Open A little far from home

[Axel Zhefarovich II]

Axel couldn't believe he'd made Ravenclaw like his brother and Aunt Kamaria. He didn't know what he'd expected but he didn't think of himself as being as smart as either of them. He was just Axel. Still, he was excited to share the news with his mom and grandad even though he had a feeling they already knew. They always seemed to know things before he told them.

After a good sleep, the beds were amazing, and a good breakfast, Axel decided to find the room Levi had told him about. There were signs so he'd have found it anyway. His ears would've helped, the hoots growing the closer he got. Axel craned his neck to see owls waaay up in the eaves.

 

[Genevieve Fuentes]

Evie couldn't be more happy that she was sorted into Gryffindor and away from her sister. She was way up on the seventh floor, not as high as the Ravenclaws, but definitely higher than the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs. It meant she was closer to her new pet owl whom she couldn't help but love very much. He was a large owl, larger than some of the others, and he had a sort of personality that Evie just couldn't pass by. The girl made her way up to the owlery to collect him and bring him back down to her dormitory after she left him there to sleep. "Heeeey, Wilfred." she said softly, walking up to him and giving him a pet through the cage with two fingers. He was still a little unsure of her and jumped a little at her touch. She was sure he would get used to him soon. As someone else entered the owlery, Evie looked over at them, watching as they did nothing but look around at all of the owls. She figured he might have been exploring. "Hey, I'm Evie." she said. "Are you lost or just exploring?"

 

[Doroteya Melnik]

Doroteya wasn't afraid of heights, but even she felt a little dizzy looking out through the narrow tower window. They were so high up, she was surprised they weren't above the clouds. The students on the lawn below were tiny specks on a green sleeve. Doroteya turned to look down the spiral stairs and see if Andi was still following. "You are slow," she said, and her voice echoed down the tower. "If you will be slow, you will be scared for more time. Come, come, come. I hear, 'hoo, hoo'." They were almost at the top of the stairs. One more twist, and they'd pop out in the owlery, Doroteya just knew it. After this, she was dying to see the observatory - if it didn't take Andi another twenty years to get up there, of course.

 

[Andi Hart]

Owls were a yes. Heights were a no. Why did owls have to live so high up? Who decided that they had to? Did the owls tell the school they wanted to live in the sky? Surely they'd be just as happy in a more accessible spot on the ground, and then fly to the tops of trees when they wanted to see the world. That way, people didn't have to risk their lives just to see a cute owl! Andi started off confidently. They were going to see the owls, that was the plan. But the higher they got, the worse it was. Her legs stopped wanting to co-operate, and she had one eye closed, peeking through the other one. She didn't want to see how far down they had to go if they were going to fall. What if an earthquake struck? Was the castle and the Owlery built to withstand such force? What if a tornado came and took her from the stairs, and she was thrown out into the world and had all the way down to fall? She wasn't an owl! She didn't have wings to fly back up! "Yep!" Was all Andi managed to strain out of her voice in response to T. She definitely loved the way Teya described what she heard, but that joy was going to have to come later when she was safely on the ground.
By the time the girls rounded the final twist and into the owlery, Andi was on all fours. The closer to the ground the better.

 

[Axel Zhefarovich II]

Axel turned his head, not even realizing that there had been someone else in the room. He didn't expect her to introduce herself either so it took him a moment to respond. Strangers weren't looked upon favorably in his family, and it was a bit unusual for him to engage with someone he didn't already know. This was a time for new experiences though. Axel shook his head. He wasn't lost at all. "I'm Axel" he replied quietly. He was about to say more when a girl crawled into the owlery. "What in the- " he trailed off. What a weird place this school was turning out to be so far.