Contemplation [Open]

[VIVIANA CAMELIA LESTOAT]

Viviana was a creature of the night, not just because she was half vampire but because she usually found herself more comfortable in the gentle light of the moon than the vibrant glare of the sun. There was a stillness at night that soothed her. To be cooped up inside was an affront to her nature and although she had promised her father that she wouldn’t go roaming into the village to seek him out, Vivi had made no such promises about remaining in the safety of her common room. The moon was full that night, partially blocked by one of the many dark clouds that covered the velvet sky, stars hidden behind them. The silvery glow illuminated the grounds, its light sparkling off the lake’s surface like millions of little diamonds.

With each step that she took, however light it might have been, the ice that chilled each blade of grass crunched beneath her feet. Most wouldn’t have thought that she was dressed inappropriately for a December’s eve, but Viviana wasn’t like most girls. The cold didn’t affect her like it did others. The long sleeves of her dress were plenty enough to keep her warm her body ran cold anyway. Approaching the dock Viv looked out at the water. It was mostly still, albeit a few small ripples in the distance. With her superior vision she noted that the Giant Squid was out letting the tips of its tentacles breach the surface, barely noticeable. Perhaps it was testing the air to see just how cool it was becoming with each night that passed. Snow already coated the grounds giving it that white Christmas feel.

Vivi took a seat at the edge of the dock tucking her legs beside her to watch the ritualistic dance of the squid. It was something that she did every year always speculating what it was up to and never having confirmation as to which theory was more likely or even correct. Something else however soon caught her attention. Her reflection in the water which glistened pale as the moon. Viviana found herself staring at it looking at the youthfully beautiful face that would eventually age. Would it be gracefully though? She had thought about asking her father to change her, but while still in school she simply couldn’t. Classes were held during the day and it was not conducive to the lifestyle of a full-fledged vampire. Her fingertips tenderly ran over her cheek-bone wondering if it would be overly vain to get changed directly after Hogwarts. She should wait to have a family of her own before plunging into that. Her father deserved grandchildren, a line to carry on the family legacy.

[sunny]

Tonight was a nice night, the sky was cool and clear and only the light of the silvery moon touched Stephanie’s skin as she made her way down to the lake, the stars sparkling cheerfully overhead. Technically she was still on a curfew, students had to be in their common rooms after certain hours, blah blah… honestly, she didn’t really understand why it was such a big deal for them to go outside so long as they stayed at the school grounds. Sure, some spots were kind of dangerous, but the lake wasn’t one of them, was it?
Anyway, it wasn’t like she visited the lake every night. Normally, she stayed pretty close to the school building when she wanted to go outside for a bit. Sometimes she wouldn’t technically leave the school at all, and instead she'd simply go to the roof or something. Tonight was different though. As she’d wandered around the school grounds, she’d spotted her sister leaving the school and wandering down towards the lake.
These days, she didn’t really get to spend any time with Viviana. Not as much as they used to anyway. Viv had her own friends, just like Steph did. They were in the same house, but not the same year. They were together, but not really. Stephanie wasn’t so clingy that she had to be around Viv all the time, but sometimes, she did miss hanging out with her big sister.

She wouldn’t easily admit it, but at times, she wished she could be more like her. Stephanie had plenty of friends, she was generally likeable but she didn’t demand respect… not really. It was her own fault too. She didn’t act like respect meant anything to her, always laughing and playing around, she couldn’t fault people for not really taking her serious at times. Viviana was totally different, having more of a sophisticated air surrounding her. People truly listened when she talked. Stephanie had tried to be like that once, but she just couldn’t do it. She wasn’t being herself when she acted like that. Maybe it was better if she just stayed the way she was, the world couldn’t solely run on people like her sister, just like it couldn’t run on just people like herself.

She’d trailed behind a bit, trying to assess whether Viviana would actually be happy to see her or whether she preferred to be alone for now, which would be perfectly understandable. Stephanie didn’t like having people around her constantly either. Sometimes you needed to just be alone so you could breath. When she arrived at the docks, she waited for a moment and just stared at Viviana’s back as she sat down and watched the Giant Squid in the distance, Steph wondered if he’d ever grabbed someone and dragged them underwater with him. Probably not. If he did, he’d be hunted down before dawn even broke.
Shrugging her shoulders, Stephanie casually strolled over to where her sister was seated. If she wanted to be alone, she could just tell her. She knew Steph wouldn’t take offense.
“Hey Viv,” she kept her voice soft as she approached, not wanting to disturb the peace too much, “Do you… need some time alone?” she asked carefully, giving her sister an easy way to tell her to bugger off if that was what she wanted.

((This seemed as good a place as any to start, hope you don't mind.))

[VIVIANA CAMELIA LESTOAT]

Profound thoughts, particularly ones that involved mapping out one’s future had a way of stealing away Viviana’s awareness. She should have heard the gentle steps of her sister’s small frame following her, should have smelt her familiar scent in the air, but instead Vivi had been lost in thought. It wasn’t a rarity for her. Rather enjoying exploring the mind, delving into the deepest contours of her psyche interested her. If only ten percent of one’s brain was ever utilized than what wonders might a person find if they focused hard enough on tapping into the other undiscovered ninety percent? Was mere contemplation enough to solve one of life’s many mysteries? Viviana wasn’t naïve enough to think something such as that but it certainly didn’t hurt to at least test the theory.

It was late, her father had asked that she keep an especially keen eye on Stephanie, as a big sister should and Viv had been sticking with it. While she hadn’t hovered over Steph or interfered in anything unnecessarily she had remained true to her word. Viviana always did, no matter the cost. It was the reason why she never promised anything that she didn’t think she could handle. Confidence was not a quality that was lacking in Vivi, but she also wasn’t over-confident. The girl had a very clear establishment of her limits and stuck by them. Even without her father’s instructions Viv always looked out for Stephanie. She could be quite the nuisance at times. Her attitude not as stable as it could have been, but Stephanie had a heart of gold and that was what was important, especially to Viviana.

The distant observation that she had gone about to make sure that everything was in order with her little sister had been discrete. As much as she loved her sister dearly Vivi knew that she wasn’t the same little girl that had followed her around when they were younger, even if the affectionate attention that had been shown to her had been mocking, Viv had always known it to be what it truly was, good natured. They both had separate lives now, though they were still linked in so many ways. Viviana wanted to give Stephanie every opportunity to be her own person, to never be referred to as Viviana’s little sister or compared to her if it was preventable. The space that had been given to her wasn’t because she didn’t enjoy her company, but because Viv wanted her to establish a rapport with others.

Smiling as she looked up to Stephanie she shook her head gently. ”Good evening Stephanie.” She could have scolded her for being out of the castle roaming around the ground at such a dangerous time of the month. Werewolves were surely venturing amongst the dense forest and that natural, base instinct to kill was far too animalistic for the younger ones to control. ”No,” A necessity for alone time had never been an issue when it came to her sister. Viviana had always been a very patient and tolerate person, with some exceptions of course, but Stephanie was not one of them. ”I would love for you to join me in fact.” Just because she had been keeping tabs on her sister didn’t mean that she still didn’t want to hear of all her adventures directly from the source, or catch up. ”We haven’t had a good conversation in far longer than I’d like to admit.” Patting the space next to her, posture ever remaining perfectly poised, Vivi had a new glow about her, very pleased that Stephanie had followed her.

[sunny]

Waiting to see what kind of mood a person was in was always fun. And yes, that was sarcasm. This was one of the things about social interaction that Steph wouldn’t mind giving up, no one liked being told they were being a nuisance or a burden after all, especially when it was someone you cared about. Usually, she didn’t worry too much about those sort of things when it came to Vivi; her sister always seemed willing to spend time with her. But with schoolwork and everything lately, Steph could understand wanting some alone time.
When she turned around to face her though, Stephanie felt all her worries just fall away. She really shouldn’t have expected any other reaction; she couldn’t remember a single instance where Viviana had rudely told her to get lost. Like herself, Vivi was a nice person with a good heart. She just wasn’t as vocal as Stephanie, which was definitely a good thing. Their parents were great, but handling two of these? Even they might run out of energy. Well… in the past, anyway. They were older and more mature now. No one would have to deal with food getting smeared all over their faces any more.

A sparkle of delight twinkled in Stephanie’s eyes when Viviana smiled at her and greeted her. This was a good sign, at least she wasn’t upset over seeing her little sister stalk behind her like she did in the good ol’ days. Merlin, when she thought back on that, she felt so silly! What was she, a puppy in need of constant attention and affection? Well… kind of, yeah. That was pretty close to how Steph had been as a child, not that she didn’t stalk her relatives now of course.
That was something no magic spell could ever beat out of the brunette, her family meant everything to her. She’d jump into the lake and wrestle that Squid if it somehow benefited her family. The mental image made her smirk mischievously; she didn’t think Viv would be too happy if she did that, and would rightfully declare her a fool for doing so. And just how would her parents respond when they found out?
The look she imagined they’d wear on their faces almost made her consider doing it. Almost. Thankfully, she had enough sense to understand that it would be a really moronic thing to do. There was being silly, and then there was being plain stupid. Stephanie liked to think of herself as the first. She didn’t get sorted into Ravenclaw without a reason after all. So far, she’d never had any trouble figuring out the riddles and tests required to enter their common room, her grades were pretty high and she was knowledgeable on a variety of subjects. While she didn’t always give off an overly intelligent or sophisticated vibe, that didn’t mean she didn’t belong. Not everyone in Slytherin was a conniving bastard, just like not everyone in Gryffindor was a high and mighty ‘better-than-thou’ figure.
The Sorting Hat looked at who you truly were, which Stephanie was grateful of. She wasn’t sure where she’d have been if it based its decision on first glances alone.

“Really?” she grinned widely and wasted no time in claiming the spot next to her sister, tossing her legs over the side of the docks and leaning back on the palms of her hands as her feet dangled lazily below. “I know, it feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.” She turned her gaze towards the Squid for a brief moment and gave a quick wave of her hand as some the tips of its tentacles emerged once more, “Must be pretty lonely down there,” She remarked as she lowered her hand and placed it beside her again before turning her attention back to Vivi. She smiled, though it wasn’t one of those overly excited peppy smiles that were so common from her, no, this was a genuine smile that might not have looked as impressive but held ten times as much meaning. No need to act exaggeratedly happy around family unless you were genuinely giddy about something. Come to think of it, she was really happy to get a chance to sit and talk to her sister. Still, not even Stephanie acted hyper 24/7. “I missed you Viviana, how have you been?”

[VIVIANA CAMELIA LESTOAT]

That note of mischief that flashed behind Stephanie’s eyes hadn’t gone unnoticed by Viviana. Ever since they were children Steph had been the more rambunctious of the two. She was a very sweet and kind hearted young girl but held a glimmer of trouble, which the impish tendencies only made Vivi love her little sister all that much more. It was nice to have dynamic amongst them. A carbon copy of herself, however flattering it might have been, wasn’t a precious as Stephanie being herself. Viv was a big believer in being who you were. As of lately she had been doing her best, without being too pushy, to have Aalyiah embrace her vampiric-self. It was a process, which took plenty of patience and dedication. Viviana took comfort in the fact that Stephanie was content with who she was, all of who she was. Things were different in their household than that of D’eath’s though. Their father Remy was a fiercely loving man and had nurtured them to respect both their human and vampire side, add in that their mum was a complete saint and it made for the kind of environment that allowed them to love themselves in all aspects. Viviana and her sister were immensely lucky individuals.

She couldn’t say that when that look cross her sister that Viv wasn’t concerned. Only wanting her family to be safe, especially Stephanie as care had been governed to her over the younger girl by their father while at Hogwarts, whatever scheme was forming in her head Vivi could only hope that it wouldn’t be acted upon. Her sister had always seemed a bit of a dreamer to Viviana, a trait that she was most fond of in the girl. She wanted Steph to dream big, to indulge in all of life’s supposed impossibilities and have the drive to disprove them. Having watched her grow into the young woman that she was now Vivi was very impressed with her. Stephanie had ambition and was so full of life. She respected that Stephanie wanted to be a Healer, like their mother, that she too wanted to help others in a different aspect than herself. There was so much about Stephanie that Viviana found admirable and sometimes wondered if Steph knew it.

A simple nod of the head was all that it took to confirm that she really did want Stephanie to join her. The funny thing about time, which was especially true for vampires, was that as infinite as it seemed there was never enough of it. What had only been a week’s time since their last conversation had felt as though it had been months. Despite the watchful eye that was kept over Stephanie, Viviana felt in the dark about what was really going on in her sister’s life. There was only so much that could be observed and while Viv knew Steph better than most did and could guess nine times out of ten what she was thinking just by reading the expression that cross her face, she still missed knowing what was on her mind exactly. She missed being able to talk to her like sisters should.

Glancing toward the lake to see the tip of a tentacle breeze in the air Viviana smiled softly. ”Appearances can be deceiving.” Leaning forward slightly to graze her fingertips against the waters surface and create ripples in the area she looked back to Stephanie. ”On the surface it seems so calm, but beneath there is a world other world. No creature that dwells in the billows in ever truly alone. The merefolk and the fishes, the Giant Squid- they all live together down there. I could even bet that the squid has children, just ones that none of us have ever been lucky enough to glimpse.” She didn’t like Steph having notions of loneliness, even if it was unrelated to herself.”I’ve missed you too.” Viv never had been the type to complain, she was too thoughtful to externally make hast with her emotions before analyzing them first. By the time she was done that usually meant that whatever had been troubling her had been figured out before anyone even asked if there was something wrong. Things had been relatively good for her. ”I’ve been well. As the year is half over I’m starting to feel more nostalgic toward the things around me here at Hogwarts. Attachments have been formed that I’m not sure I’m willing to give up yet, the people, the atmosphere, even the comfort of my bed are all things I’ll miss when I graduate. My studies have increased and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of the year, but I’m happy, and sad, but in a good way.” Returning her smile to Stephanie she asked what she had been longing to. ”How have you been?”