A New Direction
Takes place after the events of the Spring Soiree.
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For once, the spring ball had been... fairly uneventful. Aly Salinger was actually quite glad for the reprieve, thinking back on the last several school dances, which had been full of potions doses and stabbings and sobbings and various other unfortunate instances. In comparison, a freak thunderstorm, accidentally matching with an old friend @Margarethe Fransson, and eating a bunch of delicious snacks was so, so tame. ✰✰✰
Usually, Aly had places to be right after a school ball - normally the Hospital Wing, to be quite honest, whether it was for herself or for someone else. This time around, there had been no emergency, no injury, no mad scramble to help, and she was genuinely enjoying the peace and quiet. Is this what balls are supposed to be like? she wondered as she meandered later in the evening, once the festivities had started to wind down and she'd come out to the grounds for a nice walk. Lear's tears, I almost feel peaceful. Like this was meant to happen. Like it's right.
Life had certainly lacked that feeling of rightness lately, that knowledge that everything is exactly as it's supposed to be. All of her mates had started to figure out their life paths, to pursue their adult careers and take steps toward them, to start dating more seriously than Aly ever had. And where was she? The Ravenclaw was left taking every subject she'd taken for her OWLs also for her NEWTs, stranded in a sea of schooling that didn't quite show a clear way forward or a specific career for her future; she was alone, had always been alone, with almost every full heart or puppy fancy ending in heartbreak. Everyone else was starting to grow up, and they'd started to leave Aly behind.
Clearing her head on a nice night like this was the best cure she could ask for.
Letting her feet take her wheresoever they wanted without particularly thinking about it led Aly to one of the Ravenclaw-patterned towers in the Quidditch pitch, leaving doors open behind her not as a path others could follow but to ensure she could get down without any issues. She had recently taken to wandering up this way to the top of this tower whenever she wanted to fly at the pitch, launching from the top instead of taking off from the ground; the hurtling sensation of a momentary free-fall, only to be saved by her trusty Oakshaft, was certainly an adrenaline rush worth trying multiple times. Aly had been reintroduced to the wish she'd once had after finding her father's journal years before, to fly without any assistance, the first time she'd done it, though she was still no closer to succeeding in that goal. This time, however, she did not take off, but rather stood there in the quiet, dark night and stared upwards into a starry sky, a slight smile on her face.
Everyone else was growing up, sure, but at least Aly was enjoying herself.
So much so that she didn't hear the footsteps from behind until they were right next to her.
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@Kavi Kattimani
Charmer | Paragon of Health | Lovely Creature | Foulplay | Keen Eye
STA 10 | EVA 11 | STR 5 | WIS 17 | ARCP 7 | ACC 15
Paragon of Health allies: @Kavi Kattimani, @Dealla Prince
Charmer & Lovely Creature are in effect.
Items: Wand, locksmith's knife, some Hardanger's cosmetics
gen1 Aly Salinger || gen1 iNPC Manu Macedo || gen2 Kahira Valerian || staff Aulis Vorozheykin