Reaching New Heights PV Isaac A. & Ruby C. Fin.

@Saskia Nicholson

It was a misty day and the sun had barely risen over the horizon, but it was also a day that was filled with good promise.

Last night, he had stayed up late once again reading a book of Hogwarts Mysteries. After having explored that of the merpeople, giant squid and the elusive ghosts, his mind wandered to yet more insane creatures. From mischievous imps to the rare and powerful unicorn, he conjured up adventures in his mind. In the middle of the night, amongst the quiet breathing of Quinten, Scott and Asher, he poured over the tome under dim candlelight, wondering how it would be to walk in the Forbidden Forest, or to find a village full of giants, or travel to Romania and meet dragons. He was caught up in fantasies of being eye-to-eye with a Hungarian Horntail, or seeing its lair of sparkling treasures.

He was almost disappointed when he woke up early in the morning, forcefully broken from his pleasant dreams by a loud snore. Muttering under his breath, Isaac rubbed his eyes, feeling the hollowness beneath them. A part of him longed to return to bed, but he knew it was useless. He was a light sleeper, and once he was awake, he was awake for good.

Stumbling blearily out of bed, he pulled on a large grey t-shirt and red and black checkered pyjama pants. He didn't feel like wearing his uniform so early in the morning, when the clouds pressed low and almost everyone was still asleep. Barefoot, he silently walked out of the Boys' Dormitory, going down the staircase to the Common Room, and then leaving out the door.

Classrooms were empty and teachers were planning still for the day, leaving him somewhat aimless. But it was then that he felt the allure of outside like he always did. A good walk on the Grounds would wake him up quick.

At the soft rustling of wind against his hair, and the faint chirping of birds, Isaac suddenly felt a fragile happiness welling inside of him. Every moment he spent feeling blades of grass tickling his feet or darting around near the trees brought back memories of home, and the happiness swelled and grew until it lit his features.

Imagine what Katie would think if she could see this place. He thought, gazing out at the trees and distant water of the Lake. She'd draw it in a second, and pin it up in her room. That room was bloody crowded alright. He smiled upon remembering it. Full of papers to the brim, he always wondered how she could even sleep among the mess.

Taking a second look at the trees, he had the sudden urge to climb up one of them. It wasn't like flying, but it was certainly a way to be closer to the clear skies and the wind. He was confident in climbing. By now, it was second nature to him. Examining tree after tree, he looked for a sturdy looking one to sit in. It was then that he spotted something...or someone.

It wasn't uncommon to climb trees. In fact, he'd earlier met a dark-haired girl perched in a tree, who happened to be strangely infuriating when he'd spoken to her. This girl was nothing like her though. Her hair was long and brown instead of short and black, and it pooled down her back. Her clothing was more casual, and her posture was relaxed.

He was pretty curious at what she could be doing so early in the morning, and she was sitting in one of the most reliable trees. So, he circled around in front of the tree, aiming to put her on the spot.

"Mind if I join you?"

~ * ~

Ruby had been dreaming of new technologies and things she could experiment with. When she woke up in the middle of the night, she shot up, sitting up straight and grabbing her notebook to blearily scribble down the contents of her dream and sketch plans for them. When the first draft of that was completed and she would have more than enough to remember it by, the girl closed her notebook and set it back down. Could she begin to create some of these things now, or was it an unreasonable hour? In the Slytherin common room and dormitories, there was pretty much no concept of time. There was no natural light, and because of that, she obviously couldn't use the method of the sun's position, as she couldn't see it. It wasn't like a watch could work here, either.

With a small sigh escaping from her lips, she hauled herself out of bed. There wasn't much more she could do from here, anyway. She changed out of her pyjamas and into more suitable clothing, slipping some socks and shoes on too and then making her way out of the room that was otherwise full of sleeping kids. She peeked into the common room to make sure she wouldn't have to sneak past anyone if she wasn't meant to be up, and then she continued on out of the dungeons. Upon finding the first window, she glanced out. It was still dark, with the stars glimmering overhead. Perhaps she wouldn't experiment or build things yet… that could wait until the morning. On a beautiful spring night like this, though, she couldn't help but feel drawn outside.

She listened to the soft padding of her footsteps as she walked through the castle's corridors, losing herself in her thoughts and plans of how she would construct what had appeared in her dreams. Before long, she was at the doors. With a final sweep of her gaze around the nearby area, she traveled outside. The first thing she did was to take a deep breath in to properly enjoy the wonderful smells of a May night. The fresh air, especially during the nighttime hours, was something that the young child never failed to appreciate. Her feet carried her out across the grass that was wet with dewdrops, and she paused by one of her regular trees, scaling it in mere moments. Settled on a particularly sturdy, wide branch, she could stare up at the bright, silvery moon, and the dark sky speckled with stars. A contented smile appeared on her face, and she closed her eyes – just to rest them for a brief moment. Without meaning to, she soon fell asleep again.

Hours later, she blinked open her eyes and wriggled into an upright position once more. She looked around to see that the sun was just rising (which meant that it was probably nearing 5:00) and a mist had settled across the beautiful grounds. The air this morning was crisp and on the cold side, but she enjoyed that as long as she was properly prepared for the temperature. A gentle breeze tugged at her hair, which remained in a single braid down her back. She brushed a few leaves off of her and swung her legs around as if to prepare to start climbing down. She wouldn't leave yet, no, but it was the start of a new day – one full of opportunities that she wanted to make the most of. Even so, she liked to take a moment to enjoy the outdoors, with its peacefulness and the early morning serenity that came from being alone out here. At least, she thought she was alone.

She heard a thin voice drift through the air and spun around, trying to locate where it had come from. She was a little startled to find that she had company, but it seemed like she hadn't been noticed yet. The boy that the voice belonged to was looking up at another tree and appeared to be speaking to it. Craning her neck to see – and almost falling out of the tree in the process – she saw that there was another girl several trees over. How much had she missed? Perhaps she should be more careful to not fall asleep and instead remain at her usual levels of alertness and being highly observant.

There were a couple of things in this situation that she found interesting. These students were not only up and outside this early, but they also seemed to share her love for tree climbing and nature. Maybe they could make possible friends, but before considering that, she would have to find out more about them. Should she call out to them? Climb from tree to tree until she was nearer? Wait to be spotted? She shuffled from branch to branch until she was at least as close as she could get while remaining in this tree. Now, she was exposed and would be visible if they looked over. She mulled over what to do, staring out at the mist and watching it roll across the land.

~ * ~

Using her new height advantage, Saskia looked over the space covering the grounds. She didn't climb trees as often as she'd want to, but when she did, she always took the opportunity to see what was going on below.

Right now, the grounds was more or less empty. There were some familiar buildings, including the Herbology greenhouses, and the Ground's Cabin. Other than that, there was a lot more greenery than there was anything else. From where she sat, she could vaguely see the Quidditch field, though much of it was covered in mist and other trees that blocked her view. She could also see the Great Lake, and while it barely shimmered in the morning sunlight, it was still pretty to look at. She briefly wondered if she would be able to jump from another tree and dive into the lake that way, but the thought passed when she remembered she wasn't allowed to swim in the lake to begin with. Still, it was something to think about.

If it weren't for the fact that classes started soon, she would have stayed here for hours, just to watch the trees and flowers gently sway against the wind. It was relaxing, and for once, she didn't feel the need to move around so much. She could have stayed perfectly still, watching the sun rise, then go back down, while the sky slowly changed colour without any regard for anything else. Maybe some students would have came by, but unless they noticed her, that wouldn't be a problem for her. It probably would have made for more interesting sights, depending on what they did, and if the situation called, she could probably catch someone causing trouble and confront them afterwards. In this school, these kinds of incidents were surprisingly common, and not a lot of people try to stop them, so maybe she could try.

But of course, she had to jinx it for herself.

"Mind if I join you?"

Saskia sat up, trying to adjust back to reality. That was definitely someone's voice she just heard. It didn't sound like it came from the trees, but rather below. Not much of a surprise there. She peered down, only to see a boy around her age. From where she was looking, she could see that he had unruly brown hair, probably because he woke up recently. He was also wearing a grey t-shirt and checkered pyjama pants, in which the colours made them stand out from his outfit.

Now she was curious. How was he awake so early at this time? She could ask the same question to herself, but he might have been here for a different reason. She didn't have any good theories at the moment, so she figured she could ask him later, if he wanted to tell her.

Other than that, he seemed okay so far. She didn't really see why he couldn't join her, even at this time. She shrugged to herself.

"Go ahead," she said, gesturing to the branches next to her.

She looked around to see if there was anyone else who may have been here as well. She couldn't see anyone else below, so she turned her attention to the trees. For some odd reason, she felt that she was being watched. She didn't know how she knew, but her instincts told her to look around, just in case.

After a quick surveillance, she noticed another girl at another tree. She raised her eyebrows in wonder. Either she was too groggy to notice her at the time, or the girl was just good at hiding. Would it be a good idea to call her out? After all, she was watching her for who knows how long. But what could she say? 'Hey. What are you doing here?'

She shook her head. That was a bad question. There was a more likely chance she wouldn't have a proper answer. Maybe she'd answer something around the lines of 'I'm on a tree, obviously.' Or she would just ask the question back, which would prompt a conversation between them, although it would have been hard to do that if they were so far away from each other. Overall, it was a poor question. She didn't want to intimidate the girl, seeing as she hadn't done anything bad yet. Not that she hoped she'd do anything of that sort.

"Do you want to join as well?" she called out. That was a better question, or at least she thought it was. Not only would this mean she acknowledged the girl's presence, but she'd be able to have an idea of the girl's intentions. If she wanted to join, she was more than welcome to, but if she didn't, then she wouldn't be forced to stay.

@Saskia Nicholson | mention @Ruby Cazares

At the brunette's welcoming invitation, Isaac wasted no time. He scanned the branches of the tree briefly. There were no branches low enough to simply grab onto, so it seemed that he'd need a running start.

Backing away from the tree by a couple of steps, he raced as fast as possible before springing upwards. His hands flew out, and he grasped onto a branch midway on the trunk. For a few dangerous moments, he remained suspended in air, only hanging on with his hands. But kipping upwards, he managed to get an arm around the branch. From there, he dragged himself up onto it, sitting effortlessly at the top, as if he hadn't just risked a terrible fall seconds before.

From up above, Isaac once again felt a growing appreciation for the view. The Grounds looked beautiful in the rosy light of morning. Yellow and pink sparkled in the waters of the Lake, birds chirped melodies in his ears, and the castle itself looked the picture of a medieval palace out of a storybook. Gazing up from the tree, he almost forgot that there was someone else there in the first place.

Swinging his feet, Isaac glanced at the other first-year. He didn't exactly know what house she was, an unfortunate side-effect of failing his mission to know everyone in the school. Her casual clothing didn't help matters. So, he decided to ask the girl more questions to get a feel for her attitude. After all, it couldn't hurt.

He did note the other girl crouching in another tree. She was exposed and painfully visible, barely blending in with the leaves. A braid swished down her back as the tree swayed lightly, and she kept casting glances in their direction. In his opinion, if the girl wanted to stay hidden, she was doing a poor job of it. But she wasn't a concern. Not yet, at least. He'd focus on this stranger first.

Casually, Isaac swung his legs as he spoke. "So, why're you up here so early?"

~ * ~

Ruby heard another voice and turned to face them again. This time, it was the girl, and she also addressed Ruby. Why were they looking at her like she had been staring? She had only glanced over once – well, this was the second time – and that had been brief! The boy had climbed the tree to join the girl, but he was now looking at Ruby particularly disdainfully. What had she done? She fought the urge to roll her eyes. People these days. The girl had asked her a question, though: "Do you want to join as well?"

^Do you _want to ^join as _well?

The question was so simple, but it offered a lot of insight. Analyses, analyses, calculations. Ruby was constantly making them so that she could learn more about the people around her and those that she interacted with. Only a couple of seconds (or even just one) had passed since the girl had spoken. Ruby nodded in response, figuring that that was easier than yelling back.

She would now proceed to join the other students. She had to admit that she was a little curious about them. They could possibly be like-minded, too, especially if they were out here in the early morning hours… in a tree, as well. Ruby quickly climbed down from her tree in a couple of fluid movements, almost as if she was simply gliding or floating down the tree. She made her way over to their tree and then sized it up, making a few mental calculations for specific angles and the amount of force she would need. She took a step backwards and then ran at the tree, leaping for the lowest branch but positioning herself to press her feet against the trunk to climb it in case she missed, needed more support, or was slightly off. Luckily, she managed to reach it successfully and came to join them, easily scaling the tree after that. She settled on a nearby branch, lounging on it but retaining a sharp, slightly cat-like nature. “Hello,” she began, her cold blue gaze pausing on each of them for a brief moment. “Who are you both?”

~ * ~

Saskia looked down, watching the stranger ascend up the tree. It was clear he knew what he was doing, which was a relief. She didn't want the boy to fall and injure himself- which was almost the case when he seemed to hang on the branch for a longer time than he should have. But he eventually got himself up, and now it was a matter of whether he would fall from the branch or not, which she hoped wouldn't happen.

"So, why're you up here so early?" he asked, after settling in the branch he was sitting on.

The girl blinked. She was expecting the question to come up, and yet she didn't have a proper answer. She was tempted to ask the same question to the boy, but it was only fair that she answered his question first. But what could she say? The Hufflepuff dorms were too bright for her that the light outside burned her eyes out? No, that might have been too much information, and it wasn't even the real reason. But what was it? 'Oh, that's right. I randomly woke up for no particular reason and decided to get out of bed to climb a tree, of all things.' Because that was a perfectly normal thing to do.

She could have at least come up with something that didn't sound so dumb. And yet, that was the truth. How could she work her way around that? She could think on the question a bit harder and figure out what exactly woke her up, but she couldn't figure it out. She didn't wake up from any nightmares- nowadays, she seemed to be forgetting her dreams instead. Or did she get a nightmare and forget about it afterwards? No, that didn't sound like a convincing theory. Perhaps her body clock was acting up. She didn't know how that would work, but it was possible. Astronomy classes might have been taking a toll on her, after all. Regardless, it wasn't a good idea to give the boy unnecessary information. He didn't need to hear about her possible sleeping problems.

"Couldn't sleep. As for why I'm here in this place," she waved her hand towards the tree to emphasize her point, "I figured this would give me something to do before the day officially started. You don't get to see this all the time, especially later in the day," she finished, momentarily staring at the view.

It was true- this kind of peaceful atmosphere was uncommon in this kind of school. For the most part, classes were loud unless the professors were giving a lesson, and even after classes, there weren't many places that provided this kind of tranquility. Even some of the places that were mostly abandoned had an ominous vibe, and she found herself spending less time there, despite them being good places to stay away from crowds of people.

"Why are you here?" she asked back, moving her gaze towards the boy.

While she waited for him to answer, Saskia shifted her position on the branch to look over at the other tree where the girl was. She wasn't really sure whether she would actually take her offer or not, but it was still surprising to see the girl nod back. She watched as she glided along the trees. almost envying the way she moved so gracefully. She herself was used to climbing trees and hiking, but her movements were always so brisk and abrupt while this girl was poised and precise - it was like watching a swan fly in the sky. But perhaps she was more graceful than that of a swan.

After the girl settled herself on one of the branches, Saskia took the opportunity to examine the girl more closely. She had pretty blue eyes, although they resembled more of frigid ice than anything else. Her brown hair was tucked in a braid, and she was wearing an outfit suitable for the outdoors. She wondered how long this girl was out for- she herself arrived very early, and if the girl was already there before her, then she must have either woken up a long time before and risked being caught for breaking curfew, or she slept through the whole night.

"Hello. Who are you both?" The girl asked, regarding the two rather coldly.

Saskia mentally sighed to herself. She really was stuck with a friendly bunch, wasn't she? The other two strangers were quite similar to each other- they both had a certain kind of inquisitive, yet calculating nature, and she felt that she was going to be stuck in an interrogation session with them for a long time unless she found an excuse to leave- which would be rather difficult considering her current location. Still, she wasn't intimidated. She just had to be careful around these two, or at least try to make things less tense between them.

"I'm Saskia," she replied, giving the girl a small smile. She turned to face the other two kids, eyeing them curiously. "What about you two?"

@Saskia Nicholson | @Ruby Cazares

Her answer wasn't at all unexpected, and in fact, made plenty of sense. During the school day, most of their time was taken up by either lessons, work, or the strange drama that Hogwarts students made on a whim. The morning was one of the only times where a person could spend time alone, or at least appreciate this view of the castle. What made it doubly unfortunate was that there was even a curfew at night, making it even harder to go outside in solitude.

"Why are you here?" she asked back, moving her gaze towards the boy.

"Why am I here?" Isaac repeated, before adopting a frank tone of voice. "Mostly trying to escape before I get locked up in History of Magic. Didn't bother to do the homework."

A bit of distaste crept into his tone upon saying the name of that class. On top of being absolutely boring, no matter what the teachers did, it was maddening to go to as well. Every morning, he had to sit right next to the window, watching the dawn light filter into the room and the sunlight cresting onto the trees without moving a muscle. He fidgeted, played games with his quill, crumpled up tiny pieces of his scroll and ripped them, but nothing could stop the urge to just go and run outside, actually exploring for once. They always talked about old and uninteresting events. There was nothing about the recent history of the wizarding world, or what on earth a centaur was, or if dragons had some sort of history with wizards. All just..blah blah..gargoyle strike...blah blah...giant feud...

Because of his inability to stay still, he'd gotten several sharp remarks here and there. But this morning, he was determined to savor his freedom.

It was then that he heard a cold voice piping up from the right.

"Hello. Who are you both?"

It was the braid-girl from earlier. She had given up her idea of spying on them from a tree, and now had scurried up like a squirrel to join them. There was something about her frigid tone that grated on him. She was acting like she had the right to know everything and anything, and she wasn't even one of those prefects. The tilt to her chin reminded him of a bully he had faced once, arrogant and all.

Looking at her severe face closer, and paying close attention to her hair and face, he realized that he had seen this girl before somewhere. But where? Was it in a hallway? A classroom? The Explorers' Club? He mulled over this new thought, combing his memories for her face.

Well, someone's really woken up on the wrong side of bed, he pondered, glancing at her frosty blue eyes, now narrowed at the two of them.

"I'm Saskia," introduced the girl sitting up with him, giving the other girl a small smile. She then eyed them curiously. "What about you two?"

He debated whether or not to introduce himself. Isaac didn't like making enemies, but he wasn't about to start his day apologizing to this girl when he had done nothing to get anyone angry. He figured that he'd tell them his name, only because Saskia seemed to be polite.

Pointedly ignoring the braid-girl, he said cheerily enough, "I'm Isaac. Isaac Ambrose. Nice to meet you, Saskia."

Then, he turned his piercing grey gaze on the other girl, keeping a casual air and propping his hand beneath his chin. The cogs in his mind clashed, and he came to an epiphany. "You were one of the Quidditch players at the game, weren't you? Ruby...Ruby Cazares!" He snapped upon coming to the answer.

She was on Slytherin's side, and he had to admit, she was a decent Chaser for the team. It didn't make her trustworthy, but he felt more secure knowing that he had placed a name to a face. He had hardly expected she had such a bad attitude however.

He wondered whether or not she knew that she was such a public figure. He then wondered even more importantly, why on Earth a Quidditch player was gallivanting about and climbing trees. Didn't she have practice or something?

~ * ~

Ruby saw the looks on their faces and had to suppress the confused frown that threatened to form on her own face. She saw the way they regarded her, and their body language. Why did they seem to not like her already? What had she done? She hadn't been unfriendly, only neutral. Perhaps it was her body language and her eyes. She could be fairly intimidating without meaning to, and it rubbed some people the wrong way. These students were apparently some of those people, the ones who reacted badly to her. She fought the urge to roll her eyes or sigh. After all, if they were paying attention to the way she acted, then those things would probably send the wrong message.

Staring off into the distance, back out at the rest of the beautiful grounds, Ruby listened to the boy's response to the other girl's question. It didn't tell her much, except he had revealed that History of Magic was likely his least favorite class, and he was apparently a rule-breaker, since it was against the rules to not do homework. She listened because she wanted to learn as much about them as she could – just like she wanted to learn about everybody else. It was only for the purpose of knowing things and being able to learn, not to use it against them or anything. Besides, it could help her to decide if she wanted to attempt to ally with either of them or perhaps even form a friendship later on.

Then, she felt a gaze directed back at her. Her eyes flicked over to meet the piercing grey stare of the boy – who had said his name was Isaac. Apparently, she wasn't the only one with a stare that seemed to look directly into one's soul. Nevertheless, Ruby wasn't intimidated or bothered by his look. Perhaps it was because she had one of her own that was quite similar to his, but she remained quite nonchalant about the whole thing.

When Isaac spoke again, he mentioned her being in the Quidditch game and came up with her name. She was a little surprised that he recognized her from there and that he had even remembered her, but she didn't show it. “Yes, that's correct,” she responded, her tone including more emotion than before. It was significantly less monotone and cold, despite the reactions that the others seemed to have to her. She turned her gaze back to the girl – Saskia – and gave a playful smirk. “As he said, I'm Ruby Cazares, at your service.” At this, she attempted to bow dramatically, but since she was in a tree, she could only do so much. At least the bow didn't entirely fail and it had still worked, but if she had been on the ground, then she could have done a more sweeping gesture and been more over the top.

Her tone and actions had become more light-hearted, perhaps in an attempt to lessen the tension that she seemed to have accidentally created. Of course, she didn't really mind if these people turned out to hate her, or if they judged her because of her bow and her joking manner in her comment to Saskia, but she didn't have to be absolutely serious when there were so many other alternatives – so much fun to be had and so many things that could provoke interesting reactions from the pair that she shared a tree with.

~ * ~

"Why am I here? Mostly trying to escape before I get locked up in History of Magic. Didn't bother to do the homework."

It was very clear the boy didn't like History of Magic. Saskia couldn't blame him though. There were some moments where the class would be interesting, such as the times they would actually learn new spells rather than listen to lectures. Still, the only way the girl would be able to stay awake in that class was if she made herself busy by taking notes while she listened to the professor. Even then, it was more often than not that her mind would wander off somewhere else while she did so. It was probably why she wasn't really a stellar student. Nevertheless, the class wasn't something she would necessarily hate, but it was a class she was indifferent about.

After Saskia introduced herself, she waited for the other two to introduce themselves as well. On closer inspection, she was quite sure she might have seen them before in passing. Perhaps in the hallways, or even outside on the grounds. They seemed like the type to prefer the outdoors anyway. She wasn't sure whether she had any of the same classes as them, however. It was very possible she just hadn't noticed them specifically instead, but she had a feeling that wasn't the case.

"I'm Isaac. Isaac Ambrose. Nice to meet you, Saskia," the boy replied, seemingly to her rather than the other girl who asked the question first.

Isaac seemed nice, despite Saskia's first impression of him, and the fact that he was acting distant with the other girl. Maybe she was judging everyone a bit too harshly. It was an early morning, and the girl was admittedly still half-asleep in spite of the cool weather and therefore not in the best mood for a conversation. Especially with two other people who initially appeared unwelcoming and aloof. But Saskia didn't want to make enemies just because she happened to be in a groggy mood. If anything, they seemed like the kind of people she wanted to be friends with. She wasn't sure about the other girl yet, but she could see herself being friends with Isaac.

Before the girl with the braid could say anything else, or if she even wanted to say anything, Isaac followed afterwards, "You were one of the Quidditch players at the game, weren't you? Ruby...Ruby Cazares!"

Oh. Quidditch. How could Saskia have forgotten about that? Although it might have had to do with the fact that she herself wasn't there to watch the latest game, as much as she wanted to. She was too stressed with homework and studying to actually feel like going to watch and cheer on for whichever team she rooted for, and she just wasn't in the right mood these days. Nowadays, she was feeling less like her usual energetic self, although that could be school getting to her. There might have been other reasons, but Saskia didn't want to think about them now. The more she thought about things, the more mopey she ends up being, and she couldn't have that when she was talking with other people. It would have been embarrassing, and they didn't need to know how stressed she was.

“Yes, that's correct,” the girl confirmed.

So Isaac was right. This girl was, in fact, Ruby Cazares. For one, Saskia noticed that the girl was acting a little less cold and disdainful than before, much like Isaac. Either she was simply trying to get rid of the tension between them, or she was feeling a bit more comfortable with them. Saskia couldn't really tell at this rate, but she was still relieved to know that things weren't going to be so awkward.

Saskia also noticed that the two of them shared their names, as well as their last names. She wasn't sure whether that meant she also needed to give them her last name. Either way, it was probably too late for that. Oh, well. It wasn't too important, or at least she hoped it wasn't. Her last name wasn't too important to be shared anyhow, so there wasn't much reason for her to bring it up, especially this late in the conversation.

“As he said, I'm Ruby Cazares, at your service,” Ruby said, proceeding to attempt a dramatic bow. She could only do so much, considering she was on a tree, but it was a good effort.

Saskia let herself grin at the girl's playful gesture. She also seemed like an alright person, much like Isaac, and if there weren't any more disagreements between each other, they could all learn something from each other. Or at least have an interesting conversation on a tree. That would also be assuming Isaac and Ruby would also get along, but from what she had seen so far, they were trying.

"I'm honoured to meet such a notable celebrity in person," she joked back, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side in a playful manner.

Now she had to find something else to ask about. She already asked Isaac why he was here, and she figured it would be redundant to ask the same to Ruby. Even then, she'd let Isaac ask the question if he wanted to. But what was there to ask? Would it be weird to ask what houses they were in? Personal questions might have been a stretch, especially since she wasn't sure how they would react to that kind of stuff. So, she asked the next best thing she could think of.

"So, out of curiosity, do you guys normally climb trees this early in the day?" she asked, looking between Isaac and Ruby.