16 Sep 2019, 01:33
rising black smoke
@Marla QuinlanThe hallways of Hogwarts are like a maze, Asteria thought, as she raced down the corridors in a madcap dash, with little regard for where she was going. Her feet slammed against the stone floors, and she pushed through the crowds of meandering students, robes billowing behind her. Scoffs and scowls followed in her wake as the slight first year tried to remember how to get to Charms. Her ponytail bobbed behind her as she careened around a corner. If this was a cartoon, sparks would be flying behind her. It wouldn't do to be late. Dad had asked her to be a "big girl" and whatever her thoughts were on him at the moment, she wouldn't break her promise. She couldn't break any promise ever again. It hurt when it happened to her, and doing that to another person? Inconceivable.
Which is why she was here, in these halls, making an absolute menace of herself. As she dodged through the crowd, her scalp prickled as other students gave her dirty looks as she shoved past, but she had to get to class. The problem lay in the fact that she was a) hopelessly lost and b) running short on time. Really, would it kill the staff to give me a map, she wondered while coming to a short stop, craning her neck around to see where she was, if this patch of hallway looked familiar (it did. She was fairly certain she had passed through it only minutes earlier - was she going in circles?). The crowds in the halls were beginning to thin now, as students trickled back into their classrooms, but she still wasn't quite sure where she was. Anxiety prickled through her, thin tinglings of hot wire that plucked at every core of her being and set her heart racing. She sighed, tugging her hair tie tighter against her scalp and loosening the yellow tie which felt as if it was strangling her. Then, she took a deep breath and began to pick up the pace again.
As she continued dashing down the hall, she slammed into someone. Hard. Books went spilling out over the floor and she shot downwards, scrambling to pull them back into her bag. Her hands shook, in that way hands can only shake when anxiety bubbles through your entire being, when there are too many things to do and think about and you can't pick what to do next. That roiling monster of anger inside her, the beast of fire and bitterness which she had only recently discovered, cracked open a single scarlet eye. I know I wasn't looking where I was going, she thought, but that doesn't excuse this person! I've got places to be things to do and this school. Didn't. Give. Me. A. Map.
Continuing to ignore the person that she slammed into (only noting a burst of flaming red hair), she stuffed the remainder of her books into her satchel and made to stand up and leave, brushing off her robes as she rose. "Sorry about that," she mumbled halfheartedly under her breath, eyes darting around the hallway, looking for any signs of the direction in which her classroom lay.
everybody crashes - you take a little damage, you'll spit a little blood, but we'll always manage love, cause everybody does
23 Sep 2019, 00:28
rising black smoke
[quote]It was riveting to think that last year she was stepping foot into this grand, mystical castle for the first time in her life. For months, she had spent her days searching every square inch of the damn place. By now, Marla was able to find her way around with her eyes closed. Sneaking out in the depths of the night in such a vast building... Challenging was an understatement. However, she managed to do it without getting caught several times. And to imagine that there was a time where she was not able to recognize every nook and cranny of this magical labyrinth of a school just a year ago. Oh, how time flew by.
Well, it was safe to say that the first years didn't exactly know their way around yet. Poor things were getting trampled by the upperclassmen, stopping in the hallways every now and again in hesitation with the overwhelming fear of being in such unfamiliar territory. It was surprising that Marla wasn't a goner in the tsunami of students. She stood at 4'2, and barely passed for a first year. Not to mention her too-big robes, which she had to pull up every three seconds. This year, the Gryffindor made the assumption that she would possibly get taller... Spoiler alert: she didn't. To her dismay, she, in fact, shrunk by two inches. But her prefect badge almost acted like a forcefield, kind of like how people act when they're driving, and slow down when a cop car goes by. As soon as students spot the shiny badge of honor of her robes, they keep their distance, in fear of impending detention.
Thankfully, as a troublemaker herself, Marla wouldn't give detention for something as trivial as running in the halls. If someone gets hurt? Boohoo, up to the hospital wing, you wuss. It may sound cruel, but she didn't have time to give punishments! With being not only a prefect, but a member of the newspaper team, and co-captain of her quidditch team, all while maintaining her grades? It was stressful, and she wasn't going to use her precious hours in school to torture some whiny kids. Only if someone is on the brink of death, or if they're just complete jerks, is where she will take it into her own hands.
Leaning against the cool stone walls, she watched for any students causing mischief. Mostly because she needed an excuse to stall going to history of magic class for a bit, and also because she was quite close by. She twiddled with her fingers, trying to distract herself from the weighty boredom that pounded against her head. Watching someone jog across the hallway, they dropped something small and shiny, which skidded its way to her feet. She picked it up, and immediately realized it was a peppermint. She looked both ways before opening it hastily and popping the candy in her mouth. Not exactly knowing how Hogwarts was with food outside of the great hall still, she wanted to stay cautious in case.
And as appealing stalling was, she needed to get to class, the last thing she wanted was to stay after class for a lecture from her professor... Holding her books close to her chest, she forced her way into the now waning crowd and walked as fast as she could, before feeling a large amount of weight hit her straight in the face, to which she dropped all her books. It was a blur, and as she looked up to say something, she realized she couldn't breathe. What? Holding her throat, immediately her face went hot with panic as she felt around in her mouth for the sweet taste of her candy to no avail. She was choking– for real. No coughing like crazy because something went down the wrong pipe. Something was lodged in her throat. She shot up and looked around for some help, exasperation filling her eyes, making her vision blurry. Was this the end? Was she really going to die before being even a teenager, all because of a damn piece of candy and a clumsy student? As quick as it all happened, another student slammed into her, causing the mint to fly out of her mouth. She gasped for air, completely disregarding the fact that all of her (quite expensive) books had been spread across the length of the hallway.
Finally regaining her wits, Marla heard a small 'sorry about that' and watched a small girl begin to walk away. "Hey!" She called, beginning to pick up her books as fast as she could... Which wasn't that fast. "Are you feckin' kidding me? I–," Not wanting to mention the whole choking thing, in case she didn't see it, so that Marla could just pretend it never happened, she took a deep breath, clenching her books so tight, she made nail marks on the covers. She had gone through worse than choking on something, but it was scary, and the fact that this small, stupid first year caused it... Was frankly, infuriating. Ye can't go around bumping into people like a bloody idiot, I mean, are yah blind or somethin'?" She waved her hand in front of the girl's eyes, a small scowl forming on her face. Surely, she didn't mean any harm, and Marla knew that, but the last thing she was going to do was let people think that she was a pushover. She wasn't. In fact, she was most likely the polar opposite. But people talked. Even in a prestigious school like Hogwarts, for living creatures with magic running through their veins... People talked. No matter how miraculous witches and wizards were, they thirsted for drama. Of course, she was probably overreacting at this point... But she wasn't taking this risk. Class didn't start yet, and if this girl was going to get rude, oh, Marla would take her sweet, sweet time.
Well, it was safe to say that the first years didn't exactly know their way around yet. Poor things were getting trampled by the upperclassmen, stopping in the hallways every now and again in hesitation with the overwhelming fear of being in such unfamiliar territory. It was surprising that Marla wasn't a goner in the tsunami of students. She stood at 4'2, and barely passed for a first year. Not to mention her too-big robes, which she had to pull up every three seconds. This year, the Gryffindor made the assumption that she would possibly get taller... Spoiler alert: she didn't. To her dismay, she, in fact, shrunk by two inches. But her prefect badge almost acted like a forcefield, kind of like how people act when they're driving, and slow down when a cop car goes by. As soon as students spot the shiny badge of honor of her robes, they keep their distance, in fear of impending detention.
Thankfully, as a troublemaker herself, Marla wouldn't give detention for something as trivial as running in the halls. If someone gets hurt? Boohoo, up to the hospital wing, you wuss. It may sound cruel, but she didn't have time to give punishments! With being not only a prefect, but a member of the newspaper team, and co-captain of her quidditch team, all while maintaining her grades? It was stressful, and she wasn't going to use her precious hours in school to torture some whiny kids. Only if someone is on the brink of death, or if they're just complete jerks, is where she will take it into her own hands.
Leaning against the cool stone walls, she watched for any students causing mischief. Mostly because she needed an excuse to stall going to history of magic class for a bit, and also because she was quite close by. She twiddled with her fingers, trying to distract herself from the weighty boredom that pounded against her head. Watching someone jog across the hallway, they dropped something small and shiny, which skidded its way to her feet. She picked it up, and immediately realized it was a peppermint. She looked both ways before opening it hastily and popping the candy in her mouth. Not exactly knowing how Hogwarts was with food outside of the great hall still, she wanted to stay cautious in case.
And as appealing stalling was, she needed to get to class, the last thing she wanted was to stay after class for a lecture from her professor... Holding her books close to her chest, she forced her way into the now waning crowd and walked as fast as she could, before feeling a large amount of weight hit her straight in the face, to which she dropped all her books. It was a blur, and as she looked up to say something, she realized she couldn't breathe. What? Holding her throat, immediately her face went hot with panic as she felt around in her mouth for the sweet taste of her candy to no avail. She was choking– for real. No coughing like crazy because something went down the wrong pipe. Something was lodged in her throat. She shot up and looked around for some help, exasperation filling her eyes, making her vision blurry. Was this the end? Was she really going to die before being even a teenager, all because of a damn piece of candy and a clumsy student? As quick as it all happened, another student slammed into her, causing the mint to fly out of her mouth. She gasped for air, completely disregarding the fact that all of her (quite expensive) books had been spread across the length of the hallway.
Finally regaining her wits, Marla heard a small 'sorry about that' and watched a small girl begin to walk away. "Hey!" She called, beginning to pick up her books as fast as she could... Which wasn't that fast. "Are you feckin' kidding me? I–," Not wanting to mention the whole choking thing, in case she didn't see it, so that Marla could just pretend it never happened, she took a deep breath, clenching her books so tight, she made nail marks on the covers. She had gone through worse than choking on something, but it was scary, and the fact that this small, stupid first year caused it... Was frankly, infuriating. Ye can't go around bumping into people like a bloody idiot, I mean, are yah blind or somethin'?" She waved her hand in front of the girl's eyes, a small scowl forming on her face. Surely, she didn't mean any harm, and Marla knew that, but the last thing she was going to do was let people think that she was a pushover. She wasn't. In fact, she was most likely the polar opposite. But people talked. Even in a prestigious school like Hogwarts, for living creatures with magic running through their veins... People talked. No matter how miraculous witches and wizards were, they thirsted for drama. Of course, she was probably overreacting at this point... But she wasn't taking this risk. Class didn't start yet, and if this girl was going to get rude, oh, Marla would take her sweet, sweet time.
"your loss, baby !!"
stamina 10 | evasion 7 | strength 6 | wisdom 7 | arcpower 6 | accuracy 9
stamina 10 | evasion 7 | strength 6 | wisdom 7 | arcpower 6 | accuracy 9
26 Sep 2019, 01:37
rising black smoke
It could have ended there. She could have walked off, forgotten the whole unfortunate affair, have run into class panting and late, but still in class. The hallway was emptying out more now, a reminder of the doomsday clock ticking downwards in her head. Now, the stares of the other students felt more focused as the collision became more obvious in the empty space. But no, the situation didn't end there. Like many things in her life, it just kept going, snowballing into her being insulted by the very person she had run into. Not only had this girl cast aspersions on her mental fortitude, she had insulted her general ability as well, all in one swift, cruel blow. Asteria felt a flush creep across her cheeks - be it from anger or embarrassment, she couldn't quite say. Now, more than ever, she felt the eyes of everyone else in the hallway upon her, a performer stranded in the spotlight, trying to escape a stage that the audience guarded with a watchful eye.
As she opened her mouth, she meant to make amends, meant to repair the whole messy situation, do what her (imaginary) audience demanded of her in this moment. What came out instead was far from that: "I'm not blind, but you might be, considering the state of your robes." While saying this, she nodded at the other girl's too large robes. Immediately, she flushed an even brighter red, resisting an urge to clamp a hand over her own mouth. Her mouth had a mind of its own these days, having a tendency to drag her into situations she never wanted nor needed. It was as if the filter that caught every reflexive nasty or impulsive thought had been broken, and when repairmen came to fix it, they installed a loud speaker system instead. If unintended and unneeded words were sickles, then she would have been rich at that point. Instead, she just continued to make a fool of herself in almost any situation that she strayed into. In this case, it would be best to try and end it now, to avoid escalation if she could, to call in an air rescue and ascend from the scene on a ladder dropped by a helicopter. But that was idle fantasy - the best she could do now was simply ask to leave.
"Now, if you don't mind, I do need to get to class. And I don't intend to be held up," she said, making as if to skirt around the girl in front of her, the doomsday clock chiming in her brain again. Bong, bong, bong, it rang, you're going to be late. The sound of blood rushing began to fill her eardrums, the hyperfocus of anxiety forcing her to focus less on her surroundings and more on her eventual destination. Her hands gripped tighter on the strap of the satchel she had only just finished shoving books into, and she chewed on the inside of her cheek. I didn't start this, she thought, her mind darting to her outburst. She started it, she was the only who insulted me. I only responded in kind. It's what anyone would have done in this situation, right?
everybody crashes - you take a little damage, you'll spit a little blood, but we'll always manage love, cause everybody does