Victor the Explorer [Tag: Ayla Tremaine] on Labyrinth Gardens

Victor Callahan

October 11, 2016 4:56 PM

Victor the Explorer [Tag: Ayla Tremaine] by Victor Callahan

It seemed fairly obvious to Victor that one of the first things one should do when in a new place was to explore. Of course there were new friends to be made too – that went without saying – but he was feeling fairly happy on that front so far, as both his roommates seemed to be fairly decent chaps. He had yet to really meet any of the girls, but he was sure that would happen sooner or later. So, for now, he was going to focus on exploring and, more specifically, exploring the Labyrinth Gardens.

The whole maze idea was a pretty cool one, Victor had to admit. If you wandered in too deep you’d probably get lost for days. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were currently several students lost in its depths, starving and crawling desperately along the ground in an attempt to find their way out without getting eaten by the dangerous creatures that no doubt lived here. It was, in his opinion, a big shame that the professors probably wouldn’t let such a scenario happen.

Victor didn’t find any half-starved bodies during his exploration, but he did find lots of interesting courtyards, and even a few creatures roaming around. There was one moment when he decided he’d got lost, and he was just planning his survival strategy (living off berries and whatever animals he could hunt until he managed to work out how to use the four-point spell) when he realised that, actually, he was pretty near the entrance. That was a little disappointing, but Victor could handle disappointment, even if it did reduce his chance of claiming the title of ‘intrepid explorer’.

He was just about to return to the main school building and see what his roommates where up to when he caught sight of a girl he thought he recognised. He was fairly sure he’d seen her at orientation, meaning she must be in his year. He didn’t have anywhere to be, so he decided to go over to her.

“Hi, you’re a first year too, right?” he asked, giving her a friendly smile and running a hand through his riotous curls (tidying them was something he’d given up on a long time ago, but the least he could do was make sure no leaves had decided to nest on top of his head). “I’m Victor Callahan, of the Idaho Callahans. What house are you in? I’m in Crotalus.”

9 Victor Callahan Victor the Explorer [Tag: Ayla Tremaine] 368 Victor Callahan 1 5

Ayla Tremaine

October 12, 2016 11:45 AM

Ayla the Lion Tamer by Ayla Tremaine

Ayla decided that since she was going to be living at Sonora for the better part of the next seven years she needed to be able to navigate the school's grounds without a map. She'd managed to get down to Cascade Hall and back to the common room, which was a good first step. Classes, however, were still hit and miss.

Since the Teppenpaw common room was in the middle of the school, it lacked windows. Sure, there were enchanted ones, but admittedly there were some things in life that magic just couldn't fully duplicate. The young blonde needed fresh air and some natural lighting, and she figured her fluffy white cat Albus could use a change of scenery as well.

The gardens weren't hard to find from Cascade Hall, so Ayla gathered up Albus in his carrier and made her way outside. It was nice out, which wasn't surprising given that Sonora used weather charms on the grounds, but she was glad for it all the same. Nice weather meant she could still wear sun dresses, and today's was a pale yellow A-line style gathered halter that hit just below the knee and had an eyelet cut overlay.

Ayla found a vacant bench near the maze entrance that had a decent view of the grounds and set the cat carrier down on it. She gently removed Albus and scratched him behind the ears before setting him in the grass. The large white cat stretched and rolled, head first, onto his back inviting Ayla to rub his belly. As she knelt to do so, she noticed someone approaching. She smiled at him and quickly rose to her feet, despite protests from the white fluffball on the ground.

“Yes, hi!” She said brightly, as she brushed herself off. “Nice to meet you Victor, I’m Ayla Tremaine of the Palo Alto California Tremaines.” She smiled, excited to meet another of her yearmates, and a pureblood to boot. “I ended up in Teppenpaw, but I’d expected Crotalus, so I was a little surprised at the sorting. Kind of strange that there aren’t any girls in your house though, don’t you think? Not that I’m complaining, because I have a roommate, and I wouldn’t have otherwise.” Ayla realized she was rambling, which wasn’t very ladylike. She glanced down at Albus to make sure he hadn’t wandered off before turning her green eyes back to Victor. “Did you just come from the labyrinth?”

5 Ayla Tremaine Ayla the Lion Tamer 367 Ayla Tremaine 0 5

Victor

October 16, 2016 3:32 PM

Better a cat than no lion at all by Victor

Well, if all other pureblood girls had been siphoned off to other houses like Ayla had, that would explain why there were only boys in the group of first year Crotali. Victor was quite relieved – it would have been a shame if that lack of Crotalus girls had meant a lack of pureblood girls. No, more than a shame – a complete horror. Not that Victor was prone to over-exaggeration or anything.

“I was wondering why there weren’t any Crotalus girls,” replied Victor. “But I’m sure we’ll still see lots of each other, even though we’re not in the same house. And roommates are always good to have – unless you don’t get on with them, I suppose.” It didn’t even occur to Victor that Ayla might not want to spend time with him. He wasn’t exactly arrogant, having more the confidence of someone who’d always been loved and, as the family heir, always been considered to be important. He didn’t think of himself as someone who should be admired, but never having had a negative reaction to his presence (except, of course, for all those times he snuck back downstairs when he was meant to be in bed) meant that he naturally assumed his company would be appreciated. He was a pureblood boy, she was a pureblood girl. It was suitable for them to spend time together, and he just assumed that Ayla would want to see more of him.

“Yeah, I decided to do a bit of exploring,” he explained with a nonchalant shrug, feeling pretty heroic as he said it, especially as he was talking to a pretty pureblood girl. “It’s quite cool in there, there are lots of courtyards and things.”

The Teppenpaw boys (if there were even any of them) obviously weren’t the exploring type, as he hadn’t seen any in the gardens. No, wait a minute. He paused in his analysis of the Teppenpaw boys. That wasn’t quite right – how could he know he hadn’t seen any if he didn’t know who they were? Something was definitely flawed in his reasoning. “Are there any Teppenpaw boys?” he asked, deciding to set the record straight. He could hardly compare himself to them if they were non-existent.

“What’s your cat called?” he asked, looking down at the white cat. Cats weren’t bad animals, he supposed, even if a lion would made a more interesting pet. But then, you probably weren’t allowed lions at Sonora. The staff seemed to be taking the fun out of everything.

9 Victor Better a cat than no lion at all 368 Victor 0 5

Ayla

October 17, 2016 11:07 AM

He's a miniature house lion by Ayla

Albus weaved his way between Ayla’s ankles, purring loudly as he rubbed against her. Usually she’d scoop him up and kiss his ears at this point, but her attention was fully on Victor. He was, after all, pretty cute. The Teppenpaw girl couldn’t decide if he was handsome on his own, or if the fact that he was pureblooded made him more attractive. Either way, she didn’t mind his company one bit. Her heart leapt when he mentioned seeing a lot of each other regardless of being in the same house. What exactly did he mean by that? Did he want to see her more often? That wouldn’t be the worst thing ever, the 11 year-old decided as her mind threatened to run away with daydreams of wandering through the gardens with Victor.

“I hope so!” She said with a dimpled grin, as she brought herself back to reality. There was, after all, a good chance that he meant they’d be seeing each other in classes. “So far, my roommate Gwen and I get along just fine. Do you like yours?” Ayla wanted to ask what they were like, or if they were purebloods as well, but refrained. She didn’t want to come off as gossipy, even though she was very curious about who was who when it came to the other students in her year. Instead, she left it simple, if Victor wanted to divulge information regarding his roommates, she imagined he would do so. Plus, even if he didn’t, she could partner up with them in class or something later and find out first hand.

“I haven’t been in yet, not since orientation anyway.” She said, letting her green eyes drift towards the labyrinth before falling back on Victor. “It sounds cool though! Maybe you could show me around sometime?” Ayla asked, with a hopeful tone to her voice. Mother had always said it was good to show interest in things people you were trying to get to know where interested in. She said that it gave you more things to talk about and showed that you wanted to learn about them. Mother was always busy doing something social, so the girl figured she knew what she was talking about and tried her best to employ the woman’s wisdom. “Since you made it out alive, and everything, I mean. I’m not the best with directions, I’m afraid I’d get lost forever if I went alone, but I’m curious to see what it’s like.”

Ayla glanced down at Alby again, who was now stalking a butterfly rather unsuccessfully. He was adorable, but a hunter he definitely was not. The girl laughed a little as her cat shook his butt, rather unstealthily, as he prepared to pounce. She brushed some of her long blonde hair back from her face as she looked back to Victor to answer his question about the boys in her house. “Yes! There are two; Sawyer, who is a musician from Massachusetts, and then the other one I haven’t really had a chance to chat with.”

There were few things in life that Ayla Tremaine loved more than her cat. She lit up when Victor asked about him, revealing the dimples on each of the girl’s cheeks. The petite blonde stooped to pick up her large white cat, and hoisted him over one shoulder. “This,” She started, still smiling, as she turned so that the feline was facing Victor. “Is Albus! I call him Alby though. And a number of other silly nicknames, but yeah. He’s a cute little dope.” She said scratching the cat between the ears before turning back to face Victor. “Did you bring any animals? Or do you have any at home?

5 Ayla He's a miniature house lion 367 Ayla 0 5

Victor

October 20, 2016 4:01 PM

Petition to rename the cat species! by Victor

“Yeah, they seem pretty great,” replied Victor, suddenly feeling quite protective about his roommates and not wanting Ayla to think they were worse than her Gwen. “It’s going to be fun sharing a room with them.” He hadn’t really got to know his roommates especially well yet, but things seemed to be going fine so far and he wasn’t going to sound any less than positive about them. They hadn’t really had much chance for adventure yet so he couldn’t tell how useful they’d be in that respect, but they seemed to be from decent families and that was, in his books, a Good Thing. He supposed that, being in Crotalus, there was little chance that they wouldn’t be from respectable families, so didn’t even consider that a point worth mentioning to Ayla.

The idea of showing Ayla around the labyrinth like some kind of modern-day knight made Victor stand up just that little bit straighter. ”There’s nothing I’d rather do,” he replied, grinning cheekily at the pretty witch in front of him. He definitely liked the idea of being a knight in shining armour for a pureblood witch, especially one like Ayla who also seemed fun. “I suppose it is quite big, but I’m fairly confident I know my way around it now. And if something does go wrong, at least we we’d be lost together.” Okay, he might be slightly exaggerating its size, but Victor did like to feel as if he was some impressive explorer, and to be one of those you had to have an impressive territory to conquer.

Two boys in Teppenpaw house? Well, the musician didn’t sound like he would be much competition. After all, Jehan liked music, and Victor would never consider his younger brother a threat to Victor’s title of Intrepid Explorer and Charmer of Pureblood Ladies. Jehan just didn’t have enough go about him for that. It wasn’t that Victor disliked music - in fact, he was quite fond of making large amounts of noise on drums and the like - but he thought that anyone who could be referred to as a musician probably didn’t spend enough time living dangerously in the Great Outdoors to challenge Victor. The other boy didn’t sound particularly alarming, if Ayla hadn’t managed to talk to him yet, particularly as she seemed a very friendly girl. He vaguely wondered if it might be Kir, the boy he’d spoken to at orientation, although really he had little idea as to where he might have ended up. Their conversation hadn’t been that deep.

Asking about the cat - Albus - definitely seemed to have been a good idea, judging by Ayla’s reaction. He looked like a pretty cool cat too, even if his hunting attempts during the conversation had been mildly pitiful. Still, what else could you expect of a pet? “Hi, Albus,” said Victor, giving the cat a bit of a pat on the head. “I’m Victor.” Yeah, ok, he might look a bit weird talking to a cat, but Ayla had introduced him and some kind of reaction was needed. Plus, Victor liked animals. Even though they probably couldn’t speak human, they understood more than they were often given credit for.

“I’ve only got an owl with me,” replied Victor. His father had decided that an owl was a practical pet for a boy to have, so Victor had received an owl for his seventh birthday. Said owl had been of little use until now, but Victor was quite fond of the creature. It was an eagle-owl, so looked suitably fierce, even if a young Victor had decided to name it ‘Dragon’. He couldn’t exactly change the name now, as the owl refused to respond to anything else, but he wasn’t exactly going to mention the slightly stupid name to Ayla. “We’ve got a few dogs at home though, and also a cat that my brother found abandoned a couple of years ago.” It would be Jehan would found a starving kitten, and somehow convinced their parents to let it stay. The cat was quite cute, and Victor enjoyed the odd game of can-you-catch-the-string with it.

9 Victor Petition to rename the cat species! 368 Victor 0 5

Ayla

November 03, 2016 2:28 AM

Motion seconded by Ayla

“Oh good! I’m really glad to hear that. I truly hope it is fun, otherwise, it’s going to be a long seven years.” Ayla was hopeful that the students in her year would all get along, so it was nice to hear that things in Crotalus were off to a decent start. She couldn’t foresee any issues arising within her house either. If anything, she imagined any drama would likely come from Aladren. While she was still jealous of Kit for having that many roommates, too many girls in one room seemed like a recipe for trouble. However, Pecari was still largely an unknown for the Teppenpaw girl, so she couldn’t completely write them off either.

Ayla wasn’t one to blush, but she might have considering Victor’s response to giving her the grand tour of the labyrinth. She couldn’t quite tell if he was just being a gentleman or if he was flirting with her. Did 11 year olds flirt? Either way, Ayla was definitely happy to have met him, and would be glad for his company in the maze. He was handsome, confident, and didn’t seem the type to be afraid of snakes or spiders, so she anticipated that he’d be able to protect her if they encountered any.

“Great! I’m looking forward to it,” She said with a smile, exposing the dimples on either of her cheeks. “Even if we do get lost. It’ll be an adventure!” Ayla wasn’t the type to do things like that on her own, but the way Victor spoke about knowing his way around was confidence inspiring. Plus, she was getting the impression that even if they did get lost, that it’d be fun. Assuming there were no spiders. Or snakes.

When Victor introduced himself to Albus, Ayla thought she could very well melt. It was just so...adorable? She was sure he wouldn’t approve of the term being used to describe him, so she refrained, but she definitely thought it. He could have just ignored him, but he didn’t, and Alby was basically the petite blonde’s baby, so it made a big impression on her. She was going to have to watch herself around this boy, for sure.

“Owls are definitely more useful, but not quite as cuddly.” Ayla teased as she set Albus back on the ground and brushed off the front of her dress, in case any of his long white hair was left behind. “Dogs are good, but I’m more of a cat person. We have horses at home, but no other animals. My mom isn’t the biggest fan, I’m lucky she let me get this guy.” She looked down at Albus, who had once again, rolled onto his back and was looking up at her rather pathetically. “You have a brother though? How old is he? I have two myself, and two sisters. Any other siblings?” She asked, turning her gaze back to Victor.

5 Ayla Motion seconded 367 Ayla 0 5