[OPEN]They said come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me

Wendy Fudge felt wistful at sunset. She always had, and she attributed it mostly to her brother. In their family home, sunset had always been storytime. It was right after dinner, when their parents were much too busy to notice that she and Simon had snuck into their secret place in the attic. He would tell her stories and she would look out the window. From her attic, she could see the English Chanel, changing color as beams of sun light rippled across its glossy surface. No matter Simon's story, the sea made it better. And then the sun would sink beneath the earth and they would escape back into the house and join the family.

During sunsets, Wendy liked to be alone and she liked to be near water. She missed the stormy weather, as the Great Lake always looked more beautiful when storms rocked the waves. She seemed to be the only one clinging to the hope of more rain and storms, and she kept dressing in sweaters and the like, a beanie currently pulled snugly onto her ears, long grey socks pulled up to her knees. She was seated on a fallen log, bark smoothed from the rains, her face tilted towards the sky.

There was something special about the invitation of open water. Not for swimming, necessarily. But it amazed Wendy to look as far as she could in one direction and see only water. It made the world feel large and adventurous, and it pulled her heart towards it. Back home, she would wander the piers, as though hoping to find a large pirate ship full of friendly people who happened to need one more to help them on their journey. It had never happened and surely never would, but water made her believe in even the most improbable.

Exams had been worrying her, but with most of them behind her, she wasn't letting herself cling to anxiety, not when she could choose peace. She had enough to worry about - her siblings, her grades, and her purpose. It wasn't more than anyone else's lot, but it was enough. She wasn't going to spend anymore of her life worrying than she needed to.

Her eyes slowly slid open and she saw a tentacle drifting over the edge of the water. She perked up. She absolutely adored animals of all kind, finding them incapable of the cruelty that ran errant in the human race. The Giant Squid was of such interest to her for its rarity and as it seemed to have a sense of humor. She had seen it joking tug on students as though it was going to pull them in, before right them. She had also seen it return frizbees and hacky-sacks, as well as claim scarves for its own. It was so strange and so wonderful.

"Ahooooy, friend," she called out sweetly, leaning forward on the log. The tentacle raised loftily and she held out her hand. The tentacle stretched out, reaching across the water's surface and over land towards her. She leaned forward more, wrapping one of her hands around her middle as her right hand stretched out to the tentacle, wanting to make a connection with the strange, magical creature.

She needed a break.  She wasn't the type to study hard, or to test hard, yet still she had tried to pass and attend every exam.  She maintained her above average grades with only a little mental effort and a lot of social effort.  The little beast could maneuver her way into anybodies good thoughts, professors especially, who found the Badger playful and fun.  They didn't think that the youngest Mason would be capable of anything malicious or with evil intent, and most would hurriedly give the prankster a detention then let her get into any real trouble with the Headmaster.  She made a quick stop at the Great Hall, flirted a little, ate some food and then escaped to the Dungeons.

She had only planned on changing her clothes but somehow it had turned into an argument.  "You can't just leave your things anywhere, Matilda" Sarah stated with her hands on her hips.  She was looking pointedly at her robes and bags that she had unceremoniously dropped in the middle of the dorm room on the floor.  Matilda just rolled her eyes and flicked her wand at the pile while muttering a quick spell.

"You could have done that just as fast" she stated as they watched her robe and bag hang themselves up on the hook.

Sarah sputtered slightly and said with narrowed eyes "It is your responsibility to clean up after yourself".

Matilda made a face and repeated her housemates statement mockingly.  Sarah started to yell something else but Matilda quickly closed the curtains around her bed and flicked her wand at the curtains to prevent anyone from opening them back up.  She could hear her roommate ranting as she changed her clothes and slipped a small vial full of a white substance in her back pocket.  She quickly ate the small vial of sugar and dust  As soon as she was done she closed her eyes and made a face, it was a good batch, and even though her face was held in a grimace it was a good reaction.  After a beat or two she hid the vial under her pillow and pointed her wand at the curtains, saying the counter curse, and exiting her dorm with a smirk, she had just needed to take the edge off of the day. Her housemate was still spurting red faced, maybe she needed to take the edge off her day.

Somehow Matilda found her way to the lake.  She wandered aimlessly, with a playful smile on her lips, until her feet brought her to see the sunset.  She leaned against a tree and thought of how it looked as if the Great Lake was swallowing the sun whole.  The sun which burned brightly, but could not escape the Great Lake coming to eat it alive every evening,  To extinguish its light.  Depressing she thought fleetingly as she turned from the lake and spotted a girl on a fallen log not to far away.  Wendy Fudge.  The girl brought a smile to Matilda's face, all depressing thoughts forgotten in a moment as she watched her friend lean towards the lake reaching towards something determinedly.  Without a second thought she jumped from behind the tree, waving her hands like a lunatic and screeching like a banshee.  The noise broke the evening calm and all the animals near by scurried at the disturbance, including the great squid.

At the last moment Matilda hoped that Wendy wouldn't get scared and lose her footing at her antics.   The fellow fifth year badger was about the only girl in her year Matilda could stomach.  She wanted the two to remain friends, and didn't know if they would if Wendy fell into the lake.  She closed her eyes and waited while holding her breath.

Wendy loved the peace of the grounds, finding that people rarely chose the great outdoors to all the intrigue and all of the spreading hormones that could be found within the castle. She seemed to avoid much attention in the castle as well. She was one of those people were just well liked enough to avoid being bullied or ignored, but not well known enough to really garner much interest in her peers. A few boys had had crushes on her, she had made a few friends, but mostly ended up on her own.
 
In all honesty, Wendy did not mind. She did not have ambitions for fame or popularity, nor was her security based in the opinions of others. She liked being able to do her own things, dream in peace, travel as she pleased without much notice. It was lonely sometimes, of course, but she had Simon, Pippa, and Noah if she needed them. And she would have chosen privacy to popularity any day, if given the two options.
 
Her peace was suddenly disrupted by a loud screeching noise and a sudden movement from her peripheral vision. She flopped forward but the tentacle of the Great Squid caught her shoulder and pushed her back onto the log. Wendy took the opportunity quickly to reach up and stroke the limb that had helped keep her from falling into the lake.
 

Wendy turned and looked out, spotting Matilda Mason. Wendy exhaled, a bit offput to have her peace robbed from her. She like Tilly, of course, they were friends. Tilly was adventurous and goofy, and brought those qualities out in Wendy. But Tilly was also deceptive, and tried to hide what seemed obvious to the school around her. Wendy just tried to smile and waved – she could find her peace another time.