On Your Marks, Get Set, BREAKFAST (OPEN)

[Jacob Clark]

((OOC: I realize that right now on OH it is summer, but let's just imaging that we're already in the term.))

Jacob woke up in a particularly good mood. When he looked out his dormitory window he noticed that the sun was just threatening dawn. It was Saturday morning and Jacob had several things planned, including catching up with some friends in the afternoon. However, that left the morning time open for some 'fun'. Better get going if I'm going to beat the rush, he thought as he pulled off his pajamas and got in the shower. He freshened up and put on some outdoor clothes: A white shirt, subtly brown tweed pants, his maroon dragon-skin jacket, and matching boots. Now comfortable and dressed for the out-of-doors, he descended through the castle to the Great Hall, where he anticipated a 'relaxed' breakfast.

The meal of champions, some say, and Jacob was a true believer in this concept. He surveyed the room. Only the most early of risers were in the Great Hall at this hour, especially on a weekend. He made his way to the Gryffindor table, found a spot that provided a good vantage point of the majority of the room, and sat near what happened to be a tray of quiche. Loading up his plate, he began.

[Lexi Mara Kern]

FOOD!

Now that was one of the best things to come back to Hogwarts for. Sure the classes and the magic were good, and friends were nice, but the food was second to none. Those house elves knew how to outdo themselves that was for sure. It was for this reason that Lexi awoke early that Saturday morning, her stomach already growling at the prospect of some good, old-fashioned Hogwarts cooking. And who was she to deny it?

Throwing on the first set of clothes she yanked out of her trunk, yeah she would get to unpacking....well later, Lexi hurried down the many staircases towards the Great Hall, attempting to smooth the wrinkles out of her blue patterend blouse, and make sure she'd properly fastened her jeans properly on the way. Hopefully no one would notice she hadn't bothered to brush her hair, the chestnut brown waves somewhat more unruley than usual. But there would be time for all of that faff later, food was more important.

Finally making it to the Great Hall, she was sure the staircases had been secretly multiplying overnight, Lexi hurried for the Ravenclaw table wondering what her first meal should be. The hall was pretty empty, well it was Saturday and early still. but even so the lack of people in the room seemed somewhat suprising. While piling a plate high with a stack of pancakes and crispy bacon Lexi surveyed the room, wondering if she might spot any familiar faces she'd not had a chance to catch up with many of her friends yet since being back.

Not notcing anyone she knew by more than sight, Lexi proceeded to pour far too much maple syrup over her breakfast when her eyes caught sight of a Gryffindor boy on the table across from her. It was no one she knew, but that could of course be rectified. Lexi was a sociable creature and didn't particularly like solitude, so she called out across the table as she picked up her knife and fork and carved off a sizable chunk of pancakes and bacon.

"Hey, now that's some pretty spiffy outfit you've got on there." She hoped he would understand her, since going to school with more English people Lexi had learned to tone down her strong Scottish accent, but after such a long holiday it might just have crept back.

[Jacob Clark]

The fluffy and soft texture of the quiche was a pure delight. Jacob enjoyed every morsel of the rather sizeable portion that he’d served onto his plate. He took another bite and while chewing, he surveyed the room. A girl came into the Great Hall and went directly for the food. It was nearly comic how much syrup she’d poured on the pancakes. Jacob had finished his bite, sat down his fork, and watched her for a moment. It was one of his most preferred things to do, watch people, and of course talk to them too. When she looked his way he smiled warmly, and was pleasantly surprised that she spoke to him. Not that girls speaking to him was unusual but that such a feat was rarely braved so early in the morning. It was a true testament to her morning-person personality.

Jacob was flattered by her noticing his outfit. “Good Morning and Thank you, I think…” He gave her a subtle wink that could only have been noticed if she wasn’t blinking at the time that it happened. “or at least I’ll take that as a compliment. It’s a little something that my Dad got me last summer.” He said gripping his jacket by the unzipped opening. The dark red of the dragonskin was nearly reflective, and seemed surprisingly supple for being dragonskin. He let go of the jacket and leaned forward, “I’m Jacob, Jacob Clark, and you are?”

If she offers a hand then he’ll shake it.

When she replies he responds, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m glad I’m not the only person down here right now. Oft times not even the ghosts are awake at this time. I’m going on a little walk this morning after breakfast. How about yourself? Do you have something planned for the day?”

[Lexi Mara Kern]

"Well I did intend it as a compliment." Lexi grinned. He'd seemed a little bemused by her comment, but it had been true she thought the jacket he wore was very smart looking, and interesting too she really couldn't tell what is was made from. "It's very nice, what is it made of?" It wasn't any muggle made fabrics, that was for sure. She missed the wink he cast at her, busying herself with gathering another forkful of pancakes at the time.

"Oh, nice to meet you Jacob." She smiled. Lexi was letting herself be towed away by the clothing conversation that she had forgotten that she didn't actually know the guy's name yet. She offered a hand over the table and introduced herself. "I'm Lexi. And likewise. I thought I'd be the only one in here, but you know nice morning, all this good food, why waste it sleeping." She shrugged. Really she'd come down for the food, but in some way if she didn't get an early start on a day, even at the weekends the day always seemed to end with her feeling as if she'd not managed to accomplish anything. But an early start meant you could get so much more done, even if you weren't sure exactly what to do yet.

"Hmm. If I'm honest I hadn't really planned anything past breakfast." Lexi replied to his question about her plans, a slight blush rising on her cheeks.

She didn't really want him to think that all she thought about was food, because it really wasn't. "Probably go make myself look a little more presentable when I'm done," She thought out loud, remembering quite how much of a hurry she'd dressed in, "but besides that my day is pretty much an open book at the moment."

[Jacob Clark]

Jacob wanted to return the favour. He regarded her hastily dressed appearance; he wanted to say something positive. Her hair had the appearance that if given a little more attention, it would be quite lovely, but he didn’t want to be insensitive if she had already given her hair her full attention this morning. He decided to save his compliments for another time, when perhaps Lexi would be more prepared for the day, and said, “Then I hardily accept your compliment.”

Are you kidding me? Oh wait she might not be from a magical background, so I’ll have to give her the benefit of the doubt, was what he thought when Lexi asked what it was. He tried to maintain his composure and to be as nice as possible. There was the chance that she just plain didn’t know that it was dragon skin regardless of her magical lineage. That and she looked to be in her second or third year, which could explain her lack of exposure too. In as normal a tone as possible he said, “It’s dragon skin actually.” Trying to change the topic as quickly as possible, he continued without a breath, “I’m a big fan of breakfast myself, getting the day started right, and not losing the morning to sleep. Sleep is like an enemy that you just can’t shake-off. One day I hope to boycott sleep in favour of getting things done, but I’d probably end up battier than a divination teacher would, if I did.”

He thought of his hasty plan to take a walk by the lake, which was much more of a hike in its intensity, and regarded whither Lexi would like to come along. “Well, in the event that your open book remains open after you get ready for the day, I’d be flattered if you’d like to come on my little jaunt by the lake. We can go at your pace too. After all going to do fun things alone could never be as enjoyable as doing them with other people, especially, lovely young ladies.” He closed his sentence with his trademark wink. “But no pressure.” He took a bite of quiche and drank some of his tea.

[Lexi Mara Kern]

Oh right, dragon skin, of course that's what his snappy looking jacket was made out of. Lexi had forgotten about the wizarding trend of making things out of dragon hide and dragon skin, she of course had dragon hide gloves for herbology class. It was just something she still wasn't quite used to yet. It had seemed somewhat cruel to her to begin with also, skinning a dragn, but she supposed it was probably the same as the muggle equivalent of leather.

"Oh of course, I should have guessed. You must think me quite a dunce." She blushed slightly as he stated the obvious to her, "Not at all living up to my Ravenclaw...ness." But to her credit, though she was a half-blood, her witch mother had died while Lexi was very young and before she could teach her very much about her magical heritage or the wizarding world itself.

"Hmm, I firmly agree that breakfast is probably my favourite meal of the day, closely followed by dinner. But a decent breakfast really sets you up for the day, and here they definitely do the best." She shovelled another mouthful down and reached for the jug of orange juice to wash it all down with. "But I really don't think I could go without sleep, I'd need at least a few hours a day or, I don't know about batty but I'd be falling asleep in my classes that's for sure."

She finished off the last few moutfuls of her stack of pancakes and pushed her plate away. Honestly Lexi probably could manage to eat a few more but she didn't want to be seen to make a pig of herself in front of Jacob, she didn't think she'd been making the best of impressions she could have and so didn't really want to make it worse.

"Oh, um yeah actually that sounds like a good idea, I do like a walk around the lake. And best to make the most of the nice weather while it lasts." The winters set in quickly and hard so that it would soon be impractical to walk much in the grounds until the spring came along. "That is if you don't mind waiting for me to sort myself out properly, I should really fix my hair before stepping foot outside of the castle." She'd blushed slightly again as he'd made the 'lovely young lady's' comment, and cast a wink that this time she didn't miss, she also appreciated the compliment but decided not to comment rather than saying something that might just embarass her further.

[Jacob Clark]

“No, you’re not a dunce at all. Don’t be too hard on yourself; there are loads of muggle synthetic fabrics and even some transfigured fabrics that look very similar. You are still a good Ravenclaw if you know when to ask too.” He’d met plenty of Ravenclaws that had absolutely no clue what they were making-up half of the time; all to maintain a vein front to convince the gullible and the unknowing.

“I agree. Some sleep is needed to keep a moderate-level of consciousness in the more boring subjects.” Jacob had heard of people going crazy from lack of sleep, and definitely did not want to test the limits of his ability to maintain sanity. That could most likely be his greatest fear in his endeavor to go without sleep, insanity. Perhaps, insanity works like dehydration where the sufferer realizes that is coming only if they can recognize the signs.

“Oh, there’s no big rush. Take the time that you’ll need. Good things come to those who wait.” Jacob tried to remember if his backpack was in his trunk still or in his dresser. He’d need it for the outing. “Besides, I need to pick-up a little something from my dormitory before we’d go anywhere.”

Jacob reached for a teapot labeled ‘English Breakfast’, picked it up, and went to offer Lexi some. “Would you care for some tea?” If she accepts then he’ll carefully serve her some in one of the many teacups on the table, and pass it to her. He’ll then serve himself a cup. He offers her some sugar lumps. “Would you care for some sugar?” After she served herself some, he put two lumps into his own teacup, and then looked up at her and with a devilish grin said, “Three for me.” He added the third lump, put the sugar pot down, and stirred momentarily while saying. “I love a little sweetness.”

[Lexi Mara Kern]

Well at least he didn't think her an idiot, that was something for starters but Lexi was still pretty keen to drop the subject of conversation. She was sure they'd probably exhausted it anyway. just how much more could there be to say about a dragon skin jacket anyway? She smiled at his response and she rather liked his theory about being smart enough to ask questions when you don't know the answer.

"You know that actually makes a lot of sense." She admitted thoughtfully, "Besides if you never ask questions, then how do you ever learn anything new."

Lexi emptied her glass of orange juice with one more swig as Jacob said he didn't mind waiting for her to organise herself before they set off for the walk; seems it was decided then. "Well, ok then I will definitely join you for your walk then." She grinned brightly, it would certainly fill a hole in her plans. Otherwise she'd probably just have ended up in the library.

She had been planing on letting her food go down for a moment and then heading on up to her dormitory before they headed on out to the grounds. Jacob however didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry and offered Lexi some tea. Well, why not, it was Saturday and they had all day after all.

"Um, sure I'll have some tea, thank you." He was being very gentlemanly and poured the cup out for her, offering the sugar bowl to which she smiled coyly and accepted 2 lumps. She had to giggle softly at the grin he cast and the things he said, they were almost cringeworthy but Lexi still found herself thinking them charming.

"So what exactly do you need to 'fetch' to preapre for this little walk we're going on?" Lexi asked with a vague wrinkling of her brow. It sounded as if he'd planned something more complicated than a simple jaunt around the lake.

[Jacob Clark]

Jacob enjoyed the tea. Its full flavor was reminiscent of home, and of his family’s cook. “It’s funny how certain things prompt one’s memory.” He took another sip, “Just now, this tea reminded me of home for just a moment. I normally have green tea at home, which is my Father’s favorite, or Earl Grey, which is my Mother’s; but English breakfast is our cook’s favorite. She’s load it up with sugar too.” He chuckled a bit at the thought of the rotund woman. “I guess I’ll see them next year sometime.”

When Lexi asked about what he needed to fetch from upstairs he replied, “It’s my backpack. It has a little bit of this and a little bit of that, mostly useful stuff when one’s in a pinch. I just like to be prepared for anything. Just in case mind you. The lake does get quite close to the forest.”

He was finished with his tea, and sat down the teacup. If Lexi hadn’t already finished her tea, then he’d wait patiently. When she’d finished he said, “Ready to get ready?” He waited for her to get up and then stood also.

((We can finish the conversation, then leave and create a new thread by the Lake))

[Lexi Mara Kern]

Lexi smiled and listened interestedly as Jacob got all nostalgic as he drank his tea. She coughed slightly as he mentioned that the tea he'd chosen had been their cook's favourite. They had a cook? Like someone employed just to cook their meals for them? Lexi was surprised, I mean she knew that there were people out there who lived much more wealthily than she and her father did both in the muggle and magical world but surprisingly this had been the first time she'd actually met one, or the first one who had admitted it out loud.

She didn't comment on it though. Jacob hadn't said anything with arrogance, or to show off, no it had seemed really to be a sweeping comment that had little relevance other than to the subject of the tea. Lexi didn't like to be rude so she made no mention of the cook and thought instead of things that reminded her of home. Only one ever really came to mind.

"It funny, the only time I get that wave of nostalgia for home is whenever I smell the sea. Which now is usually only when I'm on my way home. Can always tell when the Knight bus is getting close to my stop." She smiled dreamily, thinking it over in her head. "We live in a little fishing town, you see." She explained, though Jacob had probably gathered something along those lines. "Me dad is a fisherman on a big trawler. And on the first night he's back home from one of his long trips at sea we always make Stargazy pie for dinner...though thats not something they ever seem to serve here so don't get the whole nostalgia thing from the food so much."

She finished off her tea as Jacob explained he only wanted to collect his backpack from his dormitory, Lexi figured it must be packed with some kind of useful supplies that you never knew you needed until the time comes you need it and don't have it with you. "Ah, always be prepared. Isn't that like a boy scout thing." She asked with a slight chuckle, still it was probably a good motto to live by, and he'd had a point the lake did circle around pretty close to the forest and who knew what might be lurking in there.

"Yeah I'm good to go and get ready." Lexi replied with a grin as she stood from the table and made her way towards the doors of the Great Hall. "So, shall I meet you back down in the entrance hall when we're both ready?" Lexi asked before she made for the stairs to head back to the Ravenclaw tower to organise herself more appropriately for a walk around the lake.

((Sounds good, did you want to create the thread or shall I do it?))

[Jacob Clark]

((I’ll try not to drag this thread out any more, and we can just move on to the next thread.))

Jacob thought over his experiences living near the seaside on so many occasions throughout his life. The fresh air was revitalizing. He would have enjoyed spending time near the sea again. He however, had moved several time in his life, where as she obviously came from a coastal community and apparently had lived there for her entire life. He didn’t want to compare backgrounds too much. The walk could be pretty long and he knew that they’d end up continuing their conversation there. Jacob commented on her memories of Stargazy pie, “Stargazy pie, really? I’m a big fan of Cornwall cuisine. I can see why that would make you remember home. I’m from West Sussex myself. You know we should petition for more regional dishes be included in dinners.”

When she made her comment about his desire to be prepared he said, “Yes, I believe that it is the Boy Scout motto. Good old common sense and some of my family’s background is a big lesson for me.”

When they parted ways he said, “So I’ll see you in the entrance hall in just a bit, but don't feel rushed. I can wait until you're ready."

Jacob went up to his room to get his backpack, and whatever else came to mind.



((I should have posted on Friday, but the day got extremely busy. I’ll make it right now.))

[Lexi Mara Kern]

"Yes, it's funny how it reminds me of home being from Scotland, but my Dad is Cornish he moved to Scotland to be with my mother and it reminded him of home so now it has the same sentiment for me too. And yet from two entirely different places." Lexi replied wistfully, "But that would be quite a good idea, make people feel more at home and I know the house elves would make a good job of it, they're so good with their cooking. Perhaps we should do that sometime."

Lexi had certainly eaten her fill, she felt quite stuffed as she moved away from the table, chuckling slightly at the Boy Scout idea, and then wondering if there was perhaps a magical equvialent. That could be interesting. Promising not to take too long Lexi hurried up the stairs to the Ravenclaw common room to make herself more presentable before heading to meet Jacob back in the entrance hall ready for their walk around the lake.