22 Mar 2022, 14:29
Waking Up
PV with @Lucia Fox
She didn’t know where she was and why she was here, she really didn’t. Lying on a bed that certainly wasn’t her own one, an unfamiliar and rather unpleasant smell soon filled her lungs. Chocolate brown eyes half-opened, still in dizziness and sleepiness, casted down at the sheet her fingers were seizing tightly. Pure white.
Like an alarm going off, she suddenly realised where she was. The smell. The sheets. The air. She knew it - the hospital wing, for sure. She had been here several times before during her second year due to injuries in Quidditch, but had hardly experienced the feeling of waking up. And that feeling was…weird. It was like getting up from a long dream, but not exactly so. She felt herself still in a rather dizzy condition, though she made an effort to remember what was happening before she fell into this long sleep. A figure was sitting near her, possibly on her bed, but Lindsey couldn’t think clearly of who it might be. Perhaps the nurse, she told herself, and half-closed her eyes again.
Spells. Sparks. Incantations. Blindfolds. Flipendos. A few satisfied murmurs. Growls in despair. All of these - everything, led to a single result. A duel. She had just awaken from a duel. That was an excellent discovery really, for Lindsey could now remember that she was rendered unconscious as the first among four. Intriguing. Her very first duel had ended in no more than half of the time, leaving her good partner Lucia in the duel facing two alone. That must be not so good a feeling, perhaps pressure even, she knew it. She gripped the sheet even tighter. Did Lucia pull through? Did she finished their two opponents off? Lindsey knew that her friend was an experienced and excellent duellist, and they might stand a chance.
She finally managed to lift her eyelids and concentrate on the figure near her. Wavy raven hair, blue ombre, handsome in general even though she couldn’t see it clearly - oh…she knew that person. Lucia for sure, she couldn’t have mistaken that even in this condition - they had been known each other since their first year. Immediately she felt her stamina filled her veins again. She herself might be green and inexperienced, but Lucia was capable. And Lucia was here, well and alive - so their result couldn’t be too bad, could it?
Even her body was still heavy, Lindsey lifted herself and sat up with all her might. “Oh Lucia…” she whispered, half sitting up from the bed and leaned over to her friend, trying to seize her hand. “You are here - do tell me that you’ve did it - that you’ve won the match.” she continued, eagerly. Yes, they must have did it. Hufflepuff would not suffer from an endless row of defeats anymore. Finally they would be able to wake up from the pain and show their own roars to those still in sleep. Her heart was filled with joy, and her dimmed eyes sparkled. There couldn’t have been any mistakes in their victory - for how could it?
permission to slightly godmod Lucia granted.────── ❈ ──────
Lindsey Springhall · Hufflepuff "Would you like a cup of hot cocoa?" |
Beauxbatons · Maximilien de Fostoncy "Maximilien is a mouthful, don’t you think?" |
22 Apr 2022, 08:14
Waking Up
One of the first things that Lucia had done upon entering the Hospital Wing was find a parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. Maybe the latter wasn't the best thing to have near the pristine white sheets of Lindsey's bed, which Lucia was currently sitting on, but... eh. Magic existed for a reason, as did scourgify. Upon the parchment, she scribbled down an account of the duel in the form of a letter to Alexa. After a few minutes, a house elf came and gave her a potion which made her feel a whole lot better, and a few moments after that Lindsey stirred. Hurriedly, Lucia signed her name on the letter and was about to fold the parchment into her pocket when she realised the ink would smudge. Instead, she put the stopper on the ink bottle and put everything down on the small table next to Lindsey's bed, with a mental note to remember to give the ink and quill back to an elf before she left.
Lindsey, understandably, seemed a little groggy. She reached across the sheets, grabbing Lucia's hand. "Lindsey..." Lucia responded to her friend and duelling partner's waking words. As the other duellist continued speaking though, Lucia's heart sank. Why does this have to be so hard? Winning a 1 v 2 when you were the poor soul without a partner was so hard that Lucia had hoped that Lindsey would assume they'd lost. Lucia had won a 1 v 2 once, in her second year when she was partnered with Logan, but she had been only a few seconds from blacking out herself. That duel had become less of a battle of wits and more a trial to see whose spell would hit first.
Lucia realised that she'd let go of Lindsey's hand. Now, her hands were preoccupied in twisting a lock of black-blue hair around her fingers. Lucia forced herself to stop and took Lindsey's hand again. Deep breath. Who'd have thought that Lucia might prefer the duel itself to telling @Lindsey Springhall that they'd lost? "We- we lost." Better to get it over and done with sooner rather than later. "I managed until the time limit. Got in as much damage as I could. But..." But it wasn't enough. "They were both still standing at the end. So they won." Lucia looked down. She couldn't help the feeling that she'd failed her partner. "I'm sorry."
Lindsey, understandably, seemed a little groggy. She reached across the sheets, grabbing Lucia's hand. "Lindsey..." Lucia responded to her friend and duelling partner's waking words. As the other duellist continued speaking though, Lucia's heart sank. Why does this have to be so hard? Winning a 1 v 2 when you were the poor soul without a partner was so hard that Lucia had hoped that Lindsey would assume they'd lost. Lucia had won a 1 v 2 once, in her second year when she was partnered with Logan, but she had been only a few seconds from blacking out herself. That duel had become less of a battle of wits and more a trial to see whose spell would hit first.
Lucia realised that she'd let go of Lindsey's hand. Now, her hands were preoccupied in twisting a lock of black-blue hair around her fingers. Lucia forced herself to stop and took Lindsey's hand again. Deep breath. Who'd have thought that Lucia might prefer the duel itself to telling @Lindsey Springhall that they'd lost? "We- we lost." Better to get it over and done with sooner rather than later. "I managed until the time limit. Got in as much damage as I could. But..." But it wasn't enough. "They were both still standing at the end. So they won." Lucia looked down. She couldn't help the feeling that she'd failed her partner. "I'm sorry."
│= | #00308F ency • cassie heather | =│ | breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out Part-Veela • Alluring • Perfectionist • Scream • Sta 9 • Eva 9 • Stre 4 • Wis 10 • Arc 8 • Acc 9 | │ |
22 May 2022, 14:04
Waking Up
@Lucia Fox
Perceiving Lucia’s move of twisting her hair, Lindsey blinked. That was…rather unusual, if Lucia did have snatched a victory from the jaws of a seemingly defeat. She had thought about Lucia’s blue eyes sparkling with joy and pride, for her duelling partner did deserve it - for winning an 1v2 duel and saving everything. But she didn’t. Instead was a twirl of hair, and a hesitation before speaking.
She caught a breath and waited. Winning, losing…with her body still aching, the concepts of them soon blurred, leaving only plain letters. W, I, N, N, I, N, G - what exactly did it mean? Cheers of the audience, black and yellow striped flags waving, excited hugs shared among teammates - that were wins she had witnessed. She was looking forward to this, coming after her own duel - when Lindsey signed up for the duelling team, she did have a deep conviction of their victory. She thought they’d win, with Lucia’s experience and her own effort, she would be able to mark her first duel as victory.
Yet she didn’t, and there came the official news. As guessed, yet another loss for Hufflepuff. She could see that Lucia did make an effort to speak it out - it must be quite depressing for the raven-haired girl as well, as for her. 1v2 duels were exceptionally difficult, she knew it, especially when one of the people you were facing was an accomplished fifth year. To say that she did not anticipate a loss was a lie - for she did the very second she calmed down from her impulse caused by waking up from the eternal darkness - but she had hope. Optimism had always been one of her strengths. Yet the truth still hurt. The bubbles ruptured. Of course she did not blame Lucia - and her friend should never be the one to blame. After all, if she herself wasn’t eliminated, they’d still fight as a pair and were more likely to win. It was her who caused everything. Her fault.
“Oh…” She murmured, disappointment shown in her eyes. And almost immediately Lucia’s words echoed, the plain letters she weren’t paying attention to now came as meaningful syllables. They were both still standing at the end. Her partner said. BOTH standing. And that meant - she was the only one eliminated among the four. The first and the only one. How devastating. And how embarrassing.
“You did well.” She gathered all her strength and managed to squeeze a somewhat encouraging smile out, attempting to make her voice at least audible. “Unlike me, who’s the only one taken out.” her voice a bit shaky, this time perhaps caused by disappointment rather than the low stamina.
Lindsey Springhall · Hufflepuff "Would you like a cup of hot cocoa?" |
Beauxbatons · Maximilien de Fostoncy "Maximilien is a mouthful, don’t you think?" |
30 Jun 2022, 08:14
Waking Up
Lucia tried to conceal the wince that came as a result of Lindsey's disappointed expression. Who was that disappointment directed towards? Was it disappointment in Lucia? Was Lindsey regretting being partnered with her? Maybe Lucia should have tried harder. The likelihood of them winning was incredibly slim, but she might have been able to do it, if only she'd picked different spells, dodged better, aimed better...
Who was she kidding? In a situation like that, a win would need divine intervention. If Lindsey was blaming Lucia for it, she- she- Lucia's thought process was stoppered by her duelling partner's next words. "...Thanks?" For a moment, she was disappointed in herself for having read Lindsey's facial expression so badly. Lucia had known @Lindsey Springhall since first year - she knew that the other girl wasn't the sort to blame others for things that weren't entirely their fault.
Unless she was blaming herself. Lucia shook her head vigorously. "Of course you didn't do badly!" she assured Lindsey. "Look, it was your first duel! No- nobody was probably expecting us to win against a fifth year." The last sentence was said a little quieter, a private confession for Lindsey's ears only. "The other teams have so many older students..."
│= | #00308F ency • cassie heather | =│ | breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out Part-Veela • Alluring • Perfectionist • Scream • Sta 9 • Eva 9 • Stre 4 • Wis 10 • Arc 8 • Acc 9 | │ |