Reflections PV: Thora Larkston Finished

Thora seemed uncomfortable telling Katrina about why she was here. It seemed curious, Katrina finished the dragon and started working on the brinks of the main castle. Thora twitched her feet and had a struggling look on her face. Katrina was about to ask if she was alright when the Slytherin spoke again. Katrina was taken aback when Thora said she had no friends; it always seemed like the lion was the only student alone. She never though other students were facing the same mountains.

Katrina swiftly changed her expression of surprise to one of understanding. The least thing she wanted to do was be rude. "Uh, I, well..." Katrina turned bright red and looked away, "I, well. It's my birthday today. I love this spot and I hoped someone would come so I could talk to them." Katrina stopped and tried to smile, "I was really glad it was you who stopped by." She blushed again and brushed her hair from her face.

She looked at her castle again and noticed Thora had pushed hers aside. Katrina slowly closed her own and pushed it into her satchel. "I- thank you for coming." Maybe Thora could become a really good friend. Maybe this wouldn't be the worst birthday.

Katrina looked up, blushing as she told Thora it was her birthday. Thora flushed even redder than the Gryffindor. Here she was, wallowing in her own misery while it was this girl's birthday. In the Larkston home, at least, birthdays were a big deal. Of course, the family celebrated together, neither of their girls having close friends. Thora's mother would bake a beautiful cake and fun homemade gifts (and sometimes pranks) were revealed. A fresh wave of homesickness rolled over the girl, wishing for home even through the obvious disdain of her family members.

So when Katrina thanked her for coming, Thora had to say something. "No need to thank me," the redhead said softly, "Happy Birthday, by the way. I--I'm glad I stopped by then." And it was no lie. Thora was more than happy she had stopped by in time to wish the lion a happy birthday. They didn't know each other that well, but friend or not, Thora still wished them well.

Thora was torn. Her naturally guilty conscience made her feel guilty for not having a single thing to give Katrina--not even a simple drawing or maybe some random craft she had been working on. No, it's fine, she thought although her mind kept telling her otherwise. There was no way the two girls, especially on Thora's part, would become friends that quickly. Honestly speaking, the snake had no idea what "friend" meant--the closest thing the girl had ever had to a friend was her younger sister, her partner-in-crime and sole confider. 

"Well, I hope you have a happy birthday," Thora managed to say again, "Sorry I don't have anything for you it's just that I don't really know you and I didn't know it was your birthday and--" the redhead trailed off. She couldn't help but ask herself. What was up with her? She certainly didn't have trust issues, nor did she dislike Katrina. Well, of course, a little friendship would certainly help their relationship along. 

A smile brightening up Thora's face, she turned to Katrina. Hopefully the brunette wouldn't think her strange for having such sudden... mood changes. "D-do you normally celeb-brate your birthday?" the redhead asked, stumbling over her words. After all, she had been there when Katrina's parents had died in--was it a fire? Anyways, the girl didn't want to get on a touchy subject with someone she was pretty sure she would sometime see as a friend.

Reducio

OOC: Sorry for the late response  

Katrina instantly wished she hadn't said anything. They were doing just fine when she just made her almost friend feel so bad. Ugh, if only she was better with words. She cringed when Thora blushed, she made her feel bad and now she felt worse herself. She didn't want to make Thora feel any worse so she forced her expression as polite as she could. A almost smile touched her lips. She looked up from the ground at Thora.

"Thanks," Katrina responded. What was she supposed to say? The girl had wished her a Happy Birthday and she didn't know what to say besides 'thanks'. That was one of the hardest thing to respond to besides compliments.

Her guilty conscience worsened when Thora stammered about not having a gift or anything. "You didn't know. I shouldn't have said anything. It's fine." the lion tried to smooth it over but felt like she made it worse. She never really did gifts anyways, the thought was touching though. She tried to make it better by adding a story- more like an anecdote.

"I used to celebrate my birthday." Memories flashed through her mind and she shut them out by talking, "Not much though. My brother would usually prank me at some point." She painfully smiled, "Presents were not usually our thing. Normally we would go somewhere and do something. Like my birthday last year we went to the capital- of London- and toured the entire city. It was so cool seeing all of the landmarks that I read about in school." again feeling uncomfortable she shifted the conversation back to Thora, "What about you? Do anything for your birthday normally?"

Once she stopped talking her mind was brought back to her self-accusation. The timid girl forced herself to focus on the positives, at least they were sort-of friends. Katrina was ready to make a friend but she got the feeling that Thora wasn't ready yet. It seemed there was at least one person as bad at talking to people as she was. Conversations were more like a game, pass the focus from one team to another, trying to get the other team to do something and keep the conversation on their side.

Thora could tell the memories were painful for the other girl as Katrina relived her previous birthday memories. And then the lion asked about her birthdays. "Um, normally, birthdays are a big thing at my house. My mom makes the best cakes," the girl smiled, "And there's always only the four of us, but we have a blast. My sister and I run on the farm..." she trailed off. How much should she say? 

As Thora glanced towards her "friend", she drifted off into thought. Again. What was a friend anyways? The idea was foreign to her, an idea that she had never even considered. The only other people she had met her age were either stuck-up or bullies. So Thora didn't really know what to think about the other second years, or even the other students. She squinted at her analog watch's smudgy screen. It was already almost 4. She hated to leave the other girl alone on her birthday, but Thora kind of wanted to explore. After all, she had been at camp for a month already, not to mention the previous school year, but she had yet to learn the layout of the school grounds.

Normally, she would have been unwilling to risk a detention to wander, but this was camp! She could explore, as long as she was safe about it. Sticking her belongings back into her bag, she stood up. "Um, bye for now, Katrina," she said, trying not to sound abrupt. "I think I'm gonna go now, if that's okay with you." Trying to soften the blow of her out-of-the-blue statement, she added, "Hopefully you don't mind..." and smiled widely. With that, Thora gave an awkward wave as she turned and skipped away. 

@Thora Larkston leaves thread

Katrina was so lost in her thoughts that she barely recognized that Thora had said anything. The snake glanced at her watch and mumbled something about having to go. She skipped away happily. Katrina sat there alone again. Why did every time she talked to anybody it ended up in a mess? Thora and Katrina could have just talked about the new year, and summer, and pets. But noooo Katrina had to make it awkward and uncomfortable for the both of them. She chastised herself silently.

She brooded in her self-pity for a while until she felt it was necessary to go. She skipped a smooth rock on the lake and watched the ripples. Once bored of that, she grabbed her satchel and slung it over one arm. She bent down to observe a small snail on the strap of her bag. She scooped it in her hand and quickly sat on another nearby log. She sketched it quickly and set it beside her. She could finish the snail picture later.

She gathered herself and walked toward the castle. It was almost 4 o'clock now and Katrina began to feel the evening chill. She walked towards the castle determined to keep the past behind her and start fresh. It would to no harm. Reflecting on her past had helped her leave it behind. Reflections...

@Katrina Walker Exits Thread