Taking Grasp of Reality ~Open~

[ALDEN JAY NEUAVIN]

Leaning over the side of covered bridge was a young man wearing Slytherin robes. It could be said he was just watching the scenery, even though it was more than such. Yes, he was watching the scenery but he was also thinking through everything that was going on. This past summer his mother took him back to Japan, it was his first visit since before his father passed. It was not nearly as enjoyable as it was with his father. The male contemplated his relationship with his mother. He did not like her one bit in all truth. She did not understand him very much as he did not with her. The two just were truly held together by his father. As of late it did seem as though she were trying to make their relationship better but Alden just wouldn't try in return.

Slowly Alden pulled away from the edge and turned around before folding his arms and leaning against the side looking towards the opposing side. It was hard for him to think about everything going on, that was about all he did, so to actively think made it difficult. It would have been nice to be able to truly talk to someone about what was happening in his head or even his life, but that tended to not work out. He would find that person one day, most likely. Talking to people had been a strong point of his yet he still closed off and stayed quiet. He blamed the death of his father for such a reason. That was when he truly closed off of himself.

The blue eyes of the male made to look around up and down the bridge. It was nice and quiet down here, not often did he see many people here at once, maybe a few at once but never tons. It would be nice to people watch a bit more, that he could enjoy sometimes.

[CHARLIZE KENDRA PENDRAGON]

Chaz had had enough of being stuck up in the castle. She had stuck on a pair of jeans and a hoodie and wandered out onto the grounds. The start of school had been a bit of a flop. As it was every year really. She didn't take to socialising very well and she was more than happy to just let people pass her by but it often made her feel out of place. Made her feel like he whole existance didn't matter much.

As she wandered along Charlize found herself up on the covered bridge. She knew someone was there because their scent had come to her with a soft breeze. She looked over to see a boy standing there and quietly made her way over to him. "Hey." she said quietly. "Is eveything ok?" Charlize asked him. He seemed a bit lost, almost. Like something was playing on his mind.

She leaned on the rail opposite him. If he told her to get lost she would go. But sometimes the company of a stranger was better than the company of an old friend and perhaps he would appreciate it. Waiting for his answer, Chaz nervously played with the ends of her long black hair.

[ALDEN JAY NEUAVIN]

As he had stood there trying to figure everything out a girl, somewhere close to his age came to stand across from him. She stood right where Alden was looking out towards, so his eyes naturally went to look at her. She seemed friendly enough asking him if everything was okay. Of course it was okay, but it was confusing. Moments passed as he just looked at her. It wasn't that he was ignoring her, but more on thinking of his words before he made his reply.

Finally his mind and his mouth came together with one and he spoke. His words were soft, loud enough to hear. “Yes, everything is okay, contemplating how my last summer was,” he said. His words had obviously been articulated to the way he wanted them to sound. He was good with his words so sometimes it was a wonder why he was never truly close to someone. “How about yourself? Is everything okay with you?” he asked softly to return the gesture of starting a conversation.

He did not quite wait for her to speak towards him before he spoke once more. His eyes glanced to the side of her and off into the distanced and his hands slowly moved to fold in front of him. He stood straighter as if he were to begin a speech on a podium or something of the sort. “Life seems to grow harder with each passing year, does it not?” he asked her, “for those who have it well to start out with it just seems to spiral downwards, I myself feel as if this is happening to me, that is my problem.” His words most likely made no sense and if they did than maybe they came out the way he wanted, but these words were directly from his head. The girl probably did not know much about the Slytherin male but he did not mind, there was no room for true judgment of the situation. “I mean losing a family member and being completely unrelated to the rest, how is anyone supposed to live with not a person to be close to, to truly talk to, let their mind and feelings out?” he asked her.

He did not mind if she replied to most of his questions. They were just true to what he was thinking. Slowly his eyes went to glance back at her. She played with her hair, which was quite adorable. Alden thought of things in ways that were easy to describe them, even if they did not sound that way coming out of his mouth. He was not sure if it was a nervous twitch or not, either way he had always enjoyed it when girls played with their hair. A smile slowly came to his mouth as he watched her carefully.

[CHARLIZE KENDRA PENDRAGON]

Charlize couldn't help but get nervous as he stood there just staring. Sure she had been made a predator. One that could move in the blink of an eye. Yet years of bullying had left her standing there right now wondering if he was about to hex her or not. However when he spoke she calmed down inside and listened. The words last summer sent her again into a flurry of panic inside and she took in a deep breath ready to reply.

This boy seemed to have a lot on his mind and Charlize did not mind that he had not let her answer. It was better for him to talk. Get whatever was bubbling on the surface out of his system. As he spoke she pulled down the sleeves of her hoodie over her hands before folding her arms across her chest. Everything he said struck a chord with her and a small furrow formed in her brow.

"Life does seem to get a lot harder." Chaz nodded. "I like to believe we were given our life because we are strong enough to live it but, Merlin, does it push as hard as it can to break you." The more she spoke the more recognisable her Italian accent was. "People manage.... I understand what you mean. Being alone, with no one, it could drive a person insane." She closed her eyes before taking in another deep breath.

Opening her bright blue eyes again she held a hand out to him forgetting that it would be ice cold, "Charlize Kendra Pendragon. You may call whatever you wish." A small smile tugged at her lips as she said, "It's funny but you described everything I hve been feeling since I was young. Without meaning to pry, if you ever need to talk, I am always willing to listen."

[ALDEN JAY NEUAVIN]

Alden watched every movement the girl made. Trying to observe everything about her. His eyes only removed from her body every so often when he looked around the bridge, yet his body seemed almost as still as physically possible. He watched her pull at the sleeves of her hoodie before they came over her hands. The way she folded her arms made him think she was closing herself off so it naturally surprised him when she spoke back.

His ears listened as his mind soaked up what she spoke about. She was Italian, he could tell from her accent. He was just boring old English, though his own accent was not as recognizable due to his travels, he learned many upon many different accents throughout his life. He liked that she was relating to him. She seemed to know exactly what he meant when he had spoke before.

“Yes it does seem that way,” Alden nodded, “I do not like being pushed to break though, not a fancy of mine at all.” It was true the male hated being pushed to the brink, it was not enjoyable and made life almost seem a drag. Though she was right as she spoke about people managing but he did not reply to such. It was true so he just nodded.

She held her hand to his and he reached out and shook it. “Alden Jay Neuavin, Alden is perfectly fine,” he told her with a smile. Her hand was cold which made him look back into her eyes, “you a vampire?” he asked softly. It did not matter to him either way but he pretty much had already guessed she was by such an ice cold hand shake. “Or have you just been dipping your hand in buckets of ice?” he chuckled. Her words of having someone to have someone to talk to, “yes, I must say it's nice to be able to speak to someone, and you should feel the same,” he told her.

[CHARLIZE KENDRA PENDRAGON]

"I don't think anyone likes being pushed to breaking point." Charlize muttered. Everyone had their comfort zone and preferred being well within that than pushed to the edge.

When Alden shook her hand and called her out for being a vampire it was like a deer caught in headlight. Her whole body had tensed and her eyes were large searching his face. She should run. Tell her Dad and have him fix it. However it was his next comment that made Charlize smile widely. "You guessed right the first time." She was surprised that he was so calm but would not question it. It was nice for someone just to accept it.

He spoke about being able to talk to someone and she shrugged, "Some things are harder to talk about than others." Like what had happened in the summer. She didn't think anyone would understand that and she felt horrified that she had done it. Thinking about it now made her eyes glaze over slightly.

[ALDEN JAY NEUAVIN]

“I don't mind vampires,” Alden told her as he looked at her face. She seemed frightened that he spoke so obviously about her being a vampire. A vampire, in Alden's mind, was just an abnormal human being, which in all truth they were, very abnormal human beings. She seemed to relax much more when he spoke of her sticking her hand in ice. It was nice to see a smile appear to her face. “If you do not mind my asking, how come you looked frightened when I knew you were a vampire?” he asked softly. It was a question that she could choose to answer or choose not to. He would not question her anymore if she wanted not to be questioned.

Alden listened to her next words and allowed them to sink in before he spoke. “That they are, one thing that is the hardest would be death,” he told her. Death, what a horrific thing, dealing with it was even harder. The death of his father was something few knew, mostly now only those who were at Hogwarts at the time related him with the death of the Auror. Accursius Neuavin. Alden really kept it hidden since his father's death was a bit more publicized that he would have liked. Like his father who may have been an Auror yet sided with the Death Eaters was killed by another Death Eater. The news through the prophet at the time was everywhere, Alden kept it quiet, as quiet as he could.

He continued to think about his father for the next several moments before shaking it out of his head. Why dwell on the bad? “So away from the hard stuff, you're a year behind me correct?” he asked. If he was correct she was also one of the girls from the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Faces and names escaped him some days.

[CHARLIZE KENDRA PENDRAGON]

Chaz listened and bit her lip. She opened her mouth and then closed it again. "The few people I chose to socialise with made it very clear that vampires and werewolves were something beneath society. Diseased. Monsters. To a certain degree I guess they aren't wrong but it never gets any easier hearing someone say it." Chaz explained eventually. "It's just different to speak to someone who doesn't seem to think that." It felt good inside.

She looked up at him when he said death. Chaz watched him carefully. Alden seemed to have things on his mind and of all the people she had chosen to meet and talk to, he was definately the most interesting. She hoped that they would talk more and perhaps form a sort of friendship.

Alden changed topic and Chaz was more than happy to move on. She nodded, "Yes, I'm a fifth year. I've probably seen you in class and on the pitch but house differences and my choice to be a social recluse means we haven't spoken."

[ALDEN JAY NEUAVIN]

Alden listened to her words. People really made her feel like such. “Vampires nor werewolves deserve to be beneath society,” he said softly. He thought that was extremely important for anyone to know. Maybe it was because he was an outsider in his own family that made him want to connect more with the outsiders of society. He sighed as her words really took a hit to him. “I would not say diseased, possibly monsters, but definitely not diseased,” he said softly with a comforting smile. He was trying to make sure that his words of calling her a possible monster was just a joking one.

She said it was different to speak to someone who did not think so. “I must say even if you were a diseased monster, you're more comforting to talk to than some of those non-diseased monsters,” he grinned with a light chuckle. He wanted to make sure that she knew she was accepted as she was.

She confirmed his thoughts of her being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and her being a year behind him. She also said the reasons behind them not speaking was because of their house differences, which was most likely true, and that she chose to step back from being social, which was partly true or most likely partly true. “Me being a social recluse as well probably has never help, but I'm glad hat you cam along today, got my mind off of things,” he gave her a reassuring smile. He looked at her and smiled, “so your day, how has it been so far?” he asked, “I've just been relaxing, I guess you could call it that, here at the bridge.”

[CHARLIZE KENDRA PENDRAGON]

Something about her whole exterior softened hearing him say that they should not be treated beneath society. The smiles kept twitching at her lips as Alden spoke. It felt so good to talk to someone normally. Just be Chaz. "Of course. At time we can be the monsters that give you nightmares." Yeah, so that was true to an extent but usually, she had found, breeds tended to stick to themselves and not cause too much hassle for people.

"I guess when you feel condemned by society you kinda learn to be a good listener." she said with a small laugh of her own. Charlize was glad that Alden felt that she was good company. It was a difference to being awkward or weird.

Charlize then shrugged as he asked about her day. "It's been ok. Got tired of being stuffed up in the common room listening to everyone go on about the dance. Headed out and ended here. Not that I'm complaining, this is my favourite place out of the whole of Hogwarts. This and the forest." Chaz explained to him. Her cheeks then flushed a very pale pink. "Sorry, I don't mean to go on." Running a hand through her hair she pulled a small face before turning around and leaning over the rail.