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Post by Karstiana on Oct 2, 2007 23:29:09 GMT -6
Julie walked down the path, barefoot. She stepped on something hard and sharp. Stopping to investigate, she found a dirt covered stone of some sort. She stooped down and picked it up. She turned the small stone over in her hand and blinked as it caught the light of the sun over head. She rubbed it against her shirt, ignoring the red clay that stained her white T-shirt. She held it up, again, letting the light catch it. The red stone in her hand made her think of a ruby. She didn't really know enough about them to know for sure. Even if it wasn't it was the kind of pretty thing her mom would like, the kind that went with the frilly clothes Julie hated. She stuffed the stone into the pocket of her still new jeans and stood. A sigh rippled through her body as she started back up the path. The owlry was only a few hundred more feet up the path. She'd never been up there before, but she'd been told that Todd had sent her an owl.
She reached the owlry and opened the door. She closed it behind her and looked up. She turned around in a circle and watched the owls fly around. She climbed the stairs and looked around. "Which one of these owls is from you, Todd?"
She stopped in front of one of the owls and patted its head. The owl looked at her. "Aren't you a funny little guy? I'm Julie. What's your name?" It was silly, she knew, but she just felt like talking and the owl was there.
She stopped and walked up some more steps. She stopped once more when she found an owl with a message. Funny, but she thought that owls delivered messages directly to you. As she understood it, the owlry was for delivering messages to the outside, but she had been told that Todd had sent a message. And there was an owl with a message here, so maybe Todd really had sent a message. She found another owl with a message and tried to read the name on it. It was upside down, but she read enough to know it wasn't for her. She reached the top of the owlry, stopping every once and a while to see if the message an owl carried was for her.
Finally she spotted an owl at the very top with a letter. In bold, blue letters the name Juliet Marlow was printed on. She grinned. Todd. She walked over to the owl and attempted to pull out the paper. The owl hopped away. She frowned. "Please, that is from my brother." The owl eyed her from the window. Julie tiptoed slowly over to him, her bare feet keeping the sound to a minimum, thought the owl could see her. The owl watched her wearily, but when she reached the owl it let her reach out her hand and pet it's head. She used her other hand to take the paper out of his hands and sighed in relief.
She petted the owl for a moment before opening the letter from her brother. "Dearest Juliet," she read aloud. "I know I haven't spent as much time with you as you would like lately, but I'm hoping you understand. It's odd for me not seeing you all the time. You use to be there whenever I wanted to look, but now like Sandy you have gone to school. I love Sarah and Connor, but they cannot replace you my deaest sister, so don't think that is what I am trying to do. I have mearly found more people to love, not started loving you less."
Julie looked down at the words on the page. It was so like Todd to try and reasure her, but she knew he loved her. She just missed him and now she would see him less. "Do me a favor, sis. Don't turn into Sandy. I do not want another boring sibling, but then I think Sandy was boring before hand. I also think he'd find some means of magical revenge if he heard me say that, so don't pass it on. He actually could pull it off. Boring he may be, but he's good. I want you to learn to be good like him and fun like me. The best of both worlds see. All my love, Todd."
Julie smiled as she folded the letter back up and put into her other jean pocket. She patted the pocket with the sparkly stone and stood up. She grinned down at the owl. "Thank you." Then, she started down the stairs.
[[Admin Edit: 2 galleons given by Gin.]]
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Post by Stockmon on Oct 3, 2007 23:16:17 GMT -6
Casey groaned, morning. And he was awake to endure it. He sighed, laying flat with his eyes open. He really needed to get used to mornings, if he didn’t, he couldn’t be a very good spy. With that thought, he sat up. He managed to get dressed in a matter of seconds. This was most likely because all he did was pull on some gray socks, but that little detail did not deter Casey from his proud achievement.
“You have got to wear that to a dinner party some time. If it’s good enough for the halls, must be good enough for a party, right?” It was Chris Asher. Casey turned to see him. He was sitting on his bed, reading a book. He must have been relaxing after a horrific ordeal with his sister. Casey felt bad for him. He was a really good guy, and fairly easy-going, except when he thought about Clover. Which was almost all the time.
“What’s wrong with my garbs?” Casey asked, folding his covers back to make it appear as if he’d spent some time making his bed. He grinned at it before hearing paper flip. Chris was reading, while talking to him. He rolled his eyes, “Multi-tasking is inconsiderate, Asher.” He pointed out.
“Really, Christos? I didn’t know. But seriously, how can you just ran around the school in pajamas? Doesn’t that… whatever. You’re just weird, boy.” Chris said. Being three inches shorter, and only about two months older than Casey obviously didn’t effect Chris’ opinion of him.
“It’s comfy… whatever? Alright, that’s cool. I’ve got to go mail a letter to my kid sister. She’s been drawing me little crayon things and having my little brother scribe her messages out.” Casey grinned. He was obviously proud of his little sister.
“Adorable. Have fun.” Chris replied, his eyes venturing back to the thick volume in his hands. Casey shrugged, grabbing his hat and an envelope off the nightstand.
Casey meandered down the halls and up the many flights of stairs. He waited for a moment while a staircase moved, then realized it wasn’t taking him where he needed to be. He scowled, climbing onto the railing and jumping to the platform he needed. It had actually occurred to him that if he’d fallen he probably would have broken every bone in his body, or died, but that worried him less than having to wait for the stairs to move again.
Casey began reciting. He wasn’t reciting anything very important, just the first two pages of his potions book. He needed to be able to memorize things on command, so he’d started attempting to memorize his textbooks. It was less than exhilarating, but he’d sacrifice to gain some more spy skills. He was certain his father would be pleased, and his mom would be happy to know he was studying, he’d just leave out that part about defying her.
Because of his reciting, he didn’t hear the girl on the stairs, something he’d have hit himself for, had he not just run into her. He had also been walking with his eyes closed, another stupid thing to do. But he was working on his balance, which had just failed him, and also his depth perception, another failure. He opened his eyes in time to see himself falling down the stairs back into the hall. When he landed, which was quite painful, his hat flew across the floor. He looked over at it mournfully, but was a bit too stunned to stand up.
“Are you, alright?” He asked the girl, not looking at her from his hat. His poor hat. It had done nothing to deserve being thrown from it’s proper place on his head. Casey sighed.
[[Admin Edit: 1 galleon given by Gin.]]
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Post by Karstiana on Oct 8, 2007 16:11:49 GMT -6
Julie was almost to the bottom of the stairs when she heard the sound of one of the owls. She looked up and smiled. It wasn’t much, but the distraction was enough that she didn’t see the older boy enter the owlry and start up the stairs, or at least she didn’t until he was right in front of her about to run into her. She was unable to stop herself in time, so when he ran into her he went down and she fell back. She hit the stairs hard and winced. After a few seconds she decided that the pain was minor and not going to cause her problems, so she started to push herself up. As she moved she looked down at her jeans, dusty, but unharmed. Oh, well. She wanted to have more adventures and sometimes adventures meant dusty or even torn jeans. She supposed that she should be glad it was just dust and not the tears she saw on her first pair of jeans.
Once fully up she dusted herself off and turned to look at the boy. A moment ago he had been wearing a hat, she was certain of this, but now his head was bare, so she glanced around on the floor to see what happened to it. He, too, appeared to be searching.
Are you, alright? he wasn’t even looking at her, so he must not really be that concerned. In fact as she followed his eyes she found the missing hat, confirming her memory of its existence and raising new questions. Exactly how valuable was his hat. Did he like it for sentimental reasons or was their something more. Perhaps the hat was made by some famous designer and was worth . . . Julie stopped that line of thinking. That was her mother talking and one thing Julie was not, was her mother.
The boy continued to look at his hat and sighed. Julie remembered the question he had asked her and though she wasn’t at all sure if he really meant it, she felt she owed him an answer. She had, after all, ran into him. “I am fine. I hadn’t meant to run into you. It’s just that I didn’t see you and I heard something, an owl, so I turned my head, and then when I turned back, there you were, about to collide with me. I really am fine. Just a bit of dust. One wouldn’t expect to find so much dust on a well used stair case. Do you suppose it is magical or that I just am unlucky and found just the spot where dust resides? I am sorry about your hat getting knocked off. I didn’t mean that. Not that I meant any of that.” She stopped her rambled speech long enough to look at him. “Are you all right?”
[[Admin Edit: 1 galleon given by Gin.]]
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Post by Stockmon on Oct 8, 2007 22:16:50 GMT -6
Casey stared at his hat for a few more moments. He extended an arm toward it, flexing his fingers at it, as if to grasp it. Then he heard the girl talking to him. She was rambling, it made him smile. He turned toward her,
“I am fine. I hadn’t meant to run into you. It’s just that I didn’t see you and I heard something, an owl, so I turned my head, and then when I turned back, there you were, about to collide with me. I really am fine. Just a bit of dust. One wouldn’t expect to find so much dust on a well used stair case. Do you suppose it is magical or that I just am unlucky and found just the spot where dust resides? I am sorry about your hat getting knocked off. I didn’t mean that. Not that I meant any of that. Are you all right?”
“Wait a moment there, lass…” Casey chuckled, doing a sort of backward summersault and landing on his feet. It was at this moment that he realized his back hurt quite a bit. He groaned, but met the girls eyes. Short little girl, second year at best. Casey reached for his hat. He had been planning to tip his hat to her, but this was impossible without the hat. So instead of feeling his tan hat, he felt hair. Blond, straight, soft, hair. He squinted at his hat, running over to it quickly, despite the pain in his back. He swiped it up and jogged back to the girl. He stood in front of her, tipping his hat.
“I do not think it is enchanted, probably just not auspicious…” He said. He realized what he’d just said, but shrugged it off, maybe she wouldn’t notice, “Hmmm… You’re alright? That’s great… I’m of favorable health… except my back. That sort of hurts, but you know, it would have been worse falling down seven stories. Right?” He asked, forgetting that she hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. He replaced his hat on his head, a feeling of ease flowing over him when he felt it.
He noticed that his letter had fallen onto the floor with the fall. Casey snatched it up, saying, “Letter to my sister. So… I’m Casey Christos… may I inquire as to your name?”
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Post by Karstiana on Nov 3, 2007 16:12:41 GMT -6
Julie saw the older boy reach toward his hat, but the distance between it and him made little impact on the boy.
Wait a moment there, lass… He chuckled and then, much to Julie’s surprise and delight, he did a backward summersault, ending upright on his feet, near his hat. He groaned, which made Julie wonder if he wasn’t more hurt than he said. “Are you all right?” Then, he reached up, like he was trying to grab his hat. No hat, so he ran his fingers through his hair. It must have been frustrating without his hat, for she saw a look come over his face and he ran over to get it. He grabbed it up and returned to her. Once more in front of her he reached up like before, but this time he grabbed the rim of his hat and tipped it. She smiled.
I do not think it is enchanted, probably just not auspicious… Julie frowned. Auspicious? What did that mean? It seemed a great and noble word with meaning of equal, but on this she remained quiet.
Hmmm… You’re alright? That’s great… I’m of favorable health… except my back. That sort of hurts, but you know, it would have been worse falling down seven stories. Right? Ouch. Pain in his back. That could be serious. One of her neighbors had complained of back pain just before he had to start using a crutch. She saw him replace his hat on his head like an old friend. He seemed quite fond of his hat.
“I’m sorry about your back. I do hope it recovers quickly. Seven stories. Yikes, yes. That would have been very bad. I don’t think a fall from there is very likely to be survived, though maybe rolling down the stairs one would have a chance. I want adventure to be sure, but that is not the type of adventure I ever want to try.”
Now, the boy picked up a letter from the floor, presumably his that had fallen from his hand or pocket when they had collided. Letter to my sister. So… I’m Casey Christos… may I inquire as to your name?
“Oh!” Julie said surprised. “How ill mannered of me. Here I am going on about other things and I haven’t even told you my name.” With ease of years of practice, Julie did a curtsey acting as if her jeans where a skirt. A slight nod of her head added the finishing touch to the introduction her mother always insisted on, a habit difficult to break, even now that she no longer wore skirts. “I am Juliet Marlow, but most people call me Julie. It is very nice to meet you, Casey.”
Julie pulled out the letter from Todd. “This is from my older brother, Todd. For some reason I had to collect it, but it really is just like Todd to send it to the owlry rather than to wherever I might have been at the time. What’s your sister’s name?”
[[Admin Edit: 1 galleon given by Gin.]]
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Post by Stockmon on Nov 3, 2007 22:54:23 GMT -6
“Are you all right?” The girl asked. Casey grinned, he had a nice grin. No one had ever told him that, but most of them thought it. “I’m sorry about your back. I do hope it recovers quickly. Seven stories. Yikes, yes. That would have been very bad. I don’t think a fall from there is very likely to be survived, though maybe rolling down the stairs one would have a chance. I want adventure to be sure, but that is not the type of adventure I ever want to try.”
“Of course. No one takes pleasure in falling down stairs. But, que sera, sera, I suppose.” Casey said, with a shrug.
“Oh! How ill mannered of me. Here I am going on about other things and I haven’t even told you my name.” She said, giving Casey a very well balanced curtsey, the likes of which Casey had only ever seen from his mother and her rare guests. And the little nod was a perfect touch. “I am Juliet Marlow, but most people call me Julie. It is very nice to meet you, Casey.[/b]”
Oh good, she was calling him Casey. That was a nice touch. The two people he talked to regularly called him either Case, or Christos. But he supposed the latter was his own fault.
“This is from my older brother, Todd. For some reason I had to collect it, but it really is just like Todd to send it to the owlry rather than to wherever I might have been at the time. What’s your sister’s name?”
“Candice. She’s four. Adorable little girl.” Casey smiled, he loved to brag on his little sister. “How old is your brother? Todd?”
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Post by Karstiana on Nov 11, 2007 8:24:58 GMT -6
“Of course. No one takes pleasure in falling down stairs. But, que sera, sera, I suppose.” Julie frowned and looked at him. “Kaye Sarah, what?” Those words made absolutely not sense. Or where they a name? Was Kaye Sarah someone he knew. Still, that wouldn’t make sense in context. She sighed. “What do you mean by that?”
“Candice. She’s four. Adorable little girl.” There was a definite smile in his voice as he said that. As if the smile on his face wasn’t apparent. This guy loved his sister. He reminded her of when Todd spoke about her to people when he didn’t know she was around, a huge bit of pride and just a lot of love. “Well, she has to be a great little sister, if at four she is keeping regular correspondence with you.”
“How old is your brother? Todd?” How old was Todd? Old enough to be married. Old enough to have a son. Old enough to have moved away. Old enough that she missed him so very much. “Todd is twenty-two. He married about a year ago to Sarah, she came here. Todd didn’t. He doesn’t like structured education. They have a newborn son, Conner. He’s named after my mom’s family.” Julie shrugged. “They’re muggles.” Julie watched one of the owls fly past. She wondered who they were delivering a message for. “I’ve not met Conner, but Todd did send me a picture, by snail mail,” she added with a grin. “I have another brother. He’s a year older, Wayne Marlow, but everyone calls him Sandy, cause of his hair. He came here, would have graduated about three years ago, I think. He’s the only one in our family other than now I am. Dad, I think would have, but it was about the time the school closed for a while, so it never happened. Anyone else in your family come here?”
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Post by Stockmon on Nov 11, 2007 14:26:32 GMT -6
“Kaye Sarah, what?” Julie asked. Casey sighed, it made him feel old when people said something like that. His father used to sing “Que sera, Sera” to him when he was a little boy. He planned to sing it to his children. But was it really that old? Apparently. But he said nothing. “What do you mean by that?” Well, if she was going to ask…
“It’s a saying… Spanish. Means, ‘What will be, will be.’” Casey said, cracking his neck.
“Well, she has to be a great little sister, if at four she is keeping regular correspondence with you.”
“No. No. She doodles some things in crayon. Draws pictures, whatever. Little things. My little brother will help sometimes. He especially reads my replies to her. She can’t read yet. But… I mean, she is a great little sister, but her intelligence isn’t what makes her great.” Casey said. He planned to leave it at that. He didn’t want to go rambling on and on about his opinion of his mildly angelic little sister.
“Todd is twenty-two. He married about a year ago to Sarah, she came here. Todd didn’t. He doesn’t like structured education. They have a newborn son, Conner. He’s named after my mom’s family. They’re muggles. I’ve not met Conner, but Todd did send me a picture, by snail mail. I have another brother. He’s a year older, Wayne Marlow, but everyone calls him Sandy, cause of his hair. He came here, would have graduated about three years ago, I think. He’s the only one in our family other than now I am. Dad, I think would have, but it was about the time the school closed for a while, so it never happened. Anyone else in your family come here?”
Casey sifted through what Julie had just said, rubbing his eye a little as he thought. “Todd’s a lot older than you then… not the same difference between my sister and I, but close, I believe. How old are you again, Julie? Structured education can be boring sometimes, but it’s good enough. You should definitely meet this Connor as soon as you can, little children are fun. I live around all Muggles, but both of my parents are magical. But both raised in Muggle environments. I can’t imagine being called Sandy, I would not enjoy that. Neither of my parents came to Hogwarts, and my two younger siblings plan to, when they’re old enough. Candice, again, is only four. And Jeremiah is nine, so he’ll be in his first year during my tenth. You’re very verbose, has anyone ever told you that?” Casey asked politely, catching an owl on his arm. It was gray, and he stroked it with one hand, before giving it his letter and watching it fly away.
[[Admin Edit: 1 galleon given by Gin.]]
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Post by Karstiana on Nov 18, 2007 21:53:53 GMT -6
Julie heard Casey sigh and figured she had made a big mistake. Who ever this was, was probably some sort of big deal. Maybe in the magical world. She didn’t know a whole lot about . . .
“It’s a saying… Spanish. Means, ‘What will be, will be.’” Oh. Now, she really felt stupid. It was Spanish. She didn’t really know the language, but she should have at least known the difference between a phrase in Spanish and a name. He probably didn’t even say Kaye Sarah. It was probably something else that sounded similar.
“No. No. She doodles some things in crayon.” Cute. As the little sister in her family she would have been the one sending crayon doodles to her older brother when he was away at school. In fact she was pretty sure she did.
“Draws pictures, whatever. Little things. My little brother will help sometimes. He especially reads my replies to her. She can’t read yet.” So his little sister, like Julie, was the youngest, with two older brothers . . . like Julie. She sounded sweet. Julie got the idea that Casey was a more attentive big brother than Sandy was, but not really like Todd either. He didn’t strike her as the type to do some of the crazy things Todd did, and there was the fact that he was here, and Todd never came.
“But… I mean, she is a great little sister, but her intelligence isn’t what makes her great.” Well, he would be a pretty poor big brother if he thought her intelligence was what made her great. “I didn’t mean her intelligence made her great, just that she loves you enough to want to keep in touch even though it’s probably hard for her, especially when she’s little. She sounds sweet. Does your brother write a lot for himself?”
“Todd’s a lot older than you then… not the same difference between my sister and I, but close, I believe. How old are you again, Julie?” Todd wasn’t so much older than her, only eleven years, twice as old. Still with everything going on in her brother’s life it was kind of hard not see it as a lifetime older. “I’m eleven. This is my first year at Hogwarts. It’s all very interesting. I am enjoying learning about magic. What was it like when you first started here. Did you know a lot of magic? Or was it all new to you?”
“Structured education can be boring sometimes, but it’s good enough.” Julie had to agree with him. Todd was just . . . Todd. He did things his own way and they worked for him. They wouldn’t have if anyone else had tried them, but for Todd, they worked.
“You should definitely meet this Connor as soon as you can, little children are fun.” Julie smiled. She wanted to meet Connor, the newest obsession in her brother’s life. Seeing as Connor was her brother’s son, he’d be a very long obsession for Todd, just like Sarah was, just like Julie was and would always be. “I like little kids. It’s strange, because he’s just a tiny bit closer to my age than Todd is.”
“I live around all Muggles, but both of my parents are magical. But both raised in Muggle environments.” Different than what she was raised with, but it had similarities. After all her dad was magical, raised a Muggle, and she was raised in a Muggle environment.
“I can’t imagine being called Sandy, I would not enjoy that.” Julie had to laugh at this. She hadn’t actually thought about what her brother thought of being called Sandy. It’s just who he was. “I guess he’s probably used to it. Maybe when he was at school he went by Wayne.”
“Neither of my parents came to Hogwarts, and my two younger siblings plan to, when they’re old enough. Candice, again, is only four. And Jeremiah is nine, so he’ll be in his first year during my tenth.” It really did sound a lot like her family, well if she was thinking from Candice’s point of view. Except Todd had never come to Hogwarts. “I bet you are looking forward to having your brother here. I get the very distinct honor of being the only one in my family here the entire time I am here. I think Connor will come when he is old enough, but by then I will be gone. Todd will probably not want him to, but Sarah will and she’s got a way of making Todd see her way.” Julie smiled. “I don’t really know her but I intend to. She makes Todd happy and I guess that’s good enough for me.”
“You’re very verbose, has anyone ever told you that?” Julie laughed. Yeah, she had been told that. She liked to learn things, so asking questions was one way to go about it. She liked to share what she knew, too, and talking just did a good job of getting that across. “Yeah, I’ve been told that. Do I talk too much?”
She watched as he caught a small, gray owl on his arm. He stroked it gently on the head and gave it the letter for his sister. She watched with him as the owl flew away. “I wonder. Would it be a good idea to get an owl for one’s self, or would it be too much trouble? They are so very fascinating.”
[[Admin Edit: 2 galleons given by Gin.]]
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Post by Stockmon on Nov 18, 2007 22:50:11 GMT -6
Julie didn’t look all to disappointed about having her Spanish corrected. Or more, his Spanish explained. He didn’t mind. He really should be studying more languages. To communicate as a spy Casey might be asked to travel to other countries, or to translate. He must brush up on his Latin. He’d need a study partner. A thoughtful look crossed his features. Would Chris yell at him for asking? Last he’d asked something like this, Chris had met him with a firm “I don’t have time to… did you say, practice jumping between the staircases?!” Pffft, Chris was just too busy. He might agree this time.
Julie seemed to be taking in all of what Casey was saying. It looked as if she were processing each phrase. Like a good spy. Casey liked that. She wasn’t enough of a spy to be a threat, so he liked it.
“I didn’t mean her intelligence made her great, just that she loves you enough to want to keep in touch even though it’s probably hard for her, especially when she’s little.” Julie replied. Oh… well she should have said that in the first place. No, Christos. Focus. He’d have to be able to analyze things eventually, he should start during school. Hard for Candice?
“My sister doesn’t know what hard is. She still thinks I attend school on mars, and the ‘big train’ is a teleportation pad. I blame Jeremiah for letting her watch too much sci-fi.” Casey said, raising an eye brow. Really, she didn’t understand when things were hard.
“She sounds sweet.” Julie was right about that. Candice was sweet. Imagine the perfect little sugar and spice girl, pigtails and pink dresses; that was Candice. “Does your bfrother write a lot for himself?”
“Write a lot as in...? Write fiction? No. Write letters to me? No. He isn’t into the idea of telling his big brother about his life. Nine and independent. That boy…” Casey said, scratching the back of his neck.
“I’m eleven. This is my first year at Hogwarts.” First year? Well wasn’t that the most awkward time of Casey’s life. Imagine for a moment, a new school. Not three years of older classmen. No, try nine. Years worth. Not a friend in the place. Shortest boy in his class, skinny as a pencil, and not as coordinated. Oh, he’d wanted to be a spy back then too. He just had no knack for it at all. He fell of his broom before he started trying to fly. Oh how fun life had been back then.
“It’s all very interest.” Yeah, Hogwarts was an interesting place. Casey particularly liked Hogsmeade, it was fun. He liked a particular kind of taffy you could buy that actually tried to tie up your hands. It was good for training, and he liked the taste. He grinned.
“I am enjoying learning about magic. What was it like when you first started here? Did you know a lot of magic? Or was it all new?” Oh… she wanted to know? He’d get to that in a moment.
“I like little kids. It’s strange, because he’s just a tiny bit closer to my age than Todd is.” Not a problem. Todd was her brother. If Casey got married and had a kid in the next… thirteen years… they’d be closer to Candice’s age than he was. But he knew that Candice would be their babysitter, and if they ever treated her less than an aunt, she’d put them in their place. Sugar and spice, with emphasize on both.
“I guess he’s probably used to it.” Casey thought of something about never getting used to being called “Sandy”, he’d have punched the next kid who called him Sandy when he was a second year. Oh the memories. Luckily after he made that resolution, no one called him Sandy anymore. Only three people ever had. “Maybe when he was at school he went by Wayne.” Wayne? Yeah… that was not a good spy name. Neither was Casey. Maybe Christopher, not even Chris, just Christopher. Or Nathaniel. Kane, not with a C, but with a K. K was cool, C was not. Christos was cool, even cooler than Kristos. But Wayne? Maybe for a cowboy, but Casey was no cowboy, much as his hat argued.
“I bet you are looking forward to having your brother here. I get the very distinct honor of being the only one in my family here the entire time I am here. I think Connor will come when he is old enough, but by then I will be gone. Todd will probably not want him to, but Sarah will and she’s got a way of making Todd see her way.” This Sarah sounded like the kind of girl Casey himself would fall for. He wasn’t bragging about that. But he tended to be attracted to the headstrong girls. The ones who told him what to do, and made him do it. He frowned. Embarrassing. “I don’t really know her but I intent to. She makes Todd happy and I guess that’s good enough for me.”
Good. It should be. Well, unless she was using him. But it didn’t seem like Todd was the kind of man to be used. But Casey didn’t really know. It wasn’t as if he’d met the man, merely heard of him from his baby sister.
Julie laughed when Casey told her she talked a lot. “Yeah, I’ve been told that. Do I talk too much?”
“Nah… you can keep a conversation going. It’s sometimes good to have someone like you in a conversation. You will always make sure it never gets too quiet. That’s good. At least I think so.”
“I wonder. Would it be a good idea to get an owl for one’s self, or would it be too much trouble? There are so very fascinating.”
“Well that owl was mine. Moonbeam. Hard working, but not all that affectionate. He has a soft spot for spaghetti, which is good, since I don’t. Anyway… what did you ask? Oh… my first year? Um…” Casey paused for a while, “It was awkward. I was really short. And uncoordinated. And had a big mouth. And I was far too sarcastic for my own good. The fourth years loved to tease me. Big guys like Oliver Spence. If you haven’t had to pleasure of making his acquaintance, I advise you not to. He’s my age. I’m sure he teased me too, but I didn’t pay my own class much mind. Except my best friend, Asher. But anyway, life can be callous when you’re a loud mouth, awkward eleven year old. You should watch out for the nice people, Julie. Make friends early, and then you’ll be able to really enjoy your time here.” Casey said. Well, that was his life changing advice for the day. Time for a nap. Oh… but he was still talking to Julie. Hadn’t she asked something about magic too? “Oh, I knew some about magic. I mean, my parents didn’t raise me Muggle. We had all the normal magical house appliances. Just… we didn’t have a whole lot of Muggle guests. Not the most social able family, but we like it. Or I do.”
[[Admin Edit: 2 galleons given by Gin.]]
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Post by Karstiana on Nov 20, 2007 23:09:29 GMT -6
“My sister doesn’t know what hard is. She still thinks I attend school on mars, and the ‘big train’ is a teleportation pad. I blame Jeremiah for letting her watch too much sci-fi.” Julie found herself giggling at this. She did not giggle. “Mars, huh. I can see that. One time when Sandy was going to school, we went to the train station with him. We never went passed the Muggle part, too much magic or something.” Julie rolled her eyes. “On this particular time, I was talking to Sandy, trying to convince him to stay. I was a little older than your sister, maybe five. Sandy was eighteen. He gave me a kiss and told me everything would be fine, that he’d be back before I knew it. Then he took his luggage and just pushed it right through the portal to the train station. He disappeared before my eyes. I was in shock. Later I heard Todd talking to one of his friends. The friend mentioned something about transporters. They were watching an old TV show marathon, from the sixties I think. I heard him and I told him that transporters were real, because Sandy used them.” Julie grinned. “I’ve never seen Todd move so fast. He clamped a hand over my mouth, made some excuse about his little sister having a big imagination, and got me into the house as quick as he could.”
“Write a lot as in...? Write fiction? No. Write letters to me? No. He isn’t into the idea of telling his big brother about his life. Nine and independent. That boy…” Write fiction, huh? She hadn’t considered that, but he said his brother didn’t, so though is was interesting she discarded it. Pity that he didn’t write his big brother letters though. “His loss.” Really, didn’t Casey’s brother, Jeremiah, was it? Didn’t he know that big brothers were awesome? Apparently not.
Something had Casey grinning. Julie didn’t know what, but it had her curious. She watched him for a second as he seemed to be stuck in though. “What are you smiling about?”
Julie continued to watch him. Something certainly had his attention caught. It had started when she was talking about Sandy, but she didn’t know what about Sandy was so interesting. He was Sandy, her smart, quiet, magical, older brother.
Now something had him frowning. He certainly seemed to be taking the conversation in. She liked it. She liked anyone who listened to her, but why was he frowning. She didn’t like to make people frown.
“Nah… you can keep a conversation going. It’s sometimes good to have someone like you in a conversation. You will always make sure it never gets too quiet. That’s good. At least I think so.” Julie sighed, relieved. “I’m glad you think that way. Some people don’t much care for conversation. I never could understand that, mostly because I like to talk. People are fascinating.
“Well that owl was mine. Moonbeam. Hard working, but not all that affectionate. He has a soft spot for spaghetti, which is good, since I don’t.” Julie smiled. “He likes spaghetti? That is so weird, for a bird. I like his name.” Julie looked up in the direction Moonbeam had flown earlier. “Moonbeam, a good name.”
Anyway… what did you ask? Oh… my first year? Um…” This did not sound good. He seemed hesitant to talk about things, but it sounded like he was going to answer her questions, but wasn’t sure where to begin and what to include. He paused before he went on.
“It was awkward. I was really short. And uncoordinated. And had a big mouth. And I was far too sarcastic for my own good.” Awkward. Yeah that would explain a hesitancy to speak about things. Short? Julie looked down. She guessed she wasn’t so short, not for an eleven-year-old girl. She looked at him. Not so short anymore.
“The fourth years loved to tease me. Big guys like Oliver Spence. If you haven’t had to pleasure of making his acquaintance, I advise you not to.” Fourth years? He seemed to be older than that now, but she could imagine a fourth year being a big deal when you were her age. She still didn’t know a lot of people, but she was curious. Still she would attempt to take his advice and not meet this guy. She nodded to indicate her understanding without interrupting him . . . again.
“He’s my age. I’m sure he teased me too, but I didn’t pay my own class much mind. Except my best friend, Asher.” “Asher?” she didn’t realize she questioned the name aloud, as she considered it. What an odd name. She had heard it before, but it wasn’t at all common. “What kind of guy is your best friend? Is he like you?”
“But anyway, life can be callous when you’re a loud mouth, awkward eleven year old. You should watch out for the nice people, Julie. Make friends early, and then you’ll be able to really enjoy your time here.” Loud mouth, awkward eleven year old, huh? That sounded a little bit like her. She wasn’t exactly loud mouthed, but she did talk a lot. She was a little awkward, what with the whole, she was new to wearing jeans and stuff instead of the dresses she had worn for years. The eleven-year-old part was, well, obvious. She would definitely watch out for nice people. She did want friends. He seemed to be a very nice person, but in his later years of school so he wouldn’t be here that long. On the other hand her closest friends were Todd and Sandy, so age really wasn’t a great factor. “Thank you. I will keep that in mind. That is very nice of you.”
“Oh, I knew some about magic. I mean, my parents didn’t raise me Muggle. We had all the normal magical house appliances. Just… we didn’t have a whole lot of Muggle guests. Not the most social able family, but we like it. Or I do.” Julie blinked at him in surprise. “Magical . . . appliances? You had magical appliances? What exactly does a magical appliance do? Is it like the stairs her at Hogwarts, totally it’s own thing? Apparently I have been missing out on quite a bit. I should like to see these appliances.” Julie stopped. She was rambling, again. Fascinating as she found the subject, this was not exactly what most people wanted to talk about. “Sorry, I was going on, again. If you grew up with them, I doubt they are of much interest to you. We did have almost exclusively Muggle guests and Mom is one, so it’s kind of a totally different situation for me.” Julie smiled.
[[Admin Edit: 3 galleons given by Gin.]]
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Post by Stockmon on Nov 21, 2007 0:13:32 GMT -6
“Mars, huh. I can see that.” Julie had giggled. Casey smiled at her. It was funny when girls giggled. Not funny as if it was wrong, but funny just because it almost always made him smile. There were exceptions, as with everything, but usually a giggling girl could slap a smile on that slightly tanned face of his. Referencing to what Julie had just said, Casey didn’t agree. At least he couldn’t see how a school could be on Mars. Honestly… air?
“One time when Sandy was going to school, we went to the train station with him. We never went passed the Muggle part, too much magic or something. On this particular time, I was talking to Sandy trying to convince him to stay.”
Casey let his eyes brows bob up, his smile increasing as he let out a soft, “Awwwe.”
“I was a little older than your sister, maybe five. Sandy was eighteen. He gave me a kiss and told me everything would be fine, that he’d be back before I knew it. Then he took his luggage and just pushed it right through the portal to the train station. He disappeared before my eyes. I was in shock.” Casey raised one eye brow. Shock? He might have been a bit surprised at four… but five? Honestly? It was like a Muggle girl watching her dad step through an automatic door. Shocking? No. Interesting? Sure. Really, had this girl just not experienced magic? What was with her parents? He didn’t think it his place to ask.
“Later I heard Todd talking to one of his friends. The friend mentioned something about transporters. They were watching an old TV show marathon, from the sixties I think. I heard him and I told him that transporter were real, because Sandy used them. I’ve never seen Todd move so fast. He clamped a hand over my mouth,” And she just kept going. Casey listened intently. She was like that pink bunny he’d heard about. The one with the sunglasses and the drums. “made some excuse about his little sister having a big imagination, and got me into the house as quick as he could.” Casey wasn’t sure how she needed to be gotten into the house, and how they might have been watching TV outside… but he refused to ask.
“His loss.” Julie said, regarding Jeremiah’s not writing letters. Oh, he wrote his tidbits, maybe, stress the maybe a page per month, to go with Candice’s letters. Apparently Julie thought Jeremiah should be more interested in Casey’s life, or something. He felt slightly special.
“What are you smiling about?” What? Oh… um…
“Um… just thinking about names, that’s all.” Casey said. Yes, he’d brushed her off. But only his best friend knew that he wanted to be a spy. Well, his parents too, but they were mixed. His dad thought it was great; his mom was entirely against it. Chris… he hadn’t said. He was a good friend, really. He didn’t just go telling people his deepest secret, if he didn’t, he’d have nothing for his close friends. That category consisted of… Chris.
“I’m glad you think that way. Some people don’t care for conversation.” Their loss. What could be done without conversation? Math. “I never could understand that, mostly because I like to talk. People are fascinating.[/b]” Yup, there were.
“He likes spaghetti?” Why did everyone respond that way? “That is so weird, for a bird.” So they said. How would they know? He didn’t suppose they all knew everything about birds, now did they? But he didn’t confront them about this. “I like his name. Moonbeam, a good name.” Casey blushed. He’d have thanked her, but he wasn’t about to tell her he’d come up with the name. It seemed to be that when girls liked something, it was girly. He refrained from mentioning that either.
When Casey mentioned being short when he was eleven, he noticed Julie looking him up and down. Oh, sure he was 6’2” now… but that hadn’t started until he was in his third year. Oh, that growth spurt hadn’t been overnight, it had been over the year. He grew over a foot in one school year. That made him pretty much the tallest fourth year. Chris hadn’t grown quickly. Slowly. Very. Over eight years. He was still shorter than Casey, but not too much.
“Asher?” Julie asked. She was confused, of course. He could had said it to a lot of people and confused them. He was fairly certain he was the only one who called Chris by his last name. “What kind of guy is your best friend?” Casey grinned, but before he could answer, she added something. “Is he like you?” Oh, goodness no. Casey burst out laughing.
She thanked him for his advice, about making friends with nice people. He hoped she’d take it to heart. Really, it would make him glad to see that he’d helped… someone.
“Magical… appliances? You have magical appliances? What exactly does a magical appliance do? Is it like the stairs here at Hogwarts, totally it’s own thing? Apparently I have been missing out on quite a bit. I should like to see these appliances. Sorry, I was going on, again. If you grew up with them, I doubt they are of much interest to you. We did have almost exclusively Muggle guests, and Mom is one, so it’s kind of a totally different situation for me.” Julie said. Man, the girl could certainly talk. IT wasn’t bad, but it was amusing. Especially since Casey did that sometimes. But she didn’t need to know that.
Now, about Chris. “Asher… dear, dear Asher… Oh… don’t call him Asher. He’s a little shorter than man. Blond, usually gels his hair. Fairly foreboding. Hangs out in the hospital wing a lot, especially lately. Don’t call him Asher. He’ll probably look at you weird and ask what “Christos has been saying” about him.” Casey did not even attempt to imitate Chris’ voice. It would have been a real shame for his happiness to imitate someone so… morbid, especially as of late. “His name is Chris. Christopher… but Chris. I just call him Asher. It’s his last name. He calls me by my last name, it works out that way. But yeah… he is…” Casey considered his options. He could tell Julie what’d he’d hear from everyone else… or he could tell her from his insight. Ding, ding, I’ll take insight for 5,000 Alex. “Chris is a really nice guy. If you ever need anything done, I mean really need it, not just want it. He’ll help. If you’re in trouble, or anything like that, you can ask him. He had a great heart. Very noble. Chivalrous, honestly. He is quite… too the point. A, to B, sort. He really is nice, you just have to get over his tough outer later. Oh, and he likes to do sports. Actually.” Casey said. He loved Chris, he knew what a great guy he was inside. Chris just didn’t let everyone else see that, it was a shame, Casey thought.
[[Admin Edit: 2 galleons given by Gin.]]
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Post by Karstiana on Nov 24, 2007 21:19:35 GMT -6
Julie clapped her hand over her mouth to top the giggle. She saw Casey smiling at her, as if he liked her giggle. Odd.
”Awwwe.” She smiled at the unintentional reaction to her words. Apparently he thought it was cute that she was trying to convince Sandy to stay. She had been five after all. Maybe five years olds were cute. She had certainly been trained from birth to be cute . . . innocent . . . unassuming . . . ladylike. Well, the unassuming wasn’t so much drilled in as expected. She was just a little too adventurous to be totally what her mother wanted. She liked to experience new things. She liked climbing trees and if that ruined whatever dress her mother had her in that day, so be it. Her mother, of course, had not seen it that way. She fretted every time Julie had come home with yet another tear in her dress or stockings. Julie had tried, but really, some things were just too much.
Casey raised his eyebrow when she said that she was shocked about seeing Sandy just disappear. What had he expected? She had never before seen such a thing. There was little and sometimes no magic practiced in her house. Sandy was often her only link to that and there were limits on when he could use magic at home, a lot of them, not all coming from his school. Magic really was such a blank slate for Julie. She knew almost nothing even at the grand old age of eleven. Many of her classmates had come into school knowing plenty of magic, some how to do the magic, some just what it was and having seen their parents do it at home. Julie had none of that. Out of respect for her mother, though Julie should think her mother would have respect and allow some magic, Julie’s dad hadn’t really practiced magic. He hadn’t been interested enough to push the issue.
Julie noticed that Casey was listening to her as she talked, like he was actually hearing and contemplating what she said. That didn’t happen too often. Many times people seemed to tune her out. She did tend to go on and on and on, but there was so much to say. She liked that he was listening.
“Um… just thinking about names, that’s all.” Now she was only more curious, but he obviously didn’t want to talk about it. She could respect that even if she had no idea why. But then if she had an idea why she would know what he was thinking and thus have no reason for the question in the first place. Strange thing, reasoning.
She thought she might have seen the slightest nod of his head when she said that people were fascinating, but maybe she imagined it. Still she thought he might agree with her on the point, for he certainly was paying attention to her. He seemed to think she was fascinating, or at least he was making a good show of pretending he thought she was fascinating and that was almost at good. One had to wish to make a good impression to want to pretend something and seeing as they had just met he really had no reason to want to impress her other than he truly found her interesting.
Julie noticed that Casey blushed when she said his choice of name for his owl was a good one, but she couldn’t see why. It was a good name. After all, owls lived most of their awake lives by the light of the moon. An owl named moonbeam would be, to her mind, a powerful owl indeed, as if it could channel the light itself.
Casey grinned when she asked about his best friend. When she asked if his friend was like him, though, he burst out laughing. Apparently the answer was a resounding . . . no.
“Asher… dear, dear Asher… Oh… don’t call him Asher. He’s a little shorter than man.” What? “Blond, usually gels his hair. Hair gel . . . weird. “Fairly foreboding. Hangs out in the hospital wing a lot, especially lately.” Was he sick? No, he said he hangs out there, not that he had to be there. Strange place to hang out, but surely he had a reason. “Don’t call him Asher. He’ll probably look at you weird and ask what ‘Christos has been saying’ about him.” Christos? Right, that was Casey’s last name. His friend called him by his last name? And if not Asher, what was she to call him? “His name is Chris. Christopher… but Chris. I just call him Asher. It’s his last name. He calls me by my last name, it works out that way. But yeah… he is…” Oh. Christopher Asher. The name meant nothing to her, but at least it explained why she should not call his friend Asher. It wasn’t his first name, but instead his last. “Chris is a really nice guy. If you ever need anything done, I mean really need it, not just want it. He’ll help." “Sounds like you have a lot of respect for your friend.” Chris Asher sounded like he was a very good friend and that Casey was lucky to have him. Equally, though, she suspected Chris was lucky to have Chris. “I think he is lucky to have you for a friend.”
“If you’re in trouble, or anything like that, you can ask him. He had a great heart. Very noble. Chivalrous, honestly. He is quite… too the point. A, to B, sort.” He sounded like . . . math. He also sounded like a knight, the shining armor type. Chivalry sort of brought that image to mind.
“He really is nice, you just have to get over his tough outer later.” He sounded . . . sweet.
“Oh, and he likes to do sports. Actually.” Julie smiled. Now, that she could understand. She didn’t really know a lot of sports, but she liked them, they were much more interesting than tea parties and girly things. “You are a very loyal friend. It sounds like you know . . . Chris,” she was hesitant over the name, even though he said to call his friend that, “very well. He is lucky to have you,” she said echoing her earlier words. “Does he know that? I imagine you are also lucky to have him as a friend. You say he spends a lot of time in the hospital ward, but the way you word it makes it sound like he is a guest and not a patient. Why is he there?” Julie watched as one of the owls flew past her. It reminded her of something else she wanted to say. “Your owl sounds powerful, with a name like Moonbeam, as if he controls the night light.”
[[Edit: 3 galleons given by The Galleon Mistress.]]
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Post by Stockmon on Nov 25, 2007 2:30:49 GMT -6
“Sounds like you have a lot of respect for your friend. I think he is lucky to have you for a friend.” Julie said. Casey smirked. Chris, lucky? Try telling him that. “You are a very loyal friend.” Was he now? His smirk remained planted.
Casey made a motion to put his hands in his pockets, until he remembered he was wearing PJ pants. PJ pants did not have pockets. So in attempt to save himself from embarrassment, he waved his arms up from his sides so that he could fold them in front of his chest.
“It sounds like you know… Chris,” she had to pause, probably to remember his name. “very well. He is lucky to have you. Does he know that?”
Casey scoffed. It would not take much for Casey to imagine Chris jumping down the throat of anyone who called him lucky. He wasn’t all that lucky, but Casey supposed what Julie said might be true.
“I imagine you are also lucky to have him as a friend. You say he spends a lot of time in the hospital ward, but the way you word it it makes it sound like he is a guest and not a patient. Why is he there?” Julie asked.
As Casey was about to reply, he saw Julie watching an owl fly past and heard her say, “Your owl sounds powerful, with a name like Moonbeam, as if he controls the night light.”
“Um… sure.” Casey said, raising his eye brows. He didn’t think of it that way, he just thought it sounded whimsical. Guys could get beat up for having an owl with a whimsical name. Luckily no one tried to beat him up now-a-days.
“I don’t think you could convince Asher that he’s lucky… but feel free to try. Just know I warned you. He isn’t a guest, per se. He doesn’t sleep there. They won’t let him.” Casey said, sighing deeply. “Besides, he wouldn’t check himself into…” his voice trailed off. He needn’t mention the time Chris had broken his leg and demanded Casey help him wrap it without telling anyone. Stupid whomping willow. It was not his place to tell Chris’ secrets to the world, even though he was about to.
“Either way,” Casey continued, clearing his throat, “His sister is a resident there. She’s been sick for a while, quite ill. So he sits by her bedside almost all the time. Unless he is asleep, or in class. He… yeah. He spends quite a bit of time there.” Casey shrugged, having to make sure he didn’t say too much.
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Post by Karstiana on Dec 2, 2007 17:34:18 GMT -6
Something Julie said made Casey smirk. She replayed the words in her head and could only conclude that he either totally disagreed or totally agreed with what she said. Or else he just found it amusing. She wasn’t actually sure which.
Casey smoothed his hands down the side of his pajama bottoms and then up to fold them over his chest. It seemed strange like her no-skirt-curtsies, some how fake. She didn’t know what he was trying to do, but she suspected that wasn’t it. It was however what he did, so she just shrugged her shoulders and continued on.
He made a strange noise as she once more said his friend, Chris was lucky to have him. That must have been what he thought was so odd early. Apparently he did not agree with her. Oh, well, she was allowed her opinion.
“Um… sure.” Casey’s eyebrows raised skeptically. Boy, Julie, you sure do pick um. She couldn’t seem to say the right thing about anything, his friend or his bird. He was a nice guy. She hoped she wasn’t making him want to run. He said he didn’t mind her talking, but maybe he was just being polite. Or maybe that was as long as she topic was safe. Or maybe you should calm down, Julie. Maybe he’s just responding and it’s all okay, just a difference of opinions.
“I don’t think you could convince Asher that he’s lucky… but feel free to try.” Or not. I mean if she couldn’t even convince him. Or maybe it was thoughts of his friend’s reaction and not his that made the difference in his response. Some things just only worked if you could read the other persons mind and Julie kind of doubted even magic had figured out a way for that one.
“Just know I warned you. He isn’t a guest, per se. He doesn’t sleep there. They won’t let him.” A sigh punctuated a break in his thoughts. He wasn’t a guest, but he would have slept there if they let him. Or that’s what Casey’s words lead her to believe. She didn’t know why anyone would have slept in the infirmary if they had another choice, so she just waited for his next words to see if he explained.
“Besides, he wouldn’t check himself into . . .” Into what? Had he been sick and not gotten treatment or something else. Partial sentences where so difficult to figure out. The fact that Casey’s voice trailed off lead her to believe that he wasn’t going to finish that train of thought. Pity. It was probably interesting.
Casey cleared his throat and continued on. “Either way. His sister is a resident there.” Oh. That was bad. It also would explain why Chris would want to be there. He was worried about his sister. She wondered if she was a younger or an older sister. Probably unimportant. She was Chris sister.
“She’s been sick for a while, quite ill. So he sits by her bedside almost all the time. Unless he is asleep, or in class. He. . . yeah.” Apparently he wasn’t going to tell her more. “What happened to her? Do they know how to fix it? He must feel really very awful. I can’t imagine if one of my brothers was so sick he was always in the hospital.” Julie paused as another thought came to her. “Is she a student then? I mean is she at the school infirmary because he is here, or is she actually a student? And does she ever get to study?” She couldn’t imagine being here and not being able to study. It would be a strange and terrible form or torture for her inquisitive mind. She wanted to learn something awful. “Do they think she will be better soon?”
[[Edit: 2 galleons given by The Galleon Mistress.]]
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