A Walk to Remember Finished

Flash and Willow had started to do their morning walks together, once they found out it was both a habit of theirs it seemed silly to continue to do it alone. It was nice to have the time to get to know her newly found brother, especially as the weather was starting to get less chilly and more bearable to walk in the mornings. Usually she brought along a couple of travel mugs that she brought from home filled with some tea that would help to wake them up, and keep their hands warm. Sometimes they would walk the morning in silence, just enjoying the company as they walked side by side. And other times it seemed like they would never be able to shut up, with most of their drinks left by the end of their walk because they didn't even have time to drink it.

This morning was a quiet contemplative one, it was a nice morning for thinking about all the things she had on her to-do list for today. She had some homework that was backed up, but nothing that couldn't be done in one afternoon. As they walked their usual path, they passed the greenhouses for Herbology and she heard a crash coming from one of the ones they weren't exactly supposed to go into as first years. Not that they were allowed unsupervised in any of them. She stopped abruptly in her tracks and looked at Flash, checking to make sure he heard it too. "Maybe we should check it out, in case someone is in trouble." Before she was even done with her own sentence her feet were carrying her over to the greenhouse.

She had been reading extensively about all the magical plants in her free time, it had quickly become her favorite subject surpassing History of Magic quite quickly. A sense of dread built up in her stomach as she walked over to look through the glass panes. She hadn't even dared to walk near the forbidden greenhouses so she couldn't tell if the dread was for if the plants were injured, or excitement to see the plants. Once she walked up to the greenhouse, she slowly started to walk the perimeter, trying to find the problem. As soon as she spotted it, she dropped her container holding her tea, causing the top to pop off, spill the tea everywhere, and crack the mug. But that was the least of her concern.

What she saw was absolute carnage. There were plants on the ground with their pots smashed and dirt everywhere, obvious bite marks in the plants from something she hadn't been able to spot. She quickly walked a few more steps, panic settling in as her eyes spotted on a cat lounging on one of the tables, chewing on one of the plants. Willow had recognized a lot of the plants she could see from the books that she had read, and nothing looked immediately dangerous but she knew some of them were poisonous if eaten. Of course, the one the cat was eating Willow had never seen and couldn't tell whether or not that cat would soon die. Especially since it had taken mouthfuls of so many of the other plants.

She whipped her head around to Flash, tears bubbling in her eyes. "We have to get in there. That dumb cute cat might be killing itself as we speak, and the plants are all over the floor, some of them are eaten, who knows if they needed to be watered..." Her voice was wavering, and there was panic in her tone. She took a deep breath, in her mind all of the issues she named were of equal importance. "I don't even know if there are extra pots in the greenhouse but we have to get in. There's no time to go get a professor either. I know how to take care of most of them if we get in, but we have to get in." She took a couple steps back, looking for an unlocked door or window to actually get in.
Reducio
@Flash Holmwood
Last edited by Dorion Anderson on 24 Feb 2020, 03:47, edited 2 times in total.

"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
A Walk to Remember Finished
It had been a lovely morning up until everything started breaking. After the sun rose, there was a lingering mist coming out of the forests nearby, and Willow’s tea had been brewed perfectly. She only took two tries to find one that Flash really liked after he described his taste, and the one she chose really invigorated him.

As quickly as Willow discovered the chaos inside the greenhouse, everything about the morning had changed. She had been in such a panic that she even broke her mug. One would be forgiven for thinking there was an orphanage burning down nearby with the urgency of her call to aide.

Flash came over to peer into the windows and surely enough, someone’s familiar must have accidentally got locked in overnight. The cat seemed happy enough, but had wrecked quite a number of student projects. It was a shame, but in an hour or so they could alert someone to open the door and clean up the mess.

Willow was not satisfied with that outcome. It seemed like a matter of life or death to her, and maybe it was-- for the plants. Her face was so stricken with pain that it hurt to look at. Still, it was strictly against the rules to go into the greenhouses without supervision, let alone the greenhouses for other classes. Professor MacTavish had mentioned it on the first day, warning that they weren’t prepared for what they would find inside.

But, surely Willow was prepared. She was a savant at plant knowledge, and she spent a good deal of her free time learning even more about them. Her notes alone could be published work, what with the care she put into them. If she thought the plants needed immidiate attention, or that the cat was in danger, Flash was willing to believe her.

“The professor probably has the keys.” Flash said to a wilting Willow. Flash tried the door anyway, opening it easily. ”Oh, they didn’t lock up.”

@Willow Anderson

For we dreamed a lot//And we schemed a lot//And we tried to sing of love before the stage fell apart
Sta: 9 ★Eva: 5 ★Str: 7 ★Wis: 15 ★AP: 3 ★Acc: 15
A Walk to Remember Finished
Willow felt a little dumb for not checking the door first, but she figured it would be locked up anyway. For his name being Flash, he wasn't moving fast enough for her. She pushed past him and ran into the greenhouse, figuring it is better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission from the professors. I'm sure they would do the same thing in this situation. Especially if a living animal was eating an unknown plant in a greenhouse full of extremely dangerous plants.

She took a quick second to scan around the greenhouse and search for any plants that would immediately attack upon them going close, but didn't see any for now. She rushed over to the cat, swiping the plant from it. The cat didn't seem to be that bothered, it was probably already full from the other snacks it had had. "You could've died you dumb thing." She turned to Flash, "There isn't like... a vet at Hogwarts is there? We should probably keep the door closed so it doesn't run off without us figuring out if it's going to be ok." She paused, and re-looked at the cat. "He, if he's going to be ok." Her stress started to slowly die down as they were now in the greenhouse. She put her hands on her hips, looking over the plants to see where she should even start.

She started to move to pick up the smashed pot pieces, "You can go to breakfast if you want. I'm going to stay back and repot the plants. This is a lot of stress to go through, especially for some of them that are babies." She picked up one of them that was a lot smaller with a small root system. Gently stroking it's leaves and speaking softly to it, reassuring that everything would be okay and they would be all fixed up soon. She looked over at Flash, "A lot of these are harmless unless ingested." A glare was shot towards the cat, "They're mostly potion herbs and stuff like that."

She was hoping Flash would stay, after all, when they first met he had offered to stay after class and fix the messed up plants. This wasn't any different, except for maybe getting caught and getting detention. But otherwise it was basically the same thing. She counted the plants that had been damaged, her heart dropping at the sheer amount that had to go through this. "Do you think you could find three small pots two medium pots, and three large pots?" She continued to clean up the crime scene, taking out the broken pieces and putting the plants gently back on the table to be repotted.

As she grabbed one of the plants, she didn't notice that it had thorns closer to its stem and got pricked as she went to grab it. "Ow! Ok, this one has a great defense system from insects and other predators. It's thorns are sharp." She looked at it admirably, even when they hurt her she couldn't help but being proud of how strong they were. But when she pulled her hand away, she noticed she was bleeding a bit. She put her hand pressed against her robe nonchalantly and continued to clean up as not to worry Flash.
Reducio
@Flash Holmwood

"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
A Walk to Remember Finished
It was strange being inside a greenhouse without any people inside of it. It was enchanting on its own, with motes of dust caught drifting through the morning sunlight. It was darker inside than it was outside, more quiet, with only the sound of the perpetrator purring and Willow setting to her task in an instant. Flash laughed to himself to see her take it so seriously, but not without a bit of respect as well. It was nice to know there were people in the world who really cared about something. He wished he had her conviction.

The cat was incredibly friendly, no doubt because he was a familiar and very used to being around students. He curled around Flash’s legs, asking for his attention. He must have been bored without his witch or wizard around. It would have been tragic if the cat had really been poisoned. He seemed to still be in a good enough mood.

Flash closed the door behind them and got to work. The greenhouse had wildly different flora inside of it, but the structure and layout was the same as the one they used for first year lessons. It was easy to find the pots that Willow needed and carry them over. The cat kept at his ankles, making the trip more of a challenge than it had to be. He managed to get all of them over without an issue, until the cat, tired of being ignored, stood stock still in front of his feet.
Roll to avoid tripping on the cat (Evasion):
DC 10 (average)
d20(3) + 5 = 8 (failure)
And just like that, Flash stumbled, tripped, and crashed. Not only did the noise startle the cat, sending him fleeing in fear, but Willow as well. And Flash too, in no little part. Flash thudded to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. He stopped himself with his arms, but the surprise of the fall made it much more awkward than a fall that short of a distance had to be. Pieces of porcelain flew everywhere, scattered across the floor underneath tables and stools. After the shenanigans ran their course, Flash was left lying on the ground groaning.

”Oh no…” Was all he could manage, at first. ”Uh… I can fix this. This is okay.”

@Willow Anderson
Last edited by Flash Holmwood on 23 Mar 2020, 19:37, edited 1 time in total.

For we dreamed a lot//And we schemed a lot//And we tried to sing of love before the stage fell apart
Sta: 9 ★Eva: 5 ★Str: 7 ★Wis: 15 ★AP: 3 ★Acc: 15
A Walk to Remember Finished
Willow had gotten all of the plants put up onto the table and felt satisfied with the rescue mission so far, there was all of the dirt to clean-up, but they could do that later as there was probably going to more dirt spilled during the re-potting process. Just as she turned to see if Flash had gotten the pots, she watched him trip and crash. Even though she saw it happening, she jumped at the loudness of the shattering of all the pots. "Flash are you ok? Pots can be cleaned up and thrown out somewhere the professor won't find it. But that sounded like it hurt." She glared at the cat once more, There's a reason I like dogs more. She figured if the cat hadn't died by now it would probably be fine since a lot of the ones it ate are quick acting.

She walked over to the door and slowly opened it and shoo'ed the cat out of the greenhouse. She took a second to check on her hand, which was still bleeding quite a bit.
Rolls Wisdom:
[d20:13] + 8 = 21
She looked around for something to tie around her hand for the time being since her robes weren't really convenient, and saw some garden fabric all the way in the back on one of the shelves. Usually it would go over plants to protect them during storms but it would work for now as a gauze situation. She walked to the back and grabbed it, cutting off a decent length of it. She really didn't want to have to go to Flash to have him tie it since he was already dealing with shattered pots.
Rolls Accuracy:
[d20:2] + 7 = 9
She figured she would attempt to tie it herself facing away from Flash by putting her leg up on one of the stools and putting her hand on her thigh and trying to tie the makeshift gauze with one hand, but she ended up just kicking over the stool and almost falling forward. She resigned herself to asking for help and sat down in a porcelain free zone next to him. "I pricked myself earlier on a few thorns, and now I'm bleeding a bunch. Can you tie this around my hand so I can fix the plants? It's hard to do it one-handed..." She looked around, with the new shattered pots it almost looked like they had done nothing. Hopefully they could get it done before the first class, or the professor came into the greenhouse to start the day of classes.
@Flash Holmwood

"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
A Walk to Remember Finished
This is a disaster There wasn’t time to panic, there were plenty of steps that could be taken right away to improve the situation. Flash sat himself up off the ground to assess the damage that had been done. His right forearm hurt, as well as his brow. His face hit hard enough to receive a bruise, he could feel it already when he touched his head. Tender, painful, it’s fine.

Next, Willow was bleeding, soaking some unidentified cloth with a deep red. Flash didn’t hesitate to follow her instructions, but wobbled as he stood. His head was a bit light, but it was a short while before his bearings returned. Tied securely, there didn’t seem to be any more urgent emergency. Still, she couldn’t expect to dig her hand in dirt like that. She probably should be picking up shards of broken porcelain either.

”Willow, you should get that looked at, what if it’s serious? Do you know the plant that pricked you?” Flash looked over to where she had been, but couldn’t recognize anything in the greenhouse. ”You go. I’ll stay here and clean up my mess. I’ll even pot the plants, okay? There’s barely anything left to do.”

Flash gave Willow the smile he had used so frequently it felt automatic. The everything is under control smile.

@Willow Anderson

For we dreamed a lot//And we schemed a lot//And we tried to sing of love before the stage fell apart
Sta: 9 ★Eva: 5 ★Str: 7 ★Wis: 15 ★AP: 3 ★Acc: 15
A Walk to Remember Finished
She cringed at the state of them, Flash obviously wasn't doing good from the fall, she pricked her hand. For two plant enthusiasts, this was way more of a mess than anticipated. She put on her thinking cap, which was pulling out a hair tie that she always kept in her robes and quickly putting her hair into a ponytail, cringing as it hurt just to put her hair up. "Maybe there's an extra set of gloves somewhere or something." She pouted, just a little bit. Not wanting to give up on the mission. "I can't leave everything like this. It's worse than we started." She looked back over at the plant, honestly not remembering anything about the plant that she had mishandled. He can't know that, he'll definitely make me leave.

She figured she could probably just make up a plant name if need be but for now, she'd just have to lie which she rarely did. "Uhhh... No yeah I know it. It's not harmful at all. Kind of like pricking yourself on a rose. At least I'm not a princess in a fairytale, maybe that would've put me to sleep." She gave a feeble laugh. "Besides, if I have to go to the Hospital Wing, you have to come with me. You're not looking at that great either."

She took another look around, deciding that the plant pots should be picked up first. Without Flash being able to protest she started to pick them up, "You should probably just rest. Straining yourself too much might make it worse. Maybe you should head to the infirmary though. Concussions are nasty things to deal with. I got one once when I fell out of a tree trying to see a bird's nest that had a bunch of newly hatched babies in it. I would do it again. The hatchlings were so cute!" Spring was her favorite time of year because of all of the new life, especially baby birds.

Once she had gotten most of the plant pots she let out a big sigh, "Those plants will take a while to re-pot. We'll have to be quick to make it to the hospital wing before classes start." She looked over at Flash, deep concern in her eyes, "I don't want you to get in trouble for this. I'm the one that ran in first you can still get out of here without detention if someone catches us." She felt bad for feeling like she dragged him into the greenhouse in the first place. She wanted to give him the option to leave for a second time, just in case he would want to take it.
Reducio
@Flash Holmwood

"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
A Walk to Remember Finished
Both of them had given the other an opportunity to leave. Neither of them wanted their friend to get in trouble. There was no helping it though, they were both ready to try to make it work. The least they could do was try.

Believing Willow to be telling the truth about the plant, he gave up on making her leave. The truth was there was not much time left for the amount of things they had to fix. If they worked together, they might manage to clean the greenhouse before everyone was done eating breakfast. They had an hour at best, granted that no one came to the greenhouses for any reason before that.

”I’m not leaving, I'll be fine. Come on, we can do this.” Flash nodded affirmingly, letting himself believe what he said with full conviction despite the fact he had personally made everything worse.

He would clean up his own mess to begin with. One piece after the other, he would pick them all up, put them next to each other and repair them. With magic, of course. He had learned the Mending Spell in Charms class, and thanked the stars that he had. His greatest enemy now was time, the pain in his head he could ignore. Also, he had Willow with him, and they were stronger together.

@Willow Anderson

For we dreamed a lot//And we schemed a lot//And we tried to sing of love before the stage fell apart
Sta: 9 ★Eva: 5 ★Str: 7 ★Wis: 15 ★AP: 3 ★Acc: 15
A Walk to Remember Finished
While Flash handled the pots, she moved on to the plants to get them ready for re-potting. Luckily, near where the garden fabric there was just a single glove. She didn't mind getting her hands dirty, but it was probably best to keep the cut hand out of direct dirt. She slipped it on, and started making the appropriate dirt mixtures for each plant to go into. She couldn't help but laugh at the situation, "Remember when I said we would make great dirt gremlin siblings? I didn't think we would be the dirt gremlin part anytime soon but I think this qualifies."

She had fully expected Flash to hightail it out of there once given the option. She was surprised that he stayed after being offered an escape twice. A lot of the friends back home would book it at the first sign of danger, leaving Willow to clean up the mess and get in trouble. They hadn't known each other for long, but just this incident alone showed that she could trust Flash and it was a nice feeling to have that assurance for the first time in a long time.

After she had finished making the dirt mixes, she got to pruning the plants which is probably supposed to be the job of the students coming in, but she couldn't help but make sure they were in tip top shape. Usually she worked quickly with plants, being one of the first to finish every class in Herbology but her injured hand slowed her down. She wondered in the back of her mind if the plant wasn't completely harmless and the pain was only getting worse, but she continued to push past it. Making small 'ouch' sounds every time the thorn spots were touched. She turned towards Flash to check in on his progress, the plants nearly ready for re-potting once they had the pots to go in.
Reducio
@Flash Holmwood

"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
A Walk to Remember Finished
Flash couldn’t help but smile at her comment. She was right, they had somehow turned the entire fiasco into a family bonding moment. Flash had only done what came naturally to him-- covering his tracks when things went wrong-- but he had felt a great relief that Willow was the kind of person to take responsibility for their problems.

Flash looked around the blast area to try to find all the pieces he could. As long as the pieces weren’t completely scattered, they would be able to reassemble with the help of the magic. Flash was still a novice at casting spells, sometimes feeling awkward flicking his wand around, but he had no reservations over his mastery of what he had been taught so far. He pointed his wand at the heap of debris on the floor and concentrated on the image of the pots as they were before they broke. It was easy, he had been working with them all year so far.

”Reh-PAH-roh!”

With clear annunciation and controlled wand movements, the pots reassembled without any fuss. He wasn’t used to relying on magic to do his work, but he couldn’t argue with the results.

With that out of the way, he and Willow started the process of repotting them all quickly. At that point Willow had done so much of the preparation that it was a simple matter of dropping them in, patting the soil a bit, then replacing them on the shelves. There were a good deal of them , but with the two of them working together they finished quickly.

Things weren’t alright, however. Though she was trying her best to hide it, being closer to her in proximity lead Flash to see the pain flinching across her face as she worked. She had underplayed her injury, and it was only getting worse.

”Willow, what’s wrong? Tell me the truth...” Flash spoke urgently, not at all enjoying being left in the dark.

@Willow Anderson
Last edited by Flash Holmwood on 22 Feb 2020, 02:47, edited 1 time in total.

For we dreamed a lot//And we schemed a lot//And we tried to sing of love before the stage fell apart
Sta: 9 ★Eva: 5 ★Str: 7 ★Wis: 15 ★AP: 3 ★Acc: 15