An owl and a friend Finished

@Zoe Pearthel I don't see a tag so I'm going to assume this is an open roleplay! Let me know if not, and we can either figure it out or I can delete my post

Tesla realized too late that she hadn't sent her mothers a letter since she'd gotten to Hogwarts. It had only been a couple of days, but she'd meant to send her letter the day after she got here and had instead fallen asleep in the sun on the grounds! After that it had slipped her mind with the stress of getting ready for class, until she'd finally found it tucked into her charm's book when she'd gotten motivated to open it. The second she realized what she'd found, she hurried to write that she was safe and happy, and had gotten into Hufflepuff like she'd hoped.

That had been an hour ago, and after one last hurried glance over to make sure her words were legible, if only barely, she'd started sprinting up the stairs from the Hufflepuff common room. Sprinting may have been a strong word after the first two flights of stairs, but Tesla did her best to keep up an enthusiastic pace since she always had extra energy to burn sitting inside almost all day since getting to Hogwarts.

Once she got to the Owlrey she flung the door open without thinking of if someone would already be in there, since there normally weren't many students that would hang around for longer than it took to visit their owl or send their mail. As soon as she noticed a girl with vibrant red hair in Gryffindor robes gently petting a snowy owl that pulled her hand back the second Tesla entered the room, she couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty, clutching her letter to her chest and mustering up a grin she hoped looked friendly and not like she was surprised.

"Oh! Hello! I'm so sorry, I didn't think anyone would be in here at this time, or I would've been much quieter!" Tesla stepped into the room to start walking towards the school supplied owls near where the other girl was standing. "Is that one yours? They're very pretty!"

Tesla opened a cage of an owl that had woken up and began cooing as she came in. Even though she had never met it, she wanted to pick a friendlier owl since she'd learned her lesson being bit by a sleepy owl plenty of times with her mothers' cranky old owl. She reached out an arm and let it climb up onto to her shoulder, where it began nibbling and preening her persistently fluffed up hair. She'd done her best to look as neat as possible today -which wasn't all that neat if she was honest-, but she'd finally given up once she realized she had to write her letter and her hands and face were now stained with ink. Now she was wishing she'd at least washed her hands before she came in here.

"I'm Tesla! You can call me Tes though. Are you a first year too? I haven't sent a letter to my mums yet so I came right here." She offered the girl a bright grin as she began putting her letter on the small owl on her shoulder.

I quickly shut the cage, and looked at the girl who came in. She has scruffy short blonde hair and freckles all over her face, especially on her nose and cheeks. Her fingers are stained with some type of blue stuff, which I figure is ink, since she said she was sending a letter to her mother. I smile, I have a feeling I'm gonna like this girl, who I now know as Tes. "Yeah, I'm a first year too! I'm Zoe, by the way, nice to meet you! Oh, and no she isn't mine. I wish!" I say gesturing to Trix.

I see Tes open a cage and let an owl, (I named him Firefly, since his eyes have bright specks of gold and red in them) climb onto her shoulder. I'm surprised, since the staff don't normally like students (well, speaking from personal experience) playing with the owls. It's possible Tes just has a better relationship with the staff, since I am slightly infamous for the time I accidentally let a dozen owls free (long story, don't ask). Anyway, I close the door of the cage, and Trix complains with a small annoyed screech. I turn my attention back to Tes. "What house are you in? I'm a Gryffindor,"

Tesla was pleased when instead of being shaken by her rude entrance, the girl seemed willing to talk with her and went so far as to close the cage and turn to face her. As Tes looked closer she noticed a beautiful golden colored necklace around her neck as well, but got distracted returning her friendly smile with one of her own squinty-eyed grins she can only summon in response to someone else’s smile.

“It’s nice to meet you too! Its always nice to meet more first years out and about. I don’t know about you, but those other years can be a bit intimidating to talk to sometimes…” Tesla finished tying off the letter and gave the owl one last scratch before sending it off towards home. “I’m a Hufflepuff!” she gestured awkwardly at her tie, “I didn’t get a chance to change out of my robes yet today, I got so caught up in getting here.”

Tesla glanced thoughtfully at the owl Zoe was standing next to. “Do you come here often? They seem pretty familiar with you! This is actually my first time up here, and I honestly missed that barn animal smell from back home if you can believe it,” Tesla scratched the back of her neck self consciously, “Working animals like these owls just have a different energy from the pets in the dorms, and I forgot how much I love it.”

Tesla set about closing everything up from the owl she’d just sent out. “I don’t want to assume, but do you have owls back home? At the very least you seem comfortable handling them. Both my mums are witches so we’ve always had one or two around the house.”

Tesla finished up cleaning up the space and awkwardly tucked her hands in her pockets and rocked up on her toes a bit to get out some excess energy. Even though she was finished with the owls, she was having fun talking to someone who seemed to appreciate feathered friends as much as her and didn’t want to leave just yet.

Interacting with @Zoe Pearthel!

"Haha, no, my family are all muggle. Well, the people who raised me are, at least. But, I've always felt like I had a special connection to animals, I know that sounds stupid, but.." I shrug.

I remember she said that she was a Hufflepuff. I feel a bit dumb for asking, since she was wearing her Hufflepuff robes, but in my defense, it wasn't very visible. Anyway, I always thought I would be a Hufflepuff, but I'm happy with Gryffindor, even if it was a surprise.

"Yeah, I know what you mean about the first year of Hogwarts being tough. But, making new friends helps! Oh, and yes, I do come here kind of often, it's quiet, and easy to think here, you know?" I say thoughtfully.

I walk around the Owlery, looking at all the different owls, that I'm so familiar with now. There's Angel, a screech owl, I named ironically since his screeches are so loud, you'd think you went deaf in one ear. Checkers, the barn owl, and Bennet, a barred owl are just a few of my feathered friends.

"Hey Tes, do you have a favorite owl?" I say as I walk back around to where she's standing.

Tesla nodded along thoughtfully as Zoe talked about her family. "I bet it can be pretty hard to adapt to the wizarding world if you're not used to it! I've known all about it my whole life. My mums were both really nice and always told me it'd be okay if I ended up a squib," Tesla paused for a second, "A non-magical wizard that is, but it doesn't change the fact I knew I was coming to Hogwarts for a long time. I love animals so much, but I can't honestly say I have a connection with them, I seem to get bit or scratched more then is good for me," Tesla picked at a mostly healed scab on her hand from a rat she'd tried to pick up earlier that day, "But I love them all the same! My mummy always says I don't have so much as a healthy fear of them and that's why I get on as well as I do with them. They're a lot easier then people."

Tesla watched Zoe walk around the room and saw how the owls seemed familiar with her. "I'm not sure it's any easier to think in here for me personally, it's nice to hang out but it's not as nice as being outside in the sunshine without four walls around me, but I'm glad you enjoy it so much!"

Tesla thought for a second as Zoe asked her what her favorite owl was, "Well, if you mean out of the owls here, I don't know any of them since I haven't really gotten to know them yet, but species-wise I'm a big fan of Eurasian Eagle Owls! They're supposedly the fastest flying owls in the world! And their wingspan is this big!" Tesla stretched her hands above her head to demonstrate the length from her feet to the tips of her fingers, "What's your favorite owl? Out of the ones here and then in general that is," Tesla clarified.

Interacting with @Zoe Pearthel Words: 336 Text Color: #7D6608

I listened as Tesla spoke about everything. I wasn't that surprised when she said she didn't particularly like coming to the Owlery like I did. It's definitely not for everyone, and from the vibe I'm getting from Tes, it seems like she's more of an outdoor person than an indoor one. I realize the way I said it makes me sound like I hate the outdoors, but that's far from the truth. I love running around, basking in the sun, picking flowers, and playing games. I decide to clarify.

"Well, I do love the outdoors too, in fact when I learned about the magical world, I knew immediately, that I wanted to be a Quiditch player. I guess, it's just it can all be overwhelming sometimes, and the owls are good company, I guess."

I think about her owl question for a second and answer, "Well, species wise, I've always been a bit partial to the snow owl, and out of the ones here," I drop my voice to a whisper, "It's probably Trix, but don't tell the others" I say with a wink.

The sun is setting and winds have started to blow through, and I start to feel a bit cold. I pull my hair down from its original pony tail form so it covers my neck and shoulders.

Tesla lit up at Zoe's mention of Quidditch, completely unaware of the way time was steadily slipping away chatting with the other first year. "Oh! I've actually always wanted to learn about Quidditch! I may have grown up in the wizarding world, but I've never seen a game before! Or read the rules. Or been on a broom before," Tesla tilted her head to the side, "Okay, maybe I'm a bit scared of Quidditch to be honest. But we should absolutely check out the pitch sometime! If you get on the team I'll root for you, even if you end up competing against Hufflepuff." Tesla frown thoughtfully, scrunching up her face in thought, "It's definitely nice to get away sometimes, I'm not used to being around so many people. I grew up on a farm, you know? Not a lot of people around out there."

Tesla leaned in conspiratorially and nodded along with Zoe, giggling a bit. "I won't tell anyone, my lips are sealed,"Tesla mimed zipping her lips up, "Is Trix the one you were petting earlier? I didn't know they all have names! What are some of the other ones called?"

Tesla shivered a bit as a gust of wind blew threw, noticing the cold as Zoe took her long red hair out of its ponytail. "Is your hair naturally that color? It looks so nice, I'm kinda jealous... I can't do anything fun with my hair, so I just keep it this short," Tesla gestured to her choppy haircut that could be considered something between a cute chin length bob and a stylish pixie cut if the strands hadn't been wildly uneven and sticking up straight where it had been preened by the owl earlier. Tesla shivered a little more violently as another puff of wind swept by, "Oh, I didn't even realize how late it had gotten. You're not even wearing any layers and I'm cold in here! Are you going to go back to your dorm soon? Maybe we could walk some of the way back together! Even though I'm not entirely sure where the Gryffindor dorms are." Tesla started to walk towards the door, looking at Zoe expectantly to see if she'd start heading back with her.

I let out a small laugh when I hear Tesla's take on Quidditch, and appreciate her support. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous about Quidditch too, I've never even been on a broom, let alone play the game. But, it feels like something would be good at. Who knows, though. I nod along as she talks about growing up on a farm, seems pretty cool, but I could imagine it's a bit isolated.

"Yeah, that's Trix over there. Harassing her cage lock" I say, pointing at the white snow owl at the front of the room. "I'm not sure if the owls here are already named, but I've named them, and since I come here kind of often, they actually recognize the names." I reply, with a bit of wonder in my eyes. It always fascinated me, how smart animals are, but I'm sure Tes already know's about it, given she grew up on a farm.

My cheeks warm with the compliment of my hair. It's actually something I take a (maybe unreasonable amount) of pride in. "Thanks! I love your hair though! I've always thought pixie cuts were really fierce and cool, but I've been too wimpy to get one myself."

Another wisp of cold wind comes through the window and I quickly agree with her about going back to the dorms. I walk towards the doorframe where she's standing.

Tesla’s eyes lit up with the same joy and wonder as Zoe’s, beaming as she talked about the owls. “Aren’t they amazing? You’ll have to tell me their names someday when it’s not so late! Animals really have their own kind of smart that we just don’t understand all that well. Not to mention too many people don’t realize how cool non-magical creatures are! I’ll take a horse over a hippogriff any day. None of that bowing and raw meat and whatnot, just a good bucket of oats and some brushing and they’ll be your friend!” Tesla giggled happily having someone to talk about animals with, especially someone who’s more familiar with the muggle animals she holds so dear.

Tesla ran her fingers through her hair, blushing bright red at the compliment. “Aww… thank you! I’ve never been called fierce or cool before,” Tesla laughed at the thought of being considered either of those things with her gangly limbs and ink smeared face, “but I appreciate it! I think you’d look great with a short haircut if you ever went for one, but your hair is so pretty as is, it doesn’t matter either way. I don’t think it’s wimpy to like your hair just how it is!”

As Zoe joined Tesla at the door she made sure the door was closed tight behind them, and started walking down the corridor to the stairs. “I had a lot of fun chatting tonight! We’ll have to meet up again sometime. Maybe we can watch the older students practicing their quidditch or something like that!” Tesla stopped at the top of the stairs and offered her hand and one last smile. “It was really nice to meet you Zoe! I’ll see you around!” Tesla spun around and began taking the stairs two at a time all the way down the staircase, giddy on the high of making what she considered another new friend.