Scouting

[Cecily Rambolt]

Although she'd lived in this beautiful and ofttimes strange land of New Zealand, the fact that it was summertime in December was still a wonder to her. If she returned home to see her parents this year, there would be snow on the ground in London and beautifully decorated pine trees with icicles hanging off the porches. Here though, she glanced around the slightly dark forest, everything was in bloom and coming into a fine season.

Dressed as she was in checkered blue and green bermuda shorts and white cotton tank top with eyelet lace trim, there weren't many places she could put her wand. She double checked the give on the sheathe she'd strapped to her left forearm where her wand rested. It paid to be careful and always to have it at the ready. Especially when breaching the Forbidden Forest.

She stretched and watched the faint rays of sunshine peep through the verdant green leaves. The forest wasn't all doom and gloom. If one looked in the right places they could find the beauty and splendour it had to offer. She clasped her hands together and slowly raised them above her head, stretching with a small groan as her forefingers pointed toward the sky. Her midriff exposed, light twinkled off the small piercing above her navel directly in the middle of her flat stomach. It had been an impulse years ago, one she'd never had cause to regret and somehow provided a small sense of rebellion and feminity.

Her lips twisted into a small smile as her arms lowered. It'd been great to bump into Prodan last weekend. He'd looked a sight better than the night they'd partied it up. She wondered if he and his brother had spoken yet. And if they did, how it would go. The little she'd glimpsed into his family it seemed they were mostly a volatile bunch but decent. Kalif did in fact creep her out a bit but it was his intense nature. Almost like a bomb was ticking beneath his pale skin. She didn't get that sense from Prodan at all; he seemed kind, funny, gentle and intelligent.

She wasn't watching where she was going and stepped on a branch. The loud resulting crack as it broke was like a shot fired into the woods. A few birds flew off and she stood tense for a moment, her breath held, waiting for something or someone to come out. When several moments passed and the birds that had remained started their song again, she walked forward to look for a certain small crop.

 

[Gabriel Lloyd]

Gabriel cursed himself for deciding to wear robes. He had known he would regret sporting black as soon as the sun had graced his room, but in his defense, the building had been drafty. The Charms Professor did not have classes to worry about today, but he knew that it would be smart to start preparing for exams.

When he had gotten down all of the flights of stairs, he decided to skip breakfast. Slipping out of the entrance hall, he was soon on the lawn and dripping sweat. It wasn't long before the dark fabric of his work attire was sticking to every nook and cranny of his body. Too late to turn back though. Gabe needed a walk, and he was going to have it, whether or not he would be soaked as surely as if he had jumped into the lake for a swim.

His eyes narrowed as he saw someone slip into the Forbidden Forest. He glanced around the lawns. Students were enjoying this warm day, but he didn't spot any professors. The forest was not his area to patrol, but he felt a duty to investigate.

He was careful to tread lightly as he slipped between the trees. The place didn't seem terrifying, but he had heard stories, and as a Charms master he kept his wand close at all times. He continued to walk, keeping his eyes peeled for another human being. Just as he had started considering the possibility of being senile, a sharp crack reached his ears.

He made his way towards the direction of the sound, and when he felt he had advanced close enough, he whispered, "Homenum revelio." This was definitely a spell that he had not been able to use much in his lifetime. He smirked as he spotted a red outline. Creeping towards the student, he called out, "Gotcha!"

At this moment he had to question his maturity. But who could blame him? He was a child buried deep within an adult's body. His brow furrowed in surprise as he realized that the person he had tracked and caught was not a student at all.

"Cecily! Forgive me, I thought you were a student!" Grinning rather cheesily, he tried to beat his embarrassment into submission. Humor never failed in times like these. Then again, Gabe had never been a comedian.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

"Gotcha!"

Cecily jumped, jerked out her wand and was halfway through a spell when she abruptly pulled her wand back. "Gabe!" She pressed a hand to her galloping heart. Laughingly she said, "What the hell man, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Her wand sheathed she put her hands on her hips.

"That's all I would need, a student to be scared to death by their Charms professor." Her lips quirked and she shook her head. "What brings you out here? Unless you were hunting?" She walked closer until she was several feet away. "Trying to lessen the points jars perhaps?" she teased.

The past halloween party had been a blast. Gabe had been a real card and she'd enjoyed sharing humorous banter with someone who could take a joke and run with it. No wonder most students enjoyed his class.

 

[Gabriel Lloyd]

The slight blush of embarrassment that had risen to Gabe's cheeks melted away when Cecily jumped about a mile high. A barking laugh erupted from his lips as she yelled at him. His dark eyes lit in amusement, he chuckled, "Maybe that was my intention? Surely you know of my evil ways by now." His playful grin morphed into a blatant smirk.

Quite glad that he had not met the wrong end of Cecily's wand, he flashed his pearly whites. "Oh yes. I've been attacking the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws most maliciously." Since Gabe had gone to an American school, he wasn't familiar with any houses and didn't have to root for any of the ones here. "I do anything I can to undermine their hard work."

He jammed his hands into his pockets, his eyes scanning the forest about him. Trees, trees and more trees. What was he supposed to expect. "So what brings you out here on this lovely summer day?" He put some emphasis on the word 'lovely,' considering the fact that he was sweating buckets.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily slid her wand back into the sheathe on her forearm and crossed her arms loosely over her chest. "If you must know, I was foraging," she said, green eyes wandering over the clearing not far away before cutting back to him. His clothes looked like he'd tangled with the Giant Squid. "Out for a swim?" she mocked, her lips quirking. Thanks to her days with Nicolas, she well remembered to cast a cooling charm on her person and clothing before stepping outside on blistering hot days. There wasn't a dot of sweat on her body and she meant to keep it that way.

Gabe was an odd one, she thought, considering him. True they'd worked in the same building for years but she didn't know much about the man, as he kept mostly to himself. He was witty and had lightning fast comebacks. Something in him reminded her of her childhood friend. She grinned thinking of the scrapes they'd gotten into. A niggling voice in the back of her head told her to be careful or she just might get into the same trouble with this one.

 

[Gabriel Lloyd]

"Foraging for what? Magic mushrooms?" Gabriel snorted. He grimaced as he tried to wipe away the fat drops of sweat that decorated his face. "You know I did. I had to use up the gillyweed I stole from the Greenhouses so no one would catch me." Smirking, he added in a whisper, "But don't tell anyone!" He ran a hand through his hair, groaning as it clung to his skin. He really wished it could be winter. Even though he had been teaching at the school for four years, he still wasn't accustomed to the change in weather. Snow was supposed to be on the ground.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily burst into laughter, losing her snotty stance and cupping her hands over her mouth, her green eyes crinkled up. "Magic," she gasped, "mushrooms?" She held her flat belly and bent slightly at the waist involuntarily, until she hiccoughed then wiped the tears from her eyes.

"In that case, don't let Kalif catch you. He'd feed you to the Mandrakes." She hadn't laughed so long or so hard in a fare while.

 

[Gabriel Lloyd]

Gabriel grinned as Cecily keeled over in laughter. He normally wasn't sarcastic at his place of employment- he preferred to be professional- but he couldn't help his tongue when opportunity lay right before him. One of his dark eyebrows raised just a bit. "Now I don't claim to be an expert- but from what I remember of Herbology, Mandrakes absorb their food from dirt. So yeah, if it came to that I guess he could feed me to the Mandrakes." He smirked. "As long as I get a pair of earmuffs."

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

"Dirt indeed," Cecily giggled. She glanced at him, her lips quirking. He was an odd duck. He'd always seemed so serious when they'd pass in the halls or at the staff meetings. She never knew until Halloween what a cut up he could be. "No earmuffs for you," she teased, "unless you'd like to earn them by helping me find what I'm looking for."

 

[Gabriel Lloyd]

Gabriel smirked broadly back at Cecily. The only coworker he had ever really joked with was Belle- and she was on a completely different level. His mouth twisting in mock horror, he gasped, "That would be sentencing me to death. And you wouldn't want murder on your hands, now would you?" Laughing, he asked, "Well, what do you need help finding? I would very much prefer those earmuffs."

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily grinned and started walking. "I rather thought you would," she called over her shoulder. "I'm looking for a root I've run out of. It normally grows beneath dead looking trees and has faint purple spots." She turned to look at Gabe, walking backwards easily. "Are you game?"

 

[Gabriel Lloyd]

Gabe gave Cecily a quizzical look. Searching for a plant that he had never heard of, in this heat? Well, at least the trees provided shade. He had nothing better to do anyways. Grinning almost challengingly, he laughed, "I'm game."

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

"Then come into my lair," she cackled, arms spread. Grinning she turned around to walk a bit more slowly so he could catch up. Her green eyes scanned the ground and subsequent trees. "So," she said, her eyes roving, "how are you?"

 

[Gabriel Lloyd]

"I didn't know Minnie Mouse had a lair," Gabe joked, glancing about for dead trees. A lot of them seemed to be pretty healthy. It was amazing how trees could endure generations of hardship. They had been here before him and would be after he was long gone. Unlike the human race, they were very consistent. "How am I? Well, I should be finishing up exams but I don't feel like it. I'm just out here sweating like a pig. If there were any buckets around I'm sure I could fill them." Hoping that what he had just said wasn't too gross, his eyes returned to the ground. He found a dead looking tree, but upon inspection there were no strange plants beneath it. "And what of yourself, Cecily?"