Interacting with: Everly Hart @Madi McQuade
Elias signing: #84774d
Elias writing: #6591ad
Thoughts: Italics
Others: Bold

When Elias discovered the ponds, be just knew he had to go looking for ducks. They were his favorite animal, after all. So cute as chicks, fluffy, and their little yellow bills were so much nicer than the beaks of other birds in his opinion. Even as adults, though, ducks were humourous and cute. Seeing a duck stick it's head underwater while its webbed feet waved in the air, then it shake itself off and quack, a sound Elias was assured to be entirely fitting for the animals, made the boy smile.

Despite the chilly fall air, Elias stuck his hand in the water. His eyes roved around for the coveted waterfowl be sought.

To his left, a crane hunted in the reeds. No, not you. To his right, sparrows flitted in a young tree. Not you either.

For about thirty minutes he sat, enjoying the scenery and the feel of the autumn air, but growing impatient to see ducks. Really, how hard could it be for just one to land in the water?

And then he saw them. A female Mallard and her ducklings, three of them. They paddled in a row, the mother beside her little ones. Elias smiled widely and he took out his notebook, scratching out a short description of the scene.

He sensed a presence behind him, but was so enamored with the ducks he couldn't pinpoint it and honestly wasn't too worried about it.

there is no path to happiness, happiness is the path

Self | Someone else | Thoughts

With no more classes, studying, or homework to do, Everly began heading toward the place she most often was, the ponds. There were ducks and birds around and everything was green. She liked to sit by the edge of the pond and move her hand through the still water, creating ripples that went through the entire pond. When she saw something cool, she whipped out her sketchbook and began drawing it. When she saw ducks, she watched them, being as quiet as possible so she wouldn't scare them away.
She loved ducks. What wasn't to love about ducks? They're smart, cute, social creatures.

She grabbed her bag and walked toward the ponds. It was a bit cold outside, and she shivered. She really regretted wearing a short-sleeved dress. She walked closer and saw there were already ducks in the pond. She beamed. Normally she had to wait a long time for them to show. It was nice that they came before she did, for a change.

She went over to her usual spot and saw that a boy was sitting in it. She smiled. "Hey, can I sit here?" she asked, gesturing to the spot next to the boy. He didn't turn around or acknowledge her. She thought maybe he didn't hear her. "Excuse me? Can I sit here?" Everly said louder, but the boy still did not acknowledge her.

ooc notes:	oufit:
interacting with Elias Travers@Astra Norrick	Reducio

try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud

Interacting with: Everly Hart @Madi McQuade
Elias signing: #84774d
Elias writing: #6591ad
Thoughts: Italics
Others: Bold

He felt the words faintly, but the girl was far away so he wasn't sure. Turning around, Elias could guess what she was saying. He scooted over on the rock and patted it. A fellow duck lover, I wonder?

Beautiful creatures, Elias signed. He then growled in frustration, a brief little noise that tickled the back of his throat and made his teeth feel wonky since they were clenched. Stupid, stupid deafness and muteness and- agh! He already had his notebook out, which he angrily flipped to the page where he had written out for Nate his disclaimer: I am completely deaf. I can only communicate through writing and ASL. Sorry to inconvenience.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, signing Sorry to the girl and flipping to a new page. I keep forgetting not everyone here knows sign. Sometimes very frustrating. Elias looked back over the water at the little duck family before turning back to the girl and setting the notebook and pencil down beside him.

After a second, he picked them back up and wrote, I'm Elias, by the way. You? He offered a warm smile with his introduction.

I need to get some sort of bracelet or something, like the one I had back home. That one doesn't work here. I guess it has to be magic. He made a mental note to ask the wizard about enchanting a bracelet that would detect if someone was talking to him, or maybe just loud noises.

there is no path to happiness, happiness is the path

Self | Someone else | Thoughts | Writing / Signing

The boy did not respond in words but moved over and patted the rock beside him. Everly smiled and sat down. "Thank you." she said and looked over at the boy, who was now moving his hands and looking at Everly. Oh, he's signing. she realized. Back when Everly was younger, her mother had taught her a little bit of sign language. She knew it because her uncle was deaf and communicated in sign language, but after about a month and a half she gave up teaching Everly. She still remembered some words.
Hi, sorry no ASL. she signed the letters. She hoped she did it well and that he understood that she wouldn't be able to communicate in sign language.
He took out a notebook and started writing something down. He held it up and Everly read it up. He was deaf and could only communicate through ASL and writing, and the signed "Sorry." Everly grabbed her sketchbook and a pencil from her bag and began scribbling something down in response. Oh, okay. I was wondering. It's not an inconvenience.After she was finished, she smiled and held it up for the boy to read.

"It sounds really hard, to have such few people be able to communicate one of the only ways you can. It sounds frustrating, I'm sorry. "Everly paused for a moment and then added; "My mom tried teaching me ASL a few years ago. She stopped about a month after she started, but I still remember a few words."

The boy introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, Elias. I'm Everly." She smiled back at him.

ooc notes:	oufit:
interacting with Elias Travers@Astra Norrick	Reducio

try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud

Interacting with: Everly Hart @Madi McQuade
Elias signing: #84774d
Elias writing: #6591ad
Thoughts: Italics
Others: Bold

Elias was quite surprised at the amount of people who knew ASL in some capacity, but weren't fluent. He figured it was common enough, since a lot of hard-of-hearing and partially deaf people communicated that way. But, having never met anyone like himself before, Elias often forgot that he wasn't the only one.

Yeah, but it's ok. At least I can communicate he wrote with a shrug.

Everly. That was a nice name. Elias finger spelled it quickly to cement it in his brain. You have a nice name. Starts with the best letter.

After a second, he reached into his satchel and brought out a bag. It was full of oats. He may or may not have snatched a handful from the kitchens earlier. He offered the bag to Everly, signing Want some? For the ducks. He pointed to the waterfowl family, then reached into the bag and tossed some out onto the water.

The ducks swam over and began eating the oats from off the water. Elias smiled at the ducklings' little yellow tails slinging water all over, and the mother's calm stare at the two humans once the first portion had been eaten, as if to say Well? Where's the rest?

there is no path to happiness, happiness is the path

Self | Someone else | Thoughts | Writing/Signing

Yeah, that's true. Everly wrote back. She then smiled as Elias complimented her name. Thanks, you do too. Yeah, I know. she grinned, holding up the paper for Elias to see.

They sat for a few seconds, and then Elias pulled out a bag. He opened it and held it out towards Everly, signing something she didn't understand, although it was easy to figure out. She reached her hand inside and pulled out a handful of oats. She scattered them gently across the water, and the mother duck and her little ducklings came to investigate and eat the oats floating in their pond. Elias threw his own handful in and they watched the ducks eat all the oats until soon there were none left in the water. The mother of the little ducklings looked at Everly and Elias, wanting more. Everly giggled.

"I think she wants more." she said, and then remembered Elias couldn't hear her. She grabbed her pencil and scribbled out her message on the paper. She held it up for Elias to see, and then took a little more oats and tossed half of them carefully toward the mother duck, who eagerly began to eat. The ducklings looked up, and Everly smiled. "Don't worry, you can have some too." she emptied the other half of oats in her hand into the pond.

So, do you spend a lot of time out here? she wrote, showing it to Elias.

ooc notes:	oufit:
interacting with Elias Travers@Astra Norrick	Reducio

try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud

Interacting with: Everly Hart @Madi McQuade
Elias signing: #adac65
Elias writing: #6591ad
Thoughts: Italics
Others: #theirhex

Elias liked Everly's smile. Then again, he liked everyone's smile, but hers was especially nice.

He felt her speech but didn't turn his head in time to lip-read anything, not that it would be very helpful. He wasn't the best at lip-reading. Maybe that was just because his mom was super talkative. It was like her mouth never stopped moving sometimes.

Looks like it, he wrote, fishing out another handful of oats. He supposed breadcrumbs would be easier for a young delinquent to smuggle out of the kitchens, but oats were better for ducks. Plus, the fowl family really seemed to be enjoying it.

He read Everly's next message and pondered for a few moments. I guess I do, he wrote after several moments, tapping his chin with his pencil before continuing. I try to. Sometimes school is too hard and I don't finish in time. Another pause. Sometimes school is too stressful so I stay here too long. He laughed a bit. Isn't it odd, to be unable to hear one's own laugh?

He thought back to the letter he received the other day, from his dad. A letter that filled him with hope. This summer you can get your cochlears. How exciting was that?! He would finally be able to hear. Maybe they could even work at school! He would finally be able to do more than that simple little spell... oh what was it. It only had a few sounds. Aberto! Yes, he could practice the incantations at home and then cast them when he got to school again. How awesome would that be?

What about you? he wrote back, tilting his head as he looked at Everly. The ducks seemed to be happy, and Elias wondered if they were quacking. I'll get to hear that this summer, the thought with a glow of happiness.

there is no path to happiness, happiness is the path

Self | Someone else | Thoughts | Writing/Signing

Everly beamed at the little ducks. They were Everly's favorite animal. They were protective of their families, they were smart, curious, and friendly. She'd loved them for a long time, since she was young and they used to come to the pond near her house. During the summer and spring, whenever ducks came to the pond, she would rush outside with a bag of bread, crumble up slices, and toss the crumbs into the pond, waiting for the ducks to come and eat them. She'd be out there until they flew away or until her parents called her in for dinner or bed.

Elias wrote his response and laughed a little. He had a nice laugh. It was too bad he couldn't hear it. I get that. School can be pretty stressful. Everly wrote in reply to Elias's response.

School was stressful. It wasn't like Everly got bad grades, her graders were pretty good. But she was procrastinator and she was forgetful. She often put off many assignments and then forgot to do them later. She didn't always have time to finish every assignment in one night, which led her to worrying about the ones she didn't complete. The pond was a nice escape from all of that.

Yeah, I come a lot. I love it here. It's so peaceful. I love being with people, but sometimes I prefer being with the ducks." Everly wrote and smiled.

ooc notes:	oufit:
interacting with Elias Travers@Astra Norrick	Reducio

try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud

It was a nice little snapshot of time, Everly and Elias and the ducks just sitting there, enjoying the outdoors and the peace it provided. Elias was happy to find someone who enjoyed ducks as much as him, and to have said ducks in his presence.

That makes sense. Sometimes people are just as stressful as school. Elias did like people, of course, but it was an arduous task to try to communicate sometimes. No cochlears meant he couldn't hear at all, unlike several other deaf children his hearing acquaintances might know. He supposed it made sense, having a hard time learning to write all they wished to say. Or learning sign. Reprogramming the brain in such a manner was not top priority for any of his former schoolmates. Which, he supposed that made sense, too, since they were all very young.

Elias scribbled out a new question. Where are you from? I live in Asheville. The wizard had said there were people from all over here at Ilvermorny. Travel had always been one of Elias' small dreams. He had, of course, going down to the beach or some neighboring states. But he'd always thought going out west or up north or even to a different country. What's it like there?

Notes: Sorry for the long wait!

there is no path to happiness, happiness is the path

Self | Someone else | Thoughts | Writing/Signing

For sure. Everly wrote back. She loved people, she loved being around them and talking to them. She loved being around crowds and filling up a space, but sometimes she needed a break. People could be overwhelming. But ducks weren't. You could never get tired of ducks.

She was enjoying the conversation she was having with Elias. She never thought she'd like having a conversation where you couldn't speak, but she liked the peacefulness of writing. No voices trying to override the other to emphasize their point, no tones that could be mistaken for rudeness. Just the calm writing scribbled on the page. She also liked communicating with someone who normally wouldn't be able to communicate with her. Maybe, after this, she'd start studying sign language, in case she ran into Elias again or anyone else with a hearing impairment. It would be helpful to have a way to talk to them.

What's Asheville like? Everly had never been there. She rarely left her country, and only had been to The United States a few times, although she did live pretty close to it. I live in the suburbs of Toronto. she wrote back, thinking of her home. There weren't many other houses around hers, and the ones that were there were separated by lots of trees. Cold. But it's beautiful, especially when it snows. I live in a little area with lots of trees. It's really pretty.

ooc notes:	oufit:
interacting with Elias Travers@Astra Norrick	Reducio

try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud