Quiet Talks, Loud Hearts Closed

With Kateri's office hours and classes her sleep schedule had done a complete flip flop from her life prior to Hogwarts. Lunchtime had become breakfast and dinner was often a late night sandwich at ten, not wanting to bother the elves in the kitchens after they were busy serving the students and other staff. Last term had been a hard adjustment but by now the professor had settled into routine.

Sleepily the young woman had passed through the halls and down the numerous stairs from her room to the Great Hall. Passing students and greeting them with a nod, some wanting to pause for a moment of her time until the rumble from her stomach made them part ways. Eventually Kateri found her way down to the hall, the smell of food overtaking her brain almost instantly and clearing the last bits of sleep fogging up her mind.

"Afternoon." Kat smiled as a pair of Hufflepuffs greeted her before slipping by on their way out of the hall. The hustle and bustle of the hall at lunchtime made Kateri feel a sense of warmth and welcoming. The astronomy tower was a lovely place to be and even with her appreciation for solitude from time to time she found beauty in being surrounded by others. Weaving her way inbetween students, some groups laughing and others chatting hurriedly about classes or what Kat could only guess was who was going with who to the upcoming ball.

Kateri quickly said hello to a small badger boy wanting to check in on him before finding her way up to the staff table. Some of her colleagues sat in conversation with one another while others that were in attendance looked invested in their meals. A new face framed tenderly by red tendrils of hair sat at one end of the table. They must be the new Librarian.. Kateri hadnt had a chance to introduce herself yet. She looked to be carefully picking and choosing her meal as Kat closed the space between her and the woman. Usually she sat on this end and spent the entire afternoon going over grading or lectures while eating quietly off to the side.

Kat didn't want to seem rude knowing it would be a little awkward to simply plop down in her usual seat right next to the woman without at least saying a quick hello. She looked friendly.. though as Kat came to the chair and pulled it back to seat herself she noticed the assortment of food on the place. Small barely bites of food that appeared to be just enough for one fork scoop.. A healthy space around each little island of food. Interesting.. maybe she wasn't much of a lunch person.. maybe a big breakfast? Shaking the thought from her mind, Kateri held a kind smile on her face as she sat down and looked at the redhead.

"I'm afraid we haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet." Kateri held out a hand hoping to catch the woman's gaze a she greeted her. "I'm Kateri Karr. You're the new Librarian? I'm sorry I missed you being welcomed to Hogwarts at dinner the other evening."

Panicking next to @Kateri Karr

The librarian should've known that she couldn't avoid interaction for long. This was a typical trope, right? New person in a new environment, in this case a school. Trying to stay lowkey and out of sight but then it gets ruined by a curious someone. Possibly just courteous, trying to welcome the new student into the new environment. No, she wasn't a student anymore. She was a librarian, a staff member. An adult that is capable of socially interacting with other adults. She could do this. Her heart may be racing, but she could handle this. Consider it a book of dialogue, a basic introduction. An exchange of words before returning to the meal.

Finally, curious eyes looked up at the woman who had come to sit beside her. Mind completely blank on her position, her purpose here. What was her purpose here? Next to her? Was it politeness? Had Robyn sat in her usual seat? Did she miss nametags? Were there nametags? No. She didn't remember nametags. She would've been able to read them. She can read, she's a librarian. Reading has to be a skill that she has. She had barely heard the greeting that the other woman, Kateri, had said. White noise of distant chatter filling her ears as if they were stuffed with cotton. The noise only intensified as she glanced down at the hand that was offered to her. A handshake. A dreaded handshake. Of course she had given plenty, she had hands so of course she gave them to people when it was appropriate. But everything seemed to be overwhelming, she just wanted to get through this lunch through observation rather than talking of her own. She gently and quietly, as to not make too much noise, set down her fork. With all of her might she focused on steadying them to take the woman's hand in a gentle grasp. Moving it up and down, twice. Prompt, polite. Before releasing and returning her hands to her lap.

The idea of eating had been thrown out the window. Not with someone so close, someone to wait for her to mess up and laugh with the other Professors about how she should be fired for not even being able to make it through a meal. Why is it that outside of a library she ceased to function. She wanted to run back, claim that there was work that she needed to get done. But no, she would stay. Be brave like her house. Realizing a little too late that there she had taken too long to answer, perhaps her gaze too steady on the eyes of the actually... quite beautiful woman in front of her. She gave a small nod, her gaze returning forward to pretend as if she was making sure the children were behaving. "You're correct, Robyn Finley. Feel free to call me Robyn, or Byn. Or... anything else. Whatever makes you comfortable." A quick glance. Gently picking up the fork again to push some food around. "I'm afraid I don't know your position, if you don't mind me asking, Ms. Karr. I'm still getting to know every one here." Formalities felt comfortable, polite, safe. Even though she gave her first name as reference while taking the stand on using her last name.

How many social faux pas' was she committing in one interaction?

A floating tray of cookies passed by, Kat giving into temptation and taking a couple for her plate before it continued on its journey to the other end of the table. She smiled as Robyn introduced herself and looked back out towards the students. She seemed rather dutiful to keep a close watch on the children. Lunch did tend to get rowdy at times.

"Please, Kateri is fine. I feel a little like my mother when people call me that." Kat tended to her sandwich, putting another layer of cheese on top of the turkey already tucked under some lettuce. "I teach Astronomy so my hours tend to be a little off compared to everyone else. I'm usually up in the tower until six in the morning or so." Taking a bite from her sandwich, Kat looked to Robyn who had been pushing her food around. "Have you settled in alright?" She swallowed the bite and set her sandwich down, trading it out for a couple of apple slices. "I'm assuming you probably attended Hogwarts ya? You look like you fit in here." Another smile formed on her lips hoping she wasn't being too presumptuous. It wasn't often she had time to really sit and enjoy small talk with another adult.

Leaving in a hurry from @Kateri Karr

To eat without a care... that's how she would be eventually, once she was settled. She hardly could ignore her still grumbling stomach, begging her to eat a bit off of her plate. Robyn quickly swiped a couple bites when she thought Kateri to be absorbed in her sandwich too much to pay attention to what was turning out to seem like some really weird eating habits that she definitely didn't have.

Robyn couldn't help but perk up when the other woman mentioned teaching Astronomy, something that she always was interested in and would read about here and there among other studies. "That was one of my favorite classes." Her voice was almost a whisper in talking about herself. A pale resemblance of a memory flashing across her eyes of gazing up at the stars and wanting to escape to float in the sky away from everyone else. Her reasons for wanting to go to space were much different than others, she craved the isolation. She gave a small nod towards the inquiry of settling, albeit during a quite unsettling conversation. "Mm, I have. Still settling, I suppose. There's much to be done in the library." Work, she could talk about work.

Until Kateri asked an innocent question, one that should've been expected. She slightly froze at the question about her attendance here. "Ah, yes. I was, I am, I guess, a Gryffindor." Her eyes glanced over at the table of the loud and boisterous. She had never fit in there. She had never fit in here. Who was Kateri to assume that her place was here? Abruptly she stood up, the panicked feelings starting to pile up like stacks of old tomes she couldn't overcome. "Uh, sorry. I actually have to... go. To the library. I have a lot of work to do." She took a couple steps away from the table, before turning back quickly. "T-Thank you. For the welcome." A quick nod, and she hurried out of the Great Hall without a second glance back to the Professor all too interested in studying her with a couple strategically placed questions.

The professor gave an appreciative nod when Robyn mentioned astronomy being one of her favorite classes. Though she had to really strain to hear over the general commotion of the hall. Not wanting Robyn to think she had ignored the kind gesture Kateri spoke up. "I'm happy to hear that." Continuing to listen, she finished up her sandwich and began to make another to take with her upstairs. Normally she would eat and head right up but with some nice company Kateri decided she could take more time to indulge in pleasant conversation.

Kat grinned knowing the woman looked like she bad belonged in the castle and a lion at that. Kateri had found a number of Gryffindor to be kind souls and more than their stereotypes labeled them to be. Her time at Hogwarts had shown that to be true about most of the children she had met from each of the four houses. Abruptly her attention was brought to the present as the scrape of wood interrupted her train of thought. She was about to ask another question when Robyn stood and began to excuse herself rather hastily. Kateri was so shocked she just sat there blinking up at the woman.

"O-oh, I-" Kat sputtered but she was gone in a flurry of red locks. Had it been something she said? Her brown gaze frozen in the direction Robyn had rushed out in, she slowly blinked and replayed the interaction in her minds eye. Shrugging away the thought she looked back to her plate. 'She must have remembered something from all that talk about settling in.' Happily turning to attention back to her meal Kateri finished and sat quietly by herself on the end of the table absorbed in the atmosphere of rowdy children and excited chatter.

October 6th ~ 8:30am

Unable to sleep that morning, Kateri had decided to take advantage of breakfast. She missed being up early enough for warm fluffy waffles and the smell of buttery toast. With how engaging her classes had been last night and only tending to one student during her office hours she had felt a surge of energy and decided to reorganize the orreries and shelves in the tower. Except all that work had eaten up time faster than she had anticipated and the heavy lifting had worked up quite the appetite.

Humming as Kat traveled down the last staircase and into the Great Hall, she felt her mouth instantly water at the smell of various breakfast foods. The elves always did such a splendid job with meals and never had she experienced so much food in all her life until coming to Hogwarts. Even the community of students sitting together enjoying a meal made her heart ache for home and her own table filled with family and friends. The sight made her feel a little more energized as she maneuvered her way up to the head table and usual seat towards the end.

"Morning!" Greeting a couple of colleagues before settling in, laughing at their mention of her appearance being strange this early. Kateri blamed it on the scent of waffles creeping outside of the door and tempting her in. Stacking a hefty portion of waffles on her plate and smothering them in butter, Kat began to hum to herself again lost in the smells of delicious crispy little circles of bliss staring up at her as they drowned in a sugary warm bath of syrup. Nothing could pry her away from these bad boys. Absolutely nothing...except-

Interacting with @Kateri Karr

Things were getting easier. Routines were being developed. The daily nerves that she experienced walking into the library every morning were slowly dissipating. She hadn't been there a full week yet, but something in her told her that she wouldn't die in this position. In fulfilling her duties and showing up to mealtimes. Her appearances were sporadic and usually kept quite brief as she'd grab enough food to satisfy herself and run out without much conversation. It wasn't like she was necessarily lying when she said she had work to do. There was always something to be done at the library.

Everyday she was determined to stay at a meal time a little bit longer, one extra hello or how are you given, just enough step into appearing as if she was a normal person. Which she definitely was of course. She strode into the Great Hall, actually saying hi to a couple of the already apparent regulars within the library that had acknowledged her first. She didn't halt her stride to make conversation, they could say hi to her later if they really wanted. Her eyes drifted over the head table at the very end of the hall filled with Professors and various caretakers of the castle. She spotted the familiar face of the woman of the stars that had tried to get to know her before Robyn had brutally panicked and sped away. Surely, she could make a better second impression.

Kateri seemed to be very intensely working on a stack of waffles in front of her. The quiet librarian slipped into her chair as sneakily as possible, attempting not to detract attention from a very intense breakfast. She started putting together a bowl of various fruits, not necessarily for the easiness of eating but because fruit was generally her way to start the day. She threw a couple sausages on her plate and called it good. Words slipped out before she could halt them. "I don't know whether to call this a late night, or an early morning for you." Her eyes stayed focused in front of her as she cut up the sausage, this time for definite ease of consumption. A small smile of teasing danced on her lips. Mornings were good, can't be anxious of your surroundings when you're still waking up and not fully aware of them yet.

"I feel like I must apologize for my abrupt exit last time, K-Kateri." Stumbling over her name, smooth. "Just had.. thought of something that needed to be taken care of before lunch that I hadn't gotten to." If lying had a smell it would be as strong as the sickly sweet smells of syrup wafting through the air. But luckily it didn't, and she could only hope that Kateri didn't catch on.

There was a gentle voice coming from next to Kateri making her look up. The librarian! She hadn't seen her the last couple of days with her schedule picking up. "Ah, hah yeah I was holed up in the tower the last couple days." Kateri tried to play it off as no big deal. She wasn't used to others recognizing she had been basically MIA for a day or two. Using the side of her fork to cut one of the waffles into neat little squares, the professor glanced at Robyn. Taking a bite she tried to swallow the drool that had started to pool in her mouth. Clearly she was hungrier than she thought. An apology came from the young woman next to her as she stabbed at pieces of waffled stacking them on her fork. "Don't worry about it!" A wide smile spread across her face as she raised her fork and tapped it in the air as if to punctuate the end of her sentence before bring it to her mouth. "Plus-" Kat swallowed before continuing. "I can't imagine all the work you have to do to set everything up in your own order. Even for me in the tower it took awhile to get things organized. Not that the last professor didn't have a wonderful setup.." She cut up another handful of waffle and looked from her plate to Robyn. "There's just something nice about having everything at hand. With how vast the library is I can only imagine the work you've put in already!" She beamed at Robyn as she chewed oblivious if there was some underlying reason why Byn had rushed out earlier in the week.

"So tell me," Another bite. "Any big plans for today or just more sorting through old books?" The look on Kat's face would've suggested she was teasing about the books. Her tone wouldn't help her much either... In truth she was mainly curious about the woman and for some reason found her fascinating, almost drawn to her. Maybe it was from lack of companionship while in the castle the last couple of months or perhaps she was looking for a friend. Either way, Kat had never been one to understand the intricacies that often came with socializing and ques. Things that people would take one way when really she meant them as an honest question.

Interacting with @Kateri Karr

Robyn's urge of curiosity pushed past the silence that Byn had always trapped herself into. A quick and rather harmless question about Kateri's work life quickly slipped and tumbled out of her lips. A small panic in the deepest part of her belly as she spoke without much thought, which wasn't normal for her. "A lot of work to do then? That seems rather stressful to be trapped in a tower like a princess awaiting rescue." She paused as her face had a rapid rose red blush bloom across her cheeks. "Not that you're a damsel in distress or anything, it's just tower, being holed up. It's a typical... fairytale. Anyway. Is it midterm season for them? I can't... quite remember when those were." A stumbled recovery, if a mess like that could even be called a recovery. She stole a quick glance over to the lady attacking the waffles as if it was her last meal. Perhaps she didn't get to eat breakfast like this often, a treat. Suddenly she felt privileged to have a job in the castle that gave her some normal hours, albeit some self-imposed late nights due to an inability to stop working. Working at a regular library, there were generally shift hours, a closing time. This library never closed. If it weren't for the psychological requirement of sleep to prevent insanity, she'd never leave.

Many careful bites were taken of fruit, as least she was eating while having a conversation this time. She had quickly learned that she would need to force herself to eat more, panicking halfway through mealtime and bolting was not exactly conducive to a fueled body for the rest of a workday. As Kateri talked more, Robyn felt the need to make eye contact. That is what people did during a conversation after all, to show interest in the other's subject of choice. The subject seemed to revolve around the library this time and Robyn's method of setting it up. "The brilliant thing about libraries is the consistency. Most everything is set up the same so there's not much I have to do in terms of that. especially with the house elves that have been ever so helpful. It's been... learning everyone that is the difficult part." Was it right to complain? Not that this was complaining exactly, but she didn't want anyone to think she was struggling at all. "I've met quite a few of the regulars already. But... there are just so many students. I don't know how you'd keep them all straight." Unless they're an elective class, a Professor is bound to meet everyone that goes through this school. Memorizing hundreds of names... on tops of all the books she's memorized. She doesn't know how people do it.

Robyn's eyes drifted back to her food, starting to go back to simply moving it around as she thought about her answer to the next question. Big plans... and sorting books was separate. Could they not be the same thing? She was the librarian after all, there wasn't much with her job that didn't deal with books. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she spoke slowly. "Most of my plans usually have to do with books. It'd be like if I asked you if you had big plans or if you were looking at the stars later today." Her voice was soft, there was no edge to it. This wasn't a moment of conflict, but rather perspective. "I know some people don't like the library, but for many it is a refuge, safe from reality as people get lost in knowledge and fiction." She looked up at the students laughing, studying, messing around with each other so early in the morning. "From what I've seen, there's not a lot of those safe places anymore for them. The research they request on hags, things that are more defensive, offensive, rather than... general curiosities. It's insurmountable."

Hogwarts had a history, one that was weaved in pain and endless battles. She thought in returning, it would be safer after so long. It seemed to be far from the case. "I suppose sometimes big plans may seem small to others." She looked back over at Kateri with a face that seemed neutral except for something in her eyes, even Robyn didn't know what she was feeling. "Ah, as a short answer. I will be returning to the library after breakfast. I have quite a stack of requests, and quite a few books to put away at that." There was something about Kateri that pulled her in with an ease to talk more than she had really in years. It terrified her, but also greatly intrigued her into what it was about her that made it so easy to speak.