A Quiet Birthday Fin.

OH, ANXIETY. You just make my day, the pale-haired girl thought, sarcasm dripping off it. She was currently walking up to the owlery, a letter gripped tightly in her hands. She was nervous. Yes, that was accurate. She'd barely communicated with her previous foster family since moving out, but she wanted to check in on them - the parents, at least. She took a shaky breath, then almost immediately stopped breathing when she heard a soft singing. It was in a language she didn't understand nor recognize, which intrigued her.

The voice was a bit ahead of her, and they likely had something they were trying to do. She decided she wouldn't try to interact with them yet, following quietly into the tower. She instead found a school owl to send her letter with, handing the letter over and lightly stroking its feathers. Yes, the owlery was normally a calming location for the girl, but not much when it was something involving this very area that was making her nervous.

Half paying attention to her surroundings, she caught one verse of what the other person - a younger girl, she supposed - was singing. "Happy birthday to me..." Her expression twisted into one of mild surprise, which she quickly schooled back to one of indifference, hoping that neither expression could be found to be offensive.

"Uhm..." she hesitated a bit with her speech. "If you don't mind me asking... what language were you singing in, just now? And is it your birthday today...?" She felt a mild panic. Schist, how do I communicate again? I've suddenly forgotten, she thought, again with sarcasm. But she had forgotten how to talk to people, so she wasn't speaking complete nonsense. "Um... by the way, my name is Sapph. I... I'm a third-year here. What about you...?"

Interacting with: @Sapphire Riddle

Callista turned, surprised. She hadn't seen anyone in here when she had entered, so she assumed the other girl had come after her. "Oh, uh, I didn't realize anyone was here... It was Japanese. Er, yeah, it's my birthday today," she replied. At the mention of the other girl's name, she returned, "My name is Callista, first-year Hufflepuff." It sounded almost rehearsed, but Callista was well-practised in giving standard introductions of herself. She had found that by not giving too much thought into what she was saying - the tone of voice, confidence level - and how the other person would react, she wasn't quite as shy. Although that might give the other person the wrong impression that I'm confident... ah, well, too late.

Callista reached out a hand, presumably for a handshake, as per guidelines. Then her mind caught up to her and she realized that this was a third-year. Why would a third-year student pay any attention to her? Her eyes met the other girl's, and she realized that the other girl was just as nervous as she was at human interaction. She blushed a little, both surprised and surprisingly warm. Is this an effect of being a Hufflepuff for... 2 months now? Or was it something that's always been in me? She offered the other girl - Sapph, she said her name was? - a small, hesitant smile, warm brown eyes meeting cool blue ones.

No problem, anyone is welcome!

AS IT SEEMED, the other girl was a bit more confident yet at the same time just as nervous she was. "Yeah, uhm... I came in right after you did. I was... I was kind of curious," she said in response to what the girl - Callista - had said about not knowing of her presence. "Sorry... sorry for kind of just popping in. That may have seemed rude."

A Hufflepuff... Sapphire didn't know many of those. She knew Donovan, yes, but she hadn't encountered him since her first year and she didn't know any others. She shook the younger female's hand, mildly cautious that she would screw up the interaction.

She returned the smile she was given, though it was shaky and sort of looked like it would fall apart any second. She wasn't used to smiling, really. But Callista gave off a sort of comforting or warm presence. "It's... it's nice to meet you, Callista. Do you know Japanese because of family or was it a sort of extracurricular to learn it? Sorry if that question pries too much... Either way, it's cool that you know it," she said. Jeez, how do you communicate? she questioned herself mentally.

She would wait for the response and all the while being in a mental war with herself about whether she was communicating in a way that was normal or considered right.

Alright, thanks.

Interacting with: @Sapphire Riddle

"It's okay. It's not like the owlery is a private space anyway," Callista replied with a smile. Sapph's smile was shaky, but Callista could definitely relate. Well, to clarify, usually it was her voice that was shaky, and her smile was usually gentle. Either way, she didn't mind. For some reason,

"It's nice to meet you too, Sapph," she said simply. I wonder if Sapph is a nickname? For Sapphire, maybe? Sapphie? Would that be a name or a nickname? Nevermind. "Um... family, I suppose. My mother is Japanese." Callista had never really considered knowing Japanese "cool". Well, her friend had said it was cool that she knew a lot of languages, but really, she only knew a couple of phrases in each language (apart from Japanese, Mandarin, and English).

"Do you know any languages?" Callista asked curiously. "I hope you don't mind the question," she added nervously.

Callista wanted to see what Sapph was like behind her nervousness, and she knew that to do that, she herself would have to open up. She had found that behind the shyness, anxiety, or nervousness, there's often a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. She was still just beginning to open up, but maybe one day she will be as comfortable here as she is at home. It was interesting to see someone as nervous as her, perhaps even more so than her, that was two years older than her. Callista wanted more than anything to understand others. But to do that, she would need to understand herself first.

Interacting with @Callista Lovis

SAPPHIRE NODDED WHEN SHE HAD BEEN ASKED ABOUT LANGUAGES. "Er, yes. My adoptive father... He was Spanish, so I got him to teach me the language. I also learned some of it myself, but I mostly learned from him." Her smile turned slightly melancholic, hit by a wave of what could be described as grief. She hadn't seen Mr Grace in so long. Perhaps two years wasn't that long, but sometimes it could feel like forever. "And no... I don't mind the question," she added.

She paused, recalling something loosely. "Ehm, do I need to mention my house?" She would pause, just for a moment. "I already said I was a third-year, but I didn't mention that..." Another wave of nerves hit her. She paused again, though it was much closer to hesitance this time. "I'm... I'm in Slytherin," she said. She almost winced at how awkward she sounded.

She didn't really know what to say. She wasn't always the best with small talk. "Er... what's your opinion of Hogwarts?" she asked, attempting to keep her tone even. Her eyes held an inquisitorial light, genuinely interested by what the girl could have to say in response to her query. She couldn't recall if she'd asked anyone that before, though she may have asked something similar on the train ride back when the year had started to those other girls she'd sat with. Of course, since they were going into their first years, she couldn't have phrased the question the same, but- Okay, stopping. Don't get ahead of yourself, Sapphi.

Interacting with: @Sapphire Riddle

Adoptive father..? Curiosity turned to concern as Sapph's smile turned a bit sad - sad isn't the right word... wistful, perhaps? Do you think she'd mind if I asked? Probably... "Are you fluent in Spanish? I don't really know that much of it," Callista asked. Japanese? Of course. Mandarin? Sure, why not. Korean? Eh... kinda..? French? Meh... Italian? Er... Latin? Okay. Greek? Um, no. Spanish? Uhh... Personally, she thought Latin was much more interesting than Spanish, but she wouldn't say that out loud, of course. It wasn't that she had anything against Spanish, but rather, there were much more interesting languages to pursue - like Latin.

The older girl seemed to be nervous still, and she longed to make her feel more comfortable. Callista doubted that Sapph would appreciate it, though, so she decided not to. She shook her head at the question, but the older girl continued anyway. Oh. Slytherin. Is that why she's so hesitant about it? "Er, are you nervous because you think I'd react badly to learning that you're in Slytherin? I don't mind," she said with a small smile. In fact, she knew a couple of people in Slytherin - Henry, for example. "I probably have more Slytherin acquaintances then I should," she mused quietly.

At her question, Callista thought for a few seconds. "It's definitely... grand. It's very big, and it's easy to get lost, especially with all the moving staircases and fake doors. The grounds are super pretty, but there are a few areas I... am not fond of," she trailed off at this, thinking of the Great Lake. Snapping out of it, she continued, "It's hard being away from family, but I really love this school, and everyone's really kind and inviting. Although I feel like I haven't really talked with anyone from Gryffindor." Which was true, she only knew one girl from Gryffindor, whereas she knew plenty of Hufflepuffs, a couple of Ravenclaws, and some Slytherins. "Um, anyway... what's your impression of Hogwarts?" I did a lot of talking just then, she thought awkwardly. Sorry Sapph...

Interacting with @Callista Lovis

"I AM FAIRLY FLUENT IN THE LANGUAGE," she said. "I'd love to learn more languages as well, but I haven't yet had the chance. During the summer, I always get distracted by other things and I'm too focused on school otherwise to learn while here." She probably looked sheepish. She continued to listen to Callista's next comment, pertaining to what she'd said about her house. She shook her head gently.

"Well, no. Not exactly. You see, one of my greatest downfalls is crippling anxiety, which makes it hard to life sometimes." Her humor leaked through a bit with that statement. She laughed a bit. "I myself do not know many Slytherins, actually. I only know my sister and... two others, I think it is."

She also listened quietly as Callista stated her opinion of Hogwarts, humming in acknowledgement and agreement. She had much the same reaction when she had first come to the school. Although she did like the grounds a lot, it probably being one of her favourite locations around the school.

She couldn't really emphasize with the family thing, having not had the best family herself until the year prior. "I haven't much... I haven't really talked to any Gryffindors myself either. There was one, whom I met last year, but that's basically it." After she said that, she also remembered Ashtyn, but that was a secondary thought and she didn't really feel like changing her earlier statement. She had already messed up what she had intended to say originally, and she would have felt even more embarrassment if she'd done that. She was relaxing a bit, but that was in the back of her mind.

She was a bit surprised when Callista shot her earlier question back at her. "Ah... This school is a bit of a handful. It has a terrible habit of traumatizing it's students, which is not a good thing." She gave a wry laugh. "The school itself... It's cool enough. When I first came here, I was a bit overwhelmed, but now it feels more natural to walk around here. I can't get into every place, of course, but it's still fun to explore the place. There are a lot of hallways. Things do get confusing, but you also get used to it... mostly." She had talked a lot, just then. That made her uncomfortable sometimes, though not for the reason most would assume. "Ah, what kinds of things are you interested in?" the pale-haired girl asked. "Like, hobbies, genres, the like." She decided to add the elaboration, since it wasn't exactly clear when she originally said it.

Interacting with: @Sapphire Riddle

Callista nodded in agreement. "I only know three languages fluently, and only because of my parentage." At this, she paused. "Ah, sorry, I must seem like I'm bragging." Callista blushed and decided not to comment on any other languages that she may or may not know. Although if she knows Latin that'd be amazing... C'mon, Callista, what are the chances she knows Latin?

How do they talk so easily about it? Callista wondered. Even though Sapph seemed to be light about it, she felt heavy. "How do you manage to... talk so openly about it?" Callista said with a sigh. "Were you self diagnosed?" she asked curiously. Do wizard doctors diagnose anxiety? After hearing a mention of Sapph's sister, Callista repeated, "You have a sister?" Thinking about sisters made her think of Aurora, which made her feel... nostalgic, she supposed.

"Why do you think that there's such a separation between Gryffindor and Slytherin?" Perhaps it was because the two houses were so different, or maybe it was because the founders of said houses quarrelled in their time, so their houses reflected that.

At Sapph's wry remark, Callista made a small smile. "I've certainly never been to a building this large," she added to Sapph's description. "I love to stargaze, love love love reading, enjoy writing and listening to music... My favourite genre to read would be fantasy, but science fiction, dystopian fiction, and realistic fiction are all great as well." Just talking about books and the things she loves makes her happy, less so of the warm feeling she gets when she's hugged, but more so of the familiar joy of doing something she likes. "I also really enjoy mythology, be that Greek, Roman, Egyptian, or Norse. But I specialize in Greek." At this her eyes lit up, and it was clear she was holding herself back from telling poor Sapph everything she knew about Greek mythology.

"Er, what about you?" she returned sheepishly. "Sorry, I get a bit carried away when it comes to Greek mythology and the like."

Interacting with @Callista Lovis

LISTENING SEEMED TO BE SAPPHIRE'S THING. It was what she was best at. So that was what she did. "Ah, no. It's fine - not really bragging, as I see it." She would just respond accordingly, it seemed.

A bout of worry - although perhaps that wasn't the right word - seemed to hit Callista, seeming furthered by the younger girl's next comment. "Hm? No, I was diagnosed by a therapist a few years back. And I have a bad habit of oversharing a bit in some of the worst situations," she said. "And yes, I have a twin sister." Although her smile was still a tad awkward, it was also softer.

She continued to listen. "I think the separation has gotten smaller - the simple explanation - in my case at least - would be that I don't actually talk with people much. I only end up meeting them by chance, most times." It was true. Her first year was the only one in which she had actually planned meet-ups with people. Back to listening.

"Ah, it's fine. I as well am interested in mythology. I got into it through the Percy Jackson series, and I found it to be enchanting. It's also drastically different from things now. My hobbies and interests deal a lot in literature. Reading and writing, but also drawing. I do like listening to music, but when I'm not at Hogwarts... Well, unless I'm playing music." All of the Hufflepuff's interests seemed more... well, interesting than hers. "Hm, what kinds of music do you listen too?" she questioned, having been intrigued by that bit of her speech. It was something they had in common and also one people could easily discuss.