Closed Errand Mass Thread Four Walls

⋖ 07/Apr/2024 @ late morning? | OUTFIT | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Sereia Clairmont (permission received to directly interact) | MENTIONING n/a
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Rain fell silently on high, clouds having just recently rolled in from the hills. Although not entirely unpleasant on the ground, the turn of weather had cut short what could have been a more productive afternoon of flying. As temperate as it was below, the air had a nasty habit of biting at quickly freezing fingers, even the thinnest of rain making it a challenge to sit comfortably on a broom without slipping, or to spy a speeding snitch. Although Evelynn would have to reacclimate to such conditions in the event of less-than-ideal weather during a Quidditch match, it wasn't something she cared to endure today. And so she had descended from the skies, turning in early, stowing her broom in her deceptively expansive leather satchel and slinging it over her shoulder.

It hadn't been entirely a waste, at least. With most students absent from Hogwarts for the Easter and Spring break and not slated to return until that evening, the Quidditch pitch had been largely empty. After a few unfortunate recent experience of younger students not respecting the practice space of those sharing the pitch, that had been a breath of relief for the returning seeker. What little air time she'd managed to secure had been focused, efficient use of her time. There was no question about the need to return again, however. And soon. Having been away from the game for over a year now, the rust had fallen hard and was not chipping away quite as easily as she might have liked.

Still, even the rain that speckled her quidditch uniform as she made her way back to the castle couldn't dampen the little thrill that still lingered even as her feet now touched the ground. She'd missed it. More than she cared to admit. The rush of wind that whipped and tangled her curls, the way a sudden drop pulled her stomach into her throat, the forces she had to fight against with the break-neck acceleration of her Silver.. It gave her a boost of adrenaline like little else could. There was a freedom in the air that the earth simply didn't provide. She could almost feel some semblance of herself returning, although perhaps it was just the high of the flight taking the edge of her cynicism. Regardless, the hint of a self-contented smile managed to hold a place on her countenance for much of the trek back across the grounds.

It vanished the moment she made it across the bridge and entered the courtyard. Taking in the appearance of a number of tables and chairs set out that had decidedly not been there before she'd left for practice, Evelynn's steps slowed. Eyes narrowed as they moved from table to table, thoughts shifting from her recent flight to what madness might have prompted someone to arrange whatever this was on a rainy overcast day. There were even piles of pages stacked and what appeared—she noticed, in passing one such table—containers of crayons. Only a single individual was initially noticed, drawing the lioness' expression only further into scrutiny.

"Miss Clairmont..?" Evelynn easily recognized the professor. There were only a handful of brunettes amidst the castle staff, and while the Gryffindor would occasionally initially mistake Miss Regan as Miss Galim from afar, the new Divinations professor had an altogether different hair texture and facial shape. Cautious, but curious, and perhaps spying a rare opportunity to interface with the relatively unknown adult in an environment more suited to Evelynn's advantage, she closed the distance. Her approach was not quite a linear one, however, arching inwards as though to take her time studying the individual of her attention, circling while closing in.

"An interesting choice of location for arts and crafts..." The sixteen-year-old's observation was delivered with a bemused lilt and the lifting of a palm to the gentle fall of rain when she realized the professor was colouring in the image of a house. But it wasn't the drawing that would hold Evelynn's focus. A scrutinizing silver gaze took the opportunity of a more personal encounter to study the professor more closely than she had previously done, mentally noting the shape of her face and features, any visible marks or scars, the way she carried herself, her handedness, the expression of her face, and any and all minutiae of detail she could glean that might offer any indication to the woman's nature or state of mind. "Are you divining meaning by the seemingly random patterning of water droplet diffusing into the parchment where they strike?" It was a jest, but by the dry manner in which the question was delivered, it could very well have been taken as a serious question.

Word Count: 771

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Interacting with: @Sereia Clairmont and Open for interactions!	Word Count: 338/700	Outfit: Reducio A Hufflepuff uniform with some black leggings. Her usual bag and her hair done slightly fancy in an extremely short braid.

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Minnie smiled as she walked into the courtyard, ready to do the activity. Her smile dropped when she realized who was doing it. It was the divination professor, Professor Clairmont. How did she know this professor? Well, she had run into her when she was trying to get into the restricted section at night. It didn't sound good, but she hadn't done it for nefarious purposes. But anyway, the divination professor and her were not on good terms. Hopefully that wouldn't come back to haunt her today. She was still determined to do the activity. Sitting down and avoiding looking at Professor Clairmont, Minnie looked at the paper and started to think about how to color it. Coloring was something she hadn't done since a little kid, and still thought it to be something only young people did. So she felt extremely silly planning on coloring it in. What would her Da say? Most likely that she was just doing an activity and being good at it, but she still didn't really want to find out. So this was not something that would be going on her owls. Minnie thought back to the last time she remembered coloring, an exercise from a tutor. Her tutor had commented at how well she was coloring, which was rather odd now that she thought about it. She had been feeling unhappy around that time too, as her muggle friend had moved away. Looking back on it, she was sure her Da or Mum had told her tutor to make her feel happy, so that was nice of them. They could have done it themselves though. Shaking her thoughts out of that she went back to focusing on what to do for her goals and hopes and dreams. I don't quite understand this...I think I'm going to have to ask her. Canary creams this is going to be awkward... Minnie sighed and walked up to the professor, her face all embarrassed and red. "Professor Clairmont, I have a question about this..."

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Quinn walked down to the courtyard and sighed as she saw the activity set up. Coloring? Really? Quinn shrugged her shoulders and sat down at a table. My goals to improve on each... Ha-ru-ah? Quinn didn't know how to pronounce that word. Quinn saw the professor sitting at one of the tables. She seemed to be sitting there and coloring in a house. I guess she is joining in on the activity. Quinn thought. Quinn looked down at the paper and picked up a colored pencil. Taha Wairua, are spiritual well being. Hmm let me come back to that one. Quinn shifted her eyes over to the right and read the next wall. Taha Hinengaro. Weird word. Hmm, our mental and emotional well being. Quinn read. Quinn thought for a moment. Sure, I can start by coloring that. I think I'll color that red. Quinn picked up her red colored pencil and began to color the house. Red I guess for the fact that my emotions are a whole jumble of love, and anger, and all sorts of things. Quinn finished coloring it and looked at it from and angle. That looks good. Now for my goals on how to improve on it. Quinn thought for a while. How can I improve on my mental and emotional well being. Well maybe I could exercise more. Maybe do some yoga. Quinn wrote grabbed a pen a wrote down,
Stretch in the morning, do yoga, breath, make sure to get some sleep. Spend time with people who make me happy.

Quinn looked at the paper satisfied with her answer. Quinn looked down the paper and read, Taha Whanau, our Whanau family and social well being. Quinn looked up from the paper. My family. and social well being. What color should that be? Quinn thought for a moment before going with yellow. Yellow is a sunshiney color which goes with how I feel about my family sometimes, happy! Most of the time really, but yellow is also a fire color which shows that I can be annoyed sometimes and social life can be really exhausting. Quinn sighed thinking about her love life for a second before going back to the paper. as she colored the house in with yellow she thought about the next thing. The yellow looked pretty nice after she had finished coloring. How do I improve on this? She wondered. Well for my social well being then maybe I can spend time with my friends and do stuff in an activity that makes me happy. Quinn thought. She scribbled down the words.
Do activities that make me happy with a group that makes me happy.

Quinn paused then thought about her family. Maybe I could spend more time with my family. I mean, I can't really do that so maybe I could send more letters and have fun with them over the summer. Quinn finished writing her ways to improve.
Write letters to my family and spend time with them.

Quinn looked onto the bottom one, ready to move on. Whenua, our connection to land and our roots. Quinn read. How- what? Ok. Let's start with a color. Most people connect Ireland with green but really I connect it with... a tealish blue. The ocean is that color and it rains a lot so the water is teal. Quinn looked through her colored pencil, trying to find one that matched what she wanted. She finally found the color she was looking for and colored that bottom of the house in. Quinn reached the part where she had to find how to improve on it. How the hell do I improve on my connection to the... Oh. My roots. Quinn took a pen and wrote down something.
Learn more about my ancestors.

Quinn read the next one. Taha Tinana, our physical health and well being. Well that one easier for improving. For color... I think I'll go with green. Green because when I excercise in nature I fell calmer. Quinn picked a green and colored in the house part. Now for how to improve. That's easy, excercise.
Exercise and sleep. Make sure to have fun.

Quinn bit her lip at the last one. Back to the start. What color? Quinn wondered. I guess for spiritual I would go with purple, it just seems right. Quinn colored it in purple. How do I improve? Quinn wondered. She thought until a idea hit her.
Understand my faith, delve deeper, ask questions.

Quinn smiled as she finished.
"Oh, hi Minnie!" She said waving to her as she noticed her.

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Quinn's House

Reducio

Banner was made by the amazing Mellani Miller

Date: 7 April 2024 Time: Unknown, probably late

Interacting with: X Mentions: @Pericles Dralt, @Irina Shevel, Hyltwis, Reltyl and Erin

English | French Thoughts

What a day. Honestly, Mahlioz wasn't too sure why she'd decided to partake in this event. It had been a long day and they probably would have preferred to stay in bed with a good book and get things out of their head. Especially after such a long day of travelling back to Hogwarts after the Easter break. But she'd gotten a paper from the new Divination professor before she left, and she was determined to do this. Because, to be honest, her health definitely needed some working.

As much as they wanted to sit down and get to work and try not to think about anything else, though, their brain didn't seem to accept that. They couldn't stop thinking about the holidays. Of course, she'd gone home; she only had a few months left with that house, and she wanted to take as much time as possible with it. But things had been so... weird. They'd thought Reltyl and themselves were getting along better, but a lot of the break had just been silence between them. She wasn't sure why she hadn't initiated anything. Her brain was so muddled recently. She couldn't do anything she wanted to.

Mahlioz had found out about the event before leaving for the break. They'd been planning to color in and write on the little drawing of a house during the holidays, but with everything, they'd completely forgotten about it until they were back at Hogwarts. So now she was going to take some time to work on it in the courtyard, with some other kids who'd decided to take part in it as well.

The new Divination professor was from New Zealand, as it turned out. And for this World Health Day, she'd decided to use a custom native to her country. Taking out the paper with the little house - a whare was the name, if they remembered correctly - Mahlioz went through the four walls in their head. Physical, mental, spiritual and social health. Yeah, she had some improvements to make in those, didn't she.

Physical health was the most obvious one. Mahlioz rather hated most sports. They really had to put some effort in and find some they'd like. And do more of the one they already knew they loved - archery. She'd always wanted to try fencing, and she thought she'd heard Pericles mention knowing how to at some point - maybe she'd ask him. As she finished coloring in the first wall in a dark orange color that felt like sports, Mahlioz wrote "Find some sports I like, and do more archery" next to it. Right. One wall done, three to go.

Mental health... nope, they weren't ready yet, they'd come back to it. Spiritual health was something they didn't often think about. She wasn't too sure what it entailed. The Slytherin imagined it had something to do with religion and gods. Her family was Christian, but not really all that religious; Mahlioz didn't know much about Christianity except for the main bits about Christmas and Easter. They didn't often go to church, but they did like the feeling of family or homeliness when they did. Perhaps she'd try to figure herself out a bit more. Find out what she believed, where she was at in terms of religion. They wanted to know, now that they thought about it. The next wall was colored in light yellow, which felt like spirituality to them, and they wrote "Figure out what I believe in, and do some research on different religions".

Third, there was social health. That, weirdly, was something Mahlioz felt she wasn't actually doing too badly with. Sure, she didn't like talking to people most of the time, but living in the gargantuan school that was Hogwarts meant she couldn't really get too far without doing so. And with time, they'd gotten to hate it slightly less. They rather liked having friends. The only thing she thought she could (and would willingly) improve on was actually going to see them consistently. They colored in the social health wall blue, writing "Spend more time with friends, maybe read a tiny bit less so I can get out of my room from time to time (:".

And finally, what she'd skipped over: mental health. They didn't know what to make of it. They'd thought everything was going fine, but then their gender crisis had jumped onto them out of nowhere, and she'd been trying not to think of that too much, because it was complicated. And then there was the move, which she had finally started feeling things about, but they were mostly sad things and she really just wanted to go home and stay there forever. And what was happening with Reltyl, and how she felt about Erin and Hyltwis breaking up. Though that was probably more of a social health thing.

They were having problems with their mental health, and to be honest, they had no idea what to do about them. How was she supposed to fix them? What was she supposed to write next to this wall? Mental health was important, that they knew, and they'd thought they were doing so well until the beginning of the school year. But now things just felt like they were falling apart around her, and she had no idea how to stop them or regain control. Just admitting that much to themselves made them want to cry. How were they supposed to do anything about it?

She decided on "Stop shoving everything away and start actually thinking through my problems". Maybe not very realistic. She certainly wouldn't be doing it right now. But perhaps they could start trying again. For once that they were doing better with their social health than with their mental one, maybe they could use that to help them out. Talking to Irina had definitely helped. She could count on her friends. After a moment, she added "Talk to my friends about it" next to the previous point.

The final wall colored in green, Mahlioz's whare was done. That had been way harder than they'd been expecting. She was exhausted. Though she also felt somewhat relieved, like that had actually helped. Only time could tell if such a sentiment was correct.

WC= 1041/700

banner by ulysses drake

Sereia's Calming Presence is in effect

sunday, 7th of april, 2024

Sereia put down the pencil and brushed her hands together to get rid of the residue. The Kōwhaiwhai she had chosen was basic but it was the most she could remember. On the roof of the house, she drew the rauru pattern symbolising new life and growth. It made sense, in a way, since this teaching journey was brand new to her. Sereia didn't remember if thee was a specific colouring style to it, but she knew you couldn't go wrong with red, black, and white.

The pillars of her house were decorated with a pattern that had the same meaning as the rauru pattern. The koru was reminiscent of a silver fern frond unfurling from its youth. A house built on new beginnings and the strength to grow into a new person. Sereia looked at it and her goals and grinned. She always had a knack for accidentally creating something that all came together in the end.



Sereia looked proudly at the composition. The blend of colours was pleasing to her eyes and reminded her very much of a marae (meeting house). While it lacked many features of a marae such as the tekoteko face at the top of the structure, the porch at the entrance, and more Kōwhaiwhai on the roof frame, it was a representation of her whare.

At the call of her name, she looked up and smiled. "Hello! Evelynn? It's wonderful to see you here." Sereia hoped she got the name right; many of her students were in for class and out as soon as it ended. Another aspect of her social wellbeing to work on: get to know students outside of class. "How has your break been?"

Looking around at the courtyard, Sereia chuckled. "I think the fresh air is a nice touch. Thankfully the rain hasn't poured too much since setting this all up. And as for divining using droplets-" Sereia clapped her hands together- "I'm not sure if the way they fall on paper is an actual method, but there is actual rain divination. You actually have to watch them down a window! Have you ever watched two raindrops go down the window and pretend they were racing? It's an actual divining method, though it's not one I teach. Maybe it might interest you."

The mention of watching raindrops on windows was a throwback to her younger days. While she never practiced divination via that method, she was surprised that it was an actual thing. Then again, you could divine the future with anything as long as you have a method of interpreting it later. The idea of divining by the shape of rain drops falling on paper seemed like an interesting one to explore.

Her name came again and Sereia looked towards the next student. At first, she greeted them with the usual smile and happy-go-lucky demeanour but then she remembered who it was. Still, she cleared her throat and kept her diplomatic face. It was time to look past the trouble and stay open to teaching. "Minnie, hello. What's your question?"

It was nice to see more people enter and have a go at the colouring page. Hopefully they were de-stressing and reflecting while doing so. It was also nice to have people ask questions; Sereia liked to think the concept was pretty straightforward but some of the walls were probably unclear to find a goal for. This cultural exchange was one she was enjoying.

Sereia briefly turned to Evelynn again. "Sit, sit. Would you like to colour? I have way too many pages, probably more than students who'll show up. Or maybe just think about the concept of Hauora?" If there was one thing Sereia learned about communicating with children was that you needed a good mix of instruction and suggestion.

⋖ 07/Apr/2024 @ late morning? | OUTFIT | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Sereia Clairmont (permission received to directly interact) | MENTIONING @Minnie Duke

OPEN TO INTERACTION

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"Decipio, yes," Evelynn added, both an affirmation of the professor's question, but also a subtle correction. Familiarity always seemed to be the go-to for most individuals, student and staff alike. It was one thing to object to a peer's use of her first name, quite another to do so to a teacher. Not that she was really one to directly correct anyone, generally choosing to tolerate the overfamiliarity with grace. The same would be said for now, the Gryffindor simply offering a polite smile and dip of her head upon Miss Clairmont's recognition. Then, to succinctly answer the woman's question, "productive."

Vague amusement had settled in the slight curl of the girl's lips at either corner of her mouth as the divination professor commented on the rain and its use in divination. "Mn." The low hum was offered in response to the woman's question on whether Evelynn had ever seen raindrops trickle down a window with the thought of them racing. She would be surprised if such a notion hadn't ever occurred to someone, at least in childhood. It had been some time since such a perspective had been held, however, even though reading on a rainy day in the comfort of a window nook continued to be a favoured past-time. There was something entertaining in the way she may have stumbled upon a novel form of divining, however. "Maybe it might," she agreed with a shrug of a brow, making a mental note to investigate the validity of studying the patterns of rain spatters on parchment.

The arrival of a young student to the table briefly split their attention. Like Miss Clairmont, Evelynn found her focus drawn momentarily to the young girl, recognition flashing. It was the same student that had interjected herself into Evelynn's conversation with the young Mister Connor when cleaning up that mess of dung bombs and whatever else students-who-thought-themselves-so-clever had done to soil the transfiguration classroom. The ex-prefect's gaze dipped to the girl's hands, before returning to her face, eyes narrowed.

Silent and sentinel, she only stood, chin lofted and posture poised while the one named Minnie had her questions addressed. Or intended to, anyway. When the professor briefly deviated her attention back to Evelynn, suggesting she sit, there was a pause before deciding to take the woman up on her offer. Fingertips trailing along the backrest of the chair as she circled around it, Evelynn lowered herself smoothly into its seat, plucking palms smoothing out her uniform as she did so. It wouldn't hurt, she decided, to sit for a few minutes before heading back to the dorms to continue the slog of study, though that did not mean she would demean herself to colouring with crayons like an infant.

"I would not, no," came her decisive rejection of the notion, "but I thank you for your offer. I have not coloured in picture drawings-" A lidded gaze fell upon a crayon as she lazily plucked it from the nearby jar, rolled it in her fingers, then dropped it right back in again. "-since Kindergarten."

Nor had she any intention of thinking upon the concept of Hauora, but seeing as she wouldn't be able to pursue what she actually wished to do and question the woman with the child standing next to them, she was left with little option. It only took a moment to gather the concept of the activity. Miss Clairmont had left her drawing on the table, plainly visible and with script that was legible enough to read upside down. Mental, social, physical, spiritual. The four pillars of health—or walls, it seemed to be, in this analogy. And next to them, strategies to address them.

Evelynn's lips thinned, elbows lifting to rest on the table, chin settling upon the knuckles of fingers interlaced above. Discomfort settled in her gut, a grudging recognition that according to this, she was in a drastic state of imbalance, and had no intention of rectifying it. Her physical well-being, at least, wasn't in question. With her return to quidditch, she had wandered back to old routines: morning runs around the lake, regular practice upon her broom, a focus on eating as well as she was able. Sleep would forever elude her, but there were tonics to help with that and the more she exercised, the less the nightmares seemed to find her, giving motivation to keep up with her fitness.

The rest, however... no doubt Miss Clairmont would claim them to be in dire straights. She couldn't remember when it had happened, but she had fallen out with God a long time ago. It wasn't that religion and magic conflicted, per se, but the new world had painted her previous understanding under a different light. One where she was now able to explain every miracle and happenstance with relative ease. Nor could she reconcile the goings-on in the wizarding world with her previous teachings. To say that her current relationship with faith was complicated would be an understatement. That said, she had found something, she might even go so far to say a spiritual connection, in the presence of nature. The lake and tree had always drawn her presence during times of turbulence. Their calming effect was one she had acknowledged and actively pursued time and again. Her recent completion of the animagi ritual had only strengthened that bond. Perhaps it was something she could explore more deeply.

As for mental... Study for O.W.L.s and upcoming GCSEs had kept her progressing academically, always learning and growing intellectually. Not to mention that her eyes had been opened to the continued threats that hung over the school, prompting her to reflect on past years and revisit her notes. Whether that was necessarily healthy for her mental state might be a point of contention, but it did serve as distraction from other more distressing issues. She was as sharp as ever. But mentally sound? Well, she hadn't hexed any students in at least a week. That was progress, right? And the animagus ritual had helped in this facet as well. Emotions were muted, she'd found, while transformed. When overwhelmed or overstimulated, she could make her escape to calm down. There were a number of trees that were now a bit worse off because of it, but shredded bark was a great deal better than than the alternative.

But for social well-being, there was only so much she was willing to compromise. Her feet remained steadfastly immobile in her aim to remain impartial. There had just been too many losses. Even Lane, who had only just begun to draw nearer had vanished the moment he'd shown interest. Convinced that she was in some way cursed, Evelynn simply could not see any benefit of a social sphere. It was a danger to be near her, and a weakness and worry with which she wished not to tangle. Everyone was better off without. But she was here, wasn't she? After having isolated herself for the better part of a year, here she was taking the initiative to speak with someone. There may have been a motivation for it, true, but she was willingly subjecting herself to the presence of others, going so far as to risk the return of the voices that would sometimes find their way into her head amidst a crowd. She was even planning to attend the ball, which was quite the leap, all things considered...

Set on the path of contemplation while the professor aided those students who approached with questions about the task, thoughts would continue to churn. Any looking towards the table would see Evelynn sitting in deep thought, her gaze having drifted towards the hedges surrounding the courtyard, a far-off look upon her features. It was likely that Evelynn would not speak again, nor rouse from her meditative state, unless spoken to.

Word Count: 1307

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Interacting with: @Sereia Clairmont, @Quinn Brook, and @Evelynn Decipio also Open for interactions!	Word Count: 335/700	Outfit: Reducio A Hufflepuff uniform with some black leggings. Her usual bag and her hair done slightly fancy in an extremely short braid.

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Minnie breathed a sigh of relief as the professor didn't say anything about her...night trip. She took a deep breath and blushed, embarrassed that she had to ask. "Um...so the thing is I don't quite understand the um...do we...I'm a little confused on what we should do, sorry to bother you about it. I just don't really understand what the hauora is really about. I would love for you to tell me...if you don't mind." She quickly backed away and turned to Quinn. "Hello Quinn, nice to see you. How are you?" Then she noticed the girl from that fun dung bomb explosion she'd set off looking at her. How odd. She thought. She blinked, then walked over to the girl-Evelynn she thought. "Hi...so...nice to see you not cleaning up a mess." Minnie smiled like she was joking, but inside felt guilty for making the poor people have to clean up the mess she had made-but that was ages ago and hopefully Evelynn did not know she had caused it. Then she turned back to the professor, still quite embarrassed. "You don't mind me asking do you?" She wanted to make sure, just in case professor Clairmont still harbored any hard feelings. Wow, coming here is becoming an extremely large mess. Especially if Evelynn does know...but I'm still going to do it, at least I will when I understand it. Why is this so confusing? Ugh. I really must be making the divination professor annoyed. Maybe I shouldn't take divination in my third year. Although, most likely her feelings of annoyance will have gone down, so perhaps she won't make my life miserable in divination class. Or at least she hopefully won't predict my death. But that's in two years, so I don't need to worry about that for a while. Breaking out of her thoughts, Minnie waited for Professor Clairmont to answer her question, and for the two people she had said hello to to respond.

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Interacting with : Reducio @Minnie Duke, @Quinn Brook Mentioning: Reducio @Sereia Clairmont I am open to any and all interactions.

Outfit: Reducio

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Kaitlyn skipped out to the courtyard. She heard there was something about walls … well-being … and houses? Oh, and strange words she never heard of before. Honestly, it confused her entirely. But, it made her all the more curious. So, she took some time our of her Sunday, to come and see what this errand was all about.

Noticing a Professor, whom she did not have, sitting at the table with a stack of papers, Kaitlyn smiled to her. “Good morning, Professor. I hope you had a good break,” she said, as she took one of the sheets with the house on it. With a small smile, she turned and immediately sat at one of the tables. She giggled, understanding that they were coloring this house in. ‘It reminds me of coloring in my drawings, so I don’t really mind,’ she thought.

‘So, Taha Wairua … spirital well being. How on earth do I improve that, especially here at Hogwarts? I think the best way would be for me to find time to be spiritual? Maybe find time to sit down and pray to a higher being? Or at least reflect on my blessings and atone for when I mess up? I was enrolled at a Catholic all-girls boarding school. I can’t really go to church here. But, over the summer, yes. But, I can still pray.’ Kaitlyn colored in that part of the house in a pastel purple, putting orange squiggles, as well.

‘Taha Hinengaro … mental and emotional wellbeing. I already meditate. I guess I should keep doing that? Oh, maybe journal? I’ve wanted to do that for a while. Oh, too bad we didn’t do this before the break, I could’ve obtained a journal from a store near my house. But, well, I guess I could try. Maybe daily? weekly? I don’t really know how often that is supposed to be done. I guess anything would be better than not doing it at all.’ Kaitlyn colored in that part of the house mint green, her favorite color.

‘Taha Whānau … family and social wellbeing. I guess better connections with my family? Maybe Abby, my twin sister, and I should schedule time to see each other? I would write home more, but being a muggleborn, I don’t want to scare my family with constant owls. Maybe I can write letters that I don’t send. The process of writing it should be therapeutic. I can spend more time with them over the summer. As for social, well, I am painfully shy and quiet. And yet, I have been making friends, surprisingly. Maybe I should make more time for my friends? Or, maybe hang out with them in groups instead? That way it gives all of us a chance to grow closer?’ Kaitlyn’s cheeks burned bright red. ‘And, um, my love life is … I don’t even know. I like Minnie. That’s all that I know. So far, no other girls have caught my eye. At least, not in a romantic sense,’ she thought. She colored that area of the house in a very pale pink. Then, she added red hearts to it.

‘And the last one … Taha Tinana … physical health and wellbeing. I already do yoga. I run. I dance. I try to control my eating. Maybe I should improve on that? Or, I can research other yoga poses. I do only use a few of them regularly.’ She thought as she colored in that section of the house in a periwinkle blue.

Kaitlyn further took some time to write out the goals she thought about for each section of the house. It was a grueling process. She stopped to look at her house. Being the perfectionist that she was, she colored the ground around the house green. And the chimney was gray. She looked at her drawing, sighing happily. ‘Are we supposed to be handing this in? Or … what do we do with it?’ She thought. She glanced over at Professor Clairmont, then back down at her paper. ‘Eh, I can just wait until she comes over? Maybe I should daydream about Minnie …. eh, that’s likely not a good idea.’

She lifted her blue eyes to see who else was at the errand. She spotted Minnie. Her cheeks flushed and she waved to Minnie. “Hi, Minnie,” she called out, waving to her. ‘Yeah, not a good idea to daydream about her when she is right there.’ She also spotted Quinn, one of her best friends. “Hi, Quinn!” She called out to her. ‘Maybe I can daydream about a way I can celebrate my best friends? Tracey … Rowan … Quinn. Have I ever hung out with them all at once? I don’t think so. Maybe I should do something fun with them? I may be creative, but I am not that creative in thinking about how to accomplish that. I don’t want to be considered boring,’ she thought, getting lost in her own mind.

Picture:

Reducio

Reducio

Note: 831 words