finished Post Christmas Chatter PV Isadora Everridge

Dora looks up from her plate, pleasantly surprised to see Tesla sit down with her. "Hello." She greets, then a little guilty says, "Yes, it's been some time, hasn't it?" They've seen each other around, sure, it's impossible to avoid your dormmates. But with how much time Dora's spent dedicated to her studies, she realizes she hasn't really spoken to Tesla since before holiday break.

A little of it may have been on purpose. She hasn't been trying to schedule time with her or anyone really. If she had, she'd have just heard her grandmother scolding her from miles away. It doesn't help that Ramona Everridge isn't the biggest fan of the Hufflepuffs she's spent time with. Anyways, it's nice to see Tesla now at the dinner table.

Her friend (Dora is still astounded that they're friends) doesn't look so good though. She has eye bags like she hasn't been sleeping very well, and she just seems less... exuberant than usual. The way she's sitting, she does look very tired. "How are you?" She asks carefully, not wanting to overstep, but still a little worried. If Tesla's feeling under the weather, she should go ask the nurse for something from the hospital wing.

_{Interacting with @Tesla Stone
Isadora Ramona Everridge - Word count: 203 - Color: #631679 - Ency}

Tes's mood was much improved by getting to finally sit and talk with Dora, and she perked up enough to stretch her hands above her head and tuck into the food she'd grabbed. It consisted of a bit more meat and grain than she'd normally eat, with a lack of fruits or vegetables on her plate. She was guilty of avoiding vegetables on a good day anyways, but today she was craving a nice hearty meal that could give her plenty of energy for the full moon the next night. Her appetite was a bit smaller though, so her plate was piled a bit less high, despite her cravings.

She and Isadora hadn't had a chance to chat much since Christmas, so she was hopeful they'd have a bit of time to catch up. She was so distracted by how just being near her friend made her feels more comfortable than she'd felt all day, she almost missed Dora's careful question about how she was. She'd hoped she hadn't looked as obviously a mess as she had when she'd glanced in the mirror, but Dora's question was different from how she normally asked it, cluing Tes in that maybe she wasn't so lucky.

She barely stopped herself from self consciously putting a hand to her hair, shoveling in a bite of potatoes to buy herself a bit of time to come up with an answer. "I'm feeling a bit under the weather today, but it can't be helped!" she smiled at Isadora in what she hoped was a reassuring fashion, adding on, "Speaking of, I won't be in the dorm tomorrow night. I've got a... project? With a couple other students." Tes's voice tilted up in almost a question at the word project and the rest of the sentence, realizing that a mysterious project all night wasn't the best way to excuse her absence, and almost wishing that she'd just disappeared from the dorm like she usually did instead of mentioning it outright, "I'll have Monday off from classes because of that, but I'll be right as rain by Tuesday!"

She felt guilty at her lie, even though she knew it wouldn't technically do any harm, and this would be less suspicious than her usual disappearance, if only slightly less so. She hastened to change the subject, her voice a bit more clipped and less friendly than it usually is, cringing at her shortness with her friend's concern, but her fear for her own secret overpowering her guilty feelings, "How was your Christmas? I remember you said you were going home, so I bet you got to see your family?"

Dora serves herself a slice of ham and a nice helping of peas and carrots as she waits for Tes to answer. It takes her a moment, as if she needed the extra second to process the question, before she says, "I'm feeling a bit under the weather today, but it can't be helped!" Dora nods as Tes confirms her suspicions. She puts on a smile, so she must not be that bothered, but Dora can't help worrying just a little. Before she can suggest the hospital wing, however, Tesla segues into another topic. "Speaking of, I won't be in the dorm tomorrow night. I've got a... project? With a couple other students. I'll have Monday off from classes because of that, but I'll be right as rain by Tuesday!"

"Oh, sure." She's a bit confused by the wording, as they weren't speaking of it at all. Tes moved from talking about being a little sick to not being in the dorm tomorrow for a project, as if the two had anything to do with each other. Not to mention, it's odd for anyone to be allowed to miss curfew for any reason. Dora gets the impression from the quick way she talks that Tesla might not want to talk about it any further. As much as she wants to ask, she also doesn't want to push too hard when she's so tired. So, Dora shelves that for another day.

"How was your Christmas? I remember you said you were going home, so I bet you got to see your family?"

"Yes, I did. They're doing well." Dora replies, recounting her holiday break, "It was much the same as any year. We attended a few balls, a few dinners.. There was one in Finland this year, so that was a bit interesting since I'd never been there before." The Virtanen's had a lovely garden, which made the whole night less stifling. "Did you go home over break?" She asks curiously. Tesla had painted such a lovely picture of her family during their impromptu picnic. "How was it?"

_{Interacting with @Tesla Stone
Mentioning @Opeila Winters
Isadora Ramona Everridge - Word count: 277 - Color: #631679 - Ency}

Tes felt her shoulders relax as Dora politely moved on from her excuses for her poor health although she seemed concerned and confused in equal measures. In the same moment Tes felt a wave of guilt at lying to her friend take over as Dora talked about her Christmas break. Her friend just wanted to see if she was alright, and all she could give her were silly excuses and a short temper. Well, about as short as Tes's temper ever got.

She found herself looking down at her plate, quietly listening to Dora talk about her Christmas break. She wished she could've spent at least one day over the holidays with her friend. She'd spent some of it with her childhood friend she'd recently been reunited with, but Dora's description of her own break sounded boring if the balls were like the couple she'd been dragged along to. Maybe some year Dora could come and spend Christmas day with her! She might be a bit intimidated by a group of people wearing mismatched clothes lighting a bonfire and eating coal cooked meat and potatoes, though. Some year far in the future perhaps. First Tes had to get Dora to get grass stains on her clothes and maybe even climb a tree someday.

Tes smiled as Dora asked about her own break, finally looking back up at her. She'd listened to Dora speak of course, but she'd gotten so caught up in her own daydreaming she'd unintentionally not been giving her friend her whole attention like she normally did. She didn't feel too bad though, because her good mood was bolstered despite her aches and exhaustion by the thought that someday they could spend time outside of the business of school together."Finland sounds neat! I ended up going to a party too, and it was bo-ring!" Tes emphasized the boring, drawing out the "o" and dropping her voice on the "ing". "You don't really talk about your family much. Did you get to see your uncle? I'm sure seeing a, uh, cadaver for Christmas is certainly something to behold," Tes wrinkled her nose a bit, wondering if a mortuary worked over the holidays. "Anyways! Yeah! I got to go home to see my family! My friend Charles came to visit for a couple days. He's a Ravenclaw. My grandmother on my momma's side came to visit too, but I don't know her all that well so it was a bit awkward. She seems like she'd fit in more with your family than mine!" Tes laughed, sardonically this time. She couldn't help but feel her smile twist into more of a grimace at the memory of spending Christmas day with Elaine. Her words still bounced around her head when Tes laughed a bit too loud or ran a bit too fast down a hallway, even though they weren't meant to be cruel. "It's a wonder your mothers never taught you any manners at all" hadn't been what she'd been hoping to hear on her favorite day to spend with family. Brushing off the flash of hurt and anger that hit Tes harder than she expected, seeing as nothing was wrong of course, she realized she'd let her eyes drift away from Dora again to glare at her half emptied plate.

She quickly wiped the foul grimace off her lips, and looked back at her friend, her smile coming back to her naturally at the reminder that she wasn't feeling sorry for herself at some pureblood party, but rather catching up with a close friend! "That's neither here nor there, though. I got to see my grandparents on my mum's side, and they taught me how to hook up a sleigh to a draft horse and we took some of the kids in town for a ride! It was so fun, and they gave me a brand new jacket that's yellow and fluffy and I love it! Normally my family has a bonfire and invites friends over and we roast food over the flames and the coals and run around in the snow, and it's so fun! This year I was busy with Elaine- er, my grandmother, but they saved some of the food for me and we sat inside and had coco instead when I got home," Tes smiled, softer than her excited grin, thinking about how much she missed her family. "You'll have to come and visit some time! Maybe one of these years you can even stay for Christmas. Speaking of, what'd you get for Christmas this year?"

Tesla seems a bit more distant than usual, but Dora attributes this to her feeling under the weather.

"Finland sounds neat! I ended up going to a party too, and it was bo-ring!"

Dora can relate to that. She wonders what kind of party Tesla attended, as she can't see her fitting in at the kinds of balls her family goes to. The invitations are always heavy scrutinized for these functions, to make sure only proper pureblood families attend. They also serve as an informal setting to do business. But Dora's never included in that, so most times she finds ways to amuse herself for the night. 'Though, maybe it wouldn't be bad to have someone like Tesla to talk to.' She thinks.

"You don't really talk about your family much." It's true, she doesn't. Sometimes it's just difficult to find the right words, and she doesn't want to give off the wrong impression. "Did you get to see your uncle? I'm sure seeing a, uh, cadaver for Christmas is certainly something to behold."

Tesla makes a face which amuses Dora. "Yes, I did see him." She replies, finding it easier to speak about him, "He was pretty busy, though. Unfortunately, December's the best time of year for business. I helped him brew a few potions, but most of the time he likes working alone." It's a shame, she really enjoys her time with him. Even when he's a bit preoccupied, and maybe not paying her much attention, it can be fun to watch him work. "My grandmother had me keep busy as well, so I didn't actually observe the cadavers this time around." She tries to say it in a joking way, but she's not sure she can pull it off. She probably just sounds creepy.

Tes goes on to talk about her family, and how she saw her moms and a friend, and her grandmother came to visit. "She seems like she'd fit in more with your family than mine!"

'What does she mean by that?' Dora wonders. Maybe Tesla's grandmother is wealthy, or even pureblooded. Now that she thinks about it, she really just assumed Tesla didn't have any pureblood roots. It didn't fit with the picture of the wild farm girl who dances in the library and uses her sleeve as a napkin. That's part of why Tesla is easy to be around, because she doesn't know how Dora should be acting. Tesla's face hardens into a glare when she mentions her grandmother, and Dora becomes nervous. If Tesla doesn't like her grandmother, does that mean she wouldn't like Dora's family? Or maybe even Dora herself?

Maybe she's reading too far into it.. Dora tries to forget and move on, but she can't help losing her appetite. Tesla seems cheerier when she talks about her other grandparents, and how they taught her to hook up horses to sleighs and other peculiar activities. Dora knows her grandmother wouldn't approve of her running around in the snow, it's not very ladylike. But when Tesla extends an invitation, she's tempted to accept. "You'll have to come and visit some time! Maybe one of these years you can even stay for Christmas. Speaking of, what'd you get for Christmas this year?"

"That would be wonderful." She admits, though she knows her grandmother would never allow it. "The sleigh ride sounded fun. We have a carriage pulled by thestrals, but I've never hooked them up before. Is it hard to do with horses?"

"My grandmother gifted me a new gown for one of the balls we attended." She recounts, trying to sound grateful. "And my Uncle Harris gave me a nice notebook. I'm not sure what to use it for, though, if I should take notes in it or use it as a diary or something else. Then I had an idea to maybe collect things in it?" She admits nervously, remembering the owl feather she stuck inside the cover.

"I feel bad that I wasn't able to get anyone anything. I was busy with school, and then there wasn't any time for shopping when I returned to the manor."

_{Interacting with @Tesla Stone
Isadora Ramona Everridge - Word count: 606 - Color: #631679 - Ency}

Tes was delighted with the way Dora perked up as much as the slightly gloomy girl could when she talked about her uncle. She'd been a bit worried bringing up her friend's family, since it always seemed like she didn't really have anything nice to say about her grandmother or cousin, but Christmas was a time for family in all forms. The thought of December being good for business in a mortuary sense made Tes a bit sad, so she did her best to barrel through the thought of people passing around the holidays and instead blinked curiously as Dora said she hadn't gotten to observe the cadavers since she'd been busy.

Tes was pretty sure that had been a joke of some sort! Sure, Dora's tone didn't exactly change that much, but there was a slight shift in the way she spoke that made Tes giggle happily, covering her mouth with her hand as she smiled at her friend. Sure, making a joking comment about not getting to watch the process of dead bodies being prepared wasn't exactly what Tes considered humor, but to be fair she'd tried to joke about the process of butchering a cow haunch with someone and they'd looked more shocked than entertained. "I'm glad you at the very least to got to spend a little bit of time with him! Cadavers or no cadavers!"

Tes found herself regretting her own ill-timed joke about her grandmother when she caught Dora looking slightly hurt by the comparison, but she just hoped she was misreading her friend's subtle body language. It must be her own slightly dejected mood that she was projecting on Isadora of course! She bulldozed on to invite her for Christmas some year and was delighted by Isadora's quiet confession that she'd like to accept. See, she hadn't mis-stepped too badly! Maybe Dora could even come for Christmas sooner rather than later.

"Wow! Thestrals are really cool, it's awesome that your family keeps a few. It's not too terribly hard to set up the sleigh, but the horses are really really tall," Tes gestured above her head to demonstrate, "and the tack -that's what the harnesses and stuff that goes on them is called- can be super heavy. I'm still too small to help with the big horses, but I can saddle some of the smaller ones and help haul hay around at the very least! Since I can't reach or lift that much to help with the horses themselves, I just stay with the sleigh and help attach the horses to it once they're readysince that's a lot easier. You can help sometime if you want! My family has a little one horse cart just for fun, and we could go riding in it."

Tes hummed noncommitally, thinking of the gloomy dress her grandmother had gifted her, assuming from Dora's consistently dark clothing her gift was much the same, but at the very least she seemed genuinely excited about her notebook. "I also got a fancy new dress! It was all black and long sleeves and boring and it even had matching shoes. They had heels on them! I can't run or jump in those and so I'll never wear them," Tes stuck out her tongue, mocking the impractical outfit she'd been stuffed into, "I'm sure your gown looked really nice, and I hope you liked it, but fancy dresses really aren't a great gift in my opinion. Especially not when they're boring and stuffy," Tes couldn't tell if Dora's hesitant gratitude had been genuine or not, so she hastened to add, "Unless you really like gowns! Then I'm happy you got it! I just think that a gift like a notebook is a waaay better present to have," Tes grinned, freckles crinkling on her cheeks, "After all, you can use it for super cool stuff like collecting! I bet you can add all sorts of fun memories and thingies to it! I'll either have to wait until spring or ask if I can take something from the greenhouse so I can give you a flower to press in it. That way you can remember spending time with me here at school, even when we're not together!" Tes paused and added, "Only if you want to, of course. After all, it's your notebook and you can add whatever you want to it."

At Dora's mention of shopping, Tes suddenly remembered the Christmas gift she'd meant to give to Dora way back before break, but it had just slipped her mind. "Don't you worry about that! I know that I for one am just happy to know you even thought of me, even if you didn't get me anything. I actually have a chocolate frog I got for you back at the dorm! I got it from doing the meaning of Christmas essay, and I meant to give it to you before break. Once we're done eating I'll dig it out and be sure to give it to you. I might eat one myself, since chocolate always makes things better." Tes felt warmed from the inside out, getting the chance to chat here with a friend.

Tesla seems a bit more talkative now. Still tired, but well enough to smile and tell Dora all about her horses. Dora listens with interest as Tesla describes saddling them and latching them up to a cart. It sounds like a lot of work, and she's not sure she's cut out for it. She's never helped latch the thestrals up to the carriage, or care for them. The house elves mostly do that. Sometimes Grandfather will go out and try to help, though. Dora wonders how different it would be to be pulled by horses in a cart than it is to travel by a thestral flown carriage. Is it very bumpy? Are the horses gentle? Is it very messy?

Even if she might not be allowed to try, it's nice to think about.

Tesla describes a dress she got for Christmas that she doesn't sound too enthused about. True, Tesla doesn't strike Dora as a ballgown sort of person. She's always wearing lighter, more rustic clothes. Dora nods sympathetically, thinking of the gown she was gifted. Too tight, too ornamental. Too much like her grandmother.

Hearing Tes's offer to lend her a flower for the notebook warms her heart. She smiles slightly. "I'd like that very much." She replies, liking the idea of collecting things with special meanings. A physical thing she can look at and think of a friend. "But.." Her face falls, "Wouldn't a flower just wilt?" Someone like Tesla deserves something that's always vibrant.

Dora's cheeks flush a bit when Tesla mentions she has a present for her. "Really? Thank you so much!" She doesn't get to eat them very often, just special occasions, but Dora agrees that chocolate makes things a lot better. "I quite like Chocolate Frog cards, they're always so interesting. The rarest I have is Herpo the Foul."

Moments like these, Dora feels like a normal girl. Tesla does that.

_{Interacting with @Tesla Stone
Isadora Ramona Everridge - Word count: 318 - Color: #631679 - Ency}

Tesla smothered a yawn as she and Isadora finish talking about Christmas and all the things they got and did, absentmindedly pouring hersel a cup of tea and starting to stir a frankly obnoxious amount of sugar into it. She could feel her energy waning again, just for a split second, but as Dora smiled just the slightest bit at the prospect of Tes giving her a flower, she feels as though she could stay awake for days just talking to her friend about things that made her happy.

Seeing Dora's face fall moments later made Tes's own smile drop, worry flashing through her. Hearing that Dora's only fear was the flower wilting made her perk back up again, hurrying to reassure her friend, as the last bit of worry worked its way slowly out of the pit in her stomach. "Sure a flower might lose some of its color, but not too much if we press it! It's really easy to do, and we could even use your notebook to do it if you'd like. Although, it might ruin the pages so we might want to just use one of my textbooks instead. All you have to do is put the flower in a book or between some pieces of paper that'll dry it out, and then stack some really heavy books on top of all that! It smooshes it all flat and keeps it from wilting, and then you can just stick it to your book with a charm or some muggle tape. The green likes to fade, but the petals can keep their color for years even!" Tes paused for a second as she thought for a moment, "Well, I suppose it'll last a bit longer but it still won't look the same eventually. That's okay! I can always give you one of the chicken feathers from back home I was planning to turn into a quill later! That'll look the same for forever." Tes thought about the dried flowers and pressed flowers in picture frames back home, and knew that even if they still had some of the color from the original flower left, they were still wilted like Dora was afraid of. Maybe she'd just have to give her some options from what she had and let Dora decide what to put in her notebook.

Tes was happy that Dora liked the chocolate frogs, and yawned again, nodding along and stretching out her muscles that were getting a little sore sitting on the hard bench. "The cards are so cool! I love looking at them and getting to learn about the people they are. I've got a couple that I guess are rare, but my favorites are Havelock Sweeting and Gulliver Pokeby! One made unicorn refuges and the other studies birds, which is super cool. I like them just 'cause they have animals in them and it's cute to watch them sometimes." Tes smiled fondly thinking of the first time a unicorn trotted into the picture of one of her cards and she'd immediately shown it off to anyone that would look.

Tesla explains how to press flowers so they last longer, Dora following along with interest. She's never done that before, but it sounds fun! Who knew there was such a simple way to preserve flowers nonmagically? "That's splendid." She replies, "Have you done it before?" Thinking for a moment, she adds, "I don't want to ruin your textbooks, though." She doesn't want to ruin her journal either, but Tesla's textbooks are much more important. "We can do it with my journal."

"Well, I suppose it'll last a bit longer but it still won't look the same eventually. That's okay! I can always give you one of the chicken feathers from back home I was planning to turn into a quill later! That'll look the same for forever."

At the suggestion, Dora perks up. "Oh! I already have an owl feather, so a chicken feather would pair nicely!" Feathers are so soft and beautiful. Sometimes Dora's thought about how wonderful it would be to have wings. Then again, she can barely control a broomstick.. "I'm sure that quill will be lovely." She responds to Tesla's idea.

Does she have to choose between a flower or a feather? Dora would like both, but she doesn't want to ask too much. Tes is already so nice to offer to help. "Thank you." She says with a tiny smile.

They talks some about Chocolate Frog cards, Tes telling Dora about her favorites. "Those two sound cool." Dora replies, then remembers, "I think there was a unicorn at the Fall Ball. There was a petting zoo, did you see it? I was too nervous to get close to one, though." The unicorn was just so majestic. Hopefully it didn't get loose like some of the other animals that day...

Still a little worried about Tesla's yawning and slow movements, Dora says. "It's okay if you're too tired to talk. I don't mind if you need to go rest." It's just a bit jarring to see such a difference in character. But, Tesla seems to enjoy talking, so if she wants to stay and talk a bit longer, Dora would be fine with that. It's quite nice to have a break from studying.

_{Interacting with @Tesla Stone
Isadora Ramona Everridge - Word count: 321 - Color: #631679 - Ency}