Saul Pierce
October 28, 2009 10:07 AM
Summer Planning (Oi, Elly, you're being hailed) by Saul Pierce
Saul sat on the floor of the common room. Around him, he'd spread an array of different papers. Directly in front of him was a large map of the United States. A dark brown line had been drawn from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City in Oregon. Beside that, there was drawing of how to build a covered wagon. On the other side, a list of foods and supplies that a long journey might require, along with approximate costs.There were also library books, that he'd need to return very soon because the flying wagons would be bringing the students home in another four hours, and Saul hadn't packed at all yet. Most were about the history of the Oregon Trail, though one was about the care of oxen and another was about important survival techniques in the wilderness, like starting fires and finding water.
If Saul was going to do this, he was doing it right. The only research project he'd ever put this much effort into was his Goblin Rebellion dissertation two years ago. If it had occurred to him, he might have been forced to admit that he might actually like learning about History, but fortunately, it didn't, and he was allowed to enjoy his study and journey planning without the unpleasant realization that he might be educating himself.
He was consulting one of the Oregon Trail books, and marking down a tentative schedule based on how long it normally took the early settlers to get from one landmark to the next. Generally, the whole trip took between four and six months, and most settlers had left in early spring. His first thought had been to leave in September, after Elly went back to school, but that would put him crossing the Rockies in the winter, and even with magic, which he wasn't planning on using anyway since that was cheating, that plan sounded stupid even to him.
His only other two option were to wait until spring of next year, or move it up to a summer journey. Even if he left today - which was a very real possibility if he decided on the later route - it would still be cutting it close for his arrival in Oregon before the snow started coming down.
And then there was Elly to consider. He'd already told her she could stay with him and his family for most of the summer, and while he was pretty sure she'd be all for accompanying him for the first two and a half months, he was less than convinced her parents would be okay with their seventeen year old daughter traveling cross country alone and unsupervised with her almost eighteen year old guy best friend. Especially when they probably knew Saul had a thing for red haired girls, and may not grasp the significance that Elly wasn't a Teppenpaw, or that Saul had always (and even still secretly did a tiny bit) imagined that she was supposed to end up with Echo.
Besides which, Saul himself had only been told that morning at breakfast that he'd gotten permission from his family to make the trip at all. Simon had been arguing his case for weeks.
Which was kind of why he wanted to start immediately. Before they could change their minds.
He looked up from his timetable estimations as he heard someone come into the Commons. Perfect! Just the girl he wanted to see. "Elly!" he called and waved her over.
He barely waited until she'd joined him before he grinned up at her - though they were close to the same height normally (he was pretty sure he edged her out as long as she was wearing flats), she looked really tall when she was standing and he was sitting on the floor - "D'you think your dad would freak out if you spent the summer riding a covered wagon with me, heading west along the Oregon Trail, instead of camped out with my family in California?"
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Saul Pierce
Summer Planning (Oi, Elly, you're being hailed)
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Saul Pierce
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Elly Eriksson
October 30, 2009 4:31 AM
Sounds fun by Elly Eriksson
Elly was looking forward to the summer. Rather than travelling to and from Austria, or meeting her Dad in Luxemburg, or living out of a hotel in Phoenix, or hiding she was a witch from her grandmother in England for an entire summer, Elly had elected to take Saul up on his offer of 'you can stay with us anytime' and would be lodging with the California Pierces all summer. It would be fabulous - she'd stayed with Saul once before, but not for longer than a week. His Aunt Regina hadn't been a ghost then - Elly was truly excited about seeing her as a ghost. She would also like to see her Dad at some point - his correspondences so far were indicating it would be the end of the summer. It didn't matter too much - Elly had frowned for just a moment before realising that Saul wouldn't be getting the covered wagon back to Sonora, so it didn't matter whether she got it from California or... anywhere, really.Elly had been enjoying a final swing in the gardens before she headed back to the commons to pack the last one or two items. Swinging wasn't as huge a part of her life anymore as it had been when she'd built the swing back in first year. Still, she enjoyed the sensation. Maybe she should have kept swinging some more over the past couple of years? She had been getting way too stressed out lately - perhaps swinging was the answer? Elly made a mental note to get back into the swinging next year, to stop her RATS from driving her insane.
As she entered the commons - also known as her home, pretty much - Elly heard her name called. With a smile, she wondered over to where Saul was sitting among a pile of books and papers. She was about to quip that his propensity to study had developed a little too late, when Saul said, "D'you think your dad would freak out if you spent the summer riding a covered wagon with me, heading west along the Oregon Trail, instead of camped out with my family in California?"
"Um," Elly replied with a nervous laugh. Saul had mentioned doing the Oregon Trail earlier in the year. It did sound cool, though Elly hadn't expected him to get to it so soon. It was sort of inspiring, really. And he wanted her to go with him? Well, she supposed he had agreed to spend the summer with her, and if his plans had changed to involve travelling the country in a covered wagon then who was Elly to stand in his way. "I think," she said slowly, picking her words with care, "he would be okay with me travelling around a bit with the Pierce family." She grinned, that familiar expression that meant she was probably up to no good and enjoying it immensly. What her father didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Elly had never out-right lied to him before, and she wouldn't do so now - she would simply omit a couple of truths. He might be fine with it, or she might be told to spend the summer in Austria. That really wasn't an option, so Elly wouldn't let it be one. Honestly, she would miss the opportunity to stay in the craziness of Saul's extended family, but it wasn't like the California Pierces were going anywhere. She knew she would be able to stay some other time, and she knew, too, that she would be taking advantage of that opportunity. Coming from such a small family herself, Elly simply adored the sheer number of people, the good mix of magic and Muggle, and the somewhat foregin concept of having a head of the family. Briony was mad to miss out on it.
"So," Elly said cheerfully, falling not-so-gracefully to her knees and peering at Saul's schedule. "Where are we going, when are we starting, and what do I need?"
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Elly Eriksson
Sounds fun
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Elly Eriksson
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