It was a Saturday, and the weather outside was warm without being stifling, nary a cloud in the sky. The perfect time to take a break from studying for exams, in Fauna’s opinion. She and Ollie had planned to spend time together today, so Fauna had suggested a picnic by the lake, complete with two badgers, her rat Bernie, and the line of ants that would inevitably crash the party. At ten minutes to 1:00, Fauna bundled an old blanket under one arm and picked up a basket laden with goodies from the generous house elves. She carried these things all the way to the spot by the lake with the big tree, somehow avoiding stray Frisbees and other flying objects that threatened to block her path. Everyone and their aunt seemed to have the same idea about taking advantage of the nice weather this afternoon, which disappointed Fauna. Luckily, the tree provided a nice bit of shade and some privacy: a pleasant setting for their first “date”, of sorts.

Yes, Fauna decided she would try this whole dating thing, even though she never thought it would happen under such unusual circumstances. Fauna wasn’t exactly a typical girl anyway, so she couldn’t expect her dating experiences to be normal. Her mum and sister still didn’t know anything yet and she wasn’t quite sure how to tell them. It’s not that she thought that they’d be angry or upset with her, because they’d always been accepting of her many quirks, but it was still an awkward subject to bring up.

She could just imagine the letter now…

Hi Mum, remember Ollie? Well, we’re going to try going on a date (and I don’t mean year or month) and see how it goes. Write back soon, kay thanks bye.

Fauna smiled slightly and rolled her eyes as she shook out the blanket and let it rest flat on the ground. She then plucked a flower growing by the tree and placed in on the basket as a silly romantic touch. When she finally sat down, Fauna suddenly noticed the wrinkles in her skirt and the scab on one knee. After being annoyed by these details for a few moments, she stopped fidgeting and decided it didn’t really matter. Ollie liked her for who she was, wacky and wrinkled clothes included. With this thought she smiled again and scanned the grounds, feeling nervous but looking forward to the date all the same.

Ollie was running a bit late and she had been in the Hospital Wing just getting a bit of a check up like she did as she neared the full moon. It was always just to make sure she was in good health, as it made sure for the Wolfsbane potion to work a better. Plus having a cold and your monthly changed did not sound particularly pleasant. Ollie had this happen a few times and it always made her ten times more tired the following morning and heck of a lot more cranky as a wolfet. Wolfet, she liked that word a lot more than wolf as she was indeed female no matter the form.

Waving goodbye to the nurse she skipped on out of the Hospital wing almost falling out of her high top converse that were not tied. She shoved her feet back in and continued to run for it down the corridor. Briefly stopping as she thought she saw Devlin because he was always good to stop and take a peek at. Ollie chewed her bottom lip as she slowed her walk to get a better look to see if it was indeed him. She pulled at the hem of her shirt feeling that damn twisting in her stomach until she realized it wasn’t him. Feeling momentarily disappointed she stopped walking, but that was until she remembered what she had been running too.

“Fauna!” She exclaimed with excitement as she felt that stomach somersault again. She felt a tingling all over before her feet could up and start running again. Olivia beamed as she ran continuing down the stairs wanting to kiss Fauna again. The thought of her warm lips made her all tingly again. A few days before she had thought of the same thing but it didn’t have the same effect. Since recently any time she got close to a full moon and thought about someone attractive it had an interesting effect on her. Ollie wasn’t quite sure what it was exactly and she was thinking about talking to Fil about it as she was sure he could shed some light on it.

Ollie was panting a bit as she slid to a stop on the grand hall floor. She headed out the main doors and was rushing to the lake before she took a nice tumble to the ground. That wasn’t going to stop her though, but the fact she was now shoeless was going to put a momentary stop on her travels for the moment. After getting up and dusting herself off she looked down at her bar legs and pulled down on her shorts a bit before bending over and grabbing her converse.

Shoes in hand she went running towards the lake where she saw the lovely figure of Fauna. “Sorry I am late Fauna!” She feared she had left Fauna waiting too long on their first date. Damn moment of Devlin weakness when she thought she saw him, normally it wouldn’t be so bad but it was so darn close to the full moon things just seemed different. As she settled in to sit beside Fauna all thoughts of Devlin were gone. Her focus was completely on Fauna like it ought to be for a first date type situation. “This is really lovely you know.” Olivia said sweetly, but her desire to kiss her was hovering in the back of her mind.

Fauna stood up for a moment, hand clasped over her mouth when she saw Ollie fall, but then she relaxed when the girl quickly got up again and dusted herself off, sprinting towards Fauna. She laughed a little. They were like two peas in a pod, and now she saw with amusement what she must look like every time clumsiness got the best of her.

Fauna sat again and grinned when Ollie reached her, holding her shoes. She apologized for being late and Fauna shrugged it off. It didn’t really matter. It wasn’t like Ollie was late for the mural painting. Lashing out at Atticus had not been one of her better moments, but luckily, that was over now.

“It’s no biggie,” she smiled.

“This is really lovely you know,” Ollie glanced at the picnic basket and at her, staring at her for a moment.

“Thanks!” Fauna said, giggling again. She couldn’t seem to help her silly laughter and was slightly embarrassed by it. Fauna didn’t like to think of herself as a girly girl who tittered at everything, but the situation was just so awkward and exciting at the same time.

Awkward and Exciting. Fauna and Ollie. It should be their motto.

“The house elves helped,” she said, reaching to open the basket. “Oh, here,” she handed the flower to Ollie, hesitated for a long moment, and then kissed her on the cheek. “You know me and cooking. Or actually, I can manage sandwiches and stuff, anything that doesn’t require boiling water and stoves…”

Fauna took out the sandwiches, fruit, and biscuits inside and set them on the plate in-between her and Ollie. “But you already know that, with the whole detention thing,” she glanced at her and smiled, wishing she could talk about something more interesting, except that would require having the presence of mind to be witty and fun. At the moment her mind had blanked, almost like it did right before an exam.

She glanced around the grounds and warily watched the Frisbees being thrown about. They should be far enough away from most of the commotion to have a little privacy and enjoy their picnic. She wasn’t sure why the privacy was so important to her, until she realized that maybe she wasn’t as comfortable with openly dating as she’d thought.

Fauna felt bad and looked down at the wrapped sandwich in her hands. No, she was not going to ruin this out of worry about what people thought of her. She’d been the one to suggest a date, even! Fauna decided then she was just not going to admit to feeling any kind of discomfort.

She gave Ollie a searching look, wondering how she felt, and started unwrapping her sandwich. Fauna could have asked her, but instead she took the easy way out.

“What have you been up to today? Have a good morning so far?” She wondered, her voice a bit too cheerful to her ears.

Fauna’s giggles made Ollie’s heart race, the same way it did when Devlin smiled. It was interesting to think that a person of the same gender as herself could make her feel that same pitter patter in her heart. This experience was strange and exciting to Ollie and was eager to figure out more about what this exactly was. It had been Fauna’s idea for the date but she honestly Ollie probably would have asked her eventually when she felt Fauna was comfortable and ready for it, but apparently Fauna jumped the wand on that.

Ollie assumed the house elves helped with this, since she had witnessed Fauna and her cooking during their span of detention. That food fight had been fun but it had left them with some kitchen duty much to Ollie’s displeasure. She had lost bacon that day and well that just didn’t sit well with Ollie. Of course the after thoughts lingering in her head vanished when Fauna held out the flower. “Aww thank you Fauna.” Of course the hormones of a teenage werewolf left her wishing that it had not just been a simple kiss on the cheek. Ollie hoped that this little picnic date didn’t turn out to be frightfully awkward.

Unwrapping her sandwich she looked at it focusing on the insides of the sandwich rather than on Fauna. She was nervous and felt like there was an awkward air surrounding them. When they were just friends the conversation flowed but then you had to go throw attraction in there and well things just got awkward. At least that was how Ollie felt. She couldn’t stop her mind slipping to thoughts of kissing Fauna but she was afraid to be pushy and she didn’t quite know if this was what Fauna wanted.

Taking a big bite from the sandwich she looked back up to Fauna. She munched and swallowed before answering Fauna’s question. “Oh I had a check up with the nurse, after all a dog with a cold is a lot worse than a healthy one.” Ollie chuckled knowing Fauna would clue into what she meant especially since it was coming up on a near a month. “So Fauna, what you been busy with today?” Olivia asked sweetly.

Fauna felt her heart lift a little, become lighter. Though she was nervous and probably acting like it, there was something about Ollie that always made her feel better. Her eyes widened when she remembered Ollie would need to leave in a few days to take care of her monthly affliction. Fauna had completely forgotten that the full moon was coming soon. Her mind must be elsewhere.

She looked at the girl and smiled. There was so much she wanted to confide in her that she almost wished for the simplicity of their friendship. They were still best friends and always would be, she hoped, but with the something extra added to that she wasn’t sure if she should tell her about Devlin and Waker and the whole mess she’d caused last night. Fauna knew very well how Ollie felt about Devlin and his friends, so telling her on their first date seemed especially cruel. Yet, she thought it might be worse if Ollie had to hear it from anyone but her.

Fauna bit her lip when her friend asked what she’d been up to today.

“Well… I haven’t had… I haven’t been awake long enough to have much of a day,” she admitted with a nervous smile. “Slept in really late. I know… that’s strange for me.” Fauna hadn’t fallen asleep until the first rays of daylight shone through her dorm window. Then throughout the morning she kept waking up at the noise of her roommates getting ready. Guilt wrapped around her like the stifling heat of summer as she let the sandwich dangle from her fingertips, half-eaten.

“There was something I wanted to tell you…” she began slowly, gaze flicking to the ground and then at Ollie. When she looked at her again she just couldn’t say it. Ollie seemed so happy right now and she didn’t want to hurt her, whether it was admitting that she felt weird about this date or that she’d had a study date last night that mimicked this picnic in an almost eerie way. Fauna looked away quickly and took a different route, opting to mention some news she’d been meaning to tell her anyway. She hoped it would lift her friend’s spirits instead of making her sad.

“I sent in an application for an internship,” she told her shyly. “For the summer, with uh, Covadonga Gertrudis. She’s the new head of the Department for Magical Creatures and she’s recently started these werewolf support groups,” Fauna added.

“I thought well… I thought I’d try to help with that,” Fauna’s eyes brightened. She honestly looked forward to it and wanted to get one of those coveted internship spots. Though she didn’t know what her future held after Hogwarts, she knew what she wanted to do over the summer at least. Most school breaks she helped her mum at her shop, but this summer Fauna would likely be working weekends at Reducto Records. She’d be very busy, but she needed the money and some job experience that got her more involved with the wizarding world.

Not been awake long enough? That was not a Fauna thing to say as she was usually the one dragging Ollie’s sleep butt out of bed in a morning. That would be getting worse soon as exams neared because Ollie had even less drive to get out of bed to attend class and study. Sure Ollie was more than okay with being a werewolf, she had not really known anything other than being a werewolf. She had long ago accepted the looks she would get for being what she was, and had made the choice to keep it a secret and let people know when she was ready. With being a werewolf she knew that no matter the grades she could get they were going to get her nowhere fast so she definitely did not have the career aspect drive to get her out of bed to attend class. Ollie knew she would find something to do with her life, sure it might be something a bit of the sketchy side both literately and figuratively. She was sure she could find money by less than moral means and also through her artwork if the comic book idea took off. Still it was unusual that Fauna would be the one with less of a day than Ollie.

“Really slept in?” Ollie could not hide the confused expression. If she thought that the confusion would end at the sleeping in Ollie was very wrong. The way Fauna wanted to tell her something and the way the sandwich just hung from her hand as if the sandwich itself was weighted down by what ever was weighing Fauna down. It was weird to react to this strange Fauna and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. Was it something outside of this so-called date, or was it the situation. Ollie would completely understand if this was not for Fauna. Ollie could accept being her friend, she was sure she had told Fauna this already. Sure Fauna was attractive to her and that she wanted to kiss her, but she was her best friend first and the one she needed to count on with the whole werewolf thing. Fauna understood the transformation process now, and she was not afraid to share her true self with her. So she was not going to push this relationship thing, honestly Ollie wasn’t sure this was working for her. Ollie felt attracted to Fauna but perhaps it was the closeness? She wasn’t sure what to make of any of this right now and Fauna acting weird like this was making Ollie feel a heck of a lot worse about the current situation. It also sucked that Ollie was still having that stomach flipping, weak-kneed feeling of desire to just kiss someone anyone for the rush of it. Hormones and werewolf apparently don’t mix.

It was like a weight was momentarily lifted when Fauna’s news had to do with her application for working as an intern with a werewolf  support group made by Covi. Covi was a fabulous witch always out for the rights of werewolves and quite truthfully she thought it was right up Fauna’s alley to do something like that. Look at who she was friends with after all. Still the momentary weightless feeling was gone as she was back to being concerned about what was going off with Fauna. “Don’t get offended Fauna but I am going to go out on a limb here and say this isn’t working for you?” She said waving her arm between the two of them. Sandwich filling flying from her hand in the process. You could tell she was worried about Fauna when bacon was clearly making it to the ground for the ants to steal. “Or is there something else that you need to tell me?” Honestly it was bugging Ollie that Fauna wasn’t telling her something and it made Ollie feel like it was bound to hurt her romantic feelings one way or another. Was it about Fauna, Devlin, Alex? Any of the other boys she had claimed to drool over the past year? Honest it was driving Ollie a bit bonkers. “Fauna I am your friend first so tell me what the devil is wrong.” Ollie was not going to take no for an answer.

Fauna automatically shook her head when Ollie guessed that their date wasn’t working for her. It wasn’t exactly that. She’d been so excited about it the whole week. Fauna just felt awkward having a public date with Ollie and she wasn’t sure she was ready for it. If the only thing Fauna had to worry about was the date, she felt certain that she’d be acting a bit more normally right now, more like herself, open and honest. Unfortunately, there was this huge storm cloud of guilt hanging over her, and it all had to do with what had happened last night.

She put her sandwich down, giving up on it, and sighed. When her friend asked if there was something else going on, she glanced at Ollie and nodded. It took Fauna a while to gather her thoughts, thinking this was about to be the worst date for Ollie ever because of what she had to say. However, when Olivia reassured her that she was her friend first and foremost, it gave her the courage to speak.

Fauna looked Ollie in the eye and took a deep breath. “Okay, you’re right. I mean… it doesn’t have to do with our date, really. I do feel awkward about it, because…” she gestured around the lawns. “There are so many people around. But… I’d been looking forward to it,” she smiled slightly.

Her face quickly clouded over and she looked down at her hands. “Something happened last night, and… I’m afraid it’s going to… to hurt you.”

Ollie most definitely had feelings for Fauna, and while Fauna didn’t think they were dating, this wasn’t going to be easy for her to hear. Especially considering whom Fauna had been with last night!

“I snuck- sneaked out of the castle last night with… Devlin Matthews,” Fauna’s eyes widened and she held up her hands. “I know. He offered to help me study, um, Divination earlier, and um… I really needed the help, you know?”

Color flooded her face and she looked out across the grounds, unable to make eye contact with Ollie now. “Well, we… we started out studying but… it didn’t end that way. We almost kind of sort of kissed,” she bit her lip and glanced at Ollie, then rushed on.

“Waker found us, and… and got really mad. She’s really mad at me…” Fauna trailed off sadly, shaking her head.

“The thing is, I think… I would have let him kiss me if Waker hadn’t found us,” She admitted, finally looking at Ollie again. Her face burned and she felt horrible. Fauna had hurt Waker, could hurt Jordyn if she had any idea, and now she was going to hurt her best friend too. This was probably the last thing Ollie wanted to know about today. Being honest seemed like such a cruel thing to do, and Fauna almost wished she hadn’t said anything. Still, a very small bit of hope flared up inside as she thought that maybe, maybe Ollie would understand.

So many people around? What did Fauna not want to be seen with her like this? What did it matter if people saw? Ollie could not help but be curious if she would feel the same way on a date with a boy. Maybe Ollie just didn’t mind the fact they were in public because she got starred at enough as it was for what she was, by the people who knew. She hated being in the ministry for her check ins because she felt like she was being watched as if she were a ticking time bomb. That was so much worse than being at starred at because two girls were having a picnic.

That lump that was growing in her throat got worse when she was told what Fauna had to say might hurt her. What was all this about? It was times like these that Fauna could just get to the point and stop being so damned nervous all the time. Of course you could not say that to a friend and Ollie kept her thoughts bottled inside. Her lips began to thin with anger as Fauna spoke spilling the story. She felt her fists clench as the words about sneaking out with Devlin came out. Nothing felt as worse as when Fauna said that Devlin almost kissed her and that she would have let him. She was not focusing on anything else but those words. She felt pain as if her heart was actually breaking, which she knew it wasn’t but it felt like it. Fauna had just betrayed her.

“If you didn’t like me then you didn’t have to go around pretending you did!” Ollie snapped at her. “You are so selfish Fauna! Did you not think how this would effect me. Why the hell did you tell me?” Ollie growled with anger as she started to shove her shoes on and actually tie them, she wanted out of here and running without falling was the quickest way. “You would have let the guy you know I like and have liked forever kiss you? What sort of bloody friend are you. A terrible one.” Ollie didn’t really mean these things she just felt down right terrible and wanted to make Fauna feel the same. Devlin wanted Fauna? That was heart breaking and all Ollie wanted to do was run away and cry. She normally would have wanted to talk to Fauna but she was the one who betrayed her and stole Devlin away. “And of course Waker is mad at you, she should be.”

Ollie got up, not caring if Fauna was going to try and stop her. She ran from her spot without looking behind her. Nobody could see her cry, she would hole herself up in Myrtle’s bathroom and cry with her.

Fauna could tell Ollie was fuming by the way her mouth thinned and her eyes narrowed. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d seen Olivia truly angry at someone, so the knowledge that her anger was directed at her made the guilt weigh even heavier on her shoulders. The first words out of Ollie’s mouth surprised and dismayed Fauna. She was not pretending to like her; she really did have feelings for her friend, as muddled and confusing as they might be.

“I’m-“ Fauna tried to say so, but didn’t get very far.

Ollie continued talking, her voice almost a growl, as she shoved on her shoes and wondered aloud why Fauna told her in the first place. Fauna went very still. The excuses and reasons she’d stored up in her head crumbled, leaving her empty. She merely stared at her friend as Ollie hurled names and words like stones, intending to not only get her point across but to hurt. It was as if Fauna’s senses and emotions went numb in a futile attempt to try and guard her.

“What sort of bloody friend are you. A terrible one.”

There was nothing that could keep her from reacting to that. Her eyes widened in shock and she drew back, stung. Fauna sucked in a breath and looked away from Ollie, unable to face her any longer. She drew her knees to her chest as her stomach revolted, making her feel physically ill. When Ollie told her that Waker should be mad, she flinched, but didn’t argue. It was true, anyway. The second Ollie had finished tying her shoes she was up and running, back to the castle. Fauna didn’t watch her leave, or make any move to stop her.

She didn’t have the strength. Not after how Waker had reacted last night. Fauna had had some very minor tiffs with friends before, but nothing like this. She felt like her world was breaking down all around her and it was her own fault.

Tears springing in her eyes, she stood up on shaky legs, left all the food where it was, and climbed up the tree where they had started their picnic. She made it to the highest branch that would support her weight and laid belly-down on it, resting her head in her arms. From her viewpoint she could see the bright blanket below, the basket, and the bits of sandwiches broken up by the tree branches, like a puzzle. It reflected how she felt- fragmented.

In these painful moments she could only see her flaws, magnified, and hated herself for it. She hated how she wanted to be liked, so much so that she let others convince her to do things she normally wouldn’t. She could be so oblivious to consequences sometimes, thinking that her actions wouldn’t affect other people, and that her friends would forgive her. Fauna felt stupid, selfish, and all the other names Ollie had called her.

She let her tears drip onto her sleeves. There was no place she needed, or wanted, to be. The common room, the dorms, and even the kitchens reminded her of Ollie. Here, in this tree, she felt safe for now, like no one would bother her or ask her questions. Fauna felt so miserable that she couldn’t bare the thought of admitting the pain she’d caused to another person, who would judge her and think she was an awful friend. She and Ollie both needed to be alone. Fauna closed her eyes and sighed, planning on staying hidden for most of the day.

For the first time any student had seen… Professor Nicodemus Woodrow Gunnar was NOT wearing his Howie labcoat.  Actually, there nothing the same about his usual ensemble at all!  Well… except for the boots and the boxers he had worn before under his uniform black slacks.  Heavens to Betsy… he was even wearing jeans.  Worn well, in fact!  You see, unbeknownst to the little children he actually did stray from his laboratory in London during the summer, and it was quite nearly summer… and damn it he wanted a piece of this glorious day!  His jeans actually had a nice touch to it.  A Hufflepuff Crest patch—oddly enough, still in good shape—was lovingly (if not crookedly) stitched on his front left pocket.  

He could always tell if he ran by someone of the magical persuasion out in Muggle streets depending on their reaction.  Most would grin a bit more brightly, tip their hat to him, or even look at him with a twinkle in their eye and giggle as if there was some kind of inside joke known only to the two of them.

The happy song he had been whistling along and his merry walk suddenly paused as he happened upon an odd scene.  Tilting his head to the side he saw a blanket laid out with food, beverages, and one sad looking rodent.  All the necessities for a picnic, a most appropriate event for the day.  But where had the diners gone?  Diving into the lake for a refreshingly cool dip?  Doing cartwheels on the other side of the lawn?

“Aww… poor fella… skip out on your human to enjoy this rare opportunity?” finally leaning back so he sat on his rump he added, “judging by your look it seems like your human went off without you…”  Surprisingly the rat seemed to agree with him and moved closer to him, sitting straight back on his haunches with his paws tucked against his belly for balance.

Cocking an eyebrow as the lil’ bugger stared at him, Nico shuddered.  The beady black eyes were REALLY starting to freak him out.  Remedying this by looking away his attention was—blessedly—soon distracted elsewhere as a leaf fell over the brim of his hat.  “Humph!” he pouted, blowing the leaf out of his view.  Taking his fedora off a moment and setting it farther back on his head he arched his neck back to catch a glimpse of the offending branch which so rudely spent one of its precious leaves onto his head.

“GAH!” he exclaimed, so surprised at seeing Fauna he fell all the way back, legs cartoonishly stuck in the air.  Moving the black felt of the hat off and away from where it had landed on his nose he asked, “What on EARTH? Are ye doin’ up there, Miss Blake?!  Nearly gave me a heart attack, ye did!” he put a hand to his banana emblazoned chest to emphasize the point.

His brain finally registering the look on her face, his forehead bunched up into worry wrinkles.  “What’s wrong, hon?” the last time he had seen her for any period of time was during the food fight detention.  She didn’t take his class anymore… so he was out of the loop here.  Not that he would normally know about the drama and gossip surrounding the pupils who took his class.  No… no… not at all, of course! ... Yeeeaaahhh...




(Nico's Spring Jaunt)

Through Fauna’s blurry vision she could see someone approaching. For a moment she thought it was a student, judging by the funky felt hat and jeans. She sat up from her spot in the branches and squinted. Was that a bright banana on his shirt? Only one person loved bananas enough to proudly wear a picture of one across his chest!

She bit her lip and stared down at the potions professor, unsure if she should make her presence known. He was the kindest teacher she’d ever met, but she felt humiliated and she knew that her eyes were red and puffy. When he picked up something small and started talking to it, Fauna bolted upright, smacked her head on the branch above her, and groaned. She’d left Bernie sitting on the blanket! Not only was she a bad friend, but a neglectful rat owner, Fauna thought miserably.

Fauna tried to get comfortable in the tree again and rustled the leaves, causing a few of them to fall and the professor to look up. He had a typical Nico reaction, but it was still rather startling and Fauna tightened her grip on the branches. She was just about to apologize for frightening him, when the good professor peered at her and asked her if something was wrong.

That did it. The slightest bit of sympathy made her eyes well with tears again and she let out a hiccup and looked away. She often got the hiccups when she was upset, which was why she suspected Jasper told everyone she was a raging alcoholic. She frowned at this thought, hopped down from the tree, and stared anywhere but at the professor.

Fauna glanced at the rat in Nico’s hands. “Sorry…” she mumbled, reaching out to take her pet back. “I just… forgot about her there,” she shrugged, though she was upset about this minor mistake. Her throat felt raw so she fell silent for a moment and leaned against the tree, hoping that it would cast enough of a shadow so that the other students on the lawn wouldn’t see her crying.

Gesturing lamely at the picnic basket, Fauna spoke again. “There’s still food in there… a lot, actually… if you’re hungry.”

She finally looked at Nico, still deciding if she should confide in him. He was open-minded, after all, and she didn’t think he’d care about a girl going on a date with another girl. Not that this was appropriate to tell a professor, but Gunnar was not a typical professor! No, Fauna was more worried he’d think she was awful for the mistakes she’d made recently. That’s what they were- mistakes- but she still hurt people whether she’d intended to or not.

Fauna felt tightness in her chest again and made a choice.

“Well… I was on a date, and.. I really messed things up, you know?” She paused. “And well, I was kind of on a study date last night too, except that turned into a date… a real date? And I might have mentioned it to Oll- I mean, to the person I was… seeing today. Just now. Except she ran off and got mad at me.”

Fauna held up the rat close to her face and petted it, partly to distract herself from what she was feeling. “And um, even worse, she really likes the guy I saw… last night. And so does another friend- actually, no, she hates him… um, but… they’re all upset now.”

She stared at the professor hopefully, thinking she made perfect sense. “I mean, I didn’t even kiss him! I’ve kissed her… hmm, twice. And now she thinks I don’t like her… and I’ve, I’ve ruined everything…”

A huge lump grew in her throat and she turned away, unable to watch the expression on the professor’s face as everything sunk in.

Oh dear, had Nico made her cry?  That was the last thing he had wanted to do, but there was an itch at the back of his brain saying that he was not the cause of the tears.  Scrambling to his feet he gingerly took the rodent up in his hands, put it on his shoulder and crossed his arms at his chest, “Nupe!” he replied, “either I’m climbing up there or you’re coming down here.”  He wanted to be on equal ground with her.

However, at the mention of free nutrients he hurled himself at the basket, the poor rat squealing all the way, her paws clinging for dear life on his shoulder.  Quick as a wink he had opened the receptacle, pulled out a sandwich, took a bite, and was a happy camper.  “Hmmm… nummy!” he complimented Fauna, his face already stuffed with food.  Meanwhile, Bernie was left draped over his shoulder and huffing and puffing from all the excitement.

Curiously he sat and listened to the girl, nodding his head at the appropriate times, keeping an ear out for any interesting details… which there was.

It seemed like she was getting her she’s and he’s mixed up, yet there was more mention of the former than the latter, and the latter seemed to be used as a mere correction.  The professor was quickly able to put two and two together when he heard:

“And I might have mentioned it to Oll- I mean, to the person I was… seeing today. ”

Aaand after the rest of what she said he was able to figure out who her date today was with.  It was only a touch surprising, but only a touch.  It hardly threw Nicodemus off.  He was a man of times, and while his religious mother was against same-sex relationships, he didn’t care a whit about who you loved so long as there was, well, love.

After what Fauna had spent the whole night staying up with him and the Headmaster when Olivia went all furry, the professor knew she cared a whole heck of a lot for the young lady.  Granted, for the majority, their relationship had evolved quite oddly, but to him it seemed almost like a natural progression.

Gulping down a bite he looked up at the student, “Well, you all have hormones running through your veins like a hare who’s imbibed a pot of coffee and from experience as a dude who’s been there and done that,” OK so he wasn’t entirely done with that stage in his life, “those can be trying times.  You lot are almost expected to be running about crushing and kissing each other, forming… and sometimes breaking friendships.”

Wow… he was sounding oddly wise today.

Taking another bite and swallowing he continued, “but I think things are salvageable here, though it may not feel like it now.”  With his third bite he had downed the whole sandwich and then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.  “Yes… umm… if you are so inclined, could you tell me more details on this ‘study date’ and then precisely what you told Olivia today.”  Oops!  Let the cat out of the bag.

As Fauna clumsily explained her predicament she was surprised that the professor barely batted an eyelash. Professor Gunnar was often excitable, making exclamations about things that many people thought were daily occurrences: bananas… food…. bananas… potions. Oh, and bananas. Yet when she told him something important, or at least, important to her, he just listened. She saw a bit of confusion in his eyes, but no judgment as he munched contentedly on a sandwich.

This made her feel more comfortable and she sat next him, watching his face carefully. He finished chewing for the moment and spoke up.

Fauna’s eyebrows drew together thoughtfully. What he said made sense. Nico could definitely act silly, but he was a smart guy and seemed to find it easy to relate to his students. When he compared teenagers to bunnies hyped up on caffeine, her face relaxed and she almost smiled. She nodded at him and waited as he took another bite of his lunch.

He told her he thought she could fix things, causing her to breathe out a sigh of relief. Fauna was very interested to know exactly how, but it seemed as if he needed more information first.

“…and then precisely what you told Olivia today.”

At the mention of her best friend Fauna startled, eyes widening. She was just no good at being discreet! Luckily, though, the professor stated this as if he was commenting on the properties of the cheering potion.

She let out a nervous chuckle. “Um, yeah. Well… I think it was.. the way I told her. It was really bad timing. We’d been, um, planning a picnic date for… the whole week, and well, I was looking forward to it,” Fauna said, resting her chin in her hands.

“But the drama last night… just… made me all wonky and acting strange, which she picked up on. I wanted to talk to her about it, anyway… but I was afraid because, well, she’s not just my best friend anymore. I mean…” Fauna looked at him sadly.

“She likes both me and Devlin. In a romantic way. So… so if you can just imagine, how she felt when I told her I almost kissed him last night…” she put her hand on her forehead and sighed. “And Merlin… I told her we would have kissed if we hadn’t been… found out.”

“I’m so…” she trailed off and shook her head dejectedly. “That’s gotta be the.. the worst first date for anyone. Ollie didn’t deserve that, you know?”

Drawing up his legs and scooting closer as she sat down, the professor noticed this had also conveniently situated him closer toward the picnic basket.  With skinny and wiggly fingers the sly dog plucked out an apple and a beverage, yes, in the same hand! 

He had talents beside potion-making, don’tcha know.

Popping the fruit in his mouth as if he were a pig to be roasted left both of his hands to handle the beverage… which of course by his luck was topped with a bottle cap.

With a great show of his mad hardcore multi-tasking skills he listened actively to Fauna’s woes, kept the apple in his mouth so that he didn’t drool all over himself or bite it through, and tackle with the bottle.  Ingeniously, Nicodemus was able to pop the cap off using the buckle of his belt.  Now with a free hand he could take a bite of his apple and enjoy the drink.  Hmm… chilled pumpkin juice, he thought to himself.

“Oh I’VE had WORSE dates,” like… the kind where the current lady-friend had to fight off a horde of Snatchers, or that other time in Africa when the natives attacked before he was accepted into their tribe, or the swarm of… you know what, it was time to stop that train of thought.

Shuddering he brought himself back to the present.  “However,” he took a sip, “in your situation,” he took the fedora off and plopped it on her head, “I would have told the girl what happened as soon as you could, like when she got up, not wait for the date.”

Fauna was slightly distracted by the professor’s mad multitasking skills, but not so much to be amused or bothered by it. He admitted that he'd been on disastrous dates in the past and a smile soon sneaked onto her lips- barely noticeable, but it was there. He really knew how to make a person feel better!

Her eyebrows raised when he plopped the fedora over her head and she let out a hoarse giggle. The lump in her throat was beginning to lessen, but her voice still sounded scratchy and tight to her.

“Yeah… you’re right,” she nodded, wishing she had waited in the common room for Ollie earlier instead of preparing the picnic. Fauna folded her arms over her knees and rested her head, her face turned towards the professor.

“Do you think, um… I should talk to her? Like today? Or should I wait? She said some things…” Fauna gulped and looked down. “I mean, I don’t think she meant it, but… it still hurt.”

She wasn’t sure she was strong enough to deal if Ollie yelled at her again, and so soon. A part of her also wanted Nicodemus to tell her to wait, simply because she hated confrontation and avoided it whenever possible. Fauna knew she needed to devise better strategies to handle her problems, yet she kept falling back into the same avoidant habits.

“And…” she bit her lip. “I made Waker upset too. She was, uh, the one who, uh, found us. Me and Devlin.”

Fauna decided not to say more than that, because she didn’t want to spill the Bertie Bott’s on Waker’s private life. She trusted the professor, of course, but there was such a thing as too much information.