Closed Seclusion Above the Swarm

[Aegerine Night]

Aegerine was finding it difficult to obtain time alone in this castle filled with obnoxious teenagers. She appreciated the ability to draw curtains around her bed, but even so when there were too many people in the room it was overwhelming. She didn't like to appear to hide, which felt like showing weakness, but nor did she desire interaction. In her search for isolated places, Aegerine ascended to the top of the North Tower, which she deemed a suitably theatrical location. Pleased to find it deserted, she sat and stared dramatically out of the window, gazing at the view of the castle and grounds spread out below her, and brooding.

Aegerine hated it here, determinedly. She would not accept her mother's irrational decision to move to this far-flung country, and she would not show any interest in this anachronistic castle and horrid school. She wanted to go home. She hadn't done as well as she would have liked in alienating herself from the other dwellers in her dormitory, though she had succeeded in avoiding conversation aside from Minnie and Emily. She supposed she could tolerate allowing herself a couple of sufficiently interesting contacts here.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

While the dungeons definitely had their gloomy charm, perfect for pretending to be a brooding heroine, there was no competition for the castle's towers. Its spiraling staircases and arched windows providing plenty of scope for inspiration.
She'd come up to the towers, hoping to spur a little creativity, staring longingly out one of the high windows. She'd been struggling to write in the dorms, too aware of the potential of being interrupted at any moment by her new roommates. Descending one of the many stair cases, Sydney thought she might have found the perfect landing to ruminate on, when she spotted another girl, already sitting at her window. The nerve, she was being interrupted even out here it seemed. Couldn't this girl find her own spot to go brood or whatever she was doing. Standing a few steps above on the stairwell, enjoying the prowess the extra height have her, she crossed her arms, staring down disparagingly at the girl. "What are you, some Ann Radcliffe character? What are you even doing up here? Brooding?" She scoffed. Maybe if she could scare the girl off she could steal her spot in peace.

 

[Aegerine Night]

Aegerine heard footsteps on the stairs behind her and sighed deeply. It seemed that even here, she could not find the solitude she sought. Why must this castle be so plagued with humans, in all their petty activity and loathsome chatter? Why was it so difficult to be left alone? She pointedly ignored the sound, hoping its originator would be capable of taking a hint and leaving her in peace, but apparently once again she would have no such luck.

On the other hand, Aegerine was secretly delighted to be compared to a Gothic novel character. That was, after all, precisely the aesthetic she was aiming for. It surprised her that another student would be aware of such a reference; perhaps the girl deserved some measure of grudging respect. She kept staring steadily out of the window, not giving the stranger the benefit of her full attention. "And what if I am?" she said haughtily. "What right have you to interrupt me?"

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney bristled when the girl didn't fully acknowledge her, too occupied with her own reflection or pining or whatever she was doing at the window. Stomping down the next few stairs, Sydney tried to catch a glimpse of what the girl might even be looking at. "Are you doing your hair or something? Figures, all the kids here are so vacuous," If Sydney's proximity didn't make the girl look at her, then maybe insulting her might do the trick. She'd already decided she liked this spot the best, the arched window having the best view and aesthetic for maudlin musing, and she wanted the other kid gone.

 

[Aegerine Night]

Aegerine fought the urge to roll her eyes as the stranger stomped down the steps in some futile and ill-considered attempt to gain her attention. She was tempted to simply ignore the comment about doing her hair; she had no obligation to tell this girl what she was doing, and no desire to admit to her that her first guess had been the correct one. But her next words shocked Aegerine into actually looking at her: this was the first person she'd encountered in this country that showed evidence of possessing an interesting vocabulary. She looked rather scruffy, clothing mismatched to the point of ridiculousness, but managing to dredge up a description accurate to Aegerine's own experiences here so far, and an interesting word, deserved a response. "Oh, yes," she agreed. "As far as I can tell they're all inane and puerile, nothing in the least prepossessing to dredge up between them."

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Narrowing her eyes, Sydney was gratified to finally find someone else who might actually be able to keep up with her intellectually, though she was starting to suspect the other girl was trying to one up her. Two could play at that game, and Sydney looked forward to simultaneously venting her frustration with the school while getting a chance to flex her vocabulary a little."It doesn't help that the syllabus here is so banal, hardly any content to rouse a true intellect," Sydney glanced at the other girl, gauging her reaction before sweeping down the last few steps. "I'd hoped to escape the weary doldrums of my common room-" She made sure to put emphasis on the word "common", clearly conveying her opinion of its usual occupants "- but I fear one can't liberate themselves from the plebeian masses, even way up here." She finished, raising an eyebrow at the girl in challenge.

 

[Aegerine Night]

Aegerine had not thought to encounter anyone interesting up here, but as the stranger spoke she found herself begrudgingly impressed. Could she at last have found someone worthy of her time, purely by chance? The girl seemed to be trying to show off, and while Aegerine usually considered herself above competition, she would not pass up the opportunity to engage in a conversation she might actually enjoy. "Oh, yes, indeed; I had hoped for some veritably engaging content, but thus far it has certainly not been forthcoming." Aegerine suppressed a smile as the girl swept down the steps; it was exactly the sort of move she might have made, although coupled with the stranger's general appearance it looked faintly ridiculous. She nodded decorously. "One might have speculated that among the purportedly cerebral house there might be some diverting interlocution, but alas, it seems their cogitation broods predominantly on the mundane." Her housemates had, with a couple of potential exceptions, proved rather disappointing, and it seemed incredible to her that someone from another house might instead prove her equal, but it seemed increasingly likely that this would be the case.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney considered the girl carefully, trying to decide if her comment about not finding anything engaging yet could be directed at her or not. "The dark arts teacher might have some potential, when he's not too preoccupied trying to cow the other first years with his countenance," She said cautiously. Sydney had mixed feelings about Professor Styx, everything about him screaming authority figure, which she hated, but for far his class was the closest thing she could describe as interesting at the school. Considering herself a good judge of character, Sydney thought it would be interesting to see what opinions this other girl had, if any, about their professors or classes. "The school system is ridiculous anyway, anyone who bases success on arbitrary grades over actual learning is an idiot," So far she'd not liked most of her classes for that reason. She knew she was smart, she didn't need some teacher writing a letter on a paper to tell her that or not.
It wasn't a surprise to learn that Ravenclaws were also just as boring as the other houses, and she was a little relieved at least her housemates had an interesting cunning streak to make up for their lack of deeper thinking. "The houses are arbitrary too, I refuse to believe a hat can truly know our minds at age 11. The whole thing smacks of little more than pageantry and guess work if you ask me." She said matter-of-factly, ready to challenge this girl's opinions if need be.

 

[Aegerine Night]

Aegerine nodded slowly, filing the information away for future reference. Having found someone whose opinion it seemed she might be able to respect, she would certainly take note of that opinion. "I haven't had the opportunity to experience his teaching yet," she admitted, "but the content I've read in the textbook shows promise." Aegerine had, in fact, only skimmed the textbook, but implying she'd read it was a flavour of showing off she couldn't resist. "I cannot say my lessons this semester have been inspiring in the slightest." Aegerine was pleasantly surprised that the girl shared her contempt for grades; though of course Aegerine liked to do well in class, the true benefit of learning was always for its own sake. "I quite agree; the aim of education should be the attainment of knowledge . . . although this school has not presented anything terribly fascinating thus far." Aegerine had been looking forward to Potions, knowing how much her mother enjoyed it, but they hadn't brewed anything so far, and the professor was obnoxiously cheerful. Of the rest, only Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic really caught her interest, and she wasn't taking either of them yet. "I hadn't really pondered the veracity of the hat's judgements," she said slowly, "considering that Ravenclaw is most evidently the correct house for me, but it is true I have seen disappointingly little evidence of intellect in my housemates. I doubt they are truly arbitrary, but certainly I cannot ascribe great wisdom to a mere hat."

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney listened carefully as the other girl spoke, pleased to find someone else who agreed with her that grades were all nonsense anyway at least. She knew she was smart, she didn't need some professor with credentials from merlin knows where, if any, telling her how smart based on some outdated curriculum. "Styx at least seems to want to encourage his students to actually think and apply their knowledge, rather than just read and regurgitate some old textbook definitions," She said, proud with how much she had enjoyed Professor Styx's classes when the general school population seemed to dread them. "I do wish he was allowed to show us some of the really interesting dark magic, but I bet the school's too afraid to let him," She said in a huff, letting herself speak a bit more candidly. Moving further down the stairs, Sydney settled against the wall near the window, still enjoying the slight height advantage and trying to come across aloof and affected. She was curious about this mysterious other girl, but still wary of the potential competition that came with having someone who was clearly smart enough to share some of her views. "I'm Sydney," she offered, hoping her nonchalant attitude didn't betray her curiosity too much.