A Breath of Fresh Air PV Reuben Reilly Finished

It was a bright sunny afternoon at Hogwarts. Reuben springily strode out to the courtyard following his Transfiguration class to catch a breath of fresh air. He was in good spirits, as was often the case after he had transfiguration. A light breeze nipped at his cheeks; flurrying his unruly fringe much to his discontent, but he didn't care. Not today anyway; it was a good day. A good day because... well, he wasn't sure why, but he could feel it. He made his way over to the fountain and took a seat on the ledge, placing his backpack on the ground beside himself. He wasn't sure what he was going to do now, however, he was still not used to being alone most of the time.

Reuben took a moment to enjoy the crisp air and the sunny weather when he noticed a young Hufflepuff boy by himself. He was standing out of the way, seemingly not wanting to be disturbed; as if that ever stopped Reuben. "Huh.."― he hushed to himself, now wearing a firm expression on his face. The boy appeared to be unsettled, he was undoubtedly having a bad day. Without a second thought, Reuben grabbed his bag and now he was on his way towards him with intent. This was by no means unusual behaviour for Reuben; his impulsiveness often gets the better of him. He slowed down as he approached a few feet away from the boy. "Hey, would you like to hang out? I'm Reuben." He asked in a mellow tone; sporting his customary infectious smile. His accent was strong, not unlike many of his fellow Northern Irishmen. Reuben hoped he didn't disturb him, he wouldn't mean to intrude as he often did, but he wanted to cheer his peer up.

@Marek Malinowski
Colours used: Speech

Leaning against the pillar harder than ever, Marek didn't take notice of the boy at first. He was still hyper-fixated on his wand, staring at it with pure hatred. However, after realising he was just spoken to, his eyes jolted upwards and met the gaze of a Gryffindor boy with unnaturally smooth, silky skin and dark, wavy hair. Marek was not prepared to have someone standing in front of him so soon, and in fact, so willingly, that when he swiftly lifted his head up he hit it on a loose brick in the pillar.
"Ała!"
Marek dropped his wand onto the grassy patch of the courtyard and started rubbing his head in discomfort. He wanted to look at the boy to see if he was judging him, as per the norm where he came from, but he could not afford to take his hand off the area he hit. "This better not turn into a bruise.." he thought to himself, still caressing the spot where it pained him.
He inhaled deeply and squinted his eyes, since this is what typically helped him forget about the pain whenever he was doing some sort of manual work at home, whether it was in the kitchen or when he was fidgeting with random scrap. Eventually, after he has mustered up enough courage to lift the palm of his hand off his head, Marek looked at the Gryffindor boy once again, but with more caution.

@Reuben Reilly

Coding:
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Of course, he did it again. Reuben undoubtedly startled the Hufflepuff boy. A look of sheer horror jolted onto his face. Boys a dear! You alright?! he yelped. Reuben took a couple of steps back to give the boy some space. Yikes... That's not how I imagined that going.― he thought, as his expression shifted to a guilty look. In the midst of everything, he wholly missed the boy speaking in a language that would've been unknown to Reuben regardless, but he hoped the boy was alright. He wouldn't want to hurt anyone; never mind someone already in distress.

He glanced around, unsure of what to do; a tender gust of wind ruffled his hair, but he didn't concern himself with it. All he cared about right now was the boy in front of him. Reuben gently tidied his fringe from his face, all his attention still on the boy. He shot a faint smile at him but he was unable to keep it, the sheer weight of his guilt crept in.

Reuben began to second-guess his actions. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered him... he doesn't even know me he bashed himself. I should apologise... but he didn't know if he should do it now, or after the boy responds. He didn't wish to appear any more presumptuous.

@Marek Malinowski
Colours used: Speech Thoughts
Norn-Iron slang: Boys a dear > Oh my goodness.

With the wind still whistling in the courtyard, Marek shook his head and firmly waved his hand.
"No, I am fine! Not like I dashed my head against a brick or anything!" Marek said sarcastically with a fairly heavy polish accent. He then realised he still held a lot of the breath he inhaled and proceeded to exhale the rest of it. "Forget about it, I am fine. Had worse accidents to be fair" Marek said, trying to sound reassuring but ending up sounding mildly irritated, which he cannot help. After nodding to himself, as if to say "bloody good job Marek", he proceeded to kneel down and pick up his wand with hesitation.
"These don't combust once they are dropped do they...?" he suddenly thought to himself. A few moments of silence later, he placed the wand into the inside of his robe and turned around to face the visibly distressed Reuben. Marek felt a little awkward, since this was going to be a very...lasting first impression. Then again, he never really aimed to make a big name for himself in the school anyway.
Marek could tell Reuben wanted to say something but was hesitant. It was, admittedly, obvious.
"Uhm, you got anything to say?" said Marek, not realising what he said sounded very demanding, but since he is aware of the fact he can sound aggressive, he decided to loosen his shoulders and lean against the pillar again, keeping his arms to the side to show Reuben he is not mad at him for anything.

@Reuben Reilly
Coding:
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Sarcasm eh? Reuben thought. The boy appeared to be alright, much to Reuben's comfort. A cheeky grin crept across his face; his high spirits and playful mood have been chiefly reinstated. "I'm sorry" he snickered. "Didn't mean to startle you. Hitting your head like that though? Wee bit scundered for you" he giggled― trying to hold his laugh back. "What's your name?" Reuben noticed the boy's unusual accent; he was excited to hopefully get to know him better.

Without a notice, Reuben set his bag down beside the wall and sat on the ledge beside the boy. He casually lounged against the pillar, and now sat opposite the young Hufflepuff. Reuben grinned and asserted his presence onto the boy. He was often like this, his grand and riveting personality coalesced with his confidence can be an unpleasant combination for some; contrary to Reuben's belief.

He observed the boy up and down; despite his apparent effort to look relaxed he appeared stern and brash, but Reuben didn't mind that. He relished the idea of having a friend that was his opposite. He's dead-on he though. It didn't take him long to make a good expression of people even if they were cold toward him and his judgement was misplaced. Some might call him naive for that. Regardless, Reuben was getting ahead of himself, he doesn't even know the name of the boy yet.

@Marek Malinowski
Colours used: Speech Thoughts
Norn-Iron slang: Wee bit > Little bit(kinda) | Scundered > Embarassed | Dead-on > Someone who's cool

"What is this guy's deal?" Marek thought. He had never seen someone's mood change like that- not like it was an issue for him. After all, he didn't really care. He cleared his throat to remove the last bit of embarrassment before introducing himself. "You have a really weird accent...Reuben was it?" Marek said, trying to sound as unoffensive as possible, since he has already pretty much put the nail in the coffin for himself- at least, he thought so. After some necessary thinking, Marek looked Reuben properly in the eyes and said: "My name is Marek". His fists were clenched as he said his name, but he did not seem to have noticed, as if it was an involuntary, automatic reaction. Eventually, his whole body sort of firmed up, almost like a defence mechanism, even if there was no visible danger. Even so, Marek's face was the only thing that was kept softened, and he smirked.

"You know, I can respect the confidence you are...hmm, how do you people put it...'exuding'. And there is no need to apologise, I was just not expecting someone I know nothing about to be so willing to walk up to me, especially on my first day. That does take some guts I will admit".

Marek proceeded to crack his fingers after saying that, since clenching his wand tightly made his hand quite sore. Unironically, that made him come off as more rough than he intended to be. All he could think about now is, did Reuben notice his cold treatment towards his wand? He began to wonder just what this boy could be thinking about. "It doesn't matter, I want nothing to do with it right now. I just want to get through the day".

@Reuben Reilly
Colour coding:
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Reuben simply smiled at the boy's response. He also knew people outside Ireland would find his accent odd; he was prepared for it. Marek― he thought, that's a cool name. However Reuben didn't have much time to think on it. It had been some time since he entered the courtyard this afternoon and it was now catching up to him. He was about to be late for herbology class if he loitered any longer. I should probably get going― he pondered. He didn't want to be late again. While his intelligence was nothing to scuff at, his tardiness could use a little improvement; as his professors would likely agree.

He got up in earnest and dusted his robes without a word. It was very much a 'Reuben thing' to do it first and announce it later, but he didn't see an issue with it. After all, they can see what he's doing. He grabbed his backpack and turned to Marek― sporting an affectionate smile: Gotta go now. Great craic hanging out with you Marek! I'll see you around? he asked rhetorically. He didn't give Marek a proper chance to say his goodbyes; with that Reuben was off. He swung around to walk backwards awaiting a response that may or may not come; he didn't mind either way. He knew his abrupt departure from any given interaction was likely to be taken poorly, so he liked to give a chance for a... semi-proper farewell.

@Marek Malinowski
Colours used: Speech Thoughts
Norn-Iron slang: Craic > A good time (roughly) pronounced: /krak/

Marek nodded affirmingly, but with some reluctance. After all, he did not have the tendency to make guarantees when it comes to meeting others. It's not like he was opposed to seeing Reuben again, but he wouldn't necessarily go out of his own way to scavenge for him.
"Sure. It was cool meeting you man."
Marek momentarily opened his mouth to say something, but he seemed to have forgotten the term for what he was trying to say. Silently, he paced off to the side and stood next to the pillar, before exclaiming "Do widzenia!". Even though Marek has lived in England for a while, every now and then he does forget some simple words, which is natural when you are still heavily in touch with your family and culture; he decided saying 'goodbye' in polish would be a suitable and convenient alternative, and hoped Reuben would not mind the sudden change in his speech.
With that said, Marek offered up a small smile, waved and went back to leaning against the pillar, thinking to himself. His mood was certainly lifted, which was a significant improvement compared to how he was faring with the changes before he spoke to Reuben. This encounter has made Marek a little hopeful, not much, but a little.

@Reuben Reilly
Speech coding:
Speech
Polish