Closed The Perfectionist Who Went For A Swim PV AngelFyre

What was one thing in life that Kit hated? Okay, maybe one of the things in life that Kit hated. Perfectionists - any sort of them, from goody-two-shoes to little teacher’s pets. They were annoying, and perhaps that wasn’t Kit’s business - but then again, when did Kit not stick her nose into other people’s business?

It was almost time for supper and Kit was not in the mood for the homework she had been supposed to do. She had decided it would be an appropriate time to get some fresh air and even doing some jogging. She had changed into a pair of trainers, a tank top with a light jacket and leggings. Kit came to a stop after maybe her first kilometre. Unsatisfactory, she knew, but then again, she was no perfectionist, was she now? Still, to be perfectly honest, Kit would love some more time to run, but a figure had caught her attention. She was a Hufflepuff girl with lustrous brown hair, which was really the only feature Kit could make out, with her back to Kit. She wore a t-shirt (was she not cold? a t-shirt in march would not be appropriate in London, much less the Scottish highlands), close-fitting trousers with a belt, a pair of simple earrings, and absolutely ugly nurse’s shoes.

But her fashion choices were not what Kit criticised. She was scribbling over a parchment (she assumed an assignment) feverishly. If she had to guess, it was probably the newly-assigned piece of transfiguration work. It looked almost as if the girl had written the essay a few times already. Her hypothesis was confirmed when the girl let out a low growl, almost animal-like, of frustration. Kit knit her brow. That had been bothersome. Kit tiptoed next to the Hufflepuff, trying to be subtle in her approach. She hoped the girl was too focused on her essay to even notice.

A sudden idea struck Kit. What if she pushed her? The girl was close enough to the lake so that one effortless shove would drench her. Should she? Why should she not? Would she get in trouble? Perhaps, if the stupid prefects (shoutout to Renelle Dalton, Ravenclaw annoyance extraordinaire) wouldn’t mind the trouble of intervening with the conflict. And then she was doing it. She couldn’t help herself. The feeling overwhelmed Kit. It was a deep hatred against all perfectionist, all lashed out against this one stupid, innocent, naive girl. Did she deserve it? Totally. And so Kit’s hands landed on her. ‘Mind a swim?’ Kit said with a little smirk.

She pushed.

@Genevieve Delacourt

Outfit: Reducio Clothes - Hair -

Notes: Reducio Date: March 1 Time: Just before supper

Mentioning: Reducio @Kit Isabelle Blaine

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Viva was deep in thought. No, no, it's not a flick, it's more of a swipe... So she was caught completely off her guard as she felt a hard push on her back. Viva's mind went blank as the world seemed to tilt on it's axis and she fell forward, straight into the Great Lake. She screamed when she felt the cold water incase her skin, she was in the lake now. Unable to process what was happening, all Viva could feel was the freezing lake around her as she sunk underwater.

Normally quite an excellent swimmer, Viva was completely in shock right now and unable to do anything except flail frantically as she felt herself sinking down. Cold! Cold! Cold! It was all her mind could think. Gulping in mouthfuls of the frigid lake water, Viva was beginning to panic. What had just happened? Did someone push her? Why on earth would they do such a thing?

Her screams were becoming muffled under water, and Viva felt like she might freeze to death before she drowned. The dark water swirled around her, and she continued floundering and flailing around, even though she knew she was losing strength.

But just as she was sure she would drown, Viva found a second wind and pushed herself to the surface despite the freezing water. "AGH," she gasped in pain from the cold.

Paddling very slowly to the shore, she tiredly pulled herself up, exhausted and dripping. Viva looked up to see a girl standing right where she had been sitting. Is this the person who shoved me?

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"She is a supernova that trails stardust in her wake, a constellation of contradictions plucked from outer space."
word count: 267/200

That was the literal definition for satisfactory. Kit nodded to herself as a perfect plump landed in the water. She relished in the girl's scream, that shrill sound of absolute terror and lost of dignity, tasted every second of it with an enthusiastic tongue, until her head was completely buried in the freezing cold water. Kit could see the girl sink, but she didn't hurry to save her. No, today would not be a day for new acting skills to develop. Today would be the day Kit would take out her anger. On this girl? On the lake? On the squid? On Hogwarts itself? And what was she angry for? Kit always found herself angry these days, stuck in a crowd of absolute b****es that made up most of the Hogwarts population. Sure, she had friends, like Atlas (even though he was a prefect), or perhaps Astra, her dorm mate. They weren't too bad. But of course, that wasn't enough to cancel out certain other people

Kit gritted her teeth at the thought of the white-haired heiress, but she decided to lean casually on the very bench, her face replaced with feigned calm and disinterest. She could still spy the girl flailing around the water. Surely she knew how to swim, right? After all, Kit had zero interest in being sentenced to Azkaban. Hopefully, the girl wouldn't get hypothermia. That would put Kit in a lot more trouble than was necessary. She wouldn't, probably, if she thought it was perfectly acceptable to wear in t-shirt in early March. Well, Kit thought to herself, 'Nothing I should be worrying about.

Kit was surprised as she heard a gasp of cold pain, followed my the tousled and wet hair of the other girl. She glanced casually, standing upright. Her gaze lingered on the victim of her crime. She was a damn mess now. Her once lustrous hair derelict, her braids ruined and her hair dripping with water. Kit was pretty sure that the water in her clothing would fill a bottle with a light twist and squeeze. The girl paddled heavily to shore, pulling herself up with a grunt. Her arms looked almost weak with exhaustion. Was it that much? Just a short swim after all. Refreshing. A smirk tugged at Kit's lips as the girl's gaze flicked to where Kit was standing. The two girls locked eyes: Kit's menacing and the other girl's... rather just pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

Kit's lips widened into a sarcastic smile and she lifted her hand in a small, cheeky wave, 'Hello.' As Kit continued, her voice turned into something of a growl. 'Little miss perfect.'

@Genevieve Delacourt

Outfit: Reducio Clothes - Hair -

Notes: Reducio Date: March 1 Time: Just before supper

Mentioning: Reducio @Kit Isabelle Blaine

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Viva was absolutely soaked. It felt like a million tonnes of water were weighing her down. She was also freezing cold, shivering and twitching involuntarily. She stared at this girl in front of her, who Viva had by now realized must have been the one to push her into the freezing lake. Her face said it all. She was smirking, and smiling in a nasty way that Viva hated.

"Little miss perfect? What the heck does tha-" Viva paused to give a little sneeze, her shivering increasing as a light breeze blew across the lake. "Why did you push me?" Viva was trying not to get angry or hurt, but it was becoming really difficult. Maybe this girl would have a good reason for what she did? Hmm. Not likely. Still, Viva was determined to give her a chance to explain herself.

She waited for an answer, continuing to drip water all over the ground. She felt embarrassed by this girl's intense gaze. Viva looked and felt pathetic, like she needed help. She did, honestly. She was getting colder by the moment, and sniffling and shivering like crazy. Seriously regretting her outfit choices, Viva clutched at her arms, trying and failing to warm herself up.
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"She is a supernova that trails stardust in her wake, a constellation of contradictions plucked from outer space."
word count: 205/200

1 March, 2024 - The Great Lake

Like Simon had done, AngelFyre had eventually succombed, briefly, to whatever creeping crud it was that had been making itself a nuisance throughout the Hogwarts population. It was actually her first time being sick at Hogwarts, and it surprised her how much regression there was in her "big girl" self almost immediately as it all just made her crawl up in her bed and curl into a fetal position, desperately wanting her mother back in Stenton Village.

After missing the evening meal a couple of nights ago, simply because she felt too unstable and too weak to go down and get it, she knew she needed to haul herself to the Hospital Wing. One handy Pepperup Potion dose later (administered to her by her very own boyfriend and Healer in the making, while under the strict supervision of Nurse Sabo of course), and a few wild hours of steam literally seeping from her ears, AngelFyre left the Hospital Wing feeling about 90% herself. She had stopped by the Great Hall first, before getting back to her warm bed, only because she wanted to get some warm vegetable broth to build up her strength and ease the hunger pains. She took it to go and then spent the rest of the night sleeping the sleep of Rip Van Winkle. She awoke the next day feeling 100% herself, and was more than grateful for magical medicine.

Feeling she had missed her training for too many days while having been sick, however, AngelFyre decided to go for her run after her last class on that beautiful sunny Friday afternoon. Her favorite place to run was actually to the outcropping where she and Colin often met when their hearts were particularly joyous or sorely pressed, but she felt that might be a bit too ambitious after coming off being ill. She opted to run a couple of circuits down by the Great Lake instead.

That had been the plan, anyway.

She was maybe only three minutes into her paces when she cast a glance off to her right and out towards the lake, hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of Arc. Thoughts of her owl flew from her mind immediately as AngelFyre stopped dead in her tracks, disbelieving of what she thought she had just witnessed. Was she seeing things? Maybe she still had a fever. Maybe she was not even awake and this was nothing more than a fever dream!

Wasting no time at all, not even to pinch herself to make certain she really was not hallucinating, she sped off down to the bench which had had a girl seated upon it just moments before. Three quarters of the way there, the girl had already dragged herself out of the frigid water while her aggressor had simply leaned herself over the back of the bench, making no move to offer any help whatsoever.

Upon approach, AngelFyre snapped her wrist and felt her wand release from its holster and slide easily into her hand. She hoped not to have to use it, but she had no idea what was going on between the two and was not going to rush in unarmed. A few seconds before reaching them, the aggressor raised herself up and AngelFyre was chilled at the venom dripping from the girl's voice as she merely waved at the victim and said simply, "Hello," and then called her "Little Miss Perfect".

Coming to a complete stop next to the aggressor, and not even remotely winded, AngelFyre quickly looked to make certain the girl's wand was not out. It was not. That was good. She reached up and flicked her collar so the girl could clearly see her Prefect's badge. AngelFyre did not know her by name, but she had seen her around the castle since the start of the year, most likely making her a first year. "I am AngelFyre McCubbin, a Hufflepuff Prefect. May I ask your name, please? And while you answer, I need you to please turn around, with your back to the lake, and remain still." And at that point, AngelFyre stepped back and to the left of the girl.

While waiting for the girl to give her name, AngelFyre turned to the soaking wet girl, who was now beginning to shiver uncontrollably. Where was her coat? Had she taken it off in the water in an attempt not to be dragged down by its weight? She was going to ask her name as well, but the girl needed to be warmed up... and quickly. AngelFyre could hear her teeth chattering as loudly as if someone was shaking the five dice in a round of Yahtzee. Pointing her wand at the dripping girl she swirled it to the left and intoned "Aer Calidus". AngelFyre could feel the success of the cast in her palm as her arcane power moved through her hand and into her wand, warming her hand nicely. That was all fine, but AngelFyre was not the one needing to be warmed. Still, she knew the shivering girl was probably welcoming the warm air now enveloping her and that was what mattered.

"That should start feeling better almost instantly. In just a few minutes from now you will be dry and no longer in danger of hypothermia," and AngelFyre smiled encouragingly at her, continuing to warm her with the spell. As for the aggressor, she still had her in her periphery.

"Okay, now. How about the one who did not just pull herself from the lake tells me just what the heck happened here?"

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Outfit: Reducio Clothes - Hair -

Notes: Reducio Date: March 1 Time: Just before supper

Mentioning: Reducio @AngelFyre McCubbin

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Viva looked up to see another girl standing close by who looked a few years older then her and Kit. She shivered, watching to see what would happen. AngelFyre... that's a unique name, but a pretty one. I like it. Gah, why am I thinking about this right now? I'm freezing! Her teeth were chattering like crazy, and the blowing wind made Viva's wet skin prickle with cold. Suddenly, she noticed that AngelFyre was pointing her wand at her. She automatically tensed, but relaxed when she felt a warm gust of air blowing around her, drying off her clothes and warming her chilled body.

Managing a smile at AngelFyre, she murmured, "Th-thank you," as she began to shiver a little less. Even though she didn't really know AngelFyre, Viva couldn't help being slightly awed by her. She seemed so kind and yet firm at the same time, and Viva looked up to that. She found herself admiring the older girl. Her mind snapped back to reality as she realized Kit was gone. It seemed that she had run away while the other two girls were talking. Viva looked back at AngelFyre, waiting for a sign of what to do next.
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"She is a supernova that trails stardust in her wake, a constellation of contradictions plucked from outer space."
word count: 205/200

1 March, 2024 - The Great Lake

Unbelievably, instead of answering AngelFyre's questions about what her name was and what had happened, the aggressor chose to run off like a scared rabbit. Or maybe she was not scared as much as she was just an opportunist and decided to take advantage of AngelFyre's divided attention, banking on the hope she would be more concerned for the wet girl than in questioning the aggressor in the moment.

If her running away had been due to opportunistic instincts rather than from fear, it paid off. For now. It had briefly flashed through AngelFyre's mind to turn and cast an Arresto Momentum at the girl, but that would interrupt the hot air spell and that was actually more important in the moment. It was dead of winter and the victim was soaking wet and without a coat apparently. It was an easy call to let the aggressor run. Besides, AngelFyre may not know the girl's name, but she had definitely recognized her.

Tracking her down was not going to be difficult, and once AngelFyre had done it, the girl was likely going to wish she had stayed put and cooperated. The four Heads of Houses would be notified and given a description of the girl, of course. They would also be briefed on what had happened. What they would then do with that information AngelFyre was not certain, but given the severity of the act and the fact this could have potentially been a life-threatening situation, she would not be surprised if the incident made its way up the food chain to the Headmaster himself. Still, all of this could be dealt with later and anything in this moment she was thinking about in terms of where it might ultimately end up, and before whom, was nothing but speculation on her part.

AngelFyre then turned her full attention back to the victim. The girl must have started to feel some relief from the cold as she managed a smile and a 'Thank you'. That was a good sign to be certain. "You are very welcome," AngelFyre replied, smiling back at her. Then taking note that the girl looked shocked that the other girl had run off, AngelFyre quickly sought to dismiss any of her concerns and uneasiness. "Do not worry about her. She will be caught and dealt with later. I promise. Getting you warmed up is the top priority right now."

Glancing over to the bench to see if there was a coat, AngelFyre saw none. "Well, this spell must be working fairly well as you seem to be a bit better than when I fist arrived. At least you no longer have a blue tint around your lips," and she chuckled. It was true though. The girl's skin was beginning to lose most of its death pallor and was picking up some warm undertones. AngelFyre found that reassuring as it meant the blood was pumping once again to her capillaries.

"It will be just a few more minutes to get you completely dry. Sorry about that. Aer Calidus is a handy spell, but a slow one. It might go a little faster if you want to turn slowly so I can also get your back. While we continue on with this, however, do you mind telling me your name and what happened? I assume your name is not actually 'Little Miss Perfect'," and she laughed easily, "but please feel free to set me straight if I am wrong." Then in a more serious tone, AngelFyre continued. "Were you two arguing about something? Do you know the girl that ran off? No detail is too small or unimportant."

AngelFyre did not wish to reveal just yet that she had seen what happened, but that was part of the issue. She had only seen the act, but had not heard what preceded the "dunking". Nothing ever said between the two girls could make such an act okay, but even so, AngelFyre was not in receipt of all the facts yet. She instead wanted to hear what the shivering girl had to say about all of it.

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Outfit: Reducio Clothes - Hair -

Notes: Reducio Date: March 1 Time: Just before supper

Mentioning: Reducio @AngelFyre McCubbin

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Viva was still shivering, despite the warm air. The inside of her bones felt frozen solid, and she was very, very cold. However, she felt much better then she had when she had first climbed out of the lake, so that was good. "Ok," she said meekly in response to AngelFyre's statement. "Blue tint?" Her eyes widened.

"Don't be sorry, thank you so much for drying me," Viva said quietly. Following AngelFyre's instructions, she slowly turned around and felt the warm air on her back. "Oh, my name is Genevieve Delacourt, but most people call me Viva." She shivered, but not from the cold. "And no, my name isn't Little Miss Perfect. I had honestly never met that girl before," she admitted. "I've seen her in the corridors and a few classes, but we've never talked before. I don't even know what happened, or why ot happened." She suddenly felt a tear well up in her eye, and she brushed it away hastily. "And I don't know why the girl ran off either, I'm so sorry. I do know that I was just working on my essay on the bench, when suddenly I felt a hard push and I fell into the lake." Viva's voice trembled a bit.
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"She is a supernova that trails stardust in her wake, a constellation of contradictions plucked from outer space."
word count: 208/200

1 March, 2024 - The Great Lake

"Genevieve, eh?" and AngelFyre just knew she had t0 be smiling wide as the great outdoors at this point. "I have always loved that name. One of my favorite musicals is Camelot and Guenever, early on in the play, prays to St. Genevieve to intercede on her behalf and make it so that she does not have to marry King Arthur, whom she had yet to meet at that point in the play. Of course, once she meets him, she falls in love with him and really, who is to say that that was not St. Genevieve's doing anyway? In any case, it is quite a funny song, and if you have never heard it, or seen the play, I highly recommend both." AngelFyre pointed her wand a little more towards Viva's hair when she turned around, thinking warming her head would be more important than warming her back at the moment.

"I would happily sing the song for you, but you are already suffering from the cold. We definitely do not need to add ruptured eardrums to that list," and she laughed gaily. "I love to sing, but let us just say those within hearing distance do not generally have the same happy experience as I do. Tragic that, I must say."

AngelFyre was just trying to keep conversation going in order to keep the girl's mind off of the cold for a few more minutes. She still had her arms wrapped around herself, but AngelFyre could tell things were getting better as she was not dripping nearly as much now and it looked as if her shivering was calming down somewhat. A minute more, maybe two, and AngelFyre estimated she would be completely dry.

"Viva is a lovely nickname for Genevieve. People generally just call me AF. Not as lovely, but it does the trick. You may feel free to call me that as well. Almost everyone here does."

Then Viva began to tell her about the girl who had pushed her into the lake and the circumstances surrounding the event. "That is just very odd. You mentioned that you had seen her in a few of your classes. It would help in locating her more quickly if you could tell me which classes you have with her. I know she is not from our House, so that narrows it down a bit as well." AngelFyre then directed the wand to Viva's back but kept talking. "Are you a particularly stellar student? Popular? Do you have a romantic relationship?" she queried. "I ask because her calling you that particular name, without you even being more than vaguely aware of her existence tells me she is clearly jealous of you for whatever reason. One thing I am pretty sure of, however, is that it feels like whatever triggered this nasty business from her is clearly a her thing and not a you thing."

AngelFyre got quiet for a few moments, thinking in silence, but continued to warm Viva's back and then the back of her legs. "I hate to posit this, but because I think whatever it is that is troubling her and swirling around in her own bitter thoughts probably makes her a little more dangerous than your average bully. Because we do not have her yet, I would like to see you in the company of friends or at least in places with others always around you for the immediate future, okay? You know, more people around you means more eyes on just about anything and that is just safer for you right now."

AngelFyre asked her to turn around one more time, still blowing the hot air at her, hating that she was likely scaring the poor girl. Still, pretending the danger did not exist would not be helpful to her at all. "How does that feel now, Viva? Have I missed a spot or two that you want me to target again? And did you lose your coat in the lake when you were dunked? I do not see it anywhere."

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@Genevieve Delacourt