Teapot of Teatime
September 26th, 3:55pm
A stone oasis streaked by moss and climbing ivy, the courtyard read a bit like the Mirador Manor grounds, with its old chipped gargoyles and twisty, knotty trees. The sky was shrouded in ominous gray clouds, and a sharp, bitter wind howled throughout the courtyard. Leaves danced, picked up by playful currents and pushed upward in multicolored spirals. There was no one around; it was much too cold for that.
His spot was rather clever, he thought. Shielded from wind by one of the many artfully sculpted columns, it was hidden from many of the entrances. When there was no one around and he could afford to, a few puffs out of a cigarette could be obscured by the stonework.
The little watch atop his wrist ticked. Draven glanced at it. He'd been keeping an eye on the time, waiting for four pm to roll around. An odd-looking pot sat positioned rather precariously atop one of the broken stone walls.
He'd bought the little trinket on a whim. Perhaps, he should have properly read the parchment scrap that came attached to the handle, fastened in place with a sliver of ribbon. 'Will make tea at 4 pm daily', the paper said. It didn't come with instructions on how to prevent that from happening.
Draven regarded the pot curiously as it sat, motionless. It was an odd thing, a somewhat unpleasant shade of yellow ceramic with a lid shaped like a wizarding hat. 'Teapot of Teatime', the store had dubbed it, writing its name in a curly script on the bottom.
It made sense now why an enchanted teapot had come for a little under two galleons. It was cursed. A silly, mildly annoying curse that proved to produce really good tea.
Across the courtyard, nestled in one of the many stone crannies, sat the object of Draven's experiment. Exuding a casual charm, Alec Mason had been Draven's quiet neighbor for the better part of September. He knew the older boy by sight at first, and by name after a bit of searching. Once upon a time, he'd been able to recall a majority of the pureblood families from memory. That skill had vanished along with its relevance a couple of years before. It was duelling that finally allowed Draven to place the boy, a chance run-in with the Gryffindor team reminding him why he could recognize Alec.
It had taken Draven a while to work up the nerve.
It wasn't often he talked to people from out of houses - not by choice. Rather, circumstances kept his social circle small and Slytherin-centric. And that wasn't going to change if he continued to mope around like a wet towel.
And so there he was, with his old, dog-earred copy of Desperoux. And there Alec was, as usual, in his spot and holding on to a sketchbook. A nosy sort of curiosity had been nibbling away at Draven for the past couple days, when he'd noticed exactly how much effort Alec was putting into his sketches. Deimos, too, seemed to share Draven's nosiness.
The spider had given up any pretense of inching towards the boy, climbing atop the wall nearest his target and peaking at his drawings. It wasn't like the spider could hide all that well anyway - one tended to notice a bug the size of a baseball bat making its way toward them.
permission for light godmodding given
Last edited by Draven Mirador on 2 Oct 2025, 19:53, edited 1 time in total.
ITS STILL RAINING. WHY IS IT STILL RAINING? sta • 13 | eva • 8 | str • 1 | wis • 15 |arc • 7 | acc • 9 |
Teapot of Teatime
The courtyard was always less busy in the fall. It made for the perfect hideaway from all the chaos and noise within the walls of the castle. Out here all he could hear was the gentle sound of a cool breeze. In between the stone columns he was, for the most part, hidden from the wind. Of course every so often he’d forget why he was sitting where he was as he leaned forward to get a better look at the sketchbook in his hands. The wind would gently tousle his hair, brown curls blown in front of his face. He’d shake his head to get the hair out of his face, too focused to bother trying to tuck it behind his ear.
He would make a range of varied expressions as he drew, and he paused often, tilting his head to the side while peering at the sketchbook. He sat leaning against the stone with a relaxed posture, a leg pulled to his chest so he could steady his sketchbook on it. His satchel sat lopsidedly to the right of him. The older leather satchel was frayed at the edges and its once vibrant brown color was faded by the sun. The flap and straps of the bag in various pins the Gryffindor had hand-drawn, these too were clearly aged, the once bright colors faded by the sun. In his left hand was a charcoal pencil dangling in his loose grip.
He’d spent all of fall last year out in the courtyard, always in the same spot. It was the only semblance of a routine that he had the ability to maintain. He usually had the courtyard to himself, and when he didn’t he had his spot that didn’t make him immediately obvious to passerbys. Which is why it came as a surprise when he entered the courtyard early September and found that someone had also thought his spot was the perfect place for a break.
Alec didn’t let that interrupt his routine, rather he chose to sit opposite of the other, a respectable distance away from them while not also being so far that it could be construed as some sort of hidden insult. Each day he noticed Draven he was surprised by his consistency. Alec was apprehensive of his neighbor at first, the idea that his little hideaway wasn’t only his any more. With each day that passed came a quiet acceptance from Alec, and the development of a comfortable routine between the pair.
Alec had a vague sort of awareness of the person sitting opposite to him. Alec kept up with the current duelling roster even though his own duelling days were long behind him. Alec didn’t know much about Draven beyond the whisperings in the corridors about him being a decent duellist.
Draven sat with his spider and read while Alec sketched. These days Alec tended to spend his time sketching out memories, he drawn to having a physical reminder of important people and important moments. For a while now Alec had strayed from his usual forte, he’d been working on a sketch of Draven’s spider, an ode to his silent companion and his adorable eight-legged creature. It was normal for Alec to spend an unnecessarily long time revising his work, but he’d struggled from the beginning, he was used to drawing people, and something about spider proportions threw him off. Halfway through Alec had actually taken a break to draw his companion so his brain had a break to not actively think for a couple of days. Only in the last day or so had Alec finally come upon something he was mostly happy with. Now he was left trying to balance fixing little mistakes and knowing when to stop so as to not ruin the sketch entirely with his perfectionist tendencies.
Today Alec’s charcoal pencil did little but touch-ups and it hung lazily in his hand. Alec made a series of faces as he stared down the sketch with such intensity that one would almost believe he was having a staring contest with his sketchbook. The longer he stared the more he noticed and the more he considered starting over with a fresh page.
Alec sighed in a rather dramatic fashion and rested his chin on his hand. He was sure if he went out of his way to show it to anyone nobody would notice. But Alec could also tell something about it that was distinctly off the mark. He wasn’t sure how to fix it without starting anew, and there was no way he could let it be as it was because that would bother him for the rest of eternity and then some.
His period of reflection was interrupted by the fast skittering of something black past the corner of his field of vision. Alec instinctively lurched back startled by the sudden movement after having been focused on the sketch. There really wasn’t anywhere to go so Alec hit the back of his head on the stone behind him as he flinched back in surprise. He pursed his lips as he kept his expression even. He didn’t care about the pain, he was more-so confused, blinking he turned to get a better look at the… spider. Ah, the spider, okay, that made a lot more sense.
@Draven Mirador
He would make a range of varied expressions as he drew, and he paused often, tilting his head to the side while peering at the sketchbook. He sat leaning against the stone with a relaxed posture, a leg pulled to his chest so he could steady his sketchbook on it. His satchel sat lopsidedly to the right of him. The older leather satchel was frayed at the edges and its once vibrant brown color was faded by the sun. The flap and straps of the bag in various pins the Gryffindor had hand-drawn, these too were clearly aged, the once bright colors faded by the sun. In his left hand was a charcoal pencil dangling in his loose grip.
He’d spent all of fall last year out in the courtyard, always in the same spot. It was the only semblance of a routine that he had the ability to maintain. He usually had the courtyard to himself, and when he didn’t he had his spot that didn’t make him immediately obvious to passerbys. Which is why it came as a surprise when he entered the courtyard early September and found that someone had also thought his spot was the perfect place for a break.
Alec didn’t let that interrupt his routine, rather he chose to sit opposite of the other, a respectable distance away from them while not also being so far that it could be construed as some sort of hidden insult. Each day he noticed Draven he was surprised by his consistency. Alec was apprehensive of his neighbor at first, the idea that his little hideaway wasn’t only his any more. With each day that passed came a quiet acceptance from Alec, and the development of a comfortable routine between the pair.
Alec had a vague sort of awareness of the person sitting opposite to him. Alec kept up with the current duelling roster even though his own duelling days were long behind him. Alec didn’t know much about Draven beyond the whisperings in the corridors about him being a decent duellist.
Draven sat with his spider and read while Alec sketched. These days Alec tended to spend his time sketching out memories, he drawn to having a physical reminder of important people and important moments. For a while now Alec had strayed from his usual forte, he’d been working on a sketch of Draven’s spider, an ode to his silent companion and his adorable eight-legged creature. It was normal for Alec to spend an unnecessarily long time revising his work, but he’d struggled from the beginning, he was used to drawing people, and something about spider proportions threw him off. Halfway through Alec had actually taken a break to draw his companion so his brain had a break to not actively think for a couple of days. Only in the last day or so had Alec finally come upon something he was mostly happy with. Now he was left trying to balance fixing little mistakes and knowing when to stop so as to not ruin the sketch entirely with his perfectionist tendencies.
Today Alec’s charcoal pencil did little but touch-ups and it hung lazily in his hand. Alec made a series of faces as he stared down the sketch with such intensity that one would almost believe he was having a staring contest with his sketchbook. The longer he stared the more he noticed and the more he considered starting over with a fresh page.
Alec sighed in a rather dramatic fashion and rested his chin on his hand. He was sure if he went out of his way to show it to anyone nobody would notice. But Alec could also tell something about it that was distinctly off the mark. He wasn’t sure how to fix it without starting anew, and there was no way he could let it be as it was because that would bother him for the rest of eternity and then some.
His period of reflection was interrupted by the fast skittering of something black past the corner of his field of vision. Alec instinctively lurched back startled by the sudden movement after having been focused on the sketch. There really wasn’t anywhere to go so Alec hit the back of his head on the stone behind him as he flinched back in surprise. He pursed his lips as he kept his expression even. He didn’t care about the pain, he was more-so confused, blinking he turned to get a better look at the… spider. Ah, the spider, okay, that made a lot more sense.
@Draven Mirador
Teapot of Teatime
Right on time.
Draven grinned as the teapot before him gave a tiny musical chime, the low murmur of boiling water filling the courtyard. It was a different type of tea each day, and the pot seemed to enjoy showing off. Admittedly, the combinations were a little weird, but they always worked out in the end. Draven lifted the lid, peaking inside curiously.
The scent of freshly cut grass and strawberries wafted out, warm steam swirling out. Pink and green bubbles popped around him. Matcha? Looked like it. Delicious warmth spread through his frozen fingers as he poured the tea, careful not to spill.
His hands had been shakier than he would have liked to admit. Dropping things, breaking them. Luckily, a shattered glass or two wasn't the end of the world when you could mend them with a tap, but he didn't particularly enjoy being clumsy. Nor seeing Mr. Gladrag's worried face after the fifth time he'd stabbed himself with the seam ripper.
Getting up gingerly, Draven made his way across the courtyard. Deimos and Alec seemed to be having a moment, with the former nursing an injured head.
A soft 'tch' escaped the boy. "I told you to stop scaring people," he said, setting the cup down before Alec. The spider rolled all eight of its eyes, scurrying down the column next to them. For something that tiny, Deimos sure packed a lot of sass.
"Sorry about him," Draven gingerly picked up the spider, dropping it back in his hair. There, Deimos could glare at people without getting squished. The jungle of curls was the perfect hiding spot for him- kept him out of sight for the squeamish folks, and offered him a nice view. Nowadays, Draven towered over most students and even some of the teachers. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about it yet. He'd yet to surpass Abbadon, but the day seemed to be nearing.
"He loves people and doesn't know how to show it," Draven added, before the silence could get too long. From atop his nest of curls, Deimos crossed two legs in a very- teenage-like...fashion, seemingly miffled at the environmental change.
"It's cold. I'm having tea. I thought you could use some." Stealing a peek at the sketchbook covertly, Draven blinked. Alec was rather good. Clearly, the strange facial expressions he'd been pulling served some sort of purpose. Perhaps they helped him concentrate? Or perhaps he was just autistic? Draven supposed anything was possible.
Holding up his own cup, Draven took a sip. "I've been meaning to say hello. It's quite nice to have a neighbor out here."
@alec mason
ITS STILL RAINING. WHY IS IT STILL RAINING? sta • 13 | eva • 8 | str • 1 | wis • 15 |arc • 7 | acc • 9 |
Teapot of Teatime
Alec's attention shifted from the spider to the sound of the chime. His head darting towards Draven's direction in a mild sort of curiosity. The familiar sound of steam and boiling water echoing as it bounced off the stone walls of the courtyard. He cringed internally as he watch Draven's unsteady hands pour liquid into cups. The thought of Draven spilling the liquid made Alec uneasy, less worried for Draven and more about the possibility of his own reaction. Alec's chest seemed to tighten preemptively. He eyed the other his posture stiffening. Alec didn't know if he trusted Draven not to spill the cups with how shaky he looked, let alone for Draven not to accidentally spill the steaming liquid on himself on top of everything. He sat up straighter, eyes locked on Draven, watching to see if Draven's hands got any shakier. They did not and Draven made it across the courtyard without incident.
Gently scolding the spider, Draven set the cup down in front of Alec. Alec shifted to get a better look at the spider as he climbed down the column. It was a good opportunity to get a better look at Draven's spider. He wasn't scared of spiders or anything like that, he had a built in reflex for sudden movement, like a cat almost, but less graceful. Alec watched as the spider climbed down column- hold up, did the spider just roll its eyes? Was that even physically possible? Still, Alec had seen stranger things. Draven apologized about the spider as he picked him up, placing him into his hair.
"He loves people and doesn't know how to show it,"
Not ready to speak or even sure how to respond, but feeling like he needed to react in some way so he wasn't seen as rude or quiet, Alec hummed in agreement. He watched curiously as the spider found a place to burrow away within Draven's curls. The spider looked cute tucked away up there. Draven's spider was expressive in a way that reminded him of Cu Sith.
"It's cold. I'm having tea. I thought you could use some."
"Hm?" Alec blinked with sudden awareness of the cup beside him once more, "oh". His gaze flickered from Draven's hand to the cup, then back towards where Draven had left the teapot. His unreadable expression softened. It was a kind gesture. Thoughtful in a way that made Alec feel vaguely uncomfortable with the situation. Alec was usually the sort to randomly bring people tea, not the other way around. Foolishly, even though it had been set at his side he made the assumption it wasn't for him, maybe that was for his own ease of mind despite all evidence pointing otherwise. Did spiders even drink tea? Spiders didn't drink tea but somehow that made more sense than the idea that this drink was for him.
A vague thought of caution crossed his mind as he thought to all the drinks at balls and the like that had been unpredictable. He figured that this was safe though, besides, it would be worse for Alec to be taken as rude by not accepting than just chancing that it was laced with something.
He moved setting his sketchbook and charcoal pencil to the side. Alec seemed to hesitate for a moment, his fingers lingering near the edge of the cup before he finally picked it up. His fingers warmed as he held the cup with both hands. He lifted the cup towards his face, he inhaled taking in the familiar sweet and earthy smell that recognized almost instantaneously, he let out a quit almost imperceptible sigh a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "I..." Alec spoke his voice came out quiet and soft in a way he didn't expect, he paused, searching for a set of words he had thought to prepare beforehand, he settled on something simple, "thank you".
"I've been meaning to say hello. It's quite nice to have a neighbor out here."
"Ah, so you were lurking around waiting for the perfect moment to introduce yourself" Alec gently quipped. His eyes settled back onto younger teen before him. Now that he was closer Alec could better make out his features. Draven was pale and lean in a way that was vaguely reminiscent of the undead. He was tall and imposing in that sort of way that came off as unintentionally intimidating. He must have read him wrong because he'd assumed Draven wanted to be left alone, but here he was and with tea no less. He smirked, "Well, I'm glad that you finally decided to make your move. I was worried I'd have send a smoke signal to check for signs of life".
Alec wondered vaguely if Draven was just going to stand there the whole time, though the height difference from where Alec sat to glancing to Draven standing was almost entertaining. Alec nodded towards towards his sketchbook and then to Draven, "you're both pretty decent subjects," his words were silent permission for Draven to look through the sketchbook. Considering it was a new sketchbook, and literally all it had were Draven's spider, and Draven when Alec had taken a break from the spider, Alec wasn't concerned. The drawing of Draven's spider was for Draven anyway.
Both Draven and his spider made it easy enough for him to sketch them. During Alec's break from working the spider sketch he'd taken the time to sketch Draven. It was nice because both of them were just still enough that Alec could get detail down without it being a hassle. He didn't have to pay anyone in candy which was a bonus. Alec took a sip of the tea, "Draven, right? Don't you duel or something?" Alec asked, he wasn't sure if he was really interested in the question he was asking. He already knew the answer, maybe that was the point.
Gently scolding the spider, Draven set the cup down in front of Alec. Alec shifted to get a better look at the spider as he climbed down the column. It was a good opportunity to get a better look at Draven's spider. He wasn't scared of spiders or anything like that, he had a built in reflex for sudden movement, like a cat almost, but less graceful. Alec watched as the spider climbed down column- hold up, did the spider just roll its eyes? Was that even physically possible? Still, Alec had seen stranger things. Draven apologized about the spider as he picked him up, placing him into his hair.
"He loves people and doesn't know how to show it,"
Not ready to speak or even sure how to respond, but feeling like he needed to react in some way so he wasn't seen as rude or quiet, Alec hummed in agreement. He watched curiously as the spider found a place to burrow away within Draven's curls. The spider looked cute tucked away up there. Draven's spider was expressive in a way that reminded him of Cu Sith.
"It's cold. I'm having tea. I thought you could use some."
"Hm?" Alec blinked with sudden awareness of the cup beside him once more, "oh". His gaze flickered from Draven's hand to the cup, then back towards where Draven had left the teapot. His unreadable expression softened. It was a kind gesture. Thoughtful in a way that made Alec feel vaguely uncomfortable with the situation. Alec was usually the sort to randomly bring people tea, not the other way around. Foolishly, even though it had been set at his side he made the assumption it wasn't for him, maybe that was for his own ease of mind despite all evidence pointing otherwise. Did spiders even drink tea? Spiders didn't drink tea but somehow that made more sense than the idea that this drink was for him.
A vague thought of caution crossed his mind as he thought to all the drinks at balls and the like that had been unpredictable. He figured that this was safe though, besides, it would be worse for Alec to be taken as rude by not accepting than just chancing that it was laced with something.
He moved setting his sketchbook and charcoal pencil to the side. Alec seemed to hesitate for a moment, his fingers lingering near the edge of the cup before he finally picked it up. His fingers warmed as he held the cup with both hands. He lifted the cup towards his face, he inhaled taking in the familiar sweet and earthy smell that recognized almost instantaneously, he let out a quit almost imperceptible sigh a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "I..." Alec spoke his voice came out quiet and soft in a way he didn't expect, he paused, searching for a set of words he had thought to prepare beforehand, he settled on something simple, "thank you".
"I've been meaning to say hello. It's quite nice to have a neighbor out here."
"Ah, so you were lurking around waiting for the perfect moment to introduce yourself" Alec gently quipped. His eyes settled back onto younger teen before him. Now that he was closer Alec could better make out his features. Draven was pale and lean in a way that was vaguely reminiscent of the undead. He was tall and imposing in that sort of way that came off as unintentionally intimidating. He must have read him wrong because he'd assumed Draven wanted to be left alone, but here he was and with tea no less. He smirked, "Well, I'm glad that you finally decided to make your move. I was worried I'd have send a smoke signal to check for signs of life".
Alec wondered vaguely if Draven was just going to stand there the whole time, though the height difference from where Alec sat to glancing to Draven standing was almost entertaining. Alec nodded towards towards his sketchbook and then to Draven, "you're both pretty decent subjects," his words were silent permission for Draven to look through the sketchbook. Considering it was a new sketchbook, and literally all it had were Draven's spider, and Draven when Alec had taken a break from the spider, Alec wasn't concerned. The drawing of Draven's spider was for Draven anyway.
Both Draven and his spider made it easy enough for him to sketch them. During Alec's break from working the spider sketch he'd taken the time to sketch Draven. It was nice because both of them were just still enough that Alec could get detail down without it being a hassle. He didn't have to pay anyone in candy which was a bonus. Alec took a sip of the tea, "Draven, right? Don't you duel or something?" Alec asked, he wasn't sure if he was really interested in the question he was asking. He already knew the answer, maybe that was the point.