Studying (open)

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity was sitting cross legged on the floor of the Common Room, with Luna stretched out across the girl's legs, a purr rumbling through the feline's body. The young blonde had her Book of Shadows on the ground beside her and one of her many study books lying open on the floor in front of her as she poured through the pages of the large tome. "This author is a bore." She told the cat and tickled Luna under chin as the feline looked up at her. "Are you a cat or a lawn-mower?" She laughed as the cat's purring grew even louder, the already vocal rumbling gaining speed.

She closed the book she had been reading without going any further and put it into the back pile to her left, the pile that she was going to give to Tommy when she saw him next, as her brother often liked the books that she couldn't stand.

She looked around the currently empty room, with the gentle sound of Celtic music playing as a background noise. She knew that she should probably be doing this in her own room, but she didn't want her room to begin to feel like a prison cell, and after all she was told to make this House feel like home, and this was the best way she could think of doing so.

Rather than opening another book, she moved her Book of shadows in front of her, placed her hands on the cover and closed her eyes. She then sat up straight, smiling as the feline stretched, slipped off the girl's knees and curled up on top of the Book in from of her human. Serenity then folded her hands in her lap and, sitting up straight, she drew in a breath and slowly released it as she stared straight ahead and then let her eyes slide closed as she went into a meditative state.

[Deleted]

Alec let out a breathe as he glanced up at the clear summer sky. He felt the sun's rays shine down on him as he took a small walk around the Academy. He sometimes wondered why his parents made him board the place during the summer where most people have gone home. Although he came here to be away from home because he has a lot to think about for the years he will be attending the Academy. He felt his hands getting clammy in his short pockets as he could feel the great amount of humidity that has been occurring lately. He continued his own self tour around the area before decided to head back to the Yellow Ribbon Housing.

As he arrived to the building, he made a note to himself to make sure he has unpacked everything in his dorm. He didn't have a roommate for now and he was actually quite happy about that as he needed to keep to himself for a while, but that doesn't mean he never wants one. He will need to meet new people eventually. Spotting the common room of the Yellow Ribbon House while still on the first floor, he decided to why not take a break from his room. He always seemed to be cooped up in that place when he finds out he has nothing to do, and he has passed by the common room a few times from going back and forth, in and out of the house.

It wouldn't hurt to observe the area a bit as he remembered noticing the better features of quality relaxation it had than his room. His tall and kind of large frame tried to make soft foot step, but it still made a light clomp noise as he entered the room. He never noticed that there was young girl already occupying the room until his body was already fully in the space. He bit his lip as his blue orbs saw the girl's eyes closed and she seemed completely quiet. He didn't know whether he should speak up or just wait until she noticed or neither did he know what she was doing. He tried to take a step back to stand near the entrance in case the girl might not want his presence, but he knew the girl must have been interrupted as his clumsy footsteps kind of made a statement.

[Serenity Oliver]

 

Serenity was standing beneath a lamp-post, a home point where her meditations always started. The thing that was odd about the lamp-post was that it was in the clearing of a forest. Ahead of her was a pathway, the same path that she took every time she came here. Following the path, it wasn't long until the trees opened up and she was in her favourite place, a hidden grove in the middle of the forest, sitting on a boulder that had been flattened by the elements, the sides of it covered in moss and the ground around it was carpeted in a wild flowers so that the ground, other than the narrow path that she had followed to the rock, was a rainbow of colours. Even though this place may not have existed in reality, to her, it felt as real as though she were here in reality. The air around her shimmered with the energy of all the people that had come before her, witches or other people that worked in the Craft. She inhaled deeply, drawing in the energy and letting it fill her. Right now she felt like she could do anything, and here she knew she could do it. She could draw from the elements here, she could set the grove on fire if she chose to, she wouldn't though as that would be disrespectful to the energies that were around her. Rather than taking abuse of what was offered to her, she just sat there and took the time to think about what she could so in the natural plane...

The feel of Luna's claws in her shoulder brought her out of her meditation with a start, and her eyes flew open with a gasp. Her body trembled as she tried to centre herself, tried to return to the here and now. She blinked rapidly to clear the spots from her eyes, though it didn't help the fuzziness in her head. "No, Luna, wait!" She said, her voice slightly hoarse, as the cat took off out the open door. She could hear the feline's claw scrabble for grip as she slid around the corner, but she knew that her familiar wouldn't return to her.

It was only then that she worked out what had set the cat off, as her eyes focused on the male in the entry way. "Hi." Her voice back to normal now, even though her head was pounding. Pushing herself up with her hands, she stood for a moment, trembling slightly, and then took a step toward the kitchenette, knowing that she needed a drink of water.

[Deleted]

Alec observed the girl as she sat cross legged on the floor and seemed almost perfectly still. He noticed how focused she was and thought how maybe she must be doing one of those meditations. Peace and quiet, and just calmness was the current room's atmosphere. He would understand why someone would do any kind of relaxation in here. It was then he noticed a fuzzy creature sitting on the book that laid in front of her. A cat. He somewhat disliked cats rather than hate them, as he was allergic to them. Luckily he would only have reactions if he pet the cat and then came in contact with his skin or in situations like that. He bit his lip as he was glad the cat didn't seem to be a socializer.

He watched as the the creature clawed the girl's shoulder as her eyes instantly opened and she seemed to gasping in great shock. The boy guessed the pet must have noticed him too and he guessed he has scared the cat. He heard her say a name, as he was guessing was the cat's name, as the feline bolted out the entrance and was scrabbling around the corner. He grinned innocently as the girl spotted him and greeted. "Hi." Was all he could think of to responde to before clearing his throat so it wouldn't sound so dry. "I'm so sorry for scaring away your feline friend, and interrupting your er... moment." He added with a truly sincere tone as his hands went deeper in his short pockets.

The boy knew he was interrupting, but he didn't know he was going to cause that much of a problem towards the girl. He noticed as she stood for a moment to head towards the kitchenette that she trembled slightly. "Are you okay?" He asked in a slightly worried tone as the worst thing to start off for a first impression is to hurt someone. He hoped it wasn't too serious of a damage he created to make the girl take on a wrong impression on him. He never knew that the time to start meeting someone has started so quickly and that he was already starting to be bad at it. 'Way to go, Alec.' He fumbled in his mind as his blue orbs looked over to the girl in what she had to say to him.

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity shrugged off the boy's apology. "The only reason she remained here so long was because there was no one else in the room, so please don't take it personally." She glanced toward the door, knowing that Luna would now be curled up outside her dorm room, and part of her knew she should go and let the cat into the room, just she didn't think she could walk up the stairs right now.

Opening the fridge door, she took out a bottle of water, poured it into a glass and took a sip. She knew that the water would help, she just wished it helped instantly. She gave the boy at the door a warm smile. "I'm fine. It's just a little bit of a jolt to the body to have to return so quickly." She pressed her lips together as she realised how strange she must sound. "I get quite into my meditations." She walked over to one of the sofas and sat down, tucking her feet under her - another thing she knew would help her head settle. "Think of it as when you get jolted out of a nightmare and you sit up gasping, trying to work out whether you were actually dreaming or not." She hoped that would give him some idea as it was a feeling that most people had been through.

She gave him a warm smile again. "I'm Serenity."

[Deleted]

Alec let out a silent breathe as he never realized he was even holding it. It just seemed to be less stressful to know that someone forgave your apology and didn't take it personally. He gave a nod in understanding as it really didn't bother him that the cat bolted out on him. He sometimes wished he wasn't allergic to cats, as he really would like to be able to get to meet them without having limits and getting all reacted. He then focused his attention back on the girl as she answered his other question, or more of a concern.

It just made him feel even better to know that he didn't cause any great harm to her. His brow arched in her second part of her response about having to 'return so quickly'. At first he didn't really know what she meant specifically by returning as she then added more information that she was meditating, just like he guessed. He then realized the younger girl seemed to be quite interesting and unique as he never really met anyone who meditated and consulted with all the energies the universe is said to hold. "Think of it as when you get jolted out of a nightmare and you sit up gasping, trying to work out whether you were actually dreaming or not." He then gave a kind of 'oh' face in understanding and finally has the idea. "I know that kind of feeling." He responded as does everyone, at least once, he was guessing. "Just glad you're alright though." He gave a nod in support as he gave a light smile.

His light smile turned into a warm smile back towards the girl, now that she has introduced herself as Serenity, as he responded. "Nice to meet you, Serenity. That's a very quality and calm name." Just saying her name made him feel relaxed and untroubled. "I'm Alec." He added keeping his warm and greeting smile as he introduced himself back to her. "Do you mind if I join you as company?" He asked as he gestured to some of the empty seats on the other sofas, hoping the girl wouldn't mind. After all, he has no where else to go if he were to leave and he has already checked up on Owen a couple of times in the barn. So it wouldn't hurt to take the time to get to know someone new.

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity nodded when she saw that her nightmare suggestion worked, and he suddenly understood how she was feeling. "I also have this reaction, the headache anyway, if I meditate too deeply and haven't eaten or had enough to drink beforehand."

The girl bowed her head as her name was completed. "Thanks, I get the feeling that my parents were expecting a baby who needed a calm name." She commented mildly after taking a sip of her water. She smiled and gestured toward the seats around the central coffee table. "Of course!" She replied honestly. "Please, sit down. I haven't been here for long and it would be to get to know a few people during the vacation." And she really did want to get to know people, except now that she was in this room alone with a boy she suddenly felt cold. She shifted on the seat slightly, tucking her legs under her a little more. She looked up at the door, seeing if she could use her twinning ability and call her brother to her side - it was just a pity that she knew the real world didn't work like the movies. It was the middle of summer and she suddenly wished she had a blanket.

"Do you have any horses?" She knew it was a strange question to ask a person attending an equestrian school, but she knew that the academy had their own horses that they assigned to the students so there must be a few students that arrived without a horse of their own.

[Deleted]

Alec was glad they finally understood each now as he could understand how she is feeling with all that sudden shock being sent through your body so quickly. He was suddenly just amazed by how the girl was different from anyone he has met as he gave a nod in understanding towards her comment on her other reaction. He would get headaches himself if he focused too deeply like if he were to study for long periods of time, eventually his brain would get tired and sick of doing the same thing for a straight hour or even two without a break or like the girl said haven't eaten or had a drink beforehand.

He gave a smile towards her comment about how her parents were wanting to give her a calm name. "Well the name seems to fit you well, in a great way that is." He responded, keeping that kind gleam in his eye. He gave a thanking smile towards Serenity as she accepted the offer to let him join her. He sat in one of the chairs that seated one person as he sat across from her. He then gave a nod towards her comment about getting to know a few people while on vacation. Although what got his attention was that she mentioned how she hasn't been here long like him. "Yeah, I actually haven't been here long either. I'm new here to the academy as I just arrived I think a couple days ago." He mentioned as he really doesn't keep track of the days. Sometimes the time in the day just goes by so fast that you get lost after a while.

"Yes, I only have one horse currently. He's a gelding and his name is October Sky, or Owen which is his barn name." He answered her question as he turned the question over to her. "How about you, do you have any horses?" He hoped she wouldn't mind the repeating of questions as he would understand why she would ask such a strange question. He heard how sometimes people lease horses instead of really owning one of their own. So it didn't really bother the boy much of answering these kinds of horse related questions.

[Serenity Oliver]

She felt her cheeks grow warm as he complimented her on her name once again. "Thank you." She said. In the past it had bugged her that her brother had been given such a normal name where her name was as unusual as her family was, and she often wondered if it was because their mother's pregnancy had been difficult, but then it probably would have been a slightly less than normal pregnancy due to the fact that she was having twins. She frowned in thought as she went over what she had said to Alec. She didn't even know if their parents knew what gender their babies were going to be, and even if they did, there was never any guarantee that what appeared to be a baby girl in a scan, was actually a girl, and even less so when the scan was of twins.

She nodded as he spoke about only having just arrived. "My brother and I arrived about a week ago." She replied as she placed the glass on the coffee table, rose to her feet, walked over to pick up her leather bound book and then returned to sit on her sofa again and listening as Alec spoke about his horse, the fear that had gripped her earlier had released her from its grip and she was enjoying his company. She chuckled when the question was returned to her. "I own a Swedish Warmblood, Thoroughbred mare named Snow White, or Red, as she is known in the barn. I have signed up for quite a few equestrian classes so I might see if I can use an Academy mount as well." At first she was sure that her mare would be fine with all the classes, but there would be days when the mare would be going to four classes and serenity knew that she wouldn't be able to do four phys-ed classes in a row. She chewed on her lip, maybe she should change dressage and show jumping for eventing, then she could do all three of the classes she wanted to when she had dropped cross country for hunter jumpers. "What do you do with Owen?" She decided to keep the conversation moving while she mused over her equestrian classes. She would need to phone her parents later and talk over the new thought for class options.

[Deleted]

Alec gave a nod in towards her 'thank you' as it represented as a sort of 'you're welcome' in return. He sometimes wondered how his own parents came up with his own name. The only thing he seemed to enjoy about his named was that it was spelled differently with a 'c' instead of an 'x' in the end for the common name 'Alex'. Whatever his name was based on he sometimes disliked it being so well, mainstream. He really did liked the girl's name, Serenity, it wasn't as common as Emma, Sara, or even Megan. Although he didn't mean that he didn't like those names, he just liked a little different sometimes. What fascinated him the most was how the name also reflected how the girl's personality was. Sometimes some parents would name their children and it sometimes didn't fit them at all.

He gave another nod back in return as she responded that her and her brother arrived about a week ago. By now, he think he has also been here about a week, but not a full week just yet. He noticed the leather bound book she got up to get and was a bit curious. He wondered if he should ask about what it was meant for or what it might be about, but he decided not to in case it was some kind of journal that was personal to her and it might be rude to change the subject. He gave her his full attention as she mentioned about the horse she owns and hopes to own. "Snow White, like the fairytale princess, kind of?" He asked curiously as the name reminded him of those princesses. He rememebered, when him and his sister was little, that his sister used to be interested in those fairytales and Snow White was one of her favorite stories/princesses. He heard about both the Grimm Fairytale version and the other variations. Now that they both were older, he heard less about those kinds of girly stuff and he was kind of glad. He hoped asking her the question didn't bother her as much and didn't change the topic too suddenly.

"What do you do with Owen?" The boy heard her ask the next question as he thought about the the disciplines his father used to teach him. "We mostly do eventing since my father was the one who really taught Owen and I more in depth with." He gave a nod as he answered her question. "What do you do with Red?" He asked as he seemed to really be enjoying the girl's company right now. Usually he liked to keep to himself and be alone most of the times, but actually having someone to talk to has really opened his eyes wide. If talking to a girl, who seemed to be younger than him, was easy, then he hoped the more people he meets along the way will be as easy as it is right now.

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity nodded. "Yes, just more based off the German fairy tale; Snow White and Rose Red, rather than the Disney version." She shuddered slightly. She liked kids movies, but the way that Disney sugar coated and made the fairy tales so friendly, annoyed her to no ends. She did enjoy Snow White and the Huntsman, which was an interesting version of the tale.

She tucked a cushion behind the small of her back as she listened to him talk about his horse, it sounded like he had a really good bond with the gelding. She grinned as he once again returned the question. "Red and I do pretty much everything we can in a close contact saddle, oh and dressage." She replied easily. "She was born in a hunter jumpers barn, so that's what she was trained in when our parents purchased her, and I just encouraged her love of jumping by introducing her to cross country and then show jumping." She didn't think that she would ever compete in cross country, but it was a fun thing to do to break up the training of dressage and arena jumping. She had the feeling that their horse conversation was over and the fourteen year old couldn't think of a new topic right off the top of head. "How long have you and Owen been working together?" She asked, remembering that he'd said his father had trained the horse. She also made a mental note to have a look at Owen the next time she went down to see Red.

[Deleted]

Alec gave another one of his understanding nods as he observed how the girl shuddered slightly at mentioning the Disney version of Snow White. He would agree with her that sometimes it's just better to go to the originals rather than watch how people try and change the whole story's mood that was meant to make it interesting. He remembers reading a good book, or even series, and then went to see the movie and saw how they usually cut out parts that they think are small, but can sometimes be so important to those who really care about keeping the book's ideas original. That's why sometimes he just prefers reading that watching movies as it can just annoy him at times.

He attentively listened to Serenity as she spoke her turn at answering his question as he heard about how the pair did everything they could in a close contact saddle. He was quite fascinated by her story of how Red was born in a hunter jumpers barn and she helped encourage the horse's love of jumping. He admired those kinds of people who let someone be and do what they love without any question to it, unlike how his parents are doing to him. They just expected him to have a future with equestrian, even though he might have a future in sports as well. Don't get him wrong, he did enjoy equestrianism, he just sometimes hoped his life just wasn't all focused around it so he could also have other opportunities. 'Best of both worlds.' He thought as he wished it was just that simple.

"How long have you and Owen been working together?" He heard the next question for their next topic as he gave a few seconds thought. "Well, as long as I can remember." He started off, "Owen was my first horse that my mother gave me to use the first time my father got me hooked into equestrian. So he's pretty much been with me since the beginning." He added, hoping he wasn't add too much towards the topic. "How long have you been working with Red since the day your parents purchased her?" He asked as he remembered recently how she commented on her horse being bought through her parents.

[Serenity Oliver]

As the male spoke, she smiled softly and rose to her feet as she ambled over to the kitchenette and perused through their selection on tea, curling her nose at what was on offer, and making a note to catch the Academy bus into town the next day so that she could find something that she could drink. Opening the fridge, she pulled out a couple of bottles of orange soda and walked back to the couch, extending one of the bottles toward Alec in silent question as she placed it on the table and then sat on the couch and tucked her feet up under her once more.

She thought about his question as she took a sip of the drink and curled her nose at the taste but knowing she would need to finish it since she had opened it. "Red was in a bit of a state when she first arrived home, so it was six months of mom and dad working with her until they discovered that her and I were meant for each other." She laughed at the sound of what she had said. "I was asked to work Red in the pen one morning because one of the other horses had gone down during the night, the horse was fine, and Red and I just clicked." She shrugged slightly, knowing that her words still sounded make believe. "Since then, we've been working together for the past couple of years."