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Mariel raised a speculative eyebrow at the edgy professors upon their notice of the wolf. Surely they knew that they worked with an animagus? Unless it wasn't an animagus after all... but no, she had been correct in her assumption, she noticed, as the animal transformed into a woman. Emitting a low chuckle at the situation, Mariel offered her peer a friendly smile as she took in her appearance. The woman looked slightly familiar to Mariel as well as the name, she thought, as she heard it. But she couldn't quite place her... "Mariel Petrova, pleasure to meet you," she returned the introduction in kind.
Upon the Headmistress' prompting, Mariel returned to her dinner. She was far too hungry to let the feast disappear before she had her fill. The young woman took a few bites of roast beef, then looked up from her plate just in time to see yet another member of the staff approaching the table. She gave him a friendly smile and polite nod before turning back to the last few bites of her meal.
Syndil smiled up and down the table and found a friendly face. Walking around the table she sat down next to the woman who introduced herself as Mariel Petrova. Looking over the fair she picked out a few choice things and began eating. She watched a few of the students and kept an eye on her fellow staff members.
Looking over at her neighbor she noticed her watching a male enter the Hall and take a seat at the Staff Table. "He's rather handsome isn't he?" She smiled listlessly and took another bite of food. "You'll forgive me but you seem familiar. Have we ever met?"
A soft smile flickering on her lips as chatter began again around her. Poor Eva didn't seem to be faring well at the moment still, but at least had started to eat. Glancing at her plate as Warren spoke again she realized she still hadn't even placed anything but the potatoes on it. Thankful the plates at least kept the food warm til it was eaten, she reached for some corn and a little bit of turkey.
"Might be a good idea, or I'll be good for nothing soon." she replied with a little laugh. Glancing over as who she assumed was the groundskeeper as he moved away from the doorframe and sat down. That left only two that hadn't joined them yet. Hmmm....
Til now I always got by on my own. I never really cared until I met you. alone And now it chills me to the bone. How do I get you?
When a strange acting guy walked into the hall, Eva smiled at him warmly and then put some more food into her mouth, still forcing silence from herself. When an eyebrow was raised, Eva stared straight into her plate. No words, only food. But then would people think she was being unsociable? Guh. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't. Siiigh. Better to say nothing at all than say the wrong thing. Wiping some water away from her face, she sighed softly again. She'd be happy when she could get dried and into bed. She remembered that the beds were cosy back then.
Mariel turned suddenly to Syndil at her observation, then quickly looked away and took another bite of food as a slight tinge of pink crept to her cheeks. Had it been obvious that she had been looking at the man who had just entered? She hoped not because she certainly shouldn't be thinking of any of her colleagues in any way but professionally... even if he was really good looking.
Snapping out of her reverie, Mariel again turned to Syndil at her next question. She thought for a moment before speaking. "You know, I was just thinking the same thing... that you look familiar... but I just can't seem to remember from where." Hmmm, that was odd. She must know her especially if the other woman thought the same thing, but it just wasn't coming to her. Hmmm...
As she buttered her roll, Mariel glanced over at Eva again. The poor woman was still dripping wet! Mariel briefly wondered to herself why the other woman did not perform a drying charm on herself - certainly she was uncomfortable sitting there like that - then figured perhaps she was too flustered to think of it. Inconspicuously, Mariel silently performed the spell to envelop the woman in warm air to dry off, doing her best to not draw any attention to either of them. She didn't want the woman to feel any more embarassed, yet didn't feel right letting her sit at the table still soaked. That being done, Mariel set to finish her dinner and continued to try to remember how she might know Syndil.
Not really paying attention to anyone 'cause everyone was absorbed in their own little conversations, Eva leant back in her chair and looked out at the students. They all seemed happy. Smiling, she crossed her arms and just watched everyone. Suddenly, she was surrounded in warmth. Her smile grew as she glanced along the table and smiled gratefully at whoever had cast the spell. Warming up and drying off because of the warmth, she guessed that whoever cast the spell would think she was silly for not doing it.
But she knew better than to try. When she was having a bad day, she did her best to stay away from performing it as much as possible because she'd leant that anything could go wrong.
Casually stepping into the Great Hall, fully knowledgable that he was technically late to the feast but not particularly worried about it, Adam made his way toward the staff table leisurely. Tucking his wand back into the wrist holster strapped underneath the sleeve of his ubiquitous leather trench coat. He hadn't been able to help the fact that his pre-feast visit to the Hogs Head had taken a bit longer than he thought, for which he was going to blame that part-veela who had chosen tonight to visit. He'd known better than to fully fall under her spell, so presumably she'd had to return without whatever information she might have been sent to Hogsmeade for. Plus, there was the fact he'd witnessed the little broom accident in the lake, after he'd gotten back into the school grounds. He'd given the woman points for managing to extricate herself, but had hung back to perform a few spells to check the security on the castle nonetheless. It never hurt to be prepared, after all.
Not to mention one of his spells had indicated somebody had made quite the entrance, and he scanned the table in amusement before his gaze landed on Syndil. It didn't surprise him that she might have been the culprit, as she'd always had something about her that was intriguing. Of course, he hadn't really spoken to her much the last time they'd worked together, but that didn't mean he hadn't done his homework. "Lovely night," he said then, addressing everyone at the table. "Sorry I'm a bit late. Unavoidable," he added with a rakish grin as he steped around the edge of the table and dropped into one of the open chairs. May as well get what food he could before the feast was over.
Syndil chuckled at the young woman's reaction. She polished off her dinner and sat back to watch the rest of the festivities. A particularly rambunctious little girl with dark hair went running around the Slytherin table laughing at one of her friends. Her eyes went cloudy and her smile turned genuine for a few moments. Sighing she came back to herself and turned to her neighbor.
"How's your sister these days little M?" She couldn't believe she hadn't recognized her best friends little sister. She hadn't talked to Maloria in a few months since they were both incredibly busy. It was ironic that here she was sitting next to her little sister. Syndil quietly observed her gesture toward the Charms mistress and smiled. "Still the little helper aren't we?" She teased lightly.
Movement caught her eye, Syndil spied another late comer. Her smile turned sly. She would know that handsome rake from anywhere. "Why Adam Reynolds, I would have thought you would be out and adventuring right now."
Mariel first furrowed her brow at Syndil's words - trying to remember, then frowned slightly. Of course! She was one of Meloria's friends... but she did not like the implication of being called a little girl. No, she was a grown woman now with a very prestigious job. Maybe she still had to prove herself worthy of the Potions Mistress title, though. Mariel decided to shrug it off for now.
Resuming a pleasant smile, she said, "Oh you know, Meloria... never can stay in one place for very long." Always traveling, usually with a new boyfriend for each locale, Mariel never could quite relate to her flighty sister. "Morocco, last time I spoke to her," she added as she dabbed at her face with her napkin.
Having finished dinner, Mariel could feel the effect of the late night growing heavy on her. Time to retire. "If you'll all excuse me," she said as she rose from the table. "Lessons to plan..." Turning to Syndil before she left, she added, "Nice to see you again, Syndil. Feel free to stop by my office for a chat." It was certainly nice to know someone who worked here also, even if she didn't know her all that well. Made her relax a bit more about the new job. She gave a brief, welcoming smile to the latest latecomer, then headed out the door towards the dungeons.