Whispers in the Hollow

Ember paused, going stiff in her hugging of Sophia, pulling back a little bit as she leaned to one side to better look at the other girl's face. She gazed at her, gently brushing some of Sophia's hair behind an ear, her own red locks falling to one side in their pony-tailed state. ”Luch, ós rud é nuair a labhraíonn tú Gaeilge?” She asked curiously, wondering if Sophia had simply picked up some phrases or if she'd gone all out because that was the type of girl she was. It pleased Ember a great deal, to hear the language of her people flowing out from her Mouse's mouth, even if her accent wasn't quite accurate. She reached out, pressing her lips to the other girl's cheek softly, a gentle smile upon her face. ”Is breá liom é.” The Gryffindor stayed there for a moment, gently twirling a single lock of Sophia's hair between her fingers before she pulled away, reaching down to take up the Hufflepuff's hand. “C'mon.”

With that, Ember gave Sophia a gentle tug towards the front door, a walk definitely in order with how nice it was out. It had cooled down a bit while they were inside, leaving the temperature absolutely perfect. It wasn't so chilly one needed a jacket, but not so hot that they would end up sweating buckets either. ”Back in a bit, Mam!”

”Féin a iompar féin!” Meghan called out as Ember headed out the door, towing Sophia along, Ack following after them as well, his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans the same way Ember typically walked.

”Aaaaaye, aaaaye!” Ember called back, rolling her eyes with a goodnatured grin. She slipped her fingers downwards, shifting them between Sophia's same sized ones, the Hufflepuff's palm soft and warm against her own slightly clammy, calloused one. A soft breeze blew, picking up their hair and bringing along the delicious scent of forest and garden, overturned earth and last night's rain. The sun was low in the sky, indicating that it would be setting completely soon, lighting up the world with a slightly golden glow.

(Mouse, since when do you speak Irish?
I love it.
Behave yourself!)

”It's beautiful.” Ember beamed, still gripping onto Sophia's hand as she led the other girl along, down the front step the walkway to the gate. She undid the latch, pressing through and stepping out onto the dirt that marked the main lane. There were several smaller ones to jutted off of it, leading to more houses, each one different. Some were quite magical, with bits that towered, obviously held up by spells, while others, like Ember's, were more plain and would have been at home in a more Muggle populated area. They weren't too far out from the village, but staying on the cusp in the woods kept her family safe from breaking any statutes of secrecy when it came to wizarding law. There were spells around the perimeter, ones that kept the local Muggles from getting too close, though it was fairly common for certain members of the Coughlan clan to had down into town, like Meghan who went door to door with a wagon, a regular stream of customers who ordered their fruits and vegetables from her. They all knew Ember as well, since she did the deliveries throughout most of the summer and even recognized Eveleen from the times she visited and helped out. They would trail along with ease, Ember on her skateboard, Eveleen in the wagon covered in bags of produce, usually getting ice cream or catching a movie after the deliveries were done so long as Ember promised to behave herself.

”Don't apologize. I like it when you talk about things you enjoy.” The redhead gave Sophia's hand a reassuring squeeze as she turned and grabbed the skateboard from where it sat against her fence. She released the Hufflepuff's hand then, kicking the board down onto the ground and pushing along on it slowly so that her friend and cousin could keep up. Normally, skateboards didn't work too well on dirt, but the lane was pretty well trodden down and there were a few spells on the wheels to keep them from being too disturbed by any rocks that she might have gone over.

”Aye.” Donnacha nodded with a gentle smile, his eyes trailing after the redhead as she picked up her pace, unable to ever stay still very long. If she got too far ahead she'd turn around though, never intent on leaving anyone behind. ”She's my best mate, Emmi is. We're the youngest, our next cousin up is about six years older than me, so the age gap made us closer to each other than the others. My dad was later to marry than the rest of my aunts and uncles, and Aunty Meghan and Uncle David had a lot of trouble when it came to… er...” Ack paused, his eyes on Ember as she pulled off a simple ollie on her skateboard, still ahead of them, but the boy's voice lowered anyway. ”Emmi's technically their fifth kid. The others all miscarried. That's why Aunty Meghan is so overprotective, though I don't think Emmi even realizes it. She'll adopt you, you know. Aunty Meghan. She always does, just fair warning for when she starts in on trying to cuddle or pamper you. It took Eveleen some getting used to. Emmi's super psyched that you're here though, it was all she talked about the first bit of summer.”

Ack stopped talking as the Gryffindor turned around, heading back to the pair of them and kicking her board upwards out from under her bare feet. She grinned, dropping it and tossing her arms around Sophia tightly, nuzzling at her hair and kissing at her cheek wetly. ”She's mine, Ack. You can't have her.” Ember stated boldly sticking her tongue out at her cousin who gave a chuckle.

”You wouldn't let me have 'leen either.” The former Ravenclaw grinned, tousling his shorter cousin's hair. ”And now, woe is me, she's got that one dude.”

”Aye, but he's nice enough and she's happy.”

”I suppose. Anyway, I've got to get going, I just came to say 'hey'. I've got pictures to develop from tomorrow Prophet and if I'm late, my boss'll have my ass. Later, Sophia, don't let her get into too much trouble.” The boy winked, and then with a loud crack, disappeared right where he'd been standing.

”I'm not trouble!” Ember shouted even though he was already gone.

”Sure you're not.” A very redheaded woman stated from her fence, her voice sarcastic as she rolled her eyes. ”Emmi-Amber, you are legitimately the most troublesome niece I've got. The rest of the bunch is out in the field.”

Ember stuck out her tongue, but she smiled, grabbing hold of Sophia's hand and holding her skateboard under her other arm. ”Thanks Aunty!” She called as she started off, back in the direction they had just come from. Instead of aiming for her house though, she went a bit to the left, entering a small wooded path that had definitely seen a lot of food traffic for years by the way the ground was completely trodden down and flattened.

”I love when you speak Elvish, my lady. We art but traveling to the grounds of jovial frolicking. Tis lovely, my sweetest fair lady shall like it, this knight swears!” Ember gripped tightly onto Sophia's hand, glad that the Hufflepuff didn't pull away from her, but rather, stepped closer instead until their arms were brushing against one another, pale freckled skin against a clearer, slightly darker tone, the contrast of which would only have been noticeable to someone paying close attention. Ember noticed of course, as she always had, drinking in every single one of Sophia's features throughout the months they had known one another like a dehydrated dog, except she sipped with her eyes instead of her tongue. The way Sophia's hair swayed, dappled with golden sunlight that fell through the lush green leaves over their heads, down to the way the same light left a slightly chromatic tinge to her arms a legs. Her eyes were a deeper brown in this light, but she knew, when they reached the sunlight again, they would be more green, ever changing and surprising the Gryffindor with their hundreds of different shades simply based upon the lighting they were exposed to. Her own eyes did no such thing, remaining their usual deep sky-blue, though they weren't flat in color either like some eyes tended to be, speckled with all different hues of blue in order to form one swirling mass of azure.

The path was smooth and solid against the bottoms of Ember's bare feet and she trod it with ease, each subtle dip or bump of rock beneath the surface so familiar she barely noticed any of them. The edges of her feet began to take on a slight dirtiness that would brush away in the grass, but probably continue to linger among grass stains when they went back into the cottage. Strangely, her mother didn't mind this nearly as much as she did if her daughter came in with dirt on her face. The Gryffindor reached up with her free hand, tucking some hair that had come loose from her ponytail behind an ear, her nails stubby and bitten, the sparkly light blue polish she had put on them a week ago chipped and fading to the point where it only remained in the center of her nails and was completely gone from others. The S shaped silver studs in her ears glimmered slightly as they reached the end of the path, opening right on up into a large clearing of green grass. A good sized pond sat off to the right, a dock floating in the middle of it while a small playground made out of swings and a wooden structure with a slide and several climbing areas was closed to the right side, just off the path. Closer to the pond, a pile of wood sat, the ground around it a rim of blackened ash from many previous bonfires. There were several wooden picnic tables set between the fire area and the play area, and beyond all of that, a make shift Quidditch pitch, the goal posts created out of wood tied together, the distance between them that nearly as far as a real pitch.

The Gryffindor's cousins swarmed about, several of them older, but most of them second cousins who were a good deal younger, not a single one of them having reached eleven yet. Red and brown hair was abundant, though not a single pair of blue eyes was to be found among the cousins, the Coughlans always having brown or a deep shade of olive that came from their grandmother. The littlest of them swarmed, racing across the grass, feet bare, wearing nothing bit bathing suits and the remnants of badly smeared sunscreen.

”Emmi! Emmi! Táimid ag teacht froganna! Cabhraigh linn!” One particularly brillantly red headed little boy exclaimed brightly, grabbing hold of her hand and tugging. She let her feet move in the direction of the pond, sending a slightly apologetic smile to Sophia. She slowed the little boy down slightly, releasing Sophia's hand and reaching out to ruffle at his hair.

”Piper, níl a fhios agam mar mo chara is mian anseo chun froganna ghabháil.”

”Is Emmi an chuid is fearr ag froganna teacht.” Piper insisted, his little brown eyes gazing hopefully up at Sophia as though having only just noticed her. He couldn't have been more than four or five judging by his size. He gave another insistant tug ón his older second cousin and Ember gave in, never able to refuse her littler cousins, especially Piper. She reached back out, grabbing hold of Sophia's hand.

”We don't actually have to if you don't want to, Mouse. They're just little frogs.”

(We're catching frogs! Help us!
Piper, I dunno as my friend here wants to catch frogs.
Emmi is the best at catching frogs.)

Ember beamed, letting her little cousin lead her along, grinning at Sophia's willingness to get their feet wet and possibly their hands covered in amphibians. It had never bothered her, but she was quite glad that Sophia wasn't opposed to something like this either, as some girls tended to be when it came to animals that were usually associated with being 'gross and yucky.' She watched as Sophia tugged off her socks and shoes and rolled pant legs, gazing at her against the trees bowing slightly in the breeze, the orange sunset glinting in shades of gold across the pond, catching on the top of Sophia's brown hair and whisps that stuck up due to natural static. Her eyes were a magnificent shade of green and it took the Gryffindor several moments to realize she was staring quite obviously, her blue orbs following down the flow of the other girl's body, noting each curve as she had done so many times before and thanking whatever possible god there was in the world for making sure there were jeans that fit Sophia Black's ass in such a manner. As Sophia's eyes moved back to her, Ember quickly trod into the water, adjusting her own gaze to the surface, her bare feet plowing in with no grace whatsoever. She crouched down, butt mere centimeters from the top of the water, hands cups together as she waited for a little frog to get close enough.

“Aye! Got one!” Ember laughed, splashing a bit as she closed her palms gentle around the small creature. She rose until her legs were straightened and then stepped further into the water, holding out her closed hands for the little ones and Sophia to see. She cracked them open slowly, revealing the tiny green frog sitting between them. It was only for a few moments though, for with a good hop, the frog leaped from the redhead's palm and into the air, landing back in the water with a small splash. Startled, Ember took a quick step back, loosing her balance on a rock ended in the mud beneath her feet and fell promptly backwards. She landed hard on her bottom, sending up water that quickly soaked through the denim of her shorts and the thin white tank top she wore. The latter stuck to her skin as laughed, pushing back up to her feet, clinging to her well toned abs and strong back muscles, her belly ring almost pressing through as well as the blue of her sports bra. She released a whooping cheer and shot forward, picking her feet up in the water until the weight of it tripped her again, but this time she went forward and dove beneath the surface. She resurfaced a few feet further out, her already worn out hair tie snapping until the weight of her wet hair, letting it fall lank and dripping down past her shoulders as her feet skimmed gently against the sandy bottom of the pond.

The Gryffindor made her way back to the little group, a large crooked grin on her face, her arms reaching out as she got closer. She snatched Sophia around the waist and beneath her butt, her arms wrapping tight so she could lift her high, grinning up at her cheekily as she strode back out deeper again. “My Lady Healer, thou art but too dry methinks.” She waggled her eyebrows and then, without further ado, dashed downwards, dunking the pair of them together but leaving Sophia's head above the water and resurfacing herself quickly. “It does feel good. I love getting wet, don't you?”