Playful Interlude

by **Avangeline King** Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:17 am

Avangeline was dressed snugly in her Durmstrang furs, the chill of the wind not reaching her skin. For the first time since entering the school, Ava had found her way outside. She was standing at the edge of the lake, or what she assumed was the lake as it was coated with a thick layer of ice. The snow the grounds had received on their arrival had not melted, and a fresh layer had settled the night before. She hoped this snow would work as well as the kind they received at the manor. The snow had to be just right or they wouldn't be able to build anything out of it.

Ava reached down and scooped up a handful of snow, thankful for the warmth of the gloves protecting her hands, and started to pack the snow tightly. She smiled happily when it formed a ball easily, the snow would be just right.

Dropping the freshly made snowball onto the ground, Ava knelt down ignoring the cold, she started rolling the ball over the snow on the ground, watching excitedly as the snow stuck and the ball grew.

Finally she spoke, "I wonder if anyone will help me with this? I hope student's are allowed outside."

by Guest Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:23 am

Tarragon had managed to pull Alys away from her work and down to the lake that afternoon. He had heard Ava saying something along the lines of making snow wizards and he knew how much Alys had loved the idea. It also meant that they could have a good catch up in the process with Ava, which frankly they didn't always have the time for with their busy schedules.

"Come on, Alys. Otherwise Ava is going to have finished it all before we have even got there!" Tarragon complained, she walked painfully slow for someone who was excited at the prospect of snow wizards!

by Guest Wed Dec 21, 2011 10:59 am

Truth be told, Alys had been reluctant at first. For one thing, she hadn't heard anything about snowwizards, and for another, she had wanted to spend the evening curled up by a nice fire after her day of classes. Of course she couldn't tell Tarragon that, he would just think her lazy. It didn't help that she had no idea they were going to see Ava.

So the witch dragged her feet behind him as the neared the frozen lake, Alys bounded in her fur lined cape and Tarragon leading the way. Until that is that the blonde caught sight of a figure huddled in the snow wearing a cape similar to her with Risiko alterations on it.

"Ava!" she exclaimed happily before turning to Tarragon. "You didn't tel me we were going to see her," she smiled brightly before running towards the other girl's direction, feeling instantly cheery.

by **Avangeline King** Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:27 am

Hearing the cry of "Ava!" the red-head in question looked up from her lonely work, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah! You two made it. Did Tarragon manage to surprise you?"

Looking down at the snowball the size of a quaffle, "I need some help here, this needs to be bigger much bigger, the first snowwizard of the season has to be big enough to make a statement." Ava informed beginning the lesson on snowwizard creation.

"Alys you can help me roll this layer, while Tarragon can start the next one, but it will take all of us to finish this thing. Oh, and the number one rule of snowwizard creation, no magic! This is safe for the underages to complete so we aren't allowed to use any magic to form it. Only to lift the layers into place, possibly, but that is cheating slightly." When Ava got excited she took over, she hoped the others didn't mind, or knew to throw a snowball at her to make her relax and laugh.

by Guest Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:35 am

"Yes Fraulein King," Alys saluted smartly before reaching over to give Ava a hug. Really, she did not see the witch enough for her liking these days. "And don't worry, I don't know any spells to layer the snow anyway," she admitted happily, getting down on her knees in the snow and packing clumps of it as she had seen Ava do. It would have been cold work had she not had the foresight of wearing gloves but as it was, the snow was malleable in her hands.

"Like this?" she asked the Risiko student, holding up a snowball the size off her own tiny fist.

by **Avangeline King** Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:49 am

Ava blushed at being called fraulein, but soon got over itwhen she got a hug! She had missed Alys. Her excitement was high enough to laugh out right at the tiny snowball in Alys hand, hugging her again to prove she wasn't being mean in laughing.. "That isn't bad to start a layer, but if you just stuck snow balls together the snowwizard would be all lumpy, and might fall apart. You take the little snowball, and roll it on the fresh snow, if the snow is right the snow on the ground sticks to the snowball and it gets bigger and bigger as you roll it. This is for the bottom layer of the snow wizard, so it needs to be pretty big, help me roll it please?"

Ava shifted to the side to give Alys enough room to push on the steadily growing snowball, it would be a bit tight for two people at first, but it would grow quickly and they would need both girl's strength.

by Guest Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:02 pm

Alys nodded as the explanation, the happily tossed her first snowball back where it had come from and moved towards Ava, helping to roll around the much bigger and growing lump of snow. It was weird at first and she couldn't get her hands and feet to work at the same time as the other girt but she caught on soon enough and in what seemed like no time at all, both witches were rolling along a giant snowball in the snow covered ground, laughing and joking at each other's side.

"I can't believe I've been missing out on all the fun until now. In return, I'm teaching you to build sandcastles when you come to stay," the blonde promised, patting more of the snow into their growing structure.

by **Avangeline King** Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:37 am

Smiling excitedly, Ava nodded enthusiastically. "I would love that! It sounds really fun. You didn't miss out, you just waited for the right opportunity!" Ava insisted glad she got to share this first with Alys.

Turning to look at the snowball they had made, it now came up to her knees, "What do you think, a little bigger? The next layer has to be smaller for it to work, so the weight won't be as much to lift, but the height could be a problem if we make the layers too high. The top layer may have to be levitated up if we go much bigger, but I don't mind if that happens."

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:42 am

"Well, you did say the first snowwizard had to make a statesmen so I think we should make him bigger," Alys offered, brushing some snow off her hair. In all the exertion, her hood had slipped off and now her golden hair were dusted with white snow, making her feel like one of her Mama's sugar sprinkled baked treats.

"But you're the boss. And I can do the levitation charm, though not very well," she admitted honestly and waited for the witch to reply.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:00 am

Annika shivered a little, even though she hadn't even stepped out yet. Buried deep in her sweater, cloak and furs, she made a face at the gates before her. To go out or not to go out, she pondered, before shutting her eyes quickly and braving through.

The icy weather crept up to her nose and she literally felt it turn pink, eyes beginning to water. Everything looked really scenic, though, so she continued on, unconsciously moving towards the sound of voices.

Soon enough she found herself in front of a small group of friends, working with snowballs. She hesitated a little, Should I say hi?

by **Avangeline King** Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:17 am

Ava was just about to reply to Alys when she saw someone walk over to them. The person was a girl about their age, but Ava hadn't talked to her before. Tapping Alys on the shoulder to get her attention Ava nodded towards the newcomer.

Avangeline felt like she should introduce herself to the girl. "Hello there, I'm Ava from Risiko house, what's your name? Do you want to help us make a snow wizard?"

Ava held out her gloved hand to the newcomer, hoping she would take the hand, the more the merrier when playing in the snow.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:29 am

Annika brightened immediately as one of the girls - the one with darker, shiny hair - came forward and introduced herself. She reached for the outstretched hand excitedly and shook it. "Awesome!" she smiled. "I'm Annika, from Verstand." She looked over and saw the snowballs the others were making.

"And I'd love to!"

by **Avangeline King** Thu Dec 22, 2011 2:21 am

Ava smiled back happily, "It's nice to meet you Annika. Now we were just trying to figure out how big to build the snow wizard. The first one of the season should always be eye-catching, what do you suggest?"

Looking down at the ball Ava thought it could use a little more height, "There is a no magic rule, but I think a levitating charm wouldn't be cheating too badly, and since we are in school we could use the practice. So should we stick to the rule or build the biggest snow wizard we can manage?"

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 2:40 am

Annika nodded in understanding, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "I think we could use the practice, to be honest. Levitating's not that big of a deal, really, I don't think any of the Lehrer's would mind."

She bent down, gathering some snow in her hands, eagerly.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 6:18 am

Tarragon slumped in the snow and watched as the girls happily rolled the snow ball round, he thought he would let them have the fun whilst the ball was still small, and he would offer his hand of help when they needed his strength. Instead he sat and made his own small balls of snow. He wasn't stupid, and had definately not forgotten the first snow encounter with Alys and Ava.

As he sat rolling multiple balls of snow another girl joined their group. Great, he thought, another girl to go against him in the snow ball fight. He realised he was slowly losing the fight already. As the girl neared the group, he got to his feet.

"Hi, I'm Tarragon. Muhe house." He smiled sweetly in her direction before sitting back down with his mound of snowballs. "Give me a shout when you'd like some help!"

by **Avangeline King** Thu Dec 22, 2011 6:31 am

Ava wasn't blind, she had seen all the ammunition Tarragon was making, but chose to ignore it. A good snow ball fight would be fun after the hard work of making the snow wizard. She was especially grateful when after introducing himself, he offered to help if they needed him.

"Thanks Tarragon, we will let you know when we need help. Annika is right, I don't think the instructors would mind us levitating the layers, so bigger it is. We can still roll them by hand, as that's where the fun is!" She explained, turning back to the developing snow wizard.

This was going to be so much fun! A new friend, a good snow wizard, an amazing battle, and maybe they could sneak into the kitchens later for some hot chocolate. "Come on girl's we can do this!" She encouraged before shoving the ever growing ball once again.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 7:31 am

Annika looked up interestedly as the boy with blond hair greeted her. She straightened up and waved. "Hey! Muhe, huh? Cool," she grinned, and nodded as she walked over to Ava and taking out her wand, eyes glinting in excitement. She liked these new people, they were nice!

She eyed Tarragon's growing pile curiously from time to time. Snowfight? she wondered.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:01 am

Alys had been temporarily stunned when the girl introduced fuehrer but made up for it a minute later by taking her hand as best she could in her snow covered glove. "I'm Alys, do you know you have the same name as my Muggle best friend?" she said brightly, "I'm also from Muhe, like Tarragon here and Ava's the boss, teaching me how to make snowwizards."

The girl eyed Tarragon who seemed to be in the middle of making a lot of small snowballs like the first one she had made for Ava earlier. Maybe he was bored? Or this was a part of the building process she didn't know yet. Shrugging, the girl got back to work with Ava and Annika, not suspecting a thing.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:20 am

In the midst of gathering some more snow, her hand was caught by the girl with startling blue eyes. Annika's eyes widened as she heard she had the same name as her best friend. "Wow!" she laughed, shaking the hand up and down, "That's awesome with the names!"

"Muhe people seem cool. I don't know how to make one either, I'm just following you guys," she added in a mumble, looking a little embarrassed.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:43 am

Tarragon watched the girls fondly as they heaved the now huge snowball round in the snow. Soon enough they would need his help, but at the minute he was enjoying watching them try so hard. His snowball mound had gotten quite big by now. He patted yet another ball together, deciding which girl would be the best to hit first and what tactic he would use.

He was, of course, heavily outnumbered but that didn't faze him. Picking up a snowball he decided that Alys was his first target. He threw the ball so it hit her square between the shoulder blades. His next snowball hit Ava on the forehead, and his third hit Annika on the leg.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud as each hit it's target. He'd started a war he most probably wouldn't win, but at least he had the first laugh. He scrambled to his feet, picking up more of his ammunition.

by **Avangeline King** Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:57 am

Wiping snow out of her face, Ava growled convincingly, "Get him girls! Throw as many snow balls as you can at him!" Knowing they would understand if she showed them Ava quickly packed together a snowball and launched it back.

"Hey Tarragon, did you forget something?" Ava called sweetly as she packed another snowball, hoping the other two girls would be right there to back her up. "You may be Pain, but I am Fear!" Ava warned before attacking in earnest, launching snowball after snowbal at the grinning wizard.

To the girls she whispered, "Its alright, just tease and throw, try to not get any ice in your ammo. Snow fights are fun, but iceballs hurt!" Ava warned. Grateful the snow seemed to be fairly soft.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:14 am

Alys was surprised to say the least when the snowball hit her back but when Ava started fighting in earnest, she quickly joined in, assessing the situation. There were three against one but Tarragon already had a ready supply of ammunition while they had to make theirs from scratch. Quickly making a snowball, she moved in between Ava and Annika and in the pretense of aiming, whispered to them "we need to push him back and take over his supply of snowballs."

Throwing her own small snowball at the boy, she frowned as it didn't reach its mark and bent down to make another as the other two witches let loose, with much better aim, Alys hoped.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:19 am

It was obvious who's Tarragon main opponent was after Alys' feeble attempt to hit hit, so he blasted snowball after snowball in her direction. A couple went towards the others just to make it a little fair, but if he cracked Ava first he would be able to win the mini war.

He threw yet another snowball in Alys' direction, this time it collided with her stomach. 2-0, he thought to himself, although he knew he would not hear the end of it in the common room later that night.

He grabbed another couple of his snowballs, noticing the girls were closing in, he retreated a little. A well aimed snowball from Ava caught him in the side of the face, temporarily knocking him off balance whilst he tried to get the snow out of his ear.

by **Avangeline King** Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:28 am

Ava watched tarragon falter, "Now's our chance, rush the supply!" Ava commanded happily, racing forward to claim the heap of snow balls at his feet.

She launched volley after volley, her aim a bit better than Alys from the target practice her Father put her through. She was laughing now, never having more fun in her life. Friends were awesome!

"We can beat him girls! We got him beat in numbers now we have a chance at his stash of snowballs, if we get that it won't take long to win!"

Ava was kinda happy the others weren't mad at her for taking charge, it was in her nature, she hoped her friends knew she didn't mean anything harsh by doing it.

by Guest Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:34 am

Tarragon could see the girls moving in on him, fast. He could see Ava's lips moving, but couldn't make out her words through the buzzing in his ear. It struck him, like the first snow ball, that they had seized his supplies. He was going to lose.

But he couldn't lose. He assessed his situation, if he tried to make snowballs he would get bundled to the floor by all three girls, which would mean him losing. Not an option.

He could just run around like a headless chicken until he wore either the girls or himself out, and attack them when they could no longer run after him. That could be a little too tiring, maybe not.

And then he realised the best option. Running towards the girls, or more specifically Alys, he grabbed her round the waist and hoisted her to his shoulder, and ran from the direction they had just come from. He had a prisoner, so the snowballs would stop being thrown at him. Or at least, it would stop for a while...