It truly was starting to feel like winter, Akiva noted, as she tugged her fitted, brown robes tightly around her body.  She learned, over the years, to not try for the muggle look anywhere, and a comfortable set of brown robes, was basically the same thing as a long trench coat.  She appreciated the look, and moved to push her white hat away from her eyes.  It was chilly enough to warrant a winter hat, though no scarf, and the woman made her way through the crowded streets. 

It was Sunday, usually a Dreogan day, but she explained she was going to meet Fauna, and Dree could take the opportunity to catch up with anything he wanted.  She figured it would be a good day for both of them, between helping to pack each apartment and look for a place to live, they were together all of the time, and it was just healthy to have a spot of alone time.  She’d get to spend some time with a friend; he got to do whatever he pleased, healthy.  The prospective move-in was slightly daunting, but she was excited.  It felt right, even if it was moving quicker than she dreamed it would have.   

That always seemed to be the way of things – you didn’t realize how quick it went until it was practically staring you in the face.  Being in Hogsmeade, surrounded by Hogwarts students produced much the same effect.  She remembered waiting for Hogsmeade weekends when she was in school.  It had been one of the highlights of her time, especially going to Honeydukes.  Sometimes she wondered how she did not get to be as big as a house, but she supposed it was luck.  When a group of three students rushed by, Akiva couldn’t help but laugh as they yelled to one another about being a rotten a dragon egg at the end of the street.  She shook her head and brushed some of her brown hair away from her face. 

School had always been wonderful, even if there were some bad memories.  There were dozens of good ones to counteract anything that had happened: many late nights sitting in the common room with Tamis, curled up in her pink nightgown while she drank hot chocolate and yammered away to the fairly silent seventh year, becoming friends with Felix and Frank, going to class, going to the library – all of it brought her back to a simpler time, until the end of sixth year anyway.  Things had gone downhill from there, but today was such a good day it was useless to mar any good feelings with bad thoughts. 

In some ways, she envied Fauna, but not in a malicious way.  She just had her whole life ahead of her, though it seemed that some of that youthfulness was prematurely sucked away from her with recent circumstances.  It always seemed to happen to the ones who least deserved it.  Certainly though, it was a good thing – she had saved Akiva’s life by finding her, and that in and of itself was worth it.  So, meeting her for lunch was absolutely necessary.  It just so happened that outside of the initial bonding of saving her life, Akiva and Fauna had a lot in common and it was a natural progression from help about werewolves to friendship. 

When she arrived at the Three Broomsticks, she removed her coat and hat, putting them over her arm and looked around.  She was sure Fauna would recognize her, even if she had put fifteen pounds back on and was healthier than she had been in months.  Running her hand through her thick, brown hair she looked at the packed pub and zoned in on a free table.  There were three empty mugs there, but no sign of coats or robes on the chairs, and pushed through the noisy crowd, tossing her coat onto the back of one of the chairs and sliding into it.  She glanced down at her watch and nodded, she was a few minutes early, good thing too – or they never would have found a table, and it was most assuredly too chilly to go outside. 

Glancing up at one of the servers, Akiva smiled and ordered two butterbeers – perfect weather for the creamy, warm drink - and they would probably get to the table just in time for Fauna to get there.  She could us the pick-me-up, Akiva was sure, and it'd be rude not to get her one.  She deserved it, anyhow!

When Fauna walked into the Three Broomsticks, she was hit with noise and a blast of welcoming warm air, though it felt somewhat stifling after being outside. She tugged off her hat and shook her hair out, getting the feeling back in her fingers and rubbing at her red nose as she scanned the bustling pub. Dashes of house colors and bright scarves were everywhere, and kids clamoring for butterbeers (some wanting the harder stuff, which got a laugh and scoff from Madam Rosmerta). Fauna then spotted a brunette woman in a black shirt. It took her a second to recognize her. Akiva looked healthy, with color in her cheeks and shine in her hair. She didn’t look so thin anymore either, and Fauna hoped she’d been indulging in her own scrumptious cooking.

She weaved through the crowd until she reached her, where two butterbeers had just been set down on the small table.

 “Hi!” she chirped, hesitating, and then reaching over to give her a light hug. Fauna took the seat across from her and smiled at her shyly. It was nearly noon, though she looked as if she’d just gotten home from a late night on the town. Her nails were painted three different neon colors, her eyes still had traces of smoky liner, and her hair had the bed-head effect. She smelled of some girl’s perfume from Madam Madeline’s. It was all because of the sleepover last night, where she’d only gotten a few hours of shuteye. Her weekend wasn’t over yet, but it had been very busy so far, and she was running on nerves and excitement and puppy love (the last was attributed to Devlin, of course).

“It’s so good to see you. Thanks,” she added, pulling one butterbeer to her and sipping at it, feeling instantly warmer. She unwound the Hufflepuff scarf around her neck and draped it over the back of her chair, then shrugged off her puffy jacket.

It really was nice to see her. She looked good, seemed happy. Fauna had come to depend on her weekly letters as a source of laughter and comfort. Akiva was like another big sister, one who had gone to Hogwarts too, and who lived in the wizarding world and could relate to her experiences now. Fauna loved her family, but sometimes they just didn’t quite understand, and how could they? The muggle world was different, separate from the wizarding one.

“How was yesterday? Did you see your parents?” Fauna wondered, remembering that Akiva had mentioned something about it in one of her letters.

Kiva watched the door as people streamed in and out – mostly kids who were rushing back and forth, getting friends and hiding from them.  It was a nice scene, and there were a lot of good memories attached to it.  She hoped the memories to come would be held with the same sort of fondness.  She already knew a few that could sit comfortably on the same shelf of importance as learning all about the world she really belonged to.  Being a witch born to muggles had always been an interesting experience, she loved her parents, but sometimes they did not understand.  She knew Fauna had some of the same feelings, which of course, made their friendship all the more meaningful and important. 

She had only had Phineas when she first made her way into the magical world and he was an older man, clearly, who was a squib, but knew his way around the world.  He had been exceptionally helpful, of course, but Akiva couldn’t help but always wish she had another girl to talk to – which was why she had latched onto Tamis as quickly as she found her, considering she was one of the older students that actually tolerated her without calling her weird all of the time. 

So, when Fauna strolled through the door, Akiva started to smile and waved at her – though her hand stopped short of the second wave, realizing as the young woman got closer, she had that unmistakable look of someone who had stayed out all night and just got about two and a half hours of sleep before heading out again.  The hair, the liner, and the whole look smacked of it.  Not that she thought anything bad about it, in fact, she was glad she had fun the night before, though was just slightly concerned about how much sleep she was getting and what she was doing.  Laughing softly as she got nearer and greeted, Akiva responded back, “Hello to you too! Good to see you’ve had fun this weekend.” 

As the butterbeers were put on the table, Akiva added with another smile, “I figured I’d get ahead of the game, since it’s so busy,” clearly speaking about the buttebeer.  She took up her own glass and tilted it toward Fauna in a gesture of solidarity and took a sip, wiping the foamy froth from her upper lip when she put the drink down.  Heaving a happy sigh.  While Fauna got herself comfortable in the pub, Akiva couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the whole thing – she was more of an adult that anyone probably assumed she was.  It was most assuredly amusing. 

“Oh, my yesterday was fine,” she smirked, “just went to Temple and spent some time with my family, yes.  What about you?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.  “Have fun?” 

“Yes,” she answered Akiva’s knowing smirk with a giggle, wiping her mouth with a napkin and then glancing around as if she was afraid of being overhead.

Fauna moved the butterbeer over to the side and leaned forward to tell her everything.

“There was a sleepover party last night. We set it up for my friend Mysti, ‘cause her birthday’s coming up, so we had to have, well, a party to plan a party, right?” She shot her a sheepish grin.

“Um, so, we didn’t get much sleep. And a lot more girls showed up than I’d expected… I guess word got around,” Fauna murmured, wondering how that had happened.

“But we sorta took over the astronomy tower,” she went on, smiling. “It was really pretty, even though it was too cold to go outside. We had a bunch of pillows and made it look Moroccan-themed. Lou was smart enough to put a silencing charm on the place so we could play music and, uh, not get caught.”

Fauna took a sip of butterbeer and remembered the most amusing part of the night. “You’ll never believe this, but… it’s probably really inappropriate, but so funny,” she giggled at the end of her sentence.

“Two professors stumbled in from somewhere. They were drunk,” she said, widening her eyes like it was crazy to think that professors ever had an ounce of alcohol. “Anyway, we thought they’d take away points, but it turned out they just wanted to eat the snacks, so eventually we let them and, um, then painted their nails.” Fauna showed Akiva her own brightly painted fingernails. “They’re going to wonder how they got a makeover when they wake up,” she snickered, clapping a hand over her mouth.

“Oh, but we did decide that Mysti’s party will be a masquerade, of sorts. This Friday. I’m going to go shopping after this and see if I can find a mask.” Perhaps some of the temporary Halloween shops that popped up this time of year would have a big sale, Fauna hoped.

Mirroring Fauna’s movement to lean in, it felt very conspiratorial.  Something clearly happened that she did not want others to know about, and Akiva could not help but laugh prematurely, a smile decorating her face as she waited to hear whatever it was that Fauna had done.  Naturally, of course, Akiva had a predilection toward listening to what was going on in other people’s lives and just knowing things.  She was curious! 

When she was younger, she’d do everything in her power to listen to phone conversations, find out everything she could about what was going on.  It made it rather funny how interested in knowing what was going on she was and how much just went right over her head.  As she got older, of course, she was far less inclined to be such a snoop (it’s peak was really around nine years old when she was in muggle primary school and lacked proper friends).  Then, of course, there was also the matter of first year and reading Tamis’ diary after Susan Culpepper gave it to her… but she didn’t even think Tamis knew about that. 

Nodding along as the conditions of the sleepover were describe, Akiva took note, having never remembered being that… defiant in her days at school.  She didn’t know those hufflepuffs had that sort of thing in them!  Though, of course, one could never really stick to stereotypes, could they?  “Of course,” she affirmed, in response to Fauna’s sheepish comment, chuckling softly as the young woman continued. 

Raising her eyebrows, of course, as something inappropriate was mentioned, Akiva’s mind certainly did not go to professor’s entering a party drunk.  Now, she had – more than once- walked into the dormitory very late in the evening during her sixth year to find a group of girls with a near empty bottle, giggling incessantly over incoherent sentences.  So, at the mention of Professors, Akiva’s smile dimmed only for a moment.  That was bizarre. 

She licked her lips before she started smiling again and shook her head.  “You probably should have spared them,” she chuckled softly, just imaging someone like Professor Flitwick or Professor Sprout ending up in those situations – though, she had a considerable mind to remember that neither of them would probably put themselves in that position.  It was highly doubtful Akiva was familiar with either of these professors on a personal level, though she probably filed away their publications on a daily basis.  It was funny how some people could act one way and then be so incredibly brilliant.  She supposed she knew quite a few who fit that description. 

Finally, full out laughing, Akiva took another sip of butterbeer and looked at Fauna with an amused expression, “Just hope they don’t remember it was you and your friends – or Hufflepuff could probably lose any chance at the house cup for it.”  It was a fair assessment as any, she figured, and giggled softly, “tell them it was a slytherin or something.” 

“A masquerade will be fun!” she added enthusiastically, remembering the other thing that Fauna needed to tell her about – the Halloween dance.  She had not received word about it and did not want to write to ruin the surprise.  “But, speaking of masked parties, how was the Halloween dance?  I hope you had just as much fun with that as you did painting professors’ fingernails.” 

A Slytherin! “Good idea,” Fauna chuckled, happy that Akiva was so interested in her stories. She didn’t have to worry about her scolding her, or telling her to be more responsible. It was nice.

Akiva asked next about the Halloween dance, and Fauna’s smile faltered. “Ummm…” she ducked her head and then glanced up again. “It was… it had its ups and downs. It was fun for the most part,” she tried to sound positive, though the look on her face betrayed her.

“I have pictures!” She piped up with a distraction, digging in her bag to find the small stack of moving photographs. Fauna slid them over on the table. There were a few that showed the Halloween decorations right after the Art Club had finished them, one photo of Fauna and her friends getting ready in their dorm, and one of her and Devlin that she’d looked at far too many times already.

“I went as Red Riding Hood,” she said, in case Akiva couldn’t tell. A smile slowly spread across her face and she rested her chin in her hands. “Devlin was so…” she paused, a blush rising on her cheeks. “Well, he was great to dance with. And really sweet. And very handsome,” she added, glancing at Akiva slyly.

“Um, so, that was the best part of the dance ever. I mean, it was like… he only paid attention to me,” Fauna’s voice sounded surprised at the end. He had seemed focused on her. It was too bad that the dance had been cut short by fighting from other students and the polyjuice potion.

“But…” There was always a ‘but’. “Two fights broke out. One between the first-years, which I didn’t really see, and then one between a friend of a mine and a…” her eyes narrowed. “not friend of mine.”

Fauna sighed. “It was awful. The professors had to get involved, and people got in trouble, and then-” her eyes widened. “Someone played a prank. I guess you could call it that. It was in bad taste,” she shook her head. “They spiked the punch with some kind of polyjuice potion that turned people into… wolf hybrids.”

She shook her head again, looking rather annoyed. “People freaked. I mean, it wasn’t the full moon or anything, but it was… scary. No one knew what was going on until later. Everyone just started sprouting fur and ears and tails.”

Fauna glanced down. “SAWS got blamed for it, too. But... I can’t do much about that.  Snark hates me enough already.” It certainly felt like it, anyway. After a moment she looked at Akiva, gave her a rueful smile, and shrugged her shoulders.

Akiva was not sure how she felt about Fauna’s assessment of the dance as having good and bad points.  She tried to look completely positive, but Akiva knew that look – she used it herself all of the time, and raised her eyebrows, though excited to get to see the pictures.  Taking them carefully from Fauna, she started to cycle through them, the smile on her face widening as she did. 

The decorations for the dance were beautiful – the art club really out did themselves, though, Akiva’s discerning eye noticed that there was a slanted tree in one place, and just because of the way her mind worked, she fixated on it for a moment.  But, she continued on, remembering that not everyone had concerns about consistent lines and symmetry.  Flipping to the next picture, Akiva giggled softly - Fauna looked adorable as Red Riding Hood, all of the other hufflepuffs around in various states of costume preparation. 

Then, of course, there was a final photo of Miss Fauna and who she could only assume was this Devlin boy that she heard so much about, considering the smile on her face in the photo and then way she was talking now.  Leaving that picture on top, of course, she settled them down on the table top for Fauna to gush over.  She glanced down while Fauna talked and laughed as she mentioned how handsome he was and how much fun she had with him. 

It smacked of new romance and she laughed, amused over Fauna’s way of talking about it.  “Don’t sound so surprised,” she responded to her tone, “when there’s something worth focusing on completely, even a boy can be persuaded to keep his attention in one place,” she winked playfully, but was cut off from her teasing by the inevitable but. 

Frowning just a tad, she did not like the sound of the turn of events.  First years fighting? Not a big deal.  Anything that really bothered Fauna?  Well, she did not find that acceptable.  Much less did she find the acceptability of spiking punch in such a distasteful way.  Now, Akiva never had a problem with werewolves, she found them to be sympathetic (though she did not go so far to say that all of them were sympathetic creatures), but it was definitely in bad taste, and knowing how hard Fauna worked on learning about and promoting werewolf rights – exceptionally offensive.   

She shook her head and reached over, putting her hand atop Fauna’s in a gesture of comfort.  “I’m sure most people know it was not you or your group,” Akiva said with an easily offered assurance.  “Whatever that horrifying headmistress thinks shouldn’t concern you or your group.  Just keeping meeting at Tulo’s and do what you do.  Letting someone like her walk all over you and make you give up something you feel strongly about,” she shook her head and gave her hand a squeeze, “just don’t let her bully you.” 

Akiva’s lighthearted teasing about Devlin made Fauna laugh and blush even more fiercely. It felt like she was sitting at home sharing secrets rather than in a crowded pub, which made her more prone to gush. Fauna couldn’t help it. She was already considering asking Devlin to go to the masquerade party with her.

After she’d told Akiva about the less fun parts of the dance, her friend surprised her by reaching over and squeezing her hand. Fauna hadn’t known how much she’d needed that comforting gesture or the spoken reassurances until Akiva had offered them. With an embarrassed but grateful smile, Fauna nodded.

“Right,” she said uncertainly. “You’re right,” she repeated in a more confident tone. “I guess I just… I wish I knew who had done it. It’s so… underhanded. I get that not everyone is going to agree with SAWS, but…” she frowned, shaking her head. “It seemed to happen so easily. The fight beforehand… someone spiking the punch… Maddie being blamed for it.”

Fauna paused, something nagging at her, though she couldn’t put her finger on it. “Anyway, uh, yeah. Not cool.”

She sipped at her butterbeer and gave Akiva a conflicted look. Since the attack on Greyfriar, SAWS had fallen apart, and Fauna didn’t know how to pick up the pieces, or if it was even hers to pick up, or if she even should. Pushing her drink away for a moment, she tried to explain how she felt.

“Akiva, before the fourteenth I thought I’d… understood both sides. Of the werewolf debate. But I really didn’t. I was… well, kinda biased. Because I mean, I grew up being friends with one, and I had that internship over the summer, and… well, I was definitely never attacked before. But…” she hesitated and let out a frustrated breath.

“Now I sort of understand a little why people are so… scared of them – the ones who don’t care who they hurt, anyway. Or even the ones who make a mistake and don’t mean to, they’re still dangerous.”

Fauna ran a hand through her hair. “I guess I just wonder if I’m doing the right thing, with all the SAWS stuff,” she admitted, lowering her eyes guiltily. Ollie was still her friend, so she didn’t feel like she had a right to doubt. But her feelings were her feelings, and she couldn’t seem to share them with friends at school, even the friends who had faced the attack with her. Fauna felt safer confiding in Akiva, who cared about her but could also be objective.

“It’s easy to do something mean,” Akiva informed Fauna with no edge of fondness in her voice for the topic, “people find it far easier to make each other’s lives miserable than to take the time to get to know something about one another.”  Fauna’s dismissal did not please Akiva, and she retracted her hand to take a sip her butterbeer, seeing the conflict on Fauna’s face.  She didn’t think she was finished, either. 

When someone looked like that, they needed to talk about it and Akiva sighed.  “You can tell me what’s on your mind,” she prompted with an encouraging smile.  This, of course, did prompt something of what sounded like a confession.  She didn’t need to sound guilty of being unsure of something.  It showed depth and concern without taking things at face value.  Akiva listened to her with interest, pondering just what she was saying.

It was easy to be unsure of something you didn’t completely understand, especially when an issue was so complicated.  Like Fauna stated, growing up around something made it easy to accept, but when a wrench got thrown into the experience – one bad thing and then a series of learning about what happened when things went wrong could complicate everything someone thought he or she knew.  It appeared to be difficult for Fauna to even talk about and Akiva shifted in her seat. 

She put the butterbeer aside for a clear view of her young friend and nodded slowly as she finished, mulling around in her mouth the words she wanted to say.  “Fighting for someone else’s rights is always a good thing,” Akiva started off with, “if it weren’t the right thing, it wouldn’t be so hard.  There are outstanding cases – those werewolves that don’t care, or even the things that just make mistakes, but everyone makes mistakes and everyone can make a bad choice.  It doesn’t stop a pureblood from having rights, it doesn’t stop a Muggleborn from having rights anymore – we answer to the same laws.  Shouldn’t a werewolf?” 

She shook her head, trying to think less abstract – more applicable, more real.  She expelled a deep breath and continued, “Perhaps a bit of personal experience will help illuminate what I mean,” she added, before continuing, “Dozens of people like me – and you – were arrested, disappeared, expelled, or worse when I was young because of who we are, a fact we could not change.  How many others should have to suffer that kind of marginalization?  People are not bad because of the things we cannot control, Fauna.  People make bad choices, people make mistakes, but to be subjugated before even being given a chance?” she shook her head, “Don’t question your decision to help someone feel like a full citizen.  No matter who they are, they deserve the same status you, me, or anyone else has.” 

“I know it’s hard to stand up for everyone when you have one particular person in mind, and you might feel some relationship to the other side too – believe me, not everyone we fought for in the past was a good person - and not ever person we fought against was a bad person either, for that matter, but don’t question yourself or your goals.  You mean to even the playing field – give everyone a chance – and that is a more admirable goal than throwing an entire group of people to the wolves… no pun intended.” 

She couldn’t quite make eye contact, gaze shifting to the other people and things in the pub, afraid of seeing disappointment etched in her friend’s features. Yet when she started talking there wasn’t any anger or disapproval in her voice. Fauna looked at her, wary surprise mingled with hope on her face.

Akiva talked about everyone having the same rights: muggleborns, purebloods, and werewolves, and Fauna nodded, though her thoughts ran all over the place. Witches and wizards, purebloods and muggleborns, could do horrible things to each other, but they were in control. Their wands didn’t act of their own accord, their bodies didn’t betray them. Werewolves lost all sense of who they were. They couldn’t control themselves. Of course they deserved rights, they deserved privacy and freedom, but how much? Where was the line between treating them fairly and protecting others from their mistakes or bad choices?

As if sensing Fauna’s doubt, Akiva tried to give a more concrete example, describing what muggleborns had faced and still did to an extent. There was that word: control. None of them could control who they were, but it was their individual choices that defined them. Fauna let out a small sigh, tracing the grooves on the table. Some of what Akiva said started to sink in.

The comparison to muggleborns made Fauna wonder if Akiva knew that’s why she’d likely been kidnapped in August. Her eyes flicked to her wrist and then looked away, staring into space. It made her so angry sometimes, especially when she heard ugly words slip out of the students at school, reflecting how they really felt. They didn’t even have to say anything; the air of superiority and condescension was enough. She knew some of it could be attributed to social and economic class, but some of it, she was sure, came down to blood status.

At Akiva’s last sentences, Fauna’s eyes locked on hers, hearing every word. Admirable? Fauna opened her mouth. She’d just been fighting for Ollie. But it had become more than that.

It had become something larger, about giving werewolves fair opportunities and chances.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. You’re right. Again,” she gave her a soft smile. “It’s just.. hard to keep all of that in mind when I… saw people get hurt. I guess people are afraid that if we give them jobs and an education and the same freedoms, that they have more of an opportunity to hurt us. But I mean, if we keep withholding those things, and treat them as different, then… then it doesn’t excuse attacks, but nothing’s going to get better.”

Fauna let out a breath and her shoulders relaxed. “Umm… thanks,” she told her with a touch of embarrassment. Akiva, Tulo, Tamis, Knox, and the other adults in her life seemed to have all the answers, and she wished she did too. She didn’t realize that there was no magical age, no point where you suddenly understood it all. The idea that she’d always be uncertain and confused made her shift uncomfortably.

But then Fauna realized she hadn’t found out anything new about Akiva since she’d sat down, and that was hardly fair. She straightened and focused on her.

“Akiva,” she said suddenly. “Tell me about you. What have you been up to? How are you and, uh, Dreogan?” Fauna pushed away her worries for now and hoped her friend would have a lot to say.

Nodding, Akiva could understand how hard it was, and she smiled a bit to give her the knowledge that Akiva didn’t judge her or think less of her for her doubts and concerns.  She was a young woman and had a lot to try and put together in a short period of time.  It was ambitious and a lot of times the most ambitious things came to complete failure, but she was trying and that’s what mattered. 

“If they had the same opportunities and the same education as the rest of us, maybe they would have all the more reason to take care of themselves.  If you have nothing to lose anyway, why even bother to take care of yourself?  I would keep that in mind every time you doubt yourself,” she offered with a soft smile, “Nothing is ever perfect for everyone,” she glanced down at the bangle on her wrist a bubble of anger erupting in her stomach, “but if you let it beat you – you aren’t helping anyone.” 

She smiled and nodded, “You don’t need to thank me,” she assured Fauna.  It wasn’t like she had come up with some all consuming answer, just some advice to go about it by.  The whole process was something even she was unaccustomed to, but some people had to fight for others, and suffer for others too, whether or not they wanted to, it didn’t matter – some people just had to. 

A sigh escaped her lips and Akiva again shifted in her chair, laughing at the sudden change of conversation.  That came on quick!  Laughing, the brunette shook her head and really shifted, taking a drink of buttebeer, she giggled – suddenly, overcome.  It was such a bizarre and quick switch, and she was very happy with her life, so the thought just made her smile and light up. 

She continued to smile and shrugged a bit, unsure of where to start.  “Things are going well – the library is a bit busy, beginning of the month means new shipments, but that’s normal. I think I’m getting too used to seeing brown boxes everywhere, though,” she snorted – realizing she had not told Fauna WHY that was the case.  “I’m moving – well, Dree and I are moving, actually.  We just need to find a place…” she paused and looked and Fauna with some mock-seriousness, “It is a project, believe me.”

Fauna nodded. People who had no hope became desperate, acted recklessly. Werewolves without support and options were much the same. She smiled at Akiva’s encouraging words. Though Akiva said she didn’t need to thank her, Fauna felt grateful anyway. Perhaps she’d get Maddie and the others together and try to hold another SAWS meeting sometime in November. After weeks of doubting and avoiding the topic, the fact that she was even considering it surprised her.

Akiva’s laughter was contagious and Fauna perked up, cocking her head curiously at the mention of the packing boxes. When she said that she and Dree were moving, Fauna nodded calmly, not quite processing it.

“Oh!” She exclaimed after a moment. “You… you’re… moving in… together?!” Fauna’s face broke out in a grin and she nearly knocked over her butterbeer in excitement.

She burst into giggles that caused one of the servers to glance around in surprise. “That is so exciting!”

It wasn’t every day one of her friends moved in with a guy. In fact, this had never happened before. Fauna had every right to channel her girlish teenager side and gush about it.

“I’m sorry,” she automatically apologized, leaning forward and resting her chin in her hands. “Okay - Where are you looking to move? When did you decide? Did he… ask you? Or… how did this happen?” She spoke in a hushed, animated whisper and cupped her drink with her hands so she wouldn’t accidentally knock it over.

Akiva had not expected the reaction she got.  In fact, it was like a complete and utter change in mood.  From one minute of the insecure and dare she think, doubting Fauna to one who was giggling and clutching her hands over her face as though she had won a free trip to Disneyland Paris or something!  Of course, the mood was entirely contagious, so Akiva started to giggle too. 

Her cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink and she had to avert her eyes, suddenly almost embarrassed by the whole thing.  Reaching up, she tucked her hair behind her ear as she licked her lips. It was, most assuredly, exciting, and Akiva was glad that she didn’t actually hit the butterbeer glass – it looked as though she might for a minute. 

Now, Akiva never thought she talk like this.  Even telling her mom and close friends about the move hadn’t resulted in something so silly, but she couldn’t help the brightness of her cheeks and the way she just couldn’t stop laughing for some reason.  It wasn’t as though it was scandalous or anything – she was twenty-eight, quickly approaching twenty-nine and had been dating Dree for a long time.  It seemed natural when she was talking to other people, but now she felt like she was eighteen again and it was the best date of the year. 

“Don’t be sorry,” Akiva finally responded through her giggles, crossing her legs under the table and leaning closer, mirroring Fauna’s position.  If they were so physically different, one might assume they were related just by the way they mirrored one another at that particular moment.  “Well, we’ve been talking about it and planning for about a month,” she started, “and he asked on the fifth… of October,” she clarified with a little bit of a laugh. 

Shrugging at some of her questions, she didn’t really know most of it.  “I guess he was thinking about it,” she paused trying to figure it out, deciding it was just what it was, “and just asked.  So we’ve been looking around ever since.  We decided not to leave London – proximity to work and family – but we don’t really have a set place in mind.  Narrowed it down a bit, but… I’ll have to let you know when we decide for sure.” 

She took another sip of butterbeer, noticing that the mug was now more empty than full and then back at Fauna who just about looked like she might die of anticipation.  “I guess it’s just the next step,” she laughed softly, “I’m excited.  My only requirements are that the kitchen is spacious and up to date and there’s plenty of natural sunlight at least in the living room.  It's taking some time though - deciding and plannning, hopefully we'll be moved by the end of the month.  Dree's birthday is coming up, so I would hope we're settled by then.  I still haven't figured out what to get him.  Men are so hard to shop for."

Fauna managed to keep her giggles under control when she saw the blush spread across Akiva’s cheeks. They seemed to feed off of each other’s enthusiasm, suddenly switching from a serious conversation to a more casual, upbeat one without a second thought. Fauna listened attentively, a small, wistful smile playing on her lips as Akiva told her where they planned to live and when Dreogan had asked her to move in.

She could imagine the place Akiva described, complete with the large kitchen, lots of light, and shelves overflowing with books and muggle gadgets. Though she hadn’t met Dreogan yet, hearing Akiva talk about him made her imagine that they had a good, solid relationship. If Fauna got a little starry-eyed about it, it was probably because she wasn’t used to seeing much romance in her own family, where both her mother and her sister had been single for a while.

“That’s exciting,” she repeated with a quiet sort of thrill in her voice. “It’s hard to find a place in London, but it’ll be worth it. Though I’m biased… I hope you find a good kitchen too,” Fauna grinned, knowing it would mean more delicious treats being sent her way by owl.

“If you need help packing…” Fauna frowned, wondering if she’d be able to get away for a weekend while she was at Hogwarts. Probably not. It was best not to push her luck when Snark was already so irritated with her. “Well, I’d be more careful with your stuff than I am with mine. I sorta just throw everything in my school trunk and then wonder how my keys get stuck at the very bottom,” Fauna confessed with a sheepish shrug. She’d actually done that before. The only things she packed carefully were her sketchbooks and hats. One year she’d attempted to levitate all her hats at once, which had worked surprisingly well until her pet Bernie had crawled out of her pocket and distracted her, causing an avalanche of hats to fall on Figaro in the common room. Ah, memories.

“Boys are impossible to shop for,” Fauna agreed with a knowledgeable air, though she’d never had to buy anything for a boy before. At least a boy she liked.

“Maybe if you’ve moved in by the time his birthday rolls around, you could get him something that fits in with your new place? I’m not sure what he likes, but…” Fauna shrugged, feeling rather unhelpful.

It was so refreshing to talk to someone who had a completely blank perspective on everything.  Talking about it with her mom or even some of their friends, Akiva had been talking to them all along – they knew things and understood what was going on the whole time.  Fauna’s input and reactions were new – and fun – she liked that.  It made her smile more, and she laughed, nodding. 

“It’s been a bit difficult, yeh, but I think we have some places in mind,” there were definitely a few that stuck out in her mind, anyway.   They definitely had some different ideas, but it was healthy to not agree on everything.  And chuckling softly, Akiva leaned over, to conspiratorially, “Regardless of the size of my kitchen, I will still be cooking just as much.”  Clearly, she could think of no other way Fauna would be so concerned about the size of her kitchen than what it would be producing in the future. 

Her offer to help – even if it went unfinished, was sweet, and Akiva smiled affectionately.  It was something nice, though Akiva instantly realized unrealistic, and giggled softly.  “Thank you for the offer, Fauna, it’s sweet –but you shouldn’t have to worry about helping me move.  I think you’re going to have exams coming up soon, right?”  Some part of her would always long for the days where the hardest thing in the future was usually an exam – though she supposed even her experiences in school had been drastically different.  She really wished for the idealized version of the messed up experience she had.  It wasn’t bad, but it was certainly different. 

“I know what you mean though – if I weren’t so anal about my things, I’d probably throw them into boxes too.  As it is I’m losing track of so many of my things – my books are the worst.  The whole process is just a bit overwhelming.”  It was – there were so many things to do and things that were supposed to get done.  She wanted to get it all done soon, but balancing the schedule was beyond her at present, especially with things to do – like getting that damned present. 

She laughed and shrugged her shoulders at the suggestion of something for the house.  “I’ll consider it,” Kiva laughed, “Or I’m going to go with something easy – books and a mug or something,” she shrugged.  “I always feel like birthday presents shouldn’t be things someone needs though, they should be things someone wants – extraneous, because it’s a gift.  I might have to go on an information fishing spree for the next month.  Super spy type things – I’m sure you know something about that,” she teased gently with a playful laugh. 

“I hope you’re prepared to have to do the same thing – holidays are coming up,” she glanced back down and tapped on the picture, “and by the looks of this cozy arrangement, you might have a boyfriend to buy something for too.”