Climbing, for Beginners Finished

𓅆 notes: hhhh same…

❀ Hex code: #5b6a50

@Skylar Blue Word Count: ~320/200

Ellaine beams up at Skylar from where she sits astride her broom, hovering just a few feet above the ground. She hasn’t moved much since she mounted the broom, only going in wide, lazy circles round and round, leaning backwards as she watches her friend perform a backward flip high up above.

“Ehhh—?” Ellaine lets out, her surprise causing her to dip forwards unexpectedly, “I mean, sure? Maybe?”

Ellaine isn’t sure how she’ll be able to perform that, when she can’t even do a forwards roll, but she is willing to try nevertheless. If she succeeds, she has a trick added to her arsenal, if she doesn’t, well, no one else sans her friend will be there to witness it anyway.

“Wait, let me get higher up,” she says, rising in a steady climb, figuring that it will be better for her to be higher up when attempting the little stunt. If she fails, she’ll have a few more seconds to right herself— and she’ll probably fail somewhere, thinks Ellaine to herself.

Stopping herself right beside Skylar, Ellaine takes a moment to review her memories.

When Skylar had launched herself up to the skies, rising higher and higher, Ellaine had watched in vague fear as she contemplated the (very limited) list of possible actions she could take if the undesirable happened… but that thought had been quickly replaced with awe— she’d traced the lines of her movement with her eyes, as Skylar had abruptly ascended, before pulling herself backwards sharply, doing a loop-the-loop before smoothly descending.

Staring up at where Skylar had done that, Ellaine wonders if it is really as easy as she’d described and shown.

“So, what?” Ellaine repeats, looking straight at Skylar, eyes desperately waving a red flag for immediate instructions, though mentally she is already preparing to step on the gas, “Do I really just go high up at full speed, and lean far, far backwards?”

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡　 ༺❀༻　｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

Mentions: @Ellaine Weatherby

WC: 304

xxx

Hex code: #0050b4

OOC note: I cannot wait for spring break bro Track season is eating up all my Saturdays.

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡　 ༺❀༻　｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

"Basically, yes! The reason for that is so when you flip, there is enough distance between you and the ground. I tried flipping once when I was not high enough, and my head almost hit the ground. Not fun." Skylar explains.

"You also want to flip back with as much force as you can. It is the force that allows you to return to an upright position. If you do not have enough force to carry you back up, you might just end up upside down."

To demonstrate, Skylar tilts back with enough force to flip but not enough to do a full turn. She dangles upside down and grins at Ellaine. "It can be fun, but you might not want to do it for too long. The blood rush to your head will make you very dizzy." Flipping back up, Skylar blinks rapidly at the her swirling surrounding. She steadies herself as the spinning stops.

"Yeah... let us not do that. Geh." Skylar states, regaining her balance. "Make sure you have a strong grip if you do, though. It would not be good if you slip and fall."

Turning to Ellaine, she gives her friend an encouraging smile. "Do not worry though! I am sure you will do fine. If you do fall, however, I will be right under to catch you."

Floating down to the ground, Skylar gestures for Ellaine to join her. "It might be better to start from the ground, that way you really get to push off. I'll float just to the side, so in case anything happens, I'll be right here. Don't worry about it!" She encourages. She truly believes her friend can do it. Ellaine may seem hesitant, but she is actually really talented. Skylar watches from the side, giving her friend a reassuring smile.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

𓅆 notes: yearning for break too… just began again, and a big test is coming next week, and practical exams… wishing you luck

❀ Hex code: #5b6a50

@Skylar Blue Word Count: ~379/200

“Really?” said Ellaine, looking high at the sky, working out a contingency plan so as to not end up a flattened pancake by her third attempt.

Not a few seconds later she glanced back at Skylar, the foolish words just at the tip of her tongue— do I really just start now? Either way, she had already followed her friend down to the ground, and now they were simply waiting for her to kick off into the sky.

If she started now, or started later, well, it wouldn’t make much of a difference, she conceded, and so decided that to fail now was the better choice. A final glance she sent at her friend, before Ellaine began counting up to eleven inside her mind, taking off on the last beat, soaring high into the heavens. The first few seconds were wobbly, unfortunately reflecting her own state of mind, before she eventually broke through and brought forth a blessed silence to her thoughts, smoothing out her flight a great deal. Ellaine took in only the feel of the biting winds against her face; the gentle reddening glow of the West, of the end of day; and the warmth blossoming oddly through her chest, so unlike the fear and dread which often struck her when she was at the swings…

Freedom, thought Ellaine with rapture, and as she reached the approximate height where Skylar had performed her loop, she let her eyes narrow to an almost-shut, so as to keep her fright at bay. At last, she pulled back in an almost violent manner, resulting in a quite successful attempt, and to the eyes watching from below, it might have seemed a nice loop, save for the slight deviations occurring in the form of a somewhat skewed path. Ellaine, blinking intermittently in slight disbelief, immediately sought the comfort and safety of the earth below, and so she descended in an uneven line, with leftover adrenaline and a half-hysterical mind fuelling her way down.

“That went well, I think.”

Now back beside Skylar, she just noticed her own death-white clutch on her broom handle, and yet she didn’t even twitch a single muscle to loosen it up.

“That went well,” she repeated to no one in particular, at a loss for words.

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡　 ༺❀༻　｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

Mentions: @Ellaine Weatherby

WC: 393

xxx

Hex code: #0050b4

OOC note: Don't worry, you got it! Best of luck to you

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡　 ༺❀༻　｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Skylar grins at Ellaine. She had watched as her friend flew high in the air, the sun setting behind her. She almost appeared as a dream ─ a silhouette ─ as the warm glow of the sun gets eclipsed by her.

"Oh that definitely went well! You are a natural at this." She compliments. She does, however, give Ellaine a knowing smile.

"You felt it too, didn't you? The sudden shift in the air. The sudden sense of freedom." Skylar whispers quietly, almost as if she was scared to break the peace.

"There is something peaceful in with the way we are so high up in the air. It feels... safe, almost. Like no one can reach us up here. It is just us and the vast, vast sky."

"Have you ever wondered where you could end up if you just... kept flying? Flying past the castle towers, flying past the clouds, flying past the ocean. We know what awaits us on land, but what about the sky?" Skylar says longingly. She feels oddly sentimental and bittersweet, for some reason. Maybe it is because she knows it this peace would not last. Soon, they will have to land and go back into the castle. But for now...

Skylar turns and looks across the Great Lake. Its calm waters seem to call to Skylar, tempt her to glide across it. She glances at Ellaine, another mischievous grin crossing her face.

"Ever wondered what it feels like to glide across water?" She asks. With a whoop, Skylar launches high into the sky, doing a double backflip in the air. Before she can properly descend, Skylar launches forward again like a missile. She gets lower and lower to the ground, grazing the trees just a little. She tilts her body to the side as she nears the water, holding a hand out to graze its surface.

Skylar lets out a laugh as the cool water passes through her finger tips, her hand drawing a line through the calm waters. She then angles her broom up sharply and launches towards the sky again. She does a fast lap and loops back to Ellaine.

"Come on! Join me, it'll be fun! We can even race!" She shouts. Skylar settles herself next to Ellaine, grinning like a madman. She waits for her friend, ready to start when she does.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

@Skylar Blue @Ellaine Weatherby

It was a particularly nice day of spring, which Paul was determined to use to its full extent. They played football with the other boys near the lake first thing after classes finished. He hadn't done his homework yet, but... there was always enough time for that, right?

Anyway, even after football, snack and cocoa, he still felt like there was way too much energy left in him, so he needed to get rid of it. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to fall asleep.

So he chose to go running. In his football attire, which consisted of orange shorts, high, white socks, trainers and an orange football jersey with his name on it and number sixty-seven. He had a black functional shirt with long sleeves under the jersey, like he always did in the cold, spring weather. Footballers often wore them in matches, not to be cold.

He was running around the lake, when he saw a girl on a broomstick head down towards the water. It surprised him, so much that he stopped running for a second, shading his eyes from sunlight with his palm.

"Bloody hell..." Did he breathe out, startled. He didn't know what to think first. Was she doing it on purpose, or was she falling? Then though, she somehow leveled her broomstick and she seemed to just... glide low over the lake, dipping her hand in the water.

No, thought Paul. She knows exactly what she's doing, and she's damn good at it!

He smiled and hummed appreciatively at her flying skills, clapping several times. His eyes followed her up to the sky, where he saw another person, who the water-gliding, blue-haired girl seemed to be talking to.

"Hey! Blue-haired girl! That was cool!" Did he choose to shout to the two of them, waving at them with both of his arms.

I should join. I like flying. Above that, I could learn something from the Smurfette.

"Guys! Wait for me, will ya? Just... need a broomstick!" Did the boy shout to them, using his hands to frame his lips. He knew that that way, the sound wouldn't disperse all over, but stay directed.

So he ran towards the broomstick shed, writing his name quickly on the list. In less then two minutes, he started heading back to the lake, where he put the broomstick on the ground. Trying to calm his mind, he focused. Alright, I've been through this before.

"Up." Said the boy, ordering the broom to lift. It didn't listen on the first attempt, so he said breathed in, out, closed his eyes, and tried again. When the piece of wood landed in his palm, he mounted it. After several flying classes, he knew how to ascend, but never did they fly that high in flying. Not that he was afraid, just... slightly uneasy. Moreover, over the lake.

𓅆 notes: are we gonna end up sneaking to see the sun set? :o /hj

❀ Hex code: #5b6a50

@Skylar Blue @Paul Turner Word Count: ~500/200

Ellaine has been following Skylar, albeit at a much more leisurely pace, gliding down from above the tree lines to the water’s edge. She is content to listen for hours on end, chiming in with phrases here and there, and is about to agree to the offer of a race before she notices the figure of a boy, far on the other edge of the lake, and donning— here she blinks twice: once in surprise, the other to recheck her perception— jerseys and shorts, tangerine-orange in colour, a sight she is not accustomed to, in contrast to the sombre and old elegance the castle bears… but what does she know? It’s barely been a week, Ellaine reminds herself.

He is clapping, and that is the first thing she will remember of him, aside from his bold colours. An odd sense of pride and joy envelops her— obviously, he’s congratulating her friend! and his next few words simply cement that belief.

Well, she thinks to herself, the more, the merrier. Her eyes follow the stranger off into the distance, presumably heading for the broom shed from which they’d fled just a scant few minutes ago. She debates following after him, if only to assuage her curiosity and– nosiness, before turning instead to the blue-haired witch hovering next to her, who also happens to be looking in the same direction.

“...Well, your thoughts?” says Ellaine, directing her words back at Skylar, “should we be concerned about another racer daring to beat you?”

This remark is accompanied by a small smile, and she feels inordinately pleased that she’s managed to formulate a joke properly… maybe. Ellaine carefully does not think more on her words, hoping that she won’t take it wrongly. Instead, she goes down, leaning to her right side just so, grazing the lake’s surface, relishing in the pretty ripples and refreshing chill– right up until the moment she glimpses something moving in the corner of her eye, deep within the dark waters.

Momentarily disturbed, she pulls back, shaking off the high, and instead gestures at Skylar, attempting to communicate that she’d like to go around the lake in quick laps while waiting, and that task occupies her for the next two minutes, occasionally trying to fly upside-down, or very, very close to Skylar, having shaken off her initial distrust of the broom. Just for the heck of it.

Later, when the boy returns– and she still does not know his name— Ellaine hovers above him upside-down, the hilarity of the world turned-over amusing her thoughts, while she keeps an eye on Orange down below, and an eye on Skylar. When he finally mounts his broom, she finally looks up at Skylar.

“So! Where are we racing to?”

Only then does she realise the oddity of her position… upside down on a broom, hair hanging down in a “disgraceful” heap. The blood rushing down to her head finally convinces her to right herself, and she sheepishly bears a half-smile-grimace on her face.

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡　 ༺❀༻　｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

Mentions: @ Ellaine Weatherby, @Paul Turner

WC: 418

xxx

Hex code: #0050b4

OOC note: Better yet, we can see the sunset from the top of a tower!

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡　 ༺❀༻　｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

x

Skylar watches Ellaine with a light smile on her lips. She is beyond overjoyed at how much Ellaine has opened up, even teasing Skylar and cracking a joke. Freedom and fresh air can do wonders for a person, even if it is just to make them smile. Her eyes trails over to the boy who left to get a broom. It had shock her, to say the least, when he clapped for her. She had not expect anyone to see her, but then again her bright blue hair is quite noticeable. And maybe the fact she was dive bombing towards the lake. Skylar chats with Ellaine a bit while waiting for the boy. They did a few quick laps around the lake, skimming the surface of the calm waters and laughing all the while. The sun sets behind them as they continue to meander through the sky, grinning and joking like children without a care. Skylar giggles as Ellaine flips upside down, hovering over the lake. Skylar does a few loops around her flipped friend, like a planet orbiting the sun. Skylar then notices a figure in the distance. It appears that the boy, whom she has not yet gotten the name of, has returned. She watches as Ellaine greets the boy, still upside down. Eventually Ellaine flips back up, her face flushed from the blood flowing to her head. Skylar offers the boy a bright smile, doing a little flip while she was at it. "Hello there! Name's Skylar. Skylar Blue. And this is my friend Ellaine." She introduces. Skylar turns to Ellaine again, her friend finally having shaken off the dizziness of being upside down. “So! Where are we racing to?” Ellaine asks. Skylar grins as her grip tightens on her broom. She feels giddy with excitement at the prospect of a race. "Well, my friends, we shall go as far as we can to... there!" Skylar points to a distant Hogwarts tower, its facade large and imposing. The roof should offer plenty of space to land, and it seems open enough so that they will not hit anything. "We would first need to skim across the lake, then weave through the trees. Finally, we would have to do a sharp turn up and land on the roof. All we have to do is aim for the sun! The winner gets... I don't know, bragging rights?" Turning to her fellow racers, Skylar loads down a bit more on her broom. "Ready to fly into the sunset?"

x

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

He lowered a little at the knees, then pushed off the ground. He flew forward then, slowly going upper and upper. He soon left the shore behind, occuring above water which was, for some reason, even scarier.
His heart started beating fast high in his chest, which felt like it was beating in his neck. He took a sharp breath, as he looked down. He was bare two and half metres above the ground, but even that seemed to be more than the boy had been used to till then.

Christ, calm down. It's nothing. Yeah, nothing you'd know. Don't forget that in flying, you've only gone as slow as a snail on its bad day. Thought the boy, his mouth drying out.
However, he didn't stop flying forward; likely a matter of sportsmen's goal orientation. He even fastens up a little, leaning forward on the broom.

"W-whoa!" Does he force out in surprise, when the broom immeadiately starts reacting to the moves of his body, and it actually speeds up significantly. So Paul quickly leans back, to get the broom back to its previous velocity.

Then though, he realizes that it wasn't that bad flying fast, and once again, starts leaning forward. He also starts moving to the left and to the right, as they might have done in Flying in one of the lessons. To an observer, it might seem similar to carving on skis or, doing the same on a motorbike. So, all in all, he's not flying as high as the girls, but he's certainly enjoying it in spite.

He smirks first, then lets out a giggle. When he feels like he's got close to getting full control of the broom, he shrieks out: "Yahoo!"

He's approaching the girls more and more.

"So cool... you rock!" he breathes out again, appreciating Ellaine's descend once he reaches them.


"Wow. Guys, you two are great at this! How fast you're able to fly and... and how fearless you are. Just... wow. I'd totally panick, if I were supposed to touch the water. Wouldn't be able to realize when to pull the handle back, to be honest, not to dive in the water like a penguin." With his last sentence, he looks at Ellaine who pulled back out of a sudden.

Should I bring her stopping up? Perhaps, I should. I wanna know what happened. It looked like she got scared and... Paul, stop. You are not friends with her yet.

The boy nearly forgets to introduce himself or even say hi. He looks up, watching Ellaine hanging over him, and smirks. He reaches for her hair when she's still upside down, and pulls it gently, tugging playfully.

When Skyler introduces herself, he So he blushes in embarrassment, forcing out: "Huh, hey, I'm Paul from Gryffindor. Nice to meet ya, guys. And sorry... seems that I left my manners down there. Didn't do it on purpose. Just tend to... forget things, when I'm excited about something, eh." His blush seems to grow wider and he releases the handle of the broomstick to scratch behind his ear awkwardly.

Wait, a race? Dam' yes! I can't wait! Thought the boy, inhaling sharply.

"Yay!" Exclaims the boys, very excited and very smiling.

He then starts listening to Skyler, nodding in acknowledgment every now and then.

"Bragging rights and cookies!" Does he add, giggling. "My grandma gave me some. They're covered with chocolate!"

When he's asked if he's ready, he nods eagerly. "Totally! Let's do this!"

𓅆 notes: milk and guava juice surprisingly goes well together.

❀ Hex code: #5b6a50

@Skylar Blue @Paul Turner Word Count: ~250/200

“Ready to fly into the sunset?”

Squinting into the glaucous skies, already tinged with the pink-orange hues of the oncoming sunset, Ellaine hums in agreement, following Paul’s words. She tries to piece together a relatively safe path for her flight— which in the end is in vain. Flying is flying; what rule is set in stone?

Her best bet is to try and copy Skylar’s movement to her finest ability, which… easier said than done.

But, she supposes— remembering what is at stake— cookies! And an elder-made cookie, at that. In her experience, old people always make the most superior of cookies. Her pride also wouldn’t allow her to lose… well, at least not too far behind.

She blinks. There is an expectant silence in the air, and they appear to be staring at her curiously. Realising that a nod probably isn’t the most vocal of agreements, she gives life to her thoughts.

“Let’s go?” Going over Skylar’s previous comments… they will need to go over the lake, through the trees, and— wait, what?

“Through the trees,” she repeats, trying to convey mild hesitance and skepticism into her voice, “weave through the trees?”

Blinking slowly at Skylar, she silently tries to construct a viable plan if that is to happen. Turning to peer far ahead into the canopy of trees, she imagines closing in, the green almost filling her sight… and pulling up over the leaves.

Yeah… that sounds about right. She’ll never be able to not crash into tree trunks.

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡　 ༺❀༻　｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

Mentions: @ Ellaine Weatherby, @Paul Turner

WC: 347

xxx

Hex code: #0050b4

OOC note: We can have the guava milk with the cookies

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ ☾☼☽ +:｡.｡　 ༺❀༻　｡.｡:+☾☼☽ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

x

Skylar grins as Ellaine and Paul agree to the race. Excitement buzzes in her veins as anticipation fills the air, everyone ready to fly. "Just a warning, I will not be going easy on you guys. There are cookies in the line!" Skylar jokes playfully, her legs swinging in the air. After making sure everyone is ready, Skylar begins to load down on her broom. "Racers on your marks... Get set... GO!" She shouts before shooting forward with all her speed. There are no obstacles yet except for the lake, so now is the best time to accelerate. Skylar lets out a 'whoop!' as she glides across the water, her hair whipping around her face. Her body was as parallel to the broom as it can be, almost as if she was one with the broom. She spins in the air like a launched missile, making a straight shot to the woods. She hears Ellaine and Paul near her, but she is unsure where they are. Skylar can only squint at the path in front of her, the wind making it hard to open her eyes. She is going have to buy some flying goggles one of these days. Soon she reaches the forest. Skylar laughs with glee as she weaves through the trees. The canopy of leaves above her rustle from the breeze, the world beneath flickering from light to dark. She eases her lean up a bit, slowing her speed so she can dodge the trees better. Her eyes trail to the critters skittering in the ground before snapping back to her path. "Be careful to not hit a tree!" Skylar calls out a warning as she makes a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding a branch. If this was the course for broom racing, Skylar might consider applying. In the distance, she notices where the trees start to part. A clearing opens up as the forest gives away to a large field. Skylar lets out a cheer as she accelerates out of the forest, eyeing the tower in the distance. "Come on, guys! We're almost there!"

x

x

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