3 Feb 2019, 20:11
A Beginners Guide to Mermish
Bobby Fanai marched across the grounds of Hogwarts, bundled tightly in a scarf her Uncle had gifted her for the holidays. While it wasn’t terribly windy, the air itself was cold enough to require her to fashion her winter cloak securely across her chest in addition to her woolen gloves and hat. Several layers of clothing kept Bobby warm from a majority of the cold as her snow boots crunched loudly through the snow.
She dodged a group of students engaged in a snowball fight as she made her way to the frozen Black Lake. Over the last semester, she had researched everything she could about the magical creatures at Hogwarts. Once she learned of the merfolk residing in the lake, her desire to talk to them consumed much of her free time. Unfortunately, her efforts to get into the Slytherin common room to practice her Mermish with the merfolk had been futile. Honestly, she wasn’t trying to spy or anything. It just that the Slytherin common room had the only window to get to the lake (besides going above ground). To her, it wasn’t fair that the Slytherins enjoyed such a wonderful opportunity for communication with the denizens of the lake, while she suffered in the Gryffindor Tower with only access to owls.
Not to say that owls weren’t fascinating magical creatures, it just that she was really getting rusty in her Mermish. An unfortunate fact she was faced with when she returned home for the holidays to discover that she could barely converse with the pods of Merrow and Selkie that frequented the shores of Carlingford.
So here the dark-haired first year was, carrying her school bag over one shoulder and walking across the icy lake to find a clear spot of ice. No one took much notice of her, while friendly with her housemates and peers, she hadn’t really made friends yet. Though, that fact was about to change today.
Crouching down once she reached a spot with thin enough ice, Bobby brushed some snow away with her glove to give herself a clear window to the dark depths of the lake. Pulling out a small hammer and chisel she had stolen from her Grandfather, Bobby began making a small, round window to the depths below. Once she had carefully removed the layer of ice, the girl pulled out a large tome from her bag. She flipped to a page she had marker previously and muttered a few Mermish words under her breath. Once satisfied that she had gotten the pronunciation correct, Bobby pulled off her knit cap and gathered her hair into a low ponytail. Taking a deep breath, Bobby plunged her head into the freezing water.
“Hello! Good morning! May I speak with you?” Bobby used all the air in her lungs to produce the sweet notes of Mermish, calling her message a few times before she had to come back up for air. Though she had a distinct accent, and her notes were not nearly as sweet as a natural born speaker, she had enough grasp on the language to not offend the merfolk with unflattering notes.
The cold air crystalized some of the water clinging to her eyelashes, but Bobby was already taking another deep breath and diving her head down below to sing her message again.
So concentrated was she, that Bobby didn’t notice the slowly cracking ice from underneath her.
She dodged a group of students engaged in a snowball fight as she made her way to the frozen Black Lake. Over the last semester, she had researched everything she could about the magical creatures at Hogwarts. Once she learned of the merfolk residing in the lake, her desire to talk to them consumed much of her free time. Unfortunately, her efforts to get into the Slytherin common room to practice her Mermish with the merfolk had been futile. Honestly, she wasn’t trying to spy or anything. It just that the Slytherin common room had the only window to get to the lake (besides going above ground). To her, it wasn’t fair that the Slytherins enjoyed such a wonderful opportunity for communication with the denizens of the lake, while she suffered in the Gryffindor Tower with only access to owls.
Not to say that owls weren’t fascinating magical creatures, it just that she was really getting rusty in her Mermish. An unfortunate fact she was faced with when she returned home for the holidays to discover that she could barely converse with the pods of Merrow and Selkie that frequented the shores of Carlingford.
So here the dark-haired first year was, carrying her school bag over one shoulder and walking across the icy lake to find a clear spot of ice. No one took much notice of her, while friendly with her housemates and peers, she hadn’t really made friends yet. Though, that fact was about to change today.
Crouching down once she reached a spot with thin enough ice, Bobby brushed some snow away with her glove to give herself a clear window to the dark depths of the lake. Pulling out a small hammer and chisel she had stolen from her Grandfather, Bobby began making a small, round window to the depths below. Once she had carefully removed the layer of ice, the girl pulled out a large tome from her bag. She flipped to a page she had marker previously and muttered a few Mermish words under her breath. Once satisfied that she had gotten the pronunciation correct, Bobby pulled off her knit cap and gathered her hair into a low ponytail. Taking a deep breath, Bobby plunged her head into the freezing water.
“Hello! Good morning! May I speak with you?” Bobby used all the air in her lungs to produce the sweet notes of Mermish, calling her message a few times before she had to come back up for air. Though she had a distinct accent, and her notes were not nearly as sweet as a natural born speaker, she had enough grasp on the language to not offend the merfolk with unflattering notes.
The cold air crystalized some of the water clinging to her eyelashes, but Bobby was already taking another deep breath and diving her head down below to sing her message again.
So concentrated was she, that Bobby didn’t notice the slowly cracking ice from underneath her.
Reducio
Word Count: 569
Merrow: Mermaid/man in Irish Folklore
Selkie: or "Seal Folk". Seal in water, human on land
Note: Bobby isn't actually going to contact any merfolk, she's eleven. Her "speaking" to Selkie and Merrow at home is just her listening to them communicate from the shore and slowly figuring out what sounds mean what. She's no Scamander, she just really wants to speak to some magical creatures. lol
Merrow: Mermaid/man in Irish Folklore
Selkie: or "Seal Folk". Seal in water, human on land
Note: Bobby isn't actually going to contact any merfolk, she's eleven. Her "speaking" to Selkie and Merrow at home is just her listening to them communicate from the shore and slowly figuring out what sounds mean what. She's no Scamander, she just really wants to speak to some magical creatures. lol
Last edited by Tatiana Crane on 14 Aug 2019, 21:42, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Closed for being inactive for over a month.
Strength: 3 | Agility: 8 | Control: 12 | Stamina: 7
"May the roads rise to met you"
14 Apr 2019, 06:16
A Beginners Guide to Mermish
A girl was about to die. That was... interesting? No, not interesting. That was boring, it happened all the time in a School such as this. Those who were unprepared soon met their end. He could clearly hear the ice cracking, he could clearly see the girl be oblivious. Could he go and save her? Of course, it wouldn't be too difficult. He had a broom disguised as an umbrella strapped to his back, he couldn't possibly weight that much.
But he had no reason to. Why would he go and help her if she was too stupid to keep herself alive? There were others that he knew but still had let perish. It didn't matter to the boy, he didn't see life as having any inherent worth. Not unless he gave it any, and he had certainly not given any worth to the life of a random girl sitting on cracking ice.
But it wouldn't cost anything, it wouldn't hurt to just say something, would it? Say something and then move on? Kaegen was not raised with one, but he still possessed a very small conscience that once in a while screamed loud enough to be heard. It screamed just about as loud as Kaegen's own rasping, quiet voice. He had timed it so he called out when her head was above water, but he wasn't exactly loud.
"You're going to die."
But he had no reason to. Why would he go and help her if she was too stupid to keep herself alive? There were others that he knew but still had let perish. It didn't matter to the boy, he didn't see life as having any inherent worth. Not unless he gave it any, and he had certainly not given any worth to the life of a random girl sitting on cracking ice.
But it wouldn't cost anything, it wouldn't hurt to just say something, would it? Say something and then move on? Kaegen was not raised with one, but he still possessed a very small conscience that once in a while screamed loud enough to be heard. It screamed just about as loud as Kaegen's own rasping, quiet voice. He had timed it so he called out when her head was above water, but he wasn't exactly loud.
"You're going to die."
Shade-Beacon, Master of the Castle of Avarice