trans_9 | On your broomsticks! [OPEN]

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On your broomsticks! [OPEN]

Following the instructions given to him by crew members here and there, Cedric stepped through a green archway tucked on a corner of the fifth floor and entered a grey void. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the sort of place that would be perfect for a day of flying. He imagined a bright grassy plain, a large lake, and a forest off to the side. Vague memories turned into vivid images surrounding him, so thoroughly convincing that he really believed he'd been taken from the ship and placed on a field back on Earth. It was quite a convincing illusion
.
All it needed now was the key piece: a group of brooms. He thought for a moment on which brooms to provide them with. Firebolts were the world standard, but he'd never known one well enough to be able to picture it accurately. The school brooms, Shooting Stars, were nice and safe for new riders but not quite reliable. In the end, he knew his own broom best: a sleek Nimbus 2001, gifted by his father. As long as he instructed the fliers to go slowly, they should be safe on those brooms.

Visitors would find Cedric side-mounted on a broom in his black and yellow Quidditch robes, gliding just slightly over the grass. As soon as he spotted them, he'd greet them enthusiastically and move to touch down. "Hi!"

((ooc: wide open for everyone to join in! We'll be doing some group exercises too, so thread around! Fly as a group when you're ready!))

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"I couldn't keep you waiting," he explained, stepping inside and settling beside her. He felt slightly awkward, but that was far less important than feeling clean and relaxed. This place really was something.

"It was great, though, thank you. I feel like it's been a very long time since I've been clean. Are you feeling better?"

Kaya, of course, felt less bothered by this: while it would have been unthinkable in her nation, the earth Kingdom had places like this if you had connections, and of course Billy had been kind enough to build it with help in the first place. Cedric, she figured, might be a little bothered by her frankness, so she tried her best to seem at ease and comfortable.

"Oh definitely! After all that flying and exploring I needed a dip and away to relax my bones! I figured you might feel the same way."

"I did," he admitted, glad to see that she was all right. Satisfied that nothing was wrong, Cedric relaxed against the the wall and sighed.

"So I gather that you're fairly well connected. Are your other friends around often?"

"Good. To be honest, after all that flying and exploring, I needed the time to relax as well. So I think this will be a treat for the both of us."

She grinned. "Well, I guess being connected is a way of putting it. They're usually around, although I've only had a little time with them lately, I've been so overwhelmed in med bay. there's Billy and Ronnae and Howard and Applejack..."

Cedric wholeheartedly agreed. What did appearances matter? They were here to unwind, and the steamy air was already helping him loosen up. Hogwarts had needed one of these rooms.

"I think I know some of those names. Billy's that good friend of yours who worked for this. And I definitely know Howard," he chuckled. "Is he always so worried?"

Kaya was definitely caring little about appearances: if she did, she might care a little more that she was only dressed in towels. Of course, that was less about appearances and more about how she used to get clean in travels.

"Yes, Billy is one of the smartest, sweetest people I know, and Ronnae, his girlfriend, is equally as nice!" She made a face. "Thats one word to describe Howard. But he's a pretty fun guy too, when you get to know him. Still, his big thing is running away a lot."

"Howard? Fun?" Cedric lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not sure that I can believe you. Intelligent, yes, but he always seems concerned about something."

Not to mention the sense of being judged he sometimes got.

"When he's not scared of things or running, I think so," she said, although even she had trouble saying it, honestly "He's had a hard life, with the Fayz and all."

Poor guy. "But I guess we all had our wars to deal with."

Cedric looked at her seriously. Yes, that was definitely a problem. "I've heard fragments about that. But I won't let him know I've learned any of that. I think he'd rather keep to himself."

He dragged his feet across the ground, still thinking. "You too, huh? You said you ran away from your tribe to learn and start fighting. You've mentioned some of it, but how long were you out there?"

Kaya looked confused. "Wait, Howard didn't tell you about the Fayz? But then how did you find out about it? Is someone from his world here too, or did one of his friends tell you?"

Kaya blinked. "You mean how long was I away from my tribe? A few years, actually. I was helping after the war, I didn't get to be in it when it was actually happening. But as soon as I found the people making the change, I did everything I could to help. Sadly, they all have their own lives on the ship."

She sighed. "But I have friends here too."

Cedric shook his head. "He's vague whenever he talks about anything. Something about a war and bad events when the adults vanished, but I don't know everything."

That was an interesting detail about Kaya's new life. She sounded sad when she talked about it, though. "There are others from your world here? I've only met Sister Nima."

"He doesn't like to think about that world," Kaya said, and honestly, she couldn't blame him. "Imagine one day, all the adults in your world disappeared, and all you had were the kids in Hogwarts, and you couldn't leave the grounds? Worst, all the food and supplies started to disappear. What do you think would happen?"

She still thought that was scary.

"Sister Nima is an anomaly, actually: she is an airbender, even though all the ones in my world were slaughtered except for one: Aang, the Avatar, master of all four elements. There is also Sokka, the brother of my mentor, Katara, MY mentor, Mai and Zuko.:

She made a face. "And of course Azula."

"Chaos, abuses, and worse," Cedric said immediately, deciding to close the door on that subject. He folded his arms over his chest, listening to Kaya's words about her world.

"That's terrible, I'm sorry," he said about the airbenders. Nima seemed all right, but they'd only just met.

As for Azula? "I gather you're not fond of her."

"Yes," Kaya said, glad he didn't mention death and murder: there had seemed to be a bit of that too. She was at least glad that Howard had made it out of that place somewhat able to trust people, even if he was too paranoid for his own good at times.

"It's all right: that was a hundred years ago, though it was a hard time for all involved, save for some of the people in the Fire Nation."

She looked serious. "She was the daughter of the Firelord, the main oppressor of our world, and a fierce warrior herself. If you encounter her, I would say it is best to go the other way: she's still not quite right in the head."

And mentioning this, she looked a bit guilty.

Cedric got the picture, or at least he thought he did. Her story sounded sad, even though there were strands of horror in it. "So she's dangerous, her nation hurt all of yours, but she's not entirely evil?"

Kaya sighed. "I'm someone that doesn't think you can be born evil, even if all the evidence suggests you're a horrible person. There's a part of her soul, I think, that was crushed into being the sort of person her nation wanted her to be. At the end of the war, she lost all of it, and it made her go a little crazy. Maybe I'm just a super optimist, but I'm hoping we can somehow help her."

"I agree," was Cedric's soft reply. "People make choices, but life guides them there. That can change, views can change. Not always, but I've seen it."

He'd worked hard at making a few people come around. Not all efforts had succeeded, but he'd make it. "Is anyone trained to do it?"

Kaya nodded. "With her, its never that simple. She is resistant and non trusting of all of us, and absolutely scared if water since that was how she was beaten in the end. We're still waiting to see if she'll ever change."

She sighed. "No one I think I trust. They were the ones that said that she was ok enough to walk amongst us. She isn't."

That was just horrifying. He clenched a fist into the towel, imagining how well that must've gone.

"And it's not going well. I'm sorry, but...in a way, I do understand. Many of us haven't had the easiest lives. I was the exception up to...you know, that point. Some days, I'm not exactly sure how I'm still going. It would be so easy for that to happen."

"Well I'll tell you what," Kaya said, playfully flicking some water at him that turned to steam. "If it gets to a point where you go crazy, or feel like you are, tell me, ok? And likewise, if I'm close, try to make sure I keep sane."

Really, they should try to cheer up a bit!

"So tell me more about this Cho girl. She must have been pretty special."

"Thank you," Cedric whispered, running his hand through the steam in wonder. "And you have my word on that."

He shook his head with a laugh. Was she just trying to drag his memory down every path? As he spoke of her, Cedric leaned back, closing his eyes at points to call something to memory.

"As I said, she's a Ravenclaw. In the year below me, actually. We started to talk in my fifth year, when we were rival Seekers on our House's Quidditch teams. She always had a sharp retort when we taunted each other, and her technique...it was something to see. She thinks about the bigger picture, her game's something unique. Then we met more often in our studies, and our skills complimented each other. We laughed so often that Madam Pince just about threw us out!"

She nodded, making sure her towels were tied good and tight, so there was no awkwardness.

If he hadn't tried to figure it out already, she was trying to get him to think of better times for himself. The idea that he would have to stay miserable all the time knowing that he had been killed before bothered her. She really hoped that wherever Cho was, she would come to the ship soon.

"Sounds really nice, what the two of you have," Kaya said, smiling. "I'm sure she's a very sweet girl. You never know: you might see her here on the ship. In any case, like many people on this ship, you'll find memories you can make here too, even if life will be a little different."

"A 'little' different?" Cedric had to laugh, though it almost sounded bitter. "It really depends on when she comes from, doesn't it? If it's before...she might still want me, we might be all right. But if it's after, she was devastated, I've heard. And undoubtedly she moved on."

To expect a sixteen year old to mourn him forever was absurd. She needed someone else to love her, and that was that.

"In that case, maybe you should just take this time to figure out where you are. Do things by yourself, enjoy what this ship can give you. If you happen to find someone on the ship that can take you to the place where she made you feel how you did, all the better for you. If not, there's still time to do what you want for yourself."

That was what she thought anyway. She brought out some water and had it hit teh rocks, adding more steam. "There's still so many questions I have about being on the ship and all these other universes anyway, and I've been here a very long time."

"I was planning on it," Cedric said softly, looking thoughtful. "I don't think I'll be looking to go on more dates, but I want to see what I can learn. How I can be at my best during the war."

He sobered, looking questioningly at her. "It seems like the truth's hard to come by. And I can't blame you for still wondering. But I'll help you if I can, all right? Better than dumping all of my problems on you," he added somewhat self-consciously, awkwardly folding his arms.

On your broomsticks! [OPEN]

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