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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 17, 2008 23:54:24 GMT -5
Markise sat at the edge of the lake, arms wrapped around his legs, which he'd drawn up in front of his chest. He rested his chin on his knees and stared absently out over the water. He was still hurt over Dare and his Michael, but had come to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do about it, and so he'd be better to just move on. Which left him with no one, unless that Ariel guy miraculously came around.
Markise brought one hand up to his now-blond hair, stroking a lock of it absently. He'd decided after he'd left Dare that he didn't want to deal with coming out again, especially knowing it wouldn't do any good. And there was no one else around that looked like him. No guys with really long hair, or dyed hair, and definitely no guys with makeup.
Markise was still wearing his mascara, and just a little eyeliner. He'd toned down the eyeshadow. It was depressing. But at least he had a chance of slipping under the radar now. If he just tried to act straight. Markise's nose wrinkled at the thought.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 18, 2008 0:01:33 GMT -5
Ariel had only waited long enough to get settled into his dorm room and learn where all his classes were before finally letting himself put his swimsuit on underneath his usual jeans and heading down to the lake. What he hadn't expected was to see Markise. A blond Markise that wasn't holding himself anything like he had been on the train. Ariel very nearly turned and walked away, but stopped himself. He really did want to try out the lake. So he sighed and walked up beside Markise, "Any idea how cold the water is?" he asked, knowing the probability he would get an answer he could use.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 18, 2008 0:06:55 GMT -5
Markise blinked his thoughts away and looked up, then up and up until he got to Ariel's face. And blinked again. "I haven't been in," he said, suddenly self-conscious about his hair. He twirled a strand around his finger, wondering what was wrong with him, thinking inappropriate things about Ariel, when not five minutes ago he'd been feeling sorry for himself over Dare. But Ariel is hot. And single, his mind supplied. Markise was at a loss for further words, and his tongue swept lightly, briefly across his lips as he tried to manage his thoughts.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 18, 2008 0:14:56 GMT -5
Ariel looked sideways at the edge of the water a few feet in front of them. "So why'd you change your hair?" he asked, glancing back over his shoulder as he stepped towards the water's edge and squatted down. He reached out and ran his hand through the water, wincing at how cool it felt. It surely wasn't really cold, but he was used to warmer water, so he knew that if he went in it would be a shock.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 18, 2008 0:19:42 GMT -5
Markise sighed. "A lot of reasons," he said. "Mostly I don't want to go through what I went through at my last school. I did it alone then, too, and I'm not doing it again." He'd have done it with Dare at his side, but Dare... maybe Dare hadn't thought of him that way. "I don't feel like getting my ass kicked for looking like a fa~," he said, sick with himself for saying it, for changing, for having screwed everything up so royally.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 18, 2008 0:23:02 GMT -5
Ariel stood and walked a couple of steps back towards Markise, "That's why you learn to fight back. Learn a few good little spells, learn how to throw a punch, you'll be fine." It wouldn't stop words, but words could be ignored, even if Ariel knew how harmful they could be. He glanced back at the lake, debating. It was cold, but as far as he had heard, there wasn't anywhere to swim in the castle unless he was a prefect, which he obviously wasn't, and didn't care to be.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 18, 2008 0:29:53 GMT -5
Markise sighed, then looked up at Ariel, torn between hope and hopelessness. "I wouldn't know where to start," he said. "Unless you want to teach me." Had it been an offer, or a suggestion? Markise nearly sighed again. He seriously doubted that anyone could teach him to throw a punch, and as for the spells, he was rather lacking in charms and knew nothing about hexes other than what they felt like. Not really useful if you were lucky enough to be behind the wand.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 18, 2008 0:34:47 GMT -5
Ariel shrugged and settled his hands on the front of his belt, "I know some pretty easy ones. There was one that was always fun to use, I'm sure I made some enemies using it. You didn't see the results instantly, but you knew the next morning when they looked disappointed that it had worked." He smirked as memories of successful applications of that particular spell flashed in his mind. Poor guys, couldn't go a day without satisfaction.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 18, 2008 0:44:20 GMT -5
Markise's eyes caught on Ariel's lips, on that sexy smirk. "It sounds like it'd be good for people talking sh~," he said to those lips, then raised his eyes to Ariel's as though he'd been looking at them all along. Do you know anything that'll get people off you?" he asked. "Like, there's this one where it feels like fire on your skin, but nothing's really happening. Do you know that one?" Damn the bastards for knowing nonverbals half the time, and damn him for being too panicked to hear the spells the other half.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 18, 2008 9:46:42 GMT -5
Ariel thought for a moment, his eyebrows creasing as he ran through his mental list of spells, "I think so...I haven't used it in a while, though." He thought he knew it, he could be thinking just of a similar one, but he was fairly confident he did. "One of the best to keep someone from doing something, though, is just zapping their hands. It's a really easy, quick spell, and if they've got a hand on you you can just use it and, well, they're going to let go." He knew from personal experience on that one.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 18, 2008 9:54:40 GMT -5
"Oh," Markise said, thinking about it a moment. It sounded much simpler than that other spell, and a lot less likely to backfire and just end up pissing people off. "Will you show me how to do it?" Markise asked. He paused a moment, then unfolded himself to push to his feet. He gave a light roll of his shoulders to work out a kink from having sat like that for so long, then turned his full attention back to Ariel.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 18, 2008 10:06:14 GMT -5
Ariel nodded and took a step back as he pulled out his wand, strapped tightly to his shin with the sheath he used while swimming. He had grown used to keeping it there, and it was easier for him to reach down and pull it out than keep it in his pocket and worry about breaking it every time he sat. "Like I said, it's really easy, it's nonverbal, and," he looked sharply at Markise. "Don't practice on me." He wouldn't mind some of the others being practiced on him, it was good to see what the spell was actually doing, but he had a particular grudge against that one.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 18, 2008 10:13:22 GMT -5
Markise blinked, then nodded. It must really hurt to get a reaction like that. He was glad to be learning it. Markise slipped his wand out of a specially made pocket that ran down his thigh. He had one on all his pants, and he'd gotten good enough at making them that they weren't even visible unless you knew they were there. He didn't know how he'd coped before he'd had that. His wand had a pale, elegantly carved holly handle and smooth ebony shaft. He'd loved it immediately, and after 5 years it was still the height of fashion. "What's the spell?" he asked Ariel.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Oct 18, 2008 10:21:42 GMT -5
Ariel would have felt shown up by Markise's wand, but his own lightweight red beef oak wand, simple and smooth, was perfect for him. The thin piece sat snug in his hand as he raised his wand to show Markise the movement that went along with the spell, then demonstrated with his wand pointed at the ground, causing a small puff of dirt to spring up from the spot. "It doesn't make their hand explode or anything," he said, eying the misplaced dirt, "But it does hurt."
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Post by Markise Sterling on Oct 18, 2008 10:26:13 GMT -5
Markise nodded, gathering himself to try. He'd had to work not to be distracted by the way Ariel's hand moved, by the way it wrapped around the handle of his wand. That puff of dirt brought his attention back out of the gutter, though. Markise brought up his wand, thinking for a moment--he was crap at charms, and didn't know a single hex--then tried. Nothing. Dammit. "I think I missed something," Markise said.
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