Adeothorne Kitchens

Adeothorne Kitchens
basement

The Adeothorne Kitchen is an enormous, high-ceilinged room, large as the Great Hall above it, with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans heaped around the stone walls, and a great brick fireplace at the other end. It is where all the food for Adeothorne students and staff is prepared. House-elves inhabit this room and are responsible for preparing meals.

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

A stressed Fatiha has found herself hiding away within the kitchens, a part of her routine that has only been becoming more and more familiar to both her and the house elves. They have largely stopped bothering her about how it would be better if they did things on their own, instead letting her whip up her own versions to recipes in exchange for some of the product. It delights her when she has someone to share it with, considering there's far too much for her to eat it on her own without earning that precious little nickname her mother calls her (it's *Fatso*) and sharing them with strangers feels untimely given the current drama between her yearmates. With her blueberry muffins and lemon sugar cookies sitting fresh out of the oven, she has informed them that they must wait at least five minutes before attempting to eat them and still they must be careful, then turning her back towards the lot in order to switch her conversation towards Mr. Archie Beetlewart, a young ghost. He's telling her about what happened with a handful of fourth years. He's a worry wart certainly, but Fatiha can relate and she tries to exercise patience in coaching him through this turmoil. However, he has made it clear that he only wants to gossip. It's fine; she has time. Specifically, she has five minutes.

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

Kitt has very quickly earned the favor of the house elves at Hogwarts, mostly because he had ventured to the kitchens the morning after his first feast at Hogwarts to thank them for preparing such incredible food. He had spent nearly the entire morning getting to know them all and since then, he has not wanted them to feel like he would forget them so easily, so he has made an effort to visit for a short bit even just once a week. It is not like the kitchens are very far from the dungeons anyway, and he does not mind going out of his way to show them that he cares. They are his friends now too, after all! Almost immediately upon his interest, a house elf named Tack begins chattering away with him and he listens intently, reacting rather animatedly to everything that she has to say. Eventually she tells him that she will go back to work now, and he tells her to give his regards to the other elves after Tack tells him to help himself to anything in the kitchen. The moment she leaves him, he immediately spies a plate of cookies set out on the table and a bright smile immediately illuminates his face. Not even bothering to check if they're still hot, he reaches for one and immediately recoils. "Ah!" he exclaims, before bringing his hand to his face to see if he's been burned. Obviously, he hasn't been, but it did not hurt to make sure. He shakes his hand as if to alleviate the pain before scowling at the plate of cookies almost comically. Maybe a muffin will do instead.

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

Having built up quite the rapport with Mr. Beetlewart, he understands her processes just about as much as she understands his. His arm lifts and cuts through her chest just as someone shouts behind her, causing a flustered and chilly Fatiha to whip her head around. *Hey!* she wants to shout, but she's limited by some restrictive force within her. Instead she withdraws her wand and a flash of blue light from its tip creates a hardened bubble around her sweet blueberry muffins. It's a refined motion, having needed it often over the time she has spent at Hogwarts and also being quite talented at Defense. When his hand hits the shield, she sighs and leans a hand on one of the wooden tables. Fatiha glances down at some startled house elves, smiling at them before lifting her head. "What- What are you doing?" Her words cut quietly through the bustling kitchen, hands fiddling with her wand before shoving both of them in the pockets of her oversized sweatshirt. Fatiha glances behind her, catching a glimpse of a ghost with crossed arms that prompts her to wave a hand of surrender. "I don't want you to burn yourself," she adds as an explanation for her actions, voice pathetic as she frowns at him.

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

Kitt bounces back a bit once the bubble forms around the muffins and he very soon realizes that no, this is not another one of the house elves creations and instead something another student prepared. He immediately feels his face begin to get hot and turn red in embarrassment as his mind short circuits and he fumbles for an explanation. Her tone of voice alarms him; Kitt immediately interprets it as disappointment and that pressures him to scramble harder for something to say. "Uh - The house elf – Tack – She said I could – " *Breathe, Kitt*, he tells himself. He attempts to lean his hand on the table to relax, but he misses and almost stumbles. He quickly regains his balance, and looks back up at her, somehow even *more* embarrassed than he originally was. He did not think it was possible to reach such heights, but here he is. He takes a deep breath, and continues. "One of the house elves said I could get anything I wanted in the Kitchen... I didn't think the cookies belonged to anybody. I'm sorry, I should've checked and I will be more careful in the future." It is almost sad how expertly Kitt navigates the apology; he is very used to saying sorry and promising he will do better, after all. "They look *really* good!" he adds, half hoping to appease her and half out of genuinely being impressed. "Did you make them?"

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

His embarrassment isn't easily hidden from her, and his scrambling leaves her wincing and staring anywhere *but* him. Hopefully that will ease his nerves. To face him properly would be too forward and direct and possibly too intimidating when she wants it to be obvious that she isn't trying to put so much pressure on him, which it doesn't seem as if that's coming across. A little, stressed sigh leaves her before she can stop it and her hand shoots up for her mouth in horror. "Oh, thank you! I did," she admits, not letting his compliments go to her head so easily. Fatiha shoves her hands deeper into her sweatshirt, pulling it down and dragging her along with it as her knees bend just slightly. Her nervous swaying follows before she withdraws her wand and removes the shield from around the treats. "Um... Um, she wasn't wrong. It would be fine. It *is* fine. It isn't something to apologize for. It isn't." Fatiha shuts down for a moment, staring at the darkness of her eyelids as she brings her middle finger to the center of her forehead. A few deep breaths later, she is staring holes into his stomach and she proceeds with caution. "If you want to, taste the lemon treats in about three minutes or so. Wait longer if you're sensitive to heat, and far longer for those blueberry muffins. I don't- Well, please don't burn yourself." An unnecessary amount of guilt has already settled in her subconscious for the rest of that evening for the simple fact that she left something out for him to burn himself on. Realistically, it isn't her responsibility to constantly monitor her peers' behavior and she was turned for only a minute. "Are your fingers all right?" Her gaze shifts towards his hands, waiting for him to turn them over so she can see.

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

Even if he was burned, Kitt rationalizes that he has put up with a lot more and a lot worse (thanks to his 'training', of course). Nonetheless, he sees the way that her gaze flitters over to his hands and he turns them over to show that no damage has been done. "I'm all good!" he proclaims, proudly, as if it is some sort of feat he should be rewarded for. He looks at the baked goods again before looking back at her and smiles sheepishly. "I can wait a couple minutes." he says, "I would love to try them." She seems like a very nice person and while it makes him a bit anxious that he seems to have upset her, he is hopeful about this interaction and of course he jumps at the chance to make another friend. And one who *bakes*, too! How wonderful. "My name is Kitt! Well, Kittichat, but everyone calls me Kitt. Or KK! Because Kitt Kaeomani. That's my last name. A bit hard to pronounce though! The profs struggle sometimes, but it's fine." Upon finishing, he realizes all the additional clarification was unnecessary. That's fine, though! Kitt really likes his name. "I'm new, but I think we might be in the same year." He has seen her around, he's sure of it. "What's your name, again?"

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

While her exposure to Kitt has been limited, the name *Kittichat* perfectly suits the energy that he exudes and she smiles gently and cautiously at this information. In general, his over-explanation is rather charming and also serves as a nice transition out of the tense and anxious situation she had started to feel herself trapped in, holding in a sigh of relief at the sight of his unburned hands. "Fatiha, and everyone calls me Fatiha," she laughs nervously at herself, finding herself funny before quickly beginning to doubt it. It might've been mean, but she hadn't intended for such an effect. Fatiha bites down on the fleshy part of her mouth, glancing down as she attempts to remember him from one of her classes. "Um, you're right. We're in Transfiguration together." And Defense, but she's never noticed. "Which that's nice!" Fatiha smiles after blurting out the words, suffering through the embarrassment and self-doubt as she repeats them over and over again in her head. A few seconds later, she noticeably winces and glances down again. Her smile slides off of her face and she silently reminds herself that she's drawing more attention to it than anything else. "Kitt Kaeomani is a nice name," she tells him, trying her best to be complimentary and trying even harder to pronounce his name correctly. It's pretty, but she is unsure of how he would want to be complimented. Some boys can be so sensitive about that, and she would rather avoid getting told off while trying to say something nice. "Um, and you said you're new... Hopefully, Hogwarts has been treating you well?" It's obvious she's struggling to try to force the conversation along, but she smiles and pretends it isn't that obvious.

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

Kitt chuckles at her little joke and then beams at the compliment. It is not obvious to him in the slightest that she is struggling in this conversation, instead rather pleased with himself that he decided to push for this conversation in the first place. He is quite happy that it's going so well, in his opinion. "It's stellar to meet you, Fatiha!" he says, lighting up. "And Hogwarts is stellar, too." It's evident that Kitt is enjoying his time in Hogwarts greatly. It is just so amazing being around *people*, and he would get into this more but he doesn't want to have to explain the complicated story of his upbringing for obvious reasons. "I was homeschooled before this, so I enjoy being around other students." He is bouncing a little on his heels in his excitement, and when he notices this he makes a conscious effort to cut it out. There is no need to appear that enthusiastic, even though he *is*. "And the classes are so good, too. The professors are very nice!" They have all been nothing short of kind to him, even Professor Hornette, who scares him a little bit. "Have you been at Hogwarts since your first year?"

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

*Stellar?* she questions in disbelief, averting her gaze and instead staring flimsy daggers into the floor. Her fingers are picking at the loose strings inside her sweater pockets as she continues to listen. Fatiha catches his bouncing for the mere fact that she's staring at his shoes, but his stopping forces her to return his gaze. "Mhmm, so... if you need anything-" A memory floats to her mind of someone taking that too literally and she shakes her head as if resetting herself. "If you need help with anything, then you can come to me." Her mother would always tell her that her generosity was one of her only redeemable qualities and that it was probably her best bet at making friends. With this in mind, this might be her one opportunity to become friends with Kitt before she has to face him somewhere else around Hogwarts, unsure of how to get the conversation rolling again. Gosh, this is pathetic. "What made you transfer?" Kitt has an accent, but she doesn't want to just point that out and question if it's because he migrated. It feels disrespectful even if it's coming from a desire to have other immigrant friends.

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

Kitt considers this question, but it's quick and his hesitation isn't obvious. "Oh! I just didn't want to be homeschooled anymore." It *is* true! He did not want to be but he would have never brought it up on his own and he's grateful that it was recommended for him to receive proper schooling. It would be too intense to share the full story of how he ended up in the UK in first place, so he oversimplifies it, not wanting to lie either. "It's a bit lonely, I guess. I'm from Thailand, but I was homeschooled even back then, and when we moved to the UK... My family figured Hogwarts is already *right there*, and it's supposedly one of the best schools in the *world*, right? So I thought it would be a good idea to attend school even if it was just for the one year." In all honesty, Kitt had convinced himself at the time that he would have been able to survive not going to Hogwarts had that plan not fallen through. Now that he's here though, he is certain that he'd have been miserable. It is nice having friends that are not just anthropomorphic animal villagers! "It *was* a good idea. I love it here." He is gushing a little too much, but he doesn't mind. "Everyone has been so kind to me."

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

Fatiha smiles, pleased that he seems to be adjusting so nicely. Hogwarts wasn't an easy adjustment for her, but the information provided points towards him coming from a magical family already unlike herself. A comparison between the two is ridiculous. "Well, it's so nice that that went well for you," she tells him, one side of her mouth curling up a bit more than the other. "And everyone is nice too? Wow..." Her surprise isn't easily hidden, face falling as she wonders how that could be true. While he seems delightful, people are rarely nice to her and she doesn't understand *why*. To find out that someone has had such a difference experience is startling and she wonders for a moment if she *is* doing something wrong. "That's great!" Her voice goes high and she beams before moving closer to him and gesturing him aside so she can inspect the sweets resting on the counter. Fatiha sees no point in trying to bring him down with her nor any reason to project her issues onto him. It wouldn't be fair. "Here." She reaches around Kitt, holding a lemon cookie out near his hands almost pushing it into his. "Try it!"

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

Kitt frowns a bit when her face falls, and he wants to press on the issue a bit further but he's been lectured before about asking questions when it is not his place to ask questions. That effectively keeps him silent. Nonetheless, he is very quickly and easily distracted by the offer of one of the lemon cookies he was so excited to try. He glances at the lemon cookie in his hands before glancing back up at Fatiha again. There was a part of him that believed she would not reward him like this especially after he had tried to get one without her permission, yet here she is showing him this kindness despite what he did. "Thank you, Fatiha!" he says, ducking his head in a little bow in gratitude. Then, he raises the cookie to his mouth and takes a bite. His eyes widen and light up, clearly impressed with how it tastes. This is easily the best baked good he has ever head in his life. "This is – This is stellar!" He finishes half the cookie, not wanting to consume the whole thing right away in case she won't let him have another one. He has to be smart about this and ration it accordingly. "You are *so* good. Wow. Wow!" His amazement is evident – honestly, he looks a little in disbelief over how something could taste so good. "Do you bake often?"

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

Fatiha is good at figuring out when people are being deceitful about her baking or else she wouldn't have improved. His genuine and quite complimentary reaction delights her and she immediately beams, clapping her hands together and bouncing on her toes. Unlike him, she doesn't collect herself and instead allows herself the excitement. "Thanks!" she says, whipping around and grabbing another one so she can taste it. Her face melts before she grins again. Fatiha bites back her reaction, but she's quite satisfied with the new rendition of this recipe. She will have to star it in her notes. "I do! I do. Would you want more? I try to send some to my friends because I can't eat it all or else-" Her hands raise and she lifts them up and down to resemble scales. Saying it is ridiculous, so she bites her tongue. Her mother's voice does ring through her head though. "So, if you love them, then maybe you will love the muffins... and the other things. I can send you some then." Fatiha's grin starts to dim into a shyer smile. "Oh, you really like them? Would you want another?"

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

He grins at Fatiha's excitement. To know that he has incited such joy in her gives him a really great feeling. People should really compliment each other more often, Kitt thinks! Especially when such compliments are so well-deserved, such as in this case. "I'm allowed to have another?" he asks, before his excited smile melts into a more obviously grateful expression. He finishes the cookie in his hand before reaching for another one. "It is *so* good." He stretches out the 'so', as if trying to convey the magnitude of how delicious he finds the treats. "Your friends are very, very lucky if you bake for them often!" he says. Kitt decides then and there that he *must* be friends with Fatiha now, though he was already quite set on it earlier. He does not voice this, of course, because it seems a bit rude to admit that you are want to be friends someone for their ability to create amazing cookies. Of course, there are a multitude of other reasons why Kitt would want to make Fatiha a regular fixture in his life but he holds his tongue in a fear that the words would come out all wrong. "If I had your baking skills, I would just be eating *all* the time." he quips, "This is legitimately the best cookie I've ever had."

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

Fatiha doesn't find her friends to be fortunate at all, but she has been quite the chore to them. Baking for them is the least she could do when she still had them. Avoiding this, she nibbles at the cookie in her hands and watches with excitement as he scarfs down the rest of his first one. "Um, go ahead; have as many as your heart desires!" Fatiha laughs before nervously finishing the rest of her cookie. She pokes at the muffins, finding them still too warm for consumption. "I would love to keep you eating," she adds before her face starts to flush a shade of pink. He's a little skinny, and her instincts tell her to feed him plenty and she loves to. "I'm good at cooking too, or think so anyways! A lot of the house elves think so too... unless they lie, but they don't usually lie. I don't think." Her laughter turns more nervous and a shaky hand rubs her fingers into her temples as she scrambles to recover from this *massive* embarrassment. "Have you had Moroccan food before? It's very hearty."

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

"The house elves are very honest. I'm pretty sure you can trust them." he says, laughing. He doesn't take note of her embarrassment and instead thinks it to be a clever joke. "I would love to try your cooking sometime! The next time you have time to make something, you can tell me and then I can try it and it will be delicious, I'm sure, then I can reassure you that the house elves are being one hundred percent truthful." It would be much more exciting to *watch* her cook, and then he may also be of some help, but of course he does not want to intrude on her time like that or make an offer that she might be too embarrassed to reject. Perhaps she likes cooking in solitude, after all. He isn't very good at cooking himself, so he wouldn't want to screw up anything. "And no, I haven't had Moroccan food before." he says, "I'm sure it tastes amazing, though." Kitt is not a picky eater and will take whatever is given to him, especially when he knows that it was made by the person offering it to him. Cooking seems like such a arduous and long task, and then consuming the food produced happens so quickly. So much effort! It is admirable. "You are so talented... Do you think you'll end up pursuing this after graduation?"

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

His laughter is becoming more difficult for her to interpret as her anxiety worsens, but she reminds herself to breathe and not to start crying. Of course reminding herself of that makes her subconscious want to do it more, but she holds herself together well enough for the time being. "Great! I'll... let you know, somehow." It occurs to Fatiha suddenly that that would require an exchanging of numbers or Witchagrams, but she's never been good at asking. "Owls are convenient enough," she adds, giving him a small smile. It goes shy when his compliment settles in again. Fatiha isn't complimented often, so this is one of the nicest interactions she's had in quite a long time. It's making it even more difficult not to cry. "Oh, no... Um, my plan is to work at the Ministry in their Spirit Division and-" Her heartbeat slows and she pauses, staring at him as if she's just seen something terrifying. Fatiha lets out a nervous *Heh* before her hands bury themselves deep into her pockets again. Something about this position brings her some safety and she breathes in deeply before beginning again, appearing a bit more self-assured. "- provide ghosts with the proper treatment they deserve to lead them peacefully into the afterlife." She smiles. "Uh, what about you?"

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

Kitt listens as she details this plan of hers to help ghosts and join the Spirit Division. It is very impressive to him that she has these goals especially since his own concept of his future is very basic. Cottage in the middle of nowhere, farm, cat. Then, he's all set. He is already smiling just listening to Fatiha but the thought of this dream life of his makes the smile grow a bit wider as well. "I'm not sure yet..." he answers. He should probably be more concerned about this, but he still has months to go before this will become an urgent problem. Kitt is quite confident that he will be able to figure it out by then. "Probably something to do with alchemy... So, I guess an alchemist, maybe? Professor Krishna is helping me look into it, so I'm sure I'll come up with something by June!" The two have meetings every other week, which Kitt is greatly appreciative of. Krishna is his favorite professor and when they meet, he has the opportunity to help her with some potions, which is always fun. "Your whole ghosts thing is so cool, though!" he says, shifting the focus back to her. She is far more interesting than him, after all. "I think it's very thoughtful and kind of you... I feel like people don't care enough about that sort of stuff." Kitt himself has not given it mind, but he makes a mental note to give it more thought even after this interaction. "Do you talk with the ghosts here at Hogwarts often then?"

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

"Alchemy is interesting," she comments, her mind being blown by the very thought of getting into such a profession. It's such a complicated subject, and she wouldn't know where to begin with it. Then again, Potions wasn't her strong suit to start with. Still, Kitt's interest and supposed skill (or else why would Krishna help him?) in it fascinates her and leaves her awestruck. Her mouth even fell open a little bit as she was listening, but she shuts it after finally acknowledging his plans. "I do! Archie, the ghost that was here when you came in, is one of my closest-" The word lingers, turning into a small whistle as she stops herself. Fatiha glances towards where Archie had once been and frowns, but she considers this more and decides it's fine. "We're friends. He's one of the younger ghosts here, so he's one of the easiest to get along with." He's about nineteen and supposedly went nowhere after graduating from Hogwarts. He haunts the castle by choice, and not by the Ministry's doing as so many ghosts do. Airing out his business (though it's quite public) doesn't seem necessary to the conversation though. Besides, it requires a lot of strength for her not to start crying at the thought of his suffering. When faced with the ghosts, it is much easier, but she crumbles often when alone. It bothers her how much the living abuse these poor people. "It's my mission to at least assist the teenagers in moving on... Unfortunately, there are quite a few..." Some are more difficult for the simple fact that their unresolved business is now unresolvable or they don't remember why they stuck around anyways. "Um, my apologies if that's depressing. It's just important to me."

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

Kitt is used to more depressing and more morbid things, so he isn't unsettled in the slightest by what Fatiha is saying. "It's nice that you're friends with the ghosts!" He does not see anything wrong with it. There is no negative connotation being perceived on his end – to him it is a kind gesture and not an indicator of weirdness. "It's good that they have friends... Especially the ones near our age! It must get lonely after being dead for so long." Now that he is giving this more thought, he hopes he doesn't have any unfinished business when his time comes... It would be depressing to just linger in the world of the living. "There's no need to apologize. I think it's very interesting! Very cool and very *kind* too." He stresses the word 'kind' because it is what he admires most about her project. "Hopefully you will be able to help some of them! I think it already helps a lot just listening and talking to them especially when they are not often being given the opportunity to discuss these things." He is trying to offer useful insights to the best of his ability or to be supportive. Then, he adds, "Archie seems nice." He smiles a little bit, looking towards the space where the ghost had been. "I'll say hi the next time I see him around the castle!"

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

His flattery is heartwarming, but she doesn't let it get to her head. It's better to think *business*. "He would love that! Just don't give him too much... dirt. He's a wee gossip," she says, gesturing with her fingers a small amount. It's true that any information Kitt gives the ghost will probably get out to everyone who minds him, which admittedly isn't very many people. Sure, the fourteen year olds love it. "If... Uh, well, if you're interested in the cause, there's an organization I've started. It's called *SPECTER*. We haven't had meetings yet... but once we do, maybe you can find the-" Her eyes go wide as she tries to pitch this to him, riddled with anxiety as she begins to reconsider this. Is it too soon? Is that putting too much pressure on him? Fatiha ducks her gaze, staring down at his chest. "Well, maybe you can stop by sometime! If you would like to. We could use more members..." At the moment, Fatiha is the only one, but she is convinced she can wrap in some of her Ghoul Studies peers.

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

It is good that she mentioned it because Kitt has the tendency to let things slip when he is talking too fast or not being conscious of his words. He takes note of this, but will likely forget. It's fine. He is more cautious than he gives himself credit for, but that is not out of purposefully being secretive – instead, it is just because typically his deep, dark secrets are irrelevant to the conversation at hand. Why he would want to make it a point to bring it up practically unprompted is beyond him. "SPECTER?" he asks, "Does that mean anything?" He feels it's something awfully clever, so he probes for what it could stand for. "Anyway, that would be stellar!" He is so flattered to have been invited despite only having just met her. It must mean he is doing a good job at conversing with her, and this pleases him greatly. He will have to tell Winter about this later... Maybe he will already know Fatiha, and then the three of them can hang out together! (Or four of them! Darshini is *so* nice, too. (Or six of them! Lili and Maya would get along with them pretty well too!)) "When's the next meeting? I will try my best to stop by!"

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

"Society for Progressive Eidolan Care, Treatment and Encompassing Resources!" Fatiha wants to backtrack and tell him that it isn't that clever and it's actually quite messy, but she closes her eyes and breathes in to prevent herself from doing so. She needs more of a spine. "SPECTER," she adds with a small smile. It's easier to breathe knowing he would be interested, but his question brings up more questions than he knows and tears quickly start to come up into her eyes. "I- I don't know. Whenever you're free! We're really flexible." Fatiha tries to grin, but it's very difficult as the tears continue to form. She sniffs and bats her eyes to get the tears away. With the desperate need to deflect away from this, she turns and taps the tops of the muffins before picking one up. It's a little warm, but they're better warm. Her sensitivity to heat is quite low though. "Here! Do you want to try one? It's a little warm, but not hot. Here."

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

"Oh, that is *so* clever." he says, and he is obviously very genuine when he says this, what with the way his eyes light up and his hands clasp together. He takes the muffin from her when she picks it up, looking excited to try it, but then he looks to her face and sees that she seems to be... crying? Immediately, he is worried that he has done something to upset her... It makes him anxious, but he remembers to take a breath and rationalize his way out of the oncoming panic. Fatiha would not have offered him a muffin if she were upset with him. "Thank you!" This is sound logic to Kitt, so he breathes out and smiles. Next, there is the matter of whether or not he should address that she is crying. It is very confusing to him and he is unsure of what to do, so he takes a bite of the muffin first as if to clear his head. He is not sure if that was a wise decision, because he is immediately overcome by how delicious it is and his eyes bug out again because of how impressed he is with her baking. "This is *so* good." He compliments her after swallowing his first bite. "Wow! It's just so... *whoa*. *Thank you* for letting me try." The muffin is so good, he feels the need to express his gratitude for her 'blessing' him with the chance to eat it. Before he takes another bite, he checks if she is still tearing up, then cautiously asks, "Are you alright, by the way?"

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

A small smile starts to form at his reaction, but any glimpse of happiness falls when he questions how fine she is. "W- What? Oh. Um. I'm fine," she rushes out in one short ramble, bringing the tips of her fingers to wipe at her tears. "I'm sorry..." she mumbles before bringing a muffin into her face, eating it slowly as if that will hold her off for longer. "Oh, but you like it? Here. Here..." Fatiha starts before navigating around the kitchen to get to her bags, pulling out the reusable containers she packages treats up in. When she brings them over near the oven she had been using, she starts by adding a few cookies into it before glancing over and then deciding to add two muffins. He can share if it's too much for him. "Um, there you go! I'm glad you love them so much." Fatiha smiles before closing the little clasps and holding it out for him. She hasn't heard such flattery from another human in a while.

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

As someone who apologizes quite a bit, Kitt is quick to reassure her that there's no need to say sorry. "You didn't do anything wrong, so there's no need to say sorry!" he says, but he is quick to change the topic so that they do not dwell on it. He personally gets embarrassed when the topic does not shift away from him fast enough, especially when he is crying or anxious. Hopefully she feels the same and he is doing the correct thing. "I *love* it." he corrects her, "Very important distinction to make! These are too good for the word 'like'." He laughs a little, then notices that she is putting some in a reusable container... for him? His heart immediately swells as he takes it into his hand. He holds his tongue, but he feels so loved right now. That would be such a weird thing to say to a stranger, though so instead he just sort of stares in amazement of her kindness. "I'll let my roommate try them too! I'm sure he will love them as much as I do." Perhaps that will make Winter want to befriend Fatiha too, then they can all hang out together. This is Kitt's ideal scenario. "Do you have a Witchagram by the way?" He sets down the container on the counter, before taking out his phone so that they can exchange users. "I'm *kkslider*. Like in Animal Crossing? I don't know if you play; it's a Muggle game..." He explains, sounding excited and not at all embarrassed. One of their other yearmates had told him it was a bit dorky, but he didn't mind. He loves Animal Crossing, so why should he be ashamed of it? It's witty! "We can follow each other, then I can message you when I'm free! And we can hang out more, and I can attend SPECTER meetings, and maybe you can teach me how to make something too... I don't know! I would just hate it if this is our only interaction."

Fatiha Hassani

ravenclaw, seventh year
ateleia

All of this is just causing too many emotions at once. Fatiha frowns and continues blinking away tears as she gets out her phone to follow him. "I don't play. I've heard of it though... It's really cute." It is, but her parents have always insisted that video games are a waste of time. They are, but she won't say that. It's not that she totally believes it, and she's trying to not say those sorts of things anymore even if she feels pressured to. "What? It's... *kkslider*?" Fatiha starts typing and smiles at his little avatar. Her free hand rubs along her face before she catches herself and it slides down to hide her smile. "Oh, that would be so nice... We should do all of those things. Definitely." Her smile shines from between her fingers. It's a conflicting message with how her eyes still gleam with tears, but she's becoming happier by the second. Does this mean they might become friends? No, she shouldn't get ahead of herself. "We really should. Um, I should start to get going now though... I have a meeting with Riddletross and- I should get cleaned up probably. I'm- I'm a mess, so..." Fatiha laughs nervously.

Kitt Kaeomani

caulerpa, seventh year
paintedred

"You look fine!" he tells her, giving her a thumbs up before picking up the container, ready to bring it back to his dorm. "Good luck with your meeting with Riddletross! Is it about SPECTER? Oh, don't answer that, you might be late." He laughs a little nervously, before his eyes light up again. "You can always tell me later! I'll – I'll message you and ask how it goes." He would definitely like to hear about it, and it's part of being a friend after all. As far as Kitt is concerned, they *are* friends already, and this makes him giddy with excitement. "You will do great!" he adds, "Thank you so, so much again for the muffins and the cookies and... wow!" And for being so kind to him, but that would be weird to say. "I'll see you around!"