Flowery Pursuits

[Emilia Manning]

It was autumn now, which meant the weather outside was getting colder. Emilia didn't really mind too much, as it was still early autumn and nice enough to spend some time outside. She was trying to avoid thinking too much about her homework. All her subjects but Charms were getting neglected by her, and the thought alone made her nervous. She wondered if she should be trying harder, but it was all very difficult and she hated studying on her own. Maybe she should ask Athena if they could do some homework together, but since the two were in different houses they didn't have all the same classes. Maybe she should ask someone in her own house instead, like Analei or Arvel. Emilia sighed softly and tried to push homework from her mind for now. She would try her best to get some done tonight, when she couldn't enjoy time outside. The girl was picking flowers on the great lawn, knowing they would die as soon as the weather really turned cold regardless. She was planning to dry them out and use them for something, though she wasn't entirely sure what. She just loved the idea of pressing flowers, and she had decided that she was going to try this out for herself. As she wandered around gathering flowers, she hummed a melody to herself that was stuck in her head. She wondered idly if she would be able to recreate it on the piano later, if she dared to play in the Conglomerated Arts Room with the risk of anyone hearing her. She knew she was pretty good at playing and shouldn't worry so much about others hearing, but the idea still made her nervous. Maybe if one of her cousins was there to keep her company she would dare to experiment on the piano a bit more. Evelyn had offered, so maybe she should ask her older cousin if she had some time soon.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire wandered outside, a bag full of books and a sucker in her mouth. She had made up her mind to study, but she didn't want to do it in the dorms where Diana would be bragging about her boyfriend or in the student lounge where everyone seemed to hide away or even in the library where Kira would try to put her on a different study program. She knew the Ravenclaw was just trying to help, but she could be rather pushy sometimes. Sapphire smiled a bit at that. It was good to see her friend have a backbone at school every now and then.

Sapphire wasn't really sure where she was headed, though. Maybe the lake? She hummed to herself as she wandered aimlessly along. It wasn't long before she spotted a familiar blond in the grass picking flowers and Sapphire changed course, sufficiently distracted from her studies. With a small smile, she plopped down on the ground next to the girl. "Hey Emilia," She greeted cheerily. "What's with the flowers?"

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia looked up as she heard someone approached, which at first made her nervous until she saw who it was. Okay, she still was kind of nervous, but at least she knew the girl from the dance. The girl sat down with her on the grass, and Emilia looked over with a shy smile. "Hi Sapphire... I'm picking them." She said, then realized that was kind of a strange answer as she could clearly see that. "I mean, I'm planning to press them in books and save them. Did you know you could do that? Since it's autumn, they'll probably die soon anyway... so I thought maybe it wasn't so bad to pick a few." She suddenly looked a little worried. "Though, do you think any professors will mind?" Emilia didn't know Sapphire very well, but the girl had been nice to her at the dance. She seemed very confident and sure of herself, something Emilia could only wish to be.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire listened to Emilia explain herself. She was such a sweetie, and she reminded her a bit of Kira. Sapph smiled brightly at the blond, reaching into her pocket and producing another sucker. She offered it to the other girl.

"I doubt they're going to care. Better to have something good to remember, right? Just letting them wither away forever is stupid." She announced with a shrug. "What will you do with em after they're dried?" She asked, curiosity in her eyes.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia smiled and thanked Sapphire for the sweet she offered, taking it but putting it in her bag for now. She was glad the girl didn’t seem to think Emilia could get in trouble for this, and that she thought keeping them was a good idea. “I thought the same thing, it would be a shame not to save a few.” She said quietly. The Hufflepuff wasn’t sure why Sapphire was here or why she wanted to talk to her, but she liked the company. She hadn’t really talked to the girl until the dance, but she had noticed her before. The Slytherin always seemed so confident and composed, never nervous the way Emilia often was. And she was pretty sure she was also a friend of Jacob’s. Though both of them probably had many different friends. Emilia pondered Sapphire’s question for a moment before shrugging. “I’m not entirely sure yet. I was thinking of mailing some to my parents maybe? Or using them as decorations for… something.” She twisted the ends of her hair together in her nervous gesture. “I’m not entirely sure yet,” she repeated. “Maybe I could make something to give to my friends?” There was a hopeful note to her voice, as she hoped the girl wouldn’t shoot that idea down as a stupid one.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire nodded as she listened to Emilia talk. She seemed to question herself, so Sapph put her arms behind her and laid out her legs, crossing them at the ankles. "You kidding? You saw how worked up everyone got over the rose thing. Who doesn't like flowers? And having something hand-made by a friend makes it twice as special. It shows you were thinking of them and took the time to do something nice." She gave Emilia a saucy grin. "As for decorations, I can think of one person off the top my head who would love a flower pressed bookmark. Another who would use them for paintings. You have some pretty good ideas." She nudged the blond with her toe. "You don't need to doubt yourself so much. If anyone gives you any grief, tell me. I'll fix it." She winked mischievously.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia quietly took note of the casual way Sapphire was sitting, how confident and at ease she looked. Sometimes she did this, observing girls she wanted to be more like and seeing how they acted in certain situations. She wasn’t sure yet if she would be able to emulate this behavior, but if she wanted to try to seem more confident, maybe she should. Subtly, she shifted her own way of sitting to mimic Sapphire’s a little, though she quickly folded her hands in front of her again. She smiled when the girl indicated it was a good idea, feeling more confident now that someone had reassured her. “Thank you.” She said quietly. “Maybe I will make something for you too.” Emilia bit her lip, thinking. “What sort of thing would you like?” She glanced down as the girl nudged her, a blush appearing on her cheeks when Sapphire told her not to doubt herself so much. It wasn’t something she could really help, but perhaps she should try to hide it a bit better. “Oh… no one has been giving me grief.” She said quickly. The girl’s wink made her wonder what she meant with fixing it. Somehow, she didn’t think it involved telling a professor. "Have you heard of anyone being mean?" She asked carefully.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire grinned at Emilia. She really was a cutie. Something about the girls' quiet nature made Sapph like her more. She was so soft and sweet, who wouldn't like the blonde? When the girl asked if she would like anything, though, Sapphire couldn't help but look away. "You know, I appreciate the offer. Maybe make me something without using flowers though? I... I don't like flowers." She grimaced a little as she said it. The last time a Hufflepuff had given her a flower, they'd left her. She may not have been super close with the girl in front of her, but Sapph wasn't really open to testing her luck either.

The way Emilia asked about someone being mean caught Sapphire's attention. She sat up, pulling a knee to her chest and draping her arm over it. She looked to the Puff with serious blue eyes. "I haven't heard anything. Em, is someone bullying you?"

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia deflated a little when Sapphire told her she didn’t like flowers. Maybe she had just tried to be nice by complimenting Emilia’s idea but didn’t really think it was that good? She nodded quickly, trying to think. “I’ll see if I can make you something without them.” She said softly, though she had no real idea for anything yet. What could someone like Sapphire even need? Somehow, she didn’t really think she could provide it. When Sapphire responded to her question, Emilia grew a little alarmed by her serious expression. It seemed like the girl had misunderstood her, because she had been asking Sapphire about this because the girl had brought it up. She had wondered if maybe the Slytherin had heard about some sort of bully she should watch out for. But even though it was a misunderstanding, the girl’s reaction made her glad. It was nice that someone was looking out for her, even when it was someone she didn’t know that well. “No… I was just worried that maybe you knew about someone who was mean, because you mentioned someone giving me grief…” She shrugged slightly. “But no, no one has been bullying me.” She was glad about it, because she didn’t know what she would do if someone did. She wasn’t strong or smart enough to deal with bullies.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph noticed how Emilia looked a little crestfallen when she said no flowers and she was quick to try to reassure her. "Oh, Em, it's just that bad stuff always seems to happen when I get flowers. I don't want you getting my bad luck." She grinned widely at the girl. "You ever met Kira Wolf? She's always in the library, I know she would love some flower bookmarks. Why don't you make her some, for me?" She suggested with a smile. "Seeing her happy makes me happy." She grinned.

Emilia was quick to tell her no one had been bullying her. Sapph smiled and sat back. "Good. You're such a nice girl, if anyone ever starts to give you trouble just let me know. I'll protect you." She told her seriously. "I like you. I'd like to think we're friends." She sounded a little hesitant, unsure if someone as soft and sweet as Em would want to hang around a rough and tumble girl like her.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia was surprised that Sapphire seemed to notice her sadness at her words, and immediately felt bad for being so obvious about it. The girl was being very nice, there was no reason to be sad just because she didn’t like flowers. It sounded sad, not liking flowers because bad things happened when you got them. When Sapphire asked her if she knew Kira, Emilia nodded. “I do… she’s nice.” She said with a smile, thinking back to the time early in the year when they had made music together. “We played music in the arts room.” She told Sapphire with a smile. The suggestion of making flower bookmarks for her made Emilia smile. “That sounds like a good idea. I like to read a little too sometimes.” She wasn’t really a bookworm, but could lose herself in a good story when she wanted to escape the real world a little. The urge to read was definitely stronger now that exams were nearly here. Sapphire’s next words surprised her, and she looked at her with wide eyes. Was she really offering her protection? Saying they should be friends? A smile appeared on Emilia’s face. She had admired Sapphire and definitely hadn’t expected her to want to be friends. “Oh, yes!” She said, nodding. “If you’re sure,” she couldn’t help adding.