From Red Sneakers to Rusty Pennies Finished

Interacting with @Alan Vanes
Mentions @Flash Holmwood and @Ivy Bellamy

Her hand hovered above Alans. Chocolat frogs... That's the candy she was most familiar with. 'I think I'd like one of those. I'm... rather fond of chocolat.' A shy smile slid onto her face. 'Anything fun, you say...' Nico looked down as she pulled up her knees, pondering for a moment. What fun did she have lately? She wasn't sure. 'I didn't really do anything fun, specifically. If I'm... completely honest with you. I've just been kind of busy.' Her pale fingers started to fiddle with the wrapper of the chocolat delight. 'What have you been up to lately? Anything fun happened to you? Met new people?' When the wrapper was removed, she'd quietly nibble on a leg. Nico wasn't fond of them moving around, but that wouldn't stop her from enjoying this, bite after bite.

As she awaited Alan's reply, her gaze drifted off to a conversation that took place, not too far away from them. Before, she had paid them no mind, but there seemed to be some sort of problem. Nico noticed how a Gryffindor girl had a approached a Slytherin boy, who was just having a pleasant afternoon on the grass. Or so she thought. For now she wouldn't engage. Maybe they had a disagreement about something. As a Prefect she couldn't help but keep an eye on them. Not intently but just about enough to notice them. Hopefully they wouldn't start pulling each others hair out.

Quietly, she turned to Alan and nibbled on another leg. 'Isn't it weird that we're almost through another year? I can't help but feel abit scared that the time is racing by... or something.' Politely munching with her lips sealed, Nico flashed Alan a sheepish smile.

Alan nodded and watched as Nico took a chocolate frog in its wrapper from his hand, "M-Me too, chocolate is g-great", he had to agree with her, his smile still in place. He stretched slightly, as he pocketed the candies that were left behind on his palm and shrugged slightly. "N-Not really", he explained, before his mind began to wander. Did anything fun happen at all? "W-Well I met this boy, who sh-showed me the en-entrance of the Slytherin dormitory", he explained to her and then halted, his eyes widening.

"Y-Yeah, I could t-technically v-visit now, i-if it wasn't f-for the f-fact that I c-can't be-because I'm no snake!", he said and laughed softly. Sometimes it was a bit dumb, that one could not visit another student in their common room, but he was also kind of happy to have his own space sometimes. It made it feel like home, like a safe area where he could relax and chill with his house mates.

When she spoke up again he nodded slightly, but then quickly shook his head. He was not scared about what was to come. "A f-few more m-months and y-you're a th-third year, y-yeah...", he hummed and glanced around, finally noticing the familiar student in the distance. He was there with what appeared to be a girl, but Alan had no clear sight on her and could not make out any distinguishable features except for her having dark hair. She could be anyone... But he did notice Flash and if he would notice him as well, he would raise his hand and wave at him with a small smile, before focusing back at Nico. "D-Don't you l-look forward to y-year three?", he asked her, curiously.

Flash was startled when a brash little Gryffindor suddenly waltzed up to him, complaining of his activity. He would be more angry if not for the fact that she kept her voice down, and alluded to his staring. Had he really forgotten himself and started actively looking at them. When he looked back up he made eye contact with Alan, which only verified her claims. So much for being subtle, his cover was blown. All that was left to do was try to escape with some dignity, though the self-righteous lion seemed to be out for retribution, threatening to out him. He wouldn’t be able to leave without a small amount of damage control.

”Oh, sorry, was I staring?” Flash put on a smile, putting a hand on his face like he had forgotten something. ”I wasn’t trying to be rude, I only just recognized my friend and became curious.”

Flash waved to Alan, who waved back right away. Once again coming in clutch without even knowing he was doing it. Alan being a Gryffindor himself, Flash hoped this would spare him the young girl’s further ire, even though he was undeserving of such sudden rebuttal. He wasn’t sure if it was more convincing to act offended or simply let it go, but the latter seemed more attractive, by nature of avoiding any raised voices or hurt feelings.

”I suppose I’ll be off then.” Flash waved nonchalantly as he walked past the annoying contender to find a more productive conversation to listen in on.

This method of his was wearing on him. So much so he had broken character and started to stare. Was the information he was receiving even worth the trouble? It was nice to have a general knowledge of the goings-on around the castle, but all too often the students enjoyed talking about nothing at all. Whiling away the hours basking in the sun. Certainly they all had better things to do.

A frustrating day from start to finish, no doubt.


@Ivy Bellamy @Alan Vanes @Nico Shymane

@Flash Holmwood @Nico Shymane @Alan Vanes

Ivy blinked, surprised at the Slytherin's friendly response. He told that he knew the Gryffindor and waved at him. To Ivy's embarrassment, he waved back. The fire in Ivy's grey eyes went out and she looked down, annoyed at herself. "Oh," she said in a small voice. "Then pretend I never said anything."

The boy then told her that he would be on his way, and Ivy debated whether or not to apologize before deciding not to. It didn't matter if the Gryffindor was his friend, staring at someone talking was still creepy. Ivy shook her head and glanced over at the pair. There was really nothing extraordinary about them, other than the fact that the girl was wearing a mask.

Ivy decided to go back inside - after that encounter, she didn't want to read anymore. Still annoyed at herself and embarrassed, the Gryffindor spun on her heel and walked away, cheeks flaming as she searched for someone to complain to. Perhaps one of her roommates would be willing to listen to her. Right now, she wanted nothing more than a hole to swallow her up.

So embarrassing...

Ivy leaves the thread.

@Alan Vanes | @Flash Holmwood

Alan spoke of a Slytherin showing him the way to the Slytherin Quarters. Not that it would be much of help to him. He still wouldn't be able to enter. The door knew who was a snake and who wasn't. No other House member would set foot in that room, definitely not a Lioncub. 'Huh... Weren't the stairs pretty intense? It took me nearly two years to get used to them... They're very.. exhausting..' The huge amount of stone slabs, leading down to the Dungeons nearly made her break out in sweat just thinking about it.

Carefully, she nibbled off the head of the Chocolate Frog before gobbling it down entirely. It tasted lovely - melting on her tongue. Milk Chocolate flavour. Her favourite kind. 'So... Who was this boy? Maybe I know him. Since.. I'm a Prefect and all that.' Having some suger in her system did lighten her mood. The weather gave another gentle nudge to achieve that.

'My third year?' She pondered for a moment, carefully licking off the last smudges of chocolat. 'I suppose so... It's kinda scary too... But... we'll get to do new classes like Care of Mag-' Her light mood immediatly got shut down by the image of Professor Griffith - looking down at her, dissapprovingly. Gosh... There really was no way she could avoid him for the rest of her life, huh. She sighed deeply. 'I'm...more nervous than I realised... Aren't you nervous for your fourth year? It... feels so far away for me...'

At that moment she took another peek at the close-to-fighting duo. The boy seemed ready to leave after... the girl confronted him about something. Or was she just scaring him away? Nico couldn't really tell but she got kinda worried. As soon as the girl stormed off with a red face, the prefect carefully got up. 'One second, Alan.'

Cautiously, the dhampir approached the young Slytherin boy, once more looking over her shoulder to double check if the girl left. 'I-I'm sorry... I couldn't help but notice you two bickering over something... Is.. something the matter?' She elegantly squatted down next to him, her mouth still hidden behind the rather flashy mouthmask.

The third year was a little happy, when Flash noticed him as well. He was glad that the other kid recognized him and that he was doing well enough to be outside. Alan had little clue about the repercussions of a Mosp sting and he never wanted to find out about it after seeing how painful it had been for Flash. "W-Well, I'm quite f-fit. St-Stairs and st-stuff never really b-bothered me; w-we have a l-lot at home", he explained to the girl with a warm smile playing on his lips. He remembered it being quite difficult to get up the stairs, when he was younger since he usually had his hands full of toys that he brought from one room to the other.

"It's him... r-right over th-there", he hummed and nodded towards Flash with a slight shrug, before curiously glancing over to Nico to see if she would indeed know about him or what she knew. Alan truly hoped that no one found out about Flash's incident. When she asked him whether he was nervous about fourth year, he nodded slowly. Oh he was nervous, he would be one year closer to his O.W.L.s and it kind of scared him. He hoped he would do well enough and he also quite hoped for a nice overage in Care of Magical Creatures, since his whole future was based on him learning about them. But Alan was positive about all of this and was sure that it was actually one of his strongest subjects.

The third year furrowed his brows slightly when Nico got up from her place in to shadow to step towards Flash after the unknown girl had left his side. Alan was curious why Nico would get up to go and talk to him and wondered whether it was for the fact that he had mentioned Flash showing him the entrance to the Slytherin common rooms. He really hoped he had not gotten the other boy into trouble with this. Still in hearing range, he tried to listen to snippets of the conversation, hoping Flash would be okay.

While sure that he was off to finish his dull afternoon in continued dullness, Flash had his mulling thoughts brought to a screeching halt when his prefect appeared beside him, asking him questions. It was enough to make him start suddenly. While he had some amount of rebelliousness within him, he was always taught to respect authority. People in positions of power were often put there for a good reason, and if they weren’t, they needed to be investigated and replaced. Given how little he knew of her, he had little to go off of in terms of knowing what she wanted to hear.

She had acted like a sweet, simple young girl when she talked to Alan, but without having made any obvious show of it, she had both noticed that a group of kids nearby were fighting, but when and where both parties ended up, followed by an immediate investigation. Flash could respect anyone who took their job seriously, and she certainly didn’t seem so demure any more. Blind to her personality and motivations, he couldn’t tell whether she had heard the entire argument, or if she had heard nothing at all. It didn’t help that most of her face was covered, making it difficult to read her expression as she talked.

Roll to understand Nico’s body language (Wisdom):
DC 20 (challenging)
1d20(20) + 8 = 28 (success)

She couldn’t have heard what the young girl rightly accused him of. When she spoke to Alan, she mentioned fears and nervousness, but seemed more at ease when it came to her prefect duties. Having a role to fill can be comforting, she was likely just performing protocol. If she both noticed his eavesdropping and heard it confirmed, she would surely have taken a different approach. She was simply keeping the peace.

”I hope I haven’t disturbed you Miss Nico.” Flash gave a slight bow of his head in reverence. ”When I saw my friend Alan talking to you, I was curious how you knew each other. She mistook it for eavesdropping. I suppose I can’t blame her.”

All the truth, all able to be confirmed by multiple accounts, all said in a way that made him look innocent from any angle you looked at it.

”She’s a bit embarrassed, but we’ve all been through that.”

@Nico Shymane @Alan Vanes

Interacting with @Flash Holmwood | Mentions @Alan Vanes

As Alan mentioned that this Slytherin boy was his friend who showed him the Slytherin Quarters, Nico got a little curious. Truth be told, his face was familiar to her. Chances were that she ran into him before. The prefect was abit scared of how he'd react to her approaching him out of the blue. If the boy hadn't been seated in her field of vision, she probably wouldn't have seen the short confrontation he had earlier, and because of that probably wouldn't have approached him. The way he nodded at her in a respectful manner, did made her feel more at ease. He didn't see her as a threat. Good.

'Oh. Alan did just tell me how he got to know you. Which might make it easier for us to get to know each other.' Again, she shyly smiled at him. It was strange that she felt this calm around someone she didn't know that well. Maybe it was because of how he seemed in trouble earlier and her strange prefect instinct kicked in to stand up for him. As some sort of ... social justice warrior. Sighs.

'Allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm Nico. B-But then again you did know that. Hah...' Her hand gently rubbed the back of her head, slightly embarassed by her attempt at beig overly polite. 'Alan and I met in the Hospital Wing last year. I ehm... I had a strange incident that made me appear there. But that's not important. All I can say is that Alan is a good friend. Someone you can sit next to and relax with on a sunny day like this. You want to come sit with us?' She said after looking over her shoulder at Alan, as if signalling him that everything was going swell. Social butterfly Nico in action.

Alan would sit where he had been left and stared after the prefect as she walked over to Flash. But soon he lost track of that as it did not seem like anything of much interest was happening so the third year simply decided to rest his back against the tree as a long yet soft sigh escaped from between his lips. Today seemed like a lazy day with the sun shining bright and there not being much to do. He was sure that Tiger must be on the grounds as the feline probably had found a warm stone he could waste time on while the sun would warm his pelt.

The thought alone nearly made him chuckle but instead he would draw his legs towards his chest and lazily rest his arms on his knees. He would raise lower his gaze again that had drifted to look at the passing clouds and found the pair of Slytherins again. He was a little curious what they were talking about but he could not hear what was being said and Nico blocked the view on Flash's lips so he could not even guess what he was saying based on the movement of his lips. Not that Alan was good at reading lips, but he could have at least attempted the task rather than waiting there clueless until Nico would return, if she did at all.

Nico continued the conversation, Flash not being surprised that his intuition this time had been correct. Even covered up, Nico’s emotions seemed to be worn on her sleeve. It might explain why she and Alan got along, from what Flash could tell, Alan was also a sensitive and open sort of person.

Flash couldn’t help but twitch slightly when he heard that Alan told her how they had met-- she seemed unfazed still, but he hoped he hadn’t said anything about wandering into the Forbidden Forest, or getting stung by a mosp. Likely not, not only had he said he would keep it to himself, but surely Miss Nico would have taken a more scolding or alarmed line of questioning.

Instead, she was introducing herself, talking about getting to know him. Flash felt captured into a strange situation. Perhaps it was his own fault, perhaps he would have done better to simply introduce himself to begin with. He couldn’t have known that though, and his original intention was to see how she behaved with someone she was comfortable with, not how she behaved to a student in her charge.

And, also, hopefully get some dirt on her, but the likelihood of that had vanished quickly when the topic of chocolates came up. He started to wonder if she had any dirt at all. She did start to explain something of some interest-- some kind of trip to the hospital wing-- but quickly crossed it off as a topic of discussion. What Flash wasn’t expecting was to be invited to relax with the two. Him, of all people? Was it because he knew Alan? They could hardly be called ‘friends’, having only recently met under very strange circumstances. If he sat down to talk with them now, certainly his embellishment of the truth would become more and more evident. Not only that he had called Alan his friend, but about the details of their first meeting.

”Forgive me Miss Nico, I’m flattered at your offer, but I have homework to attend to.” Flash smiled, though internally he wanted to escape. He didn’t want to waste his precious time talking about candy, but he wasn’t about to say that. ”I hope you and Alan enjoy the sun while it’s out. Have a lovely evening.”

Bowing his head slightly, Flash wouldn’t wait for further discussion. He had to leave before his face could falter, or a detail could be scrutinized.

Flash leaves the thread unless stopped

@Nico Shymane @Alan Vanes