While Riverpaw watched, Brightheart took a moment to stretch before she approached Charlie. She took a tentative step and leaned forward to sniff the girl's hand, then nudged her head under it.
"Oh, small warning, she doesn't like those 'butt-pats' like most cats do." Riverpaw added with a brief wince, "Sky found that out the hard way."
Charlie was very gentle with Brightheart, her large hands surprisingly sweet and gentle with the cats. She nods when River spoke, slowly sitting down and petting Brightheart behind the ears and under the chin. "She's beautiful." She mutters quietly. Charlie had always loved cats. Cats were her comfort animal.
Riverpaw admired the scene, somewhat in awe of the way her face glinted in the sunlight, but she shook her head when she realized she was staring. "Uh, you can put your bag on the couch." She said, pointing to the piece of furniture against the wall.
She hummed quietly as she pet the cat, before turning her attention to Riverpaw. She nods and stands, giving the cat one more pet before setting her bag on the couch. "Thank you." She smiles warmly. "Where do you want me to put my shoes by the front door?" She asks curiously.
"Oh, go ahead." She nodded as she headed over to the staircase. She stopped on the first step and looked over her shoulder. "O-or, uh, you could bring them and your bag to my room, if you want."
She nods and grabs her bag before following after the other. She was so happy to be here. She was glad to at least hang out with someone for the day.
Riverpaw led the way up and to her bedroom at the end of the hall, pulling her shoulders up a bit when she remembered she hadn't cleaned up yet. It wasn't too much of a mess to be unpresentable, but there were some articles of clothing laying in a small pile near the closet on the right side of the room, and some crumpled up papers that had missed the trash bin next to the bed on the other side. There were some crayons and colored pencils laying with a few coloring books by the window across from them, one of the books laying open to a cluster of torn pages from…oh yeah. Charlie didn't need to know about that.
"S-sorry. I keep telling myself I'll clean up and then I don't." She muttered, annoyed with herself as she tossed her backpack on the pastel-sheeted bed and quickly moved to pick things up.
Charlie smiled warmly as she entered the others bedroom. She didn't mind the mess in the slightest. She liked how cute Rivers room was. It was comforting in a way. She didn't know how to describe it. She puts her backpack down in a small area, removing her shoes and putting those away as well. "It's alright! Nothing to worry about." She says kindly, just kind of awkwardly standing there. She was unsure what to do.
Riverpaw put her clothes in the hamper hanging on the back of the door, threw the papers away, and put the coloring books and their utensils in a cabinet next to the window. She pulled the torn pages from the damaged book and threw them away as well, then checked around to make sure everything else was okay. "Okay, Sorry about that. W-what do you think?" She asked, turning to Charlie.
She watched the other clean, awkwardly standing off to the side as Riverpaw worked. Charlie takes a little time to look over the room. It was quaint and adorable, fitting for a cute and sweet girl like River. She smiled at the other, "It's rather cute." She smiled warmly. "And very cozy." She chuckles a little bit and settles on the bed.
"Thank you." Riverpaw smiled proudly, then grabbed her bookbag and went to sit back against the bed's headboard, pushing a large, grey dog plush out of the way. "So, do you have homework?" She asked Charlie as she patted the space in front of her.
She nods and settles down beside the other, taking a look around the room. It was very assuring. She liked it here. It was better than the stark white of her own home. She shook her head and smiled. "No, I finished all of mine. I can help you with yours if you want."
"Well…" Riverpaw didn't want to trouble her, but she'd rather take the offer than make Charlie sit around and wait while she struggled with a few things. "W-would you mind helping me with Chemistry?" She asked, curling her tail behind her.
Charlie smiled. "I happen to love chemistry!" She chuckles and moves closer, leaning over he shoulder, her eyes soft. "Alright, let's see what you need help with."
She handed Charlie the worksheet she'd been given, then dug through her bookbag to take out a couple of pencils and her chemistry notebook. The first part was about metal and non-metal compounds, then atom bonds, and then putting elements in order of electronegativity. It was a lot for her to remember, even with the notes. She could easily look up the information, but that felt like cheating to her, and she wanted to get better at memorizing these things if only for the sake of her science teacher not fussing at her so much.
She looks over the worksheet and smiles a little bit before leaning closer to River, "Ah, here, I can help you." She chuckles softly. Charlie was good with math and science things. She hums softly as she looks over the paper. "Here. I can explain it a bit. Where do you need help?" She asks curiously.
"Um…the electronegativity stuff, mostly." She muttered, feeling warmer on the side Charlie was sitting. She reached into her bag and pulled out a folder, showing her a Geometry worksheet in one side. "A-and then there's this, which I might need more than a little help with."
She nods and smiles at the other, guiding her with a few of the notes. She glanced at the geometry work and nods. "Of course I can help you!" She smiles warmly before carefully taking the notes. "Here, like this." She gently explains how to understand electronegativity.
Riverpaw listened carefully, but as usual, most of the information was going in one ear and out the other. It didn't help that the two of them were sitting so close together. She followed along as best as she could, but she'd never been great with all these signs and numbers. Her ears flattened against her head in slight frustration as she looked over the list of elements she was supposed to order.
She smiles a little, liking how close the two of them were. Charlie gently points out a few things, and teaches her a few tricks regarding the element and how to calculate it. She hums softly as she points out a few errors, smiling warmly. "You're doing well. Let's take a quick break to give your mind a rest. I find it easier to study if I study for 20 minutes then break for five." She chuckles and leans back against the wall.
Riverpaw shook her head gently, twisting her pencil in her hand. "We can keep going, can't we? I don't…" She looked back at the paper with a slight shrug. "I-I don't really…take breaks with work. But we can if you want to."
Charlie gazed at her and brushed a stray piece of hair from Riverpaw's face. The gesture was so gentle and kind it even took Charlie by surprise. She gently pulled her hand away. "We can keep going if you think you're getting the hang of it. But if you're getting frustrated we can take a break." She eases.
Riverpaw flinched, not because the touch was unwelcome but because it startled her - regardless of the light blush on her cheeks, she didn't exactly like being touched when she was zoned out. She snapped herself out of her little bubble. "S-sorry. I can't…if I'm frustrated, I'll just get distracted if I stop, s-so I usually don't until I'm all done."
She slowly pulls her hand away, noticing the flinch. Ah… she was always so scary. And River probably wasn't expecting her to do it. She felt her chest clench almost painfully. She didn't want to scare River at all. That was never her intention. She nods slowly. "We can keep going if you want to." Charlie offered a small smile.
She nodded, taking a breath. She put the pencil down and turned to Charlie, her head lowered slightly in apology. "I-I'm sorry for jumping; I don't want you to t-think that was your fault. Y-your hand just startled me a little."