Taliesin couldn't help but take notice of the warm farewells that surrounded her as other families sent their students off onto the train. All around her she saw mothers and fathers and guardians peppering kissed on tiny, embarrassed faces, trying to get in their last squeeze before their child was gone until the next holiday.

She couldn't help but envy them a little.

However, she was pulled form those though as she was sharply turned by Madam Daaé to face the woman, her parents standing just behind the woman. Their faces looked as serious and neutral as ever as the governess rattled off her final instructions of conduct and behavior, all while fussing over her posture and picking off a stray hair or two from her dress; truly it was all white noise before her governess handed her a small carry-on bag with instruction that her trunk had already been sent to be stowed by their house elf. Then Madam Daaé finally stepped aside for the child to be face-to-face with her parents, "Goodbye, Mother, Father." she spoke formally, robotically, before dipping into a small curtsy.

"Do not forget yourself. You are representing all of us." her mother spoke, looking down her nose at the girl. At this point, she wasn't sure if it was a reminder or a threat... certainly it wasn't a proper send off. There was no hug, no kiss goodbye, not a tear in sight their their only daughter was about to embark on one of the biggest rights of passage in a young wix's life. As far as anyone looking in might know, they could've just been sending her into town for an errand and not away to a boarding school hundred of miles from home. Nothing special or notable... just another day.

Taliesin gave a nod before turning and boarding the train, biting her tongue and using all her will not to appear as saddened by the cold behavior as she felt. Her shoulders relaxed a little once she was finally shielded away by the walls of the train from the gazes of her harshest critics. Holding her bag close to her chest, she began shuffling through, trying to hurry to find a place to be as it seemed all the cabins were filling up quickly. The train was a cacophony of giggles and greetings as friends reunited, and the occasional child crying for the sake of homesickness already setting in; though she tried to give those children some dignity and not appear to notice.

After a bit of searching, she finally found a cabin that was empty, and wasted no time tossing her bag on the seat and hurriedly sliding the door shut. Talisin wasn't use to being around so many others at once, and certainly not without at least the company of her Nanny or Governess. It was all a bit more overwhelming than she'd expected as she plopped herself on a seat by the window in a fashion that would have made Madam shudder, then promptly put her feet up on the seat across from her.

At least she'd have a few hours to pull herself together before having to be around more people; provided some higher power blessed her with keeping this car to herself. And for a moment, she thought she was going to get her wish. From her view of the platform, it seemed everyone meant to be was on board as the train finally lurched to a start and began pulling away from the platform of waving parents and teary faces.

What she forgot to account for was that the Universe never failed to miss an opportunity to see her suffer as she heard someone start to slid the cabin door open. Heart hammering in her chest, Taliesin was quick to drop her feet from the seat and sit up properly and recompose herself, hoping desperately that she didn't look as undignified or nervous as she felt.

The train station was packed to the brim with young witches and wizards, so much more than Nick had ever seen.

"Rush along, Nicky! Merlin sakes!" His mother said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "You won't find a place to seat at this pace!"

While he was really excited to go to Hogwarts, there were so many things to pay attention to that his mind was being spread far too thin. Hundreds of new faces everywhere, pets in cages that he had never seen before, large families sending off multiple kids at once.

He tripped over his feet a few dozen times until he was hastily stopped in front of the open doors of the train and turned around by his mother.

"You stay safe, and have fun. Do not waste all your allowance in candy in the train but you can get a snack alright?" His mother gave him her best smile, despite the tears in her eyes. "We love you so much." A little kiss on his forehead as the train whistled away.

"Bye mom... Tell dad I said bye too!" Nick managed to pry himself from her arms and rush inside, baggages already stuffed in their belonging spaces.

Now the real challenge started, finding a place to seat.
Since Nicholas took forever to arrive and even worse, forever to get on board, the first few cabins were already packed.

The train had started to move already and a few kids stopped to stare when he slammed face first into one of the sliding doors. Didn't hurt as bad as his pride did.

Then he finally found one that was empty, or at least, partially empty. Still rubbing his nose, he parted the door slightly and poked his head inside.

"Hmm hi!" He said awkwardly a bit louder than he expected. "Mind if I sit here? Train is already all packed up..."

Anxious hazel eyes looked the lad over as he slid the door open just enough to pop his head inside the cabin; not that she could make out many features with his hand rubbing over his nose for some reason. From what she could tell though, he seemed like he might be another First Year; possibly a Second at most. Either way, it was someone else her own age, so she swallowed her first instinct to tell him to find someplace else to sit. After all, she couldn’t really afford to miss an opportunity to start building acquaintances. It had been made clear to her the importance of using her time in school to start establishing her name and reputation within the family, and to do that, she needed to talk to people and allow herself to be known. Even despite all that, it would be good at know at least one face around the school after all. Perhaps they may even wind up in the same house or classes! As nerve wracking as the idea of trying to make friends, and failing, was to her, it was even scarier to imagine going through the next seven years of school with absolutely no friends at all. She had to at least give herself the chance to try.

“Yes… o-of course.” She agreed, leaning forward a moment to grab her bag from the bench across from her so he could at least have the other bench to himself. Once she had resituated her things, her eyes returned to him, folding her hands in her lap before offering a small bow of her head, “I’m Taliesin Annwyn. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She spoke, trying her best to smooth out the nerves in her voice and will her racing heart to calm.

Thin fingers fidgeted and rolled a small fold in her skirt between her fingers, “Is this your First Year as well?” She asked, trying to make polite conversation in a bid to not come off as totally socially inept.

Nicholas shuffled himself through the door and plopped down on the seat with a heavy relieved sigh. "Thank you... The entire train is already packed, I thought I wouldn't find a place to seat!" Then he laughed, like he was more than used to being in this kinds of situations.

That's when he finally looked at her, he wasn't necessarily striking in appearance, his hair was dark as the night, and he had little freckles peppered cross his cheeks, but what really grabbed attention was his eyes. His big bright green eyes stared intently at anyone and anything that stood in front of him, the boy didn't seem to blink as often as he should.

He only blinked when the girl in front of him, rather politely he may add, introduced herself as Taliesin Annwyn, a name that definitely strikes some importance, it was rather pretty. "Oh full name! Ok hmm.." He cleaned his throat and sat straight. "I'm Nicholas Lazarus." He said all serious before bursting into chuckles.

"But.. But you can call me Nick if you prefer! Nicholas is way too serious, and only my dad calls me that!" Then he nodded. "Yeah this is my first year! Is it yours too? Both my parents went to Hogwarts, my dad was a Ravenclaw and my mom a Hufflepuff, they like to say i'm a little bit of both, so I think I may be a Ravenpuff! Or a Huffleclaw! I like both names-" He babbled a little longer than he really needed to before he caught himself.

"What about you?" He asked finally.

The girl couldn’t help but notice the boy’s casual nature as she finally got a chance to get a proper look at him once he settled in. He was fairly pretty, she thought, for a boy. His fair and bright features contrasted well with his dark hair. Though under his intent gaze, she couldn’t shake the need to shrink in on herself.

Taliesin considered herself homely or plain at best. Her hair tended to be her biggest identifier with his golden-red colour, not to mention its natural state of being a mane of curls when left to its own devices. Today, however, Nanny had gone to pains to tame it back into a neat bun. Her skin was pale from lack of having much time out in direct sunlight, her eyes were a warm, neutral hazel. By all measurements, she was just a typical child.

Her cheeks burned when he seemed surprised that she gave her full name. Wasn’t that how all introductions were done? His response was exaggerated further as he smoothed his tone into all seriousness and straightened his posture as he did so, which hardly lasted before he burst into a fit of giggles. Was he making fun of her? She truly couldn’t tell for sure. Had she done something wrong? Was her behavior weird?

Taliesin pressed her lips in a tight line, posture tense as she listened to him offer a shorter version of his name to use instead. She simply nodded along. Had she been meant to give a shorter version of her own name? Taliesin was all she’d ever been called aside from the motherly pet names her Nanny would use on occasion. She was pretty sure those names weren’t appropriate to be called by strangers. Madam Daaé certainly wouldn’t approve that.

The boy- Nick, she reminded herself, babbled on with such comfortable causality it threw her off a bit, and she was struggling a little to keep up with the energy of it all, “It’s my first year.” She confirmed, trying to force herself to relax a little. Nick seemed friendly enough, so surely she could afford to relax herself a little, “My father and his brother attended. My father was in Slytherin, and if I remember correctly, my uncle was in Ravenclaw.” She explained, “My Nanny also attended, and told me she’d been in Hufflepuff. I don’t think I’m sure where I’ll be, but I think I’ll be content anywhere.”

Not entirely true. She wanted to be sorted where ever would please her parents the most and give her reputation the best advantage. Those had been the instructions given to her…. Unfortunately she wasn’t entirely sure what that meant exactly, or where she ought to be placing her hopes for.

Nick did have a casual tone, although it also felt like he wasn't completely sure how to interact with someone. For most of his life he spent only with a rarely talkative father and a mother who rarely was around. It was him, himself and his thoughts for most of his life, so everything and everyone around him was a novelty.

"He was a slytherin?" Nick asked with a little gasp, he scoot a bit forward on the chair to lean on his knees. "That means he was probably a really powerful guy! My dad said some of the most powerful wizards out there were from Slytherin. He even wanted to be one when he was going to Hogwarts."

Then he hummed, tapping his chin as he thought about it for a moment. "Although, you kinda fit with Griffindor too! Your hair is red like their colors, I think it would fit you! Although they say the Griffindors aren't very good at following rules, to be fair neither are Slytherins but that could be the case for anyone. I think my father just ended up in the quietest house of all the school, maybe Hufflepuff would fit though, I find you got that little glow that my mom also has, like a pretty flower! " Then he stopped to take a deep gasp of air.

He blinked, his cheeks going a sharp shade of red. "Sorry! I don't mean to talk that much! " He gave a awkward chuckle and looked back down. "I mean.. It's the first time I meet someone my age!"

Taliesin was fairly certain that even if she knew how to, there wouldn’t have been a way to get a word in edgewise as the lad launched himself into a full monologue with a single girl as his audience. While a little startling at first with his enthusiasm over her father being in Slytherin, it was a little endearing as he carried on and on until his body forced him to take a break to breathe.

The girl wasn’t sure if he was so red in the face because he was out of breath, or because he might’ve been embarrassed, but either way she couldn’t help but smile a little as he explained himself. It was a comfort, really, to know she wasn’t the only one doing something like this for the first time, “It’s alright, I don’t mind.” She assured, which was true. While a little startling, even she had to admit that with all his talking, it did take a bit of pressure off herself to try to think of what to say.

“It’s my first time too.” She admitted. Sure, she had some cousins, but visits with them were few and far between, and even with them she wasn’t never quite sure what to say. It always wound up being her keeping to herself while watching her cousins enjoy visiting together, “I’m afraid I’m not very sure what to say or do…and I’m very nervous, which isn’t helping.” She admitted sheepishly, her eyes breaking from him to glance out the window a moment to try on refocus herself.

“I really only ever talk to my Nanny and my Governess, and we live out in the countryside so there’s not much of anything ever really happening or anyone else to talk to. So, I’m sorry if I make a poor conversation partner.” She admitted, thin fingers worrying the fabric of her skirt.

Nick looked genuinely surprised when she said she didn't mind his endless talking. "You don't mind it?..." He repeated then smiled a little bit. "My... My father always told me that I can't speak that much, that smart people save their words for only when it's necessary."

That made him give a sad little dry chuckle. "I suppose i'm not as smart as he expected me to be if that's the case." He also did stare a lot, eyes big and bright like a curious owl. "I never had the chance to talk to anyone that wasn't a boring adult. You know the first thing he told me when we got to the station?" He cleaned his throat, and gave himself the most dead, dry and cold tone he could ever muster. "Nicholas, you must not babble your way through your studies. I want results, and I want them proper." Then he deflated right back down. "He doesn't like when I talk."

He looked over to the window, the scenario was pretty, but quiet, not a lot happening other than fields of green grass. "It's ok. I guess we are all a little nervous, but hey at least we will know one person out there! Even if we aren't in the same house, we can still have lunch together!" He had already invited himself into this poor girl's life without a second thought, like a fungus that just refused to take the hint and stay away. "I can tell you about the stuff at home if that makes you feel any less nervous!"

"Oh!" He jumped, already looking around his pockets until he managed to grab a well tucked piece of parchment from his pockets, it was well folded into a neat little square. Then he started unfolding it until he had a full paper, then laid it on his knees and started the folding all over again, in a different direction.

It took him a couple of minutes, but he ended up with a origami swan. "Here! You can have this!"

Taliesin could understand the sentiment, “Madam Daaé, my governess, tells me to ‘speak useful words, or be silent’.” A harsh thing to say to a curious child full of questions and thoughts and stories as she did, but what was she going to do about it? It wasn’t in her nature to purposefully stir up trouble. Not when she was already so prone to finding it by accident.

It sounded as though Nick’s father was nearly as serious as her own. Her father hardly ever spoke, at least not to her. Usually if either of her parents were to speak to her, it was going to be her mother. However her mother wasn’t exactly a warm individual either. Taliesin couldn’t recall the last time she’d received praise from either of her parents, or at least an encouraging word.

The girl gave a small smile as he mused about how at least they would each know at least one person going into school. Pitiful as it might’ve sounded to better socialize children, it was a comfort to know that if she were to look around for someone, there might be someone else equally looking to find her in a crowd. Even if they didn’t wind up in the same house, she could still hope. Plus, he said they could have lunch together, and there was a chance they would have at least one class together since they were in the same year. At least she wouldn’t be totally alone.

Her smile faded slightly to a look of curiosity as he quickly shifted topics from offering to talk about his home, to suddenly setting to work folding a piece of paper in a fashion she couldn’t make heads or tails of. It might as well have been magic as far as Taliesin was concerned as the paper slowly took shape into a swan that the boy offered up to her.

The girl’s expression was something in between confusion and fascination as she untangled her hands from her skirt and carefully took the little paper creature, turning it this way and that in an attempt to make sense of it, “H-How did you do that?”

Nick seemed to beam as bright as the Sun itself when she looked surprised at his little gift. "That's a origami!" He explained, pointing at the little folder paper. "My Godmother Aya comes from Japan, and she taught me how to make those."

"I can make all sorts of things! Like flowers, dragons, frogs, I even know how to make unicorns now!" His pride was as big as his smile at it. "She learned that from her older brother, he's not a wizard like we are, but she always tells me that muggles have their own little magic tricks as well..." He barely sat still on his seat, leaning as close as he could. "When we get there, I can teach you how to make those as well, Aunt Aya always brings books about origami when she comes to visit us."

He took a second piece of paper from his pocket, this time it wasn't neatly folder, but already made into a crumpled up little flower, obviously a bit crooked since it had been sitting in his pocket for Merlin knows how long. "I made this one in the ride to the train station. My dad says is a silly muggle trick, but I really like it!"