Crashing like a Wave Closed

@Thea Everdeen

Thea had grinned as she came up behind her new friend Leanne, a Ravenclaw. She had whispered in her ear "Hello Leanne." She had jumped a little but her face remained calm and collected. Thea was grinning when Leanne asked "could you not do that." Thea had nodded to her friend and watched as Leanne had headed toward the Willow tree Thea had just jumped out of.

Thea already had a lot of admiration for Leanne, but when Leanne started climbing the trunk and was struggling she kept on going. That was when Thea's admiration for Leanne grew even more. Somehow Thea new she and Leanne would be lifelong friends.

Thea started heading for the tree and took the first branch she saw and pulled herself up onto it. Thea looked up and surprisingly saw Leanne's hand waiting to help Thea up. In the forest where Thea had grown up if you could not make it up a tree fast enough the group would not help you they would leave you behind. So Leanne's helping hand was a gift Thea would treasure for a life time. Thea agreed that the Willow tree did provide a truly amazing view of the ocean and the grounds.

Thea took her hand and used her hands and feet to balance herself. She did not want to pull Leanne down. At one point she let go of Leanne's hand and scampered up to one of the higher limbs. She then looked at Leanne and yelled to her "You ready." Before Leanne could answer she had walked back to the edge of the limb and then had ran forward with all her might. Thea pushed off the limb of which she was standing on and leaped onto the limb Leanne was standing on. Thea grabbed Leanne to steady herself and Leanne. She laughed.

Thea looked at Leanne and said "well sit down." Thea looked and saw as Leanne tried to sit on the limb. She smiled and said warmly "not on the branches but on here." she showed Leanne that while she had waited for her she had tied the long billowing leaves into a sort of hammock. Thea did not sit down she instead stared of into the close sea. She sighed and said "I got a P in transfiguration." She sighed and said "what about you day?"

@Thea Everdeen @Leanne Chua

Teiki was one to wander the campus. Her free flowing spirit and energy provided for many reasons to spend her time racing down the hallways of the campus. And while she spent half of her time inside, today was spent generally outside.

It was starting to get warmer, the winter months slowly fading into the beautiful spring that would come. It was still a little foggy and windy, however, providing Teiki the excuse to wear her long Hufflepuff scarf that acted as her own little cape floating behind her. However, the rest of her was in comfortable clothes, not too tightly bundled up by any of her winter coats or jackets. It felt nice to be allowed full arm movement for once.

She wandered up to one of the trees, silently gazing within its branches. Of course, she hadn't actually expected anyone to be up there. A little gasp in surprise, and she waved slightly. She recognized one of them, the new Hufflepuff named Thea. The other, however, she suspected that she might've seen while passing through the corridor. However, she hadn't actually spoken to the girl. Yet.

"Hello!" She called, a bright smile on her face. "Can I join you?" She didn't want to get off on the wrong foot, after all.

@Thea Everdeen, @Teiki Laurent

Leanne didn't think someone so small, and so young, could be so heavy to pull up. Perhaps it signified the lack of proper muscles in her arm; but finally, she managed to help Thea up the branch. They sat there peacefully, enjoying the whistling sounds of the willow branches swaying in the wind, until Thea brought up her latest troubles. 

"Transfiguration? The term's just started; it's not that bad if you don't really understand the subject." Leanne kicked her shoes off, enjoying the freedom and wind that came with it. They landed gracefully at the bottom of the tree, where one of her shoelaces miraculously tied itself around a low-hanging branch. Glancing towards her friend's anxious expression, she reassured, "But if you ever need help, I'll be around!" 

When asked her day, Leanne chuckled softly, wistfully recounting her day's actions. "It went well, I guess.  Completed my homework, had a great lunch, the usual stuff...the only notable thing I can think off was that there was finally no explosion of any sort when modifying a spell...and I successfully avoided that person in the library." At the mention of that rude and irritating Gryffindor, her face darkened, scowling. A few days before, Leanne's lively conversation with her friends was stiffy interrupted by her; throughout breakfast she criticized every statement said, in the end, causing a massive argument to take place. 

Leanne was about to ask Thea a question in return, when she noticed sounds of footsteps near them. She glanced down to see who the new arrival was. It was a Hufflepuff girl with jet-black hair just like her, someone she'd seen quite often in class. She probably had noticed them due to her shoes that were sitting on the ground. With a big grin, Leanne waved back to the girl, who had asked to join them on the willow tree. 

"Oh yes, you can come up and join us! Just be careful; the tree is a bit slippery to climb." 'and you might look awkward doing so', she wanted to add. 

Leanne waited patiently for the Hufflepuff to arrive on the branch, and then smiled, introducing herself. "I'm Leanne, and that's Thea, but you might already know her." She giggled, her smooth straight hair suddenly flying due to the wind. "So, what's your name? And what brings you out here on a windy day like this?" she asked. 

The surface of the lake was shimmering like crystals, revealing some of the aquatic life that resided inside

Thea's thoughts were interrupted by the movement beneath the tree. She smiled, it was Teiki her other friend and fellow Hufflepuff. She had been listening to Leanne's problems when she had shown up. Leanne had seemed to have had an almost perfect day. Thea sighed heavily and gestured for Teiki to come and join them. She grasped Teiki's hand when she almost slipped. Thea nodded silently to her and looked out at the simmering water. There was still that merman sitting in the shallow water. They locked eye contact and she turned away.

Thea turned back to Teiki and Leanne and leaned back into the leaves farther. She quietly pulled out her carving knife and two pieces of wood she had gathered before coming and made a Badger and a Raven. She slowly wrote on the bottom of both carvings "While one is a predator and one is the prey both of them will become friends at the end of the day."

She handed them to her two friends and said "Take these and never forget that we are not born enemies or friends, predators or prey, it is what we choose to do that decides what we are." She sat back and basked in the noon sun.

She then stood up and walked up onto a higher branch and put her hand into the air. She smiled and stood up fully. She then leaned out toward the sea and spread her arms. She laughed and said "Come join me it's fun. It is like being able to fly with the birds."

She turned around and leaned into the wind which was keeping her up. She then thought about something quickly and said "If you guys could become a animagus what animal would it be?"

@Thea Everdeen @Leanne Chua

She grinned, before scrambling up the tree. Thea's hand was useful to pull herself up the last bit, gripping another tree branch to make sure she didn't fall off. Once she had some balance, she lightly slipped into a seated position on the branch, legs dangling and swinging lightly.

"My name's Teiki." She seemed overly cheerful, a bright smile on her face. But then she shrugged, a more thinking pose. "I just wanted to. I like wandering." Her smile returned, before she watched Thea for a moment. Teiki couldn't exactly figure it out, but it seemed like it took a lot of concentration. She hummed slightly, not to any particular song, closing her eyes lightly to take in the wind and the rustling of leaves.

When Thea had finished, she gently took the offered badger, glancing down at the carving on the bottom. It was rather pretty, although she decided that the roles could probably be switched as they wanted to. Badgers and ravens could both be pretty aggressive when necessary. "Thank you." She replied softly, her cheeks reddening. Teiki never could've created something like the badger she was holding.

Teiki giggled at Thea's antics, a pleasant smile on her face. She got up from her seated position, placing her hand on another branch, before weaving between tree branches to get higher up. She wouldn't test anything too far- they wouldn't be able to hold her- but she did get higher into the tree by a significant distance. She didn't say anything, however, simply nodding. It was one of the few times that she didn't speak much.

"Probably a... puppy? What about you two?"

@Thea Everdeen, @Teiki Laurent

Since her arrival at Hogwarts, Leanne had started an ever-growing 'museum' of mementos in her dorm room, to help her remember the fun memories she had spent in the school. At first, it was only letters from family, and then Thea's first carving (from the train ride); but as she graciously accepted another gift from her friend, she reminded herself to display it proudly there. Some people could say that she was a collector, gathering small and meaningful items and keeping it for years to follow...but she loved doing it regardless.

She eyed the carving, noticing the beautiful design of the raven. It looked creepily similar to the house crest, and that made her admiration for Thea's woodcarving skills raise up even higher. As her friend explained the significance of the carvings, Leanne grinned, catching the eye of the newcomer (Teiki, she was called). She gave a small wry smile to her, probably knowing what she was thinking.

With twinkling eyes and an extremely amused expression, she followed the girls up the willow tree barefooted, climbing up branch by branch (strangely it did not hurt), until they came to a stop at an appraising height. The wind here was so much stronger; it ruffled her hair, almost unraveling the ends of her scarf which was coiled around her neck. Leanne took a deep breath, inhaling the refreshing scent of nature that surrounded her like mist. Exactly what I need to destress, she thought. She didn't say a word while climbing up, instead enjoying the scenic view the tree provided. 

Leanne listened, as the Hufflepuffs talked about their ideal animagus form. "Probably a... puppy? What about you two?" She heard Teiki say, and agreed quite a bit. Puppies were cute and fluffy, good for attracting attention, but she preferred something more...practical. Something...like a ordinary looking barn owl, for example. "For me, I wouldn't mind being a owl, the more boring looking, the better. That way, I could easily disguise myself as a mail-carrier, and by doing that, easily spy on targets and collect information." As a Ravenclaw, it suited her perfectly too. She turned towards Thea, the only one who didn't answer yet. 

"It'll be so cool if we could become animagus: just think of all the fun activities we could do!" Leanne exclaimed joyfully, but her mood faced away rather quickly. "Only fifth years and above can be taught the transformation, but I don't I can stand to wait so long!" Giggling, she waited for the girls' replies. 

Thea had loved it when her new friends followed her up to the higher branches and had not even flinched. She new quite a few people that would not go this high up. She looked at Leanne and Teiki and felt so much admiration for them both. She saw the refreshment on Leanne's face and pure excitement on Teiki's.

When Thea had asked them about their choice of animagus Teiki had answered first just as Thea thought she would, Leanne being a Ravenclaw would have thought about it longer and looked at all the possibilities. Teki had said ""Probably a... puppy? What about you two?". Thea was not surprised at Teiki wanting to be a puppy, Teiki herself was very lovable and cute. Leanne on the other hand surprised her on the reasoning of her choice. Leanne had said quite evenly "For me, I wouldn't mind being a owl, the more boring looking, the better. That way, I could easily disguise myself as a mail-carrier, and by doing that, easily spy on targets and collect information." Thea had smiled and had even chuckled a little.

Thea sat there for a long while and had looked out not toward the sea but to the Forbidden Forest. She had longed to go there and she finally came up with her answer "I would want to become a wolf. They are gentle to the ones they trust, but can become an enemy as soon as they feel threatened." She sat back but then started again "The main reason is that they can protect the ones they care about most." her voice now trembling. "And they know when it is time to let go. That is why I would want to be a wolf. To be able to let go."

Thea swung her legs around over the limb and caught it with her arms. She was hanging and finally she let go. She fell and right before she hit the ground she rolled forward so that the pressure was all evenly distributed through out her body. She lay still unable to move and cried.

She cried for Gabe and cried for her pain. She would never let go, at last not of Gabe.

@Thea Everdeen @Leanne Chua

"And if they're muggles? It would certainly be a lot harder." She noted lightly, offering a nod. Leanne certainly seemed the type to think through her answers, which was the complete opposite of Teiki. She generally said what she wanted to say, with very little editing beforehand. "Probably still manageable, though." She lightly took a few more steps on her branch, lightly tracing a weaker one with the palm of her hand.

"Seems like it might hurt as well. But yeah, it'd be really cool!" She first part was muttered, her voice only growing louder to a more conversational volume when she got to the second sentence. She wasn't going to be the pessimist here. "We'll be in fifth year in no time, and we'll all be able to learn how." She laughed softly, eyes closing before opening once more brightly.

"Wow, you guys thought about it a lot more than I did." A small chuckle, and she sat down, swinging her legs lightly and allowing herself to simply feel the wind on her face. Her eyes opened suddenly when she heard a thump. She glanced down quickly to see Thea, before scrambling down the tree. Small splinters would appear as she slid down the last part of the tree. She ran forward the last part, crouching next to Thea.

"Are you okay?" She asked, worry shining in her eyes.