Keen Eye / Lovely Creature / Healing Sage / Calming Presence / Animagus / Nonverbal Magic / Apparition
✧@Mahlioz Evethisawe / Aug 5th / outfit✧
╚════════════════════════ ❀•°❀°•❀ ════════════════════════╝

Chaska could tell Rose was going somewhere. Her ears were at attention and she was sitting upright, watching the redhead pack her bag. Rose didn't need a lot for the night, basically only a toothbrush, pajamas, and a change of clothes, especially because she was sure that if there was anything she forgot, Mahlioz would be happy to give to her.

This summer had been a good one, and it wasn't even over yet. Rose and her brother, Franklin, were finally talking again, which sapped her home of tension at long last. Rose had turned seventeen and celebrated her birthday with her family, and had seen her cousin, Rain, a couple of times. Something about the house still felt wrong, but everyone was learning to live with it now, and it felt like it had regained its warm, homely character. Frankie was working at the Ministry and was in the process of moving out, and Rose had even gone to a couple of flats with him to see if any seemed like a good fit. Mostly, it just felt like their family was finally finding their footing in this new normal. Still hard, still grieving, but healing by the day.

With NEWTs and jobs and her adult future looming over her head, Rose knew that this summer was truly the time to soak up the last of her childhood, and she had enjoyed it. Her and her friend, Mahlioz, had ended up keeping in touch over the summer, too, and Mahlioz was gracious enough to invite her to their house in France.

Rose wished she had thought of it first. Of course, it would probably have been rude to invite herself over, and she wasn't sure how chaotic her own home would compare to Mahlioz's. There would have been a lot more interruptions from Rose's siblings and Chaska, that was for sure.

Chaska cocked her head with a meow as Rose gathered her things, and the redhead smiled. "No, silly. You can't come." Still, the fluffball was on Rose's heels as she peeked in Gabe's room to tell her younger siblings (playing an intense game of wizarding chess) goodbye and headed down the stairs to her fireplace.

Rose had learned how to apparate early in the summer, knowing it was a vital skill for adults in the wizarding world to use. However, intercontinental apparition was incredibly dangerous and, given that Rose would have to cross the English Channel to get to where Mahlioz lived, she didn't think it was worth all the risks. Instead, they had arranged for Mahlioz and her family to pick Rose up at a train station through floo.

She dug some powder out of the bag on the mantel, threw it in the fireplace, and stepped in herself, reciting the place Mahlioz had told her.

One of the unexpected pluses of being a witch was an iron stomach. Between transforming into her animagus form and learning to apparate, Rose was used to being suddenly thrust through dizzying realities. All that to say, she walked out of the fireplace undeterred. She took a look around, taking a moment to admire her surroundings. It was then that she became painfully aware of her lack of French instruction. If she ended up getting lost or needed help, Rose would just have to pray someone would help her in English. Most French people knew English, though, as far as Rose was aware, so she would probably be fine.

Thankfully, however, she soon spied her friend. "Mahlioz! Thank you so much for having me over, I'm so glad we're doing this," she said. They then went through introductions with Mahlioz's mother, who seemed cool enough to Rose. She didn't know then that Mahlioz's mother was actually a magizoologist, which was probably good, because she would have struggled not to ask a million and one questions of this brand-new acquaintance.

As they made their way out of the station, Mahlioz jumped into explaining about where Rose would sleep and French and what they would do and-

Rose laughed as Mahlioz finished, the image of her gaping at a car in her mind. The fourth year seemingly had a lot on their mind, asking questions faster than Rose could answer them, but Rose had to admit that she didn't mind it. She liked the little spark in Mahlioz's eyes, confirming that she was just as excited as Rose was. "Yeah, my dad was a muggle so we all went to muggle school and... well, you know, floo powder and brooms aren't really popular modes of transportation there."

She thought back to the other questions, trying to hit all the bases as fast as Mahlioz. "And yes, a mattress is perfect. And, funny thing about cats, actually- they aren't super talkative, as far as I have experienced. So, yeah, I can talk to them, but I usually don't." A large majority of feline communication was body language. While Rose had experienced a few verbal conversations with cats, most of them with Chaska (who she knew well enough anyway that she knew what she wanted, even in human form), she had quickly learned that most cats didn't love to talk. It was one of the things Rose liked about them, actually. They were usually more quiet company, not requiring a lot of thinking or requiring much of her.

"Do you know a lot of French?" Rose asked Mahlioz as they approached the car. She would assume so, since Mahlioz lived here. "What's your favorite word in French?"