A Marvelous Introduction

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine cringed as the cold water licked her pale toes. Her black dress hung over her knees and her black boots lay lonely at her side. She smiled up at the sky, her motionless heart metaphorically pounding. It was around noon but the world around her was dark, the sun completely buried by black storm clouds. She could already hear the thunder from the other side of the mountains. With a deep breath, she took in the beautiful scent of rain.

Kicking forward, she felt the splash of cold lake water around her. Citrine lay back, humming an unimportant tune, a smile still on her face. Something about the cold weather made everything inside her feel light, lighter than usual. She was more like a fairy, like in the Nutcracker, gliding around, completely oblivious to the world around her. She was sprawled on an old, splintered wooden dock. It was that rare feeling where she would lay there for hours, doing nothing, completely at peace with the sound of rain surrounding her.

Before she knew it, the raindrops were falling. It started with a single tingle on her forehead. She smiled and opened her eyes, fat drops suddenly splashing against her face. The thunder and lightning had been left at the mountains, but the sweet water kept moving. Leaping up from her spot on the dock, she laughed and skipped around, headed toward the grassy area just before the start of the dock. The sudden emerging from the water made her toes tingle.

Citrine found the grass and felt herself collapse onto the green bed. She crossed her legs and with a single "Ohhhhhmmmmm" began her afternoon meditation. She listened to the raindrops hit the water and wood, and smelled the deep earth's wet soil; unbelievable splendor.</sup>

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

Ritsuka's jacket hung on her thin frame as she walked under some trees towards the lake. She was in her usual black capri's with thick stockings covering the legs she'd never dare to show in public bare. A short sleeved, gray striped hoodie over a long black shirt with a necklace of two wings surrounding a black jewel along with a black rose.

With her hands in her pockets, Ritsuka looked towards the gloomy sky and got her hopes up that it would rain; the soft, comforting rumble of thunder could be heard somewhere in the mountains. She could see that a curtain of rain was heading her way and as much as she loved rain, she didn't really much enjoy getting wet. Quickly finding a large tree, she scurried under it just in time before the globs of rain came crashing down to the earth.

As she sat on the roots of the tree, she saw Citrine just ahead of her meditating in the beauty. Not wanting to bother her or distract her, Ritsuka just brought her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes, listening closely to every rain drop hit the grass and wood of the dock. The nostalgic smell of the wet surroundings made her smile to herself, tail dancing alongside her. Her ears were pulled back close to her head because they got very cold quickly.

[Katmandu Garfunkle]

Mandu looked at the sky and saw that there was going to be a chance of rain. So he grabbed his cloak and rushed outside. The sweet scent of rain was lingering in the air and he decided to head down to the lake to relax.
He turned on his mp3 player and started to hum to his favorite music. He strolled along the grassy ground and became lost in thought. He could see the lake just over there beyond a hill. He saw a trees and figured he could take refuge under them if the rain gets to bad. He found a nice rock to sit on as he made it to the lake. He took out his sketchpad and started to sketch the wondeous lake before him. squinting his eyes, he could just make out an old dock to his left.

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine was on her third OHHHHM when she smelled her friend approaching. If she were merely human, she would have sensed her by the sound of the approaching chains and bells rattling. She smiled and opened her eyes, and glanced immediately at the tree beside her. Shaking her head, she looked back up at the sky. Her red hair was beginning to drip with rainwater, softly sticking to her bare arms and chest. Random areas of skin would start to tickle from an off raindrop.

"Hey," she shouted over the sound of the drops. "Why are you under there? The rain will never get you from under there." Before she could say more, there was yet another movement not in her line of vision. She turned even further, now almost 180, and saw someone she had almost forgotten about. It was the silly boy she had taken flight with days before, when the weather was sunny. She loved unpredictable forecasts.

"MANDU!!" She yelled even louder, almost tearing her vocal chords. She had to only hope that he would hear her over the sound of both the rain and his mp3 player. "Hm, I didn't know you could draw," she said monotoned. This was more to herself than him, obviously, since she made no effort for him to hear the voice.</sup>

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

"Hey, why are you under there? The rain will never get you from under there."

Ritsuka's head shot up from Citrine's voice, as did her ears, and before she could respond, she kept turning and shouted, MANDU!!! Also turning to see Mandu, she saw him sitting upon a rock sketching away. She smiled inwardly, indifference across her face, slightly intrigued that he drew like herself.

Averting her gaze back to Citrine, she shouted over the rain, "I love the rain, but I'd rather not get wet!" She pointed at her ears and smiled innocently. These ears really were a bother, they always started to fill with water if she stayed out in the rain too long and it was just a pain to dry off. Though, she didn't manage to stay completely dry; her shoes and socks were soaked from walking through the grass over to the tree and her jacket was damp from the scattered raindrops that fell through the leaves.

[Katmandu Garfunkle]

"MANDU!!" Mandu managed to hear. He turned toward the dock and caught a glimpse of red hair. He instantly thought Citrine. He put his sketch pad into his knapsack and got up. He waved in the direction of Citrine. Mandu walked in a fast pace toward Citrine. He felt his hair starting to mat down from the rain but it felt refreshing. As he approached, he caught sight of a figure under a nearby tree.
"I love the rain, but I'd rather not get wet!" said the person under the tree. The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Walking closer to Citrine, he was able to put a name to the person, it was Ritsuka. He waved over at her.
Making sure not to trip on any unexpected things he stood next to Citrine and sat next to her.
"It's great to see you on such a wonderful day, Citrine," said Mandu holding his palms out to catch raindrops.

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine leaped up as she realized that both Ritsuka and Mandu were with her. This was getting more interesting. With her movements, her red hair whipped around, sending little water tornadoes in various directions. Once again, she found herself grabbing Mandu by the wrist. Her dress stuck to her body from the water, and she was smiling as she dragged Mandu over to where Ritsuka sat beneath the tree.

"Ritsuka, this is Mandu." Citrine pointed to Mandu. "Mandu, this is Ritsuka."</sup>

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

Ritsuka watched Mandu put his stuff away into his bag and make his way over to where Citrine was sitting in the grass. She took note of his movement and behavior; bubbly and kind. He waved to her but she only stared, wide eyed. Not the kind of wide-eyed as in scared, but more of the kind that she was trying to figure out what he was doing.

As soon as he sat down, Citrine stood up and grabbed his wrists, dragging him over to where Ritsuka had situated herself on the roots of the tree. She was soaked, but she didn't look like she cared.

"Ritsuka, this is Mandu." Citrine pointed to Mandu. "Mandu, this is Ritsuka."

Hearing her name, her ears perked up. Ritsuka didn't really know what to do, so she stayed as she was with her knees pulled up to her chest; her tail twitching beside her. "Uhm.. hello.." She said shyly and looked at the roots she sat upon.

[Katmandu Garfunkle]

Almost as soon as he sat down, Citrine grabbed Mandu by the wrist. She pulled him over to where Ritsuka was. She was sitting with her knees up against her chest.
"Ritsuka, this is Mandu." Citrine pointed to Mandu. "Mandu, this is Ritsuka."
Mandu was surprised and happy to see that these two were friends.
"Uhm.. hello.." said Ritsuka shyly. It was quite a change after seeing how Ritsuka had acted in the corridor. Mandu faought the urge to stick out his hand again, knowing Ritsuka wouldn't respond well to it (LOL "WELL") He smiled warmly at Ritsuka instead. He sat down underneath the tree with the 2 girls.
"I take it you two are friends," said Mandu cheerfully. He wondered how these two girls had met in the first place. He ran his fingers through his soaked hair, trying to untangle it a bit.

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

Mandu took a seat next to herself and Citrine, her eyes warily on his form. He made her kind of nervous but she was fine with it so far. Ritsuka smiled when Mandu brought up Citrine and herself being friends. She looked at Citrine and laughed, her way of hinting to their secret. "Yeah.. yeah. You can say that. Friends."

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine chuckled and smiled in Ritsuka's direction. She watched the rain anxiously, but quietly reminded herself she had gotten enough wetness for now. Her legs crossed over each other and she smiled back and forth between Ritsuka and Mandu. Two artists to be jealous about now, wonderful! She smirked at the bitter irony.

"Mandu, why don't you tell us about yourself?" She smiled at him with her huge emerald eyes. They were even more piercing than usual thanks to the rain and the overall happiness bubbling inside her.</sup>

[Katmandu Garfunkle]

"Mandu, why don't you tell us about yourself?" said Citrine with a smile. Her eyes seemed to be even greener and more intense than before.
"Well....." he said, "where to begin?" He thought for a moment and decided to tell him about his life prior to attending Hogwarts.
"I was born into a normal muggle household. We knew absolutely about the magical realm that was basically around us this whole time." He continued, " Then one day, i remember experiencing weird occurrences whenever i showed some kind of intense emotion. Then, a letter arrived from out of a blue and my family and I were completely perplexed as to the origins of the letter. Then I remember a pair of cloaked people arriving at my house and properly explained what was going on." He took a quick pause in his story. Mandu hopes he is not boring the two girls with him.
"The next thing I remember I'm in Diagon Alley shopping for books and cloaks and a wand. Eventually I get to Hogwarts and am completely speechless at the beauty and wonder that this place holds. Yadda yadda yadda a few years pass and here I am sitting with two remarkable people on this fine and beautiful day." He smiled as he finished his little role as story teller.

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

Ritsuka rested her chin on her knee as she listened to Mandu talk. The fact that he was a muggle didn't bother her at all, though she felt that it should have. Since Slytherin practically despised all muggles... or maybe that's just Draco... She didn't know, or care.

"Then one day, I remember experiencing weird occurrences whenever I showed some kind of intense emotion. Then, a letter arrived from out of a blue and my family and I were completely perplexed as to the origins of the letter. Then I remember a pair of cloaked people arriving at my house and properly explained what was going on." Mandu paused momentarily.

Weird occurrences? Her ears swayed a bit from interest. Mandu might actually turn out to be someone interesting. But, the cloaked people? Why did that sound familiar to her. She doubt she knew who he was talking about, but it pricked her mind a bit. Mostly, Ritsuka wanted to know how a muggle-born had managed to get into Hogwarts or have any form of magical powers.

"The next thing I remember I'm in Diagon Alley shopping for books and cloaks and a wand. Eventually I get to Hogwarts and am completely speechless at the beauty and wonder that this place holds. Yadda yadda yadda a few years pass and here I am sitting with two remarkable people on this fine and beautiful day." Mandu smiled widely.

Ritsuka wouldn't have minded if he just stopped at, "...here I am," but he kept going and said two remarkable people. She stared at him a bit, not really sure what expression was on her face at the moment. She just didn't take "compliments" very well, or if someone says something nice about her.

"Remarkable indeed..." She said in a monotone. The crash of thunder had grown nearer and it was resonating within her chest. Ritsuka smiled at the feeling because it reminded her of her music when she turned up the bass.

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine turned to Ritsuka, but immediately turned to face Mandu again. What was there to tell about Ritsuka? Only things that Citrine would always be the one to know. Septimal Moon, the answers they never found, the fighters they might have already lost, the mysterious people they really were... where they came from being the one thing they may never really know.

The rain was still heavy, and it seemed the thunder and lightning had finally moved past the mountains and were soaring over Hogwarts. Every so often, there'd be temporary blindness, as all of their surroundings turned white from lightning. Seconds later, there'd be a brief, breathtaking rumble all around. Citrine dug her toes into the ground, hoping to feel the vibrations travel up and down her body.

"I can't remember, is it dangerous to be under a tree in a lightning storm?"</sup>

[Alucard Integra]

Alucard finally returning to hogwarts after a short break. His vampiric instincts breaking from his grip more often then usual. This wasn't very safe for him or others so he took to a little holiday in a bloody cave.

Anywho, He decided that it was time to return and his first thought was Citrine. I wonder if she remembers me. I have been gone a while and i did get a small make over. he thought to himself as he followed the feeling of her presence it getting stronger every moment he stepped towards the lake. His hair was short and messy as opposed to long and clean. A tattoo sat on the left bottom side of his neck. It was a sort of tribal rose.

Reaching the point break between school and the area surrounding the lake. He stopped and took a deep breath. He wanted to be prepared with the warm bloods around and his lust for blood growing. He took the first of many steps to the group. His usual silent steps that would probably be heard only to ritsuka and citrine the human continued on. Then he paused and thought, the human. I never met him must be newer. resuming his steady pace he yelled to them as not to surprise the human before he got there, "Hey guys." The last word reaching his mouth ten feet from the group. He quickly reached them afterwards. Standing behind Citrine his tired red eyes jumping from each of them to the next taking in the minor changes of the two he knew. He smiled, a large smile, one that would reveal his beautiful fangs. A little toying with the human couldn't hurt.


OOC:if i wasnt supposed to join and you wanted this to be just you three go ahead and say so