Tree. Locked

It was a nice, sunny afternoon. The sun wasn't too hot, but it wasn't too cold, either. Perfect weather for a nice swim in the lakenor maybe a good time to just take a walk around the grounds.

Kayla took the walking option.

She was going to head out and maybe walk by the lake, just to get some fresh air from all the homework she was being forced to do. Stupid homework. But Kayla was so busy nowadays, trying to study and get good grades -she barely tried but did surprisingly well- that she couldn't even be bothered to take a stroll.

But that's what she was doing today, no amount of homework would stop her from doing it.

Kayla shoved her hands in her pocket as she breathed in deeply the smell of fresh air. Not library books. Not parchment. Not ink and quills. Fresh air.
Kayla felt a jolt of disturbance as she heard a voice from somewhere above her, as she continued to walk. It seemed to be repeating the same word over and over again.
Alohomora? she thought as she closed her eyes in concentration, feeling like she was hearing things. But she heard it again.

She looked up to see where this voice was coming from; it was clearly coming from above her. She walked around to check where this voice was coming from, the loudest she could hear it from was from under a certain tree. She looked up again, and this time was the figure of a boy. She coukd barely see him, but thank her tall height, she didn't have to lift her head too much.
"Hello?" she said uncertainly.

@Gavin Faulkner

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Gavin startled at the voice. For a second, he started looking around frantically before realizing that he was in a tree and therefore not on the same level as other people. He looked down, swiftly finding the source; she was tall, although she did look around his age.

Suddenly realizing that she had likely stumbled upon the spell repetitions, he hurriedly closed the book, turning in the tree to look down more easily. "Did ya need something?" he questioned. To be truthful though, he knew that the person down below probably didn't have any actual beef with him. The "Hello?" he'd heard had been concerned more than anything.

Understandable, he supposed. It's not every day you come across a random kid in a tree saying the same word over and over again.

He chose to explain himself. Clear up some confusion, you know. "I'm just trying to learn some spells in advance. You know, memorize the movement and pronunciation. I guess Alohomora had me a little stumped," he conceded. To embellish his point, he waved the book around.

Who knew, maybe his admittance would cause more confusion. Most people don't study in trees. Gavin wasn't to blame for that, though. It was the easiest way for him to focus. If he were in the library or the common room, he would still have to deal with people. At least people don't bother him in the trees... usually.

@Kayla Realma

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Date: 11/25/22, I guess
Outfit:

Reducio

(The outfit, not the person)

I decided to go outside during my break, yet again. I should probably stop doing that though, for I might catch a cold...but no way was I wasting my free time by going back inside. I desperately needed fresh air anyway. Was it just me, or was homework suffocating me? That's when I passed by the courtyard. When I did, I heard "Ahlohomora". I recognised that as the- oh, what was it, door unlocking charm? And then I heard a second voice: "Hello?" It said. What was going on in there? I marched into the courtyard and stumbled upon two people, whom I think were both first years. I recognized one of them immediately: Kayla. The other person, a boy, I didn't recognise. I felt like I was intruding upon something, though part of that was owed to them being a lot taller than me. At first, Kayla and the boy didn't seem to notice me. The boy said that he was trying to learn spells in advance. That amused me for some reason, because I had never bothered to learn any higher spells. But then again, I had enough homework slowly suffocating me until my head exploded from thinking too hard. "Erm...sorry to interrupt, but isn't that the unlocking charm that you were just trying to do?" I asked, turning to the boy. My shoulders slumped. What a lame question to ask, of course it was that charm. Yup...definitely catching a cold...

Interacting/Mentioning: @Gavin Faulkner @Kayla Realma
Speech/Writing color: #ba9826 and #7e6b2a Thoughts: Italics

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Immediately, Gavin's gaze shifted to the new person who had entered the conversation; she looked like another first year, shorter than the girl on the ground, but he couldn't really judge whether she was shorter than him considering that he was, well, in a tree.

"Erm...sorry to interrupt, but isn't that the unlocking charm that you were just trying to do?" the redhead asked. It was actually a decent question, and he commended her for recognizing the spell so easily, but he could see her shoulders slump. Even so, he couldn't resist a snarky response.

"Well, you can't perform the unlocking charm in a tree. What is there to unlock? A secret door? I don't think you'll find one of them in a tree." After gauging her expression, he added, "I'm just trying to get the pronunciation and wand movement down. I like to know those kinds of things in advance so I'm not struggling over them in class."

He didn't even have his wand on him at the moment; it was back at his dorm room, tucked away in his scarf. He didn't see the point of having it with him if he was just going to be studying. On a weekend. Not something he needs his wand for, considering he was mainly practising the processes for spells that were not applicable everywhere.

@Kayla Realma @Aurora Griffith

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Interacting/Mentioning: @Gavin Faulkner @Kayla Realma
Speech/Writing color: #ba9826 Thoughts: Italics

Atleast she had received an answer.

Most mysterious people hanging up in trees trying to learn a spell probably wouldn't answer Kayla's reasonable question. Wasn't much of a question but it required an answer, anyway.
"I don't really need anything," she replied.
Dont really? Oh, now it seems like you want something! Way to go, Kayla!
But the boy continued to talk. He was talking about needing to master a spell. Well that explained why he was repeating Alohomora over and over again.
"Alohomora..." Kayla contemplated this answer. She could proudly say she knew the spell quite well, and could preform it well. But her thoughts were again interrupted by a girl's voice. Kayla turned around to see a familiar redhead.
"Aurora, hey," she greeted the girl clamly, "how's your day going?" Kayla knew Aurora from the debate club and also a hide and seek game. As the other girl questioned the boy in the tree, Kayla tapped her hand on her leg impatiently.
"Well, you can't perform the unlocking charm in a tree. What is there to unlock? A secret door? I don't think you'll find one of them in a tree."

Kayla furrowed her brow at the answer he had given Aurora, but he somewhat commended himself by adding that he simply wanted to learn the movement and pronunciation. But Auroa shot back a reasonably rude answer and Kayla wasn't going to be in the middle of a fight.
"No, I don't think you can do Alohomora in a tree," Kayla answered slowly, but, guys chill, please? And mysterious tree guy, can you come down? You're pretty high and I think I'm gonna break my neck if I look up for too long."
Well...that's one way to break up a fight.

@Aurora Griffith, @Gavin Faulkner

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At the girl now identified as Aurora's response, Gavin raised an eyebrow. It seemed his explanation had not done much. Nor had the sarcasm, really. He thought it was pretty obvious. "I left my wand in my room because I don't need it now. I can learn the movement either way. And of course you can't perform it in a tree. I just like to study up here." Besides, he held the wand in a similar way anyways, at least when he was pointing it; finger outstretched. His mother had made fun of the little habit when she first saw him do it, but jokes on her because it still worked.

Really though, he didn't think he was so rude that it warranted such a spiteful response. Seriously, the girl looked way too frustrated for the context of the situation. Maybe he'd just come off as worse than he'd intended.

At the other girl's behest, he dropped the book carefully to the ground and swung down through the branches, landing in a crouch so he could pick the book back up. "I didn't mean to start some sort of argument. I just use a lot of sarcasm," he remarked. Then, sticking out his free hand, he said, "Gavin Faulkner, Ravenclaw first year."

@Aurora Griffiths @Kayla Realma

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Interacting/Mentioning: @Kayla Realma @Gavin Faulkner
Speech/Writing color: #ba9826 Thoughts: Italics

The boy explained that hd left his wand in his dorm and he liked to study up in the tree- or atleast Kayla assumed he meant the tree and not outside in the courtyard.
As the boy, now known as Gavin, swung off the tree at Kayla's request and crouched down to pick up his book, Kayla couldnt help to think of a dramatic fight scene in a movie, when the hero (or even villain) would jump down from who-knows-where and face their opponent. But otherwise, the Hufflepuff was impressed with his agility. It was impressive indeed.
"Nice," she remarked softly, saying this just loud enough to be heard. After Kayla had said these words, Aurora burst out laughing.
Okay, laughing?
Shouting, screaming or throwing something would feel like a bit of a more reasonable response, but laughing? No, this confused Kayla to an extent where she didn't say anything for the sevrel moments that the fellow Hufflepuff stood laughing. But Kayla smiled a bit as Aurora explained her reason and Kayla rolled her eyes sarcastically.
"Gotcha, Ro," she muttered. "Kayla Realma, first year, Hufflepuff. Nice to meet you, Gavin. Unlocking charm, hey?" she added to Gavin and thought about this for a moment.
"How well do you know the unlocking charm, Ro?" Kayla asked Aurora. Kayla wanted to ask if she could somehow help Gavin, but he didn't have a wand, so what help would that be?

@Aurora Griffith, @Gavin Faulkner