the dragon

The linguistics professor was sitting alone in the kitchen enjoying some leftovers as a nightly snack, or rather, an early morning one. She ate making almost no sound, chewing slowly as she let her thoughts go towards her mom. Every now and then the firebender dedicated a thought to her mom, though not as often as she did with her sister or her father. But today would have been her mother’s birthday so it was impossible for the young woman not to think of such things. This very day was an odd one for Ginevra because she was no older than her own mom ever got to be. At her age Cassandra Barnes had already gotten married, had two lovely daughters and died before ever actually experiencing a moment of motherhood. Ginevra was pleased with her own life, especially now more than ever, but she couldn’t help but wonder if there were things she was missing out in life. Who knew how long she still had left. She had lived longer than her mother and her sister, but nothing assured her she would live longer than her father did, especially with such a record of cancer in her family. The professor was abruptly taken out of her thoughts when she heard someone step into the kitchen, managing to startle her a bit by their sudden entrance. A muttered curse left her lips right after she was startled. “I thought I was the only crazy one awake at this hour”.

Isaac found himself staying incredibly late at Clearbrook recently, and it almost brought him back to when he’d lived in the dormitories in the castle. Finding himself growing hungry after spending hours tucked away in a corner of the library where he hoped no one would see him, he eventually got up and decided to raid the nearest faculty break room kitchen. Slinging his bag with papers sticking out of it from every crevice over his shoulder, he sauntered through the halls and only paused when he entered the break room to find that it was already occupied. “Of course not, then how could I find you stealing all this food from the kitchen red-handed?” He grinned and chuckled as he tossed the bag carelessly on an empty part of the table, a few papers slipping out that he didn’t bother to fix just yet before he flung open the refrigerator door. “Hmmm...what to eat, what to eat... do you know if anyone left some pizza in here?”

Carter glanced at all of the news headlines that had been piling up over the year, shaking his head ever so slightly. “That’s it. I am ready for 2017 because 2016 isn’t doing anyone any favors. Who want’s to help me end the year with a bang and start 2017 the right way?”

“You’re way behind, I bought a few kegs this morning. And hired a maid service for January 2nd because I don't expect you'll be doing any of the cleaning, honey.”

The werewolf chuckled and shook her head. “It’s the polite thing to do Isaac.” She wasn’t even the slightest bit surprised by his comment. So with his permission, she snapped a photograph.

“Perfect.”

“Naturally.” He chuckled and held his hands out for her to give him the camera. “Promise I won’t break it. But it’s just as much of a crime not to take some pictures of yourself.”

Anouk could admit that she had been lacking in the physical activity aspect of her life. Lately it has been study, study, study, so for now she was taking a break. A run was a good way to clear her mind anyway, so it was a win win situation. After running a few miles she slowed to a stop and placed her hands on her hips as she breathed out into the cool air when she saw someone in the clearing watching her. She pulled her hair out of her ponytail and let it fall down her back as she walked over. “You act as if you’ve never seen someone run before.”

“Ah, you caught me, I have, in fact, witnessed a person move their legs in a quick fashion before.” He grinned and hopped down from the back of the bench he’d been sitting on. “Haven’t seen you much lately, Katara. I'm surprised to see you're still alive.”

“Now, I have a lot of faith in the costume-making community, but that looks a bit too like a real ghost, I think. Should I ask her for a dance? She’s fairly pretty for a dead girl.”