Open Could be worse

[Felix Layton]

Felix had been outside most of the night. Somehow he'd managed to go undetected from any of the prefects and professors that were patrolling, and while the Gryffindor hadn't explicitly been in the forest, he had certainly been close enough to it that spending a night outside on the outskirts had been a thrilling experience.

He'd placed himself high up in one of the trees, so that he could easily see the school but it gave him the chance to be by himself. He loved most of his dormmates, but he never got space for himself while he was here, and even though it had been a little precarious of a decision, and he knew how dire the consequences would have been, the freedom had been worth it. Now that the sun was beginning to rise, he knew he'd have to get back up to the castle before breakfast.

He'd already lobbed his backpack through the branches, watching as it landed with a thump on the grassy field a short distance away. He just needed to get himself there now too. Carefully he climbed his way through the thick trunks of the forest line, careful to ensure his grip on each one was secure from slippage before putting his weight onto it. There was a bit of a lip between him and the field, so he was going to have to make a leap for it.

He'd crouched as low as he could, but Felix was still a few feet above the floor. With a sharp spring in his legs, the fourth year flung himself out of the tree, aiming for the clearing beside his bag. Unfortunately things didn't go quite to plan, as his sweater had caught on the branches around him. What had been an intentionally smooth motion quickly became a problem, and prisoned in his own outdoor wear, Felix found himself quickly hanging upside down, the base of his sweater still attached to natures hammock. To make matters worse, Felix watched with a groan as his wand slowly slipped out the pocket of his jeans, teasingly dropping straight past his face before landing silently in the grass beside his bag.

Spoiler: A Visual

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia liked mornings, she often took a quick walk before breakfast because it was the best time f the day really to do so if you didn't want to be disturbed. She'd taken her notebook with her and grabbed a few things from the Great Hall so she could have a little breakfast and maybe sketch her miniature dragon that rested on her shoulder.

It was a lovely morning really and there were not many, if any really, students out yet. Most of them were having breakfast inside. So imagine the shock on Gaia's face when she saw someone's backpack and wand on the ground under a giant tree. Walking a little closer to see what was going on she found a certain fourth year, one her sister seemed to talk about more often than not, hanging like a rag doll from the branches of the tree. Glancing at her miniature dragon, Clover, before crossing her arms and leaning on her right hip. Raising a brow she asked the question at the front of her mind. "So, how'd you end up there?"

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix was straining as he tried to turn, wiggling his hips to try and release the grip the branch had on his sweater. The blood was quickly rushing to his head, and he was going to have to figure out a way of getting free sooner rather than later. He looked up down up at his wand, taunting him from the floor, just slightly out of reach. He couldn't even use magic to summon it yet, wandless magic wasn't something he could do.

The blonde glanced toward a voice, and would have jumped out of his skin if he wasn't overwhelming glad that someone had found him before his sweater was completely ruined. "Um, you know, just.. hanging out," it was hard for Felix to come up with something witty in the moment. He was vaguely aware it was a redhead that had found him although he didn't realise in that moment who exactly. Felix didn't quite know what would help him in this situation either, it wasn't like he expected her to be able to push him back onto the branch. "Can you give me my wand?" He ask, grappling out with both hands.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia stared at Felix as he said he was just hanging out. She would have laughed at him but she didn't want him to think she thought of him funny, so instead she kept her natural expression. Glancing down at the wand she shrugged. "I could yes," but frankly she wanted to see him hanging on for a little longer. Especially given she had wanted to ask him something. "You are taking my sister to the Yule Ball." Gaia stated, picking up the wand on the ground. "Why?" Last guy that had gotten Nia as excited as the fact that this boy had asked her to the ball had kissed her and then come back six months later with a girlfriend and told her that she was childish and boring. So Gaia thought it was only fair to make sure nobody else was looking to play any funny games like that with her sisters heart.

 

[Felix Layton]

"Huh?" Felix peered at the girl to get a better look at her, and frowned when he saw it was Gaia, now standing there with his wand. "What do you mean why?" he didn't have time for this, the strain on his torso from dangling upside down was hardly the time to be having a friendly chat. "Give me my wand, Gaia," he said, doing his best to sound firm but fair. He was an older student, she should be listening to him, respecting him even. Besides, he'd never done anything to her to warrant her making things more difficult for him. Felix's eyes widened as he felt a strange sensation, as though a small vibration suddenly started in his chest. "Uh oh.. you need to.." Gaia was standing right underneath him, "GAIA MOVEOUTTHEWA.." before he could finish his sentence, Felix was free, or at least he was freefalling as his sweater had fully given way.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia narrowed her eyes when Felix asked what she meant why. She was obviously trying to gauge out a motive. He then attempted to use whatever stern or authoritative voice on her, or at least she thought that's what it sounded like but she wasn't really concerned. What was he going to do? He couldn't even get down from the tree. "I mean, what's your motive? Best not be trying any funny games, she was too excited so if you stand her up or something dumb like that," Gaia couldn't finish her sentence when there was a bit more urgency on Felix's tone and she glanced back up at him, frowning a little. Then he yelled at her to get out the way but unlike her miniature dragon that did fly a little further away, Gaia didn't move away fast enough and soon she was stomped to the ground by the fourth year, or more accurately crushed beneath him. Eugh.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix wasn't sure what hurt most. His elbows as they hit the ground, his side as he fell onto Gaia, crushing her underneath his weight, or his ego as he realised he'd just flattened a second year. He groaned, lifting his head up and mentally checking to feel if anything was broken, not daring to move a muscle in case he found that something was out of place. Even more so, he didn't want to do any more damage to Gaia than he already had, and while he knew he needed to get off her too, he was cautious that whatever he did he'd probably end up squashing the Slytherin even more. He remaining motionless, all except his head, as he now peered down to access the situation a little better, ".. I warned you."

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia groaned and imagine the absolute shock when she realized Felix wasn't going to move off of her. What kind of a joke was this to him! He was SQUASHING HER! Why was he so heavy. Probably because he was a lot taller than her or god forbid Nia. "Get off of me I can't breathe!" She grumbled from beneath him, trying and failing to use her legs and arms to push the boy off of her. At least Clover had saved herself and with that thought Gaia burst out laughing, though it was very strained given Felix was still attempting to make a pancake out of her.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix didn't need to be told twice, and rolled over to one side until he finally met the grass, laying on his back to look up at the sky and taking a few deeper breaths. After a moment, he turned his head to the side, lazily reaching out with one hand, "Can I have my wand now, please?" he was luckily neither of them had been speared. Maybe they wouldn't have been in this situation right now if Gaia had just given him his wand back when he'd asked for it the first time. He didn't really know why she'd been trying to delay things by asking so many questions. Did she really want to know more about why he'd asked Nia to the Yule Ball?

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia took a deep breath when the weight was off of her, relishing in the feeling of freedom. Why was it always that the Gryffindors felt like body slamming her in one way or another, seriously. Turning to look at Felix the Slytherin pulled herself into a sitting position before narrowing her eyes and shaking her head. "Not until you tell me you don't have any funny games planned and you aren't about to stand Nia up for sh*ts and giggles." She was serious about that. "Because if you do.... Clover over here will make sure your toast is always burnt and I in turn will make sure that there are spiders in your food every now and then, fake or real? You'll never know."

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix propped himself up on his elbows, watching Gaia essentially black mailing him for his own wand. Was his reputation really as bad as his friends were telling him? Did Gaia think he was the type of person that would stand someone up, or that he was messing with their feelings? It was one thing for those closest to suggest it, but for Gaia, someone who'd never really spoken to him properly before, it was even more alarming that she thought he might do that. "Just.. give, it" Felix tried to push away her questions, not wanting to believe that the Slytherin saw him that way in the first place, and reached over instead to try and pluck his wand straight from her hand.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia dodged the fourth years attempt to snatch his wand and held it further away, narrowing her eyes again. "Nuh uh, not until I'm sure you are not going to pull another Alexander on her." Felix didn't know who Alexander was, but that wouldn't matter. "Soooooooooooooo are you or are you not planning to toy around with her feelings?" Mania was too blind to things sometimes and got so excited over everything so if making sure she didn't get played meant blackmailing a fourth year? Then so be it.

 

[Felix Layton]

"What? Who's Alexander?" Felix found himself even more bothered by the mention of another boy than he thought he would have been and it did little to make him feel any better about himself. Gaia seemed determined to keep his wand from him, unless he planned on squashing her for it again, so he lent back onto his elbows in defeat this time. "No, obviously not." He didn't really know what Gaia expected him to say, but it was true that he didn't have any intention of toying with her sister. He'd never toyed with anyone, and even if he hadn't been the most serious kid to spend time with, he'd never been ingenuine, no matter what anyone thought about him.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia shrugged. "A very lame, very boring, very much a loser of a guy." She said indifferently. Alex hadn't even been able to make the school's Quidditch team no matter how many times he'd tried. Seriously Gaia never knew what Nia saw in the fool. Studying Felix's face for a moment Gaia considered the fact he might be lying but for his food and breakfasts sake she hoped he wasn't. Pursing her lips into thin line for a moment before then smiling and extending the wand. "Best not, because they weren't threats!" She said dropping the wand in front of him before leaning back to her original position. "They were promises." She said as she stood up and dusted off her behind. "She's very excited by the way, she'd burn me if she found out I told you, she's got a weird fixation on the Salem witch trials ever since first year, well more specifically that one witch whose name I forgot." She shrugged before picking up her sketch book and then looking for little Clover that was napping on the grass now.

 

[Felix Layton]

Unsure whether or not it was a good idea to ask anymore about the lame loser, Felix kept his mouth shut. He took his wand back, tucking it safety in his pocket again once he'd established that it wasn't broken, before looking back at Gaia who was talking about her non-threats. He narrowed his eyes a little, feeling defensive that someone he didn't really know properly would act this way toward him. Either she had no idea what he was like, or she was basing his values on a false reputation. Then again, Felix also didn't quite know how to talk about Nia, or how he felt. He'd spent years burying that side of him after Esme that the idea he could be open about the way he thought about Nia was different to how he usually thought about people, wasn't something that came easily. Besides it was probably better if Nia's little sister didn't get wind too early that Felix liked her like that. "Well.. no.. burning necessary." He said a little sheepishly, feeling as though he was still in the interrogation even after Gaia seemed distracted by something else. "She's excited?" he asked suddenly, wondering if Gaia's definition of excited was accurate for what he knew of the Gryffindor.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia hummed as an answer o he no burning needed, as long as Nia never found out she was sharing her secrets. Leaning down Gaia scooped up the sleeping little dragon and rested it on her palm, using her other hand to give soft pats on its sleeping form. She even smiled at it, she really loved her own little miniature dragon. Best purchase ever. The Slytherin's gaze shot back to the Gryffindor, still seemingly on the ground, and nodded. "Oh yeah, you know how she can be very.... enthusiastic about things?" She had to consider how to describe it at first. "Now imagine that times like three, it's all she's been talking about. Bounced off the walls and ceilings when she told me, I thought the grin was about to split her face in half." It was nice seeing her smile so wide everytime she got excited, she'd even been very glad for a moment it wasn't Logan her sister was going with. Gaia didn't like that guy. "So on a scale from Mania to Menace, she was definitely at Menace, not in a bad way. Never in a bad way. " She explained, heir mum made the nickname a curse but to Gaia the nickname was adoring.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix knew exactly what Gaia meant when she said Nia could be enthusiastic about things, that was one of the biggest things he'd noticed about her. He hadn't really expected Nia to talk so enthusiastically about him though. Perhaps she was just excited to be going to the ball with someone at school. He hoped whatever expectations Nia had about the evening would come to life and that he wouldn't disappoint her. As the Slytherin started stroking.. a small dragon, Felix's gaze became transfix by it. He'd never seen anything like it. "Where did you get that?" he asked, making a move to stand finally, now he was sure nothing was damaged from his fall. He grabbed at the back of his sweater, yanking it off and over his head, not wanting to inspect how much it had ripped in the back.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia noticed the deflection and although it seemed sus all she gave Felix was a set of narrowed eyes. He best have meant it when he said he wasn't planning on any funny games. Her attention was pulled back to the little dragon as Felix asked about her. "Oh her? This is Clover, I got her from the Magical Menagerie. She's a Common Welsh Green miniature dragon. Animated figurine basically but able to act as a real one just in a smaller size." Gaia explained proudly, extending the palm Clover was napping on forward so Felix could see better. "Dragons are kind of my thing and whilst I cannot exactly get a real one and bring it to school with me this was the best alternative. Isn't she beautiful? Their roar is different from other dragons too, they are supposed to have a more melodical roar. I think Clover is a bit broken though, all she does is squawk and sleep." Two things made Gaia this talkative and they were dragons and her sister.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix was glad when Gaia stopped talking about Nia, it meant that the Gryffindor could relax a little. He threw his sweater onto his bag before stepping closer to the second year to peer at the dragon. "It looks real," not that Felix had seen many dragons in his lifetime, but if he was to imagine how it would move, well it would be like that. "Does she grow?" If it was a figurine, then he doubted it, but he didn't know how closely it resembled a real dragon either. "Maybe that's why she squeaks, she's just a baby." Felix didn't have any pets, and while he'd helped Wendall out with Nugget on occasion, he wasn't sure if he was built to be looking after a pet, even if it was a pretend one.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia was positively in love with her pet, well not like in love in love but having her own dragon had always been a dream of hers so having even a miniature one was a step closer to that dream. She nodded and hummed her agreeance about it looking very real. "No I don't think she'll grow, I think she's just a squawker to be honest." She shrugged as the dragon seemed to wake up and stretch a little with a squawk resembling a little duckling. "You wanna hold her? She won't bite... usually." Gaia offered in case Felix wanted to hold Clover for a bit. The dragon had only bit her once by accident on her finger and that was because she'd been yawning with her head on Gaia's hand.

 

[Felix Layton]

Felix was surprised when Gaia offered Clover out for him. He wasn't sure whether he was just used to people not really trusting him around anything important, or whether he'd just not really had the opportunity before, but he wasn't usually the one given responsibility compared to others around him. He didn't really mind if he got nibbled, he was just glad someone trusted him enough. "Okay," he presumed he didn't have to hold the head or anything, that was probably just for babies, and held out his hands.

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia was very specific about the people she let handle Clover, actual living being or animated statue, she was still her pet. However she was also very protective over Mania and you could call this a test of sorts, you could tell a lot by how people handled creatures and animals. So as she extended her palm a little further and watched her little dragon easily climb onto the Gryffindor's palm. Clover seemed to find it rather comfortable as the dragon planted itself on his palm, which made Gaia narrow her eyes at the traitor. She had to remind herself that the dragon didn't probably have enough braincells to have a judge of character, if any at all to be honest. "Dragons are pretty, aren't they?" She said as she watched her miniature dragon and how Felix was handling her.