3rd Bite is Friday Blues

[olympic_shark]

A) MORNING: Great Hall - Slytherin Table

[It's Friday morning and Rin is eating his spicy bacon, thinking about everything he has to do today, from Christmas shopping to study the new potion that Prof. Flourite has started with them - you could never do that early enough. He had passed the last test well enough, but it has revealed to him, that he still wasn't as good as he thought he was.

And then he has to go to Hogsmead shopping for presents, because there's no way he can get it all done next time. Besides Quidditch is starting in December, he ought to prepare for that as well. Gryffindor absolutely could not win.

He's torn out of his thoughts by the arrival of the owl post and to his surprise, there's a letter dropped in front of him. One look at the sender has him choking on the bacon one moment, and tearing off the top of the envelope the other. It was rarely that his step parents wrote him - for the obvious reasons of being Muggles - but sometimes they found a way how to deliver a letter to him, usually by someone assisting them.

His eyes skim through the page, a feeling of warmth spreading through him at the familiar handwriting smiling at him. He doesn't even notice how his perpetual frown drops, allowing a rare, unguarded smile settle on his face, as he reads what Russel and Lori wanted to let him know.]

B) DAY: Library - Behind a neat pile of books

[Rin is sitting behind his usual table in the library, a pile of various books on potion ingredients in a neat pile next to him. Let it be said that the 'Draught of Peace' was finnicky to make, but the more he understood the function of the ingredients, the less mistakes he'd make. Powdered Moonstone, Unicorn horn and Porcupine quills are mostly obvious, but the Syrup of Hellebore is tricky, thus there are more than a few Herbology books around him as well.

His quill is twitching as his hand flies over the parchment, taking notes of everything he deems as useful. He's collected over two feet of notes already and they keep coming, black ink painting the parchment with a dense, small script.]

C) AFTERNOON - Outside: Hogsmead, or on his way there

[Rin practically flies, even without his broom underneath him, out of the castle as the last lesson ends, in a hurry to buy at least a few presents before the shops close. Which won't be for another few hours, but still. At least he knows exactly what to buy, which saves him some time as well. It's dark outside already and the freshly fallen snow crunches underneath his feet. It's cold, but the running keeps him warm.]

Comments

a - trundles in slowly like helloooooooo

[tunedere]

You're in a good mood today.

[ Rin might look up to see Tokiya standing on the opposite side of the long table, already with books in his hand. He doesn't seem like he's going to sit down immediately, though. ]

^__^

[olympic_shark]

[Rin startles, not expecting anyone to chat him up, but when he sees the familiar face he relaxes and sends senpai a happy grin.]

Good morning, Ichinose! Yeah, my step parents wrote to me. Doesn't happen often.

[tunedere]

[ Step parents. Well... ]

Good for you, then. Did they send you Christmas things?

[ Tokiya didn't see his parents anymore, so it's a privilege he doesn't have. ]

[olympic_shark]

[Rin shakes his head.]

Nah, it's too early for that. 'Sides, I'll probably be going back down under for the holidays anyway.

They're just writing how I am, asking stuff, telling news.

[Rin was always happy to receive a letter from them. He liked to know they were well.]

[tunedere]

[ To that, Tokiya just nods. ]

Have fun.

[ He had little left to say, anyway. Family things weren't his forte. ]

Keep yourself warm. Training is in two days, don't catch a cold.

[really_sketchy]

[Namine is shopping as well but she hasn’t figured out what to get. She stares at a shop before turning and slowly moving down the street. She doesn’t spot Rin until he’s practically about to run her over. Her heels dig into the ground to stop but she doesn’t know if she’s quick enough to move out of his way.]

I’msorry.

[The apology is slurred together, leaving her lips just before a collision might ensue.]

[olympic_shark]

[Rin doesn't notice her until she's directly in front of him and has less than three feet to dig in his own heels to not run the poor soul over. Thank god for Quidditch reflexes. Except he doesn't calculate the frozen ground into his plans and slips on the snow, promptly landing on his butt.]

Ouch.

[There's gonna be a wet spot on his pants and he'll have to change once he gets back.]

Watch where you're going!

[The same thing could be said about him, though. But he'd been running and she was walking.]

[really_sketchy]

[Namine cringes and then moves to help Rin up. Her cheeks are flushed from embarrassment and she feels absolutely awful about it.]

I’m so sorry. Please let me help.

[Her attempts at helping are a little weak but she’s trying anyway.]

Or let me dry you off.

[There is a spell for that and it’s one that Namine is decent with thanks to her sister.]

I'm so sorry - not - but it was too strong a temptation to resist :D

[olympic_shark]

[Rin takes the offered hand and tries to pull himself up, only to find that her pull is weaker than his, but it's too late already and she's falling into his lap.

A startled, high pitched sound leaves him, and he blushes a fierce red. This is so embarrassing...]

Hey, what are you doing?!

[Somehow they finally manage to stand and Rin dusts himself off, decidedly not looking at the girl, that he recognizes as one of the Hufflepuff students. But he lets her dry him off, for the simple reason that it's easier for her to aim at his behind that for him, although he tries very hard not to think about how awkward THAT is.]

This is wonderful, never be sorry.

[really_sketchy]

[Namine isn’t expecting his strength though she shouldn’t be surprised considering he is on the Quidditch team. She’s seen Rin a few times when she goes to draw the players or to cheer on Kairi and now she gets to see him up close. Her cheeks burn just as red as his as she scrabbles to her feet.]

I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean too.

[She wishes she had her sketch book to hide behind.]

Are you okay?

[It’s only a quick flick of her wrist and his clothes are dry. She looks absolutely mortified and she doesn’t think there is a way to make up for falling on top of him.]

C) In Hogsmead

[tailoredgloves]

[She's missed the first few trips, so this is her first time in Hogsmead. While she'd like to spend few hours she has looking around outside, the cold has gotten a bit too much to handle. So Kirigiri is hovering around in one of the stores Rin'd be interested in, investigating wizarding goods.

These might make good presents, except she's got no one to give them to, and she's not even sure how some of them work. Perhaps she's even got the last item of something Rin's after off the shelf, in her hand. She's not anywhere near the counter, so there's still hope-!]

[olympic_shark]

[Rin had for each person, who would receive a gift, a shop. For example, for his step parents, he's always buy something in the Muggle world, when he was passing on his way to Australia. For Kirstein he'd always buy something at Zonko's, best something that would explode in his hands, once he opened it. For his team mates and fellow Quidditch players he'd find something in Spintwitches. For his sister something from Honeydukes. He still didn't know what to buy for Seth, but there still would be one trip and until then he'd surely find something fitting. And for senpai he'd usually buy either something from the Quill Shop, or a book at Tomes & Scrolls.

The last time he's been at the Quill shop, they had these fancy, elegant quills, that wrote really thin lines and didn't scratch the parchment and that rare purple ink, that senpai used, so Rin thought he might buy that. Except it had been sold out, when he came to the shop, so a book it had to be. He had his eyes set on one, before he decided on the quill, so he was currently running across the street, hoping there were still some issues left.

He tore into the bookshop like a maniac and without even a greeting up to the shelf, where he'd seen the book, only to find what seemed to be the last copy in the hands of some girl.]

Hey! That's mine!

[tailoredgloves]

[Unsurprisingly, the bookshop did attract her attention- everything else seemed distinctively wizarding and thus worthy of interest, but they could wait while she found out what wizardfolk wrote about.

They were running out of stock quite fast. But admittedly, it was the gift-giving season. Kirigiri paused to check pricetags in-between browsing books to give the impression that she had a mind to shop at all. While flipping through a fine-looking velvet tome, there was a cry that sounded almost accusatory behind her.]

What?

[She glanced down to the book in her hands, then back up to the boy who was most definitely not shop staff.]

Isn't this the shop's property?

[olympic_shark]

[...Ah. Technically, it was. But that didn't matter, because Rin was buying it NOW and if she wanted it, it was too late!]

I... I wanted to buy it!

[Otherwise he's out of options. The quills were sold out and he's not good with music, so he doesn't dare to buy something from that department - and besides, he figures Ittoki is gonna buy something there already - and he needs to give Ichinose-senpai a present. He always does.]

It's present for someone.

[He adds in a normal voice again, realizing, that yelling won't get him anywhere. He averts his gaze to the ground, rubbing his neck.]

[tailoredgloves]

[Oh. So that's how it is. It sounds a lot more logical than a boy looking like a highschool first-year bursting in and shouting 'That's mine!'.]

I was just browsing.

[He looks like he's been through enough trouble for Kirigiri to mess with him any more. She holds the book out to the redhead.]

Musician friend?

[Considering that it was a fairly expensive book and about music theory- not the most popular of topics to the average person- if Rin was willing to pay for this specific book's price-inflating velvet binding, the inference about its recipient isn't hard to make.]

B

[takethereigns]

[ Jean's a respectful guy, for the most part. He's not going to grab a stack of books and unceremoniously dump them on a near by table or make a ton of noise while he's trying to study too. That's just not him.

What he will do, is notice that Rin's there. He'll even slide into a chair opposite his with the two measly books he has in hand and comment offhandedly. ]

Trying to read the entire library again?

[olympic_shark]

[Rin's quill stops mid-word, as he hears the voice of his rival and looks up only to see said guy sit down across of him. He glances at the two books in his hands and raises an eyebrow.]

Trying to deliberately fall through?

[He counters. Seriously, like two books were enough to properly understand something.]

[takethereigns]

Maybe if you weren't hogging all the study material, the rest of us would do better.

[ Excuse him, he's going to eye the books around Rin more closely now, just to prove a point. And to further prove a point, he'll yoink one of the Herbology books from the stack.

Thanks! ]

[olympic_shark]

[A small sound, that can be under circumstances be classified as a growl leaves Rin at those words, but when Jean snatches away one of the books, he bursts out.]

Hey! I need that!

[Nevermind that he's not using it right now. And he's being 'shh-ed' at. Again.]

[takethereigns]

Yeah? So do I.

[ There's a bit of a satisfied smirk on his lips that Rin's being shooshed, because Jean's all calm and casual against the back of his chair.

In fact, he goes far enough to flip it open and start skimming through the chapters. Truth is, he doesn't really need the Herbology book. Neither does he find it particularly fascinating. He's just trying to get under Rin's skin for something to do. When an opportunity presents itself, they say. ]

You're not using it right now anyway. What's it matter to you?

C

[watchesthesea]

[Kairi knew she had to go to town and buy some presents for her sister and friends when she nearly bumped into the other by accident. Stepping back she was glad she had decent reflexes.]

Sorry.

[olympic_shark]

[It was strange how people seemed to be bumping into him today.]

Watch it! [Rin says annoyedly, when he recognizes the student as the Hufflepuff Seeker.] Oh, it's you.

[Well ain't that a coincidence? This was already the second sister whom he bumped into today.]

How's it going?

[watchesthesea]

[She gives a small bow. She still felt bad and at least had manners to know to still say sorry.]

It's going fine. All caught up with work and such, so I'm going into town to buy a few things. You?

[olympic_shark]

[It was universally known fact, tha Rin's manners were on rock bottom at the best of days. It wasn't that he was deliberately arrogant, he sometimes just wasn't able to find a good balance between politeness and assertivity, with his unsureness and the defenses he's built up. Well that, and he couldn't let others know so easily that he cared.]

Shopping for presents, mostly. At least those that I know what I wanna buy.

And you? Know what to buy yet?

[watchesthesea]

Crafting stuff.

[She didn't make it even more obvious than that. She liked to make things and she had planned on making all of her presents.]

I'm making all my presents by hand. Might take a while, but it will be worth it.