Reopened 9/6 Pas de Deux PV

english | russian

Amina only heard her own panting and the crunching of the snow under her running shoes. A few birds were chirping, but otherwise the whole camp was still in deep slumber.
The young Durmstrang was just going about her morning routine. Every morning she ran 8km, no matter what the weather, no matter how late she had gone to bed - fitness was no joke and she had to be fit for the Quidditch match.
Besides, those early morning minutes were her personal retreat where she could recharge her social batteries. Yes, she loved the hustle and bustle, she loved being in (or causing) chaos, but sometimes she needed just that: her breathing, her heartbeat, her footsteps and nothing else.
This time especially, she needed the time to reflect. She couldn't let go of some of yesterday's events and that bothered her. Normally, she could dismiss such situations with a laugh and a roll of her eyes and return to her bubbly and cheerful self. But two things bothered her and made her pause in the process. One of them, concerning Aaron and the funny feeling she'd had when she'd wondered if he'd kissed more people than his girlfriend, she'd written off as nonsense and pushed to the back of her mind.
The other: Why were so many people so reserved or shy when it came to kissing? It wasn't a big deal, was it? Kissing was just fun. But still, she felt like she didn't understand the others. Or they didn't understand her.

Her soldier in particular was still on her mind. Not only because she really would have liked to know what that would have felt like (she really would have liked to kiss him), but also because she felt like she had... hurt him?
Amina wrinkled her nose as she thought about it. Empathy had never been her strong suit. For something like this, she needed someone with a little more sensitivity. But maybe he just wasn't the type to like kissing? She kissed her lip and shrugged her shoulders. Maybe he was taken or gay after all. She simply didn't have a better explanation. Besides, what did she care? He was probably fine and she had her own issues to deal with.

For the last few hundred meters, the girl gritted her teeth and put in a little sprint.
Her breath froze on her lips and rose in clouds. This winter wonderland was truly bizarre at this time of year.
Luckily, she had put on her lined gray sweatpants. The sweater, emblazoned with the logo of the Bulgarian Quidditch team and looking rather worn by now, also kept her warm.
She had tied her chin-length hair into a short ponytail, but a few strands had already come loose and fallen into her eyes.
Going as fast as she possibly could, she turned around a tree and ran full speed into someone.
Although her reflexes were excellent, she was caught off guard. With a little surprised squeak, she turned to the side at the last second to avoid tackling the poor person, hit her shoulder hard against a tree instead and rolled off the momentum of her fall. Like a ninja, she came to a halt on one knee with one hand on the ground, breathing heavily and giggling as she always did when something happened to her with an adrenaline rush. She barely felt the throbbing in her shoulder.
Blinking against the rising sun, the girl looked up at the human obstacle with a grin. “This is a robbery! Give me all your money!” She pretended to pull a sword out of an imaginary belt and bounced back on her feet. Then she recognized him. Speaking of the devil, what a coincidence! Her heart jumped happily and the grin turned into a beam.
“Oh, it’s you! So sorry, you can keep your money. I know you are about to go fight for love and country! You’ll need every last penny for that, I assume.” She couldn’t help but return to their story.

Her eyes wandered over his features and clothes. He looked a bit tired, judging by the shadows under his eyes. Still very handsome. She barely could hold back a sigh. What a shame. “Up for an early run too? What brings you out in the wilderness, soldier?” She put the imaginary sword back in her belt and popped up her hands on her hips instead, tilting her head and courteously waiting for an answer.

@Pericles Dralt

| Amina Petrovic (@Ileen Knight) |

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	Runner's high was bliss. As Pericles burst into a sprint, adrenaline cleared his head, numbing troubled thoughts with the comfortable mindlessness of mechanical motion. He didn't think much of what he believed to be the sound of his own echoing footsteps, until it was too late. A figure burst from around the bend. He spun to avoid collision, gasping and stumbling a few steps further from the momentum. Although at first he wheeled around with a rather nasty glower, recognition and shock overtook his freckled features, catching the sight of the fellow runner thunking against a tree before catching herself. She announced a robbery before he could so much as speak, and Pericles gawked. He very briefly considered continuing his run. Instead with a light tilt of his head, chest heaving, he panted a bewildered "Amina?" He wouldn't be forgetting this one anytime soon. Charm seemed intrinsic with the Durmstrang girl, whose bright smile, cheeky declaration, and knack for silly stories hit him like a wave of charisma. Pericles- reticent, mellow, with bouts of misanthropy- was a perfect parallel. He could only squint and try to catch his breath as she effortlessly resumed last night's fantasy. She was good. Gratingly good. After asked why he was out and about, he mirrored her once-over, looking between his black tracksuit and her gray sweats as he puffed, "Same as you, I imagine." He sighed steam and dabbed the sheen of sweat from his brow, frustratingly aware of his wasted heart rate. "That was some hit. Are you alright? I have bruise paste in my tent, if you'd like-" an internal wince as he realized in his politeness, he'd invited the serial kisser back to an enclosed space, and corrected "-or we could, keep running...?" He jabbed a thumb to the trail behind him.
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english | russian

Her green eyes sparkled with amusement as he called out her name in that incredulous tone, almost as if she were an illusion. “The one and only, at your service!” She slapped her heels together military style and saluted promptly.
Her gaze trailed off to his sweats and jacket, which did not hide his labored breathing, and finally caught on the small drops of sweat that had formed on his face. His real eye glowed even more intensely, clearly highlighted by cheeks reddened from running.
Amina thought this outfit looked better on him than his formal outfit from yesterday. But what could she say? She simply found sportsmen more attractive. She would have liked to wipe the sweat off his forehead.
She was digging her fingers into her trouser legs to stop herself from putting her last thought into action. The throat kiss had been a clear sign.
But Pericles brought her back to reality at that very moment. The cheeky smile returned to her face and hopefully replaced the dreamy look that had to be there seconds ago.Thankfully she normally recovered very quickly. “A fellow runner, how nice. I normally don’t meet a lot of… workout people in Hogwarts.And don’t worry, it’s fine.” She immediately brushed off his concerns and had to chuckle when she thought of how much worse she had been.
“You wouldn’t believe if I told you what already happened to me in the past. This is barely a scratch. But…” She playfully wiggled her eyebrows. “I might take you up on it if it starts to bruise. Since it was obviously entirely your fault.” She giggled and her smile deepened, as she tried to cover up her fast beating heart which was heavily pounding in her chest and not only due to the final sprint. The blush on her cheeks was probably concealed as well from her labored appearance after this run. Carefully she focused on her breathing, trying to slow it down. She didn’t want him to take her for a weakling - although she already was pretty tired. Then again. She was really curious to spend more time with him - and if she ran with him, she at least would be at his pace of he decided to run away from her again..?
So she shrugged casually and tilted her head. “I was actually just finishing up, but how could I possibly turn down that offer? A private escort through those woods by a brave soldier? Sold. Heard there are tons of bandits around.”

@Pericles Dralt

| Amina Petrovic (@Ileen Knight) |

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	Despite the menagerie of vibrant characters he called friend, Pericles was quickly coming to the conclusion that Amina was unlike most anyone he knew. Quirky, playful, and above all unapologetically herself, she was a shock of color against his ambiguous gray. The heir, whose thoughts and actions were shaped by propriety and restraint, was left weighing whether to feel drawn in or repelled by the contrast. Ultimately his allure for the unfamiliar won out. “A fellow runner, how nice. I normally don’t meet a lot of… workout people in Hogwarts.” Despite the flightiness on his face, Pericles quirked a small smile between the panting breaths he tried to stifle. "Yes, well... as good for the mind as it is the body," he offered lamely. His invitation radiated push and pull alike. Curiosity lured him nearer, yet caution kept him at a distance. That was the social tightrope he walked: close, but not too close. The Ravenclaw was still sussing her out. It didn't surprise him to hear Amina was accustomed to bumps and bruises, Quidditch player or no. She came off as the rambunctious sort who flirted with danger on the reg. With last night's introduction still fresh on his mind, Peri reasoned that peril wasn't the only thing she was keen on courting. The Durmstrang girl surely had no issue turning that charm on most anyone, he had just been an odd exception, though she didn't seem to hold it against him. He nearly believed that her mention of "just finishing up" was a polite means of an out until she went on to tease, “A private escort through those woods by a brave soldier? Sold. Heard there are tons of bandits around.” Ever the actress, dancing through some story. He wondered over her whimsical habit, and without realizing it had hooked him, Peri joined in with a wry scoff. "Tell me about it. I was just threatened with a robbery thirty seconds or so ago." He slid Amina a pointed look before gesturing to the path ahead with his chin. "A cool-down, then." The sudden stop had completely thrown off his carefully calibrated heart rate, anyhow. Not wanting to waste what was left of the morning hour, Pericles set off at a moderately quick walk, adjusting his long-legged stride to mirror Amina's pace. She had caught him in the middle of still unpacking those unfamiliar feelings the Spin had spun him through. This was awkward, and unideal, but fate had a funny sense of humor. His seer of a mother often said that there was no such thing as coincidence. Maybe it was time to take a page from Durmstrang's book for once, approach not only head-on, but out in the open. All that racing around his maze of a head had done was get him tangled up in his own thoughts. He had replayed the moment it all went south: a night which started as a casual chance to spend time with friends, the unease of realizing what kind of event it actually was, an attempt at carrying anyways, leading to fruitless encounters with everyone except for them. Pericles had always peered down his Grecian nose at the concept of "kiss roulettes". They seemed indulgent, shallow, and ultimately inane. Then he'd bumped into Amina and- for what he could only account for as a lapse in sensibility- came close to playing along. She made it seem easy. Even Eve- who he always considered an equal in decorum- hadn't taken the Spin so seriously. He thought of his flustered exit, her worried pursuit, and their terse falling out on account of his jealousy. It was an awful lot of firsts for one night. Maybe, a perspective opposite his own was just the thing he needed to make sense of it all. "Amina...?" The bird walked on her right, keeping her on the side of his good eye, which flicked her way with his hesitant address. "About last night.... It really wasn't you, you know. You were right. I just wasn't ready. I don't normally go to those-" the pureblood danced around a display of disdain, trying not to come off as crass "-but my friend had only mentioned it as a dance. I wasn't prepared, and I overreacted."
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english | russian

With a teasing bow, Amina accepted the Ravenclaw's suggestion and began to trudge in the direction he pointed. She wasn't particularly tall, but still tried to keep up a decent pace. He kept up effortlessly. “Good thing I was there to stop the robbery. I promise, I will have your back if you have mine!”

While they were walking, she peered at his profile and tried to figure out what was going on in his head. Amina never has been good at reading people and frankly has also been lacking effort in that department. She was more the kind of ‘going with the flow’, spontaneously doing whatever her gut told her and just assuming everybody felt the same way she did until she actually was presented with a clash of realities that forced her to take a step back. Like the throat-kiss with Pericles.
She apparently had scared him away and to avoid doing that again, she did her best to make sense of the facial expressions and body language she was presented with. A fight she was losing the moment she started it. Cautious politeness? Intrigue? Dread?

When he said her name, more like a cautious question, her heart tightened. Did she really want to know the answer? She wasn't sure she could bear someone accusing her of being too pushy. That he wanted to be alone.
But no. He had caught her completely off guard with something else. He had apologized to her! That was new. Normally, people demanded that she apologize to them.
For a moment, a cheeky reply of the sort: ‘you should apologize, that was really outrageous to deny my courtship’ was on the tip of her tongue, but then he continued with his explanation and Amina's features softened. She stopped and reached out to gently hold him back by the arm, if he would allow it.
“Oh, don’t worry about it” Her eyes searched his gaze, her hand still on his arm unless he shook her off. She sensed that this was serious and she tilted her head as she looked at him thoughtfully.
His apology had triggered a flood of feelings that she couldn't really put her finger on, so she was just trying to buy time to compose herself. But she knew one thing: She didn't want him to feel like he had to justify himself. So she cut out her normal teasing and squeezed his arm reassuringly, a warm sparkle in her green eyes.
“Thank you, though. Sometimes I step on people's toes without really noticing it, you know? Especially with this kissing topic. So maybe it’s me who owes you an apology.” She tilted her head, still holding his gaze and chewing on her lower lip, as she tried to come up with the right words for her explanation. This was so weird. Normally, people didn’t talk to her about those kinds of things - maybe because they assumed she didn’t really care much about romance and love. And they wouldn’t be wrong. But this was different. It wasn’t about love. It was about being in the moment or not. And the meaning of kissing. And she wanted to make sure he knew that she didn't mean to be too pushy. He offered her an explanation and so he deserved his.
With a shrug, trying to pretend that this was no big deal to her, she proceeded. “You know, kissing is just.. fun to me. It’s nice, it feels good, and the part where you don’t know what's happening and the surprise are the best parts. But I am not an expert. I normally beat people to it. Never been kissed, always the one kissing. I wonder what that’s like.” She shrugged and the smile returned to her face, shaping her eyes into half moons. “I guess a lot of people put a lot of meaning to a kiss. Especially the first. But In my opinion, it’s over-dramatised and better to get it out of the way. It’s not the kiss that means something, it’s who you are sharing it with... I guess I would overthink it if I was in love. But if not… It is a really nice experience that shouldn’t be put on a pedestal in my opinion. And who knows. Maybe your friend wanted to kiss you, you know? And that’s why she lured you there?” The Durmstang giggled as she rambled on and shook her head, slowly returning to her cheerful self. “I get it. I can’t say I wasn’t curious.” Her eyes trailed back to his lips, lingering there for a moment.

@Pericles Dralt

| Amina Petrovic (@Ileen Knight) |

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	Though there was no attempt on Peri's end to pull his arm away, Amina would feel his tension through her touch, muscles braced to put space between them. Something about the hypnotic shine of her emerald eyes set off warning bells in his head. Thoughts of hag-slugs arose again, namely their nature of transmitting via kiss and driving their hosts to spread the parasite, making them mad for locking lips with fresh victims. Supposedly, one of the Durmstrang tents had already suffered an incident. The Ravenclaw kept a straight face despite the shudder crawling up his spine, speaking with deceptive nonchalance as he brushed off her apology, trying to hide his suspicion. "Consider it accepted. You didn't get what you were expecting, and I didn't know what was going on. Honest mistakes." Some of Peri's paranoia waned when Amina went on to explain herself. Kissing strangers was fun, it felt good, and she liked the surprises that came with the unfamiliar. As much as the bird was still fairly convinced that a parasite might be involved, at least those uncomplicated motives gave grounds to an alternative. Still, it seemed callous to call the act unimportant. Pericles looked dubious until Amina implied he'd been invited by a friend with ulterior motives. Surprise flashed across his face, the memory of a kiss warming his cheek like a phantom touch. His words were laced with doubt as he muttered, "Aly? No, she's... mindful about making everyone feel included." It finally occurred to him that he'd left her planned event early, and probably owed her an apology, or at the very least an explanation. The teen was mentally kicking himself by now: he had ditched Aly, become envious over Eve, and was currently treating one of the most carefree persons he'd ever met like a possible biohazard. He caught himself in the act of recoiling as her eyes traced his lips, a realization that replaced caution with guilt. Maybe it wasn't a parasite. Maybe wariness of the unknown was holding him back from the opportunity to talk to someone his own age, who was not only from outside of his friend group, but from another school altogether. Amina functioned differently from most anyone he knew. Seizing the opportunity to grow his perspective, the recluse asked all too bluntly: "Doesn't that ever get lonely? For your kiss to mean nothing more than a short rush that could have been shared with anyone under the mistletoe, or on the other end of a spinning bottle?" He may not have been a romantic, but the heir didn't see a point to investing in anything which wouldn't last. "I don't think it's wrong to want it to mean something. I'm intimate with the ones I trust. Sharing that with a stranger, on account of a game, cheapens it." No sooner did the line leave him did Pericles realize how condescending it sounded. He immediately pivoted into a devil's advocate stance, apologetically avoiding Amina's eye. "...sorry. That's not to say they're wrong to play, and clearly you aren't the only one who enjoys them. It just never sat right with me." He would remember this moment months later when his overly encouraging father suggested he "dabble" in dating, and again when Eve herself lamented being overly paranoid. Had he always been so prone to criticism? Amina seemed to care too little, but Pericles seemed to care too much.
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english | russian

Amina noticed how his muscles tensed up under her touch and he had a certain look on his face. He wasn’t looking at her like a person that just offered a heartfelt apology. There was something else there. Wait. Was he repelled by her? The smile slowly slipped off her face and was replaced by a neutral expression. She didn’t know that that could hurt, but surprisingly it did. It was one thing if he was into guys, into other girls or, to put it in his words ‘not ready’, but if he actually didn’t want to be around her at all… that was another story. The Durmstrang girl slowly loosened her grip and let her hand fall down by her side, useless and just dangling down from her shoulder.
It didn’t make much sense to her. Of course, they didn’t really know each other, but she had the feeling that they had connected well with their story and personality aspect - just the kissing part had been the source of disagreement, right? Maybe it was about that? Yeah, that made way more sense.
So, she crossed her arms in front of her chest after brushing a strand from her eyes, her gaze returning to his very different eyes. “Dude, relax. I’m not going to jump you, I promise. And thanks for your forgiveness. It's fine. I actually like not knowing what to expect.” A faint smile returned to her face and the defensive neutral expression was gone. However, her chest was still a little bit heavy. Although she couldn’t really explain why, she didn’t want him to dislike her. It was the first time in a very long time that she was insecure about that. With one little look and movement, he had taken all of the wind out of her sails.

When he moved on to defend his friend's intentions, Amina relaxed a bit and the smile turned into a smirk. She doubtfully raised an eyebrow, shrugged her shoulders and mumbled. “Well, I would have done it because of that…” If he caught her gaze, she would stick out her tongue at him and grin afterwards. Teasing people was familiar territory, something that she was way better with than reading between the lines.
Gesturing in his direction, she would elaborate further. “I mean, what do I know? You know her best. But you are cute and handsome and somewhat mysterious. I bet someone there wanted to kiss you. And I don’t mean me. Although… that also is true.”
His guilty expression made her stop her flirting advances. He seemed like such a torn person. What did he do wrong? Besides missing out on her and hurting her pride a little bit - there was no reason for him to look that guilty.
She bit her lower lip to hold her tongue, but sooner or later, it would burst out of her.

That moment came when he apologized for judging kissing games. With a swift movement, Amina would try to gently bapp Pericles’ arm after he looked so guilty again that even she picked up on it. “Merlin, quit apologizing about everything. It’s okay that you don't like those things.” Scoffing and shaking her head in a playful scolding manner, she continued. “Also, I’ll have you know that spin the bottle is a game I also normally pass on.” The huntress's smile curled her lips and with a very self assured grin she added. “That’s too easy anyway. I like it if you don’t know what to expect - as already established.”

She tried to hold his gaze. After she had let that out, she was considering his questions and words from right before his apology-roadshow.
It wasn’t an easy question and the Durmstrang actually took some time to think about. She had never thought of it that way before. “Hm, that is a good question.” Her voice was low and soft. All of the teasing and sharpness had disappeared. They had entered unfamiliar territory again and she felt like this was important. Important to give the right answer, to him and herself. “I am not lonely. I have my friends. I just don’t have a… love interest. In my experience, friends tend to stay way longer by your side than people that you kiss. And by the way: it means something to me too. I don’t kiss people that I don’t feel attracted to… often.” Okay, sometimes she did, but normally as a prank and there, the kiss wasn’t about fun and more some sort of tool.
Thoughtfully tapping her chin, she continued, her gaze drifting into nothingness. “I agree, it’s not wrong to want it to mean something. I just think it’s more of a test…for me, you know? To see if chemistry is really there, attraction and stuff. And sometimes, there is just chemistry in kissing and nothing more. That’s when just the kissing is fun and no big deal. But I wouldn’t make out with someone who I don’t trust either. Just a fleeting kiss - okay. But making out? No chance, you have to pass the test first. And that doesn’t make it cheap,” she overexplained concluded and ran one hand through her hair, leaving it in an even bigger mess. She believed that, but that reflection sparked another sinking feeling in her stomach and her chest tightened lightly. Pericles would probably notice the shift in her mood.
“Maybe I want it to mean something too. But I am not sure if the other person feels the same. So, better not to blow it up, right?” There was a trace of bitterness in her words. It was hypocritical really. She used kissing as a tool to have fun, to distract herself from things and to feel attractive. It wasn’t a big deal to her. But maybe, she didn’t want to be used herself.
With a sigh, her eyes lit back up and the familar smile came to life again. “However, I think it’s best to not overthink it. If the kiss means something to you, then you can transport that in the kiss and the other person will hear you. Totally different than kissing for fun. I think those things can co-exist.”
Her gaze lingered on his face for a second, curiosity sparking through her. And since it was Amina, she simply spoke her mind. “What did you mean, by the way, when you said you were not ready yesterday? Did your first kiss mean a lot to you and my actions and rambling made it feel not as relevant? If so, I didn’t mean to do that. Not everyone is like me.” And just like that, the bitterness was back.

Interacting | @Pericles Dralt