Fin Deep-Rooted Drowsiness PV Santario

Hexcode= #507091

The crashing of the river’s waters became ever more cacophonous as they bounded their way down-stream towards Sylvain. He’d fallen asleep and was dreaming about being swept away by a coursing river. The waters were deep, and they pushed him around like confetti in the wind. Cold water shocked his skin as his brain created false sensations for him to experience. Between surfacing the depths long enough for a gasp of air, and grabbing at passing stones, tree branches and detritus, Sylvain felt like a little fish caught in an upheaval of the ocean. A new and sudden feeling of oxygen being rushed to his lungs was not as imaginary an experience as the freezing black water was.

Someone had shaken him awake, and as he slowly came to, he blinked away the sleep boogers that crept their way into his eyeballs. While his vision came into focus, he wiped the slobber from his cheek, and retracted his head from the table gently. As he retracted his head, his forehead stuck to the table with a gross peeling sound as the two had became unstuck after his bought of drowsiness enmeshed them. He trained his sight on the stark contrast of pale skinned girl before him, her raven black hair and sapphire blue eyes holding his still rousing attention. It was clear the boy had woken up, but unclear whether he understood his surroundings. With a simple “Huh,” the "study hall snoozer" stretched his arms out wide and yawned. That nap had done him some good.

Scanning the room quickly, Sylvain noted that some of the students that’d been here when he arrived had already left. That meant it was likely close to curfew, and that he should be packing all of his study materials and belongings up. Although he cared for the well-being of others, it would have been unlikely for him to summon the courage to wake another student up. Something about her gentle and considerate awakening made him feel as though she had actually lifted his spirits. Someone had noticed he needed help and done it without asking, someone was kind to him. His lip corners curled up a little, a smirk forming on his face. He needed to thank the stranger for their kindness in waking him from that terrible nightmare.

Closing his eyes to break up the stressful performance of maintaining eye contact while he spoke, Sylvain gave the girl his best appreciation. “Thank you so much for waking me up.” He opened his eyes for a brief second and caught hers to ensure she heard his thanks. “I thought for certain I was a goner, and that blackened river was going to swallow me up whole! What a nightmare!” He chuckled nervously at his own comfortability with his dream. “M'name's Sylvain, but you can call me Syl if you’re comfortable with nicknames.” He touched his fingers to his forehead, feeling the creases that had been made by the table’s surface. He blushed embarrassed. “By fate, do you mind sharing your name so I could return the kindness?”

@Santario Martin

Hexcode= #507091

Sylvain nodded in thanks, his mouth forming a slight smile. Taking the water bottle from Santario’s possession, he opened the container and began to gulp down the liquid life as fast as he could without it spilling over and out of his mouth. He did his best not to touch his lips to the opening so that his helpfully prepared acquaintance might not get whatever cooties his sleepy snoring had invited. Snoozing had a way of drying out your nose and throat, and Sylvain was very thankful for the incredibly convenient opportunity to rehydrate. “Thank you very much San,” he said respectfully hushed between gulps of water. When he was finished, he safely passed the bottle back to her.

One eyebrow shot up as he eyed the crescent shaped pumpkin treats with trepidation. “What are those?” he said as if interested in their consumption, but unsure as to whether or not he might enjoy them. His finger lingered pointing at them as she answered. He would snatch one up if they were offered, wasting not a single second to try the new delicacy. As he snacked on treats, a thought struck him. He also had planned to keep sweets on hand for occasions just like this. Pulling two cupcakes from the black hole of his never-ending junk satchel, Sylvain put the slightly misshapen confections on the table alongside Santario’s pasties. He wanted to at least offer up something, even if it was a lumpy cupcake. “Either way, I’ll trade you one of these chocolate cupcakes for your treat.”

Sylvain hummed gently as the two did or did not exchange snacks, eating whichever treats pleased both. The cupcake was still soft, and the icing was rich. Chocolate cupcakes always got Sylvain’s brain working again, and soon enough it was beginning to fill with a dozen questions. He decided to ask the one that seemed the least intrusive. Scooting his chair in and doing his best to avoid eye contact, Sylvain spoke up “Hey, thanks for not making me owe you one.” His eyes glanced around the room before settling back on her. “What uh… what kind of hobbies do you like to keep?”

@Santario Martin

Hexcode= #507091

"Oh," Sylvain said with a little surprise behind his voice. "Photography has always fascinated me. I'd love to take a look at your perspectives some time, if you're not too busy of course." His hand drifted from scratching the back of his head, down to the table where he began collecting his books and supplies. It was late, and he was really starting to enjoy this conversation, so he wanted to be ready to go at the very last second. Plus the reserved shy-guy wasn't used to people asking him what he was interested in. Usually, Sylvain did all the questioning and sat silently while others talked to him.

"Just packing up!" He said with a grin as he began stuffing the rest of his possessions into his satchel, something that visibly held an exotic menagerie of components. The soggy book would have to dry out in his dorm room. "We actually share a few interests then," he stated as if trying to compare himself to her. "I also enjoy research, especially sidetrack research." He showed her a unicorn diagram he had borrowed from the library. Blushing a bit as his face relaxed, Sylvain confessed to his other hobbies. "I also highly enjoy gardening, and reading." Sylvain neglected to mention his muggle mothers and their fantastic greenhouses, just as they'd neglected to have written to him all year. Sylvain was still sore about it, not that being sore helped him to feel better.

"Cooking though, that's something I haven't really done much of." The snackish scholar definitely loved baked goods, sweets, and juice, but he wasn't one to have ever experimented with combining ingredients to make a meal or dish. Of course, potions was sort of similar to cooking in that a potion-maker followed a recipe to achieve their end results. "Oh, but I love potions class. By far my favorite subject. If cooking is anything like that, then I suppose I have some practical knowledge, but no real experience."

"Asides from that, the occasional fantasy book, or a game of chess is pretty fun. I'm not one to socialize often so, I tend to avoid parties and stuff." He looked back to San, whose smile at the delight of the cupcake sent a wash of relief over him as his anxieties melted like frosting on the roof of his mouth. Making eye contact, Sylvain posed another question to San in hopes of making a deeper connection. "Where'd you learn photography?"

@Santario Martin

Hexcode= #507091

"Most Ponte Potions," he repeated back to her, noting it on a card for the library elves to retrieve for him later. Sylvain would interrupt her, but only so he might double check the spelling. Curiously, Sylvain watched San with enthusiasm as a shy passion crept into the conversation. Life was easier when you had love for it, and Santario's impassioned advice on cooking was more than enough emotion for the empath to connect with.

"Stir-Fry," he wrote down on the note card beneath potions. It was rare someone listened to Sylvain long enough to determine his interests, and even rarer that the absent-minded wizard listened long enough to find two new curiosities worth exploring on his own. Santario may have been sharing basic information about her hobbies now, but Sylvain was the type who tried things and came back with the results. "I'll have to try it out and let you know how I did."

It was quite impressive that the young raven-haired woman with startlingly azure eyes had been photographing for half of her life already, but it was twice as impressive to hear that her wits and cleverness handled the majority of her education. Sylvain smiled, letting his eyes do the work while he gave her a quiet and respectful clap. Those traits were something Sylvain valued about himself, and respected in others. Both kept people moving forward and thinking about the future. Speaking of which.... wasn't it getting late?

“You’re twice as far from your common room as I am, do you think you’ll make it back in time before curfew?”

"Merlin's beard!" The scrawny boy exclaimed as he grew visibly anguished with the thought of dashing up all the steps to Ravenclaw Tower. Optimistically, he recovered when coming to the realization that because she'd woken him up , he just barely had a fighting chance to make it back to his roosting place without punishment. To Syl, it was just as well that he'd spent the majority of that advantage learning about her instead of saving his own skin. Even the small amount of polite friendliness that she had shown tonight made her company far more enjoyable than the company many of his fellow students kept. It was no small thing that her interests were ideas the curious lad intended to explore for himself. Sylvain turned and ran for the study hall door.

As he reached the frame of the door, Syl swiveled back around as he often had to. Forgetfully, Sylvain was checking to make sure he had everything he needed and that nothing was being left behind. Even now, after kindness and sincerity, Syl had a hard time matching the gaze of the guardian angel who roused him from his forsaken slumber, but he did eventually muster the bravery to do so. His soft eyes were trained on hers. "Thank you." Syl said softly. A grin, hopefully conveying the genuine emotion behind his thanks, spread across his face. "There's no chance I won't have to run, but thanks to you I can hope that I will make it."

With that Syl fled, and began to fly towards the stairs with all of his strength. Legs lifting his knees as high as they could while his chest burned. He was glad to have just learned the riddle to the roost it was his chance to dodge the prefects.

"Brighter than light, I also hold back the darkness." The answer to the riddle was Hope.

@Santario Martin

Santario leaves the thread