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Post by Ethan Lacroix on May 30, 2009 15:50:50 GMT -5
If Ethan took any offense at Caitlin's blunt rebuttal, he didn't show it. In truth her words had stung a bit, but he believed he knew enough about her to know that no insult had been intended, and that if he let her have any notion that he had taken it as such, she would immediately apologize. And so he saw little point in going through the whole process and bringing about the uncomfortable break in the conversation, instead sparing her the guilt and simply letting it go.
The boy understood it was not often that she be so plainly honest about her pain and grief, and sat quietly sipping his cocoa until she seemed to run out of things to say. He spoke up almost immediately though, not wishing for her to sit in silence long on that last note. If she thought too much about it, she'd probably come to realize that she had begun talking about Mallan again and would likely close down. Of course he hadn't really intended to get her talking about her personal tragedy, but perhaps to think about it rather than shove it away. Since she was talking about it though, and since her words had brought up a great many responses in his head, he proceeded to see how long he could keep this up, how much he could help.
"Do you know that they can't see? That they can't love? You were raised a muggle the same as I, yes? You know well then the wonder and mystery at discovering magic exists, that dragons and unicorns and any number of equally 'impossible' creatures are very real. And since I've joined the wizarding world, I've learned that muggle technology, both present and ancient, holds nearly as many unknown and amazing truths to the wizards as magic does to the muggles. Yet both sides remain equally ignorant of what lies beyond death. Everyone has their theories, sure. Nothing, reincarnation, Elysium, Valhalla, Heaven, Hell, Nirvana, Shambhala. But no one can really know until they're dead. There is so much in our own realm we don't understand, so much vastness. We can't even begin to imagine what lies beyond."
A tiny, contented smile appeared as his gaze dropped to the table. With a small lifting of one shoulder, he conceded that he could be completely wrong. "Like I said, maybe I'm just crazy. But it seems like if we can't ever know, we're free to believe what we wish. I choose to believe that maybe they can see me. If I'm wrong, then I won't ever know. Either way, my life is happier for it." At that he returned his eyes to her face and brought his left elbow up to the table, now resting his cheek on his left palm. "As for their love, that I still feel. Whenever I think of them, whenever I follow through on the things they taught me, I feel their love. Maybe it's just from my memories or a reflection of my ongoing love for them, but it's there."
Shifting his hand to cover his mouth, he stared at her silently for few seconds, mulling over something as he considered her brilliant blue eyes. Finally he dropped his hand and smiled again, speaking as if he'd just come to a conclusion. "I think you're an idealist Caitlin. You believe strongly that things should be a certain way, and when they aren't, you're not sure how to react. You used to see all the good in the world and reveled in it, but now... Now I'm afraid you've become bogged down in the bad. It's not a bad thing to be, an idealist. But it leaves you open to quite a lot of heartbreak. I like to think of myself as one too, but I've also come to think the bad is necessary. Without illness, we wouldn't appreciate health. Without the dark, we wouldn't understand the light. It doesn't make the bad any less tragic, but it does make the good that much more beautiful. There is still good Caitlin. Someday you'll be able to see it again. I promise."
Giving her a meaningful look, Ethan went to take another cautious sip of his cocoa, but found it was now much cooler than it needed to be for him to no longer worry. Realizing he must have been speaking for some minutes, he looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry, didn't mean to go on like that. Your words evoked a lot of thoughts. I mean, not that it's your fault, just... Whatever. Sorry."
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Post by Caitlin Collins on May 30, 2009 19:54:32 GMT -5
Feeling like she was speaking about death as a general thing rather than specifically Mallan allowed her to actually talk about it, even if it did involve Ethan's family. Using them allowed her to distance herself sufficiently from the topic, and they had established a role as generalised victims of death rather than either Mallan or Ethan's parents. In her head they no longer had names or identities, but because they had previously been talking about his family there were plural victims. The general mass of people who died before they should. The distance allowed her to apprehend the topic without running or hiding. Occasionally her own experience would brush on her thoughts and influence them, but never really enough that she had to take note of her experience being there.
She listened cautiously to his response, again understanding what he was saying but not convinced. She hadn't heard of all the things he mentioned but their general meaning was easy enough to work out. He seemed quite happy with the conclusion he had come to, but it just seemed too... easy, Caity supposed. Just allowing yourself to believe that the dead could view this realm. But then... what if they really could see? Assuming they couldn't seemed not such a good idea if you had no idea whether it was true or not. But if they actually could view this world... well, they likely wouldn't want to see the pain that their passing had brought. [yellow]"I guess... I just never thought of it like that. But it still doesn't change the fact that they're gone."[/yellow]
She certainly wasn't convinced about still feeling love – nothing in the present, at least. She still had memories and the letters he had written and his drawings, but thinking of him brought pain, not love. She winced internally as she finally realised the direction her thoughts had taken and a slight expression of pain crossed her face before she hid it behind the hot chocolate mug and took another slow drink, pushing away the thoughts as much and as fast as she could.
Luckily, it seemed that Ethan hadn't finished speaking and she focussed wholly on his words, concentrating on them alone to get rid of the last remnants of the previous topic in her head. She lowered the mug as she listened, still holding it up but no longer drinking. He had apparently come to quite the conclusion concerning her... for a moment she wondered whether he was just guessing very accurately, whether she was just far easier to read than she thought, or whether he had been watching her particularly closely. Why he would do such a thing she didn't quite understand, but it wasn't a very pleasant thought, however friendly he might appear. She didn't like the idea of being watched and judged on a near-constant basis. She saw him around school enough times for him to have picked up plenty of clues, even if she had never actually spoken to him before.
Again she didn't quite agree, especially with his last statement... or rather, promise. [yellow]"You shouldn't promise things you don't know for sure,"[/yellow] she said quietly, watching the top of her hot chocolate as the steam still rose off it slightly. She had no reason to believe him at this point – everything she had seen seemed to be telling her the opposite. She didn't doubt that there was still good... it just seemed like the bad massively and unfairly outweighed it right now. Dee's attack, Dylan's disappearance, Alessandro's death, the Shadow Wars as a whole, dementors, shadows, wraiths, her lack of ability with spellwork and patronuses recently, the disunity among the lightfighters, Susan's departure, feeling the death of the Elemental Master of Water, Dylan attacking Dee, Mallan... It all seemed to greatly outweigh the occasional good thing such as Dylan returning to Hogwarts. Except, she couldn't mention any of that to Ethan. He seemed nice... friendly. Idealistic, like her... and look how that had turned out. She had been open to a lot of heartbreak, like he said. She didn't want him to have to experience the same. And she couldn't even bring up the mention of the Realm of Light to show that there didn't have to be a balance... even though the balance was what she was supposedly fighting for. She let out a small sigh of frustration which sent a wave of ripples through the surface of her hot chocolate, prompting her to take another sip.
[yellow]"It's okay,"[/yellow] she told him when he apologised, not really seeing what he needed to apologise for but wanting to make sure he knew it was fine. They both apparently kept bringing up sensitive subjects unintentionally. Considering him, she wondered just how long he had taken to recover from his parents' deaths... how well he had known them. He had apparently been at the orphanage for several years, but she wanted to know specifically... as a sort of guide to her. How long it had been since their deaths for him to be like this. Happy. [yellow]"Um... you don't have to answer if you don't want to... and you probably don't want to, so don't worry about it if you don't... but, how long ago was it?"[/yellow] She didn't finish the sentence, trusting him to be able to work it out for himself. She couldn't think of many things it could be interpreted to mean that were incorrect.
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Post by Ethan Lacroix on May 31, 2009 2:14:09 GMT -5
Not overly pleased with her short responses and the general degradation of her loquaciousness, Ethan kept his concerns to himself. She still hadn't shut down at least, and he figured that if he wanted her to be open, he would need to be. He suspected a key reason most people refused to let themselves be vulnerable with him was he hadn't yet made himself vulnerable with them. That was fair enough. He didn't, after all, have anything to hide. At least he'd thought he hadn't at the start of the conversation. Now he wasn't quite as certain, but he pushed that away. It was trivial anyway.
He nodded in response to her question, his lips still turned up very slightly, showing no reluctance in answering. "I don't mind Caitlin. You can always feel free to ask me whatever you like, and I'll answer honestly. I can't guarantee the honest answer won't be 'That's not your concern,' but you are still welcome to ask." Finishing off his cocoa, he took a couple deep breaths before beginning. His smile faded away and his voice grew more somber. "It's been about six and a half years since my parents and sister died, a little more. Plane crash in London. At the airport at least. The death toll would've been much higher I'm sure if the planes had crashed into the city itself.
"You've probably guessed by now that I was born in America. Lived there until I was ten, almost eleven. In late summer we were going on a family vacation, going to tour Europe. It was to be the first time any of us had been there. Here. But..." He made a full-shouldered shrug, frowning helplessly. Still, he continued without any real pause. "I've heard that important events often get crystallized in people's memories, frozen so they can recall every detail. I dunno why, but that didn't happen. Maybe the adrenaline, the chaos... I dunno. I don't really remember any details, but the terror, I do remember the terror. One second I was burying my face in my knees, desperately praying that I wouldn't fly from my seat, and also partially hoping I would. I was so scared, wanted nothing but to be somewhere safe. And then I was."
He knew he was telling her far more than she'd asked, but despite his offer to answer any question, he doubted she would inquire further and thought the full story would help more than a few disconnected details. The smile reappeared for a moment, though it held an unmistakable quality of sorrow. "I was at the orphanage, with no idea how I'd gotten there or what had happened, how much was real. The news confirmed everything though, except why I had suddenly not been on the plane. There were no survivors of the crash." Heaving a sigh, his eyes fell to the table, unable to meet her gaze with his next statement, perhaps simply from some silly boyish pride. "I cried for four days straight. No one knew why. I had a few scrapes and bruises from getting knocked around on the plane. I think they just assumed I'd been abused by whoever had abandoned me there."
Ethan sighed again and reached for his cup, lifting it an inch before he remembered it was empty and set it back down. His eyes remained lowered to the table, and he didn't seem as if he had anything further to say.
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Post by Caitlin Collins on May 31, 2009 15:44:22 GMT -5
Ethan seemed to be fine with her asking the question, which surprised her a little... she went to so many, probably unnecessary measures to keep people from asking questions that it seemed odd to her that he was willing for her to ask whatever she liked. She doubted she actually would do so, because with that the risk would seem to be that he would ask questions back. And when she was asked a question, she felt obliged to reply... she found it difficult to evade questions and didn't like not answering them directly because it made her worry that they would ask another, or get even more curious on the matter.
She listened silently as he answered her question, hearing that it had indeed been a long time since they had died. He had obviously dealt with it somehow during that time and Cait was prepared to let the subject drop... but he kept speaking. Telling her details, how he had escaped, how he had felt... Far more than she had asked for. She kept her head up rather than staring down at her hot chocolate as before, watching his face as he spoke and the expressions that passed over it.
Finally he was finished, now staring down at the table. She stayed quiet as he reached for his mug, which he had apparently already finished since he placed it back down having barely lifted it off the table. [yellow]"I'm sorry,"[/yellow] she began quietly, turning her own eyes back to the table. She understood what it was like to lose someone you loved suddenly and without warning... but not three people, not people you had known all your life. She tried to imagine the same thing happening on the way to India, and winced as she just edged on what she might feel at that.
Judging by the timing, he had been coming into England just as she had been leaving for India... In fact... she remembered an argument between her grandma and her mum, about whether flying was safe... There had just been a big plane crash near London between two aeroplanes both heading to Gatwick, where they were supposed to be flying from. It had been all over the news. In the end when they got to the airport their flight had been delayed a little because of it. [yellow]"I... I remember that crash. You were heading to Gatwick, right? Our plane to India got delayed because of it... We were stuck in the airport for hours."[/yellow]
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Post by Ethan Lacroix on May 31, 2009 17:04:38 GMT -5
Predictably given how often he made the little movement, one of Ethan's shoulders rose slightly in a crooked shrug at Cait's apology for his loss. He also muttered a quiet "Thanks." Less predictable was the reaction that came in response to her mention of remembering the event, of it actually affecting her own travel plans. At that he raised his eyes to meet hers his eyes narrowing and developing little wrinkles on the sides as he broke into a grin. Chuckling, he jokingly replied, "Well, I'm sorry that I was an inconvenience to you then."
His melancholy, which had seemed to gradually grow as he told the story, melted away, leaving the same pleasant boy that had been there before. His grin shrank back to the subtle thing it typically was, a general look of contentedness more than a full on smile. The elf returned then and asked him if he would like a refill. Politely refusing but thanking the creature again for the the excellent drink and snacks, he watched it a moment as it bowed and took his cup. Of course it also turned a smile on Caity, pausing for a moment to see if she wanted anything.
Tapping his lip for a moment, Ethan spoke on some thoughts he'd been developing since before she'd asked about his parents. "You know you're probably right. I shouldn't make promises I'm not absolutely sure I can keep. But then, as I sorta said before, there aren't all that many things we can be absolutely sure of, so that leaves most promises as foolish ventures." Shrugging yet again, this time more playfully, his grin returned. "I suppose I'll just have to keep showing you the good until you finally see it, as a matter of honor. Otherwise you'll have made a liar out of me, and I'm sure you'd hate that."
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Post by Caitlin Collins on Jun 1, 2009 9:33:43 GMT -5
Caity wasn't really sure what answer to expect from Ethan following her comment on their flight being delayed – she had surprised even herself by remembering the crash and commenting aloud on it. She had just been so surprised at actually knowing what he was talking about that it had ended up tumbling out of her mouth by accident. She hadn't intended to say any more on the matter. Ethan surprised her again by seeing the humour in the situation and jokingly apologising, to which she ducked her head again, blushing slightly but with a whisper of a smile showing on her face. [yellow]"Sorry. Again..."[/yellow] she muttered quietly.
Apparently he had fully recovered from recounting his family's death and now appeared as cheerful and contented as he had before, something Caity was finding a little difficult to get her head round. How was he managing to be so happy when he knew he would never see or talk to his family again? She could only guess that it must be something to do with the time they had been gone – he was used to it by now. Plus he had that idea of them maybe being able to see him, which probably helped. After all, they wouldn't want to see him sad all the time... that thought produced a little guilt in Cait as she wondered if people really could see. She certainly wasn't providing a pleasant vision for Mallan if that was the case...
Ethan didn't appear too worried about the possibility of not being able to keep the promise that seemed kind of unlikely to come true in Cait's eyes. She'd never go back to seeing things the same way as before... Maybe she might see some good things, but frankly the bad things seemed to massively outweigh any good she might see. A slightly bemused expression appeared on her face at his logic though – he did seem quite keen to avoid breaking it, it turned out. [yellow]"No, that's not really something I'm aiming for,"[/yellow] she replied.
Picking up her mug of hot chocolate, which was now barely lukewarm, she drank the last of it and placed it down on the table, leaning back slightly in her chair as she thought back to something he had said earlier. [yellow]"What's it like in America? How different is it to here?"[/yellow] she asked. Despite having lived in India for so long, her travel experience was otherwise very limited. Hopefully that question was distant enough from his family that it wouldn't cause too many painful memories for him, although most likely from what she had seen of him so far he wouldn't find them painful... Still, he would have had friends and school there that wouldn't be linked to his family too much.
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Post by Ethan Lacroix on Jun 1, 2009 13:33:59 GMT -5
Ethan's stomach began to complain a bit, unhappy with all the sugar he'd just poured into it. He'd gone a bit overboard on the biscuits and was now feeling it. Back in America he'd been on the poor side of things and so his parents never bought the expensive sugary cereals or snacks. The orphanage certainly didn't go about loading the kids up on unhealthy food, and he'd been there nearly a year before coming to Hogwarts. Of course when he had first arrived and found he could take anything he wanted out of the mountains of food that were provided at each meal, he'd of course begun stuffing all kinds of terrible things into his system. He'd felt the difference too that winter when he'd returned to the orphanage and had been in terrible shape for fencing.
Since then he'd gone back to maintaining a healthy diet. Most of his sugar came from fruit these days, and so the concentrated amount he'd just received was a bit much for him. Still it probably wasn't going to put him into a coma or anything, so he didn't much care. He smiled and laughed softly at Cait's responses, then thought for a moment as she asked about America. It had been almost seven years since he'd been there. Grinning wryly at her, he began with an obvious untruth. "Well the streets are all paved with gold. Makes driving really dangerous since there's almost no traction. Everyone lives in huge mansions made out of clouds. It's pretty fantastic.
"No, it's... I'm not really sure. I mean my whole time there was spent living on the kinda poor side of town, but in an apartment with my family. Here it's all been the orphanage and Hogwarts. School though I can tell you is way different, and not just because I never took magic courses before. There aren't houses and uniforms and prefects in America. Leastwise not in the public schools. Er, public schools are what they call state schools there. I think some of the upper class prep schools have that kinda thing though. Wait... prep schools aren't the same here and there either. Prep schools there are public schools here. Or independent schools. So yeah, school types, freeways, parking lots, lots of other things that just have different names. That's the main thing I think, just different words. No one ever says bugger or bloody unless they're trying to sound British. Or Australian. Oh, and this..." Here Ethan picked up one of the last of the biscuits. "... is a cookie. Biscuits are something else. I don't they exist over here. They're like rolls, kinda like scones but... not. Of course cookies here are still cookies there. Biscuits are just also cookies." Ethan thought for a moment than laughed again. "Pretty much everything over there is a cookie."
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Post by Caitlin Collins on Jun 2, 2009 13:11:13 GMT -5
As Cait placed her hot chocolate mug down on the table she noticed the plate of biscuits was no severely depleted and wondered just how many Ethan had eaten, because she certainly hadn't had any. As usual, she wasn't particularly hungry and hadn't really considered trying any of them, however tasty they might have looked to her a few months ago. She noticed a house elf peek around the corner at them, most likely to check if they were alright, and she sent a tiny smile its way before refocusing her attention on Ethan as he began to answer the question.
She blinked a couple of times when Ethan launched into his description of golden-paved streets and the like, the expression on her face easily showing her confusion. Her sense of humour had recovered quite a lot recently, but was still by no means back to normal, and so his account made little sense to her. Eventually he began to talk about the reality and she listened as he reeled off a list of differences, surprised at just how many there were.
[yellow]"You don't have uniforms at all? Wow..."[/yellow] In India of course, she hadn't had a uniform, but she also hadn't been going to a proper school. Even the poorest normal schools there had uniform... it seemed strange that somewhere as rich and powerful as America didn't employ that. It must have seemed as strange to him coming to Hogwarts and having to wear one as it had been annoying to her, even though she had known the whole time she would have to. [yellow]"Are freeways like motorways?"[/yellow] she asked. 'Parking lot' was easy enough to work, but 'freeway', although she assumed it was a road, could be any type. [yellow]"That's all really confusing..."[/yellow] she finally finished, fairly confident she wasn't going to remember most of it. [yellow]"And it must have been weird to get used to the differences here as well."[/yellow] She could relate to him on that – first of all going to India, and then again coming back to England, although that had been more unexpected
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Post by Ethan Lacroix on Jun 4, 2009 20:50:39 GMT -5
Again Ethan took up his little minor answers and comments as Cait responded to his incomplete list of differences. A shake of the head and a "Nope" when she showed surprise at the lack of uniforms. A chuckle, nod, and quiet "Mhmm" when she sought confirmation of the similarity between a motorway and a freeway. A casual shrug when she spoke of the confusion such difference caused. At that point he responded more fully. "Probably would've been more so if I'd been an adult or at least not a kid. My mind still goes straight to 'freeway' instead of 'motorway' because I've never really had to deal with driving over here. Maybe never will either. Some of the kids back home make fun of me for not having my license for muggle cars, but I don't really see the point. I'm not likely to get a car anytime soon. Maybe someday."
Another shrug and he reached for the biscuits again, though his hand paused before it picked one up and instead he slid the plate out of his reach. He really had had too many already. It wasn't that he desperately wanted another one and had to consciously stop himself, it was just that they were there. At meals in the great hall he'd keep himself from eating the unhealthy stuff simply by filling up on the better foods and then leaving. If he stayed, he'd keep eating. He enjoyed the sensation he supposed, and so whenever anything edible that he'd been welcomed to eat was within reach, he was probably eating it. With the plate farther away he shouldn't have to worry about it. And this way it might discourage any elf from simply dumping a fresh load of sweets on them.
Covering a yawn with his hand, Ethan arched his back for a moment, cracking a few vertebrae, before addressing her again. "So what about you Caitlin? I've never been to India. What's different there? Besides the lack of beef." Unaware of her vegetarianism, Ethan saw no issue with joking about meat consumption and the way the Hindu religion forbade the killing or eating of cows. He smiled at her as he asked, pleasant as ever and meaning no disrespect.
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Post by Caitlin Collins on Jun 15, 2009 11:22:36 GMT -5
Caity nodded as Ethan explained how it had been slightly easier, understanding. Her parents had seemed to take longer to adjust to the differences in India than any of their children, and Jake, who came back to England at about the same age she had left, had been okay in adjusting back to life here while she had found it much more difficult. [yellow]"I think my parents want me to learn to drive over the summer... although I don't think I'll manage it in just a few months. When I went back to a muggle school for a bit this year it sounded like it was taking people ages, and it's really expensive from what I heard."[/yellow] Although she had not really been paying much attention to her surroundings during her brief stay at that school, she had noticed that driving lessons were a frequent topic of conversation among her year; every so often when she actually paused to listen to what they were saying, she heard someone moaning about how much money it was costing for lessons or how they'd been learning for ages now and just wanted to pass the test. Then there was the occasional mention of some theory test... it all sounded far too complicated.
She noticed absentmindedly as he pushed the plate of biscuits away, seeing that he really had eaten quite a lot of them. He apparently had quite the appetite... either that, or he had missed the last meal, whatever that had been... lunch, she guessed, not quite sure having missed it herself. By all accounts of normality she should be hungry, but she just... wasn’t. For some reason, that was something that seemed to be getting worse with time; she was finding it harder and harder to build up an appetite as each week went by. She was making sure to force herself to have breakfast and at least one other meal every day, following her collapse after Defence class that time, but the amount she ate for those meals seemed to be dwindling still.
She paused for a few moments as he asked about India, wondering where to start. It was like Sam had asked the other day... she just didn't know how to condense five years into a few sentences. But then, Ethan had managed it just a few minutes ago with the differences between the US and UK. Still, as far as she could tell the two countries were a lot more similar than India and the UK.
[yellow]"First thing you notice is the heat... we went in august, and the average maximum temperature in England is less than the minimum in Hyderabad... And there was loads more rain than usual when we went, but then a couple of months later it suddenly started staying dry. It took a while to get used to... My parents rented a house in one of the nicer places, because foreigners can't own property, but it didn't take long when we were going further into the city to come across all the slums. Then there's the languages, like I said earlier... it wasn't till I started learning Hindi properly that I realised I still couldn't understand most of the people and signs around. My tutor taught me some Telugu then I learnt more from some of the other kids my age. It's strange at first with all the old and new mixed together as well..."[/yellow] She paused, unsure what next to talk about, or whether she'd answered his question already, and with the vague idea that she had probably been rambling throughout.
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Post by Ethan Lacroix on Jun 16, 2009 12:58:27 GMT -5
A simple, helpless shrug was all his response to her talk of driving. Ethan had been a bit disconnected from the muggle world since just before his teen years. Aspects of it still found their way into his life, particularly in summer, but he knew almost nothing about the skills, or difficulty in acquiring them, involved in driving. He knew about as much as the average American (which wasn't much) about how cars worked, internal combustion and all that, but he'd never actually sat behind a wheel.
As Caitlin went into her description of India, Ethan slumped down some in his chair, leaning forward with his palm against his cheek and his elbow on the table, the angle of his arm rather low. He looked perfectly relaxed, almost as if he could drift off to sleep. In truth all the food he'd just put into his stomach has made him tired, but his eyes remained wide and alert, taking in everything she said with an almost obvious adoration. He grinned a bit when she mentioned the heat and the weather, though the smile faded when she got to the slums. Both before and after his family's deaths Ethan had never been anywhere near wealthy by American or European standards, his food ever simple and housing on the low end (except when at Hogwarts), but he'd never been reduced to digging through trash for food or things he could sell or the like. Not extravagant, but not real poverty either.
A part of his mind dwelt on that topic for much longer than Caity spoke on it, but he otherwise continued listening intently. Ethan nodded slightly when she brought up the languages again, and his smile returned when she added the bit about learning from the other kids, putting him in mind again of all the "colorful" phrases the older orphans had taught him. Caity then paused and seemed unsure, so Ethan immediately took up the conversation. "The heat sounds great. Don't tell anybody, but this island has never been warm enough for me. I like it anywhere from twenty one to thirty degrees. I mean I've gotten used to the weather here and it's fine, but, ya know, ideally it'd be warmer." He skipped over the subject of the slums and went right back to languages. "That's so crazy. I mean I've only been in America and here, so English is like, all I've ever needed. Sure there's the occasional book or shop sign that I can't read and a person here or there I can't talk to, but..." Ethan finished with a little shrug.
The smile that still played across his lips faded some, less of an overt grin and more a look of serene contentment. Still leaning on that one arm low over the table, he prompted her to continue. "What else? What were the people like? The other kids? What did you do there?" Though he was sure there were sad memories of her time in India, she seemed to look back on the overall period of her life with joy, and perhaps a bit of longing. It didn't sound like she'd not experienced significant loss yet at that point and was much happier. He thought again of the almost perpetually beaming girl who'd first transferred in at the start of the year. Ethan wanted to keep her mind on India for as long as he could if only to give her some reprieve from whatever dark thoughts filled her head these days. And he honestly could have sat there listening to her for hours without growing restless.
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Post by Caitlin Collins on Jun 17, 2009 6:50:41 GMT -5
Ethan's relaxed posture in turn helped Cait to relax a little as she talked. The subject of her previous home always helped calm her somewhat, but the impression he gave that he wasn't going to interrupt or judge what she was saying and that certainly helped in encouraging her to continue talking. It was always slightly off-putting when someone looked as though they were going to jump in after every other word – not that she was usually talking long enough for that to happen anyway.
He seemed keen to hear more when she did pause, and managed a smile at his comment about the heat. [yellow]"Yeah, I know... it's never warm enough here. And when it does get 'warm' here it's still the equivalent of cool in India. I'm just about getting used to it again now."[/yellow] She nodded at his mention of the languages again, understanding completely. She'd been taught a tiny bit of French when at primary school but by now it had pretty much all gone from her head apart from the numbers. Before moving to India, she had never needed to know anything other than English. But even though quite a few people did speak the language there, it was by no means enough to communicate for the whole five years.
[yellow]"The people there were all really friendly, although you've got to get used to a few things... like the way most of them will say 'yes' because it's rude to say no, even if they've got no intention of doing something... That took me a while to work out. The other kids are the reason I know Telugu and Urdu so well, and why I can't write either – half of them couldn't write, but were fine with just telling me what words meant as best they could. I had a tutor, cause there aren't any magic schools there, and he taught me and some other magical kids similar to what's learnt here, except more practical... He didn't concentrate much on the theory like they do here,"[/yellow] she explained briefly, remembering her surprise at the huge amount of books she had to buy for Hogwarts. [yellow]"Oh, and magic carpets! So much better than brooms. Except they're illegal here..."[/yellow] Another disappointment when she had returned to England.
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Post by Ethan Lacroix on Jun 18, 2009 8:49:13 GMT -5
The serene countenance Ethan wore persisted as he sat and listened, nodding slightly. A little grin reformed when Caitlin spoke of the friendliness the natives had shown her, though his brow scrunched up slightly in a somewhat amused but weirded out expression at her next words. He was all for courtesy and liked to think he practiced it quite well, but it seemed far ruder to reply in a less than truthful manner than to simply deny a request. He shrugged it off to cultural difference, but it still seemed astoundingly impractical to him.
His nodding resumed however when she again touched on the languages and how she'd learned to speak them. He'd always heard that immersion was the best way to learn a new language since it pretty much forced you to do so. Ethan had always thought it would be interesting to take a trip to France or Italy or even Japan and see how long it took him to get relatively familiar with the local tongues.
Ethan sat up a little as Cait mentioned her education there, looking even more interested than he had before. How different it all sounded from anything he'd experienced. In America he'd only ever gone to the often overcrowded public schools, and then had started attending Hogwarts not long after his involuntary move to Europe. While he understood the concept of a private tutor, the whole thing was well outside his experience. As Caitlin paused, he started to ask her more about that, but before his mouth was even open she hit him with something far more fascinating.
Eyebrows both raising as his eyes widened a bit, Ethan sat up even straighter, his cheek coming off his palm as his head straightened, chin now very lightly resting on his extended fingertips, elbow still planted on the table. "Magic carpets? Really? Wow! I... didn't even know those were real. I mean I'd heard stories as a kid, but when I found out magic was real and such but saw no trace of them anywhere I just figured they were made up. Guess I kinda figured the way things are here is how they are all over the world. Must be the American in me." A strong exhalation through his nose as he grinned served as a subtle laugh. "Fine wizard Im shaping up into. Didn't even know magic carpets existed.''
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Post by Caitlin Collins on Jun 19, 2009 20:26:15 GMT -5
((Ick... short post... sorry, this wasn't easy to write at all))
Caity noticed Ethan's slightly confused expression when she mentioned the constant saying yes thing, understanding how it might seem strange. It had definitely taken a long while to get used to, but considering all the other changes she had needed to become accustomed to, it hadn't really seemed that big a deal at the time. It was just another thing that was different in these new surroundings.
Apparently she had caught his interest with the statement about being tutored – although really, it wasn't tutoring in the traditional sense since Vijay had taught multiple students at once. It was more like a very small school held in a normal house with only one teacher. The different age groups were split up into broad groups of about four years difference that came at different times. That interest was sparked noticeably more so by the mention of magic carpets.
[yellow]"Oh yeah, they're real. Apparently they're illegal here because they're too noticeable or something like that,"[/yellow] she explained, dismissing the idea having flown invisible over Hyderabad many times. So long as you were careful, there was no more risk of discovery than on a broom, as far as she could tell. [yellow]"I guess they have their reasons and evidence and stuff... but it doesn't seem much more likely to be caught than flying around on a broom to me."[/yellow]
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Post by Ethan Lacroix on Jun 20, 2009 14:04:39 GMT -5
((No worries. They've had a good convo and the thread seems to be winding down.))
Another crooked shrug. Ethan, while by no means anarchic, had never put an overwhelming amount of faith in laws and regulations. They were there for a good purpose for the most part, but he didn't feel they should be followed simply because they existed. He believed far more in doing what was right over what was legal. Usually the two coincided, and he wasn't about to find a magic carpet and go joyriding just because the law was a bit over restrictive.
Standing, he bent forward then back, then twisted his torso to one side, his spine popping in several places. Apparently they'd been sitting for some time. Yawning into his elbow, Ethan shook his head and offered his hand to Cait to help her up, shrugging if she abstained. He was dry and relatively warm now, but that hot bath still sounded fantastic. Tilting his head to one side as he regarded her, Etahn quietly asked, "How are you feeling?" She seemed to be doing better than he'd found her at any rate, though he hardly expected her to be skipping down the hallway. Still, he'd not leave her if he felt she'd break down and cry once she was alone. At the least he'd escort her back to the common room. He was going that way anyway.
It was difficult balancing his desire to help with the knowledge that she may need some space, but it was hardly a new dilemma. He could do nothing more than what he thought best, or so he told himself. Privately he knew it wouldn't stop him feeling like he'd failed her the next time he came upon her in a dark mood.
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