Morning Spirit OPEN Closed

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Katrina hadn’t been to the Pitch since— well, since the Blossomball. For the last many weeks, she had purposely avoided thinking about the horrid night. Each time she had attempted to work through the tangle of emotions she was fighting with, she had ended up in the middle of a crippling panic attack. Even when she wasn’t purposely thinking about it, nightmares laced her sleep all revolving around the mosps and her two scars from their stingers.

She had begun jogging in the mornings, pushing away everything and focusing on only one thing at a time. She would puzzle over the one thing, identifying why it was troubling her and what she could do about it. She had been able to talk to Professor Karr a little while back and had begun journaling nightly. The 12 year old had come to grips that she needed new ways to cope with things.

This morning she was up with the sun. It was odd to think that so much had changed recently. From the identification of hags and the official declaration that the headmaster was gone to the early curfews and new handling of problems. There was so much to think about, but Katrina decided to focus on the Blossomball.

As the Gryffindor pushed out into the slowly heating air and began jogging down the path. She started with a faster pace than normal, today she was actually going into the pitch. Her muscles began to tense and Katrina had to pause and grip her side as a splint stopped her. She never got side cramps, but now it was certainly there. She felt a trickle of sweat drip down her face and pushed it aside as she went faster.

Katrina stopped at the entrance to the Pitch and battled the memories that surfaced. Her vision tilted and spun and she stumbled to the edge of the stands to keep from toppling over. She bit her lip and blinked open her eyes to see someone else running laps. Should she say something? Katrina didn’t particularly want to interrupt, but it would be rude and odd to just leave, besides she had a lot to think about.

Katrina ran up behind him, evening her breaths and focusing on the present, not the past horrors that were pushing to the front of her mind. “Hey! Out jogging too?” Katrina broke the ice trying to remember where she new the boy from. SWAG perhaps? “Katrina Walker, Gryffindor,“ She looked down to her Gryffindor sweatshirt with a grin. Hopefully talking and running would keep her mind off her memories.

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@Alan Vanes and @Katrina Walker
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Oh, to hell with it all. Mars reached a finger up to their brow, trying to smooth the wrinkles they could already feel forming there. It was annoyance, same as the one they pointedly wielded against their brothers, but a burning one, almost bordering on rage. It had been one day, one night, and they'd already made cursing out the entirety of the new rules into their mantra. Large undereye bags hung dark on their face and they groaned as they slumped over further, pushing their hands into their pockets as they trudged into the Training Pitch.

Weren't sleepless nights just swell? They resisted the urge to rub the drowsiness out of an eye, hunching down further and muttering under their breath. Granted, it wasn't as if they hadn't pulled an involuntary all-nighter before, but this exhaustion was deeper set, drilling into their very bones. From the day they'd realized the Owlery roof had been an option, they'd slept, actually slept, knowing there was an escape for when they truly needed it. But now, knowing that that option was gone—it was like sleeping in a cage, just waiting for the walls to start closing in on you. The Ravenclaw dorms grew hotter yet, to the point where it seemed to Mars that every heaving breath set fire to their trachea. It had been one night. To hell with dying by hags, they were going to die from sleep deprivation, suffocation, and the general feeling of being squished from the inside out.

Mars slipped a hand out of a pocket to pick at the leather of their belt. Its cool weight was smooth under their fingertip, almost grounding. The wind whipped through the Pitch, sending a chill down to their scalp and crawling down their neck. The Ravenclaw took a deep breath. God damn, this was stupid. In every essence of their being, they understood the point of the rules. In every essence of their being, they hated the rules with a burning passion. Weird how it works like that, huh?

Finally, they entered the Pitch. The sun framed the area from behind, sending down a soft light behind the low-hanging clouds. Mars raised a hand to their brow, shielding the light slightly. Their eyes still hadn't adjusted very much, seeing as they'd hightailed it out of the Ravenclaw dorm the second the clock struck seven. They didn't really even know why they'd come here. Maybe subconsciously, they'd thought they might have been able to find a broom and ride their worries away. Adrenaline always helped in erasing one's thoughts.

Maybe that was why two students had tenacity to be running at this hour. They were easy to spot, talking on the track in their respective work out clothes. Familiar, ah yes. Mars glanced at them and then at the ground, sighed, and started over. They barely caught the end of Katrina's words when they arrived, hands in their pockets and wind-strewn hair falling into their face.

"'Sup?" that was about as coherent they were at seven in the morning after a night of zero sleep.

still open to new entries

With his mind on the track he would jog his rounds but did not get all too far until he could hear steps coming up behind him. With a quick glance over his shoulders, ready to reach for his wand he would find that there was no harm behind himself and that he was good to continue on his pace as he watched the familiar girl catch up to him. It did not take her long to do and then she would fall into his pace which was moderate to fast. He would watch out to see if she could keep up or whether he should lower his pace a little.

"Yes," he would reply to her question swiftly, giving her a genuine smile that seemed strained from the exercise they were doing. "Alan Vanes, but just Alan is fine," he introduced himself as he pushed himself to run further. It was then when he caught sight of a girl he had seen before while they were painting corridors and classrooms and he nodded at her in greeting as she voiced out what he caught as a greeting from her side. "Care to join?" he wondered out loud as he knew they couldn't continue chatting like this, @Mars T'ien either had to join them in their run or he and @Katrina Walker had to join the Ravenclaw in standing still if they all wished to keep up a conversation.

@Alan Vanes @Mars T'ien

Katrina was able to match Alan's pace pretty well. It was a touch faster than she normally did, but it was probably good for her. If she pushed herself more than she would get better. Running just felt relaxing at the same time that it was intense.

Katrina turned to see Mars behind her. Mars seemed to be tired? Sleep deprived? Slightly insane? Katrina felt really bad for them. There were hundreds of nights that Katrina went without sleep. Although, Katrina never looked that tired. "Hey, Mars, sleepless night?"

Katrina wondered if they should stop and talk. She wasn't quite sure how to bring up the idea so she decided blunt was the best way to go. "Wanna stop and just talk?" Katrina quietly asked Alan, slowing her pace to meet up with Mars.

Katrina walked over to Mars, raking her fingers through her auburn hair. She picked at a bit of lint on her sweatshirt and stood gripping her right arm where the mosp sting had been. Now that she had stopped running, it was taking almost everything in her not to succumb to her memories. She wasn't really sure how many people knew about the rumor floating around. The rumor that she had almost died, it was false, she just had an abnormal recovery. It was embarrassing, but then again, her panic attacks were embarrassing.

"What brings you out here?" Katrina asked addressing Mars and Alan if he had stopped as well. Katrina looked at the ground before sitting cross-legged on the grass, running her fingers through a patch of the tangled green. She was a bit tired, but she hadn't been jogging long enough to really be sore yet. A part of her actually wanted to talk, something weird for an introverted girl.

@Alan Vanes and @Katrina Walker
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Mars snorted slightly at Katrina's question. Sleepless night was a bit of an understatement. They followed the girl and Alan if he was following with their eyes as they approached, forcing their legs to meet halfway.

Katrina looked around for a moment before plopping down on the grass, looking up to ask them what brought them here. Mars had to silently laugh again. God, why was it that everything was that much more funny when you were running on an empty tank? Wiping a tear out of their eye—or more like rubbing them to stay open—they gave the girl a grin that might have bordered on slightly insane.

"Oh, you know, the usual," they said, "My insomnia demon chasing me out of bed the second curfew broke with a pitchfork and a mouth full of curse words." Another deranged smile flashed across their face before they finally felt their face muscles crumple out of pure exhaustion. Sighing, they rubbed at their temples.

"No, I just couldn't sleep and if I'd stayed in that dorm room for a second longer than I had to, I probably would have submitted to melting into the floor," Mars corrected, this time giving Katrina a proper small smile. These new rules really were going to be the death of them.

But looking over Alan and Katrina, they frowned slightly. They hadn't meant to interrupt anything, even if the Lioness was seated on the grass. The Ravenclaw waved a hand before moving it to rub at the back of their neck and yawning.

"Please, don't feel like you need to stop on my account. It looked like a nice run. I can just find a spot on the bleachers and chill there till class starts." Feeling the pull, they made to move over to the bleachers, hands pushed back into their pockets. Unless Katrina or Alan truly wanted them to stay, they didn't want to bother them.

Please stop my sleep-deprived child from walking away! If you don't, they might fall asleep on the bleachers and miss the whole school day.

When Katrina suggested to stop the morning jog he would slow his pace in an instant, giving a light nod as he joined Mars and Katrina where they stood. He could simply run his rounds later or skip a day as this would not hurt after all. His eyes widened slightly when Mars began to talk and an involuntary grin crept onto his face. He did not know many people who just talked openly like that so it was quite refreshing. He also would notice the little pin they were wearing and would make a mental note to never forget about it.

When Mars suggested that they could just go to the stands so that the two of them could continue on their morning jog, Alan would quickly shake his head. "Don't worry it won't hurt me t-to skip a day of exercise," he would calm them with a chuckle. "But th-the stands aren't a bad idea, I guess it would be easier to talk up th-there, don't you think?" he would ask the both of them with a light tilt of his head. His gaze shifting towards the Quidditch stands that towered in the subtle light of the dawn. If they were already here they might as well spend some time together, classes and breakfast wouldn't start for at least another hour after all.

Interacting with @Alan Vanes and @Katrina Walker
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Mars halted at Alan's words, turning around slowly. Really, though they wouldn't admit it, they were glad to have someone to talk to. Normally, they'd just listen to music or something and drown the world out, but Hogwarts hated muggle technology, so that was a no go. It pissed them off slightly, but they supposed it was just the price one had to pay to be able to shoot fire from a wooden stick.

But without that distraction, it was hard to chase off both the idea of sleep and the boiling resentment they had for these new rules. So it was with an exhausted smile that Mars nodded back and started off to the bleachers.

"Soooo," they drawled, picking up the end before it turned into a slurred. Their sentence was broken by a yawn and Mars stretched up, shooting another sleepy smile behind them. "Do you two always get up this early?"

Mars mused silently, climbing a few flights of stairs before coming to a stop by one. They gestured to it lazily, asking if it was good with their motions. "It's quite impressive," they admitted, looking to the both of them. "I don't think I could do it, even if I wasn't half asleep."

In all honestly, the Ravenclaw should really be trying to stay in shape. There were—things that fitness was necessarily for. But right now, in the pale light of dawn and with a foggy mind, Mars couldn't quite bring themselves to care. There was something they were missing though, something that should have been apparent.

They blinked slowly at Alan, trying to put a finger on it. The boy seemed...lighter? Maybe? They weren't quite sure what they were thinking. Mars felt a cold rush of wind seep through their hair and shivered. What they wouldn't give for something warm, maybe a little fuzz—OH! That was it.

"Where's your cat, Alan?" they asked, "Uhhh, Tiger, was it? I've never seen you without him."

@Alan Vanes @Mars T'ien

Katrina spaced out for a moment, resisting the memories that were pushing to overwhelm her. It was a miracle that she hadn't collapsed into a panic attack. She had had a handful of them recently and had only just come to grips with it all. She figured it was just everything layering on top of everything else that spurred the panic attacks, but she really didn't know yet. Instead, she refocused on Mars and Alan.

Mars admitted that they woke up all too early in a way that made a smile pull at Katrina's lips. Alan suggested that they all go up there and talk, Katrina nodded and pulled herself to her feet. Ignoring the phantom noises rushing in her ear. It is not the Blossomball Katrina, you can do this. Katrina followed Mars up a couple flights and nodded when they gestured to the row.

Katrina walked down a bit and stepped down one row and sat down backwards so they could talk easier. That way they could make a little triangle instead of a row.

"I don't really choose to get up this early, my body just does it. I also go to sleep a bit early I guess. I decided a little while ago that I wanted to get in shape again so the extra hour that I wasted away in my common room is now spent out here," Katrina shrugged answering Mars question, purposely avoiding mentioning nightmares, for that was the real reason she woke up early.

Mars looked quizzically at Alan before making a comment about Tiger. Katrina nodded, realizing that his familiar was no where to be seen. Katrina also couldn't think of a time that he had been around and Tiger hadn't. Boomerang was with Katrina a lot as well, but he was more explorative and often bounded away.

Katrina was glad that she was able to focus on something besides the Blossomball. Maybe that meant she was getting over it. One could hope.

Upon being asked whether he was always up this early the third year shrugged his head as he tilted his head ever so slightly to let the question go through his head for a moment. "I th-think I am just used t-to it," he explained with the hint of a smile into Mars' direction before the next question made his eyes widen slightly as he slowly looked around to see whether Tiger was anywhere to be seen only to remember that he had left him with Scott. "He doesn't appreciate early mornings as much as I do so he is still in th-the dorm with a friend of mine," he further answered their question but now his smile was growing as he showed a bit of teeth with a cheeky smile.

Alan would possibly have to wake up Scott later since the prefect would often oversleep and then complain if he did not have enough time to stuff his belly during breakfast. He could be quite dramatic and for Alan it was really amusing and he was glad to be friends with his room mate. The third year smiled at the two other students as he reached up to stretch his back before his arms fell back to his side. "So... what's the plan?" He asked curiously, letting the two of them decide on what they could do next, if anything at all.