1 Jul 2020, 04:34
Time of Self-Reflection
[font=century gothic]Date: JUNE 29, 2020 | AFTERNOON[/font]
It was late in the afternoon. Above, the skies were a clear and crystal blue, nary a cloud to be seen to impede the golden rays of the sun that shone down like a warm embrace to envelop everyone within their path. A beautiful day. One that painted the castle and the surrounding grounds with vibrant hues and a full depth of colour like a masterpiece painting wishing to capture a memorable location for all eternity. With the exams now over, and summer holidays right around the corner, the weather almost seemed to reflect that promise of fun and adventure. Evelynn wouldn't have been surprised if this was some sort of foreshadowing for most of those who roamed the halls about her.
Only.. for her.. the beat of the sun scorched and burned. The brightness of the day heightened the exhaustion that she had felt and multiplied the mounting fatigue of months of sleepless nights and lengthy hours of study. It was a reminder that she would be soon to head home, missing the upcoming events, and returning to something that ought to be familiar but was now forever transformed due to what she had become. And beyond all else, the clear skies mocked the maelstrom of thoughts and questions that raged within her mind. Perhaps, however, she could at least put some of those to rest, for better or worse.
Since the start of the year, there had been one particular thing that had plagued her. One question that had risen unexpectedly among the unknowns and uncertainty of her dive into the wizarding world that had yet to offer any reasonable explanation. A mystery that she simply could not explain, and one that she had avoided like the plague. Evelynn was not an ignorant child. On the contrary, she had a keener eye than most, one that picked up on the small nuances that most would overlook. Within her was a penchant for detail and a voracious appetite to make sense of the world. Very little was allowed to be passed by without comment, and even less went without notice.
It was curious, then, that a full academic year had been permitted to pass without even a step having been taking down this particular path. Again, she was not ignorant. Far from it. This mystery, the presence of another girl who looked uncannily like herself, had been one of the very first things she had noticed when all the First Years had been gathered to await their turn to be sorted during the first welcoming feast. Another girl with straight auburn hair, full cheeks, a small pointed chin, a slightly upturned nose, eyes with the depth of a brewing storm, and a build like not unlike her own had she not spent her years riding and dancing. A girl, who if she hadn't been fully embodied at the time she had passed by the courtyard to seeing her playing the violin to a gathered crowd, Evelynn might have thought to be herself.
It had scared her. There was no denying that. Had she not veered away to avoid facing the unknown questions and finding answers she wasn't sure she wanted to hear or attempt to puzzle out, she would have come face to face with herself. Of course, she hadn't believed it at first. A trick of the light. A walking reflection. Perhaps an environmental enchantment that showed herself. Maybe the girl actually didn't look like her, but she had been so eager to find some sort of camaraderie at the time that she had taken one look at that stranger and seen a kindred spirit. There were a thousand explanations that had filtered through her mind at one point or another to offer rationale as to why what she had seen wasn't actually what it appeared to be.
After those first few passive passings, it wasn't as though there had been much reason to dwell upon it. Although the wondering continued to lurk beneath the surface, ready to spring forward at idle times, it wasn't as though Evelynn found herself peering out at a mirror on the regular. They had been sorted into different houses. They kept to different social circles. Besides, between her Quidditch, her role as co-Captain of the Gryffindor team, her studies, her research relating to the Liberation Club, her job as an editor on the school paper, and various other pursuits, Evelynn was far too busy with more important matters to let such an insignificant little detail worry her, anyway. Plus, even though they shared classes, Evelynn would arrive early, sit at the front with her head down in rereading notes for class, and stay a little later to finish jotting down her thoughts and ask questions of the teacher. Rarely would the arrival or exit of her doppelganger even be registered.
But as days passed, weeks turned into months, and the months concluded to a year, it was undeniable that Evelynn was simply in denial. Perhaps the amount she had taken on over the year had been partially to fill the void of her lack of friends. But perhaps it was also to keep her mind occupied such that she wouldn't dwell on matters that begged her to question the truth of her existence. With the end of year fast upon them, however, and time running out, it was past time. There were answers that needed to be sought. And so, here she was, waiting in the courtyard where she had spied her counterpart on one occasion or another, with the hopes of spotting her again. This time, however, she wouldn't run. She wouldn't duck into the prominent shadows cast by the sun. Instead, she would face her fears and demand answers.
She would face herself.
"Hey!" There was a sense of urgency in Evelynn's voice when she called out. She'd almost missed the arrival and near departure of her target. And thank goodness they were still at a distant. Gryffindor she might have been, a lioness by all accounts, but bravery was a quality she was still developing and the crack of her voice at the end was not one she would have liked to have been noticed. She cleared her throat and called out again, stepping forward this time to close the distance. "Hey!"
It was strange. The name of the girl was a complete blank slate in Evelynn's memory. Normally, she could at least recall the surname of any student in her year, whether from recollection from the Sorting Ceremony or simply those times when they were called up to collect homework or to answer questions by the professors in class. Perhaps she had deliberately chosen not to remember. Maybe it was the reflection of a subconscious desire that this particular person cease to exist and make her life a little simpler.
"Alright.." Evelynn would begin when they had finally made eye-contact, desperately trying to cling to the burst of courage she had manage to conjure to get to this point. Every fibre in her being twisted uncomfortably at the site of herself, however, urging her to flee. To compensate, to assure herself she could do this, Evelynn's expression guarded itself, arms raising to fold protectively across her chest as she squared herself to... herself. "I think it's past time that we had a conversation. Who are you?"
[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Crystal Jagger
Last edited by Evelynn Decipio on 3 Sep 2020, 17:46, edited 1 time in total.
1 Jul 2020, 19:45
Time of Self-Reflection
Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio
Crystal was bored out of her mind, though that was nothing out of the ordinary. She had been stuck in the castle for quite awhile, finishing up some things in preparation for summer. Absolutely needed, but absolutely soul crushing with how long it took. So she had decided to her go to place to relax and let off some steam, the courtyard. So here she was, stretching her arms and enjoying the feel of the sun on her skin. It was a gorgeous day, Crystal was pretty relieved she had the time to go out. It was a great day to do some drawing, especially with the light providing such nice contrast. Letting her arms fall back to her sides she took off her drawstring bag, reaching in for her sketchbook. She rummaged through the bag, only feeling the fabric of her pencil case, but not the smooth cover of her sketchbook. Her eyes widened when she realized she the stuff to draw with, but not the thing she needs to actually draw on. She groaned and swung the bag back over her shoulders, trudging back to the entrance of the the castle to go retrieve her precious sketchbook.
"Hey!" a voice called out from behind Crystal, sounding rather urgent. It made Crystal pause and turn around, wondering if they were referring to her. The voice called out again, allowing Crystal to pinpoint the location of the person who was calling out. What came into vision, was not something she was ready to see. The person who had called out looked exactly like Crystal, like staring into a mirror. Crystal thought she saw someone who looked like her before, out of the corner of her eye, but she always thought it was just another red head. She never put much thought in it, much more distracted by everything else going on. But the Griffindor standing before her, looking very upset, had her face. Crystal's eyes widened in disbelief, of all the things to happen at Hogwarts this was the craziest thing to happen. Considering all the crap she has been though so far, that was saying something.
"Alright.." the lioness in front of her spoke again, eyes boring into her own. Crystal noticed the defensive stance the girl took, arms crossed in front of herself. It seemed like it was not only Crystal who was freaked out by this situation. Though, she didn't know if that made her feel better or worse."I think it's past time that we had a conversation. Who are you?" the girl asked. Crystal gripped the stings of her bag, attempted to make herself feel more grounded. She paused, trying to figure out what to say in this situation. "If I'm being honest, I have the same exact question. But my name is Crystal Jagger," Her attempts to keep her voice steady were mildly successful, the slightest bit of nervousness slipping though. She didn't even know what to say besides that, what do you say to someone who looks exactly like you? So Crystal didn't say anything. All the things she wanted to ask sounded insane, so why bother asking them? So she just stared at the girl, waiting for the look-alike to say something else.
4 Jul 2020, 01:36
Time of Self-Reflection
On her approach when… that girl had turned around at her call, there'd been a brief moment of confusion followed by an envelopment of disbelief. Wide eyes. A white-knuckled grip on the strings of her bag. A lag of response. It should have made Evelynn feel better. The fact that she wasn't crazy, that her response to this weird happenstance was actually founded, that her doppelganger was reacting similarly to how she felt. It should have helped. Should have affirmed that she wasn't just seeing things or making something out of nothing.
It didn't.
Evelynn's stomach had done an uncomfortable somersault. The inflection in her counterpart's expression had been hers. The silence and moment of taking stock of the situation with the subtle motions to attempt to remain calm. That was what she did. The period of grounding herself before taking a step forward with as calm a motion as possible.. That was Evelynn. Only it wasn't. Apparently this girl was Crystal. Crystal Jagger. At least there was a name, now. And of all the reactions that could have taken place, this one was fairly mundane. Evelynn had gotten her answer. She could be appeased in that aspect. Right?
So why was it that the revelation to an identity only served to further set her stomach into knots. Somehow she'd thought there'd be some sort of closure with the answer. Some magic revelation that would make things make sense. But.. There wasn't. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect wherein it left her in wanting. She had a name, now. But what was a name? Who was Jagger? Why did she look like her? What in the heck was going on?
Several moments passed in pregnant silence, each studying the other. With every passing breath, the tension seemed to increase, and Evelynn felt more and more the fool on a fool's errand. She'd been the one to initiate this stupid encounter, desiring answers. Only, she couldn't even think of the questions to posit. Lost for words, that's what she was. Trapped in this enigma of oddity with the world around them seeming to fade to an insignificant nothing as her mirror stared at her.
Stared at her. Like she was some sort of lunatic. Was she? Was she? Was this all some sort of odd illusion? Maybe the reaction hadn't been because of the mirrored appearance but rather a response to the borderline caustic hostility with which Evelynn had approached her. Perhaps she was offended? Crap. Was she..
"You.. Look like me.." she ended up uttering, the tone of her voice now flecked with an uncertainty that questioned whether it was actually true. "I mean.." Manners. She'd just been introduced. Where were her manners. "Right.. I'm Decipio. Evelynn Decipio…"
Another pause.
"Normally, I'd say it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.. but.." She left her lingering uncertainty go unsaid, brows still furrowed as though trying to solve a particularly difficult and irritating problem. Which she was, really.
And then another.
"Why do you look like me? Is that how you normally look?" An idea had occurred to her, one that inspired a surprising amount of hope in her. As much as she might find the affirmation to be more than a little disturbing and would train the conversation into an inquisition of an entirely different sort, she much preferred it to the alternative. "Are you one of those morphmagi or whatever they're called? One of the people that can change their appearance? Have you made yourself to look like me?"
[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Crystal Jagger[/font]
7 Jul 2020, 03:21
Time of Self-Reflection
Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio
It took a moment before anyone said anything, but the broken silence was a relief. With people talking, she could get a better idea of what the heck was going on. But the words the lioness spoke were just pointing out the obvious. Yeah, no duh they looked alike. It was the first thing that Crystal had noticed, the thing both of them were likely stuck on. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from blurting that out, not wanting to sound rude. So she didn't say anything, again letting that awkward silence fall. After a bit more waiting, the girl told Crystal her name. So now she had a name to call the girl by, Evelynn Decipio. Another short pause fell between the two, even more uncomfortable silence. Evelynn once again was the one who said something. "Normally, I'd say it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.. but.." She didn't finish the sentence, but it didn't exactly sound like it was going to be polite. Crystal once again held her tongue, knowing that if she responded to that it wouldn't come out politely. Crystal crossed her arms, watching as Evelynn's expression changed. She let her mind wander, this girl looked exactly like her. Her body language was similar as well, though there were slight differences. What were all the possibilities for the resemblance, and what was the most reasonable answer?
"Why do you look like me? Is that how you normally look?" Evelynn's voice cut through her thoughts, but the question was the strangest one she had ever heard. The first half was what she was wondering as well, but the second one was ridiculous. What, does the girl think that Crystal purposefully changed her appearance just to confuse her? "First of all, I don't know. Second of all, Yes this is how I normally look," Crystal told her, annoyance slipping into her voice. Crystal opened her mouth to ask Evelynn why she was asking her all these questions when she clearly doesn't know the answer. But before she could voice the question, Evelynn spoke again. "Are you one of those morphmagi or whatever they're called? One of the people that can change their appearance? Have you made yourself to look like me?" Evelynn questioned, and Crystal found her mouth wide open.
Well that explains why she asked what Crystal normally looks like, but the question itself almost insulting in a way. If Crystal was some kind of shapeshifter why the heck would she also be shocked by the situation? The girl who looks like exactly like Crystal is saying that she snatched her appearance. "Excuse me?" she snapped, "No, I'm not! What even makes you think I am? You act like you are the only one confused," Crystal hissed, glaring at Evelynn. "Instead of blaming me for something that wouldn't even have a purpose, lets come up with a logical explanation for this," Crystal told Evelynn, letting herself calm down while she tried to come up with anything. "So, instead of appearance copying, you got any ideas?" she asked, hoping that maybe something Evelynn says lets her brain actually come up with something.
10 Jul 2020, 08:34
Time of Self-Reflection
Silence. A pregnant pause. The crossing of this other girl's arms across her chest. More silence. A pointed reply. Really, it was rather strange. For a moment, Evelynn really couldn't help but wonder what might cross through someone else's mind if they happened upon their little encounter. The two of them, squared off in defensive postures, each with an expression of mixed confusion, scepticism, and perhaps even a borderline hostility or offence. What was even more peculiar was that this girl even seemed to talk like her. First off… second off… It was… uncanny. Unsettling, really. Every second that ticked by only served to further twist Evelynn's bowels into increasing discomfort, nails scratching down the length of her spine urging her to lash out or flee. Or both. She wasn't even sure. She swallowed down the impulses, however. Worked to keep at least one part of her mind focused on her breathing to keep her head clear and her thoughts rational.
So this was how she usually looked. If she was telling the truth, anyway. But really, given that this was exactly how she had seen her right from the first day of the school year, Evelynn didn't have any reason to suspect otherwise. Which was unfortunate. It would have been so much easier. This just complicated things. The obvious irritation that had flecked the girl's reply really didn't help either. Evelynn was acutely aware that had this been any other introduction, the way she was acting now would have been out of the question. It was decidedly rude. But this… this was just beyond the realm of comprehension and had her back all up in knots.
Then she snapped. Evelynn took it in stride. While she wished that the doppleganger hadn't, she could understand why she would. If the tides had been turned, Evelynn was sure she would have reacted almost identically. Lips crimping to a purse, she released a lengthy exhale through her nose.
"In all honesty…" Evelynn began, still eyeing Crystal with no small amount of scepticism, "I didn't actually think that you were a morphmagus. I was hoping that you were, though.." Fingers of her left hand drummed against the upper arm of her right. Once. Then again. "It's actually somewhat inconvenient that you're not," she continued after a moment, tone guarded. "It would have made things easier."
"And I wasn't blaming you," she corrected, slightly irritated herself that the girl would get so defensive about it all and jump to conclusion. "If I had, it wouldn't have been questions I was asking, it would have been statements. In fact, I probably wouldn't have come to look for you at all, or get clarification at all if that had been the case." Tap. Tap. Her forefinger thrummed away periodically against her sleeve. "I don't assume things. That's just asking to make a fool of yourself."
If that really was the way that she always looked, then it wasn't any kind of transfigurative spell. Or potion. And Evelynn doubted this was any kind of glamour by a hag or anything. As far as she could tell, anyway, they wouldn't have had any reason to target her own appearance. Plus, there had been no trouble caused — at least insofar as she was aware — that had circled back to have the blame placed on herself… With that, shoulders rose and fell with a prolonged inhalation and she let loose a lengthy and audible sigh. The first to break the stand-off, she lifted a hand to comb fingers up and through her hair to pull it off her face before allowing her hands to fall by her sides. There was really only one thing she could think of. And it was.. Troubling to say the least.
"The only thing that comes to mind is.." She paused, brows furrowing as she pressed her lips together reflexively with the thought.
It was.. Surprisingly difficult to voice. Somehow, it almost felt like saying it would make it true. Or on the flip side, that it was so ridiculous a notion that if she even admitted to thinking it, she'd become the laughing stock of the school for the remainder of her days here. If she ever had the courage to come back. She supposed that could be one way to deal with it… Just.. Ignore it. Leave. Never look back. Pretend this was all a giant nightmare. Which, really, wasn't all that far from the truth.
"…Who are your parents?" Maybe it could be something else? Although Evelynn still couldn't shake the sense that biology had to play a key component here, maybe it wasn't quite so black and white. Cousins could look similar, right? Perhaps even nearly the same if the stars and sun and moon aligned? "I mean.. Unless there's some weird phenomenon..?" Could there possibly be some kind of Wizard thing that happened? Like fate spinning where two individuals born around the same time could be made to be born to look the same..? Was that a thing? "But.." She tried to suppress the grimace that creased her features. "The only thing that comes to mind is…" What was that one movie called? "..that maybe we're.." Twitches.. "…related."
[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Crystal Jagger[/font]
16 Jul 2020, 03:58
Time of Self-Reflection
Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio
It made some sense, Evelynn's reasoning. It would be easier to have a nice solution that was easy to solve, but frustratingly that wasn't the case. It was nice to know that the question wasn't from blame, but trying to find a reason. Didn't stop Crystal from feeling annoyed, but helped tone it down. "Alright then," she said, not letting herself ramble on why she reacted the way she did. It would't help, and nothing would come out of it. But it didn't help with the tension, still very present. But when Evelynn sighed, messing with her hair, it made things feel calmer. Crystal relaxed, not feeling as stiff and adjusting the bag on her shoulders. "The only thing that comes to mind is.." Evelynn paused, Crystal noticed she seemed to be thinking hard about what she was going to say. She let Evelynn think, waiting patiently for her to continue. "…Who are your parents?" the Griffindor asked, and Crystal knew why she hesitated to ask.
"My mum's name is Maria, and my dad's name is Ivan," Crystal said slowly, thinking hard about the times that the names were said. She listened as Evelynn struggled to voice what both of them were probably thinking. The possibility that sounded impossible, but seemed like the only answer. But finally, as she watched her expression change, it was said. That they could be related. It was something she had considered, and the fact that Evelynn thought of it made it feel real. "We might be," she said, brows furrowed from thought. "Maybe... we should ask our parents?" Crystal proposed, it might be able to solve this. "I mean, If we are related, maybe they know. If they don't, then its just a crazy coincidence," she explained her reasoning, hoping that it made sense. It would be awkward, but it would give a clear answer. Either they were related, or they weren't. problem solved.
23 Jul 2020, 08:02
Time of Self-Reflection
Finally the tension had been broken. Even though it had been Evelynn to initially break it, something she was very well aware of, her doppleganger — this Jagger — had mirrored it, shoulders relaxing and movement shifting to adjust the bag that hung over them. It was a small thing, hardly noticeable, really, but it was as though at least one layer of suffocating weights had been lifted from the encounter.
Only one layer, though.
The fact remained that the two of them looked nigh on identical, and there was no viable explanation as of yet. Even the answer to her previous query about the identity of the other girl's parents hardly provided any form of relief. Really, Evelynn wasn't exactly sure what she had been hoping for. Logically, the likely outcome would either be that one, the girl provided the same names as her own parents which would have been uncomfortable, or two, that she provided two entirely different and unfamiliar names which would be just as uncomfortable as it would only beg more questions. With the delivery of the names 'Maria' and 'Ivan', Jagger slotted the result firmly into option two. Unfamiliar. Which only drew a further perplexed expression across Evelynn's features.
"Those… are not the same," she asserted with a frown.
On the plus side, the Hufflepuff wasn't nearly as put off to the possibility of their being related as what could have been. As much as this whole ordeal left a sour taste in the Gryffindor's mouth, the fact that Jagger at least had a level head about her was something of a comfort.
"I suppose so.." Evelynn replied after a brief pause.
She'd taken a moment to consider the suggestion to ask parents about the situation. Realistically, given how little her mother seemed to want to hear or know about her escapades at Hogwarts, she very much doubted such an inquiry would go over well. In fact, she would have given just about anything to avoid asking such a question, not only to avoid what she was fully expecting would be a horrifically awkward conversation, but also because she wasn't sure she wanted to be delivered any kind of revelation about it. Although it had also been mentioned that this could be a "crazy coincidence"… Evelynn very much doubted it. It just wasn't possible to find an exact replica of oneself in someone else by happenstance. Or at least she was pretty sure it wasn't. Still.. She couldn't think of a better alternative in that moment.
And then… now what? She really didn't have much else to say. Not until she knew more or had something to report. Had she actually had the courage to address this sooner than later, she might have been able to write home and get an answer by owl. But they were leaving for London in two days. There wasn't enough time for that..
"..Shall we simply touch base after the summer, then?" Evelynn queried with a fleck of uncertainty.
[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Crystal Jagger[/font]
4 Aug 2020, 00:13
Time of Self-Reflection
Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio
Super sorry for how long it took me!Having the name of Crystal's parents being different didn't make her feel any better or worse. If anything, it just made everything more confusing. If only this wasn't so complicated, then things would be much less stressful. It seemed to take a bit before Evelynn responded to her suggestion, and from what Crystal could tell she seemed to think it was a good idea. Crystal nodded "Yeah, we can meet back at the courtyard when school starts back up again," she confirmed, hoping that by then they would both have the answers they needed. Best case senario, next time they meet they can confirm that they aren't related. If that is the case, then the meeting would also be much less stressful. If they turn out to be related, honestly Crystal had no idea what she would even do.
How does someone even adjust to the sudden knowledge that you had a sibling you never knew? Or that you had never even heard of? It sounded like a lot, and hopefully Crystal wouldn't have to deal with that. It was also hard to think of a way she could even bring this up to her parents. Even if it was her idea it's still hard to think of how. It wasn't exactly something she could bring up over dinner, and it was such a weird one to ask. Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts back for now. It wasn't worth it worrying over things, she needed to go back to the dorms and grab her sketchbook. "I've got to go then, I hope you have a good day," Crystal smiled to Evelynn, waving as she left and went back inside the castle.