Repercussions (Invite only)

He clenched the necklace in his hand thinking only of Willow and seconds later he appeared outside her house covered in the muggles blood. Having killed the man, he got out with only a few cuts and bruises on himself the most prominent being the one on his left cheek. Tears now filled his eyes leaving him blind to where he currently was, he didn't even know what he was doing he just sat there on his knees crying. The sword Char had given him now bloody clutched tightly in his left hand and his wand in his right as if they were his only lifelines.

"Willow." He cried barely louder than a whisper.

Willow had been curled up in the same position for hours on end, she had taken all the schools brooms home with her and had been sat servicing them since about 6 o clock this evening, it was now about 10 o clock and she was only half way through, when it came to brooms Willow never wanted to do things half assed, she serviced the brooms until they were as good as when they were bought if not better, she heard something outside and she slowly uncurled her legs wincing with the pain and she hobbled over to the door while getting the feeling back in her legs. Opening the door with a smile her face dropped at what she saw.

Arsen, was hurt?

"Little One! My God what happened to you?! Come in come in!"

Willow reached out to wrap her arms around his shoulders and help him into the house, she let him sit on the sofa and hurried into the bathroom to wet a flannel and bring in a bowl of warm water to clean him up with.

Hearing the sound of her voice just made him cry harder. He didn't deserve her help he was a murderer whilst she was so nice and caring. He followed her into the house his legs moving on auto pilot now, his brain was still in shock from everything that had just happened. An hour ago he had everything he'd always dreamt of, a family that cared about him, a beautiful girlfriend, a master and a wonderful woman that he saw as a mother and now all of that came crashing down. He didn't deserve any of that now.

He choked and just sat there in shock. No words would come to him. He just closed his eyes making yet more tears splash over onto his cheeks as he replayed the last hour over in his head. Trying to find any way that it could all be some kind of trick.

Willow looked at Arsen as he cried and her heart tugged in her chest, she didn't know what could have happened but this boy had quite frankly been through enough and whoever had caused him this pain was going to be in for a lifetime of stale muffins from herself, gently Willow reached out to touch Arsens face smiling kindly at him and she got the flannel and wiped softly at his face removing the blood to see if it was him that was hurt or if it was blood from someone else.

"Arsen, sweetheart. Tell me what's wrong yes? Then I can help you."

She cooed gently, soothingly as she finished dabbing his face with the towel, Willow got up and got some dittany dabbing that onto the cuts ond brusies on his body until he was all better.

"Do you want something to eat? Something to drink. Here I'll get you some chocolate it looks like your in shock, it will help."

Willow smiled as she handed him a chocolate frog.

He sniffled and once he was cleaned up he held his head in his fisted hands. He choked. "He's... he's... he's dead. He killed him. I... i... i thought... i could... i could trust him." He cried his hands still clenched tightly around his knife and wand.

He shook his head. He just couldn't bring himself to eat right now, he didn't think he could hold it down not after killing the muggle with his own hands. He took the chocolate in his hand next to the sword and just looked down at it not moving.

Willow looked at Arsen and she took the chocolate from his hand before it melted, prising away the sword carefully she lay it on the table and sat down next to Arsen pulling him onto her lap and stroking at his hair, she hushed him and gently tried to callm him down she didn't like it when he got upset, he seemed to be constantly worried all the time, something was always on his mind.

"Who's dead Little One? Who killed him?"

She hushed him still wiping the tears from his eyes with her own heart heaving with sadness.

"Please don't cry Arsen, please don't cry."

He just watched her take the knife and chocolate from him as if she was taking it from someone else. He just sat there a while crying into her shoulder until finally he could cry no more. His face felt stiff from the tear stains and his eye stung. He coughed clearing his throat before speaking. "Hades." He whispered his voice sounding a little rough after all the crying. "Richard killed him."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what im doing. I don't even know how i ended up here." He whispered looking down at his blood stained hands.

Willow smiled softly as Arsen stopped crying, this was the stage that was the most difficult to deal with, Arsen thought that whatever it was that had happened was not real, the poor boy was still in shock and she needed to help him come to terms with whatever it was that happened, she herself was shoked when Arsen told her what was wrong.

"Oh my Merlin Arsen, I see why you're so upset, oh love, that must have been so hard for you to see. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. How did you get all bloody and hurt? Richard didn't turn on you did he?!"

She asked, a tinge of rage to her voice, most unusual for Willow.

"You came here because of this charm, it brings you to me when you think of me remember? As your honourary mother I will always be here for you."

He clenched his eyes shut like that would help get rid of the memories but they were still there as clear as they were when they happened. He shook his head. "No Cobalt appeared with a portkey as soon as he had done it... please i dont want to see it anymore." He cried. "Make it stop."

He rubbed his eyes with his hands trying to rub away those memories. "Oh yeah." He said cracking a little smile. "Thank you i don't know where i would be now." He said his face turning back to the frown he'd been wearing for a while now. "I've done something really bad Willow." He cried burying his head into her shoulder.

Willow placed her smile on her face even though she felt like weeping for Arsen, how could Richard do this to him? His Master killing his Father? What a horrible thing to witness, just when he had begun to rekindle the relationship with his Dad as well, hanging her head Willow dispelled these thoughts and focused on the fact that Arsen needed her now, he needed her more than he ever had before.

"Here Arsen I can try this..."

She got up and slid him off her lap, picking up a perfume bottle. Placing her wand in her hands she moved closer to Arsen.

"I can bottle the memory. So you can return to it when you're ready or never look at it again. If thats what you want my Little One?"

Tilting her head to one side Willow hugged Arsen close to her putting the wand and bottle on the table.

"What is it love? I'm sure you haven't."

He turned looking up to see what she was doing. "Please just do it. Just take it away i'll face it in the morning i promise i don't mind remembering what happened just take his death away. I can't take it anymore. I keep seeing his face seconds before the lights left his eyes. He smiled at me even though he knew he was seconds from death." He frowned shaking his head. "Please just take it away."

"I killed him Willow. With my own hands. I killed him. I'm a murderer." He cried sitting back so he distanced himself from her. He just couldn't bring himself to look at her face because he knew what he would see.

Willow nodded and unwrapped her arms from around Arsen, she knew that right now he had more than one thing on his mind, it wasn't like Arsen to want to take the easy way out but of course she wasn't going to pick him up on it, Willow wouldn't make him feel bad when he already felt the worst in the world. Tapping the side of Arsen's head Willow said:

"Think of it one last time Little One, then it will all be gone."

And as he did she took the wand away from his head holding the silvery strand of memory and placed it into the bottle.

"There we go. Now lets tackle this other problem."

Willow wrapped her arms back around Arsen and she tutted, he thought that this was his fault well it wasn't Hades wasn't killed becaus eog him he was killed because both men were hell bent on a mission fuelled by their foolish pride.

"It wasn't your fault Arsen, there was nothing you could have done."

He nodded replaying the memory in his head was easy, he'd seen nothing but that for the last hour. He sat in silence just waiting for it to be gone. "Thanks." He smiled weakly before moving back to hug her again.

"No you don't understand. He died by my own knife. By my own hands. I killed him." He cried. "I murdered a man in cold blood. I didn't even care. I killed him thinking it would make things better but it didn't. It did nothing." He cried. "I'm sorry."

Willow nodded her head in reply to Arsens thanks in a way that said he didn't need to worry about it and that if there was anything that she could do to help him she would do so gladly, she didn't like seeing her children in pain, not Charlotte and not Arsen, she wanted them both to be happy.

"You're welcome little one."

She whispered stroking his hair to soothe him, Willow heard what he said and clicked on that Arsen must have killed someone else, her son had killed someone? There must be a reason why. He wouldn't just do that.

"Who did you kill love? Tell me what happened that way I can fix it."

He frowned shaking his head. Truthfully he was afraid she would no longer like him if he told her the truth and that's what scared him the most because she was all he had left. His small family had gotten even smaller and now only contain her, Char and his brothers.

"The muggle. I killed him." He frowned looking down at his bloody hands. "No! Help me get it off please." He cried jumping to his feet as he realised it stained his clothes too. "He left me locked in the basement with him. He knows i don't like being locked away. I panicked and did what i'd always wanted to do and i... i killed him."

Willow caught Arsens head inbetween her hands inns soft grip so that he would look at her, so that he could see the love still in her eyes and how serious she was when she said this next statement.

"Arsen. Little One. I love you okay? I'm your honorary mother. Nothing you could do could ever make me stop loving you."

Pulling Arsen to sit on her knee Willow played loosely with his hair and she stroked his cheek with her other hand.

"I'm not condoning what you did, you know it's wrong, but it's justified. You'd just witnessed a traumatic event, the death of your father after finding out not long ago he was in fact your father, the man was the one who killed your parents which you wanted to do. Everybody makes mistakes. It's just up to you to fix it now."

Willow patted Arsens knee and slid him off her lap guiding him to the bathroom, and turning on the shower for him.

"You get all that off you and I'll get you some new clothes."

He frowned. "But why? My own mother didn't even love me so why should you? I'm evil, i've just proved that." He frowned not meeting her eyes. He snuggled into her relaxing a little as she stroked his hair. "But fix it how? Tell me what to do and ill do it." He frowned closing his eyes for a little while.

He nodded moving to look at how hot the water got in this shower. "Do you have a fire?" He asked, he would need to warm up fast after shower in such cold waters. "Never mind." He frowned taking off his leather jacket.

Once he had spent an hour scrubbing and scrubbing to try and get every once of the muggle of his skin he jumped out the shower now freezing to death. "Willow?" He asked popping his head around the door to shout her name. "Do you have those clothes?" He asked holding the towel around his waist.

Willow didn't quite know what she was supposed to suggest to Arsen because having never killed a person she wouldn't really know how to repent that or make yourself feel better about what had happened, about what you as a person had done.

"While you are showering Little One I will think for you."

Smiling Willow made sure that Arsen had everything he needed in the shower, shampoo, soap and a towel to get changed into. Leaving the bathroom Willow sat down on the sofa and thought. What could she suggest for Arsen to do? To give the man a proper burial? To find his spirit and apologise?

"Yes Little One of course!"

Not realising it had been an hour Willow conjured up a thick rugby shirt, jeans and a large green hooded sweatshirt to make sure he was warm enough.

"There you are."

Willow smiled handing them over and turning around while he put on his underwear.

He took the clothes and muttered his thanks before getting dressed into them. He had no idea what he had just put on but he was glad they were warm after having a normal shower he was freezing to death. He crossed his arms keeping in his heat as he made his way out of the bathroom.

"Willow? What happens now?" He asked not entirely sure what he should do, he after had never killed anyone before and he was sure she hadn't. If he was with Hades or Rich he was almost certain they'd say nothing because killing came natural to them and it certainly didn't bother them otherwise they wouldn't do it so freely.

Willow smiled as she saw Arsen shuffle into the living room area, she was in the kitchen making some hot chocolate for them and finishing it off with whipped cream and marshmallows she handed it to Arsen with the direct order to him to drink it.

"What's next?"

She mused not quite knowing hereself.

"What's next is you come here and we'll have a good talk, then, we can worry about that problem tomorrow when youre feeling a little better alright?"

He took his hot chocolate with a weak smile and glanced down into the cup not totally sure what it was. "Umm what is this exactly?" He asked he knew it was some kind of drink since it was given to him in a cup but he had never seen this kind of drink before.

He nodded and did as he was told, moving to sit beside her. He just sat there for a few seconds not sure what to say. "So what do you want to talk about?" He asked not being much of a conversationalist himself, so he didn't know what else to say.

Willow looked open mouthed at Arsen, he had never had hot chocolate before? Wow Arsen really needed to have some.

"It's called hot chocolate Little One, it tastes nice trust me."

She smiled, Willow didn't really know what to do, she didn't know how to deal with comforting someone who had just gone through a tough time like this and someone who didn't really want to be comforted anyway. Arsen was stubborn and he didn't want to be lavished with affection if he knew he'd done wrong.

"How goes your drumming?"

Willow asks, hoping he had used her present.

"Oh." He smiled taking a small sip to see what it tasted like, and he was surprised to find it tasted nice. "Thanks." He smiled a little moving to sit on the sofa once more.


He smiled a little and looked down into his cup at the hot chocolate. "It's going good although i haven't had that much time to practice. Thanks for the neckalace it's saved me from boredom quite a few times now." He smiled. "Not to mention it brought me here when i had no were else to go."

Willow smiled at Arsen at least she had managed to find a point of conversation where he wasn't feeling so bad about it. Gasping Willow flailed her hand about while putting the hot chocolate down with the other.

"Wait here!"

She gestured with her hands and she ran to the bedroom area picking up a magazine, curls bouncing as Willow ran back she flipped open the dog eared booklet.

"Look at this bad boy!"

Willow pointed to the new drum kit advertised.

He looked at her and began to laugh as she flailed her hand around. "What's wrong?" He asked as she moved out of the room. Doing as he was told he sat there waiting for her return wondering what she could be doing. He took a sip of his drink keeping his hands wrapped around the mug to keep his hands as warm as he could.

He smiled his eyes widening. "Oh my god that looks amazing." He smiled. "I'll have to get..." He smiled faltered before he brought it back. He wanted to be happy for Willows sake, he shouldn't dump all his problems on her. "... Uncle Aspen to buy me one. He owes me anyway. It will go perfect with my room." He smiled. "What colours does it come in does it say?" He asked leaning over the magazine to get a better look.