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Post by Scarlet McElroy on Jul 5, 2006 14:46:54 GMT -5
The air was humid, the sun was burning, and there was no breeze; basically, a nice day to have some freezing water against your body.
The Intermise had gone to the waterfall for that very reason.
Sure, she could have gone to the pool. It was nearer, and guaranteed to be perfectly clean, but no. Scarlet preferred, by a mile, sitting on the bank of the rippling pool at the bottom of the waterfall, instead of spending her time choking on the sharp chlorine. By. A. Mile.
She was wearing a Ralph Lauren blue shirt, which was completely open and revealing her red and black patterned bikini top, as well as a good amount of pale, freckled stomach. Halfway to the waterfall, when she was sure that there was hardly any people around, she had taken off her pair of denim cut-offs, just walking the remaining distance in her bikini bottoms.
There was a pale blue bag in Scarlet's hand, which had several magazines, a book and a little blanket for her to sit on inside it.
When she reached the pool, she sat on the edge of the pool of clear water, shirt still on and covering her sensitive shoulders, her legs out, feet dangling in the water. She had an unmatched cap on her head, protecting it from the sun, and a magazine opened as she began to read.
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Post by Faith Halliwell on Jul 7, 2006 10:48:02 GMT -5
Faith had left her brother in the school, wanting to explore the grounds instead. She didn't have homework, so why not take advantage of them? She had brought Maximus with her, and they had explored the grounds together. There was much laughter and play going on here.
Now they were going to the waterfall they had heard of. Maximus, always eager to get in the water, wanted to swim. She wanted to just sit there, so he would stay out of the water until the very end, if at all. She didn't want a wet dog climbing all over her.
As they rounded a corner, Maximus darted away from her and headed straight for another girl. Faith's eyes widened and she yelled,"Max!" The dog came to a screeching halt three feet behind the girl and looked back at Faith, pouting.
Faith jogged over to him and glared at him. She walked over to the girl, Max at her feet, and said,"I"m sorry about that. He likes to meet new people..." Indeed, Max was trying to get at Scarlet as best he could, but Faith kept a firm hold on his collar.
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Post by Scarlet McElroy on Jul 7, 2006 11:06:24 GMT -5
"MAX!"
A frantic voice sounded from behind Scarlet, who turned her head so fast that her neck cricked. She had jumped, dropping her magazine to the ground, where it rolled down into the water, and the wind, which had hit her face when she turned, knocked her cap from her head, which also blew into the water.
Great. The only breeze that there had been all day had to come at just that moment.
Suddenly, she saw the animal. "Aw my God!" The Intermise squealed. "He's so cute!" What a typical girl reaction. "Come here! Oh yes, come here! Oh, who's the cutest little thing I've ever seen? You are! Aw!"
She looked up at the dog's owner, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand. "That's okay, I love dogs. When I turned around and saw him I thought it was my dog... Merlin, they could be mirror images... 'Cept my dog's whiter. Hi, I'm Scarlet. What's your name?"
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Post by Faith Halliwell on Jul 7, 2006 12:22:08 GMT -5
Faith saw her hat and magazine blow into the water. Her wand came out, and she flicked it at them to get them to soar into the air and into her hands as she released Max, letting him check out the girl as she petted him. His tail was wagging like crazy.
She tapped the hat and the magazine, and they dried, returning to look as if they were brand new. "I'm sorry. Here you go." She handed her the hat and the magazine and sat down beside her, Max laying down between them.
She grinned and said,"You have a Retriever, too? That's soo cool! I'll have to meet him sometime!" She scratched Max behind the ears. "I'm Faith. I'ts nice to meet you!" She smiled and said,"This is Maximus, but we just call him Max for short." As if on cue, Max tried to lick Scarlet's face.
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Post by Scarlet McElroy on Jul 7, 2006 12:45:45 GMT -5
Scarlet paused as Faith passed her stuff back, before grinning mischievously and putting the cap back on her head. Then, with out a trace of hesitation, she flung the magazine as hard as she could out into the pool of the waterfall. She turned to Faith, laughing at her sure-to-be-rather-shocked expression, and explained, "It's okay. It's my sister's." She just happened to forget to mention that they were almost identical. "The only one she hasn't read. It was boring, anyway."
"Yeah, you will. Want me to go get him? I could send a patronus up to my brother; he'll send him down. That fat dog needs some exercise, so I might as well..."
She giggled as the dog tried to lick her face, and petted his ears, scratching him behind the ears where her own dog enjoyed it. "My dog's name is... Barker. I know. Stupid. It sounds like I chose it when I was about three or something."
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Post by Faith Halliwell on Jul 7, 2006 13:03:11 GMT -5
She did, in fact, have a confused look on her face. When she mentioned it was her sister's, she just laughed and said,"Okay. Now it makes sense."
Her face brigthened and she said,"Yeah! I bet Max would go crazy! And I'd love to meet him. I love dogs!"
She smiled and said,"It's not stupid. I've heard worse. Trust me. Our neighbors named their dog Dog, so Barker isn't bad." She grinned.
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Post by Scarlet McElroy on Jul 7, 2006 13:17:35 GMT -5
Scarlet grinned. "Yeah, we're not big fans of each other, just put it that way."
She waved her wand, murmuring the spell beneath her breath. A little silver cat flew from the wand tip, leaping and landing on its paws. It set off at a run toward the castle. "Barker's a wimp. He'll just run away from Max for a bit, before giving up, rolling onto his back and flinging his legs about in a sort of 'surrender' action. I bet you that's what he'll do!"
"Oh my gosh, that's so weird! My uncle named his Golden Retriever that! He found her as a puppy by the side of the road, in a sack, being kicked around by a group of boys. He rescued her, and named her... Girl. Or Dog, I can't remember which."
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Post by Faith Halliwell on Jul 8, 2006 22:54:14 GMT -5
She laughed and said,"I don't have a sister, but me and my big brother are really close. He's raised me these past few years." Her smile faltered only slightly. She'd gotten over her parent's deaths long ago, for she'd barely known them, unlike her brother.
"I can't wait to meet him! And if he does, it'll be something we can laugh at!" She grinned and said,"Max will just start wagging his tail and then try and tackle him and play with him. He loves to play!"
"That is weird!" She smiled and said,"I'm glad he saved her. That's so awful! How can people do that?!" She smiled again and said,"But at least she got a good home in the end away from those mean boys!"
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Post by Scarlet McElroy on Jul 9, 2006 13:47:42 GMT -5
"I prefer my brother to my sister. We're closer, too. He raised you?" Scarlet paused. "But... what of your parents?"
"Yeah, it does get pretty funny. And Barkers too lazy to play. He doesn't really get fetch, and runs halfway after the ball - or stick, whatever - before deciding that he can't really be bothered with the pointless game and goes to sleep."
"I know, that's what I said! She was a really little puppy at the time, and I was just like, 'How can somebody be so cruel?' And the worst thing was that the boys seemed to get some sort of sick pleasure from it. What other reason is there for them to be kicking a baby animal about?" She shook her head. "The dog was alright, though."
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Post by Faith Halliwell on Jul 9, 2006 13:58:56 GMT -5
She smiled and said,"Yeah, he raised me from the time he was 13. My parents were killed by Death Eaters when I was 11. I didn't really remember much about them, since they were often at work, but I did understand what had happened. I'm okay now, though... I just think it hurts Jon more than he'll ever admit..."
She laughed and said,"Yeah. Max will happily fetch the ball, but when he's tired, he'll just drop the ball and lay down andgo to sleep after looking at you like 'What? I'm not fetching that stupid ball anymore right now. Maybe later...' Then he'll yawn and just go to sleep."
"I'm glad she was alright. I can't stand when people pick on little animals and kids. It makes me so mad. If I ever catch people bullying, I'll have a few words to say to them. I might even have to use a hex or two." She shrugged and said,"As long as the kid or animal is alright, though, I don't care what the cost is."
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Post by Scarlet McElroy on Jul 9, 2006 14:37:06 GMT -5
"Oh, I'm sorry... I've never lost a loved one in my life... I can't imagine how hard it must be..."
"I'm like that. If I see someone defenseless, with not a chance against a bully, I can't help but get involved, usually with fists."
A loud, piercing whistle came from behind them, and Scarlet turned to see her brother, standing far away from them on the grounds. He bellowed, "CALL HIM!" And Scarlet screamed her dog's name. Barker turned from Adam, and began to pelt, full speed toward the two girls and the other dog.
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Post by Faith Halliwell on Jul 9, 2006 14:55:15 GMT -5
"It was hard in the beginning, but it was so much easier on me than on Jon. My parents were so tied up with their work, that it was usually just me and Jon anyway. When they died, he got more reserved and protected me even more..."
"Yeah. I'm not the best fighter with my fists, but I'm pretty useful with my wand..."
When she saw the dog running, she laughed. Max jumped up and ran toward him, barking up a storm. He tried to tackle the other dog. He wanted to play!
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Post by Scarlet McElroy on Jul 9, 2006 15:06:52 GMT -5
"Aw..." Scarlet gently patted her arm.
"I'm pretty decent with both fighting skills, really."
Scarlet waved at her brother, who turned and started to jog back up to the castle, and laughed as Barker narrowly dodged the other dog and raced toward his owner, whose face turned from glee, to fright. She tried to stand, but just as she was in a crouching position, ready to push herself to her feet, the Golden Retriever barreled into her, knocking her backward into the shallow, icy water. She let out a squeal and a gasp, and the dog bounced around her gleefully, both now soaking wet.
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