Up to Meet the Wild Things PV Ruthie G. Closed

For @Charlie Woodward

The place that housed so much dirt and grim might not naturally be seen as a respite, but for certain curly blonde, it absolutely was. Her mother had shown great wisdom and foresight in providing the first year with an owl to help her in moments of difficultly, which seemed extraordinarily pertinent this year. But the owl had also provided an unintended opportunity: to make friends. Many people enjoyed the chance to greet an animal friend, much more than the chance to talk to a girl who sees giants and thestrals and seems generally not okay.

At least a certain cowboy she had recently met seemed open to knowing her--knowing all of her, including her feathered friend. That was kindness enough. She'd told him on several occasions he'd be able to meet her owl and that was why she'd arranged this meeting--a convenient time between classes--for him to do exactly that. After all, he was pretty much a friend at this point.

And that was why she came up a little early to wait for him. It was easy to find Darby. By now, she had gotten used to her coloring. The brown feathers that ran up the middle of her face between her eyes was particularly thick, unlike her peers. Not to mention they way she seemed to pick her head up when she entered the owlery and Ru was there. It was almost like she recognized her as she clung onto the railing near the window. Ruthie reached into her Hogwarts cloak to pull out a plum leather bag that Charlie would no doubt recognize once he arrived. Reaching inside, she offered the bird a treat while stroking its head. "You're going to have a visitor, my friend," she told the owl, "A nice person, I promise."

And that was when she heard the footsteps back by the door. She spun around, with one hand still cradling the bird's back, to see the young boy she'd invited here. "Charlie, you made it!" she beamed, glad he had found his way. The owlery was a bit out of the way if you weren't making regular trips. With her free hand she beckoned him to come over towards them. "Darby, this is Charlie," she said leaning her head slightly so as to ensure the bird felt comfortable. Darby was usually friendly, but she wanted to ensure it in this case as she'd made such a big deal out of this meeting. Biting her lip, she got an idea. Pointing to the leather bag, which she'd left nearby on the railing, she suggested, "Why don't you feed her a treat? That'd be a good way to say 'hello.'" She smiled to encourage him.

"Good morning, Miss Greer." He greeted the girl with a warm and wide smile, making his way slowly across the tower. Darby was in her hand, cradled with wide eyes. The owl was smaller than he'd expect- brown and fluffed. Charlie could only describe the small bird as cute, his face pressed into a small smile as he approached.

She pointed to the bag and he let his eyes follow her direction, Ah- it was the bag, their fateful meeting was over the purple, slightly rough pouch which he knew contained a good amount of grain. He smiled, picking it up rather gingerly to pour some into his palm. "You didn't drop it this time, did you?" He asked coyly, looking inside the bag.

With grain in his hand, he slowly approached the small bird and his friend, in his best attempt to not frighten the small creature. He stuck his hand out slowly, offering the treat with a gentle "Hello there, Mister Darby." His eyes were rather trained on the bird, making sure it wasn't stressing as he got closer, reading the body language of the bird.
Being from the deep woods, he was used to reading animal behaviour. (Maybe not with magical creatures, but he'd met his fair share of barn owls and other birds in his time) He let his eyes flick up to read Ruthie's expression once before going back to Darby, wanting to make a good impression with the small bird.

Always formal he was, and yet, being called 'Miss' always brought a smile to her face. It was something so unfamiliar for a working girl--a level of respect she would never have expected from anyone. It was one of the things that made Charlie different and she liked him all the more for it. He seemed to walk slowly, carefully. "You don't have to be afraid," she beckoned, as she held out her hand towards him.

And sure enough, he came. She had to chuckle when he mentioned their previous encounter, which despite its awkwardness, had been beneficial in seeding their friendship. "Both the bag and I made it all in one piece," she replied playfully while he reached in to grab a grain or two.

Then he took his approach, extending his palm over the bird. Ruthie looked on eagerly as to ensure that this introduction went on smoothly. His mannerisms and poster seemed perfectly sound in his greeting, except for one little thing. The bird seemed to pick up on it as her head wiggled slightly. It wasn't aggressive or anything, just a little acknowledgement before she bent herself slightly to smell the grain. "Come on, he couldn't tell," she whispered to the bird before addressing her friend, "Darby is a girl owl." She smiled lightly as she stroked the owl's feathers.

She looked up to see Charlie looking towards her as if to check his progress. "You're doing just fine," she encouraged him once again with a small wave. Recalling Darby's meet-and-greet with Thora and Saskia just after the break, she smiled at the thought that her owl could make more human friends. She didn't know if Darby had made friends with the other owls--perhaps Gris' owl--but humans would do for now.

"What kind of owls do you have in Texas?" she asked him with a hand on the railing. It was partly an attempt to give him something to think about rather than over-think his entry, but she was also genuinely curious. Ever since she heard his charming accent and heard him speak of the cowboy life, the door had been opened and she had to know more. The American Southwest, rugged and open, seemed like such a vastly different space. Foreign he was and yet, she couldn't deny a certain kinship developing between the two. With Charlie, the space between countries, houses, and even species didn't seem to exist at all.

For @Charlie Woodward | Apologies for length. I have quarantine brain.

"My deepest apologies, Madame." He corrected himself smartly, smiling up at Ruthie. He offered the owl the grains, a little less cautioned as the Ravenclaw encouraged him forward. "I'm glad you made it up here all well, this time." He chuckled. "I worried I'd end up finding you collecting grains again, it was rather slippery this morning." He meant it in satire, nothing against his friend, and gave her another smile.

He recalled the wildlife in Texas- there was plenty he could picture off the top of his head. "Plenty of barn owls, for sure." He chuckled. "I lived in the forest, horned owls, screech owls- every kind, honestly." He'd recalled all the adventures he had in his "youth" (seeing as he was still young, of course) and smiled again warmly. "I'd run around and find all sorts of animals about, none of them magic, though."

As he fed the owl, he relaxed some more. He'd always been cautious with animals, he'd known how difficult some could be, but the encouragement from her made him ease up a little more. "What about you? What kind of animals do they have in your region of Scotland?" He looked over to her with a soft smile.

It was a simple mistake and Ru tried to make sure Charlie didn't feel pressured to behave one way or another in front of her bird. Still, from the way she moved her head and blinked her little yellow eyes, it seemed like Darby had both heard and understood (as best an owl can) the Gryffindor's apology. "I think you're safe now," Ruthie admitted as she observed the encounter.

"Nothing I can't handle," Ruthie said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. It had been wet earlier, but that was just the average day in Scotland to which she was accustomed. It was, in fact, the weather that had bore her. The slip which had cause their inaugural meeting was more the fault of an ill positioned rock, but the snow hadn't exactly helped. "I might be alone in this," she commented, "but I think Hogwarts is prettiest in the rain." She recalled the way the splattered rain made beautiful patterns across her glass window in Ravenclaw tower.

While she snuck a glance out the window, she listened to him talk about that delightful foreign place: Texas. "You lived in the forrest?" she asked rhetorically. No wonder he was doing such a good job with her feathered friend. It was great to find someone else who had such a strong outdoorsy background. "That's me as well. I'm always on the docks at home. And when we sail out to Skye, I'm always up in the hills, visiting the faerie rings. I know more about magical plants than magical creatures because of my mum's research. But I could have sworn I saw a bowtruckle once." It had been a fleeting second, but it had looked exactly like what she had seen in her mum's notes.

As he feed the bird, she continued to stroke her lightly. A smile crept involuntarily to her face as she thought of home and its animals. "Well, by the harbor the seals are probably the most common and the otters a little farther out. You can see dolphin from the boats sometimes. I love the way they jump in the sea. Skye has stag and deer, but you're much more likely to catch that wildlife in the winter. The muggle tourists in the summer tend to clog up the place." She still went in the summer of course, but she wondered if the muggles didn't realize how much they were disrupting natural habitat.

She was about to reach into the bag, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed something wriggling on the floor: an earthworm. "Quick, grab the worm!" she said, pointing, "That's one of her favorites." She knew any other owls might be eyeing it, but hoped Charlie would be quicker. Another girl might also have hoped the idea of grabbing a worm didn't gross the boy out, but Ruthie was not that girl.

For @Charlie Woodward