With the capture of Verandi Farley and several high-ranking Trossach members, the British wizarding world has finally caught a break. The rate of rogue werewolf attacks have started dropping at a steady rate and, hopefully, things will stay that way. The Ministry is starting to loosen some restrictions, like not arresting werewolves standing on the street for loitering, however there’s still an obvious power imbalance between wizardfolk and werewolves.
The Cotswolds pack are continuing to advocate for the rights of werewolves and petitioning to change the legislation that has been set in motion by the current Minister for Magic, whilst the remaining Trossachs members are trying to stay out of the spotlight and keep a low profile… for now.
Whilst the British wizarding world seems to have calmed down, the same cannot be said for over in Northern Europe where a rebellion of magical creatures has risen. The state of things has gotten so bad that the European Ministry has enacted protocols to protect those under eighteen whilst their adult witches and wizards fight to keep control of their countries.
Students from Durmstrang have been sent to Hogwarts to keep them safe and those not old enough to attend school have been sent to live with relatives or designated British Ministry officials outside of Europe for the time being.
Will the low rates of werewolf attacks in Britain continue? How long will Durmstrang students stay at Hogwarts? Will the creatures usurp the wizardfolk in Northern Europe? Only time will tell.
SEPTEMBER 2019 It's been a very long, eventful summer in the wizarding world. A baby was stolen, several high ranking Trossach members were imprisoned, and werewolf attacks have drastically dropped as a result. What will happen now school has returned?
MAY 2019 An attempt to capture the beta of the Trossachs has been launched. Were the Aurors successful in their mission? Go read more here!
The wind was blowing soft layers of the snow from off the lake to the shore, tickling lazily at the feet of the fourth year Slytherin that looked over the natural mirror with a keen eye. Flora wondered what happened to the creatures below the ice for the months that their world was cut off from the rest. Did the merpeople feel the cold? Did they have little jackets made of kelp to keep them warm or like reptiles did they just sort of... slumber over the cold months? What about the friendly giant squid, she was sure he got lonely floating in his encapsulated world until spring thawed the lake once more.
How did the kelp get enough sunlight to still grow? Flora’s dark, inquisitive eyes looked in the general direction of Little Asgard. Perhaps Ms Skarsgård would know the answers to at least a few of the questions that came to Flora’s mind as she soaked up the rays of calm and sunlight. Her long, loose hair moved with the lazy wind and the occasional gust was strong enough to move her heavy winter cloak but for the most part it was wholly unspectacular. Just peaceful.
Peace at Hogwarts was a rare commodity; Flora was happy to have found some.
Slumped back against a tree near the lake, there was a cigarette perched between Greyson's lips, one he removed every few seconds to blow a mouthful of smoke into the sky. Whilst he was wearing a leather jacket (yes, he was a cliche, thank you very much), he was fucking freezing, and the smoke from the cigarette warmed him from the inside out. When the little stick in his hand reached the end, Greyson stomped it out on the ground, leaving the end in his wake as he finally took in his surroundings...
There stood the prissy little Selwyn - the younger one, not the older one - who acted like everyone was beneath her, who was a little miss know-it-bloody-all during class and liked to prove it too. Making his way over to her, scuffing the snowy ground beneath his feet, Greyson asked a question that he knew would get a rise out of her. "You manage to untwist your knickers yet, Selwyn, or do you need a hand?"
Flora could smell the human ashtray long before his repulsive words tannounced his arrival beside her. There had been rumours that Merlin was a jokester back in his day, but why must he amuse himself by bothering her with Avery's non-sense? Flora bit the inside of her cheek which made her already high cheek-bones even more pronounced on her sharp face.
"Kindly desist from even thinking of my knickers, Avery," Flora's tone was biting, though she did not look away from the frozen lake. She feared that if she turned even in the slightest in his direction, she'd encourage his misguided attempt to woo her. "Though I imagine everyone needs a goal to aspire towards, perhaps you should set the bar significantly lower. More acheivable," the young Selwyn lifted a gloved hand to her face and tucked an errant lock of hair back in place.
Despite her mental note to resist glancing at the Gryffindor, Flora's dark brown eyes flitted into Greyson's direction and damned Merlin now she'd have to... converse? "Speaking of low standards, how's your father enjoying Azkeban?" if he wanted a rise out of her, she was more than willing to go straight for the jugular. Nevermind the fact that her Uncle was in Azkeban or that her real mother probably belonged in Azkeban also. Briefly, Flora wondered if the prisoners were given blankets during the winter months or if they were left to freeze as penitence.
Post by GREYSON AVERY on Oct 20, 2019 11:57:25 GMT
Flora Selwyn was a firecracker of a thing with a tongue as cutting as her cousin's. More than once, he'd thought that if she ever poked it out at him, it'd be pronged at the end - twice as sharp. "Kindly desist? Fuck me, Selwyn, anyone would think you're some Ministry bint with the way you talk," Greyson said with a dismissive snort before shoving his hands in his pockets, seeking out one of his cigarettes. He'd just finished one, but he did have a reputation of being a living chimney to uphold. "You gonna try and arrest me next? Put me on trial for my thoughts? I've got a pair of handcuffs you can borrow if that's the case. Just make sure you do them up extra tight."
Immediately, the girl was yammering on about goals and setting the bar lower."Is that goal really achievable for anyone though? I mean, they're probably so twisted they're lodged up there by now. Maybe you need a visit to St. Mungos to help. Sure they'd love to give you a hand. Maybe if you're lucky, they'll put you in a ward with Theo Nottingham," Greyson said, before shoving a cigarette straight between his lips and lighting the tip with his wand. That was better.
Flora was looking at him a minute later with her eyes before asking if his father was enjoying Azkaban. "I dunno, maybe you can ask your Uncle," he shot back immediately, sending a smile as sweet as honey in her direction. His father being in Azkaban? It was old news, a wound that took a lot of prodding to rip open. "Or... what were the rumours again? Right. Isn't that Selwyn meant to be your father?" After all, he'd heard all the talk in the pureblood circles when he cared to listen and apparently Flora beared a striking resemblance to Vinda's older brother, so much so that there was doubt that Vinda was actually a biological sibling to... what was his name? Peter? Paul? Merlin knly knew.
A Ministry bint. Beneath the heavy winter cloak, Flora’s gloved hands balled up tightly so that her face did not betray the fact that she felt the sting of the insult - Flora’s family held little regard for the Ministry. They probably wouldn’t until the Ministry became a lot more strict with regards to keeping the riff-raff on the outskirts of wizarding society, as they should rightfully be. Instead Flora very visibly rolled her eyes even further away from The Human Ashtray, ”I’m surprised you’re coherent enough to understand English today, Avery. Lucky me to endure that once-a-year occurence.”
The desire to scoff - or slap, Flora wasn’t quite sure - at Greyson’s suggestion she would cuff him was so strong. She sucked in her cheeks and shook her head, letting the loosely curled locks bounce a little over her cloak. ”I’d not risk your thoughts becoming public domain via trial. There are far easier ways to deal with a problem like you,” not that innocent little Flora would ever even dream of taking any such steps. But Greyson didn’t need to know that.
Twisted so much... Merlin, could he please stop speaking of her knickers? ”Not accustomed to your crude advances being rejected Avery? You’ve clearly put far too much thought into what happens between my legs,” Merlin the Magnificent, Flora would die of embarrassment before she went to St. Mungo’s where her brother cousin worked. ”I’m sure you’ll be in the padded room next to Nottingham before they lock you up with your father. Perhaps I’ll bring tea when I visit my cousin and have a good giggle.”
Of course, being younger and ... less practiced in the art of cutting annoying classmates, Flora hadn’t foreseen Greyson’s quick retort and a flash of anger crossed her face at the mention of her own uncle. She’d never known the man, except for the stories her father told her of their childhood. Really, though, family members being incarcerated for their role as Death Eaters were common enough amongst pureblood families... Greyson’s fathers crimes were far more shameful. ”No, that’s fine. I’ll just ask Cassidy next time I see her, I’m sure she’d love to tell me how he’s going,” she bit back, a forced smile gracing her own lips.
Oh, you want to go there do you? Flora’s left brow raised as Greyson poked at the paternity rumours. With barely contained anger fuelling her movements, Flora swiped the lit cigarette from the boy’s lips and threw it to the slushy ground to stomp on. ”How is your Uncle Graham going? Or is it Dad? Or are you and Gabriel not really twins ..? would make sense really, seeing as you’re nothing alike.”
There she went, launching into a tirade about how dumb he was and this time, Greyson gave her an eyeroll that rivaled hers from moments beforehand. "What? You think I don't understand English because I haven't got my head always stuck up some Professors arse like you, Selwyn?" He had better things to do than answer some dry, boring questions on some subject the Professors didn't even care enough to put effort into teaching. Adopting her voice - very high-pitched and squealing to match her friends, of course - Greyson mimicked the way Flora's hand shot into the air, "Oh, yes, I know the answer, Professor. The rest of the students are stupid, Professor. I know everything because I don't have a life outside of reading books for school, Professor." His hand dropped and he leveled Flora with a look that said, 'accurate as hell, right?'
The way Flora sucked in her cheeks drew attention to her cheekbones which were sharp enough to cut a bitch - or him... who would probably be her first choice, given her obvious annoyance towards him. Greyson's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline as she announced that there were easier ways of dealing with him. "Right, following in the footsteps of your uncle, are we? Going to murder me for... what? Ruining the pureblood name?"
"Not accustomed to even a little bit of flirting, Selwyn? No wonder. You practically scream chick who'll give you blue balls," Greyson shot back. Fuck it, if she could try and draw blood from him then he'd give it straight back to her. He wasn't some weak arse bitch who'd sit there and take her well-aimed words - he'd battle her back, and he wouldn't back down. He didn't give a shit if he hurt her feelings. "I feel bad for your future arranged husband - good luck to your dad finding someone willing to be even near you, let alone shag you." Greyson had no idea why Selwyn thought he'd get arrested, land his arse in Azkaban, but whatever. He ignored that jab because it was never going to happen.
But then Flora said something that had fire flashing in Greyson's eyes, bringing what had happened to Cassidy's dad into the whole thing, and that pissed him off. Yeah, whatever, his dad was an arsehole who'd murdered a bunch of people in the name of the Dark Lord which sucked and all, but he could move past that. What he couldn't move past was the most traumatising event in his life, a murder that had played out right in front of him and Cassidy huddled in a corner. Even the mention of that incident had his jaw moving, clenching, with rage he only just managed to keep a lid on. "You love my dad that much, why don't I introduce you then? I'm sure he'd love a pretty little thing like you, parading in front of him, acting like you're better because... well, I don't what you seem to think makes you better than anyone really. You haven't done anything remarkable with your life so far."
This girl had the nerve to rip his cigarette straight from his lips and really, two could play at that game. In a blink of an eye, Greyson's wand was drawn and he'd spat out, "Accio wand" which sent Flora's own wand flying straight into the palm of his hand. Moving towards the edge of the lake, dangling her wand over the water like he was about to drop it straight in, Greyson asked with a very forced casual tone, "Wonder how long it'd take you to swim and get it, huh? Maybe the giant squid'll do me a favour and break it for me before you manage to find it." Flora's next target seemed to be Graham and his brother and Greyson let out the biggest snort known to man. "Oh, shit, haven't heard that before. Avery's don't cheat, we leave that to the Selwyn family instead. So... what's next? You going to take a shot at my dead mum and sisters? Are you really that low?"
Flora’s smug nod of the head was premature, unfortunately, as Greyson quickly turned her insult around on her. Despite her brother cousin’s preferences, Flora was pretty certain that she was not anally inclined. She much preferred a well defined bicep or and the hint of a ... Flora’s dark eyes shot a hard, unbelieving glare at Greyson as he pretended to imitate her. She bit the inside of her cheek but her nostrils betrayed the anger that flared beneath, ”ughhhhhh professor can I be excused? I’m having a midlife crisis at 15 and the stink of smoke is wearing off so I gotta go light before the class smells my bad B.O. wait. Too late.” Flora deepened her voice and made it raspy as fuck, her face the very picture of a booze-hound. Think Baga Chipz, Bree.
”Murder, Avery? How very unimaginative,” Flora shot back coolly, her tone and face eerily devoid of emotion. Yikes, that summer past in Pierre’s greenhouses really had rubbed off on her. ”Though I doubt the world would miss yet another Avery... let’s face it, you are a waste of pureblood,” she said with a screwed up nose as if she could smell death and decay standing before her.
It was Flora’s turn to scoff at Greyson’s words because boys - and girls, thank you very much - flirted with her on the regular. She flirted right back, most of the time. But... what the fuck were blue balls? It was very difficult to snipe back at an insult she didn’t understand and her toes curled inside her dragonhide boots as her quick mind scrambled for a reply. ”I think you should probably get something like that checked by the healer, Avery. That is if she could even find them without a microscope?” When in doubt, go for an insult about size. Always.
”Mmm, yes, because your standards are ’anything and everything that breathes’ I can see how a man of class needs your pity,” she practically spat the words out, stung by the idea of a loveless future - of the three Selwyns she was a true romantic. Was she unloveable? No... no her friends didn’t seem to think so. Merlin, why did Avery have to be so spiteful just because she turned him down?
Flora jutted her jaw out in a moment of triumph as she saw the anger rise behind Greyson’s eyes and the way his jaw clenched. In the pit of her stomach, she felt a pang of regret like she knew she took it too far ... or maybe just maybe it was fear and not regret at all. Still, pride prevented her from backing down. ”I’d have nothing to prance about in front of. He’d be but a husk of a man by now,” she forced out a shrug, her words spoken through gritted teeth. ”Contrary to your deluded impression of me, I don’t think I’m all that and a bag of chocolate frogs,” so why is your nose tilted towards the sky? To keep the hot, angry tears in or because you’re too tiny not to if you want to look your opponent in the eyes? ”It’s called self-esteem and self respect. It’s not my fault you have none, probably put it down to the terrible parenting, hmm? Though I guess he was a wee bit busy.”
Merlin! Flora tried to grasp at her wand but she wasn’t prepared for how quick Greyson was. She put her long, delicate fingers onto her hips , making her cloak hang over her elbows in her exaggerated silhouette. ”Don’t you dare,” there was pure panic in her voice now. What could she do, wandless? As Greyson snorted and tried to goade her into dragging his dearly departed mother and sister into all this, Flora’s fingers set to work unfastening the clasp of he cloak, the movements almost imperceptible due to the thick furs that lined the collar.
The moment the clasp came undone, Flora shrugged the heavy winter cloak from her shoulders and launched herself at Greyson. Her aim was of course to get her hands on her wand again, but if she happened to push him into the muddy, freezing waters of the lake she’d be fine with that too.
It was amusing, watching the way Flora's nostrils flared, the way she seemed so goddamn rattled by his impression of her. She later tried to do an impression of him - and a really shit one, as well. Did she really think that he'd be riled by calling him smelly like a toddler would? When he shared a room with Reginald who spent pretty much every single day bitching about the stench of smoke in their shared dorm room? Tipping his head back, Greyson let out a loud, raspy as fuck laugh. "Yeah, alright Selwyn. More like my midlife crisis started at 12, but you got me there. Sure do love my cigarettes. Got one thing wrong though - I wouldn't ask to be excused. I don't have my head shoved up that far in some do gooder Professor's arse like you. I'd just leave because I'm not a little bitch."
At Flora's very... strange attempt at telling him to go get his balls checked by the healer, Greyson leveled her with a look that pretty much scream at her: you're a fucking weirdo, Selwyn. "Why don't you come take a looksie if you're so interested, Selwyn? I'll give you a show. You can mark it as a 'first and last time this will happen' event in your itsy bitsy diary," he said, his fingers actually moving to the button of his jeans. He'd undo them in an instant, if only to traumatise her delicate sensibilities. "My standards are whoever's willing. 'Sides, I'd rather have the choice of who to hook-up with, rather than be some puppet controlled by my family. Isn't it shit, being so controlled by your family?"
The dig about his dad being a husk of a man didn't sting, but the fact that Flora was throwing his terrible parenting because of his business did because it was another reminder that his dad was more interested in seeking revenge then actually raising him, it was a reminder that his dad cared so little about traumatising him in the process. Her little saying about not being all that and a bag of frogs made him scoff, loud and abrupt. "Yeah, and yet you stand there, in front of me, throwing my dad's actions in my face. How the fuck do you think you don't have a superiority complex, Selwyn? Merlin, talk about pathetic. At least I can own my shit, you're just straight up in denial," he spat out towards the Slytherin girl.
"Don't you dare," Greyson mimicked as soon as her words met his ears, but then she was launching herself at him, knocking him backwards. He wasn't a strong guy, not athletic in the slightest, and so with little resistance, he flew back into the lake. But he wasn't about to let her take him down without a fight, and so he made sure that he took her with him into the freezing waters. Not only that, however, but he ensured that he let go of her wand as soon as he hit the water too. Good luck to her finding it before it went too far down.
The fact that the older boy was so clearly amused by her annoyance just added to the bubbling fury. Calm down, stop playing into his Merlin damned hands, the logical-side of Flora practically screamed at her. ”Oh really? I’m shocked that you pay that much attention to me during class - or any time really, Avery,” she replied, a perfectly plucked brow raising challengingly at the young man who was clearly practically stalking her. In her rage, Flora didn’t much care about the fact that they just happened to share classes. ”You’re head is so far up your own arse I can’t imagine how that’s at all possible.” She wanted to scratch his eyeballs out and her hands flexed with the absolute need as she tried to keep her words steely cool.
”If you so much as think to give me a show, Avery, I’ll make quick work of turning you into a eunuch. Diffindo is taught in second year and we all remember what happened when last year when George thought it would be funny to try severe his finger. I’m sure the grindylows would find you delicious even though no one else does,” she delivered her threat through gritted teeth as she pointedly looked away from the hideous creature that wanted to flash his private parts at her. Honestly, even if his dick was made of solid gold, Flora wouldn’t want to take a peek (though a solid gold member would be pretty intriguing. How would he pee?).
Unfortunately, at the time that this lovely exchange began, one of her best friends - Clary - hadn’t quite hooked up with Greyson in character. Otherwise Flora’s next words wouldn’t have been so scathing. ”Whomever is PAID, more like,” Flora shot back, deciding that she was unwilling to believe that any girl would be willing without being dearly compensated. Flora’s cheeks flushed a deep red when Greyson mentioned that her family still participated in arranged marriages and for once she was glad that her maternal line was officially denied by the family. It meant that whilst the matriarch that had arranged Vinda’s engagement was technically also her own grandmere, she did not suffer the same fate as her sister. Cousin.
”Arranged marriages have worked across the globe for centuries, thank you very much. The perfect match only increases your personal power and wealth, so no, it’s not terrible to have your family care enough about you to make sure your future is secure,” Flora’s tone in the last part reflected the fact that she knew Greyson’s family gave less than two shits about him. No one cared about him and her saint of a father would no doubt have told her to pity the sad creature for that fact alone. Of course, it was arranged marriages and their complexity that had made her the daughter of scandal in the first place ... but she didn’t need to think of that right now.
Because, you gob-shite, you insulted me and I won’t stand for it, Flora’s mind retorted as he pointed out how she stood there all High and Mighty. ”Congratulations for owning your shit - is there just so much of it that you have to share it with the rest of the world too? I can hardly be faulted if you’re the one confusing standards for superiority complex,” she downright refused to admit that he could be right about anything. Don’t even try claiming the sky was blue right now, Greyson, she’ll argue otherwise until she’s blue in the face.
Of course, Flora had not expected for the much larger student to crumple under her attack so easily. She had no time to correct her projection, she had no time to celebrate her victory over Greyson either as he fucking grabbed onto her and she was falling on top of him into the water.
Instead, Flora found her screaming mouth filled with the mucky lake water and for a moment she forgot all about the wand she was attempting to get back. She was choking on the water even as the icy cold liquid engulfed her tiny body. Her nails clawed at anything she could reach in her panic - was it flesh or mud that stuck beneath them? Flora had never been taught to swim and she was floundering to get her feet under her. Instead she was using Greyson’s body to get herself to the surface to cough and splutter.
This was not how Flora Selwyn was meant to die - astride Greyson Avery in the Black Lake.
Post by GREYSON AVERY on Dec 22, 2019 12:51:23 GMT
"It's hard not to pay attention when you're screeching in your best impression of a banshee voice - pick me, Professor, validate me- practically begging for adult approval," Greyson said, shooting Flora a sickly sweet smile. It really was difficult to ignore someone as annoying as her, who always had the answer to whatever question a Professor posed to the class. Greyson would be so fucking grateful next year when he didn't have to share a class with her. Flora's growing rage only tickled Greyson's amusement further, and his eyes darted down to her hands which were flexing in... what? An effort to try and not slap him? Shame. He'd definitely probably like that. "You're thinking about my head and my arse? What a dirty girl you are, Selwyn. Do your friends know how filthy your thoughts run?" A shit-eating grin spread across Greyson's face as he prodded and poked, trying to rile her up even further. How many times did he have to wave a red flag at her until she barged forward and attacked him?
"And you call my 'advances' crude? Merlin's beard, this is the third time you've brought up my delicates in a matter of minutes. Clearly you've put too much thought into what happens between my legs," Greyson said, mirroring her earlier words mockingly. He was having way too much fun, even with her threatening to severe off his privates and feed it to the grindylows.
Greyson let out a loud, obnoxious bark of laughter as Flora all but insinuated he had to pay to get laid. "Yeah, sure thing, babe. Unfortunately for you, you couldn't pay to even get someone to touch you," he shot back, cruelly because he was a dick and being nasty was his default. As Flora launched into some... lecture about arranged marriages, Greyson yawned, patting his mouth dramatically until she was finished. The jab about his family not giving a shit about him stung, sure, but he wasn't about to admit that. "Do you want me to give you that validation you so crave now, Selwyn? Good job. Great work reciting a textbook word for word. You get an E. Well bloody done."
Things were going well, Selwyn was in the lake with him like she bloody well deserved after trying to push him in... but then things went wrong. Fingernails were clawing at his skin but it wasn't in the way he usually liked them to, and the sheer look of terror on Flora's face as she tried to pull herself up, effectively pushing him back down under the water in the process, made his blood run cold. It reminded him - well, it reminded him of the way Cassidy's dad look, right before his dad... but he didn't want to think of that. He never wanted to think of that.
Flora's fingers pushed him down, down into the murky water, and Greyson caught his breath right before his face was submerged. "For fuck's sake," he gritted out when he managed to bob back up again. "Stay still so I can get you out." Turning around so his back was pressed up against hers, Greyson wrapped one arm around her chest - very much biting back a joke about how he was getting to second base without even trying - before wading them back to the shore. Then in one swift... no, okay, one very effort-filled movement... he managed to get them back onto the land. "Is this the part where you bat your eyelashes and call me your hero?"
Banshee voice? The anger was rising from her chest and if Flora was aware enough she'd have been glad that her coat had such a thick ring of fur around her neck to hide the bright red as it rose. Her jawline was far too taught for her to manage any retort in that moment, so instead she jutted her chin up just that bit further to return an air of dignity. "In your dreams Avery. The only thought that comes to mind is if the horrid smell is coming from it or just from the amount of shit you dribble," Flora said, delivered surprisingly well considering she'd been grinding her teeth only moments beforehand.
If it were at all possible to cause herself a brain injury with just how severely Flora rolled her eyes at Greyson when he accused her of thinking about his privates, Flora probably would still have done it. "Go right ahead, Avery. Test me," she had an arch of her brow that would have any normal person quivering in their booties and her delicate fingers tapped meaningful on the wood of her wand. She was so angry that reason was only hanging on by a thread and the prideful part of her nature inflamed to make it impossible for her to back out of this course of action. Would the Hogwarts healer be able to magically assist Greyson to reattach his genitals in the same way they'd regrown her bones?
Flora found herself nodding curtly because no, no she couldn't find anyone to pay to touch her because she didn't hang around Pay-to-Play establishments. Besides, she had it on good authority that her friends - Elena, Clary, Viola, even Liam - all loved touching her with cuddles and love... and more recently the ever-so-handsome Richard Frost had said that he liked her. In fact, they'd be on a date soon. But this? This piece of shit in front of her that was already one foot in the grave (or Azkaban)? There was no reason to let him know how wrong he was. Flora felt supreme in this knowledge, incredible even knowing that the love people had for her ... Greyson would never know.
Although her rage had caused her to fall into the water with Greyson, now terror filled her tiny frame and all the colour that had creeped up her neck had blanched completely from her instead. Was she screaming? No, she couldn't be because each time she opened her mouth to the murky water splashed into her lungs. There was suddenly pressure around her chest - OH SWEET DEATH - ITS GRIP WAS SO TIGHT - and somewhere as if from 20 yards away the sound of Greyson's voice finally broke through, his words reaching her. Stay still. Her hands gripped tightly to the arm around her chest, fingernails hanging onto him as if her life depended on it. The moment he lumped her onto the solid ground, Flora coughed and spluttered before vomiting up enough lake water to fill a fishbowl.
"You... you want me to thank you?" Flora said, heaving between her words as she crawled further up the bank away from Greyson. "You almost killed me. Over a cigarette," Flora was shaky as she pushed herself off the ground, with her eyes red but the rest of her a shocked, frozen white and her hair was stuck awfully to her face. "You're a monster, Avery. Your father's son," she choked out as she scooped up her cloak and stumbled her way back to the castle.
Slumped back against a tree near the lake, there was a cigarette perched between Greyson's lips, one he removed every few seconds to blow a mouthful of smoke into the sky. Whilst he was wearing a leather jacket (yes, he was a cliche, thank you very much), he was fucking freezing, and the smoke from the cigarette warmed him from the inside out. When the little stick in his hand reached the end, Greyson stomped it out on the ground, leaving the end in his wake as he finally took in his surroundings...
Flora could smell the human ashtray long before his repulsive words tannounced his arrival beside her. There had been rumours that Merlin was a jokester back in his day, but why must he amuse himself by bothering her with Avery's non-sense? Flora bit the inside of her cheek which made her already high cheek-bones even more pronounced on her sharp face.