Closed Mud and Mysteries PV Aurelius

• ᴄᴜʀɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴄᴜʀɪᴏꜱɪᴛɪᴇꜱ •
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Great Lake - 18th February 2022

A low, but indistinct, muttering could be heard near the lake embankment. A hunched figure in dark robes crouched near the water, close but not close enough to be dangerous. A pale hand reached out from long sleeves, as it touched the end of a plant that grew in the mud, fingertips paused to hold the flora in position...

More muttering.

Then, with smooth movement, the robed figure shifted and was closer to the water. The same long-fingered hand reached out, as it touched some beached gillyweed on the mud. It seemed that someone - whether the robed figure, or something else - had pulled the plant from the water, leaving the remains discarded well outside the lake edge.

A cluck of the tongue in thought sounded, followed by the robed figure straightening out, revealed a hood over the individual's head. The sudden scream from behind, combined with the equally sudden splat of mud, caused the robed figure to spin on the spot--

Attacker!

--and held in one hand, a wand was gripped between fingers. The hooded figure's face awash in shadow, as the individual stood up and looked toward whomever had made that sound... to which there was a sudden child-like chuckling, as the robed figure began to laugh a little. With both hands, the hood was lifted and pulled back, to reveal Aurelius as he blinked at his Ravenclaw friend, Gemima a distance away in the mud...

"Gemima?" Aurelius asked, his Irish accent evident per usual. He started to walk along the lake embankment toward the muddy and unexpected fellow student. "Are you okay? Sounded like you took a tumble... anything hurt or sprained?"

Mere moments before, Gemima had said something about the clouds, to which Aurelius glanced up to the sky - noted those clouds - but otherwise didn't mind. Ireland was a very damp place, so a little rain never bothered the Irish native in the slightest, and to be fair Gemima looked like some rain might help clean her up a bit.

"You look pretty determined, slogging through the mud and weeds, ay..." The Irish boy raised his eyebrows, as he slipped his wand back into his sleeve and made a sheepish expression. "Sorry about the wand... thought you were a mereperson."

Still, far be it for the Slytherin to let someone he liked suffer alone. Now was a good a time as any to catch up, share some mutual information, and chat a bit. Friendship and all that, it required a bit of work and communication. So, with hands on hips over his robes, Aurelius asked:

"What are you up to? Anything I can help with?"

@Gemima Sable

WC-390
Hex-#433687

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

There was a sudden snatch of giggling and muttering just mere paces behind her. Gemima sucked in a deep breath. She was already in quite an irritable mood. She whipped around, ready to tell whoever it was to scram--

"Oh my god!" she yelped. Centimetres away from her eye was the business end of a wand. She quickly leapt backwards, blinking and spluttering.

"Gemima?" The girl in question ceased rubbing at her eye and looked up. She'd know that Irish accent anywhere.

"Hello, Aurelius." she said shyly. She suddenly felt very conscious of all the mud on her skin. An unfamiliar moisture on her cheeks told her that she had rubbed mud on her face too. She suppressed a groan and turned back to her friend. Her cheeks were burning under the filth, but she stood straight, and tried to regain her composure.
"I'm fine, thank you." she answered curtly.

Aurelius raised his eyebrows and slid his wand back into his sleeve. Gemima watched him, glaring daggers at his hand. ”You look pretty determined, slogging through the mud and weeds, ay.” he quipped. "Sorry about the wand... thought you were a merperson."

Gemima flushed an even deeper red. "Y-You're lucky you didn't put my eye out!" she retorted. "A merperson? Really? Never mind what I'm doing, what are you doing down here? You're being very suspicious!"

She finished off her sentence with a great huff, and a small stamp of her foot. This only resulted in splashing her with even more mud. Gem wasn't even that angry, just thoroughly embarrassed and flustered. She sighed and tried to calm herself. This sort of behavior probably didn't look good on her.

"If you must know, I'm looking for a lost locket," she grumbled, walking over to stand beside Aurelius. "Someone from my house lost it somewhere around here. I guess you can help if you want. But really, you should be more careful of your surroundings!"

It was honestly a bit amusing to see her like this. She tried to hold on to the haughty attitude, like she had seen her mother do, but she couldn't stay that agitated for long. Soon, the heat slipped away, and was replaced with a more characteristic, cold annoyance. Gemima took a deep breath and focused on hearing what Aurelius had to say.

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

@Aurelius Leeds

• ᴄᴜʀɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴄᴜʀɪᴏꜱɪᴛɪᴇꜱ •
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Great Lake - 18th February 2022

Aurelius had to commend Gemima, as she defied the muddy state and ungraceful fall in confident style, and stood up straight as though nothing had happened. He would have done the same, most likely. The revelation about thinking Gemima had been a merperson didn't land well, as the Ravenclaw seemed taken aback and responded with surprise - and mention of poking an eye out - before turning the tables and informing Aurelius of being suspicious.

The Irish boy couldn't deny that, from an outside perspective, he might have been.

"Well," Aurelius began slowly, as he glanced behind him, toward the plant on the lake edge. "I heard rumors that someone - or something - had been coming out to the lake, at night, and munching on all kinds of plants."

To emphasize his point, Aurelius motioned to the plat remains behind him.

"I was looking around, seeing if I could find footprints or clues," He continued, as he inclined his head. "I like solving mysteries, finding facts, and using evidence to present an answer... especially with all the weird goings-on at Hogwarts, ay?"

Gemima also explained that she was looking for a locket, apparently lost by a fellow Ravenclaw, which immediately got Aurelius' interest. Perhaps the pair could team up, to search together and try to find the missing item, and if they had time maybe even look more into the mysterious lake visitor?

"My surroundings? To be fair, I didn't expect you to come barrelling down a muddy slope," Aurelius said with a smirk, as he walked closer to Gemima and looked down to her robes, covered in gunk. "I don't suppose you know how to cast Scourgify? I've heard it cleans things really well."

Aurelius held up his hands, in peace, as he got a little more serious.

"But, how about I help you look for the locket? Then maybe we can look into the lake visitor together afterward?"

@Gemima Sable

WC-289
Hex-#433687

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

Skeptical, Gemima followed Aurelius's hand to the tangle of vegetation behind them. Sure enough, there were several toothy indentations in several of the leaves.
"I was looking around, seeing if I could find footprints or clues." the boy said proudly. Gemima raised an eyebrow. She hesitantly walked over to the ravaged flora to take a closer look.

"I love solving mysteries too," Gem mused. She bent down and turned over one of the leaves in her fingers. "And Hogwarts is for sure a strange place, but how do you know this isn't the work of an especially hungry deer or something?" Her tone was still slightly bitter, but she was much calmer than she was before. She dropped the plant and stood back up, brow still furrowed. "It could have been anything, you know."

Aurelius commented teasingly on her less than stellar appearance, and she huffed indignantly again. "No...I don't know how to cast it." She muttered, crossing her arms. "Just drop it."
Aurelius held up his hands in surrender. "How about I help you look for the locket?"He asked. "Then maybe we can look into the lake visitor together afterward?"

Gemima thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. Then she dropped her arms in defeat. "Why not?" she sighed.
If there even is a "visitor."
She took a deep breath and traipsed down the bank with renewed energy, making sure to keep an eye out for anything shiny as well. Gem also kept a close watch on Aurelius, in order to prevent any further wand-eye mishaps.
"Have you ever been down here?" she asked over her shoulder. "There's all sorts of creatures that live in the lake. Perhaps one of them is your culprit."

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

@Aurelius Leeds

• ᴄᴜʀɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴄᴜʀɪᴏꜱɪᴛɪᴇꜱ •
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Great Lake - 18th February 2022

Aurelius knew enough when to stop prodding, even if it was intended as fun, so he dropped the subject about the mud and whatnot for Gemima. Slytherin though he may be, the Irish boy also didn't feel the need to play into those stereotypes often, and would rather get to know Gemima away from all the stigma of Houses and perceived notions. In fact, the young girl's mention of mysteries made Aurelius raise his eyebrows.

"Oh really?" Aurelius asked, as he looked her way. "I think solving mysteries and finding answers to problems is one of the most rewarding experiences. And ay, it could be something simple, causing this flora disturbance... but what if it's not?"

Aurelius smiled, as his blue eyes lit up at the possibility.

"So, anyway, this locket," The Irish boy mumbled, as he began to walk along the edge of the lake, not far from Gemima. It seemed the pair had been brought together, again, by a mutual problem to solve. Perhaps that was a sign. "Beyond the obvious, with being a locket on the grass or sand here, was there any description?"

It stood to reason the locket would be recognizable just by being present.

But still.

Maybe a few people have lost lockets?

Gemima seemed resigned to also helping Aurelius with his problem, which was a good turn. The Ravenclaws were known for intelligence, Gemima was no exception, and between the pair of them Aurelius had no doubt they could find out what - or who - was causing the lake disturbances. But for the moment, the locket had to be found, so that became the primary focus for the Irish boy, as he trudged along through the grass...

"You know, if we do well solving these problems," Aurelius said with a smirk, as he glanced to Gemima. "Maybe we could team up some other mysteries or riddles around Hogwarts? Assuming you want to spend time, of course."

And when Gemima mentioned the possibility of it being something from the lake, Aurelius raised his eyebrows. He liked the idea that perhaps the conundrum had something to do with one of the Great Lake populace. That sounded exciting, and if it was one thing Aurelius could never be accused of being, it was of being afraid to look into anything that piqued his interest thoroughly.

"Do you think it could be a merperson? Have you ever met one? I haven't, personally, but that could be very interesting..."

@Gemima Sable

WC - 450
Hex - #433687

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

"You could be right. Maybe it's a creature I've not heard of before." Gemima tapped her chin thoughtfully. She was starting to open up to the sheer amount of possibilities the current situation presented. After all, it wasn't like her to be so close-minded.
She began scrutinizing the mud with a renewed sense of vigor. This could be a pretty monumental discovery!

"...was there any description?" Aurelius was wondering. Gemima sprung back upwards and held up a finger as she dug into her pocket for the slip of parchment. She pulled it out and unfolded it, squinting at the now smudged ink.
"Uh, it says here that the locket's made of silt--no-- silver, and that it's got a topaz T scratched into the front in... cursive? There's a matching chain attached as well." Gem looked at her companion.

She hadn't looked properly at him when he first stumbled upon her, given her sour mood. He was also decently taller than her (but then again, everyone was). His eyes were a captivating shade of sky blue, but what really caught her attention was his hair.
Gone was the usual perfect part--his brown locks now sat in a fluffy mess atop his head.
Gem tried and failed to suppress a snort. She quickly buried her nose in the parchment again to hid her snickering.

Well, he had been messing around with his robes hiked over his head earlier, hadn't he? Not as prim and perfect as he seemed, then! She grinned to herself.
Dork. It does kind of suit him, though.

"Well, I think that's a pretty through description," she chirped, avoiding his gaze, lest she burst into giggles. "But now we know what we're looking for!" Luckily, Aurelius started to speak.
"Maybe we could team up some other mysteries or riddles around Hogwarts? Assuming you want to spend time, of course." He fixed her with those piercing blue eyes of his, and smirked.

Gemima flushed in response. She hid her fast-reddening face behind her hair, and thought for a moment. Going around the school and discovering its secrets did sound really fun. This particular outing was already turning out to be more interesting than she had first thought. And maybe she could get some exploring in as well!

She cleared her throat and tried to shake away her flustered-ness
"Maybe. But you'll have to prove that you're a good partner, first." she replied cooly, although her smile betrayed her serious tone.
Gemima spun on her heel and began searching along the bank again. "And I don't think merpeople eat plants." She admitted. "But I would love to meet one. I live by the ocean, see, and there's always sightings being reported."

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

@Aurelius Leeds