Flight and Fright pv Geoffrey D and Seren Y Finished

Geoffrey—he preferred Rhys but that was slow to catch on—was grinning widely as he sauntered over to the broom shed. He, like many of his classmates, absolutely loved these Flying lessons. It was the sense of freedom he felt on the broom that probably made him enjoy it most. That, and it was very much like riding a skateboard, except the skateboard could float high up in the air and go ten, maybe even twenty times faster. It was exhilarating and as soon as class was over he could hardly wait to come back.

It was, at least in his opinion, something from the magical world that came quite naturally to him. Being a muggle Rhys had of course never ridden one before, but the boy found he was very comfortable astride one despite the flimsy look of them (the school brooms anyway, no matter how much care the Professor took to maintain them) and their obvious lack of...protective-ness.

There was probably a better word that in some dictionary.

"Way worse than a motorcycle," he said as he waited in line to put his broom away. The dejected girl in front of him cut into his spirits a bit; she seemed familiar. He didn't spend too much time close to the ground during flying lessons—he felt it was a silly waste of time if the point was to learn how to fly—but he knew that not all of them had taken to it right away. Or...at all. It was, he thought, unfortunate that she might have been among them. A moment later and he finally recognized her from the boat a few weeks ago, and he'd seen her around school and in class as well. Still, Rhys for the life of him couldn't remember her name.

A clap on his shoulder pulled him back into the present; he turned, the girl quickly forgotten in favor of conversation regarding the various brooms at Quality Quidditch Supplies. His spirits lifted once more, but all too soon it was his turn and he put his broom away. He then bid his goodbyes to the lot of them left in line and went on his way to get his bag before heading to the library. He still had History of Magic homework to do and he really didn't want to be up any later than he had to be.

On his way he noticed the girl from earlier by a tree, rubbing at her eyes.

The sight pulled his lips down into the slightest frown, concern for her suddenly creeping over him. He couldn't help it—it didn't matter who, he just really hated seeing people cry.

Rhys quickly changed direction and headed over to her, plopping down on the massive, sprawling tree root beside her. Normally meeting (or in this case re-meeting) someone (sort of) new made him feel awkward and on the spot, wanting to see her cheer up just enough that she wasn't on the verge tears seemed to override the usual anxiety. This time he was able to speak clearly, and with hopefully a more friendly tone rather than an awkward one.

"Rough class?" he asked, eyes forward and taking in the sight of the grounds. While it had been cloudy and rather gloomy earlier on, the sky was now clearing and the sun was peeking rather brilliantly through the dull gray.

@Seren Yong

Seren looked up, startled, as someone moved near her. She watched him, nervously, out of the corner of her eyes, keeping her head lowered and letting her hair fall into her face a little, in the hopes that it might hide the signs of her tears from him... She did not know this boy... Oh. Wait, she'd met him on the boat crossing the lake. He had seemed nice enough then, but who knew how people were outside of that strange first little time, surrounded by mostly strangers?

When he settled down, she wondered if he was here to tease her, like that other kid had. When he spoke, her eyes widened. It seemed like a kind, and gentle, question to ask.

She turned her head a little, away from him for a moment, and looked at the sky. It was not what she was expecting, that was for certain. Especially after a class like today's had been. Finally, she looked back at him, head still down some, and said quietly "You could say that... I'm really not someone who handles brooms well at all. Or heights, really. I can manage towers, and all, from the inside but. Being on a broom, or outside on something high is not a good thing for me."

She sighed and lowered her head further. "Instead, I feel scared on the broom, and some of the other kids seem to think I'm gutless, or a shame to my bloodline." She sniffed, unable to help it, because she was so tired of being told she was not good enough. Her parents had done that enough...

@Geoffrey Donovan

It took a second but eventually she did answer him. He kept his eyes forward, not wanting to put her on the spot too much. He always hated that himself; if he ever needing cheering up he preferred a talk over some ice cream so that there was something else to focus on besides whatever his issue was. And ice cream was also really tasty. So it seemed right to not really focus on her.

And he listened.

His grandmother was the one who taught him after a particularly bad fight with one of his friends. "If you ask me, dear, I would say that listening is even more important than trying to justify your side," she told him. "It might feel unfair now, but in the end you'll feel better for it once everything is sorted." She offered him a hug as she went on, saying, "And trust me, this will apply to a lot more situations than just fighting with a good friend. Listening is key, remember that."

When it seemed like she was done he bobbled his head a little, an attempt at showing that he understood why she was so upset. And he did! Most of it. The last part about bloodlines didn't make too much sense to him; what did your bloodline have anything to do with how comfortable you were on a broom or how well you could ride one?

"Mm..." he sighed a little, trying to figure out what to say to maybe help make her feel a little better. "It's hard when you have to do something you're scared of. Probably even harder when people give you a hard time about it. But I kind of think that's...admirable? I know it's a class and all but you could have asked the Professor for a pass or something because you're scared of heights and you didn't, and I think that's pretty brave."

@Seren Yong

Seren was watching him out of the corner of her eyes as he processed her words. She was not sure how he would react. She did not really know much about him, really, and was wondering how he would react. And when he did not immediately begin to mock her, she was relieved at that. His quiet thoughtfulness, the sigh and all, it made her feel good to realize someone was listening to her problems and not mocking her for them, not judging her... Just trying to be there and be kind to her.

It really made her feel the difference between home, and here. So far, here had been mostly so much better. Sure, there was the main student who had been mocking her, but... There was also someone being kind to her, after, and at home, that was rarely the case. The portraits could not do much, not without risking angering her parents further if they were around, and her little brother was just a kid.

She nibbled her lip a little, her head tilting in such a way that he would be able to see her eyes peeking up at him now, no longer hiding so much. His words... They made her eyes go wide, because the idea of her being brave for trying, despite being afraid? That was amazing to her! No one had ever called her brave before, so that was a huge surprise.

"I... I thought about asking, but. I thought I might get mocked even worse." She said, softly. "I just wish I did not have to do this... That this class was not mandatory. I'm not good at it, not at all, and I don't think I ever will be. And yes, having the mean person in the class makes it ever so much harder. I had hoped so very much that I wouldn't meet people like this here... My parents were ba... Uh. I mean. Bullies are never fun."

She flushed red, having accidentally said more than she meant to say. Rhys was too easy to talk to!

@Geoffrey Donovan

The boy waited again, eyes forward and watching as the clouds slowly subsided, allowing the sun to brighten their surroundings considerably. The scenery was almost shimmering as it took in the sunlight, grateful for its warmth. It reminded him a bit of home the longer he looked on. All those trips out to various campgrounds with his family, friends, or sometimes even both (which was the best in his opinion). It warmed him right up, the memories, and the edges of his lips curled up into a slight smile.

When she finally spoke again he pulled himself out of his nostalgia and focused on the conversation at hand. Again he bobbled his head, able to relate to at least a little bit of her worries and concerns. He had things he struggled with, too. As did his friends, and...honestly he was sure everyone did. And being forced to do something you weren't good at, at least as far as he was concerned, would always be a struggle. The bullying part was foreign to him, though he knew one of his best friends still had a bully and he was sympathetic to that plight.

Rhys sighed quietly beside her, parsing his words carefully before speaking.

"If it helps, someone told me it's only mandatory this year so you won't have to take it ever once you get through first year." He made a point to phrase it in a way that said that he had every confidence that she would definitely get through this class and make it to her second year.

"And as for the mean people...I mean, I think they're just everywhere and us nice kids'll just have to learn to deal. If you want, I can stick to you while we're in class. Maybe they'll keep away if you've got a friend nearby. I know it worked for one of my best friends back home. One of us would always stick with our friend so his bully would only ever try to get at 'im when he was alone."

For the first time since sitting down Rhys glanced over at her, eyes bright and wearing a hopefully encouraging little smile on his face. If it helped, he wouldn't mind at all spending time closer to the ground to make an already miserable class just a little bit less miserable for a classmate.

@Seren Yong

Her eyes were closed for a moment as she controlled the urge to get panicky over having mentioned them. The last thing se wanted was people to get the idea that something might be wrong with her, the way her parents insisted. She did not believe them... Her grandparents on both sides insisted she was fine, normal, and not at all a curse on her family... But sometimes it was hard to believe it, when her parents were the only voice she had heard on the subject, at least from a living being, in a long time. And if a classmate somehow got the idea, she did not know if she could cope with that.

The next words coming from the boy had her opening her eyes again, the bright blues focused on him with a hint of curiosity in them. He sounded confident she would make it through this first year, and that was... That was new. She hadn't had someone telling her she could do a thing in... Well, some time, given that the portraits did not overly encourage her, to avoid irritating her parents, since they would take it out on Seren. She bit her lower lip, thinking about this for a moment, then flashed him a small, shy smile. "Ye...Yes, that is true. So as long as I do ok, yeah... And I am ok with never flying again after that."

And then he made his offer, his incredibly kind and generous offer, and her eyes went huge, her head coming up all the way so that she was looking him right in the face. Her mouth opened in a surprised way, and she was silent, staring in amazement, for a good minute... And then she flushed, realizing she was probably being rude by not speaking to him in response. "I... Oh, that... That is so very incredibly kind of you. I would... I would really appreciate that. You are amazingly generous, you know."

She brushed her hair back and gave him a real, genuinely bright smile. "I am grateful to you... And thank you."

@Geoffrey Donovan

Her response to his offer both brightened and emboldened his smile. She seemed so genuinely grateful...it reminded him of his best friend back home who reacted much the same way when his little group insisted that they all stick close to him.

"No problem," he said as he hopped off the branch, feeling that he'd actually accomplished something today. She was smiling now, and he might have even made a friend. No way to tell right now, but it was a start. He dusted off his pants and his hands, eyes back on the now sunlit grounds. It was enough that he had to actually squint out at it now, beyond the shade the tree provided them.

"That's all set then. I was gonna head to the library to get some homework done." he sighed, glancing over to where he knew his bag was waiting for him. He considered for a moment, if it was worth a shot. Normally he preferred to work alone but what harm could it do to ask someone along to do some work in the library? It was a quiet enough place, and there was plenty of space if you went at the right time. Besides, he was dreading the History of Magic assignment. There had been a part of him that was hoping it'd be a little bit more interesting that history homework at his old school, but based on the class lesson...his hopes had been dashed quite a bit. Focusing would be a bit more difficult, which was why he needed the silence of the library. Maybe, though, some company would help with that as well...

So he cleared his throat and looked over at Seren again.

"You wanna come with? Y'know, two heads being better than one and all."

@Seren Yong

Seren watched her new... Friend? It certainly had sounded like he was implying they were friends now, and that was very exciting indeed to the young Witch. Every new friend was a wonder and a joy to the girl, after the way she had grown up, and even if this boy had been involved in The Nasty Dip In The Lake, he had been nice, and his part had been in a (Very Gryffindorish) attempt to rescue one of their new classmates from the lake, and the Giant Squid.

Seren decided to shove those thoughts about the lake away, because she was still rather terrified of that incident. Not knowing how to swim was clearly a liability, and she would have to see if she could get the chance to learn at some point.

She straightened up and smiled again, brushing any dirt and bark from where she had been leaning against the tree back onto the ground. "No problem for you, perhaps, but... It is still really kind."

And then he brought up the library, and homework. "Oh? Yes! I love the Library, there's so many interesting books to read, and so much to learn. Working together on homework would be good... I know a really good spot towards the back of the Library, with a good sized desk that I rarely see anyone else use. It's right near a window, so there's lots of light, and we can spread out our books and notes. Let's!"

Honestly, the eager expression on her face probably screamed out 'RAVENCLAW RIGHT HERE', even more than her blue tie or even the Ravenclaw crest on her robes. It was clear this girl adored books, and learning, and libraries.

@Geoffrey Donovan