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Post by Stockmon on Jan 20, 2008 2:42:35 GMT -6
Unlike her near look alike counterpart, Nikkie Marceaux wasn’t happy. It wasn’t that she was an evil person, though she was pretty sure she’d end up in the same house if she had been. It wasn’t that she hated the company of people, or her sister, or parties, or cheerful gatherings-… never mind she did fairly well hate that last one. But that wasn’t why she wasn’t out frolicking with her sister in a field, which she assumed Les was doing, it was because she was having her own party. This party was not a regular party, at all. In fact, no one was invited, there were no decorations, and the only signs of a celebration came from the package thrown at her by someone, probably a house elf, probably. She flinched as the package came at her at nine AM. She’d been writing in her diary for a good hour and a half, how she found the topics was beyond even her, but at least it consumed time. She pulled open the package and instantly read the little note she found inside,
Dear Nicola, Happy birthday, darling. We’re still sorry that we can’t spend your birthday with you, but we plan on spending them with you once you graduate, only three more years. We hope school has been going well as ever. Making new friends? Getting along with Leslie? She might not have read her note, we sent a pink sweater…Oh well then there’s no way she read it, Nikkie thought. But please remind her if she hasn’t, alright darling? Thanks in advance. Happy seventeenth birthday, Nicola, we hope you have a lovely day, enjoy the shirt. We know you hate getting clothes, but we really thought this shirt suited you, L'amour, Mère et Père.
Nikkie smirked at the note. Oh, so they thought they’d found her the perfect shirt? Her mother’s shopping sense must have kicked into high gear. No longer a sweet sixteen, and she still hated going shopping, but did Madeline Marceaux give up? Never. Nikkie laughed at the thought, memories flooding. It wasn’t until then that she actually looked at the folded piece of black. She ran a finger over it’s fabric, silk. Probably real, genuine silk, like from Asia, made by those little bugs. Maman spared no expense when it came to birthday gifts. It was amazing how much money a mother of twins could earn on a man hating high. Nikkie laughed again, those years had been fun, if you ignored the lack of a father figure. She eventually unfolded the black silk and smirked again. It was like something a witch would wear in one of those old Muggle movies, except that it ended at the waist, not in a long oddly cut off dress. It had a U neck, slits just where her elbows would be, and the sleeves would roll over past her fingertips. She wasted only a bit of time putting it on, replacing her white t-shirt she’d slept in.
Nikkie ran her fingers through her hair for about a minute, before pulling the soft wavy hair into a high pony tail behind her head. She managed to put on a pair of blue jeans and black sneakers. She eventually consented to wearing the pendant her father had given to her as a “coming back” present when she was eight. And, of course, the weird black sash she wore for a belt. Then she took a black eyeliner pen and began her real work. The let the circles grow larger and thicker, shrouding her eyes in a mask of darkness, which really brought out the light blue captured in between the white. She squeezed a bit of brown lip gloss out and spread it across her lips.
It couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes since she was hit with the package when she found herself rummaging through her wooden chest. “Somewhere in here… I know- there!” She muttered to herself until she felt a piece of hard wood against her fingers. She grasped the long instrument and pulled it out from under her clothes. She examined the piece of Holly Wood, the same type her wand was made of. She took them both out into the common room with her, where she found a chair excluded from most of the rest. Her chair. She sat there almost all the time. As often as she had free time, she could be seen sitting in that chair, doing a variety of things, unless she was hiding from the rest of the Slytherin house, in which case she was hard to locate.
She trudged over to the chair, feeling a bit guilty that she wasn’t telling her sister anything. But she would certainly see the girl at dinner, and she could wish her a happy birthday, and remind her of the note she would obviously have forgotten, then. Nikkie poked her wand into her pony tail, so that it struck out for about an inch above her head, while she rest ran down into her hair. She then moved the flute to her lips. The flute was one of her favorite things to play, although she could play everything she’d tried. She began working the holes, producing the familiar tune of “Happy Birthday,” her own little way of celebrating.
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Post by Gin on Jan 21, 2008 19:21:37 GMT -6
He had heard the song many times over. Four times a year, actually, since he was five: August 28th, October 5th, July 16th, and March 3rd. Each day had a special thing on common. Well, maybe not so special to Calvin, but special to his older brother Nickolas and younger sister Julia. While Lucian and Cal had done their best to avoid a birthday celebration, Nick and Julia had done their best to make one happen. Nick's side always won. But now that song was playing again, yet on the wrong day. Today was... Calvin groaned, unmotivated to think at such an hour. Nick may have taught him to get out of bed early but he hadn't taught him to be fully awake at such an early hour.
He shuffled around on his bed, not willing to abandon his angora green blanket. It was warm, whereas he was not. His dark hair was rumpled above his sleepy eyes as he fumbled around on the cold stone floor for his slippers. He found them soon after his shin found his trunk. He had yelped, falling back on the bed, cuddling the leg to his chest. Sure, men are suppose to be the tough ones of the species, but they're allowed their boo-boo moments... right? Well, Calvin was, even if the rest weren't. He sighed after a moment and stuck his feet straight back down on what he thought was the floor, only to have them sink into the soft material he had learned to recognize as his slippers. They were quickly on his feet and he was stepping toward the door, tugging on the watch he had grabbed from the nightstand.
The halls weren't so bad with the black slippers covering his otherwise bare feet. And his bare shoulders were getting warm under his blanket. Enough so that he could let the material slip. The song had stopped by the time he reached the common room. As he saw the girl, he highly doubted she was anywhere near done after playing one song. Nicola Marceaux. French girl. He grinned. His Elle was a blonde French girl. He silently wondered if she would consent to him seeing this other girl as well.
"Play again?" he asked, adding one request, "Well, not Happy Birthday. Something else, perhaps." He strode a little closer to her, glancing at his watch as he neared the chairs. It was close to nine thirty. Perhaps he should go visit Nick soon. Heaven knows that man would have been up at six or seven.
Cal adjusted his blanket so he could sit on the foot stool. The edge of the material fell to his elbow on one arm, showing off the muscles and tan he always worked so hard on. The boy had, helpfully, neglected to wear any form of shirt to bed the night before, though he had doned black flannel pants.
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Post by Stockmon on Jan 21, 2008 20:29:27 GMT -6
Nikkie had finished her birthday song, and was considering what else to play, when she saw a boy. She knew him, more or less. Calvin James. Edward. But for whatever reason no one called him that. Not excessively older than she was. Oh, and Les would like him. Why? Simply put, he was hot. Nikkie would have just said he was attractive, but Les had actually referred to him as hot, quite a few times. Nikkie watched him walk in.
Calvin was wearing slippers, pj pants, and a blanket. No shirt, she blinked. She was already dressed for the day, and Calvin was… just stepping out of bed? She hadn’t a clue, but it appeared as if he had.
“Play again?” He asked. Nikkie smirked, she was used to being asked to play music by younger children. Usually she scoffed and rolled her eyes. Children annoyed her most of the time. But Calvin wasn’t younger, and he wasn’t annoying her. “Well, not Happy Birthday. Something else, perhaps.” He came closer, glancing at his watch. His blanket slipped down a bit. Nikkie allowed herself a moment to admire the attractive male then glanced at her flute.
“Alright, I suppose.” She said, pulling the flute back to her lips. She paused for a moment, closing her eyes. She allowed her fingers to move as she made the music come forth. A short playing of the chorus of Ghostwriter. A soft song, because those seemed to be best on a flute. Once she finished that, a minute or two later, she asked, “Anything else, Calvin?”
She looked around. No dogs. No goons. The goons being the school’s most wanted. Or most loathed. She’d met people who had just randomly told her how Jase or Oliver had made their life miserable. She didn’t know how, she didn’t care. She usually shrugged them off. But no one else was around. “You look alone, and not fully awake.” She said, observing the obvious. She wondered if Les had a party going by now. No, she wouldn’t be awake by then. She slept like a log, where as Nikkie could be woken by a whisper. But she stopped thinking and pulled her flute back up near her face, waiting.
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Post by Gin on Jan 28, 2008 21:19:33 GMT -6
Calvin returned Nikkie's smile, adding a flash of white teeth. As he grew uncomfortable with his legs simple set out in front of him on the floor, he pulled up his legs and sat indian style.
“Alright, I suppose.”
He nodded his thanks and watched her pull the instrument up toward her lips. Her music began, a soft song that could easily have been something from France or Italy; nothing that could have possibly originated in any bustling, always-busy-with-myself country. He sighed quietly and closed his eyes, pulling the blanket closer around his shoulders the keep in the calm settling over him.
Calvin wasn't prepared when the music stopped. There was suddenly an overwhelming quiet in the room, one he didn't feel the need to break. Luckily, Nikkie broke it for him.
“Anything else, Calvin?”
He remained quiet for a moment staring at his folded hands, still not willing to break his end of the silence. The song had only lasted a few minutes but the woman had played it magnificently. He knew little to nothing about music except what Oli had attempted to drill into him. Yet, he still hadn't a clue what the difference was between bass and alto. This girl knew something about music. He slowly shook his head a few times, finally looking back up at her. His grey eyes only blinked, staring at her intently. She knew many things, about more than music.
"No, ma'am. That's all." He smiled as if he were flirting but he had no intention of doing anything.
Again he sat in silence for a few minutes, wondering if she would say anything but she didn't seem the kid of girl who would snuggle up to someone she barely knew and tell them what happened the day she let a boy touch her slip. Or maybe she was...
“You look alone, and not fully awake.”
He blinked at her, a bit confused by her direct approach to the situation. As if prompted by this comment to verify it, Calvin reached up and brushed the sleep from his eyes.
"Well, I could be alone. Or I don't have to be..." He grinned slightly and turned toward the hallway to whistle. A few seconds later, two full-sized balls of newly cleaned fuzz came trotting towards the two humans. One looked around from under a tousel of black hair and stopped at the edge of the rug to scout out the unfamiliar female. The slinky tan hound came forward easily and buried her nose right into Calvin's lap as her tail brushed against Nikkie.
"Hey honey," he cooed, bending to kiss the Saluki's snout. "How's my girl?" He smiled down at her, stroking the dog. It was barely a second later when he realized his Schnauzer was still scrutinizing Nikkie. "Let it go, Dox. Get over here." The larger black dog snorted and approached carefully. Once he was close enough to his master, he snorted again and lay his heavy head on Cal's knee.
"Nicola, this is my best girl Enigma and my buddy Paradox." He looked down at the dogs, nudging his head toward the woman he addressed. Enigma picked up and wagged her tail again and spun to nuzzle against Nikkie's hand. She even added in a whine for effect. "Alone am I?" he asked, with a smirk.
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Post by Stockmon on Jan 28, 2008 22:21:59 GMT -6
Nikkie watched Calvin adjust his seating style as she waited for a response to her question. If he wanted music, she was willing to play. Because it was her birthday, and the thing she wanted most at this point was to make music. She could get more specific, about the place, the music, even the audience or lack there of, but she just wanted music. No matter how it happened. Maybe it didn’t make sense but it was her gift, a blessing she enjoyed taking advantage of. And right now she wanted to play more birthday music, but he’d wanted something else, so she had done as requested. He seemed to have enjoyed the music she made, she enjoyed it when people enjoyed her music.
She watched him closely as he shook his head a few times and blinked up at her. She looked back at him, her blue eyes didn’t blink, she usually didn’t blink. When you blinked, you missed a moment of the image you couldn’t have back. And if, for whatever reason, you didn’t want to see the image, you should close your eyes or leave. Simple as that, she usually didn’t blink. Unless it was on purpose, like flirting, then she could blink.
“No, ma’am. That’s all.” He said, giving her a somewhat flirty smile. Nikkie smiled back gently. Most people didn’t call her ma’am. Chic, hey you, girly, Blondie, Goth girl, and the like had all flown her way, but she liked the one he’d picked. It was nice. Polite. Respectful. She certainly liked it.
“Well, I could be alone. Or I don’t have to be…” Calvin replied when she said he looked alone. She shrugged, then he whistled. And there came the dogs. She didn’t know their names, she had never felt the need to ask.
When they came, one approached Calvin, and the other gave Nikkie distrusting attention. She gave the dog a small glare. She was beginning to dislike him. She hadn’t decided on the other one yet, but she expected to dislike it as well. She didn’t like animals, it just so happened.
“Hey honey,” Calvin cooed, kissing the dog’s snout. Nikkie giggled lightly. “How’s my girl?” He asked the dog, petting it.
“Awe, cute.” Nikkie commented, ignoring the unhappy dog until Calvin noticed him,
“Let it go, Dox. Get over here.” He said. The dog snorted when he began and when he ended his short trip to his owner, Nikkie raised an eye brow. The dog lay on Calvin.
“Nicola, this is my best girl Enigma and my buddy Paradox.” He said. Nikkie watched closely as Enigma nuzzled her hand. She patted the dog’s head gently. She didn’t dislike the dog, but she held her verdict in the air for the time being. “Alone am I?” He asked. She ignored that. She’d said he looked alone, and he had, at the time that she’d said it. But she backtracked for a moment. Nicola? She let an involuntary scowl cross her features. She was so tempted to call him Edward it made a sly smirk appear on her face. She didn’t know why he didn’t go by his first name, and he apparently didn’t realize she didn’t like going by hers. But she wasn’t just about to annoy him for annoying her. It was a good day, and she was going to keep it that way.
“Mhmm.” She said, glancing at the dogs. “Certainly friendly, this one at least.” She said, placing her flute in her lap and stroking the dog again, very reservedly.
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Post by Gin on Feb 13, 2008 20:15:20 GMT -6
Nikkie's face changed rapidly: something not quite distinguishable to a scowl to a smirk. Something, scowl, smirk. Not normal. Paradox didn't like it. He snorted and pushed against the stool as he lay down against it. He had, of course, had to remove his head from Calvin's knee but that hadn't been a problem for either male. Cal simply leaned over and scratched the black dog's head, earning a sigh as the head pressed into his hand.
“Mhmm. Certainly friendly, this one at least.”
Calvin laughed, a throaty kind of sound halfway between amusement and disbelief. He sat back up on his cushion and stared at the girl. She had the flute in her lap and Enigma's head in her hands. The dog whined and tried to get Nikkie to pet her more. He laughed again, more sincere since it concerned his dog.
He whistled. "Come 'ere, honey."
Enigma came over to him, whining to be allowed up with him. Calvin scooted over to the side and lightly patted the soft surface. The dog jumped up, laying herself down uncerimoniously. She sighed and lay her head on her paws, letting her paws hang off the edge to rest on her partner's skull.
Resigned to the fact that he would not be able to get comfortable on a fourth of a foot rest, Calvin stood and repositioned himself in a larger recliner chair towards the fire. He looked back at Nikkie who hadn't moved much since he had come down, or even before, for all he knew.
"Whose special day are we celebrating? Anyone I know or you just feel like playing that song?" He leaned back in the chair, easily comfortable with his chest showing. Calvin was one of a particular breed of boys who are not afraid to show off what they feel they earned; and Calvin felt he had earned his body.
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Post by Stockmon on Feb 13, 2008 21:48:42 GMT -6
Calvin sort of laughed at what Nikkie said, but it didn’t seem genuine, she dismissed it. When it came to the pets her did seem happy, in earnest. She almost envied the dogs, at least they made people happy. The female dog continued to beg for Nikkie’s attention, and she gave enough to keep the dog occupied until Calvin whistled for her to come, Come ‘ere, honey.”
The dog, Enigma, settled herself fairly well on Calvin’s seat. Too bad for Calvin it was no longer his seat, it was undeniably Enigma’s seat now. So, being the smart boy that he appeared to be, Calvin got up and found himself another seat. Nikkie smirked.
“Whose special day are we celebrating?” He asked, Nikkie glanced from him to the dogs, she wasn’t moving. It was her seat, and if he wanted to move farther away, she paid it no mind. She could project well even if he’d been in the farthest corner of the room, so she didn’t even acknowledge it. “Anyone I know or you just feel like playing that song?”
“I would suppose you know her. Perhaps.” Nikkie said, glancing up from her flute to see Calvin’s chest. She made no remark, but decided to take her chair up closer to where he was. “Today is the seventeenth birthday of my twin sister, Les.” Nikkie said. It should have sufficed to say that, and take for granite that he would realize it was her birthday as well.
“I feel perhaps as if I should see her, but most likely she is throwing herself a party and running around. I’ll see her when we eat, that should suffice.” Nikkie commented, settling more into her chair. She often wondered why her twin insisted on spending time with her, it wasn’t as if they were compatible, she hadn’t any idea why Les liked to spend time with her much more somber sister.
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