Finding Home Again

[Gregory White]

Finally, Gregory Yearling set foot again on his island home. In his heart, he was more at home in Scotland since it was closer to England, but here was where the majority of his goblinesque relations lived, so here he would stay for now. New Zealand's natural beauty held an even candle to Scotland's though, so there was no physical homesickness. The lion whose form Greg was currently taking shivered. No difference in the weather either at this time of year. He may have been a particularly fluffy white lion but there was never enough fluff on his nose where he felt it most. Greg licked it for good measure, then turned tail and headed off over the field. The Ministry's Guide to Foreign Apparation had recommended this part of the Kiwi coastline for the best covered place to appear. Shrugging, Greg had shifted into lion form without a thought and began his journey. If there were any muggles watching they may be sorely surprised, but they'd never see a hint of the golden-haired man or the white-haired mane again.

Loping over sheep fences, the lion kept itself in good form with immense bounds. After the stifling closeness of the trees in the Forest of Ae, such expanses of land was a joy. A deep thrum began in Greg's chest and he purred aloud, clawing himself over a stile and bounding on. After fifteen minutes of freedom, he began to spot distant houses and his gallop slowed to a stealthy crawl. The sheep scattered nonetheless, for he may have looked like a lion but the London-native was as truly feline as a toilet paper roll. Finesse wasn't part of his animagus training with Adrianna. Finally he'd crept his way into a lane and Greg took the long way around, sticking to the bush behind houses. He passed many an open backyard with muggle children playing, making him skittish with nerves. The lion padded on until the way was blocked by one last bungalow. He seated himself beneath a conifer behind the fence and began to wash his paws. Despite the cold, the sun was shining and he found himself wishing for a long lion nap. I've spent way too much time in animagus form, thought Greg as he flopped into the grass with a snort. Unbeknownst to the wizard, his vantage point was marred by the fact that he was several feet shorter than his human self, and the balcony of the bungalow overlooked his hiding place. ​

 

[Sabine Magnus]

It was a chilly Sunday morning in July and the world was calm. Or least Sabine's world was, working six days a week and any time she got an emergency call from a distressed pet owner got taxing. So obviously, Sabine's favorite time was Sunday mornings. On this particular Sunday, she had no errands to run and her partner Ben had agreed to take any emergency calls for the month. She had her first true day off in a very long time, and she planned to spend it doing absolutely nothing. Make a nice breakfast, tend to her hanging plants on the balcony; charmed by Kailey on a rare visit between the cousins to resist the cool New Zealand winters, read a book, check her email, and maybe do a bit of online shopping. She was just crossing that first bit off of her mental list when she heard what she thought was a wild snort of some sort. Startling her into dropping her empty plate. She paused for a moment, straining to see if she heard it again. After a minute or so of silence she turned her attention to her now shattered ceramic dish, sweeping it up and throwing the pieces in the trash. Cursing her nerves all the while, that was a gift from her mother!

"No matter now", she told herself as she returned the broom to it's hook in the kitchen pantry, grabbing her watering can from the top shelf and filling it with water mixed with generic plant nutrient powder. She padded quietly through the plush cream carpet of her living room to the sliding glass door separating it from her balcony. "You look thirsty." she told her largest plant, which hung out completely over the balcony. She leaned over to reach the outer rim of the pot when she saw something strange in her yard. Was that a... LION?! Her eyes were two giant blue saucers as she let out a loud yelp and dropped her heavy watering can which landed on the ground with a loud thunk. That sound was the last thing that registered in a mind saturated with raw fear as Sabine quickly proceeded to lose consciousness and fall backwards, crashing into her halfway open screen door before finally hitting the ground.

 

[Gregory White]

A distant clatter of broken crockery disturbed Greg, but he merely flicked an ear towards it and tried to sleep again. He must have been in the muggle part of New Zealand still. All sorts of unpleasant whirrings, clatters, rumbles and buzzes rung in the distant land of consciousness. Muggle machinery made such an awful yet understated racket to his sensitive cat ears, like a brass band with its output on low. Greg rolled over onto his furry belly and let out a huff, his nose twitching at passing bumblebees. Just as he was about to drift off, the chaos of awareness became too much and Greg sat up, looking towards the source. Someone had called out and there was a second clatter of something less breakable, followed by another thump and the sound of sloshing water in a can. Curiosity bit his cat form hard and human valiance railed at him to investigate. The shout was human, possibly female, and it was close. Greg shivered as his fur melted away and the last vestiges of lionhood left him. Taking a delicate leap over the low fence, he stepped into the muggle's backyard and a world unknown.

Some part of Greg registered the cold on his bare skin. Moving from wizard to lion was irritating with extra clothing, and all the Englishman wore was a pair of long denim jeans and tough boots. His hair had been long unattended too and curled around his shoulders, hugging his handsome face. Despite the stubble and unkempt locks, Greg still managed to maintain the an air of gentle regality. The first thing he noticed as walked softly over the clover was a watering can at the foot of the porch steps. The second thing he noticed was a small hand and a shower of golden hair. Greg didn't hesitate, and bound up the steps to kneel by the fallen woman. Ach, she's had a stroke! he thought immediately. Second thoughts countered his first sight and informed him sniffily that women her approximate age did not suffer from such ailments, and neither was he sure what a stroke was, anyway. Leaning down with slightly trembling hands, he gathered her closer and placed her head onto his lap in a cradle hold.
"Madam?" he tried. There was no immediate response, but there was sure to be if it was only a momentary faint.​

 

[Sabine Magnus]

The inner workings of Sabine's mind were whirring a mile a minute as it worked it's way back to consciousness from the fright of such an unusual, not to mention threatening sight in her back yard on what was supposed to be a relaxing Sunday morning. As she began to regain her senses she noticed a few things that were off about the feel of the scene, even if she could not yet will her eyes to open. None of her flooring felt quite like whatever her head was on, which was comfortably warm. She almost burrowed her head into what would have been a very awkward place on instinct when she heard the distant call of "Madam?", her eyes finally caught up with the rest of her body and snapped open to see a very unfamiliar man in her apartment. She blinked her eyes drowsily for a few seconds before her sense of panic kicked in. She let out a squeal and quickly scrambled to her feet, grabbing the closest thing to her as some sort of defense, a small shiny silver toaster that had luckily been unplugged. Her eyes shifted around before she asked, "Who are you, how did you get in my apartment, What happened to ME, and where did that Lion go?!"

 

[Gregory White]

'Who are you?'
"Well..." began Greg.
'How did you get into my apartment?'
" 'Ye see..." he tried. A little voice in his head caused him to look around and note that the place he was in didn't look too much like an apartment, considering it had a back yard and a porch. Perhaps the lady was injured. A worried frown passed over his brow.
'What happened to me?'
"Well I think 'ye may have-" he interjected quickly before falling on his haunches in defeat.
'-And where did that lion go?!'

Oh s**t.

"I'm quite sure I don't know what 'ye mean." stammered Greg finally. The situation suddenly became very clear, and his mind raced furiously to think up a plausible explanation for a lion being in the poor lady's garden. She had grabbed a toaster and he threw his hands up in instinctively to protect himself against the rectangular object. Indeed, he wasn't sure what it was for, but it could quite possibly be a weapon of some kind, or at least a projectile. It even had a long black cord attached to it - gosh knew what that was for. He gulped.
"I ... I think I may be able 'te explain th' first two," ventured Greg hesitantly as he rose to his feet in what he hoped was a non-threatening manner. Nervously, he brushed his hair back from his face so that he didn't look too much like a lion, himself. Ironically, it didn't help. "Ah ... I'm sorry if I've startled 'ye. I was ... going herb hunting in the nature strip behind yer house when I heard 'ye fall. My name's Gregory Yearling," he added hopefully. "Actually," said Greg, with sudden inspiration. "I did happen to see a large white creature as I ran up the steps. It looked a little bit like one of those pyrenees dogs, I thought." That may come back to haunt him, but it was good enough for now.​

 

[Sabine Magnus]

Sabine took a second to look around her surroundings and worried the fall may have rattled her head a bit, I haven't lived in that apartment in years! But that was on the back burner for the time being, as at the moment she was more concerned about the strange, though friendly seeming man in her apartment. As well as the fact that there was a large white lion roaming around the area. She noticed with a raised brow that the man seemed genuinely afraid of her toaster and she felt a little silly holding it. Leaning back over the counter to set it back in it's rightful place as the jammed the plug into the wall, noting where her kitchen knives were if push came to shove. She listened quietly as the man explained himself and it seemed legitimate, Sabine herself often went out into the herb patches to restock her kitchens instead of going out to the store when she had the time to do so. "You must have pretty good hearing then." she noted, before tackling his explanation for her lion mishap.

"My neighbors have one, but I know it wasn't nearly as big as that thing in my yard. It's not still out there is it?" she asked, figuring her chances of escape from this man were better than her escape from an angry lion. "Maybe I should call the zoo or something... Can't think of where else it would have came from." , "I'm Sabine by the way, Sabine Magnus." she had barely finished that thought when she heard a loud hoot and a large brown and white owl came swooping in through the window with a medium sized package and a letter, envelope had her name in Kaileys semi neat hendwriting. Oh bloody hell, Kailey has the worst timing! How will I explain that to the man? the package fell to the ground with a loud thud. She stared at the package for a minute or so. Then up at the attractive man. "poop." she whispered

 

[Gregory White]

Gregory watched as the woman lowered the toaster and he lowered his hands in response. She then did something completely nonsensical and put the little black cord into the wall. He tried not to look too bewildered and failed. It obviously has some sort of purpose other than arsenal, but he wasn't giving it any chances. Greg narrowed his eyes at the silver box and shuffled back a little before returning to look at the muggle. He couldn't help but grin sheepishly when she mentioned he must have good hearing. That may be true, but it doesn't do me any credit, just my heritage, thought Greg, pinching his lips whilst trying to hold back a smile. Holding back a smile came a lot easier when she pointed out that her very neighbours owned a pyrenees. The muggle must then be familiar with what they looked like and he, being familiar with what he looked like as a lion, knew there could be no mistake if she'd had a good glimpse. Obligingly, he turned to check if the 'lion' was still outside, and heard a worrying bark of a dog. Just at the edge of his vision, the neighbour's pyrenees was sniffing at the edge of the fence and whining. "Good dog, no lion here," he muttered hopefully to it, and ducked his head back inside the door.

"Well, wha'ever it was, it's gone now." he told the muggle ... Sabine, was it? Such a beautiful name. Greg blinked and took a second look at her, only now realising that it was a beautiful name for a very beautiful woman. Oh no no no, please no! It was too late. The moment the thought had occurred, his cheeks caught up and flamed red. It didn't help that he was shirtless and covered with prickles, making his embarrassment all the worse. Luckily fate had timed a happy distraction in the form of a barn owl, who promptly delivered a package and perched itself on the windowsill for a break, preening carefully. Without thinking, Greg cooed at it and said "Good girl." Greg's gaze caught Sabine's as they looked at each other in mutual horror. "S**t," he said in time with her whisper. Quick Greg, think!! he implored his subconscious while his cheeks burned all the brighter. It was having a hard time keeping up with all the developments, but offered him one sliver of information: Sabine had not reacted abnormally to the presence of the owl, but to his supposed reaction. With an almost audible whirr and click, his brain doubled back, changed tracks and caught up with record speed. Either Sabine was a witch living amongst muggles, or she was familiar enough with magic to be used to flying packages.
"D'ye, ah, get those often?" he ventured after the intense silence. Greg nervously tucked a curl behind his ear and revealed the last part of his damnation: one, long, pointed ear.​