inzannity

What happens in the spa pool stays in the spa pool | Briella & Zanna

“Really?” Briella asked, a mixture of surprise and displeasure. People didn’t know what they were missing by not being closer friends with Zanna. “Everyone should want to be your friend. They’re idiots for not seeing that.” And that was an honest opinion. She wasn’t just saying that to cheer Zanna up.

The latter comment Zanna made about her mood had Briella worried. She’d noticed that Zanna was talking less now that they weren’t at Hogwarts, but having gotten to know each other as penpals, one thing Briella really didn’t know about her best friend was her level of talkativeness during those times which she wasn’t putting on a performance as a ditsy ginger.

“What’s wrong?” Briella asked, moving closer in the pool. “What’s gotten you in this mood?” She wasn’t sure she should be physical with Zanna given her feelings and that they were both in bikinis, though the desire to reach out and comfort was strong.

#thread: what happens in the spa pool stays in the spa pool #c: briella heidrich

“Very true,” Zanna said magnanimously. They would come around eventually - at least she hoped some of them would. Part of her wondered if maybe people were intimidated by her close friendship with Briella. If that was the case, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to befriend them anyways.

She was touched by Bri’s concern, but Zanna wasn’t really in the mood to discuss her daddy issues. Instead she just shrugged, trying to play down how much this time of year affected her. “Oh, you know. The usual holiday gloom. It will pass.”

What happens in the spa pool stays in the spa pool | Briella & Zanna

Briella grinned as Zanna joined her in the spa. She was smart enough to wait until Zanna’s eyes were closed to check her out through the ripples of water. “I thought about inviting Ri to do this, but I like this idea better.” She’d gone out Christmas shopping with her girlfriend Ri, but that had been it, aside from some messaging back and forth.

If she was going to be honest with herself, she didn’t feel like she could relax around Ri. Even if Ri was tactful enough to not mention her other girlfriend Kali, Briella’s jealous thoughts went there anyway. It wasn’t a pleasant way to spend a date between them. It should have been obvious to her from the start that hanging around Ri would never been the same as the feeling she got from hanging around Zanna. It was a shame.

“I noticed you’ve not left the house much. I would have thought you’d get a few invites at least for coffee or shopping or something.”

#thread: what happens in the spa pool stays in the spa pool #c: briella heidrich

Zanna relaxed into the water, just trying to let its warmth penetrate into her very bones. She missed Cuba - the weather was so cold in Europe that she felt like she’d never be warm again. Summer had been okay, but she missed that tropical heat. This chill was not really her style at all.

“Most of my ‘friends’ are just class friends. I wouldn’t necessarily do anything with them outside of school,” Zanna clarified, eyes still closed. She’d been wanting to form some closer friendships while she was at Hogwarts, but so far nothing had really clicked. Briella was the only person that she really got along with well enough to want to spend more time with her. “Besides, even if I did get an invitation, I haven’t really been in a mood to go out lately.”

What happens in the spa pool stays in the spa pool | Briella & Zanna

The Heidrich family’s main residence was a beautiful and modern estate home. It began with well-kept lawns and gardens, split by a clean concrete driveway up to the six-car garage. Massive panes of glass allowed a view into the house. Clean lines of white were broken up only by tasteful pops of colour. They’d moved into the house when Briella was three, and had some work done on it since.

The best thing about the house was its easy blend between modern muggle architecture and wizarding magic. Those big panes of glass would frost over for privacy with just a touch. The sound system built into the walls of each room picked up wizarding radio as easily as muggle. And a gas fireplace set in a door frame allowed for floo travel. That was where Briella had first met Zanna face to face.

It had been natural to invite Zanna to the Estate for Christmas. Briella knew that Zanna didn’t have much reason to make the international trip back home, and honestly she was kind of glad for that. It meant more time in which she could have Zanna to herself.

One of Briella’s favourite places in the Estate, aside from her personal bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe and full vanity setup with lights, was the indoor pool and hot tub. While the pool was heated, it was the spa that suited a cold winter’s day best. So she’d invited Zanna to join her for a long soak in that deliciously warm water. If she guiltily wanted an excuse to get Zanna in a bikini in the middle of winter, well she wasn’t going to admit it.

They had warm towels for when they were done, and snacks set up on the side of the spa pool for when they were hungry, courtesy of the Heidrich-employed house elf. Fluffy white bathrobes kept them warm on the walk to the pool.

Briella untied the cord slipped the robe off her shoulders. Her toes dipped into the spa pool and she sighed with pleasure. “Mmmm, Zanna, you need to get in here. It’s perfect.” Briella dipped her whole body under the water until it covered her shoulders.

#thread: what happens in the spa pool stays in the spa pool #c: briella heidrich

Zanna shrugged off her own robe, watching the way it pooled next to Briella’s on the floor as she tied up her hair. She’d been a little quiet since they got back to Bri’s place, and she was sure her friend had noticed. That was what this whole break had been about, anyways; Bri had wanted to make sure that Zanna wasn’t sad and alone this Christmas. It really was sweet of her, but Zanna was sure she wasn’t making for a very fun guest.

Sighing a bit, she slipped into the warm water, the sound turning into a groan of contentment. How could she not feel good with little water jets soothing away the tensions of the past several weeks. “This feels heavenly,” she murmured in Briella’s direction. Her eyes were closed and her head was leaning back against the edge of the spa, but she still knew generally where Briella was sitting.

handsondestiny-rpg-blog1

Three rogue frogs Two new owls and a wand that has specially chosen me!

Pets are everywhere at Hogwarts, including, somehow, a lot of frogs. Write about your character’s pet if they have one, where they got it, what they named it, what it looks like. If you character doesn’t have a pet, then write about the pets they have to live with daily, shedding hair all over their dorm room.

#event: twelve days of christmas

Zanna has always liked the idea of having a pet, but has never followed through with it. She tends to get lonely at home, and she’s been thinking about getting a cat, but just hasn’t gotten around to it yet. She just uses her father’s owl for now.

handsondestiny-rpg-blog1

Two new owls and a wand that has specially chosen me!

Write two letters which your character receives from someone outside of hogwarts.The letters only need to be a few sentences long each. As a bonus, give your character’s thoughts on these letters. It can be done in prose.

#event: twelve days of christmas

Letter One:

Dearest,

I’m sorry I couldn’t be home this year, but I hope you know that I’m thinking of you. Don’t you and your little friend get into too much trouble over the break or I’ll never hear the end of it from Madeira. I hope you’re having fun at Hogwarts and look forward to seeing you when you get back.

All my love,

Your Papa

Zanna crumpled the letter up, not meeting Briella’s eyes as she tossed the wadded up parchment into the fire. She didn’t want to see the sympathy there, instead choosing to take a long sip of her eggnog and curl even deeper into the couch, watching her father’s letter be slowly consumed by flames.

Letter Two:

Light of My Life,

I wish you could be here so I could give you the biggest hug. I hope you’re having fun in Europe and spending some quality time with Briella. I miss cooking with you, but I thought you might enjoy a little taste of home. Have a Happy Christmas and write more letters to your poor Madeira!

Love,

Madeira

P.S. Don’t be too sad about your father, you have your lovely friend to spend the holiday with and I know your papa misses you in his own way.

Along with the letter had come a package of Zanna’s favorite sweets from home, hand-made (of course) by Madeira herself. She popped one into her mouth, a hum of happiness and satisfaction escaping her lips. There was nothing better in the world than Madeira’s cooking and knowing that she was thinking of her.

handsondestiny-rpg-blog1

A wand that has specially chosen me!

Write about your character’s wand; its wood, its core, its length and rigidity. Is it plain or is it decorated? What kind of spellwork is it best at? What is it worst at? Does your character have any kind of special attachment to it?

#event: twelve days of christmas

Wood: Vine - Vine wood wands aren’t particularly common, usually bonding with magical folk that have hidden depths. It’s the perfect wand wood for Zanna, whose subtle and multi-faceted personality even Briella can’t predict at times. Vine wands tend to produce erratic magic if paired with a weak-willed owner, though Zanna enjoys the challenge this presents and finds herself successfully producing the magic she intends more often than not.

Core: Zanna is one of the few witches she knows that owns a wand with a dual-core. The core of her wand contains both unicorn tail-hair and fairy wings, making it a subtle wand excellent for producing charms. The unicorn hair also serves to temper some of the unpredictability of the vine wood, though Zanna does have trouble with her magic if she’s feeling particularly moody or unbalanced.

Length: 14 1/8th in.

Flexibility: Flexible, much like her sense of morality.

Zanna’s wand is very feminine and pretty, with a handle that flares into a filigree design then loops back into a very subtle spiral up the length of its body. The dark wood has adopted a high polish, making it fairly glow and the light picks up some auburn highlights that seem to mimic the color of Zanna’s hair almost perfectly. As stated above, her wand excels at charm-casting, although she tends to hit road bumps when attempting transfiguration. Her duelling is hopeless, though she does tend to do better with defensive spells than jinxes or hexes and when she turns her wand to healing spells, it seems particularly consistent.

Got my heart in the choke hold | Briella & Zanna

Zanna was so unfortunately right. Briella was making a lot of compromises to make Ri happy. Were it any of her regular relationships with the boys at school, she would have ended it already. There were plenty more were that came from. She could probably find another girl interested in a fling too. But the reason she was trying to stick this out was right in front of her in all her beauty.

“This one is different,” she tried to explain, without really explaining anything at all. How was she supposed to tell Zanna that she was trying to force herself into having romantic feelings for Ri so that she wouldn’t have them for her best friend? Not that there had been much hope to begin with. Ri was so much less than Briella’s expectations, and Zanna was so much more than.

“I want to try this, y’know? Maybe I don’t want just casual relationships with boys anymore.” It was a feeble excuse, but there was truth in there enough that she hoped to fool Zanna. “Ri’s not what I hoped for, but I’m not going to make this like all my past relationships with guys and just drop her without trying first.” This excuse sounded better to her, even as it veered further from the truth.

#thread: got my heart in the chokehold #c: briella heidrich

Zanna plopped down on Bri’s bed, quiet for a moment as she considered her friend’s face. There was something Briella was holding back, and Zanna was intensely curious as to what it was and why Bri was trying to hide it from her. Lately it had seemed like there was always something in their interactions that she wasn’t understanding and Zanna had no idea what to do about it.

She frowned a bit, reading between the lines of what Bri had just said. “You like her,” Zanna said, eyebrows raised in surprise. Not that Bri didn’t like the boys she’d dated, but this was something else. Briella actually cared about making things work, but Zanna wasn’t entirely sure that the girl knew this herself. “I worry cariña. You seem like you’re in very deep...maybe a little too deep?”

Got my heart in the choke hold | Briella & Zanna

Briella was saddened that she wasn’t in a position to ask Zanna as her date. As friends, of course, but if that was all she could have with her, she’d take it. She’d turn down all the guys in school to go to the Ball as friends with Zanna. Having a girlfriend, on the other hand, made things complicated.

She watched Zanna move about behind her in the mirror, taking notice of the changes in her expression as she talked about Ri. Briella sighed at the conclusion Zanna came to, knowing that those half-truths she’d been spouting off about Ri were over. Up until now, Briella had stuck to saying only positive things about Ri, attempting to make Zanna jealous of how much of a wonderful time she was having with her new girlfriend. But there was too much truth to Zanna’s words.

“Yeah… I mean she’s hella cute, and super nice. As in so nice she’s naive.” In fact Briella found Ri incredibly easy to deceive. The girl always seemed to want to think the best of of her. “I don’t really know what I’m doing,” Briella confessed, turning around to face Zanna. “I wanted a girlfriend. I wanted to try it out, and Ri was there and ready to flirt. I didn’t realise I’d be signing up for a polyamorous relationship.” The way she scrunched up her nose told exactly how happy she was with that facet of her relationship.

#thread: got my heart in the chokehold #c: briella heidrich

“Yes, I did get that impression,” Zanna said, glad that she was finally getting something truthful out of Briella. Clearly her relationship wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows like Bri had been making it out to be for the past couple of weeks. On some level, Bri was dissatisfied, which made Zanna wonder why she was staying with Kaori if she wasn’t happy with the arrangement - or why she’d agreed to it at all. It was very out of character for her.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you, but I’m not sure I understand why you’re making so many concessions for this girl. This isn’t..it’s not how things usually go with you.” Usually Briella was confident, dominant even, in her relationships. Things were always on her terms, and if something wasn’t working for her, Bri dropped the person with no hesitation. She always got what she wanted, but with Kaori it seemed like everything was about the other girl and her wishes. It was unusual for Zanna to see Bri being so considerate.

Briella detected sadness in Zanna’s tone, if only because she knew her so well. But she wasn’t going to bring it up, or remind her of the reasons she was sad. Not unless Zanna brought it up first. She wanted to make Christmas a reason for Zanna to be happy. “It will be, because it’ll be our first christmas together. I know it’s totally cliche, but we can decorate the tree together and song dumb christmas songs and all that.”

If Zanna’s answering smile was a little wan, it did nothing to detract from the genuine gladness she felt for having Bri as a friend. “That sounds lovely,” she said, meaning it with every ounce of her being. If anyone could pull her out of her holiday depressions, it was Briella.

“I’ll be spending lots of time with you, of course,” Briella grinned. That sounded to her like the best way to spend a holiday. “I have plans to hang out with Ri, too.” She didn’t say this with nearly as much excitement. “I have to get all my christmas shopping done, which includes finding the perfect gift for you.”

She was glad that Briella was committed to spending lots of time with her over the break. Christmas was a hard time for her since she’d realized that her father used copious amounts of gifts to distract her both from the fact that her mother had died around this time of year and the fact that he was absent much of the time. Like he was going to be this year. Again.

“That should be fun.” On some level she was a little jealous, purely because someone else was going to be spending time with Briella. Zanna wasn’t really much for Christmas shopping anyways, although she’d already ordered something for Briella earlier in the month.

Briella touched a hand to Zanna’s cheek. She couldn’t help feeling as if Zanna was the world to her every time she looked at her. Her absence would make the world a lonely place. “Now that we’re closer to being seventeen we will be able to make international trips to see each other, yeah?” In the past she’d been too young to travel on her own, and her parents weren’t going to go with her. Briella dropped her hand from Zanna’s cheek, though she kept her hands slung loose over Zanna’s shoulders while they danced.

Zanna leaned into the touch to her cheek, smiling in affirmation. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She rested her hands on Briella’s hips for lack of anywhere else to put them when Briella rested her arms around her neck. She was glad that they could just dance and be happy for a while without the weirdness that had been between them for so long. “What are you doing over the break?” She asked, leaning in to be heard over the music.

“Oh hun, you’ll have so many friends by the end of the year you won’t want to go back home, I promise.” Briella didn’t even want to think about Zanna leaving. She’d miss her so much she wouldn’t be able to bear it. “I’ll introduce you to people at the afterparty. But first I should really talk to Shafiq, make sure he doesn’t stir shit up like he did with the last party.”

“I already dread going back home. I’d miss you too much.” It wasn’t impassioned or regretful, rather a statement of fact. “But it will be nice to have someone to spend time with when you’re with Kaori. And yes, a fight breaking out would not exactly be my definition of fun.”

There was a genuine little smile of fondness on Briella lips at Zanna’s twisting of the English idiom. She wasn’t sure when she started finding it cute, but she did. “So am I.” This change with Ri meant she was at least one step closer to getting laid. On an emotional level she wasn’t nearly as far progressed. She hadn’t yet found reason to tear even a small piece of her heart away from Zanna.

“Hey, after the Ball wanna come back to Slytherin with me? We can have an afterparty. I’ve got plenty of alcohol stashed away. We can invite a few friends, have some fun.” By a ‘few’ friends Briella fully intended for half the school to show up.

“That sounds nice,” Zanna said, losing herself in the music some. “I think I could use some fun...and some friends.” Sure she had some acquaintances, but she hadn’t realized how much of her social group was Briella until suddenly she wasn’t there as much anymore. “And probably a drink since we aren’t allowed any here.”

You’ll always have me. Briella pretended as if that movement towards her, that sudden proximity, wasn’t all she could think of for a few long seconds. She came to with her eyes on that smirk Zanna gave her. “I did get my kiss.” And Zanna had seen it. Somehow it felt like it was worth less hearing a lack of jealousy in Zanna’s voice. “It turns out we were both going slow because we thought the other wanted to. Things might speed up now.” This, at least, she could smirk about.

“Well, I’m glad you have both gotten in the same book, then,” she said, stumbling a little over the English idiom. Zanna was pretty much fluent, but there were some common phrases and slang that often tripped her up. She was still much more comfortable speaking in Spanish, or even Portuguese.

There was something about the way that Briella intimated that her relationship might take a more physically intimate turn that made something in Zanna’s chest pull a little. She’d never seen Briella get quite this caught up in someone, even if she insisted that wasn’t the case with Kaori. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it.