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sweetpinkpixie · #1 (**permalink**) 12-13-2015, 08:14 AM

wear trouble like a crown

At the request of her brother, Daphne Flamsteed reluctantly agreed to take one of his students under her dark wing to show him the ropes of her profession as a freelance curse-breaker.

CAST
Daphne Flamsteed - sweetpinkpixie
Zeke Browne - Hera

SCENE INDEX
mission 01 - OGMA
What would begin as their first, and potentially last, mission together would begin promptly at 9am in the courtyard of the Leaky Cauldron. The early July sun kissed each stone of the courtyard and took the chill off the ice aura that the woman dressed in black exuded while she waited...

Hera · 12-15-2015, 11:27 PM

Excited, is what this soon-to-be fifth year was.

After receiving the OTHER Flamsteed's owl regarding the meet-up, Zeke had been barely able to contain himself, and this was particularly true for the eve of the meeting. Sleep had come in ebbs and flows, disturbed by his need to check the time and the urge to pee. Nevertheless, on this morning he was feeling particularly refreshed and was buzzing with energy. Though this was perhaps in part the physiological response to the caffeine he had consumed over breakfast.

Dressed in staple grey and black, Zeke arrived at the Leaky Cauldron's courtyard, his wand holstered at the wrist. It didn't take him long to recognise the woman he was meeting, owing to the fact that at this hour the crowd was thin, and few others looked like curse-breakers, let alone Flamsteed's.

"Hi, I'm Zeke Browne," he announced as he approached the table, a hand extended to shake - because, semi-formal, VERY important meeting thing with adulating skills was happening! Her attire though didn't go unnoticed, and it didn't particularly surprise him either. "Thanks for taking the time to meet with me," he added as an afterthought, cause, yeah. She reminded him of his mum in a lot of ways, and time and time-wasting was something he was conscious of.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-16-2015, 07:05 AM

Examining her nails, Daphne had noticed the kid almost immediately but refused to acknowledge his existence. Maybe...just maybe he would prove to be less of a knucklehead than her brother and do her the favor of chickening out. But alas, no such luck was had by her today. Fitting for someone who didn't even believe in luck.

Of course, she also knew about this one's guardians...or more specifically ONE of his guardians that she did not fancy getting involved with ever. Her brother had failed to mention that detail until after she had agreed to this and he was going to get it if this kid got too much in her way. "I know," she said coolly, rising from her seat and neither smiling at the kid nor offering her hand to shake. Instead she circled around him, pursing her lips the entire way while her green eyes scrutinized everything about him with an alluring smolder. "My brother says you are quick on your feet and resourceful, you'll be needing that today." She lifted a thin gold chain dangling from her belt that an old pocket watch hung from and glanced at the time. "Last chance kid. To back out."

Hera · 12-16-2015, 09:33 AM

She knew? Of course she knew... why did he think she wouldn't? Zeke stood a little straighter, retracting his hand and letting it rest at his side as she circled him. Did he fit the physical requirements? Were there such requirements?

Everything he had expected to come from this experience was already out the proverbial window, because while Daphne fit the image of her that he had created in his head, her personality was different. Less chit-chat oriented and much more, direct. He would have to choose his questions carefully... maybe.

"I am," he confirmed without detail. Had he been talking to his peers or even someone else, he would have listed his achievements and the examples of HOW he was quick and resourceful. Somehow he didn't think Daphne would care if he won a fourth-fifth year duelling tournament, let alone any of the other things he'd achieved in his four years or formal education.

His hazel eyes followed her hand as it retrieved what appeared to be a pocket watch. Last chance to back out?

Zeke shook his head. "I'm not backing out," was his reply. There was no such thing in his vocabulary.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-16-2015, 09:30 PM

Well, Air Head had been right about one thing at least - the kid did pick up quick. Perhaps even was actually capable of reading and assessing a situation on the spot. Might not be a complete nuisance after all.

Then again. Gryffindor.

"You familiar with how side-along apparition works, kid?" she asked while bending over to pull her wand from a holster on the inside of her boot and twirling is idly between her surprisingly smooth looking fingers. Had he ever done it before? Because she was not going to tolerate a queasy stomach releasing itself all over her boots.

Hera · 12-17-2015, 02:14 AM

He had so many questions. Too many questions, and he knew now was not the time to ask them. He was LUCKY to have this opportunity, so he was 110% positive that his incessant where are we going? are we there yet? how long will this take? can we camp there? would not be welcome. He bit his tongue which was hidden by the easy smile he wore.

Zeke was as pysically and mentally prepared as he could be, all things considered, but what he was NOT prepared for was that question.

... uh...

Eyebrow quirked he maintained eye contact (for reasons) and replied with the obvious, "Yes."

sweetpinkpixie · 12-18-2015, 07:39 AM

Offering nothing more than an affirming nod, Daphne gave the area another glance over. The morning crowd, witches and wizards stopping by for a quick bite before heading off to work or a day of shopping most likely, were beginning to file in and she did not fancy drawing attention to them.

Nodding her head for him to follow, she moved with a dangerous elegance and purpose to each and every movement. Ensuring that they were both out of sight, she begrudgingly offered him her hand. "Don't make me waste my dittany, understood?"

Hera · 12-19-2015, 12:25 AM

He still had a hundred questions demanding to be asked, but his lips remained closed. Again, Daphne reminded him so much of his mum, which was just weird, but he could chalk it down to being an occupational hazard - the mannerisms that is.

Nodding silently, he followed along in her wake. Was leather her personal preference? Or was it something he would need to learn to appreciate too? Not to say he didn't appreciate, but, yeah... they were stopping now.

Zeke accepted her hand without reservation, but unlike other hand holding, he didn't lace his fingers in with hers. "Understood," he grinned, somewhat amused by the commands.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-19-2015, 12:55 AM

Merlin. Daphne momentarily lost her resolve and groaned at the contact. She felt like some babysitter taking a kid on a field trip to the zoo. Only she couldn't just leave this one to ooh and awe at the lions. No, she couldn't leave this one unattended and apparently needed to teach him a thing or two.

Maybe he could learn if he kept up.

"Good. When we land you stick close to me but not so close that you get in my way," she whispered, her eyes staring intensely into his unblinking. Tightening her grip on his hand - because she didn't yet trust him enough to be able to hold on sufficiently on his own - and turned on the spot.

With a woosh and a crack, the courtyard was gone.

Sometime later their feet touched the ground and Daphne could not wait to let go of his hand. Of course, he had to let go of hers as well...but her grip was gone and she was just showing enough restraint not to pull her hand away from him and walk away. "Don't suppose you have a clue where we are?" she asked, green eyes scanning their wooded surroundings for signs of movement.

Hera · 12-19-2015, 01:13 AM

This was going to be interesting. Curse-breaking aside, Daphne seemed to have the bedside manner of a Sphinx. One wrong answer, and she'd have his head for it. He would just have to hope he had the right answers.

To confirm his thoughts, her whole warning thing about sticking close, but not sticking too close... was heard and understood. "Got it." Loud and clear. The hand tightening was the first and only warning he received regarding their apparition, but he was moderately prepared for it. The pulling sensation behind his navel not at all fazing him.

Zeke kept his eyes closed, only opening them as his feet made contact with solid ground.

They were here... wherever here was.

Briefly after he felt her loosen her grip on his hand, he too loosened his and retracted it. Apparently she was going to be quizzing him on geography first? The thing about forest and woods though, was that it was difficult to tell them apart. Fat lot of good it would do him. What he COULD do though, was try to deduce where they might be.

Because they had apparated, it had to be in the UK. They were clearly not coastal, or at least, he didn't feel as if they were, and it was definitely not London or Birmingham - which he was most familiar with. In fact, considering London was fairly south-laying, he could only assume one thing. "We're in the north..." but that was all he had.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-19-2015, 03:18 AM

"Not bad, kid," she said, offering him a curt nod. She was torn between being impressed and disappointed that he hadn't lost his breakfast all over the ground. Impressed because it meant he could stomach more than assumed, disappointed because it meant she didn't have an excuse to send him right back to where she had found him.

Both hands free, she rested them purposefully on her hips and stood with her back to the ticker part of the surrounding forest. North. Well, she could hardly expect anything else really. "Ilton in North Yorkshire to be exact," she explained, checking her pocket watch real quick. "There is an old Druid temple up ahead that is rumored to have something hidden beneath it. We are going to get it and get out. I don't suspect you'll leave here today with anything more than a few scratches." Most likely nothing life threatening.

Hera · 12-19-2015, 12:47 PM

Owing to the fact that he hadn't done anything yet, Zeke figured the compliment was aimed at his non-puking upon landing, that, and his solid footing. It was hardly worth addressing. "I'm used to it," he shrugged. He wasn't a natural by any means, he'd just... been there and done that.

But go figure, he wasn't wrong. North was where they were at.

The second Daphne mentioned Ilton, he tried to link it to SOMETHING of significance for what they were doing, but he couldn't recall the name coming up at all in his history books - another reason why he wasn't going to do the subject when school started back. It was useless. Thankfully the answer was provided for him. A druid temple. Neat.

"What kind of something?" he asked instinctively - the whole scratches thing the least of his concerns. "Are we talking gold? Or artefacts? Something else?" Naturally he had many more questions too, but those remained unspoken for now. What size it was, how heavy it was, what they would do with it, whether he could carry it, all of those and more would be addressed ~~if and~~when they got to it.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-20-2015, 07:17 AM

Hmmm. Interesting.

Arching an amused eyebrow, she nodded her head in the direction they needed to head off to and began to move with catlike precision through the trees. "Artefact," she nodded as she ducked under a branch. "A tablet to be specific. It's the first step to finding something important for my benefactor." And the kid need not know more than that at this time.

"Trick is...no one really knows how to get down under the temple. I have my suspicions, but won't know until we get there and deal with whatever muggles may be in the way."

Hera · 12-20-2015, 02:29 PM

Zeke's gaze followed his mentor-for-a-day's nod, and without further prompting he followed in her footsteps, keeping up with her shadow. Unfortunately his movements weren't as graceful as hers, but he'd explored similar terrains enough that his movements didn't appear laboured. Zeke simply nodded his understanding, though she probably couldn't see that... a tablet though sounded interesting, as did the whole benefactor thing. He had questions about that too, the whole freelancing thing. He never much liked goblins, so freelance sounded far more appealing than working for Gringotts. This much he was certain of already.

Other things he was taking mental note of included: 1) there weren't necessarily easy 'entrances' to sites of interest, and 2) muggles were a thing.

Muggles.

"How do you deal with the muggles? Repelling charms? Alter their memories?" Personally he would probably opt for a combination of the two ... which was legit, right? Have them be convinced to move on, remembering other business and forgetting their presence.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-21-2015, 08:41 PM

Daphne's head spun around every now and then to look at the kid. At least he didn't seem to have the feet of a troll and was able to tread someone lightly, although he was not exactly twinkle toes either. Pity, that could have been a nice nickname for him.

She still needed to think of one. Hopefully something would inspire her eventually.

Questions McGee was coming to mind though.

"Repelling Charms first," she whispered as they began to climb up a small hill. "Usually they do the trick so you don't have to scramble too many brains in the process." Made for messy work and extra effort. "I set up a perimeter last night...so assuming things held we should be in the clear."

Hera · 12-22-2015, 01:24 AM

Zeke shifted his gaze from the ground where he was stepping, to the back of Daphne, occasionally catching her looking back. He never was very good with measuring distance on the fly, so he wouldn't have been able to say how far they had come already. Either way, they weren't at their destination, so all he could really say was that they were closer. How clever he was.

But there was his answer, repelling charms first. It did make sense and it hadn't even occurred to him that she might have scoped out the place ahead of time. "Do you do that often? Set things up ahead of time?" or was it purely for his benefit? He had to ask, because he had to know... was this something he would or SHOULD account for in the future? Zeke checked his footing as he ascended the hill behind her, pausing to look back the way they came before continuing behind Daphne.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-24-2015, 08:44 AM

At the top now, Daphne knelt down behind a large rock and beckoned for Zeke to follow. She offered nothing more than a glance in his direction, but it sent the ear rattling message to not be seen. Thankfully, even if the kid ended up to be a klutz and stumble out from behind the rock and even tumble down the hill...well...he would be seen by no one as her previous spellwork had worked and the area below was muggle free.

"It really depends on the location, but small tourist spots like this one can be done easily, especially in the dead of night. Otherwise, well, you need to use other methodologies." The larger ones, well, those she tended to work at night and as appealing as it was to bruise the kid's ego that she had gone out of her way to make this easy and set them up for daytime execution rather than at night, well, she needed him not to be feeling sorry for himself. At least not yet.

"All clear, let's move," she instructed, moving out from behind the rock and trotting down the hill. "There should be some sort of runic marking somewhere on one of the stones. You know which rune means 'to open', kid?"

Hera · 12-25-2015, 09:08 AM

Reaching the top of the hill, Daphne's look did not go unnoticed. The curse-breaker's message was received, loud and clear. Zeke followed closely, keeping low as he slinked into position beside her, peeking out from the side of the rock to see the grounds below.

..... neat. AND muggle free. Bonus? He was actually almost conflicted on this point.

Though his eyes were glued to the ruin, Daphne's words were crystal clear and he nodded his understanding of her assessment. It was a fair call and he could see the logic in it - something he might do well to remember in the future.

Given the all clear, Zeke followed after his mentor, untucking his elbows for balance as he quickly descended after her. Already his head was a jumble of the various runes that he had studied. What were they looking for exactly? Would there be a puzzle? Would they have to produce or destroy a stave?

His gaze shifted from the rocky structures to Daphne and back again. Which rune meant 'to open'? None with a meaning that specific came to mind, unless she was tricking him? "Laguz is sometimes known as the rune of revelation... it can be used to uncover hidden things," he supplied, giving his best answer - if not the correct one. And there was something about what it concealed too, wasn’t there? Like, it was highly regarded with travel and successful acquisition - which made sense consdiering their aim was to acquire something, an artefact - the only thing was, it was usually also associated with loss or obstacles and challenges... which again, made sense.

As they neared Zeke's gaze was already inspecting the structures, though he made sure not to advance ahead of Daphne, yet.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-27-2015, 06:43 AM

Arriving at the base of the hill, Daphne reached down and pulled a leather band from her boot that she then used to tie back her thick dark hair. "Not bad, kid," she smirked, glancing over her shoulder to offer him a cheeky wink. "You may be keeping all your limbs after all."

May. These sorts of sights could be incredibly tricky business. Those who really had something to hide would put false runes and enchantments on their sites to protect the treasures within. She hadn't exactly checked this place out entirely to be able to say for sure whether or not it would be as straightforward as she had told her brother it would be.

Oopsies.

Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a small stone amulet with the rune he had suggested on it and tossed it towards him. "You'll need to run that over the ruins here and see if you get any sort of reaction," she instructed. "It will glow green if there is anything hidden nearby."

Usually.

Hera · 12-27-2015, 07:12 AM

Pausing beside her, Zeke watched as she bent to retrieve something... and proceeded to tie her hair. It was a curious thing, not because tying hair was particularly interesting, but she was interesting, and there was still so much leather. The compliment and wink had him smirking and he couldn't help but feel pretty chuffed with himself, which was going to do terrible things to his ego. See, he was... competent. "I'm more than just a pretty face," he assured with a shrug, oozing all the modesty. But seriously, this was business.

He panned the scene of ruins before his gaze landed back on Daphne in time to see her toss something in his direction. Palms open, he caught it. With his brows raised in interest, he turned the smooth stone over and over in the palm of his hands before turning his attention to the ruins. Somehow he'd envisioned something grander, but this would do nicely.

"No worries, you gonna make yourself comfortable, or would you rather hold my hand?" he asked in good humour as he approached the first of the rock formations, running a finger over the engraving of Jera before starting his work with the amulet.

He didn't rush the process on the off-chance of missing a rune, but he didn't take his sweet time with it either. Unfortunately, it could take a while regardless. Lots of rocks, lots of runes, did she know?

sweetpinkpixie · 12-27-2015, 06:16 PM

Ug. Gryffindors.

Tapping the bridge of her nose with her index finger, Daphne reminded herself that cheek was valued over incompetence and swallowed some of her annoyance. Some, but not all.

The world did not need more pretty boys either, kid. Really. Enough of those knuckleheads around as it were.

"I'll keep my hand on my wand," she snorted, twirling it idly between her fingers. You know, just in case some protective enchantments reacted negatively to the amulet in his hand and...well...they would just have to wait and see. She had literally just taken a step towards the kid when her eagle vision zoned in on the stone in his hand. It was faint but, to those knowing what they were looking for, incredibly distinct. "This way," she hissed, leaping towards him with catlike precision once again. Grabbing his arm - NOT his hand - she dragged him to the right a bit, as had been indicated by the faint green glow on the right side of the amulet. "Check the rightmost pillar there, in the center, and look for an especially smooth area. Chances are there won't be any runes on the spot. They are merely decoys here."

Hera · 12-28-2015, 03:52 AM

He was still smirking as he continued running the amulet over the ruins, left to right, right to left, up and down, down and up. Steadily making his way along.

It suited him just fine that she wanted to keep her hand on her wand, because he had this. He totally had this. In fact, with every inch of ruin he scanned, his confidence grew. That was... until Daphne pounced.

WHAT?!

Zeke allowed himself to be pulled along to the right, because apparently that was the way? Had he been taking too long? Had he missed something? He'd missed something hadn't he? But it hadn't glowed, not....... really. Oh.

Nodding his understanding, Zeke followed the orders he was given quietly, the smirk removed from his lips. Amulet in hand, he moved it over the pillar, his eyes searching and his free hand moving over the stoney surface in an effort to confirm the smooth spot. And that he did. In contrast to the rest of the ruin, the patch had the texture of marble, this was it? Yeah? He moved the amulet to stop over the spot, resulting in the Laguz symbol lighting up bright green.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-28-2015, 04:44 AM

Her own eyes aglow, Daphne took the other side of the pillar in question and ran her experienced fingers over its surface with a sense of urgency. Silently, she swooped in and looked over his shoulder to scrutinize the location under the amulet's glow. Wetting her lips, she pressed down on his hand until the amulet was touching the surface of the stone. "Easy now..." she whispered, more to herself than to the kid.

The low rumble of massive stones grinding against each other cause the ground to shake below their feet. In the next moment, the very pillar they had been inspecting began to sink beneath the ground and gradually rotate so that it created a downwards slope into a dark tunnel. Hand held out in front of the kid and wand drawn, Daphne pushed them both back a few steps until the tremors had ceased and they were not presented with a kind of stone slide leading deep into the ground beneath the shrine.

"Well done," she mused, ruffling his hair and taking the lead. "See you down there," she winked, giving the kid a wink and a salute before balancing her boots on the stone pillar, now smooth after its transformation, and slide down it into the darkness.

Hera · 12-28-2015, 05:56 AM

Zeke was learning so much from this experience... or at least, it felt that way to him. Without blinking for a long time, he watched as Daphne inspected the other side of the pillar before returning to his side, he could feel her peering over his shoulder, and then some.

~~See, he knew she wanted to hold his hand.~~

Despite the command not being strictly spoken to him, he took it into consideration as he pushed the amulet down onto the stone surface with Daphne's help. What happened next was another first for him... kind of.

Zeke took a step back as the stones began to move and grind and the pillar descended into the ground. She needn't have held her hand out in front of him, he wasn't going anywhere just yet, he was happy to observe. There was something about this that reminded him of the Chamber of Secrets, though he knew it was very different in its own way.

With the ground no longer shaking, and the sound of movement ceasing, Zeke peered between his mentor and the pillar slide. The hair mussing was hardly necessary, but it was appreciated. He was such a sucker for praise. "Right behind you," he returned, minus the wink, as he watched the woman's descent. Without any hesitation Zeke followed quickly behind, feet first into the depths below.

sweetpinkpixie · 12-28-2015, 07:46 AM

While not a thrill seeker, Daphne was a little disappointed that the ride down ended uneventfully. Not even an uneven rock to trip over. Then again, perhaps that was all for the best. She had the kid to worry about and not get killed.

Twirling her wand between her fingers once, she illuminated the tip with a silent Lumos and then turned on the spot to check and make sure that Zeke had arrived in one piece as well. The ground was neither firm nor soft, but loose enough that bits of dirt and stone could slip into one's shoe and from the ceiling dangled roots from the grass and other foliage.

"This way," she instructed, nodding her head in the direction of the dark passageway. "Not that there is much of an option."

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