Hot Chocolate on a Rainy Day ((Kai))

[Caitlin Collins]

((Continued from here.))

Although her powers were still in place keeping her dry, and now Kai’s spell as well, she did notice that he was really quite dirty due to the mud everywhere and his earlier fall. His spell might stop the rain from falling on them from the sky, but did nothing for protecting him from the ground. She just had to hope he wouldn’t notice she was, for the most part, dry and clean. Some water had fallen on her when she’d first made her way outside, but that was mostly gone now.

His response was infuriating, again, and made her even more curious; likely just as he had intended. Of course she could not share her own secrets – they weren’t hers to share. But what could be so secretive about wearing a pair of gloves? She had been expecting a simple, mundane answer and be able to move on quickly enough, but to receive that answer just piqued her curiosity more.

[yellow]”But... my secret is not mine to tell,” [/yellow] she tried to argue back, still fairly sure it wouldn’t work. She mostly ignored his acknowledgement of her previous comment being correct, still focussed on the reason for him wearing gloves. What was it about it that could be such a secret? Why did it need to be a secret? [yellow]”Why is the reason for wearing gloves a secret?”[/yellow] she asked, voicing her thoughts.

Kai really did look very uncomfortable in his saturated clothes, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise when he suggested going inside. And perhaps once inside it would be less noticeable that she was dry – she would just be like everyone else apart from him, and he could perform a drying spell easily enough. She wasn’t sure he hadn’t noticed already, considering the way he was looking at her with what appeared to be an edge of curiosity.

[yellow]”Sure,” [/yellow] she replied, hoping to distract him from that. Hot chocolate sounded nice, although she hadn’t actually had it in a long time. It was practically the only hot drink she liked, although she had to wait a fairly long time for it to cool if anyone but she made it. Her tongue had always burnt very easily. She rose from her seat on the grass, very aware that that space was also dry from her earlier experimentation with her elemental powers. She gave him a half-smile that, as usual, wasn’t exactly genuine as she waited for him to get up as well.

Once he had stood, she began to walk back towards the castle, not right next to him but close enough so that anyone else who had ventured outside in the rain and could see them could tell they were walking together. Once inside, she headed down the stairs that led to the dungeons, glancing back to make sure Kai was following. The house elves would be happy enough to give the pair some warm drinks, and probably various snacks as well. Tickling the pear softly, the door opened and she slipped inside, glancing around for one of the small creatures that were already scurrying towards the pair with a plate of biscuits.

Taking a step further inside, she held the door for him in case it swung shut – you could never be sure at Hogwarts – before releasing it and pausing, shooting a smile at the eager house elf who had approached.

[kairava]

A satisfied smile quickly formed on his face, even through his vain attempt to keep his cool. It was not the brilliant, unashamed beam that burst forth when the girl of interest agreed to keep company with enthusiasm, but it was still a grin refusing to be kept hidden. His enthusiasm was quickly cut short with her lack of excitement, however, and the fact that she led him to the kitchen instead of walking at his side. Though, he still felt he wanted her, liked her, and so he made the best of the situation and enjoyed the view until his heart reminded him of her hidden pain. A drop of rain fell on him, drawn from around his Umbra Claris. He knew, behind her pain, she is who he is meant to be with; he did not know why. What Kai did not realize, and most likely would not for some time, was that his attraction to her romantically and elementally were, in fact, two distinct but compounding effects.

As he walked, clothes damp and muddy, Kai was glad that his shoes were still fairly dry. The smell of wet grass and fresh rain drew the attention of his senses before something tickled his psyche. This time it was not his curiosity though… it was more. Wiping away a bead of water that had fallen on him, never knowing that was what stirred him, he forced himself to let go of the thought. Then he remembered something Vidur said many times, “There is always more than what is perceived.” Kai could not help but think, “What secret do you hold inside that destroys you Cait?... Why will you not confess it from your heart?...” In his heart though, he knew that she was beautiful but more than that, he wanted her to willingly open up to him; he wanted to know her and he could not, or rather, was not allowed. His spirit reached for her and yet her spirit’s wounds cause her to recoil. “How can I heal your wounds? How can I protect you?” For the next few moments the world seemed darker and colder as if something wanted him isolated in his helplessness.

Lost in those thoughts, Kai did not notice anything other than her as they traversed the yard and the portion of the castle on the pathway to the kitchen. As Cait opened the door to the kitchens it was as if she opened his mind back to reality; he had not realized how mindless the last few moments were until then. Kai offered Cait a polite ‘thanks’ as he walked in, past her. As the walls of the entranceway fell behind his peripherals, Kai saw the house elf that had approached. He subconsciously wanted feel useful once more and so quickly spoke up, “House elf, I apologize for not knowing your name…” “Abra,” the house elf squeaked in quick reply. “Abra, would you mind finding myself and the lady a hot cocoa?” With a hint of what could be called a smile from the house elf, Abra rushed away after a quick and polite “Of course.”

Looking around the stone room filled with cooking islands and pots and pans hung on the walls and areas above the counters, Kai searched for an open area near one of the open fire ovens. He wanted a place that was warm even though they were having a hot drink so that he could dry his clothes off and hopefully be more comfortable. Within the moment, Kai found a spot. There was a countertop cleared off next to one of the ovens. Turning to Cait, Kai gave her a half smile as he waved her to join him. Walking over to the countertop, he jumped up onto it and then turned to offer Cait a hand if she would like. The counter had enough space for them both to sit comfortably, one against the back wall and one against the warmth of the oven wall.

[Caitlin Collins]

Had Caity known what was going on in Kai’s mind as they made their way to the kitchens, she might have been a little less keen to accompany him. Male attention in a romantic sense was not something she needed – at least, thought she needed – or wanted right now. She especially wouldn’t have liked him asking those questions about her secret or how she could be protected. She didn’t like thinking that she needed protecting, and not only for the obvious reason. If someone thought she needed protecting from a physical threat and went about defending her in a physical way, then she would feel responsible for any injuries or hurt that came out of that... She didn’t want anyone hurting anyone else in an effort to protect her. It was more difficult to stop other people from resorting to violence than it was herself.

She gave Kai one of her half-smiles as he thanked her and simply listened as he spoke to the house elf, not adding anything to what he said. Although she knew the house elves were servants and loved their jobs, it still made her a little uncomfortable seeing just how willing they were to obey the slightest whim. She was sure there must be students, or even professors, who abused the creatures’ willingness and it made her a little more hesitant to ask any more of them. At home she had never been waited on, so what was different here? If she knew where everything was stored she would probably just have asked if it was okay to make herself some, not interrupting their work. But this kitchen was huge; any attempt to locate anything would almost certainly be in vain.

Another half-smile graced her lips, fading just as quickly as the last had, when Kai motioned her over to a counter next to an oven. It was apparently not being used right now since there was nothing in the way of food or knives or chopping boards on the counter, although the oven was apparently being pre-heated because there were wobbly heat waves contorting the air above it. Stools were pushed to the side of the counter, presumably used by the house elves to reach the height of the surface. She wondered why the counters were so high to start with... had it not always been house elves working in these kitchens? She knew Hogwarts was over a thousand years old, so a change in staff species wasn’t too unlikely. She didn’t know what time it was, but since there seemed to be a lot of activity around the area of some very big sinks, she could guess that they had missed a meal – lunch or dinner, she wasn’t sure which.

Although she didn’t want to be rude by rejecting Kai’s helping hand, she honestly found it easier to just turn her back to the counter and jump up onto it that way, with her hands resting on the surface of the counter to push herself upwards then back. If she took his hand she’d probably end up slipping. So she waved his hand away, giving a small [yellow]”Thanks”[/yellow] anyway and hopped up with the easier method. She shuffled back to sit against the back wall, well aware that Kai needed the heat of the oven more than she. From there, she glanced across the wide room and a couple of places spoke out to her. One was the table Zee had dumped her on after bringing her to the kitchens for some much-needed sustenance, which had ended with her crouched on the floor, crying yet again after he had left due to the emotions the argument with him had brought about. And there, by that other wall – where she had used her elemental abilities for the first time... and also where she had told Susan of Mallan’s death. She’d ended up crying again on that occasion. More bad memories to add to her stockpile. She seemed to think of more everywhere she went.

The house elf, Abra, returned with the hot chocolates quite quickly and handed them over with a chirpy grin and little bow. She gave her thanks and placed her mug next to her, making sure it wasn’t too near to Kai so that he might accidently knock it. She would need to wait for it to cool down – hot drinks, and hot food as well for that matter, always burnt her tongue if she didn’t wait.