letters on a grey day pv: gris Closed

Interacting with @Asteria Kurokawa

Today wasn't a very busy day for the Gryffindor Prefect, she was able to finish her patrols sooner this morning and they only had one homework from Charm class. She could do that later during the evening in the library, but now she just wanted to see her pet owl Crystal. She hadn't come visit her for almost a week now ever since what happened in the Masquerade Ball. She honestly did not want to think about it again. They could only move on with their lives but she was still worried about her friends though, some of them seemed to get traumatized by the horrible event. She couldn't even bring herself to write a letter to her family about the event, she knew how her parents, especially her mom would react when she learned about it.

While Griseldis was walking up the stairs to the Owlery, the girl and her cat didn't notice that there was an arctic owl watching them in the shadows with her golden eyes full of curiosity. Normally, Crystal didn't really see strangers who weren't her master coming up in the owlery. Unlike other owls, she just silently hide in a dark corner where not many people would notice a pretty white arctic owl. In the Owlery, there were very few white snowy owls and most owls were the brown ones. However, she still got along with most of the other owls quite well. The white arctic owl continued to spy at them quietly without even making a single hoot noise like the other owls around but that changed immediately when she saw those pair of space buns appeared. The arctic owl flattered her wings happily and making loud hoot noises. "Huu!Huuu!", Crystal didn't care if she scared the stranger and the cat when she suddenly flew out from the shadows like a gust of wind.

The moment Griseldis stood at the Owlery's entrance, she was suddenly greeted by her excited arctic owl. "Crystal! It's so good to see you too, sorry for letting you wait so long...Oh!?", after Griseldis raised her right arm up to let her owl land on, that was when she saw there was someone else with a cat in the Owlery as well. She smiled at them and gave them a friendly wave, "Hello, erhmm...sorry if my owl startled you, I'm sure she didn't mean to."

OOC: I'm super sorry for the super late reply!

Asteria jerked upward upon hearing the sound of the own, as if she was a puppet on a string who had been pulled firmly upright. Her hands automatically clenched harder around Eglantine, not wanting to let the cat free, in case she went after the owl. It wasn't that she didn't trust her cat; it was simply that both of them were easy to startle than most. After a moment, her shoulder relaxed slightly, and Eglantine, sensing the laxness of her owners movements, wriggled out of her clutches. Asteria starred at the other girl, taking in both her prefect badge and her snowy owl. 

It was a moment before she spoke, and she tugged on a strand of hair idly as she did so, a common nervous tic of hers. Not enough to be incredibly noticeable, but still a pattern. "Oh, no it's fine. She didn't startle me. Much. I'm just not used to owls. That's all."  Pulling herself up, she brushed loose feathers and dirt from her threadbare jeans, Eglantine tumbling from her lap with a faint meow.

She stuck a hand out to the other girl, saying as she did so "I'm Asteria. Uh- Asteria Kurokawa. Sorry for being in your way and all. I didn't realize other people would be up here, this time of day."

Asteria paused, realizing that the other girl seemed to be fairly comfortable with the Owlery - after all, she had an owl here and everything! It was a reminder in some ways of just how little Asteria knew about this world, even after existing in it for months (which felt like eons to a young mind).  Cocking her head to the side slightly, she continued onward, her words stumbling helplessly from her mouth. "Actually, do you think you might be able to help me? I'm- well. I'm not quite sure how to send a letter with an owl. Do you think you might be able to explain how?"

A characteristic flush of embarrassment crossed her cheeks. She hated admitting weakness, at any point. But here and now, it seemed like the only viable option. 

@Griseldis Edelhardt

Interacting with @Asteria Kurokawa

Seeing the girl clenching to her cat so tightly, she wanted to smack her own forehead for asking such a dumb question. Of course, they were startled by Crystal. But the Owl didn't care if she scared them, strangers are strangers. Crystal only cared about seeing her. Griseldis first looked at her owl with a frown then looked back to the Hufflepuff girl and her cat, then noticed that she was also staring at her and Crystal, her expression seemed to relax a bit now, which was good.

Griseldis watched as the girl slowly tugged on a strand of her hair and told her that it was fine and that Crystal didn't really startle her. She knew the girl was only being polite and she appreciated so she simply nodded with a smile. But when she mentioned that she wasn't used to owls, then why coming to a place full of owls? Griseldis thought and wondered.

After the Hufflepuff girl pulled herself up causing her cat to tumble down from her lap. She walked towards Griseldis and stuck a hand to her meaning she wanted to have a handshake with her. That was when she finally learned about her name, Asteria Kurokawa. The surname was no doubt Japanese, so the girl was half Japanese then. Kinda like her being half Chinese. Somehow, them being Half Asians had some sort of a kinship feeling which was very interesting. Griseldis smiled brightly and accepted her hand and shook it, "It's nice to meet you, Asteria. I'm Griseldis Edelhardt but you may just call me Gris if you like, it's easier for most people to remember. And I'm a second-year Gryffindor and Prefect." She then pointed at her owl on her shoulder, "And she is Crystal, an arctic owl.", the mention of her name caused the owl stopped grooming her feathers and stared at Asteria then looked down at the cat for short while, "Huuhuu...", Crystal hooted gently as if she was saying sorry to them. Oddly enough, Asteria also apologized for being in her way, "Hey now! You were not in my way at all, I only came here to see my owl, Crystal." Griseldis quickly explained but what the Hufflepuff girl said next really surprised her.

"Actually, do you think you might be able to help me? I'm- well. I'm not quite sure how to send a letter with an owl. Do you think you might be able to explain how?"

"Oh..I..erhmm...", honestly that was a very unexpected request. It was the first time that a student would ask her how to send a letter with an owl. But it wasn't really a hard task at all, Griseldis never had any problems using an owl to help her sent letters before thanks to her uncle. He was a Magizoologist and once taught her about owls when she was just a young kid, so she at least had some basic knowledge of how to correctly interact with an owl. And no matter what, helping people was in her nature. Oblivious of the girl's embarrassment, Griseldis gave her a thumbs up, "Of course! I'll be happy to help you, Asteria. You know, unlike wild owls, the school owls here are already well trained but I do understand that it can be a bit challenging at first when you want an owl to help you send a letter for you. So...is there an owl around here that you felt a slight connection with?"

Shaking the other girl's hand, Asteria smiled. It wasn't a broad smile by any means, not one that radiated the sun or anything like that, but it was a smile all the time. "It's nice to meet you, Gris," she squeaked out by way of a greeting.  "And you as well, Crystal," she added, in a way that was almost an afterthought.

(Most of her attention in this moment was directed at Eglantine. She trusted the cat around owls, considering that the cat had grown up in a pet shop. Still, it never hurt to be overly cautious. Caution prevented problems before they even happened after all, a lesson that she had learned the hard way, a lesson that she still often forgot.)

But as the other girl continued, explaining how to pick an owl, Asteria blinked in confusion. Or well- confusion wasn't quite the right word. The more accurate feeling might be a mix of bemusement and bafflement, a realization that it should actually be that easy and she had simply missed the whole thing. It was a grating feeling, one that didn't sit well with her, seeping through her like a familliar ghost. The feeling felt like the jolt experienced when one misses a step, walking out onto empty air. It was the all too common reminder that the experiences of this world should have been second nature to her, and yet she had consistently missed out on them. 

Glancing around, she paused, taking in the other girls words, hoping to see an owl that spoke to her in some way, any way. The problem was, there were just so many of them, filling the space, packing in together for warmth in some cases, so she couldn't see where one owl ended and another began. But soon enough, an owl did end up catching her attention. It was a small one, dappled with brown, hopping frantically on its perch, as if it was filled with a restless energy that would not dissipate. Asteria could relate. 

"Um... That one," she said pointing at the small owl, "I guess I feel drawn to that one? So what do I do next then?" She was curt in a way, her language direct and to the point in this moment, but it provided a sense of security in a way, a belief that she could control a situation where she felt out of her depth. 

@Griseldis Edelhardt