Black Beginnings
Interacting: @Falentra Black
English | Mandarin | French | Quotes
Hui Ming did not think himself to be a particularly emotional person. Passion had never been his watchword, he had always felt more drawn to duty and curiosity. Yet, not even a hundred days in this new, strange world and already the normally quiet Chinese boy burned with the fire from a hundred suns.
He loathed this place. He loathed every single detail about this world, from the careless professors to the rambunctious students, to the academic system built on the assumption that students would want to stay in this deathtrap pretending to society, to the school itself. Sometimes he felt like the walls and corridors kept changing every so often, just to spite his efforts to get comfortable with this place.
He hated every little bit of it.
There was little he could do about most of the sources of his ire, though. Dropping out of Hogwarts was asking for trouble. And the handful of responsible individuals he had met here kept insisting that such 'enthusiastic' people were in all worlds.
Which left only one of his sources of frustration for him to work on, the issue of one Hildegard Schneider. The girl was a menace and a liability. Somehow simultaneously managing to be headstrong and meek, both proud and cowardly; the girl was as calm as an explosion and as reliable as one of those politician people.
If her bumbling attempts at attention or her clear duplicity were not reason enough to dislike her, her blood purity certainly was. From having openly declared that the wizarding world had no place in it for people like him (a thought he did not disagree with - let them keep their insanity - but it was the principle of it that mattered) to attempting to drown one of his. In front of staff, no less! Scheider had left no stone unturned in her quest to earn every bit of his contempt, from shamelessly hiding behind her disability to being trigger-happy with spells at every opportunity, regardless of how little the situation called for her showing off.
He had hoped that some companionship would have mellowed the troublesome creature, but even Miss Kerr had failed to quell the unreliable tendencies of the girl. And it was high time that someone took the matter to hand before the idiot girl tried one of her inevitable attempts to murder him or his. Or worse, embarrass him.
He had spent a good amount of time trying to think of the best way to handle this situation, and for the longest time, he had drawn a blank. His first two days at Hogwarts proper had taught him that teachers could be relied upon for precious few things outside of classes (and sometimes not even that!). He had hoped that he could find some guidance from Dmitri Jones, dormmate and Dueling captain, but the older student was nigh unapproachable.
He had considered going to Miss Stewart or Miss Decipio, who were perhaps two of the only seniors he could fully respect. Somehow, he felt that neither would quite be up to the task of advising him on how best to bo about 'neutralising' Schneider, for lack of a more appropriate term.
And so, it was a stroke of luck that he had stumbled across the name Black among those waitlisted for the Vipers. She was not exactly the type of person he would normally have associated with, and his every instinct about the girl screamed trouble!
Sometimes though, trouble was exactly what was needed.
It was with that thought that the first year now found himself approaching the older girl. He would be lying if he said he was not nervous, but surely Black could not be worse than Dmitri-bloody-Jones, could she?
Absently, the boy twirled a pen amidst the fingers of his left hand. It was a bad habit he picked up, somewhere over the course of the last month - he was aware he was not a magical match for most of the monsters in the school. But at worst, he could stab something if he absolutely had to.
A deep breath.
Okay, enough stalling. It's showtime.
The Chinese first-year made his way over to the table of the older girl, where she was busy reading. Probably studying for her OWLs his mind supplied readily; as if that little tidbit helped him in the smallest possible way.
A quick glance over the girl he was seeking as he approached. Her posture was not incorrect, and the quality of the fabric she was wearing seemed satisfactory as well. it was an encouraging sign, and gave him a faint hope that perhaps he might be able to make it through this conversation without having to resort to the barbarity of violence, or of ugly words.
It was a sort of satisfaction that was rare, especially since he had left the days of his private schooling behind, and he took a moment to indulge in it before he reached her. It was a fleeting moment, but one he indulged in gratefully.
And then the moment was over and the moment of truth was upon him. Hui Ming stood opposite to the desk of the fifth year, the spectacled first year with an immaculate uniform - his right hand upon the strap of his backpack and his left gripping onto the pen.
"I beg your pardon," he said to the older girl. His voice was carefully neutral, the elocution perfect from years of painful practice. He would not mess this up due to carelessness or nerves."Would you happen to be Miss Falentra Black?"
The curtains fell. And the silence was deafening
Black Beginnings
@Hui Ming
The Library had always been one of Falentra's favourite places to visit during her free time, even more so during the winter. It was cozy and though not as quiet as she wished, her usual spot was good enough. The gentle sounds of pages turning, the light trickles of rain hitting against the window behind her... it was just heaven. Though her visits were mostly consumed with relaxation, throughout her visits over the years, there had been many that have approached her with both good and bad intentions, so, for the poor souls to follow in their footsteps now were to sure be greeted with a more harsher, colder or at the very least irritated approach.
OWLs were indeed on the girls mind more often than she wished. The majority were still a year off, but she wanted to get enough studying in now, on the sly, than those who will leave it till the last minute and start panicking. How could she, after all, miss a show like that?
Tonight's session was going well and her concentration was siding with her for a change. The information was being taken in with ease and she hadn't even been pestered--amazing! However, and there was always a however, it seemed Falentra's luck had just ran out. The movement from another in who seemed to be heading her way caught the corner of her eye, enough for her to take the effort to raise her head from her book and up towards the boy who, with a formal stance, stood on the opposite side of the table, looking straight back at her. Naturally she was to snap with a 'what do you want' or a 'piss off' but the evening was going so well and a little boy such as himself was not going to change that. Besides, he looked harmless...literally. With the quick eye contact she made with him, she gathered enough evidence to make out he was probably a good-two-shoes. Clean, well-dressed, well spoken-- ugh. What could he possible want with her? While that, among other thoughts lingered in the back of mind, she sat back in her chair and swung both her legs up onto the table in front of her. They rested heavily on top of her papers that were filled with notes and doodles of boredom and from the lack of care in her placement, a few crumbles of dried dirty fell and landed among her work.
She was comfortable in her position now, but not so much with the boy in her presence. Her eyes peered over the book to take one last look at him, to see if his expression had changed at all. ''Yes, that's me. What do you want?'' For now, she had enough to go off and so her eyes returned to her book in which she invested the majority of her attention to.
At least that was to be the case unless he had something interesting enough to distract her from the book.
| Falentra Black Fearless . Perfectionist Ⅰ & II . Healing Sage . Non-Verbal Magic . Imperio | Rain Günther |
Black Beginnings
Interacting: @Falentra Black
English | Mandarin | French | Quotes
As Ming realized that he was being studied, he visibly straightened his back. He was the picture propriety, pristine and perfect. Not a single hair out of place. He could have been mistaken for a typical pureblood heir – or at the very least, from a family with money – had it not been for the pen.
It was an awkward device, and easily drew the eye. For it was neither a quill nor a ball-point pen preferred by the newer generation. It was a fountain pen, black with a gold inlay. Equally odd was how he held the pen. Where before he had been absently twirling it amongst his fingers, he now held it tightly, as if the tip were a dagger’s point.
When the girl assumed a more comfortable position, Ming furrowed his brows. He could not help but feel like he was in one of those crime movies, about to beg his case in front of the big crime boss. One wrong move and….
Ming had thought this through and started out on his speech. The one that he had rehearsed until he thought he could give it flawlessly in his sleep. “Miss Black, your reputation precedes you.” He started. “As a person of ability, and respect. But more importantly as someone who -”
It was at about this point that he realized the older girl had gone back to her books. He was losing her interest, and that simply would not do.
“Blast it all.” Ming cursed, perhaps more loudly than he had intended to. “Okay plan B.”
A sigh, as the boy tried to gather himself for the direct approach. “I’ll not waste your time pleasantries, Miss Black. Somehow I doubt you have much use of them.” His grip on the pen tightened. Not that it would be much use in a fight, but somehow it felt more comforting in his hand than a wand he could not yet use to the fullest extent.
“I seem to have a problem, and she needs to be handled.” He said finally, his training and formal air cracking at the seams in the face of his anger. They were only minor outward manifestations of his rage: his face set in grim determination, his shoulders tense, his grey eyes blazing. But inside he burned.
“I had thought you might be able to offer a first-year some insight on the more,” a small pause. “Drastic measures possible. Given your somewhat Black reputation.”
The curtains fell. And the silence was deafening