Wooden Bridge
 

Isla had made several "second year promises" to herself, but the one that was at the top of her list was...

1. Get out more

...and that was just what she was doing. First year had been fun, but it had been that awkward year where she was the new kid and was just getting to know everybody. The only two people she'd really connected with were Blake and Bernie, and Bernie was acting kind of strange this year. Without paying too close attention to where she was going, the second year headed toward the wooden bridge. She knew enough about her whereabouts to not stroll into the forbidden forest, but she was still taken by surprise when she looked up and saw the bridge.

May as well cross it! She got a good halfway across when she came across Kitt, who looked to be having a little too much fun creating an echo.

"Helloooooo!" she said, creating an echo for him.

Kitt whipped around at the new voice added to his echo symphony. He'd been outright startled as there hadn't been anyone else on the bridge when he first stepped on it but that shock quickly faded into a boyish grin. "Oh, hey." He eased away from the railing some, turning most of his attention to the Slytherin.

"....Isla.....right?"

Being new, he was still learning a ton of names and forgetting even more than he was remembering. Eventually, they would start sticking. The ones closer to his own year were the most successful in his memory.

"Have you been down there before?"

Isla should have expected that the boy would whirl around when he heard her echo. Even still, it startled her when he made the sudden move. When he smiled, though, she knew he was alright with things. "Hey," she said, nodding when he mentioned her name. At least people knew her name now. Maybe that meant she really was getting out more? Who knew?

She narrowed her eyes and studied him for a split second. "Kitt?" she said, drawing his name out as she wondered if she was even close. She looked around the bridge and nodded. "Once," she simply said. Then after situating herself on the railing, she added, "I didn't get out much last school year. Not by choice. I just...I was just a first year and I guess it was just an awkward transition."

"Trying to fix that this year," she added, as an afterthought. She studied him for another split second. "You're new here, right?" That was another thing about not really getting out last school year. There could very well be whole groups of people that she never even encountered. "Where'd you go before?"

Kitt's eyes widened at her admission. "You have?? What's it like down there? Are there magical creatures??" Unable to wait for her response, the boy was already looking over the railing again, trying to get a look at anything that might be down there. It looked steep and deadly. Not the sort of place they'd be allowed to go but if Isla said she'd been down there, it must not have been so off limits. 'Sides, the Headmaster would've warned about it if it was, like the forest, surely.

He nodded when she made a guess at his name. Yep, Kitt, that was him.

"Weren't you super excited about everything?" This was his first year and he couldn't imagine staying in and keeping to himself. There was just way too much to see and do and learn. In some ways, it was a little overwhelming and exhausting but that wasn't a bad thing.

And another nod. "Yep. Didn't really go anywhere before here, I guess. I used to do primary school but then I got homeschooled. We moved a lot." A very basic rundown of how his last few years had gone. The moving was usually after a bout of accidental magic. Eventually, they were tired of moving and kept him at home. It wasn't the best time. "Been a while since I've been in a real school and this one has magic. I don't think anything could be cooler."

Huh? "Down...where?" she asked. Then it dawned on her. "Oh, down there?" she asked, looking at the very spot she'd pieced together that he was referring to. "Nope. Never been there. I thought you were asking about this bridge." Things sounded a lot more lame now that they were just talking about a wooden bridge, she bet. Stories about ravines and magical creatures would have been lots better, but she had none of those.

She leaned over and followed his gaze. "I don't even want to think about what lurks down there," she muttered, although that's exactly what she was doing at this precise moment...thinking about what was down there. The topic turned back to her first year, so she stepped away from the railing and away from whatever lurked beneath them. "Yeah, you're right. I went about things the wrong way for sure. I should have gone on more adventures. Taken my chances on possibly getting in trouble a time or two," she said. No way was she going to mention to him how great her grades had been and how many of those 'Top Student' awards she'd gotten. Now she just felt lame about all of it.

"I went to muggle primary school, even though I'm a pureblood. Weird, but true. So why'd you move around so much?" she asked. She smiled and nodded when he mentioned how cool magical school was. "Yup! And you want to know what else is cool? Some portraits came alive last year and tried to take over the school! We tricked them back into their frames, though!"

"Grindylows...kelpies...merpeople," Isla said, rattling off just a few of the possibilities. Nothing she wanted to deal with. Although, she wouldn't put it past Trent to send an army of all three after them, seeing as he'd already attacked them with kelpies. She decided not to tell that to Kitt, who still seemed somewhat oblivious to everything.

Isla shook her head. "No, I don't mean serious trouble or anything like that," she said. Truth be told, she didn't know what she meant. She just didn't want to always be known as the kid who was always on time, always did every piece of her homework, and always earned the most house points. "I don't know what I mean, but I just feel like I'm too boring. That I don't have enough fun. Nothing like detention, though." She shrugged. "Or shoveling animal dung..." KITT.

She perked up when he asked about adventures. "Of course you can tag along! Adventures are no fun with you're by yourself," she pointed out. She laughed. "For a kid who likes shoveling animal dung in exchange for a pet, you sure are worried about the rules around here. Look, no rule breaking. Just fun. Deal?"

She picked up on his change of tone and attitude when she asked about him moving. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pry, but look, it happens to the best of us. We were all untrained witches and wizards at some point," she said, trying to make him feel better. She wanted to ask what he did, but she kind of picked up on the fact that he didn't really want to talk about it.

Lucky for both of them, he changed the topic back to what she'd said about the portraits. "Umm, nope. No, thanks to them coming back. They were super annoying and actually tried to kill people," she explained. No reason to overly worry yourself, Kitt. She shrugged again. "Last year was just my first year, but I've heard that weird stuff happens here all the time. Just be on the lookout. You'll find an adventure whether you're looking for one or not."

for Ern-la
 

Phoebe wasn't FOLLOWING Ilya at all, but she did appear to be just a few steps behind him up the path toward the castle. Not close enough to save his book when he got dive-bombed by a crow, but close enough to watch it disappear over the edge. That... was a major bummer. "Must have been a pretty bad book for you to just chuck it over the edge that way."

She hopped up beside him and leaned waaaaay out over the edge, just inches away from losing her balance and falling into the ravine herself. Not that she noticed or had any sense of fear. Straight up Gryffindor in the house. Or on the bridge, whatever. "I'll go in after it, ok?"

Ilya was frowning down at the ravine, eyes full of accusation. Maybe he should direct those at the crow up above? To make things worse, someone else was there. No, a Feewas there. Ilya, forgetting that he was frowning, just stared as she basically threw herself at the railing. The very unstable railing.

"Be careful!" he yelped, extending his hand towards her but drawing it back the last moment, not allowing himself to pull her back. He got annoyed that she made him lose his Ravenclaw cool with how careless she was being. "You just saw a book fall down to its death." Go after it? "You are crazy, then." He could see why she and Bernie were friends. Gryffindors crazy club. "I'd rather you buy me a second copy..." The corner of his mouth twitched upwards in an attempt to smile.

He was keeping a close watch on her, though, in case she made any sudden movements. Like his grandmother's old cat basically.

There was nothing worse than an overprotective Ravenclaw thinking they knew how to take care of every single thing in the entire world. Overthinking things, like gravity and the physics of railings and other SCIENCE stuff. Ilya was being so bossy, did he know?

"I'm being careful. And you're here. And I"m full of magic, don't you know?" But Phoebe bumped back to earth and let go of the railing, just to give Ilya some peace of mind. And maybe because she was feeling a little dizzy hanging out over the edge there. "I can't afford to buy you books every time you throw one down a ravine. But maybe I could just tell you stories for free?"

'He was here'? Did she think he was going to swoop in and save her if she fell?? "But I couldn't hold you. You're heavy." Ilya noted, the focused frown decorating his face as he looked up and down Fee's figure. The full of magic one was kind of the only thing that would make sense she was a daredevil. But counting on magic, he didn't knooooowwww about this *sucks in a breath* He had a magical gene that had been nothing but a nuisance to him for two years now.

"I didn't throw it, it fell on its own." Ilya wanted this to be said out loud for the record that he was not clumsy or a scared-y Ravenclaw. No. It was the crow's fault. Oh but wait. Stories for free? From a Gryffindor? He lost his frown, amused, and replaced it with a lopsided smile. "That's an interesting bargain." He paused before elaborating, also for the record, "It's nothing like reading because reading is a solitude activity and what you're offering is companionship--but okay!" He said the last bit quickly to emphasise he was down for it.

"I'm heavy?" Phoebe tried to look offended but only ended up bent over in laughter. Maybe it was meant to be insulting... or maybe he was just without tact, but at the end of it, Phoebe probably was too heavy for a wimpy-armed bro like Ilya. "You shouldn't say that to people. There's probably a very polite way to say it that doesn't imply fault on the part of the one falling to their death."

She pulled herself up on the railing, crossing her legs and wobbling dangerously for a moment before finding her equilibrium again. Ilya was such a strange one... her personal Ravenclaws weren't nearly as cagey and odd as he was, but in a world full of open books, it was nice to have a mystery on occasion. "I don't like reading sometimes, because it's so solitary. I get lonely. I think some people find characters are goo company, but I don't think that at all. Do you think so? Are characters good company? What kind of stories do you like?"

Ilya didn't know what to expect from Gryffindors anymore. Why was Fee laughing? Ilya was being serious, it was physically impossible for him to carry her yet. What was so funny about this--oh. She wasn't laughing at the fact, she was laughing at him. Sort of. He wasn't offended. "Oh. Uhm. I can't hold you because we're physically the same size and I don't exercise." He reworded. Why did he reword? He usually didn't care. If it was Bernie, he wouldn't have reworded, he knew that for sure. Not because he was mean but because she didn't know how to articulate the problem in what he would say the same way Fee did.

Again, she discarded their whole conversation about how he was not a fit person to save her should she fall. He found himself take a couple of steps closer to where she sat on the railing. Just in case. His blue eyes fixated on the railing and how her legs held on to it. "Not surprised." That she didn't like feeling lonely with a book. "Characters are just people, so there are some who I like and others who annoy me." He leaned just a tiiiiiiiiny bit sideways on the bridge. "I don't read stories a lot, actually. I read about history a lot. I want to learn more about philosophy, too." Although right now, it seemed a bit too complicated. "I read about transfiguration and Metamorphmagi." That last one was a given. He wanted to learn about his future opportunities and limits as a Metamorphmagus.

Phoebe wiggled her fingers at Ilya, inviting him to come sit with her on the railing. It had been holding up students for, like, a thousand years, and what were the chances it was going to buckle under the weight of two third years? And today, of all days? It was perfectly safe, see? She patted the railing, just in case he didn't understand what finger wiggles meant.

"Characters aren't people. I mean, they're written people, but they aren't able to give anything back." Phoebe kicked her heels lightly against the bridge slats and wondered at what sort of person preferred history and philosophy over stories. STORIES, with action and romance and monsters and heroes. Those were the best part of books, when Phoebe slowed down enough to read them. "Tell me philosophy. Make me a believer. Because right now, I think your life is short a dragon warrior queen and a cursed necklace."

He, actually, did not know what the weird finger wiggling meant si when she patted the spot next to her, he made the link. And uhhhh no thank you?? Ilya just got closer enough to where she sat that he could literally grab her leg if she fell backwards. There.

He looked offended on behalf of characters who were people, just not dimensional people! Oh, wait. "Well, by that definition, there are a lot of flesh and blood people who don't fit your definition." If it was about reciprocating feelings and things. Ilya may not qualify, either. The thought kind of scared him for a split second even though Fee wasn't in charge of the categorization of the humankind, it still freaked him out not to be people. He cracked a small smile at that last sentence. "I wouldn't mind a dragon warrior queen, but a cursed necklace? Miss me with that, please." He clicked his tongue. "I think our characters discussion is partly philosophical." So, she seemed to be on the right track. "You wouldn't enjoy philosophy lessons hanging on a broken bridge like that." Just saying. Philosophy lessons could get quite heated! Or was it just him who cared a little too much about words and characters?

Whew, Ilya! Was that shade? Who knew the bookish Ravenclaw could say something so snarky and yet so innocent? It made Phoebe like him so much more than before, and considering she already liked him a great deal... well. She giggled and gave the railing a solid jiggle.

"It's not feelings, though, Ilya. It's like... you can't interact with them. You can't be part of their story. They can't be part of yours. I know books make you FEEL stuff, but this is different than you being part of the same reality." Phoebe felt the railing shudder, and she decided to casually slip off and just lean against it instead. Not that she was afraid, just that she was tired of sitting. "You can't have a hero without something for them to succeed against. To win over. That's what the cursed necklace is for."

If this was philosophy, then maybe it wasn't so boring and awful as all that. "I want a lesson. You can't trick me!"

It probably was shade, even if he didn't notice. Especially if he didn't notice, actually. Was she jiggling the railing for real?? Ilya's eyes widened though his subtle smile was present still.

It was true what she was saying. "Yeah. So, you're looking for reciprocal... relationships with characters." Was it even called that? It was just interactions which can't be one-sided. He could let out a small sigh of relief when she finally decided to hop down from the death trap. Whew, he didn't have to keep a close eye on her anymore. "I am not keen on being a part of people's stories. I enjoy observing their stories and interactions with others, it's more fun for me. I get to criticise and approve without having any impact on my life." Who wouldn't love their life to be stable and uneventfully peaceful?

The dragon warrior queen was a hero? Huh. Ilya could've sworn she worked better as a villain. He gave what Fee suggested a thoughtful moment anyway. "If you say so. She's not a hero in my story. She can be just a strong creature with a royalty title." Was he coming off as too boring? He was, probably. It was like he purposefully tried to keep his life boring and stale. There were so many psychological layers to that he didn't know how to unravel yet.

Philosophy lessons? "I am nowhere near qualified to provide that." Was that a teasing joke? Was she serious? He was. He was both serious and mellow.

"You're talking crazy talk, Ilya, and I'm already tired of discussing fictional characters. You're misunderstanding me on purpose for your own amusement," Phoebe stuck her tongue out at Ilya and gave the railing under her hands another firm jiggle. He liked to push buttons, didn't he? Just sort of drive Gryffindors to the edge of insanity and then see if they jump.

"You're making me sad, anyway. Like you don't want to be the main character in your own story. Like you just want to watch everyone else in their stories and not take part. Don't you feel like you're missing something?" Phoebe tilted her head and gave him a sweet look, a sweet but calculating look, since she was trying to figure out how to get him more involved in his own life. "Am I a hero in your story?"

Ilya frowned at her. He was NOT misunderstanding her on purpose.

... was he?

No!

Oh, she was a little smarter than a conventional Gryffindor, he was going to give her that. Actually, she was a little too smart. She basically unravelled him. "I thought you didn't want to discuss characters and stories anymore because I agree." He didn't want to answer her questions and wonderings. It was too deep, #ravenclawangst. "Not yet." She wasn't a hero in his story because he didn't have a story yet.

... did he?

He didn't know.

"Do you want to walk with me up to the tower?" And stop pointing out that his philosophy was destructive and didn't make sense?