Closed Spring daze

[Selene Le Fey]

since moving back to New Zealand Selene had grown a lot. When she had arrived she had felt like a broken vase. All shattered on the floor haunted by her mistakes in the past and some she knew she was yet to make. It had taken her a few years but she had managed to pull the bits together to the point when she felt like a fully functioning person. Even her mum selling the eye hadn’t caused her to break like she knew it would have done in the past. She had even considered buying it but had decided against it as even though go she enjoyed working in the shop it isn’t where she wanted her future to be and she had somewhere decided she should pick her future sometimes and not just go with what was predicted without at least trying to direct it.
She was still taking plenty of time to herself to unwind relax and care for herself. One of her favorite places had become the park in brightstone. She had always found nature relaxing and it had become a weekly retail on one of her days off to go to brightstone, get a cup of chai from the cafe and spend a few hours in the park. It didn’t matter what time of the year. She had watched the seasons change from winter where she would rig up warm clasp her cup tight with her scarf around her neck until her butt and toes went numb from the cold or a beautiful day like today, late spring with the garden beds filled with flowers and birds singing in the trees. No matter the weather she would sit on a picnic blanket and read for a few hours. Or sometime write in her journal or make a start on her new project. An idea she had come up with recently and was slowly starting to put into words. Today was a journal do so as she sat there she she got out a set of muggle coloured pens which she had to admit were far more practical for writing on the go than quills and ink and started to write.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy had only a few weeks left of school and had thankfully turned in most of her big project, which had left her with slightly more free time. She had started to run low on her usual stash of Honeyduke's sweets and finally had the time to do something about it. Knox had stopped working there years ago but she still was fond of the shop. With her bag full she decided to take her time before getting back. It had been a while since she had visited the park and as the air warmed up more and more each day she wanted to enjoy it. She walked slowly and considered taking advantage of the swings while they were empty, but when she turned to see if any children were around she spotted a familiar face. She shuffled her feet for a moment as she considered if she wanted to say hello to Selene or try and duck away without being seen. With her luck the later option would likely make her seem more bizarre. So Poppy stood up a bit straighter and walked over to where Selene was sitting and seemed to be deep in thought as she wrote. "Hello again." she greeted weakly. "We must stop meeting like this. Or I'm going to end up stepping on you again." she joked.

 

[Selene Le Fey]

Selene heard footsteps coming towards her as she finished a line of what she was writing. "life is a series of strings, and we are knotted together". she looked up expecting to see a stranger someone who was just walking past along the quickest way from pond to park. however as her eyes fell on curly red hair and a friendly face and selene couldnt help the smile that was spreading across her face. "Hello Poppy" she greeted closing her book and putting it aside as she tried to decide if she should stand up. "I think we should meet like this more often" she said before looking away slightly a smile spreading across her face at the thought of poppy tripping over her again. "I mean it is a perfect time and place to spend with friends" she added quickly as she stood up, ready to give her friend a hug in greeting.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy couldn't help but laugh at Selene's reply. "Well if you insist. I'll just have to watch where I'm walking more often." she countered. "And I should probably do that already. I'm not always very graceful." she had started to ramble before the other girl had stood up to give her a hug. "Oh." she breathed in quiet surprise but returned the gesture. She was sure her face was red by how warm it felt and she looked up at the sky for a moment to distract herself. "It really is a lovely day." she said. "I was just enjoying a quick walk through the park to enjoy it. It's been raining a lot as I'm sure you've seen and I've been busy with school so it just felt like perfect timing." Poppy took a moment to collect herself and remembered her bag full of sweets. "I was just at Honeydukes!" she blurted out. "Do you want something? I have plenty to share."

 

[Selene Le Fey]

If it means i get to spend more time with you the words came unbidden into selenes mind. She had no idea where her thoughts were coming from and quickly pushed them away, how could this lady have a way of making her thoughts do weird things.
she gave Poppy a hug, she could feel the other girls hair against her face. and smiled as she let go, "your hair smells nice" she said. before realising what she said. and looking away to hide the warmth rushing on her cheeks. She was glad when poppy started to speak touching on a few subjects in close succession in a way that made her glad that her comment about popys hair was quick forgotten. "yes the rain makes everything else more alive." she said. as the redhead offered her some lollies she took one of the sweets. "Thank you." she said. Taking one of the sweets at random and was pleased to see that it was one of her favourites. "Come and join me for a bit. I have a couple of biscuits if you would like one," she said, gesturing to her set-up as she tried to remember if Poppy had said what she was studying.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy blinked at Selene's comment before letting out a nervous laugh. "Thank you." she mumbled with a slight shrug, unsure what to say. She had been using the same lavender shampoo for years now. It wasn't a very exciting thing to share and thankfully the conversation moved on before she felt the need to spill useless facts about herself. It was much easier to stick to safer topics, like the weather. "It does." she said nodding in agreement. "I don't have a garden at my apartment in the city but I do have a window box with a few flowers and they've been enjoying immensely." she added with a smile before holding out her bag full of sweets, and made sure to remember which ones Selene picked first without being too obvious. Her eyebrows raised when the other girl asked her to join her. "Are you sure? I didn't want to take up too much of your time if you were working on something." she said in an attempt to be polite even as she moved to sit down on the blanket anyways. Her fear of a social misstep falling silent next to her desire to spend more time with Selene. It was a lovely day after all. Once settled she took out a chocolate frog and opened it carefully. It was one of the few sweets she had to avoid eating around her muggle roommates. She didn't want to risk them needing to be obliviated over some chocolate.

 

[Selene Le Fey]

Selene listened to poppy. as she spoke about her garden box. "that sounds wonderful you do strike me as the kind of person with a very green thumb" she said. She had a feeling that poppy was the kind of person that you could give a small patch of ground to and it would soon be a lush garden. ”if you want to one day you would have to come over to my. Well my grandmas house. She has a beautiful garden. Lots of flowers and herbs and vegetables. She even grows chickens too she said.
When poppy checked if she was sure she wanted her to stay of course. It was just my journal. Nothing important she said. Well her journal was important to her. But not time critical. besides. I enjoy spending time with you she said before looking away as she felt her cheeks warm slightly with the truth of what she was saying.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy smiled at Selene's compliment, or at least she considered having a green thumb a compliment. "I get it from my father. He studies plants and I've learned a lot from him." she explained. Yes, they all took herbology at school but she knew the real source of any affinity she had for plants. When the offer to see Selene's grandmother's garden came up she felt very flattered. "That would be lovely. Don't think I've ever seen a proper witches garden." she said with a small laugh. "The chickens also sound delightful." she added. Growing up in the country she saw plenty of animals but her parents never kept any so the novelty was very real.

Once the chocolate frog's enchantment had worn off Poppy popped the whole thing in her mouth. It wasn't very dignified but she had found biting into the chocolate even while it was still felt wrong. So her mouth was full when Selene said she liked spending time with her. She tried to chew faster and choked a little before regaining her composure. "That's very nice of you to say." she said, her face feeling warm. "I've enjoyed it too." she said honestly. Poppy didn't always feel at ease with people. She sometimes struggled with knowing if someone was genuine or not. Not to mention having to hid her magic for the past few years while she was at school had done a number on her too. But she never felt that caution around Selene. It was...nice. "Maybe we should do it intentionally some time." she offered with a chuckle. "So I don't have to step on you again."

 

[Selene Le Fey]

Selene nodded as poppy said that she got the green thumb from her dad. "he sounds like a great dad" she said, She had no kind of scare to go of as far as dads went. however everything she had heard about poppys dad made him sound like a really good dad. She chuckled as the girl said that she would like to see a proper witches garden especially the chickens. "you will like it i am sure. it is part witches garden, part veggie and herb garden" she said. there were certainly some things that were grown for their use in potions, and spells, but other things were for eating, and others because they looked or smelled nice or attracted the right kinds of insects.
she realised how poorly timed her comment was when Poppy started to splutter over her chocolate frog, though admittedly, she did have the whole thing in her mouth, which was quite a lot of chocolate in one go. she reached out, gesturing if her friend wanted her to pat her on the back to help with the cough. Poppy seemed to recover before her hitting assistance was needed "Sorry that was poorly timed. Are you okay? do you want some drink? sorry this is all i have" she said offering her half drunk chai. she could feel a slight prickly of a flush as poppy said they should organise meeting up again. "We should. If only to save you falling to often' she said. "no, i'd actually really like that. what would you like to do?" she asked.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy hadn't meant to talk so much about her dad and she was momentarily embarrassed but Selene's comment eased her worry a little. She almost wanted to mention how cool her mom was too to make things even. Instead she just smiled and nodded in agreement. She listened as the other girl described her grandmother's garden and it sounded perfect. Practical and resourceful, and no doubt beautiful. Poppy sometimes day dreamed about her future home and while she was cramped in her student apartment in the city it usually took the form of some cottage with a sprawling garden.

While Poppy never considered herself graceful, nearly choking on some chocolate had to be a first. She held up her hands to reassure Selene that she was fine. "I'm ok. Sorry, so sorry." she said still feeling embarrassed especially after the other girl offered her drink. She wasn't choking anymore but when Selene asked what they could do together she drew a total blank. "Oh, I'm not sure." she began. "I'm about to finish school soon so my mind has been full of projects. I've barely had time to breath let alone think about the future." she said with a breathless laugh. "Maybe something to celebrate."

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

elvera was visiting brightstone. she walked past the entrance to the park and kept walking

 

[Selene Le Fey]

Selene bowed her head to acknowlage poppys gesture of being okay, she could see the younger lady was getting flustered . "You don't need to apologise for almost choking on chocolate. just so long as you are okay." she said
when poppy said that you wasn't sure what she would like to do as she was busy finishing school she nodded slightly. good luck with finishing and graduation, how long do you have left?". she asked, remembering her own collage graduation and how stressful it had been in the time leaing up to it. "let me know when you have enough time to think about the future enough to plan a celebration. or even a simple coffee date she said.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy nodded quickly and tucked her hair behind her ears. "I'm ok I promise." she insisted. "I guess I'm just apologizing to myself for being so embarrassing." she added with a laugh but was glad to move past it. She smiled when Selene offered her some luck with her studies. "Thank you. Only a few weeks and assignments left." she said with a sigh. "It's been so different than Hogwarts." Poppy didn't have a lot of experience with 'normal' schools but the jump to university had been a jarring one. She would miss some of the friends she had made but she would be glad to put it behind her. It didn't help she had to shut out the magical world for so long. She had gotten distracted for a moment as he mind drifted towards school things but the mention of a coffee date brought her back. Poppy blinked as she tried to register the entirety of what Selene had said. "Oh, that would be great!" she blurted out before she could over think or ask about the use of the word 'date'. Her mind swirled but couldn't string together any concrete thoughts. Did she want to go on a date if that was what the other girls implying? By the way her heart leapt at the thought she reckoned she did indeed want that. "I can reach out in a few weeks to plan something. Or if you wanted to reach out to me that would be fine too. Do you have a phone?" she asked breathlessly as she moved to get up from the blanket. She hadn't been there long but she found she was far too worked up to sit still for much longer. And better she leave now before she put her foot in her mouth one way or another.

 

[Selene Le Fey]

Selene bowed her head slightly as poppy said that she was apologising for herself. "Okay" she said not really sure what else to add. she was glad that the conversation topic changed. "I'm cheering for you. what are you studying?" she asked trying to remember if poppy had told her before. she could imagine it would be something interesting like horticulture or something artistic.
She wasnt sure what she had meant by saying. simple coffee date. she was fairly sure it had just meant a coffee catch up but she couldnt help realising that her unconscious choice of words was implying something else. something she knew she would like though she was fairly sure it wouldn't be something poppy would be interested in, at least not with her. by the way poppy jumped she realised that she was probably right unintentionally pushed their friendship, if you could even call it that, too far. 'I do, but I havent used it since coming back here, so I only have my American number" she said. she ad used it a lot when she ad been studying. ishe had quickly learned when she was at collage that she couldnt get by without one. when she had first moved back she had carried it with her both wishing for and dreading it to ring. but as time passed she had looked at it less until she had not picked it up for months. "I might need to get a new number. but I can message you once I have it sorted out" she said.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

"Thank you. I could use it." Poppy said with a light laugh. "I'm studying illustration." she said but realized she might need to explain a little more. "Specifically scientific illustration. Like the ones in textbooks." she explained. "And the ones you showed me at the Inner Eye the other day." She wasn't sure how memorable her appearance at the shop had been to Selene but it had stuck with her. Poppy felt a little silly standing so suddenly but she could hardly sit still. She felt like she need to get away so she could process the conversation on her own before she could make a fool of herself. "Right, that makes sense." she said when Selene explained she hadn't used her phone in a while. It was so hard to keep track of what muggle technology people used and didn't use. But it wasn't like she could keep an owl in her apartment so she had gotten use to the convenience of texting. Thankfully Selene didn't seem deterred and even offered to be the one to reach out. "Yes, that would be perfect." Poppy said excitedly and reached into her bag. She was never far from a sketchbook these days and she pulled one out to scribble her number on the corner of a page before tearing it out. It accidentally took with it a section of a drawing with it, a messy rough draft of a lily she had been practicing a few weeks ago. "There you go."