Oblivion

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Upon hearing Mado’s distant voice, Leon replaced the broken jade vase on the rickety dresser and made his way out of the messy living room. It truly was a mess; it looked like a hurricane had blown in and displaced everything. Not to mention the occupants had had a bad taste in decoration, even for Nobodies, Leon added to himself, wrinkling his nose. Taking to the stairs, he raced up the uneven slabs of wood two at a time, careful to keep his hands off of the decaying walls which were slowly turning a shade of garish neon pink.

Checking the first two rooms showed no Mado anywhere; the bathroom and the spare room were in chaotic disarray just like the rooms downstairs. What exactly had happened? Leon wandered down the hallway to the last room, its door ajar. Peeking inside, Leon saw Mado’s form with his blazer almost down to her mid-thigh. She seemed to be standing over a box, whose contents she’d scattered around. Leon stepped in, his face alight with excitement. Had she found something?

The items on the floor and bed were nothing related the Song. As his eyes fell on the whips and handcuffs, his face completely blanked out, unable to find a proper expression. Confusion raged inside him as he picked up the carrot and inspected it, jerking slightly as it started vibrating when he flipped a switch at the bottom.

Dropping the carrot, he watched it roll awkwardly across the floor. Taking the leather suit from Mado, he held it up to himself. “I don’t think this is going to fit me.” There were a lot of places to be left bare in the suit, defeating its purpose as armor. It was extremely small, only reaching the beginning of his hips. “…maybe you should try it instead–“ He was in the middle of handing the suit to Mado when it finally hit him.

The purpose of the other items in the box hit him like a ton of bricks and he smirked slightly. “Mado-san, close that box unless you’re planning on trying some of those out.” Oddly, it seemed like something Hakuren would’ve said. It was something Leon would’ve expected to come out of the boy’s mouth rather than Mado’s. However, his smirk only grew as he reached down and replaced all the items in the box. “Looks like the previous occupants were a tad adventurous.”

Straightening, Leon turned and walked out of the room, beckoning Mado to follow him. “Next house. There’s nothing here apart from those… things.” Absentmindedly, he wondered how the nervous girl, Jasper, would’ve reacted. It’d have been amusing, no doubt.

Once again walking across the length of the hallway and descending down the stairs, Leon left the house and stepped onto the street, squinting at the bright sunlight that assaulted his eyes. It took several seconds for his vision to return to him and he turned to the next house, surveying the shabby walls with interest. There had to be something there, right?

Knocking on the door, Leon impatiently stood outside, bouncing lightly on his feet. He was about to kick the door down again when the sound of shuffling filled his ears. Bracing himself, Leon plastered a genuinely welcoming smile onto his face, his face taking it on with practiced ease. The scene would’ve looked ridiculous to an outsider; a tall, lean young man with dark hair and feather earrings flashing a blinding smile at a closed door. To an unknowing stranger, it almost seemed like he was in love with the piece of wood. That lasted for only several seconds, however, as the door was yanked open by a large, neon pink sea urchin, never mind the sea part. Leon’s smile never faltered, even as he was inwardly looking the sea urchin over, wondering where exactly its face was, or if it even had a face.

His eyes followed the bob of the brightly blue spikes striped with yellow and purple, moving along with the Nobody’s breathing. Despite having nowhere to look, Leon could tell the Nobody was already convinced he was friendly. A light wisp of smoke escaped a pipe lodged into a hole into the urchin’s body, almost like another spike. So it has a face. Leon thought, nearly laughing. …Somewhere.

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Leon started.

“I’m a woman.” The thing rasped, contradicting her own words.

“I’m terribly sorry, miss. You look fantastic, by the way. I’m digging the colors.” Leon added, laughing lightly. The compliments were genuine; the colors truly were fabulous, especially the neon blue. Perhaps that would be the shade of his next suit.

The urchin only bobbed in response, prompting Leon to continue. “I’m here on behalf of the Queen, conducting a survey on the inhabitants’ living conditions. May I come in?”

The urchin grunted in response and rolled away towards the living room, Leon following it into a cove-like area. Turning his head slightly to make sure Mado was with him, he sat down on an oyster-shaped couch-thing and patted the space next to him, telling her to sit down.

“So, any complaints? Any improvements you’d like to make to your living standards? Though I already see you have an amazing house.” Not too much flattery, just the right amount could have the recipient mellowed-down and eager to talk. And that was just what happened.

“I’ve been living here for a very, very long time,” The urchin paused, taking a long drag of her pipe. “Back when Mr. Syook was still alive, this house looked even better. The outside is really falling apart, ever since he died.”

Leon’s ears perked up at ‘very, very long time’ and ‘since he died’. Perhaps he’d committed suicide as well? But it would’ve been terribly rude of him to ask. “Would you care to describe this house in detail at its finest?” He let Mrs. Syook talk for over half an hour, nodding along to her words. Her detailed descriptions of her home were of no significance and when she showed signs of slowing down, he took the opportunity to switch the topic slightly. “That sounds absolutely wonderful. I’ll make sure to add a note for the merchants to bring marble curtains back, they sound lovely. Shame I can’t see them.” Mrs. Syook made a raspy, hissing sound and turned slightly pinker, if that was possible. “What was Yonder like back in the day, though?”

Mrs. Syook seemed to have taken a liking to the young lad as she started talking again, describing Yonder in vivid detail years and years back. Leon wasn’t exactly sure where her eyes were but he was pretty sure she was making lovey-dovey eyes at him, despite being as ancient as the town itself. He absentmindedly wondered how she kept the wrinkles away and was tempted to ask her her secret when he heard ‘witch’. The single word commanded all of his attention and he stared at various points on the urchin, listening intently.

“At some point, something strange happened. Mr. Syook was away on business when I remember a huge crowd rallying up the streets, up this very street, carrying a couple of Nobodies above them, tied up of course. They were screaming about something… let me see… ah, yes. They were yelling ‘To the fire! Witches to the fire!’ I couldn’t see the Nobodies but later I heard those were false accusations among real ones, though I never saw the real culprits. They say that the innocent to guilty ratio was 20:1.”

Leon nodded, eyes fixated on the urchin’s pipe puffing out a steady stream of smoke among her slow words. “Culprits? What were they accused of?”

The urchin stopped puffing smoke for a moment, hesitating as she searched her memories for anything relevant. A minute later, she spoke again. “Of helping some ‘witch’ or something. I think she was their boss, you know what I mean?” Leon nodded in response, cracking a small smile in gratitude. Everything she’d said concerning the witch hunts had been lodged firmly into his mind, even now, she was still going on. When she was done, Leon closed with a few residence-related questions and stood up when she’d answered the last one. And then he’d realized he’d stared at her mouth the entire time; specifically, at the pipe, but she couldn’t tell as she rolled closer to Leon on her spikes. “Why don’t you stay here a little longer? The girl can leave.”

A polite smile made its way on his face as he inched away, unsure of what to do when being hit on by an ancient urchin. He sure as hell didn’t want to be the next Mr. Syook. “I’m flattered but I need to give this information to the Queen. You really need your marble curtains back, they’d make your house even more gorgeous.” Mrs. Syook huffed but rolled away from the door, allowing them to leave. As soon as he stepped out and inhaled a breath of fresh air, he waved to Mrs. Syook and made his way down the path. When Mrs. Syook finally closed her door, Leon turned to Mado and raised his eyebrows. “What did you think of that?” He wasn’t sure whether he was referring to Mrs. Syook’s liking to him or the information she’d just given them; he wasn’t even sure Mado had been listening.

Shattered & Scattered

Whenever she closed her eyes, all Noelle could see was Henneth Lagor. The large yet cozy village was situated in a spacious lush meadow whose sides eventually rose to create a deep valley that went mostly unnoticed by the residents due to its sheer size. In the middle snaked one of the largest rivers in all of Hullen, Leithia, that sustained the population of around a thousand both literally economy. Not even the wonders of this new land of Lella was enough to make the feeling of homesickness entirely disappear. Nevertheless, it never dimmed her cheerful disposition, nor her curiosity towards the secrets that this new land carried.

As she had boarded the ship docked a little way off Hullen’s coast with her two new companions, Noelle found herself sitting on the edge of the ship, her legs dangling off the edge as she bid her homeland goodbye for an indefinite amount of time. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too long, she mused to herself as she nearly slid off the edge and into the water as the ship jerked, setting sail away from Hullen. With a final wave to the massive island-like landmass, Noelle swung round and set her feet back onto the ship, heading off towards her companions.

Accompanying her on their epic quest for Hullen’s gem were Sir Jak and Oliver. Both men Noelle were strangers to Noelle, strangers she quickly started chatting up for the sake of conversation. Talking wasn’t as tiring as finding something to amuse herself with, considering her occasionally short attention span. If Sir Jak and Oliver weren’t game for her chatty company, Noelle often wandered about the ship and spoke to the sailors and the crew, entertaining herself by keeping up a stream of rapid words and watching them attempt to keep up. It was an effortless way to keep her amused until they docked at Lella. And they did dock several days later and as Noelle stepped onto the soft sand of Lella’s coastline, slightly unsteady from the ship’s constant rocking, she took in the foreign country’s warm climate and lush forests, drinking it all in. The nature somewhat reminded her of Henneth Lagor, bringing a radiant smile upon her face that could rarely be brought on by anything else. Her heart already ached for the family she’d left behind, even though she’d sworn she wouldn’t return until she got tired of traipsing across the world. And it certainly wasn’t happening anytime soon. Her father’s absence had instilled a sense of independence within her, a silent form of defiance towards the man that had torn apart her childhood and her mother’s sanity.

Heartstone was beautiful. Of course, to Noelle, nothing could compare to Henneth Lagor and Aria but Hearthstone came a close second, the city’s astounding array of colors only serving to increase her wonder. Almost giddy with excitement, Noelle took in as much as she could, finding it impossible to take her eyes off the distinctive array of colors that spanned across Heartstone’s cloud formations. However, they weren’t to remain there for long as Noelle, Sir Jak and Oliver were routed towards a forest instead, in search of shelther. Noelle still had little to no idea to what this quest would entail and what it would bring them. Danger, perhaps, but Noelle wasn’t much too apprehensive at the thought of combating a rogue sorcerer or two – it was only the notion of getting up and doing work that put her off. Noelle couldn’t be bothered with using her spells unless really necessary. As they were taught to her by her mother while she was still sane and a prodigy at magic, Noelle grasped the basics of mist-based spells and expanded over the years. Her six years of traveling around Hullen brought her more knowledge, seeing as she couldn’t be bothered with doing something else other than learning magic. Learning magic required a considerably less amount of effort than doing something else like tailoring or blacksmithing to sustain herself, and surely it beat the prospect of doing nothing, which could be just as bad as doing too much. At least when people asked her what she did for a living, she could reply with, “Magic,” rather than, “Nothing,” which truthfully applied quite a bit more in her case.

Venturing into the depths of an unknown forest wasn’t as bad as Noelle had initially predicted it would be; they’d found company! A girl seemingly around her age, a man with a striking mustache, a girl with pink hair and another with white, and at last, a man a bit older than her sporting a light shade of hair. They’d seemingly come from different continents as well, Noelle learned as she took a seat on a log and offered her new companions a radiant smile. It was always nice to meet other travelers; there were more to share the workload, meaning Noelle didn’t have to do quite as much. Nevertheless, she contributed as much as she could in return for a place to spend the rest of the night. Despite her excitement, Noelle still found the place alien and rather impossible to navigate around. Lella was all green and forest and towering trees with vibrant green canopies, something that made her head spin with the attack of green on her eyes.

The girl-with-amber-eyes' statement didn't go unnoticed. Giving the young woman a bright smile, Noelle replied half to herself; "It certainly does seem so. You think it could be fate?" A light laugh accompanied that bizarre statement, denoting that it was a bit of a joke.

“So where do you all come from? Obviously some of you are from Lella but what about the rest of you? I’m Noelle, by the way, nice to meet you all. And thank you for the soup.” Noelle spoke up after the other white-haired, amber-eyed girl, not bothering with revealing her last name. A bowl of steaming soup rested in her lap as Noelle flapped her hand over it in an attempt to cool it down. Eventually it did and she sipped it slowly, feeling the warmth spread through her.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

The journey was ever slow and boring, the three humans strolling through the abandoned and strangely quiet streets while their fourth group member, Mado, ran off with a knife in her hand. The girl made Leon smile to himself, finding her antics amusing enough to not be entirely fearful of the possibility of the knife ending up in between his eyes.

However, a different train of thought was festering in his mind, something he didn’t want to deal with right at that moment. He’d ignored it ever since he’d first heard about the casualties on the ship but now it was almost impossible to stifle, leading Leon to settle into one of his actual expressions: a complete and utter blank. No smile, no frown, nothing. The residents’ hastily abandoned houses had a touch of dread to them, further accentuating the emptiness radiating off them. Despair was everywhere, nearly throwing Leon into despair himself. It was mind-blowing how serious this was and it finally hit home: this was a matter of life and death and, judging by the large number of empty houses, many had succumbed to death by mysterious circumstances.

Leila’s question gravitated Leon’s attention slightly towards her, half-listening to Hakuren’s answer while he took in his surroundings and absorbed in random, insignificant details. This type of multitasking was something Leon was already used to but it still only allowed him to hear bits and pieces of Hakuren’s answer. He readily lost interest in the conversation midway through and turned his head slowly in several directions, eyes scanning the premise for Mado. Where had the girl gone?

"Leon, me and Leila will be hitting the first house with locals across the street. I'm sure Mado should be nearby, so go and find her, will you? She's easy to spot, don't worry. Just listen for sounds of terror and watch out for panties being waived in the wind. We're no longer in the periphery of town, so there are plenty of prospective houses. I trust you know what to look for."

Tearing his eyes away from a bizarre plant bearing cat-shaped fruits, Leon turned to face Hakuren. For a brief moment, his empty expression remained unchanged as he subconsciously searched for an appropriate reaction. With a mock salute and a light, crooked smile to acknowledge Hakuren’s words, Leon angled himself at a direction diagonal to the blue-green-eyed boy and Leila. In a few minutes, he was well away from the duo and continued on a rather shabby path, the stone uneven and tufts of grass growing in-between the wide cracks.

Mado proved nearly impossible to find. Five minutes later, Leon was still circling the general area looking for the girl, the girl who along with Hakuren, hailed from Japan just as he did. Eventually he did find her, standing next to a pot of sorts and, following her line of vision, staring at an empty house. ’Looks like she found our first target,’ The girl was dripping wet and standing in the street like it was nothing unusual; but considering this was Nowhere, a Nobody wouldn’t even have batted an eye at the sight. But Mado wasn’t a Nobody. She was human, a human Leon quickly deduced was suffered from some sort of mental dilemma. What exactly, he didn’t know and couldn’t come even close to guessing.

Sighing, he walked up to the girl and gave her a once-over, taking in her soaked form. ’What to do…’ Leon wasn’t a particularly generous person, but he never could help aiding a kind, generous person. However, Mado didn’t seem kind or particularly generous. She seemed mad. Nevertheless, as he shrugged off his blazer, leaving him in a crisp white button-down shirt, and offered the piece of clothing to Mado, he gave her a rather lost look, as if he didn’t know exactly why he was offering his expensive blazer to a soaking stranger. “Looks like you need this. Have it.” He spoke, his voice trailing off to a slightly off tone.

He turned back towards the house, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. The fingers on his left hand played with the circular objects he found there; withdrawing one, a brief glance told him it was a ring he’d somehow brought along with him to Nowhere. They weren’t of much significance to him but they were pretty, leading him to put it back along with the eight or so other rings he’d somehow, sometime stashed in his pocket. His eyes drifted back up to the house, taking it its rather shabby exterior and probably equivalent interior. It didn’t seem like it could hold anything of value to them, let alone a clue leading to the mysterious Siren’s song.

Nevertheless, he turned back to Mado, his voice once again taking on a slightly off tone. “That house is our first target,” Leon started, a long finger pointing towards the building. “It doesn’t seem like there’s anyone inside but I’ll still knock anyway, just in case. If there’s someone inside, we obviously can’t raid it but if there is, let me do the talking.” He placed a bit of emphasis on the last few words, unsure whether Mado understood him or not. He was already talking slightly slower than usual in the hope that the girl understood and remembered his words. If she didn’t, Leon wasn’t entirely sure he could talk them out of trouble. “If there isn’t anyone there, we can raid the place. Just stick with me, please, and don’t go running off. I can’t always keep an eye on you.” Despite the fact that running after Mado would be tiring, Leon did find the girl amusing. At least he wasn’t stuck with a hideously boring person, or he might’ve become one himself.

He started towards the house and in a few strides he was at the front door, his pale hand coming to knock on the wooden door. His knocking dislodged several splinters off of the door, digging them deeper in and the ends protruding, giving Leon the sign that the wood was already rotting and anymore knocking would dislodge the entire door. He settled for waiting outside, patiently, listening for any signs of inhabitance. There was none and he brought out his other hand from his pocket to gently push the door open. However, as it wouldn’t budge, Leon felt his patience escaping him and he brought his leg up to kick the door open. It made surprisingly little sound as the door flew open.

Inside, the furniture was mostly in its place. Some seemed to have been disturbed, a chair lying overturned beside the coffee table and broken china littering the floor. “Watch your step, “ He warned, giving Mado a sharp look telling her to be careful. He decided to explore the living room and dining room, taking care not to disturb the thick layer of dust too much. The dust got onto his clothes and showed up most noticeably on his pants, much to his displeasure as he brushed away at the dust. Feeling his irritation surge slightly at the condition of his clothes, Leon quickly scoured the rooms for anything out of the ordinary, dislodging jammed drawers and cupboards with some effort. So far, he’d found nothing and, venturing back into the living room, he looked around for Mado. “Oi, Mado-san. Did you find anything?”

Shattered & Scattered

I'm getting a post up really soon, probably by tonight~ ^^

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Well, it's a weekend and I'm chilling in the sun~ Laziness sets in xD I personally don't think we'll need much help but it's up to the rest of them. I'm fine with anything, really.

How bout the rest of you guys? How's life treating you? ^^

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Being placed with Hakuren, Leila and Mado wasn’t something Leon had a problem with; in fact, his team seemed to be far easier to get along with, seeing as how he didn’t have to walk on eggshells around them. That likely would’ve been the case around Harper and Jasper, their quieter and more docile natures bringing out a softer and more nervous side of him that Leon didn’t particularly appreciate. Hakuren seemed like a promising leader, Leila gave him a knowledgeable vibe and Mado… slightly off but alright to him. He certainly hoped she wasn’t as homicidal as his gut was hinting at.

The caves sounded like the perfect place to hide something; if at any point of time someone had decided to hide an object – or even a song in Yonder, the dark depths of a cave sounded like a rewarding location, obscure and deserted enough to ensure no wayward tourist would go traipsing around and accidentally uncovered something they weren’t meant to.

As the first group departed in search of clues, Leon offered them a parting smile and a small wave, wishing them luck. Certainly, if the other group had some luck first, that would mean less work for them. As much as he’d have liked to deny it, Leon wasn’t one to appreciate energy-consuming activities and work. The less the better, his lazy mind agreed with the notion.

The sound of Hakuren’s voice brought his attention back to the dark-haired teen. Leon’s bright eyes watched the male silently. As Hakuren distributed their roles, a wide smile made its way on Leon’s face. "We'll be the sweet-talkers. Don't slip up or we might lose a vital piece."

“You have nothing to worry about. This is where fifteen years of playing the loveable, welcoming host comes in.” Leon didn’t even bother hiding the amusement in his voice, startled at the fact that his people-skills were coming in handy in a serious situation, for once. Sure, his sneaky smooth-talking had gotten him out of countless tight spots but now, finding this song was their key to the human world. Having never been through the rest’s ordeal and having spent two weeks in a merry tour of Nowhere, Leon wasn’t in all that hurry to leave yet though a nagging feeling deep inside told him that opinion would probably change soon, and radically.

The finer points of the plan were quickly running though his mind and being processed before Leon offered feedback, his tone slow and calculating. “Don’t you think they’ll start asking questions about that ‘survey’ of ours, especially if the rest of the village isn’t included?” It was a small concern but a concern nonetheless, something Leon felt needed to be addressed in order to eliminate any excessive risk. Nevertheless, Leon felt a bit of impatience set in and he bounced on his feet lightly, eager to get going.

After the discussion was over, Leon absently smiled to his group and, shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he started off at a slow pace towards the southern part of the village, minding his pace and not going too fast. What kind of question were supposed to be the most effective? About living condition, all the more? Thousands of possible conversation topics and openers went through his mind at a hundred miles an hour, some immediately being dismissed and some being put away as possible. Though he’d had nearly two decades of training in socializing, this was an entirely new situation. Apprehension butted its way up to the front of his mind, flashing all sorts of unwanted scenarios and situations from his mind until Leon shoved them back down, but not before garnering useful information – what to avoid.

The apprehension still lingered but he assured himself things would be alright, his usual confidence surfacing until an easy, relaxed smile took over. Socializing was something he was immensely comfortable with – now, only to utilize it.

Bleach: The Hollowing

Sounds good, please do ^^

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Posted~ aaaanddd --

Bring on the games.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Leon nodded along to a boy’s explanation about a list of sorts, hanging onto his every word. A list didn’t sound so bad, he thought – until he heard the next item on the list. He shook his head, convinced he hadn’t heard them right. “Excuse me?” His voice was incredulous and his eyebrows rose in surprise. “A song? How do you physically find a song?” His eyes narrowed at the boy, weighing up the situation. There was something wrong there, something he was obviously hesitant to tell them. When he turned towards two other humans behind him, Leon followed his gaze to a boy around his age and a girl.

Harper’s previous statement echoed in his ears. "So far there are five of us, Hakuren, Jasper, Leila, Mado and I. There were a bit more us back then, but that's a story for another day."

So it was true. Leon inwardly smirked at having gotten that piece of information and stored it away, still absentmindedly wonder exactly what had happened to the other humans. However, he tuned that thought out and ran back over the names. Jasper, Leila and Mado were obviously girls, leaving Hakuren the only viable option for the other boy Riddle had turned to. The girl, he remembered she had muttered her name as “Jasper”. There was yet another girl behind Hakuren, a girl with dark hair who’d only nodded in greeting and hadn’t offered her name. Leila or Mado. The other name would obviously belong to the girl that had yanked at Cello’s ear.

Despite the introductions being all over the place and only figuring out three of the five humans’ names, Leon quickly committed the names to memory, along with the Nobodies. Songbird. Martini. Brandy. Two-Thirds. Serenade. Dissonance. Their names were definitely outlandish and Leon could only barely match possible names to the beings themselves, speculating the Songbird was the Nobody with feather-like hair. The rest were impossible to tell and Leon decided to simply wait for the right moment.

Due to his inner musings, Leon remained silent for a while, until Hakuren started explaining the ‘List’. Suddenly putting his name-deducting spree on hold, Leon's eyes surveyed him sharply, putting away Hakuren’s words deep into his mind for future analysis, should it be warranted. Despite his initial excitement at being in Nowhere, Leon found a little bit of it diminishing as the boy went on, only a smile on his face. Strange, how he spoke of people of drowning themselves without batting an eye. Nevertheless, Leon’s growing apprehension was hidden behind a small smile, attentively nodding along to Hakuren. After all, it was something expected of Nowhere. You couldn’t encounter such a phenomenon back in the real world, could you? Either way, it was slightly terrifying and for a split second, the nightmares flashed back before Leon’s eyes, making him blink rapidly several times in surprise. Perhaps it had had something to do with the case? For several moments, Leon found himself wondering whether to bring it up. Had the others experienced the nightmares too? It was hard to tell, for no one mentioned it or gave any outward sign of distress or sleeplessness.

While Hakuren turned and addressed the dark-haired girl behind him, Leon went off in his own thoughts. A Siren’s song? Could that possibly have something to do with recreating the song? Singing it or producing it somehow? It was clear that it was physically impossible to collect a song, yet this was Nowhere and Leon was entirely sure whether the laws of physics and the universe applied here.

“Leila Noelle.” Leila. He’d remember that, just like the rest of the names. Hakuren, the dark-haired boy that, now that he thought about it, was strikingly similar to himself. Leila and Jasper, the girls, one having dark hair and the other light. Harper, the timid boy that seemed only a little bit younger than him. That left Mado, the brown haired girl Cello had referred to as ‘stabby girl’. Despite the burning curiosity to find out why, it fizzled out and disappeared almost immediately, his interest jumping to the topic at hand.

“So, where exactly do you guys think we should start investigating? The victim’s house sounds promising enough.” For the first time, Leon spoke, adding his thoughts in to the inquiry, the question aimed only slightly more towards Hakuren, as he seemed to be the chattiest of the humans. He’d only met these new humans around fifteen minutes ago after two weeks of nothing but oversized insects and talking vegetables yet, he already felt at ease, like he’d been there the entire time.

DEAD - Harry Potter RP

● Aiden ●

Aiden grinned at Artemis’ reaction and rolled his eyes. Trust Artemis to fire up after a single question. “Calm yourself, I’ve had enough of screaming, demented people today.” Perhaps she wouldn’t catch on the underlying insult, but Aiden bit back a laugh and smiled into his butterbeer. If he was lucky (read: not), Artemis would fly off the hinge again. Truth be told, he missed it. He was so surrounded by monotony he’d forgotten what fun was. He’d occasionally kept in touch with some of his Hufflepuff friends but had lost contact with most of his other friends, including Artemis and Noelle.

After having graduated, his father had told him to “Make a decent career, boy! How are you going to provide for your family? Certainly not by riding a broom 24/7. And what would you tell your mother when she asks about your job? At least you could tell her you’re a doctor…” Things had gone on in this vein for quite a while until Aiden had had enough and, just to get his father off his back, accepted an intern position in St. Mungo’s while declining an offer from several professional Quidditch teams. And not as a reserve, as every new member started out. As a Beater, he would have been able to play in every match. He still missed it sometimes, much more than the blabbering of an old man that had fallen on his head and forgotten his own name.

At Miyu’s response, Aiden snorted. “No doubt, I wouldn’t be surprised if you showed up with a ghost girlfriend someday.” Of course, their Sixth and Seventh Years had been filled with drama, turmoil, teen angst and students he couldn’t even remember seeing before getting together and breaking up in a matter of days. It had been amusing, watching from the sidelines and occasionally getting himself dragging into it intentionally or not. Being a Quidditch legend – especially after Sixth Year – in his time at Hogwarts, Aiden had had no shortage of admirers and people constantly trying out for the team after he had become Captain, trying to take advantage of his good nature to gain a place. Fortunately, none were better than the current team and he’d only had to accept a Chaser and two reserves, all of whom were good. The dirty looks that decision had warranted, though, hadn’t been good.

His mind wandered back to Hogwarts and the three people he’d been friends with. It had been a stroke of luck, meeting them here. “What’s up with your books, Noelle?” He tipped his chin in her direction, watching her face go through a flurry of emotions, wondering how to answer. “You don’t have a tarantula farm at that mansion of yours by any chance, do you?” A snicker, and he found himself ducking away from a large butterbeer cork. Across him, Noelle was visibly frustrated at his jibe but he could see her fighting down a smile by the rapid appearance and disappearance of her dimple. A telltale sign he’d observed over the years. He had missed the Ravenclaw and the high level of intrigue she’d presented; while Artemis was predictable, Noelle was not. She was a closed book, a puzzle with pieces scattered by the winds. She’d kept him curious and nine years later, she still did.

Finishing up his butterbeer, Aiden thumped the empty mug down onto the rickety table. He stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I was going to go flying sometime later today but now that you’re here, we could go together. You game?” He knew Artemis had a phobia of flying but the other two were perfectly good fliers – he’d missed flying with familiar faces. Deep in his pocket laid his broom, one of the best considering he’d been saving up for it since he’d been eleven. Artemis’ condition briefly passed through his mind but he dismissed it. Surely the girl could get up on a broom even a little bit? It wasn’t like she’d fall and even if she did, she had three others to catch her.

---

● Noelle ●

Noelle was less than pleased to be back in the vicinity of Miyu Kisaragi. The very person who’d caused her untold misery and the reason why random streaks of her hair were still multicolored.

Inwardly, though, a frightening thought was coming to life. She’d missed it. She’d missed the fun of it. Her logical side immediately shot back, ”What was so fun about getting paint dumped on your hair and having your books missing? Don’t forget the day you had to walk barefoot all day because Peeves stole your shoes.” Those were plausible concerns but truthfully, Noelle missed the spontaneity of it all. But she sure as hell wasn’t going to admit it. Noelle was already watching her back, just in case Miyu decided to try something. She was never able to tell with him, his stupid, smug face giving nothing away until all hell broke loose. However, the unexpected thought that his smile was… magnetizing butted up out of nowhere, forcing a disgruntled Noelle to shove it back down, not happy in the least.

Unfortunately, avoiding him during Hogwarts hadn't been entirely possible. As most classes were either Slytherin and Ravenclaw or combined in the case of electives, Noelle had found it impossible to avoid him and had resorted to ducking her head and lying low. Of course, teachers had made that impossible too by usually partnering her up with him. Countless explosions later, he'd singed the ends of her hair and that was only the beginning of it. And, horrifyingly, she'd had to stifle a laugh during some of them - of course, when his accidents hadn't affected her, which was rare. If he ever found out she thought of him as amusing at times, she'd never live it down. But despite her confusing opinion on the asian boy, Noelle found it changing radically at times and she honestly missed all three of them.

Schooling her face back into a neutral expression from the slightly wistful smile, she once again found herself at a loss for words at Aiden’s jibe. Noelle knew he was only teasing but she couldn’t help but throw a butterbeer cork at him to shut him up, shoving down the smile that threatened to show. Her face colored lightly, a flurry of emotions on her face that she’d failed to hide. One quick tap later, her books were shrunk and in her pocket. No more teasing. And if she was lucky, they’d forget they were ever looking at a volume titled ‘Time Fairies and Where to Find Them’.

At Aiden’s offer, Noelle smiled and nodded. “I don’t have a broom, though. I left it at home.” Flying would be welcome after all this time. However, after a quick glance at Artemis, Noelle decided against it and regretted her words. She knew the Gryffindor hated flying, something she’d witnessed over time during the few flying classes Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had shared. “On second thought, I don’t feel like it. I need to go to Gringotts.” A visible shudder accompanied her words at the thoughts of the menacing goblins that had taken a liking to intentionally scaring her. “Do you want to come with me?” Noelle turned to Artemis, an encouraging smile on her face only slightly falling at the thought of facing a goblin. Though she was mostly doing it for Artemis, the girl’s company would surely be comforting. Now her only concern that her fear wasn’t obvious; Aiden and Miyu tagging along to witness her fidget and lean precariously away from the goblins wouldn’t be ideal. No, not at all. They could go bash heads over Quidditch instead.