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c i p h e r c o d e
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Excited, is what this soon-to-be fifth year was. After receiving the OTHER Flamsteed's owl regarding the meet-up, Zeke had been barely able to contain himself, and this was particularly true for the eve of the meeting. Sleep had come in ebbs and flows, disturbed by his need to check the time and the urge to pee. Nevertheless, on this morning he was feeling particularly refreshed and was buzzing with energy. Though this was perhaps in part the physiological response to the caffeine he had consumed over breakfast. Dressed in staple grey and black, Zeke arrived at the Leaky Cauldron's courtyard, his wand holstered at the wrist. It didn't take him long to recognise the woman he was meeting, owing to the fact that at this hour the crowd was thin, and few others looked like curse-breakers, let alone Flamsteed's. "Hi, I'm Zeke Browne," he announced as he approached the table, a hand extended to shake - because, semi-formal, VERY important meeting thing with adulating skills was happening! Her attire though didn't go unnoticed, and it didn't particularly surprise him either. "Thanks for taking the time to meet with me," he added as an afterthought, cause, yeah. She reminded him of his mum in a lot of ways, and time and time-wasting was something he was conscious of. |
Examining her nails, Daphne had noticed the kid almost immediately but refused to acknowledge his existence. Maybe...just maybe he would prove to be less of a knucklehead than her brother and do her the favor of chickening out. But alas, no such luck was had by her today. Fitting for someone who didn't even believe in luck. Of course, she also knew about this one's guardians...or more specifically ONE of his guardians that she did not fancy getting involved with ever. Her brother had failed to mention that detail until after she had agreed to this and he was going to get it if this kid got too much in her way. "I know," she said coolly, rising from her seat and neither smiling at the kid nor offering her hand to shake. Instead she circled around him, pursing her lips the entire way while her green eyes scrutinized everything about him with an alluring smolder. "My brother says you are quick on your feet and resourceful, you'll be needing that today." She lifted a thin gold chain dangling from her belt that an old pocket watch hung from and glanced at the time. "Last chance kid. To back out." |
She knew? Of course she knew... why did he think she wouldn't? Zeke stood a little straighter, retracting his hand and letting it rest at his side as she circled him. Did he fit the physical requirements? Were there such requirements? Everything he had expected to come from this experience was already out the proverbial window, because while Daphne fit the image of her that he had created in his head, her personality was different. Less chit-chat oriented and much more, direct. He would have to choose his questions carefully... maybe. "I am," he confirmed without detail. Had he been talking to his peers or even someone else, he would have listed his achievements and the examples of HOW he was quick and resourceful. Somehow he didn't think Daphne would care if he won a fourth-fifth year duelling tournament, let alone any of the other things he'd achieved in his four years or formal education. His hazel eyes followed her hand as it retrieved what appeared to be a pocket watch. Last chance to back out? Zeke shook his head. "I'm not backing out," was his reply. There was no such thing in his vocabulary. |
Well, Air Head had been right about one thing at least - the kid did pick up quick. Perhaps even was actually capable of reading and assessing a situation on the spot. Might not be a complete nuisance after all. Then again. Gryffindor. "You familiar with how side-along apparition works, kid?" she asked while bending over to pull her wand from a holster on the inside of her boot and twirling is idly between her surprisingly smooth looking fingers. Had he ever done it before? Because she was not going to tolerate a queasy stomach releasing itself all over her boots. |
He had so many questions. Too many questions, and he knew now was not the time to ask them. He was LUCKY to have this opportunity, so he was 110% positive that his incessant where are we going? are we there yet? how long will this take? can we camp there? would not be welcome. He bit his tongue which was hidden by the easy smile he wore. Zeke was as pysically and mentally prepared as he could be, all things considered, but what he was NOT prepared for was that question. ... uh... Eyebrow quirked he maintained eye contact (for reasons) and replied with the obvious, "Yes." |
Offering nothing more than an affirming nod, Daphne gave the area another glance over. The morning crowd, witches and wizards stopping by for a quick bite before heading off to work or a day of shopping most likely, were beginning to file in and she did not fancy drawing attention to them. Nodding her head for him to follow, she moved with a dangerous elegance and purpose to each and every movement. Ensuring that they were both out of sight, she begrudgingly offered him her hand. "Don't make me waste my dittany, understood?" |
He still had a hundred questions demanding to be asked, but his lips remained closed. Again, Daphne reminded him so much of his mum, which was just weird, but he could chalk it down to being an occupational hazard - the mannerisms that is. Nodding silently, he followed along in her wake. Was leather her personal preference? Or was it something he would need to learn to appreciate too? Not to say he didn't appreciate, but, yeah... they were stopping now. Zeke accepted her hand without reservation, but unlike other hand holding, he didn't lace his fingers in with hers. "Understood," he grinned, somewhat amused by the commands. |
Merlin. Daphne momentarily lost her resolve and groaned at the contact. She felt like some babysitter taking a kid on a field trip to the zoo. Only she couldn't just leave this one to ooh and awe at the lions. No, she couldn't leave this one unattended and apparently needed to teach him a thing or two. Maybe he could learn if he kept up. "Good. When we land you stick close to me but not so close that you get in my way," she whispered, her eyes staring intensely into his unblinking. Tightening her grip on his hand - because she didn't yet trust him enough to be able to hold on sufficiently on his own - and turned on the spot. With a woosh and a crack, the courtyard was gone. Sometime later their feet touched the ground and Daphne could not wait to let go of his hand. Of course, he had to let go of hers as well...but her grip was gone and she was just showing enough restraint not to pull her hand away from him and walk away. "Don't suppose you have a clue where we are?" she asked, green eyes scanning their wooded surroundings for signs of movement. |
This was going to be interesting. Curse-breaking aside, Daphne seemed to have the bedside manner of a Sphinx. One wrong answer, and she'd have his head for it. He would just have to hope he had the right answers. To confirm his thoughts, her whole warning thing about sticking close, but not sticking too close... was heard and understood. "Got it." Loud and clear. The hand tightening was the first and only warning he received regarding their apparition, but he was moderately prepared for it. The pulling sensation behind his navel not at all fazing him. Zeke kept his eyes closed, only opening them as his feet made contact with solid ground. They were here... wherever here was. Briefly after he felt her loosen her grip on his hand, he too loosened his and retracted it. Apparently she was going to be quizzing him on geography first? The thing about forest and woods though, was that it was difficult to tell them apart. Fat lot of good it would do him. What he COULD do though, was try to deduce where they might be. Because they had apparated, it had to be in the UK. They were clearly not coastal, or at least, he didn't feel as if they were, and it was definitely not London or Birmingham - which he was most familiar with. In fact, considering London was fairly south-laying, he could only assume one thing. "We're in the north..." but that was all he had. |
"Not bad, kid," she said, offering him a curt nod. She was torn between being impressed and disappointed that he hadn't lost his breakfast all over the ground. Impressed because it meant he could stomach more than assumed, disappointed because it meant she didn't have an excuse to send him right back to where she had found him. Both hands free, she rested them purposefully on her hips and stood with her back to the ticker part of the surrounding forest. North. Well, she could hardly expect anything else really. "Ilton in North Yorkshire to be exact," she explained, checking her pocket watch real quick. "There is an old Druid temple up ahead that is rumored to have something hidden beneath it. We are going to get it and get out. I don't suspect you'll leave here today with anything more than a few scratches." Most likely nothing life threatening. |
Owing to the fact that he hadn't done anything yet, Zeke figured the compliment was aimed at his non-puking upon landing, that, and his solid footing. It was hardly worth addressing. "I'm used to it," he shrugged. He wasn't a natural by any means, he'd just... been there and done that. But go figure, he wasn't wrong. North was where they were at. The second Daphne mentioned Ilton, he tried to link it to SOMETHING of significance for what they were doing, but he couldn't recall the name coming up at all in his history books - another reason why he wasn't going to do the subject when school started back. It was useless. Thankfully the answer was provided for him. A druid temple. Neat. "What kind of something?" he asked instinctively - the whole scratches thing the least of his concerns. "Are we talking gold? Or artefacts? Something else?" Naturally he had many more questions too, but those remained unspoken for now. What size it was, how heavy it was, what they would do with it, whether he could carry it, all of those and more would be addressed |
Hmmm. Interesting. Arching an amused eyebrow, she nodded her head in the direction they needed to head off to and began to move with catlike precision through the trees. "Artefact," she nodded as she ducked under a branch. "A tablet to be specific. It's the first step to finding something important for my benefactor." And the kid need not know more than that at this time. "Trick is...no one really knows how to get down under the temple. I have my suspicions, but won't know until we get there and deal with whatever muggles may be in the way." |
Zeke's gaze followed his mentor-for-a-day's nod, and without further prompting he followed in her footsteps, keeping up with her shadow. Unfortunately his movements weren't as graceful as hers, but he'd explored similar terrains enough that his movements didn't appear laboured. Zeke simply nodded his understanding, though she probably couldn't see that... a tablet though sounded interesting, as did the whole benefactor thing. He had questions about that too, the whole freelancing thing. He never much liked goblins, so freelance sounded far more appealing than working for Gringotts. This much he was certain of already. Other things he was taking mental note of included: 1) there weren't necessarily easy 'entrances' to sites of interest, and 2) muggles were a thing. Muggles. "How do you deal with the muggles? Repelling charms? Alter their memories?" Personally he would probably opt for a combination of the two ... which was legit, right? Have them be convinced to move on, remembering other business and forgetting their presence. |
Daphne's head spun around every now and then to look at the kid. At least he didn't seem to have the feet of a troll and was able to tread someone lightly, although he was not exactly twinkle toes either. Pity, that could have been a nice nickname for him. She still needed to think of one. Hopefully something would inspire her eventually. Questions McGee was coming to mind though. "Repelling Charms first," she whispered as they began to climb up a small hill. "Usually they do the trick so you don't have to scramble too many brains in the process." Made for messy work and extra effort. "I set up a perimeter last night...so assuming things held we should be in the clear." |
Zeke shifted his gaze from the ground where he was stepping, to the back of Daphne, occasionally catching her looking back. He never was very good with measuring distance on the fly, so he wouldn't have been able to say how far they had come already. Either way, they weren't at their destination, so all he could really say was that they were closer. How clever he was. But there was his answer, repelling charms first. It did make sense and it hadn't even occurred to him that she might have scoped out the place ahead of time. "Do you do that often? Set things up ahead of time?" or was it purely for his benefit? He had to ask, because he had to know... was this something he would or SHOULD account for in the future? Zeke checked his footing as he ascended the hill behind her, pausing to look back the way they came before continuing behind Daphne. |
At the top now, Daphne knelt down behind a large rock and beckoned for Zeke to follow. She offered nothing more than a glance in his direction, but it sent the ear rattling message to not be seen. Thankfully, even if the kid ended up to be a klutz and stumble out from behind the rock and even tumble down the hill...well...he would be seen by no one as her previous spellwork had worked and the area below was muggle free. "It really depends on the location, but small tourist spots like this one can be done easily, especially in the dead of night. Otherwise, well, you need to use other methodologies." The larger ones, well, those she tended to work at night and as appealing as it was to bruise the kid's ego that she had gone out of her way to make this easy and set them up for daytime execution rather than at night, well, she needed him not to be feeling sorry for himself. At least not yet. "All clear, let's move," she instructed, moving out from behind the rock and trotting down the hill. "There should be some sort of runic marking somewhere on one of the stones. You know which rune means 'to open', kid?" |
Reaching the top of the hill, Daphne's look did not go unnoticed. The curse-breaker's message was received, loud and clear. Zeke followed closely, keeping low as he slinked into position beside her, peeking out from the side of the rock to see the grounds below. ..... neat. AND muggle free. Bonus? He was actually almost conflicted on this point. Though his eyes were glued to the ruin, Daphne's words were crystal clear and he nodded his understanding of her assessment. It was a fair call and he could see the logic in it - something he might do well to remember in the future. Given the all clear, Zeke followed after his mentor, untucking his elbows for balance as he quickly descended after her. Already his head was a jumble of the various runes that he had studied. What were they looking for exactly? Would there be a puzzle? Would they have to produce or destroy a stave? His gaze shifted from the rocky structures to Daphne and back again. Which rune meant 'to open'? None with a meaning that specific came to mind, unless she was tricking him? "Laguz is sometimes known as the rune of revelation... it can be used to uncover hidden things," he supplied, giving his best answer - if not the correct one. And there was something about what it concealed too, wasn’t there? Like, it was highly regarded with travel and successful acquisition - which made sense consdiering their aim was to acquire something, an artefact - the only thing was, it was usually also associated with loss or obstacles and challenges... which again, made sense. As they neared Zeke's gaze was already inspecting the structures, though he made sure not to advance ahead of Daphne, yet. |
Arriving at the base of the hill, Daphne reached down and pulled a leather band from her boot that she then used to tie back her thick dark hair. "Not bad, kid," she smirked, glancing over her shoulder to offer him a cheeky wink. "You may be keeping all your limbs after all." May. These sorts of sights could be incredibly tricky business. Those who really had something to hide would put false runes and enchantments on their sites to protect the treasures within. She hadn't exactly checked this place out entirely to be able to say for sure whether or not it would be as straightforward as she had told her brother it would be. Oopsies. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a small stone amulet with the rune he had suggested on it and tossed it towards him. "You'll need to run that over the ruins here and see if you get any sort of reaction," she instructed. "It will glow green if there is anything hidden nearby." Usually. |
Pausing beside her, Zeke watched as she bent to retrieve something... and proceeded to tie her hair. It was a curious thing, not because tying hair was particularly interesting, but she was interesting, and there was still so much leather. The compliment and wink had him smirking and he couldn't help but feel pretty chuffed with himself, which was going to do terrible things to his ego. See, he was... competent. "I'm more than just a pretty face," he assured with a shrug, oozing all the modesty. But seriously, this was business. He panned the scene of ruins before his gaze landed back on Daphne in time to see her toss something in his direction. Palms open, he caught it. With his brows raised in interest, he turned the smooth stone over and over in the palm of his hands before turning his attention to the ruins. Somehow he'd envisioned something grander, but this would do nicely. "No worries, you gonna make yourself comfortable, or would you rather hold my hand?" he asked in good humour as he approached the first of the rock formations, running a finger over the engraving of Jera before starting his work with the amulet. He didn't rush the process on the off-chance of missing a rune, but he didn't take his sweet time with it either. Unfortunately, it could take a while regardless. Lots of rocks, lots of runes, did she know? |
Ug. Gryffindors. Tapping the bridge of her nose with her index finger, Daphne reminded herself that cheek was valued over incompetence and swallowed some of her annoyance. Some, but not all. The world did not need more pretty boys either, kid. Really. Enough of those knuckleheads around as it were. "I'll keep my hand on my wand," she snorted, twirling it idly between her fingers. You know, just in case some protective enchantments reacted negatively to the amulet in his hand and...well...they would just have to wait and see. She had literally just taken a step towards the kid when her eagle vision zoned in on the stone in his hand. It was faint but, to those knowing what they were looking for, incredibly distinct. "This way," she hissed, leaping towards him with catlike precision once again. Grabbing his arm - NOT his hand - she dragged him to the right a bit, as had been indicated by the faint green glow on the right side of the amulet. "Check the rightmost pillar there, in the center, and look for an especially smooth area. Chances are there won't be any runes on the spot. They are merely decoys here." |
He was still smirking as he continued running the amulet over the ruins, left to right, right to left, up and down, down and up. Steadily making his way along. It suited him just fine that she wanted to keep her hand on her wand, because he had this. He totally had this. In fact, with every inch of ruin he scanned, his confidence grew. That was... until Daphne pounced. WHAT?! Zeke allowed himself to be pulled along to the right, because apparently that was the way? Had he been taking too long? Had he missed something? He'd missed something hadn't he? But it hadn't glowed, not....... really. Oh. Nodding his understanding, Zeke followed the orders he was given quietly, the smirk removed from his lips. Amulet in hand, he moved it over the pillar, his eyes searching and his free hand moving over the stoney surface in an effort to confirm the smooth spot. And that he did. In contrast to the rest of the ruin, the patch had the texture of marble, this was it? Yeah? He moved the amulet to stop over the spot, resulting in the Laguz symbol lighting up bright green. |
Her own eyes aglow, Daphne took the other side of the pillar in question and ran her experienced fingers over its surface with a sense of urgency. Silently, she swooped in and looked over his shoulder to scrutinize the location under the amulet's glow. Wetting her lips, she pressed down on his hand until the amulet was touching the surface of the stone. "Easy now..." she whispered, more to herself than to the kid. The low rumble of massive stones grinding against each other cause the ground to shake below their feet. In the next moment, the very pillar they had been inspecting began to sink beneath the ground and gradually rotate so that it created a downwards slope into a dark tunnel. Hand held out in front of the kid and wand drawn, Daphne pushed them both back a few steps until the tremors had ceased and they were not presented with a kind of stone slide leading deep into the ground beneath the shrine. "Well done," she mused, ruffling his hair and taking the lead. "See you down there," she winked, giving the kid a wink and a salute before balancing her boots on the stone pillar, now smooth after its transformation, and slide down it into the darkness. |
Zeke was learning so much from this experience... or at least, it felt that way to him. Without blinking for a long time, he watched as Daphne inspected the other side of the pillar before returning to his side, he could feel her peering over his shoulder, and then some. Despite the command not being strictly spoken to him, he took it into consideration as he pushed the amulet down onto the stone surface with Daphne's help. What happened next was another first for him... kind of. Zeke took a step back as the stones began to move and grind and the pillar descended into the ground. She needn't have held her hand out in front of him, he wasn't going anywhere just yet, he was happy to observe. There was something about this that reminded him of the Chamber of Secrets, though he knew it was very different in its own way. With the ground no longer shaking, and the sound of movement ceasing, Zeke peered between his mentor and the pillar slide. The hair mussing was hardly necessary, but it was appreciated. He was such a sucker for praise. "Right behind you," he returned, minus the wink, as he watched the woman's descent. Without any hesitation Zeke followed quickly behind, feet first into the depths below. |
While not a thrill seeker, Daphne was a little disappointed that the ride down ended uneventfully. Not even an uneven rock to trip over. Then again, perhaps that was all for the best. She had the kid to worry about and not get killed. Twirling her wand between her fingers once, she illuminated the tip with a silent Lumos and then turned on the spot to check and make sure that Zeke had arrived in one piece as well. The ground was neither firm nor soft, but loose enough that bits of dirt and stone could slip into one's shoe and from the ceiling dangled roots from the grass and other foliage. "This way," she instructed, nodding her head in the direction of the dark passageway. "Not that there is much of an option." |
The slide was definitely shorter than he had hoped it was, and all too quickly he was coming to the end. He landed on his feet and despite the relative cleanliness of his hands, he dusted his palms off on his pants legs as he straightened up. His initial assessment of their landing area was that the druids/or whoever, didn't think much about grand entrances and architecture when the place was made, it was definitely not a Slytherin dwelling. But grandeur wasn't necessary, and some of the most valuable treasures came in the ugliest of packaging, so he wasn't going to take the passage on face-value. Zeke quirked a brow when given directions. No, their options were limited for sure. Beginning their walk, Zeke opted to exercise self-control where his sass was concerned, but instead of remaining quiet he did take the opportunity to ask another question. "I'm assuming it's not always this straight forward, got any tips if you're faced with a labyrinth?" |
Cursing a little under her breath as the heel of her sunk into the ground a little, Daphne lead the way through the tunnel on the constant look out for any sort of trap. The only thing of note were the occasional thicker than usual root that hung from the ceiling and ran all the way down to the ground. Roots that were surprisingly dry to the touch considering their location. Daphne snapped off a small part of one as they walked and tsked before tossing it to the side. Interesting. "Patience," she offered up as a reply. "No muggle tricks about a hand on the wall and always heading in the same direction will help you in the sorts of labyrinths that you face in this field. Four-Point Spell will only assist you if you're lucky. Your best bet would be to invest yourself in a vegvísir." The hanging roots began to thicken, perhaps an indication that they had walked far enough to be under the forest now but Daphne was not convinced of this fact. Although she was thankful for the faint glow of floating bluebell flames that had made their appearance. Would free her wand up for other things. |
Her cursing didn't faze him in the slightest, he was too busy looking elsewhere to be able to appreciate Daphne's heels sinking into the ground. Fantastic things though, heels. Zeke watched with mild interest as Daphne broke off a section of root before throwing it to the side. Just a root then, nothing fancy. It was however, oddly captivating, and he found himself paying perhaps too much attention. Deliberately looking forward at Daphne, with brief glances at the tunnel walls, Zeke nodded as he absorbed her advice. Interesting. It was perhaps by chance that he recognised what a vegvísir was - owing to the fact that it came up in his additional reading the other night. That was pretty much the extent of it though, he wouldn't be able to draw it let alone explain it, but he did recognise the term. "Path guide," he said out loud, more to himself than to Daphne. He'd have to reread that chapter. "Do most sites usually support with lighting?" he asked, finding the bluebell flames peculiar in this situation. He wasn't complaining, it was super handy, it was just something he hadn't expected. He'd always thought it was more of a BYO type thing. |
Path guide. Daphne glanced over her shoulder to give him a moderately approving nod. She had to admit she was a tiny bit impressed he had not used the term "runic compass" but rather something with a bit more sophistication. "Good for a lot more than just helping you navigate through rough weather," she laughed, side-eyeing the bluebell flames again. Why not torches? Those were more standard in these sorts of settings, if one were to name anything about her work as standard. "Everything has a reason," she replied vaguely, her grip tightening around her wand as they proceeded. "Hard to label anything as usual. Need to be on your toes and prepared for anything in this line of work." Finally, they seemed to have reached the end of the tunnel and had entered a small circular clearing where a large stone tablet with foreign writing engraved upon it floated; suspended in the air. "How primitive," she scoffed, nodding her head towards the tablet. "They teach you in school anything about how to decipher what enchantment may be on an object?" |
A nod of approval, he'd take it. While he knew that this was only the very tip of the iceberg as far as curse-breaking was concerned, he was realising a couple of things. How useless school was, and how useful small parts of it had been. Somehow he didn't think he would be graduating ready to enter the field. As for the bluebell flames, he noted, they served a purpose, but more to the point Daphne reinforced something in him that he had perhaps become complacent with. Norms. There were no norms. Everything had purpose, and so everything would have to be scrutinised to some degree. He was silent on the matter, simply reflecting and being more mindful of his surroundings. He continued to remain silent until they paused at the end of the tunnel. Zeke's hazel eyes locked on the tablet. They found it. He helped find it - kinda but not really. Initially he smirked at Daphne's assessment. Primitive? He supposed it was. But again, she was quizzing him, and particularly on school. Circe. "We did some work on numeric representations of enchantments... Arithmos Revelio, identifying the parts of the enchantment," he supplied, though it had been some time since he'd looked back on his notes regarding that aspect of the course, and the other work they'd done didn't support it much. Somehow he didn't think his life-path number changed today to reflect this moment right now. |
Smirking, Daphne snapped her fingers and pointed to Zeke's wand. "Let's see how well you remember that material then, shall we?" she winked. Taking a few purposeful steps towards the floating tablet, she cast the spell in question and waited for the numbers to appear. But even she was a bit surprised by them. "Huh, that is certainly interesting," she mused as she placed her wand hand on her hip. Circling around the tablet, she ventured quick glances towards the kid, waiting for him to offer up his interpretation of what he was seeing because, well, this was the first real hurtle since they had arrived. "You're just full of little surprises, aren't you Ogma?" |
The finger snapping was familiar, and though he was keen as beans to actually DO something, he was perhaps a teensy tiny bit nervous. It had been a while since he'd practiced this after all. "Yeah, sure," he replied confidently, his wand plucked from its holster. He followed behind her, curious as the digits appeared. That was a lot of 9's........ Zeke exchanged a glance with Daphne as she passed comment, and so he stepped closer ready to begin his work. His first real test in all of this. If she wanted to hear his opinion on the matter now, she wasn't going to get it. As much as he tended to dive into things head first, he didn't want to make any assumptions about the what-if's or the maybe's in this scenario. He wanted to know for real. Tapping the parts of the numbers with his Larch, Zeke separated the digits into their parts. "It affects humans," that much was obvious and to be expected - all things considered, "physically?" the five was perhaps a little annoying. But the 9's... he really didn't like the 9's. As far as a kernel or core of 9's was concerned... "metamorphosis? as in, transfiguration?" that was his guess, though power or strength was likely accompanied with it somehow, maybe. There were too many maybe's. The next grouping he'd seen before, "The 527, that's physical touch, and magic... human physical touch and human magic." But then.... The 9's. Bloody hell. "Judging by the strength of the nine's," because there were seven of them after all, and they all knew seven was the strongest magical number, "it's powerful, immediate... but I don't know what." He didn't know. He just didn't know. WHY didn't he know?! |
Nodding, Daphne lifted her head and actually smiled at the kid. "Not bad, not bad at all kid," she mused, ruffling his hair again with her surprisingly delicate fingers. She may even call you by your name of of these days. Maybe. "These wards are not based solely in Western magic," she explained, circling round the floating tablet again as though she were looking for some sort of secret passageway hidden in the air beneath it. "It's not following the standard formula, not entirely, but I can't quite pinpoint the other source of magic. It's a bit difficult when things are all muddled up like this." Which really meant there was only one thing left to do. "Well, guess we'll just have to see what happens," she chirped with an unnerving level of glee, clapping her hand against her leather trousers and glancing at Zeke. "We know it's activated by touch and magic so..." She paused to give him a firm push on the back. "...let's see what you make of it." And she would stand here watching and observing. And, you know, her want be at the ready in case something really awful happened. But given the sequence of the numbers, foreign as the mixture was, nothing alluded to it being life threatening. That much she was confident in. |
And more hair ruffling... awesome. Standing a little taller Zeke circled around the tablet behind Daphne, looking at whatever she was looking at... which he figured was the tablet. Was it strange that he was drawn to things that floated in mid-air like this? There was a beauty to it... but despite it's beauty he wasn't oblivious to the world around him. He heard Daphne and hung onto her every word. Lesson number, what was he up to now? 5? Western magic wasn't the ONLY form of magic he would be contending with in the profession. He nodded. And then there was that. See what happens? Zeke grinned before being pushed forward, toward the tablet. "For real?" She was letting him do this? He didn't need telling twice. He glanced at the tablet, then back to Daphne, and then down at his wand... nah, he wasn't going to sacrifice his wand, so there was only one thing left to do... tilting his head with curiosity, he thrust his hand in the space beneath the tablet to lift it. |
For real. Although Daphne offered nothing more than another push in the direction of the tablet. "Head first, Gryffindor. Your lot are known to be good at that sort of thing." She was just thankful this one wasn't terribly thickheaded and was useful. Stepping a bit closer, she almost groaned at the option the kid had gone for. Yup, Gryffindor. But before she could tell him how much of a knucklehead he was being, his hands were on the tablet and....nothing seemed to have happened. Well, that was a disappointment, to say the least. Not yet lowering her wand, she took several hurried glances about the area before a low sizzling sound of something roasting began emitting itself from the tablet. In the next instant, a jolt of crackling orange light shot out of the tablet and struck the kid directly in the foot. Instantaneous was right. While nothing seemed to happen on the outside, something definitely WAS happening on the inside of his shoes. An extra toe, to be precise, which made the fit of his shoes very tight and uncomfortable to move in. Watching him for a moment, Daphne reached down into her boot again for her enchanted leather satchel and held it open for him. "You alright there, kid?" she asked. "Think you can toss that in here?" Like...he wasn't actually about to keel over, right? She wasn't sure how to explain something like that to her brother. The tablet itself also began to glow. More specifically, the engravings on it did with something that looked like liquid flame that slowly inched its way down the stone surface and dripped onto the floor. |
It was true, Gryffindor's were known for such things, and he had embraced it. Head first and the whole way in, or, not quite. In this instance, one hand was enough. And HOLY SMOKES! He had it. HE HAD IT! He stared at the tablet for all of a second before glancing to Daphne... and then he heard it, and felt it. MERLIN! The orange light had a stinging sensation to it, but it was warm, very warm, hot even but what was most noticeable, was how TIGHT his foot felt. His toes, felt like they were being squished to the point they might amalgamate into one. Okay, exaggeration, BUT IT WAS NOT COOL! He winced a little but other than that didn't make much of a debacle of it. Daphne's voice was enough of a distraction from both the tablet and his foot, and he nodded to answer her question, "fine..." he was just fine. The tablet though, yes he could toss it, he would be more than happy to. As he swung his arm forward, he noticed though, it was glowing. And more to the point... it was bleeding fire? "What the?" he managed to utter as he dropped it into the opening of the satchel. He was getting a cut of whatever she was being paid, right? Compensation for foot-cramp? |
He was fine? Uh, waste of a spell. Whatever that had been if he was telling the truth. "Don't be Gryffindor stupid, kid," she reprimanded, her green eyes looking down at where the spell had hit. "It's not appealing on anyone and I won't have that obsolete dingbat hold me responsible for you losing a limb or dying." So, did he want to reevaluate his diagnosis, hmmm? The fiery secretion did not go unnoticed, nor did the manner in which some of the droplets were now moving towards each other across the dirt floor and leaving a singed trail in their wake. Her bag, although enchanted to withstand a lot, was growing increasingly hot and soon the unmistakable smell of burnt leather began to fill the small space. Turning her bag upside down, the tablet fell to the ground along with a pool of smoldering oranges and reds. Soon enough, the leaking flames had ceased and and were moving about the ground to form small glowing orbs about their feet. A few roots here and there caught fire, leaving fiery trails across the floor as the flames burned the dry materials and headed towards the ceiling. "We need to move," she barked. scooping up the now devoid of curse tablet from the ground and tossing it back into her bag. "NOW." The tiny orbs began to elongate and soon sprouted limbs, giving them the appearance of a Cornish pixie that had been thrown into a furnace. Cornish pixies with claws made out of flames that were now slashing wildly as they ran towards the two. "NOW." |
Gryffindor. Stupid. Kid. Apparently what he was? Zeke didn't appreciate THAT in the slightest but was somewhat amused and distracted by her 'obsolete dingbat' comment. "Who? Airey?" he asked, smirking. But YES, OKAY! He got it! "Foot... toes, toe, I dunno!" Okay, he didn't have roooooom in his shoe. He wasn't dying though, or if he was, he didn't know it. Somehow though, his foot didn't REALLY matter, cause like... liquid fire was a thing. He watched as the droplets formed together, and so much for Daphne's bag... he stepped back as she emptied the contents. "That's...." something. It was something. But moving. Now. Yes. That. He didn't need telling twice. "Yes!" Okay! Zeke turned to retreat the way they came, his eyes locked on the fiery Cornish pixies. .... |
Daphne rolled her head and just stared. "Obviously." But his toes? Well, whatever the spell had done didn't seem to be doing too much. "Probably just something meant to impede your escape somehow," she shrugged. But her brother and the kid's foot were the least of her worries. Whatever THOSE things were were obviously not pleased they were taking the Polyglot Tablet of Ogma out of storage and she needed to get herself and the kid out before they brought the whole place down. Already a few had branched off from the group, heading for the walls and scaling them to set the roots hanging there ablaze. Turning, Daphne sprinted back the way they came with the tiny fiery demons slashing at her heels. A few sprouted wings from their backs and took flight, slashing at any part of her they could reach and singeing her hair and leather wardrobe. Without looking, she began shooting Aguamenti's over her shoulder in hopes that that would help put a stop to some of their movements. |
Obviously, yes, obviously it wasn't the end of the world yet, though if the roof caved in then it might be the end of it for him. Shrugging it off for the time being, Zeke moved to sprint for the exit... only Daphne was right, his foot was an impediment. Despite it simply being a tightness that annoyed the hell out of him, somehow it was as if his foot was made of lead, it was difficult to move. Almost like it was numb and he had no control of it. He managed to limp though. Falling behind Daphne - not because it was his intention - Zeke ducked his head, peering at the ground as he ran!hobbled. Fiery claws reached for him and tore at his pants, one snagging on his foot. Half tripping but managing not to face-plant in the dirt, Zeke used his arms to steady himself, cursing beneath his breath in the process. Gaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! Being slow, and being slowed further didn't work in his favour at all, and even with Daphne spurting water in his general direction it was all he could do to avoid the fiery blighters. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't avoid the demon that swooped from the roof and his face made direct contact with it. Claws dug into him and he could hear the roar that sounded like fire in his ears. What's more, he could feel it searing his neck and cheek, and all he could do was groan and thrash at it wildly, temporarily blinded by it's glow. Firelight was nice, staring into a furnace, not so much. He knew this now. Shaking it and shielding his face, Zeke ambled forward, "Hey!" he managed to shout unable to say the other 'H' word he so needed. Help? |
Hearing noises indicative of struggle, Daphne spun around and did not know what to make of the sight. Her initial reaction was to yell at him for taking her instructions literally - not THAT kind of head first, Gryffindor! - but quickly faded to what most would call the appropriate reaction. Waving her wand high above her head, she sent an especially large wave from her wand at the fiery beings attacking the kid. The ones that were doused were soon replaced by more. Merlin at this rate... A rumble could be heard down the path where they had come from, the sort of rumble in the darkness that made one's stomach drop. Fresh dirt particles tickled her nose and alerted her to what was coming. As if the rumble had not been enough of an indication. Literally kicking one of the fiery sprites (or whatever they were) off him, she reached down and pulled one of his arms around her shoulder. "Fine, huh?" she mocked, glancing down at his feet. Gryffindors. "Get on my back," she ordered, not even bothering to hide the way her eyes rolled. "And hands to yourself." Like, NOW. Before the cave in caught up with them which wouldn't be much longer judging from the way the things were gnawing on the roots to set them on fire. |
His vision was still spotty, between the light and the dark his eyes had a hard time of making much out, shapes though, he could see shapes. He'd taken another few steps forward, feeling a spray of water on him before he felt her hand on his arm, tugging at him. Fine? "Totally," he got out and even now he somehow managed to make it sound as if he really was fine. Fine. Totally fine. He was... owning it? No, not really. The whole 'get on her back' thing was not what he wanted. Zeke was NOT going to let himself be a ragdoll on her back. He was better than that, wasn't he? Not that her back was bad, but he wasn't a kid. Contrary to popular belief though, he wasn't as dumb as he looked, so without saying anything he complied with her order. Size-wise, he wasn't sure how this would work, but he held onto her shoulders nonetheless, it was all he could do right now - that, and hold his breath. The rumbling was a little ominous, no? |
What had become of her? She had been demoted to a pack animal. Merlin help her. The smell of fresh dirt was stronger now and several of the conjured creatures were now scaling the ceiling. As more roots caught fire, it became more and more apparent that the ceiling above them was destined to crash down on them. Tucking one of her arms under his rear and clutching her wand with the other, Daphne began moving back towards the entrance while continuing to cast spells when she could. "You could make yourself useful and do the same," she grunted as she began to pick up speed - not as fast on her own but still faster than him hobbling along. The cave in had nearly caught up with them, but she could see the light shining down in front of them. "Off you go," she hummed, turned her back toward the stone then had come down on while she continued to fend off the fiery beast. |
Awkward, even with doom and demons and the prospect of death, it was awkward... and her hand, her was on his----- never mind. Make himself useful? His wand was an extension of his arm, still gripped in his non-preferred casting hand. It hadn't occured to him to use it though, he was out of school, underage... ... Oh stuff it. His mum would get him off.. what was the worst that could happen? Without hesitation, Zeke took Daphne's cue and started sending spells behind and to the side of them. Jets of water, freezing charms, anything that would slow the tumbling succession of fire and raining debris upon them. Eyes wide open, Zeke couldn't bring himself to blink as they reached the end, the entrance, where they had begun, scrambling off her back and onto the slate, upwards toward the light and out of the hole they were in. Whatever pain he was supposed to be feeling, he was unaware of as his muscles tingled with adrenaline. It was only when he reached the safety of solid ground that he turned back to extend a hand to help pull her up... if she wanted it. Was it too soon to ask if they could do that again? |
Assuming he could handle climbing up, Daphne took a few moments to blast back some more of the fiery critters. As each one was blasted back, or extinguished depending on the particular spell, her green eyes focused on the tunnel and just how rapidly the cave in was coming. With one last pest blasted back, her eyes widened ever so slightly at the lack of distance in which it had flown. Alright. Time for her to get a move on. Clutching her satchel with one hand and wand between her teeth, she ascended the stone and casually slapped his hand out of the way when she finally reached the surface. Thank, but no thanks, kid. Turning back around, she scrunched her nose at the sight. Clean up was NOT part of her job description this time, and not something she would be getting paid for...so muggle authorities or Ministry personnel could deal with that. Surely. And the wards would wear off soon enough as well, so no need to concern herself with those. Another 24 hours. Tops. "You got yourself quite the battle scars there, kid," she mused, untying the leather band from around her hair and shoving it back into her pocket. |
The hand slap was hardly amicable, sheesh, but nevertheless he took the hint and stepped out of the way. Zeke's gaze followed that of Daphne's as she surveyed the scene. He supposed it hadn't gone quite to plan then, the whole thing. Still, it could've been worse, right? It was only at this point that some realisation of what had just happened was sinking in - albeit, slowly. Holstering his wand, his gaze returned to the curse-breaker as she untied her hair. He wasn't even sure that her comment was directed at him until she'd said 'Kid', but still, he was confused. Examining his arms, torso and legs with a few pat-downs with his hand, he found a couple of scrapes and tears but nothing he could really attribute to having been in a 'battle'. Scars? "Huh?" he murmured, as his hands touched to his face for the first time and felt the sticky wet of blood. ... Oh. Crud. He recalled the face scratching now, and that searing pain. Zeke cursed under his breath. It was a strange thing, discovering a wound and suddenly feeling its pain. It was like he was a small child again, discovering a scrape on his knee he didn't know was there after falling on the run. The numbness leaving only the with realisation of the damage received, and suddenly the world was ending. But the world was NOT ending, not right now. Though it may as well have been close enough, bad enough. "Mum's going to kill me," he groaned, trying to feel the extent of the cut... no... cuts. Circe have mercy. Not that he was a mummy's boy... he |
Smirking, Daphne placed a hand on her hip and rocked to the same side. She recognized that look anywhere, and not because it bore an irritating resemblance to the one her brother wore whenever he made some sort of scientific discovery or whatever hullabaloo he would go on about. The kid was experiencing his first real adrenaline high and she could tell, like a real Gryffindor, that he was addicted. Thankfully, she didn't have to be the complete bearer of bad news as the effects wore off enough for him to put two and two together. "People in glass houses," she chuckled as she made her way over towards him and reached for a small vial in tucked into her corset. "This may not fix everything, but dittany should at least take away some of the sting and red color," she muttered, holding his chin with one hand while the other poured a few drops of the essence onto the burning scratches. "Hmm...Dark magic, but not terribly powerfull. You'll live." |
It was actually all really amusing, and for more reasons than he could count right now, so a slight chuckle escaped his lips as he dabbed at the cuts. Whether it was the adrenaline or the Murtlap that was easing the pain, he wasn't sure, but whatever it was he was down with it. People in glass houses though, was not wrong, except he wasn't supposed to be in a glass house apparently. But pursuing straight-up law was not his thing, and as much as he loved potions, neither was that... though, potion scars could be equally as nasty anyway. "Fair point. She'll get over it," he agreed, wondering how quickly that might be. One death stare? Two? Smack on the head? He'd expect nothing less. It amazed him what she could conceal in a corset. Were there undetectable expansion charms on it or something? That would be his guess. Lowering his hand with his sleeve pressed to his face, he let Daphne tend to his wounds, not even caring as the dittany stung his flesh upon impact. "And still a pretty face," he added, his other cheek apparently still in tact. |
Of that she had know doubts. If her memories of Emily Browne were of any indication - not to mention the things she had read recently about the woman. As for his question....Merlin, really? "Whatever you say, kid," she said, rolling her eyes and patting his cheek firmly with her hand twice. "Alright then. Nothing more to be done here. Back to the forest." And before any of her competitors caught wind of her movements, although the majority of them had not yet put all the pieces together. The key piece of the puzzle being the tablet she now had in her possession. Phase one, complete. Nodding her head in the opposite direction from which they had arrived, Daphne began her exit from the ruins. |
Whatever he said, which clearly translated to: Yes... or at least, it did in his book, and he was usually at least half right about these things. The two pats that followed had him scrunching his nose in distaste. Was. That. Necessary?!!!! But then... it was over? They were done? Like.. done done? Even after ALL of that, he wasn't ready to be done. He didn't want this to be over. There was more that he could do... he was sure of it. This wasn't it for him. It wasn't over. Still processing this when Daphne started moving off, Zeke followed after.her. "So, would I make it?" he asked as perhaps his final question for the day. And by 'making it', he clearly mean as a curse-breaker, because, what else was there? In asking, there was only one answer he wanted to hear, because as far as he was concerned, now that he'd had a taste of it, he wanted more. The mystery, the intrigue, adventure, travel, surprise... all of it. He wanted all of it. That being said, it was possible that even a 'no' couldn't put him off from pursuing it. He was always told he was destined to die young, so he may as well go out doing what he wanted. |
Waiting to speak until they were under the safety of the foliage, she turned around and rolled her eyes at the Gryffindor with a billion and one questions. Hands on her hips, she gave him another speculative look up and down before circling him once again. No real reason other than she enjoyed making men squirm. "You need a bit of polishing," she mused, pursing her lips and tapping them with her index finger. "But you listen and have guts. You may survive long enough to excel." And that was as close to a compliment as he was going to get from her. For the time being. |
Being circled was something he'd experienced a number of times before, but never like this, never like Daphne. He stood a little straighter just as he had in the courtyard at the Leaky Cauldron, waiting for her assessment. The result of which, was pleasing, if not ego-boosting. Honestly, what he heard was more along the lines of: You're polished, have guts. You will survive and excel. So with that in mind, Zeke nod his head, a smile lifting the corners of his lips. Unfortunately for him, and Daphne too, he did in fact have other questions but he chose to keep his lips sealed for the time being. He would have to pick his words carefully... maybe. Either way, for now he was a quiet follower, a smug quiet follower. |
Nothing further to say? That was a relief. And ab bit of a surprise given the loose lips the boy had had all morning. Now that they were a decent distance away, Daphne checked the straps on her satchel and then offered the kid her hand again - this time with a bit more encouragement in her fingers; less tension. He wasn't half bad, so she supposed it was not the worst thing in the world to have to hold his hand like a glorified babysitter. |
He did remain silent, turning his questions over and over in his mind, opting to keep them to himself. Maybe later, or another time. Stopping beside Daphne, he took her hand when she offered it, giving only a nod to indicate that he was ready. He was ready, for many things, but a part of him still didn't want to leave. A part of him wanted to return to the ruins, or what was left of them... it would be for nothing though, and so he didn't fight it. |
Her hand closing firmly around his, although she actually did trust him to be able to hold on by himself, Daphne turned on spot and soon they were whooshing away from the forest and landing in one of the more secluded part of the Leaky Cauldron's courtyard. Releasing his hand, Daphne removed from her corset a black velvet coin purse and peeked inside for a moment before extending her hand towards him with a few sickles and a galleon on her palm. "Good work today, kid. This ought to cover your lunch." |
Unlike when they had first left the Leaky's courtyard, this time round he felt the effects of the side-along apparition a little more, but only in that it made his head spin. Still the shock? Adrenaline? Something else? He wasn't quite sure, and it didn't really matter. Landing smoothly he inhaled a small breath and held it to steady himself. He was fine. Totally fine, mmhhmm... and of course he let go of her hand. He might have gone into a thank-you-for-the-experience spiel too had she not pulled more things out of her corset and offered him... loose change? Mmmm... he could afford his own lunch. That wasn't what he was after. "Thanks, but I don't need the money... I could do with more experience though..." hint hint. Yeah? Yeah? |
Oh? "Suit yourself," she mused, dropping the coins back into the bag and returning the coin purse to her corset. She wasn't going to waste time playing nice and insisting he take the coins. She had places to go and benefactors to deliver things to. A sly smile tugging at one corner of her lips, she took several steps towards the Gryffindor laughed softly. Winking, Daphne ruffled his hair before walking past him. Without turning around, she raised her arm above her head and offered a cheek wave at him as she left him with some final parting words. "See you later, kid." |
He would suit himself, yes, good, they had an understan----... wait, what? Zeke had watched as she returned the coin purse and moved toward him, every indication was that she was PLEASED and would accommodate his request, but alas... she didn't. Fiddling with his hair after she ruffled it, Zeke turned on his heal to watch her go, his eyes locked on the back of her as she put a hand up to wave and gave her parting words. "Yeah, see you then," he replied, standing there feeling a little stumped. She said SEE YOU LATER, meaning, he would be seeing her later. He was in! Feeling chuffed with himself, Zeke placed his hands in his pockets and started toward the street. An ice cream treat? He thought so. |
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