24 Oct 2020, 06:37
To Decide a Winner
@Dealla Prince
───── ⋆★⋆ ─────
Backdated to First Year: March 6, 2020
Mars had rarely come up here in the middle of the day. This was their favorite nighttime haunt, where the stars shone bright and eerie and the wind whistled a chilled tune, but during the day, Mars typically found themselves tucked away in the Ravenclaw dorms or hidden in the back shelves of the library. Not today though.
They stood with hands on their hips, looking out the Owlery window as a warm breeze fluttered against their skin. The sky was clear today, and classes were over, the promise of the weekend stretching out in front of them. The perfect time to do something a little reckless.
Mars stared for a moment longer, unthinking, and unseeing. Then, finally shaking themselves of their reverie, they felt the grin start to spread over their face. Ah, they'd forgotten how exciting this could be. It'd been a week and a day now since they'd meet Dee, and every spare thought had gone to this, to the day they finally decided a winner.
Rubbing their hands together, Mars approached the window and stepped onto the ledge. Their motions were fluid with the memory of many times before as they pivoted, hands reaching up to grasp the lip of the roof. Using that as an anchor point, they place their weight on the stray brick just above their right foot, and—with still little to no amount of finesse—hauled themselves up.
The wind greeted them with a howl as Mars turned, planting their back against the spire of the Owlery's tower. They were glad they'd taken the time to reinforce that brick—it'd served them well in the past and would probably continue to as the years moved forward.
From up here, the entirety of Hogwarts unfolded beneath them. The student that went about their business seemed so small, crawling like little ants along the Great Lake, running through the Courtyard. The mountains still remained white-capped and looming, but now they seemed to glisten in the sun, shadows thrown more like a rainy day umbrella then outstretched fingers. The forest was greener, rippling as the wind ran its fingers through the leaves. It was an entirely different picture than the school they saw at night—this one was vibrant and alive, pulsing with familiarity. They hadn't realized they'd gotten to used to, so comfortable, at Hogwarts until now.
It really was gorgeous.
But that wasn't the point. Mars reached back, back into their pocket to feel for something special. Their wand was securely tucked there, a sturdy weight. It'd been reliable in the past—they had confidence that it'd do its job now.
The Ravenclaw wix stared up the blueness of the sky for a moment longer. They hoped their owl had reached Dee safely, hoped her face would pop up over the rim of the Owlery soon. Their veins were thrumming already, adrenaline kicking in at the mere idea. Mars sat back, telling their racing heart to calm. There was nothing to do now but wait.
[ Home, they said. I should like to go home. ]
STA: 6 | EVA: 10 | STR: 3 | WIS: 9 | ARC: 5 | ACC: 10
STA: 6 | EVA: 10 | STR: 3 | WIS: 9 | ARC: 5 | ACC: 10
13 Nov 2020, 16:19
To Decide a Winner
| - |  By SK | - |
@Mars T'ien
The Owlery was empty when Dee hopped up the last couple of steps - empty of human visitors, that was. She doubted the Owlery was ever truly deserted by its winged inhabitants.
She came here rather often, it was close enough to their Common Room to be a convenient stop on the way, to send letters, or sometimes, rarely, just to be semi-alone. Not quite alone, Dee didn't really like being alone. The owls didn't make for great company, but they were better than no one at all.
Today, however, she was here for quite a different purpose, one that had her heart thrumming in her chest in excitement, and an irrepressible grin stretching on her face.
She was pretty much right on time, her eagerness for this meeting overpowering her general tendency towards tardiness, and yet there was no one else in sight. But then, she hadn't quite reached the actual meeting point yet, the place where they'd decide what they had started in class just about a week ago.
Stepping forward to the Owlery window, Dee leaned forward, glancing down towards the ground. It was a deep fall, for sure, and the sight send a thrill through her stomach that was half excitement, half fear. She wasn't stupid, her survival instincts worked just fine. Generally, she also wasn't the biggest fan of heights, but... there was something exhilarating about defying fear, doing something not just in spite of, but because of the way it made her want to run, cling to safe ground. And at least this was different from flying. She had the castle, sturdy and reliable, to hold on to, her own fingers and muscles to rely on. Nothing like the flimsy support a thin broomstick between her legs gave her.
Pushing herself up onto the ledge, she took just a moment to steady herself and make sure her wand was safely stowed in her pocket before reaching up and pulling herself up out of the window. She'd done this before, once, but that time had been with the support of a Levitation Charm on her clothes, steadying her and keeping her from slipping. This time she was on her own, but managed just fine. She hadn't really needed it last time either, it had just been nice to know it was there, the support easing the knot in her stomach.
It didn't take long until she had safely hauled herself up onto the roof where she sat, just for a second, taking some time to calm her racing heart, wind whipping through her hair, before she turned her head and spotted her challenger, and she could feel the smile spreading on her face.
"Mars!" she greeted them, scooting away from the edge just a little before getting to her feet. The height was dizzying, and at the same time a little intoxicating, and it only heightened the anticipation of what was to come. A rooftop duel, that would be a story to tell. Plus, she thought, it would be rather hard to be caught up here for illegal duelling, so that was convenient. "I was very happy to get your owl, I had almost thought you'd forgotten about this." Dee grinned brightly, her aquamarine eyes sparking with excitement. "Nice location, too."
"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
27 Nov 2020, 08:55
To Decide a Winner
@Dealla Prince
───── ⋆★⋆ ─────
Mars wasn't quite sure how long they'd been sitting up there, watching the clouds go by. Probably not too long, but still, there was an eagerness in their bones that made time feel longer, seconds stretching into minutes into hours. But finally, finally the time arrived.
They grinned at the sight of Dee's head popping up over the lip of the roof. Sitting up to greet her, they noted the way the wind blew breezily up here. The dredges of winter still remained in the air, and it was rather cold. Perfect for a little bit of physical exertion.
"Dee!" they responded, hand coming up to pull her a little closer. They were still mindful of the edge, knowing full well how far it fell. So long as they were careful, nothing would happen, but they didn't want to take any chances.
Mars stifled a snort at her comment.
"Forget? Only in your dreams," they retorted. There was absolutely no way they'd forgotten about this. It'd basically haunted their every waking hour from the moment they'd left the DADA classroom.
This location was nice, they had to admit. It would be hard to get caught up here and they could see the entirety of the school. Besides, there was nothing to set fire up atop the Owlery, which was rare for Hogwarts. Extremely rare. The spells they'd use would either hit or dissipate into the cool blue air.
Mars' hand went to their back pocket, fingers running along the groves of their wand. They were still getting used to the thing, but it hadn't failed them yet. In fact, there was this sense of dependency now, a fondness that they hadn't realized had built up over time. It was almost like a friend, someone who had their back in every situation.
They pulled it out, spinning it once before grinning up at Dee. Time to get this rolling.
"So... what are the rules?"
[ Home, they said. I should like to go home. ]
STA: 6 | EVA: 10 | STR: 3 | WIS: 9 | ARC: 5 | ACC: 10
STA: 6 | EVA: 10 | STR: 3 | WIS: 9 | ARC: 5 | ACC: 10
29 Dec 2020, 11:42
To Decide a Winner
| - | By SK | - |
@Mars T'ien
Her own grin was met with one by Mars, just as bright, just as excited. Two Ravenclaws they were, excited by the thought of duelling and the adrenaline the height put in their veins, almost like they should be Gryffindors instead. The potential for stupidity was enormous here, and yet the danger this put them in was somehow as far from her mind as possible, her thoughts focused on the thrill of the competition, caution pushed aside by her inherent and absolute confidence that things would turn out okay, the way kids seemed to sometimes believe themselves immortal. No, rather than having second thoughts, a moment of prudence maybe, Dee regretted not having met Mars sooner. All the fun they could have had!
"And why would I ever dream of that?" she asked, her grin sharpening, growing impish. "I've been looking forward to this for the entire week. You made me wait."
Finally far enough from the edge to feel, if not comfortable, at least not in immediate danger of being pulled down into an endless fall by a stray gust of wind, Dee let out a breath she hadn't consciously been holding, then faced Mars, smile bright and engaging. "Duelling rules, right? Wand only, no physical contact, ends when... Well, we should probably try not to knock each other out, that seems a little dangerous." Marginally more dangerous than duelling on a roof in the first place. She paused, frowning. They needed an objective criterion for determining the winner. They could, of course, just count the number of spells they managed to land, but that didn't seem quite right, considering the different effects spells had. "So... first one to land two attack spells?" she suggested after a moment of thought, then added with a glance at the nearby edge, "Excluding Knockback Jinx because I don't feel like dying today."
Her eyes focused back on Mars, anticipation growing in her chest, bubbling. All joking aside - she had been looking forward to this.
"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."