roulette ;;jamie

[julian]

Nearly there... The sun had almost set, another chapter was closing, and Julian thread his way carefully through the Forbidden Forest, avoiding the areas where somehow the weak rays of sunlight managed to slip past the heavy foliage above.

Here and there, his fingertips would trail over the rough trunks of trees as he passed in silence, and seemingly without care. Most students wouldn't come within five meters of the edge of the forest, and here was Julian, deep in the thick of it, not worried at all. At least, he wasn't worried about the same things the majority of the pupils would be in that same spot. There wasn't much in there that would likely eat Julian. But, there were things he would. He had to. The damned! Ministry saw to that.

Why witches and wizards deemed themselves to write laws over vampires, Julian did not know. Nor, did he much care the reasoning either, he just knew things should be changed. And honestly, if he had to be the one to do it then, so be it. He would. How though, was an entirely different subject. One he wasn't quite sure which angle would be best to hit.

No matter. The spark was there, and we all know that's all it takes to start a fire.

A corner of his lips lifted, drawing a crooked grin, and Julian allowed himself a moment of fantasy of vampire domination as he continued on his path through the forest. For once, he allowed his feet to simply guide him. Fate would be the driver today.

[JAMIE SEONA WOOD]

Idiotic… stupid… reckless… Jamie could almost hear the monishing words of either her mother or her elder brothers in her head as she walked over the Hogwarts grounds and got nearer and nearer to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Students weren’t allowed to go there, but somehow that made it even more appealing to Jamie this early evening. She was bored. Everyone seemed busy, and she was not. Of course, she could do some work on her nonverbal practices, but that didn’t appeal to her either. Not now. Hogwarts was a beehive once again, abuzz with students running to and fro, and sometimes that just got a little too much for Jamie. Here, in the Forbidden Forest, it was wonderfully quiet. Just the wind in the trees… She might be afraid of complete silence, but right now anything seemed better than screaming, laughing and chatting she could have no part of.

The walk alone brought some of her good spirits back and she was looking around with more interest, searching especially for climbable trees. Due to a few resolutions she had taken over the last summer, Jamie had actually tried to behave a little more like a girl her age should. She had tried to listen more closely when her friends explained to her about style, makeup and fancy hairdos and her boyish sides had been pushed a little more into the background. It must be several months since she last climbed a tree for real, but this day somehow just called for it. Jamie liked the way the last rays of the sun were shimmering through the thick leaves as she looked up, examining a few trunks, if they were easily accesible or not. Soon the light would be fading and then she should better get out of here. But not yet.

It might be a highly reckless thing for a mute girl to get herself in a dangerous place when she couldn’t cry out for help, should something go wrong, but she was tired of the endless restrictions her muteness put on her. She could always shoot red sparks or something in the air… or set the forest on fire… there were endless possibilites and she wasn’t a baby anymore!
Rubbing her hands together, Jamie then grabbed the gnarly wood of a very old tree and pushed herself off the ground. This would not be an easy climb, that was for sure, but she loved the challenge. Everything else was forgotten for the young girl now, even her dangerous surroundings. Now it was only her… and the tree that needed to be mastered!

[julian]

His way between the trees wound endlessly. Julian did not need to watch where he placed his feet, having been through the forest countless times. His body moved for him, not even once did he misstep into the spattering of sunlight casting down, everything just came naturally.

As it was for a vampire. Julian was by far faster, less destructible, and more keen than his counterparts back, safe as could be, inside the castle. He didn't fear the same, bleed the same, nor did he think the same. Everything about Julian was vastly different than the other students, then why did a simple stroll through a forest have the same effect?

An inner peace came easily, here, in such a quiet place.

In the long run, Julian knew vampires would eventually tire of playing nice with the Ministry, and finally he would have his dues. All the magical blood he could claim would be his, but until then, this knowledge would have to suffice. He would have to make due with dumpster diving and trust until then.

A sudden tickle. Sniff...

All too soon any contentment he may have found vanished the moment his nose twitched and sniffed as if he were trying to ward off a sneeze. Julian stopped in his tracks. All about him the crisp autumn air filled with a warm, sweet scent that instantly claimed all of his attention, and momentarily struck him dumb.

This perfume was not often found in these surroundings. He tilted his head, much like a lost child would, and scanned the trees in search of the source. Of course, he knew that no beastie dwelling in this great, old wood had such a succulent aroma. But, why? Why would someone risk a trip to the forest? O! Joy! Let us hope it is suicide!

As quiet as a dormouse, Julian slipped past twisted trees as he followed this Trail of Promise with his nose, and it was a matter of moments before he stopped once again. Right before him, just on the fringes of the forest, a wall had been built. Actually, it was more like a veil, a thin, fragile covering that only creatures ruled by blood could sense. And, it completely surrounded a particular tree. O! Bliss! There is only the one!

With his sight it wasn't hard to spot the red hair among the dark branches of an old, knotty tree. Julian could easily see a witch having a grand time as she ascended higher and higher. His grin grew wide with the sight. Red hair, all alone. It couldn't get any better.

"Careful, little bird!, he called from the base of the tree.

[JAMIE SEONA WOOD]

This tree was proving to be a challenge indeed, but tree climbing was like riding a broom: you never unlearned it, you just had to readjust your feeling of balance. Ah, she loved it! Her fingers dug into the gnarly bark and her legs aptly followed suit. This would be even better if she had thought to take off her shoes. Oh well, you couldn’t have everything at once. With a cheeky grin, Jamie realized her nails would be looking horrible after this little adventure. Oh, how Lily might be livid! She was a year younger but probably much more of a girl than Jamie would ever be, and she had insisted she should ger her nails polished and cleanly cut, instead of all shabby and lacerated like they usually were. This resolution had lasted for two weeks – up until right this very moment. Too bad.

Feeling suddenly very happy, Jamie started to purse her lips and began to whistle a merry tune, the only sound she could produce. It was a fast scottish jig she loved to dance to on the clan gatherings her parents had always been going. Her father, though Wood with name, belonged to the vast MacKenzie clan and his cousin was now the clan chief. Especially the large annual Christmas gathering was one of Jamie’s happiest childhood memories, and she still couldn’t wait for them each time around. Dancing was also something you didn’t need a voice for and she could blend in easily with the crowd and excel at the fast and tricky choreographies. A little too late she realized that whistling in woods such as these might not be the best idea imaginable, and so she hastily shut her mouth and threw a casual glance downwards – only to be unexpectedly greeted with a human face staring up at her, which almost made her lose her tight grip on the trunk in surprise.

"Careful, little bird!” the person called up to her. That didn’t sound all that unfriendly, and human form and voice at least ruled out a few nastier options of creatures you could apparently happen upon here in these grounds. There must be a reason this Forest was forbidden after all. Hell, she could land with a hefty detention for this one too, what had she been thinking?! But the damage was done now, anyway. Wrapping one arm tighter around the tree for security, Jamie raised her other hand and gave a cheery wave down. Hmm… but maybe for conversation sakes she should not stay up here much longer, signs with one hand were limited and difficult to understand. Oh well, she could still tell herself she had mastered that tree very well, and maybe come back some other time. Shrugging to herself, Jamie began to descend back downwards, sometimes just gliding down rather than searching for new footholds. You could see from afar she had done such stunts a few times.

The last few feet she simply jumped, landed safely and even took the liberty of taking a mocking bow towards the boy she was facing now as if to say: Voilà, here I am! At your service!

[julian]

There was something not right with this picture. Is she whistling..? Julian wondered as the witch's lively tune drifted down to meet his ears. Brilliant! She's utterly mad! There couldn't be any other explanation for such unusual behavior within the rightfully named Forbidden Forest. Where was the wariness? She should be constantly looking over her shoulder, worried about the creatures creeping around, and definitely not up a tree! Even so, Julian was certainly not complaining, he was just taken aback by such a carefree outlook when so many others changed into mice upon entering the wood.

Returning her wave, Julian's grin grew, a perfect row of pearly whites flashed, and he watched the witch as she began to descend from high. She was graceful, her steps light and purposeful, and not once did he ever have the inkling she might slip and fall. No. This witch was much like a bird hopping lower and lower from limb to limb. The dying leaves hardly rattled as she climbed past, and when the witch leaped from the last branch, his eyes picked up every movement as though she were merely floating on the air's current much like a feather.

The icing on the cake was when the witch landed, quite deftly at that, and gave a little bow. Nice to see someone was in good spirits... Julian chuckled as he returned the niceties with a regal bow of his own, looking quite out of place whilst doing so in such quickly darkening surroundings. The forest was a place where monsters dwelt, not handsome, eloquent young men -or vampires if you're a stickler for details- dressed in an impeccable set of Slytherin robes. Even after his stroll through the trees, Julian was still in pristine condition, unlike the withering conditions around him.

"Such a frightening, forbidden wood for a song bird. Why ever did you flutter so far from your nest? Julian inquired, his tone cheeky, though his black eyes glittered dangerously. The scent of her perfume, now that Jamie returned to the ground, was far more intoxicating than aromatic trail he followed to this point.

[JAMIE SEONA WOOD]

Only as she had firm ground under her two feet, Jamie took the time to examine her unexpected counterpart. The first thing she noticed was the uniform. He was a student, which was a good thing, at least she had not happened across some random stranger – you never knew in these woods! The second glance revealed him as a Slytherin and that was a little less good… since Jamie might not demonize all Slytherin’s per say, but she had had enough run-ins with those Snakes to justify at least an uneasy feeling. If you were caught out alone somewhere with some random student, it had better not been a Slytherin boy… but maybe she was just overreacting. They were still technically on Hogwarts grounds, and until now he had even appeared to be rather decent. She hadn’t heard one derisive comment out of his mouth so far. On the contrary: Being called ‘little bird’ almost had a tone of endearment to it… which should make her a LITTLE cautious, right? She couldn’t rememer seeing this young man before, even though he obviously belonged to Hogwarts for a long time, so she could find no reason why he should be so friendly towards her.

He returned the bow, which was nice but also a little odd, especially from a Slytherin. And there was something else, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on that kept her on cautious distance. Over the years, Jamie had developed a subconscious expertize on body language, often without her even noticing she interpreted the signs right. It was a fact people may lie with words, but only so much with their body, and since she always had to think up ways to show with her body what she wanted to say, she automatically put more observance on the body language of others. Maybe it was his eyes that made the uneasy feeling in her guts intensify. He wanted to appear harmless and friendly… but his words together with his body language carried a message Jamie feared to decipher.

Subconsciously, she took a small step back so she leaned against the big tree trunk she had just climbed, but other than that, she tried to keep up the carefree attitude she had shown earlier. Shrugging, she made a gesture with her hand that encircled their surroundings and then put on a show of being extremely frightful, but shook her head. ‘I’m not scared of the Forbidden Forest’. Just like the Shrieking Shack and the lake, Jamie was of the firm impression Hogwarts had its own reasons for fabricating nasty stories about it. Fear often made people stay away from where they were not wanted. For good measure, she added a little more complicated signs, trying to express that she was bored. The hardest part about not being able to talk was that expressing feelings and untangible things, but she tried it with and eyeroll and an exaggerated yawn, also quickly putting her chin in her hand, tapping her fingers against the skin of her cheeks.