When’d you get here? PV Colin McCoire

Attire: Usual school day attire: robes, shirt (buttons mismatched), tie (undone), kilt, neck ring, no shoes.

Reducio

Colin had been feeling down all week. The weather was definitely turning chilly and dark and his thoughts turned frequently to Liam. Sometimes when he dreamed, Liam was trying to tell him something. Other times, his brother was kissing Clair, was taking her to the ball. He shook his head. He knew dreams could be very powerful, but he also knew that not every dream contained truth.

He had followed Clair's advice to him on the train ride back to Hogwarts, to write Liam letters, just as she had done when her Ma died. He'd have to tell her how much better he felt after writing to his brother. In fact, he had written just such a letter, and also one for Ciarán, his little sister; and he was now on his way up to the owlery to find his owl Uhuu and send them speeding on their way.

He always liked coming up to the owlery. It was peaceful here. Everyone came up here sooner or later, but there was rarely any drama and it was rarely crowded with more than two or three students. And true to form, when he entered the place, there was but a single student occupying the place full of owls. Whoever it was was sitting on the floor, head bent over a recently received letter.

The place smelled strongly of owl. Not a bad scent, in Colin's opinion. Owls were hunters and rarely stank of terror or fear. The place did smell of droppings, however, and of old dried owl pellets. He wondered what the place smelled like to ordinary students. Could they smell their own owls? Could they distinguish the scent of a fellow student up here?

The scent of the student intently reading the letter was familiar, but that only meant it wasn't a first year! Colin knew with certainty when a bright ray of sunlight fell upon long strands of deep golden hair.

He knew who this was, and his heart raced for a moment. He hadn't seen her much since the frog chase last month. "A---Athena? Why are you sitting there? You know the floor is covered with owl poop and pellets, right?" He flicked a particularly large owl pellet with his bare toe. "Hm. That one looks like it was a squirrel!" He sang out for his owl, Uhuu. "I'm sending a couple letters home to me sister Ciarán. What are you up to?"

@Athena McClenin || Mentions: @Clair Fernandez

DATE: 14/10/22 | TIME: 16:36 | OUTFIT: x | PLACE: Owlery

Athena scanned the letter once, twice. She tried to make connections to her last conversations with her parents. Excited, they’d said she would be, but she was everything but. Thoughts churning she nearly jumped out of her skin when someone began speaking.
After he had finished speaking she tried to dry her face with her sleeve.
“I,” she sniffled loudly, “understand that the floor is dirty. But where was I supposed to sit?”
Athena felt a stray tear trickle down her face, passing down her nose and dropping onto the page still in her hands. It spread quickly, making a spot that was darker ten the rest of the page. She turned to face this boy, knowing who he was without needing to turn. Colin McCoire. He had been her first—and only—kiss, and she felt a pink begin on her cheeks. She hated him seeing her like this but it wasn’t the kind of news you take with a ‘whoop-de-doo’. It was more of the news that made Athena want to punch something. Or someone. She shook the thought from her mind. Poor Colin seemed to have no idea why Athena was in tears so she was very blunt with getting to the point. She had considered lying to him, because why did this boy deserve to know, but she…trusted him. As much as she hated to admit it, she did, and so she did tell him the truth.
“We’re moving to America.” she said quietly.

INTERACTING WITH: @Colin McCoire | MENTIONING: None | ACTIONS: Telling Colin the contents of the letter | INTERACTIONS: open/closed

Athena nearly jumped with fright! Colin might have laughed under different circumstances. When Uhuu descended from his place high up in the rafters, Colin fixed the letters to his leg and sent him on his way. He'd like to tease Athena, but something was different today. “I understand that the floor is dirty. But where was I supposed to sit?” she asked. That was kind of an odd response. Kind of --- distant.

A tear formed in the girl's eye, and Colin watched as it rolled down her cheek, like a stream running down the hillside, until it leapt over the edge and fell to the paper of the letter she was holding. Oof. Where a moment before, Colin's heart had jumped, now it felt the beginnings of sorrow. Something was really wrong with Athena.

This wasn't the first time he'd met someone up here crying over a letter. MeiMei had gotten some bad news in a letter. And now she was gone. There was nothing for it. Colin took out his wand and whispered: "Scourgify." He cleared the space around them and he sat next to the golden haired girl. She'd turned to face him and he looked into her eyes.

Athena. He couldn't help but smile. She was his first kiss! And what a wonderful, mind blowing experience that was! And this girl shared it with him. He could still feel her lips on his! Still recall the scent of her hair.See see the look in her eyes. She blushed a little. Colin couldn't help but smile --- he could feel the warmth of his own blush rise up from his chest to redden his own face. He wondered if she was thinking about their kiss, too? Or did she think he was just some dorkasaurus who couldn't handle snogging a pretty girl?

But the sight of her tears brought him back to the present. She was sad. He could tell that much. "A---Athena? What is it?"

When she spoke, she said only a few words, and those were almost a whisper: “We’re moving to America.”

Colin blinked. Four words. They weren't what he was expecting. America? That was like, really far away! "Wh --- America? Whoa." His brow furrowed and he could feel his own tears welling up. It seemed like so many people he'd known from last year were now gone --- or leaving. And Athena, he thought, she'd be leaving all her friends too! He hardly knew what to think or say. He could only repeat what she'd just said: "Moving to America?"

"W---Why? Wh---What happened? That's so far!"

@Athena McClenin

Athena shook her head.
“I have a guess of why. My parents have been talking about moving ever since they adopted and my mom got pregnant. Our house isn’t big enough for all of us but I thought.” She raked a hand through her hair, but whether it fixed it or messed it up, only the people around her could decide.
“I was sure we would only be moving to a house nearby, not moving to another country.” She couldn’t help but sniffle more and close her eyes. She took a deep breath in then exhaled. She couldn’t be seen as weak. “ It’ll be fun. A new adventure! I can meet new people and… learn new things. Yeah, it will be fun!” She didn’t believe it, and neither did he, it seemed. She needed to get cleaned up. She couldn’t walk the hallways a mess. She could head to the abandoned bathroom. “We leave tomorrow. I have to go get packed.” She did have to go, but it wasn’t to get packed. She rose from the dirty ground to walk over to the door and unintentionally slam it behind her, leaving a boy behind her, and into her past. It was time for her future, and she needed to cut her losses and make something good come out of the bad.

@Colin McCoire
*Leaves the thread*

Athena seemed to be so upset. She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair in response. Hers was darker than his, more like ripening wheat, and it fell in lovely wavy tendrils. It smelled nice. She spoke of her family growing through an adoption and now her ma was pregnant again. The stray and mad thought of his own Ma getting pregnant again and them having to move far away, like to Jersey or even France of all places! But that didn't make any sense! McCoire House was not only big enough for Colin's whole family, but many other families lives there too. Athena didn't seem to think it made any sense either. She thought they'd only move to a bigger house, not across the ocean!

“I was sure we would only be moving to a house nearby, not moving to another country.” Colin thought about saying something, but thought better of it. Athena sniffled a bit and her eyes were closed. It broke Colin's heart to see a friend suffering this way. He would just let her talk. “It’ll be fun. A new adventure! I can meet new people and… learn new things. Yeah, it will be fun!”

Colin's eyebrow raised slightly. He didn't believe that for one moment. He knew that if he were ever torn from home he'd be railing! New adventures were all well and good! But --- Colin at least needed home to go back to. He wondered if she believed her own words! He shifted his position slightly. He wanted to say so many things to her!

But she got up suddenly, saying she had to go and pack for tomorrow.

The door to the Owlery slammed shut behind her as she left. Colin was left alone, his eyes on the door. Another friend was taken away. Another wound was made in Colin's heart. He turned to look down at the dusty floor. He traced something in the dust. Perhaps a meaningless design or symbol to whoever came into the Owlery next. Tears dropped into the dust, completing the symbol, giving it meaning in Colin's heart. Colin would never forget.

@Athena McClenin
Thread complete.