Closed Crosswind

[Alfred Gorbach]

The wind was annoying. Not unmanageable, but inconsistent and strong enough to make decent practice pointless. One gust would slam into the side of his stabilizer mid-draw, the next would vanish completely, leaving him overcompensating and irritated.

He'd shot a few ends anyway, but now he was lying in the grass, one leg stretched out, the other bent lazily. His bow rested next to him. He wasn't packed up, just indecisive about what to do next. Maybe the wind would settle. Maybe he should go home. But neither option felt right, so he stayed, waiting for indecision to turn into decision.

His shirt flapped lightly with every rush of air. The clouds weren't moving fast, but they weren't still either. Kinda like his thoughts. Just enough movement to be distracting, not enough to be useful.

Surprisingly, practically no one else was here yet. Then again, only the die-hards or desperate ones came down here in this weather.

For some reason, Eris came to mind. He hadn't seen her since that day, and he cringed a little, remembering all the nasty things he'd said to her, which she'd somehow taken so well. And how maybe he should've asked why she never wanted to leave this place either. Then again, what would've been the point of getting to know her if he was going to go away anyway? Either to some freak school or run back to Norway.

The freak school part didn't hit as hard as it usually did. L might be going too. And she was amazing. So freak and amazing didn't quite line up.​

 

[Eris Athanasiou]

Mania and Gaia had gone back to Hogwarts again and aunt Sofia had insisted on going to the same place they'd visited a few weeks ago. The whole time Eris had stuck by the woman had been filled with non-stop whining and complaining about Mania in particular. It was a surprise Eris had managed to stay walking with her for as long as she did but eventually she'd asked to go practice, had she not she might have done something stupid like yelled at the woman who had nothing good to ever say about the Gryffindor in their family who was trying her very best to be enough.

The weather wasn't optimal, but the brunette had still decided to go to the archery range to practice, just because it wasn't optimal for good shooting didn't mean it was useless to practice in the wind. If she was going to become the best of the best might as well master archery in whatever weather may be tossed at her. Not to her surprise the place seemed empty, apart from one person laying on the grass. Eris wasn't going to approach the boy, that wasn't what she'd come here for, but then her eyes focused on him more and she realized she knew him. "Fancy seeing you here today Sparkles." She spoke out before being able to stop it. What did that even mean?? Fancy seeing you here? For all she knew he could very well be living on the other side of the street. Sigh. Well it was out there now. She settled standing a few inches away from the boy, looking down at him with a neutral expression, though a hint of a smile was fighting to be seen.

 

[Alfred Gorbach]

He lifted his head and slid one arm behind it, squinting toward the voice to see who was talking to him. Just to check he wasn't hallucinating, because he'd literally just been thinking about her.

"Why, good day to you too, Princess." A self-satisfied smile crept onto his face. He wasn't sure why he kept calling her that. First time had been to mock her, but it sort of stuck, and that was that.

"Was wondering when you'd show up. Braving the storm for your loyal subjects?" His voice carried no bite and a crooked grin pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Or maybe you just missed me. That it?"

He'd just been thinking about how he regretted the things he'd said to her, and now here she was, and the first thing out of his mouth was teasing. Again.
He had no explanation for it. Eris just had that effect on him.​

 

[Eris Athanasiou]

Eris resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that stupid nickname. Princess. She didn't look like one so she wasn't sure where it even came from but whatever floated his boat she supposed. She did however fully roll her brown eyes and snort at his next set of comments. "In your dreams maybe, just needed to get away from my aunt for a bit." She said placing her hands on her hips and turning to look towards the rows of bales in the distance.

Eris was glad Sparkles didn't seem to have heard her admission about never wanting to leave the range. If he had and decided to ask about it she wasn't sure what she would or even could say to make it make sense or to no sound like she hated her family. She didn't but they were a lot. "Though I suppose if I want to get better this type of weather would be the perfect challenge." She said shrugging and turning to look back at the boy again.

 

[Alfred Gorbach]

"Naww, you want me to be dreaming about you?" She made teasing her way too easy. "Bold of you to assume you're even in the top three things haunting my sleep." He grinned, eyes squinting up at her from the grass.

"I think it’s too windy," he said more seriously. "They’d cancel comps for less, not worth messing with the aim. Then again," he sat up, brushing some grass off his arm, "aiming’s optional if your arrows run on sheer spite." He remembered how she'd landed three perfect shots right after he got under her skin. "Kinda makes me wonder if I should taunt you more often. You know, for training purposes."​