Bubble Trouble PV Fin

Nothing interesting ever happens during the daily duties of attending to personal business. That was the beauty of it. For brief periods during any given day, an escape to the nearest lavatory would be just that--an escape. Unless the journey happened to be made deliberately in pairs or a group, attendees knew better than to strike up nonsensical conversation or encroach upon personal bubbles during vulnerable and private moments. It was a place that everyone frequented, and traffic could be expected. Trouble-makers would be bound to be caught, and the overly friendly scorned for over-stepping. In a castle filled with riley students and surprises around every corner, it was a rare sanctuary that could offer a moment's peace and a quiet space to decompress.

Unless, of course, some overconfident and entirely inconsiderate gobsmack had decided to throw caution to the wind and interfere with nature's calling. When Evelynn had made an inconspicuous way to the fourth floor lavatory for a brief interlude, the last thing she had anticipated was a complete inability to carry out that plan. It was a good thing she wasn't quite bursting at the seams, as apparently, the bathroom was. The moment she had innocuously plied open the door, bubbles began to spill out. Their sheen had caught her attention immediately, the passive swing of the portal completed while her gaze drifted along the trailing path of a lazily floating bubble seeking escape in the exterior halls.

Little thought was given to the stray sphere, expectation firmly placed in a field of one-off coincidence. Her steps had carried her forward even as her focus had been fixed to the side. Had someone been standing before her, she may very well have walked into them. And by the way her steps came to a sudden and jarring stop, and her gaze panned forward only for her head to jerk back as though assaulted by a sudden gush of scalding air, onlookers may have thought she had. But not, no collision had stayed her motion. Instead, the shockingly dense and ever expanding field of bubbles made her temporarily forget the need that had brought her here in the first place.

"Goodness, whatinheaven.." Came the surprised exclamation, eyes widening in surprise at the unexpected view. For half a second, anyway, before keen senses narrowed in on the one figure standing conspicuously in the midst of it all, arms filled to overflowing with the flagrantly fragrant effervescent forms as though boldly preparing to bestow the bubbling bounty upon unsuspecting peers. Eyes narrowed with contained disdain at the clearly rule-breaking use of irritating impractical magic, lines that promised equally marked disciplinary lashings etching themselves upon her brow.

It wasn't me! the girl had shouted without so much as a word from the prefect. Did she realize that only made her look all the more guilty? One hand, and then another folded themselves across her torso. "You," Evelynn uttered, the word an unspoken accusation that would pierce and burst the bubbles if only it could manifest a physical barb as pointed as its tone, "had best proceed explaining yourself."

She might even have been able to look as imposing as she might have sounded had it not been for the every growing mass of sudsy ornamentation. As though on cue, the demand coincided with another drifting bubble feeling the need to pop itself right in that moment on the tip of Evelynn's nose.

Few were the times that Evelynn had ever really found herself in a position to have to actually act upon her position as prefect to enforce the rules of the institution. Call it luck, or perhaps a tendency to avoid those who would be inclined to cause trouble. Whatever the reason, despite having carefully pinned that pristinely polished perfect little 'P' so primly each morning to her lapel, it hadn't been until the recent winter that she had administered her first scolding. Generally speaking, her presence tended to keep proximally wayward souls in line—or so she liked to think, at least. Raised with the notion to lead by example, she always endeavored to do just that: dignity, grace, and composure were key elements to that appearance.

And so, the moment the bubble wafted into her field of vision and deigned to pop itself upon her visage, she felt her innards crumble. In a fraction of a moment, whatever stalwart image she had managed to present had been shattered, poise and postured dismantled in an instant. And yet, against all hope, when silence ensued, hope simmered. For a tremulous moment, she dared think perhaps it had gone unnoticed. The girl ahead of her shrank away, her figure arching and sinking into itself as though attempting to implode into nothingness, a helpless and futile attempt to escape the scrutiny owed her miscreant endeavors. In the distraction and anxious haste to hide and go unnoticed, perhaps the girl hadn't—

Nevermind.

Just as quickly, a peal of laughter rang out. Every renew fit of giggle chipped away at whatever meager hold on authority Evelynn still managed to maintain. What a sham. What a horribly unfortunate circumstantial irony. All she could do was stand there helplessly, the corner of her lip twitching with the effort to subdue the ire that threatened to leave her sneering and snarling at the injustice of the moment. As the girl before her doubled over, she resigned herself to watch, chest slowly rising and falling with the exagerated breaths to calm and maintain her composure. Lips parted when the last of the fit seemed to have played itself out, ready to speak. Only to shut right back up again, lips taught to an irritatedly thin line as the entire process started right back up again.

"Are you quite finished?" Evelynn quipped when finally the girl seemed to have given her final guffaw. The apologies hardly helped, and the tears streaking down her face only salted the wound. Arms lifted to fold imperiously across the prefect's chest, one hand arcing up to rest the tips of her fingers along the underside of her jaw. "Bohannon.." she echoed as the girl introduced herself. The name of one of the students in her year—perhaps they even shared some classes together—but not one she had paid much mind. "In other circumst—"

Evelynn blinked. She'd expected a pause after the introduction, an opportunity to reciprocate and return the greeting. Her own thoughts would have reflected how other circumstances might even have allowed a pleasant acquaintance. Except that she never had the chance. From silence and attempts to disappear to fits of laughter and verbal regurgitation, this Bohannon seemed well situated on the extremes of social propriety. The bubbles soon became a concern of the past as the boulder in their midst descended the slippery mountain, building momentum and speed and losing all sense of control as her lips worked tirelessly in a ceaseless rambling. Did she even pause to breathe? No… actually. Brows furrowed in masked confusion as Evelynn made note to watch for a second's pause amidst the articulated tirade. And with that uncertainty.. Did dhampir need to breathe? Cue an additional observational goal to make note of the girl's eye colour. But then.. No, of course she wasn't. Those had been true tears. Not blood. Still..

The furrow relaxed in favour of a complete lofting of her brows, fingers adjusting to plant themselves atop her lips to hide at least part of her baffled expression. She almost missed the laughter. At least then she wouldn't have to contend with the prattle of this senseless chatter. It was like listening to a squirrel, if they could talk… Bubbles.. Bounce house.. Pools.. Testing.. The more it went on, the more Evelynn's fingers itched to reach for her wand for a tongue-tying curse. And when it ended, there was no immediate answer on the prefect's part. There had been a number of question cast out in the midst of the one-sided conversation, and at no point had a pause been offered for reply. Evelynn had no reason to believe now was any different. Only…

"Are you actually expecting an answer this time?" Evelynn inquired, tone flat. "No, I do not think bubbles would be.. Fun.. In a bounce house. And bounce houses, for that matter, are for children. Bubbles would only slick the surface and make the footing more perilous than it is already. And yes, they did test us on the bubble charm, back in first year. Either your mind is entirely scattered, or you are a very poor liar if you think to suggest you cannot remember if you know the spell now. No…" Evelynn continued, systematically filtering through each of the questions that had been posed to her without opportunity to respond, "I do not think flashcards would work. You are better off practicing with your wand. We were talking about this mess of bubbles in the bathroom and how, even now, you are entirely guilt-ridden, this ramble only serving to highlight that further… and what about me what?"

It wasn't often that Evelynn would find the easy composure she typically wore like a flowing shawl in complete tatters. The only ones who had managed to elicit any sort of exasperation from her in the past were the likes of Marshal—whose flirtations occasionally took her off guard—or Gray and D'Spacito—who collectively seemed to have an uncanny ability to upend the hairs at the back of her neck and make her want to lash out with fervent aggression. But here, in the whimsically bubbly bathroom, Evelynn found herself neither short-fused nor dumb-founded. She was simply... impatient.

Did the girl talk to much? Had she really asked that question? It was rhetorical; it must have been. And yet, a part of Evelynn actually thought perhaps the strawberry blonde really was oblivious enough not to realize just how much verbiage she had regurgitated in a very short span of time. Even her cat, Merlin, seemed to think she was far too much a chatterbox. Evelynn could do nothing but quirk a brow as she flat-panned her gaze with this newly energized speech, fully preparing to fall into a forgotten stupor until the solvently suspect remembered once again to emerge for breath.

The prefect certainly couldn't disagree with the phantom feline, fully agreeing with its furry assessment of his mist— No, what was she thinking agreeing with a cat. Clicking her tongue in annoyance against the back of her teeth, Evelynn could be seen giving her own head a shake, although it may easily have been taken as an answer to the question of pets that she otherwise would have had no interest answering in that moment.

"Yes. Talking," she frowned, squaring her shoulders in an effort to regain some measure of composure and control over the situation—and herself. Entirely unimpressed by the girl's "technicality", Evelynn clipped, "Yes, well, we need not act like children, now must we?"

Then some more chatter and replies that Evelynn glossed over completely, until.. She blinked, snapped to a moment as though sustaining a slap to the face. "I... Did you..." Like a fish out of very sudsy water, she very nearly gaped. "My apologies.." came the purr, a thin smile that did not reach her eyes forming itself on her face. "I believe my ears must deceive me. I thought for a moment you had just suggested that I may have been responsible for this mess. Of course that could not possibly be the case. Magic is not to be practiced outside of the class or an otherwise controlled environment." Not that Evelynn really actually followed that particular rule, but this girl didn't need to know that. "I remember the spell because I studied for it. A notion with which perhaps you ought to acquaint yourself more keenly."

Really, it was a marvel that Evelynn had been sorted into the house of lions with just how ruffled her feathers had become. The audacity of this ignorant child was perplexing, and entirely vexing. And then she said the one thing that no witch or wizard ought need to say. Ever. "Have I- You have lost your wand?" Flabberghasted was an understatement for how the Gryffindor felt in that moment. Do you not keep it holstered until such time that you need make use of it? How could you possibly have allowed it to be misplaced?"[/color] At this point, Evelynn had finally crossed into the bathroom. "If this is some sort of misdirection..."

The sentence trailed off, but the veiled cautionary threat was very present. There was the very real possibility that this was merely a ploy to lure Evelynn into a false sense of security that would allow the girl to slip out obscured and unhindered. Not to mention the notion that if she had lost her wand, how could she possibly have cast this mess. Unless Evelynn's arrival had surprised her and she'd dropped it to her feet. But that all aside, if the implement really was on an errant adventure to be lost to space and time, they were now at risk of it being found by someone who had no business having it. And what havoc that could wreck.

A hand began swatting in earnest at the idly floating bubbles while eyes scanned for any sight of the girl's wand. "Is it by your feet?" she wondered aloud, half expecting it to simply have been dropped in surprise. Still, she would do her part to look for it, all the while hunting her thoughts for some way to tidily address the nuisance of the cleanest mess she'd yet born witness to. Then an idea struck her. Straightening, she would direct her gaze towards the ceiling, wand point following suit. "Caelum muto!" she chanted.

It would start slowly at first, swell of bubbles near the top giving way to the development of a layer of clouds. They would gather, their colour darkening gradually from the pale pastel hues of the bubbles to the gray of a growing storm. Plink. A tiny little bead would drop to the floor, skittering across it towards the surrounding wall. Then another. And another. Wherever they streaked, the tiny little spheres no larger than half of a pinky's nail would leave nothing but bursts of soapy residue in their wake. She had thought of swatting all the bubbles manually, or perhaps conjuring a gust of hot air to push them to their ultimate demise against the unyielding surface of a wall. But those were, respectively, undignified and timely. No, instead... how better to burst one's bubbles than with a veritable hailstorm.

Again with the nonsense. It seemed endless with this one. Gaff? Was she having a laugh at Evelynn? Mocking her as though she were some pretentious prefect insincerely concerned about the situation? And what in the world was she on about with zoos and canoes and cats in shoes... Frustration and confusion only seemed to mount, layering one upon the other in that encounter until all Evelynn could do was press it all down with the crease of a brow and focus solely on the issue at hand: the bubbles. They, at the very least, would be dismissed easily enough.

As the hail picked up, the bubbles would give an oh-so-satisfying little pop, until the very air seemed to dance to the sound of freedom as the air compressed and trapped released was rendered its freedom of release. Then they would fall to silence. If only their perpetrator could follow in their lofty wake and do the same. But no. Instead of appreciation or even adoration for her creative solution, Evelynn was met with derision. Granted, it wasn't as though she herself found the hammering of frozen little stones to be particularly pleasant either.

"Pluvia velo.." she sighed as though it were considerable effort to attend to the plights of the strawberry blonde.

Wisdom roll [d20:15]+14 = 29
Evelynn successfully casts the Umbrella Spell

Even as the hail continued to fall from some inexplorable source somewhere in the clouds of the ceiling, a trans-luminescent light emerged and took form from the tip of Evelynn's wand. It pulled and shifted, merged and melded until its shape resembled that of an umbrella. And just like that, she arced it over her head as though they were simply on a summer afternoon picnic stroll and nothing were amiss. Wide enough for herself and another she took a step forward, then another, until she came abreast of her juvenile counterpart. A turn on the heel and she would square herself shoulder to shoulder with the girl, attention forward, eyes towards the hail, and umbrella conveniently situated to shield them both from their incessant pelting.

There she would stand, silent and still, until the last of the bubbles had popped. Even then, it would take a moment for her to decide on her next steps. The problem, of course, was that she couldn't clear the hail until she had dismissed her umbrella. And she had absolutely no plans of doing that while she yet remained within the grips of the icy little beads.

Again, a voice snapped her from that particular puzzle and back to the present moment. Eyes the colour of the storming cloud above flicked to find purchase on the other red-head, brow lofting with suspicion. How convenient it would be for her to be unable to find her wand. No wand would mean she couldn't possibly have caused the spell. "Well what have you done with—" Evelynn cut herself off before she could quite finish snapping that sentiment. With a steadying breath, she smoothed her features, presented a placating smile and tried again. "Where do you last remember making use of it? Have you no holster for your wand to keep it safely stowed?"

Admittedly, even her own scan of the girl could find no evidence of the implement and for the first time, lips pursed at the notion that perhaps the girl really was just aloof and not any sort of trouble-maker. "And if it really wasn't you to have stirred these up, what happened in here? Were the bubbles already here when you entered?"

For one brief, beautiful moment, relative silence spread throughout the bathroom. Not a true silence, of course. The pitter patter of hail stones continued to strike a chorus of its own variety, the sonorous notes echoing against the stone to build its own symphony conducive of peaceful reverie. But it could very well have been a bone silence during that blissful absence of the other girl's ceaseless chattering. For just that snippet in time, they were just two girls, two beings, sharing a space beneath the protective canopy of their shared umbrella, passive witnesses to nature's wonder in their own little bubble outside of space and time.

And then that maw opened right up again to spew forth a verbal cacophony that was all the louder by comparison.

"Oh... erm... thank you..? I—pardon?" Evelynn blinked, giving Miss Bohannon a sceptical side eye, entirely uncertain how to take the compliment. A hand had lifted subconsciously to comb through the subject of the words, auburn tresses tucking neatly behind an ear, but paused when the topic changed abruptly from hair to socks.

"No," came the firm answer, scepticism increasing. "I can a—" bsolutely say I have never been inclined to steal anyone's socks... Or anything else for that matter...except journals and diaries, but that was beside the point. Any sentiments she might have said were swiftly cut off as the girl continued, again seemingly without breath, forcing Evelynn to try to keep up with the rather one-sided conversation.

"Your.. cat..?"

It was all she could to do get a word in edge-wise, which ended up being all she could really do. Forced to look the simpleton with a couple disjointedly stammered words, Evelynn was left in verbose dust to contemplate the unusual feline sentiment. Socks for cats? Who in their right mind would ever want to do that? What a torturous prank for the little furred beasts who, no doubt, would be driven to madness until they'd managed to pry the knitted traps off; to say nothing of how dirty they would quickly become once any litter was involved..

"Like.." Wait, what? Like her? She wouldn't harbour much hatred? Or the cat wouldn't harbour hatred for her? Admittedly, the prefect was beginning to have a difficult time tracking the logic—of which there appeared to be none—that whimsically sewed the tangents together. Clearly she had missed a word here or there, the prefect blinking, brows furrowing as her mind scrambled to piece together the nonsense. Soft and squishy on the inside? Did she just call her a fruit snack? Evelynn was unsure whether to take that as a compliment or not, and still found herself rather hung up on the notion that she appeared tough on the outside.. Did she, really? Was that a good thing, she had to wonder? Or was that even true? Another blink as the girl reference something lacking brains.. jellyfish...

By the time the Hufflepuff mentioned marshmallows not having brains, Evelynn's countenance had been stripped of any emotional pretence. The conversational barrage had steadily torn away at the layers of doubt and confidence, leaving naught but barren confusion upon her blank expression. She could probably manage it... If she just stepped forward now through the hail, she could exit the lavatory... quite possibly even before the other would even notice, distracted as she was with her own dribble... But then... Then she would be left to wonder at the source of the bubbles. Not to mention the fact that a misplaced wand could pose a great deal of trouble down the line should it fall into the hands of a careless young wix; or worse yet, a member or empathizer of SCAR.

"You.. what?" The words Evelynn had been droning out caught up to her slowly, but not in a way that seemed to make any sense at all. "Pardon, but I thought I heard you say that you take your wand out of your holster when there should be some time without its use..." As though it were quite accustomed to the expression, the prefect's face fell swiftly into one that reflected a heavy dose of doubt as she glanced back. Glossing over the commentary about the plumbing, she interjected, "Why in heavens would you take your wand out of its holster? That is exactly where it ought to be when you are not using it..."

"Nevermind that," Evelynn countered, waving away the bubbly explanation. Now that she was quite certain that the girl was innocent, the lioness was more than keen to latch onto the only useful piece of information that had been shared in the last ten minutes, "What was your last class?" Already she was stepping in the direction of the door; and if Miss Bohannon desired to remain out of hail's way, she would follow suit. "If we hurry, perhaps we might find your wand before it loses itself further."