Ice Cream in Winter Finished

Extressia was walking around the shops, trying to find the ice cream shop. She was going to meet Rayne, a friend from the Hogwart Express for ice cream. Though it was weird, and she had suggested places better to meet up in the winter holiday, the two ultimately settle on it for the fact that it was so weird that they are able to talk without many noises. After getting a little lost, Extressia finally found Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Her mind secretly screams in excitement at the idea of talking more with Rayne. They were also awkward like her, so Extressia can definitely relate to them on that level. As she opened the door, she immediately spot Rayne reading 'Hogwart: History of Magic', it wasn't difficult to spot them as there was little people in here. Extressia nervously came over to Rayne.
"Hi Rayne, I'm here for our meet-up." Extressia snags a chair directly in front of Rayne. Wondering what ice cream she should get, Extressia was a bit nervous. Rayne wasn't a stranger, but while they were friends, Extressia wanted to have a deeper connection, as she had with her friend in New York. So she decided to make chat first then order ice cream later, well maybe. Thinking of a topic, she decide to focus on the book.
"How the book, I only read like a couple of pages. You gotten far?"

Rayne was intrigued by the book, it was so fascinating to learn about Hogwarts, the roots, the founders etcetera. They were brought out of their haze by the sound of a familiar voice. Extressia. A vine of excitement wrapped around their heart. Extressia had sat in the seat opposite them, and Rayne vaguely understood she was asking about their book.
'No, not far,' they replied. 'I've been meaning to read it for a while now but I never got around to it.' They slipped a bookmark into the book, gently shutting it and placing it in their bag.
'I'm glad you made it here alright' they added with a smile.

The snow outside seemed endless, promising to cover secrets left on the ground. It was the first time Rayne could remember seeing heavy snow in a while, their only other memories of it being from earlier years of childhood. Rayne felt a warmth creep into their heart. They felt so safe here, everything seemed so entirely perfect. They wished to be able to live in this moment forever, watching the snow, in blissful, friendly silence with Extressia, the taste of ice cream still on their tongue. Rayne knew that this was obviously not possible, so they drew their attention back to their friend.

'So, how have you been? You enjoying classes?' Rayne asked, 'You enjoying the holiday?' They added. Hopefully they hadn't completely overwhelmed Extressia with questions.

Talking to @Rayne Chance

Extressia scanned over the menu as they speak.
"Did you know that the average number of licks to finish a scoop of ice cream is 50? But not much going on besides the usual classes. Though there was something I discovered, though another time I might show it to you if I even know how to show you since I don't even exactly know how I discovered it. And classes are hard but alright, I really wanted to impress the teachers and show I'm learning but I sometimes wondered if I doing something wrong and might get a bad grade. I am enjoying the holiday, it very cold which I like. Though I have not used to seeing so few lights here, in New York it was an extravagant decoration show. "
The snow seemed even more pouring into the streets, almost like a snowstorm. The few people that are here begin to disperse outside to the alley. With a quick concern over the amount of snow gathering outside, Extressia finally decided to ordered her ice cream, having thoughts of asking Rayne to split the check, but realize that she already ordered, so she quickly forgot the thought.
"A Praline soft ice cream, please." Then almost as quickly as she ordered, small sparks appeared as the ice cream was created, with a smile, she look over to Rayne, and realized she haven't given her a chance to talk.
"How has life been?" She asked, taking a lick at her ice cream.

Catching up with @Extressia Garren Leo

Extressia seemed to know a random fact for every situation. It was one of the things Rayne liked about her, she always had something fascinating to say. She scanned the menu as she spoke, mentioning classes, grades, and something she had discovered.
'I had no idea that on average it takes 50 licks to finish an ice cream,' they replied thoughtfully. 'I'm not sure if thats way more or less than I was expecting,' they added, after a moment of silence.

At the thought of eating ice cream, Rayne took a lick of their own. It certainly was some of the best ice cream they had tasted.
'If you re-discover how to find the thing you discovered then I'd love to see it, by the way.' Rayne said with a grin. They loved secrets, secret places, secret things, secrets from other people. They would carefully lock each whispered secret away in the back of their mind, to look back on when they were bored. Never sharing a secret, and never forgetting any either. The thing about Rayne was that not only were they good at acquiring secrets, but they were good at keeping them secrets. No fun knowing things if everyone else knows.

This train of thought paused when Extressia ordered. A Praline soft ice cream. Rayne found praline to be quite an indecisive flavour. Sometimes it was delicious, sometimes, not so much. They were still excited to watch it being created, almost out of thin air then delivered to their companion.
'Anyway, life has been alright. The twins have been a nightmare though. They won't stop pestering me about Hogwarts. It's the first time they've actually been interested in my life for a while, but I guess its nice that they are both interested in me for once.' Rayne took another lick of ice cream. 'You should meet them at some point...' Rayne pondered this idea for a minute. 'On second thoughts, maybe not. I feel like it wouldn't be the best companionship.' Rayne observed the rapidly emptying streets.

'Look at that snow' they commented mundanely.

Getting emotional with @Rayne Chance
Extressia looked at the snow, taking a couple more licks at her ice cream. The thought of a snowstorm crosses her mind, then immediately fills her with dread at the possibility of her dying with ice cream on her mouth, lips quivering at the thought, her body slightly shaking. Then she took a deep breath, trying to remember something to fill her mind of instead of her worry to lessen it. Then she latched onto something Rayne had said, something about their twin sisters, and something other than fear take hold, something much stronger. It was sadness.
"It's nice your sister pestering you, at least you have company going through the holiday. I know I said enjoying the holiday, but right now I stay at Hogwart until further notice, my relatives too busy and mom is being a pain in the butt, saying that if I like the magic education so much I should just stay at Hogwart for the holiday, even though she let me attend here." Extressia with anger and sadness blending in her eyes.
"I don't know how properly celebrate the holiday without mom, she helps me with so much. Now she doesn't care for me since I like magic and she doesn't. I just feel like breaking down without her support. She helped with so much but this is how I repay her? My only friend is a muggle, and he lives miles away. It just I feel so alone in this school sometimes." Now her voice is loud and there tears.
"Can you hold this for me, I need bathroom." She quickly said and sprinted to the bathroom, trying to hold in the tears.

Deep Conversations with @Extressia Garren Leo

Extressia's expression filled with panic but Rayne couldn't be certain why. Some agrovating thought must have been going through her mind.
'Hey Extressia are you okay?' Asked Rayne, but their question won no response. Rayne had no idea what to do to comfort their friend, so tried to think of what may have triggered this. Extressia's entire body was quivering, perhaps with anxiety? Rayne could only guess.

Rayne sat concerned, frowning at their companion for a few minutes, before a new emotion registered on Extressia's face. Sadness. Desperate, drowning sadness. Rayne racked their brain, looking back on their conversation for anything that may have triggered sadness.
'Extressia, what's going on?' They asked, trying again. But the question still didn't register.

Then, moments later, Extressia seemed to snap back into reality, and everything came out. Extressia explained how she was having to stay at Hogwarts, all of her family were too busy to look after her. She explained how her mum had been distant and withdrawn recently. She explained how her only friend liver far away. She explained how alone she felt.

Extressia's voice was cracking with tears, as she handed Rayne her ice cream and hurried to the bathroom. Rayne had no idea what to do. Half of them wanted to go after Extressia, but they felt like their friend needed space, and where would they put the ice creams. No, instead Rayne would wait until Extressia was ready to come back out and deal with it from there. Besides, Rayne needed a moment to process everything that had happened if they wanted any chance of helping their friend.

Explaining with @Rayne Chance
After 5 minute in the ice cream shop, Extressia finally open to talk to Rayne, a spike of nervousness flock to her heart, but couragely she turn into determination to explain what happened. Her eyes were still a little wet from the crying.
"Sorry about that." Extressia said. "Something you probably should know if yu didn't, I a very nervous person, almost a scaredy-cat some might say. I was worried about there being a snowstorm when I remember you telling me about your twin sisters, and something just snap withing me. I don't know what came over me, and we don't need to talk about it.
"I don't want to depend on you." That was a lie, Extressia wanted Rayne support in her misery, but she didn't want to depend on others, and wasn't sure how.
"Oh thank for holding my ice-cream." She cried, taking a couple lick. The tension was awkward, she quietly cursed inside her mind. This was all her fault. The room now felt more empty than ever, with the snow covering the window, she could barely see the other shops outside.
"Do you like animals?" she tried to divert the atmosphere into something more light-hearted even though her tone was sorta the opposite of that.

Comforting @Extressia Garren Leo

Rayne sat, agitated as they waited for their friend to come back. Extressia had been a while and they were getting more and more concerned, with still no idea what to do. They were getting funny looks from the few people in the cafe, who must have been listening in. Honestly, it would have been hard not to listen. One person in particular, an older woman, sat in the corner was giving Rayne an odd, judgemental look. Rayne's cheeks burned but they Stared back at the woman, straight faced, not blinking. Finally she looked away.

Rayne felt a drip of ice cream on their hand, which drew their attention. They didn't quite know what to do. Deal with this slowly Rayne. They thought to themselves. First, they precariously set their ice cream cone down, resting it so it wouldn't fall, but the ice cream wouldn't touch anything. Next, they wrapped a napkin round Extressia's cone, which switched places with their own ice cream as they repeated the process. Soon enough both cones had a napkin around. It was admittedly a small thing, but made them feel considerably more on control.

Their eyes flickered anxiously to the bathroom door, willing Extressia to come out. Minutes ticked by as Rayne absently licked their ice cream. They finished the first scoop as Extressia re-emerged, eyes damp from tears. Rayne pretended not to notice as she sat down. There was a second of silence, which Extressia quickly overcame. Her voice held a slight wobble, but she spoke determinedly.

There are times when you need to speak, and times when you need to listen. Rayne knew that right now, they just had to listen, letting Extressia explain. She mentioned how she struggled with anxiety, which Rayne could relate to, but this was not about them, they needed to focus on making sure their friend was ok. She brought up the prospect of a snowstorm, an idea that hadn't even crossed Rayne's mind. Then she asked a question, about animals. Good, this was something they could talk about, but first,

'You don't have to apologise,' they said in a low voice. 'All of your feelings are valid, and I'll never force you to talk about anything you don't want to talk about.' Rayne paused, scanning Extressia's expression for clues.
'But I'm hear for you if you ever feel that talking about it will help.' OK, they just had to say it.

'Now,' Rayne said, gradually easing into a more normal tone.
'I actually love animals, my family is a bit pet crazy. My dad obsessed over exotic pets, and my mum volunteers at a local pet shelter on Sundays so she's always eager to adopt pets she's fond of.'
Rayne wasn't sure if they should go into more detail about this or just let Extressia continue the conversation.

'What about you? Any pets?' They asked.

Happier talking with @Rayne Chance
"No pets, but I loved learning about animals. Did you know a dog nose is so good they can sniff out medical problems? Though it just been mostly dogs and bunnies I study, most I just have some facts about."
Extressia put out a small smile. Even though she was going to stay at Hogwart at least she isn't exactly alone. Her mother cared about her, if not she wouldn't have given braclet for the holiday. She just hasn't accepted her as a wizard. She made friend and are talking to them, for example right now with her friend Rayne. The snow seemed not falling so fast now, she smile at the thought of the snowstorm. It was peaceful.
"Also thanks, I like to talk to you right now I just want to finish my ice cream, thank you for the napkin by the way. But maybe I talk to you about it without getting that emotional."
She lick as much of her ice cream as she could, maybe a bit too fast as she felt pain in her head
"I think I had brain freeze right now." she said without thought, then chuckle at the pain.