Just a quick stretch (Open)

[vanyel_peacock]

Vanyel had finally decided he was probably ok letting Tylendel out of his sight for longer than it took to go to the bathroom, and had wandered off to sit in the Gryffindor commons.  After all, he reasoned, he'd see him if he headed outof the room they'd been sharing.  He pulled out the copy of Hogwarts: A History that he'd checked out, and began

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[maid_brienne]

((OOC: I know this is days old, but I hope you'll indulge me, since having
a Vanyel at Hogwarts was one of the major things that brought me out of lurkdom. :)))

Brienne had wandered into the common room at some point, and her eye was drawn to the pretty young man who sat reading. He was good-looking in the unconscious way that Renly Baratheon had been, although it was hard to imagine Renly actually doing something as mundane as reading. Anyway, this stranger was dressed in fashions similar to those she had seen on the nobility back home, and he seemed relatively ordinary by Hogwarts standards.

"Hello," she said quietly, offering a brief smile as she pulled out a chair and sank into it. "I hope you don't mind if I join you."

[vanyel_peacock]

He smiled shyly and shrugged. "S'fine." He was a little nervous at this, since he wasn't terribly comfortable with girls. "I'm Vanyel," he said, offering her a slight bow.

[maid_brienne]

Brienne wasn't all that comfortable with men, either, so had she been privy to his thoughts she probably would have noted they were even. In any case, she responded with a slight bow of her own, not ever having managed to master the art of the graceful curtsy and not, today, feeling the need to humiliate herself about it.

"I'm Brienne of Tarth. Well met, Ser Vanyel," she said. "Have you been at Hogwarts long?"

[vanyel_peacock]

He shook his head. "A couple of weeks, assuming time's the same here. You?" he asked. He was slightly less intimidated, since this seemed to be along the lines of a normal conversation.

[maid_brienne]

"Quite a bit longer, actually," Brienne replied. "It's a bit fuzzy, actually, because I've spent some time as popcorn, and recently I've just... Been keeping to myself." She gave a slight shrug. "How do you find Hogwarts so far?"

[vanyel_peacock]

"I haven't really been doing much here that I wouldn't have done at home, after the first few days. So there's a lot I haven't seen." He smiled shyly at her. "I keep hearing about the being popcorn thing. Seems unpleasant. I hope you're all right afterwards?" he asked.

[maid_brienne]

"It's mostly humiliating. You wake to find yourself covered in salt and butter, and sometimes it takes people differently. Sometimes they remember what they did before the popcorn, and sometimes they don't. I remember everything from when it happened to me."

In an attempt to change the subject, she mused, "I wonder why it seems easier to continue as we were when we get to a place like this. I keep thinking this is an opportunity to do something... different, but I haven't managed that so far."

[vanyel_peacock]

He nodded. "The only difference here, in how I live, is that I no longer have to consider the desires of my family. So I can be open about things that needed to remain secret at home." He sighed. "I do mean to learn things here, I just haven't had the time yet. I've been too busy, with one thing or another."

[maid_brienne]

Brienne nodded. "I no longer have the obligations that I once did," she admitted. She wasn't entirely certain that this was a good thing. "It's sort of an odd realization." And one she would have to mull over later. Turning back to her companion, she inquired, "What sorts of things do you mean to learn here?" She was honestly curious and hoped he wouldn't take her comment as meddling.

[vanyel_peacock]

"It's odd, but good, at least for me. It was stranger, when I was alone here, but I'm not, anymore." He smiled shyly.

"I know I have to learn to control my innate magics. It's not something I had before, but I know that being untrained, at least amongst my people is a dangerous thing. I'm still trying to learn about how people view and use magic here, since it seems to be quite different from anything I'd heard of before."

[maid_brienne]

Brienne nodded. "I'm glad you have someone here," she said. "That helps. A lot. And this place seems good for training those with magical talent. At least here magic seems like something that can be beneficial. Back home, magic users are regarded with suspicion at best, if not outright terror, and with good reason. It's something of an adjustment to go from that to a place where people wave around wands all the time." As usual, this was quite an understatement.

[vanyel_peacock]

He nodded. "Back home for me, all magic was in service to the throne. And I'd previously been shown to have none. Now, I seem to be doing things without even intending them," he said with a sigh.

"Luckily, I should start learning the basics in a few days. I'm just trying to learn the basics of this place as well, because it's all so different here." His voice was wistful, and there was something of a longing for simpler times in his expression.

[maid_brienne]

Brienne understood. She really did. "This place does take some getting used to," she agreed. "I think you'll manage well enough. And... if there's any way I can be of assistance, feel free to ask. My time is largely my own, these days." Again, the non-verbal cues suggested this wasn't a good thing. "I can't be much help with the magic, since I ought to study more of that myself, but I at least mostly don't get lost anymore trying to get around this place."

[vanyel_peacock]

He smiled. "I might, as that. Although, truth be told, I haven't much wanted to see most of the castle lately."

He laughed. "I'll worry about the magics of this place, after I get the other kind under control."

[maid_brienne]

"Of course." Brienne said with one of her fleeting smiles. She rose to her feet and gave another abreviated bow. "Well, I'll let you get back to your reading. Thank you for the conversation, and good luck with mastering your magic." She moved off. Well, that was interesting. He was a child, barely older than Podric Payne, but he hadn't been overly intimidated, nor had he felt the need to overcompensate the way the men she'd known back home would have. It was kind of a heady feeling not to be as completely socially awkward as she'd always supposed she was.