Migs could still vividly remember when he first arrived at Salem.  Just like his great-aunt, Migs' greyhound bus ride from Belcourt to Grand Forks, North Dakota had marked the first time Migs had ever ventured outside of the reservation.  While his aunt had traveled in the exact opposite direction towards the pacific northwest, Migs' own ultimate destination was a little wizarding town in Massachusetts.  An area that, at the time, seemed so strange and foreign that he didn't think there was any place that could feel any more different than home. 

Hogwarts, and Northern Scotland in general, were coming close.  Lush green, tree-filled, gently rolling mountains had taken the place of miles and miles flat, brush land stretching to the horizon.  Now, at the end of summer, it was cooler here than at home, but Migs was confident winter here would be nowhere near as harsh as back at the ranch.  Massachusetts certainly never came close. 

But, the mare that stood grazing in the paddock behind the hospital hut was very familiar and an unexpected touch of home.  The strange white unicorn-y thing that  raced along the far fence was less so.  Mig sat on the paddock's top rail, the pointed toes of his boots wrapped securely around two posts.  He sat, hunched over the letter he was writing, alternating between sitting quietly in thought and scribbling out a few, scattered sentences.  He wore his hair loose and it fell randomly over his shoulders and to the sides of his face, but he was quickly finding that had been a poor choice. 

The large falcon that hopped anxiously on the railing next to Migs was about as ADD as a bird could get.  Patience had never been Pazi's strength and now, with the potential of a flight on hand, the gyrfalcon couldn't stop hopping in place, fluttering his wings and venting his building excitement on any stray strand of hair that happened to drift in his vicinity.  Migs had tried to pull his hair back over his shoulder a few times only to find the bird redirect its adrenaline-release to his finger. 

"Can't you find something else to do?" Migs asked before shaking his head and turning back to the letter.  But, the bird just seemed to find the display of annoyance incredibly fascinating and took a firm hold of Migs' finger, spilling the letters' pages to the ground.  The falcon held his finger firmly but with just enough pressure to remind the young man he could, very well, clamp down.

Uniform

Kayla ambled down towards the Hospital Hut, hands in the pockets of her skirt. Every once and a while, she paused to pull her socks up...oh, the perils of a hated school uniform. At least they kept her knees clean.

She really loved the grounds, so different from her home in North Carolina. The grassy ridges, the steep hills, the towering old world forest and glassy lake... Scotland was gorgeous. And the long meandering path down to the Healer's hut gave her a higher vantage point to spot one Mr. Nagde. Kayla sped up the last little way, pebbles sliding down with her as she forsook the path and nearly stumbled over a hidden hollow.

"Hey, Migs!" she said as she approached, grinning. "I came to see the Healer 'cause I heard she was related to you, but you'll do." She swung herself up on the paddock beside him without breaking her stride, the metal rocking for a moment with the impact of girl vs. fence. She waggled her fingers hello at his falcon.

Dilly rolled her eyes as she came walking up, recognizing flirting when she saw it.

Not that Madame Nagde's nephew, or whatever, wasn't worth flirting with, now that she saw him up close. Dilly hadn't really had a chance to meet him officially yet, because he hung with his school mates. And now that school was in session, Dilly had little free time. Her only time at the Hospital Hut since school started was when Alice smacked into the tree during the first flying class, and gave herself a nosebleed.

However...this afternoon on the Moving Staircase, Dilly had managed to get a splinter under a fingernail; and while she was perfectly capable of digging it out for herself, that didn't mean mean she wanted to.  An ordinary splinter was no problem, but under a fingernail...Dilly shuddered. Getting it out was going to hurt. A lot.

However...she didn't put it off  because she was chicken. No way.

She lingered around the corral because...well...because Madame Nagde's nephew or whatevers...was HAWT!

It was with no surprise that Pazi noticed the newcomers first.  The gyrefalcon not only abandoned preening the ends of Migs hair in favor of watching the Junior and the youngster approach but he felt the need to let out an excited, ear-piercing screech. 

"Howdy," he offered Kayla with a warm grin that lasted about as long as it took for the bird to happily screech, again.  "Buzzard.  But, yes.  She's my aunt.  Well, great aunt.  Grand aunt?  I don't know.  She's my grandfather's sister - whatever that makes her.  Some sort of Aunt."  That Peculiar Aunt, as most of the kids around the ranch would usually call her.  He supposed, in time, he'd probably join the ranks of The Peculiar as well.  If he hadn't done so already. 

"She's family, too, I suppose," Migs commented, pointing towards the mare still grazing in the pasture, glancing past Kayla towards the girl lingering a short distance away.  "Came from our ranch.  Kind of a strange reminder that it's all such a small world."

Migs glanced past Kayla, again.  He didn't recognize her though he had the sinking suspicion he should.  "You must be one of the Hogwarts clan."  None of the other schools had brought participants that small.  "What's your story?"

Dilly cringed slightly as she thought she saw a glimmer of recognition in Tulo's nephew-whatever's eyes.  Too late she remembered that he'd been there at the disastrous SAWS meeting where Dilly managed to alienate half of Hogwarts. At least that was how it felt at the time.

It still rankled in Dilly's mind that she was judged so harshly for acting like a kid. After all she was a kid, and it didn't seem to her that the big kids in charge of the meeting had acted all that well either. But whatever. Dilly still  had sympathy for werewolves; even Ollie. But she doubted she'd be going to any more SAWS meetings...and she doubted even more that anyone would miss her.

She was just reminding herself that at least one of the guys from Salem hadn't been so bad, when Tulo's nephew/whatever looked past the girl with him, noticed her and then spoke.

"You must be one of the Hogwarts clan....What's your story?"

"Ummmm..." Dilly said eloquently, as she instinctively hid the hand with the sore finger behind her back. "I...um...used to live here, until school started. I was...um...looking for Madame Nagde..."

"Great-aunt," Kayla confirmed as the bird let out a screech. A surprised giggle trailed from her lips as she eyed the bird; it was excited, she guessed, although really it could have been sidling towards her with evil intent and she'd have never known the difference - it was in this case an optimistic guess, born from her desire not to be attacked for joining the falcon on its fence. Kayla found that most birds tended to be somewhat evil. But then, she was mostly acquainted with crows, and those things were nuisances.

Kayla followed Migs' nod to the center of the paddock. "You didn't bring her with you when school started, did you?" was her first thought and, a second later, "Lord, how do you even get a horse overseas?"

A child approached, and Kayla glanced up in interest. She leaned as far as she could without falling off the rail, biting her lip on a smile when she saw the girl quickly shove her hand behind her back. But Kayla's grin was as bubbly as the rest of her, and it burst through any attempts to smother it.

"She's probably inside," she offered, swinging her feet a little. And, "What did you need her for?" There was nothing in her tone but friendly curiosity.

Madame Nagde.  Somehow, the name didn't quite evoke his Aunt's image but that seemed to be the mode of address here.  He'd have to be sure to tuck that away in the back of his mind; he was sure it'd spark some humor at the next family gathering.  Kayla pointed the girl inside and Migs nodded, confirming that was probably where the Healer was.  But, then, Migs remembered that girl's other comment. 

"Wait.  You used to live here?"  Migs asked, watching the girl curiously.  Now that he got a better look at her, he did realize he recognized her.  Both from the SAWS meeting and by ... well, could you call it a reputation.  "You're that Delia kid she took in, aren't you?" pointing at the girl but immediately regretting the gesture when Pazi took the opportunity to take a swipe at the outstretched finger.  "Guess that makes us cousins of some sort."  Or, something.  "This is Kayla - a friend of mine.  And, I'm Migs." 

Migs turned back towards Kayla, leaning back somewhat to look past her towards the mare.  "Sure!"  He agreed, harnessing his considerable will power to appear completely serious.  "I stashed her in the lavatory on the flight over.  Didn't you notice one of them had an 'out of order' sign the whole time?" 

The girl was looking at the paint mare when Dilly first came up. "You didn't bring her with you when school started, did you?" Then after thinking about it she added,  "Lord, how do you even get a horse overseas?" Good question, thought Dilly. Though now that she thought about it, wasn't that Tulo's mare?

When asked why she was there, Dilly just told the truth. Up to a point. She really did want to see Tulo...who she only called Tulo in her thoughts, never in person. It would be too undignified... 

"She's probably inside,"  said the girl, who by her accent was definitely one of the Salem kids. "What did you need her for?"  She didn't seem to be prying or snooping, thought Dilly, so she was probably OK.

Dilly was trying to think of a more definite reason for her presence...one that didn't involve needles or tweezers...when the young man spoke up.

"Wait.  You used to live here?" He eyed her more closely. "You're that Delia kid she took in, aren't you?' He pointed at her, only to have the falcon take a nip at his finger.

Dilly sighed. She hated to be called Delia. It sounded like something an old-maid aunt would call you. But Tulo always called her that, and she couldn't thrash Tulo like she used to do the kids in the orphanage. So she'd just have to get used to it, she supposed. "Guess that makes us cousins of some sort. This is Kayla - a friend of mine.  And, I'm Migs." 

He turned back towards Kayla,  eyeing the mare.  "Sure!"  he said, answering Kayla's question with a perfectly straight face. "I stashed her in the lavatory on the flight over.  Didn't you notice one of them had an 'out of order' sign the whole time?"

Migs was good; but so was Dilly. She gave him a suspicious look, and then acted as if she'd only just now figured out that he was pulling hers and Kayla's legs. "Hey, you need to teach me that spell," she said. "I've got this elephant I need to hide..."

Grinning, she held out her hand to shake. "I'm Dilly."

Too late she realized it was the hand with the sore finger.

Kayla considered this. "Hmmm," she replied, her expression equally serious; the two of them were quite somber, all right. Despite her best efforts, Migs had her beat. No one could do serious like an American Indian. "You know, I did. But I thought that's where Boris was hiding so I just wrote it off as a necessary sacrifice." A smile quirked her lips at Dilly's sarcastic addition.

Dilly stuck out her hand to shake, and Kayla leaned forward with interest to see what she'd been hiding. Aha. But there was nothing in her hand, just... well, an awfully pink fingertip. Inflamed - maybe a burn, or a little cut? She tilted her head, then slipped off the fence to bend and inspect it. Gently she took Dilly by the wrist, tilting the hand. A splinter. Damn, those were easy! Kayla got them all the time climbing trees at home. "Hey, d'you want me to get that out? I know some healing spells, and you wouldn't need to go find Madame Nagde."

Dilly wanted to yank her hand away on the spot. The only worse thing she could think of than a splinter under the fingernail was  an ingrown toenail. But, she reminded herself, she wasn't a baby. And she especially didn't want to look like a baby in front of  her sort-of cousin, who was...to put it simply...gorgeous! Nope, wouldn't do at all,  to look like a whiny snotnose in front of him...

"Um..."  she said, trying to steel herself for the inevitable poking and prodding. "I know splinters are easy to get out. In fact I could do it myself...I have before, lots of times..." At least twice, anyway, she told herself, not to feel so bad for exaggerating. "Except...this one is under the fingernail. And...well...I'm too chicken to dig it out myself."

She looked down at her feet, totally humiliated at being exposed as a wuss in front of Migs.

"No spell involved," Migs offered Dilly with a good-natured grin.  The kid was quick, that was for sure; Migs could see why Tulojow was drawn to her.  "Just a tub of lard and a really big shoe horn.  With an elephant, though, you may need something bigger than a shoehorn.  A snow shovel, perhaps.  And, no.  Boris was strapped to the top." 

Grinning, Migs glanced over his shoulder to look at the mare.  "But, no.  My aunt brought her over.  Almost a year and a half ago.  She borrowed her from my grandfather's herd to play nursemaid to that thing."  He pointed towards the splotchy, gold and white yearling on the other end of the pasture.  He'd never quite understood why Tulojow had come all the way home for a mare since there were certainly plenty here in the UK.  "Don't have a clue how she got her here." 

"Dilly," Migs said, correcting himself as reached for the girl's offered hand with a sympathetic nod.  "I get it.  Tulojow still insists on calling me Leonard, too." 

But, before he'd managed to take her hand, Kayla had noticed the girls' obvious predicament.  "Ouch," he murmured sympathetically.  Splinters under the fingernails could be especially painful; he'd gotten his fair share wrestling with fence lines back home.  Oblivious to the younger girl's star-struck (or, at least quasi-relative struck) dilemma, Migs pushed himself down from the fence and stood next to Kayla in a show of emotional support.  Or, something. 

"She's good," Migs offered in as supportive a manner as he could, nodding towards Kayla.  "I trust her with my fingers." 

"No spell involved. Just a tub of lard and a really big shoe horn.  With an elephant, though, you may need something bigger than a shoehorn.  A snow shovel, perhaps. "

"I'll have to try that," Dilly quipped, "next time I'm on the Hogwarts Express. Have to make sure that goodies cart doesn't have any peanuts though. Might be hard to explain, if a trunk comes whipping out of that coat closet as she's going by..."

"Dilly...I get it.  Tulojow still insists on calling me Leonard, too." 

Dilly sighed. "At least they didn't name me Lavinia or something like that."

Then he noticed her finger.  "Ouch." Coming down off the fence he went and stood next to Kayla.

"She's good. I trust her with my fingers."

"OK," said Dilly, in a somewhat quavery voice. Kayla had said something about healing spells. She hoped they wouldn't burn the way iodine did...

Steeling herself she scrunched her eyes shut, turning her face away...

Migs backed her up, and she offered him a brief but warm smile for the vote of confidence. Her fingers strayed to his arm with a grateful pat, but the gesture was absent - she was still watching the girl to see if she accepted.

"OK..."

Kayla bit down on a grin as the girl scrunched up her nose and turned her face away, clearly expecting the worst. She'd be very gentle. "This won't hurt a bit," she reassured her, sounding very earnest instead of very amused. (It was a gift. She should be in theatre. Except she'd quit for art club, whoops.)

"Glacium minoriat," she said briskly, and cold spread through Dilly's finger like Kayla'd pressed an ice cube to the skin. The spell numbed the flesh and calmed the irritated red tint the tiny wound had taken on. She smiled at Dilly, an open and reassuring expression. "Ready?" she asked. "1.... 2.... lignum dispersimus!" The splinter shot out of Dilly's finger. "3," Kayla finished with some satisfaction, and winked at the girl before flicking the splinter off the end of her wand. Her finger should still be fairly cool - there shouldn't be any lingering pains, nor continued infection. Kayla watched Dilly from under lowered lashes, gaze tracking the younger girl's expression for winces or scowls to make sure the finger wasn't still throbbing.

"You should!" Migs offered, encouragingly.  There was a distinct beauty to this plan.  Assuming either the kid was taking him seriously or the kid was being so sarcastic she'd try to do it for the sake of doing it (she was being raised by his aunt, after all).  If the kid found an elephant over the summer and if she managed to get it on the train, Migs wouldn't be around to lay blame on for giving the girl the idea. 

It was perfect.  He'd love to see it.

"Lavie.  Lav.  Vinnie," Migs sounded out, half to himself and half to whoever was paying him any mind.  Lavinia did seem an unfortunate name. 

Feeling only slightly useless, Migs watched on as Kayla tended to the girl's finger.  "Looks nasty.  Sure you're glad that's out," he commented, giving the splinter on the wand tip carful consideration.  "Must feel better?"