Swimming Hole

Swimming Hole
adeorange

The Swimming Hole is tucked away in the Old Forest of Adeorange, so deep in woodland that it's easy to miss. Upon stepping foot in its territory, one would feel an instant shift in the atmosphere. Immediately, it gets warmer and even during the gloomiest winters, one would be able to see a sun overhead. This is a well-kept secret among its few visitors, and is typically found by brave adventurers or students who have absentmindedly wandered too far into the woods.

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

After trekking through the Old Forest together, the two stumbled upon an ugly dilapidated building hanging on top of a cliff. He's surprised it hasn't just fallen over, but some magic must be tethering it in place. Venturing into it wasn't that exciting either, nudging his head in through one of the windows and catching a vibrant painting of sunflowers and another of a Hokusai wave. Valentin isn't much of an artist as much as he tries, but he doesn't mind hating on it anyways. When the two move on, turning around from the cliff (which was certainly a good sign that they were going in the wrong direction), he can't hold himself from chattering about it. "I thought that that place couldn't get uglier," he says suddenly, immediately bursting into laughter as he turns towards Honey. He wouldn't have really wanted to go with anyone else, and he's already certain he made the right decision by inviting her. Valya treads through the fallen leaves and twigs right beside her, not wanting to run forward and leave her behind, but also it's near impossible for him to fall behind her since his strides are so much longer than hers. It's perfect though, being right beside her on the same playing field. He's used to following around sort of resembling a lost puppy, but this is different and comforting. "I wonder who would do something so atrocious." He's glad Honey also transferred because then he doesn't have to worry that she might have committed said atrocities. Well, he's also learned during their brief time spent with each other that her tastes are a different sort of atrocious. Not that he minds; he actually prefers them that way. It's what makes Honey Camacho.

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

Honey has been buzzing ever since she got Valya's message, mostly because he wanted to spend time with her but also (and this is a very important also!) because he apparently found somewhere to swim? She has missed swimming dearly to the point that she had gotten ahead of herself and not considered that it would probably be freezing cold. Damn the UK and its shitty weather. It has already bullied her into dressing more conservatively, much to her displeasure. Thank *Bathala* for magic, though. Typically, she has a little bluebell flame following her around everywhere to keep her warm but she told herself that today she would be impressive in front of Valentin and not need it. She is half beginning to regret this decision, which was largely made out of stubbornness. She stands in front of the shack, crossing her arms as she looks at the murals on the wall. Somehow, it is even uglier than the inside was. "Hey, hey, hey..." she starts, "Art is subjective!" She is laughing as she says it, showing that she definitely agrees with him in regards to its atrocity. She wonders who would even bother with trying to fix up the old building like that. Why would *anyone* want to hang around here? She found an unused condom on the ground though while they were indoors, so that gives her a pretty good idea... Gross. Who would want to do it in a *shack*? "God... Sunflowers *and* the wave? Come on now." Whoever did this has to be the most basic person at Hogwarts.

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

Obviously, art *is* subjective, but he laughs because he knows that that's just ridiculous. "And dog prints," he adds, gesturing through the window into the mess of footprints crossing the main room. While he peers through the window one last time, his eyes catch the condom and he cringes. Call him sex negative, but he doesn't think shagging in a shack is all that appealing either. "It's really... *naff*," he says, using the accent as always. "I would have thought this was painted decades ago." If not for the fact that it appears fresh, he would assume as much. Any preservation charms would have weathered away by now had it been a long time ago. Valya assumes so anyways, falling silent before he turns around and faces the expansive forest. "Imagine if whoever did this was still lingering around this joint. I'd say we would be dead, but I don't think whoever did this would kill someone." It's not necessarily a murderer's art taste. Not that he has any idea what a murderer's taste in art would be, but he just imagines it wouldn't be this. It's really not the doing of anyone practicing the Dark Arts either. "Unless that's the whole point? To distract us with this horrid display of color, then they bombard us from the rooftop." He laughs until he recognizes that that's not really that funny. Honestly, it's a little horrifying and he even glances towards the rooftop to see if anyone is in fact looming overhead.

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

Honey doesn't even bother glancing up at the rooftop, instead letting out a loud laugh at the suggestion. Imagine this being a *murderer's* hideout. Insane! "I think an evil genius would come up with a better distraction than a painting of *sunflowers*." Honey says, "Or maybe they're not that much of a genius at all." She's still giggling, so glad that Valya is not the type to find this sort of thing *aesthetic*. God, she would die if she found out that he was secretly into it and was just shitting on it to be funny. "Come onnn," she says, spinning on her heel to turn back to the general direction of their adventure. She almost reaches out to tug on his sleeve and drag him along but she doesn't because she does not appreciate being touched by people she is not particularly close with – she would be comfortable enough with Valya at this point, probably, but she isn't going to be presumptuous and assume it's reciprocated. "We're not going to find the secret lake there." Is it a lake? She's assuming it's a lake or a river or some sort. "Unless..." She stops in her tracks, before turning again to face the Hokusai. "It's *in* the wave? Like a secret entrance?" The chances are slim, and she's laughing to herself as she comes up with the suggestion. The idea becomes more and more rational to her. Why else would there be such an *ugly* painting in the middle of nowhere? She steps forward and pokes at the wall. Nothing happens. Oh well. "Never mind." she huffs.

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

Valya disagrees because the sunflowers are pretty distracting, but he surmises that perhaps he's just easily distracted and he shouldn't verbalize that anymore than he already has to someone he's otherwise trying to impress. His smile becomes a little more sheepish, but he starts laughing again the moment she giggles. He follows her direction, starting to walk into the Old Forest again before she turns and he once again follows suit. Valentin's eyes widen with amusement as a bright grin spreads across his face, admiring her as she approaches the wall and actually reaches out to touch it. "It was worth a shot!" he tells her, not wanting her to be embarrassed. He knows someone out there would be embarrassed by that, but he doesn't really think Honey would be. Afterwards, he laughs and the grin settles on his face, turning around and starting their trek back into the forest. "Once we've found it, we can start apparating there and then to Hogsmeade again. It'll be much easier next time," he says, trying to reassure her that they will not have to be so wasteful of their time. Valya doesn't find this to be a waste of *his* time; he's enjoying it quite a lot, but that's only because he's in Honey's company. Otherwise he wouldn't really want to walk around a forest in the middle of November especially not with all of the creatures running around. "We would probably return assuming we *crack on* and the place is *proper mint*, *yeah*?" It's his turn for reassurance, catching his mistake very quickly and wanting to clarify he's not forcing her to. Valya doesn't seem as worried about this as he actually is, glancing towards her with the same bright grin as before. It's never truly wiped off his face.

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

The part of Honey's brain that processes shame and embarrassment has been defunct for quite some time now. Valentin is correct in his assumption that she is not embarrassed by her mistake, instead laughing at what he says. Being around him tickles her so much, truly, and she returns to his side to continue their quest. She doesn't understand half of what he's trying to say towards the end, but she knows that's not his fault and it is entirely because British slang is just so stupid. She gets the gist though. "Imagine if we find it and there are people already there." she grimaces at the thought. Honey would love to have their own secret place and she values having special secret things in all her friendships that she would not want to bring anybody else there. She knows she can't expect him to do the same, but she's hopeful that they are on the same wavelength here. "It's fine! We can fight them then it can become our *territory*." She tries to look threatening, before bursting into laughter again. "Where did you hear about this place anyway?" she asks. *Are you sure it exists?* she almost says, before deciding that there's no point in asking that. She trusts him and she trusts that it's hidden away somewhere in the forest. She's presuming he did not hear it from another student, so she continues. "One of the ghosts? A painting? I would not put it past those dudes to try and mess with us... Maybe it's a trap!" She lets her eyes go wide but she is fully joking. There is a big smile on her face, very amused by this whole situation. She does not find it to be a waste of her time either. Even if they just wandered aimlessly around the forest for the next hour, this would still be a perfect day.

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

His eyes widen, appearing alarmed despite how happy the bottom half of his face seems to be. "Do you think there will be?" But then he notices how she laughs, which melts his heart so easily and he wonders how long he can go on without just saying something. He's so loose-lipped that it's a miracle he hasn't just off of foolishness. Valya laughs to pretend he's kidding though he would admit he was genuinely concerned if questioned. "I'm sure you could bring them down *easily*," he adds, laughing some more though he's serious about that too. He's sure he would have to serve as Honey's blundering sidekick, but he's moderately okay with that. Obviously, the idea that he might not be useful enough to her worries him, but other than that, he's fine with it. "Umm, I don't... remember. I found a note in something... a thing on water-related charms! And it had a little drawing and it had a name, but I don't... I don't remember. I'm sorry." He apologizes with thought and feeling, but he doesn't even catch he's doing it. Valya hadn't realized his source for this was so unreliable, and saying it for the first time now has him feeling even more confused. His face knots together, perfectly displaying this confusion as he scrambles to figure out how much he messed up. "I went around to all of the paintings that had water until one told me the story of the... I don't remember, but it's this place. I promise, or I don't know... Maybe he did say it was a myth, but I thought he said it wasn't. Maybe he was joking?" For someone who jokes around a lot, it can be difficult for him to understand sarcasm especially when it's in Middle English. Valya starts to sweat despite the cold, his body heating itself as he now has this concern that it might *be* a trap. He's not important enough to kill, but what if they fall into nymph territory? They'd die then. "I'm optimistic!" he says, smiling again though he's certainly less optimistic than he was when they started. His memory is usually so much better than this. Was he really not listening?

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

Honey sees his confusion very clearly; it's all across his face and she stops herself from frowning. She is more concerned that this seems to be making him nervous, but doesn't want him to misinterpret that as disappointment. Instead, she laughs it off. "I don't understand half the things the paintings are saying." she says, "They all talk so... *old-ly*. Anciently? Is that a word? You know what I mean." Honey feels very strongly about making sure that all her friends don't feel as if they have anything to be nervous or embarrassed about around her. After spending so long being ultra-conscious about herself and how she acted, she decided at one point to be the change she wanted to see and life has been so much more fun since. "I'm optimistic too!" she agrees, nodding. "And besides, even if we don't find it, then at least I got to spend the afternoon with one of my favorite *mates*." Her attempt at the accent is getting better with each day she goes to school here, but it's still exaggerated for comedy's sake. She lets her hands fall to her side so her fingers can brush against Valya's as if to gauge how comfortable he would be if she invaded more of his personal space. "This forest is pretty cool anyway," she says, "Maybe we'll even see a creature!" She is rather excited about this prospect even though some magical creatures can be dangerous. Honey's logic is that for as long as it's not a demon baby, it's manageable.

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

When Honey doesn't seem upset by the fact that he can't guarantee there was some reliable source, his worry noticeably eases out of his face. He ponders the oldly/anciently debate before deciding that either both are correct or both are wrong. Either way it doesn't matter. Honey has every right to invent whatever words she wants to. English is nothing if not a collection of borrowed words and inconsistent patterns anyways. He wishes absentmindedly that it wasn't the only shared language between them. "Sometimes it *has* to be Scottish or Irish. Maybe Welsh? But it can't all be in English..." He wonders out loud. Too many times has he stood there trying to decipher what is just gibberish to him. It's not too unrealistic either, so he decides it must be that. In reality, it is often just Old or Middle English that his brain can't even begin to process. Some paintings can be quite mean, pointing out how bewildered he looks. "Hey! You're right," he confirms, smiling. A part of his thought process subconsciously had been that they will just have time together and that was the important part of day. He has not been given much time with Honey, which he understands is because they're both busy with their studies and they're in different years and houses. For obvious reasons, he sort of believes that the world is fighting against them, but that's pessimistic and he tries not to be. So he has been squaring away these thoughts and trying to spend time with her each time he starts to think about how they never get to. "I don't know if I want to. I don't think I'm mentally ready for fighting something off," he laughs as if it's not that serious, but it totally is. His laughter ceases when he registers how her hand just brushed against his, eyes widening as he tries to figure out if that was him or her. "Oh, huh?" He sounds genuinely lost, and anyone could see how the wheels are turning in his head as he tries to decide if he should apologize for touching her. Her expression isn't that helpful either, but he doesn't want to not seem *chill*. Valya reacts soon after that, moving his hand around to lace their fingers together before a chill runs down his spine. It prevents him from reveling in this moment. He instead turns towards Honey, raising both brows with concern. "Are you not cold?"

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

"It's fine! I'll protect us both." Honey declares, sounding rather sure of herself. Their height difference is not as noticeable in her shoes but she really finds herself so amusing to have the audacity to make this claim that *she* will protect *him*. Well, she reasons to herself, she *can*! She's very certain in her ability to at the very least have the courage to just keep trying random shit and hit whatever dangerous creature with whatever spells come to mind. As if anything will come to attack them. She doesn't think anything will, but she always assumes that things will go better than they should realistically. Anyway, Honey *is* cold but she feels too prideful to admit that. She struggles with this stubbornness for a couple of seconds before conceding. "A bit." she says. It is a lot more than a bit and she wonders if he noticed this because of her hands, but the warmth is nice so she does not pull away. "I can handle it!" she reassures him. "The weather has *nothing* on me." Not much does, Honey thinks, rather proudly of herself. She hasn't experienced winter yet, though, so maybe she's speaking too soon.

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

Valentin tries to contain himself at this declaration, grinning and eventually letting out half of a laugh. He doesn't know when her birthday is, but chances are she's not seventeen yet. Unfortunately, he wouldn't really be able to rely on her to fight off some creature, but he wants to picture it in his head. It would be so attractive... "Cold doesn't bother me," he tells her. He doesn't admit how easily he would melt in her home country. He would turn into a puddle on the Manila streets. It would be embarrassing, but even if he didn't have that in mind to humble him, he wouldn't want to tease her for not being able to withstand the cold. It can be dangerous considering she's not acclimated to it, and the last thing he needs is for her to freeze. "But it's easier to carry the spare coat on my shoulders." Valya laughs, bringing his free hand into his hair and pushing it out of his face thought it immediately falls down and hangs around the sides of his face again. "If you decide you want it, it will be all yours." Her hands would still be chilly, but he knows he has put plenty through a much chillier hand-holding experience. Valya would rather focus on ensuring Honey doesn't just freeze over right here in the forest. It's too bad they're walking too much to just cast something into the air. "Do you hear that?" *That* is referring to the sound of running water in the distance, which is enough to motivate him to be quicker as he increases the length of his strides to get to it quicker.

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

Honey is infamous for being a jacket/coat thief and she much enjoys being able to wrap herself up in other people's clothes, but she struggles for a bit due to her conscience. She would not want Valya to be cold just so she could be warm. She bites her lip, noticeably contemplating this as if it is some sort of heavy decision, before deciding that he's from *Russia* (she is not sure if it's that cold over there, but it is surely colder than it would be back home, she thinks) and can probably adapt to this climate better. "I do want it, thank – " She stops in the middle of her sentence once she also begins to hear the sound of running water and her eyes brighten immediately. Ugh, it would be too cold to swim, definitely, but it would be so nice to be able to have this spot to hide away in whenever she does not feel like dealing with the other students of Hogwarts. Maybe once winter is over (quite some time before then, she *knows*) she can return and enjoy it properly. That is, if it is truly the secret swimming hole that the two of them are hearing. "Yes, yeah I do hear it!" His strides are longer than hers so she speeds up a little in her walking to keep up. "Do you think that's it?" she asks. "We are *so* good." she boasts, celebrating prematurely. She does not care. She is very confident in the two of them and their adventure abilities. "Can you believe we just transferred in and already we've found the coolest place in the forest?"

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

Valentin's hand is withdrawn from hers, so he can remove his coat and pass it over to her while they're walking. Honey is right that the cold won't be much of a problem for him. He'll just have to ensure she doesn't touch his left arm while doing so slyly. Maybe he should just tell her about it because it's not something he's afraid of. It would be less mysterious that way, but sometimes mysteries are *exciting* and seeing others' shock when they touch it is always so amusing to him. "Here," he says passively, slowing down slightly for the purpose of passing the garment over to her. Once it's on her shoulders, his hand reaches down for hers again and he returns to his prior pace. "I think so!" he confirms, immediately brightening as he puts a little more excitement into his strides. Valya laughs along with her enthusiasm, glad she seems just as delighted as he is. "We're the *greatest*! Imagine how many students have been sitting around with this right under their noses, and we find it in two months." He laughs a little more, deriving more pleasure from the fact that he thinks this is just *theirs* than the idea of just finding it. Now that he's here, he feels a little stupid for thinking about bringing anyone else. No one he knows would give him this enthusiastic of a reaction, he thinks. Honey is truly the best, and he glances down to admire her before attempting to compliment her. "You're the best partner... in adventure!" He tries, but it's a little clunky. He will perfect it with time though, so he doesn't appear fazed by the fact that he fumbled it. Just then, he turns and notices a bundle of bushes. Glancing in either direction, it appears there is a wall of shrubbery that's protecting whatever water source is behind it. His free hand reaches out and pushes through it. Luckily it doesn't do any damage because he can't afford to get the arm repaired. Dima would be so disappointed... "We could squeeze through! I could blast it open too— Boom! Boom! But I don't want to mess with nature like that."

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

Honey shrugs the coat on and immediately relaxes once she feels how warm it is now. She should've asked him if she could wear it *earlier* the way that she normally pesters everyone else for their jackets, but it's so much sweeter that he *offered*, she thinks. Valya *is* so nice. She does not think she's met anyone before as genuine and endearing who is also so willing to put up with her antics. "Here, I'll try!" Honey lets go of his hand, up to the challenge of squeezing through the shrubbery. She does not mind, obviously, and the worst that could happen is she gets scratched up a bit. The sorting hat tried putting her in Gryffindor for a reason, after all. She is excited, anyway, because she can hear the sound of water beyond the bushes. She is a hundred percent certain that they've found it already, and she does not want to put off this discovery any longer than they already have. Surprisingly, the moment she sticks her foot in, the plants begin to recoil magically to form more of a passageway (albeit still a bit small) and she sighs in relief because despite how willing she was to just squeeze through earlier, this is much more pleasant. The first thing she notices is the sunlight coming from overhead, which is strange considering how gloomy today's weather has been. Cautiously, she steps through the tiny entrance that's been made and her eyes light up at the sight of swimming hole. She scans their surroundings and nobody else seems to be here. Most importantly, it's *warm*. "You've got to see this!" she exclaims, turning back around to face him and stepping aside so Val can enter as well.

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

It's a little more of a tight fit for Valya, but he's eager to get through onto the other side and see what she's so excited about. He steps through, feeling very reminiscent to the Fat Lady's portrait hole. "Ow," he lets out under his breath, feeling a stray branch knick the side of his face. Once he's standing on the other side, his hand reaches to feel for how large the cut is, but it falls when he notices the beaming light and the beautiful scenery in front of them. Luckily it's only a little scratch, not even enough to draw blood. "WHOA," he exclaims, voice booming as he rushes toward the water. It's noticeably warmer, which he's grateful for since he lost his coat. It hasn't occurred to him yet, but he would be rather disappointed if that meant Honey didn't want his coat anymore. He legitimately only brought it in case she would want it and she's mighty cute in it too. "Whoa, the drawing— It didn't resemble this at all," he says, laughing as he leans over and touches the water to see how warm it is. He's surprised to feel that it's the warmest body of water he's ever touched. "It's warm," he tells her, turning around to face Honey as he flicks the water off of his hand. He seems a little dazed and overwhelmed by the whole thing, gaze quickly floating away as he continues to admire the place. His eyes eventually land on her again before he announces his opinions. "It's beautiful. Isn't it?" *You're beautiful too*, he thinks. Valya's eyes roll in their sockets as he starts to blush, turning towards the little waterfall. "I bet it has a name, but it's something ultra British and obnoxious. We should try to come up with one though. Maybe?"

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

"We should!" Honey agrees enthusiastically. He is right that it is likely it is something very British and obnoxious. "You're more creative than I am. What do you think we should name it?" She is fairly confident in her presumption that he would be able to come up with something better. As ridiculous as it sounds, from his use of emojis alone she can tell that he is quite clever and creative and it has inspired her to step up her own game. Yves in particular has found the sudden onslaught of emoticons so confusing, but it amuses her to no end being able to scroll through her chats with Valya and look at how colorful it is. "It is *so* beautiful." she says, already wandering around to check out the rest of the place. She hasn't taken off ~~her~~ his coat yet because she is still 'defrosting', flittering around and checking out the various plants and shrubbery surrounding the place even though there isn't really much to see. Already with her mini-exploration after just a minute, she returns to him to drag him along with her when she realizes that he is not following. "Come on! Let's go around the rest of the place. Do you think we can sw – " Without thinking, she reaches out to grab his left wrist, then immediately draws back when she realizes it's... cold? "Oh, what the fuck?" she says before she can help herself. Her face immediately contorts into a confused expression. "That was *cold*."

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

Not usually one for perfection, Valya uncharacteristically wants the name for the swimming hole to be just *perfect* on the first try. He's opening his mouth to explain that the name will roll off of their tongues with time once they're properly acquainted with the place, but she touches his arm and he senses it because it's *his arm* except he really doesn't have to because her reaction is so painfully obvious. Her reaction rings in his ears, which are starting to burn as they turn some tone of red. His face is growing hot too, turning and staring at her in silence as his eyes grow wide and he struggles to compute a response. He's usually so witty in this situation, having been in it hundreds of times before except this is different because he wants to impress Honey and her reaction is less than impressed. Will she not want to touch him now? What does *Oh, what the fuck?* even mean? "Are you upset?" He tries to clarify, stood paralyzed where he is until he hears otherwise. He's really turning red now, which is all the more embarrassing. "It's... cold all of the time. It's robotic." Valya temporarily believes that that explanation is sufficient, and it should be except he quickly starts worrying that it isn't and continues his explanation. "I lost mine years ago. I touched something I shouldn't have somewhere my parents brought me... and then the Healing staff made an error and the whole thing was cursed. It had to be removed. I don't know why I didn't mention it. It wasn't that important... and it's usually funny when someone finds out on their own, but this is just embarrassing." Valya laughs, glancing down to the side as his left arm lifts into his hair. His cool fingertips run through his hair, soothing his otherwise quite well-heated head. "I can— uhh, carry you with one arm? Probably." He laughs again, a little less awkwardly.

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

Her eyes widen when he asks if she's upset with him and immediately begins to clarify. "No, no, I'm not upset! I was just surprised." She laughs, but then she notices that he's turning red and tries to quell her giggles. "You have a *robot* arm? That's awesome!" she says, "Well, it isn't awesome that you lost your arm. Obviously." she clarifies, feeling her ears go a bit warm herself. She fiddles with the cuffs of the coat she is wearing as she continues. "But wow.... it's really strong too? That's so cool... You're like a superhero." Honey is very impressed, actually, and this whole arm thing alone is enough to make her consider telling Summer about Valya. She has not mentioned him before because she did not want to be teased about it and certainly she has no plans of explaining that they were able to find a secret, magical swimming hole either because then she'd feel obliged to let Summer come along too. She can gush to Summer about this – Honey is certain that she will find this equally as interesting – and in general she can tell Summer about how nice and funny Valya is as well. "You shouldn't be embarrassed. It *is* funny. I was so shocked!" she says, laughing mostly at her initial reaction. Nonetheless, she thinks she should probably change the topic before Valya turns any more red than he already is. She feels badly for the knee-jerk reaction, but what's done is done and Honey's general philosophy for those things is that there's no use beating herself up about things that she can no longer fix when she's already done everything in her power to alleviate the situation. "Anyway! I was going to ask if you think we can swim? Maybe not today... But we should come back here together and we should." Honey does not feel embarrassed declaring that they will return considering she enjoys Valya's company very much and she wants him to know that. "You are so fantastic – I can't believe you were able to find out about this place and... Ah! Thank you so much for bringing me here." She realizes she hasn't expressed her gratitude yet when she knows he very easily could have invited someone else.

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

Valentin knew what she meant and isn't immediately offended by the idea that this whole thing is *awesome*. He agrees, and the idea that he's some sort of superhero serves to fuel an ego he doesn't need to fuel. "Sort of! I could *wrestle bear with one hand*," he tells her, exaggerating his accent and holding his arm out to the side to pretend to do so before curling his arm and flexing the bionic muscle. It appears no different from his other arm, which hides its strength well and is easily the most amusing part of this. Her reassurance that she was just surprised has returned him to a far more comfortable state once more, easily bouncing from embarrassed to invigorated with just an ounce of verbal confirmation of one's approval of him. He has a very sensitive on-off switch. Another thing that does wonders is how she transitions into what is an onslaught of compliments (in his opinion), bringing out a bright grin as he bounces on his feet. To combat this, his warmer hand reaches down for one of Honey's and he begins walking with her along the rest of the swimming hole. "We could; the water is warm enough! Actually... it might not be to your comfort, but you should reach your fingers in and give it a try before we leave!" For some reason, it doesn't seem important to him, so he doesn't acknowledge again that he doesn't know how to swim. Valya assumes that he will acquire the skill naturally once in the water as he's done previously. He's never really gone swimming in any other scenario than being tossed in and having to fight toward the embankment. He is good at fighting for his life, so he believes his body will turn on the moment it needs to combat the possibility of drowning. Whether that is foolish or not is yet to be discovered because he doesn't have the mind to fully consider it. His mind is more captivated on how Honey thinks he's fantastic and his heart skips a beat, grinning to himself as he enjoys the compliment. "You're *so* fantastic! Imagine if I had found this with someone else. I would regret it forever, so it's *awesome* you wanted to join me." Valya pauses, admiring her for a second before shaking his head. "I'm so thankful. We *should* return! We have to, or I will return without you. Enjoying it alone would be so boring though."

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

Honey laughs at the exaggeration of his accent, reaching down to touch the water of the swimming hole and she beams when she realizes that it is indeed warm. Oh, they will *have* to come back here. She has not been swimming since she arrived in the UK, which is far too long considering how often she would back home. She is so glad they've discovered this place as early as now so she has two whole school years to enjoy it, but then that makes her realize that next term she will be coming here alone, especially since she would not want to bring anyone else here... She brushes off the thought. There is no point in depressing herself right now when she is having so much fun at the moment. That is a problem for future Honey, she decides! "We will return! As if you could get rid of me." Honey knows she is a bit of a pest and she will not leave people alone once she has grown attached to them. Her old friends had often teased her for acting like some sort of lost puppy, trailing after the people she's interested in as if she doesn't know where else to go. She hopes Valya does not tire of her company, then, though she's still a bit hesitant to come to the conclusion that she is interested in him. Honey is well aware that this is a bit ridiculous of her, but she can put off that line of thought for a while, and by that she knows she will likely stay up thinking about this later. "So you won't have to be bored." she tells him, squeezing the hand she is holding. It feels very nice being able to hold his hand. It may seem small to him but it is a big deal to her considering she is so picky about who is allowed to touch her. "And I'm always willing to join you on whatever adventure." she says, "You just have to message meee, and I'll make time!" Honey feels very strongly about making time for the people that she wants to be around. Valya is very obviously one of those people.

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

Valya is much less conscious of the concept of *time* and does not experience the same angst-filled thought about what happens when he graduates. It hasn't occurred to him much since one of the first times they spent time together because he reassured himself that most of the time they're just texting anyways. He doesn't consider himself moving home or Honey wanting to return home either. He doesn't consider limiting his time spent with her two just Saturdays and Sundays in less than a year's time if he stays in Moonstraw with his sibling. All he can think about is how *right* she is; Valya can't get rid of Honey. "I wouldn't want to," he tells her, laughing through it though he's very serious. Even joking that he might just... abandon her and sever those ties, it hurts him a little and he doesn't want to consider ever doing that. When his hand is gently squeezed by hers, he melts a little and runs his thumb along her forefinger in a sign of mutual reassurance. "You're my official adventuring partner! You will be the first to know of any new adventures." He feels a little more calm in this environment— less hyperactive than he usually is. He can sense it in himself, but he doesn't mind. It's soothing being in such a state, but admittedly it's a little funny that he's that way around the one person that never seems to mind the latter attitude. "One day we can try to figure out who committed those atrocities against that building." *Mill* isn't in his vocabulary, but even if it was, he wouldn't have wanted to put it that way. What sort of processing plant would be in the middle of the forest unless it was for lumber, which it obviously was not? "We could play detective and search for clues." Valentin laughs, knowing it's stupid.

Honey Camacho

duckweed, sixth year
paintedred

Honey smiles widely at the assertion that he would not want to get rid of her. She is aware of how much that means to her and almost immediately finds herself senseless because of it – it is the *bare minimum* after all for your *friends* to not want to get rid of you. Nonetheless, old habits die hard and it is nice knowing that people want you around. She emphasizes to herself again though that she must be more secure in the people she chooses to surround herself with. She is an intelligent person who has good judgment and she would not choose to be friends with people who would discard her so easily. Confident in this, she lays these insecure thoughts to rest. "Ooooh, play detective?" she repeats, giggling. It is a bit stupid but that stupidity is precisely why she loves being around Valya so much. She has not met anyone who is also so comfortable with themselves, and she appreciates that greatly. "I bet we'll crack the case in no time. It'll be *elementary* or whatever it is Sherlock Holmes says." She exaggerates the British accent when she says 'elementary', sounding completely ridiculous but that just makes her laugh more. "Do you want to head back to the castle?" she asks, "Or do you want to adventure around for a bit more?"

Valentin Romanov

gryffindor, seventh year § prince of russia
ateleia

Valentin laughs, assuming she's correct about the Sherlock Holmes quote. He's never watched anything Sherlock Holmes related since it's not his cup of tea. Honey could easily be wrong, but even if she was, he still really wouldn't care. The fact that she's making herself laugh brings him so much joy, leaving him grinning each time he glances over at her. His heart is beating happily within his chest and he can picture himself using the little heartbeat emoji to describe just what he's feeling towards her in that moment. "It'll be *quite elementary*," he mimics, mostly to shut off the possibility of him suggesting something even more stupid. He could propose that the next time is more of a date, but he really doesn't want to do that just yet and get so ahead of himself. Maybe after a few more visits, he can propose the idea to her in an overly formal fashion, humiliate himself in the process and hopefully then lighten the mood even if she tells him *no*. Valya can handle rejection, he thinks. Honey will still be his friend. He's done it before, but he supposes that that was the reverse situation... Maybe he *can't*. No use thinking about it now though. "You suggested exploring more earlier, right? Let's do that, and then I can apparate us into the village." He's more thankful now than ever that he decided to get his license. He wouldn't want to do the walking back into Hogsmeade himself even if he *is* with Honey, who he could never waste his time around *truly*. Valya grins at her before gesturing towards a slightly smaller waterfall behind the larger one, moving around some stones to start their trek towards it. Maybe they can inspect the perimeter before they go, see how large the whole place is...