Breaking Point

”You always come out with such pretty words.” Ember whispered, staring right on back at Sophia, her breath catching in her chest as she got just as impossibly stuck in the Hufflepuff’s eyes as Sophia was in hers. They had changed a lot in the course of the past little while, with the darkening of the groundskeeper’s hut and the setting sun. Earlier they had been much more green, but now they just glimmered with a bit of it, mostly brown, but still just as remarkable. Merlin, she loved the way those eyes changed. She never knew what to expect of them, and it was a treat every time she got to see them in a new state of being. Was she imagining it, or was Sophia just as happy looking back at her? It was a strange feeling, that pull she felt towards the girl, though she knew she mustn’t act upon it. Sophia was probably just happy, like she was. The Hufflepuff had gone so long without proper friends, it was only natural she should want to look at her friend’s face so often, right? Ember could remember doing the same when she’d first found true friendship in Eveleen, drinking her in with the disbelief that they had really become so impossibly close so quickly when she hadn’t connected on that level with anyone during her first year at school. Not that she hadn’t had friends of course, but none would ever be Eveleen… And now, none would also never be Sophia, the one girl she could really let herself be vulnerable in front of and not feel exceptionally out of place.

The Gryffindor closed her eyes, tilting her head to accept the kiss upon it, the soft lips gentle and welcome. Sophia was… affectionate. Like she was. It was impossibly nice to know she had found a friend who would completely accept her hugs and kisses and return them as well. Ember enjoyed it, the feeling of Sophia’s mouth lingering, even after the Hufflepuff had pulled away. It tingled a bit, a delicious sort of wonderful.

”It’s okay, about Morgan. Even if he is still lurking, we can take my… oh…” The Gryffindor trailed off, her face falling as she remembered. She had forgotten for a little while, distracted by the deliciousness of the Hufflepuff, that her beloved Nimbus was gone. They would have to walk back to the school. Her heart twinged, a slight stabbing pain shooting through it before dulling to an ache she knew was not going to go away for a long while. Her broom was irreplaceable, and she‘d probably never completely get over it‘s loss, but at least she hadn‘t needed to deal with the severest of the pains alone. “Right. No, I don’t think he’d still be around. Not after what you did to him and his mates. And you’re right, I’ll be fine. I‘ve got you. Mates forever.” She forced a little smile that quickly turned exceptionally mischievous, and then, reached out, grabbing hold of both of Sophia’s upper arms and roughly pushing her backwards on the couch.

Ember straddled the poor girl again, sliding her hands up Sophia’s arms and pressing her wrists into the couch as she leaned over her, gazing downwards at the pretty girl’s face. She leaned closer, hair falling and whisping gently against Sophia’s cheeks. She stared at the Hufflepuff, eyes sparkling, her mouth cocked into that smile she got when she was teasing. ”And you’d better not ever run. Because I will hunt you down and catch you before you can even get five feet. Physically, I’m faster and stronger than you, little mouse, because I’m a wolf.” And then she leaned down further, and promptly licked the entire length of Sophia’s left cheek, purposely avoiding her mouth so as not to be tempted by those tantalizing looking lips. She released Sophia’s arms and sat up, still sitting on the Hufflepuff. She held out one hand, pinky extended. ”Promise, okay?”

The second Sophia's eyes flickered, Ember knew something was wrong. The girl's pupils dilated in fear and panic causing the Gryffindor's heart to sink into her stomach. She had forgotten... Had let the enjoyable time they were having overshadow her better judgement. She had only been trying to goof around, tease her friend a little bit, but pinning Sophia down had obviously triggered some dark recess in the Hufflepuff's mind where she automatically reacted badly. She was scared of Ember, one of the people she was supposed to trust, and it made the Gryffindor feel absolutely terrible. "Sophia..." Ember whispered, but then her body lifted, shooting upwards as the Hufflepuff shouted at her.... Her voice scarily full of rage and fear.

Ember's body flipped, her ankle taking her upwards until she was suspended in the air upside-down. She swung slightly from the momentum of having been hoisted upward so quickly, the blood rushing to her head. Her hair hung down, necklace flipping and dangling awkwardly into her face, but it didn't fall off. Her shirt shimmied down her torso a little bit, but then stuck, tight enough on her body to not reveal more than an inch of skin. It was not the first time she had been dangling from something, though, it was the first time it wasn't a broom or tree branch. She stared at Sophia, all sense of humor gone from her face, hair licking at the other girl's stomach where she'd been flipped up and off of.

Sophia looked so... Petrified but at the same time.... She seemed impossibly determined. The fierceness and quick thinking action to disable her 'assailant' made the Hufflepuff, if anything, look even more appealing than she had earlier, which was strange. Ember should not have been attracted to the girl when she was was obviously having some sort of episode, especially when it seemed like the Hufflepuff had lost all sense of where she was and with who. It made her want to hug Sophia, to kiss all over her face and whisper reassurances in her ear.

Ember knew that that wasn't actually physically possible at the moment, not when she was dangling by one ankle, however, she still had a voice, and her hands were within reaching distance. She reached, stroking at Sophia's side, the only part of her she could currently touch comfortably. "Sophia.... Hey. You're alright. You're safe. It's just Ember. I'm sorry if I frightened you, that was stupid of me. I'd never, ever hurt you, darling. I love you too much." Ember kept her voice gentle, pulling her hand away from Sophia's side, realizing it might not be such a good idea to touch her at the moment. She hadn't seen her freak out this bad since they had been in the Shrieking Shack, and even then, Sophia had curled up, ready to take whatever was coming for her in her head, but this time.... this time she'd fought back.

"You did good, Mouse. Taking me out fast like that, but you're safe. There's nothing here to be afraid of unless you're allergic to redheads and cuddles. Look, see? No one scary here, just your stupid ass friend who is really, really sorry by the way. I was only playing with you... I forgot something like that might make you nervous." Ember would never do that again. Tackling Sophia down had been stupid when the girl still suffered from bad memories of having things like that happen to her and getting beaten up. The girl was not going to be a mate Ember could wrestle with, not like she did her cousins. Sophia was still mentally too delicate for such rough housing. She needed to be hugged and caressed, treated with kindness and gentle hands, not pinned down and scared shitless.

Ember watched as Sophia’s face began to clear, slowly. She seemed to be calming down, which was good, because it meant the Gryffindor’s words were having an affect upon the Hufflepuff. She waited patiently, knowing that Sophia needed to come back on her own since she couldn’t help her with more than just her voice this time. She was a little bit… uh, hung up at the moment. Oh geez, Ember laughed in her head at her own stupid pun just before Sophia’s eyes went wide and found her face.

The Hufflepuff seemed quite frazzled with herself, apologizing as she started to cry and removed herself from the couch. Ember was… well, she was torn between amusement and concern. On the one hand, Sophia was being impossibly adorable at the moment, on the other, she had just suffered from a real moment of actual fear where she had gone beyond the recognition that Ember had only been playing and her brain seemed to have turned her friend into some kind of danger. Having never had to experience something like that before, the Gryffindor could not fully understand it, but she did want to be there for Sophia, no matter the situation. She knew the Hufflepuff was a delicate being, even when she did kick ass sometimes like she had out on the pitch or just now when she’d thought she was in trouble.

Ember landed with a ‘pomf!’ on the couch, easily using her hands to mostly catch herself before purposely falling backwards. She sat up, just as Sophia came to her, grabbing hold of her. Ember gripped her back tightly, pulling the Hufflepuff close. She kissed the side of her head near Sophia’s ear, rocking slightly side to side, hoping it would help stem the flow of tears currently seeming to erupt from the Hufflepuff’s eyes. She pulled back a little, letting go of Sophia, but only so she could cup the girl’s face with both hands. Her thumbs ran over Sophia’s cheeks, wiping at the tears that were falling down them, catching them as they came out of her eyes. ”Shhh, little mouse. It’s alright.” Ember promised, leaning forward to rest her forehead against Sophia’s, tilting just enough so she could still see into those watery eyes.

”It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have scared you. It was a stupid move… You didn’t even recognize me.:” Ember sighed, kissing the Hufflepuff’s nose gently. She swept Sophia’s hair back, away from her face, tucking it gently behind her ears. ”No more tackling. You shouldn‘t… You shouldn‘t ever have to feel so scared, darling. I‘m sorry I frightened you. But you‘re safe now, you‘re always safe here.” The Gryffindor stated firmly, patting her own chest and enveloping Sophia in her arms again.

Ember held Sophia as tightly as she had that first day, when Sophia had clung onto her even though they’d just barely met. Her arms locked around the Hufflepuff, pressing into her back, and only shifting to pull the girl closer to her. She pressed her cheek against Sophia’s, trying not to secretly enjoy the absolute softness of it so much, even though that was entirely impossible. The sobbing in the Gryffindor’s ear kept her grounded though, which was quite difficult to do when all she ever wanted was to fly. Sophia didn’t need silly Ember, or cocky Ember, or even knight Ember right now. She needed her friend, so that’s what Ember was going to be, someone she could rely on to help her feel better even when she got sent to that odd dark place the Hufflepuff seemed to have inside her mind.

”I’ve got you.” Ember stated, gently but firm enough that it would be undisputable. ”You’re safe and I’ve got you. You don’t need to worry about hurting me, I just have to be careful not to scare you again.” The Gryffindor brought a hand up, stroking at the back of Sophia’s head, her nails gently skimming at the other girl’s scalp in a way she, personally, found comforting. Gosh, the Hufflepuff was so… delicate. Like Ember had told Eveleen ages ago, the girl was like a glass, teetering on the edge of something, just ready to fall and break the second something pushed her off balance. It didn’t upset Ember though, far from it. It just made her want to work all the harder to help Sophia overcome whatever it was that made her go into those dark places, and be there for her when those times did happen so she could hold her until she felt better. The Hufflepuff has some balls in her somewhere, Ember knew it, from the way Sophia had taken on the three Ravenclaw boys, even if the Hufflepuff had been scared and running off of adrenaline.

”And hey…” The Gryffindor laughed, pulling back so she could see Sophia’s face again. It was all blotchy, red and wet from crying, but Merlin’s pants, she was still pretty as hell. How could one person be so attractive, even when they were bawling? Then again, most people had ugly crying faces, and perhaps it was just Ember’s bias that kept her from thinking so of Sophia. ”You still owe me a pinky swear.”