April Showers Closed

"Thick skin doesn't mean folks should offend you." Tsks the brunette, adjusting the stiff, frozen linen on the injury. The good humor came into light at this second; the Niffler had become a stowaway and scared him, a much larger human, to the point where he went and spilled hot cocoa on himself. And now, he smells like a café, only with touches of coconut and cologne from his body wash. That's what earns Dorothy a laugh. It's a pleasant sound, regardless of how short-lived the moment was.
He observes her as she performs her magic, the laughter trickling away into comfortable silence. Her platinum hair was brighter than a thousand suns, in his opinion, and he had to blink a couple times before moving on to the rest of her face. Sincere, light eyes, that he considered to be very pretty. The kind of eyes that came with a trustworthy person.
"Seems like you already got the hang of it." He teased, playfully, snorting as she collapsed into the pillows. "Or not--" He sidles on over, keeping a decent distance while remaining close, and starts to knock flakes off her hair by ruffling it. "Ah. Looks like dandruff. Feels like, uh... really cold, dandruff."

Dorothy grinned and playfully swatted at his hands. So they could be friends. Nay, they would be. "Whatever! I'll get it." she said through a laugh. She tucked her wand away and shook her platinum waves of hair sending any remaining snowflakes flying. She slid her silly wand back into its pocket. That was enough magic for now.

Outside, the rain had mostly stopped but the lakes water was rising at an alarming rate. There had been a lot of rain the past couple of days. "Hey, the rain's stopped. Let's head back to the castle. I'll help you carry your things, or at least walk with you back to the common room." She smiled and rose to her feet, and unable to resist the urge went quickly into an arabesque. Dorothy giggled and walked out into the open air. "Oh look! I'm not wet. This witch shan't melt today! Hurray!" She launched into a few purposeful, jerky, ballet steps. "And it's all because of the mighty "Fortress of Asher". Hurray!" At the second hurray she feigned a serious bow, having to cover her mouth to keep from giggling. "Thank you, very much Asher. Just one question. Would you mind terribly if I called you Ash. It's a bit shorter the Asher, and it suits you." She smiled and offered him a hand up. Had fate brought her a new friend?

Asher began the lengthy procedure of packing away the things he'd brought, starting with the binoculars, books, cups, and thermos, a silly grin painted across his cheeks in Cheshire-like fashion to flash once concealed pearly whites. Something about this girl cheered him up, cleared the grey skies. He didn't know if it was just her personality, or if it was her witty comebacks, but he was grateful for it either way.
"I'd like that, if you don't mind. Just try not to cast us into a pit while we're at it, hm?" Stuffing his pillows back into the basket proved to be harder than he thought, ending with him using both hands to push down on them to get them shoved in there. "Jeez. It's always easier to get them out than to put them back." He complains in a mockingly whiney sort of voice, crawling round on hands and knees to roll up the quilt and load that away as well.
With all that out of the way, he bunches his robes up and lays them on one of his arms, picking up the basket and taking the extended hand to pull himself to his feet. "Any time, really. I'm here any time. Just look for me. Merlin knows I stay hidden. And, yes. Ash works. How do you feel about being called Doe?~ I think it fits you, since you're just like a danseuse. Graceful."

Dorothy giggled, "Graceful? Your talking to the same lass that filled her own shoes with water and made it snow. Fine. You may call me Doe. Even if it reminds me of dough, which is basically a gelatinous mass of blob." She pasted an unconvincing smirk on her face. "Oh, and I am a danseuse!" Dorothy feigned arrogance and curtsied. She stopped her charades to help him roll up the quilt. She had watched him put the ENTIRE setup in the little wicker basket. "Extension charm, huh. Hey, I bet we could fit down there!" she leaned over the opening of the wicker basket and grinned. All she could see was blackness. "What if we made a clubhouse in there? We could clean it out or move everything to one place and light it up and make it all cozy and study in it. How deep is it in there? Do you know?" she stuck her arm in the basket and waved it around before stepping back. "We could make it a hiding place!" Dorothy smiled and turned back towards the castle. She started walking, only pausing to make sure she wasn't leaving Ash behind. "Do you think once we get back to the common room we could see how deep it is? I would love to find out!" she gushed as they walked. The rain had cleared and the sun was bright. It was a splendid day.

"Hey, dough is equally.. Malleable? Like, flexible. As in, ballet traits, or something like that." Smooth. Real smooth. Step aside, boys, because Asher has flattery down. The curtsy was very ladylike and if he had cocoa in his mouth, he would've spat it everywhere when he laughed. But he did not, so there'd be no misting of chocolate for them today.
"Mhm. Pa got it from the ministry, and he passed it down to me when he..." He trails off, grim look in his eyes, his face contorting into a grimace. But he makes a speedy recovery, trying to lighten the mood with his next line, "Anyways, it means a lot to me. So I think it would make for a pretty neat clubhouse. Especially since I already have everything I need in there for one. Maybe after dinner, I could sneak us in some crumpets."
Needless to say, he likes the idea of their own private fortress. And he keeps falling behind with his slower natural pace, so he'll jog every now and then to catch up to her side. By the time they've reached the castle, he's got beads of sweat on his forehead. He must look like a moron without his robes, struggling to follow another girl who's got an even smaller frame than he has.
Together, these two have survived the April Showers. And he hopes they can share many more similar experiences in the future.