Sink or Skate
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| xxx | Charlotte Winfield had never learned how to skate. Spending the better half of her formative years locked away in an old English tower among the Cambridge countryside, it would have made sense for her to occasionally steal away to the many lakes and ponds scattered along the many open fields. However, to skate, one needed ice skates. Ice skates, which were a certainly very muggle invention. And the Winfields, being famously anti-anything-to-do-with-muggles, wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. So Lottie had watched longingly as the few other children near her home cut the ice with the grace of baby swans, and she had eventually learned to be okay with it. Why would she need to skate when, in only a few years, she would be able to cast spells from the tip of a wand? Now, though, Lottie was beginning to wonder if that thought process had been a bit flawed. She was stationed firmly on the snowy ground below, having skipped breakfast and taken the morning to wander mindlessly around the winter wonderland that the grounds had been transformed into seemingly overnight. Powdery clusters of bright white snow clung precariously to the prickly branches of pine trees. Light from the pale clouds above beamed off the snow and shot back up to Lottie's eyes, making them burn slightly and forcing her to squint. And where she sat, right in front of the Great Lake, she could see all of the distant hillsides like sloping lumps of sugar. It would have all been perfect. Lottie didn't mind that her pants were soaked and the bare remnants of snowfall were clinging to her lashes and the iced over Great Lake meant she couldn't watch the gentle ripples lap against the grass. No, the real issue was not in what she was doing, but what others were doing. Situated in the middle of the ice were two upperclassmen, a mess of limbs and smiles and jubilant giggles as they slowly glided over the ice, a pair of shiny silver skates fastened to their feet. Every now and then, one of them would topple over, and the two would laugh till their faces turn red and get back up again. Lottie didn't know why it made her so angry, but it did. Jealously burned hot in her chest where she sat and watched. A kind of unfounded desire began to unfurl within her, though for what reason, she was unsure. She wanted to skate. God, she wanted to skate. | xxx |
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| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |
Sink or Skate
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Reducio  |
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Clutched tightly in her embrace were two pairs of ice skates that she had purchased at Hogsmeade just a few days prior. It seemed to be the perfect day to make use of this purchase, given the clusters of snow that drifted lightly from above and the way the Great Lake froze over into a flawless floor of ice, producing a light sheen as it glistened under the sun. For that reason, the Ravenclaw had decisively concluded that she would spend some time outdoors for once as opposed to remaining curled up in her dorm or slouched across a desk and a pile of scrolls in the library. No, she had decided, she was to take the skates and a cute pair of earmuffs and head out to frolic in the (icy) fields while enjoying the wonderfully refreshing weather.
It had only occurred to her after arriving on the snowy grounds that she was lacking a certain rather important something: a partner to wear the second pair of skates. Why? Well, it was no fun skating alone, was it? None of her friends -- not that she had many -- were informed of her desire to skate in that moment. It was a rather... ad hoc outing. Her thoughts were only further reinforced by the screams of delight that resonated from a pair of boys who were already enjoying the lake's icy surface.
And so, she found herself scanning the area around her for someone who potentially might be interested in some skating fun that she could approach. Ebony Vetra, initiating a conversation with a stranger? It was almost an unseen phenomenon indeed, a once in the blue moon occurrence. But alas, it seemed that her desire to have an enjoyable winter this time around triumphed her social anxiety. She normally would have backed out immediately. It was about time she got to working on those social skills that were not yet existent as well. Supposedly, the benefits far outweighed the costs -- simply approach someone, and from that, one could reap an ice skating partner (and perhaps a new friend?) and unlock new social skills. That was one heavy cost, though. She found herself putting a bit too much thought into this evaluation of the costs and benefits of talking to somebody; a lot more thought than she usually put into her academic assignments, in fact.
Ebony chided herself, trying to stop overthinking it. Surely it wasn't that hard. Surely.
Oh, but it was. It was rather early in the morning, and so the surroundings of the Great Lake were rather empty. Aside from the skating boys and a couple of people who seemed very much wrapped up in their own business (in which Ebony did not wish to interrupt), there was nobody. The only person who didn't appear to be pre-occupied was a girl in a cozy brown sweater. A heavily irritable expression was painted across the girl's face, however, and so the last thing the Ravenclaw wanted was to provoke her further. Ebony set down her skates and plodded cautiously toward the girl, only to back out and scurry back to her original position. The girl looked to be younger than her, but that didn't matter -- she was now looking somewhat murderously at the pair of ice skaters; the expression was quite discouraging toward her pitiful socialising attempt. Now caught in this dichotomous situation, she began to wonder whether it was the right decision to purchase two pairs of skates. Perhaps she should have just skated alone.
| iNPC: Luuk Tjin-A-Wing | sta 7 | eva 12 | str 15 | wis 9 | arc 8 | acc 15 𝐓𝐏 • 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 • 𝐨𝐛𝐧𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 • 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 • 𝐄𝐌 |
Sink or Skate
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| xxx | The cold was starting to get to her. Lottie knew she wasn't good with it, the way the chill would eventually turn icy and seep down to her bones. She could feel the gentle creeping of frost up her spine, the reddening of her ungloved hands beginning to ache. A breath of pale smoke drifted from her lips and dispersed into the air. It was probably about time to head in, anyways. But as she stared out at the gentle drift and glide of silver blades on ice, all she could do was watch. Her knees drew to her chest and her chin flopped down to rest on her chilled jeans. There was something so patronizing about being incapable. She could hear a small voice in her head reminding her that there were things she would never learn how to do, but this was that one thing that felt truly tangible. There was no reason she couldn't go buy a pair of skates and take to the ice. Eventually she'd have to learn. Enough failure had to make progress. Still, she stayed seated on the snow, distance gaze trailing longingly over the ice. Maybe it was fear that kept her chained to the wet, cold ground. Fear that she wouldn't get it the first time. That maybe, just maybe, she'd have to actually try to be good at this. It was a daunting thought. She had never been much good with failure, not in her homeschooling days, not in her days at Hogwarts, and certainly not over such simple efforts like this. Her thoughts spun in dizzying circles. Then, the crunching of gentle footsteps stopped hesitantly behind her. Lottie was a master of footsteps, the way that the rise and fall of careful feet could reveal one's intentions. Her heart at once picked up to an anxious pace, the suggestion of a second presence at once startling her already feverish mind. With the precision of a shocked fawn, Lottie lifted herself off the ground and turned around. The face she was met with was mostly unfamiliar, though likely slightly older. She was startled for a brief, untouchable moment, eyes caught on hair, cheeks, lips, before her mind came reeling back to her with a crash. She shook her head slightly, and drew her gaze to the snowy ground below. "I was just leaving." | xxx |
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| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |
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Reducio |
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As quickly as it came, however, it went; the girl lowered her head once again, and thus cut short the transient moment of contact. The brunette surveyed the girl more closely -- it was then that she noticed the girl's wispy hair. It held a smooth sheen to it, almost shining with some degree of lustre and brilliance under the morning sun. From the position in which the girl's head was situated and the angle in which Ebony regarded her from, her face couldn't quite be seen. The girl's eyes seemed determinedly fixed upon the snowy ground below her, but her visage didn't need to be visible for the Ravenclaw to capture the air of grace and the odd elegance that the girl exuded. She emanated some form of... allure. It was an allure that rivalled that of @Pea Elena Fowl -- though the girl in front of her did not seem to carry the blonde's confidence.
"I was just leaving."
The girl's sudden declaration startled Ebony such that she took an imprecise step backward. Her voice carried a soft, gentle timbre, complemented by an equally gentle English accent. Her speech was oddly harmonising and pleasant to the ears; such a captivating voice was one of the brunette's greatest desires.
It was only then that Ebony really registered the contents of her speech. Leaving? But- skating! Upon studying the girl more closely, she suddenly didn't seem all that scary after all. Her image had become reformed to be approachable -- familiar, even, in a sense. Of course, in truth, she was only but a stranger. But it appeared to Ebony that she could perhaps ask if the girl would like to accompany her. After all, the murderous expressions were no longer present to disincentivise her. Logically, she was all clear to ask; and as a Ravenclaw, her actions were of course governed by logic -- with the exception of social interaction. Just ask, she urged herself, almost irritated at her own social incompetence.
But- ah, fuck it.
"Wait -- don't leave yet." Well, that came out awkward. "Do you- would you perhaps like to skate with me?" She gestured inelegantly towards her pairs of skates. Surely her attempt at initiating conversation wouldn't be fruitless. Surely.
| iNPC: Luuk Tjin-A-Wing | sta 7 | eva 12 | str 15 | wis 9 | arc 8 | acc 15 𝐓𝐏 • 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 • 𝐨𝐛𝐧𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 • 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 • 𝐄𝐌 |
Sink or Skate
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| xxx | Only a moment of terse silence startled a strange look out of the other girl, one that Lottie was both painfully familiar with and notably distracted by. She would perhaps never get used to the feeling of being fawned over. It was the same with most strangers, that brief beat of complete devotion followed by a slow realization and a sudden revulsion. It was why Lottie was so partial towards Veela partners. Their judgement wasn't clouded by her allure. Still, the appeal was undeniable. She considered the ethics of allowing the facade to continue for the sake of a pretty girl. Her sister had done it quite a few times, using her looks to gain favors and gifts. But Lottie had made it abundantly clear that she had no intention of following in her sister's footsteps, especially in that regard. Even if the skates dangling in the other girl's hands seemed dreadfully appealing, Lottie knew better. Subconsciously, her hand curled around her sleeve. The offer came as a surprise to Lottie. Just as she had made up her mind about leaving, the girl had presented a proposal that seemed intentionally undeniable. Lottie stopped in her tracks, giving the girl an odd look in an attempt to dissect the meaning of her invitation. Some suspicion crept in, a childish notion that perhaps it was an entirely innocent offer. Skating. That seemed domestic enough, not rooted in a secret magic-fueled desire. Though it was natural for Lottie to feel a bit cautious. "Skate?" Lottie repeated, the word sounding foreign on her tongue, "I don't know how. Why?" A few possibilities ran through her head. One contained a dreadful possibility that Lottie would fall flat on her face and the girl would leave her abandoned on the ice, the truth of her allure becoming much clearer with a face covered in snow. The alternative, however, involved a shared dance of innocent learning and teaching, soft falls followed by surprised giggles. The promise was sickly sweet, almost too much for Lottie to imagine. Still, the nature of the girl's request had to become apparent first. | xxx |
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Sink or Skate | |
| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |
Sink or Skate
 banner by Charlotte Winfield |
word count - 635 interacting - @Charlotte Winfield speech - #7d7c78 ❝ when I tell you to get lost, |
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_ | The brief absence of a response — silence, hesitation — that followed Ebony's question reverberated uncontrollably within her ears. The brunette was unsure what she had expected. Certainly not for the other girl to jump for joy, but... certainly not the strange glance that she had received. A glance of which its intention couldn't quite be deciphered. The slightly furrowed brows — or so Ebony thought she had glimpsed fleetingly on the girl's perfectly constructed visage, though she may have imagined it — seemed to categorise the furtively odd look as a questioning one, though the fifth year wasn't quite sure what she had done to merit such a glance. Or perhaps such a glance ceased to exist and was simply a figment of her overthinking. A simple "yes, I'd love to" or "no, you're weird" would suffice — but no, the girl's reaction was ambiguous and convoluted such that it was difficult to speculate upon the precise thoughts that coursed through the girl's mind. Whether speculative or concrete, the odd look was only galvanised by the way in which the girl's fingers seemed to coil and grip around the sleeve of her jacket as if she wished to grasp onto something more intimate and more familiar, as if she was afraid the clothing would somehow drift away upon facing her request to skate. Was Ebony's question so ridiculously absurd? Though — maybe it was. She wouldn't know. Perhaps stammering out such an offer — to perform a somewhat proximate activity and with a stranger, no less — was a preposterous notion. Now that the Ravenclaw had vocalised it within herself, it did indeed seem rather ludicrous. Or perhaps Ebony herself was just perturbing and unsettling, as she had always been perceived as ever since the early days in Edinburgh. Certain individuals had assured that they made it loud and clear — that she was offsetting, that she was no enthralling, riveting chef-d'oeuvre like the beauty situated in front of her. "Skate? I don't know how. Why?" Ah, a reply. The girl didn't simply pivot and stride out and away, which meant her attempt did reap a slightly better result than fruitless. Ebony was indeed over-scrutinising the girl's reactions. Yet, the reply carried an air of apprehension and suspicion that was unprecedented. The questioning of "why" was... not unreasonable, yet anomalistic in a way. One would expect that the rationale of the requester would be irrelevant and inconsequential in this circumstance. What did the girl think Ebony's motive was? Skating her to the barren hearts of the lake to curse her, murder her and leave her there? The Ravenclaw failed to envision any possible malicious intent that one would imagine from her simple offer. Attempting to soften her features as to appear less... distrustful, the brunette attempted to answer the girl's question, though she wasn't completely sure of "why" herself. "Well—I was lonely, and..." She halted her speech mid-sentence. Did she just admit loneliness to a stranger? "No, that's not it," she corrected with an edge of frantic to her voice, "I just wanted to skate with somebody. It's boring on my own." Yes, that was it. Certainly not solitude or isolation or anything of the sort. Simply boredom. The former part of the girl's response just then registered. She didn't know how to skate. So there it was — the ostensible origin of the apprehension. The girl wasn't afraid that Ebony would murder her in the middle of the lake or anything remotely related to it. How asinine of the fifth-year to assume so. It was instead fear of embarrassment, fear of embarrassing oneself in ineptitude — a sentiment that Ebony herself was no stranger to. How she wished that somebody would be present to hold her hands and offer solace in those times. "I could always teach you," she added in reassurance. It was time to be the hand-holder. |
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| iNPC: Luuk Tjin-A-Wing | sta 7 | eva 12 | str 15 | wis 9 | arc 8 | acc 15 𝐓𝐏 • 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 • 𝐨𝐛𝐧𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 • 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 • 𝐄𝐌 |
Sink or Skate
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| xxx | The silence came once more, this time heavier. More charged with something Lottie still struggled to identify. She was awkward, of course, and she knew this quite well. The recent need to obtain a teenage social life outside of her tightly knit family (which was growing looser by the day) an about a million pureblood families from her past had been disorienting enough to nearly put her off obtaining a social life in general. It was interactions like these, tense and wilting and painfully unbecoming, that made her wonder if perhaps she just wasn't cut out for life away from home. This, however, felt oddly familiar. Not in the nature of their conversation nor the restrained hook of her tone, but rather the sensation that slowly began fizzing in Lottie's gut. For some odd reason still unclear to the girl, she felt excited. Or terrified. Both were incredibly viable options. This didn't make her any more inclined to accept the other's proposal. "You were lonely?" Lottie repeated, immediately retracting at the unexpected bite of her tone. Quickly, she attempted to silently amend this unkindness, softening her gaze as her mother had always taught her It seemed the other girl was just as scattered as Lottie, which came as some comfort to her, although judgement crept in right alongside it. This was an inherited trait, a strong tug in the back of her mind to pass bitter estimations where they could weasel in. It took a great effort for her to remain polite, if only because her instincts rested like a heavy weight in her gut. "Teach me?" Lottie felt an awful lot like a broken record. Her proposal hit Lottie's mind like a brick, sending dizzying waves of anxious energy all through her. Absently, she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, looking up at the girl dazedly. The pros and cons bounced around her brain like stray atoms, shapeless but present. Saying no would mean safety, comfort in her indifference. Saying yes meant... she wasn't sure. Something more. Something of substance, something with more meaning than all the brooding and endless thoughts. Lottie was staring. Quickly, she redirected her gaze to the skates. Something stirred within her. "I don't even know your name." | xxx |
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Sink or Skate | |
| ✦"You better start walking. Love takes miles."✦ STA 8 │ EVA 8 │ STR 6 │ WIS 6 │ ARC 6 │ ACC 7 |