Ophidian Pv | Theodora Parlow closed

I'm late! Theodora ran down the halls, she had gotten lost in a book after class, and had lost track of time. Let's hope Prat is in a forgiving mood, she couldn't stand the thought of the older boy being mad at her, he was one of her few friends, amongst other things she wasn't quite willing to admit to him or herself yet.

As she ran into the room she slowed down as she got to him before doubling over, her hands on her knees, as she tried to catch her breath, "My God... breath..." she glanced up at him, and spoke between her pants for breath, "Apologies... I-I.. Lost. Track of time," she stood her face was red, from both the run and the embarrassment.

"Anyways, what was it that you wanted to show me?" Theodora asked softly, looking around the room, it was full of training equipment for dueling. "Wow," She does a little spin to take in the room fully, "You must spend a bit of time here, you talk about dueling pretty often. Almost like me and the library, " as she says the last part her face heated again, "T-thats where I was when I lost track of time.."

AEIOUSAℌis eyes met Theodora's, He could see the apology right on her face, further emphasized by the way she clutched at her knees, her chest heaving with the effort to regain her breath, signaling how she probably ran over to him. She probably didn't mean to keep him waiting, instead lost track of time by his assumption. He offered her a comforting smile, "It's alright," he replied. "Just breathe,". She still looked like she needed a moment to compose herself.

Prat smiled at Theodora's assumption "She think I spend a lot of time here?" he mused internally. "If only she knew the hours I've truly dedicated to this thing, with no visible improvement at all." He watched her, seemingly absorbing the racks of inventory, the enchanted dummies, and the ancient tomes lining the shelves.

But aloud, he said, "You know, I do not come here to practice a lot, just enough to keep my skills sharp," he offered with a humble shrug, hoping to keep her curiosity piqued without revealing his pointless all-consuming passion. "But enough about me," he thought, eager to shift the focus back to her.

Prat led Theodora through a series of basic spells, excitement of sharing these spells with her not very clear in his features. Finally, when he deemed it the right moment, he took a dramatic step back.
"Now, for the pièce de résistance," he thought. Casting snake summon spells. Summoning a considerably tame specie of snake he had read about.

Theodora watched him in semi-amazement as he cast spell after spell, he was focused, precise, and well-practiced. He was impressive, and only a second year at that, she knew then he'd only improve from here and be a great wizard someday. She tried to keep her own excitement under wraps, but it was hard for her to do so, not only because of the circumstances, but also the whirlwind of emotions that the older boy stirred in her. Keep it together Theodora, this is just a friend showing another friend their interests, nothing more.

The last spell he casted however was a turning point, she heard the spell and the small flash of light, before seeing the small red, white, and black striped snake on the stone floor. Her eyes go wide as she looks at the snake, nearly out of instinct speaking to it, but she glances at Prat remembering her father's words and warnings of not showing her power to outsiders. That was her decision before she heard it's voice, scared and out of place, “Where am I? What is going on?”

Theodora swore in her head before she opened her mouth, “It's all right little one, I'm a friend. My friend here conjured you to show off his skills.” With that she slowly made her way over to it and gently picked up the snake, speaking gently to it as if it was her only friend in the world, but she quickly remembered her audience and turned to Prat. She swallowed, and looked down slightly, “Prat… I… p-please don't tell anyone…”, her voice was timid and her sights stayed on the snake that now gently curled around her fingers and wrists.

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OPHIDIAN

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When this had started, Prat hadn’t expected the spell show to quite end like this.

He had been going through his spells like they were cards in a deck. Hexes, curses, Jinxes. Nothing malicious, just a casual show of the skills he had built up over the year. He knew his spell knowledge was sharper than most second-years, and frankly, it was nice to have an audience that wasn’t either judging him or actively trying to hex his face off, unlike his duels which saw him being blasted off to the sidelines usually.

Theodora had been quiet, watching, he noticed that much, but he hadn’t taken the time to read too deeply into her expression. That was, until he cast Serpensortia, expecting to amuse the girl with a harmless conjured snake.

Instead, things turned to unexpected tides. The small serpent hissed in confusion as it slithered towards her on the cool floor. That’s when she spoke. It wasn't English or French. It was that uncanny tongue he had only heard once before from Elisa, his cousin.

She was gentle in the way she carried that snake, yes, but there was something else in her voice. An ease in the way she soothed the conjured creature. She wasn’t pretending nor was this a party trick.

His body tensed as the gears in his mind began turning.

It wasn't because he feared her after this newfound discovery. No, Prat wasn’t the kind to scare easily, and he hadn't yet bought into the old superstitions of Parselmouths being inherently dark. But this new revelation had just made the girl far more interesting than a spell demonstration.

Then her voice. Timid, hesitant, laced with hints of fear.

"Prat… I… p-please don’t tell anyone…"

There it was, the plea he was expecting before the words had even left her mouth, the request for secrecy. With such requests came the weight of trust and the very opportunity to shatter the shackle and burden on such weight.

Prat let the silence linger just a little longer than he needed to. His expression remained impassive, but behind those obsidian eyes, the gears remained turning.

She had just handed him something of immeasurable value about her very being. Not in a cruel way, at least not in a petty cruel way, in a way he’d weaponize lightly. He wasn’t some gossiping brat. But in their world, information was power. Knowing there was another Parselmouth in Slytherin, and a quiet one no less. That was the sort of detail he would store safely like a sharp blade wrapped in velvety words.

"Oh, Don’t worry," he said, shrugging nonchalantly at the reptilian duo. "I’m not in the habit of information unearned." He stepped closer deliberately, with his tone lowered, more thoughtful than threatening in it's approach. "But be careful who you show that to."

His eyes flicked to the snake once more before settling back on her.

"It makes people superstitious. You’ll find most people don’t know the difference between dark and different."

It was a steady sort of tone. One that meant he I saw her, and won’t forget.

"Still," he added, softer now, "you talked it down, that’s kinda cool."

Not many people impressed him anymore, but this? Parseltongues were rare and rare beings always held value.

He didn’t say anything more, a he no longer needed to. The message was easily conveyed in his actions and tone. "Can I send him back now? There's a lot of other things to see after this, we’ve still got daylight."

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Theodora

@Theodora Parlow