12 Mar 2025, 00:24
Whispers among the leaves
The evening breeze slipped through the Hogwarts gardens, stirring the treetops with a murmur that seemed to fill the air with secrets. Stelle walked slowly, her hands tucked into the pockets of her robes, allowing the wind to ruffle a few golden curls that had come loose from her braid. She liked these quiet moments, when she could lose herself among the stone paths and overgrown vegetation without worrying about classes, homework, or the voices of others.₊⁺⋆ Date: March 10th, 2025| Number of words: 534| Dialogue: #aa5713 ⋆⁺₊
The gardens had always been her refuge. There was something about the combination of damp soil, flowers tangled in the iron arches, and the light filtering through the leaves that reminded her of the carefree days of her childhood. Sometimes, if she closed her eyes, she could imagine herself in the countryside, running barefoot through the tall grass. But today she didn't feel like closing her eyes.
Something was bothering her.
At first, it was just a slight tickle on the back of her neck, a sensation she tried to ignore. Her steps led her along a path lined with low bushes, dotted with small white flowers swaying in the wind. Every so often, birds hidden among the branches would let out a fleeting trill before flapping their wings and disappearing into the sky. But for some reason, Stelle no longer listened to those sounds with the same calmness as before. She stopped beside an ancient fountain, staring at the trembling reflection in the water. The ripples distorted her image, but her mind held only one persistent thought: Someone was watching her.
The weight of that certainty was so heavy she could almost feel it on her shoulders. She pretended to be distracted by the leaves floating on the surface of the water, but her senses were alert, trying to pick up any movement in the undergrowth. The wind blew harder, shaking the treetops. Shadows moved with it, lengthening across the lawn. Was it her imagination, or was there something going on between them?
She couldn't help but turn around.
Her eyes scanned the path she'd left behind, but she saw no one. Everything looked the same as always: the neatly trimmed hedges, the flowerbeds filled with colorful flowers, the stone statue of a hippogriff at the end of the path. And yet, the chill down her spine didn't go away. She swallowed and looked away, but her heart was beating a little faster than usual. It could just be her mind playing tricks on her. Or it could be something else.
Whatever it was, Stelle decided to keep walking, her pace slower, more attentive. She didn't like the feeling of being watched, but she also had no intention of rushing back to the castle. If someone was there… then let them reveal themselves.
The last few days, she hadn't been having a good time. She felt some guilt since the kissing party, perhaps. She wasn't sure what was happening to her. She only knew something was weighing on her, a pressure every time they looked at her as if she were from another world. Her grandmother said she'd get used to it; she had to; it wasn't something she could change even if she wanted to.
@Kostas Woods
You make me wanna make you fall in love───⊹ |
Stelle Mims - Huffelpuf |
12 Mar 2025, 15:25
Whispers among the leaves
Date | 10/3/2025 ------------------- Outfit | Just black. Mentioned | @Stelle Mims Hex | #A30B37
Kostas noted that he knew the girl— or rather, knew of her. From the party a few weeks back. It was impossible to not notice how every other male at this place lost all their brain cells in her presence. Curious. Pleasant enough to look at, he supposed. Since Kostas found himself entirely unaffected by whatever spell she put on people around her, at least not to the point where he lost his senses, he was inclined to believe they were simply idiots. No surprise there. Briefly, he found it curious that she was out here alone. Naturally, someone so universally desired should have been trailed by an entourage of admirers. It made him wonder if that was deliberate—if there was more to her than met the eye. Doubtful. People rarely strayed from the norm. A humorous thought crossed his mind: perhaps she wanted to be alone in the garden because the others would sully the image. As little as the pink bubblegum aesthetic was his preference, he had to admit, it painted quite a picture.
He decided to keep shadowing her for a while longer, venturing outside of the forestline and hid behind a hedge to get a closer look, if for no other reason than that he was bored— the alternatives were worse. The girl was still clueless to the predator creeping on her. Or perhaps not. Kostas paused when the girl suddenly whipped around, blue eyes scanning her surroundings as if searching for something. Or someone. He waited for her to stare straight at him, but she showed no indication that she’d spotted him behind the hedge, but perhaps sensed his presence regardless. That was a first. Oh? Clever girl, he mused, mildly intrigued. Kostas watched as the blonde made no move to search for him, continuing straight ahead. He stepped forward, emerging into view. He wasn’t eager to reveal himself, but he didn’t particularly care if she turned around and saw him this time.
12 Mar 2025, 23:34
Whispers among the leaves
₊⁺⋆ Date: March 10th, 2025| Number of words: 534| Dialogue: #aa5713 ⋆⁺₊
Stelle felt the cold wind on her face as she moved with measured steps through the garden hedges. Something inside her told her she wasn't alone. It wasn't the first time she'd had that feeling, but it had never been as persistent and uneasy as it was now. It wasn't just a passing feeling; there was a real weight in the atmosphere, a gaze that seemed to cling to her skin like an invisible shadow. Her expression didn't change. She knew better. In her childhood, her grandmother had taught her that the best way to deal with unwanted attention was to ignore it until the other person gave themselves away. So Stelle kept pace, barely turning her head from time to time as if scanning the landscape, as if she weren't looking for anything in particular.
But she was looking.
The gardens had always been her refuge. She enjoyed the scent of damp earth and wildflowers, the sound of water flowing in the stone fountain. Yet in that moment, those details faded into a blur as her attention focused on what she couldn't see, but could feel. She pressed her lips together. Was she imagining it? Maybe it was just pent-up nerves. Since the kissing party, she'd felt strange, restless. She didn't like the way they looked at her, with those eyes full of expectations, of other people's desires she didn't fully understand. Her grandmother had told her she'd get used to it, but Stelle didn't want to get used to feeling like an object of involuntary admiration. She wanted to be seen, yes, but on her own terms.
The sound of a leaf rustling made her stop.
It was a subtle noise, insignificant under any other circumstances, but at that moment it was enough to send a shiver down her spine. She pretended not to have noticed, turning her gaze toward the fountain and watching the way the water's surface rippled in the breeze. Her reflection rippled, distorted, as if it shared the restlessness gnawing at her insides.
She took a deep breath.
If someone was there, lurking in the hedges, she hoped they'd have the courage to reveal themselves. She had no intention of making the first move, but she wasn't going to run away either. So, with the same calm that had led her there, she turned around. She'd sensed it before she'd seen it.
—Do you find it amusing to spy on people from the bushes?—. she asked, her tone neutral, betraying neither annoyance nor amusement. —That's rude, so you're clearly not a pureblood—.
She held her posture firm, waiting for his response as calmly as she'd waited for him to reveal himself. Because, at the end of the day, if someone was willing to silently observe her, then they should also be willing to meet her gaze. She wasn't the one to talk about pureblood or not. Of course she wasn't. But her grandmother had always insisted that, even if she wasn't, it was her duty as the next generation to have the same manners as anyone within their circle.
@Kostas Woods
You make me wanna make you fall in love───⊹ |
Stelle Mims - Huffelpuf |
13 Mar 2025, 21:07
Whispers among the leaves
Date | 10/3/2025 ------------------- Outfit | Just black. Mentioned | @Stelle Mims Hex | #A30B37
“More amusing than just hiding in a bush,” Kostas answered indifferently. To say he was amused was an overstatement, but admittedly something about her unexpected observant nature, at least more than he’d expected from her at first glance, had intrigued him. Hopefully she wouldn’t completely disappoint him. Then again, since he normally didn’t expect much of people, there wasn’t anything to be disappointed about. Perhaps he was simply looking for substance, something that would back up why everyone else seemed stupified in her presence. He was scratching the surface, but was yet not convinced there was more to discover.
“I’m not,” pureblood. He raised his eyebrows in silent question, wondering what his blood status had to do with his ‘manners’. As far as he was concerned, blood-status had nothing to do with how much of a piece of shit you turned out to be. His father was a living example of that. “And my father was a pureblood wizard and turned out to be a serial killer, so your point?” Tilting his head, amusement was tugging in the corners of his mouth now, waiting for her to realize the flaw in her assumption. “I suppose he had better manners.” He mused at last, the morbid joke so fitting that he couldn’t help himself. “He didn’t wait to strike.” Was it a threat? Not exactly… but he was curious to see what she would do with the information. If the little princess would go running.
13 Mar 2025, 23:51
Whispers among the leaves
A boy with a serious face and an inscrutable expression, his uniform slightly disheveled, and a posture that oscillated between indifference and defiance. His dark eyes studied her curiously, as if assessing something he hadn't yet decided whether it interested him or not. She had seen that look before at the party, but back then it had been just one presence among many. Now, in the silence of the garden, she felt different.₊⁺⋆ Date: March 10th, 2025| Number of words: 454| Dialogue: #aa5713 ⋆⁺₊
Stelle didn't take a step back.
It wasn't fear she felt, but a deep discomfort, as if she were walking barefoot on a floor covered in tiny needles. She didn't like the way Kostas watched her, with that studied indifference, as if she were a specimen in a jar. Perhaps he was feeling sensitive, but she couldn't help feeling as if, through his eyes, it was her grandmother looking at her. His words were sharp, full of irony and, perhaps, an attempt at provocation. —Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that…—. she murmured, not taking her gaze off him. She didn’t even blink when he mentioned her father. A serial killer. If he’d meant to scare her with that, it wasn’t working. Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t feel anything about it. Deep down, the revelation put her on a different kind of alert. She’d met plenty of people with dark pasts (the whispers in her family about bloodlines and unthinkable choices still haunted her), but she’d never been faced with someone who’d blurt something like that out like it was just another fact. Like it didn’t matter. Like it was a joke.
—I don’t know—. she said, narrowing her eyes, her expression completely neutral. “Sounds more like a character flaw than a blood issue.”
She let her words hang in the air.
Stelle had been told many times to ignore certain comments, but she’d never been one to keep quiet. She wasn't a heroine or someone with unwavering morals, but she wasn't going to pretend she didn't hear what he said just to please him.
She smoothed her hair as the wind blew again. For a moment, it seemed to her that the air around Kostas thickened, as if his mere presence altered something in the air. It wasn't the power of a fearsome mage. It was something else. Something Stelle couldn't quite place.
—We've met before...—.She tilted her head slightly, smiling slightly, though her gaze remained cautious. —At the party. You hurt Thaniel—. She was in a bad mood, but for some reason, she didn't want him to see her that way. She was always kind to people. What was different about him? Brushing her hair with her hands, she leaned closer.—Why are you following me?—.
@Kostas Woods
You make me wanna make you fall in love───⊹ |
Stelle Mims - Huffelpuf |