Is it a study group if there's only one person? C

"It's probably someone I'm not too familiar with, then."

"You can come to me though, if you so desire."

@Lucian Grey | mention: @Eldridge Cunningham | @Carina Ranucci

"You've been laughing by yourself, sitting in a tree," Isaac corrected, raising an eyebrow. "You don't see that every day."

He was growing more suspicious of this girl by the second. She claimed to not know anything, but had the same mischievous tone as a person who was in on a secret, or was up to something naughty. Her sing-songy tone and defensive words afterwards did ring of slight truth. She likely was hurt by the threat that Eldridge made. But there was no telling what she actually had done before climbing the tree, or what she had seen up there.

Considering that she had earlier invited them to come up, 'if they so desired,' he decided to take her invitation up.

First, Isaac took off his boots, knowing that they were poor for climbing. Then he rolled up the sleeves of his uniform.

Gripping the lower branch with a steady hand, he used the rough bark for traction. Swiftly, he climbed higher and higher, until he had finally reached the sturdy fork in which she sat. He decided to sit on a branch beside the fork, making sure it was stable enough to hold his weight.

Barely out of breath, he gave her a matter-of-fact look with his greyish eyes. "In fact, I don't see why you'd be laughing over anything, unless you were hiding something."

@Lucian Grey

"Oh really? Maybe I should," Isaac replied as if he were seriously considering, swinging his feet lightly. As he continued however, a dark note of sarcasm crept into his tone, and shadows pooled beneath his eyes. "And maybe I should take things that aren't mine either. You know, just to borrow them and have even more fun. No one would mind."

He took his red-tinged wand out from his uniform pocket and twirled it briefly in his fingers before gripping it. Lucien had no doubt realized, just as he had, that to use magic from this height would be fatal. Her confidence was obvious from her relaxed posture, and the way that she lightly closed her eyes, basking in the afternoon sunlight. The way she tilted her head reminded him of the girls at his old school when they were sure of victory, proud of outwitting whatever student they'd deemed fit to bully.

A small surge of frustration welled inside of him upon seeing her playful wink, but he tamped it down. Getting angry wouldn't help anyone.

No doubt from her light tone, she was already on the defensive. He expected that, considering that he had almost flat-out accused her of wrongdoing. So he decided to take a more honest method this time. He'd explain. And if she was still just as cheeky as before, then he'd have no other choice but to take extreme measures.

"I'm looking for a rucksack, or a bag, with patches on the front of it. It's blue and beat up and full of papers. The last time I saw it, it was in this tree." He gestured to the fork where she sat for emphasis. "Now, it's gone, and you're sitting right where I left it."

An implication swam beneath his words. If she wanted to be considered innocent, then she'd have to prove it.

@Lucian Grey

"School papers," he stated matter-of-factly, side-eyeing her. Shifting position on the tree, he propped his chin up with a hand, leaving one of his legs dangling off of the branch. Her casual air irked him instead of lessening his suspicions. Neutrally, he gave her another glance, noting how she seemed care-free about the whole matter. Perhaps he was asking the wrong person. But what if she was truly the thief, and trying to deceive him by lowering his guard?

The thoughts swirled around his head, mobbing it like owls. "Too heavy to blow away," he commented after her second statement, twirling a dark hair around his finger absently. He began to ponder the hypothetical that she wasn't the thief. It would make her uncaring attitude make sense, along with the irritation he knew was simmering beneath the surface of her innocent words. He would certainly be annoyed if he was being accused right away of something he never did.

The girl was a Gryffindor. He could tell that much from the red and gold on her uniform, shimmering in the dappled sunlight. So perhaps there was a chance she had seen it around the Common Room, or even on the staircases.

Contemplating this new avenue of thought, it was then that he recalled something else. His mother's words of admonishment drifted through his head.

Is minic a bhris béal duine a shrón!

In shame, he realized that her old saying was right. He didn't even know this girl's name, and had already jumped to being frustrated with her.

"Y'know. I believe you," he conceded, leaning back a bit on the tree. "It's fine if you don't know where it is. I was just hoping that you might've seen it around." He sighed a bit afterwards, still somewhat tense and disappointed.

Is minic a bhris béal duine a shrón = Many a time a man's mouth broke his nose. (Your mouth can get you into trouble)