there's a lie in every truth

She was fifteen, and had nothing in her life to build a bridge on. Oliver was definitely not someone she wished to speak to about her love life, she didn't want to talk to Grayson, and Florence could not stop about how she beat Timothy McQueen - that wretched Slytherin bastard - in a swimming race that went on or something. Really, if Florence was so lovestruck by the boy why can't she just date him?

She knew why, of course, and not in the mood to talk of it. Prefects and troublemakers just didn't mix well. She was talking about Charles, though, with his beautiful smirk and the mesmerizing eyes that she lusted for ever since she laid eyes on him. The Ravenclaw knew that his best friend was a Prefect in Durmstrang, and they were arguing about her. She didn't know why or how, but she didn't want to ask; she's heard more of who Lena Vorstenbach was and she sounded like Armaggeddon dressed in a woman's suit.

At this moment, the cave was her refuge. There was no one about and that made her feel secure, or at least it made her feel as if the world wasn't spiraling out of control. The brunette sat down, the rays of light from the outside world of no use to her. She needed some peace in her mind. In her soul. Everywhere. Just a moment to herself to dedicate to Charles. To Oliver. To Florence and Timothy.

Tshering wanted to go home to her parents, hug her mother's legs and tell her that she was okay, and they can be friends again. Yet her heart, she knew, would not be in it. Alice Tshering was only her mother legally, not mentally, not physically. Her fingers dug into the soil, the particles of dust poking through her skin, arousing slight pains across her fingertips.

She wanted to cry.

Hyun-Ki had heard about the Silent Cave from several of the other students, overhearing their conversations. It sounded like one of the places to be, a happening spot or so he heard. In all honestly, he didn't care if it was really used for gatherings, he was more interested in the architecture and the artful nature of the cave itself. He had wanted to get a few drawings for his pad if possible. His normal dress clothes were perhaps not the most ideal for entering a cave, but they were all he had at the moment. He made a mental note to buy more casual pieces of clothing.

His hand along the wall as he entered the mouth, it seemed barren. Not a soul in sight, at least until he noticed the lone brown haired girl. On careful inspection from what she was doing by herself, he could see the melancholy look upon her face, and it caused him to frown. He never really cared to see someone upset, even if they were complete strangers. Why was she upset though?

The thought ran through his mind and made him hesitate in entering the cave now. She obviously wanted to be alone, why else would she be there? He couldn't bring himself to however, as he always took it upon himself to get involved or make someone else feel better.

His sketch pad propped underneath his arm, the dark headed made his way into the cave and closer to the girl. He didn't want to sneak up and frighten the girl, so he cleared his throat softly and spoke out, his feet only barely stepping closer now. "Uhm, excuse me. I didn't think there would be anyone here right now, I'm not intruding am I?" A small smile crossed his lips, his brow furrowing as he stood planted in the spot, awaiting the girl's response.

Tshering looked up, scanning the sodding cave for where the figure was. She hadn't gotten round to precisely pinpointing his location yet but she knew he was somewhere near her... and not extremely near that she should gun him down with a single punch. Anyway, why would she do such a heinous action? She hadn't even identified the boy, man, the male specimen of the human race, whatever yet. What if he was of no harm?

"There is nothing to intrude on, so you are forgiven," replied she dryly, her eyes studying the silhouette, which she had located to be a few feet away from her. She curtly nodded. "It's winter, freezing, and we're in a cave, out of all places. It's going to freeze our asses to death." She toyed with the wand in one of her coat pockets. "Do you have a story that I have the right to know?"

The girl's voice seemed dull, almost void of life entirely and this caused Hyun-Ki to frown. He chuckled lowly when she mentioned how they were going to freeze, but only shook his head. "I don't think we'll freeze. At least I won't, I'm fairly fond of the cold." The girl intrigued him, though he couldn't say why. He always needed to know about people, how to solve them like a puzzle.

When she asked him about his story, he could only stare at her with an amused expression, pondering on how to properly answer that. "My story, eh? Any story I tried to give you would only bore you, I'm sure. I'm not a very exciting person." A grin spread across his lip as he was comfortable with growing closer to her and sitting beside, setting the sketch pad to the right of him. "I have to ask, what brings you out here all alone?"

Tshering tried her best not to scoff. "You say that you're fond of the cold," she echoed, "tell me, dear, were you born in it?" The darkness hid whatever fake grin that Tshering had decided to paint on her face, so the words seemed more gentle than what she had aimed for. She, of course, was implying to the fact that she was born in it, and wondered how long it took for the boy to find out. When he did, however, he had recovered one layer this Ravenclaw had chosen to hide.

"Oh? If you think so, then you are badly mistaken," mused she, her bogus grin slowly morphing into a cruel smirk, "I like to hear stories. Fairytales, nightmares, tragedies, romance... you name it, I love it. Everyone's exciting, I'm sure. In their own boring way." She could hear the thud of paper onto the ground, the boy sitting right beside her, "I like it here. I don't just loom around places I don't like."

The girl seemed to not only be melancholy, but was also very dark. The way that her voice sharpened on certain words. He wasn't quite sure what she meant by being born in the cold, though he had deduced that she wasn't speaking of being born simply on a cold day. Had she meant that she was born in the cold outside? Or...was it something far more literal than he could imagine. He thought over this, thinking over every small explanation that would cause her to say something like that, before he spoke. "I'm afraid not all of us are born in the cold." His eyes were on her shadowed face, watching for the reactions as he said that.

He couldn't say what it was, but something drew him toward her. He grew more intrigued by the minute that he stayed in the cave with her, attempting to figure her out. When she said the kind of stories that she enjoyed, he wondered, his brother the first thing to come to his mind. You could easily judge someone by giving them a piece of information they may not have expected, and though it hurt, he decided to gamble.

"A story...How's this? This is the first magic school I have ever been enrolled in, and I am sixteen already. Not good enough perhaps, so tell me what you think of this instead? I honed on my magical abilities since the age of ten, until thirteen, learning it all on my own." His face darkened and his jaw clenched, speaking slowly. "Not good enough still, I can tell. When I was thirteen, I killed my younger brother." His eyes immediately flickered toward her eyes that he could see only faintly from the light. He was curious as to how she reacted to it, though being a stranger to her, he hadn't really expected any sort of real reaction.

Tshering's eyes furrowed, "That explains a lot. If you were born in the cold, chances are that you would think it deadly, not wonderful. Only a few truly love the cold, and I am not one of them." Her palm lined the rocky walls surrounding her, careful not to get herself hurt. She did rub her finger on something... liquid. Well, it wasn't particularly viscous, but it was not solid and not gas, so therefore it had to be liquid. It had the texture of molten cheese, and that intensified her curiosity. The hell? she thought, fragments of puzzles flying all over her head. What could it possibly be?

"First?" questioned the Prefect, "why are you finding the fact that this is your first school of magic unusual? Most people only go to one school of magic for their studying years." There was something she was missing here, but she chose not to think of it until she heard the rest of whatever he had to say, and so far it sounded intriguing. "Y-You learned m-magic, by yourself?" she spluttered, before regaining her confidence once more. "You're an autodidact of the most beautiful thing in the world, and you choose to keep to yourself?" She shrugged her shoulders, "Then again, I get it..."

She listened on, and as she did her eyes caught his, and fought fiercely to let his gaze stay on her. "You killed someone?" she replied as she hid a squeak, shaking her head, "dear Merlin... I-I won't tell..."

He could tell that she wasn't paying too much attention to what he was saying, judging by the fact she did not think it unusual that it was the first school he'd been to. Of course, he hadn't exactly said that it was his first week there either. He watched her closely as she toyed with the liquid she found on the wall of the cave, and silently shook his head. "You probably shouldn't be fiddling around with things you cannot see."

Standing, Hyun-Ki slipped his hands into his pockets and wandered around the cave, spotting what he could along the walls in the darkness. He left his sketch pad beside her on the floor, as he paced about. The cave was interesting, he could tell it was naturally formed this way, no man made crevices at all. He noticed a moss growing near the back, a small hole which seemed an animal had made to travel around. The moss was not the normal green as he had usually seen, this was an unusual lime color, and he decided it was best not to touch.

"First." He turned his gaze back to the girl and pursed his lips with a smile. "I have never been in a magic school until this week." He began to walk back toward her, his hands never having left his pockets. "So, that is why I would find it...not unusual perhaps, just different. As to your second question, yes I learned it by myself. My parents did not know about it until I became a teenager. Then, I only had a teacher at my home occasionally." He stopped back where he had been before and sat, sighing out and covering his mouth to cough, the dust from the ground having risen.

When she finally reacted to him having killed someone, he couldn't help but chuckle over it. "It's alright. Things have a way of being found out anyway, don't they? You're the one who asked for a story, aren't you?"

Tshering didn't like being told what to do. All the same, she took her hand off the wall, rubbing the liquid on the rough fabric of her shirt. "Don't. You dare," announced she in a menacing manner, "Tell. Me. What. To do." Grabbing some dust off the ground, she clenched it tight between her fingers as if they were something so precious they had to be grabbed barbarically, greedily, for just a few seconds, before she threw them in the direction of where she thought the boy was as he stood up and wandered about the cave. Chances are she missed, but no matter.

She eyed him as he looked at her, trying her best to seem undaunted by the things he was saying. The thoughts of his words also frightened her; how on earth could this boy live without Hogwarts for six years? She could barely survive that year in Durmstrang without thinking of the place that had become her very refuge for most of her teens. Then again, this was a new person she was meeting; typical stories didn't exist for Hogwarts newcomers.

When he sat down, she sat down, his words still ringing in her ear. Frankly, she was at a loss on how to reply... she could be as blunt as usual and lose a chance of forming an acquaintance. Or... she could try and be somewhat emphatic. Her head agreed with that. "So... you're just a case of, Really Late Magic Disorder?" she questioned, "wow... I feel really, really lucky now. And usually I'd say bullshit, but that's just me being..." She shook her head, "Anyways, what house are you in? What year?"

The brunette gave a roll of her shoulders, "I know, I know I did. I suggest you don't tell anyone else you think are not the best to trust, though; rumours get around here fast."

He smiled widely at her at how upset she got in telling him not to tell her what to do. In truth, he hadn't, he had only suggested it wouldn't be smart to do so. Which in all honesty, it probably wouldn't. He had already moved away when the dust came at him, causing him to laugh out at her and shake his head in amusement. "You, dear should really calm down. Getting all hot and bothered over a little comment. It's cute actually." He teased.

When she decided that he was simply a late bloomer, again he shook his head. "No, I wouldn't necessarily say that. I first became fully aware of my magic when I was around ten years old. I wish it all really just bullshit, but I don't care much for lying." He cleared his throat and laid back against the cool stone, his eyes darting to the entrance then back at the girl, who's name he still didn't know.

"I'm sure that if I didn't tell people, they would find something else to spread around, but you're right. There's no reason for me to freely announce stuff like that. I probably shouldn't have with you, but I guess as long as one person knew, it wouldn't really be a secret I was keeping." He had almost forgot about her question as to what house and year he was in, when his eyes closed and hands fell behind his head to rest on. "Oh, HufflePuff and I'm a Sixth year. My name's Hyun-Ki, may I ask the same question to you?"

Tshering's meagre anger merely grew when she heard the boy laugh. If he was laughing, she had missed him. She had told herself that she would miss... and she had chosen to ignore herself. The Ravenclaw's gentler side chose to be cocky for one second and told the more dominant, savage self that it should have listened, for the handful of dust would have been thrown in vain. The brunette could only growl.

"Well, you told the right person," Tshering remarked, "I won't tell. I have a I-Hold-Secrets-To-The-Grave thing going on. Your secret's safe with me." She brushed her hair behind her ear, "I'm Tshering, fifth year Ravenclaw. Prefect." She uttered her title with much fervour, a smirk upon her face.

He peeked up at her, and he could see the look of frustration and anger on her face, and that made him frown. He hadn't to make her upset at him, he was only making conversation. Rolling over to his side, he propped up on one arm and lulled his head into his hand, staring her way. Hearing the growl that came from her throat, another chuckle escaped his throat and he sighed.

"Well, I hadn't really expected you to tell, or not tell. It was just nice to tell someone about it." He yawned and shook his head. Being in a foreign bed, he hadn't slept too well the night before, as he was not yet used to it. When she said the word 'Prefect' with that tone of superiority, he saw the smirk and gazed quizzically at her. Did she have a complex about that? Or was she just proud? "That makes you...a deputy of sorts then? Oh, please don't arrest me, Miss." He said, flashing a toothy smile.