drifting out to the sea

[katrina vanessa]

katrina vanessa
( tag: adelle gear )

katrina vanessa wandered around her common room, listening to the crackling of the fire and her classmates outside. even from one of the highest towers, she could still hear the laughter and screams from down below. she hadn't found paige anywhere, nor could she really find zoltin in this mess of a school. no rick, no paxton, no molly, no tallia, no ryan or chris... she sighed and leaned her arms on the window sill, staring down on the luscious green grass everyone seemed to be lounging on, taking advantage of the last bit of warm weather before winter came along. she ran her fingers through her hair and rested her head on her hand.

sitting there quietly waiting, a tawny owl came flying down out of nowhere and perched itself in front of her. it's yellow eyes were gleaming beautifully at her as it nipped her fingers affectionately. she smiled and caressed it's soft wings and letting it rub its head against her hand. she sighed, best make use of the great weather before it's gone... she thought hopelessly. even if she was alone, she was going out there anyway. she dashed up to her dormitory and grabbed her cloak and her bag. she swung that over her shoulder and charged out of the portrait hole, smiling sadly for everyone to see.

as she wandered across the lawn, her nose pressed in one of her books, she listened to the chatter around her and some whispers that followed her. as she glanced up, the girls who seemed to be talking about her stopped immediately and watched her carefully. she shot them a confused smile and journeyed on. why on earth would anyone be talking about her? it was just plain stupid... especially since katrina had never found herself all that interesting. nevertheless, she ignored the chatter and before she knew it, she found herself on the edge of the forest.

she glanced nervously around. she could do for some adventure. and she knew her way around the school well enough. and besides, it wouldn't hurt to go in... just a little bit. keeping to the path of course. she shrugged and shut her book. the moment she stepped on the path, the trees gave a sudden rush, as though a strong wind had blown past. kat stopped dead and took a deep breath. she continued on, looking around curiously. no one seemed to have noticed her disappearance, no matter how many eyes seemed to have been following her around back there. she sat down on a mossy rock and pulled her wand out from behind her ear. she muttered a spell all sixth years knew like the back of their hand and her wand tip ignited. she opened her book and held it over the pages as she continued to read about the history of magic and what happened to the witches and wizards who tried meddling with it.

[adelle gear]

.adelle gear.

There was an eerie howling wind as Adelle cast Lumos. A bright, golden glow instantly was emitted from the tip of her wand. Though the aura was small, it would be sufficient enough. Cleverly, she erected her wand in a tree only inches away from her easel. After six years of painting at Hogwarts, Adelle had found her muse in the forest. Some may say this was foolish, others may say she was crazy; after all, the forbidden forest was forbidden for a reason. Adelle thought it was genius, though. Among all the calamity inside the school Adelle found an escape in the marveling beauty of the enchanted woods.

With a pallet in one hand, and a brush in the other, Adelle began her latest masterpiece. She twirled the short brown bristles of the brush into a subtle gray-blue. Today she would paint a landscape of the sight in front of her eyes. The tree bark seemed almost luminescent tonight, almost ghastly. This is what made it all so beautiful though. The mystery, the grace, the haunting.

Adelle delicately placed the brush against the crisp white canvas. Painting in darkness proved to be quite the challenge. Lucky for her she could use Lumos, otherwise this task would be an impossibility. A noise cracked from within another area as Adelle danced the paintbrush along the canvas, but she unwisely ignored it. Each time she'd come to the forest, she'd left without a scratch as well. As long as it wasn't a toad, she'd be fine. Or at least, that's what she told herself.

The noises persisted with a crescendo, and paranoia was starting to seep into Adelle's blood stream. Still, she edged on with her painting. Another noise came, this time though, Adelle could make out another light, and it was heading directly for her. She cautiously went to grab her wand, readying herself for that was to come. It was only yards away now, whatever it was. In a few moments she'd be able to know if there was a threat upon her.

Adelle inhaled, prepared to shout a spell, but exhaled deeply when she realized what this perpetrator was; or should I say who it was. Katrina O'Neal. AKA the Jerk's girl.
"Oh, it's you." she scoffed, just loud enough for Katrina to hear. She'd never met the girl before, but if she hang around with Zoltin, she must have something wrong with her.

[katrina vanessa]

katrina vanessa
the lights on off in my mind

katrina had been reading peacefully, calmly for what seemed like hours. she glanced down at her page and realized she had gone through about two chapters... not that she really noticed out here. she shuddered at a howl that was heard deep within the vines and trees of the forest and shut her book with a loud, echoing snap. but then again, that wasn't her book. kat spun around, her wand at the ready, prepared to stun. but before she had the chance, she saw a dim, golden light and blinked back surprise. she didn't recognize the girl all that much, but from her way of greeting, it was probably someone who didn't quite like her all that much. kat cleared her throat, ready for another smartass comment, but none came. she took it as her turn to say something.

well that wasn't a nice way of greeting someone you barely know... katrina thought bitterly, ready to say something just as mean back, but decided against it. she chose not to fight fire with fire, and that was all right with her. even when others did. "well - yeah. who were you expecting?" she asked the girl lightly, before realization dawned on her. she had suddenly figured out the girl's last name.. gear. she had heard it before, but where? kat tucked away some bangs and kept her wand steady as she thought long and hard about what this girl's name was, since the girl appeared to know who she was to sound so annoyed or what not.

oh! oh, right! adelle. like adelle the anarchist, from the sixteenth century britain! kat finally managed a smile at figuring out who this girl happened to be. "you're... you're adelle gear... aren't you?" she said, slightly timid, though it only showed in her eyes. and judging by the darkness of the forest, you could barely make out her silhouette, let alone her eyes. she felt a little stupid for just stating that. blunt as it was. the girl was probably going to come up with some way to be a little... er... different to her. katrina had heard all these bitter things about adelle from zoltin, but it wasn't like she believed all of it. maybe the fact that she was oh-so-confident and could be a coward... but maybe the coward bit was over the top. this girl looked like she could rough it out in the forbidden forest for a week and come out alive and unfazed by it all.

[adelle gear]

.adelle gear.

Adelle tried to study Katrina's features. She'd seen her in the corridors, and heard about her quite a lot from Zoltin, but had yet to see her up close. It seemed that would still have to wait, though, for all she could make out was a dark outline of her body shape. She thought about putting her wand in front of her, Lumos still active, but decided against it.
How weird would that look.

"Well - yeah. who were you expecting?" Katrina's voice was ligh as she spoke.
"The Easter Bunny," she sneered with a sarcastic tone. Adelle much preferred being alone in the forest, especially when she was concentrating on a painting. To have been interrupted by something so trivial, well, she despised that.

The two stood in silence for a few moments before Katrina spoke once more. In the few moments that had passed, the girl seemed to have had a revelation of some sort. "You're... you're Adelle Gear... aren't you?" she stammered timidly.
"That I am," Adelle responded simply. "And you're Katrina O'Neil." Adelle punched out Katrina in such a manner that it would sound ugly, and as if it stung her tongue to even mention the name. Why was she even in the forest reading anyway? Adelle rolled her eyes at the thought.

[katrina vanessa]

katrina vanessa
the lights on off in my mind

katrina was, once again, taken aback by her behavior. what had she ever done to bother her? she hadn't ever hexed or jinxed someone except for those rare occasions when she lost her temper, and usually it had been directed at either heidi or paxton.. and in the past, it had been at tallia... but never ever had she hurt adelle. though, why she suddenly had this burning desire to do it now, was beyond her to understand, so she shook it off and tucked her wand away in her bun, chopstick style.

kat nodded, still feeling a little awkward with this girl standing in front of her, tough exterior and a very interesting way of repelling people that don't quite feel like going away yet. kat saw the outline of something behind adelle and squinted a little before she finally decided to come right out and ask adelle what on earth it was. not that she was worried or anything, since it look inanimate and all that. "what's that back there where you were sitting?" she asked her curiously, pointing past adelle's shoulder. she gripped her bag cautiously, hoping that it would speak words of wisdom to her or something. someway to help her get through his nasty situation with a girl who obviously didn't want company... and obviously didn't ever want kat's company specifically

[adelle gear]

.adelle gear.

A cold front was settling in; what else could be expected in the month of September though? This would probably be the last time she could paint in the forest until spring of next year, and her Katrina was, ruining it.

"What's that back there where you were sitting?" Katrina wanted to know. Adelle sighed. It was obvious to her that the girl wasn't leaving any time soon, so she might as well answer it.
"It's an easel," explained Adelle, "I paint. I'm sure Zoltin's told you how much he despises them."

It was only a matter of time before Adelle would bring up Zoltin, it had seemed inevitable. Zoltin was the cause of all this anger and bitterness, which was most likely why Adelle hadn't even bothered to give Katrina a chance. Adelle figured she already hated her anyhow.

[katrina vanessa]

katrina vanessa
the lights on off in my mind

kat shivered as a slight breeze blew past the two girls and she pulled her robes a little tighter around her arms and exhaled a small breath as she looked around. she heard a crack and spun around, only to see a small leaf that fell onto the ground. she sighed in relief before realizing she didn't quite know which direction she came from. kat nibbled on her lower lip before tucking some of her bangs hopelessly behind her ear. she tugged on her earring of a small silver hippogriff before letting her hands fall restlessly by her sides again.

kat cocked her head. of course kat didn't hate adelle yet, she was only slightly annoyed with her, but as she ran her fingers through her bangs again, she smiled, "i don't think i've seen any of your paintings to judge." she said softly, "though, i don't know if you'll let me see them. you seem a little... over protective. you're guard's up." she said, shrugging her shoulders. kat's eyes flashed a calm, light blue, signifying her being laid-back and a little more comfortable with her surroundings, even if a little black crept in for fear and sorrow. it was the forbidden forest after all. you're never really safe in here.

[adelle gear]

.adelle gear.

Was this girl trying to test Adelle's patience? "I don't think I've seen any of your paintings to judge." she said softly, "though, I don't know if you'll let me see them. you seem a little... over protective. you're guard's up."

My guard's up? Yeah, right up your ass. I'll show you. Gripping her wand firmly, she swiftly pointed it toward her unfinished painting.
"Go ahead, look," she said gruffly. Now even Adelle was confused by her hostility. She wasn't experiencing PMS or anything like that. Katrina had bad things going from her from the start, but this was a bit overboard. Adelle decided she'd try to ease up on her a bit.

"What do you think?" she inquired in a much softer, smoother tone. "It's not done yet, but, so far, I mean." In the distance, croaking was audible, causing Adelle to cringe. Toads too? The cold was increasing; Adelle sniffled, and rubbed her arms.

Adelle was surprisingly getting nervous as to what Katrina would think. She didn't like that she cared what this girl thought, but yet, she did. Why her opinion was so important? Adelle couldn't put her finger on it, but it was.

[katrina vanessa]

katrina vanessa
the lights on off in my mind

kat eyed her uncertainly and she pulled her wand out of her bun and flicked it on. it was like an electric light used by muggles. she swished it on and swished it off, but right now, she kept it alight as she maneuvered her way through a few branches and thick groups of bushes. she finally came to the spot where an easel rested, calm and unfazed by its surrounds, holding up a painting. kat cocked her head and moved her wand tip around it, viewing the edges and the focal point and everything about it. and then she raised her wand and pointed it at the clump of tree's and stones that were in the painting in front of her. she couldn't clearly make it out, so as she opened her mouth she said calmly, "lumos maxima!" and her wand lit the entire area and kat could see that, even in the darkness and even as it wasn't finished, adelle had captured basically almost all of the tiny little details kat would have missed in a heartbeat. she let out a slow, admiring whistle.

kat nodded, smiling. "i think it's brillian'." she said, glancing from adelle to the landscape. "i mean, for it not to be done yet... well, i'm sure it'll look great when it's done." she added, flustered by the sudden wave of kindness given to her by the girl. strange, really... but nothing kat couldn't get used to. "have you done a lot more?" she asked adelle curiously, still amazed that a sixteen year old (no matter how talented at drawing and painting) could do something so... life-like and so different. kat was sure she'd pay five galleons for that right now, and that was saying something since katrina was usually pretty critical over other peoples' work.