Say Yes. Or No. Whatever. PV Ret Montagne Closed

Banner from Winnie Harper!

Roleplaying as iNPC Henrietta Montagne
@Winnie Harper

What was it about Felix Kolbeck? This would be a question for a great many decades, rolling off the tongue of anyone who ever met Henrietta, wondering what it was with the pairing of the sun and moon that sent everyone’s pupils to heart-shaped shadows. Where her hair and aura were golden and radiance undeniable, he was withdrawn, almost half-alive with platinum hair like all the white celestial bodies that once dangled in the night sky had collapsed and landed atop his head. A veil draped over him, the thin mesh of horizon between day and night, the tightly packed yet vast space between planets and from dancing star to dancing star. Yet, in many ways it made sense, her engulfing warmth and the chill he sent down her spine brewed an ideal temperature, their shades both cancelled and balanced one another into a state of beautiful equilibrium.

There were a few nights before writing back spent gazing into the charcoal void, waiting for it to open and stare back and see whose silhouette it was that was twirling in her irises. Her fingers were constantly tracing over his lettering and trying to determine every place his hand may have twitched or shaken as he peeled those words from a hidden layer of his soul, those blind sentiments she could tell were buried deep beneath leather and a dreamy, biting accent. On her wrist she would trace letters mindlessly as the hours roamed along, words that he encouraged, different phrasings and switching between print and cursive. Wondering if it would take a crimson ink to portray the emotion that was at the edge of her quill.

If he would know what she meant when she wrote hello. If he would hear the tone in which she sang for the words yes, I’d heard of this ball. If he’d know that translated to I was hoping you’d ask. She didn’t understand what she wished for, or rather why, only that it was him and interlocking hands and a night of matching clothes and praying that the moon would forget to fall down. Daring the sun to whisper its sweet, warm greeting with a newly lit fire in her stare, looking over his shoulder which would be the view until it all came to a bittersweet close. Ret had to wonder if they saw the same things when their eyelids covered the rest, just minutes before drifting off to sleep.

Four days like this. Decoding her own emotions, collapsing into fits of rage at even more minor inconveniences than usual, but in truth, she was angry at herself. Keeping him waiting, keeping herself waiting, as even the young blonde herself was on the edge of her seat with the suspense of if she’d write yes or no. When the parchment took the place of pristine flesh and the mystic ink from the tip of her index finger was replaced with the permanency of blackness, which snapshots from those fleeting dreams would boil to the surface? Each moment of the past four days was a blur, a montage of pastel moments of surreal quality, forgettable yet memorable in all the ways one couldn’t drown in potions and medicines.

So she was amazed as she scrawled on that fifth day the following letter, with not a single will to erase or scratch out any line or love, no paper wasted. One sheet, one fluid movement, a single blink of the eye.

To: Felix Kolbeck, Durmstrang Institute
From: Henrietta Montagne, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

October 10th, 2021

Mister Felix Kolbeck,

Hello there, I’m very well and dreaming you’ll do better than fine soon.
Yes, I’d heard of this ball, it sounds like a grand time, doesn’t it?
I’d love to be your date. I’ll probably wear yellow so you should wear yellow too so people know you’re my date.
To be bland. Yes.

Thank you.

Yours,
Ret.

☀

☠

★

▪ ENCY ▪ ▪ FELIX ▪ KOLBECK ▪ ▪ DURMSTRANG iNPC ▪ THIRD YEAR ▪

★

☠

☾

Five days. It had taken five days for Ret to send her response to Felix, not that he was counting or anything (he was). As the days grew in number, the boy felt himself growing angry at the American for abandoning him in a dark void as he awaited her letter. Each day the owls would make their deliveries, and each day their claws would turn up empty.

He was quick to tell himself that it didn't matter after the third day had passed. Really, who was he to care? But she could have at least sent a letter to say no. Whatever, it wasn't like he cared. He would just ask some other girl, there were plenty of them, right? It didn't matter if he picked one that didn't leave his heart in his throat. Actually, that would perhaps be for the better. The Swede did not like feeling he wasn't in control, and that is what Ret did to him.

It would not matter if the girl he asked didn't have the light of the sun shimmering around her very being, her spirit glittering so bright that should light up the darkest of nights. Wouldn't make a difference if she wasn't the one he had laid awake thinking about during the chilled autumn nights.

Felix's torment was quickly forgotten when relief came in the form of a letter that arrived on the fifth day. He almost hated himself for how quickly he had ripped it open to read it. His blue eyes quickly scanning the contents, he realized she had said yes. She had agreed to be his date. He had felt a mixture of emotions; excitement, a surge of fluttery feelings within his chest, and terror.

Everything felt so real now. What the hell was he going to wear? There was no way he was going to back out now. He would had to admit to his mother that he had a date. There would be questions, so many damn questions... He had placed an order over a week prior, a gift for the girl, and it had finally arrived the day before. He had planned on tossing it out, but then Ret had replied to him. Just asking his mother to order it had resulted in a parade of whys and whos. He had shrugged her off and lied, telling her it was for a friend's birthday. Now he would have to ask her for a suit, one that had yellow of some kind.

Regardless, a response letter would be sent the next day, small gift box attached to the letter the owl carried. Several lines had been scribbled out, but the letter was a bit of an improvement from the first one. He had even used 'yours' as a closing line and it was something he would regret as soon as the delivery owl had taken flight.

To: Henrietta Montagne, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
From: Felix Kolbeck, Durmstrang Institute

October. 11th, 2021

Ret,

I'm doing better than fine after getting your letter.
I'm not used to wearing fancy clothing but I'll do it for you I'll find something.
I've also sent you something. I got it for you because it made me think of you. When you turn the pendent, the sunflower opens. If you don't like it, you can just toss it out or whatever, but I thought it would look nice on you.
Maybe you can wear it to the ball and I'll get one of those matching lapel pins. That would be cool.
I'm glad I get to see you again. See you soon.

Yours,
Felix

GIFT:

Reducio