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[Jory Addison]

Jory laid out the three cards, showing them face-up to tell her what they meant. "This one is past," he said, pointing to the first. "This one means travel, like you moved around a lot. Present," he continued, his finger moving to the second. "Stability, and then future." He pointed to the third, with a picture of a chariot on it. "This means control and victory, so like, you'll be able to focus and get what you want." It was basic, but he didn't feel like going into anything deep right now.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity stared at the cards for a moment. The first one was accurate. She had been shipped off to place after place for nearly ten years. The second had been stability in the present. Is it even possible? She expected to receive a letter any day now saying she was enrolled at...wherever it is she is going to be sent to. The thought saddened her. She moved on to the next card. Control. The word danced around in her mind. When did she ever have control over anything? She got excited to think of it. She would be the one in control. But in control over what?

Verity reached towards the card. Maybe if she touched it, it would feel real. Realizing what she was doing, she pulled her hand back as if she had been burned. "Wow." Was all she could manage. So many thoughts and feelings were racing through her head.

[Jory Addison]

Jory noticed Verity reaching for the card, and so when she pulled away he picked it up and handed it to her to look at. "You can look at it," he said. "It's not gonna, like, bite you or something." He loved his cards, and if he ever got a really nice set he would probably never let anyone else touch them, but he didn't mind people looking at these, not that anyone ever really had wanted to.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity took the card in her hand. She studied it for a couple minutes, being sure to soak up the details on the card. She longed for control more than anything. She was so sick of being shipped off from place to place, but she knew that if she refused to go, her father would cut her off from the 'family' and from her allowance. Without her allowance, she had nothing to support her after school. So much for her control. Verity handed the card back to him, her hand trembling. "So, where do people go around here to hang out?" She asked changing the subject immediately.

[Jory Addison]

"Um," Jory started, taking the card back and shuffling his deck again as he turned his mind to the entirely different topic of hangout spots. "There's not much," he said. "But there's a club in Hogsmeade that's pretty cool." He had enjoyed it, even if he hadn't been able to completely let loose since he had been with Quinn.

[Verity Bromley]

"Oh yeah?" She said. It sounded like fun. Verity couldn't remember any schools having many clubs or even cafe's to hang out in. In fact, most of the schools she had been out had been strict. All-girls, under the watch of a house-mother, and no chance to escape on a Friday night and have some fun. God knows she tried. "Do you want to go sometime?" She asked. Verity still hadn't gotten the hang of the town and needed to be directed to place. Also, she didn't want to show up at a club by herself. "As friends?" She added hoping to relieve any tension.

[Jory Addison]

Of course they would go as friends, but Jory didn't see any way she could not know about his personal preferences, so he all but ignored the addition. He shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't been since I came out, I don't know if I wanna be stuck in the club with a bunch of the guys." He couldn't imagine that it would go well.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity had heard it already to some extent, but she couldn't be sure. After all she had been walking down a corridor when the news had made it to her ears by accident. "So when shall we go?" She asked with a bright smile. She was excited to see any other place than the castle. The castle was beautiful, but she wanted to experience all she could at the school before she was forced to leave again.

[Jory Addison]

Jory shifted uncomfortably and avoided looking at Verity. "I don't know," he said again. "I don't think I want to go right now." He didn't think he would ever want to go again, not unless he was with someone he trusted and knew nothing bad would happen to him. "Sorry," he added, almost as an afterthought. "You can go by yourself, though, you'll find someone there."

[Verity Bromley]

Verity’s eyes dropped. “Oh, right, sure.” She said, her shoulders hunching slightly. She had gotten ahead of herself, over eager to make new friends. The sun had nearly completely set. She wasn’t aware of how much darker it had gotten. “I’d better head back.” She said. Verity stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes. “It was nice to meet you, Jory.” She said smiling politely.

[Jory Addison]

"It was nice meeting you, too," Jory said, the overly nice words feeling strange in his mouth. "Maybe some other time I'll go to the club." He didn't see any reason he would want to go, but still he felt bad for giving her such a firm no, and so he wanted to ease it just a little. It figured that he would run her off so soon, though.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity nodded. That would be nice, but she got the impression that it wasn't anything he was all that interested in. "I'll see you around," Verity promised before disappearing through the trees.