Owl and Pussycat (Gaspard)

Riley stood in the stacks looking over a few books on pets. While she hadn’t gotten one at the start of the years her parents had promised her one if she kept her grades up. So far so good on that front, while she wasn’t the best student in her class she wasn’t the worst. That meant that at the start of her second year she would be able to get a cat or owl…toad was right out. Nothing against those that chose such a pet she just wasn’t into them.

Taking a book off the shelve about cats she flipped through the pages. Who knew there were so many kinds of cats? Tucking it under her arm she reached to grab another on owls. Again the variety astounded her. Of course only a handful was native to the area so her pool was limited. Cat however seemed to be limitless.

Taking both books she looked around for a desk to look them over. She spotted another first year, Gaspard a Ravenclaw, at a table. Putting on a smile she headed over to him. While she had seen him around and knew of him they had yet to talk. She moved to a free chair at his table then whispered.

“Mind if I sit? I’m Riley by the way.”

She managed to juggle her books into her left arm while holding out her right hand. Riley had a bright smile with warm brown eyes. Her hair was a slight unkempt mess in a French braid with lots of bits sticking out.

“What’ca studying?”

She asked warmly looking over what he was working on. Maybe he had a pet and could help guide her on picking one that was right for her.

The preteen had come to the library to return the book he'd gotten before the incident in Ravenclaw Tower. Something had been niggling at the back of his mind for a bit and not liking his lack of information to make an accurate assessment. Going along the shelves, he pulled the relevant tomes and set them on a table along with his bag. Carefully he pulled out his journal he took notes in along with a fountain pen. He'd decided to peruse the books here rather than lug them into the tower and have to return them once again.

Blinking, when he heard someone speak to him, Gaspard looked up to focus his eyes on the person. A frown was on his face, but it wasn't really one of anger. It was more a default expression and he was a bit confused and weary of why someone would be talking to him. By the color of her robe and the crest she was a Gryffindor. The only one he knew from that house was Mercy and that was only because of the person they had in common.

With a bit of trepidation, the boy reached out and shook the girl's hand before quickly letting go. He was polite since he'd been drilled in etiquette and one did not shake a proffered hand. As she had introduced herself it was only fitting that he did so as well. Mentally sighing, he gave a stiff, "Gaspard," and withheld what he wanted to say about her sitting with him.

Arching a brow, he stared at her as he weighed the pros and cons of telling her. It wasn't as if she would connect the dots would she? Unconsciously he bristled a little at having his work stared at it but refrained from pulling closer or closing the book.

"Werewolves," he stated waiting for her to take her seat and her to realize she'd made a mistake. He wasn't friendly nor would he likely recall her name by the time he left the library. In fact, he knew he should at least recognize her as he was sure they had classes together but he didn't. There were a handful of people he actually knew the name of and recognized without having to be reminded that he should know them.

Still, trying to not be rude, he asked with feigned interest, "And you?"

Serious. That was the first word that came to mind when he looked at her. He had the serious frown Papa had when he was working on something important. A dragon was the mythical creature Riley landed on from her first impression of him. Not sure what breed but most certainly a dragon.

Well that was a polite handshake. That was about the only nice thing Riley could think to say about it. It wasn’t weak or anything just...well...polite. She got the very strong impression she was intruding on his work. His arched brow made her internally giggle he looked so serious. What could someone their age be so serious about? No doubt it was some paper for some class.

“Werewolves?”

She said with great surprise slipping into a seat setting her books down pushing them away from her. Well werewolves were far more interesting than owls and cats. Sure Gaspard was being about as friendly as a prickly pear but that never deterred Riley before. He had politely asked about her own research but she waved her hand her books.

“Nothing near as fascinating as werewolves. Can I ask why? I mean...it’s not or class is it?”

She tucked her right leg under her now wondering why anyone would be looking into such things. Maybe he was a werewolf...well that changed things. Maybe her first impression of him as a dragon had been wrong. She would also see him as a lone wolf. Pulling her mind out of fantasy land she smiled at Gaspard.

“Can I help?”

He didn’t seem the kind to want or need help but why not offer. He also didn’t seem the kind to want to make friends but everyone needed friends...right?

Giving an affirmative nod as he watched her warily, Gaspard was already regretting informing her of his current study. Why hadn't he closed his book or given a nonanswer? He was good at those according to his father. He could have played the childish card and pulled his work towards him or hunched over it to try and hide it. Then again, that wasn't really him. Which led to this. He now had to interact with a fellow yearmate judging by her size.

Unconsciously his body stiffened as his new tablemate pushed her books away in fact of his. Part of the boy bristled at her being so dismissive of whatever brought her here originally. While some might find werewolves fascinating he could think of other things he's rather being doing. Yes, he found the subject interesting, but he was sure what he found so captivating would not be for the same reason as most everyone else.

"No, not for class." Was the honest reply if a bit stilted. Unable to stifle it, he followed up with, "You can ask. It doesn't mean I'll answer."

Gazing at the girl as if she were peculiar, Garrard wondered at why she's decide to join him at his table. Was it because she was one of those type of people? Like Mercy who was buoyant? If she was, he'd better suck it up and endure it until she went away he supposed.

Biting back his inclination to ask 'Can' you? The boy narrowed his eyes in thought before deftly shaking his head. "Not at this time." Then awkwardly he gestured to her books with his chin as he capped his pen, he inquired, "What about you? Do you need help?"

Yep...he was a dragon. Not like the real kind of dragon but the kind her Aunt had told her about. There was a muggle game that had dragons in but they were more like people then dragons. They could talk and helped humans in the game...well some did. Of course since it was something muggle she had to keep the knowledge from her Papa. Gaspard reminded her of a grumpy, smart dragon from the game.

Okay this guy was giving off odd signals. Why had he stiffened like that? Has she done something? Said something? It wasn't that Riley regretted trying to get to know Gaspard it was just she was going to have to get use to his quirks. When he spoke as he did Riley really wondered about him. Nothing bad she just wondered what made him act they way he did. What event made a twelve year old turn into a grown person...at least he acted more like a grown person.

“Wow...your so serious. I won't ask then.”

She thought maybe it was a touchy subject. It had to be right? For him to act so...stiff? Was that even the right word? He lacked joy it seemed...gray...could you call a person a color like that? When his gaze went from peculiar to narrowed eyes Riley felt like she was being inspected. It was almost a relief when he declined her offer for help. Riley got a funny image in her head of Gaspard breathing fire...she managed to keep her laughter from bubbling up

“Me...Oh...Well.”

She brought her books back over to her flipping open the one on owls.

“My Papa said since I did so well in my classes I get to have a pet next year. I was debating the merits of an owl versus a cat. We have a cat at home, the kind with extra toes. Papa says since he is the family cat I can't bring him. Do you have a pet?”

She could not fathom Gaspard having a pet, he did not seem the type.

While he knew that she hadn't meant anything by it, Gaspard frowned when she'd called him serious. There was nothing wrong with that assessment. There was no shame in being 'serious' as she stated. It was just that that was the same word if more nicely put then his failed attempt at primary school. If he could have, he would have stayed home and been apprenticed to one of his parents or someone they trusted. That was how it had been at the beginning before ruddy schools had been invented and became widespread and mainstream.

Letting out sigh of relief when she let the subject drop and took him for his word without pressing him, Gaspard relaxed. Until she opened her mouth and uttered the one word that had his eye twitch. Pet. Mentally he was screaming. He didn't want to go through this again. Granted, no one could be as strange as Mimosa, but one never knew. Glancing at the book and catching an avian on one of the flipped pages before it was turned, he shuddered inside and wanted to run from the library. At the same time he was curious and running through what he knew about cats and about extra toes.

Nodding, he stated, "My parents wouldn't let me bring the family owl." Pausing, Gaspard wondered if it was relevant but then decided that it was, because without the incident he really wouldn't have an owl of his own and been content to use those provided by the school. "I hadn't really planned on getting an owl, but I got an eagle owl at a reasonable price when a..."

Again, the boy paused in thought. Was Mimosa a friend? That was something to mull over later. "Another student needed help getting an owl. What did you mean about extra toes?"

((OOC: Apologies if its wrong, but I assumed there would be at least occasional pictures of owls in the book?))

((OOC: Perfectly fine of course there would be pictures. No apology needed))

Riley noted the frown when she said he was serious. Maybe it hurt his feelings with the word? Well she didn’t want to do that.

“Nothing wrong with that…being serious that is. If we all just goofed around then nothing would ever get done. I bet you all the great wizards were serious.”

There was no pity or malice in her voice. Riley really though one had to be very serious to be a great wizard. To focus all of ones self on one topic…that would take a great deal of seriousness.

When he sighed Riley wondered if maybe he was losing up a bit…nope eye twitch confirmed that he was still wound very tightly. She tried to figure out what she could have said that might have upset him. Pet? Really? Maybe he did have a pet and lost it and was not all serious and wound tight because of it…no way. Riley reeled her mind back in

Whole sentences…he was now speaking to her in whole sentences. She considered this a personal victory and smiled.

“I think we have some owls. I mean they aren’t pets but just like post owls…well they might be my dads. I’ve never asked about them. They have a building in the garden and it’s all nice but just never really thought of them as pets.”

She went a bit wide eyed to hear he helped a student get an owl. Well that did surprise her a great deal. Riley wondered who the student was but didn’t feel it was her place to push the subject. He seemed a bit…shell shocked? Yeah that’s how he acted about the event.

Then he asked about the extra toed cats which had Riley beaming. She pulled the book on cats over and opened it to the index quickly finding what she needed then turned to the right page.

“A polydactyl cat is a cat with a congenital physical anomaly called polydactyly that causes the cat to be born with more than the usual number of toes on one or more of its paws. Cats with this genetically inherited trait are most commonly found along the East Coast of North America and in South West England and Wales. Sailors believe these cats to bring good luck due to their excellent mousing skills. They are sometimes called Hemingway cats because of muggle author Ernest Hemingway and his love for them. When he passed away his house became a museum to them.”

She let out a nervous giggle then blushed.

“I…really like polydactyl cats…sorry. I have a picture of my family cat Sir Mittens.”

She dug into her bag pulling out a  picture of the cat showing him to Gaspard. As Riley handed over the picture it was clear she loved the cat a lot.

Gaspard had been silent to her reply about serious wizards. He too had believed such things. It wasn't always necessarily about seriousness but rather, focus. Or that was what the boy believed. Having read up on Merlin who he wasn't surprised to see was a Slytherin; Ravenclaw would have been his second choice. He knew that a lot of the wizards who accomplished much or even those who made advances in the mundane world were very focused. It hadn't surprised him either that genius was usually accompanied by eccentricity. While he loved to study and knew he was smart, he also could accept and admit that he wasn't a genius.

Nodding at the comment about the owls being for post, Gaspard realized belatedly that his own statement made it seem as if he viewed them as something more personal. Well, the mistake had been made. Although, if he thought about it, he did feel a bit more attached to the owl he got in Diagon that belonged to him only rather than his parents. That was something to think about and look into.

Gaspard nearly wanted to panic at the look he received upon his innocent inquiry about about the cats. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything and had done what he usually did, look up things himself. Bracing himself, he actually found himself interested and listening raptly as she gushed about the cats. Cataloging it away, he made mental notes to research these animals and see if she was speaking truth. While she sounded as if she did, he knew better than to take what anyone said at face value regarding information from books. Information changed all the time. That was why they continued to have another edition of the same book.

Uncomfortable since he was still socially awkward and didn't know why she was embarrassed, he hesitatingly replied, "Having passion in your interest is a good thing?"

Knowing it would be polite, he took the picture from he and gave it a cursory once over before handing it back with a nod. Unsure about what to say about her cat. Although, "Really? You had to name it something like that?"

He seemed to let her comment about being serious drop. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Riley decided it might be for the best. Gaspard was very different then anyone else she had ever been around. Papa said she would meet all kinds of people and she needed to try and get alone with them all. While she did know what her Papa did for a living she did know he had to get alone with all kinds of people. Though Riley didn't see any point in being nice to people one didn't like but dad said it was important. Not that she didn't like Gaspard...she did...he was just different.

Hid nod to her talk of owls seemed a point in the column for cats to Riley. Not that she thought he meant it as such she just took it that way. Riley wondered what Gaspard would do if ever faced with an over emotional person as it seemed he wasn't one for shows of emotion. She guessed this by his reaction to her reaction to cats...well polydactyl cats. At least he seemed to ease when all she did was ramble on about the cats and even seemed to think her interest was normal. For that she gave lop sided grin.

“Thanks. Some people thinks it's odd I know so much about just the one kind of cat.”

She gave a bit of a shrug

“Why would I learn stuff about something I didn't like.”

Taking the picture she frowned

“Not my choice of name.”

She said in a half grumble

“I have a little brother and sister who got to name him. I got to add the Sir to give him some sort of dignity. I would chose my own pets name much more carefully.”