there is still grass and trees and air [SALEM]

[aliamarie]

&&she is still
R E L A X A N D E N J O Y T H E R I D E

In one of those rare moments when the sun revealed itself to shine down benevolently on the grounds of Hogwarts, Marlene was seated peacefully outside in the great expanse of the Lawns. The warmth from our solar system’s star felt like a coat of warm honey on her skin. Light bounced and refracted in the curly plumes on top of her head, making her hair appear like a glowing misty halo as she bent over her sketchbook. Perched in her lap, the book had been enduring her doodling long enough for a spread of two pages to be coated and soaked through with the full range of her inks.

Setting the book to her side, and plugging up the inkwell she was just utilizing, Lena began to stretch. Arching her back and thrusting her arms up in the air over her head, she tried to loosen the tight muscles in her shoulders and neck. Artist’s aches, her uncle always called them. Forty three times, he had laughed at her stretching in this way, and then offer to help her with those dastardly Artist’s Aches. Remembering him at that moment lit a smile on her face that matched her bright surroundings.

It was little moments like this, out in the open world without any strange compulsions clogging her thoughts, which Lena looked forward to every day. Today in class had been particularly difficult for the delicate girl; the girl sitting to her left in potions class was chewing gum. Normally a little thing like that wouldn’t bother anyone, but along with counting each word the Professor said, Lena counted each smack of the girls mouth too. Moreover, they kept on adding up to an uneven amounts every minute, which was rather more strenuous than having to dual sets of counting. The headache she’d required in that potions class was melting away now, replaced by warm mental pictures of her uncle.

Lena understood that comparing her numbers did nothing to make her safer or happier. The sad part of her anxiety disorder was that she knew all of the compulsions she prescribed to were completely and utterly ridiculous. The serotonin deficiency in her brain created constant activities and goals to achieve the chemical balance. However, knowledge of these facts did nothing to stop the symptoms, or the laughing. It did stop her from stepping out of herself, of making connections with the people around her. As she sat looking up at the great big sky all on her own in the middle of the grassy Lawn, waiting for her ink work to dry, she was very much absorbed in her own thoughts.

[/size]

&&finished
H E R E I S T H E I N F O R M A T I O N

Word count:[/color] 440
Tag: Chii with the lovely Salem!
Featuring: Marlene McKinnon
Notes: Hooray for the sun!
Music: Bright as Yellow by The Innocence Mission

[salem]

Class was being dismissed, but Salem had some catching up to do in Care of Magical Creatures. Her stint in the hospital had put her behind, and there were some instructions she needed to gather in order to complete her essay that was due. And so, as always, the blind girl traveled across campus to the game keeper's hut and paddocks.

Of course, being blind at the school wasn't always easy- in fact, it never was. It was hard to tell where a person was standing, exactly, so she often ended up looking past them- at least, not in the eyes. She didn't blink normally, she walked into walls when the staircases changed... yes, there were a lot of things that gave way to her condition. It wasn't as if it were a secret.

Truth be told, she could have help if she wanted it. She could have an escort to and from class. She could have others helping her with her homework or just giving her company in the common room. But she had grown up with a solitary mindset, and that didn't change in the least after she'd been blinded. She was as stubborn as always, but that was just one of the things about her- she never let herself get down due to the fact she could no longer see. That didn't mean she didn't miss it, but she had accepted it.

And it seemed that after five years, others had as well. No one offered to carry her books or hold the door. No one asked her if she needed help or assistance. They finally understood that she was perfectly capable on her own- provided she wasn't trying to crack dangerous ancient artifacts and obtain their secrets. Last time she had done that- a few days prior- she'd nearly killed herself.

Her leg struck a person and she toppled over, not making a sound aside from hitting the ground face-first. She rubbed at the dirt on her cheek and began to touch her arms, inspecting for damage. "Bloody hell..." she cursed. Just what had she tripped over!? She looked around and began to feel around. The impact hadn't told her it was a human, so she was going to find out.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

TAG - Marlene
WORDS - 475
SONG - None
MUSE - Great!
NOTES - >_> blind girl ftw.
CREDIT made by flyy~

[/size][/blockquote]

[aliamarie]

&&she shakes
R U F F L E D F E A T H E R S T R E M B L E

Marlene shut her eyes, turning away from the sky, with its laughing hue. The grin on her face was entirely blissful, and a silent response to the light streaming down on her in all its infinite colors. Sometimes, as a little girl, Lena would dissect the colors of an object, keeping track of the layers of light the material would have to reflect to create that particular hued lamp, or bathrobe. That was when her sense of the world was still off kilter. To the outside world, mainly doctors and psychoanalysts at this point, she was simply staring at different objects for hours at a time, completely nonresponsive. Just clenching and unclenching her tiny little fists.

In this moment of clarity however, she saw all of the layers of color in her mind, every single shade she had ever seen, without compulsion to compare them, count them, or sort them. In that beautiful instant, just as Marlene was lying back onto the grass to lounge in the wonder of the colors filling her mind, there was a collision. A collision involving Marlene’s ribcage and a foot that received no neural information from the synapses that controlled it, that she was there.

Jolted violently from the most relaxed state she’d settled into since coming back to Hogwarts, the delicate girl gave a surprised whimper as the air left her lungs, tiny hands clutching her side for but a moment. The reeling of depleting oxygen and pain tore away the colors that gave her joy, and replaced them with a gridded set of rules to right her mental balance.
Before anything even really had time to register, Lena realized she was on her feet pacing back and forth. Listing Prime Numbers.

“103, 107, 109, 113,”

[/color]her mouth moved around the sounds of them quickly, without any hesitation, and in a louder voice than normal. Slowly regaining control of herself she slowed her walking to a stop, and then breathing deeply and evenly, ended her list with a quiet “127.”[/color] her voice barely a whisper as she emerged from the strange crevasse Lena’s mind had pulled her into for protection. Vision seemed to appear again as the haze of her thoughts cleared away and revealed to her the magnificent view of sky and grass and trees that had given her such pleasure before. One addition being a figure obviously paused in confusion on the ground after tripping over Marlene.

Without hesitation Marlene engaged another of her defense mechanisms, hastily looking away from the girl who had tumbled over her, adopting a furrowed brow, a scowl also twisting her mouth. There was no telling how long the girl had been sitting there watching, listening to the private performance of the school loon. Had Lena started her primes at 7? It seemed such a long way to 127.

“Merlin, learn to walk much?”[/color] she queried bitterly.

With the looming embarrassment hanging over her Marlene quickly set to gathering her things, the bag strap over her arm in an instant. Her inkwell and quill met her hands with no effort. However, upon searching out the sketchbook she so cherished, her eyes met with a single corner sticking out from under the girl where she sat.

“Do you think you could move your clumsy arse…”[/color] Lena began heatedly, finally looking up pointedly into her accidental assaulter’s eyes and realizing the truth. Her sentence trailed off into uncomfortable silence as she stood frozen looking into the blank and unfocused orbs.

After the pause of surprise, Lena’s frustrated composure gave way with a ridiculous snort and tiny giggle, “OH, well it’s you,”[/color] she said gently, slowly sitting back down on the ground. “Are you alright?”[/color] her voice switching off the ice it had been layered with in her first statements.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

&&finished
H E R E I S T H E I N F O R M A T I O N

Word count:[/color] 622
Tag:[/color] Salem
Featuring: Marlene & Salem
Notes: Hope it's not awkwardly worded there at the end. I'm a bit knackered.
Music: None

[salem]

Upon hearing a girl's voice plus being scolded for "not watching where she was going" made her realized that it was not an object or piece of scenery she had ran over, but a human being. She smirked to herself, wanting to laugh. It was strange to be treated just like everyone else. She was so used to those around her treating her like a porcelain doll. It was a nice change, but one that was too nice to laugh. That smile faded when the girl made sure she was okay. She couldn't be mad at someone for being nice to her- or what they thought was nice, but she felt frustrated over the fact.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," she brushed herself off and turned so that she was in a seated position before finally standing back up. While she couldn't really see where the girl was, she could tell her general direction based on the sound of her voice. Though, while she hadn't told anyone (much less her brother) a minimal amount of her sight had returned, but not enough for anything to be fixed. Moreso enough that it annoyed her. She could make out blended colors, but no figures or shapes.

And even then, the colors were dim and darkened. The lighting would fade in and out; she had no hope for her sight returning, so the recent development was more of a nuisance than anything, but she was slowly getting used to it. She had to adapt and move on like any self-respecting Ravenclaw would. Though, she believed that people should do that in general. "I'm not exactly known for being coordinated, or haven't you heard?" she didn't mean to sound harsh, though it may have came across that way.

Salem was a blunt girl by nature, even had she not been blind. She never cared what anyone else thought of her- at least, that was the image she portrayed. Whether or not she actually did, well, even she wasn't sure. Perhaps she was like everyone else on some level. She might have cared about what other people thought- at least to some degree.... but that was up to other's perceptions. She'd built so many walls around herself that it would be hard to peel back the layers and see the true girl beneath them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

TAG - Marlene
WORDS - 496
SONG - None
MUSE - Great!
NOTES - >_> blind girl ftw.
CREDIT made by flyy~

[/size][/blockquote]