[Forest] Really? ((open))

[Gabriella De Conti]

Gabriella was bored, undeniably bored. Octavious would consider her quite dangerous at the moment no doubt as she had a tendency to be rash in such situations. Yet she couldn't help it. The Rogues had taken a very low profile ever since the emergence of the White Roses and thus she had nothing to do but wait.

Wait for what? She thought idly to her self- a massive destructive badly to pass by her? She shook her head. She shouldn't be outside of the base and yet here she was. She shouldn't be risking her life as well that of her kin and yet she was. And she most certainly should not have had the idea of picking a battle with a lone white rose.

She smirked, perhaps Octavious was right. Her being bored was never a good thing.

[Nicholas McNiven]

Things around the small wizarding village and castle of Hogwarts were far too quiet for McNiven’s liking. He had come back from Asia for this, the deathly silences and no action what so ever, this was not going to be born. The Scots man had spent many a day at the bar in the Hogshead, drinking away the time knowing that alcohol would blot out the memories and times gone but it was a meek existence and that was something that Nicholas McNiven could never stand.

Throwing back yet another glass of, well he could not longer remember what it was, but what ever it was it had a good kick to it. The empty glasses were building up around him and the barman was getting itchier over being paid and the slight problem about that was that McNiven had no money. So as the barman sorted out a brawl between two drunks the Scottish man slipped out of the pub and stumbled up the main high street towards the forest knowing that if he wanted a bit of fun he might as well try and find Gobien and his rouge friends.

He made it into the forest but had no luck in finding anyone to entertain himself with, or at least he had not until the point when he was relieving himself behind a tree and he heard movement. At first he thought it was the vast amounts of alcohol he had consumed making him believe he heard something out of paranoia, but as he headed back on his way again McNiven heard another noise and this time saw movement.

Pulling his wand from out of his jacket pocket McNiven crouched low in the undergrowth in an attempt to blend in but his balance was not he same as when sober and he stumbled forwards and landed in the footpath of the rouge witch.

“Evening me wee lass.” McNiven grinned; the only time you would see him smile was when he was completely hammered.

[Gabriella De Conti]

Gabriella pulled out her wand as she heard someone coming, no stumbling towards her. She lowered it slightly knowing that anyone worth fighting would not make that much noise coming through a forest haunted by rogues, roses, and ministry workers.

She stared towards the direction of the sound and smirked slightly as it came towards her. With any luck it would be a student to mock. Her mild amusement quickly turned to bewilderment as Nicolas McNiven fell down in front of her.

"What an unexpected surprise," she said staring at the red rose. And then she laughed as he turned and grinned up at her. McNiven was most certainly inebriated and not just mildly.

"Evening yourself McNiven," she said placing her wand underneath his chin. "I wonder what sort of questions you would answer tonight," she said mockingly ignoring the fact that he had just called her a wee lass. It would have taken too much effort to get insulted.

[Nicholas McNiven]

McNiven whether sober or drunk was never used to looking up at people, and lying here on the forest floor staring at the rouge witch who was leaning over him was most defiantly a new experience. It seemed however that Gabriella was also enjoying this little rare treat of seeing the Scots man not himself and acting like a complete buffoon.

“That all depends on the type of question ye shall be askin.” McNiven slurred as he gingerly pushed himself up off the ground so he was in a sitting position. The forest was spinning around him and he had a sudden urge to empty the contents of his stomach onto the forest floor…it was lucky then for the man he at least had a bit of dignity left.

After a few breaths to try and compose himself McNiven got back to his feet, stumbling forwards until he was able to grasp hold of a low hanging branch to make sure he was able to stay vertical. All the while McNiven was humming a small tune to himself, completely out of tune and sounding nothing like the original but it entertained him in his current state. It was only as he did a rather lacklustre pirouette did he see the Witch once again.

“Oh hello.” He grinned, short term memory loss really kicking in. “What are ye doin in the forest, what am I doin in the forest.”

With a rather loud cough McNiven looked around the darkness and the trees surrounding him. For the life of him he could not remember what he was doing here nor did he particularly longer care, he was far more interested in the witch in front of him and the fact she was holding her wand. “Were ye thinkin of attackin me, you’re a wee thing, it would never work.”

[Gabriella De Conti]

She watched bemused as his face steadily became paler. She knew he was trying not to vomit in front of her. He could barely stand and Gabriella was certain that he would have answered most questions she asked him. She also believed whatever answers came out of his mouth would be complete gibberish.

"I don't think I be believing ye," she said mocking his strong Scottish accent. She doubted it sounded much different from her welsh' she had never mastered the art of masking her voice.

She laughed at his attempt to try and stand up in a composed matter. Had Gabriella been a nicer person she might have felt sorry for the Rose. She might even have helped, maybe aided him towards shelter and poured him a large pitcher full of water. Instead she said, "Shut up you lousy clod, you're making my ears bleed."

She rolled her eyes at McNiven. She sincerely hoped he remembered this encounter in the morning. Gabriella smirked at the thought-Octavious would also approve of this form of entertainment surely as it did not involve any lose of limbs. "I've no idea what brought you hear though I am certain it seemed like a good idea to you befroe you left the pub.

"Really McNiven," she said slowly pointing her wand towards his face. "You want to duel me right now to put some truth behind those words." The two were equal opponents sober-he seemed to have forgotten that along with who she was. "Or are you too frightened of a 'wee lass'?"

[Nicholas McNiven]

“Yes!” McNiven said bluntly and he attempted to point at Gabriella. “Right here and now and ye shall know the meaning of pain my wee lass.” He stressed the last two words as he could tell, even in his drunk state that it was annoying the rouge ever so slightly. So now the man had accepted the duel he just needed his weapon…now where had he put his wand?

He frantically looked through his jacket pockets and trouser pockets and even took off his shoes and shook them as if trying to get out a stone. When none of these methods prevailed the man turned to the forest floor and started to bend down, picking up random sticks and losing his balance on more then one occasion. If he did remember this in the morning it would not last for long, he would wipe it from his and anyone else’s memory before you could say ‘Bob’s your bleeding oyster’!

“A ha!” The man exclaimed as he straightened up, took a few stumbling steps backwards before looking Gabriella straight in the eyes. “Are ye ready to eat ya words?”

This threat would have been much more frightening had it been his wand in his hand, and not some wind fallen twig that in reality would have as much magical property as a chopstick. Although in McNiven’s slightly distorted and spinning world it was his wand.

[Gabriella De Conti]

Gabriella might have rolled her eyes, she might have even cursed him before he had opened his mouth had he not been completely and irrevocably drunk beyond any shadow of a doubt. Instead, she was mildly amused. She might have been more amused if he stopped calling her a wee lass. But after being stuck in base camp for so long...perhaps she ought not to be so picky.

Gabriella watched amused as the drunken Rose stumbled around searching for his wand. She glanced over by the bushes he had entered through and smirked. It was lying on the ground.

Gabriella laughed as she started to circle the frantic Rose leader. "Nothing over here," she said lightly as she picked up his wand and put it in her back pocket. At this moment she doubted she would ever find something so funny. And then she looked up to see a drunken McNiven pointing a twig at her. And that was when she keeled over laughing.

[Nicholas McNiven]

The Forest was a strange place, the amount of creatures that lived in it would be enough to write hundreds of text books and there was no body in the world who knew the forests better the rouge wizards. It maybe dark and slightly dangerous but the vastness of the trees meant it was almost impossible for the Ministry to find them it was perfect, although in his current intoxicated state McNiven could see why the school kids were scared of the place…the trees had faces.

Swallowing down another mouthful of sick McNiven’s wand arm wavered as he continued to hold his twig out in front of him, yet his target had moved as Gabriella was now on the forest floor laughing. Stumbling forwards the man dropt his wand and with a thud he too came crashing to the floor, although with a lot less grace then Gabriella.

“What’s so funny missy?” McNiven slurred. “We are sittin on the forest floor, in the dirt! I find nothing funny about this!”

He was rather lucky that there was only one other person in the forest with them at that presents moment in time. McNiven would have hated to have Gobien find him in this state, he could just imagine the mans booming laugh and he dreaded the thought of Quinn Locksley’s haunting gaze as she watched him stumble through the undergrowth. Although that mattered to the small strand of dignity that part of him still clung to was that he would not remember any of this in the morning!