May 13th, 1893 - Annual Potts Flower Show
Rhys Gallagher

Some members of the Hogsmeade community were well acquainted with the angry goose who lived by its edges. It had made itself rather well known through a series of attacks and had a penchant for the seats of trousers when on the attack. This particular goose was not an invited guest to the flower garden, yet it wandered into the exhibits as if it owned them, strutting to find a location to [strike]terrorize[/strike] observe the denizens of Hogsmeade.

You have the great misfortune encountering this particular goose on the path leading toward the tropical section of the garden show. There was hardly an angry hiss before the goose began to charge at you.

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Oh for the love of Merlin not again!

Rhys had been enjoying himself, a day off, a lovely event to attend, quite the affair naturally, but he just never could relax! That damn goose was back, hissing and all fluffed up, angry as ever! Why? Why couldn't he just have one day without something going awry?

"Oh no, not this time." Rhys reached for his wand— only to realize it wasn't on him! Had he left it at home? Had it fallen from his pocket?

All he could think of now was why him?

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At this point, the goose might as well be named given how many times he was starting to pop up in her life. Maybe something silly, like Sir Bites-a-Lot, or something ironic like Smiles. A name, however, didn’t matter as the goose hissed, feathers fluffing up as he honked at Mr. Gallagher. Zinnia, having just walked down the aisle to check on something, tilted her as she watched the scene unfold.

“I heard if you wave your arms slowly in the air, he might back off.” Zin advised. Or maybe that was a bear. She couldn’t remember. Flashed him a small smile as she took a step forward, the goose barreling toward the man, which caused her to squeak and reach her hand out to take his. “I know some good hiding spots where he won’t be able to reach. We just need to outrun him.” Or rather, which plants would grab at the goose and keep him tangled until they could get away?

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

If Rhys had learned anything in his many, many dealings with this damn goose, it was that reason or logic did not seem to apply. He was a big man, cut an imposing figure and this flying menace just did not give a single fuck about it. When he heard Miss Potts and her suggestion, he could only comply, certain he did not want to box with the foulest of fowl today.

Rhys allowed himself to be pulled away, following Miss Potts easily, as she led the way, trying not to think about just how small and warm her hand felt in his. Considering this was her family's event, her knowledge of an escape route was much better than his and he was sure that this was likely the better solution. That was of course, until he heard the webbed feet of the cretin creeping up behind them, which caused him to want to quicken his pace.

"Perhaps we should hurry," He stayed just behind Miss Potts, providing a physical barrier between her and the goose, but he'd rather not get bit in the ass today.

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Mr. Gallagher’s hand was warm within her own as she pulled him away, the sound of angry honking just behind them. The goose was much larger than she remembered, but maybe it was possible that it grew every day…? Zinnia wasn’t even sure how the goose got in to begin with! Still, she didn’t want the man to get hurt, especially at their show, so she quickened her pace and took a sharp right, pulling him straight into a bush. It wasn’t very tall, coming about to just her waist, although it was going to have to do for now.

The webbed feet creature was continuing to creep up behind them, so Zin did something without thinking – she tugged Mr. Gallagher down into the bush as she landed on her butt, in hopes that the bush would cover them. Her hand moved to cover his mouth. “We’re going to have to crawl for a bit, and there’s some ah… meaner plants between this bush and the path over. They might nip you, but I promise they don’t mean much harm.” Or so she hoped. But they would be better than being bitten by the goose, right? Zinnia removed her hand and smiled softly at him.

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

Rhys rather thought he might have to call in the beast division for this goose soon. It really was becoming a menace. Rhys followed Miss Zinnia with little hesitation, through the bush and then down into it. He was thankful for the shade in the greenery, hoping it hid the slight blush on his stubbled cheeks as she covered his mouth. Her hushed explanation made sense, but he still felt this was a little more than necessary. Still, without his wand, he was going to have to follow her lead.

Slowly he nodded and smiled uncertainly, motioning for her to lead the way.

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So sometimes she got a little too handsy, but Zinnia would always claim it was because she worked with her hands so often — arranging flowers, drawing, smudging charcoal, of course she was going to be a tactile person. (Of course she also loved to hug her sisters, which probably didn’t help.) Mr. Gallagher smiled despite the look of apprehension on his face, so she returned it with a gentle one and a small shrug as if to say they didn’t really have too much of a choice before she was crawling, quite literally, through a few different bushes.

As expected, one of the plants reached down, although it wasn’t necessarily mean, just… curious. (At least to her, but then again Zinnia spent far too much time hanging out with the plants that she knew their personalities at this point.) A few leaves brushed against her face which she swatted away with a soft giggle, and she turned to see if Mr. Gallagher was fairing any worse than she was. They might not like him, but it was them or the goose. In hindsight, maybe she should have cast a spell on the goose…

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

Feeling slightly ridiculous right now, Rhys had no choice but to follow along watching as the plants struck out at them. He tried to swat away the ones going for Miss Zinnia, ignoring the ones poking and prodding him, sometimes leaving little marks along his arms where they scratched at him. One caught his cheek just below his eye and he gave a little hiss of disapproval.

"Are we almost there?" He asked softly, trying not to let his mounting impatience show. It wasn't Miss Zinnia's fault after all, that there was a demonic goose rampaging the park and part of Bartonburg with its presence, but he wasn't very accustomed to crawling around between bushes to avoid it either.

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At the hiss, Zinnia tried her best to toss a look over her shoulder at Mr. Gallagher, but it wasn’t like she could see much given their current surroundings; he had a scratch on his cheek, something she’d address once they were out of the erm… bushes. He sounded a bit irritated, not that she could really blame him. She also wasn’t entirely thrilled with crawling through a few bushes to escape a giant goose that should be terrorizing the people of Padmore. (Or the magizoologists at Podmore Zoological Gardens… but then again the muggles would probably be terrified of it when it inadvertently escaped.)

“Almost there, promise.” Zin smiled, and all but fell flat on her face as they came to the edge of the bushes, finding that the path had a step down she didn’t expect. In true fashion, graceful as she was, Zinnia squeaked as she quickly sat up from the dusty path, coughing from the unsettled dust her fall had sent into the air as she turned blue eyes toward Mr. Gallagher. “Erm… watch your step?” She warned quietly before she made a move to finally stand.

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

Their escape was anything but graceful, punctuated by Miss Zinnia's slip at the end. Rhys unfolded himself from the bushes and stood quickly offering a hand up to Miss Potts. "Are you alright?" He asked gently as he pulled her up. She was a little dusty and they both were sporting some scratches, but at least it wasn't a goose bite? Never mind that he'd felt a little bit like a fool crawling through the hedges, but they had made it out without getting too beat up.

"I'm going to have to go to the Regulation and Control of Creatures in London to get someone to take care of that goose." He sighed. The thing was a pure menace, nothing good was going to come out of letting it continue its rampage through the park.

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Her cheeks tinged pink as she graciously took his hand to stand, blue eyes flickering up to him as she smiled; outside of a couple bumps and bruises, maybe a scratch or two that would fade in a day, it looked like they had come out generally unharmed. Zinnia pulled her hand back and brushed a loose strand that fell into her eyes from out of her face. “I’m okay, thank you. Are you alright?” Zin turned back toward where they’d come from, breathing a sigh of relief when she found the goose hadn’t chased them through it, although he was either too big or too stupid to do that.

Zinnia giggled, albeit maybe a bit weary. “Well, I hope he’s gone soon.” She tilted her head toward one path. “Come, let me show you back to the entrance.” And maybe a couple pit stops, to show him some of her favorite animals that wouldn’t try to bite him.

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

"Perfectly fine," Thanks to Miss Potts' quick, if albeit, unconventional escape plan. Nothing a little dittany or a couple days healing wouldn't fix. "I will take care of it." The damn goose would be handled, soon.

"Let's take the long way." Rhys agreed with a wry smile. Anything to avoid running into the beast again. He just hoped nobody else would encounter it before he could. He would head straight to the office and write the letter requesting assistance. It needed to be gone sooner rather than later. Hopefully he could enjoy the flower show as it was meant to be seen and not from behind the brambles.

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