Open Looking in the Wrong Places

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan didn't really get what was the big deal about Valentine's day. He had skipped out on the Yule Ball last semester but he figured he should at least try and be social this time. Even if all the pink and flowers made him a little uncomfortable. He didn't have much of a plan as he entered the great hall. He recognized some of the people from his year but they all seemed busy. He hadn't done a good job of making friends last year because he had been convinced he wouldn't be around for long. Now he was paying the price since everyone seemed to have made their friends already. But he put on a brave face and grabbed a plate and filled it with all kinds of sweets. With a sigh he sat down at the closest table and looked up at the ceiling with its disappearing petals. He squinted at them for a while unsure of what to make of them. "Do you think the petals are fake and they just vanish or is there some kind of force field disintegrating them when the get to a certain height?" he asked to no one in particular.

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine resented the fact that the school wasted the effort on Valentine's day, of all things. Any meaning the day had was diluted by the fact that it now seemed to be an excuse to sell cards and flowers and make people feel anxious about whether or not they were in relationships. From Aine's experience with her older siblings, she didn't know what was worse - people who were obnoxiously lovey-dovey, or people who weren't in relationships and complained about it. As far as she was concerned, it seemed like it was just an annoyance. She would've avoided the dance completely if she didn't feel like she was at least somewhat obligated to attend as part of her duties to the paper.

Also the food was pretty good.

She was just wandering with a plate of food, looking for a place to sit when a boy's question piqued her interest. Aine paused, looking at the source of the voice, putting her plate down on the table and pondering for a moment. "I want to say the force field, 'cause that's way more interesting, but it's probably the fake petals that just disappear." She reached up out of curiosity, seeing if she could touch one. "Mass optical illusion, I guess."

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan blinked when a voice answered his question. He glanced at the girl who had sat down with him and nodded slowly. "It would be cool if there was some kind of force field." he said in agreement and thought of a laser zapping away at rose petals all night. He considered her theory about a mass optical illusion and it sounded plausible. "Or what if its all just the same petals over and over again." he suggested trying to peace together a different idea. "What if the petals at the bottom just get teleported back to the top over and over again?"

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine quietly wondered if she was being obnoxious, sitting down out of nowhere near this boy she didn't know. Maybe he was waiting for someone. Maybe he'd been hoping for someone else to answer his question and she was just barging in without thinking again. She wasn't planning on meeting anyone, mostly just there to get something to eat and see if any drama happened. Thankfully, the boy seemed to respond to her musing, putting together another interesting suggestion. She looked thoughtful, nodding in agreement. "Oh, yeah, like a fountain kinda thing? But with, uh, magic flower petals instead of water..." it sounded silly when she said it out loud. "Does one of the professors just sit there keeping the magic up or something?" One day magic would feel commonplace to her. That day hadn't yet come.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan was glad he had found a dance activity he enjoyed. He turned in his seat to better engage in the conversation and nodded. "Yeah like a fountain." he wouldn't have come up with that comparison on his own but that was exactly what he was thinking. He considered what she had said about a professor keeping the charm going all night and Ethan looked back up at the ceiling before glancing around the hall to see if he saw any professors looking especially focused. "Maybe its something that can be cast once and left to repeat. Like the enchantments some people use for their Halloween costumes." he pointed out. He wasn't sure how some of the older kids had pulled off some of their costumes but he had to assume professors could be capable of a lot more.

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine was extremely relieved to just have a chat with someone and not be fussed about appearance or dancing or anything of the sort. At least no one in her year seemed invested in dating yet, or if they were she remained blissfully unaware. She supposed that was true, adults were probably skilled enough to set and forget spells. Aine could barely keep her concentration up through any magic. "That's true. People really do kind of a lot with Halloween costumes," she replied, not giving away too much but maybe a touch of disdain? Or perhaps confusion. "I guess its a cleaner option than real rose petals if they're just conjured up, huh. They just all disappear at midnight. Or, you know, like, 10:30." Without tech, Aine often struggled to tell the accurate time on her own. She paused, looking up at the petals some more, before turning and sticking out a hand. "Hi, I'm Aine, sorry for randomly disturbing you and stuff."

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan was still looking around for professors when she agreed with his comment about costumes but he glanced back to her. She sounded angry about it. Or thats what it sounded like even if he couldn't think of a reason why. But he nodded in agreement when she mentioned it was probably cleaner. He hadn't thought of that. "Oh right, Ethan." he said blinking again. Introducing himself hadn't even crossed his mind and he could practically hear Zelda scolding him to be polite. But he shook his head as she apologized. "You didn't." he said. "I wasn't really doing anything anyways." he added a bit glumly.