The Little Moon

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"There. There you are. I've been looking all over."

It's with a sense of urgency that she's sought him out. Because her intuition's telling her there's much more to this than meets the eye.

After all, why the hell are Henry and Barty here?

And that's just the tip of the iceberg -

It's Rheda's outright hostility that's really put Alecto on guard. Though she's always had a contentious relationship with the older witch, this was far more adversarial than she'd anticipated.

That in conjunction with a few other things that aren't quite adding up.

And so it's with renewed purpose that she's combed the entire grounds, finally tracking down her brother.

As Alecto approaches Amycus leans fully back in his seat, an iron wrought patio chair in an overgrown gazebo in the back gardens of the villa. Crossing one leg over the other, he gives her a quick nod. Taking a small sip of the glass of fire whiskey he's poured for himself, he then lowers it back down to rest against one knee, ice cubes clinking ever so slightly as he swirls it gently, "Morning, Lec."

Ascending the steps to the gazebo, the bright midmorning sunlight continues to beat down on her until she steps into the cool shadows its roof provides. Nodding back at him, her eyes narrow in on the glass as she silently considers it. Then, with her pale blue and white knee length sundress swishing about in the breeze, she slips down into the chair directly beside his. Unable to help herself, she gestures at the drink in his hand, "... Morning indeed."

Turning his body fully towards hers, Amycus holds the glass up and swirls it around, "Care for one? Join me? We can garnish yours with a few mint leaves the way you like."

"Thoughtful as that is, pass. I'm actually more in the mood for a nice, proper tea. You know, given the fact that it's not yet noon."

His usual patience already stretched terrifically thin given all that's happened, Amycus just sighs, his tone infused with an unmistakable edge, "We are on holiday, Lec. Are we not?"

"... About that, Amy."

"Mmm?"

"We haven't actually had any opportunity to debrief. And when we last spoke, you seemed quite worked up about things here. So when you say holiday -"

"- Obviously meant as a bit of dark humour given the circumstances. Not a real holiday; of course not."

More like a unique circle of hell, feels like.

Straightening up in her seat and glancing around to ensure they've got full privacy, Alecto leans in and whispers to her brother quickly, "Since you seem so reluctant to share your true thoughts, allow me to divulge mine. You're irritable. You're sat out here drinking hard liquor at ten in the morning. Alone. And you look as though you haven't slept in days. So be honest with me, Amy: what's really going on here?"

Handsome black eyelashes fluttering as he stares back at his sister, Amycus sighs and takes a long, thoughtful drink from the glass. And though he'd been resolved to tell her everything, now that the moment's actually here he baulks, "Just the situation as you know it, nothing more, nothing less."

"Amy -"

"- And the situation is quite stressful. Who wouldn't be stressed? After all, I'm as in the dark here as you, Lec. Hence my behaviour. If you're sensing anything amiss, surely it's the result of the circumstances under which we find ourselves."

"And that's it?"

"That's it."

Unconvinced, she leans further towards him, elbow pressing up against the arm of her chair, "We share a bond, Amy. A bond no one else can fathom. So I'd be very hurt if I discovered there's something important you're not telling me -"

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