The storm in a heart

Date | 24th of January
Time | a little after 7 am
Weather | It’s raining
Surroundings & Place | A little away from the academy, no one has really arrived yet
Attire | A white knitted blouse, black jeans with white stitching and black boots

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It was now a little over a week ago that she had left the home of her and Zadkiel. Leaving behind a letter that they could no longer be together. Because she couldn’t keep bringing him into her past, and it seemed like she would never be able to outrun it or start a life where it would haunt her or the person she was with. Maybe it was her cowardness that couldn’t keep going. Being afraid of what would happen next, and not being able to look Zadkiel or any of his family members in the eye. Maybe it was the curse that was compelling her to let go and walk away. Because all she ever did was cause more harm than good. But even then, she knew it wasn’t true. If she truly wanted it to work, she could make it so. She just couldn’t anymore, and Zadkiel did deserve better. That she knew for sure. He needed a young girl, that could explore everything with, not an old vampire with a list of enemies so long, that she had no idea who would be coming for her next.

Now she just had to get over the next step, that she couldn’t run away from her obligations. She had gotten a week off because of everything that had happened. Not that she had told in great detail, she had called in and taken sick days explained that it was because of family issues that she needed to take care off.

If next step was easy. It wasn’t. Feeling how tears glided down her cheeks and a soft sob left her as she closed her eyes and leaned back into the car seat. She hadn’t even been able to drive into the parking lot. How the hell was she supposed to walk down the halls when both Kemuel and Seraphina was still attending the academy? It didn't help that she didn't dare to show Oscar just how hurt she was. She could handle the snark remarks, and how he could be mean and mock her. That even despite that didn't want her to leave. She just didn't dare cry in front of him. Which meant that she hadn't really let herself morn the loss of the relationship.

It was weird coming back here. Now he had been around since Daisy had texted him first, and he hadn't really been back in at least twenty years prior that. Everything and nothing had changed at the same time, which was possibly the weirdest of it all. Elroy had travelled with him eager to meet his cousins just like Vidar had looked forward to get to know his nieces a bit better. Know how everything went on in his sister's life, a lot had changed. But he was just happy to see how much better she had gotten since last time he had seen her. He knew one of his nieces were studying at the academy, the youngest of them: Katelyn. So, he had to do the only right thing he could do, right? Check everything out to make sure if was a good place. Not because he didn't trust Daisy's judgement, one would be wrong to challenge that. But oh well, here he was.

How had he gotten here? He had walked of course, because he liked the nature and to see what was hiding behind the pretty landscape that others simply just passed when they drove here. Just before he got to the parking lot he noticed a car just holding still, maybe the driver had run out of gas - who knew? Could of course be something else, who really knew. So, he did the only thing one could to in the situation, walk towards the car and bend a little over to knock gently on the window to the passanger seat. "Hey everything okay miss?" he asked with his brows pressed a little bit together, moving his eyes shortly up towards the path that would lead to the gates of the academy and the parking lot he supposed. Then he turned his eyes back to the window, she was crying, maybe she was just nervous - first day at work, who really knew?

She should have known. By the sound or the movement coming closer towards her car. But she was so preoccupied with her own misery that she had no idea someone had come closer to where she was parked. But she should have known, because with her senses there really wasn’t any excuse. But she didn’t. Which was why a soft exclaimed left her lips as he knocked on the window connected to the passenger seats door. Letting out a soft exhale, she removed her tears quickly. Before she leaned over after unbuckling her seat belt and opened the door so they could better talk. She didn’t think about that she could just roll down the window and talk to him that way. “I’m sorry?” she asked, not really comprehending that he had just asked if she was okay. Because who wanted to take minutes out of their day and check up on the crazy lady sitting in their car crying?

She hadn't heard his words, which he only got from the way she turned and got out of the car, making him take a step back so he wasn't hit in the head by the door. Vidar pressed his brows a little bit together, clearly a woman in distress in some way. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you - " he firstly began looking shortly to the car, placing his hands in his jacket pockets and looked around them for a moment and looked towards her again. "I thought you might have trouble with your car. It's not many people who just hold here, not moving - I don't assume it otherwise was just your first day and you were scared to face all the scary students?" He lifted his right brow just a little bit. Not that he would judge, teenage supernatural people could be very scary actually. He took his hands back out of his pockets and lifted them a bit in the air before moving them to the side, and then back in his pockets. "Just out for a stroll, my niece goes to the academy - I just wanted to check it out, you know, saw your car - I promise I'm not here to cause any trouble." Well, he perhaps hadn't needed to declare his intentions, but somehow he felt like it could at least bring his intention about why he had knocked on her window - then again, if he had been out to cause any harm or anything like that - he could by ease have just fried the car with a lighting strike or just smashed the window to signal he wanted trouble.

“No, no you didn’t –“ she tried to shake her head and gave him a smile, but the fact was. She knew. That he knew. That she was lying. He had disturbed her in her crying, and that was very evident on how she looked and that her eyes still looked a little rough from the mascara not really staying at her lashes as it was supposed to. But she tried to pretend just for a moment that she wasn’t completely broken. Car trouble? She looked at her car and then back at him, feeling how rain was falling around them. Making the shoulder of her jacket wet, her hair a little damp. Maybe she should just have stayed in the car. She shook her head with a soft laugh “No, I’ve been working here since august” she explained, then he went on with explaining why he was even there. One of his nieces went at the school? Interesting. She took him in, and a smile blossomed on her lips. “Katelyn Goldsmith” she asked, even though she didn’t need him to confirm that it was her. Both from the aura that he had, but also the peculiar smell coming from him that she couldn’t quite place. Almost, like he wasn’t entirely off this earth. Rebekah had the same smell, just different. It was hard to explain. “Ehm, I –“ she looked at little back and forth “You want to join me in the car for a while?” she asked, not really knowing what to do with herself nor how to handle this situation. Normally strangers didn’t really stop up and talk to her like this, especially not when she didn’t change her scent or aura coming from her being a pureblood vampire.

Working here since August, he nodded a little bit with a still warm smile. It quite surprised him she could figure out this fast whom he was speaking about, but ended up just chuckling a little bit by it to confirm it was true. Well, Vidar knew a bit more about his mother's family secrets than his siblings did, at least to his knowledge. Her next question made him press his brows just a little bit together, it was not the normal question he was asked when he was out walking. However, Vidar could feel that perhaps she just needed someone next to her, even if it was just starring out of the window - he knew that feeling, just needing someone by your side even if it was a stranger who didn't know your story. Someone who didn't know all the crap you carried and could just be there for a moment. "Sure," he exhaled and walked over towards her car, and entered the car. Vidar sat down, and closed the door, looking at the front window as the rain drops covered it so nicely. He took a deeper breath in and exhaled softly, turning his head towards the vampire and looked at her with wonder. What had her so distressed and upset? Not that it was his place to know or ask, so he was just going to let her speak if she needed to, or stay silent - right now he just went with whatever.

She was actually surprised that he just agreed to what she said. Not asking why, or just said plain no. She wouldn’t blame him if he had done so. But he hadn’t, so after she had let it sink in, she opened the door once again and placed herself in the front seat. Now a little damper than she had been before. For a moment she just sat there, before turning her gaze towards him. “I’m Letha by the way, Letha Aetós” she presented herself with a soft smile on her lips. “Might be in order to actually introduce oneself, as you ask handsome strangers into your car because you were having a mental breakdown, he mistook for car trouble” she laughed a little, even though it was more sad than laughable really. Closing her eyes, she leaned back letting out a big exhale. “Sorry – It’s been some intense months” she mumbled, letting to fingers grab the bridge of her nose, as if a headache was taking ahold of her. “I’m guessing this wasn’t what you hoped to find when you tried to figure out what kind of school your niece are attending?” she opened her eyes again, letting go of the nose bridge and gave him a small attempt on a friendly smile.

Their eyes met, making him a drag in a slightly deeper breath before she presented herself. "Vidar Goldsmith," he presented himself as well with a slightly lower voice, then chuckled a little by the comment, even if it wasn't for the fact that he found it funny, mental breakdowns were anything but funny. As she closed her eyes he moved his own from her back to the road ahead of them, breathing out, nothing compared to the big exhale she exclaimed, making him turn his head slightly towards her again. Intense months, seemed to be more than just a few months worth of pressure, it seemed like a life time of weight crashing over ones shoulder. "Well it was for sure not what I expected, I will give you that," he pointed out honestly, because no he had not counted on tabbing on the window of a beautiful burned out woman, not sitting in her car either - who would really plan anything like that? He turned a a little so his front mostly turned towards her. "So, Letha - humor me, what causes you such distress?" He pressed his brows just a bit wondering together, knowing she didn't have to say anything, and if she didn't want to - that was fine to, but he didn't mind listening, otherwise he would not have sat down inside her car.

She had been right; it was Katelyn Goldsmith that was his niece. How small the world could be, she had the girl in track, she was amazing. She gave him a small smile, almost like a whisper before it faded again as she looked outside the front mirror. For a moment they just sat there before he turned his front towards her. So, she did the same, as it seemed like he had a question he would like to ask her. She should have seen it coming, that he wanted to know what caused her this much distress. But it still made her hold her breath, looking down at her hands. “Well” she sighed looking up again. “There is this story” she felt like that was easier than just telling it straight out. “About a woman that loses her memory – and she forgets who she was before, and has to navigate in a world she no longer understands – fast forward many years, were the woman now works as a private detective, she meets this beautiful young man, they end up falling in love and for a while its really good – but then the woman gets a visit, someone from her past and she is reminded of who she was, what she had done and that she has many enemies” she licked her lips and turned her gaze out the window. “She struggles for months with coming to grips with the fact that she was once, something she now would never want to be. When her young man is almost killed by one from her past, reminding her that there will be a time that one of her enemies will look at the one she loves, and she won’t always be able to be there to save them. So, she decides to leave him, for his own good because when looking at it objectively she hid to many things for him, and he always tried to follow her where he shouldn’t. And for his own protection, and for her best she decides to leave him, knowing he has a wonderful family to take care of him and a lot of friends – he will be okay, and she. She will find a way to get over the heartbreak on her own” licking her lips she let out another breath and closed her eyes. After a while she turned towards him. “And it so is, that three of his siblings goes at the academy – which makes it a little complicated” she said feeling how lips tried to pull up into a smile. Not that it really happened, because of course it still hurt. Almost like someone was crushing her soul.

Compared to many other beings Vidar hadn't lived long, compared to his siblings - he had, it was a rather bizar experience, but in his life he had seen many people, helped many people and listened to so many stories he couldn't count them anymore. However, despite not knowing every detail the overall tale gave him an idea on what was going on. No, he had never lost his memories or had them rendered with, he couldn't imagine how it was like what it was like building up a whole new identity, a life to get the old one thrown back at you without a warning. Then there was the love part. Being in love, and your enemires coming down to hunt them down. Vidar knew about having enemies, he had some over the years, mostly hunters of the supernatural. So, imagine how unhappy he had been with his sister's choice of man back in the day - well he had learned to somewhat accept it, still much better pleased with who she was with now. Vidar still learning to separate the hunter from the man, much like with himself time to time.

So, she had chosen to let the boy go for his own safety. Depending on her enemies, he understood. He understood the need to let someone go in order for them to have a life without the drama that followed along. "Well, I believe she can find her own way to get through this," he pointed out and took a deeper breath in. Okay, three siblings of this former love attended the academy - it could complicate things, he understood that. "I believe that you found a way to get out of bed this morning, got out the door - and that makes you a person of incredible strength that you shouldn't take for granted," he moved his eyes towards Letha again, "and these siblings is just a bump on the road, if you want I can drive with you - like I said, I wanted to see the academy. And if there is any trouble we can just go back outside, and I will go in and say you won't make it in today. One step at the time -" he suggested and gave her a warmer smile.

She let out a soft chuckle and turned her body, so it was against placed correctly in the seat she was sitting in. Maybe she would get through this, maybe she wouldn’t. How many times hadn’t she contemplated just making her life end. Doing everyone a favour that she would be gone? But there was still the will to live, that somewhere down the line there would get better again. She would get her happy ending, just not with Zadkiel. She just needed to be okay with that, and that was going to take time. Now, the next words he said to broke something in her. But mended something else. He broke the dam. The dam had been holding up the feelings she had tried to hide away. Tears welled up in her eyes, and then they glided down her cheeks. Then she broke down and started crying. “Sorry” she tried to mumble through her tears and sobs that just didn’t want to stop. She didn’t like breaking down like this in front of anyone. She had done it in front of Killian, but even in front of Zadkiel she had kept it together. This sucked, it was nice – but boy it sucked.

He watched the tears starting to threaten with leaving her eyes, saw how they ran over her cheeks. Vidar shook his head a little as she apologized, but he didn't say anything, not as her gets kept coming and she starting sobbing. Right now, he hated they actually had sat down in the car because it was not the easiest to actually reach nor comfort her properly or like he had wanted to at least. Either way, he made his best attempt and moved his arms out to pull her into his embrace, luckily they weren't having the seatbelts on so it was far easier. He placed a hand on the back of her head, and tilted his head a little so it would rest on the top of her head. Just for the time she needed, his embrace was far from force filled, yet he didn't mind giving her a softer squeeze to know she wasn't sitting here alone with the weight of the world on her shoulders - at least not alone. And even if he was only a stranger, a face she could forget the moment their ways parted if she wished. Right now, that didn't matter as much as it mattered that he was here. "It's okay, just let it out - don't hold back," he whispered, letting his other hand caress her upper back - just letting her cry the amount and time she needed to.

It was like she was trying to breathe under water. It just resulted in taking in air that didn’t sit well in her lungs. Her dead lungs that didn’t even need to air to make the rest of her body function. But it was such a human factor, that even vampires, the dead monsters that everyone talked about. Did it. She wanted to scream, to hit something to make noise and to just give up. But then she wanted to fight, and make sure that every knew that she was here to stay, and nothing would slow her down. But when even getting out of her bed was a challenge – she felt like she was losing herself by the second. She hated every moment of it.

She hadn’t even noticed how Vidar had pulled her into his embrace. Or that she had turned her head and cried into his shoulder. She hated feeling like this, but at the same time she could feel how it helped. Getting it out, as he told her too. That she shouldn’t hold back. Her arms slid around his neck and pulled him closer. If she could, she might even had crawled all the way over to him and placed herself on his lap. But she did, right now at least, have more self-control than that.

Her arms slid around his neck and she pulled him closer, she needed this, but Vidar still had no idea just how much she did. But right now it didn't matter, he wanted to be there for her. What else could he do? She listened to him at least, let it out, cried, so he held her closer. Closing his own eyes  to just be in the moment with her rather than anywhere else. "It's alright," he whispered, letting his hand trace over her hair and he took a deeper breath in, before exhaling softly. Just staying here, making the rain fall a little bit heavier outside, so people passing in cars couldn't see in when driving by and thereby just leaving them in peace. But at the same time the sound of the heavy rain even help calming his nerves down a little bit, it always did, just listening to it.

It took a while, but the sobs subdued, and the tears stopped falling. It had helped, it really had. But she also felt embarrassed that she had just started crying like that. Folding her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Letha let go and with soft movements glided back to her seat. “Thank you” she breathed, not wanting to apologise again when he had already told her that it was alright. She begged to differ, but if he was sure she wasn’t about to make him feel like he shouldn’t have done it. Because even though she was sorry, she was extremely grateful. Her pale blue eyes watched how the rain drummed against the windscreen. “You wanted to check out the academy?” she asked, turning towards him, removing some of the tears that had glided down her cheeks. “I feel like I a least owe you a cup of coffee and a tour of the grounds now” she said with a sad smile, ready to drive again and face her demons.

Then she let go. He didn't know how much time had past, he hadn't counted the seconds nor the minutes they had been sitting here. He just simply nodded once she thanked him, and exhaled slowly himself and cleared his throat a little bit. Then she reminded him the whole reason why he had travelled this way today. "Yeah," he just simply responded not really feeling like it mattered by now, but then it would be quite weird to just leave now, wouldn't it? Besides, he could see Katelyn, so either way it would be worth it. "Coffee is the only payment I need," he chuckled a little, not that he needed payment for a gesture of kindness. But then nodded, "however, a private tour does not sound so bad," he gave her a comforting smile before letting the rain clear up as she started to drive again. The least he could do now was provide a bit more uplifting weather that wasn't pouring rain.

After he said yeah, it occurred to her that he might rather just get out and go somewhere else. But she didn’t ask him, he was a big boy he could tell a woman no. Right? A small smile formed on her lips as he told her that coffee was the only payment he needed. "Well, I’ll remember that, if I ever need someone to hug me in the car, while I cry” she teased, as her tongue ran over her lips. She turned on the key in the ignition and started driving towards the school. It didn’t take all that long, after all she hadn’t been that far away from the parking lot. But even so, she was still grateful that she had someone sitting beside her as she turned into a booth and turned off the car. “Alright – first day” she mumbled for herself and got out. She could do this, she had to do this. She took her satchel with all her documents and things she needed for her classes today. “Come with me” she said with a smile and walked towards her office, now she wasn’t only a teacher she was also one of the many counselors there were at the Athena Academy.  “Welcome to the great academy, I have an office not far, I’ve given myself the treat and bought a coffee machine, that I might add - gets a little misused by some of the other teachers” it helped talking about something that was nowhere related to what happened in the car.

He licked his lips a little bit, "I should add it to my resume," the thunderbird chuckled a little bit. Not that it really was funny, but they had to laugh at something otherwise the world would be awfully dull. Parking shortly after he stepped out of the car, at least the rain wasn't to terrible anymore. He looked up at the amazing building, old and strong it was standing there - hosting so many different people, changing their lives. He moved his head towards her when she gestured him to follow along, so he did. Getting inside he looked all around him, well it was like he imagined and had heard about. The great academy. Now he had googled the place on the magic side of the web, seen it and knew a little, but seeing it with ones own eyes was incredible. "It's just as I pictured it," he mumbled a little to himself and followed Letha inside to her office. "Must be incredible to help and guide so many aspiring souls," he exhaled a little taking a look around the room he was in.

She looked towards him as he mumbled that it was just as he pictured it. It wasn’t usually the thing that people said when seeing the grounds for the first time. Mostly because picture could only do so much, then there was the whole atmosphere and how much magic there was centred here. Which of course made sense, given that so many students were either fairy or witches. Or a hybrid of either. She let her tongue glide over her lips, as she stepped into the office. There wasn’t a whole lot to see, a few pictures, her work computer standing on a beautifully wood carved desk, in a darker undertone. Walking towards the desk her eyes landed on a picture of her and Zadkiel. It pulled in her heart, and she quickly took it and placed it in one of the desk drawers.
Maybe that was the hardest of it all. It wasn’t because one of them suddenly had fallen out of love. Circumstances, that had been the reason why she had decided to leave. Not because she no longer loved him. But with that, she also knew that he was young and there would come another love for him, someone that would be better for him that she ever was.
“Hmm?” she looked up; caught in her own thoughts she hadn’t heard him. “Oh, yes” she nodded when she realised that she had heard them, but just needed it to catch up with her unfocused mind. “It is incredible, which is also the reason why I very much would like to keep doing it, even despite everything that happened” she answered truthfully and walked towards the coffee machine and started making him that coffee that she had promised him. “So, are you in town just visiting your niece and her family or are you staying for longer than that?” she asked looking over her shoulder towards him.