It seemed that there was so much to learn about Quidditch and not nearly enough time. The beer stood forgotten as Will shifted to lean his chin on one palm. While that posture might have indicated boredom in another person it radiated thoughtful attention in him, as if the weight of his fascination was pressing down on his body. Had you asked Will would have had to deeply dredge his memory for the name of one of the baseball teams he had seen play. Puddlemere United was going to stick in his mind a lot more effectively. “I can imagine how exciting seeing that live would be, I think. It’s more fun that way than watching it on tv. Were they your favorite then or was that the reason?”
He quickly realized that he knew very little about the mechanics of the game at this point. Will's imagination conjured a muddled blur of motion and adrenaline without any focal points or rules. They would have to discuss the details of the game soon. It warranted a devoted conversation--- possibly with diagrams. He wanted to know what it was a Chaser did, exactly, and what the formations were for. Yet he did not want to tax Arcturus with too many laborious queries at the moment. A slightly bemused expression flitted over Will's features. “I didn’t think I liked sports until you started telling me about Quidditch. I'm good at running but I would probably... I don't know... fall right off a broom or crash into my teammates. Back home people that liked sports are usually athletic and popular, which I’m not.”
The hand cradling his chin dropped immediately as Will craned forward when the drawings were brought out. A flutter of excitement pulsed in his veins at the sight of illustrations. Will’s eyes were huge in his small face as he observed the animated figure zipping around the paper. He had not expected such a thing to exist, much less come within visible proximity. Magic. Art and magic unified! “He moves!” The boy exclaimed, then immediately felt his cheeks warm at the stupidity of stating such an obvious fact. The excitement could hardly be helped. Its novelty would have been great even had it not combined his two favourite things. Cartoons may have accomplished something similar but they were different than bringing any amateur drawing to life at home. Besides, there was nothing supernatural about rapid flipping of pictures. It was a trick and not a genuine power.
Arcturus’ hopes of impressing Will were well-founded. His ingenuity had indeed done so in addition to his artistic skill. Simple or not, Will was appreciative of anyone that could draw more than stick figures. He never compared others to himself. The full-fledged grin that spread back from his teeth could not be suppressed. Listening to the elaboration on the character only seemed to make his smile brighter. Already he could tell that this comic would be one he could consume with gusto given the chance. “That’s brilliant! Better than whatever I could think up.” Mike was the writer, not Will. Clearly his new acquaintance was at least moderately gifted in that regard. “He’s very... nuanced, I think would be the right word. Not as basic as some heroes I’ve read about. I like that he's got his own way of being smart. Your story is totally original.”
The departure from focusing on the comic that followed wasn’t jarring but in all honesty Will had forgotten the sketchbook he carried with him so his mind stumbled momentarily in confusion. His art was more like a limb than a craft: always there to support him but not particularly noticed unless absent. A brief glance was spared for the creased cover but he made no move to retrieve it from the table. “Oh, yeah. It’s nothing special. I just draw all the time so I usually carry a sketchbook around if I’m going to be sitting down. ” Will replied modestly. A sudden shyness surged up from somewhere in the vicinity of his stomach. Unexpectedly he cared very much what the other boy thought and did not want to be found lacking. Showing teachers and loved ones his art was very different from sharing with a peer that he would like to impress. He pointed at the stack of papers before Arcturus. “I’d love to see more of your stuff. This comic sounds so cool! Or even something else, if you have more drawings than that.”