From his position her face was hovering only a few inches in front of his, and it was way too close for either of their comfort. He craned his neck back a little to put space between them, but she was all wrapped around him (or rather, her clothes were) and with his shoulder now throbbing it took more effort than he would have liked to lift himself so she could pull her coa free. The only consolation was that she was tiny—tinier than any of his sisters, even—so supporting her weight didn't add much to his pain. He could see her skirt stuck under his right leg and he knew she wouldn't be able to free herself nor would he be able to free her without adjusting her position, but the thought of putting his hands on her unsettled in so for a moment it was all he held himself in his sitting position, staring at her with no response.

Finally, he leaned forward and put one hand on her shoulder and the other on her waist so he could lean to the side to set her skirt free without sending her into the water again. "I hate this," he said, less to add anything to the conversation and more as a way to distract himself from how close they suddenly were. Once he saw the skirt go free he let go of her abruptly and began to push himself off the floor.

"New rules: no more throwing yourself at me. Not enough even ground for that." He began to pull off his coat, which is something he couldn't recall ever having done in proper company, but the situation was so unusual that he didn't even think about it. His white shirt underneath was wet, but luckily not as restrictive as the heavy coat that had just been dunked in saltwater.

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The following 1 user Likes Raphael Malfoy's post:1 user Likes Raphael Malfoy's post
   Rowan Yaxley

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set by lady <3

As he worked to free her, Rowan became more and more conscious of exactly how close they were. Mirroring him, she pulled herself as far away as possible, however, given the circumstances it wasn't as far as she knew either of them were comfortable. Perhaps if they were a few more feet away she would have been at least a fraction more satisfied.

His voicing of his distaste did nothing except provide something else for Rowan to retrospectively cringe over when she sat at her desk writing a full report. At least it was mutual. "At least finally we are in perfect agreeance," she managed to say in a biting tone as his hands found her waist and shoulder, her eyes flicking to the two points of contact as if she had anyway in the matter.

As soon as she was free she was back to scrambling up as quick as she could. Smoothing out her skirts did nothing except give her the air of doing something while he doffed his coat. As Ro turned back towards him, the flare of her skirts made little ripples in the water they were standing in, and she stared at him.

She had gotten much of a taste for society functions except the ones the ministry held, but she was rather certain that action wasn't something that one did in mixed company. But then again, she thought as she quickly averted her eyes, drastic circumstances sometimes called for unorthodox measures. Finally registering what he had said, Rowan scowled at the table that had caused all of this mess. The subtext of what he had said left her cheeks burning. She should say she was hardly someone who did something of that nature, except for the fact that in their last two encounters (holidays and just now), it was SHE who had first made contact with his person and not the other way around. "I'll do my best to keep my hands off you," she threw at him in a weak attempt to gain back the metaphorical ground she'd lost.

She was still scowling at the table which had successfully jammed itself into the doorway. Luckily, Rowan realized, that wasn't a way they need to go back through, and she gestured in an exaggerated way toward the rest of the room. "By all means, lead the way!" She said. "You were the one of us who was in here last."

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The following 1 user Likes Rowan Yaxley's post:1 user Likes Rowan Yaxley's post
   Raphael Malfoy

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Some men liked swimming. Some even spent the time in he water at the beach. Raphael knew plenty of men like that, yet it didn't change the fact that the only time he enjoyed being wet was when he was soaking in a tub full of nice-smelling soaps and oils. The seawater stunk of salt and other, less familiar smells, but even worse than the stench was the feeling of his clothes sticking to his body and his hair dripping down the back of his neck as the draft passed through the room. Even the loss of his coat wasn't helping much, although it gave him a greater range of motion. One hand found his shoulder, and he spent a moment just holding it, hoping the pain would go away. He didn't even pay her any mind—didn't even think about how she was feeling—until her comment caught him off guard.

He looked over his shoulder and caught her eye, and for once he couldn't find anything to say in response. The subtext was not lost on him, either; he instinctively glanced down from her face to the rest of her body, the corner of his lips quirked into the ghost of a smile but it quickly faded and he found her eyes again. She was soaked just like him, only somehow she looked more uncomfortable than him (as if she'd been the one to hit the hard floor).

"I will," he said, suddenly feeling more indignant than he had a moment ago. Her tone had caught him off guard; she hadn't even thanked him for being a landing cushion or apologized for knocking him to his feet, and now she was snapping at him? Insolent woman. He hastily turned back towards the small bookcase, and, stepping over countless objects and slushing through the water in order to reach it, found the little indent on the side and swung it open to reveal a door.

"This way," he said, not sparing her as much as a glance before he pried it open.

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set by lady <3

His biting shouldn't have surprised her, but Ro kept scowling anyways. If they continued at this for much longer, Rowan feared her sour expression might be permanently affixed to her face. As she moved forward to follow she had the childish urge to stomp, but that was mercifully rather difficult to do when one was wading through water. Thankfully the sound of her moving through the water quelled any sort of external outburst on her part.

Seeing where they were headed, she was about to make a snide comment given the fact it looked like they were about to walk straight into a wall. However given the mechanics of Platform 9 ¾, again, she shouldn't have been surprised that the bookcase was the way out. Rowan looked on in mild disdain; it seemed he actually did know where they were going. She inwardly chastised herself at her petulance, for that was exactly the kind of unprofessionalism he could get her in trouble for.

Once through the bookshelf entrance, they were enveloped in stony silence, though their walking provided most of the noise that echoed throughout the hallway. Rowan gripped her wand, her eyes darting behind them to make sure no one was behind them. In truth, she was half-hoping some poor straggler caught up to them. It would certainly relieve the annoyance that she felt. This was hardly a rescue mission; it just felt like they were being shoved together in a situation that neither of them had the equal capacity to get through, and the only thing it seemed to prove was that Rowan's professionalism left much to be desired when the person who she was supposed to be rescuing was a former student that she had tutored. Bloody hell.

As they went down the hallway, Ro had placed her free hand on the wall, which allowed her some stability when the water tugged at her skirts and was constantly changing her center of gravity. She almost ran into Malfoy again when they came to the dining halls. Or what she thought was the dining halls.

Instead, they were inside the kitchens, and the lingering smell of prepared food mixed with the brackish sea water was an unpleasant assault on her senses. Rowan would have raised her hand to cover her nose, but her sleeve was soaked in the same saltwater scent, which provided absolutely no cover. "I thought you said this was the dining hall." she said, the tension in her voice only half gone.

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He could hear her sloshing through the water behind him, but that was the only indication she was still there. To say that the stress of the day was just beginning to weigh on him was a lie, as it had started from the moment the boat crashed and left him trapped in his room; but now the weight was becoming too heavy and he was desperate to escape it.

Finally they came to the other side of the tunnel and he pushed open the door with two hands. It... wasn’t a dining room, he realized, but he had been inside before. “I guess anything looks like a dining hall when you’re had enough to drink,“ he admitted, a bit dumbfounded by his own misremembering. She probably thought he was an idiot—a recurring theme in their interactions, he realized, and was immediately annoyed by.

“Doesn’t matter anyways,” he insisted, stepping around the various tables and counters in search of the door. He turned another corner, stepping out of her immediate view, and only then let out a gasp loud enough for her to hear.

“There’s a... body here,“ he called to her, too shocked to move forward or to back away. One thing was certain: it was a dead body. It was lying face-down in the nearly five inches of water, and what he could see of the neck and hands were grayish and devoid of life. Merlin.

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set by lady <3

Though she was irritated, Rowan knew that when a magical building got disturbed, really anything could happen. She couldn't help but wonder what this place had looked like filled with people and activity. While Ministry balls had always been some degree of fun, Ro often wondered what it looked like behind the scenes. Even with her curiosity, there was no use in asking him. Likely he would make some offhand comment about how she wished she knew what truly went on at opulent parties.

Still, with their spoken sort-of truce between them, it might be worth a shot. "How did you end up in here?" She asked, wandering over to the cupboards. The lack of answer made her roll her eyes. Really? Turning to face him, Ro prepared some sort of witty remark to volley back at him, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Malfoy?" she asked, her voice raised slightly. The last thing she needed was to lose him in this. That would just require more paperwork.

But his call back to her made her freeze. A body. Ro bit her lip; finding victims were her job, but there was always a degree of dread that came over her when she did. To prevent herself from reacting instinctively, Ro told herself that it was quite normal to have a visceral reaction.

She made her way over to him as quickly as she could, spotting him as he stared down at the presumed body on the floor. Sure enough, he was right - she didn't doubt him when he first mentioned it, however, she had been holding onto a sliver of hope that perhaps he was wrong. She sighed a morose note. "Do you recognize him - his outfit, at least?" she asked quietly, bending her knees slightly to see if there was any sort of identifying marker on him.

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Raphael had never seen a dead body—not so up close and personal. It wasn't the sort of thing people like him had to deal with. Both of his parents were alive, and so were all of his sibling who had come after him; he didn't know what he would have expected, but it wasn't this. The thought that this was a person, someone who'd once been full of life, had a personality that was all their own, and likely a family they'd been hoping to go home to... and now they were lying face-down on the floor, and it was like their life had been worth nothing. He'd rather die by spontaneous combustion than have his body left in such a sad state.

When she approached from the side he was still and stiff, his arms pressed tightly against his side and his lips pressed tightly together. He'd thought about death before, but he'd never considered what he would do if he found a dead body. Would blood come rushing out if he tried to lift it? Would the body—(the man, he tried to tell himself; t wasn't some gory prop, but a person someone was probably looking for)—be limp and difficult to carry? Was Yaxley intending to carry it away, or would they leave it for someone to come back for?

"It looks like someone on the kitchen staff," he explained, his voice wavering. "I remember their garments. The coat."

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set by lady <3

"Kitchen staff," she echoed softly. A heaviness seemed to settle in the room. There was no doubt that the man was past revival, however that didn't prevent Ro from wanting to check. So she knelt down fully, not minding that the water rushed over her skirts. At this point, it wouldn't matter too much. Taking her wand out, she put out both her hands and hovered them over the body. Closing her eyes, she muttered a few experimental spells under her breath. She silently observed the effects, but there were none to be seen. Which was expected.

She sighed again, her shoulder drooping slightly. Reaching up to hold onto a nearby table, she got up, rivulets running down the folds of her dress and back into the water. Muttering another incantation, Ro waved her wand in a sweeping motion over the body. What looked like an iridescent golden cloth laid over the man and instantly snapped to his form before disappearing. Then a faint twinkling sound emanated from the body as what looked like a vacuum formed in a pillar over it, drawing gold flecks in an upward motion.

Ro looked at him seriously, her expression helpless. This was the difficult part. "We have to leave him." she said, all pretenses of irritation gone from her voice. "Once everyone who is able to be saved is out, we go back in to retrieve any deceased we find." She swallowed, her expression tense. "But right now, my priority has to be you and any other living form we come across." Save who we can, mark anyone they come across to be later found by magic. This is when the profession required a prioritization between the living and the dead. While it made perfect sense to avoid any further casualties, Ro knew that families deserved closure, and a lost body at sea was anything but.

"Come on." she said quietly, not wanting to meet his gaze. She turned away from him and the body, her expression crumbling. There was no helping anyone if they didn't get out of there alive. But that didn't make it any easier to leave the dead behind.

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If there was any consolation to be found it was that she didn't seem to be taking the discovery of the body any easier than him. From a young age he'd been taught to bottle up his emotions and keep them hidden from the world, but staring down at the body it was all he could do to keep his uneasiness limited to a light shaking in his chest. Don't be a coward. You didn't know him, he told himself, and then repeated the same sentiment again and again in slightly different words. He needed to be strong; he was tired and in pain and felt gross, but there would be plenty of time to work through that when he wasn't below deck on a sinking ship and when he wasn't in the company of someone he wouldn't be able to bear being emotional around.

Still, watching her treat the body with such tenderness and care he found that his resentment towards her temporarily faded. He watched her spellwork in awe, wondering where she'd learned to do that—but more pressingly how often she had to do this. The thought of any young woman dealing with the dead on a regular basis left a bad taste in his mouth, but watching her... he supposed women had a tenderness to them that made them suited to it (in a weird sort of way).

Part of him was glad they would be leaving the man behind, because the thought of carrying a body halfway across the ship when they weren't yet certain of how easy escaping would be sent another surge of anxiety through him. And yet, as she turned away from the body and moved past him, he found it difficult to trek forward, and even when he turned to follow he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder.

He could have been a good person. He felt it nagging at him. I could stay, he should have said, I could stay and you could get someone to collect him. If he'd been in the man's position he wouldn't want his body left in the water. Maybe the man was dead and didn't even know how his body was left, but.. he'd always believed there was some sort of afterlife for the people who didn't become ghosts, so maybe the man did know where his body was. Maybe he was crying out for them to take him with them, to deliver him back to his wife or children or parents or whoever he had who was safe at home.

But he didn't. He tore his gaze from the body and turned back towards Yaxley, who was facing away from him and was suspiciously still. He put a hand on her shoulder—the best comforting gesture he could manage given their limited acquaintanceship and the tense day they'd had—and moved past her, further into the kitchen. "There should be a door around here. It'll get us out," he said quietly.

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The following 1 user Likes Raphael Malfoy's post:1 user Likes Raphael Malfoy's post
   Rowan Yaxley

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set by lady <3

Perhaps part of her was hoping he would offer her comfort; not as anything that had any sort of underlying subtext, but just as a decent human being. That, Rowan reasoned, wasn't completely unreasonable. She had been witness to enough traumatizing events that, when pressed and faced with the sobering reality of death, strangers offering each other comfort was not out of the ordinary.

She was obviously in distress, in contrast to her previous disposition of being extremely snappy at him. All this compared to the semi-truce they'd drawn earlier had led her to - expect? No, just hope - that he would offer up at least a word. As he merely patted her on the shoulder and passed her, she quickly swiped away the tear that had been on her cheek and watched his back. Then again, she thought as she quietly followed him through, they were merely acquaintances if that.

The surge of indignation that had quickly risen in her as he passed faded just as quickly. You're being absolutely ridiculous, she thought, straightening before continuing forward. It was best to forget the body behind them, including the feeling of helplessness that had risen in her when she was working on it. It wouldn't do either of them any good for her to break down. That would come later.

Approaching the kitchen door, Rowan prayed - prayed - that he was right and this was going to lead them out and into some sort of deck.

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Without the candles and the magical lighting it was all he could do to walk through the kitchen without tripping over his feet, and somehow it got even worse as he approached the door. There was a small window at the top which he swore led into the actual dining area, but peeking through it he didn't see anything. No daylight. Not candlelight. No furniture or anything that might indicate that they were nearing an exit. He paused, his hand on the door handle, and for a moment he questioned whether he'd brought her the right way at all. Surely there had to be a dining room near the kitchens? Or maybe there was another door...

He glanced around the corner, but there wasn't a door in sight. He didn't want to look back at Yaxley, lest she see the look of uncertainty on his face and berate him, so he straightened his shoulders (and immediately regretted it, hearing the small pop in his shoulder) and pushed the door open.

It was not a dining hall. The little light that poured in from the kitchen revealed that it seemed to be a hallway, the walls built with cheap wood. About ten feet ahead there was a window-less door, made of the same cheap, unfinished wood, and on either wall were other doors. He let out a shallow breath and stepped into the room, drawing his wand out and casting lumos in a quiet voice.

"The kitchens have to lead to somewhere people eat. They don't carry dinners through the main halls," he explained, still unable to bear to look at her. He tried to push the body out of his mind, but he couldn't help but wonder what had caused the man's death if there was a potential exit right here.

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set by lady <3

She followed him as yet again, they fell into silence with the sole sound being them wading through the water. The smell of the kitchen was getting further and further away, she observed. At least that was an alright sign. But - Rowan looked up as he hesitated at the door, confused. Had he realized that they were going the wrong way? She stared at his back for what it seemed like the umpteenth time that night. His shirt, though stuck to his back in some places, was beginning to look somewhat dry. Her skirts and coat, however, held the water too well, and she fought the urge to peel every layer off of her. She wanted to be rid of these clothes that had seen too much of the sea.

As he illuminated his wand, she did the same and stepped in after him. His explanation only served to touch a nerve. "I know, I've been to balls before." she commented, her voice while still low bearing a slight edge.

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As she stepped through the doorway he heard the door click shut behind them, and suddenly they were alone in the dark hallway and he had no clue where they were going. Her comment caught her off guard, because it seemed like she was responding to a sentiment he hadn't intended to convey, so finally he turned and met her eyes, and - Merlin, her eyes were a bit red and she looked more tired than she had five minutes ago.

But he couldn't acknowledge it. She'd probably get embarrassed or shut down if he mentioned that she looked like shite, and then he'd be forced to talked about emotions and her and probably him and his insensitivities, too, and that would distract them from getting out of here. "I wasn't suggesting that you hadn't," he pushed out through gritted teeth, and moved his eyes back to the door at the end of the hall. "I only meant that we have to be close to a ballroom or a dining room. And usually there you'll find an exit to the upper deck." As he was talking he walked towards the door on the far end and grabbed hold of the handle. He tried to push it first—nope. Must have to pull it..., he thought, and tried that. Nope.

He cursed and rattled the handle aggressively before finally letting go. "Locked," he grumbled. He turned to look back at her, a sour expression on his face. "Try that one and I'll try the other one," he ordered, pointing to the two doors on either side of them.

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set by lady <3

She bristled at his retort and immediately felt foolish. Of course, that wasn't what he meant, but she'd interpreted it in that way because her back was sore, her feet hurt, she wanted to just forget that she had to leave a dead man behind (even though she hadn't even killed him in the first place), and the fact that she was stuck in a godforsaken shipwreck with bloody Raphael Malfoy.

Ro ducked her chin, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, and was momentarily thankful that it was dark so he couldn't see. That feeling only lasted a few seconds and she immediately realized she'd been so distracted by her own scorn that she hadn't noticed the door click shut behind them. As Malfoy attempted the doors, a sinking feeling overcame Rowan, and she nodded, dismissing the command he'd just thrown at her. Seizing the other door, she tugged and tugged. Nothing.

Grimacing, Ro put her wand between her teeth, grabbed with both hands and pulled. With a sudden click, the door burst open as if it was pressurized and Ro had just pulled a plug. Except instead of water draining, it burst forth and she shrieked as it threw her against the opposite wall. Her wand clattered to the floor and was immediately swallowed up by the water.

"My wand!" she cried. As she fought stars in her vision, Ro struggled to stand up against the buffetting water. As she cast her gaze around, she quickly gathered that unless they got the other door back open, the room would fill up with water and they would... she didn't even want to think about that. She had to find her wand, but the room was already filled waist deep.

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The following 1 user Likes Rowan Yaxley's post:1 user Likes Rowan Yaxley's post
   Raphael Malfoy

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Hallways like this didn't exist without the purpose of leading to another room, so surely there had to be a pathway through one of the doors. Raphael reached his door and began to pull on it, but like the other one it seemed locked (or at least jammed shut). He swore it had budged on his second attempt, and he'd just shoved his wand back in his sleeve pocket in order to be able to use both hands when the sound of rushing water hit his ears.

And then the actual water hit the rest of his body. Yaxley was thrown up against the wall an armlength away from him, and it was by instinct rather than concern that he reached out and took hold of her upper arm. But then the concerned followed, naturally. The water had obviously been up to the ceiling behind the other door, because even in the large room it was rising steadily, already reaching her waist (and right below his hip) within twenty seconds. He tugged on her arm, helping her to her feet, and then promptly pulled her like a ragdoll against frontside, one arm wrapping around her shoulders. He wasn't thinking about propriety, or even how she felt; he only knew that he wouldn't survive if she disappeared under the water, because he wouldn't in good conscious be able to leave her there even if he did manage to get the door open.

"We don't have time to find your wand," he insisted, the panic rising in his voice. He still had his wand. He reached around her shoulders to pluck it from his coat pocket, but he wasn't sure what he was meant to do with it. He looked around the room—the one door was still open, water rushing through, and the other two doors were closed shut. They could try to get to the kitchen door, but that would mean crossing the oncoming rush of water, and even as tall and sturdy as he was he wasn't sure whether or not he'd be able to walk against it without being tossed to the floor and pushed under. They'd have to open the one he was leaning against.

"We've got to get the door open." And hope there's no more water in there, he thought, but he couldn't voice it aloud. That would jinx it.

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set by lady <3

Ro winced as he seized her unceremoniously, but she didn't struggle. In any other situation, Rowan would protest as he pulled her against him - almost violently so. However even in this quickly rising water, a person of her size would get pulled under in a trice, and given that she had just lost her wand, she would absolutely be dead. Not wanting to go completely limp on him, she stiffened only slightly so he wouldn't have to struggle with her weight as well as manage to keep on his own two feet.

Ro tried not to let the whimper of desperation escape her as she turned inward to face him and she looked at the door they were leaning against. The water was rapidly swirling around them and Rowan nodded as her ice-cold hands struggled to gain purchase. She glanced back behind her, still lamenting about her wand; somewhere in the back of her mind she would gripe later about how it would cost a fortune to get another one. If only she had her wand she would be able to help —

Her wand.

She whipped back to Malfoy, her eyes illuminated. "Then open it!" she cried, thankful her hands were otherwise preoccupied given that she wanted to slap him upside the head. "Are you a wizard or not?!"

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