Well, would you look at that. No one was in line for the food trolley, so it was Curtis' lucky day. His change jingled in his pocket as he strutted over to the front. That's right, he was loaded. His daddy finally decided it was time to pay him for helping out with the Dog daycare.

Anyway, he looked at the items. He wasn't in the mood for beans, so he picked some Drooble's bubble gum for the feast. Cauldron cakes and.... did he really want chocolate frogs too? He pondered for a moment on that.

After hanging out in her compartment for a little while with her new friend Quinn, Eden decided it was high time to visit the food trolley and see what kind of snacks magical people (her people, she supposed) ate. A bit of cultural study, if you will. Elijah had given her more than enough money to explore her options. Wallet in one hand, can of soda in the other, she stood in line behind a much older student and peeked around him to look at her options. She recognized the duplicitous jellybeans she'd tried with her brother, and the yummy pumpkin pasties, too, but everything else was new. Just as she was pondering over how likely it was that ice mice or chocolate frogs tasted of their namesake animals (after the beans, she was cautious), the train turned around a bend. And lurched from side to side just enough for Eden's soda to splash on boy in front of her. "Oops." She silently wished she knew any magic. Swishy-swishy-McGetRidOfThissy would be SO useful right now.

Kinsay James had, of course, come prepared with snacks. The train ride was LONG and the wait for food at the feast was even LONGER. It only made sense to pack lots and lots of treats for the train. Only, um, no sooner had she sat down in her compartment that she realized she had forgotten to pack the chocolate frogs! Those were an essential for train rides because Emm liked them too.

As soon as she realized the fatal flaw, she had jumped out of her seat to run to the trolley line. Thinking that heading there early would mean less of a line, she moved as quickly as her two legs would take her.

.... Only, um, she was wrong (something she wouldn't own up to, probably) and the line was humongous. So she quietly waited, counting the coins in her hands. Maybe she could find a way to weasel her way further up the line. Being cute usually helped in cases like this.

Moose was doing a lot of firsts, even still for his 2nd Year. His train ride to Hogwarts last year was lonely and weird and he hated it. But Moose was kinda different now. In that he was just indifferent about the train ride this time. Sure, he had seen the line for this trolley last year so he knew coming to stand in it now would be a big risk. Still he was here, waiting for his chance to get some candy to snack on before the feast would open at night, and that was a long way away.

He poked his head out from the line to see where he was in relation to the front. He was at the back of the line now, and would really take some time to get anything? Does the trolley replenish it's sweets often so that they never run out? Was there a magic for that too?
Probably.

He didn't bring a lot of galleons with him on the train, nor did his parents still really understand the exchange since they were both very terrified of the Goblins still. They must still be crunching numbers at home, trying to wrap their head around Wizarding Economy. Which was just too boring for Moose to think any second more of. it was a helpful, and pleasant surprise when Kinsay showed up behind him then. Having someone to talk to would help the line move faster, if only in distracting him for the thought of how long the line was to start with. "Hi Kinsay." He gave her nod, and a smile. It was good to see her, really it was.

Kinsay was so focused on what she needed to purchase that she hadn't yet noticed the Moose in front of her. When she did, and only because he made his presence known by saying hello, she gave him a TINY smile in return. "Hi Moose," she replied quietly, tilting her head to the side to try to count how many people stood in front of them in the queue.

Only then, when she finished her count, did her eyes return back to Moose. "Is your name really Moose or did you make that up?" It was a question she constantly asked herself whenever she saw him, but the opportunity to actually ask him never came. There were always other questionable things he was doing when she stumbled upon him and those questionable things always took priority in terms of Kizzy's questions. But now that they were stuck in a lengthy queue, it seemed the opportunity had finally presented itself.

So.

Was he a liar? Or did he just have a weird animal name? She wouldn't be surprised either way.

Was there a sloth making an order at the front of this line or was it really taking this long for the queue to move forward? Even Moose was getting antsy with how long he was standing in the line now, and didn't mind how long it took Kinsay to respond because he was also focused on the line in front of them.

He would have preferred a different topic though. Why was it so hard to just call him Moose? It's what he wanted. So what if he lied about it being his actual name? It might as well be. He's gone by it for just as long as his other name.

He could just walk away from the line and avoid it. Was candy really this important now? Kinsay did deserve to know, he supposed. She has proven to be friendlier as last term went by, and he liked her now too...as a friend.....

"It's just a nickname." He said truthfully. "It's the name I want to use though. I like it better than my other name." Sorry if he lied about it last year, but that was then.

It wasn't hard to call him Moose, she just genuinely wanted to know. Had she met him before the feast, she likely would have payed more attention to his sorting. As it was, however, most of the evening had gone by in a foggy blur. Being up on that stage took everything out of Kinsay James and it was so hard to focus on anything else (aside from the sortings of Emma Rider, Matty Rider-Mae, and Samuel Summers). Besides, she wasn't interested in knowing this information then. She was interested in knowing now. That's what mattered.

So she looked at him with her big, green eyes and waited not-so-patiently.

"Why?" She paused for only a second before tacking on a second question, "Are moose your favorite animal?" Kizzy had so many questions. None of which were about his actual name because that didn't really matter all that much at the moment. Perhaps she'd ask eventually, but right now there were better questions to focus on. Ones she needed answers to.

The more Curtis thought about it, the more he realised that he was really craving chocolate of some kind.. So with that said he settled on some cauldron cakes. He paid for the items and was about to thank the lady when they experienced some turbulence. Some rough one at that since he nearly stumbled trying to maintain his balance and keep his food from leaving his hands... oh yeah and now his jeans were soaked. Kids these days..

Curtis glared down at the girl. "Oops? That's some apology right there." Only for a few moments though before he smirked. "It's fine, I'm due to change anyway." He really didn't like wearing uniforms and put off until the very last moment before donning them on. His jeans, however? He just took his wand to do a quick Scourgify on the spot.

"So what's your story, kid? You new?" Must be a first year, thought. But Curtis didn't know for sure. At the moment he had time to spare.

Talking about his nickname was much easier. He doesn't doubt he'll probably tell Kinsay soon. She could also ask Amabel, or Noah if she knew that they knew. The less he gets to mention him the better mood, Moose will be in. Ah Look Look the Line moved! It moved! Moose took a big step forward and felt very satisfied with that step too. Just a few more people and then it was his turn.

Wow her eyes were GREEN. Like Big Green. Super green even. He never really looked Kinsay in the eyes and...yep. They were definitely Green.

"Why? It's just better." Moose said. "I'm named after someone I'd rather not be named after." There. That felt like a very good answer to him. It still made him think about his Grandfather, but he didn't have to say his name. That terrible horrible name. Probably why he wasn't such a big fan of Care of Magical Creatures last year. Shame really.

He shook his head, and shrugged at her next question. "No not really. I got the name Moose from an old friend." Yeah the friends who he lost over summer. STOP FOCUSING ON THE BAD! "See, my middle name is Massoude." He looked at her this time. "He thought I said Moose, and it just stuck. So all my old muggle friends started calling me Moose too." He wanted to ask her questions next. If felt fair. But, he wasn't sure what question he wanted to ask her.

Eden just stared back in response to his glare. She wasn't going to let some older kid intimidate her. It had been bad form to spill soda on his pants, however, and he was being cool about it, so..."My bad. Is there a spell to-" and before she could finish he had poof'd the mess away. "Nice." The redhead nodded in appreciation.

Her story? Hmm. "New? What gave me away?" She smiled. "Yeah, it's my first year. So far I've learned that I need to keep better hold of my snacks." Eden looked the older boy up and down. "What's your story? You look like you've been doing this whole magical-school-thing for a while. In which case I'd appreciate snack recommendations. Because the jellybeans were gross." They really had meant EVERY flavour, and, well...blegh. Eden didn't understand how people could choose to eat carpet lint flavored candy.

It felt like the queue hadn't moved up in AGES (though in reality she had only just started waiting), so when there was finally some movement, Kizzy smiled the littlest bit. Hopefully it'd go by a faster with the presence of company. Moose was no Emmerson Cambridge, but he wasn't the last person she'd choose to spend her time with in the queue that spot was reserved for Bernadette Grantham or maybe Adam Luck.

Kizzy gave him a skeptical look with her thick eyebrows because 'just better' was a terribly unsatisfying answer. She was just about to poke and prod some more, but fortunately he opted to elaborate without needing extra prompting. That was always nice because Kizzy didn't enjoy actively provoking. It was more so something she just did without any conscious intention.

"Oh."

Kizzy paused for a moment to consider this explanation, before her smiled widened. She even managed a proper (quiet) laugh. That was funny! The funniest story Moose had ever told. Still smiling, she looked at him with satisfied delight, "Moose suits you." Granted, Kizzy didn't know all too much about moose, but she could imagine they were easily angered animals and Moose was kind of like that too. "I like it." She paused again, taking all things (just this one thing) into consideration. "Does anyone call you Massoude?" No one ever called Kinsay by her middle name, but maybe Moose liked to use his because he didn't like his real name.

Truly it was quite the miracle the moment Kinsay got to the line it moved, perhaps she had some effect on pushing things toward desired results. Or maybe the line just moved because the Sloth at the front finally ran out of money to buy candy? Whatever the reason, Moose was glad it was Kinsay in the line with him. Good company to keep. Her postcard over the summer was also very nice to receive. The second Owl in one summer did freak his parents out a bit, but it also spurred their decision to get him an Owl as well.

Dang. That furrowed brow look from her again. Why was his answers never up to snuff for...

...OH?... never mind. She...she thought Moose suited him. He looked down at his feet a moment to hide a small blush forming on his cheeks. "Do you really think so? I'm not particularly bulky, and lumbering. No big antlers either." He places his thumbs against each side of his head with his palms out and his fingers outstretched, to imitate a Moose's antlers The expression on his usually angry face remained unchanged and serious. "I don't know the first thing about them."

He nodded to her next question. "My Mamani." He smiled. She was his favorite Grandparent. "I asked her once to call me Moose instead. She just gave me this weird look and told me only when a Moose flew over Dasht-e Kavir." He rubbed the back of his neck a bit embarrassed to have shared those exact words from her.

The small blush went entirely unnoticed by one Kinsay James, who was once again peeking around the Slytherin to see how many more people were stood in front of them. She only stopped looking when he began questioning again. Of course Kizzy thought so, she wouldn't have said it if she didn't. So she nodded to confirm, before adding, "maybe you were a moose in a previous life." Kinsay wasn't sure that people had previous lives, but it was something she had heard before and it would explain the association. Maybe.

Either way, to make the assertion was to believe it in its entirety.

"Who's mamani?" Kizzy's thick brows did their furrowing thing all over again. "And what's a dash kaveer?" As it was, Kiz was now far more interested in knowing these two things than she was in purchasing sweets. Fortunately, standing in the queue meant she'd get both. Hopefully. If Moose answered the questions properly, which he didn't do sometimes.

Moose, in a previous life? All the reincarnation stuff was way above his paygrade and Moose was not getting paid for it at all. He was only 12!! Surely there were child labor laws that were against that? He turned his head to see if the line had moved any. He was facing her direction so it was really up to him to keep the line going forward. So he stepped a few feet forward when he saw there was some space he could take. "I would like to think I was some super famous person in a previous life. Not some animal. Who or What do you think you were in a previous life?"

If this was a topic they were going to have a conversation on. He wouldn't mind knowing what she thought of herself.

"My Mamani? She's my Grandmother. It's just what we call her, what she wants us to call her." Why that expression again? Why did he always feel like he'd done wrong each time she gave him that furrowed look. "Dasht-e-Kavir" he repeated. "It's a desert in Iran. The Great Salt Desert" He paused a moment and furrowed his brow at her. "You know I'm half Iranian right?"

Kinsay wrinkled her nose ever-so-slightly. "Do you want to be super famous in this life?" She didn't see the appeal. She wouldn't mind being friends with someone super famous, maybe Emmerson would make it big in ballet! But to be super famous herself? No thanks! She saw the way people crowded around Tavie's dad (and sometimes her own). It didn't seem very fun. If anything, Kinsay felt it would be exhausting. "Mmm..." She found herself pausing, tapping her chin as she thought about the question for no more than a few seconds.

"A lemur!" She threw her hands up into the air as she exclaimed her choice with enthusiasm. Sharks were her favourite, but she couldn't imagine that she'd ever be one herself. "Or maybe an otter," she mused, thinking some more.

But his grandmother? Oh. That made sense. Kiz nodded, to show that she was listening, and watched Moose curiously as he continued to explain all of these strange words. And because she didn't know that he was half Iranian, she shook her head. "That's so cool! From your mum's side?" Stover didn't really sound Iranian... not that she knew much about that region of the world. It was just a guess.

Did he want to be super famous? That really was a good question now wasn't it? Who didn't? But that would be quite the road to take wouldn't it be? Sure he could play guitar but he wasn't great with it. So being some kind of big rock-star felt out of the question. "Is there a different kind of Super-Famous in the wizarding world as opposed to the muggle world?" He asked Kinsay seeking for more information should becoming famous be only obtainable through his new life with magic. "I don't think I could be famous as a muggle, but maybe here."


"A Lemur? Or, and Otter?" Moose placed his finger and thumb to his chin and tilted his head inspecting Kinsay and her answer. "I'd go with Lemur." He nodded as he straightened himself back up from tilting his head to the side. "I think maybe a lizard of some kind. For me, I mean. I don't know what kind though." He shrugged.

He nodded to her next question. "My Mom was born in Iran. When she was young Mamani had moved to Scotland after Baba..er my Grandfather passed." He smiled are rare smile.That was a part of him he was very proud of. "My Dad's side has a lot of different heritage. I would say it's easier to say I'm half Scottish since that's where I was born."

"What about you, Kinsay?" Do you know much of your heritage?" He gave her a lot of his, from what he knew really.
Mamani only told him a few things about his history, but not all of it.

Kinsay would like to point out that all her questions were good ones. She wouldn't ask them if they weren't. That, of course, did not stop people (usually professors) from ignoring them. Again she waited patiently, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Well." Kiz didn't know the answer to his question, but that wouldn't stop her from giving a confident answer anyway. She couldn't risk looking silly. "The magical world is smaller. Bet it's easier to be famous here. You'd still need talent though." She was quite proud that she came up with this, actually. So smart.

"I like lemurs," she nodded, pleased that he agreed. "I can hang upside down like one too." She used to practice on the monkey bars at the park all the time. Even until her whole face turned red. It was the best. "Why a lizard?" It was a curious choice. Not one that Kizzy agreed with, but maybe there was more to it that she hadn't yet considered. Kiz also thought he might make a good chihuahua... but she'd keep that thought to herself. She wasn't sure that he'd see it as a compliment.

"Oh," Kizzy smiled, finding the history to be interesting. Her smile faltered, however, when the question was redirected towards her. Despite her usual quickness in answering questions (usually before she was even ready to), she went quiet this time. Kizzy didn't like telling people that she was adopted. She didn't even like thinking about it herself, and usually she didn't have to. It made her feel some sort of sad way. She knew very little about the woman who gave birth to her and even less about her birth father. So instead of answering the question, Kizzy ignored it. Because that is what a mature twelve year old does.

"This queue is taking forever."