Annette Waters and the Bracelets of Devotion {HSHC} IC

[Zelphas]

Faith doesn't answer Carmen for a very long moment, focusing on changing. After nearly a full minute, she mutters a very, very quiet "Indeed." She says nothing else for the rest of the time.

Faith has gathered herself back together by the time she finishes changing. She tolerates Carmen's arm over her shoulder for only a moment, sliding out of the other girl's grip and sitting down in the seat she was before. At the mention of the earlier event, her cheeks color slightly but her voice remains calm. "I have given you nothing but a poor impression of myself and of the students of Hogwarts so far. I am sorry for that," she says sincerely, though her detached tone may make her seem insincere.

[Forum Explorer]

Was it your imagination, or did her face (what little of it you can see, anyway) turn a deeper scarlet? Preferably never.

Aww, you're breaking my heart, Carmen teased.

[Lentrax]

Faith doesn't answer Carmen for a very long moment, focusing on changing. After nearly a full minute, she mutters a very, very quiet "Indeed." She says nothing else for the rest of the time.

Faith has gathered herself back together by the time she finishes changing. She tolerates Carmen's arm over her shoulder for only a moment, sliding out of the other girl's grip and sitting down in the seat she was before. At the mention of the earlier event, her cheeks color slightly but her voice remains calm. "I have given you nothing but a poor impression of myself and of the students of Hogwarts so far. I am sorry for that," she says sincerely, though her detached tone may make her seem insincere.

Annette turns her head slightly to look at Faith out of the corner of her eye. At least you apologized for it. The girl sighs. And I suppose I haven't been the most gracious at accepting the apologies you gave, either. Don't worry about it, okay?

Aww, you're breaking my heart, Carmen teased.

You can't see her face, but you are fairly certain Annette rolled her eyes as she replies, Yeah? And I am supposed to care?

[Esprit15]

”No? We’re not supposed to use magic outside of the school grounds. I just didn’t take my time like some people do,” Lauren says simply.

[Lentrax]

"Well, I don't buy it. Sure, you can say that you were just not taking your time, and, obviously, you weren't. But still, unless you were already wearing half your uniform under your regular clothes, there is no way you could have been that fast."

[Forum Explorer]

You can't see her face, but you are fairly certain Annette rolled her eyes as she replies, Yeah? And I am supposed to care?

Nah, this is more fun. Carmen says, a strange look passing over her face before she answered, not that Annette could see it.

So Gryffindor huh? Congratulations. she added.

[Esprit15]

"Well, I don't buy it. Sure, you can say that you were just not taking your time, and, obviously, you weren't. But still, unless you were already wearing half your uniform under your regular clothes, there is no way you could have been that fast."

”Well I’m not trying to sell you on it,” Lauren sighs, now moving to shove her way past. “Why do you care, anyway?”

[Lentrax]

Nah, this is more fun. Carmen says, a strange look passing over her face before she answered, not that Annette could see it.

So Gryffindor huh? Congratulations. she added.

Yeah. Not like it really means anything. Its just a place for me to keep my things.

”Well I’m not trying to sell you on it,” Lauren sighs, now moving to shove her way past. “Why do you care, anyway?”

"Fine. Keep your secret. But I am going to find out whatever it is." With that, the girl goes off, leaving you with an odd feeling of what she meant by figuring out your secret...

[Forum Explorer]

Yeah. Not like it really means anything. Its just a place for me to keep my things.

Eh, it comes with a few benefits. A better view, classmates who aren't ********s, better colors for your uniform.

[Lentrax]

None of which really means anything. Not to me anyway.

[Forum Explorer]

None of which really means anything. Not to me anyway.

I suppose not, Carmen said agreeably.

[Esprit15]

Lauren looks back at the girl and stares a little, memorizing her face. She didn’t like the sound of that at all... but, it couldn’t be helped right now. Slightly nervous, the girl makes her way back to her seat, shoulders slightly stiff and discomfort clear on her face to those who cared or knew her.

[Lentrax]

Annette turns back as the compartment door opens and closes. She doesn't seem to notice the look on Lauren's face, but Lauren can sense that the mood in the compartment seems to match the one she is feeling. Oh. Hey. Welcome back.

[Esprit15]

"Hey..." Lauren says, slightly listless. "You guys still continuing your spat from earlier?" she asks half interested as she takes her seat and returns to her reading.

[Lentrax]

No. Right now, I am waiting for an apology for walking in on me while I was changing.

[Forum Explorer]

No. Right now, I am waiting for an apology for walking in on me while I was changing.

Really? I did already say sorry. Though, I suppose you didn't hear me over the laughter, Carmen said, tapping a finger against her lip. Well, I am sorry. Like I said, I owe you one. I didn't mean to accidentally walk in on you like that.

[Esprit15]

"Ah..." The girl's head doesn't shift from the book, nor does her gaze wander around to guess who was responsible. "Weird thing to not apologize for. Why would someone not do something so basic to human decency?"

[Lentrax]

You laughed. At. Seeing. Me. Naked. Annette says, slowly emphasizing each word, anger creeping into her voice. You didn't do anything either. You just stood there and laughed until Faith, who also walked in on me, pulled you away. And you were still laughing. It doesn't matter if you say you apologized, because as you said, I must not have heard it. Over. Your. Laughing.

Annette's face begins to screw up in her anger. And then, to try and make everything better, you walk in here like nothing happened, and offer to let me see you naked? As if that makes up for humiliating me like that!? Who possibly thinks that makes anything better?

[Forum Explorer]

You laughed. At. Seeing. Me. Naked. Annette says, slowly emphasizing each word, anger creeping into her voice. You didn't do anything either. You just stood there and laughed until Faith, who also walked in on me, pulled you away. And you were still laughing. It doesn't matter if you say you apologized, because as you said, I must not have heard it. Over. Your. Laughing.

Annette's face begins to screw up in her anger. And then, to try and make everything better, you walk in here like nothing happened, and offer to let me see you naked? As if that makes up for humiliating me like that!? Who possibly thinks that makes anything better?

To be fair, I didn't start laughing until Faith showed up. Carmen said, rolling her eyes. And if I seem blase about the whole thing, it's because I don't see what the big deal is. It was an accident, and you've got nothing I haven't seen before. Blimey, ten seconds later, Faith and I got changed in the same room. Carmen shook her head condescendingly.

Christ, you're acting like I groped you or something.

[Esprit15]

”Different people have different standards for comfort regarding skinship. Americans especially are pretty sensitive to that. Just make an honest apology.” Your fighting is making my reading difficult.

[Forum Explorer]

”Different people have different standards for comfort regarding skinship. Americans especially are pretty sensitive to that. Just make an honest apology.” Your fighting is making my reading difficult.

I already gave her an honest apology. Carmen said. If she wants an overblown production of an apology, then you know what? **** it, sure. I'll give her one if she wants.

[Lentrax]

Forget it. If you can’t understand, then just forget it.

The compartment falls into an uneasy silence, but fortunately, before long, a familiar sight comes into view.

Hogsmeade Station, your stop to depart from the Hogwarts Express. Students who have any start placing their pets in cages, games of wizard’s chess, gobstones, and exploding snap get put away.

The train comes to a stop, and you begin getting off. Annette hurries herself off the train and onto the platform, and is soon lost in the crowd of students. Off to the other end of the platform, you can hear Hagrid calling out for the first years. The other students begin to head off for the carriages.

Where is Annette? Should you try and find her? And worse still, can you face her anger?

Spoiler: Scene 4.

Show

Unnopposed roll.

Allure D6. Look, what happened on the train stays on the train. +1 VP
Conflict D8. Persuade Annette to share her carriage. +2 VP
Luck D6. Look, everywhere else is full. Mind if we share? +1 VP

Skill D8. Let Annette cool down and enjoy a nice calming carriage ride up to the castle by herself. +2 VP

[Esprit15]

Lauren, while trying to largely be uninvolved, still notices the tension among the group. A part of her wanted to check on the girl and see what was up, but that also seemed like an easy way start a fight. Annette was a bit of a prickly person, and sometimes it’s just best to leave those people alone.

Spoiler

Show

Skill (+1), Down and Dirty (+7)

[Zelphas]

Faith, taking note of Annette's anger, decides to see what she can do to make sure the girl's carriage trip to Hogwarts is more pleasant than her train ride has been. Towards that end, she keeps an eye out for the exchange student and, after seeing which carriage Annette chooses to ride in, places herself with her prefect's badge on display and begins directing the traffic around the carriages, telling louder or more rambunctious students that the carriages near Annette were already filled and sending them elsewhere while letting a few of the quieter, nicer, and more respectful students pick carriages within that area.

If possible (if there are any teachers taking the carriages to school, which is admittedly a rare occurrence), Faith flags down a teacher and directs them to Annette's carriage, explaining that the student in there had a somewhat stressful train ride and would appreciate a quiet moment before the feast, and a teacher's presence would be just what was needed to make sure any of the passengers were also quiet and respectful. If there are no teachers nearby, Faith tries to send a reliable other prefect or the Head Boy and Girl to the carriage if they are nearby.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Skill. +1 for inclination, +2 for Deep Freeze, +2 for Poker Face, and aiming to get a +2 for Connections as well (it says teachers and other authority figures). Either a +5 or a +7 in total.

[Forum Explorer]

Hey Boss, we missed you on the train. A pair of students, the girl in Gryffondor colors and the boy in Ravenclaw's greeted Carmen.

Ah, Ivy, Zach, it is nice to see you again. Carmen said, turning around.

How was the ride? Ivy asked.

Hmm, I'm not sure. I met a girl- Carmen paused, and rolled her eyes at the teasing grins Ivy and Zach were giving her. Enough of that. I met a girl, and she's...interesting. But I admit I'm also kinda disappointed by her. I'm not sure she's worth the effort.

Well do what you want Boss, that's what you always do. Zach said, shrugging. Carmen shrugged, looking towards the carriages. She frowned when she saw Faith directly traffic away from Annette's carriage.

Well, I'm not going to allow that to stand, Carmen said, angrily. You two force your way in. I'll create a distraction and join you later. The pair nodded and headed off. Carmen looked around and grabbed a young Ravenclaw, her hand sinking into her shoulder.

Hey kiddo. I'm going to do you a favor. You see that girl up there? She's your new Prefect. And as such she's supposed to help you with your problems right? And you have so many problems to talk to her about don't you? Or do I need to give you some?

Spoiler: OOC

Show

So going for Conflict. Using Fearsome Reputation for a +2 to my roll. And since the threat is physical, can I say that I'm using Bruiser for another +2 for a total of +4?

In either case, on a failed roll I will use Hired Muscle to pass anyways.

[AvatarVecna]

Elizabeth follows...somebody, one of the ones that wasn't making a giant fuss...to the carriages, wanting a bit of peace and quiet while she finishes reading her introductory text for this years Divination studies; after a near fail the year before, she was going to need to put in the legwork to get a O.W.L., and after that she should probably just drop it to focus her attentions in other more grounded studies...

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Skill. Strong 1, Honor Student +2, total +3. Foresight (odd), and putting Just As Planned on Lauren.

[Lentrax]

Faith, taking note of Annette's anger, decides to see what she can do to make sure the girl's carriage trip to Hogwarts is more pleasant than her train ride has been. Towards that end, she keeps an eye out for the exchange student and, after seeing which carriage Annette chooses to ride in, places herself with her prefect's badge on display and begins directing the traffic around the carriages, telling louder or more rambunctious students that the carriages near Annette were already filled and sending them elsewhere while letting a few of the quieter, nicer, and more respectful students pick carriages within that area.

If possible (if there are any teachers taking the carriages to school, which is admittedly a rare occurrence), Faith flags down a teacher and directs them to Annette's carriage, explaining that the student in there had a somewhat stressful train ride and would appreciate a quiet moment before the feast, and a teacher's presence would be just what was needed to make sure any of the passengers were also quiet and respectful. If there are no teachers nearby, Faith tries to send a reliable other prefect or the Head Boy and Girl to the carriage if they are nearby.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Skill. +1 for inclination, +2 for Deep Freeze, +2 for Poker Face, and aiming to get a +2 for Connections as well (it says teachers and other authority figures). Either a +5 or a +7 in total.

Students grumble about being told where to go, but by and large, they don’t want to go against a prefect.

Things are going really well, and Annette should be able to enjoy a nice, quiet ride, until....

Hey Boss, we missed you on the train. A pair of students, the girl in Gryffondor colors and the boy in Ravenclaw's greeted Carmen.

Ah, Ivy, Zach, it is nice to see you again. Carmen said, turning around.

How was the ride? Ivy asked.

Hmm, I'm not sure. I met a girl- Carmen paused, and rolled her eyes at the teasing grins Ivy and Zach were giving her. Enough of that. I met a girl, and she's...interesting. But I admit I'm also kinda disappointed by her. I'm not sure she's worth the effort.

Well do what you want Boss, that's what you always do. Zach said, shrugging. Carmen shrugged, looking towards the carriages. She frowned when she saw Faith directly traffic away from Annette's carriage.

Well, I'm not going to allow that to stand, Carmen said, angrily. You two force your way in. I'll create a distraction and join you later. The pair nodded and headed off. Carmen looked around and grabbed a young Ravenclaw, her hand sinking into her shoulder.

Hey kiddo. I'm going to do you a favor. You see that girl up there? She's your new Prefect. And as such she's supposed to help you with your problems right? And you have so many problems to talk to her about don't you? Or do I need to give you some?

Spoiler: OOC

Show

So going for Conflict. Using Fearsome Reputation for a +2 to my roll. And since the threat is physical, can I say that I'm using Bruiser for another +2 for a total of +4?

In either case, on a failed roll I will use Hired Muscle to pass anyways.

“I didn’t before. But I do now.” The student goes off and runs up to Faith. “Hey! Prefect! You have a problem! There’s this girl just over there,” she points back the way she came. “She just threatened to beat me up if I didn’t, I don’t know, something about problems. I think she wants you distracted for some reason.”

And sure enough, as Faith turns back to directing traffic, she hears a familiar voice.

QWhat the hell? Why are you following me? Haven’t you done enough?

Lauren, while trying to largely be uninvolved, still notices the tension among the group. A part of her wanted to check on the girl and see what was up, but that also seemed like an easy way start a fight. Annette was a bit of a prickly person, and sometimes it’s just best to leave those people alone.

Spoiler

Show

Skill (+1), Down and Dirty (+7)

Lauren gives a look up to Annette, and for just a second thier eyes meet. As Lauren continues on, Annette gives a nod of her head and a silently mouthed, Thank you.

Elizabeth follows...somebody, one of the ones that wasn't making a giant fuss...to the carriages, wanting a bit of peace and quiet while she finishes reading her introductory text for this years Divination studies; after a near fail the year before, she was going to need to put in the legwork to get a O.W.L., and after that she should probably just drop it to focus her attentions in other more grounded studies...

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Skill. Strong 1, Honor Student +2, total +3. Foresight (odd), and putting Just As Planned on Lauren.

Elizabeth, her nose deep in a book, fails to notice anything unusual going on, though she does hear Annette’s exclamation as she gets an unexpected visitor in her carriage.

[Esprit15]

”See you at the Hall,” Lauren calls over, somewhat quietly. She expected it to be drowned out, but expressing the sentiment mattered more than it actually carrying, especially with her wanting space.

[Zelphas]

Faith turns to the other student and listens carefully to her complaint before nodding and moving to deal with it. When she sees who caused the complaint, she takes a deep, steadying breath and walks purposefully forward.

"I cannot technically prevent you from sitting where you like, Miss Carmen, but I can and will report your threatening behavior and harassment to Professor Slughorn once we reach the castle," Faith says to the Slytherin girl first, her tone clipped and formal. She then turns to Annette. "It is not fair of me to ask you to move when you are not the one causing the problem, but if you would like to there are a few mostly full carriages that should only be able to accept one more person." She indicates where they are (if any indeed are left open), then inclines her head. "I am sorry for the intrusion."

Turning, Faith makes her way to a carriage herself, deliberately moving away from both Annette's current carriage as well as the ones she indicated. There is no need to continue her already poor showing any longer than she has to.

[Forum Explorer]

Faith turns to the other student and listens carefully to her complaint before nodding and moving to deal with it. When she sees who caused the complaint, she takes a deep, steadying breath and walks purposefully forward.

"I cannot technically prevent you from sitting where you like, Miss Carmen, but I can and will report your threatening behavior and harassment to Professor Slughorn once we reach the castle," Faith says to the Slytherin girl first, her tone clipped and formal. She then turns to Annette. "It is not fair of me to ask you to move when you are not the one causing the problem, but if you would like to there are a few mostly full carriages that should only be able to accept one more person." She indicates where they are (if any indeed are left open), then inclines her head. "I am sorry for the intrusion."

Turning, Faith makes her way to a carriage herself, deliberately moving away from both Annette's current carriage as well as the ones she indicated. There is no need to continue her already poor showing any longer than she has to.

Like I care, Carmen snorted, not paying any attention to Annette Besides do you really think you're one to talk after abusing your status to try and give her a private carriage to the castle? Once Faith leaves, Carmen simply walks away, heading off to a different carriage, confident that her two minions would now be in Annette's carriage.