The Faults of February

[Mysti Daile'an]

Mysti wrapped her cloak around her tightly as she entered the astronomy tower. She'd heard that it was beautiful up here; you could see every single star when it was a clear night and the moon always seemed closer. When she looked up she could tell this was true. Every star was brighter than she remembered them to be. Sitting down on a window sill, she gazed out at the nearly full moon.

This is the perfect setting for a romance scene, Mysti thought with amusement. Except that it's freezing and I'm alone. This made Mysti frown for a moment at the scene around her. Why did it have to be February already? She didn't need all the Valentines atmosphere right now. There were always those people who acted childish or strange, almost as if the time of year affected them as much as the full moon affected a werewolf. They lost control of their usual selves and splurged on chocolates and bouquets of roses.

An object separated itself from the night sky, interrupting Mysti's mental monologue on the faults of February. It was Kibbe. He came down and perched beside her, turning his head in his boastful way as usual, but still showing a sense of concern for his master.

"Hey Kibbe, how are you?" She stroked his feathers and he nibbled her fingers affectionately, then tossed his head like he was some prize parrot. Mysti laughed lightly and patted him on the head. "As arrogant as usual I see."

Kibbe gave her one of his sharp looks and ruffled his feathers in indignation. He then clicked his beak and seemed to stand in a princely pose.

"Feeling rather proud of ourselves today? What, did you find a feathered female for Valentines' Day, or are you stuck with lonesome me for that day?" The dark feathered owl puffed up his feathers, this time looking quite pleased with himself. Mysti snorted and stroked his head.

"Well, at least one of us found some good in February, huh?"

[Ainala OceanCrest]

As it happened, the Gryffindor girl wasn't quite so alone as she thought she was, though it was small blame to her that she had missed the other diminutive form that was occupying the Astronomy Tower this evening. Curled up in one of the room's shadowed corners, the prone form of Ainala OceanCrest might have extended to a full ten inches in height, had she been standing up.

Despite her smaller stature, the sprite, always full to the brim with energy and ebullience, was not normally so easily missed--her colourful presence and her habit of always being in the thick of things didn't often allow her to go unnoticed. This night was an exception for one reason only: she was fast asleep.

It was the sound of voices that pulled her from her slumber. Or one voice, rather. Its timbre was feminine and decidedly unfamiliar to Ainala, but that wasn't really surprising. Really, it had been quite a while since she had last been at the school.

The sprite sat up with a yawn and a stretch, rubbing drowsily at her sleep-gummed eyes. She cast her gaze around the room, for the first few moments finding herself totally disoriented. Still, this wasn't an unfamiliar sensation to the often on-the-move water sprite, and it passed almost as quickly as it had come as Ainala's gaze traveled around the Tower, assimilating the night-darkened images. Now she knew where she was, with the moment of recognition came the realization that she was not alone.

Her unwonted lethargy fell away in an instant, leaning forward as her gossamer wings began to flutter wildly. She didn't even bother to clamber to her feet, but rather skipped the process of standing up entirely, pushing herself right off the stone floor and into the air.

The girl must have been surprised indeed when something small and colourful came zipping out of nowhere to land lightly on the windowsill (although for all her haste she was careful to land a safe distance away from the dark-feathered owl. Rare was the bird who would attack a sprite, but if this one proved the exception to the rule, Ainala would rather not find out when that wickedly hooked beak tore into her.)

For all her energy--even her wings continued to beat at the air, although both of her bare feet were firmly rooted to the windowsill--she still held the look of someone who had just rolled out of bed. Her sleeveless seafoam blouse was askew, her tye-dyed pants rumpled and her hair, wheat-blonde and mottledwith sapphire streaks, frizzed wildly and stuck out every which way, as if it had a mind of its own. But there was nothing tired about the big-eyed, disarming grin that she tossed the girl's way, or the almost frantic wave that she offered with one tiny hand.

"Hiiii!" she greeted excitedly, as though she and the girl were long-lost friends. The salutation was accompanied by a gleeful giggle, not such an uncommon expression for the sprite. "I'm Ainala, Ainala OceanCrest. Who are you?"

[Mysti Daile'an]

Mysti stared wide-eyed at a brightly dressed figure that suddenly appeared in front of her. The Sprite waved with energy that she didn't know any living being could muster and greeted her. Kibbe gave a hoot of surprise himself and stared at the figure that barely stood taller than his small figure. He didn't move from his spot on the windowsill though, just continued to stare at the little figure.

"Um, I'm Mysti Daile'an. You sort of startled me, Ainala. Have you been up here this entire time?" Mysti felt her cheeks burn in the cold night as she thought back to the conversation she was having with Kibbe.

Great first impression Mysti, she thought sarcastically, What a way to show how strange you are.

[Ainala OceanCrest]

Practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, unable to stand completely still even when she was stationary, the sprite offered Mysti a gleeful grin. If she noticed the pink staining the girl's cheeks, she made no sign of it.

She pivoted gracefully on one foot when she heard the owl's small hoot, an expression of bewilderment if she'd ever heard one. Turning to face the owl, she gave it a cheerful wave, the gesture comically exaggerated, and nearly doubled over under the onslaught of her own laughter when the creature merely blinked at her. At last, still giggling, she turned up to face Mysti again.

She tipped her head to the side, and her facial features screwed up in a thoughtful expression that was definitely somewhat unusual for the sprite, though it hardly seemed a complicated question. "I guess so," she offered at last, her tone no less bright for the fact that it didn't sound particularly certain. With an easy shrug of her slender shoulders, she added, "Well, I was asleep. So I suppose I could have been here, because you weren't here before I fell asleep." She paused suddenly and tossed Mysti a considering look, as if not quite sure of that last point. "Were you?"

[Mysti Daile'an]

Mysti stared at Ainala in confusion.

"Well, wouldn't you have known if I was here before you fell asleep? I wasn't exactly quiet when I came up here."

[Ainala OceanCrest]

The sprite's small face crinkled for a moment, as if the gesture helped speed along her thought process, though it was hardly difficult logic to follow. She seemed to give the question deep thought for just a moment, and the her face cleared quite abruptly, replaced by her usual sunny smile. "You're right!" she declared triumphantly, and perhaps a little bit louder than was strictly necessary. She nodded definitively, an action which had her blue-and-blonde tresses bouncing energetically about her shoulders as she added, "So that means I must have been asleep before you came up here!"

As if coming to that conclusion had somehow settled her thoughts, the sprite plopped herself down onto the window-sill, assuming a comfortable posture with her legs dangling over the edge, kicking at the wall. Even seated, she hardly seemed capable of actually sitting still, for she rocked back and forth, not even seeming to notice the movements. Even her gossamer wings fluttered occasionally, though they brushed rather awkwardly against the glass of the window pane behind her.

"So what's your owl's name?" she asked brightly, with another of those disarming grins that she managed so well. Another little giggle accompanied her words. "I don't know your owl."

[Mysti Daile'an]

"I'd be surprised if you did know him. He doesn't associate with anyone unless it's for attention," Mysti replied as the little black owl clicked his beak in annoyance. "Oh, it's true and you know it. Anyway, his name is Kibbe; means night bird."

[Ainala OceanCrest]

Ainala giggled as the owl clicked his hooked beak together in a decidedly irritated manner, as if understood that Mysti was referring to him, and knew that the remark wasn't entirely complimentary. He probably did.

"Hello, Kibbe," Ainala said with a grin, waving cheerfully at the owl, which blinked solemn amber eyes at her. The sprite tucked an errant lock of blue-and-blonde hair behind her ear approached the owl slowly, still a bit cautiously. She even reached out one small hand as if she meant to stroke the owl's downy coat of feathers, but retracted the limb quickly and glanced uncertainly from the owl to Mysti, as if silently asking permission. That beak could easily remove her hand, and likely her head if Kibbe wanted it to.