Drawings of the Heart[open]

[kira]

The crunching of the grass beneath feet was heard before the form of a girl rose over the first of many hills. The grounds of Hogwarts was an expansive place filled with many students, some paired off as couples, others in small groups just idly talking the day away, and still others spending the day alone. Kira was among those in the last of the named groups as she usually was, standing at the top of one of the hills and looking about. There was a small group of people stationed nearby under a tree and a couple sprawled out on the grass next to each other a bit further away pointing and staring at the clouds. Perhaps they were naming all the shapes the many clouds formed. For a moment she followed their example and turned her gaze to the sky. It was very cloudy out, the sun appearing for a short time for a moment before disappearing the next behind some other big cloud. In other words it was a good day for her to be outside, not too sunny and not filled with rain. The temperature was decent as well, for her anyway. She never cared much for the warmer temperatures, though perhaps it was because she never really felt that bothered by cold temperatures like some of her peers.

As the wind started to blow a bit Kira found her gaze returning to the earth before her. Her own hand rose, brushing some of her hair to the side and holding it there, preventing it from blowing back into her face and blocking her chestnut eyes from viewing the world around her. There was some trees, though few and far between. Many of them that she could see were already occupied by someone or another, a troublesome situation indeed. After a moment of searching, though, she successfully found one that was unoccupied and not that far of a walk from her current position. Before starting off on the short journey she allowed herself to reposition the bag that hung off her left shoulder to stabilize it more and to prevent it from falling as she moved. Once that was done she felt her feet moving forward, lowering herself from the high point of the hill and moving onward to the tree she had picked out in the distance near the lake. The tree itself had some lower hanging branches, just low enough that she could reach the lowest by jumping up a bit. The top of the tree itself was starting to change a bit in color, making the sight a bit more beautiful than it usually would later in the year. In all, it was a very healthy looking tree which even was in sight of the lake. The lake would be a bit of a walk if she decided to go there next, but even if she did it would not be for a bit of a while since she had only just gotten over to the tree.

After a minute of walking or so the tree was within her grasp, so to speak. As she reached it her hand found it's base and her gaze fell to the surrounding area, looking over all the landscape that was in view. The lake probably was the best view this tree had to offer, but it was better than nothing. For a moment Kira looked around, the few groups she had spotted earlier seemed preoccupied with their conversations or activities enough, in fact they probably had not even notice her as she passed them by. It was not a surprising thing to realize, she was probably very unnoticeable anyway. Usually she was a very quiet person who kept to herself a lot. Because of that she did have to wonder just how many people actually knew who she was, probably not many outside her own house and even within her house probably only those close to her in age. She never spent much time in the common room or even the dormitory. There was no point in it aside from getting comfortable with a good book, sleeping, or something of that sort. Mostly she was up and about, wandering the halls of the castle in search of something that would occupy her after her classes were done. Sometimes she would go to the library, others she might spend just exploring the castle. Today she had decided to seek refuge on the grounds. After all, it was a nice day out and she would rather not waste it.

After figuring no one really had their attention on her Kira turned her gaze back to her tree, looking up to the branches above. After a moment she jumped up, her hands wrapping around that lowest branch before pulling the rest of her up. It was probably a good thing she was not wearing a skirt or anything of the sort, sporting a pair of pants and a short sleeved shirt instead. Once she was on top the first branch she climbed up a bit more by one or two branches, settling on a decent sized one and pulling out a sketch pad from her bag. Looking at her bag for a moment she decided to hang it off the stump of a nearby broken branch, quickly taking out some charcoal before doing so. Once her bag was secure she turned her attention to the view in front of her. From this point in the tree there was not much foliage blocking her view, just enough to frame the picture if she decided to draw that in. Brushing a bit of her hair behind her ear Kira opened up the sketchpad and settled herself down on the branch comfortably, her charcoal finding the paper easily with many quick and precise strokes. She had a good feeling about this sketch, that it would probably turn out really well. Already she could see the picture forming before her and, so long as she were not disturbed by something suddenly, it would probably turn out as she predicted. A masterpiece.

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[frank blaine longbottom]

THERE ARE MANY THINGS I'D LIKE TO SAY TO

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YOU BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW, I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW. [/size][/color]
'CAUSE I SAID MAYBE, YOU'RE GONNA BE THE ONE THAT SAVES ME. AND AFTER ALL, YOU'RE MY WONDERWALL.[/color][/center]

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[kira]

The picture was turning out great, the lake out in front of her as the light from above shimmered off of the waters. There were a few people in her view, but she decided to leave them out, not really caring to have the people accompanying the main subject of her art. The horizon looked rather nice and she could even see the moon faintly in the sky while the sun was out still. It was getting a little late in the day as well, considering how the days were starting to shorten one after another. She did have to wonder how wonderful her picture might have been if she had brought her pastels out as well, but the gray scale made for a more mysterious picture, she figured. Pastels, soft ones in her case, seemed to fit a more imaginative and magical world. Though this was a magical world, her current subject did not so much display that, only the beauty, and perhaps mysteriousness, of nature. That was the thing she was trying to capture the most. Besides, she always figured she might appear as a mystery to others anyway, especially since she never really talked about herself so no one really knew about her. Well except for him, but she did not really want to think about that at the moment.

Looking at her picture she gave a slight sigh. It was only half done for the moment, though it was a bit faster than actually painting the thing. Still something seemed missing from it, or perhaps there was a bit of added feeling in it that she did not like. She was unsure, but she had noticed it lately in her pictures. A sort of emptiness that could not quite be explained lay hidden in her strokes which, though she did love her drawings dearly, just made the picture seem off to her. Perhaps she was just being a bit too critical of her work, like many artists are and were before her. Kira could not help but think that though, even when she tried to ignore it and carry on with her work. It really did bug her quite a bit though, perhaps she was shading too dark or something, creating a bit of a depressing look perhaps. No that did not seem quite right. The more she looked at it the harder it was to decide on the problem. To any other person it might appear just fine, something well done and beautiful, but to her it really did just seem off in some way.

Her concentration was broken by a sound, which she ignored at first. Probably just some person passing by or something. She had more important things to do than spare a glance, but that thought was broken when she heard a voice. When no one else responded she furrowed her eyebrows a moment then looked down to see someone looking back at her. It actually surprised her that he would find her at all, let alone stop and talk to her. Most people did not even notice she was there, of course that would probably be because she was so quiet. This boy, she was certain that he was in some of her classes, though she could not entirely place his face aside from that. It meant that he was in her year, but after that it really did not seem to matter. Kira raised her eyebrow in question at the boy who had called out to her from below, wondering just what he wanted from her to have bothered to stop and talk. He had to want something, there was no other reason for him to speak with her, right?

At his surprised question she had the urge to say something sarcastic, though perhaps that was a little of him rubbing off on her. She stopped her thoughts there and focused back to the boy in front of her. Instead she nodded to him, not trusting herself to say something without being a bit sarcastic for the moment. Frank, Gryffindor she wanted to say. He certainly was not in Slytherin, she could tell that much, and not in Ravenclaw since she had not seen him in her house before. "I'm Kira," she said just loud enough for him to hear. Her voice had always been a bit soft. "Did you need something," she asked, a bit curiously. Like she had thought before, it was unlikely he had stopped to just make idle conversation. Most conversations came from people wanting something, whether it was to dispel an awkward moment or get something from her.

[frank blaine longbottom]

THERE ARE MANY THINGS I'D LIKE TO SAY TO

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YOU BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW, I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW. [/size][/color]
'CAUSE I SAID MAYBE, YOU'RE GONNA BE THE ONE THAT SAVES ME. AND AFTER ALL, YOU'RE MY WONDERWALL.[/color][/center]

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[kira]

The silence hung in the air for quite a good moment as Frank seemed to be thinking over his response to her question. She found it odd that he would not immediately know the answer, but she was filled with patience still. Kira was still unsure about his presence though, his emotions stringing across his face as clear as day, like an open book waiting to be read. She could see some amazement there, some surprise, mostly things she just had not been expecting. It made her all the more curious though as to what he really wanted with her, but it seemed in all his emotions he had forgotten momentarily. A silly thing to do really, but perhaps he had not been able to help it. When he finally did speak she was a bit confused to what he was trying to say. In truth she had never really sought anyone else that might love art, not that she was uninterested but that she really did not want to get to know anyone else. It would just be better that way in the end, and perhaps less painful. She knew both pains now, though it was hard to tell which was worse off.

To say the encounter was becoming a little odd, in Kira's eyes anyway, was a bit of an understatement. She had never really shown her pictures to anyone, usually drawing when she was bored, perhaps sad or, on very rare occasions, excited. It was one of the ways she used to keep her emotions in check. When she was young she had found it helped get out a lot of her negative emotions without having to talk to anyone. Much of those emotions were displayed in her pictures then, though now it had toned down from angry to perhaps lonely instead. She was no longer as angry at the world or at her circumstances. She accepted it, but the prospect of the life ahead of her made her a bit sad, though she did not show it. Lately those emotions that had become deeply rooted within her had shown themselves more through her creative side, whether it was drawing or singing. Her eyes were still on him, a more curious glint in them now that he had his request in the air. Of course after the word please she figured she really did not want to make him beg or anything, besides that might draw attention.

She closed her sketchpad and put her charcoal away as she grabbed her bag. Slinging the bag over her shoulder she climbed out of the tree with grace and landed softly on the ground below. Kira turned her chestnut colored eyes to Frank then, looking at him in examination for a moment before she handed him her sketchpad. "The one I was working on is only half done," she said quietly. There were a lot of pictures of the landscape or rooms around Hogwarts which seemed to hold the most emptiness and isolation feelings, a couple of her father which were perhaps some of the few that were done with such care and lightness to them, some were of animals which had some of the best movements and life, and a little more were of self portraits. Those were the ones that seemed the darkest, for she feared herself most of all, of what she could become if she ever lost control. It was why she valued how well she could control herself and her emotions, so that nothing could go wrong. Well, she could only hope anyway, in truth she knew that something would eventually go wrong. It was just a matter of time.

[frank blaine longbottom]

THERE ARE MANY THINGS I'D LIKE TO SAY TO

[/SIZE][/COLOR]
YOU BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW, I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW. [/size][/color]
'CAUSE I SAID MAYBE, YOU'RE GONNA BE THE ONE THAT SAVES ME. AND AFTER ALL, YOU'RE MY WONDERWALL.[/color][/center]

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[kira]

Kira watched as Frank seemed so absorbed into her artwork. He seemed to scan each page with glee and excitement and she was unsure of how to take such and act. No one had really bothered much with anything that she did when she had been younger. Now that she lived with her father he was very supportive in everything she wanted to do. She knew better than to believe that she could do anything she wanted in the world, but she was happy to know that if she wanted to peruse the impossible that he would be behind her all the way with words of wisdom and intelligence. He encouraged her art and any creativity she may have shown just as much as any wizarding family might support their child learning magic. Unlike before she felt a lot more free and comfortable about her home life and it really did take a lot of stress off of her, even if school just built more on. That was what art was for anyway, to get some of that stress school might bring and take it away from her mind.

Her thoughts were broken when he finally spoke. Leaning over a bit she could see that he was on the picture that she had just been working on before while she had been in the tree. "Thank you," she said as he complimented her on her shading. Shading was something she did relatively well, even in regular pencil. When he looked back to her he seemed even more excited. In truth she found the attention a bit unnerving as she had never really had so much attention thrust on her so much in a single moment. Kira was just unsure of how to respond with so much to so much attention so she fell back to her usual mode, seemingly showing little concern with everything around her and perhaps giving her that appearance that she really did not care if Frank saw her pictures or not, not care that he was there just staring at her as if she were a gift to be treasured in all her glory. Besides, it really did not seem like he wanted to do her any harm, only that he seemed to be easily excitable upon this topic.

"My blending..? Well, I suppose that it depends on what I'm doing and what I have on hand.. I try not to overdo it to much mostly," she said, not quite sure of what answer he was seeking. For her it was hard to explain just how she did things. Like Frank she had never taken an art class either, she just had so much time growing up that all she could do was waste it, as her great aunt liked to think, on drawing or something musical. At least her great aunt seemed to enjoy the music a bit more though. When it came to his next question she paused a moment before providing any answer. "I've never really taught anyone before," she said quietly. At times she really did not have the correct type of never ending patience to teach other people anything, mostly those that were dense or just could not quite comprehend her explanation. She took her sketchpad back when Frank handed it over, a thoughtful look on her face. Perhaps it was her explanations that needed work more than the other people's understanding of them. Her thoughts were broken when Frank posed another question. "I've done a bit of watercolor," she said quietly, "as well as ink painting." She had once done a good ink painting on rice paper of a bird sitting on a bamboo stalk. It was one of her favorites.

[frank blaine longbottom]

THERE ARE MANY THINGS I'D LIKE TO SAY TO

[/SIZE][/COLOR]
YOU BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW, I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW. [/size][/color]
'CAUSE I SAID MAYBE, YOU'RE GONNA BE THE ONE THAT SAVES ME. AND AFTER ALL, YOU'RE MY WONDERWALL.[/color][/center]

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[kira]

She supposed it was strange that she so easily just handed over part of her life to the boy in the form of a sketch pad, but she really doubted he would really question the contents of what was drawn more than the style and art itself since he seemed so eager to learn about how to draw and paint himself. Kira was still unsure about all this though and would rather not give people the wrong idea if they saw her, she who really never spoke to anyone, talking with a very enthusiastic Frank, who could be enthusiastic for any reason. It was a school after all and it seemed that rumors would spread quickly if anyone noticed something out of sorts. Of course she probably was not interesting enough to take note of anyway, and she preferred to keep it that way. "For instance if you use your finger sometimes the oil or sweat from your finger will make a particularly dark smear that just looks terrible. You may not want the whole thing to look like smears anyway, many pictures end up bland that way because it is hard to distinguish too much from it. There are some people who can pull it off though, I suppose," she explained.

At the prospect of being a teacher she still seemed a bit unsure. "I don't think I'm just really suited to be a teacher," she said with a shrug, "I think I might get impatient if a student was having trouble with how I was teaching and that would only make it worse." That and Kira really did not want to see someone that much as it was more chance that the person or people would find out about her. It was her last year though, perhaps things would not end so badly in only a year. "Ink painting is similar to watercolor in a way. It's used more by the Asian countries. They seem to rather enjoy watercolor and ink as mediums. Though the points for painting may be a bit different than what you may be use to. For them it doesn't matter entirely how detailed it is, what they like is simplicity and strong strokes. This style strives to capture the very essence of the object or landscape in only a few strokes. The ink they use also comes from ink sticks and water instead of ink in a bottle. It really is like watercolor mostly. The paper they use is actually rice paper, though. I suppose it is what they had, but that's the traditional paper." A decent explanation she supposed. It was the basics of what she read about it though.

She obviously was not going to tell him a lot of details about her life, he would probably figure everything out if she did even leaving out what she was. After all it was not that hard to figure out if one had all the clues. "I started when I was very young. I had decided to look just a little closer at the paintings that adorned the walls in the house and decided that I would start drawing and painting, it seemed like a fun idea I suppose," she said, once more looking thoughtful. Not to mention it would pass the time and keep her distracted. She also wondered if she could create such beautiful things as well, a monster like her creating something beautiful. Perhaps that was too deep of thinking for a child, but she figured that reason came into the mix at some point anyway. She followed his gaze when he spoke, seeing where he had come from. She had noticed him, well she saw him anyway. Without paying much attention she thought he was probably writing something or making a banner for a quidditch game she really paid no mind of, something to that degree. Not actual painting. When he turned to face the tree again and framed it a bit Kira nodded to his words. "The tree has a nice view of the lake as well, especially when the sun is low in the sky or even if the moon had been out I would guess." She could imagine the moon casting quite a glow on whatever it shined on, and the lake would be beautiful to capture at that moment.

[frank blaine longbottom]

THERE ARE MANY THINGS I'D LIKE TO SAY TO

[/SIZE][/COLOR]
YOU BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW, I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW. [/size][/color]
'CAUSE I SAID MAYBE, YOU'RE GONNA BE THE ONE THAT SAVES ME. AND AFTER ALL, YOU'RE MY WONDERWALL.[/color][/center]

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[kira]

At his next question she paused for a moment. No one had ever asked to watch her draw or paint before, of course she also usually sought solitude whenever she worked. Even so there were times when she might draw in plain sight of everyone, but she was the type of person that could easily be ignored. The other students had never really taken an interest in her and she really did not mind that. Why should she? It was for the best anyway, to keep everyone at a distance. Such a thought probably left her silent longer then she should have been though. "No one has ever really bothered to," she said thoughtfully, "at least not to my knowledge. I suppose I wouldn't care as long as the person wasn't constantly hanging over my shoulder." Being constantly aware of someone watching from over her shoulder would just be annoying and lead to a lapse in concentration for her. It would probably not be long before she told the person to go away so she could actually get something done.

At his comment about natural gifts Kira did not necessarily think that, though she supposed that it could be that she did have such a gift as well. "Or that I just had plenty of time to practice," she said holding back the tinge of bitterness threatening to seep through her voice. It was not the appropriate moment to ponder about her memories. She was a bit grateful for the change in topic, though she still took her time in answering. "I use whatever I'm in the mood for, today I felt like sketching and using charcoal. Aside from that it was also a lot easier to use while in the tree than trying to paint." Painting was probably something she would more try from the view of the tower, perhaps sitting by the lake providing that it was a bit cloudy that day. It just seemed that she could stand the light a little less each year, of course she knew her vampiric blood was also getting stronger within her and making such weaknesses more apparent as well. It was an annoying thought, but it was happening nonetheless so she just ignored it as best as she could.

"I doubt you will meet too many people like me through your life," she said, not really referring to her personality like he was but perhaps making it seem that way. There probably was not too many that could say they were half vampire, let alone half vampires that could draw and paint as well as have her personality traits. Noticing the playful tone he had given his voice to his next comment she simply shrugged with her response. "I'd say I've been probably a few seats over and some seats back," she said, referring to the seating in the classroom as one side of her lip curled slightly to form a small smirk. They were the same year and probably had a few classes together throughout their time in Hogwarts. She could even remember him slightly from when their houses had classes together. Of course she had not remembered his name since she had never really paid any attention.

[frank blaine longbottom]

THERE ARE MANY THINGS I'D LIKE TO SAY TO

[/SIZE][/COLOR]
YOU BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW, I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW. [/size][/color]
'CAUSE I SAID MAYBE, YOU'RE GONNA BE THE ONE THAT SAVES ME. AND AFTER ALL, YOU'RE MY WONDERWALL.[/color][/center]

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[kira]

As he asked his question Kira found her eyes wandering over to the lake in thought. The sunlight was shimmering off its surface in a display of sparkling light that moved with the water, growing dimmer and brighter with each movement. The rest of the water looked dark compared to those sparkling spots, which only made the lights stand out more. It was an interesting display, beautiful even, and a bit distracting. "Well it would be hard to hang over my shoulder if the person was painting, it would be a rather awkward angle to paint at if nothing else. I probably wouldn't mind it so much, though I confess that I'm usually the person doing the drawing or painting," she said with a slight shrug and a glance at him before returning her eyes to the lake. Perhaps some birds would help the scene a little bit more, flying overhead. Though the squid coming out of the water might actually make it more interesting of a picture, perhaps a bit humorous to contradict the beautiful scene if one could see it that way.

At his laughter Kira allowed for a smirk, though she did not join him in his laughter. It had been a while since she had shared a laugh with anyone now and she had a habit of holding such a thing back instead of letting it out. The girls which shared her room probably thought her sour or something, but she would not expect them to understand anything. She certainly did not expect them to find out her secret either in order to hope to understand, so she really could not complain too much. Perhaps she would rather have the misunderstanding than face the truth, but she did not want to face their reactions. It was just too much of a gamble. "I'm not one to talk to many people I don't really know so you could probably blame me a little for not knowing me," she admitted with a shrug. In fact she usually tried to stay away from people if she could, though as she was doing now she would not deny a conversation if the person approached her. That might just make people too curious about her then.

At his hesitant question she remained silent for a moment, not necessarily in thought of what to say but of what not to say. She never really allowed herself to fit in, which may be unlike him who may have tried. Even if she tried she was unsure if such a thing would have worked out anyway. "I prefer being alone so I'm probably not the most appropriate person to ask. Not many people really try to talk to me anyway so it has never really mattered to me," she said, her face blank to hide any impressions that might say otherwise. It was a half truth mostly. She preferred to be alone because she could not risk otherwise and not many people did speak to her. But if she could change herself then perhaps she would not have been so alone and perhaps that feeling of emptiness she could see might leave her drawings. Then again, perhaps she would not have even gotten into drawing at all. Life was strange that way, or so she thought it was.