Garden of Runaways Closed

Hexcode= #507091

The smell of the freshly mowed lawns carried on the gentle summer breeze pushed Sylvain forward further towards more discoveries. It was a lovely summer afternoon for a stroll in the park. The sky aglow and the clouds pale pink, Syl only just set to investigate the park’s various placards and signs for information after having walked the area once to get a grip on his surroundings. If there were any mysteries left within the royal gardens, this diligently curious wizard was working to unravel their nature by comparing the facts the plaques revealed to what little history he’d previously learned in primary school. Sylvain was very thankful to be attending Hogwarts now, as muggle school had bored him deeply. Still new to magic and it’s happenings, Sylvain journaled all of his discoveries.

Rumors that he’d heard as an even smaller child, rumors of magic after dark, led him to believe that something spectacular would occur after the gates were closed and the park shut down for the night. Coming prepared to help his little forest friends, should they show up, the lad slipped a bottle of woodlice from his satchel. Having researched them during the previous fall semester on a rainy dreary day, he’d made a plan to feed bowtruckles on a nice day to lift his spirits. Bowtruckles much preferred the isopods contained within the small stoppered bottle in his hand to other types of food. Sylvain made a conscious effort to find some.That the little pill bugs were so much fun to collect meant he’d gathered an overabundant trove of Oniscidea. Syl had plenty to give, but it seemed like none would be found wanting.

Getting lost was part of the fun, losing yourself in nature was fun on its own, but it was getting to the point now that the sheepish scholar fretfully began the search for his adoptive parents. Robin and Gracie were likely on their way to pick him up from the park any minute now, but still his over thoughtful mind couldn’t help but worry that he’d been mistakenly forgotten. They’d done this on accident before, and it was reasonable as his anxious nature often led him to make such requests from them as: “Leave me at the park,” or “Can I just stay at home instead.” At least this time the pair of botanists left him somewhere he was interested in exploring already, it was just worrisome that they’d been gone for so long. Sylvain would take the victory where he could, and distract himself on the beauty of the park instead, wondering what it’d be like to live in a park like a lost boy.

Sylvain imagined what being a runaway was like for a brief moment. No home to rest in when you got tired, no food to eat until you’d earned it, and no love to share until you found it. It was an interesting thought once, but he shook his head lest it seriously be considered an option. There was no amount of independence worth hurting the people you loved, which running away would invariably do, and he loved the too often forgetful mothers as much as they loved him. It just hurt to believe he was so easily forgotten. Surely they would have a reasonable excuse or explanation once they remembered and showed up, but that was later. For now he had to find a way to entertain himself because not a single Bowtruckle could be found. Disappointed, Sylvain marked the area as empty in his journal and closed it up. If there were magical creatures here, they were too well hidden for the upcoming second year to find.

Spotting a familiar face near one of the park’s fixtures, Sylvain timidly approached the figure. Sure enough, the astute observer was right in his distant judgement. Pale as a peach with a mop of red-brown hair that roiled in the breeze, Jack Burnett’s hazel eyes contained a spark of curiosity itself lending likability to the near permanently plastered smirk upon his face. Atop it all, he sat on the steps of none other than Peter Pan’s statue itself. With a friendly wave, Sylvain began walking towards Burnett as one would when they’d recognized an acquaintance in public. “Odd place to meet again Burnett, are you waiting for someone too?” A slight smile on his features hid the sweat on his forehead. The grass stains on his jeans would reveal he’d been in the park for a decent amount of time, or at the least tell Jack that Sylvain enjoyed getting a bit dirty now and again.

@Jack Burnett

Jack watched a kid about his age approach, but due to the dimming twilight, he wasn't sure who it was until he came closer and addressed the Slytherin by name. His voice more than his appearance was what jogged the redhead's memory since the first time they had met, Jack had been more concentrated on his embroidery projects than the Ravenclaw's looks. That, and the other boy had left before Jack knew he was planning to go.

He looked at him properly now, regarding him as best he could in what little illumination he had to see by. With his grass-stained clothing that varied from their usual school uniform and the fact that they had only talked one other time before, the Welsh boy wasn't sure he would have recognized Sylvain even if he had been encountered in broad daylight.

"...Indarys," he spoke up, having taken a moment to recall what, to him, was an unusual name. His expression depicted surprise at seeing his peer there in the gardens. Then he sneered.

"Odd indeed," Jack agreed. "I'm not waiting for anyone particular." He looked up briefly at the still-darkening sky. "I just wondered how long I could stick around here before someone forced me to leave." Pushing himself to his feet, he stretched.

"What about you? You're...waiting for someone? Here?"

@Sylvain Indarys

"Forced to leave?" What did Jack mean by that? Did he intend to stay in the park past the legal limit or was it more like Jack didn't want to go and was sadly waiting to be dragged off into nothingness reluctantly. "Seems like a boring way to spend an evening, but I suppose that's probably true for both of us." Syl smiled back at Jack, meeting the churlish curl of Jack's lips with his own crooked but kind grin. "I believe the park closes at seven, but I might be mistaken. We'll probably both be forced out if we're still here by then."

As Jack stood and stretched, Sylvain muffled a lethargic yawn. It was a slightly painful suppression, but he didn't want to seem disinterested. Sylvain was only tired. "I am waiting for someone here." Syl repeated the fact. "Well a couple people actually."

Thinking back to when Sylvain first met Burnett, the anxious wizard couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of his abrupt and awkward exit. Jack had asked him about family stuff, and Sylvain had never been good at family stuff, so he bottled up tight and finished his work so he could leave. Since then Syl had learned plenty about his mothers and sister, but still nothing of his actual parents. The name he took was a mystery to him back then. Now it was a family he was glad to be a part of.

None of the curious wizard's thoughts silenced his mounting pile questions however. Syl needed people to do that for him. "Mind if I join you and ask you a lot of questions?"

At Sylvain's comment that what Jack was doing seemed to be a boring way to spend an evening, Jack shrugged. "Not boring to me," he answered mildly. "It's peaceful here; gives me time to think. And I tend to have a lot to think about." He chuckled then. "Also, it's kind of exciting to me to see how long it'll take them to realize I'm here if they ever do. It's like the thrill of being a fugitive on the run." Too bad there didn't seem to be any edible berries or fruits around, though. It would be difficult attempting to find dinner if he were actually left to his own devices and he thought he was beginning to get hungry. Not enough that he couldn't put the thoughts aside for now, though.

"Who are you waiting for?" the redhead asked off-handedly when Sylvain mentioned he was waiting for a couple of people. "Your parents?"

He hadn't expected the Ravenclaw to be any more talkative or interested as he'd seemed to be the first time they'd met, so when the other boy eventually asked if he could 'join him and ask him lots of questions', Jack laughed aloud.

"Sure," he answered through his laughter. "But I have to say...I don't think I've ever heard an inquiry like that asked in such a way before. Usually people just say, 'ask you some questions' rather than 'a lot of questions'. Even when I have a lot of questions to ask someone, I don't tend to let them know it's a large quantity for fear I'll intimidate them and they'll turn me down. They do that, you know." He regarded Sylvain with newfound amusement, his eyes twinkling as he put his hands in his pockets.

"What quantity, exactly, would you consider to be 'a lot'?" Jack's voice was teasing, as though he didn't mind if Sylvain chose to respond with a serious answer or not.

@Sylvain Indarys

Hexcode= #507091

Syl couldn't help but smile awkwardly as Jack explained that he found it exciting waiting for people to notice how long he'd been missing. He thought he should say something but Jack's preferences didn't appear to be hurting anyone and if it made him happy, who was Syl to argue? Instead, he offered a nod in agreement, a warm smile and a playful, "Well I caught ya."

Sylvain confirmed Jack's presumption that Syl's parents were coming to get him with a tip of his head and a short "Yepp." They were totally coming to get him, though at this point it might've been his responsibility to be found.

"Well I certainly didn't mean to intimidate you, sorry if I had," Sylvain said sheepishly with a slight smile and a reassuring glance. "And you're right, it's definitely poor manners to lead with a bunch of questions right away." He pondered for a moment what a bunch was. "A bunch being, like, maybe ten or more. So I'll back it down to just a few questions, say something agreeable. Like five?" As he thought what it is he would ask first, his hand gripped his face leaving him a bit serious looking. Although there were plenty of things the lad could ask his acquaintance about, his mind couldn't help but wonder what exactly Jack thought about Hogwarts and the peril that the school found itself in towards the end of his first year.

"Did you hear about the incident in the Forbidden Forest?" He asked as his eyebrow raised in interest while his question came to an end.

Mentions @Jack Burnett