Closed Repeated Mistakes

[Lars van Houten]

Lars had been nervous about painting outside after his encounter with Blake Irons, but he hoped that things would be okay now. The lawns were rather big, so he couldn't imagine the boy would need to run over his paintings again. He also had asked Elliot to meet him out here. The two of them had painted a banner for the Hufflepuff Quidditch game last semester, and it had been nice to paint with someone else, even if they had only painted letters. He was hoping that if he helped Elliot learn a bit about painting and colors, the other boy might want to join him more often. He was nice and a bit quiet, like Lars himself. It made Lars feel better having him around. Sierra was nice and had been nice to paint with, but it was hard to know what to say to her. Elliot felt like someone he could befriend, and someone he could befriend all on his own without his sister meddling. He had put down a blanket on the grass and covered it with art supplies. He sketched an idea in his sketchbook for this next painting while he waited for the Hufflepuff to arrive.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had needed a break from being inside the castle all day, and had been pleasantly surprised when Lars had asked him to hang out and paint together. He'd appreciated Lars' help with his banner last semester and he knew the other boy was really quite a talented artist. Elliot wasn't really sure he could hold a candle to anything Lars could paint, but he was happy enough to be invited either way.

"I didn't know what to bring, so I just brought myself," Elliot half joked, as he approached Lars on the lawns, sitting down next to him. "Oh, and some chocolate frogs," He didn't have any painting supplies and stopping at the art room without having someone like Lars to tell him what to get was too daunting, so Elliot hoped bringing chocolate would be an acceptable trade for Lars to share. You couldn't really go wrong with chocolate. He glanced at Lars' notebook, trying not to be too nosy, but curious about what he was sketching. "What're you working on?"

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars looked up as Elliot joined him on the blanket, giving the boy a small smile. "Yourself is enough, I have plenty of supplies to share." He said softly. He was glad the boy had shown up at all, and excited at the idea of painting with someone else and making a friend in the process. "Chocolate frogs are definitely welcome, though." He added with a smile. The boy showed some interest in Lars' sketchbook, so he showed it to him after a moment of hesitation. "I was sketching some flowers." He said softly. "It will be winter soon... and I always miss the flowers then so I figured I could make a nice painting with some flowers in it." He wasn't sure if he should be saying that, or if that would be weird. He gave Elliot a hesitant look, wondering if he had just ruined the fun with his comment. It wasn't really normal for boys to like flowers, was it? Why had he said it that weirdly?

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot was happy Lars didn't seem to mind sharing his sketchbook with him, leaning in closer to admire the sketch. "They're pretty. I always used to forget how green it is here, and now seeing it all the time is.." Elliot trailed off again, waving his hand a bit and trying to find the right word for the dramatic change of scenery at the castle, "It's different." He settled on. "I like the flowers though, it's cool that you can just.. look at something and draw it," Elliot scratched at his ear a little, suddenly nervous about this whole thing. Lars seemed to be able to just pick up a sketchbook and know what to put into it. Elliot sometimes spent minutes just thinking about how he wanted to write something down, let alone draw anything. "How do you.. Pick things to draw? How do you know what'll look good?"

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars nodded in understanding at Elliot's words. He could get that he didn't quite know how to put it into words, and he felt like he understood what he meant anyway. "Yeah, it's beautiful." He said softly, looking around the grounds with a small sigh. Then he turned to Elliot and blushed at his words about his drawing. "Oh, thank you... it took a lot of practice." He said honestly. "I just pick what I feel like... it doesn't matter if it looks good." He said, glancing at Elliot shyly. "I think drawing and painting is more about how you feel inside, not about what looks nice or not." He was starting to think Elliot wouldn't judge him for saying things like that. He did mean it, but knew some others wouldn't understand. He took out a few of the paint supplies, smiling. "Let's start painting, it's more fun." He said, giving Elliot some paper and a brush. He started painting, adding color to his sketch. He started making the petals a deep red color, adding hints of purple for the shadows.

 

[Elliot Briar]

When Lars put it that way, it sounded so simple. Just paint what you feel. Elliot frowned at the paper Lars had handed to him, mulling that over. It was just so difficult to ignore the lingering fear that he was going to do something wrong still. Logically, he knew you couldn't really do art wrong, but feelings were so messy and art was supposed to be pretty wasn't it? Lars' certainly was pretty enough. "So does that mean you have pretty feelings too?" he asked, a little slyly. He made sure to punctuate the question with as goofy a smile he could so Lars knew he wasn't really making fun of him.
Turning back to his own paper, Elliot had to resist the urge to copy Lars' flowers, staring out over the lawn instead for a bit before dipping his brush into the green paint and dragging it across the paper speculatively. A few flicks ended up splattering on his knee as he lifted the brush and Elliot frowned. Hopefully that came out easily.

 

[Blake van Houten]

The castle itself was pretty old and boring, but Blake couldn't help but love the Hogwarts grounds. They were so big, there was plenty of space for everything he wanted to do, and though Blake missed hockey immensely at school, there was at least room to do other things. He had taken to the outdoors today with Tyler to enjoy the fresh air, and hopefully play some catch. They hadn't discussed it, but Blake was tossing a ball and catching it with one hand as they walked and chatted, enjoying the day.

Blake's mood shifted quickly, though, as his eyes fell on a familiar sight. The boy he had fought with by the lake was outside painting again, this time with some other kid. The Ravenclaw had been unforgivably rude to Blake, and he really felt like he should teach him a lesson. And it'd be better this time, with an audience. Nudging Tyler to get his attention, Blake pointed to the two boys. "The weedy tall one, that's that kid who was rude to me over some paint." He said in an undertone, then took a couple of steps closer, just enough to catch the end of their conversation. "Aww, you got pretty feelings?!" Blake simpered in the best mocking voice he could summon. "Just a couple of pretty little wimp boys hanging out because nobody wants to be their friend." Blake laughed, kicking over a cup of dirty paint water towards the boys as he came near.

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler enjoyed being outside, and was glad he shared that with Blake. It was fun to explore the grounds with his friend, and to exercise occasionally too. Tyler liked running, so whenever he didn't go outside with Blake he ran some laps. But now he was with his friend, and Tyler was sure they would find something fun to do. Blake bad brought a ball, so he figured they'd end up playing some sort of game eventually.

He noticed his friend look at two boys as he nudged him, and leaned closer to listen as Blake spoke to him in an undertone. He was a bit surprised to hear one of the kids had been rude to Blake, as he definitely didn't seem the type to stand up to anyone. Tyler snorted. "Really?" He murmured. He felt gleeful as he followed Blake closer to the other boys, already relishing the upcoming confrontation. Tyler laughed as Blake responded to what the boys had been saying. It was deserved, really. Who talked about pretty feelings? "Are you sure they're boys? I don't think guys talk about pretty feelings. Nor do they paint pretty flowers." He added, grinning. He stayed behind Blake and let him be the one to approach first. He knew he was more likely to intimidate with his words than anything else. Besides, he liked Blake but if they were to get in trouble for this, he wanted to ensure he couldn't be accused of anything besides some mean words. And words couldn't be proven.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars hoped Ellioy wouldn't laguh at what he said, but was soon reassured. The boy's comment was a joke, but not in any way mocking of him. He watched as the boy started to paint as well, feeling happy that he had encouraged Elliot to try this too. He was about to respond to what he had asked in a joking way as well, when he suddenly realized someone was approaching. Lars winced as he noticed who it was and immediately tensed up. Blake Irons was someone he wanted to avoid, and he had thought that feeling was mutual. Lars flushed as the boy started making fun of what Elliot had said, and then shrank back a little at his next words. He was accompannied by another boy, who didn't even hesitate before joining in the teasing. Lars flushed deep pink, something he always did when he was embarrassed. He'd been bullied before, but he had thought stuff like that wouldn't happen at Hogwarts. "We were just talking about painting. And joking." He murmured weakly. He moved back when Blake kicked over the paint water, moving his painting out of the way quickly. He watched regretfully as the dirty water soaked into the blanket, staining it. He then frowned at Blake, glancing at the other boy. "C...can't you just leave us alone? We weren't doing anything to you." He said, though his voice was quiet and it sounded a bit feeble, even to himself.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot was startled as their water was knocked over, scrambling to move himself and some of their supplies out of the way before looking up as the two sneering boys joined them. He could sense how tense Lars was when the pair started speaking, feeling his own guts twist up at the insults. Why'd he have to say something so easily mockable.
Elliot was torn. He wanted to defend Lars and himself, and Lars' art too, but he also didn't want to start any trouble, especially when the two new boys seemed intent on doing just that. Keeping his head down, scanning their set up for any more easy kicking targets to move aside, Elliot did his best to not acknowledge the pair, murmuring to Lars instead. "Maybe we should just go, the courtyard might be quieter."

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake laughed in agreement with Tyler's joke, glancing between the two boys with a smirk on his face. "That's true, they're acting more like a pair of girly girls." He snorted, turning his attention to the boy from the lake when he spoke, holding his brown eyes for only a moment before looking away with a laugh. "And we're just going for a walk, but we decided to do you a favour, make sure you're not embarrassing yourself acting like a girl. Aren't you gonna say thank you?" He sneered, and laughed again when the strange boy spoke, acting like Blake wasn't there. "Aww, it's not nice to leave people out. We just wanna join you, what's so wrong with that?" He teased.

 

[Tyler Lee]

Feeling strong with Blake by his side, Tyler couldn't help grinning. There was something powerful about the way the two boys were clearly intimidated by them. The Ravenclaw spoke to them, but in the most timid way, and the Hufflepuff seemed to hope that ignoring them would simply make them go away. "Exactly, we're helping." He said, echoing Blake. "You should say thank you." He added, grinning. "Your paining is ugly anyway, you shouldn't waste your time with that." He took a step closer, then made a grab for it. It was mostly to scare the boy, and Tyler was pleased to see him flinch even if he didn't manage to grab his painting from him. "Maybe we want to learn how to paint our pretty feelings too." He said mockingly.

 

[Madeline Kaimarama]

Exploring the grounds at Hogwarts had come to be Maddy's favourite pastime here. Of course the forest was still the best location, but the rest of the grounds were still pretty great. Today Maddy was wandering aimlessly, enjoying just being out in the open. As the year came towards its end her mind was on her little brother, and how unfair it was that it would still be another year before he got to come to Hogwarts. It would be wonderful to get together as a family again over the holidays, and see the Fletchers again, although she was a little worried about how the D&D game would go when she and Wills had been absent for so long, and would have to roll temporary characters since Seb had written out their main ones. That made sense, but it hurt to think about, and she knew from his letters that the Fletchers weren't happy about it either. In the meantime, she was impatient for Seb to join them here, and to show him the forest and the gardens and the castle, and introduce him to her friends - particularly Elliot, who she thought he'd like. Speaking of which . . . as Maddy crossed the lawn, she saw Elliot, with a few of the other boys she recognised from classes. But as she approached them, it became clear that what was happening here wasn't a friendly conversation. Anger surged in Maddy as she saw one of the Slytherins sneeringly snatch at what looked like a painting lying on the ground. Elliot and the boy sitting beside him looked scared, and Maddy's immediate instinct was that she had to protect them. She strode up to the group. "HEY! Leave them alone, you dumb bullies!"

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars wondered if this would happen every time he tried to create art outside. It made him sad to think about that, as he loved painting and drawing the things he saw outdoors. It was his favorite way to spend his free time, and he felt very frustrated by how much these boys seemed intent on ruining that fun for him. He felt tears prickle behind his eyes and wished he didn't cry so easily. He wasn't even sad, just angry and frustrated, but he'd look pathetic anyway if he cried. He swallowed, then nodded at Elliot's suggestion. He admired his friend for his ability to ignore the two, but Lars wasn't as good at it. He grit his teeth. "I'm not acting like a girl." He said, though his voice was soft. "Leave us alone, I'm not doing anything to you." He managed to grab his painting before Blake's friend could grab it, and scrambled back a little in an attempt to get away from them. They were definitely very intimidating, and Lars felt like he had shrunk down to half his size. He was taller than both these boys, but he didn't feel like that at all from his position on the ground. He was about ready to run, if Elliot was too, when someone else suddenly showed up. Lars recognized the girl from his year, and stared with wide eyes as she strode up to Blake and Tyler and told them to leave them alone. Lars was relieved to have an ally, but also no longer felt like it was fair to run away. What if this girl got hurt somehow for protecting them?

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot kept his head down as the two boys continued to pick at them, feeling his face burn at their words. He couldn't figure out why they seemed to have such a problem with what they were doing, or girls, for that matter, but he couldn't shake the unease that something bad was going to happen if they didn't tread carefully. His heart skipped a beat a little when one of the kids made a grab for Lar's painting, Elliot flinching and grabbing Lar's arm half out of fear at the sudden movement, and half as maybe some sort of aborted attempt to protect his friend. He focused in on that point of contact, trying to count his breathes over his rapid heartbeat and think of some solution to the unpleasant encounter.

The sound of Maddy's voice snapped him out floundering planning, feeling like a breath of fresh air to a stifling situation as she stormed over to them. The look on her face as she approached though didn't seem to bode too well for a deescalation and Elliot quickly scrambled to his feet. He lamented the loss of contact with Lars for a brief moment, lingering close to the other boy still on the ground, but he wanted to be standing if something more dramatic were about to happen.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake chuckled at Tyler's joke, though he didn't grab for one of the paintings himself. Their last escape from a teacher had been a narrow one, and he didn't especially want to be caught with paint on his hands, if anything went wrong. And before Blake could even really process his thought about things going wrong, things went wrong. As irritating as he found the interruption, Blake quickly turned his most confident and charming to the girl who had approached. "Nothing's going on!" He said calmly, smiling at her. "We were just asking if we could join in the painting, and I guess these kids aren't that into sharing." He sized her up quietly, charming grin still in place. Blake didn't really want it to come to a fight, hoping he could smile his way out of this, but if worst came to worst, he was confident he'd come out the winner. "Guess we'll have to play catch instead after all." He said with a grin, tossing the ball in his hand up and catching it again.

 

[Tyler Lee]

Tyler hadn't really wanted to get the boy's painting, the grab for it had been meant more to scare him. He grinned as he noticed he clearly achieved that, and the other boy even grabbed his arm in fear. Tyler snorted with laughter, shaking his head. "Isn't that precious." He said mockingly. But before he could say anything else, he heard a girl's voice shouting. Tyler sighed and rolled his eyes as he turned around, crossing his arms defensively. He was glad to let Blake take the lead on this, and appreciated his valiant effort to convince the girl they had just been asking if they could join. Tyler could guess, however, that the girl had seen too much to buy that. But it didn't really matter. He sighed. "I guess so, shame these boys are so selfish." He said with a glance at them. Then he glanced at the girl and smiled at her as well. "Do you want to join us playing catch, then?" He asked, already knowing she would refuse. He didn't particularly want to play catch, let alone with a girl, but changing the subject seemed like a smart move.

 

[Madeline Kaimarama]

The more Maddy took in of the situation, the more certain she was that she'd fortuitously interrupted something bad before it turned even worse. The boy on the ground looked like he was on the verge of tears, and Elliot seemed only a little better off. She was proud of him standing up beside her to face them, though it didn't seem likely he'd be much use if it came to a fight. She scowled at the boys as they turned smarmy, not convinced for a second, and more riled up that they would even try to suggest that Elliot and his friend were the ones in the wrong here. "LIAR!" she yelled at him, hands balling into fists. "You're obviously a big dumb bully, so why don't you just go away?" Secretly she would rather they didn't go away, so she could have the satisfaction of fighting them, but then she'd have to worry about Elliot and his friend getting hurt.