if i came from there, then that way is what?

Valentina had just been wandering through the castle, feeling incredibly bored. She hadn't realized she was lost until she had no clue where she was. The small girl looked around, eyes wide, but instead of being scared, Valentina was curious.

She walked around pointlessly for a while, not entirely sure what she was looking for. The Uchitel didn't really know where she came from by that point.

Hearing approaching footsteps, Valentina turned on the spot. "Who's there?"

Kiki couldn't help but hide in the Hidden Passage if he had nowhere to go. He was secretly skiving class again, but he wasn't going to go around and rub it in everyone's faces. Especially if his Head of House or the Highmaster happened to stumble upon him, which would pretty much kill him.

He walked all over the Passage, having it memorized in his mind from an entire year of hiding here and exploring these caves.

He heard a young voice call out to him. "Kieran Cartwright," he replied in a calm manner, "second year Slushatel. You?"

Valentina jumped slightly, "Valentina Lagunov, first year Uchitel." She walked slightly toward the voice, biting her lip. Stopping, she realized something.

"Do you know where this is?" The girl asked, tilting her head. "And what are you doing here anyway?" Valentina wasn't used to talking to people, so she wasn't quite sure how to act, slightly afraid of saying something wrong.

"This, m'lady," Kieran began, gesturing to the darkness around him, "is the Hidden Passage. This passage is known by only the most selective of Durmstrang's populace, like you and I. I found this place out from my sister last year."

He sighed, knowing that he shouldn't cry at such things. "Well, it's none of your business about why I'm here, little one," he replied, a smirk on his face.

(ooc: i forgot about this! i'm so sorry!)

Val giggled slightly. "Oh. A Hidden Passage. I should have expected that." She nodded. "Right. Is your sister nice?" The small girl knew she shouldn't ask so many questions, but she never really cared.

"Okay," Val shrugged, before folding her arms. "I'm not that little!"

Kiki laughed, "I wasn't aware of this either until... well, I think I just told you." He cleared his throat. "She was lovely, if she wasn't so... well - I don't know a nicer word to describe her - slutty," he responded, clearing his throat once more due to the foul language. "Sorry."

The Slushatel laughed and nodded half-enthusiastically, half-mockingly, "Yes you are!"

Valentina nodded. "Okay, I see." She didn't really. Despite being smart for her age, the Uchitel was very naïve. Her parents didn't have time to tell her anything if she asked, and her brother simply said he'd tell her when she was older. "You don't have to apologize. I don't know what it means, anyway."

Valentina frowned. "Oh, come on! You're only a year older than me!"

Kieran breathed a huge sigh of relief when Val said she knew nothing of what it meant, but what made him feel happier was that she didn't even question him about what it meant.

"A year, eh?" Kieran asked. He added teasingly, "Merlin, that's a decade in Kieran-years!"

Valentina looked curiously up at Kieran. "What does it mean anyway?" She frowned in concentration, as if some magical explanation would come to her.

"Yes, a year!" the young girl snapped. "And I don't think Kieran-years count!"

"A slut is..." Kieran paused. He didn't know how to adequately explain it to an eleven-year-old without feeling somewhat guilty, "well... a slut is... someone who... uh, flirts with a lot of... boys. Yeah. That's it."

Kieran nodded, as convincingly as he could, "Of course it counts! Who said they didn't count, eh?"

Valentina nodded. She wasn't sure why, but she believed him for some reason. It was the best (and only) explanation she could get. "Oh. Oh, right. But why is that so bad?"

Valentina sighed. "You'd be dead if you were a decade older than me!"

"W-Well..." Kieran began, "i-imagine if you have a boyfriend." He tried to imagine the same for himself - but with a girlfriend of course - but he couldn't. "Would you like it if he flirted with all the other girls when you're around? Yeah. That's why it's bad."

The elder Slushatel scoffed, "Of course not; I'd only be twenty-two, then! That's no age to die!"

"Oh," Valentina nodded, "right. That makes sense. Enough." She frowned. He seemed nervous, so she wasn't really sure if it was true, but it didn't seem she'd get a better explanation.

Val sighed. "I know that! It's just- ugh. I give up!"

Kieran firmly nodded at the girl, thankful that she can stop asking now. However, the silence that had descended upon them was too delicate, so he cleared his throat, "So do you have a special someone in your life?"

The Slushatel laughed, a smirk growing in his features. "I win! But you get cookies. If I can get them, of course."

Val shook her head. "No. I think you do, though."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Ah, I won't forget that." She smirked back at him. "Not ever."

Kieran shrugged his shoulders, clearly denying the fact. "No, not really," he replied simply, "I'm not that cool for girls to pick me up and ask me to go on dates every night. I don't care; I'd rather play Quidditch."

The boy laughed. "I'm sure you won't," he cited, dusting the debris off his robes. "I think we should get to class now, don't you think?"