AHHH THIS WAS SO EXCITING! Her two favorite subjects were having a combined activity! BEST THING EVER. She was so excited that she wanted to scream. Isa kept her voice down though because she didn't want to scare any of the creatures. Look at those orchids! They were gorgeous! They must have been so hard to grow in this climate. Professor Myers must have had to grow them in a special greenhouse with environmental regulating charms. Professor favorite-professor-ever-herbology-head-of-house Myers was here! "Hello, Professor Myers! Your plants are all absolutely beautiful!" The warming charm around the area did not go unnoticed. Probably creating a suitable environment for all of these plants and the creatures, wherever they were. Was that a wiggentree? The kind that protected you from dark creatures and was guarded by bowtruckles? That was awesome! "Hello, Professor Wayland!" The care of magical creatures professor also got a greeting. Isa bounced on her toes a bit with excitement as she waited for more people to show up, being careful not to make any too dramatic or sudden movements in case she frightened whatever creatures were around. Yes, she was excited, but Isa was well aware that she needed to control her excitement around creatures. She knew how to act in a calm, respectful manner when she needed to. Okay, she could calm down a bit now with the excited bouncing getting all of the energy out of her system. Isa was ready to pay attention to the thing they were doing now.

Creature hunt extravaganza? Skylar had to admit she was A BIT curious when she spotted the notice about this activity, mostly because it wasn't just creatures, but at the Greenhouses. Which meant, Herbology stuff too. And although Herbology wasn't her best subject, she enjoyed it and Professor Myers well enough to warrant her braving the cold.

"Hello Professor Myers! Professor Wayland!" she greeted when she spotted them by the entrance to the greenhouse. So curious on how the plants were able to be in such awesome blooms, despite the cold weather setting in.

"Hey Isa," she greeted of the younger girl, moving to stand next to her, as she figured she hadn't spoken to her awhile. "How are you?"

Junia was here and pleased with the warmth that blanketed her as soon as she entered the work space. It was nice and welcoming and put a smile on her face as curious eyes swept around until they fell on the professors in charge. "Professor Myers, Professor Wayland, hello." She performed her usual curtsy and moved towards Isa and Sky, eager to get started.

"Hey."

Kimi was excited for this making sure he had his potions safely tucked away and hidden and said "Hello Professor Myers and Professor Weyland i am so excited for this creature hunt" Kimi knew it was a good way to get extra points

Okay...but like...WHY? Just WHY? WHY WAS HOGWARTS SO CRUEL???

The Hufflepuff naturally saw the connection between the two subjects - reluctantly saw but since he was now the proud papa to Picketta it would be beyond ignorant to ignore things, you know? - but just WHY?

He had actually just come from the nursery, actually, and spending the good portion of the morning reading his History of Magic text to his bowtruckle.
It helped him focus, you know? Teaching someone else about things and Picketta was a good listener. Sort of. His hands still were covered in tiny scratches and bite marks here and there but NOT because he was rough with her or anything. Picketta was just particular about certain things. Like girls.
She was especially feisty whenever one of his female classmates approached him. He still was feeling terrible about what the bowtruckle had done to Natalie...

"GOOD DAY PROFESSOR WAYLAND!" he greeted the Creatures professor with a GRIN before that smile turned a bit upside down shifting to his Head of House. He SUPPOSED the man was OKAY...ISH...if he squinted and turned his head sideways. "......ProfessorMyers......"

Moving extra delicately to a vacant spot, Derf's eyes NATURALLY fell on the TREE and his hand shoved into his trouser pocket (both now enchanted...for REASONS) to let something inside hold on to his finger. "....m o r e b o w t r u c k l e s...."

Herbology. Creatures.

At the same time.

How can this boy say no to that??

The leonine lad made his way down to the Greenhouses as soon as his schedule has cleared up. He glanced around the area, and immediately took note of the Wiggentree next to the Herbologist. Ohboyohboyohboyohboy. Can this boy's smile get any brighter? It just did.

"Heya Professors!" he greeted them both with that radiant upon radiant smile. What they gonna do eh eh? #excited.

When the notice had gone up about a creature hunt, Emmeline had determined to go immediately. She was typically out on the grounds anyway, either playing with Sirius in the nursery or visiting other creatures in the main barn. One thing made her slightly unsure about this whole thing, though -- Derf had told her Professor Myers was a Dark wizard. This made her reluctant to spend any extra time with the Herbology professor, but she thought today would be okay because there were lots of people around and Professor Wayland would be here too.

"Hi, Professors!", Emmeline chirped as she neared the group outside the greenhouses. Spotting Derf, she moved over immediately to see him.

"Hey, Derf. How's Picketta?" She hoped the little bowtruckle was doing okay, but she supposed she must be with Derf looking after her. She wished they could get their baby creatures together to play, but Sirius still chased everything that moved and a cruppy would probably either scare Picketta or get swiped at by her. Neither was a good option. She wondered what her friend thought of being out here with a Dark wizard.

Tristan had double and triple checked to make sure that his special creatures were doing okay. He wanted to make sure that they were well fed and had everything they needed before the students stared to arrive.But despite wanting to check again, because...worry wart....he refrained, and stood calmly and happily next to Paul with his arms crossed, and a relaxed grin on his face.

As the students began to enter the area they had set up, he gave them all bright smiles and nods. "Hello, Isa!" He called back to the young 'Puff. "Hello, Skylar!" He said with a grin.

"Junia," He said with a smile and a nod. "Hello, Kimi! We are glad you are excited!" To be quite honest, he was super excited for this activity as well. It would be very interesting and really fun. He really hoped the kids liked it. Here came Derf...he grinned and called back, "Good day to you as well, Derfael." He always liked saying Derf's entire name. It was a Welsh name after all, and he always pronounced it in his lilting Welsh accent. Though he sounded more like a Londoner....he was born and raised in Wales.

He smiled at the Gryffindor prefect, "Hello, Tenacious! It's good to see you!" Then seeing the young Gryffindor girl come in behind him she gave her a smile and a wave. "Hello, Emmeline." This wasn't a typical lesson. They were more at their leisure and didn't have a time crunch for this.

That being said, the activity wasn't going to start quiet yet. Hopefully more students would show up. Who would say not to extra credit and hanging out with himself and Paul. They were pretty awesome...just sayin'.

Even if she hadn’t seen the notice about the extra credit activity, the appearance of the area outside of the Greenhouses would have piqued Stasya’s curiosity. Just because it was new, and therefore interesting. But, the idea that there would be creatures involved had been the last little thing that made it absolutely necessary that she pick her way over to t her from the barn. She’d been over there visiting Dobby, and continuing her process of getting Albus used to other creatures that weren’t fellow puffskeins. Also, trying to stop the earwax habit because it was a really weird feeling having a tiny tongue in her ear. Even if it meant she didn’t have any problems hearing lately.

Like hearing the little comment Derf had made about bowtruckles. “Do you think there’s lots of them in that tree?,” she asked, leaning over so she didn’t have to speak too loud and startle anybody. Especially any creatures in his pockets since she kind of guessed he’d done what she’d thought about and broken his baby out of the nursery. But it was easier to hide a baby bowtruckle than it was to hide a puffskein, let alone her squirrel.

“Hi Professor Wayland. Hi Professor Myers,” she said, turning her attention from the tree to the adults standing by it. Plus she’d given Emmeline a grin, seeing as she didn’t thinks he needed to be completely backwards and greet everyone now that she’d already said other things. It wasn’t her fault she’d gotten a little distracted. At least she didn’t think it was.

Henry loved working creatures so he wasn't about to pass up an opportunity for an extra activity that sounded fun too. Plus it was outside and with his head of house, and he could probably use a little extra work with herbology things too. He had his cloak and scarf on, but it was nice to feel the warmth of the heating charm placed on the area too.

"Hey, Professors!" Henry greeted them both cheerfully as he arrived, his eyes falling on the different types of plants there before looking for a place to stand. He had smiles and/or waves for everyone he knew there (which was pretty much everyone), but he soon settled into a spot by Ace as he waited for this activity to get started.

Herbology AND Care of Magical Creatures mixed into one? Oh Merlin, count Vivian in! Besides the entire Ilvermorny visit and IMPS thingy, this activity was the next interesting announcement the blonde had heard all year long. As usual, the fourth year skipped her way to the Greenhouses and... whoaaaa! Lookit! It looked as if they were enclosed inside a sandbox!

"Good day, Professor Myers and Professor Wayland!" Vivian greeted both professors and wiggled her pointer fingers at them, as a form of saying 'hi'. OOOOOH, and the pretty flowers and plants! Vivian loved herbology and it just amazed her just by admiring the lovely and vibrant colours.

The Slytherin went over to join her dorm mates, Skylar and Junia, and the Hufflepuff girl (Isa). "Heeeeeeey, guys!" Were they just as excited as Vivian was? Was her excitement evident? The blonde wasn't even going to try to conceal what she felt.

Did Olly care about extra credit? Eh. Did he like anything to do with animals? Definitely. Would he partake in any activity organized by his favorite professor aka Paul Myers? Absolutely. It was for those reasons that Olly made his way down to the grounds for the days activity. He grinned at both professors when he arrived. "Hello professors! This sounds like a fun activity you planned!" Of course he did not know exactly what the activity was yet but he was confident that it would be fun. And educational, of course.

Matt was super excited because he had gotten the best birthday gift EVER. He hadn't SEEN it yet as it was a pet and it couldn't be send to Hogwarts like that, but he KNEW it was exactly what he wanted. And he had gotten it, mwahahaha YAAAAS!!

He was HAPPY. And excited to go home now for the holidays to have all the fun with his new pet. Just the thought of it made Matt CRACK UP, because he knew what those were capable of. HAHA! He couldn't WAIT.

"Heeeeello, hello, hello!" He greeted everyone there as he arrived in a much more upbeat manner than he had been acting since the start of term. Blinking plans of becoming an Auror were pretty much consuming him as he had to FORCE himself to study and all that rubbish. Reading was DRAINING, man. Draining.

He was ready for some action!

Extra credit. Creatures. Herbology.

Noelle was in. Herbology wasn't her strongest subject but she wasn't terrible at it. Not to mention Wayland was here. You'd be daft to miss this opportunity.

Making her way out, Noelle waved to everyone that was around and that she knew. She made her way over to Olly and stood next to him. "Hey professors!" Noelle said greeting them with a wave. Extra bright smile for you Wayland, before she nudged Olly with a beam. She was in a good mood for... reasons.

Plus. Extra credit.

No way she'd pass this up. It wasn't so much the fact there was extra credit involved but rather, Jessa liked any chance to be in the greenhouses. There was always something new to be learned and Professor Myers let her near the flesh eaters so she was all for anything he did.

Jessa skipped over to the greenhouse area, doing her best to contain her enthusiasm. "Hello Professor Myers, Professor Wayland." She was on better terms with the latter now that they'd gotten certain things sorted out. She no longer went around telling people how terribly closed minded he was--which was always a good start. He was alright, quite the opposite of the impression she'd gotten that day in the bathroom.

Isa and Noelle got waves as she made her way over to Derf and the girls. "Thanks for walking over without me." She said, linking her arm with his. It wasn't said seriously, more like a greeting. "Hey guys." Both Emmeline and Stasya got greetings before her eyes begin to wonder about the Greenhouse.

"What'd you think we'll do?"

It was no surprise to Paul that Isa was the first to arrive. She was positively EAGER about both Herbology and Creatures, sooo. It made sense. Much sense. He gave her a wave. "Hello, Isa, dear!" He smiled. The warming charm was proving a good idea. He didn't know why, but he hadn't taken weather as a factor when he and Tristan first planned this little activity. And yes, it was cold out right now. "Hello, Skylar. You're quite chipper today!" And chipper was welcome!

He stopped leaning on the Wiggentree because he had been there for way too long, and he wasn't keen on ticking off any bowtruckles today. "Junia, Kimi! Hello!" he greeted them both. He hadn't expected many students to show up for some extra credit, only the ones either very interested in points or interested in one or both of the accompanying subjects. Buncha' NERDS. Paul smiled affectionately, though. He appreciated passion for school. Or just in general.

Lord, Derf had shown up, and Paul was actually surprised, though he knew the boy had a love of creatures. So half surprised. But really, his INSANE fear of Paul had him chuckling for days. "Hello, Derfael." He nodded politely at his badger. "Greetings, Tenacius. And you too, Emmeline!" he grinned. Okay, this was a better turnout than he had expected. Nice!

But they really should get started soon, yes? So it wasn't dark before they finished here. "Nice to see you, Staysa!" he smiled. HENRY was here. pREFEEEECTTTT BADGER. Paul clapped a proud hand on his shoulder. Still not over it, really, and still very much feeling guilty for last term, NBD all right? "Henry." He smiled at Henry. Ignoring that stabby guilt in the pit of his stomach.

Well, he had wanted to start, but more students were trickling in. A few more minutes, then. "Hello, Vivian!" he smiled at the girl. And then Oliver. OLIVER. "Hellllllo, Oliver," he winked at the boy. He had seen Oliver over the summer. For his play. Beautiful work that boy could do, and Paul would encourage it in any way necessary. He was a talented boy. "That's the attitude, Matt!" Paul chuckled at the boy's excitement. Very very excitable. "Jessa, Noelle, welcome!" he grinned. OKAY? Time to begin?

Paul cleared his throat and glanced over at Tristan. "OKAY. As you can all very well see, there are a few distinct plants scattered about. We've got some very hardy Wiggentrees--" Paul gestured with his hand. "We've got some just beautiful orchids, they smell wonderful do they not?" He smirked. "We've got little mushrooms peeking out at us..hi little guys!" He waved at a mushroom. It wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever done, either. "And just..random greenery! Very fun. Very plant-y. But seeing as Professor WAYLAND is here...and I'm sure you've all guessed or CAN guess....CAMO ANIMALS!" Paul did jazz hands. "CAMO ANIMALS!" He repeated for emphasis.

"Now, the FUN part of today is..." Paul gestured at four very large jars. "You have to FIND the hidden animals in here." HA! HAHA! FUN! "So....there's...bowtruckles---which, Professor Wayland, if you would kindly remind students on how to approach these animals at some point, yes?" because he liked his students having eyes, thank you. "There are some truly BEAUTiFUL orchid mantises...there's leaf tailed geckos... and some very nice horklumps," Paul chuckled and pulled a cup out of seemingly nowhere. "You will each pick an animal...er, creature." Because was a mantis an animal? A bug, more like. "That is the animal you will search for allllllll over this area. The jars are labeled by creature. Once each jar gets to a...predetermined amount (meaning, each is magically going to be "full" differently because the animals take up different amounts of space), it will be closed. The people that contributed to finding THAT animal have won, per say!" Paul gave three little claps. "It's not really a team effort...more...I want you all interacting with each other, with the plants, withs the little creatures. So lets pick --" Paul let each student pick a small slip of paper from a cup. "Gloves can be used if you wish! Be very gentle with our creature friends, please!" Like no smashing the bugs. Like, just no. "Once you have picked your creature, you may begin! We will talk about camouflage after this activity!" The educational part and all.




OOC: Here is how this will work OOC. I decided to scrap the pair work because I know it can be problematic depending on someone else in order for you to succeed. So I tweaked some things, but yes NO pair work involved.

1. No one is working together. BUT...
2. You post looking for your creature...and OOC, you will flip this coin. Post #1 will title their post with what they have flipped.
3. The next person will post their person searching for the animal. They, too, will flip said coin. If they roll the same as #1, they have found the creature!
4. #3 will post. If THEY roll the same as #2, they have found the creature.
5. #4 will post. If THEY roll the same as #3, they, too, have found the creature.
6. If you do not roll the same as the person above you, TRY AGAIN FRIEND. These creatures would be tricky liiiiittttttle guys, but not impossible to find.

I will edit your posts with what creature your character is looking for. That is the character they picked from a hat.

If this is confusing at all or you need clarification, please PM either me or Suziella. We will clarify, happily <3

This will go on until one of the jars is "full." I'll be keeping track of that and will jump in and announce when whichever jar is full (what r grammar). So...without further adoooo!

POST AWAY! Be creative, give me something fun to read <3 A little chaos can ensue, but keep it real, lovelies. <3 I titled my post with TAILS so that the first person to post still has a chance of finding a creature. I assigned you all creatures randomly but tried to keep it even. WHOOH!

IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO POST. POST AND I WILL GIVE YOU AN ANIMAL. YES. You won't get in trouble for being late. THIS AIN'T A LESSON

Etta rushed down to the greenhouses.. oh gosh. Late. LATE. She was never late for anything and she disliked being late too.. but she'd been studying in the library and completely forgot about the extra-credit activity until the very last second, which was no excuse. She ran into the work space, completely breathless.. and feeling rather embarrassed. Actually, more than embarrassed.

.. and also, worried about disappointing Professor Myers. He was going to be upset with her, wasn't he? "Professor! Hello. Sorry for being late." Etta immediately apologised, giving him a small smile.. still standing near the entrance. You know, in case he asked her to leave or something. She took deep breaths, her cheeks still flushed from the running. Ugh.

Paul didn't mind students being late to this. This was CHILL. Extra credit, yeah? Maybe Tristan minded >.> But Paul didn't! Hence why when his other prefect showed up, he merely held out a cup to her. "Whichever slip you choose, that's the animal you must find and then place it in the respective jar." He smiled. "I just gave the directions! You caught the tail end, correct?"

Well, Paul would explain them anyways. QUICKLY. AND HE DID. HE EXPLAINED THEM QUICKLY. "HERE--pick--go go go!"

Camouflaged creatures? What like Muggle type salamanders? The Curly Top grinned even broader. Ohhh he's gonna enjoy this for sure!

"Where's Waldo with Creatures! I'm so in!" he enthused as he picked out the paper the Herbologist was offering them. Now what creature will he be a-lookin for today eh eh?

Camo animals?

That sounded so FUN! Of course, it was difficult too but where was the fun without a little bit of a challenge? Vivian eagerly jumped up and picked a random paper from inside the cup that Professor Paul was passing around. And her mystery creature was... an orchid mantis! Alright, she was ready to put her eye sight to the test!

Once they were allowed to begin, Vivian immediately stood up and skipped over to the orchids that were spread across. And aahhhh, didn't they smell good! But yes, the Slytherin had to keep her head in the game. Slipping on the gloves for protection and hygiene, Vivian didn't think twice when she got down on her four limbs and crawled around the orchids in search for a mantis. GUUUUHHHH, the camouflage sure was going to be a struggle. "Little mantis, where are youuuuuu?"

Isa waved to her friend Skylar, the second person to show up. "Hi Sky! I'm good. How are you?" She smiled at Skylar. Her friends Derf, Jessa, Emmeline, and Stasya got greetings and waves too.

They were starting! Yes, yes, Isa remembered the beautiful orchids! She wanted to get a closer look at them. To get orchids the right amount of sunlight and humidity in this climate must require keeping them in a greenhouse where the temperature and humidity could be regulated to keep the environmental conditions just right for the orchids. Being tropical plants, orchids needed humidity and sunlight. Orchids were not the easiest flowers to care for, and Isa had great respect for Professor Myers keeping all of his orchids alive and flowering.

Ooooh, they had to find camouflaged creatures! This was going to be fun! Isa was really hoping that she would get a chance to examine the orchids up close. Orchid mantises, bowtruckles, leaf tailed geckos, and horklumps were the creatures they would be finding. Isa drew a slip of paper from the cup and looked at it to see which creature she would be looking for. ORCHID MANTIS! Yay, she would get to go look at the orchids to find her creature! Once Professor Myers had announced that they could begin, Isa walked over to the orchids, being careful not to tread on any plants or insects. To get a better look at the orchids, she crouched down so the orchids were nearer to eye level. Look at the deep colors on these orchids! The colors were amazing! Ahem. Couldn't get too distracted marveling at the plant itself. There were orchid mantises hiding somewhere on these orchids for her to find. What did an orchid mantis look like? Isa didn't see anything unusual on the flowers yet, but she was keeping a close eye out for any bumps, extra petals, or other abnormalities that might be a mantis in disguise.

Horklump hunting wasn't as exciting as, say, orchid mantis hunting, but Junia would take what she could get. After tugging her gloves on, the fourth year looking around the space thoughtfully, considering where she might hide if she were a horklump. The answer was fairly obvious, wasn't it? She'd hide among the other pink mushrooms and try her best to blend. That is where she would start.

Watching her step was essential, she figured, as stepping on one of the creatures or-GASP!-one of the plants, would surely cause the professors to cry or react in an equally dramatic fashion. It helped that she had taken a liking to both subjects, one more recently, and she found herself smiling as she neared the mushrooms and knelt down, in search of the bristles that would help her to identify her creature. "Now which...one...of you...might be..." She ran her gloved hand gently over each mushroom cap in search of any bristles when she felt something different. "Ah-ha!" She had one! YES.

Pulling gently at the horklump, Junia noted that it was not budging and she wrinkled her nose, wondering why. It took her a moment to realize that perhaps its tentacles were grounding it and she gently wiggled her fingers into the soil, grasping it from both the bottom and the top. Again and very gently, she pulled and wiggled until the creature was free.

"Hello there. Don't worry, okay? You'll have all the earthworms you can eat later, I'm sure." But for now, this horklump was stroked gently on its cap as it was delivered to the correct jar.

1 horklump found!

Oh, more students! Good! He was very excited that more students were slowly trickling in. This was a fun extra credit opportunity for them and he hoped many students would take this chance. "Hello Stasya, Henry, Vivian." He said with a nod.

Students continued trickling in. He really couldn't wait to get this started. "Hello Oliver and Matthew. Hope you're well." He said with a smile. He still stood with his arms crossed, but despite the calm look on his face, he was slightly nervous but really excited. MORE STUDENTS! "Hello Noelle and Jessa." He grinned.

Another student came running in just as he was about to explain how to best handle a Bowtruckle. "Come on in Etta! Just jump right in! We are excited to have you!" He didn't mind if they were late. It wasn't an actual lesson after all.

"Now just so you all know, Bowtruckles, though gentle and fragile, can be down right nasty if you try to mess with their tree. BUT just like most creatures," He paused with a grin, "they love to eat. So if you are one of the lucky ones that is searching for Bowtruckles, make sure you grab some dehydrated wood lice." With a flick of his wand a large jar of wood lice sitting on a table appeared next to him. "All you have to do is grab a handful of these, and the Bowtruckles will slowly approach. Be gentle and allow them to come to you. Do not grab at them or they will try to poke your eyes out." Yep. That was pretty much it.

He watched as the students slowly started to discover the different creatures. It was rather exciting!

She was chipper? Well, truth be told, once she had gotten over the initial embarrassment of the situation from the start of November, she had been chipper. Is chipper. No time to dwell though because they were starting.

Camo animals, well, that was interesting. Although, she felt bad because she had been neglecting her Herbology studies in favor of other classes taking her attention, but hopefully she wouldn't need to know TOO much extra things about plants that she didn't already know.

Now, uh, what creature in particular was she looking for? The same as Junia? A horklump? Or were there other creatures around here too....