❛ push my luck from trust to dust enough ! ❜ act two . . . chapter one
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𝐓he Windermere peaks were bright, the sunlight reflecting against the mountains made it seem so beautiful. Then there was the lone person standing atop the hill outside a Cape Cod mansion; with a pale complexion and a complicated demeanor that even her own mother couldn't see what lies behind her facade.
The heat of the Lake District summer was not as hot as she thought it would be. It was cool, the wind wasn't too hot but the sun did what it was supposed to do. Her cognizant gaze stayed upon the horizon, watching the birds fly across the clear sky, and standing idly, seemingly waiting for something impossible to happen.
Her summer had been eventful.
The Tomlinson mansion, her step-father's lavish home, was filled with rich guests and her parents' fake laughter, mixing in with the boasts of her mother about her step-sister, who's the same age as her. It has become a normal thing now even though Azumi only moved there last year at the end of December. Out of her old hometown, Hida-Takayama, where she grew up with her father and the greatest Grandpa Suma.
Her body was trembling despite the slightly warm weather. Well, it wasn't really because of the weather. But she crossed her arms, hiding her hands beneath her underarms, shallow breaths escaping from her lips now and then. Laid underneath her clothing were scratches; raw, red, and burning scratch marks, made by the very hands of her own—only it wasn't really her but the beast she hides in the daytime, but having to unleash it every time it gets the best of her.
Very much like a werewolf; Azumi knows one, a former Professor in Hogwarts and an acquaintance of her Grandpa, despite being older than a few decades. Remus Lupin was his name, she remembered. He was a middle-aged man, with rugged scars over his face, but a kind smile upon his lips. People judge him for the beast he never wanted to be, and they lose the chance to see what lies beneath him. The true man he was, the great man who'll do anything for the sake of the people he cared about.
Azumi had met him a couple of times. She even shared secrets with him, which is a bit surprising, even for her. But they learned to trust one another in a short period. The older wizard had exchanged wisdom and wisps of jokes with her. Just like two old pals, drinking tea and reminiscing the old times—only there was nothing to reminisce about, but the bad times.
However, those bad times were the reason they kept going, or in the words of the caring man: You can fall down once, twice, or many times, but always remember, what matters is that you keep getting back on your feet, and never ever give up.
They were simply so alike yet unlikely.
She still hasn't learned to accept the beast within her. Hell, even Remus hasn't accepted his own, but the remainder of it kept him going. It means he can still learn to accept it, to make it a part of him, to make it his own. Azumi derived that from him, and she will make the same choice of making the beast her own, the monster inside her because it is a part of her, and that won't change any time now.
