Exploring the woods yet again

As she did at the start of every year, Di set out on her quest to finish the map she'd been working on for five years, a map of the Forbidden Forest.

She walked with the tip of her wand lit just well enough to see, and ignored the things rustling in the bushes; she was pretty sure that by now every living thing knew that she was bloody dangerous, and if it didn't, she'd teach it a lesson.

A large raven flew over to Di and landed on her shoulder, looking at the map curiously. "CAW!" it told her in bird-speak.

"That's wonderful, Aveira."

She marked something on the map.

The bird ruffled it's feathers and flew next to her, morphing back into her normal shape. "I said, 'you're still doing that?' Why do you need a map anyway."

"To complete the Mauraders map. Which, by the way, I stole."

Aveira grinned. "That is awesome! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I didn't feel like mentioning it where anybody else could hear. Dad doesn't know about it. And neither does that wretch."

Di didn't like Harry; didn't even know what Draco saw in him.

"That makes sense, I guess." Aveira didn't like Harry either, for obvious reasons. "So can I see it? Please?"

"Of course," she said, pulling it out of her bag. She carried a small book bag with her on these expeditions, to hold the maps and ink and quill. She handed the Mauraders' map to Aveira.

"It's so pretty," she said with a mischeivious grin.

One of the bushes rustled, a flash of red showing between the leaves.

Aveira wirled around, shooting a stunning spell at whatever had been there. She may have been raised in the forest, but that didn't mean she wasn't cautious.

"That was nice," Toru commented, walking out of the bush. He patted out the fire that had burned a hole in his shirt.

Aveira shrugged. "My dear, has anyone ever told you it's rude to spy?"

Toru shook his head. He was too tired to get rid of his fox ears. "Who said I was spying? I was sleeping."

"In the forbidden forest?" She raised an eyebrow at him and then walked over to pet his ears. "Kitsune..." she murmered.

He flicked his ears. "Yes, the forest. It's more peacefull for an animal anyway. And yes, kitsune."

She nodded. "I know. I live here. Well, I do in the summer time. And I love your ears," she said, still petting them.

He decided against swishing his tail back and forth, like normal. He let it lay limp, hoping they wouldn't notice. "Thank you," he murmured.

Aveira was completely distracted by his ears to notice anything else. "I wish I had ears. I have wings, but that's it." She fluttered her large raven wings to make a point.

He couldn't stop instinct. His tail swished once, stirring up leaves. He froze. "They're nice."

His tail caught her attention. "Stupéfiant!" She watched his tail in glee.

(("Amazing!"))

He hummed to himself. No longer a secret, his tail tickled underneath her chin.

She smiled and hugged his tail. "Donc doux!" she said in surprise. "I thought it would be more course..."

(("So soft!"))

"I take care of myself. Well, at least, I THINK I do," he muttered.

"I like your tail." She smiled at him.