Spellunking

[Aion Zephyr]

In the last couple of months, Aion had seen more of the world than he had throughout his entire life. Years spent living with his parents whom were usually too busy working to be delving into vacations beyond their local beach, had resulted in Aion only experiencing life outside of California when he'd attended Durmstrang and Hogwarts. Now that he had begun his career however he was making the most of the opportunities he had. He was still caught up about the situation with Cyan and what had unfolded during the October break, but knowing that he was going to need to put that behind him, the former Ravenclaw was pushing forward and focusing once more on the benefits he could bring to animals.

It hadn't been a topic he'd thought he'd enjoy as much as he was, Care of Magical Creatures only being something he really focused on during his sixth year, but the more he worked on his projects the more he was realising that this was truly what he wanted to do. Aion had spent the last few months travelling through the UK, and last week had met a Herbologist in Scotland that had passed his details to another contact that may be of more relevant use. Meeting Luewann had been like trying to befriend sandpaper, but nevertheless he'd been grateful for the addition and hoped that the person he was meant to meet today wouldn't be as difficult to converse with. Dressed in enough layers to keep a skeleton warm, thick boots and a rucksack over his shoulders, Aion waited to meet with the Herbologist that would be able to introduce him to new ingredients for his work, trying not to swelter in the process. Scotland in Winter was chilly at the best of times he'd found, but he'd heard the caves themselves would be worser still, and the teen wasn't going to take any chances if he wanted to concentrate. With his hands shoved in the pocket of his dark blue jacket, Aion peered around at his surroundings, trying to work out where the entrance to the cave they were due to be venturing into was.
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[Emeric Lancaster]

The past year had been full of change, and most of it, Emeric liked to think, was for the better. He'd moved to England, back to his ancestral roots, and took up residence in the greenhouse outside the family home. While technically, he had an actual room in the house to live and sleep in, the wizard spent so much time working with the plants outside that it had practically become a room of his own. He was happy with what he had, and the privacy he seemed to be given despite inhabiting a glass structure. It was significantly better than his life had been back in America, post-graduation. Home, his parents home, had grown quiet in recent times, though he thought that it had probably been that way for a while now. Almost all of his siblings, now including him, had moved out of the house after graduating from their respective schools, or were only just starting their education, and as such were spread out across the globe. It seemed like a handful of them had, for one reason or another, situated themselves in New Zealand specifically of all places. Emeric tried his best to be ignorant to the fact that it was likely due to the higher Scitorari activity in the area, especially with Esme's growing obsession with death since everyone she knew was somehow dying, and of course there was Fenris looking for any excuse to get himself involved in violence and conflict. It felt like by now, practically all of his relatives were a part of this "dark wizard organisation" that the news was reporting about. It wasn't the Herbologist's scene, which he knew his family was disappointed by, but he'd never been one to try and meet their expectations. He was happy doing what he personally enjoyed, and that was all that mattered to him in the end. Life was simple, and simple was good. But, simple could also grow a little boring. Luckily for Emeric, he'd been given something on the more interesting side to do, a reason to get out of the greenhouse and stretch his legs. He'd heard through the grapevine, which unfortunately was still not a literal magical plant Herbologists could use for communication - yet, that a wizard needed some plant related help.

Meeting someone new was exciting, though Emeric could only hope that he'd be friendlier than their mutual-acquaintance Luewann came across most of the time. The Lancaster boy had far too many negative people in his life, and at times it was hard not to let it affect him in any capacity. He did the best that he could to live as stress-free a life as possible, but it was challenging - unnecessarily so. It felt to him that people loved to be unhappy, and he couldn't understand why that was, and why people needed to bring others down with them. The Herbologist, dressed in an olive coat that seemed to spill leaves and vivid flowers out of its numerous pockets, trekked his way carefully toward his meeting point. His approach was announced first by the low, musical sounds of honking daffodils in one of his pockets, rather than the sounds of his footsteps crunching dead leaves, though even their sounds were drowned out to him by the magical headset covering his ears - a portable version of the wizarding wireless, tuned into the Toots, Shoots 'n' Roots magical gardening station. He loved listening in, and playing a game of trying to guess what kind of advice the host would give to witches and wizards who owled in with their plant problems. The broadcast was cut short, however, as he soon caught sight of whom he could only assume was Aion. He decided immediately that he liked him, if only because they seemed to have a dislike of getting haircuts in common. The Herbologist lifted the headphones from his ears and settled them around his neck, before waving his greeting. "Hello, there! Aion?" He questioned aloud, as much as he doubted it to be anyone else all the way out here.
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[Aion Zephyr]

Aion was thinking about whether he'd arrived totally prepared for this trip. It had been quite short notice and an invitation had been received out of the blue, and as such there was only so much reading he could do in the few days previously, in between trying to put together a presentation on ideal animal exhibits for commercial representation. If it was up to Aion, no zoos and pet shops would be running, and instead all creatures would have the chance to live as they were intended to, but falling short of such changes he had to focus on things he could influence for now. His mind kept wandering back to Hogwarts, wondering what his best friend was doing right now. If anything she was probably sleeping, but recalling the midnight snack nights they used to have, he considered whether she was having those now with another Hufflepuff. After his last run in with the couple, Cyan had noticed he was acting unusually, and Aion had decided that if he was going to fool them and himself into believing they really were just friends, he was going to have to act as he had before he'd known about their relationship. He knew what they had wasn't considered the norm, and while Aion hoped Cyan would at least acknowledge that, and not end up making too many new friends in the same way, perhaps they could go back to what they had. Aion was distrupted from his thoughts when he heard what could only be described as a stuffed up car exhaust pipe getting its blockage blown free, and his head quickly jerked up to see what happened. He spotted someone approaching him, realising this was probably who he was due to meet. A quick confirmation later, Aion nodded his head, "Hi, Emeric right?" He hoped Luewann had been correct in his theories that they'd both benefit from this endeavour, and now that he was meeting his new acquaintance, the prospect of actually heading underground was exciting him. Apart from being aware he was a Herbologist, Luewann had been quite vague about details of the man in front of him. "It's nice to meet you. You ready to go and make friends with some rocks?" He said eagerly, trying not to be too obvious that he was confused at what had made the noise in Emeric's direction, but judging by the appearance of him it could have been a large number of things.
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[Emeric Lancaster]

Emeric extended his hand to the younger wizard in an offer to shake, but as a magical vine coiled its way down his fingertips from out under his sleeve, he thought better of it and instead tucked his hand back inside of one of his many coat pockets. "Yep. That's me! Nice to meet you too. It's great to put a face to the name." For the most part, with so little information, he'd been imagining Aion as a much younger version of his similarly named cousin, though the differences between them were major now that he'd finally met him. For one, Aion was much scruffier, but Emeric liked it. The long hair looked good, and despite the fact the other wizard was younger than he was, he had more facial hair that Emeric could have ever hoped to have. He seemed to just be one of those people who took a long, long time to grow even a few bristles on his chin or above his lip. "Always ready to go make some new friends. I hear rocks are really down to earth." The Herbologist paused and smiled, pleased with himself for his little joke, before trudging on, leading the way to the cave mouth a little ways down the rock face. "Ever been caving before?" He asked, noting that the wizard was dressed somewhat appropriately, though given the fact it was already a cold Winters day, that may well have just been unintentional. It wasn't a hobby Emeric himself had an opportunity to get into until the past few years, and if it hadn't been for his occupation, he might never have tried. He was glad he had, it was such a different experience, if a little precarious at times. That was where magic proved to be particularly useful. Muggle cavers had it rough.​

 

[Aion Zephyr]

As the graduate went to shake Emerics hand, he realised he was the perfect example of someone who lived and breathed their work. Clearly Herbology wasn't just a job to him, in the same way Magizoology wasn't to Aion. Emeric looked as though he had the type of lifestyle that would seamlessly blend together both aspects of his career and hobbies, and while he may have been forgiven for thinking it was only because they were on an expedition that he was presenting himself this way, Aion still hoped to accomplish something similar for himself. He found himself laughing at Emerics joke though, and instantly felt as though they were going to be able to get on well. The only other males he considered his friends were James, Alessio and Matthew, all of whom he'd not really gotten to know much further than basic introductions and/or awkward encounters. "No, never." Aion wasn't quite sure that falling into a ditch on a construction site beside his parents house for two hours as a child would really count. He hoped rhey wouldnt get lost and had put his trust into his new guide. Following Emeric towards the entrance of the naturally formed shelter, he was curious yo know more about what they were actually going to find. "Have you been here quite a lot? I read there's so many different plants that grow underground, it must be very convenient for you?" He asked, recalling the passage he'd seen yesterday about the plant that had evolved to be able to grow towards the area of most moisture instead of light. Since Aion hadn't really been told the details of the trip, he was also curious whether they'd end up in areas unbeknown to most others. As the came up to the gap in the rocks, Aion paused to peer in, realising it was much larger and much darker than he'd expected after riffling through his guidebooks. "Are you sure this is the way in?" He asked, glancing to his latest companion. He didn't doubt he knew what he was doing, but he hoped he'd not get sucked in too far. It will be worth it he thought, taking the courage to step forwards onto some precarious looking stone that bordered the cave.
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[Emeric Lancaster]

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<COLOR color="black">There was a first time for everything, and Emeric was glad to be able to give someone their first experience with caving. "I wouldn't say a lot, but a couple of times? There's no one cave I explore more than any others, and I don't always need to, since most plants grow above the ground." The Herbologist shrugged his shoulders. "Its less convenient when they're down here, but definitely more rewarding when you come across something. You'll see. There was nothing more like the feeling of finding a rare plant lurking deep in the caves after hours of exploration, as they were so rare to come across, and took so much effort to find. Navigating a cave wasn't an easy feat, or without its hazards. Emeric glanced side-along to his companion as he peered into the maw of the cave, and smiled. "What's wrong, not so good with the dark?" He responded to the comment. Of course he was sure this was the way in. It was a giant, gaping hole leading into rock. That's what a cave was. "Trust me, come on. Mind your footing. I should have mentioned bringing charmed shoes." Emeric's own footwear was weaved with a slow-falling spell, so slipping off into a hole, while unlikely, wouldn't result in death or breakage of every bone in his body. Hopefully. He wasn't so sure when the magic would wear off, or when he'd last taken them in to be reinforced. Leading the way into the dark, 'Ric rifled through the pockets on his shoulders, unclipping their coverings to allow for two sets of magically enlarged, bio-luminescent fungi to spill out of its unnatural space, unfurling above his head like a pair of organic umbrellas. They illuminated the way with a soft blue light, pushing back at the darkness as he stepped forward. A simple lumos would have done the job just the same, but Emeric knew not to rely on magic for everything, and if there was an alternative, especially when it came to plants, he'd take it. "Do you know the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite?" He queried, opting for some cave trivia to fill their time exploring.
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[Aion Zephyr]

Aion was hardly surprised that the Herbologist didn't go into the caves very often, after all it was unlikely that most plants were even able to grow without the light, but nevertheless he was curious at what could survive underground and in the dark, much like he was feeling right now. He followed Emeric towards the entrance of the cave, wondering whether he too should have come with the charmed shoes. They seemed a genius idea now that he was balancing on the oddly shaped rocks, but he was carefully and did his best not to twist anything. "The dark is fine, it's the walls that are alarming," he said honestly, for the first time in his life realising that he may have claustrophobia. Of all times to find out, he wished it wasn't now, but he pressed on and copied the steps of his new companion, determined to make the most of a trip he otherwise may not have been able to do. "One grows up, one grows down, right?" he asked, not really sure of which way round was which but he knew he'd read that it was something like that. He wasn't really sure if it mattered, at the end of the day both were rocks that formed underground, although it would be interesting to know if it was going to make a difference to what they'd find. Aion looked up as the sight of something bright caught his eye, and he watched in awe as Emeric seemed to be giving off a bright light from all over his body. It took him a moment to realise that it was the plants that were filling the cave with the luminescent color that lit their tracks, and now it made sense to the man why he'd been covered from head to toe in his work. Perhaps there was more to him than he'd first realised. Knowing that if the plants could keep up their magic, Aion wouldn't need his wand, and as he walked through the cave further into the darkness, one of his hands brushed against the cold rock. It wasn't as though he had anything to compare it to, but being underground felt as though he could be crushed at any time. His heart was pulsing quickly in his chest and he tried to concentrate at the task at hand, pushing out the idea that the cave might collapse on them at any time. If nothing else, it made sense now why he felt so at peace when he could see the sky, but he wasn't going to just give up on the opportunity in front of him. "I'm surprised all the acid in these rocks doesn't effect the plant life, although I suppose anything that lives down here long enough could get use to it," Aion mentioned, trying to recall facts he'd read about to calm himself down from the panic that was threatening to over take.
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