everything changes [caerwyn]

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Not many people were in the library this early in the semester. Classes had barely started, and most of what they were learning was review of the previous year's material, to make sure everyone had a firm foundation to build upon. Theodosia wanted to get ahead, though, to make sure that she wasn't made a fool of in any of her classes for not knowing the material ahead of time. She wanted to be able to answer every question. Then people wouldn't mess with her, right? Well, they probably wouldn't mess with her anyways, not with the group of people that she interacted with, but Theo wanted to make sure she was respected on her own merits so that the next school year, when all of her friends had graduated, she would still rule the roost.

The problem with studying in the library was that Theodosia's mind kept wandering, and then her eyes wandered, and then she was accidentally looking at a Gryffindor girl who looked like she had no business at all being in the library. The thing was, Theo couldn't look away, and she had no idea why. Dark hair, dark eyes...Charms. She should be paying attention to Charms. (She wasn't.)

@caerwyn

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Oh, Caerwyn knew who Theodosia Washington was.

Everyone in their year knew who she was. She.... wasn't someone that Caerwyn interacted with, and for good reason. Heck, she was pretty sure Theodosia didn't even know they were in the same year. Most of her year mates didn't know who she was. She was just that quiet. And if they did know who she was, it was usually in a 'oh yeah, didn't she faint the first day of first year?'. Yeah, she did. And since then, she'd kept deathly quiet, and to herself. To the point that some students had been surprised when they found out she was still in school. She was very good at being invisible. Today though? Fate was against her.

Caerwyn was in the library, and she found feel someone's gaze on her long before she dared look over her shoulder. She just knew someone was watching her. It was probably her hair. It reminded her more of a lion's mane then actual human hair today, so thick and curly and poofy... She felt her cheeks flush a little at the thought. She should have done something with it today. She'd been flipping through a few art books when she finally dared to tilt her head up just enough to look in the direction she felt that gaze.... and froze.

As already mentioned, Caerwyn recognized Theodosia on the spot, her eyes widening just a bit from behind the curls that had fallen into her face. Their gazes met briefly, and Caerwyn just couldn't look away, as if her gaze was suddenly trapped by an unseen force. It felt like eternity, but it was only a few seconds, before Caerwyn finally managed to turn her head away and try, desperately, to pretend that she hadn't noticed her year mate.

@theodosia

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Theodosia realized that she had been staring, but she often underestimated others’ abilities to know when she was looking at them. When the Gryffindor girl across from her at the library looked up, Theodosia felt an inexplicable urge to look away. That was silly. She never looked away from people who looked her in the eye, she was Theodosia Washington! The curly-haired girl held Theodosia’s gaze for just a few moments before she looked away. It was enough for Theodosia to consider doing something that she almost never did. She was going to talk to a Gryffindor, willingly, and try to be nice.

The Slytherin girl shut her Charms textbook and crossed the distance between herself and the curly-haired Gryffindor, someone she didn’t know by name. She set the book down on the table quietly, and offered the girl a tentative smile. (What? Theodosia never smiled!) “Is anyone sitting here?” She asked, voice suitably low for the library setting. Theo didn’t know what she was going to do if the other girl said that the seat was occupied. Then she would have walked all the way over there and made a fool out of herself for nothing.

@caerwyn

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The last thing Caerwyn wanted was to provoke one of the 'bullies'. She'd done pretty well avoiding them these past five years, after all! But all things had to come to an end, right? It was only a matter of time until she attracted one of their attention. And it just so happened that today, it was Theodosia. Theodosia hung out with a lot of older girls, Caerwyn knew that. And none of those girl's were really.... good influences. Every one of them on their own wold terrify Caerwyn. Together? she just might faint. Focusing on the book in front of her, she tried to make herself seem as uninteresting as possible. Because maybe, just maybe, Theodosia wouldn't pay her any more attention and continue going on with her day. Though, to be honest, some part of Caerwyn knew the other girl wouldn't.

Caerwyn was so focused on trying to be unnoticed that she completely missed the fact that Theodosia was, in fact, crossing to her own table. The book being set down made the girl jump just a little, her gaze shooting up from her art book to see Theodosia standing right before her.

Smiling.

Well, that was weird. Caerwyn hadn't been expecting that. At all. It surprised her. Shocked her even. In so much that it took a moment of staring blank faced for her to realize that Theodosia had asked a question. "I-uh-no? I mean...." Great. gibberish. Great way to make a first impression. Caerwyn swallowed, and forced herself to smile a little in an attempt to calm her racing nerves. "No one is sitting there." She finally managed to spit out. Good, a coherent sentence. Progress. Only after answering did she fully realize what had just happened. Or rather, what was happening. That didn't help her nerves at all, and her heart beat just a little faster.

@theodosia

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Theodosia was in way over her head. For one thing, she never talked to people outside of her group of friends other than to insult them. For another, she never talked to Gryffindors other than to insult them. For another, she definitely didn’t randomly approach people in the middle of the library just to ask if she could sit by them. This was madness, utter madness, and she didn’t know what she was going to do. At least the seat hadn’t been taken – Theodosia wasn’t known for blushing, but she probably would have turned bright red if she would have had to go through that humiliation at the hands of a cute Gryffindor girl.

Pause.

Gryffindor girls were not cute.

Play.

Theodosia pulled out the chair in question and sat down in it, opening her Charms book in a perfunctory manner, but instead looking at the books that the other girl – shoot, Theodosia was going to need to find out her name without seeming weird – was looking at. “Is that art?” She asked curiously, peering at the pages. Theodosia wasn’t particularly talented at art, so everything sprawled across the page was foreign to her. The only way she could tell was because of the pictures on the page, and Theo found herself, once again, feeling embarrassed. She felt like a two year old trying to make sense of picture books. This was a disaster, and Theodosia didn’t even know why she cared! She made a soft huffing sound underneath her breath and decided that she was going to have to jump ship as soon as possible. This was a bad idea.

@caerwyn

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Is that art?

Theodosia's question, like her over all appearance at the table, surprised Caerwyn, and managed to get the girl looking up at the Slytherin with slightly wide eyes. She tried, desperately to figure out what exactly Theodosia was up to. The girl was a known bully in their year, with guts to even target students older then them. And yet here she was, asking politely to sit by Caerwyn, smiling slightly, and then... Small talk? She was so confused. Was Theodosia up to something? Was she after something? Why was Theodosia being so.... Nice?

Caerwyn stared wide eyed for another moment, before finally swallowing again and nodding. "Yeah... " She managed to get out without any stuttering or mumbling. See, she could communicate nomrally! Sometimes. When the answers were short. Great, she was going to make herself even more nervous by focusing to much on her speech. As they sat there, Caerwyn squirmed a little in her seat. It'd look restless, but it was all nerves. Every logical fiber off her body wanted to run, but she didn't move, as if petrified to stone by the mere presence of Theodosia. "Do you.... Like... Art?" She hesitated big time as she asked, trying desperately to sound as normal as possible.

@theodosia

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Theodosia was pretty sure she was making this girl nervous. Normally, that would have delighted her – she liked when people were afraid of her by reputation alone. It made it a lot easier to pick them apart. Oddly, though, Theodosia didn’t like that the Gryffindor girl was afraid of her. It was kind of…sad. When the older girls graduated, was this how it was going to be with everyone? That seemed awfully lonely to Theodosia. Well, it was a problem for another time, because she was trying desperately to act like a decent human being and carry on a conversation. Merlin knew why, but this Gryffindor was intriguing. Theodosia had never met someone so timid. (She was not going to call it cute, though, because she had already fulfilled her daily quota of accidentally calling things cute. No, it definitely wasn’t going to slip by her again.)

“I’m not much good at it.” Theo replied conversationally when asked if she liked art. “But looking isn’t too bad, especially if the artist is good.” Theodosia paused, and then decided that it was going to be awkward whether or not she talked a lot, so she might as well get her ideas out there. “I don’t really understand most art, either. Well, people tell me that I don’t understand it because I don’t stare at it for hours.” The Slytherin shrugged. The admission probably didn’t sound like anything big, but for someone who hated to be seen as stupid, it was big for her that she was admitting one of her flaws. She just had to figure out why she was doing it.

@caerwyn

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Caerwyn hadn't thought she'd ever see the day where she had a... normal conversation with Theodosia. Heck, seh hadn't imagined having any conversation with Theodosia. The Gryffindor girl wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Not because it wasn't.... nice. But because she'd never imagined being in this situation.

"Oh." Well, now this was awkward. She felt like she'd chosen the wrong topic. Because it was about to turn into a dead end. But, to her surprise? It wasn't. Theodosia kept talking. Caerwyn looked down at the book to hide the very small smile that appeared. "You can stare at a lot of things and not understand them." she muttered softly. "Art isn't..... that hard. You just.... well.... It's more about what it makes you feel..." She admitted, hesitating as she tried to decide how to word her thoughts and not make a fool of herself.

@theodosia

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Theodosia raised a curious eyebrow when the Gryffindor said that staring for obscene amounts of time at art pieces didn’t automatically equate to understanding. That’s what she had thought, too, but it was nice to have that confirmation, especially for someone who seemed interested in art beyond just looking at it, if the book was anything to go by. At the comment about feelings, though, Theodosia winced. Feelings weren’t exactly her forte, to say the least. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out. Theodosia had her brain, but often ignored her heart. Life was a lot easier that way. Still, she was determined to carry on the conversation with the Gryffindor girl, no matter how uncomfortable it made her. “I suppose most of the time I’m annoyed by art, but that’s mostly because I can’t figure out how I’m supposed to feel. If that makes sense.” Theodosia was easily frustrated by matters of the heart, which meant that when she was presented with something and told that it was supposed to make her feel something, she was too busy trying to figure out what to actually let the feelings run their course. “Then again, my parents prefer the abstract stuff, and I…don’t.” After a certain point, all paint splatters started to look the same.

@caerwyn

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Caerwyn was a little relieved that the topic they were on, Art, was one she could have at least a semi normal conversation about. She didn't feel quite as awkward and unsocial. Because while she was bad at communication, she was good at art. Pretty dang good. She'd been drawing since before she could walk. Her father had taught her everything he knew, and he himself was a phenomenal artist. In fact, it was his living. He was an illustrator. But at least he had the confidence to share his art... Her? She couldn't remember the last time she'd shared anything of hers with someone.

So, when Theodosia said art annoyed her because she wasn't sure how she should feel, Caerwyn just blinked. "It's shouldn't make you feel a certain way." She softly said. "People see life differently, so we all see art differently. "If you think to hard about it, you... sort of forget what you felt when you first saw it." Heck, even if it made her frustrated, that was still a feeling. There was certainly some art that made Caerwyn mad- Oh. There it was. Abstract. "I don't like abstract much either..." She admitted. Most the time they just made her feel confused and unsure. "So... um.... If... you don't like art.... What do you... like?" She hesitantly asked. Why she asked it? She honestly had no idea.

@theodosia

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Art…wasn’t supposed to make her feel a certain way? That was news to Theodosia. She had thought that it was a one-size-fits-all sort of thing, that everyone felt the same thing when looking at the same piece. She liked what the Gryffindor girl was saying, about art being unique to each person. Theo managed a small smile when the Gryffindor admitted that she didn’t like abstract art either. They had something in common, and that was…nice. Theo balked for a moment when the Gryffindor girl asked what her interests were – they didn’t seem all that great, especially when compared to something beautiful and cerebral like art. “I like archery.” Theo said lamely. “You know, like, bow and arrow type stuff? My dad thought that my brother and I should learn how to use some weapons that weren’t magical. I’m too small for a sword, and daggers were weird, so I tried a bow and I liked it.” She was aware of how savage that made her sound – her only enjoyment being shooting things at targets – but Theodosia wasn’t sure if the other girl wanted to hear a lecture about Theodosia’s interest in wandlore. “I also like wands.” She added, just as lamely, just because it sounded like her only interest was violence otherwise. “Like, learning how to make them and how they work.” There. That was a good enough explanation of her interests, for now.

@caerwyn

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Archery?

Caerwyn looked up, her eyes wide. That wasn't a typical answer, that was for sure! And then Theodosia went on to say her father was the reason, that he'd wanted his children to learn how to use weapons. For a split second, Caerwyn wasn't sure if she should be awed, or absolutely terrified. Bows were, despite being a muggle sport, still a weapon. A lethal weapon. "Oh." Was literally the only response Caerwyn could come up with, and even then it wasn't really much of one. How did you respond to something like that? Thankfully, Theodosia added a moment later a more... normal interest. Wandlore. The girl almost let out a sigh of relief. While still worried for her life, at least having another interest let her focus on something other than that fear. "I don't know much about wandlore..." Caerwyn admitted honestly. "But I like the different carvings and designs they do." There, a.... link. She wasn't lying about not knowing anything about wands. She really didn't. But she could talk about them, if she focused on he artistic aspect.

@theodosia

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Apparently the Gryffindor girl hadn’t had much to say about archery. Theodosia wondered, for a moment, if the other girl was afraid of her. It wasn’t like she actually planned to use a bow and arrow in any sort of battle – her wand was more than effective enough. She only liked archery for the way it made her feel. Theodosia was always in control when she was on the shooting range. No one could stop her, and no one could tell her that she was doing something wrong. Of course, hastening to explain that difference to the Gryffindor would just make her look like she was making an excuse for the admittedly violent pastime, so Theodosia let that sleeping dog lie.

“It’s pretty complicated.” Theodosia replied when the Gryffindor said she didn’t know anything about wandlore. “I was reading a book earlier, though, about whether or not designs on a wand can actually improve its function or if they’re purely aesthetic. It’s a pretty interesting study.” Theodosia paused, and then decided that she might as well give herself and excuse to talk to the girl again, in case she ran off. “I could let you borrow it sometime, if you think you’d like it.” For once, Theodosia was glad that the ball was in someone else’s court, because she had completely run out of words to say – for now.

@caerwyn

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Caerwyn looked down at the mention of complicated. She wasn't that great at anything complicated, in her mind. Wandlore just seemed beyond her grasp of understanding. She didn't have her mother's brain, unfortunately. Or her drive. She was.... Well, she wasn't really sure what she was. Just not like her mother. Caerwyn bet that if her mother set her mind to it, she could learn wandlore without a hitch. "It sounds complicated." She finally managed to say, keeping her voice quiet, her insecurity thankfully hidden.

She looked up though when Theodosia offered to let her borrow the book she'd been talking about, surprise written all over her face. "I..." She stopped. What was she trying to say? She wasn't actually sure. Was she going to say yes, or no? "Sure.... That.... That's kind of you..." She managed to mutter. She wasn't sure if she should be happy, or scared. Much like how she'd felt this entire conversation. She knew Theodosia's reputation, so why was she being so... so nice?

@theodosia

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Wandlore was complicated, but Theodosia liked the challenge of it. There were so many components, and she liked putting the puzzle together. She shrugged at the statement, not wanting to say anything to make the other girl’s quietness worse. Maybe if she was quieter, than the other girl would talk to make up for it, so they wouldn’t have any awkward silences. Well, more awkward silences than their conversation was already punctuated with. It was a bit of a vain hope, but maybe the next time they met, Theodosia would be able to draw the girl out of her shell more.

Theodosia smiled when the other girl accepted her offer of the book. “Excellent. I have to go back to the common room now, but maybe we could meet in the library again next week so I could give it to you?” Yes, excellent. There was nothing strange about saying she had to leave the rest of Hexen behind so she could go study in the library with her…well, she’d think of some class that she had a partner in that she needed to study for. “Bye.” Theodosia gathered up her things before she could start rambling. As she was walking out of the library, she realized something important: she didn’t even know the other girl’s name.

@caerwyn