Watching the Skies PV Koko Riddle Finished

@Koko Riddle

Irina worked hard not to show her relief when Koko said 'I can absolutely go up with you!' She hadn't been nervous, definitely not, but the idea of being on such an incredible broom without immediate help or supervision caused a trickle of apprehension to run through her. She looked down at the broom in her hands as Koko ran off to the school broomshed - it was truly incredibly. Sleek, shiny and not a single scratch on it's wooden handle. 'I can't believe I'm about to ride this thing,' she thought incredulously.

When Koko arrived back with the school broom, Irina felt slightly guilty - the broom was almost falling apart! Koko didn't seem to mind though; in fact a nostalgic smile had spread across her face as she looked down at the battered broom. She explained how she had previously been a beater but had switched positions because she didn't like batting murderous quidditch balls at kids - understandable.

'I'm sure you already know, but we've got to get on our brooms first. So... Up.'
'This is it,' Irina thought, giddy with excitement, 'I'm finally getting a chance to learn how to properly ride a broom!'
She put her hand over the brrom on the ground, narrowed her eyes in concentration and commanded, "Up!" . . . where it promptly flew upwards and hit her in the face.

She fell backwards with a thud and lay on the ground for a few seconds before sitting up and giving a sheepish grin to Koko. 'Hehe, sorry bout that,' she giggled, slapping her forehead with her hand. 'I forgot to warn you - I am clumsy to the point of stupidity.'

She stood up again and took a deep breath in and out. Raising her hand once more she said firmly, "Up." The broom flew very quickly into the air, almost missing Irina's hand! She quickly reached out and grabbed the broom. Grinning back at Koko, she pointed excitedly at the broom clutched in her hand. "I did it!" she beamed.

Koko had mounted her broom, saying, 'We mount our brooms and take off.' Excitement seemed to pour into Irina's body like water into a bath. It filled every crevice inside her and made her entire body go fuzzy. She was about to fly. To fly! She took a deep breath . . . and then another once 'cause she realised she was also quite nervous, then pushed off.

She flew rather faster into the air than the anticipated but didn't notice - the wind tugged at her hair and the feeling of weightlessness began to take a hold of her. She closed her eyes and gave a broad grin. Nothing could beat this feeling. The feeling of freedom and flying. She whooped loudly and punching her fist into the air . . . a small mistake. She still didn't have complete control over her broom and she tilted ever so slightly. She gave a small yelp, regained control and grinned sheepishly at Koko.
"Hehe, sorry. So um, what's the first thing I need to know? Possibly controliing my broom."

Reducio

Don't worry at all! Just glad ur back!

Koko waited calmly with a small smile still resting on her lips. She didn't laugh when Irina's broom hit her in the face; instead, her eyebrows drew together in concern. It would have been funny if it were Koko, Koko thought, and it was only after thinking that that she shared in Irina's giggles.

'It's okay, happens to the best of us. Are you okay?'

If Koko was honest with herself, it was a bit of a surprise that the school broom hadn't hit her hand too hard when she'd said the command. Perhaps her reflexes were still attuned to it, or maybe she knew where to hold it so she didn't get any splinters. She didn't mind─splinters were just a way of learning how not to do something.

When Irina successfully grabbed the Silver Arrow, Koko would hold the school broom in the crook of her elbow and clap for her. 'Wonderful! You're a natural!'

She was being honest. It took anyone a few tries to get a broom to respond to them. Koko had nearly fallen off of brooms many times when she was merely flying around. It took lots of practice, sometimes years of it, to be able to perform with a broom in a way that seemed effortless. And really, it wasn't effortless. A move Koko did a lot, the Starfish and Stick, still gave her a lot of trouble during practice It was a wonder she hadn't fallen off when she used it in actual games.

She took off when Irina did, already relishing the feel of the wind as it rushed past her ears. She'd forgotten to tie her hair back, and she while she regretted it momentarily, she was too glad to be flying to let her regret ruin this.

Koko heard Irina whoop, and she giggled. She then realised Irina had tilted her broom by accident, and she felt awful for laughing. However, Irina was smiling, and Koko was glad to see that the younger girl had quickly regained control of her broom.

When Irina asked for tips regarding controlling a broom, Koko stared at her for a moment. It had been a while since she'd actually learnt how to control a broom, and she sat in the air, brows furrowed as she thought. She had to think back to her first few flying lessons, and finally she nodded slowly. She glanced at how Irina was positioned on the broom.

'Hm... Scooting back might help you maintain your centre of balance.' Koko nodded again. Yes, that was it. 'And that'll help you keep your hand, or hands, on the broom to steady yourself if you decide to turn or change altitude.' She frowned slightly in thought before her expression brightened again. 'Oh, and if you decide to take a hand off of your broom again─' Koko would demonstrate. '─you can lean forward, just a bit, and maybe towards your broom, to keep your centre of balance, well, centred.' Koko chuckled quietly. 'You're doing really well, though! Have you flown much before?'

@Irina Shevel

Irina rubbed her nose bashfully, giving an embarrassed grin to Koko. "Glad to hear it's not just me," she mumbled before picking herself up again. After finally grabbing the broomstick without almost breaking her nose, she beamed. Her smile seemed to taughten and stretch as Koko began clapping. She was proud of herself (probably a little too proud - her ego was pretty big) but she felt chuffed to recieve affirmation from an older student. Not just that, but an older student who could fly extremely well! She tried to arrange her face in a mnner that didn't display just how pleased she was.

After pushing off, she savoured the feeling of the wind in her hair and complete freedom that only flying could bring. She almost fell off of her broom and tried hard to absorb every tip Koko could give her. The last thing she wanted was to fall humiliatingly onto the floor. She shuffled awkwardly backwards along the broom as Koko instructed, looking down at her hands to check they were holding roughly centre. The handle was smooth, pleasent to hold and beautiful to look at. Irina grinned as she stared at the incredible broom, imagining the look on her sister's face when she told her about this insane experience.

Koko explained to Irina what to do when removing you hand from the broom. Irina's brow furrowed suddenly nervous for the first time. To postpone the inevitable moment she knew her reckless brain would sucumb to her curiosity, she answered Koko's question first. "Well, we have a really old broom that my sister owns and I'm not allowed to use and the family bluebottle which obviously can't be used for quidditch. So, I've been on one once or twice but always with another person."

After finishing speaking, she knew she had to perform the trick - not cause she felt pressured but cause she desperately wanted to have a go. Irina took a deep breath, muttering "You can do this," under her breath. She followed the Slytherin's instructions as closely as possible, leaning forwards, towards her broom, before removing her left hand entirely.

The broom plunged wildly to the right, causing her stomach to jump into her throat. She hastily returned her hand to the broom and pulled sharply upwards. The broom righted rose quickly into the air, now tilting precariously to the left. As the panic began to cloud the edges of Irina's mind, she struggled to remember Koko's advice. "Scooting back might help you maintain your centre of balance." As the broom spun closer to the ground, she pushed her body backwards slightly. Her hands immedietly felt more secure and she pulled upwards, regaining control of the broom in time before hitting the ground.

Instead of crashing in a horrific mess, she was able to land on her feet, the broom still between her legs, and shuffle slightly, momentum carrying her forwards. She landed on her knees, releasing a half-sigh, half-whoop as she removed the broom from between her legs and placed it to the side of her. Her mind was buzzing, excitement and adrenelin pounding through her in equal amounts. She wasn't in to much pain and the fear from falling had now dissapated, leaving only the desire to repeat the crazy move.

She sat up and grinned at Koko, aware of how disheveled she must look. She didn't want to cause Koko any more fear than the ungainly crash must have already created so she beamed, "That was awesome! Let's do it again."

As Irina commanded the broom, Koko couldn't help but watch the younger student with a fond smile on her lips. She remembered when she used to nearly fall off of brooms all the time, and really, it wasn't all that long ago. It felt like yesterday when she flew around to avoid the scary older kids, even though she was now one of those 'scary older kids'. It definitely changed her perspective.

Koko nodded when Irina answered her question. That made sense. 'You know, the Slytherin beater Erin used a Bluebottle for a while.' It was a family broom, yes, but that didn't mean it didn't have its advantages when one was trying to rescue a bunch of children falling from the sky.

Koko watched with narrowed eyes─not due to suspicion, but rather just to keep an eye on the younger girl─as Irina practised the manoeuvre. It seemed that she was doing okay, but then the broom lurched to the right in a way that made Koko's heart leap into her throat. She started forward, but paused when she noticed Irina correcting her centre of balance. The broom continued to spin horribly until, suddenly, the spinning stopped, and Irina landed on her feet. Koko flew down to the ground and hovered slightly above it, eyes wide. 'Are you okay?' she asked.

To her surprise, Irina grinned at her and suggested they try it again. Her boundless confidence was very unlike Koko had been at that age, and Koko found it contagious now. She, too, smiled, and although she would hesitate before responding, she believed that if Irina wanted to fly around, she wouldn't cause Koko quite as much terror the second time.

Koko chuckled and nodded. 'Okay,' she said. 'If you're sure. You scared me for a second, but you're clearly better than fine.' At that, she would laugh a bit once again. 'Very resilient.'

If Irina took off again, Koko would follow quickly, but she would be more relaxed on her broom. The other girl seemed to be a very quick learner.

@Irina Shevel

"You know, the Slytherin beater Erin used a Bluebottle for a while."

"Wait, they used a Bluebottle in a Quidditch Team? They must have been seriously skilled. What made it a good broom? Any way you could, I dunno, maybe erm, tell me how I could fly on one properly? Cause this has been pretty fun so I was thinking I'd try practicing on it over the holidays."
The idea that someone could be so skilled they were a beater on a Quidditch team, encourages Irina. She found the flying fun and being up on the broom was so freeing and exhilerating. Watching Koko flying her broom was almost as educational as when Koko instructed her - Irina could see as the Slytherin adjusted her grip and moved her weight to keep the broom balanced.

Even after the 'dropping out of the sky and almost pancaking into the ground' incident, her enthusiasm was only rekindled.
Koko complimented her after Irina had reassured her that she was completely fine. She her cheeks flushed rosy for a moment, chuffed by the compliment. She gave her an embarrassed smile before standing up and brushing herself down. The broom was lying on the ground next to her so she raised her hand over it before saying firmly, 'Up.'
The broom gave a little hop but didn't rise to her hand. She scowled and tried again, succeding after only few more attempts. She looked up at Koko who was still hovering slightly above the ground. "How long does it take to be able to get it first try? How long did it take you?"

Irina was about to push off from the ground again when another random question struck her. She dismounted her broom and looked up once more at Koko, squinting slightly at the sun as it rose to midday. 'Has it really been that long? Hehe, time really does fly . . .'

"Okay so what would be the three top tips to know when learning how to fly a broom . . . or entering a quidditch team . . . or trying to avoid bludgers?"
She gave a small giggle as she remounted her broom, smiling apologetically up at Koko. "Sorry, I have far too many questions."

Irina pushed off from the ground, her foot slipping slightly, and rose slowly into the air. She scowled again. She was kinda hoping for that fun acceleration, butterfly-in-stomach feeling. 'I wish I didn't have to practice so much to be good! I mean, that's kinda the point but anyway.'

Koko chuckled when Irina mentioned how talented Erin ought to have been. Oh, Erin was definitely talented─without her, the Slytherin team would likely not have won nearly as many games. As for whether a Bluebottle was a good sports brooms... Koko's lips pursed slightly as she thought. She wouldn't call it a good sports broom, but it had its benefits. 'Well... It's a very good broom for the purpose of catching falling teammates,' Koko said, 'even if it wasn't the most agile.' She tilted her head. 'I haven't personally flown on a Bluebottle, but I'd imagine it's just like other brooms if not a bit bulkier. Practice probably makes perfect, but you might need more strength to manoeuvre correctly.'

Koko would remain quiet for a bit after that speech, which, for her, was almost word vomit. She watched as Irina got the up command on the second try, which was pretty good. It was decently difficult to get right, and even more difficult to get the broom to go directly into one's hand.

Irina asked how long it had taken Koko to get it on the first try, and she had to think about it. 'I'm not quite sure,' she admitted. 'Probably sometime during my first year, but it wasn't until into my third year that I got it on the first try every time.'

Since Irina had commanded the broom upwards, that probably meant she was planning to take off soon. Koko readied herself for take-off and glanced at the sky above to make sure the weather was still decent. Everything seemed fine, but Irina asked another question─top three tips? Koko supposed she hadn't thought about that. 'Honestly... When I was first learning, I kept looking down. So... One... Don't look down. It is not fun. It does not help.' Koko paused to think. 'Two, I think, is that if you're going to do Quidditch, know you will inevitably get hit by bludgers, and you can either prepare to get hit and hold on, or you can not be prepared and then fall. I ended up choosing the former after I got knocked off my broom in my first Quidditch game.' The memory was not a good one. Koko was not inclined to elaborate─she had been an awful beater, and she hadn't even been able to stay on her broom. Thus, she'd trained to be better able to evade attacks, but the bulk of her non-position-focused training had been on not falling off of her broom.

Koko hummed as she thought of a third tip. It was difficult to pinpoint specifics. 'I guess three would be to avoid being too hard on yourself. If you're a Beater who misses a bludger, it's okay. If you're a Keeper who misses a goal...' She paused. A few too many times, she had been that Beater and that Keeper. '...it's okay,' Koko added. 'No matter what role you play, you'll always have at least one time you mess something up, so don't worry about it too much─just enough to know your weaknesses.'

That, too, was more than Koko usually spoke at a time, and she swallowed before glancing at her feet, which were still on the ground. 'There's no such thing as too many questions!' Koko affirmed, her tone becoming light and jovial rather than quietly thoughtful. She shot Irina a smile. 'Tip number four: don't be afraid to ask questions.' She punctuated the sentence with a small giggle.

Koko watched as Irina took off, and then she followed suit, shooting into the air a bit too quickly than she would have liked. It seemed her feet were a bit too eager to not touch the ground. She glanced behind her to see Irina still rising into the air, and she looped back, cheeks red with either the wind or embarrassment─who could tell?

'Aah, sorry,' Koko said. 'You're doing great!'

@Irina Shevel

Irina stared open mouthed as Koko said, 'Probably sometime during my first year, but it wasn't until into my third year that I got it on the first try every time.'
'I do not have enough patience to wait until third year to get it right every time,' Irina thought, judging up her lack of resilience couples with her desire to get everything right first time. She quickly closed her mouth however and nodded, trying (and failing) to feign a look of neutrality.

Irina hung on every word Koko said, trying to burn every tip into her mind. They were surprisingly good too - number 3 was particularly helpful. If she made a mistake, Irina had the tendency to blame herself and hold it against herself for a long time. Although she knew Koko's words wouldn't immediatley fix the problem, it was both reassuring and comforting to hear. It also gave her something else to work on. 'Know my weaknesses.' She mentally grimaced to herself, thinking 'My pride is gonna majorly get in the way there.' It was a good idea for a challenge though.

Irina couldn't take her eyes off of this incredible Quidditch player, hair flowing in the wind, cheeky rosy and head full of knowledge, skill and tips. She'd been both a Keeper and a Beater! The young Gryffindor felt both inspired and in awe of this Fifth Year - whether it was in Quidditch or something else, Irina decided she was going to work as hard as she could to be both as skilled and determined as Koko was. She looked up at Koko and gave a small smile.
"Those are some pretty great tips! You're . . . you're pretty cool."

'Tip number four: don't be afraid to ask questions,' Koko giggled.

Irina laughed too, pulling an exuberant thumbs-up, coupled with a broad grin. "Easy as a Niffler looking for gold! I basically never run out of questions." It was true - her parents often said it was more likely for the Chudley Canons to win the league than for Irina to stop asking questions.

After Irina's embarrassing footslip, she scowled, rising slowly into the air.

'You're doing great,' she heard Koko's voice floating down as the Slytherin looped back, cheeks rosy from the cold. Irina smiled and squinted into the sun to look at her.
"Thanks!I just wish I could get it first try! All the work I have to put it can often-"
Irina stopped mid-sentence, brain frozen and mouth open. She slapped a hand to her forehead and muttered "Dungbombs!"Tilting the broom slightly, she turned to face Koko flying patiently next to her and said, "Koko, I'm so, so sorry. I completely forgot but I have about 5 essays I need to do! i think I'd better go."

She pointed the broom downwards and landed, a little rougher than she would have liked but better than her previous crash-landing. She hopped off of the broom, unwilling to let go of the sleek handle, eyes scouring every inch of it one last time to imprint it in her memory, before handing it back to Koko. "Koko, this has honestly been insane. The broom is just . . . woah. And you're just so . . . wow!" Irina blushed, aware her words weren't very eloquent.
"Thanks for teaching me so much and letting me use your broom and giving me such an amazing time and- yeah." She took in a deep breath, the sentence far longer than she'd expected.

Anywho, I'm gonna head," she gestured over her shoulder towards the castle. After hesitating for a second she darted forward and gave the fifth year a quick hug, squeezing tightly and trying to show without words just how much the past few hours had meant to her. She let go, aware that Koko might not like hugs and started running out of the Quidditch Pitch. "Thanks again for everything," she bellowed over her shoulder, hair frizzy and heart light, fueled by the memories of flying.

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Koko had to hope she wasn't being too difficult. She wasn't used to talking to people, and although she did tend to find it easier to talk when flying, she still worried if she came across as too headstrong or even intimidating.

Irina, however, didn't seem intimidated. Koko returned the other girl's smile, and something twisted in her chest when the other girl called her 'pretty cool'. She did not know what that emotion was, but her smile would widen slightly, and she would swallow what seemed to be a lump that had formed in her throat. Odd. She was happy, yet she felt almost like she might cry.

Koko's smile widened yet again ─ this time into a wide grin ─ when Irina said she never stopped asking questions. That wasn't a bad thing at all. In fact, it might aid her in the future. 'Good,' Koko said with a small laugh, projecting her voice through the air the best she could.

Koko raised a brow in concern when Irina facepalmed, but the girl seemed okay. 'Oh, you should probably do those essays,' Koko said in response, laughter in her voice. 'Good luck!'

After watching Irina land, Koko manoeuvred the school broom back to the ground and landed a bit more roughly than usual. She stumbled slightly and frowned at the broom before straightening her posture and chuckling. 'I guess that shows we all make our mistakes,' she murmured, mostly to herself.

Her smile would return, however, upon seeing Irina's apparent joy. That tight feeling in her throat came back, but Koko didn't think it was a bad thing as she took the Silver Arrow from Irina, doing her best to balance the brooms in the crook of her arm. 'Oh, thank you,' she said at first, but her cheeks, too, would gain colour as Irina thanked her for the amazing time. 'Anytime, really, it was fun for me too, I hope you have a good rest of your day, feel free to talk to me anytime,' Koko would say, her words mushing together as she spoke through the block in her throat.

She began to wave to Irina when the other girl started to leave, but she paused when the other girl reached forward to hug her. For a moment, Koko was startled ─ she hadn't been hugged in rather some time ─ but she relaxed and hugged Irina back before letting go when Irina did. 'Of course, anytime,' Koko called after the leaving Gryffindor. 'Bye!'

Koko returned the school broom with a small smile on her lips, and she would relish the strange feeling of happiness as she headed back to the castle.

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@Irina Shevel
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