a moment alone (open)

   There was no stop to the continuous rain that fell upon the glass top of the conservatory. Though the pitter patter of the water did not cause her dreary side to appear, it helped. Olwen was pulled into the darkest parts of her mind at the thought of those who were gone; she had a special name for the people whom had connected to her and were now lost to the world. Those people were foot prints in the sand where waves rarely washed them away. Their final thoughts, the last things they saw, who they dreamed of as they passed on; it all echoed in her mind, much like the way that the stars are. Olwen was looking into the past each time that she opened the doors to her own mind; hearing the ghost of them shook her to the core. Every time another voice appeared behind the mental curtain that she had created, it killed her inside. They were human beings who she had connected with and the result of being in sync with a dead person was heart-wrenching. 

   Her fingers crumpled the edges of her black dress; her once nicely organized outfit was a shadow of what it had looked like before. Each piece of her arrangement was carefully selected for her own benefit. Olwen had needed to look nice for herself and that she did, until another connection had entered the realm of the stars. Black boots with an underlayer of tall grey socks to keep her feet warm on a chilled autumn day. Olwen had even worn little black mittens to top it all off, but just thinking about all the effort that had gone into her appearance made the day even worse. 

   Olwen stretched her legs, the long limbs unfurling and retracting from her tight grip on the dress. Tears stained her face, and even as she tried to wipe them away there was no use. It wasn't like anyone would appear anyways, no one came up here. At least, that's what Olwen believed. 

The sound of rain and his own breath consumed Zak as he ambled along, hands in his hoodie pocket, breathing in the scent of flowers and life. A dreary day if there ever was one. While he wasn't normally the type of person to visit the conservatory unless it was for an assignment or some strange project, today was a bit of an exception. Only breathing a little more heavily than normal and fumbling in his pockets carefully, one would probably never have guessed that Zak was smuggling a small nest and a little family of chickadees snugly in his large front pocket, carrying them like some sort of avian kangaroo.

The only real hints of what he was doing were the tiny twigs poking past his thin fingers and the small chirps that occasionally spilled, muffled, from behind fabric and hand. Zak didn't have much to worry about anymore, this mission was almost complete. All he had to do now was deposit the nest safely in a conservatory tree and be on his merry way.

It wasn't something he normally did, either. Relocating nests wasn't something he had really ever done before, thinking about it. But this was a special situation- the two birds and their hatchlings had been located outside of his window since spring and with the threat of predatory birds, today's storm, and many storms before it, the birdwhisperer and his friends had made an agreement to move. The conservatory could use a little wildlife anyway, Zak had justified, and it wasn't like he'd be in huge trouble for the whole ordeal. He'd even spent the walk chirping at his friends, instructing them on how to leave the conservatory if need be.

However, his mind too focused on getting his task completed, he ignored his surroundings and ended up running into an outstretched pair of legs, yelling (whether in bird or human, he couldn't tell which) and grasping the pouch full of birds protectively. A million things ran through his mind about getting caught before he finally settled and looked at whoever he'd run into. It was a girl. Crying. Great.

"O-oh my, I'm really sorry," Zak said a bit loudly and nervously as he stared wide-eyed at the female. A chirp came out of his pocket and he habitually chirped backed and shushed the creature before blushing embarrassingly at his seemingly odd behaviour.


((sorry if it doesn't fit super well, I wasn't sure as to the exact location of your character!! Hope that works though ayyy lmao))

   As if things couldn't get any worse, another human showed up. And tripped over her. And saw her crying. Perfect. Olwen's first instinct was to hide all evidence of crying but her arms became heavy and the effort didn't seem worth it. Sniffling, she looked up to the boy who was tenderly holding something to his chest as a mother would do to a child. Craning her neck, she tried to peer into the cup his fingers formed but was too low to see up into it. Her curiosity rose when she remembered him crying out in a strange language when he had tripped, wondering what powers he had up his sleeve. Not only had he used the strange tongue then, but just now he had said something to whatever was in his pouch. Eyes narrowed, she realized that the guy was smuggling birds into the conservatory. An odd thing to do.
   A sudden flash of lightning filled the conservatory; Olwen jumped and a weak cry slipped through her lips. She would have continued to cry if not for the other human being in the room, but she would survive. The repetitive sound of rain crashing down on the roof resonated through the room, covering up the sounds that normally gave her comfort in times like this.  
   Her small hands finally wiped away the drying tears as she started to think of things to say in such an awkward situation. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she finally spoke. "No need to be sorry, I should have known better than to stick my legs out like that." Olwen's eyes flickered between him and everywhere else; he wasn't bad looking and was actually kinda cute. Dark circles under his eyes, dark curly hair and a face that she would not forget. "I'm Olwen, and who might you be?"

"I-I'm Zak. Um, are you alright?" he asked, still a bit nervous about her finding out what he was smuggling, not knowing she had already figured it out. After a small birdie squeak escaped his pockets he pulled the nest closer, not wanting to arouse suspicion but feeling a desperate need to get these birds put somewhere safe as soon as possible. "You're fine, I'm the one running around like a maniac in here during a storm," he joked, trying to play his suspiciousness off even as his eyes went everywhere but on Olwen, scanning rapidly for the best place to deposit his bird friend. His eyes caught a tall, empty, lovely tree towards the center of the conservatory.

He whistled low and quietly again, trying to ask the small animals in his pocket if they preferred a place high or low. One let a small chirp back, and he whistled once more before turning his eyes to look at Olwen. He gave her a smile, once again trying to make himself seem less strange. He was very bad at not looking suspicious- if nothing else his already large eyes were unnaturally wide when he got nervous, which would have given him away even if he wasn't shuffling and whistling. Zak would have been the worst secret agent ever.

     A curious symphony of sounds seemed to come from the boy. Sniffles softened as she tried to listen to what he was doing, wiping her soggy eyes as she did so. The obviousness behind his hidden treasure forced Olwen from her hole of despair causing her to leap up and peer into his pocket. With a swift motion she slid to Zak's side, gently pulling one of his hands back from the opening of the hole to sneak a peek inside. A small family of birds sat staring up at her, eyes filled with fear. She stared back, then looked up at Zak, looked down at the birds, then back to Zak with an intrigued look on her visage. "What compelled you to carry a nest full of birds all the way up here? In the middle of a thunderstorm no less?" 

     Monsters the size of a skyscraper scratched at the ceiling of the conservatory, their thunderous booms rattled Olwen's bones and no doubt scared the little family. There was no doubt in her mind that the boy had some power that related to wildlife, but asking that sort of thing to Foresta students was oddly impolite. But she would ask anyways. Her long fingers fiddled with ebony fabric before dark eyes turned toward the cheekbones of her new acquaintance, casually avoiding his eyes. "What is it that you... do, exactly?" 

     Zak's face flushed a rosy red as this strange girl rushed at him, prying his hand away from his living secret. His already wide eyes went wider as he gently pressed his hand back into his pocket, running a gentle thumb along the back of one of the upset chickadees. He shushed it with a few small squeaks and clicks, and as the birds rustled around in his pocket they settled down further into their nest, trying to escape from the loud thunder.



     "Well, um, uh," Zak stuttered, face fading back to a pale yellowish pink as he used his free hand to push his wavy hair out of his vision, "They're my friends? And, um, the weather's awful." After taking a moment to contemplate the hasty words that had just emenated from his mouth, squinty and uncertain, he brought his free palm to his forehead in a swift smack.



     "I-I'm sorry," he mumbled, grumbling as he decided it wasn't even worth it anymore to hide the nest. He gently pulled the soft bundle of sticks and feathers out of his large pocket, revealing a surprisingly large nest and two adult chickadees guarding their two chicks. They tweeted at Olwen questioningly, to which Zak tweeted back.



     "I just need to find them somewhere safe, alright? They need somewhere safe," he nodded at her, giving her wide, pleading eyes as he showed her the bird's home. Twigs and grass stuck haphazardly out of his pocket and as he brushed his hair back again a feather stuck itself in one of his curls. He gulped. "What do I... do?"

There was a brief moment of confusion where Olwen couldn't understand the boy's embarrassment. His face had become a ripe cherry and what words he tried to speak came out nervous and confused. She listened attentively, slowly beginning to see why he was so flustered, he had even stuck a feather into his hair without realizing it. Whether a chuckle would've lightened the mood or made him even more bashful, she still did it. Being stressed out around someone who retained a sense of ease typically made people feel better and more relaxed. 

Olwen reached out and plucked the feather from his curly hair, twirling it between her thumb and index finger she thought deeply about his situation. There were only so many things one could do with a nest. Sweet tweets had filled the conservatory as the birds, and Zak, expressed their worry. "Firstly, don't apologize to me for nothing. Secondly, I think you should put them in that tree over there. It looks sturdy and isn't too tall, but the choice isn't really mine."  Her gaze fell down to the small nest and then back to the tree she had mentioned. Leaves full of life even in the bitter cold of winter. Olwen could already imagine the family living there, she could see the perfect notch for them to settle into as well. "Well? What are you waiting for bird boy?"

     Zak gulped, tracking Olwen's movements carefully with his eyes before quickly but carefully moving to the tree she had reccommended. It was the same one he had noticed not long ago. He chirped at the birds held safe whithin his hands, sounds almost indistinguishable from theirs. Once the chickadees approved of the spot, he set them in a low branch before propelling his skinny body up the thin tree. Thank goodness he had been wearing his wrist brace today. Once he reached the highest branch he knew could hold his entire weight, he unconciously whistled down to Olwen.



     "Could you hand them up to me? Just be gentle," he waved, beckoning her over. He watched her still slightly moist eyes- although her outward mood was far different now, in that moment he remembered that she had been crying until he had run into her. He tweeted at the chickadees, reassuring them that a human's touch other than his was okay for the moment, plucking the grass and sticks out of his pockets to return to them once the birds were placed.

When she had been younger, climbing trees had given her great joy. Since none of the neighborhood children would play with her, there had been many days spent alone with only an imagination to fill the empty branches. It had been a winding tree, hung over a thin sliver of what had once been a river. The dirt clung to her oversized boots and left a trail of mud for miles. Olwen had climbed to the highest branch one day to find that, although she adored the tree, it did not share those same feelings. She fell from the tippy top of the tree and broke a dozen bones. An angry father dragged her home, broken and in shock, left her on the bed for a couple days and after that she was fine. Never again did she climb a tree. Until now, maybe. 

Olwen gently grasped the fragile nest and lifted it up to Zak, though she wasn't quite tall enough. She quickly searched for something to stand on and was pleased to see a convenient stool sitting a few feet away. Standing atop the stool, Olwen handed the peeping family to Zak and stepped back down again. The back of her hand swiftly wiped away the remnants of her tears before proceeding to start a normal conversation with bird boy, "So, ah, what dorm are you in, Zak?"

     Zak gave a soft smile to Olwen as he gently recieved the next, humming at the birds within as he placed them on a high branch. They tweeted thankfully as Zak returned the twigs to them, wiping a few specks of dirt and grass off of his wrist brace before hopping back down.



     He patted his jeans to clean them as well, then brushed off the front of his jacket. Thunder sounded off in the distance, making him flinch. Softly, he heard the chickadees nestle down into their newly stationary home. Unfastening his brace to adjust it, he replied, "Pyxis." He looked back up to her, still standing at the hump of the tree's roots. "You?"

   Taking a seat on the cold hard floor, Olwen watched as Zak handled the little creatures with as much care as a doctor in the middle of surgery. He had loosened up a bit, possibly feeling more comfortable now that his friends were safely tucked away in a high up place. Their chirps and tweets sounded much happier though she was no expert on bird sounds.

   To no surprise, Zak replied "Pyxis" and for some reason it felt as if everyone she was meeting these days was in the same dorm as her. All fine-tuned and ready to take in all the teachings the world has to offer. Olwen was somewhat like that, though she ahd to admit that there had been a definite struggle choosing between Pyxis and Lyra. Music was everything, but knowledge held the world together. "Pyxis as well. And what, other than the obvious, drew you to be apart of a dorm such as ours?"  Olwen slid over and patted the empty space next to her, sure that the roots of a tree weren't the most comfortable place to stand.

     With a small, nervous smile, Zak moved to sit beside her. He instinctively tried to slide his backpack off to place at his feet before he remembered that he didn't have it with him. His face reddened slightly, almost imperceptibly. "I'm really interested in science. "Y'know, both of my parents are, um, in scientific fields." He nodded, looking down at his intertwining hands. "And I make machinery. Clocks, pulleys, little mechanical things. And wood carvings. Lots of just.... small useless things." He nodded again, quicker this time, as if in self-assurance. He looked at Olwen with another small smile, hair falling into his face as he turned his head. "How about you?"

Olwen listened attentively to Zak as he spoke, very interested in with his background and what kinds of things he had been surrounded by in his childhood. She didn't know him well though it didn't bothered her; just hearing the stories of strangers made her feel a little bit smaller, in a good way. Whenever people told her about themselves, she tended to wrap herself in them and forget about the little town she grew up in. 

When he used the word "useless", a small frown touched her lips. She was sure that they had some purpose in the life their creator had given them. 

Zak kindly asked her the same question and she replied with much thought into each word, "My father was a trained mechanic but we lived in a small town that didn't have very much machinery that needed repair, so he had to work as a janitor at the school. He tried to get me into fixing things and one day, when we were out in the barn, his arm got caught in one of the machines and it fractured his ulna. I wrapped his arm up and was immediately drawn toward the idea of fixing people and helping them heal." She smiled, remembered that fateful day in Durness. It had been almost six years since then and for the longest while after she would read books about bones, trying to identify each and every one of them.

Her eyes wandered over to the small clock on the wall directly across from them and noticed how late it was. She rose from the floor and stretched her arms upward. "I'm afraid that I must be returning to my dorm now, it was nice meeting you Zak. I hope to see you again some day." She smiled and waved to her new companion as she left the conservatory.

-exit Olwen-