Evan felt bad now. He hadn't meant it that way to pressure her. It was only better, but he didn't want to bore her or anything... She had claimed him to be her only friend, and what he was doing here to her.

"Forget I said that, OK?" he said, biting his lips. "Aaand... let's do something fun to cheer you up." What they were going to do, he had no idea. But he had to make up for his idiocy somehow.

Bissy eyed the Prefet for a moment and understood that he felt uncomfortable with what he had said. Yeah! Now he was the one to cheer up. Awww... How thoughtful he was. She smiled at the boy and said: "OK. We can have a walk and go to the giant treehouse. Is it all right?" Yeah, walking for a while and havin some fresh air would be good for both of them. She put her hand on is shoulder and looked into his eyes waiting for a reply.

"Yeah. I think I'll do that. I don't think I have any other choices anyway." Christopher wanted so badly to help, but what could he do? He was just thirteen. He still had four years left in school and by that time, his dad would probably be dead, his mum would send them away, and he probably wouldn't even be able to come back. He was in quite a tough situtation.

Christopher smiled feebly back at Cass. "Your house could be a cardboard box for all I care. It's really the thought that counts." The lion couldn't think of words that would express his gratitude, so he gave her a quick hug. He tried to put those lost words in that hug, and he hoped she'd understand. He just wanted a home. A family. That was all. Nothing too crazy, right?

And then when she kept asking, Christopher knew he would not be let off the hook so easily. So he tried to just casually slip it in, but that plan obviously did not work. He staring at his trainers, he said, "Well....... it's about a girl...... who likes a boy...... but the boy isn't sure how he feels back." Hopefully she wouln't ask for names. Christopher silently prayed she wouldn't. Which probably meant she would.

Marie was not in the mood to be doing homework right now so she went out to get some fresh air. She had no idea where any of her friends were and she hadn't seen Matty all morning either. They were probably all off being good students and doing their homework. Okay, maybe not Destiny since she was just as bad at studying as Marie had become lately.

Wandering out to the front gate she had a feeling she was going to find one of her friends there. One she heard was back but had yet to see. Mina. If ever you needed to find that girl all you had to do was go to the front gate and most likely she would be there.

Like now.

Spotting her friend sitting on her favorite rock Marie ran up behind her and jumped up on the rock with her pulling her into a bear hug. "MINA! You really are back." Not that she didn't believe Evan. It was just more believable seeing her with her own eyes.

Flipping back and forth through the pages of her classwork journals, Mina glanced up at the gates and frowned a bit. Usually this spot helped her centre herself, but today it was just a bit harder than usual. She had come there to work, but her mind was still wandering a bit to a certain piece of parchment she had seen earlier in the day.

Attempting to push what was written on said parchment, she looked back down at her notes laid out before her; not even noticing the sounds around her completely. The sound of someone approaching her was lost on her and thus she was rather unprepared for her friend to pop up on her. She really did need to be more aware of her surrounding. That's what being away had done to her. Nothing excited ever happened to her in her time away, unlike how events just seemed to happen whilst she was at Hogwarts.

Dropping her journal in surprise and realizing it was Marie that surprised her, Mina returned the hug and smiled. "MARIE! Yes, I am really back." It took her long enough, but she was really back to stay.

Marie couldn't believe it. After two long years she was finally seeing her friend again. Sure they had sort of kept in contact through letters and Evan, but it wasn't the same as seeing her face to face. "Where have you been hiding since you got back? Why haven't I seen you around?" Of course if Marie would go to a class once in a while she would have probably seen her friend. Truth was, Marie really wasn't in the mood for classes lately. She was more in the mood for having fun.

Mina smiled brightly. It was nice to see her friend again and not have to worry about having little time to talk and catch up. Owls were great when they were separated by the Channel, but now they could actually talk face to face and properly catch up. "Here and there," she shrugged as she picked her journal up and placed it back in her bag. "I've been mainly up in the common room and classes." She was rather predictable like that. "But I have been exploring a bit though. There is so much that I have missed about this place and I want to see it all again. I'm thinking a trip out to this 'mystery' ship is due soon." Honestly, she had seen it from the tower and wanted to explore it, but she needed someone to accompany her. What fun was exploring if you didn't have a partner in crime?

This had to be over five miles, he knew it, because while the front gate seemed to be rather close to the Castle, him and Arya had been surrounding the lake at first before deciding to run the other way.

Yet, they still hadn't reached the front gate, which was another valid point for the run to be over five miles. Waking up at 5.30 in the morning for this was so not appropriate, he'll suggest Arya to exercise before dinner tomorrow. There was no way he was waking up this early.

At least his outfit matched, well, how could it not? Black and gray went together pretty well. HOWEVER, his gray t-shirt didn't go well with his badge, which is why he wasn't wearing it.

Run, run, run. "Arya, come on, we're almost there," and they still needed to get back. Awesome, no?

OoC: Hehe. S'okay.

Jayce sighed and held out his arms for the puppy. What was he going to do with the little guy? He was most certainly not Opal and most definitely could not be trained as well as she was. Strangely enough, the dog seemed to be just as stubborn as Jayce, which didn't make his life any easier.

The Gryffindor boy shook his head. "Yeah, tell me about it." he murmured, blue eyes still on the pup. He did not want to clean up after him later. "So, i'd prefer if he didn't eat any." Well, not anymore than he had already eaten. Stupid dog.

Continuing to rock back and forth, the boy paused as Eirian spoke and shook his head rather quickly. "I'd prefer that he didn't get his grubby little paws on anymore shoes. He'll never learn anything if you always give him what he wants." Especially not manners, nor the fact that shoes are not meant for eating but for wearing.

Whaaaa? What was she talking about? The boy grew rather confused rather quickly. "What do you mean? Get sick from the shoes?" That's what he assumed at least, "Well, he doesn't always eat them exactly.. He tends to tear them to pieces. But occasionally he will and when he does.. Let's just say it isn't very pretty." Or much fun to clean up.

"Hm?" It had only been a moment, but the boy had already forgotten.

Arya had considered quitting at least ten times this morning, and at least five of those happened when she woke up and dragged herself out of the common room with Treyen. 5:30 am? Really?? Did he have to wake her SO early? As if it wasn't enough that he'd gotten her to do this Borr thingy.

Up so early and still not yet done. Sigh. She spared a glance over a him, mildly surprised that she was able to keep up with him in her half-sleep state. "You said that before... by the boat." And they still hadn't reached the gates yet. Maybe Borr had them moved back further? He apparently had that power now. Pffft.

Yes, more than five miles, alright.

And was Arya...complaining? The boy entirely rolled his eyes, but that was hard to catch because she was behind him, no? He still managed to say a couple words, though, "I miscalculated, it happens," it also happens in Arithmancy.

But after two more minutes the gates were, like, right there. He was soooo going to thank Melanie for the extra work she made them do during practices, because there was no way that if they'd only practiced with brooms he'd be able to run this far for this long. Was it, like, 6 am already? "We can walk back if you like," he said, before running faster and faster towards the gates and totally resting against them. Now. Water. He needed water.

She knew her earlier statement hasn't helped at all, and because of that she felt like a total ditz. She wished she could have said something better, something more encouraging or something....

Then she smiled when he suddenly hugged her. Surprised and happy. She wasn't expecting that, and to feel that what she did meant a lot to someone felt nice. "Well, it's most definitely not a cardboard box." She said jokingly with a light laugh

Then she smiled when he finally started talking. Good! Finally! "Ah...the plot thickens." She said teasingly, then she thought for a while...."A girl, liking a guy and the guy doesn't feel the same why?" She repeated absently while thinking...That could be anyone.. "Are they in the same house?" She asked

Yes, she was complaining. Not only did she not get up early when she didn't have to, she also wasn't really a runner. Arya was a flyer, rider, swimmer, even a flipper, but a runner was she not. So she didn't exactly enjoy running five miles in the extremely early hours of the morning.

But at least she wasn't cold, that would just suck. And they were REALLY almost there. She could see the gates! Picking up the pace, she trailed behind Treyen, but instead of leaning against the gates when they reached them, she went into a forwards roll and flopped onto her back dramatically. "We should have... brought brooms so we could've flown back."

Christopher laughed too as they broke apart. "I'm sure it's wonderful. Much better than a cardboard box." He chuckled. He wondered what Cass's house really was like. Certainly not a box, but probably something small and simple. He'd always wanted a nice little house like that. Fancy houses were cool and everything, but they never really seemed like anything he could call home.

He continued to stare down at his shoes, unable to look at Cass. He was so confused about how he felt towards her, and yet he wasn't web sure if her crush was more than a rumor. "Well it's not that they boy doesn't like her back, it's just that really doesn't know if he wants to stay friends or be something more." He felt so awful about all of this, and his stomach was tellig he may possibly be sick. "No, they aren't in the same house, if that helps narrow it down for you." Please don't ask anymore, PLEASE don't ask anymore! That line was running rapidly through Christopher's mind in another silent prayer, but he was sure that his hopes wouldn't happen.

This is why he needed Aaron, because they'd be running together without any complaints. But at least they knew they didn't have to go that far. They only needed to figure WHERE to run inside the Castle whenever a snow storm could strike.

HE WILL FIGURE IT OUT. And make Arya run more than necessary.

Treyen couldn't help but laughed, wholeheartedly, as she plopped down on the ground. It wasn't that tough of a run. He'd been easy on her. But once the laughter was over, he walked towards her and sat down, "You know we're not allowed to fly on the grounds without permission," neither were they allowed to fly on the Pitch without permission, but, yeah, whatever. He didn't think it was necessary to mention it.

He took a sip of water from his bottle and then smiled. "Invigorating, isn't it? Exercising so early," he said, eying Arya from the corner of his eye. Now, let's wait until 2 pm and see if he still has the same energy.

"You'll be fine, just have some water," but not too much water.

Cass simply smiled, not knowing what else to say. If she continued on talking, it would look like she was bragging or something. And, not that she didn't believe in bragging when you surely have something to brag about, but it just didn't feel right.

Then she raised an eyebrow as he stared down his shoes, before he answered her previous question about the house thing. Then she smirked and rolled her eyes "Well, no. That doesn't really narrow it down...I think it just widened the margin even more." Then she started twirling her hair absently for a while as she tried to think, then glancing back up at Christopher and she asked, "Do I know them?"

This was why she needed SABEL, cause he would carry her and give her foot rubs and kisses. Treyen, she was certain, would do none of those. And she didn't really want him too. She would have to find someone else to distract him in the mornings so she wouldn't have to run.

Until then, she'd continue to count down the days til the first snow. Snow meant no running, right?

Arya cracked a smile and one eye open to glance over at Treyen as he laughed at her. It took her a second to finish catching her breath before she could respond to him. "Yeah. But we're prefects now, surely we get more perks than an extra room to explore and a badge." They should get to fly around the grounds. For patrols and stuff. "Or maybe we could get that new professor to lend us a pair of Abraxans." Hehe. That would be much more awesome than brooms.

It took her a bit of blind searching but she soon found her water and worked on getting it open from her splayed position. "It's.... different. From getting up early to do other things, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Better than getting up early for class she supposed. "I need fooood too." She sipped the water. He remembered their deal, right?

Christopher laughed feebly at her comment. She really was determined to figure out what he was talking about. It made him want to throw up. He really liked Cass as a friend, but he kind of felt something a little more too. He just didn't want to ruin their friendship just yet. Maybe when they were older perhaps.......

He looked up at her twirling her hair idly while she thought up more questions for him. He stared at the blonde locks twirling around her finger, trying not to look her in the eyes. She'd probably understand it all if she looked right into his eyes, which he tried to block from her. "Yes, you deffinitely know them." She obviously knew herself, and Christopher too since she was speaking directly too him. Hopefully she thought he was talking about Feenella and her boy friend she'd once mentioned to him, or perhaps Cass and Levi. Not Cass and himself.

Ah! The power was getting to her! It was corrupting the sweetest of the trio! And that needed to be stopped, because the next one could be him, right?

"No, we don't," he said, raising an eyebrow at her. Wasn't she aware of how serious Vindictus was about rules, and Quidditch, and brooms? Yeah, he wouldn't mess with him. "But the Abraxans don't sound too bad at all," he's never flown on one before, "Just, forget the Prefect badge is there." Mmmhmm. It was better to get the Abraxans just because MacFuzzy liked them, no? That way, they weren't abusing power.

Yes, it wasn't---wait, what? As bad as she thought? Arya had been thinking of this as a bad idea from the start. GREAT.

He didn't comment, though, because she was still complaining. Tsk. "What you need is water...and perhaps running BACK to the Castle," yes, he was not being serious. He wasn't running back, then why would she?

ACTUALLY...

...what Arya needed was something else.

"You know, I forgot to tell you...," he started to say, but paused to drink some water, "...I asked Ellie out." And he said it as if it was the most common thing ever.

Arya playfully rolled her eyes at him. They needed something to get them back to the castle. It was so far away! Though if she did really know about how crazy Vindictus was about HIS brooms and Quidditch serious Vindictus took that stuff, then she wouldn't have even suggested it. "Abraxans are the best." Flying horses, how could they not be awesome? "I always forget it's there... except when people remind me of it." And right now it wasn't there, so she wouldn't be getting any reminders this morning.

Running BACK. He got looks for that, playful looks that clearly stated she wouldn't be running back. "I'll take more water, maybe I'll owl home for vitamin water or something." Maybe that would help her with all this cross castle running and... nope, that was all she needed help with she was sure.

It took a split second for his words to sink in, and when they did, she stopped drinking her water and opened both eyes, quickly rising to a sitting position to look at him properly. "You waited til AFTER we finished running to tell me this?! How could you forget?? What did she say? Wait -- Where did you ask her to?" Arya had that excited look in her eyes that clearly stated she wasn't the least bit upset at him for forgetting and waiting this long to tell her, however THIS LONG was.

He saw the rolling of the eyes, Arya. He saw that. Mmmhmmm, but, yeah, about the Abraxans...he could think of a couple creatures that were better, and as far as flying went, well, brooms ought to be more trusted, no? After all, an animal always had a mind of its own.

"Have you flown on one before?" that's why she'd said they were the best, no?

Wait. That was actually funny. Power was corrupting her and she had no idea. Perhaps a letter to Aaron will be happening soon, like, today, or tomorrow, or next week.

"We still need to get breakfast, anyway," because that tiny cupcake he had before heading to the gates was not enough for breakfast, plus, he was sure Arya wouldn't agree with that.

Treyen was not surprised. He actually expected that kind of reaction from one of his best friends. Yet, he didn't know why he hadn't mentioned it before. "Consider it a reward," he said, as he winked, and then pretended to be in deep thought, "Well, I think she said 'Yes', since we went to Hogsmeade this past weekend." Exactly HOW LONG had Arya been left out of this vital piece of information, because he'd asked her weeks ago, no?

"And that's all I'm saying," he was obviously kidding, "Now, we should get back, no?"

Arya nodded her head. "I've ridden horses longer, only just started riding them about a few years ago." The year before she came to this castle to be exact. "It's better than ridding a horse, cause they can fly you know? Really fly and they're so powerful and beautiful." She shook the distant look from her eyes. "I might wanna work with them after this." Possibly.

"Yes, we need breakfast. A big one -- no -- a HUGE one, to make up for all the calories we burned." Not to mention she didn't have the presence of mind to eat anything before they started running. She'd remember to next time though.

A reward. If this was her reward for running, then she would run with him every morning. Heh. Whaaaaaat?!? Her brown eyes went WIDE. "You went to Hogsmeade last weekend with her and you didn't tell me? How could you have forgotten for that long!" What were they doing that had him forgetting for so long? Well, she knew what she'd been doing, especially during that Hogsmeade trip. But if she'd known about this before hand, they probably could have invited Ellie and Treyen...

"Nope. Not acceptable. This is my reward, and as my reward I demand to know more details like, how the date went, if you asked her to another date, did you dress up for he date, was it official...?" She realized she'd been rambling with her questions and stopped them to give him playful imploring looks. Tell all Lockhart.

Nod. Nod. She had. No wonder she thought they were the best. He couldn't disagree, mainly because he's never done that before...unless...no, that doesn't count. Yeah, he's never done that before.

His eyes landed on the gates, but were soon on Arya again, "Work with horses?" winged or not, they were still horses. Thestrals would be cool, though. And he knew what needed to happen for one person to see them, but he wanted to see one for real. Let's just hope he never sees someone die.

HUGE breakfast? Ah, Treyen wasn't one for eating too much. Arya was probably going to make him feel too full and he'll be late for the first lesson...which was...what? Potions? Yeah, he'd better miss the lesson than arrive late. "Right." There was skepticism in his voice.

"I did. But, I don't know, I've had too many things in my head lately. I just forgot." He smiled, and then sighed as he leaned against the ground, yes, LEANED, because he needed some sort of support now, "She looked beautiful, as always," the last bit he could say to Arya, but he couldn't say to Ellie.

What?! "No, no, I'm the one that says what your reward is all about," TRUE. He still rolled his eyes, "Dress up? Where do you think we were headed to? No, just regular Muggle clothes," does Arya dresses up to go to Hogsmeade?

Fine, he'll give her another answer, or rather, another question, "What do you mean with 'official'?"

"It's one of the jobs I'm considering." She shrugged. Much thought didn't go into her future as of yet, so she really didn't have much information to offer him.

She heard the skepticism and chose to ignore it. She would make sure he ate more, it was his job and such, so he wouldn't get away without eating a good hearty meal. After all there runs and at every meal. Heh.

After a second of silence, she siiigh. "I guess it's not all your fault. I should have asked how things were going with you two. I'll ask next time." Like tomorrow on their run. When he leaned against the ground, she shifted onto her stomach and rested her chin in her palms, eyes on HIM. GRIN. "She is very pretty." Truth. Ellie was very pretty, there was no denying that fact.

She rolled her eyes TOO. "Fine, you pick my reward." So long as he answered her questions, she didn't care. "Regular muggle clothes like you were meeting me in Diagon for ice cream, or something a bit nicer?" She didn't mean formal attire, just something.... nice. Impressive. Did he get it?

More eye rolls, and this time she let her arms fall to the grass dramatically. "I mean did you both actually call it a date, or are you only calling it a date after the fact?"

He knew Arya loved creatures, but he never gave it any thought as to what she'll be doing after Hogwarts. The boy was clearly too busy thinking about his future, which was now...back to where he started. Thanks Hadley, for making us think of the present.

One nod. Or what looked like one, since he was already laying on the ground.

"It's no one's fault, Arya," because he wanted to tell her since before they left the Castle, but he knew that Arya wouldn't go running if he did. This way was better. And it was so obvious that she was going to agree with him, because he was totally right about that, "I know, she doesn't think so, though," because she'd given him a hard time about it. It was completely unnecessary.

An eyebrow was raised on his behalf, but he doubted Arya could see that, "I suppose they were nicer, but not on purpose, I just picked out whatever I thought appropriate for the weather, Arya," he was getting sliiiightly annoyed at the 'clothing' topic. They were just clothes. If Gilderoy could her him, he'd be so disappointed.

He laughed, loudly, before being able to answer her question, "Well, I told her that it was like...on a date...when I asked her to come with me," oh, but wait, "That counts as one, right?" because he'd been perfectly clear when he asked. He did rephrase like two or three times. But the last one was the 'on a date' question, so, yeah, he supposed it was official.