take the storm away [aase]

The early August sun bore down oppressively on Shelby's hair. She wished she had dyed it when Freya had suggested - long blonde hair would be so much lighter than this mess. She pulled the hairband out of her falling ponytail, trying once again. to get that messy bun look that Freya had rocked that one time. Shelby caught her reflection in the lake - it was already falling down. Sighing, she pulled the hairband out again and let it go back onto her wrist. Her hair was too dark and heavy to do anything with, once again.

She glanced over her shoulder - no sign of Aase yet. Shelby had found a quick moment alone with her older cousin last night at dinner, but only a moment before Shelby had to run off to hang out with Isis (an apology for being so cranky when the American had moved into her cabin). Still, it had been enough time to confide to her relative that Shelby was having a lousy few days. They hadn't even been that lousy, really - she was just feeling bad and overthinking every interaction she had all camp. Very normal.

Aase, kind soul, had found a free spot in both their schedules to have a heart to heart. Shelby had some notes on what she wanted advice on, written on a loose piece of paper folded up in her shorts, and now she was just waiting. Shoes neatly beside her, Shelby kicked her bare feet off the side of the dock into the water. Now she couldn't see her reflection. For the best.

A blurry shape came up behind her in the reflection. Shelby turned her head. "Hi Aase," she said, smiling with a brightness she didn't really feel. Shelby patted the space next to her on the dock.

@Aase Trickett-Cassoway

Aase hummed quietly to herself as she made her way down to the dock, her sundress rippling gently around her knees with each passing breath of wind. Her thick dark curls had started to work themselves loose from her braid again, framing her head with a million tiny fly-a-ways, and she’d forgotten her sunglasses so she needed to raise a hand to shield her eyes. She thought she spotted an equally-dark-haired figure at the end of the dock; right where her cousin said she would be.

Truthfully, Aase had so many relatives that she frequently forgot exactly how she was related to most of them. Some of her technically-aunts-and-uncles were only a couple of years older than she, after all, and so ‘cousin’ was usually the safe bet. Aase didn’t mind in the slightest, though – she was simply thrilled to have such a close-knit family.

In any case, Shelby had sought her out at dinner last night and asked if they could find some mutual free time to talk; their chat at the time had been brief, but long enough for Shelby to mention she’d been having a difficult past few days. Aase had agreed without hesitation, and upon comparing their schedules she found a time that worked reasonably well for both of them late the next morning. A few tweaks were needed on the Hufflepuff’s end to fully optimize things, but it was no matter at all – Shelby was much more important.

As she got closer it became clear that the figure was, in fact, Shelby sitting on the edge of the dock. The wood creaked softly beneath Aase’s feet, and the gentle lapping of the water against the pylons was hypnotic. Her cousin noticed her when she was about two strides away.

“Hi!” Aase replied brightly with an equally radiant smile, very briefly laying a hand affectionately on the top of Shelby’s head (she belatedly hoped she wouldn’t take offense – it was closest in proximity, and Aase often greeted her family with a brief touch); the younger girl’s hair seemed to absorb the heat as much as her own did. She nodded at Shelby’s [neatly] abandoned shoes and promptly shed her own, as if to say ‘great idea’ to the concept. The dock was delightfully warm under her bare feet, and Aase happily moved to sit in the space Shelby had patted beside her. She took a moment to look out over the brilliant blue-green expanse before them, so dazzling in the August sun that it nearly blinded her; the water just barely skimmed the bottoms of her feet if she flexed them.

“Learn anything new, or fun, or both today?” she asked with a genuine smile. Hopefully starting the conversation off on an optimistic note would help boost Shelby’s spirits and frame of mind.

Being a ‘mother hen’ type, Aase of course wanted to know what specifically was troubling her bright-eyed and brilliant cousin – but didn’t want to make it seem like that was the only reason she was there. Aase valued spending time with her family in any form or function, after all. In this case, she’d decided she would let Shelby drive the ship on how and when to bring up what had troubled her enough to seek her out; in the meantime, Aase would happily be present and listen.

Aase gave her a pat on the head. Shelby let herself brighten up a touch - she didn't always like physical affection but the light bop on the head was comforting. It made her feel at home, like her father was giving her a tap on the shoulder in the living room.

"Mmm, we're starting some Shakespeare?" It didn't seem very American, doing Shakespeare, but it was what she had done so far today. "I'm playing a boy character, though." She sounded disappointed now - she hadn't felt bad about it before, though, during rehearsal. Maybe she was spending too much time sitting and feeling sorry for herself. Shelby kicked at the water.

There was a quiet as Shelby waited for Aase to reply with something new the older girl had learned today, trying to keep her question from bursting out. It burst out anyway. "Do you ever feel weird?" That wasn't very descriptive. "For not being --" Shelby grabbed a chunk of her hair as a demonstration. "-- blonde? Like. Everyone else in the family." There were no other Asian Trickett girls (besides Shelby's own mom) so a dark-haired Tricket-Cassoway was the closest thing.