Open Sing A Sweet Song, Oh Nightingale

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia was here now, and she wasn't sure what came next. She hadn't gone to the Yule Ball, she hadn't lingered over long at Halloween, but she knew she had to put in an effort to go to school events and try to put herself out there more. Not that she wasn't talking to people enough, in her own opinion, but she didn't exactly have many friends. It suited her fine, of course, but her father had expressed concern. She'd retorted that it wasn't like he had many friends either and he'd sent her to her room for that. She sighed, brushing her hair aside and feeling a little silly. She'd never really dressed up before and she'd hardly recognized herself when she'd put on something passably fashionable. She didn't really know if it was genuinely fashionable, but it was different without being too out of her comfort zone.

But she still wasn't quite sure what one was supposed to do at these sort of events. She found herself a seat somewhere amidst rosebushes, snacking on a cupcake but barely tasting it as her heart beat in her chest with nerves. What a peculiar feeling, she thought. She felt rather curious as to what everyone was thinking. Probably of very little worthwhile, but it would have been nice to understand.

 

[Ryan Fisk]

"Excuse me," Ryan said briskly as he stepped over the bench the girl was sitting on, stopping near her to peer expectantly at the rosebose next to her. He'd been watching the garden for several minutes now but he wasn't sure he was even close to figuring out a pattern to it yet. At least it was far more interesting a way to pass that time at tonight's dance than the usual activities. Even with her having graduated, Ryan could still here the voice of his sister insisting he at least try to enjoy the school events this year despite him being sure he wasn't missing anything important. At least the enchanted garden was more interesting that watching Augustus and Addison be sappy and boring as they just stared at each other all night. "Has this one moved yet?" He asked the girl, still watching the bush closely as he pointed at it.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia was stunned by the movement of the rosebushes at first - not by the fact that they moved, more by the fact she was genuinely not expecting them to. She had to hide the tiniest of smirks when the movement of one exposed two students far closer than they should have been, who quickly separated and brushed themselves off to move elsewhere. Doing something like that seemed so silly, such a waste of time. Embarrassing themselves. She looked up at the boy who moved over her bench, following his gaze (and point) to the rosebushes. "I think it may have a few minutes ago," she responded, trying to remember. She looked back up at the boy, then back to the rosebush, now half expecting to see it move. "Do you think they are enchanted to move specifically to stop people from kissing?" She pronounced the last word with utter disdain, seeming to find the concept unpalatable.

 

[Ryan Fisk]

Ryan hummed in acknowledgement, hunkering down more on his heels as he peered at the bush, giving it an experimental poke before looking at the girl curiously when she asked a question. "Like a... Kiss sensing charm?" He said with a raised eyebrow, looking back at the bush. It sounded pretty ridiculous but then again he'd heard of magic being used for weirder reasons. And it would certainly make chaperoning the dance easier. "I've heard dumber things though I'm not really in the best position to test the theory," he eventually added, glancing over his shoulder when a smaller shrub shuffled conspicuously away, frowning after it. "I think they're moving at random, I've been trying to time them to be sure," he said, squinting back at the bush he'd originally been staring at as if to dare it to more and contradict him.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia looked down at her skirt, a little embarrassed that she'd even suggested such a thing. Still, there was plenty of charms she had no idea about yet, and she wasn't too proud to admit it. And if it hadn't been created, well, she'd just create new charms herself. It wasn't something she'd be able to do right away, of course, but it wasn't out of the realm of future possibilities. "Perhaps not," she agreed, politely. If the school was putting this event on they probably didn't really have a problem with kissing. "That makes sense. There doesn't seem to be too much logic behind it. I think that one has moved three times already," she added, pointing to one a little off to the side, before turning her focus back to the rosebush the older boy was staring at, content to wait to see if and when it moved.

 

[Ryan Fisk]

Ryan looked curiously at the bush the girl indicated too, squinting at it for a moment instead. Right as he'd turned to look however, the one he'd crouched in front of seemed to decide to finally move, shuffling practically over Ryan who could only let out a muffled yelp before the bush had passed by him, leaving him sprawled on the hall floor, covered in a small shower of leaves and petals. "... Wait how long have I been standing here," he said after a few dazed blinks.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia jumped at the sudden movement, letting out a small squeak as it brushed over the older boy. She fumbled with her drink, desperately trying not to spill it on her dress. She didn't know how to do a cleaning charm yet, unfortunately. (She had tried it when her father asked her to clean her room and her wand had backfired on her, making even more of a mess). Yuelia was certainly not strong by any stretch of the imagination, but she crouched and offered a hand anyway, thinking it was the nice thing to do. The older boy was a bit weird but she didn't mind. She was kind of odd herself, as she was unfortunately aware. "Are...you okay? It's...I don't have a watch," she added, a bit pathetically.