A Rook by the Lake (Kairava&?Tasha?)

[tweetsie]

Audrey traipsed out the lake, donned in a brown knit cardigan and jeans. She had chosen to wear mittens this time because the weather was so chilly, and she was glad because it solved her problems of being cold. With a piano decorated scarf around her neck she felt sufficiently protected from the cold. She had chosen not to wear her hat and her auburn hair was getting tangled in the wind that was coming off the lake.

Audrey loved the lake because she loved wind. She used to say that when she grew up, she would live in a rook. Not a castle, but a rook- as in just the tower bit of the castle. She loved the wind and she loved the idea of going up and sitting on the top of the rook, looking up at the vast sky. Of course, this was stupid because her neighbors would think she was pretty odd. So she had given up on the rook... but maybe a house by a lake would do.

She sat down on a bench, took out a red notebook (that was her journal) and started writing... After a few minutes, she looked up and sighed. Today was just one of those days where she couldn't be upset. She kicked her legs back and forth, skimming her toes on the dirt on the ground. Even her cousin couldn't bother her now and that was because things were changing. her mom had found an allergy medicine that worked, so she was getting a cat finally. Even her cousin moving in for a year couldn't disturb her happiness.

[kairava]

The day had been a rather frustrating one and Kai had not found anyone to relieve his internal struggles. So he subconsciously directed his way towards the lake; water always seemed to help calm him throughout his life but even more so these last few weeks. Having worn sandals which turned out to be a bit of luck, Kai rolled up his pants and walked along the shore; his feet submersed in the water about four inches or so.

The cold feeling succored his fragile mental state into a smoother mindset. As he walked along the edge, the water began to chill and Kai immediately wished the water was warmer like it was during spring and summer. Unbeknownst to him the water actually warmed itself whenever it came in contact due to his elemental control. It took him quite a few minutes to realize what was going on and when he did, Kai quickly left the water. Though even as he did, the water seemed to swirl and follow him even though he was now on dry land. "What is going on?..." Kai pondered absently.

Mesmerized and a little worried Kai was not paying attention to where he was walking as his complete focus was on the swirling algae and water that followed him. His attention was quickly drawn away as he ran into something. Swiftly reacting he spun to the side as he looked to find what obstructed his path. It was a girl and she had been writing! "Hopefully I didn't cause her to ruin whatever she is working on," Kai thought to himself and his cheeks flushed from being embarrassed at his dimwitted action.

Running his right hand through his hair as a subconscious reaction to his nervousness, he spoke up to apologize, "I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going... obviously" Kai added a small chuckle towards his own ridiculousness. Attempting to direct the focus away from himself so that he could recuperate from his embarrassed state he asked, "What are you writing?" It was not only a distraction; he was truly curious now.

[tweetsie]

Audrey was back to writing again after a few minutes of thinking. She used a pen for writing that her mother sent her over christmas. Audrey greatly disliked using quills. Ever. For anything. So pens and pencils were regularly relayed to her across owl and she used them near as fast as they arrived. Audrey scratched her head. as she slowly ran out of things to write. What else had happened to her lately? Classes were boring... lunch had been good... Well, she was reading a good book right now. That could be something worth writing about. She bent her head again as she dove into her thoughts.

Audrey yelped embarassingly when someone bumped into her. He apologized and she shut her journal abruptly, and chose to ignore the water following him, though took a quick curious glance. He asked her what she had been writing but Audrey realized that she didn't want to say "nothing" because that would chase this person away. She searched her brain for something she'd written in her journal. She wrote about her cousin coming, but that was private... she wrote about a book she was reading, but that was boring. What else had she written about that was not entirely private and somewhat exciting?

"I'm getting a cat." Audrey finally declared with a nod of the head. "Sometime this summer." she specified, and then realized she didn't know who this person was. She didn't even know what house he was in, so that was definetly a step back from the people she had lately been meeting. "I'm sorry, I'm Audrey Leda Marlowe, 5th year, Ravenclaw." she said with a friendly smile. "And you are...?"

[kairava]

Looking back towards the water, Kai noticed that it stopped following him; thankfully. He couldn’t understand what was going on. The water remained in the lake but the whole situation boggled his mind. For a moment he pondered the possibilities before he remembered that she introduced herself and inquired about his status. He felt a little ashamed for being distracted. Turning back towards the younger girl, he smiled and replied with a friendly tone, “Kai… seventh year Hufflepuff.” He did not want to add his title of prefect due to his first and only encounter of adding it so far and that had turned out for the worse. So, Kai had decided that he would leave the title out unless it was required or he felt he needed to add the extra emphasis of power.

Thinking back to what she said first, he confirmed the oddity that his subconscious had caught, “A cat… well that’s as odd an introduction as I usually do,” he mentally chuckled to himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you Audrey; if I may call you as so,” as he spoke a friendly smile took over his features before he continued, “What type of cat?” A split moment after he asked the question he slowly turned and sat beside her on the bench leaving enough room so that she did not feel uncomfortable. It was not his intention to seduce her in any manner anyhow.

As he sat there awaiting her reply, Kai quickly glanced back towards the water to see if it had chose to continue its strange new habit. A slight wash of disappointment filled Kai for a moment at realizing that all the water was performing naturally. Letting it go he took in the beautiful scenery before turning back towards the girl sitting next to him. Observing her for a moment he found that she had a certain youthful charm to her; like that of a little sister. The idea caused a crooked smile to form on his face but let if fade before Audrey might have thought it directed at the idea of her getting a cat.

[tweetsie]

Audrey noticed the water disappear from behind him and chose not to question it. There was something strange going on with everyone lately, and due to her... nonexistance mentally in her fourth year, she was completely lost on most everything her classmates seemed to know about everything. The fact that she couldn't remember anything prior to that without feeling horrible didn't help either. She was having a hard time re-establishing friendships, but while she was doing that she was also making new friends, so it kept her contented.

"Yeah, it's cool. Everyone calls me Audrey." she replied, setting her notebook aside. "I couldn't see myself as 'Marlowe' anyway." Audrey really couldn't. Leda meant 'lady', and she wasn't much of that, Marlowe meant something like 'lake' and Audrey meant 'noble strength'... but nonetheless, it felt like her name. Not like something like 'Leda.' Her parents named not by liking the name, but by the meaning. It was almost ridiculous, but she let them get away with it. Parents were around to make you feel uncomfortable, when you were a teenager, anyway.

Her face became serious as she pondered this new question. What kind of a cat was she getting? She really didn't know, and since it was up to her, she really should think about it... Her green eyes returned to their laughing state as she said, "Something not hairless. Lots of fur sounds good." She laughed at her statement. It was pretty ridiculous, but that was how she saw it. If her mother was over her fur allergy, then it was time to go crazy with it.

She swung her legs back and forth and squinted up at the sky, playing with a strand of her hair, before looking back at the older student. Audrey gave herself time to think, in the moment of silence. So he was a Hufflepuff? Audrey smiled to herself. Personally Hufflepuffs were her favourite to talk to. She felt most genuine with them, well, the four or five she knew well. She took in his smile and was glad to see at least her mood was catching a little bit- though she wasn't sure what he was smiling at.

[kairava]

“Audrey it is then,” Kai said in a matter of fact way before continuing, “So it sounds like you have wanted a cat for quite some time and now that you’re actually able to get one, you’ve no idea where to start.” He couldn’t help but smile with a small chuckle while looking at the girl on the bench. She really did have an innocent, younger-than-her-age look to her. He didn’t really understand though as he had never had a pet of his own other than snakes. Kai also traveled far too much for it to be reasonable to get a pet. Now though, as he listened to Audrey become excited over the idea of finally having a cat, Kai began wondering what type of pet he would want.

Thinking through the silence as the girl looked towards the sky, he concluded that if he could have any pet he would probably want a panther. The elegant and graceful creatures reminded him of his tropical homeland in India. Though, he supposed, it would not be practical to have such a large pet but right now he was not dealing with reality; he was dealing with what he desired. “I’ve never had any pets aside from the snakes that I charmed in India. I suppose if I could choose any animal it would be a panther. They are so graceful and elegant and I imagine they would be wonderful protectors. They are also a pleasant reminder of good past times in my homeland.”

“Have you thought about keeping a pet here at Hogwarts?... I wonder what they allow…” Kai trailed off as his thoughts began putting together an image of having a panther walk the halls of the school with him or playing in the fields together. He hadn’t noticed his eyes had found themselves back to the lake until something caused the water to ripple. He allowed himself to look across the water as he finished thinking about having a companion.

[tweetsie]

"Uhm. Yeah, I guess that's it..." Audrey deduced, letting out a small laugh. She grinned a bit again at the thought. Come to think of it, she didn't even know what she needed to buy for a cat. A litter box, yes, did cats need leashes? She shook her head a little at her ignorance. Of course, that's what you got when you couldn't even buy a hamster as a child. Maybe she should relinquish this opportunity and go for a rodent instead, just because they took less maintenance.

She considered this option for a couple moments, before refuting it. She liked cats way too much. They had a way of being companions but at the same time aloof when they wanted as well. They were sly and could easily stay in a room unnoticed, and they had an innate ability to walk without making a sound. Maybe Audrey liked cats because they reminded her of herself a little bit. She had the same abilities to be quiet and unnoticed, but be there if she felt like she should be. And her will was just as stubborn, curious and determined as a cat.

As he mentioned what kind of animal he would want, she stopped another laugh. There was really nothing funny in the statement he said to him... just to her. he must think she was insane. "Really? That's cool... my patronus is a panther." She said, laughing. If she let him in on what she was laughing at, she'd seem less insane... right?

But now that she considered it, this was kind of embarassing. This small 5'5" girl had a patronus that was elegant and beautiful and massive- well, compared to her... she didn't think herself elegant or beautiful. Considering, how much cats were alike, maybe she could be like a panther. But where the majestically dangerous part of the panther came in, she didn't know. Maybe she had a hidden ability to be ferocious.

"And they are wonderful. I mean, I don't meet dementors day to day, but they're nice as far as I know. I mean, the panther, not the dementors." Audrey frowned at his next statement. "I don't know. I think it's small animals. One of my elder brothers obtained permission for a chinchilla..." she said. "But he had to undergo a lot of the administration." She twirled a strand of her hair absentmindedly as she thought. It was a bad habit.