Today, frankly, had been friggin awesome. In the morning, the boat had docked on a deserted magical island. There were caves, magical creatures, and ruins everywhere. His favorite part of the island so far, however, was the lagoon. Something in the underwater rock made it change color, and it was luminescent. Although it was pitch black out, the water was glowing and provided enough light for everybody to see each other.

Eli poked his toes into the water-- it was a pleasant temperature; not too hot, not too cold. With a dramatic twirl, he kicked off his sandals and flopped into the lagoon while making some sort of demented dolphin chattering noise.

"Oiii, Roh! Think fast!" He exclaimed, sweeping his forearm through the water to assail Waverly with a mini tidal wave.

Ariadne was floating in the water on her back, trying to capture this moment in her mind. The water was so warm, and she could hear her trip fellows yelping and splashing about, their laughter echoing off the cave walls. It was a perfect antidote to warm sticky days. She felt she could stay there forever, between the water and exploring the ruins in the caves. She would have to persuade her dad to come back out here some time, spend longer.

Eli's shout and the splash reached Ariadne and she turned in the water to tread it rather than lay in it, spying Eli and Waverley nearby. She pinched her nose, took a deep breath and sank beneath, swimming towards their legs beneath the surface grasping an ankle for each of them before coming up. Her long black hair was heavy with the water and hung like a thick black curtain as she grinned mischievously.

"Have you seen the size of some of the fish in here?" She asked them innocently, "We better make sure we don't lose a fourth year to a hungry one."

Roh had spent a better part of the day running around the Island like a kid in a candy store. There was so much to see, to take in, she was practically giddy with knowledge. Even their night swim in the lagoon tickled the part of her brain that probably belonged in Ravenclaw. She was in the process of snapping several pictures of the illuminated wild life, already trying to envision where exactly they could hang in her room for the best effect. She had just turned to set the camera aside when a "tidal wave" of cool water soaked her from the waist down, "Elf you are six kinds of lucky that got nowhere near my hair," her tone was rueful as she looked down at Eli, "I am going to have to punish you of course, you realize that right"?

Kicking off her now soggy sandals she bound wild corkscrew curls with a charmed hair bungee before jumping into the water, narrowly missing (on purpose) Eli's big head, the splash creating a delightful wave she hoped might half drown him. A few fluttering kicks later, to keep her out of his arms reach should Elle decide that this needed to become a dunking contest, Roh resurfaced smoothing her fingers over the crown of her forehead, pleased as punch with herself, "Don't start a war you can't win Amherst. Make no mistake I will end you," of course the laughter in her tone probably negated the weighty-ness of the threat, also it was really hard to seem at all imposing while treading water.

Of course being prepared for Eli did not make her prepared for her cabinmate and she let out an undignified squeal as Ari grabbed at her ankles. Ariadne was probably lucky there wasn't a violent kick to her face for her efforts, when she resurfaced Waverly held up a rueful warning finger, "You better watch out yourself Gamp. You're looking particularly guppylicious tonight," chomping pearly whites at the other girl she sent a playful little splash in her direction, "Wouldn't want you to lose a toe or two, would be simply tragic".

Eli let out one of his nefarious, foreboding, downright monstrous belly laughs-- though it didn't last long. Something grabbed his ankles.

"AAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" He shrieked, attempting to kick whatever horrible creature that had his foot in their clutches. Unfortunately, kicking in the water was easier said and done. The end result was the Slytherin flailing about in the water, panicked and babbling about lagoon eels. When he realized that it had been Ariadne all along, he was suddenly very still-- staring at her wild-eyed and frenzied.

"You will rue the day you grabbed my ankle, Ari." His threat was followed by a gleeful grin. "You better watch your back." Eli pointed at Waverly with his thumb, "Especially with Reedy 'round."

The Ravenclaw jumped at the sudden scream, his thumb releasing the camera shutter cable as he turned in the noise’s direction.  The moon was bright enough to provide some excellent lighting backdrop for photos and to silhouette the figures in the water, but nowhere near bright enough to illuminate details. 

The silhouettes suggested there were three figures in the water which should be more than enough to handle any minor catastrophes.  Unless, someone was getting eaten by a crocodile and the others were next.  Or bull sharks.  Or whatever other apex predator was likely lurking in the completely opaque dark waters. 

Grasping the camera by the tripod connection, Sasha made his way down the water’s edge, taking care to hit any patches of high grass with the legs of his tripod just to scare off any reptiles lying in ambush. 

“Are you all alright?” he asked the three figures, stopping at the edge of the water, his steel-toed boots just beyond the reach of the lapping waves.  “Are you being eaten?”

His royal highness Schlagenweit made his way over to the water. That was his first mistake, and it would be his undoing.

Eli floated over to the edge, "Heeeey, Schlala~ taking topless pictures of me?" He flexed his pectorals and raised his eyebrows suggestively, "I think you like what you see."

With absolutely no regard for safety or the well-being of the Ravenclaw's camera, he threw his arms around his classmate's legs and hugged them to his chest, pulling poor, pitiful Sasha into the water. "In the water, part of the water, in the water, part of the water." He chanted ominously before his head ducked below the surface.

"Eli Amherst, you're incorrigible!" Verity barked, and threw him a withering look. "Unhand the poor boy before you well ruin his camera."

The Hufflepuff made her way down to the water, carrying her towel under her arm, and thanking Zel for forcing her to work out with him as frequently as he did. It made her much more comfortable with the strappy bikini that she had bought for the trip. "Now, who is going to go down the waterfall with me?"

She quirked an eyebrow at the other seventh years in the water, and smiled apologetically towards Sasha before noticing his completely impractical footwear. "What are you doing wearing those boots on a beach, though? Take those off before Eli tries to pull you under again and you drown."

She kicked off her flip flops and laid her towel down on the sand before grinning mischievously towards her classmates. "C'mon, I'll race you guys to the top!"

And with that, she took off running to the top of the waterfall. Verity gathered her nerves before sliding down the smooth stone, and screamed in excitement as she plummeted into the bioluminescent waters.

He sputtered as he kept his head above the surface and kept his firm grip on Sasha. He needed to participate. To have fun. To stop being such a boring fun-sucking gremlin all the bloody time.

 "I'm just trying to drown him a bit!" Eli said defiantly, "In the water, part of the water. Was nobody listening to me?" Leave it to Verity to be such a killjoy. How dare she use her moral compass on him? It always got in the way of mirth and happiness and shenanigans. She spent too much time with Tremble, it made her serious and so concerned about protecting the people. Eli was certain Sasha did not need to be protected.

After all, he wore steel-toed boots to the beach. He was prepared to kick danger's teeth in.

"You better watch out yourself Gamp. You're looking particularly guppylicious tonight." Roh retorted and splashed Ari a bit, so she laughed and stuck a hand out of the water to protect her eyes gently. "Wouldn't want you to lose a toe or two, wouldn't be simply tragic."

Eli was staring wide-eyed at her and she cackled at him, sinking down into the water so just her head was visible.
"You will rue the day you grabbed my ankle, Ari. You better watch your back. Especially with Reed 'round."

"Rargh!" Ari playfully replied, forming claws with her hands and bringing them down into the water with a splash.

"Are you all alright? Are you being eaten?" Sasha's voice came from the edge. Ari turned to look over her shoulder at him, and spotted he looked dressed for hiking than swimming.

"Heeeeey, Schlala," Eli greeted, and Ariadne sniggered at yet another of Sasha's silly nicknames that the group had adopted during the trip. "Taking topless pictures of me? I think you like what you see."

"More like the lens cracked," Ari joked to Roh, obscured by Verity's shout as Eli grasped Sasha's legs and tried to get him into the water.
"Eli Amherst, you're incorrigible! Unhand the poor boy before you well ruin his camera."

Ari tried not to stare too hard at Verity in her bikini and sank lower in the water until just her eyes were visible a moment, missing Verity's demand for someone to come with her to the waterfall.

"I'm just trying to drown him a bit…" Eli protested.

"C'mon I'll race you guys to the top!" Verity exclaimed, and she was off towards the waterfall.
"What, what!" Ariadne exclaimed, launching up through the water. Why was overly sensible Verity running. Surely that wasn't safe. But Verity's arse in that bikini wasn't going to be chased if she didn't get her own out and over there!

By the time she reached the top, almost pitching off as she misjudged the distance, Verity had jumped and was whooping as she went down.
"Geronimo!" Ariadne whooped, following her down, trying to remember to point her toes before hitting the water at the bottom in an attempt to be a little more graceful than usual.

She plunged into the pool at the bottom, her black hair fanning out in the water before she pulled herself back to the surface.
"You reckless girl," She called to Verity with a grin, "don't you know future Head Girls are meant to set an example?" She pulled her heavy wet hair back from her face and looked up to the top of the waterfall,
"Half expecting to see Eli throw Sasha off the top after us!"

Cameras, water, classmates and sparse articles of clothing all made for a rather awkward and dangerous situation.  Gestures were easily misunderstood and equipment was easily ruined.  Unfortunately, neither were mutually exclusive. 

“I … no … of course not-“  In desperation to convey how much he had not been contemplating Amherst’s bare torso, the denial might have been a little too forceful and tinted with disgust.  Or, embarrassment.  Or, some other self-consciously negative vehemence.  Sasha also didn’t notice Amherst reach for him. 

The Ravenclaw was in the water, clothes, boots and camera.  “Scheiß!”  The water wasn’t cold but it had still taken him by surprise and he quickly brushed the water and now-wet hair from his face. 

"What are you doing wearing those boots on a beach, though? Take those off before Eli tries to pull you under again and you drown.”

“Trying not to get bit,” Sasha admitted.  It would be his luck to be drowned by the very boots that were intended to save him from envenomation.  Now, they weighed a ton.  He spotted Verity as she was getting out of the water and blinked, half-staring. Stopping and staring wasn’t practical when treading water in water-sodden boots and glanced around, awkwardly, as he quickly resumed treading.  He noticed Gamp half-submerged and nervously half grinned and shrugged before making his way to the shore before his boots did him in. 

The Ravenclaw tugged his feet out of his boots and wool socks as their crew went racing up to the and let the drowned camera drop next to them.  The waterfall looked maybe a little mildly amusing but he hadn’t come prepared for swimming.  His khakis weren’t much lighter than his boots with their over-abundance of pockets. 

"Half expecting to see Eli throw Sasha off the top after us!”

“I don’t need to be thrown.  I’m just … I’m not prepared.  You all should try racing, though.”  He pointed to the waterfall. 

Roh watched the whole scene unfold with a bemused grin, from Eli trying to drown Sasha (only a little), to Verity racing toward the top of the waterfall. She was, of course, slightly more interested when Ari hauled herself out of the water, moonlight catching on the water droplets that ran down the Gryffindor's slender frame. "Bloody Hell," the soft utterance and following low whistle lost in the commotion of shouts, splashing water and thick air of awkwardness Sasha Schlagenweit brought with him everywhere.

Obviously the leggy Slytherin could not be left behind, it would have been an insult to Salazar's spirit! Pulling herself out of the water she took off for the cliff with a war whoop and gracelessly flung herself over the edge once she reached the top. Her goal was not looking attractive, but to create the biggest splash possible, which she certainly did as she tucked her knees to her chest and landed a well timed cannonball, the force of which broke her hair tie loose and left her to emerge looking a bit like one of those shaggy sheep dogs, curls plastered to her forehead as she sputtered a little, "Headgirl rules do not apply while on vacation Ari. Don't you know, this is her last chance for a spot of fun before she has to go and be all respectable".

Verity surfaced from the water, and flipped her thick hair out of her face and grinned. I'm going to count this as a win.This far away from Hogwarts, anyone would be able to lose themselves in the experience and even the most carefully guarded walls could be lowered. She flashed a smile towards Roh when she said as much, and laughed good-naturedly at her veritable curtain of hair.

"Exactly!" Verity agreed, though she worried that all this talk about her Head Girl candidacy might jinx her. "Here we aren't Prefects or anything, we are just teenagers. So we might as well act like it, right?" With that, she splashed a bit of water towards the other girls.

At Ari's comment, she too turned towards the waterfall and grimaced. Thankfully, it appeared that even Eli wouldn't go that far. She floated on her back and looked up at the stars, trying to remember constellations from Astronomy classes from years ago as she had decided not to pursue it for NEWTs.

Standing at the edge of the lagoon with heavy, sodden clothes hanging from his shoulders was quickly losing what little appeal it might have once had.  Careful consideration revealed a handful of options at his disposal. 

One: he could traipse back to the boat looking like an awkward drowned weasel, so he could dry his clothes in the comfort of his own cabin.  Two: he could remove his clothes and dry them here before heading back.  Or, three: remove his clothes, try the whole social swimming thing before heading back, plus or minus the clothes-drying option. 

After all, what’s the worst that could happen?

He shed down to his boxers and waded back into the water, grateful the darkness helped hide the ragged scars across his abdomen.  Once in the water, he wouldn’t have to look at them.  He floated out into the water, watching fish dart around in the water beneath them. 

"Did you know they've made glow-in-the-dark pigs with some of these fish?" he asked.

"I don't need to be thrown. I'm just… I'm not prepared. You all should try racing, though." Sasha protested. Ariadne wondered what he thought they'd just been doing? Schlawkward was always a little odd.

"Headgirl rules do not apply while on vacation, Ari. Don't you know, this is her last chance for a spot of fun before she has to go and be all respectable." Waverly teased. Ari stuck her tongue out - she'd been teasing too, she hadn't been serious.

"Exactly!" Verity agreed, and Ari's gaze followed from one the the next of her trip-mates as they dissected her words.

"Here we aren't Prefects or anything, we are just teenagers. So we might as well act like it, right?"

"Did you know they've made glow-in-the-dark pigs with some of these fish?"

Ariadne let out a sigh and fell back into the water.

"Who wants a glow in the dark pig? If I did, I'd just use my wand…?" She lazily kicked at the water.