Prophesy and Paranoia PV Emily Shephard Finished

"Slytherin isn't all bad,"

"I didn't mean..." Avis interrupted quietly, but her words sputtered out before they could gain momentum, fading into nothingness. What did she mean? She wasn't sure she knew anymore.

You only need to dig a bit deeper to find some truly good-hearted people, no matter what House they are in."

That might be true for Emily, but it seemed to Avis that the only decent house was Ravenclaw. Not because she was in Ravenclaw, though that probably contributed to some bias, but because Sabrina was. (Goodness, Avis needs more friends) Slytherin had Mathias, Hufflepuff had Gideon, and Gryffindor seemed to be full of hostile Purebloods. No, Avis was going to stay safely in her tower of blue. That was much easier.

"Did you know that there's more than one way for a person to quietly ask for help?"

Avis could almost see the waves of pity pouring out of the Hufflepuff, which was totally wrong. She was supposed to be the one who pitied people, people weren't supposed to pity her.

She looked down at her hand as Emily pressed it to her heart. It was supposed to be calming, she supposed, listening to her heartbeat, but her heart was flying like a hummingbird and wasn't exactly helpful. Her hand tensed, turning into a shield against her heart.

Think about her feelings. Think about her feelings. Avis rolled her eyes. This wasn't a therapy session, for holden's sake. She didn't need to think about what she was feeling when she was literally feeling it. But if she had to...she felt annoyed. And frustrated. And regretful. And bitter. Well, that wasn't encouraging.

As Emily droppped her hand, Avis' hand dropped as well, back down to her side.

"You have to put yourself right... To find yourself again. But in order to do that, you have to want to put yourself right."

Avis snickered. "No, actually, I'd rather stay wallowing in my own self-pity." Like before, her sarcasm had morphed into a bitter desperation. Emily patted her on the shoulder, and Avis shrugged her off. She wasn't a cat.

@Emily Shephard

April 28th 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Avis Marlong

The silence that suddenly befell Avis was much more telling than was what actually coming out of Avis's mouth. The Huffie would know, being all too familiar with the art of said phenomenon. Emily smiled reassuringly. "I'm not trying to assert power or coddle you just because you're afraid of asking for help. And yes, I do know when someone is asking for help, even when it's not explicitly coming from between their lips. Take it from someone who's been in your spot before."

She politely and carefully brushed a strand of hair behind the Ravenclaw's ear. She could see Avis still had her hands pressed close to her. That was good. It meant that she hadn't dismissed Emily's attempt at getting through to her. Not yet at least.

"Take a breath or two. Clear the mind as much as you can. I know it doesn't sound like much but trust me... It does a lot more than you think to keep them out."

Emily knew she wasn't the only one who could hear voices. Avis more than likely suffered through that phase too when they all gave blood to that infested tree. Getting rid of them was key in the birdie's first major step to healing.

"No, actually, I'd rather stay wallowing in my own self-pity."

Avis then brushed off her soothing advances. Oh hell no. Emily's expression faltered and shook her head. There was a tiny bit more bite to her tone this time, but not enough to say she was scolding her. "Sorry kid, but this isn't something you can deal with alone. And wallowing in self-pity? There's only so long you can do that before something inside you starts to fight back... And I'd say we're well into that phase by now."

She crouched a little to get more level with Avis's gaze. "I want to help you. I never asked for help when I had that mark on my finger. But everyone I care about could read me like an open book and tell that something was wrong. Having that moment of clarity where you remember that you're not alone... It's incredibly freeing."

She then looked off to the side. "But if you truly don't like the thought of me helping you, then consider it like this... You and Brookie wouldn't have given blood to that tree if I hadn't done it first. While Gideon instigated all of this, I was just as much at fault for having fallen for it."

She turned back to Avis, a weak smile hanging off her lips. "Think of it as my way of making it up to you, if nothing else."

_{Word Count: 442}

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 6 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

Avis shifted her weight to the other foot and frowned, biting her lip. Focus on breathing, she told herself. Which was the entirely wrong thing to say, as now she was focused on her breathing. It felt heavier, like it kept catching in her throat, and she had to force the air into her lungs. That shouldn't be happening, it was all in her head. She knew it. It was all her own brain just tricking her out. But if it was all in her head, why was it happening? Why did it feel so real, so tangible, like the problem was just hovering in front of her, mocking her, and it would all go away if she just had the courage to punch it.

"Take a breath or two. Clear the mind as much as you can. I know it doesn't sound like much but trust me... It does a lot more than you think to keep them out."

She had already tried breaths, but clear the mind was new. She drew in sharp, heavy breaths as she closed her eyes, and pictured a blank white screen. That was what clearing the mind meant, right, having nothing in it? Don't think about anything. Immediatly, slightly scratched cursive "anything"s began floating across her blank screen, taunting her. Messing with her. So much for clearing her mind.

"But if you truly don't like the thought of me helping you, then consider it like this... You and Brookie wouldn't have given blood to that tree if I hadn't done it first. While Gideon instigated all of this, I was just as much at fault for having fallen for it."

Avis began to shake her head. It wasn't Emily's fault, Gideon had tricked them he had - oh. Something in Avis' eyes sparked. That was the point. If Emily wasn't at fault...neither was she. She exhaled the breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"Think of it as my way of making it up to you, if nothing else."

She had no responsibility to Avis, it wasn't her fault. Avis opened her mouth to tell Emily that but...what if she left? What if she realized there was no reason to stay. The only thing worse than asking for help was asking and being abandoned. The part of her that still wanted to run screamed at her to say something else. But the part that needed her to stay—won.

Avis wanted help.

And so she closed her mouth, turning the words on the tip of her tongue into a soft, hopeful "okay." It caught in her throat, a betrayal of everything she had told herself.

April 28th 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Avis Marlong

More silence lingered among the girls. Emily was comfortable with it but her worries were still set on Avis as she watched a pensive expression carve its way onto the Ravenclaw's face. She did feel partly responsible for putting Avis through this rough patch. Emily was the oldest out of the two and ought to be setting an example for her younger peers. What was happening to Avis was a poor display of responsibility on Emily's part.

Therefore, even if Avis wasn't thrilled with it, it was Emily's responsibility to fix what she had done. At the very least, she could do something to help Avis and her state of mind. By the looks of it, Avis was still taking Emily's advice into consideration. Until finally--

"Okay".

Emily's smiled widened and nodded. "Alright... If you feel you've cleared your mind then we can move on to the next step. What I did was think about everything that makes me smile. Everything that made me laugh. Everything silly. Everything beautiful. But I didn't just think it... I felt it. In my chest. So try that. Think of everything and everyone that lifts your spirit. It can be even the smallest things that make you happy. Fill your heart with them. Remind yourself what you truly love and why they matter... Not what Gideon wants you to think".

She leaned back from Avis to give her space. Even the most stubborn and aloof have something that gives them a spark of happiness. Looking at Avis, Emily knew she had things she cared about. It was all a matter of Avis remembering that and embracing it.

"You're a good person, Avis. Don't let Gideon try and convince you otherwise. Don't give him that power or satisfaction you know he's looking from you. Abandoning yourself means he's already won. So accept yourself".

_{Word Count: 308}

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 6 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

It seemed the Hufflepuff was very much a rainbow, unicorn, and sunshine type of person. A stereotypical Hufflepuff, a change Avis appreciated. She liked it when people fit neatly into their categories, when they could be fit into a manila folder and stored away neatly in alphabetical order. Easy to understand, easy to predict. Unlike some Hufflepuffs.

While she appreciated the sentiment of the matter, Avis had to admit that the actual instructions seemed a bit dumb. "Think of everything and everyone that lifts your spirit", okay. Sure. Fine. What made her happy?

Charms made her happy. So did her sax. So did...ooh. Avis grinned as she caught a glimpse of her dyed streak out of the corner of her eye, trying her hardest to bite back the smile, half of her still just wanting to prove Emily wrong. But there had been that one time, when she turned 9. Maria had slept over, and she had knit this really crude blue bandana-type thing. Avis hadn't ever gotten a present from someone other than her family before. She had worn it the rest of the night, even though a string of yarn hung over her eyes, blocking the view of the stars as the girls had gone stargazing.

Avis did have things she loved. But, as she glanced around, Maria wasn't anywhere near here. She slipped her grin behind her mask, sucking in a quick breathe before glancing up at the sky and back at Emily. "Yeah, I guess." She held out her hand for the crumpled note, intending to shove it back into its place in her satchel. She was trying to hide her uncertainty, and now she was trying her hardest to hide her hope.

@Emily Shephad
Sorry, it's not very good, but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. Whenever you'd like to wrap it up I'm good with that:)

April 28th 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Avis Marlong
OOC Note: I personally loved it! _{Kept mine short and sweet too :3}

Sometimes in life, a cliché from a movie is enough to help push forward. Even if it did sound like a motivational bumper sticker coming from Emily's mouth, she knew she was leading Avis on a better path than the one Gideon tried to coerce her into. Avis's tendency to keep everything to herself was clear in her body language though Emily could tell she was taking everything she was saying and really using it. Emily found that if Avis was a couple beats silent, then she was listening to what people were saying.

Emily let Avis marinate in her thoughts for a bit, keeping quiet as she did so. Watching the crinkles in her expression shift and her facial features slowly relax, Emily could see Avis was really trying. She could appreciate that accepting help must be somewhat foreign for her. Avis was very independent, that much Emily could tell. Though she could also tell that Avis needed this.

Time passed peacefully between them and Avis finally opened her eyes again to meet Emily's soft ones. Avis had her hand out, waiting for Emily to return her note. The Huffie deposited back into the palm of the birdie's hand. Emily's brow furrowed ever so slightly.

"So... How do you feel now? I've done all I can to help you. I guess the question is... What will you do next?"

_{Word Count: 230}

Left this open ended in case Avis wishes to leave the thread

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 6 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

Emily placed the note in Avis' palm, frowning as she did so. Avis folded it and again, along perfectly aligned creased lines until the paper was a small square that should never have had the power that it had. She turned away slightly, preventing Emily from seeing the small pocket in her satchel where she shoved it. She didn't really think Emily would steal it, no, that was nonsense. It was just, well, you never knew. Just in case she forgot what was written on it.

"So... How do you feel now? I've done all I can to help you. I guess the question is... What will you do next?"

Avis shrugged. "Hope I don't murder Aamon in my sleep." She forced a small grin on her face, as if it were a joke.

It was not.

But it was close enough. Close enough to convince herself that it was completely illogical in every way. And it was. Right?

The wind whipped a small strand of hair into Avis' eyes, annoying her much more than it should have. If someone had given her a pair of scissors at that moment, she probably would have snipped it off. Thankfully, she did not have scissors, and instead, she just frowned and tried to yank it behind her ear. Dumb hair. Because that was the real crisis here. Not prophesies or paranoia, just the rebellious strand of hair trying to destroy her life.

"Think of everything and everyone that lifts your spirit" Right. Maria. And Alaina. And Mum and Dad and Aina and Daniel. Who she could see in - she tried to count the days, but unfortunately, the math was not mathing and she settled on about a month.

She exhaled a long breath and shook her head. When she looked back up at Emily, her eyes were a bit brighter, and she stood a bit taller. She felt a bit better. But whether that came from actual hope or muscle memory, she couldn’t say.

Avis glanced toward the castle. Now would be a great time to get out of this conversation. With a small nod at Emily, she tried to slip past the girl toward the school. "Let me know if your "friend" has anything helpful to add to my predicament."

@Emily Shephard
Edit: Completely forgot she was supposed to leave the thread...adding that in now.

April 28th 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Avis Marlong

Emily projected another - yep, you guessed it - small smile to Avis. She looked like she wasn't feeling that strong urge to murder Aamon anymore. That was good! That was progress! Even Avis sounded like she could fight back against Gideon's insidious whispers and his underlying scheme.

She saw Avis avert her eyes again, seemingly processing everything that's happened up to this point. Once again, Emily granted her the well deserved moment to herself as the pair fell back into silence again with no more than the sounds of the natural world moving around them.

Emily eventually met Avis's eyes when she turned back round again to face her. The Huffie's expression glowed when she saw Avis's own visage become softer. That was probably the most vulnerable Emily had ever seen her. She tucked a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear.

"That smile suits you. You should use it more often," she said sweetly.

Then Avis began to walk away, slipping past Emily.

"Let me know if your "friend" has anything helpful to add to my predicament," the birdie had said as she brushed past the Huffie.

Emily beamed reassuringly and nodded.

"Leave it to me! And don't worry... For a Slytherin, he's far from an Aamon. In fact, he's one of the best I know who can help!"

Another pleasant image of Colin drifted into Emily's head. He'd know what to do. Emily and Avis may have lit a flame of resistance for the latter but if anyone could get Avis back into top form, it would be Colin.

"Look after yourself, Avis," Emily said. "And always remember who your friends are..."

With Avis disappearing off towards the castle, Emily began to saunter off in the opposite direction.

It was high time again to find the lanky Slytherin boy.

_{Word Count: 305}

Emily leaves the thread
_{Until next time my friend! :3}

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 6 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace