Badger Pageant PV Jake M. & Ruka T. reopened

@Jake Morris @George Henry

There was a moment of realisation as Ruka watched a flicker of surprise cross George's face when they shook hands. He had made that mistake before, multiple times; People would reach out for things and he would shake their hand instead, like an absolute idiot.

At least George had the decency to act like that interaction had been planned on both sides, so Ruka was spared some embarrassment at least.

The fact that there were no apologised from George was not something that made Ruka resent the boy in front of him at all; On the contrary, he would have probably only made fun of any forced sentiments, and he didn't need George's sorrow or pity. Opeila had told him once that apologies were more for the person giving them than for the one receiving them, and while there were countless things he disagreed with her on, this was one he thought made a lot of sense.

What was important was that George seemed to drop the subject of the pool party, which was far more considerate than any vague apology could have possibly been.

Instead, the other boy reached for Ruka's wrist, making the Gryffindor tense a bit momentarily at the first feeling of physical contact. He recovered quickly, however, once the initial shock had been drowned out, and he let George move his hand around to smear more paste on Jake's face. As he applied some more orange to the smaller boy independently, George seemed to look for more colours to complete their art work while Jake completed their vague introductions.

"Hopper is a mutual acquaintance," Ruka answered George's question seriously as he kept rubbing the paste into Jake's skin until the orange was spread out consistently. A small smile spread across his face, however, when the smaller boy elaborated on their bunny rescue mission, and he nodded along with it, as if to confirm that it had actually happened.

The words about George being Jake's best friend, and the other boy's solemn agreement made Ruka's face fall for just a second, a tirade of cynical comments crossing his mind, but he swallowed them all down almost immediately. He hadn't really seen an example of best friends yet that he would have liked to implement in his own life, was genuinely confused by the fact that people seemed to throw that term around without it actually having much meaning, but the way these two boys interacted made him want to keep his spiteful thoughts to himself.

It seemed like that term was still fragile between them, judging by the way Jake had almost questioned rather than claimed it, the way George had agreed like it hadn't been confirmed yet.

No matter how much Ruka liked to voice his thoughts without considering the repercussions, he wasn't the type of person to trample on the foundations of a relationship.

Instead he stood back for a moment to let George add all the details of Jake's tiger face, black stripes stretching across orange, white cheeks highlighting the picture. A small but amused snort escaped him at George's statement, and he moved in a bit closer, examining Jake's face for a long moment as if considering how to add any more strokes of genius to the art work. "A sick tiger," he pointed out, barely able to contain his laughter, but he still reached out to take the black pen thing from George, struggling a bit with how to unscrew it before using it to accentuate Jake's nostrils before wiping his thumb over the tip of his nose to rid it of any colour, making sure the pink would shine through. "That's better," he concluded as he handed the black ink pen thing back to George with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Looks good, Jake," he said with a solemn nod, offering a thumbs up in his direction. "Much better than your friend's badger face, really." He chuckled as he nodded in George's direction, taking a step back to muster the two painted boys with a shake of his head. "Is that what visiting a zoo is like, then?" he asked Jake with raised eyebrows, amusement tinting his voice. "I had no idea what I was missing."

@George Henry @Ruka Tân

Jake stood as patient as he could, while the older boys began to smear and brush at his face. He closed his eyes so the paint wouldn't get in them, feeling the light tickle of the brush on his forehead, his cheeks, his nose. His nose scrunched up, and he felt the coolness of the paste sticking to his skin. It smelled more strongly than any paint he'd ever had, but the feeling was familiar enough. Whenever he went to the carnival there was always a face-painting booth. His Mum had always taken him. Carnivals meant face painting and cotton candy, but face painting had always been the bigger treat. He would sit in the booth while they painted him, being a perfect little subject. He could be quiet and still, and he was now for a time, his head tilted up for them to do their work.

Of course, without any grown-ups around, the young Hufflepuff's patience ran out a little more quickly than usual. "Can I see it yet?" he asked, looking from one boy to the other and fidgeting a little until George's hand planted on top of his head and silenced him quickly. It took all his restraint to not try to turn to the mirror and check it early - the suspense was getting unbearable and he wished he could see what they saw.

Jake closed his eyes again and waited, but he didn't have to wait for very long. It all went much quicker than the painting at the carnival ever had. The white stuff was last, and felt the strangest - and it was so close on his lips that Jake had to be careful to make sure he didn't accidentally touch it with his tongue. But soon the paint was all caked on and Jake looked up at George's eyes as he was inspected, trying to get a glimpse of how it looked reflected on George's face. Finally he was declared a tiger, but Ruka stepped in for one more adjustment. "Now can I look?" Jake asked, and then turned to face the mirror. His face lit up with a smile.

"Aww, it looks so good though!" Jake said, grinning at his face in the mirror. He didn't think he looked like a sick tiger - he thought he looked wonderful! It had the orange skin, the black stripes, the white mouth, everything it needed. His smile strained the paste, but it was caked on more than thick enough. There was no doubt about what it was that he was supposed to be. He admired himself in the mirror for a little while longer, wondering if anybody would notice if he skipped his bath tonight.

Eager to show off his new look, Jake turned back to the others. A thumbs up from Ruka - the ultimate sign of approval - brought on a small flush of pride to the younger Hufflepuff. Ruka even said he looked better than George did, although that wasn't really fair. "You should see him at the Quidditch games!" Jake pointed out. "He just hasn't finished yet."

Ruka reminded Jake about how he'd never gone to a zoo before, and asked if this was what it was like. The older boy said that he had no idea what he was missing, amusement heavy in his voice, and Jake grinned wider realizing that he meant them.

"Yeah, kinda like that," Jake grinned. "Lotsa tigers like this," he said putting up his hands into the air and curling his fingers like claws, going into full tiger mode for Ruka's benefit. "Hi there, Rrrrrrrruka," he growled, sounding an awful lot like Tony the Tiger. This struck Jake in the moment as the funniest thing in the world, and a burst of giggles escaped him. "How arrrrrre you?" the little Hufflepuff asked, in the same voice, or tried, before bending over stuck in a giggling fit.

He felt light, lighter than a balloon, and the relief, the easing of tension that had been gripping his mind for so long so tightly just made everything all the funnier, and then he couldn't stop laughing even if he tried. It just kept coming and coming, and he tried to put his claws back in the air, but the giggles just came over him in a second. Until then, he had felt like he had forgotten how to laugh.

Finally he managed to contain himself, a few delayed bursts trailing off as they worked their way out of his system. He took a few moments to catch his breath, then made his way back to George "Watch out Georgie, I'm ferocious," the boy warned, giving the air a playful scratch.

With a smile, he lowered his arms. He looked up into George's face, and studied his marks. "Can I have a try... ?" Jake asked, pointing to the supplies. "Yours isn't done. And Ruka hasn't got anything at all," Jake said, looking at the boy's regular human face. It wouldn't take much to fix that though.

Ruka received an odd look when he tensed at George's touch, the Hufflepuff narrowing his eyes. What right did a Gryffindor have to be acting jumpy? George looked down toward Ruka's hand to make sure he hadn't touched the burn, although he wasn't sure it would have mattered, considering that the orange paste was caked across both Ruka's hand and Jake's face by now.

George seemed to jump a bit too, when the Gryffindor took his mascara from him. He opened his hand back up, watching the other boy's painting work as he waited for it to be return. The badger-faced badger was pouting at the Gryffindor's feedback - a sick tiger? Sick as in good, maybe. If the tiger looked ill at all it was likely the result of Jake's pallor and general sickness as a result of his neglect for sleep and food and other vital needs recently. That's better, said the boy, and George couldn't help but roll his eyes. "He's not finished!" he complained, taking the mascara and adding a few whiskers around Jake's fresh pink nose. "There. He looks perfect."

He swiped across Jake's eyebrows before the big reveal so he didn't look so flat and orange all over the top half of his face, though it didn't do much besides rub the paste between the hairs. Hopefully that stuff washed off easily. And didn't stain.

Despite George's best efforts to continue looking sour, his smile lit up brilliant white - aided in its brilliance by the grim visage it was displayed upon. It made him happy to see the younger boy so happy. "I'm not a badger today, I told you, I'm miss Gryffindor. Although, it really isn't that far off, looking at it from here," he had to admit, leaning in to admire himself in the mirror over Jake's shoulder. Hideous. "She's a tad badger-esque."

He watched Jake's reaction to the fancy verbiage (another fancy verb) before looking to Ruka again, observing his reactions to their little tiger. An unenthusiastic nod - but at least he gave a thumbs up and a semi-positive comment, even if the Gryffindor's only idea for a positive comment was to drag George down. A typical bullying tactic - George's mother had told him about this. George wagered that Ruka must have something he was insecure about. George could spot at least ten things he ought to be insecure of just by looking at him. That wasn't even counting the flaws on the inside.

"Never been to a zoo that didn't have three animals," George said, staring at Ruka's fair, unpainted skin. He twisted the mascara brush in his hand, brandishing it like a knife as he stepped closer to Ruka. "It wouldn't be fair to paint me before Ruka, he hasn't had a chance to get anything on yet."

And when he did - when, not if - George would be satisfied. The experience would bond them all, having all humiliated themselves via animal-themed bathroom makeover. George had figured out that it was usually embarrassment, fighting, or trauma that brought people close together. That's why he had told Jake he loved him, and that's why he and Jack had stuck so close together since their 'secret mission' went awry. It was why Hufflepuffs were such loyal friends to one another - they had the shared embarrassment and vulnerability of landing into this joke of a house. Being put here changed you, there was no doubt of it in George's mind.

"What do you want to be, Ruka?" asked George. That would be his only input on the matter.

@Jake Morris @George Henry

Ruka noticed the look George shot him in response to his fidgety reaction to having his wrist grabbed but he decided not to say anything. Touch was something he had been struggling with for a while now, even more so than usual, but he wasn't going to go into a lengthy discussion about why with a boy he only just met in the middle of the boys' lavatory. Some things didn't need to be put out in the open like that.

It wasn't like George had much right to question it anyway, since he actually got a little jumpy himself when Ruka reached for the black pen thing, but instead of questioning it the Gryffindor figured it was best to pretend like he didn't notice. If they both simply ignored each other's tics and insecurities they could just concentrate on making a tiger out of Jake and eventually part without any ventures into the depths of their minds, right?

Watching George put some finishing touches on Jake's face, Ruka couldn't help but smile lightly. It was anything but professional work, but at least one would be able to guess what it was quite easily so that was good enough, wasn't it? Both Jake and George seemed quite pleased by the outcome at least, and it felt like that was the most important thing anyway. "Badger-esque," he repeated George's words with a stifled laugh. "A carnivorous badger who hasn't been fed in a week maybe." He looked over his shoulder as if to make sure his Head of House couldn't hear him, before returning his attention to Jake who was clearly more than satisfied with his new look.

For a second Ruka found himself confused as he watched the smaller boy lift his hands and curl his fingers, but once he started talking he realised exactly what he was trying to do; It was his very best Talking Tiger impression, and Ruka couldn't keep his laughter contained at that point, genuine amusement bubbling from his chest. Jake's antics were ridiculous but at the same time so endearing that Ruka didn't find it in himself to be annoyed or bothered by it in any way. Just watching the younger boy bending over with laughter was enough to make some weight lift off of his chest, make him him feel like he was at least useful for something. If he was unable to fix the things he wanted to fix so badly, then at least he was able to contribute to making Jake abandon his worries for a little while to laugh like that.

"Fiercest tiger in the world," he commented on Jake's statement about being ferocious, a grin still curling his lips. The smile only wavered when the attention suddenly turn to Ruka instead, both boys prepared to use all those colours on him now that Jake's tiger face was done. "Uh, I'm fine, really," he said, reaching up to sheepishly rub the back of his neck, smearing some of the half dried Burn Healing Paste there. One look at Jake's face, however made him take a deep breath before he shook his head at himself. Would it really be so bad to let the two others put some colour on his face that he could just wash off again once he was back in his dorm? It was going to entertain Jake at least, and the young badger clearly needed a good pick-me-up.

"Actually," he said, a small smile returning to his face as he reached out to squeeze Jake's shoulder encouragingly. "Think you can make me a Lynx? My favourite animal." He chuckled lightly as he doubted that the two boys were really able to manage something that specific with the limited supplies they had at their disposal, but it would give the boys an opportunity to mess up his face and laugh about it at least.

@Ruka Tân @George Henry

Jake (who was now not just Jake, but the fiercest tiger in the world) looked over at Ruka and regarded the older boy's bare face. George was right. He hadn't been painted at all, and it wouldn't be fair to do anything next but fix that. How could they leave him out? Jake looked hopefully at the Gryffindor, but for a moment it seemed like Ruka didn't really want to join them. Then Ruka thought about it some more, and to Jake's pleased surprise, said that he would let them paint him after all. The younger boy gave a small smile as Ruka squeezed his shoulder, the Gryffindor's touch possessing a confidence that far outmatched his size. Ruka wanted to know if they could make him a lynx (his favorite animal, something that Jake made sure to remember), and perhaps some of that confidence had rubbed off on Jake because he felt sure that they could.

"Yeah! I know we can! We still have lots more of that um...stuff," the boy said, waving a hand over to whatever it was that George had been painting him with.

Jake put a hand to his chin and went quiet again, but this time because he was thinking deeply. The pensive tiger pictured a lynx in his imagination. It was the kind of thing he had to be good at for when he was drawing. When you were drawing, you needed to be able to see what was going to be on the page way before you actually put it there. When he was visualizing something, everything would stop, and he'd paint the picture with his mind before transferring it to the canvas. Ruka's face wasn't exactly a canvas, but it was close enough. It would only take some adjusting.

Of course, Jake hadn't been making many drawings of lynxes lately. His imagination didn't really seem like it was working right anymore. Whenever he would try to draw, his drawings would turn into frightening reminders of the past weeks. Today, though, he found that he could see the lynx as clear as day, and nothing was burning. He turned back to George.

"We should get white paint, and we can paint his neck like this," Jake said raising his hands to trace on his own neck. "For the beard. Can I do that part?" he asked hopefully. It was his favorite part about lynxes.

"What color lynx do you wanna be?" he asked Ruka.

"Well, let's not insult her too loudly She might hear us and hex us," George said, in a conspiratorial whisper toward the Gryffindor. The Gryffindor lady was horribly evil looking for someone who taught Defense Against the Dark Arts. A costume like hers was more appropriate for a class just titled Dark Arts, or perhaps Enthusiastic Participation in the Dark Arts. When he heard the name of the class, he'd anticipated something more to Jake's liking. A safe space where one could learn about the Dark Ats, without ever coming close to them - as George doubted there was any real danger posed to wizards by the dark arts. If magic was dangerous to those who wielded it, wizards would not have lasted this long.

But much like Jake, wizards seemed to survive on a purely chance-based survival strategy. Still, the imitation of a ferocious predator that Jake performed did put a smile on George's face. As George descended on Ruka, the boy with the burn looked to Jake and gave him a smile. Another rare opportunity for Jake to be useful, using his cuteness to sway Ruka in favour of a face-painting. Maybe that would be a fatal mistake. What the heck did a lynx look like, anyway?

"Favourite animal is a lynx? Why?" George asked, mixing in a little curiosity to the judgemental remark. Colours, procedures, and grand visions in Jake's head be damned - one thing was certain. Lynxes had whiskers. Probably. With the confidence of a delusional artist, George reached out and scored thin lines across Ruka's ceek with his mascara brush, leaving behind whiskers much like Jake's.

Palming the little jar-thing of pale white foundation, George handed it off to Jake. "Just smear it on your hands and give him the beard," George suggested, gesturing vaguely around where he thought a lynx might have a beard. It was where a human would have a beard, so it couldn't be that far off. "There's more than one colour of lynx?'

@George Henry @Jake Morris

Ruka let out a gurgled laugh at George's insinuation that the Gryffindor Head of House might be able to hear them and hex them for their cheek. It wasn't completely out of the realm of possibilities so he found himself nodding his agreement before moving his hand in a way that was supposed to look like he was zipping his mouth. Enough was probably enough, and while Ruka didn't think much of House loyalty, it probably still didn't come off great for him to talk about his own Head of House like that.

Turning his attention to Jake for the moment, Ruka found himself smiling lightly at the other boy's confidence in making him a lynx. There were some severe doubts in the Gryffindor's head about the other boys' face painting capabilities, but he was going to let Jake continue on in his belief that he was able to transform Ruka into his favourite animal. Chances that he would come out looking anything but a mess were slim, but he was going to take those chances. Who was he trying to impress anyway?

George's question pulled his attention away from Jake again, and Ruka tilted his head to the side thoughtfully as he tried to formulate a good answer. The judgment in the other boy's voice was ignored in favour of the tinge of curiosity to be found in it as well.

"They're very capable predators despite not being very quick," he explained something he only knew from his dad's telling of the creature. He'd been seven when he had first seen a lynx on a television set through a shop window, and he remembered being immediately taken by the animal for no specific reason aside from childish enthusiasm for something fluffy. All he had wanted back then was a book on the creatures, some stories, pictures maybe. He had gone back to that store window every day for a month, but he had never been lucky enough to see the lynx again. Back then that had been one of the biggest disappointments of his life.

"Their ears are funny," he said, feeling his confidence wavering as he realised how incredibly childlike he had to sound in his reasonings. What reasons did other people usually have for choosing their favourite animals?

Fortunately he was spared going further into the depths of his choices as George brushed some black ink stuff across his cheeks, leaving his skin feeling slightly damp and tingly. Out of instinct he wanted to reach up and wipe the colour away but he managed to resist the urge, kept both hands firmly by his sides instead.

Helpfully he moved his face further in Jake's direction to allow him to paint that white beard the small Hufflepuff wanted to give him. "I like the ones that are kind of grey with black dots," he told Jake before shrugging his shoulders in response to George's question. Were there different coloured lynx? Ruka had no idea, could only go off of what he had seen that one time. Maybe this summer he could ask for a book on them and make himself more knowledgable about his favourite animal. "And they have those black tufts on their ears." He lifted his hands, balling them into fists save for his pointer fingers which he stretched out to hold up next to his own ears to symbolise the little tufts he was talking about. "I like those, they look funny."

@George Henry @Ruka Burnett-Tân

Jake listened closely as Ruka talked about his favorite animal. While Ruka might have seen some judgment on George's face, Jake's showed only curiosity. It was something that he found endlessly interesting. Almost everybody had a different answer to the question, and knowing what it was was important. Knowing George liked bulls was why he had gotten George a stuffed bull for Christmas.

Ruka liked lynxes because they were good predators even if they weren't fast. They were smart and sneaky. And they had funny pointy ears with big black tufts. Jake nodded.

"There's lots of colors of lynxes..." Jake answered. "It changes um...depending on which place you find them in. But I don't remember which one is which...I think there are white ones where it snows..." Jake thought for a moment. It was foggy, trying to recall things and facts, though he knew he had read them. He shook his head for a moment. He didn't like the fogginess. He wanted back in the present - back to Ruka and George.

But he had the jar now, which meant it was time to paint. Jake looked at the slightly-taller Gryffindor, putting a hand to his chin once more - forgetting for a moment about the paint he might smear. His job was an important one, because the beard of the lynx was one of the things that made them easiest to identify. He stuck two delicate fingers into the jar, and began his work.

Jake's painting style had little resemblance to George's. Unlike George's haphazard globbing, Jake reached out and carefully began to rub his fingers in small circles on the side of Ruka's neck to spread the white gunk. He grinned sheepishly, never having painted on another person before. The soft skin felt nothing like a canvas. It felt strange, but made him smile. It was sort of like finger-painting. Jake had never really liked to do that very much, because you couldn't be as precise with your fingers as you could with other tools, but it was suited for this occasion and watching Ruka transform was something somehow magical.

"It looks sorta...pointy like this I think..." he mumbled, bringing the white beard down to a point, and then tracing it back up to Ruka's chin. After re-dipping his fingers he began to make a matching half on the other side, while George worked on other areas of Ruka's face. Jake didn't mind if George was progressing faster than he was. Slow and steady won the race, and Jake just wanted to get it right.

"Like...that," Jake said finally, stepping back and putting a hand in front of his mouth (but not touching - he had learned by now not to risk his tiger face) to block another giggle. Their work was far from over, but the sight of Ruka with a lynx beard was too funny.

"Can we make his ears pointy George?" Jake asked, putting his fingers up to his own like Ruka had earlier. "How do we get the black tufts?" If ears were one of Ruka's favorite parts, then that part needed to be perfect.