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Post by greeneyedjoy on Mar 14, 2007 19:59:46 GMT -5
Clearly, Adelaide didn't know what was about to happen. Veritas hesitated, wondering if he should keep watching... because if he kept watching, then she would keep watching, and then she'd have every right to be upset with him for letting her watch the cruelty that was about to take place in the colosseum.
*Who knew this little fish colony was so primitive? I guess it makes sense... I don't know,* he thought.
Before he could make a decision, and luckily, before the fight began in the colosseum, Veritas noticed it was getting harder to breathe. He ran his fingers along his neck, and realized that his gills were disappearing. He looked up at the surface of the lake... it seemed so far away... but there was nothing for it, he had to get there. Without wasting any more time, he sprung off the coral and kicked his fins, which were becoming more and more feet-like by the second.
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Post by adelaide on Mar 14, 2007 20:09:11 GMT -5
Adelaide watched in horror as the gillyweed began to lose its effect on Veritas. They were so far down, what if he couldn't make it to the top in time. ~Adelaide, calm down!~ Her mind begged. ~He'll make it. There's time.~ And then she realized that if he was beginning to change back, that would mean she would soon.
Taking one last look at the fish building, she started toward the top, hoping to reach it before she changed back. It wasn't that she was not a good swimmer without fins, not at all, just that she wasn't so sure how well she could cope with swimming far beneath the water without gills. She didn't really want to find out. Thankfully, she was only about five feet under when she began to change back, plenty of space made up in the time when she still had fins. She could make it to the top in no time. Sputtering a bit as she gasped in air, she realized how cold it had gotten. After wiping her eyes of water, she looked around for Veritas, hoping he had made it up too.
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Post by greeneyedjoy on Mar 15, 2007 11:06:23 GMT -5
((i just took a two hour English final where all I did for two hours was sit and type at a computer... and yet here I am...))
Veritas never let the fear overcome him as he ascended to the top. He knew he just had to keep going... there was nothing else to do, so why panic? These were his thoughts as he kicked his legs, harder and harder as he got closer to the top, for now his fins were completely gone. *Not panicking, not panicking* he kept saying to himself as he stopped being able to breathe completely, still several feet away from the surface of the water. He was just about to panic, when all of a sudden he felt something grab hold of him, and to his immense surprise and relief, he broke the surface of the water almost immediately and then was taken to the edge of the lake, where he lay spluttering water out of his lungs. He turned wildly around as soon as he had caught his breath, and saw a mermaid, obviously young and wide-eyed. She smiled at him, before turning right around and going back under.
Dazed, he looked a little more to the left, and saw Puddle crawling out of the water as well.
*what just happened...* he wondered vaguely as he put his head down for a short nap...
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Post by adelaide on Mar 15, 2007 16:15:33 GMT -5
[[Aww, that's how completely addicting these sites become. How did the final go?]]
Adelaide was quickly becoming panicked when she didn't see Veritas surfacing...~Where in the world could he be. Goodness...if us experimenting with strange plants has led to something thoroughly horrible....No! Don't think about that!~ She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. It wouldn't do for her to be frightened. It wouldn't help anything. Rationally, he had to be here somewhere....It was just a matter of finding that somewhere.
She looked around her, scouring the banks for some sign of him when she suddenly heard something breach the water behind her. Whipping around, she was too late to catch whatever it was coming out, but when she turned to the side she saw Veritas lying on the opposite bank. ~Thank goodness!~ She dove under and swam to the bank. Arriving, she pulled herself from the water and hurried over to him. Taking a seat beside him, she saw he didn't look to be in the best state. "Veritas?" she hesitantly said. "Are you okay?!" She looked worriedly down at him, hoping he would answer...
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Post by greeneyedjoy on Mar 15, 2007 17:56:22 GMT -5
((It went really well! I'm expecting a good grade, thankfully.))
Veritas coughed a little more, and finally croaked out, "I'm fine... that was fun!"
He sat up and started squeezing his wet robes, trying to stop the dripping. "Wow!" he said looking up at her, "so what did you think of that structure? I can't wait to go looking again! Not today, of course... and probably not at all this week, but maybe next weekend I'll take another look."
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Post by adelaide on Mar 15, 2007 22:59:15 GMT -5
[[Well, that's good.]]
Adelaide looked incredulously back at Veritas. "You almost died and you're already ready to go back? Crazy! I have to admit though, that it was lovely. The colors were brilliant, much better than the ones we have up here. There are things there that could keep me sketching for months."
She shivered slightly, the water and air were cold. She silently chanted the incantation to retrieve her wand [[why she's getting her wand to cast more spells? no idea. Except perhaps the magic is more concentrated...?]]and then cast a spell to make her dry. Warmth suddenly spread from her fingers to her toes. Much better!
"As far as that structure goes, it was amazing. I'm still not sure what it was. What was it? But it was absolutely marvelous! I suppose I'd go back again. Just for the view." She looked at Veritas again. "Are you sure you're okay?"
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Post by greeneyedjoy on Mar 16, 2007 0:48:44 GMT -5
"Yeah! I feel great... and so alive! The structure, it was like the Colosseum, in Rome. It was built by witches and wizards for Quidditch, but that area soon became too populated by muggles for continuing with that sort of behavior, since that often led to burnings and things. So they abandoned it, and the muggles used it for public spectacles such as Gladiator fights, those are muggles who were physically strong, and for entertainment they fought with huge creatures, or even with each other, to earn their freedom. I would die to find out what those fish do with their amphitheatre..." he trailed off. Now he too reached for his wand to dry himself off. *Much better,* he thought, once he was warm. You'd have never guessed he had just spent the past hour underwater, except that he was clearly so enthralled by some recent occurance.
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Post by adelaide on Mar 16, 2007 23:16:30 GMT -5
Adelaide suddenly understood. "The Colosseum! Of course. I didn't make the connection there, but, yes, I see it now. That's absolutely fascinating..." She paused as suddenly she realized something. "Wait, you don't think that they actually have fights in there do you? Wouldn't that be absolutely barbaric? I don't understand how violence is entertaining. I don't understand at all. I certainly don't want to find out what they do in their little amphitheater, not at all. I do believe it might make me very upset...Considering I don't even like to think of something like that happening, seeing it would be all the worse."
Adelaide lay back on the bank, looking at the clouds. Now that she had seen under the water, colors above seemed duller, not as interesting. Nevertheless, clouds were always beautiful. She remembered how she used to want to go live in the clouds when she was younger. Wouldn't that be lovely; if only it were possible.
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Post by greeneyedjoy on Mar 25, 2007 21:26:52 GMT -5
((*chokes and clears throat* Gwen?!))
*Hmm,* thought Veritas, *It's a good thing I ran out of gills before I let her see the event in the Colosseum. I really doubt it could have been anything good.*
"Well, I think they probably do have some sort of fights down there. But don't worry, I won't be dragging you down there on my next adventure. I wouldn't mind it if you came... but I won't make you," he added with a smile.
Now he too sat down and stared at the sky. He also thought the colors looked duller, but like Adelaide, he didn't think that made the sky boring. In fact, now that he had seen underwater, not only was he thinking about the clouds, he was thinking about the stars and everything between them and this planet. *If magical underwater settlements are this amazing, what are they like on other planets? Woah, let me not get too ahead of myself. I think, instead, I'll focus on meeting some mermaids on my next trip... that will be so cool...*
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Post by adelaide on Mar 25, 2007 21:35:52 GMT -5
[[haha, yes?]]
"Oh, I most definitely will be joining you. Though I do think I'll let you attend the show at the Colosseum on your own; I believe I'll pass on watching that. It's certainly not my favorite thing in the world to think about. The colors down there were absolutely enchanting though. I don't think I could pass up a chance to see them again. It's a bit frustrating to know that no matter how hard I try to mix paints to achieve a color, it'll never match any of them down there. They were absolutely remarkable."
She smiled contentedly at the clouds as she watched them move slowly across the sky. Then, quietly, she waved her wand at them, casting a silent spell to make them change into much more interesting shapes. This was one of her favorite charms. Useless, yes, but interesting and rather entertaining. She giggled as she saw a cloud morph into a scene of fish swimming among seaweed; it was strange to see it in the sky when she had just witnessed a very similar scene underwater.
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Post by greeneyedjoy on Mar 25, 2007 23:23:22 GMT -5
((Ooooh you had me fooled all this time! Yet now, I can't believe I didn't see it before! haha))
Veritas gawped at the clouds. He watched them, entranced, for a long time before turning to Adelaide. "How did you do that? I've never seen such a creative spell able to be worked on such a great magnitude! We're so far away from those clouds!" Sometimes he hated not being able to hide his enthusiasm, because he felt it made him less cool and a little overwhelming if you were on the receiving end. "Where did you find it, and would you teach it to me?" he asked with pleading eyes.
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Post by adelaide on Mar 25, 2007 23:31:47 GMT -5
[[Really? Wow. I'm impressed I had you fooled.]]
Adelaide smiled, glad one of her spells had impressed someone. Not turning her eyes from the sky, she answered. "Well, thanks. I found the spell sometime in my fifth year, it took me about a year to perfect it, but first month of my sixth year I could manage it pretty well with the spoken word, by the end I could manage it in silence. It's a very useful spell for a boring class." She turned her head to look at Veritas, but quickly turned it back to the clouds trying desperately to suppress giggles. The question in itself wasn't humorous, but the pleading she could see in his eyes was a bit...she couldn't tell if he was serious or not. As soon as she felt she could respond without giving away the fact that she was laughing, she spoke. "I will certainly teach it to you. It's really not that difficult of a spell, not compared with some NEWT level charms."
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Post by greeneyedjoy on Mar 26, 2007 16:48:16 GMT -5
"Man," said Veritas, "I pride myself on Charms most of the time, yet here I am about to learn a completely off-the-wall new charm from some other student?" He sighed. "You're lucky you're a Ravenclaw, or I'd have to be seriously offended," he added with a smile.
"Alright then," he said, sitting up so he could concentrate better. "What's the incantation on this thing? NEWT level charms are one of my fortes, so try not to be too impressed at my speed in learning it, " he said smugly.
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Post by adelaide on Apr 4, 2007 17:00:30 GMT -5
Adelaide raised her eyebrow. "If I weren't a Ravie, you'd be offended if I knew a charm you didn't? Thanks. That's nice." She laughed a bit at his eagerness, and pulled herself into a sitting position. "Well, first things first, wouldn't it be better if you had a wand out? I mean...I don't want to insult your intelligence, but spells are easiest when you use a wand, right?"
She pulled hers from beside her, and scoffed a bit as he mentioned learning the spell quickly. "I believe you should reserve your bragging rights until after you've learned the spell. That would be the smart way about things. After all, who knows? This could be the hardest spell you've learned yet."
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