pain - open -

[Tony Redgrave]

The first thing he felt was a dull ache in his head when he came to. The only reason he even knew it was thundering is the rumble that rippled the ground. As he came to, slowly, he began getting a hold on his situation. It was raining. As his eyes opened and focused he saw he was in an alley of some sort. He couldn't move.

He laid there, knowing that as long as he felt this throbbing pain in his head, he was alive. Now he just needed to get up. He moved his hand.
Yes, a good start...

He then tried moving his arm. It felt as though it was weighed down by lead weights... he managed to get an arm underneath him, and pushed himself up. It's when he noticed the blood.

What the hell...?

He noticed also how tore up he was... what happened...? He sat down against the wall, his clothes torn, and as he looked himself over, he noticed whatever did this liked sharp things... claws, or knives.

It started coming back to him a little, a sharp blow on his head that put him to his knees, and he was suddenly dragged into the darkness...

His hands went to his neck, his chest, and his thigh, checking for bites. No. Not a vampire. He checked himself over gain, looking for the telltale signs of a Werewolf attack. No. Any werebeast is much larger than this...

It must have been a Wizard...

He stood, shivering, and limped out to the street. He didn't recognize where he was at, nor did he remember where he was....

He slid down the wall, taken by pain again, and sat there, resting some more. Perhaps someone would come along and help him... he was far to weak to muster a healing spell.

[Shaylyn Menki]

A purple polka dotted umbrella bobbed up and down as Shaylyn walked down the rainy street. She absolutely loved the rain and took any opportunity to walk in it and jump in the puddles that she could get. She didn’t mind getting completely soaked and she usually ended up sick afterwards, but it wasn’t anything a quick potion she whipped up couldn’t handle. For her age, she was a very skilled healer; one might even say she had a gift. It was her passion as she had been aspiring to be a healer since she was very small.

Shaylyn kicked at a puddle just in time to hear a weak moan coming from an alley way. Looking over, from across the street, the huddled figure looked vaguely familiar. After a couple of seconds, it clicked, that was Tony. She only knew him a bit, but she couldn’t just let him sit there, and he looked seriously injured. Throwing down her umbrella and running across the street clutching her purse, she kneeled down next to him. [pink]Omg, Tony! What happened to you? [/pink] She asked frantically as she opened her bag, taking out her wand and a couple other potions she might need. [pink]Tergeo [/pink] She muttered as she started siphoning off some of the blood that covered him, revealing deep gashes that she couldn’t quite identify. [pink]Here, drink this…[/pink] She said, brining a small blue vial to his lips, it would help with the pain and probably make him a bit more coherent. Taking out her wand again she started doing various healing spells over the gashes, everything from Episkey to vulnera sanentur, she just hoped one of them would work.

[Tony Redgrave]

Tony took the potion from the yet not recognized girl. His head began to clear up and he opened his eyes as she went to work, healing his wounds with skill rarely seen, even in St. Mungo's. He slowly stood up and got his bearings back, leaning against the wall. Then he noticed something.

This was no Wizard... he thought to himself as he noticed large claw like gashes in the concrete, following a blood trail leading into the Alley. His blood.
It was still here.
He spun, aiming his wand into the alley. "Lumos!" he shouted as the light spilled onto his target. A Chimera, a large, three headed beast, growled at them. Tony stood, revived and ready, between them as he eyed his target.
"You just messed with the wrong Monster Hunter." he said quietly as he began placing imprisonment spells around the Chimera, chaining it to the ground, then caging it into the alley. "Lucky for me, some Chimeras love their food freshly bled out and dead... it probably thought I was going to die... good work healing there, Shaylin.." he said quietly as the Chimera writhed and struggled against the chains. Tony put his wand against his neck and said several inaudible words, then nodded. "Come on... let's go." he said quietly.

[Shaylyn Menki]

Tony drank the potion and he seemed to be responding very well to the healing Shaylyn was performing. She finished quickly and he was able to stand within a minute or so. He was still leaning against the wall but that was to be expected as someone isn’t going to recover from whatever attacked him in a minute. She watched as Tony began to piece together what happened and it seemed that whatever it was, judging by Tony’s reaction was still in the alleyway with them. Once he lit his wand, it was clear that a large Chimera was the animal that had attacked him.

Shay was just about to raise her wand to try and stun the beast but it seemed like Tony already had it covered. [pink] That’s probably why he is the school game keeper…[/pink] She thought to herself as she watched him work. After only a minute or so, he had the beast caged and they were safe. [pink] OMG you totally saved me! My hero! [/pink] She shrieked throwing her arms around him and kissing his cheek. Then she backed off all of a sudden. [pink] No, I’m totally kidding, but thanks though.[/pink] She smiled and nudged his shoulder. [pink] Oh and the healing thing was no big deal. It’s not like I would leave you sitting there in the street. I’m not mean like that. [/pink] She smiled and followed him out of the alley. [pink] So where we going?[/pink] She asked curiously.


((theres internet at the bottom of my stairs!!!! WOOT!))

[Tony Redgrave]

He looked at this girl for a second, then answered "We? Wait, what the hell are you doing walking around London at Midnight? In the middle of a storm? Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?" generally, when faced with a cute girl, he would be in 'rico suave' mode and try and be all pick'er'up. At this moment, he was on assignment, and despite his and Rhyna's recent fight, he would probably pass on this one.

Probably.

He crossed his arms, knowing she was probably out with permission.

Probably.

He smiled. "Ok, ok. Listen, how about some Ice Cream? The Chimera isn't going anywhere." he said, glaring at the Chimera, who looked as though he wanted to cleave Tony a new asshole.
"...Let's go." he said, turning away from that murderous glare. He had only recently been cured of his affliction, and wasn't used to being at 100%. I mean, Christ, he could blow shit up again. WOW.
They would walk to this little cafe-of-a-corner-store and he would order his usual Strawberry Sundae, slurping it quietly as she ordered whatever she ordered and ate. He wasn't one for words at the moment. He wasn't sure how to answer to a girl saving his life. Let alone this one.

[Shaylyn Menki]

Shaylyn hoped this question wasn’t going to come…but she figured it would, Tony being an authority figure and all. [pink]Ummmm….[/pink] She tried to think of a better excuse instead of the truth because the truth was well, lame. [pink] I needed to…ummm…I mean….I was…ummm…something about…[/pink]She sighed and hung her head in slight embarrassment. [pink]I was jumping in puddles. I figured if I went to London, I wouldn’t run into anyone from Hogwarts who might think I was a loon for leaving school JUST to jump in puddles. I mean, how lame is that? Seriously? [/pink] She was sorry that she didn’t have a cooler excuse like she left to party, or meet guys, or whatever it was normal teenage girls snuck out of school for…but then again, Shaylyn had never really been considered “normal”.

Then Tony brought up the idea for ice cream, and she turned back into her immature fun little self. [pink] Ohemgee I love ice cream! What are we waiting for? Lets go![/pink] Despite the fact that it was raining, a bit chilly, and her outfit wasn’t exactly weather friendly, Shaylyn would never turn down ice cream. He ordered a strawberry sundae while she ordered her usual coffee cone and she licked it happily as the two of them sat in an awkward silence. [pink]So….[/pink] She said, trying to break the ice. [pink] What are YOU doing in London at midnight in the middle of the storm? Shouldn’t you be at Hogwarts? [/pink]

[Tony Redgrave]

He glanced at her and took the last slurp of his Ice Cream. " 'Tis the perks of being an Auror." he said in a regal tone. "You get missions no matter what you do. Besides, they thought this Chimera was half the size it was. Somebody missed a zero when they wrote the report on it... they said it was only a meter high, at seventy five pounds. This thing was more like ten meters long and seven hundred fifty pounds.." he said miserably.
He took in her jumping in puddles excuse and actually smiled. "Honestly... I'm glad you find pleasure in simple things like that... better than drugs and drinking, you know? I'd rather every student jump in puddles than do half the stuff I've seen them do. You agree?"
He was an open minded person, and, considering how batty he was, it wouldn't be fair to call her down because of puddle jumping. It'd be like the pot calling the kettle black.
"You do know I gotta take you back to the school eventually, right? I'll tell them you were serving detention or something so you won't get MORE detention. Deal?"

[Shaylyn Menki]

[pink]Technically, I think that’s one-tenth the size of what it actually was…but either way I think whoever wrote down the size of that thing might need to be fired. That’s a pretty big screw up. [/pink] She ate the last of her cone then looked at him quizzically. [pink] So you’re an auror huh? What are you doing feeding all the hippogriffs and what not at Hogwarts? Shouldn’t you be combating dragons in some far off land or whatever it is you “monster hunters” do? [/pink]

She was relieved that he didn’t make fun of her. He seemed to understand that she just liked to have simple fun that didn’t involve anything entirely dangerous…most of the time. [pink]Honestly, I think I’m just too cool for everything these kids are into; I don’t do drugs, drink, have sex. I’m still a virgin you know…I think teenagers these days are trying to act more grown up than they need to be and I just like to be the kid I know I still am...as long as I can be and it’s not too weird. [/pink] She sighed after her little speech. She probably told him way more than he needed to know, but it all just came out.

Shaylyn groaned at the thought of going back to school. I mean, she liked school and all, but she was always so lonely. She didn’t have that many friends and it was nice to actually have a conversation with someone. [pink] Eventually, yes…but I figure detention lasts about 2 to 3 hours…so I hear. If we wanna make it seem legit, we should stay out a bit longer. [/pink] She figured he would probably insist on her going back to school right away, but it was worth a shot.

The rain was letting up a bit but there were still massive amounts of puddles lying around that were just waiting to be jumped in. [pink]I’ll tell you what…you stay out here with me for as long as a detention should be, and I’ll show you how fun it is to act like a little kid and jump in puddles. Sound like a good plan?[/pink] She smiled and took his hand, pulling him towards the abandoned, puddle covered street.

[Tony Redgrave]

Where he was brought up, France was no place of real "fun". Sure, you had amazing food, you got to sit and have riveting conversation, but puddle jumping? What childhood Tony had was gone the moment he was hurled into the system. He followed her, uncertain of what he should do. She did need to go back to Hogwarts. Eventually. But her spunky personality seemed to stall him. Sure, he liked a good party here and there, maybe a good dance or something... but he never just... jumped in a puddle.
He stood there, looking at this large puddle in front of him, and then looked back at her, confusticated. She wanted him to jump in a puddle? Hm.
It had stopped raining, and the Waitress had been kind enough to use a drying charm on them (due to it being like the Wizard version of Dairy Queen), so, they were dry as if it hadn't rained...
Not for long.
He grinned, looked down at the puddle, and jumped, splashing outward, but aiming the water at her. "Heads up!!" he called.

[Shaylyn Menki]

Shaylyn had successfully gotten Tony out of his seat and standing at the foot of a particularly large puddle. He looked as if this was completely insane for him to be even considering. She was strongly considering just pushing him into the puddle until he caught her by surprise and actually jumped, aiming the splash directly at her. She let out a scream as she became instantly drenched. [pink] You’re going to pay for that! [/pink] She said smiling, kicking water from the puddle directly at Tony, except that she kicked a particularly slippery part of ground and she ended up sliding backwards and falling down into the puddle. She was embarrassed for a second, until she realized how completely funny she looked and used her hand to splash him instead.

[pink] See how fun it can be when you’re not all stuffy and boring all the time. [/pink] She smiled and held her hand out for Tony to help her up out of the puddle, although, if he did reach down to help her, she would instead, pull his arm so that he would fall in the puddle with her. Just hopefully he was nice enough to try and help.

[Tony Redgrave]

He saw her fall, and immediately became concerned. "Hey! Are you-" then she splashed him. He laughed and tried to help her up, but ended up pulled into the puddle as well. All things considered, the drying spell was damn worthless, and there they were, drenched again. He sat next to her, taking a breath and giving her a playful shove. "Ok, ok, so you awaken my inner child, what now?" he asked sarcastically. He looked at her, then would stand and help her up. "This is fun." he said. "Thanks... it was a nice break." he checked his watch and saw it was ten minutes to one. Not very late. "So, wanna go scope out more puddles?" he asked, smiling.

((Short post again, due to restricted time.))

[Shaylyn Menki]

Her attempt to get Tony into the puddle was successful and now that they were completely soaked, it looked like he was actually having fun with her. He got up out of the puddle and helped her up, asking what they were going to do now. Shaylyn thought about it for a few minutes before she got an idea. [pink]We can scope puddles on the way, but now you follow me. [/pink] She said, taking his hand and pulling him along behind her. Before she had saved Tony earlier, she passed a playground for muggle children. She had meant to play on it on her way back, but this seemed like more fun. Going back the way she came, she dragged Tony along with her, passing her earlier discarded umbrella. She picked it up, shrunk it, and put it into her bag so she wouldn?t lose it.

After a couple of minutes walk and puddle jumping, they reached it. It wasn?t much, just a couple of slides and monkey bars, but what Shay came here for was the swings. Swings were the best. Dragging Tony to two side by side swings, she sat down in one and motioned for him to sit down in the other. Using her feet to gently push the ground, she swung slowly, hoping they still had stuff to talk about.

[Tony Redgrave]

Tony sat down on the swing, grinning. He was having an awesome time, to be honest... "So, you're a seventh year... Ravenclaw, right?" he asked, looking at her as they swung. "I went to Beauxbatons, learned French and how to blow things up." he said, smiling.
(He doesn't have a French accent, however)
They would swing, and he would decide then to tell her what happened to him, and about his heart condition that was cured mysteriously by the most unlikely source... The Dark Wizards, the curses, the Ministry visits, everything. He pulled back a sleeve. "These runes used to keep me alive. I would have to get them re-etched on my body every single time they would begin to fade. It was hell, to be honest." he looked ahead, sighing quietly. "I'm glad that's all behind me now..." he looked at her. "Shaylyn... thank you for saving my life... if there's anything at all you need, anything, just let me know." he said, slowing the swing to a stop, holding out his hand. "Thank you so much."

[Shaylyn Menki]

[pink]You would be correct though this is my first year at Hogwarts. I spent my last 6 years at the Wizarding School in Brazil where I have lived my entire life since I was 1 day old. (She does have quite a bit of an accent.) [/pink] She leaned back on her swing looking up at the sky. There were many stars out tonight since the clouds mostly dispersed in the time they had been outside. It was beautifully romantic, even though that wasn’t really what Shay had on her mind. [pink] I would never have pegged you as a Beauxbatons boy…I was thinking maybe Hogwarts of one of those American Wizarding Schools. [/pink]

She smiled and continued to swing slowly, listening to everything Tony had to say about his curse and all that had to do with it. She vaguely remembered asking if she could go with him to one of his ministry visits…but that seemed so long ago. This was a completely different Tony than the one she remembered. He seemed different somehow, even though she didn’t know him very much at all the last time they actually talked.

It was then that he thanked her for saving his life. [pink] We’ll just call it even ok. [/pink] She smiled, taking his hand and lacing her fingers with his. [pink]You saved my life too remember. Who knows what could have happened if you weren’t there to protect me from that Chimera. [/pink]

[Tony Redgrave]

He smiled and held her hand for a short moment, then loosened his grip, standing and walking around behind her. "Want me to push?" he said. More and more being around her made him feel strangely happy. How could this be? This happiness was laced with utter confusion, so, behind his smile was an uncertain sense that the next few moments would become difficult.
Or easy.
He wasn't sure..
He began pushing her gently, taking in the cool air, and enjoying this moment, this silence. He remembered speaking to Shaylyn before, and thought deeply.
"Hey... I'm sorry if I was a pompous ass before... just realized I may not have given off a good first impression." he shrugged. "Not like there was much to be happy about then... I was dying." he continued to push her, a little higher, then after a few more moments, would allow her to slow to a stop, his hands on her shoulders to help her slow.
"...I'm having a great time." he said, his tone perhaps a tad uncertain. What was he doing? For a split second, he thought he would apparate, and leave this behind... but then, he went back to not really caring... this closeness, this... friend intrigued him. Why?