Sleeping? And That Is...? (Sadie)

[Kia Brightstar]

Kia stared up at the ceiling of her dorm blankly, letting the steady breathing of the already sleeping girls in the dorm wash over her. No matter what she tried, no matter how hard she tried, sleep just wasn't going to come to her tonight. "Tempus," Kia rolled over to grasp her wand and whispered the spell quietly, not wanting to wake anyone up. No, if they could sleep then it was best to let them dream. 12:15. The smoky figures hovered in the air and Kia brushed the smoke away exasperatedly before groaning into her pillow. "Sleep, sleep, sleep." She chanted to herself silently, already knowing that it wouldn't work. Kia had already tried it dozens of times but to no avail. Kia switched her attention from the black shadows on the ceiling to the glimmering stars outside and climbed out of bed slowly, walking over to the window and gazing up at the star-speckled night. Not many stars of course but more than usual.

She dressed slowly, almost mechanically, going through her routine without really paying attention. Only the familiarity of her every-day routine stopped her from putting her socks on her hands or putting her blouse on backward, her attention completely focused on the shining stars and silvery moon outside. Kia slipped through the dark corridors easily, used to navigating them at night. Sometimes the night just called to her and Kia found no reason to resist. If she couldn't sleep anyway then what was the harm of not sleeping outside rather than in the dorm? If she had stayed in the dorm then Kia would have ended up waking one of the other girls and then have to face the girls wrath about being woken up. Finally she reached the door to the Grounds and pushed it open gently, once again thanking Merlin that the door didn't creak. If it had then sneaking outside would have been considerably harder, especially with the Professors on patrol.

"Starlight, star bright, the first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." Kia stared up at the dark sky from her perch in a tree, focusing on one of the bright stars intently and wishing silently. Wishing for the happiness of all her family and feeling a slight warmth running through her fingers. Hopefully the wish would come true, and if not then there had been no witnesses to Kia's childishness. Kia leant against the trunk of the tree comfortably, feeling secure in the knowledge that the branch she was sitting on could hold her weight and feeling her eyes slipping closed slowly. Before she could fully close her eyes, the snap of a twig brought her to attention and Kia bolted upright, scanning the Grounds for whoever had made the noise. Who would be up at this hour but people up to no good? ...Or other students who couldn't sleep.

[Sadie Rivers H6]

Sadie awakened with a sudden jolt. It was that dream again, the one where she had went home last summer just to find that home wasn’t the same anymore. Sadie tried to shake the sadness and frightened feeling that had come with her sudden awakening, so that she could go back to sleep. She sat there for what seemed hours trying to comfort her enough that she would be able to sleep, but had no luck. Deciding that it was best for her to leave the dorm room so that she wouldn’t wake the others, she quietly dressed, and headed out for the grounds. Sadie decided that she needed the outside air to help calm her. She loved being outside, especially at night when the sky was clear and she could see for miles across the heavens. She enjoyed the sight of the stars; it was something her dad had taught her long ago.

Sadie quietly made her way through the castle and out the door leading to the grounds, happy that she had not been caught by anyone. Hufflepuff was doing well in their points, and it wouldn’t be good if she lost any for them. And she most certainly didn’t want a detention, which was something that she had not yet experienced and hoped not to. As Sadie stared up at the stars, she made her way warily across the grounds; she paid little attention to the twigs that had been shaken out of a tree, until she stepped on one, making it pop half into. The noise startled Sadie and she noticed that it was she that had stepped on the twig. Sadie looked around toward the castle to see if anyone had heard it. She saw no signs of movement, and this allowed her to give out a deep sigh. Sadie continued to make her way to the bottom of her favorite tree. She usually climbed the tree, and slept in the limbs, but tonight she decided to stay grounded, and not climb the tree. Sadie sat at the base of the tree, between two large roots, and comfortably turned so that she could stare at the stars without hurting her neck.

[Kia Brightstar]

Kia strained her eyes in the darkness, leaning forward into a precarious position in a hopeless attempt to see the person who had stepped on the twig and broken it. It was no good. Kia leaned back into her tree and sighed. The darkness was too...well, dark. It would be impossible to see a figure in this darkness unless they were right on top of you and by then it would be too late. Especially if this mystery twig breaker was a professor out to round up misbehaving students and punish them with detention. No, that wouldn't be good at all. She leaned forward again, crawling along the tree branch gingerly and praying that it wouldn't break and make her crash to the ground. No, that wouldn't be good either. The ground had a bad reputation for being a hard surface. Oh yes, the ground was almost as bad as desks. Not as bad as walls of course - nothing could ever be as bad as walls - but almost as bad as desks. Kia rubbed her elbow and glared at the ground furiously, remembering all of the times it had snuck up on her and attacked her. Hmph. Maybe it was as bad as those evil, pesky desks. Someone should control those desks. Maybe a restraining order...?

Kia jolted back to reality as the branch shook, scuttling back to lean against her secure place against the trunk. Stupid desks. They weren't there to kill her in person so they enlisted a tree to do it instead. How underhanded and sneaky. That restraining order was definitely going to be needed if those desks continued to attack her. It wasn't that surprising really, not when Kia thought about it. After all, were desks not made of wood? And were trees not wood? So it was only expected that desks and trees team up to kill her. Kia slipped down a branch or two, her attention caught by a dark, shadowy figure sitting down at the base of the tree. So she had heard someone! And it obviously wasn't a professor because honestly, how many professors would sit down at the base of a tree to stare at the stars? Not many. Kia squinted in a feeble attempt to identify the person - mentally dubbed the mystery twig breaker. No, it was no use. The darkness had obviously sided with the trees and the desks in their attempt to make her life harder. Her hand brushed across something and Kia held it up to her face, screwing up her eyes to identify the object. An acorn. Kia grinned slowly, hefting the acorn in her hand and letting it fall to the ground. Of course, it would probably hit the mystery twig breaker on the head first but that was alright.

((Hehe. I'm nice so I'll let you decide if the acorn hits Sadie on the head. ))