Good with Directions

The witches and wizards in Whisper Alley were always shady. After all, the area was pretty much devoid of light and there were always odd puddles of who-knows-what, regardless of the weather.

But Serah wasn't afraid. She had befriended nearly all the shopkeepers (except Emilie and Fontaine. They were too...them). They were all very kind. They laughed and treated her like a friend.

The pub in Whisper Alley had the best food and, in her opinion, the best company.

As Serah was chatting with the bartenders, a new student (just an assumption) walked into the pub, looking very lost.

"Hello," Serah called out, with a smile,"Do you need some help?"

Simone didn't plan on wandering into Whisper Alley, but she had taken a wrong turn into the dark, eerie place and didn't know how to find her way back. It was like a scene out of a horror movie, filled with random patched of light and murky water in the crevices. All in all, Simone was terrified. She had self-diagnosed herself with an irrational fear of the dark when she figured out that she couldn't see without light. She wasn't blind or exaggerating, but it was only when it was dark she couldn't see and everything became a dark blob.

She noticed a small light up ahead and made her way towards it, nearly tripping on the street curb. As soon as she entered and smelt the air, she knew it was a pub. "Hello?" Her vision was still returning, but at a painfully slow rate. Another voice called out to her asking if she needed help. "Yes, I do. I cannot see in the dark, and I can't find my way out of this alley. Can you help me find my way out?"

Serah didn't realize that the person she had talked to was so disoriented. Serah rushed over to the girl, cgabbed her hand and sat her in the nearest chair. "Of course I will hep you," Serah answered. "Just sit here for a second. You don't look like you are in any condition to walk."

"Vody,"* Serah called to the bartender.

Water was always a good thing. Maybe the girl was dehydrated. The bartender brought a glass to Serah right away. "Spasibo,"** Serah said.

"Can you tell me who you are?" Serah asked. "Do you know where you are?"

Serah wasn't about to just say, "Lumos" and send the girl on her way. That would be cruel.

Ooc: Water (Russian)* Thanks (Russian)**

The girl in front of her was clearly worried about her, and Simone didn't want her to overreact about anything so she just waved her hand. "I'm fine standing, really." The girl forced Simone into one of the stools nearby, though, and ordered her a water.

"I feel like I should know my saviors name. You speak Russian, so I presume you are from there," Simone said. Her eyesight was gradually clearing up, so she could make out what her rescuer looked like. She had shockingly platinum blonde hair that Simone immediately fell in love with. It made her short brown hair seem so plain.

"I absolutely love your hair," she complimented. "My name is Simone, and I know I am in Whisper Alley. I took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up here, but I also have night blindness and cannot see in the dark.

Serah let out a sigh of relief. "Hi Simone,"she greeted. "My name is Serah. And thank you for the compliment. Your hair is gorgeous! I've always wanted mine short, but my hair is too thin for the style."

Serah was very glad that the girl was regaining consciousness (if that was even the correct term). If she could hold a conversation, that was a good sign.

"I'm not actually Russian. I'm from Estonia and in my city, we speak a mix of several languages. The bartender is Russian, though, so it's just easier," Serah replied.

Recognizing a different language (and correctly identifying it) was an even better sign. Serah offered Simone the glass. "Do you speak Russian?" she asked.

Serah didn't know if the night blindness thing was a joke or not, so Serah just smiled. "Yeah. It's easy to get lost in this area. You aren't the first one to lose their way. The sunlight doesn't quite touch the ground here."

She let out a small laugh at the girl's sigh of relief. Simone didn't want the obviously older girl to panic for her well-being, but it was nice having someone who cared. She didn't even have the slightest idea where her parents were at the moment. They said that they would be walking to somewhere called the Village to relive old memories.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Serah. I'm sure you hair is lovely the way it is," she told her. Her vision was for the most part back, but there were cloudy spots around the edges still. She was proud at her progress in recovering, though. In the past, she would have to lie down and rest for half an hour before she could properly see again.

"Ah, I can hear your accent now. Quite a beautiful one too. I'm from Rome, but my parents believe in me learning the languages of most European countries and a couple others. I'm homeschooled, so honestly, I fear for what might happen at Beauxbatons. I'm assuming you attend, so if I may, how is the school? Is it as glorious as I hear it to be?"

"I know the home school feeling. I was home schooled until last year," Serah said, nodding appreciatively.

"Beauxbatons is really up to interpretation. I really like it. The teachers are great, the food is good, the classes are fun, the kids are, for the most part, easy to get along with. But some people absolutely hate it," Serah replied, shrugging.

"My suggestion is that you shouldn't give up on it. I almost did, but the problems I had didn't last."

"And thanks. Do you speak Italian at home, or French?" Serah asked. She hadn't met any Italian students at Beauxbatons, and Italy was a place that she had never visited before.

"It's honestly very pressuring at times, you know?  Sometimes it becomes kind of... unbearable I dare say. Always having your parents breathing down your neck, and it doesn't help that my parents are Ministry members. L'azione è la chiave fondamentale di ogni successo. Its my family motto. Means 'Action is foundational key to all success'. Strive for perfection and all that," Simone told her.

"I've realized that most problems are just building blocks to greatness, I guess. You've got to use the outcome and make something better out of it." It seemed like sound logic to her when she had come up with it, so she went with it. "Mostly Italian, but sometimes my parents will try to confuse me and switch languages. Sometimes it's French, sometimes it's German, even Russian."

"My dad gives me a lot of freedom. He's more of a hands-off-parent. My mother passed away when I was young, and I'm an only child. So no one breathes down my neck."

"Exactly!" Serah agreed. "I wish I had known that last year. I just sat and wallowed the whole time. And the entire time, I missed out on a ton of experiences at Beauxbatons because I was moping. Seriously. Wait it out. And encourage others to do the same. That's my goal this year."

"Ugh! I hate when my dad switches languages on me! He tries to get me to speak English more often, but I am terrible at it," Serah said, shaking her head. "English is his native language, unfortunately."