Unhealthy Pattern PV Elena Clark Closed

Interacting @Novalie Moon

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Does a straw have one hole or two ?

Deeply absorbed by her highly important thoughts, Elena was fiddling with her apple juice. Blankly staring at the table, taking a sip from time to time, her mind was freely running. Or rather, painfully crawling. Those two hours of Transfiguration had destroyed the last braincells that were still surviving.

A question from one of her friends - I forgot her name again, great - made her snap out of it. Joining the conversation, her laugh meddled with the ones of her peers. After she catching on with the subject - homework, typical ravenclaw discussion, her thoughts started wandering again. Looking at her fellow ravens, she noticed one of them had a hair cat struck across her sweater. How cute. Another one, lost in her thoughts, was staring at her plate like it was going to grow legs and attack her, and a blondie was struggling to cut her steak. Smiling at those little signs of life, little moments of the day to day, Elena started eating.

But as she was joyfully devouring her mashed potatoes, discreet glances were thrown to a fire haired girl who was mindlessly fiddling with her food. A familiar crease formed in Elena's brows, the kind she always made when she was worried about somone. For the girl had been secretly studied for a week or so. It started a week and a half ago, when Elena first saw the red headed. Her beauty was noticeable, with flaming locks of auburn hair and eyes of emerald green.

Then, the blondie noticed this girl was always "not hungry", always declining food when Elena offered - which happened a lot, given on how many chocolate bars she had in her bag. From now on, she always had her eyes on the ravenclaw, and her worrying increased as the day passed. She borrowed books in the library, trying to understand the thing better, what to say and not to say. But she never had the courage to go and talk to her, especially since they never interacted. So she just anxiously watched her, trying to find the best moment.

As she was observing her, she suddenly made eyes contact, making her internally jump. "Oh, I believe we've met before!", Novalie beamed at the girl, setting down her glass, "Elena, right? I think we have.. Astronomy together?" Elena smiled back and nodded, pleased to see she noticed her. "Indeed ! You're Novalie, right ? I've seen you around the hallways too ! I love your hair !!" she said with a warm voice.

Am I too enthusiastic ? Or not enough ? She was always told she was either too quiet, or too loud. Black cat and orange cat. Moon and- Focus, Elena. She catches on just soon enough to her Novalie talk about the horrendous pile of homework their teacher had gave us. "....would you mind if I, like, borrowed your answers?" she heard the red head say. "Please? I'll even trade my dessert for them. Deal?"

Elena's internal warning immediately flickered as Novalie pushed the plate in front of her, and her mind started racing. I see what she's trying to do. How can I react to make her feel the best possible ? After racing all of the possibilities in a few seconds, she decided on a compromise. Still smiling sincerely, she shook her head and slid the plate between them. "I really don't mind, we're doing constellations lore and it's basically greek mythology, aka my favourite subject ever. Trust me, you're going to wish to get out of the room once I start yapping." she laughed. "But I'm willing to share your cake with you if you're full. I never say no to chocolate."

With a playful grin she stole a piece of the cake, eating it. While her outside looked perfectly normal, she was buzzing inside. Is it too obvious ? Is she uncomfortable ? Should I switch the subject away ? Is she going to take that as an obligation to eat ? Did I do the wrong thing ? Hoping - praying - the green eyed raven didn't notice what Elena was doing, she took another piece of cake.

Novalie’s eyes followed Elena as she spoke, her thoughts briefly drifting until she was surprised by an unexpected compliment about her hair. She blinked a few times, momentarily caught off guard, her fingers absentmindedly brushing against the deep red waves cascading over her shoulders.
Did.. Elena really mean it or was she just being polite?
The Ravenclaw often received compliments about her appearance - but only particularly when she changed her look with the help of her ability. It felt different when someone praised something as ordinary as her natural haircolor.

A soft smile formed on her lips as she met Elena’s deep blue eyes.
While the other girl continued talking about Astronomy, Novalie studied her more closely. She was strikingly beautiful, with delicate features that reminded Novalie of Evpraksiya, a girl she had once mistaken for a Part-Veela. Could Elena be one, though?
The thought lingered for a moment, but she dismissed it - after all, how could she know for sure? To Novalie, every beautiful person seemed to have that Veela-like quality. Maybe that would change someday, when she would meet a Part-Veela consciously.

Her smile faltered, just slightly, as Elena spoke about sharing the cake.

"Oh... you know..", Novalie began, quickly masking the brief moment of hesitation with her usual bright chuckle, "I'm, like, really, really full."
The redhead nudged the plate back toward Elena with a graceful gesture, her hand lingering for just a second longer than necessary. As if to insist.
With a lighthearted wave, she then pointed to her untouched plate, offering her 'proof'.
"I’ve eaten so much already, see?", she said, her voice airy but deliberate, knowing full well that her plate held barely a thing. She had no idea if Elena had noticed how little she had served herself in the first place, but the lie rolled easily off her tongue nonetheless. Before there was a chance to question it, Novalie drained the last of her water and smoothly changed the subject.

"So, you like Greek mythology?", she asked, her tone as easy-going as ever, "You bet I'm going to sit next to you next lesson! I could really use a hand with all of that. It’s like... I mean - how do you even see these constellations?"

A light snicker left her throat as her mind wandered to their Astronomy lessons. Novalie loved gazing up at the stars, but she never quite understood the shapes and constellations everyone else seemed to see. A lion? A Virgo?
To her, those same patterns could easily be a duck or a swan. Maybe her imagination just worked differently - or maybe people had decided on the most bizarre interpretations of the night sky. Either way, she was happy to leave the more academic side of star-gazing to those who understood it better. It was enough for her to just enjoy it as it was, without breaking her head over some images they were to represent.

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Mentions: @Novalie Moon

English | thoughts	Date: --/--/--
Outfit: Reducio flare jeans, dark red top with a lace tank top underneath, red zip up hoodie, and converses hair loose, silver heart locket	OOC Notes: Reducio NEVER NEW ETCETERA WAS WRITTEN LIKE THAT Abilities: Sixth Sense code made by 𝑅𝑒𝓎&𝐿𝒾'𝓈 𝑅𝑒𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓀𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈

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Something is definitely wrong here. Elena was ready to give Novalie the benefit of the doubt, thinking the red haired girl had just a singularly small appetite, but it didn't felt right. She couldn't explain it, but it was something in the way she'd quickly look down after talking, or switching subjects, or even pretending to eat and then lowering her hand to continue the conversation. I wasn't right. Something was up, and Elena needed to know why. The crease in her eyebrows grow further as Novalie rejected her offer, pretexting a lack of appetite. Glancing at her untouched plate, Elena imperceptibly sighed, leaning back. She lost a battle, but she intended on winning the war. Even if the other side don't know we're playing. On the contrary of what Novalie seemed to think, Elena had noticed the two vegetables she threw on her plate before pretending she had eaten an entire meal. I need to pull her apart. Whatever reason she had not to eat, it wasn't a subject to be discussed in broad daylight, in front of everyone. Elena knew too well how embarrassing something like that could be, and she really wanted to help Novalie, not humiliate her. She then accepted the changement of subject, sipping her apple juice. "So, you like greek mythology ?" the red head asked, with a cheerful tone. A sincere smile illuminating her face, Elena nodded excitedly. "I do !" she responded, tapping her nails on the side of her glass "I find it so fascinating, the way all the stories are intricate, each one having a consequence on others. You can't start explaining one without telling the entire lore, and I love that. For example, did you know the Trojan War could have been avoided if Paris's parents had listened to the prophecy and properly got rid of him ? Instead they gave him to a nearby shepherd, who raised him as his own. But then one day, during a banquet, Ares and Eris decided to-" Realising she had gone in a full monologue, she interrupted herself with an apologetic laugh. "See ?" she giggled. "Ranting. I also like how they have a story for everything they can't explain. Vulcanos ? Hephaestus's forges. The echo in the mountains ? A heartbroken girl. Etcetera, etcetera." "You bet I'm going to sit next to you next lesson! I could really use a hand with all of that. It’s like... I mean - how do you even see these constellations?" the red headed exclaimed. As Novalie talked, Elena nodded. "I would welcome your presence with great pleasure ! And you really don't get it ?" Searching in her bag, she took out a small notebook, midnight blue, looking like a journal. Searching through the pages, you could catch a glimpse of numerous astronomy drawings, as well as notes scribbled down the pages and small doodles. Finally finding the page she was looking for, she turned it to show it to Novalie. Small dots were connected with lines, and a girl chained up to a rock was drawn at the bottom. "See ? This dot is her hand, this is the chain, those are her legs...." she explained, pointing to each lines. "Andromeda was a princess, whose mother claimed she was more beautiful than the Nereids, sea nymphs. Poseidon then sent the sea monster Cetus to destroy their coasts, as a punishment. Andromeda's mother decided to sacrifice her to calm the wrath of the god. They chained her to a rock - the chains you see here - and waited for the monster to come. Perseus finds her after slaying Medusa, and bring her back with him to be his wife." I'm fact-monologuing again. Hoping she didn't bore her new friend to death, Elena closed the notebook and tilted her head. "If not Astronomy, then what subjects do you like ?" she asked. Her personal favourite was Care for Magical Creatures, but she loved every single one. Except maybe Transfiguration. Atoms weren't her thing. At all.

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Word Count: 645/200

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As Elena started talking about Greek mythology, the redhead caught snippets - mentions of the Trojan War and whatnot. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested in what Elena had to say - she really, really tried to concentrate - it was more that Novalie struggled to focus on long stories just by listening. She was a hands-on learner, someone who needed to experience things directly to truly understand them - something impossible when it came to Astronomy.

Especially since she had never quite grasped the constellations. Where others saw Gemini, Novalie saw a flag. Where Cancer was meant to be, she saw a tent with a giant antenna on top. The stars just refused to align in the same way for her.

But then, Elena pulled out a neat-looking notebook, and Novalie could tell from its appearance that she must be a dedicated student.
Sometimes, Novalie wished she had that kind of focus..
Leaning over to glance at the page, she saw a sketch of a girl chained to a rock at the bottom of the page. The connection to the scattered dots was a... a stretch, to say the least, but with the drawing as a guide, Novalie could just about see it.

As Elena explained the lore, the Ravenclaw's attention sharpened just enough for her brow furrowing slightly by the time the story was done.

"That's fucked up.", Novalie said casually, that slur at odds with her usual bright and innocent appearance.
Still, the words came naturally to her, thanks to growing up with three brothers who all had foul mouths.
"I mean, it sounds like that Poseidon had major anger issues, destroying things just because someone claimed their daughter was more beautiful than… what was it? Mermaids?", she added.

Novalie leaned back in her seat, tilting her head as she studied Elena,
"And why did the mother sacrifice her daughter in the first place? Shouldn't Poseidon be mad at her for insulting those mermaids? How would chaining up Androma solve anything?"
She paused for a breath, but once she started, it was hard to stop. She didn't even answer Elenas question about her favorite subject.
"And then, out of nowhere, some prince shows up, rescues her and decides to marry her? Like in a Disney Movie? I mean.. that's cute and all, but also.. a little bit creepy, right?"

Oh, Novalie loved Disney movies, actually - and films in general. She often imagined herself right in the middle of them, fighting alongside the heroes, embarking on grand adventures and solving mysteries. But love stories where the characters fell for each other at first sight? That never quite sat right with her.
Now... if Androma-girl and the prince had battled monsters together before all that romance?
That would be a whole different story! Novalie could picture it: maybe they were both monster hunters and that’s why Poseidon really was angry - because the two of them had secretly wiped out his zombie-mermaids! And maybe Androma’s mother had been behind it all, creating the monster-mermaids in the first place and plotting against her own daughter. That'd be sick!

Novalie's eyes lit up at the thought.
"Did they know each other before all of that, Elena? Did they?", she eagerly asked.

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Mentions: @Novalie Moon

English | thoughts	Date: --/--/--
Outfit: Reducio insert image	OOC Notes: Reducio Abilities: Sixth Sense code made by 𝑅𝑒𝓎&𝐿𝒾'𝓈 𝑅𝑒𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓀𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈

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As Elena tried to make Novalie see the correlations between her drawing and the constellation, she could clearly see that this wasn't the redhead's favourite topic. Her friend was zoning out, lost in her thoughts. Far from being offended, Elena was even more determined to teach her the basics of astronomy. As she was ranting about Andromeda's tale, she studied the reactions on Novalie's face. As she finished, she watched her eyebrows grow more and more, until eventually an insulted blurted out. Muffling a surprised laugh - she hasn't thought such filthy words would come out of someone so sweet - she nodded, smiling. "It is," she agreed. "But again, most greek myths are. Sons marry their mothers, fathers murder their daughters, families forge alliances and breaks them immediately, etc." Surprisingly, she liked it. Not the horrors the poor characters went through, of course, but the precision and the depth with which those myths were written. Feelings were devastating, ruthless, causing wars, murders, pain beyond the limits of humanity. Lost in thought, she mechanically traced the drawings with the tip of her fingers. Her favourite myth was, of course, the Trojan War and everything that led to it, and more specifically Achilles and Patroclus story. She also loved how all the stories were tangled, you couldn't start explaining one without taking about a dozen others. This time, a frank laugh escaped her lips as Novalie was ranting about Poseidon's anger issues. "He does," she chuckled. "He's famous for those, actually. But I like that about the gods. They're not perfectly good and great. They are cruel, merciless, selfish. Gods." Elena admired them, admired what each of them stood for. She loved how the greek had a god for everything - even making bread. The blonde haired girl kept chuckling as Novalie explained her frustration. "It's actually normal in Ancient Greece, they required sacrifices to appease gods." Running a finger on the table, she tilted her head. "In order to go to the Trojan War in the first place, Agamemnon had to slaughter his own daughter, because his men had offended Lady Artemis." "A Disney Prince," she laughed. "Yeah, sort of. Perseus is actually one of my favourite heroes. With Odysseus. And others." She frowned. "Too many, actually." Her friend's excitement pleased her, and she willingly answered her questions. "I don't think they did," she said. "But that would be an interesting development of the story indeed. I like how you think." She ended her sentence in a laugh, poking her shoulder. Novalie still hadn't touched her plate. A worried expression hidden behind her smile, Elena casually played with the food, tilting her head. How can I ask her without offending her ? She guessed it was a touchy subject, but she needed the redhead to know she cared about her. "Hey Nova," she said, her voice lowering slightly. The places around the two girls had emptied, but she still didn't want the whole world to know. "Can I ask you a question ?" Trying to find her words, she was stuttering. "I- you- I mean I noticed you weren't eating much these days," she hesitated. "Is everything okay ?" Crossing fingers underneath the table, she prayed that Novalie would open up to her.

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Word Count: ---/200

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Novalie frowned slightly as Elena spoke, describing twisted stories of sons marrying their mothers, daughters sacrificed for war... Fucked. Up.
Who would even like hearing things like that? And why were they taught in school? It wasn’t like these things really had happened… right? Right?
She leaned back, gazing up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Or did they?

Novalie had heard strange tales from her neighborhood too - not as extreme as Elena’s, but still odd. Her brothers and friends had whispered about them often enough. Gossip spread quickly in the slums, even if people brushed it off as 'normal'. To some extend, Novalie saw them as ordinary, too. So .. maybe these stories weren’t as far-fetched as she’d thought.

Before the redhead could dig deeper into these thoughts however, Elena interrupted her, asking if she could ask her a question. Novalie snapped back to attention, grinning widely and leaning forward,
“Of course! Ask me anything you want!”
But Elena seemed to hesitate.
“I- you- I mean I noticed you weren't eating much these days..”, she began.
Novalie’s smile froze for only a split second as she stared at Elena. How…

Elena continued gently, asking if everything was okay. Novalie quickly leaned back, laughing as though it were nothing.
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”, she waved it off with a smile, casually avoiding the other girl’s gaze, “I just wasn’t hungry today, that’s all. And I’ve eaten plenty over the last few days. Maybe you only noticed me when I had already finished or something.”
Weird... had that girl always been watching her during dinner? It must have been the case, since Novalie was always all over the pancakes at breakfast and even had a bet going last lunch to see who among her friends could eat the most in the shortest time.
Yet, she felt strangely exposed. It wasn’t exactly something she wanted to share with everyone - her reasons for avoiding dinner, that is. Why did it have to look so fancy in the first place?
Looking back at Elena, she raised an eyebrow, smirking, “Also, why were you watching me? If you wanted to be my friend, you could’ve just said hi.”

As she glanced around, Novalie noticed the dining hall was starting to empty and she took the opportunity to leave. For some reason… Elena made her feel uneasy, an unusual feeling for the carefree Ravenclaw.
“Anyway!”, she stood up, grinning at Elena, “I should head back now. Looking forward to sitting next to you in Astronomy!”
Without waiting for a reply, Novalie turned and hurried out, hoping Elena would just forget the whole thing and never bring it up again.