When Badgers Fly PV Lydia C. Aaron J. Closed

-Interacting with: @Rafael D'Spacito, @Aaron Jones -

So far, the whole flying lesson wasn't going too bad. Lydia had managed not to fall while taking off, and judging by Rafael's words and the smile on his face, maybe she wasn't as bad as she thought. A shy smile found its way on the girl's lips, her cheeks becoming slightly redder, as she felt the blood run up to them while the Gryffindor Captain observed her.

Lydia could feel her heart beating fast, and she knew that it wasn't just because she was flying; being observed that way by Rafael made her want to do everything that she could to impress him; she wanted to try her best and properly get better at flying, after all the last thing she wanted was to embarrass herself.

She listened closely to his words, observing the way he moved and the position he was showing her, taking notes in her head about what she had been doing wrong. When Rafael showed her what would happen if she didn't stay in the right position, Lydia nodded and made sure to remember that. Trying to remember everything he had said - it wasn't that easy for the red-headed girl, after all she was in the air, flying on a broom several feet above the ground, while her crush kept looking at her- Lydia moved her hands closer to her, gripping the broom tight as she did her best to keep her back straight. This new position was going against everything that her instinct was telling her to do; she wanted to be closer to the broom, as it that would make her feel safer in a way. But she had seen what could potentially happen, if she would actually go in that position: getting thrown off her broom was the last thing she wanted to experience.

Once she had adjusted and kind of got comfortable with the new position, Lydia found that the broom was way more stable than before; sure, she still felt incredibly unsafe, but at least she didn't feel like she would have fallen at any given moment. As she kept her back straight, she allowed her gaze to wander around; the sight was extremely pretty from there, the whole grounds opening in all the different directions around them, from the castle to the lake, a light breeze caressing everything, making the trees move in lovely waves.

Another smile made its way over Lydia's lips; it was warmer, softer, more relaxed. If that was how flying without being worried felt like, then maybe she could have actually enjoyed doing that more often. As she was looking around, her eyes fell on her best friend, and she couldn't help but widen her eyes a little bit; he was flying around so fast, Lydia noticed, and his face way more red than normal, and she couldn't help the worried frown that appeared on her face. "Aaron please be careful!" Lydia tried to hide the little worried note of her voice as she spoke, but she couldn't help but worry for her best friend.

“Handling any better, eh?”

Rafael's voice made her snap out of her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. "Yeah, I think so! I feel more stable like this, or at least it looks like it!" she said, her whole face lighting up in a bright smile. "You know, you're good at explaining things and teaching people. I think your team is really lucky to have you as their Captain," Lydia added. As she realised what she had just said, her whole face became bright red once again, her eyes moving away from Rafael's face.Why did she always have to embarrass herself, whenever she was with him?

Shaking her head, she looked back at him, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. "So, this is the position to hover in the air. How should I stay if I wanted to fly around and not fall of the broom?" she asked, genuinely curious. Lydia still had to properly have her first flight around the grounds; most of her class had managed to do that by that point, but because she had never felt safe enough on a broom, the thought of flying around never properly crossed her mind. But in that moment, there, with Rafael, she felt safe and confident enough to try.

OOC: I'm so sorry that it took me ages to reply! ~

As Aaron did laps around the pitch, he almost forgot that the others were there. Up in the air, he felt like he was in his own world. It was great. He was happy to feel the wind in his face and the broom adhering to his every touch. It wasn't easy to be making the sharp turns he was, but it was fun.

"Aaron please be careful!"

Aaron swiveled in mid-air so quickly, that if the ones below had bothered to be looking up at him, they probably thought it'd be impossible for him to stay on the broom. But he did stay on. And they weren't paying him much attention at all. Aside from her words of concern, Lydia's attention stayed focused on the Quidditch Captain down below with her.

Aaron leaned forward on his broom, lazily drifting above them and watching as Rafael corrected her form. With the way she re positioned, it seemed he really was helping her. Not that Aaron had doubted his ability - it's just that he doubted his intentions. As he thought about it, it became clear that he would not be learning anything useful from the Gryffindor Captain after all. They weren't exactly getting along, and it was pretty obvious that Rafael only wanted to work with Lydia. Not that Aaron wanted advice from him anymore-

Oh, who am I kidding? Advice from a Quidditch Captain would be great...

Aaron rolled his eyes before turning away from the duo below. Maybe he should take this time to do something reckless. He hesitated only for a moment, thinking about how Lydia had asked him to be careful. But then he thought of Rafael's smug attitude, and he zoomed down to the other side of the pitch again. He would show Rafael that this waitlisted player didn't need his help. He had natural talent on his side.

As Aaron hovered high up in the air, he chose to try a move that he had only successfully done once before. He usually practiced it a lot closer to the ground, though... oh well. He honestly didn't even think the others were paying him any attention, so as he carefully re-positioned on the broom, his entire concentration was on the move. He very slowly brought his knees to his chest, then placed his feet on his broom. Just as slowly, he began to maneuver his way up. After a couple minutes of deep concentration, he was successfully crouched surfboard-style on his broom.

Aaron remained crouched very close to the broom to maintain balance, and he began to "surf" through the air. It was just as exhilarating as the first time he tried it, except this time he was a LOT higher in the air. Hah. He bet Rafael couldn't do this. In fact-

A gust of wind blew in the air and Aaron instantly lost his balance. As his feet slipped off the broom and he began to fall, his heart jumped into his chest and he gasped. No, no, no. His hands flailed slightly. Falling? He had never fallen from his broom before. Never experienced a true free fall. The prospect of it was terrifying, and he realized there was no one there to save him. Rafael and Lydia were on the other side of the pitch, no way could they make it to him in time.

As the idea of falling settled into his mind, his hands clawed the air for purchase. And there it was. His right hand grasped the broom handle before he could truly start falling. What felt like an unending nightmare had only taken a matter of seconds. He had slipped from the broom, but just a second or two later, his hand found the handle before he fell out of its reach. This meant that he was now dangling from the broom by one hand. Aaron's heart was still pounding like crazy, but his grip on the broom was calming. The panic had passed. He knew he could get out of this.

Aaron began to swing side to side until his other hand could successfully grasp the broom. Good thing he had a ton of upper body strength. Now using both of his hands, he swung forward and back until he could successfully get back onto the broom. Once he was, a crazy grin found its way on his face. He'd just faced certain death and clawed his way out. What a rush.

Aaron looked towards the others to see if they had even noticed. He hoped they hadn't - or at least that Rafael hadn't. It was embarrassing that he'd almost fallen from his broom...

@Rafael D'Spacito and @Lydia Cooper