Adeothorne Express

Adeothorne Express
unplottable

The Express dutifully carries students to and from Adeothorne Academy of the Arcane at the start and end of every term. It leaves King's Cross Station's Platform 9¾ at 11 o'clock on September 1st and arrives at the Adeorange Station in the evening and does the opposite trip before summer begins.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia sits in a compartment, waiting for Summer patiently. On her right is her tablet with the first few episodes of *Fruits Basket* downloaded and on her left is a little assortment of treats that she panic-bought from the trolley when it had passed by the apartment. Zen has been alone with Summer before, yes, and the two of them have watched anime together before. Nonetheless, she's getting the vibe that Summer hasn't quite figured her out in the way Katiya does to understand that she is trying very hard to make this friendship work and hopefully... develop into something more? A bit of a stretch given how out of her league Summer is, but that's fine and irrelevant since nothing will come out of it anyway. It's not like she's obvious anyway, thank Merlin for that. Zenia gets her phone and opens Witchagram, contemplating messaging Summer to let her know that she's excited, but she quickly decides against it. She doesn't want to seem *too* eager. While checking her phone though, she gets a message from Zoe that's mostly just badgering her to say 'hi' to Katiya for her (looks like she *hadn't* been listening when Zenia told her that she'd be taking the train with someone else this year) and reminding her that she and Zilya will meet her at their usual spot once they get to the station. Zen replies with a quick 'okay', before looking through the compartment door for Summer again. She doubts anyone would be able to miss her.

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

For how fast-paced her brain is, her feet are skilled in their own form of procrastination, wandering around the platform and not necessarily disguising the fact that she is skirting around a prior commitment. A friend nudges her, reminding her she better hurry before Zenia gets swept off her feet by someone else. Summer laughs a lot at that, but it worsens her nerves. Zenia isn't particularly intimidating to her; wherever she beats her, she's willing to just admire her talent with awe. However, there's this confusion that coats their conversations similar to the glaze of a Krispy Kreme doughnut, causing this indescribable fumbling in her speech that she isn't accustomed to. No one has ever kept her on her toes quite how Zenia does, which excites her and bamboozles her at the same time. Altogether though, she wants to spend this time with her, and she knows she ought to quit tiptoeing around it. Chances are that there won't be much conversation happening over the course of their vacation, so she should seize this opportunity to see her while she can even if that doesn't include much conversation either... After finally boarding, she abandons her belongings with her friends and waits through their teasing before searching through the compartments to find her friend, who she has many different feelings for. Zenia is a little generic-seeming for a British person, but she's a lot easier to spot with how much affection Summer has for her, always looking out for her around Adeothorne. Just rounding that compartment tells her it's the one, and she grins the moment she catches her through the glass and slides the door open. "Heyyy, Zen!" she exclaims, pulling herself into the compartment and collapsing onto the seat as if she just returned from a hard day's work at the gold mines. When her gaze reaches Zenia again, she grins again. "You're looking nice." Summer pays no attention to it, but she says this to the other student quite a bit. "Ready for *vacation*?" Her brows, laughing at herself.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia watches as Summer makes her grand entrance, cheeks flushing a little at the compliment. Summer *always* thinks that she looks nice, which sets off alarms in her head that maybe she might not be entirely sincere. Zen does not think she looks particularly nice, at the very least definitely she does not compared to *Summer* who always manages to look so cool even when she's not particularly trying. And Summer is never trying, which just makes her appearance seem all the more cool. Zen bites the inside of her cheek, eyes daring down to her lap before taking the tablet into her lap so that Summer can sit next to her more closely. Hopefully she gets the hint that that's what she is meant to do, but Zenia reasons it's fine if she doesn't figure it out just yet because they will be sitting next to each other while watching anyway, during which Zenia may be able to strategically lean on her after an appropriate amount of time. Her master plan has been thought over and over again, evidently. "Thank you." she says, the signature flatness in her voice always evident but hopefully the pink in her cheeks is hopefully enough to convey that it's sincere. Asking if she's ready for vacation is a bit nonsensical, Zenia thinks. Of course she is. She doesn't know what would constitute *not* being ready for vacation. Maybe if she was still stressed over various academic requirements? Does Summer think she's uptight? Is it because she's a Ravenclaw? Oh no... The thoughts plague her head before a voice that sounds like Katiya's pipes up in her head, telling her to calm down and to stop being so ridiculous. Looking at Summer, trying to figure out what specifically to compliment in reply to her 'You look nice' comment, she doesn't come up with anything and the words die in her throat. She blinks twice as if to snap herself out from staring. "I'm excited to spend winter break with my family, yes." she says. "I've missed spending time with my sisters." Immediately after saying it, Zen realizes it's a bit telling that she misses Zoe and Zilya despite... going to school with them. They're roommates, though, and in a different house, so it makes sense and is probably to be expected. It doesn't seem very angsty to her at least. "Are you?" she asks, "Ready for break?" she adds, clarifying.

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

It would do Summer wonders if she didn't always find Zenia so... *zapping* (in her own mundane way). It's a little cringe to be tripping over herself every time she sees her, but *alas* there isn't much she can do except let a little air out of that balloon and shoot her a compliment – short and sweet. "Oh, sweet!" Her brows shoot toward the sky, lifting herself and twirling around before collapsing down beside Zenia on the other side of the compartment. Hesitation could have eased the sudden overwhelmed feeling she gets from her proximity to her friend. "Whoa, the view from this side is *much* better." Summer turns to stare out the window, curling her mouth as she stifles her laughter. No matter how collected and *cool* Summer is supposed to be, she can't manage to follow through with the cheesy suggestion, but she pictures herself sliding in and shooting her shot with a quick wiggle of her brows at Zenia. A modest chuckle comes out before she turns to face her, nodding to show she's listening. Not as mindful, she doesn't particularly notice that it might be *telling* of anything. Doesn't she have other sisters? Maybe that's who she's talking about... "Super! It'll be wicked going home again, seeing the old friends and shit. Seattle's pretty tight – a Hell of a lot better than here, anyways. You would fit in there." A little distracted from the original question, she grins at this thought and decides to continue on it. "Wowww. Maybe that's why your energy is so attractive to me!" Summer laughs, not because it's an insane suggestion that Zenia's energy is appealing to her but because she knows she's going on about nothing. "It reminds me of *hooome*. Gross." Still sort of snickering to herself, it dies down as her thoughts move on track again. "Seriously, you so would though. If my family had more room, I'd invite you to come visit sometime, but you can always visit once we graduate and on our own." With how confusing and underdeveloped their friendship is, she knows that it's a little far-fetched to expect Zenia to ever be interested in that, but it doesn't take much to just smile it off. Still, she wants to create a point of saying that she enjoys her company that much. "Anyways! Yes, so fucking ready."

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia listens to Summer intently as she always does. She knows that Summer tends to talk *a lot* and yet somehow Zen manages to find all of it important and worth listening to, which is of course not very common especially considering that she spent the majority of her life just tuning Zoe out. She's had a lot of practice. Zenia knows very little about Seattle, but it's still somewhat baffling that she would 'fit in' somewhere 'tight'. Before she can ask what it *is* exactly about Seattle that makes her believe Zenia would fit in so nicely, Summer goes and calls her attractive and all comprehendible thought leaves her brain. Zen blinks once, twice, *thrice* before saying anything as if she's just finished processing that statement. "Visiting would be... nice." she says, and though Zenia is averse to using 'nice' as an adjective simply because she prides herself on having a vocabulary more developed than using underwhelming words like that, but right now words are failing her. Besides, 'nice' certainly did feel *overwhelming* earlier when Summer had commented that she looked *nice* and thinking about that again brings a pink tinge to her cheeks (not that she's sure her earlier blush had even had the time to fade properly). "You could visit too." she tells her. "Katiya lives next door, so you'd be able to see her too. Maybe if Yves visits, you can come together." To be completely truthful, Zenia would much prefer to spend this time just the two of them but she feels the need to bring up that they might have other people around as if their presence will make the idea of spending time together more enticing. When she catches herself going down this train of thought though, she very quickly reminds herself that she herself is enough reason for Summer to see her on her own and she shouldn't need to be so insecure. "But it would be nice to spend some time just the two of us." she adds, just so Summer knows that's something she would be interested in.

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Reading Zenia is *difficult*, and she has a hard time understanding when she's expressing some sort of insecurity and when she's hinting that she isn't interested in something. The addition was appreciated, but she would have been fine seeing her *with* their friends too. Zenia not actually contributing because she is letting herself exist in the shadows is truly the only risk of such a situation. However, Summer is skilled at ensuring everyone has time to contribute to conversations (and together her and Honey make a fantastic team of conversational bodyguards), so she is sure it would go *fine*. "Visiting *would* be nice," she repeats very enthusiastically. It doesn't occur to her that that might be too repetitive or dull the meaning of it. "*But* you obviously haven't spent enough time around them if you think that would be fun." Summer laughs at the idea, not meaning to be disrespectful. If anything, it's dissing Yves and Katiya, who *are* insufferable to be around as long as they're together. Sometimes Yves gets on her nerves just by how much he goes on about her, but she usually finds it cute. "El is sending a portkey to Paris on the 27th, and then we're getting portkeys or whatever to... can't fucking remember, but we're all together at that point. I'll be staying out here after that though, so we can hang then, right?" Honestly, she isn't too sure what they would do except watch more anime, maybe try to coerce some more knowledge out of Zenia that she will likely be baffled by... It's not anything Summer is worried about. There's always something. Besides, if she's desperate, she can message Lemon, who is sure to provide her with a suggestion so appalling and out-of-left-field that it will reassure her that her previously 'boring' suggestions are quite interesting. "Just the two of us?" Summer grins, raising her brows as if waiting for confirmation.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

"We can!" Zenia says, at what would be considered normal-level enthusiasm from anyone else but the way she straightens and perks up at the suggestion feels embarrassing to her. Luckily, she is not being very obvious, she thinks. No one's caught on, after all. "Kian mentioned something the other day about Elouan wanting to implement a buddy system while we're in Brittany. I don't know how serious that is – it's hard to tell when Kian is joking – but it does make sense." The corner of Zen's mouth quirks up, obviously still very amused by the notion. "I would enjoy being able to be together even then." Hopefully that's enough to indicate that if that *is* a legitimate thing Elouan wants them to do, Zenia would want to be with Summer. Katiya and Yves would be inseparable anyway. "And I've spent enough time around Katiya and Yves to be familiar with what you're talking about." Zen sighs, but she's happy for Katiya so it's not at all that exasperated. Her best friend *does* deserve someone who loves her as much as Yves does. "You and Yves are close, right?" It makes her more hopeful for future outings involving the four of them. She thinks Katiya and Summer might appreciate that. Letting Yves and Summer instigate each other might be a bit much, but for as long as Summer is involved then it's charming to Zenia and she's sure that Yves brings out a similar sentiment on Katiya's end. Besides, from observation, the Summer-Yves combination is a lot more manageable than the Honey-Summer or Yves-Lemon combinations. They'll be fine.

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Her enthusiasm surprises Summer, drawing her head backward as she watches her with an amused grin plastered all over her face. Still, it's welcomed considering it's a sign of some sort of progress that she hadn't realized they had been making. Only interruption to this is the issue of Elouan's birthday, and she wonders then how to be smooth about it. Summer catches the hint, or she's at least hopeful that that's what *that* was. Even if it wasn't, then shooting *her shot* another time won't hurt her. "We're super tight, yeah! He was one of my first Adeothorne friends," she breezes through that topic of conversation, shifting in her seat before focusing on the much larger topic. "Anyways! El mentioned it, so he's not joking." Summer laughs, finding it funny that Zenia thought that it was a joke. Personally, she always believes Kian is just joking around. His attitude is just humor, and that's why him and Elouan work so well! Elouan is too nice and bubbly to genuinely get on with someone so serious and grumpy, she thinks. "We could still spend time together, but you're supposed to be partnered with Leighton... so none of us are." A little awkward chuckle comes out, but she tries to play it off coolly. "I don't know- I don't think the buddy system is *that* strict. It just means never split off on your own, so we can mix and match however we want the day of." Her shoulders rise and fall a little dramatically before pushing some of her hair over her shoulder. A teasing smirk comes onto her face before she even speaks again, already amused with herself. "Honey won't mind. She *loves* him."

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Similarly, nowadays Zenia always seems to believe that Kian is joking around and that perhaps Elouan has had that influence on him. It is slowly beginning to occur to her that perhaps his boyfriend really is just that ridiculous, which is something she used to judge him slightly for but as her own crush on Summer developed she found that it was hard to be critical of it. Zenia has always hated being a hypocrite, but finds she does not mind nearly as much as she used to. Every now and then, she sees how Kian and Katiya do a specific sort of smile whenever their phone lights up with a message from Elouan or Yves respectively and while it is a bit nausea-inducing, she cannot help but be jealous and hope for the same thing. Even Leighton has *Eleanor*. Remembering that reminds her that she is the only one in their little group who is still single. She has never minded being single before, though, but that was because she wasn't particularly interested in anyone and didn't see the point in agonizing over it. "With Leighton? I expected that." It makes sense, of course, and she really doesn't mind being partnered with him. "I always end up with him at most extended family gatherings... This should be no different." In fact, it's a bit reassuring that that will be the case. Zenia is self-aware enough to acknowledge her own awkwardness and lack of grace that will surely not fit in well in such a formal setting. She will likely just be quiet to prevent herself from doing anything embarrassing – yes, she has had *much* practice doing exactly that. Leighton's presence will be comforting. At the mention of Camacho, she snorts. "Careful, his girlfriend might get jealous." she drawls, "I would love to spend time with you do. I mean, I always – " Zenia blushes, going silent. "You already know."

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Maybe she should have come to this conclusion by now, or at least she's starting to wonder if she should have now that she actually knows the facts behind their friendship. "Oh, shit... You two are *related*?" A chuckle comes out, sounding almost baffled though she's not necessarily *surprised*. Both of them appear more closely related to each other than their own siblings as if the chances of them being raised in a household separate from the other dozen or so children is far more likely than them having been raised among their own families. Summer wonders if that's a sort of *mean* thought to have, but it's only mean if she thinks their shared attitudes are a negative thing, right? And they are *not* nor are they *that* similar, or else Summer wouldn't be so into Zenia. Imagining herself ever interested in Leighton is more baffling than this revelation was. "Makes sense," she concludes aloud with an assured nod. It's followed by a snort, unconsciously miming the other's behavior until she notices she's blushing and she just grins in response. After all, it's a little amusing seeing Zenia being so expressive; she's quite cute when she is. Even when she isn't, she's quite cute to Summer. "Know what? That you want to spend time with me and you just love it sooo much?" She's teasing, but only to distract from the butterflies forming in her own stomach at the very thought of someone genuinely wanting to spend so much time with her. It's important coming from someone who doesn't seem inclined towards many people either, meaning she must *really* enjoy Summer's company of all people. Oh, maybe she's getting ahead of herself... "I know. I do too," she declares, kicking her feet up onto the seat across from them and crossing her arms with a familiar bravado. "I love spending time with you too."

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Quite pleased to have confirmation that the feeling is reciprocated, Zen smiles slightly feeling accomplished. To her, it *is* in fact quite the victory that she has managed to get Summer to enjoy spending time with her despite her fumbling attempts at hanging out nearly every time they're together. When she gets home or at the soonest, after this train ride when Summer is no longer here to be so distracting, she should take some time to assess how to proceed from here. Perhaps she should not overthink a friendship so much, but it has been working out for her so well and Zenia tends to approach most things as if there it is a method to it even if she has yet to discover it. She will get the hang of it eventually. "Yes. That." she says. Zenia is not very eloquent or else she would probably have a much easier time talking to people. While the way Summer put it is not exactly how she would phrase how she feels, it is easier to simply agree than stumble on her words as they leave her mouth. "That's... that's good to hear." she says in reply. As if what Summer has been saying is catching up with Zenia a bit belatedly, she pauses before asking, "What made you say my energy reminds you of Seattle?" It could be an insult, but she did say that Seattle was 'tight'. She doesn't know though. She just wants to make sure that she's not blindly agreeing to something that might just be someone poking fun at her. Not that she thinks Summer is the type, but Zoe did that often growing up not that she ever meant it so seriously. She thinks.

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Summer hums, quite pleased with herself too. Unlike Zenia, she will not exercise much of her brainpower on trying to figure out where she goes from here. It's better to take into account all opportunities and possible changes by effectively not thinking about any of them at all. Her heart knows what she's out for, and it doesn't really matter to her how or when she gets there. Similarly, it's a little interesting how she has started to adjust to the idea of just *waiting*. At first, she met Zenia and thought laying the moves on her quickly would move things along smoothly. With time, however, Summer has adjusted to the idea of enjoying the journey, giving Zenia the space and time if she will ever even return her feelings at all (which she's confident she will *eventually* because she finds herself charming). Her American friends were quick to scoff and exclaim how much she's simping for her. Summer can't necessarily deny that and doesn't care to pretend. When she stumbles over her words a little bit, she just nods to confirm she's fine before grinning at the question. "Seattle is very gray, and a lot of people there have what we call the Seattle Freeze, which is where no one talks to each other... for whatever reason that might be. Everyone is there with a mission, moving from spot to spot. Walking around some spots is so– Shit, everyone is so intelligent and successful." Her eyes widen as if she's coming to this revelation for the first time, but then she pauses and starts thinking. She's on a ramble now. "And there's this spot near the water where this old gasification plant used to be, so there's all of these rusted over structures with vines on it and shit. You can see a lot of Seattle from there, and you would really fit in there just a few minutes after sunset when the sky turns blueish purple. Everything is quiet, but the city is still bustling on the other side. Listening to you is sort of like that feeling... Yeah!" Summer laughs a little, shifting in her seat. "We're the two types of Seattlites. It's sort of hilarious actually."

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Upon hearing this explanation, Zenia cannot say with as much certainty as she had before that being very 'Seattle' was as much of a compliment as she initially thought it was. She almost frowns, but she has enough control over the expression she makes to not give off any indication that she is bothered by it. It's a good thing she didn't, because Summer talks about it so excitedly that Zenia is inclined to believe that it *might* be a compliment in some strange convoluted way. The comparison with watching the sunset on the other hand is much more easily seen as a compliment though she's still a bit wary if there is an implication somewhere there because Summer does not particularly seem like the type of person who would enjoy the quiet. Looks can be deceiving though, and she's talking about it fondly so she has no reason to entertain that more self-deprecating train of thought. "Maybe I'll be able to visit one day and you can show me." With portkeys, Zen is definitely capable. Her mother would be thrilled too that she's going to visit a *friend* (that isn't just Katiya for the nth time) and her sisters would tease her mercilessly about it but encourage her to go for it as well. "Do you think you'll be busy over the break or do you might have the time for us to to call and chat sometime?" It really is a good thing that Katiya lives so closely to her, otherwise Zenia is positive every Christmas break would be spent in utter misery wilting away from not being able to spend time with her best friend. She refuses to use the term 'wilting' for missing Leighton and Kian, but she *will* miss them and is not looking forward to their only mode of communication being via the group chat but perhaps she can convince them to do calls or visit... She and Katiya could show them the Zenkastle, perhaps. *Summer*, though, she will most likely wilt over and it does not help that she will be all the way in *Seattle*. She almost lets out a sigh at the thought. "I would like to."

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

To Summer, it's more than a compliment. Her city is something she is more than just attached to, and she finds it absolutely awesome that she found someone who reminds her so much of home ~~who having a British accent~~ while being so far from it. Admittedly, it's a strange thing, and she will likely remember this as an embarrassing moment later. For now though, she thinks she's given her one of the best compliments ever. Summer is not necessarily spectacular at compliments or words at all. "You will love it," she promises. Even if Zenia doesn't enjoy the view as much as she does, she trusts that her company can at least make it worthwhile for as long as her friend still enjoys it. They are about to spend hours in this stuffy train compartment, craning their necks to try to comfortably watch anime on Zenia's tablet, and she will enjoy every second of it just because of who she's with. A little foolishly, she sort of just assumes everyone operates the same. "Oh, for sure! You would want to do that?" Summer tries not to sound so surprised but shooting up in her seat gives her away. "We can. I can totally find time. It's just timezones, but fuck that. I don't need a neat sleep schedule or anything." It will be dark enough all day anyways. It's not as if she particularly needs to be enjoying the beautiful day hours. "So, we will. We'll do it. Promise." Summer extends her pinky finger out towards her.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia *does* want to do that, otherwise she wouldn't have brought it up. That should be obvious, but she nods nonetheless. She glances at the outstretched pinky, taking it in her own and completes the promise without hesitation or reservation. She has not done a pinky promise in a *while*, but she does not find it ridiculous and it is in fact a perfectly valid way to seal an agreement. After the pinky promise is done, she drops her hand and puts it back in her lap, flustered from the touch no matter how small it was. "I *also* don't need a... *neat* sleep schedule." she says, not wanting Summer to be the one having to adjust. "It's break so there isn't any reason to have one... We'll figure it out." It won't be too difficult, Zenia thinks. Hopefully, though, Zoe and Zilya don't find fun in barging into her room during these calls or repeatedly asking her if they can say hi. It is within Zoe especially to try and interrupt. "I'm looking forward to it." Wanting to get draw attention from the blush that's just graced her cheeks, she gets the tablet and turns it on, placing it in her lap as she opens the anime she downloaded. Setting it down in the middle of the two of them, she looks up at Summer to make sure everything's fine before raising an eyebrow. "Ready?"

Summer Quest

hufflepuff, sixth year
ateleia

Summer shakes their hands a little once their fingers are interlocked, winking at her before pulling away. "Totally," she affirms before watching as Zenia starts shifting around. Immediately taking the cue, she starts situating herself for the rest of the train ride or at least for a good part of it. "Ready!" With how she's twisted around, it's a little difficult to catch Zenia in the corner of her eye while watching *Fruits Basket*, pushing her hair from her face to get a better glimpse of her. Zenia is quite captivating in most scenarios (in all scenarios that Summer can dream of), but she finds her particularly beautiful when she's visibly enjoying herself. For a while, it was quite difficult for her to understand if she was or wasn't, but she has sort of figured it out now... or she at least feels as if it has been set straight somewhat. Zenia is still confusing to her except at least she knows for certain now that they are headed in the right direction. Her heart flutters at the thought of where this road might take them, and she gets a little warm when she notices she hasn't been reading the subtitles because she's been too busy thinking about her friend. Hopefully, whatever happened isn't that important or at least she won't mention it to her. Maybe if she does, she can just admit she was too busy thinking of her. How cheesy is that? Smooth though, yeah? Summer thinks so.

Zenia S.W.

caulerpa, sixth year
paintedred

Zenia, on the other hand, is focusing as hard as she can on the screen trying not to be too obvious. She is doing wonderfully, she thinks, at masking her interest but hopefully once she decides to be less subtle about it, it will be a pleasant surprise for Summer. Really, what she wants to do now is find out the time difference between here and Seattle and account for that already, but she can't while they're watching so she makes a mental note to add the clock to her phone later after they get off the train. Shifting closer to Summer and trying to not be so telling, she glances up at the other girl to gauge her reaction but before she can discern that she is distracted by how pretty she looks. Zenia blushes and looks down at the anime again, watching as Tohru and Yuki accompany each other to school. She wants to steal another glance but that would be too much, Zen thinks. She bites the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling, though, pleased with herself and this very thrilling 'secret' of hers.