23 Aug 2022, 23:30
Light in the Dark
Pax had a stint for getting into trouble. Especially at night. There was something about the thrill of the unknown in pitch black darkness that drew them to break curfew. It was stupid anyways. Why should adults choose when they should go to sleep?
Broom clutched in hand, they'd snuck out to the quidditch pitch to fly. Well, of course. Why else would they go to quidditch pitch, it wasn't as if there was a quidditch game to spectate occurring in the midst of the night.
It didn't take long before they were mounted and up in the air, flying around without a care in the world. This was the best feeling in the world. Soaring through the wind. They even attempted a few fancy loops. Luckily, nobody had been there to see them almost fall from their broom. That would've been so embarrassing.
Cheeks red now, they reached for their wand. If there was someone here, they needed to know so they could threaten the heck out of them to never say a word.
But they couldn't find it.
Crap. It must've dropped when they were flying around and doing loops and flips- with extreme precision definitely. They reluctantly landed, getting to their knees in the dark.
"Damnit. Why, Pax, why?"Reducio
24 Aug 2022, 01:48
Light in the Dark
It was a moonless night, and the skies were slightly overcast. It was usually on nights like these that Avery would find the quidditch pitch entirely his own. After all, who else would be intent on flying in the darkened skies as much as he did? Hardly anyone sane, he felt. So, the glorious space was often free for him to do whatever he liked: Loops, dives, straight shots, you name it! -- With absolutely no fear of unseating someone else from their broom.
With his trusty Silver Arrow in hand, he passed the bleachers and reached the grass. Immediately, he launched himself into the sky, shooting like an arrow towards the clouds, propelled by the adrenaline of freedom. This, was living.
At a height where the wind whipped around him, and the pitch looked small, he dove, feeling the rush of gravity almost lifting him off his broom. "Whoohooo!" he whooped, quite confident that no one else would be bothered by his crazy yelling tonight. "That's what I'm talking about!" he called out to no one, simply feeling his spirits rise to the heights at which he flew.
As he almost hit the ground on the way down, he spotted a figure nearby. Somehow, he must've missed them as he entered the large pitch. Curious as to who they were, and what they were doing out here, he landed quietly behind them. It seemed that they were... patting the ground? A broom lay on the grass nearby, abandoned as they busily went about their task.
"Whatcha up to?" he quipped, brows raised, but not that they would be able to see his expression very clearly in the dark. He looked down at the person on their hands and knees. "Digging up worms?" he asked, not quite sure what else they'd be doing in the grass. It was something that his friend Vale Ashwood seemed to do pretty often, after all, being a potioneer and whatnot.
@Pax Zhang
24 Aug 2022, 22:19
Light in the Dark
"Whoohooo! That's what I'm talking about!"
Pax almost screamed aloud, but they settled for a clenching of their fists.
THERE WAS ANOTHER PERSON HERE! AGH!
They dug around even more frantically. There was no point in threatening this dude if they didn't have their wand. They may be very trained in self-defence but without a wand, the other person would probably just laugh in their face. Watch them be some pure-blood snob as well.
"Whatcha up to? Digging up worms?"
Of course. It was just their luck that this dude thought they were some weirdo, digging up worms for fun. But, also, what the heck? Why was that this guy's first thought that they were digging for worms?
"I am looking for my goddamn wand because I fricking dropped it when I was fricking flying so I can fricking threaten you into keeping your fricking mouth shut! That ok with you?"
They took a deep breath, throwing down the mud and dirt they had in their hands with surprising force. Calm the heck down, they thought to themself. This poor kid probably doesn't even know what they did wrong.
ReducioDoes Pax hit Avery with mud totally by accident?Nope.
[d20: 5] + 9 = 14
[d20: 11] + 9 = 20
"Sorry," they wiped the dirt on their jeans, not caring if they made a stain. These were their crappier pair of jeans anyway. They already had stains from other adventures on them. "I'm Pax, Pax Zhang. You're Avery Chen. Slytherin's second string Keeper."
"I'm not a stalker," they added quickly. "I'm also on the team. Gryffindor. Go lions."
They extended their hand for a handshake, before realising that they were probably covered in mud. So instead they shoved them into their pockets. "Would you mind helping me find my wand? So I can obviously hex you afterwards."Reducio
25 Aug 2022, 01:09
Light in the Dark
Whoa, calm down, dude. Avery took a step back as the kid spewed a string of words about wand-dropping, flying, and Avery's fricking mouth. They probably didn't like it that he assumed they were digging up worms, either. It did sound a bit weird, after all. 'Weird' also happened to define Vale Ashwood more often than not, so it was definitely weird that this kid looked like they were digging up worms. "Uhh, no, man, that is totally not okay with me..." he said hesitantly, putting his hands up a little and edging further away. This kid was like, about to explode. Maybe he should just hop onto his broom and zip away. Their wand be damned.
He glanced at them again. But hey, wasn't this Pax Zhang? Gryffindor quidditch co-captain?? Avery immediately recognized them, and his eyes almost lit up with stars. All of a sudden, Pax's little tantrum didn't seem to bother him anymore. A quidditch co-captain had every right to be mad about most things, he supposed, considering how frustrating and troublesome quidditch players and matches could be. The small boy somehow managed to evade the dirt being thrown back onto the ground as he considered just who was speaking to him, not caring that it might've soiled his shoes at all.
"Oh yeah, of course I know you!" he exclaimed. How could he not? "You're Gryffindor's co-captain! It's like, not easy for first-years to get leadership positions in quidditch, but you did it! So epic! I'm kinda a big fan, y'know?" Avery admitted shamelessly and excitedly. Gosh, should he ask for Pax's autograph right then and there? He patted his clothes for a pen and a napkin or something, but turned up nothing. "I got nothing for you to sign right now, but maybe later!" In his excitement, he totally forgot to tone down his oftentimes overwhelming (and sometimes annoying) energy.
But what was that? Pax needed to find their wand? "Oh! Your wand..." he scanned the ground, and immediately found the wand about 30 meters away, half-hidden in the the grass within the dark. Without Blindvision, no one would've been able to find this wand in the shrouded darkness from where they were, but this fact didn't occur to Avery at all. "It's right over there," he said nonchalantly, as if it were obvious, sticking out his chin vaguely at it in that general direction, not registering that someone without Blindvision would have to get on their knees to find it up-close.
On second thought, he realized he shouldn't've told Pax he found their wand so quickly, if they were going to hex him, after all, but oops, the words had already escaped his mouth. For a second, he was nervous about getting hexed, not knowing that he could only see the wand due to his Blindvision. "But uh, don't hex me though," he added as an afterthought. "Or I'll hex you back tenfold, quidditch co-captain or not."
@Pax Zhang
25 Aug 2022, 23:01
Light in the Dark
Pax's expression morphed from one of fake politeness to interest, as well as mild confusion.
"Oh yeah, of course I know you! You're Gryffindor's co-captain!"
Pax nodded slowly. They usually didn't bring this up unless they wanted to brag. So the fact that this guy had instantly known impressed them.
"It's like, not easy for first-years to get leadership positions in quidditch, but you did it! So epic! I'm kinda a big fan, y'know?"
"I-I didn't realise I had fans," they admitted, smiling a little. "Or, maybe just, singular fan. Most of my friends aren't really involved in the quidditch scene, if you know what I mean."
As the boy searched his pockets, saying he had nothing to sign, Pax crouched down and dipped their finger into the slightly damp mud. Reaching out, they gently grabbed his arm and wrote their name on the back of his hand in the mud. They didn't know why they had chosen to do that, and they hoped it hadn't weirded the boy out too much.
"Sorry," they quickly apologised, dropping his arm. "Th- That was weird of me. I can actually sign something for you when we get back up to castle if you'd like, though I don't really see what value it would have."
"Your wand... It's right over there."
Pax had almost forgotten about their wand, so they were grateful for the reminder. However, the gentle chin nod in a vague direction didn't particularly help in finding it physically.
"Uh, would you be able to, like, show me? Unlike some, I am actually pretty blind in the dark. And I'd rather not look more like an idiot than I already have by stumbling over there blindly and not finding anything."
"Also, I won't really hex you. Promise. That was just... let's say a formality." They added quickly, realising that a threat was probably not the most reassuring thing to say to someone who had quite kindly pointed out where their wand was, despite the obscurity of the actual location.Reducio
27 Aug 2022, 17:42
Light in the Dark
"Oh, you're too modest," he waved a hand. "Being quidditch co-captain isn't easy, but it seems like your team did really well against us last match. C'mon, you guys beat Slytherin? Now that's something! Because, we're like the best team," he smiled, because, Slytherin was obviously pretty great. Totally unbiased opinion.
And wow, most of Pax's friends weren't involved in quidditch? Avery couldn't help feel a little sad for the fact. A sport was much more fun when your best friends were in it, after all, and it was an activity that he found had strengthened his bond with existing friends like Maggie. Hopefully, Pax would find some good friends who loved quidditch, too.
He was dejected that he didn't even carry the necessities of pen and paper, because who knew when he'd have this opportunity again? However, it seemed that Pax knew exactly what to do. Avery watched as they gently took his arm, wondering if there was something wrong with it (was he sporting a new mosquito bite?) but a slow smile lit up his face as he soon saw Pax's autograph upon his arm, and he laughed. Pax was so clever! "Oh wow! I guess I'm content with this autograph in the meantime," he mused, "but you must sign something when we get back, okay? Otherwise it'll be your fault that I'm not showering, and it would be yuck." Henry would not appreciate it.
Wait, Pax couldn't see the wand? Avery furrowed his brow. Somehow, it seemed that he was better at seeing in the dark than he thought. All those years of practicing violin in the dark, where the music spoke to him most, had certainly helped improve his vision in the dark with a little magic. And it was certainly very dark out here on this moonless and starless night.
"Well, if you really aren't going to hex me..." Then, he'd certainly be more willing to help out. "Let's go this way," he said confidently, taking Pax by the shoulders in an attempt to steer them towards the direction of the wand. It would be about 30 paces or so, until they were right next to the wand laying peacefully in the grass. "See it now?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't wrong again. "I bet you can. If I'm wrong, I'll let you take some quaffle shots at my goal, or something."
@Pax Zhang
28 Aug 2022, 03:02
Light in the Dark
Pax raised an eyebrow and suppressed a laugh at the boy's blatant statement.
"Yeah, it was definitely tough. Watching your seeker fumble around for the snitch when ours had spotted ages before? It was truly painful."
"But I ought to not be bashing other quidditch players to make a point, shouldn't I? In truth, I really respect your players. They're very skilled at the game. Your beaters? Top tier. I'd love to be as good as them in the future. It'll be really satisfying to beat them in the next game."
"Oh wow! I guess I'm content with this autograph in the meantime," Avery mused.
Pax smiled a little, tilting their head slightly. They really thought that would've weirded the kid out. But they weren't complaining that it didn't.
"But you must sign something when we get back, okay? Otherwise it'll be your fault that I'm not showering, and it would be yuck."
Letting out a proper laugh this time, Pax nodded. "Yeah, please don't let me be the reason you stink up Hogwarts. Though that would be a memorable way to leave a legacy."
Pax looked hopefully at the boy, hoping that he'd be kind enough to show them and not just leave them stumbling around.
"Well, if you really aren't going to hex me..."
"I won't. Really, I promise. I was just kinda pissed." They quickly tried to assure.
Avery took hold of their shoulders and began to steer Pax in what they hoped was the right direction. Pax resisted a little, before remembering that this guy probably wasn't like their brothers, steering them in the direction of something they probably would hate. So they reluctantly let him steer them to where they hoped their wand is.
"See it now? I bet you can. If I'm wrong, I'll let you take some quaffle shots at my goal, or something."
They squinted in the dark, scanning the surroundings, but blind as they were, they still couldn't see it. "Where? Are you sure you aren't pulling a prank on me, dude? I'm looking around and I literally cannot see anything."
"Also, as a beater, those quaffle shots are very much appreciated. I'm kidding, obviously. I dunno, maybe let me take a free shot at you with a bludger? No, that feels mean. Uh... I dunno then. I'm sure we can come with an agreement eventually."
They shuffled around to hopefully face Avery again, and they felt something by the edge of their foot. Crouching down a little, they reached for it, warning Avery, "If this is like some crap or something, I'm gonna be so pissed, you know?"
Luckily enough, it wasn't.
Upon closer examination, it did turn out to be Pax's wand. They wiped it on their jeans, smiling thankfully at Avery.
"Thanks. For, uh, helping me out with, uh, finding my wand. Duh."Reducio
30 Aug 2022, 01:21
Light in the Dark
Avery almost choked at Pax's retort. The laugh that came up somehow sounded like he was taking a spit. Ha! If only Dan could hear this first-year talking smack about him like this! Their captain would be livid.
"So cheeky, huh? Well, good luck beating us next time! I'm sure you've already used it all up last time, so I don't see how you'd pull it off again," he said, crossing his arms with a smug grin. There was no way.
As they arrived at the wand, Avery looked down. It wasn't that dark, was it? (It was.) Surely, Pax could see it now? But when they still couldn't, he blinked. He couldn't be quite sure of anything anymore, could he? "Oh yeahh, bludgering me would be a little mean. Maybe some day, but like, only if it was your death wish and you were dying, I guess? Oh who am I kidding, you won't be able to hit me anyway, so it wouldn't matter!" he snickered a little.
"No, not crap!" he responded automatically, "But that actually would've been a good idea... leaving a long hard stool out for you to pat down in the dark."
"You're welcome!" he said in response to Pax's thanks. "I didn't actually care much about your wand. I just wanted my autograph quickly, you know? C'mon, let's get back to the castle so you can give it to me!" He jogged off in excitement, leaving Pax in the dark.
He would eventually realize that Pax might need some help getting back, but it wouldn't occur to him until later.
Avery exits the thread.
@Pax Zhang