ERRAND That's One Way to Break the Ice PV closed

Hexcode= #507091

"Wasn't it Indarys? Am I recalling incorrectly?"

"Was," he said matter of factly. He was clearly more distracted by the elements. "Not a great moment to talk about it though." His teeth chattered as he shivered to stave off the cold. The sound of bones clicking against one another would obviate his level of discomfort. Though it did cause him concern when Evelynn suggested they start a fire. Here in the courtyard of all places?!? They'd die for certain if any of them tried to set something on fire right now, even if they had the proper kindling. Young wizards should never be trusted with fire. It was the first rule of prefectdom. His voice but a whisper, he warned against it but it seemed as though his caution had been lost to the wind.

As Lucia said, "Fire!" Sylvain flinched reflexively at the concept. Had they honestly not heard him warn against using fire before? Incendio was a serious spell, and not to be used lightly. He would flinch again, this time hiding behind his arm as she drew her wand, only to relax as an umbrella charm made itself useful in protecting them from the snow and wind. There had to be a better way to keep themselves warm than just starting a fire. Plus, Lucia was right, there was hardly a thing in the courtyard capable of feeding a flame for any length of time, and magical fire was quite lively. He shook his head in protest, but still it seemed like they didn't understand his discretion.

Finally, Scarlett chimed in, saying she believed fire and fuel to be their best course of action. He was surrounded by a bunch of literal fire starters! "How about we all say no to fire instead? New plan." Not waiting for his cue, and producing his own wand in a jiffy, Sylvain would give it a practiced twist. The motion was one well known from his late nights spent reading past curfew. The warmth of Lumos had been plenty enough heat beneath the covers to keep him from catching cold while studying his novels over winter break, so there was hope that the umbrella's and their huddle would help ward off the elements in coordination with one another. "Fire isn't always the answer." He admitted aloud for them all to hear. Hopefully this time they heard him.

He would be careful to maintain concentration on the charm, not touching his wand to anything that could be set aflame by it, nor overcharging it (much to the Headmaster's chagrin). "You asked about my name," he said whilst hovering one gloved hand nearer to the tip of his wand. "My foster parents thought it would be best to give me up after the whole wizard revelation. They are muggles after all." It sounded a lot more sad than it felt, so he continued to explain to them before they could start to pity him. "and I can't say I hold it against them, as I'm kind of excited to finally meet somebody from my family." He smiled wide. "I heard I have an uncle who didn't know I went missing." He had never truly felt like he belonged until he found the wizarding world so now that he knew where he belonged, he couldn't wait until summer came back around. "Suppose I'll have to wait to meet him."

"What about you three?" he said with his grin still spreading like wildfire. "You all live with your parents?" To him, the cold didn't seem so bad anymore.

Mentions @Evelynn Decipio @Lucia Fox @Scarlett Aden

Indarys'—No...Wyllt's—response about his name was met with an understanding nod. Whatever the reason for his change of name, no doubt it may have been sensitive and Evelynn certainly wouldn't begrudge him for wishing not to explain himself in this very moment. Or at all, really. The two of them were barely acquaintances, really, sharing only their year and titles as prefects. And with introductions and pleasantries out of the way with a tidy little, "Pleasure to make your acquaintances properly, Fox and Wyllt," she had slipped easily into her request for clarification on the task at hand.

"Well we certainly can't start a fire without something to fuel it," Evelynn remarked matter-of-factly, already pulling her gaze from Aden to their surrounding environment. Free hand lifting to shield her eyes, she squinted through the gale of snow and hail to see if there was anything immediately apparent that could fill that role. The pseudo-storm proved too dense, however; she'd have to embark out on a proper hunt to find success.

"No to fire?" She echoed moments later with a perked brow, retraining her sights on Wyllt and his objection. "Well I can't disagree with you," came the begrudging acquiescence, "It's true; fire isn't always the answer." In fact, more often than not, it was exactly the opposite of what was needed. Like on the train when that imbicilic first year decided Incendio in tight quarters would be an excellent idea. Thankfully, nothing terrible had occurred, and the spell hadn't taken to light as well as it could have, but the potential for disaster had been no less bright.

"But in this case, that seems to be exactly the answer, as much as I'd rather it not be." Evelynn was more than a little wary of fire, having been known to douse even the hearthfire in the common room after curfew when she was the only one lingering there. It was approaching a year since the Not-so-Secret Blossom Ball, but still the images of burning peers and the sounds of their screams remained seared into her mind. "If Aden is reporting it right, Professor Kibitzer has directed that we need to light a fire in this mess of a storm. That's the goal of the task. As though this is some sort of survival game," she elaborated doubtfully through crimped lips.

Nevertheless, finding her ears and fingers gradually growing numb in the chill, she was more than happy for the warmth provided by Wyllt's clever use of Lumos. She shuffled in enough to be as close to the source as possible without infringing more than she was comfortable into the personal space of the others. Then blinked, brow rising with her surprise as Wyllt candidly addressed her earlier question. She hadn't been expecting any explanation at all, let alone here. Foster parents...Being given up...An unknown uncle...An allusion to being a missing child... It was...quite a bit of information to digest all in one bite and Evelynn found her gaze momentarily flicking to the other two girls in an attempt to read their reactions to the revelation before looking back to her Prefect counterpart.

"Er...I suppose congratulations are in order, then?" She tentatively replied in that sort of way that one does when they're not quite sure if that's the right response. "Still, that seems rather a harsh decision, your foster parents'. I mean, I suppose they weren't your adoptive parents, but that still seems unfair to you. It's not as though they would have been the first muggles to have a magical child. Did you even have any say in the matter?"

"That will be quite the change, to go from living as a muggle to living in the wizarding world. Especially if you've not met him yet. And you said you went missing? What happened there? If you don't mind my asking, that is.." Despite the weight of the comments, Wyllt didn't appear to be very torn up about the situation. Already Evelynn could feel her curiosity towards the surrounding context building as a result. It was like a plot out of some sort of youth novel. "As for me, it's always just been my mum and me. Nothing terribly interesting, I'm afraid."

[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Scarlett Aden, @Sylvain Wyllt, and @Lucia Fox

INTERACTIONS @Evelynn Decipio, @Sylvain Wyllt, @Scarlett Aden

Sorry for the late reply!

Evelynn - wait, no, Decipio - seemed to like using last names. Lucia shifted in the snow. "Oh, uh, you can call me Lucia," she told the other girl. No-one had ever called her just Fox before, apart from adults and Hogwarts staff, who sometimes referred to her as Miss Fox. Lucia wasn't a fan of nicknames.

"Hi," Lucia said awkwardly in response to Scarlett's bubbly greeting. "Works for me. I'll be the umbrella." Though she wouldn't ever say it aloud, this was mostly because she didn't want to get her gloves dirty picking up wood to use as fuel. And it was too cold to take her gloves off. "Though what with this storm it's going to be hard to actually find anything dry."

The boy, Syl, apparantly didn't like the idea of fire, and cast Lumos. Surprisingly, his wand now let off a small amount of heat as well as light, but still not as much as a warm fire, or a warm cup of hot chocolate, would. "Uh, that's the whole point of the errand: to start a fire," Lucia reminded him, agreeing with Decipio. Fire wasn't always the answer - a Hufflepuff would know that more than anyone since their common-room was set alight - but today it did seem to be. "Yes. And you get hot chocolate after. I would seriously welcome some hot chocolate right now."

Syl changed the subject to families. He told them some story about his muggle foster parents 'giving him up' after discovering that he was a wizard, which was sad, but then again it did fit with the picture of muggles which Ebony had painted for Lucia before she went to Hogwarts. Surprisingly, Syl didn't seem to mind, and grinned as he asked if the others lived with their parents. "My mother," Lucia said, a little confused at the change of subject. "And my sisters." She didn't mention her father - it was always an awkward subject, and she hoped no-one would ask. Luckily, it seemed to be the same for Decapio, though she was sibling-less, and Lucia suddenly remembered Scarlett's parent situation - or, what she knew of it. Lord Aden and Lady Fulton hadn't seemed the best of parents, from what Lucia had seen of them at the New Year's Gala.

outfit
speech #bf0040

@Evelynn Decipio @Sylvain Wyllt @Lucia Fox believe it or not, i'm alive and i have a reply

[font=times new roman]S[/font]carlett was admittedly slightly curious about the boy's 'previous surname' though shrugged it off as some sort of family drama. Everyone in Hogwarts had some type of melodramatic - if not tragic - past, and Scarlett wasn't particularly different. But the boy - Sylvain - was right. They couldn't chill, though technically they were already chilled, or relax, otherwise they'd freeze to death. Fire was the most obvious option - it was quick and fairly easy to create what with the four of them being magical after all. However, Sylvain didn't seem to be a fan of it.

He flinched, shaking his head at the word. Scarlett frowned slightly. She had heard of some rather traumatizing incidents involving flames, but had never experienced anything of the sort. She wasn't about to go galloping off and conjuring people's traumas to life though - so, as illogical as it was - maybe they could try creating a fire...without fire? She did enjoy a challenge, but Scarlett had absolutely no previous experience with using old-timey methods, like rubbing sticks together (okay, she had done that when she was little but it had hardly worked).

Anyway, fire couldn't be made without fuel, and as far as the eye could see, there was only white. There weren't any big logs or any kindling of the sort, and even if there were, then they were probably buried deep under the thick snow. Fabulous. Thoughts of hypothermia and frosbite crept into her mind, but Scarlett waved them off dismissively. After all, Professor Kibitzer wouldn't deliberately put them in any sort of massive danger, would she? "Say no to fire?" questioned Scarlett, in response to Sylvain, with a quirk of her eyebrows. "I guess we could, if you're not comfortable or anything, but how else are we meant to start a fire?"

Decipio chimed in her opinion, which was at first indifferent but then veered off towards the it's-the-only-way path. Lucia agreed as well, and Scarlett had to speak her mind. "But seriously, do you know how to make a fire without fire?" she ventured cautiously. "Like, we could do that, but Incendio might be a quicker option for - y'know - hot chocolate." Lucia confirmed Professor Kibitzer's task and Scarlett had to grin slightly at Decipio's comparison of the errand to a survival game. Who would have thought it? Twelve and thirteen-year-olds flung into the snowy grounds and left to fend for themselves, with a reward of hot chocolate. Only Hogwarts could be that mad.

Sylvain changed the subject to families. Apparently, his foster family had 'gave him up' after they discovered he was a wizard. It sounded rather sorrowful, the woes of abandonment present. Or perhaps that was Scarlett being over-dramatic herself. Anyway, he moved on to how he was going to meet his uncle from his birth family. "I mean, sorry about the foster family thing and all, but it's great that you're going to meet someone from your birth family!" said Scarlett.

Decipio also voiced her congratulations and shared that she and her mother lived together. Lucia told the group about her mother and her sisters and finally Scarlett added in her share. She gave a pointed glance to Lucia, who knew about the situation. Scarlett didn't regard it as particularly tragic or soap-opera-like, but it was messy. Thankfully, after a bit of a disastrous re-union back in November, though things were a bit tense, ignorance seemed like the path to smooth-sailing. Scarlett was pleased to say that that was the only issue she had with her family, but she certainly wouldn't be voicing those issues. "Well, I live with my aunt," said Scarlett, shrugging her shoulders casually as if it were normal for kids to live with their aunt instead of their parents. "I like it there, it's nice."

But Scarlett would be the one to change the subject this time. "But seriously guys, we need to start a fire somehow," she said. "Otherwise we might freeze to death - and worse still - never get our hot chocolate! So, any propositions?"

Hexcode= #507091

Honestly he didn't mind being asked about his family too much, but the shiver that ran down his shape told him, "Not now" as they stood there, barely managing to keep warm from the light at the tip of his wand. If they were going to get out of this without becoming popsicles, he needed to focus. But on what? Where were they going to find fuel for a fire in the courtyard? Why were they even asked to start a fire in the first place?

Hot chocolate, on the other hand, sounded quite a bit like a good time. He could twice as easily walk inside and get himself a mug of the stuff. Molten cocoa to warm his chilly bones. Just because the professor who thought it was a great idea to unleash a blizzard on them offered a mug as a reward didn't mean the rest of the world's supply had dried up in an instant. Though the girls had saved him from certain doom so it seemed unfair to run off and leave them to their own chances. Especially if he was going to enjoy something while they suffered instead.

Then it struck him like a snowball behind the ear. They had plenty of fuel all around them. "Okay, here's my proposition then." Sylvain said to Scarlett, attempting to cut through conversation and get right to the point. "How about we make use of the snowmen from over the weekend?" Some of them we're still standing. "I know there's plenty of branches and twigs to use." He would point his wand at one, the end of it still glowing like a beacon.

"Doesn't take much to get the fire started." Just a word. One word.

@Scarlett Aden @Evelynn Decipio @Lucia Fox

[ @someone • @someone ]

Syl seemed to come around to Lucia and Scarlett's way of thinking once they reminded him of the promised hot chocolate prize. "Oh, yes!" Lucia exclaimed when he pointed out the sticks left over from the snowman-building event. "That's a good idea!" She shuffled through the snow towards the one which Syl was pointing at, trying as hard as she could not to get the hem of her coat in the snow. It was a beautiful coat, in Lucia's opinion at least, but after having it for five years (it had gone through a lot of engorgios in its time) she had learnt that it was a pain to wash.

"Wait a moment..."

Lucia bent down and picked up the stick, holding it gingerly between two fingers, and headed back to the others, quickly inserting herself into the middle of the group so she (and the wood, of course) was kept dry. "We don't need lots of wood. We can just make this one bigger!" Lucia said excitedly. She'd gotten the idea from her coat, but really it would be way easier than collecting lots of different sticks. Magic to the rescue, yet again, Lucia thought fondly. She had no idea how the muggles lived without it. It must be incredibly hard - and boring, as well. How could it not be boring if you didn't have magic?

Lucia paused. "We should dry it first, though. Hm." Usually, she would have tried scourgify, but Lucia doubted that would work in this case. "Oh!" Lucia suddenly had a thought. She used the hot air charm to dry her hair every night - why not use it to dry a stick? She retracted the shimmery magical umbrella and pointed her wand at the stick. "Aer Calidus," she murmured, and grinned when a jet of hot air poured out of the tip of her wand, warming the group up no end. "Mmm." Lucia moved her wand around the stick, making sure all of the snow had melted away. She smiled at the other three second-years. "I'm a duellist," she explained, "In case you can't tell. Now, who wants to do the honours?" Lucia held out the newly dried stick, making sure to keep the hot air charm going with her wand.