Fin Invisible Thread PV Burnett

"Indarys," Jack repeated, intrigued by the sound. "Sounds kinda exotic. Mind me asking what kind of name it is; what language it comes from?"

His polite smile broadened briefly as Sylvain explained that he was the sort who could focus and finish things quickly; that he valued completing projects over perfecting them. Jack could understand and respect that. However, he was the opposite, preferring to take his time as more of a perfectionist. He thought that everything should be done to the best of one's abilities in order to do something well and put one's all into their work. With the concepts of 'haste makes waste' and 'quality over quantity' stuck in his head, he liked to think he could finish a project and achieve a sort of 'perfection' he could be satisfied with...even if it did take a little longer than usual. Still, the other boy hadn't asked to know about his own opinion, so Jack didn't want to seem rude by countering the other boy's with his own of the blue.

"I have no idea what you should embroider, but I'm certain that if you know what you're doing and you make an honest effort, somebody will want it."

That comment caused Jack to chuckle. "I'm not going to go looking for someone to give something specific I make to. I'm looking for something to make to give to someone specific," he explained. "I have plenty of people I'd want to make things for. I just don't know what to make. If it's just something random to give away to someone random, what's the point? All the work put into it will have been meaningless."

He stared back down at the blank cloth in the frame for a little longer until Sylvain spoke up once more, politely drawing his attention with an 'excuse me' and offering the suggestion of embroidering the Slytherin House Crest.

"Huh..." Jack thought about that for a minute. "...That might work..." Who would he give that to, though? Ruka? Ruka would like it, no doubt, but if he was seen as a Gryffindor with a Slytherin crest? As if he didn't have enough reasons to be called a traitor to his house by jerks like Rafael just because he stuck around Jack. No, Jack wasn't going to add to his troubles with something that thoughtless. What else could he do then, though? He figured his housemates themselves probably had more than enough things and possessions embroidered with the design. If they weren't sick enough of looking at it already, of course.

"If you don't like that idea, then maybe a family crest would help? You could give it to your parents, or maybe your grandparents would like that?"

The redhead blinked once in confusion before realization dawned on him."Oh! Don't know if we're even fancy enough to have a family crest," he admitted almost apologetically. "Sounds like more of a wealthy, aristocratic, pureblood thing to me. I'm just a mudblood."

Sylvain was already talking about his own custom design, however; the one of 'the people he met that year', apparently, though Jack sincerely hoped they weren't the only people he'd met. The comment about keeping memories and not wanting to forget anything from the school year got him thinking, though. It really had been one heck of a first year at Hogwarts, and not just because he had just been introduced to the wizarding world, either.

"I...can't really think of anything I'd want to make for myself," he answered slowly after thinking it over. "As for things from the school year, sure, but...nothing suitable to embroider." The Slytherin attempted to contemplate this idea deeper.

Hmm...if Sylvain had embroidered his friends...maybe Jack could embroider his...enemies? No, that was stupid; then people would just think his enemies were his friends. Why was this so difficult?

Maybe if he could figure out who, exactly, he wanted to give something to, that would be easier. Except...there were at least three people. Well, if Sylvain had taken the time and trouble to do multiple projects, why couldn't he?

Getting an idea, Jack began to mark up a design with a washable marker before starting on the task at hand. It made him grin just thinking about it. He supposed it did represent a memory of the year after all...giving a bit of humor to a more grave event of the past.

Perhaps with this, Selim's guilt could ease up on him the slightest bit.

@Sylvain Indarys

Hexcode= #507091

"Sounds kinda exotic. Mind me asking what kind of name it is; what language it comes from?"

He did mind that he asked, or rather he minded a whole lot about the answer and had always wanted to know the answer for himself, but it just wasn’t time enough for him to learn yet. He hadn’t even the faintest idea on where to start looking for his family name, or who might have known his birth parents.

“Sorry Jack, err Burnette. Sorry.” Mouthing the second sorry, he raised his fingers in apology. It was clear the way he grimaced he didn’t quite know what to say to the question. So he mustered his most confident “I don’t know the answer.” He gave the student a wide shrug and let his eyes drift back down to the table as he frowned.

He was worried at first he might come off as uninteresting or unintelligent for not knowing his own last name, but it was hardly something anyone else he met or knew had knowledge of. A cursory google search on the ancient dial up computer back home had come up with nothing. Not to mention his adoptive parents were muggles. For all Sylvain knew, he could’ve been anything from muggle born to pureblood. He hadn’t placed much stock in knowing since arriving to Hogwarts either so he hadn’t dug into it.

Perhaps Burnette had some cursory knowledge of Wizarding families, no; he had just confessed he was a mudblood. There really wasn’t much chance he knew anything either. He’d have to bother with it later. For now he didn’t want to let his mind wander too far from Jack and his musings on who did and did not deserve his crafts. He was spending a lot of time deliberating what to make, Sylvain spotted it as a strength that complimented his own strengths. Jack had potential to teach Syl something he had little of. Patience.

He watched on as the other boy crafted what appeared to be some sort of warning, not all that dissimilar from the one he’d kept on his door back home. This one had an incredibly specific message about stabbing people. Sylvain chuckled at the humor implied in its creation, and considered that Burnette probably knew the person he made it for well. Sylvain was curious as to just who it was intended for.

“Is that for you or someone else? If it’s for you, I’d hate to see what it’s like in the Slytherin common room if it warrants that you need a door hanger like that.” He smiled wryly at his own joke, the corner of his mouth rising up a bit as he winked.
He liked the playful attitude Mr. Burnette brought to the embroidery table, but worried their lingering beyond the other students might mean they’d been working a little too long on one thing.

Sylvain stood up in his seat and pushed his chair in. He lingered just long enough to hear what Jack had to say to him, but after hearing his response, Sylvain would decide to wander his way back to the Ravenclaw Tower after a brief and friendly goodbye. He still needed to help Charlie with the riddle, and wanted to write a letter to Willow while the excitement of making their friendship bracelet was still on his mind.

@Jack Burnett

"Sorry Jack, err Burnett. Sorry." the other boy apologized. "I don’t know the answer."

Jack blinked before chuckling in response. "That's alright. I'm sure most people don't know the origins of their last name anyway." He wondered what had the other boy frowning after that, as if he was potentially more troubled by his not knowing the answer than Jack was. Perhaps it was a sore subject for him or something.

Or, being a Ravenclaw, maybe the other boy just didn't like admitting to not knowing something. Still, Jack thought, it's better to be honest than lie. He thought better of the eagle for speaking the truth rather than attempting to make something up for the sake of protecting his pride.

After he had drawn up a pattern and started on his own work - a funny little warning about the embroidery itself being proof about having the patience to stab numerous times - Sylvain uttered a few chuckles of his own in amusement. Jack looked up, a crooked smile emerging on his face when he was asked about who the piece was being made for.

"It's for someone else," he confirmed, thinking of Selim. "But they're a dorm mate of mine, so you're probably better off not knowing what it's like among us Slytherins anyway."

A shade of mixed emotions, bitter and troubled, darkened the redhead's face as he stared at his work for a moment. "This was meant to make light of...something that had happened between us," he murmured ambiguously. "An inside joke of sorts. I just hope he's able to see the humor in it."

When Sylvain stood up, Jack was briefly distracted by his movement, guessing the other kid must have finally considered himself done. Well, he himself had taken long enough to pick his own design. Still, now that he had started on one, there were a couple of others that came to mind. He decided that he would stay a bit longer.

Once he had finished speaking to him, however, the Ravenclaw seemed ready to take off. Jack responded with an equally brief farewell of his own before finishing up his work and going to get something from his own Common Room.

In a little bit, the boy had returned with a plain white shirt. It wasn't his, but no one needed to know that. If its owner didn't like what Jack decided to try doing with it, he could always remove it after or even just buy him a new shirt. However, a part of him hoped Flash would appreciate the gesture. When he was finished, a pair of two, more-or-less matching, symmetrical blackbirds (not hummingbirds, as shown in the picture) were depicted with wings outstretched, facing each other from each corner of the shirt collar.

Two down, one to go. By that time, nearly all of the other students had finished their work and most of the supplies had been put away, but since the hosting professor was Jack's own Head of House, he was able to continue even once they were meant to return to the Slytherin Common Room. After having done one piece on a frame and another directly on a shirt, Jack wanted to try something a little different for his last idea.

After asking some questions about how to go about making what he hoped to create, the first year finally began his most ambitious embroidery endeavor of all: a brooch in the shape of a flaming fox head (similar to, but not exactly like this). It ended up turning out much better than Jack had expected, actually, and he guessed it was due to having practiced so diligently on his first two attempts.

When his final work of embroidery was finished, Jack carefully wrapped each one in tissue paper in order to leave each gift hidden somewhere where each of their respective, intended recipients would be sure to find them. Pleased with the overall outcome of the embroidery errand, the boy flexed his sore hands. Even if the process fascinated him and the results ended up turning out pretty neat-looking, he didn't think he would be attempting such a feat again anytime soon.

Interacting with:@Sylvain Indarys
Mentioning: @Selim Faust, @Ruka Tân, & @Flash Holmwood