September 10th, 1891 — Fifth Year Gryffindor Girl's Dormitory

Unlike the majority of last year, the routine of skipping breakfast was entirely accidental this time around. Alice wasn't going out of her way to avoid Cameron anymore (nor was she actively seeking him out or willingly engaging) but she was still trying to cram as much information into her head and notes as she feasibly could. There were two hundred and sixty three days remaining in this school year and it still wasn't enough time to memorize all the information she hoped to.

She almost didn't notice Sloane in their shared dorm room when she came rushing back in to retrieve her forgotten herbology textbook. Alice certainly wouldn't have noticed her friend at all if Sloane wasn't still seated on the edge of her bed looking rather...panicked. "Is everything alright?" Alice cautiously asked. They weren't even two weeks into the school year, things with Cameron couldn't have imploded that fast. "Why aren't you at breakfast?"

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Sloane Bixby/Elsie Kirke

  

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Amazing set by Bee!

Something in her had snapped in the last couple days, of that are was sure. Everything annoyed her. Everything. Even Hatch had said something last night that had her rolling her eyes and leaving the table because she thought it a better idea than growling at everyone's mere presence.

Then she'd woken up this morning to a terrible, just awful, stomach ache and then it happened.

And everything clicked into place.

Except Sloane had never really been prepared for this. Her mother had four boys ahead of her after all and none of them had needed this particular discussion. Maybe Fiona had forgotten? Maybe since Sloane hadn't asked yet hey mother assumed it wasn't as issue? There was surely some vague recollection of at least one or two of her roommates already dealing with this, but Sloane had most certainly not.

She had waited everyone else out, typical as she was a late riser anyway and often one of the last ones to breakfast, but she was sure this was a huge mess she didn't know how to clean up or how to prevent it again.

Opening the curtains around her bed shed enough light on the murder scene to officially embarrass her, which of course was when Alice came back to the dorm. There was no hiding her panic and all she could do was pass Alice a wry smile, refusing to move. "Pretty sure I'm dying. It was nice knowing you."

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Were she less distracted, Alice might have caught onto Sloane's issue sooner. The young Bixby was among the last in their dormroom to receive their monthlies and was, in Alice's opinion, long overdue. The redhead had been dealing with the consequences of womanhood since the summer before third year. By now, she had the process of cleaning and preparation down to a neat science.

However, with her own course still over two weeks away, all thoughts of monthlies were far from Alice's thoughts. She frowned at Sloane, her brows furrowing in concern. "What do you mean you're dying?! What's wrong?" Alice moved towards the bed with haste, realizing only on her last step the red stain seeping into the otherwise white sheets.

"Oh." She said in surprise, a sigh of relief escaping as the panic soon passed. "You're not dying. Did your mum not prepare you...?"

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Amazing set by Bee!

Sloane grimaced in disgust.

"It was mentioned, but she raised four boys ahead of me, there wasn't a lot of detail." Okay no detail. "Plus I feel like I'm late?" Honestly it wasn't something Sloane had paid much attention to, preferring to give her roommates, privacy in this unpleasant matter. "I did not get the rundown on what to do though..." How big of a fool did she look like right now? Alice certainly knew what she was doing, not because Sloane was sure she had already dealt with this, but she was the oldest sister in a line of more, she knew how to take care of a mess. Sloane was the youngest and the one always making the mess. The contrast was stark and Sloane was keenly aware of it at this very moment.

"I'll figure it out, it's fine." The last thing she wanted was to make Alice late for class.

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Right. This was something she would have to talk Sloane through, then. Alice was hardly going to abandon her friend to deal with the disgustingness that was being caught unprepared for her monthly. Not even a horrible friend would be so cruel.

"Okay, so here's what we're going to do," she responded calmly, crouching down so that she was more eye level with Sloane. "We're going to tend to the mess, there's a few easy charms you can do for that." Alice could teach them to Sloane later on, right now was about minimizing the damage of embarrassment. Gesturing for Sloane to move, Alice then quickly demonstrated the charms she was speaking of to clean the sheets. "Now, did your mum put supplies in your trunk? They're like a thick cloth." Alice didn't have enough to share hers long term, but she could at least supply Sloane with some until Mrs. Bixby was able to help. "You're going to need to wear it for a few days at least, most likely a week."

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Amazing set by Bee!

Though Sloane felt conflicted about Alice taking over, she was relieved her friend didn't just ditch her altogether. They'd had a rocky year last year, but when it was all said and done, she felt like her friendship with Alice was stronger this year. For that she was eternally grateful.

As Alice was known to do, she took charge and big-sistered the situation with a level of calm Sloane would never possess. The sheets were clean with a flick of a wand and Sloane was left trying to think about the question Alice was even asking her. "I think so? There's a little red drawstring bag in my trunk Mum always packs 'just in case.' Now I know what it's for." It hadn't been given much thought before this, but clearly that had been a mistake. Sloane moved toward her trunk, but immediately stopped. Now that she was vertical things were getting much worse.

Ugh. Why couldn't she have been a boy?

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At least Mrs. Bixby hadn't left Sloane entirely unprepared. Alice opened Sloane's trunk (not caring in that moment for any privacy her friend might've preferred) and quickly found the bag. The contents of the bag were a bit lacking, in Alice's opinion, but it would suffice for now. She pulled out the belt which held the cloth in place and one of the cloths and placed them both on the bed.

"Alright, the next part is a bit gross and requires being undressed. I can help you if you're okay with that. The belt is a bit tricky to figure out at first, it isn't impossible though if you're uncomfortable." Alice was calm and as matter of fact as she could manage.

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Amazing set by Bee!

Whatever it was that Alice pulled from her trunk was not what Sloane was expecting, then again she hadn't known what to expect. What came next was just as unexpected and Sloane found her cheeks coloring pink without intending for them to.

"I think I can manage." Sloane would not subject either one of them to that level of embarrassment. As close as they were, there was no need to reach such lows. "I'll just, um, go in the washroom." She said as she pulled the belt and cloth from the bed beside her. She would be glad to be shot of the soiled nightgown and so also paused at her trunk to grab a clean chemise. This was ridiculous.

In the washroom, she pulled the nightgown over her head and then tossed it in the nearby sink. Standing there all flat-chested and skinny legs. She tossed her drawers in with her gown and looked at the contraption she was about to finagle to her body into. Fortunately she was not so incapable as she would have imagined. "Why is being a girl so hard!" She called with a frustrated sigh.

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She nodded and allowed Sloane the dignity of not being stared at as the younger Gryffindor headed to the washroom. Instead, Alice busied herself with cleaning any remaining mess and retrieving her forgotten books. Hopefully Sloane would be able to figure out the belt and cloth without issue, for Alice didn't much desire becoming so intimately acquainted with her friend.

It was a few minutes later that Sloane returned with blessedly good news. Yes, it was difficult being a woman, but at least neither Gryffindor would have to endure further embarrassment today. "Because boys would combust if they were forced to deal with these issues," she answered with a hint of a laugh. "They really would believe they were dying."

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With that settled, Sloane threw her dressing gown back over her and moved to the sink to rinse the clothes. Thankfully she suspected the house elves knew how to handle this, so she simply threw them into the hamper in the corner. How annoying.

Once she reemerged into the dorm itself, snorting at Alice's rebuttal for her comment about being a woman. "You're right there." She sighed, moving to her wardrobe to fish out some new clothes to wear. "They'd be in the hospital wing for sure. Is there anything I can take for these pains?" It was very uncomfortable and would likely be some kind of distracting today. There was little motivation to want to be a functioning student at the moment. Her bed and some extra sleep sounded positively glorious.

"You don't think anyone would miss me today if I just curled up in bed, do you?" Sloane hesitated, thinking about grabbing another nightgown instead of her school robes.

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"Madame [Nurse] has an herb that helps with the worst of the cramping. You have to be cautious not to use too much of it as it can cause some other stomach issues." Alice explained, grimacing as she remembered the extreme constipation she suffered after accidentally ingesting too much of the herb. It was such a horrific experience that she hadn't risked the herb again, choosing instead to suffer through the worst of the pain.

Alice frowned then. She wanted to allow Sloane to sleep through it, but then her friend might develop a habit of doing just so for every course. And then what? Would Sloane simply miss a week a month for the rest of her life? "I think you should see how you feel after the herb," Alice offered gently. "This is a lifelong predicament I'm afraid, so you'll have to become accustomed to the pain."

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Amazing set by Bee!

Groaning slightly, she moved to pull a set of school robes out of her wardrobe. At least they were dark in color, lest there be any more accidents today. "I'll give it a try." Anything to get rid of these Merlin-forsaken cramps. At least she had made it to fifteen without having to deal with this. Ugh, quidditch practice was going to be interesting.

"But if I still feel crummy after lunch, I'm calling it quits." A nap would help, she was sure, but Alice was right, as always, she probably should at least try the day. Begrudgingly, she got herself all dressed and even plaited her hair with minimal effort.

"Hey Alice," She sighed, once she was all ready to go. "Thanks." Fortunately, though her mother had somewhat failed her here, she had good friends to help fill in the gaps.

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