thought maybe grace had come here in trouble but it made he feel happy to knew she was alright, for now atleast.

He moved back to his desk and then around it before sitting down and looking to a picture there, it was the summer before this year and had a picture of his family. Jark and Eliza were standing at the back with their arms around each other and Tain was beside them with Maya in his arms, the twins stood beside grace with a hand on each shoulder and then nix would appear every few moments as dragged in to the picture by Maya or grace. The picture made him sigh again, they had all been so happy. Yet now his parents were gone and his sister was lost and he hadn't seen his brothers in months.

Grace's words brought him back to his front mind and he shook his head ,"I'm alright, she's told me it's due soon and now I know what it's going to be" he said in a stiff voice before he lifted a hand and ran it through his hair

[grace]

Grace momentarily raised an eyebrow, it seemed everyone close to her these days was convinced she was not all right. Sure, she had been worried like everyone else when the Slytherin girl was murdered, though she felt that the threat was no longer there. It wouldn't be like this new movement to habitually strike in the same place. To Grace it seemed they picked a new spot every time, and if their hearts were in taking Hogwarts they would have attempted it already. Perhaps even succeeded. Grace shoved those thoughts from her mind, she was by nature pessimistic, though that she felt was taking it a step too far.

"Oh," said Grace when Tain mentioned what it was that had made him look so bothered. She frowned, wondering why he was reacting so strongly. Perhaps it was guilt. Well-placed guilt in Grace's mind, though she wasn't the kind looking for people to get their comeuppance for wronging someone else. Both Tain and Nix were family, she loved them dearly, and hated to see them suffer even when they brought it upon themselves. "I wish you wouldn't call the baby 'it,'" sighed Grace, closing the gap between them in a few lithe steps.

"I think you could do with some fresh air," said Grace, taking one of her brother's hands in both her own, with the intent to forcibly drag him outside if she had to. Of course, she knew that with their size difference she wouldn't be able to move him terribly far, Grace just hoped that he would give in.

[tain]

Twin felt his skin grow cold as grace said the word. No one had said it around him and he had to force himself to say it every time. Yet it was so stupid because it was going to happen and he would hear it a whole lot more now, his son would be born soon enough anyway. "your right, people will know what it'll be soon enough" he said in a stiff voice before looking over towards his sister ,"you'll have a nephew soon" he said in a stiff voice before he snapped his eyes back to the picture or a once happy family and wondered if it could ever be back. Maybe with nix and the baby and her new love posing as the parents they'd all had and then him as the odd one who'd been taken in because they'd fitted

He felt his sisters hand on his and pulled his face away from the picture that kept drawing his eye and then rolled his eyes and tugged his hand back ,"outside is cold thanks, and my cloak is upstairs and I'm sure you can imagine why I don't like going up stairs very much" he said in his almost soundless voice. He hated going his own room now and was even in the process of selling his bed to get a new one to remove the memories, one drunken night and 4 years of infatuation had done so much

[grace]

Grace instinctively flinched mildly when again Tain referred to the baby as "it," there was something about using that word to fill in the blank where a person should be. That phrasing reminded her of her father, the way he would always speak about her but very seldom to her. It had been degrading, and had crushed the little self-esteem she had had. Grace still hadn't managed to pick up the pieces from it. She could not, however, deny herself a smile when Tain said that she was going to have a nephew. She could not help but be excited, she could hardly wait to meet the new addition to the family.

Maybe it was good that she was happy about it, especially with how Tain was reacting to it. Her smile instantly faded when Tain pulled his hand from her grasp, she instinctively recoiled, as if she expected him to strike her. Though after a second she had noticed her reaction and relaxed her posture, though still frowned. She couldn't explain why, but she felt a small flicker of anger. She lightly shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. "Then you're going to let some daylight in here," said Grace, surprising even herself with how firm her tone had been. She crossed the room to pull open the curtains, flooding the room with weak January sunlight.

[tain]

Tain looked up at his sister and watched her face for reactions, he could easily see the smile that came from his comment about their soon to be new family member and he guessed it was a small comfort to know that atleast one person in the family would be happy to have the little toddler running about over the house.

Her reaction to him moving away was one he was used to with her, she has never grown past her childhood of abuse as the others had managed but then again she was different from the others so it was only fair she acted differently to her childhood. Her comment of light made him groan but he couldn't stop her when she strode across the room and threw the curtains open, he could only watch and sigh pitifully

[grace]

Grace wasn't quite sure why but she almost wanted to start shouting at her brother, he really did need to get his act together. Regardless of whether or not he wanted to be a father he at least needed to be on speaking terms with Nix, she didn't want his actions to tear their family apart. What they had had was what Grace had wanted her entire life, and she did not want to see it go away simply because one of them couldn't act like a grown-up and face the consequences that came from their decision. Though still, her anger was alarming her.

At least Tain did not try and stop her as she wrenched open the curtains. She gave forth a small smile out the window at the sunlight streaming in before turning around and going to open all the other curtains in the room. It certainly seemed a tad more cheerful than what it had been before. Grace faced her elder brother, now biting her lip, unsure of what she should even say.

[tain]

Tain simply stood there as his sister brushed around the room opening all the curtains and allowing light in to what had been a wonderful dark room, but the fact that Tain thought like that made him laugh darkly. It was the same as his brain, in the dark about so many things for so long and then flooded with new ideas. Atleast this time all could do were small things that wouldn't change his life for ever, "it was always coming" he said in a small and weak voice to himself.

And he knew he was right, ever since their first meeting he'd felt closer to nix. The abusive home and the fact the pair were both orphans only added to the chemistry between them and yet he had never known what it was until it hit him firmly in the face, add firewhiskey to that and all hell was just bound to break lose. "what am I even meant to do" he said to himself in a weak and defeated sounding voice

[grace]

Grace delicately lifted herself onto the window ledge, sitting sideways in a beam of sun like a cat might do. She found her Siamese cat, Bo, in postures like hers all over the school. Of course, he would often stand on his hind legs, with his front paws against the glass making chattering noises as birds flew by. Grace smiled lightly at the thought of him, really she could argue that the cat was her only friend. The expression faded as Tain spoke and she turned her attention onto him, maternal blue eyes soft, though inside she still felt something almost like anger toward him.

"You're meant to be the provider and protector like always," Grace said softly, bringing her knees up to her chest so she could lay her head atop them. She bit her lip lightly a moment, tossing her head so her pale blonde hair caught the light. "Including the baby," Grace said, slightly more firmly this time, "if you don't want to act like a father so be it, but you could at least talk to them. Keep our family together. None of the others are going to say anything but dammit I will, it hurts to not have our family the way it's been." Grace surprised herself with her moment of bravery, but it had needed to be said.

[tain]

Tain was caught off guard by his sisters words and he sighed and lowered his head in to his hands, she didn't know it but Kevin and Martin had said the same thing to him when they had caught him only a few months after nix found out. Maya hadn't spoken to him at all really aside a comment of how he was being just like her father had been before he left and that had firmly stung him, he had almost been about to talk to nix then but he'd seen her walking through the town with the other boy and had stopped himself.

"I won't let our family be lost, I just cant seem to....it makes...." he paused as he tried to find the right way of saying how it would work, "I know it won't all work until I have to see it, then at least I can get past this and talk to her again but I can't bring myself to go to the school" he said in a weak and wobbling voice as his hands clawed at his hair again

[grace]

Grace took in a deep, steadying breath, that deep anger within her finally residing. Perhaps she had just needed to get that off her chest- though at any rate she felt better now. But one thing was for sure, she would feel even better once Tain got over himself and started speaking to Nix again. Grace knew things would be a little awkward, especially since Nix and a boy called Sterling Tailor were now an item, though they would make it work like always. Though it seemed this time it was her elder brother that needed encouraging, rather than herself or one of the others.

"Then have her come here," said Grace, as if it were the most simple thing in the world. She knew the situation was a bit of a tangled mess, though really it was not as complex as Tain made it out to be. Really, all she wanted was for everyone to be on speaking terms again, to reestablish their normalcy, their family. Grace ran a hand through her hair, her sleeve coming up as she did so. She hurriedly pulled it back down again. Nix was the only one who saw her scars, and Grace would rather keep it that way for now.