To Walk A Mile in a Friend's Shoes PV Closed

Tapping at the glass of his window Elsian had spent the better part of the hour staring out at the marsh behind their home, random patterns tapping off the window panes as a few adults milled about doing last minute prep before the gala in a few hours. He'd found himself dragged to the main den for his opinion on the setting; long tables were being set up along the sides of the room for guests and while he disliked that the gala was being held here in the first place, Elsi begrudgingly had to admit that this part of the house was perfect, especially once the sun set.

With the long blue pane windows and matching doors you had the perfect view of the marsh waters and grassy lawn on the incline of their backyard. Perfect in his opinion. Perfect when there wasn't a gala going on at least.


"Elsi are you listening?"

Said boy in question turned to stare back at a set of unimpressed green, a sharp heeled boot tapping at the wooden floor as she forced two fabrics into his face.

"Elsian please focus, which one would look better under the lights tonight?"

Looking down at the fabrics with pursed lips it took a moment for him to really see the difference in colors. Both a pretty aqua shade but one the slightest bit shimmery...no hesitation he pointed to it making Aunt Matilde grin, a carefully manicured nail playing with a loose strand of black hair. "Thank you Elsi, your aunt Natalie just doesn't have an eye like yours you know."

A strangled gasp sounded from behind them, Natalie, ebony hair wild and loose as ever, holding a hand over her heart as if struck. "My own sister, bad mouthing me behind my back?" she gave a weak sigh, draping herself against the door way leading to the hall, "this is because of the opera isn't it?"


If Elsian knew anything it was but like hell he was about to get dragged into this conversation. Instead he huffed, shaking his head at the two, "I should have hid in the boat..."

Natalie for her part simply laughed, "oh please, Mati would hunt you down like a dementor and you know it."


Looking quite scandalized at the notion Matilde hovered over one of the table sets looking torn between scolding her on the nickname or the dementor bit, hand holding fabric scraps and flowers raised in threat. "Natalie I swear yo-"



Peaking behind the door way one of the maids fluttered at the door way, a handful of pots in her hands, "excuse me, but a group of guests have just arriv-" the maid stared, eyebrow furrowed at the scene of Matilde mid throw with a look of vengeance and Natalie, letting out a childish squawk as she cowered behind her nephew. "I'm sorry, should I just greet them?"

"I'll greet them!" Elsian offered quickly, rushing past the maid with a small 'thank you'. Escaping the room as Natalie made a wounded sound behind him when Matilde said something about curtain colors.

Freedom

Dodging past a sweeping broom to the front door he was just in time to see Willow and another woman through the windows of the double doors, Willow seeming to bounce past the open gate of the house and up the stone path. He'd just grabbed onto the knob of the door, pushing it open with a smile when loud laughter and the sound of a pot crashing behind him made him turn.

Whirling around just for Natalie, the mad woman, to come running to the open doorway laughing, white summer dress whirling around her as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him like a shield just as Matilde's voice rang out in an disbelieving yell in the distance.

Elsian, to his credit, only looked mildly annoyed as his aunt dragged him further outside, placing him rather obviously between her and the doorway, "Hello there~ You must be Willow! And you," at this she brought one hand up to push her hair from her face while looking at Willows mother," you must be her older sister! Why haven't you invited them in yet? Elsi you're slacking~"

Eyes narrowing, Elsian turned to his aunt with a snarky look, "says the one who dropped all the-" he squawked, words lost when his aunt ruffled his hair with both hands childishly, "hey- stop!"

"You brat~" she giggled, turning to give Willows mother a smile. "Please do come in though~"

Interacting with @Elsian Cox

Both Willow's and her mom's eyes widened as the door swung open just as they arrived followed by an immediate crash. Suddenly, Owena was worried about leaving Willow alone in their care for the weekend. Her hand squeezed her young daughter's with a small smile as someone else approached the door promptly pushing Elsian further out. "Ah, what a flatterer you are. No, I'm Willow's mother. My name is Owena."

Her mother moved a bundle of sunflowers and daisies that she had definitely been holding this entire time and handed them over. "I brought these from our garden at home, as a little thank you for watching my little sapling this weekend." Willow gaped and turned to her mom. "Mum, you said you wouldn't call me that in front of my friend!" Her mom simply giggled and shrugged innocently. "Oh, I'm sure Elsi here doesn't care." Owena lightly pushed Willow in.

Willow quickly moved to Elsian's side, if anything, they had solidarity against embarrassing adults right now. "Adults, am I right?" She whispered towards him. Her eyes scanned the large entryway and everything that was already decorated for tonight. "Wow, everything is so pretty already. Um, where do you think I can put my stuff?" She lifted up her dress bag and small weekend bag as if to show Elsian the stuff she had. "Also, if you ever tell anyone that my parents call me sapling, I will have to kill you." Her eyes held an intensity that... wasn't that intimidating coming from the blue eyed badger. It more looked like she was pleading for him to comply more than anything.

If everything was already this chaotic, it was looking up to be an interesting weekend that was for sure. She had already felt a relief that it was less stuffy than she was expecting. With the reputation that pureblood families she had, she had expected to feel stifled and worried about being her usual self but that didn't seem to be the case. Or maybe the aunt was an anomaly of informality. After all, there was still the entire gala she had to get through. Willow really had no frame of reference of who would be showing up, what they would look like, if there would even be other kids. But, she knew that she came prepared with a ridiculous amount of friendship bracelets to at least charm her way through the occasion.

Elsian himself had a look of slight dismay at having his hair abused so horribly, his hands going to bat at the even messier locks thanks to a certain woman...Natalie for her part seemed to not even notice, not batting an eye at Elsi's glower even as she gave him her own small nudge towards Willow as she spoke. As if he needed it!

"Sorry about the noise. We had a bit of a slip involving a cat," she laughed, light and airy.


At Owena's words the woman in question grinned, practically preening in delight at the offered flowers. Twirling the bouquet in her hands with a happiness that, in Elsian's opinion, looked like a cat who caught the canary, she quickly thanked Willows mother. "Thank you, they're beautiful! And it's really no problem at all." she offered brightly.leaning in slightly she lowered her voice in a mock whisper as if revealing some big secret when both adults had ushered the two inside.

Giving a small scoff at the woman's words Elsian shook his head knowingly, twisting on his heel towards the inside of the house and away as the two women continued to talk. Instead turning his head to grace his attention on the Hufflepuff as she was pushed inside after him.

"The cat, sure," he sassed under his breath. He knew exactly what happened but it wasn't any normal cat that did it.


From the corner of his eye he could see his aunt fawning over the flowers. At Willows words he focused forward nodding in agreement immediately with a pained look. "Right," he mumbled back, twisting around to eye ball the entrance, "It is, but I'd try not to talk about decor. My aunt Matilde can and will corner you to go on a hour long talk about color choice and lighting if she hears you..." he warned with the look of someone who spoke from experience, "thanks by the way, you saved me from table cloth choices."

Expression changing into something more pondering as she showed the bag he gave the other a nod, "yep, you can put it in your room if you want." At her threat the look melted into a sharp smile, his hand curling upwards to hover over his mouth as he nodded at her, "whatever you say sapling" he whispered gleefully. Just loud enough from behind his hand for her and only her to hear. Yet despite the glee and teasing it was sincere. He wouldn't tell anyone. But that didn't mean he wasn't gonna tease her about it!

And yet perhaps it was karma that it was then he heard Natalie's words drifting to them just as he moved to walk up the stairs. Leaning in slightly she lowered her voice in a mock whisper as if revealing some big secret to Owena now that both adults had ushered the two inside. One hand coming up to hide the curl of her lips as she spoke again, "Elsi was practically sulking just waiting for her to arrive~" she teased, "if anything I should be thanking you! I haven't seen him this lively in awhile!"

Whipping his head towards her with an choked noise of surprise and a baleful look he quickly sputtered, "I didn- I just...- you!-" He could feel his face heating up at the woman's teasing and gave a stormy look but the effect was ruined by the flush on his face, only enhanced by pale skin and dark hair. "I didn't sulk I just-! oh never mind! Come one." he ushered, turning away and waving a hand to the stairs in an attempt to get away from anymore adult nonsense and hide how flustered he felt.

Hearing his aunts giggles as he all but fled up the stairs with Willow in tow, though he'd deny it if you said it, he glowered at the stairway that they'd just come up. Half relieved that he couldn't hear his aunts happy teasing and half mortified that his face still felt warm.

"I did not sulk just so you know," he huffed, as if daring the other to say anything but it hardly came off as anything but flustered. The way he looked away from her with a frown and crossed his arms didn't help at all, making him look more or less like a cat inconvenienced by the rain than anything else.

"...But I am glad to see you. Even if it means having to deal with my aunts being annoying I suppose." he admitted giving Willow a wry look, as if debating something before speaking up. " I feel I should warn you, my aunts an animagus. We don't have any cats here so don't let her trick you into looking later. She likes messing with people who don't know."

Interacting with @Elsian Cox

Willow's eyes alighted at the mention of a cat. She had always wanted to get a cat, but with their house being full of things that were begging to be knocked off of shelves her parents would never budge. "You have a cat?" She was practically bouncing with excitement just at this one mention. She was already ready to ditch the whole gala to spend her night with a cat. But something about Elsi's reaction to what she said made it seem like there wasn't actually a cat involved, which would be incredibly disappointing.

The young badger followed dutifully after her weekend host, casting a glance behind her at her mom to see her already talking details with Elsi's aunt. She turned back around when Elsian began speaking once more. "I mean... If she needs help I wouldn't mind offering an opinion or too. I do paint.. so I know what colors go together I guess. But, I guess you're welcome? Is it really that bad?" During the holidays Willow would love to help her family decorate, choosing the color scheme of the season and what they wanted to go with. But she remembered they had very different family dynamics, and slightly felt like she was putting her foot in her mouth by even asking.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes as her threat did not go off well. "You're lucky I don't have my wand with me. My mom wouldn't let me bring it. I kind of feel empty without it with me, especially having carried it with me for months. I never thought I would get so attached to it." She shrugged it off. "Not like I'm allowed to use it outside of Hogwarts anyways."

Once again her attention was diverted from the sound of her mother laughing from something that Natalie just said, even though she really didn't hear it because she was too busy being sad about having to leave her wand at home. When Elsi started acting flustered, she wished she had overheard it. "Wait, what just happened?" Sulking? Oh it was payback time. "Aw Elsi... did you miss me?" She giggled teasingly before following him up the rest of the stairs.

It seemed like they were taking turns being flustered by the adults in their life. "I don't know... I am pretty amazing. It would make sense if all you did was wait for me to arrive." She jokingly flipped her hair over her shoulder, giggling, which ruined the seriousness of the gesture. Her smile couldn't help but soften when he did admit wanting to see her. "I'm excited about this. Again, thank you for letting me come." Then her face immediately fell when he confirmed the worst, and also the confusing. "A what? Like a shapeshifter? Like a metamorphmagus?" Willow was still learning about different wizarding terms, and animagus wasn't one that came up so far.

Owena called up from the bottom of the stairs, "Willow~ I'm heading out. I'll see you in a couple days sapling~" The teasing hadn't left her voice, apparently his Aunt encouraged the worst in her mom. "Alright bye mom~ Drive safe!" She waved down at her before watching her walk out of the manor. She turned back to Elsi. "So, wanna give me the full tour?"

Scuffing his shoe against the wood of the floor Elsian gave Willow a half shrug, hesitating at the edge of the staircase whilst she caught up, “it isn’t all the time, but she’s been fretting about colors and small details since this morning.”

He knew why of course. She was just trying her best to make sure the gala was wonderful, or as wonderful as it could be with a bunch of strangers and acquaintances. In a way it was nice, had been nice to see his aunts and decorate with them, been fun to cheat and tag team with his grandmother against his uncle and grandfather but it had also made it that much more bitter when the day of the party arrived. No more games, no more family time, just last minute changes, nerves and boring people.

Looking to Willow he gave a small grin, “Matilde...she’s not really decorating at this point. She’s making fake busywork for herself, which isn’t fun at all. She kept asking opinions on napkin colors.” He took a step down the hall to have space, twisting on his heel to face Willow again as he raised a hand to his chest. He faked a serious look, voice pitched high and tone mockingly polite, “Elsian please pay attention, what color do you thinks better? Lotus pod or biscuit?”

He shook his head, serious look dropping into an exasperated one. “Both looked the same and equally boring!” he scoffed, “I honestly though she was pranking me.”

~~~

At the others teasing he scoffed, childishly turning up his nose when she preened. Of course it was a moot point since he quickly joined in his friends laughter, the ridiculousness of it all made it hard not to.

“It’s nothing, if anything thank you.” he waved off, smile matching Willow's own. “You did save me from never-ending boredom tonight after all. ”

Arms stretching up to cross behind his head he leaned back slightly on his feet. He was a bit surprised at the other to be honest, and now he was rather glad he’d brought up his aunt in the first place. “Yeah, Natalie can change into a cat. She likes to mess with people who don’t know but you’d probably have been fine even if I hadn’t said anything. But still, figured you’d appreciate not being pranked,” he snickered.

Pausing when Owena called up he couldn’t help the scrunched up face at the sound of his aunts giggles. It was quiet, especially when Willow's mom was talking over it but still there and he found himself willingly passing up on a snide comment because of it. He didn’t even want to know what they’d said anymore, blackmail or not, he had a feeling it’d just end up in a stalemate of embarrassment for both Willow and himself.

Dropping his arms he moved a hand to his chest, raising his right hand up towards Willow with a mocking half bow, “t'would be my pleasure Milady Sapling,” he snarked before straightening with a grin and gesturing in a come hither motion, “this way my wandless friend.”

Down the long hallway bright candlelight led the way on a path that most certainly seemed larger than typically possible at first glance. The vibrant hues of the walls coming off as much more dark, perhaps even solemn when compared to the liveliness of downstairs. He didn’t stop to point or explain any of the rooms they passed, each and every door while a bit different in color and design each alike in the way they seemed to be shut up tight, with not even a single strand of light coming out from under the doorway.

Turning to look at Willow, he trailed a hand across one of the doors as they walked, seemingly content to graze over the knobs without actually trying to enter. “This floor’s enchanted, bigger on the inside and can’t be seen from the outside so there’s no windows. Most of these rooms are kept locked up for the most part, but they’re pretty dull despite how they look on the outside, so it doesn’t matter all that much.”

Reaching the bend of the hallway he led them up another flight of stairs, this hall much more welcoming, open thanks to the sunlight streaming in between thin curtains. Stretching down both ways Elsian twisted to the left, passing even more doors, some more peculiar than others, while others much more subdued. Each however undeniably different and easy to pick out from one another.

Finally stopping them when they neared the end of the hall and the last of the doors Elsian twisted on his heel to rap a single finger against the wood. “It’s pretty easy to remember what each room is in this house, no doors the same so you probably won't get horribly, terribly lost, ” he offered wryly. A pause before he added,"...I mean- I'll honestly be impressed if you do."

Twisting the cold knob he pushed the door open, moving to the side for the Hufflepuff and giving a small mock bow, “You’re room Miss Sapling."

Interacting with @Elsian Cox

Watching Elsian talk about his family made her heart warm, even if it was complaining. Most of the time when they hung out up until now, they would always talk about Willow and her family's magic. Rarely would the other boy's family come up, at least until the howler came and interrupted their peaceful afternoon that led to her being invited in the first place. Even behind his façade of a frustration and lack of care, he had to care about having time with them deep down somewhere, right? Or perhaps it wasn't that deep at all. Everyone had different relationships with their families, and Willow was still learning how to navigate those kinds of conversations.

Their laughter seemed to come into harmonies that neither expected, often after they were being especially ridiculous in mocking those around them. It was a type of relationship she didn't really have with anyone else, Elsian seemed to have a special place in her childish heart. "I don't think the word boring exists when we're hanging out, if I'm being honest." She couldn't help but pout with the definite news that there was no cat in this household. "Well, I think you should get an actual cat so I could snuggle it without feeling really weird about it. I love cats. I've been trying to convince my parents to let me get one for years, and they just won't budge." It truly was a tragedy in her young 12 year old life.

If Willow could roll her eyes any harder, her eyes might straight up roll out of her head. The audacity Elsian had to call her sapling would surely come back to get him. She just had to wait for the right moment to exact her revenge. As they walked through the hallways, she couldn't help but peep up about the lack of electricity. "I've... never actually been in a wizard home. Do electronics really not work around magic at all? Or does your family just really dig the candlit aesthetic?" Often wizards were fascinated with muggles and their life, but Willow didn't really take the time to be fascinated back specifically about how they would live because she had never really even thought about it.

"It's kind of like a Tardis." She muttered more to herself than Elsian. She didn't think that something from a TV show could actually be real. Bigger on the inside than the outside. "That's brilliant. Magic truly is... well... magic. I'm still surprised by it sometimes." Every class at Hogwarts she seemed to get her mind boggled with something new that she never even thought could be possible. They seemed to walk forever, truly showing the span of the spell that made the house this big. "A-Are you just walking me in circles? I genuinely can't tell." He could absolutely be messing with her and she would be none the wiser, although she hoped that he wouldn't since she would probably need to find this room again later.

Once they finally stopped in front of a door, she breathed a sigh of relief. But genuinely couldn't remember which way they had went. "U-Um... for being directionally challenged I would maybe need a map to get back. You should know I still get lost in Hogwarts. Put me in a forest I can find my way just fine, in an ever shifting place like Hogwarts? Less of an easy time. Or... somewhere with a bizarrely long hallway. So consider yourself pre-impressed."

Mocking him right back, she gave him a small curtsy back. "Oh why thank you Mister Elsi." As she looked into the room, she was floored. It was... kind of like home. But much more delicate than the chaos that existed in her house in various plants hanging from the ceiling and stacks and stacks of random dried herbs and flowers. "This... this is really nice." She gently set her stuff out. After a moment of awe, she excitedly turned. "Do you want to see the dress I brought?" Without waiting for an answer she unzipped the dress bag, revealing a cute pink and floral dress, perfectly suited for a gala. At least she thought so.

Dress Reference

Reducio