Errand closed Sweet Dreams, Fellow Insomniacs

"I've been alone, surorunded by darkness. I've seen how heartless the world can be." - Darren Criss

Selim was not pleased when he arrived at the tower to supposedly speak to his Kohai in private, only to find there was an event being put on by a stoic professor with an owl chick on his shoulder, likely to 'help' insomniacs.

Selim felt uneasy around the man, his form tense and adrenaline rushing through him as if preparing for a fight. He walked past the adult without a word, fingers twitching as he made his way through the back of the crowd, ignoring the few glimpses of some of his dormmates present.

He noted another adult present, the nurse, and added them to the list of adults to avoid. Their energy conflicted with the menacing aura the Astronomy Professor was exuding. His stomach rolled uncomfortably, but his face was stony as he ignored his mental residences' voices cluttering his thoughts, and the twisted beings and shadows his mind was projecting on his surroundings.

He arrived behind his Kohai in time for the host to begin a speech about sleep. Everything he was saying was stuff he had already studied thoroughly in the past, he could recite the info being spoken from memory.

Unlike some might've thought, Selim had done much research in the subject. He wasn't an idiot, he had tried and failed many tactics to give himself a restful sleep. He knew the impacts it was having on his already unstable mind.

But he could do nothing.

His sleeps were always plagued with nightmares, trauma his brain wanted to drag up to torment him. He had tried too much and had developed a deep-rooted fear of sleep. He was terrified by it, so he avoided it.

The snake observed as students tried to copy the professor's instructions, but he did nothing, having tried these tactics before. They worked but always had negative outcomes, often including gruesome nightmares and sleep paralysis.

His body shuddered at the thought, the idea of sleeping, and he had to push down the terror that rose up from the subject, swallowing dryly as he forced his face to remain impassive. He eyed the two adults present warily, watching the speech finish and the antisocial professor return to whatever it was he did in the late hours of the night with his owl on his shoulder.

He spoke then, casting a dark gaze to his Kohai. "You should not have brought me here." His tone was dark, yellow eyes seeming to glow as the Cruel One shifted to have more influence on his thoughts. "I assume your reasoning was logical, Kohai, but you do not know the full story to my aversion to sleep. It's something I've tried and failed to fix, and the results just made everything worse." He shifted to look over the crowd with attentive eyes just waiting to pick out any threats that his peers, and the shadows, may possess.

"I suggest you drop your idea to try and fix the issue yourself." His voice came out with a hiss laced with danger.

He obviously wasn't approving of the younger boy's actions and didn't seem to have any qualms about making that known to his underclassmen, one way or another.

Idly, the snake wondered if any of the monsters lurking Hogwarts' shadows would make themselves known during the event. At least then this event would be useful, and not, a waste of time.

The students milling about around the tower, chattering lightly in their pajamas with their pets really did hit the whole sleepover mood. Less in the mood was the stony face of the man of the hour, towering over him with barely contained rage. He said his name like he was angry about it, though Kels would probably be angry too if his name had that many syllables. He nodded absently, his wide smile undaunted.

"You can call me Kels!" He wasn't actually an idiot, it was obvious that he pissed the guy off, but it wasn't his problem. At his insistence at not being called a nanny, Kels waved his arms in the air in mock panic, as best he could with them laden down by party supplies. "Someone call the erroneous police! I'm about to erroneously suppose all over the place!"

At his playful retort, he got a face full of being ignored. A common tactic, though it never worked. The prof certainly had his hands full with his tower filling up with kids. As they filed in, he continued talking, no longer staring icy blue daggers at him. Kels turned to look at the room himself, Leo regaling him about his duties in keeping the children alive like a nanny and how the night was going to go. A lecture, of all things. As the kids started snuggling in with blankets and pillows, it slowly dawned on him that this was not a party. His eyes squinted, scanning around for nothing in particular. He just wanted to look like he was also being a responsible adult.

Being given erroneous permission to be there, Leo finally looked back over to Kels again, where he'd receive another patented wild smile, before he was nudged out of the way. Of course, the parameters of what 'out of the way' meant were not clearly defined, so he assumed he just meant it literally.

Taking the hint, he hopped up to the observation deck, where he laid out the comforter and laid back on it to get his peepers on the night sky. He was much less concerned with keeping a watch on the kids, he was soundly in the camp of people who wanted them to learn from their own mistakes, and just do damage control after the fact. Naturally, he always had his first aid kit on him, ever since he was little. With the laconic environment and the sound of Leo quietly murmuring something downstairs, he was sure they would all be put to sleep anyway.

Laying his guitar across his chest, he idly tuned some of the chords as he lazily gazed into the infinite beyond. Of course, he had already tuned it recently, but... habit. There was something therapeutic about it to begin with, just hearing the thrum of the string as it tightened or laxed, trying to find the perfect spot. Once he was happy with it, he started picking an obvious choice. He was expecting to ask for requests, but he figured if anyone could survive a lecture, they might come up and join him anyway. It was an exceptional night! The distant sounds of the nocturnal population of the owlery accompanied his soft strumming, as well as his own occasional whistling.

Affected by Terrible Presence
Open to Interaction

Reducio

Outfit:

Action: Enter the tower.

Piper certainly hadn't expected to come to the quite literal snooze-fest that Professor Chiadovini had prepared for the students. In fact, she didn't have too much difficulty sleeping at all. However, something had pushed her to go. Piper didn't know what it was, nor why she had listened. All she knew was that she needed a change of scenery and even though there may be several people involved, it could be fun. That wasn't something Piper had had a lot of all too recently. Though Piper was tentative about coming in her pajamas, she simply ensured she picked her most neutral ones and put on her normal shoes.

As Piper packed the last of her things (mainly consisting of her homework and her wand), she climbed the stairs up from the Slytherin dungeon to the Astronomy tower. Her legs were rather numb by the time she got there. Piper knew she was late - it was 9:00 already - and she stepped hesitantly into the room. It felt odd to be at the tower at a time that was other than class time, but it wasn't a bad sort of foreign. People in fuzzy PJs walked about, though some were talking. Piper even recognized a few people (all of whom she would do well to avoid). One person she didn't know was strumming a guitar. The entire aura of the room was drowsy, and Piper could see why it may be appealing to insomniacs.

The usual transparent barrier rather than ceiling greeted her. Piper felt a surge of love for the night skies. A clear night revealed the heavens with their huge amounts of stars. Piper wished she knew all of them. She slipped into the room fully, attempting to be at least relatively unnoticed. Making her way over to one of the sleeping bags isolated from the general area of people, Piper plopped down. She did hope she didn't miss the lecture on R.E.M. - however boring it may sound, she wanted to understand sleep and insomnia. Professor Chiadovini was nowhere in sight; presumably in the observatory.

Piper could tell that this area may not quite be a place for homework. However, she doubted her other professors would quite understand that, and so began to read her History of Magic textbook. Her grade for that really needed to rise. Plus, if the goal of this particular sleepover was to actually sleep (of course that would be a professor's idea), then History of Magic was the perfect subject to study. Piper typically felt the drowsiness settle in roughly two pages in, and lost focus about one page into the chapter.

Piper glanced about after a couple minutes of reading. She most certainly did not feel wistful watching others talk and laugh. No sirree. She pulled her wand absentmindedly from her bag and traced its handle idly. Who was she kidding? She wanted to talk to someone. The problem was she didn't want to talk. She wanted to have talked. That was it. Maybe someone would approach her, but most looked busy enough on their own. Piper hoped that, for the sake of her surviving her homework, A) some interesting deadly disaster would happen, B) Professor Chiadovini would come down and say something, or C) Someone would approach her and give her an interesting topic to talk about. Piper wouldn't ordinarily wish any of those things, but at night...things were different.

WC: 573/800
Will continue to post

Selim did not immediately flee and that, in and of itself, Kazuo counted as a win. He had expected the displeasure that was written across his senpai’s face. As Selim joined him in the darkened classroom he moved over, making room for Selim against the wall, assuming his senpai would prefer something solid at his back. His initial thoughts on Selim's paranoia had been that they might be excessive but recent events had, perhaps, changed his mind. Though a wall wouldn’t stop shadows, would it…? He shoved that thought away, focusing instead on the not-so-dulcet tones of the space daddy Astronomy Professor.

While Chiadovini-sensei was speaking on the basics of sleep and guiding the other students in techniques, Kazuo instead indulged in the practice of making tea properly.Not just pouring hot water over a tea bag. A ritual that bound them together through an unspoken shared understanding, a cultural link but also a personal one. Perhaps the tea was a peace offering, an apology of a sort for his deception but if it was an apology, it wasn’t for trying to help. Selim's displeasure would not be enough to make him cower or abandon his cause.

"Sencha green. My mother sent it along with mochi for the New Year." He opened a red wrapped box and offered the Japanese treat to Selim, only half-paying attention to the lecture. He had also done research, albeit only a basic search so far, and while the lecture was interesting, it wasn’t what he thought would be of help to Selim. Once the Professor had finished speaking, he faced Selim, giving the older boy his complete attention, prepared for harsh words. Yet, somewhat surprising, the words weren’t nearly as harsh as he had expected though the undertone in Selim’s voice was pure menace. He tensed a bit, knowing that he had overstepped his bounds but then he shrugged and poured the tea, preferring the fresh, green aroma to the heavier scents of the essential oils Chiadovini had used. He considered Selim’s words as he placed the teapot on the floor in front of them, expression thoughtful as he composed a reply.

“継続は力なり。(Keizoku wa chikara nari - Literally: Continuation is power. A Japanese proverb meaning don’t give up, perseverance is power.) You cannot know that this won’t help if you don’t even give it a try. He won’t just be talking about basic things.” He paused then, shifting his gaze from the tea back to Selim. “You’re right, I don’t know why you can’t sleep but I do know that it is not a condition that you can survive with. It will eventually get you killed. I am not trying to fix you. I am merely trying to help you find a way to cope with whatever it is that is affecting you this way. Maybe Chiadovini-sensei can give advice specific to your situation. If he cannot, then I have wasted your evening and you can feel free to waste one of mine in an equally foolish pursuit if you like.”

He leaned back, resting against the wall. “I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to talk to you, though.” He pulled out his journal and flipped it open to a rough sketch. “What does this look like to you? Does it have any meaning?”

Word count: (405 + 552) 957/800 ~Complete~

Outfit Reducio Interacting with: @Selim Faust Mentioning: Action: Making tea~

Stats Stamina 5 Evasion 7 Strength 5 Wisdom 6 Arcane Power 6 Accuracy 6 Abilities Perfectionist

Interact with : @Starlee Kennedy Mention : @Opeila Winters | The attendees in general

Hex Code : #004080 - English 008080 - Spanish

Insomnia. That a word that kept swimming in their mind. Ever since the green eyes got back to Great Britain from their Christmas holiday (they flew up to São Paulo, Brazil), more questions than answers they got from that trip. They just found out that their mother have a brother whom live down in South America.

The said brother have 4 children, which make them Cash's cousins. Not only that their uncle told him that they had a half-brother who unfortunately is a squib and Cash wondered how their mother could lived with that. Cash could have a siblings for Merlin's sake and they wouldn't have to be so lonely all the time.

Cash was angry with their mother. How could their mother kept that as a secret? Did the green eyes means so little for their mother? Cash let out an angry sigh. Then the news about their father gone from the world was like the final nail to the figurative coffin. Cash still remembered how their mother wailing broke and filled the entire Manor. Their mother weight on them.

Clinging to them like Cash was her last life line. But the next two days - before New Year - their mother acted like the news did not matter. Life goes on like it was supposed to be. How their mother changed so quickly, baffled the green eyes to no end.

So when the purple haired heard about the new Astronomy Professor held some kind of sleepover for all the insomniac, Cash jumped into it. The young socialite felt a relief when one of their close friend also doing it. Cash gathered all the things that they need. They bring out their dark blue fleece star blanket that could fit for three person if they huddled in it together.

Slipping their new fuzzy slippers that their mother sent to them. Their mother old them in the little note attached to it, it reminded her of Cash's two poodles back home. Before the Beater get out from their dorm, Cash put a little note on Opeila's bed asking if she wanted to joined them and Starlee for this little event.

Cash hoping that Pei would show up, if not then that was okay for the green eyes. And so now Cash alongside with Starlee begin to climbed but the many many flight of stairs toward the Astronomy tower. Every time they went to the Astronomy tower, they always out of breath. Cash looked at Starlee who did not seems to phase with how many stairs that the both of them just climbed.

When they stepped into the tower, a few of people already there. Filling up the space. The young socialite looked at the phials that Cash assumed inside of it is an essentials oils. It also had a a handwritten card that said 'Take One'. Cash examined the array of choices for the essential oils, after sometimes Cash took two of it.

The lavender and the water lily one and pocketed into their pyjamas short. Those two essences reminded them of their mother. Cash then caught the lecture from the new Professor of Astronomy here and there. He explained the about two different phases of sleep. The R.E.M and the N.R.E.M. They followed Starlee to the center of the room with two sleeping bag.

Starlee put down her stuffed cat claiming that space as hers. When the Beater look up they saw a two nebulas with different color in it up alongside stars on the charmed ceiling. While still listening to Professor Chiadovini, their mind wonder to their mother until Starlee's voice entered their ears. Starlee definitely been awed by what magic can do.

Usually the green eyes shared their counterpart excited but not tonight. "Yeah"The replied shortly with a little bit sadness in their voice. This little gathering supposedly bring relaxation to their body and mind but it seems their whole body rebelled against Cash. The more Cash tried to relax, their mind running in rapid speed. Cash feel the lumped on their throat.

They also can feel their eyes burned from the unshed tears that pooling in their eyes. When they blinked, the can feel the angry and frustrated tears running freely down on their cheeks. Cash sniffled softly, hoping Starlee did not hear it.

But it will be a bit impossible tasked to hide from Starlee, that they indeed crying at this very moment with how close the proximity between both of the serpents laying on their sleeping bags in the Astronomy Tower.

Sleep. You could not live with it, and you certainly could not live without it. For those suffering from insomnia, sleep was always an elusive concept. Insomniacs were never awake nor asleep, they just were-hanging in limbo, forever dancing in that grey area of dormancy, and consciousness. They were ghost, phantoms, zombies, ghouls- beings that craved something that they could never truly have. Slaves, to a concept that would always be out of reach. Sometimes, a rare few would find rest, but it was never the same. Not really. Thus many were left to wander, forever left to dream, without learning what it felt like to really dream. Sleep. It was a cruel master. It always had been. It always would be. That was simply the nature of sleep. Xailah was an insomniac, partly by choice, partly by nature- she had always been an nocturnal creature, a product of the night mother. Choice- who was she kidding? She no longer had a choice in the matter. She was an addict. There were no choices for her anymore. She craved the feeling of tiredness, in the same way a smoker craved that one last cigarette. Its the last one, I promise. She couldn't go on forever, without the sliver of control that she once had.

So when she heard rumor of an event centered around sleep- if one could even call it an event- that was to be hosted by the shiny, new Astronomy Professor; she decided that attending would be beneficial to her. It was time to try and get some of that lost control back- or at least learn how to. That was what she had said, in order to convince herself into attending the gathering, anyways. She knew that it was just another excuse to stay up, and slip by the strict curfew that had been set in place. It was just another escape- a reason to not be in the dormitory. No more. No less. Like a few others, Xailah would arrive late to the (slumber) party. Thats what exhaustion will do to a person- make them late. A minor side effect, when put into perspective with the health issues that would arise in the long run. She would patter up the staircase to Astronomy, in a phlegmatic fashion. Her ever loyal companion, Schrödinger, sloshed up the stairs next to her. A strange warmth would greet the duo, once they stepped inside of the circular classroom. Xailah would subconsciously gravitate towards the source of the welcoming warmth. During her trek, she would spy a small table, displaying several small bottles. She had to check them out. Each tiny bottle had a label. Next to the bottles, sat a little card, with clean lettering scrawled across it.

Take one. That was what the card read. Was it some sort of joke? Take one, was obviously an invitation to take five- at the very least. At the Halloween errand last year- goodness, last year already- there had been a sign in the Astronomy area for the Trick-or-Treaters. It read like this current one- Take one! Oh, but Xailah had an irritating itch to scratch, and cared little for the words on the card. She had taken three candies that night. The consequence? She got the opportunity to walk around with bright orange hair for a few minutes. It wasn't too horrible. Orange hair was an easy thing to pass off as a costume piece, during Hallows Eve. Though, not so easy during a (somewhat) normal, run-of-the-mill, educational gathering. While there was no clear evidence of the little phials being hexed, the Gryffindor couldn't help but be just a little suspicious. Acting cautiously, she would take one. And then another. For Schrödinger of course. Cats like tiny, smelly, bottles too. With a phial obtained, she would seek out a spot where she and Schrödinger, could sit undisturbed. They would find one- a quiet space between bookshelves.

Xailah was calm- on the inside. On the outside, her rich, brown tresses squirmed, and writhed, like a fistful of dying snakes. Was there a Dhampir around? A Vampire perhaps? The... feeling, that was making her hair do a jagged dance, was often connected with those who were associated with the undead. At least from her experience. Occasionally, your average living person, would emit the aura- but seeing as it was rare, maybe those people weren't exactly average. Either way, the feeling existed- its presence was known in the room. Xailah had an odd relationship with the presence. It was something that had been meant to drive people away- and yet, Xailah was often inclined to seek out the source and stand in its vicinity. She was not fearless- no, she was very much capable of being afraid. She simply found security in what others could not. The source would not be sought out this time, but it was good to know that there was someone in the Astronomy tower that could keep the scarier people away.

Interacting with @Cassandra Ironwoods

Reducio

The Outfit

The Stuffed

Starlee couldn't help but hold in a giggle when she noticed Cash take a second vial of essential oil, instead of just the one. Starlee grabbed one as well, lavender, but more for its smell and not so much for future sleeping needs.

The lecture that Professor Chiadovini had begun to discuss was quite long, but Starlee still found it rather interesting. She honestly had no idea that so much happened inside your brain while you were asleep. She figured, as probably most 11-year-olds did, that the brain simply shut off. She watched intently as the professor showed them how it all worked with these foggy clouds above them. Simply fascinating really. Plus, that Nebula was rather relaxing to watch as well. Starlee held her stuffed cat close to her as she watched.

As the professor moved on to techniques to help sleep, Starlee figured it was best not to try them. Otherwise, she would be out like a light. She observed other students doing so however, some seeming to almost fall asleep themselves. She smiled, happy that this was certainly helping some people. However, she couldn't help but glance at Cash every so often, wondering if the relaxing atmosphere and sleeping tips that Professor Chiadovini was mentioning were helping Cash at all. She wasn't so sure that they were. She knew that something was up.

After the lecture, she hunkered down into her sleeping back and fully turned her attention to Cash. Cash responded a simple "Yeah" to her question. However, it wasn't in the usual tone that Starlee had become accustomed to in their first semester at Hogwarts. She looked over at the older student, wondering if she should say anything. That was when she noticed a sniffle from Cash, as the room wasn't that loud, and she looked to find tears running down their cheeks. Starlee gasped a little, realizing her idol, the cool, purple-haired quidditch beater, was crying. The mood was quite in contrast to the happy "In Pizza We Crust" pajama set and adorable puppy dog slippers she had.

She shuffled closer to Cash, the best she could in her sleeping bag, and whispered, "Cash... what's wrong? Ever since the holiday break... something has been... off. Did something happen?" She said this as calmly and cooly as she could, but she quickly added in doubt of herself, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay..." Starlee knew a little bit about Cash's life, like that she came from a very upstanding Pureblood family and that she was a parselmouth. Of course, she wouldn't mention the second out loud, but she couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with that. She leaned away some from the older student, worried about their answer, but certainly ready to listen if Cash was ready to tell the little first year.

WC: 476
342 + 476 = 818/800
Errand Complete, will continue to post

Rhea's mind during the night hours with a wicked storm. Her head ached from the hurricane swirling around inside, waves of salt water crashing against the walls of her skull. Winds picked up and tossed her thoughts all about. She felt so trapped in her own head, in the torturous cacophony of cogitation, that sleep continued to evade her, to the point where she was forced to diagnose herself with insomnia.

She did not know if insomnia was something you diagnosed. Probably not. She wasn’t qualified to be diagnosing anybody anyway.

It was late, painfully (but not catastrophically) late, and Rhea had been able to find no comfortable position on her little bed. Back home, hers was so much worse, and the comfort of this mattress had been heavenly at first. Now she tossed and turned like she had her whole life. There was no comfort in the cushion that cradled her; her spindly shoulders still bent wrong when she tried to lay on them.

Eventually she had given up. The young girl threw off the covers in frustration, and stood up as quietly as she could manage while still maintaining a gruff disposition. She usually enjoyed living in her mind- not everyone could say they were as clever as she- but there were times when it became too much to bear.

No, not too much. She was not so weak as to not be able to withstand being in her own head.

Rhea did not know where she was going, or how long she had walked: she had simply wandered, bare feet hitting the ground rhythmically, hair a mess, her nightgown hanging loosely around her frail figure. She must have looked like a skeleton, or a child ghost. Not that there was anyone around to perceive that.

There might have been, actually. Rhea wouldn’t have known. She was too immersed in her own labyrinthine rumination.

Her thoughts were too vague to grasp onto or to elaborate on; like wisps of smoke, they drifted in and out. Actually, that was not totally accurate. They were more like the winds of a vicious cyclone. The storm metaphor from earlier had been right on, she thought with mild satisfaction.

It was not long before Rhea found herself approaching the astronomy tower. She was not surprised, exactly, but found it interesting that she had gravitated towards that location in particular. Yet, she found a growing interest in exploring it.

Would she get in trouble if caught? Somehow, that didn’t feel important. She was too tired to care, probably.

Rhea tiptoed lightly up towards the door, the pads of her feet barely making contact with the cool ground. Her ability to walk so silently was among the few reasons she was grateful for her slight figure, the lack or weight or muscle on her bones. She wondered if other people thought she looked like a bobblehead: a round skull and square jaw balanced on top of her thin, scrawny neck and shoulders. If you thought about it, her neck should’ve gained muscles over the years, having to support that big head of hers.

There was a metaphor in there somewhere. Rhea wished she were better with metaphors.

Now, she stood before the doors, her experience beforehand merely a memory. How was it that she had climbed up the spiraling staircase without thinking or even breaking a sweat? She touched her forehead, feeling the moisture that had gathered there with some interest. So it had been difficult, then. Why hadn’t she noticed?

Most likely being that deep in your thoughts was enough of a distraction from painful physical exertion. The human brain was so fascinating.

Without another thought, she opened the door and was rooted to the spot at the sight that greeted her.

There were people there. Students. Also, the Astronomy professor, Chiadovini. It wasn’t extremely crowded- there could've been more than twenty children- but why? Why was there anyone there? Also, most of them appeared to be wearing pajamas.

Something clicked inside Rhea’s mind. She remembered seeing a flyer, or some type of paper, describing an event. Something about insomnia? Was that really tonight? That was an odd coincidence, she had just been thinking about the phenomenon of that particular disorder.

She surveyed the group of people, the low murmur of voices, the overall sleepy air. Well, she supposed, it was worth a shot.

Rhea slipped inside, suddenly aware of how cold she was. The assemblage provoked her anxiety, the sounds and smells emanating from them like needles stabbing into her skin. Her feet tingled. That was her fight or flight reflex. She couldn’t stop picturing all the people with their soft skin and gazillions of germs multiplying and pressing against her body. Claustrophobia? Germaphobia? Whatever, she needed air.

Rhea slipped through the room, hugging herself and shivering violently. This was one of the moments where she wished she was composed of more than feeble skin and bone. Goosebumps sprung up on her arms and legs, her body’s natural reflex to the cold. It was the muscles attached to the hairs on her limbs tensing. Since she was human and did not have fur to stick upright, it did nothing for her condition, and might as well have made her colder. The worst part was, the room was actually quite warm, as she could feel on the tips of her fingers, but she was still freezing on the inside.

She walked over to the observation deck (deliberately avoiding the professor- he could be rather intimidating sometimes) and couldn’t help but gaze up at the stars. It was a very clement day, not a cloud in the sky to block out the vast majority of stars. The night was beautiful, she acquiesced, smiling reluctantly.

Rhea looked down and was greeted with the sight of a familiar dark mane of hair and a nose buried in a book. It was her friend Calypso, the soft-spoken perfect student that she had spent so much of her time with at Hogwarts. It shouldn't've been a surprise at all to catch her here.

Rhea reached out and tapped her friend on the shoulder. “Hey, Cal,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady. It really was cold.

Credit for storyline inspiration goes to the fabulous @Calypso Starling

WC: 1067/800
Complete

Reducio

What Calypso brought/wore

Interacting with @Rhea Miller

"Hey, Cal."
"Hey, Rhea. Come sit?" Calypso's friend sat beside her, shivering in the frigid night air. She wore only a pair of pajamas and some old slippers. Since Cal already had a jacket, the young girl figured it wouldn't hurt to give her friend her blanket. "Here, I don't need it." Rhea looked as if about to protest, but when a fresh burst of wind swept over the observation deck, she took it, mumbling her thanks.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Cal, her gaze aimed up toward the sky. The luminous crescent moon. The stars. As beautiful as sunny days were, for her, nothing could top a sky full of stars. I wonder what else could be out there, she thought. Or who else.

She imagined a band of otherworldly beings living on a faraway planet, and how they would differ from the humans down here on earth.
They wouldn't speak English, for starters. Maybe they would communicate telepathically? And not in words but in feelings. Instead of sight maybe they use intuition? Or, they exist in a way we couldn't even begin to comprehend. Or on a different plane of existence, or in a different universe or an alternate reality, where the laws of physics and the common understanding of being is entirely shifted from our own. And maybe-

"Yes," Rhea said, snapping Calypso out of her thoughts. Amidst her ponderings, Cal had almost forgotten about the question she had posed.

"Wha- huh?" Very eloquent, Calypso. "I mean, it is. Sorry, mental tangent."

At this, Rhea let out a quiet laugh, trying and failing to stifle it.
Her mirth left Cal feeling a little defensive. "What?"

Her fellow Gryffindor's laugh trailed off. "Sorry, it's just...very relatable, what you just said."

Calypso smiled. It wasn't hard to imagine her quiet, logical friend lost in her own mind, mentally a thousand miles away.

"What were you thinking about, anyway?" Rhea asked. Then, quickly, "Sorry, you don't have to answer that."

Cal shrugged. "No, it's fine." A grin. "I was thinking about aliens. Foreign life forms, actually. And how they might relate to and differ from humans. Like, we think we're so smart, but what if, in comparison to other beings, we're less intelligent than worms? And what if they exist in a more profound way, like with a 5th dimension or something? Then we'd really be inferior. Or maybe not. Just because we may not have as much depth, does that make us less important?"

Rhea's face was complatative and a bit shocked-looking, and her head was tilted.

"What?"

Rhea shook her head. "It's just that, I dunno, that's really...profound."

"Um..thanks." Cal felt suddenly self-conscious. A beat of silence. "...Do you think alien life exists?" she asked.

"Definitely," her friend responded immediately. "Think about it this way: we don't know if the Universe is infinite, but even if it isn't, we're so small in comparison to us that to us, it might as well be." Cal nodded, showing she followed. Rhea continued.

"Look up. That must be millions of stars. And those are just the ones we can see. There are many many galaxies, and of all those multitudes of stars, think about how many have planets. Now, of all those planets, how many do you think are the right distance away from their stars to support life?"

"Um, A lot?" said Cal.

Rhea laughed a little. "Yeah, a lot. Out of those, there has to be life on some. And probably some intelligent life, too. Also, it is pure narcissism to believe that all this," she gestured to the sky with both arms, "Exists just for us."


Calypso smiled and shook her head.
"That is what I call profound. And it must have been the most I've heard you talk at once."

Now it was Rhea's turn to look self-conscious. "I uh, just like science a lot. The facts, they're...comforting.

Cal nodded appreciatively. "I get that. There's a comfort in what's known. But for me, it's the philosophical side to the discussion that I love. The not knowing, but guessing. Thinking. Exploring." She got a far-off look in her eye, but after a second, shook her head as if clearing a fog from it. "Sorry. That was- that was really cheesy." She giggled, and after a second Rhea joined her. Soon, both girls were laughing uncontrollably. When they had stopped, Rhea said, "But it's not cheesy, though. I mean, ok, a little, but it's also kinda...great. That's your thing. One of them, anyway. Not everyone has that."

Huh, thought Cal. She's right.


Rhea and Calypso sat there, at the highest point of Hogwarts Castle, under the stars. They talked, and also sat in silence. And just then, with the moon watching over them, Calypso felt as at home as she had since arriving at Hogwarts.

Reducio

Permission to god-mod given by @Rhea Miller. Also, I realize I used a lot of dialogue, but Rhea and I went over the post and she agreed to it.

Word count (with dialogue): 540 + 818 = 1358
Word count (without dialogue): 540 + 517 = 1057

[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Jackson Valentine | MENTIONING Kelsey Brumby[/font]

The dejection in the tone of his voice hit her more profoundly than she might have expected. Where else could he belong? Really, it was a question that she had asked herself countless times over the last year. Memories returned to her of the multitude of events that had built up her doubt. Although she still likely remained one of the less impacted of her peers, many of her experiences were those that never should be experienced by anyone of their age. Ultimately, she had decided that wherever she belonged, it wasn't here in the wizarding world. It couldn't be. Not with everything happening as it was and the safety of the school and its student always seeming to be in jeopardy. Yet…neither could she belong anywhere else.

"You—"

She'd dropped her gaze to the Forbidden Forest, intent to respond to his question despite her suspicion of it being rhetorical. The opportunity was missed, however, the dwelling of her thoughts taking just a moment too long. No sooner had she parted lips to speak than had Valentine continued his train of thought, and she cut herself off after a word to allow him to continue.

"Er…No…" She couldn't help but smirk a bit at his—she assumed—jest about wizard being an occupation.

It faded before fully blossoming, however, sparking a related consideration. Could it be an actual profession? She supposed it wasn't entirely implausible. Perhaps there were those who didn't want to face those unfavourable aspects of the wizarding world, or just preferred the familiarity of the muggle world but perhaps weren't prepared to give up magic in its entirety. Or maybe they liked the intrigue and the power that came with being able to lord it over those who couldn't harness it. Perhaps even without their knowledge. Were there those like Chris Angel, she wondered, who used the veil of disbelief to make use of their craft while hiding in plain sight? Brows furrowed as she considered this possibility.

"Hm?" His question had caught her off-guard, pulling her from her reverie (in which she had concluded that surely the Statute of Secrecy would preclude anyone from being able to do as she was imagining), and drawing her attention to him. Momentarily disoriented as her thoughts righted themselves and digested his question, her gaze dropped to his wand. Had he shown any sign of intent to make use of it, she might have stiffened; but as he did not, she dragged her gaze away, concluding it to be a tactile fixation of a restless hand, and returned her attention to him.

"What do I want to be when I grow up?" she echoed, pursing her lips in thought as she returned her gaze outward. This time, her expression unfocused itself as she fell into consideration. "I'm not really sure, if I'm to be honest," came the eventual conclusion. "I did want to be a physiotherapist," she admitted, dropping her hands away to clasp at the small of her back. "For horses," she added with the hint of an embarrassed smile and a brief glance over to Valentine before looking forward again.

This wasn't really something she typically shared with anyone. Nothing of her home life had really been exposed to anyone at Hogwarts. Initially, it was because of the rumours of how those of muggle or mixed blood were received and treated by those of pure blood. While it quickly became apparent that the latter seemed to be the vast minority compared to the former, her reticence had remained. Perhaps it was habitual at this point. Perhaps it was simply that no one had shown interest enough for her to respond. Perhaps something else entirely. Regardless of the reason, she felt an uncomfortable twist in her stomach—enough to make her hold her tongue from elaborating further about her previous goals.

"I don't think it's an easy transition, though," she went on, veering the topic. To a degree. She still wished to touch on a previous remark of his, and when she had been facing similar uncertainty, it was the shared feelings of her upperclassmen that had helped her through it. That realization that she wasn't alone in her struggle had been comforting. As though on cue, the strumming of a guitar started up somewhere. A quick searching glance identified one Nurse Brumby lying with his instrument atop him nearby in the observatory, fingers playing almost lazily from what she could see. Her gaze didn't linger long. "Many find difficulty, I think. I did.

"You've gone your whole life with certain comforts, and being used to doing things a certain way, or making use of electronics and other items. And then, suddenly, you get that letter and the explanation, and your entire understanding of the world as you know it is challenged and turned on its head. It's shocking. It's not something that you can just slide into seamlessly. And then you have to learn how to cast and use that magic, and there are so many students that have had parents or families that are witches or wizards, and have had years to practice magic by using their parents' wands, and just being immersed in the magical world. It's overwhelming at first. There's so much to learn and so much to unlearn, and it can leave you with the feeling that you're very very behind.

"You're not, though," she emphasized, wanting to draw a definite point on her rambling. "You're not behind in any way. And I can guarantee you're not the only one who's feeling that way. Like you don't belong. You do, though. Eventually." She chuckled, flashing him a rare smirk. "Or perhaps we simply get used to the fact that we'll be learning for a good while. You do get used to it, though, and plenty of your Housemates would lend a hand if ever you needed."

[font=century gothic]Evelynn has Fearless, and thus is not impacted by Professor Chiadovini's Terrible Presence | ERRAND PROGRESS[/font]