xx⇴ Wʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀᴍ I?Golden Lotus xxx⇴ Wʜᴏ ɪs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ?Yangquiao xxxx⇴ Wʜᴀᴛ's ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴏɴ?Tea and Study Date xxxxx⇴ Wʜᴀᴛ'ʀᴇ ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs?Why am I blushing?
Kam had been super excited for this day, ever since he'd gotten Yang's letter about coming to visit the isles. He used advice from his friends, finally settling on a nice pair of jeans, a retro Hufflepuff tee-shirt, and a cozy jacket. Sure, it was mid-summer, but he was ever chilly. He got to the Lilting Lyre super early, pacing around while he waited for Yang to arrive. He also picked out a couple nice piano sonatas to practice on, plus a new set of strings for Iggy's guitar. One of them was close to breaking, and Kam knew the strings hurt like hell when they broke.
After a second, the door chimed and a familiar voice spoke up. The brunette rotated, looking over at the very girl he'd hoped to see. "Yang! Ah... Nǐ hǎo! I think I said that right? I... ah, got here earlier than expected. But that's okay, I did up some shopping." He gestured vaguely to the bag he was carrying. They walked up to the tea shop together, the boy holding open the door.
"I've been doing better lately. It... was rough going for a while there. But I'm better. Iggy's doing good, he and Aubrie are out doing their school shopping. I bet Iggy's looking for magizoology texts on dragons." He sent over a small grin, then ordered a nice mug of Chai. She asked about studying, and he couldn't help but giggle. "NEWTs. It stands for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Levels. The fifth year exams are the OWLs. And studying is going well enough. I'll need some help in Herbology and Wandlore, if I want to keep them pass them the second go-round." He ran a hand through his hair, waiting for his brain to supply more words. "How's your studying going? I've got all my notes written out and organized at home, and... and you're free to borrow them..." Now why were his ears getting warm? Tch.
❈✾YANGQIAOYARROWYU sixth year || Changlong || muggleborn Association of Noodle Enthusiasts || Future Healers Club || Dueling Club || Music Club _______________
Yang grinned when her friend greeted her in chinese. ”Ahh that was pretty good. You were practicing?”
That was curious, but a question for later. Besides, Yang was really more interested in how Kam had been. He’d written about having...well, about not being great over the year, so she listened with obvious relief when he said he was doing better. ”Good,” she commented with a serious nod. Yang had worried about what she could do from half a world away besides offer encouragement, but it seemed like he had good friends and family around him. Most importantly, everything seemed to be working out. ”I’m really glad for you. And really proud of you for facing that darkness and fighting it.” She gave him a friendly pat on the back as they found seats. And then it was good to hear about Iggy and Aubrie out shopping for their own things. She grinned when he mentioned Iggy off looking for dragon books. ”Classic Iggy.”
She ordered a rooibos tea and some light scones to snack on as they turned to talking about studying. ”NEWTs,” she repeated with a shake of her head. ”I can help with Herbology?” Yang offered, then paused, thinking of how she might be able to help with wandlore. There wasn’t an equivalent class for it at Long Jiang, but from the bit she’d heard from Kam, she had an idea of what Wandlore studies entailed. ”Actually, the summer text for occult theory had a chapter on wand construction? I’m not sure if it’s exactly what you’re looking for, but there were a few diagrams explaining how different properties of the wand work together.”
She shrugged casually when he asked how her studying was going. She knew exactly her placements in each of her classes, but he knew all that already from their letters, along with her usual complaints. Occult Theory had too much homework that was always interesting but still a lot, Divination was the weirdest class and she loved it, stuff like that. ”The usual complaints. I definitely want to raid your transfiguration notes though. Other than that... I’ll scrape an A in Tai Chi no problem but...music magic.” she made a face at the subject, not because she didn’t like it, but because of a few unpleasant memories about music club over the last month of school. She shrugged it off again. ”I could always use more practice there, aaand if we find an appropriate spot, I brought my guqin this time.” Sticking her instrument into the void of a magical bag had been odd, but she knew Kam played the piano and figured it was only fair to bring her own instrument.
”Sounds like your house for studying then? If your family won’t mind? And we can we can duplicate some notes.“ she confirmed.
When their drinks arrived, Yangqiao took a moment to properly look around the tea shop, admiring the ambiance. It was nice to just sit and get a cup of tea without feeling like she had to be studying through it. ”The Golden Lotus could run a side business in reading tea leaves. That would have been a pretty cool summer job...and you could practice divination and herbology without really casting spells,” she murmured thoughtfully. She had her weekend job checking people in and fixing dummies at the dueling range back home, but this would have been a nice idea. ”You’re not doing a summer internship or job, right?"
_______________
settingGolden Lotus, July 2048 || with Kam Hepburn wearing Casual clothes || status Tea and Friends _______________ //OOC: Please assume that school impressions/ knowledge of her working at the dueling range would have been conveyed through letter. Feel free to turn the summer work thread into post-grad thoughts as well.
Miss GryffindorK
_______________
All of these cuts and bruises that will fade away I act as if they've made me that much wiser And like a turning wheel, the time keeps moving on The pain from yesterday is now just so long gone The only truth slips through my fingertips in the end Let me keep on dreaming as I watch the days just pass me on by ✾❈ ~"Hysteria" by Nano
xx⇴ Wʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀᴍ I?Golden Lotus xxx⇴ Wʜᴏ ɪs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ?Yangquiao xxxx⇴ Wʜᴀᴛ's ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴏɴ?Tea and Study Date xxxxx⇴ Wʜᴀᴛ'ʀᴇ ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs?Why am I blushing?
Kam nodded when Yang asked about his practicing. "I'm sure trying to. It's hard to get over my accent enough to get the dialect right." He sighed, though the noise contained a note of happy annoyance. He was far better at reading and writing in Chinese than he was at speaking it. After speaking on his mental health, Yang luckily left most of it alone, just enough to acknowledge that he'd said it. She did, however, add a note of compliment onto it.
Gladly for Kam, the topic jumped quickly to their studies. He hummed softly, grinning a bit. "Yes, NEWTs. And yes please, I'd love Herbology help. It's rather tricky for me." With wandlore, Yang's idea was a bit different, but he figured it might help. "It would be a different way to go around it, but I'd like to try. It sounds good! And I can pass over notes for music to you, since I've got oodles. I don't have a music magic course, though, so they might not help." He grinned when he said she'd brought her guqin on the trip and he was excited to hear her play. "What about a duet? With the piano.... and me?" He felt heat rise to his ears again, though he really couldn't say just why...
"Sure, we can go to my house. Got lots of room.... and my own room to hide out in so the younger kids won't bother us." He laughed, wondering how his twin would react to being classified as a "younger kid", but he didn't think Iggy would be too terribly mad. A teacup was set before him, Kam thanking the waitress before adding a teaspoon of honey to his tea. "Ah, I don't know much about divination. I never took the class. I always assumed it was secretly just for Seers or people trying to get an easy grade by making stuff up." He blushed at that thought, hoping he hadn't accidentally offended Yang.... oops. Luckily, she asked about a job and the brunette was able to shake his head. "No, my parents want us to focus on school. Work takes a back-seat to education, you know?" He ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip nervously.
❈✾YANGQIAOYARROWYU sixth year || Changlong || muggleborn Association of Noodle Enthusiasts || Future Healers Club || Dueling Club || Music Club _______________
”You’re understandable,” Yang encouraged, touched her pen pal had gone into all the trouble to learn her language on top of all the schoolwork he had. "Can you read too now?"
”Duet? Uhm...” Yang seemed surprised and nervous at Kam’s offer to a duet. While she had been playing the instrument for almost four years now, music was usually at the bottom of her practice priorities, focusing on just enough to be able to cast the magic. She had been prepared to play a few songs, but without sheet music and lots practice… ”Ah, what the hell, sounds fun. Fair warning though, I’m pretty average.”
She was happy to laugh when Kam confirmed his house would be the next stop. ”Such little kids,” she chimed, wondering too what comical response Iggy might have. Ah, having siblings always sounded like a riot. Kam got another laugh out of her when he mentioned divination being an easy grade. ”Hardly. Not going to lie, though, my friend Geling straight up made up this dream about being in a bamboo glade and then just kept repeating it for two months! When we moved on, she just built off of it: saw pandas in tea leaves and sunsets in fires. I thought it was pretty clever, actually. For her LOTUS all she had to do was rewrite the same description she’d been writing all year. Got an O for it too!” Yang shook her head, laughing as she remembered her own indignation when she found out. Remembering Kam had taken Arithmancy though, Yang brought the “numbers version” of divination up, inviting him to comment: ”She did the same thing with divination by arithmancy and somehow was able to make her answers compelling, if that makes it better.”
Work takes a back-seat to education. Yang nodded; at a fundamental level, she agreed completely, and it was a good reminder. They had the biggest exams of their lives coming up. ”That makes sense. My dad doesn’t really have money to spare, so I got a job so I could get things when we went to the wizarding village over the year. But you're right: schoolwork comes first.” She glanced down at her tea, regretting she had brought up work.
“I’m thinking of quitting.” After a pause, she explained with a quiet sigh. ”Hu’s the one who got me the job, right? So he got all the same shifts as me last summer. Only this summer it’s not as cute. I asked the manager to make our schedules different, but he's there full-time now.” She sipped the strong rooibos, thinking it over. "School work first. Maybe I just quit and spend the rest of the summer focused on studying."
Early June 2048 letter
Hey Kam-- Travel plans are set! You’ll probably receive this confirmation via text before the letter arrives, but unless I get my dueling privileges revoked, i’ll be at the workshop and see you afterwards. We’ll be staying at the Leaky Cauldron, so anywhere on Diagon Alley you’d want to meet? I can probably floo somewhere too, but am not sure i’m comfortable enough apparating around England yet.
It feels weird not to be cramming for exams. Of course we’ll be studying for our lives this time next year, but it feels weird to be able to take a break from it all and write a letter right before exam time.
Right, so Dueling privileges-- So…. Zhao Hu and I broke up earlier last month.. And I guess...well, you were really forthcoming with yours so...I guess I’m hoping you don’t mind if I write about breakups too. It was just a giant game. His friends have this sick game where they bet on how many people they can date or how many hearts they can break. Not just the girls, though it’s definitely more common. Anyways, he talked to me after I found out and almost convinced me that we--”we”-- were different...we’d been together for almost a year after all. But then one of his friends brought me the evidence: he’d seen about 8 other girls during that year. At one point he was seeing three of us at the same time. That changed his tune and he threatened to destroy my social status if I reported it. I reported it anyways, of course. Yuhei and I put together a bunch of notes and convinced people to testify.
I wasn’t exactly attentive to all of it, since...class, clubs, work… But I confronted the other girls he’d screwed over and what struck me was that two of them didn’t say anything because they actively didn’t like me. I didn’t know I was so unlikable. So yeah. Props to him for having so much time to kill. It’s my fault for being an idiot for not seeing through the act. But I’m sure not shedding any tears if he fails his Finals over the fallout. I may have also punched him through a portal and scratched him up to help with that. it earned me detention for the rest of the year and I couldn’t work weekends. They’re debating whether to revoke my dueling privileges, but Yuhei and Geling both don’t think they’ll actually do that. I won’t be surprised if his mom fails me though, lol.
Anyways, thanks for letting me write this all to you. It’s nice knowing that there’s someone reading this. ~Yarrow Yu
_______________
settingEntering the Golden Lotus, July 2048 || with Kam Hepburn wearing Casual clothes || status Tea and Friends _______________ //OOC: I make things up too >.<""" this is why my posts are so rambly.
Miss GryffindorK
_______________
All of these cuts and bruises that will fade away I act as if they've made me that much wiser And like a turning wheel, the time keeps moving on The pain from yesterday is now just so long gone The only truth slips through my fingertips in the end Let me keep on dreaming as I watch the days just pass me on by ✾❈ ~"Hysteria" by Nano
"Mr. Mortemer! I knew you're not mad at me, being here and all." Constant's cheerful demeanor shines through when he entered the shop seeing a dark-haired man named Garnet Mortemer, looking at the Dutch man with a very exhausted look on his face, this guy didn't even try to hide it.
"I don't want to see you here, actually," Garnet said, nonchalantly so, yet it's so miraculously polite, "I'm only here because my grandma sent me as some errand guy or something the last minute" Constant honestly is impressed for this Healer guy: grandmama's boy, apparently has a convicted murderer for a father, and yet he works as a healer in the hospital. This is the funniest irony of father-and-son story ever. Constant can't help but see himself in this guy.
"Don't you guys have house elves?"
"What can I say. I do like to touch grass. Not toxic gemstones." That alone made Constant actually laugh, given the context of an old story of a guy dying to gemstone toxicity. Apparently they're a Mortemer too, man Constant just loved listening to these wild stories. Better than listening about who cheats on who in stupid social climbing galas.
So here's the context, Constant actually didn't do anything for Garnet to dislike him. He just opened his mouth and all the sudden Garnet looked like a psychic where he decided his magic aura is rancid. He's not even a dark wizard. He's just an ordinary guy having fun. Maybe because this guy is repulsive towards cheerful and sociable people? He wasn't sure, either way Constant found Garnet hilariously insufferable. Such a stick-on-the-mud to the point Constant can't help but be as equally and comically insufferable. Garnet seemed like a guy who stays in his own business, but he did come across as someone who acts too emotionally constipated. That's why Constant always tries to provoke him anyway.
And even after Constant got the delivery, he managed to rope Garnet in a conversation because this Mortemer is apparently too polite to tell him to go away. Guy is probably way too self-conscious apparently. Also Constant thinks it's funny. At first they talk about Grandma Mortemer, then tea, then Constantly trying to test if Garnet is really a well-put man he think he was. Garnet's answers are so tight-lipped, all done with crossed arms when he not drinking tea. And then...
"But really though, you don't give a s**t about what people think of you. Even if it means having your mom as a Ministry worker."
"Do you ask this to every person you meet...? You're like a ********' Peter."
"I mean, I heard rumors about you. Kind of hard to avoid. I'm just saying that it's impressive you took the high ground after everything that happened-"
"That's because I know better than thriving off from some goddamn revenge fantasy. If you think that's boring, then go find someone else to gossip with." Garnet finally snapped, despite slowly rising up from his seat. If his guy was in Beauxbaton he'd ace in Etiquette class! Because of how Garnet pretended that he was looking at his own pocketwatch. Constant then noticed that Garnet closed his eyes before taking a deep breath, as if he's doing an internal mantra. "Anyway. You got what you needed, and I have work. Farewell."
"But your tea might get cold!" Constant exclaimed genuinely as Garnet placed his tea payment on the table before quietly leaving. Welp. At least he has the decency to pay. Oh well, Constant doesn't mind enjoying tea by himself.
spaceCeleste had barely popped her head into the tea shop when she overheard the conversation between the two men; having been too busy posing as her grandmother to have any time to herself, for relaxation or enjoying her own hobbies, it was sort of nice to be given such a perfect opportunity to indulge in her need for eavesdropping and gossip. And without even having had to look for it! Her purpose in coming here had been to relax with some tea, out of the house (which Sorin had pointed out, they couldn't remodel, on account of it looking pretty suspicious after all this time... damn him for being so logical), and to buy some tea to gift to various political powerhouses and "friends." It was always good, after all, to keep people thinking well of you.
spaceThat particular mission, she thought, could wait easily enough. She drifted slightly towards the two men, both of whom she knew on sight, though for very different reasons. Keeping enough of a distance she wouldn't be suspicious, and keeping her gaze on the various tea sets and accessories the shop sold as if she were contemplating a purchase, she listened in, curious. Unfortunately, she seemed to've missed a fair bit of the confrontation, if it could be called that. Alas, she was left to piece together what they might've been arguing about, and wasn't being given much in the way of clues. Pity.
spaceAs Garnet Mortemer left in a huff, Celeste debated for a moment, the relaxed her posture, sidling over towards Constant. She'd never interacted with him before while wearing her own face, of course, but she remembered their one encounter quite well. Well enough that she had at least some idea of how to interact with him, which was good. She hated interacting with perfect strangers; they were always so unpredictable, until you got their patterns down. Constant was hardly a known entity, but he also wasn't a complete stranger, so she reasoned this interaction would go better than the last.
space"I believe I'm supposed to feign politeness while skirting around asking what that was all about,"she began with an amused tone,"but I hardly think you'd be one to scold me for my poor manners, after all that. So I'll be honest and say I was eavesdropping and am curious."Eyes crinkled in amusement, she gestured towards the chair Garnet had vacated."May I join you? I'm on my own today and it's been incredibly boring. I'm starved for conversation."
spaceAfter a pause, she offered her hand to him as well, for a polite but informal handshake."Celeste Kinsley, by the way,"she said, unaware of whether or not he'd know her name or her history. At this point, though, it was all such ancient history, who really cared? Other than the supposedly 'marriageable' men in her social circle, but she hated them all with a burning passion. She was glad that she'd long since played the role of a beleaguered grandmother who'd given up on marrying her granddaughter off; having to pretend to search for her own suitors had been the most tedious thing she'd ever had to do.
"Hm?" Is all Constant can say when a stranger came up to him, the way she spoke made him think that perhaps he and Garnet weren't talking a bit quietly. Or maybe Mr. Mortemer's presence is simply unavoidable? Constant didn't know, but the more he thought about it the more he's curious. But that's for another day. "Oh, pfft, no I wouldn't blame you," Constant laughed, grinning as he put down his cup of tea. "I believe I find it easier to talk to people who don't worry too much about formalities, you're correct. Then again, I guess I'm just a straightforward fun guy. Can't say the same for Mr. Mortemer though," He casually said so, letting the lady sit down to the chair Garnet left.
"Honestly, what happened between me and that Gemstone guy isn't really that personal. I actually met him because I'm acquainted with his grandmother Ester, who's a herbologist. I didn't do anything to him but I guess he decided that he doesn't like me? For no reason? He's so grouchy, how did he even become a healer? Or am I just that privileged where Mr. Mortemer is polite and nice to everyone except me? I think that would be funny," he chuckled, genuinely amused of the thought of Garnet smiling to his wife as if she's an angel, and then turning to Constant telling him to piss off. Hehe. "What's his deal, you know? Do you have any hunch or ideas? Not to be nosy, I know it's technically none of my business. But I mean, now this is honestly far more amusing than the charity ball gossips back in Netherlands. None of the love affair conspiracies and all that, so unoriginal!"
The dutchman cheerfully took her handshake, as he clearly has no idea about the surname "Kinsley" whatsoever. Maybe he did hear it at one point in the past by his old man's marriage bickerings, but he just didn't care. Probably. Surnames are just surnames. Nothing more, nothing less. That being said, he has no problem anymore saying that he's the son of a dead musty prestigious richman named Edward Van Groot. His family may still be as rich as ever, but what used to be praises of perfection and grace are now replaced with urban legends and what-a-shame's. "Nice to meet you, Celeste. I'm Constant Van Groot. I work as a musician 'round these parts."
spaceCeleste was pleased that her instinct and memory hadn't led her astray; it would've been quite annoying to've gotten told off for sticking her nose into the man's business. Particularly since he hadn't been particularly quiet about that business, anyway. Still, his good mood was quite encouraging, so she took the seat at his acquiescence, not altogether worried about getting her own tea. She'd see to it shortly.
spaceSomewhat to her surprise, the man was quite a chatterbox, which was fine by her. It meant she'd have plenty to listen to. Celeste had never been much of a talker, that particular trait having been "undesirable" in a proper young lady according to her father and grandmother. But she did love to listen. Particularly to gossip, and most particularly to such odd gossip. Truthfully, she only somewhat followed her companion's ramblings, but that was quite alright. She pieced it together well enough to enjoy the information.
As he spoke, she 'hm'ed' and nodded in all the right places, expression amused, and somewhat thoughtful. At a pause, she noted,"I've not personally interacted with the family that I know of,"she said softly,"but I believe I had heard about them having a healer in the family who was something of a grouch."She smiled demurely, laughing a little."I suppose he must be quite good at his job, if he's no bedside manner."
spacePrivately, she quite disagreed with the idea that the 'love affair conspiracies' were boring, if only because they could be useful. Easy enough to manipulate someone when they were cheating on their spouse, after all. She'd done her fair share of that. Even played the mistress a couple of times, though she'd been playing the small cons to keep herself from being noticed. And never with her own face and name, of course. But, then, not everyone saw the world as she did. Sorin found it all incredibly boring as well. Celeste simply thought he had no vision.
spaceShe was sure to give a good handshake, firm, but not too presumptuous. Being a woman, she had to demure, after all, and it was in her nature to do so. Had been beaten into her nature, at the very least. There was a reason she rarely pretended to be a man. She smiled at Constant, eyes lighting with interest at his occupation."A musician? That must be so interesting. Do you write your own music? Perform classics? Covers?"This, actually, surprised her. She wasn't sure what she'd expected his job to be, but a musician wasn't on the list. Now that she thought about it, though, she supposed it might explain some of his temperament. As well as what he'd been doing in a seedy place like Knockturn the night she'd first met him. Musicians played all sorts of bars around there, so perhaps he was leaving or arriving for a performance, or scoping out a potential spot for one.
