On Wednesdays, We Wear Veela [Jett]

Brianna hardly ever does her schoolwork. She researches the stuff that she fancies, sure; potions are always useful to know how to make, and magical creatures are wonders that she could never get bored of. Just about everything else, however, she has little care for thus spends little investment in. It’s only once every blue moon does she truly sit down and complete the assignments given to her during class. Today is one of these days.

Okay, well. Perhaps she could be focusing more on it than she actually is. Multitasking is a wonderful invention, however, so she Charms her nail polish different colors while reading about the history of magical education at the same time, lying on her stomach on one of the many stone benches resting under the sun's warm light. It’s not as if she particularly needs to know exactly when the first magical school was built, anyway. Her future career – whatever it may be – will certainly not be using most of this nonsense.

It's a strange thing to think about, her future. So much of her life has consisted of manipulation via her powers, so that is doubtless to change. She quite likes her place at Hogwarts, though. The school is a fascinating school structure, one that she can poke and prod at and even bend to her will, at times. Nonetheless. Time bows to no one, and she lets out an irritated sigh at the amount of worry she holds over the topic. Things work out for her, no matter what - she makes them work out.

A gentle breeze was playing around the courtyard, flipping the pages of the book in Jett's lap back and forth and causing his hair to ruffle in the wind. He absently ran his fingers through his dark hair as he returned the book to the right pages, still concentrating on the words printed on them. His mind was focused, relying the information he read to the places in his mind where he could easily recall them when they were needed. If he were to forget the steps to the proper casting of this spell it would be unforgivable; he must excel on his practical exam that was soon to happen.

The slight sound of a sigh drifted his way and somehow drew him from his reverie and sent his gaze to a bench nearby. When he spotted the girl lounging on it he gently closed the cover of his book without marking his spot, his thoughts of spell casting quickly retreating. Jett was certain he had not seen her about before, and by the look of things she was frustrated with her studies. It was only his duty to introduce himself and offer his assistance to what appeared to be quite a lovely lady. Standing up, Jett's lean body crossed the distance to the bench with grace and dignity, stopping only when he was a few feet away from the girl on the bench.

This close to her he felt a very familiar feeling, a kind of warm wave washing over him that reminded him of home. He had to look at her again to make sure he did not, indeed, know her. “That's a lovely shade on you,” he said, nodding his head towards her ever changing nail polish. When she looked up at him he was giving her his most charming smile, the light playing off his green eyes to add to the appeal of his expression.

Brianna is in the midst of examining her nails when she recognizes a presence near her side. It's not by sound does she notice, nor is it by sight - it's an indescribable feeling, not one unlike intuition, yet not exactly the same... instinct, perhaps?

During her brief respite of bliss in Macedonia, Brianna learned three vital things to life as a veela: firstly, how to reign in her powers. The young and unexperienced often emit their aura unintentionally, leaking it for everyone to succumb to. The veela in Macedonia showed her how to put a lid on it to prevent it from being recognized. It was, after all, not always beneficial to have the male gender hanging off of one's arm.
Secondly was being able to control the levels of power to her advantage. Brianna still slips up with this sometimes: as a generally volatile person, she lets her powers slip through her barriers unconsciously whenever she gets angry. With this skill, she can manipulate the people around her whenever she wants to.
Last but not least had been how to recognize another veela in the presence of one. They are not exactly a growing race, so to recognize another veela is to, for the most part, be reassured that he or she is an ally.

Brianna is careful to prevent the surprise from showing on her face as she pushes herself up into a sitting position. A lazy smile graces her face, one thin eyebrow raising as she looks him up and down and wiggles the fingers on one hand towards his direction
"Do you think so? They seem to make my skin look awfully pale." They're a dark emerald green, almost to the point of black.
She can't quite get a grip on him. His appearance certainly does look as if he could fit the part, but she hesitates in that she had not encountered him at the school before. She would have certainly realized his presence a long time ago if he truly were part veela.

Jett could feel as well as see the girl look him over, taking in his posture and appearance like he was some type of prized animal. He did not let her lingering look bother him, in fact he rather enjoyed it. He was doing the same to her, of course, but in a much more subtle way. Her features were delicate and he could spot no imperfection in her skin or structure; something he had rarely found in any person other than his relatives. The way she moved, righting herself on the bench, was fluid and graceful, another motion that was not lost on Jett.

As he watched her fingers wiggle in front of his eyes he said, ”Porcelain skin was once a sign of royalty, there is no shame in having your fair skin tone.”

“May I?” He gestured towards a section of the bench she had just freed and took a seat before she had time to answer. His feeling of ease, which was present in all aspects of social situations, was even more prevalent as he sat near her. He could feel a similarity between them, some force that was emanating from her that was much like what came from within him. He shifted on the bench so he was facing her and held his eyes onto hers, keeping contact as his lips turned back into their customary smile. As he gazed at her he tried to place the familiar sense until he realized her unearthly beauty was similar to his. Was it possible she, too, was a veela? It would be much too rude to inquire of her the answer to this, so Jett resolved to chat with her until he could find out the truth with gentle questioning.

“I'm afraid we have not meet before; I would surely have remembered you otherwise. I'm Jett.”

"You flatter me." Brianna allows her smile to widen as she focuses on reigning in her presence. Her powers have not completely matured yet, so she is uncertain to the amount of essence that remains unhidden: despite her previous training, most don't have complete mastery over their power until they reach the marking point of adulthood for veela, twenty years old. She watches as the boy sits himself down next to her - yes, there is definitely a certain je ne sais quoi about him. He moves from action to action with the passing gracefulness of flowing water, and there is a naturality in his expression that signified an overconfident prick or one who existed beyond the stumbling restraints of human clumsiness. Her eyes narrow, indiscernible. Of course, he could be the former as well.

"Charmed to meet you, Jett." She extends a hand, returning his gaze with equal amiability. Not many students had the nerve to hold eye contact, confident or not. "I certainly have not seen you before... My name is Brianna. Are you a new student?" New student, new toy... semantics.

“Enchante, Brianna,” Jett took her outstretched hand in his and brought it to his lips, lightly brushing it before returning it to the bench. The greeting was in no way pretentious in his mind, but simply the way his mother had taught him to receive women, believing that all should be handled with a certain amount of respect and charm. “I am a new student, yes. Just this year I have transferred from Beauxbatons and I am quite enjoying it, so far. There is an abundance of beautiful things to be found here.” Jett's voice was low and calming, his slight accent while speaking English adding a dash of the exotic to his words.

As he spoke it was second nature that he allowed the tight constraint he keep on his veela powers loosen, easing into a more comfortable state for him. He had been taught since he was a very small child that he should be the master of his powers and not lose control of them. Jett, being the ever studious and determined boy, had taken his mothers words and teaching very seriously and had spent all of his sixteen years doing his best to learn self control and when to use his gifts. Because of his dedication he was very adept at knowing just how to release enough of his aura to achieve the desired effect. The desired effect, now, was just to make Brianna more at ease around him, to give her the feeling that he would do no wrong. It was also an experiment; would she feel his aura and react, or was she, like his mother, immune to what was already a part of her?

“What of you, Brianna? Do you enjoy your time here? I imagine a beautiful woman such as yourself does not lack in things to capture her attention.”

Her eyes trace his movements as he presses his lips against her hand. Well, then. She knows that the French are famous for their romantic gestures, but she hadn't quite realized how alive and kicking chivalry still resided in the young. Then again, it's not as if this Jett appears to be like the ordinary john. She ducks her head in apparent embarrassment, her hair falling to curtain the faint blush that she allows to color her cheeks. It's easier to play the part of a demure schoolgirl, one whose brain is likely addled with ignorant ideas of chastise love. No matter what people may say, it is still in the inherent nature of most men to assert dominance over women in attempt at superiority. Why should she not take that obvious misconception and play it to her purposes when suitable, then?

"Beauxbatons, you say? What sort of reason must you have to move here from such a place like France?" Her English holds no discernible accent; with the frequency of her travelling, she refuses to call any one place home and thus makes sure to not allow any identifying accents from taking root. "Personally, I have not been here long, myself; this is only my third year..." Her voice trails off. It's then that she feels it, traces and wisps of a magic that she is all too familiar with.

She can tell that the boy is holding back. The trace hints at a source much more amplified, but it gives off the influence of reassurement nonetheless. If she did not have veela blood herself, she could only guess how well his powers would work. As it is, She finds herself pulling away immediately; there is a scarce number of those like her in the world, but that does not mean that all of them can be trusted. Her eyes narrow - what is another of her kind doing here? She has spent the past couple of years undetected at this school, applying the smallest amounts of influence here and there and gaining herself quite the reputation as the fruits to her efforts. The threat to her position has her on the defense - or, rather, in her case, the attack. Her barriers slip down like cut strings, releasing a raw aura that has been carefully polished and shaped throughout the years. It will be another few before she has mastered her powers and molded them with her own identity, but it has served her well on the students untrained against such magic. If she need go against Jett, however... "Quite the way to introduce yourself, don't you think? You should very well know that it's bad manners to try and use your powers against your own kind, boy." No one says that she is not hypocritical, after all.

Jett was listening intently as Brianna spoke, his eyes never once leaving hers, showing his attention. He was surprised, then, when she cut off mid-sentence, but was soon to learn her reasons for doing so. He felt her power hit him like a rock, sharp and heavy, all thrown in his direction like she was forcing it from her with intent to harm. It was nothing like the soft gentleness he was accustomed to, and in fact caused a part of him to cringe in revulsion.

However, his little experiment had worked; Brianna had reacted, and in such a way that left no doubt to her knowledge and understanding of what he was, and in conjecture what she was. Though her mood had turned dark and perhaps even a bit scathing, Jett felt his actions had accomplished what he sought, that his ends justified the means. He now had a better idea of what he felt coursing off of this girl in waves, and knew it was nothing he should fret over. Be aware of, and keep a close eye on, perhaps, but nothing that would threaten him. It was actually a moment of wonder to Jett, who had least of all expected this day to come across another of his kind, here, after being fairly certain he was, with the slight exception of perhaps Claudia, the only Veela residing in the castle.

“Please excuse my behavior, it was not my intention to offend.” Jett let his face morph into the appropriate mask of guilt, knowing her words, if not her tone, were warranted. Though his interaction with the Veela community was limited, he knew social mores were highly valued and to disregard such a vital rule before knowing the others status was more than looked down on. These traits of his culture were taught second hand to him by his mother and Jett had not often had opportunity to practice them, as his mother had been cast from her society before Jett had even been born. That did not stop her closest relations from stopping by from time to time, and these handfuls of other Veela close to his mother were the only ones he had ever known. Thus, finding another here by happenstance was a remarkable occasion, and one Jett did not want to start out on the wrong foot.

Letting his expression soften back into his more natural smile, Jett lifted his hand to casually ruffle his hair, a habit acquired long ago. “I was caught off guard, I admit. It will not happen again.” He let himself submit to Brianna's show of dominance, if only in show. If she wished to prove herself more capable and versed in etiquette than he, so be it. Time may reveal otherwise. “If you wish to continue this conversation I would be pleased; it is not every day I come across someone such as yourself and I find I am quite curious. You asked why I would move here and the answer is simple: my family relocated and I was towed along. If I have not done irreparable damage to our meeting, maybe you would regale to me the reasons for your attending this school, as well?”

Oh, the boy was certainly taught well. He's that kind of guy, the one who toys with sentiments like a tool to be used in order to get a handle on everything from the background. It is a subtler manner to Brianna's more direct approach, admittedly, but he plays his part well. In the back of her mind, she can't help but admire that part of him. He would do nicely in Slytherin, she thinks. He is quick to adapt to the situations at hand, even if it meant bending his dignity some. It was a trait that she could do to learn, if only she had the patience for it.

Brianna takes in a breath, and with the following exhale her exerting aura vanishes. The barriers are back up again, solid and thick as if they had never been gone. Before this year, Brianna had been quite the temperamental sort; she remembers struggling to control her powers that would lash out on the slightest whim. It had taken the whole summer for her to get to the level of control that she had on them now, involving intentional provocation of her damned adoptive parents and half of the staff at the house quitting before the break was over. It had been hard and frustrating work, admittedly, but she had heard the mocking taunts of a certain ex-Slytherin whispering in her ear the entire time. Now, she smiles pleasantly once more without any indication to her previous annoyance. Another veela, one as attuned to society's temperaments as him, would prove to be a valuable ally. She couldn't leave ill-perceived notions from the very first meeting if the two were to be seeing each other that much more often.

"Not at all," she replies cordially. "It was in bad taste on my part to react in such a way." Veela social gestures were even more complicated than the delicacy of human nature, yet they were naught but a mere branch; as half veela - definitely not full, for it was impossible to use wand-magic as a full-blooded veela, and judging by the amount of power he seemed to hold she doubted that he was merely quarter - they would never be able to be on the same stance as those of the pure-blooded families. No matter what race you were, it seemed impossible to escape the looming tension of superior hierarchy. Her mouth quirks into a wry smile - it was no wonder that her so-called parents, being Muggle-born and half-blooded, had to grovel so desperately. She meets Jett's eyes with a subtle shrug. "I was caught off-guard myself, admittedly. It would be best to forget the unfortunate occurrence, as no harm came from it." She grins crookedly. "My own history is as blase as yours, I'm afraid. My parents work in foreign relations, so we travel often. What school I find myself in is only a by-product to their work ethics." She refrains from revealing more about the couple that she rarely saw - she was nothing but a charity case to them and there was no love lost behind their constructed pretense of a family, after all.

Relaxation was possible as Jett felt Brianna's power rush back into her, leaving him back in the world of free will with his emotions. Of course, her power had not affected him as it would have others; he imagined the poor souls whom she had used that move on before him, and how entrapped they must have been. She, too, had about her an otherworldly beauty that would only add to her allure of the unsuspecting men and women she let her power wash over. Jett knew well the traits that came along with their blood-line, he only wondered how she felt about using them. Was she the type to hold them back as much as possible, or was she used to keeping little hold on them, to her advantage? Again, only more interaction and watch on her would tell for sure. Jett, on the other hand, would continue to behave with his powers as he always had: keeping a tight constraint on them most of the time and instead using his charming personality to win others over. After all, he was more than just some veela blood in his veins, and needed not the crutch of his powers to help him succeed.

“It is already forgotten in my mind,” It wasn't. Jett cataloged into his memory her reaction to his move and stored it away for future use. It betrayed an uneven temperament, which was not a shock. He had seen such outbursts many times with his mother and knew that they came as part of his heritage. Jett himself at times felt the urge to lash out yet like his powers he kept it under close watch. If he slipped up and showed his anger outwardly he would spend quite some time reprimanding himself and even longer in discipline so that it would not happen again soon. If he was anything it was self-restrained and Jett had a feeling that would come in handy while dealing with Brianna.

Turning his eyes away from her momentarily Jett looked out across the courtyard for no reason other than to give her a break from his gaze. He had learned that often people grew uncomfortable with his attention and unwavering eye contact, and it was only polite to look away every now and then. He must play the game that was social interaction along with everyone else, he just prided himself on being better at it than most. It was not arrogance in Jett's mind, though, but a gentle openness and wish to make everyone around him at ease. When he felt he had scanned the area around them long enough he turned back, the bright sun catching in his green gray eyes and matching the foliage and stones nearby.

“Have you seen much of the world, then? Due to your families travels, that is. I imagine it must be difficult to uproot ones life so often, but if it is rewarded with exciting new places, is it worth it?”

"I suppose that I have," Brianna agrees vaguely. "The world is vast; each place is an enlightening experience in my personal travels." Of course, it matters less to her about the geography than it does the people living there. Brianna treats each 'home' with the same amount of excitement as she does the others - that is to say, none at all. The more enthralling matter resides behind the anthropology of each region and the people that make it up. With so many cultures existent in the world, it's fascinating to interact with the individuals at a personal level and see how they differ between place to place. No matter how special they may be, however, that is not to say that each region is interesting in a good way. Her memories of the few years in the States drag back up into the surface of her mind, and she feels the ghost traces of hands pushing against her back as she wraps a lock of hair between her fingers. Yeah, she is not exactly keen on going back to Massachussetts anytime soon.

She pushes her mind out of her thoughts and focuses solely on Jett, instead. It has been a while since she's last met another one both of her age and kind, and she watches him with curiosity heavily veiled over a polite smile. Her interest is tinged with the subtle traces of respect as she can't help but admire his adaptability to her powers. What family did he come from? It was obvious that he was not pure-blood, but that did not mean he was of a pure-blood family descent. Brianna knew some about veela society, but any bit of information was priceless - it was one step closer to finding out who her real parents were.

"You are from France, then?" she asks conversationally. "It is one of the top favorite places I have visited, I must admit; it is a beautiful country. Why did your family choose to relocate, if I may ask?"

“Yes, I was born and spent my life living in France, until this past year. My father was offered a job at the Ministry and accepted. He must have felt it was time to settle down into a sturdy job, perhaps. He is getting on in years, of course, but you would not know it to look at him. Or my mother, for that matter. She was reluctant to move, for various reasons. She does so love the French Alps, but I hear she is adapting nicely to having my father around more often.” Jett always kept up regular correspondence with his mother while he was at school, and he knew the truth of his words. During his childhood his father had been away for weeks at a time, roaming in far off places searching for one thing or another of magical use for one clients. It was his adventurous nature that had captured his mothers attention in the first place,  and even though she missed him dreadfully while he was away their love remained intact, a constant that Jett had learned to depend on and judge his future by. Due to his fathers frequent trips Jett had been raised primarily by his mother, whom he took after in looks if not nature. It was during these times together that she taught him all she knew and regaled him with stories of her childhood and veela life. She always had a far off look when she mentioned her younger days, before she had met his father. While Jett never believed she regretted her choice to be with him, he did sense her homesickness, most gravely when his father was away.

The thoughts of his parents left a look of reminiscence in his eyes which he blinked away as he refocused his attention on Brianna. He had given her enough information to deduce the source of his veela parentage, if she was sharp enough. He very much wished she was, for it would only add to her growing list of admirable traits. Still, this was their first meeting, one of many to come he assumed, and he should not be quick to make rash judgments. He first needed to know more of her, and not only because she was what seemed to be a lovely young lady but also because she might prove useful if she had ties to certain families.

“I do not mean to overstep my place, Brianna, but I am fascinated at finding you here. I hope it is not out of the realm of proper etiquette to speak freely for a moment. I had not had the pleasure of meeting one such as us who was anything but grown older or a mere child; I wonder if you share the same experience or do you, with fortune, have a family that is more connected than mine appears?” Jett let his question end with a sincere raise of his well groomed eyebrows, curious to soak up any news or knowledge that Brianna had of the world he felt himself a part of, yet so distant from.