Birds of a feather
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.Raising a finger to his cheek, Odi brushed off a drop of water that had fallen to his face. He held his hand out from under the great wooden doors that led to the great hall, checking for signs of rain. Nothing. Either the rain was too light to even notice or the droplet had fallen from a gargoyle up on the parapets. Nonetheless, he decided it best not to risk it and made for the canopy under the walkway. A small group of girls sat on the windowsill of one of the arches, giggling as Odi passed them. He shot them a mirthful smirk and rolled his eyes, silently making note to learn their names later.
He ran a hand through his hair and trilled his lips. The attention he was receiving lately only seemed to be getting worse, and it was only going to be so long that he could dodge questions around his blood status at school.
Continuing down the pathway he looked back over his shoulder, making a note of the time. He was going to be late for Care of Magical Creatures at this rate, but it didn’t seem to hasten his pace. If anything it was just going to be a good excuse to test the boundaries of the professor and see what he could get away with now that he was starting to gain a little more prowess in the art of manipulation. He liked professor Toussaint well enough from the little he had seen of him, but he had yet to really test the patience of the teacher in any tangible way heretofore.
@Alphonse Toussaint
Mentioning: @Akeem Toussaint
Birds of a feather
♕- Afternoon of Sept. 3rd, 2025 | Courtyard, Hogwarts -♕
His unhurried stride remained one that announced itself long before his words graced empty air.
Each step from Alphonse was surefooted, proud, deliberate, and reeking of boyish insouciance—the gait of one completely confident. The newly-dubbed Gryffindor exuded only absolute surety despite not having a damned clue of where his long legs trekked through the maze that was Hogwarts. His mother had done her part by touring both Alphonse and Isadora through the castle following their Sorting ceremony, but his memory betrayed his mind with the exhilaration of it all. Not to mention the attention that being the first international transferee that Hogwarts had ever received—Alphonse devoured the attention that accompanied the status like a lifeline. It was a distraction, of course, but only the boy reveled in no less.
If Alphonse intended to do anything amid his time at Hogwarts, it would be to bask and stoke the flames of this newfound "fame". A smirk on his face, his uniform pristinely pressed and posture never slouched; surely no one would guess that the Gryffindor was lost in his travels to Care of Magical Creatures. It likely would be a matter of time before the facade faded and someone took notice of the Toussaint boy who had been absentmindedly searching hall after hall for his tio Akeem's class for gods knew how long.
The bulwark's trek continued onwards until his ears heard a gaggle of girls chattering nearby, but before Alphonse could see them, his shoulder had already collided with another—a boy about his age with a crop of well-groomed white-blonde hair. It didn't take much effort to notice maintenance of appearances and garb. Something Alphonse would have respected— and to an extent, did—but such details were amiss after their collision that led his expensive reading glasses to unhook from his collar and clatter across the cobblestone.
“Qual foi, mano?” He drawled, dry amusement and challenge dripping in his tone, "Olha por onde anda, no?" What's up, bro? You don't watch where you're going, do you?——interacting. @Odilon Wilde
——notes. mentioning @Akeem Toussaint
Remedy.
Birds of a feather
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.Looking back over his shoulder, Odi hardly even noticed himself straying into someone else's path. There was a quiet thud as the fabric of their robes collided followed by the skittering of glasses across the cobbles.“Qual foi mano?” The other boy said. "Olha por onde anda no?" Odi paused, momentarily taken aback by the switch in language. This wasn't exactly a homogenous school, but most of the student body's first language was English.
And that wasn't all that gave him pause. There was something distinctly recognisable in the boy that Odi couldn't quite put his finger on. As though he were looking in some kind of distorted mirror. Their appearances were wildly contrary on most fronts, but Odi couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity he got when he was looking at him. They were about the same height (though the stranger might have been slightly taller, if Odi's ego would admit it) and they both had dark eyes, but that was where the physical similarities ended.
Odi's gaze fell upon the glasses that had tumbled to the floor in the blow. "Oh my bad." He said, handing them back to him. “Español?” Odi ventured “Hables Inglés?” He silently hoped that his basic grasp of Spanish would be enough to get the message across, but the suspicion was now growing on him that the boy may have been speaking Portuguese.
"Spanish?" "Do you speak English?"
@Alphonse Toussaint
Last edited by Odilon Wilde on 30 Sep 2025, 07:56, edited 2 times in total.
Birds of a feather
♕- Afternoon of Sept. 3rd, 2025 | Courtyard, Hogwarts -♕
Of all the things Alphose had anticipated upon the collision between lions, a gesture of kindness was last up; it appeared that this Gryffindor wasn't among the "British posh pricks" as Professor @Makaio Kāne so eloquently put it on his first day of Hogwarts.
Speaking in his second language of Portuguese was among Alphonse's arsenal of defense mechanisms—as the Toussaint progent frequently said "he doesn't speak English to assholes," it provided the Castelobruxo expulsé the opportunity to say exactly what was on his mind. With only a select few familiar with the language, the lion-boy had gotten away with slinging curses left and right to peers and some professors alike thus far.
Yet, such teeth-baring measures wouldn't be bode well here after the white-haired boy kindly retrieved his glasses from the ground.
The glossy metal had been scuffed slightly from the fall and the lens scratched, but nothing a quick spell wouldn't fix. He'd worry about it later as the newly-dubbed Gryffindor's mind was too warped on the individual in front of him. Surely sorted in the same house, but that was only one of the surface-level similarities. There was a familiarness in the white-haired boy's gaze that Alphonse couldn't place—the pair had not yet shared a class together or faced off in the pitch during unofficial summer games, as far as his knowledge provided, but the Caribbean-bred boy couldn't shake the notion.
It was as if looking at alternate version of himself—completely opposite in appearance, yet something unmistakably distinguishable. Could it be so that the white-haired individual seemingly carried a similar notoriety that was attached Alphonse's own name? A shared hunger for more—a disatisfaction with mediocrity? It made the Toussaint boy further curious of his ilk as well as what kind of wand choose him, if Alphonse dared venture down that wand-lore rabbit-hole.
The search for Care of Magical Creatures was not completely lost upon the Gryffindor, but his fascination had been far too piqued to care about timeliness.
"I speak Spanish too, and thank you," Alphonse replied evenly with a distinct accent to answer his question. A quick onceover to examine the designer glasses was done before sliding them gingerly into his cloak's pocket, then bestowed a kindhearted smirk, "Have we met before? Summer camp?"——interacting. @Odilon Wilde
——notes. ---
Remedy.
Birds of a feather
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.Two pairs of brown eyes - the one quality both these faces shared - met for a fleeting moment of hostility, and then all at once it seemed to have gone. Instead replaced with an immediate comfortability that Odi rarely felt around his peers at school.
“I speak Spanish too.” The other boy said. “Thank you.” Odi gave a light nod in response. The typical gesture of gruff respect he had become accustomed to giving blokes his age. He noticed the shift in the other boy as well. There seemed to be a tension that was lifted as his glasses were handed back to him. A look of recognition. Odi opened his mouth to speak, but before he could even get the words out the opposing boy had already spoke. "Have we met before? Summer camp?"
There was an infinitesimal shift that registered on Odi’s face at the words. In truth, his own summer had consisted of a heavy social calendar comprising afternoon teas, soirees, and other little get-togethers organised by his parents in order to encourage Odi to make friends. His wilful academic laziness the previous year had drawn their concern to such a degree that the summer had felt like a prison sentence under their watchful gaze. He silently wished he had signed up for something as relaxed as summer camp, particularly when this fellow - a kindred spirit by how it appeared- seemed to have attended himself.
“I don’t think so.” Odi replied, brushing off the thought. “My summer was spent cooped up indoors for the most part. Maybe I’ve seen you at a quidditch game or…?” His gaze scanned up and down, seemingly analysing the other boys athletic prowess. He certainly -looked- like he’d make a fine player.
Then at last the realisation dawned on him.“Oh wait, you’re the transfer student aren’t you?” He kept his voice at a tame decibel in case the revelation might draw more titters from the girls by the archways. Now that he’d said it, he didn’t know how he hadn’t seen the family resemblance sooner. “The Toussaint lad? We’re meant to be in Care of Magical Creatures with your uncle.” He indicated with his lips towards the stables. “I was planning on bunking off mind, but I’m getting ahead of myself.” He offered his hand to be shaken- or dapped up, depending on how informal this interaction was going to go from here. “I’m Odi Wilde, of the London Wildes.”
@Alphonse Toussaint
Birds of a feather
♕- Afternoon of Sept. 3rd, 2025 | Courtyard, Hogwarts -♕
Odi Wilde, of the London Wildes—the white-haired lion's words were smooth and formal, and had Alphonse not sown a seed of interest in this "Odi," the newly-dubbed Gryffindor would assume him to be just another pratpretentious asshole.
The dab came naturally—informal and smooth—as if they were of the same flock and absent of rigid social rules and hierarchies that appeared to be a trend among the supercilious student body. "Alphonse," he replied in turn, "Gossip must be full of that sazón. You know plenty about me already." A jestful smirk played at the corner of Alphonse's lips, and he couldn't help but silently ponder what information regarding the Haitian's past exploits was currying Hogwarts' interest. Between Castelobruxo and Ilvermorny, there were plenty of stories to be gleaned from word of mouth, not that Alphonse minded.
At the mention of Alphonse's uncle, the boy sighed wearily inside—this doom would eventually befall him one day or another, though the boy could only pray to the gods to delay the inevitable reunion between uncle and nephew just a little longer.
"Right," Alphonse drawled with equal parts dry amusement and defensiveness, "My uncle; Care of Magical Creatures." His dark gaze scoured about the Courtyard for head or tail of any faculty before returning his sights to Odi: "What does this 'bunking off' mean, eh? My English is..." The words from Alphonse were clipped with a dismissive, almost apologetic gesture of his hand before adding "Do we really want to go?"
Between the Haitian wizard's words and raised brow in subtle challenge, the silent, underlying proposition was laid bare before Odilon's feet. The hook was baited, and internally Alphonse prayed that it was surely enough to snag a catch. A subtle lean forward to the equally tall lion, and Alphonse entered proximity in time to speak another line more: "I don't know if you're like me—carry your broom in your backpack, but I say we go find some better to do."——interacting. @Odilon Wilde
——notes. ---
Remedy.
Birds of a feather
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.Odi laughed heartily at the other boy's comment. “Well, I’ll admit word travels fast around here.” He bristled slightly, remembering his own brushes with infamy. “But I think being the new kid with a blank slate is a more favourable position to start from. It’s good to meet you Alphonse.”
He chuckled once again at the miscommunication, and it took him a second to think of a word that didn’t involve slang. “Skiving, uh… Ditching?” A wry grin on his face as the other boy took the words right out of his mouth.
“Do we really want to go?” Alphonse’s eyebrow raised fiendishly as he made the suggestion. It was clear that the two of them had similar objectives though their conveyance would likely still take some work.
Subtly leaning in, Alphonse bore a conspiratorial sort of look as he suggested their next course of action. Odi inclined inwards himself to get a better listen as the other boy spoke. "I don't know if you're like me—carry your broom in your backpack, but I say we go find some better to do."
“I’m not at all like you!” A look of faux-horror filled Odi’s expression, only to be replaced a second later by one of mirthful glee at the tease. “I keep mine by my window. Accio Cleansweep!” He flung his arm out of his pocket to reveal his blackthorn wand, pointing it out over the parapets towards the Gryffindor tower. There was a brief moment of anticlimax before a soft whooshing sound in the distance began to grow. From a small dot in the periphery, the sight of a lone broomstick rushing towards the courtyard turned a few heads momentarily. Though really, it wasn’t all that noteworthy at a school like this. Odi switched his wand to his other hand and let his outer hand catch his broomstick as it glided into his reach.
It was a well-maintained instrument, glossy and waxed lovingly and at regular intervals. He raised his eyebrows at Alphonse. “Lead the way, mano.” The last word dripped with playfulness, but there was an ease with which Odi pronounced it that told Alphonse he was actually putting in effort. A small gesture towards easing the language barrier.
@Alphonse Toussaint