Catty Coralie
_{Apple Orchard}

After morning classes and a quick lunch with friends in London, Oralie had spent the afternoon at Panacea with her father working. Now that Alaric and Corwin were released from their hospitalization, the youngest Slughorn hoped her brothers would be allies in convincing their father to allow her to leave Hogwarts. Tobias was very resistant to the idea, though, even after she had pitched the idea of how helpful she could be with their potioneers. He had not fallen ill, but the epidemic had taken the magic of the other members of their family. Oralie was unsure how her brothers were adjusting, but knew her mother was most displeased. Moira found the inconveniences of a magicless life most annoying and it made the woman's patience very short. Oralie had quickly taken her leave of her mother and sought out the company of her brothers. 

The house elves had informed her that she could find Master Corwin and Master Alaric out at the stables, but their stablemaster had directed her to the orchard. The apple harvest was underway and the brothers were overseeing it--or perhaps just out for a walk to put distance between themselves and Mother. Oralie would not be particularly surprised if it was the latter. But it was not Alaric nor Corwin that she came across out amongst the trees. A scowl formed on the Slughorn's youthful features as she took in the feminine figure up ahead. Why was that hag here? Did she not have anything better to do than to follow Alaric about like a desperate beggar? 

Occasionally, an apple, overripe, would fall from a tree to the ground. One dropped next to Oralie--and the temptation to raise her want to have one-or a dozen-- pelt down on Cora was so very strong. Oralie hated the wench with every fiber of her being--resented her--and was unspeakably jealous. Cora was taking Alaric away from her... it was unforgivable. Separating the pair permanently was a goal Oralie had no idea how to achieve. She had some time still--the wedding date had not been set (or not as far as she knew). But she needed a plan. She had to find some way to keep her brother from marrying. 

The distance between the two was long enough for Oralie to push the scowl from her face and replace it with a sweet smile. There was still a cutting edge to her eyes and laced in her voice as she greeted the intruder. "What a surprise, I did not expect to find you...here..." Heavy emphasis weighed down the last two words. A fake smile spread her lips wider as Oralie continued: "I do hope, of course, that your illness has passed and that you are well." Fake pity colored her voice and shifted her expression. Her eyes were overly sympathetic as she brought a hand to her chest and said: "Or as well as one can be when magically impotent." There was the slightest of mocking undertones to this comment--most would surely have misinterpreted the delivery to carry only sympathy. Oralie spent her days in the den of snakes--she was no stranger to well disguised snarky arrogance and lowkey belittling. 

 @cora | OUTFIT | 500+

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If I was you,

[attr="class","reasonsmall"] I'd wanna be me tooI. thank God every day That I woke up feelin' this way (uh huh)

[attr="class","reasonbod"]They did all sorts of weird stuff at this house: grooming pegasi, hosting tea and luncheons for the rich and famous…Cora knew she shouldn’t have been surprised when Alaric told her they were harvesting the orchard this afternoon. Of course they had an orchard. They probably had a vineyard tucked away somewhere on these expansive grounds, too. Probably the Fountain of Youth somewhere in the forests. Maybe even Atlantis was on the grounds.

It was a lot to take in. The extravagance of pureblood living – especially the lifestyle of the Slughorns – was so different from the upbringing she’d had. Diane Marlowe had lived in a two-bedroom apartment in London and took the train to work every day. Cora wasn’t used to having the world at her fingertips. Now, things seemed a bit more…like home. The Slughorns (and Cora) had been rendered magicless because of Epidemic X. It leveled the playing field a little. Though Cora was almost positive she would never get used to the fact that they ate dinner on China and had their own orchard.

Alaric had to go take care of some business back up at the house, but he’d assured Cora he would return before too long. So, she’d spent a few minutes picking over a tree nearby. Moira would be appalled if she could see her: halfway up a ladder, pulling apples off of the branches and placing them into the basket at her waist.

The sound of a nearby voice broke her concentration and Cora realized that her worst nightmare had come true. It wasn’t Moira that had found her. It was something much worse: Oralie.

It seemed like a horrible thing to think about the girl that was to be her sister-in-law. But Cora had such a difficult time connecting with the younger witch. “Hey,” she said as she moved down the ladder and posted at the bottom. Cora held tightly to the basket where a few apples rolled about.

She struggled to maintain a smile. With every word that the younger girl spoke to her, Cora was reminded of a childhood spent hating most of the Slytherins that she encountered. But she’d had to put all that aside when she was appointed Head Girl her seventh year. She’d had to be impartial and put away her biases. Unfortunately, it had been years since then and Oralie reminded her just what she had been missing.

Faltering ever so slightly, the older girl felt her facial expression slip. But as soon as she noticed the corners of her lips beginning to droop, she tried her best to salvage what was left of the smile. Being a pureblood, she had come to realize, was much more about saving face than it was about airing your grievances. She’d learned that one from Eleanor.

It was just like acting a part in a theatrical. Cora just had to pretend that she was an actress and this orchard – which, unsurprisingly was considered Oralie’s territory – was the stage. She could play the perfect soon-to-be-sister, couldn’t she? After all, if she’d manage to bullshit her way through dance lessons for a few months now she could probably do anything. Though, she desperately wanted to roll her eyes. Was Oralie always this fake?

“Well, here I am!” It was a cheerful exclamation, though Cora felt less than cheery being here with Oralie. “Feeling much better, but the whole magic-less thing’s a downer,” she answered, pausing briefly before picking up an apple and extending it to her future sister. Cora wasn’t aggressive by nature, but she wasn’t about to let Oralie walk all over her. Maybe there was a way to meet her in the middle. Or at least, meet her on her own turf – er…orchard. “Alaric and I are it day by day,” in truth, she wasn’t sure how she would fare without magic. She wasn’t sure how any of them would. “Are you looking for him? He’s back up at the house. But he should be coming back by now. We could…pick apples together, if you aren’t busy…” Merlin’s Beard, why was she offering?!

[attr="class","reasontag"]@ oralie, almost sister dear | 681 | OUTFIT

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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