And I'm Back(Kiera and Humphrey)

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Sat Nov 03, 2012 3:06 am

Dust. Musty. Cold.

Heeled dragon-hide boots clicked against the cold stone floor as Kiera swept into her old, her beloved Cruor Sanctorum. The permanence wards on the weapons were still holding, which meant that they were in pristine condition, still gleaming dimly in the fading evening light. Of course she would need to check them one by one again, but right now, there was only one word for this. Beautiful.

Kiera let out a deep breath. Merlin, she missed this.

She had lots of work to do of course. Contact her old clients, get her weapons updated.......but she didn't regret her absence. There were new priorities in her life now, like her sister.

Kiera smirked suddenly. But hell, it felt good to be back.

by **Humphrey Williams** Sat Nov 03, 2012 3:21 am

Humphrey was going to do his usual check-up at Cruor Sanctorum. Since Kiera had disappeared, he made sure to check up on it once or twice a week. The shop had never been disturbed before, but this time he saw somebody in it. Quickly pulling out his wand, Humphrey entered and put his wand to the person's back.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked, venom in his voice. He'd never gotten a look at her face, so he had no clue that the person was really Kiera.

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Sat Nov 03, 2012 3:36 am

The moment Kiera heard footsteps, and then the accusing voice, she swirled around, a jinx shooting out of her wand, which had slid into her left hand from the wand holster in her arm. It was a simple jinx really, just a binding spell.

Then she realized that the face in front of her was familiar, and try as she could, she couldn't call the jinx back. The boy, well, man now, who had worked with her, who had tried to show her that not all people were selfish jerks, was standing before her.

Kiera lowered her wand. " Humphrey?"

by **Humphrey Williams** Sat Nov 03, 2012 3:51 am

Humphrey saw the person start to wheel and he dove out of the way. The jinx barely missed him, he felt the wind from it as he rolled. To his disbelief, the person standing in front of him was Kiera, she was back.

As soon as he recognized her, he pocketed his wand. "Kiera!" he bellowed happily. "What in the world happened to you, I can't believe it's really you. Can I give you a welcome back hug?" he asked.

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Sat Nov 03, 2012 3:58 am

Kiera felt her lips curve up into a faint smile. Yes, Humphrey had certainly grown up, but he was the same affectionate person as ever.

"A pleasure to see you too Humphrey. Apologies for the hex, I didn't see that it was you." Kiera slid her wand back into her holster. Then she extended her long-fingered hand, "And yes, I've been gone for a long time yes, but not enough for something quite as.......enthusiastic as a hug. You know me." Kiera tilted her head slightly, "I hope you don't mind a handshake instead?"

by **Humphrey Williams** Sat Nov 03, 2012 4:06 am

Humphrey smiled back at Kiera, it was great to see her. He wondered what adventures she had been off having in the wide world.

"No worries, I'm sorry for attacking you too." he said, embarrassed. "I thought somebody was trying to steal the merchandise." Reaching out his hand, he gave her a hearty handshake. "I suppose a handshake will suffice. I do remember that you were never one for hugs and the like. Where have you been?" he asked.

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Sat Nov 03, 2012 4:23 am

The almost fond smile that no one except Humphrey, and maybe now her sister, could coax out of her flickered on Kiera's lips. "You still came to check on the merchandise, even when I just disappeared into thin air without telling you? That's......." Kiera paused. "Very few people would do that, none that I know of."

Then Kiera gave an enigmatic smirk. "Oh, I've been to a few places. The adventures and excitement are a bit toned down though, I had a kid sister with me. Had to catch up with her. Didn't meet her for a long time." More like never, courtesy of my mother Kiera added bitterly inside her head.

by **Humphrey Williams** Sat Nov 03, 2012 4:35 am

Humphrey knew that Kiera very rarely smiled, and the partial one meant a lot to him. She was never one to show any kind of affection. "I didn't want to see all of this go to waste." he said, shrugging. "There are a lot of interesting things in this shop, though I have to admit the owner might be the most." he told her with a smirk.

"I'm sure that it was still plenty exciting, knowing you. So who's this kid sister of yours?" Humphrey asked curiously. "Hopefully she didn't get hurt or anything traveling with you." He noticed Kiera grimace a bit at the end, and wondered what it was about.

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Sat Nov 03, 2012 5:08 pm

"You find me interesting? That is a nice, diplomatic adjective." Kiera settled into the chair in front of the counter, gesturing Humphrey to the one opposite her.

Kiera's eyes brightened very, very slightly as Humphrey asked about her sister. "Her name's Dmitra. She's studying in Durmstrang right now, same age as you I think. She was the reason I was gone for so long."

Then when Humphrey asked if Dmitra had gotten hurt while travelling with her, Kiera smirked again. "Well yes, a little bit. What is fun without a little bit of danger? Besides, she can take care of herself. Dmitra is horribly pleasant and polite and all of that trash, but at the end of the day, she is my sister."
Then in a slightly contemplative tone, "I think you should meet her sometime. She'll make a great sparring opponent for you. You could teach her a few things too."

by **Humphrey Williams** Sun Nov 04, 2012 11:54 am

Humphrey chuckled a little bit, shrugging. "Well you are, among other things." he responded. She was also cold-hearted, and he thought she would be a ruthless opponent to face. "Deadly is another adjective I might use."

The name of her sister sounded familiar, he tried to place when he'd heard it. "Dmitra..." he murmured, thinking. Then it struck him, she was one of the contestants in the tournament. "I saw her in the tournament between the schools, though I didn't have to go up against her. She looks a lot like you now I think about it." he said, smiling a bit.

When she smirked he groaned internally, knowing that meant they'd probably gotten into a couple scrapes. "Nothing serious, was it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Danger can certainly be fun, I've had some adventures of my own." Manners weren't all bad in his opinion. "There's nothing wrong with having manners. I knew that from watching her in the tournament, she's tough."

A thoughtful look crossed his face, he wouldn't mind meeting her. "That idea sounds pretty fun actually. If she doesn't mind, I'd love to meet Dmitra sometime."

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Sun Nov 04, 2012 12:14 pm

Korea arched her eyebrow, "Deadly? Why, thank you Humphrey. You're certainly in the mood of giving me compliments today. You shouldn't overdo it, you know. It might just go to my head." Kiera's tone was light, almost teasing.

"She participated in the tournament? She didn't tell me that. " Kiera mused, finger on her chin. "Wait a minute, go up against her? You participated in the tournament too? I don't recall you telling me that. Or did you? Ugh, I always did have horrible memory regarding these things. Probably a side-effect of not having actual people in my life for so long." The last part was in an undertone, probably not meant fir Humphrey to hear, but it came out all the same.

"Danger is one of the most fun things out there. A little bit of combat, a little adrenaline, a little blood......"Kiera suddenly caught herself going off into one of her 'moods' again, the ones in which her eyes acquired a bloodthirsty gleam. Damn, the very reason she was getting a teacher job was to prevent this! She needed control. She swiftly changed the topic, " And yes, I suppose manners aren't all that bad, but they can be horribly inconvenient. And I'm sure Dmitra would love to meet you to. She's dropping into England on her next vacations."

by **Humphrey Williams** Mon Nov 05, 2012 1:20 am

Humphrey knew she would love that word, and grinned. It was one of her defining characteristics in his opinion. "Well it is a key quality you possess." he stated. That made him laugh, she had a point. "Okay, I'll try not to give you too many then." He knew that she could keep her pride in check.

"I'm sure you had lots of other things to discuss." he remarked. Not to mention making sure to stay alive. "I thought I told you, but perhaps I didn't. At this point I don't really remember." Humphrey admitted, after thinking about it. "My task was to duel Raven 'The Sweeney' Drake, and my opponent's was to duel Richard Romain. All we had to do was land one hit on them. Neither of us did before time ran out, but if it would have gone on a bit longer I might have. They declared her the winner though." He had been frustrated when they stopped it, he had just thought of something that probably would have won him the task. "Most likely." he said, even though he hadn't been meant to hear it.

Humphrey knew where she was coming from, there was nothing like the thrill of battle and danger. Kiera had a tendency to be a bloodthirsty though, which he knew he would never have. When she started to lose herself he noticed her become frustrated and rein it in. "I know what you mean, even if I'm not quite as...fierce as you can be sometimes." he said. "You didn't seem to mind mine that much when I first started here." he shrugged. "Cool, well just let me know if she wants to me sometime."

Now she was back, he wondered what she would do. "What are you going to be doing now you're back?"

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:46 am

Kiera cocked her head, "Raven Drake? Oh I've heard of her........." Humphrey had just gained a lot more respect in her eyes, if he had actually managed to stand his ground against an opponent like her. Kiera made it a point to know the names, and reputations, of all potential clients, and a dangerous woman like Raven Drake definitely qualified as one. "Forget landing a hit, if you simply avoided getting killed in a battle against her, then its a big achievement. I know you feel like those words are hollow though, even I'm never satisfied unless I've won."

"Fierce?" Kiera could understand that Humphrey was probably trying to dull down the effect of his words, he was probably thinking of a much harsher word, but he didn't want to say it. "I accept myself as I am, Humphrey, I know that 'fierce' is probably a very tame word for me." Though if Humphrey actually noticed the way the bloodlust was just trying to break out in Kiera, then she would have to work much harder to cloak it. She simply had no other option. "And true, I don't mind your manners. I just find it inconvenient to adopt them myself."

"Now that I'm back...well....." Kiera tapped her fingers lightly on the counter, "I've actually taken up a teaching post at your school. Occlumency."

by **Humphrey Williams** Mon Nov 05, 2012 7:36 am

Humphrey smiled sheepishly, he could tell she was a bit surprised. He felt proud of himself, seeing the new look of respect. "She was creepy, I'd be lying if I said she didn't scare me a bit." he told her. "But I'm not a Gryffindor for nothing. Courage isn't the absence of fear, it's when you keep fighting despite it." he said, reminding himself of that fact. "Well I don't think she was trying to kill me, seriously injure me perhaps. I really thought I might have been able to..." he admitted. "I was the only person from Hogwarts who lost, two of the others won and the other had a draw. Still mad at myself for that." He felt like he had let people down.

All he did was nod, she probably knew that he was thinking of the word bloodthirsty. He could see she was comfortable with herself, she knew that had that tendency. Still, he felt bad calling her that. "Yes you do, and that's a good thing. You may be a bit...bloodthirsty at times, but you don't take lives without reason. That's one of the reasons I respect you." he explained to her. "It is kind of odd imagining you with manners." he grinned, laughing.

Humphrey couldn't believe it, and he felt happy she would be coming to Hogwarts. "No way! That's awesome, Kiera, congratulations. I'm definitely going to be taking it. When our original Occlumency teacher was there I was even apprenticed to her, it's a great class. Useful to if I end up becoming an auror like I want to." he said excitedly. "Maybe once you get settled in I can be yours?"

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:30 am

"Understand the feeling completely." Kiera debated for a few seconds, then patted Humphrey's shoulder briskly, withdrawing her hand away quickly. She wasn't used to physical contact, didn't like it until it was absolutely necessary, but she felt like Humphrey needed it at this point. "People come and comfort you, they say that winning and losing doesn't matter, that what matters is the fact that you tried your best. But they weren't there. Standing in the arena, pouring your blood, sweat and tears into something, and then finding out that it was all in vain. Winning does matter. If it didn't, then why would people participate in competitions in the first place?"

Then Kiera smiled in sardonic amusement, "Yes, bloodthirsty would probably be quite appropriate. Its true, I don't take lives until it is absolutely necessary. Besides, " Kiera bared her teeth in a smile that was often the last thing that fallen opponents saw, "Its absolutely no fun killing them. The looks of terror on their faces are utterly and completely hilarious."

Then, her smile dimmed a bit. "Yes, Occlumency is indeed a very useful thing to learn." Especially if you wanted to have control over your battle-lust. "I have no objection if you want to apprentice yourself to me, I don't think there will be many students taking the class anyway. In fact, I'm hoping there aren't." Practicing Occlumency daily was the main reason why she took up this job, teaching pesky kids was just a pain. "But I must warn you to consider your decision. I don't intend to go easy on you."

by **Humphrey Williams** Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:58 am

Humphrey's jaw dropped when he felt her pat him on the shoulder. That was not what he'd expected at all, and it made him smile. Kiera hated physical contact with other people, unless it was in battle of course. She must have really thought he needed it. "Exactly! We all know that winning is important, but people just try to tone down the pain of defeat. All of the time I'd spent preparing for it was wasted. I still had some spells I wanted to use too. People love pitting themselves against one another to see who's stronger, not who can accept defeat. At least I didn't get beat too badly though, that's something." he said, smiling a little bit.

That was a word she had kind of been expecting to hear. "You and your sword are a good match for each other." he commented. The sword was just as bloodthirsty as she was, it's abilities complimented her personality well. "Ah, good old gallows humor." he said, chuckling just a bit. He imagined there were some funny faces, but that was a little morbid for him.

Suddenly Humphrey realized why she was going to be teaching the class. To try and get control over the bloodlust he had just mentioned. It made sense, Occlumency had helped him get his emotions under control on more than one occasion. "I'll look forward to seeing you in class. Probably not, I have a feeling they might be intimidated by you." he remarked, smirking. "Haha, I know you won't be an easy teacher. I don't want somebody who's going to go easy on me, I'm in." he said firmly.

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Wed Nov 07, 2012 3:36 am

"Well, you know what I say about hunting opponents down. Maybe we can work on making you stronger, and then maybe, " Kiera flashed an almost conspiratory smirk, "Maybe you'll get to finish that battle which was never really over. The best way to handle defeat is not to be happy and satisfied and all that trash. Just sit down and promise yourself that the next time you meet your opponent, the results will be different. I find that such a mindset does wonders."

Kiera arched an eyebrow. "Intimidated? I'm going to consider myself an abject failure until and unless they are absolutely terrified of me." Then her expression grew a bit more serious. "But on a more serious note, I am not joking. Classes are fine, I can be all 'nice teacher' for thirty minutes. But if you want to be an apprentice, I expect serious hard work right from the first day. I'll probably call you for extra lessons on weekends too."

Then, phrasing a question that had been on the tip of her tongue for some time, "You know Humphrey, generally parents or guardians don't allow their wards into Knockturn Alley. You're here quite often. I hardly hear you talking about your family either. Care to share?"

by **Humphrey Williams** Wed Nov 07, 2012 4:39 am

Humphrey thought about her offer, not sure he wanted to hunt Raven Drake down. "I'd definitely love training with you to become better. Hunting her down though, I'm not sure I want to do that. It's not like I have anything against her. Though I suppose I could ask for a chance to duel her, I'll have to think about it more." he told her. He knew that being driven helped when you were trying to accomplish something.

That made him laugh, he should have expected her attitude to be like that. "My mistake, I just wasn't thinking." he apologized, grinning at her. Then he nodded as she grew serious. "I'm not going to be slacking, I'll put everything I have into it." he promised her. "You don't have to worry about me not working hard, laziness has never been one of my problems."

He sighed at the mention of his parents, he should have expected her to ask him eventually. "My parents died in a car crash when I was eight. They're muggles, I was raised in America until then. After they died I moved in with my aunt and uncle in Edinburgh, Scotland. My uncle died three years ago. Aunt Julia knows I have a job, but I didn't want her worrying about me so I didn't explain it was in a dangerous area." he told her. A couple tears slid down his face at the memories of his lost loved ones. Then he composed himself and smiled wryly. "Well, that's pretty much it. I don't have any relatives besides my aunt left."

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:29 am

"Well, you don't precisely have to hunt her down. All you need is a suitable reason to duel her..." Kiera tapped upon her chin, thinking. "If you ever drop in at Durmstrang, you can place your request for a duel then. I think Dmitra told me that Drake teaches her Potions at her school. All you need to do is to phrase the 'request' in a clever way, with certain rules and regulations like no use of Dark spells. Raven Drake can't resist a chance to showcase her strength."

For such a cheerful person, Humphrey had an unusually painful family life. Kiera didn't apologise for his parents or uncle, it would do no good. "I can understand what it feels like, to have only one family member. Before Dmitra, I had no one. She's the only living family I have left."

There's one more person. You know it.

Kiera didn't want to talk about her. Really didn't. But somehow, the way Humphrey had opened up to her, he deserved honesty in return. So Kiera ploughed on in a voice that somehow automatically grew colder and colder as she spoke, "Well, technically she's not the only family I have left. I suppose my.....mother is out there somewhere too." Kiera's eyes grew as hard and as cold as the blade that she gripped tightly in her hand. "But that woman never was my mother. Never shall, never will be. As far as I'm concerned, she can rot in the deepest reaches of hell and I wouldn't give a damn."

by **Humphrey Williams** Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:53 am

"That's easy enough, my reason is we never finished our duel and I want to." Humphrey said with a grin. "Hmm, that's an excellent idea. I'm sure she knows some excellent Dark Spells so I don't want to face those. Might have to make a trip over there and place the request. We'll have to find somebody to referee it, make sure it doesn't go too far." he answered, thinking about who could do it.

Kiera understood the whole not having family thing, at least she seemed to. Unlike most people she knew that whatever she said wouldn't help any. "Yeah, I can tell you do. I'm glad you found her." he replied, grinning.

When she started to open up to him, he hid his surprise behind a blank mask. He'd wondered if she would ever talk about anything personal with him. This was a good thing, and he listened to her talk. So this is where all her coldness and anger comes from. Normally, he would have hugged her or put an arm around her, but he hesitated since it was Kiera after all. "I can see that you don't consider her to be any kind of family at all. What happened between you two? And why didn't she tell you you had a sister?" he asked her cautiously. Then he decided he would do it even though she might not like it, and Humphrey hugged her. He made sure to avoid the sword so it didn't cut him.

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Fri Nov 09, 2012 1:37 pm

"Tell me whenever you'd like to go, I'd like to pay a visit to Durmstrang as well. Don't know if that school is worthy of Dmitra." After knowing about Dmitra after so many years, Kiera was rather protective of her. "Not to mention I'd like to acquaint myself with Raven Drake as well." A smirk curled up on Kiera's lips. "Lets see if the woman can actually stand up to her reputation."

Then, Kiera's face closed up on Humphrey's enquiry regarding her mother. Her jaw clenched subtly, "The woman turned my father against me and sent me away to an unknown continent when I was ten. I had no one to take care of me except a house-elf. No home, no school, running, running, all the time. There's a reason I didn't have a proper upbringing. I grew up in monasteries and training camps and hellholes that a child shouldn't even know about. And the worst part is, I didn't even know what I did wrong." Kiera laughed mirthlessly, a cold jarring sound. "My sister grew up with my dad. She sent them off to America and promised that she would follow. My dad kept waiting forever, and she never came. That woman couldn't stay faithful to anyone. As for why......." Kiera laughed again, desperately. "She never had the decency to tell me. That's what I despise the most. The fact that she never told me why."

Kiera stiffened when Humphrey hugged her, then loosened up fractionally. She absently patted his head, voice emotionless and distant, "The world is a cruel, dark place Humphrey. Its survival of the fittest. You either learn to survive, and take care of yourself, or you die."

by **Humphrey Williams** Sun Nov 11, 2012 1:44 am

"From what I've heard it does more studies of the Dark Arts than Hogwarts. Other than that I don't really know much about it, other than that Gellert Grindelwald is from there." Humphrey admitted. It seemed she was protective of her little sis, that was kind of nice to see. "In my opinion she definitely does, Kiera. I'll make sure to let you know when I'm going." he assured her.

Listening to Kiera talk, he suddenly understood why she was so closed off. Her own mother had ditched her and ruined her relationship with her dad. That was just about the saddest thing he'd ever heard. Only having a house-elf to take care of you, it just wasn't right. "I'm so sorry, your mom sounds really mean. Now I see why you're so tough and distant from everybody. If I went through that I probably would be too." She was cold because her mother had been towards her, it had rubbed off. Plus she had seen places nobody should have to. "Yea, that would bother me too. I doubt you did anything wrong, it was what your mom did wrong." he said quietly. Her laugh set him on edge, it was an almost painful sound to hear, there was no joy in it at all.

She was still stiff, but Kiera relaxed just a bit which was good. "Yes, I know the world is cruel. It's been hard on me as well, though not quite as tough as it was on you. I do my best to add a little light to this dark place we call earth. You can too Kiera, deep down you are a good person. Try not to hide it so much, okay." he told her. Giving her a squeeze, he let go of her. That was probably about the longest hug she could handle.

by **Kiera de Auvergne** Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:10 pm

It felt good, better than it had in ages, to open up. Kiera looked at Humphrey, but her eyes were looking somewhere else, somewhere distant. Somehow, she could picturize herself at Humphrey's age, but there was so much difference. The world had been hard on Humphrey yes, but he still retained that spark of hope in his eyes, of life. Kiera had lost that a long time ago, even before Humphrey's age.

Kiera relaxed much more when Humphrey released the hug, it was comforting yes, but still disconcerting for a person like her. Her voice was quiet, reflective, "You know, perhaps the reason why I talk to you so much is because you remind of a person I could have been if my mother hadn't deserted me. I've stopped truly living a long time ago. Happiness, joy......it just doesn't pierce through. The only time I feel like I'm actually living is when I'm fighting. The rush, the thrill, the danger, the adrenaline.......its addictive."

Kiera smiled, amused, as Humphrey told her she was a good person. "I have a tough time believing that. Trust me Humphrey, I stopped trying to be good, and started simply surviving, a long time ago. When the choice is between your morals and your life, the morals don't really last in the long run."