XXXXX𝔇esislava's adventures across the world had taken her to a myriad of marvelous places. Through her relationship with Ezra, she had afforded herself opportunities to see the world on both sides of the human spectrum, as a witch and a muggle. Before her transfer to Tenusa, she'd been closed off from the world in more than simply her understanding of it. Now? The world was her oyster, and she had the chance to cultivate the pearl of knowledge that she wished to grow inside of her mind and her heart.
Soon, very soon, she would embark on her first solo adventure away from her home in Moorea Maiao and away from Ezra as she had accepted a position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the newest Divination professor. It had been an application she'd applied for on a whim under the impression that A. her qualifications were not up to par with the other potential applicants and B. her real intentions were more so to study the massive subaquatic habitat of the Black Lake Selkies which were the largest group of their kind in the United Kingdom. It would be far too expensive for her and Ezra to live in the Hogsmeade village while she studied, and it was by chance or a cruel twist of fate that the position at the institute had been open. Ezra would not be joining her as he was in the midst of a research project of his own with New Zealand's Magical Creature's department as they had discovered an appearance of Lethifolds and he couldn't afford to leave his team. Additionally, his father, Kupe had requested Ezra's help specifically for a different issue regarding a couple Taniwha that were preying on the village's shores. Not to mention their home and garden needed tending to if she was to be away for long.
It would be a difficult adjustment, but it was something they were both preparing for slowly. In a chance to practice a slight form of independence, Desislava had decided to take a trip across the globe to South America to see what other indigenous species or cultures of merfolk existed outside of the Selkies, Sirens, and Merrows that she had come to study so thoroughly. With the impending approach of her new job, she would have little time to leave Scotland in search of these adventures and this research for her book. If she wanted to get this manuscript into anything more than some scattered papers on her desk and around her half of the study and under Ezra's side of the bed when he hid them from her on his cheekier days.
So here she was, in a traveler's tavern where people arrived in town. She carried with her a duffel bag full of clothes for and her tail bag for whenever she made it into the rivers of the rainforest. Desislava yawned as the floo trip had been one of exponential exhaustion and she could now do with a drink. As she checked into her room, the innkeeper directed her to the restaurant where she could grab something to perk herself up and make a decision about where specifically she would head once the day broke.
When Desislava settled down in a corner of the bar and spread out her maps, she took a sip of the strong Caspiroleta that the rather excited bartender had passed along to her. 'To keep you warm!' he'd explained. It was a delicious mulled wine and most definitely warmed Desislava up. Under the warm ambiance of both the mulled wine and the light of the tavern, she found the route into the rivers that she wanted to take. It would both take her to the larger pools of the water without carrying her off into who knows where of the Amazon Rainforest.
The twists and turns of the circuit that was the river astounded her. If one thought that the ocean was a sizeable beast, nothing could compare to the mightiness that was within the land of the biosphere. Desislava had always been somewhat okay with herbology and botany but it wasn't something she was ever particularly well versed in. Marine flora and fauna she could name with ease. But regular plants? Who knew what she would name something.
She went for another sip of her drink but it was empty. A shame. Without looking, she stood up and knocked into someone, spilling the fruity pieces from her mug onto her map.
"Mrasotiya!" She cursed as she swiped the remnants of the fruit off the parchment into the cup. There was a deep stain on her papers and she tsked to herself as she tried to sop up what she could. But it was a mess as she picked up a half-ripped paper. It was soggy and sticky. The alcohol in this must have been enough to eat through the fibers of the parchment quickly.
She swiveled her head to look for the offending person that had bumped into her. If anything, they owed her a new map. And another drink.
