brave little knight

She grinned again as he agreed with her, rather glad that she’d decided to take a chance on a new friend. “I’m Coralynn, by the way. Or just Cora. I don’t think I introduced myself,” she said, offering a hand to shake. “A truly lovely way to end the year. It’s nice to see everyone having fun.” The voice wasn’t meant for her, she was rather certain, but she still heeded it as she glanced upwards. A funny little…plant? “The decorations are nice as well.”

“Where are my manners, it’s a pleasure to meet you Cora.” shaking her hand, he continued, “I’m George.” tilting his head politely, he grinned at her. 

“Oh I’m having plenty of fun, after all, there’s hot chocolate and cookies.” She said, smiling, “And yes, most of you do look ridiculous. But I think that’s admirable in a way,” Lucinda sighed, “I always let looking ridiculous stop me from doing what I want to do.”

“I hope so, I suppose, this all started because I wanted to prove I could do it.” Xio cracked her back, she’d been bent over the metal tube for what felt like hours, trying to cut it just right. “I believe so, the way that their metal looked… it was different, I’m not sure how they did it. They couldn’t quite explain it right, different languages. But I think I am very close,” it was frustrating, to see something she didn’t understand, though she could speak several languages it was hard to exchange theories and thoughts through the barrier. But she made do with watching, note taking, and working through it, with an almost obsessive manner. “Not sure, have you ever worked in a forge before? I might take a break from it, let it rest and move onto the next project and then come back when it’s less… hectic up here,” Xio tapped the side of her skull with her knuckle, though she was more at home in any sweltering furnace than any place else in the world, even she needed to step back. 

“I think it’s something in the heating process.” she replied honestly, “India is a very different world than here, I think even what type of metals they use might be different.” she leaned back over to look at the metal tube, it was dark, but not quite the same color as the ones she’d seen. 

“No, I’ve watched and observed, but I’ve never had the chance.” he was an involved land-owner, more involved then most of his friends, but still, his hands weren’t made for this sort of work.  “That’s a good idea. Let your mind rest, look away for a second so you can see what’s right in front of you when you face it again.” 

Freddy blinked before nodding, “I know a few people like that,” her mind drew to Antony, who lost his arm during a battle and instead tended to the sheep, wielding a large staff as if it were a blade. “I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t walk…” lie down and die probably. The Slytherin girl laughed, “Oh I don’t know, I don’t like getting drunk, I do idiotic things when I drink. I suppose next time they come calling we can just drop caskets of mead on their heads, it’ll knock them out.” she couldn’t help but grin at the mental image.

“It’s not my idea of fun,” Lucinda said, surveying the chaos with critical eyes. “Definitely not worth my dress.” She chuckled, “I’m not sure we have.” She said, “But I do think I’ve seen you around, I’m Lucinda West.” She offered a hand. “I was just a bit bored over there.” She gestured vaguely.

“Definitely, I feel like I learn something new every day here,” she said with a little giggle. “But I guess that’s kinda the point, isn’t it? I mean— we are at a school,” Cora laughed. “Oh, definitely!” Her smile was bright with the words. “The feast is wonderful with all the food, and dancing, and music. And everyone looks so happy.” 

“You are absolutely right!” he can’t understand people who complain about classes or learning, isn’t that why they are all here? To enjoy the school? To experience this wonderful opportunity?  “It’s a perfect way to end the year,” a hand clapped him on the shoulder suddenly, one of the guys from his house, who seemed to be really enjoying the party. 

Tomas didn’t like to scare people who couldn’t defend themselves. It’s why he always looked after children and animals. But it was fun to scare fully grown men, Tomas smirking at George. He leaned up, since he was the shorter of the two, and kissed the knight. 

In some parts of society, Tomas knew it wasn’t considered acceptable for men to kiss other men. In the slums he grew up in, no one could afford to judge. The few people who tried to judge him and Charon for their behaviour had always regretted it quickly. “You are pretty enough to kiss. Not as pretty as me.” He said it with a completely straight face, curious to see how George would react now.

The young woman grinned and pushed up her sleeves, more than happy to explain, “I had traveled to Constantinople a few years ago, and while there made contact with metallurgists and alchemists from Indie, they have this way of tempering the steel and heating it in order to minimally change the properties. They forge welded wrought iron, they also don’t use lime in their forging process. I am trying to figure out how to do it on a small scale, and quickly, as their forging process took a long period of time.” Xio took a breath, having quickly run through her explanation, and then out of breath.

“George, well it’s nice to meet an equally quizzical mind.”

“Why?” Freddy blinked up at him, why would anyone who wasn’t grey and ancient just stop fighting. “You’re not that old? I’m not as good with a bow, but I prefer getting in close.” she struggled with the patience of being an archer, it was a failing she needed to fix. “’Defuse the situation?’ Like when someone comes to raid your home you go ‘Hey maybe could you not rape and pillage, we have a spot of mead and talk it out’ while they start swinging axes. That’s just silly.”

Her own smile was instant to return his, glad that he seemed rather willing to speak with her. “Oh, good! And I know, it was quite a lot to become accustomed to, wasn’t it?” She said with a little laugh. Though at least her family had known about magic in some form. And she’d come into Hogwarts with much wonder.

Xio blinked before grinning, bright and wide, she strode back over the bucket and the pump. “Okay see here, this is the handle, the handle moves up and down and causes pressure to build, so that water will be drawn through here,” she pointed to the pipe, “and will come through the spout, the pipe can be made as long as the blacksmith can provide. It’ll be mostly made of metal, the pipe itself however comes from iron from India and a way they created metal. I won’t go into the specifics, but they figured out how to prevent long term corrosion during the creation of the iron. I learned how to do it a few years ago, and been experimenting with it. Once I figure it out I’m going to detail it and teach it to others.” finally she took a breath. Her eyes were wide and excited, “Oh, I’m Xio, good to meet you Mr. Former Sir Knight.”

The explanation was fascinating, he hanged on to her every word, wishing he had a quill and a paper to take notes of what she is saying. “Oh, no! don’t skip the details. I would love to know how they can prevent that. Muggles have been trying to do that for years, my blacksmith constantly complains about it.”

@wizardkniight

The feast was absolutely enchanting with all the dancing and decorations, and Cora loved seeing everyone in good spirits and having fun. There was a man nearby her, and she decided her hand at possibly making a new friend tonight as she stepped closer to him— paying the little green and decorative plant above them no mind. “Hello,” she started a little sheepishly with a smile, not wanting to entirely intrude. “Are you enjoying the festivities tonight?”

Tomas didn’t see the big deal about the mistletoe, he’d kissed a few people, both on the lips and on the cheek, and that was the end of that. So when he’d gone to congratulate George on the military strategy - who said Tomas couldn’t be nice? - he’d been ready to just drop a quick kiss on the man’s cheek and continue the conversation. Instead, George seemed bothered by it, and he’d decided to see how uncomfortable he could make the man by staring at him. Exactly why people say he can’t be nice. 

“Is there something wrong with kissing me?” He finally asked. 

Lucinda brought a warm cookie over to George, who she knew only from seeing him around the castle. Oh, right, and the fact that Leila was in love with him. She didn’t have any alternate motives. It would be rude to assume that. “Done with the fight?” She chuckled, offering the cookie and sitting down next to him. “I personally find this whole thing to be far too cold and a good way to ruin a pretty dress.” She said with a smile. “I’m Lucinda, you’re…George, right?”

“Done for the day, who knew snowball fights could get so vicious? Oh, thank you.” smiling, he put the cookie on the table next to him, saving it for later. “It’s a lot of fun, worth ruining a dress for, even a pretty one.”

Milo noticed him get comfortable with a smile. This man may not be flirting with him, but he didn’t seem to mind being flirted with. “I’ve got nothing against boredom, it’s got quite a bit on fear.” Real fear, not just a buzz of anxiety like what he always had in the back of his mind. “I’m not really the hating kind of guy.” He chuckled. Definitely more of a lover. 

Leila hoped the next visit to the small village would be soon. The way George said it, it was like he actually wanted to spend time with her. Maybe she wasn’t alone in her feelings - no, that was ridiculous. He was just kind, just a friend. She was happy with that. “I’d like that.” Mostly because it meant spending time with him. She couldn’t help but sigh a little as he pulled away, although it did help to clear her mind a little. “Oh… I hope they didn’t, but I can always share some of my chocolates with you, if you’d like.”