Admiring the Scenery

[Tatyana Reyes]

There's just something about lakes that attracts her attention, magical or no. Something about the ambience just... relaxes her. Makes her pull out a notebook or spare piece of paper and sketch. She wasn't bad at art, if she could say for herself, Tatyana just prefers a single black ballpen to capture the moment in quick strokes and squiggles. If she wasn't people-watching or climbing trees, you can bet she's somewhere quiet or somewhere scenic, capturing the moment the way she sees it or when inspiration strikes her. Or when she's bored.

For some reason, she just can't draw people. They always end up disproportionate or flat, not artistic at all. She can't draw faces, but she can draw bodies. Put her in a place where nature runs supreme and she'll sketch like her life depended on it. Cute animals? Ducklings waddling after their mama? Just give her moment to keep her squeals down and she'll doodle them. But have her draw people? Well. At least now you know what you'd look like as a mandrake.

So it was probably all well and good that there wasn't anyone currently swimming in the lake she was sketching.

 

[Artemisa Raven]

Artemisa was in a mixture of moods of sorts. It hadn't been long since Sorting and therefore she was still quite sour about the results of the house placements of herself and Coco's. They had already owled their parents about the results and while they were very please and proud as their reply had indicated, Misa was not the least bit happy. And so, it was perhaps for this reason that she and her twin were walking towards the lake today. The two of them were discussing plans as to how it could be possible to sneak into each other's common room. It was very weird to be in a dormitory without Coco there. She scowled once more at the differing colors of their uniform. "Coco, switch ties with me," the Gryffindor said as she removed her tie and switched it with her twin, Felicita wearing her Ravenclaw robes and a Gryffindor tie was a bit more bearable to see. Just as the twins arrived at the lake, Misa had spotted a girl hunched over what was probably a sketch book and the Gryffindor grinned. Grabbing her twin's hand, she dragged them over to the girl and watched for a little bit as the girl drew with ballpen. "Have you tried using different point thickness for pens to improve the minute detail sketches?" Misa asked as she sat down on the girl's left side.​

 

[Felicita Raven]

Felicita watched as her sister was still in a foul mood after the Sorting Ceremony nights ago. While also annoyed at the placements, Felicita was quite contented to be in Ravenclaw although it was a major letdown that Chia was in Gryffindor. And so, in lieu with that, Feli had begun to devise plans on how it could be possible to sneak into Gryffindor or have Misa sneak into Ravenclaw. Of course it would be a very hard task, probably impossible, but they were quite determined to at least make an attempt. Never mind that they could get in trouble for it, they could always say sorry or something later on. The Ravenclaw smirked however as her twin demanded that they switch ties and Felicita accepted. Maybe on some days they could switch robes. It was more satisfying to see them have at least some of the same color - Misa now wearing Gryffindor robes and her own Ravenclaw tie. It was quite a surprise though when Misa had dragged her off to a lone girl sitting by the lake and begun to give the girl tips? Feli wouldn't know, she had no sense in art. "Chia, it is rude to suddenly approach someone without introducing yourself," Feli said even though she sat herself at the unknown girl's right.

 

[Tatyana Reyes]

Tatyana's concentration was jolted from her sketch pad when someone sat next to her. She blinked in suprise, thinking that she must've been focusing too hard that she was seeing mirror images. Blinking a few more times, she quickly realized that they must be twins- and one of them just asked her a question.

"Ah, yes I have. I just- uhm, happened to just bring one pen. I wasn't- well, I wasn't really planning on sketching? It just- happened..." Tatyana said softly, eyes flicking between the twins and her sketch. "My name's Tatyana, by the way. Tatyana Reyes."

 

[Artemisa Raven]

Artemisa grinned at the girl's reply and nodded. She could relate of course, when the urge to draw comes, one must draw. After all, there are some forms of inspiration that don't come often. She pouted however at her twin's lighthearted scolding. "Of course, of course Coco. I had meant to introduce myself," she said with a small click of the tongue. "I'm Artemisa. Artemisa Luciana Raven. It is very pleasant to meet you Tatyana," she said as she began to rummage through her pockets. She knew she kept art supplies in her pockets somewhere, it was a habit now. There were only a few coloured pastels wrapped in covering in her left pocket though and black pencils in her right.​

 

[Felicita Raven]

Felicita chuckled at her twin's antics. "Of course you did," the Ravenclaw teased. "You'd have to excuse Chia, she can be a tad bit rude, although I could be to. In this case however, she is the rude one," she told the girl before extending her hand in greeting. "It's nice to meet you Tatyana. I'm Felicita. Felicita Audrey Raven," she grinned before looking over at her twin who seems to be rummaging in her pockets. Feli knew what she was looking for of course - art supplies. The girl merely shook her head as she rummaged through her own pockets and found three pens in her own pockets, she had taken to bringing art supplies in her pockets as well as habit since not everything could fit into the pocket of one twin. "Here's a couple of pens, one is red but the other two black should have different points," she said as she offered them to the girl they had just met.​

 

[Tatyana Reyes]

Tatyana smiled softly at the twins, and shook Felicita's hand. They seemed nice. "It's fine. I don't mind, really. It's nice to meet you guys, too."

She watched curiously as the Gryffindor-robed twin- Artemisa, rummaged through pockets. She wondered just how much was inside how pocket that she couldn't seem to find what she was looking for. She was a bit surprised at the hand offering her three pens appearing in her line of vision. She smiled at Felicita's and took the offered pens and thanked her.

Tatyana quickly opened all three pens and drew lines with each pen on another page, familiarizing herself with the thickness and smoothness of the strokes. She chose the red pen, quickly adding color a accents to the otherwise black-and-white sketch, then used the black pen with the smallest point thickness, finishing the sketch with the minute details in the grass, ripples created by swimming fish, and the wispy clouds reflected on the lake's surface. She smiled in satisfaction before handing the pens back to Felicita.

"Thank you for letting me borrow your pens."

Now that the haze of sketching went away, she finally focused on the each twin sitting on both her sides and noticed something quirky that had a corner of her lip twitch up in a brief smirk of amusement.

"Just curious. Did you switch ties or robes? If you guys have the exact same hairstyle, no one would tell you apart, you know. Same thing if you switch ties and/or robes regularly."

 

[Artemisa Raven]

Artemisa smiled gratefully at her twin for having produced the pens that she had been looking for and she wondered what ever she would do without Coco. Of course, this brought a small frown on her features after being reminded once more that she and Coco are in different houses and would therefore have less time with each other than what they are used to. She was quickly distracted however after seeing Tatyana add details using the pens that Coco had provided. Misa was glad that she was right that a few changes in the point thickness of the pen would greatly improve the details of the girl's sketches. The end result was stunning.​

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Artemisa merely grinned at the girl's line of thought. "Ties actually. It is absolutely horrid that me and Coco have completely different colors!" Misa exclaimed with much exaggeration, a mischievous grin making its way on her features. "Of course, even if we do keep changing our hairstyle, I doubt anyone could tell us apart except for our older brother, he has a knack for it. Anyways, with the hairstyle, Coco and I interchange and switch it up regularly. Drove Daddy crazy when we learned how to do our own hair," the Gryffindor giggled.​

 

[Felicita Raven]

Felicita watched as Tatyana began to continue her sketching and make adjustments using the pens that she had just provided. It amazed the Ravenclaw how much a small change in the thickness of the ink could change the drawing and it was simply remarkable. Of course, even seeing Chia's artwork regularly, she could tell that Tatyana was also talented in arts, something that Feli herself was lacking. She didn't mind, she was more interested in other aspects of course, but that didn't mean that she doesn't fully support her twin. Feli nodded as she accepted the pens back. "Don't worry about it. These are actually Chia's. I've taken to bringing some of her materials in my person since she couldn't fit everything in her own pockets," she said with a grin as she pocketed the pens.​

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Feli merely rolled her eyes of course at her twin's theatrics, but joined in nonetheless. "Oh the horror! Completely different wardrobes!" she exclaimed, mirroring her twin before bursting out into giggles at the memory of confusing their father on who was who. "Chia all but demanded that I switch ties with her earlier. I was planning to have her switch robes with me tomorrow but don't tell anyone else that," she said as her voice descended into a conspiratorial whisper.​

 

[Tatyana Reyes]

Tatyana grinned before miming her lips zipping shut and throwing the key into the lake, giggling all the while. It must be ambience in the air because she felt completely at ease with the two girls. She liked it. Artemisa said something that caught her interest, though.

"You said something about a brother? You have an older brother, too?" She asked, feeling a bit excited. This was a topic she could really babble on. She loved her big brother, she really did. She grew up practically attached to the hip with him, even though he was almost two years older than her. Tatyana enabled his mischief, and Alejandro pranked her bullies mercilessly, even though he knew she could handle them perfectly well.

 

[Artemisa Raven]

Artemisa's grinned widened as Tatyana begun to show excitement at the mention of their older brother. The Gryffindor nodded excitedly as she confirmed that she had been talking about an older brother. "I did and we do. Roto's not that much older but he does like to lord it over us sometimes," she said with a sigh and a shrug although the fondness in her tone could be heard quite clearly. "Seriously, he's only seven months older than us. That's not much at all," Artemisa said with a groan before laying back in the cool grass. The weather was so nice and it was just too good to lounge about with their newfound friend. "Anyways, he goes here too, you'll probably meet him soon enough. He's a Slytherin second year."​

 

[Felicita Raven]

Felicita just continued to watch and listen at Artemisa's antics. Really, her twin could be really forgetful to actually include people's names in the actual conversation and not just their nicknames. It just wouldn't do to have people calling their brother by his special nickname, he would not be pleased at all. Chia was right though, Soro really liked being the older brother even though they were not that far in age. But she supposed that seven months did make the difference now that they were in school since he is a second year while she and Chia were still first years. "Yeah, Soro does tend to that. Also his name is Jai. Jai Yoshiro Edogawa-Raven. Chia calls him Roto though, while I call him Soro," she explained their friend while Felicita also begun to lay down on the grass. It was very relaxing indeed.​

 

[Tatyana Reyes]

Tatyana smiled at the obvious affection the twins had for their brother. She noted the odd age gap between them. Seven months? Tatyana had her suspicions but seeing the clear fondness the twins had, it obviously didn't matter and she would best put it out of her mind because it would be rude otherwise.

"My brother's name is Alejandro, but he was apparently named after Alexander the Great, so I call him Alex. He's about two years older than me, actually. I was adopted around his second birthday, so I basically grew up covering for his mischief. I literally have at least three alibis prepared whenever we're together." A memory of a certain wand made her giggle. "I actually tried a wand that reminded me of him. The wand quivered as if trying to keep itself from laughing before letting out an exaggerated fart sound! It sounded exactly Iike the prank he played on one of my 'bullies' back home. If he was magical, he'd be in Gryffindor hands down." Tatyana smiled, a bit wistfully. She missed having her older brother just a couple of really rooms away, but she promised her brother she'd do her best to enjoy Hogwarts. She couldn't exactly do that if she was moping, right?

 

[Artemisa Raven]

Artemisa smiled as she listened to Tatyana's stories about her brother. The older brother seemed like a really cool guy and would get along with them easily. Of course, it completely went over her head when the Hufflepuff mentioned that she was adopted. It didn't really sink in very well with all the fun information that the other girl was giving them. Misa even let out a snort at the wand story. That had certainly been interesting. "It sounds like the opposite with Roto, doesn't it Coco?" the Gryffindor asked as she looked at her twin before turning back to their friend.​

​

"Coco and I get into all kinds of trouble at home, drove Mummy and Daddy against the wall if I do say so myself. Roto would cover for us, not that anyone would believe us of course, Auntie Ai could see right through him in a second," Artemisa said with a small laugh at the memory although there was also a barely suppressed shiver at the memory of Auntie Ai. Merlin, that woman was scary, although Misa and Feli liked her well enough, especially when they had moved into the manor after Auntie Ai married Uncle Liam. "When Roto, Picco and Auntie Ai moved in with us at the manor, we managed to get both Roto and Picco into trouble with us," she said with a predatory grin. Yes, those were certainly fun times and even though Picco was still in England and wouldn't be in Hogwarts until next year, there was certainly going to be enough mayhem to go around to drag Roto into. Artemisa frowned a little however at the girl's statement. If her brother was magical? "Is your brother a squib? Or are you a muggleborn?"​

 

[Felicita Raven]

Felicita could only listen as both girls exchanged stories although the Ravenclaw could only shake her head as her twin spouted out details and names without explanation. It seems that Chia tended to forget that other people didn't know the people that they already knew and had nicknames for. That would really have to be amended. "Chia, you really do have to give more details in your stories. You'll confuse the poor girl to death eventually!" the Ravenclaw reprimanded lightheartedly with a sigh before turning to their friend to actually explain who the people in Misa's story are.​

​

"Auntie Ai is Soro's mom. Chia and I have a different mom than Soro, although we have the same dad. We also have a younger brother named Tiziano. Chia calls him Picco, while I call him Topo. Topo's mom is also Auntie Ai. It gets a little confusing, I know," Felicita explained. It was only fair, Tatyana told them that she was adopted, there was no harm in telling her that Soro and Topo were only their half-brothers. "Anyways, we come from a Pureblood family, and in our family we have a Head, and most of us live in the same house - Nightray manor. It's from our mum's side," the girl explained rather offhandedly, it was a minute detail in her opinion after all. "Auntie Ai and our Head, Uncle Liam, married a number of years ago and that's why we all live in the same house now. It's kind of weird since technically Soro and Topo are our brothers and cousins at the same time," Felicita said with a shrug, now satisfied that the people in Misa's story were kind of explained.​

​

Felicita had to sigh though at her twin's question. Really? They really had to work on Misa's interaction skills a little better, or maybe it was just one of those days that her twin was absolutely clueless on manners. She could just imagine the scolding that Soro could give if he were here right now. "Chia, we really have to work on your tact," Feli said, shaking her head before turning to Tatyana once more. "I apologize, she didn't mean anything bad by asking. You must miss your brother terribly, we missed Jai when he started school the previous year."​

 

[Tatyana Reyes]

Tatyana tilted her head at Artimisa's question and hummed thoughtfully as she considered how she would answer it. Felicita's explanation helped clear up some things, and she was right. It was confusing. "It's fine, no harm was done. And yes, I do miss him. I also worry on what the state of the house will be when I get back. Mom would blow a a gasket if she comes home to the house smelling terribly of vinegar and splattered with paint. His pranks can get a bit out of hand if I'm not there to corral him."

"We assumed that I'm muggleborn since I was adopted and raised by muggles since I was a babe. None of us really know if I'm a Pureblood, or Mixed Blood, or an actual Muggleborn since I was literally left on their rented doorstep." It might've been a depressing thought if she didn't feel so blessed to be adopted into a loving family. "I don't know if my birth parents were wizards, but I don't think they matter. I'm happy to be part of a loving family, even if I'm the only who has magic so far. Who knows, maybe one of my younger cousins would end up having magic."

 

[Artemisa Raven]

Artemisa hummed as Tatyana explained to her about her unknown blood status she supposed that made sense, and she probably should have been listening thoroughly when their friend had mentioned that she was adopted, it would have made things a little less confusing. Artemisa abruptly shot up from her position though when Tatyana mentioned cousins. "Coco! We were supposed to meet up with Corey!" the Gryffindor quickly stood and brushed off the stray pieces of grass clinging to her robes. "We should be going but let's have a picnic next week! I had lots of fun with ya, see you Tatyana!" Artemisa all but babbled before running back towards the castle.​

 

[Felicita Raven]

Felicita abruptly shot up at Artemisa's exclamation. They'd both forgotten that they were supposed to meet up with the Hufflepuff ages ago. Before Feli could even get up though, Chia had already been running towards the castle and the Ravenclaw could only sigh. "Well, there she goes. Anyways, we really do have to go and meet up with someone, but she's right. We should have a picnic soon," Feli stood, a lot more calmly than her twin. Artemisa could handle explaining to Corey what had happened. "We'll owl you the details or meet you in the Great Hall during meals," she said before waving and walking off towards the castle at a much calmer pace, glad to have made a new friend today.​

---

= F I N I S H E D =​

 

[Tatyana Reyes]

"Sure, I'll be waiting."

Tatyana smiled as she watched the twins rush off. Maybe she should have her brother send her some of her art supplies, she thought, turning her gaze back to the Lake. She hadn't thought she'd make new friends today, but she was glad it happened. Today was a good day.