adventure is out there

                      HE  HATED  IT       ,     how  quick  she  was  to  place  the  creature  in  his  hand     .     Alastor  Moody  wasn’t  one  to  rely  heavily  on  reputations     ,     but  he  liked  his             it  left  very  little  to  be  desired     .     People  kept  their  distance  and     ,     in  turn     ,     he  could  do  whatever  his  damn  little  heart  desired     .     He  was  NOT  a  boy  who  stared  at  a  creature  and  thought  oh  that’s  cute     !     And  yet  he  felt  a  chill  as  he  eyed  the  tiny  thing      ,     somewhat  overwhelmed  by  how  adorable  it  actually  was     .      Listening  to  her  words     ,    he  kept  his  hand  as  open  as  possible     ,     perhaps  stretching  it  even  further  the  opposite  way     ,     his  palm  raised  in  the  air     .       ❛    A  dodge     ?      ❜      Alastor  looked  up  in  a  haze     ,     her  own  distraction  having  caught  him  off-guard      .      He  hated  talking  about  himself       .      Even  the  idea  caused  him  to  grumble     ,     his  gaze  falling  back  on  the  knarl      .       ❛     This  thing  is  hideous     .     Get  him  off  me     .     And  I  have  no  problem  talking  to  my  friends  about  those  things              but  I'm  afraid  I  don’t  remember  us  ever   .  .  .      It  is     .     A  lot  of  the  time     .     I  like  this  room     ,    it’s  peaceful      .    ❜

❛ basically the deal goes like this: thirty one galleons and you get a tattoo of your choice. if they’re small, i’ll even do two or three. i’ve got the muggle gun here too if you’re up for it but that ones a little trickier to conceal if you’re iffy about the backlash, so keep that in mind.❜ marlene offered the person in front of her a tightlipped smile, nudging the small journal stuffed with drawings forward, a portfolio of sorts to ensure her work was alright. anything to make ends meet at this point. ❛ are you up for it?❜

❝  could they move ?  ❞   artemis asked curiously, too quickly, maybe. brilliant visions of painted dragon wings soaring over pale skin clouding her sense. potential filicide be damned. without waiting for the answer, she tugged the offered book towards her to study the witch’s clear skill. another, more sociable person might’ve jumped forth with all sorts of contrived compliments, but after a heavy pause there was no questioning her honesty.    ❝  . . . these are lovely, marlene.  ❞   

“um artemis? marbles found his way into the ravenclaw common room… again” she said gingerly holding out the prickly creature she had cradled in her hands “he’s a mischievous wee thing, isn’t he?”

@vrtcmiis

    artemis glanced up sharply from the rare moment she’d spared for schoolwork.   ❝   thank you, elodie. he must have found this sitting about even more boring than i do,   ❞   came her hasty explanation, chin ducking with an apologetic smile. the last thing she needed was anyone seeing him as some sort of   nuisance. not that she wouldn’t follow him right out this school’s doors, should she need to. it wasn’t until she’d reached for him, && uttered a scolding about   running off  under her breath, that artemis spared the ravenclaw an inquisitive look.     ❝     . . . you seem displeased. did he make some sort of,  ah-- . . .trouble ?  ❞ 

    THE  GIRL  WAS  A  LITTLE  STRANGE      .    That  wasn’t  a  revelation  or  something  Andromeda  was  surprised  by      .     Everyone  with  eyes  could  see  that  Artemis  Scamander  preferred  the  company  of  beasts  over  humans            but  really     ,     what  was  the  difference  anyways     ?       ❛    You’ve  set  the  bar  a  little  low     ,     haven’t   you     ?      ❜     In  that  case      ,      the  middle  Black  sister  was  the  nicest  person  to  walk  the  halls  of  Hogwarts      .    Ha     !     The  hilarity  of  it  all      .       ❛    Maybe      .     Here’s  to  hoping  I  never  find  out      .     ❜      She  clinked  her  invisible  glass   in  the  air      ,      biting  down  on  the  joke  that  lingered  on  her  tongue       ;      she’d  certainly  SAT  through  hell      ,     at  many  of  her  family  dinners       .       ❛      Out  of  curiosity       ,      what  are  those  ELUSIVE  circumstances      ,     huh     ?    ❜

    HE  DIDN’T  RESPOND     ,     nor  did  he  open  his  eyes      .     He  knew  exactly  who  it  was      ,     the  tone  of  her  voice  practically  burned  into  his  memory      .      She  wasn’t  the  best  with  people   and  yet      ,     for  some  reason     ,     she  found  him  to  be  as  interesting  as  one  of  her  creatures      .      He’d  been  called  a  beast  before     ,     but  the  circumstances  were  a  LITTLE  different    .      Of  course     ,    Alastor  would  be  a  liar  if  he  said  the  persistence  wasn’t  nice    .     He  actually  enjoyed  her  company      (     but  he’d  never  admit  that     )       .      ❛    Only  when  I’m  awake      .     ❜       The  boy  finally  opened  his  eyes      ,      his  gaze  immediately  narrowing  on  the  hedgehog  she  had  on  her  person      ;      an  embarrassing  sound  followed      ,     one  made  of  surprise      .        ❛      I  keep  forgetting  about  him      .  .  .     joke’s  on  you  when  you  say  you’ve  lost  your  Marbles    ,     huh      ?       ❜

                               pretending to sleep even when he was awake. it was the sort of tactic reserved for those of solitary nature.  hibernating through hardship.  so with even his barest hint of interest displayed, artemis was up and moving to pull the knarl from her pocket.   ❝   i try hard not to lose him.   ❞     she agreed, words lacking inflection but her lips turned up in a smile. the little creature was curled and prickly. but there was no hesitation as she snatched up alastor’s hand and rolled marbles into the slytherin’s palm with far more care than she showed for anything else. she was lost in conversation, and yet for this one talent, she was  meticulous.  attention absorbed, the movements of her fingers light and assured, so strange and stark a contrast to her fumbling of manners and  tact.    ❝  if you keep your hand open, the spines won’t stun you.  ❞    the warning (which greatly diminished the actual danger of said quills) was spoken soft yet confident, like an afterthought of something perceived obvious.  artemis’ eye was always difficult to catch, currently her gaze held by the slight twitches of movement from the creature as it sniffed the other’s thumb.    ❝   that was a very clever dodge. distraction ?  ---very advanced. . . . almost missed it, myself.  ❞  glancing up from the hedgehog-like creature, artemis studied him just as carefully.   ❝   do friends usually avoid talking about pastimes ?   ❞

“Not to be rude, but I think you may be walking away with my cauldron. It’s got the green stain on the side. Rather you didn’t ask thought.” @vrtcmiis

          ❛   —   don’t  be  too  OBVIOUS  about  it,  but  look  over  there,  by  the  tapestry  –  is  that  cat  professor  mcgonagall  ?  or  is  that  just  a  regular  cat  ?  merlin,  the  one  day  i  skip  her  class  …   ❜ 

              the point of   ‘obvious’   flying overhead, artemis turned to study the cat in question with no stealth whatsoever. her eyes narrowing in on the distinctive stripes around its eyes.    ❝  . . . i think mcgonagall has different markings.  ❞    she offered the comfort with a slow tilt of her head.  artemis turned her attention back to the gryffindor.    ❝   since you’re here,  skipping .  you must come help me with something .   ❞    

❝   you know, being misunderstood isn’t so terrible,  ---until you realize it’s happening.  ❞

❝   … keeping secrets  ?  ❞

❝   . . . 

                  yes.  ❞

 ❝   the one time i had the pleasure of experiencing it, it was that crisp autumn air,  smoldering wood like a bonfire, and---  . . . dirt.  well, moss actually.  probably some sort of   andreaea rupestris,  there’s a patch of it in the dungeons.  ❞

❝   dragons  .  there are these moments, when they fly, you see. they hang suspended, weightless and unfettered, the largest thing you’ve ever seen in your life and it’s simply floating. it’s wonderful, really. is there really  anything  more special than the destruction of expectations ?   ❞