(10:30 AM - for information about this thread, please see the plotting page Here)

For almost a month she'd been good.  Relatively speaking.  She'd been going to class (at least in physical terms).  She'd been doing her homework (as best she could).  And, attending her tutor sessions (again, in physical terms).  She hadn't gotten into too many fights (emphasis on too many - of course, what was excessive was entirely in the eye of the beholder).  All in all, she was giving the whole good settled person student thing an honest and thorough try.  And, had been succeeding.  For the most part. 

But, the patience and the good behavior was bound to last only so long.  The whole last week, the restlessness had been building, steadily.  It had been getting progressively harder for Mairead to sit still in class and large chunks of class were spent staring out the window when any little floating leave, cloud or speck of dust caught her attention. 

If someone were to ask her on that Saturday morning what they'd covered the previous day, chances were good Mairead wouldn't have had a clue.  Not a single word from any of her classes that day had registered.  Her mind had completely and fully checked out from school and had focused, fully, on planning Saturday's adventure.  The day's adventure would prove to be carefully planned adventure and complete improvisation. 

Her flute and wand, some rope pilfered from one of the Care of Magical Creatures paddock, a bit of extra fabric, a role of parchment and a handful of rolls and hardboiled eggs from breakfast had been stuffed in her ratty old bag and slung over her back.  She'd traded the week's uniforms for the more familiar tweed skirt and knit shirt and woolen sweater.  The tall scottish deerhound trotted next to her as she set across the yard with the determination of one on an important mission.

Eirene sat outside underneath a tree, enjoying her Saturday morning. She had the whole day to work on homework, and quite honestly, she was looking forward to it. Kids who complained about homework and essays just couldn’t understand how good it felt to accomplish something and do it well. Of course, Eirene was overly concerned about her professors and what they thought of her, but learning new spells was a reward in itself- most of the time!

She munched on an apple, turning the pages in her Charms textbook and murmuring to herself as she read. Though she sat underneath a tree, she didn’t lean against it, instead keeping her posture perfectly straight and her legs folded in a ladylike position. It was the weekend so Eirene wasn’t wearing her uniform. She had on a long, bland skirt, a blouse, and a cardigan that looked like it came out of her grandmother’s closet. Her clothes were immaculate (and very expensive, which she liked to point out), but they lacked the charm of a child’s typical bright and comfortable outfit.

Eirene sighed happily and inspected a bit of lint on her tights, then glanced up. She shifted to get a better look, letting the book on her lap fall to the side. Mairead! She squinted. That was Mairead, with her shaggy dog. Eirene shook her head, annoyed that the girl had been allowed to keep the mongrel at Hogwarts. She loved her cat, but if she’d known she could have bought a crup like she’d first wanted to…

Shaking her head again, Eirene shot up and gathered her things as quickly as possible. The mean urge to get Mairead into trouble mixed in with a pinch of curiosity made a recipe for disaster. And a black-eye. Yet, she couldn’t resist following, quickening her pace to catch up with the small form in the distance.

The girl looked like she was heading closer to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Eirene glanced at the gloom hanging over the trees, and then back at the sunny Hogwarts grounds. Mairead must be crazy. Why waste a sunny day doing something dangerous when you could be working on Charms?

“Mairead,” she called, keeping a safe distance of about ten feet between them. Her wand was in reach, just in case. “What are you doing?” Her voice sounded a tad scolding, like she’d just found her with her hand in the cookie jar. “You’re not thinking about going in there, are you?” She raised her eyebrows and smirked. Eirene couldn’t help but find some joy in ruining whatever plans Mairead had made for the day.

While traversing the short bit of grass between the paddocks and the edge of the forest, Mairead had sought out the tallest grass and muddiest path she could manage.  Which ... wasn't much.  But, by the time she'd heard her name called in a less than welcoming tone, she'd managed to achieve a non-ignorable ring of mud around the sole of her shoe. 

With every intention of pretending like she hadn't heard the Ravenclaw, Mairead tipped her chin just a little higher in the air and continued (with a little more exaggerated trudge to her step) towards the forest line.  But, Eithne wasn't cooperating.  At the sound of someone's new voice, the deerhound mix turned and trotted towards the other girl, her long tail wagging lazily.  Mairead stopped and made no effort to temper the long groan of annoyance as she turned back towards Eirene and Eithne. 

"Look, Antipus."  Mairead said.  She'd had little motivation over the last few weeks to learn the girl's last name.  She crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at the other girl, giving her an expression she figured was close to what her own mother would give her.  "I've got really important business to take care of.  And, I don't need a child getting in me way.  I don't want to have to comfort ye when it gets scary.  This is grown up stuff.  Yer best stay there and play with yer dolls."  That was, quite frankly, all Eirene needed to know about what she was doing. 

Mairead rolled her eyes.  "Are ye really a complete cabóg?"  Mairead asked.  One of these days, she was going to have to get Keegan or one of the older boys to teach her some decent insults in English.  Mairead's voice dropped to a near whisper as she started to edge near Eirene.  "I know we aren't supposed to go in there, but that's where the trail leads.  So, that's where I got to go.  But, ye best stay here.  This isn't kid's stuff."  With a nod of her head, Mairead turned, whistling for the dog as she started towards the forest, again.

It didn’t seem like a Saturday.  In fact, the week had gone by rather quickly, and Adrienna was still stuck in it.  And although, she normally went on a walk through the grounds (after attending the library of course), she felt that it was the wrong day to be traipsing about behind the Care of Magical Creatures corral, as if something was waiting past it that she didn’t desire to discover. 

Nevertheless, she continued walking, not necessarily paying attention to where she was going.  She always told herself that he feet, if she let them wander on their own, would take her where she needed to be, and as she came upon two tiny first year girls, she realized she couldn’t have a better philosophy.

"I know we aren't supposed to go in there, but that's where the trail leads.  So, that's where I got to go.  But, ye best stay here.  This isn't kid's stuff."

Adrienna didn’t recognize either of the girls, but they didn’t seem to be friends of any means, with one yelling at the other and both hands on their wands.  Quickly, being the adult in this situation, Adrienna rushed down the hill to where the two first years were.  Her shoes clicked in the mud as she came to a halt not ten feet away from either child, forming a triangle between the three of them.

“Kid’s stuff can be dangerous, too, you know,” Adrienna hollered in the girl’s direction. “Which is why neither of you should be going… where ever you happen to be going.” She glanced up at the thick wood that encircled this part of the grounds.  “Especially if you plan on taking your little brigade in that wretched place.”

[outfit]

Kit was feeling refreshed and upbeat this particular late Saturday morning. Yes, Kit did consider after ten in the morning late. After all, it had been five hours since she had woken up. Kit's desire for two hours of morning exercises and training before breakfast didn't change just because of a silly thing like the weekend. If anything, weekends were a time to train even more (between school work, that is).

Right now it was a little bit of both, aka: dueling practice. Of course, one could only practice so much without an actual partner, but Kit was used to such limitations by now: she had after all, gone four full years being forced to practice judo and fencing mainly by herself, since her friends and sister weren't always available and willing.

So times like these required as much imagination as possible. It wasn't perfect, but she at least was able to work on her stances, and being outdoors, (not indoors with, say a suit of armor opponent) meant that she not only could only enjoy the fresh air, but actually fire off a few spells into the empty air without worry, since there was nearly nothing and definitely no one where Kit was pointing.

She was midway through a series of counters when heated voices flew to her from the cool autumn wind. Kit frowned, stood up straight and tilted her head to the sounds. She recognized to of the trio of girls. One, Hayes, was her classmate, the other, O Fearghail, her housemate. The third girl Kit didn't know at all.

Wand still in hand, but lowered to rest unagressively at her side, Kit walked over to the trio.

"What is going on here?" she asked, mainly directing it at her class and housemate, though she was sure to acknowledge the other girl as well.

“Ewww,” Eirene protested, giggling softly when the dog trotted towards her and left a slobbery kiss on her hand. She patted it gingerly on the head, trying to hide her smile. She actually liked dogs. Most of them were warm and friendly. She didn’t, however, like the messes they made, and sometimes the large dogs scared her.

Eirene’s smile morphed into a scowl when Mairead mispronounced her name and called her a child, of all things. Adults often told her she was very mature for her age. She couldn’t help it if she was surrounded by nincompoops who brought out her petty side, like Mairead.

“I’m not the one running off alone into the Forbidden Forest. It’s called that because it’s forbidden,” she widened her eyes at the girl as if she couldn’t understand the simplest things. “If an acromantula eats you it’ll be your own fault,” she chided her, wondering if Mairead remembered what an acromantula even was.

Eirene’s expression darkened as Mairead turned towards back to the forest and whistled for her dog. “Don’t call me a cabóg, or whatever.” She hated the strange names that flew out of Mairead's mouth. At least when she called her 'Antipus' Eirene knew what she was making fun of.

“I’m not going in there,” Eirene tried to explain when an older student- a girl she recognized from the Ravenclaw house- intervened. She started to get nervous. This was supposed to be simple. Mairead would get in trouble, and Eirene would be rewarded and praised for stopping her from doing something stupid. But then another older student arrived and demanded to know what was going on.

“Mairead is trying to go into the Forbidden Forest and I’m just trying to stop her!” Eirene spoke very quickly, her words running into one another and her voice turning shrill. In the back of her mind she admired the newcomer’s outfit because it looked very put-together and presentable, but mostly she eyed the wand in Kit's hand and hoped she’d believe her.

'Mairead's going into the Forbidden Forest?' Pax's voice announced his presence before he himself was properly caught up to the small group of girls. He was holding a small grey kitten in his arms, an indication that he had been out in the grounds to give Vesper some fresh air and exercise, and wore an expression somewhere between excitement and anxiety. Pax knew that as a rule pupils weren't allowed in the Forbidden Forest, but that aspect of it really did make the prospect of exploring the place that much more enticing. He couldn't help but be impressed by Mairead's intentions. He often got the impression that nothing could scare that girl, which made her both intimidating and intruiging to Pax.

Pax glanced between the other three girls, taking in the situation. The two older girls he'd only ever seen in passing, but their presence here didn't bode well. It wouldn't be too bad if they were just going to discourage Mairead, though obviously she wouldn't appreciated being thwarted, but what if they took it upon themselves to tell a teacher what the young Gryffindor had been up to? Pax remembered what had happened to Darcy Bloxham when he himself had run to tell a teacher and inadvertantly got her into trouble. He could never think of Darcy's expulsion without feeling guilty.

And then there was the fact that Eirene was here. Pax liked Eirene well enough, but it was common knowledge that she and Mairead didn't get along at all. They always seemed to antagonise each other some way or another. Pax was one of the ones who tried to keep the peace, but it never seemed to be kept for long. Still, Pax wasn't about to break the habit. Feeling as though Mairead could probably do with someone on her side, and being personally curious besides, Pax interjected, 'I'm sure she has a good reason. Right Mairead?'

“I’m not going in there,” the little Ravenclaw said, quickly attempting to get herself out of trouble. 

Adrienna looked at both of the girls, who didn’t seem like they were even remotely cordial to one another on a regular basis, and the Gryffindor was closer to the forest than her younger housemate.  Not that this fact was any indication as to who caused the trouble.

“Good,” Adrienna replied.  “And she shouldn’t be either.”

She looked at the other first year, trying to will her back from the woods with a potent stare.  Even if the two of them were going into the Forbidden Forest, they probably shouldn’t be going alone, and if Adrienna couldn’t convince them otherwise, she planned on tagging along behind.

Soon, Kit Branwell arrived on the scene, wand in hand, probably just coming from one of her workout sessions.  Though she appeared to be a bit dressed up to have come from dueling.  Either way, she strode to the open area in between Adrienna and the Gryffindor girl.

“What is going on here?” she questioned. 

“I was trying uncover the same thing,” Adrienna replied, looking expectantly at the two girls that had spawned this argument.

Adrienna saw her housemate glance nervous at the Kit’s wand, though Adrienna was sure she wouldn’t use it in such a harmless situation.  Well, harmless as long as every one followed the rules.  Kit’s eyes were darting between the Gryffindor and Adrienna, waiting for an answer.

That’s when Pax Wintergreen popped from out of nowhere and took the Gryffindor , Mairead’s side.  His question was reasonable, as Adrienna was wondering the same thing, and she was silent as she waited for all these questions to be answered.

During the course of Eirene's complaining, an older student arrived to join the fray.  With a scathing scowl, Mairead glowered at Eirene making no effort to hide the fact that she fully blamed the young Ravenclaw for this complication.  How and why she was to blame was, really, irrelevant and Mairead didn't care.  But, she was sure, somehow, Eirene was to blame for this. 

“Kid’s stuff can be dangerous, too, you know.”

"Well, then, she should stick to the kid's stuff," Mairead said, turning towards the older girl.  "...and, keep her ugly little nose out of me business."  For that matter, "and so should you, especially if ye don't know what I'm doing."  Mairead followed the girl's gaze to the line of trees and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.  There was, really, only one part of the girl's scolding that stood out as being unreasonable.  "I wasn't going to be taking her with me," Mairead gasped, clearly offended by the girl's assumption.  Of course Mairead had no intentions of going anywhere with Eirene.  "She'd spoil all the fun." 

The next arrival - a Gryffindor prefect, nonetheless - prompted another, darker glower in Eirene's direction.  The impatient glower prominent in her features, Mairead rounded on the prefect, her arms still crossed defiantly.  "It's none of your business," she repeated.  She whistled twice, calling the dog back away from the wretched girl, ready to be done with this and on to the important tasks of the day.  With a curt nod in Eirene's direction, Mairead wrinkled her nose.  "No.  I'd rather ye didn't come.  Ye ruin everything." 

"Yes, I am!" Mairead declared, pointedly, answering Pax' question.  Just like with Oliver, Mairead had seen Pax' intervention during Herbology as the boy siding with Eirene.  She was used to seeing the world as being highly binary.  Back home, it was a mindset that helped keep her safe from those that looked down upon her and her kind.  There were pavees and settled people.  There were allies and enemies.  Those to trust and those you couldn't trust.  Kids that sided with the enemy had chosen their side.  Oliver and Pax had chosen their sides.  It was surprising, and confusing, when Pax backed her up.  "I ... yes, of course!" she said, confirming the Hufflepuff's assumptions.  Of course, she had a good reason. 

"And, yes, I am going!" she snapped again, at the older girl.  With that, Mairead felt her point had been made and she gripped the dog's wide collar and turned, trudging pointedly towards the woods.  The rest of them could sit around and discuss ethics if they wanted; she was a woman of actions.  Not words.  And, she had important things to do.

The girl without a doubt, had an attitude, one the would most likely annoy Adrienna to the utmost given the chance.  She shared her opinions (and her dislikes) with the group that had gathered at the scene, and then she was off, dragging her pooch along the ground beside her.

Well, Adrienna wasn’t much for rule-breaking, and she also wasn’t fond of dim, damp and prohibited places.  But she wasn’t about to be responsible for something terrible happening to the stubborn girl who had so carelessly ventured into the danger-ridden forest alone, even if she was a bit of a prat.

With this protective mentality, Adrienna rushed forward, attempting to catch up with the girl before she disappeared into the thick, hungry branches.  The girl had gotten quiet a lengthy head start, considering Adrienna’s hesitation, but dog tags could be heard jingling somewhere nearby, somewhere in the muddy woods.  However, she couldn’t pinpoint the sound.  It seemed to come from everywhere.

“Mairead!” she called, cupping her hands around her mouth.  “Mairead!”

Mairead is trying to go into the Forbidden Forest and I’m just trying to stop her

Kit raised an eyebrow at the younger Ravenclaw. Well, that was simple enough, though she seemed to be quick to throw Mairead under the carriage. Hmmm. She looked over over to Hayes again, since she shared a house with the younger girl and would know her better.

"I see," Kit said, to the younger girl. It was a little too tattletale for Kit, but at least she owned up to what was going on. And the fine line between informing an authority figure about someone's deviancy and tattling was very thin. A lot of younger years had yet to figure that out.

I'm sure she has a good reason. Right Mairead?

Kit glanced down at the latest addition to the group, a young Hufflepuff Kit didn't know, but seemed to be familiar with the other first years. He also seemed to know how to ask good questions.

"I would certainly hope so," Kit agreed. "And I would like to hear just what that is."

Kit's grey eyes glanced back to Mairead, waiting for her answer to the question, the wheels in her mind turning. What her response was would probably determine what Kit's next action as a Prefect would be. If it was something ridiculous like "I'm running away from Hogwarts and you can't stop me!" Kit was going forcibly drag her to the common room and have a little girl-to-girl talk. Or prefect to student talk. Whichever worked best.

It turned out, however, he Mairead didn't really answer the question, just kept agreeing that yes her reason was good and that other people coming would ruin everything.

"Ruin, what, exactly?" Kit asked seriously. "As I'm sure your professors have told you, and Ms. Hayes can back me up on this, the Forbidden Forest is called such for a reason. It's not a place for a single first year to take a day jaunt into by themselves."

Not that she didn't sympathize with the desire to try, though. When Kit had first come to Hogwarts, she had assumed the Forbidden Forest was named so because so many par and sub-par students couldn't manage a trek inside it. She had also been appalled to learn that all the first years would be in the same class and their wouldn't be any proficiency tests to move them into higher classes. So of course, she had decided that she was one of the students that could survive a day jaunt if she could just get to it. Better not share any of that information or her attempts at the present moment though.

If however Mairead wanted to go in to test her meddle, well then, hmm, Kit wasn't actually sure what she would do. She would have to think about it...or not, as Mairead stormed off.

"Calm down, Hayes," she told her classmate shortly. Goodness the Ravenclaw seemed almost frantic. She wasn't going to be finding anyone that way.

With speed born of daily one-hour runs, Kit sprinted forward to the forest edge, intending to cut her younger housemate off.

"And you hold up and listen up," Kit said when she caught up to the girl. "You want to go in the forest so bad? I have two options for you. Option one, you continue on, as you planned, but I come with you in case you come across anything you can't handle alone. I can't exactly leave you here, now can I? The second option, of course, is something I'm sure neither of us wants. Me, dragging you back to castle."

Okay, nostalgia-induced sympathy won. But, really, Mairead seemed the type that if she was stopped today, she'd try again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. On the flip side, there was that old saying that a child only burns their hand on the stove once.

Pax had been hoping to actually hear the reason Mairead had for going into the Forest, but she didn't seem to want to share. None of their business perhaps, or maybe an excuse that just wouldn't fly for a prefect (which Pax had now recognised the older black-haired girl as). It just made him all the more curious about what Mairead was up to. His heart sank a little as she tromped away from them. That didn't have good odds of going down well. And sure enough, both older girls started after her, the prefect gaining on her very easily.

He glanced uneasily at Eirene, then back at Mairead and her pursuers. Had he common sense, Pax may have decided it more prudent to keep out of the whole affair. But his eagerness to see what all the fuss with the Forbidden Forest was about, and his sympathetic desire to help Mairead, who always seemed to be in trouble, keep out of it for once, swayed his decision. Besides, maybe offering her his support would get him out of her bad books, which he worried he'd been in ever since he and Oliver had stood up for Eirene in Herbology. Pax never did much care for the idea of being disliked, especially when he very much wanted to like everyone himself.

Looking back to Eirene, he put on a convicted expression, and announced, 'I'm going too,' then, afraid to stay and hear her reaction, for fear that it would be dissaproving, and that any further delay would make it more difficult to catch up the the others, promptly turned and jogged after the other three, tucking Vesper partway into his robes as he went, to keep her safe. Not the tallest of children, Pax's strides were rather short ones, and though he could be very nippy when he tried, he kept a slower, more steady pace to keep from startling his kitten. (Not steady enough to keep her from piercing the fabric of the hoodie he wore under his robes, however.) He felt a little guilty at abandoning Eirene suddenly, and made a mental note to explain himself later, when he had more time.

Eirene felt compelled to point out that Mairead could not possibly have a good reason for going into the Forbidden Forest! Good reasons required logic and sound thought- two qualities she was very much convinced Mairead lacked. However, she only pouted at Pax and the older students, worried that if she voiced her opinion, Mairead would punch her in the mouth. The girl spouted off a few more insults about ‘spoiling fun’ and ‘ruining everything’, and then ran off into the forest as if dementors were on her heels.

The older students soon disappeared after her. Eirene glanced at Pax with an excited expression, because she assumed the two fifth-years were going to find Mairead and discipline her.

“You’re going too?” She repeated Pax’s words, surprised. He was supposed to stay here with her and gloat when Mairead was dragged kicking and screaming out of the forest. And, he had a kitten! He should know better than to take a kitten into the forest.

Yet, Eirene didn’t want to be left out, or miss all the fun of Mairead getting into trouble. As she watched Pax’s retreating form, she suddenly felt upset, like they were ignoring her on purpose.

“Wait!” She called after Pax, running to catch up to him. He wasn’t walking as fast as the others, so she matched his stride easily.

“We can take turns holding your kitten if your arms get tired,” she said, trying to be friendly. It was the kind of comment that would make Elias snipe at her and Effie roll her eyes, but it was the only thing she could think to say. If she couldn’t be ‘helpful’, she was afraid that Pax and the others would tell her to bugger off.

They walked a bit further into the gloom of the forest. Every so often she’d look back and catch a glimpse of the Hogwarts grounds, as if to remember it in all its safe, sunny glory. 

Kit was obviously on a mission, trying to muffle Adrienna’s attempted search party, while all the while running through the forest like a blast-ended skrewt was nipping at her heels.  It wasn’t Adrienna’s fault that an eleven-year-old was potentially lost in the Forbidden Forest, but she didn’t want to be the one to lose her.  If Branwell could sprint through the woods, then Adrienna figured she could yell for the little girl.  But she said nothing, as she attempted to follow Kit.  Kit was in shape, and she did end up finding Mairead only slightly deeper in the forest.

She gave the girl a lecture – one that only a prefect could give – which left Mairead with no other options than to… well continue into the forest with the assistance of Kit since she obviously was not going to be a prefect and truly ‘drag her back to the castle’ where she should be.  Adrienna assumed, though assuming was not always accurate, that perhaps Kit was curious as to what slept within the depths of the forest.  She was a Gryffindor after all and this may be stereotypical but didn’t they naturally crave adventure and a chance to prove their worth?  Whether she was correct or not, Adrienna figured she was now obligated to go, for the protection of her fellow schoolmates and for the honest fact that she was inquisitive over the inhabitants of the forest.

“Well, since we have obviously lost all purpose for reason and logic here – which I will admit is healthy sometimes – I suppose we shall be taking an adventure then?” she said, eyes shooting from Kit to Mairead and back again.

Admittedly, the tromp through the woods would have been much more fun if Tito were with her.  He'd have fallen into agenda without hesitation - if he hadn't planned most of it himself.  She'd even bloody settle for either of Tito's younger brother's - they were annoying little tagalongs but, right about now, they'd be an improvement over meddling, do-the-right-thing adult wannabees and Eirene.  Pax was certainly the highlight of the group but whether he was up to Mairead's caliber of fun had yet to be determined. 

Of course, having Dian would have helped, too.  Adventures through forests on foot weren't anywhere near as exciting as adventures on horseback.  But, her spotted horse was back home with the rest of the group.  But, as soon as the dark line of trees had closed in behind her, the game was, officially, on. 

Except-

With an exaggerated, open-mouthed sigh of frustration, Mairead stopped and turned when the older Ravenclaw caught up with her.  "Me name's not Mairead, it's Finn," she said, impatiently, as if it should have been obvious to all involved.  The other older girl had also caught up and, beyond them, Mairead could see Pax and (to Mairead's distinct dismay) Eirene hurrying to catch up.  When had this become a group venture? 

"Ruin, what, exactly?  As I'm sure your professors have told you, and Ms. Hayes can back me up on this, the Forbidden Forest is called such for a reason. It's not a place for a single first year to take a day jaunt into by themselves."

"Well, if ye and Ms. Hayes see any first years, ye should be sure to tell them," Mairead said, nodding towards Pax and Eirene.  The deerhound mix sat down next to Mairead looking, curiously, from the younger Gryffindor to the older one.  "And, I'm not meaning to go in the forest.  But, I got to go west and the forest is in between here and there."  So, that meant, her intention wasn't to do anything wrong - it was just doing the wrong thing was unavoidable.  An important distinction if anyone were to ask.

Good grief - didn't any of these wizarding types know how to have fun?  Or did they just like to study and read ruddy, boring books?  What good was an adventure on pages?  When you finished the book, you still were in the same place you were before.  Mairead didn't want to read about someone else having fun - she wanted to have it, herself!  But, it seemed obvious she wasn't going to be loosing these people - the most she could hope for was that they'd play along. 

"Ye should try," Mairead told the Gryffindor Prefect.  Chances were the prefect would have to, literally, drag her up to the castle.  And, Mairead's plans would just be delayed a day or so.  "Fine, you can come with.  But, just make sure to tell me if ye see an owl."  Mairead sighed, again - they should be grateful she was being accommodating.  "And, try not to scare it away," Mairead told Eirene. 

She turned and started trudging again, keeping her pace slower so the others could keep up.  What all the fuss was about, Mairead didn't have a clue.  So far, the woods were proving quite dull.  The marsh bogs of West Ireland were, so far, more exciting.