FIN Portraits Speak 1000s of Words PV Shiawase Mamori

Shiawase stared at the painting before her, despondently. The person inside the painting was very uncomfortable with this and tried to strike up conversation, but Shiawase didn't respond. She was too busy processing. Thinking. Grieving, in a way. The healers at St. Mungo's had only just screwed up their healing, she'd only just become paraplegic. It was all so fresh and new. There was a class she was supposed to head to. Which class was it? Did it matter? But on the way, she saw the painting and began her despondent staring. She wasn't even sure how much time had passed when someone addressed her, pulling her out of it, at least, for now. She offered a smile of her own as she turned her wheelchair so she could look at AngelFyre directly.

"I am sorry to have frightened you. I thought I'd get up early so that I could find my way to my classes, but then I saw this painting and it started talking to me. We don't have talking paintings where I'm from, and it was such a beautiful painting regardless. I was only intending to look for a moment. It caught my eye. But, well, I seem to have . . . lost track of time and wound up staring quite rudely I fear. Very unlike me." She then turned her chair and bowed her head to the painting. "I'm sorry I stared at you like that. I know what it's like to be stared at, even with wonder and awe, and it is still quite rude. I hope I can find some way to make it up to you in the future."

She turned her chair back so she was facing AngelFyre. "It's a pleasure to meet you, AngelFyre. Is it okay if I call you Angel? My name is Shiawase Mamori." She extended her arm to her for a handshake, aiming her arm slightly up so that AngelFyre would have an easier time reaching.

When the girl asked if she was okay, Shiawase nodded. She definitely wasn't okay, but her answer would be the same regardless. She wouldn't unload any of this on a stranger. And she certainly wouldn't ask for help.

"I'm okay." She then tilted her head. "Why exactly are you here at this hour? Could you use some company?" Shiawase would never ask someone to accompany her . . . but she would accompany them. And two people wandering around a castle early in the morning might both be in want of company.

@AngelFyre McCubbin

AngelFyre smiled even more brightly, and with a great sense of relief, after she discovered that the girl seemed to be quite fine, thank goodness, and like herself, was only trying to get a head start on locating her classes before the first day of school actually arrived.

"I am doing the very same thing you are. I got up early to locate my classes. I wanted to do it early so that I could deal with the maniacal staircases and try and figure out if there was a rhyme or reason to their bizarre movements. So of course, they behaved perfectly fine this morning. Oy! Anyway, I ended up here because I got the inside scoop from some upperclassmen last night that the Potions class is just down this little artery off the main corridor." Motioning behind the girl who had just stated her name to be Shiawase Mamori, AngelFyre said that the Potions classroom should be the third door on the left. Looking a bit confused, AngelFyre looked behind her to see that she was still practically standing in the main corridor. Turning back to look in Shiawase's direction, but looking past her and down the short...very short hallway behind her, AngelFyre began to put it together that the upperclassmen were having some fun at the expense of some first years. There was only one door down that hallway on the left and on the right side, and both of them were very clearly labeled STAFF ONLY.

AngelFyre laughed, only slightly disheartened. "Well, it would seem I have been sorely misled in a bit of a hazing ritual. Clearly the Potions classroom is somewhere else. The search continues!

Looking more directly at the girl, AngelFyre asked, "Did I hear you correctly say that your name is pronounced Shiawase? That is just lovely! I have never heard it before. Does it have a meaning, and if so, do you mind my asking what? And please, call me AF. I have just never been a fan of being called 'Angel' if I am being honest."

Shifting her attention to one of the portraits on the wall, she commented upon hearing Shiawase's mention of the talking portrait. "That happened to me, too, just around the corner actually. I have never seen such things where I come from either. It is rather ironic. People actually pay money to go into museums to sit and stare at paintings for hours on end, that never move or talk. Staring and deep studying is the point there, but here it makes a body feel downright intrusive. I got caught staring at a lovely farm scene. A woman was feeding her chickens and suddenly stopped because she was staring back at me staring at her. It embarrassed me and I told her so, most apologetically. Then she essentially told me it was all right and I should come again."

AngelFyre smiled and shook her head. "This is just such a strange place. I honestly do not know what to make of it. I am not even sure I am not in a coma, somewhere, and this is all a clever dream I am having. The one thing that makes me doubt it is a dream is because I cannot fathom ever coming up with the term 'Hufflepuff', which is what I am, supposedly. What does that even mean? Hufflepuff? It sounds like a character out of Dr. Dolittle; something akin to a Pushmi-Pullu," and she laughed.

Feeling thirsty, AngelFyre brought her backpack forward and unzipped it, taking out a bottle of water. "I have plenty in here. Would you like one?" And she offered the bottle to Shiawase to take if she wished to do so. "Would you mind if I asked how your experience with the world of magic is going so far? I mean, how are you adjusting? Are you even adjusting?

"Oh?" Shiawase asked with a raised eyebrow. "Did you just say you're looking for the potions classroom? What a coincidence - I just came from there! I can show you the way if you'd like. It's in the basement, not too far from my Common Room! I came up here to find the Charms classroom myself, before I wound up staring at this painting. Do you know where it is? We can help each other!"

Then AF inquired about her name. To her saying her name was lovely, Shiawase said, "Thank you very much. I think your name is very cool!"

And then AF asked about what it means. To which, Shiawase replied, with a cheeky grin, "It means my mom had a teacher named Shiawase and she really liked the name." She chuckled and winked. "I come from a large family, so the names with more meaning from a familial standpoint were already taken. My younger siblings and I were named the way we are because the names are pretty or lyrical more than anything. Although, if you want a literal translation, Shiawase means 'happiness' and Mamori means 'protect.' So the literal translation is 'protect happiness.' I assume that is what you meant?" She smiled gently. "And what of your name? Does it have a special meaning?"

As AngelFyre talked about having a similar encounter with a painting, Shiawase nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! I'm used to going to museums or art galleries and staring. It's not considered rude at all, but here . . . it's so rude! Makes me rethink all the times I stared at pieces of art, I should say!"

She nodded once again as AngelFyre talked about what a strange place this is. "I know! It's like, I would think this was all a dream I'd wake up from, except I don't have this kind of imagination! And I definitely wouldn't have put myself in Slytherin! I think Hufflepuff sounds more like a marshmallow treat! Or the name of a candy! Better than Slytherin. Slytherin is just . . . what snakes do. So I guess my house leaned into the snake thing pretty hard, huh?" She chuckled.

She smiled as AngelFyre offered her a bottle of water. "Yes, I would. Thank you very much!" She took the offered water bottle and took a sip, though she did that thing where rather than sipping directly from the bottle, she tipped it into her open mouth without touching the opening of it. She swished the water around a little and swallowed. "Most refreshing. Would you like it back?" She offered it to AngelFyre.

And then, AngelFyre asked about her experience with the magical world and how she was adjusting. Shiawase averted her gaze.

"My experience so far hasn't been great, in all honesty." She opened her mouth as if to clarify, but she wasn't the type to unload her problems onto others. So she looked up and smiled. "It's just so much to take in all at once, you know?" This was absolutely true. And absolutely not the heart of the issue at all. "I thought I'd adjust quickly. I'm pretty adaptable. But I'm not going as fast as I thought I would." She then looked at AngelFyre with a gentle smile. "And what of you? How are you adjusting? How is your experience going so far? It's only been a day but so much can happen in that time!"

@AngelFyre McCubbin

"Okay. Now we are cooking with gas, as my Grandma Ruth would say," and AngelFyre excitedly rubbed her hands together at the prospect of finally knowing something that might be of help. "I actually do know where the Charms classroom is located. Wait. Let me be more precise. I know what I heard about where it is, but unlike the misinformation given by the upperclassmen, this intel comes directly from one of the professors who was speaking to a chatty first year. I cannot fathom that a professor would give incorrect information to a student, can you?" AngelFyre briefly looked at Shiawase to check if she felt similarly. It was an honest question, but the breakneck speed with which she asked it and then sped off with her conversation before allowing an answer, rendered the question as essentially a rhetorical one. "Now, with my disclaimer out of the way, rumor has it that Charms is on the third floor. We can head up there together if you would like?"

Feeling like she (possibly?) had company for her upcoming adventure in exploring the castle while looking for classrooms, she relaxed a bit and focused her attention to what Shiawase was explaining about her name. " 'Protect happiness' -- that is just so lovely, truly. And do you, protect happiness I mean?" AngelFyre grew quiet as she began to think on her own name since Shiawase had asked about it, nodding her head in the affirmative that there was a meaning there.

"I think names are important. My parents named me AngelFyre, as they tell it, because they wished me to be a force for good in the world, and they thought a little heat would be a good catalyst towards my achieving that end. She loved her name. She always had. What she did not always love as she was growing older was explaining it. She wondered if it made her sound pretentious, but that really was why she was named such. She remembered as a small child that she had determined she would do everything in her power to live up to her parents wishes on this score, but it sometimes felt like a lot of pressure.

Thankfully Shiawase drew her out of her introspective mode and made her chuckle at the idea that the word 'Hufflepuff' made her think of a marshmallow treat. "As soon as you said that, it put me in mind of the Stay Puft marshmallow man in the movie 'Ghost Busters'. I know my house mascot is a badger, but really, I see the marshmallow man now," and she just laughed. "So, you are a Slytherin, eh? Which house would you have put yourself into had you been giving the chance to choose?"

As they had been talking, AngelFyre had reached into her bag for a second bottle of water and opened it. "No, please. That one is all yours. I have more in here if you get thirsty later. I always have water with me, so no worries." She was taking a few quick sips when Shiawase admitted that her magical experience thus far had not been all that great. The girl looked momentarily burdened, as if she were going to say more, but she caught herself very quickly and left it at everything just being sort of a lot to take in at the moment. AngelFyre nodded her head in agreement. The girl was not wrong there. Everything about this whole 'magical' experience was a lot to take in, that was for sure. Still, AngelFyre felt there was much more to it than what Shiawase was letting on, but she would not pry. Perhaps if a true friendship blossomed between the two, Shiawase would feel safe in confiding in her. Everyone needed someone they could trust, and these two pre-teens were no exception.

"I can understand much of what you are talking about as I feel some of the same things. Adapting to things here is challenging. I am in a whole new universe. I have to learn a whole new language and develop a survival skill set just to navigate a staircase even! I did not grow up with magic, so all I knew of it was what I either saw in television or movies or what I read in books. The paradigm was that magic was non-existent but it all got flipped on its head simply because I turned 11 years old. That seems so random to me. I mean, why 11 years" Why not 13? 16? And these are just surface thoughts. I have deeper thoughts and internal conflicts, but those are probably best spoken of after I give myself at least a couple of weeks to see how well I can settle in here first."

Taking some more quick sips of her water, AngelFyre grinned and looked back to Shiawase, "Are you ready to head out and see if we can find the Charms class on the third floor? Heck, if you want to and have the time, we could try and find all of our classes and anywhere else that strikes our fancies." Then she leaned closer to her new friend and whispered in a feigned conspiratorial tone, "And along the way you can tell me what it is like in Slytherin. They looked like a right somber bunch at last night's sorting ceremony. If there is a house here that looks like it could use someone who protects happiness, I would say it is definitely them!"

"Yeah, I'm quite sure the professor wouldn't give false information. Unless . . . Shiawase gasped exaggeratedly. "The professor's a prankster!" She chuckled. "But in all seriousness, I couldn't imagine that. Third floor? That should be relatively quick to get to from here! Of course I'd like to go there with you!"

Then, after explaining what her name means, AngelFyre asked if she does protect happiness. Shiawase blushed slightly.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure. I try to. Before all this, I was planning on being a doctor. I wanted to do the most good I could, you know? In fact, I wanted to be a surgeon - someone who repairs damage! The way I wanted to protect happiness was to improve others' quality of life. However, it's not the easiest profession to get into. It takes a lot of education, an iron will, and a very very strong stomach. But it would be worth it to me! Er, I guess, would have been . . . being here, though. It's so different. I'm not sure, really, if I want the same things anymore . . . ."

She seemed to zone out for a moment. But she snapped back into focus as AngelFyre explained her name as well. Shiawase grinned a little cheekily.

"I meant to ask if it has a special meaning within your family, like if you were named after a grandparent or something." She winked. "But hey, I'll accept that answer, too. And I suppose I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you the same as you asked me. Are you? A force for good in the world? You seem to be kind enough, helping out a random stranger staring at a painting."

Shiawase laughed and clapped delightedly as AngelFyre brought up Ghost Busters, only one of her favorite movies of all time!

"Okay, okay. But serious question time. Absolutely, completely, seriously serious." She sighed and adopted a grave expression. "If there's something strange in the neighborhood, who are you gonna call?" She smiled and laughed. She would gladly just, singing the entire Ghost Busters theme with AngelFyre if she'd let her! But then AngelFyre asked which house Shiawase would have chosen, if she got to. She tilted her head.

"Hmmm. That one is a tricky one. Before I got here, Slytherin was the only house I heard anything bad about. I guess, in point of fact, all I know of the houses are what was sang about during the Sorting Ceremony. The thing is that, choosing just what I want wouldn't satisfy me. I want to receive the best possible education here. I crave knowledge above all else. So I would have put myself with likeminded individuals who would challenge me. I suppose based on that criteria, I would have put myself in Ravenclaw. But to be honest, if I just wanted to be sorted into a house where I could unwind after classes, where I think I'd have had the best time, I probably would have chosen Hufflepuff. I know I can get on others' nerves, and being in a place where people are patient and understanding, yeah. I think that would be the best one, and I would grow from it, too. I admit that I could stand to learn to be more patient and understanding of others." She smiled. "And what about you? What would you have chosen, if you got to choose?

Shiawase shrugged as AngelFyre said the bottle was all hers. "Well, okay. Thank you very much. That's awfully kind of you!" She pulled the bottle back toward herself and put the cap back on it. "I'm good for the moment, though. Still, wheeling up and down the stairs is no easy feat, so perhaps I will need to take you up on your offer for more later. I just wish I could repay you somehow. Oh, I know! Do you think they'd let me cook here? Because if so, I might be able to make you something sometime. What do you like?"

She nodded as AngelFyre talked about how hard it is to adjust, but her nodding quickly went from slow nods to fast ones as AngelFyre asked why 11 years. "Or the opposite direction. Why not 8? Why not 5? My magic first manifested when I was way younger, you know? I didn't know it was magic at the time, of course, but now I do. It makes me wonder what took so long." She smiled. "I certainly agree it seems arbitrary. So much about this world does. But I'm sure there's some sort of reason. This is an educational system we're talking about. They probably didn't choose 11 just because. There was some form of logic applied to the decision, surely! And I aim to find out what that logic was by reading books! Eventually, I will find an answer!"

Shiawase nodded when AngelFyre asked her if she was ready to head out. I am. Absolutely! We should have the time barring any disasters, to find all our classes! If we could find all of them and then find the library, maybe? That would be best, in my opinion! Oh, but is there anywhere you'd like to go besides classes? I think we could find time for that as well, as long as we're efficient!"

She began to wheel beside AngelFyre, if AngelFyre moved. She blushed slightly as AngelFyre mentioned telling her what it's like in Slytherin and mentioned how they could use someone to protect happiness. "I dunno about that. I mean, I feel like Slytherin isn't a lot of people's first choice, but there are plenty of good people there. A couple friends I made on the train got sorted into it with me, though one of them really wanted Ravenclaw, so I imagine he felt quite put out. Still, we're fairly comfortable around each other, at least, so we have that going for us. To be honest, I haven't gotten much chance to get accustomed to my housing, so I'm afraid I don't have much else to tell you about what it's like in Slytherin yet. But maybe you can tell me what it's like in Hufflepuff! I'd be happy to hear all about it!"

@AngelFyre McCubbin

Shiawase didn't avert her gaze as Angelfyre looked her directly in the eyes, but it did feel a bit odd. Sure, she received direct eye contact a lot when she was in a classroom or situation where everyone was sitting, but most of the time when the person she was talking to was standing and she was in her wheelchair, those who weren't close friends and family wouldn't meet her eyes directly. They'd look her direction, of course, but typically their gazes would fall on the top of her head or forehead. She cracked a smile.

"Well, I think that's great! Everyone should be lucky enough to love their names, I should think!" she said enthusiastically. Her eyes then lit up even more as Angelfyre talked about being a veterinarian. "Wizards have to have some sort of equivalent to a vet, I should think! All those weird, mythological creatures we read about in books could well be real here! Just imagine! You may have to treat a unicorn! Or a phoenix! Or a dragon! You'd have to learn so much anatomy, but man! You take care of all the animals, I take care of all the people, that'd be so great!"

She then blushed slightly as she remembered Angelfyre mentioned another job she'd like, too. "A-and! And being a barrister would be cool, too! I'm curious about how Wizard law works. I mean, everything here is already so different, you know, and there have to be laws that address that . . . it's entirely possible we'd be looking at laws wholly different from the ones we're used to. Though I'm sure we'd have been told of any major differences out the gate so none of us unintentionally commit wizard crimes!" At her statement about the wizarding world surprising and delighting them, Shiawase's up til now genuine smile became slightly forced. "Yeah, I hope so."

Shiawase's singing was perhaps a bit more in tune with the song . . . if she had stayed on key, but she strayed as she tried to match Angelfyre and harmonize! Who knew what key they ended on? She laughed as Angelfyre danced, clapping delightedly!

"Your dancing is incredible! And absolutely! Watch out, ghosts! We're here to sing at you! Maybe I'll even be able to join you in dancing next time!" She winked as she laughed some more. And then it was time. For stairs. Ah, yes. The age-old question. Do you offer to help someone if you think they may not be able to get up the stairs on their own, or do you wait and see if they're going to ask for your assistance? Angelfyre went with the former. It is in fact a trick question: neither option is wrong at all! Shiawase cracked another smile as she nodded.

"It's not offensive to ask questions, AF. At least, not to me. I can't speak for all people in my situation of course, and some probably would prefer not to be asked - but rather, let it be assumed they can do it themselves unless they specifically ask for your help! The only offensive courses of action are to start pushing my wheelchair without asking me if I need help first, or worse, pushing it anyway after I said I don't need you to. Though actually, come to think of it, I'm not really sure which is worse, because if you asked and I said 'no,' at least I know you're there. Sometimes, people can just, get behind me and start pushing and I wouldn't even know they're there until my wheelchair starts moving, seemingly by itself. That situation is definitely the most offensive and scariest of all!"

She paused, took a deep breath, and nodded again. "I do not need help navigating stairs in this wheelchair. It's magical so stairs don't feel like stairs. They feel like . . . going up a hill instead. However, I do still get fatigued and all. To me, though, going upstairs is almost never a problem in this! The problem is always going down stairs, for I have much less control then. It still feels like going downhill in this chair, and it's always scary. So I would appreciate if when we're going downstairs, you hold on to my wheelchair to steady it so I don't wind up barreling down the stairs and hurt someone! I'm still not fully used to this wheelchair yet. I only just got it last night. Part of the reason I'm out here is to try to get more used to it before classes start. Though, you know . . . even though I gave you permission to hold my wheelchair when we go downstairs, I'd still very much appreciate it if you'd alert me before getting behind me."

She laughed as Angelfyre talked about spilling the tea about Hufflepuff. "Oh, I bet everyone wanted to tell you all their deepest darkest secrets the minute you walked through the painting! I mean, the Slytherins definitely did that for me, too!" She winked. "All we've really got right now are our first impressions, of our houses and of this place generally. I still. Can't believe we're in a castle!"

@Angelfyre McCubbin