Luminous Lakeside PV Ami Procoppio Closed

Ami couldn't help but mentally curse herself for her sensitivity as the pair made their way to the lake, away from where all of the lake-side loiterers were lingering. She had absolutely no urge to go and join them, not when she had just completely shut down at the mere sight of fire. It was almost a year since she had gotten the burns covering her entire back, creeping up her neck and sprawling across her shoulders. They were visible now, peeking out beneath the straps of her jumpsuit, but she hadn't really paid any mind to the scars until she could feel the heat from the fire dancing across her exposed skin. Everything about that night had come flooding back, and suddenly, she was back on the ground, unable to escape from the searing pain of the flames.

It was Scott's light touch and his presence that had grounded her again, anchored her back to the earth. He, of course, had been the sensible one of the two; Scott knew that she had been scarred, both physically and mentally, from her endeavor, and knew that the fire at the Blossom Ball had reminded her of the experience without her having to say a word. Ami knew that she was incredibly lucky to have a friend like him by her side, and she let herself be gently guided to the lake by him.

"This is better, yes?"

"Yeah..." she said quietly, glancing around at the scenery around them. "Yup. Uh-huh." The lights reflecting off the lake from the party illuminated them all, washing and dousing them with a watery blue light- without really thinking, Ami reached up to tuck a stray piece of hair back behind Scott's ear. "A promenade, then?" she asked with a small smile, fondly remembering their walk through the castle all that time ago. 

"Anything in the world?" Ami asked with a smirk. Biting the corner of her lip, she shrugged, glancing at the scene around them. "Well... I think it's a lovely night." She eyed his vest warily, and added, "Maybe without your vest practically choking you, it'd be even lovelier..." She tried for a laugh, but it came out shaky, her voice trembling slightly. "Maybe loosen the, uh, puffy bow-tie, too."

Scott shook his head in pantomimed defeat. But he hoped, as he removed the tie altogether and released the top button of his vest, that she realised he'd gotten exactly what he wanted. She was teasing him again, and smiling a little. Scott then also hoped that his satisfaction wasn't the reason why she was doing it... Because he realised that's something she would definitely do. Scott had learned very early on in their friendship that's it's always impossible to tell who's comforting whom.

"You really don't like it, do you?" He laughed, and tucked it over his other arm. "That's alright. And you know, I don't think Lady Madeleine does, either... She kept staring it down in distaste... Perhaps I don't have good taste, after all. Shocking! Shameful. Maybe it was even a good thing that I didn't get to redecorate the hospital wing."

He glanced over at his friend with a smirk so to see if she'd remember, and walked closer to the water to turn his back on the castle.

How far were they to go? When was the curfew? What time was it? Truth be told, Scott didn't exactly care. Besides, a promenade should never be planned- and is in many was interchangeable with one good night's sleep. And of course: if it would bring Ami out of whatever little hole that fire had pushed her into, then Scott would remove not only his tie, but his shoes and socks as well- to march barefoot over those pebbles well until morning.

He was still thankful he didn't have to do that, though. His feet get sore very quickly.

"Right then! Yes. A wonderful night. And two very wonderful people, might I add. Nice water... lent lilies by the trees and marguerites in the soil. Still no ducks, even though you must remember how they are essential to the promenade experience. But I happen to believe there lives a giant squid somewhere in that blackness. Question: can you feed it with bread crumbs? Because if not, then it's hardly a replacement. But this'll do, I suppose... The moon showering us in magnificent blue and all that. Better than last time, at least, when we didn't even get to go outside!"

At this, Scott turned to his friend fully. He smiled, and saw how in the peculiar light her freckles looked like black dots on a white shell... Blowing the strand of hair back from his eyes, the one which had fallen back after Ami's own efforts, Scott opened his mouth as if to say something very important:

"These rocks make for an unsteady walk, so you can take my arm if you'd like. But you didn't fall then, so I doubt you'll fall now."

Her smile, however weak it had been earlier, was stronger now- after all, who could resist the charms of Scott Alexander's endless rambling? Plus, a reference to last year, when she'd been in the hospital wing for being stupid... well, this wasn't much different, was it? She couldn't help but feel that Scott constantly had to come to her rescue, to constantly lift her up when she felt down... when would it be her turn to repay the favor?

this is what other people like to call intense foreshadowing.

She laughed quietly as Scott decided that the two of them were 'wonderful people', adding on with his flowing language that she struggled to keep up with. Even now, when there was nothing else for her to focus on, her attention flitting from the splashing of the water, to the way Scott had his bow-tie draped across his arm, to the strange noises coming from the Forbidden Forest... everything seemed to want to capture her attention. With a mental slap, she forced herself to listen to Scott's words, to process them, to translate all the big words into words that she actually understood. 

"Oh yeah, dude, the squid's totally real," Ami confirmed. Her mom had always complained of the strange noises coming from outside her dorm when she was trying to sleep at night. "But... well, do we have bread crumbs in the first place? And plus, I think we'd really be better off using, like, whole loaves of bread... it's a giant squid right? Like... if it's a giant squid, then it probably has a giant mouth, so then... giant bread crumbs!"

Maybe she wasn't the best at homework, but it wasn't like she was completely lacking in common sense. At his offer for her to take his arm, she linked her arm through his, glancing back at the party with a worried expression. "I... yeah." Her smile widened, glancing at Scott with a nervous look. "Uh... promenades. Right. Walking..." She looked back at the party, and then back at Scott, rubbing her bare shoulder with her free hand. "Around the lake, then? I- I think I need to clear my head. That party, man... what a doozy." 

She sighed, ducking her head slightly. "Man... if only Leo and Lady Madeleine were here. They'd really... spice things up, you know? I feel like cats have this magical ability to just make everything just a little bit better. Not unlike you, of course, but you don't walk on all fours and have a tail."

Scott gave his carefully trodding toes a large and long-lasting smile at Ami’s complimenting words. Then he kept his eyes down, not avoiding hers but to really make sure they wouldn’t fall now, as she’d taken his arm... It was to his great satisfaction, and now she even seemed ready to talk! She was smiling properly again.

“I’m sure I don’t do that...” Scott mumbled, before then moving his smile from his feet to his friend as he dropped the voice he’d been doing for good. No matter how much he wanted to make her happy, even Scott knew that sometimes that’s best gone about more seriously.

“I wish they were here, too, in a way. I miss Leo, and whenever I need to clear my head, albeit keep in mind this happens quite rarely... then Lady’s a good listener. She doesn’t understand me, of course: she is a cat and she is French- but she’ll still sit with me, and then go on to stroke against my legs in silence when I’m finished.

I think that’s another thing distinguishing me from cats! Because as it happens I can’t really stay quiet. Or so I’ve been told...”

Scott laughed, and shook his head. He could actually imagine Lady Madeleine now, and what she would do if she’d been brought along with him. Usually she’d walk at his pace, circling and passing through his legs without him ever knocking her on accident. Now, on the other hand, Scott was more than certain his cat wouldn’t have left Ami’s side once.

She was a clever pet, and a very sympathetic one.

“She likes you...” He started again. “And I don’t know what doozy means but if it’s bad then I agree. Or is it eventful? Either way you’re right, not at all what I’d imagined this day would be like. Then again... I honestly don’t know what I imagined- but this is just as well! Because I don’t think I’d have talked to anyone else anyway, even back there...

And I don’t mean anything by it, but it didn’t really seem like you were planning on doing so, either. You looked pretty hidden away already when I found you...”

Scott bit his lip and threw her a careful look from the side. Could he say that? Of course he could, she was clearing her head. Well... now, he was clearing his. Was he sweeping all the dust from his brain and into hers? Maybe that’s what clearing was. Besides, he felt he needed to know if there was anything but the fire that was bothering Ami that night. Because they’d left the fire, but there seemed to be something they hadn’t left behind.

As Scott laughed, Ami laughed, because it was true- Scott was a talker. Of course, it wasn't like Ami was quiet, by any means, because she was rathing outgoing and loud. It was just that most of the time, she was simply overshadowed by all of Scott's rambling and chattering. Together, the pair really was rather quite loud, something she was sure that the professors did not find particularly endearing.

"I'm not quite sure what a doozy is, either," Ami admitted with a sheepish grin. "I've just heard my dad say it a lot, but I think it means eventful." As the pair kept walking along the lakeside, Scott kept talking like always, and Ami kept listening... like always. He pointed out how the two of them, however outgoing they may have been, they probably wouldn't have talked to a lot of people if they had been left by themselves at the ball.

Scott threw her a look, one of those meaningful looks. Oh, there was a meaning behind that... well, she had seemed rather pent up, hadn't she? Running her free hand through her hair, Ami sighed, feeling the weight of the events that had unfolded that evening flow away from her. Crap, was she going to have to start doing yoga, now? She felt like she was doing yoga, what with all of this breathing.

"There were..." she said quietly, trying to choose her words carefully, "There were some certain people there, earlier, that I have... bad blood with, I guess. Does that sound childish? But... well, you know what happens when I make enemies. Are 13-year-olds even allowed to have enemies? I feel that that's illegal, to be pitted against someone so young... right?"

With another sigh, Ami glanced back at Scott. "That was a mess, man. Do you think we just have bad luck when it comes to dancing and fire? Well, the rest of the year should hopefully be pretty uneventful, and fire-free..." Little did she know, that would turn out to be unfortunate foreshadowing, but she didn't know that, of course. "Is this how you think all promenades go, then? A casual stroll along a lake, talking, and an extreme lack of ducks?" Indeed, she was rather put out by the absence of ducks, but there was only so much No-Maj-ness you could bring into the magic realm.

"Certain people?" What certain people? There'd only been students at the ball, hadn't there? And Lear, of course... Scott wondered who Ami could be referencing to. She had mentioned a boy bothering a girl, right before the whole fire-debacle had made itself obvious to them... Maybe it was him she was talking about. Scott hoped he hadn't bothered her, too, at some point.

"What do you mean by that?"

Ami, Scott suspected, was trying to change the subject- and this he'd have happily allowed (it had even been his exact plan to let her get whatever she wanted off her chest...), but she'd managed to make him concerned- which to Scott was an emotion strong enough to have him forget about everything, even ducks. It was the state to which he quite often returned. More frequently nowadays, actually, than ever before... concerning things just kept happening! And when they did, people sure liked to change the subject.

Frankly he wasn't a fan.

"...Has anyone bothered you?"

He looked at her questioningly, and made an attempt at an understanding smile, but didn't even convince himself. Scott had never understood, and probably never would, why anyone would ever mistreat anybody else? It baffled and confused him and he didn't like it. He was more than sure his brother could've offered him a 90-minutes long presentation explaining the importance of insults, snides and violence- but doubted he'd care enough to do it. No. Enemies might not be illegal for 13-year-olds to have, but Scott highly doubted he'd manage to obtain one anyway.

He sighed, deeply. Not out of impatience but... or maybe it was a little out of impatience. But at least not impatience with Ami, but with concern. He'd had too much of it. Had had enough.

"If you like then I can answer your questions, which would be that yes, I think we have bad luck and that no, some promenades are quite prosperous in the ducks-respect! ...or we can talk more about what's really bothering you because I'd hate to think I'm not being of help. Because I'm never of help, really! Not to anyone I want to help, anyway... I can be of comfort. I know I can, and I like to be, but I want to do more. And you may be the only person ready to let me do that yet because you don't think I'm dumb! At least I hope you don't."