my pain and all the trouble caused

Afonka gave his head a little shake, staring blankly at the red and white target in front of him. From practically the moment term had ended, he'd been spending in Azorat, but as far away from the mafia mansion as he could. He didn't want to risk a run in with Ciar.

So he was here, throwing knives and getting bulls-eyes one after the other. There was little happiness in his triumph. What was the point of doing this if in the end all he was going to do was help terrible people further their own goals?

Running away was beginning to look more and more enticing.

Iris stuffed her hands into the pockets of her shorts, as she walked around the arena. It wasn't really her first choice of place, but had somehow ended up here on her walk across Azorat. She recalled being here once, maybe twice, but not more than that.

The sleeves of her top fluttered lightly, moving away to expose the saying engraved on her skin. Not that people would understand; it was written in Greek. She was not exactly a patriot, but she did find the language terribly beautiful and felt an urge to get it done.

The Gryffindor noticed someone who looked like they were playing with...darts? Her curiosity arising, she made her away towards the figure, not worried if it even a killer. She had her knife hooked around her waist in it's case, she knew it'd be fine.

"That's pretty impressive," Iris remarked, nodding her head towards the target board, feeling relieved that it was just another student. Or at least, she thought he was a student as she did not remember seeing him anywhere before.

He pulled out his last knife, glancing up at the target covered with knives before resuming his blank staring. This knife had always been his favourite. Unlike all the others that he had, which he'd scavenged from either stores or the mafia weaponry, this one was the sole one he'd made by himself.

And part of him was sickened.

What sort of person had a favourite knife? That was the sort of talk that someone who went out and killed other people said. And just the idea of ending a life made him feel physically sick. His grip on the hilt of the throwing knife increasing, Afonka chewed on his bottom lip, his eyes darting from one knife on the target to the other.

Jumping at the voice, he blinked over at the brunette. Once he'd processed her words, he ducked his head shyly, giving it a small shake. "It's nothing, really." He glanced back at it, giving his head another shake. "Absolutely nothing."

"Nothing? Oh please, I don't think you realize how fucking awesome it is to get such good strikes," the Greek girl scoffed with a shake of her head. "If everyone else could do that, then it'd be nothing. It is in fact something to be proud off, believe me, I know."

Then again, her 'targets' hadn't been on boards, much on the lives of real people, especially those who had dared to kidnap her and her sister and even still, she had never really killed anyone. Just an accident that one day, but she was not willing to count that. Besides, she would have died had she not stabbed the man.

Fighting was in her blood, there was no way out of it.

Noticing the knife in the boy's hand, she asked, "Mind if I take a look? I don't think I've seen that design, though I rarely get time to keep track of all the latest weapons though."

Afonka blushed a deep shade of red, suddenly finding it difficult to look at the brunette. Instead, his eyes were rooted on the ground of the arena. If she knew just why he was so good with knives and just what he knew he'd have to do with that skill, she wouldn't be complimented him.

"Thank you," he whispered, nodding jerkily as he rose his brown gaze up to her, offering a tiny little smile. He had to admit, whether or not the compliment was well advised, it still felt nice to be complimented for something.

When was the last time he'd been complimented? He wasn't even sure anymore.

Shaking his head, he held the knife out in his outstretched palm. "No, go ahead." Glancing away again, he added. "That's probably because I made this one."

The Gryffindor raised an eyebrow amusedly at the boy's blush, but chose not to say anything. She knew it couldn't out of embarrassment though, because like she had said, it was indeed something to proud of. "You're welcome," she replied with a shrug and smiled lightly.

Taking the knife from his hand, Iris looked at him in surprise, "You made this? That is even more amazing. Congratulations, you just made your place on my good side."

It was something even she hadn't attempted, but she knew it was not an easy task. She wondered for a brief second if Game had ever tried to make any of his weapons, and made a mental note to ask him later.

Iris traced her fingers across the blade, almost like a musician would with his instrument, the familarity unavoidable. "Have you tried using it yet? Either way, the hilt seems to be sufficient." She commented.

"Yeah, but it was in class, so it's not as impressive as it sounds." He rubbed the back of his head, letting out an embarressed little laugh. A tiny smile flitted across his face, and he bowed to her. "Good to know. Most people are already on my good side, so you don't have to worry about that."

It had never occurred to him until now, but he really was good at this. And that terrified him. The mafia hadn't just made him join them, they'd already begun turning him into one of them, and he'd been none the wiser.

He wasn't an unwitting pawn anymore. He was already on his way to becoming a knight.

"I got my first bulls-eye with it," he admitted, unable to stop himself from smiling down at the blade. "It's a pretty good knife. You can try it out, if you want," Afonka offered, smiling at her.

"Doesn't matter where it was, the fact still lies that it is awesome," the Greek girl replied, the amused expression returning to her features. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. "Once you get to know me, you really would not put me on your good side."

Iris shook her head and handed the blade back to the boy. "I've been a little out of practice, wouldn't want to damage your knife in case I make a blunder." When was the last time she had shot targets? She couldn't remember, it was like a blurred memory.

Plus, her latest training had been going on with rifles, and she had to admit, her comfort zone was still with knives.

"I'm Iris, by the way," the brunette introduced herself. "Well, either that or you can call me Grayson. Do you come here frequently then, to practice?"

"Still, you really should be thanking my professor, not me." But he still smiled pleasantly at her, taking the compliment even though he felt that he didn't truly deserve it. Why couldn't he just be like other people who liked fighting? It would make his life so much easier. "I don't think that," he blinked. "You seem nice. Why wouldn't people want to be on your good side?"

Nodding, he took the blade back, tossing it from hand to hand. "I understand. If you ever change your mind though, I guess you could use those." He nodded towards the rest of his knives, currently embedded into the target.

"It's nice to meet you, Iris," he said with a smile. He'd never understood referring to people by surnames. It just seemed so hostile. "I'm Afonka." The Hrabrost glanced around them with a slight shrug. "No, not really. I mostly practice indoors, but it's so nice out that I had to come out here."

"Finding it difficult to accept compliments, are we?" The Gryffindor asked with a small grin. "Alright then, I'll leave you alone at that and not waste my breath." She rarely gave out nice comments to people, let alone strangers, but for this, she just had to say it. "Yes, I seem nice," she muttered with a humourless smile. "Don't judge a book by it's cover."

Iris smirked at his offer, "I carry around a couple of blades too. So don't worry, yours are all safe from my clutches. Although, I do notice that you seem slightly uncomfortable, even if you are good at it. Why is that?"

The brunette looked at the boy in surprise. It had been a long time since anyone, other than Hades and Kait, had called her by her first name. "Mind calling me 'Grayson' instead? I'm a little more used to that," she said and smiled lightly. "Nice to meet you too, by the way. Oh yes, the weather is quite awesome. I just had to come out of the Hogwarts walls for a while."

"I just don't think I deserve it, that's all," he said, his voice soft. Glancing up at her, the boy offered a little smile. "Thank you." He nodded his head slightly. If she'd just kept up the compliments, he would've found the conversation entirely too awkward. Afonka laughed softly, "I think I'll break the rule this one time." He brought a finger up to his lips, smiling. "Just don't tell anyone."

He blinked at the question, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand. "I just - I don't know, sometimes I don't think it's the best hobby. Sure, I can do this, but I don't want to hurt anyone." He shrugged sheepishly. "That sounds really stupid, doesn't it?"

Afonka's lips twitched upwards into a smile. "Sure. But what's with the dislike of your first name?" he asked curiously. "Ooh, you're from Hogwarts? What's it like there?"

Much to her word, Iris merely gave the boy a blank look and shrugged without saying anything, a small smirk on her face. "You're welcome. And break the rule of what? Judging me? Well, I do like rule breakers, so..." she trailed off and winked at him.

"Actually, it does stupid," she replied with a raised eyebrow. "But it sounds stupid to me, because fighting is one of the reasons I trained with knives. And fighting does involve injury, so you can't really expect to be good and not cause harm."

The Greek was perhaps being harsh and she knew it. But she also knew that it was the truth. How could anyone expect anything else while dealing with such weapons, much less practicing with them? "You do not have to hurt anyone on purpose," she added finally. "Just know that you should be able to use your skill should you find yourself in an....unwanted circumstance."

Iris chuckled lightly, "Not a dislike, just that everyone identifies me as 'Grayson'. There's another girl in my year with the same name, so we both decided on nicknames and that's why no one calls me that," she explained. "Hogwarts is pretty amazing," she told with a grin. "Although, things have been really boring lately. And the weather in England sucks," she stated. "Trust me, I love Hogwarts but I love staying in America more."

Afonka nodded. "Yep. I'll judge you. But it's a good sort of judging, so that sort of makes it alright." His lips twitching upwards, he winked back at her.

"I just -" he let out a little hopeless sigh, shaking his head at his feet. He never should've brought it up. "I don't think I'd hurt someone unless they hurt me first." He glanced over his shoulder at the target, grimacing softly.

He nodded up at her, absentmindedly tossing the knife from hand to hand. "It's practically the only reason I'm doing this." The lie left a bitter taste in mouth and he swallowed hard, as if it would change anything.

"That makes sense," he agreed, tilting his head from side to side. If there was someone out there with the same first name as him in Durmstrang, he wouldn't want to confuse everyone either. "What's her nickname?

"I've been to America once," he commented. "New York City. It was nice. Where have you been there?"

Iris could never advice people about hurting others or not. After all, she had used her skills on all the pathetic souls who thought they could harm her. "Well, you do not hurt someone if they do not hurt you," she said finally, with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I really can't say anything Afonka, because I've learnt to associate myself with such weapons for a long time now," she admitted. "Hell, even my brother is kinda like an assassin. And I plan on becoming just the same. So I don't care what you're practising, but don't let your skill go to waste."

A small smirk graced her features at the question, "Her name's Eye. Not so out-of-this-world I know, but hey, people can tell us apart at least. Besides, it's even easier because she's in Slytherin and I'm in Gryffindor," the Greek girl added.

"I've been to a few cities, because of my..." she trailed off abruptly and shook her head. "My foster parents, they're American, so they made sure I visited all the major places. It's a nice country, but nothing like home I guess," she said softly.

He nodded, brushing a hand through his brown hair, glancing around the arena. Watching all the people around him training, he gnawed on the inside of his cheek. What if they all had the right idea and it was he who was wrong? He pushed the thought away as quickly as it had formed. He couldn't live his life wondering.

"I don't even know what I'm going to do when I graduate," he admitted, frowning. "And I have OWLs this year and they kerp telling you that you should know but I just...don't." He'd wanted to go into Transfiguration once, and once Healing. But now he didn't have the slightest clue.

"Eye and Grayson." His lips twitched upwards, amusement sparkling in his brown eyes. "The queens of Hogwarts?" he teased, smirking. "Slytherin and Gryffindor, those are your houses, right?"

Afonka tilted his head slightly, watching her for a moment. "That sounds fun," he smiled, though curiosity shined in his eyes. "Where's your favourite?"

"That is nothing to be sad about, really. Lots of people do not know what they wish to be," the Gryffindor stated with a shrug of her shoulders. "There is still time for you to decide, and it will probably be one of those spontaneous ideas wherein they just hit you on the head." Iris had many other ideas in her head for the future, including becoming a professional Quidditch player, before realizing something as dangerous as assassin was all the more appealing.

The brunette laughed lightly, very much flattered by the title. "Not queens of Hogwarts per se, but I suppose we'd be the queens of our houses," she told, the smirk back in place. "And yes, those are our houses; the other two being Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."

"Well, my foster parents live in New York but I suppose my favourite place when I visited was Las Vegas," Iris replied with a grin. "But my home is Greece, and sadly I have not been there as many times as I would have liked."

"Still, I'm running out of time," he said softly, shrugging a shoulder. He had little more then a year, and then he'd be out in the big wide world without much of a purpose or direction. He'd be, well, nothing. A wry smile flitted across his face. "Well then, hit away." At this point, anything would be good.

"And how does that make you feel?" he asked, tilting his head with an amused smirk lifting his lips. "Being a queen of a House has to be grand." Momentarily wondering what it would be like to be the king of Hrabrost, he let out a little snort. He'd never last.

"You could always just run off to Greece," he suggested with a grin, waving his arms. "Floo powder can do great things."

"I wish I had more time too," the brunette sighed. "But that is the one thing we all wish for, isn't it? Yet when it is in our clutches, we let it go so easily." Being involved in near-death situations with only minutes or seconds to escape, Grayson knew what it felt like to be running out of time. "If I knew what to hit with you with, I would," she grinned lightly.

"Well, I suppose it feels good, especially of a house like Gryffindor." The Greek girl was all about supporting the four houses, but just like anyone else, her house pride always came first. "Not that it makes any difference, because it's all a tad bit unofficial really," she said with a smirk still in place. "But I'm pretty good at scaring people, so fear is my strength for now."

Her face hardened slightly at the suggestion and she shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, I could but I choose not to. I would love to go there, but circumstances prevent me from doing so. And I promised myself that the next time I go there, would be to commit murder."

"There should be a spell or something that makes time pass slower. Sure, you wouldn't really have more time, but it'd be almost like you did." It was the closest thing to the real thing he could come up with. Afonka laughed softly, grinning. "Well, thank you. I guess that counts for something, right?"

From what he'd heard and garnered, Gryffindor was practically the Hrabrost of Hogwarts. And he supposed that somehow, if he could realistically think of himself of king of Hrabrost, he'd feel rather great as well. "Still, I'd love to feel like that, even if the honour's just unofficial." He tilted his head at her. "Fear...You don't seem all that terrifying."

His expression clouding over in confusion, he asked, "Why not? I mean - you don't have to tell me if you don't want to - but, why?" He blinked at her, unable to stop himself from taking a small step backwards. "Murder?" He'd misheard her. He had to have. She seemed too nice to do such a thing.

"I don't think I could handle if time passed slower," the Greek girl admitted. "I actually rely on the fastness of time, because that is one crucial tool due to which I'm alive." She knew it sounded dramatic probably, but it was the truth. "You're welcome; it's the thought that counts after all." She grinned lightly.

Iris winked at the Hrabrost, "Let's just say that I have changing colours. I can't let everyone see the real me, now can I?" She couldn't be nice to just about every person she met, no one would take her seriously. "Sometimes I just need to show people that I'm not kidding around. And luckily for you, today is one of my good days."

"That's the place my mother tried to kill me," she said as though it was a common thing to be heard. "I do not know about you, but for me that's a good enough reason not to go." She couldn't help but laugh lightly as the boy moved away from her. "Don't worry, you're not the one I'm going to kill," she told, her tone having a slight tease. "Didn't mean to scare you, honest. But if you are freaked and want me to go away, I will."

"To each their own, right?" He couldn't blame her for her opinion. He could understand exactly why someone would hate time slowing down. When he'd first found out about joining the mafia, he'd wanted time to rush past and his memory gloss over everything he did for them. "But I understand. Sometimes, that's exactly how I feel."

Afonka laughed softly, grinning. "So you're like a chameleon. An emotional chameleon." He had to admit, it sounded rather cool. "Well then," his grin widening, he fell into a bow. "Thank you for gracing me with your presence on a good day."

His face falling, he stepped towards her. Wrapping his arms around her, he said, "I'm sorry. I can't even imagine what that's like." Pulling away, he shivered, trying to wrap his head around the idea. "Yeah, I wouldn't be able to go back either." Rubbing the back of his neck, he let out a nervous laugh. "Good to know." Shaking his head, he said quickly, "No, no. It's fine, really."

"Each their own indeed," the Gryffindor nodded her head. She hated to admit that there weren't many moments she wished had lasted longer. Except maybe those with her friends and with Kait, which again weren't as many as she'd like. And then of course were all the times she spent with Hades and the thought made her want to sigh. "It sucks doesn't it? All the worse moments seem to last the longest."

The brunette laughed lightly at the naming. "Yes, I suppose that is exactly what I am. But I am sure even you're an emotional chameleon at times, as there definitely would have been instances you did not want to show how you were really feeling."

"Uh, thanks," Iris mumbled, feeling awkward but hugged the boy back nonetheless. "Sorry, I do not usually go around blurting out that kind of a thing," she said, mentally slapping herself for letting her guard down. "You're sure it's fine? You look sort of shaken up," the Gryffindor observed with a raised eyebrow, her lips set in a straight line. "Look on the bright side, if I do try to hurt you, you can defend yourself," she said, nodding her head towards the knife in his hand.