An Open Encounter ( Shen / Clark )

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Walking down the corridor, Shen felt pain and looked for a place to sit down, choosing the bottom steps of one of the staircases from the floor above. Pulling up his pant's leg after setting his bag down next to him, he glanced around, saw no one heading his way and unhooked his leg a moment. Putting it down in front of him he got some lotion and spread it on the end of his leg, massaging it in and then checking the top of the leg to make sure there was no trash in there. Seeing none he slipped it back on, doing up the fasteners and rolling his pant's leg back down.

Being partly artificial was really a pain sometimes. Another glance around to make sure no one was near to have watched that and he put two hands on the handrail pulling himself back up to his feet. A slight bend to pick up a strap and his bag went back over his shoulder. Beginning to walk again, Shen limped his way down the hallway again, just barely noticeable in the awkwardness of his gait. Probably there were people in the school who didn't realize he had an artificial leg, but he didn't count on it though it would have been nice to think about.

Stopping in front of a window he glanced out and saw the North wind had been busy today, bringing in a heavily darkened sky with rolling clouds. The air was sharp for an early fall, saying something about the weather to come he supposed. Wondering if it meant an extra long winter following along behind, he turned from the window and began walking again, heading for the Library...

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Clark wasn't incredibly chatty, even when he was no longer nervous talking around someone. The only exception to this was when he talked with his owl Oscar. Being able to communicate with birds was a gift Clark enjoyed a great deal. He considered Oscar was of his very best mates and the two would often talk for a great deal of time over the trivial matters of human and fowl and not get the least bit bored. Clark had always read that many owls were wise, and in Oscar's case, it was certainly true.

So near the library, Clark sat by the window that Oscar was perched on, a favorite resting spot for the short-eared owl.

"You're an admirable young human, Clark my boy," said Oscar. "Still wishing to pursue a career working with we birds. Not all of us are as pleasant as I am, you know?"

"True, but that's the beauty of birds," said Clark. "You come with a wide variety of personalities just as we humans do. It's interesting to converse with you lot, even if some birds are rather impolite."

"A valid point I suppose," said Oscar. "Well, at least you have me when you're in the mood for more pleasant conversation." Clark smiled at his friend at that.

Both then noticed as the Hufflepuff boy made his way to the Library, glancing out a different window from the one Oscar was perched on.

"Hello," said Clark, who was of course not as shy around other guys as he was around the girls he had spoken to for the first time.

@shava44

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As Shen contemplated what lay ahead, he limped his normal walk down the hallway and was aware of someone in the next window edge, but didn't stare specifically. Staring was, of course, rude so his eyes were turned slightly down to avoid any rudeness when the other spoke out loud. Turning his eyes that way he noted a rather nice specimen of an owl watching him with curious eyes and an older student he didn't know. Possibly one of the senior students he smiled politely and turned his route to send him slightly closer to appear more open.

"Greetings, to you both," he said bowing his head in that slight way many Chinese did to show respect (something many did so automatically it could hardly be noticed in China of course) and hoping the other would introduce both of them. As he came closer he stopped, glad for the excuse really to pause and give his leg a rest break before continuing. "I would assume you are not going flying today in that wind," he said speaking directly to the owl though he had not their tongue, but knowing such a cold wind would probably not be the most pleasant.

The slight smile on his face belied the fact Shen was thinking about what he knew of thermals, not the best on the coldest days when the winds were wild and while this one wasn't too wild yet, he was willing to bet it would be higher up as a front moved in.

@clarkc

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Clark bowed his head back in respect. The boy seemed very friendly, though most Hufflepuffs Clark had met seemed that way. He offered his hand as the boy came over. He noticed the boy had a limp and seemed to be a bit weary. Clark quickly moved over to give Shen enough room to sit down as well.

"I'm Clark," he said. "This is Oscar." He pointed to the owl.

When Shen addressed the owl, Clark answered for his pet.

"Oscar always avoids flying on strong winded days," he said.

"Well not always I'm sad to admit," said Oscar. "I tried it once or twice, and eventually learned myself a fine lesson. So I just wait it out now."

Clark told Shen what Oscar had said. It was always fun for Clark when someone joined him while he was speaking to one of his bird friends. He got to play the translator.

"Oscar and I always have the most interesting conversations when the North Wind is strong," said Clark. "You're welcomed to join us unless you need to to be at the library by a certain time."

@shava44

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As he greeted them both, the older student held out his hand and Shen took it with thanks in his eyes. "My name is Shen, nice to meet you Clark and Oscar. Is Oscar a free owl or does he share co-habitation with you?" He never liked saying an animal belonged to someone really, it just didn't sound right. As the other moved over he nodded his thanks adding "Thanks, I appreciate it..." Sitting down with his artificial one out straight, the pants leg came up enough to see it was clearly an artificial leg at the ankle level at least.

"Ah yes, the North wind is particularly challenging. It denotes the need for a careful work with long time needed for results. I can imagine that flying in it would be particularly difficult. I've never really even liked doing it on a broom, really. I prefer soft winds like the East." At the rest of the speak he smiled softly. "I think that sounds like good wisdom. Forcing one's way along doesn't work well in the long run and waste's effort and energy."

Shaking his head he made sure to turn to see both Oscar and Clark, an interesting pair. "What sort of conversations do you normal have if I may ask? hope I didn't intrude on one." What would an owl find interesting about their world?

@clarkc

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Clark nodded and waved a bit when Shen introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you as well," said Clark. "And Oscar lives with my family and I. He's a good friend and roommate." Clark smiled at the bird.

"Awww, thank you," said Oscar. "You're a bit of alright too."

As Clark listened to Shen speak, he wondered if the Hufflepuff could understand his owl as well. If so, he would have loved to be with someone who could understand birds and possibly make it to where they understood him as well.

"Can you also communicate with birds?" asked Clark.

Clark then smiled a bit as Shen asked about the conversations.

"We talk about most everything," he said. "The weather, my father's work with birds, his life, my life, any number of things."

"I like when we talk about what mice are tasty and which aren't," said Oscar. "Though you always seem to want to end that conversation quickly."

"Sorry, mate, I'm not exactly fond of eating mice myself," smiled Clark. He then turned back to Shen. "You're not intruding at all. It's nice to have someone to join in. You're welcome to come up with a new topic. About yourself, maybe? And I could tell you more about me."

@shava44

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Smiling at the roommate and friend part, Shen decided he liked Clark so far as he had experienced him. Anyone who treated an animal as a separate and intelligent being had to be all right. "Ah! Yes, we have an owl in our family like that, but he tends to stick to home and my family's business more then here at school so I do not see her as often." His own crickets were a different sort of pet who most found rather odd, but fit his background and family well enough. But Clark asked something which several had asked Shen who spoke to animals all the time and he shook his head slightly sad.

"No, I am afraid not. I talk to them all the time but I have never had an answer. I am good with them however. Most seem to like me so I must have the right, natural energy for them to appreciate. The stories I am sure they could tell would keep me company I am sure! Maybe I need to seek out one day an animals who can speak Mandarin or English to have in my dorm, but my crickets keep me entertained enough as it is I guess." He was positive they understood his compassion and respect for them at least even if neither spoke the same language. He was not sure if it would become a career yet however, working with insects.

Shen nodded seeing where the interest in owls came from suddenly; if his father worked with birds it would make very logical sense his son would relate to them as well! "Ah! So you must have grown up around a lot of birds! What kind of work does your father do with them?" he asked rather interested. Maybe Clark's father worked with returning them to the wild or maybe training them for owl post. He wondered if he shared the talent his son had for speaking to birds. "My father runs a landscaping and plant nurser company. My entire family works it as a group."

He had to smile about the mice. "Yes, I can see the flavors of mice being something Oscar would find very interesting. Not a topic most humans would, however. I am sorry I have no opinion on that one Oscar. Have you ever noticed a pattern to them however? Such as those being in or around the school more favorable then others? I am curious if they are influenced much by the magic which is used here daily." His eyes blinked as Clark mentioned Shen talking about himself; he really didn't think he was that interesting. "I doubt I am all that great a topic personally. Though what most people seem to find interesting is that I have thirteen brothers and sisters and already several nieces and nephews."

@clarkc

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Clark frowned about Shen not getting to see his owl that often. Clark couldn't imagine not seeing Oscar every day.

"Well, Christmas will be here soon and you can see him," he said with a smile, trying to be a bit positive.

Clark nodded as Shen spoke of his experience with owls. He looked over at Oscar, who seemed anxious hear a translation, which Clark gave him.

"Oh this seems like a nice fellow, Clark," said Oscar. "We should be good mates with him."

"I agree," said Clark, who looked at Shen and smiled. "Oscar suggests we be good mates. I'm for it if you are."

Clark then perked up a bit about his father's work, which was something Clark had considered getting into if he didn't end up taking on a magical job.

"My father owns a number of bird sanctuaries in London," he said. "It was at one of them where I discovered that I could talk to birds. What your family does sounds quite interesting."

Clark told Oscar what Shen said about the mice.

"You humans don't know what you're missing!" chuckled Oscar. "Then again, I'm not fond of seeing the things you eat."

Clark told Shen what Oscar said, the vice versa.

"Not really," he said. "All mice are about the same." Clark told that to Shen.

"Wow," said Clark when Shen spoke of all his siblings. "That's quite a family. I'm actually an only child myself."

@shava44

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Clark spoke about Christmas and he nodded, thinking about it. "I see them on and off as my family sends messages and packages from home. We have about six owls back home and they all stay pretty busy. Three of them work just for the business alone actually so I don't see them at all, but the other three pretty often. But I always enjoy being home anyway! My mother cooks amazing things and I've been missing them..." Quite a few dishes which Hogwarts didn't do actually, which was a shame. But not too many ethnic dishes showed up in great variety either, just a few mixed into the English and Scottish classics he had noticed.

Shen paid attention to quite a few details.

A smile was quick to follow the next translation. "Oh I can always use friends! I'm in! But is this your last year or your next to last?" If it was his last year then he had NEWTS to work on and as Shen knew from the OWLS studies work load he must be busy! His face took on a curious look though. "Bird Sanctuaries? What are those exactly? Is it a business for birds?" He listened with interest, hoping his new friend would go into some detail. "Do you enjoy helping him?"

Shrugging he explained "It seems the majority of my family has a green thumb, but I sort of got skipped on that part. They are really pretty and need a lot of work, but it's always busy in the nurseries as well. We cover both muggle and magic plants so we sell to both groups so it can be a challenge sometimes I think for them to keep it all separate." And of course, the plants smelled good and the herbs did his mother's dishes no harm either! "Oh really? I had wondered without wanting to find out personally, but it seemed logical that all the magic here would affect creatures around it long term."

Interesting that it did not however!

"Oh really? I've always thought that sounded very quiet. Did you have friends nearby growing up at least to keep it from being boring? I would think it could get dull, but at least you didn't have to learn early on how to have the bathroom time. That's been helped as the business has brought in more money, but I wonder sometimes why I don't have more little sibs." At Clark's reaction to that he smiled and added "Mom is a veela. Dad says he's had a very hard time behaving over the years."

@clarkc

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Clark's eyes widened just a little as Shen spoke of all his owls.

"That's certainly quite a few, though I imagine a business like that needs that many," he said. "And my mum is a good cook as well. She makes both Muggle dishes and ones from the magical world. My mum seems to enjoy the Muggle side of things more these days, not that she dislikes being a witch or anything of course."

Clark smiled when Shen agreed to be mates.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said. "And this is my final year." He then addressed the question about bird sanctuaries. "Not really a business. Just places where birds can be taken care of and protected. People can come to see them, and are only asked to give donations if they want to. Most do. My dad inherited a great deal of money from my grandfather, so we don't really have to worry about actually charging people to make a living. And yes, I enjoy helping them very much."

Clark smiled about what Shen's family did.

"It all sounds brilliant," he said. "Perhaps I can meet your family some time, and you can visit mine as well. You can come see one of the sanctuaries too if you'd like."

Clark then played translator again for Shen and Oscar.

"Oh dear me," chuckled Oscar. "I should hate to have some magical mouse curse me for eating it. Hasn't happened yet though."

Clark shook his head about the friends.

"Not many," he said. "A few neighbors here and there, but I really didn't begin making good mates until I came to Hogwarts. I think that's probably the case with many wizards who live in Muggle areas." Clark then chuckled and blushed a bit about the Veela thing. "I'm not sure what to tell you there."

@shava44

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He nodded; a family the size of his did need a lot more stuff between them so three owls for the business and three for the family was a good number. Of course, they had other creatures for pets, the owls were more part of their small 'community.' "Yes, you learn to share a lot in a large family. My mother cooks mostly Slavic style and Chinese mostly for my father's influence. She's still learning many of the English ones. What sort of dishes does you mother do?" Shen had no idea if any of his mother's dishes were done by magic, but he wouldn't have known which were magical based anyway! Wasn't food food the same no matter how it was done?

Realizing he didn't know he frowned.

"Are there any dishes which are only found in the wizarding world? Curious, I'm not aware of which are which we have so many styles in our home..."Ah, so they had about a six month period into which to learn more about each other. "Do you know yet what you will be doing this summer after graduation?" He wondered about the sanctuaries however and why they were needed. "I'm not really sure I understand, sorry for my being like a wooden board," he bowed his head slightly in apologies, "Are the birds threatened somehow that they need a space? I thought birds were mostly wild and free."

Smiling enthusiastically he said "Yes I think that would be splendid! Maybe early part of the summer before you start work you can come visit? I have to ask my girlfriend about what her plans are before I can make anything sure, and Owl my parents of course." Shen smiled at the evident humor Oscar had over the situation. he suspected an owl would know better then anyone else would. Shame he could not speak with Owls directly! "Interesting! Would you say that's because they have to keep the magic world hidden? It seems to me some things cross the border easily enough for kids, I would never have thought muggle and magical kids couldn't find some common ground..."

Shen, long used to having jokes and comments made about having a Veela in the family just nodded, not shy about that part. To him it felt natural for a situation and it was after all about sex; all creatures on the earth did it so why was that something blush worthy? Humans, he concluded long ago, were a strange species for thinking sometimes too much about things. But then again, he felt the stirrings of desire for YiXue as well despite the fact they were not at that stage yet in their relationship. Sometimes it made more sense the animals ways with mating seasons then with humans.

@clarkc

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Clark shrugged when Shen asked about what dishes his mother made.

"Oh, the typical British Muggle and Magical dishes mostly, though she's pretty good at cooking Italian food as well," he said. "She's a very good cook, though I'm probably just saying that because I'm her soon and grew up on it." Clark smiled a bit at that.

Clark really wasn't sure how the food differences worked himself, just that there were different recipes in the two different major recipe books his mother owned.

"I think it's more in how something is prepared," he said. "Like for some she uses ingredients found primarily in magical shops." He then shrugged about his future. "Dad says I can work with him, but I'm not sure yet what I will do long term." He then smiled at Shen. "No, you're perfectly fine. The birds are safe there, I know that, but they're not just locked up like in a zoo. They can come and go as they please actually, and many choose to stay there most of the time."

Clark blushed a bit when Shen mentioned a girlfriend. He didn't know why. After all, he had recently met a girl that he fancied and who seemed to fancy him back.

"I'm sure we'll work out something," he said.

Clark then shrugged about the Muggle and Magical kids.

"I think there's a lot in common between Muggle kids and Magical ones, but I suppose the whole keeping our world a secret thing comes into play from day one," he said. "You know how the Ministry is about it and all."

@shava44

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Shen chuckled. "I think we all do really. Or at least all of us two legged humans. What about you, Oscar? Do you remember your mother's food with particular relish?" Maybe she liked particular field mice or bugs that he liked in his mind better then others, who knew? It was one of the few two sided conversations he had had with an owl before though he spoke to the family ones all the time. They didn't speak back so much as show affection though. "I guess part of that is the fact we remember our mother's love in connection to the food though. My father cooks a good deal as well."

Listening with interest, he made a mental note to look up a book on the differences, though he was no Ravenclaw to turn to a book first. "Curious. I may have to look it up just to satisfy myself I understand it. Do you find yourself doing that sometimes even if you don't have an in depth interest in a subject, but there is one point you do find bugging you?" Shen smiled at Clark's answer and probably sounded like a parent as he said "You may want to give it some more thought before the summer comes around."

While he had never heard of a bird sanctuary it sounded pleasant enough. "Sounds like something I would enjoy seeing some day then," he said with a tilt of his head, "I will most certainly want to see it if we can work out a time for me to come visit." He noticed the blush and smiled understandingly. Shen was still adjusting to the idea that he needed to think of two people not one in his life and it was proving to be an interesting way of seeing the world indeed. "I know, I am still adjusting to the idea myself. You think of yourself as an individual outside of your family and then someone else arrives you want to include-- it gets complicated quickly."

What dreams did she have in mind for them? He had no idea what all would happen that summer, he was still thinking about Christmas and the promise he would go and stay with her family a short time after Christmas to see her family's business and home. He did nod as Clark brought up the point about the Ministry. "Yes, though when you begin to study them in class they don't seem nearly so 'with it' as you first think. Still, it's for our own safety I guess."

@clarkc

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Clark translated for Shen to Oscar and then got a response that was rather disgusting, at least to humans.

"You... might not want to hear what he said about how his mother fed him," blushed Clark a bit, hoping Shen would no longer be curious.

"What's wrong with how my mum fed me?" asked Oscar. "Don't you ever eat what your mother regur..."

"No... no I never have," said Clark quickly.

Clark nodded in agreement about wanting to find something out just to find it out.

"Fortunately we have the Muggle internet at home, so whenever I'm there I can get the information easily," he said. "Though usually I avoid the internet if possible. I hear some Muggles are quite addicted to it and I'd rather not be in such a state."

Clark also agreed about finding a career soon, but said nothing else on that subject.

Clark then smiled about Shen wanting to check the place out.

"We'll arrange something here before summer then," he said.

Clark blushed again when Shen saw he had already blushed about Shen having a girlfriend.

"I can somewhat relate," he said. "I have a girl who seems to fancy me as much I her, but I've never had a girlfriend before. I think it's because I'm so painfully shy around girls I meet for the first time."

Clark sighed and nodded about the Muggle thing again.

"I guess there could be dire consequences if the wrong sort of Muggle found out about us," he said.

@shava44

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When Clark made the face, Shen instantly remembered that many birds fed their very young in ways that would explain his face. Nodding, and trying not to smile, Shen responded with "Ah yes, I had, uh, forgotten about what many birds do there for a minute. Sorry, Clark..." Clark responded quickly to something Oscar said and Shen sat there, bemused. Owls would, of course, have a very different perspective on nearly everything, he reasoned. His next question caused Shen to frown. "I understand dad uses it for the business, but I've never used it myself."

Nodding at the idea of seeing his home compared to Shen's, he wondered again how a friendship of six months would do. It would probably depend a lot on what Clark ended up doing for a career, something which Shen wished was not a requirement of life. To make life long decisions at such an age without experience seemed to him a very bad idea overall, but it was what the system called for. He frowned at Clark's mention of being so shy. "Pardon me if I come across as pushy, but why would you feel shy when someone appreciates you enough they want to get to know you better?"

"Isn't that more a cause for happiness that another sees you as worth the time?" He was genuinely puzzled, not sure why it should be that way. Shy because not sure about what to say or do was one thing, but shy because of the fact-- well it just didn't click in his mind. It was hard to put in words.

@clarkc