SO UNINSPIRED -- chun

[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

lyra sighed as she made to put the great venus fly trap away as instructed by her proffessor. the class had finally finished, and lyra winced as the thing made another grab for her damned left arm and she wasn't quite quick enough to snatch it away. it's weird.. 'mouth' just caught her, and she felt the sting of its .. weapon? oh she really had no idea; she hadn't payed much attention at all this class, and it showed in the way she lagged behind the others.

she had no idea really why she'd chosen to take on herbology. she used to love it. used to being the key words there, she supposed. but as soon as she'd stepped into the greenhouses in her sixth year, she'd had that omminous feeling that this was going to be difficult...and dull in her opinion. and surprise, surprise, she'd been right.

so she was one of the first to have shoved the plotted plant back in it's space, side stepping it's neighbours as they snapped at her too, snaking out to try and capture her in their tangles of thorns and vines. she frowned and backed away fast, hitting the table where they'd been working with her back and shaking her head, feeling her blonde waves tumble over her shoulder. she wondered if they knew she didn't like the damned plants which was why they'd snapped at her.

ignoring them, she turned her back on the stupid plants and backed her books and quill away, groaning as the ink spilled and rippled out over her notes and work bench. "whyyy?!" she sighed in frustration. why her?! she let out a breath, calming herself and grabbed her wand, muttering the cleaning spell and then siphonning the ink off her notes and stuffing everything back in her bag before it could get ruined again. she swung her bag onto her shoulder, half ran from the door, and then heard the riiiip as her old rucksack finally gave out, spilling the contents all over the floor. lyra groaned a second time, honestly considering leaving it, before sighing and shaking her head and ducking to pick it all back up.

ooc , hope this is okay? (:

[CHUN CUAN AU-YONG]

She was always reluctant to leave. This was her comfort zone, where her shoulders could loosen and she could just concentrate on the health of the plants-- what it needs, rather than what she needed. Or what she wanted. Most of the time, that had been anger. Even the most hot-blooded knew there were times where they needed to take a step back. Herbology provided a good opportunity for it. Chun humored the idea sometimes. If she hadn't been set to emerge as a death eater, the slytherin wouldn't mind divulging more in what seemed today to only be a hobby. The inherent, rather quiet nature of plants just seemed like the thing the Chinese girl needed.

Of course, venus flytraps weren't always so silent. Even with her regular exposure, the slytherin knew she was snagged by the plant more than once during the lesson. Her fingers easily danced around the plant's mouth, but sometimes it would surprise her and snatch her pale hand into its jaw. Suffice to say, she gained a few scratches from the experience. Of course, the rest of the class didn't seem to really be doing much better. It might be for the best if she just cut her losses and moved on. With a sigh, she gave a little bit of water to the plant before moving the flytrap back to the right cabinet. The slytherin would likely return later, or stop by the clock tower courtyard before moving onto her more high-energy activities.

She was particularly looking forward to the upcoming quidditch season. It was a good excuse to be rough, and it was definitely the beater's job to be so. Of course, there would be getting used to new faces, and remembering the minor details that came with each teammate. It was a lot easier noticing the blondes than the darker hair teammates. There was something about light hair that stood out so well even against the bright sun. However, it would take a lot more in order to avoid hitting the wrong people. The house emblem was useful when the weather wasn't completely shitty--

Chun stopped when she heard something ripping apart, and a girl's voice nearby, obviously in distress. Maybe it was the light mood that fell on her during Herbology, or something else, but she approached the other student. The Chinese girl knelt down and began to gather the papers and supplies without really glancing who it was. ”Rough day, huh?” she asked as a way to make conversation.

[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

"reparo." lyra muttered, pausing to point her wand at her bag and say in the incantation after inspecting it. she'd wondered if one of the slytherins had rudely felt that giving the hufflepuff some trouble, but it appeared the bag had split naturally. which kinda annoyed lyra - she didn't even have that many books to split it anyway, and it meant she couldn't take her frustrations out by hexing the person would did it...because obviously, noone had.

once the bag was repaired she continued to retrieve the books, stuffing them unceremoniously into the fabric, not caring if they got battered and scuffed and ripped. they were just books. lyra was sure she heard her quill snap and she frowned in irritation, knowing that now she'd darn well need to buy another one - that having been her last one. she shook her head and just went to shove more things back in - actually marvelling at how much there really had been in the bag - when another set of hands was suddenly picking stuff up too.

”Rough day, huh?” the helper spoke and lyra paused to glance at her almost suspiciously, noticing the slytherin emblem emblazed on her robes immediatly and wondering why she was bothering. she wasn't usually immersed in house rivalry unless it came to a quidditch match, but slytherins made enemies of themselves, they gave themseleves the reputation. and lyra was yet to meet one not out for personal gain and to make others look foolish.

"uh yeah..." lyra said, putting away the last of her stuff and standing. well the other hadn't tried to hex her yet...or mess with her stuff so... maybe she wasn't all bad. "thanks.." lyra said half hesitantly, looking at the slytherin and brushing her blonde locks over her shoulder, recognising the slytherin girl as someone from her quidditch team.

[CHUN CUAN AU-YONG]

It was when she passed the girl's books to her that Chun finally recognized the emblem on the other's robes. Inwardly, she winced. Oh, hopefully no one was watching. She thought about following the passing with a slap to maintain some sort of reputation, but... well... light hair always did stand out so easily. Already, the Chinese girl felt something like an awkward smile perk on her lips. There was a certain warmth in the girl's eyes despite her hesitance, and not like she could blame the hufflepuff. Under normal circumstances, Chun wouldn't nearly be so friendly. Certainly, their meeting would be much more violent if she hadn't been so concerned for the plant well fare nearby.

Oh, her one weakness: she could never endanger the plant life that surrounded her. For now, she would continue this awkward exchange for what it was, and hope no one would decide to spread the news of her being friendly to a hufflepuff. ”No problem,” she responded shyly-- quietly. Uneasiness settled inside her. She lied about the one weakness. Girls-- girls were definitely a very serious weakness that she liked to ignore every once and a while, but they certainly liked to remind her of it every once and a while. Sometimes, house wouldn't stop that small bit of admiration sinking inside her.

This awkward air too. It always happened when she met new people. Chun never enjoyed this moment, and was one of many reasons why she never liked talking to others. ”Venus flytraps certainly don't help those days I'm sure...” she mumbled, ”I'm sure everyone was bit more than a couple of times in class today by them.” The Chinese girl winced at remembering the small little nicks on her fingers. Nothing serious, but a nuisance for later.

[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

lyra slung her newly repaired and re-packed bag over her right hand, manovering her long blonde waves out the way and feeling them tumble over down just past her shoulder blades, grey eyes looking to the other in almost suspicion. she wasn't always that comfortable with slytherins, knowing how they did like to play with their victims before they hexed them. but this girl didn't seem so terrible.

”No problem,” the awkwardness would have been evident to a blind person, and lyra shifted on the spot, wondering if she should just end the encounter by leaving.. then again that would be rather rude, and so instead she forced herself to stay, trying to gather some patience from somewhere - never being one to be patient. the blonde hufflepuff nodded slightly in response, not seeing the need to say anything in return to that, eyes gazing at the slytherin instead as if waiting.

”Venus flytraps certainly don't help those days I'm sure...I'm sure everyone was bit more than a couple of times in class today by them.” lyra nodded again and took her top lip between her teeth, lightly chewing as she always did in awkward situations to convey her sense of .. awkwarness she supposed. it was a bad habit of hers. "yeah i really didn't like those venus fly traps. " lyra sighed and frowned slightly, rubbing her left arm where the darned plant had nicked her badly several times. she shook her head at herself in slight dismay. "i have no idea why i chose to take herbology." she mused quietly, not sure why she said it. "i'm just going to fail." she rolled her grey eyes and offered the slytherin a half friendly, half still wary smile. "i'm lyra by the way... lyra thornton." she made to offer her hand to shake, not sure if the other would take it .. or if she was going to be hexed or something for even suggesting a shaking of hands. that was the problem with slytherins... you could never tell the good from the bad.

[CHUN CUAN AU-YONG]

When she was convinced that no one that could use the encounter against her wasn't around, Chun tried to relax. Being awkward within seconds of meeting someone was not a good start for either of them. Its not like she could really blame the blonde (probably blonde; if there's any hair color she could figure out its blonde). After all, Chun didn't exactly build a reputation beyond being a complete monster toward her house. It was mere luck that it wasn't the end result of this meeting, but she cared for the plants here much more than she did her reputation. Explaining it to Olivia would be simple enough, but plants took months to repair if she was lucky.

Huh, it was almost cute how the girl chewed on her top lip, recognizing the nervous habit for what it was. The air was almost miserable at this point. The slytherin suddenly remembered why she didn't usually went about looking for friends. It required minding her words a bit too much, and formalities was just another obstacle she had to hurtle over at some point. Then, it was socializing with a hufflepuff for crying out loud. Speaking shouldn't be necessary when dealing with the cretins. It was basically a slytherin rule at this point. Of course, it was a lot harder picking out those house emblems without the colors if you weren't particularly looking for them.

At hearing the hufflepuffs woes, Chun tried her best to offer a sympathetic smile through her nerves. ”It can be difficult, yes,” she muttered, mentally cursing herself for how soft it sounded in her head. She hated sounding meek. ”There's a lot of micro-management involved. Unfortunately, every plant has different needs too. It takes a long time to remember everything.” As she continued to speak, she could feel herself growing more and more embarrassed. As much as she loved Herbology, she always felt a little silly talking about it. She was expected to talk about quidditch, or how all muggles needed to die; not about what sort of plants were best for healing wounds or illnesses.

The slytherin had been momentarily taken aback by the hand extended to her, briefly glancing at Lyra a bit uncertainly. For a moment, she wasn't even sure about giving her name. At best, she showed a brief moment of hesitation before taking it, shaking the hands lightly before giving her name, “I'm Chun Au-Yong. ….Its nice to meet you.”

[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

catching her hesitant smile, lyra returned it slightly, lips turning up very slightly at the corners and she glanced at the guy, still unsure. this was... rather peculiar. slytherin's where not usually nice, nor did they often smile at others - particulary female hufflepuffs. especially as lyra had a reputation of snapping back, and was not one to take things laying down. ”It can be difficult, yes,” lyra looked at the girl and shrugged slightly, shifting her bag awkwardly as she shuffled her feet slightly.

”There's a lot of micro-management involved. Unfortunately, every plant has different needs too. It takes a long time to remember everything.” lyra blinked and looked at the slytherin. a slytherin who liked herbology? that was unusual in lyra's opinion, but also slightly refreshing. it was always nice to see someone outside of the stereotype. she nodded in response. "yeah .. and my memory's not always that great...so you like herbology?" she said with a light grin, relaxing a little as the slytherin appeared not to be about to attack her or anything. it was true, if lyra didn't remind herself of something or wasn't excited for it or something then she was darned sure going to forget all about it.

lyra was surprised when the girl did take her hand, having been uncertain what her gesture may have caused the slytherin to respond with. a 'dont touch me you filthy hufflepuff' or something along those lines perhaps. “I'm Chun Au-Yong. ….Its nice to meet you.” she shook her hand lightly, briefly, then took her hand back. of course she didn't want to shake her hand too long - there was still the awkwardness and all. "uh nice to meet you too." she hesitated slightly but returned the politeness, unsure as she shifted her bag again and glanced at the door, wondering if they should head out or something.

[CHUN CUAN AU-YONG]

Though slight, she could see the smile there. It helped a little to see that. It's not very often she saw a smile her way outside of Olivia and maybe Jacob. Maybe. The slytherin did like to surprise her on occasion with an odd sort of smirk or two. She didn't think they were meant for comfort really. Olivia's was sweet though, usually. At least, when directed at the two of them, and not talking about business. Any smile was sinister in business. It used to scare her when she had first been involved, but nowadays, she had even caught the same sort of smile on herself. It wasn't bad. As long as it wasn't too much like the other sort of smiles she'd seen, Chun didn't think she could complain.

She couldn't help blushing at the question, fiddling with her uniform sleeves for a moment. She imagined she was rather obvious with her interest. The Chinese girl did have trouble managing to control her various ramblings over the hobby. ”Y... Yes,” Chun admitted a bit quietly, ”It's um... typically very soothing to work with plants. Venus fly traps excepting.” She meant the last part in jest, offering a smile to signify it. The slytherin could admit that it was nice to be asked about it for once. She typically tried to avoid the topic whenever she could, but that was easier said than done.

Chun could figure out the ending of a conversation well enough, nodding her head and picking up her own bag from one of the greenhouse tables. She ket her grip loose on the bag. ”I suppose I'll see you around then?” The Asian hoped not. Lyra was in for an unwelcome surprise if she approached her at the wrong time. Still the blonde seemed nice enough. If she could maybe keep it here, it wouldn't be a problem. An idea struck her, and unfortunately, she didn't have enough time to properly register it before it slipped out, ”If you need help with the course, just... um.. find me in the courtyard or something.” Oh, bad idea. Bad idea.

[LYRA KARA THORNTON]

”Y... Yes,” lyra glanced at.. chun.. in slight surprise but also she was pleased the slytherin had responded with the truth. it was such a change for a slytherin to be interested in something like herbology rather than just potions or dark arts and all. lyra gave her a warmer, more encouraging smile and nodded slightly. "cool." she said simply, hearing chun's added, ”It's um... typically very soothing to work with plants. Venus fly traps excepting.” lyra grinned at that and nodded. "yeah they are buggers." she rolled her light grey eyes and shook her head, glancing at the shapes of the venus fly traps she could just make out at the back of the class now, amongst other various plants and herbs and such.

lyra watched the slytherin make for her back, and shifted hers higher onto her shoulder in return. ”I suppose I'll see you around then?” her question was a clear implication of 'we should go seperate ways now' and a definetly indication as to the end of the conversation, and so lyra nodded as if to say she was sure they would. she wasn't really sure - after all, slytherins and hufflepuffs could be an explosive mix and she didn't want to really start any fights and such now, she had N.E.W.Ts and more important things to focus on. so really, lyra doubted she'd see chun at all really, or really ever properly talk to her again.

well..that was her thought until the slytherin suddenly spoke up. ”If you need help with the course, just... um.. find me in the courtyard or something.” lyra looked at her, evident surprise written all over her face, as well as a suddenly contemplation. the shock was obvious to understand. a slytherin..offering to help a hufflepuff? practically unheard of. yet chun hadn't seemed all that bad so far..maybe she was genuine? the contemplation..well..honestly she did need herbology help. she'd already been thining about putting an ad out for private tuition or something but now... well this would be a great help. "uh yeah i'd like that..thanks." she said, hoping the girl had meant it and not just said it in passing or mean it as a cruel joke or something. lyra studied her quietly for a moment and deemed that she was being honest, therefore she dropped her guard a little and sent her a small smile. "uhm i have time now, maybe?" she half suggested, curious as to what the slytherin would say in response. 'only kidding' was highest right now on her belief system.

[CHUN CUAN AU-YONG]

The smile, less strained, seemed so fitting on the hufflepuff. She didn't try to focus on those details too much; never gave her enough time to focus on those details. If she did, it meant growing attachments, and that was a terrible idea at this point. It meant hurting someone that Chun cared about, but shouldn't. Maybe even kill someone she cared about if it came to worst case scenario. She wasn't sure if she could confidently manage it, not without the guilt of betraying those people burdening her. Despite how well the meeting was going, the slytherin knew she would have to keep her distance-- if she wanted to maintain her sanity when everything eventually goes as planned.

Nonetheless, she returned the smile with a small one of her own. She admitted that it was nice talking about something that wasn't torturing hufflepuffs or muggleborns or whatever. It was a major part of her life, yes, but at times, she needed the rest of her life there as well. Lyra didn't know anything and that was enough just to forget for a moment. It helped that no one was looking. She was about to just accept the conversation for what it was, hoping that the hufflepuff just didn't hear the slytherin, but the response erased all thought of that. Damnit! She really needed to learn to keep her mouth shut. These sort of things happened otherwise.

Chun tried to speak through the lump in her throat, toying with the idea of just telling the blonde to forget it. However, a part of her, she knew, did want something of a normal friendship for once. Though the slytherin had to admit this was a terrible person to use to satisfy that, the Chinese girl didn't really have a good track record with dealing with people. She inwardly cringed on that thought. Wait, answering the hufflepuff, right. ”.... Uh... well, I... I could do now, I suppose,” she would need to speak louder than this at some point. It was driving her nuts.