I'm Waiting For It, That Green Light [REDUX] (Zytka)

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So far with the tournament, there were no serious injuries which brought joy to the Head Nurse of Hogwarts. And aside from the usual young student causing trouble and having a hex backfire or a student mixing a potion wrong that caused them to grow an extra nose, it was still pretty quiet in the Hospital Wing this year. And while Caroline wanted to be happy about that, she just couldn't bring herself to be. Caroline had never really believed in any spiritual sort of existance or destiny or anything like that, but she just couldn't shake this feeling of something bad that was going to happen. Maybe it was just because so many bad things had happened in the last year that made her feel that way. She wasn't exactly sure, but it wasn't a great feeling.

The Head Nurse had decided to take to tidying up her hospital area to be extra chipper for any students that would come in. Mainly to keep her mind of off the feeling of impending doom she had. So the nurse had paid a visit to Hogsmeade and purchased some extra plants aside from the muggle ones she had been growing in her office already. She had also spoken to Neville and had gotten a few from his greenhouse that she had never dealt with before so as to keep her mind busy. It was funny how much she was really trying to occupy herself. And right now, with no one in the Hospital Wing, the nurse was moving from one side of the room to the other and watering each plant with a muggle watering can. It was the simple things in life that always made Caroline happy, and making herself happy seemed like a good distraction right now.

@zytka

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Zytka was, quite frankly, running out of excuses to visit the hospital wing. She had done everything short of harming herself to find herself in that area of the castle, and Zytka wasn’t quite that desperate to visit, especially since most would say that she didn’t need an excuse to do so in the first place. She was friends with Caroline, after all, and friends were free to see each other without reason, or just because they found themselves thinking of one another. Of course, the instances that Caro crossed Zytka’s mind were becoming more frequent, though why the professor had not an inkling. In any case, Zytka was finally willing to surrender her pride and her need to have a reason to visit Caroline, and was making her way towards the hospital wing.

She stopped at the door, though it wasn’t necessary to knock before entering the hospital wing. After a moment more of hesitation (and deciding if she wanted to take her last chance to walk away), Zytka stepped inside, and found herself watching Caroline bustling around the room, watering plants. “Good morning.” She said as a way of announcing her presence. Zytka felt the silence ringing in her ears, the lack of reason for her visit painfully obvious – to her, at least.

@caroline

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Caroline had never been fond of the doctor's office growing up. What kid was? Though, she could remember always being fond of the colorful toys or decals that they had on the walls of their offices that were designed to make the place more cheery. When Caroline had become a nurse herself, she vowed to try to make her place of work just as cheery. Though the former Hufflepuff had a much different way of doing so through the use of plants. Her favorites were her sweet succulents or her homegrown basil and aloe vera plants. There was no better way to bright up a room with some beautifully green plants.

The brunette was caught off guard only slightly when she heard someone speak behind her. Caroline was quite used to people coming in to the Hospital Wing unannounced, but it was the voice itself that had caught her off guard. She turned on her heel, watering can still in hand, to see Zytka standing before her. Caroline couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face at the sight of the Ancient Runes professor. "Hello, Zytka," she greeted happily. "How are you this morning?"

@zytka

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Caro turned around rather quickly, and Zytka found herself inordinately pleased with the way the smile spread across the nurse’s face when their eyes met. Zytka’s returning smile was softer, but just as happy. Zytka quirked an eyebrow up at the fact that Caro was still gripping onto the watering can, and she wondered if it was just because the nurse hadn’t had the time to set it down, or if it was a security blanket of some sort. Zytka was betting that it was the former, considering that the nurse had just been watering plants and Zytka hadn’t give her much by way of warning. Caroline asked how she was, and the professor raised and then dropped her shoulders in the most casual shrug that she could manage. “The same as usual. Though perhaps a bit more… in search of something to do.” Zytka said. She had originally intended to say that she was more bored than usual, but she didn’t want the nurse to get the impression that she only came around when there was nothing else to do. Phrasing it as if she was looking for a partner in crime was much better, Zytka thought.

@caroline

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Caroline was so pleased to see Zytka had shown up. It was funny, but Caroline found that her thoughts consisted of Zytka perhaps a little bit more than she originally thought. It was certainly a different feeling for the nurse, as she never really got too attached to people when she met them. Usually if she found a woman attractive, it never really went much further than a one night stand. "Something to do?" Caroline repeated, raising an eyebrow at the professor. "Well, you have come to the right place my friend." Caroline set down the watering can and did a little cheery skip before heading over to a cabinet near the door to her office. "I've got loads to do," she said as she swung open the cabinet doors to reveal boxes and boxes of muggle board games that she had taken from her father's house when she and her brother moved out. She kept them to entertain students when they had little to no choice but to stay in bed. "Take your pick! But I must warn you, I'm pretty much a board game olympian." She smirked at the professor.

@zytka

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Caroline seemed slightly surprised by Zytka’s announcement that she wanted something to do, but all too happy to comply with her unasked question, stating that Zytka had come to the right place. The professor was slightly taken aback when she saw the boxes of games that Caro produced seemingly out of nowhere. Zytka had always assumed that the cabinets were full of potions or something of the sort, but it seemed that assumption was erroneous. Caro told Zytka that she could take her pick of the games, though not before warning the professor that the nurse was a board game Olympian. “I don’t know any of these games.” Zytka proclaimed. She had been raised in a wizarding house in Uganda, and the games appeared to be Muggle, and of British origin. It made sense that she wouldn’t have heard of any of them before. “Do you want to go through the effort of teaching me one, o great Olympian?” Zytka asked with an arch of her eyebrow. Caro would no doubt win the game as Zytka learned to play, but hopefully that wouldn’t take any of the fun out of it.

@caroline

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The prospect of spending the better part of an afternoon playing board games with Zytka was beyond exciting to the Head Nurse. She usually only played with students, and sometimes she let them win. A lot of them were only eleven or twelve years old, after all! But with an adult like Zytka, Caroline could should show off her muggle game playing skills! Caroline's mouth fell open just slightly when Zytka announced she didn't know any of the games in the cabinet. She momentarily forgot that Zytka was a pureblood from Uganda, so it actually wasn't all that surprising. "Of course I'll teach you," Caroline declared happily as she pulled out a dated box that read 'LIFE.' "We'll start with an easy one. There's really no winning or losing with this one, it's just lots of fun." The Head Nurse winked at the professor and went over to an empty, made up bed and set the box and began taking out the board and setting up the pieces.

@zytka

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Caro seemed all too happy to teach her games, and Zytka smiled a bit at the nurse as she began to busy herself with pulling a game out of the cabinet, presumably a good game for beginners. The box seemed excessively colorful, but Zytka tried not to hold that against the game. It was, after all, meant to interest children, and most of them seemed to be more drawn in by bright colors and busy patterns than any sort of interest in the title of the game. Judging a game by its box, Zytka would guess, was similar to judging a book by its cover. “I would hope that one could not lose at a game called Life.” Zytka said as she read the box and listened to Caro’s comments. The professor tried to help with the setup as much as possible, but some parts of the game boggled her, like the fact that there were extra pieces to add to the board after folding it out. That just seemed horribly inefficient. “Perhaps someday I’ll teach you how to play marbles.” That was about the only game that Zytka knew that was teachable, though she would have to scrounge up marbles from somewhere first.

@caroline

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Caroline had always loved the game of 'LIFE,' and the idea of playing with someone her own age who had never played was over the top exciting for the head nurse. She glanced at Zytka as she tried to help her set up the board and she couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face. She chuckled at her comment. "Well, there are those who may have just rotten luck during the game, I will say that," she said as she sat back to get one last look at the board before digging out the playing pieces out of the box as Zytka said she would have to teach her marbles. "Oh, I've never played with marbles. Aside from collecting the pretty ones, that is." She thought back to her brother who was far more fond of collecting marbles and other trinkets. As always, Caro had been more into collecting plants and flowers. Caroline set out different colored cars and held a tiny pink peg in her hand. "Okay, so pick which color car you would like and then pick a blue or pink peg to represent yourself in the game." Caro smiled brightly at the professor as she awaited eagerly to see which color car she would pick.

@zytka

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Zytka gave a small half-smile when Caro said that there were some people who had rotten luck at the game. Zytka didn’t consider herself an unlucky person, but she doubted that anyone else would agree if they knew her history. There was something to be said, Zytka thought, for taking the obstacles life threw you in stride. There was also something to be said for allowing yourself to feel, so really, Zytka thought it was a balance between the two – being so emotional it crippled you and never acknowledging emotions. “Even the worst luck can bring the best things.” Zytka opined, smile fading for a moment in favor of a neutral expression. Caro mentioned that she had never played with marbles, only collected the pretty ones, and Zytka had to suppress her teacher voice from coming out. “The pretty ones aren’t necessarily the useful ones.” Zytka informed the nurse crisply. “It all depends on how well they’re made.” If a marble maker focused more on interesting colors and patterns and not on a well-balanced marble, then the most beautiful ones could be the ones that rolled the poorest. “Red car, I should think.” Zytka said, taking the car of her choice and placing it on the board. “Pink for girls, blue for boys?” Zytka asked, finding the idea a little ridiculous but wanting to match the norms of the game.

@caroline

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Caroline looked up at Zytka and let her head fall slightly to the side as she did. Zytka was extremely wellspoken with her words, Caroline thought. Unlike many people, Zytka said things and her words always resonated with the head nurse. "I need you to write some motivational words for posters for me to hang up," Caroline joked light-heartedly. Zytka's words always seemed to really get Caroline's mind thinking, and not many people left a mark on Caro's mind like Zytka did over and over again. Caro smiled as Zytka reached for the red car, taking the white one herself and placing it on the board. "Typically, yes. That's how muggles play," Caro shrugged. She realized then maybe she should paint some of the little pieces different colors, and wondered if that was something she could ask Zytka to do with her one day. She wasn't sure why she found herself always thinking of Zytka helping her with silly, mundane tasks but she did. Zytka was attractive, that much was very certain to the Hufflepuff, but the idea of doing silly, home tasks or crafts with someone like that wasn't an idea or feeling Caroline was familiar with. Caro put a pink piece in her white car. "Okay, so you can either start a career now or you can start university and pick a career later. I typically make my lass go through university," she explained the beginnings of the game. "Whichever you pick, I'll let you spin first."

@zytka

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Zytka smiled softly at Caroline when she said that she needed posters of the things Zytka said to put up on her walls. “It’s a shame that you don’t speak Swahili.” The professor told the nurse, smile fading slightly. “I find that I’m much more eloquent in my mother tongue.” It wasn’t Caro’s fault that she didn’t speak Swahili or Polish, but Zytka still felt a sort of longing to speak in tongues with someone who understood it – homesickness for a language rather than for a place. She shook it off quickly, listening instead to Caroline explain that typically Muggles used pink for girls and blue for boys. It would be a good time to go off on a tirade about the lack of dichotomy in gender, but Zytka was already in a slightly melancholy mood, and didn’t want to further exacerbate it by making herself disappointed about the state of the world. She once again shook off the feeling, and once again refocused on what Caroline was saying. “I have never been a procrastinator by nature, but I haven’t a clue what career I’m going to pick, so I’ll go to university.” Zytka said. She hadn’t known what she wanted to do in the real world, so why would deciding in a game be any easier? Zytka spun the wheel, and sighed at the fact that she had only gotten a measly one. “Are you casting a bad luck spell on me, Caro?” She asked with a chuckle.

@caroline

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When Zytka pointed out that Caroline didn't speak Swahili, the head nurse paused and looked up at the professor, letting her head fall to the side. It was a moment before she spoke, "could I hear it?" She smiled slowly. "You speak in Swahili, of course. I've never heard it," she blinked at the Ancient Runes professor kindly. Caroline chuckled at Zytka's words. "I will warn you, they are Muggle careers," she said pointedly. Caroline, growing up in a muggle home, was familiar with most of the jobs but she had feeling Zytka may ask her about one or two. It was a good thing she really liked talking to Zytka and teaching people new things. Caroline anxiously watched Zytka spin the wheel and frowned playfully when she got a low number but a smirk graced her lips when Zytka asked if she put a bad luck spell on her. "I did say I was a LIFE Olympian, didn't I?"

@zytka

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Zytka blinked, momentarily confused by what Caro wanted to hear, until the nurse elaborated that she wished for the professor to speak Swahili, saying that she’d never heard it before. Zytka paused for a moment, trying to think of something to say, until a proverb popped into her head. “Mahaba ni tamu, mahaba ni sumu.” Zytka murmured, toying with her plastic car for a moment before setting it down again. “It means ‘love is sweet, love is poison’.” Zytka felt both of those things keenly – how love could cause so much happiness, but also so much pain. It was lover, after all, that had led her to follow Diana into the Purifiers, and love that kept her in a group that was diametrically opposed to her own views. “Picking a career randomly will have to do, then.” Zytka decided when Caro reminded her that all of the careers in the game were Muggle ones. “Olympians generally do not get to be such because their opponents do poorly.” Zytka said with a mischievous smile.

@caroline