Beginner Level (Years 1-2): Lesson II by Professor Levy
Erika sat at her desk starring at a picture of her wife. A quill was paused in her hand. She had been grading test papers when the thought of their discussion over midterm drifted to her mind. They had discussed the possibility of starting a family. It would be difficult no doubt with her being away most of the time teaching, but others managed it and she didn’t doubt her ability to do so. But to be honest, she was a little nervous about the pregnancy in general. She would be away from Torra and was worried that something could possibly happen to one of them. She was also worried about her job. She had stayed at Sonora longer than she had anticipated doing, but she had found that she actually enjoyed teaching. It had surprised her to no end.The problem was teaching at Sonora wasn’t like teaching at a muggle school or having a different career. She didn’t go home to Torra every night or even every weekend. Though, she tried to go home as much as possible. But what would she do if she and Torra decided to go through with pregnancy? Would she be able to take an early leave? What if she wanted more time with the babies after? Would she be able to see them more often? She supposed that she would have to talk to Regal when he returned to see what could be done. She was nervous that it would become a choice between her career and family, but she supposed that she could always find a nine to five job, if she had to. She supposed she would just have to wait and see where the cards fell.
Her first and second years entering the classroom distracted her from anything further. She quickly finished marking the last couple of tests while they settled themselves. Once done, she drew their attention to her, “Good morning, class.” She stood up, the papers in her hand. “I have here your scores from the last test. I was surprised to say the least.” She failed to mention if the surprise was good or bad, but her face suggested that they had been good for the most part. There were always one or two that didn’t do so well, which is why they had review every week. She passed them out herself since she felt that no one else needed to see, or worse discuss, someone else’s grades.
After the tests were handed back and the students had settled down once again, Erika began the assignment for the day. “Today, we’re going to be learning two spells – Stupefy and Rennervate. Stupefy is a stunning spell. When the target is hit, they are knocked out. To revive someone knocked out by such a spell, we use Rennervate. Stupefy works against most wizards and creatures; however, there are always exceptions such as giants. You can read more about the spell in your textbook on page seventy-two. Though, it is a good spell to use when you don’t wish to harm, but merely get away.” Erika looked to each of her students. She understood that they didn’t really understand the significance of the spells yet, but eventually her words would have more meaning. For now, it was enough that they got the basics.
“Rennervate, as stated, revives someone hit with a stunning spell.” She didn’t say more about the spell since it was fairly straightforward what the spell was used for. “To perform stupefy, point your wand like so,” she demonstrated, “and say Stupefy! Then, to perform rennervate, wave your wand like so and say Rennervate!” She pushed her dark hair away from her blue eyes. “Any questions?”
After any questions were answered, she went on to how they would be practicing the spells, sure some of them wouldn’t like it, but it was good practice. “We are going to break up into two groups – black team and white team - one on this side of the room and the other on this side. As a team, you will be trying to stun the other team using stupefy. If any of your team members go down, you may use rennervate on them. Last team standing gets five bonus points.”
OOC: Standard posting rules apply. Remember the more creative and detailed the post, the more points earned. Have fun!
Subthreads: Will you be my best friend ever? by Cherry Bosko with Jessica Applerose
Incapable by Valerie Lennox, Crotalus with Sullivan Quincy
Another thing to embarrass me with... by Brianna Japos (Crotalus) with Anonymous
I think this time I prefer the dark... by Fae Sinclair (Crotalus) with Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren, Fae
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Professor Levy
Beginner Level (Years 1-2): Lesson II
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Professor Levy
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Will you be my best friend ever? by Cherry Bosko
Cherry Bosko's bag just kept getting heavier and heavier as the year went on. Not only were her notebooks filling up, but she'd also gotten a new sketch book for Christmas that she could not be without. Then there were the accessories. She had conte crayons, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, chalk pastels, charcoal, scissors, funky scissors, regular pencils, a quick quotes quill, binderclips, gummie bears, wet wipes, tissues, bandaids, pencil sharpeners... You never knew when you needed these things.With so much stuff to cart around, Cherry was begging her parents for a KeeperLite--a wizarding pack that could fit everything and more and never get heavy. She had scored a copy of their catalogue from her grandfather's waste bin. (She figured it was clean since the bin mostly only had mail in it.)
Cherry arrived to DADA early, walking with her fingers between her bag straps and her shoulders to keep her too-heavy bag from cutting into her. She dropped her bag to the floor with the thunder of books and pencils and she slid it up next to her her usual desk--second row, in the middle--and fished out the supplies she expected to need during this class:
Colored pencils, lead drawing pencils (HB, H1, B3), Quick Quotes Quill, DADA Textbook, DADA Notebook.
She arranged these neatly on her desk and opened her notebook and textbook to the most recent assignment. Oh, yeah. No new assignment because of the test. She flipped forward to a fresh sheet instead and wrote: NEW UNIT at the top.
Cherry didn't really have friends here. She'd met a lot of kids who'd seemed nice enough, but somehow she just hadn't found her group yet. Her mother told her not to worry, that it would happen and had even implied that it was Cherry's own fault, that she should make her group rather than waiting around to be adopted by one... and maybe she was right. Maybe she had been too passive about this friends thing.
Which begged the question... if she were to make a group, who would she choose to be in it? She turned towards the door and watched her classmates wander in, saying hi to the ones she usually said hi to. If anyone came and sat next to her, she thought, that might be a sign. Or it might just mean the person was late and it seemed like the best option of the leftovers. Or that the person wanted to sit next to the person in one of the other surrounding desks...
Geez, Cherry. Chill.
But there was no time to talk. Class started almost as soon as someone did sit down and then it was tests and grades--she got a B+ equivalent, which was disappointing but wouldn't get her in trouble at home--and a horrible new take on Dodgeball. Cherry was the last on out of her seat as she tried to finish her wand diagram. Was that rennervate wave a swish or a swoosh? At an obtuse or acute angle? Why didn't teachers use wand diagrams? Stupify was easy anyway. Point.
Cherry was in the middle, so she joined the smaller looking team because that was fair. It was also the team with the person who chose to sit next to her--a potential friend. Cherry stood next to her/him, and gripped her wand. As soon as the teacher said to start, Cherry lifted her wand and pointed across the room at someone she was already pretty sure didn't like her.
"Stupify!"
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Cherry Bosko
Will you be my best friend ever?
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Cherry Bosko
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I will be if you will! by Jessica Applerose
Jessica was in love with Reggie's family. She had been really happy with her Christmas break even though her parents had ditched her for New York and some conference. Maybe it was better they'd left her. She'd had loads of fun besides that stupid letter from her older sister she never saw or heard from. She'd probably forget her siblings in the next few years. Hopefully.Jess was loving her second year so far. She knew people, she was more confident and knew where things were (like the DADA classroom, for instance), and she knew how to do some magic. Her extra studying during her first year and summer had helped a lot as well. Her parents had been great with teaching her as well.
Jess was running a little late. She rushed into the classroom, her brand new book bag on her shoulder and she slid into the second row. She liked being close to the front in her classes. It motivated her to actually learn. And she got her exams back faster.
She'd received an O- which wasn't bad at all. She actually enjoyed DADA, though her favorite class by far was still Charms. She smiled to herself and pulled out her wand, something she was sure they were going to use. Jess still felt a really strong connection to her wand, and she couldn't even imagine living without it. Having grown up in a muggle town as a pureblood, she'd seen and befriended plenty of muggles. It was hard bringing them home and trying to have her parents act, well, like a muggle. Pretty difficult, though her parents had been trying to do so for most of Jess's life.
Stupefy! She didn't fancy getting hit with such a spell, but she supposed she had to because it was a part of class. She sighed and took her wand and stepped to one side of the room. Looking at her classmates, she picked out one to stun. Not that she wanted to, per say, but hey, it was part of the class. She wished they'd learnt defense charms as well. They didn't exactly have any way to protect themselves from this charm besides leaping behind a fellow teammate, so she assumed this would go fairly quickly.
The girl that she'd sat next to stood next to her but Jess didn't pay her much mind. She wouldn't really have time to talk to her while leaping around, attempting to keep herself from being stunned. "Stupefy!" she exclaimed, pointing her wand and ducking another. If Jess had one thing, it was good aim. She'd learnt that much during her last DADA class. The spell hit her mark but, unfortunately, someone hit their mark as well. It was almost like someone had pulled a black sheet over her eyes as she fell onto her back and then went unconscious.
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Jessica Applerose
I will be if you will!
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Jessica Applerose
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Valerie Lennox, Crotalus
September 12, 2011 9:48 PMValerie Lennox, Crotalus
AlumnusHouse: Crotalus
Written by: Allegra Brockert
Age in Post: 11
Birthday: February 27
Incapable by Valerie Lennox, Crotalus
It was with great trepidation that Valerie entered Defense. She knew full well that she literally could not handle a good portion of the lessons that she was taught in this class. Her theory was good, the Crotalus did fine with written work. However, there was a practical component of the class that might have been fun for some but was impossible for Valerie.It wasn't as if she simply did not like doing things that required movement and athleticism, it was that the first year was genuinely not capable of them. She genuinely was not supposed to. There was a reason that Valerie had been excused from flying.
The frail first year was usually getting over something or coming down with something even when she wasn't actually ill. Right now, Valerie was getting over a rather nasty bout of the flu. She was never ever in an appropriate condition for running around. She got tired and winded very easily, especially if she'd had something infecting her lungs like bronchitis. Not to mention that Valerie could fall and get a cut, which would most likely get infected.
She received her test back and was pleased to see that she'd gotten an E. The Crotalus absolutely could not do some of the practical lessons, not because her spellwork was bad in the least, Valerie put a lot of effort whenever she could though she got tired quite easily and was never able to work on things for long. However, Valerie didn't do too well on the lessons in class simply because of the form they took. She hadn't really been able to catch pixies last term, for example. Not a single one and it hadn't taken long for her to get dizzy either. Therefore Valerie needed to do well on written work to make up for it. Though she got tired putting forth effort in that too.
And apparently, today was going to be one of those lessons that Valerie wasn't supposed to do. Her healers wouldn't want her to do it, wouldn't allow it, but unfortunately she didn't have permission to sit out of anything other than flying so she had no choice.
She rose to her feet, feeling slightly queasy and made it over to one side of the room. Before Valerie could even draw her wand, she was hit by someone on the other side of the room and went crashing to the floor. Another place she wasn't supposed to be.
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Valerie Lennox, Crotalus
Incapable
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Valerie Lennox, Crotalus
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Awesome! I have the contract right here... by Cherry Bosko
Bad aim! Cherry winced as her roommate, Valerie Lennox went down, but before she could feel too guilty about it, Jessica--Cherry was pretty sure that was her name--stood stock still, expression leaving her face, and she tipped backward."No!" Cherry shouted over all the noise, and she darted back to catch her maybe friend before her head banged against the floor. A spell clipped the edge of her foot as she moved and she crumpled to the floor when she tried to put weight on it.
She needed to get to the floor anyway, a little back behind the line where it was safer. Safe, enough, maybe, to remember the spell for Jessica. It was re-something. Renovate. No, it had "nerve" in it. Renerverate. Too many syllables. Renervate. Yes. Renervate.
Cherry grasped her wand and tried to relax... and rolled to dodge another falling student.
"Okay, you can do this," her team needed her. "Come on Cherry. Renervate."
Was it a swish or a swoosh? Was it a 90 degree angle or a 35? She totally should have asked. It was all about trial and error now.
Cherry swooshed, "Renervate!"
Nothing.
She swished, "Renervate!"
It's the angle. It had to be the angle. She glanced glanced across at the other team and saw someone complete the spell correctly. Okay. Good. She could do that.
"Renervate!" Come on Jessica? Did it work? She tried it again on her foot and it seemed to tingle all the way up her leg.
She turned and did the same thing to the student who almost fell on her, but when she turned back, it was to a blast of white and then dark, and Cherry fell back and fell and fell until she was out.
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Cherry Bosko
Awesome! I have the contract right here...
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Cherry Bosko
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Sullivan Quincy
September 14, 2011 12:45 PM
Will you be my Damsel in Distress? by Sullivan Quincy
There were some classes Sullivan was better at than other. Potions, for example, was not a good one. That was at least in part because most of the labels on his ingredient kit were illegible, but the fact that you had to keep track of time and remember where you were at and all that didn't help either. He liked DADA better. There was less extended concentration needed there. Most DADA stuff was pretty immediate, and often urgent enough that he was unlikely to forget what he was doing and get distracted by something else.Like today's class, for example. He had to remember exactly two words (one of which was stupify and therefore especially easy to remember) and there would be enough magic getting hurled around to make it downright stupid to not pay attention to the class assignment. Plus, it was sort of like dodgeball, and that was one of his favorite Gym activities.
He dodged out of the way as one burst of magic flew toward him, and shot one of his own back at the offending classmate. "STUPIFY!" he called out, pointing his wand, and it totally worked. A Teppenpaw girl on the other side of the room went down. Ducking under another glowing strike, he noticed one of his teammates down on the floor.
The space was too open, so he turned over a desk to provide some cover while he tried the harder spell. It wasn't really enough to protect both of them, so he decided the girl was already out, so he took the better cover himself. "Rennervate," he cast and waved his wand just so. She seemed to stir a little but did not come to, so he tried it again, with feeling this time. "Rennervate!" he cast again, and this time it seemed to work. He hurried to get out from behind the desk so she could get in. "Here," he offered, "Get behind the desk while you reorient yourself."
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Sullivan Quincy
Will you be my Damsel in Distress?
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Sullivan Quincy
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On second thought... by Jess
Jessica came to and saw the girl she had been sitting next to earlier casting a spell on her foot. Jess was feeling a little disoriented but quickly snapped out of it when said girl suddenly fell on top of her. "Oof!" she cried. She pushed the girl to the side gently so she could get up and picked up her wand. It was only nice to repay the favour."Renervarate!" she said. She frowned at the still unconscious girl. "Er, I mean, renervate!" There. She should be awake now.
"Thanks for rendering me conscious," she said with a grin once the other girl was coherent. She stuck out a hand to help her up. "I'm Jessica by the way," she said, dodging a stray spell. "I wish we'd learnt some spell to protect ourselves!" she growled in her British-tinted American accent. She pointed her wand somewhere at the other side and said, "Stupefy!" as she brushed her brown curls out of her face. It was a lucky thing she'd studied up on these spells beforehand, though it was much different actually performing them.
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Jess
On second thought...
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Jess
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*makes puppy dog eyes* by Cherry Bosko
Cherry blinked awake and saw her maybe friend looming over her. The world was growing less blurry. Cherry sat up and rubbed her face. What a weird feeling that was! Her hair was probably all over the place. She smoothed the brown mass of it down, rolling the majority of it over one shoulder. It spiraled down to her elbows. Good. It would have been a nightmare if it'd gotten stuck in some gum on the floor.Jessica made a comment about needing spells to protect themselves, and introduced herself, confirming that her name was, indeed, Jessica.
"Thanks yourself," she grinned. This was good! Introductions were a good step to friendship. "I'm Cherry."
"Maybe we should stay on the ground," she suggested, "That will make us smaller targets, right? Hard to dodge, though. But less far to fall."
She sent a blast of "Stupify" across the room and got the right target this time, a glancing blow. She did it again and the kid went down.
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Cherry Bosko
*makes puppy dog eyes*
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Cherry Bosko
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Another thing to embarrass me with... by Brianna Japos (Crotalus)
Brianna sat quietly in the DADA classroom. She liked Professor Levy. She had spirit and a confidence about her that Brianna admired. Brianna also heard she was married to a woman, which was quite scandalous for Brianna. But very cool too. Not being married to a woman, Brianna didn’t think that appealed to her at all, but the fact that her professor was and didn’t seem to care what others thought about it.She didn’t know how she felt about the assignment or the class. She wasn’t very good on her feet or quick with her mind for this sort of things. This was the exact reason why she would never go into the law enforcement career. She would be absolutely terrible at trying to save the world because she could hardly save herself. Although, if she knew how to fix the things that were hurting her by using rennervate, she could really help herself out of sticky situations with the others back at home. There would come a day when they would decide to use the spells and hexes they had learned while in school against her and unless Brianna learned how to defend herself, the next best thing was to know how to put a stop to it. And even stop them with Stupefy.
She may not be graceful on her feet or quick with her wit and tongue, but she was not going to let herself by a victim of cruelty if she could help it. If she could scare them into knowing she had spells and hexes of her own, maybe they would just leave her alone. That’s all she wanted. She didn’t expect popularity, hardly even wanted it, she just didn’t want to be pushed around or made fun of anymore.
But first, she needed to survive this lesson.
Thus far, Brianna had avoided spells from the opposing team. Instead, she had kept low and tried to rennerate as many fallen comrades as she could. On her way to helping a classmate, a spell hit her in the back. It wasn’t strong enough to knock her out, but it was enough to throw her straight into another person. Brianna screeched as she fell into the other student and landed hard on her stomach. “Ow!” She cried out and then looked in horror when she realized she had landed on someone. “I am so sorry!” She exclaimed, hurrying to her feet. “Did I hurt you?”
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Brianna Japos (Crotalus)
Another thing to embarrass me with...
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Brianna Japos (Crotalus)
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Re: Another thing to embarrass me with... by Anonymous
It was as close to a game of dodgeball as David had ever got. He knew what his mother would have said on the subject, and he had felt a wonderful thrill of rebellion in realizing that not only did she have no way to object to the assignment, but that he wouldn't have to suffer under a lecture about it afterward. David had come to find many reasons to like a boarding school over day school, but his favorite perk by far was the lack of motherly protectiveness. Oh sure, David's mother still managed to elbow her way in despite the Muggle restrictions at Sonora; Mrs. Kim had fairly abused the owl post and David had had more than one finger pecked by an angry owl in retaliation.But there was no way an owl or letter was going to butt in that morning, and David sent many an appreciative look toward Professor Levy for the creativity in the assignment.
That appreciation, though, lost its fervor about ten minutes in. Somehow, despite having spent years watching playground antics revolving around children hurling large balls at each other, David had missed the inate violence in the game. Granted, a stupefy spell didn't have quite the same punch as a kickball to the face, but after being the victim of the curse for the eleventh time, his interest in the magical equivalent to dodgeball was waning. He was also growing increasingly frustrated that his own attempts at returning the hex were meeting with complete failure. Even if the hex met its mark, the spell was too weak to do anything beyond momentarily freeze the victim.
"Rennervate," he muttered for the sixth time, pointing his wand at a downed teammate. At least he seemed to have got that one down. He aimed his wand for yet another try at the opposing team, bracing himself for retaliation should it fail. "Stupe--" His words were cut off as a body careened into him, sending him crashing into the ground. A flash of red swept over their heads and mutely he gave thanks for the timing of the collision.
David tried to stand up and found his progress hampered by a girl. He vaguely recognized her as one of those Crotalus girls. He couldn't place her right away; his year had a flock of girls in Crotalus it seemed. He pressed a hand to his forehead, sitting up once the girl jumped to her feet. "No, I'm fine. . ." he reassured slowly. It was something starting with a 'B,' he remembered. He really ought to have had all the names down by now; was it Brittany?
David stood up gingerly, finding his left ankle to be slightly sore. He tested it with a little stomp; it would be fine. Brenna maybe? Distractedly, he pointed to a felled teammate past her shoulder. "Rennervate." He turned to give the stupefy another go and then just as quickly turned back, ducking forward as a spell made its way over his head. "It's Brianna, right?"
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Anonymous
Re: Another thing to embarrass me with...
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Anonymous
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I'm not much of a dog person by Jessica Applerose
Jess smiled. "Good idea. But I'd rather be able to dodge than just be knocked out on the floor and get stepped on. We might become invisible to our teammates." She sent another spell off and smiled when she hit her target. She saw Cherry do one as well, hitting the same person twice. "No mercy, huh?" noted Jess with a little laugh.Jessica narrowly dodged yet another and bumped into someone. "Sorry," she said quickly, ducking her head as another spell came near. "Stupefy!" she yelped and allowed the spell to engulf yet another classmate. She had pity for her classmates. She wasn't liking this dueling part very much.
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Jessica Applerose
I'm not much of a dog person
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Jessica Applerose
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OOC- The above is from me. Don't know why it did that. (nm) by David Kim
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David Kim
OOC- The above is from me. Don't know why it did that. (nm)
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David Kim
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I think this time I prefer the dark... by Fae Sinclair (Crotalus)
Fae was pretty certain that she did not like Defense Against the Dark Arts. She could appreciate the class and the lessons that Professor Levy taught. She really could. Everyone needed to know the dangerous that were out there waiting for them should they go a route that would bring them to that moment. She could appreciate having to learn some of the spells that would protect her from dark things or what to look out for when it came to dark magic. These things Fae could consider essential to her learning and even her life.She couldn’t, however, accept some of the way the lessons were taught. She liked lecture. Lecture was safe. Lecture with an example was even better. But practical lessons where they were competing? Not so okay with Fae. For one, Fae was terrible on her feet. She had smartened up about her shoe wear. No more heels during lessons. No matter the lesson. She was always to wear her flats. Although she wasn’t allowed to wear pants of any kind, she chose to wear leggings beneath her skirts. One of those ‘just in case’ moments. But she preferred not to have to have those moments. She wanted to sit in her desk and learn. She did not want to run around the room chasing spells or having spells chase her. This type of learning was far too stressful for Fae and most times these sort of lessons upset her too much to even remember the whole point of the lesson to begin with.
Today would be one of those sort of lessons.
She had just spent this lesson running around and being rather unhelpful to her teammates. She was stunned half a dozen times and she doubted that her own spell did much to knock the opposing team down. She wasn’t even sure her renneverate was doing much of anything for the others. This was definitely not a lesson for her to do well on at all. Still, she was at least trying…
At least until another Stupify fell hit her square in the chest, Fae didn’t even have time to scream before she went hurtling backward, landing hard on the ground. Not that she noticed because she was knocked clear unconscious. Perhaps it was better this way… for her to just sleep the class away in complete darkness. Of course, someone else had other plans because sooner than she realized, Fae was already being awakened.
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Fae Sinclair (Crotalus)
I think this time I prefer the dark...
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Fae Sinclair (Crotalus)
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Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren
September 19, 2011 10:20 PM
The Dark Queen by Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren
Normally Kitty liked to wear dresses, and skirts just because she liked how they swished when she ran or twirled. Some classes required jeans though, and Defense was one such class. Kitty thought that Defense might be her favorite class ever, they got to learn all sorts of cool spells and the Professor came up with the best lessons. And today was no exception.Professor Levy handed out their graded tests before beginning the lesson, Kitty gave it a quick glance and a foxlike grin curled her lips at the E emblazoned at the top of her test before folding it in quarters and stuffing it into her bag. School work had never been terribly difficult for the young girl and so far the only class that she truly struggled with was Potions. Even her potions written work was good enough to keep her from totally tanking the class.
A delightful, slightly savage grin curled the tiny girl’s lips at the description of the assignment. Many a child would recognize the smile from the basketball courts of grade school where killer games of dodge ball were played and it was every man (or tiny girl) for themselves. She was fast, and downright mean during these all out wars on the blazing blacktop.
Smiling the wild smile of a kid getting a favored treat Kitty bounded over to the Black side of the room. Be it Chess, Backgammon, or Checkers Kitty was always the Black side and this would be no different. A high bell like laugh escaped her as she dove out of the way of a stupefy and shot off one of her own. The spell flowed easily off her lips and though her wand striking down one of the students on the other team. Ducking and twisting cat like though the spells fired off by her fellow students Kitty used all the hard won skills at being the littlest kid playing dodge ball for years to keep from getting scored on.
Rennervate….didn’t work so well for her. It took more focus, and took her attention away from the other team which made the skin between her shoulder blades itch every time she tried it. Three attempts, three failures. Kitty was about to just give up on that part of the assignment all together when she nearly tripped over Fae. Kneeling down to make the smallest target possible Kitty focused hard and whispered “Rennervate”. Another wild grin tugged her lips up as Fae began to wake. YES it worked it worked it wor… so focused on her delight at the small success Kitty didn’t notice the wand aimed at her until the spell struck and she half fell over the girl she’d just revived.
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Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren
The Dark Queen
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Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren
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5
This is how my life is. by Brianna
Brianna was glad that with all the hostility and chaos going around her, the blush that she was currently sporting could easily be misinterpreted as just a flushed look due to strenuous activity. In actuality, she was utterly mortified about having knocked down her fellow classmate. She had accepted the fact a long time ago that she was hazardous on her feet, but she had never taken anyone out along with her. It was horrifying and now she knew anytime she looked at him, she would be embarrassed and blush. It was her natural reaction to anything that made her remotely uncomfortable.Still, the boy didn’t seem to upset or rattled by her sudden charge into him or the fact that he had landed on the ground before of her. He reassured her that he was fine and then seemed to want to go back on his merry way. Brianna, surprisingly, was very okay with this. She still felt horrible for having had it happen, but if he was willing to forgive her for her indiscretions, than she was willing to not make a huge fuss out of it either.
She was about to head out on her own again and see where she would be the most helpful. But it seemed just as suddenly as he was with turning away from her, he was looking at her and asking her name. “Yes, Brianna.” She said, astonishment clear on her face because she hadn’t expected him to continue speaking to and also because she hadn’t expected him to know her name. She knew his, but only because she had taken the time to pay attention during role call. Brianna liked to know who she was to be looking out for.
“You’re David.” She said matter-of-factly, “Look out!” She exclaimed and pulled him hard down to avoid a spell that was going awry. “Sorry!” She exclaimed meekly when she released his robes after the spell at passed. “I am rubbish with this lesson.”
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Brianna
This is how my life is.
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Brianna
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Valerie
September 22, 2011 4:47 AM
That's a pretty acurate description by Valerie
Blue eyes fluttered open as Valerie awoke. She felt disoriented and strange, more so than previously. She was acutely aware of being on the floor, which was not only dirty and germ-infested-it didn't matter how clean Seth and the elves got it, Valerie was sure they did a perfectly adequate job, but with all her classmates running all over it, it wasn't going to stay that way-but not very comfortable. Her head was throbbing from where she'd fallen and she reached up to rub the back of it."Thank you." Valerie told her classmate, Sullivan, she thought. The Crotalus was certain he wasn't a pureblood, but he seemed to be a gentleman just the same, judging by his actions right now. He had saved her, reversed the spell. Of course, that was what the lesson was, but he'd also tried to protect her by getting her behind the desk.
Where she wished she could stay. Or better yet, go back to her room and lie down. Valerie wasn't sure how much of this lesson she could take. She was already feeling woozy and exhausted, and class had just started. By the end, Valerie would be ready to drop.
She knew she was supposed to keep going. Otherwise, her grade would suffer terribly and Professor Levy might be mad at her. Valerie didn't know which staff members knew about her condition aside from Medic Rocamboli and Seth and Coach Pierce and maybe Professor Crosby. It wasn't as if doing the activity necessarily exposed the first year to more germs than anything else-though that was sort of an issue in COMC where they were outside a lot-but the fact that Valerie was generally getting over something or coming down with something if not actually sick meant she was never really in any condition to run around because she was too weak. To exert herself too much when she wasn't feeling too great to begin with usually lead to relapses. Plus, Valerie could trip and fall (or be stunned and fall) and get a cut or scrape which could (and likely would) become infected.
Fortunately, however, the Crotalus didn't see any cuts or scrapes from the fall. A couple of bruises and the possibility of a bump on the head perhaps, and Valerie felt horrid anyway, but at least she hadn't broken the skin.
Unfortunately, she was going to have to try and get back out there. In the future, Valerie was going to see if she get excused from lessons like this. Her parents would have a fit if they knew. She hated to make a fuss, hated standing out and being different, but this wasn't good for her in the least.
For now, though, Valerie slowly made her way out from behind the desk, but she hadn't gone two feet before being hit again.
11
Valerie
That's a pretty acurate description
204
Valerie
0
5
That does not sound pleasant by Fae
Fae was trying desperately to hold onto the darkness that surrounded her. She probably should have been panicking because Fae wasn’t always so fond of the dark, but this darkness was warm and safe. Fae didn’t want to leave it. She wanted to stay. If she stayed, she would be safe. No one could get her here in the dark. Did she want to be found? Did she want to be caught? She would be okay if Alice was the one searching for her. Or Arnold. She felt safe with the two of them. Jaiden would be best though. She missed her brother. He had always kept her safe.But, alas, she could not stay there. It just wasn’t possible.
Her blue eyes opened and a sudden weight befell her chest and Fae found it hard to breathe. For a moment, she thought she was dying. Someone was pushing the breath out of her. Fae struggled, cried out, and pushed at the thing on her only to realize her hands were becoming tangled in hair. Fae stopped struggling and looked to see what was on her. It was Kitty. Relief hit Fae first. It was just Kitty. It looked as though she had been stupefied.
It took her a moment, but Fae was finally able to force the girl from on top of her and rolled her to her back beside her. Staying low, Fae pointed her wand at Kitty and took a breath. “Rennervate!” She said it firmly, but even as the spell shot from her wand, she knew it wasn’t strong enough. The color wasn’t bright enough and Fae’s mind was still foggy from her last knock out. She closed her eyes, but only for a second out of fear of being hit again and opened them. This time she said the spell with confidence. She could do this. She could do this. She could do this.
And she did!
Fae exclaimed in delight when she realized that Kitty was coming around. “Looks like we helped each other out.” Fae commented lightly and then grunted when someone kicked her accidentally. “I think it’s time to get up now.” Fae stumbled back onto her feet and ducked low to avoid any flying spell. She shot off a couple of Stupefies in the hopes that her new found confidence would help make them strong enough to do some damage on the opposing team.
“I’m horrible at this lesson. Thanks for helping.” Fae said, genuinely smiling at the younger girl.
0
Fae
That does not sound pleasant
0
Fae
0
5
Well…this <i>is</i> war by Kitty
The tiny girl’s eye lids fluttered open to see Fae sitting next to her, wand still out. Looks like we helped each other out. I think it’s time we get up now.” The older girl said and Kitty nodded as a blaze of red light passed over their heads. Man! This is even better than laser tag! Kitty thought a wide grin that held a competitive edge crossed her face.“Right! We can totally take them.” Kitty declared with a firm nod as she stood and ducked after Fae. Moving, darting this way and that Kitty fired of round after round of Stupefies. After being taken out trying the Rennervate charm Kitty decided to keep strictly on offence. “Hay, I’m awful at rennervate, but pretty sharp with stupefy, what do you say you focus on keeping our team up and running and I guard your back?” Kitty offered, figuring it would be easier to work in a pair than to try and do both at the same time.
Together we’ll be unstoppable! Those bonus points are ours! Kitty thought as she sent a Stupefy over to the other side while dodging one that headed her way. In a way it was easier than laser tag because the beams were visible unlike the lasers, which made them way easier to dodge. Oh wow, this would be totally awesome if we had a real laser tag arena to play it in. Kitty thought, imagining the different levels, the stairs and fog machines, blind allies and lofts to snipe people from. Now that would have been a game!
0
Kitty
Well…this <i>is</i> war
0
Kitty
0
5
That sounds rather troublesome. by David
Despite the literal whizzing of spells past his ears and the muted soreness of his left ankle, David felt a strange sort of calm settle over him the moment he heard his name spoken. Not David Kim or David the Muggleborn, but just. . . David. There was no second meaning to her utterance, so question or hidden judgment. He felt none of his ordinary suspicion or defensiveness. Wonderingly, he stared in a (non-magical) stunned, stupid silence-- a dangerous preoccupation to be sure as another stupefy came too closely, and it was only Brianna's quick grab that saved him from being hexed yet again."Don't apologize," he said, his voice retaining some of the bemused quality that lingered still. Unconsciously, his fingers traced over the spot on his robes where her hands had touched. "It's all this running about, makes it hard to concentrate--"
David broke off, the part of his brain that loved puzzles and logic problems finally joining in for the lesson. Professor Levy hadn't said anything about the use of classroom objects, just that they were to divide into teams. The desks that normally sat in neat rows and columns had been pushed out of the way, but it shouldn't be too difficult to drag one or two into the fray. "Could you help me--" He ducked, pulling Brianna down into the crouch with him as two more spells dashed overhead. He gestured to the desks. "I'm thinking it could be like a bunker, a bit easier to defend and we wouldn't have to dodge as much."
OOC- Please feel free to write David helping you with the desk-bunker. He'll probably stumble his way through, but stubbornly stick with it.
0
David
That sounds rather troublesome.
0
David
0
5
...just a lesson. by Fae
Fae was happy to see that she really did revive Kitty. She was getting better with her rennervate spell but she still knew that she needed to work more on her Stupefy spell. If she was able to get the spell down, than she could scratch that spell off and focus on another. Fae had the ability to be able to recreate spells once she had mastered them. Most people could do this, but even if she didn’t work a spell for months, she could still create it without any difficulty. She wished this was the case for everything. But it wasn’t. This was the main reason why she enjoyed charms. Simpler spells, easy for her to pick up. Definitely no lessons where she was being chased around, hoping she didn’t get knocked down.Kitty’s enthusiasm never seemed to falter. Fae didn’t know where all that energy came from. She was exhausted from just the run around. Being knocked down repeatedly and knocked unconscious didn’t help with the energy matter. Still, Kitty seemed unattainable. Not in a romantic way. Just in a way where one could never really catch up to her even if they were trying.
She didn’t really think she had much of a choice by Kitty’s request. Not that she minded. If she focused only on one spell than she would have that one in the bag. The only other spell she would have to learn, she could do in the dorm room. Maybe Alice would let her use it on her. If she explained to her the logical thought behind it, Fae didn’t think Alice would disagree. Then again… Fae wasn’t likely going to jump up and agree if Alice asked her the same thing. Oh well, it never hurt to try.
Fae stayed low to the ground and scrambled along a bit like a crab as she went around searching for her teammates and reviving them back into the real world. After the third one, Fae wasn’t even struggling so much with the spell anymore. She could do it in only two tries. By the end of this lesson, she’d be able to do it in one. “This is actually sort of fun.” Fae commented lightly to Kitty, a smile burning brightly on her features.
0
Fae
...just a lesson.
0
Fae
0
5
It is, but maybe things are looking up by Brianna
The look on his face made Brianna think that she had given the incorrect name. Embarrassment and humiliation flooded her body. She had been so sure that his name was David! She was always paying attention to roll call and she was certain that he answered to David. She racked her memory of her classmates. Brianna could remember the names of the others with conviction, but if he wasn’t David, than who was he?Her momentary flutter vanished with the sight of the spells and his sudden change back to his original demeanor. He hadn’t corrected her and told her not to apologize. He wasn’t telling her she was an idiot. He wasn’t yelling at her for getting the wrong name. He wasn’t pushing her down and walking away. So, maybe she hadn’t flubbed up his name? Or, maybe he just didn’t care that she had flubbed it up? The people here were so much different than those at home. She never knew what to expect from them. She had grown up being pushed around, but here, everyone was nice. Or, at least, disinterested in her. This really was becoming her sanctuary from her life in New York City.
“Oh…” Brianna exhaled as she was pulled low and began the duck walk around the classroom behind David. “That’s a fantastic idea!” Brianna exclaimed when he told her his plan. She never even thought about using something for cover. She had just been under the assumption that she just had to fend for themselves. This would be much much better.
Brianna grabbed one side of the desk and helped David push the desk into a decent spot. Brianna was scrawny, nothing but bone so she didn’t have much strength, but the two of them seemed to do alright as a team. Eventually they had it in position and Brianna scrambled behind it in order to miss any more spells. At least now that she wasn’t running around like a lunatic, she could actually focus on her spell work. To test this theory, Brianna poked her head out from behind the desk and shot the stupefy spell off. She didn’t know if it had hit anyone since a returned spell was hurtling at her. Still, the desk helped protect her.
“This is so great!” Brianna beamed to David. “The desk is perfect cover.”
0
Brianna
It is, but maybe things are looking up
0
Brianna
0
5
Forts tend to do that. by David
Pulling the desks into a suitable position proved harder than it looked, and by the end of it, David's breath was running short. He tried to hide the exertion's effect on him with a few choice coughs, the fine black strands of hair that he normally combed back falling flush over his eyes. Brianna was right, though, he agreed after a moment. The desks did provide a perfect cover, even if they did also draw the attention of would-be attackers.It was a fair exchange in his opinion. Now he might be able to properly focus on landing a stupefy instead of spending every other second frozen on the ground. David flipped around slowly, coming to a crouch on his knees, and carefully began to widen the space between the two desks. Once the space was large enough for both his hand and wand to fit through, he bent lower to peer through. The make-shift arrow loop didn't allow for much of a perspective, but perhaps--
"I have an idea," he said, keeping his voice low even though the chances of anyone hearing him over the cacophony of spell-casting were ridiculously slim. "We can use this space here to throw the spells, but since it's limited, the one not casting can act as bait and draw the attention of the target to this area."
Laying out his strategy, however awkwardly worded, felt oddly comfortable to David. He wasn't used to sharing his tactics, having only had to implement them for himself over the years, but diversionary manuevers were nothing new to him. Years of planning his routes through the school hallways and timing his entries and exits to best avoid the bigger kids who liked to push him against the walls and empty his bookbag on the ground had made him a master at stealth. But he was used to doing it on his own; having a partner to incorporate was a new experience. He didn't know how to feel about that yet.
Nervously, he began to pick at his collar, the button already so worried that it fell into his hand with a muted plop. He stared down at it. "If you agree, that is. I mean it as a suggestion."
0
David
Forts tend to do that.
0
David
0
5
…that too by Kitty
“I know right? It would be way funner if we were in a laser tag room, but this is pretty awesome anyway!” Kitty agreed with Fae that it was fun. Twisting lithely to the left Kitty stood, drawing the attention of the other team so Fae could fly under the radar and get their teammates back into the game.Guarding someone’s back was a bit trickier than Kitty had anticipated. The problem was rather simple, they had no way to shield. So, Kitty had to watch the whole of the other team, dodge anything they sent her way, and down anyone who dared point their wand in Fae’s direction. Tricky, tricky, tricky…but nothing she couldn’t handle! Hopefully….
Playing decoy was entertaining, even though it probably created more work for Fae than it solved. Kitty ducked dodged and twisted, but didn’t pay attention to any of the spells that continued on their trajectory past her and into her fellow teammates. She thought she saw someone target Fae and with a whispered “Oh no you don’t!” she caught them in the side with a well placed Stupefy. The other student toppled over as the spell hit and Kitty grinned. This class was the coolest!
0
Kitty
…that too
0
Kitty
0
5
They make things feel better? by Brianna
There had been a moment shortly after they had finished moving the desks where Brianna had hid herself behind them and taken a long look at David while he assessed the situation. She was not strong by any means. She was skinny, almost to the point of looking frail. Her limbs were long and bony. She had no muscle to her. Butshe was not flushed or breathing nearly as hard as David had. She wondered if David had carried most of the weight thinking that she wouldn’t have been much help to him? That didn’t seem right though because it was till pretty heavy for her to carry. So then, why did he seem to have used so much exertion?There wasn’t much time for her to dwell on that though because there seemed to be a war going on around them with all this chaos. Brianna was truly amazed that no one had really hurt themselves while doing this lesson. One would have thought that someone would have fallen awkwardly after having been stunned. But, so far, so good. Thankfully, Brianna knew that this lesson would not last forever and soon she would be released and no longer be a target (at least, she hoped).
Except, apparently David wanted someone to play the target in the meantime.
Brianna sat quietly for a moment while she mulled over his idea. She understood where he was coming from. The small opening did not provide very much range and there was a possibility that could also hit one of their own. But Brianna wasn’t sure if she wanted to play chicken with anyone on the other team. Brianna subconsciously rubbed her collar bone where it had been shattered and repaired. The kids in her building had played a mean joke and hexed the toy broom she had been riding. As a result, she had flown into a wall at high speeds. The parents of the children said that Brianna was the bad seed, that she was the troublemaker. Her parents knew better, but unless they wanted to lose their jobs, they just had to accept it. They couldn’t afford top health care, so Brianna’s healing had been botched. She could feel the lump of bone overgrowth. She felt like a freak because of it even if no one else noticed it. She knew it was there.
“What exactly would the bait be doing?” Brianna finally asked, dropping her hand and turning to face him. “Just jumping up and say ‘hey look at me!’ or actually running around out there?” She need to know this. Not that she would do much help being the spell caster, but at least she would be safe and she would eventually end up being able to cast the spell relatively well. “I’m not very fast and have a habit of falling, which you have now been a victim of. The idea of running around out there to grab their attention scares me.” Brianna bit down on her overly large bottom lip. “I try hard to be invisible. Making myself a target is my worst nightmare.” Brianna admitted to him. She wasn’t really sure why she had. Her whole time here she was pretending to be in the same league as Attoria. Now she had admitted to being afraid. Hopefully David never repeated this conversation to anyone else.
0
Brianna
They make things feel better?
0
Brianna
0
5
Well, I can attest to sheet forts having that ability. by David
David hadn't thought the question a terribly difficult one to answer, but the seriousness with which Brianna undertook responding left him confused. Her tone as well, once she began to speak, sounded far more worried than David thought the request warranted. He paused then, before answering himself, wondering if perhaps he had stumbled upon some hidden fear or memory. He had a few of those himself--"I try hard to be invisible."
David ducked his gaze down to the ground. He knew what that meant. He had spent his entire primary school career trying to blend into the walls, a difficult thing since he was one of only two Asian-Americans in the school and the only kid not allowed to partake in gym or recess or extra-curricular activites-- anything that might be considered over-stimulating. It didn't help that he was bad at the invisible thing, once caught. He didn't like to back down when pressed to a wall, and he certainly wasn't about to admit to anyone being his better.
He knew that he had made his fair share of enemies purely by being the odd one out, but the rest had been of his own direct making. He knew about people, figured things out. Like the big fifth grader whose uniform always had stains-- David had only guessed, but he had guessed right. The kid's mom had left earlier that year, ditched the whole family, and with a few choice words, David had managed to pick apart that wound impeccably. Or the girl in his viola class, with the long blonde hair and bright green eyes. She'd made a point of tripping him every time he went to sit in first chair, and so he'd found out which boy she liked, found the love letter she'd been writing, and spread it around.
David didn't care; he wasn't stronger or bigger or faster than these other kids. He had only his wits, and he knew that sooner or later, these people would become enemies. It was better to hit them early, draw the first blood, and leave them intimidated. He wasn't about to become anyone's victim.
His dark eyes clouded and he shook his head, returning his gaze once more. "It's okay. Nothing like that. I'll go first in fact. I'm just going to jump up, wave my hands, and then get back down, just long enough to draw someone's attention over here so you can get off a shot. No running around or anything like that."
To demonstrate, he sprung up, half tripping over his discarded robes and nearly knocking into the desks. Once upright, he straightened and darted to the right of the barricade, waving his hands as he went. Immediately, a volley of spells came his way; he ducked back into the bunker. "Just like that," he said, breathing heavily. "Give me a second, and I'll go again so you can get a stupefy off."
0
David
Well, I can attest to sheet forts having that ability.
0
David
0
5
I wish I had forts growing up... by Brianna
Brianna realized after she had spoken that she had said too much. She was supposed to be the daughter of two wealth pureblood parents. She was supposed to be from a happy home. Loved and popular. She was not supposed to be the daughter of a maintenance man or a maid who was constantly picked on because she was poor and had features that were different than others. She certainly wasn’t unpopular or terrified of being noticed.No.
That was not the Brianna at Sonora. At Sonora, Brianna was everything she wanted to be. Everything that she needed to be. She couldn’t let one lesson destroy everything that she was working hard on making true. If David decided that Brianna was weak and started telling others things, Brianna was doomed.
If David thought any of those things, he didn’t say it out loud. Brianna thought that would be better for her, but instead, she felt uneasy. She didn’t know if he was storing this knowledge away to use against her at a later time or if he was just going to start slipping this information into conversations with others as they went along so that sooner or later her entire story would slip out of her grasp and Brianna would be left with nothing and everyone would call her a liar and a loser. She would have nothing.
David was talking about and Brianna had to force herself to pay attention to his words and not to her train of negative thoughts. For all she really knew was that David might find her shy or have a dislike to being the center of attention. There seemed nothing really wrong with those assessments. And, in a way, they were both very true. The center of attention was far too much pressure for Brianna to handle.
“Okay…” Brianna said after David and slumped back down beside her. She had watched him and it had seemed alright. She only had to make them turn to face her and then David could take them out. Brianna was clumsy, but she was quick if she needed to be.
Her brown eyes watched David quietly for a moment while he seemed to catch his breath. Again, like with the desks, he seemed to have to regain strength after only a small amount of work. “Are you feeling okay?” She asked out of genuine concern. If he was sick and jumping around only made it worse for him, Brianna didn’t want him to make himself worse by doing it again. “I can be the bait if you need a minute.” She added.
0
Brianna
I wish I had forts growing up...
0
Brianna
0
5
You are never too old for a fort. by David
He had no memory of the three different heart surgeries that had taken place during his first year of life. Nor did he really have any of the three years after that, when he was in and out of the hospital, undergoing extensive follow-ups and varying treatments. And after that, what he could recall of those early years were mostly those things that interest a child: the way a particular doctor smelled; how the bed sheets were always too stiff and thin; the same issue of Highlights that always waited for him in the patient lobby. He hadn't even understood that these things he did every week were not the sort of things other children always did.It wasn't until David began school that he realized he was different from other children, that he was this thing called sick.
He thought he hid it well at Sonora. So little of the school's activities required a physical component, and those little bits that did, he'd managed to disguise his ailment behind other causes. He had stopped his weekly check-ups with the Medic, and since Christmas, hadn't been to see her even the once. At some point in the past year, David had stopped thinking about his scar and his heart and the years of being told by his mother and doctors and the whole world that he had limits, that he was weak.
But Brianna brought it back with just one question, a few simple words that David distantly acknowledged as driven by concern, but still drove forth every ounce of defensive pride he had boiling in him. He straightened on the ground, his shoulders hunching forward, and if it weren't for the spare chance that he looked up and into her unguarded expression before speaking, he might have snapped as he always did.
Instead, he found himself caught, staring at her and quite suddenly absent of all his anger. "Thank you," he said slowly, feeling as if in a daze, "I'm fine. Just not used to running around so much. I am fine, though. I can go again."
But he didn't move, not right away. David continued to stare, knowing that his gaze was growing uncomfortable and yet unable to turn his dark eyes away from her own. "Brianna Japos." Her name fell unintentionally from his lips, and with that pronouncement, he stood up. "I'll go again now. You ready?"
He did not wait for her answer and dashed out from the cover of the desks. As he did before, he waved his arms and waited for the volley of spells to come his way. His eyes, though, were not on the would-be attackers across the room. His gaze was still caught, trapped inexplicably still on the girl he left behind.
0
David
You are never too old for a fort.
0
David
0
5
I wouldn't even know where to begin by Brianna
Brianna wondered, fleetingly, if she had said the wrong thing to him again. His sudden change in body language told her that she had. She had seen that shift before in her parents when one went too far with their insults. She knew the change meant defense. He was protecting himself from whatever it was that she had said that he hadn’t liked. She hadn’t meant anything by it. She wasn’t trying to say anything at all really. She just didn’t want him to get winded again if he was ill. And, she didn’t want him to think she couldn’t pull her own weight too. Had it been the way she had said it that had made him so tense? Or, did he just not like the idea of a girl asking something like that because it showed vulnerability? She had seen the boys in her building get angry when a girl called them out on their weaknesses.When he looked at her, Brianna flinched. It was unintentional and something she did out of habit. She was preparing herself for the blow. Either with his fists or with his words, they had the same effects. She couldn’t even explain which one she would prefer. Sometimes physical harm was better because all she needed to do was heal physically. Words had a habit of staying with her. They knocked her down in other ways and were far more difficult to heal from.
He wasn’t yelling at her though nor was he hitting her. Brianna stared back at him with a look of uncertainty and a little bit of confusion. “If you think so…” She wasn’t sure what to say to that, but she wouldn’t tell him no to him being the bait. She’d rather it have been him anyway. If nothing else, just to see if she was capable of really being able to do the spells at all. Running around the classroom made it difficult for her to concentrate on the spell long enough to shoot it let alone have any strength behind it. At least this way, Brianna could hone in her magic and really make the spell worthwhile.
“Y-yes?” Brianna stuttered and blushed when David spoke her name. His stare was unwavering and it was really starting to make her uncomfortable. She could feel her skin begin to crawl under the intensity of it. At least he wasn’t yelling at her. She felt better about that. She could get passed the staring since he didn’t seem to mean anything negative by it.
Just as suddenly as he declare her name and his idea to go again was he back up and in the cross fire. “Okay…” She said slowly, still trying to grasp what had just happened in their conversation. Brianna moved over to the crack and took aim. It didn’t take very long for the opponents to change antics and head for David. Brianna immediately shot off spells to knock their opponents down (and hopefully out). She hit a couple of them and she squealed in delight, flopping around to look for David who should have ducked down by now. “I hit a couple! It worked!” She cried happily, grinning wildly. She was probably the happiest she had ever been in a long time having successfully shot the spells and followed through with a plan.
0
Brianna
I wouldn't even know where to begin
0
Brianna
0
5