Cotton Candy For All (closed for Puck!)

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Briege was too distracted to grade papers: it had been far too long since she had been to a carnival and there was one just on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Thus, as evening had arrived, she donned her cloak and made her way down. And who didn't like a carnival? The food was amazing and as a child, Briege loved to go to the fortune tellers. Not that she needed to now, but it could still be fun. And the games! Ooh, she had loved the game where you threw a dart at balloons.

The Divination professor couldn't hardly keep the smile off of her face as she entered Hogsmeade and followed the crowded path which led to a carnival in the distance. Her cloak billowed behind her in the cool Spring breeze, a deep forest green. Tresses of her hair fell in thick waves about her shoulders, teasing her carefree face. Briege tucked a few strands behind an ear as she approached what she was most excited about: the cotton candy stand. When was the last time she had cotton candy? Oh, she hoped they had that magical kind that tickled your tongue as it evaporated! A couple of children raced through the line, one chasing the other with a balloon-sword and the other giggling. Briege couldn't help but giggle as well. Those papers could wait until later to be graded, right? Her students were probably too busy enjoying the carnival to even care, so why shouldn't she have her chance as well?

When it was Briege's turn, she had to stand on her toes to get a good view at the different bags of cotton candy: there was blue and pink and purple and yellow..all sorts! Briege asked for the yellow and was delighted as she popped a bit of it into her mouth as she wandered away from the stand, beginning her evening adventure into a world only carnivals could take you into.

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Zytka had only come to the carnival because there was a buzz about it all throughout the castle. Every student seemed to be talking about the carnival and the games contained within, and Zytka couldn’t help but be curious about what there was to do for someone who was extremely lucky, but didn’t much care for trivial games. Zytka had been feeling lately like she was just… wasting her time. It had been a feeling that had crept up on her slowly, as she had spent more of her free time dancing instead of sitting in the silence. It was like she was discovering something that she had forgotten a long time ago. She had been content with the life that she had… and she could be content with it still if she just stopped thinking about all the things she didn’t have, and started thinking about all the things she did. One of those things was a carnie who was intent on teaching her how to juggle. He was demonstrating the proper hand movements, but Zytka was getting her fingers all fumbled up, and accidentally sending sparks of magic flying. She felt like she was eleven years old again, barely in control of her powers. It was an embarrassment to be seen in such a way, since she was a professor and ought to be more in control. After several more failed attempts, Zytka managed to juggle two balls for a few seconds, before spotting one of her fellow professors in the crowd. It was all the excuse that she needed to politely depart from the carnie’s sights and give up her dreams of becoming a professional juggler. “Briege!” Zytka called, hoping that the other professor would hear her before she could get lost in the evening rush of people.

@gemma

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Briege was sure she looked the form of a professor as she turned around, cotton candy on its way to her mouth from her finger, seeking out whoever had called for her. Then her gaze fell upon Zytka, the Ancient Runes professor. Briege beamed and trotted up to her, her cloak swishing behind her.

"Hey!" she said, her blue eyes alight with the night of the carnival. "Enjoying yourself?" Briege nibbled on a bit more of the cotton candy. "Have you tried this cotton candy? It's amazing!" Briege inched a bit closer to Zytka as a few people giggled past and she smiled, loving the atmosphere: she wasn't getting a single negative vibe. And just as she said that, she felt one - just a tiny one - and peeked over the Runes professor's shoulder: a clown was pouting.

"Ah, I think someone may have a crush on you?" Briege whispered to Zytka. "Is it time to run away?" He wasn't a very cute clown; he was fun and smiley, like all clowns. but under the make-up Briege could tell that he was probably a good deal older that Zytka. A good deal. 

@zytka

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The other professor saw her and approached Zytka, and the professor smiled. It looked like Briege was having a good time at the carnival – she looked alive in a way Zytka didn’t often see people. That’s what happened when you taught a room full of unenthusiastic Ancient Runes students. When Briege asked about the cotton candy, Zytka shook her head. “I’m not much of a sweet tooth.” She explained. She liked things that felt and tasted real, and spun sugar just didn’t taste like something that belonged in her body.

When Briege mentioned something about a crush, Zytka turned around to see a clown pouting at her back. Her stomach dropped into her toes. She didn’t like it, nor did she like the implication that he had a crush on her. For some reason, Zytka’s mind flashed to Caro. “Not run.” She said, slowly and quiet. “We will walk calmly and quietly away.” It had been obvious that both of the professors had been looking at the clown, but Zytka was hoping that if they walked away, he would get the message.

@gemma

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@zytka

Briege nodded, picking up on the other professor's tense vibes. She accompanied Zytka away from the clown and then gave the other woman a small, very brief nudge with her elbow, gently. "If he tries anything I have my wand. Or you know...I could throw some crystals at him. My bag is full of them." Briege nodded as if this were the most normal thing in the world - to carry around rocks in her purse.

"Ooh. would you like to go see the fortune teller? I mean, I always See everyone else's, never my own. Unless my grandmother is nearby and she goes a little too far." Briege furrowed her brows and wrinkled her little nose, creating quite the childlike expression of someone who did not like being told that the candy store had closed for the day.

Briege stole another quick glance over her shoulder: the clown had disappeared into the crowd. Or more like the crowd had swallowed him. Briege stopped for a moment, though, letting a few people pass her by as her eyes went misty and distant for a moment. Then it passed and she blinked rapidly a few times and suddenly tugged on Zytka's sleeve, gesturing her to follow between two food stands and then turned once more, walking them in the opposite direction.

"Apparently, Mr. Clown decided it was a good time to grab a bite to eat. He was going to be at that Corn-on-cob stand in approximately two minutes. To the Fortune Teller?"

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Briege nudged Zytka with her arm, and the Ancient Runes professor attempted to smile. She hadn’t brought her own wand with her, but for Zytka, that wasn’t much of an obstacle. Her wandless magic was better than anyone else’s in the entire carnival, she was sure. At the suggestion of throwing crystals at the clown, Zytka managed a small, but genuine, chuckle. Leave it to Briege to have a satchel full of crystals with her at all times, and have no trouble using them as weapons.

The other professor suggested going to see the fortune teller, and Zytka nodded her agreement. Having a destination would make it much easier to get away from the creepy clown – he couldn’t follow them all the way there, could they? Besides, Zytka hadn’t had plans to go any other place, so going someplace that would make her coworker happy was just as well. Briege stopped, and Zytka was about to ask why, when she saw that the Divination professor was doing some sort of Seeing. The other woman said that the clown was going to eat something, and that they’d have two minutes before he was done. “Yes, to the Fortune Teller.” Zytka agreed, since a verbal confirmation was less ambiguous than a nod. “Thank you.” Zytka added. The situation with the clown could have gotten very awkward very fast without intervention.

@gemma

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@zytka

Briege gave the fellow professor a playful grin.
"Being a Seer has its advantages," she said. Briege tore off another piece of her cotton candy and popped it into her mouth. She wrapped the cotton candy back up and stuffed it into her purse for later. By the time they got to the Fortune Teller's tent, there was a short line and Briege lifted a hand to run her fingers through her hair. She turned to face Zytka while they waited.

"It's nice taking a break from grading papers, eh?" she asked with a small smile. "I haven't been to one these since I was a child. I'm sure if my grandmother knew I was visiting a carnival fortune teller, she'd beat me over the head with her cane." A small laugh escaped the Divination Professor's lips. 

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Zytka smiled warmly when Briege said that being a Seer had its advantages. “If only we were all so lucky to have such a skill.” Zytka said with a smile. Her only skill was her vast ability to remember, and even that only put her on par with most other witches and wizards. Zytka happened to remember information that most of the people in Britain wouldn’t know, thanks to her unique upbringing and schooling, but that was beside the point. She wasn’t born special like Briege.

The Ancient Runes professor nodded when the Divination professor asked her if it was nice to take a break from papers. Zytka didn’t think that anyone would ever say no to a break, especially since grading could be tedious. “I don’t believe I’ve ever been to a carnival.” Zytka said thoughtfully. She hadn’t really considered it until Briege mentioned her childhood, but there certainly hadn’t been anything like this back in her village in Uganda. “My grandmothers would probably be confused as to why I wanted to look into the future at all.” Zytka commented. Both of her grandmothers had been insistent on letting the future fall into place as it wanted to, instead of forcing it in one direction or another. And Zytka believed that things were going to turn out right, always.

@gemma