#(!!! gosh feld was SO ready to escape and then sam instantly trapped it again AGDGDGD)

[hearthtales]

Oh, Feld savored this game. Forcing someone to choose between the past and the present, between what (or who) they’d lost and what (or who) they still had. They clung to the past more often than not.

The silence stretched. Then Samhain’s grip loosened. Eagerness leapt in Feld at the chance to escape — it tried to wriggle free but quickly struck a curved barrier in midair. It shook its head, stunned for a moment before it realized what Samhain had done. A bubble-shaped prison. Feld’s hope fizzled out.

And Samhain chose the present over the past; he chose to answer Maude’s knocking rather than give in to his anger. Feld sighed in disappointment, even as the threat of harm eased. How boring.

“You’re no fun,” it grumbled.

—

Maude had stopped trying to shove the cabinet off the hatch with a broomstick she’d pulled from a closet. Not because she’d wanted to stop, but because she began feeling rather lightheaded.

Leaning against a wall for support, she stared up at the blocked hatch. What were they doing up there? Based on what she knew about Feld, she doubted any conversation would go smoothly. She couldn’t quite catch her breath — her lungs ached, and a feverish heat settled over her skin. When she pulled up her sleeves, faint bruises marked her arms.

Then, the heat faded. Breathing grew easier.

The cabinet floated off the hatch. Maude tugged her sleeves back down and inhaled deeply to steady herself before she climbed up into the attic.

Once inside, she brushed the dust from her dress and looked around the cluttered space, muttering, “Goodness, it’s a mess in here, isn’t it?”

“I like it,” Feld told her.

Maude glared at it. “You. Be quiet.”

The creature cackled, but otherwise kept its mouth shut (for now). It coiled its long body in the bubble so its head faced away from her, and fell silent.

It was a strange sight to take in all at once. Feld, trapped in a bubble that floated above Samhain’s hand. His skeletal hand. Maude’s eyes widened. Had his hands always looked like that? She’d never seen him without gloves before. Their skeletal appearance didn’t seem to distress him, though, so Maude exhaled and decided not to dwell on it for now.

He apologized. Guilt twisted heavily in Maude’s chest. She shook her head, clutching her hands into her skirt to keep them from trembling. “No need to apologize. You’ve done nothing wrong.” I ought to apologize; I’ve done many things wrong. The unspoken words weighed down her quiet voice, but the apology itself caught in her throat. An apology wouldn’t excuse her actions, anyway. Her worry-filled gaze swept over Samhain, searching for injuries. “Are you alright? Did it hurt you?”

“Hesitating?” It taunted him. “I thought you loved her.”

"Tch—" He gripped the creature tighter - as tight as you could grip something made of smoke and ash - and almost snarled the words 'don't you dare', but they died in his throat the moment he heard the

THUMP

Thump Thump

Samhain snapped his head towards the sound, as if he'd been yanked out of a daze. It was then that he noticed the hearth witch's spirit energy just beyond the hatch, beneath the cabinet. It was then that a recognizable, struggling voice called out his name and he sobered up completely, brought back from the brink.

“Will you answer?” And yet again the creature taunted him.

Ivory claws trembled with indecision for a while before Samhain took another deep breath and exhaled, this time some of his overflowing anger along with it. He loosened his grip on the creature only to contain it again within seconds. "Aye. An' you'll stay put when ah do," said Samhain with a pointed glare.

Turning towards the hatch and with a wave of his hand, the heavy cabinet lifted itself up with ease. Samhain moved the cabinet and other pieces of clutter out of the way to make space for Maude, who finally made it through the hatch. "Hullo Ms. Haven," the ghoul bid her, his expression now softer though he was no longer smiling. The creature called Feldmire was trapped in a bubble spell and floating just above Samhain's skeletal hand. "..Apologies you 'ad to see me like this."