I May Die Of Fright

Lucie was homesick with a very deep homesickness. She was stuck in an unfamiliar room full of unfamiliar people. And she was not okay. The History textbook she held up in front of her just so she didn't have to see anyone was not being read. It felt awkward but she was much more comfortable with a shield between herself and the rest of the room.

"Sathya," she whispered to the hedgehog on her lap, "what do you think I should do? Just go up and talk to someone?" She lowered the book and looked over the top. "EEK!" she squeaked when she found a set of eyes staring back at her. Lucie drop the book on the seat next to her. "You scared me." She swallowed and silently willed her heart to slow down after that fright.

Honestly, Claudette had no reason to be in the Feu common room. She wanted to let her purple stuffed giraffe, Mister Purple, see the whole castle. She loved her stuffed animals and will probably never grow out of it. Surprisingly, the Feus had a better common room than the Nuages, so Claudette sat down on a particulary soft armchair and started to scope out the girl with her hedgehog.

She was startled when the girl squealed in horror. What did that mean? Is her hedgehog prone to ripping up stuffed animals? Claudette clutched Mister Purple's long spotted legs. "Woah, don't worry. I'm just a nice girl." she said. She was relieved to hear that the girl was startled. "Please don't curse me for being in your common room. I'm just an innocent Nuage who shouldn't even be here." Claudette added.

"I...I won't curse you," she assured the other girl. "I just wasn't expecting someone to be sitting so close to me." She looked at the purple giraffe the girl was holding. It was an unusual sight in a place where Lucie suspected most wouldn't be caught dead holding a stuffed toy. Then her eyes dropped to her lap where Sathya was curled up into a prickly ball.

"It's alright Sathya," she said to the hedgehog. "Look. It's just a girl from Nuage with her giraffe. I'm sorry I frightened you." The hedgehog didn't change her rolled up position and looked up at the other girl again. "I think she's upset with me for being so silly. I'm Lucie and this is Sathya. Welcome to our common room." She swept one arm out to take in the room around her. "I'm not sure who all of them are."