No Help When It's Sunny Errand Post

date ; xx/xx/xxxx mentions ; @Siobhan McCarty languages ; english | thoughts

place ; location xxxx ; wordcount description description ; ooc notes

Prat didn't wake up hungry, he woke up prepared to eat. There was a difference between the two. Breakfast for him, was no casual affair of convenience or routine. It was a deliberate choice each day, perhaps excessive but entirely justified is his ways. Sandwiches, multiples of them, stacked without restraint on his plate and glasses after glasses of banana shakes had been consumed; in manners that were bordering on indulgent.

Fuel was fuel and Prat didn't believe in operating at anything less than his full capacity.

Neoth, his half-crup had naturally mirrored this habit.

He had torn through his portion of premium grade dog with enthusiasm that would have been far more admirable hadn't it been so expensive. Prat had learned that particular detail the hard way. An unfortunate discovery that Neoth, having developed a refined palate, refused to regress to simpler meals.

This new discovery was unnecessary and irritating to say the least, certainly putting a dent in Prat's budget; yet he knew better than to discontinue it.

With a comfortable weight settled in his stomach, and a broom slung loosely over his shoulder, Prat moved through the castle with no real intentions of fulfilling the tasks he had volunteered for. The broom served more as a prop than it did a tool. Something he could use to justify his presence should anyone question it.

His attire reflected this lack of urgency as well. A grey t-shirt, joggers and pygmy puff slippers; or crocs. Whatever the muggles called it.

Neoth padded beside him, restless and energetic as he darted ahead of him before circling back, ensuring Prat hadn't disappeared in the two seconds he'd looked away. The castle, to Neo was a series of smells and new distractions.

To Prat, it was usual territory, something he'd mapped and understood. Usually boring—until it wasn't. Professor Townsend's errand was simple enough. Pygmy puffs had shed, as Prat had previously predicted and told Sio. And now, the castle was drowning in pink and purple fur that clung to everything with a persistence that bordered on offense.

Students had volunteered to clean, so did Prat. He didn't volunteer because he cared, but rather to get himself to do something and find time to bother Sio along. He'd warned her after all. Sio hadn't taken it well, which, in hindsight only made it more entertaining for him. The castle appearance now was proof of how right he'd been and yet it wasn't the most interesting part of his day.

The two wandered, or rather, Neoth wandered and Prat followed behind with enough control to pretend it was intentional. They passed several corridors, staircases, classrooms, all blurring into each other until something, someone cut through the monotony.

A soft and familiar sound of someone's humming.

Prat slowed down, tilting his head slightly as the humming reached him, recognition was immediate and distinctive in ways he'd always feel to know now. Of course, it was Siobhan; and toaster. The cat's presence was announced not by sight but a well timed and entirely unhelpful meow that he gave off.

Prat stopped just outside the classroom, leaning slightly against the doorframe as he peeked in. She was alone, alone enough to herself he guessed. The classroom had been partially cleared, perhaps by her, with the desks pushed aside, fur gathered into uneven piles that spoke more of persistence than efficiency on her part. She moved with the broom guiding her as much as she guided it. The cat was certainly not helping.

There was a rhythm to it, it wasn't perfect but it was consistent. Prat watched her for a moment longer than necessary. She looked, different, less guarded and less aware of being observed. More of herself. It was annoying noticeable. He pushed himself off the doorframe.

"Mind if I help you?"

He didn't really wait for an answer from her, he stepped in with Neoth following immediately before he veered off towards Toaster with enthusiasm that suggested absolutely no respect for personal space of either. Prat ignored them both as he crossed the room and dropped down beside Siobhan with casual ease. His hand brushed hers as they both reached for the same pile of fur, he did so intentionally.

He continued gathering the fur anyway, dumping it into one of the bags with efficiency that would suggest he could have done this faster if he'd cared enough to try earlier. He didn't want to.

"Why're you still doing this?" he remarked, glancing at the multiple piles. "Aren't you bored yet?" It wasn't criticism. His eyes flicked to her again, taking in the details he hadn't bothered to process at first glance. White tank top, embroidered skirt and her gold chain at her waist that shifted with each movement she made.

"You look good today."

The words slipped out easily from his mouth, far too easily. Prat paused for half a second, thinking about what he'd just said, but then shrugged it off like it was intentional all along. She looked better than usual. Neoth made a soft sound nearby, clearly having found Toaster. Prat reached into his pocket without looking, pulling out a handful of pet snacks which he first fed to Neoth and then tossed a couple towards Toaster.

Prat had now helped Sio enough to justify his presence, tying off one of the bags and setting it aside before reaching for another pile. "You know," he said after a moment, "I told you this happened. They shed a lot you know." There it was.

Prat leaned back slightly, resting his weight on one hand as he looked around the classroom. Most of the work was done, far better than done, continuing further would be unnecessary. He tossed the last bit of fur into a bag. "We're finished here, let's go hang out somewhere else." It was hardly a suggestion.

Prat pushed himself up to his feet, brushing his hands together while offering his hand to her.

"Come on. We'll go do something else."

xx

𝐒𝐓𝐀 𝟔 | 𝐄𝐕𝐀 𝟗 | 𝐒𝐓𝐑 𝟔 | 𝐖𝐈𝐒 𝟕 | 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝟕 | 𝐀𝐂𝐂 𝟏𝟎 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 | 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 | 𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒 coded by elena clarkxx

x

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Stats: sta 7 ⊹ eva 9 ⊹ str 7 ⊹ wis 10 ⊹ arc 8 ⊹ acc 7 | Date: 04/04/26 | Time: Snowy Aftenoon| CC:#2E8B57
────────────────────────────────

Hearing Prat's voice, she jumped slightly as his hand gently brushed hers making her blush as she realized he had invaded her privacy and likely heard her talking to Toaster. Though his question as to whether he could help her, was not unwelcome and Siobhan found herself nodding with a shaky smile.

"If you'd like too. I didn't think you'd be interested or I'd have asked you to join me earlier." She offered. She could smell banana's on him and her nose wrinkled lightly. She was not a fan of the fruit as she believed it to be too overpowering in taste. When you lacked one sense, the other senses became important to seeing your world, and Siobhan disliked those and things that would block her sight in any form. Banana's just happened to be one of them.

She could hear the sounds of Prat moving at a speed that was much faster than the speed on her own. The rustling of bags and Prat's movement across the room had her standing with the broom clutched to her chest, watching the floor nervously as Prat asked why it was that shew as continuing to work when she could possibly be doing quite literally anything else. Of course, she did make an effort to keep up with Prat but his eyesight over hers would always win out in the game of sight. She also knew that the sounds of his movement was the tell tale sign that he was moving around to simply finish the task and subsequently, move the two of them away from the classroom. So she took a seat and stretched her own back upwards with her arms outstretched above her head.

She felt the brush of Toaster's fat body snuggle against her leg and she lowered her arms to invite him for a cuddle in her lap along with Prat's crup-puppy, Neoth. Now that they had known each other and understood specific nuance between them, Siobhan knew better than to get in his way when he wanted something and figured that if he wanted to help her, if only to free himself from the shackles of kindhearted actions. She could at least entertain the little furballs while he worked.

"I just wanted to help Professor Townsend. Besides I think Toaster has been creating a nest out of the fluff somewhere in my dorm room. My dormmates keep sneezing as well." Siobhan said with a soft lilt in her voice when Prat asked why it was that she was choosing to complete an errand such as cleaning. With allergy season in full swing, Siobhan's healing instincts had taken precedent. She'd never wish sickness on anyone but it was funny to think that such small and adorable creatures could wreak such havoc on the witches and wizards living in the confines of the castle. With the amount of Pygmy Puffs in the castle, Siobhan wondered where it was that all of the little critters were coming from. Was there perhaps a nest somewhere in the Forbidden Forest? Or had there been a litter- set- brood(?) of pink and purple butterfluffs that had been born somewhere in the castle?

Eitherway, she had wanted to help.

She felt the weight of his body hit the floor as he asked if they could leave the classroom to do something else. While an activity did sound fun, she wasn't sure what it was she wanted to do. And just "hanging out" with no plan wasn't her style.

"What did you want to do then? If we were to hang out somewhere else? I have plenty of homework I need to finish." Siobhan offered as she allowed Neoth to nuzzle his head under her hand. "Or were you thinking about a trip to Hogsmeade? A walk would be lovely and Toaster could use it."

The indignant meow that followed after had her giggling as she scratched the underside of Toaster's chin. "Now now you grumpy thing. You know very well you need a walk." Siobhan explained as Prat helped her to her feet. Her hands in his felt nice and she lingered slightly longer than necessary- though she had a sneaking suspicion that Prat would prefer it if her hands didn't leave his at all. She at least needed one of them back to carry Toaster and her belongings. To appease both herself and the boy whose hand was still holding hers, she chose to lace her fingers through his, just as she had allowed herself to do so the last several times.

Holding hands with Prat was nothing new. But adventuring with him in less of a platonic way was. She liked spending time with him even if when they had the first few times, he had made her want to pull her hair out. With the almost 180 degree turn that he had pulled with her, it had been slightly exhausting at first as she laid awake at night speculating why it was that he chose to say and do the things that he did. Additionally, how did it all fit in with her plans in the grand scheme of things?

She had never alotted for the existance of another in her journey so far. Did she need to adjust her plans to accomodate him?

No- It was still too soon to plan around their lives together. Even if they were strangely intertwined in an auspicious way.
─────

────────────────────────────────
| Manx Translations: | 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Prat Pass ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅