Into Darkness PV Clair & Alma Closed

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Gem skittered down the hallway, a wild look in her eye.
Was Kim going to be all right? She'd never seen anyone faint from sneezing before. Could it have possibly injured him in some way? Gem dug her teeth into her lower lip. "Merlin, I hope it didn't..." Her eyes burned, and her chest felt extremely tight. How could she have been so stupid?

She shook her head and continued down the corridor. Keep it together, Sable.
First things first-- find Cath and drop Misto off with her. But wait, which compartment had her sister gone into? Gem slowed. Oh no, she hadn't actually looked to see where she'd gone! How was she going to find her now? This train must have at least a thousand people on it.
A couple of hot tears dribbled down her cheeks. Her breath caught in her throat, and her chest felt tighter than ever. Gem leaned against the wall and held on to her cat for dear life.

"I'm sorry." She choked, burying her nose in his fur. "It's all my fault, and now I don't know what to do..."
Suddenly, a sound from an adjacent compartment caught her attention. Wait, that voice! She knew who that voice belonged to! Oh, this was great, finally someone she knew--
"Colin!" Gem cried. She surged forward and wrenched the door open, nearly bumping into a sweet-faced first year girl who was on her way out.

Normally Gem would have abstained from such a rude interruption, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "Colin!" she repeated. "I-I hope it's okay, but could I ask you for a favor? Kim might be hurt because of me, and it's all my fault, and--and--"
She was full on blubbering now, the tears falling hard and fast. "And I can't find my sister, but I found you, so--"

Gem bit her lip until she could taste blood. Get a hold of yourself!
She held up the cat and tried not to fall apart in front of Colin--and Clair, who was sitting nearby. "--So could-- sniff!-- could you look after Misto? Just until the end of the train ride, I promise."

She screwed her eyes shut and held out the cat. Her legs were shaking, and her brain was screaming at her to leave, but she had to try, right?
Gem was ready to apologize for wasting their time, but then a furry weight was lifted from her. She opened her eyes to see that Colin had taken Misto into his arms. She almost sobbed in relief-- he looked so comfy there. "Th-thank you," she stammered. "I owe you one, Col, thank you."

Gem gave the two a quick nod, then bolted back out of the cabin, wiping at her face with her sleeve. She trusted that Clair and Colin would take good care of her kitty, but right now she just needed to be alone.

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@Colin McCoire | @Clair Fernandez | @Alma Stoll

Gem leaves the thread.

(Permission granted to lightly godmod Colin.)

"Ooh, you guys have horses? How many? What breeds? You said Hunting, do you Hunt for sport or for Food?" Clair seemed to be very excited about animals and her questions just tumbled out! Colin didn't mind. He was just happy to be with Clair and that they shared some interests in common! He'd have to think about how she seemed able to calm him down so effectively. He knew that good magizoologists could calm creatures and beasties down. Maybe Clair had a natural talent?

"Horses? Aye lassie, we've horses! Mostly there's Garrons and Eriskays around. We've also got Highland Ponies and Clydesdales! They're a little more comfortable to ride than a broom for a long journey! Liam and me used to race ---" Colin gave Clair a smile "--- I usually won! He always said I had a way with the beasties."

Colin was a little surprised by her question about hunting. He furrowed his brows. "People actually hunt just for sport? That's such a waste, lass. No, we hunt for game. I mean, sure, there's an element of sport about it, but if you expect to eat anything for supper that night, you'd best bring the game in, right?" Colin laughed. "We've got a shooting parlour for anyone that wants to practice, though. Liam was a keen shot. My two sisters, too. As for me, let's just say I was a strong fourth place show!"

He listened with interest as Clair talked about her family's horses. "What kinds do you have? I reckon you've got a bit of land around. That's bonny! I never felt comfortable being in London --- too many houses around! Even Hogsmeade is a bit much for me! We'd have to go several miles from home to find the nearest hamlet even! That's plenty close enough!"

When Clair brought out a pack of cards to show Colin, he was confused. She said they were muggle magic, but they looked pretty ordinary to him. He held the pack of cards up and sniffed them delicately. "Wh---what do they do?" Then it dawned on him: "Oh! They aren't magical cards! They're like for tricks and things!" He laughed. "Lass, I'm sorry! I meant like a lextaricity and the pewter telley and and --- er --- those wee boxes muggles are always holding in front of their faces! That kind of muggle magic!"

Clair brought Comet's cage up so he could see more closely. He let Comet sniff at his fingers. "Turnips!?" Colin made a disgusted face. "Turnips are bad for rabbits? I didn't put any turnips in these, but I didn't know that about rabbits either! Heheh! To be honest, turnips turn my stomach too!"

Colin sat back in silence for a while as he watched Comet nibble on his treats. "Clair ---" Colin began to ask her a question, but was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door as Gem burst into the compartment blubbering something about hurting Kim!

"Colin! I-I hope it's okay, but could I ask you for a favor? Kim might be hurt because of me, and it's all my fault, and---and---" The poor girl was full on blubbering now, her tears falling hard and fast. "And I can't find my sister, but I found you, so--- So could-- sniff!-- could you look after Misto? Just until the end of the train ride, I promise."

Colin looked from Gem to Clair and back again. "Oh! Of course, GemGem!" He'd have to ask her later what she did to Kim and whether she was trying to hurt him! He took Misto into his arms and gave him a slow blink and a scratch behind his ears. Colin loved a good scratch behind the ears himself! He hoped it would work on Misto as well.

"No worries, Gem!" he said as she left the compartment. He giggled. "Well, we've got quite the menagerie now, eh?"

@Clair Fernandez | @Gemima Sable