The Scadventger Calendar PV Simon Kincaid Finished

Sunday. A day of rest. Well, a day devoid of physical, taxing activity for sure. One's mind and heart were never fully at rest, at least not AngelFyre's. Today would primarily be given over to her faith studies, both alone and then later with Simon. There was always a lot to think about and to internalize in these sessions, but it was funny how it never seemed to be a frustration. It was always a sea of calm.

Hmmmmm.

That was not entirely true. There were big ponderables within the pages of her favorite book. If she kept a notebook on such like Simon kept on just about everything, and she chuckled, she could fill up who knows how many notebooks with questions she had for God. Some things just seemed so unfair and she believed her God to be a just God, so it was confusing.

The very first example that always came to mind was the poor fellow, Uzzah, who was accompanying the Ark of the Covenant from his home back into Jerusalem. AngelFyre could read and knew very well that the Lord had long ago instructed Moses and Aaron that no one was to touch the Ark. And God well and truly did mean it when He commanded no one.

On the day Uzzah was struck down, the Ark was being transported on a cart pulled by oxen, which was yet another act of disobedience right there. The ox stumbled and Uzzah did what AngelFyre herself knew she would do and he reached up to help prevent the Ark from falling. He died for that good deed. To her young mind, it just seemed so unfair. Even her strict parents would never think to smite her for disobeying them, especially if her crime had been a reflexive one. She remembered that back in her Muggle school in Dunbar, Scotland she had stood next to a life sized, human skeleton during part of an anatomy block. Her back was turned to it and someone from the back yelled "Look out! It's falling!" and without even thinking twice, she had spun around, ready to catch it. Everyone laughed, including AngelFyre herself, after finding relief in knowing the skeleton was in no danger.

Still, that memory always flashed in her mind when the story of Uzzah and the Ark reared its head. It had long burned a hole of anger in AngelFyre's heart if truth be told, but she was older now and was able to grapple with the larger lessons to be learned from the story. There were a few actually, not the least of which was that God does not need us to defend or protect Him. He is more than capable of doing it himself. The most important lesson, however, is that when the Lord commands us to do something.... or NOT to do something... we need to be faithful servants and obey.

When Simon opened up drawer 11 today, he would find inside something she hoped he might find not only useful, but a reminder of what he was commanded to be. If he put any thought beyond that into it, she would hope he would also know it was a reflection of who she knew the love of her life to be. She had every faith in him that he would not grow into an Uzzah, but would grow into a Job.

Only unlike Job, he would not find himself with a wife who would tell him to 'Just curse God and die!' when things got tough and suffering was great. Like her Simon, AngelFyre hoped to be a faithful, obedient servant by His... and by his... side always.


December 2022

Reward

Reducio

OOC: It is hard to read, but the quote on the bookmark reads "Be strong and do not give up for your work will be rewarded." 2 Chronicles 15:7

AngelFyre was feeling completely out of sorts and a little stunned today. Her world had been turned topsy-turvy with the news yesterday that her Grandma Ruth had received a terminal diagnosis, and as was heard so often in the movies, she was looking at 6 months to a year. AngelFyre knew her grandmother was not a young woman and knew that she would be losing her someday, but like everyone else who loves in this world, it is probably normal to believe that the distant "that day" or "someday" will not be this day or yesterday or tomorrow.

She supposed she made it through her classes today, but she would not have been able to tell you much about what was discussed. That was fine. She could ask friends. She could ask her third year boyfriend if it came to it. She wished she could snap out of whatever this feeling was. Shock, she supposed. Denial? Her Grandma Ruth was not gone and here AngelFyre was, already getting a jumpstart on her grieving. Was that normal?

Was it ghoulish?

After her last class, she went straight to her dorm room. She honestly just wanted to sleep. She most wanted to go home and be with the oldest member of her Fab Four and just hold her. Less than 2 weeks and she could. Her father had assured her Grandma Ruth would be there when her winter break finally came around. It was nice to hear, but even AngelFyre knew it was a gamble of a promise to be making. Still, she would lean on that promise and prayer.

And on Simon.

Sleep would have to wait, she realized, as she got to her dorm. Today's reward had not been placed yet. She was late, but knew Simon would understand. She was not certain how he would feel about today's reward, but AngelFyre was a dreamer and figured it never hurt to put those dreams into the universe. If nothing else, some of them, most of them actually, she hoped would be done with Simon. One of them already had, so that could be a start of a great trend.

It had to be shock. She would make her way to the hiding place on automatic pilot and hope that Simon had not already been there, like 1,000 times already today, looking for his MIA girlfriend's torturous December chore reward.

Tears spilled as her focus caught sight of the first item. That was Grandma Ruth's suggestion. She knew there would be celebrating in Heaven on April 22, 2026. AngelFyre may not be able to see her on that day, but she knew she would be with her as it became mission accomplished.

December 2022

Reward Location Hint:

Reducio

When you figure out what the haiku refers to, that is where you should go.

Reward

Reducio

A note to Simon would go along with it stating the following: These are only some of mine. Would be fun to know what yours might be.

Enough wasted time had been turned over to whatever the heck it was that had kept her in a stupor for the last 2^1/2 daze days. She needed to focus on everything still ahead of her to get through the end of term, and she needed to do so with her grades still at the highest levels. Grandma Ruth would hate to know that worry and grief would be responsible for a downturn in AngelFyre's studies. She had always strived to make her family proud of her and she was not going to let them down now.

She was not entirely back to her normal, perky self, but she felt shades of it. She smiled when she remembered what she had left in Simon's drawer for today. No puzzle.... just a few refined results of something the two had spent a good part of one day playing with over the summer on their phones while separated. He had introduced her to picrews, and the happy pair tickled themselves silly checking out various sites making versions of themselves and each other and sending their artwork off to the other. When they said good night for the evening, AngelFyre continued playing with the programs and made two she particularly liked.

Some might have thought this a complete waste of time, but she never felt like anything they did together was a waste. Laughing with Simon was as important as crying with Simon. He just got her and her wacky sense of humor and he had a wonderful sense of humor too, though his was more wry and reserved. It was the Brit in him. AngelFyre's was probably more a result of her mother and grandmother's American influence. Whatever it was, she knew Simon appreciated it and she could just be herself, knowing he would love her no matter how off the rails she could sometimes go.

She was just thankful he was not as hard to make smile as the legendary Queen's Royal Guard were said to be. If he were, he would be consigned to a lifetime of her humor badgering, pun definitely intended, no doubt.

December 2022

Simon excelled at everything. Well, that was not precisely the truth. He excelled at almost everything. Casting was not a strong suit of his, but AngelFyre knew that if it were not for his dhampirism, he would most likely excel at that as well. They had spoken about it indirectly, but AngelFyre had long ago decided that since they both found themselves immersed in the world of magic, they should try and play to their skill sets. And it always left her with an opportunity to wonder at how seamlessly certain things seemed to play out when she was still and quiet enough to pay attention to them.

The night of the MidSpring Celebration when they officially became a couple, they had made masks for each other depicting their "spirit" animals. AngelFyre had chosen a wolf and Simon a dove. A long discussion followed on the subject and it was quite revealing in any number of ways, but one tangent that had not been fleshed out stood out to AngelFyre in particular. It was a sort of recognition that protection of each other and of their hoped for 'little' family of 14... or more... would rest on both of them, of course, but from different areas of strength.

It was ironic to her that her dhampir with incredible super human strength and speedy reflexes would be the dove, but a dove he was and is and would always be. Simon was a healer at heart. His heart was for people and whatever it was that hurt them, physical or emotional, he was moved always to do what he could to help mend the wounds. As she was learning of her boyfriend and his dhampir genetics, one thing that was mentioned again and again was that casting of magic was not a strong suit for them. It was true. He was not so bad that he would miss the broad side of a barn, but his strengths lay elsewhere.

Without truly making a concerted choice on the matter, AngelFyre, as the wolf, had somewhere along the way determined that she had better be the one to bone up on the casting of magic, and that is what she hoped she was benefiting from by being on the dueling team. She had come to think of it as the magical equivalent to muggle self defense classes or martial arts training. Her goal was to merely round out the holes in their overall defense system as a unit. The thought had not really struck her that that is what she had been doing until the Fall Ball, but it is funny how emergencies can bring certain things to light. As a muggle-born, she often feels like she is way behind the curve on grasping the world of magic, but it is what it is, and when she thinks on the importance of what she is learning.... and why she is learning it... she finds it easier to dig in and throw herself into it.

Today Simon would get another puzzle when he opened up drawer 14. It looked a right mess, but the answer was there. He would figure it out quickly enough and once he did, he would be off to get his reward. It was a special request she had placed with a shopkeeper at Diagon Alley before school started this year. She had hoped to gift it to Simon much earlier in the term, but it took a while to locate and be owled to her.

It would work just as nicely for him this way, too. He showed quite an aptitude for his Potions and Herbology classes, so she knew this would be an excellent resource for him. Plus, she thought it was attractive, so how could she resist?

Good to know her priorities were in order.




December 2022

Reward:

Reducio

This is your own, leather embossed copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore. No more of you having to track it down in the Library or waiting for it to be returned, my love. It can be the first in the personal library collection we build for you. I love you!

When AngelFyre initially conceived of this Scadventger adventure for Simon, she just rough sketched the ideas in her mind and thought to solidify and refine them as she went along. Some were easier than others which meant that some were solidified quickly. With those, the reward and the puzzle and the hiding places just seemed to jibe quite effortlessly. As the days ticked by and the process was not completely figured out still, AngelFyre did what she always did in such situations and dove in, completely certain that if she put her mind to it, the answers would come.

As usual, her effort paid off in nice dividends. Was it a perfect game? Was it as seamlessly smoothe as she would have hoped? The answer to both was a resounding 'Negatory', however, life was hectic, not only for Simon but for her as well. She knew he appreciated this jolly little effort and had been playing along, but today's everything had been a black hole where all ideas had gone to die apparently. She had been stumped on this one for a while and was almost at a panic as to what to do for the 15th when it all just crystallized.

The last few days had been the roughest of her life. News of Grandma Ruth had devastated her, but she was managing everything as best she could, first and foremost through prayer and then because of Simon. He had been a rock for her. He would listen when she would rail, he would comfort her when she was knocked to her knees with grief, and he would just hold her in his arms during spans of healing silence. Nothing could take the hurt away, but it all made it manageable.

AngelFyre remembered when she and Grandma Ruth had been walking along the shoreline in Dunbar over the summer and AngelFyre had found a beautiful shell. She showed it delightedly to her grandmother who marveled at the symmetry of its shape, which was no small feat for an asymmetrical object. It reminded AngelFyre of her Transfiguration lesson the year before and she told Grandma Ruth all about it. The woman was no witch... she was a Muggle... but she knew all about AngelFyre's special "gift" so AngelFyre saw no harm in sharing with her. She was also a woman who had a brilliant scientific mind and found the whole idea of Transfiguration absolutely fascinating. She thought the whole subject quite remarkable and asked if she could keep the shell. AngelFyre just smiled at her and said, "Of course."

The next time AngelFyre saw the shell was when she was unpacking her trunk the night she arrived at Hogwarts for Year 2. It had been packed in a ridiculous amount of bubble wrap, which AngelFyre simply LOVED to pop, and it was completely safe. It had also been transformed, but not in the way AngelFyre had been taught to do. Grandma Ruth had used her particular magic and had painted it. As AngelFyre turned it over in her hand that evening she smiled in wonder at the steady hand that had created such a beautiful work of art.

It had immediately become one of AngelFyre's favorite possessions and had been living on her desk, next to a photo of Grandma Ruth, since the beginning of term. It was normal, she suspected, that given the events of the weekend, her mind was more focused than was usual on her beloved grandmother, and then the whole thing just hit her. The puzzle was already in his calendar, so when he opened the tiny drawer for the 15th, it would be there. She had originally meant the clue to be just something that would point him to where he needed to go to retrieve his reward, but looking at her shell, AngelFyre knew it would just have to be the reward. It just made sense. Two days ago she never would have believed that she could part with it, but she knew where it was going and she knew into whose care it would be given. It would be taken care of and cherished. She also knew if it was with Simon, it would be with her again one day as well.

Grandma Ruth had been deeply in love with her own Ezra and had not been shy in letting her mother and father know that she had a good feeling about AngelFyre's "Ezra". She was in AngelFyre's corner.... in their corner.... and this just felt like it completed a circle somehow. The design of butterflies was beautiful, but meaningful as well. The butterfly had been transformed from a caterpillar. She and Simon were being transformed from their individual selves, in a fashion, and navigating what it means to connect with another and give up some of that autonomy in place of coupledom. They would remain themselves, but they were learning that they were better... and stronger... together.

And then there was the greatest of transformations awaiting Grandma Ruth. As beautiful as her painted shell was, AngelFyre knew deep in her heart that it could in no way compare to what lay in wait for Grandma Ruth when she would soon hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."





December 2022

Reward:

Reducio

Remember waaaaaaay back when to your 1st year in Transfiguration when you had to turn a snail into a tea pot? Well, you gave me the tea pot, of a sort (I still have the tea pot gift tag to my love locket!) with our fabulous date to Madam Puddifoot's so I thought it only fair to give you something I think is absolutely beautiful. There is a story behind this.... one I know you will like. Take good care of it, love. It is very special.

OOC: The beautiful snail shell pictured above was found at "Rocky Road Art Studio".

Simon would have no problem figuring the clue out for today. Her level of difficulty on the clues had decreased as the month had worn on, but her thinking, and yes, she did think ahead on this particular aspect of things, was that as the end of term got closer, the busier everyone would be with studying and making arrangements for travel back home for the winter break. Her goal was not to add more stress to her fella right now. It was to give him a break from the stress.

This idea just made her smile. The reward would be something she knew he would love. It was completely Hufflepuff through and through... just like Simon himself. It was also something she knew he would find useful when out and about on cold, sunny days. Maybe even cold nights. She could not wait to see him in it.

The fun of this one came from, yet again, another of her favorite movies. She was a huge fan of the Gene Wilder version of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' which for some reason that mystified AngelFyre was frequently played at Christmas time. She had no particular objection to that fact, but did find it odd since it was not a Christmas themed movie as far as she could tell. She had come to think it played at this time of the year, much like the 'Wizard of Oz', probably because it was a children's movie. In any case, it took her warped brain no time at all to know what the clue would be and what her silly tie in to it would be.

She giggled as she imagined the look on his face when he made the connection. If he did alone what she knew he would do in front of her, he would take a deep breath, slowly shake his head, and ask in a very calm, deliberate fashion, "Really, love?" while trying not to smile. He might even throw in an eye roll just for good measure. He did those infrequently, but it made her laugh whenever he did.

She smiled and snuggled back under her quilt, turning her attention back to her Potions instructions again, committing them to memory. Her soup can was nearby and she waited patiently for the patchy sound of her favorite voice in the world to make contact. She was not concerned. She knew she would hear from him... and see him... before the night ended.




December 2022

Reward and a note:

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Okay, Handsome…. I made myself laugh on this one. Get it? Jelly beans that lead you to a beanie? I swear I do not know how you put up with me, but I am soooooo happy that you do! You are going to look tres handsome in it, too. It looks like the one in the picrew doncha think? Call me when you get back and I will meet you in the Common Room. I want to get a look at it on you before we head off to bed for the night. It is likely I probably would not object to a goodnight kiss or three or 20 or....

Her fellow wrote a lot of letters. He was quite diligent about writing to his Aunt Maggie and his muggle friends. He was also especially fierce in his dedication to writing to the recently introduced father now in his life. Well, that may be going a bit too far. He was especially fierce in writing to said father and then spending hurtful, frustrating months vainly running to postal offices or to the owlery to see if said father had deigned to write back.

All of that seemed to be leveling out as the focal point of their holiday season was fast approaching. Simon was just about beside himself with anticipation when he received a reply to his rather snarky letter to one Mr. Adrian Hawthorne after their summer meeting in London. This letter was the first that his father has sent him where he, and not Simon, had made an effort to connect. AngelFyre knew how much that meant to Simon. She was happy that he was happy.

But she was still wary.

There was no use in trying to convince her love of anything. She long ago decided all she could do was offer him her best judgment and advice on any subject, but she had to leave it up to Simon to make his own decisions with what she offered him. She was well behind the 8 ball on this subject before even meeting Simon, but she had made gains. They had come to a peace on the subject of his father, and for now, that would have to suffice.

Because of who his father was and what his father was, AngelFyre knew even Simon was a little hesitant to share any of his magical background with him. AngelFyre did feel like that decision was largely bolstered by her visions, and for that she was grateful that Simon took her... and the visions... to heart, so this reward was not anything she expected he would ever share with one Adrian Hawthorne. Or at least not for a good long while.

She did hope, rather selfishly, that she might be the happy recipient of a few every now and again. Simon always said she was the one who had a way with words, but when the boy was not pressured with having to speak in a rapid back and forth conversation and could sit with his thoughts for a while, the thoughts he could put to paper sometimes took her breath away.

When he opened drawer 17 today, the clue was just a simple photograph. Again, she did not think it would take him long to figure where he needed to go, but unlike so many times before, he would not leave there empty handed today. That alone would probably bring a smile to his handsome face. She hoped so anyway.

December 2022

Reward and a note:

Reducio

My Dearest Simon,

I know we live in the technological age of cell phones, but once in a while, a romantic letter would not be an unwelcome pleasure to find in my mailbox on William Wallace Lane.... just saying... especially during the upcoming break. Have I ever mentioned how much I love your handwriting? Or how much I love you?

Forever and Always,
~your AngelFyre

Another Sunday. This one was guaranteed to be better than last Sunday, and that was most definitely thanks to Simon in large part. No surprise to AngelFyre whatsoever. As she thought back to that dreadful day last Sunday, she just honestly did not know how she would have made it through it, let alone this entire week, were it not for him. AngelFyre had so much to be grateful for in her life and Simon was most certainly at the top of her list.

She knew he would appreciate today's little reward for a few a reasons. The first because there was no clue to figure out or reward to track down. It was a one and done thing today. Another, more obvious reason he would appreciate today's offering would be because the boy was a bit of a notebook collector. If he had his satchel with him, and it was rare that he did not, he had at least one and as many as three notebooks with him at any given time. She knew it may be a while before he got around to using this one, but she knew he would. Having extras on hand just seemed a prudent idea and she could not resist when she came across this one.

The final reason she would think he would like it was because it would give him a bit more insight into his girlfriend that he had not had prior to today. Of all the things they knew about each other, it had never crossed their minds to ask the other what their favorite biblical quote would be. Well, that little ember that had not sparked into a full-blown conflagration in Simon's mind as of yet would be answered for him before the five-alarm bells would ever have a chance to go off. Disaster averted. Whew!

When she stopped to think about it, it was odd that they knew favorite colors but not this. It was like walking around, in the Muggle world, with no health insurance or auto insurance. I mean, for someone who was looking to obtain a PhD on the subject of all things Simon Ezra Kincaid, this was a lapse. He would be edified before meeting her for their Reverence study today, but so would she before the session was over. She was already playing the game in her head as she had done at the Spring Ball when she tried to guess his spirit animal. Secretly she thought he may have a favorite.... now.... but that it might be a revolving answer as he grew and life happened to him. Who knew? Hers might change as she grew older and life happened, but for now it was a pretty solid answer.

She could not wait to hear his and find out how far off the mark she may or may not have been. Learning anything about him was one of her very favorite things, so this was already starting out to be a promising day.

December 2022

Reward:

Reducio

Fun fact you did not know about me. Isaiah 40:31 is my favorite biblical quote. I came across this notebook over the summer and it was not something I could resist getting for my notebook loving fella. I know you have so many, but now you will have one in reserve and you can think of me each time you open it. I hope it encourages you as it does me, love.

A very spirited pair. That is how she had heard her mother describe AngelFyre and Simon to Ainsley's mother while on a phone conversation one day over the summer. It made AngelFyre smile because she was right. They were definitely spirited.

Ever since April 2, the date they became official, AngelFyre had been doing her level best to come up with anything that would be something she could gift Simon with that would represent them as their chosen spirit animals. She could have drawn something for him, but he had done that masterfully already and there would be nothing she could do that would come close to matching his, so she wanted something different for him.

She remembered being extremely excited when at home for the summer because that meant she was able to make use of good old Google. She plugged in a number of search strings to locate an idea or anything, really, that would spark her imagination or lighten her bank account. Either was fine. When she did her first search, her heart leaped into her throat at the number of returns she was given to peruse.

Her excitement quickly dwindled when she learned that most of the returns were various titles from a series called The Wolf and the Dove by an author named Woodwiss. They looked to belong in the genre of romantic, historical fiction geared towards adults and she knew immediately her parents would not approve of her reading them. Still, she was curious why the series was called the The Wolf and the Dove, so AngelFyre simply made note to look into them further when she was older. She could not call her search a complete bust, but it did not offer much beyond the books.

She looked for poems. There were a few.... nothing inspiring. She checked out Etsy and Instagram and Pinterest. She was honestly beginning to wonder if she was going to need to paint him something, and then the catalog came in the post. Her mother and grandmother, both with souls of artists, were marketed to by every catalog in existence. It was ridiculous the amount of space taken up in the mailbox simply due to catalogs. They both were computer literate, but there was something they enjoyed about holding the soy-inked pages in their hands. She understood that because it is how she felt about books. She would rather hold one and smell one than read it on her tablet or computer.

Then one morning nearing the end of the summer, she was sitting at the kitchen island when her father came in after his run and deposited a large pile of catalogs on the counter top for them to peruse at their leisure. The cover of a christian circular caught her attention, and she walked over to get a closer look. There was a beautiful snow globe with a lion and a lamb, and she smiled, thinking she would like to see more of what else was inside. She flipped through about 4 pages and stopped cold...and there it was.

Exactly what she had been looking for for months. Light blue and silver. The only thing that would have made it 100% perfect was if it had been dark blue and gold, but she would take 99% and consider herself blessed. And the photo made it appear as if the snow was silvery glitter and not stark white round balls.

As she called the number to order it and sat and listened to an elevator muzak rendition of 'Footloose', she closed her eyes while tapping her foot to the geriatric beat and pictured how the landscape of her boy's room was being changed, bit by bit, by his girlfriend's propensity to give him..... things. They all had meaning to her, and she just naturally assumed they would for Simon as well, but maybe chotchkies (Yiddish for decorative, worthless crap; knick knacks) would best be appreciated staring at him from the pages of the catalogs themselves. She thought she was probably on to something here, but still, she stayed on the line.

This was a wolf and dove ... together... for criminey sakes. This was a rare find. Granted, it was not Mona Lisa rare, but still. She took a deep breath and continued to tap and swing her feet to the beat. Even with a twinge of doubt tickling the back of her mind, she heard the order agent get on the line and she placed her order.

She would not make a lifelong habit of such things. The pairing represented here was special and it was more about that and less about the thing itself. Besides, once they were married and had a home of their own... and the 12 little(r) Kincaids running around.... dusting a bunch of chotchkies was likely not going to be high on her priority list of fun things to do.

Unless she conscripted a few of the older, little(r) Kincaids to do the dusting with her. The experience of shared stories on such things could be quite lovely, too. And when she and Simon came to the end of their journeys, whether together or separately, she knew the beauty in all of it would reside in the shared experiences and memories and not the things.



December 2022

Happy 20 December, Simon! Christmas break is almost here, love. Can you believe it? Just a few more days and it will be time to head home. I know that when you get back to London, there is a lot going on for you, but one thing I know you always look forward to is access to music that is well…. easily accessible. So, today’s little gift for you is an iTunes gift card.

Of course I want you to pick whatever you want, but I am going to throw a suggestion in that I think you will like very much. Gregorian Chant music is phenomenal and as a choir boy, I think it might appeal to you. My father is a big fan believe it or not and so is your girl. He has a CD…. yes, I said CD… do not judge!... and it is simply called CHANT. The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos were the artists and it was made long before we were born, sometime around 1999 -2000. That is the one I am familiar with, but there are many others that followed. To hear Daddy tell it, it was quite a big deal at the time.

No matter what you choose, handsome, I hope this little card will bring you many, many smiles. I only wish I could be there to see them in person. You know I love you.

~ your AngelFyre

December 2022