some rue for you and some for me errand solo

@Catriona Staverly is taking a hiatus from the site and gave me permission to finish the errand without her

She waited. And waited. And waited. But there was no Catriona in sight.  Asteria looked at the still hazy sky, whose pink had faded, leaving a whiteish gray that felt akin to a blanket. She gathered her coat around her more firmly, wondering at where her friend? acquaintance? had gone to.  Maybe she had simply slept in or the whole occasion had slipped her mind. Somehow, Asteria couldn't find fault in the other girl. But a faint tug figured into the emotional equation she was balancing all the same. Was she disappointed? Yes. But it was less at being abandoned and more at the missed opportunity to spend time with the other girl. She wasn't sure how to place the feeling, but it lingered there, faint and bitter.

Sighing, she pulled her hand through her bangs and trudged into the greenhouse. There lay gloves, shears, and a basket. Throwing a faint smile towards the Herbology professor, she snagged the equipment quickly, glad to be away from the eyes of others. Already, her thoughts where in a tumult, wondering what they had thought of her, just standing out there, not doing anything. She shoved them to the back of her mind, kicking them away like one kicks laundry under a bed. It wouldn't do to worry. I'm here to do an errand, and an errand I will do, she thought, pulling on her gloves. Her breath came in visible puffs as she knelt on the cold ground, the wetness of the dew already seeping through her pants.

Snipping at the plants was calming in its own way, a rhyme and rhythm. Snip snip snip went the shears, thwop went the plant as it was tossed into the basket. It was a beat, a low and steady one, one that let her be alone with her thoughts, at least for this moment. But the labor, the distraction of the cold that did not quite bite, but was still close, was enough to keep the thoughts hazy, just out of reach. The main thing that echoed around her mind was the looming reminder of the winter holiday. It felt... tense, her mind slipping around it around it whenever it crept in too firmly. Her and her father had barely owled this year. Oh, she meant to,  but it always got put off for another time, got shoved to the side as she skimmed through a book or played with her cat. 

The basket beside her had filled halfway at this point, the sun creeping up further, the white-grey sky taking on a more blue tint, and still she snipped away, moving herself down the row as the plants near her grew sparse. Going home for the holidays - that was something that she couldn't not do. She cared for her dad too much, even if they hadn't parted on the kindest of words. Coming home would be good; she had simmered, her ire and concern fading to flatness, and now she knew more, could ask him about her pureblood family, backed by context. 

She sighed, rubbing her eyes, whose eyelids threatened to droop at any moment. The early morning took a toll, and even her childish exuberance was not a shield against it. But the basket had filled beside her, the stack of plant cuttings rising out, a vibrant mix of green hues. Pulling herself from the ground, she wiped the fresh soil off of her knees, making a mental note to change when she returned to her dorm, where she was determined to take a nap afterwards. 

It took two hands to carry the basket, full as it was, and she trudged inside, thankful for the faint blast of warm air that greeted her as she entered the greenhouse. There she settled on one of the tables, picking up a spool of twin tentatively, rolling it in her palms, and then setting it down. Finally, she began to sort the herbs. Like went with like, and the process, while only requiring simple matching skills, but still took more of her brain power than gathering them had. It was a welcome respite, and it was with a faint twinge of sadness that she realized the basket had been emptied.

All that was left was the binding of the herbs, a task that she set to with vigor. It meant that the end was in sight, and with that, the promise of her bed. These days, it got darker sooner, meaning that she longed for more sleep whenever possible. Hands pulling twine around the ends of herbs, she smiled, watching the pile of bundles grow, this wild untapped growth becoming neat and orderly by the light of a clear November morning. As the end grew closer, she began to hum, a new unknown tune. Her thoughts had been sorted in her unintended isolation - there was hope in the holidays, at least slightly. Pulling the string tight around the final bundle, she placed it on the greenhouse table, treating it as if it would break and then turned to call out behind her. 

"Uh- I think I'm done? Thank you? "

Turning back to the table, she straightened out a few gatherings, and headed for the door, bracing herself for the morning chill she knew that she was going to face. 

Word Count: 884 || Total Word Count: 884 + 275 = 1159

Asteria leaves the thread.