Thread backdated to September 1st, 2024, with the end of this post occurring at 10:30 a.m.

Nat selected a vacant compartment toward the end of the train car. The first wave of trolleys came and went, and, as a stress-eater, she indulged in Every Flavor Beans. Now the preteen sat with her legs propped up on the seat and her arms wrapped around them. Tears softly streamed down her cheeks. The accident occurred too recently, and she couldn’t seem to pry her thoughts away from it.

To anyone who was to, hypothetically, open that compartment’s doors, the girl would appear like she ought to be alone with her thoughts. She was not crying an immense amount, nor did she give off an image of one in desperate need of company from a sympathetic acquaintance. In a standard sense, she wasn’t mentally breaking down. Instead, the girl had the ghastly complexion of one who was engaging in a morbidly philosophical debate with oneself. To talk to the girl without distracting her first would be an uncomfortable experience, not unlike breaking an interpersonal norm or a failure to comply with a contract. Her intimate company was her own; no one could breach it, because it would take too much explaining where her thoughts were at. It wasn’t to say they were all that sensical from an outside perspective. Sentimental loops of thought aren’t, necessarily.

The interaction that would follow was not one she’d anticipated, as from the onset it did not follow the line of reasoning, to allow someone the independent rumination she openly displayed engagement in.

The sound of footsteps increased. In her solitary corner of the train car, and having seen the other compartments in the immediate vicinity fill up, this sound announced likely company. She was alerted, and therefore reanimated, by the noise. Sitting up so that her legs slid down to the floor, and hastily wiping away her remaining tears, the girl gazed at the compartment doors inquisitively and a bit excitedly. Perhaps she did want someone to enter her corner of the world, if only to take her mind off of things for a spell. Maybe this person could spark a new story to mull over in her detached and bright, utterly Ravenclaw mind.

Interacting with @Jasper Fischer

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Thread backdated to September 1st, 2024.

Nat gazed steadily ahead, a bit taken aback by the clamour outside her compartment. Clearly, someone was even clumsier than she was. A small smile escaped her lips. The heavy door moved with a soft whoosh as it was pulled aside. The boy now stood directly before her, and in his greeting, he came off nervous. Nat giggled internally; it would seem he was also more anxious than she was. "Umm...Hello!" she ventured, beseeching the universe that she did not come across as rather uncouth after her internal dilemma. Recovering further, she flashed a smile his way. It was like the social part of her brain just reactivated, like a fire suddenly expanding after being almost extinguished; the part of her that could socialize had returned from taking a vacation that had the purpose of providing a trip for her mental deliberations. "Would you like to sit with me?" she queried, her voice taking on a soft, quieter, lilted, calmed quality. She only sounded this way when she was not worried nor needing to get a point across that possibly only mattered to herself, but, nonetheless, she considered important. It was like the boy's comparable discomfiture brought out the more confident side of Nat which she used, in part, to reassure others of themselves. She expanded her arm to gracefully display, with her palm, the seat across from her, a clear invitation for him to sit down and join her.

Thread backdated to September 1st, 2024.

"You're welcome," Nat responded, smoothly and warmly.

Nat caught the German accent and language. This was mildly interesting to her, and made her more attentive to the boy, as she now wanted to discover his story. It wasn't that he was much of a foreigner, considering she was English, but more that Germans typically didn't go to Hogwarts, so seeing him on the train was a little more unique.

Nat also caught the nervous fidgeting of the boy. She felt badly for him at this point, but she had been in similar boats, so she wasn't ashamed for him and knew to make herself inviting to ease his tension. She smiled warmly at him, her natural inclination being to reassure him. To restate, if the guy had been intimidating and approached her, the kids would have the opposite problem--she'd be the nervous wreck.

She noticed the boy called her "sweetheart" in German, and she felt her face grow hot (she was likely visibly flushed) as she felt flattered. Even despite how awkward the boy was, this manner of speaking hit her at her core and made her feel just a little more engaged around him.

"Ah, confident, I see," she said, grinning his way to indicate it was light-hearted banter. "Hello, I'm Natalie! Natalie Anderson. You can just call me Nat, though, if you want. It's, sorta, my nickname. My friends like to call me it! I--I'm also kinda more comfortable with it, y'know? More tomboyish. Anyways! As you can see by my robes, I am in Ravenclaw House. Not nearly as mysterious as Slytherin, but just as regal, and much more innovative." She smiled. "You believe you'll be in Gryffindor, huh? Is it your favorite House? Value bravery, then? Any others you'd want to be in?" She didn't want to overexplain and sound arrogant, but she was fully willing to explain why he shouldn't worry so much about the sorting, as every House has its perks. At the same time, she remembered being nervous when she was to be sorted, so she couldn't blame him if he ended up nervous about it now, or down the line.