14 Apr 2020, 02:23
From Spark to Flame
@Ross Stephens
Tilting his head to the side in mere curiosity, Ruka just stared at Ross for a moment when the other boy continued his questioning about the counting he was doing.
Why did he care? Why was this any of his concern at all? And why did he sound like he wanted Ruka to lie down on a sofa to discuss his feelings when he asked about it?
The insistent questions knocking inside Ruka's mind almost instinctively made his fingers tap against his thigh in a frantic One, two, three. He really wished he could stop it, but each time he tried to get control of his fingers back again he could see Selim's face in front of him, poking holes into everything Ruka believed himself to be with all those questions he barely even wanted answered.
"What's it to you?" he asked, not unkindly but certainly not in a tone that invited more questions. "Maybe I just like doing it. Aren't there weirder things around this school you could be focusing on?" He looked around the room before pointing at the exit door. "I mean, there are freaking talking pictures out there and you are more interested in why I'm counting?" He nibbled lightly at the inside of his bottom lip before shaking his head to himself.
Why was he so freaking nervous?
Slowly he let his gaze drift down to his bare feet, sight growing blurry as he suppressed a few random tears that had wanted to escape him ever since his run-in with Selim the day before.
Was that why he was feeling so shaken up? Because of yesterday's conversation?
Or were things just finally all catching up to him to a point where he could only release them through insistent tapping and counting?
Deciding not to dwell on this for now - As everything, this was something he was really just supposed to swallow down to deal with later, right? - he returned his focus to Ross and his weirdly happy attitude. There had to be something wrong about a kid with this much genuine excitement, right?
The compliment thrown his way with a chuckle was swiftly dismissed with a small smile and a shrug, like it didn't really matter how well Ross thought he had been doing. Ruka didn't feel like dealing with niceties, could barely even handle the small talk they were embarking on, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to just walk away either.
There was something about just having a conversation, without any ulterior motives, without underlying hostility, that made him feel a bit lighter, more in control of himself.
He ignored his fingers tapping a quick One, two, three against his thigh at the thought.
"Raised like a muggle born?" he asked, curiosity sparked slightly. He didn't react to Ross' clearly fake offence to being called anything but a halfblood, deciding it wasn't worth playing into this low level humour at all. No, it was far more interesting to learn about Ross' background while he was already talking about it. "Your parents didn't want you to know about all of this, then?" He kept his question vague, expecting it to be answered with an explanation. From what he could tell so far, this boy did quite enjoy talking, so why wouldn't he talk about this?
"Halfblood as well," he answered Ross' question with a small smile, nudging the torches on the ground with his toes for a second. "But I grew up with my Muggle Dad, so you and I have growing up like a Muggleborn in common." He left it at that, not wanting to go any deeper into his upbringing. It was enough for them to be standing on common ground on that front; There was no reason to alienate Ross by letting him know exactly how he had grown up differently from any other person he had encountered so far.
A small laugh escaped him when Ross asked him if he was a first year as well, and he slowly shook his head at the other boy. If there was one thing he could always be certain of, it was that people would judge his age by his height. "You really would have forgotten me that easily if you'd seen me around any of your classes?" he asked cheekily, lifting a hand to run it through his feathery hair. "Second Year," he answered after a moment, bending down to pick up his torches again so he could occupy his hands with something that wasn't tapping against whatever surface they could find.
His fingers tapped a One, two, three against the wood anyway.
~Hell is other people~ - Jean Paul Sartre
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 10 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 14 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 9
15 Apr 2020, 00:58
From Spark to Flame
Ross did not back down. Quite the contrary in actuality. He took this more of a challenge. A game, as some would think of it. Of course, people's emotions were not a game. He knew that well enough, but it was certainly intriguing to see how people ticked. It was not like he could do much with the knowledge anyways. People themselves were mysteries after all. Instead of backing down, surprisingly Ross shrugged.
"I dunno, they don't really seem that interestin' anymore." he confessed " I mean sure they're pretty magical and all, but they don't make much sense until you go to the right person. Talkin' to them is... kinda freaky too. " he added, clearly uncertain on how to feel of the pictures that roamed the halls.
Sure they were cool and all, but finding them was a lot of work. Next up was knowing who they are and knowing if they were nice. Ross would have to give talking to one a try at some point, as they seemed pretty cool; however, he could never seem to catch one in the right moment. Usually he was too busy or they were.
Ruka seemed to be cracking slightly in Ross' mind, which made Ross feel a little off. He would press more, but that was not exactly a kind thing to do. He would have to wait to see how it played out. Just a bit of pressure could allow an issue to shine through, which would maybe let it be fixed. Well, that was what Ross would think if he could truly connect all of that together. Still, Ross was grateful he responded well to the compliment. It put a smile on his face a swell, knowing he was not being the literal worst as a person. It'd been awhile too since he had had a regular conversation with a person.
The tables were surprisingly flipped on Ross however as Ruka seemed to become curious about him for a moment. It caught him off guard, but it was not really until he inquired about if his parents did not want him to know about the wizarding world that he seemed to lose his footing.
"Oh, erm... I.. I mean I dunno if you should put it that way. I'm sure they were gunna tell me eventually or somethin'. Doubt i'd believe 'em anyways if I was told. There isn't really a good time to tell someone that you're magical is there? Dad probably couldn't tell me or somethin' along those lines." he explained in a jumbled mess.
Truth was, Ross had not thought of it much. Well, he had, but there were a lot of thoughts he had that seemed to simply get lost within that head of his. His father had not told him much of the wizarding world even after he got the letter, but there had to be plenty of reasons he had not known before. He had heard muggles were not allowed to know, and Ross doubted his own magic was that prominent either way.
Ross visibly relaxed when they replied they were raised the same. It was a comfort someone else had grown up isolated of the knowledge of the wizarding world as well. It was like something perhaps he could crack a joke about in the future and other people would understand. He could not help but wonder if there were a lot of halfbloods like them.
The laugh if anything was surprise to Ross, especially considering Ruka's personality so far. Sure it was not unexpected if anything, but it was more unexpected than expected. Ross gasped at the revelation of their year.
"Second year?" he inquired, clearly astonished. "I 'aven't met a second year before! Only first years! How is it? Any cool things goin' on?"
The Hufflepuff seemed ecstatic for practically no reason. It was just something new, and if there was one thing Ross loved it was something new.
Interacting with @Ruka Tân
Stamina: 7 Evasion: 7 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 8 Accuracy: 7
25 May 2020, 04:16
From Spark to Flame
@Ross Stephens
Ross, it seemed, had no idea how to "read the room", as it were. Despite the fact that Ruka very clearly didn't like where this conversation was going and was getting tenser by the minute, the other boy merely continued talking, answering Ruka's completely rhetorical question like it was just the beginning of a friendly chat.
"I don't..." The Gryffindor started in response, but immediately found that he had no idea what to say to that. The portraits were kind of freaky and often didn't make a lot of sense. Some of them would just randomly start insulting students in passing, and some would show off horrendous singing skills. Only very rarely did he come across a portrait that was actually worth talking to, but...
But that wasn't even his point, so why was he thinking about it in the first place?
"I suppose you're right," he finally said, deflating a bit as if defeated by Ross' words. If he was being honest, he was almost kind of relieved that the other boy had let himself be steered away from the topic of his counting; At least now Ruka didn't need to try and defensively shift the focus away from it anymore, and he was able to instead turn the focus back on Ross, just the way he preferred.
The other boy seemed genuinely taken by surprise when Ruka asked him if his parents didn't want to tell him about the magical world, his words coming out quickly and a little unconvinced. The reasoning he gave was weak, barely an argument, and Ruka tilted his head to the side curiously.
"There's plenty Halfbloods out there who grew up knowing about magic," he pointed out, waving a hand towards the exit as if to summarise the student body with the gesture. He remembered Jack saying that his parents hadn't talked to him about magic when he had first started to show signs because they didn't want him to get premature ideas of trying something stupid, which he guessed was a good enough, parental reason to avoid explaining magic to your child, but then again, Jack's parents were Muggles without the possibility of countering magic with magic should a situation escalate somehow.
From what Ruka understood, Ross' dad was a wizard and would have probably been able to keep things in check either way. "You're saying you wouldn't have believed magic was real if he had just done some cool transfiguration in front of you?" He raised his eyebrows in question, shaking his head doubtfully. "Does sound to me like they just didn't want to tell you for whatever reason. But that's your business, I guess." He shrugged lightly before taking a small step back as if to literally remove himself from the conversation topic that way.
Instead he focused on the ridiculous excitement Ross seemed to have about meeting a Second Year student.
"Much of the same," he answered the other boy's question with a small laugh. There wasn't much to say about being a year ahead in classes and he didn't know what Ross expected him to say. "Might get more interesting more year, though. Bunch of new classes, you know?" He had certainly been looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures since the year before, so maybe Year Three was going to trump his mostly emotionally straining Year Two at least in that regard.
~Hell is other people~ - Jean Paul Sartre
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 10 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 14 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 9
28 May 2020, 06:24
From Spark to Flame
Ross found himself grinning at the reply. He was oblivious from head to toe about most things, and that became rather clear within minutes of talking to him; however, this was what he needed. It was a mystery, and something about it felt so invigorating. Only a week prior he was convinced his entire world was ending just because he was a victim and not a bystander for the first time in his life. His non-confrontational attitude often got in the way of standing up for anything, and right now he felt... safe. Yes. Safe was the word. It was not as if he was in any danger to begin with besides possibly being set on fire, but it was a large relief to him either way. Ross' smile could make or break a mood, and while he felt everything was a 'game' in these circumstances, it was nice to know if it was a game he was not losing.
"O' course I am, who doesn't think they're creepy? I'd never want one of 'em in my room. Ross remarked.
As desperate as Ross was for something to be in the wall of his little dorm, those paintings freaked him out. Were they alive or dead? What was their deal? Who gets to be painted and turned into one? Can a portrait of you be alive while you were alive? Does it only work if you are dead? There were so many unanswered questions, yet Ross wanted the answer to absolutely none of them.
As the next part conversation was brought up, the smile he had seemed to somewhat deflate by his words. While the smile itself remained, it seemed to only become weaker the more he spoke. Sure, Ross knew there were kids with half a muggle parent and half a wizard parent who knew about magic; however, he seemed to be refusing to let it click in his brain. He glanced to the door as Ruka pointed as he felt himself become a bit more jittery. As it dawned upon him Ruka was simply gesturing to the fact there were many other children in the student body who knew. He looked back to Ruka in the most casual way he could attempt in hopes the 'interesting second year' would not notice his little fluke.
"I mean, I'd probably think it was some sorta dream or somethin'. Besides, maybe my dad wasn't much good at magic." He responded, though his voice was full of uncertainty in a way that was not full of fear, but more as if he was going to break down laughing at any moment.
It was odd though. He had never considered they just did not want to tell him, and while he found himself just brushing it off he had not a clue that would plant a seed in his mind that would find itself being watered through the school year.
"I'm sure he was gonna tell me, maybe he just forgot or somethin or wasn't sure I was magic. I'm not much good at magic unless I'm really focusing anyways." He added rather suddenly.
As Ruka shrugged, Ross followed along. He lifted his trombone lightly off the ground and fiddled with the slide. It was not exactly a fidget, it was more of to check on the oil to make sure it was sitting in well and not working poorly. He noted he should likely add some more later.
"Same classes? Sounds sorta boring. The Hufflepuff complained when they explained it might get more interesting later.
Well, as long as he was not getting more Homework Ross supposed it would be fine. He could hardly keep up with his regular classes anyways. His schedule consisted more of figuring out how to even understand the homework than doing the homework in the first place. He looked down at his trombone and allowed the slide to rest down on the ground once more. Suddenly, he looked up towards the Gryffindor as a question popped into his mind he had completely blanked on asking.
"Is it better at least friendship-wise? The Hufflepuff inquired out of the blue.
Interacting with @Ruka Tân
Stamina: 7 Evasion: 7 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 8 Accuracy: 7
29 May 2020, 02:21
From Spark to Flame
@Ross Stephens
Ruka couldn't help bit snort ungracefully at Ross' words, and he shuffled around a bit to take some discomfort off his freshly burned and bruised feet, wrapping his arms around himself, fingers tapping a quick One, Two, Three into his own skin without apparent reason. The other boy was clearly excited to have his opinion on the magical paintings confirmed, the smile on his face almost contagious enough to inspire one to tug at Ruka's lips as well.
Almost.
"Guess you'd grow quite paranoid being watched by one of them in your room," he agreed lightly, but he tried to make it as obvious as possible that he wasn't actually all that interested in this conversation. He had merely brought it up to distract from his Counting issue, and it had done his purpose now, so he was quite happy to put it to rest again.
Much more interesting for sure was the way Ross seemed so convinced that his parents had had some kind of easy to explain away reason for not having ever told him about being magical. It didn't make much sense to Ruka why a kid who would go out of his way to question a random stranger's barely there bad habits would simultaneously be that oblivious to their own family's intentions. Why did he refuse to question this particular fact?
Ruka was probably not in the position to judge the kid for it considering they barely knew anything but each other's names so far, but his curiosity was poked nonetheless.
"Sounds a bit like you're in denial," he pointed out, not unkindly but not particularly encouraging either. "So you think your dad would have hidden his own magic for the rest of your life if you'd turned out not to be magical? Has he been doing any magic since you got your letter? What does he work as, is it a magical job? Or has he even told you?" Maybe he was asking too many questions, Ruka realised a little belatedly. Ross was probably feeling interrogated but he just couldn't help it; How was it possible that Ruka was more interested in Ross' family secrets than Ross himself seemed to be?
Shaking his head lightly to stop himself from adding even more questions before these ones could even be answered, Ruka watched as Ross fiddled with his instrument for a moment before the conversation turned to classes and the difference between Year One and Two.
He nodded lightly to agree with Ross' notion that having the same classes two years in a row was kind of boring. It wasn't like they didn't have a different curriculum and learned about plenty of new, interesting things, but Ruka found himself looking forward to learning about more and different aspects of magic next year. Maybe he'd even discover a new favourite subject among his new ones; Care of Magical Creatures was already a strong contender.
Blinking in slight confusion, Ruka tilted his head to the side as Ross followed up with a question that seemed to come out of nowhere. "Friendship-wise?" he repeated in slight confusion before his lips parted lightly as if realising something. "Don't have many friends right now, do you?" It was a question, not an accusation, but that was the only conclusion Ruka was able to draw from Ross' words.
Considering the question for a moment, Ruka lifted his shoulders in a slow shrug. "Couldn't tell you. I'm not exactly an expert at making friends." He chuckled lightly and shook his head as if it wasn't that important. He'd told himself coming back to Hogwarts that he didn't exactly want much company, much less friends, so he probably wasn't the best person to be giving Ross any advice or encouragement about that. "But I guess you'll have plenty of opportunity to make friends if you wanted to. Just need to keep your eyes open; Might meet your new best friend when you least expect it."
~Hell is other people~ - Jean Paul Sartre
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 10 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 14 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 9
29 May 2020, 06:26
From Spark to Flame
Ross only found himself laughing on the painting matter. The paintings were creepy, and the only reason he could assume the school was decorated to the brim with them was because it was a school full of magical students. They needed to be watched, and he doubted the few staff that made up the building could handle that. The paintings were snitches and he could assume that on founded reasoning. He could occasionally hear kids in the hallways complaining about trouble they'd gotten in just because a painting told them. In the muggle world no painting would pull that. Actually, they probably could not if they tried.
In the muggle world, everything would actually have been normal for Ross. Ross was not afraid of admitting that. He likely would not have known of magic and would have never bothered to question any of the strange events in his childhood. He was actually quite oblivious whenever they showed up. Most of them happened in the bakery either way, so he would often assume he managed to really mess up a recipe somehow. It was easy to pass off too, as Ross never really found himself in life threatening situations as a small child.
Right now, he could hardly imagine himself in the muggle world. He was constantly indulging himself in magic at this point, which he supposed was understandable. The entire school was based on magic. Considering he did not even know what the next year up would be at school, it was difficult to even picture in his head what that would be like. The home life part which came next was the issue in his brain. He could not quite picture it any other way than the way it had originally been, but clearly it was different now.
Perhaps that was why the word 'denial' struck a cord with him that had not been touched quite yet.
His attitude stayed the same, but something inside him seemed to feel a tad bit threatened. Perhaps it was his mannerisms, or that same smile plastered onto his face. It seemed far much less like he was trying to convince Ruka than himself. Ross shook his head, laughing a tid bit before he even got into saying something.
"No no erm.. The Hufflepuff looked down at his trombone, and i thit him he would not be using it for quite some time. "Hold on, gimmie a sec He stated out of the blue.
The Hufflepuff walked a short distance towards his trombone case, instrument still in hand, and dragged the case over a couple inches back towards Ruka. He got on his knees next to the case.
CLICK
CLICK
The case fell open, and as he began to take apart his trombone he took a deep breath in and looked back to Ruka.
"Anyways, what were ya sayin'? Oh right. I dunno if dad would've hid it his whole life or anythin'... just sorta think he forgot to tell me or somethin'. Hasn't done much magic since I got the letter. He didn't really enter the whole shopping place with me, but he took me there! About work? Er.. Dad works at the bakery with mum. Nothin' strange about it." He answered, getting all the questions out of the way far faster than he himself expected to do.
The word denial was the only part Ross seemed to show any sort of nervous laughter towards. The rest Ross seemed to easily answer without problem.
As Ross unscrewed the last part of his trombone and put it in the case, he locked it into position. He tipped the top of the case over once more.
CLICK
CLICK
It was closed, and now Ross was on the ground. The boy did not even bother to push himself off the floor to answer to Ruka. Considering Ruka's height, he doubted he would have a problem with it anyways. He could probably hear him better from on the ground if anything.
"More acquaintances than anythin' else. he admitted "'ave you had much luck with it? He inquired out of curiosity and in desperate attempts to find a lead
Interacting with @Ruka Tân
Stamina: 7 Evasion: 7 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 8 Accuracy: 7
1 Jun 2020, 04:30
From Spark to Flame
@Ross Stephens
Fortunately it seemed like Ross had nothing else to say on the painting matter anymore. It wasn't a conversation Ruka would have been able to keep going for much longer, wouldn't have wanted to either. Not everything needed to necessarily be talked about in his opinion, especially not things that trivial.
Instead, Ross offered him a small laugh in response to his words about how his dad had kept being magic from him. For a second it seemed like he was about to say something before he asked Ruka to hold on and busied himself with putting his instrument away as if he was preparing to leave. Was it something that had been said, maybe? Had Ruka's words affected him so badly that he thought he needed to escape the conversation? Or had he maybe just grown tired of holding onto something he couldn't use while talking anyway?
Whatever the reason, Ruka watched curiously as Ross safely tucked his instrument away before turning back to face him while still fumbling with the case.
The words he got back in explanation made him hum thoughtfully, lifting a hand to put two fingers against his lips, lightly tapping at them, but this time without feeling the need to count. It was nice to try and figure out a mystery that didn't literally involve the physical and mental health of the only person he cared about. While feeling vaguely intrigued by the fact that Ross' backstory just didn't seem to add up, he at least didn't have the same sense of dread washing over him that he did just the day before with Selim, so that was a good thing.
"Is magic really something you can just... forget about?" he asked dubiously, tapping his foot on the ground as if impatient for a satisfying answer. "I mean wouldn't it come up naturally even just... Telling you where he went to school, or something?" Maybe Ruka overestimated the kinds of conversations kids usually had with their parents, but he knew his own dad would spend long, cold nights telling him stories of his life, and he couldn't imagine a father not telling his son about his upbringing someway or another.
The information that Ross' dad had actively waited outside Diagon Alley for his son to be done, rather than joining him for the trip for school supplies left Ruka with furrowed brows. "Maybe he's not allowed inside," he speculated, a small grin tugging at his lips. "Ever thought that maybe he's a criminal in the magic world and that's why he doesn't associate with it?" He laughed lightly to not make Ross feel too much like he was accusing his dad and more like he was just joking around, but the thought was still genuine. "Or maybe he's scared?" Another plausible explanation, perhaps. "Had some bad experiences in that place. Or magic in general, maybe." Ruka was well aware that magic could potentially be a force more dangerous than should strictly be allowed for anybody to be able to wield, so it wasn't a far fetched idea that someone may be a bit weary of it due to bad experiences.
"Oh well, either way, I'm sure you're right. Must've had his good reasons," he concluded with a little shrug like it didn't matter all that much anyway. It didn't to Ruka at least.
Locking eyes with the boy on the ground, he pulled a little grimace at the question about whether he'd had any luck in making friends so far. "Can't say I have," he said, though his hand instinctively reached for the golden, flame shaped necklace pendant dangling over his chest, wrapping it up in his fist for a short second. "Can't say I've tried much either, to be honest." He shrugged and took a step back as if to distance himself from the topic somehow. "I'm no good at friends. Better to keep people at more of a distance."
~Hell is other people~ - Jean Paul Sartre
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 10 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 14 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 9
1 Jun 2020, 06:43
From Spark to Flame
Much to Ross' dismay, the questions kept on popping in about his whole 'not being informed of magic' deal. It really could not have been that big of a deal, right? While he kept the belief up that his father had a perfectly god reason, part of it was disheartening to hear his own voice in the back of his mind question it slightly. It was only more water to a seed he did not want planted in the first place. It felt like part of his beliefs were being torn apart through questions from a boy much smaller than him. Still, he had to stand his ground against a fight he was only creating for himself.
"I dunno man, my dad's like a bajillion years old or somethin'. Bound to forget some things. He joked.
Truth was, he never really asked much about his dad. He slightly regretted it now, but he considered he had nothing to hide. Most detectives started their adventure outside of their home, not within it. That would make for a rather boring exposition in Ross' opinion. He had no reason to think anything strange of his family anyways. Was that not the point of asking questions? to clarify the strange?
"Dad didn't really go to school anywhere near home or anythin' anyways. He said it was a boardin-" The Hufflepuff cut himself off as he let out a long 'ohhhhhhhh'
It was a mental facepalm as soon as the words came out. A boarding school? Really? How had that not clicking in his brain until now? He was Ross Stephens. Master Detective, but right now he was clearly not living up to that predetermined title of his.
As the next words came out of the older student's mouth, Ross froze up a bit. Not allowed inside? The joke certainly played it off, but that was something entirely different. If his father was a criminal, he would be more than shocked. Was he? Was there a book on wizarding criminals? He would have to ask that kind librarian that would be more than willing to help out students.
"A criminal? I'm a detective! I'd know if somethin' was fishy by now." He jested with that over dramatic flare of his.
The Hufflepuff paused
"I don't think he's a criminal at least.. he bakes cakes!" He defended his thought process despite it being a joke.
His father being a criminal would be the biggest crime of all time in Ross' world. He was a detective! He figured people out for his gigantic wage of 'the satisfaction.' It would be some garbage Star Wars twist, or maybe even some kid show twist. "The real mystery was inside you all along!" God, even the thought made Ross want to roll his eyes. His family could not be that screwed up, right?
"Scared? Dad is super tough! but er.. yeah. Magic is sorta scary. Nearly set myself on fire with lumos once... The Hufflepuff mumbled. "Suppose it'd make sense." He decided finally.
As they concluded he probably had good intentions, Ross visibly relaxed. The topic was over, and now was the time to change it for good. He had to press more on something and leave, and in his mind it raced between both as he opened his mouth to reply to something he knew could make or break the conversation.
More of a distance? The Hufflepuff inquired at the end, hoping it would be enough to completely get rid of the fact the prior conversation happened.
Interacting with @Ruka Tân
Stamina: 7 Evasion: 7 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 8 Accuracy: 7
5 Jun 2020, 02:38
From Spark to Flame
@Ross Stephens
Rather than laughing at Ross' joke about his dad, Ruka just frowned slightly. Humour was a good way to deflect from discomfort, but this was nowhere near enough to distract the Gryffindor from the fact that there was something strange going on in the other boy's family life. He wasn't sure why exactly he cared, but at least this was distracting him from his own problems; The current illusion of control of the conversation had even kept him from tapping his fingers in quite a while.
Was that what needed to be done to keep the habit at bay? Did he just need to make sure to stay in control of the situation at all times?
A small laugh escaped Ruka as he watched the realisation dawn on Ross' face when figuring out that the Boarding School his dad had gone to was most likely Hogwarts itself. He nodded along with the boy's drawn out "oh" in confirmation as if to make sure to show that he had come to the same conclusion. The fact that it had taken Ross that long to make that simple connection left Ruka rather doubtful of his skills as a detective, but he decided to humour him anyway, at least for now.
It couldn't have been nice to have your Homelife questioned like that, but Ross didn't exactly seem put off by Ruka's own insistent questioning. There was something almost aggravating about the way he let that conversation be steered ever which way Ruka saw fit, but just for the moment the Fire Dancer was glad to be the one in control of it rather than the other way around.
"Sounds like a fantastic cover," he pointed out to the self proclaimed detective, only half joking. "I mean, who'd suspect a baker, right? If I'd committed a crime in the Wizarding World I'd retreat to the Muggle World and do something perfectly innocent like baking cakes to not draw any attention." He shrugged lightly as if his own stance on the topic didn't exactly matter anyway. Ross most likely didn't care much for what Ruka would do in such a situation and certainly didn't want to think about his own father being a criminal.
So without much else of a comment, Ruka decided to leave the conversation at the conclusion that Ross' dad most likely only had the best intentions. Maybe the other boy had been inspired enough by this conversation to actually try and figure out what was going on in his own home, and Ruka's involvement ended here anyway.
With a little squeeze to his necklace pendant, Ruka let go of it again and sighed heavily when Ross questioned his choice of words when stating to rather keep people at a distance.
"Most people are too boring for me to really bother with for very long," he admitted with a little shrug, almost apologetic, as if Ross would somehow take offence to that statement. "The ones who aren't are usually dangerous enough to do something hurtful sooner or later, whether it's intentional or not." Another shrug, a small tap of One, Two, Three against his thigh. "Why keep either of those around? I'm usually happiest when I'm by myself anyway."
~Hell is other people~ - Jean Paul Sartre
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 10 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 14 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 9
6 Jun 2020, 05:03
From Spark to Flame
A good cover?
The man was right. That was the first rule in the book: If you murdered someone and a dashingly handsome main protagonist was after you then you had to take a job as something innocent. It cleared suspicions of you until the last moment when all would be revealed. Sure it made the villain pretty predictable, but it was fine as long as there was intense dialogue with the protagonist and the villain.
Hold on, was there intense dialogue with he, the obvious protagonist master detective of this story, and his father?
Not that he thought.
Hmm... checkmate 'possibility his own father committed a terrible crime that got him banned from being magical!'
"Sounds like a good cover indeed, but I wouldn't have thought of it. Say whatcha gonna do, murder someone?" He remarked half jokingly.
He doubted the guy could kill someone if he tried- well, that was a lie actually. If he said anything similar to that he would likely be set aflame before nightfall. He'd keep his mouth shut for his own safety, but he felt that maybe the inability to kill someone might be a compliment.
It was best not to push it.
As the conversation shifted, Ross' listening gears began to slowly turn off as he spoke. He was getting anxious. Anxious about the time in fact. Classes were almost starting, he could feel it in his gut. First period was three floors from where he stood, which would be fine if it were not due to the fact those damned stair cases. One would never be able to tell which direction they went to. It seemed a little useless. Ross knew well modern technology was not supposed to be in Hogwarts, but for the sake of Christ he hoped they would get in elevator.
It was blatantly clear Ross was not listening due to that lost look within his eyes. What had he said? It was difficult to make friends? Something about friends... What was the topic at hand again? God, it was so easy to forget when one is worrying about where to go and how to get there within a specific time frame.
Ross laughed, blatantly bluffing his way through this. "Ah yeah, I agree with that!" He remarked, picking up his trombone. "Well, I aught to go. Say, figure out what that counting thing is for me! he added, soon making a minor sprint for the door as he worried more and more about the thought he may be late.
"Byeeeeeeeee" his voice faded, and it did not seem to stop until he was completely out of the room, like he had not bothered to stop even when he knew well Ruka could not hear him.
An interesting encounter finally closed, he felt the only thing he got out of it was the fact Ruka could in fact set him on fire.
Perhaps that was an important lesson.
Finishing interacting with @Ruka Tân
Stamina: 7 Evasion: 7 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 8 Accuracy: 7