| Details for Language Barriers |
| Summary: | Kimiko and Colton wrangle a wayward book, get into a pillow fight, and start speaking in tongues. |
| Date: | November 21, 1937 |
| Location: | Gryffindor Common Room |
| Related: | Graceful and Goofy |
| Characters |
  |
Kimiko is standing on the back of a couch, streeeeetching her arm into the air. She is trying to snag a book that has taken flight, flapping its covers merrily and doing circles above her, just out of reach. "Come on!" she complains at it, now balancing precariously on one foot to get that extra inch of reach.
Colton comes down from the boys dorm and spotting Kimiko in that near about to fall stance he does a little running leap over the back of the couch to wrap an arm around her to keep her from falling before he moves to give her a hoist up so that she can get the book. All the while with a heroic grin on his face.
Kimiko was so entirely focused on the book that Colton's arms around her elicit a squeal of surprise! Suddenly she's floundering, leaning back into him, threatening his own balance!
Colton trying to keep balance on a thick sofa cushion isn't easy and he's starting to flounder again. Her back squishing his face into interesting expressions as he fights to get them staying up right. "Da book…geddit!"
Kimiko goes wide-eyed, realizing now who is manhandling her. "Higgins? Oh! Right!" She makes a few lurching motions (surely doing nothing for Colton's balance), and on the third upward lunge, she snags the book by a few hanging pages, and tugs it down into her arms.
Colton grunts with each attempt and then once it's caught he just drops. Plop-Landing her on the cushion and him on the back of the couch. He gives a little strangled choked up auuuooogh…as he rather in slow motion slides off the back of the couch. Only to a split second later sproing right back up with a big goofy grin.
Kimiko lands on her bottom with a high, squeaky, "Oh!" as she bounces a little on the cushion. The book flutters in her hands, trying to take off again, but she forces it shut, and then tucks it underneath her. She gives Colton an embarrassed smile. "Um…my spell went wrong."
Colton hops over the back of the couch again to sit on the cushion next to her. "Why don't you do that canceling enchantments spell? I don't remember it. But that the Auror fellow did it in that duel against Dumbledore."
Kimiko's awkward smile only worsens. "Finite. I tried. It didn't work. I really bungled this one." She grimaces, wide-eyed, as the book squirms under her.
Colton scrunches up his lips and then taps them trying his best to look studious and pensive. "What was the spell?"
Kimiko repeats it for his benefit. "Finite. Fih-NEE-tay. But I think you have to have some idea of what you're trying to counter…and I have no idea how I made the book fly. I was trying to get it to read aloud."
Colton taps his chin again and hrmms then he lifts the finger up in a 'ah-ha!' moment and bends over to untie his shoe. "I did mean what the spell was that you were practicing." In other words he did hear her the first time. Ahhh, gotta love flustered teen miscommunication. After he's untied his shoe string he pops it free of the holds of his shoe one after the other. Then he leans so he's leaning over her lap and he ties a good solid knot to the leg of the couch under her. Then he holds up the loose end of the long string looking to her. "You hold the book and I will do the knotwork. Like a balloon."
Kimiko blinks as he boldly leans over her lap. Goodness, this boy has zero boundaries. "A balloon…right. But…what will keep your shoes on?" She giggles, and pulls the book out from under her. Thankfully, whatever she did to it didn't make it especially strong, so she has little trouble controlling it while Colton ties it to the laces.
Colton is a Quinnland! Boundaries aren't exactly something the Irish Travelers are known for paying much attention to. He loops the sting about the binding of the book and gives a couple of good knots. "Eh…I'll go around barefoot." He makes a funny face at her and then looks to the book. "Alright. That should hold it. Give it a go?"
Kimiko rolls her eyes, giggling. "If you go around barefoot, you'll lose us points. Then Pringle will make you walk barefoot on hot coals or something." She releases the book, letting it flap up above them, but YOINK! It doesn't get far, and ends up just flying in circles just above their heads. She claps approvingly. "Brilliant!"
Colton puts a hand on his belly and bows over it while one other hand goes outwards. "Thank you. Thank you very much." He rights up with a grin and shrugs. "Pringle can't hurt me. Besides…" Sliding out of his shoe he tugs down his sock enough to show her the bottom of his foot that might as well be sole leather. "I've walked over coals before. It's not so bad." He gives her a wink and then reaches up to get the book and open it up to see what sort of stuff she is studying. "So, trying to get it to read aloud? Why were you doing that?"
Kimiko frowns at him, wrinkling her nose at his feet, but jabbing a finger at his hands. "I saw your thumbs. Don't tell me he can't hurt you." She shakes her head, brow knitted in the sort of concern that looks a whole lot like anger at the person you're concerned about.
Colton shrugs rather casually, "I mean it. If I let it hurt me. He gets his jollies. I've just leaned to sort of go someplace else. Sure I'm sore and hurt afterwards, but it's only temporary. I've also got more laces upstairs. But you are terribly cute when you're worried." He smiles and points his index finger out at her and gives it a little swirl about five inches away from the tip of her nose.
Kimiko pulls back from his finger, her frown of displeasure ruined entirely by the blush to her cheeks. "I wasn't worried, I was…concerned. There's a difference." Before he can question just what that difference is, she changes the subject. "Anyhow, speaking of points, did you see that Hawker earned us a bunch? We're in second place now after Slytherin. We need to find a way to get ahead."
Colton was trying to break that frown and when it falters he smiles. "You're even more adorable when you are concerned." He points out very factually. Then comes the matter of House Points and he pffts lightly. "I don't know if you've noticed these last many years. I'm not exactly very good in racking them up."
Kimiko groans at him. "Well, stop doing what you do to lose them, dummy. It's not hard to earn points. Sometimes I get some for volunteering to help professors. They always have something that needs doing."
Colton pouts and looks at her with puppy dog eyes like a freshly beaten stray dog when she calls him a dummy. "It's not my fault this school is filled with stupid rules and the Devil for a Caretaker."
Kimiko rolls her eyes. "The rules aren't stupid. You just like breaking them. And Pringle is…" She trails off, trying to think of something nice to say about the Caretaker. Are those crickets chirping?
Colton points a finger at her again with a grin and repeats to finish her faded off sentence. "Satan." He then turns to face her more, "Alright, so we should pair up. When you do this helpful stuff. Cause if we both do it, then we'll be getting double the points. Right?"
Kimiko laughs! "Oh, I see. You just want to hang around me so you can look good to the house. Go earn your own points! You're on the Quidditch team. Win some games."
Colton gets a little smirk and shakes his head. "No, I want to hang around you so I can hang around you. I'll win games, don't you worry…or I'm sorry…be concerned." Cheeky Colton gives her a grin.
Kimiko gives him an odd look. Worry? Curiosity? This-guy-is-weird? It's difficult to read. "You don't have to make up reasons to hang around me, Higgins. We're in the same house."
Colton sighs and licks his lips as he looks up sideways to the air next to him as he's thinking of how to put this, since he's getting such a strange expression from her. His face of course looks just as strange. Finally he looks to her. "I am not making up excuses. I am asking if I can spend more time with you because I want to spend more tiiiiiime with you." Time is drawn out in a tone indicative that he is interested in her in a non Housemate sort of way.
Kimiko blinks. Then she blinks again. Then a few more times for good measure. When she manages to stop blinking, she just stares with wide eyes in astonishment. "Higgins?" She says his name questioningly, like she's expecting he's actually a doppelganger.
Colton smirks and inwardly laughs a little. With every bat of her lashes he smiles more and more. Then he seems to get the idea that she's thinking him some imperio'd fella. So to lighten things up he does his very best Kimiko impression and nod-bows pitching his voice cute and femme, "Hai?"
That certainly pulls her out of her confused state. But his mimicry of her earns him a pillow to the face. Or, at least she tries to fling a pillow at his face. It missed by about three feet, and zips toward the fireplace, landing dangerously close to the burning logs. She gasps, stumbling over herself to try to get to it before a spark does.
Colton acks as well but he goes for his wand and casts, "Accio Piwow…!" Cause there's suddenly quite the posterior view of Kimiko as she scrambles to get the pillow.
Pi…wow? What in the… "Higgiiiins!" Kimi whirls around, jaw hanging open and she smooths down her skirt in the back. Then she remembers what she was doing, turns to snatch up the pillow (careful to keep her bottom angled away from him), and proceeds to beat at him mercilessly with it.
Colton gives a playful scream going back to immitating her and then every time he is knocked with a pillow he says "Hai!" again and again. Trying to distract her just so long as it takes for him to get a pillow and give it a gentle swing to buffet against her. "Heeee-yah!
Kimiko takes the hit, then twirls away to get out of his reach. "Don't…make…fun of me!" She flings the pillow again. Thank Merlin she's not throwing anything heavy. This girl couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with the broad side of a barn. The pillow goes wild, hurtling toward a window.
Colton is thankfully quick and agile and keen on reaction time. He reaches a hand out to snatch the pillow as it goes whizzing by and then spins in the act and when he comes back around he gently lobs it right back at her. He's laughing, "I'm not!"
Kimiko catches the pillow right in the gut (rather, it catches her right in the gut), earning a frustrated grunt. "Yes, you are!" She hurls the pillow again, this time with a bit more accuracy, but it's still an awkward enough throw that it has no real force behind it. Frowning at him, she points a finger and utters, "Fuzakeru na!" Then she stalks toward the common room door.
Colton acks and tries to catch the pillow again before launching after her to follow after her. "Oi, ey, wait a minute. I'm sorry. I was just playin'. I would never try to hurt your feelings. I'm sorry." He says genuinely both hands raised up in surrender. "Kimi."
Kimiko stops, but crosses her arms, scowling. "Atama ni kita! I'm mad at you, Colton Higgins. You never know when to quit. That's why you always get into trouble and lose us points." She whirls in a half-turn, standing her ground, but pointedly looking away from him.
Colton heys softly in that, 'please don't be mad' sort of way. He moves to do a walking hand stand and 'walk' so that he can look up at face. "I was defending myself! I said I was sorry, I really wasn't making fun of you. Though I do like it when you get mad and start yelling at me in Japanese without realizing it. Very cute."
Kimiko doesn't seem overly impressed with his antics. "I don't mock the way you talk. I get enough of that with Muggles. I don't need it here." She makes another half-turn, again pointedly looking away from him, arms still crossed.
Colton cart-wheels so he's standing right side up and right before her once more. "I didn't mock. I emula-whatever the word means to copy. I love the way you talk. I think it's cool!"
Kimiko purses her lips in frustration, arching a brow at him. She sighs, and tries to hide the little smile trying to escape at the corners of her mouth. To cover it, she throws more Japanese at him. "Gengo hitotsu dake de ha kesshite tarinai." She lifts her brow smugly.
Colton leans forward and with a great big dorky smile he says, "Nach Alainn e!, chomh halainn leis!" All in all it means: 'how lovely!' With that he leans forward a touch more to aim a kiss at her cheek before he'll press his luck no further and move to swing open the door out of the common room and bows and gestures out the door like the most proper of doormen.
Kimiko is too shocked at the kiss to do anything more than stare at him in wide-eyed surprise. When the door opens, she wavers, then suddenly hurries out of the room at a speedy pace, swinging the Fat Lady's portrait closed behind her, earning a, "Whooop! Careful, dear!"