#put the mustelid back in that boy or so help me

[jackalmeat]

still can't believe bestie neglected to inform me that my babygirl apparently turns into knockoff brand Mads Mikkelsen by the time he hits his mid-30s

[sweetlialia]

Drarry pre-getting together, preparing a picnic in a park with friends

thank you for the prompt dear! i’m sorry this isn’t what you asked for … i mean, there are Drarry, pre-getting together, the mention (kind of) preparing a picnic, and friends, but it’s not 1782 words on how they bake cake together … I hope you still be happy with it /Don’t hate me/

If asked, Harrywould admit it: he really was enjoying this. Maybe even a little bit too much.Luna asked for them all to gather around for her birthday, wanting to spend theday with the people she loved somewhere in the wild. Dean suggested a place heknew in Surrey with a pond and grass until the horizon was nothing more thantrees. They’d be able to swim, run or walk in the forest, look for narggles orwhatever. They could celebrate Luna in a place where she’d glow.

And as much Harrywas excited for it, he would like to stretch today forever. Cause he wasspending that very day cooking with Draco, alone.

 It was almostnoon and Draco still wasn’t there. He’sgonna come asserted Hermione, Thelater the better mumbled Ron. They didn’t really care rather he was here ornot. Neither Seamus and Dean. Or Neville. Pansy didn’t even seem to have noticehis missing as she was sprawled on the grass, her head on Ginny’s laps and herhands on Luna’s hair.

As lunch timecame and Draco still hasn’t apparate,Harry decided it was the moment to see what was wrong, and bring the boy herehimself. With a pof he disappeared, seconds before finding himself standing infront of Draco’s flat. Breathing in and out, he knocked at the door.

“Harry?” asked a dishevelledblond man, eye wide in surprise. “What are you doing here?

-Mind to let mein?

-Um, I’m notpresentable.

-I think I’llsurvive if I see you wearing joggings.

-Are yoga pantslethal?

-No, they’re not.

-Come in, then.” Hebriefly smiled, opening the door. He was indeed wearing yoga pants, and Harrycouldn’t help but notice how good he looked on them. His loose shirt washanging low on his shoulder and he felt the urge to kiss him there. Fightinghis thoughts and his blushing, Harry found his way inside the flat and startedcalling after Mister Ferret, hoping the black and white mustelid will show upand distracts him a little bit.

“Could I offeryou some tea?” Draco asked, putting down a tray with two already steaming cupson the coffee table. “Would make the waiting more pleasurable.

-The waiting?

-Mister Ferretsometimes takes too much time in the bathroom; polishing his fur, those kind ofthings.

-No wonder who hetook after.” Harry smiled, finally looking into those grey grey eyes. “I mean,expect for today.

-I wasn’t waitingvisits.” Draco stated, looking down.

“Nah, it’s okay.I like it.” Harry blurted out, trying to refrain himself from cupping his face.“I mean, it suits you well. Um, no, like, you’re at home, you can dress as youwant.” Oh sweet Merlin, this was a disaster and Draco was smirking, biting hislips from laughing at Harry distressed.

“So, what are youintentions toward my ferret?

-I’m only takinghim to prom, sir.” Harry answered, tit for tat. “He’ll be home by midnight.

-Half pastmidnight. Who knows what can happen at midnight.” Draco explained as Harryfrowned. “Cinderella, that kind of stuff.

-ooh. Wait, areyou telling me your ferret is an animagus?

-By Salazar, no!”He practically quacked while bursting in laughter. “Oh my, Potter.”

And even if theyhave only been calling each other by their first name for a few months, Harryfelt like he’s never been called by his last before. Maybe it was the hand absentmindedlyput on his thigh which has short circuit his brain, or maybe it was the fondnessin Draco’s tone, but his heartbeat started quickening again and he never felthappier to be the Potter to this special Malfoy. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have.”Draco apologised, drying the tears from his face, apparently oblivious to thesudden lack Harry felt. “But how could you’ve taken it so seriously? I mean,you’re not really taking MisterFerret to a prom, are you?

-I’m not evenhere for him, actually.

-Oh my, you’regonna break his tiny heart.

-I’m taking you out.

-I’m sorry?

-Luna picnic birthdayparty. It’s today, for the recall.

-Oh.

-How could youforget? We spend the whole day cooking for it yesterday!

-Yeah, I know. Ijust.” He winced, suddenly looking far less happy. “I didn’t plan to go beforesunset.

-What? But why? Imean, you’re obviously not busy and…

-Luna’s okay withit, that’s all that matters.

-But why? You’rein yoga pants in your flat, you’re going nowhere. Why don’t you want to spendthe day with us?

-It’s not…” Hestopped, giving up quickly on his sentence as he picked the bridge of his nose,slowly breathing in. “I think you should leave.” He breathed out, looking inHarry’s green eyes.

“What now? Come on,Draco.

-I said youshould leave.” He stated again, lacking any kind of fierceness or will.

“Draco, talk tome. What’s wrong? Are you afraid of the guys? They won’t say anything mean, I promise.Actually, Dean likes you and Neville said you’re not that much of a pratanymore. And Pansy’s enjoying herself.

-With her twogirlfriends there, I’d be worried if she wasn’t.

-Draco… Come.Please… To please me.”

Draco seemed onthe verge of saying something, but bit his lower lips and stayed silent.

“Am I the problemthen? Do you plan on going there late cause you know I won’t be there anymore?Is that what you can’t tell me?”

For a fewseconds, Draco said nothing, his silver eyes looking for something in the blackhair boy face. “Of course not, Harry. I promise it has nothing do with you.” Hepractically whispered, trailing his fingertips alongside Harry’s hand beforetaking it. “I really like spending time with you.

-Then why?” Harrykept asking. Yes Draco was holding his hand, and yes, his cheeks had slightlybecame redder as he did so, but it wasn’t the answer to the right question. “Wespend hours preparing everything and you really seemed excited by all of it. Andthe crown flower… I don’t understand what made you change your mind overnight…Just tell me, please. I promise I won’t judge you.

-Harry…” hesighed, closing his eyes again, calculating. Harry could feel his grip loosenaround his hand and knew he was going to take his away. He wasn’t going to tellhim.

“Maybe you’re right,maybe I should leave. Guess I’ll see you around.” He gave up, rising from thecouch. He didn’t care if Malfoy see how sad he felt, even if it wasn’t fair.The day was supposed to be bright, supposed to be theirs. By the pond, with thesunlight playing on his almost white hair, he would’ve kissed him.

“Wait, Harrywait! Do you… Do you wanna stay with me a little bit?

-So my friendsare the problem, right?

-Of course not.Of course not.” He answered fondly. “It… It has nothing to do with any of you.It’s me, okay? I …

-You?” Heinvited, closing some of the distance between them. Part of him wanted to reachhim, as physically as mentally. There was something at stake, and by the lookon Draco’s face, it was bigger than him. He wanted to go, to spend the day withthem, but something was holding him back, and Harry knew it, wanted to fightit. There wasn’t that much possible reasons. If it wasn’t his friends norhimself, he could be something linked to him being a Malfoy, or any kind ofrotten lies told by his brain; and Harry needed to know which one, needed toget them away.

“You’re sopretty, you know?” Draco smiled shyly, reaching for a stray strand of Harry’shair and brushing it away from his emerald eyes. “I think I’ve always been inlove with you. And that’s why I can’t come. I know you planned on doing somethingthere, and I can’t let it happen.” He avowed softly, his eyes unflickering.

“-But why…?

-You’re far tooprecious for someone like me. I won’t ever deserve you.

-There’s no suchbullshit as deserving someone.” Harry tried to counter. “If you… if you loveme, and love me right, then I… I’ll be yours.

-You don’tunderstand-

-I love you too,Draco. There’s nothing else to take in. If you, and I said you don’t want me… but if youdo and… cause I want you, and I’lllove you right.

-You could findbetter.

-I thought youwere the best? Was it only bragging?

-I’m beingserious here.

-And I am, too. Idon’t care about any other. I don’t even consider other!

-But what I did…

-When? During thewar?” Draco nodded slightly, unconsciously hiding his left arm behind his back.“When are you going to stop punishing yourself? You never did any of itwillingly, you paid for it, grew from it. Come on Draco; don’t tell me no onewill ever be able to love you because you were made a pawn at sixteen? Don’ttell me your live isn’t worthy because a madman threatened your life and family…We’ve talked about it, and my opinion on you hasn’t change. I know who you wereand what you’ve been forced to do, but I also know who you are and what youchose to do. Please, don’t let that part of your past breaks your life.

-Harry… I can’t…”he murmured.

“But you can bemy friend?

-A friend won’tdestroy your chance at happiness.

-But as my friendyou’d break my heart.

-But you’dhealed, and move on. Fall in love again, marry and have some kids. You’d behappy.

-You make mehappy, Draco. You make me the happiest.

-Please, stop.

-Then I’m supposedto walk out the door, find another guy and introduce him to my friends, andkiss him in front of you?

-Yes.” Heanswered, dropping his gaze. “That’s the spirit.

-It would hurtyou.

-It’s my price topay.

-I would never beable to hurt you.

-Then we.” He gulped,hard. “Maybe it’s best if we never see each other again.

-Draco… Draco,look at me… I’m not going anywhere.” He affirmed, taking a step closer. “I’mnot going anywhere until there’s a good reason for it. I’m not going to letyour dark thoughts ruin you, cause what they say, it isn’t true. I know yourworth, Draco, and I’m not even sure Ideserve you.

-That’s stupid.

-You see? I’mstupid, you’re smart. You’d grow bored of me.

-I could never.

-Prove it.” Heplayfully challenged, knowing the shadow of his smile.

[optimusprius]

Give and Take

In October last year I was in a terrible place. Not physically, I was camped out at my parents house, no job, no rent, no real responsibilities to speak of, there was nowhere I ever had to be and nothing I really had to do. I had stumbled into the land of the unemployed and had remained there for 9 months, and man oh man it did a number on my head.  I was miserable. I felt aimless and invisible, I was drifting through life feeling like I had achieved nothing and failed at everything. When you have all the time in the world you take it for granted, and become an expert at wasting it. I would wake up at 11 every morning (or later, if I was feeling extra lethargic) help my parents out with their small flower growing business for an hour or two, play video games, feed our small herd of cows and even smaller flock of chickens, then throw away the evening with more video games and movies until I dragged myself to bed, where I would lay, staring at the ceiling with all manner of toxic and destructive thoughts racing through my head. To be honest, I was probably doing only slightly more than what I’m doing while I’m currently in lockdown, yet I felt 100 times worse. I was trying to get out of there, but I wasn’t trying very hard. My job hunting was geographically limited to the current region I was staying in, and my preferences were so narrow that I was barely applying for any new careers. But when October rolled around, I took a massive risk and added one whole other region to my searches. I know, I know, it was a pretty wild thing to do on my part. If someone asked me what scares me more, roller coaster rides, or expanding my search on a job hunting website, I know what my answer would be. And 2 weeks after I took this crazy step in a new direction I had a brand new job! In Taupo! I was going to to leaving my parents sleepy little seaside farm and moving to a little tourist town smack bang in the middle of the North Island. And what was I going to be doing while I was down there?  Killing possums. Yup. That was going to be my 9-5 for the foreseeable future. The same guy who was fascinated with animals and nature, who had rescued countless birds, cats, rodents and even a stingray (story for another time? I think so!) was going to be making a living dealing death out like it was dollar bills in a strip club. But the way I saw it, and still see it, is that it is a necessary evil. Our country was one of the last to see humans, with Maoris arriving around 500-700 years ago, and Europeans colonising the islands from the late 18th century. This meant the native flora and fauna had had no exposure at all to humans and all their nasty hitchhikers. By the time humans had established themselves in this little slice of paradise, they had already helped wipe out about 40 different species of animal, and had pushed many more close to extinction.  Today, the animals that were introduced continue to put a lot of pressure on our remaining native ecosystems. Rats, mustelids, cats and possums are the biggest contributors to this, and possums are especially dangerous due to the fact that they are able to carry and spread tuberculosis to cattle and people. And if you have played Red Dead Redemption 2 recently, you would know how nasty that disease can be. Not to mention that if it was to run wild amongst our country's dairy farms it would be devastating for one of our top industries. So from an economical and environmental standpoint it makes sense to remove these animals, and sadly it’s not like we can ask them nicely and offer a discounted plane ticket back to Australia.

Just for clarification, we aren’t talking about American opossums here, but the Australian Brush Tailed Possum, a relatively harmless marsupial in its native environment, but a hyper aggressive menace in NZ’s forests. Removed from resource competition and predators, these guys have free reign to eat, breed, and kill with reckless abandon, and it just so happens that most of our forests foliage and birds tends to be especially tasty for them. At their highest point, their numbers reached between 50-70 million individuals, but now, due in large part to work similar to mine, their numbers have been reduced to 30 million, and continue to shrink. Now with all of that on the table, it’s time to ask the biggest question: how could I bring myself to kill any animal for a living, regardless of whether they are a pest or not? People have told me it seems cruel and unfair, these guys didn’t choose to live here, they are just trying to survive as best they can. They aren’t evil, they don’t steal candy from babies, or push old ladies down flights of stairs, so why should you go around killing them? Firstly, this is the part of the job I enjoy the least. Most of my coworkers are hunters, and so for them the thrill of the hunt is a large part of why they enjoy doing what they do, but I see it from a different perspective. I’m not doing it because I enjoy killing or hunting these animals, I do it because I love seeing our native animals and forests thrive in their absence.  Whenever I sit down for lunch in a clearing after a hard mornings slog and see curious little robins, heavyset kereru and noisy tuis moving through the trees it gives me so much satisfaction. I’m protecting these guys, I’m making a safer environment for the animals that can’t protect themselves, even if the method to do so means there is blood on my hands.  I’m more than aware of this, and I treat the animals whose lives I take with respect and dignity. Maybe doing this helps me sleep better at night, but it’s better than the alternative, treating them like numbers to be tallied, bragging about how many you have killed to your coworkers and friends. It’s also about accepting responsibility for the actions of those that came before you. European colonists may have had good intentions when they first introduced all of these animals, but as you probably know some of the best intentions can have the worst outcomes, and in this case, it is up to us to right their wrongs. And I’m not just talking about me, my coworkers, and anybody else in this line of work, but the general public too. Right now the majority of the population are aware and accepting of what needs to be done, but the vocal few (and boy, are they vocal) can still do plenty of unintentional damage with their own supposedly good intentions and naive ideals.   

But to be totally honest, I don’t plan on doing this any longer than I have to. There are many other areas of conservation and environmental protection that I would love to throw myself into, but for now this is my best chance at picking up the necessary skills and experience needed in order to make my way forward in this line of work. While I don’t think I’m going to become an eco warrior anytime soon, I do still wish to one day open up an animal shelter, buy up a farm, convert it back into native bush and get lost in my own little slice of paradise, and I think what I’m doing now can help me get a better perspective of all things nature. The world is a wonderful, beautiful and complex place, and we need to do all we can to protect and nurture the animals that share this planet with us, even if that may mean getting our hands dirty and tidying up after those misguided individuals that came before us.

In this situation, in order to give life to some, we must take it from others. And that thought lays heavy on my conscience whenever I’m stomping through the bush, Monday to Friday, those precious birds flitting from tree to tree, unaware of what's being done to ensure their survival.