Open Picnics with Companions

[Molly Burke]

Open after Marijke as Kiara Thompson

It had been a couple of weeks into the second semester and Molly guessed she was enjoying it so far. It was a sunny day, with no clouds in the sky. She had decided to have a picnic under one of the tall shady trees, as she thought it was a beautiful day outside and also thought to bring her feline companion Gumdrop. Molly hadn't had Gumdrop for that long, but she had felt that the small cat was her best friend. She took the cat with her almost everywhere she went.

After a few minutes of having trouble bringing the things she needed, such as a blanket she used as a picnic blanket and also brought a lot of snacks she could nibble on, she finally got to set everything up under a tall tree that was a bit further into the great lawn and sat down on the picnic blanket. "What do you think Gumdrop? Do you like it?" Molly says with a giggle as she looks at her cat, knowing there was going to be no response from her.

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara was excited to be back at school after the break, even more so on a day like today when the weather was great and she had plenty of time between classes. She had picked up some of her books and a couple of snacks from her dorm and was almost back in the hallway when she realized it would be nice to bring her Pygmy Puff outside with her as well. She had quickly ran up to get Lilo before skipping down the stairs to the entrance hall.

Once outside, she took a moment to enjoy the sun on her face before walking around looking for a good spot to sit in. Kiara lifted her hand up to her shoulder every so often to make sure Lilo hadn't disappeared in one way or another. After walking the lawn for a few minutes she noticed someone familiar nearby and happily made her way over. "Hi Molly!" Kiara smiled in greeting before noticing the small cat. "And hi to you Gumdrop." She grinned, crouching down to stroke the cat's back.

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly was busy giggling and petting her cat. When she suddenly heard a voice, she looked up from her cat and smiled brightly at a familiar face. "Hello, Kiara! How are you?" Molly says with giggles. She then noticed a fluffy small creature on the Ravenclaw's shoulder and gasped. "Is that your Pygmy Puff you mentioned before? It's so cute! What's its name?" Molly says with a giggle. Kiara had probably told her the name when they spoke about their pets, but the Hufflepuff had completely forgotten the name of the Pygmy Puff. It was always nice to have a pet. They were always great company. "Would you like to join our picnic? It's just me and Gumdrop"

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara smiled when Molly greeted her. She had only met the girl once before but she had been fun to talk with, made her feel at ease. Her cat being as fluffy as it was helped as well. "I'm good, how are you?" She responded to the girl's question with a small nod that got a lot more excited when she inquired about her pygmy puff. "Yes! This is Lilo." Kiara beamed as she gently picked the pygmy puff up from her shoulder, giggling when it squeaked as she did. "Oh, that would be lovely." She almost squeaked herself at the offer, quickly sitting down. She glanced at Gumdrop for a second when she was about to put Lilo down on the blanket and then did so anyways, watching her roll towards Molly.

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly giggled a little. "That's good! I am also good" Molly says with a small giggle. The girl kinda thought it was a little funny how she replied with the same answer, though she didn't really touch on that further. She gasped excitedly at the pygmy puff. "So cute!" Molly says giggling, maybe even almost squealing a bit because the pygmy puff was so cute. "Can I pet them?" Molly says with a small smile, Lilo looked so soft and cuddly and the Hufflepuff really wanted to pet it. She smiled when Kiara had decided to join Molly and Gumdrop. "Yay! There are some snacks if you'd like some! But I'm not sure if you'd be into it! But help yourself" Molly says with a friendly smile.

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara nodded enthusiastically when Molly asked if she could pet her Pygmy Puff. "For sure, she loves attention." She giggled as she crossed her legs, making herself more comfortable while watching Lilo roll further untill she bumped against Molly's leg. "She might squeak but that's a good sign." She added just to make sure the other girl wouldn't be surprised if the small ball of fluff started making sounds. Kiara eyed the snacks Molly had put out for a second, wondering why she still felt like it would be rude to take something even if she had just told her she could. Instead, she decided to focus on trying to make conversation. Something she still needed to push herself in a little. "So do things differ a lot in second year? Like do you notice you're not the youngest at school anymore and stuff?"

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly giggled as she was in fact allowed to pet Lilo. She was an adorable pygmy puff and she looked so fluffy. The Hufflepuff made her way to pet Lilo, she giggled again as she felt quite soft and giggled a little more when the pygmy puff rolled her way towards her and bumped on Molly's leg. "You're an adorable one Lilo!" Molly says with a giggle. She then turns towards her cat. "Lilo is adorable isn't she Gumdrop?" Molly then asks her cat, knowing there wasn't going to be any response to her cat. Gumdrop was unbothered, as she continued to roll around on the picnic blanket. The Hufflepuff turned towards Kiara. "Meh, not really," Molly says with a giggle. She didn't really notice any difference if she was being honest. "Maybe the classes are a tiny bit harder. Not by much though. It feels weird not being the youngest one at school anymore" Molly says with a laugh. "Are you enjoying your first year of Hogwarts? Was it what you were expecting at all?"

ooc: you're welcome to godmod gumdrop if you wish hehe!

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara was glad Molly seemed to like her Pygmy Puff as much as she liked the other girl's cat. Even if the creatures didn't have much in common. Except from being incredibly fluffy, which might just be it. Admittedly, she was a little relieved Gumdrop didn't mind her Pygmy Puff much attention. There had been some other cats at the castle that had seemed more keen in finding out exactly what the fluffy pink thing was. "Hmm, maybe things will be more different when we get older." Kiara responded with a small shrug. Surely there had to be more significant differences in being a year older at some point. Perhaps in the later years when the serious exams rolled around. "I am." She nodded. "I mean things can get a bit overwhelming but in general I like it." She added with a small smile, gently stroking Gumdrop's head a the cat moved closer to her. "Well I've been hearing stories about it for years but it's hard to really imagine it. So I guess in a way it is, but also not completely." Kiara tried to explain with a soft giggle.

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly giggled from time to time as she pets Lilo. The pygmy puff was adorable and super fluffy in the Hufflepuff's opinion. At one point she did consider getting a pygmy puff instead of getting a cat. But she was happy with Gumpdrop and she wouldn't change Gumdrop for the world. The Hufflepuff girl nodded as Kiara spoke. "I think so too. But I'm not excited for the exams. It seems like they can be quite hard" Molly said as she frowned a little. The girl was okay in classes, but she thought studying seemed really boring. Molly nodded in agreement about it being overwhelming. "Yes! Totally! I kinda found it a bit overwhelming too. The castle is so big. I got lost a couple of times. And I still get lost now from time to time" Molly says as she giggled. The Hufflepuff had struggled a bit the first few weeks since she got here in her first year trying to find her classes. There were so many levels and stairs, she didn't really know where she was. "Oh! You heard stories? from who? Do you have older siblings who are here? I have an older brother, but he didn't tell me much Hogwarts before I came."

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara listened attentively while Molly talked about exams, having to agree that she wasn't particularly looking forward to them. She enjoyed learning new things, but exams just felt like having her memory tested rather than her knowledge. Luckily for them, the real big exams were still years away. "Right?" She giggled when Molly mentioned getting lost in the castle. "And there's so many students it's just a little much from time to time." She said a little more quietly. She was getting more used to both the size of the castle and the student body but she knew it would take a little while longer before she'd be able to feel completely at ease with it all. "I have an older brother too!" Kiara beamed when Molly asked her some questions about who she had heard stories from. "He's told me a lot. And then I've got three older cousins as well, so plenty of stories." She giggled. "What year is your brother in?"

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly nodded in agreement, eyes wide, as she continued to pet Lilo gently. "There are so many people! Sometimes I forget where I am when I see a lot of people. Because almost everywhere in the castle looks the same" Molly says with a giggle. It was in fact true. The girl still got lost still till this day. The rooms and corridors looked at the same most of the time to her, that she would sometimes forget what room she was in.

Molly giggled when Kiara mentioned she too had an older brother. "What's your brother like? Mine can be annoying sometimes. Do you have any other siblings?" Molly asked as she tilted her head. The mention of her siblings sort of made her miss her younger siblings. Even though they too, were annoying, she kinda missed them. The Hufflepuff's jaw dropped dramatically when Kiara mentioned cousins. "You have cousins that go here too? That's so cool! All my cousins are back in Ireland" Molly says with a small smile. She wasn't really close with her cousins if she was being honest. "My brother is in his third year. How about yours?"

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara was glad she wasn't the only one who got a little overwhelmed in the castle from time to time. Getting lost was something she was sure everyone in the castle had to deal with, but getting uncomfortable by the large amount of people around was something completely different. "Mine's annoying too." She replied with a soft giggle when Molly asked about her brother. "But he's also a lot of fun and he always looks out for me." She added honestly. Sure, Zay could be a pain at times and him pushing her to make friends had been a bit of a pain but she knew he meant well and that he'd be right there for her if she needed him. "I have another brother who's a first year as well, just a couple months older than me." She said, feeling the need to elaborate rather than be met with the possibility of a confused expression. "We're all adopted."

When Molly seemed excited about her cousins being at school as well Kiara couldn't help but to grin. "Yeah! One of them is the same age as my brother and the other two are seventh years." She replied, wondering if she should add that her cousin was the head girl. She wasn't exactly sure whether Molly would care about something like that but she did think it made her cousin easy to recognize. Her thoughts were quickly pulled away when the other girl told her about her brother again. "Ooh, my brother's a year older so I reckon they don't know each other." She replied. It would've been nice if it somehow turned out one of her friend's siblings were friends with her own brother, but so far she hadn't had many luck.

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly smiles as Kiara spoke about her brother. "Your brother sounds so cool. My brother is only nice to me when he wants to be" Molly says with a giggle, as she spoke about her brother. Of course, she loved her brother to bits and sure she may be more of the annoying sibling than he was. But he usually did his own thing now and hardly spent time with her anymore which made Molly a little sad. She smiled when Kiara spoke about her other brother. "Oh, so you're the youngest?" Molly asked as it seemed that she had two older brothers. "I have two younger siblings, another brother and a little sister," Molly says with a small giggle. Mentioning her younger siblings had made her slightly homesick as she missed them a little. "Oh, that's interesting!" Molly says with a smile. It was always nice getting to know someone.

"Wow! That's so many cousins! Are you close with your cousins?" Molly asked, with a small smile, as she continued to gently pet Kiara's pygmy puff. She was enjoying both the company of the Ravenclaw and her pet, and she had hoped that Kiara was feeling the same. "Oh right! It would be cool if they did know each other though"

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara gave a small shrug when Molly said her brother sounded cool, happily stroking Gumdrop's back as the cat perched itself in her lap. She also made sure to keep an eye on Lilo, knowing the Pygmy Puff had a habbit of rolling off in any discernible direction from time to time. In her dorm or the common room that wasn't much a problem, but out here she needed to make sure the little puffball didn't just disappear on her. She nodded when Molly asked if she was the youngest. The youngest of her siblings. The baby of her family. "Do you miss them a lot?" She asked cautiously when Molly mentioned having younger siblings. "I mean I know I missed my brother a lot when he was at school and we were at home." She offered with a small smile.

She grinned when the other girl seemed impressed by how many of her family members were at school with her, nodding her head in response to Molly's question. "I guess, yeah. Not like super close but like close enough to know I can always count on them." She replied with a genuine smile, quite fond of her older cousins. "The oldest two are pretty good for advice and stuff, it's a shame they're graduating." Kiara added. "But at least it was nice to have one year at school with them. We even hung out with all of us at the beginning of the year. That was cool."

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly smiled a little at Kiara's question and nodded. "Oh yeah, a lot. Even though they can be annoying. I do miss them" Molly says with a small smile and nod. She was excited for the break, even though the semester had only just recently started. She was excited to see her younger siblings again and talk about Hogwarts to them. She knew that her little brother was excited for Hogwarts, as it wasn't long until he himself was going to Hogwarts.

The Hufflepuff smiled as she listened to the younger girl, as she continued to pet Lilo gently from time to time. "It's nice that you guys are somewhat close and that you guys have each other's back," Molly says with a smile. She was close with her cousins when she was back in Ireland, but after she moved to New Zealand, they sort of drifted apart and weren't as close anymore. "That's true! I don't think my siblings and I will all be together in Hogwarts when my sister comes. But that's okay I guess" Molly says with a small smile. Her older brother would have left as her sister joined Hogwarts. She looked between their pets and the girl. "Do you have any other pets? Or is your pygmy puff the only pet you have?" Molly asked curiously, wanting to get to know Kiara a bit more