008 ✝ eighth step [action/written - backdated to event end]

[manmade_angel]

[Sleepily, Nill stirs in bed, shifting and cuddling up against another warm body. It's too early to get up, the monsters and worrying about Draco being outdoors while the

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[hisdarkmark]

[Draco probably won't encounter Nill until she tries to leave the house, seeing how he's sitting by the front door. What an odd week...he couldn't help but feel rather disgusted with how close he was to Muraki...he knew who Muraki was, what he had done to his best friend.

But what was odder was the girl, Nill. She had to be almost four years his junior and yet he believed her to be his mother? He's going to ponder, and he's going to corner the girl when she appears because he wants to get things straightened out, thanks ever so.]

[manmade_angel]

[After Nill has gathered up what few things she actually considers to be hers, and said goodbye to Mr. Muraki, she tries to find Draco. But he isn't in his room, or anywhere else in the house, so she has to conclude that he awoke and left in a hurry. Which does make her a little sad--perhaps having Nill as a mother had struck some sort of wrong chord.]

[Which is why when she discovers Draco by the door, she's startled. But that feeling doesn't last very long when she realizes he looks upset. Nill may not be Draco's mother anymore, but Nill could never let someone be upset on their own. She glances briefly back inside, but decides there must be a reason Draco is outside. She closes the door quietly, and crouches down next to Draco, wondering why he looks so out of sorts.]

[hisdarkmark]

[He looks up when Nill approaches, giving her a semi-blank stare as he allows his mind to work through everything. Muraki...he'll deal with later. But this girl...it was actually sort of eerie that she was much like Narcissa in the way of doting him. Granted she was a bit more timid than his own mother, but it was nice having that feeling again briefly.]

I suppose I ought to apologize for my behavior this last week, but apologies aren't entirely my forte. [He's still making no moves to stand however. And he knows it's odd to want to know the answer to his next question, but it wouldn't feel right otherwise.] You're all right though, aren't you?

[manmade_angel]

[Everyone wants to know if she's alright--maybe she should feel more traumatized or upset? It's hard for her to feel that way though, since she'd never had a family before, and it was unlikely she would have one in the future. So the past week... was like a good dream for her.]

[But still, she reassures Draco that she's fine with a small nod and a hand on his shoulder. As far as Nill is concerned, there's nothing to apologize for.]

[hisdarkmark]

[It's because Muraki's a bad man, Nill. BAD. MAN. Though the family thing he can vaguely understand. He's been stripped of his family for quite a while now, after all. He briefly glances at the hand on his shoulder and though she doesn't say anything, he understands.]

Thank you. [Another pause, and then...] Out of curiosity, Nill, how old are you?

[manmade_angel]

[Oof... this is going to be uncomfortable. Now Nill can easily see Draco is older than she is, but Draco's about to find out just how much older he is than his former 'mother'.]

[She holds up her hands: one finger held up on her right hand, five on her left. And she looks very, very embarrassed.]

[hisdarkmark]

...[What. The. Hell. Don't mind him just staring at her blankly for a moment as he tries to process this.] ...ah. For someone so young, you're more mature than most of the people I've dealt with at home. [It's about as close to a compliment as Draco can get.]

[manmade_angel]

[Nill looks away, embarrassed when Draco stares at her like that. Yes, she's young. Yes, there's no physical way for her to be Draco's mother, not to mention a little questionable that she was married... but she hopes that didn't hurt the experiences they had. Draco really was a very good son. If she could have a son someday, someone as loving ad Draco would make her happy.]

[But she does take the pseudo-compliment as a compliment, and smiles brightly. Growing up, Nill was faced with many ugly truths and concepts very quickly. Because these all pertained to her and who and what she was, she couldn't just shut them away and ignore them. Perhaps this is why she matured so quickly. Perhaps even as young as she was, she made a half-decent mother because of that. She puts a hand on Draco's head, half-teasingly--he was a good son to such a young mother.]

[hisdarkmark]

[He bows his head a bit when she does that, trying to fight off the slight grin. Fifteen or not, Nill's not half-bad.] I suppose I could have had much worse candidates for a mother. So...thank you.

[manmade_angel]

[Nill's smile goes a bit awkward--oh Draco. You and your strange compliments that sound like insults. His filters were most likely gone now, now that Nill wasn't his mother anymore. But at least Nill can feel better about the outcome of this experiment than the last one that had made her love someone: Draco and Mr. Muraki weren't upset and no one was crying. Thank goodness for that.]

[She pulls out her journal and writes: 'My friend Haine is expecting me back home soon. He worries.']

[hisdarkmark]

[He reads the message in the journal, nodding in response.] Most people do after this sort of thing. Go on, then. Make sure you aren't followed. [Draco's mostly concerned about Muraki still, but if Nill has people waiting for her...]

[manmade_angel]

[Followed? Who would follow her? She tilts her head slightly, wondering what he means.]

[hisdarkmark]

...Muraki's not who he seems. I can assure you.

[manmade_angel]

[...well that doesn't make very much sense. Mr. Muraki was perfectly kind to her in the past week. He never pushed her when they went to bed (thank goodness for that...), he brought flowers, he helped her cook. Everyone didn't suddenly change their nature during this experiment, and those weren't the actions of someone who was a bad person. And what reason would he have to cover things up during the experiment if he really was a bad person?]

[But Draco was her loving son for the past week, and so she can't see him lying to her now. So who was she supposed to believe? She looks back at the door--maybe she should go talk to Mr. Muraki again...]

[hisdarkmark]

Don't go back. Believe me, it's not worth it.

[manmade_angel]

[Well now she's really confused. Wouldn't it be worth the trouble to get this misunderstanding cleared up? Because clearly that's what this is: Draco has heard something awful about Mr. Muraki, and Nill knows it isn't true. It couldn't be...]

[She can clear it up later, though. When Draco didn't seem so disturbed by something. Surely he shouldn't be sitting outside the door like this. She pats his shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile--she's not going back in, but isn't he going to go home?]