22 Sep 2021, 00:20
It's Not Written in the Stars
INTERACTIONS @Theodore Duncain
MENTIONING Ella Forsberg, Hanzo Fransson, Nichlas Forsberg, Der Niffler, The Durmstrang Gang, Evelynn Decipio
NORWEGIAN | SWEDISH | RUSSIAN | GERMAN | ENGLISH
When: Sunday, August 29th, 2021
Note: This thread transpires after all summer activities have concluded
It was nearing the end of summer camp. Within a week, Durmstrang, Ilvermorny and Beauxbatons students would be cleared out and the Hogwarts children nestling firmly into their new routine. It was bitter-sweet in a way. This had not at all been the get-away that Greta had been expecting. Barely sign or sound had been seen or heard of her brother, Hanzo. For all she knew, he'd found some pretty girl to chase about the grounds just as he had the previous year. Perhaps they'd exchange letters back and forth for a time. If she was lucky, maybe he'd be the one, this time, to get an ear full from their parents about her insufficiencies despite them never having met her.
Taking a break from packing, Greta had wandered outside her cabin to make sure nothing had been left at the front. She had a way of scattering things about haphazardly. A pretty stone here, a handful of leaves and flowers there. Knicknacks that she'd picked up along the way while walking the grounds lay in a line along the edge of the cabin. A feather got tucked into a braid. A stone added to her pocket. One by one, she collected the little momentos, some of which had reminded her of the friends she hadn't seen in a while.
The rest of the gang had been likewise absent. Some of them had been spotted now and then. Jan had participated in the chess duelling combat, Greta knew; and Milo and a few others had been around as well. But it seemed this past year had really done its job to drive them all apart. Or perhaps it was just her. Hanzo had often lamented her presence during their "boys" outings. Having developed a friendship with Ella and really finding her place upon the duelling team, she hadn't minded so much. But separated and segregated from virtually everyone this camp had been rather lonely. Initially, at least.
Admittedly, the activities hadn't been nearly as terrible as Greta might have thought they would be. Even the maze which she had been required to navigate with a girl she could barely communicate with had been quite a bit of fun. As had the the chess. She'd had quite the thrill watching the broom racing and quidditch game as well; although neither had concluded the way she had hoped they might. Especially the latter.
It had been heart-breaking sitting in the stands watching her former teammates play their hearts out in an attempt to redeem themselves after last year's failure. Der Niffler had been especially impressive the way he had weaved in an out of trouble, avoiding any harrowing assaults until the very end. His flying had gotten even better, she'd noted, and she could still feel the skip in her heart whenever she thought about that last ditch dive for the snitch. He'd been so close. SO close. If only they'd managed to knock that blasted pig-snouted seeker off her broom earlier.
Greta could have done it. She was sure of it. The girl wouldn't even have seen what was coming. That would have been worth all the penalty laps. But what was done was done. Hogwarts had proven themselves a worthy opponent yet again, and they would have to wait until the following year to try to topple that streak. Hopefully.
The call of Greta's name pulled her from her thoughts. Head snapping up, she rose, pivoting on the spot, a leaf in one hand and a half-finished crown of flowers in the other. The hem of her patchwork dress swayed, then stilled against her calves, mud-caked ankle boots just visible below. She hadn't needed to see the face to know who it was who had called out to her. A blush erupted unbidden to her cheeks as her gaze settled on the image of her American... acquaintance. Reflexively, her gaze darted to either side, scanning for any sign of onlookers. Specifically Hanzo or Niche. Teeth found purchase on her lip as her gaze panned slowly back to him. All the moreso as he bid her follow.
"H-hello..." she murmured, trying to push down the images of tomato juice and guts spattering his face as they had during their last real encounter.
Part of her wanted to run back inside. To hide. Pretend she hadn't even been outside to see that he was there. If Hanzo saw... if her parents found out... it was bad enough that she had given him the ribbon at the race. But that was just being sportly...right? This... If she followed him... Well, it was no doubt far more scandalous than a few innocent letters. But... she couldn't deny her curiosity... and before she realized it, her feet had decided for her. First one step, then another, Greta timidly approached him and followed quietly at a short distance as her led her around back behind the cabin some ways to a small copse of trees where they could speak privately amidst the dappled shadows beneath the canopy.
"Ehm... Is... is good see clean...?" she attempted, jerkily raising a hand to wave towards his face in reference to the mess he'd last been in. She swallowed around a lump that had risen in her throat.
Still nervous, her fingers fiddled idly with the leaf and flower, twisting and roping them together.
It was... weird. Standing there with him. They'd exchanged letters for quite some time. His words, the stroke of his pen.. they had become familiar to her. But that had been some time ago. It had been even longer since they'd shared any amount of proximity in person without eyes potentially upon them. In fact... now that she thought of it, she couldn't remember if they'd ever had this sort of privacy. Unbidden, her heart picked up again. With nerves, surely. Of getting caught.
"I.. ehm..." Her gaze dropped, and she started nibbling on her lip all over again. This was... She didn't even know. Not sure what to say, she elected for silence. It was he who had summoned her, after all. Perhaps she ought to just let him speak.
@Opeila Winters
22 Sep 2021, 21:44
It's Not Written in the Stars
@Evelynn Decipio as Greta Fransson
It was almost over. How was it almost over?
One month had passed far quicker than Theo had believed to be possible and yet so much had happened in this month. The chess combats, the Quidditch game and the broom race... He still carried the ribbon with him, buried in one of his pockets- he would not hear another teasing comment from his cabin mates about it. Yes, he liked a girl. Yes, she gave him this ribbon for good luck during the race, or so he believed. So?
It seemed that slowly the camp was getting more and more tidy. People were looking for their things and transported the scattered items back to their cabins. Theo had only lost one thing- a shoe. He wasn't sure anymore when he decided to leave it outside, or when he even decided to only go around with one shoe, but now there was only one in his cabin. He had a spare pair of shoes, but still. His mother would immediately send him a howler if she only knew how to do that, if she knew that he had been treating his things with that little care.
Theo was still scanning the area for something brown and leathery, when he saw a figure not far away, apparently looking for something as well. Before he could think twice about it, he had already said her name. "Greta!" She turned her face to him and... blushed? Before she quickly looked around, like she had done when giving him the ribbon. Quickly he looked around as well, although he didn't even know who he should avoid. With one hand he signaled her to follow him behind a cabin, to some trees. The first place he could think of where they were unlikely to be found.
She followed him, thank god. Theo had wanted to talk to her for a while, but her actions so far had made something rather clear. Greta seemed scared to be seen with him. Why? He didn't know, at least not yet.
The Durmstrang girl spoke first, lifting her hand to her face, and asked something about seeing clean. Theo nodded, of course she would ask if they could be seen here. "It is all clear. They can't find us.", he said, not too slowly, but taking care not to swallow any words that might make it hard for the girl to understand him.
Greta seemed to be nervous. Or feel awkward? Maybe both. Theo cleared his throat to break the silence again. "Erm... Wait, I got this." A little smile appeared on his face as he lifted one finger. "Wie geht es dir?" How are you? His accent was terrible, but he actually got a sentence right for once. Ana had practiced the basics with him and now he could even do easy sentences. Then he got serious again. "Du sprecht nicht mit mich. Ist eine Sache... er... gemacht?" You don't talk to me. Was a thing.... done? The last sentence was entirely wrong and Theo knew it. Shaking his head he switched to English again, hoping Greta would understand what he meant. "Did something happen? Hast du Problems er... weil ich?" Do you have problems because I?
23 Sep 2021, 23:22
It's Not Written in the Stars
INTERACTIONS @Theodore Duncain
MENTIONING n/a
NORWEGIAN | SWEDISH | RUSSIAN | GERMAN | ENGLISH
The clearing of a throat broke the silence, and Greta glanced up to see a crooked smile emerge almost sheepishly on Theo's face. He uttered something quickly in what she presumed to be English, but what came next cracked the fragile wall she had erected. Slow and stumbling, he addressed her in German. In a flash, she was back at last year's summer camp stumbling through conversations with him in fragments of broken languages strung together with a vague hope of making sense.
She could still remember how thrilled she'd been to hear him speaking German--finally an American with whom she could converse--only to realize that the scope of his knowledge had been all of about a handful of words. The letters had expanded upon it, however. Hers in English; his, German. They'd been fun. Educational, really. She missed them. Her smile faded as the bittersweetness of the memories sank in, but she stopped herself from pulling back her gaze."Okay," she answered in English. "Ehm... Sad of summer is to end?" she elaborated, expression etched with concentration as she attempted to recall even the most basic of words. There would be no need to really elaborate any further than that, however."Wie geht es dir?" How are you?Confusion was clear across her face as doe-like eyes the color of summer waves danced between each of his in search of clarity. What did he mean she didn't talk to him? She was talking now, wasn't she? Sort of... Well, she'd never deliberately ignored him, at least. Understanding would dawn with his clarification, however. All over again, she dropped her gaze, teeth nibbling on her lower lip in a picture-perfect image of guilt."Du sprecht nicht mit mich. Ist eine Sache... er... gemacht?"
You don't talk to me. Was a thing.... done?
"Ehm..." Did she have problems because of him? Yes. And no. "It isn't..." she began, shifting to a more familiar tongue without realizing it. "It wasn't you. I.. ehm.."
Hands clasped and writhed, fingers twisting in the frayed edges of the patches that adorned her obviously frequently repaired dress. She didn't want to admit she'd gotten into trouble. Nor did it seem polite to admit why. Her chin swiveled a fraction, eyes flickering to some far off distant point as though glancing for a source of confidence and support. Gaze straying only for a second, however, it soon fixed itself back on the earthy floor at Theo's feet.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered. She wasn't even supposed to be talking to him now, and couldn't be certain whether or not Hanzo would say something if he say. Her brother had seemed increasingly distant over the last year. "I... I'm not... I'm not to talk to you anymore...It's not your fault..."
And it wasn't. He couldn't help being a foreigner. Or a boy. Or a mudblood muggle-born. Greta winced, reminded of the curse her father had spoken. It wasn't fair. But she could sort of understand where her parents were coming from as well. Tradition and pride died over decades of dilution, and would be lost to time if not maintained. Like the family's wand-crafting, a skill honed and passed from generation to generation. Theirs was a different world, separate from the muggles, with laws unto their own. And her parents already had plans taking root for her future. Albeit, perhaps accelerated slightly given the recent interactions with western impurity.
@Opeila Winters
16 Dec 2021, 22:41
It's Not Written in the Stars
@Greta Fransson
Theo's smile grew when Greta answered in english, it seemed that neither of them had forgotten everything about the other language. The letters had been a nice idea last summer, the young American had definitely learned a lot from them and he was rather sad that they had ended so abruptly. No word, no... well, goodbye? Nothing. Suddenly there was just... no response. For a while he had been so sad about it, he had annoyed Ana until she spent more time with the twins, who were absolutely not the right people to bring the topic up around.
"Ja, ich bin auch. War schön Zeit. Erm... Wunsche wir können Hogwarts sehen, nein?" Yes, me too. Was good time. Erm... Wish we can see Hogwarts, no? Unsure if she could understand what he meant he scratched the back of his head. This was a little more awkward than he had expected it to be.
And then she started to... did she try to comfort him? He needed a moment to understand what she was saying, in the end he guessed mostly from the words he understood and the look on her face, but apparently she was saying that something was not his fault. "Greta...", he said softly, worry clouding his face, nothing was left of the smile. Greta continued, telling him that she wasn't to talk to him anymore.
A seldom seen frown appeared on his face, but was he really surprised? No. He had already guessed that there was some influence from outside involved. "Wer?" Who? he asked her, suddenly wanting to hug the girl in front of him, who seemed to be so torn trying to meet expectations she shouldn't have to meet. Theodore had seen her classmates, the old blond guy who had blasted him off his broom, so he had an idea what group of people she was surrounding herself with.
Then the fact that she was in Durmstrang, a school that didn't accept muggleborns... maybe he was being too quick with assumptions, but something made him feel like he was not.
Whatever it was, Greta was not choosing it.
His second instinct was to ask her if she wanted him to go, but he stopped himself. What good would it do to give her another ultimatum? For a moment he raised his hand to... well he wasn't sure actually. Touch her in an attempt to comfort her? His hand fell down again.
@Evelynn Decipio
23 Dec 2021, 22:29
It's Not Written in the Stars
INTERACTIONS @Theodore Duncain
MENTIONING n/a
NORWEGIAN | SWEDISH | RUSSIAN | GERMAN | ENGLISH
Ice pierced her heart at the sound of her name. Eyes dropped to the ground again, hands ringing in the folds of the layers of fabric that made up her patchwork skirt. The trill of her heart pitter pattered, but it wasn't the beat of pleasant anticipation. Brows pinched and furrowed, eyes darting back towards the way they had come before settling comfortably on her feet again. The longer they stood here, the more they risked being seen. And… was that really so bad? What would anyone assume? They were just talking… He wasn't doing anything. They weren't really alone per se. Still… it would probably be enough. Just to be here. Would Hanzo tell? She wasn't sure. Nor could she be certain whether Ella wouldn't let something slip to Niche in accidental passing. Or to annoy him. But so what if they did find out?
"P-papa.." Fingers pulled and picked at the stitching, fabric wrapping around digits, the pull and twist more than demonstrating the turmoil she fought to keep in check. "M-my father," she said again, repeating the answer to the boy's question. "It is mother also maybe.." she added in a murmur.
Who could really tell, anyway, whose idea it had been. Father was always the more outspoken when it came to setting rules, but their mother was no less absolute in her opinions. Murmuring faded into lip chewing, a pregnant silence spanning the immeasurable distance between the two. He was right there… so close. And yet even should she lift a hand out to him, it seemed like the weight of judgment would fall upon her frail arm and sink it to the earthy sea long before she reached him.
"It not is okay!" she huffed all of a sudden, tight fists tugging irately on her hem, a foot hammering dully against the ground. Brows creased all the more, lines of wrinkles consuming her forehead as he gaze sought some sort of answer in the dust settling at her feet that yet escaped her. "Papa says you not…" She paused, struggling to find the English vocabulary to describe the man's concerns. Memory and knowledge danced at a distance beyond her grasp, however, and when the silence had tarried too long, she finished lamely, "…not… not good. You are of the America. No wizard," she added, shoulders visibly slumping. "Of ill-bred and untrustworthy stock befitting neither the station nor attention of our daughter," she repeated in the Norwegian that it had originally been spoken. "B-but you are not bad…" she intoned pitifully. "They do not see."
@Opeila Winters
21 Feb 2022, 20:48
It's Not Written in the Stars
@Greta Fransson
Theo looked at the girl in front of them, for whom he had started to care about so very much out of nowhere. He couldn't even say when he had started to feel the way he did, but there was no denying it. The young Thunderbird didn't know her for very long or very well, she was not part of his friend group, nor was he expected to care for her because of a shared house, but he wanted to protect her all the same.
Only that he couldn't protect anyone from their parents. Theo's heart dropped when Greta stuttered out their names, her fingers playing with her skirt in what seemed to be an upset gesture. "Dein Eltern? Sie wissen über die Briefs?" Yours parents? They know about the letters?, he asked quietly, attentively looking at Greta's face. "Ha- Haben sie gestrafen dich?" Have they you punished?, he added, struggling with the question at first.
Theo's chest tightened at the thought that he might have caused Greta to be so upset. That he had driven her parents to make her unhappy.
And then suddenly, something in her face changed, her hands turned into fists, holding the fabric of her skirt tightly and stomping on the ground. "It is not ok!"
Theo's eyes widened, as she went on, telling him what her father thought of him, until finally the little moment of rage was over.
"B-but you are not bad… They do not see.", she said, quieter again, making Theo's heart beat faster. No matter what he had thought before, there was no way that he could keep his distance now. Carefully he reached out and, if she let him, he would take her hands into his own warm ones and squeeze them gently, gratefully.
"Und... Und du weißt das." And you know that., he said, an intensity in his voice and his eyes that he didn't know himself that he was capable of it. "Das ist das... nur was ist wichtig für mich." That is that... only what is important for me. His structure had never been that bad and he knew it, but what did it matter now?
"Vielleicht... Ich kann helfen? Wenn du willst?" Perhaps... I can help? If you want?
@Evelynn Decipio
23 Feb 2022, 16:11
It's Not Written in the Stars
INTERACTIONS @Theodore Duncain
MENTIONING n/a
NORWEGIAN | SWEDISH | RUSSIAN | GERMAN | ENGLISH
Greta nodded guiltily at Theo's probing question. For some reason, it almost sounded like an attack. As though there was some measure of accusation and forlorn pain behind his eyes at her admission that her family knew about the letters. But was that reasonable? She wasn't sure. Perhaps she was just imagining things. Besides, how would she have kept them from them? It wasn't as though she had her own owl that she could send correspondence without any kind of supervision. It was the family's owl.
She didn't even always have access to it in a timely fashion, and would have to ask permission to make use of it in case her parents had important business or social matters to attend to. In fact, her frequent use of her had prompted her parents to look into getting a separate avian dedicated for the use of their children to ease up on the monopoly of flight time. But that had come with questions and she could only be so evasive for so long. Eventually, the truth had come out, and with it, their derision. All she could do was nod.
At the very least, she didn't have to follow it up for long. They hadn't punished her. Not really. There had been a scolding, of course, and more than a few lectures on the dangers of fraternizing not only with an American whose upbringing simply wouldn't understand their culture and values; but also with a muggle, whose status and inexperience with the magical world only compounded that. At least Theo could find some measure of comfort knowing that he hadn't caused her any literal pain or punishment from the ordeal. Not so long as Greta behaved, anyway.
But then she blinked, jumping slightly on the spot as a touch to her hand jarred her out of the descent of self-pity and frustration into which she had been spiralling. She had to blink the tears away, not quite certain she was really seeing what was true, to confirm that her sense of touch wasn't playing some sort of trick on her. Sure enough, however, through the watery overlay, she could make out Theo's hands reaching for hers. Taking her hands into his as though the inferno that hid within them sought to evaporate her fears and bring her into the warmth of some sort of protection. It certainly worked to heat something anyway.
A tsunami of warmth crashed over her, cheeks and ears turning scarlet in an instant. She felt hot, suddenly. Too hot. Almost as though her fingers had been burned by him, but there was no pain. The reaction was no less similar, however, hands pulling back after he'd given them a squeeze, turning inwards to cup one within the other and press against her own chest.
"E-ehm..." She was looking down at his hands, brows raised, eyes somewhat distant, as though watching something transpire from far away. "I-I... Am n-not to know... to know what..."
Stuttering and stalling, Greta was struggling with the words more so than usual. In that moment when their hands had touched, all thought had left her mind. For a moment, the briefest of seconds, she was met with such a thought of comfort. Like home when she and her childhood friend would be running carelessly through the tall grass of high summer, not a care in the world. Or trailing Hanzo's steps, she would know they would make it back home even if she didn't know the way. Safe. Secure. But just as quickly would strike the booming voice of her father in the back of her mind, condemning her choices and threatening tighter levels of protection. To implement "what must be done if it came down to it". To protect the family name. To protect her.
Her gaze would remain fixated ahead and down to his hands where she had left them hovering as she tried to find the words. Eventually, she would abandon English, however, swapping instead to German, "I do not know what you would be able to do... nothing I am thinking. Not right now. I do not want you to get involved. I don't know what they would do, or how severe they would get. So..." She swallowed, and like a spell finally breaking, looked up to him, searching between each of his eyes for some sort of answer that wasn't there. "I think I..." She nodded, tongue flicking out to lick her lips. "I should go.."
And so she would turn to do so, aiming to take her leave if Theo didn't stop her.
@Opeila Winters
18 May 2022, 00:14
It's Not Written in the Stars
@Greta Fransson
What Greta interpreted as an attack was in truth a sudden wave of terribly hidden fear. Fear of what? Who the hell knew, Theo wasn't even sure himself. But it made his heart beat faster and a shiver run down his spine.
Greta's expression was not reassuring at all either- was she crying? Oh no... Immediately he felt bad. He was putting her into a difficult position, wasn't he?
His own emotions had come with an unexpected sense of courage that made the young Thunderbird reach out and take her hand, but as she jumped at his touch he immediately regretted it. Only after a moment, Greta pulled her hands away, to her chest, out of reach. Shame joined the mix of emotions, causing his cheeks to redden a little, his hands dropped to his sides.
He didn't know what to do and he felt like every movement, every word was worsening the situation.
Then Greta swapped to German, a language that took Theo a moment to adjust to as well, trying to follow her words. Despite the gaps that were the words he couldn't understand, he could make sense of what she was saying. He wished he didn't. He didn't know what to say, what to think. A part of him wanted to stomp like Greta had only a moment ago. It was not okay.
What would they do? How severe would they get and against whom? If they punished Greta for him being with her... What was there he could do? It was her who had to want to be helped, as little as he liked it.
When she finally looked up at him, it was suddenly clear. Theo knew exactly what he was scared of and it was growing by the second now, bringing him to the edge of tears and making him want to pull her into a hug.
Instead he stood motionless as she ran away. For a few long moments he would remain where he was, standing, staring at the air a little below his head, until he finally sat down on the grass.
Pain in his chest made it hard to breathe and he tried his best to ignore it. This had been a goodbye, hadn't it? Something final? It felt like it alright.
Now he didn't even try anymore to hold the tears back.
End of Thread
@Evelynn Decipio