Don't Blink Closed

There was always a solace that one could find by the lake. While the rest of the school buzzed about chaotically with the excitement of a new school year, there was always a quiet place somewhere one the grounds; but the lake was Illowy's favorite especially. She'd made her way over the boulders that littered the edge of the lake, until she found one particularly sentimental perch; though Killian had chosen to keep his fluffy behind safe and sound on the banks.

Almost exactly a year earlier she'd sat in this same spot with her cousin; fixing his hair for him and confessing one of her hardest secrets to him. How could a memory feel so long ago, but also like it just happened yesterday? How was that even possible? It was as if she'd blinked, and suddenly then was now and the entire world had changed and left her behind, lost in memories of when things made sense... well, more sense then they do now.

The snake made herself comfortable, setting her thermos of tea by her side, then crossing her ankles over the side of the stone as she pulled the leather jacket resting on her shoulders a little more securely around her. For a while, she just sat there, thinking and remembering how things were just a year ago. At the time, she remembered thinking how chaotic everything felt, but so many of those problems felt so small now.

Thin hands absent mindedly pulled a couple small sections of her hair, carefully platting them into two plats, the second a bit longer then the other. Illowy then reached into her hip bag, retrieving a couple small, silvery beads. One had the triquetra embossed into it, the other had a bird; and with a practiced hand she secured the braids with beads. Her fingers ran gently over the plats before dropping her hands in her lap, a long sigh escaping her.