Rain, rain, go away (open)

Avian couldn't help herself. She burst into a little giggle fit, her high pitched laughter rocking her back and forth. The girl hadn't laughed like this since the start of the year! She just couldn't stop laughing at the fact some kid's hair caught on fire! What she wouldn't have given to be there when it happened. After a few seconds of laughter, she got around to answering his question.

"I take one-on-one lessons. I don't want anyone getting hurt in the process," she said, a little uncomfortable suddenly.

She had no problem laughing at someone else's misery, but if she had caused that fire, she wouldn't be laughing. Now she just felt cruel laughing at the story. She couldn't imagine how scared the kid must have been. Like that one time...

"...I'm just bad at controlling my powers..." she mumbled, almost inaudibly.

Avian didn't feel so confident anymore. Now she crossed her legs awkwardly and looked away from Lochlann like he had before.

"Huh..." she thought aloud to herself, "I never thought of it like that..."

The whole time she had been at the academy, she had distanced herself from others so she wouldn't hurt them. But what she didn't realize is that everyone probably had the same problem she did. If they were at the academy, they probably couldn't control their powers either. Suddenly, Avian felt a weight being lifted off her.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't feel too bad. You'll get there. And I'm talking too much, I'm sorry. "

"Yeah...Yes!" she suddenly said, her soft and shy tone disappearing, "Exactly!"

Her voice was strong and unwavering now. She never even knew her voice sounded like that beneath all that insecurity.

"I-I mean...you're right," her confidence toned down a little when she realized how loud she had been, "Wow, I can't believe I've spent my whole time here...without realizing that,"

She turned her one visible, cerulean eye to the window, and saw that the rain had stopped, a bit of sunlight peeking through the clouds.

Avian always thought the academy was a form of punishment for not being able to control her powers. But now she felt so blessed to be going to Starlight.

"Thank you, Lochlann!" she beamed with a smile.

It was still a shy smile, but it did show a hint of certainty.

"And...I hope I...er...that both of us enjoy the rest of the year!" she said sincerely.

Then reality suddenly came back to her and she felt her face turning red.

"U-uh...did all that sappy stuff just c-come out of my mouth!?" she gasped.

(ooc: Ah, ok. It's no biggie though, I was actually away for the past few days myself)
BiC:

"I don't think it's sappy, I think it's nice."

Avian couldn't help but grin again, her one visible eye sparkling with excitement. Maybe that was what she was lacking all along: confidence. In fact, that could have been why she couldn't control her powers: not enough confidence. Avian thought to herself that maybe it was time to stop being a shadow in the corner of the room. Perhaps it was time to finally make some friends and...

"If it's not too forward of me, would you like to go out some time? I mean, it doesn't have to be like in that way"

The girl's grin dropped and her face went from pale to red very quickly. If this is what being confident got her, then she never wanted to be confident again! Where did that invitation even come from!?

"I-I-I u-uh..." she stammered in a panic.

She reached up to pull her sunhat over her face in embarrassment, but of course it had been lost in the storm.

"W-w-wai-wait..." she tried to say, but it only came out as a timid mutter.

"But maybe we can do one of those things that always happens at the school. It'd be nice to go with another person.....as long as you promise not to light my hair on fire though."

That last part made Avian smile a little, making her a little more comfortable.

"Well...uh, okay," she shrugged, "W-when would be the next...school...thing?"

Besides, he was kind of cute, and she wasn't about to pass up a chance to hang out with someone as cute as him. She could at least shut her parents' teasing about never talking to boys.

Her cerulean eyes lit up at the word "picnic", her awkward demeanor vanishing again. Yes, an activity outdoors! That way, she could have her birds help third wheel.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed happily, "I'd love that!"

Summer was probably a better time for Avian. No storms or snow to get in the way of her bird watching.

"But that's a long time from now," she said, a little disappointed now, "I won't see you for a while...Don't forget me, okay?"

She looked up at Lochlann with puppy eyes, the kind she knew would work. Her dad always said that her puppy dog eyes were hard to resist. But now Avian just felt mean for using them.

"Er...maybe we'll run into each other again before then?" she shrugged.

All the while, she was desperately trying to suppress red from coming into her face, but she knew she was failing pretty badly. Why did he have to be so cute?!

"So, I better go," she stood up abruptly, "The rain is gone and...I have homework I still need to finish. Thanks, Lochlann! I hope I see you again soon!"

She put on one last confident grin for the day. Being confident was tiring!

(ooc: Yay, spoilers! But yeah, that event is a while from now. We could do one or two threads in between then. After this one, you could make the next thread and have it wherever you like, just PM me with a link. Although you let me know when you're ready for the next one. I don't know if you'll be busy for a bit or not. I'm open any time though.)