((Good night, Merls))

Drew smiled as Magnus rejoined them. He nodded at Merlin's words. Sacred and special in ways he'd never dreamed.

Seeing them in the wild was more special he thought. And he was glad that his condition didn't ruin this for everyone. Still was it bad he wished they were slightly more interesting? Though everything he viewed as interesting did have a penchant for being extremely dangerous.

"Mags?" Drew whispered, his eyes not leaving the unicorns. "could you draw them?"

"Yeah." The boy took out his sketchbook and started drawing them. They were reasonably safe--or the unicorns would run away if there was something awful around. Plus they had Tamsin.

"I never thought I'd see anything like this," Drew said softly. "Especially not the foals. If I had seen just one adult I'd have been happy. This is so much more."

Magnus was drawing, adding in the lines of one of the babies. He nodded. "It is cool. By the way, I'm sorry about your Granddad, I didn't 'ave a chance to really say."

Drew nodded. "Thanks," he said. "I honestly didn't really know him that well with us living an ocean apart. He was a tough old coot as Mum says," he smiled a bit. "Flora took it hardest of the grandkids what with being here all her life and being his pet pretty much. But he was always sending me and Bridget presents. And we got to spend the last few months with him so that was good for all of us I think."

"I just gained Grandparents. Mum's parents, they are all so 'appy to have grand kids now. But they 'ave a 'ard time with our ages, you know? Its like oh cos you're new, I think i'm like two." He sighed "Its really frustrating. But they mean well. Can't imagine what it is like though..."

Drew smiled at the thought of Magnus being pampered and petted like a toddler. "I think it's a grandparent thing," he said. "My grandmother on my dad's side always gives us some kind of cute toy, usually a stuffed animal, for Christmas or birthday. I mean that's fine for Bridget...she's a girl and still little, but for me..." he shook his head, not saying that he had three or four favored ones still on his bookcase at home. At Magnus' last comment, Drew asked quietly, "What it's like to lose someone?"

He smiled it sounded great. Then he shook his head. "No, I've lost people... I mean more like 'aving a family, extended family. Knowing them for so long. It sounds like a book. Everyone around the table, playing, sitting and reading... just sounds really nice." He put a lot off concentration into drawing.

Drew settled down beside Magnus and casually draped an arm over his friend's shoulder as he watched the younger boy draw. "Well, we only gather around the table once or twice a year with all of us," he said. "But sitting and talking and reading we can do for sure. It's kinda weird though. I grew up knowing about Grandad here in Scotland but not really seeing him until recently, but I had Grams and Grandpa within driving distance. Now it's sorta the other way round...Grams and Grandpa are back in the states, and well...we don't have Granddad now, but we've got an uncle and aunt and cousin close by instead."

"That sounds magical. When I read Little Women it just sounded so lovely, you know. Even the not so good parts, it was still nice. Both Dad's parents passed when he was younger. But 'is grandparents aren't keen on me. Neither Mum nor Dad 'ad siblings. Did everyone talk over each other during the big meals and throw food or big fist fights and then everyone sing at the end?" He shrugged. "Have you ever read Jane Eyre?"

Drew smiled at the questions, but the mention of books perked up his ears and he nodded. "I've read Little Women...Little Men too and several others by Alcott...even though the other guys made fun of me," he said, his voice dropping. "Always like Laurie. And yeah, I've read Jane Eyre." Smiling again, Drew shook his head. "No fist fights, but we played tag and hide and seek outside. Sometimes even the adults joined in. And yes, around the tables there's about five different conversations going on. You either pick one to follow as best you can or you get lost in it all. And um...there might have been some food throwing a time or two," he grinned, his eyes twinkling. "As for singing...you don't want my family to sing, trust me on that one."

(not sure who wants to hear)

"Since Lenore asked I might as well say all the way. The orphanage was both good and not so good. The boys' dorm was on one floor, the girls on the other. Sometimes one of the girls would come up and get hugs from one of us. We played outside mostly. Did gardening for our veggies. We wore clothing from the charities. Once a year, on your birthday, one lady from the charity would take you around to do something special. On Boxing Day we'd get our Christmas meal, brought in by Charities who would give out gifts. After they left, we'd swap the gifts around as 'alf the time they weren't for the right age. We rarely got sweets because those are expensive. We didn't 'ave much but we did okay. We 'ad an old computer with internet but we barely used it. Sometimes I'd watch the telly in a shop at the window but really we didn't 'ave a lot of frills. We are all siblings really. If one of us got upset we'd go to one of the others for comfort.

"I'd run all over London on me own. Mind you, I was little. I knew most coppers by name. Sometimes I'd sell me drawings for some pocket money and either buy something to share with the other kids or something for me art. Sometimes I'd nick a bit of food. Coppers would chase me, if they caught me they'd take me back to the orphanage. Sometimes I snuck back out to get away from the noise."

He hadn't sounded sad. And then he smiled. "That sounds awesome. I was disappointed at the lack of fights at the table when I was adopted. I'd always wanted that. Guess I sound more like Jane Eyre, huh?"

(and anyone else listening)

Drew sat quietly, listening to Magnus and trying to image the life his friend had had. If Magnus thought Drew's life sounded like something out of a book, Drew could have said the same for the younger boy's life. He felt sad and even a bit mad...sad that Magnus had had very little compared to himself and his family, and mad that there was really nothing he could do about it to make it right. He realized that his friend hadn't been telling his story to garner pity and he wasn't totally sad about it, just relating the way things had been, but it still bothered Drew. Even though it sounded like a book, it wasn't.

After sitting and thinking a bit, and allowing his emotions to ebb slightly, Drew gave a little smile and said, "Yeah, in a way it sounds like Jane Eyre...and I guess you could pass for her if you wore that dress again," he teased. "But it also reminds me of Oliver Twist, since you wound up with a well-to-do family that loves you." He chuckled at the mention of the lack of table fights and nudged Magnus' shoulder with his own. "I'll make you a deal...you come visit me during the holidays and Bridge and I will show you sibling warfare at its finest at the table."

"Ogwarts, to me, is a lot like the orphanage actually. I mean all the kids around and such," the boy said. "Well I've not read Oliver Twist actually." Magnus chuckled, "Oh not just siblings though. I'd 'eard about American Thanksgivings with like parents and crazy uncles and cousins and stuff, fighting and the put out mother who was trying to make food and everyone talking over the din and people fighting over who carves the turkey. And the one guest who doesn't know what to make of the family."

(( I am so super late ;.; could someone give me a quick review? I'll add a post when I figure out what's up. I HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT UNICORNS. Ahem, I mean, unicorns are cool I guess... X3 ))

(( Boom sent :D XD Mags is drawing lol he'll give Fade a copy lol))

[img align=left]https://s26.postimg.org/rnm6x1wnd/Fade_INTOTHEWOODS.png[/img]Fade had been keeping to himself for the most part. His mind occupied with drawing in his leather bound sketchbook. As he sketched his quill emitted a soft glow, he had charmed it so it wouldn’t run out of ink in the middle of the forest. There were so many new plants and hints of animals he hadn’t ever seen before. The books in the library really didn’t do the Forbidden Forest any justice and he was very grateful to Tamisin for taking them all on the adventure.

When the group spotted the unicorns however, his drawings were forgotten and all he could really do was stop and stare. Slowly and very subtly in the dim light, his hair washed from sky blue to a silvery white as he watched the mother and her two foals. He wondered if they weren’t possibly related to the first ones he had met. He considered himself beyond lucky to have had so many unicorn sightings in the past two years. These were more wild, he could tell, perhaps they hadn’t ever met a human before. Let alone a group of rowdy kids.

(( not guna ping, but anyone is welcome to reply or not n.n ))

Magnus scooted over to show Fade the drawing he was working on. With a whisper he said, "I'll make you a copy." Seeing as his friend was too enraptured to draw. Magnus' lips twitched a smile as Fade's hair became silver.