Ties that bind (Richard and Senium)

[Richard Romain]

Richard whistled a little bit as he approached the workplace, residence and shop of his apprentice, Senium Nex. He didn't really have a clue what to expect from the Nex household but he was preparing himself for meeting new people. Apparently Senium had been given leave to come home due to work on her 'project', which he knew to be something to do with surviving her disease. Frowning ever so slightly, Richard knocked on the door loudly a few times and waited.

[Senium Nex]

Senium was allowed home from Hogwarts for a little longer than the rest of the school so that she would be able to work on her project a little longer, she had hoped that nobody would be able to come and bother her while she was doing it, as her Grandpapa was trying to stop all visitors from coming into the house, but apparently the wards weren't up yet as she heard a knock on the door.

Gasping a little Senium hobbled over to it and opened the door, smiling slightly when she saw that it was her Master Richard, happy that he had come, but more than nervous about him coming inside Senium opened the door a little wider;

"Master Richard! I'm so pleased to see you, please...do come in I ah..." she frowned as her arm got stuck in the middle of an awkward swing "Do you want a drink?"

[Richard Romain]

Richard had to admit that their little cottage was well away from pretty much everywhere else so there wasn't any neighbours to notice him just suddenly appear. He smiled a little when he thought about Senium, his little apprentice really had grown on him. Richard waved at her with a grin,

"Yo my cute little apprentice!" he ruffled her hair a little bit before frowning at the way that her arm got stuck in an awkward position. He took a step into her home with a slight smile, "Ah... what kind of drinks have you got?"

The home was small but it wasn't overly so. He decided that it was rather homely. It gave him the impression that someone lived her, and worked here. It was a nice atmosphere but through it all he could smell the scent of decay that Senium carried around with her. It made him frown sadly.

[Senium Nex]

Senium giggled happily when she was ruffled on the head by her Master, she was veyr happy to see him and a part of her had really wanted him to be able to see her home, after all it was a large part of who she was, and even though it looked like a small cottage, the house had a charm put on it so that the rooms were bigger on the inside, it made everything much more spacious.

"Well we have water, we have apple and orange juice, we have milk and I think we might have some coffee around here somewhere." she smiled, as she gestured into the kitchen, where the table was small and littered with bits of chipped wood, a random smooth hand lying in the middle of the wooden chips.

The beginnings of a new puppet.

"So Master Richard, what brings you to my house?" Senium asked with a smile, her movements rather stiff today, much to her embarrassment "You've caught me on a bad day, I'm sorry, I don't think I'll be much use for learning at the moment."

[Richard Romain]

Richard smirked a little bit. At least Senium liked it when he ruffled her hair, Charlotte seemed to hate it and he wasn't stupid enough to attempt to do it to Briony. It was rather strange to see that the cottage was larger on the inside than it appeared to be from the outside. But then again he'd never been a charms expert,

"Quite the selection you've got there Senium." he chuckled a little to himself as he picked up a wood filing and played with it lightly, "Can I have some orange juice please?"

Richard had to admit that Senium looked even stiffer than she normally did and it was beginning to making him rather sad. He smiled faintly,

"Well I'm on call for the school. They're worried about you and so am I." he gestured at her arms, "You're getting stiffer Senium... is there anything I can do? Anything at all?"

[Senium Nex]

Senium tried her best not to be able to show the pain that she was in today, she didn't think that it would be wise to make her Master worried about her, she might be told to rest, and then how would she ever become as good as she could be?

"Orange juice it is Master Richard." she smiled, fetching the glass and the carton of juice, pouring the liquid in with a shaking hand, before spilling it a little and pouting.

Getting the cloth to clean it, Senium gestured for Richard to take the drink, and she stood in the corner of the kitchen units, so that she could lean there for a moment.

When she was asked if there was anything that he could do for her, Senium blinked away a few sad tears, they had been threatening since he came in, it seemed that whenever she saw Richard, everything just came pouring out, she couldn't hide anything from him.

Fixing a smile on her lips, Senium shook her head; "No no, I'm fine really, I just needed to work some more on my project, everything will be okay."

[Richard Romain]

Richard was many things but stupid was not one of them. It was plain for him to see that Senium was in a lot of pain, or at least a lot more pain than she let on. He sighed a little despite himself, if Senium wasn't willing to reach out to him for help then he couldn't help her,

"Thank you Senium." he replied, watching her shake and spill the drink she was pouring. Richard moved closer to her, "Call me Richard, Senium. I'm here for a social visit after all. Thanks."

Taking the drink from his apprentice, Richard smiled and thanked her. Sipping at the orange juice, he noted how she seemed to be leaning against the counter for support. The fact that Senium was beginning to cry told Richard that there probably was something he needed to do for her. Seeing the smile as the fake that it was, Richard cupped her cheek to wipe away the beginnings of her tears,

"Okay now pull the other one." he teased her lightly before shaking his head, "Tell me what's up Senium. I want to help."

[Senium Nex]

Senium blushed a little bit when Richard told her to call him by his name, she had tried to do so, but there was something that made her want to treat this man with as much respect as she would be her father, of course she would never tell him that, she wouldn't want him to be scared by the fact that she looked up to him so much, he might not want to hang around with her anymore.

"O-okay then Richard, I sometimes slip up when I talk to you, sorry I know you don't like me calling you Master." she smiled with a little sadness tinged in her lips.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Senium sniffled and leant her head into Richard's hand, it was something that made her want to cry even more but she swallowed the lump in her throat to give Richard a slightly watery smile, trying to make him feel better.

"There is nothing wrong with me that you don't already know Richard, there's nothing that you can do I just need to work on something before I get any worse, which I why I'm a little late getting to school that's all." she smiled, tracing the tattoo on her wrists.

[Richard Romain]

He couldn't help but smirk a little bit when Senium blushed after he told her to call him Richard. It seemed that she was almost unable to call him by his first name without the master title. It was honestly rather flattering how she seemed to respect him that much,

"Ah it's okay Seni." he told her with a smile, ruffling her hair gently, "I know it slips your mind and I'm okay with that. You can call me whatever you want. I just thought we were close enough for first name terms is all."

The way she leant her head into his hand made Richard smile sadly, stroking her cheek. He wanted to reassure her in anyway that he was here for her and if this small measure of contact helped that then he was all for it. The watery smile did the opposite of what he imagined it was supposed to do and he instead felt as if there was something that he couldn't stop that was hurting her,

"If I cannot help with your condition then perhaps I can help you with your project?" he suggested with a small smile, still stroking her cheek gently, "Maybe I could help you?"

[Senium Nex]

Senium smiled happily when Richard said that they were on good enough terms in order to call each other by their first names, she thought that they were close to and she was glad that it wasn't just her who thought that. After all it meant that maybe they were not just master and apprentice but a family like Richard said that they were, it would mean so much to Senium if that were true.

"Well I shall try very hard to be less formal with you, it's hard it is how I was raised." she blushed a little bit more.

When he asked if he could help her with her project, the sad smile on his face almost made Senium say yes, but there was something private about what she was personally making that she didn't want anyone to see until it was finished, so perhaps she could show him the doll she was going to be put into?

"You want to help me with my project?" she asked with a happy smile "I don't know how much you will be able to help but I could show you what my Grandpapa is working on for me."

Senium was proud of her doll, but it was slightly scary to look at, holding out her hand she grinned at Richard, waiting for him to come and take her hand so she could hobble over to the workshop.

[Richard Romain]

Richard smiled wider when he saw the first really genuine smile of Senium's face since he'd arrived at her home today. He chuckle a little bit, smiling happily at the fact that she was smiling. Senium was like family to him and it meant the world to him that she was happy with their relationship,

"Ah well it's no problem Senium, you address me however you want." he told her with a smile, "Family can call each other whatever they like as long as they still love and respect each other."

Richard smiled a little bit as Senium told him that he could. Of course she seemed to be hiding something from him but that wasn't his business. Plus he'd never been very good at the whole 'body language' thing. For all her knew she could just be acting the way she was because of the pain,

"Yes I want to lend a helping hand wherever I can." he smiled happily before sticking his tongue out and teasing her, "Oh so little faith in my abilities! I'm sure I can help you out."

Taking hold of Senium's hand, Richard gave her hand a gentle squeeze as he stood beside her so that she could lean on him if she needed to.

[Senium Nex]

Senium couldn't even get even happier when she was told that she was indeed part of Richard's family, he had heard that there was a new child on the way, she hoped that they were going to be alright when the baby started to get a little bit more active and aware, although she didn't really know how babies would behave. She had never had a baby sister, or a brother in fact.

"I heard that you have a new baby on the way Professor Romain, congratulations! I didn't think that you were old enough to have a family just yet, but then again, I don't really know that much about babies."

Grinning a little bit when Richard told her that he was going to be able to help her, she didn't think that it could because there could be something different that you had to do to make the puppet magical, something that Senium didn't even know she was doing when she made them.

"Okay then Richard if you think you want to help me, I don't know if you'll be able to do anything though, it might just be something that I can do with my art...but you never know." Senium smiled.

Taking Richard's hand she walked stiffly into the room behind her bedroom, it was where she kept her own project and the doll that she would be turning into. It sat up on the chair, it's blonde hair hanging straight down by it's face, it was so lifelike and human, as much as it could ever be, the blue glass eyes however, could never hold the trace of life in them like Senium's did now.

"Well this is my new body, I'm hopefully transferring to it by the end of this year."

[Richard Romain]

Richard could see that Senium was happy with being included as a part of his family and he had to admit that he was glad to have her as a part of his family too. The little girl had grown on him to the point where he considered her like a younger sister or maybe even a daughter. At the mention of his impending fatherhood, Richard grinned,

"Yes, Briony and I are expecting. Thanks it feels great to know that I'm going to be a daddy!" he declared happily, "Well we might be a bit young by most standards but what can I say? When you're ready, you're ready!"

He had to admit that he was looking forward to working on the project with her. Richard found that when presented with a project he was like a man possessed. He would find a way to help Senium in her project,

"Well if nothing else I can provide you with ideas." he grinned, "And raw materials of course. I'm an endless supply of those."

Senium had told him that she intended to escape her body's decay by transferring into a puppet body but it wasn't until he saw the life-like doll that Richard actually thought that it might be possible in anyway. He ran a hand gently across the surface of the puppet, smiling faintly. When he noticed the eyes he stopped moving and simply stared at the vacent glass orbs. He touched one gently,

"So soon?" he asked quietly, "Has it spread that quickly?"

[Senium Nex]

Senium felt the waves of happiness coming off of Richard and then she knew that she was going to be able to try and make herself happy as well, she might be able to get away from those thoughts that had been plaguing her for so long, and the actions that made her Grandpapa constantly look at her, to make sure that she was well, that she wasn't doing anything she shouldn't.

"I know that you'll make a great father Richard, you remind me of my dad a little bit you know, he was very nice to me just like you were, he always wanted to help me, and ruffled my hair, just like you do." she giggled lightly, as she sat down on her bed.

Wheeling the doll on the chair into her bedroom, Senium saw it in the light and smiled lightly, she could make the body anything she wanted to, but she wanted to remain herself, not something else, even though the limbs were still visible, when she transferred several charms would be used to cover these.

"You know I am not too bad at making materials either." Senium smiled "But it does tend to make me tired, so I might take you up on that offer."

Biting her lip Senium stiffly swung her legs, before it got too painful and she stopped with a small wince, gently tracing the scars on her upper arms, hidden by her glamour charm, and her bandages, but she knew they were there. Smiling sadly, Senium nodded;

"Yes, it has." she sniffled, biting her lip once more "I...I'm scared, but it hurts...and I don't want to hurt any more."

[Richard Romain]

Richard was excited to be a father, he had always wanted to be a father if only to prove that father's didn't have to be as bad as his own. But it was much more than that. He loved Briony so much that this seemed like the perfect way for the two of them to show their love and share it with a child,

"Ah I hope I make a good dad... Didn't have a very good example set for me to follow so we'll see." he chuckled a little bit before smiling and ruffling her hair again, "Thanks, that means a lot to me Seni."

The doll really did look like Senium and if you weren't standing close, or didn't have Richard's nose, then it looked a lot like her. But there were differences of course. The way that her limbs would always seem a bit too straight at points. He wasn't able to find any others really though, they did good work,

"I know you're quite good at it." he agreed with a grin, "But this way you won't get as tired. And it'll make me feel like I'm helping."

When Senium moved and made a little noise of pain, Richard spun round to look at her in concern. She really was in a lot of pain and there was nothing he could really do about it. She didn't want to be in pain anymore and that made her desperate. And desperate people did desperate things like turning themselves into a puppet. He nodded sadly,

"I understand Senium." he told her gently, "I don't believe that this is the best option but perhaps it is the only one... either way I support you and I will do whatever I can to help."

[Senium Nex]

Senium did not like the diea that Richard did not have a good childhood, she didn't want to ask about it, just as he had not asked about the absence of her parents, she often tried to act as if they were still alive, as if there was some vain hope that they might be there in more than just her mind and her heart, but she knew that a hope like this was foolish...although she couldn't help but cling to it.

"I think that you will make an even better dad because of that, you know what exactly not to do, and you'll follow what you wanted to happen to you when you were little and in the same position as you're new baby." she grinned "What is it? A girl or boy?"

When he told her that she was quite good at it, Senium beamed in pride, she was glad that Richard seemed to like the craftmanship her grandpapa used; "Well Grandpapa made this one himself, he wanted to make sure that it was done right."

Blushing a little bit when Richard turned to look at her Senium waved stiffly with an awkward smile on her lips; "I'm okay don't worry about me, just got a little stuck for a moment that's all."

With Richard's support, Senium felt like she could do this, but the process was scary, she didn't know if she would be able to do it, after all, there was only one chance, and if they messed it up she was not going to be able to bond with the doll properly.

Holding out her hand to Richard Senium smiled, the action causing the welled up tears to cascade down her cheeks; "C-can I have a hug Master Richard?" she asked politely.

[Richard Romain]

Richard knew, even though Senium didn't talk about it, that her home life wasn't exactly the greatest. The lack of parents in the pictures around the house told him that they were either abusive and she'd been taken from them or, much more likely, they were dead,

"I hope that logic proves right there Seni. I really do want to do right by my child. I want them to have the happy childhood that I didn't get." he told his apprentice with a small smile before grinning, "It's going to be a beautiful baby girl. We're not clear on a name yet though."

The way that Senium reacted to his praise made Richard grin in return. He was glad that she seemed to enjoy the praise he gave the creation. When she told him that it was her grandfather's work he smiled,

"The man truly is a master of his craft." he grinned at Senium, "Of your craft."

Seeing her apprentice blush under the attention that he gave her, Richard ruffled her hair affectionately, "Ah but it's a family's job to worry about family."

Richard took her small hand in his. She seemed so frightened. But then again he could hardly blame her. He wasn't an expert on the subject but for her to be transferred into a puppet there had to be some kind of soul magic and soul magic was often very hard to get right and required an 100% success to work. Seeing her tears, he began to wipe them away when she asked for a hug. He smiled softly and opened his arms for her,

"Come her Seni..." he wrapped her up in a warm hug and said affectionately, "Mein kleines Mädchen..."

[Senium Nex]

Senium smiled happily, although she didn't ask about Richard's childhood she felt very bad that it had been worse than her own, or course there was dark parts in her past but she didn't dwell on these parts very much, she thought that if she did she would be much more likely to make herself sadder, rather than happier.

"A baby girl?" she beamed "How wonderful, I bet it will look just like Briony, I look like my mother...or rather...I did use to look like my mum, before all the bruising." Senium sighed rubbing her scarred arms.

Nodding her head enthusiastically Senium grinned; "Of course he is! Grandpapa is the best of the best and he's the one that you should learn from if you really want to get into the art...but I don't think that he will be able to teach you as well as I will..."

Senium cast her thoughts to the almost human state that her Grandpapa was in, due to the vast depletion of his magical core, that he needed to do to create the dolls, and also, to prepare for the soul magic needed for Seniums transferral.

When Richard said that she could have a hug, Senium wanted to run into his arms, wrap hers around him and sob onto his shoulder, but all she could do was walk stiffly over to him, to place her head on his shoulder, and wait for his arms to wrap around her.

"W-what does that mean Richard?" she asked, nuzzling into his chest a little "I-I'm scared, I don't want to do this...I don't want to in case it goes wrong, I..." she sobbed "I don't want to go because I'll leave Grandpapa on his own, and I'll leave you, I would miss you...Master Richard."

[Richard Romain]

Richard was glad that Senium, despite the fact that she seemed to be without parents, was growing up into a well adjusted young lady. Even given her illness and the stresses that this placed on her, Senium was fighting not only to live but to try and enjoy life while she could,

"Yes a beautiful baby girl will be my daughter so very soon! I sure hope she does, wouldn't want her looking like ugly old me." he joked before he frowned sadly, "It's alright Senium... won't the puppet look like her? That way you can always look like her in the future."

He smiled happily before chuckling, "Well I'd love to learn from a master of the craft but I already am. I'm learning from you after all."

Richard could tell by the way Senium walked towards him for the hug that she was trying to move faster but the physical limits of her body were making her walk so stiffly and slowly. He waited patiently for her to come to him and hugged her tightly, but not too tightly, to him,

"It means... my little girl. Fathers say it to their daughters." he told her quietly. He stroked her hair gently when she nuzzled into his chest, "I know you're scared Seni... I'm scared too. I don't want you to leave me either. You're like a little sister or daughter to me Seni, I don't want to you leave."

[Senium Nex]

Senium was glad that perhaps in the fture it would be possible for her to look like her mother, of course she remembered what she looked like but other things, like the sound of her parents voices were beginning to fade from her mind and this made her more and more scared that she was going to forget them in the end, that she wouldn't be able to remember anything.

"I suppose that it will look like her, you're right Richard! Thank you for pointing that out to me, I'll be able to look as much like her as I like, after all I can adjust the puppet body as much as I like when I'm inside it."

Glad that she was now wrapped in Richard's arms, Senium bit her lip and she blinked a little bit when he told her what the German meant, it almost made her bawl out fresh tears but she kept them inside, just barely however, it was so touching that she could barely believe he had said it.

"I'm like a little sister...or a daughter to you?" she asked with blurry eyes "You really believe I mean that much to you, oh Richard thank you so much that makes me so happy that you think something the same as I do..."

Wiping at her eyes Senium accidentally touched the glamour charm ring and gasped as it dissappeared, looking at the bandages on her inner forearms, the slashes were deep and were still bleeding a little, but hopefully Richard wouldn't notice compared to all of the others.

"Oh uhm sorry about that, I didn't think it would dislodge so easily." she blushed, her bandages more extensive and thick than last time, but more blood also remained after her last long attack.

[Richard Romain]

Richard smiled faintly. Senium seemed rather happy that she would look like her mother did forever when she became a puppet but there was still an underlining sadness to it. If she didn't look like her mother at the moment, and her mother was dead or gone, then how could see know how alike they were,

"Ah it's no problem." he assured her with a small smile, "I'm just glad that you'll be able to use your new appearance as a link to your mother."

Richard held Senium close as he finished telling her what the phrase was in English. And he meant it as well. She was like a little sister or daughter and he hated to see her in any kind of pain. He could tell that it had meant a lot to her as well,

"You are like a sister or a daughter to me." he told her again, confidently, "You mean so very much to me Senium. And I glad that you see me as something similar... Something... like a big brother or... father?"

When the glamour charm on the ring failed for a few moments, Richard noticed the heavily bandaged wrists and the way that they were literally soaked in blood. He blinked a few times as his mouth went dry,

"Senium... please don't tell me that those mean what I think they mean..." he whispered quietly, tears building as his hands hovered over her wrists, "Please tell me... that you didn't do what I think you did..."

[Senium Nex]

Senium couldn't help but laugh happily and she hugged Richard as hard she she could, she was so glad that he thought of her in this manner, and that they would be able to tell each other how much they felt for each other.

After all she had only hoped in her wildest dreams that she would have this close a bond with Richard, she had never thought it would actually come true.

"Of course Richard, I...I think you're like a Papa to me, you're so kind, I didn't want to tell you in case you thought I was weird and didn't want to speak to me." Senium said shyly, shuffling her feet.

Feeling like a deer in headlights when Richard saw what she hoped her would not see Senium did not think that he would react the way that he did, it made Senium feel even more ashamed of what she had done, and she visibly wilted under the shame.

"I...I'm sorry." she said quietly "I just got so sad...and...I don't want to make you ashamed of me but I didn't know what else to do I was so scared, I just wanted it to be over." she whispered

"Are you mad at me?" Senium asked quietly.

[Richard Romain]

Richard smiled a little bit more when Senium hugged him back harder than before. He gave her another gentle squeeze, very away of how fragile she was. Their bond was a strong one and Richard didn't ever want to hurt Senium, let alone hurt her by showing too much affection by hugging her too hard,

"I'm so glad that you think of me that way Seni!" he told her before smiling and ruffling her hair affectionately again, "Ah don't you ever worry about that Seni! I'll always want to speak to you!"

He couldn't believe that Senium would do such a thing to herself but at the same time it made an odd kind of sense that made a lump rise up in his throat. Had he missed the signs? Was this partially his fault? He couldn't believe that she'd gone far enough to believe that it was her only way out,

"I'm not ashamed... I just don't know why you didn't try and talk to me about it." he told her slowly, hanging his head, before frowning a little bit and shaking his head, "No I'm not mad at your Senium. I could never be mad at you but..."

He paused for a few seconds to try and order how he was actually feeling. Eventually he decided that he wasn't mad at Senium but he was both frustrated and upset. Why hadn't she talked to him instead of just trying to check out? He looked away,

"I'm upset and I'm..." he wiped away a tear, "Disappointed I guess. Why didn't you try to talk to me?"

[Senium Nex]

Senium happily smiled when Richard hugged her back, it was a nice hug that didn't hurt her, but she was very glad for the company, and the touches that Richard gave her, it made her feel like a normal human being, and it made her so happy for such a simple thing that she felt as if she could never be sad again.

Of course she knew that was a lie, she would get sad again as soon as Richard left her all alone in her house again, it felt as if she was a prisoner within a cage, within another cage. The prison of her house, and the prison of her body.

It felt as if there was a dagger being plunged into her chest when it seemed as if her Master, her father was getting upset with what she had done, and she knew that she should have waited to speak to him in the moments after she had done it...but she just didn't think.

"I...I'm sorry Richard, I didn't think to wait to talk to you I was just..."

Biting her lip Senium hugged Richard closer, she didn't mind the slight burning pain on her limbs as a result of this, she didn't care, she just wanted to be made alright again, and to make sure Richard was alright.

"I couldn't talk to you, I...I was locked in my body for three days, I couldn't move at all, I couldn't speak to anyone even if I wanted to...so I'm sorry I didn't talk to you, but it was the first thing that I thought of doing after I was free, I didn't want to be stuck like that ever again."

[Richard Romain]

Richard smiled a little bit when, after a few more moments of hugging, Senium didn't seem to be in any pain. He was glad that he was able to interact with her without causing her anymore pain than was unavoidable. He wanted her to feel like she could live a normal life still. He wanted to make sure that her entire life was like this but he couldn't, that was up to her.

The fact that Senium had attempted to kill herself was something that greatly upset Richard for several reasons. One of the reasons was that he didn't ever feel that suicide was the answer. Another, more important one, was that he really cared about Senium and he didn't want her to try and end her life when he believed there was a chance for her to have a better life in the future. He hated how the girl that he'd come to think of as family was so lonely and desperate but she didn't reach out to him,

"Why didn't you think to wait and talk to me Senium?" he asked her quietly, "If I mean so much to you... then why would you not even attempt to talk to me about it? I... I don't understand..."

The way Senium was hugging him he knew was bad for her. The hug was too tight, it might end up hurting her joints more than before. He hugged her back though but not as desperately as Senium hugged him, he didn't want to add to the pain,

"I can understand your feeling of entrapment and of being powerless..." he admitted quietly before he had to wipe away another tear, "But I still don't see why that meant death was preferable. Death where there is absolutely no chance of being like a normal girl... but if you live there is a chance!"

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