To Causing a Commotion -Amina-

[Sura Haughton]

To days of inspiration, playing hooky,
making something out of nothing.
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Sura's alarm clock broke through the silence of her darkened bedroom like a bat out of hell. She moaned into her pillow, hand wiggling out of the confines of her blanket to grope for the source of the sound. After knocking over what was probably half of her night stand, the room was finally silent. Her arm retreated back into the warmth of her covers to push herself onto her back. She had been having a particularly lovely dream, although she could not seem to recall the subject if her life were to depend on it, at this point. Nonetheless, waking up from such a dream was always accompanied by a sense of disappointment. Sura pushed some stray hair out of her face and yawned widely. All she really wanted to do was to turn back over, cuddle up to her blankets, and fall back into a blissful state of sleep. What had she set that blasted alarm clock for in the first place, anyways?

She suddenly realized, snapping her fingers and grinning. Amina was in town, and they were going shopping. Sura pushed herself up into a sitting position and swung her legs over the side of the bed. They were supposed to be meeting in Alzubra Alley to do some shopping for new summer things. Sura thoroughly enjoyed hunting for the best deals she could find on the nicest items, and was often successful. She would be in a ridiculous amount of debt if she had paid full price for her entire wardrobe. Her shoe collection, at full price, could easily pay for three new, top of the line broomsticks, It was a point of pride. The only thing that felt more fashionably pleasurable about wearing a gorgeous pair of designer heels was knowing that she had only paid half the price. Now quite enthused about the upcoming day, Sura walked to her bathroom to get cleaned up for the day. The clock said 9:45, and they were supposed to meet in Alzubra at 11:45. Plenty of time to get prettied up for the day.

Only an hour later, Sura was walking to her fireplace to Floo Powder her way to the Alley. She had hated traveling by it as a child. The fire scared the bejesus out of a younger version of Sura, and even though she had long since become comfortable with traveling by it, she still held her breath as she threw the Floo Powder into the grate. “Mamaí,” she called into the house. “I’m going to Alzubra with Amina. I’ll be home later on!” A quick reply from her mother signaled that it was time to leave. She checked the clock one more time, nodding once at it. It was only 11:30. She had plenty of time to get there. Sura stepped into the empty grate, sighing at the handful of soot in her hand. “Well, best just to do it. Alzubra Alley,” she said, being sure to annunciate the words. She didn’t want to end up somewhere shifty. She held her breath, as always, as the green flames rose around her and she felt the familiar falling sensation only moments later. Sura kept her eyes open, looking for the proper grate to exit from. Eventually, it flashed before her eyes, and she stepped forward. The falling sensation ceased, and she pulled her wand from her pocket to perform a charm to scourge the soot off her clothes, skin, and hair. After she was satisfied that she wasn’t the picture of a bad Floo ride, she set off down the cobblestones of Alzubra Alley.

Sura and Amina had met in January of that year. With the snowy conditions in the courtyard, and the fact that she was paying absolutely no attention to where she was walking, Sura suddenly found herself flat on her back, a victim of the snow-hidden ice that covered the stone walkways. Winded, and fairly sure that she had bruised her tailbone, Sura had laid on the ground for a moment, sighing audibly in the seemingly empty yard. As she pushed herself up to sit, she saw a pair of feet standing near her own. Those feet were connected to the extended hand of a young woman whom she had never seen before. Sura had been more than happy to accept the help from this mystery student, and after introductions and finding out that their next class was a shared one, they found themselves laying down the foundation for a friendship. Although they were not the same person when it came to personality, each found the other very easy to get along with. Before they knew it, they were studying together, and roaming the grounds. Sura found Amina to be an trustworthy confidante, and vice versa, though they both knew that the other kept their own secrets too. Neither pushed subjects that didn’t need pushing, and that suited them fine. They were good friends and enjoyed one another’s company. That was what really mattered to them.

As she approached their meeting spot near a coffee shop, Sura began to look around for that oh so familiar girl. She stood on her tiptoes, though that only put her at an impressive 5’8 at best. Not quite enough to see over everyone’s heads, but enough to recognize Amina’s face among them. She grinned, so very excited to see her friend. Waving one hand, her voice jumped an octave as she called, “Aaah, Amina! It feels like it’s been forever!”

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We raise a glass, you bet your ass;
to la vie boheme.

_{tags: Amina
clothes, hair, make-up: Here.
song: La Vie Boheme - Rent
notes: Wooooo girly shopping time!}

[Amina Krane]

The sun was beginning to creep through the window ever so slowly. The blinds had been left open in an attempt to rouse Amina the moment the sun did rise, but the teenager had her pillow over her eyes, making that a bust. Nevertheless, the sun’s rays began to creep up, crawling farther and farther up her bed until they enveloped everything in her room. Shifting slightly in her bed, the rays peaked ever so lightly underneath the pillow and right onto her closed eyelid. For a second, all she did was squint, but then her eyes slowly opened to the beginning of a new day. She began to bring a hand to move the pillow aside but thought better of it when her shoulder began to eminate the familiar feeling of pain. Sighing, Amina remained under the pillow for a moment, cursing her muscles, but then sucked it up and sat up in bed. It wasn’t slow, in fact it was the fastest she could sit up without throwing herself out of bed. If she didn’t move quickly, she would have never moved. She cringed as her muscles ached along her back and stomach, the pillow falling into her lap. Since school had let out, it had been non-stop training for the competition in a few weeks. Ten to twelve hour days of strength training, cardio, and practicing new routines that she had never done before. Amina had thought her running while still in school and some of the weight training she had been doing was enough to keep her in shape but boy, was she mistaken. The extra meals she had taken every so often put some meat on her stomach and the lack of uneven bar routines made sure it stayed there.

The first day after school let out, she had travelled to Florida via floo network to see her old trainer and old gym. The moment she walked through the door, he had her working. And she had merely been there to get a recommendation of where to train going forward since it was quite a hike to get to Florida. He turned down her request and said she would be training with him. If anything, Coach knew her best out of everyone. He had been training her since she was a kid and he knew every injury she ever had and how to make sure none of them came back to haunt her. She couldn’t have a better coach, but Merlin, he worked her hard. Within the first two days they had settled on going for a twelve difficulty to start out with. She would, of course, adjust that as needed, but at the point where they had decided that, it seemed relatively easy. Until she began working the routines. The first week had been the worst. She was in ice baths for hours over the span of the week, trying to relieve her aching muscles. Her hope had been that after a week, her muscles wouldn’t be so upset, but apparently she was wrong. It was her first day off since the end of school and she had intentions on spending it well. She just hoped she could get her muscles to cooperate with her plans for the day.

Begrudgingly, she moved the pillow from on top of her legs and back to where it belonged at the head of the bed. Her legs slowly swung over the side of the bed and she stood up, beginning with her normal stretches. She had a good three hours until she needed to leave to meet Sura in Alzubra. It gave her a good amount of time to regain her flexibility. So she began. Her stretching routine lasted about an hour and, afterwards, she had regained all motion without much pain. During that hour, her mother had popped into check on her. Amina had shrugged her off, only asking that she start an ice bath for when she was done. That was where Amina was headed now. The tub was filled with the ice cold water, magic made of course. Her mother had perfected the skill years ago when the competitions had begun. Amina changed into her bathing suit that was sitting on the counter, the same one she had been using the last week to take such baths. Slipping in, she felt the cold inch up her legs until about five minutes later, when she was up to her chest in the water, she reached for her towel and stood up, getting the excess water off of her skin. She wrapped the towel around her and headed down for breakfast.

”So what are you going to do with your day off?” her mom had asked while Amina was shoveling a pile of eggs into her garbage disposal of a mouth. “Going shopping with Sura,” she said between bites, looking up to see her mom’s questioning reaction. “Don’t worry, I still have some money from the last Somerset trip. I’m using that.” A look of relief washed across her mom’s face. They had finally begun to rebuild their savings and the last thing Amina was going to do was blow through it again. She kept her allowance and made due. She only wished she could get a job to support her own shopping habits, but with how often she had been training, that didn’t look like a possibility anymore. Once she finished her food and was sure her body was back to regular temperature, she headed back upstairs to complete getting ready. All in all, it had taken her about two hours to get ready. Which left her an extra hour before she needed to head out the door. She had no intentions on using the floo network today. The fireplace had been far too confining for the last week. There was no need to use such a method when she had a perfectly good broom in her closet to take her out. With a smile, she walked into her room, reached in between her matresses, and pulled out a small black book.

Her diary had been her savior in the transition to Austria and the wear and tear was beginning to show. Amina had repaired the binding twice already and it was starting to need it again. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to use magic outside of school so it was going to be more difficult to repair it this time, and she didn’t really want to announce to her family that she kept a record of her deepest secrets. No, she would let it fall apart and just repair it when back on school grounds after the summer. Shutting the door to her room, Amina took a seat at her desk and grabbed out a pen. She flipped to the next open page and began writing. The last week had been complaints about the hell her coach had put her through. Today, she had something else to write about. The broom had rekindled her thoughts about Gavin that she had tried to push away into the recesses of her mind. Since they had gone out in Somerset that night, she had been fantasizing about what it would be like to go to dinner with him, and only him. Or a club without a group of his friends surrounding them. She wanted to go somewhere that the two could be a couple. She doubted it would ever happen, but her diary page reflected her want to do so. The broom trip she was about to take had been the entry into the thoughts.

After forty-five minutes of writing and a good two pages scribbled with notes about Gavin (not to mention some doodles off to the side that will not be mentioned), Amina looked up at the clock and determined it was time to go. The entire time, she had been playing with the ring chained up around her neck. As she finished her last sentence, she released the ring and put it back under her top until it was safe to be in the open again. She replaced the pen and the diary in their respective places, grabbed her enchanted bag from the closet that hid everything she would ever need to hide, and pulled ou the broom as well. She slid it into her bag, not wanting her mother to even ask where she had gotten it from. The twenty questions she would get would only lead her to tell her mother the truth. Not once had she lied to the woman and she wasn’t about to start today, not even if it was to conceal her relationship with Gavin. The relationship he wanted to keep concealed. Once the flap of her bag was closed, Amina put it over her shoulder and stepped out of her bedroom and down to the front door. Of course, she got the twenty questions about why she wasn’t using the floo network but she had managed to play it off as she was taking muggle transportation to get close enough to walk. Her mother believed it and, after walking a quarter of a mile away to where her mom couldn’t see her, Amina pulled out the broom and headed in the direction of Alzubra Alley.

The ride had taken some time, an hour as she had expected, since she wasn’t even remotely close to the alley, but she was prepared for it. She had been doing mini-rides around the neighborhood at nights when she needed to clear her head, eventually building up a tolerance to being on the broom for some time. She had even figured out how to properly ride with a skirt and heels on. Today she had chosen shorts and wedges which were a little easier, especially when she landed in the alley. She easily dismounted and put the broom back in its rightful place in her bag. Looking at her reflection in a shop window, Amina fixed her curls, pulled the ring out to be displayed, and approved her appearance before walking in the direction of her and Sura’s normal meeting spot. Normally she didn’t grab anything when they met at the coffee shop, but her stomach was calling to her for coffee and cheesecake. Or maybe coffee cheesecake. The thought made her smile as she approached the small building. Her friends voice came to her before her image. ”Aaah, Amina! It feels like it’s been forever!” Quickening her pace, Amina sped up in the direction of the woman waving her hand. “Sura. Merlin you have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” she said, giving her friend a hug. They really had seen each other only a week ago when they had left school, but after seeing each other nearly three times a week minimum, it was strange to go a week without any signs of her friend.

“So despite having a huge breakfast, I’m starving. Shall we grab something to eat first?” she asked, not even waiting for a reply from her friend before stepping inside the shop. Her friend knew well enough by now not to stop Amina when her hunger was talking. A hungry Amina was not so good at shopping. When they stepped inside the shop, Amina moved to stand in the small line forming behind the counter. “What have you been up to this whole time? Any juicy stores to share?” she asked, a suggestive smile on her face as she crossed her arms across her chest, waiting for a reply.

Words | 1,924
Tags | Sura
Outfit | Click

[Sura Haughton]

To days of inspiration, playing hooky,
making something out of nothing.
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The head of dark, bouncy curls that she had recognized to be Amina Krane began to navigate it’s way through the crowd in her direction. Just a moment later, they had come face-to-face, and Sura threw her arms around her friend, grinning widely. “Sura. Merlin you have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” She laughed, squeezing Amina one more time before pulling back. “Believe me, I know!” It felt downright bizarre that she was only seeing Amina for the first time in about a week. Normally, they saw each other in classes nearly every day, spending at least a few hours every few days together. Amina had become one of her closer friends in the last six months, and it made her feel a little sad that their social time was limited by their summer schedules. And that simply meant that they were going to have to thoroughly enjoy the times that they could get together.

“So despite having a huge breakfast, I’m starving. Shall we grab something to eat first?” As if on cue, Sura’s stomach growled noisily, and she cringed a little. “Ah, well, good news then,” she said, rubbing her stomach and following Amina into the cafe. “It seems that I have forgotten to eat breakfast this morning, and evidently, I’m famished.” Another bubbling of her stomach only accented the statement, and Sura immediately set to rummaging through her purse for her wallet. Even if she hadn’t have been hungry, she would have followed Amina in anyways. The girl could eat her own weight in food and still end up being hungry an hour or two later. It seemed physically impossible, especially considering Amina was no larger than she was. And yet she had watched the girl put away several helpings of dinner in one sitting many times in the last few months. It was just best to let her eat when she wanted to eat. A hungry Amina was often a rather irritable Amina.

The smell of coffee, tea, baked goods, and breakfast made Sura salivate as they stepped into the shop. Forgetting breakfast had obviously not been in her best interest, and she was quite sure that her wallet was about to pay for her mistake. There was a large breakfast sandwich that had just left the kitchen, and suddenly it was all she wanted in the world. Once they had lined up, Amina turned on her heel to look at Sura. ”What have you been up to this whole time? Any juicy stories to share?” Sura had to snort at the smile that had appeared on Amina’s face, a laugh slipping out of her her mouth. Amina had always been quite forward about these things once they had gotten to know each other. Sura had quickly learned that she was not quite as innocent as she let on to most people, much to her humour. “Straight to it, hmm?” she chuckled, crossing her own arms to mirror Amina’s stance. Amina knew well that Sura was not a stranger to mischief, including the kind that had to do with the opposite sex. They had spent several nights in the library giggling about such stories as they studied. Ever the set of school girls.

Sura wasn’t an extraordinarily private person. She was straight forward with who she was, and didn’t let anyone else’s comments dictate who she could or was supposed to be. Her business was her own, and she refused to let anyone make her feel guilty for her choice of companions, whether it be the daytime or nighttime varieties. It was never a problem with her to admit she’d been up to some kind of mischief. She just stayed mum on who else was involved, as well as the intricate details of what “mischief” entailed exactly. Amina had never pressed the issue, seemingly satisfied with the details would spare, and that was something that Sura sincerely liked about her. She’d had a few friends in the past that had been far too nosey for her tastes, demanding everything from names to places to birthmarks. Needless to say, those friendships had not lasted too long. “I haven’t actually been up to anything too devious,” she said, shrugging innocently. “Flying, reading... I went out to Halcyon Heights a few nights ago...” Her mind’s eye flashed back to that night as she bit the corner of her lower lip for a moment. She had ended up spending the majority of her night with Gavin, whom she had run into by chance while taking a break from the crowds. He’d been as dashing as ever, though that was no surprise. It was fair to say that his physical appearance was as important to him as Sura’s was to her. They’d certainly had their history, though, again, that was one of the stories that she had never named names in. “Saw a friend there. You know, standard Sura.”

She waited while Amina placed her order, swallowing hard against the drool that threatened to pool in her mouth. She was absolutely starving at this point, and she would be more than pleased to finally be able to sink her teeth into food, when she had it. Sura placed her own order as she reached the till, shuffling through her wallet for the right change. “Black tea, bag in, and the breakfast sandwich on a multigrain bagel, please? And hold the tomato, thanks.” The Wizard behind the counter punched in her order and accepted the coins from her hand. Sura flashed him a smile and thanked him before she turned away. Her eyes scanned the room for Amina, and she found her quickly, sitting at a table with armchairs by the window. Walking over and dropping into her seat, Sura folded her hands in front of her face, mimicking Amina’s earlier suggestive smile. “And you, Miss Krane? What have you been up to lately?” Before Amina had the chance to answer, their food arrived. Sura waited for the young Witch to leave their table before digging into her food. She sighed, half contented, half relieved, as she chewed through the first bite of her sandwich. “Thank Merlin,” she mumbled through her half full mouth of food. It was glorious. She swallowed and took a sip of her tea to wash it down. “So, so hungry.”

After a few more bites, Sura dabbed her lips daintily with a napkin and settled back in her seat. She held the mug in her hands, enjoying the warmth radiating from the ceramic. “Now, as I was saying, what have you been up to, Amina?”

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We raise a glass, you bet your ass;
to la vie boheme.

_{tags: Amina
word count 1125
song: La Vie Boheme - Rent}

[Amina Krane]

The smell was becoming increasingly overwhelming the longer Amina stood in line. She could hear Sura’s stomach grumbling from where she stood and Amina’s threatened to growl in response, but she tried to refuse it at all costs. She had already eaten a protein packed meal to keep her muscle tone up for the competition, but she assumed the lack of carbs in her diet was the reason for this uncontrollable hunger. Her mother knew well enough the diet that it took for an athlete to get into top condition and she had warned Amina that her diet was going to drastically change when she moved back home. She just hadn’t realized how drastically. She hadn’t seen sugar in the whole week, not a single grain. If she had coffee, she had it black and decaf. No fruit. Hardly any veggies. The only reason she did get veggies was because she complained about having something aside her chicken breast. Sometimes she got the chicken marinated. Once it had been covered in hot sauce to give it some flavor. One night she had even gotten a steak. It was the leanest possible, but it was still steak. But her diet had become so strict; she never dreamed she would ever see the joy of sugar again. Her mother had warned her to not go too crazy when she went out today. The reward of sugar was going to be nothing compared to the torment she would get when she arrived back home. But Amina would deal. Chicken for breakfast, lunch, and dinner wasn’t a threat big enough for Amina to look past some cheesecake and a tall latte.

“Ah, well, good news then. It seems that I have forgotten to eat breakfast this morning, and evidently, I’m famished.” Amina looked at Sura like she was mad. “Forget breakfast? How did you even survive?” she asked, her tone conveying how serious of an infraction it was to skip breakfast, but she couldn’t help a laugh coming out afterwards. “I wouldn’t have even made it,” she added, rubbing her stomach lightly at the thought of having an empty belly for so long. It had been hard enough for her to forgo eating breakfast while stretching in the morning, and while in the ice bath it had been even worse. If she had to wait any longer after that, she would have probably eaten anything within her reach. Luckily, her mother was smart enough to know Amina’s eating habits and already had breakfast laid out for her. Three eggs, scrambled and fully cooked, two slices of turkey bacon, a lean ham steak, and a glass of fat-free milk. It wasn’t fantastic, but it was enough to keep her going. The closer she got to the competitions, the stricter her diet got, and the bigger it got too. She heard of Olympic athletes eating over 8000 calories a day. Amina was only at about 4000 so far. By the time her competition would roll around, she would probably be pushing 6000. She would also be going to 16 hour trainings minimum for the week leading to the competition. She remembered the last nationals she attended where she was in the running for the Olympics, she had only gotten about five hours of sleep a night after training, eating, and showering. It was murder on the internal clock, but the rewards were worth it. Not to mention she did get an off season. She could catch up with her sleep during the school months.

“Straight to it, hmm?” The smirk on Amina’s lips turned to an innocent smile. “Straight to what?” she asked, looking up to the ceiling as if she knew nothing about what Sura was talking about. Another laugh escaped her lips as she looked back to her friend, but it was replaced by a sigh as her friend admitted nothing unusual had occurred as of late. “Darn, I was hoping to hear some juicy stories to keep me at bay for a while. Did you at least see someone interesting at Halcyon? Anyone I know?” Yes, she was nosy, but that was the life of a woman cooped up inside a gymnastics center where the woman and men hardly interacted unless it was your coach. They were all too busy for small talk. When they reached the front of the line, Amina ordered her tall latte, probably about 700 calories in and of itself with all of the chocolate syrup and shavings they threw in there. And, on top of that, a raspberry cheesecake slice that was staring her right in the fact. Her mouth was watering so bad she could hardly contain it. She fumbled through her shoulder bag and pulled out her small coin purse. Once the coins were in the hands of the cashier, she turned to look at the rest of the shop. “I’ll find us a seat,” she indicated to Sura as she went to maneuver through the line behind them. She made her way to a table in the front corner and pulled her bag off her shoulder with a slight cringe and over her head before placing by the side of the chair. Her muscles were starting to tighten again. They had been expecting a full day of workout, not relaxing where they would be immobile. Sighing, she slowly sat down on the chair. By the time she had sat down, Sura was already on her way to the table, looking as anxious for the food as Amina was.

The question was immediately turned around on Amina the moment her friend took the opposite side of the table. With a roll of her eyes, Amina shook her head, raised her hands in the air with a shrug, and leaned back against the chair rather quickly with a sigh, immediately regretting the spontaneous reaction as her spine ached in the spot where it hit. She cringed slightly but the smell of food and sound of a barista coming their way made Amina perk up and forget about her back, about anything. The cheesecake was placed in front of her and it didn’t take long for the fork to be in her hand and a piece in her mouth. It was like heaven as the smooth texture melted in her mouth, mixing with together perfectly with the raspberry sauce drizzled on top. She picked out a raspberry next and popped that in her mouth before setting down the fork. She had to pace herself. This was the last sugar she would be getting until her next day off which wasn’t scheduled for another two weeks. She watched as Sura thoroughly dug into her breakfast sandwich, setting it down after a few bites. Then the question was brought up again. Amina had nearly forgotten she didn’t answer before the food came out. “Oh, if there was something interesting going on in my life, I would probably be the last to know,” she replied with a chuckle as she took a drink from her latte. The taste was fantastic, so much better than the decaf she had been drinking. “You know me, I’ve been hitting the mats since school ended. Have to get ready for the competition season. First one is in a month, second a month after that.” After another drink from the latte, she set it down and leaned forward, placing her arms on either side of the raspberry cheesecake plate, not even looking at it for fear she would swallow the rest whole.

“Coach is hoping Olympics might be possible but I think he is a little off his rocker, if you know what I mean,” she said, rolling her eyes. “With that said, thank you so much for the day out. I needed to get away from the smell of sweat and chalk.” The thought caused a shiver to go up her spine. The smell was okay but once you had so many able bodied souls in one place, it got disgusting. The good thing was, most of the people in the gym were only training for a small competition in a week. Most would be gone and Amina would have the gym mostly to herself. That was when the real work began. Unfortunately, up till now was just a teaser. Her body didn’t agree, however. Taking another small bite of the cheesecake, Amina leaned back again, this time a little more carefully. “You should come to one of the competitions. Some are a week long. I could easily get you seats and you could stay with me down in Florida if you’d like. I’m camping out at our old house while they’re going on. So much easier than travelling back and forth.”

Words | 1,457
Tags | Sura
Outfit | Click

[Sura Haughton]

To days of inspiration, playing hooky,
making something out of nothing.
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If she had a camera, Sura would have snapped several shots of the face of shock and horror that appeared on Amina’s face when she told her that she hadn’t remembered to eat breakfast this morning. It was as if she’d told her that she had another head growing off her shoulder. ”Forget breakfast? How did you even survive?” she choked out. Amina’s voice was not unlike Sura’s own mother when she stayed out past curfew or got into a little trouble - incredulous. Sura laughed, tipping her head back as she grinned. “You know me,” she said, holding her hands up in mock surrender. “I get distracted with something and then I just forget. I get so into something with all of my vast intensity and then before I know it, it’s six hours later and I realize I’m finally hungry.” Though food was one of her more serious pleasures in life, Sura had certainly skipped meals in her lifetime. She was never much for eating when she wasn’t hungry, although the lack of appetite was certainly her own doing more than once. There were several instances she could remember in the last month that she had gotten so engrossed in a book or flying that by the time she came out of her own mind, she’d not eaten for several hours. That was they way she’d always been, and it hadn’t killed her so far. ”I wouldn’t have even made it.” Raising her eyebrows for a moment, Sura scrunched up her nose as she giggled, “Yes Amina, but you can also put a grown man to shame with your appetite, and still not put a single pound on. Not all of us have that glorious luxury,” she said with a wink. Amina had that svelte gymnast body, the kind that didn’t have an ounce of fat on it, no matter how much or how poorly she ate. Though jealousy wasn’t the word to quite describe how Sura felt about that, she certainly wished she shared the trait.

”Straight to what?” she asked innocently. She returned Amina’s laughter with a snort and a grin, shaking her head. “You’re bad, Amina Krane. You might look all innocent,” she said, waving her hand at Amina to accent her last words. “But I know you better than that.” She narrowed her eyes, her nose scrunching up and the corners of her lips turning up into a smile. Sura put her hand over her heart, her mouth dropping in mock shock and outrage as Amina lamented her lack of stories. “Juicy stories? Me? Miss Krane, I don’t know what kind of girl you take me for.” Her offended face didn’t hold very long before it softened into a smile again. “I did see a few people from Galaxia there, but I didn’t know too many names. Mostly faces. I did see an old friend there though...” her voice trailed off as she thought about the night for a moment. It had been nice seeing Gavin there, and it had been strangely nice having a conversation with him. It was different. Usually, the first thing they did when they ran into one another, or used to do, was rip the other’s clothing off. Also nice. Just ask quickly as she had slipped into her thoughts, she came to again. “So that was nice. Hadn’t seen him in a long time.” She sighed. She’d never understand men. Sura paused as Amina placed her order, checking her nails. They were freshly polished. shining up at her as only fresh polish could. It was nice to have long nails again. She kept them a little more trimmed back during the year so she wouldn’t bite at them when she was stressed or break them while picking up a particularly bulky book. Herbology didn’t agree with long nails, either. ”I’ll find us a seat,” came Amina’s bright voice, and Sura looked up just in time to see Amina weaving through the line. She nodded in reply, stepping up to order her meal.

Sura cringed as Amina shrugged when asked about her summer. She wasn’t sure if it was a bit of a resentful action or not, though it wouldn’t surprise her. From what Amina had explained to her about the whole thing, her training was absolutely bonkers. How could anyone operate, never mind get better, under such stresses and hours? You needed some time to rest to pull yourself together for competitions, this Sura knew. It didn’t sound like Amina was getting much of that at all. At least she didn’t look completely exhausted, so that warmed her heart a little. As she shoveled her breakfast into her mouth, Amina’s voice surprised her. ”Oh, if there was something interesting going on in my life, I would probably be the last to know.” Sura returned her chuckle, shaking her head as she took a sip of her tea. At least that was something she could understand and sympathize with. When you were training for competition, you ate, slept, breathed, and bled it. During her last active competition season, while training for the biggest meet of her year, her cousin had given birth to twins, and she hadn’t known until a month later, after the competition. She wasn’t sure if it was selective filtering from the stress or the fact that people actually didn’t say anything about it, but it seemed to just be the way things were. Sura nodded as Amina discussed her competition schedule. She’d never actually seen a gymnastics competition in person. She’d seen clips once or twice in Dublin when she and a few friends switched it up and went to Muggle pubs. It seemed ridiculously dangerous, but very, very pretty. Then again, Witches and Wizards flew around on brooms hundreds of feet in the air at top speeds, smashing Bludgers at each other, so who was she to judge?

Sura choked on her tea, her eyes widening as Amina mentioned Olympic potential. Now there was a competition she understood. “You’re kidding, really?” she sputtered, mopping the tears from her eyes as she coughed. “Amina, that’s incredible!” She had watched the Olympics many times in the past, mostly for the Witches and Wizards that competed in it (there was simply no way anyone could run that far without a little extra ‘oomph’), and for the fact that if you showed your face in downtown Dublin without your Olympic pride and at least some knowledge of it, your reception would not be a good one. Once she choking had ceased, she took a bite of her sandwich to wash away the remaining tickling feeling. Merlin, how could this be as good as it was? If she kept up at this pace, she was going to have to buy another. Sura looked up as Amina sat back in her chair, eyeing her cheesecake carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep her from grinning. Amina and her cheesecake. ”You should come to one of the competitions. Some are a week long. I could easily get you seats and you could stay with me down in Florida if you’d like. I’m camping out at out old house while they’re going on. So much easier than traveling back and forth.” Sura sat up straighter, her eyes bright. “I’d love to! I’ve never seen a gymnastics competition, nor have I traveled to Florida before. Besides, I think it’d be great to see you kick some ass.” She grinned widely, pushing her hair out of her face. “I’d invite you to one of my swimming comps, but I’m thinking they’re somewhat less interesting than people flying about on floors and bars. Though you’re more than welcome to come. I warn you about the chlorine, though. You’ll be smelling it for weeks - it stays with you.” Sura was thankful for the fact that she was training a lot in lakes this summer. Chlorine was not her perfume of choice.

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We raise a glass, you bet your ass;
to la vie boheme.

_{tags: Amina
word count: 1390
song: Skinny Love - Birdy}[/i][/sub]

[Amina Krane]

“You know me. I get distracted with something and then I just forget. I get so into something with all of my vast intensity and then before I know it, it’s six hours later and I realize I’m finally hungry.” Amina took a sip of her coffee, not able to believe a single word the woman in front of her was saying. Six hours and no food? Amina only went that stretch while she was sleeping and, even then, she sometimes found herself waking up in the middle of the night for a snack. Since she had started school, she had slowed down on such rendezvous since she didn’t have a kitchen so readily available and she wasn’t training as hard, but even then, she found herself craving some toast at times. Or chocolate. Looking down at her cheesecake, she frowned slightly with the straw to her coffee still in her mouth as she took another sip. She should have gotten chocolate. Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake. That’s what she should have gotten. “Yes Amina, but you can also put a grown man to shame with your appetite, and still not put a single pound on. Not all of us have that glorious luxury.” Looking back up at her friend, Amina released her hold on the straw and gave her a grin before setting the cup back down. “I must say, I have put many men to shame in my days,” she replied with a chuckle. “I should sign up for some eating competition. It could be my new way of making money.” The thought made her look up in wonder. Suddenly she was seeing herself at a long table, lined with chairs upon a stage. Behind each of these chairs was a large man or woman, dressed in overalls with food stains across each part of the fabric. And then her, right smack dab in the middle, dressed in a clean, white blouse and dark wash jeans, not a flaw in sight. The tray of food being placed in front of her and the moment the buzzer goes off, food goes flying from all around her as she so neatly starts placing her portions into her mouth. Suddenly she shook her head to get the images out of her head. “Nah, the thought of being around all those fat people, stuffing their faces with hot dogs. I think that’s pushing it a bit far.”

With a smile, Amina turned back to her cheesecake, forgetting her longing for the chocolate peanut butter concoction she had thought of and just taking another bite of the raspberry flavored goodness as she was told of her not so innocent interior. “Oh, you know how it goes; always keeping people on their toes.” She set the fork back down on the plate with a smile. “I did see a few people from Galaxia there, but I didn’t know too many names. Mostly faces. I did see an old friend there though...” Raising an eyebrow, Amina leaned in closer, hoping for some more details that would make their conversation more interesting, but she was disappointed when she stopped short of even stating who it had been. All she got was a gender. “You met up with a guy and there were no juicy stories out of that? Merlin, Sura. Something seems awful wrong with that story,” Amina teased as she found her coffee straw with her lips and took another drink. She didn’t have any room to talk, however. She wasn’t a girl to go and sleep with every man she said hi to, making her choice of stories slim. That is, unless you considered Gavin but their relationship was taboo currently, so she could only base her stories off of meeting other men. She knew Sura wasn’t the type to sleep with everyone in sight, either. Slut was not a term that could be used to describe either girl. There were some men that were just friends and nothing more. But there was no reason she couldn’t hope for a good story to erupt from a meeting with a man. Hell, even just a good kiss or a good beating, either verbal or physical, from something said or done. She would go for any good story at this point. Merlin, her life was getting pathetic and school had just ended.

“You’re kidding, really? Amina, that’s incredible!” A shrug was followed by another drink of her coffee before she released the straw again. “I’m not holding my breath. I mean, five positions are all that’s available. I have to pass nationals first.” Modesty was something Amina had become very good at since she was a child. Never did she overestimate herself and never did she admit that she was better than someone at something. It was not her personality to treat someone as lower than herself, even if in the Gymnasium, it was true. She wasn’t the best, but she was pretty damn close. She would never admit it, however. The middle of the pack was where she imagined herself instead, which was why she couldn’t see herself hitting the Olympics mats anytime soon. If she did, she would count her blessings, mostly since this was the first year she was even eligible. It was a miracle they were even happening on the year she was 16. Had they been the year before, she wouldn’t even have any hopes due to her age. “Plus, it would seriously cut into my social time this summer with all of the training leading up to the trials and then to the Olympics itself.” The thought put a small damper on her mood. Her skills didn’t come with only training four hours a day. If she thought she already wasn’t seeing people, it would only be that much worse. She could say goodbye to any possibility of seeing Sura again, or Wilhelm. And especially Gavin.

“I’d love to! I’ve never seen a gymnastics competition, nor have I traveled to Florida before. Besides, I think it’d be great to see you kick some ass.” Amina looked back up at her friend and laughed. “Don’t get your hopes up too high. Non-contact sport, after all,” she joked, grinning before taking a huge chunk of her cheesecake, somehow forgetting her philosophy of taking her time. “I’d invite you to one of my swimming comps, but I’m thinking they’re somewhat less interesting than people flying about on floors and bars. Though you’re more than welcome to come. I warn you about the chlorine, though. You’ll be smelling it for weeks - it stays with you.” Putting her fork back down and taking a moment to swallow the extra large chunk of cheesecake, Amina nodded. “Actually, I would love to! I actually find myself watching swimming competitions on occasion. I think it would be fun to see one in person. And although I’m more of an ocean person, I don’t mind the smell of chlorine.” Smiling, she reached over into her bag, dug her hand deep inside (it was a good thing they were in a wizarding town because the fact that her arm disappeared into the bag that was substantially smaller than her arm would be cause for alarm) and pulled out a small notepad with a pen attached. She flipped it open to a page with her tiny scrawl on it and used the pen to jot Sura’s name down. “I have a running list of people to get tickets for so now,” Amina paused as she added another tick mark and closed the notebook, “you are on my list.” She tossed the notebook back into her bag, flipped it closed, and went right back to her cheesecake, taking another large bit. There was only one large one left with a small raspberry on top. It was a sad sight, but it just meant they were closer to shopping. Somehow, that made things a little better.

Words | 1,323
Tags | Sura
Outfit | Click

[Sura Haughton]

To days of inspiration, playing hooky,
making something out of nothing.
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Amina's face was still one of pure shock and disbelief as she sipped at her coffee. It was humorous to Sura, and she knew well enough not to take her friend's dismay to heart. It was nothing personal, it was not malicious; Amina constantly teased Sura about her strange eating habits, and Sura was quite aware how unorthodox they were. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy food, that much was certain; it was highly likely that if you put a big bowl of pasta in front of her, she could put even Amina to shame. She was just a little picky, and didn't always have a big appetite. There wasn't a point in eating if she wasn't hungry, unless there was something absolutely scrumptious sitting in front of her begging to be eaten. In a situation like that, she would be all too happy to acquiesce. “I must say, I have put many men to shame in my days.”. Sura chuckled lowly as she sipped from her mug. She looked up, shaking her head at Amina with a grin. "I'm pretty sure you could make a grown man cry with the shame they'd feel, my friend". Sura was fairly certain that Amina could make it happen. Merlin, that girl could eat. “I should sign up for some eating competition. It could be my new way of making money.”. The thought made Sura grin. She could almost imagine tiny Amina at one of the contests, mowing through hot dogs or pies like no one's business. Sura laughed as Amina dismissed the idea. "That's the scary part though, isn't it? If you look at the girls in those competitions, they're barely bigger than you are! And yet they plough through fourth five hot dogs in fifteen minutes like it's nothing, and leave with their wallets considerably heavier." Sura mock gagged, shimmying her shoulders in a shudder. "In any case though, no one should ever be able to eat that much food that fast, ever."

Sura took another bite of her sandwich, chewing slowly to let Amina stew in her lack of details fueled anxiety. The corners of her mouth turned up in an innocent smile as she looked across the table and folded her hands neatly, the picture of a well-mannered, innocent girl. “You met up with a guy and there were no juicy stories out of that? Merlin, Sura. Something seems awful wrong with that story.". Her small innocent smile spread into a grin, and she laughed, tipping her head back. "Merlin, if something is really all that wrong with that story, I think I might have to reexamine my reputation!" she groaned. Sura sighed as she got herself back under control, her wide grin settling into something that could be maintained on her face without making her cheeks seize up. "There's really not much to tell. I mean, we bumped into each other, had a few drinks, had a nice chat..." The look on Amina's face told her that her friend was not so satisfied with her story, and she rolled her eyes with a grin. "And of course I made all the boys swoon with my lovely Irish voice," she teased, laying her accent on thick. That was something that she had come to find that she could use to her advantage when it came to people. Everyone likes accents that aren't their own, so if you had one, you may as well use it when you felt like it. Novelty usually got you attention, and you could choose if you wanted it or not once you had it. Besides, apparently Irish was sexy. Why not work it? "Good night though, all in all. I want to go back a few more times this summer. Dancing is always a good time."

“I’m not holding my breath. I mean, five positions are all that’s available. I have to pass nationals first.” Sura couldn't understand how Amina was shrugging it off as if it were nothing. The girl was far too modest for her own good. "But lord, Amina, if your coach thinks you have a chance, I believe him. I mean, if you're that good at what you do, I don't think he'd sugar coat things for you. I don't know about yours, but my coaches never compliment unless they mean it." Wasn't that the truth? You had to do something very, very well to get praise from her coaches. If you messed up, boy did they let you know. But maybe that was why the compliments meant the much more hen you got them. It was much easier to believe you are being genuinely praised for something if you aren't being showered with it in the first place. “Plus, it would seriously cut into my social time this summer with all of the training leading up to the trials and then to the Olympics itself.” Sura cringed, but shrugged. "But it's the Olympics, innit? I mean, if there were ever a time in your life to go, this would be it. I mean, we'll all be here regardless of whether or not you can talk to us a lot during the summer." She took a sip of her tea and grinned, "Besides, I damn near had to come to your gym and pry your chalky hands off the bars to get you to take today off with me. But really, Amina, why not go for it? It's just a few months. Then we're back at school and everyone is there again."

Sura chuckled as she chomped through the last bites of her sandwich. As she swallowed, she looked down a the plate with a degree of disappointment. It had been delicious, and she was still feeling hungry. She might have to consider ordering another one if her stomach decided that it wasn't sated in the next few minutes. “Actually, I would love to! I actually find myself watching swimming competitions on occasion. I think it would be fun to see one in person. And although I’m more of an ocean person, I don’t mind the smell of chlorine.” Sura laughed, scrunching her nose up. "Ahh, you think it isn't all so bad now, but wait until three weeks later when you pull something out of a bag that you brought with you and it still smells. Then we'll see how much you really don't mind it," she teased. That was one thing the drove her insane. Her years in swimming had made her accustomed to the smell of chlorine. There might even be a certain degree of affection in her heart for it. After all, sometimes she felt more at home in the water than anywhere else, all smells aside. But when you opened your bathing suit drawer and pulled a suit that you hadn't worn since last year and it still smelled like chlorine, you couldn't help but feel a little dismayed and grossed out. Not to mention the only reason she didn't have green hair and scaly skin was because her mother could whip up a fantastic skin balm and a mean silky hair charm. "But yeah, for sure, I'd love to have you along. We're not really Olympic level or anything like that, but it is a good time. Everyone is really nice, and the older swimmers always hit a pub together after the competition is over."

Sura grinned as Amina's arm disappeared into her purse, rummaging around for something that was lost in the depths of it. Merlin those bags really were fantastic. How Muggles got by with regular, space limited purses and bags was beyond her. She nodded as Amina scribbled her name down on a pad of paper. "Awesome, just keep me updated then and I'll do everything I can to be there." Her stomach grumbled and she rolled her eyes almost immediately. Apparently she was not going to be allowed to leave without ordering another one of those delectable sandwiches. She grabbed her bag from the back of her seat and drained the last bit of her tea. "So I'm going to get another one of those sandwiches to go. You polish off that cheesecake and coffee and we'll head out? My mum said they have some fantastic sales on right now, and you know how I appreciate a good deal." She gave a little shimmy of excitement and squeaked as she turned away to approach the counter again. Today was going to be so much fun, she could barely stand it.

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We raise a glass, you bet your ass;
to la vie boheme.

_{tags: Amina
word count: 1436
song: Skinny Love - Birdy}

[Amina Krane]

Amina took another drink from her coffee, letting the warmth spread through her momentarily before she allowed the straw to leave her lips again. She was going to miss these fancy coffees and all their extras they threw in. Hers especially with the small amount of chocolate added on to the top. If her mom got a hint of what she had that day, the verbal beating would be enough to make her sore enough for another ice bath. But she wasn’t going to find out. It was Amina and Sura’s little secret. She grinned over at her friend as she made a comment about girls her size putting down forty-five hotdogs in some of the eating competitions. “I agree. I don’t doubt I could down that much food, but in fifteen minutes? I’m sure even that would make me sick. I would much prefer a pie eating contest, though. The thought of that many hotdogs… No thanks. I like to know what is actually in my food,” she commented, grimacing at the thought of what possibly could be stuffed in those link casings. Just the idea of random animal body parts being ground up and shoved in a thin, clear casing made her regret even bringing up the idea. “Do me a favor, if I ever get a crazy idea to do something like that, curse me or something so I can’t.” She washed away the idea with another bite of her cheesecake. She was getting closer to the end and an emptiness began to form in the pit of her stomach, despite the fact that she was actually getting full. A life without cheesecake was hardly worth living. The dramatic thought made her chuckle at herself before looking back across the table to her friend.

The extra details she was being provided about Sura’s night out made her listen a little more intently. It was like she was trying to live through someone else at this moment, which honestly, she was. Her life was so focused currently that this was the only time she got a good kind of enjoyment. If she had to live through Sura’s words of an outing, she would do so. ”Dancing is always a good time.” Amina hung on those last words like she hadn’t heard them before. “Oh, oh!” she exclaimed, excitedly sitting straight up in her chair. “We should go dancing! I can get a new outfit perfect for the club and we can go dancing at some point!.” Her excitement of the thought was hard to hold in. She hardly ever went out dancing anywhere, mostly because in the States, she was far too underage to make it into any club that provided that type of amusement. But also because she hardly ever had anyone willing to go with her. Most of her friends couldn’t dance. It was a shame. “We’ll have to do it before Florida, though. We’re too young for their clubs,” she added, sadly. Hopefully they could manage it before the competition, or if not, after. Pushing the sad thought from her mind, she went back to the enthusiasm about a dance. “You should invite the guy you saw and any other friends. We could make a party of it.” She grinned wider and took another bite of her cheesecake. This time, instead of feeling sad that there was only one bite left, she let the richness take her to a place of ecstasy. It, in combination of the thought of going dancing, would get her over that hurdle of feeling that she was about to lose the last bit of the only dessert she would have for a long time to come.

Feeling happy about the prospect of going out again, Amina took another drink of her coffee. The Olympics would definitely ruin that plan, but that didn’t matter. Even with Sura’s words of encouragement, stating her coach wouldn’t mention it if he didn’t think it was true, didn’t make a difference. “Mine don’t tend to compliment either, I just don’t like to get my hopes up,” she said with a smile and a shrug. ”Besides, I damn near had to come to your gym and pry your chalky hands off of the bars to get you to take today off with me.” Amina chuckled at her comment. The chalk was probably the worst and best part of the whole thing. The feeling of grittiness killed her. She realized it more when she had detention because of Gavin and was forced to get the chalk out of some erasers. She knew that day she hated chalk under her nails. But getting ready for a routine and dipping your hands into the bowl full of dust, knowing what you were about to do, was a good feeling that outweighed the bad. “Believe me, if I get the chance to go, I’ll definitely take it. I just don’t want to get my hopes up. No point in starting to dream about something that’s still hurdles away. I’d rather live in the here and now,” she added with another shrug. It was her thing. She tried so hard not to gamble on future outcomes because when it didn’t end in her favor, it was like a piece of her was being ripped out. She would much rather expect nothing and get something. That, and it was always more of a challenge for her if she didn’t think she could get something. It made her work harder unlike if she expected it to fall in her lap.

”Ahh, you think it isn’t all so bad now, but wait until three weeks later when you pull something out of a bag that you brought with you and it still smells. Then we’ll see how much you really don’t mind it.” Amina couldn’t help but grin. “Oh I’m sure. I have that happen all the time with my suits that I use in the ocean. Though, the smell of ocean water far outweighs that of chlorine so I cannot say I have that exact problem,” she replied, wishing at that moment she had one of her swimsuits with her. She loved the smell of the ocean. Plenty of people hated its salty scent that could get overly fishy in some seasons, but Amina loved it year-round. She had noticed over the years that the scent changed per beach. Florida Keys had a different scent than the mainland, and both had a much different scent than the West Coast. She had remembered one time when she had gone to California. She never could place her finger on why, but the smells between the two beaches were so similar, yet, so different. Of course, then there also was the cleanliness of the beaches themselves. Florida would always outweigh any other beach she went to. There was no matching the clean sand and crystal clear water next to her home.

”So I’m going to get another one of those sandwiches to go. You should polish off that cheesecake and coffee and we’ll head out? My mom said they have some fantastic sales on right now, and you know how I appreciate a good deal.” Amina grinned as Sura walked away. The thought of shopping was enough to keep this feeling of euphoria lasting well past the cheesecake and coffee. Taking the last bite into her mouth, she savored it before taking the last sips of her coffee. The warmth counteracting the cold of the cheesecake was pure bliss. She looked over in the direction of her friend to see some guy staring at her, probably because she was drinking coffee through a straw. She got those looks a lot. It just seemed more reasonable then burning her lips. The straw somehow seemed to make an overly hot cup of coffee easier to bear. Of course, she never got such a cup of steaming coffee here because they were good enough to know the perfect temperature that would not wipe the skin off of their customers faces, but it had become a terrible habit of hers to have a straw at all times. When the familiar slurping sound of an empty cup began, she released the straw and took a look at her empty dishes. With a sigh, she reached down to pull up her bag. Part of her wanted to go join Sura in line to get a piece of the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake she had thought about earlier, but she knew better. If she had any intentions on purchasing any clothes today, she was going to have to preserve the money left in her coin bag. Her allotment was beginning to run low and she had only just stopped by the coffee shot. Merlin, she missed the days when her family didn’t have to worry about money. What she wouldn’t give to have the ignorance she once had about how much she spent. It didn’t matter what the bill was before the economy crashed, her dad would buy her whatever. They were on the brink of buying her first care when he lost his job. Two years before she would even get her license but a car nonetheless. Now, her family wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing. Not until their safety net was back. She missed that ignorance.

As Sura returned to the table with her treat, Amina stood up and slung the strap of her bag over her head and onto her shoulder, positioning the bag against her hip where it normally rested. “Good to go?” she asked when she saw Sura had gathered all of her possessions. As they began to walk away from the table, Amina noticed the busboy already going to clean up their dishes. That was when she realized just how bustling the place was getting. Everyone was here now. As the busboy cleaned, there was already a couple ready to take the table. When the two girls spilled through the doors into the alley, she could see it wasn’t just the coffee shop that was busy. There were people everywhere. So many people were taking advantage of the nice day. “Those are either some great sales, or people really need a dose of Vitamin D today,” Amina commented as she looked over at Sura for guidance. “Where to first? I haven’t been shopping here yet so it’s all on you to figure out where we are headed.” Sadly it was the truth. Amina had only been to Alzubra once before and it was only to pick up school books and robes for when she had first arrived. She knew nothing about any actual clothing shops around but was very excited to find out what all this alley had to offer.

Words | 1,794
Tags | Sura
Outfit | Click

[Sura Haughton]

To days of inspiration, playing hooky,
making something out of nothing.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“I agree. I don’t doubt I could down that much food, but in fifteen minutes? I’m sure even that would make me sick. I would much prefer a pie eating contest, though. The thought of that many hotdogs… No thanks. I like to know what is actually in my food.” Sura chuckled, folding her hands together and resting her chin on the resulting platform. “Oh, sweetheart, you know exactly what is in those hot dogs, you just don’t want to think about it,” she teased. They certainly weren’t the most appetizing thing in the world when you thought about them, but boy were they ever tasty. One of her favourite foods to eat during a day on the boardwalks of Ilfracombe, next to funnel cakes, of course. Those were certainly high calorie trips, nearly rivaling the eating contests that she and Amina were discussing. All of those hot dogs and funnel cakes and cotton candies added up, numbers Sura did not want to crunch, for the sake of her own sanity. ”Do me a favor, if I ever get a crazy idea to do something like that, curse me or something so I can’t.” Sura couldn’t help it. She tossed her head back and laughed, a huge smile on her face as she tried to settle herself down. The situation played out in her mind’s eye, and it was almost poetic. “I promise,” she giggled, taking a deep breath to get the sounds under control. “I promise I’ll curse you, and it will be something interesting so we can laugh about it later. After you get the curse broken, of course. You know me and my creativity. You probably won’t thank me until every part of the situation is said and done.”

[/b] She gave Amina a quick wink, and then dropped her face into a completely innocent one.

Sura sat back in her chair, trying to look like her night had been completely casual, though she knew that Amina would see right through her. Damn that girl and her ability to just know things about her, especially when she was trying to play something off. It was like her thoughts were made of frosted glass: Amina couldn’t tell exactly what Sura was thinking, but she knew when something was going on. The mention of dancing caused Amina to perk up, and almost immediately Sura began to feed off of her excitement. “We should go dancing! I can get a new outfit perfect for the club and we can go dancing at some point!” Sura nodded excitedly, her smile growing exponentially. “Yes! New dresses and shoes and jewelery! This has to happen Amina!” She frowned, waving her hand in front of her face when Amina mentioned that it would have to be before Florida. “Easy peasy,” she said dismissively of her concerns. “Give me a night and I’ll find an event for us to go and dance our asses off and flirt with the most attractive blokes in. Oh, and I do hope you like vodka and slash or tequila,” she added with a grin. Her go-to alcohols when she was away from home. “I’d offer you whiskey or Guinness, but I’m told that those are both acquired tastes.” She laughed, pushing her hair out of her face. She had grown up being offered tastes of each as a child, her parents firmly believing in exposing their children under their own roof. Sura thought they had done right; she knew too many people who’s parents were overly protective, with nerry a drop of alcohol passing their lips until they were legal, and now they were even wilder than she was. She bit the inside of her lip and swallowed as Amina spoke, “You should invite the guy you saw and any other friends. We could make a party of it.” She had no idea if Gavin would even be interested in hanging out with her in a locale that was not full of strangers, or was devoid of prying eyes. She shrugged, pressing her lips together into a small smile. “Perhaps I will. And if he can’t make it, I know lots of people who can. It’ll be a party one way or the other!”

Amina had to be one of the most modest people she had ever met, and she had known a few modest people in her lifetime. Sura smiled and shook her head slightly as she gazed down into her cup. There was no way she would be able to talk her friend into admitting her skills were amazing. “Believe me, if I get the chance to go, I’ll definitely take it. I just don’t want to get my hopes up. No point in starting to dream about something that’s still hurdles away. I’d rather live in the here and now.” Sura returned Amina’s shrug with one of her own. “Yeah, I understand where you’re coming from. But it’s something to work for, right? From what I know of you, Amina, you’ll put your all into it if you want it. And if it doesn’t work out this time, well then you’ll work just as hard until your next chance.” She looked up and grinned at her friend, her eyes twinkling. “If you make it, you had better believe that I will be in the front row of the stands screaming myself hoarse for you.” It would be an exciting thing to go to the Olympics to watch in the first place, but it would be another level entirely to be there to see a friend compete. If excitement didn’t get the better of her and her heart didn’t go into cardiac arrest while she was watching, it would be a bloody miracle.

“Oh I’m sure. I have that happen all the time with my suits that I use in the ocean. Though, the smell of ocean water far outweighs that of chlorine so I cannot say I have that exact problem.” Sura chuckled and nodded, acknowledging that Amina had a point. “I’d imagine that’s a little fishier than chlorine, but I’m pretty sure I’d almost prefer it.” The pool was a home for her, in a way, but sometimes that chemical smell was not welcome to her nose. Too harsh, especially when it had been sitting for a few weeks, closed up in a bag that only circulated the same air. She shuddered lightly, shaking her head and blinking. “Yes, sometimes I would definitely prefer ocean-smelling bathing suit to chlorine-smelling bathing suit. Plus the ocean doesn’t run your nice goggles or swimsuit. I go through at least two of each every summer. Gets expensive, you know.” Sura grimaced, thinking about all of the swimsuits she had put her foot straight though or torn while trying to wiggle into them.

After waiting patiently in line for her sandwich, a witch behind her handed her a paper bag with a smile. Sura thanked her, making a solid effort to not tear it open to get at the sandwich already. She needed to maintain some kind of dignity, and shredding this bag to get to her food was not the answer to keeping it. She walked back to the table, peeling the bag back now that she was away from judging eyes. She tossed her bag over her shoulder before biting into the sandwich. ”Good to go?” asked Amina, who was beginning to stand. “Oh Merlin yes,” Sura said through a full mouth, half to answer Amina’s question and half in praise of her sandwich. As they walked out into the Alley, Sura rummaged through her bag with her free hand and pulled out her sunglasses. Too bright for shenannigans without eyewear. She grinned at Amina’s comment, swallowing yet another mouthful. “I’m telling you, the sales on are great right now.” They continued to walk down the street as Sura ploughed through the rest of her sandwich, disposing of the bag in a garbage can when she was done. No sooner than she’d done so, she saw one of her favourite stores in Alzubra. Sura grabbed Amina’s arm and pulled her through the crowd to the store door. “You’re going to love this place,” she grinned, hauling the door open.

The shop was relatively small, and, thankfully, not very busy yet. It was filled with scarves and jewelery and clothing, decorated tastefully. The smell of a light incense hung in the air, though not heavily. “It’s kind of like a one-of-a-kind shop,” she said, examining a bracelet covered in twinkling blue stones. “But very reasonably priced. I get a lot of my jewelery here, and most of my scarves. Everything is just so cute!”

[/justify][/size]

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We raise a glass, you bet your ass;
to la vie boheme.

_{tags: Amina
word count: 1499
song: Coming Home Again- Shannon LaBrie
notes: Loooool I’ve been to the plants that hot dogs are made in. It’s not what’s in it that gives me the heebies anymore, that’s all fine and good. It’s the actual preparation process that I can’t think about when I want to eat a hot dog. -cough-giantmeatblenders-cough-}

[Amina Krane]

“Yes! New dresses and shoes and jewelry! This has to happen Amina!” As the two travelled out of the café and down the street, Amina couldn’t help but start to think about the night they could have on the town. A group of Hogwarts students out of school and left to their own devices could be an amazing time, or a recipe for disaster. She was completely prepared to find out which it would be. She wondered who all they could even get together. Victoria might take a little convincing but Amina was sure she could convince her to make her way out of her hole. Wilhelm would come in an instant, no doubt. Hell, half of her house would come if she just mentioned a party. The question would be Gavin. Could she get him out in public with her friends? Would he dare do that considering these people knew who he was? Probably not. The threat of rumors of their relationship would be too much for him and even if they kept their distance, there would be no way for people not to suspect something with Gavin hanging around with people from other houses. The thought caused a ping of sadness but it was quickly replaced with excitement once more as Sura continued to talk. “Give me a night and I’ll find an event for us to go and dance our asses off and flirt with the most attractive blokes in. Oh, and I do hope you like vodka and slash or tequila. I’d offer you whiskey or Guinness, but I’m told that those are both acquired tastes.” Grinning, she linked her arm with Sura’s. Dancing; drinking; flirting. It sounded like a night of bliss as she pictured Amina and Sura in the middle of a dance floor surrounded by a group of people. Being the center of attention was not Amina’s style in the slightest but for some reason, but with some drinks in her, there was nothing she couldn’t do.

“I think I can spare a night for you to search for a prime party spot,” Amina began, almost feeling like she had a skip in her step as she thought about the night they could have. Part of her wished they were on their way at that moment. She could use a good time before she headed right back into training again. Once her training began the next day, it wasn’t going to stop until she was dead tired and, by then, she wouldn’t even want to do anything else. But, for her friend and a good time, she would find a way to squeeze in a party. “Darling, get me drunk enough and any alcohol can make it down my throat, acquired taste or not. And with how much trouble I’ll be getting in for going out with you one night, I’m going to need to get pretty wasted to deal with the next day,” she added with a wink. Getting drunk was not Amina’s specialty, but sometimes the occasion called for it. The two times it had happened in the past, the bits of the night she remembered were fantastic. Dancing with friends, singing karaoke, and even an off the wall pool game that ended in nearly half the bar losing nearly every piece of clothing. Amina had been lucky enough to have some pool skills that kept her in her skirt and bra but she had lost her shirt and shoes throughout the night. Unfortunately, she was too drunk at the party to remember to grab them before she left. To this day, she could never find where her clothing disappeared to. “Well, now that we have a plan of what we’re doing later, we have to focus on getting the outfit.”

“I’m telling you, the sales on are great right now.” With slightly wide eyes, Amina followed in tow as Sura made a beeline through the crowd like everyone was just an obstacle between her and the end goal. Somewhere along the way, Sura found a store she apparently couldn’t pass by. Amina had expected some trouble getting past the crowd and into the store but Sura grabbed her arm and, with ease, got them through the crowd and into the store. Shockingly, Amina came out without a scratch. At least Austrian shoppers weren’t as aggressive as Miami shoppers. She hated going shopping in the muggle world because they always seemed to care only about themselves. “You’re going to love this place.” As they made their way inside, Amina took note that it was a lot less crowded than the street, thankfully, because it was a relatively small store. She had yet to come shopping here but she couldn’t imagine all the stores were this small. If so, she was going to have a hell of a time adjusting to the different lifestyle. “It’s kind of like a one-of-a-kind shop. But very reasonably priced. I get a lot of my jewelry here, and most of my scarves. Everything is just so cute!” She looked around then back to Sura who was already moving through the store. “Well, if you wear some of it, then it must be good,” Amina commented, glancing around herself before taking a double take at her friend. She was expecting Sura to be chowing down on her sandwich but it was nowhere to be found. She was about to question if it had been lost in the crowd, or if she had finished it off when she continued their conversation regarding Amina’s possibility of the Olympics. ”Yeah, I understand where you’re coming from. But it’s something to work for, right? From what I know of you, Amina, you’ll put your all into it if you want it. And if it doesn’t work out this time, well then you’ll work just as hard until your next chance. If you make it, you had better believe that I will be in the front row of the stands screaming myself hoarse for you.”

Chuckling, Amina crossed over to a small rack of handbags. “Between you and my mother, something tells me if I make it, your whole section will be empty,” she said with a grin as her hand ran over a small green clutch with a diamond embellishment (definitely fake considering the low price) that caught her eye. The emerald green was a color she had never considered for herself, but it was cute enough for her to reconsider the idea. “I couldn’t imagine people wanting to remain there to become deaf.” Moving away from the clutch she made her way to a collection of scarves. “Oh man,” she blurted out as she picked up a purple and gold patterned scarf and turned around, holding it up to her neck. “Imagine this, a cute pair of skinny jeans, matching heels, and a black top.” She held it out and admired it for a second before placing it back among its friends. “If we were shopping for every day, I would totally grab that in a heartbeat,” she sighed, letting her fingers run across it one more time before turning back to Sura.

“You’re right though, these sales are fantastic,” she said, noting the sign mentioning thirty percent off items for that day only. She brought the same hand to the ring around her neck as she attempted to keep her hands at bay. She was here for a purpose of getting an outfit to go partying in. Not to fill her closet with the clothes she wanted but could not afford. If she was here to do that, she would just buy up the whole store. Releasing the ring after rubbing the emblem, she released it again. What she wouldn’t give to have the riches she assumed Gavin, the same riches she used to have back in the day. It had been a good day in the Krane household when they didn’t have to worry about money, but now that they had to watch spending, things had gotten a little more stressful. She had told herself back when they had ran out of funds that she would never again blame her father for anything, though. And that included their lack of money. No one expected the economy to crash so it wasn’t his fault. She had already blamed him once and once was enough.

“I need to find something that speaks to me. Something that just stands out and says ‘Wear me.’” Crossing her arms, Amina stood towards the center of the store and looked around. Some people were there looking at some rather cute items, but nothing that was begging her to buy it. She wanted an outfit that would blow everyone away, including herself, and if it didn’t speak to her, it wasn’t worth her time or money.

Words | 1,471
Tags | Sura
Outfit | Click
Notes | Um, ew? Haha. No matter what I find out about hot dogs, I think I would still eat them. They're just so darn good! Unless, of course, I found out they were made of dog. Then me and hot dogs might have a problem.

[Sura Haughton]

To days of inspiration, playing hooky,
making something out of nothing.
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Sura grinned just as widely as she linked arms with Amina, giving a playful tug on her friend's arm. She could just about picture the night that they'd have, and in her mind it was nothing short of spectacular. Of course, she would have to have all of the girls over that afternoon to get ready. Half of the fun of going out was in the preparation! There would be manicures, pedicures, and facials to be had, not to mention a solid meal before they started to imbibe any sort of alcohol. Then they would meet up with the boys, if they could drag any of them out with them, and head down to the club. And that, of course, would be where the real mischief would begin. There was something about the combination of good friends, dimmed lighting, and a pounding bass line that just made you want to let loose and live a little. It was just so different from anything else they experienced during the year. You didn't have to worry about your usual stresses or concerns. It was refreshing.

“I think I can spare a night for you to search for a prime party spot,” An excited peal of laughter escaped from Sura's throat, and she squeezed her friend's hand with her own free hand. "You don't even know how exciting that is to me! Can you imagine the havoc we could wreak, Amina?" She chuckled and winked, wrinkling her nose up. "The boys will never know what hit them!"she exclaimed. The prospective of going out with her friends from school, instead of just with friends from home was exciting. Not to be mistaken, she loved her friends from home; there were certain things that only an Irishman could ever understand about her. But you developed a different bond with the people you lived with for the majority of the year, and she imagined that it would be an absolute ball to let her hair down with them. “Darling, get me drunk enough and any alcohol can make it down my throat, acquired taste or not. And with how much trouble I’ll be getting in for going out with you one night, I’m going to need to get pretty wasted to deal with the next day.” Sura snorted, grinning. "Well then I'll bring the whiskey after all!"

Sura couldn't help the little jitter of excitement that rose in her chest when Amina mentioned getting an outfit for their night to-be. She made a mental not to keep at least some of her dignity; Amina had never seen her really shop before, and it could occasionally be a little, well, excitable. She pulled her friend through the crowds and into the first store, determined to not lose her before they even got to start. As they began to look around, Amina's voice reached her ears, “Well, if you wear some of it, then it must be good.” Her lips curved up into a smile as she picked up a beaded necklace to examine it. "Amina, you flatter me, lady." It had really been a lovely compliment.

The image of clearing the stands at a gymnastics event with Amina's mother made her chuckle, although she couldn't say that it would honestly shock her if it actually happened. She could be very vocal when she wanted to be, and cheering on friends happened to fall into that category. “I couldn’t imagine people wanting to remain there to become deaf.” Sura's nose wrinkled up at the thought. "Honestly, they'd probably be deaf before they realize they could move away from us. That's how loud I imagine we'd probably be. Hope you don't embarrass by that kind of thing."

She poked her head around a display to get a better look at the scarf Amina was holding up. "Oh, that is SO cute! Keep it in mind, at least. You never know if you're going to decide that you want it after all..." Sura was positively notorious for doing just that. One moment she was unsure, and an hour later she absolutely had to have it. It did fix that little problem of impulse buying, though. That habit saved a lot of money in the long run, even if it did mean the occasional adorable piece of clothing slipping through the cracks.

“I need to find something that speaks to me. Something that just stands out and says ‘Wear me.’” Sura nodded her head slowly as she thumbed through the rack in front of her. She pulled a slinky black and silver dress from the rack, holding it out in front of her. It was very cute indeed, cut just the right way to flatter any woman in all the right places. A small pout formed on her lips as she looked at the size tag. A size too small. However... "Amina, catch!" she called, sending the dress sailing over a display in Amina's direction. It would definitely fit her, considering that Amina was just a little smaller than she was. "Not my size, but yours for sure. Definitely worth a trip to the dressing room!" She continued to flip through the clothes on the rack. She had thrown a few tops and a pair of jeans over her forearm, and she stopped to shift them into a more comfortable position when something caught her eye. A long, gold sequin dress caught her eye, and she pulled it out to get a better look at it. She'd probably never wear it at the length it currently was, but if she hemmed it she could make a damn cute cocktail dress and skirt out of it.

After taking a peek at the price tag and finding that it was happily within her price range, she rounded the corner to find Amina. She held up the shimmering piece with a smile, giving it a little wiggle to make it catch the light in the store. "Ready to hit the dressing room?" The weight of the pile in her arms felt like it was increasing, and she was now very much ready to put the pile down and sift through it.

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We raise a glass, you bet your ass;
to la vie boheme.

_{tags: Amina
word count: 1031
song: ass back home - gym class heroes
notes: good news: they are not made of dog. consume on!}