Manila

Manila
philippines

Manila is the capital city of the Philippines. It is also where the royal family of the Namayan Confederation currently resides, as the Filipino magical community is currently ruled by House Kalangitan, where the ruling monarch is Dayang Sinaya Kassandra ng Namayan.

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

She had been planning to video call with Ignaci for the eclipse; she had been so excited to show him the *bakunawa*, even if it was just on camera. Imagine Hana's surprise when he messaged her to say that he's somehow gotten a portkey to *Manila*, and that he would be there within the day. After spending a solid hour on just deciding what to wear, then another on getting ready and looking presentable, she met him at the portkey central and brought him to her favorite spot in the city for eclipse watching - the top of a skyscraper near Manila Bay. The night air is a bit colder than usual; it's only cold by Filipino standards, nowhere near as bad as it gets in England (or Andorra, for that matter), but Hana feels cold anyway. The stars are out, and in the distance she can see the musicians from the palace setting up near the waters for the dragon's lullaby later. "I still can't believe you did this." she says, as the flying car drops them off onto the roof. She doesn't sound angry at all; in fact, she's extremely touched by the gesture, but the idea that he put all this effort into seeing her still makes her feel a bit bad. "You could've told me beforehand then I could've gotten the portkey for you, then you wouldn't have had to go through all the trouble of saving up for one, and - " She sighs. "You really didn't have to do this." she finishes, "I appreciate it, I promise, but I'm sorry you went out of your way."

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

Portkeys are admittedly a lot pricier than he had imagined them to be when he decided that's what he wanted to do for the eclipse. It wasn't a bother to him though. After all, it doesn't sting when he's spending it for someone special and Hana is certainly special. He was able to charm one of his older button-downs to be a bit larger than it was for the Christmas ball. He's gained a considerable amount of muscle in his shoulders and chest and has gotten a bit taller too. Still he probably could have charmed it a smidge larger as he has to continuously rotate his shoulders to feel comfortable. When he essentially teleports to Manila and his eyes fall upon her, his heart swells. She's so *beautiful*. Hana is other things too and he has spent most of his summer pondering those qualities over her attractiveness, but being together in person only reminds him of how gorgeous she truly is. "This is well worth it," he tells her, exiting the car and landing on the skyscraper with two quiet thuds. Ignaci won't lie about how difficult acquiring a portkey was, but again he doesn't mind the troubles. It's part of why he appreciates these sort of things from others, so he doesn't find shame in admitting them. "I wanted to do this whether I absolutely had to or not." He smiles at her before turning towards the cityscape. "It's my first time outside of Europe actually. It's nice." He's never been somewhere anything like Manila before and maybe Hana is what has him all comfortable and in love with the atmosphere, but the's fascinated.

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

Hearing it's his first time out of Europe surprises her a bit. She thinks he's mentioned it before, but with all the traveling Hana does for social events she forgets that it isn't the norm sometimes, and she mentally chastises herself for being even just a little bit ignorant. "You should stay a couple days, then. The city isn't the best we have to offer; we can easily portkey to one of the islands and it'd be a lot more fun there. I'm sure my parents will let you stay with us." she offers, laying down a blanket on a clean spot of the rooftop and sitting down, leaving space for him to sit next to her. Hana feels like she's talking too much but she *is* a bit nervous. The gesture feels very romantic and she knows as of late, that's the direction her thoughts have been leaning towards when she thinks of Ignaci but that doesn't mean she can't still feel anxious when confronted with the reality of it all. "Unless your program is keeping you busy, of course." she adds, quickly. "How is that going?"

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

A bit of his heart crumbles at the offer and the thought that he would have to miss such an opportunity. He would love to stay and the pain over having to decline shows in his expression before he even opens his mouth to say it. For a moment, he comes to the conclusion that missing a couple of times wouldn't drastically harm him. A few of the other students in the program have missed parts of it with what he assumes was little scrutiny, but perhaps they had a more academically accepted reason that wanting to vacation with a friend. No, she wouldn't want him to anyways. He has to be more responsible. "Unfortunately, the program resumes tomorrow," he tells her, a sadness evident in his voice as he sits down beside her. "I- Hm," Ignaci laughs as a hand falls into his hair. "My father is a bit conservative too, so he wouldn't want me staying overnight. We should still do that sometime- shouldn't we?" He grins, taking a short glance at her legs before turning towards the night sky. "The program isn't what I was expecting, but we move. How have things been over here?"

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

When Ignaci sits down beside her, Hana subconsciously moves a bit closer to him. Normally she would be more worked up about people in her personal space, but this feels different. Their shoulders brush slightly when she leans forward to get a better look at the people by the bay, though her mind is more preoccupied thinking about how Ignaci smells really nice. She doesn't feel too bad that he isn't able to stay; she expected just as much. "I'm happy you're prioritizing the program," she says, honestly, though she does regret that means she only gets to keep him for a night. "You're right. We should definitely do it sometime." Hana's heart flutters a little at the implication that he intends on sticking around long enough for there to be 'sometime'. "Things have been a bit underwhelming. There isn't much to do, but I try to be of help to my parents when I can." she answers. Her summer has honestly been so boring so far, save for the ball at Brittany (which she doesn't feel like getting into at the moment), and she'd much rather hear about him. "Different how?" she asks about the program, "You're enjoying, though, right?" *Have you met anyone?* she wants to ask as well, but perhaps she can get to that later.

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

Ignaci notices the shift, but doesn't get overwhelmed by the closeness. Her perfume is beautiful- a light, flowery scent that manages to compliment her perfectly. His head spins for a moment as his focus falls on her, watching as her gaze goes down towards the bay before he follows her lead. He isn't sure how the rest of the night will go or how long he is supposed to hold his tongue after this, but he feels comforted by the thought that they are on the same page (or at least pages very close to one another) and that she too is fine with *another time*. "Underwhelming can be nice," he comments, thinking for a moment that she must be extremely overwhelmed when class is in session. It should be a soothing feeling to be underwhelmed for once, but he also doubts she would have that sort of perspective on it. "It's just different. It's weird wanting to stand around and listen to adults tell you things," he laughs. "I thought we would have more hands-on practice, but we don't. I handled an adolescent dragon the other day, but we were told that would probably be what we would get." He knows it would be dangerous to just throw them to the wolves, but he went to Durmstrang and they never minded. They were never so cautious. For a moment, a flicker of disappointment and conflict comes upon his face, but he eases rather quickly. "Are you doing anything on your birthday?"

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

She notices the look on his face but doesn't say anything about it. "I never do much on my birthday." she admits to him, "We're probably going to have dinner somewhere nice, but that's it. Next year, though, for my eighteenth, my parents have a whole *ball* planned." She makes a face at the idea. While Hana enjoys *attending* these kinds of occasions, she's heard enough from her female cousins how unpleasant and boring the whole affair can be when you're the one being celebrated. "We're pretty near the bay," she tells him, trying to say something that might make him a little less disappointed about his lack of interaction with dragons. "That means the *bakunawa* - that's the dragon I was telling you about - might pass nearby. I know it's not hands-on practice, though I've always thought it looked rather majestic up close." She smiles a little to be reassuring. "I'm sorry to hear your program isn't entirely what you expected, but at least when you're a real dragonologist, you'll get to be around dragons everyday."

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

At first, he doesn't understand why she would seem so discontent with the thought of having a large ball for her birthday. Ignaci would be so appreciative if his family was able to afford that, but then he thinks about how she seems to have to attend a lot of different birthday parties for other people. He assumes most of those are other princes and princesses or else her parents wouldn't force her to attend and that *would* probably get old after awhile. "We should video call again. We could do it on the second if you're too busy then," he suggests. His present for her is prescheduled to arrive on her birthday, so he doesn't have to worry about it. Magic should ensure it arrives there at the appropriate time. Other than that though, he might be a bit selfish in wanting to actually talk to her on the actual day. Can you blame him though? He loves seeing her. Maybe less thinking about how much you love seeing her and focus on the fact that you are right now, loser. "Oh, will it really?" His lips part in awe before he grins again. He waves slightly in sheer glee, brushing against her shoulder again before leaning forward to stare into the bay. "How much longer until the eclipse is supposed to happen?" His wonder oozes from his voice and he feels a bit childish, but he doesn't worry so much about being that way around Hana. She's so consistent in her support of him and his passion. *When you're a real dragonologist...* he repeats to himself, smiling fondly to himself although it appears as if he's doing so at the sight of the water.

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

"A couple minutes." she tells him. She points out the musicians gathering near the bay - there's a whole lot of them so they're hard to miss. "The musicians are setting up already. According to my *lolo*, - my grandfather - back in the day, everyone would just set off fireworks and bang pots and pans until the bakunawa gets dizzy and throws up the moon. Some of the dragonologists weren't too fond of that, though, apparently it would stay sick for days on end after and the fireworks could hurt it. Not to mention the noise is atrocious." She frowns a bit. "Besides, I don't think it actually *eats* the moon. My grandparents insist that it does, but until now I'm really not sure how that would work." Hana makes a face as she speeds through the idea in her head once again, still unable to come up with an explanation for how that might happen. "After everyone agreed that clanging a bunch of pans together was bad idea, the Palace decided to just get an orchestra to put it to sleep. I'm not sure how that's supposed to get it to return the moon - I think we just want it back in the ocean so that it doesn't wreak too much havoc on the city, then wait out for the eclipse to be over." She catches a glimmer of scales in the ocean and smiles. "It's still very magical, though." Hana realizes she didn't respond to anything about her birthday and becomes a bit embarrassed for rambling. "I'd like to be able to call with you on my actual birthday, by the way. I doubt I will be too busy." She turns to him, taking her attention away from the bay. "And you are important to me, so I would like to spend time with you."

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

He listens to Hana with a hint of childlike wonder on his face. His lips part into a curious ‘O’ before she finishes and he composes himself with a grin. He was too distracted watching her talk and never caught the scales glistening in the water. It’s probably a positive thing because perhaps he would have done something he would believe to be embarrassing. “It *sounds* magical. I can’t wait. It’s so-” He loses his words, smiling sheepishly and running his knuckles against his jawline nervously. Ignaci laughs before trying again. “Playing the bakunawa a little lullaby is so *nice*. Do you ever wonder if they try to eat the Moon again just so they can have music played for them?” The thought is a bit corny. He isn’t sure very many creatures have that sort of forethought, but he knows cats can pretend to be injured for attention. He’s sure the bakunawa could be no different, right? When she tells him he’s important to her, he silently lets out a breath that seemed to have wanted to be released for some time. His shoulders had been heavier since arriving in Manila- far heavier than he had previously realized. “You are important to me too.” Ignaci believes this gesture of him coming to Manila probably expresses that and so will the present that arrives on her birthday, so he doesn’t feel inclined to be more verbally reassuring. He has always worried that that’s far too much, but maybe she wants that? Still it doesn’t seem as if now is the time.

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

Hana blushes, but thankfully she doesn't have to say anything as she notices the deep teal scales glisten under the surface of the water again and points them out to him. "There, do you see?" she says. The bakunawa is ginormous in size, and more and more of it begins to become visible in the water. She knows to muggles, it probably just looks like waves rippling, and she can understand why. As much as she's watched eclipses in the past, sometimes it is still difficult for her to tell where the water ends and the dragon begins, but that is all part of the magic, she supposes. "He's waking up." she says. She's seen this many, many times before so Hana is more preoccupied with watching Ignaci's reaction than anything else and somehow she finds that to be more captivating anyway. "When I was very little, I used to ask my grandparents what the bakunawa was preoccupied with in the ocean, since he only ever comes out during the eclipse." she laughs a bit as she shares. Even as a child, Hana was always concerned about other people's productivity. "No one knows, of course, because he vanishes. I think he just goes into a deep slumber, though, that's the most reasonable explanation." The head of the creature begins to poke out from under the waves. "My *lola's* tribe thinks the bakunawa is a god. That he can shapeshift into whatever he likes, and that's why he disappears." Hana suddenly feels a bit conscious of how much she's sharing. "If you'd like for me to be quiet, by the way, you can just tell me."

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

He’s certain his head has never whipped around faster except perhaps for someone who has his current affection. “*Déu n’hi do*...Whoa,” he manages, eyes widening as he leans forward to get a better view of the water. His face is full of amazement before he tears his eyes from the gleaming surface and turns towards the person who *now* has his affection. His internal monologue reminds him for a moment that his love is often fleeting and he questions himself with a small flickered glance towards her mouth. He decides that this can’t be that, so he smiles and doesn’t let his conflict become known. “No. No, I wouldn’t want that. I’m having a good time.” Ignaci smiles a bit wider and for a moment, he has his heart set that that is it. Something settles in his chest, however, and his expression becomes more concerned. “Hana, you are someone who should be heard screaming from the mountaintops. I want to hear you; I would never wish for you to be silent.” His voice isn’t commanding, but still gentle and unwavering. It resembles the general friendliness he tends to exude, but there’s a small glimmer of more underneath the surface. Ignaci is a natural listener, but he has genuinely never met anyone he has wanted to listen to more than Hana Fernandez and he’s sure of it. It cannot possibly be a fleeting emotion. “The bakunawa lore is fantastic. It’s possible he shapeshifts since countless other creatures do,” he moves the conversation that way, not wanting to sit on the topic of insecurity for very long. He doesn’t want to let that fester for her whether that’s the best decision or not. “I would be a little jealous if he was able to sleep for such a long time uninterrupted.”

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

Hana is a bit grateful for the topic change but she can feel her heart fluttering. It is always an amazing feeling hearing people say nice things about her, and to hear it coming from Ignaci feels a bit more special. She isn’t sure when it got to the point that she valued his opinion to that great extent, but she can’t be sure either of when exactly she began to feel butterflies in her stomach whenever they talk or when she started staying up later just to talk to him so perhaps these things are meant to creep up on people and they’re not meant to realize it until they’re in the thick of it all. “If he is a shapeshifting god, there are a lot more legends there, too. My lola says that – “ She’s about to continue when suddenly the whole creature begins to fly out from under the water and she closes her mouth, not wanting to distract Ignaci from what’s going on. “Watch!” she says, as the gigantic dragon fully emerges from the bay and begins to fly, first casting a shadow over all the people on the beach then progressively getting higher as it navigates the cityscape, circling around skyscrapers and getting a bit close. Hana is mostly watching Ignaci’s reaction at this point. “It’s so pretty, isn’t it?”

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

Ignaci notices it too, extending a hand that hovers over her thighs the moment the bakunawa soars into the sky. His eyes turn wide again, training on the dragon as it goes between the buildings. When it soars past them, he falls into a pit of laughter and turns towards her, hand falling over his heart, which is racing in all of its excitement. “*Déu n’hi do!* Han, you saw that? What the-” His attention turns towards the bakunawa again, not quite believing his eyes. He doesn’t have very many constructive thoughts running through his head at the moment, but he’s sure the boy he once was would have been thrilled to be here. Imagine that- actually living in a world full of dragons and being so darn close to one. It’s magical. “It’s *gorgeous*…” he whispers under his breath, glancing towards her again to see if she’s as amused as he is. His grin widens from the eye contact before breaking his line of vision off towards the sky. He’s glad he didn’t opt to just experience this over video chat. It’s too beautiful to be experiencing any other way.

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

Hana smiles now, letting the entire grin take over her face because she’s so pleased that Ignaci is enjoying. She was afraid she had hyped it up too much even though she knows realistically, he loves dragons too much to be let down. Still, ever since she first found out he was surprising her, she had been anxious that it wouldn’t live up to his expectations. The bakunawa continues its flight around the city, slowly getting higher and higher as it begins its quest to eat the moon. “There are a lot of different legends to explain why the bakunawa eats the moon, but my dad used to tell me this one” she says. And of course, it’s a love story, she thinks. In the Philippines, most everything is. “A long time ago, there were seven moons in the sky, and they would all shine brilliantly and the night would be just as bright as the morning.” Hana pauses to look up and imagine such a sight. “Then one day, the bakunawa was in his human form and he fell in love with a princess. Bakunawa is actually the god of death, so her tribe hid her away because they thought he was a bad omen.” Hana is pretty sure that in the original story, she was left inside a burning house, but she first heard this myth when she was five and she thinks her father made it a point to edit out the more morbid details. “So, the bakunawa turned into a dragon and began his quest to eat the moons to plunge the night into darkness until she was returned to him. The elders say he’s eaten six so far, which is why we only have the one left.” Her attention shifts from the dragon in the sky back to Ignaci, checking to make sure she isn’t boring him too much. “I guess we’re to continue having eclipses until she’s returned to him and they get their happily ever after. There are a lot of different versions of the legend but I like this one best. It’s very romantic.”

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

His eyes are trained on the bakunawa as it rises above the cityscape meanwhile his ears are trained on Hana’s voice. It’s so beautiful as is everything about her as far as he can see. Ignaci’s mind starts to wander from the dragon to the girl sitting beside him, so he glances back at her again. When his gaze falls upon her, his smile falters and becomes a bit more shy as a small lump forms in his throat. “It sounds very romantic,” he confirms. For a moment, he questions what he's doing once more, taking a second to admire her before turning up towards the bakunawa. “What a tragedy though. My poor *nadó*,” he whispers primarily to the wind, but he knows she can hear. His focus is on the bakunawa and its lore, but he begins to read into the story too much and suffer a small amount of heartbreak. He won't dare get another glance at her before it begins- far too nervous he will do something foolish in the process. “Your storytelling is beautiful. *This* is really beautiful. I have never seen or heard of anything like it.” His voice is a bit airy in his amazement, taking a moment to tilt his head toward the stars before immediately turning towards the bakunawa again. He doesn't want to miss a second of it unless it's for her, then he doesn't mind one bit.

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

Hana turns attention towards the dragon again, which has begun to take a more upwards trajectory as it disappears into the night sky. She wonders how far it goes or if it just turns invisible somehow, and she never really thought of that before but she supposes her newfound interest in dragonology may have something to do with it. She lies down on the blanket laid out beneath them and looks up at the sky; she had someone cast a cushioning charm on it prior to this so it's comfy, and she relaxes a bit, watching the bakunawa's figure become smaller and smaller. "It should come back down in a little less than an hour." she tells him, "Until then, I hope I prove to be good company. I know I'm no match for a dragon, but..." Hana smiles as she finishes a bit shyly, "I'm very happy to be here with you."

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

Ignaci turns when he notices her fall from his line of vision, appearing lost for a moment before collapsing down beside her. It’s undeniably intimate. He laughs at the thought of a dragon being somehow better than her just as they watch one of those magnificent creatures disappear into the night, but he soon takes note of the genuine hesitation. Ignaci promised himself differently, but his head turns towards her with gentle eyes. “I think you're great company- better than any dragon, Han,” he tells her honestly. He laughs again, but in a softer fashion as he resumed watching the night sky above, “*Way* better. I wouldn't want to be here with anyone else.” A small silence and his hand purposefully brushes against hers. His chest becomes tight for a second as he awaits her response to this, leaving his palm open for her to take if she wanted to.

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

The eclipse begins and Hana registers the soft lullaby music that's beginning to play coming from the bay, magically amplified to carry through the whole city. It would be pitch black if not for the city lights; Hana can still make out the details in Ignaci's face given their proximity. She feels his hand and almost immediately takes it, but is a bit unwilling to make a fool of herself by assuming wrong. She lets her pinky brush against his palm before choosing her next words carefully. "What happened with that girl you mentioned on the train?" she asks, even though she is aware they both know who he was talking about and what she is really asking. She bites her lip but refuses to break eye contact. "Did you ever figure out what you wanted to come out of that?" she adds, quieter than before.

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

When her finger brushes gently across his palm, he slides his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers and running his thumb along the grooves of her hand. The questions pull another smile onto his face, but he bites it down. “I have never felt my heart beat for someone as it does for her,” he answers after a thoughtful moment. “And I have never met someone so stunning in each and every regard. Everything about her sends me to the Moon.” He pauses, smiling at her. Ignaci has never feared his feelings, so expressing them comes easily in this moment. Difficultly arises only in the matter of continuing the charade (for he really wants to write his confession to her and deliver it). “I would consume several moons for her too, but...only if she wanted me to. I would want to spend thousands of nights with her, but again only if she wanted to.” His voice is calm, but there’s an emotional, sappy tinge to it that cannot possibly go unnoticed. He searches her face for more of a sign and brushes his thumb across her hand once more before he chooses to continue, “Do you?”

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

Though normally Hana prides herself on her quick wit and ability to always know the correct thing to say, she is too overwhelmed with butterflies and she is unsure if she can move her mouth to form words when it cannot stop smiling. Instead, she takes his hand and uses her elbow to prop herself up a bit so she can move her face closer to his. "I do want to." she finally replies, her voice barely above a whisper. She leans in to kiss him, but stops right before their lips touch to let him close the gap or put distance in between them again — whichever Ignaci prefers, she would be fine either way. Hana is already so happy and everything about this moment is already so magical.

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

He doesn’t hesitate, moving onto his elbow to close the space between them and slowly snaking his free hand behind her head as he kisses her. It’s gentle and slow, letting the rhythm of the symphony below guide them through the moment. A kiss has never been so beautiful and full of magic before, or at least certainly not for him. When he pulls from their kiss, he rests his forehead against hers and smiles before planting a second, much shorter kiss upon her lips. “I am so glad you do,” he whispers to her, hand falling from behind her head as he searches her expression once more. His heart is beating out of his chest, but he is trying to appear collected.

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

Hana is smiling when he pulls away; she had been sitting on these feelings for a while now but she's glad neither of them have acted on them until now, especially considering how magical and perfect their moment ended up being. She leans in to kiss him one more time before continuing to lie back down on the blanket. "You really can't stay?" she asks, sounding a bit disappointed, but her hand doesn't leave his. "Do you think one of us can visit the other before the beginning of the term, then?" Hana is a bit embarrassed after she realizes what she's just said; she feels that she might be getting too excited about this and that this might be just a kiss to Ignaci so she decides to backtrack just a bit. "That is, if you want to..." *Date*. Hana isn't normally flustered over these things because they naturally fall into place, but she's nervous this time. She doesn't normally kiss boys then not see them for a month — what if he changes his mind by September? "Continue this. I apologize for assuming."

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

Her kiss lingers and he smiles before falling down onto the blanket once more. He's in awe, staring at where the bakunawa had disappeared with a glimmer in his eyes. His chest is warm and, for the first time in the longest time, he is calm and can say he understands where they stand. Ignaci had believed for some time that what was there was obviously mutual, but to share this moment with her was the best confirmation he could have ever gotten. "It's okay, Hana. I want to date you," he confirms, questioning whether or not he should pose it more formally. He raises their hands towards him, kissing hers gently before letting them fall into their place between the both of them. "I hope you know I want to stay," he continues, sounding a bit disappointed too, but he tries to control it. "I shouldn't though." Even if the program was something skippable, his father is far too conservative to let him stay in a foreign country with someone overnight. He was pushing his father's boundaries by coming for the eclipse. "I can't promise being able to visit each other. I don't want to tell you that and then not do it, but we should try." Ignaci doesn't question their ability to last until September. He isn't too concerned with their predicament changing before then because they have spent so much of their time together video chatting from other sides of the globe. If they forged through that, he's sure they can get through a month and a half. "If not, we can still video chat and spend time together somehow- or would you rather wait until September?"

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

“I don’t need to wait for September.” she answers immediately. Hana is quite certain in their ability to get through this, and she knows for sure that she wants to be with him – there isn’t anyone here that would catch her eye and she wants them to be *something* already so that she can stop being so anxious about the idea of someone stealing him away while he’s at his program. While Ignaci has been plenty romantic, she doesn’t voice any of these thoughts out of fear that she’ll seem so much more invested in this than he is. She’s still propping herself up on her elbow and she leans down to give him a kiss once more before lying down next to him. She’s been wanting to kiss him for a while now, after all, might as well take full advantage of the fact that she can finally do it as much as she wants. “I don’t mind not being able to visit each other until then. We’ve gotten through longer – it shouldn’t be any different just because we’re dating, right?”

Ignaci Castello

dragonology apprentice
ateleia

He smiles into their kiss, immersed in sheer serenity as she lays down beside him once more. Ignaci has been waiting for this too, so to say he is simply enjoying this would be an understatement. “It shouldn’t be. It’s true- we have gone through longer,” he confirms. It would be foolish not to admit to himself that it must be a bit more difficult, but it won’t be impossible and he would rather be positive. “Imagine how nice it will be when we’re in school again-” His tone is a bit dreamy and he moves to kiss her hand again, closing his eyes for a moment before returning them to the stars. He’s never wanted to go to school, so he’s certainly never dreamed of it. Except this once, he knows he will want to return. Imagining them splitting in the next month or so seems impossible, so he isn’t considering the possibility of how it could turn for the worst. “We can find a comfortable corner somewhere in the castle and make it our spot. It will be wonderful.”

Hana Fernandez

lakambini ng namayan, spellmaking apprentice
paintedred

Hana feels completely at peace as the two of them continue to lie down next to each other and stare at the sky. They still have the whole night to go, though she isn't worried about how the rest of their time together will go. She listens to the beautiful music coming from the bay as the magic carries it throughout the city and reaches a hand out to absentmindedly play with the curls in Ignaci's hair. The more rational part of her is nagging at her to begin worrying about how her parents will receive the news that she's dating someone who isn't royalty or if she can manage a relationship on top of her determination to perform well academically during her last year at Hogwarts, but she really couldn't be bothered at the moment. The idea of them having their own little place in the castle is very appealing and has completely taken over her head – it's so huge, there has to be somewhere the two of them can be alone and spend their seventh year with one another. "I'd like that a lot."