Your Love is Like Wine (Rath)

[icymorpher]

Her mind was in a million different places as she swung back and forth, not really concentrating on what she was doing. A sigh escaped her lips as she continued swinging on the swing set that she discovered in the park. She had been wandering around and had stumbled upon this place near the maze. It was quite and peaceful, a perfect place to think.

The sun had been slipping in and out of the masses of clouds that had been passing the girl by as they day progressed. With another sigh, she looked up from the ground and up to the sky. It looked as if it was going to rain sometime soon. Hopefully she would be inside before the rain came. Ally only had one fear, one little thing that scared her to death. Thunder storms. She enjoyed a spring shower, no thunder or lightning, just the sound of sprinkling rain from inside the castle.

This was just not her day. She had not seen Rath in what seemed like forever to her, even if it had only been a week or so. Time bad been dragging by slowly lately and her lack of knowing where to find him was only making it worse. Suddenly all thoughts of Rath was drowned out by the sound of thunder off in the distance. Her eyes widened and flashed up toward the sky once more to see that the sun had been completely covered by dark, angry clouds that were looming over head. She flinched and her eyes shut tight as another toll of thunder was heard ringing off in the distance.

She could feel herself beginning to tremble slightly. She felt stupid for being caught out like this, afraid of a storm but it could not be prevented. She squeaked slightly as a flash of lightning lit up the sky and the pounding of rain a little ways away. 'Move!' She told herself, but she could not make her feet move, she simply sat on the swing, petrified with her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

[rathstcroix21212]

Rath had just left the large maze and was walking down the path that lead to Hangout Park when he heard a boom of thunder and saw the long, jagged streak of lightning. The rain was already pouring down not far away. He didnt mind rain, he actually liked rain but not huge storms.

He quickened his pace a little and followed the path up to the park. He looked up behind him and saw the rain coming even closer. A bolt of lightning struck a tall tree in front of him and part of it caught on fire and fell. "Aguamenti!" A jet of water sprayed from his wand and put the fire out.

He hopped over the fallen branch and began to run towards the park when he noticed Ally. "Ally!" He ran to her and saw she was scared out of her mind. He gripped he shoulders and shook her gently. "Ally,Ally! We have to get away from here!"

[icymorpher]

Allison's eyes slowly slid open as someone called out her name. They quickly flew shut as another crack of thunder boomed around the grounds. She felt warm hands on her shoulders as they shook them lightly. "Rath," She almost whispered, gripping the metal chains on either side of her tightly. She risked opening her eyes once again to see him with urgency in his eyes.

She now felt like a complete idiot but she could not find much emotion right now besides fear. "No... I'm.. I'm fine." She tried to smile but failed dramatically. Ally felt some kind of safety as she stared into Rath's eyes, focusing only on him and not the storm that was brewing around them. They could not make it to the shelter of the castle in time. Even there Ally would have hidden with her eyes shut and her hands over her ears.

"Sorry..." She mumbled as she flinched once again due to the thunder shaking the ground beneath her feet. The rain began to fall down upon their heads and the storm finally hit. Allison, out of fear, covered her ear and shut her eyes with a small yelp. She stood up suddenly and buried her face into Rath's chest, feeling some kind of comfort with him.

[rathstcroix21212]

He took off his robe and wrapped it around her and held her tightly. He noticed how scared she was and held her closer. A second bolt of lightning struck far away from them. "We have to move from here at least!" He yelled over the blowing wind. "Can you walk?" He brushed his wet hair out of his eyes. The storm raged and thunder boomed loudly.

[icymorpher]

She heard him speaking, but could barely make out the words. It was like they went in one ear and out the other. Her mind was filled with that one horrible night. That one night her life changed forever. She was shaking harder now and wished she could curl up under a table but she knew it would be no better than now. At least she was not alone this time, at least she did not have to hide that she was afraid from the world.

Allison knew they should probably move but she could not find her feet. She could not make her legs move. She shook her head, pressing against him glad that his arms were around him. They made her feel safe, something she had not felt in a long time.

She could feel a few tears sliding down her face but would not permit herself to check. Lightning flashed once again, and she could see that memory passing through her mind. She clung to Rath tighter not willing to let him go. She could feel her legs shaking and was unsure of how much longer she could stand up before collapsing on the now soaked grass. "I'm sorry..." She continued whispering over and over again.

[rathstcroix21212]

"Damn...Okay." He felt her legs shaking and eased her down to the ground still holding her. He pulled his robe over her hair and held her. He shivered a bit but ignored it. "No dont be sorry its not your fault." He closed his eyes and held her closer as the rain pounded his head and back.

[icymorpher]

The rain had suddenly stopped hitting her face. Ally guessed that he had placed his robe around her to keep her out of the rain's harm. She sank to the ground gratefully, still clinging onto Rath. She could feel a shiver run up his spine and felt worse than before. She nodded her head as he told her it was not her fault. Even if it was, the words were comforting to the second year.

The storm raged on for a long while. The whole time she was curled up against his chest on the now soaking ground. She wanted to explain why her reaction was so strong, but her voice was no where to be found. She simply waited till the lightning started to subside. The storm was still ferocious but the thunder and lightning were moving on to find another place to settle. The rain was still pouring down in buckets when she finally opened her eyes the slightest bit. She was still shaking as Allison lifted her head a few centimeters to look up at Rath. "I'm sorry," She apologized again before wincing, the thunder was still loud in her ears. "I'm kinda petrified of storms." She was stating the obvious but it made her feel better to let someone know.

[rathstcroix21212]

"No its fine, i was scared of storms too...When I was younger." The rain beat down on him but he kept his head up. He smiled. "Its okay the thunder and lightning is passing." He pulled the robe over her more and smiled. "It should stop in a bit."

[icymorpher]

She limply nodded her head and closed her eyes once again. Not willing to speak again for in fear of her voice breaking. She never did like thunderstorms but she had never been afraid. Afraid to this degree. Just recently, before coming to Hogwarts, had she taken up this embarrassing feat.

The pounding of the thunder slowed and with it so did her frame shaking. She was still unable to stand but at least she could open her eyes without flinching. The cloak was keeping her warm, that and probably due to Rath holding her close. She welcomed the warmth and let her muscles relax, not wanting to freak out if the storm decided to come back. "I... I..." She was at a loss for words. She simply stared into his eyes, her own filling with fresh tears.

[rathstcroix21212]

"Its okay." He held her close to him and felt the warm tears even through the cold wet gray and green long sleeve shirt. "Its okay the storm is gone."

[icymorpher]

A weak laugh escaped her lips as she brushed away the tears. "Yeah, stupid reaction...." She swallowed hard, forcing the tears to stop. It was pointless to cry now, the storm was moving on. She took in a deep breath as the rain continued to fall from the dark clouds, not as heavily as before. "You must be cold," She said in a small guilty voice.

[rathstcroix21212]

He shivered. "No Im fine." He smiled. He was cold but he could never admit it. He didnt want her to worry about him. He looked into her eyes. "Uh...you wanna stand up now?" He laughed.

[icymorpher]

Her eyebrows came together in a worried expression. She was not convinced that he was not cold, not by a long shot. She raised the cloak and wrapped it around him as well. She snuggled closer so he would be warmer as well. "There, problem solved," She said with a faint smile. She was recovering from her little episode, quicker than usual. This was probably because of Rath being there.

"Uh...you wanna stand up now?"

She smiled as he laughed and replied, "Uh, only if you want to. I'm pretty comfy right here." She rested her head against his shoulder and waited to see what he would wand to do.

[rathstcroix21212]

"Nah I dont really feel like getting up just yet...." He smiled and fell back with her still on his chest. He looked up at the sky. "Lets look at the clouds." He pointed past her and at a large cloud. "Look its a bunny." He brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You see it?" He pointed at it again. "Look." The sun shone through the clouds and seemed to only rest on them, the rays being visible in the sky above.

[icymorpher]

Ally sniffed before smiling to herself. Her eyes fluttered open as she felt Rath fall back onto the soaking wet grass. At his mentioning of staring at the clouds, she looked up and all the previous fear vanished. The storm clouds had seemed to have lightened in color and mood. They no longer shook the ground and she could see tiny patches of sun peeking out from behind them. A smile returned to her face as her hazel eyes scanned the sky.

She followed his gesture to see the bunny he had found in the sky. She nodded, relaxing a bit, and laughed a brief and faint laugh. "Yeah... that one looks kinda like a dog." She added, her smile becoming more pronounce. The sun that was now smiling down upon them warmed her freezing skin up and was begging to reflect her new mood now that Rath was there. She rested her head against his chest and continued to stare up at the now sunny sky.

((Sorry it took so long to post))