Shapes in the Fire (Micah)

[Lisanne Moreau]

It was strange how the castle was always damp and cold, even when it was warm outside. Of course, they were never there in the full heat of summer, so maybe it was different then. But today had been one of the warmest days so far, and yet there was still a draft in the common room, and the fire was crackling merrily in the fireplace.

It was close to midnight now, and Lisanne had been sitting in front of that very fire for the last two hours, trying in vain to study. Instead, what she was actually doing was watching the fire. She liked to pick out shapes and images from among the flames, and could often amuse herself with this for long stretches of time. It was far more interesting than her Charms homework, at any rate.

She knew that the room was quiet, and that it was getting late, but she didn't know that there was only one other person in the room until that person spoke to her.

[Micah White]

Micah had finished all of his work earlier, after forcing himself to sit in the library after dinner until he had finished every essay and assignment. It wasn't that he hated working on things, it was the essays that killed him. He never seemed to write enough, but when he really tried, it always seemed like he wrote too much. He didn't feel like he could ever win with that.

When he was done taking a nap, he ventured into the common room with his sketchbook. That never left his side; he said it was because he never knew when he would need it. He sat in a chair to the side of the fire, a location that gave him just enough light to draw by, but enough shadow in which he would start seeing shapes in it. He loved being in an environment like this, with just enough shadows. For some reason, it made him feel more creative.

He finished a drawing of...something. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but decided it could possibly have been a cabin by a waterfall, and named it as such before he flipped to a new page. He looked over to his right and saw someone sitting there. He glanced up at the clock before replying.

"You're up late. Working on something?" He asked, leaning forward in the chair.

[Lisanne Moreau]

Lisanne gave a slight start and immediately began looking around until she found the source of the voice. She dimly recognized him as a sixth year, but she couldn't quite remember his name. Michael? Something that began with an M...

"Oh, hi," she greeted him with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Yeah, I was trying to work on something, but I keep getting distracted. Stupid, really... Have you ever noticed how the fire seems to make shapes sometimes?"

She let out a slight giggle then, sure he must think she was the biggest weirdo in the world. Who stays up at night to stare at shapes in the fire?

"What are you working on, if you don't mind me asking?"

[Micah White]

Micah smiled; he would have thought her as odd if he didn't take inspiration for drawings from the shapes his eyes found in the shadows. After all, he thought that was more strange than shapes in the fire.

"I've never looked into a fire long enough to know, but the way it dances always distracts me as I'm trying to draw." He said with a laugh. Truth be told, he hated sitting anywhere near a fire. It always scared him; when he was a kid he was afraid the fire would jump out and catch him. He supposed that was why he was so bad at potions; he hated having to heat anything.

He looked down at his sketchbook and flipped back to the page he had just drawn on. He got up and walked closer to her. "I'm not sure, really. I just like to draw and see what comes of it." He said as he handed his sketchbook to her. "I think it's a cabin and a waterfall. Or... something like that." He said with a laugh as he sat beside her.

[Lisanne Moreau]

"You don't even know what you drew?" Lisanne said, surprised. Painting was one thing; she'd heard of people painting abstract things and not knowing what they meant. But drawing an abstract thing seemed a little stranger. But she liked it.

Looking at his picture, she turned it over a few times, squinting down at it appraisingly. "It's very interesting," she said. "If you look at it just right, it looks like a herd of wild ponies running free across the plain."

[Micah White]

Micah scrunched his nose up at her description. Ponies? Micah chuckled under his breath; he was always entertained by other's ideas of his drawings, especially the ones he drew without a clear picture in his mind.

"Ponies, huh?" He said, taking his sketchbook back from her gently. He held it at an arm's length away from his face, and turned it slightly to the side. "Well, I guess if you squint." He said, and flashed a grin at the girl.

"I'm Micah, by the way." He added. He tried not to sound as awkward as he felt. He never knew when to introduce himself, so he seemed to always throw it in at odd times. What if she didn't want to keep talking to him, but now had to since he told her his name? He thought the worst that could happen was she'd excuse herself to bed, and he'd have to talk to her tomorrow.

[Lisanne Moreau]

"I have a tendency to see things that other people don't," Lisanne replied brightly, as though this was perfectly normal. "My dad always taught me to look at things another way and look for the things that others miss. I guess that makes me weird, but I don't care. There are a lot of things that go unnoticed by people, and I try not to let that happen to me."

She looked at the picture again thoughtfully, then smiled. "Well, whatever it is, it's pretty. I like it."

She looked up at him then and noticed that he had a very nice smile. It made her feel a little warm inside, and she smiled back. "Nice to meet you, Micah. I'm Lisanne."