Special Dollivery for... Finished

†-----------------†--------------「 Wood to Ash 」-----------------†--------------†

@.Liana Kerr

†-----------------†--------------「 Fire 」-----------------†--------------†

----It seems like everytime Vale finally has time to rest, one of her dolls decide they want to disappear from her arsenal in her room to be found only much later on in the day. At least that was the usual ploy for one of them. Fortunately, Vale would only notice the disappearance of her doll when she heard a knock at her shared dorm room, and having a short greet from a fellow Slytherin.

From the small conversation, Vale would get that there was someone sitting at the entrance door waiting for her. Prefect. "One of the gryffs." according to the Slytherin, who would beckoned a goodbye to the small girl and left her to own devices.

Someone waiting for her is one thing, but someone of possible authority? It took Vale a moment to think of the multiple reasons for the arrival of such a person. But she knew better than to await her inevitable fate, for whatever it may be. She decided she might as well have her spider bare witness to the event with her. The small creature would rest on her shoulder as she moved out from her dorm room, to the common room, and out the entrance door without missing a step.

Whatever it was, it couldn't be in the young girl's favor. Not now, at least. She still had more sinister plans to conduct on a later date.

Vale gave the outside world a quick scan with her golden eyes, giving herself an idea on whether or not she'd be able to escape with quick movement if needed. Her eyes would finally decide to scan for the apparent prefect that was in due process of looking for her person. And...

A familiar face! Vale recalled seeing it more than often. The most prominent memories was that of Hui Ming's little duelling games. Without a thought, Vale blurted out.

"Hui Ming's girlfriend!" Her voice was cheerful, assuming, and most certainly delighted.

"How terrifying to meet you! May all your enemies burn and become reduced to ashes!" Vale clapped her hands together, her slightly eruptive body movement caused her spider to slightly move on her shoulder before re-balancing herself immediately. Her many eyes scanning the environment to see the immediate cause of her owner's jumpy nature.

Another human.

That information was enough to send the spider into hide away in her owner's hair, deciding the safety of her hairy shelter was more appealing than her curiousity at the situation.

"What brings you all the way from...oh no, where did the gryffindors live again?" Vale tilted her head, recalling whatever memory she had on where a pride of lions normally would lurk in such a big castle like Hogwarts-

"Tower! Tower, yes. What brings you from the big tower?"

Interactions | @Evelynn Decipio
Mentions | To add here.

A quick visit indeed. How difficult was it to find a student? Given the time of evening, Evelynn had thought she'd be no more than a few minutes. Wait by the door for the arrival of one of the den's residents and request they seek out the specific individual. Unfortunately, more than a few of the students seemed to think she was there for some nefarious mission involving prefectorial duties. Others wouldn't grant her the time of day simply because her crest was emblazoned with the image of a lion rather than a serpent. Still others seemed not to know the identity of whom she sought..

Every time her request—her perfectly reasonable and innocuous request—was turned down, she clicked her tongue and settled back against the cold stone wall. Lips pursed and arms folded, and every minute that ticked reminded her that she could have been spending it in front of the warmth of her own common room fire getting a good start on that weekend's assignments. Ire mounted readily and her pleasant inquisitions began to devolve into clipped demands for the one named Ashwood.

She was beginning to teeter on the decision simply take her leave when the common room door opened and a golden-eyed girl poked out her face. Finally. Without hesitation, Evelynn had pushed off from the wall with every intent to thrust the doll into the girl's unsuspecting arms and turn on her heel to leave. She hadn't even gotten one step towards her, though, when she'd blurted a greeting so peculiar it left the prefect frozen mid-stride, stunned.

"I beg your pardon... what?" Evelynn finally balked when her mouth had caught up to her brain and she'd managed to compose herself enough to compose a sentence.

But never mind an explanation to the allegation of her being anyone's girlfriend. The flood gates had opened, leaving Evelynn speechless all over again. The first year had such a peculiar way of speaking, one that left the lioness at a total loss of how to respond appropriately. Evelynn stared at her, watching blank-faced as she clapped her hands together and practically danced a gleeful jig on the spot. Movement on the girl's shoulder drew her attention briefly, and she flicked her gaze just in time to see something with too many legs disappear into the untamed brambles of the odd one's hair.

"A... tower... yes..." Evelynn began slowly, brows furrowing. Head tilting, the upperclassman allowed a moment of silence to span between the pair of them. She had done something of an assessment on the girl the first time she'd seen her at the duelling games, but a force compelled her to do so all over again. Her stormy hues traversed the length of the younger student from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet and back again, taking note of the way she carried herself, the state of her attire, her style of dress, and any distinguishing characteristics or accessories.

"I suppose," she finally cut the silence, eyes settling onto Ashwood's, "you might say it was your doll that brought me." A hand extended to display the figurine. "This is yours, is it not? It seemed to have been misplaced. I found it in the library."

†-----------------†--------------「 Wood to Ash 」-----------------†--------------†

@.Liana Kerr

†-----------------†--------------「 Fire 」-----------------†--------------†

----Seeing how the older girl reacted to Vale's assumption on her relationship to Hui Ming, Vale's face turned to that of confusion.

"Well, it's quite obvious. Whispering amongst each other's ears tends to be what lovers do in courtship, right?" It was something Vale took observation of during Hui Ming's first official duelling, to which she spectated upon. Before Vale could speak further on her assumption in the hint of silence, a familiar figure was gifted to her in lieu. It took the young girl a while to process the situation, tilting her head gently and observing the figure. After a careful process, Vale jumped in her spot, making a soft gasp.

"Jela! You old coon, why must you keep running off and making a muckery of things? And the library no less!" Vale moved her hands out in a grab-like motion for the doll.

"Thank you unkindly for discovering her in due time! Ol' thing likes to cause trouble without me!" A large smile found itself onto the young girl's face. She made a soft crackle to reveal her happiness in the safe return of the small doll.

Whether or not the doll actually ran off was up to anyone's guess. "She probably wants an ol' book for me to read to her at night. I must ask, where in the library did you find her?" Vale kept her smile as her pet spider decided to move from the safety of her owner's hair and investigate completely what was causing the young girl to move around in such a bizarre manner.

The spider climbed out onto the young girl's right arm, and looked up to the human before her. Did she have food for her to eat? Surely, a cockroach or two? Or even a fly, even if it's such a small meal. Whatever the case was, Familia went to grooming herself to prepare for a possible treat that she hopes she could get out of all the bizarre movement her owner was doing not so long ago.

Interactions | @Evelynn Decipio
Mentions | None.

Action |N/A.

The word "lover" would be all that was needed to coax a look of absolute horror on Evelynn's face, and she would be very quick to rhetorically interject, "How in ever would I know that?", to the question of whisperings in courtship.

Anyone who had observed Evelynn for any length of time over her years at Hogwarts would likely be quick to pick up that she was not at all the sort to flirt or find fun in the fancy of other boys or girls. Romance thrived as well in the prefect's life as a basil in the dessert: it withered and died almost instantly with no chance at all to flourish. But she would be quick to let sweep the topic under the rug, saying no more on it lest someone actually start getting the wrong impression. The young Mister Hui was nothing more than an acquaintance to her. Admittedly a rather likeable acquaintance with a sense of propriety she wished would be taken up readily by the rest of the Hogwarts populous, but an acquaintance nonetheless.

"You are.. welcome," Evelynn replied to the thanks, faltering just slightly as the unkindly part registered properly in her thoughts. Another peculiar glance would be cast in the other girl's direction, and likely not for the last time. She really did have an odd way of speaking. There seemed to be no animosity in the way she presented herself, but the word choices were not ones that Evelynn had ever heard elsewhere. Had she not met a number of purebloods already, the possibility may have occurred to her that this was some sort of colloquial choice of phrase employed by those in the magical community. But no... she was fairly certain this girl was just odd. Or her family, she supposed.

"I am not sure I recall," Evelynn admitted, when asked where in the library she had found the doll. "I had been on my way out, simply passing through the rows of stacks when I spotted it among the tomes." She tried to think back and retrace her steps and pull the rows to mind, but to little effect. "History, perhaps? Or it might have been the muggle tales and folklore, in fact..."

She shook her head, dismissing the uncertainty of location. It really wasn't all that important anyway, she deemed. The doll had been lost, she had found it, now it was returned. "I might suggest taking better care of where you leave them in future, though," she offered, meaning no offense by the sentiment.

Movement at the Slytherin's hairline would draw Evelynn's eyes and she would watch as the timid tarantula seemed to recover its courage and emerged, plodding determinedly along the shoulder and down the girl's arm. An odd pet for an odd student. It seemed fitting in a way. Evelynn hardly minded spiders, herself. The only child of an arachnophobe, she was forced to don the figurative knight's armour and save her mother from the plethora of spiders that would make their homes in their house and stable. She'd been desensitized at an early age and had even come to appreciate the beauty in their spun webs, particularly on the more humid mornings when the early morning sun would split its rays through the pearly beads of dew strung along the strands.

"This one found its way back to you," she carried on, paying the eight-legged pet no more mind. "But it may not be the case again in future. You might find that there may be students who would sooner see a doll burn than risk handling it at all. The school hasn't exactly had a good experience when it comes to dolls, although I suppose we have had something of a reprieve this year at least."

†-----------------†--------------「 Wood to Ash 」-----------------†--------------†

@.Liana Kerr

†-----------------†--------------「 Fire 」-----------------†--------------†

----A frown found its way on Vale's lips. She tilted her head at the idea of dolls being such a sore topic for a school filled with all sorts of mysterious objects with even more mysterious purposes behind them. A topic that was so sore that committing arson is a reasonable act, only made Vale become invested in the topic.

"Burning dolls? That is acceptable here? Oh how terrible! That means less work throwing the bad ones in graves then for me!" Vale's excitement from her own misunderstanding on the older girl's warning made her spider end up hurrying back into her hair. There was no point in staying out if all she would get out of it is her owner violently shaking every so often.

"Burning Jela might be tough though. I did it before, only to find her on my bedstand the next day." Vale began to grow tired from awaiting her doll, moving her hands to gently grab the doll for herself. She held onto the doll, who only smiled back at her with her stitched smile.

"Hm, history or muggle lore. Hm, must want a dark fairytale to read. How quaint." The young girl hugged the small doll to herself. Vale knew now that being willing to keep a hold onto the doll was no easy task. It had to come with a reward, even if the one before her seem to have done it in goodwill in mind.

"I believe your efforts must be noted. You could've thrown ol' Jela away and nobody would know the better, except for her." She looked back up to Evelynn. "Whether or not you'd get away with it, would be another question. Without further ado," Vale placed the small doll away, at her side hidden away underneath her school robes. "You have one snitch point to use with me now. I believe you may find that useful in the future, whenever that is." A small curtesy bow was made for the older girl.

"I must beckon you well then. Hui Ming's girlfriend, it has been certainly a horror to meet you. May your enemies die slowly and painfully as you watch in glee. Surely people will learn to leave the burning to professionals. Some dolls like to return for vengance, at least mine do."

Interactions | @Evelynn Decipio
Mentions | None.

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"Entirely acceptable.." Evelynn responded without evidence of humor or sarcasm. "Although.." she admitted, flaring a brow. "I suppose that was before your time. Still, I am a touch surprised you have yet to hear the stories of the doll attacks. You may wish to inquire on the subject with your senior peers or Head of House."

But whether her recommendation would be heeded or not, Evelynn really hadn't the faintest idea. There were times when this Ashwood seemed to make sense, but then the very next sentiment would leave the prefect confounded all over again. Why on earth would she burn her own doll? And that she allegedly made it back to the nightstand..? Evelynn's colourless gaze dipped to the doll in the girl's hands with a new veil of curiosity. If that were true and not more than a child's imagination, it was like a scene from a horror story. Of course, she supposed it wasn't entirely impossible that there might be toys enchanted to self-repair and put themselves away like some sort of untransfiguration and conjuration charm..

She shrugged a brow and pulled her attention back to Ashwood as the girl began to speak on the merits of Evelynn's actions. "A snitch point, mn?" She mused, corner of her mouth tugging into a smirk. Well that might come in handy. It wasn't the first time she had been "repaid" with such a token, but it had been some time since her last. She wondered what use she might get out of this one, or whether the girl might actually provide any insight that Evelynn didn't already have access to through her serpentine contacts. Time would tell, she supposed. "Very well."

A bow of her own head would complement the other girl's curtsy. "Mn.." she hummed at the mirrored "pleasantries" of acquaintanceship. "Likewise." She couldn't quite bring herself to say it had been a pleasure given the strangeness of it all, but neither could she mirror the odd terms of expression. "You truly are an oddity.." A perked brow would meet the hopes that her enemies die a slow and painful death. "I suppose I had best be grateful I treated Jela with nothing but respect." Sarcasm? Perhaps. But not entirely. Given her experiences with dolls and fabricated models, she hadn't any desire to mess with them lest they seek to hunt her later as a supplement to their vessel. "And I am not Hui's girlfriend," she countered flatly as she turned to take her leave.

Evelynn leaves the thread

†-----------------†--------------「 Wood to Ash 」-----------------†--------------†

@.Liana Kerr

†-----------------†--------------「 Fire 」-----------------†--------------†

----Odd! Someone called Vale odd! Such an terrible compliment. She'll have to write a letter to her family about it when she can. The young girl's eyes would only light up in glee at the words. She gripped her found doll tightly in her grasps, and a larger than death smile was plastered on her face.

She supposes not all cases of authority were bad. After all, Jela would be causing chaos and destruction without her right now. Vale stared down at the small doll, observing the stitched smile on its face with eyes that stared right back.

A giggle escaped the young girl's lips.

"See you around, Ms. De-ci-pio." Vale made sure to pronounce the name out correctly, watching as the older girl took her leave from the scene for good. But Vale continued to watch. Her eyes only to be interrupted when she behaved like the doll was speaking to her, turning her head back down to the rag for a doll.

"Hm, you think it's some sort of forbidden love that has to be hidden?" Vale turned around, heading back into the Slytherin common room with her beloved doll.

"You think its the status difference? Personally, I think it's because of the house difference." And without further delay, the young girl was to be in her dorm room for the remainder of the day.

Vale exited the thread.

Interactions | @Evelynn Decipio
Mentions | None.

Action |N/A.