| The Treeline Vaudeline | |
|---|---|
| IC Date | May, 1935 |
| OOC Date | 01/04/10 |
| Location | Hogwarts Grounds |
| Cast | Wendy Petrus Gwenaelle Aldercy Megaera Colton Syeira |
| Description | A group of students meet on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Tensions arise, a photograph is taken, and a fight almost happens. |
Ah, the merry month of May. The merry, sunny-skied, cusp-of-exams, /stressful/ month of May. It's a gloriously pleasant Saturday, and Wendy has escaped her textbooks to go and tromp around on the grounds, camera in hand. Whistling an old Welsh air, she makes her brisk way towards the area near the groundskeeper's house, pausing occasionally to snap a photo of some attractive angle.
With the weight of the upcoming exams still heavy on his mind, Petrus decided to escape the madness that is the school for some fresh air and silence. Private silence. Sitting quite some ways away from the actual Gamekeepers hut, hidden behind a large tree on the border of the Forbidden Forest, he is feverishly writing on the final bits of a very long parchment; stacks of Potionbooks taken from the library sitting next to him. He looks quite into it, face completely locked in concentration.
"Wendy! Weeeeeeeeeendyyyyyyyyy!" a voice can be heard faintly as Gwenaelle hops along with her broom, looking for her housemate. She pauses to swing the broom around so that it's resting atop her shoulder, and she twirls around once to scan the grounds around her.
Two heads, absolutely opposite in coloring, but equal in height make their way across the grounds. Aldercy's silver pale hair practically reflects the light from the sun, and Megaera's dark hair absorbs it. They are headed straight to the forest, not at all concerned if someone should think they are intent on entering. "I saw some near the edge of the forest. A couple of other ingredients, and He won't be following us anywhere around Hogsmeade next weekend," Aldercy assures her friend as they walk in arm in arm.
It is an day for the restless and the uneasy mind, for the anxious, the tormented, and the obnoxious; the ghosts of their echoes drift through the forest without, muzzled by the thick, torch-pinned walls. The light that drowses across the great area drags its fingers across velet blades of grass, tracing the outlines of shadow upon Megaera's white shirt. Listening intently to her friend, she grins that sly smile before coming up short. Her classic greek nose turned quick to the air and she sniffs, coughs and sighs, "Foul stench upon the air.."
"Oh, bother." Wendy's almost all the way to the groundskeeper's hut when she hears Gwenaelle's voice. She gives her camera a rueful look, but dutifully turns around and scans the grounds for the girl in question, one hand raised to shield her eyes from the sun. Housemate spotted, Wendy waves her arms energetically above her head, hollering, "NELL. OVER HERE." She is… /amazingly/ loud. Piercing, even. Sorry, Petrus.
"Of, for the love of.." Petrus exclaims before releasing a string of cursewords in some slavic language. His quill stops, dropped on the parchment as he turns to look around the tree, "Oh, not her again." he lets out a breath, "I should have gone into the forest.." he mutters, starting to roll up his parchment, "What is a few deadly creatures compared to an invasion of Hufflepuffs." he mutters, perhaps a bit too loudly.
At the sound of Wendy's voice, Gwenaelle turns, shading her own eyes to find the source of the voice. When she locates the flailing hands, she gives an energetic wave back, then tucks her bobbed hair behind her ear and starts half galloping, half running down the hill. As she gets closer, she is indeed a Hufflepuff as well. "Hullo, Wendy. Do you want to practice some quidditch? There's an impromptu match going on in about 15 minutes. What are you taking pictures of?" she asks, changing subjects in almost the same breath.
Aldercy doesn't bother to change the direction of her path when she hears the rapid footsteps behind her. Her path doesn't change but, she does look to Megaera. "Just the usual 'allergens' of spring," she mentions. "The sun seems to bring them out. And their odd… contraptions." Her eyes are drawn to the muggle apparatus in Wendy's hands.
Elegant fingers reach to rub at a brow that is oft-burdened by the mark of her distate for most alive, one she secretly enjoys to great extent. Megaera looks to her friend, her fingers rubbing hard at her brow, "I would much prefer to be followed by him then deal with the high whinney of that." she hisses under her breath before looking toward Petrus, "Brava my friend. I could not have said it more clearly." she comments in her low husky voice. Her eyes darting toward the camera, then rolling upward, "Muggle device no doubt. Where did you get it? Tell me child what potion did you use for it?" demanding as ever the girls question are spoken in an abrupt manner.
"Quidditch? Oh, Nell, I would, but -" Whatever Wendy's explanation is, it's going to have to wait, because there are /intruders/. She clutches the camera in her hand protectively, staring down Aldercy and Megaera with undisguised irritation. It requires looking up; Wendy doesn't even quite come up to their shoulders. "It's a /camera/, of course. For photographs. And I got it in London, thank you kindly." Petrus's comment seems to have gone unheard; Wendy's a bit distracted.
A sound as if several books smacking into eachother, followed by the sound of fabric, can be heard before Petrus steps out from around the tree carrying his bag; straining with the load of books. He adjusts his robes a bit, making sure they are as spotless and straight as always. Eyes pass over the two Hufflepuffs before he settles his eyes on his two housemates, "I am starting to believe I am cursed with never finding a quiet spot." he comments to thin air. Adjusting the bag, he steps away from the tree. With the two pairs to chose from, he naturally begins to move towards the two that bear the same house emblem that he does.
Spinning around at the sound of the superior voice, Gwenaelle lifts her chin, and looks the older girl in the eye, but she doesn't say anything at the moment, since she doesn't know anything about cameras, except the big heavy ones that reporters run around with. She stands shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with her housemate, broom still over her shoulder. The knuckles turn white as they tighten around the handle.
Impatience overtakes Megaera and she scowls, then chuckles at the girls stare. "How darling, she is attempting to frighten us." she laughs out before returning cold hard eyes on the girl, her voice calm and level "You are aware that a potion is in fact needed to make it work at Hogwarts? I was simply going to offer to make the potion for you, for a price of course. Yet you seem to believe I am going to take it. Such a loss. And here I believed Huffles were all about making friends." she snorts to Aldercy with a raised brow. "I have yet to decide which is more irritating. Hufflepuffs, children, or sand in the crack of backside at the beach. Each an irritant.. Try to deal any of the three and you still end up scratched." she comments in an injured air only her friend would know as false. Flipping her hair back and steps aside allowing Petrus a place between the two.
"Of course I know that," Wendy snaps. She's still clutching her camera possessively, obviously not reassured by anything Megaera has said. "You're not the only potion maker in Hogwarts, you know - my friend Gerry can whip it up in no time flat, and /for no charge/." She shoots a glance over to Gwenaelle, eyes lingering on the other Hufflepuff's white knuckles, and abruptly makes a decision. "Here, Nell - want to help me find a good angle to snap some shots of the Forest with? We can go play Quidditch after."
Petrus makes his way across from his tree towards the two Slytherin girls, coming to a halt once between them; the spot so conveniently opened up. His reply goes to Aldercy, "Naturally. That old Gargoyle cant keep me away from what I need for too long." he pats his backpack, "Finding a noise free.." he glances to the two Hufflepuff girls, "..spot to actually do some good in, however, has proven a far more difficult task." He pays them little more mind, however, turning his gaze to Aldercy, "But now that you are here, perhaps your table is free to use.." he muses.
With a nod, Gwenaelle turns her attention away from the older students to her housemate. "Sure. Gerry would love something new to work on," she adds. She nods to a tall tree with a strange knot about ten feet off the ground. "That's a cool tree, maybe if we work it just right, we can make it look like someone's walking into the knot, like a tunnel into a giant tree."
Aldercy inclines her head gracefully towards the male Slytherin as she makes room for him. "Well done," her musical voice adds a little more charn than one usually hears in a human voice. "Megs and I will be out for quite awhile. This time of day, my spot should be quiet enough for you to finish. Most of the noisemakers," she pauses with slight significance, "are outside."
Megaera laughs to herself while watching Petrus, clearly her friends advatange in life is working well today. She takes no mind or insult in being ignored by the boy. Rather she keeps her attention on the Hufflepuffs, "Wny not have your friend take you for a ride above it for the shots? Techincally you arent entering it." she says with a sly grin as her hand comes up to poke at Petrus, just for the sake of seeing how he reacts with Aldercy standing near him. "Fire down Sparky." she tells the boy before addressing Aldercy, "Aldercy love, I need distraction. This place is a dull as tombs."
Shooting a last glare at the assembled Slytherins - well, mostly Megaera, who gets no response to her 'helpful' advice but a look of supreme distaste - Wendy walks over to Gwenaelle, eyeing the tree in question thoughtfully. "Hm, we could." She's speaking a tich louder than strictly necessary. Apparently Petrus and Aldercy's comments have not gone unheard. "And the light's decent… wish there was a little more sunlight coming in towards the back, it'll be pitch black on the photo, I'm afraid. Well, it's worth trying, anyhow."
Petrus simply nods once to what Aldercy is saying, "Well, if you are not planning on using it anymore today, I will have time later." he notes, as if it was an afterthought. He blinks a bit to the poke, turning his head to Megaera, "Oh, hello.." he pauses, "Ah, yes. Maragos. Good to see you." he seems a bit taken aback at first. Clearly she was there all along! Eyes return to Aldercy before he registers the Hufflepuffs again, "What are they on about? Photographing.. trees?"
Taking her cue from Wendy, Gwenaelle ignores the Slytherins, and their advice. She circles around the tree. "If you come around to the side… maybe it can work? It will be kind of like, you know, those silhouette things, but a picture silhouette. She looks up at the knot, and then she walks towards the far side of the tree so that she's facing back towards them, and looking at Wendy. "What do you think?"
On a certain May spring day, sunny and pretty much perfect, most of the school for some reason or another has been drawn outside. Two young Hufflepuff girls have been drawn to the edge of The Forest, one with a camera, one with a broom over her shoulders. They seem to be discussing the possibility of getting a decent shot of a tree near the edge with an odd, large knot halfway up the trunk. A knot of three Slytherins sixth years, a boy with dark hair, flanked by the duo of Aldercy and Megaera are talking among themselves as well. Aldercy's silver hair seems to attract the sunlight as she talks. "I will be back after dinner," she says quietly, conversationally, a smile sneaking across her lips as he turns to acknowledge Megs.
"Hmmm." Wendy trails after Gwenaelle, occasionally raising the camera up to try framing various spots. "Well, I don't - hold it, right there!" She lifts one hand from the camera to flap it excitedly. "That's /perfect/. Hold that pose, I want to get a few snaps of this, that'll make it more likely that one'll turn out…" Her camera's of the cheaper variety, small and yet simultaneously cumbersome. Focused on the shot, she's got her back turned to Hogwarts and the people behind her.
Petrus nods once to Aldercy, "After dinner. Well, perhaps I will have to continue my hunt for a silent retreat where I can work on this parchment." he pats his bag once, having once more forgotten about the presence of Megaera and the Hufflepuff girls, "It is no problem now that. I have the book I needed, so things are progressing as they should." He glances to Wendy and Gwenaelle a bit sideways, "Are they -still- fussing over that tree?" he wonders, sounding as if he didnt realise they were still there.
Over the border, though it really pushes the boundries of what is off limits about 30 feet in the air is a wet sounding explosion followed by that faint dangerous neeeerrroooooowwwww sound a plane takes on when it's going down after a dog fight, A lad's voice calls out from above as he's covered in Quod goo, sparks and smoke sputter from the muck covered bristles. "Bollox!" Then rider and broom both meet the tree line. *OOOF* *UGH* *Ow* *uf* *THUD* "Ow." Is matter of factly stated as Colton Laroque hangs by his ankle from a low branch, fingerd dangling six inches from the forest floor. Robes all dangling down around him, dripping in goo. Pregnant Pause. The crazy lion adventurer-prankster starts to crack up, gleefully. "That was bloody brilliant!" He cries victoriously pumping his fist up - or would that be down - towards the ground before he begins to try to get himself out of this predicament.
Now Sye, she's always been one of those students that never quite fit in. All teens go through that phase at some point or another, it just happened Sye went through hers a bit earlier than most. Now that it's warmed considerably, Sye would let her musings and wanderings carry her out onto the grounds where many a free time was spent camped out by the lake or the forest. To some, her quiet musigns might seem aloof, as though the girl felt she was better than the others, and perhaps she did just that, but Sye wasn't one to talk about it that much. Today was no different, wandering out into the warm grounds she finds herself meandering down in the general direction of the other students. As though some unseen great hand was pushing her in that direction.
At the command, Gwenaelle freezes, broom in one hand, the other tucking her hair behind her ear as she looks up. "Like this? You're sure?" But she doesn't move, not argueing with the artiste. She looks like someone in freeze tag, until the crashing makes her jump. "Oh, I'm sorry, Wendy," she says. Then she giggles. "That's a picture you won't get very often," she suggests. She walks over to the Lion, "can you hold still, please?" she requests. "My friend is taking a picture, you have to hold very still or it won't work."
She walks over to the Lion and crouches next to his head, "can you hold still, please?" she requests. "My friend is taking a picture, you have to hold very still or it won't work."
Aldercy smiles to Petrus, and lifts her eyes to the sky in response to the reference to the Hufflepuffs. "Who can tell? It must be a muggle thing." She's about to dismiss the entire thing, when there's a crashing, and Colton makes his entrance. She suppresses a sigh, but then her lips curve in a smile and she moves a little closer to Megaera. "You were bored, Megs love? I think you have something to 'play' with now."
"Ha! Oh yes please hold still for a moment will you I promise this won't take long." Wendy speaks in one rush, scrambling over an inconvenient tree root to get a better shot. Now /that/ is a /picture/. Wendy's not overly prone to big grins, but the one she gives Colton is enormous. "/Perfect/." Without giving the Gryffindor boy a chance to respond, she's lifting the camera to her face. Say cheese!
"What a marvelous display of Gryffindor bravery. Crashing into trees." Petrus offers, "Yes, that talent will come in handy in your future." he rolls his eyes a bit, eyes then returning to Aldercy at her comment to Meg; eyes then goes to the other Slytherin girl.
Syeira pauses in the no man's (or perhaps wizard's) land between the two groups. Keeping to herself, at least staying in her usual character. Not speaking for a bit, she just cants her head to one side, hair falling over her face. Reaching up she slowly draws a few strands out of it but makes no move to speak. Assessing the situation as it were.
The Gryffindor huhs as he realizes he's not the sole witness to his little 'adventure'. "What? Oh…" He beams spotting the camera though a trail of sludgy ooze slicks it's way over his eye from his cheek to drip to the dirt below. "How's this? -Action Shot-!" He freezes his body in what must be a highly uncomfortable pose that looks like he just did as he tumbled to his near doom. "Or, the 'Hanging Man'." With that he poses like the traditional Hanging Man found in many a Tarot deck, the free leg crooked up over his hung thigh, arms reaching for help, face distraught. "-Or- Helloooo Ladies, the name is Laroque, Colton Laroque." If you took James Bond leaning against a bar with his hands slid into his pockets and flipped him upside down in robes. That's about the suave pose Colton takes on. Looking quite natural dangling there for the duration he has been, though his face has become a bit on the redder side. Cue more goo drip. Finally he's holding the James Bond Pose long enough for a picture to be snapped.
Grimacing, Gwenaelle shifts to the side, holding up a hand to ward off any goo that may be flipping about from Colton as he tries a variety of poses. "Sure, watch where you're flinging that stuff," she turns to look at him when she thinks it's safe, her lip curling a little as she raises her eyebrows. "What exactly /is/ that stuff?"
"Well, yes. I suppose it's true that all dumb animals need to learn to survive in the wild," Aldercy allows, turning to link arms with Megs again. Then she tips her head to Petrus. "You know what, I think I have to meet the Ravenclaw boy at the Library tonight. Please, feel free to use my spot. Just don't let any of the underclassmen think that my absence means that they can besmirch it with their grubby little hands." Her eyes sparkle with humor to her male classmate as she dismisses any other in the area from her attention yet again.
This is not an especially quiet spot at the moment, so the sounds of Wendy's camera are probably difficult to hear. Only her fingers, making delicate adjustments and pressing certain small buttons, indicate that photos are being taken. "There!" She lowers it enough to beam down at Colton. "That'll do. Thanks for being such a sport. Here, Nell, let's get him right side up." Tucking the contraption under the relative safety of her armpit, she heads over to offer Colton some assistance detangling himself, pausing only to shoot a glare at the assembled Slytherins. Sotto voice, she asks of Nell and Colton, "D'you s'pose that lot ever does anything except stand around and gab?" Syeira gets noticed, briefly, but Wendy's too preoccupied for her gaze to linger.
Petrus lets out a very brief chuckle to Aldercys last comment. He shoots a quick look to the 'Puffs and the Gryffin' before takes a few steps away from his two Slytherin collegues, "Well, another time then. I will make good use of what is left until dinner and finish my academic pursuits. Time better spent then crashing headlessly into trees and posing for pictures." he then turns to begin walking back towards the school.
Gwenaelle wrinkles her nose as she looks at all the goo dripping from Colton. "Hum… sure," she walks around looking at him from all sides as she tries to figure out how to help without getting too messed up. "Hold on there," she says, and jumps for a branch, then swings herself up to sit on the branch he's stuck to. "You might want to put your hands up so you don't hit your head," she suggests. Then she tries to push at his foot, pulling back at a branch that seems to be wrapped around it.
Syeira finally speaks, her English accented with a curious twinge to it. Having a very notable click to her words, probably picked up from her father's side of the family, she notes dryly "In some cases, a strike to the head might be beneficial. There are a handful of Gryffindors I know of that could use a knock or two." That one statement comes from the girl before she too shuts up again. Watching to see if the boy falls, crumples, or bounces.
Colton is humbled and immediately stilled and apologetic for the unknowing flicking of the Goop. "It's what is left of a home made Quod. I'm visiting America this summer, we are investigating the burial mounds of the natives…back up, that doesn't matter, what matters is…" With a soft grunt the athletic young man does a tummy crunch so he can take hold of the branch that dangles him after the picture is taken, his eyes still blinking at the POP of the flash while Gwen helps him out immensely by removing the vines and mossy that have tangled him in place. "Cheers." He thanks Gewn and it's when he drops down that he takes the offered hands to help him steady himself and not fall over when weight is put on his stretched ankle. But the contact is brief though perhaps a touch flirty due to that goofy smile on his face as he retracts his hands and leans down to scoop up his broom. "They've got a game with an exploding quaffle, it's sort of like combining Gobstones and Quidditch and you've got Quod. I was trying to practice. So I surprise a yank when I whallop them at their own game." He stretches this way and that and chuckles at Wendy's question about Slytherin Grouping Habits. "Gab?" He whispers back to her, "It's more like hiss." The girl gets a wink before he tells them both under his breath, "Watch this…" After making sure he's not going to flop over on his first step he walks (albeit a touch stiffly) directly for Aldercy, "Doll face!" He greets warmly goo latent arms outstretched to give her the very popular in the upper crust society double cheek smooch and light embrace in greeting. It's a social experiment of sorts. Another little something Colton's known for. He looooves testing and poking and even breaking the bounds between 'castes' here at Hogwarts.
For someone who was not paying attention to the ones beneath her notice, the slim, dark holly wand flashes quickly in the air. "Levicorpus," Aldercy says low and vehemently. If Colton wants to get close to a girl, then he can get close to the little Hufflepuff girl presumably still sitting on the branch she loosened him from. For the moment, when she utters the spell, Aldercy's nose is decidedly a little sharper, as are her cheekbones. But then she breathes as she puts away the wand, and it must have been a trick of the lighting, because she turns as normal as ever. "Come, Megs, I'm feeling in need of refreshment," she conversates as if nothing untoward has interrupted her inteneded progress to the castle.
Syeira ohs at the sudden use of magic, sighing and letting out a somewhat annoyed "Oh come on. That's no fun." Even going so far as to playfully stamping one of her feet she shakes her head and peers at the caster before just opting to shake her head. Not one to leave the possibile chance for someone to make a perfect arse of themselves, Sye opts to hang around. Who knows, the day is relatively young, and there's still a chance the others might do something amusing. So long as she stays goo free that is.
Wendy makes a sound that can only be described as a squawk. "You - " no worthwhile English slur springs to mind, so she resorts to a throaty bit of Welsh. "/Sguthan/." The Hufflepuff, still encumbranced by the camera, starts fishing for her wand. "Oh drat. Nell, get him, will you?" Still digging her wand out, she shoots Syeira a Look. "This isn't a bloody vaudeville show, y'know."
Blinking, Sye ahs some and then looks curiously at the student who addressed her "What's…oh never mind, I don't need an explanation. I feel it's one of those things I'm better off not knowing." Waving her hand before her the girl just smirks "As to helping, I'm happy where I am thank you. I rather would like to not get messy. I've only the one clean shirt and I'd rather keep it that way."
Colton actually laughs jovially as he's moved and placed in the tree. "I'll see ya later doll! It was great this bit of catching up we did!" He calls after to Aldercy and then gives the others around the goop covered tree a big grin, "She loves me." He clasps his hands together over his heart and flutters his eyelashes like he was Betty Boop. The act is dropped, "So who wants to help me try out some Quod?" He looks from girl to girl to girl himself acting 'as if nothing untoward has' happened to him. Lounging on the branch like it was a chaise. He winks down at Wendy who's fumbling for her wand. "It's alright Babydoll, no harm done, she isn't worth a Flick either." He tries to keep the situation light without getting people too serious over something he playfully started. To Wendy's comment about Vaudeville he gasps and looks around himself, "It's not? Well boggies, I'm in the wrong place then!" Colton really is a walking vaudeville show.
Gwenaelle grimaces and tries to push away at Colton, but it's too late. She's not as ready to fight as Wendy is, all she knows is she is covered in slime. "Um, some other time, maybe?" she suggests to the offer to play Quod. She waits for him to give her a little more so she can scrambled down from the branch. "I hope this stuff comes off easy."
Blinking, Sye ahs some and then looks curiously at the student who addressed her "What's…oh never mind, I don't need an explanation. I feel it's one of those things I'm better off not knowing." Waving her hand before her the girl just smirks "As to helping, I'm happy where I am thank you. I rather would like to not get messy. I've only the one clean shirt and I'd rather keep it that way." She turns to peer at Colton, blinking her long lashes and brushing her hair from her face. "I may sound a bit…crass," Sye pauses as she seemsto sort out the proper word, either not knowing it or opting to be polite before continuing, "What is this Quod you speak of?"
With the gradual departure of all the other irritants, Syeira is the only one left for Wendy to glare at. "What a rummy attitude," the Hufflepuff says, firmly, before pivoting on her heel. She offers a hand to Nell. "Here, lemme help you down… I'm sure it'll come off. He couldn't have used anything toxic in the… Quod thingamajigger, I s'pose, and I'll bet it'll wash right out of your clothes."
Already halfway out of the tree, Nell turns around and accepts the hand offered to her from Wendy. "I think he said it's some form of quidditch," she says over her shoulder to Syeira. "Thanks, Wendy. Something about playing quidditch with balls that squirt goo all over you. I think he's making it up. They probably play Quidditch the same way in the States as we do here. Else they wouldn't be able to compete in the World Quidditch Cup, right?" She walks over to pick up her discarded broom, giving a last, hopeless look to her besmirched skirt and shirt. "Well, maybe one of the older girls will know a way to get it out. I can go to classes tomorrow looking like this."
"Don't worry about it. We'll rustle up someone's spares for you, if need be." Wendy checks her camera quickly - good, no goo on it - and follows Nell. "C'mon. There's sure to be some of the older girls in the common room. And I want to find Gerry and ask if she'll mind whipping up another batch of developing potion for me." Beckoning Gwenaelle onward, Wendy tromps back towards the school.
Gwenaelle chuckles as she swings her broom crosswise over the back of her shoulders and hangs her wrists over the top of it. "You're having me on, right?" she asks, walking alongside. "You know she'll be over the moon at an excuse to play with potions." She shrugs. "I can wear the ones I wore yesterday if I need to, they're just a bit wrinkled, but they're not too dirty or smelly."