Vilhelm walked out to the grounds and breathed in the cool November air, the morning chill invigorating him and urging him to move. Soon enough he would be challenging himself, but first he had to pick out a spot. While he searched, the third year kept an eye out for somewhere that would be out of the way. When you were looking for a spot to build a makeshift obstacle course it was always good to find a place it would, hopefully, not be messed with by other people. His eyes lit up as he saw the gamekeeper's hut, and more specifically, the space behind it and before the forest. The auror-in-training walked briskly towards the small hut.

Although the morning was cool, his track pants and long-sleeved shirt kept him plenty warm. He had gloves on, in addition to running shoes, but he didn't need a hat because his longer hair kept his head plenty warm on its own. Knocking on the hut's door firmly, he waited for a response for roughly five minutes, knocking a few times here and there. When no response was forthcoming, he decided that if the gamekeeper wanted the obstacle course he was about to build down he could ask him to do so when he appeared. Vilhelm set to work with a will, using loose wood from the forest that was still sound, and binding it together with charms to make it hold.

Before an hour had passed, an obstacle course complete with even a few metal bars he'd transfigured for the arm swinging section, stood assembled behind the gamekeeper's hut. Thinking it over, he added a metal pole that muggle firemen used to slide down from the top section, and then assembled a rope cargo net. Smiling at his handiwork, Vilhelm started working his way through it at a slow but regular pace. Jets of water would shoot out of the ground at random intervals, to simulate flying spells, and a few of them even came out of hidden nozzles in the wood. It was a lot of work, but as he ducked his way around them the young man knew that it had been well worth the extra effort.

Panting a little when he reached the end, he decided to walk and stretch out a little before heading back to the beginning of the course. Next time he went through the course, he would go for speed; however, before he could he sensed a pair of eyes watching him. Confused, Vilhelm wheeled to see who was intruding upon his workout.

Cerise loved the chilled air that the day had presented. She had planned to go for a jog, so she was dressed in form fitting work-out pants, a brightly colored tank-top, and a light jacket. As she moved toward the forest, she heard a metallic noise. Odd, she thought to herself as she paused her jog to investigate. The sound seemed to be coming from the area behind the gamekeeper’s hut. She slowed her pace and stepped lightly, careful to not make any noises that would alert her position, just in case.

Is that… Yes, it was. An obstacle course. It was a makeshift obstacle course, but an obstacle course none-the-less. Cerise looked over the wood and metal course and spotted the creator of the noise she had heard. He was easily a foot taller than she was. Given, she was only five feet tall, so that wasn’t a difficult feat to accomplish. He was handsome, she had to admit. But, he was surprisingly slow as he made his way through the obstacle course. Maybe it was his first time through the course? Perhaps he was tired.

Still, she felt the urge to chide him. If he made the course, why would he be so slow at it? Cerise watched as he finished the course. She wondered if he’d leave the course up for her to try at a later date. As she watched him, she chuckled softly to herself. He was panting. It reminded her of a dog, or rather, a puppy. The man began looking around and Cerise wondered if he had heard her. Instead of waiting to be found, Cerise stepped forward, into his view.

“I’m sorry to disrupt you, chiot lente. I heard you making the course.” She paused for a moment. “Why were you going so slowly?” She couldn’t help it. She had to know. To her, the point of an obstacle course was to go as fast as one could.

“I’m sorry to disrupt you, chiot lente. I heard you making the course.”

All Vilhelm was able to make of the girl's switch to another language, was that it was most likely French. The only languages he knew aside from English were Scandinavian, so he had no idea at all what she'd just called him. Eyeing the girl, he had to admit that she looked ready to run the course herself. She was even, sort of cute in her own way; but, since he did not appreciate being distracted, he pushed that thought aside for the moment. "Nobody else heard me, did they? I tried to make this out of the way so nobody would bother me." he said, with a pointed look at the girl. maybe she would get the hint, but with his luck...probably not.

“Why were you going so slowly?"

As soon as he heard the word slow, he felt anger start to course through him. It took all of his self-control not to lash out with his own words, but he barely managed it. His face had gotten slightly red but it gradually died down as he calmed himself with steady, even breathing. Wouldn't do to kill a fellow student on the grounds. "That was my first time through the course. I was simply warming up, pikkutyttö." Vilhelm responded, saying the last word in his native Finnish tongue. Few people who weren't Scandinavian themselves learned their languages, so he had little fear of her recognizing what he'd said. Not that it would bother him if she did recognize the word, he was simply speaking his mind.

Perhaps the girl thought she could do better than him, and that was why she'd commented on his speed. Thinking the possibility over, he stepped aside from the entrance. "If you want, you are more than welcome to try the course for yourself." he informed her with a small smile, trying to be as friendly as he could.

"Nobody else heard me, did they? I tried to make this out of the way so nobody would bother me."

Cerise smirked in response to the man’s pointed look. “I don’t think anyone was close enough to hear you. If you think I’m bothering you, I’ll gladly leave.” A part of her dared him to say something snarky back. Another part wanted him to let her stay. The course looked interesting. Perhaps a few run-throughs would be better than a mere jog. She noted that his face turned a shade of red once she mentioned that he was going slowly through the course. It was a little more amusing than she would’ve liked to admit.

"That was my first time through the course. I was simply warming up, pikkutyttö."

So, it was his first run-through. “Simply warming up,” He said. A warm up is stretching. He was just slow. Unsure. Untrusting of his body. The last word he said intrigued her. Pikkutyttö? It sounded….Scandinavian, maybe. Cerise took a mental note to look it up at a later time. It was obvious to her by his accent that English wasn’t his native language. Perhaps the Scandinavian word was in his native tongue.

“…he stepped aside from the entrance. "If you want, you are more than welcome to try the course for yourself."

She returned the small smile he gave her with one of her own. “I think I’d like to see you go through it again, since you said it was your first time through the course and it was just a warm up run-through.” Cerise looked at the course again then back at him. “Then I can show you how it’s done, chiot lente.” The taunt was meant to be friendly as well as challenging. How he took her words though, was entirely up to him. It would also reveal a bit more of his character.

“I don’t think anyone was close enough to hear you. If you think I’m bothering you, I’ll gladly leave.”

To be honest Vilhelm didn't really mind the girl's company all that much, not that he would let on. "Nosy girls bothering me is part of the Merlin's experience, would be a shame not to get the full academy treatment. As long as you don't delay my workouts, it doesn't bother me." he told her seriously after his lame attempt at a joke. The boy was well aware his talents did not lie with his quick wit, but he'd accepted that long ago. From the looks of her attire the girl had most likely been planning on running, if he had to guess. Most days he ran too, today was an exception to his usual schedule because he wanted something....well, just different, really.

Vilhelm could almost see gears turning in her head, probably trying to figure out what he'd said or sizing him up. A feeling that he'd seen her before started to surface, and he tried to place where he may have run into her. Finally it clicked, she was one of the younger years in his auror classes. Her name was like, Clarice or something like that. That name he wasn't sure of, though, so he wasn't going to embarrass himself by calling her the wrong thing. Besides, he had a feeling the girl had already insulted him in her native language, just a gut feeling; but, he'd learned to always trust his instincts.

“I think I’d like to see you go through it again, since you said it was your first time through the course and it was just a warm up run-through.”

"Then I can show you how it's done, chiot lente."

Seeing the girl return his smile made him feel like he'd accomplished something, and it was a rather pretty one. Shaking his head slightly to refocus, he found himself chuckling lightly at her comment. "It was just a warm up, miss." There was something about the way she'd said just a warm up run that had him thinking she was skeptical he could move faster through it. The thought was amusing because he really had been holding back quite a bit. "Actions speak louder than words, darling." Vilhelm commented with a wink before taking off. Darling was simply a term he used for ladies in general, for him it wasn't used simply in relationships like it was for a lot of people.

Two jets of water sprayed him from opposite directions, but he was ready for them and nimbly jumped over and twisted to the side to avoid them both. Landing on his feet, he then climbed up the wooden logs he'd placed firmly in the ground at intervals, lengthening in height before he got to the rope bridge. There was no arm rail to grab onto to keep him going, and the bridge swayed back and forth as he ran across it. A few more jets were sent his way, but he kept forging ahead and deftly dodged them while maintaining his balance. After that he climbed a few steps before swinging across the metal bars. This time when the water jets came he was forced to lift his body up quickly and swing his feet forward to avoid it. Completing that, left him at the end and most challenging part of the course. It was a rope swing that got you close to a fire pole to grab onto and slide down. The tricky part was halfway down the fire pole you would have to stop your progress and jump to the side in a roll to reach the end platform. He gathered speed before reaching the rope and swung across quickly, narrowly avoiding the jets that sprayed just behind him. Deftly grabbing onto the pole, he slid down it and stopped his progress before lunging to the side and doing a dive roll. It wasn't necessarily the cleanest execution of the course, but he'd been going for speed and it wasn't too shabby in his opinion. "You're up pikkutyttö." he told her.

"Nosy girls bothering me is part of the Merlin's experience, would be a shame not to get the full academy treatment. As long as you don't delay my workouts, it doesn't bother me."

Cerise chuckled. She had seen him around campus: in classes and just walking around. Girls fawned over him and whispered things about him whenever he passed or wasn’t looking in their direction. She wondered if he had a girlfriend or was just oblivious to their gazes. More likely than not, he was simply oblivious. A slight feeling of amusement presented itself in Cerise. Those poor girls have absolutely no idea the kind of guy he was.

"It was just a warm up, miss."

"Actions speak louder than words, darling."

Miss? Darling? Cerise cocked her head to the side. He was obviously mistaken in his assumptions of her. Cerise had a deep rooted distaste for the “cutesy” nicknames most people shared. She preferred more original names. Like chiot lente. Or in English: slow puppy. Hell, she even liked pikkutyttö. Even if it meant something like darling or whatever. It felt more original to her. He probably didn’t mean anything by the cute names, so she decided not to address it. Maybe it was out of mere politeness that he said them. She didn’t know him well enough to make that determination.

Cerise watched as the man began his course for the second time. She took silent notes of every step he took through the course. Logs, bridge, monkey bars (they reminded her of a playground she went to when she was little), stairs, swing, pole, platform. It seemed simple enough, except the water jets and the platform being close to the middle of the pole. The man’s performance seemed messier than the first time he went through. It was faster, yes. But he was too focused on speed. He went head-on into every obstacle. Predictable movements. You could only be so predictable.

"You're up pikkutyttö."

Again with the nickname I see. Cerise thought to herself. She nodded to him and took her place before the entrance. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, clearing her mind. With her exhale she snapped her eyes open and began her sprint toward the stepping logs, dodging the few jet sprays that decided to go off as she passed. The steps were designed for someone taller than her, so she adjusted with a slight jump in-between each step. Having taken gymnastics when she was younger, the rope bridge was of little difficulty once she was a few steps in. After the rope bridge she came to a few stair, perhaps the easiest part of the course, and then began to swing across the metal bars. She had no time to stop her momentum, as she knew she had little upper arm strength. The water jets fired at her and she managed to dodge most of them. One managed to hit her foot, causing her to wince. She continued on, determined to show up chiot lente. Once across the metal bars she grabbed ahold of the rope and swung across to the pole. Cerise wrapped one leg around the pole, using her inner knee to slow her descent just enough to level her with the platform. She reached for the platform with her legs first, then pushed herself off the pole with her arms.

“And time.” She called out as she finished the course. Cerise lowered herself from the platform and walked toward the man. Pain shot up her leg, causing her to limp ever so slightly, but no look of pain crossed her face. “My name is Cerise, by the way. Not darling or pikkutyttö.” The last part of her sentence was meant in only a teasing manner. She kind of liked the Scandinavian nickname. Once she figured out what it meant, she would make a more firm decision on whether or not she liked the name.