Finished Playing with Fire! PV Zephyr Deakin

🆂kylar startled a bit, looking at the boy. It was Zephyr who talked to her, and she had just recently met him. She wasn’t quite sure about his personality, but he seemed like a nice guy. Since he was a friend of Rose, he then was a friend of hers too.

However, there was some hesitation in her mind because she was always a loner in the class. With her pride and confidence in Herbology, she never considered working as a team; she may help her friend sometimes, but never once paired up with anyone.

“Umm…Sure.”

She fought with all her heart inside and decided to accept his offer. How could I be rude to a friend?

Walking to the station, there was a downsized version of the Fire Seed Bush, much smaller than the one displaying at the front of the greenhouse. Yet, she still can feel the hot air from distant. It was burning in a crackle with a towering blaze that can sore people's eyes.

Skylar put on her apron and dragonhide glove, ready to handle it, then she realised that she had a partner to work with, so she had to communicate with him first somehow. She turned to Zephyr.

“So…The first thing that we have to do is put out the fire. Do you know any freezing charm? Because I don’t.”

She looked at him with her natural, focused face as she added. “I know Knockback Jinx, but you want me to cast it, and you’ll be the one who catches the seed, or you want the other way around.” She turned back to observe the bush for a second before looking back at him again.

“Oh! And… Should we separate our side a little bit while we deal with the bush, so if one of us gets injured, the other one will be safer and will not get dragged into the accident?”

After finishing her sentence, Skylar only heard dead air and felt a little awkward as if she was traumatizing him with her nerdy voice or something.

“I’m sorry. Am I too much for you?” She lowered her voice, gently glancing at the boy. “I… I should let you talk first.”

She was depressed with her social skills, trying to look away.

🆂kylar had nodded to show some understanding and agreed with what Zephyr had said. She took a few steps to his right and left enough space for the moving to flow. She held her ash wood wand tightly, looking straight at the Fire Seed Bush.

She wasn’t good with Charm, yet had been practicing it a lot. For the Knockback Jinx incantation, it wasn’t hard to pronounce like others, but the wand movement, on the other hand, was a bit concerning for her. There were many times she moved her wand, and it did not seem to be effective.

The girl inhaled deeply, then hesitated. Something came to her mind. She had to take a few more steps forward to aim properly. That's what the professor had been taught.

“Flipendo”

A smooth downward curve in the air, then quickly moved upward with a small hook at the end. It was perfectly cast. However… This is just a beginning. She thought.

Luckily, Zephyr’s smile was calm her down along the way. She began to enjoy working with her friend. The first twenty minutes went smoothly, so she decided to pause and let the boy take a break.

“You also did really well, too.” She said with a genuine smile.

There were a few seeds left in the bush. Skylar suggested. “Should we take turns?” She was afraid that he might be a bit exhausted from trying to catch the bouced seed. But, she also wanted to do more active activity since she still had some enthusiasm left inside her.

While she was holding the icy jar, she almost swayed. She tensely embraced the jar in her chest to control its heaviness. Skylar looked at Zephyr from behind, impressed. She started to question how strong he was, or maybe he wasn’t that strong but had tough endurance.

Only a few minutes passed, her hand already shaking from the cold and its weight. She didn’t know how the boy balanced this jar for too long and caught the seed at the same time.

🄿aying attention to the Fire Seed that bounced back to her, Skylar carefully moved her jar she was holding and caught it successfully. She noticed how calm when Zephyr worked. It seemed like he had nothing to worry about, even the casting spell or the bouced seeds. Was he naturally talented, or had he been dealing with it before? That was the question on her mind.

“Yes?” It was like he had already read her before she wanted to ask him the same question. “Yeah, I do like Herbology. I grew up surrounded by plants.”

It was the same answer she gave to others. It was nothing surprising, just simple. If someone grew up around nature, they definitely would at least admire the fresh air, the warm earth, or the planting somehow. But her grey eyes lit up with sparkle as she learn how he grew up on a farm. That reminded her of the plants of the highland garden in her house. It was peaceful, sturdy, yet enduring. The thin wind against the thriving green grass and wildflowers gave her butterflies all the time.

“Right?” She said with her smile, still catching the seeds in the process. “It felt so good when you watch something you're dedicated your caring for them, and it beautifully grows up turned out healthy and fresh.”

She was chuckling a little bit as she added, “It is funnier when you fight with their defense maganism as we do it right now, and somehow can feel the plant also exhausted with us too.” A light laugh let out from her, comfortably talking with the boy, hoping he would see the plants as she did.

She looked like a whole different person when it came to the topic of what she loved and was interested in. Her energy and serious face changed into light, excited to have more conversation.

“Get hands on and pay attention...” Skylar lowered her eyes and smiled softly. “That is actually me too!” She chuckled. “My hands always get dirty, but I never tire of being patient when it comes to the plants.” She softly smiled at him.

Hearing Zephyr express his thoughts and his love for nature made her understand him more. The way his view was tied to his behavior, he must have built his calmness through his hard work and dedication to all those plants and animals he cared for, somehow.

Yet, mentioning magical creatures gave her a curious look. Even though her mother worked at the DRCMC, she had seen only a few back home. Besides that, it was all in the book and her aunt's bedtime stories, so she wondered if the boy managed to see them. “Have you seen one before? The magical creatures, I mean.” She frowned.

A little face was delightful while she grabbed the cold jar tightly, swaying around. “I like chamomile tea. It's really good.” But come to think of it, her favorite plant was hard to describe. It wasn’t like something that normal people would say. The problem wasn’t its magical fact, but the way she adored this plant felt too embarrassing and a bit creepy to share.

“It might sound weird, but I really like Mandrake.” Her tone was hesitant. Her eyes avoided contact as if confessing a secret. “It was the first magical plant I had tended when I was six years old. I was so lonely back then. Depending on how its look, it almost looks like a doll to me. I like the way it's alive. That made me feel like I wasn’t alone and had someone to talk to, even all they did was cry, scream, and hurt people's ears. But… when I finally calmed them down, it was like I also calmed my feelings along the way.”

The gloomy moment paused her anti-social mind. She didn’t know why, but she was comfortable enough to let her guard down. Then came a bounced seed that she did not expect. Only a warning from Zephyr kept her awake. A quick twist of her body perfectly helped her in time, but the seed already crashed into the dry vines behind her. She was rushing on her knees, crawling to catch the rolled seed, then finally grabbed it and put it in the jar.

However, the fire started to spread from the vines to her. It was too late to pick up her wand, so she called out to the boy. “Zephyr! Extinguo!”