closed Unexpected Skating Lessons PV Pericles Dralt

Being raised by old-fashioned well-off purebloods had its perks. The Dralt family had the means to broaden their heir's skillset, and did so with great pride, enriching his out-of-school hours with lessons in fencing, falconry, horse riding, piano, and even ice skating. When such opportunities came naturally, it was easy to forget how privileged one was just to have access to them. Pericles wasn't often in the mood to train these days, so he posed shallow arguments, chiefly the fact that he wasn't in any competitions. His father had a knack for squashing excuses, claiming that these were "perishable skills": the sort of talents that faded without practice. Pericles was completely disenchanted by this repetitiveness. He had forgotten the magic of skating, viewing it more as a chore than an art form. Most hobbies he cherished as a child were forgotten in favor of school stuff. But perhaps today, with an unexpected influence, he might remember that such a skill shouldn't be taken for granted.

Pericles arrived wearing black pants, a dark gray turtleneck, winter gloves, and a painstakingly unamused expression. His gear was not the clunky rentals offered by the rink, but a pair of sleek skates with pro-grade blades. The then-fourteen-year-old glided out onto the ice with all the grace of an eagle in flight and a "let's get this over with" mentality. He curved around the first bend, looking altogether immune to gravity as he leaned into the turn. Hands folded at the small of his back suggested complete confidence in his balance. The two skaters had starkly different warm-ups, his being a series of tricks: a twizzle spin here, an axel jump there. Though the movements were elegant and at times dramatic, never once did he drop that empty-eyed, deadpan stare- not until, while soaring backwards at an alarming rate, he passed someone struggling.

Pericles made unexpected eye-contact with Alyssea just as she grabbed her knees to steady herself. His eyebrows arched, gaze widened, and flat lips formed a frown of concern. He was quick to quit clowning around, immediately turning to skate in a forward-facing position like a normal person. He even shoved gloved hands in his pockets to take away from his perfect posture. At first, the Ravenclaw elected to keep to himself, not wanting to showboat in front of a beginner. But by the time he was about to lap Alyssea again, he'd had time to mull it over. It couldn't hurt just to check in right...? If she didn't want to interact with some stranger, he would make it easy for her to send him away with a benign check-in. Slowing to her pace, Peri drifted up alongside Alyssea, opting for a gentle expression and an even gentler tone. "S'cuse me. Are you new to the ice?"

@Alyssea Brown

august 10th 2022; interacting with @Pericles Dralt

Alyssea could only stand in awe as she watched other people skate past with zero complications. At the center of the rink, the more advanced skaters were doing all their cool tricks, spins, and jumps. When she made eye contact with one of them, she quickly looked away and focused on the motions again. Right, bent knees, lean slightly forward, and push one at a time with each foot.

The anxiety of falling kept her hands basically locked on her knees and she made little distance since that moment. Sure enough, the guy came up to her and asked if it was her first time skating. Alyssea shrugged. "Yeah. It's not my first time but I'm still not getting the hang of it," she sighed. Everyone made it look so easy. How could they just glide on a blade across the ice?

She took a glance towards the ice to find, not a bulky pair like she had from the rink, but a clean and slim pair that was undoubtedly expensive. "How long have you been skating?" Alyssea asked. This was definitely not his first time, especially after the cool spins and whatnot.

"You looked really cool doing those spins and jumps," Alyssea said, "I wish I could do that."

When he heard Alyssea was getting the hang of her skates, the stranger gave a supportive nod, saying simply "We all start somewhere." He glided along with his hands still in his pockets, arms hugged to his sides, acutely aware of the wand hidden up his sleeve. This was an opportunity to practice more than skating: as far as he knew, Pericles was interacting with a muggle, something he didn't have the chance to do often. The pureblood would have to mind how he spoke, trying not to sound too formal or antiquated. He'd have to be especially cautious not to admit how clueless he was about non-magical stuff.

After a look at his blades, she asked about his experience. "Years," Peri replied with a shrug of the shoulders. "My folks drop me off here every other Wednesday when I'm out of school. Sometimes weekly, when it's winter break." His answers were strategically nonchalant, though his smile warmed at the compliment, even if he averted his eyes. It seemed like he didn't take praise easily, especially with the way he redirected at her wish. "I'm sure you could, with practice. Time is all it takes really- that, and a little technique." Pericles shifted his weight to one blade, raised the opposite foot, and casually swung his weight around so he was skating backwards again. With a trace of cheek to his smile, he asked "May I skate with you? I could give you some suggestions, if you'd like."

@Alyssea Brown

august 10th 2022; interacting with @Pericles Dralt

That was a phrase she hadn't heard in a long time. We all start somewhere. The last time she'd heard that was when she landed her first gig at the local children's theatre. During the rehearsals, she envied the older kids whose characters had names and were on stage more. One of the older ensemble kids had noticed and told her the same thing. They were right, technically, since she managed to land her first named role about a year later. By that point, she was more bold with her choices, making wide movements and exaggerating her facial expressions. Everything a theatre kid had to do.

Alyssea took a minute to pause and just stood at the edge of the rink. It was both a minute to reflect on the guy's words and also to adjust herself. The fear of falling was still there, naturally, but the disconnection between her and the skates had lessened. Progress.

She hummed. "You don't skate on weekends during school?"

Alyssea took two more steps before stopping. She gave the white-haired stranger an enthusiastic nod. "That would be really nice. I don't know much except from the videos I watched before coming here." No matter how many times she recited the instructions in her head, the videos made it look effortless.

Pericles slid to a stop at her side, idling patiently while they spoke. His attention had a habit of straying when he stood still, eyes wandering the nearby rink, habitually cautious as he was. They met hers again as she asked, "You don't skate on weekends during school?" Oh, this was Muggle 101. They liked to ask each other what school they attended, and he already had a line prepared just in case it came up. "No, I stay in a boarding situation. It's a private school. You likely haven't heard of it." Peri smiled pointedly. While it must have come off as posh, in his (limited) experience with non-magical folk, it was the perfect evasion.

As she agreed to company, his smile softened with an offered handshake, mannerisms riding the dated line between formal and casual. "My name's Pericles, but most call me Peri." He gestured ahead in a welcoming way, staying a stride behind her to get a look at how she skated so far. "The important part is to get your footwork first. You can hold onto the ledge, if you need to. Keep your knees bent, your ankles aligned with your hips, and don't lean forward. The trick is to bend without leaning- keeps your balance centered. You should feel it here." Peri placed a hand over his core, demonstrating posture and movement, slowing himself to a snail's pace. Skating might have gotten old for him, yet going over the basics with a beginner was an all new experience.

"With the bend in your knees, you should feel your weight focused towards the front of your foot, putting pressure on the blade right behind the toe pick. The leg holding your weight stays straight. The one propelling you forward goes back diagonally, at an angle, and you switch back and forth for a stride, like so...." Once the essentials were lain out, Peri took a break from directing and demonstrating, letting her practice the basics of movement for a few laps. Curiosity got the better of him as he pried, "Is that how those videos taught you to skate?" There was a trace of slyness to his smirk as he asked. He might have kept coming off as some rich private school snob, yet the wizard was genuinely clueless, only familiar with movies as a form of entertainment.

@Alyssea Brown

august 10th 2022; interacting with @Pericles Dralt

Alyssea shrugged. "Probably not. I only moved back to England recently and been to one school since." She was about to keep talking about how her parents also pulled her out of said school since her admission to Hogwarts but they'd reminded her to keep everything about hush-hush. Statute of Secrecy, something along those lines. As far as she knew, this guy was a Muggle and it would be against the Statute of Secrecy to tell him about Hogwarts or magic-adjacent.

She was glad for Pericles' help. "My name's Alyssea. I don't really have a nickname." Her mind ran through a few nickname options: Aly, Sea (pronounced like Sia, the singer), Alice. Most called her by her full name.

Alyssea listened to his instructions, nodding and humming at every statement. The "don't lean forward" part threw her off. This whole time, she thought leaning forward was a good thing. Instinctively, she readjusted her posture and straightened everything out. Despite her small dance background, her poor posture would make an appearance.

With her arms stretched out, she straightened her back and focused. The information was a lot to take in at once but she was determined. "Is the toe pick at the very front here?" She tapped it gently on the ice twice before readjusting her stance.

Slowly, she moved her right leg back diagonally and pushed, then alternated with her left leg and pushed. The movement was still foreign and the slightest imbalance scared her. After a few more pushes, she reached for the wall and leaned against it.

"Yeah, they all said the same thing. This is really slow, though."