bury the hatchet (aylin)

[theia luxanna solas]

❝ theia luxanna solas now we must choose a world smothered by midnight or ringed with flame APRIL, 2023 Things would never be the same - not after all that had happened. It had been a startling realization for the wizarding world, with Benson Preece coming forward with hard-proof of what the world could have been, had Ivan succeeded in his plans. It was, perhaps, the first sign for Theia that she was in too far over her head, drowning under the brainwashing he'd done. Not only that, but she'd learned later what it was she had done, this other version of her that wasn't so far removed from reality.  She'd tried to kill Aylin, she'd turned on her the moment Aylin had come to her senses at the party. And later, she'd succeeded. It was hard not to reel at the information, that she'd been so blind that she'd committed unspeakable acts of violence against the one person that she loved with her whole heart. Understandably, things had immediately become tense, and the pair had split ways. That didn't mean that Theia hadn't thought about Aylin since they'd found out. Benson Preece's memories had been running on a loop in the Ministry of Magic, free for the world to see. So many people had stepped up, to learn what had happened to them in the fray. When Theia had seen, though the eyes of someone else, the untold horrors that had been wrought... even if she hadn't had the whole story, it hadn't been hard to piece it together, seeing herself standing over Aylin's broken body during the last bits of Benson's memory. There'd been one final fight, and that had been it. Aylin, dead by her own hand. Theia hadn't even been able to recognize herself - a monster that she hadn't realized she was on track to becoming. They'd both shut each other out, hurt by what they'd seen. And how could Theia blame Aylin? She would've done the same. And so, they'd went their separate ways, with Theia certain that they'd never see each other again. So, her surprise was palpable when, with her curtains drawn tight in the apartment they'd once shared, as she was getting ready to rest for the day, Aylin was knocking on her door. Theia opened it wide, no false pretenses behind the shock on her face, nor the anguish she felt just looking at her. "You grew your hair out," Theia said, the first words out of her mouth surprising her. "It... it looks good." (tagged)⏤ aylin neoma feyaerts (WORD COUNT)⏤ 404 words (notes)⏤ <3

MADE BY MIZO

[aylin neoma feyaerts]

So long to the person
you begged me to be
She's down, she's dead

Aylin wasn’t sure why she was doing this. There was absolutely no good reason to be walking up to the door of the flat she’d once shared with her best friend, and yet she found that she couldn’t help herself. Despite all that had happened, Aylin had to know how Theia was doing, how she was handling everything that had abruptly changed in their lives. The world had been turned upside down and for about a day Aylin experienced bliss. And then it had all come crashing down.

Death had lost, in a complicated manor that Benson Preece had explained to the press, the Ministry, and anyone else over and over. But he also had proof, in the form of his own memories of a time that the rest of them didn’t remember, memories from a version of him that had lived five long years in a world where Death had won. And it was in that world, hidden in those memories, that Aylin glimpsed the truth about the path Theia had been running down.

The two of them had apparently fought in multiple instances, Aylin watching in horror as she saw her own hair grow out the way it only would have over years without her taking care of herself. She could only imagine that she’d found some way to escape, that she’d been brave enough to join the Children and fight back against Ivan’s lot. She wasn’t sure if it was surprising to find that Theia had stayed, but that knowledge cut into her as if the current Theia had taken her heart directly out of her chest.

And then the last memory, the worst. Theia standing, a brief moment of triumph before some other emotion crossed her face, directly over Aylin’s broken body. Aylin had watched it over and over, each time burning a little brighter with anger. She’d barely fought with Theia about it after, instead simply leaving. She found a new flat with Estella, her entire room cleared out in an hour.

Horribly long months passed, months in which Aylin both tried and failed to let Theia go. She found herself passing by their old apartment on more than one occasion, feeling like half her heart still waited inside. She resisted, angrier than she could ever remember being. She got a new job, she stayed busy with the Children, she took care of Estella. And still, still she couldn’t get Theia out of her mind.

So finally, finally, she let herself go back to that place where she’d been cared for, loved, brainwashed, berated. Though it contained so many of her own memories, it looked smaller now as she stood outside the building. She climbed up the stairs and knocked on the door, wondering how she would play this off. All she wanted was to know if Theia was alright. Even after everything, Aylin couldn’t help but care about her, couldn’t help but love her.

Theia whipped open the door wide, standing there in apparent surprise, her long red hair flowing out behind her from the air that rushed into the flat. Aylin briefly thought she looked like a superhero, but Theia’s face betrayed her. She looked sad, she looked like she was hurting just as much as Aylin. Perhaps more.

”You grew your hair out. It… it looks good.”

Aylin’s fingers flitted to the ends of her blond locks, noting that they were indeed several inches longer than normal now, though not as long as they’d appeared in those wretched memories. She’d kept herself too busy to get her normal haircuts, or at least that was what she told herself. She inhaled deeply, suddenly overwhelmed with everything this place still held for her. ”Thanks,” she managed after a moment.

”Listen, I…” she started, trailing off as she realized that sentence didn’t have an ending just yet. She couldn’t say why she was here; she didn’t know. ”I don’t know how to forgive you. But I also had to know that you were alive, that you were doing alright. So, I’m here, I guess. I didn't know where else to go.”

theia luxanna solas

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[theia luxanna solas]

❝ theia luxanna solas now we must choose a world smothered by midnight or ringed with flame Aylin's fingers instinctively went to the tips of her hair, and Theia had to resist the urge to reach out and grab that hand, to gently kiss the tip of every finger and murmur how sorry she was. Her hands fisted at her sides, body tensing at the impulse she was denying herself. No, that wouldn't help. That wouldn't fix the things she had been willing to do for Ivan. This whole thing was so complicated, this feeling of guilt for things that she hadn't actually done, but would have if the future had been different. The world was trying to grapple with the knowledge of that future that no one remembered, that the world had ended... and how were they supposed to do that? This was uncharted territory, and Theia was worried that she was going to drown in it. "Thanks." Aylin spoke, and it might have been the sweetest sound Theia had ever heard. "Listen, I..." She spoke again, this time struggling to find the right thing to say. Theia found herself hanging on her every word. "I don’t know how to forgive you. But I also had to know that you were alive, that you were doing alright. So, I’m here, I guess. I didn't know where else to go.” Theia's mouth was dry, and she worked her tongue over her lips in an attempt to help.  It didn't. "I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't forgive me," Theia said. She held the door open a little wider, stepping back. "D'you want to come in? We could... I dunno, we could talk if you want." (tagged)⏤ aylin neoma feyaerts (WORD COUNT)⏤ 270 words (notes)⏤ <3

MADE BY MIZO

[aylin neoma feyaerts]

So long to the person
you begged me to be
She's down, she's dead

Being here felt simultaneously wrong and right, a dissonance that Aylin didn’t know how to reconcile. Theia’s expression was unfamiliar and therefore unreadable, even for her. Aylin thought she caught a hint of longing, perhaps also of guilt, but she couldn’t be sure. Since their fracture, she felt like she hardly knew her former friend at all. If Theia would have been willing to do these horrible things in another life, then Aylin couldn’t be sure that there was any truth or sincerity left to her.

As Aylin spoke, Theia leaned forward, like she could hardly wait for Aylin’s next word. As Theia licked her lips, Aylin had to resist the urge to push her way into Theia’s arms and kiss her. She had spoken truly, she didn’t know where else to go now that the world had hinged on ending, in a parallel world had ended. And now they were supposed to just move on. But not Aylin- she still felt stuck.

”I don’t expect you to forgive me. I don’t forgive me.”

A glimpse of the truth, perhaps, if Aylin was willing to believe her words. Her brain rebelled against her body, which leaned forward again, ready to forgive Theia immediately simply for saying this. But no, forgiveness could not so easily be given for a betrayal so deep as this.

”D’you want to come in? We could… I dunno, we could talk if you want.”

Oh Merlin, yes. That was all she wanted. ”Sure,” she offered, swallowing hard as Theia yielded the door, allowing her into the flat they’d once shared. The interior was largely the same, which Aylin found herself surprised by, despite the fact that only a few months had passed, not years. Some of her own decorations were still on the walls, her trinkets on the coffee table. She’d never properly moved out. ”I thought you would’ve packed up the rest of my stuff,” Aylin admitted from the middle of the living room, turning back to look at Theia.

theia luxanna solas

MADE BY VEL OF GS