i'll try anything once. private Closed

After one too many nights in the Ravenclaw dorms, Mars was going stir-crazy. The brainiacs that occupied the Sycamore dorms were fine, sure, but one can only listen to lectures on biochemical pathways and how Transfiguration is different from physics so many times.

It was always warm, a bit too warm, in the Ravenclaw common room and the air was still and heavy. Perfect for reading, yes. Perfect for getting your adrenaline pumping and forgetting about things you didn't want to think about, no. Absolutely not.

These were the thoughts running through Mars' head as they headed downstairs to the Great Hall. There had to be something to do on that whole massive bulletin board that didn't include a broomstick or an extensive knowledge of hexes. Siding up to the board, Mars scanned the various posters and infographics littered across it. Clubs were not their thing. Private lounges? Nope. Then, their eyes caught on a single poster.

Huh, they didn't realize Hogwarts had a campground. They'd always longed to go into the Forbidden Forest, but it was exactly that: forbidden. They could only imagine what lay in the forest beyond, be it snakes or spiders or magical creatures they'd never heard about. It seemed to Mars that this, the campground, was the closest they were going to get to such adventure. It had been too long since they'd worn something other than a set of robes anyway.

----

The leaves crackled under sneakered feet, bring with them the smell of old pine and fresh rain. They had chosen to forego the high heels for today; there was something about running away from monsters in three-inch wedges that just didn't sound that appealing. But, for the first time since their arrival at Hogwarts, Mars had slipped a comfortable leather jacket overtop a black tank, complete with their white earbuds hanging around their neck. They were completely non-functional, but it felt good to know they were there, akin to slipping into a second skin. For once, the tears in their jeans were visible, instead of hidden under a mess of blue and black robes.

Humming, Mars ran a hand along the strap of the bag of gear they carried, their free hand spinning their wand in careless circles. Looking for a place on the outskirts of the grounds, they walked through the numerous other witches and wizards scurrying around, using spells to light fires and levitate objects from one table to another. Of course, magic was rampant here as well. Sometimes they wondered if even the muggle-borns would be able to function after they lost their ability to use such spells during the summer.

Following a path marked in the trees, it was easy to get lost in the grandeur of it all. The forest held towering trees, moss, and vines, creating a canopy that cast shadows onto the ground in front of them. It was cool, refreshingly cool, so welcome after so many nights sat bubbling at the edge of the Ravenclaw fire. Closing their eyes, they could hear the crunch of their footsteps, echoed also by the sounds of the forest around them, birds twittering in the air, something shifting the branches to their right. It was all so nice.

Then, up ahead, they realized something was moving. Mars' heart raced in excitement. Being careful to stay quiet, they hurried up the pathway, rounding a corner covered in vines. As they peeked around the bend, they were met with... oh.

"Just another wizard, huh?"

Reducio

Nope, made perfect sense to me! I love your writing style, btw.

Morgan had been crouched over the spiraled roots of a dark tree. They were as thick as his arms, hard as well. He noticed them because had clumsily tripped over; knocking his own journal out of his hand. Once he'd retrieved it, he went back, in case he had accidentally snapped part of it off and that had worried him. But to no matter, it was stronger than he was, and it remained in tact.

At the base, there were the circular shadows all attached closely to one another.

It was why he inspected closer, trying to find a position where the sunlight could strike through the trees so he could better see. Once he had, through a small sheer of what seemed like a miracle; Morgan saw the abundance of honey fungus.

Armillaria, is a genus of parasitic fungi that includes the A. mellea species known as honey fungi that live on trees and woody shrubs. It includes about 10 species formerly categorized summarily as A. mellea. Armillarias are long-lived and form some of the largest living organisms in the world, and he was more than surprised to find it here at Hogwarts. Immediately he sat down in order to etch them into his journal before the the sun moved and he no longer had a line of vision.

He looked for his quill, along with some ink, but upon not finding any he looked around-- only notice the small glass in which he had carried it in had broken and splattered. "Hell," he hissed, setting the quill down on his lap.

It was then that he noticed movement amongst the trees, and his eyebrows perked up. He stood himself up from the ground in a crouched position; more alarmed than anything. The footsteps were too heavy to belong to a toad, even a big one. Could this get any worse? Probably.

Morgan looked into the leading pathway with furrowed brows and steady movements. Which he found was for nothing when his eyes met a pair of another's, human. There was more relief than disappointment, but at least his number one goal hadn't gone to shite just yet.

^{"Just another wizard, huh?"}

Maybe he shouldn't have smiled, the other didn't seem fart too pleased with his presence either. "Wood you more rather Oi've been a big, blisterin' spida?" Those were always fun. He looked once more towards the mushrooms sprouting before over at to the new found presence, carefully stepping himself away from the roots to avoid tripping over them again in front of someone else. Perhaps that'd be worse than dying.

What were they doing all the way out here, so far from the rest of civilization? Morgan scratched the back of his neck. Seems they both enjoyed running through the dark, then. "You weren't sent out hea to.. kill me ore an'thing, right? I won't be held reesponsable fore the crimes I'v comitte' in me past life.

Taking his journal into his hands he held it behind his side, nodding his chin up at the headphones. "Wot you listenin' to? Mind If I join?"

@Morgan Bowens

The boy who stood before them had thick brows and a tuft of hair to match. Mars shifted where they stood, cocking a hip out into a more comfortable standing position. He carried a journal of some sort, his wand poking out between rustled pages. It seemed that he was either clumsy or had stood in a hurry because there was jar of broken glass seeping ink into the giant roots of the tree that loomed overhead.

Funnily enough, he smiled at Mars' words. Maybe it was out of relief though, it was probably far better to come face to face with another wix rather than a chimera or whatever lived in these woods. He seemed to laugh a little, before replying,

"Wood you more rather Oi've been a big, blisterin' spida?" He looked down at the thick roots or maybe something behind them and then sidestepped away, scratching the back of his neck. "You weren't sent out hea to.. kill me ore an'thing, right? I won't be held reesponsable fore the crimes I'v comitte' in me past life. He glanced up at them sheepishly as Mars snorted. As if anyone would trust them to punish people for crimes in a past life. They might be fine with, enjoy even, throwing a few bad hexes or a few punches, but they didn't have enough backbone to purposely squash an ant, let alone a wizard.

The boy's gaze seemed to catch on the earbuds they had nestled into their ears. He shifted the notebook in his hands and flicked his chin in the direction of the white headphones.

"Wot you listenin' to? Mind If I join?" Mars took a slight step back, shaking their head and chuckling. This one sure had a lot to say.

"Woah, slow down buster," they pulled one earbud out and waved it around, "For one, I don't even know your name. I'm not looking to go around sticking something that's been in my ear canal in some random stranger's, you see. And for another, muggle tech doesn't work up here, so there's nothing to listen to anyway." They flashed a grin at the boy, answering his other question.

"And yes, I would have preferred if you'd turned out to be a spider. Especially a wrap-around, those things are hella cool." Spiders had always been a favorite of theirs after all. There was something so captivating about the diverse ways they hunted and captured prey. Intelligent things too.

Popping the other earbud out, Mars let both hanging loosely around their collar bones. God, it felt nice to have their neck free from the high collared robes. They eyed the boy, then looked back down to the puddle of ink that had doubled in the time span of their small exchange. Sighing, they walked over to it and crouched down, frowning at the mess.

"You shouldn't litter, you know," they mentioned. Slinging the bag off of their shoulders, they placed it down with a thud on the pathway. Pulling it open, they reached in and grabbed a paper handkerchief. Carefully, they proceed to pick the pieces of broken glass off the road, placing them into a side pocket of their bag. There wasn't much to be done about the ink spill rather than drop the napkin over top the mess and hope it soaked up as much as possible.

Gracefully, they stood back up, stooping down to pick the bag back up. Before putting it back on, they rummaged through it, pushing aside various snacks and a book on snakes. Finally, they found what they were looking for.

Closing the sack and throwing it back on, they held out a small plastic bottle full of a dark liquid, grinning.

"I never did understand why Hogwarts insists on using glass when wizards are so prone to accidents. Here, I just transferred some ink over, I had a feeling glass might break with all the stuff I threw in there. Throwing it at the boy, they expected him to be able to catch.

"I'm Mars, by the way. You?"