Dusty Books and Cozy Nooks Errand

@Xailah Alptraum, @Jack Burnett & @Natalia Draig

Piérre beamed as Xailah gave him a thank you in response to his compliment, albeit a confused one. It didn’t matter, though, just as long as she realized that he had meant good in his intentions. He never tried to insult when it wasn’t needed, and to be a bit of sunlight was his everyday goal, especially if he wasn’t feeling in tip top shape.

That was why when Jack spoke again, in a manner which was almost flat out rude, Piérre felt his spirits quiver a bit. Yes, he had been chastised before, mostly for when he was doing things wrong, and yes, he had been knocked down, but he also took pride in being able to find a silver lining in a pigsty, and though the library was the farthest thing from a pigsty, it was dirty. And that was why he was here to clean up!

”Oh,” Piérre said, ”I didn’t know there were different types of lisp! That’s cool!” Now that he had gotten the first part out of the way, it was time to embark on the second half, especially since Xailah now chimed in with having to escort the Britalian to the nurse’s office and making the prefect leave the area unattended in the meantime. “Well, I wasn’t sick when I signed up for the errand, but what’s a little dust, right?” Piérre cracked a small joke. ”Besides, I’m not all that sick, just a bit of a runny nose, and I’ve got tissues for that!” Sticking the feather duster under his arm, Piérre pulled a small packet of tissues out of his pocket to show Jack before returning them.

Piérre sneezed into his opposite elbow, the most hygienic way to do so. When he had recovered, blinking because his eyes had been open during the sneeze, Piérre continued, taking a tissue and blowing his nose. ”Did you know that you’re only contagious about a week and a half before you’re sick with most common colds? When you’re actually sick, you’re not actually all that contagious. That’s why I’m here.” Smiling again, Piérre shrugged, putting the dirty tissue in his opposite pocket and pulling out a pocket bottle of sanitizer, something Maddie had sent through an owl.

He was about to stop there, but there had been one thing bugging him. ”And my name’s Piérre, not lion! Although... Aslan is a cool name too!” Of course, Piérre was referencing the lion of Narnia. ”So, I guess if you’re calling people lions, then we’re Aslans too!” Piérre laughed once, humming as he rocked back and forth.

Someone called for the feather duster and Piérre immediately perked to the call. ”Oh! I have it! Need some help?” Piérre jogged to the girl, who was standing with another boy. It was at this moment that Piérre spotted Evelynn as well. He smiled, making a mental note that he would have to go over and talk to her sometime before the errand ended, and then began to interact with the girl who had asked for the duster. ”Hiya! I’m Piérre! What’s your name?”

524 words

Interacting with @Bastille Aurelius, @Natalia Draig, @Xailah Alptraum, and @Piérre Marchonné
Mentioning @Jack Burnett

The way in which this Natalia Draig had replied had been…curious. Naturally, there were students of all sorts of European nationalities here, but for the most part, they tended to meld in well enough. It wasn't all unlike the variety of citizens she had experienced back in Canada. Now and then, a student (or professor) would make use of their native tongue. Piérre was one such individual who, now and again, slipped Italian into his daily speech, but Evelynn had yet to run into anyone French. Not that the simple response necessarily meant that she was anything in particular. The accent, however, suggested otherwise.

"Enchanté également, Natalia,"^[1] Evelynn replied with a smile, feeling the warmth of the Ravenclaw's greeting. As silly as it might be, she was a bit excited to be able to practice her second language. "Well…if it's something that you want to do, it doesn't hurt to go to a try out," she replied with a shrug of a brow after Natalia denied association with the Ravenclaw team.

An obnoxious voice from down the aisle stole her attention at that moment. Or rather, it was hearing her name announcement that caused gray eyes to split from the pair in front of her to the red headed boy a little ways down. A tinge of pink coloured her cheeks. Bringing up the Tea Party was a bit of a low blow; it was a memory that still registered physically and emotionally painful for her, and she couldn't help but cast a furtive glance towards the entrance to the stack as though expecting to see the violent form of a certain blonde silhouetted at its end. Luckily for Evelynn, there would be no such demon, and she was able to shove the flare of humiliation under a layer of annoyance, eyes rolling as a result. Leave it to Burnett to bring up something entirely uncalled for. Not to mention the allusion that she herself could possibly be as unhinged as that maniac.

"I… er…will—" Talia's follow-up question had brought the little lioness back to the conversation at hand, but Evelynn hadn't quite been able to answer. For one, she didn't really know how to answer. Did she play? Yes, in theory. She'd practiced for hours on end at the very least. But she'd never actually played a game yet, so she wasn't really sure if she could legitimately say that she did play. For two, however, Aurelius rudely cut in to answer for her. She pursed her lips and cast him a second glare of irritation, wondering how in the world he had the audacity to call her a swot when he was such a git.

"I'm not obsessed," she countered (again), ruffling, and began to sweep to give her hands something to do and make the tightening of her grip less apparent. "But.." Her expression softened, her eyes even going so far as to gain a sheen of excitement, "I'd love to practice with you," she said, smiling, to Talia.

Contrary to the belief of some, as much as Evelynn did tend to practice solo, it wasn't due to preference so much as obligation. Prior to joining the team, she hadn't any other option; and since joining, formal practices had been few and far between. Unfortunately, Quidditch was a team sport. As far as Evelynn was concerned, one could practice until the sun set and rose again, but the impact of those invested hours would pale in comparison to the same spent flying with others.

Coincidentally, to Aurelius she pointedly added, "Maybe it would finally shut you up having to dodge bludgers…"

Again, Evelynn found her gaze peeled away as the prefect addressed the group. "Ah…" Evelynn's ears reddened, having been called out for her tardiness. "Yea…" she mumbled, "Sorry…"

"Hi Piérre," Evelynn said, his approach met with the wave of fingers and a smile. One that faltered and faded as he instead turned to talk to the pretty Ravenclaw. Evelynn glanced briefly between she and the two boys, lips crimped. Eyes downcast, she returned to sweeping, only half paying attention to the rest now as her thoughts turned inwards.

Translations: [1] - "Nice to meet you too, Natalia"

At the Gryffindor's softening expression, Natalia's own features immediately brightened—positively beaming, even, at the idea that people were willing to talk to her, willing to play a game with her, willing to even be around her. It was a curious feeling but certainly not unwelcome. All her life, she'd known nothing but being the last one to be considered for company; her sisters had never been very fond of her, and she couldn't exactly blame them for their ire.

To find reprieve from that crushing feeling of being unwanted was... exhilarating, to say the least.

"I'm grateful. I look forward to playing with you," the young Ravenclaw offered to Evelynn, flashing the Gryffindor a wide grin. A game with Bast and Evelynn, and whoever else Bast decided to strong-arm into the Pitch (which she didn't necessarily mind, she liked the fact that Bast had more will-power than herself, for if she'd been left to her own devices she would never get anywhere), sounded fun—and after her long trip to the Hospital Wing and knowing nothing but white curtains and parchments of homework for the past few weeks, fun was exactly what she needed to get back on her feet.

Talia's attention was soon swept away by the discussions unraveling around her. At Bast's reaction to her request of a particular cleaning supply, the tips of her ears flushed pink at the realization that she had said it wrong, but still she smiled, brows furrowed and sending her friend a teasing look. "Let this be your proof that not all Ravenclaws are smart, Bast," she chimed lightly, tapping the neat blue tie around her neck. "Sometimes, I think the Sorting Hat just put me in Ravenclaw because it believed I look better in blue."

As Piérre's approach and greeting, Talia offered a quick curtsy in return, blonde hair bobbing around her shoulders at the movement. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Piérre. I'm Talia," she introduced. When she noticed what cleaning material the boy had with him, her expression melted into relief, and she nodded to answer his earlier question. "Ah, yes, we are waiting for the shelves to dry but we were hoping to borrow your... your..."

She stopped then, brows scrunching together as she tried a second time to find the right word. "Your plumeau," she tried, motioning to the item in question before continuing, "we need to undust the books. Would it be alright if we borrowed it?" From there, Talia threw in a hopeful smile for good measure—she'd seen her Aunt Delphine do it whenever asking for a favor from someone, and she thought it would be an appropriate situation to try it out for herself.

Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio, @Bastille Aurelius, @Piérre Marchonné

@Evelynn Decipio, @Natalia Draig, @Bastille Aurelius

”Nice to meet you Talia!” Piérre smiled, ignoring the slight headache that was forming because of his stuffed up sinuses. As Talia stumbled over her words, Piérre tipped his head curiously, eagerly awaiting the resolution to her question. At her response, Piérre narrowed his eyes, not in a cruel or accusative way, but rather in confusion. ”Plumeau?” He asked curiously, before he attempted to put tow and two together. It sounded like a certain word in his own language...

”Oh! You mean the piume? Italian- feather The featherduster!” Piérre proudly announced, holding out to the girl. ”Sorry, I don’t speak... um... French, was it? Yeah... I’m Italian, if my accent wasn’t really a red flag...” Indeed, the traditional lilt of the Italian tongue was present when Piérre spoke the name for feather, and even when he explained his nationality.

Suddenly realizing that Talia could be reaching for the featherduster, the thing he had been touching and prossibky infecting. With a sudden flick of his wrist, Piérre instead began to dust at the shelf Talia had originally wanted to clean. ”I can actually help! I’m a little bit under the weather right now, so I think that I should keep the icky stuff to myself, yeah?” Piérre looked between the Ravenclaw girl and the other boy, smiling gently. He hummed a bit as he kept dusting.

It was at that moment that Piérre noticed the dark red hair, which looked more russet cherry. It was dark in the way that it looked as if it blended into the bookshelves. After staring for a second, Piérre suddenly realized who it was.

”Eev_ Evelynn!” Piérre cried out, bouncing excitedly. ”Oh my gosh, you’re here too! I didn’t see you at all! How have you been keeping up to tabs with your schoolwork?” Piérre asked the last question with a hint of mischief, raising an eyebrow as he bit his lip. He had seen Evelynn interacting with other people, and while she could be a little overbearing, Piérre knew that a great amount of intelligence was within, even enough to consider Evelynn a member of Ravenclaw, if only through her sheer knowledge of absolutely everything.

368 words