Willow watched the several flyers shoot overhead at dangerous speeds. She shut her eyes for a moment, letting the winds toss her hair, then opened them to follow a student around the pitch.
She sighed and sat down on the bleachers. Willow would have given it a try, but alas, no broom, she thought gloomily. She wondered if Torrid had a broom. Maybe. Or Silvain. Willow tossed her sketchbook onto the bench, and it skidded a foot and dropped to the ground. She grumbled.
Ferris hadn't been flying for ages. Over the summer his foul old aunt who cared for him - ha! Cared! - had confiscated his broom so he was a little out of practice. That combined with the unknown state of the school quidditch league had resulted in a very rusty Gryffindor goal-keeper. Deciding that if the quidditch season did resume this year that in his current incredibly unprepared state he would most likely end up causing the lions to crash to a defeat or two, Ferris had grabbed his flying robes and broom and headed down to the pitch for a bit of a refresher course.
In contrast to last year, the red and gold robes were no longer too big for him; he had grown considerably this summer, both in height and across the shoulder, and while he was pleased not to look quite so much the fool it was a little strange not to be constantly tripping over the hems - in a good way, of course. His broom was far from the best - at least five years out of date and beginning to list - but it was all he had, and it was still somehow better than any of the school brooms. And he did love to fly.
Disappointed he was then that the skies above the field were already filled with fellow revelers; Ferris never had enjoyed being watched. Instead of taking to the air, he decided that it would be better to wait until things had cleared a little, and so sloped off to the stands were a lone girl was sitting. She didn't look very old - first or second year, perhaps - and had the appearance of someone who needed cheering up. Swallowing down the nerves that hit every single time he was confronted by a new person, Ferris walked over and took a seat beside here.
"Hello," he said in a small voice, his mop of light brown curls obscuring his watery blue eyes until he pushed it back, irritated. "You alright? You look a little peeved."
Even the most timid of creatures has survival instincts.
"Oh, I was just working on something," she said with a sigh, looking up, slightly startled. "It hasn't been going fantastic, but it's not the worse thing that could be happening. I'm Willow," she stated, smiling shyly at him. He seemed nervous, and she concluding he was just shy. No reason not to be, anyone could be. She had been when she first got here, but it was gradually fading with every person she met.
Willow was glad to see he was also in Gryffindor. Besides Felix, all she had met were Ravenclaws, though that wasn't a bad thing. She liked Torrid and Silvain very much, and was glad to have them for friends. She looked skyward for a moment, watching another flyer shoot overhead. Then, she looked back at Ferris, and noticed his broom for the first time. Maybe he could teach her to fly. She swallowed, not sure she had the guts to go that high in the air. It did look like so much fun though, she thought nervously.
She still didn't look happy, Ferris noticed, but he was fairly sure that he wasn't the reason for her dissatisfaction; for one thing, she had looked that way before he had come over. For another, she smiled a shy smile, one which Ferris returned in kind. He was so much better dealing with people younger than himself; if he met another sixth year it was almost guaranteed that they would be more confident than himself, or at least have a circle of friends that didn't need much adding to. Introducing himself to younger years at least put him on more level footing, nervous-wise.
"Ferris," he answered her, giving his own name and accepting hers rather more quickly than usual. "Nice to meet you too. What were you working on?" he asked offhandedly, stooping where he sat to recover the book which she had thrown aside, but then stopping himself before he got there. You never knew what some people might take exception to you looking at without their permission. Hastily straightening back up in his seat he shot a familiar, wobbling smile her way and changed the subject.
"So, do you fly, Willow?" A simple enough question, and hopefully one with an interesting answer. She had to be sat out here for a purpose, after all, and an interest in flying or quidditch was the most likely reason that Ferris could think of. He fiddled with a few stray twigs in his broom tail as he asked her, silently wishing he could afford a decent one. "It's a lot of fun."
She was a tad more nervous than usual, but then again, she'd met a few older than herself, so Ferris was nothing new. Muryllis hadn't even been a student, from what she'd been able to tell. Willow swallowed again and nodded when he introduced himself. She almost grinned when he bent to pick up the book, then picked it up easily herself.
"Oh, its nothing. Just a sketch of the Kirin from Care of Magical Creatures." It wasn't really that great, Willow thought, looking down at the half drawn head. The creature had been so magnifecent, she hadn't been able to resist trying to draw it. And, Willow thought with a smile, she had not done the being justice. At his question about flying, Willow looked sideways at his broom.
"No, I'm muggle-born," she admitted, giving him another smile. Her eyes flashed, daring him to say something about it, but then she realized that was stupid and Willow relaxed again. She replied eagerly, "I'd like to learn though. It looks like fun," and looked back at the sky.
The older Gryffindor began to crane his neck in order to view the kirin she had been attempting to draw earlier but realised that in so doing he would be revealing his fairly prominent Adam's apple - a feature he particularly disliked on himself, and drew back, leaning instead with his body. The sketch was only half done, so it was difficult to tell if Willow was close to capturing the majesty of the creature which had graced Sylph's lesson with its presence; Ferris personally thought this this would be an almost impossible thing to do, but then, he had no talent whatsoever in that department. Or any department, for that matter. Still, he smiled and nodded appreciatively at the drawing, not trusting himself to say anything as anything he did say might come across as uneducated.
There was one thing he could talk about though; quidditch. Ever since he could remember, Ferris had escaped his dark and dreary existence at his Aunt's house with broom in hand as often as possible. His Aunt didn't often stop him; for starters she liked to get rid of him sometimes, but Ferris had no doubt that it was also because she preferred it to other, regular, 'muggle-like' pastimes he might indulge in. So when Willow voiced her wish to learn more about flying, Ferris perked up considerably.
The transformation was remarkable. Gone was the mistiness about his pale blue eyes; they took on a sparkle reminiscent of sunlight on lake water. His hunched shoulders straightened more than had appeared possible previously, and that forced, trembling smile became genuine and confident. Yes, Ferris did love to fly.
"I could teach you," he said quickly, too late to remember that the reason he wasn't flying right then was that the skies were chock full already. "I mean, if you wanted," he added hastily. "There are brooms in the locker rooms - not the best but alright for a first lesson. We wouldn't have to go very high - shall I go and get one for you?"
Even the most timid of creatures has survival instincts.
Willow grinned, glad she'd managed to catch onto a topic Ferris obviously liked. She had a talent for that, hitting on the topic that made people open up, even if she knew nothing about it. She shut the sketchbook, stuffed in her tatter bookbag, and lept to her feet. "Na, I'll go get it. The locker room?"
She didn't wait for an answer, but walked quickly in the direction she was pretty sure was the locker rooms. After all, those people had to be getting brooms somewhere. Blowing her bangs from her face, Willow slipped inside the noisy locker room and spotted the brooms. She seized the handle of a battered cleansweep, and darted back outside to Ferris. Willow liked the feel of the wood in her hands, like holding a big pencil. She couldn't wait to be up in the air. Breathless, she grinned at Ferris again, feeling eager for something for the first time all day.
"Alright." She blew out some breath in a impatient sigh, and looked skyward, then back at the broom. "What do I do now?"
Teagan Offline: This board is full of nostalgia.
Aug 22, 2020 8:39:09 GMT -5
Missing the old MH: gotta say missing when MH and all that was around.
Nov 6, 2019 0:02:30 GMT -5
Willow_lazy: why tf are there 400 posts about adidas
Sept 6, 2018 17:35:57 GMT -5
Azrael: I'm not hard to find, since I'm the only one there who goes by "Azzy", I'm pretty sure. XD
Feb 10, 2018 16:44:41 GMT -5
Azrael: Dunno if anyone still pops by here from time to time, but if any of you mofos do and still feel like gettin' yo nerd on, I've been hanging around this here place a bunch recently: www.roleplayerguild.com/
Feb 10, 2018 16:44:10 GMT -5
Azrael: hold onto your pantaloons
Jul 25, 2016 5:16:43 GMT -5