ghost in the machine | aidan

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ stop. what the hell are you talkin' about? ━

january 2028

AH JANUARY. A NEW YEAR and the signifier of an ending season. Zen didn't mind the winters in the UK, as they reminded her of home - but given how long it had been since she moved here..finished her schooling here..and had work here..these were the winters and other seasons she would simply have to get used to. Life for the Novell had changed also. Her hair was a little shorter now, a paler blonde than the one she had rocked for years prior, while she also allowed magic to shift it to silver every now and then. One eye still remained red while the other was its normal green colour - yet her years of research regarding this and the ability she randomly acquired one day, still remained unfinished.

The vibe around Hogsmeade felt a little different though, given the fact that the Novell was slightly older and was able to go into places that she was once restricted to. Like Hogs Head. At least that was the last place she needed to be today. Wrapped up warm, the Novell kept walking through the streets, seeing some kids pass by. Hadn't the new school semester started yet? She wondered, walking while looking down at her feet.

Like the clumsy and shy person the Novell once was, she didn't even realise she had bumped into someone until the bag she was holding dropped and a few items fell out. "Sorry—" She began, bending down to collect her things. Though when she looked up, a familiar face wasn't the thing Zen had anticipated on seeing.

| Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn |

hopefully this works!

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

January 2028

It was strange to see all the mainland wizards celebrating in January – as a time of new beginnings, self-reflection, or maybe just an excuse to get drunk. But any good druid knew that there was nothing to feel good about in January, because it was the mourning month. A time to remember everybody that had passed on to the next world, a time when there were no birthdays or parties or any kind of happy feeling until February. Oh yeah, every respectable person knew that nothing good happened in January. It felt strange to be away from Hy-Brasil during such a key moment in the druid calendar, and honestly that was only because Aidan was rather dreadful at keeping track of time and had forgotten to make arrangements to go home. But his ma had taken care of it and his Portkey was due tomorrow.

Until then Aidan made his way through the streets of Hogsmeade, head bent against the wind and hands stuffed deep into his pockets. There was an unusually contemplative expression on his face, rather unusual to anybody that knew the boy (and the fact that his head worked much the same way as a Vanishing Cabinet). Y’know, things go in and nothing comes out. But anyway, Aidan did in fact have something on his mind. But beyond the big and deep implications of life and death and memory, he just missed the tropics and was a little less excited now than his first snowfall in Britain.

Aidan was knocked out of his train of thought by a rather sudden thud as he collided with someone else. Blinking owlishly, Aidan immediately dropped to his knees before he realized what the problem was – scanning the random assortment of things on the ground, Aidan reached out for a quill and some sweets. “Eli’s friend!” he said brightly as he finally got a good look at the girl and her familiar voice (because that was easier to remember than a name). He cocked his head as he looked her over. “Your hair is different. Consider red next?” he asked matter-of-factly. Because of course he had zero bias, coming from a family of redheads and an island of redheads and the fact that he loved to run his fingers through Brígh’s fiery red hair. All of that was completely unrelated, obviously.

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ stop. what the hell are you talkin' about? ━

BEING REFERRED TO AS 'ELI'S friend' was something Zen hadn't anticipated for the day - nor did she mind it. It was nice knowing that the two had a mutual friend, especially since it had been a while since Zen had even seen Eli. Since starting as an intern in the Ministry, Zen always kept herself preoccupied, even asking for additional work just to fill in the free time she felt she didn't need.

After collecting her things and standing up with a small smile, the Novell's cheeks flushed a little as she noticed him looking her over. "Oh— I've..been blonde for a while actually.." She clarified, lifting a hand to touch the ends of her hair. "But I'll take..red into consideration." She added, putting the final things she had dropped into her bag. "You're..Eli's friend too right?..Uhm.." Zen trailed off then, his name just on the tip of her tongue.

| Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn |

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Talking about Eli always brightened Aidan’s day, and it was a shame he didn’t do it more often. Of course, they worked together so it was always a possibility to talk to Eli instead of just about him. But Aidan liked both and did plenty of both whenever the opportunity presented itself. Sometimes he didn’t need another person around either – the gillyweed tank in his apartment was a great listener, and there was a family of murtlaps that lived in the nearby pond and listened attentively while Aidan fed them treats. Overall, just a win-win for everybody.

Zen correctly identified him as Eli’s friend too, even if she sounded a little uncertain about it. Aidan nodded his head seriously and confirmed, “Yes, we are all Eli’s friends here.” If he’d been in dog form, his tail would probably be wagging – but for now, Aidan settled for a friendly smile and a quick study of Zen’s pale blonde hair. She seemed to be searching for something – like when Aidan couldn’t remember the right word in English and would just repeat it in Brasilic until it came to him – and after a moment’s beat Aidan realized the problem. (He was becoming so smart right? The credit went all to Brígh). “I am Aidan,” he reminded her, shaking off his earlier contemplations for later. He cocked his head as he tried to remember. “And you’re…Zayne?” No, that was just how Eli said it with his funny accent. Shoot, what was it?

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ stop. what the hell are you talkin' about? ━

IT HAD BEEN SOME TIME since Zen had even seen Eli. With all the chaos amongst them, Zen truly couldn't tell the different days from one another. Considering most of the Novell's days were spent at the ministry and outdoor business activities, Zen felt like she hadn't heard from anyone.

"Nice to meet you Aidan." Zen began, sharing a warm smile. Zen found his actions a little..animal like, but it was cute no less. He seemed to be very curious of things but harmless no doubt. At his pronunciation of her name, Zen's lips widened into a small grin. "Zenevieva." She corrected, before adding. "But please just call me Zen."

| Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn |

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Some people always seemed put-off by Aidan’s excessive energy – which tended to happen when he didn’t have the time to burn it off by running laps in his Animagus form – but Zen seemed to be taking it well. Of course, he didn’t really expect anything different from one of Eli’s friend, because he definitely had good judgment and wouldn’t have befriended somebody who thought they were better than everyone else. But Aidan brightened anyway at Zen’s smile as she offered up her name (the proper one, not twisted by Eli’s strange way of talking that was so unlike the British). “Zen,” he repeated, committing the name to memory.

He realized he was still holding some of her things in his hands and offered them to her. Examining what he’d picked up from the ground, his eyes quickly dismissed the quill and focused on the only thing that really mattered. One of life’s simple pleasures, and obviously one of the best things the mainland had to offer that even Hy-Brasil couldn’t match. “Honeydukes chocolate,” he gasped as he carefully read the label of the sweets that must’ve been rolling around in her purse. He nodded in respect. “There is a new flavor now,” he observed thoughtfully, “It pops in your mouth like gobstones. When I come back I will try it!” Going home had always been a celebration for Aidan, but the thought of leaving had always depressed him. He wondered when exactly it had started to excite him to think of returning to Hogsmeade.

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ stop. what the hell are you talkin' about? ━

ZEN WAS THE TYPE OF person to adapt to another persons energy. So with Aidan being completely energetic, Zen knew she could match up with it. Smiling as Aidan repeated her name, the Novell couldn't help but find his adaptability admirable. "Much easier than my full name right?" She grinned, thanking him quietly as he handed back the rest of her things.

"Oh-this? Yeah! I find myself going to Honeydukes more than often lately.." She smiled down at the original flavour in her purse before cocking her head to the side as Aidan mentioned a different flavour. It sounded familiar.."Wait! I think..I think I have that flavour also." Fishing into her bag, Zen got out one of the only items that didn't fall out of her purse during their collision. "Is it this one? You can have it if you want!"

| Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn |

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Zen had good vibes and Aidan grinned brilliantly at her. His English was loads better now than when he’d first set foot in Hogsmeade, but it was still a daily challenge to do simple things like keep a conversation going or read labels at the grocery store. It wasn’t like he could surround himself with druids to live his life in Brasilic and pretend English wasn’t a thing, either. Most druids never left the island and the few that did tended to have better English, anyway. But that just meant that he had to rely on people being patient with him, or at least not visibly rolling their eyes and moving on once he started to mess up words. So Zen being so easygoing helped him relax and nod his head eagerly. “Very easy. You use three letters, and Eli uses three letters. Should I too, maybe?” he asked thoughtfully.

Magic truly was a wonderful thing, because Zen’s bag had to be magic. It was the only explanation for why Aidan had said something out-loud and she’d pulled it out of her purse a moment later. His eyes lit up immediately as he checked out the wrapper. He ignored the words and glanced at the picture, which did indeed show the right thing. “This is it! They said the first box, it came only a week ago. But there was nothing there when I went.” Having told his story, Aidan nodded to emphasize that he’d reached the end while his eyes stayed locked on the candy bar. He cheered up as Zen offered it to him, but then he remembered that it was January, the mourning month, and nothing good could happen in January. So he said the hardest words he’d ever have to say while he frowned slightly. “I can’t. It's still January.”

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ stop. what the hell are you talkin' about? ━

ZEN COULDN'T HELP BUT LAUGH softly at Aidan's response. 'Zen' was a far convenient nickname compared to Zenevieva, despite the complex explanations she had received from her mother about her names meaning and pronunciation. The Novell recalled times in Ilvermorny at least in her first and second year where the professors struggled to pronounce her full-name and most definitely preferred to call her Zen instead.

"How would you shorten Aidan anyway?..Ai?..A?..Aid?" She began, smiling at her suggestions. Zen's smile only grew wider as she noticed his smile and the light in his eyes. "Oh I see..I usually walk past the store in the early mornings before I head to the Ministry..so it wasn't an issue really finding these." Cheerful that she could make somebody else's day with such an item, Zen was rather confused when Aidan mentioned about it being January. "Is..there an issue with it being January?.."

| Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn |

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

The question of how to shorten his name was a good one and Aidan nodded thoughtfully. He’d never thought about it before, but he figured he might ask Eli about it later. He usually went to Eli with any and all questions he had about the mainland, and he mostly accepted the other boy’s answers without question. If Eli gave him a nickname, then yeah – that would just be his name now. In the meantime, Aidan nodded again and decided to answer Zen’s question. “Yes,” he said simply, matching her smile with his own. They all sounded good to him, but that might just be because they all sounded like nonsense. He wasn’t picky about these things.

He wrinkled his nose a little at the mention of the Ministry – other druids might’ve reacted more intensely, but Aidan was still preoccupied with his fundamental dilemma. It was January, but Zen was offering him candy and he wanted it badly. “January is the Time of Passing,” Aidan explained as if that would make everything obvious. “We are supposed to honor our ancestors. So…I will honor them by eating this!” He beamed a little as he figured out his problem and promptly tore open the wrapper. He broke off the first row of chocolate, broke it again into two, and offered half to Zen. “This is mourning chocolate, not celebration chocolate,” he reminded her, just in case somebody asked later.

zenevieva mira novell
[Thanks for waiting!!!]

[zenevieva mira novell]

━ stop. what the hell are you talkin' about? ━

LAUGHING QUIETLY AS HE SIMPLY agreed to all the choices she provided, Zen nodded. "So you wouldn't mind if I called you any of them? Or is there one in particular you prefer the most?"

Listening as Aidan went on, nodding along at the brief explanation of the Time of Passing and how he was meant to honour his ancestors, the Novell simply just found herself nodding along. "What is the Time of Passing?" She questioned, eyes watching carefully as he decided to break upon the first row of chocolate.

"Thank you.." She smiled, taking the piece he had offered to her. "Mourning chocolate?..What are we mourning?"

| Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn |

no problem! sorry for the wait also^^

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Aidan broke the chocolate carefully like he was performing a delicate surgery, since of course he was deeply invested in the outcome. After handing off a good chunk to Zen, he stuffed his mouth with the ‘mourning chocolate’ and tried to feel any sort of deep repentance and faith like druids were supposed to project during the month of January. The whole island walked around like it was a month-long funeral, with solemn faces and subdued gatherings. But he couldn’t quite pinpoint that and mostly just enjoyed the way the chocolate melted in his mouth. He gave a hum of satisfaction.

“I have lots of names,” Aidan said with a light shrug. “Soooooo,” he dragged the word out while he thought, “You choose what feels right.” Most thoughts ended up going through Aidan’s head like a sieve, and he had a hard time thinking up an example or two off the top of his head. He mostly liked the names he got as a dog (the cutest in the world, obviously) but it didn’t quite fit when he wasn’t in his Animagus form. Sometimes he got called Red around the reserve, but that obviously didn’t work in Hy-Brasil – since that would end up describing half of the room at any given moment.

So he just moved on. “Ummm….” Aidan had to take a moment to consider the question. In truth, he’d never thought too hard about druid traditions. They were just things he had to do because everyone around him had been doing them since before he’d been born. And he did what his family told him to do. “The ancestors?” he finally decided. “January is to remember. Until Imbolc.” He nodded resolutely and stuffed his mouth full of chocolate again. He definitely wouldn’t get any treats while he was home. “To say the truth,” he dropped his voice to a whisper and beckoned for Zen to move closer, “It is very boring.”

zenevieva mira novell