Pampering Pristine Pets Errand Closed

@Lea Hirsch

Lizzie smiled at the girl before turning back towards her pygmy puff. "That's a nice name." She stated before the girl went off to get a treat. It seemed that Chief had calmed down a bit at the mention of a treat which was defiantly a plus side. She did not want to have to put up with a grumpy Pygmy Puff in her dorm later that day.

"Thanks." Lizzie replied taking the treat from Lea. The girl turned towards the ball of purple fluff and held out her hand which showed the small treat. Chief widened his eyes and jumped on hr hand while going at the food like to was something he had just killed. It was no surprise as one time in the summer Chief had dragged a chocolate bar from the kitchen into her bedroom very proud as if he had just hunted it.

Chucking a bit, she turned towards Lea and shook her head, "I don't think I need any more help. Thank you." Lizzie placed the brush on the table and picked up Chief to put on her shoulder. "It was very nice to meet you."

Lizzie extended her hand again hoping the girl in front of her would return the kind gesture before turning away and leaving the room. "I hope to see you later."

593 + 546 + 222 = 1361 COMPLETE

Lizzie has left the thread.

@Lydia Cooper

Word Count
633 + 625 = 1258/1000
Errand Complete

-

By SK

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Interacting with | @Alan Vanes

Open to Interactions!

"Hi!" Dee repeated, her eyes sparkling with amusement while she took Alan's offered hand and let him pull her to her feet. "Yes, I gathered that," she replied, grinning as she motioned towards where Alan's cat was still running wild around the room. "Bit of a troublemaker, huh? I'm pretty sure he tried to sneak into the Great Hall with me this morning. He was very insistent. I was almost tempted to take him with me." She gave the playing cat another wistful look. "I miss my cat," she explained, "although Theo is super chill. Too lazy to chase mice, even. But he's also getting old, so he had to stay home when I came here."

Another bright, amused smile spread on her face as she watched Alan poking around in the pockets of his cloak, foraging for the promised snack to entice his cat with. Dee herself was wearing a pair of black jeans and a loose-fitting silvery knit jumper, not too much of a fan of cloaks and robes when the school uniform didn't demand to be worn. It was a result of her upbringing, she supposed - while both of her parents were wizards, she'd grown up in a small-town muggle neighbourhood, and there hadn't been much of a place for wizard robes there. She could only remember seeing her parents in robes once or twice in her life, although both of them owned a few pairs, stowed away in the very back of their closets. Dee herself had gotten her first pair of robes when they'd gone shopping for her first year at Hogwarts.

"Nice cloak," she remarked anyway, the compliment genuine. It did look good, although she'd probably get it caught around her legs a lot. "Must be convenient to have so many pockets, at least if you're not in a hurry to find something."

When Alan finally found the small bag of treats he'd been looking for, Dee was busy tying her hair back into a simple high ponytail. Catching the cat might be a challenge, and her hair would be better tied out of the way for that. "Alright, let's do this," she agreed, grinning, bright and excited, and picked half of the fishy treats out of Alan's open palm. "He seems very curious so he probably shouldn't be too hard to catch, right?"

One of the treats in her open palm held out in front of her, Dee approached the mischief-maker with careful steps, crouching down when she was still at a little distance. "He's pretty," she told Alan with a quick smile, turning towards whichever route the fourth year had chosen. "What's his name? Have you had him for long? My family's had Theophilius as long as I can remember, he's almost as old as I am." Smiling to herself, she held the treat out for Alan's cat. Hopefully he'd either decide to come to her, drawn by the delicious fish smell, or she'd provide enough of a distraction for Alan to grab him. "I turned him blue when I was seven - on accident - and my parents decided to leave him that way."

Interacting With: @Carolyn Hunt, @Robert Toukmond, @Miranda Everest
Mentions: @Nell Zoldak

After Nick offered Chance up to Robert, he continued to pet Mordred. He seemed to be enjoying the scratches, which was nice because he never really had much luck with pets. So far, it's only been him and Chance who've liked Nick. As he was scratching, two girls approached the three of them. He didn't recognize the dark-haired girl, but he recognized the other one as Miranda, the nice girl he met and spent some time with by the lake with Alina. He stood up to greet her, "Hey Miranda! It's good tae see ye again."

Nick was surprised to hear from Carolyn twice over that Modred didn't normally like people. Not the unfriendliness itself, he can totally understand why animals are put off by wizards. No, he was surprised that out of all the people in the room, Modred had been chill with him. Nick wasn't exactly the most inviting person and while he didn't have a terrible presence or anything, he definitely didn't have a calming one, especially compared to Robert and Miranda. Nick gave a respectful nod to the cat he was just scratching.

It was nice to see how many people wanted Robert to stay. He was clearly a nice lad, and it was a shame he thought he was being a bother. Nick could understand that, he felt like a nuisance whenever he went to get-togethers with his mum. Now that he knew that people wanted him here, he seemed to be entranced by Chance again, who was very happy after receiving attention from more than just Nick for once.

Robert finally piped up and asked to pet Chance once again. "Sorry Carolyn, 'm goin' let Robert have a go with Chance." Nick said to Carolyn as he picked up the pink fluff ball, who didn't yet realize he was just being transferred to another person to give him attention. He shushed him with some petting as he turned to Robert. "Here ye go! Chance won' be that fussy in yer arms as long as ye pet him." Nick said as he extended Chance to Robert.

@Alan Vanes / @Martyna Romero / @Lydia Cooper / @Scarlett Aden / @Robert Toukmond / @Dealla Prince / @Lizzie Verdine / @Xailah Alptraum

Alan's thank-you was given a soft shrug and mellow smile. "It's no distraction," he reassured. "I'm here to help- I'm the coordinator, after all!" Though it seemed little Tiger and Jeger weren't of a mind to be contained. After he and Alan gathered up the swabs, Peri stood at his side and watched the cats romp, evidently unfettered by their play. So long as they didn't get underfoot, this was the perfect opportunity for a bit of bonding. The boy had yet to see his own cat indulge in such socializing, and an almost wistful look wandered her way, considering the regal feline from across the room.

Athena was compliant, for a cat. When Martyna bid her to hop atop the table, a word which made her ears perk in understanding, she crouched low and sprang high. Scarlett politely corrected her companion concerning the feline's name. Upon hearing it, the Siamese eyed her expectantly, vividly aware of her correct calling. She sat poised with tail curled loose around her, though the tip of it flicked once the tub was brought near. At the sight of water sloshing around, Athena had stiffened, fixing a leery squint onto the container. Sleek though her fur was, there were still signs that her coat was trying to bulk up for Fall. A hint of dust clung to Athena's legs, the product of wriggling into some secret niche she'd seen fit to explore earlier in the day. There was some grooming to be done, but her body language insisted she was not going for a swim any time soon.

Hearing Lydia calling for her pet, Pericles nearly excused himself fro those nearby, worried by the thought of someone losing their pet during the errand. Thankfully, there were plenty of watchful eyes nearby and the kitten was captured by Ruka. It seemed students were mingling well, introducing their pets to peers and other animals, a satisfying sight to see. At Robert's compliment for the errand, he grinned and answered "Thank you," words simple but tone conveying deep gratitude. The prefect continued to keep an eye on the door, greeting newcomers with waves and smiles so as to make clear he was at their disposal. Dealla's hello was returned with an encouraging expression.

For the time being, with his former "customer" completed and his own feline off entertaining participants, Pericles was content to linger by his empty table and simply observe the interactions unfolding. He had the practiced power of projecting his voice above the din without outright shouting. When Lizzie claimed to enjoy the errand more than her puff, he hummed a light laugh, smiling with equal portions of amusement and apology. "Perhaps Chief will come around to grooming, once it's said and done and he feels the results of your efforts," Peri offered hopefully. Thankfully, he puff's keeper was soon joined by another helpful student, and the boy would find himself joined by a dear friend.

"Xailah!" The Gryffindor and her pile of cat, Schrödinger, were a welcome sight. The boy brightened considerably as he answered, "I'm so glad you could come," and he offered them the empty table he stood by. Pericles bowed head appreciatively when Xailah complimented the setup, though he was quick to pick up on her abnormal skittishness. Was it to do with their Slytherin friend's absence, or something else...? "No, I'm afraid I haven't seen Ruby just yet, and the friend I meant to introduce you to is preoccupied with guests at the moment." He would wait for Ruby to arrive before pointing her out from the crowd, instead opting to investigate Xailah's peculiar unease. "Is everything alright...?"

((Errand ends in two days, but RP interactions can continue indefinitely!))

『

Mentioning: Wyatt Starkey
Interacting With: A
Speech Color: Red
Other: Word Count: 1,017
Open to Interactions!

』

Alec was a bit late to the party. He'd gotten sidetracked on the way to this classroom.. multiple times. Before finally reaching it. He had nothing better to do with his time at the moment then help out. So he thought.. Why not? Plus, he'd get to see cute pets, so I mean.. No reason to say no to that, really! Alec wanted a pet himself. A cat more specifically. But after the summer he'd had. And the trouble he'd gotten into in just that mere amount of time. A pet.. And asking for one. Would be a less than viable option. He probably should've kept this thought in mind when locking Wyatt out of this house. That was.. Probably not the best idea..? Okay, look! The decision was made on a whim. He had all day to think about this before doing this! But still! It was made on a whim. Alec wasn't thinking. He was just mad. And it was a better option than shoving someone and starting a fight. Okay um.. Actually no it wasn't. That outcome would have probably ended better than deciding to lock Wyatt out of the house once your parents went to bed. Wyatt still probably hated him for it.. Whatever. It's not your fault your enemy had to stay the summer at your house, anyway. He should've run when he had the chance. It's not like he was nice either. It's not like he used his dare to dare you to make your family breakfast.
. . .
. . . . . .
Okay. We..We are moving on from this topic. You're supposed to be helping, not reflecting over your summer. You could've reflected over your summer a few days ago. Today was not the best optio-Cute animals! Alec bit back a grin. Finally. Focusing on the more important thing. Alec blinked. Also people. Quite a few people. Quite a lot of people you don't know. They aren't looking at you.. Are they? Alec surveyed the room with his eyes. Not even having fully entered it yet. No, their not. Good. Alec let out a sigh of relief. He still wasn't in much of a mood to meet new people. As Alec had stated earlier. He really only came here for the pets. And just being useful. His studying to distract himself was getting out of hand. He wasn't actually ever getting any studying done because he kept just getting distracted. And even when he did, he'd spent too much time than what it was worth. Trying to study instead of actually getting something done. This way he'd feel somewhat accomplished. Alec looked around the room till he saw another cat[A random cat]. In a less crowded area.

Walking over to the cat, he once again glanced around the room to see if he could spot its owner. And he did. After getting approval to help with the cat[Or, at least what Alec assumed was approval. From their smile and telling him he could.] he decided he would. The boy kneeled down, petting the cat. It purring back in response. It seemed to like him. Was that normal? I mean, he was petting it. So he kind of should expect it to like him? And because cats aren't probably good at judging one's character. Whether that was a good thing.. Or a bad thing. Was beyond Alec. Sure.. It was good the cat liked him. He was happy it did. But you know not a good judge of character, so..

And little did this cat know Alec was going to wipe its fur with a wet rag. Alec assumed it was better than soaking the cat in water. And honestly, it was just more convenient and easier on both parties involved. Alec stroked the fur of the cat one more time. Before getting a rag damp with water. He made sure it wasn't so damp that it would get water everywhere. But damp enough that it wasn't dry. Okay.. That sentence both made sense and didn't. It worth much since he wasn't speaking out loud. But still. Alec stroked the cat's fur again, it coming closer and brushing against his leg. He took the opportunity to gently wipe the rag down the cat's fur. The cat seemed to be a bit surprised at first. But eventually after a few minutes it brushed against his leg again. Alec grinned as he gently wiped the rag down the cat's fur again. This time it was purring.

Maybe this cat liked water? Usually. Or what Alec assumed was usually from what he'd seen. Cats didn't like water. In fact, they practically despised it. Like it was the evil over all evils. The scariest thing in the world. The big universal no no for cats all around. But apparently not? Maybe they somehow charmed their cat to like water? There probably someway you could do it. But it was most likely not a legal thing to do. Besides, who ever heard of charming your cat? That's nonsense. Someone could probably figure out how to o it, though. But what else would you do with a charmed cat? Would it never scratch things you didn't want scratched? Would someone charm it to act like a dog? Or maybe charm it to stop chasing the mice because you didn't want it to get sick if it were to eat it? The crazy ideas for something like that would be endless. Alec could see it now. 'How to Charm Your . 101 Charms to make your cat- Alec paused as he tried to finish the line but couldn't think of anything good. 'the best'? 'better than the rest'? 'not a pest'? Okay, Alec would get back to that later..

Maybe once he finished cleaning the cat's fur he'd have some better ideas. This cat could be his muse! For the time being, that is. But still his muse! The best inspiration for Alec's creative crazy ideas yet. The best cat in all of the land! The cat Alec still had no idea the name of! Oh.. wow.. Alec should probably find out its name..

- Interacting with @Ruka Burnett-Tân & Mačka -

The smile that Ruka gave her felt so genuine and spontaneous, that for a little moment, Lydia was taken aback. When they last talked, things had gone quite well, but Ruka had never looked so relaxed, or at least that's what she thought. With the smile still on her lips, the red headed girl started wondering what could have changed in Ruka during the summer, if maybe that was the reason why he seemed more at ease, or if maybe it was because of how she acted towards him. During the summer, Lydia had tried to understand as much as she could about herself and her veela heritage, but once she had gotten back to school, she still had a lot of questions that were left unanswered: did people like her because of her, or was it her veela part that indirectly affected them? What would have happened if she actively tried to be likeable, more lovely, kinder towards the others?

It wasn't like she could try out any of these things with her friends, that would have been extremely wrong in her opinion; it wasn't even like she could tell them about it, because then they would know what she was doing and their reaction would not be genuine. So Lydia figured she could have tried with someone she wasn't friends with, so that she wouldn't have felt too bad about lying to them. Ruka felt like the right person to do this little "experiment" with; he was smart, probably one of the smartest people she had met so far at school, and the way he thought intrigued the girl to the point where she wondered what he would have thought of her experiment, and the whole bending or morality that was going on in her own head.

For a second Lydia got lost in her thoughts, and almost didn't hear Ruka's question. Bringing her eyes to the ground, exaggerating how embarrassed she was feeling, she shrugged. "This will sound extremely stupid but- yeah, it does mean something. It's the slavik word for 'cat'," adjusting a small strand of hair behind her left ear, Lydia looked back up at Ruka, giving him a small embarrassed smile.

Seeing the slight confusion over the boy's face when she mentioned his hair, Lydia almost pointed towards them, but he was faster. She could see how he was trying not to laugh out loud, and Lydia's curiosity grew even bigger; why was he laughing, what was so funny?

Almost as if he heard her thoughts, Ruka explained how it was just a spell, and then proceeded to change his hair back to their normal colour. Nodding along, Lydia smiled again, almost in a small smirk. "You like to trick people, confuse them?" she genuinely asked, thinking that it felt so similar to what she was doing to him as well. Wasn't she tricking him while acting so nice and lovely?

When he handed Mačka back to her, Lydia shook her head. "You can hold him if you want. He's clearly comfortable where he is, and he seems to really like you!" she almost commented on how much it looked like Ruka loved having Mačka in his arms, but she preferred not to say anything about it. "I could really use some help!" she then added before motioning with her head towards the table she had left her things on. "I usually brush him everyday, because he has so much long hair; then I think I should definitely clip his claws, and then we will need to 'wash' his face. You see, cats with light coloured eyes are more prone to eye infections, so you should make sure to keep their eyes as clean as possible," as she talked, Lydia had started walking back towards the table, sure that Ruka would have followed her. "Then, if we still have time and little Mačka is not too restless, we could try to 'wash' his fur with a wet cloth. It's okay if we don't manage to do that though, cats clean themselves anyway," Lydia turned around to smile at Ruka, before continuing. "I'll tell you about my summer, but only if you tell me about yours. I remember what you said the last time we talked, so I'm curious to know what happened with your new brother!"

WC: 708 (1st post) + 722= 1430/1000
Errand Complete!

Carolyn was grateful to Nell for being understanding. She really didn’t mean to turn the girls away but there was not much she could do about it. “Thank you, I hope you have better luck somewhere else,” she said sincerely. Still, no matter how uncomfortable the situation was, one good thing definitely came out of it. That is, Robert seemed to relax a bit upon realizing she wasn’t making all this up. He didn’t necessarily look visibly happy, probably because the girls were still there, but he definitely seemed more at ease. He still avoided Mordred on his way back to them but that was actually a good thing.

“But of course. I have to groom Mordred anyway and I’m sure Chance will be happy to get more attention,” Carolyn smiled at Robert and when Nick came for the little fluff ball, she passed it to him without any hesitation. “Thank you, it was a lovely experience. I hope I’ll get to pet him again,” she said to the boy gratefully. “…and of course meet the two of you again as well,” she added with smile before turning to her pet. “Come on Mordred. Let’s get you cleaned out.” After all, that what’s this event was for. The Egyptian Mau was looking pretty clean already but he could use some brushing. Fortunately, his distrust for people was pretty much the only downside to her fluffy friend. Other than that, Mordred was very obedient and fast learner so he had no trouble staying still when Carolyn started combing through his silver fur. On the contrary, he definitely enjoyed the attention and started purring loudly to let her know he appreciated her care.

“There you go,” Carolyn announced after couple of minutes. “Aren’t you gorgeous?” She complimented her cat proudly then checked his claws just to make sure none of them had gotten too long. She definitely didn’t like clipping cat’s claws unless absolutely necessary. Thankfully, Mordred did a good job scratching frequently so there was no need for that. “Alright, I think we are good to go. You scared enough people for one day.”

Carolyn leaves the thread unless stopped for some reason

[font=century gothic]WHEN: [/font]Sept 12, 2020 | After Breakfast
[font=century gothic]WHO: [/font]Many; not interacting with anyone in particular
[font=century gothic]WHAT: [/font]Evelynn wanders quietly about to pick up tips and techniques to apply later with her new owl, Janus

The day had not at all gone according to plan. As the second Saturday after the start of term, Evelynn had already dived headlong into the routine she had adopted last year. Between class, Quidditch, clubs, and Headliner, she only had so much time; it needed to be managed wisely. Without the obligation of class, Saturdays were her favourite days, open to so much potential for productivity. Like every morning, however, she would always start with a run around the lake and a morning broom-back practice. While this was generally the perfect pick-me-up to start the day off invigorated, the rain had dampened it significantly. She had arrived at breakfast cold, wet, and more than a little miserable.

Rain. She hated the rain. Sure, it could be relaxing in a way when one was holed up in a little window seat with a hot cup of chai and books propped up against the knees for some afternoon reading. It had a way of enclosing you into your own little headspace and giving just the right amount of white noise to help hone focus in on whatever task had been selected. But for those, like Evelynn, whose pursuits tended to take them to the outdoors, it was very much unwanted. Elevation in flight was already unpleasant at times with the winds and air resistance at break-neck speeds making for a rather frigid experience. Rain only worsened that and made visibility for finding the snitch effectively nil. She could do without it.

Needless-to-say, her practice had been cut short when she could no longer feel her hands, even through her gloves, and breakfast had come and gone ahead of schedule. This left her morning much freer than it otherwise might have been. Which was perhaps convenient in a way. After overhearing conversation of some peers making mention of one of the classrooms having been converted into something of a cozy den for some errand or other, Evelynn found it difficult to resist the urge to take a look. Warm, inviting, and with the promise of candies… it was difficult for the frozen seeker to pass up.

What she was decidedly not expecting on arriving at the converted classroom was the presence of so many pets in one place. It wasn't as though the various student companions were a rare sight. Quite the reverse. But they were generally spread out enough within the castle and dorms that they often when unnoticed as she passed them by in the hallways from one class to another. Here, however, it was as though they had congregated for some sort of convention of furred friends. Which, as she glanced about and took note of the basins for washing, arranged treats, and various other hygienic products, looked to be exactly what it was about.

A quick scan of the space revealed several familiar faces. For a moment, she was tempted to wander over to Pierre, but hesitated. Admittedly, after spin the bottle event on the last day of last term, she'd somewhat avoided him in anything other than a classroom setting, still not quite sure what to have made of that. It bothered her that it continued to scratch uncertainly at her thoughts, but now, in this setting, didn't seem like the right time to broach that topic. So, instead, she refrained.

Besides, something else quickly grasped her attention. In a basin nearby, a girl who appeared to be quite a bit older than her appeared to be bathing an owl. At the start of the summer, Evelynn had been granted permission to get herself an owl. Even now, Janus rested up in the owlery (or so she assumed) with the other companion and school owls. Admittedly, it hadn't even occurred to her that he would require any bathing. The other barn owls that had resided within the loft of her stables had never bathed, as far as she knew, anyway. They would preen, sure, but that hardly required any help. It was curious, then, to see this one in water.

Small steps carried her over to stand nearby, leaning a hip against the table that held the treats. Eyes on the pair as they moved through the pampering motions, she plucked up a few carefully selected Bertie Bot Beans. Caramel and marshmallow. An acceptable combination. As she savoured them, a small girl, one that seemed even younger than herself approached the owl-owner pair. By how unfamiliar she was, she must have been a first year; and not a Gryffindor.

That didn't make her inquiries any less interesting to Evelynn. In fact, she'd been considering approaching the girl herself until the younger had beaten her to it. But that only allowed her to listen from a distance to the relative questions that she'd have asked anyway. It seemed she hadn't been far off, really, in her assumption. According to the upperclassman, they didn't want for much and could, for the most part, be left to their own devices. Which was exactly as Evelynn had done over the summer, the cage, although contained within her room, being left open, like her window, such that he could come and go as he pleased. It had never occurred to her to bathe him. Perhaps she should off that to him.

Not now, though. She'd yet to allow him to interact with anything more than the school owls, and wasn't sure how he would react with so many animals and people in the same room. Besides, on the times that she'd gone to visit him in the owlery, she'd seen him ruffle indignantly the moment any owl deigned to venture within a few feet of him when it wasn't necessary to do so. A stark contrast to how composed and dignified he had been in the menagerie when she'd purchased him. Perhaps he'd gotten too used to having his own territory.

For the rest of the morning, Evelynn lingered in the room, often wandering idly about the room to observe the various cleaning habits of the other students with their pets. Even the occasional training clip could be useful to give her ideas on how better to care for Janus. He was a new endeavor for her, and she wanted to make the most of it.

[font=century gothic]WORD COUNT: 1,044 | COMPLETE[/font]

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

Interacting with @Pericles Dralt and @Xailah Alptraum, open to interactions

Saturday morning. It was only the second Saturday since they had returned to school, and she wondered if it would be as bad as last weekend. That one had started with some annoying first year deciding to approach her in the corridors and ask what had seemed like endless questions. At first, it had seemed innocent enough and Ruby had answered because of her duty as a prefect. However, the inquiries didn't stop coming and eventually, it had become irritating and made Ruby snap at the younger girl. She had tried not to lash out, she really had that time. She knew how important the first days at Hogwarts could feel and she didn't need to ruin the reputation of all the prefects and staff members by being unwelcoming. She didn't want to risk people liking her, but she wasn't quite prepared to tarnish someone's first impression of the school.

But why should she care? The first years would undoubtedly still encounter kindness later on if not at the beginning—she didn't have to contribute to that. Regardless of how much she truly cared about the younger students, she offset any initial kindness by getting into a fight with a second year the very next day. That one had been interesting and she hadn't felt any pressure to be nice, as the boy she had encountered had prompted her to respond the way that she did. However, she had forgotten that her position as a prefect made her vulnerable to blackmail since anyone could go to her Head of House with concerns about her. She would have to control her temper a bit more if she wanted to keep the position of power, because otherwise she wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if she was reported and kicked off of the team.

Instead of facing the fact that she felt angry most of the time and talking with her friends about her emotions, she was still avoiding it and spending all her time studying or sulking alone. One small bonus was that she had signed up for the Spells, Wands, and Games Club and for duelling so that she could take her rage out on people in a setting where it was actually allowed. She hoped that it would help get rid of those feelings if she had an outlet for them, but she didn't realise that indulging herself and letting the anger consume her would just lead to the anger persisting. Friendships were the very things that she was trying to avoid, pushing people away and deliberately making bad first impressions so that they wouldn't like her, yet she had felt the most relaxed when she was with Pericles and Xailah at the S.W.A.G. game two days ago.

Relaxed was relative. She still felt like she was keeping a secret of some sort from them and that they would turn her away if they understood how angry she was or how frequently she had been getting into rule-breaking duels, but she would continue to cling to the hope that they wouldn't hate her for her immoral actions and that they would stay by her after all. Perhaps it would be more logical to have a conversation with them and get it out in the open. At least then, she would have a definitive answer regardless of whether it was what she was hoping for or not. An invitation had been extended to her during Thursday's game, when Pericles had mentioned the errand that he would be hosting. She doubted it would be the right time to have that conversation, so that wasn't why she was going.

She was going to Peri's errand simply because she was drawn to the two other students and wanted to spend time with them. And, yes, maybe she would make up a cover story that she would tell herself about how it was really all for her cat, Apollo, and not because she wanted to see her friends. While she certainly did care for Apollo and probably would have grumpily gone anyway for his sake, continuing to be around Xailah and Pericles was a prospect that she simply couldn't resist. The Slytherin was in a decent enough mood so far that day, as well, so a little extra detour and activity after breakfast wouldn't be too harmful. The aggressive traits that she had been displaying so frequently were dulled slightly and replaced with a mild indifference and a more withdrawn demeanour. Perhaps it was because it was still the morning, but she was calmer for now.

Her little Egyptian Mau trotted at her side as they passed through the corridors, and was scooped up in one large motion as they reached the door to the classroom. Cautiously, she stepped in, the cat nestled in her arms. She quickly scanned the room, picking out the groups of people and who seemed to know each other as well as the stations in which students would take care of their pets. Cold blue eyes immediately found the emptiest area further away from others, and she was about to head over when familiar faces caught her eye. Turning, she went to join Pericles and Xailah instead. She heard a mention of her name and, with a light smile, said, “You called?” There was a pause as she glanced around the room once more before continuing. “This was a nice idea, Peri.” Everyone liked their hard work to be appreciated, right?

But Xailah had a look about her that made Ruby concerned. Was she okay? Did something happen and she was lacking the context for it? Subtly craning her neck to trace the Gryffindor's gaze didn't help with much, except for making her more confused. Were they in danger? Was there impending doom or some sort of threat that Ruby had failed to pick up on? The flick of a tail reminded her that Apollo was still wrapped in her embrace, so she set him down carefully. Of course, he would want to go explore, but Ruby would be keeping a close eye on him and not letting him out of her site, what with the crowd of people and the numerous pets that accompanied them. Once she had got a chance to properly talk to her friends, she would go to care for Apollo like the errand had been instructing her to do. He hesitated, standing slightly behind her legs. While he was curious, he was also shy around most people, and many of those in the room now were complete strangers to him. She bent down and stroked him gently, idly murmuring something before straighening up again and returning part of her focus to her human companions.

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*