It's me again. [Marsh] on Care of Magical Creatures

Killian Row

May 23, 2020 8:14 PM

It's me again. [Marsh] by Killian Row

Killian was not at all sure what he was doing, but it involved an attempt to flatten his hair and trying to figure out which shirt looked best. It also involved a lot of trying to come up with a reason, but he just couldn't. There were things - he was mildly worried about the whole dynamic with Bonny, he was feeling a lot of pressure to make internships and externships particularly good south year with Jean-Loup's presence on campus, etc. - but those weren't the reasons he wanted to talk. In truth, the only reason was that last time, it had been nice.

He'd been baking again, which was another reason a change of shirt was so important as he was otherwise covered in flour. He'd had his sourdough starter growing happily for awhile now, but bread alone wasn't going to cut it, so he'd made sourdough chocolate chip cookies. They were, in his not so humble opinion, fabulous. He'd added cocoa powder so the cookie dough itself was chocolate, and a third of the chips were white chocolate. They were gooey, like brownies, but not so rich. Truth be told, he had no idea how his offering would be received, but it seemed like a thing that was less awkward than just "sup."

Eventually, he gave up on his hair, chose the crisp black thermal shirt, and left his quarters with a plate of cookies. He felt like a dork. It was early in the term, which meant it had been a few weeks since he and Marsh had sat together in the latter's office, chatting over bread and one-sided-port. It also meant that it was a warm, breezy evening, and perfect either for chatting in private spaces or a walk amongst the grounds. Killian had dressed ready for either, although he knew which he preferred.

He knocked on Marsh' door, trying to hold the cookies without looking like a butler, and did one last glance over his own outfit. His shirt was good, his jeans were-- oh no. He'd not changed his jeans, and he'd managed to throw flour on himself. He grimaced, but cleared the expression when the door opened.

"Cookies this time," he said, smiling. "Wanna go for a walk?"

22 Killian Row It's me again. [Marsh] 1450 Killian Row 1 5

Lawrence Marsh

May 28, 2020 6:09 PM

I was just looking for me. By me, I mean you. by Lawrence Marsh

Lawrence,

It is good to hear from you after so long. It is even better to find out more about how well you are doing and where you find yourself. I imagine you to be a wonderful educator. One that is able to spark the passion of those lucky enough to find themselves in your class.

I also appreciate your apologies, though none was necessary. Your time with us was not easy. Though I can not condone the actions or road you took, I do feel that I would have gone a similar route if I had found myself in your circumstances. That being said, I am glad that you are free from the issues that plagued you, and you’ve started anew. I know that Jorn would be proud to see you in teaching robes, and would probably egg you on in some way.

To the main reason for your letter, I think it an excellent idea. We have need actually for two individuals, of appropriate age, to help us with the current situation. The hatchlings, no longer being so, need more room, and thus there is a need for multiple scouts to help ensure their health in the next few years before they are fully grown. We obviously would not be putting them off alone, or with just one other individual, but they would need to be comfortable with camping and not afraid of scales. If you can help them learn some of the important pieces they will need to know before arriving, that would be most helpful. Please put the person in charge of internships and externships at your institution in contact with us and we will begin working with them.

Furthermore, if you’d like to come down and join them any of the summers, we’d love to have you. We could have you teach the next wave of scouts or you could see how far the hatchlings have come.

Please feel free to continue reaching out. I am glad you’ve landed so well.

Your Friend,
Marlese Anderson
CEO of Anderson Pills, Potions and Potent Elixirs
Founder of Opaleye Population Protection (OPP)

Lawrence held the letter in his hand and reached into his desk for an owl treat as he read it. He held out the treat without looking too absorbed in the letter. He let out a soft breath as he finished the letter. It was kind and caring. Much unlike the Tebo she normally seemed to be. Maybe she wasn’t a Tebo after all and Lawrence had misidentified her for years.

Still, the letter had been kind, almost motherly, and Lawrence, despite her having fired him and thrown him to the streets of Australia, felt a warm glow of his affection. He looked at the owl who looked like she was looking for more treats. After news like this, she deserved them, so he brought out two more and laid them on the table.

He made some notes on a piece of parchment in his desk and put it into a red folder while Daisy finished her treats. The folder had "Care of Magical Creatures" printed across the top in a neat clipped writing.

“Thank you Daisy, that will be all for tonight,” Lawrence said to the owl, “Please sleep well. I may have need of you again tomorrow. Less flying than to the Antipodes I promise.” The owl finished her treats and seemed to nod before flying out to the owlery.

As the owl left, Lawrence stood up. He had to find Mr. Row. He could give him his list of internships, including the most recent and probably most sought after one. He could also have another delightful conversation. After two years of having no delightful conversations, Lawrence had suddenly found himself surrounded by many. For a man who’d been self isolated in multiple ways for so long, it was both nice and unnerving. He always felt uneasy.

As he reached for his door handle there was a knock on his door. He paused only momentarily before continuing with the action. He opened to Killian. Who looked… good. Liked a groomed cat. Lawrence looked at him a second. Perhaps he’d been wrong this entire time. Maybe Killian was more like a Kneazle. A kneazle who could bake. Lawrence's left eyebrow went up.

“Ah, just the man I was looking for,” Lawrence said. He wondered what Killian had worn to keep his shirt so clean that hadn’t covered his jeans.

“I’ll trade you my internship possibilities for a cookie or two,” he said handing over his folder. He grabbed two cookies and took a bite of one. “Mmm. This is delicious,” he said holding up his half eaten cookie. “If I am going to eat these I’m going to need that walk. Plus, you can keep me company as I look in on some of our animals.”

He held up a finger and leaned back into his office to pick a light tweed coat off the rack by the door. It was long and went down to just above his knees. He’d found it useful on nights like this when he had to go to check on animals. Warm enough, but light enough that he wouldn't work up too much of a sweat.

“How is the start of your academic year Killian? Nothing too exciting I hope.” he said, putting on his coat.

41 Lawrence Marsh I was just looking for me. By me, I mean you. 1462 0 5

Killian Row

May 28, 2020 8:53 PM

Are we one and the same? by Killian Row

Killian's eyebrows went up and his smile widened into a grin for a moment when Marsh opened the door and said he'd been looking for him. But then the professor was a professor, and handed him information about internships. There was admittedly a pretty big part of Killian that was hella stoked about new internship information but also he didn't want to be Mr. Row right now. At least the cookies were well received.

He smiled a little more tightly and nodded his thanks. "Can I leave this here while we walk?" he asked, tucking the folder and the plate of cookies into Marsh' office when the man leaned back in. He took three cookies for himself, gesturing for Marsh to take more too if he wanted, and then stepped back out of the way. His disappointment - why was he disappointed? - was relieved some by Marsh' accepting his company as they checked in on some of the man's animals. Marsh was sort of an animal himself, but that wasn't something Killian was about to say out loud.

It wasn't often that Killian heard his own first name spoken out loud, as most of the people he interacted with wouldn't use his first name and those who would generally just . . . like made eye contact? But it was nice to hear his own name from someone that was nice and stuff. The sentiment that preceded his name was a different matter and he scoffed lightly and good-humoredly. "It's been exciting," he replied heartily. "But good I think. Students are looking for help when they need it and that's all I could ever ask for. How about yourself?"

22 Killian Row Are we one and the same? 1450 0 5

Lawrence Marsh

May 29, 2020 1:31 PM

I don't know... are we? by Lawrence Marsh

“Of course.”

Marsh smiled at Killian and took the cookies and folder back. His fingers brushing the tops of Killians fingers as he did so. There was a small jolt somewhere inside him that hadn’t been jolted in a long time. As he took two more cookies and put on his jacket, he thought about the jolt.

He considered himself attractive. He knew that he was. He kept fit, but also, his work with animals kept him in shape. He found himself able to get many partners in the time when he had ceased to care. Many were a blur, but it hadn’t been hard really. His mom’s continual trying at getting him an arranged marriage even after they’d had “the conversation” when it’d come to Jorn, also showed him that even though he wasn’t attracted to these women, they were often attracted to him.

He put on his coat, holding the cookies in his mouth, and looking at Killian. Marsh hadn’t been looking for anything, nor was he even sure Killian would be interested. One thing was certain though, it was the first time since he’d thought Jorn was putting a raincoat on him that he’d felt anything remotely like it.

Thank you Susan, for reminding me to find my flock. he said to the Snallygaster, as he began walking out the door with Killian.

“I do not know how you do it Killian. I really don’t. Animals and creatures I can understand, the human mind and emotions…” Marsh shrugged his shoulders.

“My start to term has been good. I have two surprises for the students, besides the internship I just worked out.” A sudden urge to show Killian one of them overtook Lawrence. He wanted to see Killian's face when he saw this majestic creature.

“Come on, I’ll show you one of them. I have to care for it as it’s on loan from the Yelagin Sanctuary,” Marsh said with a smirk and a look of excitement spreading across his face. “I promise it’s safe.”

41 Lawrence Marsh I don't know... are we? 1462 0 5

Killian Row

May 29, 2020 3:14 PM

I thought that's what you said! by Killian Row

Killian blinked to clear his head some. He touched people's hands often and it was no secret that people had skin. It was just sort of a question of how nice their skin was, or how touchable, and that wasn't a thought that crossed his mind during the work day. He'd always thought that touch was the strangest thing in the world, because it was a reminder that no one was alone. He could go all day in his own head, interacting with others from a safe distance behind his own walls, but touch lit up all the senses humans were capable of and reminded them that there were other possibilities than being alone. But marsh was just taking some cookies and a folder from him. That was all.

He smiled wryly when Marsh held his cookies in his mouth. It was a maneuver he used often in his office, sometimes with papers, sometimes with a pen, sometimes with his wand. It wasn't something he saw others do that often, in part because people most often did it alone, when they didn't have anyone there to help them. He resisted the urge to reach up and take the cookies out of Marsh' mouth, in the name of beneficence, and just waited a moment for him to free up his own hands. Killian wasn't exactly sure what Marsh was thinking whilst he did so, but he was looking at him hard and it was sort of adorable. Uh, no, uh, it was... whatever. Something.

What was his problem? Killian generally counted himself a confident man, although he hadn't previously been in the position of being interested in flirting with a colleague. Still, it was hard to even admit to himself that that's what he wanted to do. It felt dangerous and as much as Killian could help others, he was rarely so good at helping himself. Part of it, undoubtedly, was that he had no idea whether the COMC professor was even interested in men. He didn't think that Selina would have hired someone who would react violently to another man flirting with him, but that didn't mean it would be all hunky dory if Marsh was not interested. Then there was the additional layer of "if he likes men, does he like me?" and then trying to figure out what kind of like and how much and how often and for what purposes and it was just a lot. Killian wanted it to be easy, because nothing in life ever seemed easy and it would be really nice to just flirt and have fun and enjoy the company of an adorable human being without worrying. If that went anywhere, all the better for it, but it was alright if tonight was just cookies and a walk, and Killian was trying to get that through to himself when Marsh spoke up next. It was surprisingly on-topic.

"Humans are generally predictable," he smiled. "Present company excluded," he added with a playfully raised eyebrow. "People get afraid, so they react; people get excited, they react; people get passionate, they react. They do a lot of reacting, so if you figure out what they're reacting to, it's not so hard. Also, they generally bite less than animals. Well, most of them do." He'd definitely had a student bite him before, but it was not at Sonora and it was not a memory he wished to revisit. Working with youth always came with challenges but hep B wasn't one he particularly wanted to face.

"Oh?" he grinned again when Marsh seemed particularly excited about surprising his students, not least because he was excited about the internships he'd just passed to Killian. That was what made the staff at Sonora so special; they were hired because they cared, if not about their students then about their work. They were all experts in their fields and very very well-equipped to teach, with varying degrees of successful pedagogy.

Marsh led the way and Killian followed, excited to see whatever it was they were going to see. The professor's excitement was contagious, for one, but also Killian just enjoyed seeing him so worked up about something he was passionate about. "Yelagin Sanctuary," he reported, making it a question as he tried to think of whether he'd ever heard the name before. He was pretty sure there was something in Russia named Yelagin... maybe a palace? But even if that was right, that wasn't very helpful to him in figuring out what they were going to see. He was a bit surprised that Marsh had so many connections though. He could learn a thing or two from the man, no doubt.

"Aww," Killian said with a mock pout and smirking eyes. "But dangerous is more fun."

22 Killian Row I thought that's what you said! 1450 0 5

Lawrence Marsh

June 03, 2020 10:01 AM

Perhaps we are then by Lawrence Marsh

Lawrence nodded. He agreed with Killian’s examples, things happen, people react. Animals did likewise, it was just how humans reacted that differed so much. One could throw a fist, the next would run and hide, the following might try to kiss you or preach to you. Animals based their reactions on Flight, Freeze or Fight. Humans added a whole mess of other options behind those three to the mix. Or their examples of what each looked like was different. After all, Lawrence thought briefly, my reaction could be considered flight, but it was more a mental flight. He’d always thought of himself as a fight type responder, but when push came to a very large shove, he’d gone with flight.

Then Killian was smiling again. He had a lovely smile, framed nicely by his facial hair. There was something both soft and hard about Killian's face that made one want to hold it, not unlike a puppies or a newborn Pygmy Puff.

Lawrence raised his eyebrows at Killian's remark about danger and then gave him a wink before heading down the hall.

“Yelagin,” Lawrence started, “is an island and magical sanctuary in the middle of St. Petersburg. One of the last places Wizards and Witches can bring the magical animals they find in the busy town. Most major cities need them. A place where creatures can flourish. New York has Central Park. DC has Rock Creek Park. London has Richmond Park. Even Tokyo has Yoyogi Park.” Lawrence put his shoulder into a big wooden door to the outside and pushed his way into the open air. He took a deep breath in before turning and heading towards the owlry.

There seemed to be a bit of curiosity in Killian’s eyes, and though Lawrence was seldom one to give up his mind or his business, Lawrence couldn’t help but smile. “I know one of the people that works at Yelagin from uni,” he said. Ignoring the bits and pieces about how he may or may not have also used some of the more illicit connections he’d made when he was down and out to transport the creature. Killian didn’t need to know about how Lawrence sewed up creatures in fighting rings in exchange for food, housing, and feeding his addiction. Or how he’d also been called upon for other requests. Instead Lawrence opened the owlry door and walked to the back and through another door, into another room. One that’d he’d had chilled and set up like a large wooden enclosure.

In front of him stood an amazing specimen of zhar-ptitsa, or fire-bird. Though often confused with a Phoenix or, when younger, a Hoo-Hoo, these birds never burn out. They simply are, especially the males of the species who had amazing tail feathers. Not unlike a peacock who had it’s tail lit on fire. The reds and yellows of the fire played down the feathers of the bird’s tail as it stood on its branch.

“No need for lights in this room, zhar here provides all we need,” Lawrence said. His face beaming at the beauty of the bird. It was animals like these, more so than the Hippogriffs and Dragons which had first attracted him to Care back in his school days. Lawrence sat down on the ground and simply looked up at the bird.

41 Lawrence Marsh Perhaps we are then 1462 Lawrence Marsh 0 5

Killian Row

June 03, 2020 1:43 PM

I think you are probably better than me. by Killian Row

Marsh winked and Killian took a big deep breath before following after him. Usually, Killian was the confident one. It was true enough here, but he was getting the distinct impression he wasn't the only one. Marsh carried himself like he knew exactly what he wanted from the world and that half the time, he only wanted to have fun. That was a good thing in Killian's book, as he himself was very much one to alternate between very serious and very playful. Also, Marsh seemed a bit like a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter, promising another page to turn to if he only kept going. So of course, Killian kept going.

He jogged a little to catch up to him and nibbled on a cookie and Marsh explained Yelagin Sanctuary. The man was knowledgable, there was no doubt about that. It sounded a bit like everything places like SeaWorld liked to pretend they were doing, except Killian thought he could trust Marsh' expert opinion on whether these sanctuaries were doing a better job than the theme park.

"What did you study?" Killian asked, always one to jump on to information about universities, college programs, majors, minors, and such. Also, he immensely enjoyed imagining his colleague sitting in a college classroom, taking notes on porcupines and wondering about the best way to give one a good happy scratch. Probably under the chin, Killian thought, but he hadn't gone to university for that.

His thoughts were blotted out by amazement and some sense of survival instinct that told him to be afraid when he followed Marsh into a room where there was a bird on fire, ala Katniss Everdeen. His mouth fell open in shock and, to his surprise, amazement. The bird was beautiful and regal and majestic. If ever the bird kingdom had a monarch, it would have to be this magnificent creature.

Marsh commented on the fact that they wouldn't need light, and Killian glanced his way to say something in time to find him taking a seat on the ground, looking up at the bird with a molten expression in his eyes. It very much seemed like a cleansing by fire, as the professor seemed much more relaxed, and . . . well, he just seemed like a new man. It was a bit like watching fire burn away at the top layer of a paper package, just to reveal shining gemstones underneath. That was absolutely not something Killian had ever experienced, but he thought that it was apropos; between the fragile exterior and shining, precious interior, Marsh very much seemed like a thinly wrapped package of treasures.

Feeling warm - absolutely definitely just because of the bird - Killian hesitated a moment before deciding that he would rather be a bit awkward than a mushy, sweaty pile of ew, and pulling his long sleeve shirt off over his head and tugging at his T-shirt some so it wasn't sticking to him funny. He put the shirt down on the floor beside him and took a seat next to Marsh, looking up at the bird with a sense of awe. This was messy. Sitting on the floor, his previously coiffed hair now all missed up from removing his shirt, flour all over his pants . . . Killian was a mess. But it was a beautiful mess and the bird seemed like a deity somehow. Like it was best of Killian to just bring himself into its presence, and not bring any of the trappings of any other thing.

He was sat close to Marsh, although he was careful not to lean or move about in a way to brush against the man, as he generally didn't seem comfortable with such things, and he didn't have to turn his head far to look at him. "Thank you for bringing me here," he said softly. It wasn't like it was silent here, with the owlery just a door away, but it felt like he should speak in a hushed voice anyway. "This is beautiful."

22 Killian Row I think you are probably better than me. 1450 0 5