February 28th, 1890 — Salem Square

Of all the things to happen to her, this was Amelia's nightmare. She'd come in this morning only to find all the birds had taken flight. And not only had they taken flight, but the spell that had held them in their sanctuary had also absolutely disappeared without any reason as to why. Of course, she'd made sure that Bastien hadn't somehow convinced them all to disappear, but it was soon apparent that all the animals were indeed gone.

With her heart in her throat, Amelia had done the only thing she could think of: transformed into her animagus form and took flight, straight through the ceiling that her birds had gone. Though it was an old knee-jerk reaction of hers that she couldn't help but indulge in, on second thought it seemed the right thing to do since it gave her the exact vantage point that the birds would have had.

The first thing she thought to do was do a few circles, but other than that especially if she were to find Bastien – how in Merlin's name was she to explain this to Eavan? – she'd have to start on the ground to search. Diricawls couldn't fly and Bastien had his specific treats that she'd luckily had in her pockets when she'd discovered the missing animals. As Amelia plummeted to the ground, she spread her wings and transformed back into a woman, reaching for the first person she saw. "Please, have you seen a bird around?!" she asked, her voice wrought with tension.

Open to anyone who'd be in Salem Square!

  

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Baron Crossridge made his way into the centre of Irvingly that day with something of an ill will, always disinclined to walk in the opposite direction to the trees. He supposed Salem Square was not so different to the centre of many normal towns Djura had visited in his life, though Irvingly wasn't a normal town. But it was easy enough to notice nothing but the normal parts as he walked in the direction of the Post Office, silver cane clinking on the cobblestones beside him as he did so, ignoring any glimpse of wizard robes or passing owls, his straight back and frown lines keeping strangers and neighbours from wishing him a good afternoon.

Djura had been feeling oddly unfulfilled of late, and was on the hunt to find out why. Hence venturing to the Post Office in place of a servant; some small, everyday errand that he felt might give him a little satisfaction.

But he intended to encounter no magic at all in the interim. What a curse, therefore, that a great barn owl should suddenly fly towards him and transform dramatically into a flustered, golden woman who quickly asked him if he'd seen... a bird. The creature from which she'd just transformed. "Is this a joke?"

  

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With her heart in her throat, the witch failed to realized what irony she'd just caused upon the man, and she regarded him with a look of great exasperation. "Wha-?" she replied, glancing around frantically. "I - no, of course not!" Why would it be a joke? Birds had escaped from Podmore and they were under her watch, this was no joking matter.

It was only after realizing where she was – a place where muggles frequented that she quickly corrected her posture as well as her tone (well, as much as she could) and fumbled over her words to explain herself. "No, no not at all sir, I apologize, I just..." Ooohh there was no time to go through such ridiculous pleasantries! Amelia took a breath to keep from passing out from panic before continuing. "No, please, I look after the aviary at the gardens and they've all just escaped." She explained, adding a clumsy bob of a curtsey to punctuate her apologies to the rather flummoxed man in front of her.

  

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Despite what Djura believed to be the sheer impudence of flaunting magic like this, counter-intuitively or otherwise, he could not help but feel a pang of sympathy for the strange woman, who looked young and lost as she regarded him with wide, panicked eyes. He didn't much appreciate having his normalcy forgotten, while her witchcraft was taken for granted, but she did not seem to be doing it on purpose.

So she was tasked with overseeing the aviary, but had let her flock flee...

"I can... look around". Never had an imposing, wealthy Baron been so useless. "But have you no appropriate..." he felt like he was uttering a curse word as he finished his sentence: "magical spells?"

Ignorant though he was of the wizarding world, he found it hard to believe that simple birds could not be summoned and rounded up with a swish of a fancy twig.

  

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As realization set in that this man knew little about magic (and she knew it wasn't something that was supposed to be flaunted in the open) Amelia struggled to find the words to explain why it wasn't as simple. She appreciated his offer to help but she could sense the reluctance in his voice as he did so. "I....do not." she said simply, her explanation lost.

Tracking spells placed on animals weren't something she approved of, unless it was for purposes like knowing where Bastien was hiding to avoid bathtime. "I'm - I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "Nevermind sir, I apologize I disturbed your day." She turned to leave. She was well and truly screwed.

  

---

The poor thing seemed entirely at a loss. Evidently her job was on the line. Although quietly indignant that she had succeeded in tugging at his heartstrings, Djura was somewhat softened by the inability of her spellcasting, and give a curt but forgiving nod of farewell —

Only to notice something over her right shoulder. "If it helps, there's what looks like a parakeet perched on the grocer's sign", he nodded towards the little green bird.

A pause, and then — "I actually... keep a bird myself. A marsh harrier." As if it was some grave confession. "And I'm sure you know this better than I, but birds respond well to food. So I would start with that."

  

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"Ah," It was indeed one of the birds from the aviary, however the gentleman looked quite unwilling to help any further. "Thank you so much, sir." She said gently, her expression falling even further as she realized exactly how much her display of magic had put the muggle off.

At the mention of his bird, the corners of her mouth lifted up in a soft smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "They're quite beautiful birds, marsh harriers." She commented, reaching out her hand to the large colorful bird. With her other hand she reached into her pocket and grabbed a treat to summon the bird to her. She clicked with her mouth to get its attention, luring it back to perch on her shoulder as she faced the muggle.

"You have a good hunter, sir." The bird dipped its head and nuzzled into Amelia's hair, clicking its beak for another treat. "It must be quite loyal." He'd tipped his hat towards her before he saw the bird - a sign Amelia knew was meant to bid her good day. Her gaze downcast, she bobbed a curtsey before turning to leave.

  

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The further time ticked from the alarming moment when a bird had turned into a lady, the less immediately disagreeable that moment became — and the more inclined Djura was to allow himself a few more minutes in her company. Especially if she had knowledge of raptors such as Peace; and complimented them. For yes, Peace was a loyal friend.

But then she turned and left, albeit graciously, parakeet on her shoulder. That was that, then, and Djura turned to do likewise — only to notice another bird, this one perched on a stone wall. "Miss? That might be another of yours", he alerted her once again. But he said "might" because the bird was a magpie, so potentially wild. Or potentially not.

... Or potentially another fluttering lass in disguise.

  

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She'd not expected him to say anything further, and so she halted rather abruptly as he spoke. She turned towards his gesture, the large bird swaying on her shoulder as she did so. The expectation died on her face as she took in the appearance of the bird. "Alas," Amelia responded, crestfallen. " 'Tis just a regular bird, I don't recognize it."

She bobbed another curtsey before leaving. "I thank you all the same, sir. I'll bid you good day now."

Wrap? ^_^

  

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Djura tipped his hat and continued onward to the Post Office. What a bizarre interruption this had been. And were he to be asked his judgement on the young stranger, he could confirm that he found her both agreeably innocent and a shameless participant of a dangerous and problematic community. Life was complex, and so too was the nature of man.

-wrap! <3-

  

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