Mai Clark was never one for sentimentality but even the stoic Ravenclaw couldn't help the tight yet warm feeling in her chest as she stared up at the clear night sky, focused eyes attached to the Andromeda Galaxy tonight which was fairly visible if you stared hard enough at it. Even with all the magic and power in the world, anyone would still have to feel so very tiny and insignificant staring up at the night sky and knowing that in the grand scheme of things you are less than a fleck of dust. And that realization baffled and awed Clark every time she rarely made the climb outside of class to study. Or, in tonight's case, sketch.

She blamed that Valentine's Day mural for it really; she'd long since abandoned her sketching but something about painting that night brought it back out of her. And here she was, sitting cross legged under a large open window gazing up at the night sky. It was only a quarter to nine so she had no fear of being caught up here, although she doubted Professor Trishna would appreciate it. Best not to get caught then.

Zipping up her jacket a bit more so it was zipped up to just below her bust-line to ward off the chill from the open window, she tapped her pencil softly against the open sketchbook in her lap while staring up at the sky outside, eyebrows furrowed and very inattentive as she studied the night sky, knowing the constellation names but having difficulty transferring them to paper.

Avalon wasn't feeling well, and he hated to admit it. His heart hurt more than he cared to admit, but the most of his pain was centered around his eyes. He could feel the pulse beat around his eyes, pounding like a drum until it was enough to make him cry out. Frustration. Avalon was so frustrated with the way the past few weeks were slipping from him, and his little stunt on the field didn't help. He was hoping to catch Professor Trishna, wanting to tell him a few things and see about getting an excuse for the next few days, but when he noticed the professor missing Avalon let a sigh slip.

There was something about even being here in the tower that was enough of a breath of fresh air that he felt the tension ache. The cool air and the open space made him feel small and in doing so let him escape the large pressure that came with coping with a handicap. Other students didn't have it as hard, but Avalon considered himself still very lucky. He often didn't let his issue get in his way, but lately he had more to say.

The outline of the figure came as a memory at first, a ghost of who he thought must have been one of the Grimlish twins, but he hadn't seen either one of them for a while--he worried he was simply dreaming it, another illusion that dare not interrupt. In the light of the night, Mai could almost seem as though she belonged to it, with her dark hair and starry eyes, her light skin and wispy figure only added to the illusion, and he would have been a fool to not confess how stunning he found her.

To say he didn't think about that kiss would be a lie, it was all Avalon could think about for days after the spin the bottle game, and though he doubted he'd ever get the chance again--it was something that still colored his face and pulled his lips back with a grin. He hadn't noticed Mai around the common room, or even the dining hall. He worried she had been avoiding him, but really didn't think her the type. Mai didn't seem the sort that would hide from anything.

Avalon couldn't speak, despite how badly he wanted to, but he did clear his throat in hopes he didn't startle her. With his hands in the pockets of his jacket and his bag over one shoulder he waited for her to turn around.

Her eyebrows were still furrowed together in brief annoyance as she carefully erased and attempted to resketch the lines on the page, not satisfied with the previous version. Torn out sheets of paper with half-finished drawings were piled neatly beside her that she ignored and she was half tempted to add the current drawing to it. In fact, she was about to rip it out of her ringed sketchbook when someone cleared their throat behind her.

She froze for just a millisecond, her entire body tensing up in surprise before her head whipped to the side to see who had been watching her. Her slightly wide and surprised eyes found Avalon and a mixture of confusion and relief washed over her face before vanishing into a blank expression. "I didn't hear you come up," she explained briefly, feeling a bit awkward that she'd unintentionally been ignoring him. "Sorry."

Her head turned back to the drawing in her lap for a moment and she felt her eyebrows furrow again-why did she apologize? He was the one who snuck up on her, after all? Why did she even care to apologize in the first place? She'd done it without even thinking about it and it was unlike her. A brief shake of her head cleared away the thoughts and she was looking back in his direction. "You can sit down if you want; I don't bite." But then, he knew that too, didn't he? The beginnings of a blush rose to her face so she turned away from him again, green eyes cast out the window as she was mercifully thankful for the cool breeze.

"I didn't hear you come up,"

Easy to do, he thought to himself, and did take a seat with her. Opening his bag he pulled out his notebook and jotted down his greeting. Settling in he thought it best to lean against the wall so that way he could see her better and not look out over the night sky, he wasn't here for the stars--at least not at the moment.

Was she blushing? Oh now that was precious. Avalon wrote, I beg to differ, you totally bit me, on the paper and turned it so she could see it.

He took her up on the offer and took a seat beside her, pulling a notebook out of his bag and jotting down a greeting for her. Merlin, she was thankful for the cold night air against her warming cheeks. She was flustered and she wasn't certain why she should be; she just kissed the guy, after all. It wasn't that big of a deal.

So when her eyes flicked away from the sky she'd been so focused on over to his notebook, her eyes rose from the paper to his as she sent him a half-hearted glare. "I didn't bite you and we both know it. I bet you wouldn't complain if I had, though." If her cheeks were still a pale pink, she didn't notice. If he was going to tease her, she'd tease right back.

She was right, he wouldn't complain, but his mother raised him better than that. Despite how drop dead gorgeous she was, he was a gentleman, and wasn't about to do a repeat of that game ever again. All it was, was trouble. Avalon laughed lightly, the sound somewhat strange against his lips as often it was the only voice he had, but this was the curse with his disease. It wasn't that he didn't have working vocal cords, it was his brain that refused to send the right signals. Turning his book back so he could write in it he let the topic of interest die for another,

So what is it you are doing up here anyway? Other than sketching. Everything alright?

He turned the book to her again, but before he did labeled her name across the top. It was her page now, and he didn't care if she thought it was stupid or corny. He always saved his friends conversations.

He laughed lightly and her eyes flicked back to him, a hint of surprise on her face for a moment before it was gone again in acceptance of this new realization. He was scribbling in his notebook again for a moment before turning it back to face her and her eyes quickly flicked down from his face to his note, reading his message.

A wry smirk pulled up her lips at seeing her name across the top of the page and she shrugged halfheartedly, pulling up the sleeves on her jacket to her forearms as she quietly tapped her pencil eraser against the paper of her own sketchbook.  The sides of the palms of her hands were covered in graphite dust but she seemed oblivious to this fact as her hands remained busy. "I'm fine, really. Just needed some quiet downtime from the normal bustle of life. I think I've burned myself out lately so it's nice to have some time to just relax. What about you? What are you doing up here so late at night?"

Avalon had a love hate relationship with his disadvantage. Most of the time people asked him just yes or no questions that he could answer with his eyes, but he knew that it was hard to hold a conversation that way. It made him a really good listener when topics got too hard, but sometimes he wanted nothing more than to banter back and forth like the rest of them did. So when Mai asked her questions as to what he was doing up late he too answered with a shrug, and made hand gestures at his eyes to show how they were wide as in wide awake.

Thoughts are everywhere about the day. He finally wrote, I've never done anything like that, didn't know such a thing even existed. A blush filled his face as he tried not to think about what came next, but it wouldn't be fair...


First kisses always like that? His confession might have seemed lame, but it was still his own to make.

She understood wwhat his gestures meant easily enough; he was as wide awake as she was. So she understood where he was coming from when he turned his notebook back to her with a more in-depth explaination, a soft hum of acceptance coming from the back of her throat.

Her eyes were quizzical as his face turned pink until he turned his notepad around again with his next question and she felt her own face heating up again. She probably should have expected it, honstly. After all, she certainly wasn't known for being a soft and gentle person, so having her kiss that way was probably very confusing for her fellow Ravenclaw. So after a moment of hesitation, she decided that just a little honesty would be acceptable seeing as he'd opened up to her a bit as well.

"Dunno," she answered with her eyes in her lap and her fingers twisting around her pencil. "It was my first, too. I just didn't want it to be something that I'd mess up. That, and let's face it, with the way I typically act towards people, when else would I get the chance to kiss anyone?" She turned her eyes to meet his, a half smirk on her lips and a blush still on her cheeks. "So, thank you for a great first kiss."

It was a strange moment, to be thanked for something he enjoyed as well. Should he have returned the gesture? It felt wrong. Not the kiss, but to use manners in moments like this. What of the rest? Was it theirs as well? Should he have thanked them too? Thoughts spinning as they were he did his best to keep from laughing. He didn't want her to misunderstand what he found so funny, but he did raise a dark brow in sarcasm while he wrote,

Thanks you too...I guess?

And with that he couldn't keep it in, and laughed lightly before turning the page back around and scribbling out his reasons, It feels so wrong to say thank you. Pretty big step in life. Look at us growing up...where is my diary?

And then the silence came. That awkward crazy waltz that was growing up, and he felt himself trying to scramble with something to change the subject. But Maker she was so beautiful, Avalon could never deny that. Just...he didn't know anything about her,

So what's your sign? Smooth. At least when he motioned to the stars with his shoulder, he told a story of how he was truly just being a dork now.

His eyebrow raised as his message came across and she couldn't help how her smirk turned into a grin that flashed teeth as he laughed and explained himself. Where he found the silence awkward, it felt natural to her; she was never a big talker, anyways. His next question had her lost for a millisecond before he motioned to the stars and she quickly got the reference.

A subtle smile had settled on her face as she easily replied, I'm a Scorpio. It fits a little too well for my taste, though. What's your sign?"

Scorpio. Ruler of war, sex, and death--he wanted to almost laugh if he didn't believe it. Mai always had this sort of icy edge to her that he couldn't get through, or better yet understand. His mother wouldn't approve, at least on first glance, but it wasn't because she was a bad girl. No, if anything he would have thought she would welcome the steady hand, but he didn't know if she had the dreaming side that was so welcome in his funny little fairy tale filled family.

It does fit, he agreed with a nod, and when asked of his own put his hands up like horns.

Taurus men were stable, in both emotions and financial matters, and he was a safe bet when it came to choosing partners. Even in life it seemed that he'd never break past that good 'safe' boy who was as loyal as the sun. Avalon, even by the higher years was looked upon as a good friend, good student, and ever willing helping hand. But after what he considered to be last week's rejection he felt as though he was struggling through trying to change anything. Hell, he was half tempted to ask her to just run away with him and never come back.

With his back against the stone he settled his notepad on his lap a moment to admire the starry world outside. He was happy to sit in silence with her, but a question burned in the back of his mind until it found itself upon the page with ease,

"So are you really as tough as you pretend to be?"

His hands went to his head, mimicking horns and she immediately understood. So, Avalon was a Taurus. She could too easily see the qualities that Taurus' represented it in him, too. A big one meant loyalty, which was an important thing for Mai. She enjoyed the silence that followed, her shoulders relaxed and her eyes on the sky outside as her hands idly sketched what she saw, the whirls and swirls that made up the sky. It wasn't until he moved, turning the notepad back to her that her eyes found their way back over to him, glossing over the words once and having to reread it again to make certain that she'd understood that properly. Her shoulders tensed and her face went carefully blank in response.

"It's easier to be tough and harsh than risk getting hurt," was her vague and revealing response, running a hand through her hair and tucking it behind her ear. She didn't easily open up to people, let alone answer questions that were anywhere close to personal. She knew it made her seem cold and untouchable, but the truth was that she wanted to be liked by people. She just was certain that this desire would bring disaster to her. "Are you really as nice as you act," she asked back, green eyes rising up to focus on his.

He could have painted a hundred pictures and never capture the movement he felt in the way he watched her close back up. From shy little smiles to cold stone, Mai seemed to fold back into herself as if closing a book, and he studied her a moment too long.


'It's easier to be tough and harsh than risk getting hurt,'

He knew people were sometimes like this, but he couldn't relate. His mother was a hippy and his father an ironsmith, it wasn't as though he hadn't had the chance to know the outside world, but he never hid from it. And he supposed it was a lot harder for someone who was mute to get hurt, or at least express it. Even having a typical conversation was a challenge, and most people glossed over it with simple yes or no questions.

'Are you really as nice as you act,'

A jot in his notebook brought up his answer,

"It's a curse," he said with a shrug before writing something a little more in-depth, "You are in my house, that makes you my family. And if you want to open up to someone, and they hurt you. I've got a pretty wide right hook." He turned to show her what he was saying, and at the bottom there was a sketch and everything.

Her eyes jolted back and forth as she read his quick answer, taking in the quirk of his shoulders as a shrug before he elaborated. "You are in my house, that makes you my family. And if you want to open up to someone, and they hurt you. I've got a pretty wide right hook." The cute drawing of him punching someone in the face broke the stoic look on her face, her lips quivering for a moment before a grin started pulling on her lips.

"A curse or maybe just a blessing in disguise," she finally corrected, a small smile back on her lips as she easily rolled her shoulders, the air between them comfortable and open again. "Some of our housemates wouldn't agree with your assessment, though. But it's sweet that you think like that. I have quite the left hook of my own, so I doubt I'll often need you to punch someone's lights out," she joked easily with him. "But I doubt I'll end up opening up to anyone; I think I'm too paranoid for it, really. But if you ever need someone hexed, I'm definitely the friend you should call on for it."