7 Feb 2018, 13:33
A Wonderful Climbing Tree
This was all an awful lot to take in.
The castle was huge and sprawling, with staircases that seemed to change the moment Elodie looked away and doors that opened into brick walls. It was proving to be quite difficult to navigate, and Elodie had been late to almost all her classes over the past couple days purely because it was such a struggle to find them. Why on earth wouldn't they give first years maps? The paintings, as Elodie had learned very quickly, couldn't be used as landmarks, because they had a tendency to wander from frame to frame and give very confusing directions.
Suffice to say, Elodie was more than a little frustrated and confused, and as wondrous as she found the castle in spite of its remarkably baffling layout, she needed to get out of it for a little while, and into something more familiar.
The grounds, at least, were a lot easier to navigate. All she had to do was trek up a hill, and she could see where everything was and decide which way she had to go. Her quest for a chance to unwind had led her to the edge of the Great Lake, as it appeared to be called. She breathed a heavy sigh and plopped down beneath a giant tree, shrugging her bag off her shoulder and reaching to loosen her tie. She was half-tempted to kick off her shoes and socks and dip her feet into the water, but she swore she could see something moving in the weeds beneath the surface of the lake, and decided it was probably safer not to. Tipping her head back against the trunk of a tree, she peered up through the branches at the sky above, allowing herself a moment to simply taking in her surroundings. There were fluffy white clouds drifting across the sky; students milling about in groups all across the grounds, chatting among themselves; gentle ripples moving across the surface of the lake; verdant green leaves sprouting from the tree's branches--Elodie paused, tilting her head as she gazed upward at the boughs of the tree. With the way the branches were positioned on the trunk, it'd make a pretty great climbing tree.
For the first time in what had to be at least an hour, Elodie felt a smile alight her features. What better way to relax and feel more at home than to climb a tree, an activity her and her mother used to love to indulge in with the gargantuan oak that grew in their backyard? She stood, leaving her bag tucked between the roots protruding from the ground, and considered the best way to start. The skirt was going to make this a bit difficult, but only in the start, and she figured she was willing to take the chance. Elodie worked her lip between her teeth, pondering, and then slid her foot into a nook in the tree's trunk, grabbing hold of a thick branch above her head. She hooked a leg over the bough, pulled herself up, and felt herself begin to grin. Already she felt much better, and she was only on the lowest branch! She boosted herself up one branch more and settled into the crook it made when it met the trunk, oblivious to the leaves she had sent fluttering down to below.
The castle was huge and sprawling, with staircases that seemed to change the moment Elodie looked away and doors that opened into brick walls. It was proving to be quite difficult to navigate, and Elodie had been late to almost all her classes over the past couple days purely because it was such a struggle to find them. Why on earth wouldn't they give first years maps? The paintings, as Elodie had learned very quickly, couldn't be used as landmarks, because they had a tendency to wander from frame to frame and give very confusing directions.
Suffice to say, Elodie was more than a little frustrated and confused, and as wondrous as she found the castle in spite of its remarkably baffling layout, she needed to get out of it for a little while, and into something more familiar.
The grounds, at least, were a lot easier to navigate. All she had to do was trek up a hill, and she could see where everything was and decide which way she had to go. Her quest for a chance to unwind had led her to the edge of the Great Lake, as it appeared to be called. She breathed a heavy sigh and plopped down beneath a giant tree, shrugging her bag off her shoulder and reaching to loosen her tie. She was half-tempted to kick off her shoes and socks and dip her feet into the water, but she swore she could see something moving in the weeds beneath the surface of the lake, and decided it was probably safer not to. Tipping her head back against the trunk of a tree, she peered up through the branches at the sky above, allowing herself a moment to simply taking in her surroundings. There were fluffy white clouds drifting across the sky; students milling about in groups all across the grounds, chatting among themselves; gentle ripples moving across the surface of the lake; verdant green leaves sprouting from the tree's branches--Elodie paused, tilting her head as she gazed upward at the boughs of the tree. With the way the branches were positioned on the trunk, it'd make a pretty great climbing tree.
For the first time in what had to be at least an hour, Elodie felt a smile alight her features. What better way to relax and feel more at home than to climb a tree, an activity her and her mother used to love to indulge in with the gargantuan oak that grew in their backyard? She stood, leaving her bag tucked between the roots protruding from the ground, and considered the best way to start. The skirt was going to make this a bit difficult, but only in the start, and she figured she was willing to take the chance. Elodie worked her lip between her teeth, pondering, and then slid her foot into a nook in the tree's trunk, grabbing hold of a thick branch above her head. She hooked a leg over the bough, pulled herself up, and felt herself begin to grin. Already she felt much better, and she was only on the lowest branch! She boosted herself up one branch more and settled into the crook it made when it met the trunk, oblivious to the leaves she had sent fluttering down to below.
Last edited by Elodie Deering on 22 Feb 2018, 01:46, edited 1 time in total.
10 Feb 2018, 02:04
A Wonderful Climbing Tree
It was a beautiful autumn day. Adriel had shed her black robes and left them in the grass. Here she stood a few feet in the water of the Great Lake in her black slacks, white button up, and maroon and gold tie. Her pants were rolled up past her knees, escaping the water by merely an inch. Her bare feet sinking into the cold, wet sand of the edge of the water, Adriel tossed the small, flat stone in her hand up in the air, catching it again and taking it’s weight and shape into consideration before tossing it like a discus across the lightly rippling surface of the Great Lake. She counted the five times it skipped across the water, her eyes following it towards the left coast of the Lake. Adriel’s eyes continued past the stone’s ripples, however, as a sudden flurry of leaves from the tree at the coast caught her attention. She threw a glance at her discarded robe, shoes, and socks before running out of the water towards the tree. Adriel slowed at the bank, the cool grass tickling her legs as she craned her neck to look up the tree. She beamed at the unfamiliar face she saw in the tree above her and wasted no time grabbing the bottom branch and clumsily pulling herself onto it.
“Hi,” she said, huffing a little as she steadied herself against the trunk. “Mind if I climb with you?”
“Hi,” she said, huffing a little as she steadied herself against the trunk. “Mind if I climb with you?”
We were born with the capacity and the determination to be utterly happy all the time. Perhaps even in this we were freaks.
14 Feb 2018, 23:56
A Wonderful Climbing Tree
The grounds were absolutely wonderful from above.
Elodie let out a comforted sigh, gaze roaming over the grounds and legs swinging lightly on either side of the branch she was currently straddling. The rolling green hills, the caretaker's cabin on the edge of the courtyard, the dark Forbidden Forest: it was all so lovely, so open and beautiful. But then, she'd always leaned more towards the outdoors than the indoors. One of the few fears Elodie held was one of being trapped, and on bad days, it could get so severe that even just sitting in the house with all the windows closed could send her into a panic. She supposed, when one took that fear into account, it should come as no surprise that her favorite place in the world was in her mother's garden back home, sitting among the flowers.
"Hi! Mind if I climb with you?"
Elodie started slightly at the unfamiliar voice, leaning to the side and looking down at the branch below. A girl with a mass of strawberry blonde curls and bright blue eyes was sitting on the branch just below her, a scarlet and gold tie around her neck. A Gryffindor, then, and a fellow first year, if Elodie were to guess.
"Sure, I don't mind!" Elodie responded brightly, pushing her curtain of chocolate brown hair back from her face as she smiled down at the girl below her, "My name's Elodie. Are you a first year too?" With the majority of her focus going towards adjusting to the absurdity and wonder of her new school, she'd had very few opportunities to make new friends, so she certainly wasn't going to let such a perfect opportunity slip by.
Elodie let out a comforted sigh, gaze roaming over the grounds and legs swinging lightly on either side of the branch she was currently straddling. The rolling green hills, the caretaker's cabin on the edge of the courtyard, the dark Forbidden Forest: it was all so lovely, so open and beautiful. But then, she'd always leaned more towards the outdoors than the indoors. One of the few fears Elodie held was one of being trapped, and on bad days, it could get so severe that even just sitting in the house with all the windows closed could send her into a panic. She supposed, when one took that fear into account, it should come as no surprise that her favorite place in the world was in her mother's garden back home, sitting among the flowers.
"Hi! Mind if I climb with you?"
Elodie started slightly at the unfamiliar voice, leaning to the side and looking down at the branch below. A girl with a mass of strawberry blonde curls and bright blue eyes was sitting on the branch just below her, a scarlet and gold tie around her neck. A Gryffindor, then, and a fellow first year, if Elodie were to guess.
"Sure, I don't mind!" Elodie responded brightly, pushing her curtain of chocolate brown hair back from her face as she smiled down at the girl below her, "My name's Elodie. Are you a first year too?" With the majority of her focus going towards adjusting to the absurdity and wonder of her new school, she'd had very few opportunities to make new friends, so she certainly wasn't going to let such a perfect opportunity slip by.
Last edited by Elodie Deering on 15 Feb 2018, 12:16, edited 1 time in total.
15 Feb 2018, 11:30
A Wonderful Climbing Tree
Adriel grinned up at the girl above her. She leaned back against the trunk of the tree, dangling her legs off the low branch. She was never much of a climber, so, this would have to be as far as she went. She hoped the other girl, Elodie, as she introduced herself, wouldn't mind.
"First year, indeed, though, unlike some of my classmates, magic isn't quite a shock to me," she said, laughing lightly. She looked up at the girl, committing the moment to memory. She liked to remember the moment she met someone; that way, even as time went on, you remembered who they were, not what they looked like. Here, Adriel remembered the feeling on the bark poking through her clothing and the sound of the lake water lightly bouncing against the shore below the tree. She noticed the way the light and the leaves framed the girl's head like she was a saint in one of those Muggle churches and the way some of the girl's hair was tucked behind her ear and some of it fell over her loosened yellow and black tie. She observed the way the air felt cool and wet beside the water, and her memory took notes of it all. That would surely be enough to remember.
"You're a Hufflepuff, huh? My mother was in Hufflepuff. She always told me that the best quality of friends are Hufflepuffs. Loyal, hard-working, accepting, and persevering," she said thoughtfully, gazing out across the water. Her pensiveness broke, however, as she grinned up at Elodie.
"I always wanted to be in Hufflepuff because it was so close to the kitchens," she laughed.
"First year, indeed, though, unlike some of my classmates, magic isn't quite a shock to me," she said, laughing lightly. She looked up at the girl, committing the moment to memory. She liked to remember the moment she met someone; that way, even as time went on, you remembered who they were, not what they looked like. Here, Adriel remembered the feeling on the bark poking through her clothing and the sound of the lake water lightly bouncing against the shore below the tree. She noticed the way the light and the leaves framed the girl's head like she was a saint in one of those Muggle churches and the way some of the girl's hair was tucked behind her ear and some of it fell over her loosened yellow and black tie. She observed the way the air felt cool and wet beside the water, and her memory took notes of it all. That would surely be enough to remember.
"You're a Hufflepuff, huh? My mother was in Hufflepuff. She always told me that the best quality of friends are Hufflepuffs. Loyal, hard-working, accepting, and persevering," she said thoughtfully, gazing out across the water. Her pensiveness broke, however, as she grinned up at Elodie.
"I always wanted to be in Hufflepuff because it was so close to the kitchens," she laughed.
We were born with the capacity and the determination to be utterly happy all the time. Perhaps even in this we were freaks.
15 Feb 2018, 12:32
A Wonderful Climbing Tree
"Oh, it is to me," Elodie responded with a breathless laugh, raising her head to squint at the sun-bright sky through the leaves for a moment before looking back down at her newfound companion, "All of this is so new and exciting and bizarre." She shook her head a little bit, one hand raising to compulsively pick at the knot of her tie. "To be perfectly honest, I'm still not entirely convinced I'm not dreaming," she admitted with a small smile.
She nodded a little bit as her companion noted that she was a member of Hufflepuff, responding with much more respect than most of the other peers Elodie had found herself interacting with. It appeared Hufflepuff had a bit of a reputation for being the 'stupid house,' so Elodie was grateful to find a student who seemed to remember the wonderful qualities the Sorting Hat had sung about the house having, the traits that had made Elodie feel like it would be a pretty fine house to be sorted into after all. At the final statement, Elodie couldn't help but laugh.
"It's definitely a perk," she agreed playfully, carefully leaning forward until she was laying on her stomach on the thick branch, chin resting on her folded arms, knees dangling slightly over the edges but ankles crossed on top of the bough. "I haven't had the guts to try and get in, though," she confessed with the tiniest shrug, "Or the time, actually. I keep getting lost." She let out another tiny laugh at that, shaking a lock of hair out of her eyes.
She nodded a little bit as her companion noted that she was a member of Hufflepuff, responding with much more respect than most of the other peers Elodie had found herself interacting with. It appeared Hufflepuff had a bit of a reputation for being the 'stupid house,' so Elodie was grateful to find a student who seemed to remember the wonderful qualities the Sorting Hat had sung about the house having, the traits that had made Elodie feel like it would be a pretty fine house to be sorted into after all. At the final statement, Elodie couldn't help but laugh.
"It's definitely a perk," she agreed playfully, carefully leaning forward until she was laying on her stomach on the thick branch, chin resting on her folded arms, knees dangling slightly over the edges but ankles crossed on top of the bough. "I haven't had the guts to try and get in, though," she confessed with the tiniest shrug, "Or the time, actually. I keep getting lost." She let out another tiny laugh at that, shaking a lock of hair out of her eyes.