midnight solace
interaction: @Ellie Randensmith
date: 16th September 2025
Victoria tossed and turned in her bed. With a sigh of frustration, her blue eyes stared up at the star patterns on the ceiling. She absentmindedly twirled the star-shaped ring she always wore on her finger. She needed to clear her mind—sleep just wouldn’t come.
She figured she had no other choice. Like every night she couldn’t sleep, she decided to head back to the astronomy tower.
With a small smile on her face, Victoria got up and stretched her arms lightly before walking over to her closet to change out of her pajamas, careful not to wake her dorm mates. Opening the closet, she grabbed a loose white jumper and a pair of dark blue sweatpants, anticipating the cold of the astronomy tower. After quickly changing, she tied her messy, wavy brown hair into a high ponytail, grabbed a few chocolates, slipped on her shoes, and quietly stepped out of her dorm room.
As Victoria walked toward the astronomy tower, she hummed a little tune that made her feel safe— a Muggle song she’d heard from a fellow student during her first year. But her humming faltered when she spotted a girl sitting on the floor of the tower with her knees pulled up. The girl’s light brown hair—faded to purple at the tips—looked familiar. Victoria thought she’d seen her during her first year but couldn’t quite recall her name. Ah—Ellie. She remembered seeing her sitting by the lake a few times.
Victoria was about to leave the girl alone when a soft sniffle stopped her in her tracks. Her eyes widened. Was the girl crying?
Victoria felt her heart race with concern but took a deep breath to calm herself, tightening her grip on the chocolates in her hand. She couldn’t just leave her here, crying alone.
Silently, Victoria approached and sat down beside her, keeping a respectful distance. Then, gently and with care—so as not to startle her—she murmured, extending the chocolates toward her.
“Would you like to talk, be alone, or just sit quietly?”
midnight solace
Interacting with: @Victoria Blythe
Date: September 16th, 2025
Word count: 308OOC note: at this point, ellie's grandma has died, the thread will be out with that soon. Ellie had just finished up her Astronomy Lesson for the day, technically night, and watched as the other kids went down the stairs to their dorms, laughing, smiling, and joking with their friends, despite the time of day. Ellie signed, she did not feel like laughing right now, she sat down, on the floor of the tower, and, with no one around started crying, no explanation no reason, just tears, pouring down her face. Ever since her Grandma had left to heaven, nothing had seemed the same. The rest of the summer, the Randensmith family house had no laughs, no giggles, no smell of her Grandma baking cookies in the kitchen, just dead. Ever since that one night, when her Grandma just... went. No explanation.
Ellie pulled something out of her pocket. A cookie. The last her Grandma had ever baked. She had given it to Ellie and her cousin saying, "To keep it for when they needed it." A strange thing to say about a cookie Ellie had thought at that time but this cookie was the last thing she had of her Grandma and she seemed to need it a lot.
Looking at the cookie, brought back so many memory's, of her, baking her first batch of cookies with her Grandma, and spilling the flour, of her, playing tag with her Grandma, and finally, her sitting on the couch after finding out her Grandma had moved on to the heaven. Ellie cried now like she had then, harder.
When one is crying, like Ellie is now, it takes a while for one to notice someone, beside them.So when a girl next to her held out a chocolate Ellie didn't notice until the girl asked if she wanted to be alone, sit quietly, or talk.
Ellie thought about it, "Maybe just sit quietly?" She managed between sniffles.
midnight solace
interaction: @Ellie Randensmith
date: 16th September 2025
Victoria gently nodded in response to the girl's words. She knew all too well how hard it could be to talk about something—especially when you were feeling awful. Besides, the girl didn’t even know her. She hadn’t expected her to open up anyway.
“Alright, whatever feels right for you,” she said softly, handing the chocolate over before pulling her knees to her chest and quietly studying the girl. The moonlight cast a gentle glow across her sweet face, and the tears clinging to her lashes sparkled like tiny diamonds. With every blink, they slipped silently down her cheek and fell to the ground.
Victoria let out a quiet sigh. What could she do to make the girl feel better? She bit her lower lip anxiously. Truthfully, she had no idea. Maybe she could offer a compliment? Would that help? Or would it just make things more awkward?
Then she noticed the cookie in the girl's hand. She was staring at it, lost in thought, as if it carried some kind of memory. The girl clutched the cookie like it might disappear, her fingers trembling ever so slightly. Maybe it came from someone she cared about—someone she had lost? That would make sense. But how do you comfort someone grieving a person they loved?
Victoria hated this feeling. Watching someone cry and not knowing what to say felt like standing outside in the cold, wanting to reach through a glass window. She kept thinking of times she had cried alone—how one kind word would’ve changed everything.
Maybe... maybe if the girl let those feelings out, if she talked about the one she lost, it might help ease the ache a little.
After a few seconds of quiet hesitation, Victoria finally murmured, her voice soft and careful:
“Did you love them a lot…?” Her throat felt tight. What if she said the wrong thing? What if asking made it worse? But the silence between them wasn’t helping either—it was too heavy, too full of unsaid things.
midnight solace
The girl handed her the chocolate. Ellie took it from her and bit into it. The chocolate was good, and in a small way, made Ellie feel better. Today was one of the days when she missed her Grandma the most. The day still felt so close. There would be no more morning tea, and family gatherings would never be the same. These thoughts made her cry even harder. That girl probably thinks I'm a big baby! Ellie thought, wanting to stop but it was like she had turned on a sink and it was stuck on.
"Did you love them a lot?" Ellie heard the girl next to her say.
Not trusting her mouth to speak without it coming out as a weird squeak, Ellie just nodded. How had she known? Ellie sighed and tried her best to wipe up some of the tears that where staining her face.
Deciding she could try to say something she said, "My," She took a breath, "Grandma." She finished, "She passed so suddenly."
Ellie finally looked at the girl. She had dark brown hair and blue eyes, much like Ellie did, and there was something about her that made Ellie trust her. Some guy instinct that made Ellie realize, this girl wouldn't judge her.
Interacting with: @Victoria Blythe
Date: September 16th, 2025
Word count: 212
OOC note: My poor baby
midnight solace
interaction: @Ellie Randensmith wc: 270 dialogue thoughtsThe cool air of the astronomy tower gently caressed the hair of the two girls. When Victoria heard the other girl's words, she felt her stomach sink like a stone dropped into deep water. A thousand thoughts tried to surface—what to say, how to react—but none of them felt right. The weight of the girl's grief was like a storm cloud pressing down on them both, and for a moment, Victoria could only sit with it, her own helplessness gnawing at her from the inside. So, she had lost someone from her family. In some situations, comforting words were useless, and this definitely seemed like one of those times.
Victoria swallowed and pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her cheek against them.
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said gently—like most people do when they hear news of death.
"I hope she will rest in peace."
Victoria didn’t know what to say. She gently patted the girl's back to show her support. Her touch was calm and gentle.
"I—" she hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "I don’t know if this will help, but... is there anything I can do? I mean—anything at all. Even if it’s just... sitting here."
Should she hug her? What if the girl found it strange? Victoria pushed the thought to the back of her mind and drew her hand away from the girl's back, resting it on the stone floor instead. She turned her face to the sky. The moonlight shone on their faces, almost as if mocking the two girls.
midnight solace
The breeze passed through Ellie's hair, ruffling her soft yet straight light brown hair and blowing it into her tear stained face. The hair stuck to her face and Ellie peeled it off. Ugg.
The girl had asked Ellie if there was anything she could do. Ellie thought about it. Really, she didn't know. Sitting there was fine but she then felt bad for the girl to just sit there. And if she talked about it, half the words probably wouldn't even come out. Or at least, they wouldn’t come out understandable. And then she would probably break down even more.
Quickly, she whispered, "I don't know. Sorry. This all happened so unexpectidly this summer it's all just.." She trailed off, not trusting her mouth to speak, instead, she shrugged.
The fall air was crisp, but not cold. Ellie stuck her head up and let the wind hit her face, drying her tears, blowing away her feelings. Ellie closed her eyes, hoping another round of tears wouldn't find itself on her face. Maybe then she could finally have an actual chat with this girl, who seemed kind enough. If she is willing to just sit there, while I cry my eyes out, and not judge, she has to be kind! Ellie thought to herself.
Interacting with: @Victoria Blythe
Word count: 214
Date: September 16th, 2025
midnight solace
interaction: @Ellie Randensmith dialogue thoughts
The darkness of the night was pierced by the moonlight—just like Victoria’s heart had been pierced by the girl’s quiet apology.
Victoria looked at her in silence for a few calm seconds. She would have much rather seen a smile on the girl’s beautiful face than those falling tears. She didn’t know what to say. A slight furrow formed between her brows as she gently moved closer.
“…Hey, there’s no need to apologize,” she said softly. “Losing a family member—especially when it’s unexpected—is terrifying enough on its own.”
She truly had no idea what the right words were.
“…It’s okay to cry. I should have some tissues—”
Victoria reached into her bag, pulling out a small packet and offering it to the girl with a gentle motion. Then she lightly patted the girl’s hand, a comforting touch that lingered only a moment before she respectfully moved back, careful not to invade the girl’s personal space.
“…Here you go,” she said softly. She wasn’t smiling, but the kindness in her blue eyes spoke louder than any smile could. There was compassion there, shining like stars in the night sky.
Victoria took a deep breath.
“…You don’t have to talk. But you can let it out. If you don’t… the pain starts to show in your everyday actions, even when you think you’ve buried it. Please—don’t feel bad for crying.”She didn't expect these long words from herself too, but she felt like they may help the girl.
midnight solace
The tears were building up inside of her. Like her eyes where a dam and all the tears were a river, crashing into the barrier, almost breaking it down. No, she would not let the tears break down the dam again. She's gone, there is nothing I can do about it. No amount of tears would make it better. Grandma would not have wanted this, she would have wanted her legacy honored, not cried over. Ellie thought, hoping to stop the waterfall of tears from falling.
Battling the tears, Ellie heard the girls voice softly next to her say, "Hey, there’s no need to apologize. Losing a family member—especially when it’s unexpected—is terrifying enough on its own. It’s okay to cry. I should have some tissues."
The girl reached into her pocket and pulled a little packet of tissues, which Ellie hesitantly accepted. She opened the package and grabbed on the tissues to start drying her eyes.
"Thanks," Ellie whispered quietly.
Then, there was silence, which was broken with the girl saying, "You don’t have to talk. But you can let it out. If you don’t… the pain starts to show in your everyday actions, even when you think you’ve buried it. Please—don’t feel bad for crying."
Ellie smiled at her, the best she could with the tears, "That's probably good... My Grandma would have never wanted us to cry this much. You would have wanted us to remember her- with out crying. But it's hard, y'know?" Ellie said, happy with herself, she had actually been able to talk, without crying, "I'm Ellie by the way." The last part was said so quietly, it might not have been heard.
Interacting with @Victoria Blythe
word count: 279
OOC Notes: well this is different then Ellie last year!