Closed Spiritual Signs From the Dark and Beautiful open

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ELODIE NORMAN
“ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣? 𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕”
@Emily Shephard

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Elodie wasn't quite sure what led her to this classroom. She'd simply found herself wandering the halls, having nothing much to do. The girl, having spent most her winter break at the castle studying, had breezed through her homework. Her footsteps echoed through the rather empty stone hallways, her curled hair swishing as she walked.

She wasn't really sure where she was going. She'd been perched on her bed with her cat, reading a book on magical creatures that greatly interested her, when she felt the urge to take a stroll. So, the girl had perched her cat on her shoulders and prepared to cavort through the halls. Elodie was rather disappointed that the few friends she'd managed to make were caught up in their own things.

Minnow trilled softly into the girl's ear, her tail tickling Elodie's cheek as she strolled through the halls.

``Hush, now. That's a good girl. If you can't behave, I'll have to take you back to the tower.``

Elodie cooed, stroking the silver kitten's soft spine. She found herself pausing rather suddenly in front of a classroom door, robes swishing. The girl wasn't truly sure what urged her to stop, but throughout her school year, she'd learned to trust her instincts. As such, she knocked gently on the door, pushing it open softly and shuffling in. Her glasses slid down her nose as she scanned the room, eyes widening slightly as she caught sight of the girl.

``o-oh! I'm sorry to disturb you.`` she stammered, dipping her head apologetically. The cards on the desk caught her eye as she rocked back and forth nervously on her heels, and she recognized them as the cards used by the fortune tellers in the fair that would visit her hometown when she was young.

Her village had been miniscule, not even warranting a name. Despite this, travelers often had to travel through it to visit Monmouthshire, a significantly larger nearby area in Wales. She'd spent her whole life there, playing with the multiple animals that frequented the village. As such, her moral code had developed to be very similar to Emily's, as someone who considered all living things worthy of life. She'd found herself sympathizing with lycans and hags alike, almost to a fault. The girl was naive and empathetic almost to a fault, often leading her into difficult situations.

Minnow meowed from her perch upon her shoulder, pink nose twitching as she sniffed the air curiously at this new human. She jumped off of her shoulder, padding up to Emily as weaving between the girl's legs.

``Oh! I'm terribly sorry, I don't know what's gotten into her.``

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Meeting @Elodie Norman

Emily's hand hovered over the top card in her 4-card spread before she heard the door creak open. Looking up she found herself surprisingly greeted by a Ravenclaw girl with a lovely cat perched on her shoulder. It took her a moment to wake up from how absorbed she was in her cards before the girl awkwardly addressed her.

However Emily had little to no time to respond before the cat leapt off the girl's shoulder and began affectionately purring against her leg, much to the shy behest of its owner.

Emily didn't mind in the slightest. Instead, she got down and petted the cat adoringly. Emily was a big animal lover yet never had any pets at home. Perhaps this encounter was the universe's way of responding to her? And if not, well then, Emily was just grateful all the same to be able to snuggle with a feline.

She picked up the cat, holding her fondly and smiled. "No harm done at all," she finally replied to the girl. "You have quite the little ball of energy here." She gave the cat another affectionate scratch behind the ears before gently handing it back to the girl.

"A Ravenclaw I see. And a First Year too?" Emily extended her hand out for a warm handshake. "I'm Emily. What brings you here on such a quiet afternoon?"

_{Word Count: 261}

Stats: Stamina: 6|Evasion: 5|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 7|Arcane Power: 5|Accuracy: 6
Abilties: Non-Human Enthusiast

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ELODIE NORMAN
“ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣? 𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕”
@Emily Shephard

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Elodie tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear, pushing her glasses up her nose. ``U-uhm, yes I'm a first year. My name's Elodie. As for why I'm here...``

The girl hesitated, gently taking Emily's hand and shaking it, Minnow cradled in the arm that wasn't extended. ``Well, I suppose I was bored. There's surprisingly little to do at magic school.`` She said, laughing softly.

This wasn't to say she didn't enjoy her time at Hogwarts. In actuality, Elodie adored Hogwarts.
It had given her an escape from the miniscule village in which she had lived before learning of magic via her letter. Her existence had been a rather quiet one before coming to school, at in some ways, it still was.

Still, she would never had been happy in that nameless village, despite how loving her mother and sister are. Elodie had always craved an escape, and nothing made her happier than learning more about the wonderous world she had been allowed to immerse herself in.

``Are those Tarot cards?`` The girl asked, looking at the table and tilting her head curiously.
``They're really cool, aren't they? I've always loved looking at all the pretty designs on them. There used to be fortune tellers in my village, and it was incredible how amazing they were.``

``Ah, I suppose not so incredible to you. I was raised a muggle, see, so the whole 'seeing the future being possible' thing is still a bit crazy.`` She giggled nervously.

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Getting Friendly with @Elodie Norman

Emily's ears pricked up when Elodie confessed her Muggle background and she smiled brightly. "Ah! You're a Muggle too? Or at the very least familiar with some Muggle history it seems," she said nicely.

"I'm Muggle-born myself but even I find the notion of fortune-telling quite intriguing, even if a bit hyperbolic. From what I hear in conversations in the corridors, there are some students at Hogwarts that are rumoured to be able to see into the future... Seers I think they're called."

Which was fascinating for Emily to keep in mind. Between the dark creatures she would carry in her Tarot Deck to the ones she would hope to see throughout her time at Hogwarts and the Wizarding World, she was dying to know what seeing into the future actually felt like. After all, her divinations weren't quite specifically to tell fortunes or predict the future. Emily tapped lightly on the box cover of her cards, staring wistfully.

"These cards here are quite special. Rather than looking to the "light" per se like most other Tarot Decks would, this one here takes inspiration from Muggle mythos... Greek mythology and the Underworld, Celtic folklore, pretty much everything that others would consider "dark and dangerous." But before you say anything, I want to reassure you that I'm not trying to play with dark magic or anything." Emily laughed a little as if trying to be that more reassuring.

"Rather than asking "What," these cards ask "Why." They explore the hidden shadows and "monsters" inside us and turn them into guidance. Into hope."

She reached for her handbook and opened it up to the first page. "Carl Jung, a Muggle psychoanalyst, once argued that "Everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is."

She scanned down to the next paragraph and continued reading aloud. "The best thing we can do is make them more conscious, to seek them out and maybe even become friends with them."

With that she put the handbook down and turned to face Elodie. "This is exactly the kind of thing I love... Duality. What can be good can easily become wrong in different circumstances, but what can be dark can easily become a source of light."

_{Word Count: 414}

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ELODIE NORMAN
“ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣? 𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕”
@Emily Shephard

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The girl nodded curiously along with emily's fascinating lecture, sliding her glasses up her nose. ``oh, how interesting! uhm.... I'm really not sure. my mum's a muggle, but I never knew my father.``

She said this calmly, though her voice had a hint of wistfulness. She yearned for a father, and secretly imagined what he might be like when she lay in bed at night. In Elodie's fantasy, her father was a kind and wise wizard who would come to Hogwarts one day. He'd sweep her up in his arms, apologize for abandoning her and her mother, and teach her everything he knows about magic.

She sighed calmly, tugging gently at a strand of her hair. This was a nervous tic she often reverted to when she had such thoughts, especially in front of new people.

``That's so fascinating. You must be really smart.`` The girl tittered nervously

``you're so cool. I..... I wonder what my shadow looks like.`` She murmured softly. ``you know, shadows and duality are often put together. I have this book back home about Native American culture, and it says that Native American mythology had these creatures, 'shadow people.' they usually serve as a symbol of balance and duality.``

The girl tilted her head thoughtfully. ``If I recall correctly, they represent the delicate equilibrium between light and darkness, good and evil, life and death. It is believed that encountering a shadow person can be a transformative experience, forcing individuals to confront their own inner demons and embrace the dualities present in their own lives.``

``It's fascinating stuff, isn't it? I love looking into mythology and folklore of different cultures. Maybe that's why your Tarot cards are so interesting to me.``

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Bonding with @Elodie Norman

Emily twitched when Elodie mentioned not meeting her father. That was a shame. She felt she could relate somewhat, given her estrangement with her own father. That was a story for another day however.

She offered a spare seat near her for Elodie to sit down and join her. With her cards still spread out for her divination Emily could only offer her handbook for Elodie to flick through, containing descriptions for all the cards in the Deck.

"Heh... I've spent a long time reading stories and even comic books on creatures like the ones you see in that handbook," she said. "After thinking about the concept of duality for so long, I've come to use this deck every now and then to help understand why things happen in my life from both a "light" and a "dark" perspective."

She looked fondly at the box that kept her cards safe. "Between loving these creatures as kids' stories and now finding out that they are real in this world... It'd be hard not to find it all fascinating."

The sudden compliment completely cracked Emily's train of thoughts. "Hehe... No one has called me 'cool' before," she laughed shyly.

However at Elodie's mention of Native American folklore, Emily quickly regained her composure and found herself nodding enthusiastically with her. "Yes, that's right! Sometimes they're messengers from the supernatural world to warn us of impending events, much like how ravens are mythologically said to be messengers sent by the dead. They walk along the line separating the living world and the underworld. They can appear to anyone but as for why they would can be debatable. It could be an omen or a blessing."

After a comfortable minute of silence - and before Emily would ramble any further - she chuckled at the discussion thus far. She can't remember the last time she felt this energetic talking about folklore and mythology.

"You seem pretty knowledgeable too! Say... If you would like, you could have a go with my cards. What do you say?"

_{Word Count: 366}

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ELODIE NORMAN
“ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣? 𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕”
@Emily Shephard

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Minnow meowed loudly from her place on Elodie's lap, rubbing her head under the girl's chin. She giggled, stroking the cat's back as she gazed calmly at her newfound companion.

``oh, I'd love that!`` She beamed. Elodie kicked her feet back and forth calmly, her toes around an inch above the ground. It was at times like these that she felt homesick. She wondered how her mother and half-sister are doing, what they're up to, what her elderly beagle Sir Barkington is up to.

The girl shook off her melancholy, tilting her head and beaming at Emily. That doesn't matter right now, she's sure her family is thriving.

If she was honest with herself, it made her sad to imagine her family happy without her around, but the girl knew this was selfish. She truly did want her family to thrive, and it would have been bad if they'd gone their whole life relying on her.

the girl sighed, scratching Minnow behind her ears and stroking the kitten's back. She'd almost forgotten; Elodie wasn't alone here. She had her cat, her friends, and her freedom. She could never have been happy trapped in that miniscule, nameless village for the rest of her life.

``Maybe they'll tell me how my summer will go.``

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Becoming Enlightened with @Elodie Norman

Emily smiled and nodded encouragingly upon Elodie's agreement to her proposal. Before she went to scoop up her cards however she still remembered the spread she had created from earlier. Before anything else she turned over the cards quickly and scanned them. Emily had the deck long enough to know what each card symbolised and so didn't dwell on them for too long before adding them to her reformed deck of cards. Whatever the universe was trying to convey in those cards she would ponder later.

She packed them all neatly in her hand and began reciting the name of each card, one at a time, face up on the table. After all 44 cards were recited she took them all in her hands again and started shuffling. Emily was by no means a shuffle master, instead shuffling for as long as she felt she needed to until she felt she had the perfect mix in her hand. A good five minutes of silence passed before she felt she was finally done. She set the deck in front of Elodie.

"Think of a question. Any that you like. You can speak it aloud or you can keep it to yourself. It's your divination so whatever way you choose to do this is all up to you," Emily explained softly. "Though try and make it as concise as possible. Just so that the cards best know how to answer you."

Emily sat back in her chair to allow Elodie time to think. No question was silly but if she were to get the most out of it, she ought to have a deep think, no matter how long it could take for both of them.

_{Word Count: 311}