is this just pure selfish psychoanalysis continuing on from last time? probably!
It didn't seem fair to put a door right in Peregrine's line of view with a tacked on sign saying 'do not open'. She couldn't possibly open it. She was a nice, responsible, well-behaved girl who wouldn't be caught breaking the rules. That would be setting a bad example to her brother, and earn the disappointment of her mother.
And yet, as she tried to focus on her Potions homework, her eyes kept drifting over to the door. What did it matter about examples, anyway? There was nobody else here. Surely a little peek couldn't hurt, could it? It didn't seem like there'd be anything bad behind the door. Maybe there was actually something really fun. Maybe it would be a little adventure. And if it was something dangerous, well, then she could just back out, no harm done, right?
Right. Looking around to make sure that nobody else was there, Peregrine strode up to the door and, after one more cursory glance, opened the door slowly and deliberately, peering into the room and taking a few cautious steps. There wasn't very much here, really, it was just a kind of messy lounge room and...
Thud. The door shut behind her with a loud bang, and startled, Peregrine looked behind her. It was almost like there'd never been a door there in the first place. Now she was trapped in...wherever she was. Swallowing nervously, Peregrine turned back towards the room, taking it all in and seeing if there was another exit. She noticed an older woman sitting hunched over a desk, a few...what she understood to be screens set up in front of her playing a few different things. She tapped away at the desk in front of her, eyes shifting between things every few moments before slowly turning around to face Peregrine. The crunch of bone was heard before even registering the turn of the head. The woman gazed impassively yet with a look of barely concealed panic at her and Peregrine noted the huge dark circles underneath them as what stood out the most, below a tangled mess of wavy brown hair that was streaked with grey at the scalp. She somehow looked as though she could be physically imposing, but the way she was hunched over made her look as though she was trying to make herself as small as possible. For a moment, Peregrine thought that she was prey to some sort of strange, not-quite-human predator, one who idly filed her nails as though they were claws preparing to strike at her throat. The illusion was shattered the moment the woman attempted to speak, voice strangled by dryness of the throat. "Ugh," was the first noise Peregrine heard, and with that the strange woman shook her head, stood up with another crunch of bone, and shuffled off in the other direction.
"Hey," came a voice from the side, and Peregrine turned her head to see two young women sitting at a small table, with a third seat left vacant. The older of the two was a slim blonde woman who looked to be in her early twenties or so, looking her over carefully - just as careful about Peregrine herself as she was in an attempt to not gawk. When their eyes met, she gave a small smile and nod. The other girl was leaning in, resting her chin on her hands as she made no effort to hide her curiosity. Peregrine vaguely recognised her as an older student at the school, but their paths hadn't exactly crossed. The brunette student tilted her head from side to side, humming a little off-key and clearly not at all bothered about the impression she was giving off.
"Um...hello," Peregrine greeted, raising a hand in a small wave, shuffling on the spot and fiddling with her sleeve. "Sorry, could you tell me what happened to the door? Or where I am?" Peregrine was pretty sure she must have been having a dream, as the room setting was not exactly clear. Or even where she was when the door appeared in the first place. The blonde woman gave a small sympathetic noise, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms.
"Unfortunately," the woman said, not exactly giving any helpful inclinations. "You've become one of her favourites." She moved one hand to gesture to the seat, indicating that Peregrine should sit down, before shifting back into her crossed arms position. She crossed a leg to match, rhythmically tapping her foot in the air and looking away in thought. "Welcome to the club." The other girl rolled her eyes, making a noise of irritation and slamming a hand on the table.
"Honestly, Aine, I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be helpful." She shook her head, locking eyes with Peregrine with an almost menacing look. "That's Aine, I'm Audrey, and she," she lifted an arm to jerk her thumb back towards the corner nest, as Peregrine had decided it was the nest of some strange human-like creature, "is the writer."
The older girl - Aine, apparently - seemed to suddenly be casually drinking a coffee (and now Peregrine was almost certain this was a dream), far more subdued than the more animated Audrey. Peregrine couldn't help but feel a certain familiarity with the two of them, however, and she couldn't really explain why. "And here I thought you might be entertained. You were just complaining that you were bored," she said, with a sigh, before looking back at Peregrine. "Now, don't be too alarmed, miss...?"
"Um, Peregrine." She sank into the seat, swinging her right leg out of nerves. "Or any nickname, really, as long as it's not rude..." Aine lifted a hand to cover a small smile that threatened to appear.
"Peregrine, then. Well, she's written us, amongst others, into existence. But there's certain people she likes more than others. Her favourites. The ones that seem to have more of her soul linked with theirs." Aine winced. "I don't think there's any way I can phrase that that doesn't sound a, entirely pretentious, and b, somewhat creepy. Sorry."
Audrey popped back up, rocking back and forward on her chair and Peregrine was struck by an urge to warn her not to for fear she'd fall over. Then she remembered that Audrey must be quite a few years older than her. "Baaaaasically, it means your life is going to be totally miserable because she's going to make you suffer, like, all the time 'cause it's 'sposed to be, like, some kind of good character development?"
Aine sighed. "Horribly melodramatic of her, really. You've got to rein her in."
"But hey," Audrey said, perking up. "At least she's gonna pay you a whole lot of attention. And she'll let nice things happen sometimes. Like learning to do cool stuff and being special and, well she'll have you lose duels probably which suuuucks but still. And she'll let you play these weird muggle video games, too."
Aine gave a curious look. "She's already got you adventuring in Baldur's Gate 3, hasn't she."
Peregrine paused, thinking that did sound awfully familiar, and slowly nodded. Peregrine had thought that, too, had been a dream, something about star dragon forms and druids. It hadn't made any sense at the time and yet now despite not ostensibly understanding anything that was being said, it somehow also all fit.
"But it's mostly being mean. Probably because she puts so much of herself into us. I mean, look at her. You saw her, right? Total mess." Audrey made a face. "Do you think she's ever heard of, like, sunshine? Or makeup? Like damn, you live like this? It's no wonder she's single..."
"Audrey, please," Aine said, clicking her tongue. "It's not worse than anyone else, I'm sure. Hopefully. She is going to make you have a lot of anxiety and imposter syndrome, sure, but it's well intentioned, and besides..."
Peregrine shuddered as an overwhelming presence appeared behind her, and she nervously turned around to see the subject of discussion hovering behind her. Peregrine wasn't afraid, not really, but she wasn't quite sure what to say. It seemed that neither did the woman, but after a moment she held up a game console.
"...it's Monster Hunter," came the shaky voice from the being. "Stories. You can ride the monsters into battle...you'll like it." Peregrine awkwardly took the console in hand, and the woman retreated back to the corner, perching back in her spot. Peregrine wondered if she was really some kind of gargoyle or something. Though at the same time, she could see the resemblance to herself and to the other two, even though the three at their table didn't exactly look too much alike. She didn't get it, but there was something.
"See," said Aine, looking mildly relieved. "Benefits. You'll get so many unexpected experiences."
"Yeah," Audrey agreed, before smirking. "Totally makes the completely messed up home life and weird scenarios you'll end up in the back of your mind worth it."
Peregrine looked at the screen, a small smile crossing her face. "I don't mind...maybe she just doesn't really know how to like herself very much but she likes us and that's kind of a good thing, maybe it helps?" Her voice went up to a squeak. The other two looked stunned for a moment, but she heard a quiet chuckle from the corner, muffled by a hand very quickly. Peregrine didn't think she was on to something, but maybe she was.
"She was muttering something about a dragon attack earlier, you know."
"Oh." Or maybe she was just really mean spirited. Peregrine supposed she'd have no choice but to find out.
