Shadows at the Shore.
LOCATION | Great Lake, Hogwarts
DATE | 1st November 2024
INTERACTING | @Edwin Westbridge
black plaid bj bottoms, brown cardigan| OUTFIT
chaconne | SONG
During Meiyu's short time within the castle, very rarely, had she been presented with such a perfect opportunity to have a dog of her own; something she never knew she needed until this very moment. In theory, the idea was flawless, training someone to worship your every command, comply with whatever thought passed her mind. Unfortunately for the young lioness, very few wished to truly comply; passing up the opportunity of a lifetime. Simply, Meiyu enjoyed getting her way, even if she had to resort to childish tactics such as crying pathetically; disregarding once more, his remark on her sudden scream, one that was rightful in her mind given his assault.
Whilst frantically running towards the lake, her ears working with her mind to immediately block out anything said, hyper-fixated on her sole goal, to attack. A fruitless attempt, shock cascading across her face once he grabbed her cardigan to pull her down, forcing her into the water. Unable to comprehend the entirety of the situation, her body quickly meeting the bitterly cold surface first, then her face, submerging into the shallow waters, shrieking in the process. The sheer force of his pull only fuelled her anger, followed by the realisation that she was now significantly more wet than she initially was further added onto her irateness. Despite her mind racing with new methods to attack, perhaps a brutal strangling — nobody would miss him anyway, the suddenness of his laugh diverted her focus from the entire ordeal; more-so, Meiyu's plans of a vicious attack.
Forced to beckon with it all, she quickly realised it was her fault, throwing his slipper into the lake in hope her potential dog in training would listen to her command. Yet, Edwin's quick thinking in whatever form of self defence that was only prompted her to smile down at him. Confusion soon washed her expression as Meiyu internally questioned why she was looking down at him, despite their one inch height difference; one she was beyond adamant would not last, expecting to grow significantly by the end of the year. Then, it dawned on her that she was on him, hastily scrambling away with a scowl before she splashed him in return.
"How could you laugh? I'm drenched because of you, if anything, I'll get sick first and far worse than you will." Meiyu yelled with a scoff, once more, truly no longer caring for the volume she spoke in. If they were to get caught, the situation was far more dire given they were in the water by this point. Opting to submerge in the water further, she turned her head to the open water, appearing more inviting with the serenity the night brought. The single ounce of rationality Meiyu held was immediately thrown out of the window, her body moving vastly easier through the water as she went further into the lake. The grip on her shoes aiding her swift movement against the sediment resting at the bottom, until, her feet could no longer reach the lake's bed, forcing her to kick her legs and divert her focus on keeping afloat.
Swiftly turning back to the boy who rested half submerged, Meiyu partially smiled at him, though likely to be not visible due to the darkness in the night, the moon's silver tinge being the sole illuminator. It didn't take long for the dip in temperature, initially almost shocking her to death, embracing her with warmth, her body adjusting perfectly to accommodate; almost tricking her mind that the water was warm to begin with.
Edwin was... unpredictable. During their first encounter, a few hours ago, she wouldn't have assumed he would even risk leaving the warmth confinement of the common room. Nor did she expect him to brutally attack her back, although, she should have expected that one day, a dog will bite back after being provoked countless of times. Fluttering her eyes shut and taking a deep inhale, Meiyu's exhale eased her bubbling anger she felt earlier, quickly calming her mood with ease; a behaviour she quickly developed during her time in the castle, finding herself often angry with the presence of others. Once she opened her eyes again, her gaze fixated on him, speculating whether or not he would indulge in recklessness once more or falter.
Extending her hand out, as he did earlier, inviting him to join, she cautiously called out.
"Since we're in, care to swim?"
Shadows at the Shore.
@Meiyu Xiang
Speech
As his back crashed against the pebbled floor of the lake, Edwin felt another weight crashing down atop him, clearly his quick thinking to drag her down with him had succeeded. There was a brief moment of panic, convinced that she would continue in her fit of rage and attempt to drown him, even if the shallow water would never allow that. Thankfully, she scampered off before he had even began to formulate a plan to free himself, leaving him half-submerged in the ice cold water. He began to sit up out of the water, the cold air offering no relief to the cold, if anything making it far worse, his body having began to acclimate to the water.
With a dejected sigh, his dipped himself back under the water, reflecting on how exactly he had found himself in this situation. On every other night since he had arrived at Hogwarts, he would of been tucked up in bed, fast asleep at this hour, and yet here he was, half-submerged in the lake, feeling as if he was about to freeze to death. Despite how ridiculous it would sound if he were to say it aloud, it was far more fun than his typical night would of been, and it was this moment of clarity and thought that lead him to begin to laugh, splashing water in her direction.
"It's just so stupid that it's funny," He began, her yelling only making him laugh more. "Because of me?" He snorted, going to sit up once more, only to throw himself back into the water as soon as he was exposed to the air. "You threw my slipper into the water, and then ran in after me, I simply defended myself. I'm the victim here, if anything." If he were to rationally think about it, there was a tiny chance that perhaps he shared a tiny amount of the blame for them both becoming wet, however, Edwin was not one to think that rationally, perfectly happy to continue being the victim of a horrifying assault.
Somewhat surprisingly, as he glanced over towards Meiyu, she was heading deeper into the lake, and whilst she appeared to be looking in his direction, her expression was unreadable in the dark. He glanced briefly up towards the moon, it was only getting darker, and when they inevitably had to sneak back through the castle, they'd do so whilst soaking wet, a single blanket being the only thing that remotely resembled a towel, which she would surely wrestle from him if he even looked like he wanted to grab it. That would be something for him to worry about later, though, as he finally forced himself to stand up, enduring the cold for a moment.
He slowly trudged after her, going deeper and deeper into the lake, the water offering a welcoming relief from the cold air, his body having acclimated almost entirely during the brief moments that he had lay half-submerged. It wasn't a pleasant walk, his slipper-less foot occasionally stepping onto sharp edges of rocks that lined the lakes surface, letting out the occasional "Ow," or another small display of pain.
It didn't take him long to reach a point where he was having to stand on his toes to stay standing, Meiyu only slightly ahead with her arm extended, inviting him to swim.
"If you don't drown me, sure." He said, his tone light hearted. Despite his tone, it was a slight concern as he reached out to grab ahold of her hand, using it to pull himself quickly, no longer able to plant his feet, having to gentle tread through the water to keep himself afloat. It wasn't the greatest sight, he was clearly someone who had been taught to swim, but had rarely ever done it since, relying on what little muscle memory he had to tread water.
After having pulled himself out, he released her hand, clumsily swimming slightly further out, carefully trying to ensure that his hair remained as dry as possible, not wanting to spend the night with soaking wet hair.
"There's meant to be a squid down here somewhere, right?" He eventually asked, peering downwards, as if he could see it. "Wonder how far out you have to go before you find it."
Shadows at the Shore.
LOCATION | Great Lake, Hogwarts
DATE | 1st November 2024
INTERACTING | @Edwin Westbridge
black plaid bj bottoms, brown cardigan, stolen blanket| OUTFIT
chaconne | SONG
Embarrassment took its forefront as Meiyu dawned on the entire situation, allowing her anger once more, to take precedent and control her behaviour. Briefly contemplating the ordeal, she begrudgingly internally agreed with the latter, almost faltering her entire demeanour to share laughter with him, until, he began his portrayal as the victim once more. "You threw a wet slipper at my beautiful face, I'm going to wake up with a bruise tomorrow." She screeched immediately disputing his claims, shaking her head in disapproval; wincing at the odd and partially stiff sensation of her mostly wet head of hair. Resorting to childish antics was never something Meiyu was entirely fond of doing, considering she often was the assailant; like she had been this entire evening, however, a small fragment of her could commend Edwin for having some backbone, making him the perfect candidate for her dog in waiting. The entire idea refusing to leave her train of thought, as long as she was within vicinity, he would be subjected to abuse and inadvertently, become her blanket of security if such matters required it, content with blaming him for any idea she had.
Swimming had served a useful skill Meiyu learnt in earlier years, not actively engaging in the hobby she was forced to learn in the event she would be required to swim across the ocean under adrenaline's influence, yet, her skill level was adequate enough to aid her in her journey deeper into the lake. Frequently, she wondered about swimming in the lake after hours, typically having these thoughts in moments of solitude where she ran off to the Great Lake, seeking quietness contrary to the bustling atmosphere of the girl's dormitory. Although, the experience quickly proved to differ from the image her mind portrayed, idealising the liquid to embrace her warmly, unfortunately, it had not, despite her body temperature adjusting to prevent a hypothermic shock. It still ticked one thing off her mental bucket-list, which was a success compared to the usual lacklustre events that occurred within the fortress on a daily basis.
The shadow approaching her, had he been older and more muscular, would be enough to send her into a shock, fortunately, the boy being half-submerged into the water and struggling pass through the lake's bed and water's resistance appeared significantly more humorous. Meiyu, unable to hide her content with his evident struggle, merely grinned mischievously as she glared approached her.
"Drown you? I would never do such a thing! Why would you think that?" She retorted with jest, the desire to make another attempt at drowning Edwin growing once more, though, with less malicious intent this time. Her grin plastering her face as he took her hand to briefly aid his ascent into swimming, the sight alone prompting a hearty laugh from her, amused by the lack of skill he had, one she had always presumed to be an essential skill everyone had; once more, proved wrong by the lion. Glaring at him once her laughter subsided as he made an attempt to swim further, once Meiyu was content, she began to swim once more, following behind him, cautious not to extend too far out into the lake given the darkness of the evening.
Stopping in her motion to attempt to observe the alleged squid in the water, she scowled at her fruitless attempt of glaring down at the water beneath her chin, restricted by visibility she did what any reasonable person would, dive. Taking a rather large inhale prior to holding her breath, she dunked down into the almost freezing water, her vision immediately obscured by the lack of light beneath the water's surface; the moon's radiance providing more than enough when out the water, only to be useless beneath. Frustrated by the poor visibility, cold water and now entirely soaked, she rose to the surface once more squinting her eyes in attempt to regain her vision, scoffing at the boy and internally blaming him for lying.
"There's nothing there you stupid liar!" she sneered, irritated once more, partially towards herself for believing Edwin and for being stupid enough to fully submerge herself into the water. No longer interested in swimming with the boy following his lie, she shifted her body to begin swimming back towards the shore, quietly muttering insults at him in the process. Once reaching the shore and almost crawling out of the water, she winced at how much harsher the cold air had gotten, her once beloved pyjamas instantly clinging onto her body like an unwanted presence. Despite having fun only moments ago submerged in the water, Meiyu immediately regretted the idea and walked briskly towards the blanket, wrapping the thin material around herself as her teeth began to chatter due to the low outdoor temperature. Should Edwin decide to depart, he could walk back soaking wet, served him right for fooling her, even if he had not coerced her into swimming or diving into the water in search of a sea creature.
As she began stomping towards the castle, attempting to ignore the squelching sounds coming from her wet shoes, Meiyu's instinct urged her to look back for some reason. Yet, upon doing so, she was met with the sight of a shadow at the shore running towards her, clearly desiring the blanket he earlier engulfed during slumber. What a greedy and selfish bastard. Turning back once more, her pace increased as she began to sprint with a smile, as she tightened her grip on the blanket she stole.
FINISHED.
NOTE: Permission to godmod Edwin from his writer.