Looking for D'rorah

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan sat on the stairs outside the Ravenclaw common room. He'd been inside before, so he knew what to look for. He hadn't seen D'rorah in the whole week that he'd been back and no one he'd asked had seen her either. Finally he'd become frustrated and since he had no classes, today being a weekend, he'd decided to camp outside her common room in the hopes that he would spot her.

While he waited he worked on learning a new language from the book he'd obtained in Peru. He refused to slack for any reason, one of the reasons why he was done with his other lexicon, when he'd left school on something of a vacation.

He hated the thought, but after sitting out there for hours, he was extremely tempted to answer a riddle and burst in there. He was getting worried and he'd never been known to be rational when worried. Several times during his studying he'd turn and look back at the entrance to the Ravenclaws common room, so tempted, knowing he'd probably be able to answer the question pretty easily.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

It had taken quite a bit of coaxing on Kerridon's and Katherine's parts to get D'rorah up and moving about. In the end, she had nodded to the necessities of carrying out her duties, realizing that she could not so selfishly put her own grief above the needs of those who depended upon her. She still hurt from Dylan's rejection, even if there was some possibility that it had been caused by Dark Phoenix. His accusations rang too true and too close to the other accusations that had played in her mind long before any of this had happened. Deep down, she'd never felt like she deserved Dylan for all the danger being near her apparently placed him in. She'd already caught wind of rumors that he was even dating some other girl, though she wasn't quite sure whether to believe them or not, not having witnessed anything herself.

After a long shower and carefully re-pinning her hair, she tried to do something about the ill fit of her robes, wincing as her fingers tripped over a collarbone that jutted out more severely than usual in the shower. She owed it to the others to take better care of herself, to see that she made it through to the end of the war... their group couldn't stand much more loss, especially after Alessandro's disappearance. Quietly, she made her way out into the Ravenclaw commong room, hoping that Dylan would not be there. She was afraid to see him at this point, unsure of whether she could stand to see confirmation of the rumors so soon after gathering her willpower enough to force herself out of bed. In all, she hoped no one would notice her, that she could slip through the common room in her loosely fitting robes, with her greyed hair and paler than normal skin without being noticed. The sleep she had gotten had done a bit to dispel the dark circles under her eyes, but they were certainly still there. For good measure, she wound an extra scarf and a heavier outer-robe over her already all-concealing formal attire, wishing to be warm for a change. It wouldn't do to have someone brush up against her chilly skin and start to accuse her of being one of the undead herself.

Making it through the common room without incident, she crossed and quickly made her way to the door. She knew she needed to eat something, even if she hadn't the slightest appetite. She could force herself to do these things for the sake of her duty to the others, even if the pleasant sensations that normally accompanied such actions were totally lost to her. Slipping through the door out into the hallway, she closed it quietly behind her, turning in the direction of the kitchens in the hope making her way down there unmolested so that she could eat and return to her studies. At least there was always research to be done that might distract her mind from the recent loss of Dylan in her life.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan heard the door behind him open and he saw the figure he'd been waiting for step out. He quickly returned all his possessions back into his bright yellow messenger bag before standing and taking him D'rorah's appearance. After looking her over thoroughly, he frowned and crossed his arms in front of him. He'd heard the rumors that Dylan had broken up with her and knew she would be taking it hard, but he hadn't expected what he was seeing.

He stood there silently, looking up at her disappointedly, there were tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. Without giving her a chance to react either way, he grabbed hold of her hand, surprised by the chill of her skin, and began leading her down to the kitchens. Let her try and protest. He stayed silent, fighting back the ear full he was ready to give her.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah had hardly taken a step in the direction of the kitchens when Cavan stepped in front of her. She had been so intent on getting her food and heading back to her research that she hadn't even seen him waiting for her. He looked so disappointed, standing there in front of her with arms crossed, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "[blue]Mister...[/blue]" before she could even get a word out properly, he had already taken her by the hand and had begun to lead her in the direction she had been heading. She stumbled for a moment as she caught up to him, having been caught somewhat by surprise. "[blue]Where are we going, Mister Weiss? And when did you return?[/blue]" she asked, following along without protest.

She had know that he had left on a trip with his family, but hadn't had any clear indication of when he would be returning. Recalling her appearance in the mirror, she supposed his worried look was called for. "[blue]Your hands are uncomfortably hot,[/blue]" she interected calmly, lifting his hand from where he had grasped her own and placing it instead on her arm, where it would be padded by layers of sleeves. Though she craved warmth, such a concentrated application was a bit too much.

Feeling that she wouldn't get much conversation from him until he'd taken her to the kitchen, where they seemed to be heading, she followed along quietly the remainder of the way. As they reached the portrait of fruit which was the doorway to the elf kitchen, she held back from tickling the pear, thinking her cold touch might not agree with the painting.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan barely registered D'rorah's expression as he lead her off without a word. His mission was to make D'rorah eat and he wouldn't be stopped on taking her to the kitchens.

Where are we going, Mister Weiss? And when did you return?

Still mulling over exactly how to attack he gave very quick, sad sounding answers to her questions, "Kitchen. Last week." He was glad that she didn't protest to his practically dragging her to the kitchens, though in her state he couldn't help wondering if he wouldn't be able to easily throw the woman over his shoulder and haul her along.

Your hands are uncomfortably hot.

He wasn't surprised that his hand had been uncomfortable for her to have holding her own, as she felt as cold as snow, or the dead. He frowned more at that thought, had that been her original goal. It was becoming obvious that she needed someone to tell her what to do at times like this. When she extracted her hand from his grasp he took hold of a sleeve instead, not letting her take any longer than she had to in getting into the kitchens. "Sorry." He apologized for her discomfort, though he had his suspicions that it was her own fault.

Cavan didn't notice her hesitation because he was immediately upon the pear, tickling it quickly as Caitlin had once done when they'd ventured down here from the ball room. As soon as the door was open he was pulling D'rorah into the kitchen and across the room to the table. He didn't give the house elves that surrounded them after the door was closed a chance to greet them as he removed one of his mother's portable meals from his pocket, cast a warming charm and then an anti-shrink charm on it in succession. His mother and he knew that she'd been slacking on eating, so everything in the meal was meant for the malnourished vegetarian. "Eat. Then we'll talk." He sat down in the chair across from her and asked a house elf for some apple juice.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah could tell from Cavan's demeanor and his short answers that he was angry and upset with her. Obviously, he'd not expected to return to Hogwarts to find her in such a state. But then, he had no idea of everything that had happened while he had been away. And certainly, a great many things had happened. She realized now that none of them were any excuse for giving up her fight against the Mage, and that wallowing in her own grief and self pity had been unforgivably self-indulgent and pathetic. But then, there was still that nagging fact of the heart that lay shattered in her chest, feebly quivering where it should be beating. Perhaps that would heal in time...

Cavan, however, was like a man on a mission. He knew his objective and seemed to be making certain straightaway that it was followed to a tee. D'rorah allowed herself to be pulled across the room, not feeling like resisting. She sat in the chair obviously intended for her, where Cavan placed the meal. She arched an eyebrow at the roughly given order to eat, catching the younger boy's eye as she did so. "[blue]Some say patience is a virtue, Mister Weiss,[/blue]" she remarked calmly as she unfolded a napkin and placed it in her lap.

She stared at the food for several moments, trying to work up the will to actually want anything in front of her. Even though it would have looked delicious under normal circumstances, now it just looked like another chore to carry out. She picked up a fork and took a few bites, forcing herself to choke them down for the sake of appeasing the young man in front of her. And, though she was interested to hear what he had been up to while he was away, eating was still a slow chore. Everything seemed to stick in her throat, and it took copious amounts of water to wash it down. Finally though, she managed to make her way through the contents of the plate. Carefully, she folded her napkin and placed it over the plate, then fixed her eyes upon Cavan. "[blue]Very well, now that you have had your... command, what would you like to talk about?[/blue]" she asked. Obviously he had been waiting for her, which meant he had things he wished to say.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan drank his beverage while D'rorah ate, clearing his mind enough to actually think clearly. He'd been on autopilot when he'd led her down here, now he felt an embarressed blush slowly rising to his cheeks. But even as he was embarressed by his mother hen reaction, he was glad he'd dragged her down here, her struggle with the food was not lost on him.

He set his glass to the side when he was done with it and watched the elves move around the kitchen instead of watching her fight her way through her meal. He had the decency to blush more prominently when she commented on his commanding. He pulled the lexicon she'd had him buy and the notebook he'd been using to translate everything from his messanger bag and set them on the table between them, the elves having cleared the table as soon as they were done with their respective meals. "I finished while I was in Peru, all I need is for you to go over them." He then pulled another lexicon from the bag with another notebook, "I picked this one up while we were in Lima to get supplies before heading off to Lomas de Lachay National Reserve, which I've been working on since I got it. Dee, I'm worried, I'm enjoying myself a lot, but it seems like translating is getting easier and easier... Easier than it should be unless you were a native. Or at least older than twelve."

He bit his lower lip and worried it before speaking again, "I can tell you're going through a lot and I don't know what it is, and I hate to bother you with anything else, but I can't really talk to anyone else. It wasn't as bad when we were in Peru, but for the last month or so I've been having more and more vivid dreams with a voice speaking in a language I don't know, which at this point is scary, and there are these old walls with writing that looks familiar but I still can't read. I'm not really sure what to do."

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah noted Cavan's blush as she remarked on the commanding way he had dragged her down to the kitchen. Luckily, he knew right away how to spark her interest and dived into the meat of why he had come to see her. Her eyes roved over the notebook and lexicon as he extracted them from his yellow messenger bag. Her brow arched slightly. [blue]"You finished an entire lexicon?[/blue]" She pulled the notebook toward her an dstarted flipping through it as Cavan continued speaking, listening quietly. [blue]"You are never a bother, Mister Weiss. Make no mistake of that."[/blue]

she looked up and met him with a penetrating gaze. [blue]"I expected that these things would become easier for you as time wore on. You are a true scribe in every sense of the word. The more you focus on languages, the more easily they will come to you."[/blue] She smiled wryly. [blue]"Your talent with languages has far surpassed mine. I fear I will soon no longer be the chief translator of the Order..."[/blue]

She set the notebook aside and regarded him. [blue]"You have returned with impeccable timing. I am in need of another pursuit to take me away from my own self-loathing. This dream...[/blue]" she trailed off thoughtfully, her brows furrowing as she thought. [blue]"Can you remember what the voice is saying? Is there anything on the walls you can recognize? We can work this out together,[/blue]" she reassured him. What she wanted, was to see the dream for herself, but she wasn't of an inclination to reach into Cavan's mind in her present state. She knew her emotions had been out of control. The last thing she could stand was to harm him somehow with her own grief.