finished Let the Stars Fall PV

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Dora yawns, this whole thing being past her usual bedtime. Behind her, she hears someone say her name. "Hi Dora." She turns to see a girl with braided red hair who looks familiar. Oh right, they met in the library when Courtney had that accident. The Gryffindor comes right up to her with a smile, continuing. "A bit windy here, yeah? It's gonna be nice to look at Meteor Shower."

She nods shyly, trying to recall her name. "Yes. Linda, correct?" Dora asks, and pulls her robes tighter. It is quite windy up here. Maybe she should have tied back her hair too, it's probably going to blow all about. Tucking it back, Dora thinks of what to say. "Um.. the stars are nice tonight." Great small talk.

There's another boy arriving, looking her over and giving a quick nod before sitting down. She turns away nervously, looking around the observation deck. There aren't many people here, or maybe they just haven't arrived yet. Dora would've thought more people would be interested in a meteor shower like she is. Maybe it's silly to be so excited..

Well, if there are more people, hopefully they come before they miss it. Even now, Dora looks up at the sky, searching for falling stars. Then, in the blink of an eye, she sees it. A glimmer of white streaking across the sky. Forgetting the others, she sucks in a breath and mutters, "It's here." Dora brings up her notebook and opens it.

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"Right. Stars are nice always, but today especially. It's so nice to be here now waiting for this special event." Linda's enthusiastic response is warm, letting Dora relax a little. She wasn't really expecting to talk with anyone tonight, but Linda's sweet, so she doesn't mind. Anyways, it's still a pretty private affair. Dora doesn't mind that.

When the meteors start falling, and Dora takes out her notebook, she still just stands there for a moment watching in awe. A rare smile appears on her face, and she hears Linda beside her say, "It just starts but it's already so nice." Dora nods, agreeing wholeheartedly. It's beautiful.

Well, time to focus. This is educational, after all, or Dora wouldn't have allowed herself up so late. Maybe some notes will benefit her class performance.

She writes,

'The meteors trace lines across the sky. White paths that linger for a few moments then disappear. A new meteor appears about every minute. They stem from the constellation Lyra.'

To help her remember, she illustrates a meteor's path in her notebook, drawing the constellation with a line coming from it. It's not very good, though, she thinks with a frown. Nothing like the real thing.

Dora notices Linda also has a notebook with her, though she hasn't opened it. "Er, are you going to take notes, too?" Dora asks quietly, hoping not to disturb the boy sitting behind her.

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"Ah." Dora replies, nodding slightly. It's true, she probably doesn't need to be taking extensive notes. Her sketch is probably more than enough information to be able to remember the shower.

After their short exchange, Linda starts sketching in her own book. They're standing close to each other, so Dora can see it the next time she looks over at Linda. It looks very good, much better than Dora's measly lines. She even brought supplies to color it in, and with every stroke, it looks more and more like the real thing. Dora thinks of complimenting her on her skill, but Linda looks very focused. She doesn't want to break her concentration.

'No, no, she probably doesn't want to talk.' Dora thinks, looking away bashfully. They might be familiar, but that doesn't mean Dora can act like they're friends. Besides, she should be paying attention to the meteors, not making idle chit chat.

The stellar display takes Dora's mind away from her embarrassing attempts at social interaction, and she starts thinking of the other myths the constellations remind her of. Lyra the lyre belongs to Orpheus, but Apollo also plays the lyre. And before him, the mischief god Hermes invented the instrument. There's so many stories that the stars remind her of, and Dora wonders what the ancient Greeks and Romans and everyone else thought of these streaks of white light, falling across the sky. Did they think the gods were falling out of the heavens?

Dora yawns and checks the time. She wishes she could stay up all night watching, but she does need to sleep. Scribbling down a few more notes, she closes her notebook and decides to head back to her dorm. Before she goes, she offers a quiet farewell to Linda. "Good night." She says, and collects her things.

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Before she leaves, Linda must notice Dora's glances at her work. Linda gestures at the page and smiles. "I will give you a copy of it later. As a gift and thank you. I know we don't know each other much, but you became like a good friend to me."

Dora stops, surprised and speechless. Regaining her voice and a blush tinges her pale skin, Dora replies, "That.. That would be lovely." She's not sure whether she means the drawing, or the offer of friendship, or both, but for whatever reason that seems like the appropriate response. Dora's not used to making friends so easily, or having the offer given so freely. Growing up, she didn't so much as have friends as have family acquaintances. Some were nice, but distant. Others weren't so nice, and teased her. She never felt like a good fit for any person.

Maybe that's still true. She doesn't see why Linda wants her as a friend after so little time, and yet she seems so sure of herself. Dora envies that.

"If you want, we can go out of Astronomy tower together. I finished my sketch. And good night." Linda offers, and Dora nods without thinking. Her head protests, but her heart would like to remain in Linda's company a little longer.

"I want to thank you as well." Dora says as they exit the tower together. "For the drawing, and.. for the company."

Linda is vibrant, like the stars and the meteor shower. Dora feels more like the darkness of the night sky. And yet, like tonight, they seem to accentuate each other. A strangely good fit on a good night.

Isadora leaves the thread with Linda