Closed Who thought Moving Stairs were a Good Idea? PV Shiawase Mamori

At her old school, Shiawase would get to every class on time. Typically, she'd get there early, actually. In fact, she'd usually be very early. However, at Hogwarts, things were . . . different. And confusing. She would tear across her old school building and be anywhere within five minutes. Here . . . not so much. With the moving stairs, she could easily take a good thirty minutes to get somewhere that would ordinarily take her three. However, on this day, she was very lucky. The stairs hadn't moved on her and so she'd been to her classes early!

But now she had to make it to Charms, and she, like Colin, was nearly there, when the stairway shifted. And then there was a shout. Not from her. From a boy, clinging to the railing. Shiawase hadn't shifted on the stairs like he had - part of the advantage of being in a wheelchair. The weight stopped her from being jerked harshly. She noticed his shaking. And so, she wheeled over to him.

"Hello, there. My name is Shiawase Mamori. What's your name?" she asked, keeping her voice calm and measured. The last thing he needed was more stimulation. She also purposely took deep breaths, in the hopes that he'd mirror her breathing.

"Where were you heading, before the stairs shifted, hm? I'm on my way to Charms, myself. It's too bad about the stairs moving. If they had stayed put, this would have been the most direct path there. But, oh, well. That's how things go here. I think we can still get there, though. Can you move?"

She asked her questions gently. There likely wasn't time for a lengthy conversation before the stairs would shift again . . . and this poor boy might have a heart attack . . . so, even though she was trying to help him calm down, she was well aware she had a time limit. How long before the next shift? Who could say? Could be any moment, could be in a half hour! There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how often things shifted around here. It was one of those things that drove her nuts about this school.

@Colin Sidhe

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@Shiawase Mamori

Colin's body remained rigid. His mind was totally devoid of thought, reduced to simple fear. His shallow breathing was quickly causing him to feel dizzy, which didn't exactly help his current sense of vertigo. His face was far paler than usual, the whiteness only interrupted by the brown of his freckles - though even they were a little paler than usual.

From the confines of his own head, he did manage to faintly notice the voice behind him. He dragged himself up from the wallowing pit of despair and self-pity that he had somehow fallen into, trying to direct his focus towards the girl. He turned his face towards her, his eyes wide and wary, his lips pursed slightly with his teeth clenched tightly behind.

He had missed the first part of her speech, but he recognised that last bit at least. His lips parted for a moment, making the necessary movements - but unfortunately he forgot to actually speak. "Colin." He said rather simply on the second attempt.

"Too bad. Bad." he mumbled along as she spoke, nodding his head slightly. His breath began to gradually slow. The sickly pale colour of his face was now lessened by the reddening of his cheeks and ears as he realised he was acting.
Jesus Christ, get a hold of yourself, Colin.

"Sorry, yeah, I was also going to charms. That's, uh.. Fun coincidence." He said, his tone light and airy but patterened by slight wavers as he glanced at the ground - he kept mistaking the own shaking of his legs for the movement of the stairs. He fully expected them to play some other foul trick, like suddenly becoming incorporeal or spinning him round and round, like some insidious carousel.
"Yep! I can move." He declared, while remaining totally still.

"Colin, hm? That's a nice name. It suits you. You know, I have a friend I met on the train who's also named Colin. What a coincidence." Shiawase said, keeping her calm, gentle tone. She supposed it didn't matter so much what she said as long as she kept talking, kept him focused on something else. Kept calm herself. He'd agreed it was too bad, and then he also mentioned how he was going to charms, too.

"Indeed, it is a fun coincidence. They seem to be in abundance today. Do you know any charms, yourself? I looked at the book, and, well, it really confused me at first. Then some friends on the train explained how the book works and, well, I'm relatively confident I understand. But I'm Muggle-born you know, and I know the theories fine, but when I read ahead and try out spells on my own, they typically go catastrophically wrong. I don't know what it is that I'm not getting right, but . . . well, I was hoping I'd learn what I'm doing wrong in class today."

He then answered her question. He said he could move. And yet, he was still. Shiawase wasn't entirely sure what to do with this information, and she pursed her lips a moment. Then, a thought occurred to her. Of course. He could move, but the way his legs were shaking, it wasn't likely he'd be able to walk by himself any time soon. But Shiawase was strong. Perhaps. Strong enough for both of them. So, she extended her hand to him.

"Very well. If you can move, then please, take my hand. I promise we'll do the rest, together."

@Colin Sidhe

"Colin, hm? That's a nice name. It suits you."

"Oh, thank you." He said with a thin smile. He was glad that Shiawase was being nice to him, at least. Quite a few of the students from the snake house - which he couldn't seem to remember the name of - had seemed rather... troublesome. There seemed to be a lot more chatter in the few classes he'd spent with them, at least. He had assumed they'd be a little obnoxious, yet this girl was disproving the silly little prejudice he'd developed.

Some familiar sickening feeling made itself known in his chest - not the regular hollow dread that accompanied... most things, but was instead a tightness of breath and a weight in his head that he'd grew to recognise as shame. His first week wasn't even over, and he was already being a bloody inconvenience to whoever crossed his path.

"No, I don't...know any charms. Hopefully I'll learn some if I can ever get to class!" He gave a short, humourless laugh, the sound noticeably unnatural. His attempts to be friendly were being tainted by the toxic concoction of panic and general discomfort that had been slowly stewing during his time at Hogwarts. "I'm yet to, uh, actually try any spells. They just seemed awfully dangerous - Making sparks, turning stuff into needles, setting things on fire... I'd probably end up making a mess, or hurting someone, or.... something." He finished a little lamely, before finally addressing the inevitable.

"Alright. I will. Just give me a sec." He muttered. He loosened his grip on the banister, but with a little difficulty as he tried to convince himself that he'd be fine.
...But I won't be. It's an actual, living, cursed staircase. What if it moves again?
(...)
Oh God, what if it moves again?

With newfound haste he reached out for Shiawase's hand, his face going a little more red.
You can't even walk up the stairs on your own, good grief.
He paused for a second, wiping his sweaty palm on his robes, before grasping onto Shiawase's hand. He was yet to move his legs, though, and was leaning over a little awkwardly. The ground still felt horridly unsteady, with the looming threat of the stairway beginning to move again looming over him. "Sorry-" He muttered quietly, looking away from Shiawase.

Reducio

@Shiawase Mamori
OOC note: Let me know if you want me to stop tagging you! I'm not sure if you have notifications on for this thread or not

"You're welcome," Shiawase said. She then nodded as he said he didn't know any charms. And then laughed most unnaturally. First the change in expression, now this? There was clearly more on his mind than just his fear of these moving stairs. Still, she had to focus on one thing at a time. And stay calm. That was the important thing.

"You're right, of course. The spells are awfully dangerous. It's smart of you to not try them out until you know for sure how to cast them. I just really badly wanted to learn, myself, and be ahead in my classes. At my old school, I was always ahead, you know, and I would get amazing grades. I was always way ahead in my studies there, so now, if I'm not a few steps ahead, I feel like I'm behind, you know? And that's why I was practicing despite the danger. Always on my own, of course. I would never risk hurting anyone. But I just, didn't want to start my year far behind everyone else, struggling to keep up. Yet, here I am, feeling behind and like I'm struggling to catch up, so practicing the spells didn't exactly do me any good at all."

She offered a gentle smile. "You can do this." When he grasped her hand, with some difficulty, she nodded.

"That's the ticket. It will all be okay," she said in her most gentle, relaxing tone. Then, she began to pull him, very gently, toward her. If she succeeded in moving him, she'd pull him onto her lap in her chair. It would be awkward, but at least he'd be sitting down. At least he wouldn't feel like he has to move. And then Shiawase would proceed to start wheeling the two of them up the stairs.

"Here we go. It'll be fine. We're getting to solid ground, see?" she'd say as she would wheel them into the corridor, where the ground wouldn't move on them.

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No, please. Keep tagging me. But you can let me know if you'd prefer I not tag you, as well. Also, I said the order of events if she managed to pull Colin, but if she didn't, then you can feel free to disregard all that. @Colin Sidhe

Reducio

@Shiawase Mamori

Colin nodded along as Shiawase spoke, truly trying his best to focus on what she was saying. Yet of course, it was difficult to do so with the constant threat of the staircase moving once again, or some other horrid supernatural event occuring. The stairs were a god-damn death trap, and he wanted nothing more than to get off already.

"Thanks, thanks..." he whispered as Shiawase began to pull him gently towards her. He didn't move much at first, only leaning further forward, but then he reached the point where if he didn't move his feet he'd end up falling over - and so, he began to shift his feet slightly, awkwardly shuffling towards Shiawase. With each centimetre he moved, it became just a little easier, and after a few moments, he managed to raise one of his feet - wobbling slightly as the horrid sense of vertigo he'd been struggling through rushed over him - and took a small step towards Shiawase.

He let out a sigh. Ok, that wasn't so bad. He was fine. This is fine. Everything is absolutely fine and dandy, and now he just needs to get of the stairs.
With his newfound confidence, he...
He remained in place beside Shiawase as he was faced with the difficulty of raising his foot high enough to actually step up onto the next stair.
After a moment of panic, he groaned.
You're being a nuisance.
"Sorry," He muttered to Shiawase as he edged a little closer towards her. His lips parted again, trying to form some appropriate apology for being such a bother, but he couldn't find one.
"Sorry." He uttered again.

It seemed her plan was going well. She got him to shuffle toward her. But then, a problem showed itself. She couldn't pull him toward her and wheel at the same time. If she wanted him to be able to join her on her chair, she'd have to let go and wheel herself into position behind him so he may sit. But, hmmm, if he was too terrified to step forward, he probably wouldn't lean back like he'd have to. Quite the predicament. What should she do? She shook her head.

"There is no need for you to be sorry. We all have things we're scared of. There is nothing weak or bothersome about being scared. Honestly, I'd likely be terrified, too. Back when I could walk, I would go short distances on my crutches. Not very far, but it would be my option for getting up stairs like this. If I had to use crutches and then the stairs moved, I would be in the same state as you, I should think. So you need not worry that I don't understand or that you're bothering me, because I do understand. Nonetheless, we still need to proceed forward."

She took a deep breath. She was right of course. They had to proceed somehow. So, how best to do that? No option was perfect.

"So, there are a few ways I can think of to proceed: you can climb the rest of the stairs while I wheel next to you. I'll be right there, next to you, but I cannot hold your hand because I need to use my hands to wheel. We can, however, take breaks if needed. There's no need to feel like all of this has to be done in one go. As long as we reach the corridor, safe and sound, it doesn't particularly matter how we do it, does it?

"Another option is that I get behind you and you sit on my lap. Then, I could wheel us both up the rest of the way. The extra weight won't bother me at all. I'm stronger than I look. The third option I can think of is a combination of the wheelchair and walking option: you get behind me and hold onto the handles of my wheelchair. I wheel myself and at the same time, gently pull you with me. I will have to position myself in front of you for this case. Which option would you like to give a go? Or, if you can think of a different one you'd like to try, I'm all ears. While we do have to move eventually, there's no rush. We can always stay right here for as long as you need."

@Colin Sidhe

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@Shiawase Mamori
Sorry for the abscence! Finally finished with exams...

"There is no need for you to be sorry. We all have things we're scared of."

Colin resisted the urge to sigh. She was right, of course; it was true that it was normal enough to be afraid. He wasn't upset that he was afraid - fear had become so commonplace lately that it really didn't bother him. No, Colin was frustrated because of how terribly affected he was by the fear. He was over-reacting to the point that it was obtrusive to himself and those around him. He was likely several minutes late for Charms by now, and he was keeping Shiawase even longer. Enough was enough. He needed to-

"...we still need to proceed forward."

Yeah, that.

He listened as Shiawase described possible solutions to his own incompetence the predicament at hand. Upon hearing the second option his face turned such a shocking shade of scarlet that it rivalled that of his own hair.
"Ah! No, it's fine. I can walk along beside you, so I can...steady..."
He paused for a moment. He was so terribly inconveniencing this girl, making her walk alongside him just because he's scared of some god-damn magic stairs. He didn't need to stumble along beside her like a puppy, and he certainly didn't want to inconvenience her any further. You're making a fool of yourself. Do something! Get bloody moving already!

"What if I just pushed your chair?"
Yeah, that seems like a good alternative. That way he could get them both of the stairs. As well as that, he'd kind of be making up for wasting her time, by helping her up the stairs.
"That way you wouldn't have to worry about, uh, carrying me along, and you could - I would have something to hold onto, if I'm gonna...fall. I promise I won't, uh, knock you over or anything, or, like, fall down the stairs, or.."
Ok, stop talking now. Why was it that everything he did, every word he spoke, only served to make a fool of him? He was trying to be funny, but the statement had came out like some poor attempt at veiling a threat. He clenched his jaw, looking away from Shiawase as he stewed in his own melodramatic self-pity.

Shiawase nodded. The second option would be awkward, indeed, but it was, to her mind, at least, the quickest option, which is why she pitched it. She couldn't say she was surprised he'd prefer to walk beside her, though. "Good choice. That'd work well for me, too. It's easiest for talking!"

She then pursed her lips into a slight frown as he asked if he could just push her chair. "Hmmm. Weeeeell." Shiawase needed a moment to consider it. There was a reason she hadn't pitched it herself. People pushing her chair for her made her feel deeply uncomfortable, especially when she didn't need the help. Going up the stairs was easy and she wasn't tired yet. Down the stairs would be considerably harder . . . but she decided not to waste more time thinking about that right now. Her pulling him along while he was behind her was also a slightly uncomfortable option, but at least she'd be doing something. She just didn't like people standing behind her . . .

But she didn't really want to trample all over his idea, and time was of the essence. She knew they were late! Shiawase was never late to anything before . . . she hated feeling rushed so she was always up really early, and usually ready long before she needed to be. The antsiness of that was trumping her discomfort at the thought of being pushed at the moment. Should she really waste more talking about how being pushed in her chair made her feel like a four-year-old? Then he might ask why and it might turn into a whole thing. She didn't want it to become a thing. However, there were practical reasons to object, and though part of her wanted to just agree with the option so they could at least start moving, it wouldn't be right to not say anything.

"It is an option, but you need to be aware of a couple things first. Pushing a wheelchair even on even ground is difficult because it's heavy. The lightest wheelchair on the market is a little over 6 kilograms in weight - mine is more like 13 kilograms. That may not sound like that much, but you're gonna be pushing that weight on top of my weight. Up relatively steep stairs. I'm just telling you because especially if it's your first time trying to push someone in a wheelchair, you may be surprised by how strenuous it is."

She cracked a smile as Colin promised he wouldn't knock her over. "You'd better not. Should I take a spill, I'll be fine, but this wheelchair is a magic wheelchair. I doubt it's easy to replace. I'm a lot more worried about what happens to you if you knock me over or fall, though. Getting run over by a wheelchair is no joke, as my dad can attest! It took him a while to learn I wanted to wheel myself, so he'd try to come up behind me to push me, only for me to start backing up my chair right into him and his poor feet." She winked. "It was always accidental, of course. I just needed to find the best route to the lieu. In any case, if you still think you can do this, it's worth a try. But if you're pushing me, my hands won't be on the wheels, so if something does happen, I might not be able to react quickly enough to stop the situation from getting out of hand. However, if you still want to go through with your idea, you have my permission."

She quite hoped he'd go for walking alongside her instead. However, if he decided to push her wheelchair, she wouldn't raise any more objections. Though he may notice her reluctance as she resigned herself to the possibility of being pushed up the stairs.

@Colin Sidhe