[Katrina Wells]

You romanticize the feast and famine

Paralyzed by fear of failing

The sun shone bright down on the well manicured lawn of the Wells family home. The house sat atop a tall hill looking down at the other houses below them in Gray Pebble. Everything about the house was pristine. The neatly trimmed bushes, the vibrant and colorful flower beds, the large fountain in the middle of a roundabout drive way. All that led up to the large brick house with its bright white columns in the front.

There were cars taking up the entire drive way all the way down to the gate. Very nice cars that glinted sunlight off of them. The doors of the house were all open with music, conversation, and laughter spilling out. There were a few young children outside as well. Two dark haired boys were wrestling in the grass, staining their nice clothes. While two other girls with their long, dark hair sat on the covered patio and watched them in the shade. One clearly antsy and wanting to join as her leg bounced up and down. But their dresses remained untouched by dirt.

There were a few people walking around the party with trays. Some holding drinks others holding little snacks. There was also a long buffet table with a line of different foods and trays of cold drinks offered. Katrina stood near a back wall, holding a glass of sparkling water that she hadn't really drank. It mostly just gave her something to do with her hands. There were so many people around it made her feel anxious. The wind kicked up outside as she shifted in her spot and cleared her throat. Her parents loved throwing their parties.

Well, mostly her mother liked throwing them. And people seemed to like coming. Though she supposed the promise of free food and alcohol was enticing to most people. Her parents made their way around the party playing the good hosts. Her older brother JJ was standing near the entrance to the dining room with his fiance. Nicholas was hiding somewhere. He was always good at that. There were a few times people would come up to Katrina to talk to her. She'd smile sweetly, nod along with whatever they said, laugh at their joke. Until eventually they left her alone.

A few of her friends were out in the backyard by the pool. Enjoying the sun even if they weren't allowed to get in the water.

Tag: Noah St Cloud
Hope this works! I'm not fantastic with starters lol. Let me know if you need to tweak or add anything!

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","NoahLpostlyric"]JUST AS A FLOWER DOES NOT CHOOSE ITS COLOR,[break]
WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT[break]
WE HAVE COME TO BE[break]

[break]

[attr="class","NoahLpostingbox"][break]

OOC: sorry for the wait for this mess x3[break][break]

---

[break][break]

Ever since Noah first arrived in Los Eurosia, a familiar gift had been falling into his arms like a fickle lover who couldn’t commit themselves to staying away.[break][break]

At first, it seemed an impossible task to narrow down who it belonged to. He’d simply been glad it was making an appearance in his life at all. However, with so much time on his hands he'd decided to try closing in on it. Noticing how often he’d picked it up at Sebastian’s parties. Using maps to mark where he was at every other time the power came into his possession. Until finally he had a general radius marked down of where it came to him most: Grey Pebble, within a mile or two of one mansion in particular.[break][break]

Looking up at the huge, pristine building, Noah was glad he’d chosen a reasonable home in West Hook rather than such a flashy estate. Way too much space. Way too ostentatious for his tastes. Still, the showier of his two cars blended right in with the other vehicles parked on the driveway, so perhaps his tastes weren’t entirely opposite after all.[break][break]

Though the gift buzzing through his veins told him the weather was in his control, he kept it sunny for the time being. He was only there on that day because there was a party (the fancy kind – not the hedonistic chaos-gatherings that Basti would throw), giving him a reasonable excuse to show up and get to know the inhabitants, and he’d decided beforehand not to mess with the weather until he could see if anyone reacted more strangely than others once he stirred it up.[break][break]

No one stopped him as he strolled through the entrance, smiling and nodding his head to any guests who made eye contact. He didn’t stop to talk to them, however. Not when there was already someone he had in mind to approach first.[break][break]

Socialites loved to be at the centre of attention. Emblazoning their name wherever they could, making sure every donation, every good deed was seen by their peers and the public as much as possible. Because of this, he knew the names and faces of the family who were throwing the party. Knew to look for Katrina Wells: the youngest, a doe-eyed girl who would probably be the easiest to gain the trust of and convince to show him around.[break][break]

Dressed in a white button-down shirt with black slacks and a tie, his initial plan had been to pick up a tray of champagne flutes and pretend to be one of the staff, but neither the hosts nor guests would necessarily want to talk to him if he did that. He figured he could pass as a chaperone of sorts. A guard, if the Wells family were into that. Or with their similar dark hair and brown eyes, maybe he could even pass as a relative of Katrina’s. What were the chances they were actually related? Since his family had the same gifts as one of hers might? The matriarch did sort of look like his mom…[break][break]

He withheld a snort and stifled the urge to roll his eyes at himself, focusing his thoughts back on the task at hand.[break][break]

It didn’t take him long to spot Katrina standing on the edge of a room. Alone. Perfect. He approached her from the side and pretended to take an interest in the high ceilings, his face tilted upwards to look at the detailing as he walked.[break][break]

“Oof–” He exhaled upon the purposeful collision. His hands shot out to steady her before she could fall. “Oh God, I’m so sorry, are you okay?” Wide-eyed and brows sloped together in concern, he released her arms yet kept his hands hovering over them as his gaze rapidly flickered over her in search of injuries. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”[break][break]

The gift was strong, with a wide reach. If indeed it belonged to one of the Wells family, he imagined it would belong to one of the parents. And the best way to get a parent’s attention was usually via their children.[break][break]

Sheepish grin in place, he stepped back out of her personal space and held out his hand for her to shake. “Sorry. Hi, I’m Noah. My uh, ‘date’–” he briefly lifted his free hand to form quotation marks around the word – “seems to have run off somewhere and now I’m just trying not to break anything. But I kinda forgot I should avoid walking into people just as much as I should avoid walking into prized vases.”


[break][break]

[attr="class","NoahLPostTag"]Tag: Katrina Wells

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe:400|Roboto:400,400i,700]

[Katrina Wells]

You romanticize the feast and famine

Paralyzed by fear of failing

There was security around the property. Some guards that her father kept on mostly when they had a lot of people over like this. He couldn't have his eyes everywhere and wanted to make sure no one was stealing anything or snooping in places they shouldn't be. Normally he kept one security officer at the house just to make sure no one was coming to the house that didn't belong there. But Ken was a good man and usually let the kids sneak in and out. Or let Katrina bring her stray cat in the house at night.

She was so distracted watching the crowd of people in front of her Katrina didn't notice someone coming towards her until she started toppling over. She let out a surprised squeak and spilled some of her water until she was grabbed and righted again. Her face flushed bright red as she turned to see who'd bumped into her. An apology already on her lips. Before the stranger apologized first. Right, he'd bumped into her. She wasn't supposed to be the one apologizing. Still, she flicked some water from her hand and set her glass down on a near by chair. "No, no I'm okay," she said softly with a reassuring smile.

She couldn't help but giggle though as he claimed his date had wandered off without him and he was trying to avoid breaking anything. It wasn't uncommon for some of the wealthy girls that came to the party to wander off from their dates. Normally trying to flirt with one of her brothers. Which didn't work as well now that JJ was married but Nicholas seemed to like the attention. Sometimes. "Uh, I'm Katrina," she offered with a warm smile as she wiped the remaining dampness from her hand on her dress. Something her mother would have had her head for. "If your date abandoned you, I could keep you company until she comes back," Katrina offered. Her parents would want her to be a good host right? Be nice to the guests?

Tag: Noah St Cloud
Let me know if you need to tweak or add anything!

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","NoahLpostlyric"]JUST AS A FLOWER DOES NOT CHOOSE ITS COLOR,[break]
WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT[break]
WE HAVE COME TO BE[break]

[break]

[attr="class","NoahLpostingbox"][break]

The girl was blushing, clearly flustered by the small scare he’d given her, but his apologetic act seemed to do the trick as she giggled and appeared to relax. Her response was friendly – not at all the reaction of a brattish snob-princess that he might have expected from a teenager who’d grown up in such a ludicrously wealthy household. Thank God. His patience surely would have thinned quickly if she’d given him an attitude or made a scene because he’d spilled a little water.[break][break]

Within seconds she was offering to keep him company, and Noah did not have to fake his surprise as he blinked at her, brow raised. “Oh, that’s really kind of you.” Really helpful. There he’d been, thinking up a million different ways to convince or trick or force her into it, and she’d simply crossed out that step of the plan and laid out the next one on a platter. Was she being a good host? Or was she just a bit naïve? “Thank you. I don’t know many people here.”[break][break]

‘Many’ being the key word. Indeed, while the majority appeared to be strangers (not really his crowd) there were one or two faces he recognised from various Grey Pebble parties, way back from when he’d first moved to Los Eurosia. He doubted they would acknowledge him, let alone approach him in this type of gathering. Not with their wives or husbands on their arm who might be inclined to ask how, exactly, they knew each other.[break][break]

“So what are you doing over here on your lonesome? Waiting for someone? Hiding from someone? Had enough of the party already?” His eyes narrowed, but the smile tugging at his lips made it clear that his suspicious glare was playful rather than serious. “Or maybe… maybe this–” he gestured between them – “wasn’t an accident. Maybe you saw me wandering around like a lost puppy and put yourself in my path to keep me out of trouble, hm? Is that it?”


[break][break]

[attr="class","NoahLPostTag"]Tag: Katrina Wells

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe:400|Roboto:400,400i,700]

[Katrina Wells]

You romanticize the feast and famine

Paralyzed by fear of failing

Katrina was perhaps a bit too naïve for her own good. Nicholas had said as much a few times before when he was picking her up from a scary situation she let herself get dragged into. But she simply wanted to be nice. She knew what it was like to wander aimlessly around a place. Feeling abandoned and awkward with no idea who most of the people around you were. She hated that feeling. And she certainly didn't want anyone else to feel that way. At least not if she could help it. Besides, her parents had wanted her to mingle. To talk and interact with the guests.

Though perhaps they'd expected her more wandering around and talking with the guests. Not hiding herself against a wall that she wondered if she tried hard enough she could blend into. As he pointed out just how she was hiding and not being as social as the others Katrina felt her cheeks flush with more heat again. "Ah, no not hiding," she insisted. Even if she was in fact kind of hiding. But she wasn't sure how to answer. She was Jeremy and April Wells' daughter. She was supposed to be social and bright and fun. But this wasn't anything like the beach bonfire parties she went to. Or the clubs her friends would sneak her into. Or the bars she would sneak into to perform at.

Then he suggested that she purposefully put herself in his path to stop him from breaking anything and Katrina giggled. "Ah, you've caught me," she said in a sort of playful guilt. That was at least better than claiming she didn't know how to interact with a bunch of strangers who wanted to get into her fathers pockets or good graces for one reason or another. When her sister had been around it had been easier. She'd had a buffer between her and the strangers. A light to help her navigate through a treacherous ocean of obnoxious laughter and fake smiles. But with her sister gone she'd been feeling a little lost at these parties.

"If you'd like I could show you around?" She offered. It would be better than just awkwardly standing against a wall right? "You can look around and I can make sure you don't break anything," she said with a sort of playful teasing. "And maybe we can find your date?" Hopefully not wrapped Nicholas.

Tag: Noah St Cloud
Let me know if you need to tweak or add anything!

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","NoahLpostlyric"]JUST AS A FLOWER DOES NOT CHOOSE ITS COLOR,[break]
WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT[break]
WE HAVE COME TO BE[break]

[break]

[attr="class","NoahLpostingbox"][break]

While Noah had only been kidding around about her hiding, she was all-too quick to insist she wasn’t, which made him think she was. Something to prod at later, he decided, after they’d built up a bit more trust. It would be good to know if there was someone she was avoiding so he could use their ‘presence’ to usher her along to other rooms.[break][break]

The offer to show him around was met with a bright grin. Perfect. “That… sounds nice. If you don’t mind, then, yeah – thank you.” He turned so he was standing by her side and offered his arm for her to hold onto, momentarily shifting his expression into something playfully sombre. “I pledge myself to you, o kind and knowledgeable one. Where you lead, I shall follow.”[break][break]

As promised he let Katrina decide their path and pace, happy to be guided while he learned the layout of the mansion. Still, he stirred up a breeze as they passed a group of guests, watching closely for their reactions as the light wind played with their hair. But they continued their cheerful conversation as if nothing had happened, probably assuming a draft had come in through one of the open doors, and he mentally crossed them off the list of potential suspects. Sure, it had been a very minor change in weather, but someone who had control of it most of the time would surely notice if it was being influenced by someone else.[break][break]

Glancing down at his companion, he smiled warmly. “You must’ve been here a few times, then, if you know this place well enough to show me around.” He was playing dumb. Doing his best to make it look like he wasn’t playing the age-old socialite game of ‘befriend the rich people’s impressionable kid’. He quirked a brow at her. “Are you close with the hosts? I think they’ve got a few sons and a daughter around our age.”[break][break]

‘Our age’ – he inwardly cringed at himself. She was ten years younger than him! Yet he’d heard that college girls liked being seen as more mature (and hadn’t that been a creepy conversation to involuntarily overhear in a nightclub bathroom), and he supposed she might feel more relaxed if she could consider him a peer and not some weird older man.[break][break]

---

[break]

OOC: sorry this is a mess >.< made a couple of assumptions, let me know if you’d like me to change anything!



[break][break]

[attr="class","NoahLPostTag"]Tag: Katrina Wells

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe:400|Roboto:400,400i,700]

[Katrina Wells]

You romanticize the feast and famine

Paralyzed by fear of failing

His grin was met with a bright and warm smile of her own. "I don't mind at all," she insisted sweetly as he moved to offer her his arm. Katrina let a giggle bubble past her lips but hesitated before she took his offered arm. Her dad wouldn't like it if he saw her walking around with a stranger. Especially not a boy. But she was pretty sure he was fairly distracted at the moment so maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

She led him down showing him the open sunroom where light filtered in through the large windows. Dancing across the glasses of champagne on the table while people sat in the sofa's and chairs in the room. Talking about nothing terribly important. Just down the hall from that was one of the sitting rooms where soft piano music filtered through. Her sister in law sat at the piano playing while another woman stood next to her with a baby on her hip. There were some built in shelves in the wall on either side of the unlit fire place. "This is the usual sitting room that gets used for entertaining because just through those doors," she motioned to some wide double doors on the opposite side of the room. "Lead to the big dining room," the one she and her brothers never used.

Her sister in law did a double take at seeing Katrina with a boy she'd never seen before. But as the confusion passed over her face Katrina quickly ushered herself and her current companion out of the room. Before she got any questions. She continued showing Noah through most of the common spaces that were used for entertaining. The back patio that led out to the large backyard with a swimming pool not far off. As she'd been going to show him to the kitchen the sound of her moms laugh made Katrina stop short before she walked right past it.

Bringing up that she must have been to the house a few times made Katrina laugh a bit. "Uh, you could say that," she said with a small shrug. Though as he brought up them being close in age she gave him a curious look. Katrina hadn't remembered telling him how old she was. And most people assumed she was younger than she actually was. "I um...yeah I live here," she finally said though in a quieter tone. "There's a library down that hall," she said quickly, mostly in hopes to change the subject. "It's one of my favorite spots in the house, there's this big stained glass window my dad had installed for my moms birthday one year and it's so pretty and peaceful," and had all the books she could want to get lost in.

Tag: Noah St Cloud
Let me know if you need to tweak or add anything!

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Noah St Cloud]

[nospaces]

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","NoahLpostlyric"]JUST AS A FLOWER DOES NOT CHOOSE ITS COLOR,[break]
WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT[break]
WE HAVE COME TO BE[break]

[break]

[attr="class","NoahLpostingbox"][break]

Throughout the tour Noah listened intently, not having to feign his interest as he committed the building’s layout and all of Katrina’s little facts to memory. It seemed she was only showing him the mansion’s main rooms, not the private ones, but that was to be expected – maybe he could take a peek later on.[break][break]

During their time in the backyard, he stirred up a breeze again and sighed contentedly at the feeling of it in his hair. As far as he could tell, none of the guests were acting suspiciously. But socialites like them tended to learn to control their expressions, he supposed. Uncovering his target wouldn’t be as easy as picking out the sole poppy in a field of daisies.[break][break]

There was one woman who had looked at him – or maybe at Katrina – with a particularly confused look on her face, and he’d been tempted to ask for an introduction. Yet it seemed his young accomplice had noticed the woman too, for she was abruptly more keen to usher him out of that room than from any other.[break][break]

Finally, she admitted that she lived there. Noah whipped his face towards her with wide eyes and parted lips, ready to play up how he really had no idea and jokingly chide her for keeping him in the dark for so long. But she appeared eager to brush past the subject, leaving him to tilt his head and blink down at her, perplexed. Was she embarrassed that he hadn’t recognised her? Or was she embarrassed because she was ashamed to be who she was – a rich girl? But that couldn't be the case; everyone at the party had to be rich. So, did that mean she didn't like her family and wanted to distance herself from them?[break][break]

There were a number of different explanations for her behaviour, none of which he could confirm unless he asked her directly, yet he imagined it was too soon for that and only chuckled lightly, shaking his head. “Forgive me for my ignorance, Miss Wells.” He lowered his voice teasingly as he spoke her name, bumping into her side. “If my date was here she’d be appalled. But whatever, that library sounds nice.”[break][break]

Maybe there was a desk in it. The sturdy kind with locked drawers he could pick. There could be archives – old documents and articles linked to the family that he could peruse – or simply some first editions and pretty collectors’ items he could come back to ‘borrow’ on another day. Rich people loved that kind of thing but didn’t really notice when they went missing. With so many possessions, it’s no wonder they failed to keep track of them all…[break][break]

Plus, if the window was as pretty as she claimed, it might be something Tawny might like to see – whether by memory or by photo.[break][break]

“Can I see it?” He took a step in the direction Katrina had indicated, gently tugging her arm. “C’mon, I’m sure no one will mind. I want to know what taste in books you have. Maybe you can recommend me some new ones.” He was assuming she liked to read; it would make sense, if the library was her favourite place in the house.



[break][break]

[attr="class","NoahLPostTag"]Tag: Katrina Wells

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[googlefont=Mr Dafoe:400|Roboto:400,400i,700]

[Katrina Wells]

You romanticize the feast and famine

Paralyzed by fear of failing

Katrina inwardly cringed when he referred to her as Miss Wells. It made her sound like her mother. If it were up to her Katrina would have long since changed her last name by now. She had no problems with being attached to her siblings. To being known as JJ and Nick and even still Bianca's little sister. They gave her confidence, safety, love. But she didn't like the kind of attention her last name attracted.

The Wells family was an old family in los Eurosia. Dating back to the founding of the city. The name of her great-great-great grandfather was written on plaques in the city. Her father, his father, and his father before him all helped build and establish some kind of law or building or business in the city. And even those that didn't pay attention to the history of los Eurosia usually knew the name from seeing her father, and occasionally JJ, on tv or at different functions. Most people seemed to only care about the power, status, or money that was attached to the Wells family name. As well as the attachment to her parents it forced on her.

But Katrina knew better than to voice those thoughts. If she did at best she'd be seen as a spoiled, ungrateful brat who didn't appreciate everything that her parents did for her. "Oh it's not a big deal really," she settled on with a less convincing chuckle. Not as bright and easy as her previous laughter. "I'm the youngest so most people know more about JJ," she shrugged before he turned the conversation back to the library. As grateful as she was to not be talking about her family life anymore she also didn't want to take him somewhere he wasn't supposed to go either. "Um, well, I'm not really supposed to..."

Then he was stepping down the hall and tugging at her arm for her to follow him. Katrina tensed and chewed on her bottom lip nervously. She could practically hear her sister in her head screaming for her to just say no. That she could still be a good and nice girl that didn't agree to go along with everything. But...he seemed so interested. And it really was just a library. And he seemed so interested in it. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad? "O...kay," she finally settled. Her eyes darted around her quickly to make sure no one was watching them before she led him down the hall to the heavy oak doors.

They opened up to what appeared to be a clearly added on wing of the house. The large room was filled with multiple shelves stuffed with books with deep, warm wood floors. In the middle of the room were four desks that had been pushed together with chairs pushed in. A plush dark blue rug underneath with a bay window facing out to the side yard to let in lots of light. Katrina closed the doors quietly, still clearly more than a little nervous. "To the right past those shelves leads to my fathers study but he always keeps the doors locked," he always claimed he had important documents in it that he hadn't wanted his children or any housekeepers to mess with. Katrina didn't know what the documents were. "It's were he does all his boring work stuff with a all his papers."

Her face brightened up a bit more as he motioned down the opposite side. To the left from the entrance there seemed to be a little nook behind more shelves. "This way is where I like to read and study," she said as she tugged him towards the area. The nook seemed more comfortable. There was a window seat beneath the large stained glass window. The sunlight bathing through it painted the ground in soft purples and reds and blues and greens in the shape of the flowers along the glass. There was a beanbag chair pushed into the corner next to the window with a fuzzy blanket laid across it. Against the far wall next to them was a smaller desk with a cup filled with pencils and pens. "My mom doesn't really come back here anymore so I just kind of turned it into my space."

On the shelving built into the wall were various types of books. All organized seemingly based on type and alphabetized. On one end were thick law books. Things Katrina kept around and would occasionally brush up on from when Bianca had been alive and wanted to be a lawyer. Next to those were books on psychology and sociology. While Katrina's biggest passion was medicine she had picked up an interest in the human mind. How people worked and functioned. What made them tick. Different philosophies on life and human nature. Something she, as much as she hated to admit it, picked up from her mother. Next to those were her biology, anatomy, and medical text books. Things she used for study for school and just because she'd always been fascinated with the human body.

Then at the very end, closer to where her beanbag chair was positioned, were books most people would expect from a woman her age. Young adult romances, books on self discovery, queer representation, horror, and mystery. Fiction and fantasy that were more used as a way of getting lost. Traveling somewhere else mentally for a little while. Things like a young trans man falling in love with the ghost that haunted his house. Revolution against a dystopian society by a group of angry teens. Surviving in a post apocalyptic world while being disabled. Fairies, vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, and goblins.

Tag: Noah St Cloud
Sorry this is such a mess! It just kind of got away from me ;~; let me know if you need me to change up anything at all or give you some more to write with!

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Noah St Cloud]

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[attr="class","NoahLpostlyric"]JUST AS A FLOWER DOES NOT CHOOSE ITS COLOR,[break]
WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT[break]
WE HAVE COME TO BE[break]

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Although clearly uncomfortable (both due to his apology and his insistence on seeing the library), Katrina caved in to his request and led him down the hallway. It was becoming more and more obvious that she was a bit of a pushover. Great![break][break]

“Yay~” he purred. “Thank you, and don’t worry – no one’s gonna know I was here.”[break][break]

They slipped inside and closed the doors behind them, which muffled the sounds of the party substantially. The library was vast and full of natural light, boasting a warm colour scheme and shelves almost overflowing with books. But with the desks positioned at its centre it reminded Noah more of a university than a home. And he decided, like the rest of the mansion he'd seen so far, it was too grand for him to imagine living there and liking it. Too picture-perfect. Almost like a movie set.[break][break]

Katrina swiftly piqued his interest by informing him where her father's locked study was, where he did his ‘boring work stuff with all his papers’. Kids. Noah suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. They could be so naïve: paper was gold if it had the right words written on it.[break][break]

She tugged him in the opposite direction and though disappointed he didn’t try to resist. There was no need to tip her off on what really interested him. He could be patient. Especially since Katrina looked much happier showing him her favourite part of the library with the stained-glass window she’d mentioned; he was earning points for just letting her talk to him about it, he was sure.[break][break]

The window depicted two birds in flight over a river, with either a sunset or sunrise on the horizon and flowers framing the scene. The sunlight pouring through it created pools of colour against the ground and transferred to their clothes and faces when they got close enough.[break][break]

“It’s beautiful,” he told her honestly, giving her arm a light squeeze before unlinking it from his. “I can see why you’d want to spend a lot of time in here.” It was certainly cosier and more ‘lived-in’ than the rest of the room he’d seen so far, with a beanbag and a soft looking blanket and a desk with coloured pencils and pens on top.[break][break]

He turned his attention to the books, his brow immediately raising when he was greeted with a wall of law tomes. He tipped his head slightly to read the titles and lightly brushed his fingers along the shelf as he walked beside it.[break][break]

“Hah,” he breathed. He tapped his fingers against the shelf twice. “Y’know, I’ve actually read all of these.” He glanced over his shoulder at her, brow lifted as he grinned. “But do I remember it? Have I retained any of that information? God no.” Though, perhaps he was doing himself a disservice by saying that. He could remember the important bits – the stuff involving crimes that he was more likely to commit than others and thus needed to know any loopholes – but for the most part the law was best left to the friends of his that actually majored in it.[break][break]

He brushed past the apparent non-fiction section, which was mostly populated with psychology and biology textbooks. It was a little amusing that (academically at least) this young girl seemed to have similar interests to his own. But he wasn’t there to tell her about his uni days or extracurricular activities, so he didn’t comment.[break][break]

“Stories are a lot easier to remember. A lot more fun, too.” The next bookcase was a little more colourful. Judging by the spines alone they were all very clearly Young Adult books. Titles that were simply a single adjective seemed to be popular, as were titles that included royalty-related nouns such as court, crown, throne, kingdom, queen, and rule. Noah wasn’t sure he recognised any, and it didn’t help that his mind was half elsewhere; he still very much wanted to get into the Wells' patriarch’s study.[break][break]

A plan was already forming in his head. A pretty damn basic one, but with how trusting Kat seemed he figured it could work. He turned back to her with a smile. “You got a favourite?”




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[attr="class","NoahLPostTag"]Tag: Katrina Wells

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[Katrina Wells]

You romanticize the feast and famine

Paralyzed by fear of failing

There were several people who referred to her as a pushover, when they were being kind. She'd been referred to as much worse before but upsetting others wasn't easy. Saying no, setting firm boundaries, these were things Katrina could advocate for for others. But she was still working on herself. And how was she expected to say no to just showing someone their library. It was just full of books. Katrina was certain that there was nothing that could be harmful about that.

As he commented on how beautiful the little area, or perhaps more importantly the stained glass, was Katrina couldn't help but smile. "My dad had it custom made inspired by he and my moms honeymoon." Which she thought only made it more sad that her mom didn't spend as much time with it anymore. Though, she supposed her dad was always getting her new things and perhaps she just didn't think about this one thing as much as she used to. Which was fine by her. It gave Katrina her own space in what was otherwise a rather stuffy library. If anyone were to ask her most everything in the house was too picturesque. Too perfect. But saying that out loud would make her seem ungrateful for all the privileges this far too picturesque life provided.

As he seemed pulled in by the law books Katrina wondered if he was studying to be a lawyer like her sister was. When he claimed that he'd read all of them without actually retaining any of the knowledge she chuckled softly. "My sister had been in school to be a lawyer, those were all hers," Katrina mentioned with a small shrug. "I like brushing through them sometimes but a lot of the legal jargon can be really confusing," she admitted with a slightly bashful chuckle. She was perhaps downplaying her own knowledge as well. Some of the stuff was rather wordy and confusing but Katrina had picked up somethings so far. At least enough to help Nicholas if he ever got into deep trouble. "I'm studying to become a trauma nurse, I think figuring out people is easier than figuring out how to keep people out of jail." And perhaps keeping people breathing was easier than keeping them from behind bars.

As he inquired more about her fiction section as opposed to the nonfiction she turned her eyes to the more colorful books. Their covers more intricately decorated than the law or biology texts. "I don't know about a favorite," she said a bit thoughtfully. Katrina was known to read several books at once so picking just one while in the middle of three different books was difficult. "I'm reading this book called A Court of Thorns and Roses right now that I think is interesting so far." She reached forward and plucked the book from its place on the shelf.

A rose red cover with gold lettering on the front with a depiction of a wolf with an arrow in its neck. "It's about this young woman that gets taken by a fae lord after she kills one of his men in the human realm. There's this curse over the land that makes it to where all the members of his court are forced to wear these animal masks and trying to fight off worse fae that are attempting to break into the court and-" as she realized she was starting to ramble Katrina's cheeks flushed a light pink color and her eyes lowered to the cover with a bit of a bashful chuckle. "I uh...I think it's supposed to be a sort of more mature Beauty and the Beast retelling but it's the first book in the series," she said as she slid the book back into its slot. Certain he'd be uninterested in a romance novel.

"I also really like the book Blood Marked, it's technically the second book in the series but it's all about demons and exorcisms and mystery." High fantasy was generally a favorite of Katrina.

Tag: Noah St Cloud
Sorry this too me literally forever to respond to! If you need any tweaks or changes or need a little more to work with let me know!

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM