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[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

Who: Albus Dumbledore (lifeandliesof), Dro and whoever. :) Open.
What: Reclining beneath a tree
When: Late evening, 4th November
Where: Paradisa grounds, beneath a tree
Rating: PG. Will change if need be.

Albus didn't spend enough time outdoors anymore. He missed having the grass beneath his back and the wind through his hair. The past few months had been... not hectic, per se, but choked. He'd been engrossed reading up on the modern world, magical theories, new spells; caught up in practising and formulating his own spells, intent upon brewing his potions. And, if he were honest with himself, trying to avoid certain people.

He'd forgotten the reverent beauty of Paradisa. Of course, he would always be cognisant of its underlying sinisterness, especially after a weekend like they'd just had. But when was the last occasion that he'd taken the time to look at a sunset as breathtaking as this one?

Perhaps getting Dro had been a good thing for him. The large Arcanine was sitting on his haunches several paces away, looking at the sun, standing to pace every now and then. He was still very restless and melancholy after his mistress' leaving, but was still quite the outdoorsy animal. Albus had discovered that he grew annoyed and antsy if inside for too long. It was part of what encouraged the wizard to spend more time on the grounds, and thereby spend more time with his new friend. Sometimes, he saw Dro concentrating fixedly on a point in the distance, in the forest. He'd yet to divine what that was about.

Albus lay back against the tree, relaxing. It was cool out, but not too cool. He'd been out here for quite some time, and had stayed up quite late last night, having found a particularly interesting book on alchemy. Today, though, his reading material was a bit lighter; an anthology of Caribbean poetry. It was enchanting. Even so, his eyelids drooped. It was so nice out, perhaps he would just take a short nap...

[ooc; SORRY ABOUT THE TL;DR. just needed to get that out. :3]

Comments

[eyesweregold.livejournal.com]

Risika was also wandering the grounds, dressed as per usual in jeans and a tank top. The cold didn't affect her, after all. She saw the dog first, and whistled to it, in a pitch a bit higher than humans could in order to help it carry.

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

Dro cocked his head immediately, and turned his large body towards the girl. Neither her look nor her smell were familiar. He fixed his eyes on her, letting out a small growl that was more curious than threatening.

The soft growl alerted Albus, and his eyes slid open at once.

[eyesweregold.livejournal.com]

"Oh, Albus!" She smiled in greeting, continuing to walk over. "He's yours?"

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

Albus smiled warmly upon seeing Risika. He hadn't spoken to her in quite some time, and sat up to address her properly.

"Risika, my dear, hello. Yes, he is; he came into my care recently."

[eyesweregold.livejournal.com]

"Recently?" Her face betrayed a hint of worry. "...did someone leave?"

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

He nodded solemnly.

"An acquaintance of mine left the castle several weeks ago. I found Dro wandering the hall outside of her room."

[eyesweregold.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry to hear that."

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

He waved a hand casually.

"Thank you, but I'm fine. Dro is suffering far more than I am."

He paused, and straightened a little, looking up at the girl.

"How are you, Risika? I haven't seen you in quite some time."

[eyesweregold.livejournal.com]

"Oh, things are moving on much as they usually do, despite the Castle making changes now and then. I've been spending a bit of time outside, I guess - the cold doesn't bother me." As evidenced by her choice of clothing - a tank top over jeans, more suited to the summer.

(Yeah, I don't know either)

[housewareshero.livejournal.com]

Ash had decided he'd had enough of wandering the halls and seeing all the non-creepy decor, so he'd grabbed himself a soda, left that endlessly chattering journal on his dresser, and headed out onto the grounds, himself.

Finding the redhead dozing off under a tree wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind - his ideal situation had been to find some cute girl and hit on her - but company was company, and as such, he wandered up and initiated a friendly conversation the best way he knew how.

"Hey," he spoke up, nudging Albus' leg with the toe of his boot. "Rip Van Winkle."

(oiuoiuodss <33333)

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

The poke surprised Albus, but honestly, living in Paradisa, it wasn't the strangest thing that could happen when one lay down to nap beneath a tree. He slid one eye open, and then the other, taking in the unfamiliar man standing above him. He smiled right away, but didn't sit up.

"Hello," he said, tilting his head. "It's only been about 20 minutes, rather than years, but there are far worse things to be called, I think."

[housewareshero.livejournal.com]

"Hell're you sleepin' all the way out here for? We gotta castle fulla perfectly good Posturepedics." Ash snorted out a laugh, then knelt down a little and held his hand out for Dro to sniff. "Hey, pup."

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

He sits up a bit, an amused look on his face. 'Posturepedics'? He could discern what it was from the etymology, but he made a note to look it up at a later date anyway.

"But the castle doesn't have a view of nature as majestic as this, does it?"

Dro looked over at the man, but didn't go over. Instead, he gave Ash a slightly haughty look. Albus gave a small smile of apology.

"I'm afraid that while he's not unfriendly, he's not very sociable."

[ ooc; Dro, btw, is a little over six feet tall, even on four feet :3 ]

[housewareshero.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, you know, mattresses." He shrugged. "As for the view? Eh, I guess not? I haven' really noticed."

Ash raised an eyebrow at Dro. "That's, uh, fine by me. Long's I don't get on his bad side."

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

"Ah." Albus gestures to the grass. "It's actually very comfortable here. The view becomes a bit monotonous in its perfection, I suppose, but I haven't really took it in in a long time."

Dro blinked at Ash a few more times before lying down, resting his head on his large paws. Albus smiled wryly at him.

"You've nothing to worry about, sir. I've never seen him behave aggressively towards anyone who wasn't attempting harm."

[housewareshero.livejournal.com]

Rip Van Winkle was using an awful lot of big words, so Ash did what he thought worked best - nodded slowly, looking Thoughtful And Understanding until they clicked. Everything looks the same, but it's still pretty, and the dog don't bite. Got it.

That having cleared itself up, he gestured toward Dro with a tilt of his head. "He come here with you?"

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

Albus sat up, folding his long legs under him as he looked up at the man.

"Oh, no. He came into my care recently. There are others of his species with other residents in the castle, though. What do you know about world changes?"

He was assuming that this fellow was relatively new.

[housewareshero.livejournal.com]

"Not a lot. I heard some other guy say the whole place turned into a Western for a week, and I got here in the middle of the Undead Blue Light Special, but that's about it."

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

Albus couldn't help a minuscule smile at the gentleman's quirky phrasing of Halloween past.

"Well," he began to explain, "when the world changed in January, we were transported to a country where animals like these were trained for battle in competitions, and also for companionship. They were called pokemon. Dro here is an Arcanine. When Paradisa reverted to it's normal appearance, some of the pokemon stayed."

[housewareshero.livejournal.com]

Quirky was one of Ash's strong suits, intentional or not.

"Huh! So... it was kinda like dog fights, only ...with really big dogs?"

[iownthehallows.livejournal.com]

Gellert walks out of the castle with the intention of walking the grounds. He stops spotting the red head in the grass before giving him a respectful bow.

His chest mocks him painfully as he excercises his self control and spins on his heel walking away from Albus, well aware that he made the other man more than a little uncomfortable. Not exactly the feeling he wished the other man to experience at the sight of him.

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

Albus watched him walk away.

[malfoy-purity.livejournal.com]

The soft crunch of grass makes the appearance of Draco Malfoy known as he looks up at the sky, appearing beside the headmaster.

"It's starting to feel like Scotland now, why does it have to be so bloody cold?"

He asks huffing in annoyance.

"Morning Sir."

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

ALbus' mouth curved in amusement at the blond's appearance, and his words.

"Good evening, Draco. And it is getting rather late in the year; it's only natural."

[malfoy-purity.livejournal.com]

"Yes but it's miserable, it's not sun it's not snow it's just...grey," he murmured a thin hand waving in the air before he shoved them both into his pockets. He glances down at the man on the floor.

"Why are you sat in the grass?"

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps. But Scotland had far more dreary weather than this. I'd say this is actually pleasant."

Albus looked down at the grass. He knew what Draco referred to, of course, but pretended not to. Why? Why not.

"Yes, I suppose I could have gotten a blanket to spread before I sat. But I don't need one."

[malfoy-purity.livejournal.com]

[Blinks down at him]

I meant why are you out here, in November, acting like a Ravenclaw sir?

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

Albus' smile widened; a brow lifted slightly.

"And what, exactly, does a Ravenclaw act like, Draco? I ask out of genuine curiosity; I'm not trying to be facetious."

[malfoy-purity.livejournal.com]

Draco slid down and sat in the grass looking up at the canopy of the tree.

"Oh you know..." He replied breezily before glancing down back at Albus.

"Head always in a book regardless of what's going on around them. Liable to try and study on the first day of term."

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

Still mildly amused, Albus moved over a little to give him room.

"That's a bit of an unfair assessment, don't you think?"

[malfoy-purity.livejournal.com]

Not really, I saw it for six years. That much couldn't have changed since your day surely?

Unless, did you not go to Hogwarts then, sir?

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

"I meant that it's a generalisation. A bit like saying that all Gryffindors are headstrong, or all Slytherins are sly."

He chuckled shortly, a brow raised.

"I did."

[malfoy-purity.livejournal.com]

"I suppose, I mean no one could accuse Crabbe and Goyle of..."

He frowned softly, gazing back at the castle as an uncomfortable pause descended upon them.

"It feels weird that you were ever young enough to go to Hogwarts..Was it very divided when you were there or did that happen after?"

[lifeandliesof.livejournal.com]

Uncomfortable for Draco, perhaps; Albus was quite at ease. Though he wasn't going to deign to respond to the first part of Draco's statement.

"There always was, and always will be that element of competition and rivalry amongst the Houses. From what I have heard, however, it becomes more and more pronounced in the future."

[malfoy-purity.livejournal.com]

"Well, I guess it is a little stronger now. I suppose it was only natural though, what with the dark lord and everything. People all kept assuming we were going to corrupt their children or something."