The rain must fall (Kai)

[Caitlin Collins]

Looking out of the window in the Hufflepuff common room, Caitlin saw that the rain was still pouring down in bucket loads. Really, what was wrong with the sun? Did Scotland, or the whole of the UK for that matter, have a natural aversion to hot, dry weather? Even the snow had been better than this dismal affair; at least that looked nice. Letting out a sigh, she rested her forehead on the cold pane of glass and watched as the transparent liquid trickled at different rates downwards, controlled by gravity. Her sleep had been getting better, at about the same, slow speed as her spellwork returned to its previous level, but last night had been particularly bad. She could only have had two hours of decent rest; the other five hours she’d stayed in bed for, until finally giving up around half five, had been spent tossing and turning or plagued by nightmares. The bags under her yes and her unusually pale skin were a testament to her current state of near-exhaustion.

As her eyelids slid downwards, she felt a sudden calmness spread through her. She snapped her eyes open again in surprise, and noticed for the first time that a side window was slightly ajar, letting in a cool spray of water from outside – apparently the wind had changed direction just now. Now that she thought about it, surely she should feel comfortable in this kind of weather, however horrible it looked? Water was her element, after all. And this could be the ideal opportunity to test what elemental powers she supposedly possessed.

Rising from her seat by the window, Caity exited the common room. She was ignored by most, if not all of her peers, who were by now used to blanking the shy, silent girl who had started Hogwarts much later than most – six years late, in fact. There had been a few questions upon her return after the time kept away by her parents, but at that point she had been stuck right in the middle of her grief for Mallan, and any interest had soon faded due to her lack of responsiveness. Now, she was just better at hiding her emotions.

Rather than going via the entrance hall and attracting any unwanted attention, she slipped out through a small door elsewhere on the ground floor. There were still plenty of windows she could be seen through, but hopefully no one would want to look out at this sincerely miserable weather. The moment the water hit her she felt better; less tired, and more likely to make it through the day without falling back into the depression that was constantly tethered to the edge of her consciousness. She stood still for a few moments, letting the droplets of water fall down her face and arms, finally reaching the floor and joining the tiny rivers that joined together into bigger stones which flowed downhill on the pavement.

Eventually taking a step, Caitlin followed one of the largest currents (although still no wider than her hand span) down the slope and off the path until she reached the lake, stopping just short of its shores. About to sit down on the wet grass, she paused, thinking back to the elf kitchens with Susan. Then, she’d managed to dry Mallan’s letters just by willpower – could she do the same here? Then, her mind had been adamant in not allowing the precious diary to be ruined. She had wanted it dry again. Maybe if she emulated those same feelings... After all, she didn’t want to sit on saturated plant stems... She wanted it to be like it was in India – dry. Not with everything covered in liquid. There was enough rain elsewhere that she didn’t need it where she was sitting as well. She didn’t want to sit on wet grass.

It wasn’t immediate, in fact it was quite slow in comparison to how it had been with ther letters, but there was an obvious changed. The stems lifted as the water that had previously weighted them down floated above. Amazed that anything had actually happened, Caity lost concentration for a moment and it all came crashing back down, splashing her as it did so. Remembering that Dee had chastised her before for losing attention during training, she put more effort into it the next time and managed to make the water rise and gather together into an untidy mass.

Settling herself down, she stared at the swirling ball of water and wondered just how far her control of it would stretch. Motioning with one hand – the best way she could think of the visualise what she wanted – a stream of it travelled in the same direction, following her fingers obediently. Bringing that thread back to the main body, she decided to try something else. Concentrating again, the water reformed into a smaller depiction of the tree to her left. Again, and it was the Whomping Willow, swinging out at her characteristically with liquid branches. Next, and this time without having to move her hands at all, the lightfighters. Dee, Dylan, Susan, Zane, Alessandro, Keaira, Bryan, all in quick succession. Those she was more familiar with had clearer images, with Bryan being the most blurred of all.

Feeling something at the back of her mind wanting to be visualised, she eagerly let it out. This was more instinctual than any of the previous items formed, yet somehow it felt more important. She allowed the image to flow through her, only taking in the object when her subconscious told her it was complete.

It was a sphere – a swirling mass of water enclosed in what could only be described as an orb. If Caitlin did not know better, she would have said the outer shell was made of glass. Inside was a glistening torrent of liquid. Delicate strands that were separate laced themselves around and among it, forming an intricate web that was impossible to dissect with the human eye. The whole thing swivelled about like a balloon caught on the wind, never looking the same twice. In the very centre was a dark blue glowing light, which immediately reminded her of the light D’rorah had summoned in Hogsmeade.

Entranced by the image of the Elemental Orb of Water, even without knowing what it was or its significance, Caity didn’t notice that the rain around her had lessened to a drizzle. Instead she continued to be absorbed by the water in front of her that she herself was controlling. She laid back, watching it bob about above her head.

[kairava]

Unlike his previous days at the new school that constantly provoked a carelessness within him, this particular day seemed to have swollen with responsibility and necessity to the point of an uncomfortable pressure. The effect began to reveal its manifestation when Kai noticed his seventh mistake on the assignment he had only been working on for the last twenty minutes; it was rare that he ever made more than a few mistakes within the entirety of his homework assignments. Sitting back in the padded, wooden chair that he claimed as his own within the library, Kai forced himself to relax and inhale a lengthily breath as he closed his eyes in hopes of centering himself within the infinite world of possibilities. Opening them only a moment later as he let the chair return to its home with a thunk and directing his eyes back to his work, he noticed not only the mistakes that he had produced but also noticed that his quill marks grew deeper and darker as they moved down the page.

Setting his quill down on the table and shifting his chair to face the empty one on his left, Kai kicked his feet up onto the neighboring chair, crossing one leg over the ankle of the other as he let his thoughts clear. The entangled thrash of thoughts smoothed over but the stressful sensation never truly left. He knew there was something lingering within his subconscious that was cultivating the sensation but as much as he tried to discover the origin, it never revealed itself. With a sigh for his vain attempts Kai looked back toward his work and came to realize that he was not going to finish anything in his current state. Freeing his wand from its security, Kai cast, “Revenio Domus,” upon his schoolwork. Satisfied and a little relieved, he watched his belongings float into the air and head out of the library as they made their nonchalant way toward his dorm.

Taking another deep breath Kai replaced his wand, swung his legs back down, stood up and stretched before casually exiting the library. It took him a few moments as he walked through the castle halls before deciding that he currently did not appreciate the confinement of the walls and the stale air. He had not walked by any windows and so was unaware of the rainy weather but that did nothing to hinder his newfound desire for a breath of fresh air. Soon after, Kai found himself opening a pair of doors to the outside. Upon seeing the rain and weather, he pulled out his wand once again and silently cast Umbra Claris before striding out into the rain.

As he walked through the rain, he never realized how much he enjoyed it. Not only did it bring forth memories of home and his time at Durmstrang but the white noise that the rain produced always seemed to ease any problem he was having as if it were washing away the weight on his soul. A few minutes later, Kai found that he was walking with a lighter step and his mind did not seem as chaotic and self-ravaged as it was in the library. Though, the lifted sensation quickly left as his heart stopped when he almost slid and fell into the mud; the rain he enjoyed but becoming muddy and dirtying his white gloves was something he was most definitely not fond of. Regaining his balance once more, Kai found the lake in view a short distance ahead and decided to draw closer.

Only a short distance later, now that his focus was on the lake, Kai’s eyes snapped towards a strange glowing essence. His mind could not decipher it and the figure toyed with his imagination; it almost looked like a wisp but he knew it was not due to the lack of movement. Kai drew his wand as he continued in the direction of the light, his feet now drawn to the oddity by curiosity. As the obscuring cloud of rain thinned from shaving the distance between, he realized that it was not a light at all… or rather, it was not only light. It seemed as though it were an ever-shifting ball of water… with light trapped inside of it. Even the rain drops falling close to it were being drawn into it like a magnet. He wanted to touch it; to understand what it felt like.

His hand that was not holding his wand moved up to touch the floating creation and then, within a heartbeat, the orb of swirling water and pulsating light vanished with a soft explosion of raindrops a split second before Kai’s extended fingers would have touched it. The unexpected explosion startled Kai and pulled him off balance. In an attempt to steady himself Kai brought his left foot up in order to ground it in front of him. However, his foot caught on some unknown object and his motion toward the ground continued. Snapping his head around to look at the ground and his upcoming problem, he found someone lying below him. Quickly he moved his arms, which were already on their way to stop his impact, out of the way of the person below. His hands barely made it out of the way of the person below him as they landed on either side of… Cait’s? head.

Kai remained in the pushup position above Cait while his brain attempted to process everything that just happened. It took him a brief moment before words started escaping his lips in a nervous stammer, “Cait?... Oh… Um… I’m sorry… Are you alright?” After another brief moment, Kai’s brain kicked in and reminded him that he was intruding her personal space; which he did not mind at all but assumed that she would feel a little uncomfortable. Pushing himself to the right, he rolled onto his side, to her left, before pushing himself up into a sitting position. Spinning around, Kai pulled his knees under him where he sat facing Cait with a quizzical expression. His surprise transformed into curiosity as he regarded her with a little more calm and control, “What was that?” The fact that she was dry tickled his subconscious but he was not aware of it at the moment; right now he was more interested finding his wand, the orb, and why Cait was out here by herself. Kai waited as he padded and scanned the ground in search for his wand.

[Caitlin Collins]

Staring up at the orb she had created, Cait was utterly transfixed as she lay on the grass. It was so beautiful... She didn’t add any more to it, nor did she alter it further, not seeing any need. It was just perfect as it was. The movements continued, swirling and cycling through the motions, and ever-present was that eerie glow she wasn’t entirely sure had come from anywhere. Perhaps it was just the way the light was trapped inside the water; there was a sort of rainbow-esque quality to it. She began to spin the globe itself so she could see every side, every possible angle, before slowing down the movements again so it was practically still, just hovering above her.

And then, she noticed a hand reach out from one side to try and touch it, and panicked. She couldn’t let anyone else see it, couldn’t let anyone see her elemental powers like that! The fear of discovery helped Caitlin in her sudden search for a quick method to get rid of the orb, and within a second it had evaporated almost completely, with a spattering of raindrops falling down on her. She kept hold of the water she had managed to evaporate as it went upwards extremely fast until it was far enough away from them, then let it join some of the clouds already above. Meanwhile the hand fumbled to search for where the orb had gone before jerking, and she had little warning other than that before the unknown figure came falling down on top of her, just about not crushing her by putting his hands on either side of her head and holding himself up. Him being Kai, she could now see, as she let out a delayed gasp of surprise at his sudden appearance.

Her breathing was quicker than usual due to the shock as she stared up, blinking a few times and trying to make sense of what had happened within the last few seconds. She leaned her head back further to dig into the grass to focus her eyesight better and regain a little portion of her personal space. He was right about her certainly not being comfortable with having him so close to her and was tensed a little in her discomfort, not answering him until finally he rolled to the side and a little further away from her. ”Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered shortly, surprised fading a little from her expression. ”You okay?”

She gulped once at seeing the sudden curiosity that transformed his own face from surprise and a barely hidden strain came to her face. She’d been stupid... she could see now that the rain was lighter than it had been before, and that a few brave students were making their ways outside. She should have been paying more attention... should have noticed, and got rid of her elemental makings as soon as possible. But no, she’d been too absorbed, and now was probably going to have to explain. Sure enough, he was asking what the orb had been.

”That... that was...” She thought fast, and got nothing. ”Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Forget it.” Now that was really going to work in depleting his curiosity. He wasn’t going to let this go... and definitely wasn’t going to forget it after that answer. She didn’t even notice that she was still dry, and the same with the ground beneath her, focussing solely on Kai to see what his reaction would be.

[kairava]

“I’m alright,” Kai replied as he continued sifting through the grass and mud until he found his wand. “Well, as fine as can be after brainlessly walking towards a light as a moth toward a flame, tripping over a lovely girl, and muddying another pair of gloves.” Chuckling a little as he spoke, mainly at himself, Kai wiped his wand off on the last patch of white left on his gloves before storing it away and continuing, “Guess that is why I bought an unnecessary amount of them.” Pulling off the gloves, turning them inside out as he did so, he put them into his pant pocket before suggesting with another soft laugh, “Maybe next time I’ll wear a black pair.”

Now that he found his wand and had secured it back in its holster, Kai pulled his legs into a cross-legged position and found Cait’s eyes. “Nothing, huh? Well I guess I’ll let you have your secret,” he replied as he tossed her a playful smirk and a sly wink. He knew there was no point in pressing the matter. If she had wanted to tell him she would have but her overall tone and stance told him that his chances were better off leaving the subject alone for the moment. Deciding to change the topic before she felt that she needed to leave, Kai asked assuming that she enjoyed the rain as much as himself, “I have to admit, I’m a little surprised to find someone else out here. I didn’t think that anyone else enjoyed the rain as much as me.”

Looking up, Kai noticed the rain had slowed its torrent and the sun even peeked out of the overcast sky for the briefest of moments before hiding its face once again. With the clouds, as they were set, he could not discern if more rain was coming or not. Either way, Kai was enjoying the weather. “It’s like salt but enhances all of the senses other than taste. Its sound can both ripple softly and echo gently in the background, enhancing sound but never overpowering, or it can be a torrent of soothing white noise to drown out the complexities and chaos of thought, allowing you to just exist peacefully without worry. Its touch tickles the skin and gently runs its course bringing life and awareness wherever it touches. As it falls it dampens colors but when the clouds leave, it brightens the world, enhancing all the myriad of colors. It also seems to dampen harsh smells and bring earthly smells to life; especially freshly cut grass.” Kai chuckled at the mention of fresh grass but quickly began to worry that Cait may not actually be as excited over rain as he was; the thought quickly causing the energy he felt while talking about rain to lessen dramatically and his cheeks to change the slightest color.

To distract himself from her focus on him, Kai pulled his wand out and silently extended his Umbra Claris spell to cover Cait; his mind still not picking up on the fact that she was dry and did not truly need the benefits of the spell.

[Caitlin Collins]

Redness emerged in her cheeks as her breathing calmed, and she finally sat up, leaning on her hands placed behind her. She watched, not moving at all except her eyes as he searched for his wand and eventually found it. A half smile, more automatic than actually genuine, appeared on her face as he talked, but didn’t reach her eyes at all and faded soon enough. It was as if her body knew how it was supposed to act, but her brain didn’t process it and so the actions came out half-heartedly. ”Sorry,” she murmured, looking away from him to stare at the ground in front of her.

”Why do you wear those gloves anyway?” she asked when he didn’t continue speaking immediately. ”You’ve always got them on; they must get really dirty.” It was something she’d wondered the previous occasions she had met him, and could come up with no explanation other than it being a fashion statement. But still, a bit of an odd fashion statement if that’s what it was. Gloves were more something to protect yourself… she remembered that, at least, from her dose of muggle chemistry lessons.

She glanced away again at Kai’s reply to her ramblings about how the orb had been nothing, not meeting his eyes but glad he was not pressing the issue. If he had, she was not sure what she would have said – no light bulbs had sprung up above her head in the time since he had first inquired about it. Fortunately he didn’t seem too upset about being kept in the dark, if his playful grin was anything to go by. She shrugged again when he mentioned being outside in the rain. ”The rain’s not too bad. I just wanted to get outside,” she explained shortly, not elaborating on any of the reasons for this.

Hearing a roll of thunder above, Cait jumped and refocused her gaze upwards to the sky. Dark grey clouds were tumbling above the forest, getting closer to replace the hint of fluffy white clouds that had come out of nowhere and were now hurriedly being blown away. The rain was still falling lightly, but any idea that it might have been about to stop quickly dispersed

She listened curiously as Kai began his spiel about how rain was like salt, tilting her head to one side slightly. ”But, if you have too much salt, it gets too overpowering. Drowns out everything else. Same with rain… but more literally,” she replied, surprised at his fascination. His enthusiasm seemed to fade a little nearer the end of his monologue, but it was still there.

She glanced up when Kai cast the same spell as he had on their previous meeting to stop the rain from getting them too wet. Except, she was dry anyway, she suddenly realised. Had he noticed that? Did he realise the rain hadn't been touching her anyway? Probably not, she decided, since he had cast the charm anyway. "Uh, thanks," she muttered, not quite meeting his eyes again and instead turning her head to stare out at the lake.

[kairava]

Feeling the water in the mud begin to soak through his clothes, Kai accidentally let her soft mutter sweep past his ears with barely the notice, his thoughts too focused on his own brilliance of choosing to sit in the mud. A few moments stretched as his mind attempted to reconstruct why it was okay to just plop himself onto the mud. Yet, as an epiphany overcame him, Cait spoke up with a question that he heard all too often. Though as she spoke, his eyes, which now lingered on her simple beauty, picked up on the queue that finished the thought… “she is dry.” His response came playful yet honest, “You have your secrets and I have mine; you share yours and I’ll share mine.” Kai chuckled, simply amused at his unreasoned poetic answer, and gave her a friendly smirk to fluster her curiosity before answering, “It rhymes…”

An awkward moment passed before Cait’s jump brought his attention to the thunder more than the earth shaking or echoes of power. Kai could not help but smile at her jump; thunder and lightning always awed Kai but did little to frighten him. His curiosity still begged him to at least comment but he pushed his feelings aside for the moment; she had her reasons though he knew he would not be able to resist for long. So, there he sat, not knowing what to say as the only thing that tickled his tongue was his prying curiosity. Kai was thankful when she spoke up in response to his description of rain. “You are right,” he replied with a knowing and edifying smile.

The cold he could handle but his drenched clothes that wanted to cling to his every move and shift began to annoy Kai. “I don’t know about you but I was thinking we could go inside and dry off with a nice cup of hot cocoa. Join me?” He hoped with everything that she would, yet part of him wondered if Cait would stay in the rain with whatever she was doing and remain dry… “Is she drawing the storm?” his thoughts finished as he waited to see if she wanted to join him.

[Caitlin Collins]

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.