A Masterful Peice of Work [open]

[kira]

The crunching of the grass beneath feet was heard before the form of a girl rose over the first of many hills. The grounds of Hogwarts was an expansive place filled with many students, some paired off as couples, others in small groups just idly talking the day away, and still others spending the day alone. Kira was among those in the last of the named groups as she usually was, standing at the top of one of the hills and looking about. There was a small group of people stationed nearby under a tree and a couple sprawled out on the grass next to each other a bit further away pointing and staring at the clouds. Perhaps they were naming all the shapes the many clouds formed. For a moment she followed their example and turned her gaze to the sky. It was very cloudy out, the sun appearing for a short time for a moment before disappearing the next behind some other big cloud. In other words it was a good day for her to be outside, not too sunny and not filled with rain. The temperature was decent as well, for her anyway. She never cared much for the warmer temperatures, though perhaps it was because she never really felt that bothered by cold temperatures like some of her peers.

As the wind started to blow a bit Kira found her gaze returning to the earth before her. Her own hand rose, brushing some of her hair to the side and holding it there, preventing it from blowing back into her face and blocking her chestnut eyes from viewing the world around her. There was some trees, though few and far between. Many of them that she could see were already occupied by someone or another, a troublesome situation indeed. After a moment of searching, though, she successfully found one that was unoccupied and not that far of a walk from her current position. Before starting off on the short journey she allowed herself to reposition the bag that hung off her left shoulder to stabilize it more and to prevent it from falling as she moved. Once that was done she felt her feet moving forward, lowering herself from the high point of the hill and moving onward to the tree she had picked out in the distance. The tree itself had some lower hanging branches, just low enough that she could reach the lowest by jumping up a bit. The top of the tree itself was starting to bloom out a bit with leaves and flowers, making the sight a bit more beautiful than it usually would later in the year. In all, it was a very healthy looking tree which even was in sight of the lake, if one looked far enough. The lake would be a bit of a walk if she decided to go there next, but even if she did it would not be for a bit of a while since she had only just gotten onto the lawns.

After a minute of walking or so the tree was within her grasp, so to speak. As she reached it her hand found it's base and her gaze fell to the surrounding area, looking over all the landscape that was in view. The lake probably was the best view this tree had to offer, but it was better than nothing. For a moment Kira looked around, the few groups she had spotted earlier seemed preoccupied with their conversations or activities enough, in fact they probably had not even notice her as she passed them by. It was not a surprising thing to realize, she was probably very unnoticeable anyway. Usually she was a very quiet person who kept to herself a lot. Because of that she did have to wonder just how many people actually knew who she was, probably not many outside her own house and even within her house probably only those close to her in age. She never spent much time in the common room or even the dormitory. There was no point in it aside from getting comfortable with a good book, sleeping, or something of that sort. Mostly she was up and about, wandering the halls of the castle in search of something that would occupy her after her classes were done. Sometimes she would go to the library, others she might spend just exploring the castle. Today she had decided to seek refuge on the grounds. After all, it was a nice day out and she would rather not waste it.

After figuring no one really had their attention on her Kira turned her gaze back to her tree, looking up to the branches above. After a moment she jumped up, her hands wrapping around that lowest branch before pulling the rest of her up. It was probably a good thing she was not wearing a skirt or anything of the sort, sporting a pair of pants and a short sleeved shirt instead. Once she was on top the first branch she climbed up a bit more by one or two branches, settling on a decent sized one and pulling out a sketch pad from her bag. Looking at her bag for a moment she decided to hang it off the stump of a nearby broken branch, quickly taking out some charcoal before doing so. Once her bag was secure she turned her attention to the view in front of her. From this point in the tree there was not much foliage blocking her view, just enough to frame the picture if she decided to draw that in. Brushing a bit of her hair behind her ear Kira opened up the sketchpad and settled herself down on the branch comfortably, her charcoal finding the paper easily with many quick and precise strokes. She had a good feeling about this sketch, that it would probably turn out really well. Already she could see the picture forming before her and, so long as she were not disturbed by something suddenly, it would probably turn out as she predicted. A masterpiece.

[waldemar]

The end of March was nearing and to Waldemar, it was not cold at all. He came from the north of Finland, they sometimes got snowed in in winter, he had not seldom swum under the ice of frozen lakes and hiked through blizzards. This greyish, cloudish weather? It was a laugh, he was not cold at all, nor would he be.
Although his bad mood of the last few weeks had lessened considerably, he still did not seek out the company of his fellow-students. Why would he? He could be graduated and gone in a few months, it wasn't worth the trouble. Making friends was a difficult, bothersome thing, which Waldemar only did when he believed it would work out. Seeing the attempts the other students had made to befriend him, Waldemar made no further attempts himself. In total, the count of students who'd tried to establish contact with him was two and a half. Dorcas was one. Kane was two, but he had left him without a word, so he didn't really count. Lastly, the pureblood girl he'd met earlier in the weak counted as half, as she was pureblood and had probably only wanted to be polite.

No, instead of making friends, Waldemar had been focusing on studying and doing things he liked, and, as he was done studying for today, he was going to do something he liked. Swimming. Waldemar loved swimming, especially in the nude (guilty pleasure), but as he knew it would not be appreciated by the teachers, he had pulled on his swimming trunks under his regular clothes and was now walking towards the lake. No one probably suspected a thing (not that anyone cared), probably because he didn't have a towel with him. Who needed a towel - he had a wand.
Waldemar didn't even blush or blink when he arrived at the lake and started unbuttoning his shirt. He had no idea if the lake was safe, but he didn't care much either. He knew there was a giant squid in there, but he expected the creature to be harmless, or the staff wouldn't have let it live there. Apart from that, water generally held no threats for him - it was obvious as you looked at his lean body that he was an advanced swimmer. Actually, looking at the water and the easy accessibility of the lake, he expected the students to fool around in it when it was summer.

Not paying attention to anyone, really, as he expected them to pay no attention to him as well, he folded his clothes, left them under a nearby tree with his wand and dove into the water without any hesitation. He was not afraid to return from his swim and find his clothes gone - whoever decided that would be funny would be in a hell of a lot of trouble - he just wanted, for a moment, not to think of anything. All Waldemar wanted was to be part of nature for a short time, to relax. The water was pleasantly cool against his skin and he dove deeper, opening his eyes and trying to peer done, trying to evaluate the lake's depths, but he could see nothing. It was probably immensely deep if a giant squid could live inside.
Breathing in deeply as he surfaced, Waldemar moved to float on his back for a little and closed his eyes. This was good. He could do this for the rest of his life. Actually, he sometimes wondered why he hadn't been born a fish in the first place. Salmon, maybe. Perhaps, if he ever found out what his animagus form was..
He dismissed the thought for now and started swimming away from the shore with certain, long strokes. The deeper the water under him became, the cooler it was and the more he reveled in it. Water, to Waldemar, was like a second skin. It clung to him and moved with him. He wasn't sure what it was, but he always felt better when swimming. Surer of himself, maybe, or more free once he'd gotten rid of his obstructive, tailor-made clothes.

After half an hour or so, he had swum quite a distance and guessed it was a good idea to start swimming back to the shore where he'd gotten in the water to begin with.
Swimming with a front crawl, it barely took him fifteen minutes to get back and half reluctantly, he got back out of the water. He'd been in for quite some time now and it wasn't that he was getting cold, he just knew that dinner would be served at some point because the light was fading slightly. Besides, too much of a good thing was never good.
Slowly, he climbed out of the lake and walked back to his clothes, a trail of wetness following his footsteps in the grass. He bend over to get his wand and muttered a quiet spell to dry himself for the most part, so he would at least be able to put his clothes back on. He was going to have to change regardless, and do his hair, which was a mess at the moment, but he wasn't bothered at the moment. The swimming had done Waldemar good and he felt quite relaxed, softly humming to himself as he dressed.


[If you want, the tree he's changing under can be the tree Kira's sitting in - whatever you like! ]

[kira]

She focused on the land first, how the trees swayed in the wind as a cool breeze passed by, how they moved as some of the leaves and flowers fell from the branches before being carried off by the wind. Sometimes it was hard to capture such movement, but Kira seemed pleased with what she had managed to do with simple charcoal and nice paper. The shading had really captured it well and added to the delicate strokes which showed the simple movement of wind blowing through trees and grass greatly. Even without color there was a certain complexity to it with a beauty which she often found lacking from her pictures. Perhaps it was the peaceful environment she had found herself in that day which added to her calm mood. So far the day had gone well enough, little going wrong in her little world and a serene feeling capturing her at that moment. It was during these times that she found life to be good, that not all things could end badly like her pessimistic mind seemed to have thought they would end. Of course there were still the lurking thoughts of several negative events that had past or possible events to come, but she did her best to suppress them and to just enjoy her time outside.

Before the sky shifted too much she decided to start on that next, the clouds being the hardest things to capture on paper. They way they moved and formed, shifted in the high winds and so easily fell apart sometimes, it half made her wonder if they were so fluffy and soft to the touch. It was such a silly and childish notion, one she even knew to be untrue as well, but it had just seemed to meander into her thoughts so randomly that she could not stop it. Perhaps it was that inner child that grew up too fast within her trying to speak out and be heard. It mattered little now, though, so she did what she usually did. She pushed the thought to the side and ignored it, as if storing it away in a box that she figured she would probably seldom open in the future. As she did that her mind returned to her drawing, looking up at the sky and watching the clouds for a time before doing the same on her paper. The picture did not have to be the exact same, if it were then it might as well be a photograph, but with most of her picture she wanted to put some of her into it. Often she found that piece of her hiding in the shading and shadowing of the drawing. Even now as the charcoal touched the paper, gliding across it carefully to form those shadows on the clouds she could get a sense of herself there. The picture seemed so lonely, if she could try to place a word for it. Like there was something or someone missing from it causing the drawing to seem a bit empty. Perhaps it was full, but not quite with the feeling she had been hoping for.

Once more she brushed the thoughts to the side as she stared down at her picture. The wind picked up again and her eyes shifted, first to the tree she was in then up to the sky, her hair blowing around her a bit. With a sigh she brushed her hair away from her face once more before taking her eyes away from above and landing down to the waters a short distance away. She had been seldom paying attention to her surroundings by now so Kira had only just noticed the slight bit of splashing about in the lake. There seemed to be a person there, swimming about as if it were summertime. It was an odd sight indeed, she had certainly not expected it by the way some of the students still dressed as if it were still quite chilly outside. Of course it probably was, but she had not really taken notice to it. The question had once crossed her if she felt hot and cold the same as regular people, though only knowing what she had experienced she would probably never know. There was no life before becoming a halfbreed, she was just born that way and so she could only ever know how life like that was and nothing else. Sure she found herself wishing that things were different at times, but she knew better than to think anything would change. Besides, if she had a different life then she probably would not be who she was, she would be someone else in the same body, or something along those lines anyway. It was a confusing notion at times.

When she finally looked back down to her picture again, as if remembering that she was still drawing, she could see the lake in her colorless picture, the water drawn in motion as the wind pushed at it's surface. Even the boy that had been swimming within her sight was there, on his way back to the shore. The shading and lighting were not too bad, a bit of a compensation was needed for the disappearing light as it was beginning to get late into the day. Aside from that she did feel happy about her picture, finding that it really was one of her best. Kira stood up in the tree, putting the charcoal in her bag which still hung off a nearby branch stump. She fumbled with her sketch pad for a moment, it was not too big, but still a bit much when one was keeping one's balance and trying to flip the pages closed. After a moment she felt the thing slip from her grasp, her hand moving to catch it but finding herself a second too late as it only brushed the tips of her fingers on the way down. For a moment she watched it fall, only then noticing that boy who had been swimming was down below her. It was like as soon as she saw him she could fully gather her senses together, hearing the soft humming coming from his as he dressed and the slight movements he was making. She had frozen in place for a moment, half crouched on her branch in a reaching position as she watched him, her sketch pad falling to the ground beside him opened back to her most recent page. There were only a few other pictures in there since she had only just started in a new book. Still, she did not like the thought that he would see the picture she had only just completed, she did not show her pictures to anyone after all.

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[waldemar]

When the cool evening air touched his wet skin, he got goosebumps, but he wasn't cold. Goosebumps were merely a reaction of the body to a change in temperature and Waldemar was not cold. He walked back to his tree in silence, dried himself slowly, changed without a blush, not even when he was completely stark naked on school grounds. Waldemar didn't care, he felt better than he had in weeks, and resolved to go out swimming more often regardless of school rules or other people's opinions. If he was going to have to be staying here, he was at least going to make it as enjoyable as possible.
He had just buttoned up his trousers when he heard something rustle above him. He looked up, expecting to see a bird of some kind and well, he did see a bird, in the metaphorical sense for 'girl'. Also, he nearly got hit in the head with a sketch pad and he blinked in mild surprise at it as it hit the ground, then glanced up at the girl again. He could swear he'd seen her in his house's common room before, but her name escaped him. Squatting, he picked up the pad, dusted it off a little, and tried to hand it back to her (Waldemar was tall, but not quite that tall). "Here you go." Normally, he wouldn't have done this, but the swimming had left him in a good mood.

Of course, he had seen the picture. It had been unavoidable. Waldemar had chosen not to say anything about it, though, because he'd also looked up and seen the girl's facial expression and that had told him enough. Besides, artists should choose the moment when they showed their work to people, and Waldemar didn't expect anyone in the school to get close enough to him to show him something personal like that. Maybe Dorcas, but he couldn't imagine Dorcas painting (except, maybe, with ice cream and chocolate sauce..).
Funny, he thought to himself, as he buttoned his shirt, that he met two artist-girls in one week. Or maybe there were just a lot of artistic people around at Hogwarts he didn't know about.
"If we go back now, we might just be in time to have supper," he said to no one in particular, trying to take a chance, and if she didn't say anything, he wouldn't be so bothered. Not this time, at least. Waldemar sighed as he tried to get his hair in order, but it was sticking up in odd ends. He suddenly regretted never learning any cosmetic charms or spells, but then again, wouldn't that immediately give him away as flaming gay? Oh well - not like anyone knew. Except for maybe Dorcas. Waldemar half-wondered if she'd be the type to be too drunk to care and tell everyone. He hoped not.

[kira]

Kira still remained paused, knelt over on her tree branch, though her arm managed to relax and fall to her side after a moment of hovering out in front of her as if that would have stopped her sketch pad from falling. If she had known wandless magic, maybe, but for now she had not taken the time to go over it and did not really expect to until next school year or the year after. She was only a fifth year after all, there was no need to rush anything just yet. Not that there would be much options for her to rush to, but it was good to keep a patient mind anyway. Usually she was always very calm and patient, perhaps a little manipulative at times, but many people were a little of that as well. How else would she find things out or get at least some of what she wanted. Granted it was a little hard to be that way when she was also usually an honest person, but either were interchangeable depending on what she could gain from the situation.

It was not until he picked up her sketch pad and tried to hand it back to her that Kira more reacted. Quickly she made her way down to the lowest branch, her movements very close to effortless. Even if she was not half vampire she had always had a fondness for being in high places which made her love climbing trees as well as many other things. Perhaps not scaling a flat wall or anything like that, but she was still quite good with balance, whether natural or not. Once she was on the lowest branch she reached down and took her sketch pad back. "Thanks," she said softly before hopping back up the tree and grabbing her bag. She stuffed her sketch pad inside quickly, though carefully enough that none of the pages would be hurt, before making her way back down and jumping out of the tree, landing in front of the older Ravenclaw boy. She was sure she had seen him around her house somewhere, though she scarcely paid that much attention anyway.

When he spoke again Kira found her eyes drawn to the sky for a moment. The sun was starting to fall below the horizon, signaling that they would need to go inside very soon anyway and that supper would probably be nearing the end soon enough as well. They could probably squeeze in a few bites of food before it was over if they left right at that moment, though she was not feeling all that hungry anyway. Her head tilted slightly at the thought of just how hungry, or not hungry as the case may be, she was before she found her eyes falling back down to the boy next to her. "Supper would be nearing the end by the time we got there," she said with a slight shrug, "unless we run or something. I would really rather just sit out here and watch the stars if I could." Really she was more of a night person and it was no wonder why. Still, she did have to wonder if her love of the night was because she just liked it or if it was more because she was what she was. It was really a frustrating thought that would cross her mind. She did not like the idea that something she loved might be just because it was something half of her was very comfortable with, but she did try to accept it as a possible truth.

"I'm not really too hungry though," she said after a moment of thought, "are you?" Kira, being socially inept most of the time, really was unsure of how she should even continue the conversation. It would probably have been rude to just walk away from him after all and after figuring that perhaps some of her house mates already saw her as that way she should try to mend that at least a little. In truth she did not want to be known as some rude or stuck up girl, though perhaps she really did appear that way sometimes. It was unintentional, though she could not deny that it probably did happen from time to time. If anything she at least realized this flaw and was trying to better herself instead of just ignoring it ignorantly like some of the other people in the world might.

[waldemar]

She didn't really talk much, and Waldemar guessed he was glad. Most of the girls at Hogwarts talked too much and got on his nerves rather quickly (Dorcas being a lucky exception). This girl seemed to know how to appreciate silence. Either that, or she just didn't want to socialise with him (which was also fine).
When he held out her sketch pad, she climbed down and Waldemar had to admit she was quite agile. He was rather fond of tree climbing himself (though nothing beat swimming), but he was too tall to do it as quickly and effortless as her.
"Thanks." Waldemar nodded and smiled a little, very, very faintly. "Welcome." By the time Kira was on the earth again, he had managed to get dressed impeccably again, though his hair still looked a little too wild for his usual appearance.

"Supper would be nearing the end by the time we got there, unless we run or something. I would really rather just sit out here and watch the stars if I could."
Waldemar nodded slightly. "I suppose." He chuckled lowly. "I don't know the stars here. I don't take astronomy, either." It was true. Okay, the starts weren't that different, but Waldemar was used to looking up to the night sky in a place a lot more to the east and also a lot, a lot more to the north. He'd practically lived on the pole circle, after all.
He half considered asking the girl if she'd mind his company, but it would be too abrupt and besides - they didn't even know each others' names.

"I'm not really too hungry though, are you?" Waldemar shrugged. "Not really." He glanced at the darkening horizon. He missed the aurora. The girl next to him would probably be pretty impressed by the aurora, it was quite a work of art in the sky. He didn't ask.
"I'm Waldemar, by the way," he commented casually. "I don't think we've met." It was an open invitation. If she just replied with her name and gave indication that she didn't want him there, Waldemar knew how to pick up a hint.

[kira]

Kira took a moment to glance at the boy next to her now that he was completely dressed. It had been unavoidable seeing him only half dressed before, though she supposed he really did not care too much considering, but it had made her slightly embarrassed to be looking at him at the time. Though she could swim if she had to she had not often ventured near the water with the intention of doing so or watching anyone do so.Sure she had seen this very same boy swimming earlier in the lake not too long ago, but he was at a good enough distance that she did not have to worry about such trivialities. Besides the water had been in the way anyway being murky as well as reflecting the sunlight as it had. All of that in combination had been enough to block any hopes for a good view, not that she had really been looking for one anyway. She really was not that kind of girl and she would probably never be.

When he spoke of the stars Kira had to shrug a little. She took Astronomy and all, but she really did not view the stars quite like that. "It's good to know the stories behind them that people have written in the past and to know what shapes they can take," she said quietly, "but I think it's just good to enjoy them without thinking too much about it as well. To just let them be stars for a moment." She had always figured she thought too much. Though she still thought too much when watching the stars she never really seemed to over think the stars themselves, even in Astronomy class. They kept some of her mind occupied at times, though never all, but she was still grateful for what little they did. It was such a peaceful activity for her, though that was probably why she enjoyed it so much. Some nights she would even sneak up to the Astronomy tower to get a better view, though only when she felt she really needed it.

"I'm Kira," she said in response, "we haven't met, but I do believe we share the same house. It's a good view from the Ravenclaw tower at least, though you probably already know that." She really did not mind his company. So far he really did not seem like he would be someone that would just annoy her, though neither was he the type which she would just listen to talk half the time before perhaps giving her advice or opinion of something. It more seemed like the conversation might be shared a bit more evenly with him, which she supposed was fine though she found listening to sometimes be an easier task. For instance she could just zone someone out if she knew the person was not expecting a real answer or she could actually listen for a while and only say a few words in response that might satisfy that person. Perhaps the hardest part would be to find an appropriate answer that might not offend the other person or get them upset, but that was a usual with most any conversation anyway so, in her opinion, listening was easier.

[waldemar]

It was true that Waldemar wasn't particularly ashamed of himself. He was a proud boy not in the sense that he was vain, but in the sense that he knew he had no reason to be ashamed of himself. Waldemar had a natural self confidence that was sometimes mistaken for arrogance, but, so he reasoned, if people were too shallow to attempt to get to know him better, they were not worth his company.

Waldemar quite liked stars. It was one of those things that made him wonder how things could be warm and cold at the same time. He couldn't help but wonder sometimes if there was something out there, he was curious and if offered the chance, he would probably go to explore the universe without a second thought (as long as there would always be a way for him to go back home).
"It's good to know the stories behind them that people have written in the past and to know what shapes they can take, but I think it's just good to enjoy them without thinking too much about it as well. To just let them be stars for a moment." Waldemar nodded a little and couldn't help but smile slightly at the girl's words. It was a funny thing, because weren't people also wrapped in stories that stopped others (and sometimes even themselves) from seeing their pure, simple cores - who they really were? He sighed slowly, not sure if he was in the mood for philosophy.

"I'm Kira, we haven't met, but I do believe we share the same house. It's a good view from the Ravenclaw tower at least, though you probably already know that." Waldemar nodded in silent greeting. "Pleasure to get to know you. I must say it's very pleasant to meet a girl your age who seems to have her head screwed on properly." It was a compliment, albeit a strange compliment, maybe. True, though, most of the girls who he'd met either giggled or ignored him - it annoyed him.
This girl, au contraire, appeared to be more like him - a bit of a loner, but not completely antisocial (she hadn't been rude to him so far, at least) and smart enough to have a decent conversation with (even if it might just be this once).

More clumsy than he'd intended, Waldemar sat down. If they were going to be stargazing, he might as well be comfortable, so he leaned against the trunk of the tree and looked up at the darkening sky briefly. His overall posture was an open invitation for her to sit down next to him, though he wouldn't mind if she preferred staying where she was now - her choice. Waldemar found he didn't matter so much, and that he felt quite at ease.