sitting in the rain (jos)

[HECTOR ALLEN WULFE]

Hector walked down to the lake, a large canvas bag tucked underneath his arm. The clouds overhead rumbled, threatening rain. Well bring it on, he loves the rain. His steps raised a cloud of dust behind him. Man, for October it sure was dry. It was almost time for the cold to really set in. He could feel it. Which was why he donned a long brown long sleeve cardigan over his white tee shirt. Dark wash jeans hugged his body, paired with a pair of brown loafers. Lumbering down the long hill to the lake, Hector threw himself down underneath the largest tree there. He took out his wand and said some repelling spells, so that if it did rain his work wouldn't be ruined.

From within his bag, which was enchanted with an expandable charm, he withdrew an eisle, a large half painted portrait, and some paints. He stood up, straightening all his items. With a wave of his wand again, they all hung in the air, waiting for him. He grabbed a brush and continued to paint his setting. It was the sun rising up over the lake, its pink, red, orange, and purple rays contrasted against the dark blue of the lake. He smiled. Painting brought peace to his inner beast.

He was so concentrated on his artwork that he didn't know anyone had approached. It was still early enough in the morning that most students were still sleeping since today there were no classes. He flicked his paint brush and the paint drifted back to its container thanks to a spell of his own design. His muggle father had shown him how to paint scenery as a small child, as a way for him to control himself. It was one thing to wave your wand and have a painting immediately. It was another entirely different thing to make one yourself, by hand.

Even his good hearing couldn't tell someone approached. His painting was nearly finished now, his skilled hand painting the strokes cleanly and efficiently on the canvas. He scratched his chin, unknowingly leaving a swipe of paint on his chin. His work was almost done. It looked magnificent so far. All he needed was something to complete it...

(ooc:Hope this was enjoyable! )

[JOSCELINE AVALON NOTT]

Unlike many others, Josceline was not such a big fan of the great outdoors and the like. The impending rainclouds hanging overhead was nothing more than a calling out to Josceline to leave as soon as possible. Which brings to mind the question of why she was even outside when there was such a great possibility of rain in the very near future. Unfortunately, Josceline had forgotten her cardigan outside when she had gone to take a walk earlier to clear her mind. She had been woken up early by her own nightmares. Unable to stand the oppressive atmosphere inside, Jos had gone for a short walk.

In the time that she had taken her first walk to now, Jos had forgotten about the dry dirt cloud floating up to coat her shoes and her socks in a fine dust. Seeing this now, Jos was more or less annoyed at the current state of her shoes. However, no matter how much she tried, she could not prevent more dirt dust settling on her. In fact, her concerted efforts did nothing more but do the exact opposite of what she wanted. Now, annoyed, Josceline wanted nothing more than to find her cardigan and return to the castle where she could properly clean off her shoes. To make matters worse, in her frantic search for her cardigan, Jos had forgotten to grab another one for the interim period that she would be outdoors.

In her annoyance, Jos barely noticed that she was walking in the direction of a painter until she was very close. But seeing the magnificent painting in progress, Josceline felt her anger and annoyance melt away. She had always had a soft spot for such pretty works of art. Having had a 'proper' early education as her parents liked, Jos had been schooled in the ways of art. Although not talented in the way of paintings, her lack of ability simply ensured that Josceline appreciated the magnificence of the work of art. Watching this artist paint was quite a treat indeed. Each gentle stroke of paint streaking across the canvas was like a little miracle to her.

It took her some time to realize that she was staring, and improperly so, especially when the artist didn't seem to notice her presence. Embarrassed at her lack of decorum, Jos sought to escape without seeming like she was being a creep by just watching him paint. Backing off slowly, the Hufflepuff was not watching as she stepped backwards, her eyes somehow still riveted to the painting. Since her eyes were otherwise occupied, she didn't know that a twig lay in the path until she stepped on it, causing a loud crack to sound the silent morning air. She cringed at the invasive sound that no doubt notified the painter of her presence.

“Hello,” she said lightly as her cheeks began to lightly tinge with pink.

(( I am so sorry about the wait. Hopefully this will be faster next time >.< ))

[HECTOR ALLEN WULFE]

Hector was so focused on his artwork that he didn't even hear the approaching person, which was weird for a werewolf. His hand flew over the canvas, splashing colors and styles all over it. Soon it was a picture of the sun rising up over the forest, its rays casting grey shadows and warm colors all over the canvas. He smiled, wiping his face, accidentally getting some paint on his cheek.

The sound of a twig snapping made him jerk back to reality. He spun around, paintbrush in hand, armed to defend himself. But it was just a girl, a Hufflepuff. He smiled, putting down his brush on a stone near him. He reached out a hand to shake hers. She was clearly embarrassed to have snuck up on him, then made noise while he was concentrating. She mumbled a quite hello, her cheeks becoming the same pink as what was on his painting.

"Hello, how are you?" he asked, almost laughing. She seemed to be so upset, and not just by her interrupting him. But she really wasn't interrupting. She had just stumbled down upon him painting here. But what had brought her here? What had brought her down here with such a temper, only to have it abated just now? "And if I may ask, what seems to be plaguing you?" He smiled at how cute she looked right now. She seemed so small! But he could see that her temper might be a big one.

Returning to his painting, he lifted a hand to wave her closer, since she was so clearly intrigued by the painting. He picked his brush back up, dipped it in some paint, swirled it around on his painters wheel, and began to swipe it back and forth along the top of the canvas. He smiled. The strokes were soothing. They could sooth even the angriest of times his beast seemed to be having. He had discovered painting could help him relax a long time ago, and had since then been doing so every morning. He offered her the brush, excited to see if she would take it. "You can help me if you want to," he said quietly.

[JOSCELINE AVALON NOTT]

It was inevitable that her sudden arrival would cause such a jump and a reaction that would have been humorous had she been in the mood for it. Instead, she focused more on the fact that she had startled him at all. She felt guilt for having startled him and then distracting him from his painting and for breaking his train of thought. Although she had very little experience in painting herself, Josceline knew from previous experience in other fields that maintaining a train of thought was more than important. In many cases, it's the very lifeforce of the activity.

With his face turned towards her, the Hufflepuff vaguely recognized the painter as a fellow prefect in her year. Josceline couldn't help but notice that he had gotten paint on himself. “I'm fine. It's just your typical morning. Unfortunately, mine hasn't been as productive as yours,” she replied with a small smile as she gestured towards his half-finished painting. “How are you?” she asked politely as she was taught back the governess when she was a child.

“Oh, it's nothing,” she insisted with a shake of her head as the light blush returning to her cheeks. Although it had not seemed the case while she allowed her annoyance to grow earlier, it now seemed so trivial that she had become quite so annoyed about the less-than-clean state of her shoes. Or at least it seemed entirely silly to vocalize such a concern to a boy who may not have the same concern as her when it came to footwear. Looking at the paint smears on his face, it seemed unlikely that such vanity would occur to him. Although to her, the paint smears on him only added to his attractiveness whereas on her only made her look like a complete mess. “Oh no, I shouldn't,” she said, looking down as her cheeks turned to a light pink hue. “I would hate to accidentally ruin your beautiful painting with my clumsy hand.” Josceline looked back at the painting in question with awe and wonder in her eyes.

[HECTOR ALLEN WULFE]

Hector smiled at how fidgety she was being. She was clearly upset for having stumbled upon him and interrupting his time. But he found it cute and just smiled at her, trying to see that all was fine, and that he wasn't mad at her or anything. She brushed it off her shoulders that things were okay with her, that she didn't have a reason for storming out here. He could smell her anger dissipating and being replaced with nervousness and embarrassment. He extended his hand again, the one holding the paint brush.

"I don't believe that you could ruin this painting, not with me helping you. Just take the brush. I'll help." He held it out to her, his eyebrows raised, as if daring her to reject the offer once again. She was so cute this way. He'd seen her in classes before, and in the hallways, and she'd always seemed so... Quiet. Like she didn't talk much, as if she was afraid of her own voice. Hector didn't mean to think to rudely in his mind, but he was just mulling over what he'd seen her displaying in the classroom setting.

Hector set the brush down on the eisle and crossed his arms across his chest, resting against the tree at his back. He looked her up and down. Her shoes were clearly ruined, they were all gross and muddy. Well, if he knew girls, and he did, that was cause for unpleasantness. He knew better than to comment on them though, and kept his mouth shut. She mentioned that her morning hadn't been as productive as his. He laughed at that, his eyes squinting up, his lips curling to reveal his white teeth.

"My morning hasn't exactly been productive either. I'm still in my clothes from yesterday. I just woke up and decided to paint. I clearly didn't anticipate meeting a beautiful young lady such as yourself out here," Hector said, bowing slightly at the last part. What a player! Hector moved back to his painting, holding the brush out again, his big hand encompassing it. He reached out with his free hand and lightly took hold of her's. "Please. You seem to enjoy my work so much, let me show you the joy of creating it."

[JOSCELINE AVALON NOTT]

Despite her insistence, he seemed unconvinced that she would ruin the painting. Josceline wasn't sure if she was upset at that or not. On one hand, he had faith in her, which was quite sweet but on the other hand, he didn't believe her when she said something. Of course, it was quite possible that she was being modest as many people wont to do. To a small degree, Josceline was doing that very thing. So in all fairness, she couldn't bring herself to believe that the Ravenclaw had an ill intentions. Not to mention that the look on his face simply did not allow her to reject the brush that was held before her. “Just remember that you have been warned,” she said with a small smile, still feeling skeptical about the whole thing. After all, she remembered her art classes. She wasn't a complete failure, but she definitely wasn't comparable to his talents.

Josceline surveyed the painting again with a more critical eye than before. There was a significant difference between simple appreciation of a piece of art and creating or adding to one. She glanced over to the Ravenclaw started laughing, pulling her attention away from her scrutiny. He had a pleasant laugh, she noted. But thoughts of his laugh flew out the window when he started to speak again. There was just something even more alluring about his voice that demanded her attention. Josceline didn't think she could ignore even if she had wanted to, which she definitely didn't. At his compliment, She felt her cheeks flush with pleasure as she glanced downwards in modesty. It seemed that this was a common occurrence around him. Josceline was convinced that she had never blushed so much in her life. In fact, she began to blush even more at his slight bow. Surely, she didn't deserve such praise. She knew that there was a possibility that there was the possibility of him leading her on, but nevertheless she was pleased.

“For not being productive, this is beautiful,” she commented lightly as she gestured to the painting once more. When he took hold of her hand, Josceline jumped slightly in surprise and flushed once more at the feeling of his large, warm hands holding her much smaller hands. Whatever she had been expecting him to do, this had not been it but she was not disappointed in the least; she rather enjoyed the feeling of her hand in his. “Lead on then.”

[HECTOR ALLEN WULFE]

Hector smiled when she finally decided to take the brush. The wind blew slightly, feeding his nose her scent. Lovely. He inhaled quietly to enjoy it some more, but felt like a creep so he stopped mid huff. She was staring at his painting, and it seemed like she wasn't sure where to start. It really wasn't all that great of a painting. He was just an amateur. But none the less, he closed his hand over her's and made a few strokes. Pinkish red paint smeared on the painting, creating a glowing replica of the sunset.

A few minutes later though, he couldn't focus for all he was worth. He was close enough to smell her with every breath right now, and as creepish as he felt, he loved it. She smelled like cotton, and shampoo, and something else. Cinnamon maybe? He pulled away and sat the brush down on the eisle. Sitting down in front of the tree, he leaned his back against it. She was cute, with her brown curls framing her face, which was lit up with the cutest pink blush. He was pretty sure that this was the most a girl had ever blushed in front of him. Maggie never blushed. It was against her religion of something. Then again, she didn't really do much, other than turn him on...

Patting the ground next to him, Hector offered her a seat. But first he laid a blanket down, one that he just pulled from the ruck sack he'd brought out with him. She'd seemed upset earlier that her shoes were wet and kinda muddy, so he offered to let her sit on the warm blanket instead of the cold ground. "So. I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Hector Wulfe, Ravenclaw," he said, sticking his hand out for her to shake.

[JOSCELINE AVALON NOTT]

Seeing his lovely smile in response to her decision to finally accept the brush, Josceline couldn't help but smile as well. She didn't think that she would ever get tired of his smile. The Hufflepuff was determined to see that he smiled more if only for her own selfish reasons. The feeling of his hand enclosed around her own brought tingles starting from her hand and spread all throughout her body, causing a light blush to persist in her cheeks. The tingly feeling was nothing short of distracting. She could barely pay any attention to the guided strokes of the paintbrush as the Ravenclaw continued to paint a beautiful scene. Josceline could hardly recall a time of such an occurrence with her current boyfriend, Brad. In her distraction, it seemed to her that he was not similarly affected by her presence and was still able to continue painting the amazing scene even with her hindering his ability to paint. Due to her distraction, it had seemed to her to be quite jarring when he finally pulled away and made his way over to a tree. Josceline waited, unsure of what she should be doing. All she knew was that one minute, he was holding her hand and being all distracting, and the next, he was Had she missed something in her distraction? Thankfully, he had given her a cue by patting the seat next to him.

More than he could ever know, Josceline greatly appreciated the blanket he offered her to sit on. It was enough that dirt and mud and who knows what else had already been splattered all over her shoes, she didn't think she'd be able to take it if she had to sit in it. She would be hardpressed to enjoy the time she was spending with the otherwise perfectly lovely Ravenclaw. If there was something that she absolutely adored, it was being treated like a princess, which was exactly what he was doing to her. Slowly, she primly sat down on the offered spot on the blanket next to the Ravenclaw.

“I'm Josceline Nott. Hufflepuff,” she responded in kind as she reached to shake his offered hand with a slight hint of a hesitation. The idea of touching him again and causing that tingly feeling to return was giving her a reason to pause. As pleasant as it was, it was also highly distracting, but she quickly suppressed it as she realized that she was being rude. “You're on the Quidditch team, right?” she asked, quickly running through her mind everything she knew about him, which was surprisingly little considering that they have been going to the same school for the past six years.

[HECTOR ALLEN WULFE]

Hector was pleased that she sat down next to him. It would make them more comfortable, and maybe they could talk easier. After her little painting lesson, she seemed a bit shaken by something. Maybe it was his abrupt movement away from her? He didn't know, but he was glad to be sitting on the ground on this warm blanket now, that's for sure. It was kind of chilly out now. She stood awkwardly for a moment, as if waiting for a cue to move over and sit next to him. But since she had just sat down, he assumed that she was just mulling over some thoughts.

"Yes, I'm on the Quidditch Team. Do you often watch the games?" he asked, It wasn't very often that he was noticed as a player. He was a Chaser, but that didn't mean squat. He knew that most people watched the Seekers, to see if their team would get an automatic win. But he did feel good inside knowing that she noticed he was a Quidditch player. It always made someone feel good to know they were recognized. He folded his hands in his lap and leaned back on the tree, his head resting on the bark. The sunset was over now, and it left a dreary grey sky behind. Deciding that his painting was done for the day, Hec pulled out his wand and waved it, watching his stuff pack itself back up in his bag.

"Josceline, that's a pretty name, for a pretty girl," he said, smiling cheekily down at her. He wasn't trying to be a creep, but he did think that it was a pretty name for a pretty girl. Deciding that he wanted to know more about this girl, Hec leaned forward from the tree and moved so that he was facing her, not just sitting next to her. "So what are your interests Jos? May I call you that?" he asked. Sometimes he let people call him Hec, but only his close family. None of his friends got that privilege.