The amazing writing doll [tag Shinohara on Crotalus Commons

Araceli Arbon

August 19, 2014 8:59 AM

The amazing writing doll [tag Shinohara by Araceli Arbon

She had only been here a few hours and already she'd made such a bad mess of things and, given that it had been with her room-mate, the repercussions could last for seven years. She followed Deputy Headmistress Skies up to the Common Room, not really noticing the features en route as she kept her head down. She tried to attend to her Head of House's speech because she didn't want to miss out on any important information, or look like she wasn't listening or being duly respectful but her mind kept whirring away, trying to think of how she could repair the damage she'd done at the Opening Feast. Before she'd started school, she thought her biggest problem would be talking to people. She also would not have believed that staying silent throughout the meal, as she nearly had done, could have been the better option. But she had laughed at Shinohara, or had seemed to, and now her first conversation with the girl was going to involve trying to explain herself.

When Deputy Headmistress Skies finished speaking, Araceli slunk off to the side of the room, collecting a large book and burying herself behind it in order to give herself some room to think. She had the feeling Effie was watching her doing this, and was probably disappointed in her for not going up to join her room-mates, but her sister let her be. After some fretting, she made up her mind what to do. She let the Common Room empty out before making her way up and listening outside the door of her own room. She couldn't hear any talking from inside, so slipped in noiselessly. Years of her father's belief that she should, for preference, be neither seen nor heard had made her good at disappearing into the background and treading as lightly as a cat.

Luckily, what she needed was to hand, as Mother wanted her to write home as soon as she could. She took the parchment, quill and ink into her bed, a little terrified of getting drops on the sheets, and drew the hangings around her. It took her several goes to cast a Lumos Charm. She'd been taught the theory, and had even been allowed to practise at home (the trace applied to places not people and, isolated as they were, with one home-schooled child, it was easy enough for her family to ensure they weren't bothered about such things) but with a tutor breathing down her neck it had never really come before. Once she had the light glowing softly, she set about thinking what she should say. She was better at expressing herself when she had time to compose her thoughts but she was quite sure that it would never be her forte. This needed to be simply perfect if there was any hope of Shinohara not hating her for the next seven years.

Dear she began, and then realised that she didn't have a clue how to spell the other girl's name. Perhaps it would be on something she owned... Though Araceli could scarcely go rummaging through her possessions. She would have to cross her fingers and hope it was somewhere obvious, otherwise she had no idea how she could handle the situation.

I apologise most sincerely for my conduct earlier this evening. I meant no slight by it and very much hope that we can be friends, she crossed the last bit out. She didn't want to push Shinohara to be friends with her. She also still didn't know whether she was someone that she was supposed to be friends with... She continued to draft, to cross out, to re-write until her hand ached and her head was so fuzzy that she wasn't really sure whether the letter was any good at all. But it was done. She filled her room-mate's name in, thankful to find it on the other girl's luggage. She placed the letter on Shinohara's bedside table, and collapsed back into her own bed, whereupon her thoughts began whirring irritatingly, seemingly awake again.

The final draft read

Dear Shinohara,

I apologise most sincerely for my conduct earlier this evening. It was by no means personal that I elected not to speak with you. I am unaccustomed to being around so great a number of people and felt confident that my sister would make far better presentation on my behalf than I could manage for myself.

I also wish to assure you that I did not mean to laugh at you. I admire greatly your command of what is to you a foreign language. I was amused not by your confusion but by the picture that it created in my mind's eye. Whilst the difference may be subtle, and I should of course still have checked my reaction, I hope you will understand that it was not my intention to deride or mock you in any way. I should hope never to be so callous to another person. I do admit that it was still a breach of propriety on my part, and do hope that you can forgive me.

Yours most sincerely,

Miss Araceli Arbon.

13 Araceli Arbon The amazing writing doll [tag Shinohara 290 Araceli Arbon 1 5

Uzume Shinohara

August 23, 2014 8:12 PM

And what an adorable doll she is! by Uzume Shinohara

To say Uzume was thankful to go to the commons, was an understatement. Getting away from the stuffy atmosphere of the Hall would definitely be a relief, but getting the chance to finally relax after the long journey was what Uzume was really looking forward to. After the Deputy Head Mistresses’ speech, Uzume headed off to the 1st year girl’s dormitory as quickly as she could manage. Once there, Uzu headed over to her bed- or what she assumed was her bed, based on the fact that it was where her trunk resided. Kaede, her families house elf, must have known how Uzu would be feeling after the event, for the first thing she found when she opened her trunk was her night robes. She quickly grabbed them, and made her way for the bathroom. There were two things she needed more than ever right now, and that was to get out of her formal kimono, and to get into a nice hot bath.

In no time flat, Uzu was in the tub, relaxing and taking in the steamy air. Something about the feeling of the water always managed to make her feel calm even on her worst days. Now that she had a spare moment to herself, she reflected back to her conversation with Effie and Araceli. “What odd girls,” she thought to herself as she traced circles into the water. In truth, they weren’t really that odd. Uzu figured she was probably the one that stood out at the dinner, but nothing she could do about it now. She let herself soak for a few more minutes, as she pondered about whatever subject popped into her head. She would have liked to reside in the waters forever, however her wrinkled fingers indicated it was probably time for her to leave. Reluctantly, she got out of the tub and dried herself off, feeling quite relaxed and ready for the soft bed that awaited her.

Uzu sauntered over to her bed, feeling lighter than air, now that she had properly recharged. Snuggling down into her covers, she felt surprisingly content with her surroundings. However, her feelings quickly turned sour when she noticed a letter peculiarly placed on her nightstand. She eyed it suspiciously wondering if it was some kind of trick from another student. After poking it a few times with her finger to make sure it wasn’t some kind of first year prank, she finally picked it up.

With her face locked in a grimace, she proceeded to read the mysterious message. She was astonished that not only was it written by her roommate, but that Araceli had managed to say so many words. “Very odd,” she thought to herself, echoing her words from earlier. She continued reading, her face visibly surprised when the girl began apologizing for a chuckle. “How ridiculous,” Uzu thought to herself. The idea that Araceli had to apologize for such a thing- and in letter form- was proof to Uzu that the girl was as weak and pathetic as any other female. She set the letter back down where she found it as she pondered what she would do now. Perhaps she could use it for leverage later? Maybe get the little doll to do some tricks or something of the sort.

As Uzume got under her covers, she continued to devise different ways to get the girl to talk and entertain her. However at the same time, a thought occurred to her that made her wicked smile disappear in a matter of seconds. She still hadn’t really talked to Araceli yet, and for all Uzu knew the girl could just be pretending to be innocent. Uzu decided she would have to think of the appropriate response later. As for now, she was tiered and looking forward to a good night sleep. She laid her head on her pillow, and quickly escaped to another world.

0 Uzume Shinohara And what an adorable doll she is! 292 Uzume Shinohara 0 5