Christopher Barros

"I'm sorry to have to wake all of you at such an early hour, especially after what all of you went through last night, but we need all of you to to search the forest for Cerise, who has run off after a, well, a bunny rabbit, to put it plainly. And we need you to track her down. We have already split you up into groups that we believe to be complementary," David smiled and held out a piece of paper before handing it to the nearest explorer.

Hushed whispers of excitement and dread flitted about the room, each tired explorer ready to take on their first mission. The paper floated through the air, flitting from explorer to explorer, but it always seemed to dive away from Chris, always going to the person right beside him. Not that it mattered much to him, he could get a hold of the paper last for all he cared. As long as Cerise was found in timely manner.

Before Christopher had spent too much time waiting on the list of group names, someone grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him away from the crowd and towards the door. Christopher obediently followed, looking down to see the tiny British girl, Elspeth, pulling him through the crowd towards the door.

"Explorers!" David's voice boomed throughout the meeting room, silencing all the chattering. David smiled and cleared his throat. Elspeth tightened her grip on Christopher's arm, holding him in place.

"Before all of you young explorers split up, we need to lay down an emergency protocol. Should someone find themselves in danger, you must point your wand up into the sky and yell, 'lumos.' If you and your team are the ones to find Cerise, point your wand into the sky and yell, 'avis'. If any one's team sees a large flock of birds, return to camp. If you see a streak of light, see if you can go help the endangered team. I wish you all the best of luck, and please return safely. We don't want any casualties today. Let's save those for when we find the City of Gold. Now be on your way!"

Without missing a beat, Elspeth was off, stopping to grab another girl's arm, dragging her and Christopher out into the jungle. She didn't stop until the tent was no longer in sight.

"Alright. Here's what we're going to do. First we need to see if we can locate any animals in the area or any traces of magic. Then we're going to follow the magic traces, hopefully leading us to Cerise. If we run into hostile animals, well, let's just say that I think we can take them," Elspeth smiled and looked at the other girl for confirmation, who simply nodded.

"Alright. Can anyone 'sense' anything or whatever? Do either of you two know of any spells that can trace magic?"

The other girl shrugged, causing Elspeth to look at Christopher.

"I think I know one," Christopher stared at his feet, pointing his wand at the ground. "Vestigia!"

Instantly, a dark, leafy green burst of light began to explode out of Christopher's wand, crackling and snapping as it fell to the ground. Upon contact with the ground, the ball of light erupted, sending streaks of lightning in all directions across the jungle floor. The streaks stretched out until they were thin threads, then they finally snapped, leaving nothing behind. A few seconds later, a sparkling of gold surrounded the place where Christopher was standing, and a series of golden footsteps leading farther into the jungle.

The other girl, with short brown hair barely reaching her shoulders, smiled then looked at Elspeth, who was also smiling.

"¿Bueno?"

Elspeth looked down at the series of gold footprints then back up to Christopher, "Muy bueno."

Then, without warning, Elspeth took off, following the golden trail, spurting out her ideas in between rushed breaths. "If your spell holds true, this should... lead us to... where ever Cerise was lured off too. Because, according to... David... she was lured by a... 'bunny rabbit.'"

She stopped for a brief moment, making sure that the other two were still following her.

Every once in awhile, Christopher subtly used his magic to clear all of the plants out of El's way, making sure that she could keep running through the jungle without interference. She never seemed to notice, and just kept running as fast as she could. On the other hand, the other British girl in his group kept looking over at Chris and smiling.

Christopher was in the middle of casing yet another 'de-planting' spell when Elspeth suddenly stopped in her tracks. Before Christopher could stop himself, he was barrelling into her, knocking the tiny British girl onto the ground.

The other British girl attempted to stifle a laugh, but failed and broke down onto the ground in hysterics.

Christopher's face turned a bright crimson and he quickly stood up, not even bothering to dust himself off before awkwardly sticking out a hand to help up Elspeth. In response, Elspeth raised an eyebrow and pushed herself up from the ground.

Blood trickled out from a tiny cut on her hand, and Chris held out his wand, "¿Puedo?"

Elspeth held out her hand, sharing a look with the other girl, who was still clutching her stomach in laughter on the ground.

His cheeks still a ferocious red, Christopher gently grabbed Elspeth's hand.

"Episky."

Instantly, the miniscule cut disappeared. Christopher looked down at Elspeth's hand and smiled.

"Thank you," gingerly, Elspeth retracted her hand, not quite sure what to do. She sent a scorching look over to the other, still laughing, girl.

"Um, well, the footprints end here, so I guess we need to search the area for bunny rabbits?"

The other girl nodded, winked at Elspeth, and headed out in the opposite direction.

Elspeth looked up at Christopher and grinned before taking off in her own direction, leaving Chris alone at the edge of a tiny clearing. Carefully, he ventured in closer, making sure to not trigger any potential traps, magic or not.

Finally, Christopher heard a tiny cry for help, and he rushed in closer, finding Cerise laying at the other side of the clearing.

"¡Chicas! Uh, Cerise!" Christopher ran a hand through his hair, waiting for the other two British girls to return back to the clearing to help him free the witch.

Elspeth ran back, with the other British girl right behind her.

"Great job, Christopher!" The trio stopped and looked around the clearing once more.

Cerise was tied up, the bunny rabbit nowhere in sight. Upon seeing the other explorers, she let out a tiny cry of joy, then promptly passed out.

"You and Marielle untie her, I'll go ahead and let the others know we've found her," Elspeth smiled at the other girl, Marielle, and headed to the center of the clearing, wand high in the air.

Christopher stooped down and began untying Cerise from her prison of ropes. Instead of helping, the other girl simply raised an eyebrow.

"Just ask her out already, you've got to be kidding me!" The other girl smiled and giggled, causing Christopher's face to once again, burn a bright red.

"No entiendo. My english... no good."

The girl simply smiled in response, slightly shaking her head.

"I'm serious! You must use small words!"

The girl looked over at him, small smile still plastered on her face, "You, señor, know exactly what I'm saying right now. You like Elspeth!"

Christopher looked down at Cerise, and focused on unraveling a particularly large knot. The girl coughed, and Christopher looked at her, then back over to the tiny British girl, marveling at the huge flock of birds swooping up into the air. Elspeth's brown braid gently blew from side to side in the wind of the birds, and her long robe fluttered across the ground.

Maybe this other british girl was right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alejandra Verle

Do you know how hard it is to keep a friend?

Difficult, no: extremely difficult.

It seemed that friendship had now seeped into my mind like some sort of plague that ravaged the body with intensity. The spell that had been cast only a few hours ago had forced my mind to accept my true self – to finally be truthful to myself. As a result, all I could think about was Chenzira's departure. Even as I slept she had invaded my mind. First, my dream began in a colourful mirage that followed the girl whose friends knew her favourite food: it was perfection. She laughed and smiled like she was the happiest person on Earth and all I could feel was envy that I had allowed so many barriers to cut off my true personality. When the envy finally took over and the dream ran out, my dream took a much darker turn. I was taken back to the room where I had been shown my true self and back to the room where Chenzira has risen from the ocean of students. It relived the precise moment that she had wiped her tears beside me before she rose from the crowd and quietly stepped from the room without looking back. All I could watch was her hair swaying and her hunched shoulders that made the confident lady I had known crumble into a defeated girl.

As I watched her disappear, I could recall the feeling that of my stomach turning inside out until I felt nauseous. I could remember the burning liquid that had glazed my eyes. I could remember as my eyes desperately searched for her matching ones as she left the room as my brain fumbled for a solution to why she was leaving. It was horrible and I couldn't even begin to imagine if I had made anyone feel like that.

"Adra, focus!" Ahri whispered with the French accent tainting each of her words like chocolate coated marshmallows.

"I am focusing," I lied but instantly cursed myself for lying so easily. My old habits appeared to be hard to break out of. I readjusted my grip on my wand and I could feel it absorbing my confusion about Chenzira. Hazel wood was extra sensitive to my emotions – usually I kept them so guarded that I could easily control my wand but the Legilimens spell had changed everything.

I shook my head slightly as if it would shake Chenzira from my mind and it seemed to work but I could still feel the thought brewing like an unwanted thunderstorm.

"Trickster spirits are very luring, Faraji reminded us to be careful," Ailenia, a Castelobruxo student, pushed her way past a frond as we went further up the hill.

"Among a ton of other useless information," I added as I caught the frond as it flung back into place. The dew sprayed in my face but I welcomed the coolness of the droplets, "Did anyone actually see Cerise chasing the rabbit? I mean, she's supposed to be an adult,"

Our breaths were heavy as we trudged up the hill in search of Cerise who had disappeared in search of a trickster spirit. Faraji had woken us all from a deep sleep – well for me, a restless nightmare – with his wand illuminated with a Lumos charm. His instructions were to find Cerise which I honestly found hard to believe seeing as though she is a leader of the expedition.

"You obviously didn't see her playing with the unicorns at my school then," Ahri rolled her eyes with a deep sigh as she stepped over a rock, "The sad part is that she is a Beauxbaton student,"

"That is sad," I agreed, hoping to develop the conversation further since our searching consisted predominately of heavy breathing, "But unicorns are quite-"

"Focus guys!" Ailenia cut me off and I immediately shut my mouth. She probably found me annoying. I did another big step but crashed into Ahri who had stopped so suddenly that I almost caused her to fall back down the hill.

"Is that it?" Ahri gasped, pointing at a glowing object. They began to run forward and I felt the nervousness that had been tickling the linings of my stomach disappear for a moment as we chased the spirit.

The three of us seemed to be getting along quite well, aside from the infrequent snapping. I thought my friendship with the girls was forming quite well but I couldn't disguise the fear of rejection that was deep in the pit of my stomach. Chenzira was only one person and I couldn't pinpoint the reason why the human race decided it was a good idea to put faith in such a thing. Trust wasn't something that was easily earned, or so I believed, but I had put trust in Chenzira so easily in order to prove to myself that I could do it.

And you are rewarded with her walking away.

My thoughts tripped up and so did my feet. I fell to the ground in a puff of leaf litter. I looked around for Ahri and Ailenia but all I could see was a blur of plants that all blended into one colour. The moon glimmered down as it peeked through the canopy of the jungle turning the dark shadows into its verdant state.

"Ahri?" I whispered into the silent air. It clung to my skin and sweat had already beaded on my forehead from the hike, "Ailenia?"

I brushed off my clothes and got to my feet. I was grabbing my wand when I saw the glowing figure. It wasn't a person rather it was the rabbit that we had been warned about. I was immediately captured by its appearance and couldn't help but let my curiosity get the better of me. I crept forward while watching the creature's aura morph around its body.

"So you're the thing Cerise is chasing," I murmured as I crouched down to make myself appear less threatening. I wanted to shout for the girls but my mouth couldn't form the words. I found my mind scrambling in search of the danger but all I could focus on was the cute rabbit as its nose twitched cutely. The blueness of it made me want to reach out and touch it.

I shook my head. Why would I want to touch a rabbit that was probably infested with disease?

My eyes widened as the rabbit darted through my body and I screamed as a cold feeling passed through my body until it wrapped itself around my throat. I fell backwards onto the earth beneath me and when I opened my eyes again I realised I wasn't in the jungle. The jungle trees morphed into hands with their branches acting as fingers that pulled me closer to their shadowy black mouths. I kicked at the branches and scrambled forward frantically searching for my wand. My eyes landed on a familiar person as I looked up. My body began to tire as I pushed away the branches.

"Chenzira?" my voice was one of disbelief but the distraction was the chance that the trees needed. They dragged me away from her and I clawed at the ground in desperation. The rough bark squeezed my body until I thought my ribs were going to crack. My hair fell in matted curls around my face as I reached towards Chenzira but when I looked up I was in a moment of déjà vu. She turned her back with her glossy ebony hair swaying behind her as she disappeared into the shadowy realms of the jungle that had come to life.

But I remembered that she had left. Chenzira wasn't in the jungle – I was with Ahri and Ailenia. I was making new friends. I was learning how to keep them.

I snapped the branch off my leg as the adrenaline battled with the oncoming fatigue and as I gripped my wand I heard the spell being cast behind me.

My body flew forward and when I landed the trees returned to their verdant shade that was dowsed in the dim lighting of the moon. I scrambled to my feet with my wand firmly clutched in my hand. I didn't think – I wrapped the figures in a huge hug.

"Gracias! Gracias! Gracias!" I repeated over and over in a breathless voice. My heart was pounding in my chest but it was calmed as I felt the girls' arms embrace my body. In that one action, I felt as if I had been draped in a safety net. I sighed in relief and when they pulled away the humid air clung to my body.

"We told you to be careful," Ailenia scolds but I could see the smile tugging at her lips, "Tricksters prey on those who are distracted."

"It'll never happen again," I apologised but there was an obvious smile on my lips. The moons light illuminated the viridescent leaves of the fronds reminding me of the Brazilian fairy tale setting I had left behind – it reminded me that I was here to not only find the City of Gold but to form friends along the way.

"Don't scare us like that again," Ahri lightly punched my shoulder, "Hey, Cerise, is that you?!"

I smiled dumbly as I chased after the girls down the hill. They had saved me: doesn't that make them my friends?

Do you trust them? My thoughts chimed in and I wasn't quite sure of the answer. I was sure that they were beginning to be my friends but, as Chenzira had taught me, making friendships wasn't the hard part – it was learning how to keep them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ailenia Cirirano

"You'd never catch me chasing a rabbit, I'm more of a ladies' man myself..."

It wasn't uncommon for Christopher's ignorant filled words to break into the hushed atmosphere. It was easily more uncomfortable than the twigs that caught Ailenia's bare legs as she battles through the thicket of foliage that surrounds her feet. Through the dimly lit path, Chistopher's face peers into Ailenia's eye of sight despite her best effort to maintain her five step lead. His charming smile was what had compelled Ailenia to pair off with him yet ,as the usual squabble shoots from his mouth, it was no surprise that Ailenia had already regretted her decision. Hovering beside her is Alejandra, her eyes scanning the ground, her legs quivering from the cooling breeze that whips through the trees. She wasn't exactly to most beautiful person Ailenia had set eyes on, yet as Ailenia's heart flutters with every quick and sly gaze towards Alejandra's slender body, it was clear she couldn't keep her eyes off her. Her feet tramps over the twigs and tuffles of new grown saplings and grass, with every swift movement creating a rustling yet oddly calming noise.

Through the winter's night that blanketed the sky, the light that burst from all three of their wands fire into the air. Ailenia's eyes scatter through the sky as their mixture of spells bounce off the canopy line..The horizon glittered with a mixture of trapsing light veils and the never ending starry night. Through all the beauty of the world, Ailenia had found the ugliness that lay on the earth's surface. Pausing after trailing through the lively foliage, it was clear that Christopher was, in fact, the ugly duckling of the human race. Even with his chiselled facial features that would mirror those of mystical fairy tales about the courageous prince, he couldn't hide the ugliness the expedition has caused.

Pushing the thoughts from her spiralling mind, Ailenia focused on finding Cerise. Unlike most of the leaders, she seemed tranquil, almost humane unlike the rest. With a jawline for days and eyes that were as soft as the clouds that floated in the sky above, Ailenia knew instantly that it was her who had be lured from the camp. As she reflects on the past couple of days , it was clear that the leaders expect precision when it came to the craft, rather than the emotion that makes it unstable in the wrong hands. As if emotions cause them to be flawed. She bottles away her feelings by wrapping herself in the thin sheeted sleeping bag they were all given in their introductory pack, as if somehow the polyester fabric would bind the cracks that her emotions had already poured from before. The sizzling of the skin still haunts her from her hallucination. A carefully conceded reminder that emotions aren't to be messed with, especially when powerful magic is at play.

As she finds herself drifting further into her own mindless wonder, her head whips at the sound of Cerise's raspy voice cutting through the air.

"Did you hear that?" She questions.

"I think it came from behind that opening," Alejandra's soft voice breaks from her puckered lips.

Under the faint glow of the moonlight, Alejandra's eyes for burst with indulgent browns. The flecks of hazel pop under the eerie glow and with her crimson lips releasing her comforting voice, Ailenia finds herself unaware that she is in complete awe. She stares for only seconds, not daring to let the drool drip from the corners of her pinched cheeks that form her smile.

"Oi dumbass, she's talking to you." Christopher's whining voice breaks through whatever tension lurked between the two girls.

Only a slight gaze was shared before Ailenia's head twirled back towards the path that breaks from the shrubbery. Her mind immediately races with the possibilities, her hands begin their descent into clamminess when a rabbit breaks from the shrubbery that surrounds the looming oak trees. Its silver coat radiates swirls of white light as if surrounded by an aura. Its eyes, glassy but bursting with glittering gold, lock hold onto Ailenia as it bolts towards the clearing near the north. The puzzled look shared by each of the three followed by the abrupt jog clears any thoughts that had pulsated through Ailenia's mind.

The rabbit's aura leaves a shimmering trail of light behind its fluffy tail, and with it, Ailenia finds herself easily distracted. Her eyes find themselves fixated on the light dissipating through the canopy layer that hangs delicately overhead.

"AILENIA WATCH OUT FOR THE—"

As soon as Alejandra's words cut through the air, Ailenia's body is floored by the grand oak that appears before her eyes. Her body, limp as a building brick, falls to the ground and lands with a thud against the mossy flooring. The grass that squeezes between her fingers squishes onto her head as she rubs the bump that rises underneath her greasy skin. As quick as Christopher is to burst through the clearing, Alejandra's body crumbles to the ground, her hand cupped in an aiding position as she sweeps gracefully against the jungle flooring.

"You know trees don't have a pulse right?" Her words break in between her nervous laughter.

"At least I don't flirt with everything that has a pulse."

Her humour wasn't something that Ailenia had seen before. Her scoffs break through the air as she pretends to be angry, even with knowing it's the truth.

"You know you don't have to run after trees? They can't run away from your jokes."

The laughter that filled the air was innocent, yet as Ailenia's eyes scan over Alejandra's body, her thoughts were anything but. Before she could say another word, Christopher whispers through the branches that surround them both. She watches Alejandra's tawny complexion blur past into the bushes behind Ailenia's head, leaving what could only be described as a whiff of her natural odor.

Plums cross Ailenia's mind at first, mixed with the pine freshness that lingers in the air. She passes through the cloud that Alejandra had left behind before peering through the shrubbery to find Cerise cloaked in a stranger's embrace. His hair lights up beautifully under the moon's illuminating rays, with each silver hair follicle basking in the light.

Their whispers are matched with the rustling that breaks from the wind passing through the scuffling leaves that litter the jungle clearing.

"I told you to meet me at dawn, the others will be suspicious."

Cerise's voice was oddly nervous, to say the least. Her voice crumbling underneath the shaky breaths that break from her small mouth.

"I couldn't wait to see you, my wand isn't the only thing made of wood, you know,"

The bile that sat in Ailenia's stomach rose to the surface, bubbling at the back of her throat. She watched the leader that was once known for her innocence and power, crumble under the effect of the opposite sex. Her eyes immediately drift towards Cerise's legs buckle as his hands caress her neck and down her curved back. Cerise's breath going erratic as he creeps lower down her back. Before his fingers graze her tailbone, his wand pokes through the gap in her bent arm.

Ailenia's mind compels her to stop but as Christopher and Alejandra's hands rest on her shoulders, they all stare in awe at Cerise's little secret. The amazement painted across her face is mirrored by Alejandra yet as, Ailenia stares longingly into her eyes, all she can imagine is her heart pulsating, it's pace quickening to the same rate as a horse's fast gallop.

Soft rays of blue light stream from the tip of his wand coursing gently into Cerise's ear, leaving her body sunken against his. He smiles, not the usual sincerity that you'd expect from a gentleman, but instead a crooked one teaming with the insanity mirrored behind his beady eyes. His feet twirl on the spot and as he steps towards the clearing that presumably exists the jungle, when a small body looms before his.

"Now Mr. Ealair, that's quite enough,"

His body freezes on the spot, his hand clutching deep into Cerise's ribs. Gloria's reputation precedes her, with her build outmatched by her skill yet and intelligence. Her small figure floats above the ground and in seconds, she finds herself staring down the shell of the man she had made Mareth become.

"I don't think Miss Chevalier would appreciate being manhandled."

Before his presumably apologetic voice could boom through the air, he's silence by the flip of her wand.

"Now if Miss Chevalier hadn't made herself completely clear, leave now and don't turn back."

His muscles manage to foolishly flex, his stature puffed as if a last ditch attempt to protect his manhood.

"What are you going to do Gloria, gum me to death," His voice smashes through the air, followed by the mocking gestures his hands dare to make.

Her lips snarl into a smile as his confidence cowers into the shadows that lurk around him. She gains to her tip toes, breaking whatever ego Mareth had inflated, as she flicks her wander through the air. His body violently shakes, his arms immediately dropping Cerise's limp body towards the ground. He tries desperately to storm away in his usual brooding fashion yet ,as he turns to move, his feet merge with the oak roots that belong to the towering tree to his side. Limb by limb he is transformed into what can only be described as a wooden sculpture until his face is the only part left untouched.

"I'll be sure to let your school know that you became lost in your long travel home."

The vines that wrap themselves around his torso swarm towards his face and cover his mouth, muffling the screams that break through the gaps in the vines.

"Oh and Mr. Ealair," Her head cocks from its tilted position, loosening her wand in her hand.

"If you want to play with the cub, don't be surprised if you piss off the mother bear."

As quick as she was to appear, her body disappears back into the darkness. Christopher cocks his head back towards the camp, but as Alejandra's body falls behind, the energy that surrounds the trio changes. With Christopher's footsteps further away, Ailenia's skin begins to crawl with angst. She watches the smile break from her mouth and as the lights intensify in the distance, time was surely running from under her control. Her lips, perched into a pout, land themselves on Alejandra's cheek and without judgement or resentment, her feet make a hasty run back to camp. With the memories of the night locked away, only the tingling sensation is left across her lips. That and the burning desire that buried itself in Ailenia's mind.

Maybe she didn't know herself as well as she had thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kamaria Sehene

Sanna and Aimee were quite the pair. If they were models Kamaria was assigned to photograph, she could easily spend hours portraying them from different perspectives. They were two blondes, but their blondness wasn't the same. It was alike in some ways, but mostly different. She would love to capture each and every similarity and difference, if only that did not require her to work with them.

That was unfair. From what she could tell, Sanna was a sweet girl. As for Aimee, however....

"What are you looking at?" The French girl demanded, her accent thick. Kamaria had always heard that the French hated to speak anything but French, and the tone Aimee used with every English word out of her lips would support this theory.

When dealing with girls such as Aimee, Kamaria had a feeling the best option was to remain silent. She smoothed out her pants and met Aimee's gaze evenly, but no word crossed her lips. Aimee's lips tightened into a scowl.

"Well?" Aimee's accent made the word sound more like 'will'. "Are you going to answer me? Can you even talk, or are you some kind of mute?"

"Don't be mean," Sanna reprimanded mildly. "There is nothing wrong with being quiet, or even mute."

Aimee tossed her hair over her shoulder as perfectly as if she were a model in a shampoo commercial. "Well, we need to talk to come up with a plan if we want to follow our orders."

"Of course we want to follow orders," Sanna replied. "We need to save Cerise. Perhaps there are clues around that indicate where she went."

"That would be a good start," Aimee said, "but I don't see any. Do you?"

"No," Sanna admitted.

"Yes," Kamaria said.

The gazes of both blondes snapped around and looked at Kamaria. Sanna's was made up of surprise, Aimee's a mix of surprise and irritation.

Kamaria continued, "If you look up that way, there's a series of slight dents in the leaves on the ground. Likely they were caused by Cerise's footprints. She must have gone that way, and not very long ago, or else the leaves would have blown away."

Sanna peered at the direction Kamaria indicated. "You're right. Let's go. We better hurry up. Every minute that goes by Cerise is in more and more danger."

Aimee grunted. Kamaria had to admire that the polished blonde could even make grunts sound ladylike. It must be a French quality.

Kamaria moved after the indents in the leaves. It was a small detail, but one that would become infinitely obvious in a photograph. It only went to show that her eyes were like high definition camera lenses. She'd trained them well.

The path of leaves extended a short distance into the woods. After that, Cerise's shadow loomed at the edge of Kamaria's line of sight.

"What is that?" Aimee asked. "Some kind of jungle monster?"

"Of course not. It's Cerise."

"It is not. It is a shadow."

"It is. The shape of which happens to be an exact match for Cerise's silhouette, straight down the path that we think Cerise walked down."

Sanna was quiet, but she nodded. "I think Kamaria is right. And if we get closer, we can be sure."

"Whatever," Aimee muttered.

Kamaria sped up her pace. The jungle may be full of trees and leaves, but there was very little blocking the path. Too little. And it was far too quiet. Shouldn't there be animals running around and undergrowth cropping up everywhere? Shouldn't there be life in a jungle?

Cerise was closer than ever, but Kamaria had a bad feeling about this in the pit of her stomach, like when she knew a photo was going to turn out horribly but was still waiting for it to print. There was something about the sight in front of her... She came to a halt.

Sanna stopped, but Aimee rushed past her. Aimee touched Cerise on the shoulder and spun her around. Kamaria's heart rose up into her throat. The girl Aimee was touching was Cerise. But the shadow behind them was something else entirely.

"Look out!" She shouted.

At the same instant, Sanna cried, "Expecto patronum!"

A silver polecat exploded out of the end of Sanna's wand. It danced past Aimee and Cerise to the shadow. The shadow swatted it out of existence. Aimee made a horrified gasp and yanked Cerise backwards with her.

"Keep running!" Kamaria called to Aimee and the dazed Cerise.

"Expelliarmous!" Sanna tried.

"Great," Aimee yelled, "now I don't have a wand!"

Sanna winced. "Sorry!"

Aimee was running faster than Kamaria would have thought possible given she was dragging Cerise behind her. But the shadow was moving fast. Even now, Kamaria couldn't know what it was, only that it meant harm.

She pointed her wand at the shadow and yelled, "Duratus!"

The shadow froze. Unfortunately, so did Cerise and Aimee.

Sanna looked at her. "What did you do?"

"It's a freezing spell," Kamaria said. She neglected to mention how she only knew it because she used it to take photos of things like falling snowflakes. "It'll wear off in about three minutes. We need to move, now."

Sanna dragged Aimee along, and Kamaria had the honor of carrying the frozen Cerise. Though she supposed she shouldn't be ungrateful- when Aimee unfroze, Kamaria would not want to be the one dragging her along.

They burst out of the forest just as Cerise and Aimee snapped back into motion. Aimee squeaked and shoved Sanna away. Cerise just looked confusedly at Kamaria, who awkwardly stumbled away.

"What... what happened?" Cerise asked. "Where... where are we?"

"We're outside of camp," Sanna said.

"You chased a bunny into the jungle and nearly got us all killed," Aimee summarized.

Kamaria flashed Aimee a look and turned back to Cerise. "Next time, do us all a favor and don't run off after cute creatures into dangerous situations."

Cerise nodded uncertainly. "Noted."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Titus

FAILED JUMP THE SHARK ATTEMPT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kazuhiko Tommi

"I want you to meet Jonathan Swift, the author of that evil political book, Gulliver's Travels! And this other fellow is Charles Darwin, and this one is Schopenhauer, and this one is Einstein, and this one here at my elbow is Mr. Albert Schweitzer, a very kind philosopher indeed. Here we all are, Montag, Aristophanes and Mahatma Gandhi and Gautama Buddha and Confucius and Thomas Love Peacock and Thomas Jefferson and Mr. Lincoln, if you please. We are also Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John." – Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Kazuhiko Tommi had read of myriads of adventures. In the Aenid, he had seen the journey it had taken a man to found the greatest empire that history had ever known; in The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he had seen a man's struggle against his own innermost demons; in Harry Potter, he had seen the trials of a boy trying to save a world he hadn't known even existed.

He had to admit, however, that none of these great adventures involved searching for a witch who had wanted to pet a rabbit.

He ought to feel honoured – he knew that much. Cerise Chevalier was a great witch of her own reputation, and yet Kazuhiko knew that she had always been something of a joke in the Wizarding community. Sure, once she had managed not to set fire to the room when she tried to use magic, she had proven to be very talented, but it had taken her far too long to reach her potential. Wizards were as elitist as they were prone to remember everything and anything; Kazuhiko was all too aware of this truth.

He was not alone, though he had asked to be. When Mr. Goethe had told them to go and find his partner, Kazuhiko had immediately volunteered to explore the south-western part of the jungle – which he was now doing. What he hadn't volunteered for, however, was to be accompanied by two girls he had never met a day in his life.

"It's a pleasure to meet someone from the Far East," said the first. "How is your school?"

The first of the two Durmstrang girls spoke a heavily accented, broken English that had the sound of Google Translate; perfectly decent in theory, but always slightly off in its mechanics. Mahoutokoro had always offered English classes as well as spells, and Kazuhiko's parents had insisted on extracurricular tutoring. He could not help but wonder why it was that not everyone appeared to have received the same education as he had – surely, the wizarding schools had at least some overlap, so no school could be considered superior than the others. He had always thought his own better, of course, deep in the depths of his mind, but that was different; little more than student pride. Now, however, he was starting to think it might be true.

English or not, he told himself, Misaki and Ishi have already went home, whereas Durmstrang has kept all four of their students. Surely, there is a lot to be said there.

He had known his two fellow students, of course, and, though he had to admit he was slightly surprised that they had been chosen, he had expected them to last much longer than they had. Sure, they had never been the top of their class, but they'd always been strong enough, and they were beyond competent outside of classes as well. Oftentimes, Kazuhiko would catch himself thinking that the only difference between him and his peers was the expectations his mother had laid upon him. Were that the case, he was starting to believe that perhaps he, too, may not make it to the end.

"You did not answer," said the girl with the accent. "Is everything the matter with you?"

"I'm fine, thank you," he replied. "I was just thinking. I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Kazuhiko Tommi, from Mahoutokoro – although you clearly knew the second part. And you are?"

He stuck out his hand. She stared at it, but kept a blank look on her face. The second girl, however, butted in and replied in her place.

"I'm Markéta Cermák," she said. "Durmstrang, although I'm sure you could tell. This is Sanna Lindström – also Durmstrang. You'll have to excuse her; this is her first time out of the country. We don't shake hands in Bulgaria."

"Really?" asked Kazuhiko. "Then how do you introduce yourself?"

"We do like this," said Sanna as she bowed her head. It was a simple, curt movement, but formal nonetheless. Kazuhiko repeated it, prompting a giggle from Sanna and a snort from Markéta.

"What did I do wrong?"

"You do too much flower," she explained. "It is kept simple, or it is about yourself, not the other."

Too much of a flourish, he wanted to say, but he didn't; there was no point in it, and something told him that it would embarrass Sanna more than anything. She seemed simple, in a way, and yet she must be intelligent to be accepted into the expedition. Kazuhiko supposed he still had much to learn about the girls from Durmstrang. The thought excited him; they were two books before him, waiting to be read. They were made of flesh and bone, of course, and not paper, but, nonetheless, they were stories waiting to be told. Each person was, in their own way.

He tried the action again. This time, he merely bobbed his head up and down, moving as quickly as he could. His bangs fell into his eye and he swatted them away on his way back up. This time, the girls managed to hide their amusement.

"Better," said Markéta. "We'll work on it."

"Fair enough," he replied. "What's Durmstrang like?"

"Is good, if you mind not that half the students come from lines of dark wizards."

"She's one of them," added Markéta. "But don't let that fool you; she's the biggest goodie two-shoes I've ever seen."

"Well, I suppose a rose by any other name would swell as sweet," said Kazuhiko. Sanna blushed and looked away, but he did not see. Already, his mind had flown elsewhere, thinking of his own rose, waiting for his return. Already, Kazuhiko was thinking of another pair of arms, another set of lips; he was thinking of home, where everything was known and yet felt like a new excursion every day. Or at least, it did when his rose was around.

"And a pile of dung would still smell like shit."

Kazuhiko was pulled from his fantasy by Markéta's words. Never had he heard such irreverence in his life; the word of the Bard was sacred, and he almost told her so, but stopped himself in the last minute. Already, one member of their group had proven herself brash – he knew it was best for there not to be two. Still as a morning lake, he told himself. Mother has always said my greatest quality was my even temper. "My harmonious prince," she would call him, when she was feeling particularly generous. Of course, he knew that was only the meaning of his name, but he did not mind. Compliments came seldom enough from her direction that, when she would utter one, Kazuhiko would not dare question it.

"Is dangerous here, no?" asked Sanna. "I hear there is many monsters in the Yucatán."

"Well, if all of them are bunny rabbits, we should be fine unless someone decides they want to pet it. Honestly, what kind of – "

"Enough," said Kazuhiko. "If Mr. Goethe heard us speak of Miss Chevalier in such a way..."

"It would be very not good," said Sanna. "Mr. Goethe and Miss Chevalier are friends, no?"

"Exactly."

"Great," sighed Markéta. "Make that the two biggest goodie two-shoes I've ever seen."

Kazuhiko would protest, but he saw no reason to; she was not wrong, nor was he offended. He had been raised to be not only good, after all, but great. If a girl who wanted to seem edgier and harder than she was saw fault with that, it was no problem of his own. Besides, in the stories it was always the one who seemed to care less who ended up growing to care for their companions. Something told Kazuhiko this would be no different.

Night was falling over the Yucatán. Hours had passed, and no progress had been made – at least, not in finding Cerise Chevalier. Their feet had grown sore, and so had their tongues; for as they travelled, the three spoke of all and of nothing, telling stories of home. They were only small things: a debate on the way their schools insisted on a slightly different positioning of the wand for the Confundus charm for maximum effect, or a nice bakery that was apparently within ten minutes' walk from Durmstrang, where all the students would spend their free periods. But, Kazuhiko was certain that, over time, they would grow big – if they were given the time, that was.

That was the day that Kazuhiko Tommi remembered that the greatest stories of all were the ones that lied on the tongues and in the hearts of men and women.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aki Fujino

Cerise was missing in the jungle and it was assumed by David that there was something magical to do with it which is why I found myself walking into the jungle myself, with the company of two other guys that I didn't bother to learn the name of. I trailed behind them by a few metres and was ready for anything unpredictable to happen. There wasn't much sound coming from the jungle other than the occasional chirp of a bird, which seemed odd to me. Shouldn't the jungle be filled with noise? David was right, there was something off about this.

As the three of us continued to travel through the jungle, I felt myself running into a few tree branches and almost a spider web, but there was nothing dangerous. I felt nervous continuing to walk through the jungle. Something was seriously wrong if nobody had managed to find her yet and I feared the worst. I also feared that whatever came after Cerise would come after us and if Cerise wasn't strong enough to fight it off, how would we? We were just a couple of wizards who hadn't even finished magic school yet.

After only another two minutes of walking something darted across my vision. I stopped in my tracks and stood, watching to see what it was.

"Did you guys see that?" I asked the two who were in front of me. They both turned around to face me. The guy who spoke up had brown hair that reached the top of his ears and his eyes were brown in colour but he waited for the boy with the blonde hair next to him to answer my question.

"No. There is nothing, I see nothing," he answered in a sort of poetic voice.

"No, there is something here," the brown haired boy said, walking forwards in a trance like way.

"What is it you see?" blonde guy answered but the brown haired guy didn't response, he just continued to walk forwards. I looked around the jungle and tried to see what was so clearly in front of us. I could tell by the brown haired guys trance like state that something was working its magic on him. This, despite being bad, could potentially be the key to finding Cerise.

"Don't stop following him. I think he may lead us to Cerise."

"Okay," the blonde guy said in response and the two of us were now walking side by side, following the brown haired boy as we ventured even deeper into the jungle. We'd gone so far that I feared we would never make it out alive. Anything could happen to us, especially the further into the jungle we got, because that's how most of these bad magical places do, the further you walk into them, the darker the magic gets and the harder it is to fight it off.

After following him for about ten minutes, the three of us came to a clearing where the ground was dressed with piles of bright green leaves with one tree and around that tree was cerise who had rope tied around her wrists and ankles.

"Cerise, we've been looking for you for hours, what happened?" I asked her and I felt oddly not uncomfortable at the fact that I was around others and acting as a leader of sorts. I guess I wasn't thinking into things too much, as I hadn't thought about that until now.

"Be careful and don't underestimate it, it's a trickster. Don't let it fool you like it fooled me Aki, Mareth. It's already gotten to Christopher," Cerise spoke in a panic. I looked above me and sighed. The sky was starting to darken now and the last of the sunset was coming through which was beautiful in a way, but also absolutely terrifying.

"I've heard about those before. Where is it?" I questioned her, suddenly searching around the whole clearance for the trickster.

"It's the rabbit. Don't let it trick you or you won't be able to defeat it."

"We should untie you," the boy whose name I figured out to be Mareth spoke after having been silent for a while.

"No, I'll just fall prey to the trickster again. It's up to the both pf you to ignore the tricks and defeat it. Then worry about untying me." I then began walking towards where Christopher stood, having a conversation with something. I looked down at the ground and finally laid my eyes on the trickster. A small, cute, grey rabbit. I hadn't seen to many rabbits in my life, but this one was pretty cute, but I couldn't allow for it to trick me.

"Follow me, Aki. Your father wants to congratulate you on your achievement at still being here at the expedition," it spoke and even though it was the rabbit, it sounded sort of like it was coming from the sky or the tree.

"No, I won't let you trick me you stupid trickster, my father's dead, I should know that, it was my fault!" I yelled

"Nobody tries tricking me using the death of my father and gets away with it!" I yelled again, taking my wand out of my pocket, lighting the rabbit on fire.

"I think we'll be leaving now," I spoke with a newfound confidence, walking away from the burning rabbit and helping Mareth untie the ropes around Cerise's wrists and ankles and Christopher slowly walking back towards us, his trance no longer.