June 14
Katrina awoke far earlier than she would have wanted and decided that she was going to run today. Sure, she had been jogging for the past few weeks, but all of that had been at a more leisurely pace. But today, she was going to run. Katrina pulled on her old shoes and pushed out of her tent, starting out at a slower pace to warm up.

It wasn't long before Katrina was running at almost her full speed. Her eyes were trained on the ground, her thoughts dulled by the effort, everything was blocked out. She went faster and faster, breaking out in sweat, legs aching and feet throbbing from her not fitting shoes. A headache began to pulse but she still went on, refusing to feel anything at all. Eventually, she got past the emotions and the feelings until she was running and everything about her was running and straining.

It was about her third loop when Katrina slowed her pace again. Thoroughly tiring herself, she sat down on a log by the side of the path. She retied her shoes, attempting to find a better position. Her hair went up in a messy bun too, keeping her auburn locks from getting in her face. Katrina gripped the log to either side of her tightly and hung her head back, eyes not seeing the forested canopy above.

Nightmares. They were the only thing that kept Katrina waking up so early. It gave her the motivation to do more to try harder to push the limits. They forced her out of bed and onto the trial. They whispered lies about her family, about how other people thought about her. They tormented her at night and haunted her during the day. Last night's had been particularly bad. Katrina shook her head, refusing to let her night time horrors from plaguing her mind right now.

What she really needed was someone to talk to.

@Jess Malters

A ray of sunlight streamed through the open tent flap and landed on Jess's sleeping face, warming her. A bird chirped outside, waking her, and the girl sat up sleepily, rubbing at her eyes. Looking around the tent revealed that all her tent mates were still asleep, but Jess was now too awake and too eager to go outside and enjoy the seemingly sunny day to go back to sleep or wait for them to wake up. Springing off of her bunk and landing lightly on the floor, Jess tugged on a pair of short, cotton shorts and a loose fitting shirt, shaking her hair out of the braids she had kept it in while she slept. Careful not to wake the others, Jess walked silently out of the tent and blinked the sudden light out of her eyes.

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, there was barely a cloud to be seen in the light blue sky up above...it would be a wonderful day. Feeling the rays of sun warming her back as she walked, Jess headed over to a trail that wound its way around the campsite. She wanted to take a walk around and scope out the different areas of the camp, and the trail seemed to promise a chance to do that. She stepped along the path, cleared of most rocks and twigs, enjoying the pleasant feel of being one of the only ones awake in the camp. Jess usually liked to sleep in, so a chance to enjoy the nature by herself without the sounds of people disturbing it was a welcome change.

The sun warmed her face, and Jess figured it would probably be best to return to her tent and grab a hat before she got burnt, but the prospect of leaving the sun and traipsing quietly through her tent to get more clothes seemed like an uncomfortable one. Leaving her face in the sun would let her freckles start to pop out more anyways, and Jess liked the way that the little spots looked on her face. Plus, it couldn't hurt much to tan more and stop being so pale.

Having walked a considerable amount while she wasn't paying attention, lost in her own thoughts, Jess found that she was actually starting to feel a slight burn in her legs and wanted to sit down. Spotting a clearing a bit further down the path, Jess made her way there and saw to some surprise that there was a fallen log there, with a pretty girl with auburn hair already sitting on part of it. Figuring it would be better to say a quick hello and ask to sit there rather than keep walking for who knew how long until she reached a different place that seemed so perfect to rest at, Jess approached the girl, playing with her fingers as her nerves piped up. "Hi," she said softly, coming up behind her. "Mind if I sit here?"

@Katrina Walker

Katrina had always been one to loose herself in her thoughts. There had been a while that she wondered if it was bad or clinical or anything. She could daydream for hours and not realize it unless someone snapped her out of it. Recently, she had been doing far better, her focus had increased along with her food intake and sleep at night. She was finally on the track to feeling and doing better, overcoming the last signs of depression and mourning of her parents. However, overcoming it didn't mean that it totally went away.

Nightmares, however, were something she had no control of. Around every other night she would have them. And the crept into reality, skewing things out of focus and making her life all around harder. This had been one of the first she had had to deal with since camp had started. Katrina supposed that the amount of time she had been doing self therapy and writing in her journal had helped with it all, but something had sparked her dream. Uncertainty.

Katrina's head snapped down from looking up to see another girl on the path. She had just long enough to recompose herself, adding a touch of a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, mellowing the harsh wrinkles she had forced by stressing, relaxing her shoulders and sitting up just a bit straighter. She was a master of illusion when it came to body language. Occasionally, she could even fool herself. To any onlooker she was calm and happy, just someone slightly sweaty enjoying the morning.

Katrina idly noted that the girl seemed slightly uncomfortable, if her fighting with her fingers meant anything. "Hi," Katrina dipped her head graciously to the space beside her, "Feel free,"

Katrina was an introvert through and through. She recharged when she was alone, and being in social situations for too long drained her of energy. The graduated second year hardly ever enjoyed pleasantries and first introductions, but it was far from easy to deduce that. It took Katrina a long time to trust people and even longer to consider them friends. In fact, there were only three or four people in the school that she was safe considering them friends. But Katrina hid this all with ease.

"I'm Katrina Walker, Gryffindor, Seco-Third year," She said it all more like a roll call than a discussion topic, an informational note perhaps. "What brings you out today?," This was said with a far more cordial tone, Katrina had caught herself. Might as well make the most of the social interaction.

The girl sitting on the log turned to look at Jess, seeming happy. "Hi, feel free," she said, and Jess grinned, relieved at her warm tone. She lowered herself onto the log and squeezed her legs together tightly, careful not too take up too much space and make the other girl uncomfortable. Jess looked up into the sky, noting how pretty the blue looked with only a few fluffy white clouds scattered throughout it. Columbus clouds, if Jess remembered correctly from her lessons in school. Wait, no- columbinus? Col... col.... cumulonimbus! They were called cumulonimbus clouds, Jess remembered, satisfied.

The other girl spoke again, and Jess looked at her in surprise as she listed off practically all of her personal information without preamble, as if giving a lecture. "Oh!" exclaimed Jess softly despite herself, then mentally chided herself for not introducing herself before she asked to sit down. After all, the girl had said she was a third year, so they would probably be seeing each other in the hallways at Hogwarts for the next five years...best to get to know each other now, so they could at least put a name to the face when they saw each other. Maybe they could even be friends, Jess thought, allowing herself to hope.

"Um, I'm Jess...Jess Malters. I'm a first year, or at least I will be come the start of the school year, so, I don't really know what house I'll be in." She stopped, considering. "It'll probably be Ravenclaw, though. That's the house for the smart kids, right?" Then, realizing she had just inadvertently called the girl- Katrina- stupid, she stammered out a quick, "Not to say that the other houses aren't smart, I mean. Being in Gryffindor would be great too!"

The girl's next question snapped Jess out of her embarrassment, putting an end to her hasty explanation. "Just taking a walk, I guess," she said with a shrug. "It seemed like too nice of a day outside to let it go to waste...what about you?" The girl looked slightly sweaty, so Jess assumed she had come out to do some form of exercise. Though, Jess herself was also covered in a light sheen of sweat, so it might have just been the day's heat at work. Idly the girl wondered if wizards had a spell to prevent sweating, and if so, how early she could learn it.

@Katrina Walker

The girl sat down beside Katrina and promptly looked up at the sky. Katrina almost commented on it, but thought better. The graduated second year was always looking up. In fact, that was what she had written in the yearbook. The night sky called to her. The cloudy days sang songs of dreams. The rainy and snowy days were so much more enjoyable when you looked up to the heavens.

After Katrina's sad attempt at starting a conversation, the girl sort of jumped. Katrina made a mental note to not start a conversation with a bunch of facts. As the girl went through her basic information, Katrina forced a softer smile on her face. Her name was Jess and she was going into first year. At this, Katrina nodded.

She suspected Ravenclaw as they were considered the smart house. Katrina wasn't actually offended because often she didn't think of herself as brave or chivalrous. She was more quiet and reserved than anything. However, the one Ravenclaw she had met was pretty wise. As Jess backtracked her comment about other houses being wise, Katrina gave her a crooked smile, somewhat surprised at how acute the young girl was.

In response to the question, Katrina looked back to the track. "I have started doing morning jogs," Katrina nodded to herself, sort of forcing more out, "They help me think, and I always have something to think about." Katrina rushed on, realizing that she didn't want any further questions about that bit, "Plus, Hogwarts doesn't really have any sports; and pent up energy fuels the chaos of the Gryffindors. And that chaos I tend to steer clear of." Katrina laughed a bit at this.

She was realizing that this was the first time she had talked about how crazy the Gryffindors were. Sour and embarrassing memories of the last day of school surfaced and she battled them down as to not get lost in her thoughts.

Katrina grinned at Jess's quickly stammered explanation, and Jess allowed herself to smile too, relieved that the other girl hadn't taken offense at her words. She nodded at the girl's reply, admiring her for actually have the willpower to exercise every morning. Jess herself had, on multiple occasions, decided to start exercising and get herself into better shape, but those attempts almost always ended after a couple of days. It evened out though, Jess figured, since she still played sports and ran around with her friends all the time anyways.

"They help me think, and I always have something to think about."

Jess looked up at these words, curiosity arising as she noticed that Katrina seemed mildly uncomfortable saying this and quickly moved on to another topic. "I didn't know Gryffindors were chaotic..." she said with a laugh. "And that sucks about the sports... can't you always just play Quidditch, though?"

Jess lapsed into silence, wondering to herself if she should ask Katrina about what she had said earlier. Katrina pretty clearly didn't want to talk about that, since she had quickly skipped over the topic and started talking about sports. Although... she had brought it up, hand't she? If she really didn't want to talk, then she wouldn't have brought it up in the first place, right? Right? Jess sighed to herself. Was Katrina actually avoiding the topic, or was Jess just reading too deeply into this? Either way, the girl decided that it would be better to ask. If Jess had just imagined Katrina's unease, then the other girl wouldn't mind elaborating on her thoughts. If she really was hurting about something and Jess had been correct, then it would probably help her to talk about it to someone anyways. Plus, Katrina had only met Jess, and Jess figured that that would only make it easier for her to talk about her feelings with her. She wasn't sure why, but in her own experience, it was always easier to admit that she was hurting to someone who she didn't really know, or someone who felt like they weren't really a real person who could judge her for it later and tell others about her secrets.

"You said you had a lot to think about," Jess said softly. "Were you talking about good thinking, or bad thinking? Do you want to talk about it?"

@Jess Malters

Jess seemed to be far more acute of body language and words than most other first years she had met. It was a bit distracting for Katrina. She was so used to doing something and no one questioning it. When she smiled and looked happy, everyone just assumed she was happy. It was difficult when someone called her out on it, or even noticed.

Thankfully, it seemed like Jess wasn't going to bring up her comment on thinking. The conversation continued on. Katrina was careful to keep her expression in check, she couldn't let anything slip. It wasn't really worth the explanation or the lack of trust or anything that followed after that.

"Well, its only a few Gryffindor's that are super chaotic," Katrina thought back to her and Beckett's makeshift duel in the corridors, "Actually, they usually keep it all in the Common Room, usually," Random snips of lions acting out in social situations too made Katrina not say anything more. She didn't want Jess to have an immediate dislike of her house after all.

Quidditch. Why did all conversations come around to Quidditch, or the school balls? It was getting obvious that we all needed new topics, "I would play Quidditch if it wasn't that I am like absolutely terrified of heights and can't fly a broom to save my life," Katrina admitted this with a laugh. Why was she saying this?! No one knew that! Besides maybe Adonis, but that wasn't even a certainty because she was half conscious when he flew her from the ball to the Hospital Wing.

Then it happened. Jess asked about what she had mentioned about having a lot to think about. Katrina could see clear concern in her gaze. She got that a lot. She hadn't even mentioned anything and the girl was worried for her. Now the question was, how much was she going to say?

"Well, talking about things hasn't done much good in the past, but why not give it a shot," Katrina said this with a joking tone, but there was a badly hidden undertone of memory in it. A flash of Elspeth pale and in the middle of a panic attack kept Katrina from saying anything for a second, "There are a few rumors that won't die that I would rather you hear from me than from anyone else..."

Katrina bit her lip debating how to say it the right way, "My parents died in a house fire last Spring, well, last-last spring," Katrina waited a moment to let it sink in, looking up for a moment to avoid the pity look that was most likely heading her way.

"Alsooo," Katrina drew out the word, "There was this school ball thing. The Blossomball. School balls are never safe and I would recommend you never go to them ever. The only reason I go is to try to help everyone who didn't know what they were getting themselves into. Anyway, there were this big, huge actually, like half the size of me, called Mosps. There was a whole bunch of them that came and people fought them. But they were like bee's with huge poisonous stingers. I got stung twice before the mosps retreated,"

Katrina waited a moment, pushing the memories aside, narrowly avoiding a panic attack, "I didn't heal that well. I don't know why, but there are a bunch of people that made up rumors up about it," Katrina drew the sleeve of her Gryffindor sweatshirt up to reveal a large white scar the size of a golf ball on the outside of her left arm. She then pulled back her hair on her right side to reveal another smaller mark that grazed the top of her ear.

Katrina waited a moment, letting the large amount of information that she had just dumped on the first year to sink in. Katrina would rather her find all of this out before she headed to a school ball or a bunch of people were talking. Facts. That was all Katrina ever said. "So, yeah, I guess I do have a lot to think about. Sorry I just dumped all of that on you," Hopefully she didn't just scare away Jess.

Jess grinned at Katrina's statement about Quidditch, but sobered up quickly as the girl seemed to pick up a more serious tone. Jess wanted to comment on her words, but thought it best to just let her say everything she needed to all at once and address it all later. After all, it was a lot easier to just keep talking when you started, especially if you were revealing something serious the way Jess guessed that Katrina was about to be.

"There are a few rumors that won't die that I would rather you hear from me than from anyone else..."

At these words, Jess quirked an eyebrow. She had hadn't heard any rumors, but then again, it was a rare occasion when Jess actually knew what was going on around her in social terms. A bit worried now, Jess wondered what the girl could have done to warrant rumors to be spread about her. She seemed fairly harmless, though, so Jess hoped it was nothing too bad.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as Katrina started speaking again, her eyes widening fractionally as the girl said that her parents were dead. "I'm sorry..." murmured Jess, not quite sure what else to say. She had a bizarre urge to try and make a joke out of it by saying something along the lines of 'well, at least you don't have to listen to them anymore,' but knew that it was wholly inappropriate and highly doubted it would sit well with Katrina. She wasn't really sure how to take news this grave seriously though, and so she simply stayed quiet and allowed the girl to keep speaking.

As the girl continued to speak, Jess's mouth slowly dropped and she closed it with a snap. She hadn't known what Mosps were, or that they even existed, before Katrina's story, and her discovery of these beasts came with a pang of fear. If Katrina, a third year, had managed to get stung twice by these monstrous beasts, and on Hogwarts grounds no less, then how was Jess supposed to expect to be kept safe when school started that year?

"I didn't heal that well. I don't know why, but there are a bunch of people that made up rumors about it."

When Katrina pulled up her shirt sleeve, Jess leaned in slightly for a better look before quickly pulling back, not wanting to make the girl feel like some sort of exhibit at the zoo that people ogled at. Jess had a scar, too, as most children probably did, but her's was only about an inch long and was on her ankle where she had scraped it during a fall on the concrete taken while playing tag with some of her friends. Katrina's scar, though, was a different story. With the size that it was, Jess doubted it would go unnoticed if the girl didn't wear long sleeves around everywhere she went. At least she can hide the scar on her ear, Jess thought to herself.

"So, yeah, I guess I do have a lot to think about. Sorry I just dumped all of that on you."

Jess was quiet for a moment, taking it all in. "Wow... um, no, that's fine. I don't mind..." She looked up at Katrina, making their eyes meet. "I'm sure you've heard this before, but the whole, um, the whole thing with your parents should get better with time... it did for me, when my grandpa passed a couple of months ago. I still get sad about it sometimes, obviously, but I'm not like always thinking about it the way I was before. Distracting yourself with something else helps too, I think." She took a deep breath as she adjusted her seat, trying not to think too hard about her own woes. "And those scars seem pretty scary... at least they make for a good story, right?" She tried to grin at the girl, hoping to ease the grim mood that had built up around them. "As for heights, I don't think I'm scared of them, though I do tend to kind of freeze up when it's time to step off the platform thing when I go ziplining... and, if we're sharing fears, I am kind of scared of the dark." She pointed a finger at Katrina, furrowing her brows, but her lips were pulled into a small smile. "Don't tell anyone, though."

Katrina sat for a moment, speechless by her outburst. What had just happened? Had she really just said all of that out loud? Katrina was always so conserved and quiet and kept things that were bothering her to herself. There had only been two times where she had just erupted like that and she was vowing now never to do it again. She wanted people to think of her as well-behaved and not think about rumors when they looked at her. Or, in this case not rumors, but the truth instead.

Jess was silent as Katrina had expected her to be. She had, after all, just unloaded a bunch of stuff onto the first year. There was a small part of Katrina that knew that acclimating to Hogwarts next year may be a bit easier if she already knew some of the worst bits.

When Jess finally talked, she didn't seem as frightened or put-off as Katrina had anticipated. In fact, she had a few well meant words about coping with her parent's death. Words didn't really help that much anymore. They always told the same story, pity, and that was something Katrina did a lot to avoid. Instead of speaking and furthering a discussion about her loss, Katrina shrugged a bit ambivalently.

Thankfully, she changed the topic back to a happier place. Fears. Which, in all honesty, were a better topic for Katrina than her troubled past. Jess made light of her fear of the dark and Katrina smiled and nodded along. "I'll be sure to keep that between us," She managed to get her emotions into a convincing smile, even though a heaviness made it seem a bit strained.

Katrina realized that time had escaped her yet again and it was now already a few minutes into breakfast. "Oh, I just realized how late it is! Would you like to go get breakfast?" Should Jess agree, Katrina would stand up and stretch her back for a moment.

Thinking about exiting next reply?

Jess grinned as Katrina promised not to tell anyone about her fear of the dark, though the girl's smile gave her pause. It seemed a bit forced, but then again, she had just revealed to Jess that her parents were dead, so it made sense for her to still be uneasy. "Thanks," said Jess with a nod, "I'll hold you to that promise, though." The girl hadn't technically actually made a promise, but if she had, Jess would have considered it a solemn deal that could not be broken. After all, promises are sacred and hugs can save the world. Wait, thought Jess to herself in slight alarm. Should I have hugged her when she said the stuff about her parents and showed me the scars? I don't know if she likes hugs, though... plus, I just met her. Okay, maybe it's fine that I didn't try to hug her. I hope.

When the girl mentioned breakfast, Jess's stomach gave a loud grumble and she looked down at it crossly. "Well, if my stomach's got anything to say about it, then yeah." Jess sat for a moment longer, letting the sun shine down onto her skin and warm her face. Does she mean eat together? I'm not sure... I mean, I hope so. Deciding to just follow Katrina and see if she went to sit somewhere with her friends or chose to stick with Jess, the girl opened her eyes and slowly looked back down. She stood and brushed her hands over her shorts, smoothing them down, then turned back to peer at Katrina.

She was still tense and a bit uneasy thinking about the conversation she had just had, and she was sure Katrina was too. "About all the stuff you mentioned earlier, are you like..." she began, not quite sure how to phrase what she wanted to ask. "Are you okay?" If Katrina responded positively, Jess would nod and continue the walk to the breakfast area. If the girl said no, Jess would pause for a moment and then softly say that eventually, Katrina would be, then continue walking.

Jess Malters has exited the thread.