Diverging Paths

[Athena Zhefarovich]

With some time to kill, Athena had wandered from store to store, never staying long anywhere. The former Slytherin was feeling particularly restless and nothing, not even window shopping seemed to alleviate the odd tension she felt in the pit of her stomach. She had been that way for several weeks. The girl knew exactly what was causing her to be so distracted lately and as she thought about it, a smile crossed her face. Athena had literally bumped into Declan one day as she had been waiting for her sister after work. The man had a few inches of height on Athena and she was immediately smitten, especially once he'd opened his mouth and apologized to her in his adorable British accent. That he was from a prominent pureblood family was really what had drawn Athena in though. She had immediately recognized his last name when he'd introduced himself just as he had known hers. And he hadn't shied away either. Athena knew that his pureblood status would help whenever she worked up the nerve to tell her father or anyone about him. Athena hadn't even told Kara about Declan, fearing that she would find some fault in the man or worse, that she would tell Levi who would then tell their father. Declan was quite a few years older, but while Athena didn't think it mattered, she wasn't sure her siblings would agree. Athena was enjoying the freedom that had come with her father being away at Hogwarts New Zealand, far more than she had expected to. She and Declan had been able to exchange owls without fear that they might be intercepted and she'd even been able to hang out with him a few times. Her younger siblings knew better than to touch her belongings and Kara didn't ask many questions. She was far too busy with her own boyfriend. Athena's father had entered the school as a professor just as she'd left. It was a good thing too because, while she loved her father, Athena knew she wouldn't have had as much fun with him there. Her last Yule ball would have gone differently, for sure. And her friendships with certain classmates would have ended much sooner had her father been around all of the time.

Thinking of the Yule ball dress she had worn which was currently in the back of her closet, Athena wondered what Declan would think of it. Perhaps she would show it to him one day. For now though, she knew that she had better head to their meeting place -right by the harbour. The pair had been meeting there for the past two weeks, usually just long enough to apparate elsewhere. Athena knew that there was always the risk that she might be seen by one or another of her many, many relatives but she was too in love to care as much as she should. Everyone that she knew was accounted for: Levi was at his shop, it was his late night; Kara was home with the younger children; her dad and Elijah were at their schools. Aside from one of her uncles spotting her, Athena didn't think she had anyone else to fear. Besides, she and Declan were only meeting at the Harbour today. He had told her that he had a surprise for her and that they'd be apparating to get there. Leaning against the railing of the pier, Athena glanced over the water as she waited, her excitement growing.

 

[Kiara Tine]

Kiara Tine had not been into Obsidian Harbour for a number of weeks. She was so busy trying to get into one of the shows that were going on around New Zealand and France that she hadn't the time to relax. For the last week, Justin and Kiara had been moving all of their belongings to the apartment in France whilst simultaneously adding furniture to their wish list. It was going to be a while before the place was furnished enough to live in comfortably, but at least they were well on their way. Kiara's parents of course were not too thrilled about her choice of house mate, but who were they to question her. She had practically been living on her own for years. There was nothing she couldn't do on her own. The apartment was the smallest that her family owned, but it was better then anything Justin and herself could have found on their own. It hadn't even taken as much money as she had anticipated to get her parents to sign it over to her and she had to admit she was extremely thankful for that. They were living on scraps for money at the moment and Kiara really didn't want to access her trust fund. She refused to play into their hands. She needed to do this on her own, maybe as proof to herself and others that she could do this. Living with Justin was not that easy though. He was so used to living with his parents that he was kind of freaking out at the thought of leaving his home. He was willing to give it ago, mainly because he promised her that he would, but Kiara also knew that if she gave him a way out, Justin would take it in a heartbeat. He was just like that really.

As Kiara rounded the corners and weaved in and out of the paths of the other people she blew a stream of air between her teeth and looked around. She wasn't sure why she was in Obsidian. She supposed she could have brushed it off as really early Christmas shopping, which would be partially true when she remembered that Justin was a horror to buy for. She never knew what to get him for Christmas. Lost in her thoughts, Kiara wasn't paying attention to where she was going until she suddenly had ice cream down the front of her shirt. "Hey! Watch where you are going!" She called after them, watching the girl scurry away. She looked down at her shirt and sighed. C'est tout simplement ge'nial. Sanglante parfait! She hadn't even realised she was thinking in French. She usually tried to think in English. It made it easier when she was talking to people, when she starts living permanently in France, then she would start thinking about thinking in French. She was looking down at her shirt as she walked towards someone leaning against the rail. She couldn't for the life of her remember that stupid cleaning spell. She didn't even have a towel or something to use. She turned her head to look out over the harbour when she suddenly saw the outline of a body she hadn't seen in quite some time. Not since June at least. "Incroyable. Athena?" She asked, leaning around to see the girls face. It was her, she hadn't seen Athena in ages, she had sent many letters, but she had received none in return. She had resigned herself to the fact that she would never see her best friend again, but her the girl was, in the flesh. Merlin smiled upon her today. Immediately Kiara started to look around for anyone she could pick as Athena's family, was she here alone? Kiara had forgotten all about the stain on her shirt.
​

 

[Athena Zhefarovich]

Lost in deep thought, it took Athena more than a few seconds to realize that she had been addressed. As she turned her head, her awareness quickly caught up as she noted that she recognized the voice. A mixture of pleasant surprise and slight dread filled the young woman as she caught sight of her best friend from school. Kiara was busy looking around, for what, Athena had no idea. She bit her lip, wondering what had caused her friend to be walking around with a huge stain across the front of her shirt. If Declan were to come now, he would think that she was mad for hanging around someone who would be ok walking outside like that. The relationship was new enough that Athena still felt the pressure to not be in front of Declan without looking her very best. But, Athena knew that now that Kiara had spotted her, she wasn't going to be able to get rid of her so easily. Avoiding her had been simple enough. It wasn't like her father would have allowed her to hang around with someone like Kiara anyway, and Athena had known that a true break, with no contact whatsoever, was what she had needed to do. Being friends with Kiara in school was one thing. Being her friend outside of school would be something entirely different. She knew that if she had written to Kiara, as she so desperately had wanted to, especially once she had met Declan, that severing their relationship would have been that much more difficult. By the time Athena had met Declan, she'd been in voluntary exile from Kiara for over three months. It had been difficult, but Athena had managed. What had surprised her most was that Kiara hadn't bothered to attempt contact. Athena knew that Kiara knew what her family was like, but she had still expected Kiara to at least try.

Satisfied with a quick glance that she knew no one in the area, Athena pulled out her wand and pointed it at Kiara's shirt. "Scourgify" she stated in a hurried tone, watching as the ice cream slowly was siphoned off of the woman's shirt. "You're lucky it wasn't strawberry" she said with a small grin. Satisfied that the worst of it was gone, Athena stowed her wand away in her pocketbook and glanced at her friend, her silver eyes taking in the girl that she had dormed with for many years. For many a year, Kiara had been the first one she had seen when she had opened her silver eyes and the last one she had seen before she closed them. The two shared history, but that's all it was, Athena reminded herself sternly. It had only been a few months since they had last seen each other, but already Kiara looked slightly different. It took a moment for Athena to realize what it was that made her friend look different. She seemed more sure of herself. The look suited her. Brushing back a strand of hair that had blown across her face, Athena spoke. "Kiara. What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be living in France." It had been easier for Athena to think of her friendship as history when she thought that her friend had moved to a place she had no reason to apparate to. Athena waited patiently, only barely stopping herself from grabbing Kiara by the elbow and dragging her somewhere where they could quickly catch up without prying eyes.

Out of Character:

Sorry, my muse has been lacking.

 

[Kiara Tine]

Kiara looked down at her shirt as her friend scourgified it. That was the spell! She knew there had been one, but she was so terrible with house keeping spells, she normally just left that to Justin or Hazel. Though considering that they were only living in France part time, it was weird. Whilst Hazel was all moved into their living room, Kiara and Justin were still getting things done. "Ugh, see, this is why I should have failed Charms, I suck at House keeping spells." She said as she looked back once again to make sure that they were alone. Kiara was definitely surprised to see Athena out and about, that was for sure. She knew what the Zhefarovich family was like, at least from what she had observed of the members who attended Hogwarts and of course, from what Athena had told her, which wasn't really all that much. Kiara had thought that Athena would be confined to her room or something, not be allowed to walk among the people. Sometimes Kiara wondered if the Zhefarovich family thought of themselves as royalty, she knew that they all had prejudice against non-purebloods, although Athena, for whatever reason was different, at least when she was with Kiara. Though Kiara had thought for a while that maybe she had changed her views. After all, Kiara had written a letter to Athena once a week and they still had yet to be answered. The last two Kiara hadn't even sent, though she had still written them and would continue to do so, she was sure. Maybe just writing to Athena, even being unsure if they had reached her was enough. "Strawberry's not really my favourite though." She said, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, France. Still doing that, Justin and I are between homes at the moment and we have a new house guest." Kiara said, rolling her eyes slightly at the term. Guest was literally the furthest thing from the truth. Hazel had practically just invited herself in with out a word to herself or Justin. They had just arrived home to their living room having been taken over by the girl. Kiara hadn't really liked her much in the first place, but having to spend her every waking hour with the damn cousin of her boyfriend, made moving into the apartment, a much longer process then necessary. "You remember Justin's cousin, Hazel? Well after all that nonsense after Graduation, she's taken it upon herself to move in." She said as she leaned on the railing of the pier. Talking to Athena again was weird. Of course she would love to catch up, but not being at school, was still weird for her. "What are you doing here then?" She asked, turning the question onto her friend.
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[Athena Zhefarovich]

While Kiara spoke, Athena glanced over her outfit, making sure that none of the ice cream had transferred over onto her white clothes. Nothing had, so her silver eyes eventually drifted to Kiara's face after she glanced around the Harbour to see if Declan had arrived early. She laughed a moment after Kiara had, though she wasn't sure exactly what it was that Kiara had said. It was a short laugh, one that betrayed that she hadn't really been paying attention to any of the words being sad. The former Slytherin focused on what was being said. A smile drifted onto her face as Kiara mentioned Justin. She was glad to hear that they were still together. Justin was a good guy - not a pureblood, but he was still decent for someone like Kiara. The blonde's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to recall the name. "Hazel?" Finally, she gave up and shook her head. "Sorry, I can't seem to put a face with that name" the young woman said with a small shrug. It was bad enough that she'd hung out with Kiara and Justin. "Three's a crowd?" she joked.

As the focus was placed on her, Athena twisted a strand of hair between her fingers. The words were there, nearly bursting forth from her lips before the question had died in the air. The other part of her knew that she shouldn't say much. She knew that encouraging their friendship was wrong. It had been for seven years at Hogwarts New Zealand, but Athena had done it anyway. Now that school was over, she knew that the risk to Kiara if they remained friends had increased tenfold. Athena's dad and brother would not tolerate it. Still, the pull was there. Sighing, Athena turned towards the water, her gaze locked on the small waves. "You don't make this any easier, Kiara" she said in a soft voice after a few moments of silence. Keeping her silver gaze on the ocean, Athena continued. If she was facing the ocean and only standing beside Kiara, no one could really know that they were carrying on a conversation. "I'm waiting for my boyfriend" she revealed, her eyes drifting to steal a glance at Kiara, a satisfied smirk on her face. "He's supposed to meet me over here once he gets out of work" she added.

 

[Kiara Tine]

Kiara shrugged at the fact that Athena didn't seem to remember Hazel. Though she was surely hard to forget. After she had been proposed to by that Samual boy in the Great Hall right after Graduation and then of course she had rejected him, Kiara would have thought that the whole world would know her, but it appeared not. Kiara didn't really mind though. She would forget Hazel in a heartbeat if she could, but as it seemed, that was not going to happen any time soon. Not with her currently sleeping on the couch.Three's a crowd indeed. Kiara had never really known the meaning of the word until now. The girl just wouldn't leave. It was getting embarrassing. Seriously, Kiara and Justin couldn't get any sort of alone time. At all! The other night, Hazel burst in on Kiara in the shower just because she saw an advertisement on the television that reminded her of Samual and she wanted Kiara to comfort her. Naturally Kiara ignored her, but the point was, she hadn't been alone in the shower. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Tell you what though, she's the best contraception if ever there was one." It was more then even a little bit true and Kiara shook her head. She simply had to get Hazel out of their apartment. It wasn't even a joke anymore.

Kiara tired to ignore it, but even she could feel the tense atmosphere. She really had not been thinking this through. She glanced at Athena and noted that she was no longer looking at her, but rather over at the ocean. She sighed and had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She couldn't blame Athena, she knew that this was going to happen. They hadn't talked about it, not really, but she had known. She glanced over at Athena when she heard her mutter something, but it wasn't loud enough for Kiara to hear, so she simply dismissed it. She waited for a few more moments and then looked back over at her former friend when her question was finally answered. She raised her eyebrow in curiosity. Some of the old spark was back at the mention of a boyfriend and Kiara grinned at Athena's smirk. "A boyfriend, huh?" She had to admit, that had not been her first thought about why her friend might be out here, but she supposed it was as good a reason as any. She would love to talk about it, but she really didn't know how much Athena would reveal and Kiara didn't think she could handle Athena telling her no. She opened her mouth and was about to ask anyway, simply out of habit, but she quickly reigned herself in and shook her head, settling for a simple, "that sounds nice," instead. She turned to look out at the waves herself this time, wondering why things couldn't just be the way they used too. Of course she knew why, didn't stop the wishing though. "Still living at home, are you?"

Sorry, I spaced on what I was going to write, I hope this is okay though.
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[Athena Zhefarovich]

Athena didn’t really try to figure out who Hazel was, though a brief image of the Great Hall kept jumping into her mind. If it mattered more to her, she might have tried harder. It was much easier to just continue the conversation though. Chuckling at what Kiara said next, the former Slytherin gave her friend a sideways glance, a smirk on her face. Athena could definitely commiserate on that count. She was very rarely alone, and the few times that she was, like now, Athena still didn’t feel comfortable enough to do anything like that with Declan. She always felt like they would be interrupted and found out by one or another person from her family. And that didn’t even begin to mention how nervous Athena was at the thought of having sex with someone. It wasn’t like she could just go up to her dad and talk to him about something like that. She was sure that she could go to Kamaria and speak with her, but it just seemed too embarrassing and there was always the fear of someone overhearing their discussion and running back to Levi or their father. “Yes, I’m still at home” Athena sighed. “My father has taken a position at HNZ so he’s not home all the time. At least. It gives me the opportunity to do things like this” Athena added. Looking back towards the water, a smile crossed the young woman’s face. Her silver eyes twinkled at her act of rebellion against her father. Athena still adored her father and worshiped the ground that he walked on. He had just grown a bit stifling sometimes, wondering where and with whom Athena was interacting. She half expected him to send her an owl one day to tell her that he had arranged a marriage for her much like he had with Leviathan. It had worked out well for Levi, but Athena knew that an arranged marriage was not for her. She could only hope that her father knew that too.

Stealing a glance at the blonde beside her, Athena marveled at their similarities. Their differences, which were largely invisible, were huge though. Athena had grown up with the belief that only people like her, purebloods, belonged in the magical community. And, she believed that to a large extent. It was the reason that she had always felt a disconnect with many of the other people in her school. Kiara had been one of the few people who had looked past Athena’s beliefs and taken the time to get to know her. And, while Athena had largely done the same, she had been very much aware that what happened at school stayed at school. As soon as she had graduated, the young woman had resigned herself to the end of their friendship. It had been a good run, but now things were over. She really, really wished they didn’t have to be though. Athena stayed looking at Kiara, waiting for her to ask a million and one questions about her boyfriend. When she didn’t, an odd feeling crept into Athena’s stomach. It took her a moment to realize that she was feeling disappointment at her friend’s lack of curiosity and interest. It was smart of Kiara though just like it was smart that she’d never written. The less contact they had, the better it was for her. Remaining silent for another moment, Athena sighed heavily again and turned her body to face Kiara. She had a good view of the harbor behind them, so she could hopefully spot anyone coming. “Kiara. I am sorry that things have to be this way. I hope you know that” the young woman began, her silver eyes slowly darkening as the emotions swirled within her. “Bad things happen to people we associate with who aren’t purebloods, and I don’t want that for you. You are one, no, the best and only friend I’ve had who wasn’t a family member.” Athena brushed back her blonde hair and turned so her back was leaning against the railings now. “I’m glad you haven’t tried writing. I thought you might, and I was going crazy trying to figure out how I would explain those away.” In truth, Athena probably would have just as easy a time receiving owls from Kiara as she did with Declan’s messages. But, there was a difference with Declan. He was a pureblood, and Kiara was not. Although her family, her father especially, wouldn’t be happy she was dating someone, Declan was at least a pureblood from a similar background to Athena. Kiara was totally different.

 

[Kiara Tine]

Kiara looked over at Athena, as she mentioned her father taking on a job at the school. Kiara had to admit she was quite glad that she wasn't there any more. It could have been difficult for their friendship if he were. It was difficult for them even when he wasn't there. Sighing, Kiara turned back to the water. She had been in such a good mood too. Not to say that Athena had spoiled her mood, but it was more like Kiara couldn't feel happy knowing that she had pretty much lost a friend through no one's fault but her birth. So realistically, it was her parents fault. Out of the corner of her eye, Kiara could see the Athena was smiling, it was nice that she seemed to be doing so well. Kiara was at a cross roads right now with her life. It was true she was moving along at her own pace, but she had Justin with her. She loved him, at least she was pretty sure she did, not having been in love before she didn't know what it was like, but she knew that if they weren't together, she would not be happy, she relied on him, as he did her. The lapping of the water of the harbour against the shore, seemed to beat in time with the rhythm of Kiara's thoughts. Poetic indeed, but it was what Kiara was feeling. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now. There had been a sort of unofficial agreement between the girls, wherein, Kiara and Athena's friendship was terminated after they graduated and mostly, it had, but now that they were here and talking to each other, Kiara could almost forget they were supposed to hate each other. Or rather, they were supposed to forget their friendship. She couldn't do it though, and she knew that she never really could. "Glad we aren't still at school then." It was supposed to be a joke, but as Kiara said it, she kind of realised the meaning behind it and sighed. This was just not working.

It hurt. It really hurt that Kiara's best friend, could not be her best friend anymore. When they were still at school, it was all a big game, a joke, like rebelling against Athena's family was a good thing. But Kiara knew the truth, she always had and even though she had been expecting this for months leading up to graduation, it didn't mean she actually was prepared for it, or that she could just sit down and accept it. Even though she knew she had too, it didn't stop her from trying to think of ways to see Athena, or to convince Athena that she didn't care about any of it. Truth was though, that she actually did. Kiara was scared of Athena's family and even though she knew that her friend would never hurt her, or rather, would never want to hurt her, she still knew that the name Zhefarovich was a dangerous place to be near when one was not of pure blood. There had been a lot of Athena's family at the school and even though their friendship had gone largely unnoticed, or not cared about, now it would be a problem. Even as Athena spoke to her, Kiara looked out at the water. She was listening to the other girl, but there was too much emotion behind her eyes that she couldn't show Athena, it would only make things worse. Kiara imagined this would be what it would feel like to lose Justin. Except it would probably be doubled for him, she loved him, Athena was only her best friend. Why did life have to hate them so much. "I actually did write a couple of times, but I don't think they got to you, because you are here and I am still alive. Maybe my owls are smarter then me." She said shrugging, still not looking at Athena. Things were so much simpler when they were still in school. Who would have thought that they would be doing this in the here and now? Well, Kiara did, but she never thought it would be quite like this. "Why did we have to run into each other now? Kind of poetic isn't it? Some one out there hates us." Kiara said, turning around to look at Athena and sighing. "I should go. I know I can't be here when your guys comes around."
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[Athena Zhefarovich]

Athena let out a bitter laugh at Kiara’s words. “Indeed” she responded, knowing that in those words, Kiara was revealing that she got the situation even if she didn’t like it. Athena wasn’t sure what to think. The beliefs that her family held ran strong in the former Slytherin. She had grown up feeling disdain for her own half-siblings, simply because they weren’t pureblooded like her. In her eyes, she was better than them and anyone else who wasn’t pureblooded. Her blood made her that way. She might not be more skilled with her magic, but she attributed that to her own lack of motivation. Athena had read in a textbook once that some wizards didn’t believe that there was any difference in purebloods or mixed bloods or half-bloods at all since a wizard or witch’s blood status had little impact on their magical abilities. The silver-eyed girl had burned that page in the book, rolling her eyes as the pages had turned to ash before her. That was how strong her beliefs were about her superiority. It didn’t mean that she was necessarily out to destroy all non-purebloods, though she knew that this was a belief that some people held about her family. It might be true for some people in her family, but Athena hardly thought about any of that. The problem was that her father and brother were definitely not of the same opinion when it came to that. As Athena gazed out at the water, she was surprised at how calm it was. Her own thoughts ran like a churning river in her hand, quite the opposite of what was on display before her. Standing beside her friend, Athena couldn’t help but wish that Kiara was a pureblood and just didn’t know it. She knew that childish fantasies like that didn’t change anything though.

As Kiara spoke once more, Athena turned to gaze at her, a smile on her face as the Slytherin admitted that she had attempted to write. The smile froze on her face and Athena gripped the railing hard, her knuckles whitening as she worried about someone having intercepted the letters. She knew that her father hadn’t gotten to it. He was rarely home, so he rarely received the owls when they arrived. She was usually the one who did, having no job to run off to during the day like Kamaria. With a shrug, Athena forced a smile on her face. She was worrying about nothing. “I guess it’s for the best that I never got any of the letters.” Her eyes lightened slowly, the silver returning in increments as Kiara continued to speak. “I had a run-in with a Seer the other day. Maybe this is her way of getting me back” Athena rolled her eyes as she thought about the argument she'd gotten into with the woman. She was a believer in the arts of Divination, but that woman had been the biggest quack that Athena had ever seen. After Kiara had finished talking, Athena glanced around once more. So far, there was no sign of Declan. He’s late she mused, both happy and unhappy at the thought. Kiara was right though. If Declan saw her with Kiara, he’d expect to be introduced. And Athena couldn’t have that. Declan and his family knew a lot of purebloods, including ones from her family. Athena would not put Kiara in that kind of danger. “Ok…I’ll see…” she paused, realizing what she was about to say. She couldn’t tell Kiara that she’d see her around. That just wasn’t the way things were supposed to work for them. “Kiara…I hope things work out for you and Justin. Maybe… maybe we’ll run into each other again one day” she finished, a sad smile crossing her face. It was horrible that she’d probably walk by the pair one day and have to pretend that they didn’t know each other, had never known each other. In time, she knew that they wouldn’t have to pretend because they would get to a point where they would barely recognize each other.

 

[Kiara Tine]

Kiara knew that the conversation was coming to an end. It had been coming to an end since they started it. To be honest, Kiara wasn't really sure what she had expected. Running into Athena had not been part of her game plan for life, but it had happened. She supposed seeing Athena appear to be as miserable as she was about everything, made her feel slightly better, or maybe it made her feel worse. She wasn't sure which way she felt anymore. Kiara didn't have many friends, mostly because she didn't much like people, but Athena had been one of her best friends, so much so that even when they had to dance around certain information, she felt that Athena knew her better then most. It was a concept that had been foreign to Kiara for such a long time, that when Athena's friendship had come around, she hadn't really known what to do with it. Gradually she had learned how a friendship worked and they had grown close as friends. As close as was possible for them anyway. They had each others backs and knew when to back away when it was needed. Losing Athena's friendship was going to be hard, but she had known about it the entire time, it wasn't like she had expected anything different. At least she still had Justin. "It was stupid, i know, but i guess I just wanted to hang onto our friendship for as long as possible. I'll probably keep writing letters, though i likely won't send them anymore. I don't want to get you into any trouble." Kiara stepped away from the edge and back up a little. If she was standing to close she would want to hug Athena goodbye and she wouldn't ever let go.

Kiara nodded to Athena, for what felt like the millionth time during the course of their conversation. As small as it was, Kiara was glad that she was going to be able to say goodbye this time. "I would really like that Athena. That would make me very happy. Maybe i'll see you around Obsidian again sometime. Maybe this time without ice cream on my shirt." She told her friend, turning to walk away from her. After her first step though, she turned back to Athena. "Bye, Athena. Thanks for everything." With that, she turned away from Athena and started back on her way home. She had no idea if she would ever see her best friend again, but knowing that Athena did miss her made her feel better. At least now she knew that their friendship hadn't been for convenience. Justin would be proud of her, she knew. Maybe if they got married she would send Athena an invitation. She probably wouldn't come, but at least she would know. Yes, that was what Kiara would do. Any big events in her life would be written in a letter. That way it would feel like the friendship was still there, even with no return letters.
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[Athena Zhefarovich]

The thought that Kiara would write her letters that she'd never send hit Athena hard. The young woman had grown up with few friends and knew that Kiara had a similar past in that sense. It was what had bonded them together, two girls trying to figure out what the big deal was about friendship and learning that it was far more than either of them had bargained for. The sad smile remained on her face, her eyes misting over. Few things made Athena cry but this was devastating to the blonde. As some children ran by, laughter trailing behind them, Athena wondered whether she should have mentioned anything at all about meeting up in the future.

She chuckled, glad that her friend planned to be more presentable should they meet again. Athena watched as Kiara took another step back before stopping to speak once more. The pureblood listened once more, her hand rising to give Kiara a stiff wave. It wasn't until Kiara had turned her back that Athena moved the hand to her eye to wipe away the tear just as it breached its holding cell. "No Kiara. Thank you" Athena stated, her hand moving to her chest where it rubbed against the spot directly above her heart. She'd never express to the girl just how much their friendship had meant and just how much it had allowed Athena to grow as a person. The years of friendship with Kiara had shown her in ways that her family could not that she was loveable to someone other than her family and that she was more than just a pureblood, though that was a very important thing too. The girl passed the next few moments, gazing out at the water, lost in thought. So lost in thought that she didn't notice her boyfriend's arrival until he had embraced her in a hug and asked her what was wrong. With a shake of her head, Athena had turned to bury her face into the crook of his neck and hugging him tightly to her, glad that she wasn't alone anymore and lost to her thoughts. As she felt her boyfriend's arms tighten around her, Athena closed her eyes tightly, waiting for him to apparate her away to the surprise that he'd planned. Athena wasn't sure whether that would truly be her last time seeing Kiara, but she did know that it was probably for the best if it was. Surely, fate couldn't be so cruel as to put them in each other's paths again. Surely not.