The Star-Seeker’s Complaint
| C | date: 2/9/2025 location: Library |
abilities: lovely creature dialogue: #0a2a28 mentioned: @Damien Dragonclaw |
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| CV | Seemingly prepared for anything, Damien did not only carry around the whole library in his bag, but his art as well. It struck him as odd behavior, imagining the boy carrying it around, waiting for any moment when someone showed an ounce of interest to prove his presumed talents that – not yet, but one day– would hang in art galleries. Camille’s question hadn’t come from a place of genuine interest, just superiority and petty skeptisicm that Damien had what it takes. A bait to fail, if anything. Bewildered to have a copy suddenly in front of him, Camille looked at the watercolor painting with furrowed brows. A smaller composition of a lakeside, vaguely resembling the dark pool of disgusting sea creatures he’d been shipped across on his arrival night. It had been dark at the time, but the resemblance was similar enough that he scowled at the horrible memory of the jolly and omnious depths beneath. Motive aside, it wasn’t terrible. Certainly above the average thirteen year olds skills and then some, but also not living up to Michelangelos work. Though, that would have been an unfair comparison to start with. Since it was in front of him, he might as well critique him. Passing judgement was one of his many talents, after all. He did claim that his “extravagant” paintings were left back home, supposedly Camille would never get the opportunity to judge them. While still examining the painting, he heard Damien say that their family bought both copies at the auction. Now, wasn’t that convenient, he thought bitterly. “It’s not too shabby, considering you can't be older than thirteen.” The painting, that was. “The lake, right? I think I recognise that tree.” He gestured vaguely to some random that he definitely hadn’t paid any attention to back then. “It’s a nice touch. Very… decorative.” His only concern had been to not tumble out of that boat. It was only a backhanded observation to avoid giving him any credible compliments. He didn’t want Damien to think he was impressed. That would be giving him far too much credit, on top of owning the two only copies of that damned book. Camille tried to tell himself he didn’t care, though some part of him begrudged him for something Camille had no access to or couldn’t buy himself the access to. Granted, if he wanted to buy something, he had all the resources avaliable to do whatever the hell he wanted. The problem was sinking to a new low by asking Damien for it. “Both? That’s ambitious. I suppose one had to collect dust in a corner while the other got displayed.” Most would not even read one. Tucking the book he came for in the first place under his arm, before this became a long-ranted detour, Camille prepared for his departure. “I suppose if you ever get bored of one, or need to make some space for other, single edition books-” Camille stopped himself from rolling his eyes, “-I would offer to take it off your hands.” He said like it was simply a second thought. |
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Ilias Lahlou | Ilvermorny
The Star-Seeker’s Complaint
Made by the amazing Prat Pass
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Damien thought he was pretty lucky that he didn’t take that painting out of bag as normally he would have but he was trying to debate if he was going to add anything else to it but he ultimately defied that it was finished for now. He looked at Camille wondering what was going on in that mind of his, he knew he couldn’t be impressed as Damien didn’t think he had a bone in his body that could be impressed and if he did he was good at hiding it. Damien just sat there in silence as he didn’t know what to say while he waited for Camille to say his opinion on the painting, suddenly his eyes widen as he heard Camille speak. It’s not too shabby considering you can’t be older than thirteen was the word that came out of Camille mouth and to say Damien was shocked to say the least was something. Of course it wouldn’t be too good plus he didn’t even have all of his more expensive materials that he usually used when or came to painting but he couldn’t tell if Camille we complimenting him or not. “W-was that…a compliment ?” He asked in complete shock but almost on a teasing manner as he hadn’t expected Camille to say anything nice at all. “That one isn’t my best one though as those are at my manor” He said softly as he figured he probably would have thought that was a fair as Damien abilities went to. He nodded his head smiling as it was the Great Lake he was surprised that Camille even recognize it but then he remembered it was still his first year and they rode on boats to get to the Great Lake so it would still be fresh in his memory. “Yeah! And oh yeah that’s right you rode on the boats to the castle!” Damien just chuckled as Camille seemed maybe shocked he wanted to assume he was shocked that Damien owned both books but to be honest the other one was kept in a protected area so it didn’t collect dust or get damaged by anything. “Oh it isn’t collecting dust we kept it in a glass container to keep it safe” He said smiling at him as he was proud about all the books in good condition in the study. His eyes widen as the way Camille spoke made it sound like he was..envious like he wanted the book but didn’t wanna ask Damien for it. He figured he could test the waters a little bit by acting a little dumb. “Oh!..would you like it Camille ?” He asked curiously. |
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| IC date: 2nd of September | Interactions: @Camille De Varenne |
| English: #0056d6 | Thoughts: Italics |
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The Star-Seeker’s Complaint
| C | date: 2/9/2025 location: Library |
abilities: lovely creature dialogue: #0a2a28 mentioned: @Damien Dragonclaw |
C |
| CV | Compliments were not a currency Camille spent lightly. On the rare occasions he did, the recipient was almost always a girl with something extra—beauty, status, or some ineffable charm that could reflect well on him. A certain amount of class and sophistication was required for him to be considered impressed by anything; cuisine, fashion and art especially were subject to this kind of scrutiny. Damien’s depiction of the lake, while competent enough, was hardly the sort of work he would frame on any wall in his estates. None of them. And yet, hearing anything even vaguely positive triggered a reaction of baffled delight. Damien looked shocked, disgustingly cheerful at the so-called “compliment,” and then, as if to prove the point, gloated a little, reminding Camille that this was far from his best work. The rest— locked away somewhere in Damien’s manor— could very well have been fabricated entirely. Could any old hut be called a manor these days? For Damien’s sake, Camille hoped it was. “Sure…” Camille drawled with bemused awkwardness when his words, once again, was being twisted into something they were not. In this case it was nothing of severe consequences, except Damien getting the impression that the younger Ravenclaw might not be as icy as he might have thought. He was not. Perhaps Damien was simply that naive, thinking anything coming out of Camille’s mouth was coming from a place of sincerity. Compliment was not the word he would have used to describe his feedback; his intentions had been backhanded, undermining rather than uplifting, but he decided that it was not a fight worth taking. Let Damien believe what he wants, Camille couldn’t imagine what difference it would make in the grand scale of things. Resigned and dismissive, he have him a vague hand gesture that looked as if he was merely swatting away an annoying bug. “If you want to call it that.” His point was completely glossed over; the book wasn’t collecting dust outside, it was kept it a glass container, as if the literal mention of dust was what made the point. Regardless of its container, Camille’s point still stood: hardly no none had time to read one book, so who would ever touch a second one, let alone let it “collect dust” in the safe? The dust, real or imagined, was entirely beside the point. Hypocritically, since he was not the most avid reader himself, but at least he restricted himself to only one copy of his expensive collectors editions. “It was just a metaphor,” Camille had to clarify with an impatient sigh. “I merely meant-” he abruptly changed his mind, finding having to explain himself a complete waste of his time. “-Actually, nevermind. I’m sure you know what you’re doing, locking your books away.” Speaking of the book, it sounded suspiciously like Damien was trying to trick him into begging for the second copy of the book, acting as if he was generously about to hand it over. Not over his dead body, would he sink that low as to beg. He shrugged with cool nonchalance. "If you're planning on handing it out, just like that, then fine. Yes. Do I need it? No. I don't need anything." Anything except his own bedroom, for Lorenzo to finally get out of his sight—but certainly not a book, and most definitely not one from Damien Dragonclaw. Conveniently, he remembered the actual reason he had come here in the first place. He nodded toward the volume tucked under his arm. "Except this, apparently. Which reminds me..." The boy rolled impatiently on the balls of his feet. "I better get going. The report won't write itself." |
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Ilias Lahlou | Ilvermorny
The Star-Seeker’s Complaint
Made by the amazing Matthew Campbell
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Damien couldn’t help tease Camille a little bit as he found it funny but it clearly didn’t work so he just smiled and handed him the book. “Here I’ve read the other one as well as it would be pointless to keep both so here you can have it” He handed him the book while smiling before looking at him. He figured that the book would be in better hands with Camille as he didn’t need two of the same books that would just be wasteful. “I have no doubt that you’ll take care of the book” He smiled as he thought about what his father would probably say about him giving away the book. He figured his father wouldn’t care much as he normally didn’t care what Damien did with his books as long as it didn’t effect him so he figured that it wouldn’t be a big deal plus it wasn’t going to be like his father would notice that the book was missing so he felt it wouldn’t matter much. He looked outside and noticed that it was getting late so he probably should leave the library soon and head back to the Ravenclaw common room. “Yeah I should head back too to work on a few things.” He said smiling before grabbing his bag and looking over at Camille. “I hope the book helps you with your report” He said smiling before waving goodbye and walking off back to Ravenclaw tower as he hopped Camille did good on his astronomy report as he didn’t want him to fail and it reflect badly on Damien due to him using his book. |
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| IC date: 2nd of September | Interactions: @Camille De Varenne |
| English: #0056d6 | Thoughts: Italics |
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The Star-Seeker’s Complaint
| C | date: 2/9/2025 location: Library |
abilities: lovely creature dialogue: #0a2a28 mentioned: @Damien Dragonclaw |
C |
| CV | While he was used to getting things for free for simply being the person that he was, Camille had not expected Damien, after he’d— tried to— casually planted the seed about the book, to willingly hand it over. Just like that. In exchange for a payment, at least that would have been reasonable and made sense; the French boy would have been happy to pay, of course, if a price had been stated. Blinking, Camille glanced down at the red-covered, embellished book offered in front of him, then up at Damien’s eyes, wide with bewilderment. He didn’t immediately accept it, even though he fully intended to, mostly because he wanted to first gauge whether the older boy was trying to play him for a fool, before he actually made a fool out of himself. No one, except apparently the selfless Ravenclaw, would offer something so valuable—a special edition book—for free, and even less so to a stranger, though admittedly he was hardly just any stranger; perhaps ordering him around as if he were important was enough to showcase that he indeed was. Camille was undecided whether it made him stupidly gullible, or admirably generous and kind. Perhaps both, though he expressed neither. After conversing with him for nearly twenty minutes or more however, Camille had gathered himself a good enough picture of Damien to know, or at least suspect, that the boy didn’t possess a single bone in his body that was able to play cruel games with people. Not willingly, compared to the French aristocrat, who had made quite a sport out of manipulating people as he wished, to his own benefit. Cruel sometimes, undeniably, but a behavior shaped by circumstance, not by any inherent malice. It was, after years of having to thread the thin line with his father, a way for him to protect his own peace. When he didn’t pull the book away or burst into malicious laughter, reluctantly, Camille reached out to accept the object of his current desires. He tucked it in under his arm together with the other book, for safe-keeping. “Thank you. That's very kind of you to offer,” he said, still skeptical of this uncalled for generosity, but the little smile hiding in the corner of his mouth, able to be spotted if you looked closely enough, was enough to betray the portrayed indifference. “I will.” His own books were in no less than excellent shape, though his own love for books was far from rivaling the older Ravenclaw’s passions for flashy hardcovers. That it still came without a price was unfathomable to him, but it would be foolish to question it when Damien seemed intent on giving him everything he wanted. First the astronomy book— though he hadn’t had much choice in that matter— and now this. Unbeknownst to Damien, he’d just made Camille’s second day of school a little less terrible. Wishing him good luck with his astronomy report, and that the book would be of help, Damien said goodbye. “I hope so too. Have a pleasant evening… doing whatever things you have for plans.” He returned his smile, and nodded at the other's wave when he left the library. Technically he had everything he'd came for, but he stood around, lingering for a minute or so in his solitude, still contemplating what the fuck just happened. The interaction hadn’t just left him with two books—it had left him with a pile of questions, most of them circling around one mystery: why, and how, Damien had gone out of his way to be genuinely nice to him. With the book in his possession, Camille concluded that it was no use in dwelling on it. The risk of Damien coming running back to demand him to give the book back was probably not very plausible, rationalizing it allowed him to let it go for now. What remained now, except for another night fighting his demons in the dorm, was an astronomy report. |
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Ilias Lahlou | Ilvermorny