A bookworm in her place

[Vivian Pryce]

OOC: Invite only, thanks.

BIC: The setting of the library could be stuffy for some, with it's endless rows of thick, leather-bound books full of all the information one could ever desire to know. While some might have felt enclosed by all of the packed shelves and dust, as well as the almost eerie quiet, Vivian felt quite in place here, among her precious books. The text on the pages could provide as much of a cover as an invisibility cloak at times. Her eyes scanning over the print was the perfect excuse to blow someone off, or to say, "sorry, I'm busy right now." Here, she was safe from scrutiny under the guise of studying, or reading for entertainment. Prying eyes could not get any further insight into her personality or mental state through the blank expression on her face, as her unblinking blue eyes read each word with an inner joy. In books, fantasy became reality and reality became fantasy. All the rules the world was based on could be bent in a matter of seconds by one sentence, keeping her trapped between the covers of the book until she could finally turn the last page, read the last letter, and close the book with a contented sigh, and maybe a cough as dust was stirred.

Vivian could have been crawling for how low she was stooped. Pushing aside the heavy door, she found her way into the library, straightening her back only long enough to reach up and pluck a book off of a shelf that was a little hard for her to reach. Grabbing a chair, she sat down only a small distance away, now the only person in the entire massive but still cluttered space save for the librarian, who didn't care to even really notice her presence for how quiet she was being. Vivian was a teacher's dream, doing all her work and not uttering a word. Her only fault in that situation would be in inability to answer verbal questions. But if you needed her to, she could fill up 10 parchments on the same subject without batting an eye.

She muffled a sneeze as the dust stirred from her opening the cover of the previously forgotten volumn was carried by the gentle currents of the air into her nostril. Only a minor setback really, and she paused only to peel back the first yellowed page, becoming completely and utterly absorbed in only a matter of seconds. Going... going... gone.

[Orca]

Orca burst into the room, eager to impress the half-demon who followed him.

He yelped in delight as he caught sight of the girl who sat in a swirl of loose papers.

"See, Lanty? I told you I'd find her!"

[Pilantheion]

"That you did," Pilantheion said cooly. He did not doubt the lycan but he was unsure for a moment. Bowing smoothly on oiled hinges Pilantheion introduced himself, " I am Pilantheion A'Mordrhel, and I do believe you are Vivian Pryce," waiting for that confirmation he hoped this was her. Pilantheion had many questions to ask Vivian and he did not want resistance, only honesty. He expected some question in return, but he planned to only leave time for her answers.
Not wanting to seem desperate, though he knew he was he smoothed his black robes over his 6' frame, leaving his black hair to fall around his shoulders, hiding his pointed ears.
His purple eyes held a serious tone and, as always, his voice was eeirly cold, "I have some questions for you, and this seems a good place to ask them", usually up to playing mind games like her brother Andrew, Pilantheion felt he should be forward for lack of time.

[Vivian Pryce]

The words on the pages of the old book had been too interesting for to even notice that two others, both male, had entered the library. She had no way of guessing that they weren't there to read, but to speak to her, a girl that was surely in a predictable place when you considered her personality.

See, Lanty? I told you I'd find her!

Vivian didn't even bother to look up, assuming that there was some other girl hiding away here as well, maybe from those two specifically. There was no conceivable reason that anyone in their right mind would actually want to talk to her, being the dull person she was, and the annoying stutter did her no good either. Some people found it cute and endearing, but Viv was completely clueless as to why. It took her twice as long as anyone else to say something simple, and she was hard to understand besides that.

When her bright blue gaze was finally torn away from the pages of the book, she caught sight of the two boys, one of which she recognised from somewhere. It took her a moment to remember when she'd seen that boy trip and fall in the entrance hall, and she realized that the boy was the lycan she'd meant. She gulped visibly, a ripple running down her neck from peristalsis. She couldn't imagine why either of them would be looking for her, of all people. She'd done nothing wrong to either of them, and they had no real relationship to her beyond complete stranger on one count and aquaintence on the other.

When the boy introduced himself as Pilantheion, she took note of the name, judging that she might have to remember it in the future. However, the deliberate mental process of committing the name to memory was interrupted by the realization that he'd known her name somehow. The expression on her face was shocked and scared, and she let the book fall, inwardly cursing as she lost the page and where she'd last scanned over the faded print.

"Qu-questions?" she stammered out with fear plain in her tone and facial expression. Nervously she clasped at the wand in her left pocket, her palm fitting perfectly around the handle. "H-How d-do you know who I-I-I am?" Vivian asked, backtracking a moment in the conversation, trying to figure out what was going on. There was no reason at all for them to even know her name, no reason for them to be here. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? Wasn't it plain enough that was what she wanted?

"Wh-what k-kind of questions?" Her voice was soft and shaky, obviously still reeling from the surprise of them coming to find her, and her fear of people in general. People were rotten horrid creatures that wanted nothing more than to get what they wanted. Vivian was the kind of person that they stepped on to realize their dreams.

[Pilantheion]

Resorting to the tactics he had used before ever hearing of MH Pilantheion pressed his advantage. Wary of the hand in her pocket Pilantheion brushed his wand that was concealed by a small charm he had picked up to check that he was ready, just in case.
He had her off-balance, now to asure her and switch directions completely.
"Milady, calm yourself." Pilantheions voice was still ice but had also gained a smooth quality, "You are one of the Pryces, famed throughout the magical world, I am glad we've finally met." Gaining back his urge to play those mind games he loved so well, he pulled her in two different directions, hopefully it would work.
"I'm sorry there is no more time to answer your questions." A simple statement
" Recently I was introduced to your brother Andrew, I was wondering if you would be able to tell me, as his sister, why he really moved from durmstrang and I do suggest you keep honest," knowing he was treading dangerous ground, being so direct he prepared himself mentally and physically, in case she lashed out. Pilantheion knew that being as he had just come here, he was not as skilled in charms and the like as the ravenclaw before him, and as he thought about it, if she decided to become agressive, he would only have his natural talents to fight back with.
Even with all this he was unworried.
"as you think on what you are going to tell me concerning your brother, why don't you also think about what you are going to tell me about your home-life, no lies girl, and your reasons for coming to MH as opposed to Durmstrang like your brother," his voice chilled as winter frost, his words steel, he adopted a commanding stance, shoulders back head high with an arrogant air that he had seen so often from people like Vivian. Proud and so self-confident that someone could be hexing them and they would laugh. He was biting back his old memories of when people like this would make fun of him and beat him because of his looks, 'he's a demon', some would say, 'ohhh a dark elf, fairie kin' others would say.
'No,' he thought 'keep on task you might be getting somewhere'.

[Vivian Pryce]

Seperate yourself. Believe the lie. Believe it is true and no one will tell the difference.

Vivian was a horrid liar for the most part, but in her own mind she'd woven such a delicate tapestry of lies that it felt so close to being entirely true. There was an excuse for everything, an explanation for any action, a loophole, a way out. There was no way of telling whether it was truth or fiction that she was saying because in this instance, falseness was instinctive and she knew no other way to respond to questioning. Andrew was a lovely boy and a great brother who transferred from Durmstrang to be with her. That was her story and she was sticking to it. In a way, the latter part was more truth than fiction, in some strange way.

The compliments on her bloodline rolled right over her, and she payed little heed other than a muttered, "Thank you," though she really hadn't had much part in making herself a part of it. Taking a breath, any nervousness in her face and speech could be explained by her fear of people, and not by the fact that she was lying. Acting normal was a tough act to maintain really. There was always a chance of sounding too nervous, and of course, there was a chance of sounding too calm as well. Both were equally suspicious, really, and she wanted to avoid having anything she said questioned further.

"I-I suppose he tr-tr-transferred to b-be here with hhhhis s-s-sister. I-I-I'm closer in age t-to him than-than any other ssssibling." Viv looked a little calmer as a normal person would after things settled to a sort of question and answer situation. She removed her hand from her wand and exhaled a shaky breath like she would normally, stooping and making herself look a little shorter than she was. Her expression looked a little hurt at the cold questioning, and and as most would assume, at his assumption that she would lie. Why would Vivian lie about anything? Pryces were, for the most part, quite perfect, and it was doubtful that life at home was anything other than lovely.

"W-w-well..." she began, her gaze shifting to Pilantheion carefully, look frightened like she always did. "I-I-I hhhave six siblings and-and I-I live in the f-family manor w-w-with my m-mum and dad. W-we have p-parties and g-g-go on vacations and-and excursions, and my p-parents work f-for the ministry." That was about as well as she felt she had to sum up things at home, painting the picture that she lived a privelidged life and the expense of mummy and daddy and all their wealth. She could be adorned in flashy diamonds and precious stones, and she knew that monetarily her life was worth more than most students in this school. If her parents were to pass on, after a couple years Viv would be the only one with enough sense to have any money left.