Escapism

She didn't know why she was running.

It didn't look like running; she was walking quite calmly, her face completely devoid of any revealing emotion, but that in itself was a huge blaring sign that something was wrong.

Not that anyone would notice.

There were rumors that Port Durmstrang could easily keep him out, there were wards and such that would keep the others out.

She had learned long ago not to trust wards.

So here she walked, blond and grey blue eyed, walking through the crowd like it was the easiest thing in the world. Her eyes slid from one face to another, not searching, because searching would mean that she was looking at them, looking for someone, and as far as she knew, she was doing neither. She told herself she was searching the faces of the men who walked past her to make sure he wasn't amongst them, but she would feel his presence, wouldn't she? So that didn't make much sense.

She wasn't trying to make sense anymore.

So she kept walking, she kept acting perfectly fine, though she was sure to fall to pieces.

Caius had noticed the woman walk past the window of the shop where he was browsing. He wasn't in any particular need of anything. It just beat remaining on the isle all the time.

Leaving the shop, his long strides eventually carried him up alongside her, though his gait did not appear that purposeful. "So, what mischief are you looking for, this time?" he queried, teasing lightly. "Or is it the other way around, this time? I'm losing track."

It was a testament to how truly out of it she was that she jumped at the sound of his voice, having noticed someone following her but not expecting them to speak, not expecting them to talk to her. Her eyes flashed to the man beside her, even as she pulled to a sudden halt, staring at him as if she had no idea how or when he got there or even who he was. "Cai." She murmured, surprised at his appearance when in all honesty she'd been expecting- worse. Far worse.

Perhaps it was that which prompted her to move toward him out of nowhere, to wrap her arms around his middle and cling as if he would disappear. Closing her eyes against his chest, she gave a small laugh, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "Me? Go looking for mischief? Why Cai it's like you barely know me at all." The joke in her tone was choppy, believable to most, but flawed. Her hold on him tightened slightly as she shook her head, a grin fighting its way across her lips. Sweet Irony. The teasing tone of her voice was nearly gone now, almost nonexistent. "Don't you know that trouble always finds me?"

Her surprise caught him off-guard. He had not expected to be able to startle her, at all. As she clung to him, Caius wrapped an arm around her protectively, pulling her closer. His other hand raised to stroke her hair comfortingly.

"Hey," he murmured, pressing a brief kiss atop her head. "What wrong? This isn't you. What happened, Bonnie?"

She gave another short laugh, this one full of bitterness. "Of course this is me. This is all me. All the time." She shook her head against his chest, blond hair jumping as her head moved. "Haven't you been paying attention?"

She relaxed slightly at his ministrations, taking a deep shuttering breath that shattered on another laugh. "Nothing happened." She said. "Nothing's happened. Not in a long time. Not yet."

"More than you realize," Caius replied to her denial.

He didn't know what else to do, what to say. The man had nothing to really judge the situation by. All he knew was that she was clearly troubled and he was troubled in turn. It was hardly his place to push, however. Furthermore, he was quite certain that any prying would cause her to run.

So, at a loss for anything else to do, Cai simply continued what he was doing. He held her close and stroked her hair, letting his cheek rest atop her head. And he waited. He waited for her to feel better or tell him what he could do to help.

Fingers tangling in the fabric of shirt over his back, she gave a soft whimper, her trembling mounting briefly before she finally spoke. "Y-You're a hunter, aren't you Cai? You can keep me safe." Her insides were doing a terrifying sort of dance, one borne of the panic she'd only been through as a child. "You can stop h-*hic*" A hiccup, foreign and uninvited, ripped through her body, a ripple of appearance following it almost immediately. Her hair was suddenly darker, her body slighter, her skin paler, but then the hiccup passed and she was herself again.

Momentarily distracted by the glitch, she found herself slipping, losing control. She had glitched again. Again. She was supposed to have it under con-

Hiccuping twice in rapid succession, her appearance changed twice more, flashing to herself in between. "Cai-*hic*" Giving up on talking all together, she closed her eyes to hide their flashing colors, trying to ignore the way her body changed shape against his each time a hiccup passed her lips, though with each her panic mounted, causing them to come more frequently. She could feel the stares of the few passerbys - or maybe that was just her imagination - and it only surved to mount her panic. She was only getting worse, and it was becoming hard to breathe.

Cai watched in moderate surprise at the brief change that came over the woman. It was clear she was beginning to panic. He pulled back only enough to gently, but firmly, cup her face between his hands.

"Bonnie," he said softly, soothingly, peering directly into her face. "Hey--look at me. Breathe for me. You're safe. As long as you're with me, I won't let anything happen to you. I'm the best of the best, and I'm going to protect you, no matter what."

Her arms tried to stay around him, fingers staying firmly tangled in his shirt as he pulled away, and for a moment she was full of the full fledged panic that he was going to leave her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes to look up at him, a hiccup changing her features into that of a dark haired asian woman of the same age for a blink of a amber colored eye before she was herself again. Her eyes swept his features before locking with his, a small sense of growing calm spreading and slowly dispersing her hiccups. It took three tries to take a proper deep breath, and three of those before her hiccups stopped completely.

"Wh-what about when-" She shivered slightly, closing her eyes again as one last hiccup changed her to Lydia, the form wavering for far longer than the others before she was herself once more. "Wh-when you aren't- with me?"

Caius pressed a kiss to her forehead before pulling her to him, once more, arms wrapping securely around her. "What if you stay with me, then?" he offered. "I don't have to remain at the school. My duties are light. I could stay with you, someplace safe, protected. Until you are safe again, of course. If you'd like."

His hand rubbed a soothing circle into her back, lips resting softly against her hair. It occurred to him that he would do anything to protect, anything required to make her feel safe. He told himself it was because she was more fragile than she appeared--that that was why she evoked such a need in him. It was the only logical explanation he had, for he was unaware that she had already stolen his heart.

Relaxing slightly against his kiss, she fell into him, feeling much better once her arms were wrapped firmly around his middle and his pocket puzzle was solidly in her own pocket. Nuzzling her face into his chest, she gave a single sob before nodding. "I-"

"You're a freak!" came a little girl's voice, morphed through time to sound differently than it had originally. "Nothing but a monster. I don't know why they let you come here. My mom said you're a mistake, and if your parents didn't have money, you wouldn't even be here!"

She swallowed thickly. "I-" I would like that very much.

"I'm not going to get anything for Christmas, Mari." her own voice, younger, sadder, lonelier than she'd felt in a long time. "I had to be naughty, didn't I? For my mom and dad not to come back? No one will ever come back, if I care for them. Don't you see that?"

A small hiccup, and her hair was bright green, her eyes a glowing sapphire. "I- don't want to-to burden you. I don't-"

Cai silenced her protest by pressing his mouth to hers. His lips moved gently, reassuringly. Pulling back again, he gave a soft smile.

"You wouldn't be a burden," he promised. His hand smoothed her hair, face nuzzling her own. "Let me do this for you." Let me protect you, care for you. Let me in...

She blinked a few times before her eyes slowly closed, lips moving against his as she relaxed. Her hair faded back to blond, and her eyes were blue grey when she opened them again, eased back into her own form as she gazed up at him. Swallowing slightly, her eyes searched his, leaning into his touch as she looked for something in his eyes without name.

"...Promise?" She murmured, her voice soft. "Do you promise?" She swallowed again, blinking up at him.

She had made her decision already, the moment he offered she had known what she wanted. The problem with Bonnie was just that what she wanted, and what she was comfortable doing were usually two completely different things.

"I-" She took a deep breath. "I trust you."

"Okay."

Cai's lips turned up tenderly, blue gaze steady. "I promise," he vowed. "I promise, Bonnie."

His eyes lit up more than the smile with softened his features at her declaration. She trusted him. He could not have expressed how very much that statement meant to him. Pulling her against him, Caius grinned. Despite the circumstances, a part of him couldn't help but feel inexplicably giddy.

"I know of a place," he said. In point of fact, Cai knew of several. "I can take us there now, if you'd like."

She squeezed him to her, a small laugh bubbling up from her center. "No need to look so bloody happy about it." She teased lightly, raising on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek. She knew of a few places too. In fact, she knew just which places were protected enough for him to never find her, and which would and had been breached. She knew she had safe places to go.

They hadn't seemed safe until now, with her arms wrapped around her- with her arms wrapped around Cai.

"We- we have to stop at home first." She said softly. Spinning out of his arms, she caught his hand, spinning herself back in until she was wrapped firmly in his arm once more and had apparated them away.

"But it makes me happy," Cai responded simply. He was caught mildly by surprise as she twirled out, and back again, though, from her statement, he was more prepared for the apparation.

Just not the destination.

He blinked, both in surprise and at the brightness. They were on a boat surrounded by water as far as the eye could see. The weather was warm, a tropical climate, Cai would guess. Cai's gaze quickly took in their immediate surroundings and looked back at her.

"It's beautiful," he said.

Bonnie took a deep breath through her nose, the fresh sea air bringing with it a peace she never felt on land. Her feet were always more adjusted to the rocking of the boat than solid ground anyway, and so it was by hand she led him along the side of the yacht. As yachts went, it was on the modest side, not very big, with only two sleeping quarters - she used the Captain's quarters, usually, and Mari had her own for whenever she wished to use it. The other was strictly for storage, the treasures she hadn't taken to the vault yet, and such.

Immediately upon their first few steps came a displeased sounding snort, and a niffler - on the smaller side, as nifflers went, with one lame forepaw and only one eye (the other scarred closed) - came wobbling toward them and growling. Ignorant of his weaker condition, the creature immediately went to attack the 'intruder' disliking the scent on him as it used its back paws to pounce. Luckily for Cai, Bonnie intercepted, cuddling the small creature to her chest.

"This is Watson Jr." Bonnie told Cai, loosing one hand from holding her niffler to intertwine their fingers. "Welcome to Neverland, Cai."

Cai had turned at the snort, gaze falling upon the scarred niffler. The man wondered what had happened to the creature to have left it in such a condition. It seemed the animal viewed him as a threat, making to protect its territory as any good beast might do.

The man, though not about to allow himself to be attacked, was content to let Bonnie intervene. He smiled at the creature, blue eyes moving briefly to their hands before going to her gaze.

"Thank you," he replied simply.

Hoisting the niffler over one shoulder - much like one would while burping a child - Bonnie started forward, completely unconcerned with how Watson Jr's claws dug into her shirt, used to it by now, having had two nifflers. "She belonged to my father." Bonnie said, her voice soft as her now-free hand traced over the railing of the boat. Her father had named it after her favorite story, Peter Pan and Neverland, an island in the sky... an escape. The boat had been that, even before she'd needed to run. Watson Jr's good eye seemed to stay suspiciously trained on Cai, glancing from his face to their intertwined hands. Bonnie took no notice.

Climbing some a narrow set of stairs, they ascended into the cockpit, the room tidy and spacious, an old fashioned helm in the center of a high tech boater's dream. She knew how to work every inch of it too. Had since she was six and a half, and that kind of knowledge didn't go anywhere. Pausing to be sure nothing was out of place, she slowly - reluctant for a reason she couldn't quite admit to yet - let go of his hand, smiling at him as she did so.

"Feel free to look around. I just have to grab some things from my room." She gestured in the general direction of her cabin before nodding, moving off in that direction. Watson Jr. leapt from her shoulder to a nearby counter, half wobbling half scampering along the counter tops to watch their 'guest' carefully. Giving a warning look by his mistress, the creature deigned not to bite this time, instead quite content to stare distrustingly at Caius until Bonnie returned.

"She's lovely," said Cai admiringly, taking in the craftsmanship of the boat. He didn't miss the suspicious regard he was receiving from the niffler.

He let himself be led into the cockpit, gaze inventorying the new space. It was with a bit of effort that he refrained from tightening his hold when she released his hand. Nodding, the man watched her move into the other room.

"Keeping an eye on me, are you?" Caius kindly addressed Watson Jr. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a shiny new sickle, holding it out to the animal as a peace offering.

The rat-like creature paused, sniffing at him suspiciously. She was of good athority that this one smelled a bit too much like her mistress, and as a creature that depended mostly on scent, this was almost a crime in itself. Not to mention that nearly everyone else close to Bonnie had been brought through Junior first, before their scents could become so entangled. Huffing slightly, the niffler sat back on her hind legs, tilting her head as to see the peice clearly. Leaning forward, the small creature used its good front paw to swipe at the coin, pouncing forward to nab it between her teeth, landing with an easy sort of lurch and wobbling off to below the main control panel, disappearing for a small amount of time. Her reappearance was marked with a small growl as her head peeked out from the same spot, teeth pulled back.

From behind him, Bonnie gave a small laugh. Immediately Junior perked up, eye shining as she became the image of a playful pet. "She likes you." the thief announced, a small knapsack over her shoulder as she gave a genuine smile. "Even if it doesn't seem so." She added, raising on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his. Walking around him, she pressed a combination of keys; quick and practiced motions adjusting the sails and bringing the flag to half mast.

"Junior." She adressed, glancing down at the creature. "Pack it up, won't you? Can't you see we're going somewhere?" The Niffler disappeared for a short while, before pulling a heavy looking bag from below, dragging the thing along with its teeth. Bonnie waited patiently, knowing that the proud creature would not accept any help until the bag was at her feet.

Intertwining her fingers with Cai's she smiled up at him as Junior finally made it, looking up at them with a proud sort of grunt and a pounce into Bonnie's arms. Junior's bag clinked with the tell tale sound of metal on metal, proof of the contents. The muscles in Bonnie's arm strained with the weight of it, but she said nothing about it.

"We're ready." She said finally, smiling up at him again as she hoisted her own - much lighter - bag up onto her shoulder.

Cai watched the animal's antics with an amused smile. "Does she?" he asked Bonnie, with a quiet laugh. "I'd hate to see my reception if she didn't." He leaned into the brief kiss, gaze following her around the room, unconsciously memorizing her movements.

The man waited patiently as Watson Jr. dragged her collection of no-doubt shiny, metallic items to Bonnie's feet, awarding the creature with a smile when it looked up at them. He turned to them as Bonnie verified they were ready to leave. Reaching out, he wrapped a hand gently, yet firmly around her upper hand and turned.



They were suddenly standing in a moderately sized room within a modest cabin. The fireplace was cold, though, it was already set for a fire. A fire was hardly ever needed, really, the weather being mostly temperate year round. Nonetheless, the floo existed, for no other purpose than to light the occasional fire. It was not connected to the floo network.

The floors were made of finely polished wood, as was much of the furniture, really. There was not much in the way of decor; a couple landscape paintings, but no portraits. Russet and green appeared to be the primary color scheme, judging by the sofa and the large area rug. Cai let go of Bonnie and stepped back to wave at their surroundings.

"Welcome to Cabaña de Caius," he told her. "We are in the mountains of Northern Spain, about twelve miles from the half-magical, half-muggle village of Cala Magia. The creek... isn't magic, though, there was a time when the wizards told the nonmagical folk that it was, in an effort to explain anything they might perceive as odd." He gave a wry smile.

Caius continued, tone reassuring, "This property is solely mine. It is protected by a fidelius charm and the best wards any paranoid bounty hunter could erect. I am the secret keeper and presently, only myself and my mother - and now, you - know where it is.

"Welcome to my safe haven, Bonnie."

She blinked around, eyes sweeping her surroundings with a small smile. Junior had barely waited a moment before hopping out of her mistress's arms, hobbling around the room suspicious as always, sniffing at everything and anything. Bonnie's eyes tracked her way around the room, fingers twining and intertwining as she forced herself to go against her nature. Not once did she look for an exit. Not once did she glance around suspiciously. If she had trusted him enough to let him on the boat, she had to let herself trust that anywhere he took her would be safe if he said it was thus.

"Spain." She repeated softly, a gentle smile growing across her face. "I haven't been in Spain since El Espolio." The authorities still hadn't quite gotten over that one. They thought it had been returned. Forging that one had been pleasantly difficult, but Bonnie'd done it down to the brushstrokes. It was undetectable, other than her trademark symbol, a subtle figure in the darkness.

Her eyes fell to her feet, where Junior had returned, sitting on her haunches and looking up at Cai. Before Bonnie could do more than widen her eyes, the niffler launched herself at the man, sniffing curiously as she attempted to scurry toward his face. With a slight laugh, Bonnie placed down their bags, more or less dropping hers and gently lowering her bag to the ground.

"Thank you." Her voice was hesitant, unsure for the briefest moment, unknowing of whether she really should be there or not. Junior had obviously made herself at home already, and if not hindered, she'd make herself comfortable at the top of Cai's head, curled up in his hair once all of her sniffing was done. She probably wouldn't even growl, as long as Cai didn't make any moves toward Bonnie at all, didn't touch her, didn't look at her, and didn't look like he might want to speak to her.

"What about your mother?" Voice still doubtful - surely there was downside to this facility, a break in ward or secret back door in which danger could be permitted. There always was. How did the saying go? If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is? History had taught her that nowhere was ever truly safe. Never. This place, at least, seemed that it could withstand her bad luck for a while. "Won't she be concerned that you've disappeared?" She blinked up at him, fingers tugging at each other, still twining and intertwining uneasily. "Wouldn't she be-" angry, disapproving, hateful of anyone so cursed being so near to what obviously had to be her favorite child- "-surprised that I'm here?"

If the man was surprised when Watson Jr. lunged at him, it was not betrayed by the deft patience with which he caught the animal, doing nothing to prevent himself from being used as an impromptu climbing post. He awarded Bonnie's thanks with a small smile.

"My mother doesn't come here," he said. "I inherited the property from her. The only reason she knows its location is in the event that I need to contact someone in an emergency. My brother and sister each have safe houses, too; my brother's was given to him by our father and our sister from... an aunt, I think. Maybe one of my mother's cousin. As for concern about my apparent disappearance, neither of my parents will be any more concerned than they usually are. We're bounty hunters, the whole lot of us, except Flora. Going off the grid suddenly and without explanation is not unusual.

"Besides, who I invite to my home is no concern of my mother's. Her words, not just mine." His tone left no room for doubt, his expression open and sincere.

She hesitated again, shifting slightly as her eyes glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. "If you're sure..." She gave a small grin, twisting slightly so her skirt fanned out around her knees. Biting her lip to try to stop from laughing, she watched Junior sniff around Cai's ears.

"Did you give her something?" She asked, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice as the niffler continued to sniff around his ears. Smiling, the woman took a small step toward him, watching her companion use her paws to diligently sweep through his hair. "Because, she sure is looking for another one."

Without warning, Junior tumbled downward, size finally overbearing her hold as she moved to the floor. Landing easily, the niffler wandered off, probably to explore and familiarize herself with the rest of the house. Bonnie watched her go, but was derailed by the man in front of her, the smile she couldn't hide still etched across her face.

"So..." She floundered slightly, suddenly awkward. Looking down at the floor beneath her feet and blushing slightly, she continued on. "...Does this place have the necessary makings for pancakes?"