Owing a Favor PV Sienna Lenoir Fin

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Interacting: @Jack Burnett • Mentioning: N/A • Color Guide: 074628

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The Sunday morning for Sienna had been spent mostly in Gryffindor Tower doing various things that had been needing to be done for quite a while. She had cleaned and reorganized her space in the dorms, finished some Charms coursework, and finished a book that had kept her up many long nights, reading page after page. Now that her book was finished, she had headed down to the library to return it and find her next read.

After returning the book, Sienna headed for the shelves of books. She examined the books she passed with great interest, but none really caught her eye quite yet. She wondered if she might have more luck in the history section of books. Although she was a pureblood and her parents had schooled her in much of the wizarding history, she figured that there was always more to learn. The history books took up a large portion of space in the library, so she began to scan the titles, looking for something that sounded unfamiliar to her.

Rounding the corner to explore the next few shelves, she spotted a boy climbing up one of the bookcases near her. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Surely he knew that was not the best idea in means of safety? Just then, the bookcase he was climbing began to shift under his weight, ready to tip over on him. Rolling her eyes, she went over to the shelf he was on and gripped it tightly, keeping it from falling over.

Glancing up at him, she said, "Well? Grab your book and get off the shelf before it falls on the both of us." He looked to be at least a third year and his robes indicated him as a Slytherin. She carefully observed him while keeping a tight hold on the bookcase that continued to creak precariously.

Just as he was sure the bookcase was going to tip over and fall on him, Jack shut his eyes tight and clung to the shelves, bracing himself for the inevitable impact. Somehow, it never came. Instead, a voice nearby prompted him to open his eyes slowly and look down. An unfamiliar girl had come over to steady the bookcase just as it had been about to fall. Jack blinked, stunned. After a moment, though, he quickly did as he was told and grabbed the book he was aiming for before quickly hopping down from the shelves.

"Uh...thank you," he said at last, regarding the girl more closely once he was on the ground. She didn't look all that pleased to have been able to help him and Jack was surprised to notice she was a Gryffindor by the color of her robes. It was better than a Hufflepuff. He would have likely never heard the end of it if it had been one of those overly helpful, friendly badgers. Why had the girl helped him then, though?

"I'm surprised you saw me," he commented, sticking a hand in his robes. "Not many people come to this section of the library. Most are so sick of our History of Magic classes, they want nothing to do with it during their free time." Then he withdrew something from his pocket and held it out to her. It looked like a gambling chip of some sort.

"Here," he told her. "This is for you. It's a favor token." He hadn't gotten to use them much since his dad had made them for him, but then again, most people hadn't asked for favors from him or earned them, either. This girl was the first in a long time who had and Jack didn't even know her. She must have been an underclassman. Was that why she had helped him? Maybe she had hoped to make friends or something.

Jack wasn't one to introduce himself first, but after what she had done, he figured he at least owed her that much. "I'm Jack Burnett, but you can call me Burnett. First names are a little too intimate in my opinion," he explained with a sheepish grin. "I owe you for saving me from that fall - hence the favor token. If you ever need a favor in return, just give that back to me and I'll see what I can do."

@Sienna Lenoir

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Interacting: @Jack Burnett • Mentioning: N/A • Color Guide: 074628

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The boy stuttered a thank you as she held up the shelf from toppling over on him. After he dismounted from the bookcase she steadied it once more before letting go, satisfied it would not be falling over anytime soon. She studied him more closely now that he was on the same level as she was. He was a Slytherin as she had thought, but she wasn't able to know much more about him than that as of now anyways.

She smiled slightly at his comment about the History of Magic classes. "I come to this section quite a bit. I suppose that we have just never been in the library at the same time then. I figure that there is always more to learn besides what we are taught in our classes." Sienna knew that many others didn't like the classes though and many, especially those from her own house, would rather limit their learning of it to the classes that were required of them.

Just then he took a small object out of his pocket and handed it to her. It was a small token of some sort, with an image of a fox on it. She glanced at him questioningly. "A favor token?" She was still a bit unsure of what it might be used for, but she figured the explanation could wait as he introduced himself.

"Good to meet you Burnett," she said with a grin. If he did not want to use first names then she would respect his wishes. "I'm Sienna Lenoir." He then took to explaining exactly what the favor token was. "Oh, I don't need this," she replied once hearing what it was for. "I'm sure anyone would have done the same. I was the one who just happened to be in the right place at the right time." Sienna held the token back out for him to take back.

Jack was surprised to hear that the girl not only came to the history section quite a bit, but that she apparently loved to learn even more than simply what she was taught in her classes. He grinned in admiration of her pursuing of knowledge, especially as a Gryffindor. That trait seemed like something one would expect more from a Ravenclaw. "That’s really cool," he commented, nodding in appreciation.

When she answered his introduction with one of her own, he dipped his head in acknowledgement. "The pleasure is mine, Lenoir," he told her, intrigued by her grin. Perhaps she was not so difficult to please as he had first suspected after all. Or maybe she just thought something about him was funny. Either way, he was glad to see she could smile and was willing to.

Sienna’s rejection of his favor token, however, was met with surprise. Jack shook his head. "Please, keep it. I can assure you, not anyone would have done the same. A lot of kids would have just pointed and laughed. Or waited for me to fall to learn my lesson and then criticized my stupidity." He shrugged. "Thinking back on it now, it was pretty stupid."

Jack nodded toward the token. "Come on. Can’t you think of anything you might need a favor for? Or are you the sort who prefers to do everything on their own?" He cocked his head, smirking. "Even then, some things just can’t be done on one’s own, can they? What if you need someone to cheer you up? Or to hold your stuff when you go shopping somewhere? Whatever it is, I’m at your service." He gave a little bow. "I owe you now, after all. I’m determined to repay that debt."

@Sienna Lenoir

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Interacting: @Jack Burnett • Mentioning: N/A • Color Guide: 074628

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Sienna smiled at Jack as he acknowledged her time spent in the history section. "Well I assume it's the same for you, seeing as you seem to know your way around this section pretty well." She gave a quick glance towards the shelf that he had been climbing up a few moments ago. "Why do you come to this section? I mean, I explained why I do, but like you said, not everyone enjoys this section. Why do you?"

As he had said earlier, he addressed her by her surname. Something about him intrigued her. He wasn't like the other students that went to Hogwarts, in a good way though. These thoughts worried her a bit though. Sienna didn't like getting to close to people on account of incidents in her past, which is why she had close to no friends. Suddenly, she stiffened up a bit once those thoughts wormed their way into her mind.

"Okay fine, maybe not quite everyone would have done the same, but I'm sure some people would have. Besides, I really don't need a favor from you or anyone. I can function fine on my own without anyone's help." A bit rude, but there were quite a lot of invasive thoughts running around in her head at the moment. She sincerely hoped that it didn't show too much in her expression.

Then, just to tease him she added, "Aren't Slytherins supposed to be clever? What made you think climbing the bookcase was a good idea in the first place?" It was a bit of an attempt to try and lighten the mood, both the atmosphere's and her own.

At his next words she nodded a bit. "Yes, I guess I am one of those people who prefer to do everything on my own. I'm not really the shopping type, but I suppose I'll hold onto it for now. Like you said, there is bound to be something or the other I'll need eventually." She pocketed the token carefully.

She sighed, "I'm sorry that I'm acting sort of closed off and snappy at you. I just don't like-" Sienna broke off quickly. "It's just, I'm really bad at talking to other people, and I'm an absolute mess when making friends. Past stuff in my life just catches up to me at times like this."

"Very astute of you to notice that," he responded to her comment about him seeming to know his way around the section, "but it's mostly just because I have a particular passion for history. Even before coming to Hogwarts, I used to like to compare history books to see what parts were left out in some and how one event in one book might have been compared to how it was talked about in another.

"With the Wizarding World's history to compare to muggle history now, though, there's even more for me to research. It's one of my favorite hobbies," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck shyly. "Kinda nerdy, huh?" He didn't usually tell people such things about himself, but then again, so few bothered to ask. It said a lot about this girl that she had.

He noticed her stiffen up and wondered about it, but before he could even think to ask, she was telling him she didn't need a favor from him or anyone. That she could function fine on her own without anyone's help. "I'm sure you can," the third year answered with a smile, noting Sienna's stubbornly independent nature, "but having someone owe you a favor can only be helpful, can't it? You never know when it might come in handy. And at the very least, it can be fun to hold power over someone else's head."

Upon being asked why he thought climbing the bookcase had been a good idea, he reddened and looked down at the book in his hands. "Was just bored, I guess. I was too lazy to try to think of a better way to get the book down just then. Magic seemed like too much trouble to fiddle with in order to get exactly the results I wanted and it seemed a lot more simple just to climb up and get it myself." He shook his head. "I won't be making that mistake again anytime soon, though, I can assure you."

He nodded, pleased when she finally accepted the token and pocketed it. Then he blinked when she apologized for her behavior toward him, surprised she had thought to do so at all. "Oh, don't worry about it," he told her with a chuckle, waving a hand. "I'm terrible at talking to people, too! In fact, I'm used to people being closed off and snappy toward me. Seems like pretty much all I know how to do is push people's buttons."

When she mentioned being an absolute mess when making friends and that it had to do with her past, Jack's smile faded. He regarded her more closely, as if seeing her for the first time. Suddenly a lot of her independent attitude seemed to make more sense. "Yeah..." he murmured, pondering what she had said. "I think I know what you mean. Friends just seem like more trouble than they're worth, don't they? I don't bother with them anymore either."

He hesitated. Then he said, "Do you...would you mind me asking what happened in your past?"

@Sienna Lenoir

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Interacting: @Jack Burnett • Mentioning: N/A • Color Guide: 074628

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Jack’s explanation as to how he knew his way around the history section so well kept her intense interest. She truly did not think that she had ever met anyone that was quite like him before. She certainly did not know of any other students that willingly spent time hanging around the history section of the library. Well, besides Sienna herself that is.

“That’s…really cool,” she said once Jack stopped. “And no, I don’t think it’s nerdy in the least. It is actually rather interesting. I mean comparing magical and muggle histories…Imagine what magical ties we could find that linked into the muggle histories.” She glanced at Jack and smiled softly.

At his next words she gave a more sarcastic smile. “You know I’m really not into the whole holding power over someone’s head thing.” Sienna did look past her initial doubt however, to see how having a favor owed might be useful in certain situations. The token safely tucked away, she now was able to focus on the conversation more.

Magic had seemed to be the most obvious answer to Sienna at least, for removing the book from the precarious place on the shelf. “Well,” she began. “I am glad to hear that you’ve had some sense knocked into you.”

As he continued, she realized that they were quite a bit more alike than she had thought. “I think I do a bit more than simply push people’s buttons,” she laughed in a lighthearted tone. The tone of the conversation seemed to lean towards a more serious one and she tensed briefly, wondering what was coming next.

“Friends,” she mused. “My brother is the only true friend I think I have. Everyone else, well, I just never put in the effort I suppose.” He proceeded to ask what had happened in her past. Her guard was immediately back up and her features took on a defensive expression. “No- I don’t- I can’t-“ she stuttered over her words as she tried to speak. Finally, she simply gave up and cast her eyes down at the floor of the library.

When Sienna said she thought his hobby was 'really cool' and 'interesting', Jack reddened slightly and looked away, flattered. "Heheh...thanks. I know I find it fun, at least." He wasn't able to look at her again until she commented on not being into holding power over someone's head. It was then he returned her sarcastic smile with a grin and a shrug. "To each their own, I suppose."

He laughed when she told him she was glad to hear he'd had some sense knocked into him and that she thought she did a bit more than just push people's buttons. Against all odds, he found himself beginning to enjoy the girl's company.

When she began to talk about her brother being the only true friend she thought she had, Jack wondered about that. He had always thought family was different when it came to friendship; that they were people you could rely on not to stab you in the back because they had a different kind of bond with you altogether. It was like why he felt okay treating Ruka like a friend because he was his adopted brother now. He didn't have to worry about Ruka leaving him like a friend could. Perhaps Sienna considered her brother to be her only true friend for similar reasons.

Sienna's sudden reaction to his question about her past startled him and he thought he must have gone too far. Her defensive look only drew his curiosity more, however. When she fell silent, he gave her a moment or two before saying, "You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable with it. It's just that I had something happen in my own past that caused me to give up friendship, too. So...I thought I might know how you feel."

@Sienna Lenoir

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Interacting: @Jack Burnett • Mentioning: N/A • Color Guide: 074628

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It was truly an odd occurrence for Sienna to find herself enjoying the company of another, but yet, she was. She usually tended to reject any and all attempts at a friendly conversation because she never felt the need for friends, but maybe, just maybe, she could find it in herself to make an exception, just this once.

”Of course,” she replied with a smile at Jack’s embarrassment. He seemed to retreat into deep thought when she mentioned her brother being her only true friend. Part of it was the fact that she made an effort to keep people away from her with her snarky attitude and reserved and closed off nature. However, part of it was also the fact that Jack was always so kind and understanding toward his older sister. Sienna could always count on him no matter what, which was far more than she could say about most anyone else.

His shocked look when she became defensive around his question made her a bit ashamed. She hadn’t meant for him to be as startled as he had looked, she just didn’t- couldn’t answer his question without breaking down completely. “I- I didn’t mean to- I’m so sorry,” she said, stumbling over her words. He then began to explain that there had been something that caused him to give up on friendship too, and he was very understanding even after her reaction. “I guess, well, I’m not very used to anyone understanding how I feel.”

She hesitated for a brief moment, contemplating on her next words. Jack seemed to be genuine with his kindness though, so she took a deep breath and started to speak. ”My father and older sister were killed and I just haven’t ever really recovered from it.”