After she had successfully carved her Ehwaz rune on the wooden pendant, Vivian took a few seconds of 'rest because she deserved it' and then proceeded to activate her rune. She took another deep breath -- she was going to need water after all this chanting, really -- and focused her energy on the true meaning of the rune Ehwaz. Protection, horses, good luck, travel, movement. Yes, that was it. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o...." The Slytherin began to chant.

But there was no white glow. Yet. She wasn't as experienced as the others, but she wasn't going to give up easily.

"Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o." Still nothing, not even a faint white glow. She had to focus more, concentrate and think about everything Ehwaz. She was going to do it. Besides, the fourth year wasn't the only one who didn't get it at the first try.

Protection. Travel. Trust. Horses. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o...." There was now a tiny glow of white, which made Vivian smile a little. It meant she was getting there. Just a couple more tries! With her mind cleared of everything else but Ehwaz, she gave it another shot. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o!"

Ah, there it was. Her pendant finally emitted a bright white glow. Way to go, Fairfield!

Notes, notes and more notes. Shay was trying to keep up with the conversation. Then when the Headmistress began to give directions for the activity, the sixth year scribbled even faster. She needed a quick quotes quill to keep up with the lessons at Hogwarts. Shay tried to make sure that she got all of the important details correct. One mistake could result in a disastrous activity. Reviewing all that she had to do, she hoped she'd get everything right.

So they would be carving Ehwaz into a pendant. Shay was game. When the floating box came past her, she took one of the wooden pendants for herself. Turning it over in her hand, she tried to get a good feel for it. Feeling the smooth wood, she tried to locate the best spot to place her rune. Then beginning to concentrate on the M shape that she wanted to produce, Shay took out her wand. Picturing the rune in her mind, she began to repeat the incantation over and over. "Intaglio Ehwaz, Intaglio Ehwaz, Intaglio Ehwaz." Shay was constantly amazed by the things that could be done with magic. Sure enough, the rune began to be carved into the piece of wood. Shay continued to repeat the incantation until at last, she saw the desired golden color, indicating that the carving was complete.

Checking her notes, Shay saw that she now needed to activate the rune. That meant that some serious chanting needed to be done. She would have to follow along while she chanted because there was no way she was going to get it all right otherwise. Shay held the pendant in her hand, peeked at her notes and began to chant the galdr. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, eeeehwoo, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, eeeehwooo. Nothing. Shay didn't really think it was going to work on her first go round. Concentrating harder, she repeated the galdr.

"Ehwo ehwo ehwo, eeeehwooo, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, eeeehwoooo. Ehwo ehwo ehwo, eeeehwooo, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu eeeehwoooo." Mercifully, Shay began to see a little something happening with her pendant. What's that a teeny bit of glowing going on? Encouraged, she kept chanting the galdr and hoped for the best. Finally, a definite white glow appeared. She had done it. The rune was activated, she hoped. Now if it would only work for whatever they were going to do with the horses.

Cassie chose to keep quiet for the question, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t paying full attention to the headmistress and her classmates about the rune in question. Ehwaz…she remembered it from her reading. Her quill taking down anything about it that she didn’t readily recall. Which included that it was the rune of the horse. Interesting. Very interesting. That was obviously why they were learning and reviewing that particular rune today while also being surrounded by horses. And how the woman had gotten the horse to react to her through the bond with her talisman.

Very cool.

Even cooler was that they were going to be making their own for today’s lesson. They just had to carve and enchant them with the rune. Cass was curious to see how that went. To be on the safe side, she opened her textbook up to the correct page so she could see what Ehwaz was supposed to look like. The better to picture it in one’s mind’s eye and focus on it. After studying it for a couple of minutes, the fifth year took her wand out and prepared to work, the tip just shy of touching the wood pendant. “Intaglio Ehwaz… Intaglio Ehwaz… Intaglio Ehwaz…. Intaglio Ehwaz… Intaglio Ehwaz… Intaglio Ehwaz…. Intaglio Ehwaz.”

There…one carved, golden rune.

Isa took notes on everything that her classmates and the headmistress said about the rune Ehwaz. Interesting. It was cool how runes could have different meanings for different uses. Huh. Eiwahz was completely different from Ehwaz. Honestly, Isa sometimes confused the two, but they were easy enough to differentiate when you remembered the shape of each rune and the meaning of the rune.

"What materials are best for carving runes?" Not an urgent question about the activity, just something she was curious about.

They got runic pendants, and they got to keep them! Isa took a wooden pendant from the box as it floated by her. She got her wand out and pointed it at the wooden pendant, saying the incantation while she pictured the M-shaped rune in her mind. "Intaglio Ehwaz. Intaglio Ehwaz. Intaglio Ehwaz." Isa repeated the incantation until she saw the rune with a golden hue on the pendant. Now it was time to activate it with the galdr. Galdrs were the most difficult part of runes for Isa. It was so hard to pronounce them and remember the whole chant. Putting her wand away, Isa touched the rune on her pendant. "Ehwo ehwo ehwa, eeeeeeeeeeeeehh what?" No, that wasn't right. Second try. Isa looked in her textbook this time to help her correctly say the galdr. This time she chanted, "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o." That was better. After a few more tries, the rune glowed white. She had done it! What would they be doing with the runes next?

Following her instructions, Regina simply stood next to Philippe and continued petting his face. Every now and then, whispers slipped out of her mouth. They were of course inaudible to everyone else, who should have been focusing on carving and activating their rune pendant, though the Aethonan seemingly responded with a whinny and the stomp of one of its hooves. Clearly the glowing rune around her neck was at work.

Her hand still running up and down the horse's face, the woman then turned her gaze toward the youth in front of her. How were they progressing? So far they were all carving away, casting the spell multiple times as needed. That was the simple part. Activating Ehwaz was going to provide more of a challenge, especially for those who were relatively new to Ancient Runes or struggled with the subject.

When Isabel asked her question about which materials are best for carving runes, the headmistress faced her, taking a short break from giving Philippe attention. "Excellent question, Miss Wright. There are a number of materials that can be used for rune carving. As for what you can carve the runes on, one can use wood, stone, clay, or even bone. Wood is typically your best option, considering the significance of trees in Norse mythology and culture. To carve the rune, one can do it without magic, using a vitki knife or a sharp wood-carving tool called a ristir, or use a wand and a simple carving spell like we are doing today." Was her question answered? It was probably more information than she really needed.

Minutes soon went by, so far many of the adolescents were chanting away. Their voices filled the creature barn, joining the various noises of its creature residents. Was anyone's rune glowing? No, not yet? Patient, the woman just smiled encouragingly at those that looked her way. "Keep on chanting the galdr if your rune isn't glowing yet. It is not uncommon to have to say the galdr multiple times. Recite the it with intent, and allow Ehwaz to fill your entire being -- body, mind, and soul."

Then, one by one, pendants gradually began to glow! Regina gave approving nods toward Noelle, Ava, Skylar, Olivia, Vivian, Shayla, and Isabel. Could they feel Ehwaz surging through them? She hoped they did. It was that energy that would allow them to form a bond of trust with one of the winged horses soon enough.

One student in particular, however, didn't seem to be having the best of luck with her rune. Instead of being white, it was electric blue. That was ... odd, to say the least. Typically they didn't glow at all until the rune was properly invoked. "Keep chanting the galdr, Miss Flightdatter." She had only said it correctly once, right? "Try saying it a few more times so the energy of Ehwaz builds up inside of you."

At this time the woman glanced down at the watch that was on her wrist. They would need to move on soon. The lesson, sadly, couldn't last all day. "We will be moving on in about five more minutes, ladies and gentlemen. Finish your carvings if you haven't done so already and get chanting!"

OOC: Just a quick post before we move on to the main activity. The lesson will continue in roughly 6-12 hours. Carry on!

She didn't mind being told to slow down. It was good advice, really; she tended to run into peoplethings when she was too excited and couldn't stop running in time. No, what bothered Emmeline was that she might have scared the horse. But he seemed okay now, so she didn't even care that she'd gotten the rune answer wrong. When the headmistress put a hand on her shoulder and spoke to her quietly, Emmeline perked up a little. The headmistress was still going to let her work with the horses! So Philippe MUST be okay, because if she'd done something really bad to him, there was no way the headmistress would let her be around the other horses. She gave the headmistress a quick smile and discreetly wiped any remaining tears away. Time to focus!

She was impressed with how much everyone knew about this rune, but she guessed that meant it was time for her to study more. The headmistress' mention of Eihwaz was kind of confusing; she said they didn't mean the same thing, right? Or had Emmeline misunderstood and the Eihwaz thing was super important to Ehwaz? Ugh, this was why she didn't do as well in this class. She wasn't much for paying attention to small details, but she was trying really hard to get better and today she was going to try extra hard because of the horses!

Which meant remembering the instructions, so Emmeline paid attention very close attention to them. Two major steps, the spell and the chant thing. Gold and then white glows. Got it.

She plucked a wooden pendant from the box of them that was floating around (cool!), and then pulled her wand out from her holster. Right, so the rune was shaped like an 'M', Stasya had said. Emmeline carefully traced the M shape in the air with her wand a few times to practice; she knew the lines needed to be all straight and neat for the rune to work properly. Besides, practicing wand movements before learning new spells had always helped in other classes, like Charms.

Taking a deep breath, Emmeline aimed her wand determinedly at the pendant, traced the "M" shape once more and muttered: "Intaglio Ehwaz." Annnd, nothing happened. At all. Maybe this was a little too much like recent Charms classes, where she'd started struggling with new spells. Huffing in frustration, Emmeline repeated the spell 3 more times with little effect. She had maybe half a line of the M carved in now.

Mr. B's voice always seemed to come to her in moments like this, from her first-ever flying lesson: "Show it who's boss." She could do this, and even the older kids didn't always get it right on the first few tries. Emmeline held her wand steady and traced the rest of the "M" shape more slowly this time while she recited, "Intaglio Ehwaz!" To her delight, the rune finished carving itself in and the pendant was glowing a golden color! She thought it was mostly right; it looked like the same gold color as some of her classmates' pendants, anyway. That meant it was time to move on to the chant.

Emmeline knew better than to expect instant results from this part of the activity. The headmistress had even said they might have to chant a few times, so she wasn't too discouraged as she put her wand carefully back in its holster before gripping the pendant in her right hand. She liked doing these rune chants in her dominant hand if she could; maybe it was superstition, but Emmeline thought she always had better luck making them work in her right hand than she did with her left. Wasting no time, Emmeline chanted: ""Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o."

Nope, still gold. That was okay. Emmeline repeated the chant 5 more times, taking a deep breath in between each completed chant to relieve any frustration. Runes needed patience, that was all. She could give the rune that time, and she really wanted it to work right so she could go pet the horses.

On her eighth try, Emmeline chanted again: "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o." This time, luck was with her and the pendant glowed white! Thank Merlin. She hoped the main activity would be having fun with the horses and not anything harder than this; she wasn't sure she'd be able to manage anything more difficult. She felt like some of her energy was depleted as it was, like she'd poured it into the rune somehow. Could runes suck energy like that? She wouldn't be surprised.

Glancing at Derf, Jessa, and Stasya, she asked quietly:"Do runes suck your energy out?"Or was something else going on here?

What was the chant again? Etta took a deep breath and spoke, loud and clear. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o." ... Nope, nothing. There wasn't even a flicker. Obviously she wasn't concentrating hard enough but.. it was rather difficult to pronounce those.. words AND focus at the same time. It was only her first attempt, though.

This time, she closed her eyes and focused, trying to zone out all the noise and activity. After a few moments, she spoke clearly, hoping it was going to work this time. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o." .... and there was a faint flicker of white. There, that was an improvement. She was obviously on the right track. Giving a small impatient sigh, she repeated the words again.. trying to focus once again. C'mon, Etta. It really isn't that hard. Horses.. friendship.. travel.. companionship.."

"Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o." ... and the third time, it worked! She watched excitedly as her pendant emitted a white glow. HUH.. wow. She could feel something.. energy? She wasn't sure what it was exactly but it was weird and kind of.. empowering at the same time. She put on her pendant, feeling happy with her little success.

Stasya had beamed a little as her simple observation had gotten a ‘nicely observed’ from the headmistress. That sounded like a good thing to her, even if she’d then gotten lost a little when there had suddenly been another rune mentioned and she had gotten confused. At least there had been the clarification that Ehwaz and Eihwaz weren’t the same thing, because now that it had been brought up she was scared she’d have mixed them up. Even if she hadn’t. Runes were confusing enough without there being the possibility of mixing them up.

She had listened intently as the subject of the pendants and how to make her own had been explained, though. There were all sorts of things that were new to her being mentioned, so paying attention was important. That and getting a pendant, which she managed to do not long after Emmeline had gotten hers seeing as they’d been standing pretty close to each other. Compared to half the rest of the class anyway, not counting their little group of the two of them, Jessa, Derf and Sophie. And probably Abey but she wasn’t entirely sure if it was actually him under the Hufflepuff scarf and everything else.

Taking her wand out, she decided to sit on the floor to make her casting easier. Because she wouldn’t have to try to figure out how to hold the pendant with one hand while she held her wand in the other. Important things, and she wanted to be able to focus on the spell. Pointing her wand at the pendant, on the ground in front of her, she tried to concentrate on the image of Ehwaz in her head. She’d been the one to mention what it looked like, so she didn’t want to feel stupid by not getting it right. She didn’t say a word until she had the picture in her head, either. “Intaglio Ehwaz.” There. She thought she’d said it right. It sounded right, but the rune wasn’t carved yet. She didn’t even see a tiny line, and she pouted a little before she remembered that the headmistress had said they might have to repeat the spell more than once to get it to work. “Intaglio Ehwaz. Intaglio Ehwaz. Intaglio Ehwaz. Intaglio Ehwaz. Intaglio Ehwaz …”

Looking down, she saw something on her pendant that looked like the rune. It was glowing like it was supposed to, but it was sort of crooked. Maybe she’d accidentally moved her wand a little bit while she’d been chanting. But now it was time for that galdr thing she’d heard the headmistress talking about. More repeating things. She picked the carved pendant up after stowing her wand away again, then focused on repeating what they’d been told to say.

“Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o.” It kind of sounded funny, and she had to keep herself from giggling. But she had to focus, so giggling would have to wait. Especially since the pendant wasn’t glowing yet. “Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o,” she repeated, continuing to repeat it until she finally saw a faint glow coming from her hand. It was actually kind of pretty, even if she was more interested in if it would get a horse to come to her like Philippe was doing with the headmistress.

Although she’d gotten confused again by Emmeline’s question. “Um, I don’t think so?,” she said hesitantly, glancing back to make sure her pendant was still glowy. Maybe the headmistress could answer that?

Patience was not exactly in the Hufflepuff's vocabulary. Okay, so it actually was LITERALLY in his vocabulary but it was the one Hufflepuff house trait he seemed to have the least of. Must have been bits of his mum's Ravenclaw and his dad's eeeeeeeeeeer....Australian making that happen. Maybe.

Smiling at Sophie - and he didn't think much of the steam coming out of her ears, by the way - his attention turned back to the headmistress turned professors turned...something and listened intently while he started bouncing and wiggling in place. Amulet. Carving. Gallbladder...er...galdr.....COULD HE JUST GET TO BEING A WINGED HORSE WHISPERER NOW PLEASE?

OH OH OH YAY HE COULD!

Only this process required magic. Um..."Intaglio...Intaglio...Intaglio...Intaglio," he repeated to himself. That wasn't so bad an incantation and he was feeling pretty confident compared to how he felt in the majority of other spells and charms in other lessons. Or maybe it was just the motivation? This WAS pretty motivational and he was super keen on succeeding sooooooooooo. Yes. It was just the right combination for this second year Hufflepuff. "Ehwaz...Ehwaz....Ehwaz....Ehwaz..." he practiced while tracing the rune in the air with his finger. Mmmhmm...okay...he thought maybe he was ready to give it a proper go!

Pointing his wand at his wooden pendant thingy, Derf took a deep breath and gave this magical carving thing a whirl. "Intaglio Ehwaz...EeeeeeWAZ!" IT WAS WORKING! But his excitement in the fact that it WAS working made his spell intensify for a moment and the tip of his want went right on through the wood. Ummm...Picking it up and blowing any little bits of wood dust off of it, Derf held the piece up (that had about half the M carved on it now) and peered through it just as Emmeline spoke. "It's-s-s a NEW type of magic...s-s-so you need to concentrate MORE than usual and that makes-s-s your brain tired," he offered up as a response. "But I always reckoned us-s-sing magic can drain you, you know? ALL that energy has-s-s to come from s-s-somewhere and we channel magic THROUGH our wands-s-s and then that magical energy and s-s-stuff GOES s-somewhere...why I always-s-s have a chocolate frog after les-s-sons." Because chocolate gave you that nice little surplus of energy when you were feeling tired!

Speaking of which...er...he needed to finish the other half of his M. Wand back pointing at his wooden piece, Derf repeated the incantation and was a liiiiiiiiiiiittle more careful this time as he slowly guided his wand to finish the job - only jabbing through the once once more and TOTALLY on accident. But all the carving was still together regardless. None of the lines were broken PER SAY since that sort of singed color from his spell went around the holes...so...still ought to work, yes? IT HAD TO!

So now he needed to do the gallbladder...no...the other g thing. Which meant he needed to reference his textbook because there was no way he actually remembered what the Headmistress had demonstrated a few minutes ago. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o," he read aloud to himself while clutching his carved piece in his hand. HAD THAT DONE IT? No, of course not. He repeated the chant a few more times...but to no avail. Maybe his piece of wood was shy? Sleeping? Maybe he just needed to be LOUDER.

"Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o!"

Had it heard him now? Would it please glow for him please? HE HAD ASPIRATIONS!

Ooooooo! They'd be getting their own necklace pendants FOR KEEPS?? And here she thought there was no way the Headmistress could improve the lesson. They were getting souvenirs too. Now Jessa just needed to get onto one of those horses and her morning would be set. In order to achieve that, she would need to get carving before she fell behind.

Jessa retrieved the one she would be working on.

First things first, carving the rune into the wood. The Ravenclaw drew her wand. Carving wasn't the hard part. She wasn't particularly concerned about this bit. "Intaglio ehwaz." Slowly the rune began to take form. "Intaglio ehwaz." Over and over she repeated the simple words, pleased to say the least when she could actually SEE the outline of the runic symbol. "Intaglio ehwaz."

That should do it. Jessa held the pendant up, inspecting it to be sure it was exactly as it was meant to look like.

"I don't think so either. Haven't seen anything about it in what I've read so far." She replied to Emmeline's question just behind Stasya and Derf's own reply. "Maybe it's something you ate earlier. Should see the Healer if it gets worse." Instead of mounting a horse. Could be dangerous if she did. The Headmistress would know what to do.

On to her chanting. It had to be glowing right?

"ehwo ehwo ehwo e e e e h w o o o ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu e e e e h w o o o." At first, when the rune didn't begin to glow, Jessa didn't think much of it. Sometimes you needed to give it some time to warm up and it depended on a whole bunch of other things too. It would only become a problem if she ended up the only one chanting without a glowing rune by the end of this. "ehwo ehwo ehwo e e e e h w o o o ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu e e e e h w o o o."

For a moment, she thought she could see the faintest light radiating off it but it vanished just as quickly, giving no real indication of if it'd been real or not.

Huh.

"ehwo ehwo ehwo e e e e h w o o o ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu e e e e h w o o o." No but really Mr. Rune, any minute now. If this kept up, the Headmistress would no doubt think her incompetent and make her SIT OUT THE HORSES. That was gonna have to be a solid no. No no no.

"ehwo ehwo ehwo e e e e h w o o o ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu e e e e h w o o o." Cooomme ooonnn--Oh! A light! A bigger light. It was GLOWING!!!

Jessa had to fight the urge to turn to the person next to her and go "lookit lookit lookit" because she was composed, and mature now. Yep. Gonna be 14 soon, it was a big step and she had to meet it accordingly.

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock. Those five minutes had gone by fast, hadn't they? "Time's up!" Regina shouted over the chanting students. She quickly glanced around the room, seeing who else had glowing pendants. It was essential if they were to be successful in understanding the capabilities of Ehwaz if they wanted to complete the next part of the lesson she had planned for them. Smiles and approving nods of her head were given to Emmeline, Henrietta, Stasya, Derfael, and Jessa, seeing that white light radiating from their pendants.

"Excellent, excellent work everyone," the headmistress carried on, taking a few steps forward because she had a few more instructions to give now that they were ready to move on. "Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for: interacting with the horses and putting Ehwaz to the test."

She paused for a moment, just in case there were some that were making some last-minute galdr chants and to have everyone's attention. Were they ready? The woman sure hoped so. This was the exciting part of the lesson, after all.

"Now that we have carved Ehwaz and have activated its energy, I have two tasks for you to complete. The first task is forming a bond with our winged four-legged friends. Of course, we can earn the trust of a horse without the use of runes, but the process will be sped up with the use of our pendants. Because it is now surging with the energy of Ehwaz, it will allow you to better communicate with the horse, to persuade it that and build that one-to-one connection with it. Following my instructions, you will approach the horse the rune draws you to and build trust with it. This shouldn't be too difficult with Ehwaz being activated; however, should you come across a more stubborn horse, simply chant the galdr to summon more energy to assist you in initiating that symbiotic relationship.

"Your second task will involve the travelling and teamwork aspects of Ehwaz. After gaining the horse's trust, you will then ride it in search of a tree that will be used to decorate the castle for the holiday season. Cut down the tree and bring it back using whatever means necessary. Please limit yourself to the surrounding area and the edges of the forest where I can see you."

At this point, the woman motioned for the students to follow her, in sync with Philippe, onto the snowy pasture. Instead of heading directly toward the horses, she made a slight detour for the gate that would allow them to leave the fenced area after retrieving a horse (just in case someone wasn't comfortable flying right away). "Remember to chant the galdr to rejuvenate and call upon Ehwaz should its glow start fading away. You may also do so whenever you feel you need additional energy to guide and assist you in accomplishing your goal." Flicking her wand to open the gate, she then added, "You may begin."

OOC: We are now moving on to our main activity! There are two major parts that your character needs to complete:

1) Initiate trust with the horse so that it can be ridden. (Two students may share a horse, especially if the students are small or a younger student is paired with an older student.)
2) Work together with the horse and each other to cut down and bring back a tree. (Students can work in pairs to collect a tree, but that does not mean you are limited to interacting with just that one student -- it is likely that older students may have some tips to give to the younger students.)

Regina and I purposefully left out specific instructions on how to go about this. She wants to see what your characters can do and observe how well they work in collaboration with the horse and each other, and I wanted to allow you creative liberties. Have fun with this!

Suzy is allowing us to use the winged horses listed here. You are welcome to use any of the horses provided and determine what breed they are (keep in mind there would be plenty of Aethonans, Granians, and Thestrals and only a few Abraxans). You may also add onto that list if you wish to do so, coming up with your own horse's name and their breed. That information will be updated accordingly.

I also recommend reading up on Abraxans, Aethonans, Granians, and/or Thestrals here before posting. Once your character has selected a horse, you get to RP how it reacts, its behaviours, etc.

Your characters will be collecting trees scattered around the grounds and from the edges of the forest. Use this map of the grounds as a resource for posting purposes. Also, it would be SUPER HELPFUL if you put in the title of your posts with whom you are working with. Some forest friends might be making an appearance should your character and his/her partner happen to come across them. ;)

The lesson will continue (question 2) on June 2nd.

She felt good after activating the rune. It was like there's a new energy coming in or something like that. The Gryffindor had one question, thanks to Isa who has asked about which material worked for runes. "Headmistress Hawthorne." Ava raised her hand. "How about rune tattoo? Do the artists need to use a specific material too? Also... could it be activate or just.. you know, being an ordinary tattoo?" Having a rune tattoo seemed cool, and probably she should have one once she's off age.

And now they're moving onto the main activity. Interacting with a winged horse using the Ehwaz rune? That sounded cool. All she needed to do was using the rune to gain the horse's trust and it was... not really easy, Ava admitted that. She walked to a chestnut-colored winged horse, an aethonan just like the one that headmistress interacted with. "Oh, hello there.. Perseus." She spoke to the creature as she read the tag. And now... how could Ava knew that the horse trusted her?

She muttered the galdr as she tried to pet Perseus.

Listening intently to the Headmistress explaining materials and tools for carving runes, Isa wrote down everything that Headmistress Hawthorne said. "Thank you." This was fascinating information. Maybe she would try carving her own rune set later. Runes was a really interesting subject, and Isa had plans for doing some more rune studying on her own later. She was only a third year, but she was interested in studying runes more in depth.

Yay, horse time! They were going to get to ride the horses! This was going to be so fun! Okay, so they were going to gain the trust of a horse, ride the horse, find a tree, and - what??? Cut it down? NOOOO! THE TREES WERE LIVING THINGS! They deserved a chance at life in the forest! Isa didn't want to be a tree-murderer! Trees were good for the environment. Deforestation was a real issue, and it was bad for the environment. Who knew what sort of forest creatures called the trees home. Were there bowtruckles protecting these trees? Isa didn't particularly feel like having her eyes clawed out by bowtruckles today. That was only a secondary concern though. Mostly she just wanted the trees to be alive. Isa was a big supporter of having living Christmas trees. "No! We can't kill the trees! I won't do it! Let's get living trees as decoration instead!" Isa was NOT going to kill a tree. You know what was a more sustainable way of having Christmas trees that lasted for years? Growing a sapling in a large pot and keeping it outside for most of the year when you didn't want it inside as a Christmas decoration. You know what would be cool to keep as a living Christmas tree? A flesh-eating fir.

As she followed the headmistress to the horses, Isa sulked over the fact that the headmistress had purposefully planned an activity that involved killing trees. Tears welled up around the corner of the young Hufflepuff's eyes. Whatever happened, she was not going to be cutting down any trees. The horses temporarily distracted Isa from her outrage and sadness over the instructions to cut down a tree, which Isa would not be participating in. She approached a horse, one of the granians. The activated Ehwaz rune helped her build trust with the horse. Gently she stroked the granian's neck. Was that helping? How would she know when the horse trusted her enough to ride it? What would she be doing for the rest of the lesson as she refused to cut down trees because she conscientiously objected to cutting down trees? Could she save the trees from being cut down and get everyone to agree to living Christmas trees? Living trees were the way to go.

It was time to interact with the horses. Abraxans, Granians, and more... Her blue eyes gazed at the different species for a while and then she stopped in her tracks when she felt someone or something was watching her. She shivered. It was probably just herself feeling restless. Nevertheless, she turned her gaze in the direction and her eyes met a particular thestral's. Charcoal winged horse with something that drew Olivia in. They weren't particularly beautiful creatures but there was just something about them. A fragile, earthly beauty perhaps?

She didn't want to venture over to the thestrals at first. They were a reminder of someone she had lost. She turned her gaze to look at the other winged horses. They looked friendly. Olivia kept making her way down past her classmates and then stopped momentarily. Her rune started to glow less around these horses. It wanted her to go back to the thestral? Really? She eyed the rune and decided not to question it for now. She would go for the one she made eye contact with.

Olivia approached the thestral slowly and quietly as not to spook out the poor creature. When she was close enough, she peered at the tag. Louis. That was a nice name. "Hello," she smiled with a soft voice as she slowly reached her hand out towards the creature. The thestral looked unsure at first and took a step back. However, Olivia could see a curious sparkle in Louis' eye as he slowly walked over to her. He sniffed her hand and then moved even closer. Magnificent. She softly spoke the galdr and then watched as the thestral moved closer to her outstretched hand and ended up nuzzling it a little. She gave him a pat. "Hello Louis, I'm Olivia. It's nice to meet you."

She had a glowy rune pendant, which made Stasya proud. It meant she’d managed the spell, after all. Plus, she’d gotten another smile and nod from the headmistress, so that meant she had to be doing it all right. All that was left was to see if it helped her befriend one of the horses, even if she still felt like she already had sort of a friendship with them because they knew her. They’d seen her in the barn, so they knew she was safe. At least, she thought they ought to know that, but now she had a rune that could help. She just had to figure out which horse would be attracted to her rune.

And of course the other stuff. Going out to find a Christmas tree, and she had turned her head to stare wide-eyed at Isa as the Hufflepuff had suddenly burst out with horror as if the headmistress had suggested they go out and kill a giant. Or maybe a centaur. Or a unicorn. One of the creatures she knew was in the forest. It was a Christmas tree, and Mr. Baldvinsson or Professor Myers could probably make sure the trees grew back after they cut them. She didn’t see why it was so horrible when it meant celebrating Christmas. She had kept kind of staring at Isa as they had made their way out to the edge of the pasture, trying to figure out exactly why she was so sulky.

There was the distraction of the horses though, and she had let her grey-green eyes scan the small herd for a moment before she approached them. She knew better than to rush, and besides, she had to see which one responded to her rune. Ava was over there by one of the Aethonans, and Olivia was with a Thestral, she figured. She couldn’t see any horse by her anyway so it had to be one. She didn’t know of any other invisible horses after all. Isa, though, was over by one of the Granians, which was kind of what she wanted. Small but fast, kind of like her, and she still sort of was hurt by the fact Professor Wayland hadn’t trusted her with one of the Granian foals. Kind of. Now she was just determined to prove she could trusted with them.

Sensing someone moving closer to her, she turned to see another of the Granians sidling over to her as if they were curious, and she smiled. “Hi Cygnus.” She stayed still, letting the horse approach her and then lifted her hand slowly to stroke his nose gently. Letting him get used to her presence and the influence of her pendant. It wasn’t going to work if she tried to move too fast. She knew that. Plus, she knew that Cygnus knew that too. She had to prove herself before he’d let her ride him.

Were they really allowed to interact with the horses now? A smile grew on Vivian's lips. Yaaaay, finally! She had always wanted to try riding one. Well, of course she had done so before, but these ones were winged horses and that was obviously better. They were given the freedom to choose which horse they wanted to work with, thanks to their glowing pendant, which made it harder for Vivian because she was too indecisive and wanted to work with all of them if possible. But one thing's for sure: she hoped she wasn't going to work with a Thestral for the mere fact that she couldn't see it. That would've been funny, though, talking and riding an invisible horse. LOLOL.

And because she obviously can't choose one for her own good, Vivian walked along the horses while paying attention to the glow of her pendant. "Eenie... meenie... miney... mo!" she said the last word once her pendant started glowing so bright. It was directed at one lovely chestnut-coloured winged horse. She knew it was an Aethonan right away. "Guess you're the lucky stallion of the day!" She then skipped over towards her chosen-by-fate horse.

Peering at the horse's tag, Vivian smiled. "Hello there, Apollo," she said. "You're looking quite stunning today." Although the fourth year hoped that compliment would automatically gain the horse's trust, she wasn't going to just stretch her arm out just yet. Horses had TEETH, too. Hand still holding her pendant, Vivian began chanting the galdr. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o..." With the last syllable chanted, Apollo went towards her willingly and started sniffing the blonde.

And of course, she giggled in the process. That tickled!

Well the Curly Top already had a natural affinity for equine creatures since he was way ickle, but far be it for him to not take this teamwork rune pendant seriously. Specially the Headmistress was teaching them skillz.

He took a wooden piece and set it before him. So right, gonna start carving... he set his wand against the wood's surface "Intaglio Ehwaz, Intaglio Ehwaz, Intaglio E-- " *CRACK*

Uhoh. Overdid it again Gryffindor? Typical.

Hastily he got up and snuck another wooden piece for himself, then proceeded to chant and carve carefully. It was slow going, of which he felt a bit frustrated at times, but he forced himself to follow the slower, gentler pace, Intaglio Ehwaz--ing his way to finally getting an acceptable pendant piece.

Next it was time to activate it. Time to do some rapping errr chanting. He held the piece between his hands and started murmur earnestly "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o.". Opening his palms, there was barely any difference. Should he try it again? He sure did. And after a few minutes he took another look. There doesnt seem to be anything happening.

Uhm ok he cant possibly screw up with this because Headmistress Hotstuff was one of the few people in the entire school-- heck maybe in his life-- that he cared about impressing. So he leafed through his textbook, wondering what else can help him. Then a MEMORY-- his dad did something like this too, at his desk back when he went to Hogwarts. And from that story the Curly Top distinctly remember his dad had to use his own blood to kick start the whole thing.

Blood. Well whatever works right?

Quietly, Tenacius slapped his arm a few times before making a tiny incision and drawing a small pool of red. He dipped his finger and painted the rune piece, all the while chanting the galdr. Concentrate... concentrate... urgh that wound is stinging... IGNORE it.... "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o. ".... he murmured several times--

-- and then he suddenly sat back, because his Ehwaz piece began to glow, a faint pink initially because of his blood, but it wasnt before long that the wooden pendant was illuminating quite nicely.

It worked! Whew!

Ok bonding time with the horsies, the part he was really looking forward to. With the rune piece glowing in his hand, he walked with the other students and looked for his partner for the day. He started to drift amongst the Aethonians and Granians until something from the corner of his eye saw something galloping towards him. And it stopped short, made a sound and stomped its foot.

It was a young Abraxan. But because of the species' size it looked almost as large as other full sized winged horses. This came to no surprise to Tenacius of course, with his family actually having a Equine sanctuary near his home. "You wanna partner up with me?" he grinned as he gently approached the foal with the pendant glowing ever so brightly. The foal wasnt messing about, she picked him. She was bonding with him. The effect of the Ehwaz piece going quite well? Or are the Abraxan just boss horses like that? Who knows.

DSJFLKSDJFLKJSKDLJ HIS WASN'T GLOWING YET THOUGH!

Eyes widening to mooncalf size again, Derf scrambled with his runic pendant while shifting the balance between his left and right feet. Cupping it in his hand and holding it up to his mouth - sort of like what you would do when blowing on your hands to keep them warm in the winter when you forgot your mittens - the second year began muttering the rune song thingy in DESPERATION. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o!....Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o...Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o!...Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o!..." He honestly wasn't sure how many times he had repeated it in this manner but by SOME STROKE OF LUCK it was actually glowing by the time he had reached a breath takingly beautiful white-colored winged horse and hung it around his neck.

"How do you do," he grinned as he bowed politely from the chest like he did for one of mum and dad's dinner parties. "I'm Derfael, but friends-s-s call me Derf." Which meant that .... er.... the Hufflepuff paused a moment to dip his head a little bit lower to look fo--- AHA! Which meant that SHE could call him Derf. Holding out his hand for the abraxan to smell if she wished, the Hufflepuff was unaware that his runic pendant had already stopped glowing. Oops. BUT DESPITE THIS, the winged horse was taking a few timid steps towards him and a couple of seconds later was lightly nuzzling his hand, even going so far as to wiggle its great horses lips over his skin.

What were they meant to be doing again? Derf was FAR too focused on the fact that the winged horse was now brushed its great winged horses head over HIS head and sort of nibbling at his blonde locks. "My hair is-sn't made of hay," he informed the creature. "But I could probably get you s-s-some if you're hungry."

Etta made her way over to the winged horses, her eyes widening in astonishment despite herself. They really looked so beautiful, didn't they? She sighed softly as she walked, he eyes admiring each one of the magnificent creatures.. but somehow, she could feel herself drawn towards one in particular. She approached it, careful not to make any sudden noises.. a small smile on her face.

"Hi, there." She looked down at her pendant to see it glowing rather brightly. Huh.. this was her horse, apparently. And again, somehow, she could feel the.. connection? It was weird. This feeling was weird. But she did enjoy it at the same time. She peered at the name tag.. Aurora. That was a lovely name for a lovely horse. She extended a hand and waited patiently, watching Aurora, not wanting to scare her away. After a moment or two, she watched the horse take a couple of steps towards her.. and let Etta pet her. And soon enough, she could tell they'd become good friends. "My name is Etta. Hope you're doing well today." She laughed lightly, running a hand over Aurora's back.. this was so much fun!

As her rune pendant glowed brightly, Ava felt like there was a surge of energy coming in. Ooooh, that felt good. Perseus seemed not really mind when she pet it. So... this meant that the rune worked, right? Woohoooo!!! Oh well, perhaps she should've not feel excited to fast because well... There's an assignment that she needed (or the entire students, to be exact) to accomplish. "You seemed such a very good horse." The Gryffindor said to the Aethonan as she stroke its mane. Perseus started neighing and since she didn't speak horse... Ava just assumed that the horse agreed on her.

So the next should be... mounting on the horse, right? She tried to remember the steps on how to ride the winged horse. "So... do you want to bring me to fulfil this task?"She asked. But.. Uh oh, it seemed like the horse didn't want her to ride on it because it took few steps back avoiding her. Huh, such a stubborn horse. But seeing that the pendant started to glow faintly, now she knew why the horse acted like this.

Ava started re-activating her rune as she chanted the galdr. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o..." And the pendant started glowing white again. So... could she ride Perseus now? Probably she had to ask again.

Her pendant wasn't glowing as brightly as she would have liked. The fourth year glanced around, watching students both older and younger than herself managing to make a strong white light emanate from their carving. Once more, she clutched the wood, and chanted "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o," before sighing at the feeble glow and turning back to the Headmistress, who was now instructing them further.

Right. There was lots of nodding and mental note taking going on. Their runes would react to whichever Horse they should work with. A special connection, almost. Felicity wondered, absently, how soon she'd be able to ride Floyd, but pushed that thought away as she followed the Headmistress and the students towards the beasts.

An Aethonian seemed to be looking her directly in the eye, and when Flick tilted her head, the horse did so, too. She approached it cautiously, recognising it as the one who'd caught her attention when she'd first entered the barn, and grinned to herself when her pendants light became stronger. Still, not as strong as she would have liked, and just when she was within petting distance, the Aethonian decided to turn its back to her and walk to the other side of the pasture.

"Oh." Picking the pendant up in her hand, Felicity began chanting the galdr a few more times as she followed after the animal. "Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o. Ehwo ehwo ehwo, e e e e h w o o o, ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo, ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu, e e e e h w o o o." By the time she had reached it, her pendant looked significantly more impressive, and as she nervously reached out a hand, the horse slipped his head under it and allowed her to pet it. Felicity was pleased with herself, alright, and used her other hand to fiddle with the name tag. "Corena," she murmured gently, her pendant glowing brighter again when she spoke the name.

See, she KNEW that at some point they would get to do this. It was all the Ravenclaw had been looking forward to since she walked into the barn today and saw the Aethonan by the Headmistresses side.

Of course she listened carefully while the instructions were given but today just wasn't one of those days the young girl felt like partnering up. Consequently, it would be her and her horse--once she found the horse. Her rune had to be drawn to it? Well she supposed that eliminated what might otherwise have been a lengthy and indecisive process of selecting the right one.

Because they were listening to the runes, Jessa saw no real reason to hurry toward the horses. She felt he or she would be right there waiting when she got there...unless the runes reacted to several horses and someone ended up taking hers....maybe she should put just a little urgency into her steps afterall. Hurrying along, Jessa approached the horses, making her movements a lot slower once she was close enough. It was important not to spook them. Couldn't allow herself to be perceived as a threat that needed to be crushed underfoot, 'least of all when those feet were backed by strong muscle.

"I think I'll choose.....you." Or not. Jessa had only managed a step toward the horse of her choice before she felt a strange tugging toward the horse just next to him. "Right. You. I meant you." She turned to the one that would no doubt feel terrible to have only been half picked. "Don't worry, your partner's coming up real soon."

Having been taking care of a baby Aethonan since late September, Jessa was by now somewhat good at calming and befriending horses. She'd learned a lot from Dexter and put those skills to good use right now. "Come on boy." Boy? Check. Yup, boy. "We've gotta go pick out a nice tree for the castle." She stroked along his neck and spoke with a firm but calm voice.

Knowing that creatures still had a mind of their own, Jessa remained by the horse a few minutes more, just to be sure they were on the same page before making any attempts at mounting it.

The Ravenclaw gestured her Aethonan forward, shifting her body every now and then in indication of where she would like to be taken. "What d'you think about this one?" She asked, gesturing the horse to a stop. "Not too big, not too small." It was perfect, or as perfect as a choice from her was going to be. "Let me get it then we can head back."

The 13 year old slid off the back of her faithful steed and moved over to the tree. How to bring it back, that was the question of the morning. "Hmmmm." Stepping back, she drew her wand. "Diffindo!"

A slash appeared at the base of the tree. It wasn't much, but it was definitely a start. "Diffindo!" She tried again, doing her best to concentrate her intent. It took several turns of casting the same spell but finally the tree fell forward with a loud and, to her, very satisfying thud. Jessa turned to her buddy with a wide grin. "We did it!" Nevermind the lack of participation on his part; they now had a tree.

Turning to the tree again, Jessa cast a featherlight charm on it. The tree was then moved to the Aethonan's back while Jessa spoke calmly to it, giving a play by play if you will. Each time it grew even the slightest bit nervous she would reach forward to rub at his neck--sometimes even moving to rub his hind legs before getting back to her task. "Incarcerous!" To secure the tree. Next, she got on, miraculously finding a spot nearly but not quite on the horse's neck. "Alright, let's head back."

Again she gestured the horse forward, leading him all the way back to the barn and the Headmistress as well as those who'd already returned.

Kitty knew the answer to the headmistresses first question, but she didn't see the need to say it when so many other people were saying it correctly and her contribution probably wouldn't be noticed. Instead she just sat there and paid attention as the headmistress gave a longer explanation and set them to their first task.

"Intaglio Ehwaz," she muttered out loud as she went to collect a pendant. She rolled it over in her hand curiously before going back to her place to begin practicing. "Intaglio Ehhh-waaaaz," she said, mispronouncing it slightly. "Intaglio Ehwaz...Intaglio Ehwaz...Intaglio Ehmaz," she said as she attempted to carve the rune in.

Truth be told, her magic this term wasn't up to par with her previous years and she wasn't sure why. Sure, she could still cast a decent charm or rune, but not as much as she could last year and she seemed to have to practice it more. Maybe it was because of how upset she was when thinking about the Statute or the fact that many of her classmates so strongly disagreed with her.

"Intaglio Ehwaz," she muttered again as finally the correct symbol came into focus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

She felt good after activating the rune. It was like there's a new energy coming in or something like that. The Gryffindor had one question, thanks to Isa who has asked about which material worked for runes. "Headmistress Hawthorne." Ava raised her hand. "How about rune tattoo? Do the artists need to use a specific material too? Also... could it be activate or just.. you know, being an ordinary tattoo?" Having a rune tattoo seemed cool, and probably she should have one once she's off age.

The question that came out of Ava Burton's mouth made her raise an eyebrow for a moment, not because it was a 'stupid' question but rather because she was curious about why the girl was asking. It wasn't exactly related to the topic of today's lesson, unless she was planning on getting Ehwaz tattooed onto her skin. But, having several runic tattoos herself, the woman felt obliged to provide a quick answer.

"There is historical precedence for using runes as tattoos, Miss Burton," the headmistress responded. "Runic tattoos are made like any other tattoo, with needle and ink. Though what sets them apart from ordinary tattoos is that they behave similar to runic charms and have great powers behind them when invoked. Therefore, it is important that one seriously ponder about permanently tattooing a rune on their skin before doing so."

Quote:

Originally Posted by griffin

Yay, horse time! They were going to get to ride the horses! This was going to be so fun! Okay, so they were going to gain the trust of a horse, ride the horse, find a tree, and - what??? Cut it down? NOOOO! THE TREES WERE LIVING THINGS! They deserved a chance at life in the forest! Isa didn't want to be a tree-murderer! Trees were good for the environment. Deforestation was a real issue, and it was bad for the environment. Who knew what sort of forest creatures called the trees home. Were there bowtruckles protecting these trees? Isa didn't particularly feel like having her eyes clawed out by bowtruckles today. That was only a secondary concern though. Mostly she just wanted the trees to be alive. Isa was a big supporter of having living Christmas trees. "No! We can't kill the trees! I won't do it! Let's get living trees as decoration instead!" Isa was NOT going to kill a tree. You know what was a more sustainable way of having Christmas trees that lasted for years? Growing a sapling in a large pot and keeping it outside for most of the year when you didn't want it inside as a Christmas decoration. You know what would be cool to keep as a living Christmas tree? A flesh-eating fir.

As she followed the headmistress to the horses, Isa sulked over the fact that the headmistress had purposefully planned an activity that involved killing trees. Tears welled up around the corner of the young Hufflepuff's eyes. Whatever happened, she was not going to be cutting down any trees. The horses temporarily distracted Isa from her outrage and sadness over the instructions to cut down a tree, which Isa would not be participating in. She approached a horse, one of the granians. The activated Ehwaz rune helped her build trust with the horse. Gently she stroked the granian's neck. Was that helping? How would she know when the horse trusted her enough to ride it? What would she be doing for the rest of the lesson as she refused to cut down trees because she conscientiously objected to cutting down trees? Could she save the trees from being cut down and get everyone to agree to living Christmas trees? Living trees were the way to go.

The headmistress would have went on giving Ava details, but a certain Hufflepuff took her away from that conversation with her outburst. Regina resisted the urge to sigh at the girl's refusal to cut down one out of hundreds of trees that were on the grounds. She rested a hand on Philippe's side and slowly approached her, the horse stepping along beside her.

"Miss Wright, I can assure you that cutting down a few trees will not bring an end to us all." Did the girl not realize where her wooden pendant came from? Or the wood burning in the fireplaces inside the castle that kept them all from freezing? "If it makes you feel any better, younger trees will be planted in their place once the snow has completely melted. But, if that still doesn't satisfy you, then there are pathways that need to be cleared. The choice is yours."

Honestly, she should have expected there to be that one student who would respond in this way... But moving onward!

Giving Phillipe a little pat, the two then moved around the pasture to see how everyone else was doing. So far things seemed to be going pretty well. It was noted that some of the horses were being stubborn, but they eventually came around once Ehwaz was invoked again. Did they all see how persuasive, yet gentle, the energy brought forth by Ehwaz could be?

"Once you have made a bond with your horse, head straight out to retrieve a tree, ladies and gentlemen. Move swiftly and collaboratively so you don't run out of time!" She would be here, watching and waiting.

OOC: There is still plenty of time for you to jump in and complete the main activity of this lesson. So everyone has plenty of time to complete the task and, if wanted, interact with others and some forest friends, I will post the final question of the lesson on Saturday, June 3rd, instead of tomorrow. ^__^

Etta bonded with her horse for some more time, uttering calm and soothing words now and then to make sure Aurora was feeling very comfortable. If she was going to ride the horse, she needed to be absolutely sure that her granian actually liked her. Etta didn't want to risk getting pushed off the horse.. especially since granians were supposed to be aggressive. After a little while, she slowly led Aurora down to the gate.. she panicked slightly when her horse stopped a couple of times but for brief moments before Aurora resumed walking again. Once they'd reached the gate though, Etta jumped onto her back.. and waited.

Well.. Aurora seemed rather peaceful. "Come on. Let's head over to the trees there, shall we?" She whispered softly and gestured forward but before she could say another word, Aurora took off.. FLYING.

-- OHMYGOODNESS. Etta held on for dear life until she desperately gestured him to stop near a cluster of trees. As much as she enjoyed that experience, it had been a little scary too. She got down and scanned a few of the trees carefully until she saw one that seemed okay. It wasn't too big so it would be easier to carry.. right?

Now.. she had to cut it. She pulled out her wand and casted a Diffindo precisely cutting the tree at the base. She watched it fall to the side, taking a couple of steps backward. Now that it was done, she had to carry it back. Huh. Since it was a short distance back to the barn, she could just levitate it.. right? No. She couldn't fly AND levitate a tree at the same time. That would be impossible.

Oh, wait. Of course. Grinning, she used the shrinking charm to reduce the size of the tree considerably until it was just about the size of her hand. Now, that can be carried easily.. right? All she had to do was to use the engorgement charm later. DONE. She tucked the tree under one arm before jumping back on the horse. "Go girl!" .. and she returned to the barn soon enough.