another portkey | kaylee

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ 've given up too much to stop now. ━

18th june 2028

IT HAD BEEN A FEW DAYS since Zen had moved in alongside friends from Hogwarts. The opportunity arose from the last time the Novell bumped into Eli, where she had complained a little at the differences between herself and her aunt (but the love was still there no doubt), and within weeks, Zen was given a key of her own. She was taking up space in in his old room - with no complaints of course - and thankfully enough, it somewhat made the journey to work each morning a little better.

Thankful that it was the weekend and the fact she finally had time to do other things aside from work - Zen set up a friend-date with her best friend Kaylee. Although, given how early they decided to hang out, Zen had stopped by at Spellbucks in Hogsmeade before finding the time and place to use the Port Key to take her to London. Kaylee hadn't exactly stated what they would be doing for the day, but Zen was excited no less.

| kaylee māhealani mahi'ai |

hopefully this works!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

June 18, 2028

One's teenage years were supposed to be a time for rebellion, but Kaylee had made it to twenty without ever really having a rebellious phase. As her parents' oldest child, she had always taken it as her job to be the responsible one, like a third parent to her younger siblings. And she was. She had also come to recognize, though, that she had the freedom to be her own person and do what she wanted to do—within reason.

After doing the smart thing and ensuring that she wouldn't get fired from her job at the museum for it, Kaylee had made her decision and then the required appointment. Maybe she had lost her mind a little, but she was going to get her septum pierced.

It felt risky in a way that she couldn't quite describe, enough so that she had arranged for her best friend, Zen, to travel via Portkey to somewhere a short distance from where her appointment would be. The place was in Muggle London rather than on the magical side of the city, but she had managed to get a referral to a piercer who was actually a Squib and who worked out of a private studio. Kaylee knew that she probably would have been fine to go with a non-magical person to do the job, but it seemed a whole lot safer to put her trust in somebody else with a connection to the magical world. It made everything a lot smoother, too, especially since she didn't have to deal with exchanging her magical currency at Gringotts.

Kaylee had to walk a bit before she found exactly where the Portkey had put Zen, though that was better than the alternative of being spotted by No-Majes. Luckily, they wouldn't have to run to make it to her piercing appointment on time. She had made sure to factor in that Zen might get Portkey-sick on arrival, just in case. (It wouldn't be Zen's fault if she did. Portkeys could be rougher than anticipated.)

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ 've given up too much to stop now. ━

DISCARDING HER DRINK AFTER FINISHING it, Zen mentally prepared herself for the travel of the Portkey. Since the last time she used a portkey alongside Kaylee, Zen had practiced with different locations and the feeling of being sick had been reduced severely. With a deep breath she touched the Portkey and within what felt like a few seconds, she had arrived at the location she had agreed to meet Kaylee at. Standing straight as as she arrived, the Novell took a deep breath, smiling a little once she noticed Kaylee.

"Hey!-" She began, calling out before the wave of sickness got to her. Merlin, even with practice, the feeling or more so the need to vomit was entirely overwhelming. Lifting up a finger to tell Kaylee to give her a minute, Zen took a few deep breaths as the sickly feeling waved over. "Sorry- how are you?"

| kaylee māhealani mahi'ai |

sorry for the wait!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

June 18, 2028

Zen called out to her in greeting upon her arrival but quickly signaled that she needed her to wait for her. Kaylee nodded, having no issue with taking a few moments for Zen to adjust to the effects of traveling by Portkey. The half-vampire didn't actually vomit that time, though, and it went without saying that it was a good thing for both of them.

When Zen seemed to have gotten back to a more normal state, she apologized and asked her how she was, and Kaylee smiled. She was doing well. She had some nerves, but not quite to the level of being Portkey-sick. "I'm doing great," she assured her.

She wasn't too good at putting on an air of mystery or anything, unfortunately, though that would have made it more fun. Instead, she went ahead and started her explanation of why Zen was there. "Thanks for coming, by the way. I didn't want to, like, elaborate in case my parents found out, but you're… kinda here as my moral support?" That sounded sort of ominous, so Kaylee immediately clarified what she meant. "It's nothing bad," she promised. Maybe in her parents' eyes it would be, but she was an adult.

"I actually, um, made an appointment to get my septum pierced, so…"

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ 've given up too much to stop now. ━

SMILING WIDE NOW THAT SHE was feeling better, Zen realised how much she had missed being around Kaylee. Kaylee had been there for Zen through thick and thin, and within the last few months of the Novell's business, Kaylee always checked up on her. A true friend no less. As she mentioned she was doing great, the half-vampire nodded, listening along.

"Moral support?" Zen found herself asking, her head slightly cocking to the side as Kaylee went on. The worry had already risen within the Novell until Kaylee mentioned she wanted to get a piercing. With the seriousness fizzling out as quick as it arrived, the half-vampire broke out into a snort, followed by a laugh. "Merlin Kaylee, I thought you were going to tell me something horrible! Of course I'll go with you for that."

Zen began grinning then, putting her hand out for her friend. "Wanna hold my hand through the pain?" She was teasing a little, but she didn't mind going all the way for 'support'.

| kaylee māhealani mahi'ai |

sorry for the wait!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

June 18, 2028

Kaylee knew that she probably should have gotten to her point sooner for the sake of Zen's peace of mind. Bringing up "moral support" undoubtedly raised more questions than it answered, and the two of them had enough personal trauma as it was. It was understandable that Zen was confused initially, and it was equally understandable when she chastised her for making her think that she was going to tell her something horrible after that.

She sort of deserved Zen's reaction, Kaylee thought, though neither of them were mad at the other. After laughing, Zen told her that of course she would go with her to get her piercing, and Kaylee was relieved that she hadn't just messed up even more than deciding on a septum piercing. Losing her best friend's support in the process of trying to do something rebellious for once would have been awful. Fortunately, that wasn't something that she had to worry about. Zen soon grinned at her and held out her hand. "Wanna hold my hand through the pain?" she offered.

As much as she hoped that the piercing wouldn't hurt, Kaylee remained appreciative of Zen's kindness. "Deal," she agreed, grinning back at Zen. She ceremoniously linked her hand in that of the half-vampire, even though they weren't quite to the part where the hand-holding would be needed. "I think I'm ready," Kaylee added. She was partly joking, but she couldn't help feeling a little nervous at the thought of what she was going to do.

"The piercing studio is just down this way, supposedly," Kaylee explained to Zen, gesturing in its direction with her free hand. At a quieter volume, she elaborated, "Oh, and the piercer is a Squib and works privately, so we don't need to worry about that."

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ 've given up too much to stop now. ━

RELIEVED THAT THERE WAS NO real issue behind the moral support, Zen felt her lips grow into a wide grin, especially as Kaylee agreed to hold her hand. Holding hands with Kaylee was rather natural, considering the two had grown up with each other - and often held hands when they felt scared or whenever they simply needed the support.

Watching through Kaylee's gesture and noting the direction of the studio, Zen nodded, smiling at her friend. "Oh! That's perfect then." The Novell slightly whispered back, she hadn't been in the mood to pop in a contact in her right eye, the same eye that had turned crimson many moons ago.

"I brought my sunglasses for..you know but that's better." Sunglasses got boring after a while anyway.

| kaylee māhealani mahi'ai |

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

June 18, 2028

It wasn't hard to find places to go and things to do in London. It took a little more work to find magical locations and service providers at times, but Kaylee felt that taking that extra step was worth it for the benefit of not having to stay hidden among the No-Majes. That was even truer for Zen, who exclaimed at a whisper that it was perfect that the piercer was a Squib. Being a half-vampire, it was harder for her to blend in with those in the non-magical world, and the fact that one of her eyes had turned red didn't help. She could get around that if she had to, but it was another potential source of other people's questions.

Kaylee laughed slightly as Zen said that she had brought her sunglasses with her but acknowledged that it was better if she didn't have to wear them. "Yeah," Kaylee concurred as she led her friend in the direction of the piercer's studio. "The No-Majes would probably think you're a celebrity or something," she teased her, "wearing your sunglasses indoors." If they wanted to be really daring sometime, it sounded sort of fun to pretend that that was actually the case.

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ 've given up too much to stop now. ━

FEELING RATHER RELIEVED THAT KAYLEE had thought a little further, Zen patted at the sunglasses that rested in her pocket. There was still no explanation for her eye that had turned bright red, as well as how she developed a vampiric ability - something that was more present in full fledged Vampires. Being half, it meant she was restricted to such abilities but that one night in Hogwarts changed everything...Someway or somehow.

Walking alongside her friend, Zen couldn't help but laugh at Kaylee's teasing. "Nuh-uh, a bunch of..regular people wear sunglasses. Inside and all. I've seen it in the office too." There's always been the odd drunk or hungover colleague within the Ministry that had rocked up with sunglasses to cover the darkness of their eyes. "But then again..No-Majes do..think differently."

| kaylee māhealani mahi'ai |

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

June 18, 2028

"Nuh-uh," Zen countered her playfully, "a bunch of… regular people wear sunglasses. Inside and all. I've seen it in the office too." Not all of the Ministry was the best at gauging what to wear other than magical attire, Kaylee guessed, though their generation and even their parents' generation typically wasn't too bad at blending in. "But then again… No-Majes do… think differently."

"Seeeee?" Kaylee giggled. "Better safe than sorry."

It wasn't long before they got closer to where they were supposed to be going for Kaylee's piercing appointment. Having imagined something sketchy—maybe not on a Knockturn Alley level, but not somewhere she would have normally gone—Kaylee was a little taken aback by how nice the place looked when she first opened the door. That couldn't have been right, she told herself, and she didn't just want to wander in somewhere with her half-vampire best friend.

Hesitating, she checked the address for the piercing studio on her phone and then the address for the building. Seeing that they were in the right place allowed her to loosen up a little, and she stepped inside and then held the door open for Zen. Before them was a plush waiting area that looked more like it could have been a hotel lobby than some sort of hospital-like setting, and towards the back of the room was a display case of what had to be body jewelry. Moving into the lobby space at about the same time was a young person with dark features and a buzz cut, as well as an assortment of visible ear and facial piercings.

Kaylee conversed with them for a moment and confirmed that they were Jess, the person who would be piercing her septum. She also confirmed, for Zen's benefit, that it was and would be only the three of them there.

Jess explained to Kaylee that she would need to pick out a piece of jewelry with which to get her septum pierced before they got started, and she nodded and looked to Zen with a smile. "Oh, Merlin… Why is this already intimidating?" she asked.

zenevieva mira novell