Tree Climbing Buddies PV Ruby Cazares Closed

It was a Monday and classes had ended for the day. Ruby had already done various activities that she did daily – things like homework, drawing, reading, writing in her notebooks, analyzing people, and more – and now she was ready to either meet people, just relax, or go outside. It was somewhat chilly and it was a fairly windy day, but that didn't particularly bother the young Slytherin. Before long, she had ended up in a tree close to the Great Lake – one that she had climbed multiple times previously. She was draped on one of the branches in the top half of the tree, staring out at the beautiful, glistening water of the lake. The wind blew through the leaves, making them rustle and causing many of the branches (especially the thin ones) to move around – waving, dancing, shaking. The branch and tree she had chosen had been carefully selected, and she had faith that nothing would break or be likely to cause her harm, despite the wind.

It was bliss to be up here. The smells, sights, sounds, and feelings of being outside and in nature were wonderful. Here, she didn't need to worry about anything. She could simply exist, surrounded by nature – not only the trees and the lake, but also the creatures that leaped from tree to tree, running across the branches, or hovered nearby. It was peaceful, despite the sounds that drifted from the ground up to her – sounds of humanity, of children playing and laughing, with others chatting amicably in groups. They were all background sounds, and since she had already gathered enough information from the people currently outside, she could tune them out. Then, she felt something – vibrations in the tree. They weren't coming from the wind, and they were too heavy/large to be a little woodland animal. A human? Probably. She wasn't the only person here that climbed trees. She glanced down, barely moving at all. Yes, that was definitely another human, a student that had apparently not noticed her. Who was this? They seemed familiar. Ruby had notebooks full of analyses, observations, and sketches of people that she saw. She mentally filed through this information, picturing each page in her head.

That was who it was. Ayarai Blizard, first year Slytherin. Someone in Ruby's own year and house – no wonder why she recognized her. Although the girls had never talked, they would share classes and had probably seen each other around, whether in the common room or just generally in school. What information did she have on this one? Ruby was thinking about this when she was interrupted by Ayarai speaking. By now, the other girl had clearly spotted her and was settled on a branch. Well, she would have to push her thoughts aside, for now, and live in the moment. Currently, that meant responding.

She gave her housemate a smile. “Yes, I do. Isn't it wonderful up here?” she replied simply.