Sunshine and book borrowing (tag Professor Brooding) on Potions

Dorian Montoir

October 04, 2018 10:34 AM

Sunshine and book borrowing (tag Professor Brooding) by Dorian Montoir

Dorian had made a few more visits to Professor Brooding's office, or to her classroom out of hours, during the school year. He had not needed her counselling as much on the subsequent visits - his low mood had persisted for a few more weeks but it had been nowhere near as severe as it had been. And then, one day, he had simply been back, better than before. It would be inaccurate to say that he looked happy every day - he was a teenage boy, and a rather quiet, self-conscious sort of a one. Some days he looked worried, or tired, or like he was thinking about something else (though Professor Brooding saw these moods less often than other teachers as he was always happy to be near her) but these were minor, superficial wounds. Where he had been underlyingly miserable before, he was underlyingly happy now, with the sunshine breaking through to varying degrees on different days, though unmistakably at its strongest when he was sitting next to a certain curly haired Aladren.

His visits had continued, even after his troubles stopped. He had returned because he enjoyed Professor Brooding's company and because he wished to repay her kindness, both by finishing the job he had started in reordering her bookshelf, and by sharing things from her book with her that she could not read for herself.

As Potions wrapped up for the final time that term, Dorian hung back, waiting to talk to Professor Brooding. Once everyone else had gone, he approached her desk. He was fretful about going home, about Matthieu. Even though he felt Matthieu's words were untrue and should not matter, they were still unpleasant and hurtful. It was still nicer not to hear them. But he was determined not to let that impact the last few hours he had at Sonora, and so he offered Professor Brooding a cheerful smile.

"I just want to check whether I should return your book, or if I may take it home during the holidays?" he enquired. That wasn't the only reason he had for remaining behind but it seemed a good idea to get that sorted out first.

13 Dorian Montoir Sunshine and book borrowing (tag Professor Brooding) 1401 Dorian Montoir 1 5

Professor Mary Brooding

October 05, 2018 12:21 AM

Potions and feels having by Professor Mary Brooding

Dorian, as Mary had since learned to call him, was kind. He had a heart made of gold and a brain full of thoughts that could take him anywhere he determined to go. Mary always felt privileged to be in a position of educating children who would be everyone and anyone in the next generation of adult wizards and witches, but she felt especially honored to receive Dorian's attention. This was a boy she was sure the world would remember for a very long time and, if she was honest, the first person to really make her realize how much she had to be grateful for in her relationship with Tabitha. Educators both, they were just starting careers that would be the best of the rest of their lives. So when Dorian Montoir stayed behind in Potions the last class before everyone left for winter break, Mary felt first and foremostly honored.

"You may definitely take it with you," Mary smiled, appreciating the politeness of his question. She'd donned a particularly festive gown for this final day in class, and was felt exuberant in emerald green. Of course, it was also the color of student robes, which made her feel like she probably looked like a student herself, or finally looked out of place enough to look like a proper adult. She thought Tarquin would appreciate the distinction.

"Where will you be spending your break?" Mary asked, her own travel plans having been the subject of extended daydreaming recently. She imagined either China, France, or Canada would be lovely at Christmastime, as in fact most of the world was. She wasn't sure whether it was the holiday or the feeling in the air that did it but it certainly seemed true.

"I have something for you," she added, making her way around her desk to retrieve a package wrapped in brown paper and sparkling blue ribbons. It was a bit nerve-wracking to give a student a gift, but she trusted Dorian not to cause issues for her about this. "Happy holidays," she smiled, wondering what he'd think of it.

Bound in simple black leather were 100 sheets of thick parchment, each featuring a detailed ink sketch of the plants and creatures used for common potion ingredients. The descriptions and observations on each page were in Chinese.

22 Professor Mary Brooding Potions and feels having 1424 Professor Mary Brooding 0 5

Dorian

October 06, 2018 7:45 AM

These are a few of my favourite things by Dorian

"Thank you," Dorian smiled, as Professor Brooding entrusted her book to him for the holidays, "I mention the book when I am writing home, and Mama is very interested. She will be very happy to have the book visiting us, so thank you in advance on behalf of my mother." There was a jarring discontinuity between the two halves of the sentence, the first half full of the quirks of Dorian's particular brand of English, or perhaps his personality, as it wasn't everyone who would refer to a book as 'visiting.' This, along with the rhythm of his speech, altered noticably in the second half, as he recited with grammar and intonation just a little too perfect to sound natural to him, betraying the fact that it was clearly a learnt phrase. In spite of this, it didn't lack enthusiasm or sincerity, and these factors united the disparate halves of the sentence.

"In Quebec," he answered, when she asked about his break. "We only go in China... every other summer? One summer do, one summer do not. Before we all are in school, we did went for Chinese New Year too, but now we cannot - it is usually Februray," he added, although he suspected Professor Brooding was well travelled enough to know that anyway. "Mama's family not really celebrate Christmas, so it is better to be in Quebec. Quebec is good at making Christmas - we can ice skating, and eat poutine, and everything is very decorated. I can ask what you will do?" he asked cautiously, aware that asking a Professor about their private life was maybe not something he was really meant to do. But it felt rude not to return the question.

"Thank you," he replied, clearly rather surprised but pleased when she handed him a parcel. He held it revertiantially for a moment, before setting it on the desk to free up his hands and address the other purpose of his visit. "I have for you also," he admitted, a little shyly, though the fact that Professor Brooding had given him something eased his tension, as clearly this was going to be considered ok. He lifted the flap of his satchel, and it formed something of a screen that obscured whatever objects he was rummaging for from the teacher. He finished this preparation, holding several sheets of parchment againt his chest and closing the bag.

"I have... I have what I know about the book so far. I know, I told you some already, but I thought you might like to have some notes... I- it is not translation. I wanted to be able to do translation but... But I can understand, and I can explain the points, and I can tell and appreciate the way it is in Chinese but I can't reflect that in English. So, it is more... summary." He held out the stack of pages, revealing that he had also been clutching an envelope and a small parcel, which now lay on top of the parchment. Inside the envelope, Professor Brooding would find a card depicting a snowy Quebec skating scene, the message inside wishing her happy Christmas in three different languages, and stating 'Thank you for all your company this year. I wish next year is very happy for both of us.' Inside the parcel was a small green tin decorated with jasmine flowers and containing the appropriate type of tea.

"Do we open now, or save to Christmas?" he asked, aware that different people had different feelings on that subject.

13 Dorian These are a few of my favourite things 1401 Dorian 0 5

Professor Mary Brooding

October 08, 2018 9:54 PM

Kindred spirits, you and I. by Professor Mary Brooding

Mary smiled, appreciating the innocence of such things as a book visiting for Christmas. The most precious thing about Dorian was that she couldn't be wholly sure whether it was his command of English or his personality that lent itself to such turns of phrase.

"It's my pleasure," Mary replied sincerely. "A book left unread is hardly a book at all. It'll be nice to know it's being taken care of this winter." Her smile was softer than usual somehow, indicative of her simple contentment. The look carried well into the next topic when Dorian asked about her own holiday plans.

"I'll be going to Greece," she admitted carefully, not sure that it would be wholly appropriate to reveal too much about her personal life to a student. "My girlfriend and I are going to stay with some old friends of hers." It wasn't quite true, as they would have their own lodgings, but it seemed a bit more appropriate than suggesting they'd be staying together alone. It also allowed her to be honest about herself and her plans without revealing that her girlfriend was in fact Dorian's Defense professor.

Her expression changed dramatically when Dorian offered his translation/summary. "Oh, Mr. Montoir," she murmured, eyes wide. "That is so very kind of you."

Mary was not prone to sad tears, having long since dried them all out. However, happy tears were uncommon for the simple reason that the need rarely came up. Suddenly though, Mary was overcome with the urge to cry big gushing drops of warmth and smiles. She resisted for Dorian's sake and settled on a watery grin instead.

"Thank you so much," she added.

When he offered another small package and a card, Mary regained her self-control.

"What do you think?" she asked. The idea of opening this boy's gift in Greece seemed rather lovely, and then she'd get to share it with Tabitha, but her budding friendship with Dorian, as much as a teacher and student could appropriately be friends, made her think it would be more sentimental to open their gifts together. She knew Dorian was also prone to feeling small, though, and didn't want to put too much pressure on him, despite the fact that he had offered. "Do you have any preference?"

22 Professor Mary Brooding Kindred spirits, you and I. 1424 Professor Mary Brooding 0 5

Dorian

October 09, 2018 3:54 AM

In oh so many ways by Dorian

Unread books were hardly books at all. Dorian pondered this. He agreed, in the sense that books needed and deserved to be read and, for all that he was aware that the book did not really have feelings per se, there was still something very satisfying about knowing that you were fulfilling something’s reason for existing - making it have its purpose in the universe. He was happy to give that to Professor Brooding’s book. Although unread books were also exciting, in their way, because they had potential - they might be the best or most life changing thing you had ever read. Though that still required that there was the possibility of them being read eventually. Unread books, he concluded, were exciting, but neglected books were sad. He had to think about the possibility that someone, one day, would come along and read them, or he would feel sad for those books. His mind briefly drifted to Jehan’s bookshop in New York. The illicitness of the trips and the presence of lelectricity in the shop still unnerved him, but the thought of Jehan slowly making the universe a better place, as book by book he gave forgotten treasures their purpose back again, was a comforting idea.

“Greece is exciting because that’s where philosophy comes from,” he began, with genuine enthusiasm. “I read a lot about the Greeks last year, but now I have got more recent, so I am in other parts of Europe. And it’s where Western history starts. North America is strange like that - it is so recent. So...That will be nice,” he ended, his tone a little more reserved as he finished. His face was, for once, somewhat inscruitible. Or rather, if correctly read, it was the expression of one who did not know quite what to think. The idea of Christmas being a time for a holiday, to somewhere he presumed was relatively warm, and to be spending it with friends instead of family were all somewhat alien to him, but Professor Brooding was a grown up and that meant she got to do what she wanted. He was prompted again to think of Jehan, and the first Christmas they had spent not together, when Jehan had told him One day, I’ll be able to give you your present on Christmas Day. That day had actually come last year, when they had been quarantined. And he still had not considered the strangeness of the statement. Now he did. Because Professor Brooding had said ‘girlfriend.’ And he wasn’t sure whether that meant a girl who was her friend or the other meaning that he knew existed. People tended to spend Christmas with their family, until they were a grown up. Then they spent it with the person they were married to, visiting or hosting their family members. What did it signify, if anything, that Jehan had promised they would spend their Christmases together when they grew up? And, given that Professor Brooding was spending Christmas with this girl friend/girlfriend, did that signify that it was the second kind, the kind of in-love-with girlfriend? Prior to this year, he would never have assumed that because he didn’t think that girls had girlfriends in that sense, but now he knew they did. He had not expected it to be especially common though, and if he was… Like That (he wasn’t quite sure which of the words that Professor Hawthorne had put on the board he was comfortable with using) then what were the odds of someone else in the school being Like That too? Especially someone he had plenty of chances to talk to and who cared about him. Was this another thing the two of them had in common? Was this some kind of subconscious thing they had noticed about each other and why they got on so well? He was pretty sure he couldn’t actually ask Professor Brooding outright whether or not she was a homosexual lesbian though. That didn’t seem like the done thing. Especially if he wasn’t willing to say out loud that he thought he might be… the boy version of being Like That, because then he would just seem nosy, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to say that yet. So he just focussed on the other parts. The Greece parts, which he felt much more qualified to comment on. “It has chimera too though. So be careful. Lots of going to museums, and no being eaten?” he suggested.

“I think the nicest thing about presents is giving them, and seeing how someone else looks when they open yours. That’s part of the present,” he explained when Professor Brooding asked for his opinion. It was what he and Jehan always did, for that very reason. There was also the reason for Dorian, that this meant he was not opening his presents in front of Mattieu. His brother would probably try to make fun of the gifts, and even though Dorian was Not Listening Any More it was still hurtful. He wanted to keep his special things special, not defiled by Matthieu’s mean-ness. On a practical note, he was also keen to limit Matthieu’s knowledge of what his most prized possessions actually were. His brother did one of two things with the things that Dorian loved: he took them away or, if he could not do that, he tried to make Dorian feel bad for liking them.

He picked up the parcel from Professor Brooding again. It felt like a book, which would make sense, although the question of what it was a book of remained tantalisingly unknown. Dorian was a methodical present opener, and he carefully undid the ribbons, winding them around his hands to make neat little spools which he set to one side before carefully unsticking the paper, folding it neatly away as he removed it from the parcel. Plain black leather stared up at him, increasing the exciting mystery rather than revealing anything. He opened the soft cover, blinking in surprise at what he assumed was a frontispiece. He carefully turned the page, his eyes roving over the contents - each page making sense, but still searching for what exactly this was as a whole. He gave three pages his careful and captivated attention, admiring the detail of the drawings, paired with strange and shaky child-like writing in his and his mother’s shared language.

“This is very beautiful,” he commented, his hand gently brushing the parchment, appreciating the feel of the weighty paper, his fingertips tracing the familiar characters lovingly. “Where does it come from?” he asked curiously. It seemed handmade. His best guess was that it was something she had picked up on her travels, a curious and pretty object that deserved to be taken in and found a home, because it needed to be loved. Because someone, somewhere had put a lot of time and effort into it. Because unread, unloved books were just sad, and were scarcely books at all.

OOC - permission to describe Mary’s attempts at Chinese writing thus given by her author.

Dorian’s view of American history is deliberately limited given that he was raised in a very white, elitist culture.

13 Dorian In oh so many ways 1401 Dorian 0 5

Mary Brooding

October 14, 2018 2:08 AM

Well if that ain't the truth. by Mary Brooding

Mary laughed aloud, loving the thought of passing on Dorian's warnings about chimeras to Tabitha. It would be a very sweet conversation and Mary nodded solemnly, a promise to watch out for such creatures in her travels. He didn't seem particularly uncomfortable that Mary had a girlfriend, which made her feel better. She didn't plan to talk more about such things at this point but thought it was good that children know about adults in their lives that would be people they could speak with if such topics came up in their personal lives. Not for the first time did she wonder what Deputy Headmistress Skies would think of these conversations.

Mary watched Dorian open his present and wondered if this is what a proud mother feels like, just happy to see a smile on his face. He was such a sweet boy that it was hard to imagine the very sad student who'd once stood before her in his shoes.

"Professor Hawthorne helped me," she admitted, wavering a bit. "I'm sure she's discussed her travels some in her classes, yes? She met some wizards and witches in China that were able to help, and I combined that with notes from my own travels." She smiled at Dorian and prayed to anyone who was listening that this boy would get to experience every corner of the world. "I'm not particularly skilled at copying Chinese characters I'm afraid, but I do hope they're legible. They should at least be accurate!" she laughed at the thought of Tabitha's colleagues suggesting names like "pointy scary lizard skin" for dragon scales, a prank that wasn't that far out of possibilities with Tabitha's associates.

Waiting until it was appropriate to do so, Mary then took her turn opening the card and tin that Dorian had given her. The card was beautiful, a scene that made her think of the perfect bliss of snowy days painted on the front, and Dorian's handwriting on the inside. The sentiment was sweet but the fact that he'd chosen to share a part of his home, a place he cherished very deeply with her, meant even more.

"This is beautiful," she said in thanks as she placed the card gently on her desk and moved to open the parcel. A blossom of jasmine flowers greeted her with the kiss of their scent and her eyes widened in surprise. It was a scent she was familiar with as she wore it herself, and wasn't sure whether Dorian had made that connection as well. The tea smelled warm and strong and was undoubtedly going to make the best cup she'd had in a very long time.

"Thank you," Mary said earnestly, albeit carefully, breathing in the scent that reminded her so much of her mother, dabbing gentle swirls of jasmine oil on her wrists when Mary had seen her last. "I love jasmine," she said. Changing her tone to something lighter, she added, "And I've heard you have the best taste in tea of anyone at Sonora."

22 Mary Brooding Well if that ain't the truth. 1424 Mary Brooding 0 5

Dorian

October 18, 2018 10:22 AM

Not goodbye, just.... again see. by Dorian

Professor Hawthorne helped me.

Which meant….

“You did this?” Dorian blinked, his eyes searching the page again with a new found intensity as this realisation hit. Followed by a second realisation, uttered more quietly, whispered almost privately into the pages of the book, but still audible, “You did this for me.

“No, you are!” he corrected her passionately, when she declared she was not skilled in copying Chinese characters. Her assessment was perhaps slightly more accurate, but… well, skill should surely be graded on experience, and he could read it. He could read each wobbly uncertain stroke and they made words, real words, words that had been written by her hand for him, and he was never going to let her or anyone else call them less than perfect. “They are beautiful,” he assured her.

“Thank you,” he smiled sincerely, “And… um… please, you will thank Professor Hawthorne for me also? I… I not really know her outside of in class,” he admitted, the change in his demeanor to nervous and shy making it clear that this was something he considered a very great impediment to having a personal conversation of any kind with the other teacher.

“I had noticed. It is a very familiar smell to me,” he nodded, when she asserted her love of jasmine. He had had time to consider this remark, knowing the subject would possibly come up, and had decided not to mention that it reminded him of his mother. He wasn’t really sure how old Professor Brooding was. She was a grown up, and possessed of that magical status of clearly knowing everything and having her life in order, that he was still quite certain he would achieve by the time he was… however old it was. But he didn’t think she looked old enough to have a child his age, and it was probably therefore unflattering to imply she reminded him of his mother (however deeply he loved the latter and believed comparisons to be a favourable point), and it was also decidedly untrue. She was very… very not mother-like. He wasn’t quite sure what she was to him, but it wasn’t that. He also decided to omit the fact that he’d assumed himself to be so miserable and homesick that he was hallucinating the first time he thought he’d smelt the scent on her. Sometimes, it wasn’t necessary to share all your thoughts and feelings.

He was a little bit concerned and confused by her statement about having heard he had the best taste in tea in Sonora. That implied she had talked about him with other people. Other people who knew him quite well… Or other people were observing him more than he realised. He was curious, more than paranoid, about this, but decided to swallow that down and just, for once, accept the compliment.

“I think, if this is my reputation, I am ok with it,” he smiled. She was pleased with her gift, it seemed. It did not quite have the drama that hers did, but she was an adult, with the resources of a wide world at her disposal. His gift had made her happy, and that was the thing that mattered.

He supposed he should go. He had his friends to see, for dinner after all… But he felt uncertain over how to end the interaction, or whether he even wanted to.

“I think I will miss you, in the holidays,” he said softly, deciding that the best way was to simply express what he was feeling. “I can hug you… not goodbye but…. Zàijiàn?” he asked, stepping towards the side of the desk and finding that Professor Brooding had come to meet him halfway at his request. “It’s how to say goodbye in Chinese,” he explained into her shoulder. It was an interesting experiment, hugging her, because he was the younger party in the hug but also ever so slightly taller - not quite taller enough that it compensated for their difference in statuses though, and meant he felt he should be the huggee more than the hugger, but nor was he so very small, nor so desperately seeking comfort as he had been last time they had hugged, and so they had ended up in a sort of more diagonal arrangement, each with one arm over, one arm under. A friendly hug. “But it means literally ‘again see.’ I think it’s more happy and hopeful way to say goodbye.”

Reluctantly, he pulled back. His friends were waiting. But he felt like he could have stayed quite happily hugging Professor Brooding for a lot longer. Maybe forever. It just felt so nice. It felt…. Safe.

OOC - hugging details approved by Professor Brooding’s author

13 Dorian Not goodbye, just.... again see. 1401 Dorian 0 5