Kaleidoscope || t. scamander

Apprehension

"We're going to War, Roo."

The said young woman turned to her side. The darkness was opaque, shadows dancing through her room due to the light coming from the streets.

War.

The word was a cold fingernail dragging down her back, emitting a sense of dread that crawled up her spine and made her shake endlessly. Roo's fingers tightened on her blanket as she buried deeper underneath, as if that action would be able to shield her from the rest of the world.

After she had been discharged in the early afternoon, her senior had adamantly stuck by her side until she was safe and sound at home, his frame lingering by her side and making her feel like she was some kind of handicapped patient. To an extent, she was. Her injured shoulder had her practically navigate through with only her good functioning hand, and she was glad that it had spared her dominant hand.

But what had surprised her the most was when it had already turned dark outside and when it was clearly late in the evening, Theseus was still there, asking her if she needed anything and lingering over her shoulder as if he wasn't sure whether she could be left alone yet.

She had then turned to him to say that she would be fine by herself, before he'd blurted out his opinion that staying would put his heart at ease. Roo was so shocked that she had only nodded, only to realize a few minutes later what she had agreed to.

He had taken over her small couch and as her eyes drifted over to identify the abstract form in the dark, remorse filled the back of her mouth. It was clearly too small for a man this size, and yet he'd still agreed to stay.

When she thought over his decision, she guessed that maybe he was feeling just as guilty, kicking himself for the fact that Roo could have died if he hadn't reached the hospital in time.

Her stomach growled. Oh no.

She glanced down impulsively, hand going to her middle to rub it softly. Dang, if this had been any other day, she would've gladly rushed to the kitchen for a midnight snack.

But Theseus was here and while the priority was not to wake up him -- god knows he probably was sleeping badly these days -- she didn't want him to think of her as a glutton either.

Her stomach growled again. Roo clamped her lips together. Why now, out of all times? She glared at her stomach in accusation, fully knowing that what her stomach wanted was what her stomach got. It would kill Roo not to eat now that the idea had settled in her head like concrete, and her stomach definitely would not take no for an answer.

As quietly as she could, the young wizard peeled away the covers, cold air hitting her legs and making her shiver. Slowly sliding towards the kitchen, she made sure to tiptoe up to the fridge, glancing at Theseus's still form on the couch.

So far, so good.

She opened the door, wincing when it squeaked in protest, before gazing at the leftovers with growing unsatisfaction. She tutted and closed the fridge only to move to the cupboards where she kept her cookies.

Cereal! She almost jumped in joy, having forgotten that she had just replenished her stock of Coco Crunch just a few days before they'd sailed. The girl wasted no time peeling off the bag, dumping some cereal and milk into a bowl before sitting at the kitchen table to enjoy her late night snack.

It had been ages since she actually felt normal. But sitting here at quarter after one made her feel young again, when she'd be studying for her finals and get sugar cravings just by studying too much. A sma smile played across her lips at the thought. She did miss the school days. They had their fair share of fun.