16 Mar 2025, 03:43
Twinkling Lights on a Snowy Night
Readying a Birthday surprise for @AngelFyre McCubbin
Saturday, 12 April 2025
While maybe not yet officially the season of spring, springtime had made its way to the Scottish Highlands with sunshine, cool breeze, and even some early flower blossoms. It was beautiful - but also to be expected for this time of year. It was that transitional period, when the beginning of a new season seemed to steal into the end of the previous. It happened with each changing season, each year. What Simon wanted for this day in particular though was the unexpected. Our minds are more drawn to the unexpected and make the unexpected memorable and he wanted his girl's Birthday to be as memorable as she was.
He agonized over it for some time. Perhaps they could take in a nice dinner in Hogsmeade together - but that had been done. Maybe they could go for a broom ride and see the castle grounds and all of the Highlands from above - but that had also been done. It didn't mean those moments weren't wonderful, because any moment with her was, but it just meant they weren't Birthday worthy.
It was when he was at the Great Lake, waiting to see an appearance from Herman, the illusive Giant Squid - and he was disappointed as he unfortunately usually was - that it struck him. The Great Lake had been done once before for her Birthday - in fact while he was out there waiting with his wizarding camera he could see some of the wildflowers they had previously planted blooming already; scattering beautiful colors across the lake's edge.
But it was at this very lake, long before the seeds of these wildflowers had been scattered, that he had realized that he was in love with AngelFyre Afton McCubbin. February 12, 2022.
He wanted to recreate that night - recreate the feeling that night gave him when they skated on the ice together, when he held her close to him, when he reached out and placed his hand into her own and squeezed it gently for the first time - when he realized he wanted nothing more than a countless number of moments with her; when he realized he wanted nothing more than to be as close to her as possible.
So it was decided. He would turn part of the Hogwart's grounds into an enchanted winter wonderland despite spring's incoming entrance. He had read up on the spells and nothing should harm any of the plants or wildlife and when the enchantments were lifted there would be no ill-effects towards any growth or development that made the Scottish Highlands splendor in beauty. He practiced each spell every chance he could get because for whatever reason, dhampirs weren't the best at wandcasting and he needed each and every one of these spells and incantations to succeed without fail.
To pave the pathway, lanterns were lit and then suspended in air with the Levitation Charm, Red Sparks Charms, Blue Sparks Charm, and Purple Firecrackers sparkled within the trees to create an alluring ambience. And everywhere, along the path, over the tent, and across the lake the Snowflake-Creating Charm was used because one couldn't create an enchanted winter wonderland without some winter related enchantments. A Freezing Charm was used on the wildflowers that were there, encasing them in an icy protection but allowing their beautiful colors to still shine, complimenting the lights that twinkled from the trees.
Then the Weather-Modifying Charm was used, allowing cold winds to fill just the lake and the part of the Grounds that would bring her there and lastly he did one more Freezing Charm upon the Lake so that it would be skate-ready when they should be.
His final charms were a Color-Changing Charm on his Majesto 500 tent, making it now a muted blue to compliment this winter wonderland instead of it's military green. Inside, a fire was already going in the main room in the fireplace and hot chocolate and chocolate cake were waiting for them.
It was ten days before her actual Birthday so Simon hoped this would all come as a surprise to her. He had said that he had to finish up an essay that he had put on hold due to studying for OWLs and the upcoming Spring Dance that happened just that night before. He just hoped that AngelFyre wouldn't be too tired now to meet up with him but something told him that she'd be there.
He had Percy deliver a note to her just as dinner in the Great Hall was letting up. It had read:
Miss McCubbin,
Hey, beautiful! Yesterday we danced but today we should take a stroll together! I'd love to spend some quality time with you and enjoy the fresh air!
Meet me as soon as possible on the school grounds. Follow the floating lanterns.
Forever yours,
Simon
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
21 Mar 2025, 05:28
Twinkling Lights on a Snowy Night
Always Intrigued by @Simon Kincaid
12 April 2025 – A Surprise Birthday!
Her foot was tapping beneath the long, dining hall table as she sat there, probably smiling like an idiot, thinking about certain aspects of the evening before. One of the musical pieces played at the Ball kept looping through her brain, and her feet simply could not be stilled, so she long ago gave up trying. She was definitely missing Simon, but knew he was working overtime trying to study for his OWLs. Besides, the boy had given her his complete attention the night before at the Ball, so it would be selfish to begrudge him necessary time for studying. Becoming a healer was no easy task, but his heart was set on it and AngelFyre was prepared to do anything to help him achieve his goals, even if it meant sitting in the Great Hall without him.
Letting her mind drift again, she chuckled to herself as she thought about the dance cards. She remembered telling him when he asked her to their second Ball over their Hogwarts Intra-Dormitory, McCubbin-Kincaid Telecommunications Network that his name would be on her dance cards from that day until the end of time. She meant it then and she still did... and she mostly held true to her promise... in spirit at least. He did not seem too awfully disappointed if memory served, and she smiled even more deeply.
She took her last few bites, contemplating the odds of finding anyone in the Common Room who might want to play a game of chess... Muggle or Wizard chess... it mattered not. The game would engage her deeply and make missing Simon a little easier to bear on a Saturday evening. Additionally, if he managed to come out of his hermit hole looking for a quick relaxation break and some camaraderie, which he was more than likely to do, she would be there to at least spend a few minutes with him.
While she was mulling these thoughts over, Percy flew in and landed on the empty spot next to her on the bench. He was such a beautiful owl and so much lighter than Arc. She greeted him by name and clicked and whirred at him as she ran her forefinger gently over his breastbone. He looked up at her, knowing an owl treat or two was coming his way, but his bright, wide eyes grew a little less wide as he relaxed into the pleasure of his little owl massage. She laughed quietly out loud thinking like father like son. Simon loved massages as well. While Percy relaxed, AngelFyre reached into her pocket and grabbed two owl treats with her right hand, setting them down before him. She did not have her falconry glove on, otherwise she would have called him to her arm and fed him from her finger well. He waited patiently for her to remove her hand before gripping his prize with his talons. Those were also smaller than Arc’s, but just as painfully sharp!
When he landed next to her, he released a note for her. Percy quickly scarfed his owl treats down and had already made a silent, winged retreat as AngelFyre was unfolding the note.
Her excitement had grown when she saw Simon’s owl, but she had not expected this at all. She thought he was just looking for a way to amuse his beloved raptor while sending a quick pick-her-up to his beloved girlfriend, but it was so much better. He wanted to go for a walk! Yes, please! She was all kinds of intrigued by the mention of floating lanterns, and then smiled slyly when she got to his sign off.
“What do you know? He signed it like he believed I actually know his last name is Kincaid after all this time,” she said quietly to herself and then giggled before kissing the space right after his signature. Her fellow was full of surprises, but in the best of ways. If the lad had a penny for every time she had written her own name with Kincaid after it, he would know good and well she was familiar with his surname, not to mention nearly as wealthy as Scrooge McDuck.
She hurriedly packed her satchel up and practically flew out of the Great Hall and then the castle, heading towards the Grounds. He was being sly and not speaking to her via the Binding Mark, so she, too, kept quiet. And then she began to see the beauty and colors in the trees up ahead as she followed the lanterns. She knew where the lanterns would lead... to their place at the Great Lake, but as much as she wanted to see Simon, she slowed down and stopped for a moment, doing a slow, 360 degree revolution while taking in the astounding beauty.
“Gosh,” she whispered in gobsmacked awe, and laughed joyously as she spread her arms and twirled about in the beauty around her. When she continued on along the floating lantern path, she noticed the temperature dropping considerably. And then she could have sworn a snowflake landed on her nose and rapidly melted before she could even uncross her crossed blue eyes which had tried to get a better look at it.
She had hurried out of the castle without a sweater even, but she was not too worried. She knew there was a Handsome Hufflepuff somewhere up ahead with arms that would draw her close and make her forget the chill. She had been so entranced by what was going on in the trees and sky above her that she had been slow to notice that the Great Lake itself was frozen over. Wait! Had Simon done that? How marvelous!
Her heart began to race. She moved farther along the path and could smell a fire and hot chocolate. She now picked up her speed, anxious to be with Simon at their spot. AngelFyre was certain he must be there, but what she saw was his tent. At least, she thought it was his tent. It was blue instead of its natural military green. Then a piercing stab as bracing as an icicle pricked her heart. What if she had missed something and was intruding on someone else’s fun? Momentary confusion and doubt engulfed her as she looked around for him. She was hesitant to just walk right up to the tent and peer in, so she cleared her throat instead and called out to him.
“Simon, love? Are you here?”
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The magic is real.
22 Mar 2025, 12:53
Twinkling Lights on a Snowy Night
Getting ready to skate, and always soaring, with @AngelFyre McCubbin
"The important part of this evening is that you are here - the Birthday Girl," he said as he stepped out from behind the tent and tossed a low Blue Sparks Charm into the air so that it rained softly down like confetti. He was quite glad that his sometimes wonky wandcasting decided to seem to prove effortless when it came to this evening's plans.
"Happiest of Happy Birthdays, my love," while putting his wand away he drew closer and brought his arms around her waist. His lips met hers gently and only for a moment before pulling back. "I know Spring is on it's way, but I wanted to recreate but also enhance what was one of our most important nights - and incorporate a service project like we always do on your Earth Day Birthday. It needed to be here, at this lake, so that's why it's early." He hoped she didn't mind.
"First on the agenda," he said as he went to the edge of the tent and picked up her ice skates, bringing them over with his own, "...ice skating. Care to go for a spin with me?" and he smiled widely, hoping she might pick up on the phrasing. It was the words she had used with him that one particular evening in which this evening was inspired by.
So much was held in that one particular night. It had been the first time he had seen her since getting her note that she was in love with him. It had been the first time she had been with him since it set in that he was half vampire. There had been huge revelations to both and that particular night had been the night to see if their friendship would continue as steadfast as it had.
It soared.
Literally and figuratively, it was in that night that the two could take such a feat, revelations that had time to set, and still solidify their devotion and their dedication to one another. They could have fun, be close, and realize - they wanted closer.
It truly was the blossoming of their relationship.
Maybe he could somehow express that to her this very evening.
Simon extended his hand out and when she took it, he led her over to that fallen tree where they had sat years ago and where they had sat many times since. They could put their skates on there. Simon looked out to the lake, glad to see the Freezing Charm was holding well and that snowflakes were still falling all around from above the Great Lake. He couldn't have asked for it to be more perfect and was glad that the late Merlin or perhaps God above had helped him with such a feat - or perhaps both.
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
27 Mar 2025, 01:35
Twinkling Lights on a Snowy Night
There are sparks and then there are SPARKS with @Simon Kincaid
12 April 2025 – A Surprise Birthday!
Relief blasted all hesitancy away at the sound of Simon's voice as he made his magical self visible from behind the tent. She was there, simply content that she would get to spend some time with him that evening... time that she did not expect to be able to spend with him at all... but then her brain caught up to what he had called her -- "Birthday Girl".
Birthday Girl?!?
Thoughts went into overdrive. But... but... today was not her birthday. Had he been so engrossed in his OWLs he had actually forgotten when her birthday was? He was only off by 10 days if so, and that would be an easy mistake given the amount of pressure he was under recently. Besides, she was being remembered and thought about by the most wonderful boy to ever breathe, so was there anything... about any of this... to gripe about really? The immediate answer, of course, was Absoutely Not! Simon could celebrate her on her unbirthday-birthday, any day of the year if he was of a mind to, and she would gladly take it. She was pondering the silliness of an unbirthday-birthday, but then he cast the most perfect sparks charm and she once again smiled and spread her arms, twirling about beneath the blue sparkles falling down upon their heads. He approached confidently and drew her close for a delectable, but much too short kiss.
"Kudos to you, love. I did not see any of this coming at all...and that is really saying something since I am a Seer in real life, and do not even pretend to play one on tv," and her giggles rang out like the pealing of little sleigh bells around them. She tipy-toed up just barely to caress his cheek with her lips, leaving a faint, blush rose set of lip prints behind before complimenting him on his casting.
"I am not sure if it is just a matter of your diligent studying for your OWLs or due to the fact that you are maturing and becoming more practiced with your magic, but Simon," and she gestured to the gorgeous lights in the trees and the Currier and Ives winter scene in which they found themselves, "... this is all spectacularly beautiful, love. And you definitely have me intrigued with the words that you 'wanted to recreate but also enhance what was one of our most important nights....'"
She did not have to wait long as Simon dazzled her with his (should be patented!) always-sure-to-make-her-heart-melt smile, and then presented her with her ice skates. When he asked if she cared to go for a spin, her head cocked to the side, and a brow arched. That is exactly what she had asked him their first night out on the Great Lake. Feeling impish, which she knew would not surprise her Handsome Hufflepuff, she replied as he had to her that night. “I'll come skate with you, love, but I'm not so sure of going for a spin,” and her gentle laughter danced out across the frozen ice.
As she took her skates from him and he walked her over to their fallen tree trunk that they often used as a bench, she could see so clearly that he was reminiscing. Simon was nothing less than a marvel to his girlfriend, for a lot of reasons, but it was in his quieter, contemplative moments that she was always most surprised by him. It was in those moments she found herself drawn ever more under his spell. Her fellow was so much more than a handsome face with that tantalizing, fantasy inspiring body. He was definitely much more than a musical prodigy or the cheerful, always willing to help a fellow human being out sort of guy. There were bottomless pits more to Simon Ezra Kincaid than his quick humor or the brilliant and curious mind that attacked each day with a voracious appetite, wanting to learn anything and everything he possibly could. But what he mostly was, when she stopped to think about it, was pure heart.
A lot had transpired between them on their first night here, and much of it at the time had left AngelFyre certain she would live to be an old lady, never knowing what it would be like to bask in the light of Simon’s love. She already knew who he was to her by the time she stepped foot onto the ice that February evening three years ago, but she had left the area that night with no clue whatsoever that something had shifted for him in their time together then. But what caused the shift?
“Well, Mav. The ice looks good. I doubt there are any danger zones to be found out there tonight, even if a dhampir was the one doing the casting,” and she nudged his shoulder teasingly. “But even if there are DZs, you can rest assured knowing that your wingman is here," and she pointed to herself, "... and is never leaving your side."
AngelFyre reached her hand up and ran it through his gorgeous mop of perfect hair before fixing her storm-tossed blues on his beautiful, cinnamon-honeyed colored eyes. She leaned over and kissed him for a long, lonnnng, lonnnnnnnnnnng time before they both finally had to come up for a breath. She would have been ecstatic to do nothing else but just that for the rest of the evening... heck, for the rest of forever... however, her boy had made plans.
Smiling and rubbing her thumb gently over his bottom lip, spreading her lipstick evenly across it, she continued, picking up the thread of the thought she had last uttered before their kissing marathon had ensued. "And that is really saying something when you consider it was here that I first learned you wanted at least twelve kids. Just think of all the birthdays we are going to have to remember.”
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The magic is real.
16 Apr 2025, 13:57
Twinkling Lights on a Snowy Night
Birthday wishes to @AngelFyre McCubbin
"It was here that I first realized I loved you," he admitted. He pointed over to that fallen tree that they had just distanced themselves from you, "that same night." There really were more coincidences between them then one would realize and her feelings, although she thought they might have been, hadn't been one-sided at any point in their knowing one another. There had been something from that first night that caught flame, ignited by their second meeting in the Rehearsal Room, and burned fervently since.
The two spent some time on the ice, skating along as they could hear music from his wizarding radio in the background. She was much more graceful on the ice as he was but having a background in hockey certainly made him more than proficient on the ice. They were a pretty good duo at it, if anyone would have been there to see.
When it seemed they were getting so cold that it was starting to feel noticeable, Simon took her hand and led her off to the edge of the lake and back to the tree where they switched back to their regular shoes. He then had her come inside to his tent so they could warm up.
It was warm instantly, a fire going in the fireplace already in the living room area had heated up the space quite nicely and he led her over to the sofa where he invited her to sit before pouring her a drink of hot chocolate. On the table before them was a chocolate cake that may have not looked as though it was professionally made (because he had made it himself) but a five-star bakery's recipe had been used.
He partook in the chocolate this time. It had become a taste that made him think of AngelFyre McCubbin and that alone was reason to start liking it.
"I've a present for you in honor of your upcoming Earth Day Birthday," he said and presented her with a box. It wasn't wrapped and there were circular small holes in the top, almost like how one of those pet carriers from a pet shop might have. "It's not an animal to take care of. You've already got Arc," he said with a smile. He had a feeling she might wonder.
When she would open the box, she'd see a potted plant inside. It was large enough to make a statement in a room but not so large it was unmanageable. There were large buds here and there on the plant, closed up tightly. "It's a safe modification of the Bloom For You plant. In the coming days it will somehow gather your essence now that it's near you and bloom only for you - without any effects of making you fall into a deep sleep like it's ancestor. If it was to be given away, it would survive but the flowers would never be seen again. This Bloom For You will only bloom for you, my love."
And he had crafted it as such that it would present the most beautiful emerald green and gold flowers when it did so.
"Happiest of Birthdays, AngelFyre," he said and leaned in to grace his lips to hers.
[OOC NOTE: This can be the ending of this one if you want.]
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)