Sylvia made her way into Cascade Hall. It was outside of class hours, so she had ditched her school robes and changed out of the blouse and skirt set she’d worn underneath them and which had subsequently shown the wrinkles of the heavier garment pressing down on them all day. She could, of course, have neatened them back up with a flick of her wand but if she was attending to her clothes why not change properly for dinner? That was just civilised, after all. The belted cotton dress was cut in a classic, elegant style, its femininity emphasised by the bold floral pattern on the lower half of the skirt. As the winter cold was only just ebbing away outside, she had paired it with pantyhose, patent leather boots and a bright, cheerful cardigan which picked out the red in some of the roses on her hem, as well as being house-appropriate. The floral theme continued with the ever present Gardenia pin, matching versions of which all her girls had, and which she took careful note of their diligence in wearing.
She had continued to host meetings and get-togethers, emulating the types of coffee mornings they would fill their social calendar with as adults, and she hoped the other girls were grateful for everything she’d done to make Sonora a bright and sociable place for them. She didn’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be, but she was not about to run the risk that they had taken all her hard work for granted over the years. It made sense to check in. Connecting with her girls was far easier than talking to other people, as she had every reason to be doing so, and could happily do so openly. Thus when she saw Allegra sitting at Crotalus table over dinner, she simply made her way over to the seat beside her, as friends did.
“Good evening,” she smiled, “May I?” she indicated the chair, asking to be polite rather than because she at all expected to be refused. “It’s so nice for us to have chances to catch up now we’re not in class together any more,” she stated, looking a little sad about that fact.
13Sylvia MordueNot so long ago... (tag Allegra)141315
Allegra was not having a really good year. Getting prefect was supposed to be a positive thing, show that the staff thought she had something to contribute. However, when you had a psychopathic cousin your age who did not get it when you did that was determined to make your life as miserable as possible-and had been previously as well-it sort of took away from any joy or pride or any other remotely positive feeling you had about it. Fear and terror overwhelmed the Crotalus every single waking moment.
Actually, come to think of it, fear and terror overwhelmed a lot of her sleeping moments too. The nightmares that had plagued Allegra for as long as she could remember were more intense than ever, to the point where she suspected Topaz had either jinxed something of hers or drugged her with some sort of nightmare inducing potions.
Honestly, it wasn't as if she had actually beaten Topaz. Ness McLeod had beaten Topaz (which likely bothered the Aladren more than anything). Allegra had beaten Julius. However, she was prefect and Topaz wasn't-and in her cousin's book, that was Not Okay. It was not how Things Were Supposed To Be. And when things weren't how Topaz thought they were supposed to be, people suffered. People usually meant Allegra.
The thing was, they both could have gotten it. They were in different houses. Even though giving the other fifth year power was generally not a good thing and she was super glad not to have to patrol with her, it had not been at all good for the Crotalus! Her cousin was making her miserable. And even she wasn't suffering the effects of something Topaz had done, she was anticipating what horrible thing the other fifth year was going to do to her next.
Plus some of her classes, mainly DADA caused her terrible stress and anxiety though knowing this was the last year she had to take it was making having to deal with studying for CATS a bit more bearable, even though it was hard to be productive when you were living in a constant state of fear. She was doing just enough that she would get a passing grade on her DADA CATS and not embarrass herself-and not be mocked by Topaz for not doing well-and then drop the class the next year. Other classes were less of an issue.
So, generally speaking she was a nervous wreck. Yet, Allegra had to make an effort not to appear to be a nervous wreck because well, she was a proper young lady and needed to keep up appearances. Which was stressful in itself because then her friends might not like her anymore and she might embarrass her family. It was awful.
Allegra was eating her dinner one night when Sylvia approached. "Of course you can." She replied. "Indeed it is." She gave the older girl a pleasant smile.
Sylvia slid into the offered seat, helping herself to some of the same as Allegra was eating.
“Time goes so fast,” she continued the theme of their not being in classes any more. It worked well enough as a lead in, which was really why she’d chosen it. “I remember when you were my brand new next door neighbour, and I was coming round to welcome you,” she said, surveying Allegra carefully for her reaction. Admittedly, Caitlin had been there too, but she had clearly been trailing Sylvia. It was her who had initiated. It was her who had brought Allegra flowers and invited her to be a Gardenia. She hoped the significance of that was not lost on her now.
Allegra, she hoped, was not a person who required a lot of leaning on. A simple reminder that Sylvia had made an effort and been the one to extend the hand of friendship, and the society of a whole group of her peers seemed like it should be enough. Allegra was a Crotalus - she valued the same things Sylvia did, such as being proper and making connections. And not annoying people with the power to make her life uncomfortable.
“How are things going for you?” she asked pleasantly. Because Allegra was her friend.