Into the Wild (Memphis) [adventure planning at its finest]

Izotz's eyes flitted open as the first rays of sun fingered their way through the slits of the windows in his small, one room apartment over the shop. Mr. Olivander had been gracious enough to let him continue living there until his master work was completed and he could advance from being an apprentice to a journeyman; allowing him to make some of his own products rather than simply repairing or selling other's work. His position as a journeyman would also, more than likely, include a little additional pocket money that would hopefully be enough to move from his loft room and into a flat that he could call his own. He had been working under the master for years and had finally approached the man about producing one of his own wands for his consideration and judging.

As a result of his upcoming work, Izotz had become determined to create something that expanded the Olivander's brand. Mr. Olivander was well known for his work in the conventional; namely woods and cores. Izotz knew though, that in order to impress the man he would need to think outside the box and try something else, something a little different. This would require new materials that he collected himself, or at least appeared to collect himself. He had come up with the first thoughts of a plan over the past few weeks, and the more time he spent thinking about it, the more he thought it was just crazy enough to work. Izotz and Memphis could surely tackle this together.

The news of Memphis' fame had been anything but a surprise when Izotz had seen it in the Daily Prophet a few weeks before. His cousin was always the social butterfly of the group, no matter who was a part of the group. However, Izotz had always assumed that his notoriety would come from the political or sporting spheres rather that the literature world.   Memphis and a traveling companion of his had written a book on a recent expedition they had gone on and returned with some kind of treasure. As soon as he had finished the blurb, Izotz had penned a letter to Memphis asking him to come by for morning tea, fully intent on bringing up the trip and Izotz's idea for a second one.

Stepping out of bed, Izotz ran a comb through his hair and slipped a comfortably loose robe over his shoulders and set to the task of getting things in order. He did not know exactly when his cousin would be arriving, but he felt it would be best to be ready. Tidying up a bit with a few flicks of his wand and a quietly uttered word, Izotz located his black book and flipped to the earmarked page that had his notes for what he wanted to use in his upcoming project. African Ebony was especially well known for its power, purity and balance. He hoped that after some time spent playing into Memphis' ego, he could convince him to take another trip, this one of a familial nature, and hunt down some of the wand worthy African wood. Putting a pot to boil on the small stove in the corner, Izotz went over his pitch once more, waiting to see what Memphis might think.

Apparating was out of the question for the elemental but that didn't mean he wasn't without cheap and efficient transportation. After he'd gotten his hair to the epitome of perfection (cut perfectly short with straight lines, that healthy shine, and finished with precision styling) Memphis kissed Dae on the cheek and let the wind sweep him away from the home they shared and off to London. Memphis traveled more now than he ever did before and he had never stayed in one place for too long to begin with. He was constantly swishing away on this adventure or that book signing and he had to admit that being famous was great for his complexion. The already confident and social butterfly of a young man was basically bursting with ego now and he couldn't help but smile all of the time. He'd landed the perfect girl, a great home, a good job, and he was famous for doing something real. He had contributed to the real history of the wizarding world and after the book Volker and him had written things were just getting better and better. Honestly Volker had done most of the work, it had been his idea, even the book had been his idea and Memphis was happy to be along for the ride but he still felt proud.

Whisking away from his home it wasn't long before the wind he'd turned into carried his essence to his cousin's flat and through an open window. The screen was a bit uncomfortable to pass through but he made it work and found himself landing on the surface of the impeccably clean apartment only to gather himself back into tangible form in a swirl of wind. Before greeting his family or even getting his bearings Memphis found the first reflective surface and checked on his hair and pulled on the lapels of his ravenclaw colored blazer. He'd been on the fence about it, considering a tan blazer that was a little less form fitting and thus more casual but Dae had convinced him this was the right choice. And as with everything the beautiful young ice elemental was one hundred percent correct: Memphis looked good.

With an extra pep in his step he turned about in the sitting room he'd snuck into and looked for his cousin. Turning a corner and finding the other man putting a kettle on he smiled brightly and leaned against the door jam. "Izotz, fancy meeting you here." He toyed sarcastically because he was standing in the other man's home without having knocked. "Have you got a good Oolong?" He asked, holding himself back from rummaging through Izotz's cabinets for the moment. He supposed he could say hello first at least. "How have you been cousin?"

Knowing that which Izotz knew about his cousin Memphis, Izotz deemed it best to leave the window open for his family. At first, Izotz had seen it as a limitation, a disability of sorts, but as time had marched on, Izotz ha realized how amazing his cousin’s gift was. Mattias had spent years honing his knowledge of wand lore, of the art and science behind the flow of magic from an individual through a conduit, and as far as Izotz could tell, the connection Memphis shared with his element was far greater than anything that he would ever know of conventional magic. There had been so many questions at first, and as Izotz was hardly the best person to ask for advice about social settings, he had asked several of them to Memph. The other man’s patience with his cousin could have been seen as saintly, but he nearly always put up with Izotz’ intricacies and his quirks. Now, years later, it was rare that Izotz came up with anything new he wished to know. His cousin was simply his cousin, the guy who could turn into a warm breeze and float from here to there, and the only reason that Izotz window was nearly always open.

Fiddling with the pot on the stove, Izotz heard a soft tap of feet from behind him and turned to see his cousin, fully formed, leaning up against the post. He had look of the Greddel men to be sure. His frame was not big or bulky, a dark head of hair that he kept immaculate, blueish eyes, and rather tall; though not quite as tall as he was. Regarding his cousin a moment with little to no shock at the fact he had arrived with little more than the patter of feet as he materialized, Izotz smiled the great big smile reserved for family and close friends. It was a genuine smile, one that showed the true relaxed nature of the young man in family settings rathe than the forced calm of dealing with customers in the shop. Laughing quietly at his cousin’s attempt at a joke, Izotz made his way to the small cupboard next to the stove, anticipating the next question.

Just as he was reaching into the box in the back to grab out the tea, his cousin’s voice perked up again, asking, as he was sure that he would, for a cup of the Chinese tea that Memphis had grown fond of. Removing the box a split second after the question and holding it out wordlessly, Izotz shook his head in mockery. “Memph, you know I only keep this dross around because you seem to be enamored with it. Are you ever going to graduate and join the men of this country for something not imported from the orient?” In reality, Izotz didn’t care one way or the other where their tea came from, however, he and Memphis had a good time giving each other trouble over small, insignificant things such as their choice in tea.

Taking the tea box and placing it on the tray on the counter next to his own box of leaves, Izotz conjured up two glasses with a flick of his wand and prepared with a few more flicks set the boiling water into the cups and let the tray hover before them into the other room. “Well cousin, I am doing fine. Thanks for asking. Mr. Olivander keeps me plenty busy, but not quite so busy as you are these days I assume.” He grinned coyly as he walked into the other room where two chairs sat facing each other on either side of a small table. Letting the tea tray glide to rest, Izotz gestured toward them and moved over to sit. It was a little formal, but considering he only had a few pieces of furniture in the room, it would have to do. They had, after all, outgrown sharing the bed nearly two decades ago.  A little more small talk and then Izotz would bring up the book, the trip and his own pitch. Things were going quite as well as he had hoped.

Memphis couldn't help but return the smirk that his cousin had on his face, it was a signature Gredel grin really. "Oh you know I keep busy." He winked because it was true and also because he was enjoying the conversation. It was always light and easy to talk to his cousin and he appreciated that. Even when he'd felt like the world was turning on him and his magic was betraying him Izotz always had his back. He never forgot. Following the other wizard into the next room he was impressed by the man's home. It was a picture of Iztotz and it suited him well. Memphis wanted to tell him all about his adventures and especially about Phridae but he was holding his tongue for now. He was equally eager to hear about Iztotz's life and that kept him from being selfish in the conversation.

He tugged on the tight fabric of his slacks before sitting down, pulling them up so they didn't get too much strain and then crossed one leg over the other. His clothing was typical for him but his socks were as always absolutely ridiclous. Memphis looked presentable with his blazer and slacks but his brightly colored pink socks with yellow ducks flying around on brooms showed a different side of him all together. As he lifted one leg up to sit atop his other knee his socks were on full display and the magical little ducks tried their best to avoid gravity and keep flying.

"What kind of fabric is this?" He asked, hand running over the cloth arm of the chair he was sitting in idly. "It's lovely." It was small talk but it was still true. Memphis may have been broke but that didn't mean he was unable to appreciate nice things. He was in the market for something special for Dae and it had just then occurred to him that perhaps a new bit of furniture would be a good idea. They had just moved into an apartment together and while they had brought some things from both of their previous places to fill out the new one he thought it would be more special if they had something brand new. Something that was just for them.