Fishing ?! [Bearcat!]

[YORI OSHIRO]

She had forgotten just how cold the early mornings could be. It was difficult not to crawl back to bed once Yori felt the crisp cold air in the Hogwarts grounds. The hufflepuff enjoyed winter for what it was worth, but the warmth of the common room was so much more comforting on mornings like this. She had something to look forward to though, and with that in mind, she kept her pace, crossing the lawn to the lake while shouldering a duffel bag . It was always so amazing how empty the campus could be in the early hours, allowing the hufflepuff to have a moment of silence or two before actually going about what got her up so early in the first place. The meetings with her cousin weren't a source of stress of course, far from it. Haruki and her tended to be something of kindred spirits, and so it was easy to relax with him.

However, there were certain things that she just needed a little silence to mull over. She had plenty from the past year to mull over as well, and it only seemed to be about half over. Yori hadn't truly expected herself to be in the position of champion, and it still seemed like a fresh shock several months later. Of course, she had learned to bury the fear better, especially with the weeks leading up to the second task. She was doing her best to prepare, but as she had learned quickly from the first task, it was impossible to account for everything that would happen. In a way, it was comforting, in that no matter what, the champions started out on an even playing field in one form or another. While one house could handle a flying section, they might not be able to handle a creature as well as another house could.

On the other hand, there was nothing she could possibly do to eliminate a chance of being so wholly unprepared that she might get herself and/or everyone else killed. Truthfully, she hoped of at least helping her chances by talking to her cousin. His knowledge of magical creatures was admirable, and though neither of them knew what to expect with the coming task, they had the history of the tournaments to use at their advantage. Just knowing one thing or another about common creatures could prove to be immensely useful.

Of course, she had no intention of doing such right away. Yori was here first and foremost to get away from the tournament talk. Fishing did serve to be a calming exercise, barring the occasional magical creature getting caught in the hooks. Honestly, the hufflepuff wasn't entirely sure if it was allowed on the grounds, but neither of them had bothered to check, nor had they been caught in the activity yet. With a gentle smile, she realized she was nearing the giant lake, and already knew that getting up so early in the morning would be well worth it. She neared the edge, thankful that it hadn't frozen-- for today at least. She carefully placed the duffle bag onto the ground. When the idea had first come up to try some fresh water fishing, poles were about the only thing she couldn't scrounge around within the confines of Hogsmeade. By the following summer though, she was carrying just a bit extra on the Hogwarts express. Hopefully, Haruki would arrive soon.

[/justify]

[haruki]

Haruki could not believe how unprepared he was. Why was it so hard to come across a fishing pole? Of all the things you can scrounge up in Hogsmeade, he thought. And yet he couldn't even find something remotely close to what he was looking for. Not even an old, beat up rod or something. So, the young hufflepuff found himself having to improvise a little bit.

Haruki quickly made his way over to the Great Lake in the early morning chill. Atlhough, he wasn't really quite walking, persay. It was more like a very fast penguin shuffle--he was just barely bending his knees as he scuttled across the snow, complete with his hands shoved deep down into his pockets. His scarf was wrapped tightly around his face, so much so that it covered up his mouth and nose. But perhaps the most peculiar part about his procession was that he was carrying a humorously long stick under his arm with a piece of dangling string at the end. It was the best he could do for a rod, even though he was keenly aware that he had nothing that could serve as a hook on the end.

The young man waddled up to the shore of the Great Lake, easily spotting his cousin who had picked out a nice, clear spot on the lake free of ice. Yori was unloading what looked like a duffel bag full of stuff. Haruki shuffled up into earshot, taking one of his hands out of his pocket and lowering the heap of fabric on his face. "Yori! Good morning!" Haruki called out has he quickly closed the distance between them. Once he realized that Yori was pulling some rather nice fishing poles out of her bag, he looked down at his large stick and dropped it beside the bag. "Here...this is my contribution to the fishing trip! Made it just for you." He added jokingly with a smile on his face.