Island of Misfit Toys, [finished]

[Micah Gottschalk]

Micah had been waiting for a chance to enjoy this little spot of the river for quite a while now. He’d discovered it during his first weeks here. He’d been in the forest and was caught off guard by something he knew shouldn’t exist: A dire Unicorn. The entire body was so black, it was like the unicorn was actually a hole looking into the vast nothingness of space. Before the groundskeeper had had a chance to take it in fully, the beast had turned and moved away within seconds. Compelled the follow the Dire, Micah had pulled his wand out and jogged as silently as he could to follow. He thought he’d been hot on it’s’ trail, but nothing- even after an hour.

It was then that Micah discovered the little nook where the lake ended and the river began. It was shaded by the trees of the forest. It wasn’t really hidden, and he was sure he wasn’t the only one who knew about it, but it didn’t stop him from mentally claiming it as his own. Ever since then, he’d been trying to get back to it. Being the first groundskeeper Furiae had seen in….Merlin knows how long, Micah had his work constantly cut out for himself. But not today. Today, he wanted to fish.

Micah found a long tree branch on the ground as he walked towards his destination. He mused it would work well as a pole. He’d brought along the string from his shack and made a makeshift fishing pole as he continued along is way. His wand was situated in my pants, and he was constantly aware of his surroundings- lest he run into the Dire again. He hadn’t seen it since that day, but he’d heard others talk about it- inmates who ventured out.

He was happy to find that, as he figured, he was along at his little nook. Micah slipped his shoes off, and his socks, and rolled up his muggle-jeans so he could wade into the water without getting soaked. He wondered if Accio Fish! would work if his fishing skills had rusted over as much as he thought they had. But that was cheating.

Happily, Micah started whistling, wading through the water- careful not to go too far out. He wasn't in the mood to get soaked, and then pulled down the river.

[Alvita Bailey]

Bailey was very adventurous by nature, and seeing as she wasn't busy this particular afternoon she decided to take a trek through the forests and see what she could find. Being a wild specialist was an affinity of hers; it wasn't just a job, you see, she loved creatures. She very much loved studying them, mostly in their natural habitat. Alvita wanted to discover, learn, and explore this area. Today, she followed the river, listening to its gentle churning as it flowed down to the school. There was obviously no merpeople within, but she did spot a few fish. She wasn't sure what they were, but they appeared to be salmon. Today her hair was curly as usual, up in an afro style, framing her dark complexion rather nicely. Her face was free of make-up, and she was wearing a plain cream colored t-shirt and a pair of black cargo shorts. She had a very wide variety of shorts in the cargo variety; she found pockets a very useful thing. Sometimes, Alvita daydreamed she was exploring a new forest in which humans had never entered—though this is something she’d never admit to a soul, as it is much too childish to daydream still. Pushing past branches and stopping every so often to examine a track, Bailey made her way down the river peacefully.

Soon, though, the eager want to smoke arrived and she stopped just before the lake and pulled a pack of cigarettes from her side pocket. Sliding one out, she slipped the pack back in her shorts and placed it In her lips. Just as she began to drag the self-igniting sleeve of tobacco Alvita heard splashing just to her left. Turning her head she saw a very handsome older gentleman wading into the river with a long stick. Her dark brows rose curiously and she took a few more drags before announcing her presence. She noted that this was the groundskeeper, she had seen him but never been formerly introduced. Fixing her hair just a tad she held her cigarette away from her face slightly and cocked out one hip, her free hand was placed there in a feminine stance.

“Afternoon, Sir. Gottshalk isn’t it? I’m Alvita Bailey.” She said, her voice was young, friendly, and confident. For a moment she eyed his stick and noticed it was no mere wading stick, this was a make-shift muggle fishing utensil. A laugh escaped her, but it wasn’t rude, it was light and joyful. “Wow, fishing? I would’ve never expected… I mean, knowing the other faculty around here, I thought I was the only one who didn’t belong in a facility myself.” Another drag was slowly taken from her smoke, “I mean.. I don’t mean their crazy, just.” She tried to find the right words, “Let’s just say instead of using sticks to fish, they use them in their ass.” With a nod she figured that got her point across quite clearly. “But, to each their own I always say.” Smiling again, teeth very bright behind her brown skin, she sat gracefully enough at the bank and slid her shoes off her heals with the toes of the opposite foot, then clunked her feet into the stream. Her eyes broadened at the sudden chill.

[Micah Gottschalk]

A momentary slip. The lake bottom was smooth rock- one placed right on top of the other, and another. He’d so far been able to keep his balance- almost up to his knee, but no quite. He was concentrating on that and nothing else, and so started he heard a female voice ring around the nook. Balance gone. In his attempt to turn around to see the newcomer, he slipped on the smooth rock and sank down to a much lower part of the water. There went not getting his jeans wet.

But the groundskeeper kept his swearing at bay. Way too much of him had been engulfed in the frigid water- up to his waist now, but he wanted to appear as if he’d done it on purpose. Now that he was facing her, he offered the young woman a smile. He knew who she was, even though he’d never met her. There were lots of tasks that naturally meant their paths were cross, but they’d never quite gotten the chance. “Micah, really,” He replied to her after she introduced herself. When one looked at Micah, ‘sir’ was definitely not a title that came to mind. Gottschalk wasn’t any better…

Micah chuckled, wading just slightly out of the water- soaked and feeling the weight of the denim materials. How much of an idiot was he making of himself? Who knew, but he was a champion at making an ass of himself- especially around women he found particularly attractive. “Jury’s still out on me, I’m afraid,” He joked in reply to whether she was the only one of the faculty who didn’t in fact belong in it, and chuckled. Most of them certainly did have a stick shoved firmly up their asses. Every one working her had to be a few crayons short of a box, but that was kind of the point, right? If not them, who?

His fishing pole floating off to the side, only held one my Micah’s limp fingers, he took a few steps closer to the woman, hoping she wouldn’t find him unpleasant. “Have you gone fishing before?” He prompted, knowing most wizards that grew up without much muggle contact wouldn’t have even known what he was doing. Was she muggle born?

[Alvita Bailey]

“Micah, fair enough. You can call me Alvita, though I really am use to Bailey.. It just sounds better.” She rambled out sort of needlessly, considering he’d be calling her Bailey if she hadn’t invited him to call her by her first name; and she didn’t even want to be called by her first name so why invite? Feeling a little stupid she scratched the side of her head with a confused expression, then giggled lightly and shook it—oh well. When he went on to say the jury was out for him, she laughed happily; she figured it was good humor, he really didn’t look crazy. His eyes were soft and laid-back much like his attire, she felt comfortable and attracted to him. He felt like home, like her dad but better looking. “I suppose if I were a bit loony m’self I wouldn’t know it, would i?” she commented, splashing her dark slender legs around in the cool stream as she walked closer towards her. When he looked a bit excited that she knew what fishing was, she couldn’t help but hold an adorable little grin on her face. He questioned if she’d gone before and she nodded slowly, her lips widening into a bigger grin—Bailey was a very smiley person.

“Sure have, I spent a year doing what the ministry called field study, I was to write a report of the survival skills on muggles of minimal finances.” She explained, looking sort of annoyed about it actually, “It was.. Invigorating, to say the least. I was stripped of my wand so I wasn’t to be tempted. I was given two hundred pounds and set out into the muggle world. I slept in a tent—I fished—I finally got a job as a cashier, rented an apartment. I wrote a very favorable report on the muggle world. Not as hard as we wizard folk thought, in fact it really makes you notice and appreciate the simple things.” She mused thoughtfully, her dark eyes looking towards the sky in a nostalgic expression.

“But I must say, magic is my heart, I couldn’t live without being able to cast a spell here and there, without being able to study our world’s creatures.” Turning her head back down she gazed upon the older gentlemen. Slowly, Bailey slid herself into the water to join him, sliding across the bottom were her bare feet, feeling very carefully as not to slip. Gooseflesh spread across her bare thighs rapidly and she let out a short shiver. “I’ll join you, if you’d like.” Sliding her hand into her pocket she pulled out her wand and pointed it at her opposite hand, with a short flick she conjured a small muggle fishing pole; and Ugly Stick, it had become her favorite brand—Completely unbreakable. Waving it about she looked at his stick, “You’re doing it like, little muggle boy in the forties style I see?” She raised her eyebrows at him, tapping his stick with her pole playfully. “We’ll see how it goes?” She teased. Turning around she suddenly shoved her hand into the mud at the side of the bank, squirming her fingers in the soil for a few moment before pulling out a large centipede looking insect. She proceeded to bait her line with it.

[Micah Gottschalk]

Micah wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted him to call her by her first or her surname, and they both shared a mildly confused face for a few moments before she giggled and seemed to throw the whole topic aside. If he was the type of man who took charge more often, he figured he’d probably call her Alvita- if no one else called her that, he felt a strong urge to be the only one that had the…was honor the right word? But he wasn’t the take charge type of man, and so he’d call her whatever made her happier.

“It’s true…” He chuckled, his eyes following her legs for a mere moment before his conscious mind deemed it inappropriate and he snapped his focus back to her eyes. Could men blush? “…As I’ve been told on multiple occasions since I got here, you have to be a little crazy to work here.” He said, offering a light-hearted shrug.

He listened as the other marshal told him of her time with the muggles. He couldn’t get a good reading off her. By the way she talked, he obviously knew she wasn’t Muggleborn. So Pure or Halfblooded. She didn’t seem like most purebloods he’d met, who flouted her perfect blood and therefore superiority. He grinned at her musings, nodding knowingly. The only difference is that he’d done it happily by choice – and to get away from the aforementioned superior purebloods, not as a job.

“I understand…” He added when she said her heart was in magic. As muggle-like as Micah had seemed over the years, he’d never gone a day without his wand on his person. He never went a day without casting at least one spell. During his time, he became extremely proficient at using his magic right under the nose of a muggle. No one ever noticed.

He should have realized she was eventually going to join him, but his stomach lurched oddly. He was half tempted to hold out a hand in case she needed it, but he refrained. He got the distinct impression she could do absolutely anything she wanted by herself. She was more graceful than him, her skin glistening as she closed the distance between them. “Please do,” He replied. Too quickly? No matter, she probably wasn’t paying attention to the particular way he’d answered her.

Within a moment, she’d taken out her wand and a real fishing pole suddenly appeared. Micah snorted and rolled his eyes. “Überraschung…” He sarcastically muttered under his breath, and then addressed Alvita playfully, “Yeah…I don’t need any fancy supplies to catch my fish,” Like any man would, the groundskeeper gave the woman a once over as she busied herself in the soil- looking for bait, and tactfully, he looked away and began to move away before she noticed anything.

He himself had a small cigarette-sized case nudged into his back pocket. It was slightly difficult to pull it out since his pants were still very much soaked, but he managed and pulled a single long, grimy earthworm from the rest of them, replaced the case in his pocket and then began to tie the worm to the string. He felt the masculine need to show her just how well he could catch fish with such an obsolete pole.


[trans: surprising…]

[Alvita Bailey]

It wasn’t hard to tell he was muggle-born, considering he was using a plain old stick he’d found in the woods for a pole; nobody would conjure something so simple. In fact, it even gave it away more, by the sarcastic tone he gave her when he uttered a word that she knew was German but might as well have been chipmunk. Her grin didn’t fade and she rolled her eyes, sure, she obviously was more dependent on magic but so what? It was the way she was raised. At least she was one of the few pure-blooded witches who knew how to properly hand wash a dish, even with hard stuck on stains! Though she did admittedly throw away a few casserole dishes in the past, giving up with a fit). His bragging tone about not needing fancy supplies was enough to make her have to stifle a giggle at his attempt at cocky manliness. As they baited their line together she too glanced over him, though she had no clue she had been checked out as well. She was wearing the most bland attire, she figured she was having a ‘one-of-the-guys’ sort of time with Micah. Perhaps someday they’d get together when here hair was done and she had on cleaner sneakers? Casting her pole clumsily, it didn’t make it very far—But hey! It was a river, and that didn’t matter much right?

“Heh..” she giggled, thanking Merlin that she had such dark skin so her pinkening cheeks weren’t SO noticeable. “Guess I’ve gotten a little rusty.” She shuffled in her spot and reeled in her line just a tad so when she felt a bite she could snag quickly. Something a young muggle fisherman had taught her down in a place called Bear River. Shifting her weight from one hip to the other repeatedly, Alvita appeared to be doing a dance, but it was a simple attempt to keep warm. “I’m gonna catch a fish before youuu.” She chimed out in a sing-songy sort of voice, flashing an almost flirtatious smile his way, but more of a taunting one that was accidentally charming. Bailey’s bright, large, white teeth bit unto her bottom lip and she started reeling suddenly thinking she’d had a bite. Unfortunately it must have been the tug of the river, as her bait was still intact. Frowning, feeling a bit embarrassed, she flung it over her shoulder to cast again, but he bare heel slipped on the slick rock below the surface and she vanished beneath the smooth ever-moving surface of the river. But, of course, not before embarrassing herself by flailing about in attempts to keep standing, letting out a very strange sounding yelp that became a gargle as she disappeared under the water. Graceful, Bailey, very nice. Flopping around, she found it difficult to find her feet. Eventually she gave up on being polite and snatched unto Micah’s pant leg.

Using him as if he were some ordinary tree trunk, she clambered up, hanging to his loose wet clothes until she was standing on her own balance. Her pole was amazingly still in the grasp of her free hand. Letting him go she patted his shoulder, smiling behind a mat of wet hair that stuck on her face. She probably looked more like a dog than a woman now, and she definitely didn’t feel attractive or like a hotshot. “Um..” She managed to find her smile, “That doesn’t usually happen.” She informed him in good humor, checking her line for her bait as casually as possible.

[Micah Gottschalk]

Micah jokingly ducked when Alvita made the first cast, as if her hook was in danger of hitting him- it wasn’t obviously, but he made it a good show. He tossed his own in right after hers. It didn’t go as far of course, but he handled it deftly. Almost like riding a bike. It’d take him a few swings to really get back in the… swing of it. He offered Alvita a grin as she told him she’d gotten a bit rusty. She wasn’t bad at all, actually. He’d seen some truly terrible casts (and had been the originator of quite a few), this was not one of them.

He began balling his string around his hands- the ‘forties muggle style’ of reeling in his line. His would be slow going, but he would catch a fish eventually. He laughed as she taunted him-saying she would catch a fish before him. He turned to face her and….she really was taunting him, wasn’t she? Her gleaming smile, her constantly shifting hips. She was reeling in her line fast, and…nothing. Micah looked at her bait, and was about to mention that she wouldn’t get any bites with that particular bug when a slight, albeit sudden shift in the rocks caused Alvita to lose her footing. She disappeared disturbingly fast, but not without a quick arm-flail.

Micah didn’t even have a real chance to react before he felt her hands wrap around his legs. He tried to bury his feet into the rocks in order to keep from falling as well as she hoisted herself back up, and nearly fell himself. His look of panic gave way to a deep belly laugh as she once again stood next to him. That was the most action he’d gotten from a woman in more than a year now, he thought sardonically, feeling a strong urge to move the woman’s hair from her face, but stopping himself- lest she think he was some sort of…deviant.

He continued to laugh, shaking his head, “Through all that, you never let go of your pole,” He motioned to it and only then saw the gooseflesh that had engulfed every visible part of her body. She went on as if it wasn’t bothering her, but Micah raised an eyebrow towards her. “Are you cold?” He asked, glancing away from her finally and checking his line- pulling the rest in and getting ready to cast it again.

[Alvita Bailey]

The bellowing belly laugh that emitted from Micah didn’t further embarrass her in the least, it made her feel more comfortable with the entire situation actually. She laughed as well and shook her head, but her cheeks were still bright red and she was fussing needlessly with her bait, pretending to have a hard time getting it off. When he mentioned that she still had her pole, sounding rather impressed (but more amused than anything) she glanced up almost bashfully and shrugged, taking off the bug and tossing into the water. “Yes, thank goodness.” She stated in a very friendly sarcastic tone, a small chuckle following the statement. Even a cute little eye roll was managed before she sighed and crossed her arms very suddenly. Bailey had suddenly remembered she had been wearing a cream colored shirt. A light colored shirt that was now soaked with freezing cold river water. Her arms protected her breasts as well as she could, but when he asked if she was cold, she feared that he might have saw her well.. Ahems. Looking up suddenly she noticed that he just looked concerned, not like he was making some sort of perverse comment at all. Not wanting to admit defeat against the river, she shook her head stubbornly. “Oh. No no, I’ll be fine. I need to catch a fish afterall, or what will you eat tonight?” She commented playfully. Freeing one arm she pulled out her trusty wand once again. Now that there was only one arm covering her bust it looked rather awkward, like she was obviously hiding something.

What made it more awkward was the that arm covering her chest was the one holding the pole, and she looked very strange trying to aim at the hook that was off to her. Eventually she let out a low sigh and simply pulled her arms away and pulled the hook close; If he looked he looked, she couldn’t very well fish and hide her boobs at the same time, it was impractical! Pointing to her hook she magically baited it with a piece of bacon. It now became very apparent that she had never been a good fisherman, as she apparently thought she was fishing for couch potatoes. Once the bacon was set she slid her wand back into her sopping wet shorts pocket. She was just beginning to get use to the cold when a breeze fluttered gently by, kissing her wet skin and causing her goose-bumps to flare once again. She even shivered now. Avoiding Micah’s eyes she cast her line, and acted like the ever revealing shiver had never happened. It’s not like she was going to catch pneumonia or the flobberworm flu, right? Bailey didn’t move from her spot close to Micah, if she was going to fall this time he would be a gentlemen about it and catch her. He had no choice; she was mere inches from his left, standing shoulder to shoulder. If he didn’t that he apparently was quite rude; though she had her feet very firmly lodged between two stones; it was uncomfortable but she didn’t see herself falling. The muscles in her whole body were clenched, focusing on her balance.

“So.” She cut into the silence, “Do Micah, do you enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage?” She inquired, purposely stating it all professionally; it was her strange attempt at humor. Her eyes were fixed to the line of her pole, and occasional looked over to his line to make sure he hadn’t caught anything yet. She was a very competitive young lady.

[Micah Gottschalk]

 
Micah hadn’t noticed until she suddenly and awkwardly kept her arms crossed. He was pulling his line in and looked over at her in order to see why she hadn’t yet tossed her hook in again. He felt awkward and wondered if she would find him somehow responsible (this would be from experience). Flushing in earnest this time, Micah deliberately kept his eyes averted. Clearing his throat and checking his bait before casting once again. He smiled just slightly as she asked him what he would eat tonight. He kept his glance away from her, but replied in mock-woe, “I guess I’ll just have to go hungry….”

It was worse when she finally took her arms away, no doubt finally just going with it. She seemed fairly comfortable in her own skin. She sure looked comfortable in her own skin Oh…Micah wished he hadn’t thought that. He cast the string in again and took a few steadying breaths. He wasn’t wholly soaked like Alvita and even the gusting wind was starting to get to him. It didn’t help that she was literally inches from him, though he wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t sure what she’d conjured and stuck on her hook and proceeded to cast, he was too focused on holding himself together. If he moved in just such a way, his still somewhat dry shoulder would brush against hers. Don’t look at her….don’t look at her. She was shivering.

Pulling in his string for the final time, Micah nodded with a chuckle. He was German. A man who enjoyed alcohol and a German were pretty much synonymous. “I most definitely do…and yourself?” Having pulled in his line, Micah slowly turned towards her- brushing her shoulder again and taking a deep breath as if he were being forced to explain himself.

“You’re going to get sick if we don’t get you warm.” He said, maintaining direct eye contact with her, trying to avoid something like a slap. There was always another time to go fishing. He’d show her then. Perhaps on a warmer day?

[Alvita Bailey]

As they fished in the peaceful ambience of the woods, Alvita couldn’t help but feel a bit of butterfly sensation herself every time the handsome older gentlemen’s shoulder touched hers, ever so lightly. He didn’t look over at her once, and she was almost slightly offended. Could he possibly think her breasts were that unsightly?-- To not even sneak one innocent peak? She had never encountered such politeness. That, or perhaps he was a homosexual. It seemed reasonable, being his age and not even married or the father of a single child. Pushing the thought of her lovely bussom out of her mind she listened to him, very pleased sounding actually, say that he was indeed a drinker. She grinned and nodded slowly, “Sure do. Drink, smoke, whatever does the deed you know what I mean? Gotta keep that heart beating somehow.” She said, as if Tabaco, alcohol, and drugs were all different breeds of defibrillators. Alvita adjudsted her line slightly but didn’t make to reel in quite yet. Then, Micah started to pull in his line completely and he turned towards her, out of simple human reaction she turned towards him as well, still lightly grasping her pole. His eyes stayed so focused on her she had a feeling that he was really struggling to do so; but she didn’t want to read too much into that. It had happened on more than one occasion that Alvita had wrongly thought somebody was interested in her and felt very embarrassed and foolish; two things that were not pleasing.

“I guess I am a bit chilly.” She admitted, tossing her pole uncaringly into stream with a sigh. “Would you like to invite me to your shack for a brandy and warm me up a bit, Micah?” She asked, inviting herself over. It was probably a lot homier than staying with the inmates that she was forced to bunk with: especially those certain kids who thought that purebloods were just the only way to be; so frustrating, really. Not all her Alecto students were bad though, in fact she found herself growing fond of them, and was very proud that they were leading in house points thus far. “I don’t mean to be impolite, but I’d like to enjoy your company a bit longer if you wouldn’t mind,” and without waiting for a reply she turned and placed her hands on the grassy bank and lifted her body from the water, having to crawl on her knees for a few paces before she had room to stand upon her feet. Pulling out her wand she flicked it, hot air began to spew from its tip and she pointed it towards her shirt immediately. It was after all the thing she wanted to get dry the quickest. Her dark eyes watched Micah thoughtfully, waiting for what he would do next (and admiring his very handsome facial structure and eyes, of course) mostly waiting to see if she’d be allowed to see his make-shift home.

[Micah Gottschalk]

Micah’s eyebrows all but disappeared above his hairline as she invited herself to her shack. He opened his mouth…and a slight “uhhhh” tumbled out before he was able to compose himself. He didn’t want to give her the wrong impression- to think he didn’t want to spend any extra time with her. “I don’t know about brandy, but I have some 30 year old fire whiskey that’s been collecting dust…” He recovered fairly quickly, sure he sounded and looked like a total idiot. It was a gift actually- his ability to make an ass of himself in front of the opposite sex. It was only a matter of time now.

Pleasantly surprised, Micah untied the worm and tossed it in the water and then waded out of the water and waved his hand absent mindedly to her next statement. “Not impolite at all…” He said, making a conscious effort to keep his eyes on his denim pants as he unrolled the bottoms and Alvita dried her shirt. It’s not like she would be interested in his at all. Just by looking at the two, it was evident more than a decade separated them. That was just one difference. What about the fact that she was drop-dead gorgeous and he looked about as attractive as the giants that inhabited this island.

Micah turned and sat on the ground, pulling his shoes and socks toward him and putting them on accordingly- ever aware that he was avoiding Alvita, and sure that this might or might not be starting to get on her nerves. He hoped she would think it appropriate and polite. He stood up slowly- his jeans heavier and making noise every time he took a step. He’d change when he got back to his house. He cleared his throat, painfully aware of the flips his stomach did when his mind focused too long one…particular thoughts and details of the beauty in front of him, “Shall we?”

“You’re not off the hook, you know.” He laughed at his own pun. “We still need to catch ourselves some fish…”