It's just a jump to the left.. [Starke]

[callykhs2]

Stupid thestrals..stupid me was the thought running through Alexis’ head as she trudged up the stairs slowly to the hospital wing. She cradled her bleeding left hand in her right, not even noticing the twigs and some leaves that were stuck in her hair. She hadn’t run into Tenebrus today, this one was an older thestral who didn’t take the bad news of Alexis only bringing one steak, and almost took her hand in rebuttal. Alexis was probably lucky she got out of there as quickly as she did with just minor scrapes from tree branches and a slightly twisted ankle from that large tree root that tripped her.

She stopped at the top of the stairs once she got there, Christ her ankle was throbbing. All that running probably wasn’t a good idea. Pushing the door open to the room she sighed in relief when she couldn’t see any of the beds being occupied. That meant no one had to see her up close looking so horribly ragged. Finding the nurse quickly she gave her recount on what happened and was happy that she didn’t ask Alexis hundreds of questions.

Alexis wasn’t happy about having to stay in the hospital wing though, she just wanted to go up to her dorm room and sleep. She huffed and whined a little but eventually gave into the nurses’ demands and shuffled into a close off space, putting the ugly oversized shirt down that the nurse gave her to change into. At least she could keep her jeans on but her shirt was just about falling off of her and exposing her chest so the nurse told her to just change and rest a while. ”I really hate thestrals..” she muttered to herself before slowly peeling her sweater off.

[james]

After the grandiose toilet incident, Starke was hardly in the mood for anything more happening to him. His clothes had reached that soaked, but not dripping state that just made them plain uncomfortable and hard to move in. His shoulder was cramping up on him from the impact when he was hurtled from his stall. He had not noticed it at first, but the tile floor had been quite hard, but then it could have been the door too. It had all happened so fast that it was hard to tell. The blood from the cut on his cheek had now run into a dry, crusty line of dark crimson.

Starke sniffled as he made his way to the Hospital Wing. For some reason he had a runny nose, and that had not ceased since the rest of his body had ceased to be a watering can for the corridors. He pushed the door open, to the presumably empty room. Empty, except that the nurse had entered from her office with what looked a purpose. She seemed a little taken aback from the sight of him. And as she quickly pulled a rag from one of her pockets and took his head in her arm rather aggressively to push the white material into his nostril, she grumbled about what students were getting themselves into today, speculating what Prof. Argall was introducing now to Care of Magical Creatures.

Sit there. He was ordered to one of the beds with the nod of her head, as she disappeared again from the room. It was then that Starke shortly became aware of the girl undressing behind a Shoji Screen. Subconsciously, he started leaning back to try and get a better sneak pick, when a great warmth formed very close to his jaw and he smelled burning. In almost an instant he was shaking his head of the flaming rag. It fell to the ground, where he noticed it had been to clog his nose of blood, before it fell to ashes on the ground.

Starke was gasping in the moment, and didn’t notice what a ruckus he had made when he had yelped out in surprise before freeing himself from it.

[callykhs2]

Once her sweater had been taken off, Alexis noticed a few more cuts to her abdomen. None were bleeding or life threatening but they did annoy Alexis more, she hated getting cuts or bruises. Now she would most likely have a scar on her hand and possibly some on her arms from where the thestral’s teeth got her. Picking at the dried blood on her stomach she stopped when she heard scuffling of another pair of feet in the room and the nurse muttering to the newcomer.

Care of Magical Creatures, huh? Well it was Argall’s fault that Alexis knew about the creepy winged horses in the forest, but she couldn’t blame her for being reckless and going to seek the creatures out on her own. Again. Next time she’d be more careful. Alexis glanced over her shoulder when she heard the creak of the bed behind the screen that gave her a little privacy. The thought that whoever was sitting on the bed could see her practically naked never crossed her mind.

Alexis picked up the shirt, shaking it out getting ready to pull the ugly thing on before she heard a gasp and ruckus from the bed next to hers then smelled something burning. ”What the hell?” she mumbled to herself, stepping over to the corner of where two screens met she pushed them apart and saw none other than Starke Diggory. When had he come back?

She stared at him for a moment, pushing the screen apart a little more to see him easier. Seeing a cut on his cheek that looked fresh even if it was crusted and his soaking wet clothes he looked like he just couldn’t catch a break! ”What happened to you?” she asked, the question having a double meaning.

[james]

Starke was instantaneously transported to his own little world, as he stared at the remnants of his nose rag. A concern of vanity possessed his fingers to brush against the skin beneath his nose to assure burned flesh had not resulted. He was fine, but his nose was all clogged up now. It felt funny, and he half thought about using his shirt to clean it out. It was already filthy after all. He was glad to have decided against that however, as his attention was drawn back to his primary focus when the familiar voice addressed him.

He was silent a moment, as he realized who it was. Inadvertently, his eyes dropped in evaluation and rose again. His stomach turned as it occurred to him that she was looking right at him, and he really was not being too subtle about the action. At least there had been no nod of the head; maybe the slight distance would obscure the movement of his eyes. Maybe the nurse would come back with Roman goddesses to pamper him and feed him grapes.

Sniffing again, the clog moved up his nose uncomfortably. He made a funny face and wriggled his nose to rid himself of the lodge. Merlin he was in a state, and in front of Lex no less. “Erm…” He started to answer, then realized just what the answer was going to be. Was he really going to tell her that the toilet had blown up on him? Not even an option.

Well, the question had been rather vague, so he used the only truthful answer he could without making a fool of himself. He pointed to the floor. “Exploding nose rag. Didn’t you know; they’re the newest hit at Zonko’s.”

[callykhs2]

Six weeks. Almost six weeks.. that was how long Starke had been gone. Alexis knew the story of his half brother, the famous Cedric Diggory and when Starke had gone missing she thought something similar had happened to him. The professors were no help, telling her that Mr. Diggory was fine. They wouldn't give up any information though and that bugged her more than anything. After a week she just let things go, she wasn't getting anywhere with them. She tried not to think about it too much even though he crossed her mind a few times almost daily. He was her friend after all and the disappearance was quite sudden.

Lex glanced around for the nurse, apparently she hadn't heard the commotion that the boy had made. She opened her mouth to ask him if he was going to answer her question or not when he said something bout a new Zonko's product. Exploding nose rag. That was the best he could come up with? Shaking her head she ducked back behind the screen to pull the shirt on before she slid through the gap.

She figured it'd be easier to talk to him while she was dressed and without the screen between them. He looked like himself, except there was something that just screamed 'something happened'. Alexis had no idea what could have happened to him, but was determined to find out. Her hazel eyes looked at the little pile of ash on the floor that was the rag before it spontaneously combusted before moving back to his face. "That's a really dumb lie.." she said softly, raising her eyebrows and giving him a 'duh' look.

That was it.. he didn't look as confident as he normally would. The wet clothes didn't help this look much but Alexis could see it in his face. Crossing her arms over her chest for a number of reasons she waited semi-patiently for him to give her a real answer. "If you don't want to answer that question, how about this one; why are you clothes all wet?"

[james]

Though a month and a half would not seem all that long in retrospect; so little and so much could happen in a month. Some months drug on in dull monotony, while others sped by with something new every day. But for so much that had happened to him in the last month and a half, it really had seemed like an eternity. While his epidemic had never spread, there had been a general worry that he might be contagious. And because his symptoms were so drastic, he had lived in virtual isolation for much of that duration. It was not until he had started to relearn how to control his abilities that he had any hope for returning to Hogwarts. He was partly glad that they had kept him for so long… how embarrassing would it have been to have to start over again as a first year?

It would be a lie to say he did not miss his friends. His family had visited him; at least, his mother and father. And though his general demeanor towards them was a little more distant than usual, he really was glad to see many of there faces. Lex was on that list, and so he could not take his eyes off of her face. He may have looked different, but she looked exactly the same to him, and the sight of her just wanted to make him smile. He was not given the chance to, when she disappeared behind the screen again.

While Alexis called him out on his lie when she came back, he could only respond with a knowing little look. He was well aware of how obvious he was, and despite her debasing look he did not feel belittled. He nodded a little and looked off to the side at nothing. He did not want to say something stupid. While he might have seemed in better spirits with her, he really was much shorter with people since he had started interacting with them again.

“I guess I could answer that, despite how presumptuous you’re being.” He raised his face towards her, along with a quirked brow. “If you must know, I was drenched by a spontaneous geyser in the boys loo.”

[callykhs2]

Tapping her fingers lightly on her left arm while curing her bandaged hand under her right elbow, Lex waited a little impatiently for a response. Her eyes cut left when he looked off to the side, wondering what he was looking at but then realized it was probably just something to do. A couple dozen questions were on her mind that she wanted to ask him; mainly what happened and where had he been. She almost scrunched her nose up when a whiff of whatever was on the shirt hit her nose suddenly. She hadn’t smelled it before and now she wished she hadn’t put the thing on.

She tried to ignore it and gave him a half smile when he answered one of her questions. ”I wasn’t being presumptuous, I was being curious” she said matter-of-factly. She had to bite back a laugh when he mentioned the geyser in the loo. That would have been a sight to see, and she wondered if it was the work of the ghost that haunted the drains of Hogwarts. ”You didn’t make Moaning Myrtle mad did you?” she laughed a little to herself, it seemed like Myrtle might be the reason for more than one boy’s misery in the last couple of weeks.

Glancing around she found a rolling stool and pulled it off with her good hand and sat down after pressing the little lever to have the seat rise up so she wasn’t sitting on the floor. She started to twist back and forth on the stool just to have something to do as she spoke to Starke. Of course that just made the odd garbage like smell come off the shirt more so she stopped almost as quickly as she started. ”God.. Whoever had this shirt before me should have learnt to bathe. Or she should have washed it before handing it over” she muttered to herself, tugging on the hem of the shirt that hung almost to her knees and the sleeves were well passed her elbows. Lex imagined she looked like a little girl wearing daddy’s clothes and that thought made her pout just slightly as well as give the clean looking shirt a look of loathing.

[james]

Starke really hoped that Alexis would not pry further about the loo incident. If he knew himself at all, and he liked to think that he did – at least, he did before, then he was well aware of the affect many attractive girls had on him. Not many, it only took one girl, but there were a number of girls who had proved this about him. With only the slightest bit of pushing a girl could get anything she wanted out of him. Even if he acted as though he were in control of this, or himself, he knew better. And this girl in particular rarely got a fight from him. If she hadn’t dumped him, he’d probably still be following her about like a love-potion drugged puppy dog. Despite how many people he was overly excited to see, his loyalty to one person was resolute until they severed the leash. Apparently his enthusiasm in female companionship had come of as disloyalty.

Regardless of how she felt towards him, he could not help observe her every move… as he often did with her particular sort, as though she was extremely entertaining. “Curiosity killed the cat.” Starke joked light-heartedly, giving a laugh when she asked if he had angered the ghost. It did occur to him that Moaning Myrtle was usually in the girl’s lavatory, but it was not unheard of her sneaking a peek at the boys when they were in the baths. Still, he doubted she would attack him unprovoked. He wished the explanation would be that simple.

Giving a little smile at her exasperation with the shirt, he felt a little awkward. He smelled nothing, but this had been a condition long before his incident. While his other senses all worked fine, his nose seemed to be dysfunctional since birth. He generally had to be very close to something to smell it, and he doubted Lex would appreciate him leaning his nose against her to share in her displeasure. But for some reason, he was always embarrassed about this, and rarely told anyone that he could not smell. So it was that it was always a lie when he complimented a girl on her scent. But that’s a story for another time.

While the dog simile may now be up for debate, Starke was far too occupied with fixated eyes on the arms that found exposure from somewhere within the excess material of the stinky shirt. She had such a graceful body, even swimming in the garment. He had been greatly disappointed that she should put it on in the first place, what bloke wouldn’t be, but he was also glad that she was sitting opposite of him now. He felt a calm come over him, considering she was in good spirits, and he felt compelled to share his ordeal. Even without her pushing him. “Lex… strange things have been happening to me. Ever since I had to leave.” He told her in confiding tone; he had always felt like he could trust her. Even if she was unsure about him.

[callykhs2]

She bit her tongue so she didn’t seem like she was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. Starke had no obligation to tell her anything really. Why then, did she still expect it on some level? Most likely she thought this way because she still liked him and he would stay a friend in her eyes. Well, now she would see him as a friend after their little chat by the lake. Before then she would just see him as a reminder of a bad thing.


”Ah ha..” she said dryly in a mock laugh. ”Good thing I’m not a cat then” she smiled a little, trying to ignore the shirt’s offending odor. If the nurse came back she’d definitely be asking for another shirt or at least her own pajamas if she had to stay the night here. Noticing a few leaves in her hair she started to pluck them out and tossing them onto the floor.

Alexis was glad she wasn’t any closer to Starke, if he smelled the shirt he just might tease he about it and with the day the blonde had had she didn’t want to have to deal with that. Biting her lip slightly she watched him quietly for a moment, her fingers absently picking at the bandage.

“Lex… strange things have been happening to me. Ever since I had to leave.”

That was a strange thing to say. She tilted her head to the right, some of her hair falling over her shoulder when she did so ”What do you mean? Where did you go?” she asked curiously and her voice held a concerned tone. He was always able to trust her with things, but Alexis had trouble trusting him fully. She had been trying to change that way of thought when it concerned the older Gryffindor, but it was hard after hating him for so long. Whatever happened to him sounded serious and Alexis felt gratified to know that he trusted her enough to tell her without her questions.

[james]

Starke resisted the urge to make a joke at the expense of a cat… or Lex. She didn’t seem to appreciate his little joke. And to be perfectly honest he was no longer focused on trying to distract her from the issue at hand. It was too late for that really, and it would be very confusing of him to first bring up the matter and then pretend like he didn’t want to talk about it. He really did, it was only difficult. He could not put his finger on why it was difficult to talk about what had happened to him. It was not as though he had done something bad, or it was his fault. But it was embarrassing none-the-less, and he was too proud to admit what had happened to him.

The bruising of his own pride did not usually hinder him. But then, he had rarely encountered a situation to do so. He was generally well-liked, and most people found his shy awkwardness endearing; probably because he was strangely outgoing in talking to people… or so easy to talk to, that they never noticed that he hadn’t said a thing.

Some things had not changed about Starke Diggory, and that was resisting urges. He was always holding back for respectful reasons. Such as reaching out and touching Lex’s golden locks, which fell over her shoulder. “Well…” He let out a little sigh; people were probably going to know soon enough, and the sooner he got telling his counterparts, the sooner it would be over. “I was in St. Mungo’s. I was rushed to the first floor from school, from a pretty nasty bite… and then I was moved to the fourth floor for rehabilitation because I… well, because of spell damage.” Above all, Starke was not sure how Lex would feel about him if he said he had lost all his ability to perform magic. Would she think him helpless? Less of a man? He seemed okay now, except for a pretty big scar where his flesh had had to grow back, and the accidents happening around him.