Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.hunter_raOctober 25 2007, 22:27:12 UTC
Ruth Ann had a book and big boots and a fuzzy warm scarf and she was PREPARED. There was going to be reading happening, and it was going to be reading of the fantastical sort, not the boring school type, and it was going to be GOOD and she wasn't going to let anything distract her from her destiny to reread the awesome genius of Connie Willis (which she was reading with no nefarious purposes WHATSOEVER, really).
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.zak_resoOctober 25 2007, 22:40:47 UTC
It was funny really that Zak was about run into Ruth Ann, and I mean literally run into, he was just thinking about the buddy he'd been assigned. He found it kind of odd that he still hadn't seen the kid around. It wasn't that he'd actually gone about looking for her, but that was beside the point. Usually he was pretty good at spotting people in the crowd but apparently not this gir-OW!
Zak's legs were suddenly taken from beneath him as he practically ran over what appeared to be his buddy. The tall Gryffindor crashed to the grassy ground and groaned as his breath was knocked out of him. He managed to force a weary smile at the young girl. "Hi."
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.hunter_raOctober 26 2007, 20:11:36 UTC
Well, that was something new. Usually she was the one who bumped into other people (generally because she was reading and walking at the same time again), unless Gillichu was being a klutz again, but that was Gillichu. Normally, Ruth Ann would have relished the moment, enjoying the fact that she was not, for once, at fault, but today was just not the day to be doing that. Several weeks of rain had left the ground soft and muddy underneath its deceptive grassy covering. Thus, when Ruth Ann pushed herself up, there were several muddy spots scattered all over the front of her jacket, scarf, and jeans, to say nothing of her face and hair. And book. Which had, fortunately, been closed at the time she fell. Hopefully it was salvageable.
"....hi," she replied, her tone definitely not as cheerful as it normally was.
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.zak_resoOctober 26 2007, 21:06:23 UTC
Zak noticed the spots on her clothes and bit his lip. "Sorry about that," He offered, swinging his legs off her as she stood. The Gryffindor spent a moment longer on the ground, brushing himself off as well as he could before standing up next to ther younger girl. "You're Ruth Ann, aren't you?"
He gazed at her for a moment, trying to figure out why the girl was familiar to him. Sure, he'd probably seen her around the halls and the like, but for some reason Zak felt like they'd properly met before at some point in the past. If only he could figure out from when. "I think I'm your buddy..." His voice faltered a bit at the sight of her hair. "I didn't see you."
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.hunter_raOctober 26 2007, 21:14:39 UTC
"Yup, that's me," Ruth Ann acknowledged. She thumbed through her book. Was it still good? Alas, mud had got between the pages! William's mum was nothing more than a dirt smudge now, and Agnes' cart had ceased to exist entirely. Indeed, mud had ruined a good portion of the book, sweeping across the pages like an unholy plague. Which was rather appropriate, come to think of it, considering the subject matter...
"I thought Tim was my buddy," Ruth Ann said, a bit surprised by this news. "He was my buddy last year, though he didn't say much of anything, just sat there and, y'know, looked kinda scared. Very quiet. Kinda boring. I wanted my buddy to be Dot Boy or Jelly only SOMEONE said that couldn't happen 'cause it had to be a Ravenclaw, only not Derek, which is a shame, since he's taken. Who're you, then?" He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't say she recognised him.
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.zak_resoOctober 26 2007, 21:33:42 UTC
Zak frowned at the sight of the book. He made a mental note to look into replacing it for her, he'd get the title off it later. It didn't look all that uplifting or inspiring, he had to say. Much more depressing that he'd have expected from a young Ravenclaw.
"Zak Reso, pleased to meet you," He introduced, offering her his slightly muddy hand with a grin. "So, y'had Tim last year?" Zak made a face. How dull must that have been? Not that Zak had anything against the lad, but really it wasn't as if he did much other than school work and hang out with his girlfriend. Which was a pity really, he did seem like a sound guy. "Yeah, they've changed them around this year, dunno why exactly but there y'go!" Zak paused for a moment. "Y'interested in stuff?"
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.hunter_raOctober 26 2007, 21:41:52 UTC
"I, sir, am interested in all kinds of stuff!" Ruth Ann said brightly, obviously cheered up by the prospect of having a buddy who appeared to be much more interesting than Tim. "Like plague and science fiction and art and plague and reading and history and stuff. I'm going to be a time traveling historian like Kivrin when I grow up and observe things first hand and write stuff down and it'll be super neat! Or maybe take over the world. Haven't decided yet."
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.zak_resoOctober 26 2007, 22:14:43 UTC
Zak grinned widely, happy to see he had a buddy with varied interests. And interesting ones at that! 'Plague' was certainly harder to find as an interest in a second year girl than say the obvious answer of 'reading' or 'sports' or even 'boys'. Sadly, he had yet to find a girl who would happily answer 'girls'.
"You like history?" Zak asked brightly as she spoke, he bent down to brush some stray dirt off his knee as she continued speaking. He grinned at her plan of world takeover. "How'd you get into history? I mean, I love it cos my dad taught it, but it seems to be rare enough to find people who enjoy it."
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.hunter_raOctober 26 2007, 22:28:02 UTC
How could anyone NOT like history?? "Of COURSE I like history!" Ruth Ann said. "I like it 'cause Kivrin and Mr. Dunworthy are historians and they save the day in my book, only Kivrin can't really save the day, because you can't change the past, since it's already happened, and Mr. Dunworthy doesn't really save the day because he's sick, but he helps, and so does Colin, which is neat, though Colin wants to go to the Crusades, and that's boring - the Black Death is MUCH more interesting."
She pulled a carefully folded piece of paper from the back of her book and unfolded it. "When I grow up I'm gonna be a historian like Mr. Dunworthy, only I'm going to time travel like Kivrin," she explained, pointing out the relevant parts on her most excellent diagram of her Life Plan. "And the Black Death'll be all, RAWR I'M GONNA GET YOU, and I'm gonna be all, HA! I've been inoculated against plague bacilli! So then the Black Death'll be sad, because it can't kill me, but I will be happy!" It was fabulous. She loved her life plan.
( ... )
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.zak_resoOctober 26 2007, 22:41:51 UTC
Zak blinked as the girl explained the plot of her book in a quick sentence. He had to admit, the speed at which she was talking was rather impressive. He smiled a bit as she pulled out a sheet of paper with big, bold letters reading 'LIFE PLAN' on the back. Christ almighty, you'd know the kid was a Ravenclaw.
He took the piece of paper from her and studied it carefully as she spoke. His smile grew wider across his face as he followed the steps. Zak couldn't prevent the goosebumps that appeared on his arm when he caught sight of the syringe, but he tried to ignore it by laughing at the sight of 'Black Death' instead. "Why is he a bird?" He asked, handing it back to her. "I like the hat."
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.hunter_raOctober 26 2007, 22:56:23 UTC
Ruth Ann rolled her eyes. "He's not a bird. He's a plague doktor. Doctors in the middle ages wore goggles and had beaks full of herbs and flowers and things because they thought that breathing through potpourri would keep them from getting sick. It's not an accurate depiction of the Black Death, but it's more interesting than drawing Yersinia pestis - that's what most scholars think the Black Death actually was, though nobody's completely one hundred percent sure, since contemporaries called different things, like the blue sickness. But anyway, Yersinia pestis would just be a whole bunch of black lines, and that's BORING." It was obvious that, though she came across as completely nutters most of the time, Ruth Ann probably did belong in Ravenclaw.
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.zak_resoOctober 26 2007, 23:25:00 UTC
Zak listened intently, trying to keep up as she explained it all. He came to the conclusion that she knew a lot more about the plague than he'd ever bother reading up on. Zak's fortè wasn't exactly based in the middle ages, it was much more recent stuff. Modern history, especially the Irish stuff, was what his dad had always encouraged.
"And why are you in Ravenclaw?" Zak asked with a grin, shaking his head slightly. "That's bloody impressive. Well done you and your thirst for knowledge." The Gryffindor inclined his head as a show of respect. "I juggle." Yup, that was his skill. Along with various others, but the juggling appeared to be a favourite of littles. He never did really understand why, as a teenager he much preferred watching the older lads go flying off their skateboards but students didn't get as much a kick out of it here as they did at home. So juggling it was!
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.theropicusOctober 26 2007, 23:40:42 UTC
"I mostly just know plague stuff," Ruth Ann admitted as she refolded her Life Plan and stashed it away. "And some general stuff about the Middle Ages. Nimuë says I'm in Ravenclaw because there isn't a house for insane, artistic twerps, but I personally think I was sorted Ravenclaw to help liven up things. Not that that works very well when they keep banning me from the common room... and the table..." Not that she sat at the Ravenclaw table very often, but it was the concept of the thing.
"What do you like? D'you like history and aliens and stuff too? Or just juggling? I can't juggle - I have no hand-eye coordination, which is why I told Derek he didn't want me on the Quidditch team, but I am anyway, so I have to pretend like I actually know what they're doing, but that's annoying, though at least the quaffle is shiny now, so that's spiffy."
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.zak_resoOctober 26 2007, 23:47:26 UTC
"Insane artistic twerps?" Zak paused and thought about it for a moment. True to a point, he supposed. "Why would they ban you? That's ridiculous. You're welcome at the Gryffindor table anytime," Zak assured, frowning at the idea of an entire House banning someone from the common room or table. He felt as if it was a disgusting form of bullying. Everyone against one? There was no fun in that, Zak knew this from experience.
He grinned a bit, "Nah, I do quidditch, football and skateboarding as well as juggling. Play guitar and sing too." Zak decided not to add in the part of his academic life where he was failing everything. His other talents tended to pale a little when placed next to his amazingly dismal grades. "I like history, don't have a problem with aliens. I know more recent history though, mostly the political bit. That's what my dad taught."
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.theropicusOctober 26 2007, 23:54:59 UTC
"Because I'm loud and distracting and I bounce and this last time might've had something to do with the brownies I had with me on Monday..." she said thoughtfully.
"Yuck, recent history," Ruth Ann said, wrinkling her nose. "I like OLD stuff. Like... before the eighteenth century," she said with a nod. "Football is fun, but I'm not good enough for team sports - people usually don't want me to play because they have a hard time winning with me on their team. It's good you like aliens, 'cause I am one."
Re: Wednesday, October 4th, afternoon 3; near the lake.zak_resoNovember 1 2007, 18:36:17 UTC
"Loud and distracting?" Zak paused to think about it. While the idea of banning her from the table didn't immediately make sense to him, he had to appreciate that this was Ravenclaw and they did enjoy their studying a little too much. He supposed if he was a book worm like the majority of them, he too would probably attempt to finish up extra credit work from two days into the future at the breakfast table too. "Well, everyone at the Gryffindor table is either loud and distracting or asleep, so feel free to pop over. Although, there will be a lack of good literature. If you're lucky someone might have a Beano or something
( ... )
YES.
Reply
Zak's legs were suddenly taken from beneath him as he practically ran over what appeared to be his buddy. The tall Gryffindor crashed to the grassy ground and groaned as his breath was knocked out of him. He managed to force a weary smile at the young girl. "Hi."
Reply
"....hi," she replied, her tone definitely not as cheerful as it normally was.
Reply
He gazed at her for a moment, trying to figure out why the girl was familiar to him. Sure, he'd probably seen her around the halls and the like, but for some reason Zak felt like they'd properly met before at some point in the past. If only he could figure out from when. "I think I'm your buddy..." His voice faltered a bit at the sight of her hair. "I didn't see you."
Reply
"I thought Tim was my buddy," Ruth Ann said, a bit surprised by this news. "He was my buddy last year, though he didn't say much of anything, just sat there and, y'know, looked kinda scared. Very quiet. Kinda boring. I wanted my buddy to be Dot Boy or Jelly only SOMEONE said that couldn't happen 'cause it had to be a Ravenclaw, only not Derek, which is a shame, since he's taken. Who're you, then?" He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't say she recognised him.
Reply
"Zak Reso, pleased to meet you," He introduced, offering her his slightly muddy hand with a grin. "So, y'had Tim last year?" Zak made a face. How dull must that have been? Not that Zak had anything against the lad, but really it wasn't as if he did much other than school work and hang out with his girlfriend. Which was a pity really, he did seem like a sound guy. "Yeah, they've changed them around this year, dunno why exactly but there y'go!" Zak paused for a moment. "Y'interested in stuff?"
Reply
Reply
"You like history?" Zak asked brightly as she spoke, he bent down to brush some stray dirt off his knee as she continued speaking. He grinned at her plan of world takeover. "How'd you get into history? I mean, I love it cos my dad taught it, but it seems to be rare enough to find people who enjoy it."
Reply
She pulled a carefully folded piece of paper from the back of her book and unfolded it. "When I grow up I'm gonna be a historian like Mr. Dunworthy, only I'm going to time travel like Kivrin," she explained, pointing out the relevant parts on her most excellent diagram of her Life Plan. "And the Black Death'll be all, RAWR I'M GONNA GET YOU, and I'm gonna be all, HA! I've been inoculated against plague bacilli! So then the Black Death'll be sad, because it can't kill me, but I will be happy!" It was fabulous. She loved her life plan.
( ... )
Reply
He took the piece of paper from her and studied it carefully as she spoke. His smile grew wider across his face as he followed the steps. Zak couldn't prevent the goosebumps that appeared on his arm when he caught sight of the syringe, but he tried to ignore it by laughing at the sight of 'Black Death' instead. "Why is he a bird?" He asked, handing it back to her. "I like the hat."
Reply
...emphasis on probably.
Reply
"And why are you in Ravenclaw?" Zak asked with a grin, shaking his head slightly. "That's bloody impressive. Well done you and your thirst for knowledge." The Gryffindor inclined his head as a show of respect. "I juggle." Yup, that was his skill. Along with various others, but the juggling appeared to be a favourite of littles. He never did really understand why, as a teenager he much preferred watching the older lads go flying off their skateboards but students didn't get as much a kick out of it here as they did at home. So juggling it was!
Reply
"What do you like? D'you like history and aliens and stuff too? Or just juggling? I can't juggle - I have no hand-eye coordination, which is why I told Derek he didn't want me on the Quidditch team, but I am anyway, so I have to pretend like I actually know what they're doing, but that's annoying, though at least the quaffle is shiny now, so that's spiffy."
Reply
He grinned a bit, "Nah, I do quidditch, football and skateboarding as well as juggling. Play guitar and sing too." Zak decided not to add in the part of his academic life where he was failing everything. His other talents tended to pale a little when placed next to his amazingly dismal grades. "I like history, don't have a problem with aliens. I know more recent history though, mostly the political bit. That's what my dad taught."
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"Yuck, recent history," Ruth Ann said, wrinkling her nose. "I like OLD stuff. Like... before the eighteenth century," she said with a nod. "Football is fun, but I'm not good enough for team sports - people usually don't want me to play because they have a hard time winning with me on their team. It's good you like aliens, 'cause I am one."
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