[Festival] Old faces and new ideas (Lea)

The Festival had ended, but of course, there was still much to be done. It was nearly noon before Nikola had managed to drag herself out of bed, noting the already cold, yet slept in spot beside her. Though mildly perturbed that her companion had left without so much as a goodbye. She couldn’t fault him. Always concerned for her wellbeing, Artur had probably just thought to let her sleep. Normally, she wasn’t one for coffee, but that was what she was drinking, as she walked into the back room where the designers had been set up the evening before, rubbing her left eye as she tried to blink herself more awake. She had to pack up her area with enough time to catch her five PM Portkey back to Rostock where she was supposed to be having dinner with her grandparents and picking up her little dog.

She set the cup down after taking a long drink from it and surveyed the mess. At least the German witch wasn’t the only other designer dragging herself in here in a half disheveled state. It would be so much easier to have brought one of her elves along to do this, but there were some tasks, specifically with her design work, that Nikola prefered doing herself. After all, the elves weren’t allowed to touch any of her fabric or custom pieces. It was nothing against them, really. Nikola had threatened to take the hand off a friend who had been fingering the delicate fabrics she kept in her workroom. This was her baby. Her space. Once more, the dark haired woman picked up the cup and drank more of her coffee, hoping it would work its magic soon. She hadn’t had a hangover in years, but between the drinking, partying, and intentional lack of sleep after the after-party…

Movement one of the sections nearby drew her attention as she tilted her head, before smiling a little. It had shocked her to see a woman she’d attended durmstrang with also present as a designer the previous evening, though she’d not had the opportunity to speak to her at the party that followed. Lea Dorfler had been a year ahead of her, despite being much closer in age, on account of Nikola’s unfortunately timed birthday. They hadn’t really known each other all that well, being a year apart and in different houses, but their families had run in some of the same circles. And she’d been pleasantly surprised to see Lea’s designs. After all, she was annoyed by the current state of wizard fashion, and here was another young woman the same age, with fresh ideas as well.

Approaching the divide nearest Lea’s area, Nikola smoothed out her long, sheer robe, leaning against the post. “I’ll admit I would have thought Durmstrang was the last place to breed such creativity, but perhaps I should re-consider, seeing two of us come from the same place with such lovely craftsmanship.” Nikola smiled, waiting for the woman to turn around. “I am uncertain if you remember me. I wasn’t exactly the most sociable of people back then.” an understatement to be sure, as Nikola had been the sort to simply isolate herself in the library or common room and study.

Well, the festival was at last over. The work that she actually put in for once seemed to have been worth it, witches actually appeared to like some of her stuff. Hopefully, it would be enough to boost business to give her some much needed money (Lea didn't think she could get away with running to her father for more, yet again). Of course, after the party it meant she had to do all the boring stuff now that she hated. It was such a needless pain. The party had been great fun, and Lea had done more than her fair share of drinking, flirting and dancing so... packing all her stuff to go home to Germany was the very last thing she wanted to do. The fashion designer would have much rather have stayed in bed all day, listening to the radio and snuggling up to anything on sight.

As it was, the usually pristine and well-mannered witch was sat on the floor behind a bunch of mannequins in her area, pouting childishly at the robes sat on them - partly putting off packing for as long as she could, and partly willing them into the trunks. Scrunching up her nose, she briefly wondered where Maja had disappeared to. Her younger sister had very, very kindly agreed to be a model for the event, which had made Lea happier than her sister would ever comprehend but she found it typical that Maja left before helping her with the cleanup. Lea understood that her sister was a busy witch,  she'd been constantly reminded of it by her parents and her other siblings to the point where even an obliviate charm probably wouldn't dislodge the fact from her mind. But Lea really didn't think she was asking too much here.

Eventually, gathering some energy from the depths of her soul, Lea stood up. She realised that she probably should do something. Pulling her wand out from her pocket and side-stepping her way over to a particularly bedazzled robe with a diamond encrusted neckline, a sudden voice stopped her in her tracks. Whirling round to face the other witch, with one hand on her heart, Lea took a deep breath in and let it out.

"Oh," she gasped, "I wasn't aware anyone else was here." She smiled brightly with her eyes wide, before taking a moment to study the face of her new companion as she smoothed out her robes to look more presentable. It was familiar for sure, though not to the extent that she'd have remembered any of her clique but the witch did have pretty features... and Lea never forgot a nice face. Her smile widened as she remembered the other witch's name, a small giggle bubbling from her throat at the successful recognition. "Nikola Meer! Of course I remember you! I never, ever, ever forget a pretty face." Her finger wagged in time with her words, her smile refusing to leave her face. "I am glad you are here," Lea added earnestly, "I think it is a relief to see another talented designer like you instead of all the boring oldies."

Lea thought back to Nikola's original words moments prior. Now that the shock of not being alone was out her system, the German witch had had time to process them. What the younger witch said was true, Durmstrang seemed hell-bent on destroying any kind of 'fluttery' and artistic abilities and her family hadn't been much help there either. They wanted her to follow them in the line of Ministry work but that was so dull and lifeless. "I admit I'm surprised that both of us were from Durmstrang too," Lea began, her head tilting to the left as she bit her lip a little. "Clearly the school failed to tame our spirits and stamp out our creative flames." She smirked, relishing in having triumphed over the dreaded hellhole that was her former school in some way. "Since you also succeeded in beating the school's cruel attempts to make us dull and boring people, I am obliged to like you very much already." She smiled brightly, her posture open and welcoming. She gestured to her area and laughed a little, "I would offer you a place to sit and chat as decorum would dictate but, well. Unless sitting on top of a mannequin or inside a trunk is your style..." She rolled her eyes playfully, wondering how the other witch would react.