19 Mar 2022, 04:31
Spring Flowers
Beauxbatons 1st year
French English
In Castor's time at Hogwarts, it seemed everything was quite different. Different is a curious word, a word that has many different meanings depending on the context. In this context, it meant different. It wasn't that it was too old-fashioned and lame with too many foreign smells and not enough new-car ones. It wasn't that the food was too hard or the lights were too bright. But it wasn't amazing.
Castor had a natural fondness for the school she attended, a fancy place that reminded her of some of the houses she had attended for banquets, soirees, and any other formal event her parents were dragged her out to. This school didn't quite compare in her mind, with its darker walls, cold interior, and very different architecture. Not to mention it didn't have the gardens to compare to that of Beauxbatons, with its viridescent scenery and even colors.
Castor had been wandering the grounds, searching for something to pique her interest. Maybe the high peaked mountains or seemingly endless ocean of trees that flowed through the area and set the tone for most of the exterior. It was all very beautiful, Castor would avow, but what had caught her gaze was the small batch of spring dandelions that had sprouted from the grass.
Sun, moon, and stars, the three phases of a dandelion. When she was younger, the French girl had found a similar batch of flowers in her backyard garden, back at the Alarie manor. She had played around with them for about an hour before her mother had realized her daughter wasn't preparing for a neighboring manor's soiree. Castor had been caught yellow-handed, the yellow plant having rubbed off on her hands and turned them a sickly yellow. That's what led to her being stuck by the sink as her mother cleaned the color out of her hands.
Castor couldn't help but give a small smile at the memory, the time when love wasn't worked for and joy wasn't earned. The spring sun beat down on her in a way that caused only a faint bit of clear sweat to glimmer on her forehead. She knelt down slowly by the small batch of flowers, a hand touching the flower part in interest. As she retracted her fingers, a small bit of yellow had rubbed onto her light hands.
WC: 402
@Aly Salinger
Last edited by Phaedra Stavrou on 28 Mar 2022, 21:22, edited 1 time in total.
[quote] Fear grew in places unlit by knowledge
|Edme Achillean|
[/quote]
|Edme Achillean|
2 May 2022, 19:03
Spring Flowers
March 21st, 2022
Hex Colour:#38b6ff
Relevant Abilities: Charmer
|| Interacting with @Edme Achillian (as Castor Alarie) ||
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It had only been a few days since the students from other schools had arrived at Hogwarts, and already, Aly could tell that Hogwarts was much more crowded. The curly-haired Ravenclaw had been struggling to get through the packed corridors between classes, overhearing conversations in languages she couldn't understand, and seeing so many more unfamiliar faces than usual ... not that she didn't enjoy seeing all of these potential new friends, of course, but, well, it was difficult to break into the groups they already seemed to have formed. Plus, a lot of them seemed to know Hogwarts students - relatives, pen pals, old friends, etc. - and Aly had zero connections whatsoever to anyone in other countries. The closest she had was a Great-Aunt Marley who'd moved to America before Aly was born, and Aly had never even spoken to her. So. That was that.
With the insanity that the Hogwarts corridors had become, Aly was always glad to make an escape to her beloved grounds. The foreign students did inhabit those areas, of course, as well - but the grounds were much bigger than any hallway, and plus, Aly knew the grounds like the back of her hand. So if one spot was crowded, she could always go find another.
It was an unusually warm day for March in Scotland, sunlight peeking through the clouds, snow melted away days before, and that meant it was time for a flower check. Aly, Hogwarts' resident flower girl, had been living up to her name more than usual lately - growing blooms in flowerpots on her windowsill in the Ravenclaw dormitories, conjuring them using her new favourite spell Orchideous, wearing crowns in her hair, helping to plan the Midspring Celebration and all of the flowers that would be decorations there, and, of course, researching and memorizing meanings of the flower language during her spare time. It was truly inspiring - and surprising - how many books on flowers there were to be found in the Hogwarts library, and combining two of her favourite things - reading and flowers - into one activity had had Aly poring over pages about petals whenever she had a free minute over the past few months. But she would never forget her roots (or her leaves, petals, and stems, for that matter), and during Aly's first few years at Hogwarts, her favourite thing to do - and her favoured way to collect blossoms - had been to simply stroll throughout the grounds, taking into account where every patch of wildflowers bloomed, and occasionally plucking a few for her own possession.
She would never turn down a good grounds exploration. Especially in the warm weather, when buds were sure to be blooming.
It only took a few minutes of wandering about the grounds before Aly spotted an empty area of greenery, coincidentally with a patch of brilliant gold flowers sprouting from the ground in its center. Dandelions - not quite the white fluffy kind yet, but they'd mature to be so soon. For now, they simply blossomed in glorious yellow splendor, and Aly was overcome with a vision of a dandelion chain adorning her black witch's hat at dinner. What a beautiful sight that would be! Quickly, she made a beeline for the dandelions - but, before she could get there, somebody else strolled up and knelt by the flowers, rubbing one with her hand.
This gave the curly-haired Ravenclaw pause. Perhaps she should leave this other flower fan to their admiration of the blooms. But no - the vision of amber petals on nightly fabric was too strong, and she cautiously approached the other flora fanatic, kneeling down next to them herself.
"Hard to recognise these before they turn all white and puffy, isn't it?" she mused quietly, gently taking another of the golden florets into her fingers - but not disconnecting it from its stem. "You know, these symbolise prosperity and joy. No negative meanings for these little beauties."
Perhaps her new acquaintance wouldn't particularly care for the symbolisation of the plants, but that would just have to be something for Aly to find out.
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gen1 Aly Salinger || gen1 iNPC Manu Macedo || gen2 Kahira Valerian || staff Aulis Vorozheykin
13 May 2022, 15:59
Spring Flowers
French English
The French girl pushed down meaningless memories, ignoring the pang of nostalgic sadness that rang through her chest. She stood slowly, looking at the flowers from above. This would be the one thing she could gladly say she had power over, and even these little things could take hold of her thoughts.
Another voice woke her from wandering thoughts, and she gazed to the side quickly to find an unfamiliar face. She presumed this was one of the Hogwarts students, a girl with flowing curls and a soft voice. Castor found a moment of comfort in the other's presence before replying.
"Their life cycle also has lots of meaning. I once read that they represent celestial bodies, as in sun, moon, and stars." Castor stood at ease in this environment, a homely feeling settling her shoulders and easing her worries. It was nice to talk about the things she loved when another could bring it up. She didn't want to seem desperate. "When it's in this yellow stage, it's the sun. When it's in the puffy stage, it's the moon. When the seeds blow off, they're known as stars."
She had read pages upon pages about the different flowers and plants that grew in the maintained gardens behind her house. Even then, there was still so much she wished to learn about the beauties that grew all around. She looked to the girl beside her who seemed just as intrigued by the natural beauty. Inhaling slowly, she faced the other.
"I'm Castor Alarie." she held out the hand not tinted yellow for the shaking. "It's a pleasure to meet another person so allured by the beauty of flowers." Was she being too proper? She didn't know how the English students spoke to one another from the little experience she had down. She subtly held her breath.
WC: 323
@Aly Salinger
[quote] Fear grew in places unlit by knowledge
|Edme Achillean|
[/quote]
|Edme Achillean|