Reflections on Labyrinth Gardens

Ash Craven

March 04, 2005 5:41 PM

Reflections by Ash Craven

Ash Craven wandered the long, twisting paths that made up Sonora's bizarrely lush gardens. He stared at the world around him, amazed at how quickly all this, even in these gardens in their absolute absurdity, had become familiar to him. He couldn't believe he'd been here almost a whole school year already.

It had been fun, he reflected. He had a cool room mate (unlike poor old Sorrel) and the staff weren't too bad. They were enough that you could wind them up if you wanted a reaction, but it wasn't like bootcamp or anything. Connell had been a cow, but she'd got an appropriate comeuppance. He wasn't sorry to be going home soon for the summer. It would be fun to be him and Sorrel again, like they had been before there had been complications like other people, and seperate dorms. Besides, only geeks didn't look forward to the long break from school.

He trod the now semi-familiar paths of the maze (sometimes, just sometimes, he could swear the hedges rearranged himself in the night) and found himself standing by the fountain he had thrown Sorrel in on their very first day. Ahh. Sweet memories... He leant over, staring as his own blue eyes staring back up at him. He hadn't really changed, he reflected. His hair was a little longer, but so messed up you could hardly tell.

He stepped back from the fountain (using it like a mirror was so vain and girly). Eight months of school, and all that had changed was that he needed a hair cut. Good.\n\n

13 Ash Craven Reflections 50 Ash Craven 1 5

Elizabeth

March 04, 2005 7:39 PM

Wanderings by Elizabeth

Elizabeth walked the paths of the human hedgemaze, thoughts whirling excitedly through her brain. The upcoming summer was definately going to be a fun one, seeing as she and Jennifer were most likely going to spend it together. Time back at home would be good for Lizzie, she needed a break from all the tension and stress that school presented. The only thing she was going to miss was the freedoms she had here at Sonora. At home things were pretty strict, but her restrictions could have loosened in her absence.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that Elizabeth didn't even notice when the gravel path ended and opened into a fountain area. Her blue eyes snapped to attention when she noticed that someone else had chosen the gardens for a midday stroll. It was Ash, Sorrel's twin brother. Elizabeth didn't know him as well as his sister, but she supposed that they were pretty much alike, and if that was true, there was no reason for her not to say something.

"Hey," she said softly, almost afraid to break the breeze lined silence. Her ebony black hair was completely down, waving slightly in the afternoon air. With a slight laugh, she continued on softly(and a bit uncharacteristically), "I guess I'm not the only one who thought the gardens was a nice place for a walk today." \n\n

0 Elizabeth Wanderings 0 Elizabeth 0 5

Ash

March 05, 2005 9:13 AM

And wonderings by Ash

Elizabeth needn't have worried about breaking the silence. Her footsteps already had, and Ash was well aware of her presence. He watched her - it would have to be a 'her', though in this school the chances of that were ridiculously high - as she made her way over. At least she was an ok girl. She was that one his sister was sort of mates with, he thought.

"Hey," he said. It was weird... If someone had been asked to find his twin sister from a line up of all Sonora's girls, they might well have picked this girl rather than Sorrie. Same colour eyes, same colour hair. Though he and Sorrel had far more similar faces than him and Elizabeth. It was still slightly odd to be looking as what seemed to be a passable female version of himself.

"Well... There's not much space to walk in the commons," he said, not wishing to go on a gushy, girly 'oh yes, the garens are divine - simply divine' ramble. But he grinned at her, so that it was obvious he was joking around with her, not just trying to gruffly put her down. \n\n

0 Ash And wonderings 0 Ash 0 5

Elizabeth

March 05, 2005 9:35 AM

Odd... by Elizabeth

(ooc- I made the fountain a huge one that has a big ledge around it that you can sit on... hehe... hope thats okay! :D )

BIC

A breeze slightly picked up as she laughed, her apparent reservedness dissapearing. Elizabeth dramatically sighed afterward, and looked about, as if pondering something extremely important and world changing. Then she turned her attention back to Ash, and said jokingly to him,

"Well, I'd have to agree with you, there is more room out here."

She matched grins with him, noting the distinct similarities in their appearences- the light sapphire blue eyes and dark raven colored hair Elizabeth possessed were nearly the exact same as those that Ash had. It was strange, no doubt, but having similar physical characteristics wasn't a new concept to Elizabeth. Her older brother Javon looked almost the same as her, except, he was turning seventeen in April.

"So, what're you doing out here all alone?" she asked still smiling, but taking a seat on the edge of the fountain.
\n\n

0 Elizabeth Odd... 0 Elizabeth 0 5

Ash

March 05, 2005 10:10 AM

er,,, even? by Ash

OOC - that's cool! I was going to have him perch on the edge of it too! (Though I was thinking of thin edge that he could easily fall backwards off, but I'm sure pushing really hard will have the same effect)

BIC
Ash was curious as to why she was going all pensive and sighing, but he didn't ask. If it hadn't been so over the top, he wouldn't even have noticed. He and Sorrel were very much about noticing what people said and what they did (and reacting appropriately). They weren't so hot on reading feelings and talking issues out. Ash was relieved when he realised Elizabeth was just carrying on his joke. It also explained why he'd noticed her 'emotion' - it had been deliberately over acted.

Ash was about to sit down on the edge of the fountain when Elizabeth did. It wasn't that she was an icky girl which prevented him sitting there, because she was alright. It was just, if he sat down next to her (now that she'd been the one to start all this sitting stuff) it would be a bit... Girl and Boyish. If he'd sat first and she'd sat next to him, it would have been ok, because it all would have been her thing. He dropped onto the ground leaning his shoulder against the fountain instead, so he was sideways and could look up at her.

"We're not Siamese, you know," he said, assuming that by 'out here all alone' she was referring to why Sorrie wasn't with him. The real reason was that Sorrel was still asleep. Well, as far as he could tell, seeing as he couldn't get at her room. That, or she'd been up a lot earlier than him, and was already on the loose. He supposed Liz might know, seeing as they shared a room. Though if the curtains on Sorrel's bed were drawn, Liz would be none the wiser. Plus if he asked, it would look like he was bothered. He and Sorrel were always squabbling, knocking each other off brooms, fighting... It was possible that people had noticed that, in spite of this, they did seem glued at the hip, but it would never do to encourage the rumour. It made them seem dependant and clingy. There was a difference between them enjoying each other's company and pining constantly when it wasn't there. The latter made them look gushy, emotional and weak. "We can survive without the other one being there," he said, though not at all harshly, because he wasn't being genuinely defensive. "Plus Sorrel's a total pain in my butt, haven't you noticed?" he added, half grinning and adding it far too late for it to be the main reason. \n\n

0 Ash er,,, even? 0 Ash 0 5

Elizabeth

March 05, 2005 11:08 AM

Oh, well. by Elizabeth

Elizabeth watched as Ash sat down on the ground beside the fountain. It was alright for him to not want to sit next to her, in fact, it was probably better that he did so anyone passing by wouldn't think they were... interested in each other. Elizabeth thought Ash was nice, but she wasn't like her pureblood cousins who thought only about flirting with boys and silly things like that. Maybe that's what growing up around two older brothers had done to Liz- she was able to just hang out with guys and not completely freak out the way other girls did.

"I didn't mean to imply that," she said after Ash finished, "I know you're not siamese, but if I had a brother or sister so close I'd spend every second around them! Well, maybe on second thought, my brothers would get so annoying after a while, so I understand you guys being apart sometimes." she laughed at his last comment- it was just like a guy to talk about his sister that way. "Now I'm sure that she wouldn't want you talking about her like that behind her back," she said, still laughing.

Elizabeth leaned slightly back, crossing her arms and looking up. The wind was blowing a little harder, but they were in a desert climate, so winds weren't a rarity. She couldn't believe they'd almost already spent a year here- it seemed like just yesterday she'd waved goodbye to her Aunt, Uncle, and brothers, stepped onto the train from New Orleans to the Sonora magical check-point. It was nearly impossible to think that next year they'd be the elder students with younger 1st years running frantically around their heels. Breaking from her reverie, she looked down at Ash and resumed her indifferent and 'cool' manner.

"So, have you got any plans for this summer? It seems like everyone has already planned theirs out already."

\n\n

0 Elizabeth Oh, well. 0 Elizabeth 0 5

Ash

March 06, 2005 10:55 AM

Oh, pond. by Ash

Ash shrugged. He kind of did want to spend every second around Sorrel, even if it was only to drop worms down her back or tell her what a pain she was (they both knew the other used stuff like that as a sign of affection). He always had spent every second around her before. They'd shared a room back home, hung out together, sat together in class. Some teachers had tried to seperate them, believing it would be good for their individual development (and the health and sanity of the rest of the class and teaching staff) but the twins misbehaved even more if they were denied each other's company.

"Even if we wanted to, it's not really possible here, is it?" he asked, semi-rhetorically. Sonora was cool. No parents, no Mariella. But less Sorrel too... He really did miss the good old days. Not that they hadn't managed to make a bit of a name for themselves, and pal around, but it was nothing like it had been.

"And believe me, she gives as good as she gets," he grinned up at her wryly, as she said she would be sure Sorrel would be hurt at him talking behind her back that way. "It'd take a lot more than this to rattle Sorrel," he added, sure to defend his sister's lack of fragility in terms of emotion. Couldn't have people going around assuming the ickle girl would be hurt by the nasty things her big bad brother said about her. If anything, Sorrel would be more upset by a rumour like that than anything Ash said. And she'd be angry, rather than upset.

"You have brothers?" he asked, "Plural?" He almost said he wished he had a brother, but he'd long ago learnt that he didn't wish for this at all. It would be an insult to Sorrel to suggest that she wasn't every bit as good as one. Even if he'd never admit as much to her outloud. He knew she knew it.

"And... I dunno. I guess me and Sorrel'll just wind up Mariella. Our other sister," he added, in case Sorrel hadn't mentioned her. It was hard to gauge whether she would have or not... On the one hand, she could scarcely keep from her venemous rantings about their pink, fluffy sister who, in spite of the fact she was in her twenties, had the taste of a teen (and one with pretty crap taste at that). But on the other hand, Mariella was no where around to inspire Sorrel's anger, and Sorrel was quite possibly ashamed of being connected with someone so fluffy, and so may not have mentioned her. He shrugged. He hadn't really considered what to do with the summer. He'd just been looking forward to it. "I guess it might be cool to meet up with Stephen or something," he added. "You doing anything special?" he asked, because he knew it was rude not to and- whilst he didn't give a damn about manners - Elizabeth was ok. Especially for a girl. \n\n

0 Ash Oh, pond. 0 Ash 0 5

Elizabeth

March 06, 2005 3:47 PM

Oh fountain! by Elizabeth

Elizabeth grinned broadly when Ash asked about her brothers. She seemed somehow to work them into her conversations, and the only reason that she did so was probably because they were both so very important to her, despite their age differences- and vice versa. Her blue eyes lit up excitedly as she began to elaborate on them.

"Yes, brothers, plural. They're both older, and they love lording over me about it. Brett is 21, soon to be 22, and Javon is turning 17 this year. I thought I'd be glad to be from them for a while, but playing quidditch out on the grounds just isn't quite like playing with Javon and all his friends... It was almost all we did at home on weekends, regardless that I was a girl, they taught me the sport anyways (to my mother and father's dismay). Anyway, his buddies would come over to our house and we'd play quidditch on the manor grounds. It was totally unfair at times because they love playing dirty, which means that anything goes. Especially when it comes to trying to take out the five years younger chaser."

Elizabeth stopped and laughed, remembering that her brothers and their friends one time even tackled her muggle football style from their brooms when she was about to shoot. They were all bigger than her, so the odds were pitched in their favor whenever it came to defense. She was a relatively small eleven-year-old, and when it came to matching up against an extremely experienced sixteen-year-old, she didn't have a chance at getting the quaffle from them.

"As for your sister, I have heard through the gravevine somehow about her. She reminds me slightly of my cousin Helena. She's got a "sophisticated" fashion sense, though, and from what I hear about your sister she's into... fluffy things. Anyway, as for my summer, right now it looks like I'll be hanging out with Jennifer Z, going to my aunt's parties, playing quidditch every spare moment I have, and of course I'll have countless summer tutor courses, since I've missed a full year of Latin, French, and Spanish- all total bores."

Elizabeth brushed straying hair from her eyes and thought about her summer- it really didn't sound all that great. Then an idea came into her head... Halfbloods were acceptable by her family standards as friends and stuff, so maybe Sorrel and Ash could come hang around New Orleans for a while... it'd be a summer with a lot more fun in it with more people her age around. And it wasn't like they didn't have the extra space- they had far too many residential rooms for their small five person immediate family. If Ash didn't want to hang it'd be fine, but, it couldn't hurt to ask, right?

"Hey Ash, you and Sorrel wanna come down to Louisiana for a while during the summer? My Aunt and Uncle'll be pretty busy with my cousins coming home from school and stuff, sot they won't mind, and my brothers'll be glad for some new quidditch players. If you can't, or you just don't want to that's alright, but if you do, it'd be fun." She looked down at him again and smiled at him, her sapphire eyes dancing.

(ooc: if you don't want to, whatever... and Halfbloods are totally cool to hang out with a be friends with... just not to marry and stuff... at least that's what it's like with the Lavines :D) \n\n

0 Elizabeth Oh fountain! 0 Elizabeth 0 5

Ash Craven

March 06, 2005 4:29 PM

Oh, puddle! by Ash Craven

"You think that's bad?" Ash asked incredulously, "I mean, that's pretty much fair enough to lord it over you. You're talking years difference. Twelve bloody minutes older, that's all Sorrel's got on me, but she can really wind me up over it. Or try to," he added. Obviously Sorrie never got to him.

"Mariella's into anything pink, fluffy or fashionable," he said darkly, "She reads tonnes of cruddy Muggle celebrity magazines. Me and Sorrel used to draw in biro - er... Muggle pen thing - on them, giving all the film st- people, moustaches and monocles and stuff. Then we got a bit too old to be able to get away with it," he added sadly.

He tried to prevent his eyebrows shooting into his hair as she asked if he and Sorrel wanted to visit for the summer. He was fairly sure that, even if his eyebrows were still resting at normal level, he hadn't done too well in masking the shock on his face. If he'd been sitting on the fountain edge, he probably wouldn have keeled back into it. He'd had reservations about asking her about her own summer, in case she thought it was building to some kind of... thing like this. She was kind of pushy, he thought, they'd only just met. Maybe it was some Pureblood thing. You were meant to wine and dine acquaintances or whatever. Well, he wasn't any snobby Pureblood. It might be fun to go though, provided they didn't have to act posh. They could play proper Quidditch, and have a whole mansion to run around in. It probably had polished wooden floors that you could slide along. But would he ever live down having gone to stay with a girl in summer break? But the Quidditch.... And he could always say it was cos she was Sorrie's buddy.

"Have to ask Sorrel," he shrugged casually, "But it might be cool to get away from Mariella for a bit. She drives us nuts. We wouldn't have to do like... the lessons and stuff, or be all posh and know how to bow, would we?" he asked. "If we came," he added hastily. It would be no good to make her think he was keen on the idea.

OOC - Cool. So, as long as Ash doesn't try and deflower you or anything, he's welcome. And - no offence, cos I'm sure your character is lovely - but he's really not interested in that stuff. Yet. (Ash: I won't be EVER!). That's what you think.... (Ash: you want to wind up dead elsewhere that the OOC page?) You wan't me to give you a sudden penchant for wearing pink nail varnish?
Do you have AIM at all? Cos if we want to have had summer visiting, it'd be a good way to work it out. \n\n

13 Ash Craven Oh, puddle! 50 Ash Craven 0 5

Elizabeth

March 06, 2005 6:22 PM

Potatoes, Patatoes by Elizabeth

(ooc: no, no, Liz's intentions were purely boyish- she just wanted some other ppl to hang out and play quidditch with... she's not into Ash like that either... yet (Elizabeth: WHAT?!) Nothing. Anyway, i do have aim, my sn is: iheartu4ev, so im me and we can work it out. :D)

BIC:

"Twelve minutes, is that all?" she asked, laughing, "That's truly unfair. It's all in good fun I guess, at least that's what my brothers say." she said, rolling her eyes.

At Ash's complete look of surprise, Elizabeth successfully fought down an impulsive blush. By his look, she assumed that he wasn't exactly accustomed to people asking him over for the summer holidays. For Elizabeth, it was perfectly natural, and infact, quite polite to ask a new aquiantance to visit their home. The thought then dawned on Elizabeth that Ash hadn't been brought up with her family's social rules, etc.

"No, no, you won't have to do any lessons... I'll take those some other time in the summer. And on the topic of acting posh, you won't have to do any of that either. You shouldn't believe everything you hear about pureblood families... at lot of those rumors aren't true, and every family is different, right?"

Elizabeth looked at him, analyzing his expression. Was he already judging her because she was a pureblood, or because she'd been told not to hang out with people like Stephen, Sally, or Mia? Mayeb he wasn't judging her at all, and she was just being stupid. Brushing away the notion, she laughed to lighten up the mood she'd darkened slightly.

"Hey, if you come, you'd help even the odds out between the younger players and the older ones." \n\n

0 Elizabeth Potatoes, Patatoes 0 Elizabeth 0 5

Ash

March 07, 2005 12:38 PM

Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to by Ash

OOC - for the record, that song is daft, as no one says 'po-tah-to'.
And I know they were purely boyish. I was just making sure I understood her parents rules... So that Ash can flaut them later. (Ash: Huh?) *Author grins evilly*.
And uheartme? How sweet! Though that is a little sudden, seeing as we just met... :-p

BIC:
"Yeah, she refuses to say 'Happy Birthday' to me until I've said it to her. One year, she waited - she actually timed - twelve minutes and thirty two seconds from when I said it before she said it back to me!" he said, rolling his eyes, though he was grinning, in a way that invited Liz to see it as humorous rather than petty and annoying.

"You were the one who mentioned going to your aunt's parties. Sounds like posh stuff to me. Auntie parties are very rarely unstuffy, even the Muggle ones.

But I'd also increase the boys against girl odds," he smirked, "What makes you think I'd side with you over your brothers just 'cos you're younger?" he asked cheekily.

Hang on a sec... Since when had they started talking like it was an almost definite thing? Sure, Liz seemed nice enough. But they still, to Ash, seemed to have missed several vital steps. And there was no way he should even be considering this until he knew a few things. What if she turned out to like pink, or something awful, and it got out that he'd actually talked about what might happen if they hung out over the summer? It was time to back track a little and make sure this venture was safe first...

"What do you think of frogs?" he asked, seemingly randomly, looking up at her. \n\n

0 Ash Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to 0 Ash 0 5

Elizabeth

March 07, 2005 1:22 PM

Frogs? by Elizabeth

ooc- haha I know... and my sn came around from a joke between my friend and I... *sigh* anyways... on with the show...

BIC-
Elizabeth laughed at Ash's retelling of Sorrel waiting to tell him Happy Birthday. It was pretty funny, and it sounded a lot like something Sorrel would do. Well, at least it sounded like what she'd do, since what she knew about Sorrel was limited. They'd only been friends for a while, but that probably would change since they were in the same house, and consequently on the same quidditch house team.

"Well, I've never had problems playing against boys before, so even if you pick Javon and his friends John, Jason, Marlon, Frederic, and Michael over me, I'd beat you all anyway. I've done it before, who says I wouldn't do it again?" she retorted goodnaturedly.

Surprise surfaced on Elizabeth's face when Ash asked about frogs. It seemed completely off topic, and random too, but she just shrugged, letting the look of surprise fall. Who knew just how boys' lines of thought went? She had a pretty good grasp on some people's like her brothers, and Jake's maybe too, but something about Ash's random question didn't follow the train of thought she was used to. Whatever, she thought, Everyone's different.

"Frogs? Well, they're alright, I guess. I mean, I don't own one as a pet or anything, but they're all over my mother's old gardens and stuff... the gardens were built by a pond, you see, so frogs are all over the place. They're cool little things, but I'd rather be flying than staying on the ground checking out the green guys." she replied, displaying a slightly inquisitive look. \n\n

0 Elizabeth Frogs? 0 Elizabeth 0 5