There was nothing amazing about any aspect of this situation. Nothing.

Daxton surveyed the obstacle course with a feeling of disdain growing in the pit of his stomach. It had never caused such a strong negative reaction in him in the past, but then he'd never been ordered (ordered) to complete the stupid thing before, tethered to a Gryffindor, no less. Had he been on his own, that would have been slightly more tolerable, though he still would not have been pleased with being ordered about. Such a lengthy proximity to another person, too, was starting to take its toll.

So when Daxton unhooked his school bag from his shoulder, dumped it on the floor and kicked it off to the wall at the edge of the room, he did so with no small amount of belligerence, and moved forward to begin the obstacle course. With Zander Adair.

A wall first. Easy, and Daxton was going straight over it, and he was not going to wait for the Head Baby, who would surely be encumbered by his shoes, whereas Daxton wore none. Using his twelve-year-old boy levels of energy in his favour, as well as his taller-than-average height, Daxton quickly leapt up at the wall and scrambled up to the top of it, gave another tug at the sash to get Adair to hurry the heck up (not waiting first to see if he needed to tug to hurry him along), and dropped down on the other side.

At which point, inspiration suddenly struck, as Daxton realised the possibilities of this obstacle course. Or, more specifically, the foam pit, which came later. First, he needed to reach it, and he was quite impatient to keep moving forward, which was exactly what he tried to do.

For the record, Zander didn't like this either okay? He hadn't ever practiced the obstacle course either, so this was going to be... a challenge for sure. Oh Merlin. Did Dakest realize how terrible of an idea this was yet? Yes, let's just take two kids who hate each other's guts, tie them together, and throw them into an obstacle course. What part of that screamed anything like "WOW BRILLIANT IDEA". Dakest was clearly out to get them.

A wall first. Okay, how bad could it be?

Well, it didn't seem to phase Daxton at all, as the boy was literally spider monkey-ing over the entire thing. Er, Zander wasn't making it up as easily, but he was sort of getting there. It was just hard when one of his arms was literally being pulled along. Made it harder to use. And THE FREAKING TUGGING WAS NOT HELPING. "Give me a second!" Merlin.

Finally Zander made his way over the wall and WOAAAAH!

He dropped down to the bottom completely not ready for the fall. He landed on his feet, sort of, but he hadn't been ready when Daxton decided to jump. "You can't just take off without waiting for me," Merlin, this kid was absolutely insane. Did Dakest see the problem yet?

And before Zander could say much more, Daxton was trying to take off again.

This was the worst. And Zander begrudgingly followed along, a few steps behind.... Were they meant to crawl in that thing?

Can't? Was Zander Adair really trying to tell Daxton what he could and could not do?

Yes, they were tied together, which impeded what each of them could do, and imposed more limitations than if they were to complete the course independently, but he did not care. Zander Adair may have been Head Boy, but that badge did not give him the right to boss Daxton about. He only allowed the professors to do that, and only very reluctantly (and bitterly) and because they were the only authority he would recognise.

So, as they approached the next obstacle, Daxton suddenly stopped. By making life difficult for Zander Adair and slowing him down, he was also doing the same for himself, but it did not matter. Really, Daxton had little better to do, anything else would likely be boring, and it struck him that it might be fun to annoy the Head Baby, maybe get him to throw a fit again, as well as letting him know exactly who was in charge (spoiler alert: not Zander Adair).

Standing right where he was, as he had the advantage of being a few steps ahead and so would not immediately get dragged along, Daxton folded his arms over his chest. He was resting.By Adair's own logic, he himself would have to wait until Daxton was good and ready, and the Ravenclaw was prepared to take his sweet time.

Yes, Zander Adair was really trying to tell Daxton what he could and could not do.

But only because they were supposed to work TOGETHER. So this whole go ahead and let the other person struggle behind philosophy was not going to work here. Zander had a point to make. Did Dakest see this? Did he SEE how terrible of an idea this was now!? Was he going to DO anything??

And finally they made it to the next obstacle TOGETHER and things finally seemed to be looking up. Once Zander neared the obstacle, he got down to a crawl so that he could make it through the thing and be done with-- What?

...... Uh.

Was Daxton not going to MOVE?

Zander Adair took it back. He took all that philosophy stuff back. The let the other person struggle behind philosophy would be put in place if the person was struggling behind ON PURPOSE. Which is what Daxton was CLEARLY doing. Standing there all smug with his arms crossed. Yeah well two could play this game.

Which is why Zander started tugging. He'd make it through this obstacle one way or another. Even if it meant having to drag the first year along with him. They were going to finish this thing as fast as Zander could help it. "Oi? Do you mind??" TUG, TUG, TUG.

MERLIN. ZANDER WAS GOING TO THROW SOMETHING AT HIM.

GAH.

This is one thing he WOULDN'T miss about Hogwarts. Actually two. DAKEST and DAXTON.

At first, Daxton had been all about taking his time before the next obstacle purely for the purpose of making a point and keeping control of the situation (and also winding up Zander Adair). But the more he thought about it, the more he realised he did not want to crawl through that thing, not in the slightest. Not in such close proximity to someone else, not when tethered to said someone else, not-at-freaking-all. Such a small, closed in space, even for a moment, trapped with a seventh year, of all people. No.

But, fortunately, the uneasiness (or, more bluntly, the fear) he felt towards the obstacle did not get much of a chance to manifest in his features, because a distraction presented itself in the form of Zander Adair.

As the sash around his hand was tugged, Daxton's arm was naturally jerked along with it. He looked towards the Head Boy and set his jaw, holding onto the sash with both hands and pulling it back again even as Zander Adair went on tugging. Yes, he did mind. But Daxton was aware of the logistics, was aware that if Adair wanted to drag him through the obstacle course, there was very little stopping him. No doubt Dakest would let it happen, too. But Daxton did not want to crawl through that thing.

There were not any favourable courses of action here, not the way he saw it. Nothing that would truly work in his favour, and he hated it. It was all one big trap. A nightmare of a situation.

But, as a cornered animal will often fight back against a perceived threat, so too did Daxton. He was not being dragged through that strange tunnel thing, not a chance. He would go over it if he had to, but nothing was getting him through it. He pulled harder still at the sash. It was barely a moment before Daxton realised he lacked the strength to move the lump of a Gryffindor anywhere, and so instead he began working again at the part of the fabric that was somehow back to being tied around his wrist with fumbling fingers, to free himself before Adair could drag him through that thing.

....... WHAT NOW?

Merlin. Why did it always have to be something?

Couldn't they just get this done and call it a day?

Zander was starting to be entirely convinced that Daxton wanted to prolong this process as long as he could. First slowing them down by standing in place. And NOW by tugging right back and trying to undo the-- WAIT WHAT?

Surely this whole thing would go to waste and they'd be disqualified if the sash was undone. Not that Zander wanted to be stuck to Daxton for any longer, but this would just make things even worse. They'd get into even MORE trouble. And then they probably WOULD be thrown into detention. Which normally Zander didn't mind too much, but HELLO he was already short for time with Head duties and homework and the threat of upcoming NEWTs. Wasting away a day in detention was not an option anymore, especially because they were wasting enough time trying to make it through this obstacle course to begin with.

So Zander back-tracked right over so that he wasn't pulling forward anymore, but instead was standing directly in front of the kid. "What do you think you're doing?!" They couldn't REMOVE it.

Honestly, what a stupid question. Daxton did not even bother to glare at Zander Adair for it, busy as he was with the sash around his wrist, but the sentiment was there all the same.

He managed to tug the loop around his wrist bigger and bigger so that he could eventually pull his hand back out of it, and once he had done so Daxton threw his end of the sash at Adair's chest. There. Right there was his answer. Because Daxton could remove it, and the evidence was right in front of them in the form of his freedom.

The temptation to make a run for the door was very real, but he was saving that option for a last ditch effort to get away, considering there was an approximately 0.01 percent chance he would get away with such an obvious escape attempt. Instead, Daxton signed his answer angrily back at Adair - 'What do you think you are doing?' - and, feeling a strange sort of satisfaction at the very low likelihood that either Adair or Dakest would know what any of those hand gestures had meant, finally approached the obstacle.

But not to go through it. Instead, Daxton climbed up onto it with ease, then stood balancing at the edge and looked back down Adair. Already he felt better; there was some sort of power in being able to look down on other people, or perhaps the feeling of power lay in getting himself out of a situation where everyone else would loom over him. Whatever it was, it hardly mattered in that moment. What did matter was that Daxton was now, quite literally, in a much better position than he had been in before, and was no longer tied to the Head Baby.

Which broke one of the rules - a significant one at that - that Dakest had given them. Daxton glanced off in the professor's direction for just a split second, and then back at Adair. What was the likelihood of getting out of this task using sheer will and stubbornness? If he just stood up here, would he eventually be allowed to leave? Because the prospect of attempting to complete the obstacle course - and certain obstacles in particular - while attached to anyone, let alone Zander Adair, was starting to fill Daxton with such a pervasive feeling of discomfort-verging-on-anxiety that he thought he might prefer being forced to wear shoes every day of the year rather than go through with it.

If they finished it separately, could they leave? Doubtful, because then why would they have been tied together in the first place? What were his options, and did he have any options at all? Frankly, Daxton did not know, so he stayed where he was, trying to think up some kind of strategy to get around the situation, all the while trying his utmost to not look nearly as anxious as he felt.

Sabel didn't miss what was going on between the two boys. It was like watching a two walls try and pull and push one another in opposite directions. It just didn't work. Which, was the point. The point was to put a door between those walls. Or something of the sort. Communication, teamwork, five minutes of putting personal pride to the side. Really, it wasn't a lot to ask.

So, when he saw Daxton pulling out of his end of the deal, Sabel's mood dropped about ten points. He waited for a moment, to see if the kid might just hold onto the sash and continue that way, if perhaps all the tugging had been cutting off circulation. When it was clear that wasn't the case, Sabel had to refrain from giving a rather smarting spell to the pair.

Instead, he found himself speaking in a rather level and bored tone. "Back to the beginning, the both of you. Retie the sash and start again." Really, he had all day. Did they?

Zander watched as Daxton undid the sash, not knowing what to do to stop him. If he tried to get physical, he’d clearly be punished even more. So that wasn’t really an option here, was it? ‘Sides, hopefully Dakest would see that DAXTON was undoing and would therefore, punish DAXTON. Which is exactly what—

….

Didn’t happen.

Of course.

Now Daxton was standing up feet in the air over the obstacle and Zander was left behind with feet still on the floor, but with an angry Professor Dakest.

He changed his mind. He’d take the detention. This was absolutely ridiculous.

The Gryffindor looked up to give Daxton a ‘see-what-you-did-now’ glare before walking back over to the beginning of the course, with the sash balled up in his fist. ”Professor, I don’t see the point. Can’t you just throw us in detention and get it over with?” This was torture.

Back to the beginning. Start again.

Daxton was entirely unsurprised by those instructions. He ignored Adair's glare and did not obey Dakest's orders straight away, choosing instead to take a moment and use his vantage point to scope out the entire course. How many more obstacles like these? How long would the whole process likely take? What would he complete with ease and what would he not be able to complete at all, and need to find an alternative route for?

The obstacle currently under his feet definitely fell into that last category, so perhaps starting the course again was not quite so terrible. It gave him time... though he might not need it if he could get Adair to cooperate when they reached this point again.

Speaking of Adair, the sound of the Gryffindor's voice brought Daxton back to the present moment, and he looked back to the start of the course to see the older boy standing there, waiting. Devoid of emotion, any trace of a glare completely gone from his features, Daxton reluctantly got down from his perch, and rejoined Zander Adair, who was actively asking for a detention. Technically this already felt like one, with all the promised discomfort included, but he did not make his thoughts known. Remaining quiet, somehow slightly more subdued than usual, Daxton looked ahead to the first obstacle. This time, he would wait for Adair to lead the way. For reasons.

Not that it mattered just yet, because Daxton did not actually have the sash back to tie around his wrist (or rather, to loop around his hand and hold onto, which was what he had already decided he would be doing, for the preservation of his comfort and his sanity). Zander Adair still had it gathered up in his hand, and so Daxton simply stood there, waiting for him to let go of it in case Dakest refused the request for a detention and made them complete the course together anyway.

Sabel didn't move until both boys had started back to the beginning. He was mildly intruiged by Prince's change in demenaour, but he was beginning to understand that such a change didn't mean he was making any true progress with the boy. So, his neutral expression remained, darkening the slightest at Adair's request.

"I can throw you in detention afterwards, if you're that eager." He couldn't say he'd ever had someone willingly ask for detention before. There was, indeed, a first for everything. "If you want to get done with this, then I suggest you consider why I'm telling you to do this."

Really. It was easy enough to figure out. Ten minutes of both their pride set aside, and they'd be through. It'd be a breeze, really.

Reaching forward, Sabel retrieved the sash and retied it about both their wrists. His expression said the rest. Hup-to.

….. That’s not what he meant. He almost mumbled a reply, however he decided to let Dakest's offer sit there, as he finally opened his fist to reveal the sash. Nevermind. He didn't want the detention if it meant he had to do this and that both. Sweet Merlin. All he wanted was to be done with this, but clearly they weren’t going to make any progress here. What was the point of getting them to do this over and over again?! This was even worse than any of Flamsteed’s crazy ideas and that star man was FULL of them. At least Professor F had some method to his madness. This just felt like pointless repetition.

So no, he didn’t want to consider why he was telling them to do this. Probably some twisted way to get satisfaction out of their torture or something. Professor’s were all about that. Zander would know, Quigley did the same thing back in Fifth Year. But Zander didn’t say any of that out loud… ”You want us to put our differences and work together to get to the end,” It was easy enough to figure out obviously, but it wasn’t going to happen. ”But considering’s a lot easier than trying to get to the end of this obstacle course, when he doesn’t want to work together.”

Someone call the Astronomer man. Maybe Flamsteed could save him from this disaster.

But his wrist was getting tied again, and now Zander turned his head to face Daxton once more. Take two?

Daxton stood very still, his arm held out - he had done so instinctively as Dakest took it upon himself to tie the sash back around his wrist, to prevent him from getting too close - waiting for Zander Adair to finish whining and for the professor to finish tying them up. Again.

The whys and wherefores of this entire situation had been lost on Daxton up to this point, but if Adair was right, and the aim was for them work together to get to the end, then he could see a multitude of problems with that. Two in particular, the first being that technically, by removing the sash, Daxton had dealt with one obstacle so that they could separate and complete the course each in their own pace. Technically, he had been helping, even if the assist was only a by-product of looking after himself. They had been tied together, they were not getting very far, and then Daxton had removed the sash. After that, they could have each gone on alone. He did not understand why that did not count in Dakest's eyes, as in Daxton's opinion it was a very convenient side-effect of his own self-preservation. He decidedly did not acknowledge the fact that it was he who had been causing the hold-up in the first place.

The second problem was that Daxton, fiercely and stubbornly independent and self-centred, was not a team player. Not in any sense of the word. Zander Adair was, for once, one hundred percent correct in that assessment, though Daxton did not give him the satisfaction of any such acknowledgement.

He felt Adair's eyes on him now, but did not look back. Staring ahead at the first obstacle, Daxton waited for the older boy to make the first move. Not out of a drive to work as a team, but purely for his own benefit. He tugged automatically at the fabric tied around his wrist while he waited, working to loosen it again, but not yet to free himself completely.

Though he was tempted to keep untying it, to keep testing the professor, just to see what would happen. Only a fear of causing Dakest, who was actually fairly imposing, to truly lose his temper in front of just one useless and biased witness was what stopped him. Another day, maybe. Another day he would test those boundaries.