this feels right solo

[quote]

The redhead steeled her nerves. She had seen the young man who she had tricked here and there, but had never found a good opportunity to talk to him. The girl had decided that if she had the opportunity, that she would tell him the truth. Talk to him and admit that she had lied to him. Not by her words, per se, but with her actions, letting him trust that she was a simple cat rather than a human.

But now, as she had ascended to the Astronomy tower hoping to watch the sunset, she found the opportunity perfectly laid out for her. There he was, sitting on the floor of the tower, doing the very thing that she had planned to do. There were no friends around, no excuse to not approach him and do what she had promised herself she would, if given the chance.

He was sitting cross-legged, hands behind him to prop him up as he looked out at the sky. His dark hair seemed to glow in the evening sunlight, and she felt bad disturbing his peace. Maybe she should just go and leave him alone, letting him soak in the beauty of the Scottish sunset.

This decision evaded her, however, as the furry friend she had brought along made the decision for her. Chaska brushed past the redhead's legs and trotted towards the young man with her tail in the air. He startled slightly as she brushed up against his leg, but a smile at the little creature soon spread over his face. He took a glance around the tower, and found that he was alone in the tower no more.

"I'm sorry about her," Rose said quickly, approaching him. "She's very friendly- maybe a little too friendly."

"No, please," he said, "I don't mind. You... you can join me, if you want."

"Thanks," she murmured, walking up next to him and looking out at the clouds. They were a beautiful myriad of golden, red, and white, the sun just barely touching the horizon now. For a moment, while she gathered her courage, they stayed like that, all three looking at the sunset while Rose stood and the young man sat beside her, stroking Chaska absentmindedly. "I'm afraid I have something I have to tell you," she finally spoke up.

He looked up at her, confused. "What?"

"I, um... I've lied to you. Well- I've not been honest with you. The cat in the rehearsal room, you see..." Rose shifted into her feline form, which startled him quite a bit, and gave a small turn before meeting his eyes, green into brown.

She shifted back, holding his gaze, and watched as awe spread over his face, even as guilt took over her own expression. "That was me."

"Animagus," he said, attempting to grasp the situation.

"It's the same in German?"

"That's incredible," he said. "You must be a very talented witch."

"Oh- I didn't show you to show off," she said quickly, "I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry that I tricked you. It was dishonest, and... a breach of your privacy."

He paused, looking back towards the sky. "Thank you," he said finally.

"For what?"

"For your apology. It's very honorable of you."

Rose scoffed. She had come here to admit to him her guilt, and all he had done was compliment her. She had definitely expected a different, more negative reaction, and the unexpected comments that he said so casually made her cheeks burn hot. "Oh."

The clouds were moving slowly over the horizon, blown past by a breeze. Rose found that often, the sky was one of her favorite parts of nature. So much about terrain and environment could change, but the sky... the sky was always constant. The sky was always there.

"Are you enjoying your time at Hogwarts?" she said finally.

He nodded. "I like a little adventure time to time."

She smiled. "Me, too."

"Though I don't think I wish for other schools to come to Durmstrang."

"You go to Durmstrang?" With a glance his way, she caught his nod. "Why wouldn't you want to host?"

"Well, that's my school, I guess. I wouldn't want all those students invading my spaces. I always feel for Hogwarts students, having so many people at their school, but nobody I've talked to has seemed to share my feelings," he laughed quietly. "Though I haven't talked to many."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "I don't know." She waited for him to ponder his answer, and listened as he continued after a moment. "I'm not very good at English. And I'm not very good at talking to others."

Rose was taken aback. "First of all- your English is amazing."

"Aww-" he scoffed in disbelief. "My accent is terrible-"

"I'm serious," she said, firmer. "I can't speak any languages other than English. And I know a couple signs, but that's it. For us to even be having this conversation speaks to your skills."

He smiled. "Well, I don't believe you, but thank you."

"Plus," she continued, "Don't you speak another language at Durmstrang?"

He looked up, recalling. "Yeah, um... Russian."

"So you speak three languages," she emphasized.

"Okay, I get it," he laughed. "Maybe I'll teach you," he said, grinning, before it quickly dropped. "I mean- if we see each other again. If- if you want."

Rose smiled, adjusting her hair. "I'd like that."

"And... my social skills?"

"What?" Oh- the latter part of his aversion to strangers. He was pretty awkward, she had to admit. Between his habit of not meeting her eyes, the way he stumbled over his words sometimes, and his clumsy excuse the other day he had apologized for, as well as the aforementioned apology, she supposed his social skills weren't top tier. But the redhead herself had never been the most socially adept, either, so she couldn't really hold it against him. "Well, you know, you're not too bad at that part, either."

"You think?"

"Yeah," she said. "Though you know what could help?"

"What?"

"A pen pal," she said, still looking out at the sunset, but now with a twinkle in her eye.

"I've never had a... pen pal before. Also... what is that?"

She laughed. "It's just someone you write to. You know, a pal that you pen letters to."

"Mmm, I understand. Have you ever had one before?"

She pondered this for a moment. Of course, she corresponded with her family all the time, but there was nobody she would really designate pen pal status to. "No, but you can be my first if you write me."

"I would," he said. "I don't even know your name. I can't really address it Kätzchen and expect owls to find you."

"Rose," she said. "Rose Moon."

He smiled. "Matthias Dressler." It sounded like honey when he said it, so beautifully pronounced and natural.

"I'll wait for your owl, then."

Rose extended her legs, leaning back on her hands to look at the sky, sandwiched between the floor and ceiling of the Astronomy Tower. Silence stretched between them again, but it was comfortable. It wasn't that they were racking their brains to find something to say, wanting to break the silence. It just sat with them, heavy like a weighted blanket, interrupted only by Chaska's purrs and the occasional birdsong of wildlife around them. It was nice to talk to Matthias. Rose had always grown up pretty soft-spoken but had learned over the years to speak up and make herself heard. But with him, they were both able to talk low and quiet and still understand each other. It made their conversation softer somehow, more precious, though maybe it was just the rays of the setting sun.

"Will you teach me to be an animagus?" he asked, tearing his eyes from the sunset to look at her.

"It's kind of a long process," she amitted. "Maybe better to do under the watch of a professional."

"Well... you are a professional," he argued, a little sheepishly. "You are one."

She smirked a little. "Yeah, okay. I'll teach you one day."

"Do you promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

The silence returned.

"I love watching sunsets," Rose said, absentmindedly. If Rose hadn't been so captivated by the sunset, perhaps she would have noticed how his gaze lingered on her. "They're so beautiful."

"Yeah, Kätzchen," Matthias murmured, following her gaze, but not being able to suppress a glance back at her. "They are."

Kätzchen => German for little cat / kitty / kitten