Phoenix Zhang
6 May 2025, 10:32
The Cold Front of Kindness
Phoenix navigated the castle halls with the kind of quiet that did not draw attention to herself, her stride purposeful, her gaze forward. She carried a small stack of books in front of her chest, her satchel low at her hip, its weight heavy with parchment and ink. The commotion of the common room still resonated softly with her, but it became muted with every hall she passed through.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Date: 14/04/25 | Time: 17:30 | Outfit: robes | CC: #711919
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The library materialized as the light began to seep from the high arched windows. She could already feel the tension in her shoulders ease as the heavy wooden doors creaked open. It was quiet and cool within, thick with the scent of parchment, ink, and wax. A sanctuary. One of the few places in the castle where silence was an order, not a request.
Her eyes scanned the tables—most of them were half-full of students hunched over scrolls or flipping pages with varying levels of interest. Phoenix shunned them all, weaving between shelves until she came to a spot near the rear, huddled up beside a tall bookcase and partially out of the range of the light cast by the overhead sconces.
She placed her books on the table, one at a time, with gentle *thumps*, and sat down. She put her things out with quiet organization: quill, ink, parchment. Her hands lingered on the edge of the table a moment while she simply breathed. No conversation. No eyes on her. No need to explain why she didn't want to talk.
Perfect.
Phoenix raised a hand and drew her hair back into a tidy, low knot, the gesture economical and habitual. She opened the top book then and turned a number of pages before stopping at something that interested her. Her quill hesitated for a moment over the parchment before she began to write—not swiftly, but slowly, each line inscribed with deliberate purpose.
The ambient noises of the library melted into the air. A chair creaked a few rows over. Somebody sneezed quietly. A page turned somewhere nearby.
Here, though, in this small circle of quiet, Phoenix did not have to diminutive herself or apologize for the weight of her silence. She simply was, letting thoughts unravel themselves onto the page line by line.
And for now, it was more than enough.
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: soon @Nova Astron | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @ |
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Last edited by Phoenix Zhang on 13 May 2025, 10:09, edited 1 time in total.
7 May 2025, 08:09
The Cold Front of Kindness
Nova cheerfully pushed past the doors of the Library, hoping she didn't make too much of a ruckus. She had to, somehow, end up back in the Library, which may as well be her sanctuary now. She loved the Library, sure, but having to go there for every other assignment was hard.
Today, she wasn’t here to panic-research something last-minute. She could slowly, even peacefully, take her time doing the assignment, maybe even make it not look like a mess of ink swirls. Her handwriting was actually decent, though late nights certainly changed that.
Maybe, if I finish quickly, I'll read here. She thought as she looked for a place to sit. Many of the tables were occupied by peers flipping through books or crying over the complexity of whatever homework was torturing them.
One table, though, had one single person sitting there. She had major do-not-approach energy, so naturally, Nova made a beeline for her. Quiet. Elegant. Terrifying? A little bit, but not entirely unapproachable. Nova didn't believe in being completely aloof.
The girl, as she could see by her robes, was a Gryffindor. She hadn't spoken to many, so this could be interesting. She slowly approached the table where the girl had neatly organized her stuff. It looks so pretty when it's arranged.
Nova slowly slid into the seat in front of the girl, giving her a small smile. "Hi, mind if I sit here? I'm Nova." She said as she started to pull out some parchment, and her eyes flickered towards the girl's own parchment. "Are you doing homework too? Because that looks way prettier than most I've seen combined."
Thoughts - Italic ~ Nova's Speech - #a88400 ~ Phoenix's speech - #990000
NOTES@Phoenix HarlowWORD COUNT: 273/200 words
Last edited by Nova Astron on 15 May 2025, 05:10, edited 3 times in total.
Phoenix Zhang
7 May 2025, 16:12
The Cold Front of Kindness
Phoenix hardly glanced up as Nova approached the table, the soft sound of footsteps barely entering her line of sight. She was already heavily engrossed in the flow of work, and the silence of the library was a welcome relief from the rest of the world. She wasn't here to talk, and she certainly didn't require someone to disrupt her focus.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Date: 14/04/25 | Time: 17:30 | Outfit: Robes | CC: #711919
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When Nova responded, her words broke the silence, but Phoenix did not reply immediately. Her hand paused, hovering over her parchment for an instant before releasing a brief, almost indifferent glance at the girl before her.
"Hi, mind if I sit here? I'm Nova."
Phoenix's gaze wandered back to her own work, and she spoke coldly as she grunted nearly into a whisper, "I don't care." "As long as you don't talk to me." Phoenix thought to herself as she internally rolled her eyes and blew out a quiet breath. She wasn't hard-hearted, but there was a thickness to the atmosphere between them, an intangible barrier that she'd already constructed.
As she complimented her, Phoenix's lips curled into a cold smile. She didn't look up, didn't even acknowledge the movement. "It's just neatness," she answered in a detached voice, an edge to the words as if she couldn't be bothered to care about the compliment. "Doesn't mean anything."
The sound of Nova settling in was too close, the rustle of paper, the soft thump of her things being placed on the table. Phoenix felt the anger seething just below the surface. She sensed Nova's body like an annoying distraction pulling at the fringes of her attention, and she couldn't help but feel the other girl wasn't getting.
She did not want to speak. Did not want to apologize for the reality that she wasn't here for friendship, for friendly talk, or meaningless exchanges with no substance. She felt the crushing quiet in the room, the bitterness that lingered between them like ice. Phoenix released a mental breath, still focusing on the parchment, attempting to ignore the tension building within her.
She was not being cold. Just indifferent.
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: @Nova Astron | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @ |
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
12 May 2025, 05:17
The Cold Front of Kindness
Nova’s smile tightened at the corners, just barely, but it held. The girl’s cool tone wasn’t a dagger exactly, but it had a bite, and Nova couldn’t help the small flicker of surprise that ran through her chest. “I don’t care.”
Prickly much? She hadn’t expected full-on enthusiasm, but that? That had been a little much. She quickly brushed the thought away. The girl was probably not one for chatter, but that didn’t mean she had to stop being friendly.
She’d dealt with pricklier people before. And besides, Nova was sure she’d seen the hint of a smile on her face, or maybe she was hallucinating. “Right,” she whispered, quieter this time. “Well. Still looks better than mine ever does.” She adjusted the angle of her parchment a bit more forcefully than necessary and dipped her quill into the ink, glancing across the table through her lashes.
And I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be friendly. More friendly than this anyway. She huffed a little in guilt at her thoughts. No, prejudice is bad, Nova. People can be however they feel like. She thought scoldingly, though she couldn’t exactly help it.
It was always a bit of a challenge keeping her mind from trailing towards stereotypes, however much she tried. They weren’t completely affecting her, but she would catch herself thinking like that sometimes. She was determined not to let it affect her relationships, though. Or lack thereof, with this girl.
“Sooo… what’s your name? I haven’t seen you around Hogwarts that often.” Nova asked, trying to continue the half-conversation. She always worked better when multitasking—chat a little, focus a lot. Or the opposite sometimes, but that wasn’t the point right now.
The girl was radiating do-not-talk-to-me energy. So, of course, she continued. "The professors give so much homework sometimes, it feels like I'm drowning in an ocean of paper and ink."
Thoughts - Italic ~ Nova's Speech - #a88400 ~ Phoenix's speech - #990000
NOTES@Phoenix HarlowWORD COUNT: 312/200 words
Last edited by Nova Astron on 13 May 2025, 07:03, edited 2 times in total.
Phoenix Zhang
12 May 2025, 08:50
The Cold Front of Kindness
Phoenix's quill hesitated halfway through a stroke, pressing down a little too firmly, the ink welling up for a moment before she lifted it from the vellum. A tiny ink blot had appeared on her writings. "Great, now I've got to redo this."
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Date: 14/04/25 | Time: 17:30 | Outfit: Robes | CC: #711919
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Nova went on.
It was not as if she'd preferred quiet, just now. That would be too simple. But she'd at least hoped—expected—that the chill or crisp edge to her voice would be sufficient to discourage whatever this is.
"My name is not important," Phoenix replied, a bit sharper edge to her voice this time. She didn't look up. She didn't soften the words. She didn't even attempt to hide the irritation sliding into her voice. "You don't need to know it, and I don't need to indulge your conversation."
She drew out a rough new parchment from her satchel and the scrape of her quill resumed, slow and methodical—a quiet barrier she was building. Nova, however, was not appearing to be interested in those very barriers. She continued, her voice filling the empty silence between them naturally as though Phoenix had not just, or at least tried, to close off the discussion.
Phoenix slowly inhaled through her nostrils, patience wearing thin.
"I don't have trouble," she growled, her voice cold now, cutting through the last bits of warmth in Nova's voice. "Perhaps if you didn't talk so much, you'd discover homework isn't so hard or so much."
Her eyes lifted, just briefly. Enough to meet Nova’s eyes for a split second, enough to ensure the words had landed. That was when Phoenix noticed something in Nova's expression—not pain, not anger, but something indecipherable crossing Nova's face.
Good.
Allow her to understand this was not the beginning of some harmless chit-chat.
Let her know that Phoenix had no mood or interest in playing along with whatever idea of forced friendship Nova thought she could strong-arm out of her. She tore her quill in ink, exhaled, and went on. Nova persisted. But Phoenix was not about to give in. No way. Never.
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: @Nova Astron | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @ |
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
13 May 2025, 07:00
The Cold Front of Kindness
Nova let out a small scoff. Just barely audible. The girl's jabs hit right where they were intended. Her quill stilled, hovering over the parchment as her annoyance simmered just below the surface.
She looked up and met the girl's eyes, and they matched her tone. Cold, indifferent. Rude.
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected after the sharp tone earlier, but “You talk too much,” and “You’d find things easier if you didn’t,” was just annoying. She had been polite, even friendly. Maybe put a smile on an irritated face. And somehow, that had earned her the conversational equivalent of a door slammed in her face.
First with that clipped tone, then the not-so-subtle jab. Apparently, kindness was some sort of offense in this girl’s world. Nova’s smile had long since faded, replaced by a flat, unimpressed line as she stared down at her parchment, now smeared faintly where her fingers had pressed too hard.
Wow, she thought with disbelief. You must be a blast at group projects. For someone who writes like they’re solving the universe, you’d think they'd have mastered basic manners.
She didn't need a full-on conversation; a polite nod or a smile would have been enough. But clearly, basic human interaction was a crime in her world. How depressing.
Then—flick.
Barely a motion. Just a subtle shift of her fingers as she twisted her quill between her fingers. The tiniest dot of ink arced right next to the edge of the other girl’s parchment. Hardly noticeable. Small enough to pass as nothing. But deliberate.
Nova didn't respond. She didn't have to; the tiny act of chaos was enough for her. “Next time, just put up a sign. ‘No kindness allowed.’ Could save us both some time.” She murmured to herself as she packed up her stuff, smooth and slow.
She didn't mean for the girl to hear her. But if she did, she wasn't exactly about to apologize. She stood, slinging her bag over one shoulder with an ease that looked almost practiced as she tried not to choke on the air that reeked of condescension.
“Next time someone tries to be nice to you… Maybe try not acting like they spat in your ink. Just a thought.” she added casually. She turned and began to walk away, not sure where she was headed—just certain it’d be better than sitting another minute near someone who treated basic decency like it was some kind of personal attack.
Thoughts - Italic ~ Nova's Speech - #a88400 ~ Phoenix's speech - #990000
NOTES@Phoenix HarlowWORD COUNT: 501/200 words
Last edited by Nova Astron on 19 May 2025, 08:14, edited 1 time in total.
Phoenix Zhang
13 May 2025, 09:52
The Cold Front of Kindness
A flick of ink brushed against the edge of her parchment; it was a small thing, but one noticeable enough to have been done deliberately.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Date: 14/04/25 | Time: 17:30 | Outfit: Robes | CC: #711919
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Her fingers closed in an almost imperceptible grip on the quill.
Nova’s final remark, muttered as she packed up her things, was meant to be just loud enough—meant to linger, meant to land. But Phoenix had no interest in entertaining petty dramatics.
"You assume too much," her words were steady as she barely glanced up.
Mild, no flame, no visible annoyance yet the clarity in her icy voice was unmistakably strict and measured that no one could take it differently.
"You assume kindness matters," she continued, her voice calm, clipped, measured. "That it should be given. That it should be wanted."
The quill paused again over the parchment, suspended, and for a fraction of a second resumed its pressure into the ink, glided, effortless-likely Nova had not rattled her at all.
"As if it’s some universal truth that people should welcome it."
Finally, Phoenix raised her eyes with calmness. The steadiness of her gaze reinforced that, there was no anger in this interplay at least on her part.
"I don’t need it," she said, her tone edged but restrained. "And I certainly don’t need you telling me how I should react to it."
Nova was up now, shifting her presence, preparing to leave, but Phoenix was simply not done.
"Next time," she returned her gaze dismissively to the parchment, "don't waste your time expecting what isn't yours to take."
It has to end there.
Nova had made an attempt; had put something cozy, something friendly. And as swiftly had Phoenix decided against accepting it.
Let her walk away.
Let her think about it-whether to feel insulted, miffed, or just done.
Phoenix had already moved on.─────
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| 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉: @Nova Astron | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @ |
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Edit:Nova has left...Phoenix stayed a while before leaving herself
Thread Finished