Freefall

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar felt the moon shrinking she woke up. It was now the last quarter ad she was feeling more normal now. the last month had been a whirlwind, but she finally felt like she was back on the right track, herself again. She had gotten up early and been for a run. she had missed them during the previous months and it was scary how quickly her fitness dropped with not exercising. she was still fitter than normal people but she was used to being able to sprint for an hour without getting too drained. Right now the head girl was heading to the cliffs it was becoming a warm day, the summer heat still strong. And she wanted to cool down. she remembered a day years back when she had been up here and gone cliff diving. It had been fun she had bumped into her sister afterwards. She put her things by the bottom of the castle wall and took off her shoes and tucked her wand secure into her shorts. Before sprinting full pelt and launching herself off the edge of the cliffs. In that moment she didn’t care about the fact that she was head girl and meant to be a good role model for the younger students. The rush of the air against her skinn was what she wanted. Falling was like flying but more of a rush as you couldn’t control it you didn’t know for sure when you would hit the water.
After a few seconds of free fall she felt the sudden shock of the water against her body. The air becoming dence and moice. The sudden change of tempriture and pressure brisfly caused her lings to freeze before she pushed against the water and rose breaking the surface doggy paddling her way towards the rocks.
Crabbing them she hauled herself out of the water and climing up the face. She had a sudden flashback of onne of the last times she was climing a cliff. That was a totally different situation. Then she was climing for her life. Now she was doing it for fun. But even that was enough to make her remember the consiquencs of that night both good and bad. Though good and badseemed to have a way of switching depending on her mood. Today half way up the cliff she saw it in sorm form of clarity. How it had changed her. She didn’t see it as either good or bad, just saw it as how it was. She looked down for somewhere to put her feet and saw the walf tattoo emplasened on her foot covering the scars, a moment later she looked at the other foot at the lion emblazoned on her skin. Reaching up with her hand she managrd to pull herself dripping wet over the top of te rocks. Not looking who was around she lay back on the ground gaspng a little. That had felt good. Though once was enough for the time being, maybe in a couple of minutes she would go again, but for now the sun on her face felt good. A breth of air passed her the water making goose bumps arise on her skin causing her to smile, she hadn't felt this live in a good while.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Second terms were usually really dormant for the young flying professor. He might hadn't any classes with the first years but he had hardly any free time except from his weekends. That period of the year, Icarus usually divided his time between the practices with Moutohora Macaws and the assistance he was offering to his uncle's breeding program. Beside these two occupations, he still had some responsibilities connected with the school. Now and then, he had patrolling duties and that was the reason why he was returning back to school a couple day per week. He liked the fact that his schedule was generally full and had no time to worry his head but he always needed a break to renew him.

He was assigned to patrol the forbidden forest later in the afternoon and since he had a lot of time in his disposal, he decided to spare it on freefalling from a broom. He flew out of his office's window early in the morning on his broom. He wanted to limit the chances of being seen by students doing that and usually most of them were still in their beds or preparing for their classes, that early. The unforgiving sun was offering yet another hot day. Icarus was dreaming of tropical islands, spending his time on a hammock by the ocean but he simply couldn't afford this with all that work he had. The most equivelant thing he could find to that was the lake and decided to combine the extreme sport with a refreshing dive in its dark waters.

He flew over the perimeter of the lake, searching for the ideal location to perform his reckless jump. Closer to the cliffs was a good choice. Not to close to the school and probably he could enjoy without fearing being seen. Still he had to check how deep the waters were around those parts. He flew lower, closer to the lakes surface and he realeased a blue orb of light from his wand that submerged under the calm surface. The orb kept travelling, still vissible inside the water. After a minute or so it dissolved on what appeared to be the bottom of the lake.
"Perfect." he murmured satisfied with the depth and shot himself high like a rocket. He stopped only when he had a bird-eye view of the grounds below him. He had no idea how much high he was and he didn't really care to learn. "This is going to be awesome!" he said to himself excitedly and slowly stood up on his hovering broom. Using his arms for balance, he steeped closer to the edge of the broomstick. He had a brief look at the breathtaking distance between him and the surface of the like and smirked. He took a deep breath and let the gravity drag him off the edge of the broom towards the ground.

The wind slammed violently on his body and he squeezed his wand in his hand so that he won't lose it. He responded to the humming of the wind in his ears with a whoop as adrenaline rushed in his veins. His body had sped too much. He was falling like a meteor and so when the distance between him and the water was closing, he used to his wand to slow down a bit and avoid the fatal collision to the water. Seconds away from the surface he clasped his hands together and kept his body straight as he plunged into the water.

He felt like a fiery stone entering into water as its coolness extinguished his adrenaline rush. The sounds in his ears had changed. No more humming, just the tranquility of water. He didn't open his eyes, he let his other senses enjoy this as bubbles were touching his body in an attempt to reach the surface. He loose himself in the serenity of the water until he was out of breath. With a few strokes of his strong arms and legs, he emerged out of the water. He smiled while gasping for air and he watched his broom piercing the water like an arrow, closer to the cliffs. He swam closer to the spot where his broom submerged when he noticed a familiar face standing at the top of the rocks. "Rowan! Hey! What brings you here?" he exclaimed quite surprised to find someone sitting there.
"Enjoying the weather?" he asked still in the water, trying to determine if he could find his broom just by diving or he had to use some magic for it.

Out of Character:

sorry it's long. got carried away.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar had just reached the top of the cliff and wall looking out over the lake when she saw something, or should she say someone fall form the sky. into the lake. she leaned over the edge to see if they were okay, or if she needed to jump again to try and rescue them the person whoever it was seemed to be underwater for a while. may it have been a first year so inapt on their broom that they had fallen off and into the lake. before she thought much she was back on her feet and taking a few steps back ready to take the plunge again. she pushed herself through the air as hard as she could falling downwards again into the water. she had heard the voice just as she had started to move forward and knew that it was Icarus but she had go too much momentum to stop without falling and it was better to go with speed so she didn't crash into the rocks on her way down. she hit the water and automatically pushed against it reaching the water and coughing twice upon surfacing. "Hey Icarus. I thought I would drop by" she said trying her best to tread water, though she wasn't a strong swimmer. "I have reason to believe that it was gravity that brought me here. but I do like cliff jumping" she said. chuckling and then spluttering some water that had got into her mouth. slowly she moved towards the cliff. if she could hold onto the rocks she would be better as she would be able to stay above water. "the weather is great. though maybe a little hot to be doing too much sporty. how are you finding it?" she asked reaching and grabbing hold of the rock to hold her head out of the water.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Icarus had thought that this place was rarely visited by students but obviously he was mistaken. His eyes widened for a couple of seconds as he visualized an ecstatic Minoas jumping off the cliff and landing on the rough rocks. With that he shook his head to cast away this unpeasant thought.
"I hope not so many students are following your example." he said, knowing that his cousin was sharing a close bond with her.

Icarus had grown up on an island so it was natural to be comfortable around water. He could also notice that girl wasn't looking exactly into her element but she was doing good. Something like facing a fear or something.
"You are doing quite good around water for a wolf. My best friend who's also a werewolf doesn't really enjoy swimming." he pointed out although knowing that she was there for the jump and not for the swim. After deciding that it was too deep to dive and reach his broom, he used his wand to summon it and he grabbed it just before emerging from the dark waters. He mounted and left the water to hover just a meter above it."It's okay. Quite similar to the weather back home but not with the right set." he said with a smirk as he looked around him at the vast lake. "Say, have you ever tried broom jumping?" he asked her with a mischievous expression as he was wringing his t-shirt.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar looked up when Icarus said that he hoped that not many students followed her example, half expecting to see a group of first years there gaping at her. that had been one thing that she didn't like about being head girl, she wasn't allowed to have fun as she was meant to be being a good roll model. "Everyone deserves some fun. besides most of the students are in class. especially first through to fifth years so there is no need to worry. and you should be thankful that i don't mind going out of bounds" she said guessing that Icarus was thinking about his cousin. she had been far out of bounds when she had first met the boy in his first year, and it was a good thing she had been or else he would have ended up spiderfood.
when the professor said she was doing good around water for a wolf. her first instinct was to say what is that meant to mean "for a wolf"? even though she saw him as a friend, or she guessed some sort of cousin as she called Minoas her brother, he was still a professor. Instead she said "No swimming has never been my thing. I much prefer running, I am out for a run early most mornings." she said pausing before realising the implications of what he had just said "hang on you know another werewolf. why didn't you say before? " she asked. she only knew one other and she unfortunately wasn't talking to him at the moment though she wished that she was but it was unlikely that he thought the same as he had been the one to break up with her. As Icarus summoned a broom from the water she hauled herself up onto the rocks and started the climb back up. leaving a wet trail where she went. "I come from where it is cooler, but it is nice weather if you aren't doing much" she said as she climbed.
when she was about half way up the professor said something that made her stop. hanging on with one hand and two feet she turned as best as she could to face him. "broom jumping? thats what you were doing I thought you fell" she said sticking out her tongue to show she wasn't serious surely the professors are meant to be better role models than the head girl?" she said as she changed hands as she felt the one she was holding with start to ache as the pit she was holding onto want the best size or shape. "I cant say that I have tried, I always thought the broom would keep on going, and i don't want to loose my streak, took me ages to save up for it." she said before continuing her climb. soon she was at the top, thankful that her arms were strong form hours on the quidditch pitch and her legs were strong form the miles she ran.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

"Well, depends on what you mean fun and what's the target audience. Stealing dragon eggs right out of their nests is regarded by some people as fun but it's not made for everyone obviously." he pointed out with a smirk.
He just then realised that he had made some pretty reckless things in his life but he just shrugged with a smile.
He nodded as she was explaining that she wasn't really into swimming. He had guessed so but she was doing fine.

"I thought I had mentioned my best friend Lycaon to you." he said frowned as he was trying to remember if he was correct or not. "Anyway, yes my best friend from school is a werewolf. The village he was living, suffered a raid of werewolves one night and he was bitten at the age of four." he shared with Briar the story of his friend.
"Now he's raising money to create an international school for children that are stigmatized by lycanthropy. Nice plan if you ask me. Not all people are acceptive towards werewolves and those children have every right to get educated like other children do." he approved of that idea.

He started gaining altitude on his broom following her as she was climbing back on the top of the cliffs.
"It looked like it?" he followed her joke. "Hell no! I jumped! I must say, it beats the adrenaline rush offered from an encounter with a hydra." he said as he hovered right at the edge of the cliff. He chuckled when she mentioned that professors were supposed to be good role-models and looked all around his body.
"Do I look like an ordinary professor?" he asked pointing at the countless tattoos he had on his body. His left arm was filled on the outside from the shoulder to the wrist. A lion was covering his left shoulder accompanied with the word 'imagine'. Then his arm was decorated with a flying horse with the word 'create' on its spreading wings and the tattoo was ending with a griffin and the word 'accomplish' in its talons. Throughout the tattoo the four elements were represented from his shoulder to his wrist. Except from this huge one, he had a cross on his other shoulder made of olive branches and a spartan warrior on his left thigh.

"C'mon!" he said with a smile and offered his hand. "You don't have to worry about this broom." he refered to his own. It had undergone much worse. "Let's have some fun!" he offered a place on his broom in front of him for her.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar wasn't sure if Icarus was serious about steeling a dragon egg from an the nest. "I think that you are right, different people see fun in different ways, steeling a dragon egg will certainly be a rush, but what on earth would one do with it once they have it? make an omlet?" she said joking at the end. "I think you mentioned him last year actually but it was before I could be too interested if you know what I mean." she said. before she hauled herself over the edge for the second time. "now that is a good Idea. I want to do something similar, work in the ministry to help other werewolves cope with the difference and to try and stop any discrimination against them." she said. she knew that it sounded ambitions but she knew from past experience that she could do anything if she wanted to.
"well I wasn't expecting anyone to be jumping off the brooms, it seemed much more likely that a firsty fell. it is one of the best adrenaline rushes. as it is always a surprise when you hit the water." she said smiling and running her hand through her soaking hair. when he asked if he looked like an ordinary professor she looked at the tattoos he was pointing out along his arms, there was a lot of them. all different animals it made the two she had visible on her feet seem like nothing in comparison. "I guess you're not a normal professor but you still are a professor, I like your tattoos,make mine look a little tame" she said thinking briefly back to when she got her first tattoo, who she was with and what they had got at the same time no briar don't think about that. that is in the past, stirring things up for yourself she thought. she pulled at a little of the grass she was sitting on, before taking a calming breath to relax herself. she needed a distraction, before she started thinking about Dee properly and realised how much she missed him. the distraction being offered was a lot smarter than the last time she had tried to find a distraction so she took it without even thinking what it would look like to anyone, or if it got into the stupid rumour has it magazine, . "If you are sure that the broom will hold us both" she said smirking to show she had faith in the broom. she got up and climbed on in front of him. she has flown two person on the broom before a few times, but she had always been the one controlling it not the passenger. "Lets see what you got" she said. holding on wondering where the broom would go, and how high they would be jumping from, if they were going to jump.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

His chuckle evolved into a deep, hearty laugh. "Nice sense of humour Rowan!" he said among his laughs. It took him half a minute to recover. "Not an omelet. Although now that I think of it, it would be really high in protein." his hand tstroke his goatee as he was thinking of it. "You just enrage the dragon to chase you. That's what I call fun. Of course in the end, the best thing you can do is to return back the egg. You don't want a fire-breathing serpent pursuing you for a lifetime." he pointed out, amusement all over his face. This wasn't something that he was saying to other people but Briar wasn't an ordinary person, let alone an ordinary girl. He could see in her eyes that she was as thirsty as he was for adventure and lifetime experiences.

"That's really nice of you." he smiled at her as she shared her need to help as well. "Well maybe one day I might get you in touch with him. He might help you find your own place or inspire you." he suggested, knowing that his friend was planning to visit Oceania as well, gather statistics and find abandoned werewolf children.
"Let me put it this way. Why climb the cliffs over and over again while you can get altitude in an instant." he pointed out with a wink since the result of cliff jumping and broom jumping were the same. The sight difference that you could get higher with a broom. "I must admit I just know added the water element in the whole process. Before I was just slowing down the fall magically before landing softly on the ground. Thiswould be a more summer version of this hobby." he concluded.
He had a look of her tattoos and he smiled broadly. "Come on! You are just, what you are? Seventeen? Eighteen? You have still time in front of you to develop them. Tattoos are a way of expression. I begun this one when I graduated and I added the last part of it just a month ago." he said about the tattoo on his left arm.

"Yeap don't worry. This broom had endured three people on it in the past and a huge journey from Greece to New Zealand. It won't happen anything to it." he reassured her as he gave her a hand to pull her on his broom.
"Okay! Holding tight? Here we go!" he said and leaned closed to her to place his hands as well on the handle. It felt quite awkward but it wasn't going to last for long. Despite the weight of two people on it, Icarus broom didn't have any difficulty to gain speed and altitude. Icarus decided not to overdo it this time so he stopped the broom's course lower than he did last time. He looked downwards, where their hanging legs were pointing at.
"So here we are." he said as the wind was humming in his ears at this altitude. "From this altitude is okay to jump without the interference of magic. Just for the record, if you are planning to jump off your broom from a higher altitude, you should slow down your fall. Over a certain height, the fall into water would be pretty much the same as the fall on concrete. Of course it's obvious that you have to slow down your fall when you are planning to land on earth." he knew that the last one was basic but he decided to add it and be clear.
"Now, this where we jump. Would you like to make the jump together? On your own? Me first as a demonstration? It is up to you." he said and waited for her decision as the wind was waving her hair, stroking his face.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar smiled when Icarus laughed at what she had said. "No omelet, shame. though I am sure that no matter how awesome the omelet it wouldn't be worth having a dragon chasing you for ever." she said laughing along with him. she was glad that he liked her sense of humour. she hadn't meant to obviously humorous. it was just what she had felt like saying. she thought about the friend that he was talking about, if they both wanted to make life better for werewolves it would work well if they worked together. "that would be good. I am sure we would be able to help each other. Maybe one day we should get in touch." she said. wondering what he was like. as he was working to help the wolves she assumed he was like her in regards to the illness. open about it, not someone trying to hide from it. as he also rose above the cliff climbing that climbing was wasting the time when she could have jumped again already. "I like the climbing. it is part of the fun. part of the challenge, and danger" she said tossing her head. she looked at the tattoos. she was already considering another one. though not for a fair while, her next one would be a centaur, probably on her side. a third aspect of her personality. "I am eighteen. my birthday was the end of january or start of february." she said then a moment later. "whens your birthday? you must be what 20 now? ell it looks great." she said quickly working it out. he had graduated school before starting to teach and was in his second year at the school. as they started to gain altitude. she smiled the wind blowing her hair out behind her she reached to pull it out of the way. as she was sure it mush be annoying Icarus even more than her. when they stopped she looked down it was quite hight though she wasn't scared or even nervous, she liked heights and her sense of self preservation was a little messed up. "Jumping from high into water is easier if the water is turbulent." she said remembering jumping down waterfalls when she was a kid. sure they weren't that hight but it was fun, as the turbulence did two things, one break the surface and two make it a bit more of a frill as you were pulled under and downstream. she looked down at the water and saw that the ripples were hardly visible and she could see out out rather far. she looked back at her friend and adopted cousin. "umm together makes sense. do you want to count us down?" she said changing position to one that was easier to jump from the glint in her eyes back to the one that had always been there when she was enjoying herself doing something that could end up in the hospital wing after.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

"I'll be turning 21 on May." he replied at her question about his birthday. Icarus had thought tha she was younger than eighteen but it made sense since she wasn't just a seventh year student but also the head girl.
"You just made me realise that I'm teaching here two years. Quite a lot for me." he stated surprised that he had managed to stay as a professor in that school for two years now, although he was hardly considering himself a professor. "You must be looking forward to graduate. Are you ready with your speech?" he regreted asking the last one as he didn't want to stress her or anything. He was just remembering that it took almost a month for his best friend who was the head boy to work on his speech.

He looked for a minute, hypnotized the ripples shaping by the currents on the lake's surface.
"Okay, let's disturb the waters a little bit more." he said and slowly stood up on his broom, balancing with dexterity. He offered a hand to Briar to stand up as well, not knowing where were standing her balancing skills.
"Are you ready?" he asked her and took a glimpse of her facial features to see if she was indeed ready.
"Don't worry about the broom. It will follow." he reassured her to make her het herself and enjoy it without bothering her mind with useless details. "On the count of three." he began saying, waiting her to join him in the countdown. "One...two...THREE!" he shouted the last one and jumped off the broom with his hands extended against the rushing wind. He exressed his pleasure with a yell and he used the aerodynamic advantage of bringing together his hands, facing downwards to gain more speed. The contact with the water was much more violent than before that he used magic to slow down. It felt like a wet slap all of his face but soon it soothed as the water engulfed the rest of his body. With the combined stroke of his arms and legs, he emerged on the surface. His broom landed right next to him, slashing in the water and disappearing in its depths. He looked around him to find Briar and see if she wanted any help.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

"well happy birthday for may if I don't talk to you before then" she said. realising he was looking at her funny like he was trying to work something out. she just shrugged slightly and moved her head in a minute shake. "you have only been here for two years? it feels like longer" she said. though maybe it was just because she had done a lot in these two years that made it feel so long. goodness she thought back to two years ago. She had broken a shoulder, made an enemy, lost a stepfather, found a sister, been bitten, lost a sister, avoided being poisoned, gained a boyfriend, made said enemy mad, made up with her sister, had her world turned upside down, spent time with boyfriend, become head girl, broken up with boyfriend, spent three months without potion, bitten herself, had to see councillor, kissed girl, kissed boy, realised that she still wasn't over and wanted to be with said ex boyfriend. yes it had been a rather busy two years. "I am looking forward to graduation. though It is scary too." she said as they became airborne on the broom. as they climbed she looked down at the water, it was a fir drop, it would be a fun jump. she looked back and aw Icarus standing up there wasn't much space on he broom for two people to stand though she followed his lead though she didn't take his hand. she was more than capable of standing up on her own. just as she was getting her balance she felt the broom shake a little thankfully neither of them fell.
"yes I am ready" she said glancing down at the water. before looking back at him. then her said that the broom would follow she nodded once to show she had heard and understood but she couldn't think of anything to say. s he counted down she bent her knees and joined in "one Two THREE" she said jumping a little up as she jumped. as she didn't want to land on top of him or him her as an accident in the water wasn't where she wanted it to be. as she fell she tried to make herself as streamlined as posable fall fast, and catch up with Icarus who was a couple of meters below her. she hit the water a split second later the surface tension already broken the cold rose around her and she sunk deeper into the water than she had done last time. opening her eyes she saw that the light was almost gone above her. letting out a little air in shock she stopped herself and pushed as hard as she could to try and get to the surface. suddenly her head was back in the air and she was coughing a bit of water that had managed to get up her nose and in her mouth. "that was awesome" she spluttered trying to tread water and stay surfaced as she coughed a couple more times. she made a mental note to made sure mouth was closed when entering water and not to open up her mouth when she was below the surface. both of those were not a good plan.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

He smiled when the girl emerged from the water excited.
"I told you so. I would pick this one rather than dragon's egg snatching. This one is relatively safier and there is no way that a baby dragon is going to hatch in your palm." he joked and summoned his broom back to the surface. He decided to swim back to the cliffs and rest for a while. He tried to climb the same way that Briar did but he was finding some difficulty. His feet were slipping off the moldy rocks that were beneath the surface of the lake which he was trying to use as a lift to climb the cliffs.
"How on earth you managed to climb up these rocks?" he asked impressed with his inability and the dexterity that she showed earlier. He gave up after a few failed attempts and he mounted his broom underwater and raised up in the air. He landed on an rock that was sticking out of the cliffs, dousing the stone surface with water that was dripping off his clothes. "I like the relationship you have with nature. I wasn't really an outdoors person before travelling here but now I can say that I found a missing piece of myself." he admitted. Back at school he was a decent student. He wasn't really entangling into troubles and adventures until his graduation that everything changed. "Still I'm not a good climber." he added and sat down on the rock that was dyed darker from the water that was dripping off his body.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

"That was great, the fall maybe even better than off the rocks, but then again you font have the same start, something about not sprinting full pelt was missing. she said trying her best to stay above water when she said this and not take any more in. she then slowly followed him to the cliffs doggy paddling, not really having any technique in the water, her only advantage was the ferocity that she swam. as soon as she reached the rocks the once again grabbed hold if it. and took a few moments to calm down. as she watched Icarus try and climb. it was actually rather funny. "I managed to climb the racks by sheer will power alone. though my outdoor experiences in the past does help a little" she said winking though she wasn't sure if her could see from that distance. as he mounted his broom and started to rise she pulled herself out of the water. and made her way up "See it isn't that hard, though your shoes wouldn't have helped" she said as she left a trail of water behind. soon she reached the same height. as him and made her way to the same overhanging rock. "Well I'm the opposite I wasn't much of an indoors person before I came here" she said truthfully she hadn't been indoors that she knew of before she had been brought to new zealand. "I may just look like a girl, but some times I am more of a freak of nature"[/b] she said. remembering one time before when she had been called that, or at least something similar, she heard in her own head Dee's voice no one can match up to you. You're a brilliant example of what nature does to a girl. she smiled at this before pressing it back where she came from. she turned back to the rocks and started to climb again. "to make it fair you need to do a jump my way now. Race you to the top" she said moving as fast as she could up the rocks, she knew no matter how fast she climbed she would never be able to beat his professional broom but still a little competition even a doomed one was fun. soon she was on the grass at the top and looking out over the lake. this would probably be her last jump as although she was strong climbing the cliffs three times was a strain on even her muscles, and tendons, especially those in her hands attached to them in her arm.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

"I'm not sure that just sheer will power alone would help." he said as he watched her joining him on the overhanging rock. "But I can't say that I am that patient person." he agreed that partially will power was needed for such kind of tasks, along of course with practice.
"Sounds rational. I bet there weren't many indoor places that the centaurs could introduce you in the coniferous forests of north Europe." he said and wondered where she used to take sanctuary with her centaur family when the weather conditions were requiring it. He listened to her, saying that she was a freak of nature.
"It's not a bad thing to be different." he had to agree that he hadn't met another girl like her.
He looked over his shoulders as if there was someone around them, trying to eavesdrop their conversation.
"Between you and me, I'm not a fan of girls who are overly focused on girlish nonsense. You should beg to differ." he told her, his voice tone lower as if he was conspiring with her.

He begged to differ as well. His family used to produce either magizoologists, healers or aurors. He was happy that he managed to change that with his own revolt. He turned to face her and she had started climbing again.
He stood up and smiled. "Why are you doing this to me?" he asked with a laugh, finding impossible the task to climb up the rest of the cliffs. "I would like to be fair and don't use my broom." he shouted to hear him as she was climbing higher. He left it on the rock and made an attempt to climb. "You know? Screw it." he murmured to himself and gave up. He used his wand once more. "Ascendio!" a sheer power pulled him from his skyward wand and landed him on the top of the cliffs, at the same time that Briar managed to climb at the top.
"I'm sorry but I know when I have to give up." he apologized for not following her way.
"So, are we going to jump simultaneously?" he asked, having a look at the lake from the edge of the cliff.

 

[Briar Rowan-Cullen]

Briar laughed. "you will be surprised how much sheer will power can achieve" she said though there was more than just will power that was helping her up the cliffs, se had a lot of time outside, and was the only one in her family able to climb she she had certainly made the most of it in her childhood as it was her only way to feel skilled as she was a little slow in most other aspects. "I can't believe you remembered me telling you that, I had forgotten that you even knew" she said surprised that he had remembered her saying that her first family were centaurs, but then again it wasn't something that would usually come up in conversation. "Yeah, the closest I got to inside was a shelter made out of branches. she said that was in winter when it was cold maybe even snowing otherwise in summer they didn't bother building anything, just slept under the stars something she had missed at the school. "I wasn't saying it like a bad thing, its just, well it doesn't matter" she said thinking back to the boat.
As she climbed he cliff she looked back towards Icarus she was surprised to see him trying to climb the cliff. "I meant for you to fly not climb" she called out to him at about the same time as he decided to give up climbing anyway and try a spell. Briar hurried the rest of the way up and was surprised when they both reached the top at the same time, that must have been one slow ascent. "I am not making you do anything, It is purely your choice. but fair is fair." she said sure he wouldn't back out of a challenge, not if he was anything like his cousin, but then again the other week his cousin did opt out of a race against her. but then again that was understandable. "Now I reckon at the same first unless you would rather one of us go first" she said she was happy whichever way it went. she stood up and walked around the edge towards the bottom of the wall. "The better the run up the better the fall" she said. "so you up for it?" she said a wicked grin spreading across her face

 

[Icarus Stratis]

A smile crung on his lips when the girl was surprised to find out that he remembered about her past.
"Remember? We talked back then about it in the Quidditch pitch while showing you some of my techniques. It's quite difficult to forget about someone that grew up in the wild along with a herd of centaurs. Even after a single reference to that matter." he said with a chuckle. It was an unusual story to here but very interesting and different. "From a shelter made out of branches to an enormous, stone castle? Ooh, that's a hell of an abrupt transition." he commented to the fact that she used to call indoors a shelter made of logs. He noticed that something was troubling her when they talked about being different but he didn't ask anything. His job at that moment was to entertain her and not make her concerned. At least that was the role he had assigned to himself subconsciously.

Icarus took off his shoes. They were already soaked and they were incommoding his movement.
"Okay, let's do it together." he agreed and followed her. She was taking the lead now.
"On the count of three. One...two..." he didn't counted to three, instead he sprint towards the end of the cliff.
At the edge, he leaped before letting the power of gravity guide his body towards water. He performed a frontfilp in midair before crushing into water, feet first. He let once more the cool water extinguish the rush in his veins before following the glowing sphere of the sun to the surface. He spit some water and took a deep breath.
"As much as I would like to be doing that all day, my ears seem to have a different opinion." he said in an attempt to unclog his ears from water.