Xavier Lundstrom
November 16, 2021 5:59 PM
Okay-ish
by Xavier Lundstrom
Co-written With: Oz Spellman
Xavier was sitting in the window seat, watching people settle back in. He felt like he could see it in their eyes and the way they moved - some sense that they were returning to this space rather than continuing on it, like he was. Although seeing his family had been a huge balm to his various wounds, his holidays had been the best of a bad situation, and now they were gone, it was hard not to get swallowed back under the uncertainty. They had solved it for this time, but what happened next? His thoughts were cut short by a familiar body dropping down in the space behind him.
"Am I gonna find you down here in the middle of the night again?" Oz asked. It might have sounded like a joke. It probably should have, coming from Oz, but he was looking at Xavier like he was genuinely trying to see in through his eyes and find the real answer.
"Maybe," Xavier admitted. "Things could be worse though." Seeing his family over Midterm had been so normal, in spite of everything. The place was not normal, the way they jumped and had to watch what they said because of being listened to - all of that had intruded around the edges, sometimes threatening to engulf the moment and make him want to kick out. But it had never quite reached that tipping point. His family had too much practise at being itself, and being together, however strange the circumstances, was enough for them to click back into place like they'd never been apart. "You?" he asked Oz.
"Not sure. Christmas break is different." He trailed off.
"How so?" Xavier prompted.
"Mom's around more," he said, after a pause. "Or maybe it's the same amount, but like, cos the holidays are shorter it feels bigger. Like, it's a bigger amount of them."
"A bigger proportion," Xavier supplied.
"Yeah, thank you, Captain Vocabulary," Oz rolled his eyes. "But anyway, it doesn't feel like it's just me and Henry all the time, and then the break's shorter so I guess I'm not as unused to being at school again, you know?"
"Nope," Xavier stated pointedly, he hadn't been able to leave, after all.
"Urgh, you're so picky with words."
"You mean, I'm a pedant?" Xavier teased, nudging Oz with his shoulder.
"You're the worst," Oz rolled his eyes, shoving him back, a grin on his face. "And... you're okay, yeah?" he checked.
"No, I'm terrible, apaprently," Xavier pointed out, shoving against Oz's shove. He spent a lot of time dwelling on his feelings. And he had barely left the zone of adult supervision over the holidays, unless he was totally alone. Not that he had wanted to leave his mom's presence, and not that he and his siblings exactly got wild without it. But though he hadn't been aware of it at the time, he realised how much of a lid he'd been keeping on everything as this opportunity to let it loose arose. "Okay-ish," he confirmed, in a tone that said that was enough for now. He shoved back, hard enough to almost knock Oz from the window seat.
"Hey, what was that for?" Oz asked, but he was laughing.
"Fun," Xavier challenged him, as Oz picked up a cushion from the window seat, and smacked him.
Xavier relatiated, their fight quickly escalating and spilling out of the window seat. And he found himself smiling, really smiling, which wasn't a thing he would have thought was possible so soon after saying goodbye to his family.
OOC: If anyone wants to reply to join in or break it up, they're welcome, but I figure this is fairly normal for Pecari, and am happy for it to be a stand alone. You can assume a mild degree of escalation and/or carelessness, e.g. jostling things.
13
Xavier Lundstrom
Okay-ish
1529
1
6
Oz Spellman
Hilda Hexenmeister
November 22, 2021 9:58 PM
Das ist good-ish? by Hilda Hexenmeister
Hilda walked down the girl's stairs to the Common Room, and was mildly concerned by the sound of a moderate thumping sound. Hopefully that wasn't Anya jumping off the top of the bookcase again. Reaching the room, she looked around and was relieved just to see two of the younger boys having a pillow fight. Looked like somebody's forgotten Charms textbook had gotten knocked to the floor, but no major harm or property damage seemed to have occurred so far.For a moment, she felt like being a prefect meant she was expected to step in and break up a disturbance like this, but she didn't. Mostly because she'd been keeping an eye out for Xavier since the Opening Feast when he'd admitted he was having some custody problems (hopefully he felt the encouraging smiles she gave him when he did catch her watching was supportive and not overbearing) and this was the first time since then that he actually looked close to happy. So she just smiled, too, pulled out her wand and used it to fling another pillow into the melee, lightly whacking Oz on the back of the head, in what she presumed was probably a surprise attack from an undefended quarter.
She fixed an innocent look on her face to show she was a Prefect and Head Girl and a Seventh Year and Totally Above Sneak Attacking Third Years, but she feared the amused laugh she was trying to contain was breaking through.
In any case there was very little chance either of them had any cause to think she was going to get them in trouble for this. Not with her wand still in hand and a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.
1
Hilda Hexenmeister
Das ist good-ish?
1433
0
5
Flora Wilkins
January 05, 2022 12:42 AM
Friends by Flora Wilkins
Flora watched the third years rolling around. While she generally found it easy to make friends, she was having a hard time of it. She had spoken to a girl from Crotalus names Claire Osbrook, but she was far too insecure for her own good, not to mention in a difficult house.She half wanted to join the boys, but knew it just wasn’t done. Not only were they boys, they were two years elder. She shuddered to think of what they would say, should she approach them.
She turned away out of the common room. She supposed she should find that other girl in her year, what was her name? Oh yes, Tissena Randall. Might as well try speaking to someone in her own house.
59
Flora Wilkins
Friends
1544
0
5