A fall breeze captured the edges of her dress and flicked up the soft material.  Usually, Alcy would've been groping to shove it down and appear quite ladylike, whilst also avoiding a display of her underwear for the whole world to see, but fall meant colder weather, which meant that all of her dresses had leggings beneath them.  Absently, she grasped at the material fluttering about by her midriff and held it back in place where it belonged, the breeze refusing to die off.  Though, she had not expected it to - who came out to a cliff-face by the ocean without the expectation to nearly be bowled over by the wind?

Bright, chestnut eyes examined the ocean waves below.  Said wind was currently lifting the waves up, pulling them as high as they were able to reach before allowing them to crumble back in on themselves.  It was exhilarating to watch nature at work, to hear the soft crashing of water below as it danced it's endlessly repetitive dance with only two moves - up, and then back down again.  She'd been tempted to go swimming today, but a step outside had warned her off of such a foolish endeavor - it was a little too chilly for swimming in the ocean.  She doubted that the magnificent waves below her would be anything other than icy to the touch.  

The soft tweeting of her sparrow snapped Alcyone's attention away from the ocean, and she lifted a hand to allow the creature to flutter down and settle on her finger.  "Bored, Flick?" She asked the creature, who made a soft cooing noise at her.  She smiled and placed her hand on top of her head, only moving it away from her perfectly manicured hair when she felt the tiny creature nestle into her hair.  She didn't like anyone touching her hair when she'd done it up, but Flick was always allowed to make it his home.  She turned about and moved away from the cliffs towards the picnic area, where several families and random couples wandered about and sat around, laughing and chattering amongst themselves.  She smiled.  Watching people interact always warmed her.

The brunette didn't often entertain the idea of herself settling down, finding true love, and having children of her own. But when she watched a family sit in a circle on a picnic blanket, with a bother who looked both exasperated and amused, and a father with a bright grin lighting up his features, she couldn't help but wonder if that would be nice. Being in a family, one that was free of pressure like her own had been. It wasn't as if she had disliked her home life - not at all, actually, it was Caelum who felt the full brunt of expectation and pressure. She was the second daughter, not the one supposed to carry on the family, and she was female - even if her parents would argue they were not sexist, their traditions were, and her father was a man of tradition.

Alcyone simply didn't have much expected of her from her parents - she'd achieved what they'd wanted, high grades and a spot in the prestigious academy she'd attended for a good few years now, and that had been their main desire for her in life. But she had still tasted that coldness in the air, the frivolity of her family's lifestyle, the distance between each member. She'd forced her love upon each sibling and they had grown up with her constantly adoring them, and in turn had come to love and form a strong bond with her, but her parents? It was difficult to get much from either of them, even if she knew that they loved both her and Caelum dearly. It simply wasn't the same as what she was seeing here, she could not recall such an event with her own parents. She'd gone on picnics when she was little, but had that been with their nanny? Yes, Greta, the poor old woman who had died when Alcyone reached adolescence.

She jumped a little in surprise when a voice interrupted her peaceful bubble, but quickly relaxed when she noticed him. He looked familiar - she'd seen him at Merlin's, she was sure of it, though they didn't study the same thing. She knew most of the people in her course, save for a few of the freshman's. "Yes, it is. I think all of these families are here to simply appreciate the last few days that summer can still warm for us," she smiled at him in a bright manner, her eyes roving over his appearance on instinct. No matter how hard she tried not to, Alcyone always found herself judging based on looks. His appearance was neat, tidy, with attractive arranged features and an aesthetically appealing shade of dirty blond to his slightly messy hair. "You look familiar. Do you go to Merlin's?"

Alcyone could see a slight guilt in his eyes at her wincing, and she smiled at him to soften the blow of her actions. She hadn't meant to, but Alcyone was prone to falling off into her own world and not focusing on her surroundings - she was most certainly not suitable to be in the auror profession. Outside of classes, she scarcely paid attention to anything, and she doubted that such a thing would be helpful in a situation where she needed to constantly be focused on everything. It wasn't as if she didn't try to focus, but when her attention wasn't snagged by something important, then she could be very absent-minded, and would somehow find herself letting her thoughts go off on one tangent or another, losing herself in her own mind before she could halt the wanderings. "I like to watch the ocean from up here. It's peaceful," she said in response.

Warmth touched her eyes as she cast her gaze back towards that family. It occurred to her she hadn't eaten that day when she noticed the particularly appealing biscuit in the child's grasp, decorated with pink frosting and splashes of colour that she suspected were derived from sprinkles, or hundreds and thousands. When she stared at him harder, she realised that she recognised him from Hogwarts more than Merlin's. She had a keen memory for those who she'd attended her favourite place in the world with. "Wait! No, I haven't seen you at Merlin's - I remember you from Hogwarts. You were in Ravenclaw," she nodded her head, because she'd bumped into him once in the library and had spilled ink on herself, and had been very apologetic for getting some on his books. "I'm a junior, studying healing," she replied, grinning now that she knew where she recognised him from.

"Oh, Flick? Yes, he's lovely, and very friendly," she petted the bird and he climbed onto her finger, which she then extended towards the other.

Alcyone's eyes lit up at his voicing of her exact thoughts and feelings in regards to the ocean. She clicked her fingers and grinned at him in a wide, bright manner. "Yes! That's why I love to watch the ocean. I love the sound of the waves crashing, and I like to just marvel at how something so beautiful can be so utterly devastating if it wants to be," she glanced back towards the ocean as she spoke about it, though her eyes were swiftly drawn back to him. Social etiquette always called for maintaining eye-contact as much as possible without creating a sense of discomfort when talking to people that one didn't know well. Once she'd gained a person's friendship, however, she could become a lot less formal when she spoke. Although, she wasn't currently being stiff, merely polite and perhaps warm because who could blame her, she was in a great mood. "Do you prefer summer or winter?" She asked, rather randomly.

She watched him as he looked towards the family she'd found her gaze occasionally straying to. Something twisted about in the depths of those eyes, an emotion that she was well-acquainted with. Her smile softened around the edges as she looked back towards the happy group of four, deciding not to comment on the look on his face. The conversation quickly switched away from such a somber feeling when the duo recalled where they knew one another from, and Alcyone laughed as he recalled the event, shaking her head slightly. Someone less confident than herself might've blushed - Jay, for example - but as it were, Alcyone merely beamed. "What a splendid way to meet someone, right? At least I left a mark on your memory," she teased. "Gryffindor," something her parents had pursed their lips at initially. Neither of their children had been the Slytherin's they'd wanted, though they'd been happier with Ravenclaw than with the house of the lion. "Dragons? That was my second choice, although I was tempted by potions too. But I want to help people," she said, tone softening.

She wanted to save people from losing someone that they loved, if she could. "I normally go for much fancier names, but Flick suited him. Don't ask me why," she laughed softly as he reached out a hand. Flick eyed it for a moment, and then bounced onto it, tweeting happily to himself as he hopped up the male's arm towards his shoulder. "I'm Alcyone, by the way. Alcyone Malfoy," she resisted the urge to wince at her last name - a lot of people reacted visibly to it.

Alcyone knew that her naturally sociable personality, and the warmth with which she approached a majority of the people around her, made her the kind of person that others felt comfortable around and trusted. She was always grateful to have been blessed with such kindness, because it was only on a few occasions that being the way that she was became disadvantageous - people could, sometimes, assume that she was an airhead. After all, what girl who put as much effort into her appearance as Alcyone did could also be intelligent, right? Alcy had always believed that it was her goal in life to shatter the idea that a woman couldn't be smart and sexy. Brushing a stray hair out of her face, she refocused her attention on Humphrey, looking enlightened by his rambling. She had to agree with a majority of it, really. Watching snow filter down from the sky above and settle itself comfortably over the earth like a blanket was wonderful. Though, she preferred to be inside with a cup of cocoa in her hands on such days. "Oh, winter for me too!" Boots could get really uncomfortable in summer, too, and if Alcyone wasn't wearing knee-high boots like she was now, then Alcyone was certainly not a happy camper.

"Probably," she said with that tinkling laugh of hers that always made her brother snort at her. She would generally swat Cae when he did that, it was her "I'm feeling a lot more comfortable around you so I'm not going to sound like I have a stick up my ass" laugh, and it was a little bit high-pitched. "Hey, if in ten years time it turns out we've become the best of friends, we'll have a great meeting story to tell people, right?" She grinned, winking at him. Alcy was very forward when it came to making friends, and had actually said to Jaycie on their first meeting: "I like you. We should be best friends." To which Jay had, of course, blushed and muttered something in response that Alcy hadn't heard then, and wouldn't remember now even if she had. It had been so long ago that she'd befriended Jaycie... That ever-present smile warmed her features. "Nothing wrong with being a Ravenclaw. I think all of the houses have their good points," she nodded her head. "Except Slytherin," she joked. She considered him with a thoughtful gaze as he talked about his lack of proficiency in potions. "Well hey, I'm awesome at potions, let me know if you need help,"

She watched as her ever-so-friendly bird bounced along Humphrey's arm and settled itself by his ear, making happy noises to him to show that he liked the human who had befriended his master. Flick was a very domestic sparrow, having been rescued by Alcyone in his youth roughly 3 or 4 years ago, and she'd kept him with her ever since. He didn't really know what it was like to be afraid of humans, his instincts never having kicked in because of his indoctrination. "I'm glad you think so," she watched as Flick bumped his beak against Humphrey's neck, then jumped back down his arm and hopped over to Alcyone's out-stretched hand. She, of course, immediately returned him to her hair. He nestled into the soft locks happily. She was pleased when he didn't seem to mind her last name all that much, and even went so far as to call her Ms Malfoy. Immediately, she found her respect for the blond growing. Too many people judged her based on things she hadn't done. "And an absolute pleasure to meet you, master Williams," she grasped the edges of her skirt after she'd shaken his hand and curtseyed.

Alcy chuckled as he prompted her for more than an answer than she liked winter, too.  She cast him a sidelong glance that suggested amusement as she lifted her fingers to toy with her hair, pushing it back more firmly into the diamante-set clip that was holding her fringe out of her face.  For the most part.  Random strays of shorter growth still managed to flop down every now and then, simply because she preferred not to use a hair-freezing charm to keep it all in place - then, it wouldn't feel or look as soft and luscious as it did naturally.  Besides, sometimes the messy look could also be quite attractive.  Stop thinking about your appearance, she thought to herself.  But wasn't that way she liked winter?  Because it was beautiful?  "I love the way winter looks," she said in a soft tone of voice, eyes glazing over as she pictured it.  "The way that ice drapes itself over the trees and snow covers everything - it's like a white wonderland.  I love it.  And I love to be curled up by the window pane when it's snowing lightly with a cup of hot cocoa and a blanket - but who doesn't love doing that, right?  And I love having fires in winter, you can't really have a fire in summer because it's hot enough as it is.  Night time just feels more peaceful in winter - and the sound of rain makes me happy, too," though it did rain more in autumn than in winter.  

Curiosity burned in that chestnut gaze as it settled on him once more rather than staring wistfully out at the ocean that she could not swim in, thanks to the cool nature of autumn.  She'd been contended with the first part of his words, but that last little bit that seemed to be muttered more to himself than to her had her worried.  "You don't have many good friends, then?" She asked, softly.  Her hand moved of it's own accord to settle on his arm and squeeze it lightly, saying through action rather than words that she'd have him now.  Alcyone had maybe just really met the blond and spoken to him, but she was the type to give her all from the get go, it was part of the reason that people liked her - it was all or nothing.  Some didn't appreciate that, and they got get - Eh hem.  That word wasn't particularly ladylike.  "I jest, there's nothing all that wrong with most Slytherin's.  There are just a few rotten eggs in that house, as there are with every house, but the Slytherin rotten eggs are simply more vocal about their awfulness than others," she really liked all of the houses, and had only said her part about Slytherin to play the role of a true Gryffindor.  "Generous is my middle name," she winked.

She laughed again, amused by him pointing out the talkative nature of her bird.  "Yes, Flick is very vocal about his feelings on most things," she said as she retrieved her beloved pet and allowed him to nestle back into her hair.  "You should see him with my hippogriff back home, the two of them play around like a couple of toddlers, and chirp at each other faster than you could imagine," she had never minded getting her hair a little messy for Flick, even if she would spend such time carefully putting it into place.  Alcyone was vain, yes, but not that vain.  Happiness within others was more important than whether or not her hair stayed in place - it was one of the reasons that she refused to allow others to think her vain and nothing else.  She liked to look pretty, but if she had to get down and dirty in the mud in order to help someone else?  She would.  "Comes with the pureblood lifestyle, naturally." She explained, though her curtsey and name of "Master Williams" had been a bit of playfulness on her behalf.  "Yes, I do.  Follow me, master Williams," she crooked a finger at him, swirled on her heel, and lead the two of them off.

[We can end this here, unless Humphrey has something to add~]