{Open} staring at the clouds

[dyrius]

It was a quiet afternoon, such times and moments having always been relaxing. Taking in a deep breath, Dyrius lightly shuffled her hooves, her weight pushing the snow into the ground. The air was cold even in the sun and there was an occasional breeze that would sweep by, sending a brief shiver through her. Her 'outfit' today was simple, not wearing anything too fancy or anything. She had on a blank white shirt with a light, black vest over it. The pieces of clothing was still something she was trying to get use to, having worn only small, thin animal skins or sometimes nothing as a child. Even in her later years the centaur wore little clothing until she was required to. Now working at the school, she wasn't actually allowed to be bare chested.

The fashion sense of humans really wasn't all that horrible, though there were somethings she could live without. But, other than those few items, she was relatively content with the clothing. With her tail flicking to the side, swiping at the irritating bugs that were always bugging her, she gradually turned her attention to the sky. There were a few thin, wispy clouds that floated above her, but nothing too impressive. As she stared at the lightly hued blue sky, she remembered how her father would tell her how her and her kin were able to read the stars. But, it was something she had hardly attempted to do. Occasionally there were times where she could maybe predict some minor events, like the weather or whatnot, but nothing that she could really show for.

What made her feel ashamed of her lack of skills, though, was the fact that she had been unable to do anything about the attack on the school. If she was stronger in that area, perhaps she'd be able to help prepare the school for the attack. Perhaps she would've been able to keep so many from dying. Swallowing hard, the female centaur lowered her head faintly, wrapping her arms around her chest as she let out a sad sigh. She had lost a few friends in the fight, all of them, in fact. She hadn't had many friends to begin with, and the few that she had begun to build a bond with had been killed. It broke her heart to think that, even now after it had been almost two months since then. As she stood there, her hooves weakly pawing at the snowy ground beneath her, she failed to hear the sound of crunching snow from behind her.

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[amadeus]

Amadeus didn't give a damn that he wasn't supposed to be in the forest. Hardly batted an eye at the fact that dangerous creatures that could kill him in two seconds flat resided within the trees. Essentially, the young man had abandoned all hope- a month away from fifteen and he was already a world-weary old man inwardly. Yes, Amadeus was made uncomfortable by the idea of death, but he wasn't actively trying to avoid it at this point. His cutting, which had plateaued for a little while, had taken another downward turn. He had been making more of them, going deeper. There wasn't anyone around who cared enough to stop him anymore.

The physical pain, he felt, kept him in the present. Prevented him from becoming numb. Though Amadeus felt he probably could allow himself to sink into that pathetic state of apathy he had been in shortly after Ascella had died over a year ago- he had already effectively pushed everyone away, had sealed his own fate. Really, the only company he had now was in a single thestral. Most of them were apprehensive of him, keen to keep their distance, but one- an elderly one that had gone lame in its left hind leg- had been seeking him out.

Amadeus had just come from the clearing the the forest after spending time with the grotesque-looking winged horse, and that was when he had spotted the groundskeeper. Damn. Surely she had heard, or seen him come from the Forbidden Forest. Amadeus didn't care about getting in trouble, wouldn't even flinch at deduction of house points, though the lecturing he couldn't stand. Or perhaps it was the attention just on him that he wanted to avoid. He stood still a moment, holding his breath, though the centaur seemed much too focused on gazing at the sky. Perhaps if he was lucky she might stay distracted so he could sneak away...

[dyrius]

Flicking her tail to the side, the hairs brushing over the pelt of her left flank, Dyrius was practically oblivious to the boy that stood in the trees behind her. But, as she drew herself from her mind, the centaur finally heard the small movements that he made. Tensing faintly, her front right hoof smacked the ground as she quickly turned her head around, craning her neck to see who was there. The groundskeeper relaxed, though, as she spotted the blonde teen. As her shoulders slumped forward a bit, releasing a sigh of relief, it took her a moment to realize what he was doing. Or, at least where he was coming from. Frowning faintly, she stared at the boy for a moment before speaking. "Were you just in the woods?", she asked, though her somewhat harsh tone made it sound more like a statement then a question.

As she turned herself fully around, her hooves crunched in the snow, kicking up small clumps of snow as the icy particles stuck to her hooves. Her tail flicked off to the side again, lightly tilting her head as she looked down at the boy. She couldn't say she recognized him, which made her a bit uneasy. But, of course, she didn't know too many of the students that resided at Hogwarts in the first place. Still being relatively new to the school, Dyrius was still trying to find her place amongst the school and staff. She knew little to no one now, especially after the attack though now she was a bit nervous and hesitant about talking and trusting others.

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[amadeus]

Amadeus should have known that it wouldn't last, he didn't know much about the centaur gamekeeper, but he had hoped she might fall into the stereotype of her species- gaping at the sky for hours on end, completely ignoring everything else. Though he figured it was stupid of him to think that way. Obviously, this one was different, what with her working at the school and everything. Amadeus didn't even flinch at the tone she used with him, only blinked slightly, inwardly dreading the lecture that was bound to come. A year ago, he would have had attitude in him to give a snarky reply, but now he didn't even feel like it.

"Yes," Amadeus said plainly, his empty grey eyes holding her gaze, not an ounce of shame showing on his expression. He could have lied, he was good at it, but he simply didn't have the care in him to make the effort. Amadeus would take whatever punishment the centaur was going to dish out on him. Whatever it was, he had probably given himself much worse. He tucked his hands into his pockets, in vain efforts to warm them because of the chill on the air, bracing himself for exactly what he had been hoping to avoid.

[dyrius]

As she watched the boy, the blonde centaur lightly raised an eyebrow as he answered her without even a hint of taunt or hesitation. It surprised her, really. Usually, whenever she caught a student doing something they weren't suppose to be doing and knew that they weren't suppose to be doing said thing, they usually tried to come up with some kind of lie or excuse. But, this boy did nothing like that. He didn't give any kind of excuse as to why he was in the forest or give any lie to her. If anything, that alone caught her attention. Lightly tilting her head, the female centaur watched him carefully, easily reading the hollowed look in his eyes. It was sad, really, to know that this boy and so many other children were mentally scarred for life and there was no doubt in her mind that there were others who were just as badly broken if not worse.

Lightly sighing, Dyrius couldn't get herself to scold or punish the boy. After all that had happened, she knew she wasn't the only one who needed to find a way to escape. It concerned her, yes, but she couldn't punish him for it. "...If you're going to do that, stay close to the edge. The darker creatures remain deeper in its depths.", she warned, lightly turning away from the boy. But, she felt as though there was something more that needed to be done. He just seemed so empty, so lifeless. Glancing back at the blonde teen, the centaur hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "...Would you perhaps like a cup of tea?"

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[amadeus]

Amadeus continued to hold the centaur woman's gaze, watching her mull over her thoughts. He knew how this was going to go. She would scold him, hand out a detention, perhaps take a few house points away, and then he would be free to go. Or at least, he thought that was how it was going to go. She actually managed to surprise him by saying that if he was going to go into the forest, that he should at least stick to the outside edge. That had certainly not been what he was expecting to hear. No trouble, no punishment, and it seemed that as long as the groundskeeper were the one to catch him, he could continue going.

That, Amadeus found difficult to believe. Though he would take it. Something about spending time with the lame thestral soothed him. It was as if the creature knew his pain. But with their strong association with death, he wasn't really surprised. Maybe the thestral could even sense his thoughts of death... The centaur then surprised him again, offering a cup of tea. He figured he ought to accept, she had just done him a favour... "Um, sure," said Amadeus. And truthfully, he was quite lonely, and the groundskeeper seemed like she might be good company.

[dyrius]

Dyrius gave the boy a faint smile, happy that he accepted her offer. She had been a bit worried that he would decline because of what she was as she knew quite a few who had before. Witches and wizards weren't always the best creatures to be around, and she knew that. But, really there was no creature on earth that would be pleasant completely. There would always be a rotten apple in the bunch. Nodding her head, the centaur gestured for him to follow her, the groundskeeper leading him to her small hut. Before the attack, the Headmistress had been gracious enough to alter the hut for her to help fit her needs. It wasn't very big as it always had been, but the roof was raised a bit more. Which was of great help to her and allowed her to gain easy access. The doorway was large and they had removed the steps, instead putting the hut flat on the ground.

As she pushed the door open, she quietly stepped into her small hut. There wasn't much in the hut, but as she was raised in a simple life-style, Dyrius wasn't one who searched for materialistic things. In the far right corner was a small heap of straw that she used as her bed. Though, in a way, it wasn't really what one would call a bed. More like...well, simply a pile of straw. It suited the centaur, though. Off to the side there was a small iron stove that she occasionally used, though not commonly. Opposite of that was a large fireplace, the tool she used most often. There were a few other trinkets here and there, but other than that, the one- room hut was empty. There were no chairs, seeing as the centaur had no need for them, and the only piece of furniture was a small, thin wooden table near the fireplace and a small wooden post where Sabio was resting.

"Sorry, I don't really have a place for you to sit. You can use the table, though. I don't mind.", she said, looking back at the blonde boy before she busied herself with preparing the tea. Her hooves landed heavily onto the wooden planks of the floorboards, personally wishing for a dirty covering, but it was considered as unclean in the human world.

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[amadeus]

Amadeus wasn't sure what to think of the smile that she had given him, it seemed... Normal, genuine. Not the ones of pity that he got from everyone else, those supposedly understanding, sympathetic expressions. None of them could possibly know how alone he felt, how much pain he carried around, how much he was taking it out on himself... There was hardly a comfortable resting position because of all of his cuts, the ones that were still healing stung as the fabric of his clothes rubbed against them. It hurt to apply pressure to them. Though he was used to the physical pain, he felt wrong without it.

It had alarmed him at first, how strange he felt when he wasn't in some sort of pain, though Amadeus had come to accept it. He followed behind the centaur into the hut situated at the edge of the forest. The inside was meager at best, no furniture spare for a table, and a perch where an owl was asleep. In the corner was a pile of straw, presumably for sleeping on, and that was the sum of it. Though Amadeus figured it might be enough for a centaur. From what he knew they didn't really live in buildings, but rather took refuge in dense forests, not unlike the one he had just been in.

Amadeus never went in deeply enough to come across the Forbidden Forest's herd, though he knew they lived there. "All right," said Amadeus when she said that he could sit on the table, owing to her lack of chairs. He could probably transfigure a chair, he was quite gifted in that area of magic, though he didn't see the need to show off like he used to. Amadeus simply slipped onto the table, the bends of his knees meeting its edge. He looked around a bit, unable to come up with anything to say. It must be nice to live so simply...

[dyrius]

As her tail flicked faintly from one side to the other, Dyrius went to the small cupboards that were near the iron stove, pulling out a small teapot. She quickly ran some water through it to rinse it out in case there were any sort of dust particles in it before filling it up and setting it on a hook that was attached to an iron pole over the fire place. As she went about getting things for the tea and to help feed the fire, she occasionally glanced over to the blonde boy. "Is there a certain kind of tea you'd like? I have Jasmine, Darjeeling, and I think I have a herbal tea, somewhere.", she offered, looking over at him as she waited for an answer. As she watched him, though, she finally realized that she had yet to learn his name, which she felt was very rude of her.

"Oh, and forgive me, but I don't believe I caught your name.", she said quietly, lightly smiling in hopes that she didn't offend. She had met a few witches and wizards who would grow a bit angry when asked their names. She had never quite understood why they would become upset, but she had just assumed that it was because she had asked an incorrect manner. She was unaware of how to ask properly, though, as humans had such odd characteristics at times.

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[amadeus]

Amadeus absently scratched the back of his arm as the centaur went about fixing tea. It wasn't terribly effective, what with the sleeve of both his jacket and his long sleeved shirt, though he didn't dare raise his sleeve even an inch. Only two people had seen his cuts, and one of them was dead... Amadeus swallowed a lump threatening to form in his throat, he was still very touchy about the subject, even just thinking on it was terrible. He met the groundskeeper's gaze once more when she asked what kind of tea he preferred. "Oh, um, whichever, it doesn't matter," said Amadeus. Having grown up in a home where afternoon tea was a daily occurrence, he was fine with any kind of tea.

And now, given his emotional state, he found it difficult to care about the things that he ate or drank. Not that he had ever been too particular in the first place. A brief pause lapsed before the groundskeeper asked for his name. "Malfoy," said he, lightly swinging his legs, "Amadeus Malfoy." Hopefully, the centaur didn't read the Prophet, he didn't want to hear the sympathy over his sisters. He hadn't wanted it after Ascella's murder, and he definitely didn't want it now.

[dyrius]

As he spoke, giving no preference to which type of tea he wanted, Dyrius took the one that was in her hand, not even sure herself which one it was. Closing the cupboard, she brought the tea leaves to the pot and put them in. Now, they just had to wait. As the young boy gave his name, the centaur looked at him with a smile. "That is a very lovely name.", she commented, the name Malfoy not even registering in her mind as familiar. As a child of the wilderness, her kind was usually disconnected from the human world. Therefore she knew nothing of the battle that had taken place or the people involved with it. She didn't both to meddle with human's troubles, which was why she stayed away from the wizarding media papers. Briefly glancing out her window to be sure it wasn't getting too dark, the groundskeeper eventually looked back to the student.

"I'm Dyrius, by the way. Just in case you were unaware.", she stated, not fully sure if he knew her actual name. Shifting her hooves a bit beneath her, the female centaur wondered if it would be appropriate to lay down, wishing to get comfortable. But, she would have to stand again soon once the tea was finished, so perhaps laying down would be useless. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing in the woods, anyways?"

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[amadeus]

Amadeus wasn't quite sure what to make of the centaur, having never really spent time with one of them before. He knew the basic guidelines for not offending them, though nothing else, really. He did know that were his parents to find out they would be enraged at his associating with a "filthy half-breed," though he didn't put any stock into what they thought anymore. Sure, he had once shared that elitist thinking, but Amadeus wasn't that person anymore. He hadn't been since Ascella died. Thankfully, the centaur didn't seem to make any connections with his names, as he had hoped that she wouldn't, and instead complimented his name.

"Um, thanks," said Amadeus, having never really been complimented on it before. Usually, people found it too frivolous, or otherwise old-fashioned, he himself had been mostly indifferent. He at least thought it better than his middle name- Riordan. He merely nodded when she stated her own name, having never been one for conversation. Though before silence could settle over them, Dyrius had asked what he was doing in the forest. "I, um, spend time with the thestrals. Or the one that's taken a liking to me, anyway, the rest keep their distance," said Amadeus, vaguely surprised how open he was being with Dyrius.

[dyrius]

While waiting for the boy to respond to her question, the teapot began to squeal, the steam rushing from it's spout. Grabbing a piece of cloth that rested on the table Amadeus was sitting on, she carefully took the pot off of the hook and away from the fireplace. She placed the hot, metal pot on the iron stove and quickly poured out two cups for them. Giving a moment for the leaves to settle at the bottom, she eventually returned to the boy, handing him his cup. "Ah, yes. Such wonderful but mysterious creatures. They can be rather nice to have around at times.", she said, lightly smiling at him, holding no sense of taunt or mock in her tone or expression. She had spent a few times amongst the herd they had here on the grounds. But, she also knew of how gentle the seemingly dark, harsh creatures could be.

During times such as this, they seemed especially good for company. She had seen a few students who knew of the creatures going to them. After the battle, she had no doubt in her mind that there were many that would be able to see the Thestrals, which was a bit of a saddening thought. Dyrius herself had always been able to see them. At least, that was how she considered it. She had seen the brutal, bloody death of a herd mate once when she was a youngling during a fight that had gotten beyond out of hand. The young centaur had been careless and stupid to be frank, and he was a fool. He became trampled to death after trying to pick a fight with a member of an enemy herd. It had been a frightening thing to see and it still scarred her to a point even at this age.

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[amadeus]

Amadeus vaguely watched as Dyrius tended to the whistling kettle, quickly pouring them both a cup of whatever tea it was that she had used. He quietly thanked her as he was handed a cup. He curled his hands around it, only then noticing how numb they had gone because of the cold on the air. Amadeus looked down in his cup a moment, looking at the leaves that had sank to the bottom, wondering vaguely if there was any truth to reading of tea leaves. He had never taken the class, but he had heard of it, of course. He looked up at Dyrius' comment about the thestrals, glad he was not met with any disapproval at his choice in companion.

Then again, centaurs did have very different values from witches and wizards. Perhaps they didn't attach such a negative stigma with them, simply because of the fact that they were so strongly tied with death. Though he did wonder, had Dyrius seen someone die? How else would she know how they behaved? "You can see them, too?" said Amadeus without really thinking on it. He mentally slapped himself, that hadn't been the most... Tactful thing to say. But why was he caring so much? He had never used to mind offending people, gone out of his way to do it, actually... "I shouldn't have said that, sorry," Amadeus quickly added.

[dyrius]

Dyrius glanced briefly at him as he spoke, taking note of the light surprise in his expression. She took no sense of offense, though from the question. It had been a simple question, one that was relatively harmless. She only had to give a simple yes or no response, not give her entire tale of why she could see the creatures. As she took a small drink from her cup, the blonde-haired centaur gave a faint chuckle as Amadeus quickly apologized. "There is no need to apologize, child. There is nothing wrong with a sense of curiosity.", she said calmly, her tail flicking faintly as she smiled at the boy. She was clearly aware that some people might be hesitant to answer such a question. But, in her mind, as horrible as it was, there was no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed for seeing a death. It was horrible, yes, but, as much as she knew all living things feared it, it was a natural thing that had to happen eventually.

Of course, that gave no justice or reason to those who killed, especially those who had so much more to experience. That was why the thought of the Death Eaters who had so shamelessly murdered the students of Hogwarts sickened her. There were so many who had died who had so much more to experience and live through. They were so young, so inexperienced. Lightly rolling her shoulders as she brought her thoughts back to the question that had been asked, Dyrius eventually spoke once more. "But, yes, I can. They truly are unique beasts."

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