CL We meet again PV Serena Towers

Interacting with: Milo (@Delilah Stewart) | Mentions: Pizza Rat

Subconsciously, Serena had mostly kept to herself in truth since coming to camp. Not because anything bad had drastically happened but rather, she just wanted to avoid anything bad from happening. She was trying to ease herself into this whole thing, find a place where she was comfortable with it all – rather than constantly scared that the worst will happen. Then again, she was also probably avoiding her older brother. He likely knew by now and she had no idea what his reaction would be, nor did she want to have that interaction. Though she knew it was only a matter of time. Where possible, she stayed in her cabin or just hung out with her rat.

Deciding she needed to brave the new world if she was going to try and live her life like normal, she headed out of her cabin to the campgrounds with her sketchbook under her arm and a little pouch with supplies in her hand. She also had a few thin comic books tucked under there. It was a nice day, not too windy and the sun was out – which was always pleasant to see in Hogwarts.

The Hufflepuff donned a floral red blouse, pair of blue denim shorts and her usual boots for the occasion. The boots were the ones she had made a couple of years ago now. They had little wings on the ankles in a similar design to the golden snitch. One of her favourite pieces of armour. She was also wearing copper ear cuffs that went over her pointy ears, drawing attention to them. They were magical enhanced too – also goblin made by yours truly. Her long dark hair was sitting on her shoulders, potentially covering her ears by chance – rather than on purpose. She did have a hair tie though on her wrist, since she planned to tie her hair back to draw anyway.

Maybe today was a good day to teach Pizza a few new tricks or something too. They always came in handy. Heading away from everyone else, she walked around the campgrounds trying to find a nice quiet spot to just sit by herself. Spotting a location, she beelined straight for it until she caught a glimpse of someone from the side of her eye. She casually glanced over before continuing - wait –

It took her a second to realise who was there, not too far away. Doubling back, she confirmed that it was indeed the French PenPal that she had for the past few years. A grin hit her face, happy to see him. He was always so nice to her – even when she acted like a fool in front of him. Turning quickly, she made her way over to him. Serena approached him from behind, “Fancy seeing you here, stranger,” She called out as she approached so she did not startle him by suddenly appearing next to him. She leaned against the side of the tree that he was also leaning against, looking down, “Hey there, what you do-” She greeted, about to ask him what he was doing out of instinct when her gaze flickered down to see the parchment on his lap. He clearly had the same thought as her.

However, that was not what cut her sentence short. It was what was on the parchment. “HOLYSMOKES! That’s SO good! What the heck- did you just draw that?” Serena continued, not taking a breathe as she bent forward and peered over his shoulder to look at it. He was drawing a Niffler and it was so stinkin’ cute! As her hair fell forward a little, covering her eye, she instinctively tucked it behind her ear so she could see better and leaned in, “Dang, you never told me you were this good at art, Milo!” She continued, completely forgetting about everything else.

She leaned forward so fast, distracted by the drawing that the brown rat that had been perched on her head this entire time slid right off the top of her head and fell on the Beauxbatons boy or the ground near him if he managed to move.

Outfit of the Day | Ear Cuff Design

Interacting with:@Serena Towers and Pizza Rat, of course. - Mentioning:

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RPing as iNPC Milo Durand Date: 6th July 2023 Outfit: Here

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He looked up from his sketch as he heard a familiar voice, was she psychic? Did she know he was thinking about her and find him? What on earth? He smiled at her approaching with her familiar rat on her head, realising she also had drawing supplies with her, he hadn't known she drew too. Her exclamation gave him a bit of a fright but he laughed it off when he realised it was about his drawing.

"Hello." He said with a smile as she leaned over his shoulder, although out of the corner of his eye he caught a little sparkle, and his suspicions were confirmed when Serena pulled her hair over her ear and he saw the adorable little copper jewellery. He reached up to touch it gingerly, primarily to shield it from the sun a little so he could see it better. "Your... uhh... I don't know the word. Decoration? It is very beautiful."

It was then that he realised that her ears underneath were naturally pointy, it took him a bit of thinking, but a combination of that and her height and he was able to put 2 and 2 together. "Ah, bijoux de gobelin." It took him a minute to translate in his head but he eventually got it. "Goblin's Jewellery, it looks very good on you."

He completely dodged the conversation about his drawing, even though yes he was trying not to feel judgement from others subconsciously, he wasn't very good with compliments on his handiwork, his face a tinge red with embarrassment. Although before he could continue discussing her lovely jewellery, there was one fact he had immediately forgotten that he had seen.

"EUagh" That was the noise that Milo made when a little rat plopped into his lap, his attention immediately flicking around to Pizza rat. "Oh it is just you, hello small man. Pizza Rat is a man yes?" He realised he didn't actually know for sure.

"Uh, my art, I don't tend to really talk about it much." He knew it was good, but despite his former ego, when it came to his artwork, the thing that made him feel more sensitive, he just felt sort of embarrassed when people talked about how good it was. It was an 'All eyes on him' scenario that he didn't orchestrate and that felt peculiar to him.

"Have you always made Goblin's Jewellery?" This was his attempt to once again turn the attention off him, leaving Pizza rat on his lap if he would stay sat there.

Interacting with: Milo (@Delilah Stewart) | Mentions: Pizza Rat

Her breathe got caught in her throat as she felt his hand approach her ear, her eyes widened for a moment not knowing what to say or do. For a brief moment, she had forgotten she had worn those - and more than that, forgotten he did not know. Or maybe he had worked it out? She had no idea. But she was about to find out. Her heartbeat rose as he hesitated, stumbling with his words. Did he hate her now? Maybe she should have told him before... He was a pureblood, after all.

Her mother would make her read the guest list of all of their gatherings and parties, in an attempt to get her to memorise them so she could be a good host and name everyone or politely greet everyone when they arrived. However, Serena hated that task and just sat there staring at a piece of paper without absorbing anything. She did once spot the Durand family on the guest list and was hopeful to have some pleasant company for the evening, instead of dealing with annoying adults, but Milo did not show.

She bit her lip, staring at the artwork in his lap and trying hard not to look at him. He thought it was beautiful? She pressed her fingers into her other hand, squeezing them in hesitation as he continued to speak saying something that could have been an insult. Bitch of a goblin? She had no idea, until he translated it. Jewellery. Right. Goblin's jewellery. That was not what she had thought at all.

Serena took a step back suddenly, untucking the hair to hide the earring once more even though he complimented it. He was being nice. Yet she felt... worry? Guilt? She was not sure exactly, it just did not feel right.

"Oh uh, y-yeah. He's a uh he-" Serena stumbled out in regards to Pizza, who seemed rather content at just staying there if Milo did not shoo him off. She stared at Milo for a moment before nodding, turning against the tree and leaning back against it. She stayed standing up, in case she needed to dart away but she was leaning at a 90 degree angle to him, on the side of the tree so she did not have to stare at him whilst having this conversation. "Yeah, I guess. Well actually, not always. I urm only found out-" She mumbled, sighing and then starting again, "A few years. My dad got me a beginner jewellery set some time ago to peak my interest I think... And then I was allowed to go to a forge in urm, I suppose it would have been two years ago now. Summer 2021?"

She stared at the grass in front of her for a moment before moving her sketchbook into her hands and clutching it. The sketchbook was where she had a bunch of designs. He had worked out that she had made it herself. Serena pondered for a moment if she should show him. But mostly, her heart hurt a little and she realised why. It was guilt. He had always been so nice to her and she couldn't help but wonder if it was because he thought she was a pureblood. That may have been why he offered to kiss her too. Did he feel betrayed that she did not tell him the truth before?

"I- I'm sorry- I- for not telling you- I- yeah-" She apologised suddenly, not knowing how he felt about her keeping him a secret. If he considered her inferior or hideous now, she would not be surprised.

Outfit of the Day | Ear Cuff Design

Interacting with: - Mentioning: @Serena Towers

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RPing as iNPC Milo Durand Date: 6th July 2023 Outfit: Here

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He immediately could feel the tone shift, although he wasn't quite sure why at this moment. His parents had always raised him with a big heart, although he had tried not to show it, he was somewhat shielded from the reality that not everybody liked goblins and other races, he was just taught about the other races and their customs and ways, the same as cultures from other countries.

"That is really interesting, so you have a forge you make this Jewellery in? Maybe someday I can visit, see how it is made. It really is lovely." He said, his hand dropping from beside her head as she took a step back. "Are you okay?" He asked, a little concerned when her hair fell down back in front of her ears.

He looked up at her with a small smile as she apologised. "Why are you sorry? You do not need to tell me things that you don't want to, it is your life." He shrugged, "Besides, I don't get to wear cool goblin's jewellery, really I am missing out here." He chuckled away to himself at his half-assed attempt at a joke to lighten the situation. He thought about standing up to look at her face to face but didn't want to knock Pizza off his lap.

"Either way, I think you make very beautiful jewellery, it suits you very well."

Interacting with: Milo (@Delilah Stewart)

Her eyes watered a little as she stared intently in front of her, trying not to look over her shoulder. He was being… so nice. It was a little unexpected. There was no disgust in his voice, no anger that she had essentially lied to him, nothing. He was being incredibly nice, even asking questions as he genuinely seemed interested rather than feigning interest and she did not actually know how to handle that.

Serena found herself sinking onto the ground, leaning back against the tree trunk. Her shoulder was at a right angle to his. They were relatively close but she shifted to make sure that she did not accidentally nudge him. ”O-oh uh, th-thanks,” She mumbled as he complimented her once again. She gripped her sketchbook tightly before opening it and placing it on the ground between them, opening it up to one of her sketches. If he flipped through it, he would end up finding lots of pages of random sketches. They were not all made into items but there were pages and pages of planning before Serena had obviously picked out some favourite sketches and started to design them in more depth. Among the pages, he would see her earlier designs with notes about covering ears - such as the helmet she made for Broom Racing - before eventually coming across her latest designs, including the ear cuffs that she made for the distinct purpose of being more noticeable.

She did not press him to look at it nor did she stop him. She would simply open it up and move it closer to him, leaving it in the space between them, for him to decide what to do with it and he wanted to flip through.

Whilst he made that decision, Serena looked up at the sky for a brief moment. Her forge - at least the one on school grounds - was actually not very far. She could not help but wonder if she could, perhaps, sneak him in for a visit. Though maybe that was best reserved for his next trip, if he still wanted to be friends. Alternatively, she did have a forge back home - well, it was her father’s - and she could probably invite him there… ”Yanno, I think I could probably arrange for you to see the forge in action one day, if you really wanted…” She randomly said a few minutes after the fact.

Fidgeting, she tucked her hair behind her ear once more after he complimented her jewellery making skills. She was still relatively new to the craft and only figured out how to make such intricate work - which she was sure would only get better and better over time. But nonetheless, it was kind of really nice to hear such nice things about it. Though, it did make her feel a little awkward at the same time.

”Maybe I could teach you to make something yourself or uh, I could possibly make something for you too…” Serena mumbled quietly. It was barely audible. He might not have even heard her say the whole thing but she figured, if he really wanted to, she could probably show him around a forge and help show him the ropes - getting him to make something simple himself with her assistance - or even make something for him. Though she had no idea what he would want. Maybe he was just being polite. Most people did not actually wear armour, after all. It was, surely, just him being polite.

Outfit of the Day | Ear Cuff Design

Interacting with: - Mentioning: @Serena Towers

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RPing as iNPC Milo Durand Date: 6th July 2023 Outfit: Here

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When she flopped the sketchbook down, he looked between Serena and the book a few times, trying to determine if she wanted him to look through it. He wished he had brought his own to show back but he had left it at home, hence him drawing on a piece of parchment. When she mumbled a thanks it almost made him want to compliment her more so she got used to it.

He flicked a couple pages, just wondering what sort of things she drew and landed on the page with the quidditch helmets. "Oooh, these are very nice." He leaned over and looked closer, ending up reading some of the notes, a lot of which are about covering ears. He tapped the page gently, "You have written a lot about ears, does the wind bug you when flying?" He asked innocently. Milo smiled excitedly as she mentioned about making him something. "Maybe you could make me a quidditch helmet, make a new trend for the Beauxbatons team. Although perhaps ones we can see out of." He laughed, "I would love anything that I can say was made by the wonderful Serena Towers, or taught to me by the wonderful Serena Towers." The way Milo said her name, the Rs gargled a small bit in his throat.

"I would love to see the forge, I am interested in your hobbies, speaking of which your drawing is very good also!"

Interacting with: Milo (@Delilah Stewart)

"Oh uh, I suppose," She mumbled, not entirely sure what else to say. The wind was a little annoying when she was flying. It made her eyes water and made her ears tickle! It was kind of hard to fly with the winds hitting in her face. Glancing down at the page he was looking at and referencing, she knew exactly what the notes said and why she had written about her ears a lot. Especially at that time. "It was mostly to uh to hide them. And sort of just uh... hide well, everything," She continued, replying honestly.

She wiggled her nose a little in thought though as she pondered on the matter, "I suppose it's kind of ticklish," She continued in a pout.

"Oh well, I don't want to help you beat Hogwarts," She teased in response to his statement about making a quidditch helmet for him, "But I suppose I could probably do a little something with that..." She mused a little to herself as she pondered on the matter. Maybe she could make him something he could wear with his uniform. She was not sure if Beauxbatons had a fixed uniform but she was pretty sure she could make something to go with it.

She smiled weakly, comforted by the fact that he did not seem to be totally outraged by the whole thing and was taking it rather well. He even seemed complimentary about it, though she could not quite fathom exactly why. It was nice though. "Well, if you want to sneak to the forge anytime, let me know. Thouuuugh, we might get in trouble," She admitted. She was not sure if that part of the grounds was off limits during camp or not but she figured it probably would be. The forge was at the Groundskeeper cabin so it probably depended on him, "Or if you're ever in London, I suppose we could pop by the one that my dad owns there," She continued, acutely aware that she was now an adult and could travel to those places by herself if she wanted to!

She tilted her head a little in thought, "What other hobbies do you have actually?" She asked as he mentioned hers. Other than quidditch - and now drawing - she was not entirely sure what else he enjoyed doing in his spare time.

Outfit of the Day | Ear Cuff Design