July 1884 — Orpington Family Home

Being the youngest of five children, Gabriel had a tendency to get away with things his elder siblings probably would not have. He was not completely dense, he was aware there was always an odd, angry sort of tension between his father and his eldest brother. Gabriel did not know why, being only eight years old as he was. He idolised his oldest brother though.

This particular day though, Gabriel was up to mischief. He was bored. His twin was off at one of her friends places and his older siblings were in similar states of either being elsewhere or telling him to go away. So he was left to his own devices which meant coming up with new activities for himself... which eventually found him at the top of the stairs where he had managed to lug his mattress.

Granted, it was not particularly large but even so, it had been a struggle. He had just mounted his downy steed and had kicked off down the stairs just in time for Dominic to see him go flying dangerously down the stairs on a childs mattress.

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Dominic Orpington (note this is his first time doing this so before the arm breaking mentioned in his app xD)

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The following 1 user Likes Gabriel Orpington's post:1 user Likes Gabriel Orpington's post
   Philomena Sprout

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set by bee!

With the summer holidays well underway by now, Dominic was eager to return back to Hogwarts. The main reason being he wanted to keep away from his father. Being in a large house was hardly enough distance for the young wizard — a thought that was almost certainly shared by his father who always talked to his eldest son as little as he could. Dominic for his part, had discovered a first edition set of texts on Dragon Keeping at Flourish & Blotts; a treat he wanted to savor as soon as he could, which meant he finished up breakfast as soon as he could and retired to the small library to settle in and do some reading.

The early afternoon passed with little fanfare which was frankly how he liked to keep his afternoons, evenings and mornings if possible. Of course, when one was in the possession of a horde of siblings a quiet day was unheard of, which was why at one point Dominic closed his book with a decided snap.

It was too quiet.

Not entirely sure where his feet were taking him, Dominic picked up his pace and soon walked into the main entryway which was currently being graced by the presence of his youngest brother. Perched atop a mattress, at the top of the stairs. With a look on his face that promised he had not throught this through.

“GABRIEL!” Dom roared, dropping his book to the ground with a thud as both his hands flew out to — stop his brother? How the hell was he going to do that?

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"WHAT!? Gabriel roared in return even as he literally flew into his brothers arms, mattress and all. He peered over his mattress to find that his brother was now under it. "Hey, you ruined my landing," Gabriel said with a small scowl. He didn't even bother freeing his brother from being under his mattress as he gave him his most Offended look.

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set by bee!

As small as his brother was, when moving at a velocity likely previously unknown to him, he certainly packed a punch. Before Dominic knew what was happening, the world was spinning on its axis and suddenly everything went - slightly darker than it had previously been.

He’d ended up completely under the mattress, which Gabriel was now peering over the edge at him with an extremely affronted expression. Dom was also sure he had narrowly missed being decapitated by his brother. He wasn’t being dramatic at all.

“I ruined your landing?!” He wheezed from under the weight of both mattress and brother.

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"Yes. You could have walked anywhere else," Gabriel said with a sniff as he slid off the mattress onto the floor. The eight year old continued to peer down at his older brother with his hands on his hips. "Why are you just laying there?" He asked, as if it was not entirely his fault that Dominic was currently winded.

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set by bee!

A few things were going through Dominic’s oxygen-deprived mind as he lay there under the mattress, trying to gather himself. The first was that he knew his brother was a wild creature; had known that all his life. The second, was that perhaps it was time to employ more drastic tactics to distract Gabriel from being destructive. It never had occurred to Dominic that Gabriel’s tactics could possibly end up killing him, but as he pushed up on the mattress and rolled over onto his stomach, he realized that that fear might be a bit too close to probable than he’d have liked.

“This pathway was made for walking!” Dominic spluttered into the floor as he tried to get his body to cooperate. “Not - not using mattresses as transportation devices!”

He managed to crane his neck and make sure his brother was at least unharmed before the urge to strangle Gabriel set in. “And I’m laying here because I’ve just escaped being nearly flattened!”

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Gabriel watched in interest as Dominic rolled onto his stomach and spoke into the floor. Well, his elder brother was no fun. "They use carpets as transpo-shin." And never mind that it was also an outside mode and not even widely used. And transportation was a bit of a big word for him to try grappling so he decided shortening it was just fine.

"You don't look very flat."

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set by bee!