East Gardens, Brunnhold
It was surprisingly difficult to get her brother alone when she wanted- when she needed him that way. The young woman didn’t want to be overheard, didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing anything between the siblings and that included Harper. Niamh had a feeling that she was going to lose her temper and if she felt that way then Fionn was going to lose his with absolute certainty. The last thing either of them needed was for someone to realise that they were tearing strips off each other, come to investigate and start asking questions. Not that anywhere was likely to be safe short of the two of them being catapulted to Benea and even then she suspected that — heated as she imagined this discussion would become — people would know about it even if it took place on Vita’s larger moon.
Niamh had made a perhaps unwise decision to meet her brother in the East Gardens, knowing it to be an unpopular spot with most people because they found that it gave them the creeps. It gave the eldest Madden the creeps too but at least it was a lonely spot, unlikely to see them disturbed — not that she expected to hang around there. The young woman was well aware that it’d be lunchtime soon and then there was the risk of some students or faculty members wandering in their direction, especially as it was reasonably dry today albeit there had been a shower earlier and perhaps that would act as a deterrent. In many ways, it was lucky that it was dry because otherwise their meeting would have been a miserable one indeed. It wasn’t going to be a happy one in any case but it would have been a lot worse if they’d both been stuck out in the rain, wet to the skin.
A shower could appear at any time and as such, the young woman carried an umbrella. It was dark green, complementing her uniform. Ordinarily, she would have held it by the handle at waist-height in front of her, ferrule down, and let it bounce lightly against her skirt. This time, she clasped it tightly in the middle, feeling the metal frame dig into her fingers even through the closed canopy as she swung it back and forth like a weapon. The final year student was hardly the demure, nervous girl that she normally was; the redhead was clearly on the war path and it would be a shock to anyone who encountered her.
Her meeting with Aurelie Steerpike the previous day was what fuelled her fury now and it wasn’t the girl that she was angry at but rather her brother. It was he who could lie, he who was full of guile and deceit. The treacherous little… little bastard! Why did he have to be like this? Why did he have to have such a total disregard for the rules that had been set out? Did he think that he was the only one who had to live according to standards set by others? Most importantly though, how dare he lie to her! Niamh could forgive him lying in general but he shouldn’t lie to her, not when she was supposed to be someone that he could trust.
The boy had no idea what rage his sister was going to rain down upon him.
Arriving at the East Gardens before him meant that she had to gaze at the entrance to that maze and feel certain that she could hear whispers on the wind but she didn’t think that she’d have to be bothered for long; once her brother arrived, she’d be far too distracted to feel weird about the place. It was doubtful that she’d be feeling the chill creeping across her skin when her blood started boiling.
She paced, the umbrella swung back and forth as if she was a soldier on parade. She couldn’t keep her emotions to herself and she wasn’t trying; ironically her field was quite orderly almost calm, even if it was solidly red-shift and pulsing. Her expression was quite a cool one, persisting even when she caught sight of her brother’s face. Her pacing slowed and then she stilled before the maze’s entrance, one hand balled at her hip while the other leaned on the umbrella, using it like a cane while its ferrule dug into the mud.
“About time you showed up! I’ve been so looking forward to having a little chat!” she greeted, words brisk and clipped, not even managing a facsimile of a smile. Her foot tapped on the ground.
“I talked to Aurelie Steerpike yesterday. Very interesting conversation — very interesting! So you have some explaining to do, Fionn and don’t you dare lie to me, do you hear me? If you lie, I’ll- I’ll- I’ll clocking well beat you over the head with this!” she snarled, brandishing the umbrella menacingly in the air. The mud that fell off the tip might have detracted from the menace a bit but this was no laughing matter; given the scarlet fury in her features and the real steel to her words, it wasn’t really comical.
“Don’t even try to deny it, Fionn, or talking around it — avoidance and omission won’t do you any favours — because I know that you’re interested in Aurelie! It’s why you told her to get involved in the research, isn’t it? So you can what? What were you planning on doing under our noses? Under my nose! How can I trust you with anything? You lying, m-m-manipulative b-bastard!”
She’d actually sworn at him. She’d also used a term that she knew would hurt, one that she knew would rile him. Well good! Let him get angry! It was about time they aired some things, wasn’t it?