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Post by Wysteria Edwin on Jul 17, 2009 0:27:54 GMT -5
Wysteria thought Sam's words were meant to be comforting, but his naivity showed in his assumption that personal choice is the only thing to matter for this sort of situation. Wyst knew all her hard-won humanity could evaporate in an instant if her will succumbed to her overwhelming instincts. She had watched new vampires determined to mainstream slip into the same indifference as the older vampires whose behavior they once deplored. Even with firm and steadfast rules and meditations and seemingly identical conditions...Wyst could see no pattern in which vampires regained some semblance of their old humanity.
She remembered the undead in her grandfather's clan who were decades or centuries old. The traditional vampires were unnerving with their dead eyes, ashen skin and cold, silky voices which vibrated power. Her mind kept that image fresh as it could be, since the memories also recalled her awe at seeing these creatures as a mortal. Wyst did not want to forget how she would appear to all her friends if she let go of herself and embraced the vampire yearnings to their fullest extent.
”You don’t seem like you want to be a monster, I’d say that’s probably the biggest part of it.”
Moving her hand along the hard surface of the table, Wyst pretended not to hear the breathlessness in his voice and lowered pitch. The change clearly indication a shift in emotions...but what? Wysteria had little to no experience being around humans who were grateful or relieved. She might be able to decipher the signals, but guessed that trying to do so would yield results she would not be thrilled about.
"I suppose you're right," she said, slowly tracing the elemental symbols carved into the table, repeating over and over along the edge. She found the fire symbol and her finger stopped, her mind revisiting Alessandro's fall and later rebirth. The young man and Wyst had a great deal of ground to cover, and they'd only scratched the surface of their respective journeys when he visited her. His unease was apparent in her presence, and she wondered if she needed to remind him that she still had humanity within her...somewhere. They needed to function flawlessly as a team. Anything less would cause lethal mistakes in battle.
Partly because she wanted desperately to change the subject, Wyst recalled the proposal Sam made earlier of escaping into Hogsmeade
"You know," Wyst said, looking up from the fire symbol to Sam. "I could use for a trip into Hogsmeade or something. Alessandro's not been back for long and it might be nice to get him something since I think I missed his birthday." Details were especially difficult to recall, and Wyst felt a bit strange if she asked her Elemental Master directly about his birthday. She decided an unexpected preset would be best. Yes, that's what humans did right? They gave each other gifts after big events or as thank-you's.
"Although I will need a few days notice since the polyjuice potion will need to be in supply. It would be preferable for me to go at night since even in another person's skin I become tired in daylight...although I'm not sure what shops will be open." Wyst wondered for a moment if any shops would be open at all...but then again she had not been to the area after sunset.
"Plus, I'm not sure if that's the safest idea in the world," she said, raising an eyebrow slightly, considering the faults of the plan. "I could suffer through the sunlight if I find a decent person to transform into...probably someone at least half Romanian like myself. You'd never believe it but I used to be quite tan," she said, glancing down at her whitened arms. "Although, you can still see a bit of darkness at the edges on my skin...like an aura or something of what I was before being turned," she said, a single chuckle coming from her lips.
"But anyway," she said, looking up once more, "does that offer still stand or are you scared of traveling with the big bad vampire?" A small smile spread across her face, feeling comfortable enough to tease him since she was fairly certain his resolve had not faltered.
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Sam Kelley
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Elemental Master of Water
Posts: 67
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Post by Sam Kelley on Jul 18, 2009 16:16:23 GMT -5
The Gryffindor retained his position sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, his body noticeably more relaxed than when he had first settled in for this encounter with the vampire. He had never been afraid of being assailed by the girl, not here in the sanctuary of the Order’s headquarters, but that perception of safety hadn’t done much for the churn that she had brought to his stomach. Over the last few minutes that stirring had settled for the most part and he was now into a mindset that one might call relaxed, or as relaxed as one could be around a new vampire acquaintance.
Wysteria was an interesting person, the boy told himself, paying no mind to how appropriate or inappropriate the label may be. Had he have met her before she was made into a vampire, they probably would’ve hit it off just the same. Wysteria had a certain directness about her that many might find obtrusive or rude, but this Gryffindor in particular could appreciate it. Sam had little love for those who used deception and didn’t have much use for beating around the bush. Despite the happy upbringing and home life of the lad, he had developed a thick skin over the years, something that would no doubt come in handy over time with his newest friend. The girl struck him as someone who one would always know exactly where they stood with and he found that quality to be respectable.
The way that Wysteria’s fingers playing thoughtfully at the table’s edge did not go unnoticed. The act wasn’t any more pronounced than anything else to this point in the encounter, but Sam found himself paying a bit more attention to her actions and nuances since she had drawn his attention to his failure to note her eye color change earlier. It hadn’t annoyed him that he missed the subtle alteration in her appearance those minutes ago, but Sam was improving by his nature. That is, when he saw himself falter in something that he felt worthy of his attention, he resolved to address his shortcoming. Of course, this methodology didn’t apply to all things in the boy’s life, thanks to the small ‘worthy of his attention’ caveat; or else he wouldn’t be nearly as terrible a student when it came to raw academics as he was. It was this simple truth of the Gryffindor’s nature that drew his eyes down to her meandering finger tips.
Wysteria had seemed a bit contemplative in the single sentence reply that refused to delve much further than the surface of the topic and that became even more apparent by the shift away from it. However, the boy went along with her willingly, granting her the reprieve she sought in the matter. After all, it was only common courtesy for someone’s whom presence was being appreciated. Sam was getting on rather well with the girl and he saw no reason to push her a way she didn’t wish to go. Besides, she had been been kind enough of not calling him out on all of those things that her heightened sense could pick up within him, so why not return the courtesy especially when the new offered topic was one that was so interesting.
Sam listened to her musings on the subject and met her smile immediately with one of his own that told well enough that he was on board with their little mission. Slipping out of the castle after hours to accompany a new vampire friend somewhere? It was definitely interesting enough to hold his interest. There was the general excitement that came with breaking the rules of the castle as well as the curiosity of the trip itself.
”I’m in,” he replied in short order. ”I think night time would probably be the best, there is no reason for us to chance anything with the sunlight or make it harder than it has to be. Hogsmeade should work well enough for your shopping and if we needed to hit Diagon we could always hop the Floo over.”
The boy smirked up to his companion in reply to her query. ”Are you sure you can handle a night on the town with a chatty human, big bad vampire?” Unable to resist the urge, Sam laughed at the exchange. He knew well enough that he was a talker from those close to him and while he shrugged off the label at first, he had come to embrace it over the years. After all, he was who he was. ”You just let me know whenever you’re ready and I’m game.” For a moment Sam’s gaze focused on the room around them and began to trace around the walls. ”The sooner the better, we really need to get you a change of scenery before you start going batty and start turning into that old shut in lady that collects heaps and heaps of cats,” he added with a slight shake of his head.
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Post by Wysteria Edwin on Jul 19, 2009 18:28:07 GMT -5
A Hogsmeade trip to do some light shopping sounded just normal enough for Wysteria to feel the escapade would not put them in any real danger. And if she used the polyjuice potion properly, she would have a full hour to walk around the shops and peruse items. As long as she remained in disguise, no one could recognize her and so Korin's secret, and hers, would be safe. Even though she was reassured by her own logic, a little spark of excitement crackled within her mind at the thought of breaking out of the castle. The proposed plan was not without risks...and that was the best part.
"Good. I'd hate to think you'd lost your nerve," she said, half-teasing, half-serious. "I think this coming Tuesday night after the weekend should be just fine."
Her more playful attitude and light jabbing were one of the more human traits Wyst managed to regain. While she did not always make jokes and found it hard to recognize sly comments in others, she found her humor through her own disenchantment with the world. Her slow recognition of patterns of behavior made interactions boring at times. As if all the interesting conversations had been held in the first few hundreds of years and now humans were only repeating themselves: too naive and young to notice the repetition. And when she picked up on the pattern, realizing its eventual outcome, the revelation was amusing to her. A sort of "aw, cute little human and the many things it doesn't know". This particular joke to Sam was her acknowledgment that his conversation style presented jokes as a bonding mechanism. Wysteria wondered briefly if joyful humor would come back to her personality.
And just as Wyst thought superior about her own insights into the human race, Sam's comment about a cat lady left her completely perplexed. She quickly scanned the room, wondering what Sam could have mistaken for a cat within the enchanted area. Why did she think he would turn into an insane feline collector? Animals did not like her, even as a mortal.
"I don't have any cats," she said, her mind searching for any sight or sound or smell within the past half hour that could indicate an unwelcome feline presence. "Why do you think I would start putting piles of animals in the room? I don't even like cat blood..." Wyst wondered why cats had been presented as an option...and was further confused by his expression. His face was relaxed, a hint of a smile on his mouth and his eyes light. The accusatory glare she expected to accompany such an accusation was not present. Even if he was being serious or joking about the cats, it was still darkly humorous for a human, and it didn't even make sense!
"Joke?" She guessed wildly. "But it's not very clever," she advised, wondering if his humor was often hit or miss
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Sam Kelley
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Elemental Master of Water
Posts: 67
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Post by Sam Kelley on Jul 21, 2009 7:55:29 GMT -5
It was a wry grin that played across the Gryffindor’s lips at her prodding about the state of his nerves. If there was one label that fit Sam perfectly, it would be bold. He was brazen, even brash at times, and never shied away from anything that had even the potential of being a good time. He had been caught out after curfew more times than he could count, even costing his house points on occasion for the action. Luckily, charisma wasn’t foreign to the boy and often he managed to plead himself out of trouble. The other instances where he was caught and penalized were justified away by him telling himself he more than made up the losses through his performances above the quidditch pitch.
Sam smirked at her words in a rather predictable gesture for one who had been exposed to him for any decent amount of time. He was not complicated as far as people went. Had he been at all hesitant in his intent over the trip, the teasing challenge of the vampire probably would’ve been sufficient to draw him in. This truth of the Gryffindor wasn’t one that he was ignorant over, but one that he saw clearly and allowed to exist within reason. As it stood, suspicions of Wysteria’s intent was the furthest thing from his mind, replaced instead by the forming plan.
”It’s exciting to break the rules, it’s good for you,” he remarked in a line that demonstrated one of his core beliefs. Rules were indeed made to be broken and one should break or sprain them from time to time. "Going against the grain lets you know you're still alive?" A bit of an odd expression hit the boy's face in that small moment and he tilted his head, regarding his companion. "Well, that you're still...thinking for yourself and sentient, I suppose," he added to append the statement to the vampire who wasn't actually still alive. The boy shrugged to himself, brushing off the awkwardness of the statement. He wasn't yet proficient in interacting with vampires just yet, so a certain amount of faux pas was to be expected he thought. ”And Tuesday is perfect. I’ll get up here unnoticed as quick as I can after curfew and we can slip out.” Sam had his own ways of finding adrenaline as an athlete, but there was nothing like a little social disobedience to remind one that they hadn’t become part of the hive-mind just yet.
With the cat lady joke voiced, the lad again found himself glancing up to the vampire with an amused grin, this time a small look of pride accompanying it over the reference. As the girl expressed her unfamiliarity with the stereotype a curious eyebrow immediately arched and he found himself unable to speak. Instead, he simply watched the girl and continued to listen to her stumble about his joke with the verbal musings that were obviously being voiced in real time as they occurred in her mind.
It was when she finally asked directly whether that line had been a joke and then commented on it’s cleverness that a response was undeniable. Laughter. It was an audible laugh that echoed around the stone room at her assessment, too busy enjoying the irony of her words to attempt to refute them. In fact, the way that the human culture reference had gone gone by without recognition and the rational way in which she dissected it actually made it all much funnier than it ever could’ve been on it’s own.
It was at this point that a simple acknowledgement now lay solidified in the boy’s mind. This girl was going to be a friend. The comedy and uniqueness of their dynamic alone were intriguing enough before her affliction or any other facets were considered. Even with the times he would surely need to explain his humor to her, which seemed apparent would be often, would prove to be entertaining as opposed to the frustration that most might think it to be. They would be good friends and Sam would see to that much, despite the oddness of the duo, it just seemed like it would work.
”No, no!” he exclaimed amid the laughter. ”There are no cats, stop...stop looking...” Again the words barely came out through the near gasping laughter. The Gryffindor even leaned a bit to his left to stretch the tightness that such severe laughter prompted in the side of his abdomen. As another full minute passed of amused outburst, Sam finally drew himself under control through focused deep breathing. His face was beet red, but he had managed to steady himself and sit up straight against the wall once again. A grin still lingered on his lips as he again began to speak. ”When some humans get really old, they start turning to animals for companionship and to have something to interact with rather than being all alone. Some of these people get really close to these animals and start to accumulate them to a ridiculous degree, even to the point that the animals overrun their home and can’t really be taken care of well at all..they just kind of go crazy with it. That’s what I meant in that being stuck in here all the time might make you go crazy enough to turn you into a crazy cat lady. Understand?”
With the inquiry voiced, an obviously amused grin still teased at the corners of Sam’s mouth while his face began returning to it’s normal shade.
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Post by Wysteria Edwin on Jul 21, 2009 23:43:09 GMT -5
A dark smirk emerged as Sam commented that breaking the rules let one know they were alive. Even though he noticed the oversight and corrected it, Wyst felt her smirk turn into a tiny grin at the thought that he had mistaken her for alive, even if by mistake. This by no means implied her task of regaining her own morality was over, since she still struggled with the push and pull of instinct daily. But knowing he was at ease calling her alive felt...oddly comforting. And she agreed his assertion that one could not experience life without pushing the envelope. She certainly had done that...she might as well be in another zip code.
Suddenly, Sam shrieked. Wyst's eyes widened and all her senses went on alert...his cries were not like the humans she witnessed in pain after she was turned. What was going? How could he have gotten hurt? His face was slightly out of view for a moment as Wyst considered the options, but once he threw his head back and the torches in the room illuminated his features, Wyst was even more confused. She had asked about the cats...if it was a joke...he was loud, sounds similar to agony but a much higher-pitch and more melodious and his face was in an almost grotesque smile. Then, even more curious, a strange blue flash formed around Sam like an aura. The color appeared only for a split second, but Wyst saw it clearly. She cocked her head to the side, trying to understand and vigorously searching her memories for a clue that--
He was laughing. Wyst looked at Sam experiencing really, truly, side-splitting, hysterical laughter. Whatever she said caused a chemical reaction in his brain and now he was completely unable to speak...he could barely breath. For one small second, Wyst became jealous: she did not remember ever being so jovial and could not think of anything which would amuse her to such a degree. As he continued to laugh, Wyst discovered she was glad that she could elicit such a human response from anyone. The odd blue flash still bugged her and while she had some idea what it meant, she knew it best to think of the possibilities another time. Sam would certainly need his rest if what she suspected was true.
As he finally calmed down and was able to finish his explanation, Wyst cataloged the cultural reference in her mind. She tried to collect as many idiomatic phrases and tidbits of popular knowledge as she could. Most of her fresh memories were quite unnerving, and so filling her head with cheerful anecdotes or catch-phrases helped dilute the darker images which floated around her psyche.
"Oh," she said, a dry chuckle passing her lips. "I think now I understand. And don't worry, I'll make sure to escape these dreary corners enough so you won't see birds flying around like crazy." She paused...saying the phrase once more in her head as she realized something didn't quite click. "I may need to work on that joke," she admitted, nodding slightly to affirm her own conclusion.
With one lithe movement, she swung herself down off the round table and walked over to Sam, extending an arm to help him off the ground. "I'll see you Tuesday then. It's almost supper time for me and...well, let's just say you're not invited." A smirk perked the left side of her mouth, hoping this time her attempt at humor at least partially succeeded.
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Sam Kelley
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Elemental Master of Water
Posts: 67
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Post by Sam Kelley on Jul 24, 2009 4:25:28 GMT -5
Traces of the rosy hue still lingered across Sam’s face when Wysteria offered up a small chuckle of her own, a gesture that didn’t seem fake or overly forced as far as he could see. Even now with having warmed up to the girl, it was still an unlikely response from her that didn’t seem entirely natural, nearly as if she were experiencing it for the first time. She was an interesting mix and contrast of things. She was older than Sam was, but almost naive seeming in ways, despite the fact that her affliction told that she had seen more than many mortals would in their entire life. The boy realized that he could safely say that she was the most interesting individual that he had met to date in his young life.
Sam cringed a bit and then let out a chuckle of his own as she spoke in response, shaking his head at the way she massacred her attempt at humor. However, as maimed as it might’ve been, it was still quite amusing, much as her ignorance of the earlier reference. Still watching her from the floor, the boy made a mental note to use figures of speak and other cliches in her presence both for helping her gain back a bit of that humanity that had been taken and for the enjoyment of hearing her stumbles along the way.
”You definitely need some work...but no worries. Practice makes perfect,” he said with chuckle still in his voice, offering some of the same encouragement he gave to his quidditch team. Wysteria was a good sport, Sam realized as he allowed the remainder of the laugh to pass his lips, something that most might not come to realize from the girl that seemed to serious and straight forward on initial contact. This meeting had begun with her a bit curious and even suspicious of his actions and now she was laughing at him as well as herself, things certainly had come full circle.
Sam nodded as she approached and offered her hand down to him, understanding her request well enough. While he may have been caught off guard by the way he and the vampire girl seemed to click personality wise, the Gryffindor couldn’t say that he was quite ready to see his new friend imbibing blood just yet. He reached up and lightly grasped her hand. The chill of her skin caught him a bit off guard at first, but he resisted that initial knee jerk reaction of recoiling away. Instead, he tightened his grip and pulled himself to his feet. Though he shared in the work, it was apparent that Wysteria was deceptively strong, something that he silently noted.
”Point taken.” He smiled over to the girl and let her hand go. The gesture wasn’t an ecstatic smile, but a genuine nonetheless. His tolerant nature had accepted Wysteria for what she was, but it would be a journey before he would be able to claim to be fully comfortable with the thoughts of what her vampirism forced upon her. The idea of seeing the pleasant person that he had passed this time with feasting on blood from a human might never be something that was particularly appealing, but he would not judge her to it. Sam was generally a solid judge of character and was confident that he had Wysteria pegged correctly. ”It’s a date, I’ll come by and meet you here just as soon as the coast is clear enough out in the castle. It was good meeting you.” With the farewell stated, Sam turned and exited the room, the entertainment from his latest acquaintance securely with him as he started yet another day at Hogwarts.
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