Thunder Is Synonmous With Terror

Salem tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she stared at the rain falling from the sky and splattering against the greenhouse. She had come in to hide from the rain, from the people inside the castle, from the world that seemed to kick her in the dust, push her down and step over her because she could not even cry out and let anyone know she was down, she was hurt, she was scared, and she just wanted them to be her friend.

The raindrops were hard against the walls and she stared at them, feeling trapped in an invisible bubble from the onslaught. She bit her lip and stared up, moving away from the plants that she had been watering, her chin turning up and her wide eyes staring into the see-through. She could see her reflection in the glass, see wide eyes.

She was small. Very small. Her hair ratted and falling around her face, unhelped by the rain she had braved to get here, hanging in strands and making her look like a wet pup that had been left outside, forgotten and forlorn. Her black clothes were simple for today, a long black coat with leggings and a long shirt, boots reaching her calf. But her eyes were wide and rimmed with the usual black, and she was surprised to see that the blue bulbs were swimming with tears, her pale reflection revealing the truth.

She was small.

She swallowed and moved over to the plants, touching their leaves lightly. She had not spoken in so long... Since she had seen Nixen, since that terrible teacher had attacked her. She could not. She had tried... She really had. With that... Andrew boy. He had been mysteriously kind to her, but he had disappeared and she had lost all bravery and faith that if she could work up the ability to speak to anyone it would be him.

She was alone. Again.

She shivered. Usually, the greenhouses were warm, but today they were freezing and she could see her breath condensing in the air above her. She wiped her eyes with the large sleeve of her coat and shook out her hair again, but all the ratting and product kept the water in it. She shivered and moved back to the plants, picking up a trowel. She felt calmed being able to work with the plants, being with beings that would not tease her, that would not hurt her except for the thorns. But those were expected. People were worse. They hurt when you were least expecting it.

And that's when it came. A flash of lightning. She jumped and then froze, dropping the trowel. If there was lightning... soon... there would be-

BOOM!

She let out a terrified squeak and threw her hands to her ears. She closed her eyes tight as another lightning bolt struck, rather close to the greenhouse. BOOM! She felt her breathing quicken and her eyes wildly searched the greenhouse. To stay here was to be stuck in the middle of a storm, seeing the lightening strike around her. She saw the door and ran for it, beginning to scrabble with the latch as she desperately tried to free herself.

For a moment, she was terrified that she was stuck, and she released the door, backing up and staring up at the sky. A bolt of lightning came streaking down and she let out a terrified shriek, diving for under a table, but it struck elsewhere. Thunder stuck again and she began gasping for air as thick, hot tears rolled down her face, dragging black eye makeup with it. Thunder... She could not stand thunder and here she was.

She looked up at the door and felt determination take her, as well as pure terror. She scrambled to her feet and her black-painted fingers pulled at the door, finally yanking it open. A buffet of wind made her take a step back as rain pelted her face and a bellow of thunder roared at her. She choked out a sob and waited for the thunder to finish.

It was now or never.

She sprinted from the greenhouse, throwing the door closed behind her as she made a mad scramble for the castle. Her clothes and hair became soaked and her makeup ran down her face as she cried and was pelted with water. She was so close to the castle when a strike of lightening illuminated the area around her. Next would be the thunder. She panicked-

She threw the doors open and fell inside, slipping in the puddle of water she had created on entering. Her head hit the stone and she felt tears roll off her face as she gasped for air. She squeaked and slid over to a small alcove in the Entrance Hall, terrified. She wiped the makeup from her cheeks and sat, her knees curled up, hair dripping, teeth chattering, face paler than a sheet, choking out little sobs and shivering more than it seemed possible for a human to shiver. Her eyes were wide and terrified and for the longest time she could not move. When she realized she could... she didn't.

Keith had been sitting in the greenhouse when it happened, funny enough.

He spent a lot of time in the greenhouse actually, nowadays. It had most of what he needed to make the Spice, and people were rarely there outside of classes - especially not when there was a thunderstorm raging outside. No, most people had much more sense than that, which meant Keith had a very easy time of getting whatever materials he may need.

he never took too much of course. Then they might notice. And he never actually took full leaves either. He was very careful to make it look like someone had accidently torn the leaf in class, and the other half had floated away in the meantime. He only tore a few leaves at a time, and he made sure to spread out the thievery all around the greenhouse.

Keith could be very meticulous, in his way. He was funny like that.

He hadn't heard the girl until the thunder. She squeaked, like a mouse, except louder and more terrified. Keith nearly screamed himself. Not because of the thunder. He could handle that. He almost screamed because there was someone in the greenhouse with him and Oh God they're here can't let 'em find me can't let 'em find me

So he (very heroically) took cover under the nearest table. Another thunderclap, another terrified sound, although this one raised the bay from squeak to scream. Quite a jump there. Somebody didn't like loud noises.

He didn't see her, but he did hear her. Scrabbling for the door like a madwoman, finally pushing it open and sprinting across the grounds. She hadn't even locked the door. Keith tsked. Sloppy. The door had been locked when he came in, and people would get suspicious.

Well, she was gone now. And it only took a few minutes to get the rest of what he needed. He stuffed the leaves in his bag and threw on his poncho, stepping out into the rain (making careful note to lock the door) and headed towards the castle. He figured that the girl would be long gone by the time he got to the front door of the castle.

Oh, not so. Because as soon as Keith pushed open the door, there she was. Laying on the floor and sobbing like a baby. Soaking wet, black stuff (mascara?) pooled around her face, and generally a mess.

Keith tsked again. Embarrassing. Unprofessional. He was not in the mood for this. Tact may have been an option earlier in the day, but after trucking it through the rain both ways to get a few lousy leaves, (only to find his way blocked by a hormone ridden teenage girl) he was sort of pissed.

"Do you normally lie in the hallway like an idiot?" He asked, his voice practically dripping with sarcasm. "Or is this just a special occasion?"

Salem was fully unaware of everything around her, thinking only of trying to get a handle on her terror. Every time she did though, she remembered that on the other side of the door was absolute and total terror. Thunder. Loud noises. The girl of silence was brave, considering how dreary her life typically was. But when it came to the banging and clanging of thunder, all acts of strength were gone, leaving behind a terrified little girl.

A voice pierced the cocoon of silence and sobbing she had created for herself and she jerked, her large eyes finding who had stirred her. It was a Ravenclaw, like herself, younger. Keith something. Salem may not “know” everyone, but being silent had its advantages. She knew the names of most people in the castle, especially if they were high profile, like Keith. He was rather notorious for trouble making so she knew his name.

She nodded at his second question, too frightened to be offended. She did not care that he was here to taunt her, to tease her, to sneer in her face. His presence was something tangible, something that proved to her that her world had not been reduced to booming drums that would split open the sky and the heavens... She bit her lip and reached a hand up, wiping her face free of the black tar-like makeup that ran down her cheeks. She wiped her hand on her coat and looked up.

She slipped her hand into one of her pockets and pulled out her wand. Shakily she pointed it in front of her and a ribbon burst from it, spelling the words 'I don't like thunder.' The mute girl usually preferred to write things down, but in her dripping state, she doubted parchment and ink would be of little to any use. She did not know what else to say so she shivered and wrapped her arms around her knees tightly.

Keith arched an eyebrow at the girls' response. "Well I hope you're not like this every time there's a stupid little thunderstorm," he said. "God knows how anyone would stand being around you." He pulled his poncho over his head, turning to go, but something made him stay. He had had a rough week. He needed someone to dump it on, and this already crushed spirit would offer little resistance.

"And the trick with the wand?" Keith said, waving his around for emphasis. "It's pretty, alright? But you know, you have a voice for a reason, k? I know you're not mute because God knows you could get that fixed in about two seconds around here, so either you're convinced it makes you look cool or you're just stupid. And honestly, I'm not sure which is worse." He shrugged. "You want my advice, get some damn psycho-therapy so that you're not shivering on the ground like a baby everything there's a loud noise. You're like a dog, you know? It's pretty pathetic."

There was irony to his words, because no one COULD stand to be around her., besides Nixen, and he had to, he was her brother. Too much work, too little satisfaction. And she made people feel sad, which was a really depressing thing to have. To have the effect to depress everyone around you. It left no room for joy and healthy friendships.. Well, not that she had any sort of friendships in the first place to worry about too much.

The threat of thunder was distant. The threat of this little boy crushing her spirit was much more imminent. She drew up the strength and courage she usually presented when confronted with such an offense, but found it had all dissipated because of the storm. Because of the storm, she did not have the dignity to defend herself against onslaughts of criticisms and insults as she was usually able to.

She knew it was mostly about presentation. You could be dying inside, but if you had a disinterested expression and eyes that refused to falter, you were golden. But she was dripping wet, recovering from sobs, and completely rag-doll-worthy. At the beginning of his speech, she tried to look tough, tried to look brave, but that would not work. Neutrality was failing. Defense was needed.

'It's a disorder and none of your business how I act' she waved, a little surprised she had had the gall to say the second part. Usually she put her head down and got through any interactions with as few words and as little trouble as possible. But the thunder and shaken her up, tossed her about and confused her. She was not thinking rationally as she usually did. And she was sure, in the long run, her cheek would be counted against her.

Keith grinned. She was fighting back! Goody! Not that he didn't enjoy beating a person's heart numb, but after a while it was just beating a dead horse, ya'know? No enjoyment in it.

"Oh I see," Keith said, his voice filled with sarcasm, "It's a disorder." Well deary me, I guess we'd better stop everything, shouldn't we? A disorder my oh my," he said, shaking his head in mock amazement. "Obviously it can't be...well, you know, important, because you seem to be speaking fine now though. Maybe I've cured you!" He said, throwing his hands in the air. "Whoop-de-F***-doo"