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★彡
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─ ✦𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐇 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐘 , because of course it does, and Rain really shouldn't have expected anything less.
The moment he steps foot onto the train, he bumps shoulders with Severus Snape, and he's immediately greeted with a glare so nasty that he nearly shrivels down to his feet. Thankfully, the encounter lasts only a few seconds, and it's over just as fast as it started.
Halima materialises out of nowhere after Severus walks away, glances at the mildly disturbed look on his face and grabs his wrist to drag him down to the compartment he and the rest of their friends usually occupy. "Wipe that look off your face. It doesn't suit you," she comments in lieu of a greeting.
Her braided hair is tied up in a high ponytail, and it swishes from side to side as she walks. "Well, hello to you too," Rain finally says to her, the tone of his voice a bit passive aggressive.
"We've been waiting ages for you," Halima continues, completely ignoring whatever Rain has said. "Where the hell have you been?"
"You can't exactly blame me. You know how fussy my mum gets when the school year starts," he explains. "If River wasn't there to calm her down, I swear she would've just dragged me back home."
If Achilles had been there with him, the goodbyes with his mother would've been much shorter. A sweet smile from him here, some reassuring words there and Solhee Fairchild would have caved and let him go. But he wasn't, and Rain didn't know exactly for what reason. Even his own brother had trouble convincing her, so it really makes no sense how Achilles has the ability to do it so effortlessly.
Halima releases his wrist, then proceeds to throw her arm around his shoulders. Rains hunches just the slightest bit to accommodate her height. "Someone needs to tell her that not every year will be like the third. It's been years already. Why is she still so paranoid?"
Rain rolls his eyes and smiles faintly. "I think that's quite a normal reaction after one of your children ends up being a kidnapping victim."
Rain may joke about that now, but the nightmares from that long, horrible week still haunt him sometimes, but he's used to them by now.
Halima slows down seconds later, her hand sliding open a compartment door as she forces both herself and Rain through the entrance. Achilles is sprawled across the full length of the seats on the right, while Mateo sits on the floor in the middle with a miffed look on his face. Sunhee is avidly talking Achilles' ear off about something she witnessed during the holidays, but she immediately cuts herself off when Rain and Halima walk in.
