25 May 2020, 22:31
Not The Sharpest Knife
Private to @Claudia Gears & @Sapphire Riddle
Koko Riddle could do many things. She was a pretty good Keeper for the Slytherin Quidditch team, if she did say so herself. She wrote for the school's newspaper. She was a prefect, for Merlin's sake! But... She had flaws.
They were flaws she despised thinking about, but they were there nonetheless. The blonde-haired teenager was, for instance, not the most apt in a social sense. She'd managed to receive all her positions somehow, but it wasn't through talking her way into it. Koko, who was supposed to have a 'silver tongue' befitting her House, was incredibly soft-spoken, and that was the least of it. The girl wasn't the most nimble, either; it was a wonder the Quaffle had only slipped through her slender fingers once.
Then came her two largest faults, the ones she hated the most. Koko loathed how she would tense up in a new situation, how her words would not come out clearly, how she'd duck her head. She was... Shy, for lack of better term, and she hated it.
Now, one might think that someone as successful - or so you'd think - as Koko Riddle might have been a child prodigy or perhaps a genius. Koko herself thought she should have been. Still, the girl hated maths; she'd do anything to avoid solving the stupid problems. And reading! Stories were wonderful, even Koko had to admit that - but she hated reading. In the summer, she could lay down in the grass - or sand, if she were at the beach - and stick earbuds in her ears, letting the sound of someone's voice fill her ears. She'd found podcasts to be a joy.
She wasn't even that bad at reading, at least she didn't think so. She despised reading aloud, but she figured everyone else did, too. Who enjoyed stammering as you read when your mouth was all dry?
It was on this tiring day that Koko found herself in the library. She'd not come back here in a while; while it smelled amazing and held the promise of so many stories, the room was almost like a reminder to Koko. Want to be annoyed? It seemed to ask. Want to feel stupid?
Koko wasn't stupid. She merely wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.
The girl strode over to the nearest bookshelf, picking out a book at random. She squinted at the silver print for the title; it was difficult to read with how it barely contrasted with the pale blue cover. Who was it written by? Amelia? Koko thought, shaking her head immediately after. No... More like... Amaëlle..? She wondered after a moment, mouthing the name as she traced her thumb over the fine print. That sounded right, but it was certainly unusual.
The words titling the book were easy enough to read. In a different colour than the rest of it - a dark navy, nearly black - the title stood out in stark contrast. The One That Let it Snow.
Koko sighed, taking the book with her, and she sat down at a table, opening the book and leaning over it. She wished for a moment that she hadn't left her cat in the Dormitory, but knowing Jax, he would have tried to climb the bookshelves.
Oh well, Koko thought as she turned her amber gaze to the words printed in front of her. Chapter One...
[pc] koko riddle · 'pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.'
'it always starts and ends with birds.' · cyrus darsel [inpc]
26 May 2020, 13:49
Not The Sharpest Knife
@Koko Riddle & @Sapphire Riddle
-------☆-------As Claudia entered the library, the familiar sight of shelves stocked up full of stories welcomed her. She was instantly overwhelmed by the abundance of books on all sides of her, but she crafted a small smile nonetheless. Home her mind immediately whispered. As much as Claudia tried to banish that small thought, she never quite could. Her body felt at home in the quiet library; it was a place where all the virtues Claudia wished her dorm room and house in the muggle world resided.
Claudia skimmed the silence before her. She wondered how many people were actually reading, how many were studying, and how many were just pretending. Her gaze settled on quite a few students who seemed to be studying. As she watched one, their gaze shifted over to a Slytherin walking by. Well they, she thought, are definitely not studying. Her gaze followed the other student's as she watched the Slytherin girl.
The girl practically stomped up to a bookshelf near her and abruptly stopped, picking out a book with no hesitation whatsoever. Not a reader, Claudia thought. She couldn't see the book the Slytherin girl took, but she must've been interested because she walked over to a table and sat there. This time, with a little more grace.
Claudia was suddenly shoved forward as a group of giggling girls rushed in. The librarian glared at them and they stopped but started whispering instead. Somehow, that was worse. Claudia ducked between the group and found herself standing in front of the Slytherin girl that she watched.
"Oh-uh" Claudia retreated to the bookshelf near her and skimmed the titles. As her fingertips traced the spines' edges they stopped to rest on one titled The One Returned to Ashes.
She gently slid the book out of its place and returned to the table. Claudia peeked up at the girl as she sat, realizing that she was very, very pretty. Must be part Veela. With all that blond hair on her head. Claudia saw a flash of something shiny and was suddenly interested in the book's title. Instead of just simply asking what they Slytherin girl was reading, she lifted the cover up a notch. The One That Let it Snow the silver read. Claudia shivered. Must be by the same author. How weird is that?-------☆-------
26 May 2020, 16:39
Not The Sharpest Knife
Sapphire was tired of the noise of the hallways. She just wanted to get away, and the library seemed to be the only place that she could. Except the astronomy tower, but she was also in need of a good book.
She wandered into the room, the scent of old pages surrounding her. She inhaled softly, passing through to a shelf that she’d visited before that involved prophecy. On her way, she noticed her sister focused on a light-covered book, another girl sitting across from her.
The unfamiliar girl had thick, shoulder length hair, and calculating grey eyes were, at the moment focused on her twin sister’s book.
Sapphire shrugged it off, turning to the shelf in front of her and drawing off a book. At the moment that she was about to check out the title, her feet moved herself out of the way. At that exact moment, an older student stumbled into the shelf, exactly where Sapphi has been moments before. She grumbled to herself, walking over to the wall and sliding down, checking the cover of the book, finally. The cover read, Dreams. She shrugged, opening the story. It was probably a work of fiction, she would think.
She flipped to the first page, completely ignoring the table of contents. She started to devour the words contained in the pages like a ravenous beast.
Still, her thoughts moved at the speed of light. It was at times like this that she wondered why she was placed in Slytherin rather than Ravenclaw. She stayed mostly focused on the story before her, but her thoughts to her own signs of precognition. First with the flute, then just now, by the shelf. She grumbled to herself, telling her brain to shut up.
She returned to reading, the voices in her head briefly silenced. She had no doubt that they would return soon, but she could be free from them for now. She blew through the first few chapters before she finally went and checked the table of contents. Said table had 72 chapters listed, and it was a thick book.
Sapphire grinned to herself. She loved larger books. She knew that it wasn’t a feeling that most shared, but she certainly enjoyed them. She flipped back to the page she was on, continuing to read.
She found herself able to sympathize with the main character, who–like her–didn’t know how deal with the precognition thrust upon her. It was slightly different, however, as the recognitions were through dreams do the child written out within the pages.
Wow, she thought. I connect better with fictional characters than I do with real-life. How ridiculous, she thought to herself.
☽The water hears and understands. The ice does not forgive.☾
Stamina - 7||Evasion-8||Strength-7||Wisdom-9||Arc. Power-7||Accuracy-7
’s grace
26 May 2020, 20:09
Not The Sharpest Knife
A slight thump was what caught Koko's attention rather than her book being moved. She was barely on the second page, narrowing her eyes at the fine print on the page - honestly, could they not print it any larger; was it that difficult to space the words out a bit more? It seemed so. She grumbled to herself, the words barely audible - she had no clue what she was saying.
And then there it was. The noise she heard was small, but it was there nonetheless. Her chin shot up, and she lifted her gaze from the book to see eye-to-eye with a dark-haired newcomer. She'd not seen this girl before, and her lips moved in a way that could only convey confusion before she finally spoke. "Oh, hello," said the blonde-haired girl, her voice soft and high. "I didn't expect anyone else to sit here."
It didn't seem to Koko as if the newcomer recognised her, and she breathed an audible sigh of relief. She'd not met anyone new in quite some time, and it was refreshing to not see a small spark of recognition in someone's eyes as they gazed at her. The girl closed her book so the cover faced the ceiling, and she gave the other girl - a Ravenclaw, judging from the crest on her robes, interestingly enough - a small smile. It was absolutely tiny compared to the brazen grin she wore while on her Silver Arrow, protecting the goalposts at all costs. It was different from the giggly smirk she wore when patrolling - hey, she couldn't help laughing at some of the people she saw. And, of course, it was nothing like the content smile that rested on her lips as she wrote about news.
For someone who hated reading, Koko certainly had an affinity for writing. Perhaps it was how she could think up the story in her head, and she didn't need to think of letters to do so. The words were just there, and she had the ability to write them however she wished. She thought, for a moment, that it might have been better for her had she brought parchment and a quill up to the Library rather than trying to get through a book that was bound to be boring.
Well, maybe not. She'd only gotten to page two, after all. What did she know?
In Koko's line of sight was another girl, this time one with a snowy-white bob of hair. She'd recognise that mess of hair anywhere, she thought, smirking. Had she not been in a library, she would have stood up and waved - but that was awful etiquette, wasn't it? Koko opened her mouth once more, but soon closed it after no words came. Oh well; she could always bother Sapphire after introducing herself to this interesting new person.
She held out her hand, a bit awkwardly if one were looking closely. "Hello," she said, "I'm Koko, and you are?"@Claudia Gears | @Sapphire Riddle
[pc] koko riddle · 'pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.'
'it always starts and ends with birds.' · cyrus darsel [inpc]
26 May 2020, 21:52
Not The Sharpest Knife
*OOC note: yes Claudia, that’s how life works. People introduce themselves to you when you don’t know them.-------☆-------@Koko Riddle @Sapphire RiddleClaudia, in fact, had not noticed a small girl enter the library nor noticed her sit on the ground with a book in her hands. Her eyes were glued to the blond-haired girl in front of her. So when she saw the Slytherin hold her hand out to her and smile she was baffled. That smile was the prettiest thing she had seen in a long time besides Pygmy puffs and cats. “Hello. My name’s Koko.” the pretty girl said.
Claudia stiffened up. She didn’t know the girl - er, Koko - at all, but she was introducing herself to Claudia?* She fumbled with her book - closing it, opening it, closing it. The girl - Koko, you got to remember that - probably thought she was weird. Claudia shrugged. It didn’t matter what... Koko... thought about her. Sure the girl was pretty, sure she probably had a lot of friends to help torture Claudia if Koko ever spoke the command, sure she probably had a cute, jock boyfriend who would probably kill her if Claudia ever said anything rude about or to Koko but who cares what she thinks?
Maybe the whole school.
Claudia squeezed her eye shut and shook the girl’s hand, her head facing the right side. ”Hi I’m just your friendly neighborhood Claudia!” she managed. Wait. That was from Spider-Man. ”Oh - er - uh. Whoops. Um, yeah hi my name’s Gears. Er - Claudia. Claudia Gears. Yes, that’s me. Yay!”*
When Claudia opened her eye that’s when she saw the white haired girl reading. Though thinking it was totally normal to be sitting by the bookshelves reading, she turned her head back to Koko. And when she turned her head back to Koko, that’s when she blushed from embarrassment. The Slytherin girl was so surprised that she froze in place, looking at Claudia with bewilderment. It was possible that she had never encountered someone as socially awkward as Claudia.
I guess she’s going to send her friends over to kill me now. Better make sure at least someone knows I exist before I die.
”Yep. That’s me.” Claudia repeated lamely, just to embarrass herself further.-------☆-------
*OOC note: I inwardly cringed at this part.
27 May 2020, 13:31
Not The Sharpest Knife
«•»SAPPHIRE WATCHED THE ENTIRE EXCHANGE BETWEEN HER SISTER AND THE RAVENCLAW GIRL ACROSS FROM HER. From what she gathered, the girl was as–maybe even more–socially inept as she was. Whoever she was, she was obviously becoming very embarrassed as she introduced herself. Sapphire had to stifle a laugh at the expression on her face.
She hadn’t heard much of the words spoken, but she’d picked up that the other girl was Claudia Gears. Welcome to the club,she thought sarcastically, referring to the social awkwardness, though her face betrayed no emotion.
She chose the moment that Claudia glanced at her to walk over, not releasing her book. She tried to speak, but no word came out. She mentally cursed her voice for betraying her. She attempted speaking again, finally getting her words to work.
“Hi,” she said, catching the attention of both girls. Koko already knew her, but this other girl was new. “I’m Sapphire. Sapphire Riddle.” Then, under her breath, she added, “The sister of the other socially inept child.”
Her book was clutches tightly in her hands, wide open. She wanted to keep reading, but she didn’t know if that was considered rude. Better safe than sorry, she thought, deciding to keep her eyes away from the pages until she deemed it “safe”.
“Am I interrupting something?”«•»
Reducio
Gods, this is so short.
☽The water hears and understands. The ice does not forgive.☾
Stamina - 7||Evasion-8||Strength-7||Wisdom-9||Arc. Power-7||Accuracy-7
’s grace
27 May 2020, 16:22
Not The Sharpest Knife
-------☆-------@Koko Riddle @Sapphire RiddleClaudia didn't see the white-haired girl emerge until she talked. "Hi. I'm Sapphire. Sapphire Riddle." the girl explained. Then, so low Claudia could barely hear her, the odd Slytherin whispered "The sister of the other socially inept child."
Claudia had to refrain from laughing. So Koko had a sister, huh? They looked similar, with their light hair and all. But something was different about the two, something Claudia couldn't quite place. While Koko seemed like honey, sweet and comfortable, this new Slytherin seemed like the mist: dark, quiet, and mysterious. Not too different from Claudia herself, to be honest. She liked this new girl nonetheless. Sapphire - was that her name? - saved her from her embarrassment.
Or maybe not.
Maybe Koko had sent her sister over to kill her. Maybe she was concealing a knife in that book of hers. Dreams, the cover read. Claudia wondered what it was about. She would have to check later, when the girl didn't have it in her possession.
"Claudia." she responded, although Sapphire had sat near them and probably heard Claudia introduce herself to Koko. Well, she should be glad that she didn't mess up this introduction.
Just then Claudia remembered what else Sapphire had said, "Am I interrupting something?"
"And, er, no, you aren't interrupting anything over here. In fact, you saved me - um - nevermind." Claudia stood up, offering her seat to the new girl, "Need a seat? You can have mine. Oh, right. You probably needed your sister for something. I can leave if you want." She winced. If she wasn't talking to people and was alone, she would've smacked herself on her head.
Claudia glanced at Koko, who had seemed to regain herself after her sister's arrival, and was surprised when she saw the pretty girl's face poised in a ruthless smirk.
"You want me to go..? I can you know, I don't care if you end up sounding rude about it." Claudia asked the part Veela.-------☆-------
28 May 2020, 21:34
Not The Sharpest Knife
Koko sat frozen in place, trying to formulate a response. Complimenting the girl - no, Claudia - was her first instinct, but she wasn't sure what she'd compliment her on. Her name? Claudia was indeed a pretty name. But... Koko's curiosity got the better of her, and she eyes the other girl's face curiously. An eye patch... I wonder what that's from.
She did not ask, however, and instead widened her smile the best she could without appearing like an angered cat baring its teeth. "Claudia," Koko said, her eyes lighting up at how the words rolled off her tongue. "That's... It's really a much more normal name than Koko." The blonde chuckled, sliding her book out of the way so she could rest her hands on the table.
"I'm glad that's you," Koko said, not picking up on the other girl's awkwardness. One would think Koko would have a radar for that sort of thing, something akin to a gaydar, but alas, she could not pick up on social awkwardness - her own, or anyone else's.
Koko's whole world seemed to turn happy when she saw her sister. If she counted Sapphire as one of her friends, she could say honestly that Sapphire was one of two friends. "Hello, Sapphire!" Koko exclaimed, her smile somehow growing.
Her sister was many things to her. One might call Sapphire a form of sanctuary, her tether to the earth below her, or perhaps just a joy to be around. Koko saw so much in Sapphire, and she had to wonder - how did no one else see what she saw?
Turning back to Claudia, she nodded. “That’s my sister!” She said excitedly. Her smile faded to a frown, and she added, “No, you needn’t leave.”
[pc] koko riddle · 'pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.'
'it always starts and ends with birds.' · cyrus darsel [inpc]
28 May 2020, 22:50
Not The Sharpest Knife
The happiness that rolled off Koko when Sapphire has walked over almost made her laugh. But she figured that would be a bit disrespectful, so she kept the noise to herself. She couldn’t help the tiny smile that arose though.
She settled her hands against the back of her sister’s chair, looking over the other girl’s head. “There really is no need to leave. We don’t have a demon army to send after you if you slip up,” she said, a little bit serious, a little not. A tiny smirk made it’s way onto her face.
Most of her [measly] weight was being held up by her arms, feet only resting lightly against the floor. She’d slipped Dreams into her back in favour of her current position, and she took the chance to look at her companions’ books. Claudia’s was titled The One Returned to Ashes, while Koko’s was titled The One Who Let it Snow. The similar titles made it seem as if they were written by the same person, but she always thought she wasn’t sure. Illogically, she felt out of place with her drastically different books.
Or, she couldn’t be sure of that, but the seemed like they would be very different.
She shrugged it off. “So What brings you to the library?” she asked.
☽The water hears and understands. The ice does not forgive.☾
Stamina - 7||Evasion-8||Strength-7||Wisdom-9||Arc. Power-7||Accuracy-7
’s grace
28 May 2020, 23:16
Not The Sharpest Knife
*She actually said the words “ha ha” out loud. Not nervous laughter, not any kind of laughter but she just said them. With no emotion.-------☆-------@Koko Riddle@Sapphire Riddle”There really is no need to leave, We don’t have a demon army to send after you if you slip up.” Sapphire informed her.
Claudia paused for a moment, not sure what to do. Then she slowly sank back down to sit in her chair. She was starting to like this strange new person. While Koko was immediately charismatic, the Sapphire girl seemed strange, but nice. The fact that she told Claudia she didn’t have an evil plot to gang up on her and make sure she died a painful death was also a nice touch. Wait a minute. What if she does have an evil plot to kill me? She’s just trying to make me let down my guard and befriend me a little. Then she and Koko will show their true colors to me and send over their loyal army!
Claudia forced her teeth into what resembled a smile. ”Oh-um. Good.” She fiddled with the corner of her book’s cover and then blurted, ”But what’s if it isn’t a demon army but instead an army of venomous spiders!?” Claudia covered her mouth with both of her hands, clearly embarrassed. ”Er... did I say that out loud? Um. I mean.... just kidding! Ha. Ha.”*
Claudia looked at both of the Slytherin girls, wondering if she really screwed up their opinion of her. That laughter at the end did seem sort of forced to her. Quietly and slowly, Claudia slipped a bookmark into The One Returned to Ashes. She felt like the two sisters would banish her soon, and wanted to be prepared to open her book up exactly where she left it.
”I’m... just here to read, I guess” she added on thoughtfully.-------☆-------