talking, in the cold

Briar Rowan-Cullen

Strength in diversity
 
Messages
7,765
OOC First Name
Mia
Blood Status
Unknown
Relationship Status
Married
Sexual Orientation
Dederick
Wand
Briars rowan, 15", with centaur (aspens) tail hair and my werewolf fur
Age
49 (2/2013)
It was snowing once again Briar was outside. a year in the castle had caused her to get used to hogwarts life but she still liked to be outside. It was cold as she jogged slightly to warm up, before running full pelt around the lake. although it hadn't yet snowed the sky was white and promising a sprinkle soon, and she wanted to stay outside ant wait for the first flakes. sitting down under one of her favorite trees and watched the lake and some of the other students who were braving the cold.
 
Sidda had spent ages doing homework - uh, hello, teachers? OWLs aren't until 5th year. stop laying on the homework. sheesh. - and was kind of sick of being indoors. Well, of not being able to run around. So she decided to head outside, even though it looked like it was going to snow, and the fire was nice and cosy. "I must be insane," she muttered to herself as she ran up to her dorm to grab her warmest coat, a scarf, beanie and gloves. Once she got downstairs, she slipped outside and froze in her tracks. "Yup, definitely insane," she said, looking in awe outside. The clouds were so dense that they looked ominous, and there was a silence everywhere, as various creatures hid away from the approaching storm. 'I'll just go for a quick jog or something, then I'll go back inside.' she thought, half hoping to see the snow, but half afraid of the cold.
Sidda decided to jog to the trees beside the lake. Upon getting closer, she saw that she wasn't as alone in her insanity as she'd thought. Someone was sitting under one of the trees. Once Sidda got close, she saw that it was Briar, a girl from her dorm whom she was friends with. "Hey, Briar!" she said, waving to get her attention. She ran over, plopped down on the ground, then said, "Guess I'm not the only one who was insane enough to come out here," laughing as she said it.
 
Briar was miles away, thinking of things that she wouldn't remember aftorwards. Daydreaming. Suddenly absound behind her made her jump. Quickly turning around she saw sid, a girl from her dorm walking up and greeting her. "hey sid, nice to see you here". She replyed she watched sid run over and talk about tisanity. "I don't think were insain, I think that the people who spend all day every day inside the castle are insain. Don't you think it's beautiful outide?" sbe asked knowing that most people would disagree but the grounds were pretty in their barron winter way. She also knew that when it snowed everyone would be outside building snowmen and haveing snowball fights.
 
Siddalee looked around. She hadn't really thought about the grounds being beautiful in weather like this, but she supposed they were - in their own, dramatic way. "Yeah, it's cool - literally." Sidda laughed at her own little joke. "The castle is kind of confining, but it's also nice and cosy," she added a little wistfully. The cold was starting to make her fingers go numb, even inside their gloves. "Do you come out here every day? You must be used to being outside a lot. Where do you come from?" she asked Briar. She thought that she must come from somewhere cold and in the countryside - otherwise she surely wouldn't be so blase about the weather.
 
"I guess that its a little chilly out here when your sitting still." she said staring to giggle rubbing her bare arms, "i try to come out at least once a day. but its no where near as long as when i was at home in europe, i lived in a forest, and my and my family were pretty much were self sufficient" she shuffled around. she hadn't come outside to sit still, and she had left all of her furs in the dorm. "where are you from? she asked sid wondering weather she was a local girl or weather she was from another corner of the world.
 
"In a forest! Wow! That must have been interesting. Did your family know about magic before you got your letter? Who did you live with - just our family, or others too? What kind of creatures lived there? Which forest?" Sidda was fascinated. Living in the forest sounded tough, but interesting and exciting and so different to her own urban childhood. "I'm from New Zealand - Auckland actually. I had an urban childhood. I grew up skateboarding through the city - I love to be outside, but I'm not like a total country girl, although when I was little I lived on a farm. But I'll tell you more later, if you want. Let's DO something." Sidda had noticed goosebumps on Briar's arms, and she noticed her shifting slightly where she sat. "Come on! Let's have a race, or do some cartwheels, or climb a tree, or something. We'll freeze if we sit still!" She jumped up and held out a hand to help Briar up.
 
Briar shivered. "i guess my family may have suspected i had magic before i got my letter but they didn't let on, you see they weren't wizards, we lived in a family group but it was an extended family with aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, and so on, i guess it was more like four or five families. thee was all sorts of creatures in the forest, centaurs, wolves, werewolves, there was also a rumor that there was a dragon but we never went neat where it was supposed to be. and i dont know what the forest was called. any more questions?" she jokingly ended. she had tried to remember all of sids questions but knew Sid was getting closer to the truth. thankfully Sid started to talk about her own childhood in auckland. skateboarding in the city, that sounded odd. when Sid suggested that they do something active she smiled, "thats an awesome idea, i dont mind what we do, but what are cartwheels? i dont think o know what they are she asked wondering what this strange human invention was, she knew what carts were, and what carts wheels were, but she didn't understand how she could 'do' carts wheels.
 
Sidda shivered a little when Briar mentioned the creatures that were in the forest - more specifically the wolves and werewolves. 'How could her family not be wizards but know about magic?' Sidda wondered. She decided to ask her later. "Sounds like a lot of people living together," was all she said.
She was shocked when Briar didn't know what cartwheels were. She got up and proceeded to do a string of cartwheels across the grass, losing her scarf and hat in the process. She ran back to Briar, picking up her scarf and hat and chucking them under a tree along with her coat and wand. "Come on! I'll teach you!" she said to Briar, holding out her hand. "It's easy! Make sure you take everything out of your pockets, though, otherwise it'll fall out."
 
briar watched sid cart wheel across the lawn. Briar clapped as sid came running back. "awesome" she didn't have anything in her pockets so she attempted to do the same thing as sid had done but she ended doing a sort of bunny hop thing. "i guess taht wasn't it she said laughing.

((i will continue when i get back, i have to go out to tea))
 
Sidda watched as Briar tried to do a cartwheel. "That was better than my first attempt. Try to keep your legs straight when you're upside down - the grass is quite soft." Sidda laughed a little then demonstrated again. "Don't worry if you don't get it right away, it took me ages to manage to do one, but once you learn, it's like riding a bike."
 
Briar followed Sids advice and managed to at least go upside down although her legs weren't straight and she didn't land quite right so she overbalanced and fell on her backside. she lay back and laughed for a minute as sid said cartwheels were like riding a bike. " well I'm afraid i haven't done that ether" she said still laughing. she jumped back up and had another go at the cart wheel, and managed to sort of complete a sort of wobbly version staying on her feet at the end. "was that it? she asked hopping that she didn't look ridiculous.
 
Sid watched as Briar did another, much better, attempt. "That was better! Good job," she called, stifling a small giggle. She repressed it, remembering what she must have looked like when she was learning to cartwheel. And to skate.

She was a bit shocked when Briar said she'd never ridden a bike, either. "I could teach you if you want, although skateboarding's way better, in my opinion. You should come to my house some holidays. I could show you what it's like to live in the city, and teach you all this stuff, and you could teach me some of the stuff you did in the forest." She watched as Briar had another go and did a pretty good one. "That was awesome!" she yelled. "I think you've got the hang of it. That was fast!" She did a cartwheel to get to Briar, then hugged her. "Wow! Aren't they fun?" she exclaimed, jumping up and down and then doing a handstand. She was a bit hyperactive - it must have been the excitement of Briar learning and Sid getting to hang out with a new friend.
 
Briar did another cartwheel for the shear fun of it. "your right. it is fun she said landing and trying to keep her balance. she had warmed up a lot just doing those few cartwheels. "I'm sure both should be fun, i've never tried ether before. she walked back over to the tree and watched as Sid managed to balance on her hands. when she finally came down she clapped her hands "wow, that was awesome she said, she said hugging Sid lightly back. she really liked the girl, and they seemed to get on great.
she leaned back against the tree and looked up into the branches. Hey Sid, will you promise not to tell anyone what i am about to tell you" she paused and waited for sids reply. "I never knew my real family, my adoptive family found me under a rowan tree when i was just a few hours old. my mother took me in even though some of the elders disagreed with it, as they didn't like humans, especially wizards, and they were sure that it was a wizard tho left me there." she stopped and once again looked at the sky, and felt the first flake of snow land on her nose. she wasn't sure how to sat the next bit, but she knew that she had to tell the rest of the story. "you see, they weren't human, I was adopted by centaurs" she wasn't sure what to do. so she just stayed there not saying or doing anything else. and waited for Sid to do something.
 
"Thanks!" Sid replied. She went and sat down next to Briar, under a tree. Her cheeks were glowing from the exercise, but her breathing was in check. "I promise not to tell," she said, crossing her heart with her hand. Sid was a little nervous about what Briar was going to tell her, but she was pleased that Briar trusted her enough to tell her a secret. "What is it?" she said, looking at Briar. Then Briar told her that she was found under a rowan tree, and that the 'elders' in the group didn't want to take her in, because they thought she was a wizard. This sounded strange, and made Sid think of what Briar had said in the dorm room about "two hooves". Then she heard that her family were centaurs, and suddenly, things started to fit. The "two hooves" thing, why Briar didn't like to be indoors and seemed really fit, why she wore furs - all of it. "Centaurs? Is that why you called people two hooves when we were talking in the dorm? Oh. What were they like? Is that why you're so fit, and stuff? Please, tell me about it," she said. She realised that her mouth was hanging open a bit and shut it with a snap. This was shocking, but not in a bad way - Sid just wasn't expecting it. Although now that she thought about it, it made sense - it was obviously a big part of Briar. She looked up at the stormy sky, feeling the first snowflakes land on her eyelashes and in her hair.
 
Briar listened to sids questions then sat up and an her full sprint around the lake. she hadn't ran like that in over a year. it only took her a couple of minutes. she disliked heavy conversation and had a tendency to tun from choices. she sat back down breathing heavily. "sorry, but i really needed that. she said. she had thought about the questions as she ran so she had most of the answers ready. "Yes, centaurs. when i was little the other kids used to joke and say i have two hooves, and then when i was older we started calling all humans two hooves" she smiled, took another deep breath and continued. "It was great fun. I reckon it was the best childhood i could ask for, there were obviously times where they didn't like me being different, like when i was first found, when i wasn't as fast or as have as much stamina. also when i first showed signs of magic, and when i got my letter, but almost all of the time i was just one of the heard. and, for some things i was better than them, like collecting food from the top of trees, two legs, and flexible feet, made them easy to climb. also living in the wild for eleven years, helps for your fitness" she laughed. and waited to see what Sid would say.
 
"No worries" Sid said as Briar sat down again. She laughed a little about how the nickname 'two hooves' came about. "So, would I be called 'two hooved' if I met your family?" she joked. She tilted her head to the side slightly, listening to Briar talk about growing up with the centaurs. To be honest, it sounded awesome. Sid had loved her childhood (skating, singing and maybe a little bit of school) but this sounded amazing, and probably must have taught Briar a lot. "Yeah, having toes and flexible feet does help in climbing trees," she said. Sid knew this well - she was a regular monkey. "They also help in climbing buildings, and other things that maybe shouldn't be climbed, but are fun to climb," Sid said, half joking half serious. She knew this from experience. "Yeah, it does seem to have made you fit - I thought I was fit and active, but seeing you run around that lake..." Sid trailed off. She had been amazed at how fast Briar had done the lap - she wasn't sure she could do that. She crossed her legs and faced Briar properly, picking some grass and starting to play with it with her long, thin, pale fingers. "Since you told me a secret, do you want me to tell you one?" she asked, watching the grass. It only seemed fair, but this was a secret that Sid had never told anyone, and so she felt a little nervous about telling Briar.
 
"i guess you also would be a two hoof too" she said in reply to sids question. laughing about the idea which seemed a little abused after being surrounded with humans with feet for the last year and a bit, but on the inside she didn't know if her family would let her bring friends home, or even if her family would let her come home now. she listened as Sid talked about climbing trees and other things and knew instinctively that from now on they would be very close. when Sid asked her if she anted to hear a secret she has happy to have someone who she could trust, however as Sid asked she saw her squirm slightly as though she wasn't sure weather to say it or not. "you can tell me if you want to and i promise i wont tell anyone, but if you dont feel comfortable then i dont mind you keeping it she replied, looking out over the lake at the small ripples forming because of the snow.
 
"Two hoof. Can't say it's the worst nickname I've ever had," Sid said when Briar said that she would be considered two hooved. She felt something with Briar, a connection - they just clicked. She felt like they would be good friends, and she also had the feeling that each telling the other a secret would be the thing that helped them bond and become best friends. She'd never had a girl best friend before - before she came to Hogwarts, all her friends had ben her skater guy friends, who were also in the band that she supposed she had now left. When she first came to Hogwarts, she had missed the guys terribly, but now she didn't as much. It was still fun to hang out with them in the holidays, but it was difficult because she couldn't tell them anything about Hogwarts or her being a witch. So, she felt excited about having Briar as a best friend, which was why she decided to tell her secret. Taking a deep breath, she said "My secret is that I not only sing songs, but I write them. I've never told anyone because my songs are personal - each one is a part of me, and I write them about events and emotions that affect me. It's my way of dealing with strong emotions or difficult things - I write a song about it. So you can imagine why I haven't told anyone - singing one is like sharing my soul, and I haven't felt like I could do that with anyone before. But I trust you." And as Sid said that she trusted Briar, she knew that it was true. "Would you like to hear one?" she asked, a bit nervous about what Briar would think of her songs.
 
"wow you write songs. thats amazing" Briar said. ever since she had come here she had heard music, people playing singing and listening to it and it always sounded so amazing that something like that could overfill you with emotions. "i always thought that songs were amazing. I would love to hear one if you want to." she said hoeing that she would. she realized that Sid was one of the few girls at this school, and anywhere outside of her clan for that matter, that she truly felt like she could trust and understand, she could also feel that Sid felt the same way too, however she couldn't explain how she knew. she just leaned back against the trunk and waited for sis to start singing.
 
"Thank you. I'm not that good, but..." Sid trailed off. Iit was true - in her mind. She wasn't as good as some of her heroes, but little did Sid know how good she really was. When Briar said she would like to hear a song, Sid racked her brain for one that she could sing. All of a sudden it came to her, so she straightened up, saying "This one is called Pressure. It would have guitars and all that, but I can't play guitar very well, so for now, it's just acapella. Acapella means without accompaniment - just voice acoustically, with no drums or guitar. So, yeah."
OOCOut of Character:
I know that it's actually written by Paramore, but just imagine it written by Sid and without the guitars. Sidda's hair is the colour of Hayley's in the video.

Sid singing

When she was done, Sid sat there nervously. She had sung her heart out for Briar, and she hoped that it had been good and that Briar had liked it. She didn't know quite why, but she suddenly felt very close to Briar, as if her singing one of her songs and Briar telling Sid her secret had formed a new, strong bond between them - a bond of friendship and trust. Sid felt good about it - she had never really had a girl best friend before, but she really liked Briar and got on well with her - she could see them being friends for a long long time.
 
Briar was amazed by sids singing. she was pretty sure she had heard her humming the tune before but she had no idea that she had written it. she watched Sid closely and couldn't believe that this girl who always seemed to tough and strong was so good at singing and so awesome at writing songs. when Sid had finished she clapped and gave Sid a quick hug like she had seen other girls around the castle doing, and in that moment she felt a bond between them form and she felt that she could trust Sid with anything from here on out weather it be secrets, or anything else. "wow, that was awesome, I never knew you were so good at singing and I could never have guessed you wrote songs. she said. then she felt a sudden rush of energy surging though her and had to get up and do a few more cart wheels. before siting back down.
 
Sid was ecstatic that Briar liked her singing. She hugged her back, and then replied "Thank you! I'm not as good as some, but maybe one day. And it's kind of good that you couldn't guess that I write songs. It's a bit of a secret - although when I get better or if I join another band I might play them. That would be cool." Sid gazed off into the distance slightly, dreaming about one day performing onstage, playing her songs, getting the crowd pumped, singing her heart out, doing what she loved. When she snapped back into reality, she realised that Briar was off doing cartwheels. She stood up for a moment to stretch her short legs, did a quick handstand, and then sat down again with Briar.
"I have an idea - why don't we become blood sisters?" she asked, hoping that this wasn't too abrupt. "I mean, even though we haven't been friends for long, I feel really close to you, so..." Sid hoped that Briar wouldn't take this the wrong way or anything. She felt really close to Briar, and becoming blood sisters with her would be an appropriate (albeit unusual) way of celebrating that. Also, Sid hoped it would create even more of a bond between them.
 
Briar smiled at Sid. "you would be awesome in a band i think she said. she watched as Sid did a handstand she tried to to the same but but too much force into it and ended up toppling right over. when they were both settled back down she listened to Sids suggestion "What's a blood sister. it sounds awesome, i know what you mean about feeling close, i feel like we will be good friends for a long time too she porsed and looked at the snow falling through the trees for a moment before saying "i guess i always wanted to have a sister, or brother to have adventures with, the centaurs are fun but too serious. so what does this blood sister thing involve?" If she had been more of a girl she would ask what the blood part would involve but growing up as she did she had injured herself enough times to not mind seeing her own blood, as for others, well lets just say that the only way to get meat in winter involved catching, striping, and cutting, so that was no problem.
 

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