Open Out for a run

[Lillith Montgomery]

Lillith was stretching in the entrance hall as she waited for Harper and someone else. Harry... or Gunter was it?.. She couldn't really remember. It didn't matter too much though as she would be meeting him soon. Lillith had a new outfit on that she asked her parents to send over. Luckily, it was her dad who seemed to have bought it, as the outfit turned out to be pretty decent. Her other running clothes had a few stains on them, as well as small rips and holes that she had not noticed until she took them off. Lillith continued to stretch until she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

 

[Harper Alston]

It had taken several months, but Harper had finally found people who liked sports other than Quidditch. It was kind of absurd how obsessed Hogwarts students were with a sport that didn't even make sense, but she supposed that was an inevitable side-effect when the school only offered one sport. Thankfully, she'd found Hunter and now Lillith, both of whom also enjoyed running. Her next task would be to find some people who liked football so she could get some pickup games going, but that would come in due time. For now, she could appreciate having a couple of running partners so that she didn't always have to jog laps on her own.

Harper had changed into an old t-shirt and shorts, her usual outfit for working out, before starting the long descent down to the ground floor. It occurred to her that she probably wouldn't even need to warm up after taking seven flights of stairs. She soon reached the entrance hall and immediately spotted Lillith. "Lillith! Hey!" Harper waved before jogging over. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting." Even if she had, at least she wasn't the last one to arrive. A quick scan of the room told her Hunter was nowhere to be found. "Have you seen Hunter yet?" They were in the same house, so maybe Lillith had spotted him earlier. "He said he'd come. But maybe he's running late." Harper grinned. It was the lowest effort pun she'd ever made, but a pun was a pun.

 

[Lillith Montgomery]

Lillith turned around to see Harper jogging to her. "Hi Harper!" She released her leg that she was holding to wave at her. "Nope, not really. I was almost done with my stretch." Lillith went back to stretching her legs, as she talked to Harper. "Oh, was that his name? I haven't seen him yet, I thought he would be coming over with you. That and I also don't really know him." Lillith hadn't hung out enough with her housemates to know their names. Though she could probably recognise his face if Lillith did see him. She knew a couple people but she easily forgot their names if she hadn't talked to that much. "Pfft" Lillith for some reason found the pun that Harper made a bit funny.

 

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter was arriving at the Entrance Hall, Harper had sent him an owl saying something about a run. He hated getting up this early in the morning but it was for a good cause after all.
As he got closer to the entrance hall he heard voices, one of them seemed to be Harper's and she was asking for him. He decided to let the girls finish talking before turning the corner of the wall "Your wait is over my people, King Hunter as arrived" he said with open arms. He was surprised to see Lilith, he didn't hear any noise coming from the common room when he was in his dorm so the girl must have been pretty sneaky.
Hunter was wearing his red beach shorts, in case they decided to swim in the lake again, and a loose grey tank top and his faithful backpack right behind him "So, what are we doing this morning?" he said clapping his hands and then frictioning them together to warm them up, it was colder than he thought it would be. Maybe a tank top and shorts had been a bad idea.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper was relieved to hear that Lillith hadn't been waiting for too long. She decided that since they were both early, she might as well take advantage of the time and continue warming up. Besides, she'd never been good at standing still. She started to bounce up and down as Lillith stretched. "Oh, I thought he might follow you down since you're in the same house. I guess you'll meet him soon enough." She was pretty sure they'd get along. They were both friendly and liked to run. And they were both Hufflepuffs. That had to count for something.

Despite Lillith's noise of exasperation, Harper suspected Lillith still found her pun funny. Her grin widened, but she hardly had time to enjoy the moment when Hunter decided to make his entrance. Harper stopped jumping in place and rolled her eyes at his introduction, though she didn't bother to hide her smile from seeing her friend. She should've known not to expect anything less from the boy who'd once introduced himself to her as the most handsome guy in Charms class. Once Hunter was closer, Harper dropped the smile and frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't know of a 'King Hunter,'" she said, making air quotes. "We're looking for Peasant Hunter. Do you know where we could find him?"

Hunter asked what they'd be doing, and Harper shrugged before turning to Lillith. "You're in charge, Lillith." After all, the other girl had been the one to invite Harper (and by extension, Hunter) to go running. "What's your usual route?" By now, Harper had settled into a bit of a routine for her runs, and she was eager to try something new. Maybe Lillith had found a hidden path or a cool spot Harper hadn't seen before.

 

[Lillith Montgomery]

Lillith laughed at Harper's comment, and smiled. "Maybe Peasant Hunter's still in the dorms." She said jokingly to Harper. Lillith recognised the guy, but she had never really spoken to him before. "I'm Lillith, but you should already know that." She smirked just a little bit, not being able to contain a smile that was creeping onto her face.

"Well, I usually pass by the greenhouse through a route near the edge of the forest and then I finish around the lake area." Lillith said. She had run a few different paths, but the one near the forest was her personal favourite as the trees provided shade and a lot of fresh air throughout the path. She looked at them for a reaction and noticed Hunter's bag. "What's in the bag?" She asked him. Maybe there would be food or sweets in there.

 

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter rolled his eyes at the girls "Just so you know Peasant Hunter made you all wait for him so he's clearly an important person after all" he said with a grin, surely they weren't expecting that. Hunter one, girls zero.
"Yeah I know you from class. You are sneaky though, I didn't hear any noise from the common room when you passed" he said to Lilith. He heard as the girl told them her usual running route, it was a hell of a coincidence that they all met, who knew that there were so many people at Hogwarts that liked to run.
As Lilith asked what was in the bag he smiled at her and said "Everything". He glanced at Harper who probably knew a few things that might be in there "If I told you we wouldn't leave before sunrise"

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper smiled at Hunter's comeback before waving a hand in the air, as if to dismiss his words. "Peasant Hunter might be important," she said airily, "but that doesn't make him a king." To be honest, she found Hunter's over-inflated ego kind of amusing.

Lillith explained that she usually ran by the forest and ended with the lake. "That sounds good to me!" Harper had passed by the forest a couple of times but she usually preferred the cliffs since the view was better. "Have you ever seen anything weird in the forest?" Harper hadn't explored the forest yet, but she was curious to know if there were actually dangerous creatures in there or if that was just an excuse to prevent students from wandering in and getting lost. She'd been by the edge a couple of times but hadn't seen anything bigger than a bird.

Harper glanced up at Hunter, making eye contact, when Lillith asked about the backpack. She smiled a bit, anticipating his answer. At Hunter's reply, she snorted. "He's not lying," she said to Lillith. "The last time we went running, he had a bag of frozen peas in there."

 

[Lillith Montgomery]

Lillith rolled her eyes at him and opened her mouth to say something, but decided not to. She would let him have this one win, she guessed. “Well, I’m pretty light on my feet. After all I did ballet.” She said, as if it was something the world already knew. Lillith did a pirouette and smiled, as if to prove she did do ballet.

“Um, not really. I think I did see a centaur once.. but it might have just been a deer.” Lillith said. The figure she had seen was moving too fast for her to really identify what it was. Lillith had never been inside the forest as none of her friends wanted to go, and she’d rather not go alone. She knew that she had a pretty bad sense of direction, and she would get lost easily.

Lillith wondered how “everything” would fit inside one backpack, but as long as there was food in there, she thought it would be fine. I mean why bring a backpack if there’s no food in it right? What else would you need? Though, frozen peas was not a food that she would want to bring running. “Why would you need frozen peas?” She asked cocking one brow.

 

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter listened as both of the girls talked, he felt like he shouldn't interrupt them while they were talking about where the run would take place. He was surprised when Lilith mentioned centaurs, something he would be investigating sometime. Centaurs were know for being very good at astronomy and divination, maybe they could teach him a thing or two.
He grinned at Harper and opened his bag to take the bag of frozen peas "Still got them" he said shaking the package before shoving it in his backpack again. He looked at Lilith, who clearly didn't knew how could frozen peas be helpful even though she was a ballerina "Well I bring it in case of sprained ankles or something. It is easier than bringing ice, it doesn't wet everything and it's a bit hard to unfreeze" he explained. "Now, did I wake up so early to chat or to actually run? C'mon ladies let's move" he said jogging towards the exit not really sure to where after, they would eventually take the lead by then.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper's eyes widened. "A centaur?!" She hadn't even realized those were real or that they lived in the Forbidden Forest. No wonder they weren't allowed to go in there. She knew from Greek myths that centaurs were usually violent. But at the same time, Harper definitely wanted to see one for herself. "Maybe we'll see one today!" She decided that after today, she'd start choosing more routes that led by the forest's edge.

Hunter revealed that he still had his bag of peas, which caused Harper to shake her head slightly. Ridiculous. She did have to admit that his logic made sense. Frozen peas were more convenient than ice. But they also lived in a castle with a hospital wing that had nurses who could do magic. It would be even more convenient to just leave the peas behind, especially while exercising.

"Yes! Let's go!" she said, clapping her hands together, as Hunter pointed out that they should actually do what they'd come out to do. Harper liked chatting with Lillith and Hunter; they were easy to talk to. But she also liked running. Harper jogged forward to catch up with Hunter. She reached the door first and held it open for the other two. "To the greenhouse?" She looked to Lillith for confirmation.

 

[Lillith Montgomery]

“Uh yeah. Maybe.” She said, still not too sure of what she saw. Lillith did hope she could see something magical though. I mean, they were living in some magical castle school thing and they have yet to see a magical creature, well except for the ones in school of course. But that didn’t count!

The pea thing did make sense to her, though she wan’t too sure if bringing a whole backpack was worth all of that. You could probably manage to find your way back to the main building even without a sprained ankle right? Though it would probably become extremely dark by the time you reach the castle.

Lillith rolled her eyes when Hunter said “ladies” but continued to smile. “Les go!” She exclaimed, not pronouncing the “t”. She caught up with them, more jogging than running. “Mmhm! We’ll take a short break and continue on over to the lake.” Lillith said and dashed through the door. “Last one there’s a rotten egg!” She shouted as she continued to run.

 

[Hunter Robinson]

He started running after Lilith who turned this into a competition, he could see why her and Harper got along. He was between the girls and he had a streak of winning going on, he wasn't about to break it. "You heard that Harper?" he said to her who was a bit behind him "You are a rotten egg" he said teasing her. She did lost in their race the other day, did that make her one? Lilith was still in the front but a tiny hill was coming up and Hunter was known for jumping off the hills instead of running down like a normal person would do, and Lilith wasn't expecting that.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper wasn't surprised at all when Lillith issued the challenge. It seemed that every time they saw each other, they had a race of some sorts, which was perhaps fitting considering that was how they first met. As soon as Hunter cleared the doorway, Harper sprinted after them. "Rude!" she called out. "I hold the door open for you two, and this is how you repay me?" She wasn't actually upset. She had half-expected this after all. But if her comment somehow made them feel a bit guilty and slow down, well, she wouldn't complaint.

Hunter taunted her, and Harper rolled her eyes. "Better a rotten egg than a rotten cheater!" she shot back. Taking off first while your friend very nicely held the door open for you? Definitely cheating. Still, she smiled and picked up her speed. She'd raced Hunter once before, and now she was prepared for any weird parkour tricks he might have up his sleeve. She wouldn't lose again like last time, when she had been startled into stopping. Her legs were loosening up, and she felt like she could go on forever, flying forward. Within seconds, she had passed Hunter and was quickly gaining on Lillith.

 

[Lillith Montgomery]

Lillith was glad she decided to go for the head start. She didn't look back but by the sound of their footsteps it seemed like they were pretty quick. And good thing she knew the terrain around the path too. Being used to it, she could easily make her way towards the greenhouse as long as she kept up the pace she was going in now. It wasn't her usual jog but she could get used to it.

She could hear the others shouting at each other as she ran, and being the curious cat Lillith was, she turned around to check on them. Well, that was a mistake because as soon as she glanced back, Lillith could see Harper almost right behind her and Hunter, right behind Harper. Harper ran past Lillith, and Lillith picked up the pace. She couldn't be the rotten egg when she was the one who issued the race!

 

[Hunter Robinson]

Hunter bit his tongue, he had a lot to say about 'rotten cheater' but he decided to keep the comments for after the race when he wouldn't need every bit of energy that he had. Lilith was right in front of him and Hunter quickly started gaining on her, he passed the girl and was neck to neck with Harper now.
He had to admit, she was fast, but from their last race he had started training, he had a feeling that she would want a rematch. "You are lucky that I have my bag on my back" he said to her between breaths and almost in a whisper to try not to waste energy. His bag was definitely holding him back, and suddenly he had an idea. He took off his backpack while running making it fall behind him, he would Accio it later wherever they were.
"Sorry Lilith" he yelled conscious that maybe he had put on an obstacle in her away but she probably would jump over it as if it was nothing. He kept running feeling lighter than ever, Harper didn't stood a chance now, he kept running and eventually he passed her. He was ahead of them both, all he needed to do was keep up the pace.

 

[Harper Alston]

It didn't take long before Harper also passed Lillith. Now she was in front, where she belonged. Everything was going smoothly, and she had settled into a comfortable rhythm. Her focus narrowed to the path in front of her. The greenhouse was nearby, and she had no doubt she would get there first. Unfortunately, the sound of Hunter's voice ruined her focus. She couldn't quite make out what he was saying; he was almost whispering. "Tired?" Harper asked in as breezy of a tone as she could manage, trying to conceal the effort it took. "You should take a break." The running was starting to wear on her, but she was determined not to let Hunter or Lillith see that.

There was the sound of a small thud, and Hunter yelled an apology to Lillith. Harper frowned, trying to figure out what had happened. Don't look, don't look, don't look. She looked. It was a quick glance and she instantly saw that Hunter had dropped his backpack in Lillith's path. Unfortunately, the action cost Harper. Though she almost immediately turned her attention back to the greenhouse in the distance, looking backward had ruined her momentum and given Hunter enough time to pass her. She narrowed her eyes and picked up her speed, determined to catch up and make it to the greenhouse first. She was going to win this.

 

[Lillith Montgomery]

Lillith continued to run, seeing that Hunter was now infront of her. “Oh, No I am not going last.” She said to herself. Lillith ran faster, hoping to catch up with them. She almost caught up to Hunter but was distrupted. He let go of his bag and it rolled off towards her as she continued to run. Alert, she continued to run and got ready to jump while she was at it. Lillith leapt over the bag, going pretty far, but her landing had lost her a few seconds. Harper was right! Hunter is a cheater!
Slightly annoyed, she started running faster, her steps in creasing in distance and losing most of the carefulness she had not to trip on things. Surely her instincts would help her. Lillith could tell that she was not going to be first, but she could still come second. She soon caught up to Harper and they were both nearing the greenhouse. Hunter was more than a few steps ahead of them and it seemed Harper was not aware that Lillith was right behind her now.