Hating and Loving our Gifts (Nia/Aurie)

It was the middle of day and Aurelie wished that she had thought through what she was going to wear. It was, incidentally, the middle of winter too and all she was wearing was a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans.

Which, in hindsight, was not smart at all.

Shivering, she rubbed her hands on her arms to warm herself.

Ksenia strolled slowly along the streets, enjoying the solitude. A thermos was held in her hand filled with the steaming black bitter coffee that she liked. Her small figure was bundled up in the warm expansive coat that she bought with the money that her family had in backup bank accounts that couldn't be traced back to their name just for the situations like hers.

The young witch did not pay much attention to the people around her. She never had. Socializing was something she detested.

Aurelie stepped out from under the shadows of a tree, having taken a shortcut. However, she didn't expect this shortcut to run into a woman wearing a thick coat and bearing a cup of hot coffee.

Ouch.

Sizzle.

Burn.

Crap.

Ksenia stepped back quickly as the thermos slipped from her hand in order not to get any of the hot drink onto herself. "You idiot!" she snarled at the girl who bumped into her. "Do you not use your eyes?"

Aurie shook off the drops of hot coffee. "Evidently you don't," she said cooly, suppressing a wince. "Durmstrang."

In a blink of an eye, she assessed that the girl was a fan of bitter, black coffee, and was rich. Very. And snobbish, to an extent.

And hiding something.

She tilted her head.

"Apparently you do not have any basic mental abilities either," Ksenia snapped, as she kicked the thermos away in her anger. "You are the one who bumped into me, did you forget that little fact already?"

"I knew that Hogwarts had a biased curriculum, but I never thought that they accepted retards into the school," she said, her anger still high.

Although the girl was obviously trying to piss Aurie off, Aurie remained calm. Being mad clouded her judgement. "We both bumped into each other," she said calmly. "There was a span of about three seconds in which you walked into me and I was walking in front of you."

She forced herself to stop for a second as the girl insulted Hogwarts -- Aurie's sanctuary -- and sighed. "Ksenia Sokol. I've heard of you."

She had, but only in passing. And Aurelie Bones rarely forgot a name.

"Of course there was! Well done for calculating it so precisely," Ksenia said, sarcasm very heavy in her voice. The girl had ruined her afternoon walk by bumping into her and she was not happy about it.

"Good for you," she said coldly, as she dusted of her coat once again, not even looking at the girl. "The good thing for me is that I have never heard about you. And what would have been even better is if I never actually daw you.

"The bad thing about knowing you is that I know how irritable and spoiled you can be," Aurie said, finally giving into her temper. "Which, I don't think is a very good reputation. You're spoiled rotten, think you're the best at everything and do you really want me to continue? If Durmstrang accepts brats like you, it's even worse than I thought."

Ksenia raised her eyebrows and laughed at the girl. "Now I know for a fact that you are stupid. You do not know anything about me. The only thing that you got right about me is that I am irritable. And I could care less about what people are saying about me."

"Oh, I don't think I am the best. I know I am the best," she said, with a full smirk. She wasn't gloating, she was telling the exact truth. She was one of the very best students Durmstrang had within its walls right now. "You should really check your facts before you accuse a person of anything," she said, notes of fake sympathy clear in her voice.

Aurelie rolled her eyes. "You, the best? That's a very strange curriculum Durmstrang is teaching. What do they teach there? Bitchiness 101?"

(OOC: This is so much fun! XD. Sorry.)

"No," Ksenia said, her voice sweet. "I do believe that is what they teach at Hogwarts," she said to the other girl. "At Durmstrsng I prefer the analytical approach."

(Don't be sorry it is a lot of fun!)

Aurelie took a look at the girl, and then laughed. Though it held a touch of derisiveness, most of it was actually natural and she had a smile on her face. "And what," she said, humor tinging her voice, "would said analytical approach be?"

She braced herself slightly.

"If you want to find out you will have to come to Durstramg won't you?" Ksenia said raising her eyebrow at the other girl, her anger having calmed slightly.

"But I guess you wouldn't survive there long," she said, almost musing, as she studied the girl with a judging gaze.

(OOC: SORRY I HAVEN'T POSTED IN SO LONG!)

Judgy, judgy. Aurelie shrugged. "I was gonna sign up for the transfer program," she said casually. "But from what you say, I guess I wouldn't fit in at all." The corners of her eyes wrinkled very slightly in a smile.

"Do I look like I care?" Ksenia asked, irritated. "Do whatever you want. It has no effect on me," she said kicking at some of the snow slightly.

Aurelie was quiet for a minute, inspecting the girl up and down. "So," she said, and then made a wild guess. "What are you hiding? A gift?"

Ksenia laughed at that. "Why would I tell you anything about myself? You really are stupid to be asking such question from anyone," she said. The young witch sighed. "I wasted enough time with you. Now get out of my way. Or do you want to bother me with more of your pesky questions that I will never answer?" she mocked the other girl.

"I like to bother brats," Aurelie said sweetly. "So I can learn what not to become." She flashed a wide, insincere smile. "Anyway, I know you have one. It's rather obvious. And you're quite a good actress, I should give you that."

"Obvious?" Ksenia asked, raising her eyebrow. "Do tell me what is obvious." Her expression remained irritated.

"Your every movement," Aurelie said, waving her hands around. "Okay, maybe not your every movement. But you're hiding something. People who hide something are often the ones who are the most obvious. And I'd say...that it has something to do with magic. Oooh."

She laughed, a wild abandoned laugh before closing it off abruptly. "Look at me, trying to read you. You're a closed book with a title, does that make any sense? A very long title. And by the looks of it, you don't like socializing very much." Waving her wand slightly, she siphoned the coffee off her shirt. "A bit presumptuous of me, I suppose, but it's not like we're going to become instant best friends and chat over... bitter...black...coffee."

"I will give it to you. You have good observation skills," Ksenia nodded her head slightly at the other girl, h expession remaining cold. "There are a lot of people who have things to hide. A lot of those are lies. And you saying that my secret has something to do with magic is just a guess. Nothing more," she stated simply.

"See?" Ksenia raised her eyebrow at the girl. "You are smart. Now if you do not having anything else valuable to say I think I think I will go."

"Of course it's just a guess," Aurelie said calmly. "And of course I don't have anything valuable to say. Bye-bye." She grinned sweetly and sauntered off, hands in her pockets.

Because she honestly didn't have anything valuable to say -- that is, to the girl. To herself, it was just another observation. But the girl didn't seem to be enjoying Aurelie's little observing spree and thus, she wouldn't waste her time.