Burn It To The Ground [Claire]

[hanson bryce reid]

“

The stark white sheet that had been draped across the body, laying in the greenhouse that had so recently been a place of calm and quiet, did a good job of obscuring the fallen werewolf, but the heavy, metallic scent of blood still assaulted Hanson's senses as he stood there. 

He wasn't sure, exactly, how long had passed since he had arrived at the Khoury-Fernsby residence. Time didn't mean much now. It could have been hours ago that he had been called to the cottage, for all he knew. The burning of his Protean-charmed watch had alerted Hanson to something happening, and he had been among the first Order members to arrive, wand drawn. 

But, for all of their haste, they had been too late.

Sareena was dead, and Emma was missing. 

Hanson should probably have joined in on the investigation and search for the latter, but he was rooted in place. Sareena's body was covered now, but the image of her, covered in blood and deathly still on the floor of the greenhouse, was burned in Hanson's mind. Her scent still hung in the air, intermingled with the acrid scent of blood and death. Hanson couldn't tear his eyes away from the still form, from the image of one of his closest friends, practically his sister, and his beta, dead. 

It wasn't fair. 

How much more was Hanson going to have to lose, before he had no one left?  Every time things seemed to be calming down, like his life might be turning a corner, he found loss invading every aspect of him all over again.

At long last, throughout all the chaos going on around him—Order members searching the greenhouse for any evidence they could find, tracking the footprints as far as they went, and plenty of people talking—the shock began to wear off. And it was replaced with anger. 

Hanson's fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. His mind couldn't form anything more than splintered, unfinished thoughts as anger set in, settling into his bones like a familiar friend. 

Someone was going to pay for Sareena's life with their own.

Hanson sank to the ground beside Sareena, moving the sheet just enough that he could see his friend's face. Like that, with the sheet obscuring the deep gash in her throat, and only the red of blood staining her mouth and chin, Hanson could almost fool himself into thinking she was okay. Or he would have been able to, if her eyes hadn't stared upwards into nothingness, glassy and dull. She was gone, and it felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest, too.

"I'm so sorry, Sareena," He whispered, screwing his eyes shut as they began to burn with unbidden, unwelcome tears. He wouldn't let them fall, though. He would save his tears for after he had avenged his friend's death. He opened his eyes again, looking down at her. "You didn't deserve this. Any of it."

With a shaking hand, Hanson closed Sareena's eyes, gently smoothing her hair from her face before he replaced the sheet over her. At least she looked even a little more peaceful, with her eyes shut and her hair tucked away from her face. Sareena deserved that, at least. Hanson stood once more and turned away from his beta's body. 

His movements were sudden, after so long standing still. As soon as he had stood, Hanson was striding out of the greenhouse and away from the crime scene crawling with Aurors and Order members alike. The house wasn't much better, but at least there were fewer people there, combing through his friend's home. He didn't know what they were looking for, and in that moment he didn't care.

Hanson strode through the house, from the back door to the front and outside. He had no clear idea of where he was going; after all, it was impossible to know where Sareena's attacker might have apparated to. What he did know, though, was that whoever had taken her life would be covered in her blood and her scent. He would be easy to track, and Hanson wouldn't stop until he was dead.

"Hanson!"

Hanson heard his name just as he reached the property line to disapparate. From the sound of it, he wasn't sure how many times Claire had called his name, but it was clear that it was not the first time she had. If it had been anyone else following him out of the house, he probably would have paid them no mind, but Claire was different. She wasn't going to be able to stop him, but he would at least talk to her.

"What?" Hanson said as he turned, the short word coming out a bit gruffer than he had intended it to. His wand was held tight in one hand, the other curled into a fist. He was seeing red, his heart thrumming in his chest to the beat of his racing thoughts. 

claire h. fernsby-alighieri ● 827 words ● n/a

Hanson Bryce
Reid★

dandy ♫

[claire h. fernsby-alighieri]

Don’t stop
Trying to find me here
Amidst the chaos

Claire had been home when the wards had gone off, close enough to make it to Emma and Sareena’s house before anyone else. There had been screams from Emma as she arrived, though they had sounded more like wails as her sister had thrashed in the arms of an unknown suspect. Claire had only gotten a single spell off before he left and an eerie quiet came across the property. She had rushed to the greenhouse in search of clues, but it was already too late.

Sareena was dead, her blood splashed all across the floor except for the few spots where Emma’s handprints disrupted it. And now Emma was gone.

The next minutes passed in a blur, a fog so strong coming across Claire’s brain that she was forced to sit and wait as other members of the Order evaluated the scene. She sat on the stairs to the back door of the little cottage, vaguely looking toward the greenhouse, though her eyes didn’t focus. Someone said something to her, a reference was made to Olivia being there soon. But Claire didn’t really hear any of it above the roar of her own mind.

Sareena was dead. Sareena, one of her closest friends from her school days and the fiancée of her sister. Heck, Claire had introduced the two of them, been around for much of their relationship. Emma had been so excited after she’d proposed and Sareena had said yes. They were supposed to be getting married. And Emma too, gone, disappeared. Claire had no idea how she’d get her sister back again, couldn’t yet tell if there was any hope.

As she blinked, Claire’s eyes caught sight of a familiar form exiting the greenhouse, striding toward her. Her vision slowly cleared as he approached, as if trying to shake off the shock that her body had been in for however long it had now been. But Hanson didn’t notice her, was too focused on his next move as he strode past her and into the house. Claire pushed herself to her feet, opening the door to see him already by the front door, opening it as she was just a step inside the place.

She followed as if in a trance, her mind not knowing what her body already did. Claire needed to take action, it was what she always did in a crisis. No matter how futile, no matter how hopeless, Claire was the person who tried. Over and over again life had knocked her down, taken away the people she’d loved and threatened those who were left. And over and over she’d stood. She had to stand again, even if it was foolish. Even if Emma couldn’t be saved this time. Even if it cost her in some other way.

”Hanson!” she called as she pushed the front door open, seeing him just short of the property line, surely about to Apparate away. She might never know where he went if she didn’t catch him now. As fast as she could, she strode over to him with a confidence that didn’t extend from her body to her brain.

”What?”

What. What was she doing? Claire couldn’t be sure. She glanced to his wand hand, then to the other, balled in a fit of rage. And she felt it too, the rage that boiled just beneath the surface, that kept her afloat when there wasn’t anything else. Claire found her voice then, found what she had to do. ”Take me with you,” she breathed, reaching out and wrapping her hand around his free arm.

hanson bryce reid

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[hanson bryce reid]

“

There was nothing on Hanson's mind in that moment but revenge. He wanted to see someone bleed, wanted to see someone beg for their life right before it was ripped from them. He wanted to see the fear in their eyes and hear them plead for mercy before they were denied it. Hanson had taken a life before, and he would take a thousand now if it meant he killed the person responsible for Sareena's death in the end. No one would stand between him and the vengeance he desired. 

Taking Claire with him to get that revenge would ruin everything. 

Hanson was already on the Order's shitlist. His actions at the safehouse attacks, and quite a few after that, hadn't exactly been Order-approved or through means that weren't frowned upon by the Order. The last thing he needed was to have an Order second coming along while he did what he was planning to do. 

Though, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to be kicked out of the Order. At least then he could take matters into his own hands without worrying about what the so-called Good Guys thought. 

”Take me with you,”

"You don't want to go where I'm going," Hanson replied immediately with a shake of his head. His jaw was starting to hurt, it was clenched so tightly, but he barely noticed the pain. If anything, it fueled him.

With Claire tagging along there was no way he could do exactly what he was planning to do. She would try and pull some noble bullshit or talk him out of dealing out justice to anyone and everyone that stood between him and Sareena's murderer. "It's better if you have plausible deniability."

claire h. fernsby-alighieri ● 287 words ● n/a

Hanson Bryce
Reid★

dandy ♫

[claire h. fernsby-alighieri]

Don’t stop
Trying to find me here
Amidst the chaos

Very few people thought of Claire as a person who would want to enact revenge, but it had been bubbling inside of her for quite some time. Each time the world took another person from her, a family member, a friend, she felt herself tighten further with rage. There had already been too much hurt, too much loss. Claire needed to get her sister back, needed to protect her family. And a part of her, though she tried to ignore it most of the time, wanted to make people pay for hurting her.

Sareena was dead on the floor of the greenhouse, her blood splattered around the place. Emma was gone, kidnapped for reasons unknown. Claire could only assume it had something to do with her work for the Order. Despite how much she’d tried to protect Emma and the rest of their jumbled family, her position caused them all more hurt. Claire was out of time to be nice- it was time to do something.

”You don’t want to go where I’m going. It’s better if you have plausible deniability.”

”Shut up,” Claire snapped at him, restraining an urge to shake her friend out of his stupidity. Sure, Sareena had been a close friend of his, a member of his pack, but it was frankly cruel of Hanson to imply that she’d meant nothing to Claire. They’d been friends since school- it was Claire who’d actually introduced Emma and Sareena. And Sareena had been soon to be Claire’s sister-in-law. No longer now.

”My sister’s missing, her fiancée and my friend is dead,” she said plainly, her eyes burning as she narrowed them. It was difficult to say these things out loud, but Claire had to say them, had to feel this rage. The only way out was through. She tightened her grip on Hanson’s arm. ”I’m coming with you. Let’s go.”

hanson bryce reid

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[hanson bryce reid]

“

There was nothing Hanson wouldn't do for the people he loved. A year ago, that would have meant going to the ends of the Earth for them and only stopping short of murder. Now, there wasn't even the moral objection to taking another's life standing between Hanson and taking care of the people he held dear. He'd been unable to save Sareena, but he would be damned if he didn't avenge her. Personally delivering her murderer to the gates of hell wouldn't bring her back, but it would sure as hell make Hanson feel better.

”Shut up. My sister’s missing, her fiancée and my friend is dead. I’m coming with you. Let’s go.”

It wasn't often that Claire was so gruff, so pointed and angry. Hanson didn't think he'd ever been on the receiving end of her anger before. Despite himself, a slight smirk touched his lips. "I'll make a vengeful bastard out of you yet, Fernsby," was all he said, gripping his wand tighter. There was no use arguing with her; he knew she wasn't going to relent. He'd warned her, though, and some small part of his mind knew that when she balked at his actions, she had been made aware. She couldn't say he hadn't tried to spare her from seeing how the sausage got made. 

Hanson tugged on her arm, taking the last step across the yard and past the wards. He gritted his teeth, surveying his options once again. There was no telling where Sareena's murderer had gone, where he'd taken Emma but Knockturn Alley was where most of those kind of plots were cooked up. They'd start there. Sooner or later, Sareena's murderer would show up. He would have showered by then, changed out of his blood-soaked clothes, but it was impossible to remove his own scent, and Hanson knew Sareena's scent would linger, too. It was all a matter of waiting until Hanson caught that scent. He would let his nose lead him. 

With a pop, the pair disapparated, landing in a narrow, abandoned alleyway. 

claire h. fernsby-alighieri ● 342 words ● n/a

Hanson Bryce
Reid★

dandy ♫

[claire h. fernsby-alighieri]

Don’t stop
Trying to find me here
Amidst the chaos

Though her therapist liked to remind her that she was allowed to be angry, Claire was pretty sure this wasn’t exactly what had been intended. Claire was familiar with angry, in the way that you see the same people on the same streets each week but never speak with them. She found anger difficult, often just out of reach even when she knew it lingered under many of her other emotions. Always watching, always there, but rarely sitting at the front and screaming.

Not now, though. Now that one of her closest friends was dead in the dirt and her sister had been captured, possibly in some sick attempt to get to Claire herself, she felt the true force of the anger that was always just out of reach. She felt her eyes narrowing in, unable to see the bigger picture that usually kept her thinking rationally. Even as Hanson spoke, she found herself angry with him too. But they were united in this, they had to be.

”I’ll make a vengeful bastard out of you yet, Fernsby.”

Claire glanced at him, unable to figure out the point of his comments. She’d already fiercely protected many a person she loved, so Emma would be no different, even if this was the most personal attack yet. Vengeful? Yes, she felt that was likely. Vengeful bastard? Less certain. But it didn’t matter because they were already going, going, gone with a pop.

They landed in a little alley, dark and scummy like the underbelly of Knockturn Alley. Claire peeked out to the street just enough to confirm her suspicion before looking back to her companion. ”Do you smell her?” she asked, wordlessly casting a spell to let her know the location of humans in the vicinity.

hanson bryce reid

MADE BY VEL OF GS