The Art of Maintaining Your Cover

Ksenia rubbed her temples as she started at the open book in front of her, not really seeing the words there. How long had she been studying for without a break? Four hours? Five hours? She was not completely sure. The Prefect did not keep track of time. Nevertheless, there was a splitting headache forming and she knew that she wouldn't be able to go on much further.

Ksenia leaned back in her chair, finally relaxing her stiff back slightly as she rubbed her eyes. It was late at night in the Slushatel common room, late at night less than a week before the OWL exams, the girl had to remind herself constantly. Due to the fact that she chose to show herself as not a lot more than a very studious witch in her early years of study she needed to maintain what she put forth if she didn't people to start questioning her public image. Especially at a time like this when her own brother arrived at the school. Maintaining her cover was becoming harder and harder every month. That is why she needed to make sure to get excellent marks on her OWL exams.

::Liddy::

Liddy hadn't bothered to change back to Kendera's appearance before entering the common room. People were usually asleep at this hour, anyway. Except...

Well, if it wasn't little Miss Perfect Prefect.

"Slushatels aren't meant to be known for being bookworms," Liddy informed the older girl, her words colored by a notable German accent.* She had always detested that about her primary; studying all the time. Was it so necessary? Could she not keep the information in her head the first time she went over it? Liddy certainly could.

"You talk to that Hrabrost boy a lot," she stated. She sat on the arm of the sofa nearest the prefect, a challenging smirk daring her to contradict what she was saying. "I mean the one who transferred here partway through the year. The Volans boy. Rather handsome, though, you don't look at him like that."

Kendera had noticed, which meant Liddy had noticed. They had always been rather observant.



*Note: While speaking any language, Kendera speaks with a neutral accent; Liddy always has a German accent unless she's pretending to be Kendera

"Slushatels are known for what they choose to be known for. That is the whole point of being stealthy," Ksenia replied to the younger girl, her tone rather bored, relaxed. She sighed and rubbed her hands over her face once again. It was probably time to go to bed. She didn't look at her housemate as she stretched her limbs slightly, her muscles protesting from being in the same position for so long.

"I talk to a lot of boys that I don't look at that way," she said, holding back a yawn. Maybe that was her problem: the reason that she was still single whereas the majority of pureblood witches her age were already engaged was because she was surrounded by so many intimidating men.

"I talk to Dameon because he has an interesting opinion on some areas of the Dark Arts," she said as she settled her chin on the pal of her hand, her elbow resting on the table, supporting the weight. "He is handsome, I must agree with you," she said, her free arm moving lazily through the piles of notes and parchments. "And he would have been quite a catch for a pureblood girl except for one problem," a yawn finally escaped Ksenia's lips as she put her Potions textbooks on top of her Battle Strategies textbooks. "Have you heard that any male offspring born into the Volans family are taken from their home immediately after birth? They go to God knows where to study for sixteen years without their parents being able to hear any news of them. I would not want to be part of a family like that," the Slushatel stated, more like rambled, tiredly. In a wakeful state she wouldn't be caught dead talking like that, but the witch was tired, the exams were getting closer and closer every day and the number of problems that were not related to her studies was not diminishing.

(OOC: I wrote this post when it was nearly two am. So I nailed Ksenia's mood quite will I must say )

::Liddy::

"But what's the point of studying all the time?" Liddy demanded with a faintly disgusted look. "Doesn't the information stay in your head? Why else would you have to keep putting it back?"

She leaned forward with a wide smirk, black curls shifting over her shoulders with the movement. "But you do look at him differently. Differently than all the others. So, if you don't fancy yourself in love with him, and it's not because he's handsome, then what's with the special look? I'll find out," Liddy said, tone matter-of-fact.

Liddy let the older girl ramble, her expression becoming unmistakably delighted. "You've slipped up~" she sing-songed. She abandoned her position on the sofa arm to lean with her palms against the table, dark eyes shrewd. "Now, why would he tell you that? Such an old family secret?

"Is that it, then?" Liddy asked, tilting her head to peer more intently into the other girl's face. "Is that what it is, Ksenia Sokol? Are you really Ksenia Volans? But no... your first name would be different, too, wouldn't it?"

She straightened, hands coming together with a clap as she gave a laugh. Unlike everything else about Liddy, her laugh was light and carefree, almost childlike. "That's why you work so hard," Liddy declared seriously, smirk in place, certain she was right, "so people look at what you do instead of what you are."

"It does stay in my head. Only there is a large mass of it," Ksenia stated simply, not elaborating on the matter any further.

"Dameon is not the only Hrabrost boy that I look at differntly," the older Slushatel stated, raising her eyebrows at he statement. "Why the sudden inquiry into my private life? Do you not have anything better to do?" her expression was amused as she looked at the far too curious girl.

"Old family secret?" Ksenia couldn't help but laugh slightly at those words. "What part of Volans males not being seen or heard of by the wizarding society for the first sixteen years of their lives? If you bothered to look when you seem so interested in this subject, you would easily found this information in a book on English Pureblood Families.

"How quickly you jump to conclusions. Over a mistake that you have made yourself." More books were set into a relatively neat pile as another yawn threatened to escape her lips.

"Isn't that what we all do in Slushatel in variations?" she asked, raising her eyebrow once again.

::Liddy::

"Of course not. You look at the Sicarius heir differently, too," Liddy quipped. She smirked at the question. "I don't," she stated, sounding rather pleased with the idea. "Nothing better to do all day long~." Her voice trailed off into sing-song, again. Liddy was rather fond of sing-song.

Liddy laughed even more. "There was a fifty percent chance that it was, though. Why would I bother to look? If it was important, I would have had it drilled into me growing up.

"You're wrong, anyway. I'm not interested in the Volans family or their long, lost heir." Liddy paused, inclining her head thoughtfully, a smirk pulling at her lips. "Yet. No, I'm interested in you. What are you hiding from the world, miss perfect-prefect?"

The girl shrugged, clearly unconcerned. "You call it jumping to a conclusion, I call it a fantastic leap of logic. Maybe I am wrong, but what if I'm right? I'll find out, either way. Besides, if you're from the Sokol family, where... are the other Sokols? Do you live in a manor? a mansion? Where, then? 'Somewhere in Russia'? How mysteriously vague.

"True," Liddy conceded. "Though, I must say your observational skills aren't very good at this hour. Too much studying, probably. You haven't even asked me the two most important questions, yet."

"Nothing better to do than distracting fifth years from their preparations for OWLs?" Ksenia arched her brow, her voice gaining a note of coldness as she watched the awfully curious girl.

"And why are you so interested in me? You do realise that people do not appreciate when someone comes snooping into their private business," she stated as she pulled her bag forward, putting her quills inside. She was not completely certain how many she actually had, but there were always more than enough. "All who are in this house are hiding something. Otherwise they wouldn't be in here."

"They don't live," she answered simply. "My family was killed about ten years ago in the war against the muggles." That story was very simple and very effective because she knew that there were many in the school for whom that story was actually true. It was easy to blend in among the masses. That was what she had always done.

Ksenia sighed, closing her eyes for a few moments before looking up at the girl once again. "What are those questions? Will you actually leave me alone tonight?"

::Liddy::

Liddy laughed. "I've really nothing else to do, at all.

"Because you're here and I'm bored," she stated plainly, shrugging. "And of course I realize that. Doesn't make me less bored."

The black-haired girl gazed at Ksenia thoughtfully for a long moment. "That," she decided, "I do believe."

Liddy's hand clapped together, dark eyes glittering in amusement at the older girl's clearly waning patience. She smiled widely, the expression benevolent, though her eyes were still far too shrewd to match.

"They're very simple questions," Liddy replied. "'Who are you?' and 'What are you doing in my common room?' Though, perhaps a better question would be, 'How did you get into the school?'"

She laughed again, before her expression became abruptly hard and serious. "Unfortunately for you, I'm disinclined to answer any of them, just now," Liddy informed the older girl curtly. "Good night, Ksenia Sokol. Do perform well on your O.W.L.s, won't you?"

Turning sharply, Liddy strode briskly to the door, an amused smirk taking her features. Upon reaching the corridor, she broke into a run. The night was still young.