sortinghat_logs | You'll Rebel To Anything

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eriq slepner

You'll Rebel To Anything

WHO: Eriq Slepner and Aranea Serket
TONE: Rebelliousness? A little bit of a tiff, perhaps?
RATING: No higher than PG-13 for language
WHEN: After this thread
WHERE: Outside of the school
WHAT: Eriq and Aranea privately discussing the High Inquisitor Snow and methods of dealing with him.
STATUS: [ONGOING]

Eriq never cared much for discussing private matters over the journals. The professors were generally far more skilled with magic than any of the students, potentially causing filters to be broken into, and even if they weren't, there were other methods of investigating - as Professor Peixes proved over the summer break. And while discussing one's allegiance was hardly as scandalous a subject as masturbation, in the wrong hands, it could be trouble. The only way such a thing could truly be a private discourse would be for him and Aranea to be out of sight, out of earshot, and out of mind.

Unfortunately, he could only ensure the first two by speaking with her outside. Mind manipulation was something a bit out of his range. So he waited for her by the front doors, his usual dark make-up reduced to a simple application of eyeliner, wearing his school uniform as opposed to his casual clothes.

Ugh, he'd have to make adjustments to those too, wouldn't he?

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Usually Aranea is the perfect model of a calm, well behaved student. It's unusual to see her irritated, and even more unusual to not have that emotion change soon. But Snow's words had dug under her skin to the soft spot she had for her half-sister, to the point she didn't even care about the loss of points, or the detention or the threat of something more severe.

But still she new it was better to get outside, get some fresh air and try and get past the argument. The only reason she keeps her journal on her, tucked under one arm is in case someone wants to contact her through it. She'd rather be reached as soon as possible, especially if it's Vriska trying to reach her.

Approaching Eriq, she tries to push her simmering anger down, pushing her glasses up her nose as she slows to a stop before the older boy. Aside from the irritation in her eyes she looks the same, neat hair, tidy uniform and she even tries to push a smile into place, though it likely fails.

"Eriq. Shall we? I think I am greatly in need of some fresh air."

He bows low as she stops in front of him, then straightens himself out, offering her arm. "I would be honored to escort you across the grounds, my lady. You do me great pleasure by gracing me with your lovely presence."

He feels kind of silly, speaking and behaving like that, but it's how the hero of all his silly romance novels would be act, and it's better for any passers-by to think this was a date rather than what it had the potential to be.

Which was not a date. He wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen, yet.

She wants to smile. Wants to play along and be silly. But her smile feels forced enough and all she can do is shake her head slightly. "Not... not now Eriq. Any other day, but I'm still so... you know."

The ears could have walls so she cuts herself off. Taking Eriq's hand she leads the way out the door and down onto the grounds, heading in the direction of the goat area.

Finally, after a few minutes she speaks again, her voice soft, the emotion behind her words undetectable. "He practically threatened my sister."

"Fair enough." He bows his head to her, and once she has his hand, he follows along behind her, keeping his mouth shut until she speaks first.

He takes a deep breath. "I saw. Actually, I removed the section of the page containing the threat from the journal and copied it. I recommend you do the same. And do it any time it happens again. Once we have enough evidence that he is causing more harm than good at Hogwarts, we can present it to the Ministry and force him out peacefully. Wars can be won by soldiers, it is true, but just as often, they can be won by diplomats as well."

"She lost an eye, and he thinks it's funny to mock her and say she could loose other body parts? She's only 14 it's not right, her life is hard enough." It's comes out in a blurst, Aranea biting her cheek to cut herself off. She can't be so rash, even if the thought of Vriska being harmed makes her blood boil. She'll only make it worse, for herself, for Vriska, and even for Sybille. And then there's her mother.

Exhaling softly she nods, shoulders slumping slightly. "I know. I'll do it myself as soon as I can. And I know I was rash and rude but I just. I've never been so angry in my life, I couldn't stop myself. I didn't particularly want to, to be honest. I wanted him to know I was angry and that I wouldn't tolerate him talking like that about Vriska, not ever. I wanted Vriska to know that she wasn't in the wrong as well, I suppose." Again, she exhales, this one a little more shaky, before she glances up at Eriq. "And then I saw you talking to him, and I couldn't help myself again. You don't deserve to be used and then spat out once he's gotten all he wants from you, no one does, really but... You're my friend Eriq, you're important to me. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Edited 2012-09-19 14:47 (UTC)

Instead of speaking, or moving to cut her off, Eriq lets go of her hand and slips his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. He is not a touchy person, but he knows physical closeness can be comforting when people are upset. He waits for her to finish completely before he smiles, one hand coming up to stroke her hair. He can't help but think she's so pretty when she's impassioned.

"I understand." He doesn't, but it's the right thing to say, he's sure of that. "It's touching to see that you're so concerned for your sister. I..." He pauses, looking away for a moment, biting his lips. "I don't have anyone like that in my life. I'm glad, at least, that you consider me a friend, and that you care so much. I want to keep you safe, too."

"But I don't want to risk myself for your sake, either, because that doesn't do anyone any good. It's like in chess, you know? The king stays out of harms way, directing all the other pieces from afar. That is how I work."

"I look at his as a high stakes game of chess, and I will not allow myself to be taken." He looks back to her, raising one hand hesitantly before gently brushing her face. "Or my beautiful queen."

Aranea moves with him, curling closer and resting her temple against his chest as her eyelids close. The closeness does help, years of having affection from her mother and grandfather making it an automatic way to sooth her, slowly helping her calm down, easing some of the frustration. She doesn't even flinch as his hand touches her hair, sighing softly instead.

"We all have people we want to keep safe Eriq. You do have them, you just won't admit it." Shifting slight she looks up at him, giving him a small but genuine smile. "You have Herbert, obviously, because as soon as I mentioned him you seemed to worry and... you have me. Like you just said."

She follows the chess analogy with a small nod, easily understanding what he means. And it's true, for all the the older boy socialises, he's a lot more introverted than many students. And it's obvious how much attention he pays to the world for anyone who sees his art. And for all that she wants to take immediate action, he's right. It's better to plan and gather evidence, and strike with a proper platform to stand on. Running in half cocked will only screw them all over even more. "I kno-"

His next words cut her own off, Aranea's eyes widening slightly as the hidden meaning behind the words start to ping at her. The compliments, the welcoming of her presence, and suddenly she feels very very dumb. Dumber than a Gryffindor worked up over a cause. Carefully, she bites her lip, her cheeks slowly turning red and warming up under his hand and she chooses her words as carefully as she can. "Eriq... I. I feel I should ask what manner it is you say you like me as? Is it as a friend... or is it more?"

"Oh, I want to have them safe, but it's not the same," he shrugs, waving one hand dismissively. "I could never be so passionate it about it as you. I could never... feel that same emotional intensity. Even now, I..."

He presses his hand a little more firmly to her cheek, feeling the warmth radiating out with his own sort of wide-eyed mystification. To think he could cause such a reaction in her...

Dipping his head, he rests his forehead against hers, looking straight into her eyes when he speaks. "You are beautiful, Aranea. More than that, you posses so many qualities that I admire. Your intelligence, your enthusiasm, your masterful way with words... If this is love, or merely infatuation, I cannot say, but I must confess, you have me quite under your spell."

"We all feel things in different ways... It doesn't mean your emotions are any less than mine, even if I show a lot of passion over my family and friends. It's... just how I feel and how I express myself..."

Her words drift off as his hand presses firmer on her cheek, Aranea's breath hitching just slightly, just for a second. Now it's different, not like the touch of her family, and she can feel something flutter in her chest.

Raising her head just slight she meets his gaze, even as her cheeks turn a shade redder, the colour somehow not clashing with her hair. The flutters in her chest grow stronger and she finds herself wetting her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue before she can find her tongue again. "I... I didn't realise you... you felt like that. I though, well I suppose I thought you considered me as a friend. Sometimes a distraction, sometime welcome sometimes not... I didn't think... That you feelings were anywhere near romantic, even though now I suppose I could look back, and spot places where there was a hint, but that is with knowledge now, which helps me realise things where you made it seem like you..."

It's so hard to find what she wants to say. So instead she slowly steps in, nudging Eriq's face up with her own forehead and tentatively leaning up to kiss him softly, lips light and soft against his.

Edited 2012-09-19 16:24 (UTC)

"Well, I..." he starts, shrugging one shoulder and looking away for just a moment. "It's like I said. I don't really know how I feel? You're a distraction, to be sure, and I just know you're going to ruin everything I've accomplished thus far if I go through with this."

He bit his lip, looking back to her, his eyelids lowered. "The really scary thing is that, when I'm with you, I don't care about that. I see it all falling apart, and I just..."

He pulls his hand off her cheek for just a moment, brushing his fingers against the corners of her lips. As she looks up at him, her eyes pull him in, and he tilts his head down as she leans up, meeting her kiss half way. Kissing Aranae is completely unlike kissing Herbert or Arthur, is the first thing his mind notes. Her lips are so much softer, after all, and he feels as though he could fall into them for forever. He deepens the kiss without thought, pulling her closer as he tilts his head to seal their lips together.

She can feel her heartbeat speed up as he pulls her closer and deepens the kiss. Her first kiss. And he was sweet, and usually kind, and nice to her and his lips felt nice against hers. Even the height difference doesn't seem to be such a problem, though she supposes eventually she'll get tired of being on tiptoes.

But eventually Eriq's words ring through the fluttering of her heart and Aranea pulls away slightly, frown marring her forehead. "Eriq... why would you think that I'll ruin everything?"

Being told that you're a distraction, that you'll ruin everything thr boy you're crushing on is a bit of a mood killer after all. And she honestly can't imagine how Eriq could think that.

No, please don't ask him such questions when he'd been flying so high on that kiss. It was like marshmallows and pillows and everything soft and squishy, and he could have just sunk into her lips for the rest of his life.

"Isn't it obvious?" he sighs, tightening his grip on her, not wanting her to pull away at all, despite his words. "Herbert, for one, is going to throw a fit. He doesn't like girls." He pauses before adding, "At all, I think. And as absolutely enchanting as I find you, he's my best friend, my closest confidant. I don't want to lose him, not over a girl."

Leaning down, he presses his forehead against hers, eyes closed and lips parted in another small sigh. "And you just... do things to me, Aranea. I feel so stupid and unsure when I'm around you, like my thoughts can't come quickly enough. My wits are all I have, Aranea, to be so crippled..."

He brushes his knuckles over her cheek, ducking his head to try and steal another kiss.

Edited 2012-09-26 04:55 (UTC)

She twists her head in response, dodging his lips before carefully pressing her fingers against them, looking back up at him. "No, Eriq, we need to talk, because if there's problems now, they will only grow and I don't... I don't want either of us hating the other."

She sighs softly, bumping her glasses up to her forehead to rub pinch the bridge of he nose, thinking carefully about what she wants to say. "Do... do you think I want that? I... I would dearly love a relationship like this with you, but I don't want it to come at the cost of one of your closest friends, even if it is Herbert. And if pursuing me, loses you him, is that something you really want to do? Am I really worth that much?"

Sighing again she looks down, studying both their feet as she continues, resisting the urge to chew the inside of her cheek, a nervous habit she thought she had long been broken of. "An I don't want you to feel like you're dumb around me either, because that's not smart. You're highly intelligent and if... If I am crippling you so much, is that really something you want? I..."

Swallowing she looks up, carefully moving her hand to cover the knuckles against her cheek. "I don't want you to loose so much and only get me. Is that really a worthwhile deal?"

Shoulders slumping as Aranea dodges his kiss, he presses his lips to her fingers instead, lightly kissing the tips.

"I don't know," he shrugs, tilting his head to kiss her cheek. "I've never felt this way before. Never thought I'd have the chance. And maybe it's not worth it, but in the name of science, I think the risk might prove to yield fascinating results, don't you?"

"And besides, I don't think I could ever hate you."

She tries her best not to smile, not wanting to reward him when he is in fact probably doing this only to win her over. But it's hard, the smallest turn up of her lips obvious.

So she lets him kiss her cheek, sighing softly. It would be easy to say yes, consequences be damned, but that's not who she is. "I... well firstly, it's not very romantic to call our attempt at a romantic relationship as something in the name of science, but I understand what you mean... I just. I don't want you to lose everything that makes you who you are, including your friendship."

"...Could you promise me that you'd tell me if it was affecting you and your life too much?"

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You'll Rebel To Anything

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that was supposed to say walls have ears goddammit brain

OH MY GOD, I knew there was something off about that sentence I just couldn't tell what

In my defence it was 12:30am when I typed it

Q T

N O P E

Yep

Nah

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