VALERIE JESSICA PRYDE

valerie jessica pryde ,

val. 18. animorph (cat). sophie turner.

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from a very young age, it could be said that valerie pryde was bright, in more ways than one. it could be said that she was like her mother in that respect, although she inherited quite a deal from her father as well. her mother was a hardworking, dedicated woman, who put family above all. her father, on the other hand, was sort of recluse and callous, although with an adventurous spark . they loved each other very much, and so, after years of dating, they married, and not long afterwards, valerie was born. they lived in a small house on the island, her dad, leonard, the breadwinner for the house and although he loved them a great deal, had to work a lot to support them, especially since his job (a salesman) was difficult to earn a steady salary from. her mother, erica, stayed at home to take care of their daughter, reading to her a great deal and teaching her what she knew, which included knitting and playing the piano, and later, reading and writing. valerie picked it up quickly, even with being very young, as her mother read to her, showing her where to follow.

when valerie turned thirteen, her life consisting mainly of running around the small house and the big garden outside, reading with her mother and excelling at school. she was a shy girl, at school, mainly with her nose behind a book, although she did want to make friends. she made on or two, then, and valued their friendship and all friendships to come, being a very loyal person. she also grew to understand the value of things, seeing as she always had so little, and loves the small things in life, not needing too much to make her happy. as before mentioned, valerie was a bright soul, in her intelligence and her personality, as she smiled and laughed a great deal. she loves to be in the presence of people who can make her laugh and she can make them laugh in return. intelligent conversations are also coveted.

at that age, as well, valerie lost her father in a car crash, when he was driving home from work one morning, and a drunk driver had ignored a stop sign and drove straight into the side of the car. valerie only cried when they lowered him into the ground at the funeral, her mum standing behind her. after that day, valerie learned even more that time is precious and that people are fragile, and became a caring and kind person, willing to help whenever, without expecting help in return. the next year, even more changed in her life when, as puberty struck, so did a certain ability of hers. she had heard about it, of course, and believed it to be true, but was ecstatic to know that she was capable of such a thing and especially of her favourite animal; a cat. she can turn into a ginger (fitting, right?) cat at will and has used it many, many times. as she grew, she also became more adventurous (just as her dad had been), but more careful and still valued rules, and used her cat persona to explore, which became very useful. the reason for that is that when her father died, her mother had to go work to earn money for them, and so valerie had to stay at her grandmother's when her mum was at work and it wasn't school, or after school, in the afternoons. it wasn't all that bad, as her grandmother's house and yard was much bigger than that of her mother's, meaning she had more to explore. it was also much closer to the sea, and valerie had always adored the sea. she did her homework, too, under supervision of her strict grandmother, which she considered a good thing, as her grades would have slipped considering she can turn into a cat and that took priority.

valerie, thin but curvy, with red hair and blue eyes, grew into a very pretty girl (words often heard from people around her; her friends, her mother, family, even strangers) soon found herself in a relationship, completely new to the idea. she, having read so much because she loved it so much, had a fanciful idea of love and what it entailed. she fell head over heels in love with him, while he most definitely did not deserve it. he mistreated her, although she did not know it, but when she had confided with him about her ability, he reacted like you dread someone would. it broke her heart, as he also did, but she made him promise not to tell anyone, and she promised she wouldn't tell anyone about how he had hit her that one time. she really should have seen the worse of him, but she fell out of that superficial love as quickly as she had fallen into it. that made her very wary of relationships, made her fanciful view of life limited to everything but love, and reinforced her careful and shy nature. but she had been independent from thereon, knowing she can only but count on herself (and her mother, since she trusted her deeply).

not a long time passed, and soon valerie was to graduate. she knew that her mother hated her job, and knowing that, she talked to her about an idea that had come to mind; something that would support the both of them, and also be something she would enjoy; a bookstore. her mother lit up at the idea, quit her job and used her savings to open pryde's bookstore, and when valerie graduated, she went to work there. she'd never seen her mum so happy - working with people and books. valerie had moved out of her mother's house to a little flat above the shop, content with solitude. when she didn't work, she spent her time reading, or walking around the island, either as herself or in her cat persona. she is happy with her life, but can't help but wonder if there's something missing, and what that could be.
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valerie. 16. lots and lots. pm.

Perched on the windowsill, looking out at the Black Lake, not sure where the water stopped and the starless sky began, sat Caden Hart. With a last soft smile at the view, Caden looked down to her little blue book, dipped her quill into the ink and wrote, as she did every day.

'Dear Diary,

There's going to be a ball at Hogwarts. A masquerade ball. Everyone will be wearing fancy dresses and mysterious masks... I've already got mine. Even through the mask, people are gonna know it's me. Dahm. Thought I was going to go crazy and blame it all on some other blonde girl. Maybe if I wear a hokkie mask...

Hah! Gotcha! Not going. That'd involve wearing heels and who wants to deal with that rubbish?

In other news; I still haven't talked to him. Going to die alone surrounded by cats at this rate. I don't even know why I'm so bloody shy around him. I'm never shy around other people. Even strangers! But nooooooo. Stupid crush. Stupid beautiful, smart, adorable boy. Dahm his perfection. (PLEASE, GOD, DON'T EVER LET HIM READ THIS. I'M SUCH A CREEPY STALKER) Note to self; never put his name in here. And go strike out his name in previous entries.

I'll go now.

Lots of love~
Caden x'

Just as she finished, she heard a sound in the hall outside the classroom and figured she ought to get going back to Ravenclaw tower. She pressed her diary against her chest as she walked silently. Caden had never showed anyone that book. Not her mother, not her best friend, nobody. And she didn't intend on changing that. That diary held so much rubbish - and secrets - that if anyone got their hands on it, Caden would probably crawl into a hole and die of complete and utter humiliation.

Deep in thought, Caden didn't pay attention as she climbed the stairs and her boot slid effortlessly into the sinking step. She didn't notice, and when she made to lift her foot, she lost her balance and the book flew out of her hand and across the hall floor.

'No, no, no, no, NO!' her mind screamed as she realized how far out of reach that book was. And that she was now stuck in a step. Her only hope was to call out for help. Hopefully it wouldn't be somebody who would flip through the book, but just hand it over to her and help her out. She'd owe them forever.

"Hello?" Caden called out to anyone who would listen. "Anyone out there? I'm kinda stuck! Help! ...Please?"