Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2023 1:38:39 GMT
The expedition to Atlantis had finally ended, and they had gotten to know each other well enough to call one another friends. Art was still easily flustered by Adriel even though he knew the other man was just teasing him, and Adriel was careful to not push too hard while respecting Art's space. The journey itself had been harrowing on both men, but Art suffered the occasional nightmare when camping at night on the way back to civilization.
They pulled onto an empty island close to Crete around noon so Adriel could shrink his boat to tuck into his pouch without being seen by muggles, then offered Art his hand. "Would you like to go see Knossos today since we have some light? I know of a couple other ruins on the island as well, lesser known ones since they are small," he offered. "We're not on a time crunch, so a bit of relaxing and sight seeing in safer places before we get a portkey back might be good for you, if you are interested."
Art was initially going to say no, that he just wanted to look around the Acropolis then get back to his little office, but Adriel's mention of lesser known ruins and safe places made him hesitate. And the Minoan palace where King Minos had a labyrinth for a minotaur made was supposed to be older than the Acropolis... "What kind of small ruins?" he warily asked.
Adriel grinned, glad to have caught Art's interest. "Hmm... There's an ancient temple of fertility that was theorized to have been worshipped at once a year that was found not far from Minoa," he explained, hand still out. "Not much is actually confirmed about it since there are bigger ruins like Aptera and the palace. It is a magical site rather than a muggle one, though, and there are inscriptions in ancient Greek on the walls that I don't think were ever completely translated."
The mention of an incomplete translation in a magical ancient Greek temple was highly tempting. Art chewed on his lower lip as he debated between that or a nice and safe hotel room in Crete or southern Greece. "And... it's safe?" he asked in a small voice as he uncertainly peeked up at Adriel.
"Yep," Adriel reassured with a smile. "I used to play and camp in it as a kid. It's a small marble room build into a cliff that's no more than six meters by six meters with a slab in the middle where harvest or a feast was probably offered up at. There were no signs of any kind of blood or grooves you see on slabs for blood sacrifices, so no kind of killing was used for it. It might have been meant for a more primitive version of Aphrodite or Demeter, and there was only one priestess that tended to it in between the yearly festival from what little I know was gathered."
That did seem safe. He reached out to to take Adriel's hand. "It does sound like something I would like to see, especially since I haven't heard of it before," he agreed, still a little hesitant but feeling better with the reassurances. "Yes, I want to see it, but also the palace."
Adriel grinned again, then apparated them to the area of Knossos where the magical archeology side of the expedition used to be. It had only ended a year previous, so the muggle wards and such were still up, and probably would continue to remain up specifically for the wizarding side of tourism once that was set up. "This is the Mackenzie camp," he explained as he gestured to the few cabins around them. "Mackenzie was the wizard that was a good friend of the muggle that bought this land, and he is the main reason that the records of the excavation was done so well. Truly a tragedy that he was cursed into insanity, but his youngest daughter continues his legacy," Adriel explained before starting for the path towards the palace. "The excavations ended last year, but there's still more to uncover so it will probably start up again later. The magical side of the British museum set themselves up for first dibs through the older Mackenzie, but his youngest daughter who is about forty now might not continue to deal with them since they were quick to drop her father when he was incurably cursed."
He paused to help Art up the tricky part of the dirt and rock path. "I get along with her fine, though her older sister didn't like me and their mother absolutely loathed me," he said with a shameless grin. "Anyway, right around the next bend is..."
Adriel gave Art a tour of the empty palace - there were no tourists since it was not open to the public on either side, and he knew all sorts of stories and theories about the place having grown up in it off and on throughout his childhood. He also told Art little anecdotes about the individual archeologists, the way they worked, why they worked that way, and how most archeologists in the field were just rich hobbyists that loved history like the muggle that had bought the location. Between that, answering Art's questions, and letting him read various bits of pottery and the like himself, they were there for a couple hours.
"There's still about two hours of light if you want to see the temple," Adriel offered when the tour was done. "We still have lamps if it takes longer to read the walls, and I can set up a couple pallets on the floor. It's tame olive orchards around the area, so there won't be any chance of attacks, and I'll check it for snakes and the like as soon as we enter."
The palace had been very interesting for Art - he got to see a genuine ancient Greek legend! - so when the temple was offered next, he didn't hesitate to accept Adriel's hand. "And it's not translated?" he excitedly asked.
"Nope, only enough to know that it was a fertility temple, that it was used once a year, and that the god or goddess was probably a primitive version of what came later," Adriel said with a smile, glad to see Art bouncing back from the trials he had gone through. He apparated them both to the edge or an olive orchard, and a tall cliff rose up next to them. "It has muggle repelling wards, but it's also hidden since they planned to do a proper excavation on it but forgot when Mackenzie was cursed. They will probably remember it later, though."
Adriel held on to Art's hand as he led them to the cliff face, then seemed to walk through the wall in a similar fashion as the barrier at King's Cross. Art followed along, trusting his guide, and he found himself in a decently sized room just as Adriel had earlier described. It was also a lot cleaner than he had expected a long abandoned temple to be - almost pristine but for a few leaves - and he thought that might be the work of magic. Art's hand was released while he stared around so Adriel could cast a lumos to check the darker corners, then he pulled out a couple lamps and lit them so he could hang them up in the areas that used to hold torches.
"You'll want to start over there," Adriel said, pointing at the doorway they had come through before strolling over to the slab to lounge on and relax. "Inscriptions start above the doorway, and the pattern is 'as the ox turns' which means there is some Sumerian influence as well. It's actually why they theorize that the ones that built the Minoan palace had migrated from the south rather than from a different area. All I know is its some kind of ancient Greek dialect that hasn't really been seen anywhere else, but you are fluent in several if not most ancient languages so I'm sure you will get it."
Art felt eagerness bubble up as Adriel explained what he knew about the inscriptions, and he set his bags down to grab the journal at his hip. He started writing down notes as he worked on figuring out the new dialect, felt irritation when it seemed like only minutes later that Adriel interrupted him about food, then felt himself blush when he realized it was actually dark outside, dinner had been made, and he had not noticed how long he had been working. "Sorry," he mumbled as he sat down to eat.
"Stop apologizing, I'm glad you are having fun," Adriel dismissively said as he served Art a rice, tomato, and beef porridge with garlic and herbs first then himself. "I set up your pallet in the back, but I will take a nap after the meal so I can keep watch tonight. How far along are you, and is there anything interesting?"
Art couldn't help the wide smile when Adriel asked his question, and he started to babble about what he had found out so far. "You were right about the Sumerian influence," he began, then started to talk in between small bites when Adriel pointed at the food he had almost forgotten about again. "They probably didn't account for it while translating, though. While it was done once a year, the sacrifice was human... But only in a symbolic manner. It does get a little confusing though since the male and female terms keep changing, so I can't tell if the one that ran the temple was a female while the symbolic sacrifice was a male, or if it was the other way around. But the most interesting thing is that the ritual itself is on the ceiling, written in a perfect circle which in ancient Greece means the notions of totality, wholeness, original perfection, the Self, the infinite, eternity, timelessness, all cyclic movement, and even divinity! This whole place has been so perfectly preserved, but the name of the God or Goddess is hidden? There are some letters in the circle above that I keep trying to sound out to see if I can find it, but it's not coming out right."
"Huh, I was wondering what you were mumbling about," Adriel said. He had finished his meal while Art was talking, so he sat his bowl to the side. "If you want to submit this finding, I could give you proper introduction when we are in England to Druella Mackenzie so you can obtain permission from her. She's been staying close to home because of the issues with the British Museum, so you could probably also get some political power at your workplace if you can coax her into allowing the Oxford museum to host your findings. I'm not sure if she will be able to do it, it's a pretty messy battle about who actually owns rights to her father's notes and findings to be honest, so the temple might fall under it. But there is no harm in asking and your board will be happy if you can get permission. You could even get a bigger office with more books, yes?"
Art was a bit skeptical about what Adriel was saying - the board didn't like him and probably still wouldn't even with his findings in Atlantis or this temple. But it would be nice to have a thesis and possibly a museum display that would further knowledge about the ancient Greek gods with his name attached to it. Plus, Adriel already knew her, so maybe she wouldn't automatically hate him on introduction. The people that his mentor introduced him to early on didn't hate him either... They just wandered away since he was a nobody back then. So he gave a reluctant nod, then set his mostly eaten plate to the side.
"I'll clean up dinner then," Adriel said as he picked up both bowls. "Then I'll nap after. Set a timer for around midnight for me and wake me up, please?"
Art nodded again. "Alright... I'm going to finish translating the back wall then," he mumbled as he started towards it to pick up where he had been interrupted from earlier.
Adriel quietly laughed, still finding Art's many social faux pas amusing, and went outside to rinse the bowls and pot off using an augamenti, then scrubbed it with soapweed roots. He was glad that Art was able to relax tonight and do something he loved without being afraid of the next thing being a trap. Hopefully, the other man wouldn't whimper in his sleep tonight like he had been ever since the encounter with the manticore on one of the islands. Not that he could blame him, that battle had been hard even for him, but Adriel was long used to battles and nightmarish curses in dark tombs and the like. He hoped the whole thing didn't discourage Art from trying to run more expeditions in the future.
Art was still mumbling to himself while scribbling in his journal when Adriel came back in, so he quietly set down a padding on the slab along with a couple blankets because marble was hard, then he settled in to nap. Art's mumbles followed him into sleep, so he had a weird dream about an ancient festival being held around him, but the noise also kept his nap light so when Art called his name after his wand buzzed a quiet alert, he was immediately awake. He stretched and yawned, but stayed in the same spot since it was a good enough location to keep watch.
"If you want to stay to continue translations tomorrow, I don't mind at all," he said before Art could go back to working. "You will make mistakes if you stay up too late."
Art scrunched his nose up and shook his head no. "I only have a little bit left, then the ceiling," he explained. "It's a small temple, but translating the dialect is the only reason it is taking me this long to begin with. I think that once I finish the last of this, I should be able to figure out the pronunciation at the top."
Adriel nodded. "Alright," he agreed, then scanned the room to make sure nothing had slithered or crawled in while he had napped. "I'll start my watch, just make sure you aren't summoning some kind of ancient spirit or something."
Art scoffed at such a notion. "You can't summon demons," he huffed as he turned back to the wall. "That's all muggle superstition. I'm getting back to work."
Adriel couldn't help but snicker - it was one of the things they had disagreed on. It wasn't just the Navajo that believed in evil spirits and the like - most tribal cultures had them. "Ancient cultures believed in such things," he couldn't help but tease. "So even if it's not a demon or evil spirit, it could still be a primal magic that amounts to something similar."
Art scoffed again then sank back into his work rather than engage Adriel in his little arguments he seemed to like to instigate.
Adriel quietly laughed again when he recognized Art's response, then relaxed in the comfortable space he had made to watch over the doorway. The stars were barely visible over the olive trees, but it was a bright night outside because of the clear skies and full moon. The sounds of the night insects lulled him into a semi-meditative state, and the whole thing made him recall little things from his childhood. His father didn't mumble to himself like Art did, or at least he rarely did while Art did it often when coming across new things outside of books, but the vibes was still familiar. He mused that it might be because they had spent so long with just the two of them that it felt like there was a close connection, though he knew it would be ending soon as these things usually did.
Not that they wouldn't remain friends - he fully intended to keep in contact with Art because he genuinely liked the other man. After so many teams though, he knew it would just be more of a regular friendship since distance, life, and time would wear away at close bonds really fast. It used to make him sad, but he had accepted it as just part of how things were since life was ever-changing, and at least this way he did get close to many people rather than just a small circle of a few. Sure, his life would be easier if he had been willing to stay with just one heritage or had chosen a different profession, but Adriel never did take the easier route.
Hm... And was it just him, or did he feel a bit of magic stir? He eyed Art as the other man ran his fingers along some inscriptions, but nothing was happening, and nothing felt malevolent or bad.
"I think I have it!" Art exclaimed with excitement, then turned and noticed Adriel was already watching him with a curious expression. Taking that as the opening that he thought it was, he excitedly approached while he pulled his wand out to illuminate the ceiling better. "The god was neither male or female, or rather, was both and neither at the same time! So what I thought was a series of indecipherable pronouns was actually a description of that! But, just as how the gender was everything and nothing, the name was also the same with the symbolic sacrifice's name being used in place."
Adriel blinked at the convoluted explanation, but he nodded since it sounded like something similar to the third and fourth genders the Navajo quietly acknowledged even if the belief was dying out in some tribes. "So, you can read what it says?" he asked with a glance up at the ceiling.
"Yes," Art replied, and immediately started to read it out loud. Of course, he still needed the symbolic name to replace the 'οτοη' term or it wouldn't sound right, and since Adriel was already in the spot for it, he didn't think twice about it. "Ευλόγησέ μας, Άντριελ, για την πλούσια σοδειά. Χάρισέ μας, Adriel, για την ανάπτυξη του νέου έτους. Οδηγήστε μας, Άντριελ, προς τη νέα ζωή!"
Adriel had felt magic start to stir once more when Art began his chanting, but again, it didn't feel malevolent or bad as it started to gather up around where he was sitting. Honestly, it felt almost like the magic from dancing ceremonies for curing, blessing, or guiding to him, so he stayed still because he was curious about what kind of blessing it might give. It continued to build up though like the more grand ceremonies meant only for Singers and the worship of their gods, and he was a little alarmed about it since he didn't follow the gods here and could be punished by them or by his own for participating in something that felt so sacred. But before he could get up or try to stop Art, Art finished on a triumphant note and they were both blinded by a bright light that was painful despite the lanterns and lumos that was already lighting up the room.
"Adriel?" Art called out in panic as he tried to rub the spots out of his eyes while he stumbled a couple of steps out of disoriention. He was so scared he might have just killed his friend, especially since he had saw how alarmed Adriel had looked there at the very end. Thankfully, he heard a small groan, so it ruled out death. "I am so so so sorry, are you hurt? I can't see, I need a minute."
"I can't see either," Adriel huffed while rubbing his own eyes before he realized his voice was different. Very different. And his hands were smaller and softer. Had he just be turned back into a kid? It was the last thing he had been thinking about when he had been meditating. "I... I think I'm a kid now?"
Art paled when he heard the uncertain tone from Adriel, and how much his voice had changed. "Uh... We'll fix this when we get home," he promised, hoping that they really could do that. "Or uh... Well, the ritual shouldn't last longer than a year according to the writing so you might revert back on your own. I think I can see again but... the lamps are out and I dropped my wand somewhere. Don't move, I don't want you to hurt yourself before we can see what is wrong."
Adriel felt some amusement about Art taking charge, he must really be feeling guilty about it. "Yeah, I'll stay still," he agreed as he plucked at his loose shirt and pants. He was all but swimming in his shirt, and if he stood up now, the pants would slide off or he could trip on them in the dark. Definitely much smaller. "Don't feel bad though, I will either be fixed, revert back, or grow up. Nothing is wrong with being young when worse could have happened, though I hope I don't have to go through puberty again."
"How can you joke like that!" Art snapped, then shook his head and chided himself about getting angry when he was the one that caused the mess. "I really am sorry, I should have listened to your warning about primal magic. Aha! I found my wand. Lumos!"
Both men blinked several times from light suddenly being returned, and Adriel looked over to see what had happened with the lamps while Art gaped at his friend. The lamps were intact and had only been extinguished, but Adriel was not a kid... He was a she. A very very pretty she. Adriel's full lips had transferred over to make hers look pouty, the lashes were very long, and his long black hair looked even longer on her since it pooled around her. And the shirt he had been wearing was... Well, Art could see a smooth shoulder from the large neckline and her skin looked so smooth while what he could see of her was still tone and...
Adriel was confused when Art let out a squeak and immediately turned his back to him. Figuring the problem had something to do with him, he looked down and noticed that his body was more the size of when he had been a teenager, so he was relieved that he wouldn't have to go through puberty. Figuring it would be a good idea to change his clothes into something that might fit, though, he pulled off his shirt with the intention to use one of his blankets as a makeshift robe while he sorted through his wardrobe and noticed he might have made the wrong assumption at first. "Huh," he said in surprise as he looked down at his B cup chest, then curiously touched a breast.
Art peeked back when he heard Adriel's noise of surprise, ready to apologize again, and he regretted looking back when he saw Adriel shirtless and fondling himself. "What are you doing?!" he asked in a strangled voice, his neck in pain from how fast he had jerked his head back to face the wall. "Don't do that when I'm right here! Put some clothes on!"
Adriel couldn't help but laugh because Art's reaction was so funny. "I was just touching since I didn't realize I was a woman until I took off my shirt," he explained while slipping out of the pants. "If you want to look, you can, but I need to find different clothes that will fit." Art made another strangled noise at the offer and didn't turn around, so Adriel just shrugged. "Or just keep the lumos up so I can see, the magic extinguished the lamps. Are you sure you don't want to watch? Because I wish I had a mirror to check me out, I bet I'm very pretty."
Art was embarrassed by the whine that slipped out rather than the 'I'm sure!' he had intended to say. Because yes, Adriel was very pretty. "No, I'm good!" he managed on his second attempt, though his voice did crack a bit. "What should I call you? Adriella? Ariel? I am sooo sorry!"
Adriel snorted at Art's babble while he started pulling out his clothes from the pouch around his neck. Or rather, her he supposed. "I'm not mad and am fine with Adriel, though I wonder if this makes me Woman, Dilbaa, or Náhleeh?" he said out loud as the clothes pile grew larger. "Maybe dilbaa náhleeh since I would be both. Huh, I forgot I had this." He tossed a Mexican poncho to the side since he could wear it as a long shirt or a short dress with a belt if he couldn't find anything else. Or she. "I don't have women's underwear, though I can make something out of a shirt." Art made a choked noise. "I wonder if I will have monthly bleeding? I'll need to learn the female contraceptive charms also... Do you know them, Art?"
"Stop talking," Art begged while he furiously blushed and wished Adriel would stop wondering all those things. He didn't know what some of those words were, either, but if it was anything like the rest of those questions, he didn't want to know! "I don't need to know that! How would I know that... that stuff... Those... No, I don't know the charms!"
Adriel happily hummed for a second before he realized why he was so happy. Huh, so this was the pleasure women got from tormenting a man? He peeked back to see how uncomfortable Art looked, noticed how stiffly hunched up he was while determinedly facing the wall, and decided that it was not a pleasure he should participate in if it caused his friend such discomfort. "I'll try not to tease you until I figure out this female thing," he offered - she offered - while sifting through more clothes. Hm, there actually was a skirt in the pile, when did he buy a skirt? Probably a gift that he forgot about. He, no she, she grabbed it, put it to the side, then plucked out the blue wizard's robe that Mrs. Luhanne had given her. One of the white silk ropes came out, and she held it to the robes and decided it looked nice together. "I'm almost done."
Art had felt some relief when Adriel said she would try not to tease him, but the shuffling of clothes while he tried not to think of his friend naked right behind him kept him tense. He also felt really guilty still, and figured that Adriel was still in shock about the whole thing but would hate him when she recovered. This was why he didn't need friends, everything always ended up bad in the end because he would do something wrong. Adriel didn't want to hear him apologize, either, because he had already apologized so much, so it was probably meaningless to her. "I'll look over my notes and see if I can reverse it, or give them all over to Saint Mungos so they can do it," he remorsefully promised.
"Don't be stupid," Adriel scoffed as she put the robes on. She reached out for a white shirt next, pulled out her hunting knife, and started to cut it up while she continued to speak. "You will need them to submit your findings, especially since it can cast a powerful spell like this. You do know that you could get a job with the Department of Mysteries or the equivalent of at just about any ministry in the world for this discovery? You are probably the only person that can read the dialect, so a lot of places are going to want you if this gets out."
Art frowned. "How can you think of me when it's you that this has affected?!" he snapped back, angry at himself and at Adriel since the latter wasn't taking this serious. "I refuse to share this for my own gain! Your whole life has just-"
"Hasn't changed," Adriel interrupted as he worked on figuring out the best knots to use to turn the shirt he had cut up into a pair of underwear. "Matriarchal society, my skills still remain, and I'm probably more dangerous as a female since people will underestimate me more. I will probably avoid the muggle side where I can since I really hate gender inequality, and sex will be different, but no less fun with the right partners I am sure. So it doesn't matter if I am woman for one day, one week, one year, or the rest of my life. I am honored to know both genders."
Art... felt like he had just slammed head first into a wall with that practical sort of strange logic. His life would have felt over if he had been the one that was changed, but Adriel was so strong that even being a woman didn't change him. Or her. Still, he couldn't help the tears because he had done that to his friend.
Adriel glanced over after he tied the last knot he needed when he heard Art's breathing start to hitch, and quietly sighed since Art's shoulders were shaking. He grabbed the rope he had set to the side and started to fold the wizard robes up so they didn't drag, and tied it together in an odd combination of druidic robe fashion and Asian robe technique with a bit of a bondage suspension harness knowledge. "Look, if you want to make it up to me, ask your mom to teach me contraceptive charms," he offered as he tried to figure out how to put it all together so it looked bohemian fashion rather than half assed a dress-up costume. "I really don't want to ask my grandmother, she will probably insist I get the female version of 'the talk.' I thoroughly embarrassed my father when he tried to give me that a few years too late, though in the English culture eighteen probably isn't too late. I can't do that to my grandmother, she's a very sweet and delicate lady. There, how do I look?"
As embarrassing as the thought was, Art could ask his mother to teach Adriel the charms he wanted. He would just make sure to not be in the same room. He could do that. Then Adriel talking about his grandmother and father made Art give a wet laugh though he didn't understand why since he felt embarrassed for Adriel's father, and then he was asked how Adriel looked. He roughly scrubbed at his eyes with a sleeve to try and hide his tears even though he figured Adriel already knew about them, and then he carefully peeked over to make sure Adriel was fully dressed.
He was, but where had so many clothes come from? There was a giant pile on the slab, and more lying around with scraps of something white at Adriel's bare and dainty feet. He hadn't even thought about how many outfits Adriel had worn during the time he knew him until just now - the other man never did wear the same thing twice and he could see some of those clothes in the pile. His eyes trailed up to inspect what Adriel was wearing, and he wondered where a medieval looking dress robe came from. Maybe Adriel also wore dresses sometimes? But no, the ties were not part of the dress, he recognized that it was the silk rope he had seen before, only it was woven around Adriel's slim body and tied up in a complicated knotting system to hold up... wizarding robes? Huh, he supposed Adriel had been right about the rope being for 'personal use because he never knew when it would come in handy.'
"Pretty?" he uncertainly offered after a sad sniff. Adriel started to frown though, and he knew that look from his mom and sister. It was usually a frown they wore when he hadn't said the right things when they asked if they looked fat or whatever, and though he had not expected to see it from Adriel, some part of his brain immediately went to defensive panic. "Very pretty! Uh, the rope looks very nice around the robes. It's very creative and artistic! I thought they were medieval robes at first. And I like it, you are pretty, I mean, it is pretty!"
Adriel couldn't help but giggle when Art started to babble, and he waved a hand dismissively with a smile. "Thank you for the compliments," he chirped to reassure Art that things were fine. "I was worried the rope looked strange and I might need to tie it differently. I really wish I had a mirror, though. Here." He pulled a handkerchief from his pouch, and offered it to Art before turning his back to start putting the clothes back where they had been stored at.
Art stared at the soft cloth in his hand for a moment, and when Adriel continued to keep his back to him, he started to properly wipe away his tears. The bit of kindness made him tear up some more for some reason, though, so it was a losing battle for a minute until he got the strange feeling in his chest under control. It was like with the cookie all over again, only worse because he had already been crying. "I really hate how you do that to me," he quietly grumbled, and suddenly felt exhausted. "I'm tired... Can I... Is it okay if I go to sleep?"
"Give me a minute," Adriel said as he packed up the poncho and the last few articles of clothing. He did wonder what Art had meant with the first statement, but he figured that his emotional turmoil was probably at its limit so he would ask in a day or two about it. "There. Let's have some hot cocoa first, yes? Tea will wake you up again, but cocoa should help you sleep better. I'll melt the chocolate bars in water and some condensed milk, it will be good. I'll keep watch tonight."
In the end, Adriel got to be a female for a year - and he used that year to have a lot of fun. Art refused to publicize or tell anyone about what he knew of the temple when they found out it couldn't be reversed after another day of studying the ruins, and Adriel did make sure to write about how wonderful it was to be the opposite gender while he travelled as a female for a while. He did not tell Art about his sexual exploits, figuring the other man would never open another letter from him if he did, and by the time they met up one more, he was back to being a male.
They pulled onto an empty island close to Crete around noon so Adriel could shrink his boat to tuck into his pouch without being seen by muggles, then offered Art his hand. "Would you like to go see Knossos today since we have some light? I know of a couple other ruins on the island as well, lesser known ones since they are small," he offered. "We're not on a time crunch, so a bit of relaxing and sight seeing in safer places before we get a portkey back might be good for you, if you are interested."
Art was initially going to say no, that he just wanted to look around the Acropolis then get back to his little office, but Adriel's mention of lesser known ruins and safe places made him hesitate. And the Minoan palace where King Minos had a labyrinth for a minotaur made was supposed to be older than the Acropolis... "What kind of small ruins?" he warily asked.
Adriel grinned, glad to have caught Art's interest. "Hmm... There's an ancient temple of fertility that was theorized to have been worshipped at once a year that was found not far from Minoa," he explained, hand still out. "Not much is actually confirmed about it since there are bigger ruins like Aptera and the palace. It is a magical site rather than a muggle one, though, and there are inscriptions in ancient Greek on the walls that I don't think were ever completely translated."
The mention of an incomplete translation in a magical ancient Greek temple was highly tempting. Art chewed on his lower lip as he debated between that or a nice and safe hotel room in Crete or southern Greece. "And... it's safe?" he asked in a small voice as he uncertainly peeked up at Adriel.
"Yep," Adriel reassured with a smile. "I used to play and camp in it as a kid. It's a small marble room build into a cliff that's no more than six meters by six meters with a slab in the middle where harvest or a feast was probably offered up at. There were no signs of any kind of blood or grooves you see on slabs for blood sacrifices, so no kind of killing was used for it. It might have been meant for a more primitive version of Aphrodite or Demeter, and there was only one priestess that tended to it in between the yearly festival from what little I know was gathered."
That did seem safe. He reached out to to take Adriel's hand. "It does sound like something I would like to see, especially since I haven't heard of it before," he agreed, still a little hesitant but feeling better with the reassurances. "Yes, I want to see it, but also the palace."
Adriel grinned again, then apparated them to the area of Knossos where the magical archeology side of the expedition used to be. It had only ended a year previous, so the muggle wards and such were still up, and probably would continue to remain up specifically for the wizarding side of tourism once that was set up. "This is the Mackenzie camp," he explained as he gestured to the few cabins around them. "Mackenzie was the wizard that was a good friend of the muggle that bought this land, and he is the main reason that the records of the excavation was done so well. Truly a tragedy that he was cursed into insanity, but his youngest daughter continues his legacy," Adriel explained before starting for the path towards the palace. "The excavations ended last year, but there's still more to uncover so it will probably start up again later. The magical side of the British museum set themselves up for first dibs through the older Mackenzie, but his youngest daughter who is about forty now might not continue to deal with them since they were quick to drop her father when he was incurably cursed."
He paused to help Art up the tricky part of the dirt and rock path. "I get along with her fine, though her older sister didn't like me and their mother absolutely loathed me," he said with a shameless grin. "Anyway, right around the next bend is..."
Adriel gave Art a tour of the empty palace - there were no tourists since it was not open to the public on either side, and he knew all sorts of stories and theories about the place having grown up in it off and on throughout his childhood. He also told Art little anecdotes about the individual archeologists, the way they worked, why they worked that way, and how most archeologists in the field were just rich hobbyists that loved history like the muggle that had bought the location. Between that, answering Art's questions, and letting him read various bits of pottery and the like himself, they were there for a couple hours.
"There's still about two hours of light if you want to see the temple," Adriel offered when the tour was done. "We still have lamps if it takes longer to read the walls, and I can set up a couple pallets on the floor. It's tame olive orchards around the area, so there won't be any chance of attacks, and I'll check it for snakes and the like as soon as we enter."
The palace had been very interesting for Art - he got to see a genuine ancient Greek legend! - so when the temple was offered next, he didn't hesitate to accept Adriel's hand. "And it's not translated?" he excitedly asked.
"Nope, only enough to know that it was a fertility temple, that it was used once a year, and that the god or goddess was probably a primitive version of what came later," Adriel said with a smile, glad to see Art bouncing back from the trials he had gone through. He apparated them both to the edge or an olive orchard, and a tall cliff rose up next to them. "It has muggle repelling wards, but it's also hidden since they planned to do a proper excavation on it but forgot when Mackenzie was cursed. They will probably remember it later, though."
Adriel held on to Art's hand as he led them to the cliff face, then seemed to walk through the wall in a similar fashion as the barrier at King's Cross. Art followed along, trusting his guide, and he found himself in a decently sized room just as Adriel had earlier described. It was also a lot cleaner than he had expected a long abandoned temple to be - almost pristine but for a few leaves - and he thought that might be the work of magic. Art's hand was released while he stared around so Adriel could cast a lumos to check the darker corners, then he pulled out a couple lamps and lit them so he could hang them up in the areas that used to hold torches.
"You'll want to start over there," Adriel said, pointing at the doorway they had come through before strolling over to the slab to lounge on and relax. "Inscriptions start above the doorway, and the pattern is 'as the ox turns' which means there is some Sumerian influence as well. It's actually why they theorize that the ones that built the Minoan palace had migrated from the south rather than from a different area. All I know is its some kind of ancient Greek dialect that hasn't really been seen anywhere else, but you are fluent in several if not most ancient languages so I'm sure you will get it."
Art felt eagerness bubble up as Adriel explained what he knew about the inscriptions, and he set his bags down to grab the journal at his hip. He started writing down notes as he worked on figuring out the new dialect, felt irritation when it seemed like only minutes later that Adriel interrupted him about food, then felt himself blush when he realized it was actually dark outside, dinner had been made, and he had not noticed how long he had been working. "Sorry," he mumbled as he sat down to eat.
"Stop apologizing, I'm glad you are having fun," Adriel dismissively said as he served Art a rice, tomato, and beef porridge with garlic and herbs first then himself. "I set up your pallet in the back, but I will take a nap after the meal so I can keep watch tonight. How far along are you, and is there anything interesting?"
Art couldn't help the wide smile when Adriel asked his question, and he started to babble about what he had found out so far. "You were right about the Sumerian influence," he began, then started to talk in between small bites when Adriel pointed at the food he had almost forgotten about again. "They probably didn't account for it while translating, though. While it was done once a year, the sacrifice was human... But only in a symbolic manner. It does get a little confusing though since the male and female terms keep changing, so I can't tell if the one that ran the temple was a female while the symbolic sacrifice was a male, or if it was the other way around. But the most interesting thing is that the ritual itself is on the ceiling, written in a perfect circle which in ancient Greece means the notions of totality, wholeness, original perfection, the Self, the infinite, eternity, timelessness, all cyclic movement, and even divinity! This whole place has been so perfectly preserved, but the name of the God or Goddess is hidden? There are some letters in the circle above that I keep trying to sound out to see if I can find it, but it's not coming out right."
"Huh, I was wondering what you were mumbling about," Adriel said. He had finished his meal while Art was talking, so he sat his bowl to the side. "If you want to submit this finding, I could give you proper introduction when we are in England to Druella Mackenzie so you can obtain permission from her. She's been staying close to home because of the issues with the British Museum, so you could probably also get some political power at your workplace if you can coax her into allowing the Oxford museum to host your findings. I'm not sure if she will be able to do it, it's a pretty messy battle about who actually owns rights to her father's notes and findings to be honest, so the temple might fall under it. But there is no harm in asking and your board will be happy if you can get permission. You could even get a bigger office with more books, yes?"
Art was a bit skeptical about what Adriel was saying - the board didn't like him and probably still wouldn't even with his findings in Atlantis or this temple. But it would be nice to have a thesis and possibly a museum display that would further knowledge about the ancient Greek gods with his name attached to it. Plus, Adriel already knew her, so maybe she wouldn't automatically hate him on introduction. The people that his mentor introduced him to early on didn't hate him either... They just wandered away since he was a nobody back then. So he gave a reluctant nod, then set his mostly eaten plate to the side.
"I'll clean up dinner then," Adriel said as he picked up both bowls. "Then I'll nap after. Set a timer for around midnight for me and wake me up, please?"
Art nodded again. "Alright... I'm going to finish translating the back wall then," he mumbled as he started towards it to pick up where he had been interrupted from earlier.
Adriel quietly laughed, still finding Art's many social faux pas amusing, and went outside to rinse the bowls and pot off using an augamenti, then scrubbed it with soapweed roots. He was glad that Art was able to relax tonight and do something he loved without being afraid of the next thing being a trap. Hopefully, the other man wouldn't whimper in his sleep tonight like he had been ever since the encounter with the manticore on one of the islands. Not that he could blame him, that battle had been hard even for him, but Adriel was long used to battles and nightmarish curses in dark tombs and the like. He hoped the whole thing didn't discourage Art from trying to run more expeditions in the future.
Art was still mumbling to himself while scribbling in his journal when Adriel came back in, so he quietly set down a padding on the slab along with a couple blankets because marble was hard, then he settled in to nap. Art's mumbles followed him into sleep, so he had a weird dream about an ancient festival being held around him, but the noise also kept his nap light so when Art called his name after his wand buzzed a quiet alert, he was immediately awake. He stretched and yawned, but stayed in the same spot since it was a good enough location to keep watch.
"If you want to stay to continue translations tomorrow, I don't mind at all," he said before Art could go back to working. "You will make mistakes if you stay up too late."
Art scrunched his nose up and shook his head no. "I only have a little bit left, then the ceiling," he explained. "It's a small temple, but translating the dialect is the only reason it is taking me this long to begin with. I think that once I finish the last of this, I should be able to figure out the pronunciation at the top."
Adriel nodded. "Alright," he agreed, then scanned the room to make sure nothing had slithered or crawled in while he had napped. "I'll start my watch, just make sure you aren't summoning some kind of ancient spirit or something."
Art scoffed at such a notion. "You can't summon demons," he huffed as he turned back to the wall. "That's all muggle superstition. I'm getting back to work."
Adriel couldn't help but snicker - it was one of the things they had disagreed on. It wasn't just the Navajo that believed in evil spirits and the like - most tribal cultures had them. "Ancient cultures believed in such things," he couldn't help but tease. "So even if it's not a demon or evil spirit, it could still be a primal magic that amounts to something similar."
Art scoffed again then sank back into his work rather than engage Adriel in his little arguments he seemed to like to instigate.
Adriel quietly laughed again when he recognized Art's response, then relaxed in the comfortable space he had made to watch over the doorway. The stars were barely visible over the olive trees, but it was a bright night outside because of the clear skies and full moon. The sounds of the night insects lulled him into a semi-meditative state, and the whole thing made him recall little things from his childhood. His father didn't mumble to himself like Art did, or at least he rarely did while Art did it often when coming across new things outside of books, but the vibes was still familiar. He mused that it might be because they had spent so long with just the two of them that it felt like there was a close connection, though he knew it would be ending soon as these things usually did.
Not that they wouldn't remain friends - he fully intended to keep in contact with Art because he genuinely liked the other man. After so many teams though, he knew it would just be more of a regular friendship since distance, life, and time would wear away at close bonds really fast. It used to make him sad, but he had accepted it as just part of how things were since life was ever-changing, and at least this way he did get close to many people rather than just a small circle of a few. Sure, his life would be easier if he had been willing to stay with just one heritage or had chosen a different profession, but Adriel never did take the easier route.
Hm... And was it just him, or did he feel a bit of magic stir? He eyed Art as the other man ran his fingers along some inscriptions, but nothing was happening, and nothing felt malevolent or bad.
"I think I have it!" Art exclaimed with excitement, then turned and noticed Adriel was already watching him with a curious expression. Taking that as the opening that he thought it was, he excitedly approached while he pulled his wand out to illuminate the ceiling better. "The god was neither male or female, or rather, was both and neither at the same time! So what I thought was a series of indecipherable pronouns was actually a description of that! But, just as how the gender was everything and nothing, the name was also the same with the symbolic sacrifice's name being used in place."
Adriel blinked at the convoluted explanation, but he nodded since it sounded like something similar to the third and fourth genders the Navajo quietly acknowledged even if the belief was dying out in some tribes. "So, you can read what it says?" he asked with a glance up at the ceiling.
"Yes," Art replied, and immediately started to read it out loud. Of course, he still needed the symbolic name to replace the 'οτοη' term or it wouldn't sound right, and since Adriel was already in the spot for it, he didn't think twice about it. "Ευλόγησέ μας, Άντριελ, για την πλούσια σοδειά. Χάρισέ μας, Adriel, για την ανάπτυξη του νέου έτους. Οδηγήστε μας, Άντριελ, προς τη νέα ζωή!"
Adriel had felt magic start to stir once more when Art began his chanting, but again, it didn't feel malevolent or bad as it started to gather up around where he was sitting. Honestly, it felt almost like the magic from dancing ceremonies for curing, blessing, or guiding to him, so he stayed still because he was curious about what kind of blessing it might give. It continued to build up though like the more grand ceremonies meant only for Singers and the worship of their gods, and he was a little alarmed about it since he didn't follow the gods here and could be punished by them or by his own for participating in something that felt so sacred. But before he could get up or try to stop Art, Art finished on a triumphant note and they were both blinded by a bright light that was painful despite the lanterns and lumos that was already lighting up the room.
"Adriel?" Art called out in panic as he tried to rub the spots out of his eyes while he stumbled a couple of steps out of disoriention. He was so scared he might have just killed his friend, especially since he had saw how alarmed Adriel had looked there at the very end. Thankfully, he heard a small groan, so it ruled out death. "I am so so so sorry, are you hurt? I can't see, I need a minute."
"I can't see either," Adriel huffed while rubbing his own eyes before he realized his voice was different. Very different. And his hands were smaller and softer. Had he just be turned back into a kid? It was the last thing he had been thinking about when he had been meditating. "I... I think I'm a kid now?"
Art paled when he heard the uncertain tone from Adriel, and how much his voice had changed. "Uh... We'll fix this when we get home," he promised, hoping that they really could do that. "Or uh... Well, the ritual shouldn't last longer than a year according to the writing so you might revert back on your own. I think I can see again but... the lamps are out and I dropped my wand somewhere. Don't move, I don't want you to hurt yourself before we can see what is wrong."
Adriel felt some amusement about Art taking charge, he must really be feeling guilty about it. "Yeah, I'll stay still," he agreed as he plucked at his loose shirt and pants. He was all but swimming in his shirt, and if he stood up now, the pants would slide off or he could trip on them in the dark. Definitely much smaller. "Don't feel bad though, I will either be fixed, revert back, or grow up. Nothing is wrong with being young when worse could have happened, though I hope I don't have to go through puberty again."
"How can you joke like that!" Art snapped, then shook his head and chided himself about getting angry when he was the one that caused the mess. "I really am sorry, I should have listened to your warning about primal magic. Aha! I found my wand. Lumos!"
Both men blinked several times from light suddenly being returned, and Adriel looked over to see what had happened with the lamps while Art gaped at his friend. The lamps were intact and had only been extinguished, but Adriel was not a kid... He was a she. A very very pretty she. Adriel's full lips had transferred over to make hers look pouty, the lashes were very long, and his long black hair looked even longer on her since it pooled around her. And the shirt he had been wearing was... Well, Art could see a smooth shoulder from the large neckline and her skin looked so smooth while what he could see of her was still tone and...
Adriel was confused when Art let out a squeak and immediately turned his back to him. Figuring the problem had something to do with him, he looked down and noticed that his body was more the size of when he had been a teenager, so he was relieved that he wouldn't have to go through puberty. Figuring it would be a good idea to change his clothes into something that might fit, though, he pulled off his shirt with the intention to use one of his blankets as a makeshift robe while he sorted through his wardrobe and noticed he might have made the wrong assumption at first. "Huh," he said in surprise as he looked down at his B cup chest, then curiously touched a breast.
Art peeked back when he heard Adriel's noise of surprise, ready to apologize again, and he regretted looking back when he saw Adriel shirtless and fondling himself. "What are you doing?!" he asked in a strangled voice, his neck in pain from how fast he had jerked his head back to face the wall. "Don't do that when I'm right here! Put some clothes on!"
Adriel couldn't help but laugh because Art's reaction was so funny. "I was just touching since I didn't realize I was a woman until I took off my shirt," he explained while slipping out of the pants. "If you want to look, you can, but I need to find different clothes that will fit." Art made another strangled noise at the offer and didn't turn around, so Adriel just shrugged. "Or just keep the lumos up so I can see, the magic extinguished the lamps. Are you sure you don't want to watch? Because I wish I had a mirror to check me out, I bet I'm very pretty."
Art was embarrassed by the whine that slipped out rather than the 'I'm sure!' he had intended to say. Because yes, Adriel was very pretty. "No, I'm good!" he managed on his second attempt, though his voice did crack a bit. "What should I call you? Adriella? Ariel? I am sooo sorry!"
Adriel snorted at Art's babble while he started pulling out his clothes from the pouch around his neck. Or rather, her he supposed. "I'm not mad and am fine with Adriel, though I wonder if this makes me Woman, Dilbaa, or Náhleeh?" he said out loud as the clothes pile grew larger. "Maybe dilbaa náhleeh since I would be both. Huh, I forgot I had this." He tossed a Mexican poncho to the side since he could wear it as a long shirt or a short dress with a belt if he couldn't find anything else. Or she. "I don't have women's underwear, though I can make something out of a shirt." Art made a choked noise. "I wonder if I will have monthly bleeding? I'll need to learn the female contraceptive charms also... Do you know them, Art?"
"Stop talking," Art begged while he furiously blushed and wished Adriel would stop wondering all those things. He didn't know what some of those words were, either, but if it was anything like the rest of those questions, he didn't want to know! "I don't need to know that! How would I know that... that stuff... Those... No, I don't know the charms!"
Adriel happily hummed for a second before he realized why he was so happy. Huh, so this was the pleasure women got from tormenting a man? He peeked back to see how uncomfortable Art looked, noticed how stiffly hunched up he was while determinedly facing the wall, and decided that it was not a pleasure he should participate in if it caused his friend such discomfort. "I'll try not to tease you until I figure out this female thing," he offered - she offered - while sifting through more clothes. Hm, there actually was a skirt in the pile, when did he buy a skirt? Probably a gift that he forgot about. He, no she, she grabbed it, put it to the side, then plucked out the blue wizard's robe that Mrs. Luhanne had given her. One of the white silk ropes came out, and she held it to the robes and decided it looked nice together. "I'm almost done."
Art had felt some relief when Adriel said she would try not to tease him, but the shuffling of clothes while he tried not to think of his friend naked right behind him kept him tense. He also felt really guilty still, and figured that Adriel was still in shock about the whole thing but would hate him when she recovered. This was why he didn't need friends, everything always ended up bad in the end because he would do something wrong. Adriel didn't want to hear him apologize, either, because he had already apologized so much, so it was probably meaningless to her. "I'll look over my notes and see if I can reverse it, or give them all over to Saint Mungos so they can do it," he remorsefully promised.
"Don't be stupid," Adriel scoffed as she put the robes on. She reached out for a white shirt next, pulled out her hunting knife, and started to cut it up while she continued to speak. "You will need them to submit your findings, especially since it can cast a powerful spell like this. You do know that you could get a job with the Department of Mysteries or the equivalent of at just about any ministry in the world for this discovery? You are probably the only person that can read the dialect, so a lot of places are going to want you if this gets out."
Art frowned. "How can you think of me when it's you that this has affected?!" he snapped back, angry at himself and at Adriel since the latter wasn't taking this serious. "I refuse to share this for my own gain! Your whole life has just-"
"Hasn't changed," Adriel interrupted as he worked on figuring out the best knots to use to turn the shirt he had cut up into a pair of underwear. "Matriarchal society, my skills still remain, and I'm probably more dangerous as a female since people will underestimate me more. I will probably avoid the muggle side where I can since I really hate gender inequality, and sex will be different, but no less fun with the right partners I am sure. So it doesn't matter if I am woman for one day, one week, one year, or the rest of my life. I am honored to know both genders."
Art... felt like he had just slammed head first into a wall with that practical sort of strange logic. His life would have felt over if he had been the one that was changed, but Adriel was so strong that even being a woman didn't change him. Or her. Still, he couldn't help the tears because he had done that to his friend.
Adriel glanced over after he tied the last knot he needed when he heard Art's breathing start to hitch, and quietly sighed since Art's shoulders were shaking. He grabbed the rope he had set to the side and started to fold the wizard robes up so they didn't drag, and tied it together in an odd combination of druidic robe fashion and Asian robe technique with a bit of a bondage suspension harness knowledge. "Look, if you want to make it up to me, ask your mom to teach me contraceptive charms," he offered as he tried to figure out how to put it all together so it looked bohemian fashion rather than half assed a dress-up costume. "I really don't want to ask my grandmother, she will probably insist I get the female version of 'the talk.' I thoroughly embarrassed my father when he tried to give me that a few years too late, though in the English culture eighteen probably isn't too late. I can't do that to my grandmother, she's a very sweet and delicate lady. There, how do I look?"
As embarrassing as the thought was, Art could ask his mother to teach Adriel the charms he wanted. He would just make sure to not be in the same room. He could do that. Then Adriel talking about his grandmother and father made Art give a wet laugh though he didn't understand why since he felt embarrassed for Adriel's father, and then he was asked how Adriel looked. He roughly scrubbed at his eyes with a sleeve to try and hide his tears even though he figured Adriel already knew about them, and then he carefully peeked over to make sure Adriel was fully dressed.
He was, but where had so many clothes come from? There was a giant pile on the slab, and more lying around with scraps of something white at Adriel's bare and dainty feet. He hadn't even thought about how many outfits Adriel had worn during the time he knew him until just now - the other man never did wear the same thing twice and he could see some of those clothes in the pile. His eyes trailed up to inspect what Adriel was wearing, and he wondered where a medieval looking dress robe came from. Maybe Adriel also wore dresses sometimes? But no, the ties were not part of the dress, he recognized that it was the silk rope he had seen before, only it was woven around Adriel's slim body and tied up in a complicated knotting system to hold up... wizarding robes? Huh, he supposed Adriel had been right about the rope being for 'personal use because he never knew when it would come in handy.'
"Pretty?" he uncertainly offered after a sad sniff. Adriel started to frown though, and he knew that look from his mom and sister. It was usually a frown they wore when he hadn't said the right things when they asked if they looked fat or whatever, and though he had not expected to see it from Adriel, some part of his brain immediately went to defensive panic. "Very pretty! Uh, the rope looks very nice around the robes. It's very creative and artistic! I thought they were medieval robes at first. And I like it, you are pretty, I mean, it is pretty!"
Adriel couldn't help but giggle when Art started to babble, and he waved a hand dismissively with a smile. "Thank you for the compliments," he chirped to reassure Art that things were fine. "I was worried the rope looked strange and I might need to tie it differently. I really wish I had a mirror, though. Here." He pulled a handkerchief from his pouch, and offered it to Art before turning his back to start putting the clothes back where they had been stored at.
Art stared at the soft cloth in his hand for a moment, and when Adriel continued to keep his back to him, he started to properly wipe away his tears. The bit of kindness made him tear up some more for some reason, though, so it was a losing battle for a minute until he got the strange feeling in his chest under control. It was like with the cookie all over again, only worse because he had already been crying. "I really hate how you do that to me," he quietly grumbled, and suddenly felt exhausted. "I'm tired... Can I... Is it okay if I go to sleep?"
"Give me a minute," Adriel said as he packed up the poncho and the last few articles of clothing. He did wonder what Art had meant with the first statement, but he figured that his emotional turmoil was probably at its limit so he would ask in a day or two about it. "There. Let's have some hot cocoa first, yes? Tea will wake you up again, but cocoa should help you sleep better. I'll melt the chocolate bars in water and some condensed milk, it will be good. I'll keep watch tonight."
In the end, Adriel got to be a female for a year - and he used that year to have a lot of fun. Art refused to publicize or tell anyone about what he knew of the temple when they found out it couldn't be reversed after another day of studying the ruins, and Adriel did make sure to write about how wonderful it was to be the opposite gender while he travelled as a female for a while. He did not tell Art about his sexual exploits, figuring the other man would never open another letter from him if he did, and by the time they met up one more, he was back to being a male.