building up brick by brick PV

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interactions @Oakley Broode
word count 440 | text colour #274E13
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Considering how early it was, the library was almost completely still in its silence, broken only by the light beating of wind outside the windows and- parchment? The noise would have not been very out-of-context if it was not paired with an aggressive tear of paper being recklessly torn open. Attention grabbed, Astrea shifted her positioning subtly to watch what was happening, posture completely unchanged and face impassive if not for a pair of intrigued silvery eyes straying from the half-read book she clutched in one hand. Inky strands of hair partially hid her face from the world, spilling over the sweater Astrea wore as if the Styx River had been ripped from the underworld and dragged into the family genetic pool.

There was another person seated some ways away, a boy with a poofy bush of chocolate hair and fleeting umber eyes, hunched over what she supposed was the paper-wrapped item the blueblood had heard just a few seconds prior. Strangely, the revealed box was shiny and bold in design, with a blocky logo of the word LEGO stamped upon it, plastic bags of miniature bricks trapped inside sliding out with a dull thud as the bush-boy shook out the package. An equally shiny booklet with the same garish picture came tumbling in quick succession, only to be pushed to the side as the unusual male- most likely coming from Sparkless blood, or at least under plenty of influence from muggle culture- began to rip open the bags to allow colourful blocks with awkward circular protrusions to tumble out with sharp clacks against the fine wood.

The other started to align the pieces in some sort of a pattern, clearly with some sort of intent driving the action- though Astrea hadn't a single clue what the point of the strange endeavour was- before the brunette suddenly stopped abruptly, body tensing slightly at something.

Ah, he must have felt her stare. No matter. Astrea flicked her eyes back to the book just as he whirled around as if nothing had happened, flipping the page and tilting her head up slightly as if reading the first few lines of the page.

'The sea had jeeringly kept his finite body up but drowned the infinite of his soul. Not drowned entirely, though. Rather carried down alive to wondrous depths, where strange shapes of the unwarped primal world glided to and fro before his passive eyes; and the miser-merman, Wisdom, revealed his hoarded heaps; and among the joyous, heartless, ever-juvenile eternities, Pip saw the multitudinous-'

The time to approach him was not now. She would have to wait just a tad longer.

Shh.

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Interaction with @Astrea Soleil Neptune
Word Count: 323
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...And saw nothing. Strange. He was positive he felt something peculiar...that gut feeling of knowing that someones watching you...
Whatever... It was probably another nosy student. His time at Hogwarts had taught him that everyone was always up to something, and usually those 'somethings' consisted of snooping on one's private business. He had nothing to hide. This was a perfectly normal activity for perfectly normal teenagers to participate in.
Oakley turned back to his neatly organized pile of LEGOs. He grabbed the instruction sheet from where he had set it aside, and lay it open before him. He carefully counted the pieces laid out according to the instruction book, making sure he wasn't missing anything. After all, there was no point in starting these if you had to stop halfway and report a missing piece, then wait for them to ship you one measly piece of plastic from the other side of the globe. The wait was antagonizing. The unfinished work would mock you from your table every second of the day until that piece arrived. He had learnt this lesson many a time when we has younger. Never again.
One, two, three, four, five... Huh. He was missing a piece. There were supposed to be six black two by fours. He counted the pieces one more time, just to make sure that he hadn't skipped over it. He checked under the table, and in the other piles, on the floor, or in his pocket. He even looked through the now empty plastic bags the LEGOs came in. His search was fruitless. The LEGO company had disappointed Oakley yet again. Letting out a deep sigh that seemed to hold all of the defeat in the world, he pulled out a large paper bag and started sweeping all of the sorted pieces off the table and inside the bag. He's have to owl his parents to have that last LEGO brick sent to him.

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interactions @Oakley Broode
wand ref here
word count 411 | text colour #274E13
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From her peripheral vision, Astrea practically felt the boy's sweeping gaze trying to pinpoint who was watching him, mentally constructing a picture of suspicious eyes and a puzzled expression stretching at the Sparkless-bound's pale face. A swish of ruffling hair sounded to her right, signalling his dismissal and Astrea turned her head once more to observe his peculiar actions undetected.

Thick tendrils of hair sliced at her field of sight, the black strands highlighted a deep auburn by the morning sun spilling through high gothic windows that decorated the walls. Yet the shufflings of the brunet were just as clear as they could be without Astrea's hair surrounding her face, from the slow and deliberate pointing to every block of shiny plastic to how he was hunched over a manual of some sort laid out upon the desk.

A flash of reflecting black caught the Slytherin's eye from the floor, a dark block sitting innocently off to the side and identical to the ones that were being counted on the table. She hesitated for a second, eyes flickering side to side around the entirety of the library she could see if anyone was watching her. The very early hour had seen many a student and staff still snoozing inside of their respective dormitories and the children that did visit Hogwarts Library at 7 AM on a free day were stressfully preoccupied with their activities.

Certain that no other was watching her with the same intensity that Astrea watched the strange boy's fallen brick, the ravenette shook out the hair blocking her face and pulled out her wand from her right sleeve, jerking the cherry-wood stick toward the boy with a purpose. Her copy of Moby Dick was closed and placed delicately upon the hardwood table simultaneously.

"Windgardium Leviosa." The phrase was muttered under her breath, a familiar charm that lay familiar upon her tongue. The obedient shiny brick lifted from the floor and began to drift toward Astrea lazily with the slow instruction of her wand before the blueblood took it from the air, her heels clicking lowly as she slid from her high seat and onto the hardwood floor. The object was hard and surprisingly cold in her hand.

The Neptune-Chou heiress crossed the distance carefully with the block clasped in her right hand and wand in left, only to stop a few feet behind where the boy sat with his packed bricks.

"Good day. Does this belong to you?"

Action: Used Wingardium Leviosa

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Interaction with @Astrea Soleil Neptune
Word Count: 220
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Unaware of the Slytherin walking up behind him, Oakley stayed seated. He really didn't have th motivation to move. Out of nowhere, a kind voice cut through the disappointing silence.
"Good day. Does this belong to you?"
Startled, Oakley jumped up in his chair, knocking the bag to the floor. It fell with a loud rattle, the sound almost comically loud in the silent library. Oakley flushed with embarrassment and bent down to pick up the bag of Legos. He gently placed it back on the table, the bricks inside rattling from the slightest movement.
He glanced at the little black brick in Astrea's hand, held out in offering. His eyes lit up like stars at the sight of his missing piece. He could work on the set again! Of corse, everything would have to be reorganized... But that was something he could focus on later. Right now, all he needed to do was thank the kind Slytherin.
"Oh! you found it!" he exclaimed happily, "I was looking everywhere for that brick! Where was it?"
Oakley then smacked his forehead, mentally berating himself.
"Gosh, I'm sorry, where are my manners?" He held out his hand in greeting, "Hi, my name is Oakley, thank you for finding my Lego piece. Though I must say, I'm surprised i didn't notice you before."

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interactions @Oakley Broode
outfit ref here
word count 344 | text colour #274E13l
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The boy startled suddenly, the newly-repacked bag of bricks clattering to the floor at the jolt with a jarring noise that grated at Astrea's ears. From where she was behind the brunet, she could see his ears lighting up like a newly birthed candleflame before he had bent down to retrieve the fallen items.

A drop of black dread tainted Astrea's confidence at the reaction, her hold on the lost piece tightening slightly and a spark of disappointment blooming in her chest. Had she been too direct? Or perhaps the natural aura of general- general uneasiness, to say the least- had rubbed in too quickly. The blueblood briefly considered merely slipping the shiny material on the table before taking her leave before the Sparkless-made turned around.

"Oh! you found it!" The male exclaimed, eyes brightening up with obvious gleeful relief. "I was looking everywhere for that brick! Where was it?" She hadn't the chance to speak before he had facepalmed and held out a hand in greeting. "Gosh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? Hi, my name is Oakley, thank you for finding my Lego piece. Though I must say, I'm surprised I didn't notice you before."

A slight smile of courtesy found itself playing along Astrea's lips as she switched the 'lego piece' to the hand still clutching at her wand and went for the handshake, grip firm and secure from a background of endless etiquette lessons. "Astrea, pleased to make your acquaintance." She retracted her hand that perhaps would have seemed a bit hasty after her greetings, tucked back into her bubble of invisible boundaries.

"The 'lego' brick was just there, a bit behind the leg of your chair." Her tongue felt strange over the Sparkless word, stilted syllables mashed together in an awkward manner.

"Many don't realize my presence unless I make it so, it's preferred. Though I believe that these would have provided some clue." She gestured down toward her boots with a few deliberately loud steps in place, her aristocratically pleasant tone marked with a lilt of friendly teasing.

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Interaction with @Astrea Soleil Neptune
Word Count: 220
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The elegant girl reached out to Oakley's proffered hand and shook it. Her grip was firm, and it showcased her confidence. "Astrea, pleased to make your acquaintance." She let go rather quickly. Had he done something wrong?
"The Lego brick was just there, a bit behind the leg of your chair." Astrea spoke the brand awkwardly, an unfamiliar term. He guessed that she was a pureblood, ignorant of the muggle world of corporations and plastic bricks. At least, that what it seemed. She could have been a really sheltered halfblood or muggleborn.
"Many don't realize my presence unless I make it so, it's preferred. Though I believe that these would have provided some clue." She motioned towards her boots, her voice pleasant and smooth.
What? Did that mean? He was confused, bewildered, and perplexed. Was this a sort of inside joke that was unknown only to Oakley? Was this secret code for something that she didn't want anyone to know? They were very well made boots though, high soled and sturdy.
He scratched his head. "Those are... nice boots?" He said slowly. He felt coarse and awkward in front of the aristocratic girl. What was he doing!? He wrung his hands, he still hadn't gotten his lego brick back yet. She was still holding it in her other hand, he could see the black piece peeking from Astrea's closed fist.

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interactions @Oakley Broode
word count 314 | text colour #274E13l
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Oakley's expression twisted in confusion as the low echoing clicks of Astrea's boots died down, the walls of leather-bound books absorbing the sound before it could echo around the room like a sponge to water. The corners of her lips twitched downwards in a microexpression of dissatisfaction before her face became a mask of neutrality once more.

Disappointing, her first attempt of the day at a dry jest had fallen flat. Ah, but she could work around it, silently adapting to human unpredictability was something she prided herself in when in private. Er- something her governesses prided in when teaching her. So technically she could do so herself, it still applied.

Remember- Be inviting, courteous, soft in tone, but not too boisterous. It is better to speak to little than too much, let the other gather their impressions as you gather yours. Astrea could practically hear Madame Ida's chastising tone and feel her wrinkled hands readjust her posture. It is okay if the other does not respond how they were supposed to, you have more chances, but remember that few is more.

"Those are... nice boots?" The words were stilted and unsure, their brunet owner wringing his hands out together stiffly. How- how dreadfully awkward. "Thank you, your appreciation is noted-" Astrea cleared her throat testily in an attempt to clear the tension, inwardly cursing her inability to continue friendly conversations with strangers smoothly.

"Hn, this brick seems to be yours. Here." The Neptune-Chou averted her sightline down and held up her hand, palm up and glossy black lego sitting innocently in the middle. It was still cold as if she had never clasped it tight and travelled around with it. To be expected, she hadn't taken the time to leave her seat and pick it up before walking over. The perks and beauty of magic, how did Sparkless live without it, without knowledge?

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@Astrea Soleil Neptune
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Oakley cursed inwardly. Why was he so awkward? He just kept on digging this hole of shame in front of this poor girl, and she was looking more uncomfortable by the second. This was bad. Very bad. Astrea cleared her throat, and held out the sought-after brick. Finally! A save!
He immediately forgot the awkwardness of the situation, excited at the prospect of finally constructing the Lego set. It was one he had been planning on making for a while now too. He brightened."Oh yea! Thanks!" Oakley said happily. He gingerly took it from her, and dumped the contents of the paper bag he was still clutching back on the table. He turned back around and eagerly beckoned to Astrea with a flail of his hand. "Come join me! It's fun!" Maybe this would ease the tension of the very uncomfortable situation he'd made. Oakley turned back around and carefully laid everything back out again, organizing the colorful blocks in a neat semicircle. Setting the glossy instruction book in the middle that cheerily displayed the happy little Lego fishing hut, complete with fish and a fisherman. He carefully set the previously lost piece in its rightful place, with the other black two by fours.