All Mimsy Were the Borogoves

Lily laughed, shaking her head. “Yeah, I know. I just figured… well, it’s always better to stay in track, though, it seems as though we have a pair of excitable naturalists on our hands.” She forced a smile, worry etched in the way her brow furrowed. This adventure was boding to take a while. She had been hoping Lysander could be convinced to leave the forest, but there was no way that was happening. It was obvious in the way he spoke and bounced about, looking way too enthralled to be in any sort of reasonable mood. Nope. They were stuck on this mission whether they liked it or not. She kept her hand curled tightly around Lorcan’s sleeve, the solid feel of him there comforting as she gazed around the trees. The more time they spent just standing here, the more anxious she felt, as though there were eyes watching them from somewhere, which, with this particular forest, they probably were.

When Lysander finally turned his attention back to the task at hand, Lily heaved a sigh. “Yes, let’s get going. Before we’re out here in the dark. I didn’t bring any snacks.” She stated in true Hufflepuff fashion, knowing the pockets of her robes were empty and if they did end up being out here for a while, they were bound to get hungry sooner of later. She flickered her eyes upwards, looking at Lorcan, whispering. “I’m still not sure about this. It’s dangerous… Then again, we’ve got these two who appear to know what they’re doing.” Most situations didn't make her so nervous, but there was just something about the forest...

"Fabulous!" Lysander beamed, so happy that she was willing to teach him how to communicate with the trees. It would be quite remarkable if he could do so, not to mention impossibly convenient should he ever be seeking advice when caught in the forest. Although, maybe trees in other places spoke different tree languages? Oh gosh, he hoped it was all just one big universal language instead of a bunch. That would be tedious to try and learn, although, he would give it his best shot if it came down to it.

Spinning around, the Hufflepuff checked to see that his brother and pseudo-sister were still with them before continuing along the path. He followed the direction his compass led, but was quickly brought to a stop  by the small Gryffindor's hand on his sleeve. He gazed down at her curiously, her doll's face suiting her remarkably well. Some people had heads just didn't go with their bodies somehow, but not Johiah's. No. She was small and the child-like, her head fit her just right. When she mentioned asking the trees directly if they'd seen the Lion-Turtle, his heart sank a bit. Oh, how could he have been so careless? What an inappropriate thing to do, expecting the trees to help but not properly seeing if they would beforehand. That was like showing up on someone's doorstep with your baby and dropping them off to be watched without calling ahead at least.

Lysander stared at Johiah a moment before bringing a hand up and clocking himself in the forehead. "How rude of me! Of course." He tilted his face up. "Pardon the intrusion, lovely trees, but if any of you know of the great Lion-Turtle, a beast with mane and shell, and very old... Whether having seen it lumber by for yourselves, or heard about it from your brethren, if you've got any inkling as to the direction in which it lives, we would very much appreciate some assistance in locating it."

Lily nodded, feeling a bit better with Lorcan’s confidence to back up her currently less-than courageous exterior. However, Gryffindor she was not and there was a reason for it. Not that that was a bad thing, though sometimes it felt as though it could be. Like now when she was feeling a bit embarrassed for being silly about being afraid of something so simple as the Forbidden Forest. Full of creatures. Possibly ones who could harm them. She was stuck on this thought and failed to notice how much more tense Lorcan was than he used to be. Like most thirteen year old girls, she had started noticing boys with her dorm mates, but she had never really looked at them or thought about them in any specific manner otherwise. Maybe it was having two older brothers or perhaps growing up with two male best mates, but Lily hadn’t quite been struck by the bug that made most girls turn into giggly bunches of goo-goo eyes yet.

Watching the pair ahead of them, Lily smiled, glad to see them getting on well. Johiah loved the trees, Lysander loved nature, so the excited conversation occurring didn’t surprise her in the least. The small Gryffindor was saying something about asking the trees and Lysander was taking her full to heart, gazing up and speaking. It would have been quite amusing had she not know they were both being completely and utterly serious about the whole thing. “What d’you think?” She whispered to Lorcan, nodding her head towards the two nutters just down the path. “Mad or completely brilliant?”

“I promise…” Lysander began, gazing upwards at the trees with bright, wondering eyes. “That this mission is strictly for research purposes only. We have no intention of bringing any harm to any creature. If anything, we’ll be able to protect the beast should any problems arise in the future regarding its habitat or health.” He spoke gently, reaching out a hand as well and placing it tenderly upon the kind oak. His voice was a whisper as he breathed in deep, relishing the words that came from Johiah’s mouth. “It does exist. I knew it… I knew it.”



Feeling completely full of joy at the sheer thought that the trees had, in fact, seen the creature before, no matter how long ago, was enough to make his eyes water. He couldn’t help it. After so much research and theorizing, the trees had just confirmed that he wasn’t crazy. His and Lorcan’s parents had taught them to believe in all the magnificent, wonderful possibilities of the world and not just in the things one could see. He looked up at the tree. “Thank you, for your kindness and honesty.” He turned his head to look at Johiah and the other two, gazing at them, eyes wide and bright with a kind of hope one only got when something wonderful was about the happen.



“I do. We can’t very well stop here, now that we know he’s in here somewhere. Of course, it‘s understandable if not everyone wants to go. I can always go by myself if need be, though I do hope you‘ll come with me. Especially you, Johiah, I feel we might need more future help from the trees.”