Help, I Don't Know What's Going On PV Alan Closed

It had been with rather full-blown panic that Mars sprinted away from the Campgrounds, robes flying out behind them and heart thundering in their chest. The pain still lingered in the back of their skull when they skidded to a stop, crashing ungracefully against a tree. They needed it, the strength of the bark against their clothed back, just to have some sense of stability for a moment. A thousand thoughts, a hundred scenes, a scramble of voice in their head erupted and they sunk to the ground, burying their head in their knees. Just breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

For a few minutes, that's all they did.

Finally, when their breath was steadier and their heart wasn't hammering against their ribcage, Mars sat back, tipping their head against the tree. They ran their tongue over their teeth, feeling the slight ache in their throat. Their vocal chords weren't used to the movement apparently, the movement of—well, what had it been?

They'd talked to a snake. A snake. Mars let out an incredulous laugh. Was this what the wizarding world had to offer? They'd been able to rewrap their head around the concept of spells and flying and potions okay enough but now... talking to animals? They supposed it wasn't too far-fetched. But why here? And why now? And why snakes?

Thinking about it, a frown grew over their face. Yeah, it was odd... they'd met plenty of animals in the past and none of them had spoken. There were dozens of owls and cats and toads wandering around Hogwarts' campus and yet—only the snake had spoken. Or rather, they'd only understood the snake.

Mars wasn't quite sure how to feel about this development. Pretty... confused really, maybe with just a hint of fear. Wasn't it normal to be afraid of the unknown? But they weren't—mad, not really. Who was there to be mad at? Besides, if talking to a specific species of animals was a given for a wix, they were kind of glad it was snakes. They'd always had a fascination with them, had gotten hundreds of book about the topic from... from...

A spark of pain flashed in their brain again, and Mars abandoned the train of thought. Pulling their legs into their chest, they sighed. The thought that made the most sense what that this was just something that went along with wizard-hood. But then, no one had talked about it before and they figured if it were a common occurrence, it would've been addressed. So then... it was just them?

Mars shook their head. It was all too confusing. If it was just them, then was it just snakes? But that hardly made sense. Why would it be so exclusive? Maybe... maybe it was a skill that had just been awaken somehow. Maybe the snake had just been the first animal they'd stumbled across and so it was the only voice they'd heard.

By the time they'd come to this conclusion, the sun had sunk a few degrees and their heart was no longer racing. The question was... now what? Mars hopped up, stretching their legs beneath them as they pondered it. They probably ought to test the hypothesis, huh? And to do that, they needed an animal.

Spinning out from under the tree, they shoved their hands in their pockets and started back to the castle. They could probably find someone's pet lingering within the walls. Gods, this was going to be weird, wasn't it, just going up to some random rat and asking it a question. But then, what other choice did they have?

Mars was halfway to the Courtyard, just passing the Great Lake, when something caught their eye. They turned, footsteps stalling. That was... Alan, Alan Vanes, right? A Fourth Year? The one that always had the cat lingering around his feet, trailing after his footsteps. Oh. Oh!

Half-running, they started in his direction. Perfect, perfect, there was Tiger by his side. This would work out fine.

"Alan!" they called, waving a hand. Would he remember them? They'd only had a couple of interactions in passing, so they weren't quite sure. Welp, they were sure he would remember them now, seeing as they were about to ask him something absolutely ridiculous. Mars couldn't really find a way around it though.

Finally entering speaking range, they took a second to catch their breath and then looked up at him with a sheepish smile.

"Can I, uh—ask you a question?"