#p:solomon

[seo-chwa]

@solomonreznik

The first thing in her path was a cabin. And she didn't think much when bursting into it as the sunrise was maybe 5 minutes away and she couldn't possibly make it to the other side of the city and to the motel. She touched her head where the wound had mostly healed, red rivers going down her face. She had woken up from the shot maybe thirty minutes ago, her body healed and well, the man who'd done it lying a few meters away with his friend who she had found in the middle of nowhere, most probably hunting.

She hit the bell a few times, hoping that whoever was looking after the place wasn't deep asleep because she would need to close her eyes and rest to fully heal in the next hours. If she stowed herself away in a closet it was likely they would wake her and she didn't want to explain a body to local authorities. The sound vibrated around the place and to her own ears it sounded like a bell. In the back of her mind, a memory of Suzu bells ringing made her shiver while the image of dancing women's bodies flashed in front of her eyes.

[the--helen]

@solomonreznik

Spending the New Year's evening outside of the apartment hadn't been something that Helen had thought might be happening. The most she had expected was to be taken out to the vampire bar in the city. But then on Christmas evening when they had opened the gifts she'd put on the dining table due to the lack of a tree or a plant that might pass as one, he had been angry. And once the neighbors had called for someone to check up on their apartment he had packed her things quickly and taken her out to the car and to the outskirts of the city where there were cabins that seemed mostly empty with the ongoing holidays. Or at least that's what she thought as she couldn't hear much from sitting in their own cabin, having arrived in the middle of the night. The floods had made them run away to the university, but once the rain had settled, they had gone back. He had seemed annoyed that she had had company in the music room, but she was thankful that Ilay had also been there and not just Theodore.

It was quite chilly in the morning, New Year in less than two days away. Helen hadn't eaten since before their first night here, that bottle of water in the university the only thing she'd taken there, so she did feel like she needed to venture to the reception and see if there was at least a vending machine, considering that the sun was out and Alexander couldn't drive back to the city to get her anything. She wouldn't have dared ask him anyway, she was sure. Having put concealer on the bruises over her face, by now mostly yellowing, and covering it with her hair, Helen was wrapped up in a scarf that might help any of the other bruising. "Good morning," she attempted a smile at the person who was sitting in the area of the reception. "I was wondering if there's... uhm, a vending machine or a breakfast option here?"

[lennoxfraser-blog]

to be alone | lennox & solo

@am-flying-solo

Afternoon sun pushed through the corridors, and Lennox hitched his backpack up higher on his shoulder, dragging himself from the library. The books he’d poured over made his brain throb - he’d been trying harder since his talk with the Minister, not wanting to let him down before he’d even started his work there. But the information wasn’t sticking, and no matter how much Lennox read, it didn’t help the practical side of magic: he still couldn’t do half the things that his classmates could. Barely scraping through his OWLs had been par for the course, but now that his NEWTs were looming, Lennox knew that he had to do something. Defensive magic was a priority, given the state of the world, but he wanted offensive things, too - he wanted to equip himself to be the best non-auror for the Minister that he could be. It wasn’t easy, and after slamming the books shut on another wasted free period, Lennox was coming to the conclusion that he was going to need help. A study partner, maybe; possibly a tutor.

The hallways were full of students coming from classes, going to clubs, or retiring to the dorms to finish off assignments. Lennox carefully weaved through them, a frown on his face, but he was perpetually pleased to find that most people scooted out of his path, some of the smaller ones practically diving to the safety of their friend group. Paying them no mind, Lennox diverged from the main hallway, and that’s when he saw Solo - his hair wet, meaning he’d just come from a shower. The sight of him stirred up something that Lennox had been squashing since before the break - the moment in the library, the words that Solo had bequeathed Lennox. He felt a shiver run down his back remembering them, how unexpected, but also the disbelief that had coursed through him - and the horror. Not at Solo’s feelings, but at the fact that something like love could endure what they’d done to one another. Lennox almost didn’t want to believe it - didn’t want to believe that Solo had felt what he did when Lennox had hurt him so many times; didn’t want to remember the way Solo had looked at him when Lennox had broke his arm. There was too much between them for love to the finish line - either Solo didn’t understand what he was feeling, or he was genuinely insane.

Lennox was taking bets on the latter. “Hey,” Lennox said, making a split second decision: he wouldn’t carry around the burden of Solo’s ‘love’ for longer than necessary. “Got a minute?” But he wasn’t asking - he knew that if he gave Solo a chance, he’d be out of there. “Awesome,” Lennox continued, and with one well-timed push, cornered Solo into a broom closet that had its door propped open. They couldn’t talk in the dorm - not when Smith or Noah were right there, bound to hear, so the closet as big as a shoe box would have to do. Lennox kicked the door closed. The silence was absolute. “You’ve been avoiding me,” Lennox stated, folding his arms and positioning himself in front of the door so that Solo couldn’t just leave - he wanted this over with. “You can’t just-- you know, say what you did before break and then not follow up. I thought you’d want to know how I felt, or even just-- I don’t know, be around me if you feel the way you supposedly do.” Lennox watched Solo carefully. “For someone in love, you don’t exactly try to be around me very much.”

[thexanderlee-blog]

it’ll never be enough | xander & solomon

@am-flying-solo

The minute that Xander stepped out of the Gryffindor tower, his coat wrapped tight around his body and scarf hanging loosely around his neck, the chill crept into his bones. He’d missed the extreme weather of Durmstrang - of ice and wind and sleet hitting the window every morning when he woke up. Scotland was a poor imitation, but at least the winter here was cold enough to make Xander smile. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat and finding his wand, the vial of blood, and his notebook, Xander set off. It wasn’t yet curfew, but he was planning to stay out after the rules allowed him to, so he made sure to keep his head down so that no one could positively identify him as the missing party. Xander had learned that, compared to his old school, the rules were relatively lax - the right lie to the right professor and you got off from detention with a mere scowl. If he had’ve tried this at Durmstrang, he would’ve been standing out on the ice in his briefs for an hour, until he couldn’t feel his feet. 

The torches had been dimmed as Xander skipped down the stairs, looking both ways in front of the Great Hall before slipping out the front door. It was as easy as that at Hogwarts - there was no one to stop him, no one to warn him that curfew was almost up, no one to give him a useless warning for safety. Out in the darkness of the grounds, Xander curled his scarf around the lower half of his face and started walking. He was supposed to meet Solomon by the treeline of the forest - it was less conspicuous to arrive separately than together. The wind whipping across the ground stung his eyes and Xander had tears at the corners as he finally arrived at the treeline. He was the first to arrive, it seemed. The glow of Hagrid’s hut was the only source of light, and Xander stood just beyond its reach, standing in the shadows and bouncing slightly to fight off the cold. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a figure moving toward him - a dark silhouette, but the only other person it would be was Solomon. Anticipation wrapped its arms around Xander as Solo came into view - murky light illuminating his face and causing Xander to smile. “Thought you might not show,” Xander said, grinning at the other boy. “Thought maybe you’d gotten a better offer and you were going to make me go in there alone.”

[lennoxfraser-blog]

gives you hell ≁ lennox & solo

@am-flying-solo

Manual labour was fine by Lennox - encouraged, even. Doing things by hand, the muggle way, was something the Frasers had always practiced; this mother had never wanted to make his father feel left out, so most of the chores and cooking and repair work had been done by hand. Lennox had split his life between being a muggle at home and a pureblood with his grandparents, but the latter had never affected him too deeply, he thought. And yet, on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor of the boy’s bathroom, Lennox was cursing the muggle way of things. He wished he could whip out his wand and get the grime from between the tiles out with a simple spell, but he knew that if he dared, Elloway would give them detention for another month.

They’d deserved this, Lennox knew that. Humiliating the school in front of the Minister of Magic surely came with a price, and they were lucky they hadn’t been expelled. Lennox didn’t know if a letter had been sent home to his parents, but their silence at Christmas didn’t mean much - most letters went unopened unless Lennox was there to do it. The chemicals itched Lennox’s nose as he dunked his scrubbing brush into the pail of water and drew it out again, splashing the soapy water over the tiles. He scrubbed, fingers already raw from being at it for half an hour - and a word had yet to be spoken between himself and Solomon. Not unusual, not lately, but still - it irked him that there were things left unsaid between them after New Year’s Eve. “If you miss a patch, I will kill you with my bare hands,” Lennox said, staring at Solomon across the floor. “Elloway will make us do this whole floor all over again, so just. Not fuck up for once, alright?” Lennox scrubbed harder, rolling his eyes. “Which is probably, like, physiologically impossible for you, but try your best.” It was easier to snap at Solomon than to talk to him; if Lennox was mad, he didn’t have time to be curious - to let his brain wander, and that’s all it seemed to want to do these days. 

[lennoxfraser-blog]

hills have eyes ≁ lennox & solo

There were few vices that Lennox indulged in. He didn’t drink, he didn’t do drugs - he stayed as far away as possible from anything that could strip his mind of its own control, lest it become permanent. But cigarettes... well, Lennox knew they weren’t good for him, but sometimes the itch for one became almost overwhelming, like a kind of twitch beneath his skin - just something to take the edge off. Standing outside and looking at the others who were milling around - a sixth year Hufflepuff who looked too squeaky clean to even know what cigarettes were and an auror who looked like he’d snap his own fingers before he broke a law - Lennox knew he was going to be out of luck. Frustration had become like a second skin that Lennox couldn’t shake off. Whatever he’d imagined for the night had been shattered the moment he’d seen Solomon there, dressed in his best. Why had Smith brought him? Was the idea of being alone with Lennox in such a way... awkward? Embarrassing? Or had Lennox not asked properly - had Lennox fucked up things with Smith before they’d ever really gotten off the ground? It hadn’t helped that Solomon had been hovering around all night, there at their elbow every time Lennox thought to say something to Smith or have a second alone with him. Compound Solo and the bullshit with the Minister, Lennox was done with the mess that was the Slug Club event.

As he turned back to the pavilion, thinking that he at least owed it to Smith to say goodbye, the flap was parted and an auror marched out, pushing ahead of him a familiar figure. Watching from the side, Lennox saw the auror roughly shove Solomon in the direction of the castle and turn back to the tent, saying something to the wizard who guarded the door. Here, Solomon revealed his true self: an outcast, once more thrown from society probably because of who he was at heart. Lennox knew that Solomon - the dirty parts of him that were as twisted as Lennox’s own - but it was rare to see it manifest like this. “I can’t really say I’m surprised,” Lennox said as he approached, shoving his fidgeting hands in his pockets so that Solo couldn’t see them twitch. “Glad would be a better word. What’d you do this time? Grope a professor? Maybe you went for a big score and tried to land the Minister himself,” said Lennox, not quite smiling but feeling a little vindictive part of him come alive with happiness. “I'm surprised it took you being publicly shamed to get the message, though.” Up close, through the odd shadows and shapes of the fire lanterns, Lennox could feel his control fraying. All night he’d suffered Solomon - a burden that he’d thought himself rid of. Solomon had known what his presence there would mean; he’d probably done it on purpose just to piss Lennox off. Unable to help himself, Lennox pushed at Solomon’s shoulder, hard. “Didn;t you get the memo the first time I told you?” Lennox said, voice low, staring at Solo with his heart beating in his chest. “Nobody wants you here. You’ve ruined a perfectly good night for everyone, now. Congratulations.”