Across the flowerbed

[Maka Kickett]

Maka was back at the school. although he enjoyed the school he had been here two years and hardly found his small spot, he had hardly made friends or really done much of anything extraordinary, his grades were so-so he was not in any clubs though he was thinking of joining the brotherhood. he really was just a bit of a nobody, hiding behind the notable (though not necessarily good) reputation his older brother and sister had left be hind just like at their previous school where teachers seemed surprised when he did anything he was meant to as though they had been readying themselves for a battle of wills and it took him almost the whole year to get them to see him as who he was and not just the next model of kickett. no, his place at the school was nothing like his spot back home where he was a part of his large family and fit in comfortably.
Today he was outside, it was cold for sure. and the icy smells were nothing like the warm woody scent of home but the fresh air still smelt like the sea, and the pacific and indian oceans still smelt the same to him.. sitting on the hard ground in the garden he looked out over the lake watching a bird fly and dive for fish. once the bird had it fighting in his mouth Maka's sight followed its flight towards a tree and on route he noticed one of the boys from his year. Archie, he saw him outside quite often but hardly ever spoke to him. maybe he should go and ask how his holiday was. no they had hardly spoken over two years, they wouldn't start talking now, besides what was there to say? Instead he just smiled slightly before looking back at the garden and at the small book he had in his hands containing tales of the dreamtime something he always read when he was homesick though truth be told he didn't need it any more he knew them by heart it was comforting for him and he liked the pictures.

 

[Archie Renner]

Archie had returned for his third year which meant another year of constantly feeling a chill whether it be outdoors facing the worst of the winter air or cozied up indoors on a sofa in his common room. He had long given up complaining about the cold and had for the most part ignored how much he missed the Australian sun however that did not mean the difference in temperature between the two countries always hit him like a ton of bricks when he moved back at the beginning of the year. He had spent the morning hidden within the branches of a tree and bundled up inside his over sized and thick parka instead of in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room where he would rather have been though when he descended from his dorm this morning and found a group of first years had taken his spot, it forced him outside and into the Garden where he was in this moment. He sighed after another minute taking in the familiar scenery of the castle grounds from the branch he had perched himself on before jumping down in one go with no hesitation or fear of feeling ground shock (which he undoubtedly experienced when his feet hit the ground under his weight).

It was when he regained his bearings and got used to standing on solid ground again he noticed his head was rid of the woolen beanie he had put on before leaving his dorm. He cursed himself when he realized. "Dammit." Instead of leaving it be, he searched around the base of the tree which he realized was to no avail when the beanie was nowhere to be found. He walked further away from the tree as his eyes scanned the ground and when he still had not found his beanie he looked up to notice another boy that was in the same year as him but not in the same house. A boy he had seen around within the few years he had spent in this school though had never considered speaking to until today. Now that he realized asking around was probably a better way to find his beloved beanie rather than searching aimlessly around the garden, he approached the other boy in the hope another set of eyes might help. "Hey!" He shouted as he quickened his pace and stopped in front of the other boy before he continued. "I've lost my beanie, but I don't know where I could have lost it. Have you seen it?" He queried before he remembered he probably needed to describe what the beanie looked like. Which would probably help a lot more than just asking if his peer had seen it, because there could have been twenty other beanies lying around that had been lost by students over the years for all he knew. "It's grey, has 'positive vibes' written on it and has one of those fluffy woolen ball things on the top of it." It was the best description he could whip up from the top of his head and one he hoped was enough for the other boy to recognize the beanie if he had seen it or at least allow him to provide Archie some direction in finding it.
​

 

[Maka Kickett]

Maka looked up when he heard someone talking. he looked up and was slightly surprised to see the boy from his classes. Archie. "I haven't seen it sorry archie" he said. he was just about to look back at his book when he realised that this may be his opportunity to find a place to fit in at the school either by finding a friend, or getting a reputation as a hat finder. "do you want help looking mate?" he asked, he was going to help look no matter what the boy said. he got up and slipped the book into his pocket. "positive vibes cool" he said looking around as if to see a grey beanie pop out of nowhere. inevitably it didn't. instead all he saw was a cold garden. "where have you been this morning?" he asked. thinking it may have fallen off at some stage. My gamma always says to retrace my steps when i loose things" he said.
Out of all his siblings Maka was the one who most respected their grandma elizabeth. Sure he still called her gamma zab. But she called him michael so fair was fair. "how was your holiday?" he asked. deciding that he may as well chat to the boy whilst they looked. it may be one of the best chances he had of making friends. his holiday had been the same as most of his other holidays at home and with his huge family. Una had shown up too. It was great to see her. most of the family was proud of her. Some of his cousins had even seen her in a muggle magazine. of course the next day all the editions had vanished from the all the newsagents in the town. that was the disadvantage of living in a small town everyone knew everyone. and when you were related to a lot of the people too. as soon as something interesting comes up everyone wants part of the action. she had heard a couple of girls who would normally been far to old to read such magazines comment she was in my class as school. as though that made them important when really he knew they had always looked down on her.
anyway he told himself stop daydreaming about your holiday and your sisters success, you have a hat to help find. eyes pealed he started wandering the direction the boy had come from. looking around to see if it had been dropped anywhere.

 

[Archie Renner]

The other boy was the only person Archie could see around the garden and he did not expect many others to show up at this time of the morning so in many ways finding his beanie could have been anywhere and might already be considered a lost cause. Though until other people arrived Archie had a small window of opportunity where he could try and find the rogue beanie before the newly awoken crowds of students littered the school grounds. When the other boy apologized Archie frowned slightly but remained optimistic the beanie was merely hidden somewhere in the grass he had yet to scan during his search and he would have it safely returned to his head in no time.

"I would love some help!" He responded with an enthusiastic tone and an expression to match before returning his eyes to the ground to continue his fabled search. When he didn't immediately see a hint of grey in the gardens or the grass nearby he frowned a second time and did not change his expression when the other boy asked where he had been that morning which was a question Archie knew would help more than aimlessly scanning the scenery with his eyes. "I just woke up and walked out to this garden, then spent some time in that tree. Now I'm here searching with you." A casual shrug marked the end of his answer before he realized he had yet to know the boy's name even after they had been in a few classes and were in the same year. The lack of knowledge he had towards his peers embarrassed him on a regular basis and this morning was obviously no exception. "Don't take this the wrong way, but what's your name? I don't know the names of most of our year because I suck at remembering." He laughed awkwardly and continued searching the garden to once again catch a glimpse of anything but his lost beanie.

It seemed to be out of his sight whichever way he glanced so he decided to take the other boy's advice and retrace his steps by walking back to the tree and trail the path the took to get there. However before he could mention his plan he was interrupted by the boy asking how his holidays went. Archie failed to understand how the question was relevant to finding his beanie but he was always up to have a conversation and make new friends so he figured why not answer while they searched as a pair. "It was amazing! My best friend Brock got the news he was transferring and now he's here! Have you seen him? He's in Ravenclaw and has really soft, bright green hair." Rambling was not something in Archie's nature though bringing up the subject of his best friend caused him to word vomit like it was the last thing he would ever say. He stopped himself from continuing before it got worse and asked the same question in return. "What were your holidays like? Surely not better than mine!" His tone was unmatched in his arrogance although he assumed the other boy would know he was joking. Before the boy could answer, Archie remembered the plan he had forgotten to mention and added it in so when he walked back in the direction he had arrived from the boy wouldn't be clueless as to what was happening. "Wait! We need to go back to the tree so we can follow back my steps. It's a good idea, you're smart for saying it!" When he had finished speaking he turned back towards the tree and began walking, assuming the other boy was following him.

I'm sorry that this took so long!​