Interacting with: @Cyrus Darsel Mentioning: N/A Date: 06/07/25

Word Count: 219

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Dylan was just chilling outside. It was a beautiful sunny day. It was also hot. Something Dylan still wasn't used to after living for so long in Wales where it rarely hit 70 degrees. But, it was his home for the time being, and it was only a matter of time before he finally got to go home. It was worth the wait and the heat just to see his home again. It was a clear day. Perfect for anything outside. Dylan thought about doing something, but he didn't really know what there was to do except lie around. He didn't do a ton of other things besides homework or classes, so a break from everything just to see the beautiful outdoors was a breath of fresh air. Literally and figuratively. Dylan popped his head up at the sound of voices. He noticed one of the older students who was probably in his seventh year asking different people mingling around something. Dylan wasn't close enough to hear the question, but he hoped it wasn't something important. So much had happened lately that he just needed a break from everything weighing down on him. Maybe the news or question was good? That's all Dylan could hope as he waited to see if the older student would ask it to him.

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Cyrus had spent the better part of the day frolicking. He had put on his best converse, which he'd embroidered an image of the hungry little caterpillar onto the side of, and he wore baggy cargo shorts and a bright yellow tie-dye T-shirt to commemorate the occasion — summer was soon!

It was certainly strange. He thought sometimes that he would have a great deal of fun returning to Ilvermorny in the autumnal beginnings of September, but any fantasy of a crisp morning walking on the Ilvermorny grounds was easily dashed by the fact that he would be leaving, and this time, for good. The finality of it made him a little crazy when he stayed inside, so he had needed to go outside during the morning, and now, although he was a bit lonely, he yearned to remain with the sun's rays on his face.

The nice thing was, the day's lovely weather had encouraged Cyrus's fellow Ilvermornians to come outside and visit with one another. He meandered towards where most people were, in a part of the grounds that happened to catch a lot of sunlight and provide spectacular views, and it was then that he started to ask around.

'WOW, isn't it such a nice day? Whattaya think, we could go bird watching together? Oh, no? Okay, then.'

He'd forgotten about his relative unpopularity with most people in his year. There was a reason he rarely discussed his no-Maj upbringing these days.

After a while of lacking success, the boy gave a dramatic sigh and stretched, giving a lazy glance around the clearing only to lock gazes with a much younger boy. Well, it never hurt to try! And sometimes younger students had the most entertaining stories!

He bounded over to the younger boy and lifted his old binoculars from where they hung around his neck. 'Hey there! I'm Cyrus. A seventh year. I was wondering, do you think you'd be down to go look for some birds with me?'



Setting: 7 June 2025. Afternoon. Ilvermorny.
Interactions: @Dylan Astor

Interacting with: @Cyrus Darsel Mentioning: N/A Date: 06/07/25

Word Count: 213

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Dylan popped his head up in surprise. He hadn't expected to actually get asked to go bird watching! Especially with a seventh year! To Dylan, seventh years were those upper classmen that didn't want to do anything with firsties like him, so he knew his answer even before the words left his mouth. "Sure. That sounds like fun! I'm Dylan by the way. A first year." Dylan responded to Cyrus. Honestly, Dylan loved nature. Especially when it came down to observing and learning about it. He had always loved it when his grandfather took him through the woods as a little kid just to explore. He had actually been the one that taught him about all of the native Welsh trees and shrubbery found in the same woods he had always explored behind their house. Dylan had lived in America since he was eight, and he was still trying to get used to all the different plants. America was so different compared to Wales. It was not only a lot hotter in the summers most of the time, but it was also a completely different landscape in some places. That's probably why he took up every chance he could to visit the forests and learn all he could about them and their wildlife.

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Largely due to his relative lack of success in asking his fellow, although less-whimsical, upperclassmen to survey the wondrous wilderness with him, Cyrus had assumed he would not find a willing Wild Kratt to help him out. But when the first year seemed open to his offer and even introduced himself, Cyrus grinned. 'Oh, goody! Well, it's really a pleasure to meet you, Dylan!'

The other boy had an accent that Cyrus couldn't quite place—it sounded somewhat similar to the accents of some of the kids at Hogwarts, which made him wonder if Dylan was European. If so, he did wonder what the young Ilvermornian was doing all the way on this side of the Atlantic! But alas, it was none of his business, so he did keep his mouth shut, albeit while remaining keen to observe.

'If we come over this way, there are some pretty cool trees. Although... at the lake, I see lots of ducks. Those are my favourite birds, anyway. But I'm really down to look for anything!' He bounced with every step, gazing at the bright blue sky, at the way the sun glittered against the gorgeous green grass, and he shot Dylan a pleasant grin. 'So... do you have a favourite bird? Or, well, part of nature?'

He wasn't done running his mouth even when he slipped his hands into his pockets and slowed his pace. 'Also! If you want to use my binoculars, just let me know! They're not super fancy, pretty old and analog, but they were my uncle's, so I think they're pretty cool.' He chuckled. 'I'm not quite sure how well they'll work if the birds are far away, though. Guess that's the purpose of trial and error!'

He really was open to doing whatever Dylan wanted to do, or otherwise searching for whatever facet of nature interested the younger student. Cyrus was just glad someone else was willing to enjoy the beauty of nature with him.



Setting: 7 June 2025. Afternoon. Ilvermorny.
Interactions: @Dylan Astor

Interacting with: @Cyrus Darsel Mentioning: N/A Date: 06/07/25

Word Count: 228

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"I'm good with anywhere. I haven't really explored too many places around the trees or lake, so I'll let you decide what's best. Also, you like ducks? That's cool! I've always thought of them as fascinating birds! It's so fun to watch them dunk themselves into the water to get food! I guess you could say my favorite bird from here is probably a bluejay, but my favorite bird from back home where I grew up in Wales is probably a white throated dipper. They're quite fluffy and fun to observe." Dylan smiled at the thought of that little bird. He would never forget the first time he saw it in the woods with his grandfather. "Binoculars? Wow. I don't think I've even heard of them until now! They sound very interesting! I can't wait to see how they work!" Dylan cocked his head in curiosity as he observed the new object. Muggles created such fascinating things. He really needed to pay more attention to them and figure out the other things they've made. Dylan glanced at the areas that they would probably observe. He couldn't wait to learn even more than he already knew about American birds. They were fascinating creatures with many varieties and colors! He couldn't wait to possibly see the ducks too! They were such interesting creatures! Especially when they tried to get food!

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Cyrus had hardly expected Dylan to share his enthusiasm with nature, so upon hearing the younger boy speak, Cyrus bounced gently on his toes and excitedly tapped his fingers against the plastic edges of his binoculars. He grinned at Dylan and began to direct the two to an area on the edge of the lake. Now that the warmth spring was beginning to hurry into the heat of summer, the ground had turned squishy from a recent pattering of rain. Out in the distance, one could see various waterfowl swimming their way across the lake—ducks (of course), herons, swans and geese, but including others. The water sparkled in the early June sunlight.

'Ooooh, okay! This is a good spot, then, I think. We’ve got some waterfowl, though I imagine if we glanced in the copse of trees over there—' He pointed off to the side of them. '—I’d imagine we’d fine some more, less watery, birds!' He lifted his binoculars to his face, still listening to Dylan talk. 'Ohhh, bluejays are so cute! They always add a wonderful pop of colour to their environment. But…I’ve never heard of a white-throated dipper! I’ll have to learn more about them; they sound cool!'

When Dylan mentioned that he had never heard of binoculars before, Cyrus’s cheeks reddened minutely—he’d forgotten binoculars were often considered a Muggle contraption, even if these ones were fully analogue. He debated simply ignoring the fact that they were a wizarding oddity but then decided that was pretty much akin to lying, so he couldn’t do that. He gulped but slipped the binoculars cord from around his neck and extended his arms so he could better show Dylan.

'Well, they’re like… I think I’ve heard of a wizarding thingamadoo called “omni-oculars”? They’re like those, but with fewer knobs and switches. So they help you see things from far away! You can focus in like this…' He turned the focus knob, listening to its relaxing click-click-click until he let out a small hum. 'Okay, that’s good. And then, over here is what my uncle called a “diopter”. If I just…' He began to adjust a small tube-looking thing on one of the binocular lenses. He lifted the binoculars to his eyes and glanced out across the lake, his gaze catching on a shiny mallard in the sun, feathers sharp and detailed. 'Yes!! They’re good to go. Well, if you wanna use them, we’ll have to adjust the distance and the eye cups, but that’s not difficult at all!!'

He offered Dylan a joyful smile. 'That is, if you want to try?'

Setting: 7 June 2025. Afternoon. Ilvermorny.
Interactions: @Dylan Astor

Interacting with: @Cyrus Darsel Mentioning: N/A Date: 06/07/25

Word Count: 206

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Dylan followed the older boy, Cyrus as they made their way to the pond. The ground squishy beneath his feet from the rain they had just had. Dylan paid little mind to the soggy ground. There was too much to see! Waterfowl could be found scattered across the pond which brought a smile to his face. “They’re so fascinating to watch. It’s amazing to see how they catch their prey and go about their normal lives.” Dylan said as he stared at the birds gracefully floating across the pond. Dylan glanced over to where Cyrus had pointed and watched as a flash of color flew through the trees. He was amazed. Birds had always amazed him, but he had rarely ever had the chance to see them. Dylan watched in fascination as Cyrus explained about the binoculars. He nodded his head in understanding as he explained they were basically the muggle version of the omnioculars he had grown up with. “I would love to try them if you’d let me! They’re so much easier to use compared to the omnioculars I’ve always used.” He smiled as he watched the binoculars closely. Attempting to figure it all out and take it all in at the same time.

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Cyrus couldn't help but agree with everything Dylan was saying. He gazed at the birds and nodded—they were so peaceful, but he knew they could patch a punch if they needed to! 'I've never seen a bird hunt, actually,' he said thoughtfully, giving a small hum. 'Which is strange, 'cause I'm, like, Mr Bird Guru or something. But now I want to see that!'

He gladly handed the binoculars to Dylan. 'Yeah, of course!' he said without thinking.

He busied himself with training the naked eye to see nature. It was difficult to make out all of the shapes in the distance, no matter how birdlike they appeared. Any moving pop of colour, he assumed was a bird, even if it was mysteriously close to the ground. His thoughts shifted to the idea of a collared bird—could you even do that, if you had a bird as a pet? How would that work?

As he pondered, he tapped his fingers against his cargo shorts. However, when he finally processed all that Dylan had said, the tapping of his fingers halted abruptly, and he averted his gaze from a tree to instead watch the other boy.

'Oh, wait. You mentioned omnioculars. So, I know what they are and all, but I haven't actually held any or used them. Are they hard to use, what with all the knobs and stuff?'



Setting: 7 June 2025. Afternoon. Ilvermorny.
Interactions: @Dylan Astor
OOC: Apologies for the wait! I'd thought I'd responded. I'm okay with still RP-ing, but if you'd like to close this thread out, I'm okay with that, too.

Interacting with: @Cyrus Darsel Mentioning: N/A Date: 06/07/25

Word Count: 202

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"I highly recommend watching birds hunt sometime. It really shows how they work in their own habitats and shows their true nature." Dylan said with a smile. Surprised that the older boy had never seen hunting birds before. Then again, those occasions were rare, and hard to come across without accidentally disturbing them. Dylan had gotten lucky the one time his grandfather had shown him the birds. Dylan gently took the binoculars into his hands and looked through them. Making slight adjustments to see clearer just as Cyrus had shown him. He was amazed at the fine detail he could see. The birds felt right next to him now instead of being a short distance away in the pond. "Wow. The amount of detail I can see from here is amazing! Muggles make such fascinating objects!" Dylan exclaimed as he watched a duck dip down into the pond before popping back up. Dylan thought for a moment before saying, "Without my grandfather's help, I probably wouldn't have been able to figure them out. Each knob does something, which can get confusing at times, but eventually makes sense. It just takes some getting used to. Though these are way more fascinating!" Dylan smiled.

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OOC Note: No worries about the wait! I don't mind at all! I'm also still fine with RPing as long as you're good with continuing!

The idea of birds that hunted, in action, was a vision that both horrified and intrigued Cyrus. His idea of birds much revolved around graceful, swimming creatures preening in all their regality; he'd never before observed a bird (let alone a bird of prey) come down upon its prey and snatch it up in its talons or beak. For someone who abhorred all forms of violence, it almost felt taboo to even consider, but it was also part of life, and Cyrus supposed that had to make it cross the line from despicable to allowable.

If he were a bird, he would not hunt. But he was human, and he supposed if he really did care about birds, he ought to learn their habits, including the ones he did not necessarily agree with.

Cyrus grinned when Dylan exclaimed about the sheer amount of detail the binoculars allowed. Cyrus himself much preferred binoculars to even the zoom tool on his phone; there was something about the analogue device still providing good and proper articulation of even the fuzziest, most minute things, that brought him joy.

Listening to Dylan explain the omnioculars as he twisted his shoe in the dewy grass, Cyrus nodded. 'Huh! I definitely wonder how the inventor decided which knob should do what. That goes for anything with a lot of parts. It's super cool that your grandfather was able to teach you that, though!' He glanced at the binoculars and then tried to conjure up a mental image of omnioculars. 'To me, the omnioculars are a bit more "fascinating". I guess intrigue really depends on what we're used to, huh?'



Setting: 7 June 2025. Afternoon. Ilvermorny.
Interactions: @Dylan Astor