Closed What to Say? PV Delaney Magindara

❝ i'm over the bridge, a minute from home but i feel so far from it. ❞

M E N T I O N I N G ᯓ★ @marco rinaldi

I N T E R A C T I N G ᯓ★ marco rinaldi

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Clueless was the last thing Delaney wanted to be. Despite being exactly that, she walked up the many steps to the owlery and into the stone room with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what she was doing. She would figure it out at some point. Luckily enough, there weren't many souls occupying the owlery when she arrived. Well... not many human souls. Plenty of owls were going about their business, in their little rooms, in their bath, or flying in and out of the open windows. It was oddly dirty, remains of food and bits of owl waste made for quite the unpleasant sight, though she shouldn't have expected animals to be tidy.

Letter delicately clutched in her hand, she looked about for some sort of instructions or even a person who looked as though they knew what to do. She had made it this far, gathering from all the owls that dropped off mail in the great hall that the owlery had to be Hogwarts' post office. It was silly, Delaney felt like some old-timey princess sending messages by pigeon. Where she came from, there were much faster ways to send a message. The fact that technology didn't work in Hogwarts was odd to her. She would've expected magical people to be far more advanced than 'normal people', though she guessed it was just part of the charm.

Part of her was amused at the thought that her mom or dad would have to figure out this bird messaging to speak back to her. The thought of her family only brought about an odd lonely and guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach. Of course, they'd been expecting her to write a letter in great detail about how she was and what Hogwarts was like. Especially her younger sister. Her handwritten letter was quite full, sharing bits of the beginning of her time at Hogwarts. Like how there were real ghosts and somewhat scary-looking 'house' elves, professors taught real spells, anything new and magical she could remember. Even how they separated students into houses with animal mascots, each one having some odd set of traits required- of course adding that ironically, Ravenclaws were not ravens even though they were the only house with an animal in the actual name. As any good Gryffindor would, she seemed particularly prideful when telling them she had been sorted into the house of bravery. Though they would have probably hoped to see her in the one for intelligence instead if they knew about it.

To her luck, Delaney noticed a dark-haired boy in the owlery in the middle of writing a letter of his own. Quickly concluding that he would have to know how to send a letter, she approached him where he sat. "Excuse-" she had cut her sentence short, noticing he was not just spaced out, but slumped back in his chair... asleep. For a moment, she contemplated waking him. She could've just as easily waited for someone else to come, but maybe she would've been doing him a favor by waking him since he seemed to be in the middle of something. Plus, she reckoned it would've been cruel to let him be an unconscious target for owl poop. Either way, she was going to get this letter sent. With a finger, she tapped the boy on the shoulder to wake him. "Hello?"

( wordcount. → 566 )

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❝ i'm over the bridge, a minute from home but i feel so far from it. ❞

M E N T I O N I N G ᯓ★ @marco rinaldi

I N T E R A C T I N G ᯓ★ marco rinaldi

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It took the dark-haired boy a moment to return to reality, jumping slightly as he noticed Delaney standing before him, clearly the one who woke him from his peaceful sleep. Though she doubted anyone could have anything close to a peaceful rest while being slumped back in that chair. He seemed a bit jumpy. Delaney didn't mention it, knowing she herself would've appreciated it if someone gave her a moment to actually wake up after they'd caught her off guard. Though, when he bumped his knee trying to sit up and attempt to be casual about it, the silliness of it earned a barely audible chuckle that she quickly covered up with a clearing of her throat. Her only outward expression was a small half-smile and furrowing of her eyebrows, a mix of amusement and perplexion.

"You're pretty brave for falling asleep in here. Lucky the owls haven't..." she started, momentarily distracted from her letter-sending duties, though she quickly changed the topic, trailing off. Perfect, just go ahead and gross him out in a record-breaking two seconds. Owl poop wasn't really something she'd like to discuss with someone she'd just met and needed help from. She hadn't woken him up just to tell him he shouldn't be sleeping in here if he didn't want to get pooped on. "Um, never mind," she added quickly.

At his question of paper or pencil, Delaney shook her head. "Neither, actually. I don't suppose you're busy, are you?" she inquires, her gaze shifting to his paper and lack of words written on it, then back to his eyes. Though his falling asleep at his desk mid-letter didn't really indicate he was truly busy, there was never harm in asking. She would've probably felt bad if she trapped him into helping her without at least first making sure. He seemed the slightest bit strange, but likely nice enough to assist Delaney with sending her letter without judging her for not already knowing how. Or so she hoped.

( wordcount. → 332 )

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❝ i'm over the bridge, a minute from home but i feel so far from it. ❞

M E N T I O N I N G ᯓ★ @marco rinaldi

I N T E R A C T I N G ᯓ★ marco rinaldi

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"Comfortable? Right..." Delaney murmured to herself, her gaze flickering to the chair the dark-haired boy was settled in as if not fully convinced. She doubted anyone would find that chair anything but comfortable enough to sleep in. Perhaps he simply hadn't been sleeping well. Either way, it wasn't really her business. She supposed it could be pretty peaceful here in the owlery, taking a brief second to observe the soft ambiance in the room, momentarily distracted. Still, she wouldn't have risked it if she could help it.

At the mention of his letter, she took a peek at the rather empty sheet of paper, nodding slightly as she met his gaze. "I haven't really gotten into the habit of writing letters either," Delaney adds, understanding how it feels to stare at the blank page, not really sure of what to write. Gesturing to the letter nestled between her fingers, neatly sealed within its envelope, Delaney shakes her head again. "No, I've already written mine. It's the sending part I might need a bit of help with. I've never actually had to send one before," she admits, setting the letter down on the edge of his desk near her.

The mental whiplash she had gotten from being tossed into the magical world and school still hadn't worn off. She had managed so far on her own, picking up bits of information she could gather by just observing. But unfortunately for her, there was no "Guide to Hogwarts and Magical Stuff," for her to reference in times of need. As much as she had a certain distaste for asking for help, she supposed she was going to have to get used to it at some point. "Would you mind showing me how? I'd really appreciate it," Delaney inquired, tilting her head slightly as she met the boy's eyes. Perhaps she could try her best to help him with his letter after he lent her a hand in sending hers.

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❝ i'm over the bridge, a minute from home but i feel so far from it. ❞

M E N T I O N I N G ᯓ★ @marco rinaldi

I N T E R A C T I N G ᯓ★ marco rinaldi

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She listened intently as he briefly explained how to send a letter. Stamp and address... got it. Similar to sending a normal 'muggle' letter, only the postman is much smaller and feathery. "And the owl just... knows how to get there?" Delaney inquired, turning her gaze to the open windows he'd gestured to. Internally, she appreciated the way he explained without sounding superior or making her feel stupid. She was beginning to take a liking to him.

During the momentary silence, she got to work on stamping the envelope. Was everything magical always this kind of old-fashioned? Admittedly, it was fun stamping a letter like some old-timey princess sending a very important message, however unnecessary it felt. But normal envelopes could do the trick just fine, couldn't they? Much less messy as well. She supposed everything in the magical world had to be just a little bit dramatic. At least it had seemed that way so far. Delaney hesitates for a second before borrowing his pencil to begin writing her address, ultimately thinking he wouldn't mind if she used it for a moment while he was away from the desk.

At his question of if she was a first year, her interest was piqued by his added 'too'. So that meant this boy was a first-year as well. Perhaps he would be a familiar face this year. That wouldn't be so bad at all. She nods, her gaze flickering to his eyes before returning back to the letter. "First year, yeah," Delaney tells him, finishing writing her address on the envelope. In answering his question, she realized she had never actually introduced herself to the boy. Hopefully, he didn't think her rude. "My name's Delaney, by the way," she finally gave him a proper greeting, a small polite smile curving the corners of her lips, pointing to herself briefly with the borrowed pencil in her hand.

( wordcount. → 316 )

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❝ i'm over the bridge, a minute from home but i feel so far from it. ❞

M E N T I O N I N G ᯓ★ @marco rinaldi

I N T E R A C T I N G ᯓ★ marco rinaldi

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Finished with the final additions to her envelope, Delaney set the borrowed pencil back to its home at his desk. At his mention of owls having specific jobs, Delaney nodded. "That makes sense, I guess," she says, absentmindedly checking her letter once more to be sure it's ready to be sent off with some random magical mail-delivering bird. She didn't know what made owls the preferred choice, but she had learned not to question or think too hard about the way things worked here.

The dark-haired boy introduces himself, earning a polite smile from her. "Marco, got it," Delaney takes his offered hand, giving it a firm shake as she repeats his name back as if logging it into her memory. He had been kind to her so far and would definitely be a face she wouldn't mind seeing around. His last name sounded Italian... was he Italian? The thought was fleeting as she turned her gaze from where he sat to the owls in their little cubbies.

Delaney approached cautiously, holding steady eye contact with the owl she had randomly chosen for delivery. As she handed off the letter to the owl, it took the paper a bit more aggressively than she expected, pulling her hand back quickly as the owl took off and flew through the window. Holding her hand to her chest, she glanced toward Marco with a playful half-smile. "I think it could tell I don't like birds," she tells him, equally amused and awkward.

Hopefully, the owl would make it there without any problems. She reckoned an old system like this wouldn't fail now. At least now she knew how to send letters. Delaney shifts her gaze back to Marco, moving herself back to standing beside his desk. "I'm not quite used to magic and stuff yet," she admits to him. "So... thanks for helping me a bit," Delaney adds, a more genuine smile gracing her face as she thanks him.

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