Expect the inexplicable (open)

[Nephelle Bathory]

When a person wants to be truly away from all human-kind, said person shouldn't go to the obvious places, such as the lake, or the library. Everyone goes there to get away from it all. Nephelle would know better than to wander off into the woods to be alone. After all, if you go to a place that everyone expects to be vacant, more often than never will you find someone else who thought just like you. Usually, the places no one would think of are the most vacant. And for that reason, this girl could be found in the kitchens during most of her time, doing what she pleased though having no one there to judge.

Once you got past the constant rush of house elves running here and there with their over-sized pots and pans, dropping them every other time, the lack of students was to die for. Nephelle enjoyed the company of house elves much more than random students in the great hall. After all, house elves had bigger hearts, usually never said a single rude word to you, and were always too busy to pay too much attention to you. They usually had no cares of what you were doing, while if someone stumbled upon you in the astronomy tower at three in the morning they would usually be curious and bothersome, demanding to know what you are doing there.

In the kitchens, she could sit delicately at a small table, enjoying herself at one of her tea parties that no one ever attended but herself. She never invited anyone to have tea with her, but nevertheless, she was sipping from her porcelain cup alone, almost oblivious to the small elves around her, using only part of her concentration to block out the noise.

Nephelle sighed as she propped her legs up on the table, two pale legs masked by black and white stripped stockings, and brought both the tea cup and saucer closer to her lips to swallow another mouthful of the steaming delicacy, and closing her eyes to take in the sweet relaxation she was finally able to have.

[Larkin Prewett]

Larkin was hungry and restless. This meant only one thing - a trip to the kitchens.

She had discovered a way in in her second year at Hogwarts, too shy to talk to her fellow classmates. She had started to seek out secret passageways and seldom-used classrooms. Eventually, Larkin had found her way into the kitchens. She immediately loved the house elves in a way that she had never liked people. They were also quite knowledgeable about the castle itself. She had learned a lot from these small, unseen creatures, invisible like herself. Eventually, she learned to tell them apart from the others, learn names and personalities. They were her secret friends, the ones who would never judge her and had no alliances - their loyalty lay with the school and the headmistress. Their lives were small and simple and untroubled, much like Larkin wished hers to be.

Today, however, when Larkin entered the loud, busy kitchens, there was another girl there. She stared - this had never happened before. Larkin studied the girl for a moment. After years of being invisible, seeing someone who was just so boldly there was bordering on facinating for her. Larkin took in bright red hair and striped stockings propped up on a small table. The girl appeared to be having a tea party, but more curiously, a tea party for one. Larkin shut the door quietly, not that she needed to with all the clanging and clashing of the kitchens, and began to say hello to all the house elves who had immediately rushed to greet her.

[Nephelle Bathory]

As Nephelle took yet another sip of her tea, she looked up quickly to see another student enter the area to her surprise. It was the last thing she thought would happen, quite frankly, but she didn't get angry like she would with others. Something about this girl seemed oddly tolerable, unlike many others around the school. She didn't have... a "look." Something Nephelle would describe as just a way someone presented themselves that would suggest they were someone she would most likely dislike. Say, that snob death eater Inri Tunila, who really didn't have that look on their first meeting, as the girl was two-sided, but when she had that aura about her, that "I'm too rich for you" stance and facial expression, she was on the bottom of her list of people to be around.

But no, this girl was a little different than what she had seen of others. She was slightly reserved even here, though maybe Nephelle's own presence might have had something to do with it. She especially knew that she could be slightly intimidating in every aspect, though usually she was intimidating to the "white sheep" of the school in a different way. Because she dressed differently, and chose to not keep her natural blond locks. Many wondered why she dyed her hair in the first place. It didn't seem strange to Nephelle at all, not only the idea of dying ones hair to such a color, but the fact that she just wasn't a blond. She never fit her hair color at all. She wasn't sweet, or stupid, or beautiful in that way. She was a redhead, as fiery as her personality.

She watched the girl with a glint of intrigue in her eyes as she interacted with the elves. They obviously have known her, she remarked to herself. They don't usually treat people quite as warmly and with such enthusiasm if they hadn't met before. Though as often as Nephelle came down to the kitchens, she had never seen the girl at all.

She made a move to drop her legs from the table, as if giving the girl room at the small table across from her to sit, though the girl made no move to even approach her in the first place and Nephelle didn't say a word yet. She just crossed her legs under the table and watched her intently with the cup perched in its place on its saucer, clutched closely to her.

[Larkin Prewett]

Larkin greeted the house-elves warmly, but she was watching the other girl out of the corner of her eye. She noted that the girl's striped legs had been lifted from the table and tucked neatly underneath the table, as much of an invitation as she was going to get.

A house elf pushed a small tart into Larkin's hand - after years, they had learned her favorite dishes. She rubbed her finger along the pleated edge, ignoring her normal flight response to having another student in one of her personal retreats. Be brave, she told herself. Her steps light and timid, she approached the table. The other girl blinked wide hazel eyes up at her. Silently, Larkin placed the tart on the small table, a peace offering.

[Nephelle Bathory]

Nephelle was watching her intently, taking in her every move, as she believed she was doing as well. Both girls had their eyes plastered on each other.

Her body's senses sky-rocketed as she watched her approach Nephelle finally. She tried to make out the glint in her eyes, but she was virtually unreadable, something she had never come across. She was always able to get something more from someone of their intentions. Nephelle didn't notice the tart in her hand until she began to set it upon the table. Confusion struck through her, and curiosity especially over the girl's actions. She set the sweet down gently, offering it to her. She looked up again as if to question her, before letting a slight smirk creep up onto her lips.

Nephelle carefully set her tea cup with its saucer on the table and sat up attentively. She extended one pale arm over the table to scoot the tart closer to her, accepting the girl's offering, though inconspicuously smelled it to detect the presence of dairy. But she deemed it safe for her vegan diet and picked it up to set on the saucer next to her tea cup.

She finally spoke up with a velvety and bold, though soft, voice. "You're welcome to sit down," she told her with an appreciative smile, if you could call it that. She always thought a smile was something sugary-sweet, which she was completely incapable to producing. Whenever she attempted one, it always came off as a half smirk.

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[Larkin Prewett]

"You're welcome to sit down."

Larkin was surprised at the girls soft voice. She had expected something loud and commanding, like everything else about her. She gave Larkin a smirk which she took for a smile - somehow, the fake, plastic smile of most students would not have fit this girl's face. Larkin returned the smile with her own small, timid half-smile, which came on slowly. She didn't often use it.

Larkin sat down at the table and folded her legs protectively underneath her. She let her eyes flit back up to the girl's face, watching for any hidden motive. Larkin hated that she had to mentally assign an alliance to any student she met, but it was a necessity. She could usually tell by their posture and the first words out of their mouth. This girl, however, was a mystery - she could not assign her to one group or the other. Relief hit Larkin, heavy and comforting. Maybe for once, she would not have to watch her step. Maybe for once she could actually talk to someone without playing the ridiculous games that were a must in a school teeming with deception.

Larkin offered the girl a pale hand, and along with it her own vulnerability. "Larkin Prewett," she said quietly.

[Nephelle Bathory]

Nephelle felt more at ease once the girl sat down, with the exact defensive behavior she would have used herself. She could sense the girl had a similar personality, though she could feel the girl was a bit on the quiet side while Nephelle was always a bold, loud presence.

With her previous analysis, she was slightly taken off guard when she held out her hand to introduce herself. "Larkin Prewett." She took her in for a brief moment, applying the name to the face, and met her own move with a grin, giving her hand a firm shake before letting go. "Nephelle Bathory," she said, a little more confidently. Not that she every lacked confidence, but as they were both seated across from each other she felt just more at ease. Nephelle always had trust problems, so upon being confronted by a new face, she could come off a bit hostile.

Then a thought struck her mind. She was sitting at the table with another, a rare occurrence during her tea parties. They were always held in the company of just one. But a tea party for two? "Tea?" she asked, pulling out a second, rarely used tea cup from within the recesses of her messenger bag.

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[Larkin Prewett]

The girl met Larkin's shake with a firm grip."Nephelle Bathory."The name didn't ring any bells with Larkin, which was probably a good sign. At the offer of tea, she watched as Nephelle pulled a battered teacup from her bag. Larkin fought down the urge to laugh. Any girl who carried teacups in her school bag was probably worth knowing.

Larkin nodded in response to Nephelle's inquiry, feeling her smile widen slightly. She was still being slightly cautious, but then again, so was Larkin. She would have been suspicious of someone who immediately opened up. As it was, she found Nephelle's attitude refreshing. No games or attempts at recruitment to one side or the other, just a confidence she herself envied. If there was a hint of arrogance, well, it was probably deserved.

Larkin had never been good at making meaningless conversation. Instead, she asked the question that had come to mind upon first seeing the girl. "How did you find your way into the kitchens?"she asked.

[Nephelle Bathory]

Nephelle watched for her answer to her own friendly offering. At the site of Larkin's nod, she picked up the matching kettle that sat in the middle of the table, still quite heavy with tea, and filled the second cup with tea cautiously before placing it nearer to Larkin.

"How did you find your way into the kitchens?" Nephelle looked up again after another sip of tea. Upon swallowing, she smiled again with her red lips. "Many sleepless nights over the course of the last six years have come to make me quite familiar with every aspect of the castle," Nephelle replied.

She finally took a single bite of the tart, placing it back on the saucer afterward as if to spare its existence longer than its usual expectancy. She never expected less, but with the cooking of the house elves, the desert was incredible. The fruit was fresh and the pastry was warm, much unlike the food she was accustomed to outside of Hogwarts.

"I'm attracted to these places, areas that are so unthought of that they almost repel everyone else without a similar mind set to mine. Such as here, the second-floor bathrooms, the enclave in the courtyard. They're definitely not the first places others would choose to be alone."

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