Closed Breaking Perimeters with Extracurricular

Date: 2 October 2023 Time: Unknown, probably after lessons

Interacting with: @Elara Reed Mentions: X

English | French Thoughts

Mahlioz had been having a sort of... creative enlightenment recently. She was always inspired, couldn't stop drawing and kept having ideas for stories she could write. It was probably because of the awesome holidays with her best friend. Maybe. She wouldn't attribute it to anything just yet. But she appreciated it for sure - it was always great to have inspiration.
Her studies, though, seemed to be taking quite the hit because of this. Mahlioz liked learning more than anything, but because she'd been taking advantage of her creative juice, she didn't have as much energy for homework and working on spells.

And that needed to change, because she really missed not being behind on things at school. So today she was on her way to the study room on the second floor, to catch up on her lessons and work. Particularly Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts. (And Flying, but she had always sucked at that and some practice wasn't about to change that. Besides, she really didn't want to practice flying.) It was as she was walking to the study room that she heard a shout and saw a flash of red light coming out of a classroom.

Hesitantly, she peeked into the class, curious. (DADA and Herbology could wait, right?) It was mostly empty, except for a mannequin, a couple of books, and a rather scary-looking determined girl with a wand in her hand. Mahlioz probably should have turned around and gone to study, but (as per usual) her curiosity got the better of her.

The girl looked younger than her - probably a first year. She had blonde hair in a very tight bun (gods, the second year did not miss her long-haired days), a Slytherin green tie, and an exhausted but stubborn-looking expression. That red light had reminded Mahlioz of something, a specific spell, but she couldn't remember which one. So she walked in. "Heya," she said, hiding her slight fear of the girl behind a friendly appearance. "Sorry to interrupt. What are you working on?"

Elara snaps her head back as she hears an unfamiliar voice near the classroom door, at first there's a slight hint of panic on her face, startled by the sudden entrance, but once she realized it was but another student, she calms down, and runs a hand through her hair, tucking in loose strays back into the bun, attempting to reinstate her normal elegant persona.

"I'm practicing a spell. And this classroom will not be in use for the next few hours. In other words, I am allowed to be here, if that is why you stepped in."

Elara says curtly. Her voice has a slight accent to it, and she gestures as she talks to emphasize her words, almost as though she is reading lines for a play rather than having a normal conversation with another wizard. She then leans to her side to glance at her notes from afar, reviewing them before making another attempt. The grip on her wand tightens as she, predictably, gains no further insight upon her now 30th re-reading of her notes. A grimace spreads on her face as she turns her back on the stranger and points the wand back at the mannequin, gearing up for another try. However, instead of casting the spell immediately, she glances over her shoulder to continue speaking before her next attempt.

"You can spare me whichever lecture you have in mind for the moment. I'm sure as an upperclassman you will have already mastered such spells, I am aware of that."

Elara says, acknowleging the fact her fellow classmate looked to be about a year or two older than her. She then looks away to glare into the mannequin's empty button eyes.

"But I'll get there. I assure you."

@Mahlioz Evethisawe

Date: 2 October 2023 Time: Unknown

Interacting with: @Elara Reed Mentions: X

English | French Thoughts

Mahlioz really should have been in the study room. She really should have been working on all the things she was failing at and catching up on all the things she was falling behind in. But... that could wait, right? For once that she was willing to speak to someone, she might as well take advantage. Or at least, that could be her excuse. This student she didn't know seemed way too interesting to leave behind for a couple of study notes, and that was rare for Mahlioz.

The kid's first words were rather... surprising, to be honest. She seemed to be trying to justify herself for being in the room. She spoke in an accent Mahlioz could not place, but it had that slight tilt in it that the second year recognized all too well. It was a I'm-not-too-great-with-conversations-so-please-have-this-rehearsed-line way of speaking.
And she was trying to prove that she was allowed to be there. Mahlioz's eyebrows rose. "Oh, no, that's not... I mean, I don't doubt that."

She'd really thought she was one of the only students who actually cared about following rules. Most of her friends were reckless and troublemaking, even when they didn't mean it. And Mahlioz loved them for that, but... sometimes it was awful, being the only one who was constantly worried she was doing the right thing and not breaking any rules. She remembered multiple instances in her muggle school where she'd cried because a teacher had kindly explained something she'd done wasn't okay. And she'd gotten used to being the only child who cared. But it was clear this girl was of the same mindset.

Mahlioz shook her head, realizing her thoughts had distracted her. The girl had turned around again, facing the mannequin. Then she looked back at Mahlioz a moment, telling her to spare her a lecture. The Slytherin wasn't sure what to say to that. This girl was getting scarier by the second.
"I... had none in mind," Mahlioz began, searching for the right words. "I was just curious what spell you were working on. It looked... familiar, but I didn't hear what your - what your incantation had been. And, er... again, I don't doubt that you will. You seem very determined to do so."

Perhaps if the girl was too focused on getting the spell right, Mahlioz could just check the notes she'd been looking at? It would spare the first year an answer to give, right? She glanced over at the open book, full of writing, and began trying to decipher it.

Elara nods curtly, slowly turning back to her project, practicing her wand flick outside of casting a spell, but by her expression, one could gather how unsure she is as to how to respond to the lack of any opposition to her brash statements.

She doesn't speak or make eye contact for a good minute, before she raises her voice whilst rehearsing her movements, still looking at the mannequin

"I sense hesitation in your voice. Not something I hear very often from a fellow slytherin."

She remarks, breaking the short-lived awkward silence between them. Elara herself is not completely sure why she decided to state her opinion on the matter, though it wouldn't be the first time she bluntly spoke her thoughts out-loud for others to hear. Despite the fact most of these statements come off as antagonistic, she only really views them as stating plain fact rather than saying so to simply get under the receiver's nerves. (And perhaps to bring her veeeery important opinion to light to subtly discourage those against it to follow her word instead.)

"Use your chest when you are speaking, execute confidence, even if it doesn't feel true. This world will eat you alive if you showcase weakness openly."

She states, still not sparing Mahlioz a glance. She thinks back on her journal for a moment, remembering not only her notes but the many ways she uses them, filling them with her own amatuer musings in the form of poems or drawings. Most of those "artistic" displays are not something she'd be very proud, but experession is expression, and this is the way she chooses to do it.
@Mahlioz Evethisawe

Date: 2 October 2023 Time: Unknown

Interacting with: @Elara Reed Mentions: X

English | French Thoughts

This was beginning to get frustrating. Mahlioz didn't often get frustrated - she was more the calm type, who liked to work out rational solutions without getting carried away by emotions (when she could, anyway). But even she had to frown at this first year, though the girl probably didn't notice, since she was facing away from her.

Not only was the blonde girl choosing not to answer Mahlioz's perfectly answerable question, but she was instead criticizing the second year's manner of speaking. There was no way she'd just forgotten Mahlioz had asked, especially considering how proud she seemed to be a Slytherin and how she was analyzing everything. So it was a choice. Why, Mahlioz did not know - it was really not that much of an effort just to tell them what spell she was practicing. This was ticking them off.

And then there was the fact that she was telling them how to speak and hold themselves. "Listen, I didn't decide to get put into Slytherin." That didn't mean she hated it, on the contrary. She had, once, but that was over, and she was proud of her house. That didn't mean they had to act like a stereotype. "Just because the Hat decided this was the best place for me, doesn't mean I need to change who I am or how I act. I've been in the world longer than you have and I've seen things, but they don't mean I feel the need to hide myself from it."

Mahlioz didn't notice she was doing the exact thing the girl was suggesting - her hesitation was gone, her fear at the back of her mind, just out of annoyance. Fine, then. If the girl wasn't going to explain, Mahlioz would figure out the spell on their own. Not finding a spell name on the pages of her book that were open, they flipped through it...

...And found something perhaps a bit more personal. They had not been expecting this blunt, sharp girl to be a poet. Or, after a few more page turns, a visual artist. Mahlioz's fear had already dissipated, chased away by frustration, but now frustration was chased away by awe, and something like a kindred spirit feeling. "Did you do these?" she asked, forgetting she was probably crossing a boundary by looking through them. "They're... they're good." Poems weren't something the second year excelled with, though she could tell a good one when she saw one. But drawings? Mahlioz knew their way around drawings. And these ones were pretty dang good.

Sure, this girl was annoying, and sure, Mahlioz still didn't know what spell she was supposedly practicing. But she was interesting, and when Mahlioz was curious about something, they were rarely stopped by anything in their way to find more out about it.

Reducio

So sorry about how late this is! Things got very busy, I'll try to keep the wait shorter next time