march 28th, 2025		friday, afternoon
wc: 1500		zyair ona'je - uagadou
interacting with: npcs		mentioning: @Emily Shephard & Sabrina | @Sage Willows

"Zy! Where are you going, man?"

"J'en ai marre..." (conveying frustration, "I've had it" for direct translation) Zyair mutters under his breath, turning to face who had called for him. He had been getting more and more antsy with the upcoming trip back to Hogwarts, recalling how the last one had ended up. Almost getting hit with an explosion, hurting the people he cared for, it had not ended up the way he wanted it to. "My plan was to finish packing, unless you need something?"

Ifa was a very good friend- mildly overbearing, but Zyair didn't mind-, and he definitely didn't deserve to deal with this awful onslaught of terrible emotion that Zy was suffering from. He wasn't going to cruelly subject his friend to that kind of thing, honestly he didn't want to subject anyone to that kind of thing. Nothing good would come from anyone suspecting he wasn't on the top of his game, and he'd really prefer to keep a fine line between the drama at Uagadou separate from overseas. If they somehow crossed paths... that would not be ideal, not for Zy's sanity.

"Nah man, it's just... you've been quiet these past few months, more than usual, 'specially since we got back from that British school," Ifa crosses his arms, "everything good?"

Given that Zyair had spent a great deal of time curating the mental state he showed to others, it was jarring to know that someone could see very easily through that. He spent a great deal of time with Ifa, though, so if it was only him that had noticed, then he wouldn't be bothered. He was self-aware enough to know that he was being more quiet, and he had been given quite a bit of time to perfectly create the response to dispel any questions or concerns anyone would have. Zyair liked to consider himself a master at this kind of thing.

"I've just been doing research on everything that occurred. Keeping my head down, I'm sure you understand."

Ifa's matches his pace with Zyair, waving his hand, "Hey man, let me keep you company then. I wanted to ask you something anyway." He's got this relaxed smile on his face, like he isn't cutting into Zyair's personal affairs- and for all Ifa knows, he's not. No, Ifa has no idea that he's cutting into the little alone time Zyair's got right now, and he doesn't know that he's bothering his friend beyond belief.

-

"So, I've been hearing... like, well you know, they've been admitting half-breeds into our school."

Zyair shrugs in response, continuing to put clean clothes into a bag. "I've heard, yes," he's not really sure where this line of conversation is heading, but he's not entirely sure he's thrilled, "what about it?"

Ifa shrugs, kicking his shoes off and sitting on the bed opposite of Zyair's. If him and Zyair weren't friends with everyone in the dorm, he'd almost advise Ifa to sit on his own bed. Luckily that never seemed to be an issue with any of the boys, mambo yangu, mambo yako, he remembers a friend saying. My things, your things. It definitely helped the atmosphere never get tense, although it made Zyair mildly annoyed with how little alone time he got in his room. That was to be expected of a dorm, and was no different at home (even though he had his own room, if Eba visited, then they'd share- and the twins paraded around it like they owned the place), but he still would've liked some more time to lay in his bed in silence.

"I mean like... don't you think it's weird? Having monsters in our school?" Ifa asks, leaning back on the bed. It's Akbar's bed, Zyair can tell not from looking, but from the way it squeaks when Ifa adjusts on it. "Hogwarts has had those monster freaks in it for awhile, I know, but it doesn't make it any more like... cool. My dad's been getting pissy at me, he's like, 'Ifa, how can you let this happen?' like I'm the one who makes up the damn rules. I get where he's coming from, though, 'cause I don't want a nasty dhampir in the same room as me."

Zyair shrugs again- he honestly hadn't cared too much about the topic. He had heard of the news, and he knew that Emily loved half-breeds (courtesy of Scout talking about her), and that was about the extent of the thoughts he had on the situation. "I don't have any thoughts on the situation one way or another. It's not a bother to me, what someone might be. Honestly... it shouldn't be a bother to you either, Ifa."

He hears his friend scoff in response, and Akbar's bed squeaks again. "Of course you would say something like that. I mean, that can't be what you really think." There it is again- that overbearing aspect of Ifa's personality that just really makes Zyair's eye twitch. Rarely did he get people to say that sort of thing to him, 'is that what you really think?' he hated it then, and he still hated it now. If he wasn't saying what he was thinking, then prompting him wasn't going to make him say something else.

Since he has no interest in entertaining this line of questioning, he decides it's better to just not answer Ifa. The silence will make his friend continue to talk, and hopefully his friend will just pick another subject.

"Nah man, imagine-" Ifa stands up, pulling Zyair around to face him. He puts his fingers up to his mouth, trying to resemble fangs, and he talks in this ridiculous Dracula accent. "Imagine, imagine, you're trying to sleep, and all you hear is 'I vant to suck vour blood! Vome here vittle Zy, show me vour neck!'- like how do you sleep next to that? Oh man, and like, imagine a werewolf turning while you're in class or something! It's just not safe, dude."

Zyair pushes Ifa away, huffing a laugh. For a moment, the line of conversation made Zy think about his dad- had he fought werewolves and vampires? He was an Auror, so surely he must've fought something mystical. Maybe it was a dhampir or a giant that killed him, maybe it was a nonhuman that ended Chidi Ona'je's life, Zyair didn't know. Still... he wasn't necessarily a fan of how crude Ifa was being, his friend was really starting to toe the line between poking fun and being genuinely profane about half-humans. Even if Zy didn't know any personally, he knew that it wasn't fair to judge someone based on some uncontrollable characteristics.

It would be impossible to try and explain his reasoning to Ifa, because Ifa would then say it was just who Zyair was. He always thought too in depth about things, racking his brain for every word and thought possible before saying things. He was never big on gossip, what was it that a friend had said... Zyair was a 'hear no evil' kind of person, and he actually didn't mind agreeing with that. To build a personality on someone solely based on the things you heard about them, that was a sentiment Zy could never get behind.

"Oh damn, it's almost dinner. I'm gonna run back to the guys, you coming with?"

"I'll join in later, don't wait up."

When Ifa finally waves and disappears out of the dorm, Zyair can finally breathe a sigh of relief. He had never intended to pack his bag for a trip that was nearly two weeks out, he had been wanting to draft a letter to write to Scout. Where does he even begin? It had been months since the two had written to one another, and he knew that it was partly his fault. He hadn't even had the curtesy to say hello to her when they were at Beauxbatons, so how could he write some sleezy little letter to her?

His hands grip the nice new pen Eba had given him, and he stares down at the paper in front of him. How does he even start? 'Long time no see, friend' was way too informal, but if he wrote something more formal... that'd just be robotic, something he knew Scout would never appreciate. It was so odd, he had made this personality of Zyair to be the way that everyone around him likes- it was oddly liberating, knowing that Scout didn't really care about what kind of person he was.

And he had thrown it away, all because he didn't know how to tell Sabrina no. He had thrown Scout's sincerity away because he felt bad for someone else, and in turn had only hurt both girls even more than he could've imagined. How does he write a letter to someone after the events had occurred?

Well, he should start with an apology.