Returning

[Meerletalis Etherium]

Meer appeared a bit disreputable as he slid through the door to a potion shop.  He spent the last month out in the wilds, the magical wilds, as far from humans as he could travel.  Gathering magical ingredients was only an excuse given to his friends.  Meer’s journey was a walkabout, a voyage of self-evaluation and study.  Still, that didn’t keep him from gathering a lot of uncommon to rare ingredients, more than enough for his own use.  He had decided to visit the first shop he encountered and unload some of the “loot” before returning home in hopes that his wife would allow him in.  She had not been overly keen on his leaving, though she had seen the need for it.

Thoughts about his wife and children brought a grimace to his face, hidden as it was in the cowl of a dark monk’s cassock.  In his left hand, the ever present staff clicked on the floor as he took another step into the shop.  In his right hand, a large knapsack, even larger on the inside than the out, held a treasure trove of ingredients.  His green eyes flicked over the interior of the shop, looking for the owner.  He had paid scant attention to the name of the shop, only that it was a place to unload some things.

He stopped and waited for owner to enter.  He spun the staff in his hand, smiling for a moment at the spell he finally perfected to disguise the ornate thing as a simple piece of wood.  The gold on the staff had caused him quite a bit of trouble in muggle London, costing him his job at the Ministry eventually.  He would use no other staff and the Ministry could not understand that.  Muggle thieves only saw the gold and the limp.  They never expected Meer to be able to defend himself.  He did quite well for himself, only using magic the one time – to save the life of an innocent bystander.  He was not very popular over that.  Though he had was found innocent by way of self-defense, the office felt he should give up his job.  Now he supposed he should find another.

 

[Ausar Silver]

Ausar was about ready to collect his two boys from Ashlin and his Aunt Ret. He'd stopped by his Uncle Nexennu's apothecary for the sole purpose of diverting himself after a particularly long meeting that had lasted most of the night, all of the morning, and most of the day. Arab nations were not known for deciding anything quickly.

He was feeling much better after his uncle led him through his latest developments on perfecting the potion he'd stumbled upon for reversing magical brain damage. So, tossing his robe over his arm, he walked out to the front of the store, only to see a customer that was not being attended to. His uncle was going to murder his latest apprentice, and Ausar could not blame him in the slightest.

"Can I assist you with something?" he asked the man, not having bothered to study him, depositing his robes on the counter and standing to his full height. His long black hair was tied at the back of his neck, with only a short inch or so sticking out from where it was tied, any stray pieces magically held in place. Although only in his early twenties, he could have passed for older by the knowledge in his amber eyes, his general countenance, and his elegant dress.

[Meerletalis Etherium]

Meer recognized the voice, somewhat.  However, the name that went with the voice was surely in Egypt and not here.  He did not even bother to look up at first, simply musing on the coincidence this represented.  Instead, he took several sheets of parchment from the front of the knapsack and offered them in the direction of the voice, only then peering out from the cowl to see whom it was that he addressed.

He felt a mild sense of surprise.  Ausar went home to Egypt, didn’t he?  Meer had not really kept up with people over the last few years.  His work assignments were usually not in and around London.  When he was not working, he was home getting to know children or digging deeper into magical enchantments.  He had combined a bit of both on his trip, making a marvelous toy for his children.

Nevertheless, he would hold his peace and allow Ausar the chance to figure out whom he was dealing with.  He would not lower the cowl as of yet.  Still, he did not wish to make it easy.  He decided to whine through his nose a bit.

“Kind sir, I have been out gathering potion ingredients.  As you can see by the list, some of them are quite rare.  I was wondering if you would be interested in purchasing some of them.”

[Ausar Silver]

For a moment, Ausar had to wonder what bad karma he'd invited into his life that day to be stuck in the front of his uncle's store with this man. Far from showing that in his face, because he was used to concealing everything, Ausar reached forward and took the piece of paper.

"I am only partial owner of this establishment," he said, "And take no turn in its operation, but I may be able to make some purchases." Ausar wasn't going to subject his uncle to this either if it was not worthwhile. He may as well do the other man a favour.

His amber eyes rolled over the parchment, nodding. It rather seemed worthwhile. There were some rare things here, rare things that Nexennu would usually have to procure himself.

"I do not know enough of our global inventory to know what of this we will go through before it would turn; we do not use magical means of preserving anything. Let me see what I can do," with that he took the sheet to the back of the store to show his uncle.

Nexennu Sehura was surprised to see that Ausar had not yet left, but it did appear that he'd gotten caught by a purveyor of sorts in the store proper. To which he added to his agenda for the day having a discussion with the apprentice that was responsible for the from of this store - it made him wonder how he ever operated apothecaries of this quality all over the world without having clones of himself or a time-turner.

Walking out into the front of the store, he wasn't prepared for a man in some...what sort of garb was that? He raised an eyebrow at his nephew, wondering why in Re's name Ausar had not warned him of that.

"What sort of fee are you looking for with these," he asked the man, holding up the list. Nexennu could take the lot for the right price, while some of it would turn before he could sell it, he could always take the opportunity to give his slew of apprentices a challenge with some rarer and more expensive ingredients.



Ausar stood by, feeling it would be incredibly rude to just up and leave, passing the man off. He'd just wait until his uncle was done and then go pick up Shai're and Ari.

[Meerletalis Etherium]

Meer indulged in a smile inside the hood.  He knew he looked rather unkempt.  Between the rents in the garment with newly healed skin or bandages beneath, and the fact that cleaning spells would only do so much for a robe, it was in sad shape.  He simply had not cared.  Meer was not the happiest of campers at that moment.  He was free, rather than locked away, but he had lost much.  The fact that it was his own fault did not help settle things in his mind.  He would continue this charade.  It didn’t even matter if Ausar ever figured out just who was selling.

“Well, sir, I believe that I can sell the lot for 50 galleons.  These are extras, beyond my current needs.  I am more interested in seeing them used rather than going to waste.  The galleons I will use to offset a bit of my expenses, so we both come out ahead in this deal.”

What Meer failed to consider was that he forgot the whine in his voice.  Along with that, such a good price could indicate stolen goods.  However, he was not exactly thinking well. 

[Ausar Silver]

Nexennu liked to consider himself a rather good observer of details - such things made an impeccable brewer. When the man named his price, Nex was struck with two thoughts. First, that the goods were stolen. Second, that the man was well-off enough to not care. Judging by the attire, the second seemed less likely, but usually thieves were a bit smarter and a very reputable and oft frequented shop was not the place to unload stolen goods either.

The explanation lent more to the second explanation which made Nexennu wonder exactly the situation for the choice in clothing.

"Ahh, I see," he replied. "Well I think at that price, you are correct. I'd be foolish not to make the purchase."

With that he turned to collect the money.

Ausar was standing by listening and watching, seeing the wheels turn in his uncle's eyes, and really he could guess what the man was wondering. This was quite the-.

Wait a moment. He knew that voice. His amber eyes lighted on the plain wood cane.

"Meer?"

Meer had always been a bit of an intricate sort of man, but this really was still surprising to Ausar.

[Meerletalis Etherium]

Meer shrugged and tossed back the cowl on his monk’s cassock.   He had spoiled his own fun by not being consistent.  His long, still somewhat black hair was tied back in a pony tail, trailing down between his shoulders.  He had not cut it since the accusations landed months before.  He nodded his head to the two in the shop and began removing items from the knapsack, without seeming to diminish its bulk.  He spread the contents out for inspection.

“I suppose you will need me to sign something swearing that I collected these items without killing or tormenting any of the creatures involved.  That seems to be all the rage in shops lately.  I managed to get the unicorn blood using a sampling spell, something I had not tried before now.”

He removed a pair of dragon eggs and placed them to the side.  He would not be selling those.  They would be going to his wife and on to the dragon keepers.  One of the two was of a type he could not identify.  Perhaps his wife or one of her cohorts could do so.  He also pulled out another package and put it with the others.

“This package contains some items that I will gift to you on the condition that if you determine their properties, you share them with me.  I could not identify the creatures involved, though I am quite knowledgeable about various magical creatures.  I have labeled them with some guesses.  I did not put them on the list because I was holding them for Ausar specifically and did not realize I was in the correct shop already.  A little over a month with no human companionship is not always the most stabilizing thing to do.”

[Micah Morgenstern]

I'm going absolutely crazy, thought Micah as she pushed open the door to Sehura Apothecary. She hadn't been in the shop for six weeks, not since she'd come in with a badly spained ankle and met one of the most interesting people. It was for that person, or she thought, anyway, that she'd come back. Tucking her hands in the pockets of her black trenchcoat, fully buttoned to protect against the frosty wind outside, Micah's eyes immediately latched on to the to the very same person she'd come here to see.

She was disappointed to see that he was already talking with another customer, who appeared rather, well, dirty. Silver had the uncanny ability to bring out the best in Micah. For some reason, she desired his approval and therefore did not interrupt the conversation. She just shot him a glance that she was sure he caught, and subtly perused items on the far right wall, making sure to give the others plenty of space. She couldn't help but overhear a few words of the conversation, and had to try really hard not to eavesdrop. It was obviously something important they were talking about, and were those dragon eggs on the counter?

Curiousity spiked, she hoped that Ausar would not linger to long with the rather shaggy fellow and come over to talk to her, so she could ask what exactly was going on.

[Ausar Silver]

Nexennu was slightly surprised when Ausar came out with the man's name, or at least he assumed that was the man's name.

"Ah, you two know each other then?" waiting for an introduction to this Meer.

He nodded as the man asked about signing off on the ingredients. "We keep track of the purveyors of all our ingredients when we do not supply them ourselves, but it is hardly for such a specific reason only a coincidence that it covers us for that as well."

He raised an eyebrow at the mention of dragon eggs, but really had little interest in them. What he did have an interest in were the items that were not identified. That was rather intriguing to the master brewer. A challenge of sorts he rarely came to, but one he would gladly share with his astute nephew.

"I do believe we can make you that promise," Nexennu replied as he began looking through the other ingredients.



"Meer this is my Uncle Nexennu, my mother's eldest brother. I do believe you may have met in Hogsmeade once before, but I cannot be certain, it was some time ago."

He reached out to shake Meer's hand, "I see you have been quite busy, not to mention that's quite an appreciated gift...and what is this about being gone two months?"

It was just about then another familiar face walked in the door. Well, it had been some time, but he hadn't necessarily been expecting to see her again. Noticing her respectful distance and meaningful look, he sent her a nod back and smiled just slightly. He gave her a look as if to ask her if she wanted to come over, but realized that she had seemed not so fond of people the first time they'd met, so if she did not, he would not be insulted. So long as she would not be insulted if he finished catching up with another friend as well before attending to her.

[Meerletalis Etherium]

“I remember our meeting.  That time you were the shaggy one and your uncle and I encouraged you to neatness.  You did not take too kindly to the words at the time, if I recall.”

Meer tucked the dragon eggs away again.  Those were for later.

“After I killed a man over his attempted theft of my staff and I had to defend myself before the Wizengamot, I disguised my staff and headed off to the wilderness to think.  I gathered what I could while I was away.  The extra you are paying for will allow me to be a bit more presentable when I return home.  Renewing and cleaning spells only go so far in the wild.  I’m sure Nina would prefer me to be clean, if she allows me back into my house.”

He looked for the papers to sign as he finished packing his bag.  Then he rubbed the itchy beard he had grown in the wild – it was certainly cold in some of the places he had visited, especially at night.  Then he gave a small smile.

“Perhaps I can find a job as Father Christmas this year.  I have the whiskers for it.  They do not welcome me near my old one at the Ministry.”

He turned to the other who had entered and bowed to her slightly.

“Who is your friend?  I don’t believe we have met.”

[Ausar Silver]

Ausar's lips pursed ever so slightly as Meer mentioned that their particular meeting had been when Ausar had been shaggy. Nexennu has been coming to speak to him over their living arrangements following his father's death, and to reassert some standards.

"I do believe the particular circumstances of the words were troublesome to me at the time," he replied with a nod.

He listened to Meer mention killing a man and a trial before the Wizengamot, which made him feel that he was particular out of the Western loop and that he should read the paper more often. However, it made complete sense that Meer would head out to solitude to think. Simply, it fit.

"Ah, yes, I do recall. Pleasure to see you again, albeit a bit changed from last time. I will let Ausar settle up with you and leave you to catch up. I had something brewing in the back. Good day."

Ausar nodded as his Uncle left and then turned back to hear Meer make a joke about Father Christmas. Then turn and look at Micah.

"A Miss Micah Morgenstern. Works in the DMLE as a Cursebreaker, I believe, although I do not think for very long," he said, unwilling to voice anything more than that. "She is a bit reserved of company usually from my limited knowledge of her...Now what is this about a trial; you are no longer at the Ministry?"

[Meerletalis Etherium]

“Tell your uncle that I clean up fine.  I simply wanted to get these ingredients to someone who could use them before tending to my own appearance.  I certainly will not go home to Nina looking like this.  As for the Ministry, I believe that my time as an Auror is certainly over.  My picture has been in the Muggle press, so I am nearly useless.  Who would think that some Muggle seeing a robbery at gunpoint would take pictures rather than notify the authorities?  I have since taken to disguising the staff, but I cannot spend all my time in costume and do a job.”

He shifted on his feet and sighed.  “I had enough fun with the Muggle police proving it could not have been me. “

He lowered his voice.  “I had to use some surreptitious magic to convince them, but that went undetected.  I do not know if the Ministry will want me in any capacity.  I am supposed to meet up with someone from there in the next week.  I do not even know what has happened in the month I have been gone.  I might be a wanted man for all I know.”

[Ausar Silver]

Ausar could understand the need to get the ingredients to proper conditions for their storage, especially since they did not use magic means of preservation like some apothecaries. They thought that changed the magical properties no matter how negligible.

"I am quite sure he understands, but I will make mention of it. I cannot imagine that Nina would appreciate that. Speaking of, how are Nina and the children?"

He leaned against the counter, thinking of his own sons. He should be picking them up within the next few hours. Shai're needed some work on his writing, even at the age of three.

"Muggles sometimes do not make sense, especially in the Isles and other European countries. I do not blame you for your desire to not be in costume. It seems that your picture being all over would not be a good things, but I little make sense of your Ministry. It is rather...unlike ours. So, you do not know what this meeting is about?"

[Meerletalis Etherium]

“I use a different sort of protection spell on the ones I will keep.  I’ve discovered a way to sort of bend time back on itself in a localized container.  I put a rabbit into it for a year one time after pulling it out of a hat at a birthday party and stuck the rabbit back into it to take it home.  Nina was rather cross with me when I discovered it was still in there and unharmed a year later.  She has a thing for rabbits.  In any case, I figured if the rabbit didn’t age in the hat, that the spell would be good for other things.  It makes for an interesting food storage method; you can cook a dish and place it in the box, then take it out a month later at the same temperature you put it in.  As I said it is an interesting curiosity.”

He closed up the bag and considered things.  He knew Ausar well enough that he would tell the truth.  With other wizards, he would have to be careful.

“I find the Muggles to be the more sensible ones much of the time.  They have no magic in their lives, yet they accomplish so much more.  Most wizards live a spoiled life and could not even handle the work load of the average Muggle.  Few of us create anything new; even our art and music seem stagnant to me.  I suspect what this world needs is for wizards and Muggles to mix freely.  That is not something I can bring about.  The leaders on both sides think otherwise.  Perhaps there are things I do not know.”

He forgot about the other person in the shop – not that this would have made much of a difference.