socialization. --dex

[daphne lydia varkatzas]

SHE COULD BE A JOAN OF ARC

Typically, Daphne excelled at spending the entirety of the daylight hours tucked away into an over sized chair in the Ravenclaw common room, a small, neat pile of books and papers in her company, charmed to come and go at her leisure. She never put socializing as a main priority, and at times had found she had hardly even held a whole conversation for days at a time before the rare pang of loneliness rung within her chest. It wasn't unfamiliar, and even when it arrived, there was very little in her that ached to be with a large group of people or the life of a party. There was a curiosity, yes, as to what that may feel like. More than likely, she would be overwhelmed and do something unintentionally, further socially scarring her more than anyone else. The potential was just too daunting to be bothered with, and she assumed her less than legacy would follow at her heels once she had finished with her schooling. However, the sunlight pooling into the room through the stained glass window pulled her from her thoughts for a final time before she looked down, almost questioningly at the small rat in her lap. I suppose it's about that time again, Raoul. Let's get some fresh air. Daphne began to pile all her belongings and stood up, causing the small bundle of fur to scurry up into her sweater's pocket.

With a short stop back in the bed chambers, she made meticulous point to put everything back in it's proper place before slipping into her shoes, patting herself down in a mental check for anything she might need. Out of habit, her hands curled around her wand despite being able to fully acknowledge it while passing her hand over it. Daphne always took the connection between wand and wizard very seriously. Her brother had always bragged that he learned so quickly because he was so in tune with his own, and it sparked a genuine interest in her younger self. So much so that she had to be bluntly told to leave the shop the day she got her own, as she incessantly felt the need to get every question she had come up with up to that point answered. The memory made her blush, but she had always felt safe as long as she had her wand; it was most definitely a security blanket for the soon to be young adult. With the uncertainty that comes with life and her penchant for trouble, however, Daphne could never feel too secure.

With a slight bounce in her step, Daph made her way through the winding corridors and ever changing staircases and out beyond the yards towards the Quidditch pitch. She had never been particularly skilled enough to fly competitively, let alone with all the other work that goes into the game. She enjoyed it recreationally with family now and then, but it was far too nerve wracking to ever play for the school. Supporting it had never been a problem, though. The games were freeing. With or without company, she was surrounded by her peers in a positive environment. She could indulge. It was a feeling that resonated in her whenever she set foot on the pitch or in the stands. So, whenever she felt like going out, but not exactly being left alone, she would go out and see if she could catch a practice in action. There's still something going on, and there are usually others around for a short, casual interaction.

Before long, her feet were causing the wood beneath them to creep as she climbed up a few set of seats before settling in the back, on the top one, taking in the performance before her. A small smile crept up, tugging at the ends of her lips as she took a moment to try and assess what exactly was going on at the moment, before bothering to find company. In her lap, Raoul began sniffing at the edges of her pockets before climbing out, curling up and resting against her arm as she kept her hands and knees together. Even her body language was perpetually withdrawn, despite her subtle efforts to look enthralled and personable.

WORDS 708 TAGGED DEX NOTES uhhh meow :3

TEMPLATE BY WE WERE INFINITE ! OF CAUTIO 2.0

[dexter blaise lafleur]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 440px; height: 600px; background-image: url(http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv146/xmusicfrack/k-3.png); -moz-border-radius: 250px; border-radius:100px 100px 100px 100px; border: 3px solid #ffffff;] up with the birds , dex was having a normal day, his classes were now becoming more and more normal to him. he was falling back into the place of the know-it-all kid in every single class he was in. yep, that meant everything was starting to become normal. he walked up the long set of stairs and up to the ravenclaw common room. he hoped to have run into someone he knew and maybe they could go for a short walk before dinner time. dex wasn't a very social creature, he craved the attention of those near and close to him. he enjoyed sharing an intellectual conversation with those who were willing to bounce a few idea's off of each other. dex loved someone who could challenge his wit and his smarts, those were people who deserved the utmost respect. he knew a lot of ravenclaw's were smart, some smarter than the average witch or wizard. as he entered the common room everyone was chatting away, he smiled and waved of a group of his friends. his smile quickly faded as he climbed another set of stairs towards his room. in his room he shared it with three other sixth year ravenclaws. he had no problem with any of them, it was hard for him to relate with them though. he always found himself relating more with girls and being on the same emotional level as them. most guys found it entertaining to play around with girls feelings and just make up lies about what they did while they were together. dex found that very unappealing and saw it from a girls perspective. if a girl did that to him he wouldn't be very happy.. actually he'd be reluctant to ever trust a girl right again. as he slipped off his robes and into a more comfortable sweater that had the normal ravenclaw emblem on it. he heard a familiar meow from across the room and saw it was his cat. dex walked over and picked up the brown and white ball of fluff, "aspen, you must stop sneaking up on me. it's kinda creepy but i know you don't mean too." he cuddled the cat closely, he was wearing all black but luckily he cat didn't shed. the cat purred in his arms and he let her down onto the ground lightly. "i'll be back later." he smiled and gave aspen a final pat. the cat meowed and trotted off forward before waiting for dex to follow. he rolled his eyes, it was like her to want to come along for an adventure. dex left the dorm, his wand in his pocket and his hair perfectly ruffled. aspen decided it'd be fun to stalk him to wherever he was headed. he hoped to run into someone along the way to keep him company. he made his way across the castle and into the open air. it wasn't too chilly outside today, it was warm and comfortable weather. he enjoyed the climate change from summer to autumn. it was really quite beautiful to see the change of leaves at hogwarts. there were so many different kinds of tree's and different leaves to look at. aspen stopped following him and returned to some corner of the castle probably to lounge around. he was glad, he didn't want to be labeled as another crazy cat boy. he found himself at the quidditch post, it was quite vacant but it looked like a practice was being organized. he looked around and saw a familiar face of daphne, a fellow ravenclaw who shared the same love of knowledge that he did. dex liked daphne and felt like she was the older sister he never had. like usual her rat raoul was sitting ontop her lap, scattering about sniffing. he walked up to her, "hey daphne, i'm surprised to see you out here." he smiled warmly, daphne was an introvert but not a serious one. she just preferred being alone and not around others. dex was glad he was one of the few people she could tolerate. she was rarely spotted outside her room or the common room. he sat with her at dinner at times to catch up. "how are you been darling?" he asked his charming side coming out slightly. there can be only one mikey! of caution 2.0

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[daphne lydia varkatzas]

SHE COULD BE A JOAN OF ARC

It never took long for Daphne to become enthralled in whatever she was watching, or reading, or whomever she was talking to. At current, the Quidditch practice was occupying her attention. Each player just seemed so in tune with one another. It was almost an art form the way they were so synchronized while each independently being capable of what they needed to do themselves. She blushed and looked down, always thinking that maybe she was just thinking too much into it. Maybe it isn't really all that difficult to function so harmoniously within a group, a team. Maybe to them it really was just a game they were passionate about, and all the technicalities of it came naturally to them. Maybe they didn't feel the need to over analyze every move, or to calculate with pin point precision each strategy. Or maybe they did. Perhaps she was completely understating the difficulty of it all. It was a subject in which she was completely in the dark, because she had never been particularly interesting in playing competitively. Making a mental note, Daph decided she would have to pick the brain on a player one day. Surely one of her acquaintances played, right? Until then, she would be tormented by the curiosity.

Her torment, it seemed, would have to wait. Pulled from her thoughts as she felt Raoul stir in her lap, her eyes glances down at the small furry being to see him standing at attention. Odd as it was, he had always been the more sociable of the two. She had only had him for about two years now, but he had seemed to make it his personal objective to get the girl to have more friends. From playing little tricks to being overly affectionate, the rat always did his best to seem as cute as possible as if that would enhance her chances at friendship. It was a sweet gesture, and he was often rewarded with treats. Antics aside, looking up, those big brown eyes of hers caught on to a familiar figure approaching.

Every time Daphne saw him, Dexter had a very inviting, pleasant smile on his face. It was contagious, and she grinned as he found his way over to her, his surprise at her presence sounding optimistic. It was nice to feel as though others enjoyed ones company, as she certainly did with him. He was a grade below her, often to Daphne's dismay. Dexter was definitely one of her favorite people to hold a conversation with. He had a very bright mind, always coming up with viewpoints she had hardly even scratched the surface of considering, which is what she loved. he enjoyed his thirst for knowledge, it seemed to be a large driving factor within him, which she admired. Patting the space on the wooden bench to her side, she welcomed his company. yeah, i guess even i can't survive without some fresh air and sunlight now and then.

[/color] she answered with a small, breathy but playful sigh.

Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she took a moment to look back out at the active practice before returning her attention to Dexter. How had she been? There was nothing in particular she could complain about. Classes were never a tough issue with her. She enjoyed the work, the productivity of it all, and her ever growing resume of success within them. October was her favorite month. The weather, the fashion, the festivities. All of it rung true within her and brought out true joy. Nodding slightly, she answered simply, I've been good.[/color] It summed it up, but didn't do much for conversation. As if sensing this, Raoul tugged at her sleeve gently, prompting her to look down, pushing his nose from it slightly. Better now that I'm not buried in books, I suppose. I was feeling restless, and this is usually a good place to find others.[/color] she elaborated, before gesturing towards him. I mean, obviously, right?[/color] she added with a small laugh, as his appearance was too perfect of an example of this.

He seemed in a rather good mood, in good health, and was probably out and about for similar reason as she. Though, she knew Dex was far more of a social creature than she was. It was often him and friends of his she would sit with in the common room, or whom he would invite her to come sit with in the Great Hall. He really was a sweet boy. How about you? What brings you here?[/color]

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WORDS 790 TAGGED DEX NOTES uhhh meow :3

TEMPLATE BY WE WERE INFINITE ! OF CAUTIO 2.0

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[dexter blaise lafleur]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 440px; height: 600px; background-image: url(http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv146/xmusicfrack/k-3.png); -moz-border-radius: 250px; border-radius:100px 100px 100px 100px; border: 3px solid #ffffff;] up with the birds , dex wasn't much of a quidditch player, he could fly but he did not enjoy it as much as a good book. the fear of falling off a broom and crashing down into the depths of the field was too scary for the young lad. he wasn't much of a risk taker, he rather sit on the sidelines and watch others have fun. he enjoyed watching quidditch and it was pure joy and excitement in the common room when ravenclaw won. he loved that the sport was a team effort and it brought joy to all who watched and played. he loved getting dressed up in warm clothes that had the embroidered symbol of ravenclaw and head out with his friends. the first quidditch matchup of the school year was coming up so all the teams were fighting for the field to train their new players. he was excited to see that it was hufflepuff using the field, he hadn't seen their new seeker. apparently, she was all the rage and they were excited to see what she could do. dex wondered what aspen did in her free time, she was probably lounging about doing what cats usually did --which consisted of absolutely nothing productive. he had aspen since he was in his first year at hogwarts. her fluffy brown and white fur had become a daily sight as it was always in a matted mess of leaves and different foods. he would find himself picking off the most strange stuff off of her and would get a good chuckle from it at least. if it wasn't for aspen he'd be pretty lonely without someone to talk to when he was overly frustrated and couldn't deal with humanity anymore. the funny thing was he sometime's wished he could trade lives with aspen for a bit, just do nothing for the whole day and waste it away. after a while though, he'd feel pretty useless and want to go back to his normal life. yep, being a cat would be pretty simple. dexter was happy to have run into daphne, he enjoyed her company and her smile was worth the long trek up the quidditch field viewing area. he looked forward everytime their was an empty seat next to her in the great hall. it was always nice to have someone challenge his intellect like she did. they would have fun discovering new and different facts, bouncing each new idea off of one another. dex laughed lightly with her reply, the quidditch place was always nice to relax by. the fresh air, the great action, and not to mention meeting new people. "yeah it's a great place. i'm shocked daphne, nothing is better than being buried in a mound of books." he said jokingly, he loved reading but being in contact with the human race was always nice too. dex wasn't overly social, he liked talking and getting to know people. it was all apart of the hogwarts experience, the people he grew close with would remain in his heart forever and hopefully remain in his life. "i was kinda bored and for some reason i fancied seeing some quidditch." he smiled, his french accent coming out thick on his words. dex watched as the hufflepuff team zoomed past overhead and practiced new plays and different techniques on how to score faster. "hey remember when you were reading that one book about mermaids? i was wondering if i could borrow it after you're done." he asked politely, he didn't know much about underwater creatures but he'd love to learn. "was it any good though?" he asked, sometimes the writing in the books weren't as good as authors were made out to be. he sometime's hated the writing styles of authors and he refused to read certain ones because of it. he frowned at this thought before returning his attention to daphne. there can be only one mikey! of caution 2.0

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[daphne lydia varkatzas]

SHE COULD BE A JOAN OF ARC

Slipping her hands into the pockets of her sweater and pulling them inward, closer to her body, Daphne laughed, an odd mixture of heartfelt and cautious, upon hearing Dexter's words. It was true, though. Behind piles of books was were she had always sought and found comfort. So many times had her soul been enlivened by the ideas and passions of other, brilliant minds. She looked down at her boots, her right foot curled inward momentarily, and she moved it in a small circle pensively. Whatever she was missing from having a socially driven life eluded her. Whatever it was that brought out that passion in others as solitude did in hers. Or in the Quidditch players. So many basic universal similarities were found in people, yet the spectrum of personalities was so vast. She looked back at Dexter and the edge of her lip curled up into a grin, one more soft laugh passing her lips.

His accent had always amused her so. Daphne loved when he would end up rambling on about whatever topic they had in mind. His accent would always overtake his words when he got too excited and spoke too fast, and combined with his extensive vocabulary and charm, he was always someone fun to sit and listen to. That was probably what made Daph so comfortable with him. She could bounce ideas off him, and there was always such a carefree vibe from her fellow Ravenclaw.

Upon hearing mention of said mermaid book, Daphne's entire body perked up, so noticeably that even Raoul rolled from where he had been laying on her thigh to the crevice her legs formed, pushed against one another. She smiled quickly, rubbing his head lightly, whispering an apology to him quickly. At once, her attention was back to Dexter and she clapped once, excitedly. yes! i actually just finished that over breakfast. she informed him. instinctively, she looked down, thinking she may have had her bag with her, had there been the off chance she had forgotten to take it out and replace it with a new one already. that was not the case, unfortunately, and the rodent in her pocket was all she had brought out with her. i haven't got it with me, but you absolutely can borrow it. it's fascinating. such in depth, vivid details. my goodness. by the time she finished talking, a broad smile was still stretched across her face. With a small tilt of the head, her eyebrow was cocked ever so slightly. thinking of taking a dip in the black lake? her attempts at humor were usually short lived, as Daphne found she most often only succeeded at amusing herself, but it was also a possibility. People were reckless these days.

A small jitter of anxiety pulsed through her, but Daphne pushed the feeling to the back of her mind, looking out at the pitch once more. Two players shot up, going straight into the air, and she let her eyes follow, until another tactical maneuver was preformed, catching her attention. This was what she enjoyed, the distraction of it all, the raw energy to hold her attention from her own disparaging thoughts. Feelings her hands tensing and untensing, Raoul fit himself into her pocket along with one of her hands, sniffing and nuzzling at it until she at least mildly relaxed. The effort, however, brought upon a genuine feeling of joy, easing her mind once more. A small bout of panic was unsurprising, and Daphne was actually feeling quite optimistic about how positive she was feeling. It really did feel good to get outside, Dexter's company turned out to be a very welcome surprise.

WORDS 627 TAGGED DEX NOTES uhhh meow :3

TEMPLATE BY WE WERE INFINITE ! OF CAUTIO 2.0

[dexter blaise lafleur]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 440px; height: 600px; background-image: url(http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv146/xmusicfrack/k-3.png); -moz-border-radius: 250px; border-radius:100px 100px 100px 100px; border: 3px solid #ffffff;] up with the birds , dex laughed along with daphne, it was really nice and refreshing to be out here. he was in good company and not to mention the quidditch practice going on had good action. he knew he was right though, reading a good book or writing for hours on end was his kind of enjoyment. he loved literature and so did daphne, it was something they both shared and made them really close. his grandfather had a huge library of books back at home and he had read every single one now, he was just waiting for him to get more. by the time school was out he was sure that his grandfather would get around to buying more for him. it was always books for dex, books for christmas, books for his birthday. it was a gift that never got old, he loved opening a book and leaping into the text as if he was the character in the story. it wasn't just stories he enjoyed either he loved non-fiction. either way the kid was always reading with his nose in a book. he loved the feeling of never being able to put a book down because it was so good. daphne had told him about this mermaid book long ago when she first got it. they traded books on a weekly basis, always craving something new. he was glad to lend her his and she did the same for him. he had been itching to get this mermaid one though, she described it as if she wrote it herself. dex had read a few books mentioning mermaids but not a detailed one like this one. he would probably give her his book on pixies which wasn't as fascinating. dex had gotten the pixie book as a gift from a professor, he said it was falling apart and the information was outdated. when he read it, he was wrong. the book still carried some good details and the way the author wrote it made it even more interesting. "oh yeah, i saw you reading and i didn't want to interrupt." he remembered back to breakfast, he hated being interrupted when he read or wrote so he left her alone. she looked down to the post to see if something was there but to her dismay nothing was. dex glanced over at rhaoul her rat, he looked healthy and his coat of fur shiny. daphne really cared for her rat and loved him. it was a cute relationship between the two actually. "thank you daphne, i can't express my gratitude. i haven't been able to find one decent mermaid book yet. you're free to borrow that pixie one i received from that one crazy professor." he rolled his eyes at the thought of him. he watched as daphne cocked her head and raised a brow at him. "oh no! you've discovered my secret. i love taking dips in the black lake for fun." he smiled, laughing lightly at her jokes. only someone with a decent mind would know that there were mermaids in the black lake. some people wouldn't even know that, people nowadays were so vapid. "it's kind of saddening to think that we're not in the same year so we can't laugh at the dimwits together in our classes." dex shook his head, he took only one seventh year class but luckily daphne was in it with him. it was advanced potions and the two were the brainiacs in that class. at least everyone in that class wasn't dumb, they wanted to be there which made the learning environment better. as both watched the quidditch practice, they soared and flew across the field. "do you ever wish you could play quidditch?" dex asked, he never really knew if she was good at flying or not. he was okay at it but preferred to keep his feet on the ground personally. there can be only one mikey! of caution 2.0

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