Let's watch Dodgeball!! Lions Vs. Eagles

WC: 206

The water was cold--colder than she might have thought. Underneath the waves, the cold seemed to hit her harder than it ever had before, seemingly doubling in resonance after the dodgeball sent her in there. Her eyes were closed as the first waves took her under, curling her body around in a grip that was better suited to the ocean. But living on the sea meant that she knew how to get out of rip tides and strong currents. Opening her eyes, she kicked upward and once she broke through the surface, she turned towards the shore in order to swim parallel to it. But she didn't need to tread water all that long because Professor Pendrast has shone up with a boat very quickly.

It was in this vessel she was sheperded to shore, where she was promptly given a blanket and a glass of hot cocoa. Shivering, she gripped the cup and looked back out onto the glass field that floated above the Great Lake. Even though she was no longer there, she still had a team out there she believed in. And the odds, considering the Fumos smoke that had been released, were likely against them. The obvious choice would have been to simply return to Ravenclaw tower and have a hot shower so she could get properly cleaned-up and not smell like lake. But Ruthie wasn't that kind of girl. Water and dirt didn't bother her, especially when there was something much more important at stake: house loyalty.

And so she made her way over to the stands, where she was eager to cheer the Ravenclaw team on to a come back and hopefully, to a victory. As she walked over, she could see it was a smaller crowd than she might have expected--it looked larger from the lake--but still fierce. Most of them were cheering for the lions if the abundance of scarlet and gold was any indication. Turning her head, she looked for a Ravenclaw banner--like the one she was planning for the upcoming Quidditch match--or a scarf but she couldn't see one. As she walked up the steps, her spirit weighed heavy until she saw a small girl buried in a book. Her face was somewhat obscured but as Ruthie climbed higher and the angle changed, she realized it was a face she knew. "Shauna!" she called as she made her way of to the girl and sat next to her. "Whatever are you doing reading? This is the time for cheering!" she exclaimed.

As she settled down in the bench, she pulled her blanket tighter around herself. "Listen to what I came up with. I was going to use it for Quidditch but now's as good a time as ever." She took a sip of her cocoa before begining and then swallowed as she tried to recall the exact wording: "HEY HEY HO HO GRYFFINDOR'S GOT TO GO. HO HO HEY HEY RAVENCLAW'S HERE TO WIN THE GAME!" The chant came off loud and clear, but not as loud it could be if they worked together--or if she wasn't still recovering from the cold. "It's easy to remember. Want to try together?" she asked with a smile. She didn't know Shauna very well, but her impression of her from that time brewing a potion together was that she could be chatty if prompted. And that was what Ruthie prayed for, concerning that with the cold her voice might give out. But even if it did, she would stay. She would stay and she would shout and she'd pray those on the field could hear.

Tag: @Shauna Starr. And feel free to godmode me cheering even more, Shauna.

WC: 208

The fact that Ruthie hadn't noticed Shauna was cheering was a result of her tunnel vision, so focused on creating the greatest uproar. She'd noticed Shauna reading and by the time she got up there, she must have missed the girl's shouts. As she spoke Ruthie had to admit the girl's voice didn't sound normal. "Yeah, falling in is not something I'm especially proud of," she replied as she fished through her pocket for a tin of mints or cough drops. Putting out a small pweter tin, she offered them to her companion. "All I've got are sherbet lemons. Looks like the tin saved them from getting water-logged," she said as she pulled back the lid.

Ruthie reached in and took a sherbet lemon into her own mouth. Slightly salter than normal, but certainly still edible. She was swirling the candy in her mouth when she heard the fellow first year offer her a compliment. "Thanks, but I don't think it was really well. I got hit twice, basically wasted our extra life," she replied looking down slightly. Secretly, she was kind of ashamed of her performance, even if it was bad luck. But at least she had gone out there and there was always Quidditch, where she could try and make up for it performance-wise. She was so focused on her own missteps, she ignored Shauna's remark about not seeing a game. On the contrary she asked, "How's it been watching from here?"

She caught Shauna looking at her before offering they move to some place warmer. "I'm okay," she said, wrapping the blanket around her more tightly, somewhat unconvincingly. "Really," she added for emphasis. More to the point, moving would mean she'd miss some of the match and she really didn't want to do that. She'd already missed enough of it on account of falling into the lake. More would be a travesty.

Turning her head to squeeze out the remaining water from her ponytail, she overhead some mumbling from nearby: "Hhh hhh mmm mm hyhinhor's hat who ho!" The general rhythm sounded like her cheer, but the words were all garbled up as though the speaker had been hit by a confundus charm. Uncertain, she turned her head and tried to identify the source. "Jorah!" she called out when she spotted her friend, "Come and join us!" She waved at him while tugging on her blanket. As the wind drifted in with a new gust of cold, she drank in her cocoa. The mumbler, she decided, would just have to be left up there. Hopefully they would join in proper rather than being annoying, but she didn't want to lose any more time on it. Turning back to face the game, she sniffled slightly and watched, figuring she'd have to become section cheerleader soon, which was a role would relish. Excelling in screaming seemed much easier than the time she'd spent out on the glass field.

Tag: @Shauna Starr & @Jorah Moussa

WC: 325

Interacting with @Ruthie Greer @Shauna Starr @Dymphna Teague

Ruthie was glad that Shauna seemed to enjoy the sherbet lemon. Herself, she thought it was saltier than normal, but hey, one sherbet lemon was better than no sherbet lemon, just as cocoa is better than no cocoa. She held her glass close to her body as the wind kicked up slightly.

Her eyes widened while she listened to Shauna explain the dodgeball match. The way her friend explained it with all the clauses and present progressive verbs, dodgeball seemed more like a war than a game. It was a miracle she had made it out without injury. Ruthie sat back in her blanket, taking in this explanation, but what struck her most of all was Shauna's final words: that it was fun to watch once understood. "Have you've not played dodgeball before then?" she asked, curiously. It struck her that perhaps a pureblood might not have played before and that she knew little of Shauna's life outside Hogwarts, but still. The probability seemed low that she would be so sheltered, didn't it?

As she drunk in more of the cocoa, she caught Shauna shaking her head at her. "I won't catch a cold," Ruthie insisted, "and even if I did, it'd be worth it. The team needs us." It was just as she said this that she felt another cloak on top of her blanket. It was rough, but warm, an extra layer that she needed if she were going to stay out here through the end of the game. Smiling at the suggestion of popcorn, she scrapped the bottom of his bowl for some kernels. "Thanks," she said lightly, unaware how much concern he was giving her.

Jorah was in the middle of introducing himself--Ruthie suspected and hoped they'd get along--when his attention was snapped by the events of the field. He called out to warn Dymphna of an on-coming ball headed her way. Ruthie looked out and could see it whirling the same way two had shot out at her earlier. And more than that, Ruthie could make out what looked like charm headed her way as well. Gritting her teeth in suspense, she put a cold, damp hand on Jorah's shoulder for support in this moment of suspense. "Merlin, I hope she makes it," she said. To be honest, when she had been on the field, she hadn't been paying as much attention to her team mates as perhaps she should have done. Shauna had been here the longest and even though her point of view might be different, she still had the most information. "Outside of two of us getting knock out, how has the team looked so far?" she questioned the girl.

Interacting with @Shauna Starr & @Jorah Moussa