Hunting for an Eagle abandoned

Interacting with: @Santario Martin

There were two kinds of porcupines, the Old World porcupines and the New World porcupines. Both families came from the infraorder Hystricognathi and superficially displayed a similar coat of quills. Yeah, both just looked like a rodent with spines. Surprisingly, these two kinds of porcupines were not closely related within the Hystricognathi.

The Old World porcupines which lived in southern Europe, most of Africa, and all over Asia appeared much earlier in the world and form the family Hystricidae. The New World porcupines which were indigenous to northern part of South America and North America appeared much later, forming the Erethizontidae family. They evolved their spines independently. And through convergent evolution became similar to the Old World porcupines in appearance.

How this knowledge would be useful for his school life, Arc did not know. It was as useful as knowing that a group of flamingos was called a flamboyance. Heh. A flamboyance of flamingos… How flamboyant. What he did know was that he liked reading and knowing stuff. Oh, and baby porcupine, a porcupette, was really cute, huh? The picture in a muggle book might not move, but it certainly had better resolution.

Arc closed the book he was reading and concentrated on walking. With two heavy books in his right armpit and another in his right hand, it was hard enough to walk straight with his eyes looking forward, let alone without. Trying to read and understand a book on top of that, about taxonomy no less, was well...really hard. For normal people, it would even be nigh impossible not to bump into someone. Even with his "ability" scaring people away, he was not guaranteed a smooth walk. Some people were immune to it, some were brave, some were just not paying attention. Whatever the case, Arc had bumped more than a couple people in this school for walking and reading.

As he speed-walked, the young Ravenclaw noticed a girl walking from the opposite side. She had a long, cascading black hair, a fair complexion, and beautiful sapphire eyes. She seemed familiar. Had he seen him before? Well, of course he had. It was not that big of a school. But more than that, Arc was sure she was from the same grade. Had he seen her lately as well? Hm. At the Masquerade Ball?

She was cute.

Ehem. Arc had realized that somehow he had found more girls were pretty or cute these days. Where did they come from? Did he just not notice it before? Did the girls turn pretty over summer? Did he just not care of it before? They smelled really nice too. Urgh. It was just all so distracting.

Ah. It seemed the girl finally noticed him too as their eyes met. She was looking at him with that pretty eyes of her. “Good day,” said the dark-haired boy with a gentle smile as he tried to walk past her. It was only a polite thing to do, right? He could only hope he did not scare her off too much with the shifting shadows or whatever it was that spook people off him.

She had started her hunt near the Ravenclaw tower and had started working her way down through the most logical route to the library. Not because she assumed all Ravenclaws took the most logical path, but because that is what she would have done if she wanted to make quick work of traveling from one location to another. So far there was no luck in finding the mystery boy, but she was only halfway through her journey and there was still a chance to find the boy today. Perhaps, she would just haunt the library to see if he showed up? She was starting to feel like a stalker perhaps, this was too creepy of her.

That was, however, when a boy came into view at the end of the corridor walking in her direction. She quickly analyzed him seeing if he could be the boy she had been trying to look for. Tall, dark hair, perfectly pale complexion, books… This would be the second boy that she had met that seemed like he could have walked out of a painting. As they got closer it seemed like he could have been a moving sculpture with how perfect his features were. As someone who spent a lot of her time behind a camera, she could appreciate that about the boy.

Then that feeling started to slowly creep inside of her like a hand delicately slipping between her ribs and taking a gentle hold on her heart applying just enough pressure to spike her adrenaline. It was not enough to make her run away from him or not speak to him and it only solidified in her mind that this was who she was looking for. Their eyes met and he greeted her followed by a smile, one she would return in kind.

Though instead of the boy continuing on alone he would find that the raven-haired girl who smelled faintly of vanilla and almond fell in step beside him. It would be clear that she thought that she had been searching for him specifically and she did not try to hide it. “I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but I think I saw you at the Masquerade and I was wondering if you are Arc?” Her silvery voice inquired as she looked up at him. If he continued walking, she would walk next to him and if he stopped, she would stop with him.


@Arc Perscivious

Interacting with: @Santario Martin

The girl smiled back at him. Ah. Was she not scared of him? Arc almost stopped to ask. He was not in a rush or anything. Well, he did want to read the books he was holding. And they were kind of heavy. But the young Prefect found the girl interesting. Not because she was pretty. Eh. She was pretty. That was for sure. But not just because of it. She did not run away and even smiled at him! That was very uncommon, okay?! Who he was trying to justify, even Arc himself did not know. Sigh.

Then again, he did not want to really chase her off, so he tried to walk it off. They would meet again. Yeah. No worries. He would get the chance to talk with the girl in a better occasion, surely. Someday.

Apparently, that day came much sooner than expected.

“I’m terribly sorry to bother you," the girl said with a very pleasant voice, suddenly falling in step and walking beside him, "but I think I saw you at the Masquerade and I was wondering if you are Arc?”

Urgh. As expected, she also smelled really nice. What was that exactly? Vanilla? Wait. More importantly, was she actually looking for him? Had she gone all over school to talk to him just because she thought she saw him at the Masquerade Ball? Nah, that could not be it…right? Arc was quite taken aback, he stopped walking to take a better look at the girl. He moved all the books to his left hand, making quite a pile, and gave his right for a handshake.

“Arc Perscivious, Ravenclaw, at your service,” he smiled again. “But I don’t know if I’m the Arc you’re looking for.”

There were other Arc in the school. The young Eagle knew at least a couple other Arc beside himself. Arceus... Archibald... But none of them was usually called Arc, now, weren't they? Hm.

“Yeah, I think I saw you in the ball." Arc slightly nodded. "And I believe I have seen you in some of our classes as well." The boy was even surer now. They were from the same grade. "May I have the honor to know to whom I am talking?”

He was not wrong she wasn’t even sure if he was the Arc she was looking for, but in order to give more details, she at least wanted to make sure that he was an Arc in general. There was no point in giving gratitude to every tall, dark-haired, and pale boy she came across. So far, he seemed to fit the bill of the boy she had been trying to find and realistically how many Arc’s were there that gave you this kind of feeling inside? It seemed to rival his perfect features, then again sometimes the most beautiful things were deadly. She doubted that there were very many of them. Some of our classes…? It was now clear to her that he thought she was older than she was.

It was very rare that someone phrased it as an honor of knowing her name. It would bring just the slightest tinge of color to her porcelain fine complexion. “My apologies, how rude of me, my name is Santario Martin. However, I am a first-year, so I doubt you would have seen me in any of your classes.” She would take his offered hand and shake it with  a firm, but polite shake. She wondered if there was a second-year girl who happened to look a lot like her. She didn’t consider herself to be anything special so she was sure that there were plenty of people who had similar looks.

“I was the red fox at the ball with the red and black dress. I was mixed up in that fight that broke out, well I helped stop it, but still. I thought I saw someone who looked somewhat like you walking over before it broke up? I assumed that person might have been coming over to help stop it… and if that were, in fact, the case I wanted to find that person and thank them for attempting to offer assistance.” She subconsciously clasped her left forearm remembering how it had gotten broken during that fiasco. Her first broken bone and hopefully, but doubtfully, her last. The girl was in quidditch and she was bound to eventually take a bludger at some point.


@Arc Perscivious

Interacting with: @Santario Martin

“My apologies, how rude of me, my name is Santario Martin,” said the girl, taking his offered hand with a firm handshake. “However, I am a first-year, so I doubt you would have seen me in any of your classes.”

Ah. Really now? He had mistaken her for someone else? Whew, that was…embarrassing to say the least.

“I am truly sorry, Miss Martin. I shouldn’t have assumed. Now I’m just making a fool of myself.” The boy stifled a laugh. “Nice to make your acquaintance by the way.”

Arc rarely forgot something, especially a face. So, it was very uncharacteristic of him. What happened? Was there really someone who resembled her in his class? Apparently, this school was filled with attractive people. Heh. No matter. He just had to make sure he would never forget her again. Now that would be mortifying, ignominious even.

“I was the red fox at the ball with the red and black dress. I was mixed up in that fight that broke out, well I helped stop it, but still. I thought I saw someone who looked somewhat like you walking over before it broke up? I assumed that person might have been coming over to help stop it… and if that were, in fact, the case I wanted to find that person and thank them for attempting to offer assistance.”

“Well, yeah, I do remember the fight,” he blinked a few times remembering the chaotic scene, “that was…certainly something. But pssh,” the Eagle waved his hand with a genuine smile, “no need to thank me for something like that. And in the end, I was no help at all! So…yeah. You are welcome, though. You have hunted me down just to say thank you, it would have been super impolite if I rejected it, wouldn’t it?”

Was that all? She could not have tracked him just to say thank you for a probable help, right? Help that he never gave in the first place. Did she need something from him? Pointers for study perchance? Or something else?

The dark-haired boy put down the pile of books from his left hand on the ground. His arm was getting tired already. Oh boy, he needed some exercise if he wanted to borrow even more tomes from the library. Then again, he could just “live” in the library, couldn’t he? Hmm... That was a fascinating idea.

“Is that it? Is there anything I can help you with?” Arc said while massaging his sore forearm.

His mistaking her for someone of his class didn’t bother her, but he apologized for it anyway. “Please think nothing of it. It is also nice to make your acquaintance.” He seemed to listen intently as she spoke about the ball and the fight that broke out, which lead her to see him heading their direction in the first place. When commented on the fight being something her eyebrows raised in a way that said You’re telling me.

“It’s the intent that matters. If it hadn’t broken up the way that it did, you would have helped. Hence the thank you.” She smiled up at him in a bit of an amusing way, knowing there was not much of a flaw in her own logic. If he could find one, she would be impressed. When he asked her if this was all she had hunted him down for, she seemed to think for just a moment before answering him. “Actually… Yeah, it was.” She hadn’t planned on being able to find him in the first place, let alone getting this far in conversation with the older student.

She did, however, notice that he had worn out his arms holding his books while she had prattled on. “I could help you carry some of your books if you want? Or at least as far as I am allowed to since it seems like I might have caught you headed back the Ravenclaw tower.” Santario seemed a little more awkward now before confidence exuded from her regardless of the odd feeling that seemed to radiate off of him. Now that she was in entirely unplanned territory, the fact that she wasn’t used to conversing with people her own age was evident.

@Arc Perscivious

Interacting with: @Santario Martin

“It’s the intent that matters,” said the blue-eyed girl. “If it hadn’t broken up the way that it did, you would have helped. Hence the thank you.”

He guessed that was true somewhat, so the young Eagle just nodded. The boy could argue that it was action that truly mattered. Even wizards with the worst intent would be seen as a saint if he only did good deeds and vice versa. Action was a much more objective gauge than intent. How could you truly know one’s real motive? But he left that unsaid.

She went quiet for a moment before answering his next question. “Actually… Yeah, it was.”

He did not expect that. That was very kind of her. And sort of silly…if it was true. To be honest, it was pretty hard to believe. And a more paranoid person would certainly come up with multiple “bad” explanations for why she would try to find him like so or they might just downright run away. The dark-haired boy knew one particular guy in Ravenclaw who undoubtedly would have done so. Fortunately, Arc was not one such person and he definitely would give Santario the benefit of the doubt.

“I could help you carry some of your books if you want?” Ah. Did she notice that his arm was tired of holding all the books? Not that he was hiding it or anything. “Or at least as far as I am allowed to since it seems like I might have caught you headed back the Ravenclaw tower.”

Arc blinked a few times before answering, “I, uh, I guess you could.” It was a generous offer, one that he would readily accept if he had known her better. But this girl was practically a stranger. Not that he did not trust her or anything. He did not find her a bother as well. In fact, he quite enjoyed her company. And she smelled really nice. Like a cookie. Or a cake. Whoops, what was he thinking? He was getting distracted again. Ehem. The Ravenclaw boy just did not want to burden someone he just met. On the other hand, would it hurt her feelings if he rejected her offer? Hmm…

He took one of the books titled “The Spider & The Cloud” and gave it to her. The book had an unassuming leather cover and was not particularly light or heavy among the four books he had been carrying. The scrawny kid then took the other three and lifted it with his two hands.

“I’m terribly sorry to bother you at our first meeting, Miss Martin. And I truly am grateful for your help,” said the boy, smiling gently. “You can accompany me to the Ravenclaw Tower if you want to, but feel free to tell me anytime if you got somewhere else to go, okay? I have inconvenience you enough already.”

As he was about to move, one pressing notion popped up in his head. “Ah, quick question, Miss Martin, this might be a weird one, but, um, did you not like feel bothered or creeped out to be around me?" Arc took a beat before elaborating, "I mean, like the lighting is wrong, or my shadow moves when you’re not looking, or the air feels cold and heavy… Ah, um, or something along that line?”

She was about to interject that if he would prefer, she didn’t that was fine with her as well, but then he spoke and handed her a book. She took the book delicately and respectfully. She traced over the words of the title with her slender fingers appreciating the leather cover, no matter how unassuming it was. Snake or not, she still appreciated a good book, especially when she hadn’t seen it before.

“Sure, I mean, I didn’t have anything else to do besides study today, and I prefer to do that around supper. The color of the common room is more soothing in the evening. Oh, and San is fine.” With the lighting being more enjoyable, fewer people milling about, and the occasional lake distraction through the windows from the nightlife fauna, it was perfect for her.

Just as it seemed that they were about to start walking, they didn’t as if the floor had turned into sticky paper, and he addressed her formally with an odd question, but not one that was unwarranted. In his pause, she just arched a brow at him curiously and waited for the elaboration to come. “Indeed, you are a walking contradiction.” Her eyes squinted up at him for only a moment before scanning over his facial features. “Your face is perfect, almost like a sculpture that you could find in a museum but untouched by the ravages of time. If I weren’t speaking to you, I’d probably be fighting the urge to poke your face to make sure you were real. That could be enough to creep some people out, but from you, I feel something extra. Some underlying feelings. Like an ice-cold hand slipping through my ribcage and grasping my heart.”

She swallowed and allowed for a breath. “I recognize the feeling as fear. It is a conflict. I do not have any logical reason to fear you. You have done nothing to me, never threatened me, and confirmed my suspicion of trying to help people who needed it. So I came to the decision that I cannot trust this feeling when I am around you until you prove otherwise. I may be a Slytherin, but failing to approach people and situations without logic is still foolish.” There were times were emotion did dictate Santario’s actions as was expected, but when she could, she tried to apply reason.

@Arc Perscivious