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[the-vindictive-dark]

ooc: I'm loving the promos being done for this. Mmf, his hair~

[the-vindictive-dark]

[the-vindictive-dark]

[the-vindictive-dark]

The young man from Viridian Field waited quietly in the front hall, watching as servants passed, barely registering his presence. He preferred that - despite his gall of walking in the front door and demanding to see the count he wanted time to observe his new environment. It had been where Elizabeth had grown up - had spent countless hours (or countess if he was feeling humorous) under the thumb of her parents. They barely talked of the earl and his wife while they'd been together but from what Vindictus could gather their relationship was... tenuous. He felt that the word was rather mild but had no basis for a harsher one. Elizabeth's eyes would turn steely when she spoke of her mother and father, her voice chilled. She would change the subject at the earliest opportunity and it had always surprised him. Holding such great affection for his own mother, anything less was hard to comprehend. 

He tried to imagine her life in the castle as he stood there, arms crossed over his chest, as he waited for Elijah. Long moments stretched and he wondered if the servant had done as he'd asked. Thinking of the count, Vindictus was very sure of the reaction he would get and steeled himself for it. It would be bad he knew. Elizabeth would have filled her twin's ears with all sorts of ill will towards him - Vindictus expected she'd even told Elijah of the curse he'd placed upon her. That, he knew, would be a major sticking point with the other young man. Vindictus sighed.

The feelings were of his own making - after all he had practically forced Elizabeth to play by the rumor that he'd loved her, stole everything valuable and then left. Elijah, being as close to his sister as he was (or had been), would probably love nothing more than to throw Vindictus somewhere dark, damp and see if his blood truly ran red. The young wizard wasn't particularly sure he minded. The entire situation with the siblings had been a messy one and his one regret was that in trying to save Elizabeth's reputation he'd destroyed any possibility of cultivating a friendship with her brother. 

Then he appeared - Vindictus found himself pushing away from the wall with tense casualty, looking Elijah up and down. His clothing was dark but...not black. Never having mourned someone before (at least not "properly") he wondered if wearing mourning clothes was still a practice. "I got a letter from Elizabeth," he said simply, eyes catching the other young man's. "And if you were going to, you should have done it by now. Don't waste your time talking Elijah." Picking up his travel pack from where it rested against his feet, Vindictus shouldered it and stepped forward out of the shadows. "...I just wanted to pay my respects to your sister. Where is she buried? I'm assuming you have some family graveyard - most nobby people do." He tried to keep the expectancy out of his eyes. Despite everything, he'd been rather wounded to learn of Elizabeth's death. He'd even tried to mourn her as a lover. 

Visitation | Vindictus & Elijah | Week 25

The servant had not said who precisely was calling simply called said person a to be a gruff man at that the servant dismissed themselves as the castle was still tense. By the gift of God and Cliodna’s talents, Elizabeth was not dead but it was healing. From the impression that the healer had brought her back from the very brink of death and perhaps death himself felt cheated. The illness known nothing more then consumption was the sort of degenerative illnesses the healer had said, Elijah had listened very hard and did know this all very well. That did explain why she had lost her sight, was a rather foul thing to catch and though she was fortunate, wretchedly fortunate, to be alive Elizabeth needed to heal. To regain her sight. To regain her strength. 

 Elijah could only assume was that this one man that now called was one Vindictus, of which the Count had absolutely no  intentions of seeing. At all. Correction, Elijah had no intentions of ever seeing Vindictus ever again. The Count did not care that they shared common grounds at Hogwarts, or at classes. Dinners would be most awkward but those he was used to on account of his own childhood and dinners here at Knockturn’s castle now. Socially Vindictus was dead to Elijah and no amount of magic, or the grace of a healer could change that fact.

Yet as this concerned his sister, Elijah both literally and metaphorically dragged his down the stairway and into the receiving hall where he did find Vindictus. If he had thought the other man either an acquaintance or perhaps even a friend and as such was almost empathetic to Vindictus’ situation then all of those feelings were quite lost. Dead, forgotten and buried. Elizabeth’s words stung in his mind, Vindictus had used some curse upon her that was a perverse form of torture and that positively incensed her elder brother. 

“What is it? I have half the mind to hex you on the spot.”

Or blow him up. Elijah did remember Talitha’s spell which had been rather nasty at the castle….imagine what it would do when focused on a human subject?

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with anyone else…

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Vindictus listened quietly as she talked and he blinked as they two of them stepped onto the castle grounds. Maneuvering his arm about her waist the pulled her close in an affectionate gesture. "Well. How can I refuse to teach it to you now? You had to get curious about one of the really dangerous ones didn't you? Next time I'll only show the dark magic that makes someone's feet swell or have their hair grow out till they can't lift their head." 

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Taking Gertie's hands, he drew her from the chair and tucked her arm into his and started them out of the common room. "Mmm. So disgusting things need to die? Tell me...what counts as disgusting Gertie?"

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A slow smile spread across the young wizard's face and he let his forehead gently rest against Gertie's. "Are you hiding a dark mind underneath all that dimwittedness? I'm impressed." Leaning back, Vindictus gently chucked her under the chin with a crooked finger and slid from her lap. "Let's go get us a sheep then. Though, remember. You are the one that has to clean up."

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Lifting his head quickly Vindictus was rather surprised by his friend's reaction and regarded her again with shameless curiosity. She might shy away from the slimy animal but she watched its death with rapt attention...why was that? Walking to where she sat, Vindictus slipped onto her lap and draped his arm casually about her shoulders. 

"So curious Gertie! And no. Not yet. I suppose I could find a rabbit...maybe a nick a sheep from that squib in the village. Why? You want to see more?" He looked at her, staring down into her eyes with his eyebrows raised.

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As Vindictus stood by the table he watched his friend squirm with dislike of the animal and stared at her with a sort of perverse amusement. He had no concept of the fear and revulsion it instilled in her and was curious as to why the reaction was caused in the first place. Filing away her reaction for later perusal at his leisure, the wizard squared his shoulders and twisted his wand, the spell barely a whisper on his lips.

Almost immediately there was a sort of tearing action across the skin of the frog, bulging along the length of the wound before...! Vindictus watched in hopeful anticipation, wondering if now, now would be the time it actually worked. His hopes were dashed however when the frog's body flattened drastically, the innards squished and swelling against the cut along the head until it broke and spilled out. 

He sighed in annoyance and dropped his wand. "Damn." 

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Visitation | Vindictus & Elijah | Week 25

The day that Vindicitus had received Elizabeth's letter had been a calm one. The sky was overcast, the entire world seemed lethargic and there was a chill in the air. It was the kind of day that begged an Event to happen. One had. The letter came by owl, the animals screeching unhappy as it landed on his arm, talons scraping his skin, little red welts of injury appearing. Plucking the thick stationary from the bird's mouth, the first thing that he had noticed was the seal pressed into the wax. The initials of "E.B" were nearly lost in the elaborate, fanciful swirls that decorated the letters.  

Vindictus' first thought was to toss the missive directly into the fire - he didn't want to hear what Elizabeth had to say. So often she did something she later regretted and tried to smooth it over. But not this time...no. His heart had been so fragile upon his return but she hadn't treated it as such. No, he didn't want any more pain at her hands. Sending the owl with with a bit of biscuit he'd swiped at breakfast, Vindictus headed for his room with the intent to shove the piece of stationary into the coals and watch it burn. 

But by the time he had gotten there, the wizard found that he went to his bed instead of the fireplace. Flopping down onto the straw filled mattress, he stared at the letter in his hand for what seemed like an eternity. Then, with a casual flick of his finger underneath the hardened wax...he opened it. He'd seen her writing before and found it rather simple and plain compared to what he was used to. The words where short, the letters large...apparently it had been written with the intent for him to read it. Glowering slightly at the thought (he could read just fine) Vindictus set about taking in her words.

After ten minutes of struggling to understand the oddly spelled phrases, Vindictus felt his throat tighten and his stomach plummet. Consumption. She was ill...on the brink of death...sent home to to die. After another eternity, the young wizard managed to drag himself from his bed, the paper crunched up in his hand. Striding quickly towards the fireplace he held the paper over the flame, skin burning slightly at the heat. Pressing his mouth into a thin line, Vindictus willed himself to let go. To drop the paper, erase the painful thoughts of the woman he once loved in agony. His fingers tightened, the paper was squeezed and his entire arm shook with the effort. 

With a long gasp, Vindictus yanked his arm back. Growling in frustration he went searching for his travel bag, shoving the letter down into the bottom and covering it with the only other shirt he owned, a bag of money and something to sleep on. His lean legs carried him from the dungeon. 

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By the time that Vindictus reached London and found directions to Knockturn, his heart felt like it had turned to stone. His chest was unbearably heavy and his mind too numb from the many emotions the carbonized appendage demand he feel. It was entirely possible that they'd placed Elizabeth in the ground already, empty shell of a body food for the worms. The image of her beautiful self surrounded by suck muck made him laugh in pain and he let his hand fall heavily on the door to the castle. Thankfully the place was busy enough with visiting villagers he was not stopped. As the heavy door was pushed aside, Vindictus wormed his way in quickly, demanding of the servant in a cold, chilled voice that he needed to speak with Count Elijah Burke at once concerning his sister.

The servant shuffled away only after a handful of gold had been shoved his way and Vindictus waited quietly in the front hall, leaning against a wall and blending into the unseen corner of people's eyes. 

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Hogwarts is quiet.

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"Good. Are we quite finished?" 

Hogwarts is quiet.

“Why yes, I quite enjoyed that!” 

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In the midst of a particularly lavish move, Vindictus stops suddenly and just stands there, staring. "Entertaining enough?" 

Hogwarts is quiet.

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Hogwarts is quiet.

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He stands there glaring at Boris for a moment before finally just sighing and giving in. 

Hogwarts is quiet.

“Oh you dance?” Boris was being innocently sarcastic. “Please do!”