Curiosities and First Meetings PV Ruby Cazares

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It was the 8th of September in the new school year. Ruby was a third year now—crazy, it felt like it had only been yesterday when she was the wide-eyed firstie being sorted. She had been alone at first, exploring and making maps of the castle and grounds without a friend to accompany her. She was very close to some of her cousins, who were all at Hogwarts, of course, but they had let her do some of the first explorations by herself. And yet somehow, despite her cold air and her experiments, she had managed to make friends quite quickly. The icy girl had longed for friends, and while she hadn't been good at socialising at the time, they had still found her. She supposed that most first years were desperate for close friendships, and maybe because of that, people would have latched onto her if she hadn't even tried.

That was in the past, though. Was this year a new beginning? Could she hope for something more? For a happier time, when she was surrounded by people and things she loved and didn't lash out so much? Or would she continue down the path of anger, of jealousy, of coldness and distance? Her second year had been hard. She had struggled emotionally because of the lack of attention from her family and the horrifying events at school—such as when she was bitten by one of those venomous shadow spiders. She kept her friends, but she felt like a lot of them were always busy. Some, she rarely saw all year, if at all. Others were around more frequently. Margo was often there for her, and Ruby had goofed around with Marla in the rehearsal room as well. Ana had even returned to school—although Ruby had not enjoyed being around one of the Gryffindor's friends. She had shoved him under a table when they first met. Maybe that hadn't been the best idea. But if she couldn't have attention at home and being nice seemed to get her nowhere, at least being mean always earned a reaction.

She was walking around the grounds when she spotted a girl facing the Forbidden Forest. At first, she thought the girl was someone she knew, a Slytherin from her year, but as she got closer, she realised she was mistaken. Something about her still seemed familiar… “If you go in there, you'll get detention,” she stated matter-of-factly, before continuing lazily, “unless you get eaten first, which, now that I think about it, would be more plausible.” She was standing beside the girl, and hadn't realised that perhaps her companion had not known that she had approached. Her words may have been startling. Nevertheless, she turned to the younger student and flashed her a grin. It was not a particularly friendly grin; it was possibly even a little scary. Her eyes were daring the girl to talk back or to take another step forward. That grin? It made her seem like the type of person who would laugh if the girl beside her got eaten. That wasn't quite the case, as she looked just a bit too familiar for Ruby to be comfortable with it. However, the lazy smirk that twisted her lips as she turned to face the forest again, giving the girl a side view of her face if she was looking in the Slytherin's direction, would not betray her true feelings.

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Scene Ambience

Reducio

Caught In the Act!!

"Just do it! It isn't that hard if you don't you'll just be curious forever and you don't want that"

Those were the words filtering through Aoife's mind as she tried to sway herself toward one decision or the other. The constant danger of being caught hung over her like a dark cloud. Yet at the same time she knew that if she didn't seize the chance now she'd be stuck thinking about it all day and night. A tiny part of her mind was the voice of reason trying to tell both sides that this really wasn't something to be having such a mental conflict over. It surely wouldn't be the last time she ever saw the forest. And if she were really as curious as she claimed surely, there would be someone in the castle willing to grant her the information that her siblings had failed to give.

Making a decision like this shouldn't have been nearly as difficult as Aoife found it in this very moment. In the past she'd never been one to shy away from an adventure, Yet in this moment right here and now it seemed all of that courage she'd had for so long had left her. Perhaps it was because she wasn't very keen on getting into trouble not after how long she'd waited to come here. As she mulled over her options for a little while longer she remained oblivious to the fact that she was being watched. Her eyes remained trained upon the treeline ahead her mind constantly flipping back and forth between the two arguments raging against one another. As Ruby approached surprisingly she was still lost in her thoughts up until the point where the older girl spoke.

Her response was quite spastic and she was sure if either of her siblings had been around to hear the startled yelp that had come out of their youngest sister's mouth she'd never live it down. The moment she heard Ruby's voice off toward her side she quickly spun about with such speed that she needed to throw her arms out to her sides in a hasty attempt to steady herself. Her eyes were wide as she looked upon the taller girl beside her. The girl was older than her probably around her sister Moira's age and her face bore a grin. Although it wasn't particularly a warm or welcoming one if anything it was somewhat intimidating. But at the same time somewhat familiar as well she blinked owlishly at the older girl for a moment trying to recall if she'd met her before. It didn't take long before she was able to recall not the person but the grin. She'd seen her sister with a similar expression many times before. She examined the girl a moment longer her eyes falling upon the prefect badge worn upon their robes. In that instant all thoughts of the forest fled to the far recesses of her mind like rats when the lights were switched on.

"A-Ah wasn' plannin' on goin' in there! A-Ah swear!!" She said hastily. As the older girl continued stating that the chances of her being eaten likely outweighed the chances of her actually surviving long enough to receive the detention she'd mentioned. "Y-Ye cannae be serious righ'? Iffin it's so dangerous why the bloody 'ells would the headmaster leave it so unguarded!?" She said gesturing toward the woods. Her momentary fear immediately seemed to bleed away with the new information she'd been given by the girl before her. "Ah mean lookit' ah' the place! If some nasty beasty wanted tae score a quick meal it could be 'ere an' gone in a flash!" She said snapping her fingers to provide emphasis to her argument. As she finished speaking she flushed a bit in the cheeks as she realized she'd just stood there ranting for about a minute straight perhaps. She noticed that the girl had turned her attention back to the woods and rubbed the back of her neck.

"S-Sorry bout' that...Didn't mean tae talk yer ears off..." She mumbled sheepishly.

@Ruby Cazares

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It turned out that the girl had not noticed her at first. She yelped and spun around, staring at Ruby with wide eyes, like a deer in headlights. Hm. She was thoroughly spooked, just by that, so she really must have been deep in thought. What was she playing at? Didn't she realise that the forest was dangerous and it was forbidden for a reason? It contained things far scarier than Ruby's unsettling demeanour. Curiosity was good and all, and she was only a first year by the looks of it, so it was natural to want to explore, but some things should simply be left alone. Perhaps the girl would learn that in time. For now, at least she hadn't gone in. There would have been consequences that were most definitely more dire than detention if she had.

She claimed that she hadn't been intending to enter the forest. “Mhmmm,” Ruby hummed disbelievingly, an eyebrow arched. The Slytherin waited patiently for her to finish her little rant. “Listen here, kid.” Yes, the girl may have only been a year or two younger than her, but that didn't matter to Ruby. They were all still kids, and she was well aware that that included herself, too. “I expect there's a lot you don't know about the way things are around here. I am serious, there are creatures that could kill or severely wound you if you go in there unsupervised. That's why it's forbidden,” she commented apathetically, sending a pointed look the girl's way. “Those creatures have been there far longer than you. Do not go in, do not engage. Plenty of them don't care about you; they don't want to get hurt either. I expect there are magical barriers around this place to keep them away, so you don't have to be concerned as long as you don't go in.”

Her icy stare settled firmly on the girl's face. “Is that clear?” If her companion gave an answer in the affirmative, even if it was a gesture, Ruby, satisfied, would nod briefly and continue. “Good. Be careful where you stand next time—a professor or another prefect might have been less lenient and would have given you detention for getting so close and staring into the trees like that. Let's come a little ways over here, yeah?” She would attempt to lead the girl further away from the forest and into a more open space. “You got a name?” The words were like an afterthought, a lazy comment as her piercingly cold gaze was turned back on the girl.

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Not in Trouble!

Aoife was honestly surprised that the older girl had let her rant on for as long as she did. To be honest her intended audience didn't seem all that interested in anything she had to say. Although could she really blame her its not like anything Aoife had to say really helped her case at all. And the girl in front of her was likely weary from having to deal with overly curious First Years like Aoife herself. As she finished her rant she blinked as the older girl tore into her about the dangers of the forest about the creatures that lurked within and how capable they all were of maiming or killing her if they so desired. Perhaps it was the calm and pleasant delivery of the Headmaster's own delivery that made her doubt his claims.

The almost deadpan and blunt delivery of the Slytherin's warning definitely left no more doubts in Aoife's mind. She definitely believed the girl and took her warning to heart only giving a quiet wide-eyed nod in response. The icy stare of the girl rendering her incapable of much else for the moment. It was then her mind went into complete overdrive further stunting her ability to properly string together words. Was she in trouble? Was she going to be expelled? What was going to happen now? The thoughts came one after another and barely kept in mind that the girl's actions thus far hinted toward the idea that she had no intention of punishing Aoife for her curiosity despite being completely capable of doing so.

It didn't clearly click until she felt a hand upon her shoulder steering her away from the forest into the more open areas of the grounds. There was a brief moment of panic but as she heard Ruby's words warning her that the next time she might not be so lucky the next time she was caught staring at the forest. She finally realized that she wasn't in trouble and that moment of realization finally permitted Aoife to relax a bit.

"You got at name?"

Aoife looked over at the taller girl nodding. "A-Aye A-Aoife...Aoife Lovett." She said finally saying something after being almost entirely silent this entire time. "A-An' you are?" She asked her tone sheepish and meek all of the earlier courage she'd been harnessing having been swept away the moment she'd been caught.

@Ruby Cazares

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It appeared she had shocked the girl into silence. As long as it meant she wouldn't have to deal with another student trying to get themselves killed by wandering in there blindly, Ruby was okay with her being stunned. She waited expectantly and eventually kept walking when the younger girl indicated that she would heed Ruby's warning. She finally gave her name. Aoife Lovett. Ruby's eyes widened slightly before narrowing as she looked at the girl's features more carefully. That's why she seemed so familiar. “Did you say Lovett? Would you happen to have a sister in Slytherin?” She chuckled quietly. “I should've known.”

The poor girl was stuttering her way through the few words that she did say, and Ruby didn't like stuttering. She knew Aoife could be bold, she had proved that just a moment ago, so she would try to get her to bring that confidence back instead of the Slytherin simply getting mad at her for it. “I'm Ruby Cazares. Relax a little, I'm not going to give you detention this time. You're looking at me like I'm about to hex you.” A lazy half-smile crossed her face and a slight sparkle of mirth danced in her eyes.

She could be intimidating and fairly scary, sure, but she had decided that she liked Aoife. Despite her heart and mind being filled with hate this year, she could still try to push it aside for a little longer, long enough to see that this girl was taken care of. “When I was a first year, I wasn't dissimilar to you,” she began. “I got into my fair share of trouble. I snuck out around midnight one time in March and climbed a tree, and I met one of my best friends there.” A less scary grin than the one she had previously been wearing appeared. “Of course, don't follow in my footsteps on that one—I would never encourage breaking the rules.” She hadn't even got caught though, she had made it out with good memories and a new close friend. She had been lucky.

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A new friend?

Upon the utterance of her name, she noticed the slight flash of recognition visible for just a moment in the eyes of the girl standing opposite her. Aoife remained quiet simply giving Ruby a small nod as she reaffirmed the name that she had given. It was then the older girl asked if she had a sister and almost immediately Aoife knew who she was talking about. Her sister Moira was in Slytherin so it would make sense if her older sister knew people her own age. She gave a small nod "Y-" She fell quiet as she found herself stuttering once more. She took a deep breath as the older girl reassured her promising that she wasn't about to be put into detention.

This allowed Aoife to relax a little bit as she nodded finally speaking up without tripping over her letters. "Aye Moira Lovett is 'er name. Do ye know 'er perhaps?" she asked trying to calm her nerves now that she knew that she wasn't in trouble. She definitely would not have been looking forward to the howler she'd likely received from her mum if she heard that she'd ended up in detention so shortly after starting at Hogwarts. The expression on the girl's face seemed to soften by quite a margin allowing Aoife to better relax as well. "Ah righ' sorry bou' tha'...I'm still gettin' used tae bein' 'ere not too sure wha' tae expect honestly. I've 'eard all the stories from me brother and sister but 'earin 'bout it and experiencin' it are two different things." Aoife said rubbing the back of her neck.

She fell silent she felt far more comfortable around the older girl now but she appeared to be running into one of those moments where she was at a loss of what else to say. The situation had changed so quickly and it was really quite jarring. First she had been terrified that she'd be thrown into detention simply for looking at a forest. And now she appeared to be making a new friend albeit likely only due to the other girl knowing of her sister. She mentally made a note to thank Moira later even if her older sister knew nothing of her own involvement in the making of a new friend for Aoife.

As the silence lingered for a moment longer Aoife felt a slight measure of relief wash over her as it seemed Ruby was willing to fill the silence as she shared her own experiences as a first-year. She listened as the girl spoke of how at one point she'd snuck out in the dead of night to climb a tree and how the night would result in her meeting one of her closest friends. Aoife couldn't help but hope that perhaps she'd be just as fortunate. To meet a friend of course not to sneak out if her lack of ability to detect someone walking straight toward her was any indication her sneaking skills likely wouldn't fare very well in that endeavor. She offered Ruby a small nod a small smile pulling at the corner of the girl's lips "Righ' o'course considerin' yer s'posed tae be enforcin' em." She said.

@Ruby Cazares

Reducio

I'm sorry how long this took!! I got buried under RL things.