Closed In the Moment

[Hezekiah Mowry]

Hezekiah Mowry had been finding himself in very lonely places recently. He found the North Tower was one of the places he would go when he was lonely, which was quite often. It was in the middle of the day, and Hezekiah had already taught his batch of sixth years. He felt that they were coming along nicely though it was only the second week. The werewolf stood in front of the window, feeling the breeze on his scarred face. He closed his eyes to allow himself to calm down. It was the full moon tonight, and he was not prepared. He had taken his potion and everything, so he was safe to be around, but he hated every full moon that he had to endure. It was stressful. Hezekiah took in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled out of his mouth. Then, he opened his eyes.

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel liked to think he had a pretty decent sense of direct, but even he had to admit to getting a little turned around in the castle, even almost a year in. He supposed that was one of the few benefits to being out in the greenhouses. At least he knew where it was. How did the kids ever get to class on time? Feeling restless and hoping to commit a bit more of the castle to memory, Angel was strolling in one of the upper towers, enjoying the catch to stretch his legs on the stairs. The astronomy teacher probably had amazing calves climbing those stairs every day.
It was a nice day, Angel enjoyed the view from the high tower windows as he wandered, lingering back in the hallway a bit as he rounded the corner and spotted one of the other staff who seemingly had a similar idea to him today. The man cut quite the mysterious figure, facing out the window quietly, sunlight falling on his scarred face. He'd been the one Angel had encountered last semester who'd never said a word, one of the potions professor if Angel remembered correctly. Intrigued, Angel strolled over, hesitating before breaking the silence. "Nice day, isn't it?"

 

[Hezekiah Mowry]

Hezekiah jumped a little at the sound of Angel Castillo's voice. "No. It's a terrible day." he told the man seriously. He briefly looked at Angel before he looked back out the window. "It's a full moon tonight." he added more quietly. Hezekiah did not mind Angel's company, even though he did not know the man. It saved him from interacting with Monty all the time. Monty wasn't a terrible person. Hezekiah adored the man in some ways, but he felt the two were just awkward about Rama, which frustrated him even more. "How have you been?" he asked, looking at the man curiously.

 

[Professor Angel Castillo]

Angel started to laugh at the man's response, Mowry, he thought he'd heard one of the other professor's say, before realizing he was being serious. He next sentence was even more surprising, and Angel had to raise an eyebrow at the implications. That would put anyone in a sour mood he supposed. "Might as well try to enjoy it before the sun goes down at least?" He tried, though he figured actually trying to cheer Mowry up might be a waste of time, and frankly fair enough. But Mowry at least seemed open to chat for a bit, so Angel closed the distance, coming to stand next to him, also turning his attention out the window Mowry was staring. "Oh, you know how it is. Settling in. I think my students like me better than some of the plants out there do," He smiled at his own joke briefly, happy to be out of the greenhouse at any opportunity. "Come to think of it, how do you survive being down in the dungeons all day, anyway? I think that'd drive me nuts."