shivers and terrors (pm to join)

[Xaver]

Xences closed his fingers over the chain with a sigh of approval. He ran his tongue over his lips and simply stared at it for a moment, ignoring her jibs with a personal best at patience.
He tightened his hand over it and moved out of his own seat, towering over the slender redhead in a manner that was far more imposing, and threatening, than the means in which Xaver held his equal height.

"Pathetic..."

His grin was slow.
Dark.

"Perhaps. But I still get what I want."


Xences leaned foreword suddenly, without any forewarning, entangling his free hand in the silken locks of her red hair, and pressing the fingers entangled with the necklace over the gentle swell of her belly, too close and too rough, as was his natural mannerisms.
"Apparently somebody did want your soul, Human. Too bad for you it was my brother. Too bad for my brother you're Human."
He gripped her hair harder.
"And you're both in such odd conditions.."
Xences drummed his fingers over her belly, pointedly.

"Better watch out, 3itch. The storm is coming. Can you fare the weather?"


With a cackle, he was gone.

[Ginny Weasly]

He was gone, and Ginny was left to shudder. He had been too fast for her to stop him from touching her. She couldn't blame it on being pregnant, for he was naturally faster than her. She felt lightheaded, dizzy.
Sick.

She had been planning on leaving, but now all she could do was sit back down, cradling her head.
His pulling on her hair hadn't hurt.
His touching her belly hadn't either.

But a wave of nausea hit her, a feeing associated with Xences's touch. She made a small sound, half between a self pitying sob and a growl of frustration. What was all this?

"Damit." She muttered, squeezing her eyes tight against the threat of tears, "Why do I always screw things up?"

It took her a few minutes, but she managed to calm herself down. She still felt sick, but at least now she wasn't crying. Ginny wiped at her eyes, standing and leaving the money for her tea on the table. Tired and sick, she made her way home.

It was quiet there, and she wondered where Xaver and Cody were. She hadn't asked of their plans for the day, preferring to let their 'secret' bond them a bit. In a way, she was thankful for the silence. She kicked off her shoes, shed her coat and made her way to the couch. She lay down, pulling the cover off the back of it and wrapping it around her body.
Ginny shivered, closing her eyes. She felt so sick.

She began to drift off.

[Xaver]

"WOAH!"

The front door swung open with a brilliant enthusiasm as Xaver and Cody nearly tripped over each other, scrambling through the doorway. Both giggling, Cody's voice almost breathless and hearty, and Xaver's low octaves in an endless chuckle, they made their way into the house. Xaver closed the door quickly, and shook his head, glancing down at his son who quickly dropped his bottom to the floor, and began tugging off his bright green golashes.

"It's really snowing hard!"

Cody broke into another fit of giggles, and Xaver beamed down at him, the dark oceans of his eyes glinting with unhindered amusement. He shook his head, rolling his shoulders and sliding out of his unbuttoned jacket. Hanging it on the coat-rack just inside the door, he turned, and extended his hand for Cody's shoes. Cody handed them over within a beat, then began rubbing at his mismatched socks.
Blue stripes and plain white, today.

"That it is.. Even snowball fights can't survive in that.."
Xaver winked down at him as he kicked out of his own boots, lining the pairs up evenly against the wall.
"Why don't you go get changed into some drier clothes?"

His glance had already flickered over the back of the couch. Xaver knew, instinctually, Ginny was there. He didn't need her subtly feminine, honey scent, or the gentle touch of her emotions, to know when she was near.
Cody nodded and went without protest.

Xaver padded to the couch, pausing twice to bend each leg, and tug off his socks. He rounded it, then knelt by her head, his head tipping to the side in curiosity.
"Ginny..?"
He set the socks down, and they disappeared. Reaching out, he ran a hand through her hair, brushing his thumb across her cheek.

[Ginny Weasly]

When he said her name, she nearly jumped off the couch in fear.

She had been reflecting on her conversation with Xences in her near sleep state, and having Xaver suddenly speak to her had scared her. Her eyes snapped open, her mouth tightened, and without meaning to, she drew as far away from him as the couch would allow. She blinked a few times, taking a moment to recognize her handsome husband.
Her eyes were level with his, and she simply stared into them, thinking how vastly different Xaver and Xences were. Like night and day. Up and down.
Good and evil.

"Oh..." Ginny muttered, her cheeks flushing slightly.
She felt guilty for having met with Xences, and was trying to hide it.

"Where's Cody at?" Her voice was raspy, and she cleared her throat, propping herself up on one arm.

[Xaver]

Ginny jumped, and instinctually, Xaver jumped.
She pulled away from him, and his hand paused in midair where she'd just been, then slowly dropped, settling on the edge of the couch as the amusement in his solemn gaze retracted. His mouth snapped shut and he blinked at her, his brow furrowing in almost a wince, as if she'd just slapped him across the face.

Why was she reacting to him that way?..
His chest ached slightly, in a startled confusion.

"He's gone off to his room, to change.. He's all wet.."

Xaver's frown deepened slightly, as the lines in his face softened, the surprise ebbing and his concern taking hold.

"Have I frightened you?"

[Ginny Weasly]

Wet? She blinked at him, unable to comprehend why Cody would be wet.
She gave up, simply her head down on her arm and nodding at him.

"You...surprised me."

She could see the hurt on his face, and in turn it hurt her.. She was lying to him. To Xaver, the one being she trusted above everyone else. To Xaver, the one she had forced into giving up some of his immortality for her own selfish needs.

Ginny felt sicker, and tried not to show it.

"I was almost asleep."
A lame excuse. She gave him a weak, false smile.

"You just startled me, love."

[Xaver]

Xaver frowned at her, but didn't push.
He knew she wasn't telling him the whole truth - but hey, it wasn't like she'd gone and met with his brother or anything. Things couldn't be that bad.
He figured he'd know, soon enough, anyway.

"Alright.."
He shrugged it off, but saw right through the falseness of her smile. Which only intensified his confusion.
She'd been fine last night...
What had happened?

Xaver shook his head and leaned over her, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth before withdrawing, and rising. Cody rounded the corner of the hall as he did so, clad in a fresh pair of mismatched socks, red flannel pants and a green t-shirt. He grinned at Xaver, then ran into the kitchen.
At the sound of the refrigerator door opening, Xaver gave one last sidelong glance over Ginny, then moved away, around the couch again, and made his way back into the kitchen.

"You hungry, feather-butt?"

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny closed her eyes again, feeling relieved that he hadn't questioned her further. She knew she couldn't keep lying so directly. Sighing, she listened to the sounds of her son and husband in the kitchen, her own stomach rolling unpleasantly. A fresh wave of nausea hit her and she let out a soft groan.

Why was she suddenly sick?
It was possible the guilt she felt was the cause. Okay, maybe not the cause.
But mix a bad batch of tea with intense guilt and you get sick.

She pulled her legs up, curling herself around her swollen belly and burrowing deeper into the covers. She shivered, her eyes still closed tightly. She sighed, supposing it would be better if she made herself some toast of something. She swung her legs off the couch, standing up and keeping to cover wrapped around her shoulders.

Ginny shuffled into the kitchen, towards the voices of her husband and son.

[Xaver]

Xaver couldn't help a chuckle at his son's expression, the sheer horror at the name too funny for him to contain.

"Daaaaddd...."
Cody whined, and shook his head in disgust.
"Feather butt? Come on.."

Xaver winked at him, and reached over his head, snagging out the gallon of milk and the smaller jug of chocolate syrup. The boy closed the door and followed at his father's heels as Xaver padded lightly to the counter and took down a glass from the cupboard, and a spoon from a drawer.
"What? Don't you kids like nicknames anymore?"
His grin was playful.
"My little sister used to laugh..."
More solemnly, then, he shook his head, pouring the milk then a squirt or so of the chocolate. Stirring them.

"Kylie?"
"Yes." Xaver's low tones were light. Thoughtful.
Cody was quiet for a moment, before he snickered.
"She was silly, then, Dad. I mean... Feather-butt?"

Xaver passed Cody a wink, clinking the spoon on the rim of the glass then setting it in the sink. He handed the glass to the boy, then snatched up the chocolate and milk again, and went to putting them away. He glanced at Ginny as she rose from the couch and made toward them, before turning and facing the refrigerator.
"She was very silly.."
After a sip of chocolate milk, Cody leaned into Xaver's leg, looking up at him.
"What was she like?"
"She was little," Xaver murmured, not looking down at him, mouth pursed as he tried to figure a meal plan.
"Dadddddd...." Cody groaned. "Come on.."
"Little and feathered?"
Cody huffed a breath, and Xaver sighed, closing the fridge and shaking his head.
"Why all these questions?"
"Why won't you tell meeeee?"

Not knowing an easy answer to that, Xaver bent, and scooped the small boy into his arms, careful of the glass in his hands. He planted him on the counter next to him as he opened one of the cupboards and rifled through it.

"She was very small. Had black hair, like you. But wavy, like your grandmother's.."
Xaver remembered Kylie's face well.
Too well.
"And that's enough questions for now. What do you want to eat?"
All amusement was gone, replaced by a firm stone that Cody retracted from, bringing his cup to his lips and sipping into the silence.

[Ginny Weasly]

"When all else fails, macaroni and cheese is the hero."

Ginny nodded at Xaver as she made her way to the breadbox. Feeding a family took more consideration than most thought. Sometimes, you ran out of meals to make, and Ginny's number one fall back plan was mac n' cheese. Cody loved it, and it was good for him.

She planted a kiss on Cody's cheek as she walked past him to the far side of the counter, where the toaster was located. She popped two slices of bread in and turned, leaning against the wall while she waited.
She felt so tired...

"What did you and Dad do today?"

She felt another flash of guilt go over her face, and she tried hard to pretend it hadn't happened. Xaver and Cody had done something fun, probably. But she had betrayed them by going to see Xences. Who knew what meeting him had triggered?

[Xaver]

Xaver nodded to Ginny, and reached up to the highest shelf, snagging a box, then set to work.
Finding a pot, filling it with water, and meddling with the stove.

"Wellllll, Dad slept in. But, when I got him up, we went outside and had a snowball fight all day in the backyard."
Cody grinned at her over his chocolate milk, legs swinging idly.
"Those are the best when you can fly, too!"
He took a sip of his drink, and nodded vigorously.
"So we played all day.. Then we came in. 'Cause the snow's falling fast. Or 'really singing', like Dad says."

Cody grinned at his father's turned back, though the expression faltered when the older male didn't turn around, or react.
Xaver remained fixed over the stove, staring unblinkingly into the water as he adjusted the heat setting. It wasn't until he was content with it, that he moved away, and went to the fridge again for butter and more milk.

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny nodded, it was refreshing to see Cody act his age. Usually, he acted much older and that upset her. She hadn't meant to make her son age beyond his times. She'd done everything she had in order to keep him safe.
Cody's face fell, and Ginny frowned. But now wasn't the time to nudge Xaver to be a good parent. e was, and sometimes he missed a step. Besides, at least e hadn't done what she had today.

"I hope we don't get boxed in by the snow." Ginny murmured, turning as her toast popped up. She threw the slices onto a plate and carried them to where Xaver now stood, with the butter and milk beside him, reaching into a drawer for a butter knife.

She reflected on how much Cody was like herself and Xaver. This scared her a bit, neither was very good with people. She had an idea...

"Cody? How would you like to go to school?"

[Xaver]

Just boil the water, then add the noodles, then drain...
"Cody? How would you like to go to school?"

Xaver blinked.

School?
That was a big step from home-schooling until Hogwarts. Or however it usually worked. Xaver knew he wasn't an expert on children, but...

"So when was this decision made?"
He gave Ginny a sidelong glance, his features pulled into a frown as he dumped the macaroni in the now boiling pot.
It wasn't that he cared if Cody went to school - but that he hadn't had any invoice at all in the matter.

[Ginny Weasly]

"It hasn't been yet."

Ginny shrugged, sitting down at the table and pulling the cover closer before she took a hesitant bite of her toast. She turned, looking at both Xaver and Cody in turn.

"I mean like...the closest town school...muggle school." She shifted in her seat, "Until he's old enough for Hogwarts...or whatever."

She raised her eyebrows, "He spends too much time around adults..."

Ginny wanted to normalize Cody a bit more. Wanted him to associate with people better. Because if he took after Xaver, there was a slim possibility of taking after Xences. Just a little bit. She wanted him to rrecognize people as important.

[Xaver]

Xaver's reply was lost in his chest a Cody started swinging his legs again, a wide grin behind his glass of chocolate milk.

"With other kids?"
The curiosity in his youthful tones rang impossibly true, and Xaver felt guilt stir in the depths of his belly. He wanted his son to be around other kids. Normal kids. ..But, Cody was not normal. No matter how much he and Ginny tried to fight the Ministry that he was.
He was, after all, as much of Xaver, himself, as he was of Ginny.

Xaver was not human. That was the base fact. He didn't behave human. He didn't think like a human.
He didn't feel like he ever belonged. ..Unless he was with his family. They were always his exception.
Just as well - Cody was only half like him... ...Maybe?...

"There would... Have to be rules.."

Xaver's gaze shadowed in thought, the lines of concern deepening further, as he looked away from the both of them and fixed to stirring the noodles.