Hanging

[Ian Flanagan]

Ian leaned over the railing, his arms crossed beneath him over his abdomen to protect him from the pushing of the railing under the pressure of his own body. A light spring breeze ruffled his red hair as he craned his neck to watch the students in the courtyard; a couple he didn't know were seated not far beneath and he'd been spying on their amorous caresses with a boredom that had no alternative. He looked off to the left now; a Everard boy was arguing softly with the air, frustration marring his features. Not loudly enough to be heard so Ian remained relatively uninterested. He loathed weekends after the bleary Saturday morning faded; what was left to do until the evening came?

[Maggie Brice]

Maggie sighed as she walked slowly through the courtyard. The sun was warm, and everything seemed at peace. On this type of day, Maggie would go to the beach and perhaps bring a book. But today, Maggie felt terribly ... bored. Now that she didn't have the daily letters to look foward to, Maggie suddenly realized how obsessed she had been with her love life. She hadn't put in enough effort to make any real friends. She felt utterly lonely.
The breeze blew some strands of hair into her eyes, and she turned her head to the breeze, and brushed them out. She found herself looking in the direction of a familiar figure with bright red hair. She didn't know who he was, but she had seen him before somewhere.
Shrugging to herself, she took out a piece of paper and a quill.
On the paper she wrote, "Would you like to join me for a walk?" in her neat handwriting. Folding the paper carefully, she got out her wand, and sent it floating to him, before she could really consider what she doing.
The paper hit hid head by accident, and landed near his foot.
She waited, with her hands in her back pockets, looking up at him.

[Ian Flanagan]

ooc: psst! I'm on the balconies OVERLOOKING the courtyard . . .less you've got REALLY LONG arms . . . =)

[Maggie Brice]

ooc- lmao whoops sorry, i'll fix that right now

[Ian Flanagan]

Ian looked utterly shocked that one of the subjects of his observation had acknowledged him . . . he crouched quickly to pick up the note, still convinced that they were but extensions of his imagination, not meant to interact . . .unfolding the paper he blinked, not only had he been addressed but this girl had requested he leave the shelter of the balcony and . . . face what was real? Utterly amused and slightly unsettled, he folded the note into the shape of a bird and tapped it with his wand; it darkened and sprouted a fine coat of feathers; two opaline eyes blinked open, and the bird flew off to roost in between the buttresses, dropping a note of its own for a stone gargoyle beneath its flight. He leaned all of the way over the railing; his top half nearly parallel with the ground below, and smiled. "Where to?" he asked, indulging the intrusion on his aloof and elitist fantasy.

[Maggie Brice]

Maggie hadn't really wondered where. Actually, she hadn't thought about anything entirely, this entire experiance seemed surreal. Her mind grappling for an answer, she called back, "The beach."
Maggie wasn't actually sure if she was seeing him. The sun lay right behind him, and squinting, Maggie could only make out his hair, and dark jeans.
This all seemed strange. The world was at peace all around them, and yelling seemed almost innapropriate.

[Ian Flanagan]

"Right!" Ian called, and he stared consideringly at the ground. Very carefully, he sort of put one foot on the railing, pushing himself up and over so that his feet were between the gaps in the balcony, and crouched down, his hands now just above where he rested the balls of his feet. Ian tightened his grip and let his legs be pulled down by gravity; he looked back over his shoulder, his hands gripped tightly above him and the ground looking farther away than it really was . . .he sighed and let go . . . fortunately it really was only a few feet down hanging like that . . . Ian landed and sort of bounced with his feet firmly on the ground, standing up and spreading his hands tentatively; he turned to the girl with a grin. "Okay."

[Maggie Brice]

Maggie laughed as she watched him. "Most people usually walk." She said when he finally got down. She observed his face. He was handsome in an unusual way. There was some sort of grace or poetry in his features which Maggie couldn't describe. She paused at his eyes. They were blue ... no green ... Maggie stood there gazing into his eyes, in a silent debate, untill she realized she was probably making him uncomfortable. Clearing her throat, she tore her gaze away and stuck out her hand. "I'm Maggie."

[Ian Flanagan]

"Ian," the young man informed her cheerfully, taking her hand and kissing it, lately feeling a tendency towards formality and random bursts of charm. "Ian Flanagan . . . nice to meet ya," he added, slipping away from the formality and releasing her hand. He smiled broadly at her and scratched at his hair. "Walking is for normal people who feel they have time to waste covering old ground. I'd rather get on with life even in the littlest things."

[Maggie Brice]

Most girls would have blushed at the charming gesture. Maggie found it quite amusing. She wasn't one to read into little details. If Ian had at all found her random invitation strange, he didn't let on. There was a little feeling in her chest, that wasn't ianfatuaion or anything she had felt before. For some inexplicable reason, Maggie just felt like she would enjoy walking with Ian.
"Well then, let's get going." She said, turning slightly towards the direction in the beach. He walked by her side, and she decided to ask, "So are you well known through-out the school?" It was an odd question. "Because I feel like I've seen you somewhere before." She added.

[Ian Flanagan]

Ian nodded, looking down at the ground with a quick smile, his hands clasped behind his back. "Everyone knows me. And nobody knows me. Myself included . . ." He was watching the terrain turn from lush grass to a mixed scrub, rougher flora sprouting from the increasing dry ground, which was becoming lighter and looser as they neared the beach. "But I can't fault them if I don't know, can I? I figure I'm just Ian and that works, no definition required but I stay an enigma even to those who call me friend."

[Maggie Brice]

Maggie turned her head to look at him as he spoke, his eyes were looking straight ahead. She nodded even though she wasn't quite sure she understood. "You know, there's this quote I know." She paused for a moment, trying to remember. "Life is like a mirror. What you see out there, you must see inside of you." She paused for another moment and laughed. "Nevermind." She thought about how she characterized herself, and why.
She thought and shrugged. "Over the years, I would ponder over my actions, and wonder why I did certain things and why I thought a certain way. And eventually I see a pattern, that's how I can describe myself." Maggie wondered if she made any sense. "Like I can say that I am bold, because I say and do things that maybe other people wouldn't. And I don't care." Maggie hoped an example would help clarify. "So ... I think it's your actions that determine who you are." Maggie squinted, and looked at him. "Does that make any sense?"

[Ian Flanagan]

Ian started to nod, then stopped. "I don't know . . . " he said hesitantly, looking out at the trangle of blue he could now see spreading over the horizon . . .the ocean in view. "Actions seem a bit malleable to be definition or personification. I'd argue that thought is more indicative of who we are, and there's no guarantee they'll match." He gave her a half-smile and shrugged. "Trust me, I've done many things that are dissonant to my character . . . at least what I know of it."

[Maggie Brice]

"Well you may have multiple personalities." Maggie joked, hoping to lighten the conversation. She looked ahead to look at the ocean. It was beautiful. It was blue, but also a little bit green. Maggie suddenly realized where she had seen that color before. She looked at Ian again. "You're eyes are the color of the ocean." She almost whispered, and he looked at her, and she knew she was right. Gazing into them again, she forced herself to look away again, and opened her mouth to say something.
"I think you have to try new things. Have new experiances. And maybe you'll realize something that you didn't see before. A missing puzzle piece perhaps."

[Ian Flanagan]

Ian chewed the inside of his lip as she stared at him, and finally offered her a smile before beginning down the bluff. "That's life though, isn't it? A series of new experiences . . . so maybe we never know!" he called back lightly as his feet found their way about jagged stones littering the descent of sand. He skidded down a small dune, sending up a cloud of dust that puffed outwards behind him, and spun about to look back at her through the clearing sand.