(cat)astrophe
Sunlight fell on the long library tables in gold squares. Denisse crouched in her corner, Katya nestled at her feet, working on her Charms essay. Next to her on the table, something more valuable than any piece of parchment or ink - the small family album that had traveled with her from her muggle life, the pictures of her parents, the parties that marked her birthday, and each precious memory was safe.
wc. 348 location. library
She always brought it along.
Halfway through a sentence when there was a thud and her pen spun from the table, ink spreading over the paper. The black feline at her feet sprang onto the table, then leaped over a stack of books…landing directly onto her photograph album! With a startled yow, the cat sent ink spraying across the binding and cover of the album as it tumbled.
"No-!" Denisse lurched forward to claim the photos, but it was too late to stop the ink already smearing into the pages, blurring her father’s grin, tinting the image of her mother’s face with an ugly shade of black, curling the edges as it seeped into the paper.
Rage burned in Denisse’s chest; rising, thick and fiery, in her throat. Rounding sharply, her voice wavered and cracked when she screamed out her anger, "Whose cat is this?!"
Katya, yowling furiously, flattened herself out from underneath the table with ears perked and eyes burning holes into the feline interrupter. Denisse's hands shivered as she tried frantically to dab at the ruined photos, to somehow remove the ink, but the ink simply refused to lift. This was unacceptable.
She stood up while her chair was scraping loudly against the floor, her voice thundered across the quiet library and all around her, capturing every eye within it, "Great! Now the photo album is messed up all because you can't keep your cat under control!" Her face was bright red, and her hands shook and clamped down tightly over the sopping page. She wanted to scream and demand Lucille fix it, but Denisse simply glowered, her gaze heavier than a verbal assault.
slip into the diamond life | Kidult⋆.˚ ༘⋆ | Denisse De Vera | Ivy Roberts | Stamina 8 • Evasion 5• Strength 6 • Wisdom 7 • Arcane power 6• Accuracy 8 |
(cat)astrophe
x x  Lucille was making her way to the library, looking for yet another book of magic she hadn't read yet, Daisy May in tow. The little cat followed her every footstep, even as Lucille was doing something boring like browsing. However, unbeknownst to her, Daisy May had seen another cat, her weakness, and had happily trotted up to attempt to befriend it. The little kitten was mostly well-behaved, but she had her slip-ups sometimes. Unfortunately, that other cat wasn't interested, and so Daisy May jumped onto a table. Lucille, completely unaware, was browsing contentedly. However, Daisy had landed dangerously close to someone's pot of ink and photo album. Startled by their yell, the cat attempted to dart off, only to spill the pot of ink with one of her paws as she did so. The sound of "Whose cat is this?" rang out through the library and, in a panic, Lucille looked left and right for her own. Crap. Daisy May had done something. She rushed out from the safety of the shelves, only to see Daisy May on the floor near a table, where there was a rapidly spreading pool of ink. "Daisy May, come here!" Lucille called out, and the cat immediately turned and ran right towards here, leaping into her arms. The girl with the book was still yelling and, sheepishly, Lucille approached. How she wished she could dart out of the library, run away just like her cat, and leave this situation behind her. But no, she had to take responsibility for Daisy May's actions. Lucille inched forward at the angry girl now glaring at her. She half wondered if the girl would pull out her wand and cast a spell on her right this minute. Perhaps the curse of the bogies or the sneezing hex. She held her cat tight, not because she was scared she would run away, but because the warmth of the little body against her was comforting. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. She never leaves my side." She glanced at the book in the puddle of ink, and saw that it was a photo album. No wonder the girl was mad. "Perhaps we could get one of the professors to help? I'm sure there's such a thing as a cleaning charm." The girl's voice was hopeful, as if she wanted the situation to be over right this minute and, truthfully, she did. She wanted things to be alright, both for the girl and for herself. |  STA 7 EVA 7 STR 6 WIS 5 ARC 6 ACC 4 calming presence x x x  |
| sta 7 eva 7 str 6 wis 5 arc 6 acc 4 calming presence | iNPC: Antoine de Laurent |
(cat)astrophe
She took short, sharp breaths with her lungs constrained as the torn book pressed hard into her hold. The ink had already began seeping so far in that it curled the edges and spread into the smiles which he'd pulled from a muggle world into this one. The grin of her dad was lost, the laughter of her mother erased in black.
wc. 270 location. library
She heard Lucille's softly muttered suggestion about cleaning up the ink as if she already hadn't, the whoosh and thump in her ears deafening. She looked up at the girl through eyes on fire and her knuckles tight against the slick and wet paper. "Do you think a charm could reverse any of this?" she demanded sharply but with an undertone of tremor in her voice, "I'll just get the photographs even more drenched..."
Denisse held the album to her heart, rage warring with a thin sliver of belief. It might be restored. She wanted to believe so badly that she had not lost the blurred photos. But what hope was there, knowing that there now that the lint starts to form, then the photos will shed...
The ensuing silence was thick; the air seemed to contract about the two of them as if the library had all the breath removed from its lungs. Denisse sat back down, not yelling this time; it seemed entirely superfluous given that her hands still shook like crazy and her face was still burning. She didn't scream a second time.
She didn't need to.
Her own words were enough - as was the quiet but desperate sliver of hope buried in them.
| slip into the diamond life | Kidult⋆.˚༘⋆ | Denisse De Vera | Ivy Roberts | Stamina 8 • Evasion 5• Strength 6 • Wisdom 7 • Arcane power 6• Accuracy 8 |
(cat)astrophe
x x Lucille took quiet, cautious steps towards the other girl, clutching Daisy May to her chest. She stood up straight and tall, stretching to see the effects of the ink. The pages were turning black, some of the pictures completely ruined. A Muggle photo album without the see through protective covering on the pictures. She was surprised it had lasted this long, but that must mean the other girl took extra special care of the album, and Lucille's cat had just ruined it. Guilt rushed through her, and she tried to offer an apologetic smile. Inching forward, Lucille took a seat across from the girl, before pulling up the sleeve of her sweater to cover her hand. She reached forward, hovering her hand in the air, clearly offering to dab at the ink. "May I?" she asked softly, leaning forward towards the photo album. All Lucille wanted was to fix the situation. The stretching silence made her uncomfortable, and she couldn't stop herself from feeling immensely guilty. She knew Hogwarts was to be full of ups and downs, but lately, it felt like the downs wouldn't stop coming. Lucille was evidently nervous and scared, her fear written on her face. She wondered what the other girl would do, and if she might accept the offer of help. Whatever her decision, she ought to make it quickly. The ink was beginning to dry. Lucille wasn't too eager to ruin her red sweater, but what else could she do? She'd already damaged this girl's property, so it was only fair for her to damage her own. And besides, perhaps it was nothing that a little wash couldn't fix. She could wash her sweater; she certainly couldn't wash a book, that too a Muggle one. | STA 7 EVA 7 STR 6 WIS 5 ARC 6 ACC 4 calming presence x x x |
| sta 7 eva 7 str 6 wis 5 arc 6 acc 4 calming presence | iNPC: Antoine de Laurent |
(cat)astrophe
Denisse watched the hand of Lucille hover in front of her, cuff pulling back to conceal palm. Her chest clenched a bit more as Lucille offered to wipe away at ink spilled on the album with her side being compressed as though Lucille herself would physically rip the remainder away. Voice, low and tightly controlled, carrying a hint of fire:
wc. 289 location. library
"Don't...don't touch it" the words snapped low, with a sliver of frail desperation laced underneath, clinging to what little of original form was there.
"You've done enough already."
Katya's tail lashes out against the hearth rug, fur fluffed at the sharp, silver glares she pointed towards Daisy May, across from where she was. Mirror image of Denisse's glare, to the human, possessive and menacing.
Katya’s head snapped forward sharply. Knuckles of her hands turning white on the spine of the album, “If it can even be fix then, no sweater sleeve will do and it'll need to be a really, power time-turner... or somehow another way to turn back time” last two words falling from her lips like a bitter and hopeful-bitter taste.
Denisse fell back onto the seat, rage fading and fatigue creeping in. Her hands shook, her face was flaming hot. Her voice went a little softer, just enough to signify a sliver of barely-microscopic hope tucked somewhere under the thick rage, "If you're willing to help find someone who can get me whatever it is that I need, go ahead, otherwise,"
She flickered a look towards Lucille and her eyes went hard and steely once again, "stay away."
The silence returns, with only the crackle of fire and Katya's low grumbles. The rage never gets put into words for the second time, Denisse doesn't need to.
Last edited by Denisse De Vera on 6 Sep 2026, 05:10, edited 1 time in total.
| slip into the diamond life | Kidult⋆.˚༘⋆ | Denisse De Vera | Ivy Roberts | Stamina 8 • Evasion 5• Strength 6 • Wisdom 7 • Arcane power 6• Accuracy 8 |
(cat)astrophe
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| DATE 21 February 2026 LOCATION library OUTFIT | SPEECH #8c0902 WORD COUNT 273 @Denisse De Vera | stats sta 7 eva 7 str 6 wis 5 arc 6 acc 4 abilities calming presence  |
Fear ran through Lucille's bones, somehow simultaneously cold as ice and hot as fire. She was afraid, afraid that the girl would hate her forever, afraid that she had caused irreparable damage, afraid that she would now get in trouble and so would her cat. But Lucille was hopeful, and, in a moment of vulnerability, it seemed the other girl was, too.
"Listen," she said, her voice soft and gentle, as if talking to an animal that might run away. "I'm terribly, deeply sorry, and I never expected this to happen, but I really am trying to fix it. I'll go if you like, but if you ever need anything from me, you can always come to me." Accountability might help, perhaps? Lucille didn't know what else to do. Well, there was one more thing.
"And if you want to tell a professor about me, I understand. My name is Lucille Rosenhart, if you need it." With that, Lucille sighed in defeat. She wanted to sit down, to comfort this girl whose problems she herself had caused, but she stayed still, silent and unmoving. The tension in the air could be cut like a knife, but Lucille had accepted her mistakes, and anxiously waited for the consequences. She took a step back without realizing it, clinging tightly to Daisy May. This was a rare moment for her, the sunshine girl shrouded in clouds, the ball of energy restrained and calm. She was silent, when most people would describe her to talk a mile a minute. But, for once, Lucille understood the gravity of the situation, and was still, stiller than a frozen pond.
| sta 7 eva 7 str 6 wis 5 arc 6 acc 4 calming presence | iNPC: Antoine de Laurent |