Open Tent Living: Day Three

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina was managing her new home relatively well. She had placed her blanket over the tree branch and managed to keep it grounded with rocks around the edges. She wasn't sure how she had drug all her belongings down the castle and grounds without someone asking her why, but the girl wasn't going to question it. She would live out here until told otherwise. Inside her home, there was a pillow and sleeping bag as well as some snacks she had collected from the great hall. She had also pinned a few pictures to the inside of the tent. All of this was easily dismantled each morning when she stuffed it in a bag and then levitated it to rest on a branch above. Since classes were over, she had made her way back down to the lake and set up her belongings. She stopped by her room quickly each day to grab new clothes and shower but had made it almost impossible to interact with her roommates. It was day three, and the weather was relatively nice today. She decided to sit near her tent and look through one of her favorite graphic novels.


OOC: The tent looks something like this in regards to tree, but it is no where near as fancy.

 

[Brooke Townsend]

With the weather starting to warm up into something more closely resembling a nice day, Brooke had decided to forego studying in her common room and take a break out by the lake. She was under not illusion that she would be get back to work later, but she knew it wouldn't do her any good to sit inside all year just because she wanted to do better this year. Getting exercise and fresh air was an important part of being well-rounded, after all, she reasoned.

The lake was fairly busy with classes being over, and Brooke hung back a bit near the treeline, not wanting to get splashed by any of the students messing around in the water. It was pleasant though, and Brooke enjoyed the sunshine for a moment before turning when some noise in trees caught her attention. "Hello?" She called out, hand lingering near where her wand was in her pocket. It was unlikely that there was anything dangerous this far on school grounds, but Brooke was still cautious, stepping more towards the brush and blinking in surprise at the set up she saw. "Oh are you.. Camping?" She said, baffled at the sight of Seraphina My sitting by what was probably meant to be a tent.

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina heard a voice nearby and wasn't surprised, seeing as she was technically in a public place. But then she recognized it and peeked out of her tent. Rolling her eyes at the the Slytherin's comment, she leaned back against the tree. "No, I'm not camping," she said with disgust. What she was doing was definitely not camping. It was for the survival of her sanity. Figuring it wouldn't last too long, she was trying to embrace every moment away from the Gryffindor dorms. Flipping a page, she turned back to Brooke and stared. "If you wouldn't mind, you're disturbing the general atmosphere so I'd like you to go away." Her eyes went back to the book as she hoped the girl would leave.

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke should have remembered how unpleasant Seraphina could be, but she still tried to keep her expression to a level of polite interest despite the other girl's brusque attitude. "Sorry, I just thought with the tent and all you might be. You certainly look... Comfortable," She said mildly, taking a moment to look over the set up a second time speculatively. It did seem rather more permanent and high effort if Seraphina were just out here to read or something, and Brooke was terribly curious what exactly she was up to. "Wait, are you living out here?" She asked as the thought dawned on her, ignoring Seraphina's dismissal. She couldn't imagine why anyone would want to live outside like this, but then again Seraphina seemed to be an odd girl, so Brooke wouldn't completely put it past her.

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina shrugged when Brooke said she was comfortable. It wasn't her ideal living arrangement, but neither was the castle at the moment. She didn't want to give an inkling that she wasn't thankful for her current housing and looked straight at Brooke after her question. "If I tell you yes, will you go away? Because you didn't ask to enter my space, and frankly, it's quiet rude." She pursed her lips as her head tilted and then went back to her book, hoping that Brooke would take the hint and leave her alone. It was then that she remembered Brooke's sister was a prefect, someone she had met when she signed up for the SDA. Turning back to the girl, she tried to be a little more... pleasant. "And I would appreciate you not bringing anyone else to my tent."

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke gave Seraphina another vaguely polite smile, not really wanting to give her rudeness much more acknowledgement than that. "I really am sorry, I had no idea the outdoors belonged to people. Or that it was anyone's dorm," She said sweetly. Brooke was considering listening to Seraphina's request and leaving her to be some weird hermit out in the woods if she wanted, though she was almost definitely going to casually mention it to the first professor she saw, but Seraphina's request made her pause. "Are you hiding out here? Is something wrong with your dorm?" She asked, wondering if Ivy knew anything. Or maybe if it was something to do with Ivy. "If someone's bullying you, you can tell me," She said, trying to appear open and caring so Seraphina would tell her more.

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina took in a large sigh as Brooke continued to talk to her. It was frustrating when people wouldn't do the simple tasks she asked of them. She realized that this was in fact a public space, but it didn't mean everyone had to be interrupting her while she was trying to use it. But her angst subsided a smidge when Brooke brought up her dorm. While that was in fact the problem, she wasn't going to tell someone who wasn't even her friend. And it wasn't like the problem in her dorm could be solved unless they kicked out one or preferabley all of her roommates. Ivy could potentially stay. Maybe it was the only child syndrome affecting her view on life, but this year, everyone seemed more irritating. "No one is bullying me," she started, huffing and shutting her book, "but thanks for the concern," she finished sarcastically as she squinted her eyes towards Brooke. Seraphina was doubtful Brooke actually cared about her plights.

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke tried not to let Seraphina's surliness get to her, politely ignoring her sighing and huffing with how clearly she wanted Brooke to leave. Brooke had no interest in hanging around longer than she needed to, but she was also very interested in what exactly Seraphina was doing out here. If she was breaking school rules, Brooke could probably get some brownie points for reporting her, but if she was out here after being bullied, it would look awfully bad for Brooke to tell on her for seeking refuge. "Really? Are you sure? Because it kind of looks like you're living out here. And I can't imagine you would want to do that voluntarily," Brooke said, eyes wide with concern. "Besides, if you're just out here for fun, surely that counts as breaking curfew? It's amazing you haven't been caught yet." Brooke tapped her chin thoughtfully. It wasn't exactly a threat, but it wasn't not a threat either.

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina paused when Brooke said "living." It was true that she had almost had been caught quite a few times, but whatever punishment a professor would provide would not be as bad as having to stay in that room. However, if Brooke was under the impression that she could use this as leverage against her, Seraphina wouldn't let that happen. Her classmates were insufferable enough, and she didn't want to be the butt of anyone's joke. "Who would want to live out here?" she asked sarcastically, quickly popping the sheet off the tree and starting to stuff it into her bag. "I mean, with all that we have in the castle, this is pretty old school." She grabbed the remainder of her things, throwing the bag over her shoulder, and grabbed her graphic novel. "But seeing as my peaceful hiding spot has been discovered, I think I'll find a new one." Seraphina gave Brooke an indifferent look and started to walk back up to the castle, resigning to the fact that she would at least need to live in the Gryffindor Common Room for the time being.