A Place To Sort Out Emotions

[Renshaavik Encougne]

Ren's quick strides brought him to the shores of the Black Lake within several minutes. He paused, watching over the crystal waters, the slight breeze creating ripples that skimmed the surface until they lapped against the lake's shores. Quiet splashing noises came from the waters colliding with the shore continuously, and the wind ruffled his hair like a fond lover.

He closed his eyes, breathing in the air deeply. He spun around a few times, a small smile growing on his face, his worries melting away with the peace of solitude. Then he abruptly fell to the ground, laughing gently, his face pressed into the cool earth.

He flopped over, and lifted one arm to lay across his eyes. Then he just lay there, thinking, breathing, smiling.

[Lillykra Sphynx]

Lilly's eyes widened as Ren approached the Black Lake. She pressed herself against the old Oak tree as much as she could, trying to hide herself from view. The Oak tree did its job fairly well, and when she felt comfortable enough she sat down on the ground and sighed.

As she stared off in the distance various thoughts passed through her mind. And then, as though she were standing before him, she started to sing.

"When you look back on times we had
I hope you smile
And know that through the good and through the bad
I was on your side when nobody could hold us down
We claimed the brightest star
And we, we came so far
And no they won't forget

Whenever you remember times gone by
Remember how we held our heads so high
When all this world was there for us
And we believed that we could touch the sky
Whenever you remember, I'll be there
Remember how we reached that dream together
Whenever you remember

When you think back on all we've done
I hope you're proud
When you look back and see how far we've come
It was our time to shine
And nobody could hold us down
They thought they'd see us fall
But we, we stood so tall
And no we won't forget

Whenever you remember times gone by
Remember how we held our heads so high
When all this world was there for us
And we believed that we could touch the sky
Whenever you remember, I'll be there
Remember how we reached that dream together
Whenever you remember

Yeah, Oh

We claimed the brightest star
And we, we came so far
You know that we, we showed them all
And no they won't forget

Yeah

Whenever you remember times gone by
Remember how we held our heads so high
When all this world was there for us
And we believed that we could touch the sky
Whenever you remember, I'll be there
Remember how we reached that dream together
Whenever you remember

Whenever you remember

Oh, whenever you remember..."

A silent tear rolled down her cheek.

[Renshaavik Encougne]

Ren heard the melodious tone of a singing voice, softly but surely singing a song of sadness and mourning. He remained where he lay, silent, listening to it's lulling sound.

His mind drifted as he listened, and he thought neither about who was singing it, nor what it meant, but simply the song and the melody itself.

When it ended abruptly, he jumped a little, as though shaken out of a dream. He blinked, sat up, and rubbed his eyes. He stretched his muscles, which he had suddenly noticed were very sore. He grimaced, feeling the pull of sore muscles, then stood.

"That was a very lovely song," he said to nobody in particular. "I wish I could sing like that."

He continued staring out at the lake as he said this, his mind still preoccupied with his thought processes.

[Lillykra Sphynx]

Lillykra's cheeks burned as Ren's words floated softly and gently into her ears. She didn't think she was that good at singing. In fact, she thought she was quite horrible. With a nervous intake of breath she stood up and walked to the other side of the tree so Ren could see her.

"Thank you," she mumbled quietly. "No one pays me compliments anymore."

She desperately tried to avert her gaze from Ren, but instead she found herself gazing at him intently. She couldn't understand the feelings tormenting her, but there was one above the rest she knew only too well. But covering this was her fear of being shattered again, though she was almost sure that Ren would never do such a thing.

And then there was the doubt. The two only met the night before and already she was falling in love with him! Perhaps it was just the effects of her past relationship forcing her to latch on to someone willing to care. Or was it the joy she found in life whenever she looked at him? She was so conflicted.

Did he even have the same feelings for her? Probably not. Lilly couldn't seem to make up her mind whether or not what she was doing was a good thing. Before she had time to come to a decision she found herself standing right in front of Ren.

Slowly she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

[Renshaavik Encougne]

Ren smiled as Lilly silently pulled him into a hug. He brought his arms up and wrapped them around her in return. He held her close, trying to let her feel that she was wanted, and that he was real and there. Sometimes a simple human touch is all that's needed to let someone know they aren't dreaming.

She was really a great person. She was pretty, interesting, definitely entertaining, and she was hurting bad. He couldn't help but want to make the hurt go away. True he had only recently met her, and he didn't intend to rush anything, particularly if she didn't care to do anything more than make her problems known to him. He would fully understand if she simply wanted someone to help her share the burden. He was willing to do whatever it took to help her.

Maybe it was silly, but he felt he already knew her better than friends he had had for years.

Slowly, he relinquished his hold on her, and stood a small ways apart from her, watching her as the breeze blew them both, making them sway gently to the right. He smiled. "You know, sometimes you worry me when you run off like that. But somehow it always seems we end up meeting again. Weird, huh?"

[Lillykra Sphynx]

A small smile appeared on Lillykra's face. Her eyes sparkled with true happiness, something she hadn't felt in a long time. She let her arms fall to her sides as her smile grew larger. For a while she stood there in silence, staring deeply into Ren's stony eyes, trying to think of a way to thank him. The word just didn't seem to be enough.

Suddenly an idea came to her, and her cheeks reddened before she could stop herself. Surely Lilly wouldn't put that idea to use! It was too soon. But the more she thought about it the more it seemed like the perfect way to thank Ren.

Without a word she raised her hand to cup his cheek.

"I feel like I've known you forever," she said slowly, "and yet we've only known each other for barely two days. Through that short time I've told you things I never had the courage to tell my friends. I can't seem to thank you enough for that."

Here she paused, her eyes sparkling, and waited for Ren to say something.

Seconds ticked by.

She kissed him.

[Renshaavik Encougne]

Ren's brain stopped functioning at approximately the same time as Lilly cupped his cheek with her hand. Her gentle touch was warm, but it seemed almost to sear his cheek with its contact. His breath was snatched from his lungs, leaving him breathless and surprised.

In this time, all he saw were Lilly's huge, green eyes. Then she kissed him.

Ren couldn't have explained the sensation no matter how many times he experienced it. It wasn't the kind of thing that could be explained with words. It was one of those sensations that made one feel as though they were floating, as though the rest of the world had disappeared, leaving only them and that one other person that mattered more than anything else.

It probably lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed much longer to him. Then it was over. He opened his eyes slowly, and spoke, hoarsely, as though his throat was raw, "Wow, that was unexpected."

[Lillykra Sphynx]

Lilly gently pulled her head away. Her eyes fluttered open and her smile slowly reappeared as Ren's words floated into her ears. She let her hand fall to her side again and tried to suppress the elated feeling in her chest.

That kiss was no ordinary kiss.

When Lilly's lips made contact with Ren's it was the most wonderful thing in the entire world. She felt elated, like she was floating on clouds or as though she was on the top of the world. The Hogwarts grounds disappeared completely in a flash of white, leaving only Lilly and Ren standing on nothing, surrounded by nothing.

Have you ever felt like that? When you're with that special person and you kiss them, have you ever felt as though nothing in the world could be better?

That's what she felt.

"Let's just say I'm spontaneous," Lilly said, somewhat breathlessly.

[Renshaavik Encougne]

"Spontaneous, eh?" he asked shakily, clearing his throat to try and make his voice sound less surprised. "More like unpredictable. I never know what you're going to do next."

He laughed. "Jeez, crazy how life is sometimes, eh? I sometimes feel as though some things just can't be real. Like I'll wake up the next day and it will have all been some strange, fantasized dream. It's hard to accept sometimes, but I've learned that sometimes things out of the ordinary do happen, and when they do I just need to enjoy it while I can.

"I think that kiss was one of those things. I'm already in disbelief, like it couldn't have happened. I guess my brain just needs solid proof. It can be annoying like that, my brain often gets in the way of what the rest of me wants."

He shrugged, helplessly, and smiled. "But it was incredible nevertheless. I wish every day could be perfect like that."

[Lillykra Sphynx]

Lilly chuckled to herself as Ren rambled on about how his brain worked.

"Not real?" she asked incredulously. "Well, maybe I should do it again to prove to you that it's real. I think your brain needs to be taught a lesson."

She smiled and brought her lips to Ren's again, this time keeping them there much longer.

She couldn't help herself. Of course she was going to latch onto someone willing to care. She couldn't help but think that Ren was different. She knew somehow that he was "The One" so to speak. She wasn't entirely sure--she'd only known him for two days--but she was willing to give him a shot to find out.

After what seemed like five minutes she pulled her face away and let her smile reappear once more. Her eyes sparkled brilliantly with happiness and danced with laughter.

"Is that enough proof for you?"

[Renshaavik Encougne]

Ren was taken by surprise just as much by the second kiss as he was by the first. He stiffened as her lips met his once again, surprised, then he leaned into the kiss, wrapped his arms around her once more, and seemed to almost melt into the kiss.

He kissed her back this time, and the feeling was electric. The first had been warm, soft, hesitant. This one had the feeling of non-caring abandon, and he liked it just as much.

When it was over, he grinned back at her as her smile reappeared as well. He was having fun despite what his brain was trying to tell him.

"Thanks Lilly, I think you pretty much just successfully short-circuited my brain. I know this because it's finally shut up and I got a chance to do something I wanted to for a change."

He grinned. "I don't think I've been happier ever before than I am right now. And for once, this school doesn't seem so boring after all."

[Lillykra Sphynx]

[OOC: Lilly's getting addicted... >.>]

"No, it isn't that boring after all," Lilly agreed, looking around with an expression that clearly said: 'What? We didn't do anything.' "Is short-circuiting your brain a good thing? I wouldn't want to make you stupid."

She chuckled at her own joke.

The sun was blinding in the clear, silky sky. It was getting hot fast and Lilly suddenly had the urge to go swimming in the Black Lake. Even through everything that had just happened her mind was elsewhere. It did that a lot.

"Would you like to go swimming?" she asked, hoping to get rid of the awkward silence. "It's getting really hot out..."

[Renshaavik Encougne]

"Hot?" Ren asked, still looking at Lilly a bit dreamily. He shook his head, clearing his throat. "I mean, um, sure. I could go swimming."

She was flirting with him. He didn't think he'd ever really had a girl flirt with him before, and he really hardly knew how to take it. In fact, he'd never really done anything like this with a girl before. He was used to just hanging out with his simple guy friends.

He eyed the lake dubiously. "Are you sure it's okay to go swimming in there though? I've heard stories about some of the things that live in the..."

He stopped, smiled.

"Oh wait, I forgot. You're Miss Adventurous. You probably don't care whether we should or not, do you? Well, if you don't, what the heck. I don't either."

[Lillykra Sphynx]

"Miss Adventurous?" Lilly asked with eyebrows raised. "You make me seem like I'm a super hero or something, when I'm nothing of the sort."

She smiled and laughed, then, without warning, ran and jumped into the lake.

Almost immediately a giant tentacle rose up from the surface. It was oddly similar to the Kraken's tentacles, but colored differently and a bit smaller. With a huge crash it fell back into the lake, forcing up a wave of water towards Lilly and Ren. Lilly flung herself into the water before the wave hit her. Once it passed, she swam to the surface and gulped in air.

"Oh, wow, the water's great!" she exclaimed. "Come on in, it's wonderful!"

[Renshaavik Encougne]

Ren glared at her, soaked. "Oh yeah, wonderful and tentacle-y."

He shook his head, despite himself trying to force down the smile and laughter that threatened to bubble up.

Without warning, he gave a shout and then leaped in after Lilly, creating a huge splash of his own. He plunged down into the (surprisingly) cool but not freezing water, then kicked hard and broke the surface, breathing in a gulp of air.

He grinned at Lilly through the water that ran down his face. "You're crazy, you know that? And I think I'm starting to like it."

He splashed water at her, then swam away to avoid retaliation. "Can't catch me!" he yelled behind him, laughingly. He hadn't felt so carefree in a very, very long time.