- Messages
- 727
- OOC First Name
- Claire
- Blood Status
- Half Blood
- Relationship Status
- Single
- Sexual Orientation
- Bisexual
- Age
- 11/2033 (28)
When Arvel had written inviting Jacob on a trip to Sweden, he'd braced himself for a hard 'no'. Wild camping wasn't everyone's idea of fun; and even if it had been, a great many people would have preferred to go alone than with Social Klutz, Creator-of-Uncomfortable-Silences, Bore-of-the-Century Arvel Ayers. He'd half expected Jacob to ignore his letter altogether, although when his owl returned promptly with a reply in its beak, he felt a pang of guilt for harbouring such low expectations. Jacob would never be so rude. He might have been out of his mind, however, because despite understanding he would have to spend two full days in Arvel's company, he'd said yes.
And this was how they had come to be hiking through the Swedish forest in the middle of May. They followed a trail through the tall, whispering pines, afternoon sunlight filtering through the canopy. The small, light-weight packs on their backs held a deceptively large amount of equipment: tents, sleeping bags, flasks, fold-up chairs, and a huge telescope, complete with tripod. Their dogs trotted ahead, pausing occasionally to sniff the bracken or watch squirrels scurry up trees. Arvel didn't say much. There was plenty he wanted to talk about, but none of it could get past his filter, which was working overtime to make sure he didn't embarrass himself. This was all well and good, except for the fact that silence also embarrassed him. He really couldn't win.
They reached Lake Vänern on the fringe of dusk. Although lake didn't do it justice. It might as well have been the ocean; you couldn't see the other side of it. Arvel had come here twice before, but the sight of the water still took his breath away.
He shrugged off his backpack and stood it up against a tree. "I'll do the tents," he said, suspecting Jacob would prefer to assemble his telescope. But he soon discovered it wasn't going to be so easy. These weren't the tiny pop-up tents he was used to. They had poles, and pegs, and eight-page instruction books. He'd bought them on a whim the day before the trip, worried Jacob wouldn't be comfortable in his old one, and he hadn't had time to practice putting them up. Oh, well - how hard could it be? He was a wizard, after all. They had a spell for this.
Yes - they had a spell for this. A spell that Arvel had never managed to master. Jacob could probably do it wandlessly, or something, but Arvel? He stood before the pile of polyester and canvas, summoning up the courage to point his wand at it. "Erecto," he said. The ground sheet tremored promisingly, but it was only the wind. "Erecto." More quietly this time, in case Jacob was listening. Still nothing. Arvel felt his face begin to burn. He was only going to humiliate himself the longer he tried. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn't very well start putting the tents up by hand; that was the same thing as admitting he was a useless wizard, just without using words. And so he simply stood there, staring at the pegs, unable to do one thing or another, and almost wishing Jacob had told him 'no' after all.
Godmods approved
And this was how they had come to be hiking through the Swedish forest in the middle of May. They followed a trail through the tall, whispering pines, afternoon sunlight filtering through the canopy. The small, light-weight packs on their backs held a deceptively large amount of equipment: tents, sleeping bags, flasks, fold-up chairs, and a huge telescope, complete with tripod. Their dogs trotted ahead, pausing occasionally to sniff the bracken or watch squirrels scurry up trees. Arvel didn't say much. There was plenty he wanted to talk about, but none of it could get past his filter, which was working overtime to make sure he didn't embarrass himself. This was all well and good, except for the fact that silence also embarrassed him. He really couldn't win.
They reached Lake Vänern on the fringe of dusk. Although lake didn't do it justice. It might as well have been the ocean; you couldn't see the other side of it. Arvel had come here twice before, but the sight of the water still took his breath away.
He shrugged off his backpack and stood it up against a tree. "I'll do the tents," he said, suspecting Jacob would prefer to assemble his telescope. But he soon discovered it wasn't going to be so easy. These weren't the tiny pop-up tents he was used to. They had poles, and pegs, and eight-page instruction books. He'd bought them on a whim the day before the trip, worried Jacob wouldn't be comfortable in his old one, and he hadn't had time to practice putting them up. Oh, well - how hard could it be? He was a wizard, after all. They had a spell for this.
Yes - they had a spell for this. A spell that Arvel had never managed to master. Jacob could probably do it wandlessly, or something, but Arvel? He stood before the pile of polyester and canvas, summoning up the courage to point his wand at it. "Erecto," he said. The ground sheet tremored promisingly, but it was only the wind. "Erecto." More quietly this time, in case Jacob was listening. Still nothing. Arvel felt his face begin to burn. He was only going to humiliate himself the longer he tried. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn't very well start putting the tents up by hand; that was the same thing as admitting he was a useless wizard, just without using words. And so he simply stood there, staring at the pegs, unable to do one thing or another, and almost wishing Jacob had told him 'no' after all.
Godmods approved