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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Sept 30, 2017 12:39:37 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2017 12:39:37 GMT -7
Andy had recently taken up boxing as a way to get our her aggression, a suggestion made by her therapist at Mungos. She loved it. She was quickly falling into a more balanced place, she thought, now that she had a safe space to beat the crap out of something. She had even taught Lily some about it, which made her feel even better. She felt good about where she was at.
That didn't means he didn't still have breakdowns or bad dreams, of course. She was sure those would never go away. Still, it was nice to lift her fists and practice some one, two, boxing routines to keep her mind off of things, even if the punching bag wasn't in front of her.
She was walking into the Great Hall now for lunch and doing just that. Fists up, muttering combos to herself as she punched the air. She didn't notice that Riley was close by and that he could easily figure out that she wasn't just practicing moves. Something was itching at her, and a part of her was ready to hit someone for real.
Richie, her bowtruckle, was hiding in her pocket. He was a good friend, but he often laid low when her fists where in the air. He knew that meant she was looking for a different kind of comfort.
@riley
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Sept 30, 2017 15:52:34 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2017 15:52:34 GMT -7
Riley sat the edge of a lunch table close to the door. He wasn't sure why he had taken this end spot today. Normally, he was a middle of the table kind of person. He liked to sit where he could see everyone around him and he could either talk to those people, or just observe them if he was feeling particularly curious. Today, he was just reading. Yesterday he had started reading a book about how the different seasons effected human behavior and he wanted to finish it. He was hooked, as he normally found himself to be with any psychology book. He wanted to be a therapist when he graduated. He wanted to open his own, private practice, likely in Diagon Alley or one of it's conjoined alley's and take on wizards and witches who needed someone to talk to or someone to help them through their problems. He wasn't claiming to be an expert, but nine years of study did give him a greater understanding of the subject than most people had.
Riley lifted his head up from his book and saw a girl walk into the great hall, someone he knew vaguely as he knew most people. She walked into the room with raised fists and a determined look on her face. Riley first raised his eyebrows and then raised to his feet. Without thinking, he walked over to her, catching up to the mostly-stranger. "Hey, everything okay?" he asked her. To the Ravenclaw, it looked like she was about to punch someone. Like she had walked into the hall looking for a fight. And his instincts to defuse the situation instantly took over.
@lestrange
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 1, 2017 17:17:23 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2017 17:17:23 GMT -7
Suddenly someone was beside her and Andy caught her breath, being caught off guard, and turned and punched Riley right in the shoulder. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, pulling her fists back. "My gosh, Riley, I'm so sorry," she said again, her hands hovering over his shoulder but she was too afraid to touch it. "I was just practicing. You startled me, I'm so sorry," it was a pretty hard hit. Andy could hit hard now, having been practicing so hard.
Whatever had been bothering her vanished now and concern took over. She had punched Riley Fudge in the arm! He was a decent enough guy, as far as she knew. She didn't talk to him very much. Okay, maybe ever. She just knew who he was somehow. Still, he wasn't someone that she wanted to hit. She was really glad that it wasn't his face or she might have broken something.
@riley
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 2, 2017 16:28:38 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2017 16:28:38 GMT -7
Riley had seen that she was startled and he hadn't quite gone about talking to her in the right away. At least if she was going to punch someone, it was him and not someone else. He saw her fist coming at him but it hit him before he had time to react. She was good, he had to give it to her. He never had to worry about her in a fight, not that he worried about her, it was just more than an expression. The blow struck his shoulder and he bit his lips shut instead of expressing any amount of pain. Once it was over, he looked back at her and saw immediately the sorrow and worry on her face. She hadn't meant to injure him and likely hadn't been meaning to punch anybody, his best guess was that she was just too caught up in her own head and wasn't paying attention to how she was coming across to the people around her.
He reached his hand to this shoulder, sure that a bruise was likely already forming. "Well, you've obviously been practicing." he admitted, trying to make light of it, not wanting to upset her knowing now that it was an accident. he raised and lowered his shoulder, making sure he still had full range of motion and nothing was broken. And flinching a bit as he did so.
@lestrange
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 7, 2017 19:00:47 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2017 19:00:47 GMT -7
He touched his shoulder and she felt terrible. She shook her head, her brows furrowing together. He said that she had obviously been practicing and she chuckled nervously and tensely. He flinched as he moves his shoulder. "Here, here let me take a look. Please," she said, gently reaching forward to lightly make contact with his hand that was on his own shoulder. "I know a bit about this stuff," she explained. She had been planning to be a healer, after all, and had... busted plenty of body parts to know how to check up on something.
She had been second guessing the healing thing, though, but she hadn't told anyone else about that. She was thinking that her skills would be better used elsewhere. Somewhere where that hitting thing would come in handy.
@riley
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 7, 2017 23:24:39 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2017 23:24:39 GMT -7
At least she seemed to feel very remorseful about it. She even offered to take a look at it. Riley wasn’t entirely sure how much he trusted that she knew what she was doing when it came to taking a look at it but since she had asked, he let her. He moved his hand from his shoulder and let her touch it, even though any pressure on it hurt. He was sure it wasn’t broken, at least not badly if it was, but it would likely be bruised and tender for a day or two at the least. “So, can I ask you why you hit me? You know, just out of curiosity…” he asked as she looked over his shoulder. He didn’t know the girl well, but he hadn’t thought that she was someone who was particularly violent. Especially not towards random people. Had she thought that he was someone else? Had someone told her that he said something negative about her? He never knew exactly what the rumor mill was spitting out these days.
@lestrange
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 19, 2017 5:51:12 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2017 5:51:12 GMT -7
He moved his hand, for which she was grateful, and she just gently used her hands to guide his shoulder into a rotating movement. Nothing had been knocked out of place, so that was good. She hadn't put her whole body into it, which helped. If she had actually preemptively wanted to hit him then the injury could have been very different. He asked why she hit him, which was a fair question. "I was just practicing and... You startled me," she explained. She wasn't JUST practicing, but that was part of it. The practicing was because she wasn't having a great day... And now she was hitting innocent people.
She pulled her hands back, "luckily it wasn't on purpose or your shoulder could be worse. I think you'll just sport a nice bruise.. " she furrowed her brow. "I really am sorry um... Can I make it up to you?" she wasn't sure how, and her hands had gone to figditing in front of her now.
@lestrange (For his hyper awareness he could probably see her knuckles are bruised from her punching bag and somehow notice her arm have new muscle on them, indicating that the boxing is a pretty new practice.)
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 21, 2017 13:56:38 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2017 13:56:38 GMT -7
Riley wasn’t mad, and he didn’t blame her for acting in self defense, even if she had nothing to defend herself over. He had surprised her and he really should have been smarter about that. For someone who liked to think that he was great at reading people and situations, sometimes he could be completely clueless. He acted on his feet without thinking or reading the situation before he acted and that got him into situations like… well… this. The original sting was starting to subside from his shoulder and when she insisted that, had it been intentional, he would be have been in a lot more pain. “Well, then I guess that’s the bright side.” he smiled. She offered to do something to make it up to him and he noticed her hands fidgeting, she was nervous or upset, he didn’t want to make her feel bad about the situations, accidents happened. His eyes caught discoloration on her hands, on her knuckles to be more specific. She obviously had been fighting, likely with an inanimate object. And, from the bruising, it seemed like she was still getting the hang of it. “Um... I could use some company over lunch?” he suggested and pointed, with his non-bruised arm, behind them where he had once been sitting.
@lestrange
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 27, 2017 17:19:41 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2017 17:19:41 GMT -7
She chuckled nervously when he mentioned the bright side, then he said he could use some company for lunch and she nodded, "I would love to! I was here to eat, anyway," okay, Andromeda, take a deep breath. She was starting to do that thing where she overcompensated. She relaxed her shoulders, crossing to sit in the seat across from him. "I'm sorry we really never got to know each other, Riley..." she said slowly. "The truth is I didn't really get to know anyone until this year and there are a lot of people here," she chuckled a little again. He'd notice her winging her hands under the table, probably by the movement of her shoulders. He'd probably notice the why her eyes were slightly sunken in and she was thinner than she should be. She was still making up for a month of not eating, not too mention four months of barely eating...like now.
@riley
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 27, 2017 20:22:16 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2017 20:22:16 GMT -7
Riley wasn't sure if his reputation proceeded him in this case. Some people knew that he was hyper observant, most people didn't. He didn't try to keep it a secret at all, in fact, he was normally fairly open about it, especially if someone asked or commented about something in which it would come up in natural conversation. He wasn't sure if she knew about it, she admitted that she hadn't gotten to know a lot of people until this year, he wasn't entirely sure why that was. He didn't know her very well, he knew of her. He knew her well enough to know her name and to have recognized her when she walked in. He knew her well enough to be able to recognize that coming into the great hall, fists raised, was odd and out of place for her, but he wasn't sure that they had really had conversation before now. They sat back down and he glanced over his plate, taking inventory of the food he already had out.
"Hundreds." he nodded when she said that there were a lot of people here. He noticed that she was jittery and also that she wasn't really eating. He wondered if that was normal for her and began regretting not paying more attention to her before. "You want a sandwich or something? The turkey and cheese one is pretty good." He suggested, taking a bite of his own.
@lestrange
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 28, 2017 7:25:09 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2017 7:25:09 GMT -7
He agreed that there were a lot of people there, hundreds, and she nodded again too. Then he asked if she wanted a sandwich, suggesting the turkey and cheese. She looked down at the sandwiches and pursed her lips to the side a little. "Uh... yeah, sure," she reached forward to take one and brought it to her lips, taking a bite. It was good. But eating just felt so... trivial. Still, she had agreed to sit with Riley while he ate, so it would be silly of her to just stare at him while he was eating food and not take any for herself. So, she did. She actually smiled a little after her third or fourth bite of the sandwich. After swallowing, she spoke again. "So, one year left. Got a career lined up?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side a little in question. She truly didn't know a single thing about this guy other than his name and house. She felt like she had wasted a lot of time these last seven years...
@riley
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 29, 2017 11:56:09 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2017 11:56:09 GMT -7
She took a sandwich and had a few bites, which Riley liked to see, and it made him feel weird to think that. But from what he was gathering, it was possible that she either had, or was getting over some eating disorder or something along those similar lines. After a few moments of eating in silence, she spoke again, asking him if he had a career lined up. "Well..." it was a difficult question for him to answer. The short answer was no. The long answer was a bit more complicated. "I know what I want to do eventually, I just don't really know how to get there or where I have to start..." he admitted. And he wasn't entirely sure who to talk to about it because it wasn't exactly a typical job for wizards. "I'd like to open my own private psychology practice, I want to be something like a shrink or therapist, but exclusive to Wizards, offering a more privacy and stability to regular clients than I think you can get at St. Mungo's." he admitted. Truth be told, he knew little about the psych ward at St. Mugo's. He knew that there were psychologists there that saw patients and clients, but he didn't know to what extent exactly. He'd end up working for St. Mungo's for a few years, but he hadn't come to that conclusion yet.
@lestrange
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 29, 2017 15:03:42 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2017 15:03:42 GMT -7
It was a hard question for anyone, really, but he started to answer. He said he wasn't sure how to get there and she cocked her head to the side. A therapist. Of course Andy would be talking to the one student in the whole school (probably an exaggeration) who wanted to be a therapist. "I have a therapist," she said suddenly, almost before he was even done speaking. "She's from Mungos but... she is busy. It would be nice to have something more private. I think that sounds great, Riley," she said. She wasn't surprised that she supported the idea, of course. Therapy saved her life.
In all reality, it saved a LOT of peoples lives.
"I think the best place to start would be to study at a muggle university, probably, as well as simultaneously learning from Healers, maybe?" she suggested.
@riley
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Oct 30, 2017 22:26:03 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2017 22:26:03 GMT -7
She seemed to understand, at least vaguely what he was saying. He felt like a magical therapist, to most people, was odd. It wasn’t something that regularly experienced and it was one of the reasons that he liked it so much. A private sector for such things seemed to be missing, and the woman's comment assured him that it was a career that was becoming more and more in demand. She had a therapist that she wished maybe had more time for her, or was busy with other patients and someone private and on call could be nice. What great validation, even if at her expense. She brought up muggle university and he nodded, he had thought about it of course, wanted to apply even. But… “I don’t think… well… my parents wouldn’t thi… it’s certainly an idea.” he found himself tongue tied. “I’m sure I would excel at University I’m just not sure it’s the right path.” he admitted. How was he supposed to say that his parents hated muggles and thus would never allow their perfect, handsome, pureblood son, of proper marriageable age, to associate with muggles and to learn the muggle way. “Hey, but what about you? You’re a 7th year, right? What have you got lined up?” he asked the girl, not necessarily trying to change the subject so much as not letting the conversation become all about him.
@lestrange
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:29:24 GMT -7
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Nov 2, 2017 8:46:43 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2017 8:46:43 GMT -7
Riley said, well sort of stumbled to say, that his parents may not like the idea. She understood that, of course. Her parents didn't like basically anything she wanted to do with her life, other than play the violin. He said he wasn't sure it was the right path and her brow furrowed. "Muggle universities not popular in the Fudge home? I'm a Lestrange, Riley," she found herself chuckling a little, "you can tell me." She didn't have to be hyper observant to recognize when someone had a similar background to hers. The fact that he mentioned his parents at all before saying it wasn't the 'right path' was a clue enough. Not too mention the fact that Andy had met Lydia. The girl was a walking pureblood icon.
But then Riley asked about her, and she nodded at his mention of being a seventh year. "I'm going to be a hit witch," she said suddenly. She hadn't told anyone other than the Headmistress this information out loud and she was surprised that she was being so honest with Riley now. She leaned forward a little, "but that's kind of on the down low," she added.
@riley
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