interacting with: @Noirin Polkinghorn
word count: 652

Toddlers believed that magic is enchanting.

Beautiful, even. Maybe at some point of her younger days, Marigold also believed about that same sentiment. However, one thing she hadn't anticipated the most was that magic was also loud. Now, it's not like she has any vendetta against noisiness, but she doesn't thrive that much against such environment as too much buzz and energy drains her immensely. And with the new world full of magic that she never thought would really exist in real life, she can't let herself get too overwhelmed at the dizzying changes of her life.

The moment she stepped through the hidden backdoor entrance from that suspicious-looking pub that was called 'The Leaky Cauldron', her feet kept halting in its steps as her eyes took in the entirety of the bustling marketplace. Diagon Alley... literally shaped diagonally... no wonder. Even the stalls that they all passed by seemed to demand her attention. From the self-stirring cauldron displayed in the shelf down to the shelves that seem to sort its item on its own. It felt so alive and exhilarating as if the magic was woven from the very cobblestone around it. Despite the fact that the little girl spent the better part of their morning with trying to find where to buy half the things stated in the parchment with her parents, she still wondered if she will soon wake up and found herself sitting on her bed back at her room and find out this day is just a figment of a very vivid dream. Because in her mind raised around normal things, this situation doesn't make sense, and the only plausible reason she was seeing this kind of event was that it was just a dream.

At least that's what her mind kept thinking.

Her mother, sensing her silence and overwhelmed state, had decided to make her wait to the bookstore that they had saw while walking around. The high stacks of different varieties of books had caught their attention earlier and they knew she will be fine inside a familiar threshold as they fix the currency that should be used to pay the shops. It was comforting in a way, and instead of feeling a bit intimidated by how those shelves stretched towards the ceiling, it just made her feel in awe at the sight. Marigold slowly wandered around the aisles and noticed how some of the stacks seem to lean precariously against one another as though they're being held together by just sheer determination. I wonder if they will topple when I took one?

She shook the thought away, not wanting to do a commotion inside the peaceful shop. Instead, she wandered and walked around, nearly making any stop from each shelf. From a book on magical creatures down to spells and other things. There's too much books that discusses a world she knew almost nothing about. She pulled another book halfway and skimmed the title before turning it back... then pulled another book from the other stack. She sneezed at some thick dusty volumes of an encyclopedic lore of magical races... whatever that is, that she pulled. It was as wide as her stretched hand and she can't help but just stare at it. What in the actual world did this book content of that requires this much pages?

Marigold pushed herself upright from crouching down the floor with the thick book in her arm, not noticing the figure from behind her. Startled at bumping against someone, she immediately turned, spine straightening as she held the thick book. Heat crept up to her cheeks as she squeaked, "S-Sorry!" Her wide hazel eyes stared at the stranger, embarrassment coursing in her small figure. "I... I didn't realize anyone was there." She flashed an awkward, sheepish smile.

Brilliant, Mari. Great first impression. Just the first hours in the wizarding world and she was already colliding against strangers.