Overwhelming (Jari)

A few days after the battle Marilyn was in her flat with her uncle Jamie (x), whom she'd flooed as soon as possible and who'd come to stay a few days to help her around the flat while she was injured. The witch was trying to cope with the events of the past few days and with her growing, confusing emotions, but priority was healing her arm. The curse had indeed shattered every bone up to her elbow, but had been eradicated and now it would only take a few more days until the hand was healed, another few more for her arm, but all in all she'd be fine and it didn't hurt that much anymore.

Not to mention that a certain best friend of hers was due to visit any second, so she was trying to usher Jamie out of the flat before he came, not terribley eager to explain her family tree to Jake, simply because she wasn't sure how he'd react to some bits.
Unfortunately luck was not on her side as there was a knock on the door just as Mari grabbed a shirt for Jamie.

Jamie, who was shirtless and in jeans, looking much younger than he was, and who then proceeded ope the door with a smirk and to invite him in calling, “Darling, your boy toy’s here...!”

At which he got a shirt thrown at his head with a yelled back, “Shut up, Jamie, vous êtes une telle bite”

He’d laughed as he’d put the shirt on, accio’d his backpack, kissed her on the cheek with a quick reply, “Véritable. But you love me. I’ll be back tonight, Darling! Have fun...” He’d said as he’d left, winking at Jake as he did, leaving Marilyn light pink in the face.

Of course, right after seeing the half-naked strange man leave her house Jake would be greeted to the sight of what would seem to be a large dog or rather a small bear. Jagger was sitting on 'Jake's spot' on the couch, the scars over where his left eye would be folding with his other eye in a slow blink as if to say 'Mine.'
"Jake, hi, I'm sorry, he wasn't supposed to still be here- no that came out wrong. He's just here to help me out while I'm injured." she held up the arm in its cast and repressed the urge to whack it against her forehead.
'Cool, Calm and Collected, Caldwell. Good Job.' Marilyn thought to herself.

"You... and him?" Marilyn nearly stumbled into the chair in front of her as she turned to the living room, struck by two things at once. 1. Jake thought she was...ew. And 2. He didn't seem very happy about it. So when the witch turned to face him with an absolutely aghast look on her face she registered that his smile was strained as he spoke to her  "When were you going to tell me about that one, Caldwell?"


"I- I'm not- Oh that's disgusting!" She shuddered, "That was Jamie. My uncle, Jamie." Marilyn intoned hard on the title 'uncle', staring at the wizard in front of her. But she couldn't discern what was up.

"And... what is that?"
Mari turned to face the Newfie on the chair. "That's Jagger. My new dog." she replied, "Newfoundland Hound, six years old. We match" she stood next to the beast and Jagger rested his head on her shoulder from where he sat and indeed, where the witch had scars trailing down her face, the dog had scars over his, not to mention his left eye was missing. But he seemed healthy all in all, they were old wounds.

 The witch shifted, slightly embarrassed, "He's my therapy/service dog, actually. Therapist suggested it. So I went to the Menagerie and he was just...there. And he gets on well with Jamie so I'm pretty sure he's good with people, just a bit..rough around the edges." Somehow she wasn't sure if in that moment that description better fit Jagger or her.

"Why would your uncle be half naked and be ushered from your house just as your best friend was arriving?"
"Because he's an utter dick and I didn't want you to have the misfortune of meeting him." Marilyn replied easily, chuckling. Jagger scooted so the witch could sit with him on her lap.
"Besides, he's white. You're... not..."


"No, I'm not, indeed." She finished for him, "Yeah, I know. Reason number two why don't mix my life now," she gestured to him, "And my life that's...complicated." she gestured to the door where Jamie had just gone through.

"I was adopted." Marilyn softly played with Jaggers neck fur as she spoke, "But other than that I'm fine." she joked as Jagger eyed Jake with purpose as he moved to nuzzle the witch lovingly and she smiled, pressing a kiss to his furry head and he grumbled contently. The witch kept her expression controlled as he undid his tie and resisted the urge to curse in spanish about how bloody unfair it was to be attractive while she was trying to keep it together.

"I'm okay, actually. Jagger sleeps on the bed when you can't, which works fine. This doesn't hurt all too much. Jamie's helping me out until I'm out of the cast. I'm...I'm okay. How are you? How's Victoria?" The witch's expression turned a bit more worried as she gently moved out from under a complaining Jagger to sit next to Jake and wrap her healthy arm around him, trying to digest the butterflies in her stomach at the proximity. But she knew the battle had hit Victoria hard and what hit Victoria hard, hit Jake hard.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't... sorry."
"No, don't be. You were bound to find out eventually and it's not like it's a secret." Marilyn shrugged it off, not exactly eager to go into detail and glad he wasn't pressing it. It wasn't that she didn't trust Jake it was just...it was so complicated and heavy- and he was already not doing so well because of Victoria.

"Sorry I haven't been over sooner, it's been chaos at the school. The Ministry haven't left it alone, as I'm sure you're aware."
"It's fine, you have responsibilities, I have responsibilities, I haven't exactly been sitting around waiting for you, I can do auror work from home." She gestured to two silver cuffs on the kitchen counter that were similar to the ones she'd given Victoria, "After they worked well enough at the battle I started tinkering around to improve them. Might be useful."
"Victoria's... not doing so well."


Mari frowned at the answer and even more so when he expanded that the bubbly young witch with whom she'd spoken at the ball was having night terrors and seemed extremely traumatized by the entire event, which was more than understandable.
But then his tone shifted, "...I should have gotten her out of there, Marilyn."


"Wait. Stop right there." He pulled her closer and she used her free hand to turn him to face her, her expression hard and serious, "Don't blame yourself for this. I know you're good, but you're not an auror yet. Victoria was in the safest place she could have been, between us. Trying to move her throught the wreckage at the beginning of the battle would've been too dangerous and she would've gotten hurt. You protected her, she's alive, she isn't injured. Victoria's traumatized, but that's managable. She will get better. Trust me on this."

Marilyn took a breath and released her hold on his chin, realizing the proximity and looking over at Jagger, "If you want, I can talk to her. I know I'm no you, but I do know a thing or two about dealing with trauma." she added, still frowning at him.

"I'm serious, Jake, please don't beat yourself up about any of this. It was the widows fault. All of it." Mari looked more concerned now than anything else. She never felt so helpless than when she was trying to make someone she felt strongly for feel better, the witch just wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know what to do.

"What are you improving?"
"Well at the ball I had been wearing silver cuffs on my wrists and I'd spruced them up a bit, they were shield charms, because usually I use my left hand for shields and the right for duelling. But I figured if I could have both hands as free as possible that would be better, so they're small magical shields." The witch explained,

 "when the battle began I put them on Victoria, because she was panicing and I didn't want her to get hurt so I gave them to her. And they worked, so I figured if I could improve the strength and durability of the charm I could use them on missions, or others could." Marilyn looked down at Jagger who had now crept up to nuzzle her leg and lay at her feet, nearly knocking the coffee table. The witch felt her face grow warm, "So you can feel a bit better, she couldn't have gotten very hurt with those on unless she'd been in a muggle fight."

"I don't want her to think we're pushing her though, she'll talk when she's ready."
"I know, just say when, I'm always there." she replied softly. It was breaking her heart to see Jake like this, so upset with himself, the witch had to force herself not to blurt out that what she was thinking.

"I know, but she's my little sister. I'm supposed to protect her."
Marilyn tensed slightly at that, an unexpected wave of hurt flooding through the witch as she was reminded of her own older sisters who had once been so protective and loving, who'd abandoned her in the face of true fear. It was so foreign, the memory of being someones little sister, the feeling of being protected, that the witch felt her throat threatening to choke up.
But she was an Auror in training, not to mention a Caldwell. And Caldwells were composed.

So Marilyn put away her hurt and she put away her feelings, the butterflies, the heartache, the pain, the confusion- all of it. Swallowed it like a pill and pulled Jake closer, hugging him as good as she could.

"I know. And Victoria is very lucky to have you. But," The witch pulled back to look at him, deciding to share a thought she'd been toying with, trying to believe, "It happened. There is nothing you can do now apart from move on and be there for her now. She'll see you beating yourself up over it and it's going to hurt her, because I'm certain she doesn't blame you for anything that happened."

"T-thank you."
Marilyn just looked up at him and smiled, "Anytime." she replied softly. It had just been a reflex in battle, Victoria was scared so Marilyn had protected her. That was what her job was all about. She would have done it even if it had been anyone else. But it had been Victoria and so it had just been double necessary.

The witch rested her right hand on his left, the one that was around her waist, as she leaned into his pull, trying her hardest to just continue breathing steadily.

"I know that, it's just difficult. She's had enough to deal with for a life time. I can't..." "I know." Mari murmured, feeling the pang of her loss more and more as she saw how Jake was with Victoria. It was a crass parallel to her own sisters and herself, but Jake didn't know that. Couldn't possibly know that he was the picturebook version of what her sisters should have felt for her, instead of shutting her out and blaming her for the family's problems.

"Sorry, I'm off loading. You don't need this."
"But I do, need this I mean, it's what best friends are for." The witch swallowed the sneaking feeling that it wasn't specifically this she needed, but Jake in generel. 'Well that's fine' she thought, 'you're supposed to need your best friend. Nothing wrong about that' Mari told herself, only half believing it. But that was not a problem to deal with now (or ever).

Now the witch snuggled close to her friend and held his hand gently, reassuring him that she was there for him.