Alisha's eyebrows crinkled despite herself. Okay.....to be completely fair, she wasn't the best saviour the world had ever fashioned, or ever gave the chance to save a life. But putting it lightly.....despite all appearances, she wasn't completely useless. Clambering over roofs and walls before she could properly run, playing every position in Quidditch there possibly was (because sticking to one was a waste, and plain ol' boring, even if she was the Huffle keeper)- had led to athleticism, and consequently extremely good upper body strength, if she said so herself (with a good shot of ego); enough to haul him up. The boy really didn't need to look like she was going to throw him off the ledge.
But then again........it was his life at stake. Or his limbs, at any rate. Limbs were generally a very important part of the body.
"Alright, let me look around for something....." She twisted her head around, still kneeling on the floor, her black eyes flitting around the tower room, focusing on objects, then disregarding them. Until they found something, then brightened. "Aha."
Alisha got to her feet, dusting her hands, mouth half opening to tell the boy to stay right there, before closing shut with a snap. Does he look like he's going to go anywhere? God. She scrambled across the room, feet skidding sharply as she came to a halt, then fisted out the tiny, frayed edge of the rope that she had espied from the ledge. Gave it a sharp tug, and the long, thin twine gave way and emerged, attached loosely at the base of a rusted brass telescope. Pressing the bottom of her sneaker's sole against the base, and winding the rope around her left hand- Alisha pulled hard and fast- and the slight splicing sound that permeated the air suggested the rope was fraying, but slowly. And she didn't have time for slowly.
When she finally unwound the rope from her hand, there were long, red marks imprinted on her skin- coiling around her wrist and aching with short, sharp jabs. The rope was still not yielding. Damn. Drawing the weak portion tight between her palms, Alisha opened her mouth wide and bit through the twine- threads snagging on her canines, but finally, finally coming free. When she lifted her head, stray strands of black hair dangling into her eyes, smiling triumphantly at the rope, her heart beat punctuated her voice, echoing with relief. "Got it."
There wasn't much time to think, and god, she'd taken a bit long to realise that, hadn't she? The natural course of action would be to tie the rope around the pillar, then her waist, and clasp the boy's hand and pull him to safety. But then a phantom ache ghosted up her ankle- and Alisha discarded that plan like a bowl of rotten fruit. She knew of the precariousness of sweaty hands, and how they had the tendency to slip at the worst moments. The boy was looking terrified, and he would naturally be sweating rather heavily. If his fingers slipped through.......
Knotting the rope about the nearest pillar didn't take more than ten seconds. Alisha dug her soles into the cold, stone floor of the room, smiled lightly, then sprinted towards the boy and vaulted off the ledge.
For a few seconds, the sound of her heartbeat was all that was audible. Thump. Thump. Thump. Her right leg wobbled for a bit, then stabilised; an experienced heel digging into a crack for support immediately. Her fingertips were curled hard around the smooth ledge surface, and already starting to burn from the effort. She'd probably scraped her knuckles too, if the numbed pain seeping down her phalanges was any indication.
She threw back her head, wind flapping madly at her hair, and laughed: the sound running across the walls like a faery, leaping over stones and whisking inside windows. She turned her head to the side, quite an achievement considering the fact that she was pressed against the wall, and smiled blindingly at the boy now just adjacent to her, but a couple inches below.
"That, was way too fun." She pronounced, while shimmying to the left with slow, sure moments, until her elbow brushed the sleeve of the boy's shirt. She turned her head completely, and slowly released her left hand from its tight grip on the ledge, the end of rope still twined around its thumb. Her left eye closed in an affable wink. "Now, don't panic. I'm not about to molest you, alright?" Then she pressed forward, left hand winding around the boy's lower back, carrying the rope along with it. It was a bit of a struggle getting her hand to completely go round the boy's waist, but she managed- her front pressed tight to his back- till in a breathless moment, she loosened her grip completely in order to secure the loop of rope around him.
Of course, the world picked that very moment to send a strong gust of wind, enough to sway her to the side and almost, almost, let her legs fall through; but Alisha seized the ledge with her left hand again at the last second, nails scraping against stone, and flattened herself against the wall. She could dimly hear her heart pound through the stone, the fluttering beat entering her ear, squashed against the wall.
She exhaled.
God, how she lived for these moments.
Pulling herself up was a chore, one which she easily executed. She really did have too much practice on roofs. Then, getting up- brushing off lint from her roughened palms and knees, her hand went around the rope pulled taut between the pillar, and the boys weight, pressing it under her arm. Wound the rope about her wrist again, pressed her teeth tight, braced her knees.....and pulled.