The Little Things Finished

─────It was a fairly warm day but it still had enough of a chill in the air to make Alexandria wish she had worn long sleeves. She was out on the grounds for a walk, looking for something to draw, then later painting. A small animal like a bird or perhaps a squirrel. She looked around as she walked, "These animals are too common, I want something that will show the magic life of the animals at Hogwarts. Maybe an interesting creature will be in the area where they hold the Care of Magical Creatures class."
As she made her way to the area of the stables where magical creatures were kept for students to study, she inhaled the fresh spring air. It was nice to get out of the castle, for most of the year she had hidden away from other students, often hiding away in her dorm. But today Alex decided to go outside, and she was glad she did, it was a nice day and there weren't many people out. She hadn't made any friends at Hogwarts and the year was nearly over, her parents would be proud of her at least, she had O's in all of her classes. And after all, grades are important, without them, you don't really get to go anywhere in life.
Once Alex made it to the stables, she felt a lack of inspiration while looking at the numerous creatures in the stables. She stood there for a moment and sighed, Might as well move on, probably am going to get yelled at or something for being over here since I'm only a first year."
As she walked away, she noticed a girl sitting under a tree, she had an expression of such contentment, Alex knew in an instant she must capture it with her art. Alex approached the brown-haired girl, "Yassou hello, sorry, if this is odd, but would it be okay if I could draw you? You just look so peaceful sitting there." ALex smiled at the girl, "I'm Alex by the way, Alexandria if you prefer. Wow, you're really pretty," She says to the girl now that she is close enough to make out the finer details of her face. "Wow, Alex, way to sound totally weird..."

May 26th 2.00pm

Meeting @Alexandria Clark

Emily was practically glued to this tree in the time she was sitting there. With the breeze encircling her being and the soft birdsong above her accompanied with the leaves and the smells of nature mixing under her nose, it would've near taken a bang or some kind of loud noise to bring her back to Earth - no pun intended.

Yet as it happened her ears were just marginally still in connection with the outside world when she heard the gentle voice of someone approaching her. Emily's eyes fluttered open to see a Gryffindor student her age standing over her without an ounce of threat to her stance.

"Oh...! Hello," Emily said quietly, still partially basking in the glow of her stupor. It took a shuffle of her lower back before she felt ready to interact properly without seeming ignorant to this girl.

What this girl said next however was quite a surprise. A pleasant one though.

"Sorry, if this is odd, but would it be okay if I could draw you? You just look so peaceful sitting there."

"O-Oh! Not at all...! Work away." Emily felt quite flattered at that. A lot of firsts had happened to her over the year; finding out she had magical talent, the opportunity to learn at a school of magic of all things. And now, she got the chance to be somebody's muse. But the the surprises didn't end there, for the girl continued...

"I'm Alex by the way, Alexandria if you prefer. Wow, you're really pretty."

That made Emily gasp softly, a tint of pink dusting her cheeks as she allowed the girl to shift closer while she got to work. She never really thought much appreciation of being called "pretty" or dare they say "beautiful." It was an irk that had Emily go down a tangent that people must be of a specific standard when presenting themselves which she whole-heartedly disagreed with. So long as people were healthy, safe and happy, she didn't care what she looked like.

At the same time, she also knew when people were genuine. And this girl definitely held sincerity in her tone.

With a soft smile Emily responded. "Hehe... Thank you. That's sweet of you to say. Dare I say you look lovely too. Emily wasn't going to lie. This girl's hair was a nice caramel brown, blended nicely with blonde highlights. It complemented her skin and her dark eyes beautifully. "I'm Emily by the way, nice to meet you...!"

She tried not to talk or move too much knowing that Alexandria was studying her closely for her art. Being mindful that she was now in conversation, Emily was still going to drink in the best of beauty ever to exist... The beauty of nature.

_{Word Count: 489}

Stats: Stamina: 6|Evasion: 5|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 7|Arcane Power: 5|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast

─────"Emily... That's such a lovely name, so simple yet so eloquent. A normal name too, must be nice not having people asking you 'Oh like the city in Egypt?' when you tell them your name," she said softly, not wish to disturb the look of natural peace on Emily's face.
Alex sat down in front of her and got out her sketchbook and her pencils and flipped past all her past drawings, people, plants, animals, buildings, she drew it all. Once she got to a blank page she looked up at the girl, pencil in hand, studying her face and body posture. Until, finally, after a few minutes, she slowly placed her pencil on the paper and began to draw the basic shapes of Emily's form, the circles and ovals that make up her body. "How can one be so peaceful and content? Surely, that tree is not very comfortable and the grass is slightly damp for the dew earlier this morning. Perhaps she just feels at rest in nature."
Alex took a deep breath in, she could smell the freshness of nature blending into an addicting aroma with the scent of the charcoal pencil she was using. The smell of art supplies had always been comforting to her. The smell of fresh acrylic paint reminds her of when she would go into the garden with her grandmother and paint the scenery, and the smell of parchment and ink would remind her of the hand drawn maps of places in the world that her grandfather had.
After nearly ten minutes Alex looked up to Emily and said in her smooth and sophisticated accent, "It is quite the fine day today, what brought you out here, so near stables where they keep the magical creature? I personally was looking for something to sketch, and then later paint, but the creatures did not give me the inspiration I needed. Which is strange because I do have a certain fascination with creatures of this magical world." Alex smiled, she felt fairly at ease sitting there talking to Emily, perhaps it was the easy going vibe that she gave off, which helped Alex relax. People with a lot of energy scared Alex, she already had a hard enough time talking to people without being drowned out in a conversation.
Alex returned to her artwork, she began adding in the finer detailing, well, as fine as they get in a sketch. She would go over it in a heavier pencil so the the drawing wouldn't be messed up when she painted it later. "ou have very simple yet delicate features, I keep thinking I got it right, but then I look up and it's all wrong. It's nothing though, I do love a good challenge in my art!"

Getting Friendly with @Alexandria Clark

Emily continued to sit still as Alexandria worked away. Her eyes glanced down to where she was sketching frivolously in her drawing pad. She couldn't help but be impressed. She was working away like it was nothing, almost like she was just printing it out just like that with her nimble fingers. At the same time, going by how full her pad seemed to be with the numerous drawings she flicked past to a new page, it was apparent to her that she had been doing this for a long time.

Emily let out a humoured laugh when complimented by her name. "I always thought my name wasn't as exciting as others. There are a lot of names that just sound pleasing to the ears. Likes yours!" Emily tested out her name along her tongue. "Alexandria... It sounds very proper but also elegant too...!"

She continued to watch Alexandria work meticulously, her eyes angled where she could see both Emily and at the work she was sketching. Emily couldn't help but be impressed by her focus. She could learn a thing or two from her. These days while Emily is capable of working, she feared she tends to get too distracted with daydreaming all the same.

The small talk continued. "I came here looking for something to do. Considering I haven't really spent an awful lot of time down this end of the grounds I figured I'd see what it would be like."

A small sigh escaped her lips. "I'm a big animal lover and the fact that us First Years can't enter the stables and stuff is just so... disappointing. It's kind of one of my hobbies, caring for wildlife and animals. That and reading." Another beat of silence passed to let Alexandria work. She could see her drawing and redrawing her sketch, almost seemingly lamenting the challenge at hand. Emily gave a sheepish though mostly apologetic look.

"Heh... Sorry..." While Emily couldn't help how she looked - no one really could, not for her or for themselves - she still felt the need to say sorry. "But if it's giving you a challenge that you're looking for then it'll be worth it for sure!"

_{Word Count: 393}

Stats: Stamina: 6|Evasion: 5|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 7|Arcane Power: 5|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast

─────Alex smiled, she also had a soft spot for animals, magical or nonmagical.
"I love animals too!" she said, setting her pencil and sketchbook to the side. Her hands had started to ache, a sign it was time for a break. "My favorite nonmagical animal would have to be a horse, back home, one of our neighbors had a horse named Cherry, she was very sweet. I drew her once, could I show you?" She asked, flipping towards the front of her sketchbook.
Wow, I never realized how many things I've drawn. My skills have definitely improved since I got the sketchbook last year.
Finally, after flipping through dozens of pages, she found her last drawing of Cherry. The drawing depicted a thoroughbred horse with a lean body and a broad chest, both indicators of good breeding. The horse had white hair near her hooved on both of her front feet. She was standing behind a wooden fence that was composed of posts about two meters apart, with two pieces of wood running parallel to each other between the posts. Cherry was shown standing along the fence with her head turned, causing it to go past the fence which only came up to the middle of her chest.
The drawing was one of Alex's favorites, she considered it to be one of her best works. She looked at it for a moment before moving closer to Emily and turning the sketchbook so the girl could see it. "I do love drawing horses, they're so eloquent. Cherry is a retired racing horse, but even in her age she still holds beauty. I'm quite proud of this work, not to be boastful, but I feel it captures her beauty just right," Alex said softly with a smile.

Artwork Admiration with @Alexandria Clark

Ah! A fellow animal lover. That was it. Emily was going to solidify this friendship now that Alexandria had said it. Anyone who cared for critters of Mother Nature was already an ally in Emily's book.

"That's so cool that you have neighbours that had a whole horse out the back!" It was hard for Emily not to be impressed. Living in the city didn't sound fitting for a girl who could melt into the soil of the earth if she could. When Alexandria showed her the drawing she did Emily once again marvelled at her impeccable art skills. And it wasn't just this one. The ones that she flipped through were all wonderfully designed. It was all enough to make Emily's eyes sparkle with admiration.

"Whoa... If I hadn't said it already, you're really, really good...!"

Alexandria's picture looked like it could just come to life. It rivalled that of any painting she had ever seen in an art museum back home - and some of them got recognition just by a few splattered lines of paint on them!

"You should be proud! Heck, you should be boastful!" She responded brightly. "My Auntie always says to me that when one has a talent, they should it off with honour. When they dedicate their heart and soul into something, it's almost as if they're revealing themselves through what they like to do best!"

Emily would kill to have talent like Alexandria. In fact she could say that for a lot of things; having a knack for maths, being able to excel in sports, even dance. Though it was kind of a simple but sweet pairing - Alexandria and her drawings, Emily and her animal buddies.

_{Word Count: 311}

Stats: Stamina: 6|Evasion: 5|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 7|Arcane Power: 5|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast

─────Alex smiled a chuckled softly at Emily's comments and compliments of her artwork. She never really had ever shown anyone outside of her family her artwork, so it was rare that she got to hear people's opinions on it. "You're too kind, but thank you. I've worked at my drawing skills for years. It was my grandmother that got me into art. When my parents would be busy with work she and I would go down to the garden to sketch, and later paint, pictures of the flowers and other flora there.My grandmother, Helen, has really been my greatest inspiration for my art. I hope one day my abilities will be at the level of hers," she sighed, closing her sketchbook and putting it back in her bag, "But until that happens I suppose all I can do is practice my drawing."

The young Gryffindor girl stood up and dusted the bits of grass and dirt that clung to her clothing off. She shifted her bag so that she could check that everything inside it was in order. Once she was sure she had everything she turned back to Emily saying, "I should probably be off. I have to study for an upcoming quiz in History of Magic. Apparently art skills don't count for much in that class, my grade is a clear reminder of that..." Alex grimaced to herself, her History of Magic grade would drop to an P if she didn't pass the next quiz. Shaking her head she continued, "It was truly wonderful to meet you, Emily. You were quite fun to talk to. I do hope to see you around sometime, though the castle is quite big so it may take some time."

Alex smiled and waved to the girl sitting under the tree as she began to walk off in the direction of the castle. Well that wasn't too awful, maybe socializing isn't going to be that big of a challenge for me!

Artwork Admiration with @Alexandria Clark
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics

Though she was getting a little tingly and numb in the legs after sitting on the grass for so long, Emily's attention was kept grounded as she listened to Alexandria's passionate reminiscing of her artistic roots.

"Your grandmother you say? I'm willing to bet she's incredibly talented if this is you having been taught under her tutelage...!" She was still marvelling over Alexandria's swift and constructed movements with her utensils. There was clear, dedicated discipline and passionate care that went into her artwork that even Emily, who knew nothing about art other than how to interpret it, could respect.

After a few more strokes and scribbles, Alexandria began to pack up. It would be an understatement to say that Emily was a little disappointed that she was leaving so soon but Alexandria more than likely had other places to be. Emily would just have to suck up to the fact that their chat was a short one, though no one could stop her from relishing in the good times she had taken away from it.

"Ah, I should let you get on. It would do no good to keep you when you've probably got a lot else to be getting on with. And it was lovely meeting you too...!" As Alexandria got herself organised, Emily shifted a bit in her spot on the ground to ease the pins and needles in her lower half. After a shimmy or two she felt the sensation return to her legs and lower back. When Alexandria began to take her leave, Emily waved behind her.

"See you around!"

Alexandria soon disappeared out of Emily's sight, leaving her alone once again with the trees and the stables. She looked back up at the aging guardian that loomed over her, the sun caught in its vibrant leaves. She inhaled the air and nestled back against the tree's barky body.

"Now then... Where were we? Ah yes..."

She laid back and cosied up to the tree. Once again, she was Mother Nature's precious hugger.

_{Word Count: 366}

End of Thread

Stats: Stamina: 6|Evasion: 5|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 7|Arcane Power: 5|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast