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Post by Cleo Vanderley on Jul 27, 2010 23:36:16 GMT -5
It was just too nice outside to be cooped up in the stale air of the castle. Cleo just couldn't sit in there, couldn't pretend to care about potions or transfiguration or whatever class she was supposed to be in now. She didn't know and she didn't care.
Instead, she was standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, peering in curiously. She did this often; frequently she even went in. She had actually gone as far as a small stream that ran through the forest once, but she turned back when she heard footsteps approaching. It might have been a deer, but she was not about to linger and find out.
Right now, she was content to walk along the outside of the forest, just looking in. She wasn't afraid to go in, and she wasn't even worried about getting caught... maybe there was even a small part of her that wanted to get caught. But sometimes it was just as much fun to stand outside as it was to plunge right in. On the outside, she could make up fantastic stories in her mind, imagine what mysteries might lay within. Some said there was a lone werewolf who lived deep in the forest. Cleo imagined he was handsome and tortured and he hid in the forest because he was afraid of hurting people.
Then there were the centaurs. She had heard how beautiful and majestic they were, but she had also heard how they did not like humans. Still, it was fun to imagine meeting one, and making friends with him.
Sighing dreamily, she sat down on a large log just at the very edge of the forest and peered inside, wondering.
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Post by Aline Fieri on Aug 3, 2010 12:42:24 GMT -5
Aline wasn't in the mood for transfiguration today. She knew it was a required class and that once she was found to be missing, someone would probably go looking for her and she'd get detention for a week or so, but Aline didn't care about that. She only cared about getting outside. The weather was just beginning to turn warm, a good change from the coldness of March, and Aline didn't want to be stuck in the castle.
She was walking by the Black Lake, debating on whether or not to sit there when she saw someone standing by the Forbidden Forest. Aline had heard other students talking about it, and even some sevenths years were too scared to go in alone.
"Well, I'll show them!" Aline said to herself, and started walking up to the person standing outside of the forest. She looked older than Aline, and since she stuck mostly to her Hufflepuff friends, Aline hadn't seen her around.
"Are you going in?" Aline asked, looking up at the girl.
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Post by Cleo Vanderley on Aug 6, 2010 22:07:05 GMT -5
Cleo had picked up a long branch from the ground, and was poking at a hole in the middle of a tree, as if hoping she would wake some sleeping creature. Maybe an enchanted squirrel, or a vampire bat. At the sound of a voice behind her, she turned to see a small girl, probably a first year, standing nearby.
"Yeah, I might," Cleo replied. "I've done it before. It's pretty cool, but not nearly as scary as everyone thinks it is."
She considered the girl. The yellow crest on her robe indicated that she was a Hufflepuff. Cleo didn't know many Hufflepuffs. Most of her friends were fellow Gryffindors. She always thought Hufflepuffs were wimps.
"You wanna come with me?"
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Post by Aline Fieri on Aug 7, 2010 0:03:15 GMT -5
Aline smiled at the offer. She was always up for an adventure, anything to possibly get her into trouble, only not too much. Zeke, she knew, would be really mad at her if she got anything more than a detention, and Aline didn't want her brother to be mad at her. She loved him too much to suffer through a silent treatment.
"Let's go! I can face whatever's in there!" Aline said. That was most likely not true, Aline thought, but she didn't want to seem like she was weak in front of someone new. She was always up for trying new things, but she was always scared in the back of her mind. Even at a young age, she learned to push scary things to the back of her mind so she can do things she wants to try.
"I'm Aline, by the way."
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Post by Cleo Vanderley on Aug 8, 2010 22:47:30 GMT -5
Well, the girl had guts, anyway. Or at least she was trying to act like she did. Cleo could admire that. Most of the outrageous things she did were, in some way or another, frightening, and that was part of the thrill of it all. What was life without a little risk, after all?
"Nice to meet you, Aline," she said. "I'm Cleo."
She dropped the stick she was holding and nodded toward the forest. "Sure you want to go in there? They say there are werewolves and centaurs and giant spiders, too."
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Post by Aline Fieri on Aug 14, 2010 20:56:48 GMT -5
The spiders Aline thought she would be okay with, and while she thought the centaurs would be scary, she decided she'd stay away from those. But the werewolves...that was a different story. She looked into the forest, straining to hear if there was anything like that, knowing she wouldn't be able to hear anything. It was worth a shot.
"I think I'll be alright! Plus, the werewolves won't be out now. It's too early for them." Aline said, and put on a brave smile, even though she was scared inside. She would've been more sure of herself if Cleo hadn't mentioned werewolves. "After you." Aline added with a nervous chuckle.
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Post by Cleo Vanderley on Aug 14, 2010 22:33:39 GMT -5
"The full moon is still a few days away, anyway," Cleo pointed out, unconcerned. "If we met a werewolf, we probably wouldn't even know it. He'd probably look just like anyone else, you know? In fact, that could be true anytime. For all you know, the kid you sit next to in Potions class could be a werewolf. Or maybe I'm a werewolf. How would you know unless the full moon was out?"
OK, so it was a little cruel. Cleo couldn't resist messing with the kid, just a little bit. She certainly didn't think any students at the school could possibly be werewolves... surely someone would keep track of that sort of thing, right? Although, if werewolves could look just like normal people most of the time, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal, and they did deserve to learn if they wanted to, right?
"I'll show you where I found this little stream that runs through the forest," she said. "I think it drains into the lake further down. I bet unicorns like to drink from it."
Smiling back at Aline, Cleo stepped into the forest.
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Post by Aline Fieri on Aug 16, 2010 15:29:00 GMT -5
Aline forced a smile the entire time Cleo was telling her of werewolves, and that they could be in her class and she would never know. Aline made a mental note to be more careful around the students she thought of as weird.
"Yeah...I guess I wouldn't know..." Aline said. Her expression changed when Cleo mentioned unicorns. Aline read about them a lot when she was growing up, and she always wanted to become a specialist on them when she grew up.
"Do you think we can try and find a unicorn? That would be really cool! Do you like them?" Aline asked as she walked quickly in order to keep up with Cleo. Aline never walked very quickly, and therefore got used to walking fast to keep up with others.
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Post by Cleo Vanderley on Aug 17, 2010 21:33:21 GMT -5
"We can try," Cleo agreed readily. "I know they live in the forest, but I've never seen one. But Hagrid says there's a whole flock of them. Is that the right word for a bunch of unicorns?"
She shrugged, dismissing the question. She didn't really expect an answer for it, anyway. She sometimes did that; just asked questions that didn't really need an answer.
"Anyway, if we want to find unicorns, we should probably talk really quietly. Too much noise scares them off, you know."
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Post by Aline Fieri on Aug 28, 2010 22:07:08 GMT -5
Aline thought about her question. Flock, bunch, a tribe... Aline had heard tribe and blessing used before in the books she read, but when Cleo changed the subject, Aline knew she wasn't really looking for an answer for the question she asked. She couldn't remember when kind of question it was; something Zeke had told her that Aline didn't remember.
"You know, I want to hunt unicorns when I grow up," She said, dropping her voice to a whisper, not wanting to ruin their chances of seeing any unicorns. Aline didn't think they would see a unicorn only taking a few steps into the forest, but she wanted to make sure their voices wouldn't travel. "Well, not really hunt, but search for. I want to do research on them, and take pictures to put around my room." Aline said with a smile.
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Post by Cleo Vanderley on Aug 31, 2010 17:30:47 GMT -5
Despite her attempts to seem cynical, Cleo couldn't quite stop herself from smiling. Aline really was a cute kid. In a way, Cleo was reminded of her little brother Julius, who she hadn't seen in 7 years. She only barely remembered why they had been separated; she had been so young when it happened. She remembered levitating him in the air, how he had laughed and clapped with joy. And she remembered when he fell... he'd even been laughing up until the moment he'd hit the ground. He had fallen from so high... But she knew he was alive. She had seen him in the hospital afterward, and he hadn't seemed mad or anything. But then her parents had sent her off to live with her aunt and she didn't get to see Julius anymore. She wasn't even allowed to write to him.
Cleo pushed these dark thoughts from her mind as she carefully picked her way through the undergrowth of the forest. "Unicorns are very shy creatures, but they're more likely to take to girls than boys. And you know, they do need people to protect them. I heard that unicorn blood can keep people from dying, even if they're seconds from death. But if someone were to drink unicorn blood, they'd be cursed to a half-life for killing the unicorn. Can you imagine anyone being that desperate to live that they'd settle for a cursed life?"
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