Where the Wild Things Are
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And they called off the circus, burned the disco down...
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When a teenager was in love, they did stupid things. It was as much a rule of life as "the sky is blue" or "water is wet" (argue with the wall) or "only those who have seen death can see thestrals". And as smart as sixth-year Ravenclaw Aly Salinger was, she was not immune to the stupidity of infatuation, brain cells leeched from her admittedly brilliant mind more and more by the second for the thought of one Gryffindor redhead.
Eve.
After having realised that she had feelings for the lioness over the summer, at camp, after having met her originally back at the spring ball the previous semester, it had taken until October for Aly to understand that the feelings were genuine - that her genius of a fancy hadn't somehow, or for some reason, dosed her with Love Potion. In the two months since, the eaglet had walked a precarious line between avoiding Evelynn at every turn and yet, also, somehow, wanting to be as close to her as possible, laughing uproariously at things she said not even to her across the Great Hall and keeping a close eye out for flashes of scarlet tresses in the corridors. At the same time, it had become impossible to ignore Eve growing close to someone of her own House, a ridiculously tall Scottish brunet with a thick brogue, and someone whom Aly regarded with nothing short of daggers for eyes and the strongest tsunami of jealousy ever felt in the inlands of the United Kingdom. As one does when they are sixteen and besotted, Aly could do nothing but hope that the boy - AJ MacAllister, as she'd learned - would do something so ridiculous that Eve would want nothing to do with him ever in the future. Occasionally, she even dreamed of secretly hexing him with something so hideous the lioness would never dream of touching him - something like the Meddling Man to Monkey transfiguration, for he was a man and he was meddling, or the Toenail-Growing Hex, or the Pimple Jinx, or the Human to Pig transfiguration, or the Conjunctivitus Curse, or... but no, every time her unconscious mind dreamt up another scene of AJ with bulging eyes or pimply cheeks or a curly pink tail, Aly pushed those down. She wasn't that stupid with love so as to go against her very morals. (Yet.) Anyway, she'd gotten away with hexing someone once, and she wasn't so sure she'd manage to do so if she did it a second time.
And so Aly just stared, lovestruck and awestruck at Eve's very being, from afar. She managed only to string out the occasional bumbling word when the redhead did approach her or did speak, such as one evening after Herbology the week before they were all to leave for the winter holiday - though Aly wasn't sure, yet, if she was going home or not. To some other mates, Aly had been chattering on about wanting to spend more time outside, making a comment about how this year's more sentient plants felt awfully as if she were taking Care of Magical Creatures, a class for which Aly had famously never signed up or shown up - and lo and behold, out of seemingly nowhere, a redheaded vision had appeared. Eve had apparently overheard Aly, and suggested that she may like to try her hand at CoMC, even offering a "friend of hers" that could tutor Aly in a single session to see if she would enjoy it. Though Aly had turned about as vermilion as Eve's hair and blundered her way through a reply, and though Aly had about as much interest in interacting with creatures as she did with diving wandless and broomless from the top of the viaduct, somehow she had said yes.
So now, here she was, wandering down towards the edge of the forest where the animals lessons were most often held for what was certainly the first time in her educational career. Her wide green gaze took in the sights she'd only seen from afar for nearly six years, dropping mates off on their way to class - a large stone building with wooden decorations, smelling faintly of manure and hay, with a penned-in outdoor area. The professor seemed to be missing, or if she was around, at least, Aly didn't see her. Though no creatures were immediately visible, Aly could feel some of them nearby, as if there were watchful eyes keeping track of her every move through cracks in the stone. (Of course, it was all in her head, but she had no knowledge of that.) She leaned hesitantly against one of the fence posts penning in the outdoor area, boots crunching wet footprints in the snow on the ground, and folded her arms, glancing around for her tutor. Aly had no idea who Eve had sent or what creatures she'd be forced to deal with this evening, but with all luck, it would be someone she knew already and creatures that weren't too terribly difficult.
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When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns...
STA 10 | EVA 11 | STR 5 | WIS 17 | ARC 7 | ACC 15
Charmer (in play) • Keeper’s Catch • Paragon of Health (no allies) • Lovely Creature (in play) • Foulplay • Keen Eye
When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns...
STA 10 | EVA 11 | STR 5 | WIS 17 | ARC 7 | ACC 15
Charmer (in play) • Keeper’s Catch • Paragon of Health (no allies) • Lovely Creature (in play) • Foulplay • Keen Eye
Mentions @Evelynn Decipio and @Sabine Blumenthal (with permission, approval granted)
Interacting with @Allister-Jameson MacAllister
| Aly Salinger's ency |
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STA 10 | EVA 14 | STR 5 | WIS 19 | ARC 7 | ACC 18 Charmer • Keeper’s Catch • Paragon of Health • Lovely Creature • Foulplay • Keen Eye who's afraid of little old me? |
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Where the Wild Things Are
⋖ 12/Oct/2024 @ morning |
SPEECH [#f00000] |⋗
INTERACTIONS @Aly Salinger | MENTIONING
When a teenager was AJ, they did stupid things as well. Though these things were less stupid as a result of unrequited love and passion and more stupid because AJ was definitively a golden retriever of a human being. In that he had good instincts about him, but also had an empty head in a lot of cases. As he looked in bemusement at the unlatched and empty stable bay, he realised this was one of those times.
"Ah wez nae gan lang...wed y'goff tae y'cheeky bugger?" "I wasn't gone long...where'd you get off to you cheeky bugger?" He took a tactical carrot off the nearby table and waggled it in the air as if to waft some kind of scent and lure a creature back to him. He'd been entrusted with looking after the Winged Horses today, he did not want to go to the Professor and sheepishly tell them that he'd accidentally let one of them out.
"Stufanno! C'meer pal!" "Stephano! Come here pal!" He would call out soothingly, looking around the area cautiously searching for the Equine escapist.
It was in fact Aly who would find the Horse Houdini first and foremost as the huffing and snuffing creature rounded a corner suddenly, blowing a helping of snot towards her before rearing up in panic with a fearful whinny.
Drawn by the noise AJ would place the carrot between his teeth and quickly transform into his Animagus form. Soon enough Aly would see the form of a massive fluffy dog running towards her, but before she could wonder if she was about to be murdered by a monstrous menagerie of mounts and mutts the dog would reform into the irritating Scotsman himself as he placed himself between Stephano and her. "Whoa! Whoa noo Steffunno! Ezzeh noo y'beg jesseh!" "Whoa! Whoa now Stephano! Easy now you big jessie! (wuss)"
He raised and lowered his hands over and over in slow calming motions, trying to soothe the frightened winged horse as it stamped its hooves and whinnied again. It took a few moments but AJ soon managed it, stroking Stephano's snout as he feeds him the delicious carrot.
"Thenk y'freetunned 'im a beh..." "Think you frightened him a bit..." He chuckles softly to Aly without looking at her. If she needs a hand up he would soon offer it though.
"Oh, Alleh reeght? Weet...ah 'mumber Ev seein' semmin boot yeh...ehm..." "Oh, Aly right? Wait...I remember Eve saying something about you...um..." He scratches his head, trying to remember what was supposed to be happening today.
SPEECH [#f00000] |⋗
INTERACTIONS @Aly Salinger | MENTIONING
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When a teenager was AJ, they did stupid things as well. Though these things were less stupid as a result of unrequited love and passion and more stupid because AJ was definitively a golden retriever of a human being. In that he had good instincts about him, but also had an empty head in a lot of cases. As he looked in bemusement at the unlatched and empty stable bay, he realised this was one of those times.
"Ah wez nae gan lang...wed y'goff tae y'cheeky bugger?" "I wasn't gone long...where'd you get off to you cheeky bugger?" He took a tactical carrot off the nearby table and waggled it in the air as if to waft some kind of scent and lure a creature back to him. He'd been entrusted with looking after the Winged Horses today, he did not want to go to the Professor and sheepishly tell them that he'd accidentally let one of them out.
"Stufanno! C'meer pal!" "Stephano! Come here pal!" He would call out soothingly, looking around the area cautiously searching for the Equine escapist.
It was in fact Aly who would find the Horse Houdini first and foremost as the huffing and snuffing creature rounded a corner suddenly, blowing a helping of snot towards her before rearing up in panic with a fearful whinny.
Drawn by the noise AJ would place the carrot between his teeth and quickly transform into his Animagus form. Soon enough Aly would see the form of a massive fluffy dog running towards her, but before she could wonder if she was about to be murdered by a monstrous menagerie of mounts and mutts the dog would reform into the irritating Scotsman himself as he placed himself between Stephano and her. "Whoa! Whoa noo Steffunno! Ezzeh noo y'beg jesseh!" "Whoa! Whoa now Stephano! Easy now you big jessie! (wuss)"
He raised and lowered his hands over and over in slow calming motions, trying to soothe the frightened winged horse as it stamped its hooves and whinnied again. It took a few moments but AJ soon managed it, stroking Stephano's snout as he feeds him the delicious carrot.
"Thenk y'freetunned 'im a beh..." "Think you frightened him a bit..." He chuckles softly to Aly without looking at her. If she needs a hand up he would soon offer it though.
"Oh, Alleh reeght? Weet...ah 'mumber Ev seein' semmin boot yeh...ehm..." "Oh, Aly right? Wait...I remember Eve saying something about you...um..." He scratches his head, trying to remember what was supposed to be happening today.
- Fearless - Prodigal DADA - The Muggle Condition - Wandmaker - Animagus - Prodigal CoMC
Stamina: 7/20 | Evasion: 11/20 | Strength: 5/20 | Wisdom: 15/20 | Arcane Power: 10/20 | Accuracy: 15/20
Where the Wild Things Are
And they called off the circus, burned the disco down...✰✰✰
Soon enough, a calling voice faintly from the stables did emanate, and Aly's head jerked up in an instinctive reaction. There wasn't anyone out here, so perhaps this person with whom Eve had set her up on this creature class had arrived first and already gone inside the stables. Nervously, Aly poked at the latched door; it swung open, not particularly well-guarded, which despite the lack of security it provided did fill her with some minor sense of ease. Surely the Care of Magical Creatures professor would not leave dangerous animals in a building that was only so carefully protected with a rusty latch and an easily openable door. Her fears assuaged somewhat (at least surrounding the creatures - the identity of the person was still very much up in the air), Aly carefully pushed at the door until it had creaked enough away from her to create a gap through which she could slip. She let it close behind her, latching it again from the inside so that no one could follow her through. The last thing Aly needed at this moment was to get in trouble because she'd let some rogue younger year wander into a place in which they weren't allowed.
The voice called out again, stronger and probably nearer this time, and yet Aly still could not quite decipher what was being said; perhaps it was because of a strong accent or perhaps because the person was still too far away. This should have been her first clue, but unfortunately, her ears were not nearly as keen as her eyes, and she did not pick up on the brogue. Instead, she turned a corner - only to find herself confronted by... a horse.
The Ravenclaw was quite sure it was a horse, despite the fact that she had never interacted with a creature in such a manner or had ever taken a class surrounding them. After all, "horse" was a pretty recognisable animal for magical folk and Muggles alike even without having seen one before, right? Granted, Aly did have a bit of a leg up on those who had never even spied such a creature in their lives - or perhaps four whole legs up, complete with hooves at their respective bottoms - because she had seen some horses before. Though she could not yet see Thestrals (such an activity would only become available to her in the upcoming summer, at an eventful and purely horrible Athanatos wedding reception), she had certainly seen the Abraxans that brought the Beauxbatons students to international wizarding events each year, with their lovely golden coats and pure white manes. She'd never touched one. Never approached it, nor wanted to. But this horse, at least, did not seem to be an Abraxan; the Ravenclaw didn't know what type of horse it was, but the lack of specific colours in its fine hair did help with narrowing it down from the one variety of horse she had seen.
Aly took a step back; the horse did, too, whinnying nervously with a toss of its silky mane. Most people would perhaps have reached out to pet the creature, but not she; instead, as she tried to move around it so that she could continue on with her search for an actual human around one of these parts, the horse spooked, rearing up in a panic with its front two hooves flaring into the air just inches from her face. Having spent years on a Quidditch pitch finely honing her reflexes, Aly was barely able to dodge back to avoid being hit - and that's when she heard them. Thumping noises, like a running four-legged animal, coming from behind her - except they weren't the clip-clop of hard horseshoes upon the straw-covered floor, but rather softer. If Aly's fat silver Siberian cat Dauncey had been capable of running, the Ravenclaw might have imagined that he would sound something similar. Just as she turned to look, a fluffy dog raced around the corner behind her, and Aly braced herself for impact; the dog wasn't just a dog, though, but rather an Animagus. He leapt into the air to place himself between Aly and the horse, reaching out arms to calm the panicky creature down. From the back, cowering against the wall - she wasn't in Gryffindor, after all, and that was for quite a specific reason - Aly didn't quite recognise him even still. Tall, with curly brown hair, he spoke in a thick Scottish accent as he flapped his hands slowly in front of the horse to calm it down - and that's when it hit her.
Not the dog, of course. Or even the horse. But the realisation: that Eve had sent her boyfriend here to teach Aly about magical creatures.
By the time the Gryffindor finished calming the horse and turned to address her, he would find Aly's leather-clad arms folded against her chest, a distrusting eyebrow raised, emerald eyes staring at him with a look that was somewhere between repulsed and begrudgingly impressed. "Aly," she corrected with a harrumph, lengthening the ee sound at the end of her name. "And you're AJ. Eve's..." No matter how much she wanted to spit the word out with all the vitriol of a jealous teenager, she still couldn't admit to herself that they were actually dating, that her fiery-headed fancy had been lost to her forever for... this lanky mountain of fur. So instead, she just said, "Friend. Eve's friend. She didn't mention it would be you teaching me about creatures, but. Well. I'm here now." Throwing her arms up in a half-defeat, Aly rolled her eyes at the horse that was now politely standing behind the lion-dog-thing. "Not that I've gotten off to a great start with animals. Other than my cat, they don't seem to like me very much. This one included."
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When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns...
STA 10 | EVA 11 | STR 5 | WIS 17 | ARC 7 | ACC 15
Charmer (in play) • Keeper’s Catch • Paragon of Health (no allies) • Lovely Creature (in play) • Foulplay • Keen Eye
When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns...
STA 10 | EVA 11 | STR 5 | WIS 17 | ARC 7 | ACC 15
Charmer (in play) • Keeper’s Catch • Paragon of Health (no allies) • Lovely Creature (in play) • Foulplay • Keen Eye
Mentions @Evelynn Decipio, interacting with @Allister-Jameson MacAllister
| Aly Salinger's ency |
| | |
STA 10 | EVA 14 | STR 5 | WIS 19 | ARC 7 | ACC 18 Charmer • Keeper’s Catch • Paragon of Health • Lovely Creature • Foulplay • Keen Eye who's afraid of little old me? |
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