Jelly Sea Legs

"Bloody HELLLL" Aileen moaned as she heaved yet again over the side of the ferry. There really wasn't anything more to come up so why was her body doing this to her still? Better question yet, what the bloody hell was Cameron, her cousin, doing in Ireland anyway? He'd asked her to visit him while he did some research or something out there for a summer university course of some sort. Aileen had gone thinking he had something to show her or tell her, but no, her dear cousin apparently just wanted to make her sick on both ferry crossings.

It was late afternoon and she was returning to Scotland on the last ferry, but the winds had picked up and the swells were massive in Aileen's very sea sick mind. She looked around, none of the muggles seemed to be paying any attention to her at the moment. There was a woman tending to a crying baby in a seat right behind her, and around her a couple of single riding passengers who both seemed to be trying to ignore the baby, and everything else around them. Aileen decided to take a bit of a risk. She drew out her wand, and hiding it in her sleeve, pointed it at her stomach and muttered a quick calming spell. Immediately her stomach settled down, almost to the point where Aileen would have considered sitting back down in a ferry seat.

"What's THAT?!" A boy, no more than 7 was pointing at Aileen's wand hand.

"Erm, what?" Aileen said, deciding to play ignorant.

"Are you a magician?! Show me a trick!" He squeeled and clapped his hands, jumping up and down.

Cygnus was on a Muggle ferry. Why was he there? Well, that was the question wasn't it? Probably one of his friend Nick's idea of a practical joke. All he remembered was trying to find his keys. Finding it, and upon touching it, BAM - portkeyed to Muggle land one a boat. Oh, what he had to say to the crew members upon finding him in the Captain's cabin. Rest assured, a bit of charming here and there and they let him go home free.

He wasn't just about to go away and apparate. He was going to ride this thing to where ever it was going. Scotland, according to a darling old lady. Fine by him, he hadn't been to Scotland in awhile. He was off of work for a week anyway. He threw caution to the wind and just went with the flow.

He had just been exploring the boat, when suddenly, he noticed a every peculiar scene that included a young boy and a woman who was unmistakenly holding a wand. So he wasn't the only magical one on board. Apparently, the lad wanted to see some Muggle magic. Cygnus smiled. He could come to the rescue, sure. But a part of him wanted to see where this went. Cygnus stood anticipating what the woman would do.

Aileen looked around wildly. A few people were looking up with interest, but most hadn't even given the yelling child a second thought.

"No." Aileen muttered under her breath.

"I wanna see some magic!" He yelled again. He spotted Aileen's wand up her sleeve and pulled it out, waving it around. "Can you make a rabbit come out?!" He yelled again. This time a couple more people looked up.

"No! Give that here!" She said louder. The boy made a face and started to wave it around. Aileen snatched it back and stuffed it back into her sleeve. "Ok fine." She led the boy over a couple of steps away from curious eyes and pulled it out. "Here." She said. She did a simple charm and the seagull sitting on the roof of the ferry turned green.

"SHE TURNED THE BIRD GREEN!" He yelled to a woman near by.

"SHUT UP!" Aileen said a little louder. She quickly waved her wand and turned the bird back normal colour. "Kids and their imaginations!" Aileen said with a nervous laugh.

"It was green!" An older lady in a seat said. "I saw that bird turn green!"

"LET ME TRY!" The boy began to grab at her wand again.

"I said get lost!" Aileen said. She gave the boy a small push away. The boy stumbled back and tangled his feet in a bit of rope that happened to be sitting on the deck. The look on his face would have made Aileen laugh in any other circumstance, but unfortunately, the look came just before the boy silently toppled right off the side of the boat.

Aileen let the profanity fly and she dashed to the side of the boat. The boy had come up and was spurting water in the ocean.

"MAN OVERBOARD" A passing sailor yelled. There was now more than enough attention directed right at Aileen.

Attentively, Cygnus watched the scene. He didn't know what it was, but he just couldn't look a way. A bit like when a disaster happens in front of your eyes. He saw it in slow motion. He saw the woman used a Colour-Changing Spell on the bird, thrilling the little boy and the bam-wham, that ended with the boy over board.

He ran towards the edge of the boat. "Merlin, you really need to work on your people skills." He said to the woman, seeing the boy's head emerge from the blue sea.

The spluttering boy was alreayd behind hoisted back on board by two of the ferry officials.

Aileen scowled. "Not my fault the idiot tripped." She said as she watched. "Wait.." She said turning to look at her companion for the first time. He was an attractive man, maybe a few years younger than her.

"Did you just say Merlin?" Aileen asked hopefully. She masked her interest by keeping her face neutral. It was possible she misheard the man and she didn't want to look like a crazy person to yet another Ferry rider. Then again, he did seem familiar. She might have seen him around Hogwarts a few years ago but she couldn't be certain. He wasn't in her old house for sure.

Cygnus gave a thought or two to answer her. He could go with sarcasm. Always a favourite. Humour. Could lead to even more humour. Or just plain out say yes. He decided on the latter figuring the woman's got enough on her plate.

He nodded at her and smiled for good measure. "Cygnus Aquila," he said, extending his hand.

"Aileen Turner" Aileen replied shaking his hand. By this time the boy's mother had discovered her son's little swimming adventure and was clambering over the side of the rail to help pull him up.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" She was screaming as she wrapped her dripping son in her arms.

"She pushed me." The now wailing boy cried.

All eyes turned to Aileen.

"Hell.." Aileen said for the second time on the trip. She scratched her head innocently using the arm that had the wand up her sleeve. "Obliviate." Aileen whispered hoping her arm's aim was accurate. The spell hit the boy and Aileen watched as his eyes slid out of focus and back again.

"Who did baby? That lady?" The mother pointed at Aileen who managed a look of suprise at the mother.

"Did I push you?" Aileen asked him carefully.

The boy looked confused. "No..." He said quietly.
"Who did hon?" The mother asked.

"I fell.." He said even more confused.

The ferry workers laughed. "Wouldn't be the firs' time ma'am." one said giving the boy a pat on the head. The boy was given a towel and instructions to stay inside. As they left Aileen turned to Cygnus.

"Thank you." She said with a breath of relief. "For not calling me out and all." This strage wizard could have easily blocked her memory spell or retold the boy what had happened if he truely believed justice would have to be served.

"That could have been 'to the brig with me'." She said with a laugh.

"Real sly," Cygnus commented on Aileen's use of the Memory Charm with a hint of sarcasm.

"I could which would no doubt be rather funny, but then that would leave me alone in the sea on a boat with a sea of Muggles." Cygnus said playfully.

"Well that's charming.." Aileen responded looking at her new ferry companion a little wryly. She pursed her lips together annoyed for a moment and then decided it wasn't worth the effort. This young wizard had no idea how strongly she advocated for muggle rights. In fact he probably would never guess considering she just shoved one off a boat.

"Where you from?" She asked, trying to force conversation.

Cygnus noticed the rather annoyed look on her face figuring it was for the little comment he said about the Muggles. He didn't actually have anything against Muggles. There was just never a win-win way to talk about them. Put them in a high light, people judge you, put them in a low light, people judge you. He didn't mean anything by it. "I'm sorry," he said genuinely. "I didn't mean anything by it, its just that, this" he gestured at the Muggle boat, Muggle land, the Muggles, "is all foreign to me. I don't really spend much time outside our World."

"I'm a born and bred Englishman." Cygnus said with over enthusiasm, straightening up and pretending to bow his head with an imaginary top hat.

Aileen smiled in spite of herself. This wizard did have a certain kind of awkward charm to him. "Well I can tell you're English, your accent is enough to give that away. I just wondered where. I'm a Scot if you couldn't tell."

Aileen looked over the water. Irish land was disappearing and they were closing the gap to the english main land. "I'm the opposite" she admited, not too sure as to why she was reveiling her muggle history to a complete stranger. Maybe because he has apologized so sincerely. "I've been born and bred like a muggle. Only difference is..i'm not one. I always knew about wizards. Weird situation really. " She let out a small laugh. "What were you doing on this boat?"

Cygnus smiled. "Don't worry, that part's pretty clear." Her accent too was a dead give-away.

"Victim of a prank, I'm afraid." He said sheepishly with a hint of mild annoyance. He shrugged and ran his hand through his hair. "Here I was just minding my own business when a few of my mates decide it would be fun to send me a-sailing."

"And what about you?" He looked at Aileen. "Would it be safe to assume that you are on this vessel in your own free will?"

"Visiting" Aileen said because she could really think about the consequences. You could never be too careful with who you told your family history to these days. Calixta's family ran sharply through her mind.

"I'm visiting a..friend." She decided to play it safe and leave her cousin out of it. She'd already mentioned growing up around muggles, who would suspect it WAS anything more than a friendly visit.

Aileen studied her new wizard companion closer. "Do I know you?" She asked as she unconciously tilted her head to the side as if the view might be better that way. "You seem familiar..you haven't been in the paper lately have you?"

"Oh," Cygnus said as her reason for travel was revealed. He figured as much. A Scot going to Scotland. Pretty obvious really.

Cygnus slightly frowned at the prompt of her knowing him. He was positive he hadn't met her before. A reflex thought in his head said she might know his twin. But he pushed that thought away as quickly as it came. Corvus was the last person to talk to a Muggle-born, let alone leave a lasting appearance. He shrugged. "Maybe I just have one of those faces."

"Must be..." Aileen trailed off. She had that tickle in the back of her neck that came when she was unsure. She laughed it off. "Must be some evil twin i'm thinking of then." She said with a laugh.

She had to admit, unsure or not, this man was quite attractive. He kept eye contact with her as if he cared what she said, and actually understood what she was saying. Which was a plus considering the kinds of men she usually knew.

The boat let off a single piercing horn to signify their arrival back to England. "Well I'm..hungry.." Aileen said with a yawn which, in an after thought she realized wasn't the appropriate physical signal to go with hunger. Damn her awkwardness.

Cygnus' laugh was a little half-hearted when Aileen mentioned an 'evil twin'. There's no way she could know about Corvus could she? Nah, she's just joking. No need to go into that. Besides, Corvus wasn't really that evil... just misguided.

At her yawn Cygnus had to smile. "Are you sure your hungry? Not sleepy by any chance?" He looked around for any sort of food stall. "Can we even get food on here?" He asked.

"Well unless you're a heck of a good actor and are actually a muggle in disguise, we can apparate anywhere and get food." She said a little too harshly. She gave an awkward grin to show him she was making a poor attempt at a joke.

"Erm, well I know a place that's still on the coast but it's about ten minutes away if you want. It's a cafe style place, nothing fancy."

Actor? Cygnus mused. He was a little bit confused by this which only died down when he realised it was but a joke. She was an interesting witch, he could say that much.

"The cafe sounds nice." Cygnus said. He wasn't exactly hungry but he could eat."You know, why didn't you just apparate to your friend to visit her..." Cygnus was about to end it there but he realised it could may well be a him. "Or him?"

"I told you, I'm a bit of a muggle at heart and enjoy weird things like ferry rides. Besides, my friend doesn't like the noise of apparation, it's too abrupt for them I guess." Aileen replied, careful to make sure she brushed off the question of gender and use 'them' for neutrality. If she corrected him and told him it was a boy, he would assume it was a romantic thing and then they would continue to have a less that engaging lunch. If she explained it was a family member, then she was giving away far too much information to a stranger who could easily still be anti muggle regardless of his humour.

She could defend herself but she didn't trust herself to defend Cameron as well if somebody decided to make an example of a weird witch who decided to visit relatives on the ferry.

"Shall I then?" She asked, eye brows raised as she offered an arm to Cygnus. This part of apparation was handy when dealing with an attractive man.

"No, I do see it's charm." Cygnus said looking at the blueness of the water. He loved sea, unfortunately he didn't visit it as much as he would like. If he had a choice, he would go on board as well. The fact that she avoided the use of pronouns suggested to Cygnus that the person she visited was in fact a he, and they were in fact involved. He wasn't sure though, he decided to ask later. The witch had her defenses up. He couldn't blame her. Times like this, it paid to be safe.

"You're not trying to kidnap me are you?" Cygnus inquired with a smile. He tried to be serious. "Just so you know, I don't have much money, but I do have friends with a very special set of skills."

"Okay I have no idea what that means, but it makes you sound like a prostitute so I'll let you explain THAT one once I kidnap you and take you to your cage." Aileen said with a simle. She hooked arms with Cygnus and without another word apparated to a small, outdoor cafe in the Scottish town of Dumfries.

"I picked a place near the English border in case you wanted to run." Aileen approached the server and asked for a table for two. They were seated in the corner of the terrace. A couple of other customers sipped lazily on their coffees as they read books or tapped away on muggle lap tops.

"And don't worry about paying, I've got this one handled. I was the kidnapper so I will pay for the outcome of it."

Under any other circumstance, Cygnus would have argued. He wouldn't have let a woman pay for him. But since he had arrived on board the boat by chance, he was unprepared. He didn't have any Muggle money on him. He looked at her sheepishly.

"You're a considerate kidnapper aren't you?" He smiled as he followed her. He sat down looking around. It was a quaint little place. Not unlike the Wizarding World, except maybe for the type-writer tellies. "What are those?" He nodded at the direction of a laptop.

"Brain scanners." Aileen replied solomly. "They are testing the wave lengths to see if there are any juicy wizard brains to munch on." She cracked a bit of a smile just as the waiter came up.

"Can I get you started with some drinks?"

"Just some water for me thank you." Aileen said, turning to Corvus expectantly. She hoped he wouldn't order a firewhiskey or something else embarassing in the muggle world.

Cygnus looked startled and worried for a second. Until he realized she was joking. Probably. He looked at her uncertain. "You're making fun of me." He laughed. "You're no very nice, teasing a clueless wizard who wouldn't know which way was up."

When the server came up and asked for drinks, Cygnus followed Aileen's suit and ordered some water. He wasn't sure what to order anyway. Besides, he wasn't paying so he really didn't want to order anything extravagant.

"Well maybe you should have educated yourself about the other half the world while you were in school." Aileen said, resisting her urge to begin her all familiar rant on how wizards and muggles couldn't hope to co-exist if they didn't understand one another.

The server returned with her drinks and Aileen smiled a quick thanks before taking a sip of her drink. "You're an odd one you know. You're as ignorant as most of the wizarding community is on this world, yet you're willing to eat in a cafe and ask about lap tops. In fact you're almost curious about it all" Aileen nodded to the computers on the tables. "You can look things up on them. Write notes and things."