[dec mp] crystal sky [alain]

The time between Christmas and New Year's Eve was a weird one. Zoé always felt as if she was living in some kind of limbo; the old year was basically over but the new one hadn't even begun yet and usually she spent the days thinking about everything that had happened during the past year and wondering what would happen in the next one. However, this time it was different. Esther and Frédéric Deveaux had decided to spend the last few days of the year at a new ski resort on the other side of the world and when they had asked their daughter if she wanted to accompany them, she'd agreed immediately. The elemental had heard a lot about the beauty of New Zealand and it would be a most welcome change of scenery.

Zoé loved living in Inverness but her advanced elemental training during the past few months had been exhausting and she was looking forward to a few relaxing days away from all the morphing and spell sessions. She wouldn't just stay at the resort, though. The former Papillonlisse was a rather clumsy person but it definitely changed as soon as she had a pair of skis under her feet. Speeding down the snowy mountains was an exhilarating feeling that often reminded her of being on the Quidditch field, letting the wind caress her face. Zoé didn't know if her element had something to do with it, all she knew was that skiing had always been easy for her.

Today was the third day of her vacation and the brunette had parted with her parents to explore the different slopes on her own. She enjoyed spending time with her parents but they were a lot slower most of the time and her mother wasn't too fond of the more difficult slopes and so they had decided to meet up later. Humming one of her favourite songs, Zoé sped down the hillside, a smile on her face. That was what freedom felt like.

About half an hour later, the girl decided that it was time for a drink and some pasta or a soup and so she stopped at a nice looking hut and unfastened her skis. Most of the benches outside were already occupied but since she was alone, it should be possible to squeeze in somewhere. After loosening her boots a little, Zoé stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Just when she wanted to turn around and walk towards the counter, a man stepped in her way and she became her clumsy self again, bumping into him. "Sorry," she said in English, her French accent clearly audible. "I didn't want to..." It was then that she realised that she knew the man in front of her. "Alain? What a pleasant surprise!"

Ski Resort, New Zealand, December 28th 2000

Alain St. Clare’s cheeks were a rosy shade of pink.

The air elemental had spent the last five hours skiing down some of the slopes the resort had to offer. The blonde’s skills at the physical activity could be considered decent, for someone who had only spent five days at it. However, now he was tired and needed to spend some time relaxing before he collapsed from physical exhaustion. In truth, morphing into his elemental state would have been ideal, but since he was out in public, he was going to have to settle for sitting down at one of the resorts café’s and allowing the warmth of a hot chocolate to heat up his chilly bones. Normally, he would have returned to the hut he had been sharing with Ether, but his lover was at a work shop and Alain felt like letting someone else do the cooking for a change.

The blonde made his way to the nearest hut with slow movements that portrayed the slightest limp on his left leg. Alain knew from experience he had simply overexerted the muscles, and it was nothing that a period of rest wouldn’t fix. The normally pristine looking French man looked unusually unkempt. His cheeks were rosy; the parts of his body not covered up by a dark green fluffy jacket glistened with sweat and his clothing was ruffled with several patches of snow he had forgotten to rub off on his shoulders. The handsome twenty two year old rubbed his hands together as he made his way into the small hut containing a café. Although he had a high tolerance for chilly conditions, the blonde could not deny the quiet sigh of satisfaction he uttered upon finding himself surrounded by a potent heating charm. Magic could be such a wonderful thing sometimes.

Upon his arrival at the counter Alain ordered himself, the one dish he recognised, fish and chips along with a hot chocolate. The elemental was just making his way outside to try and squeeze in somewhere when he suddenly found himself crashing into someone. The French man was about to offer a clipped remark, to convey his annoyance, when he caught sight of a familiar pair of deep dark brown eyes and youthful features. “Zoé?” He gasped out in surprise. It had been years since he last saw the girl. If memory served, it had been during the rogue attack at Beauxbatons when he had saved her from falling rocks conjured by one of the Demin they had been fighting against. That had been an act of elemental magic that had exhausted the Typh in a way he didn’t truly grasp until the adrenaline of the fight had worn off. The blond forced himself to shake away the negative emotions thinking of that day brought to mind. The feelings of grief, inadequacy, and self-loathing that had plagued him for months after Isabelle’s death. They had exchanged letters after said battle, but that had definitely been their last face to face encounter.

“It really is. I am sorry I stopped writing. Life got unexpectedly busy, and I guess by the time it cooled down I felt awkward about resuming our correspondence”. That was only half of the story, but while he liked the young Garth he was not comfortable enough around her to regale her with tales of the embarrassing loss of his memories for three and a half years. “Would you care to join me for some food and maybe a drink or two? I’ve just ordered mine” he smiled when she acquiesced to his request before leading her to a small table outside the café. It was small and somewhat cramped, but it was the best they could do while the place was so packed out with guests. “So Zoé, how have things with you been? You’ve finished school by now right?” The French man’s words conveying genuine interest in the younger elementals life. 

It had been years since she'd last seen the man but she'd still recognised him immediately. It was impossible to forget the face of the man who had saved her life all these years ago and her gratitude had never faded and never would. They had exchanged letters after he'd graduated keeping each other updated on their lives sporadically but then the letters had stopped. Zoé had never blamed him, though. Life outside of school was different, it was uncontrollable, you could never know what the next day would bring and she'd figured he was just too occupied by whatever he was doing to write back. But even though she hadn't heard from him in a while, seeing him here still brought a smile to her lips.

"No need to apologise, really," she replied reassuringly, "I know life can get busy and that there's not always time for letters." He asked her then if she wanted to join him for a while and she agreed happily. After ordering her hot chocolate and some pasta in a creamy sauce, the girl followed him outside and they found a small free spot within the crowd. It was a huge coincidence that they'd met here again, at the other end of the world, and her hand wandered to her chest briefly to touch the lucky lira that was hiding beneath her clothes. She'd brought it to a jeweller shortly before Christmas and now she was wearing it around a thin silver chain every day. Apparently it had worked its magic again.

"Good," she said, sipping at the chocolate, "and yes, I graduated last summer. My grades weren't even that bad considering..." Well, he knew what she meant. "I'm thinking about applying for healing school soon but right now I'm mostly at Inverness." She had just become an advocate and there was a lot she still had to learn and also wanted to learn. It also helped that being at Inverness kept her less busy than any school probably would which meant she could visit a certain someone more often.

Zoé knew that Pierce and Alain had been friends at school but she had no idea if they were still in contact, maybe she should just ask him later. Right now she had a different question, though. "What about you? What have you been up to since we last exchanged letters?" The brunette eyed him curiously, wondering if he'd experienced as much after graduation as Pierce had.

The blond haired French man offered an appreciate smile when Zoé waved away his apology. The fact that she didn’t hold any unrealistic expectations was one of the things Alain liked best about the younger Beauxbatons alumni. The elemental eyed her curiously when her hand moved to an unseen object on her chest, but he refrained from questioning her about it lest she think he was being rude. The blond almost chuckled when that thought crossed his mind. His work at the museum in Egypt and The Third Aett sure had changed him. Back in his days at Beauxbatons he certainly wouldn’t have allowed something as trivial as rudeness stop him from seeking knowledge he sought. It seems the sight of Zoé is making me nostalgic in my old age he thought ironically. The ironic part being the fact that Alain wasn’t old at all and this became even truer when you factored in the slow aging of an elemental.

It was not long until they were both sat at their table and were contently drinking from their mug of hot chocolate. The blonde’s eyes widened in surprise as Zoé shared her career aspiration. It was unusual, but not unheard of, to encounter an elemental healer. The wand work involved in the profession often proved to be a deterrent to their kind. “How impressive. I wish you the best of luck with your application!” The words were spoken softly between sips of his hot chocolate. The French man then decided to offer some encouragement, regardless of whether or not it was needed. “And don’t let circumstances put you off pursuing your dream! You might have to work a bit harder than your peers but that’ll just make it all the more worthwhile! Just look at how successful Justyne was!” He was of course referring to the former harbinger of his element Justyne Jaracas. She had been a healer until her mysterious disappearance during his time in Egypt. Alain resisted the urge to scowl, as he suddenly thought of the angst and feeling of listlessness that tainted the shrine of air these days. A part of him was curious about whether Zoé could relate. The Garth’s too were without a leader. They had been since Peter Alva had disappeared to ‘find himself’ whatever that meant.

His mood brightened when Zoé queried about his life since their last correspondence. “Well I decided to change my main area of academic study from potions to ancient runes. I spent several years living in Egypt and seeing their hieroglyphic runes in action really showed me they are powerful in more ways than one”. Alain was discreetly making reference to the fact that he had already been aware of the power of runes, only to a lesser extent, due to the important role they played in elemental magic. The French man wondered if Zoé would be surprised by this revelation. He had been the proud owner of a Potions store the last time they corresponded after all.

He then decided to offer some further information “I am currently living in Neroli, but I am actually considering making a move to Britain within the next few months. I recently got a job there and… my boyfriend lives in London”. It felt strange, and yet right, to refer to Ether by the title. He was also curious to find out how Zoé would react to the news of his bi-sexuality. He was fairly certain he hadn’t mentioned it in their letters, but then it had been so long ago perhaps he had?