PV Birthdays, Babies, and Besties Closed

Today was a special day. To anyone else, it was just your average day but not to Elena. If not already, she was probably already a couple moments late as she hurried down from the winding staircases that led up to Gryffindor Tower. Today was truly a special day for Elena Jangleton given the fact it was Adlai's birthday, an occassion that the brunette would not miss for anything and she wasn't sure she would be forgiven if she did. At first, the fourth year had mulled over just what exactly to get the Hufflepuff deep in thought just a week over staring up at the ceiling. Something simple would not do and as she got to thinking, it had struck her in that exact moment and now as she hurried down the stairs, she hoped she made the right call at least.

Clutched in the crook of her elbow was a gently packaged wrapping that contained Adlai's gift, an rather lavish hijab blue in color that had tiny little gems stitched into it that gave off a sort of shiny appearance. As for how the Gryffindor had obtained such an item, the source fell to her brother who had traveled to more than one country and as a result, these things were not hard to come by after she had told him of her predicament and he had reached to some international connections he had made across the globe and before long, Elena was presented with something that she knew Adlai would be happy with and content with that fact, the girl burst into the Great Hall already turning her head towards the Hufflepuff table keen to see where Adlai was at among this sea of heads.

It was not hard to make her out among the others as Elena dodged a group of firsties hurring down the length of the tables just in time to catch the last snippets of a converstation that Adlai was having with another girl, presumably someone close to her. "I hope I'm nice at least." The brunette offered piping up announcing her presence grinning as she thrust the gently packaged fabric gift into Adlai's lap before attempting to wrap the girl in a tight hug perhaps too excited for this joyous occassion. "Happy birthday! Hope you like it." She murmured before withdrawing, her attention shifting to the other girl giving her a smile in lieu of a greeting. "Sorry, where are my manners? If it wasn't blatantly obvious by now, I'm Elena." She said offering a hand to the girl smiling. They were going to have a party of three, it seemed, not that Elena minded. The more, the merrier in her book.

Back Date: September 6, 2021

@Elena Jangleton

Hearing a familiar and friendly voice behind her, Adlai spun her head around and gazed up at Elena's face. She immediately smiled at the sight of her, metal still lining her teeth although its been more than a year since she's received her braces. "Elena!" she squealed as she went in for a hug. Afterward she looked at the colorful paper rapped package that her friend had placed in her lap. "Thank you, you really didn't have to though, you coming was a gift in itself."

Adlai watched as Dorothy politely nodded towards Elena as she introduced herself, completely ignoring Elena's hand. It was almost as though the minute an unknown individual showed up Dorothy shut down. She gave Adlai a silent scream for help via heavy eye contact, but Adlai ignored it. When it came to social interactions Dorothy needed a bit of tough love, Adlai wouldn't be able to baby her for much longer. "I'm Dorothy." She managed to squeak out.

"My sister." Adlai added as she looked between the two. She had hoped the two would be able to get along, however Adlai did take into account how different their personalities were. Although Dorothy was shy and quiet at the moment, once she got comfortable she was quite talkative.

Elena grinned, it was impossible to be anything but that on such a joyous occassion. "Of course I did, what sort of friend would I be then?" She countered laughing slightly glad that she had managed of think of something at the last minute. Over the years, the Gryffindor girl had been to more than just a handful of birthday parties but this had been different. She knew had to do something meaningful for Adlai and as such, she had invested some thought into it, perhaps flipped open a few books on her friend's home countries before throwing all of that aside and settled on a lavish hijab, something that glittered with beauty and would mesh in well with her attire as the girl claimed a spot at the table away from her Gryffindor counterparts. It was typically considered an unmentionable rule to sit with your own house members but it was Adlai's birthday and that in Elena's mind was good enough as of an excuse that she needed to give anyone who had the audacity to ask.

Her handshake lingerd in the air for a moment before Dorothy simply nodded her greeting and the brunette withdrew her hand. It was there and then that the connection was made as the Hufflepuff introduced the new girl as her sister and realization dawned on Elena's face. "Oh! A pleasure, how're you liking the castle so far?" Adlai had mentioned her siblings before but the girl had never really met them face to face so this was her first time though as she studied the younger girl, she reckoned she could see the resembelance and though perhaps a bit quiet, she at least managed to get her name out. It was always like that with the younger years, Elena had been the same way curious, fearful and intimadiated by this big school though she reckoned any sibling or friend of Adlai's was a friend of hers as she graced the girl with a pleasant smile hopefully to put her more at ease.

They seemed alike in more ways than one. "Dorothy, it's a pretty name." Elena said kindly thoughts running through her head. Icebreakers were the tough part of any converstation but once you got past that, it was pretty easy to establish a connection though she hoped it would be a positive one in this case. Luckily however, Elena had developed a reputation for being a quiet and gentle Gryffindor to the people she met so she reckoned she had that going for her. "Hufflepuff like your sister then or did the Hat place you elsewhere?" She knew however that was not always the case, sometimes siblings tended to end up split though in their case, Elena didn't think that would be too much of a deal, she thought about how interesting it would be of either of them had gotten Gryffindor but then shot that idea down. No, they didn't strike her as the Gryffindor type, Adlai defintely was not as impulsive as Elena was in certain instances, a bit more cautious if anything else.

Back Date: September 6, 2021

@Elena Jangleton

Adlai beckoned Dorothy with her eyes as Elena began to ask her questions about herself. She thought of this as the perfect opportunity to socialize Dorothy more, even at home she was rather reclusive and now that she thought about it she didn't even know if Dorothy had any friends at all. After all Dorothy never spoke of any children her age. "They placed me in house Ravenclaw," Dorothy managed to say. "Whatever that means." she mumbled after.

"And the castle is... grandiose, so to speak."
"I have to agree with you on that." Adlai responded an encouraging smile on her face. "It's nothing I can't handle on my own though." Dorothy had a running nickname amongst their family, more used by their mother than anyone else, and that nickname was "Ms. Independent." Ever since Adlai could remember Dorothy enjoyed doing things on her own and preferred it when people didn't help her and thus through Dorothy's previous statement Adlai could feel a bit of irritation radiating from her sister. Perhaps Adlai had been a bit too helpful towards Dorothy's adjustment to Hogwarts.

"But how have you been Elena, what have you been up too? I haven't gotten a chance to catch up with you. Everything has been so busy at home for the us but even so I feel guilty for not writing you." Adlai said taking one of Elena's hands into her own.

Elena had always thought those who were blessed enough to land in House Ravenclaw were on another level. It was the perfect middle house, it wasn't just natural prodigies who were Ravenclaws, there was this sense of gentle nature, this kindness, this reservdness that accompanied them and something she felt with Dorothy. Slytherin and Gryffindor were constantly neck with neck at some thing or another, Hufflepuff was the peacemaker and Ravenclaw just kept to themselves enjoying the show like any sensible and logical person would do. She had to laugh at the girl's admisson of the castle, it most certainly was unique and much, much bigger than any average school in England given the fact that they learned in an actual castle which Elena was sure a blessing in itself shuddering at the thought of some of those stoic Muggle centers she had seen.

She would take Hogwarts over that any time of the day or year. "It's easy to get lost but that's all part of the experience. Don't worry though, you sort of fall into a routine after a couple of weeks or so." She reassured the girl, the brunette herself had memorized to heart which moving staircase took her where, which portraits held shortcuts and there was still many more to discover, she was sure. She decided not to tell her everything knowing some things were better learnt through discovery giving Adlai's hand a gentle squeeze as the girl began to question her as the Gryffindor realized truly how much she had missed the Hufflepuff almost bursting with the urge to speak.

It was a relief to see the one person who understood her in every aspect again as she settled into her natural element. "Don't apologize, I get how demanding home can be at times but today's your birthday so we'll forgive you." She said grinning though the word home still sounded hallow and hoarse on her tongue. Yes, the Gryffindor certainly knew how demanding familial obligations could be as the thoughts racked her mind. As if Elena could ever be mad at Adlai, the thought was almost laughable at best as she dismissed it without a second thought. "It's been quite slow really, they had a summer camp here that was fun but everyone's slowly getting settled back into this school thing." She didn't even want to think about O.W.L.S which were still a year away but even that seemed like it would be upon her soon.

Elena had always thought those who were blessed enough to land in House Ravenclaw were on another level. It was the perfect middle house, it wasn't just natural prodigies who were Ravenclaws, there was this sense of gentle nature, this kindness, this reservdness that accompanied them and something she felt with Dorothy. Slytherin and Gryffindor were constantly neck with neck at some thing or another, Hufflepuff was the peacemaker and Ravenclaw just kept to themselves enjoying the show like any sensible and logical person would do. She had to laugh at the girl's admisson of the castle, it most certainly was unique and much, much bigger than any average school in England given the fact that they learned in an actual castle which Elena was sure a blessing in itself shuddering at the thought of some of those stoic Muggle centers she had seen.

She would take Hogwarts over that any time of the day or year. "It's easy to get lost but that's all part of the experience. Don't worry though, you sort of fall into a routine after a couple of weeks or so." She reassured the girl, the brunette herself had memorized to heart which moving staircase took her where, which portraits held shortcuts and there was still many more to discover, she was sure. She decided not to tell her everything knowing some things were better learnt through discovery giving Adlai's hand a gentle squeeze as the girl began to question her as the Gryffindor realized truly how much she had missed the Hufflepuff almost bursting with the urge to speak.

It was a relief to see the one person who understood her in every aspect again as she settled into her natural element. "Don't apologize, I get how demanding home can be at times but today's your birthday so we'll forgive you." She said grinning though the word home still sounded hallow and hoarse on her tongue. Yes, the Gryffindor certainly knew how demanding familial obligations could be as the thoughts racked her mind. As if Elena could ever be mad at Adlai, the thought was almost laughable at best as she dismissed it without a second thought. "It's been quite slow really, they had a summer camp here that was fun but everyone's slowly getting settled back into this school thing." She didn't even want to think about O.W.L.S which were still a year away but even that seemed like it would be upon her soon.

Back Date: September 6, 2021

@Elena Jangleton

"I already have it somewhat mapped out, the whole building works off of numbers and grids. It's not that random." Dorothy said, crossing her lengthy arms and sticking her nose into the air. Her nose was just as flat and road as Adlais, a trait the two of them had inherited from their mother. "Dorothy, please." Adlai seemed to hiss through her teeth as a warning of sorts.

Adlai was never sure why siblings acted different around the friends of their family members. Perhaps it was to seem cooler than them? Perhaps it was to seem nicer, in some cases. However, for Dorothy she was just being her plane blunt self. Adlai had tried and tried again to teach Dorothy how to fluff up her statements so that they weren't so harsh at times, but Dorothy just took it as Adlai trying to convince her to lie.

Adlai looked down at her hand when she felt Elena squeeze it, and then smiled up at her. "I didn't know you went to summer camp!" She exclaimed, amazed at the concept of it. She had seen plenty of summer camps in films but had never been to one herself.

There were so many things Adlai wanted to tell her and speak to her about, but speaking about somethings in front of Dorothy? They would have to wait. Nonetheless, Adlai did know something she could talk about. "Oh! Did I tell you? We have a pet with us this year!"

@Adlai Rod

One thing was clear from the start and that being the two sisters were similar yet different in their own ways. Dorothy had taken to that Ravenclaw intellect and knowledge like a fish to water and from her words, clearly wasn't shy about stating it as well. Still, the whole concept of grids and numbers was one that had never occured to her so maybe Dorothy was right in that sense merely smiling in response. "Never thought of it like that, good one." Adlai was certainly the warmer of the two but the brunette reckoned it would only be a matter of time before Dorothy was settled in, perhaps it was just the first-year jitters or the sheer thought of meeting someone new, people tended to adapt to it in different ways and maybe this was the Ravenclaw's way of doing so and Elena would not fault her for that.

She nodded serenly at the comment. It had it's fair share of drama and tension as well, the Gryffindor suspected it probably wouldn't have suited Adlai's taste ranging from the plethora of activites that were present but one could hope. "There was also this food truck that they got, still wonder where they managed to get that from." As far as she was concerned, vehicular contraptions were still very much a Muggle invention but interesting. Although they had no need for it with their various forms of transportation involving Floo powder, Apparation and brooms, that image was still stuck in her head with the two professors manning it serving out sizzling hot edible morsels of food and it brought a smile to her face. "Maybe next time, you really shouldn't miss it." She decided to leave out the part where she had lost her wand in that maze she had so unwisely signed up for but reclaimed it afterwards, that too had been a very interesting activity of sorts.

Her eyes lit up at the mention of a pet. For as long as she had known the girl, Adlai had never brought up a pet or anything of the sorts. It was always school owls with her or the brunette would offer up Flutters sometimes for her missives, the bird practically answered to the Hufflepuff like he would to Elena but the mention of a new furry friend peaked her interest. "Oh? What is it? What'd you name it?" She piped up, a curious expression crossing her face. If anything, it could be a new friend for Flutters to play with, Merlin knew sitting up there in that dark, damp Owlery could get quite depressing after a while. Well, a new friend or a new prey depending on her owl saw it, her owl could be quite sudden at times so perhaps it would be better to wait and see what curious creature Adlai had adopted.

Back Date: September 6, 2021

@Elena Jangleton

Adlai gave one of her signature metal lined smiles when Elena began to ask her questions about her new family pet. Family pet... it was more hers than anyone else's she thought. "Well, our lovely aunt surprised us while we were school shopping and purchased us a snake!" she exclaimed, thinking back on the memory of their great aunt Margret storming into the pet store in a rage due to the fact that Adlai had pulled Dorothy on a separate adventure without her knowing.

"We decided to name her Dafina. Dorothy helped me with the name, isn't it after a book character you like?" Adlai asked. The two of them had tried to come up with several names. Adlai more than Dorothy since the poor girl was still stunned by the fact that her already wacky older sister could talk to snakes, her great aunt too! She stayed quick most of the time, just watching Adlai and Dafina talk back and forth, not understanding a single hiss between them.

"Not a book character, but I did get it from a book..." Dorothy stated, somewhat bashful. As to why, Adlai had no clue but Dorothy was talking and she wanted to keep it that way. "She's currently lives in my dorm room right now, but your week to have her in your dorm is coming up soon isn't it, Dorothy?"