Ad Astra; Per Lutum (To the Stars; Through the Clay)
Late October, 2022
In recent weeks, the Bristol sky had transcended from sapphire blue to pewter gray. Once clear and sunny skies now held a canopy of clouds, full to bursting with rain. A few months before, one could spy the glossy blue and vibrant yellow of barn swallows pirouetting through the air. Now that midautumn was swiftly on the approach, kingfishers boasting similar hues soared in place of them amongst the fluttering golden oak leaf cascade. The unrelenting glare of summer heat mellowed into crisp winds that whispered cryptic nothings into the ear and snatched at hats and scarves that had been roused from their becloseted hibernation. The rains, when they came, and often did they come, gurgled through gutters and rumbled softly against the corrugated metal rooves capping several of the park facilities. As the water dampened soil that had previously been parched by summer sunlight, earthworms meandered upward and sprawled along the ground. The air was crisp, and the scent of petrichor had long since bloomed, overshadowing the now faded memory of fragrant roses. Nestled upon porch stoops, grinning jack-o-lanterns could be found glowing where bikes once leaned, their vigilant gaze locked on the encroaching eve of the 31st.
This was, without even an inkling of a doubt, a certain eight-year-old boy's favorite time of year.
Years before any of the Holbrooks had ever even heard of Hogwarts, and only a handful of years after the youngest Holbrook's First Instance of Magic, the family had come to the park closest to their home. Henry, the youngest of the clan, could be found lounging upon the stones scattered along the pond's edge, lazily tossing a stick into the water for their golden retriever, Rusty, while his parents and older sister laughed about some minor drama at her school. The blue-eyed boy had always felt a special kinship with the natural world. Being out amongst the leaves and betwixt the trees made him feel safe to exist in a way he never quite did beneath a roof and enclosed by walls.
Once the elderly canine had had enough of the particularly wet game of fetch, he came up to the young boy and promptly shook out his red-gold and white coat all over the already rain dampened youth, earning a delighted and surprised shriek of "Oi, watch it, will you!?" as Henry raised his hands, barely blocking any of the pondwater dead-set on soaking him through to the bone.
RP Partner: @Noirin Polkinghorn
Word Count: 407
Speech
In recent weeks, the Bristol sky had transcended from sapphire blue to pewter gray. Once clear and sunny skies now held a canopy of clouds, full to bursting with rain. A few months before, one could spy the glossy blue and vibrant yellow of barn swallows pirouetting through the air. Now that midautumn was swiftly on the approach, kingfishers boasting similar hues soared in place of them amongst the fluttering golden oak leaf cascade. The unrelenting glare of summer heat mellowed into crisp winds that whispered cryptic nothings into the ear and snatched at hats and scarves that had been roused from their becloseted hibernation. The rains, when they came, and often did they come, gurgled through gutters and rumbled softly against the corrugated metal rooves capping several of the park facilities. As the water dampened soil that had previously been parched by summer sunlight, earthworms meandered upward and sprawled along the ground. The air was crisp, and the scent of petrichor had long since bloomed, overshadowing the now faded memory of fragrant roses. Nestled upon porch stoops, grinning jack-o-lanterns could be found glowing where bikes once leaned, their vigilant gaze locked on the encroaching eve of the 31st.
This was, without even an inkling of a doubt, a certain eight-year-old boy's favorite time of year.
Years before any of the Holbrooks had ever even heard of Hogwarts, and only a handful of years after the youngest Holbrook's First Instance of Magic, the family had come to the park closest to their home. Henry, the youngest of the clan, could be found lounging upon the stones scattered along the pond's edge, lazily tossing a stick into the water for their golden retriever, Rusty, while his parents and older sister laughed about some minor drama at her school. The blue-eyed boy had always felt a special kinship with the natural world. Being out amongst the leaves and betwixt the trees made him feel safe to exist in a way he never quite did beneath a roof and enclosed by walls.
Once the elderly canine had had enough of the particularly wet game of fetch, he came up to the young boy and promptly shook out his red-gold and white coat all over the already rain dampened youth, earning a delighted and surprised shriek of "Oi, watch it, will you!?" as Henry raised his hands, barely blocking any of the pondwater dead-set on soaking him through to the bone.
Ad Astra; Per Lutum (To the Stars; Through the Clay)
@Henry Holbrook
For all their colors and frills what young Rin was absorbing the most from her aunts was the noise of the cheap fabrics they wore. The stiff green velvets and glitter-bombed pinks dispersed among them of note to her only so she could find her way back to them should they become separated. Costumes were popular around this time of year and despite a few jeers from slightly older children she stepped confidently beside them in a molted brown raptor onesie. She was warm and they were happy. She was reminded of a dog show. Was she the dog or them? She felt herself tugging forward every so often as they clutched her hand even during impromptu conversations with passersby. More than a few, some subtle and some loudly, urged them to consider what parading around well before Halloween like this would do to a child's reputation.
The change was gradual as she watched their jovial dismissals turn into hushed whispers among themselves. People could be trouble if they didn't like you as her papa regularly reminded her. That trouble could ruin her play time even if she was able to naturally ignore it. She could ignore it at least until it became physical even if her guardians could not. Adults were unlikely to push her down or stand in her light. Flexing her quickly numbing fingers she turned the best she could in the vice grip she was in to take in the park they had been parading in for the past half hour or so. The only other bodies she saw besides parents with babes were a boy and his dog. She imagined those same busybodies that had approached them just now would also nag the boy and or someone in his life.
Reputation seemed to matter to all present adults. So surely if she and the boy were together the risk of being bothered be less. She couldn't see his guardians so if anything they would have to be found, if they even existed, and that probably prove to be too much of a hassle. She found it odd how often people would give unwanted advice but then be too lazy to do the right or practical thing such as contact authorities. Lazy and nosy were what she could only guess were annoying contradictions to live with. "I'm going to go play with that boy." Her voice choppy from disuse startled what was technically her cousin into releasing Rin's small hand.
"I want to play with you. No touching." Touching was a distraction preferred distractions. Distractions such as the pond she peered into her entire approach even as she stood directly in front of the boy and his dog. The ground would soon be too solid to easily dig into, but pond muck and mud? She smiled to her eyes before sitting with her knees to her chest. "Have you found anything here?" Even improperly disposed of spirits and pops could tell a story. A sun-bleached can could have floated for months in a blind spot while a fishing line could have been forgotten out of frustration or because someone was having too unbothered day to care. More people should be unbothered more often.
Ad Astra; Per Lutum (To the Stars; Through the Clay)
✧✧✧✧✧
| Location: Bristol | Date: Late October, 2022 | Word Count: 297 | Speech | Thoughts |
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────Henry's dark hair ruffled in the air as he turned his head towards the unexpected voice. He'd always been a bit shy around strangers, even the ones his own age. However the sight of the girl, especially her raptor onesie, made him smile and pulled a small but delighted laugh from his lips. "Wow! Your parents let you put on your costume early? I'm a bit jealous." Despite the warnings his new companion's family had given her, his enthusiasm sounded nothing less than genuine. Her warning, finally registering with him, led to him raising his hands in a passive gesture, "I get it. Bloody awful when people poke and prod at ya without asking first, innit? I don't like it either."
The russet pooch wandered over and plopped himself down beside the new person in his vicinity, likely already declaring her one of his new best friends (he had so very many of those). Rusty's long tongue lolled out of his mouth as he turned his head towards the aunts, which prompted the eight year old to follow his dog's gaze, barely stifling a snort at how ridiculous he thought they looked, "You even got your mums to dress up early? What are they meant to be, though, ye olde Victorians woven out of candy floss? Wouldn't that be fun?"
At the new question, his blue eyes widened and he reached into his pocket to pull out a stone - dark gray bespeckled with glittery white and bits of red and green, a hole carved through it by centuries of flowing water, "Look at this. This is called a hag's eye, this is. They say if you look through the hole you might see a fairy!" He offered it over with a broad grin on his face.─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
| Interacting with: @Noirin Polkinghorn |
| OOC Notes: Sorry for the delay |