love planted a rose, the world turned sweet pv

~

It seemed that life wasn't very keen on being kind to Thora. Recent months had brought more confusion and mystery to Thora's life than ever before. And that wasn't even including the drama still fresh in her memory and the stress of school. Long, messed-up, convoluted story short, things weren't going her way. Not in the slightest. Merely a year and a half after arriving at Hogwarts, the castle she now considered her home, the little Irish girl who'd grown up without a care in the world had quickly realized. Life wasn't always pretty.

All of that said, though, pain wasn't exactly a bad thing. One could say it was Thora's driving force and what kept her growing mentally. It definitely made her stronger, though, and that much she was grateful for. She wouldn't cry, wouldn't show weakness, and most of all, she would not break. She simply couldn't.

Things were definitely looking up, though, so with a little more color in her cheeks and green eyes sparkling once more, Thora met each day a little more happily. There would be ruts in the road, but even those would be easier with people she knew. Friends who cared.

Still, though, Thora found herself alone most of the time. Solitude had never struck her as strange, as it followed her like a storm cloud that never dissipated. If you thought about it, it really wasn't all that abnormal. One couldn't be surrounded by people forever, could they? But the more she thought about it, even the hermit had realized that some things were simply better accompanied. Things like errands.

The newest errand had several upsides and downsides to it. Fortunately, it was fairly simple and the students were given the leeway to complete their task wherever they wanted. It wasn't too difficult, and it was always great to catch a breath of fresh air on the way to the Greenhouses. The bad thing? It was related to Valentine's Day. Sure, it was a stupid reason and decorating the castle with flowers really didn't give out the sickening romance vibe, but still.

In Thora's opinion, romantic love was just a pain for people her age. While many probably would've opposed her view, the girl pretty much despised overly exaggerated relationships and avoided them at all costs. It was gross, and dumb, and just… Not yet appropriate. Not on that level. Relationships of any sort were still a difficulty for the awkward girl, though, so one could describe her view of life as messed up.

It was strange how the snek who typically avoided social interaction of any sort and even the odd conversation in the middle of the hall practically went looking for it. Colorfully mismatched flowers clutched in each hand, Thora bit her lip as a thorn grazed her skin, leaving beads of blood. That was… great. Trying to earn a few extra house points and cutting herself before she'd even begun.

The Great Hall was near empty, excepting the students milling around, which was a spectacle not often seen. At mealtimes--and even after classes--the tall-ceilinged room was never empty, from the troublemakers to the hopeless student hunting for love. Although simply the thought of Valentine's Day once again brought a slight grimace to the girl's face, it seemed she wasn't alone.

At least, she wasn't alone in spreading the freshly-cut buds around the room, trying to look artistic. A short-haired girl who appeared to be quite a bit shorter than Thora sorry : ) was doing something similar. Very similar, in fact. So while every fiber of Thora's being cried to remain alone and to just get this flower-spreading business done and over with, some part of her resisted. The tiny part of her that longed for community.

"Hey," Thora said with a smile as she smeared the blood seeping out of her scratch with the other hand, "You here for the errand too?" Stepping back, the girl barely saved herself from tumbling onto the benches. That was an amazing way to make an introduction. Just perfect. But in the grand scheme of things, she was awkward enough. Another stupid mistake or two wouldn't hurt too much. After all, she'd nothing to lose. Except, of course, the opportunity to meet this girl.

WC: 712/600

Flowers were not the first thing to come to mind when Marla thought of pretty. In fact, she didn't even like the word pretty whatsoever. It was an obligation, something to say to someone politely. With no depth, whatsoever. It just sounded... Synthetic. Though, the girl was a bit proud of her work with the flowers, even if they weren't her favorite things in the world. They smelled too sweet for her liking, and with a few unfortunate events that happened in the greenhouse, Marla was reluctant to ever get near any type of greenery again, magical or not.

Hopefully the paintings weren't annoyed with the new decorations placed at the bottom of their frames. It was pretty cool, kind of looked like a pop-up picture. But Marla definitely forgot now and then that the several pieces of art on the wall were alive. It was so surreal, seeing them all move and talk like normal people. Actually, most everything in the magical world was considered surreal to Marla. Despite growing up in a magical family, nobody had told her that she was magical until she snapped and ran away to her uncle's house a little bit after her 10th birthday.

However, she wasn't upset with not knowing about magic until now. In a way, she was fond of how it was all so new to her. Every little thing about this wonderful world had shocked her, and while it still did, more than anything, it felt like home. For so long, Marla had been shunned, trapped in such a cold environment that every breath felt like she was in the midst of a horrible storm. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the thought of being at Hogwarts for the long haul. It was somewhat depressing, knowing her grandparents were now in Azkaban, but it made her feel a little sick knowing that she was more relieved than anything, that her blood was incarcerated. Just the thought that she'd never have to go back to that living hell though, that truly meant everything to her.

The sound of another person creeping up behind Marla made her jump out of her skin, a yelp escaping her lips as she turned around to face the mystery person. It was a girl with beautiful brown hair, who was... Very much taller than her. She blushed, forgetting how she didn't exactly win the genetic lottery when it came to height. Glancing at the girl's hair once more, then at her own, it had suddenly hit her that her hair was no longer a vibrant red. It was a washed-out copper color, as if all the fire within Marla Quinlan had extinguished. It had been like that for a while– ever since that day over winter break, though she did still forget from time to time that she no longer possessed a fiery mane on her head.

"Oh, hi–," Before Marla could finish her sentence, the girl almost toppled over onto the table, but caught herself in the knick of time. She couldn't help but let out a laugh. Of course, she felt bad, but... It was just a bit funny to witness. "Okay, no– See, now ah look like a psychopath laughin' at ya, but I just– are you okay?" She eventually just gave up on an explanation, seeing as it would probably just make everything worse. The seemingly clumsy girl had asked Marla if she was here for the errand, and Marla responded with a quick yes. "Honestly, it's a bit harder than ah thought it would be, there's already flowers everywhere over here, seems we weren't the only ones to think of this place." She shrugged with a thwarted smile.

"I'm Marla, you could join me if you'd like," She offered. Normally, she wouldn't really appreciate the company, more recently preferring to be alone, though the girl seemed pretty nice. And it wasn't like she had anything better to do. After this errand, Marla would probably just go back up to her common room and read until she was too exhausted to move, as per usual. So, to hell with it, why not?

WC: 379 + 693 = 1072/600

~

"Yes, I'm fine," a pink-cheeked Thora answered with a smile. A psychopath laughing at her. Honestly, the slightly unsettling description the girl gave herself wasn't false, per say, since people didn't normally laugh when people got hurt, but Thora certainly didn't take it literally. Despite the fact that she would've typically disliked people who witnessed stupid fails like this one, she rather liked the small girl with a crooked smile standing before her. Marla. Her name was Marla.

And while Marla had found her near-fall funny--and it really was--she didn't seem mean or anything, nor threatening. So even the naturally wary Thora found herself trusting the other girl for the time being. "Oh, and I'm Thora." The smaller girl was pretty much correct on all of her points, even the observation that the Great Hall had already been covered by some people looking for a few extra house points and pocket change. Although Thora herself hadn't previously noticed the wealth of flowers--some already wilted--stuck in every dreary corner, it was quite evident that this was a popular spot.

Picking out three thornless flowers, the Slytherin dropped the rest on the table. They'd been given liberty to decorate as they pleased, so she supposed creativity was allowed. She glanced around the room as deft fingers quickly braided the stems together. The end product was honestly quite messy and thicker than she'd been hoping, but at least she was getting something done. The reward was even more worth it when you put the time into doing something, wasn't it?

Well, that was the truth most of the time. Even Thora, someone who'd grown up sticking fast to the rules and general truths, had learned that bending them just the slightest could change a lot. It was awfully nice when you receiving something in exchange for a few minutes spent doing practically nothing, but sometimes, you did have to work for the reward. Unlike other times, Thora didn't have much of a problem with the pain of strategically placing flowers so it was aesthetically pleasing yet convenient, simply for the reasons that even her personal boundaries were being stretched.

Befriending people wasn't as hard as it had been to literally talk to strangers just a year before, and Thora was a bit more confident and even comfortable performing tasks she previously would've balked at. Simply put, the little snek was getting somewhere in life. She could only hope that friends would be a part of her journey. Thora was a bit wary of Marla, having only known her for about 30 seconds, but even she seemed pretty nice. So even the briefest of successes could come with just the broadening of one's horizons. Interesting.

Speaking of which, something about the girl she was still standing across from seemed familiar. It wasn't the hair--it was a distinctive flat brown-red, which Thora probably would've recognized--nor was it her slightly dwarfed height, but there was just this nagging feeling. "Do you play Quidditch? Or are you a prefect? I-I just feel like I've seen you somewhere but I can't place it…" she trailed off as she busied herself, placing the braided flowers near the center of a long table.

While Thora kept her eyes widened slightly and held her head cocked, her mind was racing. Now she would probably look like a stalker, or a creep of some sort, while she'd been aiming for a friendship of sorts. As if almost tumbling over benches wasn't awkward enough, she had to ruin a conversation too? Hopefully she could fix this. Picking up the flowers she'd dropped earlier, Thora eyed the candleholders high on the walls. They would look quite nice with flowers entwined around the metal, but it was several metres out of reach.

"If only we could actually reach those." A wistful yet hopeful smile spread across her face as her green gaze settled back on her companion. This could be quite a bit of fun in her otherwise dreary, boring day. Hopefully, she could actually keep it that way.

WC: 674 + 712 = 1386/600

Once the tall Slytherin assured Marla she was okay, it made her felt that much better about laughing at her. Well– it still wasn't exactly nice, but at least she wasn't hurt. It was a bit hard not to find that kind of stuff humorous at this point. The Gryffindor was more than a little klutzy and things like falling and bruises had become her normal. To find the concern for those kinds of things, you'd have to dig deep in Marla's brain. For she believed that there were much greater things out there to worry about, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel bad, of course.

It seemed that the Slytherin wasn't mad, for she had introduced herself as Thora. The name was unusual but sounded familiar. Marla assumed they were in the same grade, so it wasn't surprising if she'd heard of her or seen the girl in the hallways. Maybe they even had a few classes together? "Well it's nice to meet you, Thora," she exclaimed, looking up at the girl with a small grin. It was a bit unsettling, acknowledging how small Marla was. She was practically a living ant, and while she wanted to believe that she was all-feared, or at least could beat somebody up.. Well, she was small and scrawny. It was a bit of a curse, having such a little stature that contrasted her huge mouth. It was surprising that her temper didn't get her into more trouble.

Thora began to pick a few flowers from the bunch she was holding, intertwining them together. That was quite smart on her part, Marla never really would have thought of that. With a few flowers of her own (obviously), she took three of hers and began to copy the Slytherin. "Ah doon't exactly know where we'll put these because there're already so many damn flowers in here, but it looks good so far," she stated in an attempt to start a conversation. Thora seemed nice and balanced, something Marla definitely needed in her life. And since they got off on a good start, would it be too bold to say that the Gryffindor was trying to make a new friend?

Not that she didn't like her other ones, of course. But the lot of them were fast-paced and craved mischief. Marla had no room to talk, she was practically a giant magnet attracting all the trouble in the world, however, not having the pressure to find a rush of adrenaline some way or another... It would be relaxing. Something she hadn't felt in a long time. There had always been this low hum of uncertainty in her stomach, so faint that she could hardly point it out, yet so unsettling that it made her want to rip her hair out. However, being with Thora and simply spending time on the flowers, it was as if she had completely forgotten about it. While just for a few minutes, it was a start. Baby steps.

"Do you play Quidditch? Or are you a prefect? I-I just feel like I've seen you somewhere but I can't place it…" The girl asked, immediately causing Marla's face to go hot. It had been a while since she had resigned from all of those positions... And immediately after doing so, she missed it terribly. So being reminded of her previous and brief glory as a prefect, co-captain, and writer on the newspaper was slightly disheartening, though not unexpected. While she most definitely loved didn't like bragging about it, people knew who the girl was, being so involved with the school's extracurriculars.

"Uhm, it's funny yah say that. Ah was actually ah prefect an' co-captain of tha Gryffindor quidditch team," a small chuckle escaped her lips, "Ah quit that almost as soon as I started, though. It was a lot to handle." Almost embarrassed by admitting that, she had gotten quiet towards the end of her sentence. "Oh! Yeh're on tha quidditch team for your house, yeah? I've definitely seen y' before on the field, ah love going to the games so ah try to know each person on the teams. Promise I'm not stalking yah, or somethin' creepy."

Turning to the Slytherin, she was looking up and seemed very puzzled about something. Soon after, mumbling something about wanting to be able to reach the candleholders. "Ah don't think ah'd be able to reach those," She began, acting as if it wasn't obvious that she was one of the smallest humans on the planet, "Though ah'm sure there's ah spell we can use, if not, this place is good for nothing, right?" As she finished talking, the idea almost immediately popped into her brain, causing a wild grin to spread on her face. "Wait! I think I know what we could do."

Marla took her braided together flowers in one hand and her wand in the other. She didn't practice spells much, using most of her time either reading or exploring the school. However, with this being one of the first spells she had learned, she had high hopes for the outcome. "Wingardium leviosa," She waved her wand and before the girl knew it, her flower crown was flying in the air, and eventually made its way onto a candleholder. Smiling at her company, she pointed to the now decorated object. "See? Ahm sure yah can do it, y' seem smart," she added. Maybe this errand would be a success after all.

WC: 379 + 693 + 912 = 1984/600
* i am SO SORRY for how long it took to get this reply out

~

"Nice to meet you too, Marla," Thora found her mouth twisting itself into a smile--an expression that was nowhere as common on the girl's face as it used to be--as she found herself conversing easily. Based on her comfort zone, reaching out to Marla on a whim wasn't exactly normal for her, and she'd kind of made a mess of her introduction, having tripped and all, but this was going surprisingly well. Whenever conversations started going downhill for Thora, it was because of her. Her stuttering, her awkwardness, her saying all of the wrong things. It would be accurate to say that the Slytherin was not by any means a good socializer.

But for those few who looked past her stumbling, who pushed on the conversations smoothly without even noting her awkwardness, Thora was grateful. It was these people whom she immediately took a liking to and ended up befriending. Perhaps she was being way too hopeful or jumping to conclusions--in which case she'd probably be getting much too little sleep, for rare was the occasion that the organized girl was this scatterbrained--but Marla seemed like one of these people. Of course, there was no way of telling whether you could trust someone, for such a question seemed only reconcilable through trial. In terms of black-and white trust, there were only two types of people. There were those few who kept your secrets from the beginning, and those who let you down.

And although Merlin only knew why the brunette had such a desire to open up to the smaller girl standing before her, Thora decided to simply settle for finishing up the job with a smile. And talking. Yes, opening her mouth and making coherent sound would probably be a good idea. You had to put up a good first impression first. At least, that's how it had been ingrained in the poor girl's mind from childhood.

Thora paused her stem-entwining to keep her green gaze on the girl as she explained her previous involvement with the boarding school's leadership. Though it probably wasn't easy for her to share how she'd dropped the positions--one of them immediately--as Marla's voice trailed off, nearly leaving the reason for her stepping down unknown, the snek was still duly impressed. Although one could argue that the responsible, selfless girl who made sure every detail was perfectly ironed would fare well in a staff position, she knew she was too scared and insecure to step up, given the chance. Besides, there were always people who would fit the job even better, weren't there?

"Oh, that's still impressive, though," she finally found words forming themselves in her mouth, "And I do play Quidditch, yes." It came as quite a surprise to Thora that Marla even knew she was on the team. Sure, the Slytherin made it a point to attend every practice, but she'd yet to do anything but sit on the sideline during their games. As a second string, backing up Koko, she'd yet to play. And while she desperately wanted to feel the surge of adrenaline and the thrill of actually playing in a real house game, Thora was equally relieved that she hadn't yet a need to go in. Because her needing to play would mean Koko's elimination. And there was no way Thora would wish that on her first string counterpart.

"I play second string keeper right now. But even if you're not captain, you still play, no?" she asked. So they already had some shared sentiments, it seemed, as Thora also made it a point to attend all of the games, whether to boost morale, cheer on friends, observe strategy for their own games, or simply for fun. It was hard to believe that just a year ago, she'd barely known a thing about Quidditch, when she loved it so much now. Anyways, the snek seemed to remember having spotted the small redhead in one of the first games from the stands. Maybe she was wrong, as you couldn't exactly trust eyesight when you were viewing something from so far away, but she could only hope.

Thora felt her face growing warm as the Gryffindor said something about not being able to reach 'those'. Although she thought she was smarter than to blurt random height comments out--as she herself was normally the shortest of a group--she'd basically done just that. Obviously, Marla was shorter than her, and if Thora couldn't reach them, it wasn't like either of them could fly without a broom, so they'd just have to use whatever they had. But despite the pink tinge that was spreading across the girl's face, she couldn't help but smile along with her companion as she maneuvered her flower wreath neatly into the air and onto a candleholder with a swish and a flick. Of course.

"Well, there might be a lot of flowers just lying around, but at least we're being creative, right?" Thora reached a hand into her pocket, searching for her aspen wand. Many people'd simply discarded their flowers on the tables and called it a job, or even littered the petals on the floor, so at least they were making an effort to be different as short people reaching high limits. "Do you think we could levitate these anywhere else?" the girl finally said as she began braiding another three flowers together.

And so, head down, mouth closed, she worked. It was weird. Thora simply didn’t know how to conduct herself in a conversation. Was she talking too much? She didn't think so, but everything just seemed more difficult, more confusing when it came to conversing. She continued to smile, though, for she didn't want Marla thinking anything was her fault. No, the Gryffindor had already proved to be quite companionable, and if anything was making this awkward, it was Thora.

WC: 674 + 712+ 974 = 2360
*Don't worry about it~