Finding Kindness in the Coldest of Places [Tag: Alexandra Brazell, Open]

Laughter could be heard coming up and down the moving staircase. Today was another Saturday of the new school term, where no classes were being held, students did not worried about finishing their homework in between breaks, and they had the freedom to roam without penalty of losing house points because they were tardy. Kaden was definitely one of those happy students, which he did not show by screaming about it, as he descended the staircase, but with a warm smile and twinkle in his eye.

Even though some students wore their pajamas down to the Great Hall, Kaden looked clean shaven and polished, “almost respectable” the few friends he went down to the Gryffindor tower joked. He ignored the teasing, but smiled all the same. “What are you going to do this Weekend?” he asked no one in particular, giving a polite smile to a group of giggling Hufflepuffs, before they scurried off.

Markus, now a 6th year, rested his arm on Kaden’s shoulder, putting weight on it, even though there was no need, and leaned in. “Trish said she was going to surprise me with something. I decided in return I would surprise her with a picnic near the Lake. It is a perfect day for a picnic,” he said looking out the windows and watching as the early morning sun streamed in. Markus and Trish, a Hufflepuff 6th year as well, had a steady relationship going on for two years. It seemed perfect. They seemed perfect together. They found bliss, giving hope that one day he too will find his own.

“That’s nice,” was all Kaden said to the bemusement of Markus, who burst out laughing as if what Kaden said was somehow funny, but wouldn’t explain what was funny.

Alex, unlike the rest of the students, was not relieved that it was Saturday. Instead, she was upset - not just because she liked learning, but because the following night, she had been pranked. And because it was Saturday, the whole school was around to see what had happened to her. She sat with the hood of her jumper over her head, her shoulders slumped and her back hunched, hoping that no one would take notice of her. It was a lot to hope for.

A classmate of hers - she would never consider him to be a friend - jeered at her as he passed, laughing with his friends. She would bet anything that it was him, but she decided not to do anything - she'd never win... he would get her back. She tried to put on a strong face, but as another bunch of girls looked up and saw what had happened to her, and started to laugh, she felt a tear roll down her face. No. Not now. Please - she ducked her head even more, and stood up, trying to leave the hall unnoticed. If only her trip had been so successful... she tripped as she left, and she could hear the ringing of laughter around her.

Asher, having also joined Kaden and the group, watched as Markus leaned on Kaden's shoulder, and with a smirk crossing his face, leaned on the other, listening in on Markus as he spoke. Asher smirked and laughed loudly, as he always did, only this time it was directly in Kaden's ear.

"And I was going to grab a sword and go rescue my darling princess from the dragons this weekend," he took a giant breath and sighed, fluttering his eyes, "my true love," before he laughed again, no longer leaning on Kaden's shoulder, and punching Kaden in the back.

"Come on, be a man, at least when you're around them!"

Asher always joked around with his bodies. He loved to flash that toothy grin of his, surprisingly white since he didn't brush his teeth very often. Only it was a little odd, because there was a lot more laughter then Asher would have expected from his group. In fact, now that Asher looked around, everyone was looking just behind them, laughing. He turned to look and saw a girl, trying to make her way out of the great hall.

"What's going on there?"

Blushing shamelessly, the red of her cheeks matching the red of her eyebrows and hair - which were still covered by her hood, and thankfully only known about by a few of her classmates - Alexandra scrambled up, hastily collecting her belongings and trying to juggle them in her arms, a precarious balancing act. Precarious because she knew if she dropped her belongings, the laughter would be worse, and it would probably be impossible to still keep her hood up.

Amidst the laughter, she could hear the enquiries of others - people from the other tables or other years asking what was happening. So maybe the situation wasn't so widely known as she had feared.... good.

There was no time to dawdle though - Alex knew she had to leave the Great Hall before one of her other horrid classmates tried to take the hood off of her head. Better to look like a fool for 2 minutes and have everyone forget it after 5 than to have everyone see what she looked like and remember it forever. She had no idea how she was going to fix the problem... ask a teacher? But Alex didn't even want to do that - she didn't want the teachers laughing behind her back, or feeling sorry for her. Alex didn't want anyone to think her incapable. So instead, she fled the great hall, and ran towards the staircase leading down to the underground level. SHe knew she would be able to find some solitude there - not many people chose to spend their time there - and there she would have a chance to try and fix the problem without anybody watching her.

(OOC: Please remember when there is multiple people rping that it is a turn  base system unless it is advantageous to post earlier or multiple of niches in the same thread are not intermingling with each other, or so I've been told. THanks. -Kia)

Asher was as cynical as they come or so Asher wanted people to believe. Asher was all about fun. Parties, girls and Quidditch were the name of the game that Asher enjoyed. He wasn’t in it for the long hall, like Kaden dreamed of becoming and which Markus already achieved, when it came to love. He kept telling anyone who asked, or listen to him for the hundredth time, he did not want to be bog down with drama, and girls were all about drama. He said those lines so much, Kaden was sure Asher was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

First the weight of two men, Asher and Markus, he was surprise that his knees did not buckle, while walking down the last flight of stairs before they came up on the Ground Floor. “Well you always wanted a suit made up of dragon hide. The only way you are going to get it is slaying a few dragons,” He retorted, arching his back in pain as the throbbing settled in. Asher never pulled any punches, wither it was with his words or his fist. The blunt honesty was refreshing to Kaden in the midst of false pleasantries and cruel gossips about other people. “It was nice knowing-“

Juvenile laughter could be heard inside the Great Hall, where numerous of students were standing up from where they stood to get a better look. All of them laughed, turn to their friends and said something under their breath, all the while pointing at someone or something at the Ravenclaw table.

“I have no clue,” Kaden said, being released from Markus as well, as he was the first to step forward out of his own niche and into the mob of students.

As Kaden spoke and stepped away from the group, Asher both shrugged and rolled his eyes. Always trying to be the hero. Wasn't it ever too much work? No. Probably not.

Asher asked and answered most of his questions quickly in his head, now stretching his arms above his head and making his way to the Gryffindor table to eat. Kaden would handle the situation however he wanted to handle it. It wasn't like he was going to get killed if Asher turned his back. So, he sat down at the table, back turned on the stupid situation, and began to eat a slow breakfast.

Alex crouched in a corner of the Deathday Party Hall, trying to fight back the tears that came to her eyes. She didn't like crying, not just in front of anyone, but in general. She didn't like the way her face looked afterwards, red and blotchy. It didn't suit her at all.

Hoping no one had followed her, she removed her hood and pulled from her pocket a small mirror. The mirror was a small rectangle, big enough for her to see her whole face in, but small enough that she could carry it in her pocket without it weighing her clothes down. Sighing as she looked at her face, she took out her wand.

It took Alexandra a while to process what she had heard. It was cold here, and the cold broke through her sadness - the longer she stayed huddled on the floor, the more the cold seeped into her bones, pushing the sadness out. But Alexandra wouldn't say that she wasn't sad - she was just... less sad.

Solitude was good for Alexandra. It let her process things, it let her think about things clearly. When she was in the heat of a moment with twenty people around her, her mind was confused and busy - she couldn't make rational decisions. But in solitude, Alex found that she was always to solve her most complicated problems.

Inside her head, Alex's mind was the most efficient office. Everything was filed away in the right place, information readily available should she need it. But searching through the files of her brain, Alex couldn't find what she needed. The spell to fix her problem. Either there had been a 'filing error' - or so Alex liked to think of it - that is, she hadn't been paying attention (which wasn't likely... it was Alex afterall,) or she just hadn't been taught it. She was racking her brains, trying to think of something to do when the whisper came.

She looked up, confused. Was she imagining voices? She had come to this part of the castle many times, and had never ever been disturbed. Although admittedly, she had disturbed others - couples who stayed in dark corners of the dungeons... kissing, making out... sometimes more. Alex didn't like to think about that, so she turned her mind back to the voice coming out of the darkness, and sat up straight, pushing her back to the wall. She didn't say anything, searching for the owner of the voice with her eyes.

Alex sat up as she heard a voice coming through the darkness, uneasily shifting so that she would be better able to stand up and run away, should the owner of this voice be someone else out to taunt her, hurt her. The voice came again, saying he was there to help, but how could Alex trust this voice? It was not the voice of someone she recognized, it wasn't a familiar voice.

After what she had awoken to, Alex wasn't sure that she could trust any stranger. She pulled her hood tighter over herself, shrinking inwards. She wasn't sure if she should reply - wouldn't it be better to hide just in case he was just there to hurt her? But what if she was there to help? Alex was confused, terrified - her mind was whizzing, and she couldn't process anything, or think straight.

Finally, Alex decided to take a risk.

"Hello?"

Alex regarded Kaden once more, then reached out tentatively to take the handkerchief from him, taking care not even to let her fingers brush his, just in case the merest touch could make her situation worse. No. That wouldn't do at all. She nodded her thanks and blew her nose, making the most ungracious sound, similar to that of a foghorn. A foghorn coming out of the darkness. But Alex was too upset and too tired right now to be ashamed. "I'm okay," she said, whimpering. "Or I will be."