Nicholas McCowan, Xailah Alptraum & Meenauh Silmataurea Look at Cool Bugs PV

Summer was a curious thing, Nicholas had long since come to terms with the peculiar duality of the season of warmth and sunshine. On one hand, he longed for the escape from the doldrum and mundanity of his school life, and on the other he wished for the holiday to finish so that he could be rid of his ever-frustrating family. No matter where he turned, irritation seemed to follow him like a bad smell. Summer camp, he had decided, was something that he absolutely could not decide on. In part, it gave him an excuse to ditch his annoying younger siblings and to engage with his classmates. Yet, it also meant that he was once again under the oppressive thumb of the school system. He didn’t quite know why he’d agreed to come again. No doubt, he could have found some sort of excuse to go and spend the holidays with his grandparents. Sure, he’d spend his evenings being lectured as to responsibility, but the days and mornings could be spent in the carefree embrace of youth.

At least, on this one afternoon, he’d found peace from the noise and the stress. Everything was all so god damn tiresome. School, people, even broom racing, he just wanted to be left alone. So it was that he’d attempted to retreat to a rather quiet spot.

He’d mostly been successful, and for a brief moment of youthful bliss, he’d found his attention enraptured by an invertebrate of all things.

The marsh butterfly had perched itself daintily upon a blade of grass before the resting boy, and for a good few minutes, the otherwise hot-headed youth had stared at it. Silent and statuesque, the boy and the bug had maintained their position, before the latter had deemed its duty complete and flew off into the afternoon sun. Nicholas’s semi-closed brown eyes followed the creature, his attention only drawn away by the site of another examining the miniature beings that inhabited the highlands.

He knew her face, but her name escaped him somewhat. A more intimidating older year student, and far from the type he expected to see crouching after a colony of what may have been ants, perhaps termites. Nicholas watched wordlessly for a few moments, before pulling himself away from his rather comfortable patch of dirt and grass and approaching.

Wandering over, the former captain forced his hands into his pockets, “Wotcher looking at?”

@Meenauh Silmataurea@Nicholas McCowan

There was truly nothing worse than a dry summer's heat. Everything felt hot. Everything felt like it was melting underneath the sun's unforgiving beam. It was a miserable time, wholly; and it was on days like these, where one could envision how it must feel to be an ant beneath a magnifying glass. The sole thing that made these long days worthwhile, was the discovery of different bugs that could be made. The dry air seemed to draw insects of all sorts out into the stagnant afternoon; a parade of beetles, waltzing butterflies, even the marsh bugs were charming in a way. Yes, it really was this small aspect of summer that made the heat marginally bearable.

But not by much.

Given the option, Xailah would have stayed inside for the duration of the day. Unfortunately, she had the misfortune of wronging some unknown deity, and had been placed in the Unicorn Cabin as consequence. Between the blistering heat, and the asylum of color, the former was somehow the lesser of the two evils. And she loathed dry weather, which was saying something. Exiting her cabin (with Schrödinger rolling at her heel, of course), she was immediately met with a uncomfortably warm gust of wind to the face. She squinted, shielding her eyes from more unexpected onslaughts. With one hand stretched over her brow, shading her face, she would peer into the unfurling greenery in the distance.

She spied two very familiar faces across the way (although, she was still getting used to Nicholas' shiny new... uh, look), their eyes fixed on the ground. A jolt of excitement burst through Xailah, at the sight of these two people- there was only one thing that their distracted expressions could have pointed to: they were bug watching! She had spent many a hour herself observing ants marching one-by-one, and roly-polies skittering along, to be well acquainted with the demeanor adopted for bug watching. She had to join them!

The lioness broke into a light jog, her bootheels meeting the grass quietly despite the rush. "Meenauh, Nicholas- Hallo!" Xailah called, waving her fellow Gryffindors down in a gesture found outside of her typically stoic behavior; poor Schrödinger jiggled along, skittering as fast as his little legs could carry him in a desperate attempt to keep pace with his lady. He had not been prepared for this kind of enthusiasm from her today. "I couldn't help but notice your keen interest in the ground; might we join you both?" She asked eagerly, gesturing towards her companion with a slight tilt of her head once he managed to catch up.

Nicholas reacted before he knew what was happening, his body taking action before his conscious mind could process that his senior had pointed a wand at him. He blinked and took a step backward, hands raising as if to protect himself without a wand. Had he the forethought to think of a snide comment, or even something remotely intelligent, he would have said it. Instead he found his mouth opening but the words failed him. It wasn’t fear, the speed with which she eased her stance made it clear that she meant him no harm. They both stood rather stupidly and awkwardly, before the girl finally broke the silence.

“Uh, yeah,” Nicholas answered finally, the awkwardness of the situation fading as it seemed both had every intention of pretending that their peculiar introduction had not yet taken place, “It is a lovely day.”

“Um,” He added sheepishly, “I think you have me at a loss though, I’m uh… sorry, what was your name again?”

Of course, at that moment, one of the most terrifying older years made her appearance. The same dark girl who Nicholas had witnessed steal blood from a wounded boy in his first year approached with a sort of friendliness that he was utterly unaccustomed to. Their experience on the broom racing team had changed his initial outlook toward one Xailah Alptraum a great deal. While he still found her somewhat intimidating, it as now in an academic sense. He no longer feared the girl, hell, he respected her. Still, seeing the relatively reserved girl jogging and calling saw him take a step back for the second time in quick succession.

“Oh, um, Xailah, hello!” He called back, her words catching him unaware.

So Meenauh had been looking at bugs as well, he’d not expected that. Well, he didn’t really know what he was expecting, and it seemed to make more sense than most of the other options as to why someone would look toward the ground. How had he not thought it?

@Meenauh Silmataurea and @Nicholas McCowan

What could be more exciting than the humble insect? In the midst of the dry summers heat, a growing group of onlookers found no other subjects worthy of challenging the question. Maybe it was the sun-baked haze clouding their minds, that simultaneously drew them to the conclusion at this exact moment in time. Or perhaps they simply shared the same unusual concept of intellectual stimulation. If this fever-induced venture could be classified as "intellectual", that is.

"If you went out more often, you would find the world offers refuge from the complexities of life in a multitude of ways," Xailah ribbed lightly. "I never would have taken either of you for insect connoisseurs." As she said this, she took Meenauh's invitation with a small, tight-lipped smile and a single half-bob of her head. "That is quite generous of you, Meenauh. Although I'm not sure beautiful would be the word I'd use to describe this dreadful heat, personally."

She needn't the permission; she would have joined their spectating regardless of the answer given, but it was still nice to feel welcome in a sense- especially after Nicholas' odd little backstep at her approach; which had been noticed, but went verbally unacknowledged. The drawn curve of her mouth was extended to him modestly; her eyes momentarily fixated at the top of his egg-like crown. His shocking lack of hair was going to take some time adjusting to- at least until it started to fill back in again. If he even planned on allowing it to grow back.

Mayhaps the clean-shaven look was his way of dodging premature male pattern baldness. One couldn't go bald if they were already bald. Take that, genetics.

Schrödinger, the grey mass of fur at Xailah's heel, settled into a patch of long grass near Meenauh. His mistress, in turn, kneeled next to her dear friend in the spot "cleared" for her (carefully, as to avoid getting grass stains on her clothes), to get a better look at the alleged ants the two younger Gryffindors had found. "Oh- look at all of them." She'd comment, leaning a little closer to the ground while pinning her long hair out of her face with a gloved palm. Yes, those were indeed ants. "Do you think they are coming or going?" The lioness asked, looking up at her company for a second. When her gaze lowered back to the ant trail, she'd direct her index finger to a particularly large ant- an immediate standout among her smaller sisters. "Oh! Look at this big one!"

Nicholas puffed his chest out in response. Sure, he may have forgotten someone who was quite literally a prefect, but he wasn’t one to get into trouble. When he misbehaved it was in a way that saw him not needing to write out pointless lines or other such nonsense. Mostly he just settled things with his fists either on the pitch or before a prefect even realised there had been a disturbance.

“Well I won’t forget it now, Meenauh,” He deliberately emphasised the second syllable to rhyme the words, “‘Course, you don’t need to call me Mr. McCowan, that’s me’ old man and I doubt he even appreciates being called that, all things considered, y’know?”

Of course, Xailah’s arrival had been a pleasant surprise, but Nicholas found himself somewhat left behind by the erudite nature of their banter. He had been a rather promising student when he had first attended Hogwarts, but his academic endeavours had fallen to the wayside as he had pursued more physical pursuits. Perhaps it was the way of young men, chasing after means to let out their pubescent aggression, but he’d quickly found himself more interested by sports and a particular Ravenclaw girl than by book learning. So it was that his vocabulary had slowly withered to a rather pitiful state.

He could comprehend their words, of course, but he found himself feeling somewhat inadequate in his inability to match their displays. Such thoughts were banished, however, and he instead focused on the positives. Namely, it was as Meenauh had said, the day was beautiful and they were engaging in a rather fun activity. Damn the rest, ay?

“‘Course, day’s gorgeous and the bugs are always pretty this time of year,” He offered a lazy smile, “And I’ll take heat over rain any day of the year, ‘least the sun is shining, no?”

The youngest of the assembled trio sunk to his haunches as he looked over the bugs, “Not sure where they’re coming or going but I reckon either way they’ve found a decent haul. Maybe something sweet or the like… I’m not much for herbology but prolly some kinda nectar?”

@Meenauh Silmataurea and @Nicholas McCowan

There was a perverse joy to be had in simplicity; and, for the duration of their rest, Meenauh, Nicholas, and Xailah were no greater than the insects they so fondly observed- even if the refined tongues of the former and latter boasted otherwise. Their polished words forced a divide with the third, but it was quickly dammed once all settled to their knees; their minds unified by the wonder of bugs.

The changeling gave Nicholas an insouciant shrug. "If you say so. I would be inclined to disagree, but it seems your shining sun has spared me from a tortuous evening in my cabin." Much like Meenauh, overcast was often preferred over blisteringly dry days; while it offered less sights to see, its moody and contemplative nature made for more comfortable strolling weather. Briefly, her gaze slid to Meenauh. "Unicorn," Xailah tacked grimly. "It is indeed just as horrendous as the rumors make it out to be." The cabin was so bad, in fact, that its guests had resorted to defacing the space just to make it a smidge more bearable. Whoever was in charge of post-camp inspections would be in for a proper shock, once they discovered all the unicorn statuettes defiled by Erin Ryan.

Nicholas' theory was considered with a slight nod. "Mmm, or perhaps some leftovers from lunch?" The metamorph speculated in turn. She supposed halloumi and nectar wouldn't make for a half bad meal, if she were an ant. Following Meenauh's lean, she peered closer at the line of little black insects to espy the cause of her fellow prefect's excitement. "Such clever little things, they are." The ants had a near-perfect assembly, in their pursuit to transfer the days findings. The ones coming could be seen stopping for their sisters, to inform them of their spoils, while the ones in the process of going ensured a smooth journey for the gatherers. Only a small break was to be found in their lines, where Schrödinger had decided to plant himself on a group of them. "Oh je," "Oh dear," Xailah chided quietly. "You are sitting in their way." Quick to amend the mistake, she rolled his plump body out of the ant's path.

Casualties were minimal for the ants, but the same could not be said for Nicholas once Meenauh finally noticed the bald elephant.

The younger lioness was not wrong to assume foul play, considering both the lack of bald individuals in wizarding communities and children's propensity for barbarianism. With her offer, Xailah's knifed ears perked and she clamped her tongue, steadying it. It was rather cruel wasn't it? Wanting to try something new, only for everyone to think something had happened to you; to mistake freewill for consequence. Still, her friend's assumption was horribly funny. The silence she sustained was nothing more than a suppression of laughter. She kept her face down to the ants, pretending to dismiss the pending exchange. Explanation for Nicholas' state was best left to the culprit himself.