Accio Picnic Basket {Possibly for Horus' buddies?}

[Horus Richmond]

Sadly, with the weather being as unpredictable as it was, the lake was rather casually deserted. Alone, and stood on a rather dog eared, tatty lump of blanket, was a very short, very blonde boy. Upon closer inspection, it appeared as though he was holding a stick in his hand, and waving it furiously at passing leaves. Once or twice, he managed to thunk himself in the head with said stick, but it seemed not to bother him. Those few dog walkers near the lake had passed him, wondering what on earth he was doing. When they DID pass, he'd let out a shout of "HI!" and flailed in a particularly over enthusiastic manner. When they jogged off, he'd looked perplexed, called them wankers, and gone back to twitching the stick.

"Engorgio LEAVES." He shouted, squinting his eyes closed and pretending he'd made massive leaves. "Fuck yeah!" Grinning to himself, he stared at the gnarly stick and then patted it. "You're a good wand. From Olivanders an' everythin'!"

Yes. This was Horus Richmond, resident over-active imagination guru, and fantasticly comedic Narcoleptic. He'd gotten tired of flinging sticks at people and barking them to "Come play Harry Potter!" with him, so he'd decided to go it alone to the Lake, hoping that maybe his friends would show up at some later point to join in the fun. Sammy was likely to be in Gryffindor, he'd decided earlier in the afternoon. Vincent would be a Slytherin, because all goth boys were Slytherin. Ember... well, Ember had been a struggle. He'd eventually decided she'd be in Ravenclaw, because she had more braincells than the rest of them put together.

Horus had, of course, placed himself in Hufflepuff, not for any reason aside from liking the Badger. Badgers, he decided, were much cooler than snakes, ravens and lions. They were also native to his home country, England. This made them even better.

"Uhh..." He suddenly grumbled, plonking down on the tatty blanket and looking around. "Accio Ember. Accio Vincent. Accio SAMMY!" He shouted with particular flair, flicking his "wand" franticly to the left. When this didn't seem to work, he instead went to the hardship of finding wands for his friends. Three sticks later, and he was no better off for company than before, so he decided to pick more holes in the blanket. This would have been a lot more fun if he'd actually remembered to ask his friends before he'd set off to the lake, but all the same, he'd sent them all a text, a frantic one with terrible spelling;

I'm in Hufflepuff & i chaleng u 2 a duel. plz bring food. i 4got. xxx

And yes, Horus' tummy WAS growling. He'd also managed to faceplant into the mud a few hours ago while walking down the hill to the lake. Half an hour later and he was up again, but he DID feel rather sad that he had a sore, and slightly dirty chin.

"... Engorgio penis."

[November Adams]

"Well, I don't think I can help you there, Cedric. But I did bring sammiches." The smirk was evident in the familiar, shaky tone of one peculiar teenage girl. "I call Ravenclaw, by the way." November made her way around the lake, where it would be easier to talk to the blonde teen seated pathetically on a ratty looking blanket. She really didn't like raising her voice to anything above the soft, neutral tone she spoke in. It was a character quirk, she supposed.

The brunette had brought a bag filled with food - the dueling part, she had no idea for. But the food thing she figured that any teenage boy would want food, so she invaded the kitchens and made them a meal. Of course packing more food than really necessary. When she finally reached Horus, she looked down at him with her hands on her hips, raised eyebrows an a light smirk on her face. "Having fun, my dear Huffie?" And expectant tone. He looked positively ridiculous - hair was messy, mud on his chin, bark and dirt on his fingers. "What have you been doing?" She questioned in almost a motherly way, as if she was speaking to her own son with exasperation. Well that was an odd thought.

"You like peanut butter and jelly, right? If not, I have turkey and ham too." She said, digging through the bag off food, tossing her messenger bag onto the pathetic blanket, eying it momentarily. "I think Sammy will head out here soon - I think he had detention, but it's almost over now." A quick glance at her pocket watch, before November offered the blonde a sandwich.

[Vincent Verax]

Vincent loves sparklers.

Sure there are the fireworks that go boom and explode in pretty colors and ones that smoke and scream and scatter glowing embers across the sky, but you can't hold those in your hand. Sparklers fit right in your hands and they make shinies and if you get the special kinds you can even get the color-changing flame. Vinnie may have never read an entire book in his life, but being friends with Horus and Ember and Sammy (who had probably had more luck with the written word than he ever would) had enlightened him to the presence of Harry Potter. Whenever the topic came up, it often ended horribly and when bad things were bound to happen, you were bound to spy a Vincent lurking nearby.

Vincent loves food.

Perhaps even more than sparklers. Granted, his choice in food was far less healthy than what November would bring and he knew that Sammy would appreciate the bags of candy he stuffed into his pack. Horus' text was well received, as Vinnie had been doing nothing other than burning holes in an old shirt. Yes, he had been that bored. Random acts of stupidity were much less fun when there was no one staring at you in disbelief and/or horror. So when he phone had gone off, he'd gotten up so fast he overturned the coffee table, tripped over a dirty pair of pants on the floor, smacked into the wall, then sort of half-somersaulted into his bedroom to fetch it.

Bring food? He was all up on that. He basically grabbed all the terribly unhealthy snacks that he stocked his cupboards with, stuffed them into his bag, added a couple handfuls of sparklers, then ran like hell to the lake. Upon spying Horus and Ember already there, he lunged towards them both and skidded across the grass. "Sup Floppy an' Tits! I got eats!" And so did November, much to his delight. "Aw fuck yeah, sammiches! Did I tell ya I fuckin' love ya today, Tits?" And his wandering hands were already reaching to claim a sandwich for himself. Looking back at Horus, Vinnie laughed and reached up to wipe some of the dirt off his chin with his sleeves. "'cha been eatin' shit, Flops?"

[Samuel Rixon]

Sam was in detention.

Not that that was unusual in any way. In fact, it was fairly commonplace. He landed himself in there for dozens of different reasons. He’d failed to do his homework, he’d yelled something entirely inappropriate in class, he’d set something on fire in the hallway... the list went on and on. Today, it was as simple as he’d slept in, been late to class, and hadn’t had his homework. But serving detention wasn’t a big deal, not to Sammy. It just meant another hour or two of not doing anything productive. He’d sit around, listen to his iPod, and text. No big deal.

Unless, of course, he got a text from one of his friends. Begging him to come join him. To play Harry Potter. Now detention served its’ purpose. He was squirmy, whiny, and he wanted to go. And the moment he was dismissed, he bolted down the hallway. The halls were fairly empty now. Most of the students were off doing their own thing now. Sam didn’t really care. He just wanted to be at the lake with his friends. So, he dumped his backpack into his dorm room, grabbed a bag of chips from his little junk stash, and booked it.

By the time he got the lake, he looked like he was going to keel over and die. Running meant effort, and effort did not gel with Samuel. He spotted his friends, and trailed over, trying to catch his breath again. For being mostly skinny, but his diet of more or less straight junk food left his actual fitness level pretty dismal. As soon as he was close enough, he tossed the bag of chips into the middle of the group and flopped down into the grass, onto his back, his chest heaving up and down. “Hi... guys...” Just wait, he’ll recover. Eventually. Maybe. Give him a minute. Or ten.

[Horus Richmond]

Horus had resigned himself to trying to enlarge his penis via the magical words of Harry Potter when his three favourite people showed up, one after the other. Breaking into a happy grin, he pocketted his stick and flailed his arms excitedly at Ember. "Embie!" He cried out, ignoring the jab about being Cedric. "Y'brought food an' y'self!" He carried on grinning inanely, pulling November close and taking a sandwich. "I gotcha a wand and duuuhhh." Rolling his eyes, Horus handed over the stick on the blanket. "I knew y'd be in Ravenclaw 'cause y'smart an' stuff." Talking through a mouthful of bread, he tried to make sure not to spray the poor girl with half-masticated food.

Then Vincent came running, and rolling his eyes, Horus made sure to guard his own sandwich from greedy gothboy fingers. "S'up Gannet features!" And again, a stick was thrown at Vincent. "Y'in Slytherin 'cause all the goths are, kay? And there's y'wand f'later." Finishing his sandwich, he licked his fingers lazily. Then everyone was looking at his chin and taking the piss, and he couldn't help but frown rather protectively, even as the dirt was wiped off. "Well." He began, shaking his head and twiddling his fingers in the sleeve of his hoodies. "I was walkin' t'the lake an' some guy was talkin' bout somethin' an' then I think I crashed out down th'hill. Someone poked m'up the ass. Tosser." Grumbling, Horus scrubbed his chin.

Thankfully, to break up Horus' growing sour mood, Sammy ran out from nowhere, and Horus' eyes lit up. "S'Mr. Burns!" He shouted, tugging Ember and Vincent's arms, then looking somewhat confused when the poor guy collapsed. "... Fuck, y'okay?" Clambering over the blanket, the blonde prodded Sammy's cheek. "Y'in Gryffindor. Like always. Here's y'wand." Dropping the stick on Sammy's chest, he then helped himself to Vincent's snacks, chomping away. "Thanks f'comin' guys. I tried t'talk t'some dog walkers but the assholes ignored me. ... Either that or I was 'sleep. Can't remember."

Suddenly beaming, he DID remember something he'd done earlier. "So y'know that picture of th'corn woman, th'one with the cob up her lady pocket? Put it on Jesse's phone. Little shit deserved t'see what he is, a cu-" At that thankful moment, a car went past honking his horn, and blocked out Horus' finishing word. "S'who'm I gonna duel first?"

[November Adams]

"Smart 'n stuff, eh? I guess I should take that as a compliment, then?" She laughed lightheartedly - it was hard not to around her close friends. They were a bizarre bunch of fellows, all very quirky and strange, but lovable all the same. Grinning at the bleach-blonde, she tilted her head, "So, why Hufflepuff, my dear Horus?" Raising her eyebrows in question. She liked Hufflepuff, but honestly Ravenclaw just suited her better. Like he said, she was smart - nearly the top of her class in most situations. People had offhandedly mentioned that it was strange she chose to hang out with a group of slackers and pranksters. All she could do to those questions was laugh and shrug.

The brunette snapped her head to the side when another familiar voice reached her ears. Vincent had decided to join them, the smug smirk on his face as her horrendous nickname passed his lips. She gave him a playful scowl, but honestly it wasn't anything she wasn't used to - "Hey... You do realise that if you combined our nicknames, it'd be 'Floppy tits'? ... That's really weird." November gave a sharp laugh at the thought. "And you only love me today?" She feigned surprise and hurt, clutching her hands to her chest and falling back on the blanket, "No! My life! So incomplete!" Her voice overly dramatic as she let out one last gasp of pain and laid still... "Or not." She sat back up, her hair flailing from the quick movement, grinning as she rested her forearms on her knees.

Only moments later, a well known figure stumbled into view. Perking up as she watched her close friend fumble toward them, giving out a short, confused laugh as he collapsed beside the blanket. His chest heaved as he uttered some words, sounding completely deflated. "Geez Sammy, you really need to start running with me. You suck at this." Ember gave him a laugh, patting his chest. She could feel the speed of his heart and the slight moisture of sweat on the front of his shirt, only prompting her to laugh more. "It's like, less than a mile, dude!" The teen was used to running more than that, being a track&field contestant for a few years before coming to Hammel. Rolling her eyes, she pulled a bottle of apple juice from her bag and handed it to him, along with a turkey sandwich.

"So, we're dueling, then?"

[Vincent Verax]

"Y'should jus' b'glad then that y'tits ain't floppy!" Vincent responded to Ember with a crooked grin, finally claiming a sandwich for himself and nearly shoving the entire thing in his mouth at once. Laughing as she feigned death, he reached over and poked her boob. "Nope, not floppy." Rolling around, he hid behind Horus to escape Ember's reach, only to get a stick thrown at him and the declaration that he was in Slytherin. Vinnie had to think for a few minutes in order to remember the houses and I'm pretty sure there was an audible click when he realized which house he was in or, in a very cartoony fashion, a light bulb turned on over his head. "S'the bad guy one, ain' it? Sweet, I'm fuck ya all up!"

With that, he dug into his bag to get one of the sparklers, emptying a lot of the snacks he'd brought as well, then dug through the mess to find his lighter. He used to bug Sammy to light things for him, but it usually ended in Vincent himself being on fire, so he decided his lighter was a better alternative, even as Sammy collapsed next to him. "HEY, CHARMANDER!" Being the wonderful friend that he is, Vin then bulldozed (rolled over top of him, for those that don't know) the pyro, even though he was gasping for breath. "Hey, I got some beef wit' ya, Charmander. S'I met this boy an' he's pretty much th'cutest little fucker ever an' h'tol' m'ya his roomie. Th'fuck dude? Why ya didn't introduce us b'fore?" Yes, he's talking about Moe and yes, he punched poor Sammy right in shoulder. It may have not been his hardest punch ever (and believe me, he can hit hard when he wants to) but it was still one that Sammy really didn't deserve.

A few seconds later and Vin was over his upset, hopping to his feet with his sparkler pointed (menacingly?) at Horus. "C'mon, Flopster, Slithin 's gunna kick y'Huffy-Puffy ass!" As if he was actually going to remember the names to the houses when he can barely remember what he did yesterday. (Although in this case, he most certainly remember all of the time he spent with Moe. Cute boys in dresses are obviously far too important to forget.) Flicking his lighter on, he lit the end of his sparkler, only to become enamored by it as it sprayed sparks everywhere. Easily distracted? Vincent? Never! I sure hope that you can all tell that was sarcasm to the highest extent.

[Samuel Rixon]

Sammy has a dozen different nicknames. Of course, he’d respond to just about anything. Including sweet things like ‘fucktard.’ That was his older brother’s favourite. But as he heard Horus call out one of his little nicknames, he had to smile. Just before he hit the ground. Sam closed his eyes, trying desperately to concentrate on breathing, and not dying. And then he felt the poke, followed by the stick being dropped on his chest. “Yeah... I’m okay... I think. I just ran... like... all the way here.” Oh good, he’s stringing more than one word together at a time. He’s getting better. He reached up and pulled the stick off of his chest, opening his eyes to look at it. This wasn’t an unusual event for them. Playing Harry Potter like a gang of preteens? Completely normal. “Thanks.”

And then, the news of Horus’ little prank. Sammy snorted, rolling onto his side in the grass. “Aw fuck, Floppy! You didn’t! He’s gonna kill you, y’know!” Okay, he’s not dying anymore, and he’s finding this fact hilarious. He, like most of the other students, knew of Jesse. And he knew it was better not to cross him. Ever.

At Ember’s teasing, Sam tipped his head up, looking horrified. His idea of a workout was sitting on his ass, hammering video game buttons for a hockey game. Actual running? Forget it. “Fuck no, Ember. I’d die.” But he didn’t mind the hand on his chest. Then maybe she’d feel just how hard his heart was going. Maybe she was right. He just couldn’t be bothered to crawl out of bed to go running, of all things. “Hey, a mile is a long way!” At least he took the juice and the sandwich. And he might have been able to keep hold of them. Had Vincent NOT decided to bulldoze him.

His first warning should have been Vincent’s volume. Though Vin was always loud, there was a special volume he used when he was about to do something Sam knew he wouldn’t like. And bingo. He yelped and let go of the food Ember had given him, trying to brace himself against the goth boy’s attack. “Fuck! Manson, get OFF.” He tried to squirm away, but then Vin started babbling. Sam stared up at Vincent, absolutely clueless as to what he was talking abou – oh. “Wait, what? Are you talkin’ about that Japanese dude? Vin! He’s like... totally cute an’ innocent. I didn’t wanna expose him to you, fucktard.” Honestly, the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. As far as he knew, the pretty Japanese boy just supplied him with exotic candy and cartoons that he couldn’t understand. But he liked them. And then Vin punched him. Sam winced and glared up at Vin. “You’re so dead, Manson.” And he will be, yes. Just... after Sam’s pride gets nursed back to health.

Once Vin was safely distracted with Horus, Sam inched over to Ember and flopped his head down into her lap. “Vinnie beat me up, babe.” And that was grounds for cuddle time, apparently. That, and raiding Vincent’ stash of candy.

[Horus Richmond]

Horus looked between Sammy and Vincent with a slightly shocked and bewildered expression. "No no no!" He shouted, taking off his shoe and throwing it at Vincent's head. "Y'meant t'be dueling with wands, not fists!" Grumbling, he fetched his beloved converse and stuffed it back on his foot, then stood up, brushing the grass off his backside. "An' it's Hufflepuff, not huffy-puffy." Rolling his eyes, he gave Ember the thumbs up. "Y'duel Sammy. Betcha you'll win. 'Less Sammy manages t'set somethin' on fire again."

Laughing at the sparkler, Horus held his stick out and waved it furiously at Vincent. "Expelliamus!" He bellowed, waiting for Vincent to "play" correctly and fall over as though he'd been pushed. "An' don't set y'eyebrows on fire." He added, rolling his eyes and putting the wand down to snatch another sandwich and stuff it into his gob greedily. Taking the time to reply to Ember, he looked over his shoulder. "I like th'badger. An' Cedric was kick ass 'fore he turned undead an' went sparkly." Scowling at the thought of Twilight, he hopped up on one of the wooden sleepers sticking out the ground. Grinning confidently, he finished the sandwich.

"So, y'a slob, Sam?" The blonde asked cheerfully, running a hand through his hair, leaving it looking even more scruffy than it had before. "Y'should do some push ups, flex those pecs, babe." Laughing, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, then began jumping from wooden log to wooden log, he balanced precariously. "Hell yeah, who's th'man!" He shouted, posing like a muscleman. "Aint no one beatin' m'a-" As if his brain had decided to stop Horus before he made a further prat of himself, his narcolepsy decided it was time to kick in, and with a very ungraceful manuever, Horus toppled off and faceplanted into the dirt.

"Aww fuck." He grumbled, looking over at the others with a frown. Knowing they couldn't hear or see him, he decided to return to the blanket, leaving his body behind. "Least I finished the sandwich." He said to himself, sprawling out on the blanket and crossing his ankles." ... It was at this point that he realised if he turned his head just so, he could see right into Ember's cleavage. "Cool."

[November Adams]

November let out a squeak as her breast was sharply poked, swatting her gothic friend's hand away from her chest area. Really she didn't expect anything different - they were three teenage boys. Besides, they had all pretty much seen her stark before. Her laugh was infectious as she watched the antics of her few close companions. "Hey, Vinni, you talkin' about Moe?" She rose her eyebrows as he accusingly punched Sam in the shoulder, apparently reprimanding him for not mentioning the small Asian pixie before. "Have you forgotten that I share a room with Sammy... And therefore Moe, too?" She laughed, giving him an odd look. It was pretty evident that they shared a room - they wore each other's clothes half the time, for Pete's sake!

She looked down at her dark-haired friend as he climbed over her legs and sprawled into her lap; Sammy's arms going around her thin waist. "Awww, did Vinnie hurt my little pyro?" She cooed playfully, petting his hair down like a mother would. She could still feel his heartbeat, now through his neck - it was racing. The teen was extremely out of shape and she resisted the urge of frappeing his head for being so lazy. "A mile isn't that far, by the way," Ember said, giving him a cheeky grin.

Her attention was drawn back to the other two as their "duel" began. Oh god, where the fuck did Vincent find a sparkler? She let out a startled sort of laugh as she watched his obvious interest in the firework, almost completely ignoring poor Jesse who called out a spell. "Yeah, I'd so win. Sammy here doesn't know squat about Harry Potter. Silly muggle," she poked his cheek playfully, offering a smug look, glancing up again to see Horus playing on the damp wooden logs a few feet away, that laid halfway in the still water of the lake. The glassy surface revealed images from the darkening sky above them, and twisting, bare branches that had only just begun to get nubs of green on their edges. She was suddenly startled as Horus face-planted into the mud, Ember let out a strangled cry of surprise, "Horus!". Gently prodding Sammy off of her, she was soon at his unconscious body, flipping him so his face was no longer in the dirt. Raising her eyebrows with a defeated sigh, November shook her head. "Frickin' narcoleptic wanker," She said expectantly, leaving his body for him to return to eventually.

Glancing up to Vincent, who still looked rather amused by the fizzing light of the sparkler, her eyebrows rose in amusement. An idea sparking in her head - and in a flash, Ember was gone. Sometimes she really had to praise her ability to slow time to an almost-halt. It made her practically invisible to those around her, and this time, her three friends. A moment later, there was a splash as Vincent was suddenly in the shallow water of the lake, caught completely off guard by the unseen force that had so quickly placed him in the murky water. Another flash and November was laying on the blanket, a conceited grin on her face, "Payback, bitch." What one might have noticed is the fact that though her clothes were dry, her skin was damp - it had taken her full body force to shove the bigger teen into the water. Which mean tackling him, in turn getting her wet. Foreseeing this, November had removed her clothes momentarily, not wanting to walk back to the school in soaked cloth. So, she had technically just tackled her friend into the water while being bare, "I'm too fast to be naked," She claimed with a short cackle of triumph.

[Vincent Verax]

Vincent perked up at the mention of Moe's name, considering he totally has an epic crush on the pretty little Japanese boy. He had indeed forgotten that Sammy and Ember shared a dorm, but this was nothing out of the ordinary. He'd forget his pants if they didn't hug him better than his own mother. "Aw shit, y'do! S'I got a date wit' 'im tonight. An' I'ma take 'im t'that shop 'n th'mall! Y'know, th'one y'make th'bears n' all. I figure 't'd b'like... y'know, cute an' girly enough f'him." He seemed proud of coming up with this idea as it had been the first good one he'd had. "Y'think he'd like that?" He looked between Sammy and Ember for their approval, as if they were experts on Moe and could tell him all the things he wanted to know.

But before he could start bugging the both of them with his questions, Horus was shouting something at him and Vinnie remembered they were supposed to be dueling. Of course, Vin didn't know what that spell meant, so he continued to just stand there holding his sparkler with glee. When it burnt down to a stub, he was quick to retrieve another and light it, only looking away to see Horus jumping across the logs. It didn't take a genius to know that it was going to end disastrously. "Ah, Flops, I wouldn't d'that 'f I were ya..." And he was quite right. He too was shortly at Horus's side after his collapse, hefting him up and carrying him back to the blanket, wiping the mud from his face. "Y'little dumb shit, s'no wonder y'always gettin' hurt."

A third sparkler later, something happened that Vincent wasn't quite sure of. He remembered being staring at his sparkler happy and the next thing he knew he was face down in the lake. Shouting and leaping like a deer out of the cold water, he shook like a dog. "FUCKIN' HELL." It was one thing to be wet on a warm day, but to be wet on a colder day really sucked. "TITS! How coul' ya? Ohhh, Y'are so gettin' it! Sometime." Thinking of revenge on the fly wasn't really Vinnie's strong point, but he was getting pretty sick of the wet clothes clinging to him, so he started stripping. Peeling off his shirt, he balled it up and threw it at Ember. It was the only thing he could think to do. Next came his boots, which he poured some water out of, and then finally his pants. In order to enlighten anyone that doesn't already know, Vincent doesn't believe in underwear. They don't fit under the exceptionally tight pants that he's known for, so there was really no point in wearing them in his books. Within a few minutes, a completely naked and still somewhat damp Vincent was standing over Horus with a grumpy look on his face.

He truly has no shame, as he seemed completely unbothered being naked in a public place. Although I'm sure it's nothing the others haven't seen before, it would still make a random passerby go "Why the fuck is that guy naked?" Someone should really cover him up, because he certainly isn't going to do it himself.

[Samuel Rixon]

Slob? Sam resented that. A little. He might have resented it a little more had it not been more or less the truth. But did they all have to point it out? He scowled at Horus. “Hey, at least I don’t sleep like a sloth.” Low, considering Sam was still a typical teenage boy, and spent much of his weekend sleeping in, as well as half the weekdays. He snorted at Horus’ suggestions. “I’d like to see you pull off a push up, Floppy.” And then he went back to ignoring the blonde. They all got along well, but when Horus got in his little moods, Sam was better off ignoring him. Instead, he shifted his attention to Ember, pulling a wounded expression.

“Yeah. He did.” He snuggled closer, enjoying the petting. “Pyro needs a kiss better.” If she was going to comfort him, he was going to milk it for all it was worth. Even if it was partially his own fault that he was currently dying. The rest, he could blame on Vincent. Steamrolling hurt, and the punch hurt more. He made a face at her. “A mile is mile. Y’know. Huge.” Too far for him to run without having a heart attack and dying. Maybe running with Ember wasn’t such a bad idea.

As for Vincent’s questions, Sam just shrugged and looked up at him. “He agreed to go out with you?” Maybe Moe wasn’t as innocent as he’d figured him. That was a scary thought. As was Vincent thinking teddy bears and Moe went together. That was... logical. “I dunno. He’s got stuffed animals. But if my sisters are anythin’ to go by, there’s no such thing as too many.” No, that is not an open invitation for Vincent to grace them all with scary teddy bears.

He cocked his head slightly to watch Vincent and Horus ‘duel’, snorting at the idea that he’d light anything on fire. ... Not that it wasn’t a valid concern. The last time they’d played Harry Potter, someone had gotten the wise idea to remind Sam of the fire spell. Overconfident, he’d grinned, flicked his “wand”, and had managed to set a hedge on fire on the grounds. That hadn’t gone over well. He reached over and poked Ember in the side. “Hey! I know... well... at least I know the house names! ... And what a muggle is.” He playfully tried to nip at Ember’s finger as she poked his cheek. Spells, he was lost on. He tended to just thrust his stick around and either make up words, or just tell them ‘I curse you! ... Fall over!’ He was a bit like Vincent in that regard. He’d tried to read the books, but he got bored partway through. And the movies... didn’t have near enough screaming teenagers or blood. He did, however, like the giant spider. Regardless, he started to shift out of Ember’s lap, getting ready to duel (and lose, like always).

And then, genius as he was, Horus fell off the log. This wasn’t uncommon. Not by a long shot. Sam let Ember go. She was like the mother of their group. The older sister, that stopped them from getting too out of hand. They’d listen. For about ten seconds. Then they’d go right back to causing whatever trouble they’d been up to moments before. He just watched Ember fuss over the blonde, and Vincent carry him back to the blanket. “Least he didn’t fall in the water, hey?” He didn’t think their friend would appreciate drowning all that much.

What happened next baffled Sam. Not that he didn’t spend half his life baffled. All he knew was that one moment, Vincent was happily studying his sparkler, Ember was by Horus, who was still out, and he was just watching with amusement, and snacking on the rescued sandwich Ember had given to him. And the next, Vincent was sputtering and flailing in the water. He snorted, unable to stop the laugh that ripped from him. It would have been fine, had Vin not come stomping out of the water, soaking wet, and started... stripping? Now, a naked Vincent isn’t exactly uncommon. But damn it, did he have to be such a freak about it. “Aww MANSON! Put that away, dude!” He scrambled behind Ember and slapped his hands over her eyes. “Jesus Christ! Ladies present! Emby’s poor virgin eyes!” Complete bullshit, considering he’d fooled around with her a few times. But that was different. Sort of. “An’ you touch her, you’re dead, dude.” Seriously. Much as he loved Horus and Vincent, Ember was his best friend in the world. You threaten her, you risk castration. ... Just saying.

[Horus Richmond]

Horus looked back at his body when Vincent tugged it back onto the blanket. Looking between the three of them, he groaned loudly when the goth boy started stripping, covering his eyes and swearing. "Oh jesus fuckin' christ Vincent." He shouted, knowing it was a complete waste of time. "Put th'banana away!" If only he was awake right now, he'd be beating him with a stick or three, or inserting a lit sparkler where it shouldn't go.

Rolling onto his stomach, he moved back to spying down Ember's top, and hummed to himself, finding the view there a lot more preferable than before. Running his hands through his hair, he licked his piercings thoughtfully. God, how long would it be before he was awake again? Irritated, he got up and started spinning round and round in circles, humming the Harry Potter tune as he did so. "C'mon. Lets wake up now." He shouted to his body. "Up! Up!" To no avail, apparently. He was happy, however, that they'd at least pulled him out the mud so he didn't look a complete mess when he woke up.

And then he noticed the sandwiches again...

"Gimme sandwich." Horus grunted, eyes opening groggily. "Now." Flailing his arms weakly, with his brain reattaching itself to his body. Unable to sit up, he looked over at Ember sadly. "Sandwwwwiiiiich..." Whining softly, he flailed his legs and tried to sit up, finally managing to roll over, only to get a face full of Vincent. "Oh jesus." He shouted, covering his eyes and blindly fumbling to sit upright, before pulling off his hoodie and chucking it over to Vincent. "Put this on y'daft fucker."

Finally able to move, he flopped his head into Sammy's lap and yawned. "An' I would do push ups if I could." He said sadly, hugging his knees and looking a little droopy. Aww, Sam, you're making him feel fat and horrible. Bad boy. "Changed m'mind..." He added, pushing the sandwich he'd grabbed away and staring at the sky.

It took a few minutes for Horus to actually perk up again, and he suddenly quirked his head to the side. "Lets build a boat." He suddenly announced, slowly moving up and looking round to see if he could find any abandonned little rowing boats. "Or borrow one. F'a bit." Oh Horus, is this REALLY a good idea? "Yeah! S'good fun an' we can be cool or whatev'" Scratching his neck, he spotted a little wooden boat and grinned to himself. "An' can someone make Vin put his fuckin' pants back on. Jesus christ."

[November Adams]

"Bears are cute." November mused thoughtfully, "Moe will like that. He has... far too many stuffed animals. Like a bloody mountain in the room. Seriously," She chuckled halfheartedly, leaning back on her elbows as she glanced toward the sky. A dreary overcast was blindingly bright, but the sun was nowhere to be seen. No blue peaked through the steady wave of white clouds, but there was little grey to suggest a storm later that evening. Though it was getting closer to mid-spring, which mean rain would soon start coming down more and more.

Ember couldn't honestly say she wasn't expecting the taller teenager to strip his wet clothes, though the initial shock did wear off in a few seconds. "Vincent!" She screeched, then felt a sudden pull her her head as her vision was blocked out by warm hands, "Ack, Sammy, cut it out!" She laughed, "It's not like I haven't seen it before," How completely true. November leaned backed into her friend, attempting to pry his hands off with little avail. "Sammyyyyyy, I'm not a virgiiiiin," she whined, though honestly she didn't mind much. Seeing Vincent starkers outside wasn't really something she felt like seeing right now. Plus, public indecency was a crime. She heard an article of clothing being thrown at the boy as Horus' voice came back into ear reach. Finally twisting herself out of the pyro's death grip she flashed a smile to the blonde.

"Aw, you're not fat," Ember said, as if to prove her point she patted his stomach. "I can't do pull-ups," Admitted with a shrug. She had very little upper body strength as a girl. Hearing the blonde's plan, she perked up a bit, "Wait, wait, we're going to steal a boat?" Her eyebrows furrowed. That probably wasn't the best idea... But it was a public lake. If someone was stupid enough to leave their boat out here, then they were just asking for it to be stolen. "Hm, well.... Why not, I guess." The brunette stood, brushing dry grass from her bum as she made her way over to the wooden boat by the shore. Carefully hopping into the teetering ship, she flailed her arms frantically for a moment before the boat sturdied. "Well, it won't sink... I think." She quirked an eyebrow at the small vessel, beckoning the rest of the group over.

[Vincent Verax]

Although they had all seen their fair share of naked Vincent, it certainly didn't make his stripping acceptable. I almost wish there was a police officer lurking around to arrest him for public indecency. Wait... I revoke that last statement, because he would just make an ass out of himself by shouting "Don't taze me bro!" as he's dragged away. I'm pretty sure no one wants to see a bare-ass Vincent wrestling with a cop unless they have a gallon of bleach nearby to wash their eyes with. Of course, when you have an "ego" the size of Vin's, you think everyone enjoys the sight of your naked body. Even as the three of them complained, his mind was already twisting their words into praise regarding his Adonis-like figure. Keep dreaming, buddy, keep dreaming.

When Horus' hoodie hit him, he scoffed. "Y'all jus' jealous tha' I'm s'fuckin' sexy." Nevertheless, he pulled the hoodie on, then grabbed his pants and started flapping them around in hopes that it would speed the drying process. "Ch', don' mind Charmander, Tits. 'e's jus' worried you'll like m'dick better 'an his. " Reaching over, Vincent messed Sammy's hair playfully. "Don' worry, Burninator! These good gunna b'for Moe an' Moe alone!" At least now I can comment on the face that Vinnie is a very loyal boyfriend. It's when he's not in a relationship that he runs around humping everything in sight, so I think Ember, Sammy, and Horus (and especially Elliot!) will appreciate that fact that having Moe will tone him down a notch. Hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. A notch is a lot when it comes to this explosive-obsessed goth boy.

Agreeing with Ember's statement that Horus wasn't fat with a grunt, Vincent slowly started to writhe his way back into his pants. "Y'so ain' fat, Flops! Y'jus' round an' that's good. More cushion f'th'pushin'!" It was a chore to get into his pants when they were completely dry, but it was basically an Olympic event to get them on now they're damp. With lots of groaning, Vin managed to pull the pants up to mid-thigh. Now it was time for the laying-on-your-back-and-heaving technique to get them the rest of the way up. When he finally got them to his hips, he exhaled heavily. "Aw fuck, 'm beat now." Panting from the exertion, he reached down to pull up his zipper, only to be interrupted when he caught himself in it and swore as loud as his voice would go. It definitely wasn't the first time he'd done it and I highly doubt it will be the last, but damn that was a sensitive area and it hurt! I now invite everyone to laugh at him.

After rolling around on the grass and trying to will away the pain for a couple minutes, Vincent finally managed to do up his pants without incident. I'm fairly sure he was picturing Moe kissing away the hurt in that time period, because that's just what he does. "Anyone says anythin' an' I'ma punch 'em. 'Cept you, Tits, 'cause I don' hit girls. I can still throw mud at ya though!" Terrifying. Ummm... I really have nothing to redeem him with this time. So as we move on, Vinnie sat up and watched Ember as she leapt into the boat. For the few seconds in which she wobbled, he was hoping she'd take a fall into the lake, just so that they'd be even, but his dreams were dashed when she regained her balance. "We gunna play pirates now? I call Jack Sparrow! 'Cause I got th'eyeliner an' the sexy an' th'pirate voice!" As if Vincent needed an excuse to act even more absentminded than he is now...