I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

[Zayne Baros]

I?m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

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</s><FONT font="Times New Roman"><s></s><COLOR color="black"><s></s>Today was the day that <URL url="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpdu59kjai1qjjwkvo1_500.jpg"><s></s>Zayne Baros<e></e></URL> was going to be meeting Kaia Lutrova out in the Forbidden Forest. He had forgotten who's idea this was to go into the forest because this was his first time since stepping on the grounds at Hogwarts New Zealand. He was a little nervous, but overall this should be a fun experience for him and the Ravenclaw friend that he made the previous year. His bright silver eyes shone like stars as he made his way across the lawn. He did not know what he would need for a fort, but it would be worth it. Well, he liked hanging out with friends, so this would be an experience for him as Zayne had never climbed a tree before. A tree fort was in the tree, was it not? He thought it would be as it would make more sense being like that. As soon as he edged on the edge of the forest, he looked up to see how massively high the branches looked, and suddenly grew discouraged. Now how in the world was he expected to climb <I><s></s>that<e></e></I>? Zayne swallowed heavily before he dug into his messenger bag for a water bottle that he kept with him in case he ever got thirsty, and looking at these trees and what was inside them was enough to make his tongue feel like sand. Water was a sweet relief when Zayne managed to unscrew the top and he sipped it to moisten his mouth once more when he had been overtaken by fear. Could one blame him for feeling like that? What he would give to have a Gryffindor's courage right now. Whatever quality that Slytherin had was not cut out for something like this. This needed bravery, and Zayne was fresh out of that right now.<br/>
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The young Slytherin looked around hoping to spot his Ravenclaw friend. He had to tell her also that he was made Slytherin's Beater this year, and was happy about it too. He loved Quidditch, and his dad was a coach for a team. He used to be a Beater, but Keyne never mentioned for what team and for how long. His did never seemed to talk about about the days before he was made Coach. Maybe something bad happened or something? Zayne shrugged lightly and he leaned against the tree, the skin of his back feeling the bark beneath his shirt and jacket. Oh this was going to be a funny sight, seeing a Slytherin trying to climb a tree to build a fort. This could not have been his idea, but he agreed to it, thinking that it would be fun. From the distance from the Quidditch Pitch to here, the trees did not seem as massive as they were in person. He prayed that Professor Styx would not come out to bust them either because he did not want to be tortured at school by his Head of House that he was both comfortable around and freaked out by. Zayne got out a silver coin, a sickle, and started to flip it in the air and catching it, not even noticing that he was posing as some muggle wanting someone to approach him for a loan from the Mafia. Zayne thought that what he was doing was entertaining enough for him until his good friend came by and maybe teach him how to climb trees and build things. As a boy, he should already know these things, but he preferred the indoors over the outdoors. It was just Zayne's preference but no one would ever keep a gigantic forest full on monsters and creatures in a castle.<e></e></COLOR><e></e></FONT><e>​

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[Kaia Baros]

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<FONT font="Lucida"><COLOR color="#000">Kaia hated being distracted. By anything but that seemed to be inevitable these days. Which in turn got her into all kinds of situations that she would rather just avoid. For a Ravenclaw Kaia knew she was awful spacey and that this was probably going to get her into some trouble one day when she spaced off in class, or when she was being spoken to by a Professor. Kaia just had a knack for not paying attention to things. Even so, she was a very intelligent witch. Kaia knew a lot for her age and everyone tells her that she may even grow up to be very talented with her smarts someday. So long as she could learn to pay attention and not respond so sarcastically whenever someone spoke to her. 'Sarcasm is just easier to respond with, it's not like I can help it.' Kaia snorted. The purple eyed girl was intelligent, sarcastic, and clearly just someone spserate from what the rest of the world wanted her to be. Her parents told her when she was younger that she was such a pretty girl, how she should wear nice clothes and smile at the boys because she would find a husband better that way. They thought that no pretty little girl like her should go without having a strong man to protect and love her. But Kaia completely disregarded what anyone told her. Kaia didn't like dressing nicely at all, she what she felt like wearing and if anyone didn't like that they could go tell it to someone who didn't care. Kaia only had one friend who was in fact a boy but her and Zayne, were friends. Never would she see him as anything more because that would just be dumb. Best friends always fell for one another but it messed things up, it was entirely a set up for hurt. Plus Kaia was only thirteen and felt like maybe when she was thirty she would care more about men and less about herself and being particulatly smarter than everyone else. A smirk rose up onto Kaia's pale lips. Everyone scattered around the halls either going to class or heading somewhere to do homework. Kaia on the other hand was heading out to meet Zayne in the Forbidden Forest. They agreed to build a tree fort together. Somewhere to hang out where they wouldn't have to share with the other kids or something

Kaia planned to put traps in the form of hexes and jinxes for anyone who did enter that wasn't them. Then again how many students went into the forest often? Probably not a lot considering the fact that, well it was Forbidden and creepy. But Kaia lived with the definition of creepy due to her 'father' and brother so she was used to this sort of thing. Smirking she saw Zayne leaning against a tree and flipping a coin. He looked really strange. Kaia and Zayne were close friends, just the two of them. They didn't have anyone else and they didn't need anyone else. Kaia was more of the bossy one too, she always teased Zayne. Whether it bothered him or not when she did was against him completely. He never said anything to her. But then again Kaia was rarely ever rude either. It was small things. Mostly about how Zayne acted like such a princess sometimes. But that's just what made him really funny to watch when he did things. "Sorry I'm late. I got distracted....again.." Kaia rolled her purple eyes softly before she stared at Zayne. He knew that she had a tendency to get distracted. It was very obvious that from time to time even when he spoke she was spaced out and not listening to him. But she never meant to ignore Zayne, it was always an accident with him. He knew she spaced out so she hoped he understood why it happened. "You've climbed a tree before right? Because I want to make this fort go greally high up!" Kaia told Zayne as she pointed to a thick group of tree's and some high up branches that would be perfect for the fort. It was only two stories worth but when you happen to be as short as Kaia, a lot of things looked really high up. Kaia was about to to jump uo abd grab the branch so she could pull herself up. But she stopped momentarily and checked to see if Zayne was going to come too, he was supposed to help too!​

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[Zayne Baros]

Flipping the coin was more entertaining than some others that were being seen around here. He did not want to have to go into the forest, but he thought that it was about time that he needed to well, explore a bit before he would have to get together with Kaia. He did not know where she was, and he wanted her to hurry up so that he could hurry and get this over with. Zayne was not the most patient of Slytherins, but he was one of them. He could wait a while for his only friend to arrive, no matter how much her brother freaked him out. He wondered if they were twins or something since they were in the same year. However the thought of them being twins was a little strange. They looked nothing alike. Kaia was well, pretty and that other boy was just weird. Zayne shuddered at the thought of him. And being afraid of a boy that was in his second year, in Hufflepuff. He thought that the Hat just did not know where he went, so stuck him in a house so he would not be able to get hostile with others. Maybe that was it. Zayne used his other hand to run it through his black hair as he looked forward to see none other than the purple-eyed Ravenclaw girl heading his way. Oh that was a relief. With one last flip, he caught the silver coin in his hand and put it in his jeans pocket. He smiled lightly, because he could not wait to get this done. Then again he was excited, and maybe he would not be so scared if Kaia would be with him. But he had a feeling that he would be really jumpy regardless. Well, he was going to be entering into the dang forest, so he would probably jump when a twig snapped or something. Building a tree fort would be fun in its own way because he would be climbing a tree, which he had never done before. So, it could be interesting. He just hoped that he would not get hurt in the process. He did not know how to heal or anything, so he would probably get in trouble with Styx over anything else. Oh boy, that was something to fear more than the forest.

When she approached him, Zayne leaned off of the tree from the outskirts of the forest and he smiled a little bit at her. He was still hiding the fact that he was a pure-blood from the entire school, because his step-mother still had it pounded into his brain that it was a shame to be one, even though Kaia was one, and she seemed really nice about it and everything. It was making him doubt that the words of that step-mother was actually true or not. Zayne shrugged lightly, "Eh, I had a sickle to entertain me, so no worries, Kaia." He looked into the trees, before he wondered what she got distracted by this time. Maybe she was starting to like boys or something? Some girls did. He did not really care himself. Never thought it as important. However her getting distracted was a very likely story because he believed it to be true. She did get distracted a lot from time to time. It was nothing she could help. He got distracted from time to time, but not too much. His light gray eyes looked up at the trees, and he bit his lip a bit when she wanted it to go really high up. Oh boy, was this the best time to chicken out? Zayne let out a sigh as he headed over to the trees with Kaia, before she asked him if he had climbed a tree before. He shook his head, but he hesitated to answer. Looking up, he managed, "But, um, best time to learn then huh?" Zayne was going to wait so that she could climb up before he did. He needed to watch someone do it before he would even try. Would this be the best time to admit that he had the worst balance? Zayne looked at Kaia once more before he motioned toward the big tree and he smirked a bit, "Ladies first." He was going to be a gentleman about it, but he needed to see how she did it so that he could follow suit. He would not say that though, he had his pride still. Zayne even took a step back so that he could give her plenty of room to get to climbing. Little did he know, it was harder than it would look. He had a bad feeling in his gut, but he did not pay any attention to it, where someone could go very wrong not listening to their instincts.​

 

[Kaia Baros]

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<COLOR color="#000">Kaia stared at Zayne as if he had grown a third head or something when he said that now was the best time to learn, so he had never climbed a tree before?! Even Kaia had climbed a tree before and she used to have some of the most sheltering parents in the entire world. At least until she had been adopted by Hades. "You've never climbed a tree before? Did your parents used to keep you in a cave or something?" Kaia teased him as she tried to figure out how in the world this boy ever had any fun as a kid. They were best friends and it usually ended up with her being in charge and teasing Zayne for him not knowing how to do things or looking silly. Ah meant no harm by it but he made it too easy for her sometimes. Kaia never usually laughed at her brother Hades II because he was more on top of things than she seemed to be. Her talents lied in smarts not much of anything else. Sometimes Kaia wondered if Hades II stopped caring about her as much as he used to. He was busy with Transfiguration and sometimes it looked as if he was chasing after some dumb girl he had taken an interest in. Mylie something. She was a Hufflepuff Fourth year and she seemed to be extremely moody and antisocial for a Hufflepuff. Kaia had barely ever seen her talk to anyone. Maybe that was why Hades liked her or whatever. Then there was her dad who supposedly has a new girl he was interested in. Which was fine with Kaia because she didn't like Anastasia all that much. But now he seemed caught up in her. It kind of made Kaia wonder if she needed to get into something that took up all of her time. Just to show them that she could get interested into things too. Kaia didn't think that she could get interested in another person. Especially since Kaia felt that most boys her age were quite dumb. Zayne smirked and told her ladies first. Kaia raised an eyebrow and pulled her dark hard up into a tight bun before she gripped one of the branches of the tree. "How polite of you, chicken butt." Kaia teased once again as she used her arms to help her pull her small body to so that she was able to sit on the branch. Now she was on the first branch. It already seemed pretty high but it wasn't too bad. This was a pretty tall tree too so it was going to be super fun to climb. Turning to look down Kaia bent down and offered a hand down to Zayne. She figured he might need some help. She didn't want him hurting himself or anything, he was such a sugar plum.

"Need some help?" Kaia offered. It already seemed weird to some of her fellow students that she only had one friend who was actually a boy too. Kaia didn't understand what they thought was so weird about it. It's not like boys had diseases or something. As far as she knew anyways. But they said that she was never going to be able to talk about girly things like all girls needed to sometimes. Kaia honestly thought that if she wanted to talk about something he would probably listen. But apparently that was not supposed to happen. But whatever, Kaia didn't like girls her age either. They reeked of drama and Kaia hated drama. Fighting over boys, getting all flimsy over outfits and dresses. It was weird and Kaia didn't understand. She wasn't a tomboy so she did like girly things. But she just didn't care all together like they seemed to. Once Zayne was up the tree, she started to further climb up the branches. Kaia was going to keep being friends with Zayne and only Zayne. She only needed one friend to keep her happy and it didn't matter if he was a boy or a bit of a princess. That was what friendship was about. "You know what, I should probably warn you that it is a lot harder getting down than it is up, lot easier to fall." Kaia had climbed at least four branches and now she was working on her fifth. She was pretty high up by this point. Her purple orbs drifted down to try and see how Zayne was doing. At least he hadn't fallen yet like she thought he would. Kaia just hoped that with the higher up they got the more he understood that falling was the last thing he wanted to do. Kaia would try to catch him though, but he was taller than her so she couldn't promise that she would be able to help him out that much. But she was sure as hell going to try.​

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[Zayne Baros]

Zayne's eyebrows rose when she seemed almost shocked or maybe she was, he didn't know, but he saw the expression on her face when he had told her that he had never climbed a tree. It was true, he never had. The American boy had never really bothered. Zayne looked down at the ground when she asked if his parents had kept him in a cave. Well, that wasn't true, but he didn't get to see his dad much. A little more nowadays though. "About my parents..." he faded off before he shrugged, basically saying that it was not important. To him it was not very important, but he had never talked about his life much anyway. Well, his home life anyway. He had preferred not to talk about it because of Suzanne. She was a thorn in his side, yet the side that kept him from telling others, even Kaia, of what his blood status was. He had told Kaia that he was only mixed-blood, that his parents were magical. The parents part was true, but the mixed blood was not. He was a pure-blood. Zayne did not know if he would ever tell Kaia the truth, but maybe when he was going to get prouder of his blood type, he would be telling others the truth. But the lie was eating him up inside. Zayne had remembered meeting up with others at the Halloween feast, and some kid that was not dressed was glaring him down, and he did not even know who it was. Zayne would figure it out eventually. He watched Kaia put her hair into a tight bun and he had listened to her teasing him. Did she know that he was scared? How could she know? He thought that he was hiding it well, but he could never hide the emotions in his eyes. Zayne let out a breath as she seemed to climb the damn tree so easily, and it made him almost green with envy. The Slytherin stuck his shoe into the bark of the tree, and he used the extra height gained and Kaia's hand to get him grasping the branch. He seemed to have taken a bit to even get onto the branch, but he was slow at this. Before long, he was sitting on the branch as well, and he was looking down at the ground with chills. Was he afraid of heights? He didn't think so because he could fly a broomstick rather well. Zayne was a tough guy, but when it came to doing things outside of his comfort zone - like this - it made him very uneasy. But as a Slytherin as well, he would not be taking anymore help though in his gut, he had a feeling that this was a very bad idea. Something was going to go wrong. He just hoped that his gut was not right.

"Thanks," said Zayne finally after he realized that he had taken her offer, and never thanked her. That and he needed to catch his breath for a moment. Zayne sometimes wished that he could do some things like Kaia could, like this. But obviously climbing trees was not in his forte of experience. He watched Kaia go up further into the branches, and slowly, he started to climb after her, realizing that he was getting better at climbing and everything. He was just glad that he was not sorted into Gryffindor. They would ridicule him if he was a Gryffindor. Her warning clicked in his mind, and he looked down after climbing about four branches. The ground was really far away, almost to the point where Zayne felt sick. Zayne gripped the branch he was kneeling down on until his knuckles were white, and he uttered, "Kaia, I don't think this was one of our best ideas... But thanks...for the warning..." Zayne was frozen in his place for a moment before he closed his silver eyes as he gathered as much confidence he could, even though bravery was out of reach he was going to work on the next best thing. He reached up for the fifth branch, but before he could get a hold of it, he heard a rather loud and distinctive CRACK! coming from wood. The only thoughts that came to his mind were 'Oh God' before the branch decided to be evil and give out from underneath him. The fall was not nearly as quick as what Zayne would have thought, but before he knew it, there was a loud thud, a crack, and the feeling of grass and leaves under his body that lay on the forest floor. Adrenaline had kept Zayne from feeling the pain, but he had landed straight on his right arm. His head had taken quite a blow, but it was not nearly as bad as his arm. From the height of the fall, and his arm taking most of the blow, he managed to break the humerus bone, as well as the radius. Zayne attempted to use his right arm but he couldn't even move it, and he felt the first mild wave of pain, and he grimaced. He used his left arm to raise himself up a bit, before he murmured, "I think I need a nurse..."​

 

[Kaia Baros]

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<COLOR color="#000">Kaia stared at Zayne for a brief moment before her purple orbs drifted away from his form? What about his parents? Sometimes she wondered if Zayne was hiding something about himself. The Ravenclaw Third year wasn’t stupid. It was a lot easier for her to recognize that someone was hiding something than most people thought it was. They normally didn’t recognize that she was highly observant until it was too late. What could be so bad that he wouldn’t tell her about it though? Were his parents mean to him? If that was the case then she would just inform her adoptive father, Hades, that he had someone who was mistreating him. Surely her dad would be up to ruining some lives while at the same time trying to make Kaia happy. ”If there is something you want to say you might as well say it now.” Kaia explained to him as she climbed further and further up the branches. Over time she hoped to see Zayne become a little bit more assertive. Right now he was like a kid brother to her. One that she had to teach and take care of all the time. It was kind of funny actually. But he was her best friend and her only friend. So she didn’t mind it. Having someone to boss around and tell her stories too was worth the pain of having to babysit. Hopefully the way she was didn’t bother Zayne though. Being bossed around a girl much smaller than he was might have been a shot to his masculinity. If he even had any of that so called masculinity lingering around within him. Kaia glanced down at him and smirked. It was almost as if she was telling him you’re welcome puffball. Her mother probably would have tried to kidnap Zayne into the family. She was a little nutty when it came to cute little sissy boys. Which Zayne sort of was in her opinion. He had really girly features, he couldn’t climb trees, oh and he always acted like such a princess. Her mother would have eaten Zayne right up. Watching Zayne try to climb trees right now was honestly hilarious too. This boy had absolutely no balance whatsoever. Kaia immediately had ten bucks placed on her best friend falling about halfway up the tree. Hopefully he didn’t and her assumption was going to be wrong. Kaia did not want to see her best friend get hurt. When Zayne started to tell her that he thought that this wasn’t one of the best ideas they ever had she grinned. But that was the fun of it all. That it was a bad idea but they were going to be dumb and try it anyways. He truly must have been a sheltered as a child. At least he appreciated her warning though.

”Zayne you crack me up.” Kaia commented as she scaled two branches. Kaia was nearly part-monkey. That was how well she knew how to climb trees. Too bad there were no bananas. All this climbing was making her crave one badly. Did Zayne like bananas too? Hopefully he did because Kaia could really go for some banana bread or pudding right about now. Maybe for lunch she would request some from the elves. They were accustomed to seeing her in the kitchen. She always requested for special requests like plates of homemade cookies, garlic bread. Kaia had weird food cravings so her appetite was a little off. Just as Kaia had gotten a little more than half-way up the large tree, she heard a loud CRACK sound from below. Kaia looked down and saw Zayne like on the ground. Did he seriously just fall out of the tree? Heh, so she was right. Hurriedly Kaia climbed down the tree. Her body was frantic to reach her friend. Once on the ground she kneeled over him. ”Geez princess, you’re such a clutz. Come on.” Kaia maneuvered Zayne so that he could wrap an arm around her shoulder and use her as a crutch. Carefully she helped to lift him and steadily headed for the nurses. He probably broke his arm and suffered some head damage. At least he could tell people he had actually decided to man up and climb a tree. Even if he did fall on his ass not even at the top of the tree. Kaia was proud. Zayne was getting more and more adventurous. Maybe now s he could talk him into exploring the forest with her. Or going camping!​

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[Zayne Baros]

There was a lot of things that Zayne Baros was hiding, and it was not anything that he was proud of at all, and he hoped that there was nothing that Kaia would be mad at him about. Why that is was because he was hurt enough, and it was a broken arm. Zayne looked down at his arm and it was not exactly a pretty sight to look at. He was starting to feel the waves of pain, and he had a high pain tolerance so he merely grimaced. Zayne did not want to deal with others picking on him here at school because he dealt with enough at home. Why else did he not bother with spending time with others? Zayne was starting to think, and he was just tired. He didn't want to deal with his step-mother anymore, and he had felt so beaten down, he wanted to take charge. He had tried to climb a tree, and thanks to the tree, he might have issues on the Quidditch team this year due to the broken arm. However there was always magic to help with physical injuries. Zayne muttered, "I don't like talking about my parents." Even his tone was a little darker than what he normally carried. If he didn't want to talk about something, then he obviously was not going to. He just did not feel like burdening anyone else with his problems. The only other one he knew that knew about Suzanne's reign on him and his mind was Amycus because now, she had to be dealing with it too. Zayne did not picture Suzanne just to be like that on the younger male pure-bloods. It has to be on them all. Zayne did not want to have to deal with anyone getting too close to him. Being closed up left him safer, and he looked down at the grass. He was a smart guy, and he was going to get better at doing things. Climbing trees was not his forte, but flying was. Anything to do with Quidditch, he was better in. Zayne let out a sigh, and he attempted to move a little bit. Sighing, he just rubbed his head with his other hand seeing as it was sore too. He must have bumped his head pretty hard, but it made him think. The moment that she was down on the ground, she called him a princess and a clutz. Zayne narrowed his eyes a bit, but it was wrong to take out anything on her. Apparently he was using her as a crutch, and he shook his head. He could walk. He unwrapped his arm from her, and he said softly, "Don't call me Princess. I get enough issues from my step-mother. I don't need it from someone I consider a best friend." It was more or less a request to tell her to stop with that. He was athlete, but in his opinion, if he couldn't climb trees like Kaia, then he was less like a girl because she could do it easily.

He started walking out of the forest to get his arm treated, Zayne - walking on his own at this point - decided to confide in Kaia. He looked at her before he muttered, "This better not affect my Beater skills." He looked down but he added, "Hopefully the nurse will know what they are doing." He hated the fact that his arm was damaged right now, but he was ignoring the pain from his head and his arm. Zayne was a Slytherin, and he was indifferent to many things, but now, he didn't think that he was going to be the same way. Zayne looked to Kaia and he said, "Look, I lied about my blood status. I'm not mixed-blood. I am actually a pure-blood. My step-mother hates people like me. A pure-blooded Slytherin, replica of what others would deem as bad. Most of my life, she beat me down about my blood type, and I naturally became ashamed, and did as well as believed everything she said. Like the obedient boy I am." Zayne was looking straight ahead as soon as he had said that he was a pure-blood. Approaching the castle was easier than he thought, because they were nearly there. Zayne let out a sigh, seeing as all this was bothering him. His dad was unknown to it, but how can he say to his dad that his wife treated him horribly? Maybe Amycus could do it because he did not know how to. "But I don't want to be obeying the words of others anymore. I am not going to be this doormat anymore. I just wish that my dad would divorce my step-mother." He did not want to see her anymore, but he wanted to find out where his mother was too. He had never had a real mother, and he never knew about how loving they truly were.​

 

[Kaia Baros]

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<COLOR color="#000">Kaia heard that Zayne didn't like talking about his parents. The young Ravenclaw couldn't help but wonder why he didn't like talking about them though. For a second she wished she could tell him that he couldn't have parents any worse than hers were when she lived with them. Parents who forgot their own child's name, never let her go outside to play with the other children, or forget that he was there. Then again for all she knew they just might've. If his parents were really that bad she suddenly knew why they had become best friends like they had. They needed one another for comfort and moral support. It seemed like Zayne needed it more than she did. He was a really nice guy, hopefully he didn't turn out to be a jerk in the making though. If that was the case than Kaia would go back to being friendless. Even if they had been friends for more than three years, she knew she didn't need someone like that in her life. ”If you don't like talking about them, then don't. No one is going to force you to.” Kaia replied lightly. It may have sounded a little harsh but she meant it in the best possible way. After being best friends for three years like they had, Kaia figure he would know. She was just saying that if he didn't like talking about his parents, he shouldn't. People, particularly Kaia would never force him to talk about something that made him feel uncomfortable. Smiling softly she tried to show that she was sincere about what she said. That he never had to feel any kind pf pressure with her. If he wanted to talk about it, then he could. If not oh well she could deal. Hopefully someday he would return the favor and let her have her space to keep secrets if she needed any. There were still some things she kept to herself about her life. Things turned a little weird though when she tried to help him and he unwrapped his arm from her. Kaia stared at him as if he had a third head or something. Didn't he want her help. It was okay to ask for help every once and awhile. Then again since he was starting to get older he might be going through that macho phase where he wanted to appear as tough. It didn't matter much to Kaia or not if he was the toughest guy in the world, or the biggest pansy. That was the way friendship was supposed to be right? In a fairly snappy tone he told her not to call him princess because he got enough of it from his step-mother and he didn't need it from her too. Kaia held her hands up as if saying, whatever. ”Fine. No more names.” When did he suddenly turn grouchy? Must have been a male thing. Kaia was used to mean or teasing nicknames. That was the way things kind of went in her family back home. It was either be assertive or get forgotten about. Lukas used to call her all sorts of mean names. He was the sibling she was closest too since Kasura left when she was very little and Kassie kept to herself for the most part. Kaia walked ahead of Zayne on the way up to the castle. Students scattered about as some headed to their lessons and others were just taking advantage of the day. Kaia figured that later on she would be back outside again. Kaia liked being outside when she could see the stars. They were always so pretty to gaze at. Kaia wished she held the amount of beauty those stars did. If she did then she would never have to feel negative about herself ever again. Kassie always told Kaia that when she grew up she was going to become a self-loather with the way she was. It seemed like perhaps she was right. Kaia didn't like herself very much. But she dealt.

”I think they will be able to help you out. Try not to worry about it. You'll be able to play Quidditch. You sure love being to play it don't you?” Kaia tried to comfort him. From what Kaia knew healing sprains and broken bones was fairly easy. But what if something worse was wrong with him? Even if there was she didn't want it to be obvious because she knew Zayne loved playing Quidditch. It was his one true love in life. It would be heartbroken to see him having to sit on the bench and watch the others play while he couldn't. There had to be something the nurses could do to help him out. Kaia kept walking on but paused when Zayne said he lied. Kaia was suddenly very confused and actually a little bit worried. What had Zayne lied about? Her purple eyes reflected curiosity to some degree. He lied about his blood status? Kaia prayed that deep down he was not a muggle born. He was her best friend but she knew if her father and brother found out, things wouldn't be pretty. Hades II may not already like Zayne and she didn't want to make it worse than it already was. But then he said that he was actually a pure-blood. Kaia now looked even more confused. Why on earth would he lie about not being a pure blood? Normally it was the other way around. Kaia opened her mouth to ask but Zayne seemed to be reading her mind because he answered her question too. His step-mother hated people like him. Most of his life she beat him down for his blood. He believed it all too. Because he was obedient. Kaia turned around and fully faced Zayne as she listened to what he said to her. Zayne said that he was tired of being like that and he was no longer going to be a doormat. He wished his step-mother was divorced by his father too, and that was when Kaia's frown turned into a smirk. ”There we go. There's that backbone I've been waiting. Let than inner Slytherin out.” Kaia was proud, he finally let his inner colors show and that was what she had been waiting for. She still had to resist the urge of calling him princess though. It was a habit, not because he was acting like one right now. Kaia cocked her head to the side. ”You're step-mother is a b*tch. Personally I'd love to show her a thing or two about blood purity. Hmph. You just leave your step-mother to me. I have an idea.” Kaia explained to Zayne as she smirked and stepped ahead to keep making her way to the castle. Already she had an idea. The young Ravenclaw was ninety-nine percent sure her ‘daddy’, Hades would love to meet someone who hated and treated Pure blood badly. That was the one thing Kaia knew she could do for her best friend. Protect him and keep his dad away from his step-mother. If only she could do something to help him get his real mother back into the picture. That sounded like a good idea. Kaia needed to think on that part more though.
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[Zayne Baros]

Zayne knew why he did not like talking about his parents, but there was nothing wrong with his dad at all. His dad was the greatest man that Zayne had ever known in his life, but it was his evil step-mother that made him like he was now, and he could only rectify that with finding his own mother somehow. Zayne would up finding her one of these days, but he would have to find a way. There were more than just one way to locate someone, but it would help if he had the mother's first name rather than just Thoreau. The more he thought about it, he wondered if there was a Thoreau here, but he did not know for sure. He wanted to find out, but before he would, he would tell Kaia about that, and he was not even that close to doing that yet. Honestly, he was glad that Kaia was not going to force him to speak. He would tell her when he got around to it, and he smiled lightly, but he did not bother with the subject. He did not think that his life was bad at all, since he had money, a place to live, warm food and an awesome father and now a sister. Though secretly he wanted another brother but he never thought of bringing that up with his dad. For some reason, his step-mother had not had kids of her own, and did not know if she just couldn't, or if Keyne did not want to have any children with her because of her blood status. He did not know the full story. Zayne had always wanted to question Keyne, but he did not think that he had the right to. Well, he didn't have the right, did he? He looked down while he was holding his broken arm, praying that a nurse would not screw it up. He was starting to turn into the Slytherin that apparently the Sorting Hat had seen buried within, and all he needed was a good thump to the head to bring it out. Zayne needed to bring that out more often or else he would probably get teased by some of the older kids. Zayne looked down at the grass, watching where he stepped because it was something that he always thought was a little rough. Who knew how many little critters that they were stepping on right now. Zayne blinked before he shook the thoughts out of his head. He should not even care about stepping on little insects because they were overpopulated as it was. At least he believed that they were anyway. Zayne had cared before but now he was discovering how little he cared about things like that. When Kaia said that she would stop with the names, he uttered, "I appreciate it." Though his tone seemed defeated right now, but it was also trying to cover up the pain he was feeling. Whomever said that a broken arm does not hurt that bad needed to be shot.

Kaia's attempts to comfort Zayne were working rather well, and he was appreciating it more than she would have realized just by looking at him because his eyes were still glue to the ground. The subtle smile upon his lips though said it all when it came to being comforted. The nurses would know how to treat a broken arm, they had probably done it before. How he would explain it to them, he fell out of a tree? He did not know how he would but maybe lying would be the best. He was a pretty good one, "I hope they do anyway. I think it is in my blood. Dad was a Quidditch player before he turned into a coach for a Canadian team." Zayne loved the sport, and he focused much of his day on it sometimes, and also had asked his dad for some pointers. He was taught to fly at a young age, and he was proud that he was a great flyer, thanks to his dad and whomever else was good at it. However the truth was out now about his blood type. He had never told anyone except a professor what his true blood status was, but he did not really know if the professor would have told anyone. Zayne was scared that someone would judge him for it. Make him seem more like a monster than what he already felt just for being pure-blooded. He looked toward her to see her reaction, and noticed that the frown had turned into a smirk, and that worried him a little bit. She was supporting his behavior right now? Well, that was different, and Zayne looked up toward the castle before he let out a sigh. It had been about time he had, his father was a Slytherin and he was sure that his dad never acted like Zayne had. However when she said to leave his step-mother to her, he stopped walking and he looked at her like she had grown an extra head. Why would she even get involved? Zayne looked down at his arm and he shook his head, "I don't think there is anything a child can do to an adult, no matter the blood status. It isn't like you are going to meet her or anything so I wouldn't worry about it." What Zayne did not know was that Kaia was not expecting of doing anything herself but letting her adoptive father take care of it. Zayne was unaware of that anyhow. "Maybe dad will come to his right mind. I think he is still in love with my mom anyway. Probably why he tends to stay gone so much." Zayne shrugged his shoulders, and he continued walking toward the nurse's office to get his aching arm fixed up. He already knew his story now. A Gryffindor used the trip jinx on him and he fell down the stairs. That might get Gryffindor in trouble, and it would be worth it, and saving him from having to deal with Professor Styx.​

 

[Kaia Baros]

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<COLOR color="#000">Kaia was a little bit surprised that Zayne's father played Quidditch. But she was even more surprised that he was a Coach for a team. It wasn't Kaia's favorite team that he coached but it was still pretty cool that his father coached a Quidditch team. Raising an eyebrow she smiled softly. ”What team does he coach for again?” Kaia questioned. Maybe some day she could go to one of the games. She didn't want to tell Zayne this but she had heard around from other girls in their year that his dad was pretty good looking. So of course she looked up who he was. She couldn't exactly remember the team he coached for but she did remember, he was pretty good looking. If Kaia was older she would definitely hope to catch his eye. Kaia smirked softly, her pale lips curving up a little bit. ”Sorry to say it, but your dad is pretty hot.” Kaia shrugged her bony shoulders before running her fingers through the bun she had her mass of hair kept within. He probably didn't care to know that but it was true. If Zayne was lucky, he would get his father's good looks when he was older. It was also kind of a pity that Zayne's mother lost out on that, but Kaia would not tell him that because it could almost be insensitive. Her thinking Zayne's father was hot wasn't as bad as it could be. A lot of boys thought her older sister's were hot. So were they really any different than her? Not really. Maybe Kaia should make Zayne meet one of her sister's and see if she could get him turn red. Then he would forever remind her of a lobster. Even if he hated it Kaia liked picking on him. He was her best friend. Best friends teased one another right? She hoped that he wasn't going to take everything she said to heart. Kaia was just mean like that. It wasn't that she tried to be mean or scare people off, she just liked being in charge of things. To her Zayne was a bit of a softie but she could see that one of these days he might just be the one bossing her around. Especially if he got any taller and stopped taking her crap. One of these days she knew he was. Eventually it would begin to feel unmanly to be taking orders from a woman. He would want to impress his friends or even some other woman that he was strong and in charge. When that day came, Kaia would let him have his moment. After all she had been picking on him since first year and here they were in their third year. He was the only person she would tease but still allow to hang out with her. Smirking again, Kaia leaned over and ruffled his hair. He probably didn't like that but with a broken arm, how could he really stop her. ”Gee Zayne you underestimate me. Trust me, I've got it handled.” Kaia softly rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to get into how she knew that her adoptive father would be more than happy to get rid of her. A mudblood hating on purebloods because she never had the life that some of them did? How disgraceful! She came from a part of society that were barely qualified to be dealing with magic in Kaia's mind. Maybe one day Kaia would tell Zayne but right now it could be dangerous.

"You think your dad is still in love with your actual mother? Maybe you should team up with your sisters and see if there is any way you can get them back together. Or tell your dad to quit denying his feelings to himself. There's nothing worse than a guy who can't come to term with his feelings you know." Okay, that was half true. Kaia could think of several accounts on where the man should have just kept his mouth shut. But girls did prefer it when a man proved his feelings for her, or something. Kaia was only fourteen so she didn't really understand the whole concept of feelings. Maybe one day she could and fully explain to Zayne what she meant. Kaia thought that one day if she did like a boy, he would need to prove he's serious. Even though Kaia got along better with them, she knew that would be rather placid at times. Lavender purple eyes narrowed for a moment as her maturing body reached the edge of the castle. The chilled wind brushed past the two as if it were beckoning them inside. It wasn't until the two of them hit the nurse's office that Kaia begun to feel really bad that she let him fall. On one of the cots, Kaia sat down and watched as one of the nurse's tended to Zayne's arm. "So I guess that means no more tree climbing for you then, huh?" Kaia chuckled softly. Her pale fingers digging into the cot as she leaned back to rest her body on her arms. If he didn't want to climb tree's anymore, find. Kaia could find a dozen other things to make him suffer through. They still hadn't tried to search the lake for buried treasure yet. The fun part was that half the time she didn't tell Zayne her ideas until he arrived, that way it made it harder for him to back out on her plans to have some fun.​

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[Zayne Baros]

"Stonewall Stormers. He played beater for them at one point, and now he is the coach," said Zayne with a shrug of his shoulders. His American accent really came into play when he had said those words. Zayne shrugged his shoulders before he looked ahead. Zayne did not know if he would ever go professional. He enjoyed Quidditch as much as the next person but it was not for him. At least not professionally. Zayne was good at beating bludgers at others, but he doubted that he would retain interest for too long. Zayne did not know how well known his dad was. He tend to have avoided pictures and whatnot. Zayne would have done the same thing. It was not until now when he noticed the name similarities. Keyne and Zayne. The moment that Kaia said that his dad was pretty hot, Zayne looked over at her like she had grown another head. Now that was just gross. Zayne shuddered before he murmured, "If you like older men, then well, that's your choice." Of course Zayne was appalled and grossed out by it but it was ultimately her opinion. There was not much that he could really do in order to change her mind. Zayne thought that everyone had a right to their own opinion, but figured that he was going to just brush it off. He would not have to think about that comment at all. Zayne doubted that he would like anyone that was older than him. In fact, he did not bother with girls at all. He did not think that he was one that would need one. All he needed was just his friend, Kaia. Zayne did not need anyone else in his life. The Slytherin needed only some people, and he already had them. Zayne looked over at her before he smacked her hand after she had ruffled his hair. He still had his other arm. He cast a glare at her before he looked completely serious. He did not seem the same, because he did not want to deal with having someone boss him around anymore. He was done with it all.

"This isn't really your family, why would you want to do anything about it? Trust me, I can handle it." To the Slytherin boy, Kaia didn't know how to get through to Keyne and on how to divorce Suzanne. All Zayne had to do was tell Keyne what all had happened and what all Suzanne had said to him. Then the divorce would be finalized. Zayne would gladly tell Keyne everything that was going on. All he needed was some time with him. Zayne would get that over the holidays. He could not wait until the holidays anyway, when he would be going home to his dad. He loved his dad. There was nothing else that could separate the two of them. Zayne nodded, "I can try. I will team up with Amycus, but I don't know who the other sister is. But dad, well, he is unique. Things will have to come to terms when he is ready." Zayne knew this to be true when it came to his dad. His dad would have to come to term with his feelings and then decide on what to do with it. Zayne could only hope that his readings of his dad were to be correct. Zayne did not understand too much on love and the concept of it. But to him it seemed very complicated, and did not want to have much thought on it. He was far too young to even think of things like that. One day, he might get into something, but the Slytherin boy did not bother. Zayne entered the castle with Kaia, and once they were at the nurse's office, he let the male nurse tend to his arm. After the pain had gone, and the bones were mended (which was not a pretty sight with blood after all the skin was torn). Zayne moved his arm as he was sitting before he smiled at the nurse. It was really helpful. Zayne's light gray eyes landed on purple orbs before he rolled his eyes. He shrugged, "No, no more tree climbing for me. I think I had enough crazy adventures." He had been debating that he would not have to deal with climbing trees or anything. The last thing he wanted was to end up breaking any more of his bones. It hurt enough, and he did not want to deal with it. It hurt too much, and he never had fun. Zayne had yet to find anything he enjoyed besides Quidditch and going through the dungeons and castle. He could spend all day doing that, but anything outside, he could kind of stay away from those. He didn't enjoy himself when they happened.​

 

[Kaia Baros]

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<COLOR color="#000">Kaia wondered if Zayne would ever professional play Quidditch like his father did. She had seen him play a few times and he was pretty good. Good enough to maybe play in the professional league someday. His father had passed down some true talent to him. ”Do you think you’ll ever play Quidditch professionally too? I bet your father would love to see you play on the same team he did. You have talent. You shouldn’t waste it.” Kaia offered. If she was that talented at something in her life she certainly wouldn’t be wasting it by doing nothing. Other than her brains she didn’t really have any other talents going for her. But that didn’t really bother Kaia much either. Things didn’t bother her easily. Thank goodness they didn’t because Kaia felt she was honestly a little bit too young to always be worrying about being better than others, or working to better herself for others. Whatever she did in her life, it was going to be for her and her alone. Maybe if she had a family later she might make her decisions for them, but right now it was just her. Occasionally she looked out for Zayne’s interest. But it appeared that in most cases he could handle himself. Even if he was still kind of a wuss sometimes. Kaia could see that his stepmother had really done something to him. When she first met him he was nothing but shy and cautious around others. He could easily be compared to a little mouse or something. But over time she had seen a lot of improvement. Now he was breaking out of his shell and releasing that inner Slytherin she had been dying to see come from him. Oddly enough she liked him better when he had a backbone. He couldn’t let her boss him around forever could he? Kaia smirked at Zayne’s reaction to her saying that his father was very attractive. Kaia wasn’t really into boys so much yet. But she did think that they were sometimes handsome or cute. Kaia doubted she would ever be interested in boys. She had her best friend and her brother, what more did she need from them? ”I’m definitely not into guys at all yet. I just think he’s pretty attractive is all. Sorry for bringing it up though.” Kaia begun to feel bad. He seemed a little uncomfortable right now. Which was obvious by rthe shudder he produced. Same with the sound of his voice. Kaia flecked back some of her brown hair and looked down at the ground. Well chances are she’d feel weird if he commented on her mother looking good. But then again, Kaia was pretty sure her mother was ugly. How she produced such pretty children then, well that was a question that not even Kaia could find the answer too. Her father wasn’t all that good looking either. Kaia nearly convinced herself at one point that Hades had to be her actual father. It only made sense with the way she was.

”Zayne…you’re my best friend. I hate seeing you unhappy. I hate hearing that your stepmother treats you like she does.” Kaia admitted as she looked over him worriedly. How could he not see that she worried over what that woman was doing to him. She didn’t like seeing her best friend depressed. On top of that she also hated to think of that vile woman making him forget his heritage and all the important things he should be feeling about it. In her opinion, Zayne was losing out on knowing what kind of person he could be thanks to her. It really pissed Kaia off . ”Maybe you can get in contact with your other sister during vacation?” Kaia offered. She had no idea whom his other sister was either. In fact this was the first time she had been hearing about him having any siblings at all. How many brothers and sisters did he have all together? Kaia had three. Kasura, Kassi, and Lukas. Of course she was the baby too, and Kasura was the oldest. Kaia was pretty sure her oldest sister was in her thirties now. Which was pretty old. How old were his siblings? After he was healed and everything Kaia grinned at Zayne. Okay so no more tree climbing for him. It wouldn’t be difficult to find something else to do. Kaia liked having adventures, hopefully Zayne would be with her on all of those adventures too. They had a lot of fun together. Kaia didn’t mind never being able to get her tree house, she would find other fun places to go. ”That’s fine. Because next week we are going swimming! Oh wait….well…maybe later when your arm is all better.” Kaia clapped her hands and halfway through realized that Zayne currently had a broken arm. They would have to wait until his arm got better before they did anything with water. Well that was a total bummer. Maybe a hike then? Or a rousing game of hide and seek in the dark!
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[Zayne Baros]

Zayne gave a lighthearted shrug. He never thought about playing Quidditch, not professionally anyway. He was just having fun, but he didn't know of anything like playing so much for money. It could go to his head, though playing for his dad would be cool enough. "Yeah, I believe dad would be glad to see me play on his team. But I only play for fun, but I'll check it out later when I am old enough to show interest in the game itself." Zayne did not really think much on it, but he might write something down so that he could think about it when he became a sixth year which was a way into the future. When Kaia said that she was not into guys, then why did she find him attractive? Zayne was somewhat confused, but girls were just confusing to him. He didn't want to bother with them anytime soon, except for friends of course. That is the only thing that he is wanting, anyway. "It is okay. Just a little creepy." He shrugged, as he masked that it did bother him, just not that much anyway. Zayne looked over at the Ravenclaw girl and he released a sigh. There was not much, he believed anyway, that she could do. "Don't worry too much over me. Things happen for a reason, and karma will get her one of these days. Just...don't get involved." Zayne smiled slightly, but he wasn't wanting to get too many people involved. He nodded with the thought of getting in contact with his other sister during vacation, which he planned on doing. He would, completely. He only had sisters, he did want a brother but he wasn't sure now. At least his arm was fixed, but it was still sore as hell. Zayne gave her a look before he said with a shrug, "Going swimming sounds like fun, but that'd better be all that we are doing." He was just glad that he was done with climbing trees. Now they were free to go. Zayne was glad too, he didn't want to stay in the nurse's area for too long.​

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Fin​

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