Melt with Me PV Robert T. and Flash H. Closed

Flash didn't exactly know what he was being invited to, though he trusted Syl enough to go along with it. Much like their last excursion, Flash didn't need to ask any questions, since Syl always seemed to have pure intensions, as far as Flash could tell. He was inclined to trust most Ravenclaws, even though that inherent trust was wavering with Vladimir and his brother. He at least found most of them were thoughtful in their actions, though... even that wasn't really always true. Scratch everything, generalizing doesn't work. He trusted Syl because he was the person he had known the longest at school. If he couldn't read the goodness in him, he may as well hang up his hat on reading people altogether.

Entering the Great Hall, it took no time at all to find him. It was fairly easy to spot the owl on the young boy's shoulders, most of the students left their owls to socialize in the owlery, but Minerva kept Sylvain constant company. As far as he could tell, it was her choice to do so, and the two had become nearly inseparable since their union. It was a bit intimidating for Flash, who was not very fond of animals, and nearly always expected her to lash out and peck him if he did something wrong. It was a good thing she wasn't by the lake that day, or his casting on and carrying of Syl might have led to a full-on owl attack.

That aside, the boy himself stood like a scarecrow, cones of ice cream balanced between his fingers, arms inching forward as the beast of burden craned its body towards them. Horrifying. Flash hurried forward to amend the situation before it got worse.

"Syl." Flash only briefly acknowledged him before going for the two cones in one hand. Minerva screeched as he reached for him, heralding his inevitable pecking, though as he swiftly stepped back after procuring them, it seemed she had decided to spare him. She was just grumpy. "It's not even the end of lunch yet, weren't you worried the ice cream would melt?"

Flash, naturally, had come a few minutes early. Even if he hadn't been taught at a young age to always arrive early, he liked to be early anyway if only just to be prepared. For scenarios like this, where the host needed assistance. That was what Flash was best at, being the help that no one had asked for but everyone needed. Predicting problems, and preventing disaster. Thankless work, mostly, though the apparent meaning of the meeting at hand was as a thanks for good deeds. Looking at the sweets in his hands, he wasn't particularly enthused, but Syl's company would be welcome. That, and there was a questionably more arriving.

"Your letter... there is someone else joining us, right?" It was fairly obvious, with the precarious cone situation, that he expected one more person.

Flash welcomed it. He was interested in people, and he preferred to spend his free time in thoughtful conversation. If Syl had considered this person to be good, then Flash liked them already. He had considered the idea a brilliant one, in no small part due to his increasingly good mood. He was wearing bright colors again, worrying less about the frightful occurrences around the school. He got to punch Vladimir in the face and got away with it. He was planning to spend the winter recovering, healing, and recuperating from the tragedy over summer. His original idea of doubling down on the dark mysteries surrounding Hogwarts hadn't helped-- he had slipped into paranoia and panic attacks instead of the feeling of being useful that he had been striving for.

This was where he was most useful, as a powerless child. Being with friends. Rewarding acts of kindness. Not tempering himself into breaking.

Interacting with @Sylvain Indarys and @Flash Holmwood

It was no surprise that Robert had his nose in a book. As much as he enjoyed the taste of lunch, especially lunch in the Great Hall, the Ravenclaw had always found the repetitive motion of biting, chewing, and swallowing, quite boring. And so, he took it upon himself to make it less boring, as evidenced by the dirty napkins surrounding himself, soiled in such a way most likely because the boy was more focused on reading through "Extraordinary Trials in History" than where his mouth was in relation to his food. What was a surprise though, was that when finished with his meal, he did not immediately race to his next class, just to make sure he would be late. For today, he had been invited to ice cream and pralines by a Ravenclaw prefect. He hadn't recognized the name, but was still very excited to have been noticed in such a way.

As it was nearing the end of the meal, and Robert didn't want to be late, he decided to pack up the book now and try to find the prefect while finishing up his lunch. Gently placing the book in his bag and swinging it over his shoulder, he peeled his banana because, why not while scanning the Great Hall for this mysterious ice cream man. It was actually much easier than he had expected, the large bird immediately drawing his attention to a figure holding three ice cream cones.

As he made his way over, finishing the banana in the process, he realized that he did recognize the prefect, he'd just never caught the older boy's name. First at the Costume Party, this was one of the mischievous students who'd let loose a knapsack full of chocolate frogs, and again during the lockdown a couple weeks ago, when Sylvain had played an integral part in ushering Eagles back to the common room. Definitely an interesting figure, Robert had already developed a strong liking for him, and not only because he was the one holding ice cream. The first-year could appreciate how hard it is to find someone with a good sense of humor, and yet the maturity to be useful in a stressful situation.

Robert finished making his way over just in time to hear a different boy the first-year didn't recognize remark to Sylvain about another person joining them. "That would be me!" Robert exclaimed with a wide grin and happy wave. "Nice to meet you, I'm Robert." He reached out to take one of the cones off of the prefect's hands, only to remember the banana peel he was still holding. Even after two and a half months of living in the castle, he was still a bit unused to the house-elf system, so when he laid the peel on a nearby table, it was with a hesitant belief that this was the right thing to do. Now, with his hands free, Robert took a cone from Syl, awkwardly reaching around the owl. He'd gotten a bit more comfortable around animals since the pet pampering errand, but they still weren't his favorite thing in the world. "Who's your friend?" he asked the older Ravenclaw, nodding toward the bird.

Hexcode= #507091

It was wonderful to see Flash in one of his more colorful outfits again. He hadn't noticed that the boy had eschewed the bright garments in favor of more somber ones until he saw a shirt he recognized, but the time he'd spent dressed in black was clearer now with more color to paint the picture. "Flash!" he called back out with a look of concerned amusement on his face, as though he thought the ice cream would meet some horrible fate at any moment.

"It is melting," he said holding the cones out for his friend to take. He nodded to confirm that indeed there was another person coming, though instead of answering aloud who, he took a lick from his own cone to save it from dripping wastefully to the floor."ooooh," he said with his free hand clutching the top of his head in pain as Minerva jostled to keep her balance. He would huff and puff a few times before mildly saying "brain fwheeze," with his mouth full of the sweet and savory ice cream. Praline was his favorite flavor by far.

No sooner had he been afflicted by the brain freeze than Robert announced his arrival and introduced himself. Sylvain took it as an opportunity to hurry up, take care of himself and finish the mouthful while he nursed his brain freeze by putting his tongue to the roof of his mouth. He was thankful the elementary school nurse had taught him how the last time it had happened and was reminded to slow down as per their instructions.

Nodding at Minerva would cause a similar reaction from the bird, sort of like a greeting she could give back. As Robert's head bobbed up, so did hers and it was as if the two immediately reconciled any differences they had. Toukmond unwittingly gave her the signal she needed as a sign to let down her guard. She would first coo at her owner and then nuzzle him before making a mad dash from her perch on his shoulder. In a flash, she was diving for Robert's ice cream cone. Luckily Sylvain had been prepared for this and as she leapt, he kept a hold on her foot, pulling her back to his shoulder without too much fuss.

"This is Minerva!" Sylvain said a bit panicked while just barely managing to keep the picky eater from stealing Robert's treat like a field mouse, "and I'm not sure why, but it would appear as though she really wants some ice cream." Some fidgeting and comforting were mandatory to keep her happy, but anything less that a treat was failing to appease her.

Minerva demanded that someone sacrifice the rest of their ice cream cone to sate her appetite and being a new pet owner, Sylvain gladly obliged if only to stop her from attacking the other children. Children whom he wanted to be friends with and was increasingly becoming embarrassed in front of. Humor would help. "She has less brain to freeze anyways," he said chuckling as he gave the big bird a hearty pat on the wing and squeezed her tight. He would toss the cone up to her, and She hucked down the entire thing without a single bite being taken out of it.

Hunger quelled, and ice cream delivered, Sylvain's focus turned back to the two with gratitude in his features. "Flash, Robert, thanks for coming. Either of you know eachother?"

Mentions @Flash Holmwood @Robert Toukmond

Syl tried to save his cone, gaining a swift frozen kick to the head for his efforts. Flash couldn't help but laugh lightly, his hand coming up to cover the act. Rich or poor, almost any kid could sympathize with facing the hubris of eating ice cream too fast.

Another boy came by and introduced himself as Robert. "Flash Holmwood, a pleasure." He would normally go for a handshake every time, but the ice cream made it hard. A wonder why Sylvain thought it pertinent to hold them all in the first place. Probably something sentimental, like wanting to see their faces when they got it.

Robert also seemed to introduced himself to the owl, which seemed to placate it somewhat. Somewhat, because it dived for Robert's ice cream. Flash moved as if he could possibly have intervened, but Syl kept the would-be thief away. It was named Minerva. Flash gave it a bit of a stink-eye while the other two were preoccupied. It seemed like a hassle. Well, if Syl liked it, he wouldn't be rude.

Then, Syl gave her his own food. Shock. So many of these pets his friends were getting were out of control, who let kids have pets in school anyway? Flash's mouth was left agape, the swift choking back of the cone a terrifying sight. He wiped the expression from his face as Syl gave her a hug, asking a question.

"No we haven't, though I..." Flash glanced at Robert briefly, a tiny hint of panic as he swiftly decided to change topics, "Though I'm glad to have the opportunity. This was for some good deed, wasn't it?"

He thought better of mentioned where he recognized him-- a first year Ravenclaw who was destroyed in his first duel by Dmitri Jones. In fact, he hadn't seen anyone eliminated as quickly as he was... in the very first round. Better to save his dignity by not bringing it up around Syl, who was mostly uninvested in the school sports to begin with.

"And Syl, you can have my ice cream if you like." Flash briefly lifted his cone in Syl's direction as he talked to Robert, not paying much attention.

Interacting with @Sylvain Indarys and @Flash Holmwood

Robert chuckled, delighted, as the bird perched on Sylvain's shoulder seemed to return his greeting with a nod of her own. "Nice to-Oh!" he started to address the owl, stopping as the delight shifted to surprise when she dive-bombed him. Luckily for the poor boy, she was quickly reined in by her owner. Letting out a nervous giggle at the experience, the smile soon returned to his face. "Well, as I was saying, nice to meet you," he said, a bit more timidly than before. Robert turned back to Syl. "I honestly can't tell if she loves or hates me," he laughed, only partly joking.

As the prefect introduced the avian as Minerva, the young Ravenclaw's face lit up as he recognized the name from Roman mythology. "Of course, it's a well known fact that the goddess of wisdom loves ice cream," he grinned. Robert would never stop being amazed by how much people seemed to care about their pets, whether they were spending a Saturday cleaning them, or giving up their entire ice cream cone just to satisfy them.

As Syl turned his attention to the other boy with them, Robert searched his memory before shaking his head. "No, I don't think we've met before," mentally filing away the other boy's name. Unlike Flash, this was an entirely true statement, as he'd been more busy losing consciousness during his duel than looking at the observers. Looking back to Syl at Flash's next remark, Robert realized he also didn't quite know why he'd been chosen for this. "Yeah, that was my understanding of it." The boy said the next part with mock cockiness and a smile to show he was joking. "Obviously, I'm amazing, but it would be nice to know exactly what part of my amazingness earned this prize." Robert took a lick from his cone, pleasantly surprised by the flavor. "Hey, how'd you know cookies and cream was my favorite type of ice cream?"

Hexcode= #507091

"It was meant to be a reward for good deeds." Sylvain said as Minerva snatched yet another ice cream cone. This time from Flash's inattentive grasp. "Though my familiar seems to think she's more deserving." He chuckled, albeit nervously. She was normally much better behaved, but that was when she had her guard up.

Obviously she had no problem getting comfortable around the three of them. In fact, she was almost too comfortable. "Why don't you take a lap and give me a rest?" he said to the picky cone thief. She would lock eyes with him, a contest of wills commencing, but Minerva relented after Syl stuck his tongue out and blew her a raspberry.

"Just a coincidence I picked your favorite flavor." He said, slightly amused at the power of guessing. His problem bird now circling above their heads, so Sylvain let himself relax a bit. The bird was heavy and at the same time, a burden, but her companionship meant the world to him. Seeing an opportunity to steer the conversation his way, Sylvain spoke up.

"Actually, that's something I was hoping to address. Flash," he said, a joking smirk sweeping across his face. "Thanks for pulling me out before I went to deep the other day." He was talking about the lake, and his moment of rash behavior. Truth was that if he wanted answers, he was going to have to delve somewhere else now.

"And you Robert." He said, his smug grin replaced by genuine admiration for the kindness of a fellow Ravenclaw. "You held the door to our common room for the others as I rounded them up." His smile was thin and small, as it came with a chuckle while some unnamed first year from the Gryffindor table was bullied into feeding Minerva his scraps. He'd just pretend he hadn't seen that.

"So, tell me Flash, learn any new spells recently?" To him, it was obvious that he was asking about the revealing charm. The one they both hoped would reveal some of the secrets in the book he had found. The two had spent a good deal of time speculating its purpose but until they had some way of progressively increasing their knowledge (and figuring out its secret contents) they were stuck in the mud.

Mentions @Flash Holmwood @Robert Toukmond

As Robert talked, Flash watched him with interest. Syl was rewarding him for a good deed, which already attracted Flash's interest. He didn't want to assume too much, but it almost felt like Sylvain was... pointing him out to Flash. Was that the kind of thing Syl would do? Regardless of Syl's intention, Flash always liked to know who was being helpful, who was useful in stressful situations. People like that weren't always easy to find, and were deceptively indispensable. For some, this might have been an act of trying to find dependable and loyal friends, but for Flash he often saw it in a more Slytherin kind of way... as a campaign for allies.

As he was distracted however, he would find his cone wrested from his hand suddenly as the harpy perched upon Sylvain's shoulder sealed the ice cream's fate. A bit in shock, Flash stared at the beast, wondering if his hand was next. Thankfully, Sylvain sent it away after a bit of bickering. Flash felt a burden off his own chest with its dismissal. he wondered if it could sense his fear... animals were so unpredictable compared to humans. As far as he knew, they would always make him uncomfortable.

When Syl continued, he mentioned gratefulness for Flash's actions at the lake. A bit surprised, he nodded, accepting the thanks. He was relieved, as at the time he worried he was hurting their relationship rather than growing it. Despite that he hadn't wanted Syl to get hurt. He was glad that in the end, his intention had mattered.

"Certainly."

Then, he described how Robert had held the door for others. How vague... holding the door for others didn't seem like much of a feat... what exactly was Sylvain 'rounding people up' for? Swiftly, Flash recalled the recent lock-up, as though he could forget it. In such a situation, it was indeed an act of keeping his composure during a stressful time. In the Slytherin house, there had been crying and screaming. Now, he wondered how all the other houses had fared.

Before he could inquire about the lockdown-- something he honestly didn't want to talk about-- Sylvain asked him about spells. Taken off guard by the swift change in subject, Flash's eyebrows raised curiously.

"I... well, no more than anyone else?" Flash's voice was full of question, unsure of whether they had entered the uncharted territory of small talk, a weakness of Flash's. "I was thinking of spending winter break getting ahead in my studies. I was going to be practicing a few new spells then. Nothing we won't be learning this year anyway, though. Why do you ask?"

This thread is locked until Robert Toukmond returns from their hiatus

@Robert Toukmond @Sylvain Wyllt

Interacting with @Sylvain Indarys and @Flash Holmwood

Robert watched, slightly relieved, slightly disappointed, as Minerva was sent away by her master. The boy couldn't help but find her interactions with Syl amusing, especially when the older Prefect blew a raspberry at the large bird after a seemingly intense staring contest. However, she was still a quite imposing figure who's absence would probably relieve a great deal of stress from the young Ravenclaw.

The first-year was (unreasonably) mortified to find out the Prefect wasn't either a stalker, diviner, or extremely talented logician, just lucky when it comes to figuring out a person's favorite ice cream flavor. If there was one thing he hated giving the impression of, it was ignorance, especially when someone seemed to find it amusing. He wouldn't hold Syl's reaction to his silly question against the older boy. No, instead Robert would hold himself accountable for asking the question in the first place. He should have known better, should have remembered that even in this new world, not everything was the result of some deeper cause. Of course, he wouldn't show any of this, but keep up a demeanor of light sincerity and pleasant banter.

As Syl continued talking, Robert's concealed embarrassment would flee to the back of his mind, replaced by curiosity.

"Thanks for pulling me out before I went to deep the other day."

The obviously purposeful vagueness of the statement drew the Ravenclaw's attention, plainly revealed on his face. A small part of this was to hide his still-present self-humiliation, but it was mostly portrayed with the intention of subtly, silently, asking for more information. Robert knew enough about social cues to know when someone was avoiding a subject and was too polite to ask out loud, but he would still welcome the information if volunteered to him.

When the older Prefect directed his attention and admiration to the first-year, Robert blushed with embarrassment, much more obvious this time. In all honestly, he'd totally forgotten about that particular part of the event until this moment, not having given his "good deed" a second thought after doing it. "I- well-" he stammered. "Anyone else would have done the same," he finally landed on. "Thank you, though."

Robert's ears perked up once again as Syl directed the conversation once again into hidden meanings and secrets. However, this time Flash seemed as confused as he was, answering the surface question but obviously not picking up on any allusion to a different subject. As the statement at hand was directed specifically at the Slytherin, Robert figured Syl would not be so interested in his own answer, so he kept quiet.

With an almost imperceptible ruffle of the eyebrows, the younger boy wondered why he'd been invited to this event in the first place if the two older boys were just going to hop around sensitive subjects they didn't want to discuss in front of him. This is where Robert's social ineptness finally shown through, not in his actions but in his lack of them. Another person might have asked if their presence was really wanted, or just politely excused themself from the situation to allow the others to continue their conversation more easily. Robert recognized that this is the right thing to do, and intentionally chose not to. Curiosity is a powerful thing, and the first-year was mentally unable to purposefully remove himself from a situation in which he might learn something interesting. So instead, he stood there, awkwardly licking his cone, eyes darting between Flash and Syl, ready for one of them to elaborate on this mystery.

Hexcode= #507091

"I ask because you said you were going to learn the revealing charm so we could read that journal... or book. Whatever it is." That charm they needed to in order to find the secrets hidden in a journal the two boys had found. "But if you haven't yet then I guess it'll just stay a dead end for now." He looked a bit disappointed. If there was something Robert and Syl had in common, it was the curiosity to solve the little mysteries but the politeness to let them be kept. It was just that they had learned so much about the hags and what was going on at Hogwarts that he couldn't help but feel it was all connected somehow.

It was their own personal stories that needed expanded on, not just their knowledge of magic. The thing that had brought them together in the first place. Mystery.

"Sorry to drag you into this as an unwitting participant, Robert." Sylvain said shooting Flash a sidelong glance after noticing the younger wizard's interest in Sylvain's vague words. "I would share more, but if neither of us came prepared then I feel like it simply wouldn't help us to keep on talking in circles." Unless Toukmond had somehow managed to learn a charm well beyond the appropriate time that is. It was a long shot but he might as well take it, he certainly wasn't happy about waiting longer. "Actually, maybe you know?" Sylvain said, hope still lingering in the fringes of his voice. Some students had an affinity for learning things before their time. "You uh, wouldn't happen to know the revealing charm would you?"

@Flash Holmwood, @Robert Toukmond