Relaxing {open}

Vaughn walked into the courtyard with his owl sitting on his shoulder, he felt cooped up in the castle. He dusted off one of the benches in the courtyard so he could sit down and just think for a while. He took out a piece of wood and his shaping tools so that he could make the miniature griffon that he was almost finished with. His owl saw something running across the snow and went after it, after capturing it flew to a tree that was sitting in the courtyard. He watched his owl's movements shaking his head softly as he went back to his carving. Thirty minutes passed by as he worked before it was finally finished and he sighed softly knowing that it was the last piece he needed. He blew on the piece to clear it of any shavings then stowed the tools in his pocket once more. He inspected the piece carefully to make sure he didn't miss anything and was happy with how it looked.

Vaughn sighed as he looked around the courtyard as he played with the piece which was to be used for a regular chess set. He had made all the pieces for the board and even made the board in which they were going to be put on. He loved working with his hands on something this small, he loved it as much as he did with his classes that taught him so much. He laid down on the bench looking up at the sky as snowflakes started falling around him, he closed his eyes to soak it in.

Dakota strolled across the Courtyard and saw a boy. He was doing something with his hands, but she was not sure as to what exactly he wa doing. She moved a bit closer and saw he was making something out of wood. She was confused on why he was doing so, but she found it oddly fascinating. She moved closer and sat on the bench he was sititng as she watched. She didnt say anything, just waited until he finished whatever it was that he was doing. She saw the tiny griffin in his hands and smiled, "How did you do that?"

Vaughn opened his eyes and sat up looking at the girl next to him. He looked at the chess piece he was still holding and smiled. "I used shaping tools, it takes some skill to learn. Though it helps a lot with me since I can't sit still, I always have to be in motion in some way. You wanna learn?" He asked as he looked around for a bit of wood and found one next to his foot. Picking it up he placed it on his knee as he pulled out his shaping tools. He showed them to her, "They help shape the wood how you want it. I can show you how to use them if you want to learn. Or I could make you something you like if you want me to." He didn't know what house the girl was in but he was eager to show her how to do this. He of course waited until she said something before he would continue.

Unable to keep his silence he said, "My name's Vaughn Hunter. May I ask of your name?"

The boy sure did talk alot. It was hard for Dakota to keep up. But he seemed innocent enough. She was sure he was not a snake with that attitude. She assumed Gryffindor or Hufflepuff based on the interaction they had just shared. When he offered to teach ehr she smiled btu shook her head, "I dont have the aptience to learn. But I wouldnt mind you making me something."

She blushed softly and moved her black hair behind her shoulder. She bit her lip and smiled when he introduced herself. "Im Dakota. Dakota Rose. fourth year Slytherin." She crossed her legs and smiled at her new friend

Vaughn smiled she said that she wouldn't mind him making something for her. Picking up the piece of wood he began making something for her. His hands worked with speed and efficiency when he was finished he took out his wand and tapped it on two places. He smiled as he held it out to her, he carved a rose and used magic to color the wood. "I can make anything that you would like to have. I can color it as well I learned the trick from my dad." He cleared the bench of wood scraps as he looked at her.

"I'm Vaughn Hunter, fifth year Gryffindor." He said smiling at her. "I'm not keeping you from anything am I?" He looked at her and saw that a single strand of her hair fell because of the light breeze. He reached up and tucked it back with the rest of her hair.

Dakota looked at the wooden rose he handed her and smiled. "Wow, its beautiful." She shrunk it down so she could put it in her pocket until she got to her room where she would put it on her bedside table.

"Its a pleasure to meet you Vaughn. I had a feeling you were a Gryffindor. Either that or a Hufflepuff." She smiled and shook her head. "Nope. Nothing to keep me away from." She froze when he reached out and pushed her hair back, but she soon smiled. No one had ever done that before. Most people rana way from her, but not this one."

"Thank you, is there anything specific that you like?" Vaughn asked her as he put his tools back in his pocket. "I can do basically anything except a dragon, I always end up screwing up the scales of it. I've never seen one up close so I don't know exactly what the scales looked like." He knew that if he wanted to find more wood he would have to look down around the edge of the forest.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Dakota. Yeah I tend to not fit in with Ravenclaw, I'm smart but I tend to get into a lot of fights." He said softly as he looked around the courtyard. "What's it like being in Slytherin?" He asked looking at giving her a soft smile. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I'm just curious."

"Thats too bad. I love dragons." She lifted her shirt a bit to expose the dragon tattoo on her right hip. "Theyre kind of my thing. Dragons and stuff." She smiled and thought to herself.

"Can you make a snake? After all, i am a slytherin." She smiled and leaned back on the bench, her hair landing on hsi shoulder, the smell of strawberries wafting through the air from her shampoo.

She blushed and thought for a moment, "Slytherin is as it looks. Dark and Mysterious. But I like it. I feel at home there since my family is dakr and mysterious as well." She moved her hair over her shoulder and smiled up at the boy

"I'll see if I can find a decent picture of one so I can make you a dragon." Vaughn said grinning at her then looked at her tattoo. "Nice, did it hurt to get a tattoo there on your hip?" He got a great idea when he thought about dragons. "I just a great Idea about what to make for you with a dragon." He grinned widely as he looked up at her. "What color would you like it?" He asked trying to contain his excitement about finding the perfect thing for her.

"Yeah I can make a snake," Vaughn said smiling then her hair fell against his shoulder. He could smell the strawberries of her shampoo and he smiled.

He grinned at her description of Slytherin, "Well that seems like a good description of it. It's good that you feel at home in your house, it should be that way." He didn't know what to say but he wondered what she was like and wanted to try and find a topic to talk with her about.

"It hurt a bit. Its a muggle tattoo so it hurt more than a magic one would. Muggles use ink and needles to put the picture on your skin. And you have to be very very still while they do it, or they will mess up. Its even more painful to remove it than it is to get it done. As for the colors... I like purple. Its one of my favorite colors." She smiled and giggled when he agreed to make the snake as well. "Well arent you an eager one. Taking on two projects for little old me." She smiled and looke dat him< "What is Gryffindor like?"