Painting a New Friend pv Ruka Burnett-Tân Closed

Ruka couldn't say he had slept particularly well. As much as he enjoyed spending any given night in the Room of Requirement with his brother, they did have a habit of falling asleep in the strangest positions at times, and the consequences of that were usually felt more and more as the succeeding day progressed. So by the time he had eaten lunch, Ruka was feeling exhausted, sluggish in his movements. Studying was out of the question when he could barely keep his eyes focused on a page for longer than half a minute, and he had already finished his homework anyway.

So, instead of keeping inside the castle walls, where candles and torches cast a dim light that only invited him to take a nap anywhere he went, Ruka had stuffed his pockets with some bread from lunch before marching out onto the Grounds. It would do him some good, he decided, to be outside and get his mind off things, maybe get his spirits back up again. The unusual longing for someone else's company spread through his veins with an uncomfortable itch.

Well, there was someone, he supposed, who had been a very trusty companion throughout his entire school career so far, and that was exactly who he was rushing to visit. There were some other students around, which was to be expected; It was Sunday and the weather was nice. Still, Ruka couldn't say he recognised any of them, so he continued his approach to the lake, already pulling out some bread as he could see the shoreline coming closer.

With a flick of his wrist he tossed one piece of bread out on the water surface, watching with a grin as a tentacle poked out to quickly grab the food and pull it under. "Long time no see," he told the squid with a small smile playing on his lips before throwing another piece of bread into the water. The ripple effect it caused on the surface was calming, and Ruka could feel himself relaxing. He was about to sit down on a nearby rock, maybe lose his cloak and roll up his sleeves to soak up some sun, but an unexpected splash caught his attention before he could follow through on his plans.

Eyes wide, Ruka looked to the side in search of where the sound had come from. It hadn't been the Squid, so maybe... maybe some other aquatic creature? A grindylow, perhaps? A spark of excitement rushed through him as he moved towards where the sound had come from, but it quickly left him again once he saw what had actually caused it. There was a person, a girl most likely, judging by the length of their hair, and she had seemingly decided to take a dip in the lake. Her clothed figure was wet from head to toe as she was lying face down... Face down?

With more delay than there should have been, Ruka realised that it wasn't exactly normal for someone to just lie under the lake's surface without much movement. Except if that someone was Thomas, maybe, but even he hadn't simply put his face down into the water. So, with the realisation that this girl might have needed help, Ruka dropped his messenger bag and his cloak to the ground and kicked off his shoes before quickly but carefully wading through the shallow water until he reached the girl and could grab at her shoulders and upper arms to pull her up without slipping and falling herself. "Careful there," he said gently as he pulled her upright and tried to pat at her back to help her cough reflexes along in case she had swallowed any water. "That's not exactly how swimming works, you know?" he pointed out with a small grin tugging at his lips. "It's still much too cold to get in the water anyway, c'mon, let's get you out of there before you catch a cold. Can you walk alright?"

Date: Sunday, May 23rd, 2021
Time: 13:05 (1:05 pm)

It was not that Winnie wanted to be floating face first in the water; she tried to jolt her body upright as soon as she hit the water, but her arms flailed about as she tried to find the bedding of the lake. She was panicking and couldn't seem to find her footing. Then she saw something swimming towards her through the murky water.

Flashes of memories came to her in that moment, her father telling her the tale of the grindylows and how they enjoyed luring children to the edge of the water, before grabbing ahold of them and pulling them beneath the water's surface to drown them. The children were never seen again.

Then, something beyond her, two strong hands, they grabbed hold of her shoulders and hauled her out of the water. She sucked in a huge gulp of air and immediately began to cough and splutter. The girl's heart thumped furiously and her breathing came out in quick, heavy pants as she tried to calm her fluttering heart and shaking limbs. She tried to focus her eyes so she could see the face of her savior; she squinted and blinked until his face came into focus. Dirty copper hair and green eyes that seemed kind. She immediately recognized him, but from where?

"O-Oh...!" She gasped, "You fell off a bike!" She blinked, realizing that she had said that out loud, her cheeks burning red with embarrassment, "I-I mean... You're Ruka Burnett-Tân, right? I've seen you around with my prefect--... I mean, our prefect-- Ravenclaw's." What was she even saying? This boy had just saved her life.

"I fell in the lake and couldn't get out," she stuttered out, not sure what else to say. She began to feel her heart beating even faster now. She could hear her own breaths coming out in quick pants. Her eyes began to sting as they welled up with salty tears. She grabbed on to him, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tightly. "You saved my life. The grindylows..." She took in a deep breath and bit down hard on her lower lip to stop herself from crying.

After she had found her bearings, she spoke once more. "How can I ever repay you?" She wasn't that worried about her clothing, her green linen dress would dry in the sun and she had packed an extra cardigan inside of her trunk... Wait, her trunk... Her painting supplies... "I can paint you!" She suddenly suggested.

@Winnie Harper

Ruka had been oblivious to any creature in the lake. His attention had been solely on the body floating on the lake surface without any regards for its immediate surroundings. The Squid was still lazily grabbing for pieces of bread Ruka had thrown at him, so as far as he was aware there was nothing to worry about too much.

Except, when he had helped the girl back up on her feet again, she seemed like she had been close to drowning, her eyes wide and almost a little disbelieving as she stared at him. The words tumbling from her mouth were unexpected and it took him a moment to realise that her face was familiar from Dealla's bike errand, though they hadn't actually talked to each other back then. Ruka's face fell a little as the girl continued on to say that she had seen him around the Ravenclaw Prefect. It was a sudden and painful reminder of the rejection he had faced just a day ago, but Ruka shook it off quickly, especially when he felt two arms encircling him for a tight hug that made his insides crawl.

Despite having improved a lot when it came to physical affection, Ruka still couldn't say he was particularly comfortable with other people touching him without warning, so his initial instinct was to push the girl away, but he managed to catch his breath, counting steadily as he did so, and instead he reached up to awkwardly pat at the girl's wet hair. "You weren't that far in the water," he said, taking a small step back when she eventually released him. His own clothes were damp where her wet dress had pressed against them. "I really only helped you back on your feet." Lifting a hand, Ruka rubbed at the back of his neck for a moment, offering the girl a small smile. "Grindylows?" he asked, interest suddenly peaked. "You've seen one?" His eyes glazed over in excitement and he took a step towards the lake, squinting at its surface to try and spot the creature. "I've been trying to spot one for ages! Was it breathtaking?"

It probably was, considering how out of breath the girl seemed, but actual lack of oxygen wasn't what Ruka was talking about. He'd harboured a fascination for creatures of all kinds, could appreciate all their individual characteristics and appearances. He'd seen Grindylows in text books, but to see one up close like that... Disappointment over having missed it rose in his chest.

Distracted by those thoughts, Ruka barely noticed the girl's new mission to find something to repay him with, had barely realised the way she'd held back her tears. He blinked his eyes back into focus, letting out a questioning hum at the girl's words. "Paint me?" he repeated slowly, tilting his head to the side. "What do you mean, you could paint me?" An image arose of her putting face paint on him, the way George and Jake had done just last year. How was that any kind of repayment? And for what, even? He certainly hadn't done anything to warrant any favours.

That wasn't a business he dabbled in anyway.

"Wait, wait, I don't even know your name," he pointed out quickly, as if being on a first name basis was somehow a requirement for letting someone put paint on his face. "And I don't know how you know mine either. Have we been introduced before?"

Date: Sunday, May 23rd, 2021
Time: 13:05 (1:05 pm)

Unfortunately for poor Ruka, Winnie did not understand personal space on a good day, and since the boy had just, in her eyes, saved her life, there was no way he was getting out of there without a hug. She was comforted by the pat on her back, however, and was quick to pull back. "S-Sorry..." She responded in a short stutter.

"It wasn't the water I was afraid of..." She admitted, her face twisting up again at the memory. Usually she was so fond of creatures and animals, but that story had startled her as a young child, and it's words still rang in her ears. Her blue eyes flickered down to the redhead's clothing, a soft flush on her cheeks when she realized he was wet now too. "Oh no! You're all wet thanks to me..."

She was surprised at his sudden change of tone. The young Ravenclaw blinked over him. "Oh...? Well, yes. They're in the water... My father warned me about them... He said they drown children who get too close." Her eyes nervously flickered over to the water, which seemed to be back to it's peaceful state. "Breath taking...?" She paused to reflect on the creature she had seen. "... I guess that's one way to put it. It kind of looked like an octopus with little horns and sharp teeth?"

Thankfully the distraction Ruka offered her was enough to get her lip to stop quivering, though her eyes were still misty with salty tears. "Oh... Yes... Well..." She could feel heat rising in her cheeks again at that question, but still, she excitedly took the older boy's hand, just for a moment, to lead him over to her set up. "I'm a watercolour artist. I was going to paint the lake, but... Now I'd like to paint my hero." Her eyes were almost sparkling with gratitude as she started up at her fellow redhead. It was too late for him to back out of this. He was her saviour now.

"My name is Winnie Harper, I'm a first year student in Ravenclaw." She stated with a small happy smile. "Oh! Well, that's simple. I asked around and got your name after seeing you ride a bike. I keep a notebook of everyone's names after I see them, as well as a few notes about them." She hummed, as if that were the most normal thing in the world. "I'll have to add 'hero' to yours." She leaned forward onto her toes, as if to get a better look at the Gryffindor. "So... Can I please paint you? I'll tell you more about the grindylow?"

@Winnie Harper

Fortunately for Ruka's mind, the hug he had found himself in ended relatively quickly as the girl pulled away with an apology. It must have been obvious that the physical contact made him uncomfortable and for a moment he felt guilty, though he quickly recovered from it as the girl continued talking about how it wasn't the water she had been scared of. It wasn't like Ruka would have blamed her if that had been the reason since he wasn't particularly fond of it either.

When she acknowledged the way his clothes had become damp, Ruka simply shook his head and pulled his wand from the back pocket of his jeans. "Don't even worry about it," he said as he directed his wand at his own clothes, muttering "Aer Calidus" and grinning brightly when hot air started to dry his clothes.

Reducio

Aer Calidus Wisdom Roll
[d20: 15] + 12 = 27
-> Success

Smiling he offered the girl to dry her dress as well with a tilt of his head, and if she accepted he would turn his wand in her direction to take care of her wet clothes and hair too.

With that out of the way, Ruka felt himself fidgeting excitedly at the thought of seeing some grindylow around. The girl didn't really seem to understand his fascination but Ruka hadn't exactly expected her to. "They don't come to the surface all that much," he pointed out when the girl talked about how they were in the water and would drown children who got too close. "I knew there were some in here but I've never been lucky enough to see one." A smile spread across his face as he turned back to the other girl, eyes sparkling at her description of the creature. "Fascinating," he muttered, clapping his hands together once and bouncing on the balls of his feet for a moment. "I wish I'd have seen! Textbooks just don't show off exactly how interesting these creatures are, do they?" He had particularly realised that on his first trip to the zoo last summer. You could have looked at hundreds of pictures of lions but nothing quite compared to seeing one just a few feet away from yourself.

The girl captured his attention again by talking about how she had come here to paint the lake, immediately killing off Ruka's thoughts of face painting. Oh. Oh. She actually meant painting a picture of him. Well, that was only a slightly less strange offer. Apparently, however, Ruka was her hero now and it didn't seem like she was going to accept No for an answer.

Still, Ruka couldn't deny he was quite curious about art and paintings, especially because he himself was barely able to draw a stick figure, so the offer of getting to see a painting come to life... That was intriguing at least, so he allowed her to take his hand long enough to lead him to her little painting set up. He could go back for his cloak, bag and shoes a little later on.

"Winnie," he repeated quietly when the girl eventually introduced herself to him, and he took a deep breath when she casually talked about having asked around for his name. About the notes she kept on people.

If he had thought Kazuo was vaguely terrifying, this girl was a horror show.

Meeting her words with a slightly incredulous smile, Ruka nodded as if everything she had just said made perfect sense. "Okay, Winnie," he agreed, voice full of anticipation. "What do you need me to do?"

Date: Sunday, May 23rd, 2021

It was less about actually realizing that Ruka felt uncomfortable with her hug, and more so that she was embarrassed by her tears and apologizing for them. She was not used to crying in front of anybody except her parents, and now she was crying in front of this very kind stranger who had just saved her life. He should not have to deal with her emotional fallout after the event, he had already done so much for her!

Winnie watched in amazement as the older boy used a spell to dry himself, her eyes lighting up as she watched. "Wow! That was amazing, I wish I knew more spells." She would allow him to dry her off as well. As much as she did not mind being damp, she would be more comfortable in dry clothes.

While Winnie did not quite understand his fascination with the grindylow, she did understand his love of animals and magical creatures. She had grown up on a farm and had been around animals for most of her life. It was simply that... She was terrified of grindylows. She had no idea how anyone was able to go swimming in the Great Lake. "... They... They don't?" She blinked over at the boy, as if she didn't believe him. Her father had told her so... Why would he lie? Then again, why would Ruka lie? "I'm very sorry you missed it, I bet this one was looking for you. Maybe he'll pop his head back up for you?" If it was safe, that was. She smiled at his comment about animals, nodding her head, "You're right, photographs do not do animals justice. I grew up on a farm, I really miss my animal friends."

She had never tried face painting before, but it was probably best that Ruka hadn't mentioned that out loud, so she might have tried that instead. Winnie was fond of most creative arts, but painting happened to be her favourite. She nervously tucked some of her copper hair behind her hair, her hands folded in front of her stomach to keep herself from fidgeting. If he said no, she would understand. She would just have to paint him from memory and give him the painting later or perhaps keep it to herself. She would be modifying that notebook soon enough to write about their meeting. Ruka couldn't just stay listed as 'can't ride a bike' after what he had done for her.

At the sound of her name, she smiled brightly over at the Gryffindor, her eyes flickering up to his face again, "You can call me Winnie or 'Win', if you want." She offered, her eyes widening as her offer to paint him was accepted. "Really? You won't regret it! Thank you so much!" She excitedly bounced over to her painting set up and sat back down onto the grass. "Oh! You can just sit here and maybe tell me a story? I love stories. Or I can tell you about my farm." She was already pulling her pencils out of her trunk, selecting a 4H to start drawing the shape of Ruka's face.

@Winnie Harper

Ruka, too often incapable of dealing with other people's emotions, remained unaware of Winnie's tears. Her face was wet because she had just had it dunked in the water, and her lips were quivering from cool wind brushing against damp skin and the fact that she had struggled for oxygen just a couple of minutes ago.

She was fine, obviously, easy to see by the way she showed exactly how impressed she was by Ruka using the Hot Air Charm. It was a Year Two spell, so if the fact that she was shorter than him didn't give it away, then that confirmed his suspicion that she must have been at least a year his junior. Her statement that she wished she knew more spells only solidified that. "You'll get there," he said gently, offering an encouraging nod and smile in her direction. "If you ever need any help, I can probably give you some pointers." It might have been good practice for him as well. Spell casting always took him a little more time to master than it did everyone else.

Tilting his head to the side, he mustered the girl curiously. She seemed surprised at the information that the Grindylow didn't tend to come to the surface all that much. "All you usually see is the squid," he told her, vaguely gesturing towards the tentacles that were lazily playing with some bread Ruka had thrown in the lake. "I'll keep an eye out for your new Grindylow friend. Maybe I get to catch a glimpse, too." He grinned, then turned more focused on Winnie when she spoke of having grown up on a farm.

"A farm," he repeated, delight clear in his voice. "Did you get to milk cows? Do you know how to ride a horse?" Excitement was evident in his voice as he asked her questions. The thought of having grown up with animals quite that closely was more than appealing to him. He wondered just how much experience Winnie had made with them in her childhood.

As they moved to Winnie's painting set up, Ruka could feel himself growing slightly uneasy, but he hid it behind a bright smile and an exaggerated amount of nods as she talked. Winnie was too sweet, too friendly. He feared for his life if he was going to decline any of her offers.

"Stories," he repeated quietly as he followed her instruction for him to simply sit down. He suddenly felt painfully aware of the scars scattered across his bare arms, and he wished he hadn't left his cloak lying in the grass by the shore. "I'm not good at stories. Life on a farm sounds much more interesting than anything I could offer. You should tell me about your animal friends. Was it a Muggle Farm?" He leaned forward a bit as Winnie picked up a pencil and started sketching. Her movements seemed practiced enough for him to conclude that she knew what she was doing. "So do you go out of your way to ask for everyone's name after you see them, or am I special? I'd have thought the easiest way to figure out someone's name would be to ask the person directly, you know."

Winnie would likely be relieved to know that the Gryffindor hadn't noticed her tears, because she was already quite embarrassed after falling into the lake. Although his diverted observations would have also amused her. Winnie had never been the type to be afraid of touching others or being touched. She would likely need to be reminded a few times if Ruka didn't want her touching him.

She did notice that Ruka was quite short for her age, but he was still taller than her, so she didn't question it. Her nosy nature had also long revealed that Ruka was a third year. She was, however, thoroughly impressed by his magic abilities and wanted him to tell her even more. At those words of encouragement, she couldn't help but feel her face heat up, "T-Thanks." She responded with a smile. Her hero believed in her! "I would love that! I'm so curious about spells that are beyond my level but no one ever talks about them."

"The squid?" She responsed with a tilt of her head, suddenly remembering the octopus bottom half of the grindylow. She blinked and then saw one of the large tentacles poking up out of the water. "Oh! The giant squid! I have seen him. He's such a handsome boy. I hope some day I get to pet him." She had seen him tickling other students and wanted in on the fun. She was still unsure about the grindylow, however, but nodded at Ruka's suggestion. If her hero was that fixated on finding a grindylow, she couldn't stop him. Besides, he was strong enough to take one on!

"Oh?" She responded with a tilt of her head, her long red hair cascading down her back. "Yes, I was in charge of the morning milking, although my dad did use some muggle devices to help make it easier. My family owns a few horses and I was taught to ride them when I was little. They're very gentle creatures." She responded with a dreamy smile. She really missed all of her animal friends. "I'm getting the sense that you also enjoy the company of animals?" This was definitely going in her notebook, Winnie couldn't wait!

As Ruka spoke, Winnie's pencil danced around the page, filling in the faint outlines of his features. She had no plans to draw his arms, but simply his face. Besides, she would never had drawn them without permission. "No good at stories? Everyone has stories." She seemed a tad bit disappointed at first, but then came the question about her farm. "It was a muggle farm1" She responded with a smile. "My dad is... Interesting. He doesn't like to use magic because he viewed it as unnatural and lazy. He wanted to be able to do everything by hand." With the huff in her voice as she describe him, it was probably obvious she didn't care for this stance on magic. Then, she was questioned about her observation habit. "Oh... Well.... Not everyone. She explained, using harsher lines to shade in the Gryffindor's facial features. "... You just seemed determined so I wanted to know your name. I envied how brave you were trying out a bicycle even though you hadn't ridden one before."

@Winnie Harper

Ruka tilted his head to the side questioningly as Winnie talked, eyes focused on her for a moment before he turned his gaze away to linger on the lake once more. "No one talks about them?" he asked in wonder, though his voice was quiet. "You mean in classes? I'd think people talk about all sorts of spells they haven't learned yet outside of class." He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "My brother's a year below me but he's always ahead in his Charms work. Could teach you spells I've never even tried before." A fond look crossed his features, his posture relaxing momentarily before he straightened up when their conversation turned back to Grindylow and the squid.

It was almost hilarious how unafraid Winnie seemed to be of the squid while Ruka regularly went to visit it with food as some sort of peace offering to make sure it wouldn't pull him below the surface again at some point. "Pet him?" he asked with a laugh, pulling a face with slight discontent. "Better stay clear of its tentacles, they are relentless." He could still feel them around his ankles if he thought about it for long enough. "If you're scared of the Grindylow pulling you under, you should watch out for the Squid as well." Or maybe it just hadn't realised it was dragging a student under... It had been the middle of the night, and Ruka had been thoroughly unaware of how to swim. Maybe it had mistaken him for something else.

Either way, he couldn't let Winnie go on believing the Squid was a docile pet.

Eventually sat on the grass, Ruka found himself listening attentively to Winnie talking about the work she had done on the farm she grew up on. Milking cows, riding horses... He could imagine a life like that, he thought. "Yeah." One hand moved up to run through his hair. "Often feels like I enjoy being around animals more than I enjoy being around people. Less drama, you know." He chuckled, sighing quietly as he leaned forward a little bit to observe the way Winnie worked her pencil with practiced precision.

Her observation that everyone had stories was met with light laughter. "Just because everyone has stories doesn't mean everyone is good at telling them," he pointed out, wagging a finger in her direction. "I'm more of a listener, really." Mostly at least. He liked to listen to form his opinions. Once that was done he was able to talk plenty.

Still, he was glad when Winnie jumped at the opportunity to talk about her farm some more, swerving into the topic of her dad who seemed to be... quite a character. Judging by Winnie's tone she didn't really see eye to eye with him. "Did he go to Hogwarts, too?" he asked curiously. "What about your mum?"

Raising his eyebrows in vague concern, Ruka listened to her explanation for how she determined who to ask around about, and he couldn't help but laugh at her reasoning for why he had seemed interesting to her. "I was mostly there for my friend," he admitted with a small shrug. "Don't think I'd ever have gotten up on a bike otherwise, so I don't know if I'd call in brave, really. There were others there who've never ridden a bike either, so I'm hardly special." He sighed quietly. "What do you do with all that information anyway? Just store it away?"