Closed Nothing to See Here

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan was glad to see his make shift fort he had made during his first year was still standing, although it needed some adjustments now that he was getting a bit taller. He was far form the tallest in his class but he had grown a few inches since he was eleven and it needed to be cleaned up a bit anyways. He had brought his notebook with him and wrote down some observations while he was out there but the light was fading fast. Ethan was more than comfortable in the forest most of the time but he didn't like to push his luck when it came to being out there at night. It was hard enough to navigate during the day he'd hate to get lost once things stopped looking familiar. He made it to the edge of the forest just as the sun was setting and he paused for a moment to make sure he had remembered to grab all his things. He'd hate to leave his notebook out there overnight just in case it rained. But one quick look in his bag settled any of his worries and he continued out of the forest, intending to make it back to the castle in time for dinner.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston didn't much like going near the Forbidden Forest. Not only was it Forbidden, but it also reminded him of that awful fight he'd had with Zay a few years ago. Even though Weston knew it was unlikely they would ever get into a similar fight again, he was still a little worried he would one day accidentally come across Zay sneaking into the forest. It definitely didn't help that he was now a prefect, which meant he had to enforce the rules.

Still, Weston couldn't help occasionally glancing towards the forest whenever he happened to be near it. After all, there were centaurs and acromantulas and all sorts of awesome magical creatures in there. It was fun to daydream scenarios where those creatures finally emerged and he got to meet them. Weston was busy doing just that when a figure did emerge. It took him a second to realise he wasn't imagining things. Even worse, Weston realised he knew this person. "Ethan?" he called, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach as he made his way over. "Did you just come from the forest?" It wasn't until the words left his lips that he realised it was a stupid question. After all, he'd just literally watched Ethan walk out of the forest.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan couldn't think about anything other than dinner now and his stomach made a sound of agreement. He started to pick up the pace but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard someone say his name. He turned slowly and relaxed when he saw it was Weston. "Oh hey." he said and waved to the older boy. But it took him only a few seconds to realize this wasn't going to be an entirely friendly interaction if Weston's expression was anything to go by. Ethan also caught sight of the prefect badge and he frowned. That was new. He glanced between the forest and Weston and wasn't sure if he wanted an actual answer. It wasn't like there was anywhere he could have hidden on his way out. He was busted. "...no?" he said slowly, just in case that would be all it took to get off the hook.

 

[Weston Stirling]

For a moment, Weston actually started to doubt himself. Or maybe he just didn't want to believe that he'd witnessed another one of his friends breaking the rules. But as he lifted his gaze, he could see the forest looming just behind Ethan. There was no other direction the boy could have come from. "I just saw you walk out of there," he said with a frown, a little hurt that Ethan would lie to him. "You're not supposed to go in there. It's dangerous. There are acromantulas and centaurs in the forest." It occurred to Weston that he was now probably supposed to hand out some kind of punishment, but he wasn't exactly sure what was appropriate for the situation. His badge hadn't exactly come with instructions, and he didn't have any personal experience to draw from.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan pursed his lips and felt a little bad for lying. He wasn't sure what the big deal was but Weston seemed upset with him. "Oh, that forest." he said and glanced over his shoulder. But before he could think of another lie or even a good excuse for why he was coming out of the forest, the older boy started to lecture him. He shifted on his feet but tensed when he mentioned acromatulas and centaurs. "Yeah but I haven't seen any." he blurted out, more out of his own frustration. He had spent over two years looking for anything and had come out empty handed and it was getting frustrating. But he knew immediately that was the wrong thing to say and winced. "Today. The only time I have been in there." he added unconvincingly.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Ethan was behaving strangely, and Weston almost wondered if the younger boy was lying to him again. But he decided to ignore that instinct, not wanting to entertain the possibility. "That doesn't mean they're not there. One of my friends met a centaur in there." And he was pretty sure Zay hadn't been lying about that encounter. "Besides, you could get lost in there, and no one would know." He wasn't sure how big the forest was, but he assumed it had to be pretty big if it contained a whole herd of centaurs. Weston paused awkwardly, unsure what he was supposed to do now. "I'm going to have to take points," he said though it came out as more of a question. He couldn't remember what had happened to Zay when he'd gotten caught. They'd stopped speaking after that.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan bit his tongue, metaphorically. Weston was blowing this way out of proportion but he didn't want to make things...worse. The older boy was upset and he hated that. But the mention of an actual centaur sighting made him perk up. "Really? Who?" he asked before he could think better of it. A million excuses were on the verge of bursting out of him and he had to clench his fist to keep them in. He was always careful when he went into the forest, always during the day, always safe. At the mention of points Ethan's stomach did a sickening flip. "H-how many?" he asked. The house points were never a priority for him but he also knew that Ravenclaw's were the highest they had been in years. The last thing he wanted was for the race to come down to his dumb mistake in getting caught.

 

[Weston Stirling]

"Z—" Weston started to answer before realising that probably wasn't a good idea. Would that be considered encouraging Ethan to seek Zay out and ask about the centaur? Being a prefect was so hard. "It doesn't matter." At the question about house points, Weston hesitated, realising that he had not thought this far ahead. "Uh, fourteen?" he said, blurting out the first number that popped in his head. "Eight?" He had never lost or taken points before, and he didn't know what was considered appropriate. Even just losing a single point seemed like a horrible punishment. "I've never done this before," he confessed.