The First Meeting (Othala and The Doctor)

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:22 am

The Doctor sat behind his desk, writing away with a fountain pen. He never did understand why most wizards still used quills. They weren't anywhere near as effective and had the unfortunate problem of running out of ink within one word. He shrugged a little bit as he resumed his paperwork.

One cause for more paperwork was the late entry of a student; one Othala Thormund. He had invited her for a meeting in his office. The Doctor wasn't sure what to expect though. One of the pieces of paperwork he'd gotten detailed her less than bright upbringing. Very angry that he was told to just leave it alone, The Doctor was still unsure what effects it had on the girl.

by **Othala Thormund** Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:28 am

Othala had been told that she was to meet someone called the Doctor at a certain time, of course she didn't know what that time was because she couldn't tell the time all that well, but when the little hand pointed to the right place, and the big hand looked about right, she left the common room and walked towards the office.

Of course she had to be pointed in the right direction several times, after all, she tended to forget a lot, but she was glad that the nice professors didn't seem to mind pointing her in the right direction. Wobbling a little bit as she walked, Othala tapped on the door gently and she waited, thats what you were supposed to do when waiting for a grown up.

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:40 am

The Doctor had been waiting for awhile now but he was a patient man. Plus he had a heck of a lot of paperwork to keep him occupied. Even so, he almost missed the small knock on his door. Deciding that it must be her, The Doctor waved his hand and the door opened to reveal Othala standing there. He smiled kindly at her,

"Hello there Othala." he greeted her before waving her in, "Come on it and sit down okay?"

by **Othala Thormund** Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:54 am

Othala heard the door opening and she looked at the man that was sitting at the desk in front of her, walking into the room she saw one of the empty chairs and sat in it, swinging her feet just above the floor as she tried to make herself less nervous than before.

"Yes." she said simply, tilting her head to one side she looked at the man, he seemed to have a lot of paper and she picked up the first sheet of paper, looking at it with a frown on her face, as she attempted to read what was written there.

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:59 am

The Doctor chuckled a little bit at the level of innocence that Othala displayed. With another wave of his hand the door closed when she sat down in the chair. 'Yes' was an odd way of responding that was for sure but he had to take what he could get and he supposed that it was the best fit for what she wanted to say. Seeing her attempting to read of his pieces of paperwork he chuckled,

"Oh that's not very interesting." he told her with a smile, "Just some request to have a swimming pool built."

He smiled warmly at Othala,

"How are you finding the school Othala?"

by **Othala Thormund** Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:06 am

Othala blinked a little bit when the man in front of her chuckled, it was something that she had often found more than a little unnerving when it came from her father and her grandfather, but the man in front of her seemed kind, and she thought it seemed nice coming from him.

When he mentioned that it was a swimming pool request Othala grinned and she clapped her hands happily;

"Swimming pools are good! I like them! Can we have one pretty pretty please I promise I'll use it and be a good girl and I wont mess in the water."

Tilting her head to one side, Othala pulled a face; "I no like school."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:12 am

The Doctor was a little bit alarmed when Othala seemed to react negatively to his chuckling at first. Was she afraid he was chuckling at her or something? But after only a few moments she calmed down and didn't seem to mind so much. Seeing her give him such a childish display of happiness over the idea of a swimming pool made The Doctor raise an eyebrow. The request had been put in the consideration pile after all,

"Well..." he made a show of looking very thoughtful, "I suppose I can consider having a pool built. But do you know how to swim Othala?"

The Doctor chuckled a little bit, "Awwwww why not? Do you not like the magic of it? Or is it the people?"

by **Othala Thormund** Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:19 am

Othala smiled gently when the nice man said that they might be able to build a swimming pool for the school, it would make it much nicer, however when he asked her if she knew how to swim, Othala sniffled and she let her head droop slightly, pouting and sniffling some more as she realised that no she didn't know how to swim.

"No, I no swim very well." Othala pouted "I've never been taught how to swim. You teach m?" she asked with a large hopeful smile on her face as she clicked her heels together.

Squeezing her hands together, Othala pouted; "I no like the people. They mean."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:24 am

The Doctor had to admit that having a swimming pool would be a major boost to the students and staff of Durmstrang. After all, it would allow for much needed exercise and relaxation. The downside was that it would have to be an indoor pool as the weather outside was usually too cold to have an outdoor pool.

When Othala told him that she couldn't swim, The Doctor was hardly surprised. The girl's family had locked her away when she was five. It had always been unlikely that they'd have taught her how to swim,

"Well I can teach you to swwim Othala." he assured her with a smile, "And as long as you work hard you should be able to swim no problem!"

Curious, he leant forwards, "What people are mean to you Othala?"

by **Othala Thormund** Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:35 am

Othala happily squeaked when the nice man in front of her told her that he would teach her how to swim, she really did want to learn how to swim, she had seen other people do it on the magical box that her parents kept sometimes and she thought they looked pretty when they did it.

"You really teach me?" she giggled "Thank you, Mr. Nice Man. I will be good for you when you teach me, pwomise!"

When the nice man asked why she didn't like school Othala childishly played with the peices of papers that he had on his desk, and tried to ignore the question for a small while before pouting and answering;

"Other kids, they mean to me..."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:42 am

The Doctor smiled a little wider at the obviously very happy sound Othala made. Swimming was something that The Doctor took a great deal of enjoyment from because it not only counted as exercise and fun but it was incredibly relaxing,

"Yes I will teach you Othala and you'll be swimming around by the end of the first lesson I promise you!" he assured her before grinning, "Call me Doctor."

Having been an educator for awhile now, and having been a teenager and a child before that, The Doctor recognised the way that Othala was looking away to try and avoid the question. When he heard the reason he frowned a little bit,

"Why is that Othala? Why do you think they're mean?"

by **Othala Thormund** Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:47 am

Othala was about to reply happily to the man she heard him say that he was called Doctor and her eyes widened a little bit and she placed her hands in front of her face making a small whining noise as she tried to hide herself from the man in front of her.

"No no no no!" she mumbled to herself and she placed her hands over her ears now, closing her eyes to make herself as unaware of her surroundings as possible, she didn't want him to be like the other doctors that she had to see over the years.

When he asked why they were mean, she peeked through her fingers and mumbled;

"They say words me no understand."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:52 am

The Doctor had to admit, rather sadly, that having people call him Doctor tended to have this affect more often than he'd like. Hell, he'd introduced himself to Raven as The Doctor and she'd looked like a frightened rabbit for a few seconds before she'd gotten control of herself. Placing comforting hands on Othala's shoulders, The Doctor got her to look at him,

"It's okay Othala." he told her quietly, "You can call me... Florence. I don't let anyone else call me that so that makes you very special alright Othala?"

The Doctor smiled a little bit,

"Is that all?" he smiled a little bit wider, "Well I'm sure I can help you with that too Othala."

by **Othala Thormund** Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:59 am

Othala jumped when the nice man placed his hand on her shoulders, she blinked up at him and her eyes became a little less wide and she hoped that the Doctor was not going to be here to hurt her like the others were, maybe he was here to help her?

Giggling a little bit, Othala poked Florence's nose;

"Silly Florence, that's a girl name, you no girl. I like being special, is good to be special yes?"

Running her hands across her cheeks, Othala closed her eyes and let her lip wibble a little bit; "I think that they think that I be stupid, cause I don't speak good. That makes me sad."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:49 am

The Doctor gritted his teeth slightly as he felt Othala jump under his light touch to the shoulder. She was afraid to even be touched. Her family were sick monsters to have done this to a little girl and at this moment he wanted nothing more than to reverse all the pain they'd given her. And then to end them. But there was hope in her eyes when she saw that he wasn't hurting her. Perhaps there was hope that she would grow from her pain? He hoped so, he really did. He wiggled his nose when she poked it and groaned slightly,

"Yes my parents thought it would be funny to have a boy with a girl's name." he muttered before smiling wider, "Yes it is very good to be special!"

The Doctor placed a hand on top of Othala's hair and gently ruffled it with a smile,

"Don't you worry Othala, you're not stupid." he told her honestly, "You're a very bright and smart girl."

by **Othala Thormund** Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:58 am

Othala smiled happily and she was glad that the Doctor was a man who seemed to be very nice, although she was still a little bit apprehensive about the fact that he was called a Doctor still, but maybe there was some hope that he would be a nice Doctor to help.

"Parents are silly." she said with a pout on her lips, she knew only too well that parents could be scary, but she didn't know that they could be silly as well "Are my parents silly too?"

Giggling lightly when her hair was ruffled, Othala pouted when the nice man stopped and placed his hand back on her head again, giving him a large puppy dog gaze as she did so.

"You come with me, tell them that?" she asked hopefully "Me, worried about proff-proffs too..."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:06 am

The Doctor was glad to see that Othala's initial opinion of him had changed so much. He wanted her to see him as a good guy because he planned to be helping her out as much a possible. And him being seen as a bad guy would have really messed that up,

"Oh they are indeed rather silly. Some might even call them mad!" he joked before he frowned a little bit. The mention of her parents seemed to drag his mood down, "They are very, VERY, silly Othala. They are stupid."

Seeing that she enjoyed having her hair ruffled, and was rather annoyed when this action stopped, The Doctor chuckled and gave into the puppy dog eyes. He ruffled her hair affectionally for her,

"I sure will if you want me to Othala!" he grinned a little bit before chuckling as he ruffled her hair, "I'll talk to the proff proffs Othala. Anything else you don't like about school?"

by **Othala Thormund** Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:33 am

Othala tilted her head to one side and she wondered why they would be angry if they were silly? Maybe they were angry at being called silly, or they were a little bit angry because they were acting in a silly way and the nice man didn't like them?

Gasping a little bit, Othala shook her head; "No no no! You no call peoples stupid! Is a bad word!"

Happily smiling when the nice man began to ruffle her hair again, Othala nuzzled her head into his hand and she closed her eyes, she found that she quite liked him doing that.

"What you say to the proff proffs?" she asked tilting her head to one side "That I'm special? I no know how to use my stick properly." she said, taking out her wand.

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:37 am

The Doctor could see that she was confused when he called her parents silly but it was literally the nicest term he could use to describe them right now. Most of his other descriptions involved them dying very painful deaths,

"I'm sorry, maybe I was a bit too mean." he said queitly, trying to calm her down but still having meant what he said about her parents, "They seem a bit misguided though... a bit lost."

Seeing that she enjoyed having her hair ruffled so much that she leant her head into his hand, The Doctor chuckled a little bit and decided that it was how he was going to greet her whenever he saw her. He nodded,

"That's exactly what I'll tell them Othala. That you're special and I want them to be extra nice to you!" he told her before smiling a little bit, "That's alright Othala, I don't use mine all that often either. You can be special, you can be powerful, without the stick."

by **Othala Thormund** Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:50 am

Othala thought that he parents were very silly, and very mean, but she didn't think that she would be allowed to say that so she kept quiet and to herself what she thought, until it seemed that the nice man seemed to agree with her, maybe she should tell him?

"I no like my parents." she whispered "They be mean, and they be stupid, you right Florence, but I should not say such mean words about my fambliy."

Nodding her head, Othala thought that it was nice the way that Florence was going to give her special attention from the Proff Proffs, maybe they would be able to stop the people being too mean to her in lessons.

"But it say on list I need stick!" Othala said, remembering the list that she had gotten in the post "I no need it after all? List...lie?"

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:02 am

The Doctor could see the conflicting emotions on Othala's face. Perhaps she was going to have some kind of a break through and tell him just how awful her parents were? Was she going to accept that what they did was, at the very least, mean? He smiled supportively when that was exactly what she said,

"It's alright Othala, when you're with me you can speak what you think." he told her with a small smile, "You can say whatever you want about your family when you're with me."

He had already been planning on sending a notice out to the professors to get them to control their classes better in regards to Othala. She was attending his school and he'd be damned if she was going to be bullied for trying to learn,

"You need it for some things. But you can be special without it." he told her before drawing a simple rune on the wood of his desk. A small light, about the size of a fairy light, floated up before flying happily around the room, "See? All without the little stick. But Othala... have you seen many drawings like the one I just did? Usually painted?"

by **Othala Thormund** Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:23 am

Othala knew that the man in front of her was a nice man when he said that she could say what she wanted when he was here, and her parents were not. She was a little bit apprehensive however, because she thought that her parents might still be listening through the magic pictures.

"They're very mean...they used to be nice to me, but, I was bad I think, so they no nice to me any more. Makes me cry when they are mean, is it normal to be sad?"

When the nice man pressed his desk and a little rune came up Othala gasped and she jumped up and down excitedly on the chair, before getting up off it and trying to run around and catch the little light, giggling happily.

"I see that!!" she giggled "I do! I do!"

Pressing her fingertip, a rune showed up, the same one on the desk and a new light came out, and she giggled again, running around after it.

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:29 am

The Doctor was glad that Othala was starting to see him as something of a nice man. He knew it would take some time but he hoped to be able to undo the damage caused by her parents. She was a gifted young girl that was to be sure, she was just neglected,

"They stopped being nice to you? When you were younger? That's terrible Othala." he walked around his desk to give her a brief hug, not sure how she'd react to it, "Well when you're with me you get my undivided attention Othala and I'll always be nice to you."

Seeing her so entertained by the simple lightball rune, The Doctor smiled a little bit. She seemed to have an inate love of runes if this was any kind of indication. But when the same rune appeared on her fingertip and worked just as well as his own, The Doctor's eyes widened and he sat up straighter. He paused and waved his hand. The two lightballs came to rest on his desk,

"Othala... can you do anything else like that?"

by **Othala Thormund** Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:41 am

Othala swung her legs from the chair and she thought about her parents, they were so scary now, she didn't want to go home, she really wanted to stay at Durmstrang instead of going home for the holidays, because she was scared of what they would do.

When he hugged her Othala froze and she stiffened herself in his arms, her eyes wide, before she relaxed a little bit.

"They stop liking me, I was a bad girl so...I no get presents on birthday no more, makes me sad, I no wanna go home!" she cried, sniffling and wiping at her eyes as she hugged the Doctors arm to her.

Pouting when the Doctor moved the lightbulbs to his desk Othala rolled them around with her fingertip and giggled happily, it was so funny to have to chase the little things around the room, it was nice, and it was one of her thing.

"Yes I can!" she giggled "I be special, I have flashy pictures on me."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:50 am

The Doctor had seen the look in Othala's eyes before in many students with bad home lives. She didn't want to go home, she wanted to stay here at the school. He knew this expression well because towards the end of his school life he'd worn it himself. When your clan is in the depths of a war with another one, summer holidays were less of a holiday and more of a struggle to survive.

When she stiffened he immediately knew he was right to have only given her a quick hug, even if she did seem to relax a little bit after the initial shock,

"I'm sure it can't have been your fault Othala." he assured her as he hugged her, taking her hugging of his arm to mean she would accept it, "You're a good girl Othala, I know you are."

Othala had a great affinity of the art of runes it seemed. After all, rune effects stopped working if someone touched them. Only people with a real affinity could touch them like she was,

"You seem to be very special when it comes to these pictures..." he smiled wider, "Do you have any more?"