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Post by Elle Callahan on Jun 26, 2011 22:43:04 GMT -5
It wasn't often that a certain wizard asked for help. Admitting that one needed help was a sin for Alex Kameren. So Elle was rather surprised to receive an owl from him all but begging for her help. The great auror was apprehensive about taking two children to the zoo. Elle could see why he would be scared if the kids were under the age of six, but at ten and twelve, they'd have a ton of energy but be behaved. Nonetheless, Elle agreed to help. Besides it was a great excuse to see Alex out of robes and not injured.
Trying not to stare at all the muggles, Elle waited near the front gate of the London zoo. As a child, Elle rarely crossed into the muggle world. Sometimes she did so as an adult but it was rather rare. If she hadn't lived so close to a tube station that stopped directly across from the zoo she doubted she'd have found it. Wearing jeans and a light sweater, the rather short healer nearly blended with the crowd. Would they make it all right? Alex was a pureblood, so she doubted he had much exposure to the muggle world. Max probably knew this place, or at least how to get there. And she wasn't yet sure who the third member of their little group was.
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Post by Alex Kameren on Jun 26, 2011 23:32:32 GMT -5
It was ten minutes after Curse’s departure, and already Alex could feel his nerves fraying. One could laugh at him all one wished, but he just didn’t do well with children. It didn’t matter that one was his nephew and the other saw the future. She was precocious, always questioning and quite serious for her age. Max was no slouch either, he had a child’s curiosity and the burden of his father’s illness on his small shoulders.
Together they were a terror.
Rasputin, who usually went everywhere with him, was left at home as Max explained that muggles weren’t too keen on dogs in shops and oddly enough, zoos. Alex halted, looking around. There was Eden, by his side-- for the moment. He backtracked a few steps and snagged Max by the hand, pulling him along with the group. They stopped outside the gate and Alex bought ice cream cones for the children to keep them occupied as he awaited the cavalry.
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Post by Elle Callahan on Jun 27, 2011 0:07:18 GMT -5
Elle hadn't been waiting long when she finally spotted the tall lanky man flanked by two children. Eating Ice cream. A groan formed on Elle's lips as she walked over to them shaking her head. Alex Kameren had made a capital mistake in giving the children sweets this early, before they had much of a chance to work off their energy. A bad feeling washed over Elle as she drew closer. Sugar intensified things. For a second, Elle thought of warning Alex about his folly but then decided to let him figure it out.
"Hi Max, Alex, Eden, how---is everyone?" Elle had been about to treat Eden Fletcher as her patient but she was not here as her doctor so questions about her heart were out of the question unless it became an issue. not that she thought the little girl would have an episode at the zoo. Now she understood why Alex wanted help. He had two very active children on his hands and if Eden had a vision in a muggle zoo there could be trouble.
----
Eden was very excited. She'd never been to a zoo before. Actually she could count on one hand how many times she had been in the muggle world. Her grandparents did not like that part of their grandchildren's heritage and tried to avoid talking about it. But they couldn't prevent Emery from telling his younger siblings stories about living in the muggle world with their parents.
"HI ELle, Alex got ice cream, two scoops!" Eden squealed with glee. Her diet was normally regulated at home...
Something strange caught Eden's gaze. The mingling crowd parted for a large black and white fury creature that was heading right towards them.
What was it?
"ummm why is that animal so large and loose?"
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Post by Max Kameren on Jun 27, 2011 0:57:41 GMT -5
There was something strange going on today, Max could tell.
His father had decided it was a doctor's day, but there was nothing wrong with him. Sure, there was the regular things wrong with him, but today had been a very, very good day for Curse. He had been in high spirits. Then, suddenly, Alex was there taking him away so Curse could go to Mungo's. There was something wrong with that. His dad only went to the hospital when he had to, so he tended to look uglier than a beached merperson when he had to go.
Then Alex had suggested the zoo. Max wasn't going to say anything. If Alex knew something was up, he would want to investigate as well, but Max wasn't going to lose out on a day at the zoo. Max loved the zoo, it was his favorite place in London. And on top of that, Alex always bought ice cream. He always bought ice cream, but that was also something Max loved, so why would he protest?Curse could go do whatever the heck he wanted if this was what Max got to do for the afternoon.
Somehow Eden managed to tag along even when they were miles from home, in the Muggle world, with his uncle. Max had originally pouted about Eden's insistence on joining them, but now he quite liked the idea. Now that he knew that she hardly knew anything about the muggle world. Max knew everything about the muggle world; this would be an excellent experience, and in the magical world it was rare Max got to hold some knowledge over Eden's (much shorter) head.
When Elle Callahan showed up, things got even weirder. Wasn't Elle Curse's doctor? If Curse was at Mungo's and Elle was going to the zoo with them, who was treating his dad? No one else liked treating his dad, it was always just Elle. He cocked a curious brow up at the healer as she greeted them, sounding a little confused as he returned the greeting. He glanced up between the two adults. Why had Alex called Elle in the first place? Was someone sick? She wore normal clothes, so that probably wasn't the case. There was definitely something odd happening.
"ummm why is that animal so large and loose?"
Max's eyes darted up at Eden's pointing, but his face fell from surprise quickly. Was she daft? That wasn't an animal at all. "Eden, that's just a bloke in a costume. See?" Max arched a brow as the Panda-man started dancing in the circle that had formed around him, the zoo-goers around him cheering. Max laughed, his eyes lingering on the scene as the group moved along into the zoo, his Uncle's hand tugging him whenever he stopped to examine something. Weren't aurors keen examiners as well? Didn't Alex want to see everything? Max got the feeling Alex just wanted the afternoon to be over.
Max shrugged, speeding up to stay with the group as he scratched a an annoyingly persistent itch on the back of his neck.
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Post by Eden Fletcher on Jul 6, 2011 19:25:05 GMT -5
The zoo was rather weird. Actually, a bit more than rather, it was weird. But Eden decided she liked it, even though none of the animals flew and the signs didn't change color, or the paths move direction. Still, what were the muggles thinking when they sent a man out in costume to pretend to be an animal? And what animals was it? It wasn't a bastard Unicorn, or a snuffler, or any of the animals she knew. What kind of animals did muggle's keep in zoos? Did they have a magical sibling?
Eden stared at the man in costume. How did he get into the thing? And why was he considered special?
"That's silly." Eden replied, a bit confused as she watched. The dancing was rather simple and Eden didn't understand what all the clapping people saw in it. But Max seemed to enjoy it. Eden followed along side Max, with Elle on her other side. Nestled in between the two adults, Eden got the impression that they were being herded.That and the fact that Alex Kameren was afraid of them. Or rather what they could do. Was Elle his back up? It was all rather funny. The adults kept looking at each other and then glancing away, mostly Elle. Did the healer like Alex? But why? He was so surly.
"So, what shall we see first? What's the biggest, most awesome animal mu--here." She asked as she skipped a head of Max, turned to face him and continued walking backwards, oblivious to the people in front of her.
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Post by Alex Kameren on Jul 9, 2011 16:52:10 GMT -5
Alex had been slightly slouched, listening to the children chatter as they ate their ice cream. Curse had warned him several times not to give Max too much ice cream-- it made the child more hyper than normal. Unfortunately, Alex had yet to gain any real skill at babysitting. He scraped by on bribes (ice cream, what kid didn’t like it?) and letting Max chose many of their activities. It helped that he had a dog. He could always let Max and Rasp run each other ragged.
"Hi Max, Alex, Eden, how---is everyone?"
He straightened up as Elle approached, nodding to her in welcome. “Hello Elle.” They headed into the zoo, the children stopping frequently to excitedly point out some new creature or exhibit. Alex stood patiently, though he couldn’t hide his own curiosity when it came to the more interesting animals. He was a pureblood, and he’d never really paid too much attention to the muggle world. As they stopped outside an exhibit listed “African Warthog”, he had to look closer for a moment, to be sure he was seeing what he thought. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“I wonder what the muggles think when their ‘warthog’ disappears.” He said in a low voice to Elle, who was standing closest. Eden and Max were standing on their toes, looking down into the exhibit. He pointed out a particularly ugly looking warthog near the far corner. “That’s a tebo.” He told them. The tebo was laying in the sun, apparently taking a nap.
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Post by Max Kameren on Jul 10, 2011 16:42:10 GMT -5
Max couldn't help but be a little amused by his company. He was in the company of all purebloods or magic-born people, he realized; the way they looked at everything like it was backwards entertained the young wizard. When first entering the Wizarding World with his father, he had had that look. To Max, this was normal. Animals without magical properties, people who didn't go out in big robes every day. There were no magic wands here. He had been to the zoo a thousand times, but seeing it through the eyes of his friends was a different experience.
"So, what shall we see first? What's the biggest, most awesome animal mu--here."
"You would go to the lions first, Gryffindor..." Max grinned as he followed Eden ahead of the grown-ups into the Big Cats House. The group filed merrily through the zoo, Max and Eden continuing their childish banter as always. Max loved that Eden didn't know very much about the muggle world. He would have to take her to it more often. Alex and Elle stayed mostly quiet behind them, though. Alex tended to have that sobering effect on people. Not Max, though. A dementor couldn't keep Max quiet.
“African Warthog”
Max stood pressed up against the glass on his toes as they looked down into the terrarium at the large creature. Max had always liked warthogs; his mum had gotten him a stuffed toy of one on his first trip to the zoo, when he was only six. It was a very fond memory of his mum, before Peter came along and bollocked everything up.
“I wonder what the muggles think when their ‘warthog’ disappears.” Max turned around, cocking a brow at his uncle. What was he playing at? Warthogs couldn't disappear, this was the muggle world. “That’s a tebo.”
"What's a tebo?" Max asked disbelievingly, expecting Alex to just be joking with him.
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Post by Eden Fletcher on Jul 14, 2011 18:57:05 GMT -5
"You would go to the lions first, Gryffindor..."
Eden matched Max's grin, a blond eyebrow arching high as if egging him on. "Can't help it if I belong to the house with biggest most awesomest animal here as a mascot. It's my destiny." She said grandly as she bounced high as if giving herself more height. It was pointless of course, all the stretching in the world wouldn't make her taller than Max. Only a miracle would do that. Hmmm maybe there was a growing spell that would make her taller, or a potion.
"Elle, is there a spell to make people grow taller?" She asked not realizing how weird such a question would be in this place. The little girl had turned around to face the adults, walking slowly backwards the entire time she was taking to the healer.
Elle had been looking at a muggle family when Eden asked her question. At first she was afraid that the muggles would think this odd but the woman near by smiled as if Eden was a very precocious child who had asked a very smart question.
"Sorry, Eden no magic spells to make you taller. Have to do that the natural way," Elle said with a wistful smile. She too had a height challenge but no where near Eden's perdictment.
The group made it's way through the zoo. Elle was enjoying herself, the kids were better behaved than she'd have expected. No one had a magical incident yet, although they did seem to be scathing lot.
“I wonder what the muggles think when their ‘warthog’ disappears.” Alex whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Elle glanced at the warthog he was talking about. The creature was very funny looking. It wasn't until he named it's magical name that she understood what he was referring to. Care of Magical Creatures had never been her strong suite.
"Probably they think it's asleep or hiding," She whispered back.
"What's a tebo?"
Eden rolled her eyes shooting Max a don't you know anything look.
"A Magical creature silly. You know from Africa. It's not very special it just likes to go invisible when the mood suites it." She said in her know it all tone that she knew bugged Max. Finally, something she could hold over Max that day. He had been teasing her all day about the fact that she knew little about the zoo or muggles. Eden pouted as she scratched at her neck.
"What's with zoos, why are they so itchy." She complained. "Don't they clean these places?"
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Post by Alex Kameren on Jul 14, 2011 23:41:39 GMT -5
"Probably they think it's asleep or hiding," She whispered back.
He shrugged. “Could be. They must be incredibly dense though, if they can’t count to four. I wonder how it got here?” Alex wasn’t exactly a paragon of magical creatures knowledge, but he’d always liked the tebo. No particular reason, it was one of those preferences that developed in early childhood and stuck with a person.
"What's a tebo?" Max asked disbelievingly, expecting Alex to just be joking with him.
"A Magical creature silly. You know from Africa. It's not very special it just likes to go invisible when the mood suites it."
“Some Africans use its fur to make a type of invisibility cloak.” Alex smiled down at his nephew.
"What's with zoos, why are they so itchy." She complained. "Don't they clean these places?"
Alex’s smile slipped, then fell into a slight frown. He exchanged looks with Elle. “Itchy?” He echoed Eden.
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Post by Max Kameren on Jul 15, 2011 23:26:55 GMT -5
Max was enjoying himself traveling the zoo with his magical friends, exploring a muggle place with magical people was a very different perspective. Even Alex took an interest in the creatures, Max noticed. He hardly noticed the nagging itch on his neck as the went, how he kept scratching at it. He also didn't notice how his arms were starting to feel itchy as well, and his shoulders and back. He didn't notice it at all, actually, until Eden pointed it out.
"What's with zoos, why are they so itchy." She complained. "Don't they clean these places?"
"The zoo's fine," Max sent Eden a look as he scratched his own shoulder absent-mindedly, "it's just you." If she was going to complain, why did they take her with? There wasn't anything wrong, or at least if Max willed it so. He was now willing it really, really badly, as he tried to resist itching his arm. Why were they so itchy?
“Itchy?”
Max frowned, his round green eyes looking up at his uncle with concern. He pushed up his sleeve to find little red spots forming where he was itching. "Uncle Al, I think something's wrong..."
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Post by Elle Callahan on Jul 17, 2011 13:22:38 GMT -5
"Could be. They must be incredibly dense though, if they can’t count to four. I wonder how it got here?”
"Their not dense, just unobservant and often come up with wonderful excuses to not think that something could be magic," She whispered back, pointing out the logic in the situation. Not that there was much. Really, she was just enjoying being so close to the aruror. Having him so near and not in a hospital bed was a rare treat. And they were actually sharing a conversation that was grunt free.
The moment was slightly disturbed by the children. They were sweet but they also seemed to squabble a bit. Their tempers seemed to be getting shorter the longer they were there. Could it have been too much sweets?
What's a tebo?" Max asked disbelievingly, expecting Alex to just be joking with him.
"A Magical creature silly. You know from Africa. It's not very special it just likes to go invisible when the mood suites it."
“Some Africans use its fur to make a type of invisibility cloak.” Alex smiled down at his nephew.
"What's with zoos, why are they so itchy." She complained. "Don't they clean these places?"
"The zoo's fine,"
“Itchy?”
Elle caught Alex's concerned, almost scared look. Something didn't seem right. The adults weren't itchy but the children were. Odd. Elle had noticed them scratching a bit but had thought nothing off it. Could they be coming down with something?
"Uncle Al, I think something's wrong..."
Elle frowned as she glanced at Max's arm. It was dragon pox...but it surely was something.
"I think we should take them home. Can I check if you have a fever Max?" she asked, poised to place her hand against his forehead. Eden also, looked a little flushed...
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Post by Alex Kameren on Jul 24, 2011 22:43:32 GMT -5
"Uncle Al, I think something's wrong..."
Alex frowned at the spots. That wasn’t natural, was it? His gaze shifted to Eden, who was scratching the back of her neck with fierce concentration.
“Fever?” Alex’s glance at Elle was definitely slightly panicky this time. He closed his eyes and groaned to himself. Why him? He just wasn’t cut out for this. He had no experience with children. He completely ignored the fact that he’d been babysitting for almost half a year now. Certainly that didn’t count. All he’d done was bumble around.
“Right.” Alex spotted the restrooms ahead of them. “You take Eden, and I’ll take Max. I’ll meet you at Curse’s.” He just hoped he wouldn’t splinch either one of them on the way.
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