talk away your worries

Having Hunter standing at her doorstep, looking as if he just found out his favorite love song was written about a sandwich worried her. He looked panicked, and the fact that he had come to her also concerned her. Their relationship's been strained ever since he had regained his memory and remembered what happened when he found out she had magic. Sure, she forgave him for his actions, understanding why he reacted the way he did, but that didn't make everything back to how it was. It would never be that way again.

Regardless of all that, though, Roni would never turn him away when he needed her; especially not when he looked like this. She beckoned him inside and asked what was wrong, her mind racing with thoughts of what it could be. Perhaps, something happened to BRETT MACKENZIE and the baby, and he needed her help. But, what could that possibly be that he would ask for her help? Before she asked, however, she waited for him to speak. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions, though his silence was making that hard.

He finally spoke, and he said the baby's name, which immediately set Roni into a panic. "What's the matter with her? Is she okay? Where is she? What can I do?" she asked quickly, before letting him get another word in. Things might not be perfect between her and Hunter, but she would do anything for that child, whether he and brett wanted her to or not. She would always protect Alic, even if they told her she didn't need to. his next words caused Roni to gasp, her hand covering her mouth as she soaked in the words her oldest friend had just spoken.

Alice had magic. She knew this would be a difficult pill for Hunter to swallow. She remembered all too vividly how he reacted when he learned of her secret; how would he handle his own flesh and blood having magic? She said nothing at first, waiting for him to say something else before she offered up anything. He spoke more, expressing his feelings on the matter, and her heart broke as she saw his inner turmoil clear as day in his eyes. This was hard for him, harder than ever imagined, and she wanted to hug him. But she didn't.

"Do you want something to drink?" she asked him instead. She wasn't sure what else to say, since she dared not make any comments about this being a rather fitting sense of irony, given the situation as well as Hunter's outlook on magic. She beckoned for him to follow her into the kitchen so she could get him a drink of whatever he wanted. She had water, coffee, tea, and even something stiffer if he so preferred. She took another swig of her water and then looked at him expectantly. She wanted to wait for him before going further. She didn't want to ruin any progress they have made.

Not sure what else to do, Roni started to pour Hunter a glass of water. She was sure he needed something stronger than that, but she didn’t have anything stronger in her home. She didn't drink so she never had wine, beer, or anything harder readily available. She wished she did now, but, at the same time, she was glad she didn't. He should likely have a clear head when having this conversation.

She had just handed him the water and she watched him down it in one go. He then started to talk and she listened silently as he explained about Brett being a Squib and how she withheld that information from him. She didn't like the fact that she had done that, but, knowing hunter, she understood why Brett had done that. Roni wouldn’t tell him that though. Now was not the time.

He then asked what he was going to do about his family and Roni pursed her lips at the thought of that conversation happening. She knew his family's stance on magic and knew that it would not go over well. However, she also knew that keeping that secret would only cause more harm than good. But, what could she possibly do about it? She was just the family friend who had kept magic a secret for years.

He asked her how he was supposed to raise a witch, but the look he gave her after he asked that told her so much more. Roni wasn't sure how to proceed, knowing that this was all too fresh for him, but she was at least there for him, and for Brett and Alice, to the best of her ability. "The same way you’d raise any non-witch," she said to him. "She's your daughter no matter what. All you can ever do is be the best father you can be, and to accept her for what she is, whether you like it or not," she told him.

It was likely not what he wanted to hear, but she knew better than to sugarcoat it. "I will always be here for you, Hunter, and Brett and Alice too. And while I know Brett comes from a magical family, she doesn’t have any herself. And while it may seem deceitful that she withheld that from you, I understand why she did. It's not easy to be from a magical family and have no magic. Just as it's not easy to have magic and come from a family that has none," she said, referring to herself as a Muggleborn witch. "I will help in any way I can," she said.

Roni offered hunter a warm smile when he thanked her for her offer to help in any way she could. And she would. She knew it was going to be hard and she knew that she needed to help, as one of Hunter's oldest friends. "It would be my pleasure," she assured him. What sort of friend would she be if she turned her back on him and his family? Regardless of what happened between them in the past, Alice meant everything to her and she would always be there for her.

Her brow furrowed when hunter told her that he had run out on Brett after she told him the truth about her heritage and the magic she didn't possess regardless of her family. She couldn't fully blame hunter for doing that as she knew how he felt about magic and what having a daughter with magic meant to him. Everything he had known was now being turned upside down on him and it was hard to process. But, still… he needed to go home and talk to her.

He sighed then, her eyes looking him over once before returning to his face. "I understand, but you need to sort that all out. It will take you some time. Believe me, I know," she said, referring to how things went down with him finding out about her own magic. "No matter what happens from here, Alice will always be your daughter and she will always have magic. You cannot take it away from her and you certainly cannot abandon her," she told him, that past bit coming out as more of a warning. She'd raise hell if he did that.

His next question caught her slightly off guard, though she smiled all the same. "Truthfully, they were scared at first. It was all new to them and they didn't know what to do about it. Not that they could. But, they were more afraid of your family's reaction to it, if I am being truthful," she told him. The Copeland family has hated magic for as long as Roni could remember. The last thing her father wanted was to lose his closest friend over something he had no control over. "They raised me as any other parent would raise their child. And then lied about where I went every year once I started Hogwarts. They didn't want anyone to know I was going to magic school. How would that have looked?" she asked with a wry smile.