27 Dec 2024, 12:25
To Send or Not to Send
It was a brisk winter Saturday morning. Dennis huffed a big long drawn out sigh of boredom. Holidays were always a mixed pot for the Ravenclaw. Sometimes they were packed with excitement and other times with regrets. Before Hogwarts the holidays were nothing but action packed but now, it really depended on who stayed and who went. Juliet, his Bengal cat rubbed against his leg and Dennis absentmindedly scratched her head. She was always a good pick me up as her purrs often felt like earthquakes of love that warmed his heart.
They were sitting at his desk in the dormitory as he raised his hand from his loyal feline to rest it back on the desk, his fingers nudged his drawer handle. The metal handle tinked against the wood and for some reason the sound knocked loose a memory. Several months ago he had received a letter, quite by accident he assumed. He had been meaning to return to sender but one thing lead to another and soon it had been forgotten about in his drawer until now.
It was a rather peculiar letter. Familiar in its missive so it must have been meant for a family member yet signed “Owl.” Were Owls smart enough to write post? Forget sentience, how could an Owl even write!? Perhaps it was a joke or even a prank. Whatever the intent the Ravenclaw second year was lonely on this winter weekend. Maybe he would entertain his curiosity and write a letter in response. The most that could happen is he get a howler scolding him for reading other people’s mail. He was used to his one friend getting howlers on a daily basis last year from his father so he had grown used to it.
The letter itself explained that this “Owl” was looking forward to going home and a little about her studies. It seemed to Dennis that whoever wrote this letter might not be a Ravenclaw. But he had no proof other than a feeling. Surely if this person was in his house he’d either know it was a prank or have heard someone missing their letter.
Hesitating for a moment, Dennis finally decided to throw caution to the wind and do it. He got out a fresh piece of parchment, his quill, and started to write.
Dennis still felt uneasy about it but he hoped it would be cute enough, then before he could think better of it he rolled it up and put it in his pocket. Off to the owlery he went to find a free school owl. It was still quite early and not many students were making the trek all the way up the stairs to the loft this morning.
He found an owl, trusted it knew the way and let it go with the letter tied to its leg. Time would tell if it even got to the right place let alone if he would ever have a reply.
They were sitting at his desk in the dormitory as he raised his hand from his loyal feline to rest it back on the desk, his fingers nudged his drawer handle. The metal handle tinked against the wood and for some reason the sound knocked loose a memory. Several months ago he had received a letter, quite by accident he assumed. He had been meaning to return to sender but one thing lead to another and soon it had been forgotten about in his drawer until now.
It was a rather peculiar letter. Familiar in its missive so it must have been meant for a family member yet signed “Owl.” Were Owls smart enough to write post? Forget sentience, how could an Owl even write!? Perhaps it was a joke or even a prank. Whatever the intent the Ravenclaw second year was lonely on this winter weekend. Maybe he would entertain his curiosity and write a letter in response. The most that could happen is he get a howler scolding him for reading other people’s mail. He was used to his one friend getting howlers on a daily basis last year from his father so he had grown used to it.
The letter itself explained that this “Owl” was looking forward to going home and a little about her studies. It seemed to Dennis that whoever wrote this letter might not be a Ravenclaw. But he had no proof other than a feeling. Surely if this person was in his house he’d either know it was a prank or have heard someone missing their letter.
Hesitating for a moment, Dennis finally decided to throw caution to the wind and do it. He got out a fresh piece of parchment, his quill, and started to write.
Dennis thought a moment. Perhaps it would be best not to sign his name in case the letter is wholly unwanted. He thought for a moment and then signed it “Fox.”Dear Owl,
It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I received your letter well. Sorry it took so long to reply. Studies are always so busy. I envy your return home and hope all is well. I am stuck at the castle for all the holidays save summer break. My parents think it will build character and I will have a chance to grow closer to friends. That doesn’t appear to be the case this year. The snow is beautiful though so I always hope to find someone to play with but everyone seems distracted this year.
Hope all is well wherever you may be.
Dennis still felt uneasy about it but he hoped it would be cute enough, then before he could think better of it he rolled it up and put it in his pocket. Off to the owlery he went to find a free school owl. It was still quite early and not many students were making the trek all the way up the stairs to the loft this morning.
He found an owl, trusted it knew the way and let it go with the letter tied to its leg. Time would tell if it even got to the right place let alone if he would ever have a reply.
OOC: Permission given by @Charlotte Winfield to rp that she wrote a letter for Dennis to reply to for the start of our series.
Adult: Makaio Kāne | iNPC: Maria Leung de Almeida
30 Dec 2024, 01:56
To Send or Not to Send
______________________________
Lottie leaned back in her desk chair, chewing absentmindedly on the tip of her pen and staring down at the letter in front of her. Delivered only a few minutes earlier, the letter was brief and vague, sent from some random student under the pseudonym "Fox." The odd part was not the anonymity of it, though. No, the odd part was that it had been addressed to the nickname that only her sister used on her. Owl.
She had been huddled up in her dormitory the whole morning, mostly just to keep away from the liveliness of the large school during the last week until holiday break. She did wish, though, that she could have a window overlooking the grounds, just to see what the others were up to without having to be in the midst of the action. That was one thing she missed from home. People-watching. A notably disliked hobby, but a very interesting one indeed.
She had been contemplating replying to the letter ever since the initial wave of surprise had washed over her, and now she just couldn't stop re-reading it and trying to decide whether the juvenile concept of anonymous pen-palls was too far below her. It was just for the sake of experimentation when she pulled out a blank sheet of parchment paper and flattened it against her wooden desk, slowly beginning to write out a response.
It was only experimental, of course. She experimentally folded the letter into a cream-colored envelope and tucked it away into her bag, before experimentally leaving her dorm and trekking over to the Owlery. The winter breeze brushed over the bits of bare skin poking out from her sleeves and pants, and she shivered at the icy sensation. Once in the Owlery, she found her usual owl and tied her letter on tight. With a deep, experimental breath, she let the little bird fly away to its recipient, whoever it may be.Dear Fox,
I won't say this letter didn't come as a surprise to me. I have any questions as to how you knew that nickname and what your intention was with sending this and, I suppose, who you really are, but I'll save those for later. I'm sorry to hear that you are stuck here at the castle over the holidays. If I could switch places with you, I would, but unfortunately fate was not in my hands either. The snow is rather beautiful, though. I pray that it's just as smooth over in Cambridge. If I knew who you were, I'd invite you to come out and play, but for now I'll just hope that you find someone.
Warmly,
Owl@Dennis Thumberton
| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |
31 Dec 2024, 10:05
To Send or Not to Send
Dennis couldn’t believe it. A reply came and quicker than he had anticipated, not that he was anticipating much. He figured the letter would receive the same treatment that the initial letter got from him. He received it in the great hall when everyone else got their mail. Some of the others at the table teased him, since he rarely got mail. To be fair, the young boy didn’t send anything either to receive things in kind. His mother, on more than one occasion seemed very disappointed that he didn’t communicate more often with the family. Dennis just wasn’t the writing type, at least until this whole mystery letter situation. The identity of Owl was slowly becoming intriguing to the Ravenclaw. True to his house, he loved a good mystery and a clever one at that.
When he got the reply he was certain it wasn’t a Ravenclaw at this point. The curtness of the first half message that read a bit mistrusting and full of suspicion made him certain it wasn’t a Hufflepuff either. He was confident if it was a Hufflepuff he’d be able to hear the person racing around telling everyone they have a secret pen pal (which would defeat the whole ‘secret’ part). No one came forward in Ravenclaw to demand to know who the Fox was, and no one started shouting about a surprise letter. That left Gryffindor or Slytherin. The second half was quite friendly though so it could go either way. He didn’t have any Gryffindor friends, mostly just Ravenclaw or Slytherin so he wouldn’t be able to discern that much until possibly later if at all.
He also realized he forgot to include the initial letter. That should answer some of the questions at least. He noticed that the other writer didn’t announce their identity so he figured that mystery could continue as long as they were writing to each other. Perhaps after the holiday he would start trying to piece more together. For the meantime, however, he contented himself to go back to his dorm and start replying.
He carefully rolled up both Owl’s original letter and his reply into one roll and went out to the Owlery before his next class to deliver it with the same owl as before. Hopefully the person on the other end wouldn’t mind him continuing the messages, it seemed there was some openness from their reply.
When he got the reply he was certain it wasn’t a Ravenclaw at this point. The curtness of the first half message that read a bit mistrusting and full of suspicion made him certain it wasn’t a Hufflepuff either. He was confident if it was a Hufflepuff he’d be able to hear the person racing around telling everyone they have a secret pen pal (which would defeat the whole ‘secret’ part). No one came forward in Ravenclaw to demand to know who the Fox was, and no one started shouting about a surprise letter. That left Gryffindor or Slytherin. The second half was quite friendly though so it could go either way. He didn’t have any Gryffindor friends, mostly just Ravenclaw or Slytherin so he wouldn’t be able to discern that much until possibly later if at all.
He also realized he forgot to include the initial letter. That should answer some of the questions at least. He noticed that the other writer didn’t announce their identity so he figured that mystery could continue as long as they were writing to each other. Perhaps after the holiday he would start trying to piece more together. For the meantime, however, he contented himself to go back to his dorm and start replying.
The letter was shorter this time, but he was trying to correct the awkwardness of the previous message. Perhaps he was a little too curious but he was a Ravenclaw after all. A little bit of curiosity also distracted from the impending loneliness that would settle on his life for a few weeks so he hoped his partner wouldn’t mind sharing a little bit more.Owl,
I hope this time I have remembered to also send your initial letter to me. That should help answer some of your questions.
I will make due for the holidays. Where do you call home if you don’t mind me asking? My family are wizards and we live around Edinburgh and we are Scottish as they come. I hope that’s alright. Does your home get a lot of snow like the castle? You must be very excited to see family! Do you have any siblings? I have a younger sister and brother in that order and love them to bits!
Oh…sorry if family is a sore spot. Let me know and I will steer clear next time!
Happily making your acquaintance,
Fox
He carefully rolled up both Owl’s original letter and his reply into one roll and went out to the Owlery before his next class to deliver it with the same owl as before. Hopefully the person on the other end wouldn’t mind him continuing the messages, it seemed there was some openness from their reply.
@Charlotte Winfield
Adult: Makaio Kāne | iNPC: Maria Leung de Almeida
19 Jan 2025, 17:33
To Send or Not to Send
______________________________
Lottie was less surprised to receive a reply, and some of her trust began to melt away to fond amusement of this little game. Anonymous pen-pals were the kind of strange she had only ever read about, and it felt oddly enchanting to be an active participant in the fun. She had received the letter in the midst of pretending to study, and had taken the opportunity as a chance to further push away her schoolwork. She could faintly hear her mother tutting in her ear, a distant and faded sound she had long since attempted to erase from her mind.
She got to writing immediately, a small smile on her lips as she glanced between the send letter and her blank piece of parchment. There was something exhilarating about anonymity, perhaps the knowledge that anything she sent here was string in a breeze, invisible yet tangible.
She had felt oddly emboldened by the consistence of these letters, so it seemed right that she would include her own question in response to his excess of them. Once she felt content with this, she all but skipped over to the owlery to deliver the next letter.Fox,
I had wondered where that letter had gone. You cannot imagine my frustration upon entering the owlery only to find that my letter had mysteriously disappeared. If you'd like to know, it had been for my older sister.
I am from Cambridge, and have been all my life. I've always wanted to see Edinburgh for myself, but have never gotten the chance. I'm sure it's beautiful. We get quite a bit of snow, though not as much as I'd like. Family is more a neutral spot for me. I have five siblings, two older and three younger. My youngest brother was actually born only a little over a year ago. I imagine it must be hard for you to not get to see your siblings over break.
What will you be doing here during break? Aside from studying, of course.
Warmly,
Owl@Dennis Thumberton
| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |