Burying the Past

A

Andromeda Fiorelli

Well-Known Member
 
Messages
14,986
OOC First Name
Linda
Wand
Cherry/Maple Wand 13 1/4" Essence of a Dragon's Heartstring; 10 1/2" 4wood mix - unicorn hair core
Andromeda left the castle as everyone made their way down to the Great Hall for the Valentines Ball, she certainly had no intention of going to it especially after the disaster the Yule Ball had turned out to be. As she wandered across the gardens she took off her shoes and felt the soft grass between her toes and tickle her feet. It felt wonderful, clad all in white, Andy didn't really mind being spotted from the castle. It was no where near curfew after all. The further she walked, the broodier her thoughts dragged her. She wondered what would be the outcome of her meeting with this reporter woman and she also wondered what she had against her mother. As she lifted her hand to run her fingers through her hair, the bear pendant caught in a tendril and she tugged it gently to remove it. Looking at it now on her hand she sighed, she had fervently hoped that herself and Bruin could have had a chance but that was so off the cards it was ridiculous. How she ever even gave herself the notion now was quite beyond her. He wanted her only as a friend, that much was as plain as the nose on her face.

Undoing the clasp, she removed it from her wrist and realised that she still had the christmas gift for him with her, hoping that she would some how get the nerve up to give it to him. It seemed like a present now from another era and she wasn't sure it would be welcomed now. She cared for him and she couldn't change that, no matter what fancy expensive gifts she was given by others, no matter how comfortable other boys made her feel or how good she felt about herself in their company. Her heart had been stolen and she couldn't very well go and ask for it back, especially when Bruin hadn't a clue he possessed it. With a sigh she realised she had been walking towards the Forbidden Forest, she turned once to look back at the school before continuing on.

It was still bright enough for her to walk without the light of her wand until about 100 yards or so in, as the forest became denser Andy removed it from her pocket and called 'lumos' lighting her way and walking ever more deeper. The forest seemed uneerily quiet and she found it soothing, extremely so. After nearly half an hour of walking, Andromeda finally stopped and looking at an old tree went towards it. Near the base was a small hole, just big enough for her hand to fit inside. She knelt down and removed the small pouch from her pocket and from inside it took out the claddagh ring she had gotten for him that was to have symbolised their friendship, loyalty and her own feelings for him, love but how could she ever think of giving it to him now. She put it back into the pouch and with it put the bear pendant as well. Pulling up the strings good and tight she took a deep breath as she squeezed her hand into the hole in the tree and pushed the pouch as far into the back of it as she possibly could.
 
Claphore had been galloping wildly through the forest, he had another argument with his parents who quite frankly just didn't get him. He wanted to be out on his own, doing his own thing but time and again they demanded his presence among the tribe, duty and honor words that were now simply part of everyday vocabulary and didn't really mean anything. He was fed up, annoyed, ticked off whatever way you wanted to describe how a sullen teenager was, then Claphore was it. Finally he trotted to a cantor, stomping the earth with his hooves out of pure temper. It was the closest he was ever going to get to a temper tantrum at his age but he didn't care. As he stood there fuming silently a strange scent caught the breeze and he cocked his head in the direction it hailed from.

"A human" he snorted angrily, trotting slowly in that direction. Reaching behind he realized he had neither bow and arrow with him or sword and cursed his parents for getting him so angry that he had raced off without them. He would have to be most weary, as he approached he saw the girl bent down low by the tree. It seemed as if she were putting something inside. Another smell told him something else and he stomped the earth loudly for her to hear before galloping out bellowing loudly.
"What are you doing here beast?"
 
Andromeda thought she heard something but wasn't sure at first, there were so many little noises in the forest that a snap of a twig or anything else like that was merely brushed aside. She was used to them all by now and none phased her. It was with a start that she turned around swiftly now as the voice bellowed wildly and the sound of hooves galloping close rendered forth. She was all but kneeling and sitting on the ground with her back to the tree, staring up at the centaur.

"I am not a beast" she said through clenched teeth, "And it is none of your damned business what I am doing here?" Andy now gripped her wand tighter, waiting for him to draw his bow and arrows like they usually did.
 
Claphore snorted loudly and sniffed the air once more, there was certainly no mistaking the scent she had. This was obviously the girl that the tribe had been told about, she had made no move to attack them when in her other form but that didn't mean they had to be thankful just that they would remain vigilant. There would come a day when the school and all it's magics would not contain her, could not contain her and she would hunt as was natural.

He began to stride around the small clearing, never taking his eyes from her. How did the humans suffer her in their midst? Were they really as stupid as all the stories of them said they were? Obviously so. Claphore kicked up some dried leaves, sending them spiraling in her direction.

"It is very much my business beast, this is my home and you are trespassing. What are you about?"
 
Andy turned her head away as some leaves came flying towards her. She stood up slowly and turned to face him again. He looked very young, too damn young compared to half the centaurs she had encountered over the years. If she were to give him an age it would be just a bit older than herself. Bloody kid, sticking his nose where it wasn't wanted she fumed as her knuckles went nearly white holding the wand, but she did not brandish it at him. Why anatognise him further?

"I told you pony boy I'm not a beast but if you insist on insulting me then back at you. I can give has good as I get" she pushed off from the tree now so that she was standing completely upright glaring at him.
"My business is my business, leave it at that. I was just finished and was about to leave anyhow".
 
Claphore within seconds was cutting off the only path that she could take back to where she had come from. She may be the beast but she was amusing to say the least, he had only met a handful of humans before and they had all cowered before him. The fact that he stood at nearly 7ft tall would probably have a lot to do with it of course. He flicked his head so that the long fringe of his brown hair fell from his eyes.
"I am not a pony boy, huge difference between a boy and who I am" he straightened himself up bristling against her words but more at the intonation that he was a mere boy than a fully grown centaur.

"Is it so hard to answer what it was you were doing to the tree?" he had changed his tone only slightly, the edge wearing slightly. He regarded her safely from the distance he stood at and wondered how she could tolerate to be what she was. Was it not bad enough to be a human but to be a disgusting cursed beast on top of that?
 
Andromeda did not relax her stance once though she had noticed as he pranced about that he had no visible weapons on him. With this new information she relaxed her grip on her wand before she could end up breaking it.
"So you're not a pony boy well I'm not a beast alright?" she glared at the fact that he had cut her off from her only known path out of the forest.
"If you don't want me here why block my way out?" was he being completely idiotic for the sake of it or was he for lake of a better word 'simple'.
She realised he must have been watching her from afar to say he knew she had been doing something, she cast a furtive glance down at the hole in the base of the tree trunk and sighed. Her amber eyes mellowed, losing some of the fight from them as thoughts of Bruin washed over her. He had saved her from so much the past year but where was he now? She seriously didn't think she would need rescuing but all the same it would have been nice to know that he was still her hero.
"I was ... putting something away for safe keeping."
 
His arrogance would be his undoing as he moved closer pretending to sniff the air again, knowing now that the term aggravated the she-wolf.
"You know what you are, why deny it? Your own ministry refers to you as a magical beast do they not? I think you are nothing more than a nuisance. What did you need safe keeping? If it is something dangerous then move it or I shall move you".

His large frame reared up, his front hooves crashing down to pad the earth loudly.
 
"Right now the only nuisance here is you. I came to simply put something away that was too painful and sentimental to have around me. Now stand down, step aside or you will be sorry" Andy didn't really give two figs at this point as she held her wand up in his direction.

"Are you going to move and let me get back to the school?" her amber eyes flashed dangerously at him.
 
Claphore thought she was mad, raising her paltry stick at him. She was a youngling would only know a handful of spells just who did she think she was?
"She-wolf I can run you down in a second, what good is your stick to you?" he smirked at her stamping the ground with his large hooves and swishing his tail angrily. She had more than annoyed him now.
 
Andy didn't move her eyes from him for one second, she barely blinked as her wand hand remained steady and trained on him.
"It's like this... this" she held her wand up a little higher, "Is a wand, it does great things when I ask it too. I am trained to use it in my defense and trust me, I can use it. I am very very good at using it."
She smiled wickedly remembering the duel between herself and Bruin, knowing that if she hadn't wanted to prove to him how much she had cared about him she would most certainly have won that duel.

"I can send a jelly legs jinx at your front legs and render you incapable of coming near me or better yet" she grinned maddeningly at him, "I can hit your hind legs with it and have you sit on your rear end so you can crawl me down in so much more than a second. Trust me, I will use this. I don't want to but I am more than capable of sending your dispicable self to oblivion if the need arose."
she waited to see what the centaur would decide to do.
 
There was something in the She-wolves voice and manner that made him rethink his position. He wasn't altogether foolish, he was after all trained to hunt and kill by one of the greatest hunters of their tribe, his father. Vico, their tribal leader would probably get really angry with him if he discovered that he had confronted the she-wolf on his own but that was the least of his worries now. She was determined and he knew that a witch with a wand was usually a lot better in a fight that a centaur without a bow and arrow or his sword. With extreme hesitation he began to move aside to allow her to pass.

"Know this She-wolf, if you so ever enter here again I will be waiting and I will have my armour. Do not doubt it for a moment. The playing field will be leveled and in my favour".
 
Andy could only grin mildly in her supposed victory, she wasn't out of the woods yet by a long shot. Very slowly and with extreme caution she moved forward as he began to move to the side. It was like a finely tuned dance on the side of weariness and caution, neither really wanted to give to the other but for now she had the upper hand and was relishing this moment. She knew if he had his weapons she might not have been so lucky as to escape from him. The centaur was a hot head, a complete and utter dicotemy of teenage angst.

She never once broke eye contact with him as she moved forward, she also never broke wand contact from it being trained on him. Andy had come along way in her training and she was more than happy with her training and skill level. After all if she weren't so damn insufferably in love with Bruin, she could actually say she had beat him in a duel.

"Well know this pony boy if I ever do set foot in here again, I will still have my wand and will have learnt more spells in the process. It will be a level playing field perhaps but neutral, or if I'm totally honest... in my favour" she smirked as she now stood on the side she had needed to get to. Without lowering her wand once she continued to smile at him.

"By the way, so you know who it is that will kick your butt I am Andromeda" she quickly glanced in the direction of where she knew the opening of the forest to be.
 
Claphore wanted nothing more than to charge at the wolf girl now. She was insolent and needed a lesson but without his bow and arrow, without his sword up against any witch with a wand stick, he simply was not so sure he could take her. He wouldn't admit this out loud of course but he was sensible to the fact at least.
"I am Claphore, you best know the name of the centaur who you will meet your demise by" he told her and as he was now well back from her almost regretted letting her have even this much of a say, not to mind not putting up a fight with or without his weapons but he would be damned for one of his tribe to find him incapacitated because a witch had cast some of her magics on him and not just any witch but the she-wolf.
"till next time then" he stomped the ground roughly waiting for her to make her exit.
 
Andy walked slowly around until finally she was back on the beaten path that would lead her out of the forest. She kept her wand trained on him and wondered if he had his weapons with him, would the outcome be any different. She didn't doubt her ability for one moment but would he be able to get even one shot in? The question didn't perplex her for long as she kept her wand trained on him, walking carefully backwards out through the path. She highly doubted that she would ever meet her demise by his hand but he was cocky enough to believe it himself and that's what made him dangerous in her view.

Eventually she knew it was safe for her to turn around and once she did she began to run through the forest until she came at last to the opening that would bring her back on to school property. With a sigh of relief she stepped out of the forest and looked about her. Even from here she could make out the faint music coming from the castle, the Valentines Ball was still underway. It had felt like an absolute age that she had been in there but it really hadn't been any time at all. Looking down at her clothing which didn't seem so white anymore, Andy cast scourgify on herself before setting off back to the castle.
 
Bruin had been sitting in his dorm room, studying for NEWT's when he received the news that he had been longing to hear. His father had been found, alive, barely mind you, but alive nonetheless. The message had been brief, but it indicated that he had somehow managed to survive the avalanche and use his outdoor training to keep himself alive for close to two months in one of the remotest areas of the Canadian Rockies. Not many of the other students at the school knew that this was the reason behind Bruin's mysterious disappearance from the Yule Ball, subsequent late return to school, and his rather surly and reserved demeanour lately, but that was at Bruin's own doing.

After reading the note over for a fourth or fifth time, Bruin knew that he couldn't possibly study any more this evening and decided to go for a walk. As he descended the stairs of Gryffindor Tower he heard music coming from the Great Hall and realized that it was the night of the Valentine's Ball. His past experiences with such events hadn't been particularly great so he decided to take a stroll outside instead. As he was walking, he couldn't help but notice a familiar figure strolling across the grounds, Andy. From the looks of her, it appeared she was returning from the Forbidden Forest and he wondered what she could have possibly been doing in there at this hour.

Bruin felt like scolding her, but the night was too wonderful and his news so good for him to waste on more confrontation with her. He ran over to her and stopped before her, slightly out of breath, but a warm smile on his face. "I just got a message... my dad's alive... he's going to be alright!". Bruin pulled her into a hug and realized at that moment that this wasn't the only important thing that he needed to say to Andy.

Bruin had struggled with his feelings and emotions throughout his time at school, rarely being able to say what was on his mind and usually having it go bad when he tried to speak what he was feeling. Tonight, he would follow the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle and say what he had wanted to since the year began. He released Andy from his hug and before she could say a word, looked into her eyes and spoke from the heart. "Listen, I've done some stupid things this year and probably hurt you along the way. But none of it was ever on purpose. I would never intentionally hurt you and well, I want us to be... together. I don't know what you think of that, but I'm tired of guessing. So, what do you think? Will you give us a chance?" Bruin stated with a hopeful expression. He knew that his timing was probably horrible as always and that his words hadn't been poetic or eloquent, but he hoped that they were enough and waited anxiously for her reply.
 
Andy kept glancing furtive looks back over her shoulder incase the centaur would come after her, but knew that he was hardly likely to come out of the forest now. In her head she was trying to remember exactly which tree she had placed the pendant and ring but not having had time to mark her location thanks to Claphore, Andy didn't think she'd ever find that particular tree again. With a sigh she continued walking until looking up she saw Bruin running towards her. Stopping she braced herself for a lecture on why she had been in the forest but his whole demeanour was relief and joy and she couldn't help but get caught up in that immediately and when he told her the news she was thrilled for him.

"Bruin I'm so happy, really"
And then he hugged her and Andromeda thought every inch of her would crumble, this wasn't fair and yet it was what friends did wasn't it? So she hugged him back feeling like a heel for wanting it to last longer than what it did but Bruin released her and suddenly looking very serious began to speak again.

Andromeda stood with her mouth probably hanging open, wondering if this was some sort of joke. She quickly glanced back in the direction of the forest sure now after she had hidden his pendant he decides he wants to be with her and as she thought of it, she turned back to face him. He wanted them to be a couple, to have a chance and he was waiting for an answer from her. A smile began to spread across her own face, she truly didn't know if she wanted to cry or laugh so did a blend of both as she nodded her head. She simply didn't trust herself to speak at that moment. Instead she flung her arms about him and hugged him as he had her only moments before and finally finding her voice and releasing him to simply hold his hand, Andy smiled up at him.

"See I told you, this year could only get better it had no where else to go but up" she knew that the next thing that came out of her mouth was going to be cheesy and corny beyond all belief but she couldn't help herself, "Happy Valentines Day Bruin".
 
Claphore watched the she-wolf walk away so tempted to gallop after her and rear up on her but he didn't. Instead he very quietly trotted over to the tree she had been near and lowering himself down he attempted to reach his hand inside the hole but it was much too big. Using a broken branch he rooted around inside until eventually he felt something and very carefully pulled it out. A small pouch now lay in his palm and standing up again he opened it. Looking briefly in the direction of where the she-wolf had walked. She had said it was of sentimental value, what would a beast know of sentiment of any value?

Tipping the contents out into his hand he saw that it was a bear pendant and some kind of round thing that they called a ring. Slipping this onto his small finger he wondered why she had been hiding them, the ring felt slightly uncomfortable so he pulled it off again and looked instead at the bear pendant. The beast was indeed strange if she had to come all the way into the forest to hide these things. Putting both back inside the pouch he cantered in the direction she had gone in, stopping in the shade of the trees to look out as he saw a human boy running towards her. After a moment she looked back and he moved further into the shadows incase she could see him or sense him somehow but he had no fear of that.

He watched as they embraced one another and wondered if the things in the pouch were belonged to this human. He snorted and swishing his tail turned around but before going back to his home he reached up and placed the pouch on an overhanging branch then with a smile galloped back off into the forest.
 
Bruin returned Andy's hug, but was a little unsure how to read her expression or the silence that followed. He simply didn't know if he could trust his instincts, although the fact that they were holding each other's hand, she was indicating that things were getting better and wishing him a Happy Valentine's certainly appeared to be positive signs. He smiled sweetly at her and with an equal combination of humour and questioning in his voice replied.

"Happy Valentine's Day...and just to be sure, can I take that as a yes?"
 
Andy wasn't sure he had actually understood her sudden rapture and the fact that he even had to ask basically said it all. She smiled shaking her head.
"Of course that's a yes. It's a 100% I'm all willing to give it a go and give us a chance yes" her amber eyes seemed to have their old spark back, the sudden light in them glowed brightly as she did.
"You mean you couldn't tell by me hugging you?" she laughed, boys really were lame where these type of things were concerned.
 
Bruin's face lit up when she confirmed what he had hoped and he saw the expression on her face, the sparkle in her eyes, that seemed to indicate that he wasn't the only one that was elated about what had just happened between them. "Well, I was pretty sure, but I'm not taking anything for granted anymore, especially not when it comes to us..." Bruin emphasized the final word, knowing how special it was and that it was the first time that he had ever been able to say it with complete and total conviction.

Bruin pulled Andy into another hug as if to confirm his deep feelings for her as well and found himself staring over her shoulder at the Forbidden Forest. He thought he saw something move within, but couldn't be certain and began to wonder if Andy had been in the forest herself. He decided not to be accusatory in any way or make an assumption that she had. "So, what are you doing out here anyways?", he asked as innocently as he could, not certain if she wished to tell him or not and surprisingly, okay with letting her respond in anyway she felt comfortable. He had made the mistake of pressuring her before and refused to jeopardize things by repeating that mistake.
 
Andy liked when he referred to them as an 'us' it just sounded so unbelievably sweet coming from him, she could have stayed quite happily within the safety net that his arms afforded every time he hugged her but then he did ask what she had been doing. She couldn't very well tell him that she had been hiding his pendant away because it had simply been too painful to have with her reminding her constantly of who she couldn't have and now typically she had him. She shrugged her shoulders and taking his hand once more indicated back to the direction of the school.

"Oh, just horsing around".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top