Writing as Alexei Petrov

Mentions
Interacts with @Eyre Reeves and @Aurélie Nimco
Now Closed to Interactions except for @Eyre Reeves

Color: #0040BF

Alexei's tunnel vision was disrupted by an annoying and vaguely familiar face popping out of nowhere. The boy seemed to want to drag him away from his mission, which was incredibly irritating. He would have just ignored the boy, but he seemed to be friends with the lovely Aurélie, so that wasn't an option. He also would have simply brushed off the boy, but Aurélie seemed to be alright with him leaving for a moment, so he would have to at least make it look okay. "I shall return as soon as I can, Aurélie," Alexei said as he rose, shooting her a flirtatious wink.

He walked a ways away, assuming the younger boy would follow. Maybe he was trying to apologize for the mess the other night, although Alexei doubted it from his tone. "Make it quick," he said, his irritation with being forced away from his sole purpose in life very evident. His English was generally fairly lightly accented, but with his irritation, his Russian accent grew thicker. "I'm feeling charitable at the moment, hence my speaking to you, but if you continue to stop me from talking to that lovely girl, that won't last long. What do you want?"

He glared at the boy while crossing his arms and ever so slightly flexing his muscles as if to make sure that both of them knew he was far stronger than girly hair.

Interacting with: @ Jess Malters

After shifting over for the girl Akari decided to bite her marshmallow but in half so it would last longer and she could enjoy and savour every bit of it. She chewed on it contently until the girl who had sat down next to her started speaking.
Um, if you don't mind me asking," "How do you make the marshmallows all nice and.... perfect like that? I always mess mine up..."
Akari grinned at this statement proud that the girl had taken a notice to her roasting 'Skills'.
Does it take really take skill to roast marshmallows? Absolutely not, but Akari was still pleased that she was asked about it.
"It's not that hard actually, you just need to find the right spot in the fire and keep a close eye on it. Would you like me to show you?"
Akari asked and without actually waiting for the girl to respond she began to stand up and then shot a glance over at the table of snacks to see if there were more marshmallows.
Sure enough there were surprisingly still quite a bit in the bowl and then she looked back down at the girl waiting for her reply.
Even if the girl didn't want to make some right now, Akari would still go and get a few more to munch on.

Xailah, the eldest prefect of Gryffindor sat beside Ms. Lydursdattir- the Ancient Runes professor. The young lioness didn't take the class, but she had seen the woman around. The burgundy-haired lady seemed nice. Probably had a lot of good stories to tell too. Occasionally Xailah would look up from the letter she was writing, to take a tired glance at the professor. The elder Icelander looked to be slipping into a dormant state. Actually, wait. No. For a moment the professor looked like she was going to close her eyes and sleep. But then those blue hues shot back open, and continued to stare into the azure campfire. Xailah blinked owlishly at the runes professor. She put out a dainty little hand as if to poke the lady; but it would appear the child had second thoughts. Her hand would quickly dart away from the shoulder of the woman; and fall back to its original position, of holding a quill.

Griseldis, one of the younger prefects of Gryffindor would soon arrive; with a gaggle of students, trailing behind her. The girl had been assigned to shepherd the children to the campsite. Gris was a nice girl. Had a good heart. Her kindness was without strings and ulterior motives- which was rare. Unlike many with her qualities, Gris was genuine. And she could kick butt too. Gris would make her way over to a spot where the professor, and prefects were, to greet them. When it was Xailah's turn for a greeting, the metamorph returned the gentle smile, and wave, from her fellow lioness. "Has it? I suppose it has been awhile. Well, in any case I sssuppose I am doing well, Gris. Thank you for asking." Before the metamorph could return the question, the other Gryffindor was already up and saying 'hello' to others students.

Xailahs attention would briefly be taken away from her letter, as she took the time to observe the faces that had been brought to the fire. There was a familiar one in the group, and Xailah immediately waved the girl over. The girl was Meenauh. One of Xailahs friends. "Ah. I was afraid that you weren't going to ssshow." The Gryffindor chattered quietly to Meenauh. "Would you like a parchment? We can write down the stories, as they are told to us." Her long fingers fumbled at the notepad of parchment, that she had been writing on. "I figured Pericles would enjoy reading about them. I hope he does anyway."

The elder lioness would quickly scribble something down, as a lass with deep, crimson locks; shared a story. Xailah wondered if the girl was a metamorph like herself, or if her hair was just naturally an unnatural shade of red. One could never tell these days. Leaning over to her Mancunian friend, the metamorph would whisper: "This is sssurprisingly our first ssstory of the night. I think it is quite good, yes?" She would fall quiet for a moment before adding: "I hope our prefect, Griseldis will share some ssstories. I find her culture quite interesting." Xailahs stare flickered over to the direction of said prefect, before returning to Meenauh. "Don't you?" She questioned, as she absentmindedly pulled a rusted pocket watch, from one of her pant pockets. She clicked the thing open, and checked the time out of habit.

She had practically nothing to do that night. Actually, she had nothing else to do but to join her friend that night. They were all (prefects) assigned to certain activities and she had already finished hers — that Chess duelling game. And now she was in the group of students guided by her fellow Gryffindor prefect — Gris. Meenauh remembered when Gris was the prefect and she wasn't. Meenauh remembered when Xailah was the prefect and she wasn't. Meenauh even remembered when Scott was the prefect and she wasn't. Those were the times...

Interacting with @Xailah Alptraum

Gris guided them successfully to the campfire, which was surrounded by another group of students. Meenauh quickly looked through the crowd as during her guided journey she failed to recognise a single face. As she approached the warmish blue flame, she started to recognise more faces (as she thought), but she could name only two students after all. She continued to go from one face to another until she managed to recognise the one she was looking for. Xailah's wave consolidated the successful search and Meenauh started to carefully go around people to occupy the seat next to her friend with a silent "Hey".

Xailah was scribbling something, presumably the stories that were being told prior to Meenauh's arrival. That guess was confirmed by an explanation from her side. Meenauh didn't feel like writing that night, but more like listening: "I'm sure Pericles would love to read, especially if that would be you writing those stories down," she politely changed the subject towards Pericles rather than accepting the parchment offer. She smiled at Xailah because she loved when Xailah was talking about Pericles. Even in the small routine things that had supposedly no connection to Pericles, her dear friend could find that connection even without probably understanding she was making one.

Her feline friend made a quick review of the night, which revealed the fact that it was only the first story of the night. She also expressed her hopes on a story from Gris, best if about her eastern culture. Meenauh didn't know much about East in general, except when her mother was mentioning some Chinese medical practices, which were very different from hers. Father also said that they use quite extravagant ingredients in similar potions, which enhance the effect drastically. Meenauh never paid attention to those stories, because there was little interest in things that couldn't have been practically utilised.

"I do, I do," she absent-mindedly confirmed to Xailah but then woke up after a few seconds passed in staring at her recent guide, "I like Griseldis, to be honest. She's kind and that is a rare trait, you know."

She hoped the stories would be actually good. Even if nothing specifically practical could be absorbed from it. Though, they could bring more knowledge, or reveal someone's real-life experience. Which in theory was also a practical thing.

Jess watched the girl bite into her marshmallow and wished once again that she knew how to roast the snack. She also wished that she had some bread to toast, or a blanket to lay down on. Or a friend to lean on while watching the flames who she could talk to while others shared their stories. Jess shook her head as if to clear it, realizing that the girl she had sat next to was grinning at her.

She nodded eagerly at the girl's question, though she wasn't too sure the tutorial would help. After all, "keeping an eye" on the marshmallow would hardly keep it from slipping off of the stick or bursting into flames. Now that she thought about it, that might prove to be another problem for Jess. Sometimes, even when the marshmallow had been roasted nicely and seemed like it would be delicious, a small part of it would catch on fire and Jess would start to mildly panic. She knew that the flame wouldn't really do much damage, of course, but it was still scary for her to lift the flaming marshmallow close enough to her face to blow the flame out.

The girl Jess was sitting next to made to stand up, and Jess wavered on her spot, unsure whether she should follow her to the table with snacks on it or not. In the end, she decided that it would probably be better for her to come along, only to grab some more food if nothing else. Plus, she could strike up a conversation with the girl on the way there and maybe, hopefully, become friends with her. Hurrying after the girl, Jess tried not to seem too nervous.

"Yeah, that'd be great! By the way, what's your name? I'm Jess..."

@Meenauh Silmataurea & @Xailah Alptraum

Some things just seem to go wrong. It was easy to blame Hogwarts for their turmoil. The errant Professors, the careless peers and the duplicitous house elves and dangerous magical creatures that roamed the stables and the grounds. Meenauh and Xailah had tangled themselves into some Hogwarts drama, however both of them had hardly scratched the surface. Meenauh had come across concerning information concerning a one Jake Morris, resident Hufflepuff and likely half-boy, half-plushie. Xailah had come across a strange doll. Had done some research on the bizarre finding somehow associated with part-giants and an attempting kidnapping. She got to be in the company of the incredibly hot Pericles Dralt and learn something new, nothing she wanted to know. It would have been better to learn that the doll was a good luck charm, yet rather it was some sort of 'dark tool.' Still, the doll appeared for all intents and purposes to be inert, despite the eerie resemblance and perhaps the doll being found in places she had not left it, a different pose. It was easy to reason it away, a faulty memory, bubbling paranoia, Schrödinger causing mischief.

It was nice, albeit potentially boring experience. A social offering without fire, well without a controlled fire.

Then something would go wrong...

Meenauh would feel it from behind, not that she heard footsteps or even saw a looming shadow before her. A sudden, rough push from behind, hard enough to potentially push the girl into the fireplace. There was no rhyme or reason, only a small voice that might have been heard from a source unseen "she is mine!"

Meenauh would refuse the slip of parchment, that Xailah had offered to her. "Mm. No." The elder lioness quietly dismissed the suggestion that Pericles enjoyed reading the things she wrote. It was a natural reaction. Deny first; and then contemplate if that was the right response, later. That was how she rolled with a majority of her social interactions. "Are you sure you don't want one?" She offered a second time, this time waving the paper, in a taunting manner. She would stop after a moment, and give her fellow lioness a lazy shrug. "Sssuit yourself. Its here if you change your mind." Maybe Meenauh simply wasn't feeling up to writing anything tonight. Xailah continued to scratch down a few notes. The tip of her quill glided across the cream-colored paper.

The metamorph continued to listen. To everything. She drifted in between the stories told, and the quiet, mindless chitchat between peers. She didn't want to miss a thing. Occasionally the girl would tilt her head in the direction of the Gryffindor prefect, Gris; in hopes that she could catch the girl talking about her Asian heritage. There were a few times, the metamorph could be seen looking, or at least looking for something behind her. She could have sworn she had heard something moving around, and had expected to see a small animal running across the grass. But she saw nothing. You're going crazy. Its probably the wind. Her attention would float back to Meenauh. "I think I like her too." The metamorph said, nodding towards Meenauh. "Real kindness-" She corrected, holding up a finger. "-Is rare. Kindness without ssstrings, or expectations. Course, I sssuppose it wouldn't be kindness if there are ulterior motives."

She shivered. The lioness had her fair share of run-ins with individuals like that. She truthfully didn't care much for 'kind' or 'nice' people. They were usually all the same in the end. A majority of the time they only wanted something. It was disappointing at best. "Sometimes I wish there were more people like her." One corner of her mouth, pulled itself down. She chewed the inside of her cheek. She fell silent. Her mind would start to slip into elsewhere. The voices around her began to grow fuzzy. Her golden gaze gravitated towards the blue flame of the fire. She was zoning out. Her brain had switched on autopilot. In her haze, she would hear the rustling from behind once again. She thought nothing of it this time, figuring she was simply tired.

She never would have thought that the rustling, was actually coming from something- a being. That something was a doll. A doll that had been in her care for months. Almost nine to be exact. The young metamorph had found the doll on the body of a fallen Half-Giant, during the Masquerade ball of 2019. She found some other things too. A squished slice of rum cake, and a small photo of a blonde girl. She kept all the items she had found that night, but later had to discard of the cake. The photo of the mystery girl, and the doll, however remained with her. They were odd items to keep. A reasonable person would have tossed both away. Especially the doll. If they knew what it was, no one would have ever touched it. But not Xailah. She knew exactly what that thing was. And she knew exactly what the little bundle of burlap could do. And yet she kept it. At first it was to study it. But as time passed, she would begin caring for it. Sentient objects confused the girl. She thought they needed to be cared for, just like a being made of flesh and blood.

Xailah took very good care of her things. And that included the doll. She didn't think much, whenever it moved. She always put it back where she had left it originally. Whenever she came across tears on the little poppet, she would fix them. She polished its little button eyes, and mended its clothes. She took such good care of it. And now- and now it was going to try to get rid of all the people she ever cared about. That was what it was going to do in return. Xailah had endangered her friends and family, in the name of science, and greed. Xailah would see Meenauh move out of the corner of her eye. The way the Mancunian moved was alarming- as if the girl had willingly flung herself towards the blue flames- like a moth. "Meena-" Her voice was shrill, yet rather quiet and airy. She had been caught off guard. There was little time for her to react. The metamorph wasn't about to let Meenauh be engulfed in the burning blue- even if it was what Meenauh wanted. Her hand shot out, her slender, spidery fingers extend; grabbing for the back of the other lion. Hopefully her reflexes would not fail her.

Interacting with @Xailah Alptraum

Xailah kept insisting on the paper while Meenauh was phasing out in between the stories being told and the overall calm noise around the campfire. And eventually, let the paper rest nearby in case Meenauh would change her mind. Unlikely, but she appreciated the care. She could swear to Merlin that their relationship throughout the year solidified to a very high level and complete honesty was a thing Meenauh could afford with her friend around. She smiled and said that she really didn't feel like it. She had enough writing that year with all the extra homework she was doing for the studies.

She kept watching Griseldis as Xailah confirmed and detailed the kindness conversation. Meenauh knew that during her child life Xailah couldn't boast with being treated with kindness a lot. Meenauh still knew little about her family or personal story. Mostly they were developing their own relationship, but she wanted to let Xailah deeper into her life. One should work hard to return the years they lost when both of them returned from the dream realm. That's why she invited Xailah over in the upcoming August. She wanted to show her how things were in other wizarding families. Not purebloody nonsense and aristocratic bullshit, but simple life of not-so-simple wizards. Sometimes she wished there were more people like her.

When you're deep into thinking and there are professors and friends around, you're easy to be caught off guard. Especially when something that trips you over is as small as a doll. Meenauh didn't like that Xailah was still owning it and was refusing to hand it over to people who could deal with it properly. She didn't like it even more after what happened to Pericles and others in the Forest. It was a matter of time until something bad would happen. Xailah was walking on the edge every day she was bringing the doll with her.

Xailah trying to catch Meenauh
15+ Accuracy to succeed
[d20: 4] + 9 = 13 → Failure

A nearby cry of her friend would be heard mid-air as Meenauh was falling over into the fire after an inhumanly (because of unexpectedness) strong push. Her attempt to catch would fail and Meenauh would only instinctively cover her face with hands to avoid fire damage before falling fully into the fire. A few moments later after hearing a painful scream of all the voices in her head, she'd realise the fire wasn't hurtful to herself, but her clothes. She'd instantly jump up and out of it and start putting it off before more damage would be dealt.

Damage to clothes
1-5: little, 6-9: moderate, 10: irreversible.
[d10: 10]

Putting it off from the clothes that were actually left on her. The skirt was burned down completely, having her wand falling on to the ground. She'd pick it up and pointed at the remaining piece of her polo with a nervous Reparo just to quickly restore the damage which in a few seconds would leave nothing of her polo. And she failed to do it on time.

So there she was, surrounded by numerous students, in her panties alone. Shame was not a concept she comprehended before. The look of hers wasn't something she cared much. If the shame would crawl somewhere into her head, it would be because of the clumsy falling, not her hahahalf-naked appearance. And moreover, there was danger to take care of. And she didn't know what it was.

"What was that, Xailah?" she inquired, trying to keep it as stable as she could, considering the lack of attire, "I felt a push of... small hands", she'd continue with cold shiver going down her spine.

Interacting| @Ileen Knight, @Meenauh Silmataurea, @Xailah Alptraum

Santario shrugged a little at the question. “Not really a permanent place. On occasion, I had asked Professor Jensen to help me set up a darkroom when I needed something developed sooner than I could get it done by sending it to France. It’s a very long process after setting up; it can take thirty to forty-five minutes to set the negatives to stand light, and that doesn’t include their drying time. After that, each individual photo takes about ten minutes to develop, not including the time it takes to dry them. So it’s an all-day process.” Thankfully, in France, her darkroom was attached to her bedroom, and she wasn’t stuck in there all day when they were drying. “So you can see why it is not optimal to do them at Hogwarts.”

Ileen asked her about her father, and she shook her head. “I wouldn’t really call myself a photographer; it’s just a hobby like it was to my father.” Then there was movement closer to the fire that drew her attention an older girl she knew from working on the headliner, Meenauh fell backward into the bluebell flames losing the majority of her clothes. “Excuse me” She said to Ileen as she moved towards Meenauh and Xailah while pulling her jacket off of her camera bag and holding it out to the misfortunate older student. “Are you okay, Meenauh? Here take my jacket; it’s going to get cold with the rain. Thankfully those were bluebell!” Siting the chill as the reason to take the coat was much better than drawing more attention out loud to her, not as clothed as she should have been. She looked at Xailah happy that she had seen her try to catch Meenauh because if she hadn't it sure would have looked like she had pushed her.

Outfit | Jacket | Camera Bag