Water and Feathers (Noah)

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn watched him twist the mist for a bit longer, intrigued by the change she saw in him once again. It was as if the water became a part of him, soothing and gentle. It was beautiful.

"Ooh, I know everything about you," she teased. She didn't, of course; there was a lot that she didn't know about him, like his family and his financial situation. But food was easy. All guys liked food, right? She lifted a wing and bumped him with it, gently, before settling it down again. It was funny, considering how weak she was, but she could actually hit someone pretty hard with her wings if she really wanted to. Fortunately, that wasn't the case here.

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed. "Maybe you could bend the mist too, so I don't miscalculate?" She could see herself running into the rocky cliff if the swirling mist messed up her depth perception.

She took a bite of her sandwich, mulling over his question. "Actually, yeah," she replied, swallowing. "I have a really hard time sitting in classrooms sometimes, just because they feel so small and... And well, closed. Caves too, although I don't think this will be too bad, it doesn't look very deep. It's just being underground that really freaks me out." She shivered. Water and being underground were her two biggest fears; being underground was probably worse, because at least in water she could probably fly out if she absolutely had to. Being under the earth, she had no such options. "I'm just scared of everything," she sighed. "Maybe that's why I'm no good with relationships either. Fear of getting hurt and all that, you know." She took another bite, shrugging. "Doesn't seem to keep me out of trouble anyway." She paused, but then gave him a smile, regretting bringing up a dreary subject.

[Noah Washington]

Noah listened intently when she started talking about claustrophobia. He couldn't imagine how difficult it must have been to be so used to soaring through the air only to have to calm it all down and sit in a room all day for classes. He was lucky that something like the swim team existed, because it related to the school and himself at the same time. It was one of the reasons why he made sure he was in a pool at least once a day; it was how he found a way to clam down.

"I think everyone has a fear of getting hurt in relationships. Everyone our age knows what that feels like." He replied. Something about the concept made him smile as opposed to frown. "It shapes you as a person too, makes you a little smarter when it comes to that kind of thing, I guess."

She looked a little down from the topic of discussion, so he took a moment to think of a way to try and lighten the mood while still addressing her worries; "And maybe you just have a lot of trouble because people can't help but like you." He looked over in her direction, raising his eyebrows and smiling.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"Yeah, you're right," she mused, frowning at the corner of her mouth. She wasn't alone in that fear. "What about you though? You're so charming and handsome, I can't believe you haven't managed to get a girl to glomp onto you yet." She grinned at him, finishing the last of her sandwich before crumpling the bag and throwing it back in her knapsack.

Brushing her hands on the ground, she glanced back up at him as he spoke. A smile tugged at her lips, and she let out a little laugh. "Maybe? I don't know, I feel like I just get attached to people too quickly, you know?" Maybe he didn't, but it was a problem she had. It was almost like she had been given the extra capacity to love that her brother so obviously lacked. A double dose. "Sometimes I wish polyamory was more acceptable," she sighed. "Then all of my problems could be solved." She laughed again.

Thinking it was time to change the subject, she stood, stretching a little from sitting for a while. Her wings stayed open, in preparation for what she was about to do. "What do you think? Ready for another adventure?" She motioned to the cave, raising an eyebrow.

[Noah Washington]

"I guess that since I came here, I've been focusing on other things. Or trying to, anyway." Noah replied, smiling back at her. It was unfortunate that he couldn't stop himself from developing crushes on a lot of his friends. But that was a fact about himself that he liked to keep a secret from those afflicted. It was just better that they didn't know he felt that way.

It seemed like she did sort of understand his problem, but he wasn't as quick to admit it as she was. So he focused on something else she'd said; "Polyamory wouldn't stop guys from being jealous." He laughed a little at the thought. "I mean, girls are jealous too. But in a different way. They're less likely to punch each other over it... You'd hope." Girls fighting over him? He hoped it would never happen.

"Yeah, okay! Let's do this." Noah stood up then, stretching his arms and legs out briefly to get ready to run.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"I think that's a good thing to do," she told him, admiring his dedication. "I wish I could say as much. But it's so hard to focus on things when you have such handsome friends." She grinned at him, feeling happier already. No matter the subject they were talking about, Noah always seemed to manage to bring her smile back again.

"Ohhh fine, crush my dreams," she laughed. "If I could just find guys that weren't like Lucah, maybe I wouldn't have to deal with jealousy. Seriously, how do I end up dating the weirdest, most emotional guys?" Shrugging away the subject, she snickered at the thought of girls fighting over Noah. Oddly, she could totally see it happening. He was worth fighting over, unlike most guys she knew. At least, in her opinion. Who else was willing to listen to you talk all day long about your problems?

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Okay, I'll go ahead and fly ahead, you can come in behind." With a whoosh, she took a few steps before leaping into the air and flapping, just as she had done earlier. She took a few minutes to circle around the pool, making sure she had enough clearance before taking the chance and diving in. Ravyn gasped a little as she flew right through the side of the waterfall - even though it was only a trickle on the side she had chosen, it was still cold and ran over her open wings in chilly rivulets. Calculating carefully, she kicked her legs forward and managed to land on the ledge, wobbling precariously before regaining her balance and striking a triumphant pose. "I did it!" she cried, looking around for Noah. How did he get over?

[Noah Washington]

"Come on," Noah replied, pausing long enough to reach over and nudge her on the shoulder with his hand. "You know Lucah's not that bad. Something made you like him once, and something called you back. There's gotta be something there." Noah took the time to think back to the conversations they'd had while on break together, when she would talk about her relationship with Lucah. "Emotional guys at least mean you know they care about you. And you said yourself, you make him less... Cold." That had to account for something good in her books.

He watched her fly up into the air again. He couldn't really help himself, he stopped still for a little while to watch her. Flying was just so interesting to someone so completely ground-bound. At any rate, when he saw her looking like she was going to go for it, he raised his hands to ensure he could disperse enough water vapours so that she could see. Noah then snapped out of his daze, taking a running start before diving with his hands out into the water.

Noah dove through shortly after she did; he gathered momentum through the water and propelled himself up out of the water, jumping through the waterfall and landing on his feet on the other side. Rather than drawing the water off, he shook some of it off his hair with his hands. Sometimes it was just nice to keep the water on his skin. "That was a nice dive. I was a little worried for a second or so!"

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"He's not," Ravyn agreed, biting her lip. "I think I'm just paranoid. He dumped me as soon as I mentioned commitment three years ago; I just hope it doesn't happen again. I don't know if I can deal with anymore drama." Ooooh, if only she knew. She smiled at Noah, adding,"I think he just tries to hide how he feels sometimes; he has such a sad past. I just try to make him happy, you know?" She shrugged. "All I can do is try to make things work."

Ravyn noticed the water vapors moving out of the way as she landed, and sent Noah a silent wave back in thanks. It definitely helped. Before long he was in the water and then propelling himself upward, sort of flying in his own right. "That was so cool!" she told him as he shook himself off. "Who says you can't fly?" Sure, it was brief, but it was still neat. She brushed off a few stray droplets of water, smiling over at him at his compliment. "Was it? It turned out better than I expected - I could have easily fallen into the water and," she shuddered,"Then where would we be?" She tried not to think about it as she walked over to the opening of the cave. It was dark, but she could tell it went farther back than she had originally thought; she couldn't see the end of it from where she stood. "Well? Ready to take a look?" she asked, pushing aside her fear. If this went well, she might face two of her fears today.

[Noah Washington]

Noah couldn't help but shine with a little pride when she mentioned he was kinda flying. He guessed that he knew how it felt to soar through the air, but it was more like a big jump than actual flight. Not that he knew what the latter felt like, but he was just assuming. "Nahh, if you would have fallen I would have saved you. Knight in shining armour style, but with... Water." He paused, before laughing at his own comment. He was glad she trusted him enough to even try such a thing, because if she fell there was no way she would drown.

"I'm really when you are." Noah replied, smiling. He looked in and saw how dark it was. After a few steps he could see though that it didn't venture that deep really. It was more like an alcove than a cave. He frowned a little, but still it was beautiful to look at. The way the water seemed to coat the rocks; he pressed his hand against it because the faded light of the sun almost coloured the rocks blue. "It's beautiful in here, huh."