antigoneawake

[antigoneawake]

the triplets always felt a certain affinity for one another in the sense that if archie broke his leg, tig felt it. when tig's thoughts wandered too sad, ajax knew to bring her happier ponderings. if ajax was silently spiraling, archie snapped him back to reality. none of them needed language to communicate fully, not really. so with locked hands, tig walked with what some might consider errant confidence through the dancing throngs, timing her steps just right between the dancers. she ignored her brother's fear bubbling in her stomach. antigone was not afraid. in fact, as ajax would likely very soon realize, she was angry, livid, and had been for quite some time. she did not stop until the charming couple could look back at them as well. there was a mixture of both excitement and trepidation in their eyes. "don't." she did not want to sit through greeting or platitudes of welcome. this was not a sweet reunion. "they need to explain first."

“Both red.” Ajax confirmed around the lump in his throat. He gave his sister’s hand a squeeze and wished desperately that they had Archie here to level them all. “Then we will go talk to them.” It didn’t matter if he felt scared. Right now he was Tig’s eyes, and she wanted to see their parents. So he would go. “Careful steps, this place is crowded.”

It felt like forever and no time at all before they were standing in front of them again. Face to eerie face with their parents again. Ajax could feel his chin trembling. “Hi, Mom. Dad.”

[antigoneawake]

"both red." tig remembered. she was grateful for what little glimpses she could make out thanks to her brother's eyes. their mother had always dressed to the nines. elaine was more understated, like ajax, and preferred to express herself through a means that did not require words. their father simply wore whatever his wife suggested. it didn't really matter since people paid more attention to john's smile anyway. he was quite like archie in that way. "I want to talk to them."

Ajax reached out and held his sister's hand tightly. "They look the same. They're dressed up for a party. Like New Years, or Christmas. Mom's wearing her hair all nice. Dad's got that tie Archie always liked." He hadn't stopped looking at them. He longed to go over there just as badly as he couldn't move.

[antigoneawake]

where; ballroom with; open

antigone could hear it all. the swells of the music, the hushed whispers of the living, and the lively chatter of the ghosts. there were so many voices she recognized that were out of place and time. her mother's faint drawl caused tig to lift her fingers to again trail over the mask that completely covered both eyes. "I-" her voice broke. "I can't see them."

[antigoneawake]

"I am most comfortable standing in the rain." tig said with genuine sincerity. raindrops made things more clear to her. it drowned out the extraneous and helped her to see. "I do not mind a storm, but I thought it had been going for some time now. are we still before it?"

"Calm before the storm, of course. Don't you sense it?" Storm. War. Sybill shook her head, "don't be meek, Antigone. Just be quiet- careful. Look after yourself, is all."

[antigoneawake]

"time magic is complicated, but inherently occurring despite our misunderstanding of it. it is not necessarily serious." tig mused. her grandmother had worked tirelessly hard to impart a certain philosophy and ethics in regard to time magic. "not if they see like we do." it felt ironic to talk about sight given her current state. "I think it would be nice to see them. I would like to tell them things. do you not feel that way?"

"That's some serious magic, if that's what it is." Ajax said, trying to think back to work the other day, and if anything had gone missing in the Department. "Though it feels a little bit like walking through someone's memories. Everything has more tone than a place's memory, or an object."

He stilled a little at the mention of their parents. "I dunno, haven't found them yet if they are. Do you want them to be?"

[antigoneawake]

"maybe they aren't ghosts then. I mean, we know what ghosts are. they are the incorporeal spirits of the deceased, and they can be affected by magic which means there is a definite nature and rule set to them. what you are seeing may just be... a pocket in time of some sort." it was very curious. as ajax took her hand, the area near them came into better focus. tig still could not see, but feel through her brother the auras of shapes and patterns in the room. it was one of those triplet things, probably. "do you think mom and dad are here?"

"I would've missed you all terribly by day two, anyways." Ajax admitted. Even if he and Izzy ended up moving out of the flat once they got married it wasn't as if he'd never see them again. They were three parts of one soul. "Some of them aren't even dead, a very nice girl upstairs says her mom is here, but she's alive. Isn't that fascinating?" He took her hand and squeezed it. "I'll always hold your hand when you want, Tiggy."

[antigoneawake]

"that would be nice. I would hate to be separated for very long. it is bad for us." although tig didn't need to say that for ajax to know precisely what she meant, it was good for them. they needed to say out loud how they cared every now and then. usually, that was archie's job too. besides, he was the only one who hadn't experienced the disconnect of his disappearance. archie couldn't remember it so he never felt the missing parts. "how recent are the ghosts?" there was a tremor of hope in the edge of her voice. "could you just hold my hand?"

--

"If you leave I'll go with you." He didn't like the idea of them separated. The triplets always did best together, even if Ajax loved this place. "It's a big castle, just like Hogwarts, but it's gloomier. The walls are cold, and there aren't many portraits around. There are ghosts, too. Recent ghosts. I've not seen as many people but everyone has masks on. That's how I can tell who's a ghost and who's alive. Do you want Koda? I could guide you, too. Or we could find Mason or Issy."

--

[antigoneawake]

antigone's mask completely covered her eyes. it was as if she was blind in this place. she could not see a thing. "I think I would like to leave." she said, pursing her lips together a little impatiently. eventually she started to walk forward in small questioning steps. "what does it look like? are there many people? what do you see?"

where; masquerade

God he felt more alive than he ever had. His skin hummed with it, all the Past in this place. It tugged at the corner of his eyes and the tips of his fingers. “Do you think they’re going to make us leave here eventually? I like it here.”

--

[antigoneawake]

atlantean.

[antigoneawake]

"the first one..." tig repeated. that seemed so long ago. she almost couldn't remember it at all, although that may be the fault of the concussion she'd received at the time. "do you hear less? is it muted or dampened or do you hear buzzing? what does it sound like to you?" she asked. "the now is not as loud as the future because there is only one present. there are infinite potentialities." the explanation did not really explain anything, especially if you did not know the graves. "but everything, everywhen, is so quiet."

"The explosion, the first one back at Diagon. My apartment was right next to it, and I was there when it went off. My ears have never been the same." Saying it out loud hurt but it hurt a little less every time. Just a little less. "What about you?"

[antigoneawake]

tig looked down at her hand for a moment when her cousin took it and slowly blinked. she nodded. "I am fine." she said hesitantly. the truth of that statement perhaps depended on perspective, and tig's was often unreliable. "I feel a little out of place, I think. where else would we go?"

♡

amabella reached her hand across the table, grabbing hold of tig's own. "are you alright?" the concern on her face was showing as they were in the tavern and it was actually particularly loud. "do you want to get out of here?"

[antigoneawake]

"why is it quiet to you?" the inquiry was soft and distant as focus fell away from tig.

"Is it?" Anna said, smile bitter. "Everything's quieter for me these days. I suppose this probably somewhere meant to be loud, though."

[antigoneawake]

"listen." tig suggested, although vaguely remembering that not everyone heard the same things she did all the time. "why do you think that is?"

"Is it? I haven't really been paying attention" Lexi admitted, looking around as if she would somehow spot whatever was amiss. "You know, now that you mention it, it is weirdly quiet."

[antigoneawake]

"what times are these? why do they require meekness?"

"People tend to move quiet in times like these."

[antigoneawake]

where; somewhere either loud or quiet with; open

"something feels... off. strange. why is it so quiet?"

[antigoneawake]

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005)  dir. Joe Wright  

[antigoneawake]

xkilljxy​

“For you? Office hours are now, darling.” Peter righted the chair he had knocked over in his haste before sinking into it, quickly scribbling a note and folding it to send off to his assistant anyway, requesting water and tea. “What did you want to talk to me about? Hopefully, I’m not in trouble.” His grin was wry and sardonic, a little too forced, as he leaned back in his seat with his fingers curling under his chin.

-

“why would you be in trouble?” tig asked, but there was a note of sincerity in the question. it was almost like a mother who already knew what had been done. as if she was privy to information he did not have. why was he in trouble? “are you in trouble mr. pettigrew? I had a very strange dream about you.”