Off to Feed the Wild Things PV Charlie Finished

His laugh took her by surprise. Was her incredulity really that funny or just embarrassing? Probably the latter. She'd gotten better, but anyone who knew her also knew that her social skills had suffered since the ball. But he seemed to be taking it well.

Small normal trees. She nodded in acknowledgement, despite the fact that she knew from her upbringing that "normal" was a word one could never quite ascribe to a tree. In Scotland alone there were so many varieties, each unique in its own way. Surely America, and Texas by extension, had its own trees. But having never been there--never been anywhere--she didn't want to argue, particularly not with a boy who in a matter of moments had proven himself to be tremendously helpful.

As for cowboys, well, he was as close to she'd ever get most likely. After all, travel was likely not something she'd get to do. And the accent worked quite nicely; all he needed with a white Stetson and a horse. "You sound like a cowboy to me," she replied with a tone somewhere between seriousness and kindness. She did, with her extremely limited knowledge, think he would make a fabulous cowboy.

How the cowboy ended up at Hogwarts remained a little bit of a mystery. Her ears pricked up as she listened to him tell his tale--one that seemed very uncommon and curious, the opposite of her own. "Adopted?" she asked rhetorically. She didn't mean to be rude; it was just that he was the first person at the school--and perhaps at all--that she had encountered who was adopted. "I couldn't imagine not knowing my family," she blurted truthfully. The Greers had always been rather close knit, but after the ball, they had been a standing stone for the young twelve year old. No matter how annoying those letters home were, they came from a place of love. Not to know that care was simply something Ruthie couldn't process.

Her skin jumped slightly at the touch of his fingers. The antiseptic stung just enough and she bit her lip in response. Still, it wasn't too bad--nothing she hadn't encountered before. Despite all this, she was glad when he told her how much he was liking Scotland so far, even if the weather was very different from what he was accustomed to. "England is different," she said, as he mentioned where the train stopped, "Scotland is better. We try anyway." It was a cultural rivalry she hadn't completely seen in a tactile fashion at the school, but it was always prevalent. Even in her friendships, she found her closest confident an Irish girl--Ireland as fellow ally against England history. But she didn't know very much about politics beyond what her parents had told her. "That's only because you've been cities," she said in regard to the closeness, "You need to explore the Highlands." Hogwarts of course was in the Highlands, but it was such a small sliver of what she knew.

Once he'd finished with the Neomycin, she noticed his cheeks flush. It was weird--if anything he should have been offended by the cowboy comment. "I collect things too," she tried a feeble attempt to make him feel better, "along the shore at home. Seaglass and plants for my mum to study." The seaglass was for herself, but she added in the latter to make it seem less odd, if collect was odd, which she really didn't think it was. As he cleaned up, it was obvious that talking about books, rather than general objects, was more in his comfort zone. "I love the classics, myself," she began, "but not Austen or Bronte. They're so, well, kind of boring. I want a grand adventure like the Count of Monte Cristo." She still just beginning to get into more difficult works, but if anything was clear she loved the traditional "boy books" more than anything. She loved being flung into far-off adventures with mad circumstances and colorful characters.

She felt a click of satisfaction in the back of her head when he smoothed the plaster on over the wound. It would be nice to no longer be in need of help, even if the sojourn had turned out pleasantly. "Right," she agreed, "We wouldn't want that." A small smile of gratitude creeped up on her face as she grabbed his hand to try and get up. With a quick tug, she was back on her feet. "You should get inside," she said, noticing his shiver, "But it was lovely to meet you, Charlie. Thank you again for your help." With that, she hoped they would meet again, but for now, she had a young owl who needed her attention.

For @Charlie Woodward. You can feel free to close this out. I'll mark it as finished when you do.

He nodded as she spoke, laughing along with her remarks about his apparent 'Cowboy' status. He could tell their conversation was coming to a close, so he tried to refrain from adding any more information onto the girl. "My adoptive parents are my family, no ifs or buts about it." He added proudly. His family was just that: family, it's not like he was exactly partial to people he'd never met. When she commented on Scotland, it sounded closer to national rivalry than anything else, and he nodded and smiled. "Your efforts have been dually noted." He smirked. It reminded him of Texas pride, almost, which made him smile. "I'd love to explore the highlands, I think that'd be more my speed, compared to cities."

When she mentioned that she collected things too, it made him feel a little better. He'd recalled being teased about being a collector before, both in America and in his first year. It wasn't in a place of bewilderment, that he collected things, but rather a sense of sweet nostolgia. (-and he liked sending things back to his parents when he was able to use a school owl.) Nonetheless, the similarity made him feel less bad about his habits, and he nodded weakly at her addition in that regard.
"I'm quite partial to Austen, actually. Pride and Prejudice not so much, but some of her other works are actually pretty good." He laughed awkwardly. She seemed to be a fan of what he'd traditionally assume boys would be into- but here he was, quite a fan of Emma. "I haven't read Monte Cristo yet, though. I'll have to see if the library miraculously has a copy."

As he helped her up, and she'd settled, their conversation seemed to finally come to the close he was expecting. "That would probably be smart." He jittered when she suggested he go inside. There was enough outdoors for one day, and he'd reached it. "It was a pleasure meeting you too, Miss Greer. I look forward to meeting Darby, in the future." He smiled as he began to make his way towards the doors of the school, waving her off from their chance encounter.

Perhaps he'd finally made a new friend, and he was thankful for that.
He just hoped Darby was thankful for that food he'd helped gather, too.

All done! Closing post for @Ruthie Greer