| Details for Feathers and Water |
| Summary: | Sierra and Augusta put up with Angelus' cockiness and teasing until he has an a little accident with the lake. |
| Date: | November 30, 1939 |
| Location: | Lake Shore |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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Angelus stands by the water on Sunday evening. He’s on his own, his left hand fisted around a pile of stones, tossing the flat stones with his right. He wears his warm robes, finely cut wool, with his red and gold striped scarf wound around his neck. A flicker touches his lips in a small smile, watching the ripples on the black liquid as he tosses each stone - though currently he’s only managing to skip once, bringing out a hum and a shake of his head.
Augusta comes marching along the shoreline. Like Angelus, she wears her warmest robes, the red and gold sparking a stark contrast to the paleness of her skin and the dark hair that feathers the edges of her face. Not that much can be seen of her hair right now, for she wears a knitted woollen hat that's pulled firmly down over her ears. Spotting Angelus, she lifts a gloved hand in his direction and hop-skip-jumps across a few of the larger rocks to land herself at his side. "Guess what I'm going to wear to your party Angelus. Go on. Guess. You'll NEVER guess. Never. But guess anyway!"
Sierra is skirting the lake from the other direction - where the boats are housed, and where she had been wasting a little time chatting with Amber about the girl's favorite hobby. Her bag is slung over her shoulder, over the top of her warm cloak, and bumps about on her hip as she walks, occasionally dancing a step or two as she hums to herself.
Angelus’ tongue slips out to touch the corner of his bottom lip, eyeing the black surface with focus. His arm across his stomach, as he flicks his wrist in a backhanded motion, he starts at the same time as Augusta appears, and the stone veers off, missing the water. A surprised noise escapes the youth, shaking his head slowly and smirking as he flicks his blue eyes onto Augusta. “You managed to ruin a perfectly good throw. Great work, Macmillan,” he says, at least in a teasing tone as he shakes his head mirthfully. A brow arches inquisitively at her, tilting his head even as he looks away briefly to catch Sierra’s approach. A nod is sent toward Sierra, lifting his hand in a casual wave, before he glances back to Augusta with a shrug. “Is it made out of silk and jewelled?” he asks, the doubt and arrogance in his tone mixing.
Augusta scrunches her nose at Angelus. "What, and look like every other girl that'll be going? Nu-uh…" Over her shoulder is hung a bag of dubious heritage, made of patched up leather with seams and overstitched edges worked in glittery threads. She pulls it around in front of her hand opens it so that Angelus can see what's inside. Feathers. Lots of feathers. Lots and lots and LOTS of feathers. Not the harsh quilled sort that might be dropped by an adult bird, but soft downy ones. And all white. A smile melts over her face as she plunges her hand into the bag and brings a fluffy, puffy handful out. "Spectacular. It’s going to look spectacular. OH HI, SIERRA!" Apparently the other fourth year gets spotted, and she carefully deposits the feather-down back in her bag before waving madly at the approaching girl.
Sierra jumps out of the way of the stone that skitters past her - even though, truth be told, it wouldn't have hit her even if she hadn't moved. She was just startled, is all! "Eibon, Augusta," Sierra greets them both. "Hey. You know - you don't impress anyone when you skip those stones across land," she teases.
Angelus watches Augusta quietly as he considers. As she speaks, his eyes wander over her, studying the girl and giving his eyebrow a little quirk. “You would look good in a silk gown. Maybe you’d actually catch someone’s interest if you cared a little more.” He rolls his eyes, looking away from her to glance towards Sierra again. A smirk flicks against his lips, tilting his head as he stares at Sierra. “Thank you, Higgins. I’ll keep that in mind for now on,” he responds mirthfully.
"No offence, Angelus, but maybe I'd rather catch the interest of someone who likes me for me," Augusta says in her soft Scottish burr, pulling her hat from her head to rub fingers through pixie-cropped hair. "And not because I can stick a dress on that a dozen other girls could wear." Her smile dimples her cheeks with that, and apparently unoffended by his critique of who she is, she bends to pick a stone from the pile at his feet, turning it with fingers that test the aerodynamics of its shape. "And your technique for skipping the stones is all wrong. You don't flick them across your body that way, you stand side on and bend your following leg, and oh here. Watch…" And she drops her bag and shows the boy exactly what she means. Hopefully it'll skip across the water and not veer off into Sierra's path like Angelus' had done.
"I like you for you, Gussie!" Sierra remarks cheerfully, draping one arm around the other girl - though the lets go again and steps back as Augusta prepares to send a stone skimming. "Pay attention, you just may learn something," she encourages Angelus in a teasingly solemn tone.
A smug little smile flicks against his lips as Angelus tilts his chin, glancing between the two girls. “I’m sure there are people who like you for you.” His lips curl a little as he locks his blue eyes on Augusta. “They just aren’t as amazing as I am,” he adds with a smirk, a grin twisting onto his features. He seizes a stone a second after she grabs one, clearing his throat lightly and rolling his eyes at both the girls. “You can’t teach an expert when you’re only a novice. Have you gotten three skips before?” But his gaze trails after the stone to watch it.
"And I'm sure that there are people that like you for you too, Angelus," Augusta returns, eyes squinting a little as her stone skips across the water. One. Two. Three-eee… It sinks on the third and there's a faint look of triumph that shows briefly in her eyes before she returns the hug that Sierra had given. "Three. I got three. So that's better than two, but not as good as four. I'll get four next time. You should have a go too Sierra." Generously she nudges one of Angelus' stones towards her friend with the toe of one boot and huffs air through pursed lips so it hangs white and cold in front of her. Dragon's breath. A beat. "Is anyone trying out for anything in Professor Beery's panto this year?"
"Just no one on this beach," Sierra promptly quips with a grin, after Augusta's opening words. She lets out a laugh before adding, "Sorry. Sorry, Eibon, I can't help myself sometimes. That was mean-spirited." She stoops to pick up one of the stones, weighing it consideringly in her hand, before turning sideways to the lack - and flicking it out over the water to skip placidly across. She doesn't bother to count her skips. "Hey, you ever tossed a stone across a frozen lake?" she asks.
“Who could resist a legendary Star like me?” Angelus returns instantly to Augusta, his lips twitching lightly. They flick towards Sierra though, lips pouting into a mock-sulk, shaking his head slowly. “There’s no need for that, Higgins. You needn’t hide your true feelings for me. You can kiss me right here,” he taps his cheek lightly, “if you want.” His grin is teasing as he glances at her, though at the same time he eyes Sierra warily. He’s ready to dodge any flying fists! In response to the stone being skipped, he smirks and shrugs simply. “Not bad, Macmillan, for a rookie.” He winks.
"Who indeed…" Augusta picks another stone up and flicks it out across the water. This one skips four times, being lighter than the previous one and also perhaps because there's the smallest amount of irritation to the flick given it with her wrist. Something's needling her, though she's all smiles still when she nods to Sierra. "Och, I have indeed. It makes a lovely sound, like the water's singing." A pause. "So nobody at all is trying out for the Panto? I'm going to see if I can help with the wardrobe; costumes and things."
"Eibon, the only thing likely to touch your cheek is my fist," Sierra counters, brandishing it without making any attempt to actually hit him. Her attention flicks back to Augusta as she shrugs her shoulders, adding, "Oh, I dunno. Seems like such a bother. It's just more time I'd have to spend inside under the watchful eye of a Professor."
Angelus’ grin splits widely as he looks over to the water. Even though Augusta’s toss gets four skips, he simply just shakes his head in amusement, his mood too satisfied to really care. He tilts back his head as he lets out a laugh, the amusement shining in his eyes as he glances to Sierra. “I’d rather a kiss,” he says with a wink. “But I’ll give you some room,” he adds, smirking and taking one pointed step to the side away from Sierra as he snickers. His eyes glance towards Augusta, lifting his head importantly. “Oh, I considered it. But then I figured I’d show so much talent and steal the show that I decided to give people a chance.”
Augusta pulls her hat back onto her head, a rough push given the wayward tufts of black hair that seem intent on sticking out beneath it at all angles. "You know, Angelus, if you dropped the whole 'I'm so much better than you' thing that you have going on, you might be quite likeable underneath." A small rub is given the tip of her nose with the heel of her hand before she fluffs her cloak around her tiny frame, fluffing the bubble of warm air that she's trapped beneath it. Eyes of cornflower blue stare intensely at the boy for a moment, before with a hitch of her shoulders she glances back to Sierra. "If you don't want to stand up on stage, maybe you could just paint scenery or something? Ohhh come ON Sierra… it'd be FUN!"
Sierra takes an abrupt step towards Angelus, keeping herself between him and the fist cocking back as she tries to drive him towards the lake. "One more word…!" she challenges him, putting on her fiercest scowl.
Angelus bends to pluck a stone out of the pile before he straightens. “Am I supposed to be crushed that you don’t like me, Macmillan?” He shakes his head, letting out a soft tsk. “My type of friends are higher up and classy,” he informs, his smile curving into a smug smile. As he turns his head quickly to glance at Sierra, a snigger escapes the youth even as he inches further away from her, not really noticing as he steps closer to the water. “What?” He blinks at Sierra as he tilts his head, grinning as his eyes glimmer mischievously. “Now you want me to flatter you more? Did I turn on my charm too strongly?”
"Your type of friends. Right. Okay…" There's a press of Augusta's mouth into a tight line and on a sudden impulse she opens the bag in which she's collected feathers to make her dress for Angelus' party, turns it upside down and shakes the contents out. Thousands. There's thousands. They swirl in a storm of fluffy whiteness about the three students, clinging to robes, and faces and hair. Its like a pillow fight might have ended in split pillows, without the fight.
Sierra jumps closer - trying to force Angelus to jump back, and into the water, doing her best to keep her features an expression of scowling and threatening annoyance, rather than gleeful and hopeful mischief. It's particularly hard as the feathers start to swirl about them. "Oh, Augusta, all your beautiful feathers!"
Angelus tosses up the stone in his hand and catches it, keeping his blue eyes locked warily on Sierra with an amused little quirk to his lips. “Ack, what?” he lets out in surprise as feathers start to flutter all around them. He blinks, hopping backwards, waving a hand in front of him as he tries to scamper away from the mess. “Macmillan?” His amusement fades a little, tilting his head only to suddenly start when he glances to Sierra again. His attempt to get away from the feathers, and now hopping back from Sierra, brings him dangerously nearer to the water. In fact, his boots squish against the wet sandy ground and he lets out a sound of surprise, glancing down at his boots with a frown of displeasure, suddenly lifting his feet more cautiously as the water licks at his heels. “Okay, okay,” he says, holding up his hands easily to both the girls. “I’m only teasing.”
Augusta looks at Angelus a moment; looks at the feathers in his hair, the feathers that dust his shoulders, his cloak, his chest. Looks at the feathers that fall into the water and drift away soggy and ruined. Looks at his feet where he stands with now wet boots. Looks at Sierra. Looks at Angelus. GOD the girl can look. Lower lip jutting a little, she gives a small shrug of her shoulders, and despite how funny Angelus looks, despite how she'd normally dissolve into giggles over such a sight, she simply lifts her chin and fastens the button on the flap of her bag. Pat. "I hope that you have a perfectly lovely party with your perfectly lovely your type of friends, Eibon." And not waiting to see whether Sierra advances on him further, or even whether he simply overbalances and topples onto his ass in the lake, she turns and stomps her way back towards the castle.
Sierra jumps at Angelus again, her fist swinging in towards him this time - though the movement arrests itself well shy of hitting his face, as she lets out with a loud, "Boo!" Childish? Yes, probably. But sometimes she just can't help herself. "Aww, Augusta. Hold up!" she calls after the other girl.
Angelus lifts his knees as he steps cautiously through the wet sand with a distasteful curl of his lips. Too bad one couldn’t summon their house elf at a snap of their fingers, because he could really use an easy cleaning spell right now. He sighs, blinking as he locks his eyes on Augusta. “I’m going to have an excellent party, Macmillan. I’ll buy you a suitable dress to make up for your…” He shrugs, brushing his hand backwards through the air. “…Costume?” A smirk flicks against his lips, but then he’s suddenly dodging way from Sierra’s fist with an ‘ack,’ not realising it wasn’t going to hit, and his heel hits a stone sticking in the stand before he trips backwards to land in the water. He’s scrambling up swiftly from the cold, gasping out, trying to look dignified as he rolls his eyes after the girls.
Sierra laughs uproariously as she takes off after Augusta. "Have fun at your party, Eibon!" She calls over her shoulder, before draping her arm around Augusta, and disappearing towards the castle.