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+------- Thread: she spoke your name // everleigh (/showthread.php?tid=1312)
she spoke your name // everleigh - Alice Ravenstone - 09-23-2026
Monday 5 June 1923
Morning
St. Mungo’s
Morning
St. Mungo’s
Alice had learned not to hope too hard on the way in. That was a mistake she had made often in the early months: arriving at St. Mungo’s with something lifted in her chest, sure that the Healers would have made progress immediately, only to find Everleigh even further away than she’d been to begin with.
The nurse who spotted her arrival on the third floor was someone she recognized. Broad-shouldered, soft-spoken, the kind of woman who delivered difficult news without flinching.
Today she was smiling.
“Miss Ravenstone, I’m glad you’re here this morning.”
Alice, the pessimist that she had become, raised her brow as she came to a stop, reading the woman’s excitement easily. It was bubbling off of her.
“There’s been some development with your sister that we wanted to tell you. Well, we tried telling your father, but he wouldn’t respond.”
Of course Thatcher Ravenstone wouldn’t respond. Why would he? He didn’t really care about either of them.
“What kind of development?” she asked, watching the woman while feeling hope beginning to rise. It was the familiar hope that had been squashed multiple times in the past.
“The good kind. She’s been more present the past couple of days. She initiated contact with Miss Zdravkova. She’s been asking to go outside.” A pause. “She spoke your name. Unprompted.”
Alice looked at her, studying her face. She couldn’t say anything. Not yet.
“We wanted you to know so you weren’t caught off guard.”
Alice stood there, her stomach flipping, her mouth opening slightly. The woman wasn’t lying. She was sure it would be a sick joke.
All she could do was nod. “Thank you,” she finally said after a bit, still not smiling because she didn’t want to get her hopes up. It had to be a fluke. If it had really happened.
She turned and walked down the hallway, her thoughts racing. She set her face to not show any emotion because the worst thing she could do was bring in something that might hinder whatever progress Ever had had to this point.
Underneath, something she’d been holding in a very tight fist for a very long time loosened slightly.
Alice stopped outside the door, took a breath, then knocked on the door before pushing it open and stepping into the room.
RE: she spoke your name // everleigh - Everleigh Ravenstone - 09-23-2026
Ever was having a good day.
There were more good than bad now, which was a welcome change. In her room, sitting still was difficult. She wanted to be outside. The sun on her face. The bees buzzing around the flowers.
It wasn’t time. There was a process. A schedule. Wake up. Breakfast. Potions. Down time. THEN outside. They were currently between Potions and Downtime, but there was too much unspent energy, she couldn’t sit still.
Her door opened, which was not part of the schedule. No one should be coming in. It wasn’t time.
When Ever stopped and watched the person walking into her room many things happened at once. Recognition crashed into her all at once. Alice. Home. Safe. Sister. Hundreds of memories collided in an instant, each one fighting to be first. Summer afternoons. Hogwarts. Bedtime stories. Braided hair. Laughter. The thoughts came so quickly they tangled together until none of them could make it to her mouth.
”Alice!”
She was filled with nervous energy, nowhere for it to go. When she saw Alice, a smile spread wide over her face. Taking four quick steps, Ever was in front of her, taking in every inch of her big sister. She studied every feature committing them to memory all over again. The freckles across her nose. The familiar eyes. The long dark hair, just like hers. The tiny crease that appeared whenever Alice smiled.
Ever’s hair was long and unkempt, sticking out all over the place. Her white nightgown was wrinkled from sleep, and her favorite blue cardigan was on, but buttons uneven. But even as disheveled as she looked, there was life in her eyes.
Ever took her hands and put them on Alice’s face softly. She tilted her head a little to the left and then a little to the right, all the while smiling. She then took her hands and ran them down Alice’s hair. Pretty and soft. Nothing like hers. Then something clicked. Tilting her head to the side, her brain worked fast, a memory from years ago.
Turning abruptly, Ever ran across the room, retrieving a brush from the top of her dresser. Back across the room again, she took Alice by the shoulders and pushed her towards the bed, determination clear on her face.
Pulling a small chair next to the bed, Ever took the brush and put it into Alice’s hand. Then, she sat in the chair facing away from Alice. When her sister didn’t immediately start brushing, Ever turned, gave her an indignant look and simply said, ”Hair.”
Turning around again, she sat as still as possible and waited for her sister to do what big sisters were good at. Reaching behind her without looking, Ever’s hand wrapped around Alice’s ankle, holding on to make sure she stayed real. Only then did she finally settle, the restless energy easing just enough to let her sit still.
RE: she spoke your name // everleigh - Alice Ravenstone - 09-26-2026
Alice thought she’d prepared herself well enough on her walk from the nurse to the door to her sister’s room. But she hadn’t been prepared for her sister to exclaim her name.
Her name, in her sister’s voice, said like it was the most natural thing in the world. Said like almost no time had passed at all. Like Everliegh had been waiting for her to walk through the door.
Alice stood still, her mouth dropping open slightly.
Everleigh was in front of her before she had time to arrange her face into anything useful. And then her sister’s hands were on her face, warm and slightly rough at the fingertips from the charcoal, tilting her head this way and that and studying her like she hadn’t seen her in forever.
Alice let her. She stood there and let herself be looked at and didn’t say a word because she didn’t trust what would come out.
While she stood, silent, she took in her sister’s appearance: the hair, long and loose and slightly wild, nothing like the careful braids she and their cousin would give her. The nightgown wrinkled from sleep. The cardigan buttoned wrong, two buttons off from the start, the whole thing sitting slightly crooked on her shoulders.
Most of all, the aliveness in her eyes. That was the thing that nearly undid Alice’s carefully put togetherness. She’d been looking for that look in her sister’s eyes for over a year. She’d stopped letting herself expect it.
But it was there. Finally.
Then Everliegh was across the room and back again in approximately four seconds, brush in hand, pushing Alice firmly toward the bed with a determined expression on her face. So she sat.
Alice held the brush in her hand, unable to really react at the fact that no, her sister was not back to how she was before, but she was back.
“Hair.”
“Yes… I know…” she said, her voice soft as she finally began touching her sister’s hair. First she parted it into a smaller section, and then carefully began brushing the small section. Everleigh’s hand found her ankle and wrapped around it, and Alice felt something in her chest click back into place.
She didn’t say anything for a long moment, just brushed her sister’s hair the way she had a hundred times before.
“I missed you,” she said finally, quietly, to the back of Everleigh’s head. She meant it to be a simple statement, but found her voice cracking near the end. She could feel the familiar sensation of tears beginning to well up in her eyes, but she pushed it down.
She sniffled, moving on to another section of hair. Something as simple as brushing hair, really she wasn’t surprised that’s what Ever wanted. But what Alice wanted more than anything was a hug. A real hug from her sister. Maybe it’d come.
RE: she spoke your name // everleigh - Everleigh Ravenstone - 10-02-2026
The door opens, causing Ever to look up at the new visitor. The nice healer, Michelle, was ther, a smile on her face, her eyes tearing up at the sisters. ”The rain has passed if you would like to visit the gardens.”
Ever was up and out of her seat before the nurse had finished her sentence. The garden was her favorite place. The sun, the flowers, the insects. Everything about being outside calmed her soul.
Turning to look at Alice, Ever’s eyes were wild with excitement. ”Come!”
Grabbing her sister’s hand, Ever pulled her out of the small room and down the hall, Healer Michelle following the pair with a giggle. ”Slow down sweets, the garden isn’t going anywhere.”
Walking out into the sun, Ever stopped, tilting her head up to the sky with a sigh. It was her favorite. The sun, warming her skin, the smell of flowers, the breeze moving the branches of the flowering trees.
They arrived at the garden gate, Ever turning to look at Alice, a large smile on her face, blue eyes bright. Present. Knowing. Happy.
She mumbled, wanting to talk. Wanting to explain, but the words wouldn’t come. The frustration was clear, but finally a word that made sense in her mind made it out of her mouth. ”Mine.”
This was her space.
Walking down the brick paths that wandered through the flowers, Ever smiled and pointed at multiple things. Mumbled, inaudible words came out with certain things, but others got actual words… or sounds. A small bumble bee was sitting on a flower, pollen covering it’s little leg. Ever watched the little insect closely, then stood up straight and smiled.
”Buzzzzzz.”
RE: she spoke your name // everleigh - Alice Ravenstone - 10-02-2026
By the time the door opened, Alice had Everleigh’s hair properly brushed and pulled back. Not a braid, but a loose twist; something less refined, less perfect, but better than it had been when she first walked in.
Ever moved quickly when the gardens were mentioned, something that Alice hadn’t been prepared for but ultimately was not surprised about. Her sister had loved the gardens since coming to St. Mungo’s.
Seeing the girl so animated warmed Alice’s heart.
She let Ever take her hand and followed her to the gardens, smiling at her sister the whole way. It was night and day from how she’d been before.
Everleigh moved through it like she owned it, which Alice supposed she did. She watched her sister stop at every flower, every insect, every patch of sunlight, and felt something in her chest expand slowly, like a window being opened in a room that had been shut too long.
Then the bumblebee. Her sister crouched down, studying it with complete seriousness, stood back up and imitated its sound.
Alice laughed, a real one, genuinely happy for a moment.
“Yes,” she said, her voice unusually light. “Exactly like that.”
They walked for a bit longer and Alice looked at her. “Which flower is your favorite? Can you show me?” she asked.
RE: she spoke your name // everleigh - Everleigh Ravenstone - 10-18-2026
Her sister.
Deep in her core she knew this was Alice. Her person. Her protector.
Everleigh wasn’t able to say much, but she could show Alice. Holding her hand, she pulled her through the garden. A tree, a bench, all the flowers. Healers and helpers that Ever was familiar with, but couldn’t name.
At one bench, she pushed Alice down, sat next to her for three seconds then stood up and pulling her along to the next thing she loved. “Which flower is your favorite? Can you show me?”
The question was simple, but the answer was complicated.
Letting go of Alice’s hand, Everleigh walked from one garden patch to another. Her back was to Alice, blocking her sister from view, as she skipped from here to there.
After a minute, Ever turned to look at Alice, handing her a small bouquet of flowers and grasses. There were weeds mixed in, some roots still attached, dirt falling to the ground as she moved. Most people would look at the handful and see nothing work keeping. But to Ever, it was a gift worth everything.
Something she could give to the person she loved most in the world. The smile on her face stretched from ear to ear. Happy in her garden with Alice. Happy that she could give her something. Happy that the sun was hitting her face. And happy that for once, fear and anger weren’t clouding her mind.
RE: she spoke your name // everleigh - Alice Ravenstone - 10-20-2026
Alice moved where Everleigh wanted her to, letting her sister take control.
She looked down at the bouquet that was given to her. Weeds. Grass. A few actual flowers. Roots still attached, dirt falling onto her dress, something small and wriggling that she decided not to look at too closely.
Alice looked up to her sister’s face; her smile as stretched ear to ear, the sun on her cheeks, her blue eyes bright and present and entirely certain that this was the best thing she had to give.
Alice felt her throat tighten. “It’s perfect,” she said, and then wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her in for a tight hug. She closed her eyes, almost wanting to cry but stopping herself.
After a moment, she pulled back and grinned at her sister. “Thank you, Ever. I love it.”