Triple Threat [Elle]

[Alecsander]

Alex apparated silently into his front hall, lit only by the fireplace. As lights rose up at his entrance he started to lower Elle down, only to sweep her back up again. In his preoccupation with the events of the day he'd almost forgotten the dogs--as the rushed him he lifted Elle up higher and shouted for them to settle down. Once they finally did he let Elle down pointing at each dog in turn. "Rasp, Max, & Dodger." He explained, then led the way towards the library. Perhaps he could get her settled in there while he saw about getting dinner. He was starved.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, leading her to his favorite corner of the library, near the big fireplace. The two huge chairs faced the fire at an angle, and a couple tables were piled high with books or papers. Glee appeared and disappeared just as quickly as Alex told him briefly that she'd be staying the night.

He stood somewhat awkwardly, unsure what move to make now.

[Elle Callahan]

At first Elle couldn’t make out anything but spinning colors. Fear washed over her and goosebumps prickled her skin. Had she disappeared again? Had she time traveled? Was that what the Flux was? Part of her yearned to turn back time to see her Grandda again. To grow up with her friends and family. But the world settled down quickly and she was still in Alex’s arms. She looked up at him and still saw the gray in hair, the salt and pepper stubble. It was still 2038.
The dogs came out of nowhere running and barking like hell was at their feet. Elle forgot that Alex had a dog.Wait. He’d only had one and he’d been reluctant to take it. Now he willingly had three? Was this an alternate dimesion where everyone was a shadow of them selves and this was not actually her Alex and she needed to find a way back to her correct time? If this were the case then maybe there was a different Elle in this timeline that would be in hers? Nope. She was being crazy.

Elle held out a hand to each dog petting them. She loved dogs all animals really. As a child she thought of being a healer for animals but she liked people too much. It was a dream though to own land and fill it with creatures from gnomes to flying horses.
Elle slowly followed Alex, taking everything in. So this was the hallowed halls of Kameren Estate. He’d briefly mentioned it but his comments made it out to be a dark shambling ruin of a death trap filled with dark secrets. He must have really changed things to make it the charming elegant place she saw. The library was very comforting. The big fireplace was very pretty. She could fit inside of it. Elle peered at the books, trying to figure out what tickled his fancy now.

“Food would be good, I guess I haven’t eaten in 17 years,” She said with a bitter laugh.
“So is it just you in this big place?” Elle said as she looked around at all the books, hiding her face. She was fishing to see if he had a wife. Or a girl friend. It had been 17 years there had to be someone else. Had he really been pining for her for that long?

[Alecsander]

“Food would be good, I guess I haven’t eaten in 17 years,” She said with a bitter laugh.

"I'll be right back," Alex disapparated, returning a few minutes later with bread and other supplies to make sandwiches. "Sorry its nothing fancy," He summoned over an empty table and lay the food on it, along with a few glasses which he filled quickly with the augmenti charm. "I can bring something else, if you like?" He offered. He didn't have much else to drink, since he wasn't fond of juice or milk, but he did have a liquor cabinet. Maybe she needed a drink after the shock.

Alex started putting together a sandwich, pulling napkins from his pocket and offering one to her. He fended Rasp away from the food with one foot. "Careful, they're sneaky."

[Elle Callahan]

Alex disappeared so fast Elle didn't know what to do with herself. The urge to go over to his desk and explore it was strong. Even being recently returned from the dead wouldn't save her from Alex's Kameren's irritation at being spied on. So Elle just knelt on the ground and petted all three dogs in turn. She actually wrapped her arms around one of them, unsure of which name it was and just buried her face in it's neck. It was comforting just holding the dog as the others nudged her. A few tears leaked from her eyes as she took comfort from the dogs. She was so confused. Her grandda was dead and had been for a long time. How did she not feel it? Where had she been? Had she really been dead? Had she time traveled? Could she go back to her proper time? She needed to figure out if her timeline of events matched Alex's. Maybe she had accidentally gone to a different future when she apperated. But how could she have time traveled without a time turner?

Elle stood up when Alex reappeared with a pop. She quickly wiped the moisture off her face and joined him at the little table. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of the food.

"This is perfect," She said with a smile, taking the sandwich he offered and biting into it. It was simple but delicious.

"Careful, they're sneaky."

Elle looked at the begging eyes of all three dogs and her heart went out to them. She vowed to sneak them a piece of meat when he wasn't looking.

"Have anything stronger than water?" She asked as she took a seat on one of the chairs by the fire. "Anything would work." She said, planning on taking a piece of turkey and feed it to the dogs as soon as his back was turned.

"Did the ministry ever figure out why hundreds disappeared?" She asked curious about what Alex knew. He had to have known something."Did they know right away that everyone just vanished or did it take time to figure out people had just gone poof?" How long had it taken her family to realize she was missing?

[Alecsander]

Elle was cuddled with the dogs when Alex returned, face buried in Dodger's neck. The aussie mix was thumping his tail, mouth wide in a doggie grin. Alex busied himself with the spread he'd brought, trying to politely ignore the tracks on Elle's cheeks. He wanted to hold her again and wipe them away, but that would be too forward. As the shock and excitement wore off, he was sure the kiss had been only a desperate attempt to reassure themselves that it was real. Elle was a ghost back from the dead.

"This is perfect," She said with a smile, taking the sandwich he offered and biting into it. It was simple but delicious.

"Have anything stronger than water?" She asked as she took a seat on one of the chairs by the fire. "Anything would work."

Alex eyed the dogs, particularly Dodger, who seemed to have adopted Elle and was shadowing her every move, eye on the prize. His mismatched blue and brown eyes watched every move she made with her sandwich, determined to take the first opportunity offered. Alex waved his hand, his fingers glowing slightly as he summoned his favorite single malt and a pair of glasses. He wasn't at Curse's level, but he'd learned a great deal of wandless magic over the years since the disappearance, treating it as a project to help him overcome the fits left behind by his coma.

"Did the ministry ever figure out why hundreds disappeared?" She asked curious about what Alex knew. He had to have known something."Did they know right away that everyone just vanished or did it take time to figure out people had just gone poof?" How long had it taken her family to realize she was missing?

"Best guess is it had something to do with the Stone... you know Cain had been trying to destroy it once and for all. Perhaps it was one last flux as the Stone died, one last magical mishap, on a scale far greater than before..." He was silent a moment. He hadn't known she was missing for almost a week, being kept first in the isolation ward then the ICU, the pain potions for his wounds and the antidote burning through his system had given him vivid hallucinations-- after a particularly destructive and damaging episode where he not only damaged his surroundings (almost slicing his roommate in half) and tore many of his stitches out, they had simply stupified him and moved him to a single room, keeping him stunned until he'd healed more and came off the pain potions. "It was hard. So many people gone, and no way to track them. So many..."

[Elle Callahan]

Elle nearly dropped her sandwich when the glasses whizzed by. She was impressed by his wandless magic. She didn't remember him being able to do that at 25. "Curse taught you well," She said awe in her voice. She'd forgotten for a second that Curse had died. She needed to remember not to bring him up in casual conversation anymore. She was curious about how he died. When did he die? Had the demons finished him off?

"Best guess is it had something to do with the Stone... you know Cain had been trying to destroy it once and for all. Perhaps it was one last flux as the Stone died, one last magical mishap, on a scale far greater than before..." He was silent a moment. He hadn't known she was missing for almost a week, being kept first in the isolation ward then the ICU, the pain potions for his wounds and the antidote burning through his system had given him vivid hallucinations-- after a particularly destructive and damaging episode where he not only damaged his surroundings (almost slicing his roommate in half) and tore many of his stitches out, they had simply stupified him and moved him to a single room, keeping him stunned until he'd healed more and came off the pain potions. "It was hard. So many people gone, and no way to track them. So many..."


"Did Cain destroy it?" Elle asked wondering how her friend is doing. "How is Cain? Did he get caught in the flux?" She asked concern for him. If attempting to destroy it had caused the flux, what had happened to Cain? She hoped he hadn't died. Grandda, Curse, who else had passed?

Elle wasn't hungry anymore and she let her sandwich fall to the dogs. She grabbed the whiskey and gulped it, coughing a bit at the strength. It had been a long time since she had stuff that strong.

"So besides doing miracles on this house what have you been up to?" She asked trying to be less mopey.

[Alecsander]

He couldn't suppress a feeling of absurd pride that he'd impressed her, and busied himself pouring the whiskey. Handing her one, he left the bottle between them, staring into the liquid depths. So many conflicting emotions. He had a routine, he'd settled in quite nicely to a job he loved and he had his family to drag him away when he got too deep. But all that was disrupted with Elle back. In his house.

"Did Cain destroy it?" Elle asked wondering how her friend is doing. "How is Cain? Did he get caught in the flux?"

"No, he-- " her questions came quick, leaving him stunned. Would he really have to tell her more bad news? "Yes, he destroyed it. He's doing great, up to his same old tricks." With the added burden of being dead, but he didn't say that. She didn't need anymore bad news. He'd been thinking so deeply he failed to catch Dodger before he'd gobbled down half of Elle's sandwich.

"So besides doing miracles on this house what have you been up to?"

"Been working a lot, um. C-currse had kids with Ari. Two girls." He smiled slightly, taking a sip of his scotch, returning his gaze to its depths.

[Elle Callahan]

It was surreal sitting in a comfy chair by a fire in a very old mansion with Alex and just talking. It felt natural to her and she wanted things to be like this forever. It wouldn't be though.This was a one time thing. Two old friends reminiscing but they were different now. The unfairness of it all made her angry. She listened as Alex told her about Cain. She chose to believe him when he said that he was great. Had Cain married? Or was he the single bachelor still, puling pranks and breaking hearts.

Kids. CUrse and Arianna had kids. That was great news and she was truly happy for them. She hadn't been sure they'd get married let alone have kids. Bad things always seemed to happen with them and just block their road to happiness.

"Kids, what are their names? How old are they?" She asked still amazed at the thought that Curse and Arianna had kids. She imaged a pair of toddlers with red hair and green eyes running around.

"Are you still with the aurors? Have they made you their leader yet?" Elle asked with a raised eyebrow as she sipped her whiskey. She wanted to ask about his love life. If anyone else lived in the house with him. She wanted to ask how Curse had passed. How he was handling it. She wanted to know everything there was to know about him. There were so many questions swirling in her mind. She wanted to know what would happen to her. What did she need to do now that she was back? How did one go about undeclaring one's death?

[Alecsander]

"Kids, what are their names? How old are they?"

"Violet and Evie, 16 and 11." An Easy question, an easier answer. He hoped there wouldn't be any more hard topics. "Both at Hogwarts by now..." He poured himself more scotch, though he knew it was ill-advised. He had to go back at some point. It was barely past halfway through the day, even with all the events of the past two hours. Were there more? Or was her return just a fluke? Even if it was, it was one he was glad for.

"Are you still with the aurors? Have they made you their leader yet?"

"Their leader yet," Alex couldn't help but laugh. He had become head Auror, just as Curse had been. Following in brother's footsteps? "Yes, I am. I'm head auror. Not sure why I took the job, so much paperwork, much less field work." He sipped, feeling the burning warmth travel to his stomach. He kept even stronger whiskey for when Cain visited, in case he had interest in imbibing, but that was more like petrol than whiskey, Max had assured him once.

[Elle Callahan]

Elle set down the glass of whiskey as her head felt a bit woozy. A headache from brewing from the crying. Why did the aftermath of crying make her head pound and her nose a bit stuffy. The food had helped a bit and the drink was soothing but what she really wanted was a nap. Actually, if she was being honest what she wanted was to curl up in Alex's lap and lay her head on his chest and let him hold her. He hadn't done that even before she disappeared so why would he do it now?

"Violet and Evie, 16 and 11." An Easy question, an easier answer. He hoped there wouldn't be any more hard topics. "Both at Hogwarts by now..."

16 and 11. Not babies. Jealously ran through Elle as she wondered if she would have had children close to their ages. Would she have had children with Alex? Cousins to play with Violet and Evie. If they would have had kids they'd be close to Evie's age most likely. ALex would have taken time to convince to procreate. Regret washed through Elle. They would never have those kids now.

"Are you still with the aurors? Have they made you their leader yet?"

"Their leader yet," Alex couldn't help but laugh. He had become head Auror, just as Curse had been. Following in brother's footsteps? "Yes, I am. I'm head auror. Not sure why I took the job, so much paperwork, much less field work." He sipped, feeling the burning warmth travel to his stomach. He kept even stronger whiskey for when Cain visited, in case he had interest in imbibing, but that was more like petrol than whiskey, Max had assured him once.

"Yet you still managed to find yourself in St. Mungos getting treated?" She said with a smirk before covering up a yawn.

"Thank you for taking me in. What time is it? I never did ask." She said looking around for a clock. When she'd left her apartment it had been early morning. Did she return at the same time that she had left?

[Alecsander]

"Yet you still managed to find yourself in St. Mungos getting treated?"

"wWhat? Oh, that. Trainee Wallace ended up doing something incredibly stupid today. I was checking up on them." He looked down at his robes. He still hadn't cleaned them. With a sigh he charmed them clean, setting down his empty glass and stretching in his chair. He really didn't want to go back to work. He'd rather stay here and play hooky. Lay back in his chair before the fire, absorb the significance of the day's events. Watch Elle sleep in the other chair, which was built for him and so swallowed her.

"Thank you for taking me in. What time is it? I never did ask."

"Oh, around... 2?" He looked at his watch. It was indeed fast approaching 2 pm. He looked back at Elle, she looked exhausted, and there was a tightness around her eyes. From pain, maybe? "hh-how are yoou feeling?"

[Elle Callahan]

Elle tucked her feet underneath her and snuggled into the large chair. She laid her head on the arm rest. It felt better, supporting her head. One of the dogs nudged her leg, and put his big head on the seat. Elel scratched the dog absent mindedly as she listened to Alex.

Yet you still managed to find yourself in St. Mungos getting treated?"

"wWhat? Oh, that. Trainee Wallace ended up doing something incredibly stupid today. I was checking up on them."

"What'd he do?" Elle wondered as she tried not to fall asleep. She wanted to stare at Alex more. She wanted to know how he got the new scars. She'd been right 17 years ago when he'd acquired the scars from the demon attack, once healed properly they made his quite dashing. Some were hardly noticeable anymore.

Thank you for taking me in. What time is it? I never did ask."

"Oh, around... 2?" He looked at his watch. It was indeed fast approaching 2 pm. He looked back at Elle, she looked exhausted, and there was a tightness around her eyes. From pain, maybe? "hh-how are yoou feeling?"

"Headache," She mumbled as she closed her eyes for a second, intending to just relieve the heaviness. She fell asleep her hand on the dog's head.

[Alecsander]

"What'd he do?"

"Something I explicitly told him not to." Elle was dozing off in her chair, curling up with Rasputin's curious head in her lap. He wanted to watch her forever. That was creepy. But she looked so peaceful there. He realized how infrequently he'd seen her at rest. In fact, she had never been at rest. He'd rarely see her sit, much less curl up in a chair with a dog and lay her head on the armrest. He wondered again that she looked just as she'd when he last saw her so many years ago. Did that mean it really had been instantaneous from her perspective?

"Headache,"

After a few moments, Alex realized she wasn't going to speak again. He looked over to see her eyes closed, her breaths deep. He sat for a few more minutes, watching her. Then he stood, stooping over her he was unable to resist tucking away a stray strand of hair before scooping her up and taking her to her new bedroom. A flick of his fingers and the covers came back as he lowered her to the bed and then pulled the blanket up. He stood for a second, but then was gone in a silent instant, leaving her to her dreams.

[Elle Callahan]

It was soothing by the fire. For a few moments, Elle had been asleep. She stirred a bit when a shadow stood over her. Alex Kameren had a distinct smell that she had always found appealing. It hadn't changed in 17 years. Elle kept her eyes close wondering what he would do. She nearly smiled when he moved a curl off her face, tucking it behind her ear.

Suddenly, Elle was scooped off the chair very quickly. It was a smooth motion and very skillfully done. Elle turned her face into Alex's chest as he carried her up the stairs. She couldn't resist sniffing his shirt, half in a dream. As Alex walked, Elle dozed off. She half woke up when he settled her into the soft bed. Elle let out a sigh, and murmured a good night before going to sleep.