The Tattered Page (Cari/Klaus)

[Cari Saer]

"I'm telling you, Sam...it's a billion Galleon idea!"

Cari lay on her stomach in front of the bookstore's fireplace, a thick wool hat atop her flaxen hair and a long coat draped over her body as she looked up at the elderly man through the corner of her eyes and a smile spread her lips into a glittering, charming flash that caused the older man to laugh.

"Cari! I don't get enough muggle-borns in the store to stock up on comic books. It would be a business breaker!"

There was an audible groan as Cari pulled herself up from the ground, satisfied with as warm as she'd gotten for the moment and she pulled off the giant coat, only to show a white button down shirt, a blue striped tie, a black pleated skirt that fell a bit above the knee and knee high socks and black mary janes donned shapely legs. Her weight shifted to one hip and she pouted with a glossy lower lip puckering far out.

"But, but, but...Saaaaaam! I miss my comic books! I can't try to read these ones with the pictures all moving and stuff!" She whined slightly, clasping her cap and pulling it down over her face and off her head. Tied in her blonde hair was a brilliant blue ribbon, very wide to cover most of the top of her head. "It exasperates my little attention problem."

Okay, so it wasn't such a little attention problem. Every little movement out of the corner of her eye freaked her WAY out.

Sam laughed and came out from behind the sales counter and hugged her (still pouting) form before looking at her, "Ohhh, alright. I'll get you some comics. If you find some friends that want some, you can share them. If we get enough people wanting them, I will go to muggle London and bring some back to be sold. How's that?"

The ribbon slid and a pair of black feline ears shot up excitedly as her blue eyes widened, "Really?! You promise?! Ohh thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" She jumped up and hugged the man with a low rumble coming from her chest that could have been pegged for purring.

Someone came in the door and she adjusted the ribbon quickly, turning red as the young man's eyes turned to her. "Uhm...hi! Welcome to the Tattered Page. I'm Cari, let me know if you need anything." The young man smiled, eyes trailing at the bust beneath the button down shirt and the narrow waist where the skirt rested first before saying he was looking for Astrology help. "Oh, then you'll want to go in the first aisle on your right there and look at the third shelf from the top." He went there as Sam went behind the counter and prepared for a sale.

He worried about Cari at times. The girl was too kind for her own good, and most people were interested in her until her differences made themselves known. After that, she would hide in the upstairs apartment for nearly a week before she would come back down, ears drooping, and even her tail would drag on the steps behind her.

What? Tail? Have I lost my mind? No, dear reader. Cari, was permanently stuck on her way to an animagus form. Sam promised the sad girl when she arrived right after the school year ended last year that he would give her a safe place to stay. She seemed happy here, and she'd read nearly every book from cover to cover, but he knew from having daughters that she craved attention from people her own age. It would work fine, if the tail and ears wouldn't chase them off.

He watched her watching the young man that had entered. Oh, Merlin's beard, he'd never seen someone who was so shy in all his years. As the young man approached, he also noticed the young man's unwavering attention on Cari. That was something that he never could get over, the way that the young men stared at her. Didn't she deserve better than that? Sam watched as the young man started speaking to her and she bit her lip and giggled, shifting her weight again. And then...it happened. Her tail slowly swayed out from beneath her skirt's waistband and swayed slowly out from behind her. The man caught glimpse of it and looked down to see the cat, then cautiously moved around her and noticed its origin and panicked, rushing toward the counter, paying, and leaving promptly.

Cari took in a deep breath as Sam approached her carefully. "What comic books do you want, honey?"

For a moment, she appeared to be thinking. "Asterix...The Avengers...Captain America...X-Men...and if you find any manga...that'll be great, Sam...thank you." Her tail drooped and she snatched the ribbon from her hair as her ears lowered.

"You'll have them in the morning, sweetheart. Don't worry...you've always got me and those nice Hogwarts kids that you tutor."

She chuckled softly, "Yes, that's true. I just...nah...I don't wish for anything. I've got all I need here with you, Sam. Just wish I had someone else to talk to. Another friend."

[Klaus Audley]

As if it were destiny, another nerd came into the bookstore. He had a few things that he wanted to look for. Some were from school, some were just for casual reading. He had lately become more interested in Transfiguration than usual, and he had already gone through his textbooks. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for but he knew that he hadn't found it yet.

And there was always the matter of reading material for the times he was in the common room by himself. That happened more often than he wanted to admit, since most people had more engaging social lives than he did, and he was low on books that he hadn't read. In fact, quite a few of the ones that were in his dorm were tattered at the edges from being read so many times. Maybe he would get something on mythology. He wished sometimes that he could go to the muggle bookstores, too, since they stocked completely different things. Not necessarily more interesting, but it would be variety.

He missed comic books, or their compiled form of graphic novels, and he missed the charming way that muggles wrote about magic. They weren't usually very close, but that was the fun of it. It was the magic that he knew before he ever guessed that he was a wizard. It was more the way that he and his twin sister used to play pretend...

He glanced around at the wares, then looked around for an employee. He was somewhat timid about speaking mostly because he was hassled at times by people from other houses when he came to places like this. Sure, he was a nerd even though they were here to find him.

“Hey, uhm... Where do you guys keep the books on Transfiguration?”

[/color] he asked to no one in particular.

He spotted Cari but he wasn't sure that she worked here. He lowered his eyes in something like shyness. Lately, he had bombed when it came to flirting with girls. Actually, for the past ten years he had been failing at that. Besides, she was way out of his league, and he was probably too young for her. That was the story of his life.

“I-I mean, you know... For school.”[/color] It wasn't going to be impressive to say that he just wanted to learn something to learn it. Sometimes he wondered how he was a Hufflepuff instead of a Ravenclaw. Quite nervously he played with the strap of his backpack (yes, he carried a backpack through Hogsmeade) which happened to have patches of Marvel characters on them.
[/blockquote]

[Cari Saer]

Cari heard the voice speak up and turned to look at the boy that spoke with a soft, yet genuine smile. "Transfiguration is my subject. What sort of book are you looking for? Techniques? Certain spells?" She blushed, shifting her weight again. "Sorry...I mean...they are located in the book shelf just to the right of the books on gnomes. You know...because turning one into a toy car or something would just be hilarious." Wow...time to shut up, Cari.

She blushed furiously and bit the inside of her cheek, causing her tail to whip out from behind her. She took a breath and smiled again...until she saw the Marvel patches.

Her eyes widened in recognition and then she blurted, "Please tell me you like comics...manga...graphic novels...anything like that. I've been trying for months to get Sam to go to muggle London and get some to sell." As she listed the items, her tail whipped back and forth behind her, pausing with each verbal pause until the next word was said before moving again, as if emphasis were needed. Her ears had perked from the length of her hair and her eyes were genuinely excited.

In that moment she felt the brush of her own tail and blanched, "Oh...Merlin's bloody balls....I'm so sorry....I just got excited for a minute there. You're the first person I've seen with patches like that in...8 years!"

[Klaus Audley]

Klaus hadn't really expected to be answered in such a thorough way, so he looked uncertain for a moment. “Uhm... Well, kind of more complex spells, you know. I don't know exactly what I'm going for, but turning a gnome into a toy car would be a start. But... Where are the books on gnomes?”

[/color] He laughed a little bit at his own stupidity. Can't beat 'em, might as well join 'em, and he'd been laughing at himself for years.

He noticed her tail and was rather intrigued. He was a muggleborn, so he assumed that there were still things in the wizarding world that he didn't know existed. He didn't realize that it was a Transfiguration error; he thought that she was a type of creature that he had never seen before, or heard about. There must be so many of them in the wizarding world, after all. He looked down at his bag when she did.

“W-well, I do like comics, and I like manga, too.”[/color] He looked almost afraid to hope. Girls never brought this subject up with him. If it happened to come up it was usually because he had the comics in class and they were interested by the way that the pictures didn't move. That was almost always it, with few exceptions. He looked at the owner. “I think that would be great! I've been missing getting those things in the muggle world, especially since I know that the stories keep going and I can't keep up with them. I have comic reading marathons over the summer, but then I'm left wanting to know what happens and I can't find out until the next year. I would be here every chance that I got! Really!” [/color]

His face was a little bit red. Despite the tail, Cari was an attractive girl, and he wasn't sure what to say to her. Especially if she was some kind of non-human. He'd never met one of those... “M-My name is Klaus Audley, by the way...”[/color][/blockquote]

[Cari Saer]

Cari smiled triumphantly, "Thank goodness. I'm dying without some comics in here. My parents can't exactly send them to me in the mail here." She smiled as he introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you, Klaus. I'm Celestine Saer, but everybody and their brother calls me, Cari. I graduated Hogwarts last year from Ravenclaw." She looked slightly upward at him and just then the feline ears atop her head flicked to catch the sounds behind her on the sidewalk outside. Just more students walking by.

"I do work here, and live in the apartment above. Not exactly by choice, mind you. I'm a muggleborn, actually...and uh....I don't know why I feel inclined to tell you all this stuff. I'm sorry. You're the first person aside from Sam, the owner, that hasn't run screaming from the tail." With that, Sam came out from behind the counter and draped an arm around the girl's shoulders. That gesture alone made her purr audibly.

"Cari is also the Transfiguration and Charms tutor, but she can't go onto the grounds of the school because of her tail and ears. Those actually came from her attempting an animagus form without the proper training and knowledge. It took her months to regain her ability to speak like a human again. Since she showed up back here, she's been the best helper I could have asked for."

Cari giggled softly, "I think I'd be too scared to go back onto the grounds. Headmistress would be so disappointed in me! I was supposed to start training to be the Transfiguration professor, but after this mess...yeah no...I couldn't face people. They just stare...or point...or run away without me getting the chance to explain that I was not born this way." A reflection of light on the wall made her eyes widen and her head snap to look at it intently, but the more still it remained, the more her interest waned until she looked back. Once she realized he was still there, she blushed darkly. "I'm...so sorry. Some of my behaviors can't be trained out. I'm so jumpy!"

Sam laughed, "You said you were looking for complex Transfiguration spells? Cari is a whiz at Transfiguration, and she can teach you things that you couldn't find in any book that I'm technically allowed to carry."

It didn't take long for Cari's attention to come back and she smiled shyly, "That...is...if you'd want me to. I wouldn't charge anything for you. Since...you...didn't just run away from me." And again with the blushing, if she could hide behind those ears of hers, she would. "Plus, if you like comics as much as I do...Sam is going to get me some. I'll be happy to share." Her toe pressed to the ground and she looked down with her face burning as red as a Gryffindor's Quidditch uniform.

Sensing her bashfulness reaching a peak, Sam reached behind the counter and pulled out a plush figurine that obviously had seen some time and she grabbed it quickly and buried her face into the back. Sam laughed softly, "Even before the accident, Cari was always more interested in reading and books than in social interaction. She gets very shy very quickly. Excuse me, customer." The older man went off to assist someone who had just walked in and Cari looked up before ducking instinctively in between the shelves to not be seen with her plushie. "Erm...what was it you were wanting to learn?"

[Klaus Audley]

Klaus nodded, gaining enthusiasm since most people didn't understand the problems that he went through. “I know! I asked my parents to send me some things, but they don't like using the owl post so they just won't do it. And besides, it's not like they would want to be sending me something every week... They have jobs and everything.”[/color] He knew that he was making quite a show of his nerdy side, but he didn't care. Finally, he had found a kindred soul!

He listened quietly, though he was having a hard time of it. He wished that they could both talk and listen at the same time, that was how badly he wanted to get things off his chest. “We would have been in school at the same time! How did I not know that there was another comic fan there... Well, you were in Ravenclaw. I'm a Hufflepuff, and those houses don't seem to mix as much as some of them...”[/color] That was a shame! He wished that the house system didn't exist. The only people it really benefited were the Slytherins. And, well, sometimes it was good to know who was in Slytherin house before they jinxed you, but... Even that paranoia would have been wiped away by not having the system at all. “I'm Klaus... Oh wait I already said that. You already said that, too...”[/color] Ugh, he always said stupid things like this.

Hearing that she was a muggleborn surprised him a little bit though now he wondered how he didn't question that earlier. Hogwarts didn't let in students that were not human, did they? He waited to speak until Cari and Sam both had about the Transfiguration accident, then he cleared his throat. “Oh, that explains it... No, I don't know why they'd run away or anything like that... I mean, it isn't something that I'm used to seeing, but just looking at your face I know that you're alright.” [/color]What he meant to say was that there was nothing at all to be afraid of.. She was just a nice-looking girl (in personality so far as well as looks actually) who just happened to have a tail. “It's kind of cute, actually... It reminds me of an anime or something like that.”[/color]

He normally wouldn't have said something like that... But it was only because many girls at Hogwarts wouldn't have understood. And because there weren't cat girls at the school... But that wasn't the point. He was more comfortable right now with Cari than any of the girls at school, partly because she was even more timid than him it seemed.

“Besides, some people must not be that bad about it. You have to find work somehow... Right? Or do you do most of your work here?”[/color] That would be a shame if she was a tutor that couldn't get any students. He wondered if he needed the help in that area... The obvious answer was yes. Not because he was failing, but if she could teach him things that he couldn't learn on his own, obviously he was an idiot if he didn't take advantage of the moment. He was about to say so, but then she was suddenly watching something... He looked to see what, but he couldn't tell what had captured her interest. Once she looked back at him and explained, he looked a bit relieved. “That makes sense, I think... What other behaviors do you have?”[/color] He tried not to sound too interested. But it was difficult. It wasn't every day that you got to speak with someone who had this problem. He didn't know where curiosity ended and insensitivity started.

“Huh? O-oh, yeah, right... I was wondering if you could tutor me, actually. I think that I'm pretty good in school in general, but... If it's true that you know more about Transfiguration, I want to learn some, too. But I wouldn't do it without paying you! I might have to demand a refund if anything goes wrong.”[/color] He had meant to just tease her in a playful manner but he realized after that it sounded like a jab at her for having messed up. He wished he could kick himself, or go back in time and change that, or something. “Uh, I mean... I didn't mean that to come out like it did. I'm just... not good at talking to people.”[/color]

The idea of sharing comics made Klaus blush a little, though there was no reason for that! He was grateful for it though. “R-really? I bet it would be easier to send things through the owl post to Hogsmeade... I can share some of my old ones, too, even if you've already read them before. That would be nice.” [/color]

He thought it was adorable that she had a plushie of Cap. He wondered if it was rude to say that... Yes. Yes. It would be. “Thanks,”[/color] he said to Sam as he went back to his business. Thanking him for, more than anything, running the shop that led him to this new potential friend. He smiled at Cari, trying to summon more courage so that he wouldn't make the apparent awkwardness that she felt worse.

“Actually, I wasn't sure what I wanted to learn. Do you have any recommendations? I was just thinking of trying something new, but... There are a lot of things that it could be.”[/color] He laughed easily. “It sounds like we have a lot in common, though... Today's one of my good days. People don't always listen to me this long.”[/color]

[Cari Saer]

"Yes, I wound up in so many classes with every other house that it was insane. I remember seeing you around a few times, though you may not have seen me." She giggled slightly and let her tail curl around her waist gently, "You know, that is one reason that I always get so confused when people go running. It's not like I look like an evil villain! I'm not even on a Catwoman scale! I'm more on a...Chii scale." Oh, wasn't she showing her colors? She bit her lip fiercely before he had continued about the Transfiguration lessons.

"If you must pay, She was more sure of his teasing this time and teased back, a little more confident with the safety of Cap, "I'll base it off what we go over." The smile on her face was much easier than before and it made her ease up to feel like they could communicate so easily.

"Let's see, useful Transfigurations. What do I wish I had known sooner?" She let her eyes drift upward in thought and her lip found its way back into her teeth as those feline ears twisted to hear Sam talking to the next customer that had made a purchase. "The class teaches you to turn teapots into pocket watches, and straw into needles, but that's not real useful is it? Well, it's not real fun anyway. We could start off small, and work our way up. Oh! I have an idea!" Her face lit up in an instant, "I could teach you how to Transfigure things like Cap here to become alive. If you have anything like him, like action figures or something, you could have real time Avengers battles in the dorm on a miniature scale. If you have plush guys like this, they cause no damage to the surroundings. Action figures get...a bit rougher since they're solid."

Now, the idea was even exciting on this one, she'd been dying for a little fun for weeks! "They could even protect you if you wanted, though I would recommend the action figure for that one. I did that one once, actually. Some Slytherin boy was teasing me about a shirt I have with the insignia of The Flash...imagine his surprise when The Flash came flying out of my backpack and gripped the ankle of his pants and took off down the corridor." That had been hilarious!

[Klaus Audley]

Klaus felt a little bit embarrassed. “I don't know how I wouldn't remember you, but... Well, I did go through a time when I didn't really want to look at anyone. You know... Not everyone is as accepting of the nerds as you seem to be.”

[/color] He laughed at that. He was thought of as strange for liking comic books, which he didn't really understand why since a lot of people liked to read books. They were just thinner books with more pictures. He thought that would appeal to the morons. Apparently not. “O-oh, well... Catwoman is cool. But Chii is just adorable.”[/color] As if she had compared how they were attractive...
“That sounds like a deal,”[/color] Klaus said with a smile. He felt better about paying, and it sounded like she was going to be fair about it. Honestly, he wasn't sure that he cared if she ripped him off since she was tolerating his nerdiness and everything. He could deal with a lot of things as long as there was that. He waited calmly as Cari seemed to be thinking over what she could teach him.

He never imagined that he would hear the next words. Never... It was like he had fallen into another universe where Klaus Audley could more easily make friends, and cat girls existed, and... and toys could be animated to life! “R-really? You could teach me that? Really?”[/color] He stood there blankly for a second, and then it all came out at once.

“I didn't know that you could really do that! I thought about it when I first found out that I was a wizard, but I didn't know that it could really happen! I have this set of uhm, Lord of the Rings action figures. And I always wanted to make them move, and play out the fights and everything that happen. That would be great! Or, you know, like you said, have them attack people that pick on other kids! How do you get them to have their personalities even a little bit? Is that possible? How does it work?”[/color]

He was almost bouncing on his feet with enthusiasm. And his voice had even gotten higher with each thing that he said.
[/blockquote]

[Cari Saer]

So he spent a couple years looking down at the ground? Cari could understand that sentiment! "You know, when I started at Hogwarts, I was a classic nerd and a gamer girl to boot. I stuck out so badly that I might was well been green! Then when I got older and well...developed...I stood out for other reasons." Hence the reason Cari Saer never had a boyfriend. If no one wanted her when she was herself, well, to heck with them then.

"I love Lord of the Rings. Here! I'll show you. Back here though, so no one sees." Quickly, she grabbed his hand and brought him to the back room of the bookstore. It looked like one of the sitting alcoves of a Barnes and Noble store with overstuffed leather chairs and tables and also a desk covered in strips of parchment. "Pardon the desk, no one here has ever heard of a bloody Post-it and I can't go to London. I can't even go to the castle..." She frowned slightly as the feeling of being a side show attraction came over her again.

"Anyway!" She realized she was still holding onto him and her face burned as she let him go hastily. "Animation magic! And then mimicry. Animation can make them move on their own accord, but mimicry is considerably trickier. That entails developing their personality and their movement types." She drew out her wand and flicked it strongly, "Accio Legolas." The action figure floated toward them effortlessly before standing upright on the table. Cari sat down and eagerly patted the couch beside her.

"First, he has to move on his own. That can be done by this simple charm. Piertotum Locomotor!" With the flick of her wand a silvery spark shot at Legolas and he walked across the table, knees even bending. "The trick with this, is not to confuse it with locomotor mortis. That is a knee locker. And it won't work on him, it would likely backfire and hit you! We don't want that!" She took that charm away and smiled, "You want to try?"

[Klaus Audley]

“Yeah, it's hard enough being a nerd in the muggle world. In the wizarding world, no one understands your references or anything like that. Oh wait...”

[/color] Klaus paused, because now that he thought about it, most people didn't understand the references that he made in the muggle world, either. And if they did, then... that was only more reason for mockery. Then he thought more about her words... 'other reasons'.... And his face went a bit red. “W-well... I wish that I had known you while you were in school. Even... before that. Actually... Preferably before that, because I'm nervous... around pretty girls like you.” [/color]

He felt as though his face caught fire when Cari took him by the hand to lead him to the back. Most girls kind of... avoided contact with him, but then, so did most people in general. This place was like heaven for people like him! He'd rather do homework here than in the common room, where people liked to make out and talk about each others' dating partners. Klaus actually did have some post-it notes back at the school that he used to mark the pages he needed to read for homework, but he forgot to mention that. He forgot, because she was still holding onto him, and thoughts about the room's décor was about all that he could summon.

When she let go of his hand, the world came back into focus. There was something that he was going to tell her about a moment ago, but he forgot.

Klaus listened intently as she explained how it was done. It was hard to be in the moment when he could almost imagine the action figures at war. He sat down beside her (not without a dorky awkward smile) and then looked at the action figure as suddenly, he started to walk across the table. He accidentally let out a curse word in surprise and looked at her hastily. “Err, sorry, I don't usually talk that way, it's just... He's really moving!” [/color]It shouldn't have been such a surprise, going to a school where books could even move on their own.

When she removed the charm and smiled at him, he felt his stomach squirm (somehow, not in an unpleasant way) but he took his wand out and looked back at the figure. “Okay... Pi-Pielurtum... I mean uh... Piero... Piertotum Locomotor!”[/color] He finally got the words right, and said them with the proper enthusiasm. Still, he did feel stupid for having messed up so much. He blamed her pretty smile.

He didn't worry about it for long, though, since now the spell seemed to be working! “Hey! I did it! I mean... eventually. That's amazing! Thank you!”[/color][/blockquote]

[Cari Saer]

Pretty?

Hold it! Did he just say he thought she was pretty? For a second she was surprised, albeit pleasantly, but it made her turn pink as ever. Well! You learn something new every day! Blue eyes blinked in shock, but she smiled shyly and felt a horrible case of the giggles building up in her stomach and finally erupting through her lips...at the worst time. It didn't come until after he'd casted the spell. Oh...quick! Remedy that!

"Yes! Yes you did do it! And you don't have to worry about your language around me. I've heard some doozys and not to mention, the first time someone pulled my tail...I was a sailor for about 30 seconds. Oh, Sam blushed." What could she say?! That really hurt!!

Back to the lesson at hand. She smiled and took a deep breath for a second to slow her thoughts so that she could focus well enough to continue. "Okay, his personality is tricky. You need to focus on how you want him to behave in your mind. He has to have all your focus. The first time I did this...I got it about half right. It started acting like Edward Andrews in about three seconds though because he started talking to me when I was casting. That was slightly embarrassing! He just ran up to someone's cat and started fawning all over it. If I could have disappeared into the stones, I would have!"

Her wand pointed at his moving Legolas and she seemed deep in thought before her wand flicked sharply at him and the Legolas stopped moving, blinked, then pointed upward with horror, shrieking, "Crebain from Dunland!!" And diving under one of the pillows on the couch. This, she could not help but laugh at and lifted the pillow. "You're alright, Legolas." He climbed up onto her hand and looked shiftily around, "What fresh hell is this?!" She chuckled softly and shook her head.

"I can sometimes do this too well and he gets a little spooked. But, I'm sure you can do this just- Ow! Hey! No arrows for you!" She looked down at the tiny arrow in her palm as Legolas was stealthily running about, trying to quell this new foe. "Alright you, give me those." She carefully took his bow in between her fingers and set it back on the table. He tried to jump after it, only to be caught. "They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard!" "We know, Legolas."

She looked at Klaus and waved her wand quickly, promptly silencing the action figure again. "Well...maybe we should start with someone a little less...jumpy. How about Gandalf? He's usually more relaxed until you start animating orcs." Oh, dear Merlin, she was being a serious nerd here. She hopped up and pulled from the desk, a figurine of Gandalf the Grey and set him on the table before curling back onto the couch with her cheek just slightly resting on his shoulder as a rumble of a purr escaped her lips before she said, "Okay, now, try making him move again. I have all the faith in the world that you can do this." Her ears flicked slightly as her tail wound relaxed around her waist as she looked up at him. This was exciting and he seemed to be enjoying this as much as she was!

[Klaus Audley]

Klaus honestly wasn't sure what Cari thought was funny about it, so he looked between the Legolas figure and Cari for a second, trying to decide if he could see what it was. Probably his swearing. His face went a little red but he couldn't help but laugh either. She was so cute, even if he'd made a fool of himself he didn't care that much.

Although it seemed contradictory to what he thought she was laughing at, he was relieved that he wasn't the only occasional potty mouth. Somehow, though, he couldn't imagine Cari swearing for any reason at all. She just looked so innocent somehow... He thought that saying so wouldn't endear him to her, so he said nothing.

He watched with a smirk on his face when the Legolas started to say his lines from the Lord of the Rings. He didn't expect that, for some reason. Though it probably had to do with what thought and focus Cari put forward. He laughed when Legolas apparently shot an arrow (though he did wonder at the time if he should be laughing, since Cari was obviously hurt). “So I guess that it really would work to have an army of action figures fight the battle against your foes,”

[/color]he said with a cheerful tone. “Although, it's no good if you get caught in the crossfire. Be careful, okay?”[/color]

For some reason, Klaus was a bit more intimidated by Gandalf than Legolas. Perhaps because he could imagine that the old wizard would use his magic against them, and might try to set them on fire or something like that. He cleared his throat, all nerves, and nodded once. He didn't know if she meant that he should add in the personality or not, or just make Gandalf move. In the end, he figured he should stick to basics first. Since he had messed it up so badly the first time.

He cleared his throat and cast the animating spell again. Of course, Gandalf was just basically walking about again. “S-s-so... How do I give him personality? Or do you think that's better left up to you?”[/color] He didn't recall the incantation. Was there one? Plus, he was still a little intimidated by the action figure. Better Gandalf than Saruman, but... He looked at her, seeing the ears flick, and remembered again about her Transfiguration accident. It was weird how easy that was for him to forget about, considering how strange it had seemed at first.[/blockquote]

[Cari Saer]

The arrow left scarcely a prick in her palm, but she rubbed her palm quickly on her arm. Blasted thing was just like a ruddy papercut. "The crossfire can't really hurt you. Their size really...makes it difficult for them to do any real damage. Except for Gimli. That axe is bloody beastly and he loves to use it! Best to have him and Legolas at the same time. They get caught up in competing, but you need to be ure to have something for them to attack before they start thinking that you're a bloody uruk hai."

Little jerks!

Oh! She blinked slightly, "There isn't an incantation to fine tune personality, love. You just need to remember how they acted in the movies when you cast." She smiled softly. That should be explained better.

"Like, Gandalf. If I wanted him to be in total beast mode, I'd put my mind in the scene where he fights the balrog. If I just wanted conversation, I would put him in the beginning where he was setting off fireworks in the Shire. But, as I said, the relative size of him...if he 'shall not pass'ed on the table, all he'd do it send an itty bitty wood chip flying. Gimli...he'll give you paper cuts. Lego-jerk over there is like an annoying pin prick." She giggled softly. "I should have been more careful when I adjusted his personality. That's what I did. My mind was a little...uhm...distracted when I did it the first time. That second flick was to correct my mistake. Else he would have been actinglikeyou." That last bit was rushed, shall we try that again?

She turned pink and giggled softly, "My mind is scattered today. Let me try to explain that better. When you cast the animation charm, make sure you know how you want him to act. You could have him roller skating around the table in a tutu, singing 'I'm a Little Tea Pot' if you wanted. Not really battle worthy, unless you're killing someone with laughter."

A little figure of Chii sat on her table and she looked at her, pointing her wand at it and saying, "Piertotum Locomotor!" Chii stumbled slightly and gripped her skirt bashfully, twisting in little motions as her head tilted slightly, ears flickering. In that moment she looked like Cari. Quietly, she skipped around on the table with a big grin, before looking up at Klaus with big eyes and giggling softly as red crept up on her little face. "You really think I'm pretty?!"

"No! No! Shush!" She flicked her wand almost immediately and felt her cheeks burning brightly. Oh! Watch what you're thinking when you cast!

[Klaus Audley]

“W-well, it does make sense that they would want to attack us, given the fact that we probably look like... well, giants of some sort. Something that they've never seen before. I wouldn't blame them for attacking...”

[/color] Klaus felt stupid using that logic, since he was not talking about miniature people. He was talking about toys, and explaining their motives. Boy, he felt like a nerd. Not that he wasn't one.

He frowned a little bit when she explained that there wasn't a separate incantation. And he realized how very lucky he was. He had been thinking of the scary Gandalf when he'd done the spell. The fact that he seemed to have failed was actually a good thing in this case. But at the same time, he was wondering what about the way he cast it was wrong. It should have worked, but it didn't. Why? He was sure that Cari would be able to point it out eventually.

“Or else he would have been what?”[/color] Klaus asked, not sure if he had heard her right. But fortunately for Cari, Klaus was distracted by her explanation. “Ohh, okay... That makes sense. So if I wanted to have nice Gandalf, I'd have to be thinking about the Gandalf that wants to drink tea and smoke, not the Gandalf that wants to destroy the balrog.”[/color] He nodded to his own words as though that would help him to remember, then he smiled at Cari. She was a good teacher, whatever mishaps she'd had along the way. Somehow it was reassuring that she still made mistakes. McGonagall was a good teacher, but sometimes Klaus thought that she had been a teacher long enough to forget how it was to be a student.

When she animated a Chii figure, Klaus practically could have cooed at it. It wasn't very manly, but he'd always thought that Chii was adorable. And she was kind of the perfect sort of girl to Klaus. Innocent, and cute, but with something more under the surface. It probably said something about him that he thought that way of an anime robot, but... well, he wasn't good with girls. Cari was different. She was different on her own, and different in the way that she made Klaus feel. He had these thoughts in mind when suddenly, the toy asked him if he really thought she was pretty. That basically made him stare with an open mouth. Did she somehow know what he was thinking? Or... why would she say that? What was going on?

“C-Cari, what was that about? Why did she just ask me that? I mean, I was thinking about... something else, and she... W-well, nevermind. It must have just been some random fluke. Hahah...”[/color] He quickly distracted himself and hopefully Cari by flicking his wand and hopefully, adjusting Gandalf's personality. He waited for the proper reaction, and when Gandalf bowed his head a bit and said “Just tea, thank you,” Klaus knew that he'd done it. Only because that line was basically stuck in his head ever since he mentioned Gandalf and tea in the same sentence. “Wow. I never thought that I would see Chii and Gandalf in the same place.” He looked at Cari and smiled somewhat awkwardly. “Thanks. But... Maybe we should stop for today. Do you want to go get something to drink?”[/color] Smooth! [/blockquote]

[Cari Saer]

"Err...Chii was...well, she was animated to act like me for a second, and she just loves to blurt what...what I'm thinking." Anyone order a ultra blush? She didn't know she could turn so red! Gandalf was looking content as ever and she had so hurriedly waved her wand on Chii that the whole charm was gone. "And once she starts talking, she doesn't shut up...kinda like me. It's kind of a nervous tick."

Did...did he just ask her if she wanted to go get a drink?

"A drink? You mean with you?" Where any other girl in the wizarding world would have emphasized the 'you' in that statement, Cari found herself emphasizing the 'with'. She was shocked that anyone would want to be seen with her, really. "I would like that very much, actually, Klaus. Thank you." She smiled, blushing still, but getting off the couch as quickly as she was able to put her wand away.

"Do you know where you would like to go?"