i've got sunshine
on a cloudy day

@birdfriend | HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Thea liked to wander the school when she was bored or restless, and especially when she was avoiding doing her homework. It helped that it was after the regular hours for classes, what with it being way too early in the morning for anyone else to be out and about. Hogwarts was finally peaceful and not at all bothersome, though she supposed that that would probably end in less than an hour. She was sure that everyone else would come back with a vengeance, now that they had adjusted to being back from winter break. She was grateful to be back, at least, and she was hoping to find a bit of gossip to spread around. Most recently was Terri's split from Bash and her subsequent abandonment of Avalon Ballet, which she had been spreading rather viciously. She had been telling everyone that he had cheated on her, but she really didn't know the cause, not exactly. She was sure that wasn't quite it, especially since it didn't explain why the girl would have quit Avalon. There had to have been another reason that she had decided to abandon ballet, but since that hadn't been told to her (yet) she was willing to spread around the one thing that she was certain of— Bash had probably cheated, because that was what she was certain he had done to the other girls. 

While she tried to figure out any more gossip that might have occurred, Thea wandered Hogwarts, looking around the usual crevices and corners to see if anything had changed. She knew that nothing had; nothing ever changed at school. She still avoided the same people, she still pretended like nothing was as annoying as the younger Ravenclaws, and she still avoided the older Slytherins in case they had met her sister before she had graduated. Thea had hoped that there would be something a bit less trivial about this term at school, but she was sure that it wouldn't happen. The world wasn't like that, it was boring and it was annoying, and there wasn't that much light left to seep through it in the end. If the world wasn't like that she wouldn't already be engaged to some baby, and she wouldn't be sitting in confusion and trying to understand what yet another political change was going to do to her. Maybe her parents would end up breaking off the engagement and sticking her with another neutral family. That would make more sense, but she was going to have to just wait and see. Sometimes, her parents did actually have secondary and tertiary plans, but she supposed that they were waiting to fully understand what was occurring in the political world.

Since she didn't quite know, Thea just had to wait, and wander, and go on with her life. She had to hope that nothing bad would happen, but with Cecily as her sister... Well, she was already set for a rather violent life. She would just have to hope that everything would get better. She ran a hand through her hair as she wandered towards the sundial garden, trying to keep a positive outlook on life. It was a bit easier when it was early, especially when nobody was running around and causing a ruckus. She liked it, this way. She liked the fact that she was able to walk around without needing to hide and without needing to twist her words. Sometimes, it was exhausting. At least Emi made it easier. They hadn't planned to meet so early, but she knew her friend. Sometimes she was wandering, sometimes she was playing with stray cats or stray first years. Thea hoped desperately that it was the former. 

Winter Holidays had been fun, Millie loved going back to France to visit her family, she loved being with her family, and she loved the energy that came with the holidays. No matter what was being celebrated people were happier, joyful and free. Seeing people be cheerful delighted the Hufflepuff. There was so much sadness in the world, that Emi really didn't want to think about, the moments of joy were even more valuable. In a way Emi had been sad to see the holidays end, in another way she had just been excited to see Thea again. Where Millie's holidays were always fun, Thea's could be stressful, especially with her older sister around. Emi didn't dislike people, as a general rule she just didn't, but she really did not like Thea's sister. Then again, Emi doubted she would like anyone that upset her best friend.

"Quoi de neuf," she asked, offering her hand to the newest cat to join her. There were a lot of places at Hogwarts that Emi loved but she always thought the sundial garden was her favourite. Her mama had taught her about sundials when she was a kid, that alone made her happy, but the sunshine was her favourite. Hogwarts didn't get enough sun, not in Emi's opinion at least, so when it was really nice she liked to just sit and enjoy the warmth of the sun. Admittedly the weather was still far from warm but Emi didn't need to focus on that. Instead her attention was on the tabby cat nuzzling her hand as she sat cross-legged in the middle of the rock circle. "Est-ce que tu as faim?" Sometimes the cats that joined her had their own humans, some were strays, Emi still loved them all. Checking her pockets she frowned, offering her hand back to the cat so she could pet him. "Sorry, petit chat," she told him, "I don't have any snacks with me."

Millie hadn't actually expected to see anyone else up yet, she was always up before her dormmates, but when she looked up again she had human company and she beamed. "Thea!" If she wasn't covered in cats she would have lept up to give her best friend a hug, but... cats. For a moment she looked up to the Ravenclaw with wide eyes, trying to figure out how to hug her without displacing any kitties, before she patted the ground next to her. "Come here, sit with me," Emi exclaimed with a smile.

Her sister was so unpredictable, sometimes. It went beyond a regular sibling rivalry, beyond the realm of normal human interaction, and lived somewhere among the thought of manipulation and abuse. She knew that her sister wasn't fine. She knew that there was something wrong with Cecily, and her sister's new friend as well. There was something off, something dangerous. Thea couldn't even place a time where someone should have to fear their siblings. She wished that they could have had a normal interaction, but she had ruined it by pettily insulting her sister a few times. There was no way that she could save that relationship, not at all, so she had to just watch as it crumbled to pieces. She had to just sit there and hold her breath, she had to hope that Cecily decided to move away from home at some point.

Soon. It would happen soon, hopefully. She wanted a chance to get it all over with, she wanted to be able to just breathe and not have to worry about running too slow. She hated having to hide whenever she was home, and she hated more how she tried to hide everything from her classmates. Only a handful knew, and an even smaller group knew why. She had trusted Emi; she always trusted Emi. Emi knew what was going on and why it was happening, and then there were the few individuals who had accidentally found out. She had done well with keeping it out of gossip, and part of it did happen to be her sister's help.

When she heard Emi's voice, she had nearly let out a sigh of relief. She could tell Emi all of her worries, everything that was going on. She turned towards her best friend and happily laughed at the cats. So many cats, there were always so many cats. Cats and kids... Well, Thea liked the cats. She crossed the garden to sit next to Emi, trying not to seem too worried. "Hey... Did you bring treats with you? Or do the cats just expect them?"