Evelyn was debating whether or not she wanted to feed the thestrals when she heard Lawsguini speaking. Ugh, his part of the lesson. She didn't really want to know what he had planned, and she quickly started to decide and plan if there was any way she could somehow manage to slip away and head back to the castle before he started teaching.

But she couldn't do that now. The groundskeeper was there and would surely notice her. Eh. Rolling her eyes, Evelyn looked back towards the black winged creatures before letting her head hang slightly, closing her eyes and sighing.

"Can I feed them please, Professor?" she muttered before moving closer to her, the tiniest bit of excitement showing in her eyes.

Nicoletta grew excited when the professor said they could feed them. "Can I feed one professor Lawson?" hopefully she knew she was talking to the lady Lawson. Nicoletta wanted to feed one really bad. She liked animals, especially thestrals. Ah, and that brings her back to the good ol' days when she went looking in the forest for thestrals at the begining of the term. Yup, Mr. Masterson wasn't all that excited to kick a bunch of kids out of the forest. That was also where she'd met Phyre. And then her and Violet had tried to sneak into it again.... that hadn't worked out to well. Thankfully, her and violet weren't 'associating' anymore. Otherwise, Nicoletta'd been expelled by now. Nope, she decided to be a good little second year and go find some other friends. I wonder if Violet's still goth?

Carter nodded slowly. He wasn't sure how he felt about these things. He was scared. It was more like memorized and intrigued. They were interesting creatures.

Carter raised his hand. "I'd like to Professor." he said.

"Oh." Constantine blushed gently as Iliana was able to find him. He thought he was well hidden, but he must have gotten caught up in the moment. "Okay," he nodded, walking away from his hiding spot to stand near where the Thestrals were.

"Hey Marcus," he responded, taking a stop next to the man. "Eh...I've just been hanging about on the grounds doing my thing. You know? What about you? What have you and Iliana been up to? She doing okay with the baby?"

Marie looked at Professor Man Lawson when she heard him talking. Why was he answereing her, this wasn't his part of the lesson, she didn't ask him the question, she asked Professor Mrs Lawson. She just rolled her eyes at him and listened to what the others were saying. She would listen to him when it was his turn to teach.

And dang it, she still couldn't see anything.

What...Carter wanted to feed them?! "What if they try to bite you?" she whispered. She didn't want anything to happen to him.

Then she looked over at Evelyn.... She wanted to feed them too?

Maybe Marie would think differently if she could see them but for now she just thought it was sort of creepy.... Feeding something that wasn't there.

Professor Lawson nodding and handing Kay a piece of raw meat. "Very good, Kay. That's right. Thestrals are carnivorous."
"Of course, Oliver," she said, pulling out more food and handing it to him. "Here you are."
"Yes you may, Miranda." She handed the Hufflepuff a rather large piece of raw meat and patted her on the shoulder. She loved how the girls in her classes always remembered their 'Please' and 'Thank you's.
"That's the spirit, Jack!" Iliana said, pulling more meat from her bag.

"Wonderful, Arya. Here you go."
"Of course, Evelyn," she said with a smile. "Here you go."
Iliana walked over to Nicoletta and handed her some meat. "Yes, of course."

"Wonderful, Carter. Here's some for you," she said, passing it over.
Iliana moved closer to Neo, still holding a piece raw meat in her hand. Judging by the way he was looking at the Thestrals, she could tell that he could see them. "Would you care to feed them too?" she asked.

...

"Okay guys, hold the meat in your hand like this." She demonstrated, holding it flat in the palm of her hand. "And let them come to you. They are very gentle and should let you pet them with no problem. Just be quiet. Loud noises are likely to spook them."

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Miranda smiled brightly at the Professor as she was handed a piece of RAW MEAT. Okay, that might've made her wrinkle her nose a bit, but it was still SO COOL that she would be able to feed an animal she COULDN'T SEE! HeHE!

"Thankyou, miss." Miranda whispered, hoping not to spooketh the creatures. Her focus was settled on Mrs. Lawson as she explained how to handle the meat. She grinned at Oliver, who also was going to feed them, and put the meat on the palm of her hand.

Allrighty. Food on hand. Right. Miranda stood, trying to listen to see if the Thestrals were a-coming. She had NO IDEA WHERE TO LOOK. She turned slightly - listened - and then turned back again, a clear look of puzzlement on her face. "Professor," she whispered, hoping it wouldn't spook anything. "Could you... like, point to where they are?" So she didn't accidentally feed another invisible creature.

Hehehe.

Ugh!

She had zoned out!

Memories loved to break down all dams of restraint, and flood her until she could no longer think, or learn, or do anything else that required even a modicum of common sense or wit. Was that good?

Gold shook her head, and raised her hand, now. "Professor?" Her tones were more cheerful, than they had been the last time she had chosen to answer a question, in this class. "Can I feed some, too, please?"

Better late than never, right?

Right.

YAYYYY she was going to let him do it! How many people got to say that they feed a thestral? Not many--well, obviously the people in this class but in the rest of the wizarding world they were probably few and far between.

He held the meat out in his hand, just as she had instructed, and waited. It was kind of weird, and he was on edge, ready to jump if he felt so much as a hair brush him. After a few minutes of waiting, he felt a hot puff of air on his outstretched hand and he jumped just slightly. The thestral had to be close and breathing on his hand. It was gross and cool all at the same time!

He watched in amazement as slowly the meat started to disappear from his hand. It was being pulled out of his hand by an invisible force and disappearing right in midair!

Could he touch it? Hopefully if he just reached forward he'd touch it's face, not it's eye or anything. He reached one finger forward and made contact with what he assumed was the snout. It felt like a horses snout, he just...couldn't see it.

He touched it for about...five seconds before jumping back about ten feet. "I TOUCHED IT!" he exclaimed in an excited whisper.

Evelyn gave the Professor a small smile before it turned into a grimace. She forgot the part where they had to touch raw meat. Hesitating slightly, she reached out to take the offering for the thestrals before retracting her hand away again. It was just...too gross!

Grumbling to herself, she frowned and took the meat, holding it out in front of her like it was some disease and was infested with bugs or something and moved away slightly from everyone else. It probably was diseased and bug infested anyways.

Watching Professor Morgan demonstrate how they should hold the raw meat for the thestrals to take, she suddenly found herself staring at the creatures again, watching the way they moved around the forest and each other.

Holding her hand out, still staring at the thestrals, she placed the raw meat on the palm of her hand like the Professor did and...waited. They were supposed to wait right? No matter, one was already coming her way. It looked...smaller than the others. Perhaps the youngest? Or it was just, naturally that small. Holding her hand out even further from herself, she became stone still as the creature moved closer and closer...

Until it finally sniffed the raw meat and took it happily. Was it happy? Or was it just...excited that it got food. Well one would be happy if they were excited. Right? Realizing that she was still standing there with her hand out, she slowly lowered her hand, smiling a little as the thestral seemed to be moving closer until-

It ran away. WHO did that?! Something snapped behind her towards her left, and a second later she heard someone whispering quite loudly. Ugh. The thestral was THIS clooooose! Whatever...s'not like she wanted to touch the thing anyways...

Eh...

Walking up behind Miranda, Iliana placed her hands on the girl's shoulder and gently turned her towards the approaching herd. "They're right in front of you," she whispered. "One's coming towards you now."
"Absolutely, sweetie. I was hoping you'd give it a go." Iliana reached into her bag and pulled out something for Gold to feed the thestrals. "Hold it flat in your hand," she repeated, handing it to her.
"That was awesome, right?!" she said in an excited whisper.

Carter held the meat out in his outstretched hand. A nearby thestral came forward. It sniffed his hand before eating the meat. This must have looked incredible to anyone that couldn't see them.

"You said we could pet them, right?" he asked looking at Professor Mrs. Lawson. "Do we pet them just like horses?" he asked.

Nicoletta gave a big grin and took the meat in her hand. She walked up to one of the smaller (and most likely younger) thestrals in the group. She held out the meat near its head so that it could eat it. The thestral sniffed her hand then looked at her. Nicoletta gave the creature a reasurring smile. It pushed it's head foreward and took the meat, gobbling it up. Nicoletta smiled wide and watched the thestral eat. She extended her hand to touch it. It didn't shy away, but instead walked foreward so that her hand was on its forehead. She took down her hand slowly and cautiously dropped it to her side. The thestral walked over next to her and nudged her hand with its head. "Umm, Professor Lawson? Is that normal?" yeah, now she was a freak and a thestral magnet.... Mabey they were the same thing?

Gold's lips curved into a smile. There was something about Professor Lawson, something about the sweetness of her tones, that always cheered the fifth year up... every, single time.

"Yes, professor," she said, as she accepted the piece of raw meat from Professor Lawson. Version female, hehe.

Now to hold it flat.

She held it out, flat and in both hands - yes, both; not one - and waited. Waited, but not for that great a while. Because it was not long before a Thestral arrived. She had known one would -- they could not resist the scent of raw meat for long, could they?

"Hey." Her tones were soft, very, very soft, as she looked at the creature. Skeletal, eerily beautiful, like she knew them to be, like she remembered them from the last time she had seen one, and the time before that, and the time before that time, too.

She could feel its breath on her hand, lukewarm and sort of misted, and it felt natural, like she did this every day.

Slowly but surely, the Thestral came even closer, and then the meat was being torn off, being swallowed by the skeletal creature that stood in front of her. Gold whispered something to it, mentally even named it, and then she gently shifted the meat to one hand, and reached out the other - her left hand - to stroke the creature.

It did not back away - but, then again, Gold had not expected it to. She stroked it again, then held out the meat, once more.

That was what it was here for, was it not?

The meat?

Arya took the meat grining as she played with it in her hands. She loved to feel of the meat and was excited about feeding the thestrals. "Thank you Lady Lawson." She whispered as she eyed the meat like it was a new toy. Looking at how Lady Lawson held the meat she mimicked the motion, after she finished playing with the meat of course.

Turning from the professor she looked around for the creatures, momentarily forgeting they were invisible. Determined to feed one of the winged horses she began to creep forward, her excited eyes darting in every which way half expecting something to jump out at her."Come here pretty thestrals...I gots a treat for ya. A nice BIG juicy piece of meat." She spoke just above a whisper as she continued to creep forward holding the meat.

As she took another few steps she could feel somthing breathing on the back of her neck. At first Arya passed it off as a slight breeze, but then she realized that she only felt it on her neck. Coming to a slow halt she slowly turned her head only to see nothing. She turned back around to feel the breath again, only this time it was accompanied by a soft nudge on her shoulder. Full of excitement and slightly nervious she turned back around realizing that a thestral was behind her. Holding the meat up she watched in amazement as meat dissapeared before her eyes. Stiffling a giggle she brung her other hand up and began stroking the thestrals head. It felt wierd to her, like a horse but more bone and less muscle. "This is so cool." She whispered in awe as she brung her other hand up to stroke the creature's head.

Marie just stood there leaning against a tree as some of the students fed the Thestrals.

Okay, so man Lawson said she needed to learn about them even though she couldn't see them..... Well what was she learning now? How to feed something she couldn't see? Well this was fun..... NOT!

Hopefully something interesting would happen soon or she may just fall asleep standing there in the middle of the forest.

He nodded gently when she asked him if he wanted to feed them as well. He might as well serve some sort of purpose while being here. He held it hand out and took some raw meat in his hand; his nose crinkled in slight disgust. With the meat in the palm of his hand, he kept his hand out, waiting for one of them to come eat it from his hand.

Patroclus couldn ot help but laugh, as he watched the Head Boy feed the Thestral. It was hard for Patroclus to picture what it would look like to see the meat disappearing, for a moment he kind of wished he could.

He raised his hand "Is there any meat left over Proffessor, I would really love to feed one!?" Waiting for a reply he had a wicked thought - riding one through the high treetops of the Forbidden Forest, a smirk creeped across his face

"Just like horses," Iliana answered, stroking the creature nearest her.
"Mhmm," she murmured, giving Nicoletta a smile. "It looks like you found an affectionate one. Most of the Hogwarts thestrals have been born right here in the forest. They are quite fond of humans."
"I brought lots," she said as her hand disappeared into her bag once more. "Hold your hand steady, Patroclus. There's one heading this way."

Miranda was squinting at something, which turned out to be a squirrel, which made her roll her eyes at herself since she couldn't actually see the Thestrals. Sigh. But then she felt a pair of hands on her shoulder and was turned towards somewhere else that looked exactly like the spot she had been staring at. "Oh, thankyou." Miranda whispered, slightly embarrassed. SAY WHAAAAAT? Right infront of her!? Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Miranda wasn't sure if she should freak out or go all giddy with joy.

The things were coming AT her. Her palm still held the piece of meat and she waited. And waited... AAAnd wait- Oh! The leaves and dirt infront of her was suddenly disrupted in several spots. The Captain's eyes grew wide and she was smiling while biting down on her lower lip.

There was a warm rush of air hitting her hand, and Miranda gasped, her eyes searching for the invisible creature. The warm air kept hitting her hand, but soon enough, the large piece of meat was being EATEN! SQUEEEEEEEEE! Miranda wanted to squeal, but kept it inside her as the meat was being gnawed on and slowly dissapearing into the Thestrals mouth. Oh the joy!

Would she dare to touch the creature? Tentatively, Miranda reached out her other hand, slowly, hoping to be able to feel the wonderful animal. Her fingers found the underside of the Thestral's head, and then the jaw. Wow... She followed the jaw line up to the top of it's head and stroked the pwetty animal's head. It wasn't that big of a creature, maybe a teenager?

Closing her eyes, her hand wandered down again to stroke where the mane would be, trying to get a picture in her mind of how it would look like. It was beautiful.
But soon, way to soon, the piece of meat was gone, her hand felt empty but she kept on petting the creature until it pulled back its head. With a last warm snort of air against her other hand, the animal must've walked back to its family or something.

"Amazing..." Miranda breathed, still keeping her eyes closed.

Carter nodded and reached up and stroked the thestral. It felt a little leathery. But then again... it did look that way too.

He watched as it finished up the meat in his hand. He looked around for Marie and Mina. They had to come try this. He motioned to each of them to come join him.

Rubbing her side, Iliana walked over towards Marcus and gave him a look. "Alright everyone, now that they've eaten, It's time for Professor Lawson's part of the lesson. Please give him your full attention."

"They're all yours," she said, giving him a wink and resting her back against a tree.

Sidney looks in the direction Professor Mrs. Lawson said the thestrals should be in. All I can see is the forest. Not such a bad thing. I wouldn't want these thestrals to be hiding an acromatulia. I have on good authority, they are sneaky little devils. Sidney hears a twig crack in the direction of Professor Lawson. Sidney swirls around certain Professor Lawson was being attacked by one of those giant spiders. She's relieved to see Mr. Masterson has joined the class and had made the offending noise. Confident Mr. Masterson will fight off any acromatula that happen the crash class, (Isn't that what groundskeeper do? Protect the grounds from intruders.), Sidney walks over to where Professor Mrs. Lawson is handing out raw meat. "Professor, will the Thestrals allow us to use our hands to see them like blind people do?" Sidney really wants to see the Thestrals. It's very rude of them not to allow everyone to see them. No wonder they get such bad press.

Marie still stood there watching Carter as he reached up and....... stroked the air? Okay, now that was just funny. Yeah, that's why she was standing where she was, so she could watch the fun.

Oh crud, he motioned for her to go over there. She looked around at all the others first. She was not going to go over there if anyone was watching her, especially man Lawson. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she may actually be learning something.

Satisfied that no one was watching her she slowly made her way over to Carter. "Hey" she said as she looked around. Still seeing nothing she looked back at him, at least he was visible and she knew he was really there.

Uh Oh, now the other Lawson was going to teach. What could he teach them now? What does muggle studies have to do with magical creatures?

OOOH!

Candy WAVED a hand in the air.

She wanted some meat, too! For the thestrals of course not for her own self. But then Professor Lawson said the other Professor Lawson was taking over.

NOOOO!!

She'd wanted to feeedd the thestrals!

This was not NIICE!!