Open In A Week

[Elise Ito]

The air was still crisp as Elise walked out to the lawn and laid down in the middle of the grass. She had Nyx with her of course but she had let her bird fly freely for now as she felt her body fully relax. She had expected her bad mood about Ezra not being at school to pass overnight. But it had been a few days, and while the weight on her heart was lifting it still clung to her at times and she wasn't sure why. She had always considered herself independent and sometimes found his protective nature a bit suffocating. She should feel free, but instead it felt like loss. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the breeze in the grass and the faint conversation of others in the distance. She thought of her mother suddenly and took in a sharp breath. She hadn't thought about her in a while and that made her feel guilty. Maybe that was what was haunting her? Maybe her body couldn't tell the difference between someone being gone and being dead? She wasn't sure why, she didn't feel that way about her dad or anyone else in her family when she left for school. There were a lot of questions swirling in her head and she didn't like most of them. Instead she tried to focus on the current moment and things she could physically feel. The cold, the blades of grass tickling her ears. She imagined herself laying here forever and wondered how long it'd take her to turn into dirt.

 

[Hazel Ashworth]

Hazel was enjoying the fresh air outside as she walked around the grounds, taking a deep breath and letting it out. It felt nice to be back at Hogwarts, a little like coming home. It was strange and a little scary that it was her fifth year already. The OWLs had seemed so far away before. As she walked around for a bit, she spotted a familiar Raven flying around. Curious, she headed closer, until she almost tripped over Elise who was lying on the grass. "Oof- hi!" She said, righting herself after a small stumble. "You're hard to spot like this. Ohh, are you hiding?" She paused. "Am I interrupting?"

 

[Elise Ito]

Elise had almost fully convinced herself she was somewhere else, floating away like a cloud, when she heard a familiar voice. For a moment she was irritated, like she was being woken up from a nice dream and she clenched her eyes shut extra tight. But the peace was gone and she opened her eyes. She expected to see her friend but the light, even from the cloudy day, was momentarily blinding. "Hello." she said slowly in a croaky voice as if she had been asleep. She blinked a few more times before she could actually see Hazel's face. She sighed as she considered her question. "Not hiding." she said. "But not sure if I wanted to be found." she said honestly. "I'm not sure.", was her answer to Hazel's last question. But she had been interrupted and there was no way to change that now. She sat up and even while going slowly the rush of blood from her head to the rest of her body made her head spin. "Where you looking for me?" she asked with a teasing smile.

 

[Hazel Ashworth]

Hazel looked down at her friend curiously as she spoke, noticing how she was lying in the grass like she was part of it. Elise said the weirdest things sometimes, and it always seemed to come so naturally to her. Sometimes, it made Hazel a little jealous. Her friend sounded all deep and mysterious, something Hazel couldn't pull off no matter how hard she tried. "I wasn't looking for you, but I found you anyway." She said cheerfully, smiling as she sat down on the grass next to the Ravenclaw. "Hope you don't mind too much. I did spot Nyx, so if you do mind you can blame her." She said, pulling her bag onto her lap and digging through it. "Wanna share a cauldron cake?" She asked, pulling one out and holding it out to her.