Graves - pt. 4
part 1 | part 2 | part 3
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Hey! Made a new part! I really like how it turned out and there's ✨️lore✨️!
Taglist: @onehelluvamarine @1waveshortofashipwreck @whollyjoly @sweetxvanixlla @xxluckystrike @executethyself35 (if you want in or out, tell me!)
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Dean was the one who slowly pushed the door open, a nervousness taking over his body as he took in the room filled to the brim with the most random stuff it could be - all from books to a full unicorn taxidermy, staring down at him from it's shelf.
It was about the size of a wild hare with bared pointy teeth and black eyes. Dean had never seen a real unicorn before; Archie had told him how hard to catch those creatures were. Small, fast and aggressive, who used their horns to kill their prey. He wondered for a second if they were really as scary as the taxidermy mount, but decided not to question it.
The atmosphere was heavy, filled with the sound of feather scratching paper and fire burning at the fireplace - even as the rest of the group entered, stepping on the usually creaking floor boards, it seemed too quiet. Too still.
Sat right in the middle of the room, was a desk full of uninteresting paperwork and useless decoration. Miss Peacock was there, looking at the papers without even batting an eye at the group at first - she only did so when Seamus made a shy 'ahem' sound.
Her eyes drifted from her work, up to his face, and she raised her brows, glasses slipping a bit down her muzzle.
“I see you have returned.” She let down the feather she was writing with, then entangled her fingers, curious to what they had to say. “Without Pigeon and an hour and a half after your real return. One must wonder where have you been; you put the whole place in deep fear. We were about to send out a search party.”
“Miss Pigeon refused to join us,” said Sam, a bit intimidated by the woman. It was too dark in the room for him to tell who the other women were - he recognized Laura Macaw, Peacock's own apprentice and personal assistant. Other than that, he could only guess who the others could be. “She made a point about killing whoever went after her next.”
“She's elusive as always. That's how she spent so long in hiding. We're the first to find her and that's how she welcomes us…” Peacock pushed her reading glasses up, before drinking a sip of tea, then taking a look down at the papers again.
Seamus thought about the Hollow that was set loose upon Pigeon’s loop, but decided not to talk about it. Peacock knew about the creature because of Pangea's vision, but didn't know it was wandering the place for over a week before they could access it.
“She said she doesn't want to see you again. Ever. And that you were a cowardly bitch.” Enoch continued, a grin on his face that he was lucky Miss P couldn't see in the dark. Her eyes stared at him with such intensity, though, that he regretted his words instantly.
Peacock recomposed herself, opening a sweet smile before saying: “Don't you pay attention to such a thing. She's out of her mind. Staying isolated for so long takes its toll on a person, you see…” then she looked at one of the women in the room, which Seamus finally recognized to be Hydra. Peacock's eyes narrowed. “Now, what kind of language do your Ymbrynes let you use…?”
Enoch followed her gaze to the nervous woman, who looked like she wanted to disappear on the spot.
“I'm sorry… Miss Peacock…”
“Now, you two did fail your mission, though I'm not severely surprised…” she looked back, picking her feather back up. “Next time I'll need to pick more competent people, I see. No thanks to you, Miss Ibis.”
“I'm sorry, Miss Peacock.” Hydra said, quickly, letting her head down. “It'll not happen again. You'll not be disappointed anymore.”
“Correct, I won't. You promised me your children were good for any task, but they failed at such a simple thing as to bring a one-legged old-woman to me. I'll not be using their help for these missions again.” Peacock went back to writing, after dipping the feather's tip in some ink. She stopped mid sentence, though, to look up once more. “Will you tell me why you kids took so long to get to me?”
“No, ma'am… I fear not.” Sam simply put.
Peacock shook her head, then made a dismissing motion with her hand.
“Then out of my office.”
They bowed, showing at least some respect, before quickly scurrying away, followed by Hydra. She opened her wings enough to cover their backs as they made their way through the hall, looking over her shoulder as Laura closed the door.
Hydra guided them, looking extremely nervous as she whispered to herself in an ancient language. After some walking, though, she let them stop, finally feeling just safe enough to check on them.
“Oh, thank the Gods you're safe!” She said, pulling both Enoch and Seamus for a hug. It was clear how worried she was before and now, close to tears, she couldn't quite believe her eyes, seeing them alive and in one piece. “I-I was so worried I'd lose you!”
Enoch mumbled something, before pulling himself away from her. He crossed his arms, looking at the floor: “Well, it didn't seem so while we were being humiliated by that glorified chicken.”
Hydra sighed, trying to place her hand on his shoulder, just before he stepped back, out of reach.
“I'm sorry, Enoch. I truly am. I know I should've said something, but… Miss Peacock can be hard to deal with. I'm sure she didn't mean any of tha-”
“Out of the way, searats!” Laura's voice was sharp and full of hatred as she passed by, using her blue colored wings to push Hydra and the group out of her way. “I'm impressed Miss P still lets you wander around these halls. A dirty, disgusting bunch…”
“Oh, shut yer trap!” Dean let out, receiving a very hostile look from the woman. He didn't back away, though; instead, just puffed his neck and tail fur - he just didn't do anything more because Sam quietly held his hand.
“I think Miss P is extremely kind by giving you a chance,” she said, turning around just enough for her to face him. She carried a bunch of books and paper scrolls, presumably to be retrieved to the library. “Pirates are good for one thing alone, and you know what it is.”
“Say it, then!” He dared, furious.
“To hang.” Laura then turned to go, leaving the group behind as she disappeared in the halls of Venus’ Pandeloop.
Dean wanted to break free from Seamus and run after her, to attack, but a tug made his attention shift to his partner. He looked angry, ready to take on that fight even if it meant he could actually be sentenced to death by the Bird Council. The only thing that held him back was Sam's pleading look.
“Dee, let her be.” His voice was calm, gentle, though still carrying some sadness by the way Laura had spoken.
“Let her be?! She said our only purpose is to die! To meet the end of the rope! How am I supposed to let her be?!”
“Jeremy said the same thing once…” Hydra said, looking hurt. “We wanted to throw him overboard, but we didn't. I never knew why, but we let him be. Now, he's a changed man. He doesn't think like that anymore. People can change their minds, Dean, give Laura time to actually know and understand us.”
“I think she's a prejudiced piece of good-for-nothing crap!” Enoch huffed, sounding angry. "We should trow her to Artemis' dragons!"
“And how are you any better?” Pangea asked, making him go silent.
The way back through the almost empty halls was silent. During the day, that place was filled with people of all kinds, from everywhere in time and every part of the world, traveling through the Pandeloop's portals to visit places and friends. From winged women being followed by their peculiar children to weird looking animals and groups of scientists meeting to talk about discoveries. At night, though, all you could see were the occasional staff cleaning and tidying up the place.
They passed by the known people, giving them faint smiles and quiet waves as they went but, other than that, they were each absorbed in their own minds.
As the group approached their own door, right at the end of one of the second floor's halls, Hydra pushed it open. The door was made out of wood, seemingly normal if not for the corrosions from salinity and the smell of ocean water coming from behind it. Besides that, the only other indication that it was the right door for them to go through, was a golden sign with “Blithe, present. Restricted access. Do not enter.”
The room slowly transitioned from a guest room in London, 1886, to a pirate ship's jail, on the lowest deck of it.
They went through, feeling a slight shift in the air as they stepped out of the past and directly into the present. Going from stable ground to a moving one, as the waves swayed Blithe around, made the group almost lose their balance, safe from Hydra, the best prepared for it. She used her wings to help them stand normally and, when they all finally seemed to be able to actually stand by themselves, she opened the cell's door for them to get out.
Peggy wagged her whole body as she started sniffing around, shoving her nose in one of the ship's cats face - Oops hissed at her. The cat, sleeping peacefully inside the cell, was definitely caught off guard as her owners stepped out of seemingly the wall. Unable to see the portal, Oops simply arched her back, trying to seem dangerous before almost hitting Peggy in the nose and running off, letting out angry hisses and meows.
Seamus was the first to step into the ship's kitchen, caught by surprise by the presence of all the Crew, standing around the table and looking down at a map. He had almost forgotten his command to Horace, for him to gather everyone and fill them in, to the best of his ability.
“So, Pansy is back?” Hugh tilted his head, a couple of bees flying around his face as he stared at the group, waiting for the rest of the news.
“Yes, and she…”
“Kidnapped Harriet Compton?” Millard asked; even if he was invisible and no one could see his face, his voice made it absolutely clear that he was holding back so he wouldn't cry. His efforts were in vain, though, as he saw Sam's small nod. He covered his mouth with his hand, looking down as a hiccup left his throat.
“You worked with her, right…?” Juni's voice was low and gentle as she reached for his shoulder, rubbing her hand against him, trying to soothe Millard. “I'm sorry, Mills. She’ll be alright, I know it.”
“Oh… if Pansy needssed someone to guide her through the Map of Days, it could've been him…” Olive said, receiving weird looks that she couldn't quite understand. “What?! It is true!”
“Olive, please take Claire and go play upside.” Natasha smiled at her, trying to convince the kid to step out of the kitchen so she wouldn't have to listen to anything, if it came to it, but Olive didn't move a single strand of fur.
“I'm older than you!” She argued. “And so is Claire!”
“Ye're still physically and mentally kids, though. Please, dear, would ye do it for yer dad?” Rodion intervened, kneeling to stand at her height. He had a smile, gently holding her little hands with his big, calloused ones. “I know ya want to be included, but just this time, ok?”
“Not fair! Mamma lets me participate in stuff!” She stomped her feet, looking around for someone to defend her, but everyone seemed to agree that it was better if the kids were left out of the discussion. “Why do you all act like I don't know anything?!”
“We know ye're an amazing lil’ fighter, Olive. We know ye know a lot.” Rodion got back up, gently shoving her in the direction of the exit. “This time, tho, there'll be stuff ya don't wanna hear.”
She crossed her arms, stomping away followed by Claire. Her white fur let it show how her face turned red in anger, as she huffed and puffed all the way up the stairs, mumbling about how “grown ups are stupid!”, “I can shoot and sword fight!” and “I'm not scared of Pansy Graves!”.
Rodion let out a sigh, turning back towards the rest of the crew, waiting for their information and plans to be laid out.
“Alright… we stopped by the Cutthroat Inn and Jack told us he thought the next place Pansy would go is her family's estate, we just don't know where it is.” Sam started, leaning against the table as he tried to make sense of the UK's map. “We know they're bankrupt and living off the Serpen's loaned money. Presumably, also close to one of your family's places…?” His eyes darted back up at Sirius and Hydra.
Both stood side by side, looking at the map in silence. Sirius leaned forward, pointing at London and tracing a line with his finger towards Hampshire.
“Me family has a manor in the countryside here, up near North Wessex. We used to travel there in the summer with Mother, remember Hydra?” He tilted his head, tapping the map. “I think the Grave's Manor is near here. Mother would talk about ‘em being good people and she wanted our Grandmother to marry Hydra to ‘em instead of the Carrow Family.”
“Oh, yeah, a lot of magical families lived nearby or had summer residences there.” Hydra nodded, trying to think. “The Graves, the Carrows… now Sagitta and Scorpius, after they married. Didn’t Archie's grandparents live there too? The Müllers.”
“Well, it means he could help us find out which is the Grave's manor.” Dean pointed out. “Just gotta know how the fuck do we get there while also passing by Brighton to get him.”
“Easy; you go from the Devil's Acre directly to Brighton.” Hydra said, immediately noticing the confused faces. “Oh, you didn’t know, right? The third floor will be closed tomorrow, by Peacock's orders. There'll be no way out of the Devil's Acre unless you go through Miss Lyrebird's imitation of the Pandeloop.”
“Miss Lyrebird's what the fuck?”
Hydra stopped, biting her tongue. For a moment, she wanted to hide herself and act as if nothing happened but, now, she had no way out of the discussion without spilling all the beans.
“Kenji and I were scared when Peacock took control over the Pandeloop. I pulled Lyrebird aside one day and she helped us come up with a plan B in any case…” She looked down, seemingly guilty for not telling everyone earlier about what she and the other two had done in secret. “I stole Venus’ old papers from when she was being forced by Regulus to build the Pandeloop and we set up another one inside Lyrebird's Loop…”
Hydra sat down in one of the chairs, a little dizzy from pure anxiety.
“We- we know it works to send someone somewhere, but it can't open for someone to come back through it. It's a one-way ticket to wherever you want, but you have to come back without it.”
“Well, we’ll be in the present so it shouldn't be hard to get back…” Sam mumbled, still trying to wrap his head around the news. “We use it to go to Brighton, get Archie and he takes us to the Graves’ Manor.”
“No! Absolutely not!” Hydra spat out, suddenly getting up again and promptly regretting it. She took a deep breath. “You can't go there. You have no clue how that place will act once they find out you're there.”
“Why…?” Dean tilted his head, confused.
“If you think Laura is prejudiced, you never met one of those families!” Hydra stared at him, her wings shooting open. “I was born and raised with them, Dean, you have no idea how far their hatred can go. They'll disappear with all of you solely because you're not considered ‘pure’, or whatever.”
Dean wanted to protest, but Sirius stopped him with a motion of his hand, before speaking up.
“Hydra 's right. They tried to kill me, their own blood. What would stop ‘em from killing y'all? They're all on Regulus' side, anyway.”
“At the same time, we need to stop Pansy…” Jeremy said. Until now, he had been silent sitting with his hands together, staring at the map almost without blinking. He finally looked up at Sirius, grabbing his hand to calm him. “Ay, love, ye know ‘em. Those kids are made out o’ iron. I trust ‘em to go there and come back alive.”
Seamus let his ears down, then looked at his own hands. He didn't like to mention his own health conditions or curses but, somehow, he felt like it would bring some peace to Hydra and Sirius.
“I'm… an Obscurus…” he said, slowly, trying to look up only to fail. “If anything happens to anyone… I can… uh… let go…”
“FUCKIN’ NO!” Dean yelled, grabbing him by the arm. “The Gods know when you’ll die ‘cause of that… thing! I don't need to lose ya now!” Dean let go, still looking absolutely betrayed by the mere idea. “That parasite drains your soul every time you let it take over and you know it!”
“You have to promise, Sam.” Pangea said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the ground. “No Obscurus. No matter what.”
He simply nodded, looking up at Hydra and Sirius. Both still seemed anxious, but if Jeremy gave the green flag for them to go, it was final.
“Alright. I promise.”
“Good.” Jeremy got up, still holding Sirius’ hand. “The three of you should rest and leave early tomorrow.”
“I'm… not going… I have to stay and take care of Enoch.” Pangea said, side eyeing him. “I promised Eleanor I'd look for him if the potion's side effects grow worse.”
“Oh… well… then… “ Jeremy looked around, eyes falling upon Natasha and Emma. “You two will go. Their powers are great for defense and attack, if needed.”
The two girls seemed caught by surprise, but didn't argue, simply nodding their heads with a slight smile on their faces.
"Wait! You're letting us go?" Natasha placed a hand on her hip, a sassy smile forming on her lips. "Fuck yeah, we're ready!"
"Someone has to save the boys' fur..." Emma winked at Sam and Dean, before letting out a laugh. She leaned against her friend's shoulder, jokingly putting up her middle finger to Sam and Dean, with a single flame burning at the end of it.
Seamus crossed his arms, letting out a mumbled "fucking great..." as he heard Dean laugh. He wasn't completely against the girls' involvement with the mission, but he couldn't quite put aside the fear that both of their strong perdonalities would end up being more of an obstacle to them.
"See you by the morning. We're leaving when Sun's up."
"A'ight, sir!" Natasha did a playful playful salute, that only made his patience drop a little more. He knew it was a joke, but part of him couldn't help but feel pissed at how unserious they were.
Nate and Emma both walked away, giggling with themselves as they disappeared down the stairs, walking towards the sleeping quarters.
"They'll give you a headache~ ", Dean joked, side eyeing Sam's already tired face.
"Yeah, good luck." Pangea agreed, a soft laugh leaving her mouth. "They're not quite your usual soldiers, Seamus."
"I can't quite think if that's good or bad..."
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