2 Nov 2024, 15:16
Nature Wins, You Lose
The Great Lake looked different in daylight.
Anais hadn't been here since her initial arrival, when she'd crossed its waters in one of those rickety boats coupled alongside wide eyed first years. Now, months later, the waters stretched out before her like an old acquaintance she'd neglected to properly cultivate. Familiar, yet not. No lanterns casted against its surface, no nervous whispers about sorting and houses. It was merely Anais, left to the quiet solitude the grounds attempted to provide.
She'd laid out her mother's silk scarf on a relatively dry patch of ground, a makeshift barrier between her uniform and the damp earth. A waste of good silk, perhaps, but better than explaining dirt stains to the elves. Her satchel sat beside her, stuffed with more parchment than strictly necessary. Old habits died hard, and Anais had long since learned that being over prepared was preferable to the alternative.
For a moment, all she did was observe the wind as it whipped across the lake, stirring the usually calm surface into short, choppy waves. It was peaceful in its own way, certainly different from the carefully manicured pond back at home. Of course, that same untamed wind chose its pristine moment to snatch one of her pages right off her lap. The girl reached for it automatically, yet the parchment danced just out of reach before floating down to meet the water's dark surface.
"Pour l'amour de dieu.." The words slipped out before she could catch it, rolling of her tongue with tempered annoyance. Not a curse, not quite; her tutors had ensured she knew better than that, but the sentiment was there all the same. Shifting to press one hand down on her remaining papers, the other moved to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. Just like everything else at Hogwarts, even the weather lacked proper decorum. Her mother's voice could practically be heard in the back of her mind, crisp with disappointment. A gentle thought would remind her that scolding woman was oceans away, however, which was enough to nurture the anxiety if not slightly.
Anais hadn't been here since her initial arrival, when she'd crossed its waters in one of those rickety boats coupled alongside wide eyed first years. Now, months later, the waters stretched out before her like an old acquaintance she'd neglected to properly cultivate. Familiar, yet not. No lanterns casted against its surface, no nervous whispers about sorting and houses. It was merely Anais, left to the quiet solitude the grounds attempted to provide.
She'd laid out her mother's silk scarf on a relatively dry patch of ground, a makeshift barrier between her uniform and the damp earth. A waste of good silk, perhaps, but better than explaining dirt stains to the elves. Her satchel sat beside her, stuffed with more parchment than strictly necessary. Old habits died hard, and Anais had long since learned that being over prepared was preferable to the alternative.
For a moment, all she did was observe the wind as it whipped across the lake, stirring the usually calm surface into short, choppy waves. It was peaceful in its own way, certainly different from the carefully manicured pond back at home. Of course, that same untamed wind chose its pristine moment to snatch one of her pages right off her lap. The girl reached for it automatically, yet the parchment danced just out of reach before floating down to meet the water's dark surface.
"Pour l'amour de dieu.." The words slipped out before she could catch it, rolling of her tongue with tempered annoyance. Not a curse, not quite; her tutors had ensured she knew better than that, but the sentiment was there all the same. Shifting to press one hand down on her remaining papers, the other moved to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. Just like everything else at Hogwarts, even the weather lacked proper decorum. Her mother's voice could practically be heard in the back of her mind, crisp with disappointment. A gentle thought would remind her that scolding woman was oceans away, however, which was enough to nurture the anxiety if not slightly.
Treating me like I'm some bet to lose.
2 Nov 2024, 23:31
Nature Wins, You Lose
Sabrina sat on the grass by the lake, legs folded beneath her, a book opened in her lap as she silently hummed an incoherent melody of one of the pop songs she recalled hearing on the radio over the summer. She loved the water, always had. Living near the sea, she was a good swimer, spending most of her free afternoons at the beach. But it wasn't only the swimming that made her interested in the element.
It was almost hypnotising, the calm motion of it, be it the gentle swaying of the sea or the glittering surface of the lake. And then there was its other side. The power of waves crashing into a cliff, a fast river right after it rained. It was a force, bringing both life and death. Plus, this lake specifically was full of incredible creatures. The mer-people, grindylows, - and of course - the squid..
She was actually just reading about them in the 'Hogwarts: dark waters and whats hiding beneath the surface' when she heared the swish of a parchment flying past her. She glanced up, seeing if it was only a figment of her imagination or an actual object. And sure enough, there was a yellow-ish paper matching the flow of the dark water beneath it. It came as a bit of a surprise as she thought that she was the only one there.
Putting her book down, she carefully creeped over to the border of the lake, leaning forward to reach for the parchment, but it was too far away. She groaned. She just needed few more inches, maybe if there was a stick around or something - a stick, of course!
Reaching into her robes, she pulled out her wand, using it as an extention, trying again. She pulled the parchment as close to the edge as she could before reaching for it with her hand. It wasn't fully soaked, still somewhat holding the shape, the ink only partly smudged. She looked back over her shoulder to see who it belonged to. There, just a few meters above her sat another student, a Griffindor girl that looked around her age.
Smiling, Sabrina sat back on her heels, tilting her head to aside, holding the parchment up.
"Hi, I am Sabrina, Sabrina Lyons, Brie for short. Is that yours?"
CW: 378 | Interacting with: @Anais Prideaux