Letters from Home

[bellbell]

Bella knew she was probably acting annoying and childish and decied to ignore his rude comment and annoying smirk. Laying back against a rock, Bella gazed out at the giant squid admiring its elegance. The squid was so beautiful and enchanting. How could anyone fear such a magnificent creature? Though its tentacles could easily kill, why couldn't anyone look past that mask of danger and see the true beauty? Everything in the world was dangerous in their own way and yet also beautiful in its own way.

'What's been up with you Bella?' said Vas. Bella could tell her friend really wanted to ask Regulus instead of her. Bitternes and jealousy washed over Bella. Regulus hardly knew anything about Vas and yet here she was giving her all to a stranger she doesn't even know except for the fact he has a beautiful face. Bella turned from her friend in disgust, love was disgusting, she would rather die than love.."Why would you care?....besides I didn't do anything today" lied Bella bitterly, she was sure her eyes were giving her away by turning into a honey yellow that meant she was lying She was horrible at lying and her lie was probably very obvious. But at the moment her lie was tiny compared to what her friend had just done.

For all Bella knew, Vas had betrayed her and Regulus ,and his charming smile, was the reason she did. All Bella felt at the moment was hate and jealousy, the two worst sins in all the Christian Religion....then again so was magic and murder. Bella sighed, looking up into the clouds. She wished she could just disappear or fly away. Was suicide an option? ((no I am not about to suicide my character even though she is going to attempt suicide...)) Bella thought for a moment. Maybe it was. Edward wasn't talking, Alice certainly didn't care......well sorta and Vas had just lied to her in front of her face for a schmuck she didn't even know about. But how?

The giant squid caught her attention. How good could it get? To get killed by an awesome creature like that. Bella stood up and walked toward the water. Without hesitating Bella dove and began swimming towards the squid. Would it squeeze the life out of her? or would it just eat her? or take her underwater and allow her to drown? Bella feared death...but for some reason it seemed exciting. She had failed at killing herself back at the Muggle World. Surely, no one cared enough to stop her now...

[brett]

Bella was being rather hostile towards her friend now. Perhaps Regulus had caused some damage after all. Hopefully that wouldn't backfire on him, Vas seemed to be on his side. Still breaking up friendship wasn't something Reg took all that much pride it, but Bella was being a prat, bugging him about the incident with the classroom.

Regulus watched with curious eyes as Bella stood he was immediately hopeful that perhaps now he would get the opportunity to actually get to know Vas, rather than having to fake his way through. However Bella headed for the water. "What's she doing?" Regulus asked turning to Vas wondering if random swims were perhaps normal behavior for her. Honestly Reg wouldn't be surprised.

Then Regulus spotted it, the giant squid. The squid generally stayed towards the bottom of the lake, or so Regulus assumed, but not he could see parts of it peaking over the surface of the water. While he doubted the squid would actually go in search of students to attack, he knew full well that like the whomping willow he would have no problem attacking anyone foolish enough to come with in his reach, and Bella was headed right for it.

"Bella!" Regulus called hoping to warn her, but then it hit him. Bella had seen the squid, she was swimming towards it intentionally. "Crap," Regulus muttered as he realized what he needed to do. Sadly, if it wasn't for Vas' presence he probably would have been content to let Bella kill herself. Seeing as that wasn't the case however, Reg pulled off his shirt and tossed it to the ground before running into the water.

Only a few steps in Regulus was deep enough to start swimming. His long arms reached out in concentrated strokes propelling him swiftly through the water. As his legs kicked through he wished he had thought to remove the extra weight of his shoes. The water was freezing as it rolled over his bare back and gave him goosebumps. Bella was going to owe him for this one...he only hoped he could catch her in time to hold her to that.

Finally catching up to her, desperately hoping the squid was still a ways off, Regulus grabbed Bella's arm stopping her momentum and his own which caused them to bob beneath the waters surface for a moment. Regulus coughed water as he came back up wrapping his arm around Bella unwilling to let her resist. Using the remain arm he had Regulus began paddling back towards shore, relying mostly on his legs to propel them now.

[vas]

.E.D.I.T.

OOC: Well we can't have Bella drown! Or, be eaten by the squid...whichever came first. ;] Of course, you know that would just make Vas want to jump in have Regulus save her. *Chuckles* Anywho, Bella? Thoughts?

OOC: Oh! I didn’t mean she would I was just saying, Vas will most definitely have negative feelings towards Bella – nothing like a miscommunication to allow a plot to take off, no? *Laughs* Anywho, posting…


Vas was quickly becoming annoyed, glowering at her friend – here she was trying to make small talk and act nice and all she got in return was the cold shoulder. Before Vas had really decided upon whether she was going to be mad at Bella though, she perked up and – jumped into the lake? Vas stared in amazement, aware Bella was prone to the extremes but…swimming? Now? In the fall? “What’s she doing?” Regulus’s voice broke her confusion, Vas simply shaking her head, unable to look away from the rippling water. What on earth was she doing? And then she saw it, one large tentacle churning the water. “Oh my,” Vas breathed, a hand hesitantly rising to cover her mouth. Fez protested but she ignored him, too enticed. And it was a good thing her hand was covering her mouth at that point, her jaw dropping as Regulus jumped up and tossed his shirt to the side. He really was gorgeous. Oh Vas, stop it! Concentrate! Bella! Focus now! A thin blush appeared on her cheeks as Regulus dived, but as soon as he was hidden beneath the lakes surface, she was able to think clearly.

Bella had just jumped into the freezing lake and now Regulus was going after her – something about that in her mind was completely wrong. Heck, if she’d known throwing herself into the water would make Regulus chase after her Vas would have done it herself! And she was still considering, but something about repeating Bella’s actions herself didn’t sound too smart. Instead she was on her hands and knees right at the edge (an angry Fez behind her), waiting for them to come back over. “Bella, come on! What are you doing?” she called, masking her jealousy well as Regulus caught hold of Bella; what she wouldn’t give to be in his arms. “Get out of there, come on!” she called once more, hoping to safely bring Bella and Regulus back. Vas had never been fond of the giant squid and had no plans of ever getting up close and personal with it – up to this day she had yet to set foot in the waters, too foolishly frightened of what it hid beneath the surface. Leon had been braver then her, trying to convince her there was nothing to worry about – he’d never been harmed during a swim, but Vas wasn’t willing to take the chance.

Fez was rapidly becoming frustrated with Vas ignoring him, shoving his head against her arm. “Go away,” she shooed him, swatting at him to back up. Fez meowed like a child whining and circles around her, bumping up against Vas’s other arm. Vas snapped at him again, “Fez, stop it!” She flicked his nose and focused back out into the lake, ignoring him completely. “Come on Reg!” Vas encouraged, amazed he was able to continue swimming and pull Bella along. From where she sat in safety at the lake’s edge, she couldn’t tell if Bella was coming willingly or not. There was a lot of water flying, and just from Bella’s little show Vas didn’t think she would take kindly to being dragged by Regulus – why or earth, she had no idea why. Honestly, was Bella insane? Envy cluttered Vas’s mind and she replayed the option of jumping in with them just to help Regulus, but her childish fears wouldn’t let her. Just a few more feet, Vas thought longingly, wanting Bella back on land and more importantly, for Regulus to let go of her.

[bellbell]

Just awhile ago Bella was swimming freely and solo, then from nowhere someone grabbed her arm. She turned around just as they went under, unable to catch her breath...she almost drowned. Her death would have been disgusting in the arms of..? Bella looked at the person who interfered. It Regulus Black. What the hell was he doing? Probably trying to impress Vas or charm her, Bella gritted her teeth. She was so close to the squid. When they bobbed up on the surface, Bella gasped for air, just as Regulus wrapped his arm around her, probably trying to make it hard for her resist. But Bella's desire for death was greater, no one would stop her now. In the muggle world, she had been stopped but this time she would not.

Bella fought against Regulus, kicking him occasionally. If he wanted to bring her back, he would have to bring her back cold, dead body. Bella could see that the squid was farther away. She had to be serious. She had to get away. With the fear of living, Bella went wild. She tried to swim away, her arms and legs swinging every which way. Her clothes hanged heavily against her skin, and her shoes were like weights on her feet. To make matters worse the black water was freezing cold and she couldn't see anything that may be under her.

Bella winced as her foot struck against a rock. She couldn't see the rock but she felt its hard form rub against her flesh. Much to Bella's horror, the black water was now a dark red. Blood. She was swimming in it. The scent was in the air,and the taste of it was in her mouth. Blood. Fear stricken, Bella kicked some more. Being hysterical wasn't a good thing to be but Bella was. She was pushed in and out of the water, the taste of blood in her mouth. Then she stopped. It was hard to breathe, the scent of blood was so heavy. Her arms hanged limply against her sides as she dropped under. It hurt. Her throat burned as if it were on fire, as the icy water pressed against her lungs making them feel as if they were going burst. The water was so dark and black, she couldn't see which way the surface was. Bella closed her eyes as the darkness enveloped her. She would die. She smiled.

((..not a suicide...))

[brett]

Bella was fighting hard against him and Regulus had good mind to let her go. The girl was more trouble then she was worth. "Cut it out," he ordered fighting hard to keep his grip. Regulus winced as another of Bella's kicks hit him in the side. She better damn well appreciate this when they got back to shore. It was hard enough to swim while carrying someone else without them kicking you in the side every five seconds.

Then Bella went crazy and started thrashing about. Regulus struggled to grab hold of her when a flailing arm smacked him in the mouth and he lost his hold. Looking down in the water he could see it had gone red, his first thought was that the smack had made his nose bleed, but there was far too much...Bella. Reg couldn't see her on the surface. Of course not that would be too easy.

Regulus felt the rock Bella must have cut herself on, he moved a way from the pool of blood and dove under the surface. Opening his eyes he followed a thin trail of blood to the motionless form of Bella's body. Reg swam forward and grabbed her, at least now she couldn't resist now. Reg gasped for air as he resurfaced keeping Bella's head above the water even if it meant partially submerging his own. Swimming back towards shore Regulus realized why he wasn't a hero. He couldn't imagine having to do this for a living.

It seemed like forever before he finally reached shore breathing heavily he tried to manage a smile at Vas, but he wasn't sure how effective it was. This wasn't the time for smiling anyway. "Okay, I got her out of the water, you give her CPR," Regulus breathed. He had had enough playing hero for the day. He needed to catch his breath.

[vas]

“God Bella, stop it! Come on!” Vas nearly screamed, frustration momentarily over-ruling her. What had she been thinking? Right here, on the side of the lake, Vas could see the giant squid floating below. Perhaps he was far off, but nonetheless he was there – and Bella had deliberately jumped into the water and headed straight for it? And now she’d drug Regulus in right alongside her! Extremes, she scoffed silently, from now on Bella can just take those ex- The was something of a grunt from Regulus and then Bella was gone, sinking deeper into…the red water? Vas gasped, now forcefully clamping her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Her breathing became heavier, concerned for her friends and allowing other emotions to fade.

Her eyes were wide as she watched it play out, too stricken to do anything else. Her limbs weren’t responding and even if she wanted to help, she was at a loss of how. She had always disliked the actual lake – no problems with its appearance, but what lay underneath. And screaming for help, well, she’d apparently lost her voice. Vas tried to say something but nothing came out. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Furiously she repeated the same phrase over and over, her mind working too slowly to actually come up with anything. Oh my God!

It took what felt like an eternity, but Regulus finally emerged above the surface, now tugging along a struggle-less Bella. Vas blinked back the silly tears lining her eyes, unsure whether she was happy to see Bella or not. She would have much prefers to find Bella screaming and kicking Regulus some more, not the limb one he was dragging now. Vas was finally able to find herself, rushing over to help Regulus get Bella out of the water. There was a rather nasty cut along her leg, making Vas swoon for a moment – the very thought of blood repulsed her, and now the smell was clogging her mind. Trying to breathe deeply didn’t help; it really only worsened her state – though she couldn’t be in a much worse state then Bella was. “Okay, I got her out of the water; you give her CPR.” Vas glanced at Regulus, too dazed to really understand if he was joking or not. She’ heard about the odd Muggle practice, but had not the first idea what it really was or how to execute it. “Bella?” she struggled to ask instead, cradling the Gryffindor’s head with one hand, her other shaking her shoulder gently. “Bella?” she pleaded, her forming tears beginning to leak. Oh Vas, stop it…she’s not d…

[bellbell]

In her dream, Bella could see her parents sitting across from her. They were smiling at her. But.....it was impossible. They couldn't possibly be there.They were dead. Yet, they weren't. Her parents continued to eat their meal,and a spoon rose to Bella's lips as she continued to eat as well. At least she had died and gone to heaven.....hopefully.

The noise of a door banging open disturbed their meal. A intruder? In heaven? No way. A man dressed in black barged through the living room doors, wand pointed directly at her parents.

"Anna and Alex Evangeline will you or will you not join Lord Voldermort?" said the man.This memory...it couldn't be..."No," replied her parents before she could even think. No, she cried in her mind, trying to reach out towards her parents, But Bella couldn't be heard, spoonful after spooful she continued to eat. Why couldn't she move? The man let out a manical laugh and muttered the words Bella had desperately tried to forget.....AVADA KEDVARA! he yelled

Bella gasped, waking up to feel someone shaking her and hot tears dripping onto her face. Why was someone crying? Bella's vision was hazy, but she knew exactly what had happened. She had tried to kill herself, Black saved her, She fought, She almost drowned....and now she was on shore. Damnit. Regulus had really managed to save her......alive. She sighed, "You don't shake people when they're dying you know..." said Bella "Unless you're trying to wake me from the dead....though I think using a larger voice is most preferable"

As her senses awoke from their numb slumber, the taste of blood in her mouth made her open her eyes wide..."Blood!!" she gasped, as she jumped out of Vivienne's grasp. It was in her mouth. She could taste it. That horrible metallic smell. Bella looked down to see her leg....bleeding. The red liquid dripped and oozed out of her wound, the scent was simply unbearable. Bella's hands groped around for something to hold to as a wave of nausea washed over her. Why did she have to fear blood so much? No one else ever seemed to be bothered by it.

[brett]

((Right so bad choice of words with CPR, but I'm learning))

Regulus grabbed his shirt up off the ground, but because he was still dripping thought better than to put it back on just yet. Instead, he just lay on the grass allowing his breathing and heart rate to become slower and less labored. He could here Vas trying to wake Bella as if she were sleeping, and had he not heard the pain in her voice and sat up to see her crying he may have mocked her tactics. He drew his wand about to use a spell to clear Bella's airway when she gasped to life once more.

The first words out of Bella's mouth had Regulus bit stunned. That was probably the first time he had ever heard Bella crack a joke. Looks like the annoying little bugger had a sense of humor after all. Maybe, just maybe Bella wasn't quite as bad as she had seemed at first. After all Vas seemed a pretty good judge of character, (based soley on the fact that she seemed to like Reg) so if she was friends with Bella there must be some redeeming qualities to her.

Ugh, Bella's fear of blood. Reg wasn't much of a fan either, but for a girl who hated blood she was far to good at spilling it. Letting out a 'hear we go again' sigh, Regulus swished his wand muttering incantations over Bella's leg, one to seal the wound and one to clean the excess. Sadly, this had probably been the longest period of time he spent with Bella before needing to use the spells. "There," he said dismissively, glad to be done with the task. He almost screamed at Bella about why she had decided to do something like that but instead he settled for, "You owe me big for that one."

[vas]

OOC: ^^


“Oh!” Vas gasped as Bella coughed up a mix of water and blood, her eyes flickering open. She had half a mind to be infuriated with Bella, trying to joke at a time like this, but she was overwhelmed by the fact she was just alive, unable to work up the nerve to truing be mad. She laughed weakly, trying to calm herself down. “What do you want me to say, ‘sorry’? You’re the one who just jumped into the lake and you want me to apologize for ‘not using a larger voice’? You’ve lost too much blood Bella; you’re becoming delusional.” Vas gulped back her tears, finding her lips almost in a smirk.

By the time she actually came to her sense, Regulus was already muttering: and suddenly Bella’s blood was no more, her skin inching back together in a slightly mortifying manner. His time Vas choked back her own vomit reflex, not wanting to spill up her breakfast. “Thanks Reg,” she smiled at him sincerely, despite his grungy humor. She thought enough of him to think he wouldn’t regret saving Bella, but clearly he was annoyed with her at the same time…and finally Vas was too.

Her eyes narrowed and she whacked Bella across the shoulder – hard enough to get her attention, not hard enough to actually cause much pain. “What were you thinking, going straight for the squid like that? Have you gone menta?! What if he had got you?! You know I don’t like that stupid creature – you’re lucky Reg was here, otherwise I would have had to watch it eat you! You better properly thank Reg for saving you,” Vas added sternly. She didn’t care if they two loathed each other beyond all reason – Regulus deserved thanks from her and Bella deserved to say it, regardless of prejudgments between the two.

[vas]

OOC: Um, I suppose...we could use this thing I learned from Enigma:

sihT si na .elpmaxe
This is an example.

That way Brett could still read it anyways, even if Reg doesn't understand it?

[vas]

OOC: lol. Sorry; that works too. I'm using purple then, but feel free to use whatever.

[bellbell]

((I'll use purple too.))
Regulus looked stunned by her choice of words, "What? Did really think that I'm so serious I can't have a good laugh?" she asked, her purple eyes switching to a lovely lilac. It was really cold on shore, and the fact that Bella's clothes were soaking wet certainly didn't help her. She could see the squid still in the exact spot it had been hours before. Bella was quite annoyed that Regulus had saved her. She hadn't asked to be saved.."I don't owe you, Black, I didn't ask to be saved...." said Bella weakly as she found her feet and stood up. Despite his comment of 'you owe me big time' Bella could tell he was about ready to scream at ant time for the reason why she tried to kill herself. And she didn't exactly feel the need to explain why she had done it.

A burning sensation on her shoulder caused her to gasp in pain and shock, "Thank him???" Bella echoed "Well excuse me, but we can't all love Regulus Black. And the squid isn't a stupid creature!!! And in case you hadn't noticed I wanted to die but instead you....you....meddled with what I wanted, just like those muggles did. And I am not going to thank a meddlesome snake..."

Bella sat down again with a sigh, and examined her leg. Regulus, she had to admit, was good at healing spells. Probably because he often hexed people....."Thanks..." said Bella softly, closing her eyes. If he ever used this against her, he was as good as dead.

[brett]

Regulus gave Vas a 'can I throw her back in?' look as Bella continued to be ungrateful. Why he had been expecting a silly little girl like Bella to even care that someone saved her wretched life he wasn't sure, but still he had put his own life on the line to save hers, that should be worth something. That should be worth a lot actually...How heroes did it he still couldn't fathom.

"Yea well I didn't ask to get my pants wet," Regulus shot back his tone screaming 'tough luck kid.' Truth be told though, he did it more for Vas than he did for Bella anyway. Vas was cute and really seemed to like Reg and he almost felt bad about ruining that perfect image she must have of him by not saving Bella. That and the fact that she would have been a witness to the whole thing and his negligence could put him in hot water.

Bella started talking some gibberish to Vas and Reg just raised his eyebrow. Was he going nuts? Or had Bella just messed up the part of her brain that told her how to speak English. Then the next words out of Bella's mouth surprised him more than gibberish. "Maybe we should get you to the hospital wing, your speaking all funny and I think you may have just said thank you," Regulus said trying to sort this through.

[vas]

Vas let out a shallow breath, glad to see that they had somewhat managed to stand each other – they were joking around for crying out loud! Even after…well, after Bella had tried to kill herself to put it in blunt terms. That slightly worried her, concerned about what exactly was going on with her friend. Compassion quickly turned back to heated anger though, familiar to the old tongue the two girls had created such a long time ago. “That is hardly fair!” she retorted back. Even if Regulus couldn’t understand the words, he’d be able to tell she was heated. “You think I’m just going to stand back and let you die? What would have happened? You know I hate that…that thing! Reg just saved your life and you think you don’t need to say thank you? Regardless of whether you wanted it or not, he just risked his life for you. That deserves thanks Bella. You know it does, because however much you didn’t want to be saved, I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to have to save you either.” Vas set her lips hard, trying to make her see a point. She was determined to be stubborn other the matter.

“Thanks,” Bella finally mutter out, and Vas sighed in relief. At least Bella had some sense left in her. “Thanks Bella,” she said quietly hoping Regulus hadn’t heard her. It was a big step for Bella to admit gratitude to someone she apparently greatly disliked. Vas was happy Bella could be the bigger person. Weakly she glanced over to Regulus, who still remained fuming. Vas wanted to smack herself for thinking he looked good doing it, standing there like some tragic hero that happened to be at the wrong place at the right time.

“Maybe we should get you to the hospital wing, your speaking all funny and I think you may have just said thank you,” he managed to say, looking slightly awkward. Vas grinned, wondering what he would take her for knowing she had communicated with Bella in such a strange language. Indeed, it was like no other, the pair having come up with it long ago so their brothers wouldn’t know what they were saying. Thinking about it though, she realized she probably just made herself look mental. Great, just what I need, she thought sourly, Reg thinking I’m mentally handicapped. That was not going to help her slim, slim chances with him. She had yet to figure out if he even thought of her that way – and foolishly, she’d already allowed herself to be a bit too over eager around him. Anyone with half a brain could work out how enthralled she was with him.

“I think you managed to bandage her up just fine, actually,” Vas said cautiously, wondering if their good terms would last very long. “Unless you think she needs more medical care with her leg, well Bella looks fine to me.” She glanced at the Gryffindor, questioningly. “True?” she asked.

[bellbell]

She had no reason to say it, and in fact she hadn't even wanted to say it. But for some reason the words escaped from her mouth. How she possibly even thought the words was a mystery but Bella wasn't about to be caught off guard by her own words and smirked darkly. A memory floated into her mind, the time Vas and Bella had created their own personal language. It had been fun and completely random. The main purpose of it, was so they could talk to each other secretly even if they were in the hands of a brutal and sadistic murderer/criminal person.

Bella ignored Regulus's vulgar behavior and concentrated hard on controlling her temper, "Don't call the squid a thing!!! It has feelings, you know, if you say such things it might hate you." answered Bella, pursing her lips as her anger flared "Besides, Regulus wouldn't have saved me at all if you hadn't been here. Its how he works, charming innocent girls and bending their wills to make them do things. Even now he is enchanting you."[/color]. The anger inside her was bubbling and bubbling, as it normally did when she got angry at a special person or friend. Why couldn't Vas see it? That she was under his spell and that he was holding her in the palm of his hand. Almost as if she were a pet. Bella exhaled sharply, "I don't want to go to Hospital Wing, thank you, and I am not talking funny.." snapped Bella "Also, if you even think that Vas is mentally retarded, I will break that pretty face of yours." she added, unknowingly commenting on his pretty face.

When Bella heard Vas whisper a 'thank you' and she turned to look at her in surprise. Why had Vas said thank you? Was it because Reg had saved her or because Bella had overcome her personal hatred and managed to muster the words? Bella let out a sigh and glanced back at Regulus....such a lovely shade of green eyes. Suddenly Bella remembered their last meeting in the Forbidden Forest. They had almost killed each other. Bella let out a laugh when she remembered dumping cold water on him for just complimenting her. The Unbreakable Vow. She had almost completely forgotten about the Unbreakable Vow they were supposed to do but couldn't since they hadn't had a witness. An idea came to her head at once....."Vas are you good at doing the Unbreakable Vow?" she asked quietly, keeping her anger under control and her poise.