SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - SEMINAR 2: Healer's Challenge :: Straining, Harvesting, & Pickling Murtlap Tentacles

Stefan · 02-21-2017, 03:26 PM

SPOILER!!: Replies!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

Charlotte blinked at the healer when he responded to her answer. Or at least... she had thought he was responding to her answer. Had someone else said something? Because.... what? Who is prejudiced against rats? Char mentally reviewed what she had said, and tipped her head to one side, eyes going wide in confusion. Who was ignorant? She wasn't and she was pretty sure that her friends weren't either. And she had faith in the rest of the general Hogwarts population too. And anyways, murtlaps and rats weren't even that much alike, excepting that an unsuspecting muggle might assume a murtlap was a type of rat if it came across one.

"I don't think that's what they mean by 'cope' though, Healer Reed." And she did notice, happily, that he'd added witches when he wrote up what the XXX rating meant on the board. "Isn't it just about, you know, not being bitten? Because like.... an unskilled witch or wizard, or a muggle," Which had been her point actually, "They might not be safe around a murtlap, because it could bite them and they wouldn't know what to do, or wouldn't be able to do anything about it.... right?" Wasn't that what it meant by coping, and not.... anything whatsoever to do with prejudice? Also who said anyone was prejudiced anyways? Char sure wasn't. Char had a fondness for snails, and her favourite pet was an Achatina Achatina, an African Giant Snail, so Murtlaps weren't even particularly gross to her mind. "I thought the whole of the Ministry Classification system was about the safety of both the human and the creature, when it comes to how they are graded, and not anything to do with how 'strange' any of the creatures are." Was he muggleborn? He wasn't, right? Soooo why would he think any creatures are strange? Char didn't presume to know, but she watched in complete bafflement as the healer pace around and cut side eyes at her.

In all honesty, River appreciated the follow-up question from Charlotte, and he too did not miss the confused look on her face. He did it again, didn't he? Over-thinking things was one of his weaknesses, and his answers could lead to more confusion. He really should've considered the fact that he wasn't talking to a fellow Healer, but rather a learning student. The Healer tilted his head to the side to listen to the Gryffindor, his pleasant grin ever present while doing so. "It's good to know what this creature can do to a person, but I think it would also help if one knew what to do in case they attack. This witch or wizard must be capable of tending the bite, and to know how not to agitate it when one comes across it." Did...that make sense? Knowing the facts were never meant to stay in textbooks, rather it has to be further questioned, tested, and constantly proved.

River pursed his lips as he tried his best not to further enable his Ravenclaw mind. Over-thinking was a bad idea, especially in times when he has medical cases to review and think about. The Healer glanced down at Charlotte's work, and nodded in approval when she decided to pop one tentacle in her mouth. "Well done, Miss Kettleburn."

The murtlap in her glass box didn't look amused though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oesed

Levi took another tentacle, careful not to squeeze it too hard, and wrung it over the vial. Most the essence went in, but some of it sprayed upwards and landed on one side of his face and over one of his eyes. Well, at least the goggles had done their job. Levi reached up with his arm and wiped off the dirty goggle lens. He raised his hand, "Sir, is this enough for the vial or should I use another tentacle? Uuh, I had an accident." And he pointed to the remaining stain on his cheek. As he waited for a response, Levi looked around, gaze falling on the colorful hair growth on the ears of a younger Gryffindor whose name Levi thought was Matt or Mark. He didn't want to be discouraging by laughing, though he wanted to, so he settled for grinning widely, as he tried to keep his shoulders from shaking in refrained laughter. Levi gave Matt or Mark the thumbs up, "Looking good, mate."

River wheeled around and took measured steps towards Levi. "That's perfectly fine, Master Kenning. May I suggest that you go about wringing it in a slower manner? Some of the tentacles can get really packed and juicy." And some tend to fall off when it gets too heavy. "You can get another set of tentacles and vials if you wish." River added gesturing to the table up front.

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

As he set the dried up tentacle aside, he raised his hand. "Professor..? I mean.." Henry shook his head a bit, knowing he wasn't a professor, just was used to using that title in class. "Healer Reed.. can they be used as fertilizer in other plants besides healing ones?" Because he had a little bonsai tree that might benefit from a little extra fertilization. He wrote his name on the label and stuck it on the vial, then looked at the remaining tentacles in the jar. Oh. Were they meant to do all of them?

Looking up from Levi's work station, River made his way towards Henry this time. The Healer's face brightened at the question, "Yes, it is possible. In fact, in Castelobruxo we re-pickle the shriveled tentacle by using the same secondhand solution, and add it into the fertilizing soil whenever it is needed. Herbology students from Castelobruxo add these tentacles whenever their plants are heavily infested or seem to be dying. It's perfectly safe for healthy, non-healing plants as well as it gives off extra protective nutrients to the soil." It was a classic Castelobruxo trick that River learned and remembered when he transferred there during his O.W.L Year. "You didn't hear that from me though. It's one of Castelobruxo's Herbology secrets." he added in a low tone, grinning at the young man before moving along.

...

River stepped to the side, as soon as he saw Matt sporting the bushy ear hair. "Auditioning for Starwars, Matt?" the Healer reached out to the purple ear hair and fluffed it with his gloved hand. It had been years since he last saw one of those. "You're upstaging your murtlap, my friend." with a chuckle, the Healer moved back to his work station and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Now, we move on to harvesting the murtlap's tentacles. It's not easy to handle a murtlap, given its quick reaction to one's touch, or in the case of its natural habitat...a person's feet. To be able to get near one to harvest its tentacles, one must use its weakness against it, and that is...food." River uncovered one of his cauldrons, tipped it forward so every one can see that it was filled to the brim with fresh shrimps. "We know that they feed on crustaceans, so today, we will give in to their wishes...in exchange for tentacles. Eyes on me now, please." he said as he got a handful of fresh shrimps in one hand, slowly and carefully lifted the lid of his glass box and gently dropped the food inside. "Don't worry about your murtlaps jumping out of their glass boxes, as I have taken the precaution of putting a one way barrier underneath each of the top lids. Be careful in lifting the cover though, because Murtlaps hate hasty movements." he said eyeing some of the overzealous students in the room.

"To test if the Murtlap is distracted, I will slowly put my gloved hand inside and see if it will react to it..." River's voice faded as he slowly dipped his hand inside, but as soon as he did so, the Murtlap quickly made a 360 on its spot, dropped its shrimp and eyed the hand!intruder. "...and when it catches you...simply freeze in place, and wait for it to resume eating his food." River continued talking while his whole body was frozen in place. It took the Murtlap several seconds before deciding it was okay to pick up another shrimp near its feet, and the Healer continued to reach inside the glass box until his gloved hand made contact on its tentacles. Slowly, he got his other hand inside...and sloooowly lifted the eating Murtlap outside of the box and showed it to the class. "Earlier, you all got to experience how a tentacle felt in your hands. You would've noticed that it's very soft, and fatty like our earlobes, but if you look closer, the base of the unsevered tentacle is made up of approximately one centimeter of cartilage that holds the tentacle." River carefully parted the many tentacles of the murtlap, and showed the pinkish stubs protruding from its skin. "We do not want to cut that, as this will introduce immense pain for the murtlap...and cause yourself much trouble." River gently placed his murtlap back in its glass box and waited for it to begin eating its next shrimp. "Since all of you are beginners in harvesting murtlap tentacles, I will have to oblige you to use scissors in severing the tentacles. That way, you get to feel the stub first, work your way upwards toward the base of the fleshy tentacle and cut it from there." he said picking up his own scissors, and made sure that the murtlap was distracted with its food before reaching in again to gently tug on a tentacle, feel its stub, and severe the tentacle just a few centimeters from it. River then held up the tentacle for everyone to see, and placed it in a clean supply tray. "Always make sure that the murtlap is eating its food first before you reach out into the box and procure its tentacles. Also, you are constrained to keep your murtlaps inside the box for safety reasons." Capisce?

River went on to uncover several cauldrons in front of him, all of which were filled with fresh shrimps. "Whenever you're ready, come on up with a bowl, get as much murtlap food as you need and get on with harvesting." the Healer sealed in his murtlap once more, and moved away from his work station to tap on the board once more, revealing the next instructions:

Quote:

HARVESTING MURTLAP TENTACLES

Slowly, and gently lift the top lid of your glass box;

Gently drop its food inside and wait for the Murtlap to start eating;

Slowly reach inside your glass box once the Murtlap is distracted enough with its food;

Freeze / don't make any unnecessary movements when the Murtlap suspects your presence. Wait for it to resume eating before proceeding;

Be very gentle with the tentacles when selecting. Feel the stub first, and then glide your index and thumb away from the stub and severe approximately a centimeter or two away from it;

CHECKPOINT: See and observe if the Murtlap still has food to nibble on before proceeding.

Repeat last step, and continuously check the Murtlap's food supply inside the box;

Set aside all harvested tentacles in a clean supply tray.

OOC:
1. I will be needing a maximum of 2 posts for this activity. Please label them accordingly.
2. Simply follow River's instructions above to get full points for this portion.
3. You have 24 Hours to complete this activity, (22 February 2017, 3:00 PM, GMT)
4. If you need us/me, label your posts or VM/PM me for clarifications. Thank you! ^^

02-21-2017, 03:26 PM	#50 (permalink)
Stefan Abraxan Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Under Blueprints Posts: 25,495 Hogwarts RPG Name: Mackenzie Alistaire Mordaunt Slytherin Fifth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Yoji Christopher Reed Ravenclaw First Year x12 x12	Jedi Master•General Iroh•Java Junkie• King ♛ Stefan •Mycroft Holmes•Dragon Lord•Druid Boy SPOILER!!: Replies! Quote: Originally Posted by Tegz Charlotte blinked at the healer when he responded to her answer. Or at least... she had thought he was responding to her answer. Had someone else said something? Because.... what? Who is prejudiced against rats? Char mentally reviewed what she had said, and tipped her head to one side, eyes going wide in confusion. Who was ignorant? She wasn't and she was pretty sure that her friends weren't either. And she had faith in the rest of the general Hogwarts population too. And anyways, murtlaps and rats weren't even that much alike, excepting that an unsuspecting muggle might assume a murtlap was a type of rat if it came across one. "I don't think that's what they mean by 'cope' though, Healer Reed." And she did notice, happily, that he'd added witches when he wrote up what the XXX rating meant on the board. "Isn't it just about, you know, not being bitten? Because like.... an unskilled witch or wizard, or a muggle," Which had been her point actually, "They might not be safe around a murtlap, because it could bite them and they wouldn't know what to do, or wouldn't be able to do anything about it.... right?" Wasn't that what it meant by coping, and not.... anything whatsoever to do with prejudice? Also who said anyone was prejudiced anyways? Char sure wasn't. Char had a fondness for snails, and her favourite pet was an Achatina Achatina, an African Giant Snail, so Murtlaps weren't even particularly gross to her mind. "I thought the whole of the Ministry Classification system was about the safety of both the human and the creature, when it comes to how they are graded, and not anything to do with how 'strange' any of the creatures are." Was he muggleborn? He wasn't, right? Soooo why would he think any creatures are strange? Char didn't presume to know, but she watched in complete bafflement as the healer pace around and cut side eyes at her. In all honesty, River appreciated the follow-up question from Charlotte, and he too did not miss the confused look on her face. He did it again, didn't he? Over-thinking things was one of his weaknesses, and his answers could lead to more confusion. He really should've considered the fact that he wasn't talking to a fellow Healer, but rather a learning student. The Healer tilted his head to the side to listen to the Gryffindor, his pleasant grin ever present while doing so. "It's good to know what this creature can do to a person, but I think it would also help if one knew what to do in case they attack. This witch or wizard must be capable of tending the bite, and to know how not to agitate it when one comes across it." Did...that make sense? Knowing the facts were never meant to stay in textbooks, rather it has to be further questioned, tested, and constantly proved. River pursed his lips as he tried his best not to further enable his Ravenclaw mind. Over-thinking was a bad idea, especially in times when he has medical cases to review and think about. The Healer glanced down at Charlotte's work, and nodded in approval when she decided to pop one tentacle in her mouth. "Well done, Miss Kettleburn." The murtlap in her glass box didn't look amused though. Quote: Originally Posted by Oesed Levi took another tentacle, careful not to squeeze it too hard, and wrung it over the vial. Most the essence went in, but some of it sprayed upwards and landed on one side of his face and over one of his eyes. Well, at least the goggles had done their job. Levi reached up with his arm and wiped off the dirty goggle lens. He raised his hand, "Sir, is this enough for the vial or should I use another tentacle? Uuh, I had an accident." And he pointed to the remaining stain on his cheek. As he waited for a response, Levi looked around, gaze falling on the colorful hair growth on the ears of a younger Gryffindor whose name Levi thought was Matt or Mark. He didn't want to be discouraging by laughing, though he wanted to, so he settled for grinning widely, as he tried to keep his shoulders from shaking in refrained laughter. Levi gave Matt or Mark the thumbs up, "Looking good, mate." River wheeled around and took measured steps towards Levi. "That's perfectly fine, Master Kenning. May I suggest that you go about wringing it in a slower manner? Some of the tentacles can get really packed and juicy." And some tend to fall off when it gets too heavy. "You can get another set of tentacles and vials if you wish." River added gesturing to the table up front. Quote: Originally Posted by emjay As he set the dried up tentacle aside, he raised his hand. "Professor..? I mean.." Henry shook his head a bit, knowing he wasn't a professor, just was used to using that title in class. "Healer Reed.. can they be used as fertilizer in other plants besides healing ones?" Because he had a little bonsai tree that might benefit from a little extra fertilization. He wrote his name on the label and stuck it on the vial, then looked at the remaining tentacles in the jar. Oh. Were they meant to do all of them? Looking up from Levi's work station, River made his way towards Henry this time. The Healer's face brightened at the question, "Yes, it is possible. In fact, in Castelobruxo we re-pickle the shriveled tentacle by using the same secondhand solution, and add it into the fertilizing soil whenever it is needed. Herbology students from Castelobruxo add these tentacles whenever their plants are heavily infested or seem to be dying. It's perfectly safe for healthy, non-healing plants as well as it gives off extra protective nutrients to the soil." It was a classic Castelobruxo trick that River learned and remembered when he transferred there during his O.W.L Year. "You didn't hear that from me though. It's one of Castelobruxo's Herbology secrets." he added in a low tone, grinning at the young man before moving along. ... River stepped to the side, as soon as he saw Matt sporting the bushy ear hair. "Auditioning for Starwars, Matt?" the Healer reached out to the purple ear hair and fluffed it with his gloved hand. It had been years since he last saw one of those. "You're upstaging your murtlap, my friend." with a chuckle, the Healer moved back to his work station and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Now, we move on to harvesting the murtlap's tentacles. It's not easy to handle a murtlap, given its quick reaction to one's touch, or in the case of its natural habitat...a person's feet. To be able to get near one to harvest its tentacles, one must use its weakness against it, and that is...food." River uncovered one of his cauldrons, tipped it forward so every one can see that it was filled to the brim with fresh shrimps. "We know that they feed on crustaceans, so today, we will give in to their wishes...in exchange for tentacles. Eyes on me now, please." he said as he got a handful of fresh shrimps in one hand, slowly and carefully lifted the lid of his glass box and gently dropped the food inside. "Don't worry about your murtlaps jumping out of their glass boxes, as I have taken the precaution of putting a one way barrier underneath each of the top lids. Be careful in lifting the cover though, because Murtlaps hate hasty movements." he said eyeing some of the overzealous students in the room. "To test if the Murtlap is distracted, I will slowly put my gloved hand inside and see if it will react to it..." River's voice faded as he slowly dipped his hand inside, but as soon as he did so, the Murtlap quickly made a 360 on its spot, dropped its shrimp and eyed the hand!intruder. "...and when it catches you...simply freeze in place, and wait for it to resume eating his food." River continued talking while his whole body was frozen in place. It took the Murtlap several seconds before deciding it was okay to pick up another shrimp near its feet, and the Healer continued to reach inside the glass box until his gloved hand made contact on its tentacles. Slowly, he got his other hand inside...and sloooowly lifted the eating Murtlap outside of the box and showed it to the class. "Earlier, you all got to experience how a tentacle felt in your hands. You would've noticed that it's very soft, and fatty like our earlobes, but if you look closer, the base of the unsevered tentacle is made up of approximately one centimeter of cartilage that holds the tentacle." River carefully parted the many tentacles of the murtlap, and showed the pinkish stubs protruding from its skin. "We do not want to cut that, as this will introduce immense pain for the murtlap...and cause yourself much trouble." River gently placed his murtlap back in its glass box and waited for it to begin eating its next shrimp. "Since all of you are beginners in harvesting murtlap tentacles, I will have to oblige you to use scissors in severing the tentacles. That way, you get to feel the stub first, work your way upwards toward the base of the fleshy tentacle and cut it from there." he said picking up his own scissors, and made sure that the murtlap was distracted with its food before reaching in again to gently tug on a tentacle, feel its stub, and severe the tentacle just a few centimeters from it. River then held up the tentacle for everyone to see, and placed it in a clean supply tray. "Always make sure that the murtlap is eating its food first before you reach out into the box and procure its tentacles. Also, you are constrained to keep your murtlaps inside the box for safety reasons." Capisce? River went on to uncover several cauldrons in front of him, all of which were filled with fresh shrimps. "Whenever you're ready, come on up with a bowl, get as much murtlap food as you need and get on with harvesting." the Healer sealed in his murtlap once more, and moved away from his work station to tap on the board once more, revealing the next instructions: Quote: HARVESTING MURTLAP TENTACLES Slowly, and gently lift the top lid of your glass box; Gently drop its food inside and wait for the Murtlap to start eating; Slowly reach inside your glass box once the Murtlap is distracted enough with its food; Freeze / don't make any unnecessary movements when the Murtlap suspects your presence. Wait for it to resume eating before proceeding; Be very gentle with the tentacles when selecting. Feel the stub first, and then glide your index and thumb away from the stub and severe approximately a centimeter or two away from it; CHECKPOINT: See and observe if the Murtlap still has food to nibble on before proceeding. Repeat last step, and continuously check the Murtlap's food supply inside the box; Set aside all harvested tentacles in a clean supply tray. OOC: 1. I will be needing a maximum of 2 posts for this activity. Please label them accordingly. 2. Simply follow River's instructions above to get full points for this portion. 3. You have 24 Hours to complete this activity, (22 February 2017, 3:00 PM, GMT) 4. If you need us/me, label your posts or VM/PM me for clarifications. Thank you! ^^ __________________ "It didn't go quite as planned." \| The Underground Studio Translation: I may have caused irreversible damage on a monumental scale.