Sunlit Encounters Closed

Wrapped in her big fluffy scarf, Nico decided to walk by the Lake again today. She had been exploring the corridors and hallways of the Castle for quite some time during the winter times. There wasn't much of a reason to go outside and linger about. It was too cold for her liking at the time, but with Spring around the corner, the sun shone brightly onto the castle walls that day.

'Alright, Pip. We're going to have a casual sit at the Lake, okey?' She smiled at her Pygmy Puff, hiding in her scarf. It allowed the purple creature to run loops, as her scarf functioned as a big fluffy wall. It was a micro playground to him. It felt great. He had a great view too. She was like a walking fortress, and he had a first class room in the top of the tower.

Carrying her bag filled with artsupplies over her shoulder, Nico made her way to the Grounds. It was rather calm today which was always a good thing. No weird encounters. No noisy students. Just.. peaceful. Birds twitterd and threes swayed gently with the wind. The sun occasionally shining through.

Nico looked down at her bag, gently giving it a few taps. Since the weather was so lovely, she couldn't help herself and brought some picknick snacks with her. Dad had sent some of her favourites with an owl. Luckily, she was able to snatch the package out of its claws before it could peck open the delicious treasure. But... it was a stormy morning. And for the owls 'job well done', she handed him half a browny as a reward. You're lucky I like you. Is what she'd always say...

Today, she picked a different side of the Lake to explore. On shore it was pretty safe, especially during the daytime. Passing by a rocky extension of the shore, Nico noticed a blond girl. Sitting by herself. The way she sat there, in the middle of the rock, facing the water, completely relaxed, seemed to inspire the redhead.

Her fingers itched and in her mind an image unfolded. Nico carefully approached the girl. Not too close. Just a... three meter distance between them. Quietly sitting down, the Slytherin pulled out her sketchbook, carefully measuring the scenery with her eyes, before scratching on the paper with her pen. Pip peeked out from behind her scarf, observing the whole situation.

The squiggly, curly lines of the dark water, appeared bit by bit on the gritty paper. The cold sharp rocks laid scattered and seemed to surround the blonde student. The contrast of the curly, soft locks of the girl next to the cold, pointy surroundings, made her stand out and look vulnerable.

Her pen slid carefully across the paper until the girl noticed her presence. She spoke of how she was never good at drawing.
Well, no one really is born with the gift of drawing, not in most cases that is. It takes practice and lots of it. After that endless amount of practicing, who knows... Maybe you become really good and you're able to draw pretty much anything you want.

"Is that a pygmy puff?"

Pip squeeked when the lady mentioned him. Nico smiled and carefully put her sketchbook aside to look at Pip.

'Why yes. He is.' The Puff rubbed against her cheek. 'They're wonderful pets. I hesitated between a cat or maybe... an owl. But I must say I got spooked, to.. say the least, hah..' Nico smiled sheepishly before picking up the Pygmy Puff and let him sit in her hands. 'His name is Pip... To be honest I didn't know of their existence until the shoplady showed me them... I fell in love immediately! Except ehm...' Nico did her best to shake off the memory of the shopkeeper smashing Pip into a wall. It was harmless apparantly, but he hadn't warned her before he did it.

She apologised for interupting but Nico waved that apology away. 'I don't mind really. I got the sketch.. I.. I never really thought sketching would start a potential conversation.' Nico stared at a random spot on the ground. Ofcourse she knew her approaching someone to sketch them quietly could cause the start of a conversation. Nico was bad at starting them, this was almost the only way she knew how to talk to people.

'I just happened to walk by. I come here often when the Castle becomes too crowded to me. So I then choose to be here instead.' Nico smiled and carefully sat down near the girl, her Puff resting on her knee facing the blonde.' What about you? What brings you here?'

Pip was the name given for the small creature, and Angellica was absolutely enamoured by the little creature. Their bond was apparent, and it made the blonde somewhat jealous. She'd always wanted a pet but her family had refused it. They had a family owl for missives and pets were deemed a waste of time and beneath them. Of course given her grades, she had a feeling she could at least negotiate come the end of year. All in due time she figured. For now she just had to continue pushing herself as best she could.

"Well Pip is absolutely adorable," she grinned looking over at the colorful puff that seemed enamoured with his owner. "He seems very happy, so it works out for both of you that you picked him over the more common pets." Nico seemed introverted, and Angellica didn't want to disturb that by forcing her to be extroverted. It seemed rather rude to say the least. "Except..." she began. "If you want to tell me, if not it's okay," she offered easily. Curiosity was so very hard to overcome. If there was one thing the Ravenclaw girl was consistent about was her thirst for knowledge. Even if it was just getting to know a student as she was in that moment.

The blonde was overall pleasant in her demeanor. "Anything can be a conversation starter," she reminded. It didn't always mean it was a pleasant way to start an exchange. This didn't seem to bad. "Can I ask what you were sketching? I mean the view is stunning here," she looked over at the lake and trees. Hogwarts was rather picturesque. One could even call it breathtaking. With all her focus having been on school, she hadn't really taken a moment to indulge in her new home.

"I come here to think, to sort through my thoughts," she admitted. "I guess you can say I'm a bit tightly wound. I'm a bit of an overachiever, and after spending most of the winter indoors, I sort of needed to...breathe if that makes sense?" she wasn't quite sure how to express that constricting feeling one could get in the castle after a while. "I'm Angellica by the way," she offered a hand. It seemed rude not to have introduced herself sooner.

Nico was abit spooked by the girls sudden gesture to shake hands but she quickly recovered. It was just a hand, sheesh. With a warm smile she pressed her hand into the Ravenclaws. 'I'm Nico. Nice to meet you, Angellica. What a lovely name too. How come they chose to give you that name? If-If I may ask ofcourse.' She didn't even know why her parents gave her her name. People have always found it quite odd and ... a boy name. Nonetheless, she had come to accept her name and to love it.

'Oh! Before you pull away..' Nico gently kept Angellicas hand in place, helping Pip to hop onto her. Its soft warm fluff brushed against the Ravens skin as it sniffled the palm of her hand. With a squeek, he smiled at her. He felt quite at peace, which Nico knew meant that there were no bad or ill intentions from the blondes side. Not that she didn't already know, it was just a thing that she knew Pip could show.

Nico smiled pleased and even a tad touched as Pip rolled in the palms of Angellica. 'Well, the thing is... I always looked forward to have a pet of some sort. They had cats and owls. I ... tried to approach a big owl with menacing but intriguing eyes. But he hooted at me SO loud... I fell over and the shoplady caught me just in time. I-' She rubbed the back of her head. 'I mean I wouldn't have fallen hard but it would've been still abit painful, hah...' Afterwards, she was glad she found Pip. He was everything she needed. He was soft, an adorable purple, warm and actually looked after her. 'I must admit, he saved me a few times... I'm not sure how... But he can sense... In a way... when I feel down. It's not really a trait they have but... I guess they have their own personalities aswell which makes them who they are... or something.'

Clearing her throat softly, Nico straightened her back to stop herself from rambling. Once she broke out of her comfortzone, she'd trail off into this long gentle rant about random stuff. It was a thing she had and so far she hadn't find a way to prevent it from happening so many times.

She asked if she could see the drawing. Nico hesitated but was curious too. Only a small amount of people saw her art mostly because she wasn't sure how they'd respond to her... magic condition.

'O-Oh sure you can.'

Swiftly she opened the book on the page she last drew. Carefully she turned it around, facing it the Ravenclaws way. She'd see the black lines of the water move, the curly hair of the girl sitting on the rock would sway in the breeze,... Even some mist would slowely slide across the sketched black lake.

'I-.. Well.. I got into Hogwarts because of... my drawings, really. One day, i could just make them move. You know, like in the newspapers where the pictures move in a loop. That's.. the closest thing I can compare it with. Hah.. It's abit weird..'

Gently, she placed the book infront of her and crossed her legs. 'Oh, I get it when sometimes stuff just... becomes too much... You want to flee somewhere and this..' Her eyes gazed at the murky water and the quiet breeze that brushed their hair. 'This is a good spot to relax. hah..'

Hand in hand, the blonde committed the name given to her to memory. Nico. Nice Coloring would be her mnemonic aid to commit the name to memory. After all, she had watched her drawing. Where the hand shaking had been awkward, as most social interactions could be, Angellica was taken aback by the other girls question. For a moment she simply froze and blinked. Why? Of course she had heard the story, or the one her mother had told her.

"I..." words were escaping the young girl. Especially when she kept her hand there and felt the small puff of fluff on her hand. She hadn't expected it, and honestly she might have cried at the sight. It was such a beautiful and soft creature. A grin spread over her lips as it sniffed and squeaked. "Oh how precious," she found herself whispering as though afraid to scare the small animal. She couldn't quite look away from it, but made the effort to look at Nico as she remembered the question.

"Mother said when father saw me I looked angelic and that's how they decided my name. Originally Mother wanted to call me Lída," she said gently. "What about you? Nico is a pretty name, unique." It was masculine and strong. A name that could easily be forged into a persona. Strength and power were attractive to the blonde, and Nico seemed like a strong acquaintance to have in life.

As the small puff rolled in her hands Angellica giggled at the tickling sensation, of course it had bad timing given what the redhead was speaking of. "I'm sorry, Pip..." she explained and sobered. "That must have been scary," she added with a hint of apology. "I'm glad you found a companion. I read somewhere that they can feel things that go beyond our understanding, and that people can form a bond with their pet that's hard to quantify," she said. She'd done so much research on various animals to have as a companion in order to convince her family that she not only could care for one but that they were more than just messengers or vermin eliminators.

Eyes on the paper, she appreciated the delicate lines. The shading and carefully crafted image was beautiful truly. When she watched the figure, the curls and the mist she perched her head to the side, stroking Pip gently with two fingers.

"Is that...is that me?" she asked. She'd never been a persons muse before. It was flattering if it was. She'd never really seen herself as someone interesting enough or worthy of attention. She constantly had to fight for any sort of praise. "You're really good," she added feeling she needed to praise and not make the girl nervous or feel like she didn't appreciate it regardless of whether or not it was her sitting on the rock looking at the lake.

"This is a beautiful spot," she agreed, smiling. "And now it's got good company," her eyes closed as she smiled this time, motioning to both Pip and Nico. Perhaps this would be a good day after all. Away from the owls from home, or the expectations weighing on her shoulders.