"That's just asking to get bit," Rin informed her seriously but accepted the candies all the same.

"Bit! NOOOOO. I just love animals! I am reading about them in my magazine. I wanted to read up on animals as well as magical creatures. I guess that is why I am so nosey when it comes to animals in general."

"You're going to get bit one-day," she said matter of factly, unwrapping the orange candy. "Or pecked. Or poked. Scratched. It's an inevitable part of an animal-lover's life, especially one who just goes around petting random animals. You should not have pet my head when you did. I was selecting food. Those pesky little fox-instincts told me to shake you off immediately because you were going to stop me from taking food. Higher reasoning saved you a trip to the infirmary. Remember that."

Chase meowed impatiently from Fade’s shoulder while the duo stood just outside the door to the Ravenclaw common room. “It won’t take the answer in cat.” Fade smirked and closed the book he had been reading to scratch his cat under the chin. “What five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? That’s easy. Short. Just like me.” There was a moment's pause before the door cracked opened. Fade rolled his eyes at his own self deprecating comparison, and stepped into the common room to see who was back from their first lessons.

“Hey guys.” Glancing around Fade wondered why the others were calling Amanda, Char, (()) but he figured she had her reasons. Maybe the girl wasn’t his old neighbor at all, and instead was some new person who was creepily familiar looking. Speaking of what was considered creepy… Was that a ghost? Off to the side of the small group Fade noticed an opaque apparition. (()) Having grown up in the muggle world, seeing ghosts in the castle always mesmerized him. Not to mention that it was truly rare to see anyone besides the Grey Lady inside this particular tower.

The longer he watched the ghost the lighter Fade's hair started to become. Just as it was verging on white, in that moment Chase decided that he was board of Fade’s shoulder, and leapt to the ground, breaking Fade’s unconscious concentration. “Sheesh. Less claws next time maybe?” Rubbing his shoulder Fade’s hair once again darkened to become a steely blue. “Why did I even bother to bring that cat?” He wondered aloud soliciting a sassy backwards glance from said cat.

[img align=right]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd186/boldaslove11/charlotte.png[/img] "I bet there are some things that are better as a fox though! Like....hearing things!" She laughed inwardly at her awkwardness. Foxes have big ears right?

"My horses do a lot to keep me sane." She felt a nudge at her ankle and looked down to see her cat Luna. She smiled and picked her up adding, "Oh and Luna of course," as she scratched the cat behind her ears.

Char noticed Fade come in to the room, with Chase on his shoulder. His hair changed color briefly (Cooool!), and the cat hopped down and wandered away. Smiling at her neighbor she waved and walked over to him. "Hi Fade! I started going by my middle name over the break, after my grandmother Charlotte. In case you were wondering why they were calling me Char!" She smiled nervously and hoped this wasn't too random to tell him right away. She added hastily, "I hope your break was good!"

Hannah made a rhino paper animal and wrote pray, peace and jelly beans on it before setting it on fire and throwing the ashes out the window the night before. She had heard of some horrible news from her sisters letter who watches the world news and thought it best to write those down. The jelly beans was something her sister wanted her to write down because she wanted to have some for Christmas. So she thought it might help her remember them for Christmas for her.

Lapis emerged from the dormitory and padded softly into the common room. Her potions notes were still in her hand as she still found it hard to leave her studies in the pursuit of socialization. She no longer needed to pore over the animagus spell, however, so she could finally take some time to get to know her fellow Ravenclaws. Her eyes briefly went gold, her pupils narrowing to feline slits when she saw the fox () gnawing away at a candy wrapper. But then she paused. She wasn't necessarily ready to shift forms in front of her classmates, even if there was another animagus amongst them.

"CHASE! I have missed you!" Gaia pulled out some jerky she was saving for her feline friend. "Nice hair, Fade" Rolling her eyes Gaia waved at her friend () "How are ye?" Then she noticed little Luna coming over and got some more jerky out of her bag. "How are you Luna? Long time no see!" () "Animals are the best aren't they?"

Gaia looked up long enough to notice someone coming down the steps. () "Hi Lapis! How was your break?"

Hi Gaia... my break wasn't too bad. Lots of practicing with runes and the like. Spent some time camping with my mum and dad. I'm happy to be back though. I was starting to get bored.

()

At the words runes Gaia stopped petting Luna and Chase and looked up "RUNES? How was that?!? Did you get any messages from beyond!?"

Rin blinked at her. "Of course. Canine hearing is approximately ten times greater than that of a human's. Sense of smell, too, although that one can be a bit over-stimulating. I find the absence of complex emotions to be the most...beneficial part of that form."

Roman was unsure how to feel about being compared to a "sassy fairy." But he nodded his head and agreed to be the kitchen lookout. "There's not much of a taste," he replied, "In the beginning, I felt this uncomfortable constriction--like my body was being squeezed through a tube. It's not so bad anymore. But drain pipes are still awful with the occasional phantom sewage smell." He shuddered, wondering how Myrtle lived in a lavatory.

Roman turned just as the red fox transformed into a small girl (). He blinked and found that the creature really suited her red hair and freckles. He noticed Charlotte () enter and nodded his head in greeting toward her. There were so many girls in the common room, he noted, suddenly wishing he could disappear.

He bit his thumb nail and watched Hannah () jot down a note before igniting it. He stood next to window and watched the burning pieces flutter over the current, then disappear. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Rin's head swiveled around and she frowned at the ghost. "Oh," she said after a moment.

"Deal, then! We do homework and you be my lookout." Gaia stopped for a moment and had a thought. "What if we work on a spell that can help you smell nice things again? Would that make things better?"

"Yeah, just something my Great Grandma showed me to do. She said, "Burning it connects to those close to you and the world." I can understand a little what she meant by that. "I'm sorry I don't think I caught your name?" said Hannah to the ghostly figure.

Fade grinned at Char ((@/Literature)) and nodded, she must have noticed him staring. “Just another thing we have in common. My break was good, got my mom to open up a little bit more about my Grandma. Now that I’m actually trying to practice… Well, whatever it is that I can do.” Generally most metamorphs had the ability to alter their physical appearance in ways to make themselves appear to be something else entirely. Fade’s own abilities barely extended much past the emotionally triggered changing of his hair color.

Meanwhile, Chase gleefully trotted over toward Gaia and bumped against her legs impatiently. Fade smirked at Gaia’s comment. “Is that why you copy me?” Defiantly he stood up, and a few moments later his hair color matched Gaia’s exactly. Trying to get it to grow longer, even just a little bit, he sucked in a deep breath and tensed his muscles. But to no avail. Letting it out in a huff, his hair returned to his own color. “Well, you get the point…” He grinned again breaking the serious expression. “Kidding aside, that color rocks.”

With his book in hand, Fade crossed to his favorite plush chair and flopped into it. Just close enough to the fireplace to stay warm, but just far enough away to prevent his knuckles from burning when holding up a book. Not that it was cold enough yet to elicit lighting a fire, most nights it was lit regardless. Fade wouldn't complain one bit. He liked the smell of burning wood, and the way the flickering flames cast shadows up the walls.

() Gaia laughed when her friend got so tense. "You know we are team hair! I do not copy... I make it better! Also you might be able to grow it longer if you just relaxed and think about the length. Like when doing a spell. You were thinking really hard there..." laughing Gaia returned her attention to her feline friends, but before Fade finished getting himself comfortable she threw a candy at his head.

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/P91uS2X.png[/img] Beth entered the common room. She lost track of time reading her Potions textbook outside in the courtyard.

She quickly noticed the group of students gathered in the middle of the common room and waved hello. "I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing break. I'm glad to be back. What are you most excited for this term?" she asked as she approached them.

Gaia looked up and said "CLUBS!" then she got up and hugged her friend. () "It is so good to see you! How was your break?"

Aderyn entered the common room, stepping lightly down the staircase from the dormitories. She fluffed her hair a little bit, wobbling as she let go of the railing lining the steps, still getting used to having her feet solidly on the ground again. After spending nearly the entire summer with her grandmother, she was more used to being fae than being human and gravity was not yet her friend again.

Smiling lightly as she glanced around and saw her fellow Ravenclaws mingling, she stepped onto the landing and strode toward the fireplace, her slippers shuffling along the floor as she walked. She reached the fireplace moments later and paused before it, adjusting her glasses on her nose before reaching out to warm her hands a little. Though it was only early fall, the slight chill in the air was enough to have her gravitating toward the heat of the flames.