rules her life like a bird in flight [Alis]

Circe was thankful that the weather was still agreeable, and thus had decided that it was probably a good idea to make the most of it. She and Alis had planned to hang out on the grounds for a while. Circe had been gifted a new tarot deck over the summer that she was eager to use in readings. Her Ravenclaw friend had courteously volunteered. Besides that, they had a fair bit to catch up on. Also into the bag went some muggle fruit snacks called Gushers, some gourmet crackers, and chocolate. Before departing her dorm, she made sure to grab her rosemary plant, Gloria (who now had an ornate little nametag on her plant pot), for fear that one of her housemates might sabotage it. She still wasn't terribly popular, even with the limited authority that a prefect badge gave her. At least this was her last year. Things would get better, she had to remind herself.

She'd been feeling a bit off for the last day or so, and mostly due to the lack of contact with her boyfriend. Ezra was the sort of person who was in love with the world, and Circe often felt insecure. She knew he was capable of cheating, but she didn't want to think about it. She kept her head down as she passed another group of students on her way up from the dungeons. The sunshine would do her some good. She lifted her face to the sun upon initially stepping outdoors and stopped to take a breath. She was going to make herself have a good day.

Circe headed off towards the lake and picked a nice spot to lay a small blanket out for the two of them. Maybe some girl time would do the trick?

@Alis Moon

Alis was glad to be in her last year—glad but nervous. What came after this? Would she be received at Dilys Derwent, against her mother’s wishes, or would she become a potioneer just as her parents had been? She wanted to work with potions of course, but thought that there was more to life than making beauty potions and illegal drugs on the side. She was thinking the apothecary was getting a little packed, especially with Rose back at it. She didn’t resent her family much, just a bit, but didn’t particularly want to follow in their footsteps, either.

She knew Circe felt the same. She didn’t want to go into law like her mother, or healing like her father. She wanted something different and unique, too. Alis could relate. When she had heard about Circe’s boyfriend, she couldn’t help be a little jealous, though. It wasn’t Ezra—by Merlin, no—but just the idea that Circe had someone and Alis never had. Circe was always the more popular one with he boys. Alis was innocent to a fault, a bit of a prude. Circe had that reputation, at least until Oliver happened last year, but Alis had not shaken her “ice queen” persona. No boys had even tried to get at her. She thought that. Perhaps, she was too assertive, too self-assured, too smart, and too powerful. Even so, it hurt that boys never seemed to notice her.

She thought Ezra wasn’t good enough for Circe, but she wouldn’t go there. Ezra was a man in love with the idea of love. Alis knew his reputation, too. He was always switching girlfriends, always sexually involved with girls, and still flirting with more. Alis worried Ezra would take Circe for a ride and cheat on her. She knew Circe had these same fears, and didn’t know if she ought to try to allay them as a good friend would, or tell her to face the reality and dump him before he hurt her. She didn’t know if that was her wanting to save Circe pain or her being jealous that no guys had expressed interest in her.

Alis smiled as she sat down across from Circe. “You’re doing a reading for me today, yes?” She smiled. She loved divination, despite not being the best at it. It wasn’t necessarily a weakness of hers, but it was certainly not a strength.

“I’m looking forward to what it may say.” She laughed. “I’ve got a lot riding on this year, as you know.” She looked at her carefully. “You doing okay, Circe? You look a bit… hmm, low?”

Circe smiled brightly once she caught a glimpse of her friend. "I am." She had always loved Divination and she was glad that Alis shared her interest in it. Sidney, on the other hand, thought that it was all nonsense. However, that was probably because it told him the truth about himself and he did not quite care for that. Typical Aries.

Fire signs, in general, were really getting to her lately. She was, in fact, a bit low due to the Sagittarius in her life-- her boyfriend, Ezra. Alis had not expressed to her how she felt about the relationship, but Circe knew her friend well enough that she could assume. Alis wanted what was best for her, and she appreciated that. Circe knelt down and took her deck of cards out of her bag. It was a magical illuminated deck with lots of silvers and golds and the pictures on the cards all moved. The style was very art nouveau, and she was incredibly pleased with it. She set the box down on the blanket in front of her before returning her gaze back to Alis.

"Hopefully the cards will have good news." She smiled again before it faltered at the next question. Circe quickly faked a smile and nodded. "Yeah, just.. stressing out a little. You know me." She dismissed it, though tried to convey her appreciation. "Thanks for asking." She let out a breath that she hadn't realized that she'd been holding.

"Ready?"

Alis smiled at Circe as the other took out her ornate deck. Alis was relatively good at divination, but it wasn’t a subject she felt so tied to. She preferred practical subjects like potions and herbology. “Wow, those are gorgeous.” Alis gushed. She wanted a deck of her own, now, now that she knew what she would do with it. “And yeah, here’s to hoping. I put in my application for Dilys Derwent this month, so I’m nervous about that.” She admitted. “Of course, it all depends on my N.E.W.T.s, but we’ll see how that plays out at the end of the year. I’m hoping for good news about that.” She admitted.

“What’s got you stressed out?” She wondered. “You know you can tell me anything. Is it your boyfriend?” She wondered. “I imagine being far away from him is difficult. I’ve never had a boyfriend, but I imagine not seeing him would make me nervous, too.”

“…either way, though, I’m ready when you are.”

"Thank you. I've really bonded with this deck." Circe beamed, proud that Alis approved. Alis came from a much wealthier background than her, though the other girl wasn't as show offy about it as some of her siblings. Alis's sister, Rosaline, was close with Circe's cousin. She was okay, but a little bit of a snob. Steffan was the worst. Alis already knew how Circe felt about him and his goons though. All the same, she was always pleased when the other girl approved of anything she did. "I just don't think he's that into me."

With that, the blonde girl began to shuffle her tarot deck. She closed her eyes and focused as she felt each card, waiting for her gut to tell her which one to pick as she thought of her friend and her situation. Opening her eyes, she drew three cards. Past. The Queen of Pentacles. Present situation. Five of Cups. What to do. Strength.

"The Queen of Pentacles in this position represents prosperity that you've been blessed with in the past." She pointed to the card as she explained, and then tapped on the Five of Cups card twice. "This represents loss, neglect, and despair that you've been feeling regarding your situation." With that, she looked up at the other girl knowingly. She knew all too well what it was like to do something against your parents wishes. She respected Alis for it, really. She wasn't like the rest of them. Moving on to the last card, she picked it up and showed it to her friend. It was beautifully decorated with an enchanted image of a woman with a lion. "This card is here to remind you that your true power lies within yourself. Through patience and gentleness, you can overcome any obstacles in your path without resorting to violence. The lady and the lion represent the need to tame your inner beast, so to speak, and find courage, control, and balance within yourself. The cards and I believe in you, my friend."

With a grin, Circe gathered her cards back up and placed them back in the deck. "I hope that helps some."

The reading went well, and Alis was excited at the prospect of the future. He grinned at the reading. “Wow, that’s spot on, Circe. You really have a gift.” She smiled. “I appreciate you doing this for me. I really like the validation.” She admitted. “I hope I get into school. I have great grades, so I’m sure I will…. But I’m sure my mum will be a little disappointed that I’m not working with her directly.” She shrugged.

She was musing over what Circe had said about Ezra. He wasn’t that into her? Why would she think that? “What makes you think he’s not all that into you?” She wondered. “I remember it seeming like he was head over heels for you, from what I remember.” She shrugged again. “Has he been shady, or something?” She asked.

“You can vent to me if you want to.” She assured. “Let me help.”