Ice Cold

Let's try this out... Aidan stood with his feet in the lake. He really, really wondered what was down there. Well, he was about to find out! He still wasn't sure it would work, however... Time to find out!

"Spiro!"

He waved his wand. Let's hope that did the trick... He set his foot forward. He just kept going, until he was submerged up to his chin. He took another step, and found that the water moved away from his mouth... Great! It was working, as kind of planned. So, time for the actual part where he had to do stuff! He dove under. So glad the spell she found works! He saw... Well, not a lot, really. He saw some green, but other than that it was just black water.

"Hey there. I don't usually see people down here."

Who spoke? Aidan looked around, quite frightened and excited at the same time. He found something in the lake! But what was it? He felt a current on his back, turned around and saw a golden tail, going up into the body of a woman with the most perfect face he had ever witnessed.

"Wow... Uhm... Hey! I'm Aidan...", he spoke, only to realize that he, even though he could breathe normally, was completely and utterly under water. All that left his mouth were some bubbles...

"You know, if you want to talk, just do it...", she said. "Just teasing you. I'm Jasmine. Aidan, right? I've seen you here some other times. I didn't really know what to think, until you literally jumped into the lake. Some would call it romantic. I just call it stupid. There's a lot of things down here that are way less friendly than I am."

Aidan blinked. An actual mermaid was teasing him. In a magical lake. While he was trapped in a magical bubble. Is this real? Probably not. He probably just dove in without the spell and he had just drowned. Well, there are certainly worse places to hallucinate about... It was getting quite chilly. Since he was maybe 40 meters below the surface, he needed to get warm, fast... He took some seaweed and pointed towards it with his wand.

"Confringo!"

In the glow of the blast, the face of the mermaid lit up into a prism of... a prism of... perfection? Beauty? She smiled. Mon Dieu, she was beautiful when she smiled... They looked at each other for a moment.

"Want to join me? I'm going to explore this place.", Aidan tried. He knew that it only came out as bubbles, but... She nodded!

"I was just teasing you. I can understand everything you say, Aidan."

They swam further down. The darkness was closing in...

"Lumos."

As his wand lit up, Aidan saw movement. A giant shadow was  on the move as well... Maybe it was best to call it quits, before he turned into seafood... He pointed up. She nodded. As they slowly made their way up, Aidan thought about the mermaid. He wondered how long she had been here, and if she ever saw another place. Maybe she went there in a fishtank? Aidan laughed at his own joke. They arrived at the surface, where he saw someone coming towards him...

Apollo really loves nature. Animals, plants...everything. He loves to discover every single part of forests or rivers...The Palace Grounds were almost ideal for that cause. They were full of majestic courtyards, lakes, forests and anything he could ever imagine. He wanted to discover every single part of the Palace Grounds. Everything seemed amazing and interesting!

Apollo took a backpack from his dorm, full of supplies. He felt like he was playing in some kinda of expedition documentary...he laughed. He maybe took the whole "discovering nature" fact too seriously, but he didn't care. He just wanted to have fun. And nothing could get in his way of doing so.

He decided to go to the Silver Lake first. It looked so mysterious and beautiful. Surrounded by bushes and small trees, it kind of reminded him the lakes he used to find in Greece. With that thought in mind and his backpack on his back, he walked happily towards the lake.

"This is gonna be so cool. I love nature! I hope I discover some sort of supernatural creature too...It's a magic school, right? It's not impossible..." He said, rather cheerfully, not talking to anybody in particular.

The lake was finally visible. It was so beautiful. Its crystal waters reflecting the sun so enchantingly...it was a piece of art. A piece of art from mother nature herself. He was approaching the lake when he saw something...no...somebody getting out of the water. He tried to discern if it was a person he actually knew...and it really was...

"Aidan?" He muttered...What the hell was he doing in the lake...Oh wait, he thought, he said that he likes diving. However, Apollo considered diving something that happens mainly under the sea, not lakes...He couldn't help but ask rather loudly as he approached Aidan's range of vision...

"Hello, φίλε μου! What are you doing here?"
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*Φίλε μου (File moo): "My friend", in Greek.

"Hey, Apollo! I want you to meet..." He turned around to see nobody. Jasmine had left him by the time he reached the surface, but Aidan didn't realise that until he turned back to where she should have been. Maybe she just can't handle the pressure... Man, he was really cracking himself up with these jokes! Apollo was giving him a strange look. Right, he hadn't finished his sentence and then suddenly started snickering. Maybe he should work on that...

"Well, I met someone in the lake, but she's gone now. It was a mermaid! Also, what are you doing here? If you wanted to go diving, then the pool is all yours! Just be warned, I think there might be sharks in there. But hey, sharks don't eat humans! Most of the time, at least. Or, so I've heard. I've never been eaten by a shark before, so I think I can safely say that sharks don't eat people. Or at least not me. Wait a minute... Do those sharks think I'm not good enough to be eaten? What?! I'm like a 3-star shark-restaurant! Incroyable..." He looked around and got awkardly reminded that Apollo was standing near him. "Uhm... Yeah... You're still here..." Awkward... "So, what are you doing here? Did I miss dinner or something?"

Aidan greeted Apollo, and said that he wanted to show him somebody...However, Aidan didn't really mention an actual name and started looking around instead. Apollo was kinda puzzled by Aidan's weird behavior...He looked at him in a "What is he doing?" way, without realizing it. Probably Aidan noticed his look later, so he begun talking.  

"A Mermaid? OH MY! I knew it! There are supernatural creatures here! That's amazing! Was she hot?..." Apollo said in an excited way.

Apollo stopped talking, as Aidan continued to say several random stuff...Apollo laughed. Even though he and Aidan have many differences, Aidan still has some of the craziness that Apollo boasts about.

"No, you didn't miss anything. I didn't come here for diving. I wanted to explore the Palace Grounds! They all seem so interesting and I love nature! However, searching for a hot mermaid seems way better, if you ask me!" He said as he put his arm around Aidan and winked.

Aidan wasn't quite sure how interspecies relationships worked in the wizard world. Was there mermaid discrimination? Was it socially accepted? How did it even work? He loved the water and everything, but literally becoming sealife for a girl? She might have been hot, and he hadn't seen anyone who looked even nearly as good as her, but to become sealife might go a bit too far... Damn those demanding girls... She was probably way too old for him, too. He really had no idea how mermaid ageing worked, either. So much to learn...

"Well, yeah, she was unlike anyone you have ever seen. And I wasn't really looking for her specifically, but she more or less found me. Well, anyway, it was a great dive! It's a bit scary down there, though. When the shadows gather around you and not even the sun can get through..." He got lost in thought for a bit. "It's all good fun, though! Alright, I'm going to take a shower right now, because I probably smell like sweat and fishtail, which doesn't even sound remotely close to a good combination of smells. Seriously. If you ever dive, clean yourself up afterwards. Sweat scares the girls away and fishtail the guys."

And then he headed for the palace, thinking about how unfair it was that the Cerisier dorms were on the Eighth floor and that some people only had to take two stairs... Oh well, I guess they don't get to see mermaids that often...

Apollo was trying to imagine how that mermaid probably looked like...He imagined her pretty much like a model. He knew that nothing was always as it is in his imagination, but the mere thought of such a beautiful girl made him happy. What if he met her...Oh man, he thought, he wouldn't know what to say...Well, it was time for him to stop thinking, because Aidan begun talking...

"Well, scary or not, finding a hot mermaid is surely a bonus, isn't it?" He said as he giggled and winked. He slightly blushed as well...whoa...these images in his mind were surely overwhelming...

"Well, if I dive I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I don't want hotties to run away from me...plus showers are really fun too!" He exclaimed rather loudly. No wonder he considered showers as something funny...he tried to make everything look funny...

"Goodbye, I'll continue my expedition-thingy! See ya again later!" And so he did. He loved nature, nothing could stop him from wanting to discover it. Not even a hot mermaid. Plus he didn't really know how to dive...