Pollen Problems PV Zephyr

The morning dragged Zephyr's patience thin. The weather itself was pleasant but his morning soured his mood beyond repair. Flying practice had gone abysmally, it was frustrating. He committed tiny mistakes, hesitated at the wrong moments and worst of all, his focus kept slipping at the exact moments he needed it most. Usually, flying was enjoyable to him but today every movement was just wrong, as if his body and mind were not communicating properly. Because of that, he cut his practice short and just walked around. Fresh air usually helped clear his head, unfortunately, spring had other plans. Pollen.

It was pollen season, a season that hated him the most. It coated the air which looked like yellow haze under the sunlight. They often drifted off trees every time the wind would stir through the branches. He stopped halfway down the path, already feeling irritation prick behind his eyes. Spring had always been awful to him every single year without fail. Some people don't react to pollen at all, maybe a sneeze here or there, but his body treated it like a direct personal attack.

His eyes would start watering within minutes outside then came the itching. The burning sensation under his eyelids made him want to rub them all the time. His nose never stopped running once it started, and the congestion made his entire head feel stuffed with wool until focusing on anything became exhausting and irritating. Flying during allergy season was miserable. The wind only made it worse as pollen spread everywhere. Trying to maintain concentration while sneezing while flying on his broom was about as dangerous as it sounded because his vision blurred at the wrong moment.

Thinking about that now, it probably explained what happened to him early this morning. He should have realized sooner when the symptoms started-- the stiffness, the fogginess in his head, the inability to focus-- it all made sense now. His allergies had been building for days already. He exhaled deeply through his nose and regretted it when the irritation intensified. Fantastic!! He rubbed at one eye with his hand. Deciding indoors was safer before his symptoms got worse, he went back inside.

His nose twitched unpleasantly. "Hh…h’TSCHH!" The sneeze snapped out of him hard that he almost walked directly into the stone archway. He cursed internally and blinked rapidly against the sudden watering in his eyes. Another itch irritated his sinuses. "Hh…ih’TSCHH! …TSSHH!" He groaned quietly, hating his situation now. More than the sneezing, what he hated was the helplessness of it. Allergies made him feel useless, no matter how hard he tried to force himself to be functional again, his body refused to cooperate.

He rounded the corner into the Small Hall, still rubbing at his eyes distractedly, and didn't notice as another person approached and collided with him. Whoever that person was, stumbled backward and landed hard on the floor. "Oh sorry, sorr--" and realized it was Rosalyn."Bubbles...?" She looked miserable too with her eyes streaming so badly with tears while she sat there on the floor looking disoriented. "I’m so sorry! Are you alright?" and offered his hand so he can hoist her up. Even through the congestion in her voice, he recognized the sound of someone losing a battle against allergies. "The pollen got you too, huh?"

Bubbles took the blame for the collision, even though the congestion clogging his head. Zephyr chuckled, not surprised at all, it's very like her. "You can't see where you were going, and I was walking around rubbing my eyes like a complete idiot. I think we can call it quits." It didn't matter who's fault is it, if there's to blame, it's the pollen. His laughter dissolved into a sniffle halfway through, which only annoyed him more. His allergy was robbing him of dignity today.

And here he thought he recognized him, but it took some time for Bubbles to know it's him after all. Despite the miserable state they were both in, he smiled at her greeting. "You sound like you've sneezed many times today to set some record." She looked awful with her eyes were red and watery. He also noticed her nose pink from constant sneezing, and she looked completely exhausted. He was gentleman enough not to point that out to his best friend to avoid irritating her further. He suspected he looked exactly the same anyway so who was he to say anything. Between the two of them, they probably resembled victims of some mysterious magical plague.

She accepted his hand, so he pulled her up gently until she found her balance. The gesture required no thought, they had known each other for years since they were babies. Helping her up had become second nature long ago. Besides, compared to some of the situations he helped her out of growing up, this was hardly noteworthy. "You could have gotten up by yourself, but the sneezing fits would take a toll on yah later on." As if the universe wanted to prove him right, she sneezed once again. "Evidence..."

Unfortunately, his own body chose that moment to betray him. "Achoooo!" He blinked the fresh tears away from his watering eyes. "More evidence." Groaning, he rubbed an eye, only to regret it when the itching worsened. He was indeed suffering too, "I know, and it's really irritating to manage." What would he give for the pollen season to go away?

They stood there in shared misery, both sniffling, blinking through watery eyes, and trying unsuccessfully to pretend they're not losing a battle against their allergies. He caught the thoughtful look crossing her face and honestly, his best friend's expression always made him nervous because her ideas tended to arrive with alarming enthusiasm. "What?" He asked her suspiciously.

It was not worth arguing over whose fault it was as neither of them could see straight, and both of them spent the last several minutes sneezing. If anyone deserved the blame, it was spring itself. She argued not to call himself an idiot and his response was to simply looked at her. He was not sure how to properly respond anyway because his headache is winning against everything else. To show his appreciation at least, “Thanks for the vote of confidence even though I looked like one just then.” He almost walked into a stone archway while he was busy sneezing. Not his finest moment.

He let her off the hook without another word. Whatever she meant by it, he’s not about to make things awkward between them. They have known each other for far too long for that. When she complained about spring, he could only give her an exaggerated sigh. “I know.” What’s it with season, it was supposed to be a beautiful season, like she said, with all the flowers and nice weather too, “The pollen reminds me spring doesn’t like me very much.” Jade eyes gazed at one of the tall windows where sunlight was reflecting on the corridor floor. “It’s not fair.”

Her statement regarding the pollen being put on trial was funny. “I am not sure if we’ll win against that no matter how much evidence we had. It’s nature anyway.” He was aware she was just joking but he couldn’t help telling her that anyway. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a defeated sigh. The thought of a courtroom full of sneezing audience was ridiculous that he laughed once again though it was replaced by another congested sniffle.

She seemed to have fallen into a deep thinking that she looked surprised and asked him if she missed something. “Nothing, you just have a very recognizable thinking face. I’ve known you long enough to spot it.” And now he was wondering what scary idea she was brewing in there. He managed to fight another sneeze off but barely.

His eyes shifted toward the corridor. “You know what…maybe their potions or spells is much better than muggle allergy medicine.” There had to be something for allergies. “Do you want to go to the Hospital Wing together?” A hopeful smile crossed his lips. “Maybe they have a potion or charms that actually work. I will happily drink the foulest-tasting potion if it meant I could get through one spring without feeling like I’ve inhaled an entire field full of pollen.”