Slender fingers calloused and worn from many, many hours spent partaking in the most wondrous act of quidditch brushed messy blond locks away from aristocratic features. The wind, unfortunately, was against him that day and decided to push the hair straight back in front of his eyes. With a huff of laughter, he decided to ignore the locks and continued to walk through the streets of Avalon village with his robes swirling about him, and his hands stuffed into them. He couldn't count the amount of times he'd been scolded by his parents for such behaviour, but since he didn't live with them anymore?

He had allowed himself to partake in the most simplistic of pleasures, such as not always walking about with a stick up one's rear end. A smile warmed his features as he wiggled his fingers at his friends. They all intended to head back, but he had a few errands to run beforehand. He'd been at Merlin's Academy for several years now, and was a senior, ready to take on the world as an auror. His parents had been convinced that after training to be one for a year, he would give up on his "foolish" (in their opinion) dream and settle for something much more approachable, but he hadn't.

He loved the hands-on work, that rush of adrenaline as he slid beneath obstacles and leaped over walls, all with his wand at the ready. He also liked the fact that he was a capable fighter even without his wand, and a few wandless charms meant he could block spells tossed his way if disarmed. As of right now, unfortunately, his head was in the clouds and he didn't notice the figure twirling their wand about like some kind of idiot until a moment too late to grab their hand and tell them to be careful. Sparks shot out the end and sent a flurry of leaves towards a red-headed figure, some stones mixed in amongst the vibrant green whirl.

Without a moment to lose he leaped into action, grabbing the girl about the waist and tugging her out of harm's way as he flicked his wand to drop the leaves and stones back to the ground. The freshman who'd caused such destruction winced and scampered off elsewhere. Caelum released the girl. "You alright?" He asked, head tilted.

Guilt fluttered through him at the sound of her light screech as he wrapped an arm about her waist, and silently, he apologised for man-handling her. But, he supposed just about anyone would prefer to be yanked out of the way by a stranger than pelted with rocks. After all, she could've been badly hurt, and even if they had the magic to heal it - being hurt was never pleasant. Best to simply avoid it in the first place. Magic couldn't solve everything, after all, something Caelum wished many purists would learn.

After all, magic hadn't created movies - muggles had, and movies were amazing. He blinked and refocused on the girl that he'd been holding, immediately releasing her and taking a slight step back, to offer some space to the obviously startled red-head. His eyes studied the locks, and he felt a pang in his chest at the fact that they weren't the pretty gold he'd grown to adore. Blinking, he shook his head to banish his ridiculous thoughts. He'd been thinking about Jay too much lately, and it simply wasn't acceptable.

Still, the girl before him, whilst not the soft, feminine, angel-like beauty that Caelum had grown so fond of, was pretty also. But young. Maybe a sophomore? He cracked a smile when she asked what exactly had happened - ah, so she'd been zoned out. That happened, most people weren't exactly trained to be constantly aware of his surroundings. Even Cae, with his training, had not been prepared for the assault. Constant vigilance, he thought to himself. "Some idiot was messing around with their rock and kicked up a bunch of wind. You would've been pelted by rocks if I hadn't grabbed you - sorry about that," he smiled at her sheepishly, rubbing his wrist.

Most people he'd just met weren't given the full dork experience, but he felt no need to keep up a guard around someone he'd just saved from a rock-attack. "Caelum Malfoy," he offered in response, extending a hand towards her.

Realisation dawned on her features as he explained the situation to her, and he let his lips quirk up into an amused smile as she looked at him with a slightly regretful face. Maybe she had decided that her reaction in screaming had been a little over-the-top? He didn't blame her, honestly. If someone had grabbed him around the middle who wasn't his sister or Jay (he wished), he'd probably growl at them and stuff an elbow into their chest. Still, she apologised for screaming regardless, and he wondered if this was about to turn into one of those "No, it's my fault" competitions.

He brushed his fingers through his hair to push his blond locks away, one of them having stuck in his eye in a very uncomfortable manner. "Well, to be honest, if I'd had someone grab me when I wasn't expecting it I'd probably scream too," he replied, just to soothe her. It was a perfectly reasonable response. He shifted a little form foot to foot as she thanked him. "Don't sweat it," as an auror-in-training, he really ought to have recognised that threat before it even posed itself. He'd grown slack over the past few weeks, too tired to be bothered much with anything.

Slacker, he thought to himself, resisting a wry twist of his lips. "Oh," he looked down to investigate his hand. "Nope, all good," he lifted his hand just to prove his point to her - the skin smooth and uninterrupted, a wand curled in his grasp. He stuffed it back into the pocket of his cloak. Trepidation filled him as he spoke his surname, knowing that some people reacted negatively to Malfoy. Like he'd done anything personally to offend them. He couldn't help it if his ancestors weren't the greatest, and if he sometimes looked utterly emotionless. "Yeah, senior auror in training. You?"

Caelum's lips twitched with amusement at her words, and he allowed his posture to relax though he kept himself aware of his surroundings. Having her attacked again whilst he was standing right there would be a ridiculous level of embarrassing, and he would be forced to resign from the academy and leave with his tail between his legs, his head bowed in shame. The idea nearly had him snorting - oh yes, his parents would be so impressed. "Oh, I'm sure it's fine to be a little absent-minded. You should only be worrying if you're majoring in auror training," he chuckled.

He chuckled at her concern, though there was no reason for fussing. "I often fiddle with my hands," he explained to her, nodding reassuringly as his hand lowered back towards his side, though he noticed a thoughtful expression within the depths of those blue eyes of hers, like she'd been considering something deeply. He didn't question it. "Don't sweat it, I'd be a bit of an ass if I'd let you get hit, right?" A more easy-going side of Cae took over as his mind subconsciously downgraded her from a threat, or someone that he needed to be cold towards.

He was, after all, naturally a bit of a dork. Despite the fact that he'd let her initial threat go unnoticed by himself, he was quite perceptive, and his eyebrows lifted as... What? Had more freckles appeared on her cheeks, or had it been a shift of the lighting? He shook his head to banish such an odd thought as freckles randomly rising to the surface of a person's skin, and instead grinned at her embarrassing confession. "You haven't started yet, so don't feel sheepish or anything. I was awful at being constantly vigilant when I first started,"