Forest Picnic

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares excitedly exited the school, he had his little backpack on as he raced through the grounds, though as a second year nothing much had changed, Ares had decided that he wanted to go on more adventures, real adventures rather than the ones in his head. The first year adventure club had been fun, but it had given him just a taste of what could be achievable if he just put his mind on it. So, after a long day of deliberating the day before Ares had finally decided to go to the forest, he had gone to the elves and packed himself a little picnic, and had taken a compass in case he got lost and without a word to Xavier he just rushed off. The young hufflepuff teen assumed that the forest itself would be safer if he was alone, he was far less likely to make a whole bunch of noise and disturb anyone or any creature, but in say that he knew that if he got hurt no one knowing where he was wasn't exactly he was.

Ares finally arrived at the forest, at the edge and he hesitated a little before biting his bottom lip and then heading in, a little nervous but feeling very excited about it, he took a few tentative steps in before taking out the compass and seeing which way pointed back towards the castle, and then he broke off into a run, racing through the forest, Xavier had always been the more adventurous of the two, mostly just in the way that he was on the ground more than Ares was, with his head firmly in the clouds so much of the time he was just happiest to be racing around with his head making up the story, but eventually the teen slowed his run and began to create a story in his head, glancing round at the tall trees, he remembered the old muggle story that Isaiah had used to read to him, and let his mind fill with trees that spoke, that moved and were as living as he was and really, just beginning to imagine that was all it took for the young hufflepuff's mind to become over run with fantasies, and though to most this would be not only rule breaking but boring since alone, it to Ares was perfect.
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[Miya Bell]

Hiding in corners and watching people had almost become a full-time affair for Miya during her first year at Hogwarts, and that hadn't changed since she returned. She meant no harm by it and only hoped to learn how to interact with other people without becoming a stammering mess. So far, that idea hadn't panned out and the young Hufflepuff still greatly preferred the company of nature. Miya left the castle, planning to check on the gardens. Being around wizards all day had begun to make her nervous about the happiness of the flowers and visions of hexes gone wrong kept flitting into her mind.

Miya spotted one of the boys in her year and her curiosity drew her eyes towards the backpack he wore. Something pricked at Miya's brain as she tried to think what was unusual about that, as lots of people carried things around the school, but her curiosity told her to follow him anyway. The gardens would survive without her for a while. She trailed Ares as quietly as she could and watched as he entered the forest. Without a second thought, Miya took off after him, ducking behind trees to stay out of sight. "The forest is not for students." she thought out loud, suddenly remembering that she'd just followed somebody into the forbidden forest and not a regular, friendly forest with trees and baby deer.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares was startled when a voice sounded next to him, he had been so lost in his own mind that it hadn't even occurred to him that he be being followed, after all, he had taken so long to pluck up the courage to go that he had thought most would be like him, and not just wander after him all brazen. The boy was very startled by it, and his mind was broken from the story that he was trying to create, and the girl's words that rung in his head, she too was in the forest, she too had entered upon knowing the forest was forbidden, since he knew Miya from his classes and his house so he was at the very least aware of who she was, and knew her by face, but he didn't know much else about her and yet he could at least tell that she was likely trying to stop him from getting into trouble.

"I know," the boy replied with a small shrug of his shoulders, "But you're here too," he tried to reason, implying that because she was in the forest that she was also forgetting the rule she'd just told him, and Ares just moved away from her, continuing in the direction of the inside of the forest, further and further in, "I'm looking for the teddy bear picnic," Ares told her, with a small laugh, of course he wasn't actually looking for that, but it was a good thing that he could just pretend he was and was just in his mind making up a store that centred around a dark and dangerous forest, "You are welcome to search with me, but if you don't don't tell anyone," Ares didn't really want to get into trouble and he was really trying to press this to her.
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[Miya Bell]

Miya almost wished she hadn't run after Ares, but she had no choice after the other Hufflepuff had caught her eye. She would have felt terrible if something to happen to him in the forest and she had known something about it. She looked down at her shoes resting on the forest floor to make sure she was actually in the forest and wasn't dreaming. Nope, she definitely had just bolted into the out of bounds part of school after a boy from her class.

"Oh. I am." Miya said, looking a little stunned about that fact. Breaking rules wasn't exactly a new concept to Miya, but she still didn't like doing things that could get her in trouble. She hadn't seen anything so far in the forest to prove it was a dangerous place to be, but she kept following Ares just in case. Her eyes widened when he mentioned the teddy bear picnic. It didn't sound like something one would find in a forest, but maybe magic forests were different? "I promise? I won't tell." she said, with a single nod of her head. Miya mulled over the idea of magical bears with a picnic basket full of sandwiches and smiled at the picture. "Is it a fancy picnic?" Do you think they'd wear hats?" she asked Ares.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares was a little surprised when Miya didn't seem to have realised until he'd said it that she was in the forest, he looked at her with a questioning expression before just letting it drop, figuring that it didn't really matter in the end, they were both in the forest now and there was no turning back, or well, really Ares knew either of them could turn back and head back towards the school, but Ares wanted to be in the forest so he wasn't ready to leave yet. The boy then just nodded at her words, "I promise," he said quickly before also giving a simple nod of his head, he didn't expect to have to ever break the promise but it was good to make it, at least now they'd be in this together, no matter what would come.

Ares wasn't sure if this girl really did believe that they were going to find a teddy bear picnic instead of it just being something that Ares came up with in his head, but he just decided to roll with it, motioning for Miya to follow him as he headed in a particular direction, "I'm not sure, they'll only show themselves to us if they think us worthy," he told her, completely making it up but unable to really stop himself from laughing at the idea of any of them wearing little hats, "Listen out for their song, that's how we'll know if we're close!" he told her in a hushed tone before continuing in the one direction, walking slowly and carefully.
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[Miya Bell]

Miya hadn't been paying attention to directions when she had followed Ares into the forest, so going back to the school wasn't an option for her if she didn't want to risk getting horribly lost. Getting lost would not be fun, not unless she could become a woodland princess and reign in a kingdom of small fluffy animals. Miya hadn't seen a single animal since she entered the forest, so she doubted her dreams of being a princess could come true.

Miya was beginning to think the teddy bears Ares spoke about were just a story, but she was not wholly convinced they weren't real. She wanted to believe, and so she did. Miya listened hard for the teddy bears song, screwing her eyes shut as she concentrated. Moving without vision was not a very well thought-out plan, and Miya's foot caught on a tree root. Her eyes flew open as she realised what a horrible mistake she had just made, and she tumbled to the ground with a surprised squeak. "Oh no." Miya frowned at her tangle of limbs. Feet were supposed to be on the ground, not the rest of her, and she was a little shocked to see her knees bleeding. "I scared them away?" she whispered miserably, far more concerned that the sound of her falling would have ruined the picnic for the teddy bears over her skinned knees.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares continued to wander forward, with Miya just behind him, and it was actually quite pleasent there was nothing too tricky about this, and he found himself smiling easily, there was nothing he would've rather been doing than the forest but he knew he didn't actually mind that he was no long alone, he vowed that he would attempt to keep them both out of trouble no matter how difficult a promise that might be to keep with her, and Ares spared a glance behind him as he kept moving forward, it was only when he heard a tumble a little after that he glanced back round to her properly and saw that she had fallen over. Ares knelt down in front of her and gave her a small smile, "I'm sure they won't have run off far," the boy assured her, noting that while she didn't appear to be too badly hurt, her knees were bleeding, it was a good thing that Ares came well prepared, in his own experiences of adventures he had often fallen, scraped his knees or other body parts, since he wasn't always near the house or ready to leave the fun of his mind, he came prepared and he swung his bag down from his back and then pulled out a small amount of tissues.

Ares pulled a couple out before handing them to the girl, and then from within his bag pulled out a water bottle that she could use to clean her knees if she wanted to, and then he just smiled at her, "Always come prepared," he told her with a little smile on his face, he was always prepared for things, especially when he pre-planned such a thing just as much as he had. Although he had decided upon it only the night before, but all his preparations had only taken the morning before he'd ventured out, Ares glanced around them, "We can keep looking or stop here for some lunch, I only have two sandwiches," he told her, as if to ask her to not expect much more than that, and the boy hoped she'd be okay with it, or that she could eat it.
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[Miya Bell]

Miya returned Ares's smile, thankful he wasn't mad at her, and watched the bag with interest as Ares took something from it. With a small squeak of thanks, Miya took the tissues and poured a little water on them to dab at her knees. She winced at the twinge of pain before inspecting her legs for damage, and felt a little homesick as she thought of her mother patching her up after one of Miya's many accidents. Miya missed being at home with her family, and the holidays hadn't been nearly long enough to visit them.

Standing up and dusting herself off, Miya hummed thoughtfully. "Sandwiches?" Miya asked curiously. Ares had everything. Miya would have hardly been surprised to see him pull out a puppy out of his bag next. She wasn't too hungry, and adventure awaited the two Hufflepuffs. "We could keep going? For a bit? There might be monsters around here." she giggled.

Impressed at Ares's preparation skills, Miya dug around in her pocket to see if anything useful hid there and withdrew a handful of crumpled daisies. She squinted at them, annoyed that her fall had crushed the flowers. "I only have these, but daisies aren't good to eat." she said. The flowers weren't completely destroyed beyond recognition, but they'd be no use for making a flower crown anymore. She held them up for Ares to inspect before she had an idea, throwing the handful of daisies into the air. "Protection from monsters?" she murmured, beaming as petals rained down around them.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares watched in silence as the girl took the little bits and pieces that he was offering to her and gave a small smile to her, he had prepared a lot, enough to look after himself if he got into any bother, being prepared when in the forest was key that was what he thought. The young hufflepuff was glad he'd thought ahead to that because he clearly had needed it. The boy took back the bottle of water when she appeared to be finished with it and then at the question he just nodded, "Of course, one must alway be prepared for adventure," the boy told her as if it was obvious that one should be, but he was glad she didn't want to eat just yet he was just glad for the opportunity to keep going before either got hungry, "Good plan!" he agreed, "The monsters might've heard your fall, we should keep moving," the boy was lying, or he was making that up he hoped that it wouldn't be true, but he hoped that she would pick up on that fact and join him in the story he was making up as the wandered the forest in search of the teddy bear's picnic.

The young hufflepuff smiled at her as she pulled out the the handful of crumpled daisies and he just nodded at her, especially as she threw the daisies up into the air and he just nodded at it, grinning easily, "They'll provide the best protection from the monsters!" the boy agreed, "And I have no protection against the monsters in my bag," he told her and just grinned happily at her and the fact that she didn't seem too bothered by the fact he was essentially telling her, "Let's go, remember to tread carefully," he reminded her and then just decided on a direction they could head for them to try to find this picnic, "We'll hear a song before we see the bears," He told her in a hushed and quiet tone, he knew they wouldn't hear a song or find the bears, but in a forest like this it wouldn't be too odd to see something that odd and magical.
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[Miya Bell]

Miya followed Ares, this time remembering to keep her eyes open and watch out for uneven ground as she listened for the music, and staying as quiet as she could so the monsters wouldn't catch them. She knew the daisies wouldn't really protect them from anything, but was a good thing she'd had them along to ward off bad things anyway even if they had just looked pretty. All magic should be pretty, Miya decided. Even if the monsters and the teddy bears weren't real in the normal sense, they still existed vividly in Miya's imagination.

Miya was slightly concerned about how open the pair were to monster attack, even with the daisy petal wards. Adventuring was serious business and Miya wanted to be as prepared as she could be, and she grinned as she thought of something. "If the monsters find us, we'll have to fight them?" she mused. Miya looked around her until she spotted a reasonably sized stick and skipped over to collect it, weighing it in her hand experimentally. She didn't know any spells strong enough to ward off a monster, so a stick would have to do. "With my sword? We must defend the teddy bears so the monsters don't eat their picnic!" Miya spun around with the stick in her hand, looking more like a very fierce fairy than a knight in shining armour.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares paid close attention to where he was walking, not wanting to trip up over anything on this largely uneven ground of the forest, the hufflepuff looked at ahead of him, trying to find where they should be heading, the boy did worry about getting too deep into the forest, his muggle compass was sure to lead them out when they needed that but he didn't want to get too deep and run the risk of running into non-fictional, very real monsters, Ares did not know enough magic to ward off real evil, and while Miya had decided to join him he felt responsible to try and ensure they both remained safe, they were both hufflepuff he felt an insane amount of loyalty to her. With this fact lingering in his mind, he decided to head toward where the forest seemed lighter, still intently listening for the noises that he had made up that they would hear, it was all part of the story and while he knew the story to be false he still believed and the world around him turned into the one in his head and not the reality, but he stopped a little abruptly at Miya's statement.

Ares had not considered weaponry against the evil monsters and he turned to her as showed her sword and he nodded, "A sword will be of great help," the boy told her with a nod of his head, he had his wand in his pocket and he pulled it out, gripping the larch wood wand tightly in his hand, "My sword is worn but it is no less sharp," the boy told her a smile spreading easily across his features as he pretended to look between their swords, " we are brave Knights, sworn to protect the teddies for the evil monster," it was a ridiculous story but Ares loved it, he loved playing and making up stories in his head, and he was glad he could do it with Miya, glad she was playing along and had not once even questioned or made fun of what he was doing. The boy pointed in the direction he wanted and then looked back at her, "Onwards brave knight!
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[Solomon Mordaunt]

For most students, the allure of the Forbidden Forest was either the adventure into the dangerous and unknown, or merely the fact that it was a restricted section of the castle's grounds, and most people wanted what they couldn't have, or to go where they weren't allowed. For Solomon Mordaunt, it was the, no doubt vast, variety of magical herbs and plants growing beneath the woodlands dark canopy. Potions classes had barely even started, yet the eleven year old was eager to start throwing whatever he could find into a cauldron and see what he could make. The right ingredients for proper brewing were hard to come by, especially amongst muggles, but here, on grounds rich with magical flora and fauna, he was bound to find something useful. So, there he sat, with his only other friend in the school, and a Wizarding Wireless placed on top of a large root, playing music from the Brightstone Radio Station.

"We could do with some dittany." Mordaunt said aloud to his companion, fingering through one of his leather-bound herbology books. He was glad to have the Piper girl with him, two sets of eyes were better than one, and being alone, not knowing what was in the distance was an unnerving thought. They hadn't had as much luck as he hoped, although they weren't entirely deep into the woods yet. He didn't want to leave until they found something substantial, but at this point it was all rather common and mundane. Their search yielded little and he was starting to get bored, right until voices could be heard just barely above the music, seeming to be drawing closer. With a start, Solomon got to his feet, eyes locking with Merrill as he pressed a finger to his lips. If it were professors trudging through the woods, they were both in a lot of trouble, something neither wanted so early in the year, if at all. It was also just as likely to be wild centaurs, ready to spear them in the chest with arrows. Neither outcomes were ideal. Quickly, the young wizard reached for his enchanted radio, lowering the musics volume to 0, before ducking behind one of the larger, fallen logs and waiting to see who, or what showed up through the trees.
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[Merrill Piper]

Merrill hated being back in the forest. She had just gotten out for Merlin's sake, but it's what Solomon wanted to do so here she was. Merrill was glad that he had brought a radio though. When her parents listened to the radio all they listened to was the news. Never any music. The young witch smiled, and hummed along to the song that was playing while she dug around in the underbrush looking for potion ingredients. The radio host had said it was by some old band called the Weird Sisters. These sisters sure have deep voices. Merrill thought while listening to them. "Well look at what I just found!" Merrill called to Solomon. Her searching had payed off with a patch of dittany plants. Merrill identified them right away because her mother always had some on hand for healing potions. She was about to harvest them when the sound of voices drifted through the trees.

Merrill didn't need Solomon's warning to be dead quite. She had already started to control her breathing to be as quiet as possible. I knew we shouldn't have come here. The Professors will find us, and we'll get expelled. My wand will get snapped, and I'll have to go live with muggles. Merrill's mind raced as she thought of the possibilities. Without magic she would be no use to her family. Merrill followed Solomon's lead as he ducked behind a fallen log. Merrill lied flat in the ground in the underbrush. The tall grass, and bush hid her well, and if she was quiet enough they would walk right past.​

 

[Miya Bell]

Miya skipped alongside Ares with a smile on her face. She looked over his wand, nodding her approval at his choice of weapon. "That looks like a dagger. Maybe you're a dashing rogue? Sneaking through the shadows and jumping out at your enemies?" Miya giggled and did a little jump to illustrate her point. She liked the idea of knight and a rogue bravely defending all innocents from all bad things threatening the forest.

Miya's ears picked up a faint sound of music and she looked over at Ares with excitement, which quickly turned to confusion as she slowed down. "Music? Teddy bears?" she asked hesitantly, hoping Ares could hear it too. Her ability to form full sentences stalled as nerves pricked at her chest, and her brow furrowed as the music stopped. Miya was sure she hadn't just been imagining it. "Or the monsters?" Maybe it was a trap set by evil monsters lurking unseen. Miya bit her lip and looked around for signs of anyone, tightening her grip on her makeshift sword. The thought of real danger crossed her mind as she realised she wasn't just alone with Ares in the forest, but she quickly buried it before it could flower into fully-fledged panic. She was already getting nervous at the idea of fictional monsters and Miya didn't know what she'd do if something were to pop out of the shadows.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares smiled easily, a little dagger in his hand, and he began to continue forward, although all of a sudden there was actual music in his ears, he glanced round at Miya with a questioning glance, thinking that perhaps she was making the noise but she wasn't and she was definitely wasn't making the music, but by her words she was definitely hearing it too, this wasn't in his head, it was real music currently being played that was filtering into his ears and then the music stopped and Ares stopped dead in his tracks, he got down low and motioned for Miya to do the same, wondering what on earth it was, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to follow the sound of the music, "Teddy bear kidnappers," he whispered to her in a hushed tone, "We should confront it," the boy said, even though his tone as he spoke was uncertain and he moved slowly forward, towards where he was sure the music had come from, before turning back to Miya and for a second turning actually serious, "We might need to run, be ready to run," Ares was essentially telling her to be prepared for it, he was sure that it was more children like himself and Miya, but he didn't know what creatures existed.

The hufflepuff boy approaching slowly, and then managing to move slowly, emerging from behind a bush of sorts, to where long grass and a log were, but he couldn't see anyone, he could tell what the noise, the music had been coming from, and his voice didn't seem to quite want to come to him as he wanted to speak out, hopefully be able to get the attention of whatever creature it was and find out how threatening it was to himself and Miya. The boy then made a snap decision and in a quick movement got his bag to his front and from within pulled out a small bar of chocolate, if it was a creature it likely wouldn't want the chocolate but if it was kids like them maybe it wood, wherever it was hidden, "Would you like some chocolate?" his voice though a whisper, carried easily in the quiet and still forest. Ares was terrified, he could feel his hand shaking and though his mind was certain that this was nothing he had to be afraid of, he just was. Ares loved his make believe stories but this was too real for him to actually feel comfortable and confident and not afraid like he was.
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[Solomon Mordaunt]

The two waited in relative silence for what felt like longer than it actually was, before two slightly older students appeared through the trees. Through a hole between the log's dead wood, Solomon could just make the new arrivals out. He was relieved to know they weren't at all figures of authority, professors, prefect or otherwise, so that meant they, too, were likely actively breaking the rules in the same manner Merrill and he were - perhaps just for different reasons. It was somewhat surprising to find the so-called Forbidden Forest so rife with student activity. He certainly had not expected the two to encounter more kids adventuring in the dark undergrowth. Solomon's eyes shifted from the boy and girl back to Merrill, or where he'd last seen her. Her hiding spot was good, much better than his. He'd intended to climb inside of the log for more concealment, but there hadn't been much time.

The boy was the first to speak a sentence Solomon could properly make out. His offer of chocolate, while seeming friendly enough, could have also been a trap, or so the eleven year old thought to make the situation feel more exciting. He didn't know whether he should move from his spot and accept, or continue hiding and see how it turned out. At the same time, the boy didn't sound very confident, and Sol attributed it to likely being the forest, and what might be lurking out there, if not students. The thought certainly scared the slytherin, but with Merrill around he wasn't as worried as he would have been. An idea came to him, and he tossed it up in his head before deciding to act on it; for Solomon was a metamorphmagus. He could change his appearance by simply concentrating and wanting to, and right now, he wanted to look scary - to frighten the intruders. The Mordaunt boy slowly peered up from behind the log, only the top half of his head showing, while he focused on his appearance. He wanted his skin to look dark, furry and canine, and his eyes to become a deep shade of red, and it did so. He growled, as low and guttural as a child of his age could, to gain the duos attention to where he was, for them to see him as he wanted to be seen. A feral monster of the woods.​

 

[Miya Bell]

Miya gasped, and quickly smothered the sound with her hand, as Ares mentioned they were facing kidnappers. Teddy bear kidnappers were bad news and could even be too tough for brave knights to face. She ducked down beside the other Hufflepuff, thinking that he was awfully brave to take on the monster. Miya definitely wanted to rescue the teddy bears, but the idea of a legitimate threat made her wary as she followed Ares's lead.

When she saw the creature in front of them, her eyes grew wide with fear. Whatever kind of monster she had expected to see, this wasn't it. She didn't even know what it was, but it reminded her a little of the mean dog her grandmother used to own. 'Puppy?' Miya's thoroughly unhelpful mind suggested. Offering chocolate to a dog was an unfriendly thing to do, and Miya might have pointed that out to Ares if she hadn't been rooted to the spot - the shock of seeing whatever the creature in front her seemed to be causing her fleeing instinct to malfunction. Miya wasn't fond of dogs at the best of times, and facing down something canine-like in the middle of the deep dark woods was enough for her brain to scramble itself fully, but she was certain the thing was not friendly. "Thatisnotapuppy!" she yelped.

Miya hadn't consciously made the decision to throw her "sword" at the monster, but seeing the stick flying through the air was enough to snap her out of her frozen state. Whether she was attacking or trying to play fetch with the not-puppy was unclear to her, and Miya scrambled backwards and tried to get a handle on her thoughts.