"Thanks..." He'd turned thirteen on 8 August, so it had been a little while ago, but better late than never. Even if he hadn't known her over his birthday, heh.

Gemelli's little bat ears perked up at the squeak and he started squirming around the front of Salariel's shirt again; the thirteen year old tried to keep the bat's little face shaded from the direct sunlight.

Miss Red Badge thought Gemelli was cute? And she even knew what kind of bat he was?! Salariel was taken by surprise and gaped at her for a moment, shock apparent.

"Yeah, he's a Northern Ghost... how did you know that? Nobody's ever guessed before..." He stroked Gemelli's back, keeping his hand hovering just off the bat's back so he wouldn't decided to fly away to a darker place. "He's a good pet... he delivers my mail for me and everything... he was one of the weirder pets in the shop, so I picked him up. Apparently they're local to that area where my parents were working..."

Gemelli squirmed around a little more. Salariel looked up from him to Miss Red Badge, reaching up to close the window shades with one hand. He'd only just noticed them, and they'd probably help a little.

"You wanna hold him? He won't bite you or nothin', he's a really good bat."

if anyone wants to play... ^_^
 

Oh dear. Was the SUPERADORABLEBAT squirming because of her squeak? She certainly hoped not. When she saw Salariel covering the creature's head, she made the connection that it might have something to do with the sunlight. Bats were nocturnal after all. "Oh...poor thing..." she said softly. "I-I-I didn't mean to startle you. I'm sorry." And she bowed her head slightly...to the bat.

"Besides baking, you could say that reading about creatures is one of my hobbies," she winked. "Brilliant! I've never seen someone with a pet bat before, especially not one as adorable as Gemelli." She leaned forward just a bit to look at the tiny white puff ball. "So...your parents were working in South America?" Kurumi had only just recently been to North America, but she assumed you really couldn't compare the two.

Her eyes widened and now it was her turn for her jaw to drop. "R-R-R-REALLY? Y-Y-You'd let me hold him?"

Could she also hug him? And, the him in that phrase being the boy, not the bat, and not to be confused with Batman.

Salariel shook his head. "Nah, you didn't do anything. He's just not used to the sunlight... he'd rather be in his cave but I didn't wanna put him in my luggage with it."

Gemelli settled against his chest again, squirming less than before, when the shades were pulled closed. The room was far from the darkness of a cave or nighttime, but it would do for him, it seemed. Salariel pulled him gently from his shirt and held him out to Miss Red Badge.

"They were workin' around Trinidad... I didn't know anyone there, an' I didn't know when they'd finish up with their work so it wasn't worth going out and making friends, ya know? So I hung out with Gemelli and my tutor the entire time, when I wasn't running around alone." He shrugged. It had been fun, and he'd gotten along just fine.

"Don't let him fly..." He glanced toward the door, to make sure it was closed. "He'll probably run into the walls or the window and hurt himself. He's a dingy bat sometimes."

She looked awfully excited about holding Gem... Salariel couldn't help but grin when he realised how much that helped his position in her graces.

Kurumi smiled. That certainly was a relief to know that she hadn't traumatized the poor wittle bat. "That must be nice, being able to keep him close to you all the time," she smiled, her violet eyes locked on the bat. "Means you never have to feel lonely."

Kurumi gasped when he held the bat out towards her. It's little black beady eyes were just like two gems, sparkly in the dim light of the compartment. She held both her hands out cupped like a small porcelain bowl for the creature to crawl into if it wanted. You shouldn't just pick up an animal, it had the right to come to you if it wanted.

"I didn't have any friends growing up either," she said with a slight frown on her face. "Actually, my only constant companion was an animal as well - my family's shiba dog."

She leaned forward and started making kissy faces at the bat. "Hello there, Gemelli. My name is Kurumi and it would mean so much to me if you would allow me to hold you."

Rachie <3
 

After speaking for a while with Matt, Kourtney bid him goodbye and started the search again for Indy or Brady or both. It had been a nice conversation. He seemed like an interesting boy. And they were both artists, which was really cool.

She peered into compartment after compartment, but could not find her friends. Where were they? Maybe they had taken a seat towards the back?

She continued her search, passing many a student. There were lots of people on this train. She wondered just how big Hogwarts was. There had to be plenty of room to hold such a large number of students. She would see soon enough though, and for that she was very excited.

"Ehh. I can't really carry him around like some other pets can be, cause he doesn't like the sunlight. And he's awake mostly when I'm sleeping. But he's great when I don't wake up to him hanging above me and staring at me with his big old eyes." Salariel half-shrugged and lowered his hands as the bat flailed forward into Miss Red Badge's waiting hands.

When she said something about not having friends, Sal bit his tongue. He'd had friends... at his old school... and around the neighbourhood. He'd been popular! He'd had lots of kids to boss around. But that hadn't lasted too long.

"What's a shiba dog?" He asked, blinking. Of course he knew dogs, but... breeds, they escaped him. Tell us about it, oh Miss Red Badge!

He couldn't help but watch the white bat as he spread his wings and flopped around in Kurumi's hands. He was being such a little ham, wasn't he... silly creature.

Was she... gonna kiss...

"You're not gonna kiss him are ya, because he flies around at night and Merlin only knows what he gets up to." Salariel would shove him down his shirt alright but he wasn't about to kiss him.

RP time... anyone?
 

11 O'clock but still tired, Scott found a seat on his own in the corner. He read an article in the Quibbler and found himself dozing from time to time.

Every now and then he'd check whether his friend Evangeline was in his carriage, but once well on the way, he stayed up so he could look out of the window and be amazed when he got there.

"I can't really carry mine around either," Kurumi giggled. "Walnut doesn't like to be treated like a baby, unless he feels that he is being offered worship." He cat was an odd one to be sure. She felt terrible for any Gryffindor first years that might just happen to sit on HIS cushion in the Gryffindor common room. It hadn't ended well last term and the guilty first year had left the common room with moist shoes...

"Aw, I'd love waking up to this precious little face," Kurumi said with a forced expression of shock on her face. She slowly used her thumbs to massage his little bat shoulders. Did bats purr? That would make it even more adorable if it did.

"Shibas are a lovely breed of dogs from Japan, where I'm from," she smiled looking at the bat for a moment before looking up at his owner. "They were originally breed for hunting and are extremely loyal dogs. I think I have a picture of my family's somewhere...."

While she continued to massage the bat with her left thumb, Kurumi ginerly removed her right hand and used it to search around her bag for a small wallet sized photo album. It was a little difficult to flip through the pages with only one hand, but she managed to and found the picture. "Here."

She giggled as Mr. Fluffball flopped around in her palm. What? It tickled!

"I am sure he is a gentleman while you are sleeping," she smiled. "Besides, how do you know he isn't kissing you?"

WELL. Someone make a decision for her! Front of the train, middle of the train, she was quickly finding that she didn't care! As long as it got her out of this crowded hallway.

"He can do that?" Taryn asked, amused and happy about it. How lovely!

And well, she was assuming that the ferret was a HE, it was rude to ask the animals, she knew. "That's nice of you to offer!" She nudged Tori. It was nice of her to help them, yes?

"I'm Taryn, by the way, and this is Tori." She gestured to her friend, "What's your name?"

Salariel couldn't help but chuckle. "Gem likes to hide inside my shirt... even when it's dark outside, if he wants Salariel time... he spends a lot of it inside my shirt."

She was actually really good with the small bat, Sal had to admit. He was prepared for most girls to run screaming; no matter how cute and fluffy Gemelli was, a bat was a bat. Sal's own mother still had issues with looking at Gem for more than a few minutes; he was sure that whenever Gem delivered letters for him this term, his mum would probably force his father to take them from the fluffy bat.

Without thinking, he reached to take the album and stared at the dog. Something about it felt vaguely familiar, but... no. Nope. He'd never seen one of those before.

"They look soft." Fluffy. Not like Gemelli fluffy but... yeah. Dog fluffy.

...had she just suggested that he might have been bat-kissed in his sleep? Salariel leaned forward and looked Gem right in the eyes.

"You'd better not have. You have bug breath."

"Aw, do you think that means he likes to be close to your heart? Perhaps hear your heartbeat to confirm that you are there?" Kurumi was notorious for applying human emotions and concepts to animals but, you know, animals have feelings too! Those who said otherwise had something in their pumpkin juice.

Both hands free now, Kurumi returned her other thumbs to his shoulder and began massaging again. She was sure that the little guy must be tired from all that flying and letter carrying. There really should be spas for animals to go and relax. Merlin knew that Walnut could have used a place like that too.

"Aw, I think you hurt his feelings," Kurumi pouted holding out the little bat. "Now I think you HAVE to kiss him." Kiss and make up, right?

"No biggie," Mathias shrugged, wanting to seem casual and not show his disappointment. Though it would have been nice to explore that new world a lttle more... "That's true," he added, his face brightening a little as Aviva Rose mentioned more time next year. He would have to go back year after year and that would give him plenty of time to see what the place was really about. I bet there's lots of cool things there, he thought to himself. Like that joke shop... "Did either of you get to go to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes?" he asked both his companions. "That place looked like a lot of fun."

The 11 year old frowned slightly at the mention of the carnival. A one-time thing? "Oh, really?" he said, not hiding his disappointment this time. "That's too bad, it looked really fun... Did they get to go?" he asked the girl regarding her cousins. He'd at least like to hear about it if he didn't get to experience it... or maybe not. Hearing about how great it was might make him even more disappointed that he didn't get to go. "So, I take it you're a first year, Aviva Rose?" Mathias asked, pretty sure she was from the way she was talking. "What year are you in, Carson?" he asked the boy, thinking an assumption might be insulting as he couldn't tell if the boy was a first year or second.

The blond boy listened as the two discussed the other boy's mum, then shook his head at the question directed to him. "No, my dad really isn't into.. um, magic things," he answered slowly, trying to find the right words. Best to just leave it at that, he thought. "My mum took me though," he said quickly. "She seemed to know best what I needed for school." And then Carson said another word he was even more unfamiliar with - Aurors. Just what were those? Again, Mathias did not want to appear dumb, so he kept his mouth shut waiting to see if someone would say something more about them so he could figure out what that meant through the conversation.

For Gabbie
 

Marie had finally managed to calm Mia down and actually get a smile out of her. She really did feel bad for her friend having to go pretty much the whole school year without seeing her boyfriend, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it other than be there to listen to her complain about it every now and then. Which she would do.

For now though she was with Matty looking for an empty compartment they could share. Holding his hand she walked along the corridor until she found an empty compartment. "This one looks good to me." Opening the door she stepped inside and plopped down and stretched her legs to the seat across from her.

Anyone want to rp?
 

His second year was about to start. Daichi couldn't wait until the train reached the school and have some more adventures. Last year had been epic when Slytherin had won ...well.. basically EVERYTHING. And Daichi was determined that it was going to happen again this year. He still missed his best friend though who graduated last year. It was weird without Evan around but he figured that it would be a good time to make new friends. Even though he wasn't really the most social person to talk to right now....

As he dragged his luggage the owl in his cage had started to screech loudly and Daichi wanted to snap and tell it to shut it so badly but he bit his lip and continued to drag. He didn't know when the headache had started but it was getting worse as the time progressed. The second year walked all the way to the front of the train ( because he wanted to get out and be at Hogwarts quickly) and found a compartment to sit ..or rather lay down in. But as he knew , the compartments were full and he knew laying on a couch was out of options. He sighed deeply as he grabbed the handle of the nearest compartment and opened the door.

"E-excuse me... uhm..." Being with new people always made him a bit shy and nervous but he REALLY needed to sit down for a moment. "Can i sit here?" he rubbed his temple with a slight groan and waited for a reply.

Blink. Blink.

Miss Red Badge was really touchy feely, wasn't she. Something else to note. Bats and heartbeats and stuff like that... Sal touched his chest and rubbed the spot over his heart. Gemelli had never really shown preference to that.

"He just likes being warm." He nodded. It was understandable; Salariel, too, enjoyed being all warm and comfy. He watched intently while she rubbed his little wingy nubs, chuckling at how much he seemed to like it. Indeed, he went completely still, letting Miss Red Badge do what she wanted to.

"Whut." No way. He was not kissing bug-breath bat-lipped Gemelli. Noooooope. Sal shook his head. "He eats bugs. I'm not kissing him."

"That would make sense too," she smiled. Must have been the week she had spent at Disney World over the summer. Her usually logical brain was slowly shifting towards the more fairy tale-esque explanations. Gently, she turned the creature over in her hands and started scratching his little fluffy belly.

"Of course you have to kiss him!" she exclaimed, pushing the adorable thing closer to the boy's face. "There is nothing wrong with eating bugs. They are full of nutrients. Besides, wizards eat them too. I am sure you have heard of Cockroach Clusters." Also, didn't he ever eat ants as a kid? Granted, her brothers had tricked her into eating some by covering them with chocolate and saying that they were raisins.

Just one post this morning then I have to go. Please wait for me!
 

"No, I didn't get to go to the Joke Shop. I didn't have time and my mother wouldn't have approved," Aviva shrugged. She wouldn't have approved either, if she'd been her mother. She was going to school to learn and bringing along items intended to cause trouble could only be bad news, "I guess it could be fun though...Did you get to go, Carson? How was it?"

Aviva's smile faded at the thought of the carnival. Her cousins had been insufferable, showing off cheap prizes and bragging about how brave they'd been to go on the rides and showing up to dinner with candy still smudged on their faces. They were never going to let her live this down. She'd just proved that she was a completely and utterly boring, they'd said, even if they hadn't known that before, "Yes, my cousins went. They said it was unbelievable and I'd probably never see the like again, but they were probably exaggerating. They do that. Do either of you have any cousins?"

Aviva was surprised Mathias' dad hadn't wanted to take him. It sounded like he'd been invited. Even if he didn't care about his kid, wasn't he curious about the Wizarding World? How could he not be? "Yes, I am a first year and that's too bad about your dad. Perhaps he'll come another time."

Aviva left it at that, getting the feeling it wasn't a topic Mathias wished to linger on, "What's your mother like? I take it she's a Witch. Where does she work? Perhaps my mum knows her. That's nice that she was able to take you. Was this your first time in Diagon Alley?"

The train was really full. Indiana wandered throughout the train, looking for her friends. She wanted to see if she could find Kourt, or Brady. They'd said that they would sit together on the train, but she couldn't find them yet. It was pretty bad. So she was looking for them now. Pink ted was in her bag, because she really didn't want to lose her on the train. That would be really bad.

But wasn't bad was that she could see Kourt infront of her. "Kourtt" Indiana shouted a little, before deciding that she maybe she shouldn't have done that. Indy giggled a little, as she pushed past a few people, to get to her friend. "hi"

"Hi! oh sure you could come in and sit down, you look really tired" Alexia said gently, making space for the guy. "Whats your name? You have a very cute owl by the way :)"

Mathias looked up as the compartment door slid open, noticing a dark-haired boy about his age in the doorway. "Sure, there's still room," he replied to the boy's question as he slid over on the bench to give the boy space to sit down. The boy looked a bit weary and Mathias was sure his companions wouldn't mind as they didn't when he entered. "I'm Mathias," he offered to the newcomer, after all it was only polite.

The young blond pursed his lips slightly as Aviva Rose responded to his question about the joke shop. She didn't seem all that impressed with it and gave him the idea that she probably wouldn't have gone even if her mother did let her. Really? He thought it looked pretty awesome and it was the one place he was truly disappointed he didn't get to see. Maybe it was just a girl thing to not like such place. Girls could be really weird sometimes.

Matty nodded carefully as the girl talked of her cousins' description of the carnival, then suddenly turned hopeful. Maybe they were exaggerating. "Well, maybe," Mathias started slowly, "it was such a good time and a great success that they'll start doing it more often. Maybe every year." One could only hope... And if it did happen again, he was definitely going to go. No matter what his parents said.

"I am too," Mathias replied as Aviva Rose confirmed that she was a first year. Though he figured that was probably pretty obvious. "Yeah, mum's a witch," he answered slowly, not sure if he should elaborate on how she acted more like a Muggle at least around the family. "I don't know..." he replied to the thought that maybe her mum knew his. He doubted it. "She's a teacher at a Muggle school." He still felt weird saying that word. He nodded that it had indeed been his first time at Diagon Alley, then asked, "What do your parents do?" Maybe it would give him more of a glimpse into the wizarding world.

"I would love to join you" William told Fee. " I think I should help yo uwith yoru bag" Willam said to Fee. "Sure glad I am a second year this term" William explained to Fee. " Why is it that both of us can not find our significant others on the train?" William asked Fee. Hugo for Fee and Witsy for William.

" We have a plce open here" Willaim called out to the boy. " My name is Willaim montcenaggio, but my friends call me Willaim Starr and this is my close friend Fee" he introduced them both to the boy. " Are you readfy for Hogwarts?" William asked the boy.

Rose walked up, looking for First Years to help. She just loved helping them, as she was helped when she was a First Year. She noticed one in a Compartment and walked in. 'Hello! I'm Rose Deluise, Second Year Gryffindor!' Rose grinned, knowing she could be a bit full on...

Daichi was glad that someone replied to his question. He really needed to sit down and he gave a soft smile as he entered the compartment. Sitting down next to the boy who introduced himself as Mathias , Daichi nodded his head at him but groaned again as the movement shot pain in his head. "I'm Daichi..." he mumbled and tried to give a smile but failed. He sighed deeply as he placed his luggage under the couch.

Seeing as the boy was already talking to another student, Daichi closed his eyes for a mere second when he heard another voice.

Daichi opened his eyes and saw a girl sitting in front of him. He nodded his head as he said that he looked tired. "I am" he sighed and rubbed his eyes. Well he himself wasn't tired but the increasing headache was making him tired. He couldn't wait to be lying in his good old bed at his dormitory. But he was still in the train and the ride was going to be looong. "I'm Daichi, second year Slytherin.. you?" he asked the girl. Normally he would have been polite, smiled and even bowed but he didn't feel like it now.

As she mentioned his owl, Daichi's eyes started to twinkle all of the sudden. "He's cute right?! His name is MinSu~" Well.. cute was an understatement because the owl he had bought was UGLY but Daichi thought it was super cute and hearing this from another student got his spirits lifted up a bit. He wished his headache would have been cured too but of course it didn't and he groaned again as he bend over to lay his head in between his legs. Maybe he was train sick ? But he hadn't been train sick last year. This was confusing him.