🌹 Rose Giving Soaring, Flying

[Kiara Wood]

((yellow for Lysander Summers))

Lysander was the first person that Kiara had been introduced to, from all the Jenna's friends. Daintree was exception, he was her boyfriend. "Sander! Hi! How is your day going?" She fastly approached him and cheerfully smiled.

 

[Lysander Summers]

There was a lot of work to put in for Quidditch, if Lysander wanted to win the cup in his time as captain, so he'd been putting in the extra work in his free time. Valentines was always a good day for it, the pitch wasn't usually booked up by any of the teams, so it was anyones game. The Gryffindor sat cross-legged on the grass, trimming damaged twigs from the end of his broom before he took off. He stopped when he noticed Kiara speeding his way, and set his broom to the side. "Hey, Kiara! Same as any other day, I guess." He chuckled. That wasn't entirely true, he'd been given a few roses already, but outside of the rose-giving tradition it had been more or less a regular day. "How's yours? Any secret admirers?"​

 

[Kiara Wood]

Kiara was glad that she found Lysander and sat next to him and listened to his answer. "Used to getting bunch of roses?" She giggled and at his question lightly shook head. "My day is good, having fun with roses. And if there is any admirer they haven't showed up yet," she chuckled at that. It wasn't like she was bothered by that, it was fine by her. "Oh right, I have rose for you! Almost forgot why I came here," She took it out and handed over to him.

Spoiler: Note

My holidays are a lot less boring now, so thanks.
- Kas

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander chuckled at Kiara's comment as she sat down beside him. "All the time!" He joked. He was used to seeing roses while toiling away in the Wild Patch every week, but generally they didn't come with their own messages. "You never know, there's still loads of time for one to show up." He laughed. He'd gotten his own anonymous roses in the past, and honestly, it hadn't been all it was cracked up to be in the movies. It was more fun knowing who the roses came from. He took the rose Kiara handed him and read over the note, glad that this one was signed. He rolled his eyes after reading the message. "It's from Kas. He really poured his heart and soul into it." He said with a sarcastic chuckle, turning the paper around to show her. It was typical of him, and while it wasn't all that much, it meant a lot. This was simply what Kas was like. Receiving a rose from him was a huge gesture in itself. "Thanks Kiara. What's planned for the rest of the day? Do you have much more to deliver?" He asked. He knew just how busy he'd been when he'd signed up for it in the past. It was nice not to have to be the one running around for a change.​

 

[Kiara Wood]

Kiara laughed at his answer. "Wouldn't be surprised tho," she knew he was joking but her answer was honest. "If I will get any, I will come by and let you know about it. By the way, have you gotten any pink or red roses this year?" Kia cheerfully smiled. Why hadn't they really interacted before? But she watched as he read the note and while watching, she was biting her lip in excitement. She chuckled at his reaction and nodded as he said from who it was. "Looks like it. So you two are like really close?" Kia tilted her head in interest. She also wanted to ask how Connor is doing, but decided to better not, other day. "My pleasure to be your delivery woman." Wood excitedly smiled and lightly bow. "Well, no plans actually. I have last two left, after that.. I don't know what I am going to do after, probably sketching roses." she showed him her list of people she had to deliver roses to. There was Augustus Westwick, Isaiah Thompson, Pascal Monsanto, Blake Irons, Nicole Fisk, Lillian Lockwood, Sander's own name and Isaiah Thompson again. And almost all of them were overcrossed, there was left only Lillian and the second time Isaiah. "What are you doing here alone? Any games soon?" she sounded way softer than before, but she looked at him while talking.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander grinned, curious if he would end up seeing her again later. Valentines was a day full of surprise, and he was down to hear all about it if some rose gossip came about. He shook his head when she queried about his roses, twirling the yellow one from Kas between his fingers. "Only yellows so far. But it's like I said, there's loads of time. Who knows what'll happen. If I get a pink or red one, I'll have to tell you about it, too." He laughed. It seemed fair, though he doubted his afternoon would end up being too exciting. When Kiara asked about him and Kas, Lysander paused, his cheeks briefly flushing a darker shade of pink. Connor had essentially asked him the same thing once, at the very same pitch they were sitting in now. "Uh, well, you know...we're good friends." He stumbled over his words. He liked Kas. There was something magnetic about the Hufflepuff, which was odd given that his whole vibe seemed to tell people to go away. The fact he ended up with someone like Michael was hilarious, given the fact.

Trying not to think too much about Kas, Lysander propped himself up as Kiara talked about her plans. "Smart. A sketched rose'll last longer than a real one." He chuckled, peering over to read her list of names. He pulled a face when he saw Blake's already crossed out on the sheet. His loss against Slytherin still stung far longer than the bludger Emma had hit him with. There was Augustus, that kind of creepy quiet kid, and Nicole, of course. She'd probably get a ton of roses too, after all that drama with Eric. He pointed out Isaiah's uncrossed name on the list. "That's Chloe's little brother. He seems cool." He commented idly. It was difficult to imagine what it was like having a younger sibling at the school. He turned his attention to his broom, and the discarded beaters bat, as Kiara pointed out he was there alone. "I'm just getting some practice in. There's always next year to think about. I want to be ready for it. Slytherin's going to face off against Ravenclaw in the next match, I think. Here's hoping your house knocks them down a peg." He grinned. He would have loved to see Slytherin lose their winning streak, finally, though it would feel sweeter coming from Gryffindor.​

 

[Kiara Wood]

Kiara nodded and softly smiled. "And what if we get signed ones?" she out of a sudden realised that not everyone was scared of rejection or not a proper answer. "We can tell about em, but not call their names," she offered. No matter what, she didn't want to embarrass anyone, just like always. Ready to chit chat about that unless it can havev bad consequences. However, she was watching Sander and noticed how he blushed, and the way he stumbled. "Are you sure he is just a friend to you?" she bit her lip, trying to hold back overly happy smile, and lightly nudged his shoulder with her own shoulder. Kia actually didn't know Kas a lot, he was close with Connor, Eric and Sander, he was with that Gryffindor boy that transferred here in the same year as Kiara did, and Nicole hated or at least disliked him. Kia didn't choose side that day but luckily she didn't have any problems with Nicole or any other classmate.

She lightly shrugged shoulders. "And I think I will see them in my dreams for at least a week," roses were everywhere, everyone was talking about them and everyone was holding at least one all the time. Even there, next to them, were three roses, one in Sander's hands and two more next to Kiara. Again, she carefully watched his reaction to her list, not surprised when he didn't seem really happy when saw Blake's name. They surely weren't on the best terms and Kiara had to deliver roses to both rivalry team captains. "He is cool, but I didn't notice that I will have to bring him one more rose." she glanced over him to see her own list. "Only he is delivering roses too, I don't know where to find him." Kia admitted, everyone was everywhere, there logic didn't work. She nodded as he talked, she was more interested in this game, because won't it be the first game for Lars and Blake together after they admitted their relationship publicly. "I think that your team has more chance of winning them and I am sure that next year you will win," she supportively smiled at him. "By the way, how does it feel to be captain?" she was never a fan of playing Quidditch, even if she loved watching it.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander had to agree, it would be better not to name names when it came to roses. If it ever came to that. He didn't hold any real expectations for a pink and red rose, though he gave Kiara a dismissive chuckle when she tried to pry into his relationship with Kas. "Yes. We're friends, that's all. You just aren't the only person to ask me." He gave his head a light shake and laughed. Besides, Kas was with Michael. He couldn't meddle with that. He enjoyed the friendship they had, and how much Kas was unapologetically himself. More and more Lysander felt like people were lying to him on a regular basis, pretending to be his friend because of his background and achievements, not because he was who he was. He didn't get that feeling from Kas.

Flopping back against the trimmed grass of the pitch, Lysander stared up at the clouds while he listened to Kiara talk. He'd enjoyed delivering roses when he was younger, but he definitely didn't miss how much hard work it could be. It was exhausting. "I know what you mean. The other deliverers were always the hardest to find. You just have to get lucky. Or use an owl." He suggested. Owls seemed to always know wherever somebody was, and he'd resorted to sending Fuzzfeathers to fly around the castle with his roses instead. Think smart, not hard. He tore his gaze away from the clouds overhead to look back at Kiara, his expression falling into a thoughtful frown at her question. It was a tough one. He thought about it a lot, but it wasn't so easy to answer. "Uh, well...I love it, I do. I like being in charge. I know a lot about Quidditch - my aunt, she plays professionally and I've watched tons of her games, so I feel like I know how to make some of the best decisions for the team. It's just...kind of stressful. I'm responsible for everyone and everything they do. You saw what Emma did last match, right? Buchanan had a stern talk to me about it afterwards. It doesn't seem very fair, I can't really control everyone else, but that's all a part of being a leader, I guess. I'm responsible for all of it. When we lose, that's on me. That's my fault for not leading well enough. That part isn't fun. Everything else is a blast. We're all friends, we all have fun flying around and doing stupid stuff at the end of the day. It's what I like the most, playing Quidditch with my friends. The practices are more fun than the matches." He said, with as much of a shrug as one could muster while laying down. It came with the good and the bad. "Do you play at all?" He asked, realising how little he really knew about Kiara's interests. She wasn't on the Ravenclaw team, that much he knew, but that didn't mean she didn't play at home or in her own time.​

 

[Kiara Wood]

Kiara lightly chuckled as he said that she wasn't the first to ask him that. "Oh, that means I am not as creative in conversations as I thought I am." she joked and lightly giggled and then smiled at Sander. She wasn't trying to find out who was that person who asked that first, not like it was the most important detail. She got what she wanted, answer and she took it as an honest answer, so she didn't try to dig deeper, but she was happy that he didn't seem to think that she was a bit too nosey, even if she knew that she was. However, she didn't seem bothered by that too.

She watched as Lysander flopped on the grass with a light smile. She, instead of laying down next to him, turned with the face to him, hugged her legs, and put her chin on her knees. She was like with her feet next to his side. As he said that they could use owls, she opened her mouth to protest and then shook her head lightly. "We were allowed to do that? I mean, we were allowed to use owls?" she looked at him with a are you serious? look, lightly disappointed that she didn't come up with that herself. Kiara seemed a bit more serious as Lysander started to explain how he felt about being the captain. She looked at him while he was talking, but not at his face, but more like a stomach or a ground next to his side, she almost never looked at people when she was focusing on something. As he asked whether she remembered what Emma did, she nodded and lightly smiled. She knew it was bad to support that, but she loved that Emma did that, it was fun, and even if not exactly the right way to express her feelings, she let everyone know how she felt about their loss. Kiara had also seen her a lot, she heard a lot about her and she already knew how expressive and loud Emma was, it was no big surprise when she did that. However, she understood Lysander's position about being a captain. She lightly chuckled as he asked did she even play Quidditch, one more theme she didn't talk about often and not because it was something bad or problematic, but more like no one ever asked that. "Give me a second and I will answer that, I have more to add to that captain theme." Kia lightly smiled at him and then restarted to talk. "I understood your position about being a cap. It comes with its own ups and downs, but how about emotional baggage? I understood that you felt like it's unfair that you have to take responsibility for things that you can't control, it makes sense. However, you also said that all the loses and everything is on you, do you ever feel insecure about all that weight shoulders? Like you're not good enough for that? I'm not saying that you are not, you surely are made for this position, but have you ever felt like that?" she made sure that he knows that actually listened to what he said and didn't just ask that to keep the conversation going and wasn't actually interested in talking about that. Maybe she wasn't exactly interested in Quidditch like that, but she was interested in his feelings about that. She was interested in people's inner world. "And back to question. I do play, my youngest uncle plays in one of the American teams. My foster father was planning on joining that American Sweetwater All-Stars team, but he got trauma and instead take on the paternal family legacy and is working as a healer. Not sure if you know him, but in Ravenclaw, there is a boy Niklaus Easterling, he is my cousin, and his dad aka my uncle played in the American national team too, but now he just teaches it. By the way, if I mention teaching. Have you heard about the new professor Stark?" Kia asked that out of nowhere, but she thought that he may be the one to understand how she felt about the situation with that professor. However, She talked about her family softly and actually with a light smile, but she understood that she didn't exactly answer his question. "With that... I play Quidditch. With a family like that, I have no other choice except to actually play. I was also thinking about trying out in my house team, but I have always been too insecure about that. Even in Beaux," Ravenclaw lightly chuckled as she admitted that. Her confidence actually wasn't as big as she wanted it to be, but it was easier to act like she is perfectly confident and has no doubt in herself than actually talk about her insecurities.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander returned Kiara's look with a nod of his head when she asked about using owls. "No one said we can't." He laughed. No one had made a comment about it to him, and he'd usually resorted to his owl when he'd gotten bored of wandering around for too long trying to find a specific person. The tone of the conversation shifted, and Lysander was taken by surprise when Kiara abruptly moved on to asking him deep, probing questions. It was as if the grass he was laid across had been suddenly transfigured into a chaise lounge, and Kiara was now his therapist. "Uh." He began, feeling like he'd just been hit by a ton of bricks, and was still trying to find his way out of the rubble. It was a lot to take in at one time. "...Yeah, I do. All the time." He admitted eventually. It was so startling to be asked, yet, it was like Kiara was speaking directly to his soul. Did she know what it felt like herself? He did feel insecure, inadequate, not good enough to be the team leader, despite how much he told himself otherwise. It was a heavy burden to be captain, to be responsible for so much. He'd been dumped with a bit more than he could handle when Sierra left. "It was fine before, when I had a co-captain. It's just me now. Everything's on my shoulders. Like I said, you know, I've had a lot of experience growing up with Quidditch, but before I became captain I was the youngest on the team. Most of my teammates are older." He said. He'd been on the team the longest, that was for sure, and he liked to think that made him one of the best picks, but not many people were made captain at fourteen, and he wasn't sure if everyone else had been happy with the idea either. It was a bit different now that he'd gotten some younger blood in, but those older members were still around, and he couldn't help but wonder if any of them were better suited. Maybe they'd be winning more if someone else had taken the reigns. "And people talk. I've had someone tell me to my face that I don't deserve to be captain. Who knows what people think behind my back." It made his stomach knot just to think about. He shouldn't have cared for what other people thought. For a long time he hadn't, he was happy to focus on his own thing and have fun the way he wanted. Growing up made that more and more difficult. Everyone cared about everyone else's opinions, and he was getting caught up in it too.

Happy to talk about something else, Lysander listened to Kiara discuss more of her personal life. He was interested to know more about her, beyond just being Jenna's friend. He nodded along, finding some of the names vaguely familiar. He knew of the teams at least. "The new Care of Magical Creatures professor?" He asked when she mentioned a Professor Stark. The subject had gone through a lot of professors since he'd taken it, though he'd enjoyed all of them. "You should give it a go. What uh, what are you insecure about?" He asked, feeling it was only fair since she'd asked him. He was curious too as to what position she'd play. Sometimes, it was a shame that the teams were divided into houses. A lot of his friends played, and it sucked having to go against them, rather than being able to play with them all on one side.​