Strangers Private Closed

~ * ~

Ruby had been a little restless in one of her classes yesterday. She hadn't been learning anything new – and gaining new knowledge was extremely important to her. To make sure that she still had something to do, she had started to draw one of her nearest classmates that she got a good look at, making it as realistic as all her other drawings. In the process of doing so, she realized that this classmate – a girl that she had never properly paid attention to – was actually quite elegant, graceful, and poised. Pureblood? Rich? Perhaps. It was not unusual to see children from those kinds of families looking and acting like that – Ruby herself did too. It was how she was raised.

She had decided to find out more about this girl. When the professor called the girl's name, Ruby listened. Airlia Winter. She had noticed the way that Airlia acted around others, too, the way that she seemed to understand their emotions. Judging by the way that the Hufflepuff interacted with others, she was kind and had a pretty good understanding of people. Ruby knew that there were definitely people like that – others besides just her. She personally had gained that same understanding in a multitude of ways. Part of it was natural, but other parts were from observing people, from reading, and from her knowledge of/research on psychology.

Nevertheless, it intrigued her to see some of the same traits and knowledge in another person, and she wondered how many other similarities they had. Therefore, she had written a note today. It was a bit of a riddle, but it was very simple and should be easy for Airlia to figure out. She had persuaded a Hufflepuff student to take it and attach it to the bed. It was short, but had all it needed. A meeting spot.

After that came the waiting. She considered getting stuff to draw or read, but it surely wouldn't take that long before the other girl realized… so, Ruby had made her way down to the Ballroom at a leisurely place and began observing – people in the hallways outside, and then the room itself. She had been in here one or two times before, but it wasn't enough to have properly made use of the large, beautiful room. Perhaps she would have to come here more often. She turned, now facing away from the door so that she could observe the other side of the room and continue thinking. Her arms were folded and her posture was as perfect as ever while her cold blue eyes gazed out at the room.

Her thoughts were suspended when she heard the doors being pushed open and footsteps following it. Facing the right way again, her gaze flicked over the intruder to see who it was – confirming that it was Airlia – and then settled to meet her eyes. “Greetings,” she said in a neutral tone with a slight inclination of her head. “I'm glad that you found your way here.”

~ * ~

To say that Airlia was confused when she realized who the girl was; would be an understatement. She was baffled, aghast as she often was about many things, but not to this level.

You see Airlia had seen this girl before. Noticed her subtle moving, taught by a posture teacher, her good manners inherited from an etiquette coach and her old style of speaking coming from a long line of purebloods that Airlia recognized from her own home.

In many ways, Airlia knew that she and Ruby Cazares were the same. They came from rich, pureblooded backgrounds and had been taught to always be a lady. Only this girl was in Slytherin and knew how to manipulate and be cunning, and Airlia a little Hufflepuff... Did not. She was a baby badger, and could easily be hunted down by a snake like this

Airlia had first noticed the girl in DADA where the girl had sat and looked around - no observed every single thing in the room. She seemed to notice every speck of dust, book, movement, and detail of the room. And while the girl was busy studying the classroom, Airlia was busy studying the girl. Her origin was clear the second you looked at her and her personality was an almost open book.

The girl was determined to gain something. Whether it was power, intelligence or fame Airlia didn't know, but even a simpleton could see that the Slytherin girl was after something. She kept people at bay by acting cold and distant, unreachable to those below her status. She intimidated people by appearing to be superior and the ways of purebloods were embedded deep into the girl to the point of it taking years to shake off the traditions if she ever tried to.

Now while others might shy away, Airlia didn't. When it came to class, blood, family, and power the two girls were equals. That meant that they could become either allies or enemies, in either case together they could achieve wonders or cause wonderous damage. However, Airlia wasn't certain if being anything other than strangers could be a good thing since their goals were different...

"You? Forgive me for my abruptness. I do not know what I was expecting to find from this room, but it most certainly was not you." Airlia kept her tone neutral, just slightly on the side of calm friendliness to not appear hostile. A war between two girls like this; even if Airlia had no intention of taking part in such activities; would be dangerous since battles between purebloods didn't end after childhood, they were for life.