Closed Let's Go Exploring! PV Golden Explorer Members

If there was one thing Aodhan expected least while attending Hogwarts, it was finding a club centered around scouting. With all the flying brooms, magical creatures, and means of literally conjuring fire out of thin air, he figured that more down-to-earth endeavors would be ignored. Actually, not just ignored; how could they be seen as a possibility? Even during the summer camp, they still had fantastical things scattered about, such as sparklers that didn't burn at the touch and tents holding completely new environments.

In an odd way, the contrasted mundanity of it all made it the least mundane thing as of late. Therefore, it was without question that he would investigate. After all, what else was he to do after hearing about the club? Twiddle his thumbs and pretend his curiosity wasn't piqued? Absolutely not. The thought alone was blasphemous.

So there the fresh ginger was, situated at the meeting table with a green sash across his chest. He was shifting his gaze from the left, to the right, and to the left again, soaking in the new faces and allowing his thoughts to run wild. The boy had even spotted a snake shuffling around in the grass, no doubt the kind his mother would yelp and panic over back home. Was it a normal animal or something more? He made a mental note to investigate it after the club's debriefing... that he would definitely pay attention to. Maybe. Hopefully.

'... and remain to the end of the meeting...'

Shit.

The young wizard snapped his eyes onto their club leader — Kim, that was Kim — and quickly sat upright. Context clues, surely there was something he could gather. And surely whatever he missed wasn't that vital for the day's activities.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before another member had opened their mouth to speak. Aodhan could understand the gist of things from the girl's rapid fire questions. The first task being camping made a lot of sense, almost absurdly so. He worried himself there for nothing.

"Hey, hey, don't be ridiculous. We don't need that junk when we can just sacrifice someone to make a fire. Then we use that to scare off the raccoons! I promise it works from personal experience," he chatted, physically incapable of not throwing in some kind of joke, "I have a better question though. Are we gonna hand out girl scout cookies eventually? Or, uh, wizard... scout cookies? You know what I mean, right?"

Despite spending the past couple years in Scotland, he could still vaguely remember his time in the States and the treats that were handed out each school year. They were an integral part of the scouting lifestyle, the boy was certain of it, and he refused to let such a thing go unaddressed.

S'mores? They were going to make s'mores? The thought caused Aodhan to clench his fists and shake them happily, unable to fully contain his excitement. Not having any cookies still felt wrong in a way, as if he was violating some hidden law of the scouting world, but he supposed that for the time being, this alternative was good enough.

Once Kim began directing the group, Aodhan fought valiantly to keep his focus centered on the older student. He was successful for the most part, able to get the gist of what their plans were for the day, especially upon seeing the kits magically change size with a simple incantation. Even with a month passing since the beginning of the term, giving him ample exposure to his new environment, the youth couldn't help but stare in awe.

All of it was still incredible in his eyes, no matter how common or simple it was for the average wizard. Engorgio was a charm, wasn't it? The actual properties of the objects weren't changed like they would be in transfiguration, so yes, surely a charm. Perhaps he could beg his charms instructor for extra lessons, just to practice these spells early. Waiting and learning patiently, the way he was now, was just so... dull. To the point it was nearly frustrating. For crying out loud, he just wanted to fling a spell and make a drawing come to life already! Or maybe summon lightning. Anything fun like he imagined before attending Hogwarts.

Fortunately, their leader's words snapped the boy out of mental tirade. Right. Tents, scouting stuff. When was the last time he was made to do something like this? He could faintly recall his grandfather? His... someone instructing him on the process, however, that was a couple of years ago by now. It seemed that he would need to wing it, since asking for help was out of the question for someone great and capable like himself. Or at least, he would convince himself to believe that.

“If you want any help, putting up the tents, two heads work better than one! We might be able to figure it out together a bit faster. We can even do yours first.”

Oh. That wouldn't do.

"Nah, I'm alright. Let's do yours first!" he replied instantly before making his way over to her. By the time he reached, Aodhan was peering over her shoulder at the instructions, humming in the process and ignoring the obvious breach of personal space. He skimmed them over, then skimmed them again, until finally he nodded to himself. Yup. He didn't remember jack shit, and this was just barely jogging his memory. At least if they made a mistake, it wouldn't be his own tent getting screwed over.

"Y'know what? I can grab all the things we need first, and lay them out at a..." Ugh, what was the first step? Why was remembering this so difficult? "... At a good spot! With shade and trees and stuff, for both our tents. You can brain this out a little while I do that. Sounds good? Sounds great."

Not waiting for a response, the young gryffindor wasted no time in scouring the area with his eyes, his head snapping back and forth until he located something passable: a clearing with a handful of trees scattered about, close enough to maybe use for supporting the tents, and with flat grounding. Yeah, that looked plenty fine. His destination set, Aodhan took hold of the kits and dragged them over. Then, he began to unravel one of (what he assumed to be) the tarps.

He was so engrossed that he completely missed the state of the branches above, a handful of them old and feeble. One in specific, carrying the extra weight of a small bird, seemed ready to fall onto his head at a moment's notice.