Closed Inspiration From the Outdoors

[Cyrus Thorne]

Cyrus had received a new notebook and a new quill over break, which had made him very happy. He often scribbled random thoughts on scraps of paper, but it was nice to have it all together in this beautiful notebook now. At least, it would be, if he could bring himself to start writing in it. He had tried several times already, his ink-covered quill hovering over the page as he tried desperately to think of the perfect thing to write. This time, he had decided to try it outside. Surely nature would be inspiring? But even here, as he sat on the lawn against a tree with the notebook propped on his knee, he just... didn't know how to start. He felt this pressure to make this notebook perfect, which meant he couldn't write anything he'd regret later. He sighed, leaning his head back against the three. Could he think of something poetic to write? Something about the roughness of the bark? The shade the tree provided on this sunny day? The soft grass tickling his ankles? He didn't know, and he sighed in annoyance.

 

[Naveen Khatri]

Naveen hadn't decided how he felt about school. One one hand he was learning new things all the time and the chance of scenery had surprisingly felt good. He was usually so scared in new places but the castle was quickly feeling like a second home. It helped that he had his sister even though he knew he relied on her too much. She was the only person he spoke to on a regular basis, besides his roommate who was nice enough. He knew he needed to make friends but he was scared of that too and that was a fear that wasn't easing even after a semester. But that wasn't something he wanted to dwell on, not when the weather was so nice and he decided to go for a walk. He was deep in his own head when he saw a boy from his lessons sitting on the grass alone. Before he could even make up his mind to approach the boy his heart was racing and his palms were sweating. Tentatively he took a step closer, and then another. Once he was an appropriate but respectful distance he cleared his throat. "Hello." he choked out. "Uh, nice day we're having." he said his voice sounding foreign and wrong as he tried to socialize.