Jump!

[Sara Moon]

Sara had become startlingly aware of the fact that she really did need to be in shape over the past two years. She'd always been thin, with very little exercise, but since training began, she'd known that she needed to be physicaly fit for her job. She could be an auror, and be unfit, but she wanted to be the best auror she could be, and so she'd been working steadily at it. She got up early in the mornings to go for a run, and sometimes did a second one in the evenings. She went to the gym every weekend, and often went swimming when she had the time. Luckily for her, she could simply apparate to Obsidian. She was living in Brightstone, having bought her parent's old New Zealand house from them.
This morning, the park was fairly empty. She had her headphones on, with her customised workout playlist playing as she ran, the music helped her keep her rhythm, and stopped her from thinking too much, which was often a problem of Sara's. However, when Van Halen's "Jump!" came on, she totally forgot about running, and began to sing along, without realising it. This had always happened at home. Her parents gave out about it constantly, as had her siblings. they were all musical, but Sara's tendency to break out into song at any given moment could often be irritating.
She glanced around her, to check if anyone was watching. It was too early for many people to be around, and so she allowed herself to get totally lost in the song. She danced forward instead of running, sliding along the path, and jumping up in the air. This kind of moods were rare, as she was usually still half asleep at this time of the morning, but today she was wide awake, and totally hyper. "Might as well jump!" she sang aloud, twirling around on the grass, then running back to the path to begin doing the electric slide. She was in such a good mood this morning! "Ba ba ba ba ba baaadaaa ba ba da da." She clapped her hands in the air, head-banging through the guitar solo. It had been so long since she'd listened to music without having some other task to do, and it felt great. She'd been taking everything so seriously recently. Especially work. This new group, with Andronikos and Leonzio was a great opportunity to learn, and she was really enjoying it, but at the same time, she was terrified. What they did could actually make a difference now, and she didn't know if she was ready. She desperately hoped she was, but she couldn't be sure, and it scared her to think that mistakes could cost lives. She knew Leonzio had wanted an older group, and she desperately wanted to prove herself to him. She could be a great auror, she knew she could, but she just needed to gain some self confidence. She worried so much about the Scitorari. It kept her up at night, wondering if she'd missed something crucial. It was good not to worry for a while, so for the moment she simply danced.

 

[Tristan Pierce]

When the clock struck five o'clock AM, Tristan found himself waking up groggily from his bed. At first it registered to him that it was too early to be awake. Second, the pounding in his head made him want to groan repeatedly. It reminded him of the blasting music last night where he, apparently, got himself drunk and dirty. Some things happened that evening. Scratch that, tons of things happened last night and the one thing he did not want to think about were the events that occurred a few hours ago. They were not very pretty at all. Some parts were quite fun but the rest were reckless and ridiculous. Tristan knew that he had too many alcohol in his system and well, flushing it out was the best option for him. Although he wouldn't say that it was a fun thing to do. Oh no, it brought him pain like no other. When he was done with the bathroom, he still felt the dull pain at the back of his head. He groaned loudly and sighed as well. This wasn't how he planned to start his morning but hangovers were inevitably like this.

The day out was cool and not too warm. Tristan could say that it was going to be a beautiful day once the sun was out to kiss the blue skies hello. To be honest, the young man was not a person who often appreciated good days like this. He only thought that days were days and its physical appearance did not seem to change everyday. Today just felt different. As if something unexpectedly exciting or humorous were to occur. He shook his head absently, thinking that his gut was probably still under the influence of alcohol. It has been hours since his last shot and he thought that his painful hangover was enough to torture him. Being drunk made him unclean and messy, literally. Taking a look at his mirror though told him that he dressed up just as nicely for the day ahead. It was casual, but did not draw too much attention - just the way he liked it. Tristan Pierce set out for his apartment's door, eager to simply enjoy the smallest pleasures of life like taking a walk outside. It was still quiet and the streets of Brightstone were probably deserted still. Now was the best time for some time alone.

Apparating to Brighstone Village was easy. Stupidly though, Tristan almost forgot that he was still having a mini headache. The moment he felt the tug of apparition on his navel, he remembered the pain in his head. Allowing himself to be whisked away, he grimaced at the effect. When he landed inside the walls of the village, he swallowed down the coffee that threatened to rise up from his digestive system. It took him ten minutes or so to calm down from the sickness. Afterwards, he looked up and saw that he was in a park. Of course, the famous children's playground was standing before him looking all too lonely. That was until a young brunette came in the scene, dancing like a weird psycho.

Tristan backed off, as if she was dangerous. Of course she wasn't, seeing that she was harmless and seemed to be enjoying herself with her headphones on. Tristan quickly assumed she was a muggle born, just like him, since that kind of device originated from the muggle culture. He sniggered to himself, fairly amused to see a young lady dancing to music that she could only hear. To him, she looked like she was under the influence of something but he knew better. She was just having the time of her life, under the sky, in the middle of what it appeared to be a jogging session. The young man didn't approach her though. Who was he to interrupt such a funny show?
​

 

[Sara Moon]

Sara loved the feeling of just not caring. It had been so long since she'd just let go in this way. She could remember the last time as though it were yesterday, the last time she'd felt this carefree. They'd been on holidays in Ireland, and had rented a cottage by the sea, just beside a small cliff. One of the days, during their stay, there had been a storm. Sara had gone outside in a sundress, and danced around the lawn in the wind. Eventually, she'd just lain down in the grass and let the storm swirl around her. Then, when her parents saw her, her Father ran outside and carried her in. It was still one of her best memories. She hadn't gotten in trouble though. Her parents had seemed utterly shocked by her actions, but had said very little about it. She'd always loved stormy weather, especially the wind. Friends had always thought that odd, but Sara never felt as free as she did during a storm. Even now, she wished there were more of a wind to lose herself in. As the song changed, she grinned to herself, and ran out onto the grass, tumbling into a perfect cartwheel. She'd never been able to cartwheel when she was younger. Her legs had always bent backwards instead. She did a row of them, and during the last, her i-pod fell out of her pocket onto the grass, ending the music abruptly. She collapsed onto the ground, picking up the device and hoping it was intact. Luckily; it was, the grass was soft.

She lay back, looking up at the sky, breathing in the scent of the fresh grass. She couldn't recapture how she'd felt a few moments before, she knew from experience that chasing the emotion never brought it back. Deciding she might as well get some exercise done, she turned over on her stomach, going into downward dog; a yoga pose, when she suddenly saw the man standing in the park. Shock caused her to drop back into the grass, cringing. She slowly rose up, observing the stranger. He was very handsome, and tall, and watching her. He must've seen the dancing. And the cartwheels. D@mn! Why; when she did silly things, were they always witnessed by someone she'd prefer seeing her in a far more elegant, or impressive state? She rose up onto her elbows, blatantly looking at him now, with her brow furrowed. She wasn't sure how to approach this situation. She could simply apparate away, but that seemed cowardly. She was an auror for Merlin's sake!

After a few seconds contemplation, she stood up, brushed the grass from her legs, and walked over, an awkward grin forming on her face. "Hi." she greeted, twisting her hands behind her back. He had kind eyes at least, watching eyes. Her mother had often looked like that, as though she saw everything at once. "Okay, well this is awkward, um, yeah I was dancing. I promise I'm not crazy or anything.. I was just... dancing." she blurted out, realising how little sense she was making. "I'm Sara by the way. I was jogging, and Van Halen came on, and when it's Van Halen; you've just gotta move. You don't have a choice." she corrected herself. Obviously, she'd just forgotten everything she'd ever read and learnt about manners. Good-looking men often had that effect on her. Deciding that she'd probably made a big enough fool of herself, she pulled back her shoulders and smiled. Yes, she'd been caught acting childish, and no, she didn't really have a viable excuse for it, but this was just one guy. Only one person had seen her, and so why should she worry? Admittedly, he was gorgeous, which was a downer, as making a bad first impression on someone attractive always was, but he was just one guy. She wasn't really sure whether or not to stay, having; albeit pathetically, explained herself. She slowly began to turn away, not wanting to be rude, or to outstay her welcome.

 

[Tristan Pierce]

Tristan folded his arms as he stepped away. Surely his visit to the village did not include a kind of spontaneous show by an unknown young lady. All he desired a few seconds ago was a quiet walk alone with nobody to bump into him or make an effort to flirt. He had enough of that last night and it was a good thing that when he woke up, he still had his pants on. It was such an idiotic thing to do yet temptation was the best manipulator. His rational mind told him that it was better to walk along, stare at the skies instead and completely forget the fact that he witnessed someone dance with joy alone. Now that he thought of himself, Tristan never danced to the music in such a public area. The risk of getting himself perhaps a sh!tload of humiliation was not worth it, so he never tried. This girl in front of him was giving him a live comedy show, in which he couldn't seem to abandon. Tristan chuckled as she made a perfect cartwheel on the soft, dewy grass. When he thought she was done, she did it again and again until he saw the device that was her music source fall out. He recognized it as an iPod - something of the muggle world. Tristan suddenly did not feel he was the only person in the world who brought things like those to the magical world. He was only proud to be a muggle born to get rid of their technology.

Of course, the young woman noticed Tristan's presence. Tristan registered her shock as they made eye contact which caused her to meet the grass once again. He contained his laughter and quickly looked away. Having to meet her eyes for the second time would be more awkward than ever. For the first time, he saw a stranger dance to music only she can hear and was caught watching. Who would be more embarrassed? Tristan strongly felt it would be her. Why, he was as innocent as a lamb here! He looked down at her when she approached him, smirking subtly at her arrival. How brave. "Hello," greeted Tristan back, not wanting to say anything more. After all, being quiet was a part of his personality. Watching her explain the whole situation made him laugh in a goodhearted manner. It was clear that she felt awkward and a little nervous around him. That effect on her made Tristan feel a little awkward himself but he tried to not show it. He shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded along, listening still to how Van Halen's song got on and it made her want to dance. Who the hell was that guy? He was probably a muggle musician and well, Tristan was not well acquainted with the different artists of both the magical and muggle world. He listened anyway until she finally decided that it was too awkward for the both of them to handle this. Tristan bowed his head slightly, biting the inner flesh of his cheek as she began to turn away from him.

"It's fine, I don't think you're insane," Tristan said, lightly shrugging at her. Well perhaps on impulse he thought she was slightly off her chair but she was so young and free. He understood that she wanted to enjoy the time she had alone. They were no different, since Tristan wanted to do just the same until he saw her here. Tristan stepped towards her and looked down, since she was really petite. She was very pretty though and her eyes clearly shined with something refreshing. "It's Sara right? I'm sorry for being so speechless but you killed those dance moves. Do you do that often?" Tristan asked, really curious if she normally worked on her dancing skills. She must be a talented young woman. When he realized that his choice of words were not so correct, he rectified himself immediately. "Um, I was talking about dancing in general. Not your, er, happy dancing whilst jogging sessions." Tristan appeared relaxed and all gentlemanly but his insides were screaming awkward all over again. He let out his right hand from his pocket before putting it out to shake. "I'm Tristan. What a pleasure." He offered her a small smile and waited for her decision to either shake his chilly palm or ignore it. He was hoping the former.
​

 

[Sara Moon]

Trust Sara to decide to dance around like a fool, the very moment someone appeared in the park that had been empty all morning. At times she felt she seriously needed to grow up, and start behaving like an adult, but when she tried; it was simply no fun. She wanted to enjoy herself. And really; what was the problem? So, she'd embarrassed herself. She was twenty. She'd get over it. She wanted excitement, life, and energy. All three were lacking at the moment. She did a lot of paperwork, came home, and slept. Not much of a life for someone who loved being out an about doing things. She looked up at the stranger, a strange sort of resolve in her eyes. She would not let him make fun of her. Her lips tightened into a line, and, in honesty; she cut quite a hilarious figure. Tiny, and angry, her hair all over the place. She swallowed, but when he greeted her quite cordially, she relaxed a bit. Still, he looked too amused for her liking, and she resisted the urge to bite her lip. She desperately hoped there was no grass in her hair. Redeeming oneself was always harder when one looked ridiculous. then again, she'd looked ridiculous enough this morning to last her a lifetime. Something told her this wouldn't be the last time she had to explain odd behaviour to a stranger. It had happened before, it would happen again. Though; in the past, those people had usually become her friends. Perhaps the same was true for this stranger.

As his silence continued, Sara began to feel very awkward. There was the tiniest possibility that he mightn't have even noticed her, in which case, she'd made everything worse and had now come across as extremely arrogant, and mildly deranged, but his smiled looked so amused. He must have seen her. Otherwise; why was he smirking at her. that made no sense. She inwardly, and the very moment she'd decided that she should just apparate away and pretend this had never happened; he spoke. She looked back at him, and smiled; "He speaks!" she exclaimed, laughing. "Thanks." she grinned, relaxing a little bit. She usually got along well with people, but usually; she was introduced far more conventionally. At least he didn't think her mad; he knew her name now, and if any of the other aurors heard about this; it would be the end of her. The teasing would be merciless and never-ending. She shook her head at the mere though of it, observing the stranger as he looked down at her. She always had to look up at people, and as a result; people often underestimated her. She was much stronger than she appeared. It annoyed her though. She always felt she had to prove that she could do anything that the other trainees could do it. Outside of work though; it never bothered her that much. In fact; she liked being small. Her sister was short too, and Star wasn't extremely tall. One of the few similarities between the Moon girls. Forgetting herself, Sara bit her lip, and tilted her head.

Sara resisted the urge to laughaloud at his question. "Usually in the comfort of my own home, but it's a lovely day, and I don't have work for a couple of hours. I run here most mornings." she explained, as he corrected himself. "How about you; what brings you to the park on this fine morning. You're obviously not working out; jeans, so?" she queried, relaxing a bit, now that he'd started talking. When he introduced himself, she took Tristan's hand to shake. They were cold, and brought to mind the saying 'cold hand, warm heart,' That was a favourite of her Mothers, who was always ready with a seanfhocal of some sort. Dad had never liked Irish, but he knew all the sayings too, after being married to Mam for so long. "The pleasure's mine." she replied, smiling at him. In fairness, Tristan was behaving very fairly, and kindly. the majority of people would've laughed at her, but he was being very polite. She could feel herself becoming less awkward, but was wary of doing anything else that might make him doubt her sanity. For instance, she still really wanted to lie in the grass, but that would be strange. People who knew her were used to her quirks, but she preferred to ease people into it; rather than letting them witness her odd behaviour from the start.

Translation: Old saying

 

[Tristan Pierce]

During their first few seconds of talking, it was nothing but awkwardness screaming about. Of course, what could Tristan expect? Something less uncomfortable? That kind of scenario was impossible, considering that he did witness her moving to her heart's pleasure out there. Her own small world with her iPod on was amusing to catch a glimpse of. She was obviously someone who liked to have fun, no matter how big or small that kind of "fun" was. Tristan knew that he could use a friend like this in his life, since he was so absorbed with his own work in the clinic. But with all merciless prods from his friends about it, he knew he was never going to admit he needed a person who was going to keep up the fun in his life going. He was glad though that he was allowed this kind of show this morning, all before he had to run his uninteresting errands that required the testing of his own patience. It was something he needed to start his day.

Definitely, Tris was not gifted with the best social skills in the world. The difficulty of having to engage in small talk almost everyday practiced Tristan to try not being not too quiet and to actually utter some words. With Sara, he felt easily engaged. She was a good talker and by just looking at her, Tris could tell she was an interesting person to begin with. Speaking about running, Tristan thought why he never saw her whenever he went for a ran. He immediately knew why, since he rarely went through Brightstone Village just for a run. "Yeah, jeans." Their outfits were a lot different. His was all about walking around casually whilst hers was obviously for working out. Tristan shrugged, feigning casualty regarding his very painful hangover. He doubted she experienced that kind of hangover. If Sara did, Tris knew that she could relate too all what he shall say. "I'm just... Trying to relax, I guess?" Tristan said, like he was unsure of what to call one of those mornings where he had to relieve himself from a massive headache.

"Last night I had a couple of drinks. One fun led to another and then the rest of the night happened in a blur. To be honest the only thing I remember is crashing on my bed." Tristan was able to at least get past his apartment's door, let alone stay conscious on his way back home. He must have kissed some random ladies in the club, who were practically throwing themselves to him in all their drunkenness. He laughed casually at the memory, before continuing. "So I woke up, got dressed and thought that a walk in the village's park would be my pain reliever. Apparently, I got more than that." Tristan smirked at her now, a kind of friendly teasing curve that showed nothing more. He was not wrong though; a free talent show was something very unexpected especially coming from a twenty something year old lady. Getting relaxation from just observing people was a habit of Tristan. It sometimes proved to be scary but nonetheless people who knew him very well were not too distressed by it.

"So, er, would you like to walk with me?" Tristan offered with a kind smile. He breathed out, his mind coming up with possible responses that can be given to him. He rarely met girls early in the morning but when he did meet them, the chances of granting him a conversation were 50/50. It was fine for Tris though; he was used to his luck when it came to their gender. "But if you still plan to jog or dance, then go ahead."
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